《The Infinity Dungeon [LitRPG]》 Chapter 01 ¡°What, you scared to explore a little cave, Mike?¡± Josh taunted, voice reverberating through the wide tunnel leading to the open air of the outside. Michael cringed at the nickname. He wasn¡¯t on such friendly terms with Josh, not yet. He was exploring a cave they found, using the torch in his phone to make sure he didn¡¯t fall on a rock and break his legs. ¡°I think it¡¯s larger than just a little cave, Josh,¡± he retorted. ¡°Come on! Where¡¯s the guy who caught a rabbit alive and skinned it before cooking it over a firepit, Michael? Where¡¯s the experienced explorer, someone who claims to have scared off a bear on the trail just the other day, huh?¡± Josh¡¯s voice dripped with sarcasm. ¡°Are you, perhaps, a coward?¡± Perhaps being labelled a coward would be the lesser price to pay, at least in this case. With a sigh, he steeled himself. This was just a cave. A silent, deep, dark and foreboding cave, sure, but just a cave nonetheless. And nothing else. It was like the chosen one business his karate sensei always pulled on him, and he felt like he was being pushed to do something he would not otherwise do just because someone was antagonizing him over it. He told himself, like every time, that he did it so he could feel like he had conquered something he was afraid of, coming out stronger in the end. One didn¡¯t grow without a challenge, after all, and here the biggest danger would be getting lost, but he wasn¡¯t planning to take any turns. His friend was still yelling at him from the outside, he was all too excited about Michael exploring the cave for someone who wasn¡¯t doing it themselves, for some reason. Josh¡¯s ego had been badly bruised these last few days on the Trail, especially after Michael had proven his claims of being an experienced trailblazer to be true while his friend had been called on his own bluff, and envy was an insidious thing. But, Michael did not realize, whatever mechanism had activated within his mind telling him to brave the dangers and come out stronger on the other side was as insidious as envy was. It made Michael push on in the unknown cave until all the light from outside disappeared, lost in the gloom where the only source of light now was the feeble torch feature of his cheap smartphone. It was when the last of the light from outside had faded and he knew he could not turn back just yet that the most bizarre and frightening thing happened, making him almost jump out of his skin. ¡°Oh! A human! A tasty morsel appears!¡± a voice said, and it was sinister like that of a mischievous creature, speaking from the depths of the cave where light did not reach. ¡°Welcome to the Infinity Dungeon, human. Too bad you¡¯re already dead!¡± Then disaster struck. A terrible noise accompanied the rumbling of the earth, making Michael lose his footing. While he bruised his knee, he realized before the dust had even settled that something had fallen from the ceiling behind him, locking him into the cave. It was a strangely smooth slab of stone, air-tight, so much so that the dust settled almost perfectly vertical to where it was, save for the spots where the air was disturbed by Michael¡¯s movements. He almost didn¡¯t hear the soft steps behind him before he was struck with a blade. The only thing that saved Michael from certain death were his reflexes, honed by his martial arts training. He twisted, putting his hands between his body and the offending implement, earning pain beyond belief as his left hand was pierced by the short blade that was meant for his gut. Phone falling to the ground, the dusty air was lit in flashes that revealed a horrible green and misshapen body in-between moments of darkness, brandishing the blade once again. It was rusted all over, and had torn chunks of meat from Michael¡¯s left hand with its jagged edge. Adrenaline kicked in. When the monstrous green form struck again, Michael grappled with it. He was bigger and stronger, although unarmed, and only got cut once more before he managed to snap the arm wielding the knife, breaking bone and join with the first real application of a technique he had practiced thousands of times in the dojo. The goblin, for it could be nothing else but a filthy goblin like in the stories, struck again, snarling, sending spittle flying everywhere. Michael reacted reflexively. He had never trained with a knife, but he knew that the sharp end went into the soft flesh, and it was enough. Its tip met the creature¡¯s neck, the goblin was short enough that its neck came at the exact height Michael¡¯s hands were. The knife went in and out before Michael¡¯s conscious mind could intervene, coming out of the wound in a spray of blood. Michael dropped to the ground, the goblin attacking him suddenly limp and, knife forgotten, ran over to retrieve his phone¡ªthe only source of light. When he turned around again, the corpse of the monster was gone, and for a moment it felt like it had all been a dream, save for the fact that Michael¡¯s hand was throbbing with pain, and bleeding from where the flesh had been torn from bone, and ligaments and nerves were cut and frayed. There was blood on his clothes, his own blood being only less than half of the total volume of it, the other half being a putrid dark ooze that had come out from the goblin before it vanished. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Leaving behind, Michael saw just now, a small fist-sized green stone. ¡°Well,¡± the nasty voice was back, coming from all around and making Michael suddenly feel very unsafe, like it could jump out of a wall at any time. ¡°This might be interesting,¡± it went on, ¡°take that skill stone. You earned it. The rules are clear. Just so you know: this is it; beginner¡¯s luck is over. Have fun dying! I know I will have fun watching you!¡± Michael¡¯s hand was twitching with pain, little spasms renewing the burning sensation of exposed nerves as the blood just refused to stop flowing. Normally, he was a savvy person in the bush, knowing what to do in almost all situations. Here, though, he found himself panicking. There was no light save for his torch, the air was stale and still and hot, the exit was closed, and the room was so small, he felt his breath come in short, needy gulps that failed to oxygenate his blood. He was having a panic attack. He had nothing to stop the bleeding. He fumbled with his phone, bloody hands staining the screen and making its contents illegible, and even when his trembling fingers managed to enter the unlock code, he saw that there was no reception. The thing was dead, useless without a connection to the internet. He couldn¡¯t look up ways to bandage his hand, nor could he call for help. He only had his clothes, not even the knife the goblin was wielding since it was gone with the body. He couldn¡¯t use his clothes to create makeshift bandages even if he had the knife, stained as they were with sickly, foul-smelling goblin blood. Looking at his hand, shedding light onto the wound with his slippery phone covered in coagulating blood, he was fairly sure he had not hit any major arteries or he would be bleeding much quicker. But then again, his panicking mind unhelpfully supplied, he could not be sure it was the case. Perhaps he had already lost too much blood. Perhaps he was already not thinking clearly. He had to calm down. Taking a deep breath, his thoughts slowly converged on the small piece of rock that had taken the goblin corpse¡¯s place. It was a piece of deep green jade, and the way the light from the phone hit it made it almost shine with inner light, creating beautiful swirling patterns. ¡°Did the voice mention a skill stone?¡± He muttered under his breath, and for a moment it felt like the voice¡¯s attention was back on him, like it had heard him. Which, he suspected it could, since it also seemed able to talk to him. He grasped the stone, the agony of accidentally doing it with the wrong hand making him curse under his breath, feeling like he was entertaining the evil entity who was watching him with every panicked misstep and bad decision, brought upon by pain and blood loss. As soon as his bloody fingers closed around the stone, however, a message appeared in his vision, and for a moment the rest of the world seemed to go still as he read the text floating in midair like it was the only thing in the world that could save him. It might very well have been.
Skill stone: (Uncommon) Healing Aura
Use this skill stone to learn the first level of the skill: Healing Aura
There was no other information, but Michael didn¡¯t need any. No thoughts of how strange it was that magic was real crossed his mind at that moment, and while they might have come later, he had other priorities now. Without even knowing how he did it, he used the skill stone immediately and felt a short-lived wave of euphoria wash over him as something fundamental about his very being was changed in an instant. He knew, from the depths of his being, that he was suddenly more than he had ever been, and the skill he had just learned was only a part of what had changed about him. Then, he instinctively knew that by focusing on it, he could make the description of his new skill appear at will.
(Uncommon) Healing Aura 1
Within the gentle currents of Qi flows the essence of life''s renewal; with each breath, let healing radiate, restoring harmony to all. ¡¤ Create an aura of healing for yourself and everyone marked as an ally around you. The effect decreases with distance, up to a range of 1 meter. Moderate mana and stamina cost per second.
The skill was active before he had even finished reading its description. For a moment, Michael was sure he had blacked out, for the pain of being stabbed all over again rushed through his mind in a split second, followed by more pain and itching as the flesh started to stitch itself. The process was quick enough that he could see it happen in real time, but there was no time to be awed by the power of magic before a wave of vertigo, nausea and deep, gnawing hunger robbed him of his footing, making him scrape his knees of the sharp stones of the ground in his fall. He was about to heal himself again but decided against it. The hunger, he guessed, was probably because the healing had had something to do with heightened metabolism, burning through his meagre fat reserves. He wondered if he had lost some of his hard-earned muscle. That left out the nausea and vertigo, and looking inward he could feel that there was something missing within himself, although it was ever so slowly coming back to him. He was out of mana, some part of his mind supplied. Grabbing the phone, now cracked and battered, he went to find someplace to sit and wait the headache out. It didn¡¯t take too long, but it was hard to tell without constantly using his phone, which he didn¡¯t do to save battery. If the phone died, with it went the torch and his only hope of finding an exit. Then, a quick bout of healing later¡ªno more than mere seconds to heal some light bruises and watch the area he had scraped scab¡ªhe headed for the only path he could take in search for an exit: deeper within the cave system. Deeper inside the Infinity Dungeon. Chapter 02 ¡°Always keep your core tight!¡± It was two days earlier. Michael was training in the dojo, struggling to properly hold the most basic of katas for more than a couple of steps before falling back into his old patterns of moving. The latest batch of instructions coming from his sensei were really doing a number on him, making him feel like he was back to the early days of training. ¡°Now, turn!¡± Together, the five people turned as one, their movements synchronized almost perfectly. To the untrained eye, at least. Michael was struggling to keep the pace though, his thoughts alternating between wanting to be perfect and wondering just why he was putting so much effort into a hobby. The rest of the biweekly hour-and-a-half of training passed in a blur of katas, ending with the usual conditioning session that never failed to send them all home battered and bruised. It seemed that Michael had drawn the short end of the stick today, being paired up with a literal mountain of a man. The guy was an attorney by profession but he was of the freelance kind, who carried around more anger and resentment than was healthy for someone to carry, and often needed an outlet to vent their pent up emotions. Michael was going to be that outlet today. ¡°I hope you are ready, chosen one,¡± he said, wicked grin and all the other bells and whistles on his face. Michael knew that face, if only by experience. Usually, Michael would have been fine with some bullying, as it was only against hard odds that one got stronger. Angry lawyer-guy always pushed him hard enough to really make the flaws in his techniques show, and being made aware of them was the first step towards fixing them. But today was not one of the good days, and it wasn¡¯t like there were any flaws to be pointed out while doing conditioning work anyway. You had to adjust to the level of the other person, and hope he did the same for you. Attorney guy was not going to do that. On top of that, Michael wasn¡¯t really feeling like taking the larger guy¡¯s snide remarks silently. Too bad that the man hit like a smith, as they said, and was better and more conditioned than Michael was, as there was no silencing the man with simple brute force, also known as the caveman way. Funny that a lawyer would only listen to violence perpetrated by someone stronger than he was. Not funny that Michael was not that someone. ¡°Come on, man, you know sensei only calls me that way as a joke,¡± Michael said, and immediately regretted it. ¡°Sure he does, chosen one, like when he convinced master Taiko to make you skip a belt at the exam we all studied much harder than you for. Or like when he focuses on you for a whole hour, leaving us to just figure shit out alone.¡± Michael shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for it. Not my fault I¡¯m a natural.¡± What followed was a beating to be remembered. One of those conditioning sessions where the hits came at a slight angle so that they not only hit where they should¡ªbruises there were fine¡ªbut also where the tenderized flesh took days to heal without any benefit for the suffering. Michael made sure to pay the man in kind, but the size was working against him. It was worth it, though. Michael hoped the man would keep accumulating stress until his heart gave out one day, then he would go to his funeral and say nice fake things about him to all his family and friends while secretly having the last laugh. Or. His other plan was the slow and methodical sort of plan, but at least one that didn¡¯t rely on luck and medical conditions. He planned to become larger and stronger than him so that he could finally show him how it felt to be taught techniques with brute force, without a hint of actual technique. He had put on ten pounds in the last few months, while the larger attorney was only large in virtue of his belly. The fat in his arms made him look huge, and his strength was born of having to move the huge slabs of meat he had for arms every day, but slowly Michael was inching towards his level of strength by following a much healthier path. Then it was over. Michael skipped the usual small talk in the changing room, too many naked men for his tastes. While chatting with the people there had been interesting at the beginning, when they were all new, now it felt more like a chore, especially since it was clear that it would never progress into a friendship, even with the more friendly of them. They were just too much older than he was, and had known each other since forever. He was the latest addition, even though it was almost two years now, and being called chosen one by sensei Stephan had not helped. ***
Infinity Dungeon ¨C Earth
Floor 1-2
The feeble light of the phone¡¯s torch barely lit the room to its halfway point, leaving more than half the space shrouded in impenetrable darkness. There was a faint sprinkling of dust suspended in the air that made it hard to see, and the sloping, uneven floor made it difficult for Michael to navigate the treacherous terrain without keeping his eyes glued to the ground. There was no sound, save for the oppressive cacophony one heard where there is absolute silence, and Michael was feeling it like a physical pressure pushing against his eardrums, while his mind struggled to latch onto any kind of noise. Not even his footsteps lasted long enough, the sound waves swallowed by the walls of the dungeon. Any doubts he might have had about where he was, about the nature of the place he was in, and about its dangers were gone now. After he had healed up, he had taken some time to rest so that he could think and contemplate his situation before heading into the second room, coming to terms with his predicament. He had been worried that he was taking too long to get out at first, but the worry that Josh might leave without him was nothing compared to the fear of death. It was only after he was well rested, once again full of mana, as magic was called, that he had decided to head to the next room. Its danger was immediately apparent. Not only was the dungeon telling him that this was the second room via a message, unlike with the first room which Michael was now convinced was used to lure in unsuspecting travellers, but any doubts about it disappeared when he heard the stone slamming the entry shut behind him. He was stuck here. He swept the room in a wide arc with his torch, immediately finding what he was looking for. There were two goblins this time, and they were slightly taller than the one he had been attacked by in the first room, slightly more muscular as well. But, almost as if the dungeon was adapting to him specifically, they were unarmed and mostly unarmoured, their grimy skin barely covered by a loincloth to hide their private parts. They jumped him as soon as he entered the room, trying to capitalize on the distraction of the stone slab slamming the entrance shut. Michael met them with a grin he didn¡¯t even know he was wearing on his face. Hard odds made for the best growth. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He sidestepped, performing a perfect circular block at the same time. Arm trapped; all it took was a hard yank to make the first of the goblins lose his footing. A kick sent him sprawling to the edge of where the light of the phone reached. Then the other goblin was on him, attacking with a wild strike from above. Once again, very predictable. Michael blocked with his forearm, meeting the descending blow with his own strength in a move he had practiced thousands of times in the dojo. Then he trapped the arm and used his other arm to strike at the neck of the goblin. His training was coming in very handy. He grinned wider. The goblin was stunned, almost as if he was not expecting Michael to be able to block his wild, predictable strike. The creature was met with a punch to the face, but then pain blossomed in Michael¡¯s mind. It was the first goblin. Michael had lost track of him in his retaliatory strike against the second foe. Now his side was throbbing, but he didn¡¯t recoil from the pain. Lawyer-guy hit harder than the goblins did. Instead, he turned around and kicked the offender again. The goblin fell on the stone, hitting his head with a sickening crunch that sent shivers up Michael¡¯s spine. It did not get up. The surviving goblin, seeing that his brother was killed, snarled in rage. Now he was trying to hit Michael with all it had, kicking and punching wildly. It was hard to create distance, but Michael managed to step back enough to catch one of the kicks in an arm lock and send the goblin to the ground. That¡¯s when he made a mistake. The lock had not been perfect, and his wrist was throbbing in pain. Instincts born of a lifetime lived without healing magic made him pause, trying to assess the damage he had sustained. For a moment, he thought he had broken something. That he could not use his right arm to write, or to play games, or¡ª Then he realized his mistake. The world spun, and he was on the ground. The right side of his head felt light, and wet, and cold. It was tingling. Half of his body was burning instead, having hit the sharp rocks. He got up, all woozy, and saw that the goblin was trying to finish the job with a large rock. Fortunately, he had picked a rock that was too large for him to handle. It made the goblin slow and cumbersome. A kick in the balls was enough to make him fold, dropping the rock¡­ on Michael¡¯s phone. The light died with a puff of smoke he could not see, but the smell assaulted his nostrils. Burnt plastic and battery acid. He felt the lump on the ground that was the goblin, using the groans the monster was making as a guide. Then Michael threw himself on top of him. His whole body was in pain, but the adrenaline was keeping the edge off for now. The worst of it would come later. Now, they wrestled for a moment, but finally Michael¡¯s hands were around the monster¡¯s throat. He did what most fighters always thought about but never could do in the outside world. He squeezed with all his might. The goblin¡¯s throat crumpled under Michael¡¯s strength. His hands had been big enough to squeeze the neck like it was an orange, and his grip strength was nothing to scoff at. With the martial arts training and conditioning and all of that. Then the body was gone. The fall from a single foot of height after its sudden disappearance brought all the pain Michael was not yet feeling to the forefront of his mind. Ignoring the brief flash of light that had lit the cave for the shortest of moments, he sat up and tried to heal. Then he threw up. Vomiting to the side, and it was fortunate that he had the presence of mind to turn to the side because at this point, he didn¡¯t think the day could go any worse. It took an hour to heal back up to the point where he was no longer feeling any pain, at least if he sat still. He had run out of mana many times while healing, waiting until he had enough to activate the skill before going at it again and again, the ghost fear of brain damage and of a broken wrist demanding that he healed his body as soon as possible. He feared that, had he waited, he would have healed wrong. That he would have sustained brain damage. That his wrist would have hurt for the rest of his life. It didn¡¯t help that, while healing himself, he was forced to relive all the pain the wounds had caused. Only that when he healed it was not all at once, but it was constant, piercing, sharp. Worth it, though, as it was the kind of pain that meant things were going well, and that he was healing. Then came the hunger. Of course healing would make him hungry. Images of his body consuming itself to death in an attempt to heal itself up flashed in his mind, and he cancelled the skill immediately. He was not okay, he was hurting and his vision was full of stars where there should have only been darkness, but he felt at the verge of fainting from undernourishment and could not go on. Perhaps it was panic again. They said a man could live for two weeks without food, but how did using a healing skill factor in the calculation? Michael sat, contemplating things for a while, while pangs of hunger made him wish he hadn¡¯t vomited earlier. The stench was¡­ wait. The stench was gone. He was sure he was smelling something else rather than puke, but at this point he was sure it was just the hunger. His phone was gone as well, as was the plastic smoke. He sniffed the air to make sure, catching a whiff of something. Then he remembered the flash of light coming from somewhere around the centre of the cave. He made his way there on all fours, opening at least two gashes on his legs against the sharp rocks. At least he wasn¡¯t walking and falling on them. Then he reached the location. One hand gripped a cold, hard stone. Colder than the rest of the rocks in the cave, likely a skill stone. The other a bundle of something. That¡¯s where the odd smell was coming from. Opening it up, he realized it was some sort of jerky, old to the point of almost being rotten. But potentially edible. His stomach churned at the thought of food. The jerky was in his mouth, and he swallowed before his rational brain could stop him. He almost groaned in pleasure when the food reached his stomach, and his body greedily absorbed the nutrients within it. Soon, he could finish healing again, going by how much jerky there was. In the back of his mind, he felt like he could hear the dungeon laughing at his suffering. Watching as he struggled against weak monsters like unarmed goblins, forced to fight with his hands, forced to eat rotting meat to survive. Next time, if there was a next time, he would bring a gun. He would show the dungeon the power of technology. He would completely tear the goblins up. Michael turned his attention to the stone he was gripping with the other hand. As expected, a message popped up.
Skill stone: (Common) Candle Light
Use this skill stone to learn the first level of the skill: Candle Light
He immediately used the skill stone. He did not even wonder whether it had been the dungeon who had decided to help him, or just luck, and he did not care. He would dwell on philosophical things once he was safe and no longer in the dark.
(Common) Candle Light 1
If you immediately know that candlelight is fire, the meal was cooked long ago. ¡¤ Create a small flame at the tip of your index finger, creating heat and light. The flame is magical and doesn¡¯t burn oxygen. Very low mana cost per second.
A snap of his fingers, purely for the effect, and a small dancing flame appeared right where he expected it to appear. He squinted at the sudden appearance of light hurting his retina. Barely half an inch above his index finger, the flame was only as big as that of a match, but strangely enough its light reached all the way to the end of the room, where the bright and orange glow faded to almost nothing. Behind him, his own shadow danced with his movements, and next to it was the rectangular silhouette of the opening that led into the next room of the dungeon. It was utterly dark even when he tried to get close, as if the light could not reach inside unless he went in himself. Eventually, he had to do it. Armed with nothing but his fists and a tiny flame, he stepped into the darkness.
Infinity Dungeon ¨C Earth
Floor 1-3
His jaw dropped. For some reason, he was expecting the dungeon to have five rooms on the first floor, as if it was a video game area. He was not prepared to be proven wrong. Standing at more than seven feet of height, the boss of the first floor of the dungeon was a hulking figure. A goblin covered from head to toe in muscle, completely naked, with eyes gleaming with a dark and sadistic sort of intelligence. It roared at Michael in challenge, and the very air was shaken by its might. Then it charged. Chapter 03 Michael gasped, but fortunately did not freeze up as the mountain of muscles and spittle propelled itself towards him, trying to flatten him against the solid wall of the dungeon. After a split-second decision, he dropped into a clumsy roll on the fortunately smooth ground, dodging the goblin¡¯s mad charge by a hair¡¯s breadth. Then the large monster slammed into the wall with a grunt, so hard it chipped the stone and its own teeth in the process, making Michael update his opinions on how smart the mob really was. If there was intelligence behind the creature¡¯s eyes, the rage had overpowered it. The [Candle Light] was still shining, the magical flame not suffering from the roll or the displacement of air at all. It singed Michael¡¯s hand a bit when he was upside down though, showing just how hot it burned. It was then that he realized that he could use the flame to his advantage. If the boss monster was so stupid or enraged as to slam into the wall, he could come up with a tactic to exploit the obvious weakness. The next time he was charged, he deactivated the skill giving light to the room and simply sidestepped. Before the monster was on him he activated the flame again for split second, blinding the monster before moving out of the way, and letting the monster slam into the wall. It was surprisingly effective, dazing the larger goblin for long enough to try and hit it from behind. Unfortunately, the goblin was too tall to hit in the neck or back of its head¡ªnot that there were any rocks Michael could use as a bludgeon. Any punches to its torso either bounced off its almost solid muscles or were absorbed like Michael was punching an incredibly dense punching bag. Then the time window was over, and the goblin turned around with a wild haymaker to charge at him again. He tried the trick one more time, but this time the dash ended at the centre of the room without dazing the goblin, which then exploded in a flurry of powerful blows. Michael concentrated on dodging rather than deflecting the meaty hands, too much force behind them to risk a block. If he broke a bone, he was as good as dead, he knew. He was too focused on the hands to see a kick coming at him, hitting him square in the stomach and lifting him to the air. He flew for several feet before hitting the back wall, managing to avoid hitting his head in the process by pure luck but getting the wind knocked out of him. That, plus some broken ribs, he guessed, given how hard breathing had suddenly become. There was a sharp pain in his torso as well, which might have been another indicator. He had never broken ribs before, he had no idea how it should feel. He couldn¡¯t heal. The monster was on him before he could even activate the skill, and feeling the pain all over again would have left him unable to defend. He redirected a punch with his forearm, but even the perfectly executed technique had his arm exploding in pain, while the punch was redirected barely enough for him to step around it. It had taken all his strength to divert the large arm by mere inches from its path, and it had felt like he was hitting solid steel. Then the goblin went on all fours, preparing to charge again. Apparently, it had gotten quite angry at not being able to squash the interloper like a bug, and charging at enemies seemed its go-to technique when its rage was highest. Michael could use this, he thought. But first, he used the candle technique again. It was effective again, surprisingly, leaving the monster dazed for a second. This time he didn¡¯t try to hit it, knowing that he couldn¡¯t do any damage to it. Instead, he used the small flame from the candle skill hovering just above his left index finger, to burn it. An idea came to mind, a disgusting one but he now knew where he should burn to induce the most rage into the monster. The hanging bits of the nude mob, going up and down with its labored breath almost at Michael¡¯s face level. He thrust the finger forward, not daring to close his eyes no matter how much he wanted to, and let the candle to its job. He knew how hot it burned. That flame was deceivingly hot. There was the smell of charred flesh, then a guttural scream of pain, anger and rage. Then Michael cut the flame entirely, using the darkness to reposition close to the opposite wall before summoning it again. The goblin did not seem able to see in the dark, thankfully, despite being a cave dweller. This time the dash was different. The goblin was still on all fours, moving faster than Michael thought possible for a being so large with an anatomy so similar to that of a human. Despite his misgivings and surprise, he still managed to get out of the way almost in time. As his right shoulder was pinned against the wall by the raging mountain of muscle, the rest of the goblin smashed into the wall at top speed. It impacted the solid stone with its head, but the rest of the body was following behind, having gained an almost unstoppable momentum. Michael¡¯s shoulder shattered. Meanwhile, the rest of the goblin¡¯s body continued on its trajectory despite its head being stopped dead by the stone. Its neck snapped to the side as the force was too much for it to handle, the body pulverizing its spine and tearing its muscles before they had a chance to arrest its momentum. In moments, the monster was on the ground, still alive but paralyzed. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Michael limped over to it, hand holding his shattered shoulder as the pain slowly trickled in through the fog of shock and adrenaline. He looked at it with contempt, feeling like the monster responsible for his pain deserved to suffer. He couldn¡¯t kill it anyways, with his arm ruined as it was. So he went to sit at the opposite side of the room, watching the goblin look at him with a snarl on its face but unable to move anything below its shoulders. The goblin seemed to realize his powerlessness, snarling all the harder at first, then switching to a low whimper like it was begging to be put out of its misery. Michael thought twice before coming close to the monster, though. The only way he thought he could kill it was by cooking its brain with his [Candle Light], and he sure as hell was not putting his finger within biting distance of the monster. Instead, what he did was simply sit and munch on his rations while he healed, suppressing whimpers of pain of his own as his shoulder slowly rebuilt itself over the course of the next few hours. At a certain point during the process, the goblin boss had disappeared, replaced by loot on the ground and the appearance of a doorway. There was light coming in from the new opening, and it looked a lot like daylight, making Michael¡¯s heart beat in anticipation. Despite all of that, he didn¡¯t want to leave until he was fully healed. Unfortunately, while his mana would come back after a while, his food was a limited resource. It ran out before he was done, leaving his shoulder functional but weak. His ribs were also fragile, but they were no longer restricting his breathing. As for the rest of his body, he got the instinctual impression that most of the damage had been fixed, all that was left to heal apart from his shoulder and ribs being scrapes, cuts and a couple of nasty bruises. He walked over to the loot, limping not because of actual problems with his legs but because of the pain each step made bloom in his shoulder. It was far from healed, it seemed. But although he was at full mana capacity, he was so hungry he might faint if he tried to heal again. The loot was a small pile of different items, stacked on top of each other. There were a few copper coins of a make he had never seen before, a dagger, a leather helmet, a small round shield and¡­ jackpot. A skill stone. Almost disregarding everything else, he immediately grabbed the stone and absorbed the power within it. The skill appeared in his mind soon after, making a smile appear on his face.
(Common) Distortion Field 1
Like a sturdy bamboo shield, may my resolve deflect the arrows of adversity, standing firm amidst the storms of fate. ¡¤ Activate to immediately conjure a small, short-lived region of distorted space-time close to your body, which will act as a localized repulsion field for any incoming physical attack. Moderate mana cost per activation.
He used it without hesitation. For a moment, it felt like the skill was asking him whether he wanted it to activate over the surface of the shield, or in the air around him. The first option was uninteresting enough: it made the whole shield shimmer faintly, and it gained the ability to repel attacks without him feeling their momentum. A rock was sent flying, shattering against the wall, when he tested this.
Skill Level up!
[Distortion Field] reaches level 2 and gains the ability to coat shields.
Michael grinned. He knew what the evolution was about. The skill recognized his ¡®creative¡¯ use¡ªalthough he doubted it was really a creative use at all¡ªand was upgraded accordingly. The text now stated that he could use it on a shield to empower it, just like he had done. It was more like he had discovered an extra use of the skill, rather than making it evolve, but he wasn¡¯t going to pass on it. Then he tried to summon the distortion field in the air around him. A small sphere, like a soap bubble as large as his head and fixed in space, appeared and disappeared in the span of a second. He experimented with it a bit, discovering a few things. First and foremost, the sphere could only be made to appear in the air and not inside solid materials. Not even close enough to them that it would displace them. Secondly, it only worked very close to his body, no more than a foot of distance, but he could extend his arms to make it appear farther away from the important bits. It wasn¡¯t a trivial thing. Lastly: it was strong. He didn¡¯t manage to destroy it no matter how hard he tried, unlike with the shield where he had to replace the effect after a couple of rocks. Also, the repulsion effect was very strong. The first rock he tossed at it was repelled with enough strength to almost be classified as a projectile. Then it was time to leave. Stuffing the coins in his pockets, he grabbed the dagger and made his way towards the door that had appeared after the boss had been defeated. Daylight blinded him for a second, and then Josh¡¯s voice reached his ears before his eyes had fully adjusted. ¡°Out already? What did you see¡ªwhy do you look like a fucking gladiator? Yo, was there a secret stash of stuff in there? Are there more? I want a sick-looking shield too!¡± Michael¡¯s eyes almost bulged out of his head when his vision cleared enough for him to finally see. Josh was running towards the mouth of the cave, greed clearly visible in his face. Unlike himself, Michael knew that Josh would die if he ventured into the dungeon. He had to stop him before it was too late. Chapter 04 ¡°Josh! Stop!¡± Michael tried to yell, but his friend was not slowing down. He couldn¡¯t run after him either, as his body was too damaged to reach him in time without stumbling and possibly breaking his ribs all over again. Left with no other option, Michael did the only thing that came to his mind in the few seconds that he had available before Josh was caught into the dungeon and unable to escape. He threw his shield at him, hitting him in the back and making him stumble to the ground. Hands bloody, Josh got up with murder on his face. He cursed. ¡°What the hell is wrong with you, man?¡± He stared down at Michael, making use of the sloping terrain to appear much bigger. Michael held his gaze, but he was feeling rather guilty for having thrown his shield at him, and it must have shown on his face because Josh seemed to grow bolder and angrier. Still, Michael managed to mumble something through his guilt. ¡°You don¡¯t want to go in there. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡± ¡°You¡¯re nuts!¡± Josh declared, throwing his hands in the air. ¡°Seriously, throwing a shield at me?¡± Michael felt a rush of blood to his cheeks, like he had been called out for doing something he shouldn¡¯t have done. And perhaps Josh was right: he shouldn¡¯t have thrown the shield at him. He had acted rashly in what little time he had before his friend could no longer be retrieved. Did he do it solely because the dungeon was dangerous? It didn¡¯t take much thought to realize that it was far from the only reason. No, the other¡ªimportant¡ªreason was that he didn¡¯t want to see what finding out about magic would do to a person such as Josh. Michael was learning a lot about his so-called friend, and he wasn¡¯t liking what he saw. Josh studied Michael for a long second. ¡°Why do you look like you¡¯ve seen a ghost? Seriously dude, it was just a cave. You look like you had a nasty fall, but honestly you only got yourself to blame for that.¡± ¡°Trust me,¡± Michael said, but his words lacked conviction this time. Then he thought about the boss goblin, and how screwed he would have been without a healing skill and food. ¡°You don¡¯t want to go in there. Can¡¯t you see all the¡­ blood¡­¡± Then his face fell. Sure, there was a little bit of blood on his clothes coming from the scratches still bleeding on his legs. But there was no trace of the battle, of the blood that had been spilled there, and his clothes were no longer torn and damaged, but simply covered in dirt and grime like he had indeed taken a bad fall. For a moment he thought that perhaps Josh was right, and he had hallucinated everything after hitting his head, but he could still feel his magic waiting to be used. ¡°Why are you holding your shoulder like that?¡± Josh demanded, ¡°did you hurt yourself that badly? Don¡¯t tell me we gotta leave the trail so soon. You should have told me it was a treacherous cave, man, I was about to go in there myself. What if I fell and hurt myself like you did? I could never.¡± ¡°I tried to tell you,¡± Michael was fuming now, thoughts of violence coming and being ignored by pure willpower. He was not a violent man, never having gotten in a fight with a person before, but Josh was making him wish he was. ¡°Well, you almost didn¡¯t try hard enough,¡± Josh complained. ¡°What if I fell and hurt myself like you did? You¡¯d have to carry me back to the car.¡± Michael¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°The car, yeah. That¡¯s a good idea.¡± ¡°What, you wanna leave now? Listen, let¡¯s put the cave and all that behind us. I¡¯ll even let you keep your shield and¡­¡± his eyes locked onto the dagger, which Michael was holding so tight his knuckles were white. Josh took a couple of steps back. ¡°What is wrong with you?¡± ¡°You are letting me keep the shield? You know what? Never mind. We are leaving.¡± Josh was about to retort, but nodded instead. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s. You don¡¯t seem too stable right now. You look like you could stab me in my sleep.¡± ¡°I lost my phone too. You lead the way.¡± Josh snorted, muttering something that sounded like a curse and a mocking comment under his breath. Michael was quite content that he couldn¡¯t make out the words because he wasn¡¯t feeling very patient today. They fell into step. Michael immediately reached into his pack and started to scarf down all the food that he had packed for the trip, gulping down copious amounts of water as well. ¡°Why are you so hungry? You¡¯ve been in there ten minutes tops, all in all. What happened in there?¡± Michael only grunted, trying to make Josh drop the matter, because he had no explanation he could give his friend as of now. A person who felt less and less like a friend the more he talked, by the way, proving to be an unpleasant presence where it mattered the most. At least Michael now knew an important thing: that time seemed to not have passed at all while he was inside. Once his hunger was sated, and he wasn¡¯t feeling woozy anymore, Michael started healing himself again. Before long, his steps were steady and his shoulder wasn¡¯t hurting as much anymore, but then his mana ran out. It wasn¡¯t too bad, he thought at first, since he would only have to wait half an hour before he had enough mana to get another significant portion of healing done. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Then he noticed something strange. The uncomfortable sensation of being out of mana, making him feel like he was missing something fundamental about himself, like gnawing hunger that could not be sated by mere food¡­ it wasn¡¯t going away. Before long, he was beginning to sweat as the itch that was a lack of mana grew in intensity without him being able to scratch it. They got to the car and drove in silence. Michael dropped Josh off--he lived along the way--and continued alone for several more miles until he reached his city. By the time he got home, his mana was the lowest it had ever been. He hadn¡¯t gained a single fraction of it back since he healed himself on the trail, unlike when he was inside the dungeon. It felt like he was suffocating. His eyes fell on the small pile of loot still sitting under a tarp in his truck, barely hidden from view. Grabbing a large bucket he used whenever he deigned to take his dirty clothes to the laundromat, he made the trip down and back up to fetch his stuff feeling like a burglar trying to hide his stolen goods. He dumped it all unceremoniously onto his bed, plopping heavily beside it with a deep sigh that came from his heart. He felt tired, weak, hollow and pissed off at his asshole of a friend. It had been a new friendship, they met online only a few weeks prior and it was one of those sorts of friends you should never go on a hike with, but Josh had been the only one willing to go with him. A grave mistake, perhaps, but what was done was done. Michael looked at his calendar. Since he was back early from the trip, he would have to resume his routine two days earlier than planned. He had karate lessons later that day, and he wasn¡¯t looking forward to that. Perhaps he could excuse himself from going due to his injury. Thinking about it made it hurt more. In order to distract himself, Michael started sorting through the loot he got from the dungeon, purposefully not thinking about whether it was a good thing that he had gotten it or not, because that thought would invite a much more unpleasant one that went along with it: whether to return there or not. His gut said to return there immediately, if only to make the sensation of being out of mana go away, but his rational mind did not agree. Then he saw the copper coins he had been rewarded with for defeating the goblin boss. His jaw dropped to the floor when he realized that they were chock-full of mana. They had so much of it in them, that it seemed to radiate off them like a sweet scent from a freshly baked pie, stimulating his magical appetite in ways that were making him feel woozy. He was upon them in moments, absorbing their mana until three of the five coins were nothing but dissolving motes of dust. A part of his mind made a note that his current mana capacity could be described as 3 Copper, while the rest of his being rejoiced at the sensation of being whole again. He immediately started healing his body, raiding his fridge when he needed to and absorbing the other two coins. In the end, he was left with 1 Copper worth of mana when his body was fully healed. That, and an empty fridge. Being at one third mana did not feel pleasant, but it was a long way from being completely out. Having an empty fridge was worse, though, considering how hungry he felt. It looked like a trip to the grocery store was in order. He was driving towards the mall mere minutes later. He had tried to procrastinate a bit, let his mind decompress, but the lack of a phone was making it rather difficult. Already, Michael was not looking forward to having to get a new number, with all the work that went into getting a brand-new phone operational and getting all his friends¡¯ numbers back. He decided he would buy a cheap phone, for now. Rent was due soon, and he barely had enough to make ends meet. He had tried to ask his boss for a little raise, just to be able to actually live rather than barely surviving, and had been rewarded by being fired. He had enough to survive a month, then he was screwed. Whatever, at least he had magic. His thoughts always gravitated around it, and he found himself at the mall in a daze. The city he lived in was small enough that he got there in ten minutes, even with his beat-up truck, having to cross most of it before coming upon the gigantic mall that had no reason to exist in a place so small and remote. But that¡¯s how malls worked. They attracted people to them, not the other way around, and already he could see hundreds of cars parked in the gargantuan parking lot slowly being baked by the early summer sun. By the time he was in the mall, he had already decided he was going to buy some supplies just in case he decided to delve the dungeon again. By the time he left, he had a new phone, a torch, and what little gear the rest of his money could buy. He already had a backpack at home, and now he could fill it with rope, food, water, batteries and¡­ a gun. He had bought a gun. Not at the mall, but on the way home. Rent was out of the window this month. By the time Michael was home, he was salivating at the thought of getting some more coins to replenish his mana, perhaps even some more skill stones. Later that night, while browsing the internet in bed on his new phone, he tried to see if there was any mention of strange things happening around that section of the Trail where he had found the dungeon. There had been some disappearances, a lot of injuries¡ªmore than the average for the rest of the trail¡ªand some stories about spirits but, frankly, nothing concrete. But then he got an idea, and he started looking up people who had had a sudden windfall soon after going on a hike. He found a few posts. From people who had found themselves on the trail, or so they had claimed. They had all come home changed, and a few of them were powerful and rich now. The latest of them had gone there more than a year ago, though. Michael simply couldn¡¯t find anything more recent, and they all talked about other parts of the Trail that he was unfamiliar with, almost as if the dungeon had decided to relocate itself after those people stopped delving in it. Well. Michael could be the next Bezos, he reckoned. Only that he would not stop delving, unlike those fools who thought some miser amount of power would suffice them. The dungeon rewarded the strong who could come on top of a hard situation, and Michael thought he had finally found the one place where his mindset truly worked. By the time he was asleep, having skipped karate class, he couldn¡¯t wait to go there again. He wondered if Sensei Stephan would miss him, his chosen one who always seemed to learn the moves before everyone else, and who got beat up for it. The next time he was going to show up, things would be different. Chapter 05 The following day saw Michael waking up earlier than usual, and by the time he would normally be having breakfast while struggling to make his brain work, he was already driving his truck back towards the section of the Trail closest to where he had found the dungeon. While there was no way to know if the dungeon was going to be there again, it would be the best place to start. With him he had generous rations, as well as rope, lights and his new gun. He had some experience shooting, at least enough of it that he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about not knowing how to handle the gun, or how to remove the safety. His aim, well, that had to be improved but as with all things in life he knew that it was practice that made perfect, and the dungeon offered a lot of it. The drive was three hours long. Long and dull enough to make his brain spin around in circles, always gravitating towards the topic of the dungeon. He was fantasticating about all the things he would do with magic, about what he would buy first once he had enough money to make ends meet, and other related things. Perhaps buying a new truck would do him good, at least for as long as it would take him to put together enough money to buy property close enough to the Trail so that he wouldn¡¯t have to go back and forth. Perhaps even on the Trail. He could become one of those Trail Angels, while also making sure nobody stumbled into the dungeon and got hurt by accident. Or gained magical powers by accident. It was hard to predict what a random person would do if they suddenly gained the power to summon fireballs. How he was going to make that money was another matter altogether, one he didn¡¯t want to think about just yet. Although his anomalous shopping spree, as well as his increased need for food might make it a necessity sooner than he had planned to. He decided to take his problems one at a time. One step at a time. Especially on the Trail. The hike from the new parking spot to the dungeon¡ªthankfully it was still there¡ªtook only three hours, bringing the total travel time to six, and only because Michael rushed on the path so fast he was almost running. In case he fell, he could heal himself with the last third of his mana, which he eventually did even though he wasn¡¯t hurt in order to refresh himself before entering the first room of the dungeon. Only a single goblin would be there to meet him anyways, more than easy enough to handle with his gun. Then he was inside. Again, there was no welcome message in the first room. Although, unexpectedly, the voice was back. ¡°Oh? He brings weapons! You think I haven¡¯t seen a pistol before, twerp? People come in here all the time to die, and you aren¡¯t different. Good luck against those.¡± Right on cue, the powerful light of the torch illuminated Michael¡¯s foes. Foes, plural. And they were not goblins. They were skeletons. Two of them. Almost six feet tall, they were made entirely out of polished bones, animated by magic that Michael could almost see with his naked eye as it radiated outwards from their bodies, only to be replenished by the mana-rich air of the dungeon. Just like he wouldn¡¯t run out of mana for more than a few minutes while in here, the skeletons would never get tired either. The door had slammed shut behind him, but unlike the last time it happened he was ready. Despite what the dungeon¡¯s voice had said, he was more than confident that his gun could take care of a couple of slow-moving skeletons. They were just bones. Indeed, the bones were not reinforced, not in the first room at least. After Michael took careful aim¡ªbut it was hard to miss a target so big as a humanoid head that moved so slow¡ªthe high-calibre bullet smashed them into powder, leaving two gigantic holes where it had entered and then left the hollow cavity of the first cranium. However, while Michael was expecting the shot skeleton to drop dead, the necromantic construct only winced at the recoil, soon after which it stabilized itself and started shambling towards him again. It was easy to walk in circles around it, but already Michael was seeing how this room could potentially be fatal. There were two enemies, and they had to be carefully herded like in a zombie video game, otherwise one could sneak up on him while he was focused on the other. Meanwhile, he also had to keep an eye on the ground. His powerful new lights allowed him to see much more than he could before with only the light of his phone, so much so that he didn''t even need to use his candlelight skill, but the ground was still treacherous. He needed to look down whenever he moved, giving the skeletons ample time to ambush him from behind. Their slow walk was not as slow as it first seemed, not when he had to split his focus in so many different directions. Then there was the problem of how to actually kill them. They didn''t seem to have any weak spots, not any that he could actually recognize. Smashing the skull of the first skeleton with a bullet had barely slowed it for a second, so what else could he do with the remaining bullets in his magazine so that they could buy him time enough to reload? He finally understood the real danger of the room, and why the voice of the dungeon was so sure he would die this time. A normal person who had never been to a dungeon before would probably panic at this point. Without a powerful gun like his, or a tool sturdy enough to break bone with, they would have to go melee against the skeletons. Then the uneven ground and the skeletons¡¯ mechanical persistence would have the best of them. Unfortunately, for the dungeon that was, he was not random people. He simply stepped back, took aim and shot at the closest skeleton¡¯s tibia. The first shot missed its target and he cursed, but he knew he was a lousy shot and adrenaline was making it harder than usual to aim. Or perhaps it was the low light, which made his vision blurry enough that he wondered whether he would need glasses soon. He knew his father wore glasses, and perhaps he had inherited the blurry vision from him, the asshole. But now was not the time to think these things. He shot again and this time the tibia exploded in a shower of splinters. The skeleton fell, its balance destroyed, and after a couple of tries it realized that it could not stand up again and started to crawl. A wicked smile came upon Michael''s face. He crippled the other skeleton much in the same way, and stepped back. Now came the truly dangerous part. The skeletons had yet to attack him, and he knew he was in danger of being lured into a false sense of safety by the sight of them crippled and crawling on the ground miserably. Still. Even if he had to smash every single one of their bones, he could just pick up a rock, walk up to them and do that. And perhaps that was the solution for the whole room given it was only just the first. Or perhaps there was a trick. He decided to smash the bones from afar by throwing rocks just to be safe. He could heal his sore muscles all he wanted, now that he had access to mana and a lot of food. If anything, all of this could be classified as a workout, making him stronger. He didn''t know for sure, but he had the feeling that healing his muscles was the same as resting, and that the proteins in his food would go there to make them stronger and bigger. Building muscle was something he had always struggled with, so he welcomed the workout. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. And then the room was cleared. The door appeared, beckoning him to the depths of the dungeon. He looked around in search of loot, and saw with great disappointment that there was none. For a moment he wondered whether he had missed it, because he knew that the dungeon would absorb its own pieces like it was doing with the skeletons, which were evaporating into motes of magic that was being reabsorbed into the dungeon itself. But no. He knew that the dungeon had to play fair according to some rules he had no idea about. Had there been no rules, then last time the dungeon could have tricked him out of the loot, but it hadn''t. There was no reason why it would start playing dirty now. Then he remembered his own mindset. He recalled how he had been trying to live his life up until now, how he tried to see things so that he wouldn¡¯t get overwhelmed by the sheer unfairness of reality. His mantra has always been all about overcoming hard challenges in order to gain power. Perhaps it had been something he told himself in order to avoid depression at his miserable life, at first, but with time he had found meaning in those words. It was just that up until now, there hadn''t been any real challenge to his life, comparatively speaking. Sure, he could stand up to lawyer guy, and receive a beating in the Dojo. He could grind at his job¡ªformer job¡ªand delay the inevitable moment when he would have to return to his parents, defeated and begging. But that would hardly be considered a challenge compared to the risk of death that he was facing in the dungeon. Heh. He almost laughed out loud at the cognitive shift that a real risk of death had forced upon his mind. His miserable life prior to the dungeon no longer seemed to miserable, simply dull and boring. Fear of death was a much hotter meal than the cold leftovers of a life at the edge of society. Death was always a real risk in the dungeon. A risk that he had mitigated up until it was almost nonexistent, using his cowardly tactic. The question was: would he be better off being cowardly, and receiving almost no loot for it¡ªhis current theory was that he had not received any loot because there had been almost no challenge to him, almost no risk to his life¡ªor should he take more risks, and gain more loot for it?
Infinity Dungeon ¨C Earth
Floor 1-2
He pondered on the question on his way to the second room. If he kept going through the dungeon without getting ways to be more powerful, he would soon meet enemies too strong for him to handle. Then no cowardly tactic could save him. In the end, he decided he would take risks now that the stakes were still low enough. It was with resolve painted on his face that he faced the next room. There were four skeletons waiting for him there, and they were taller and bigger than the ones before. He could still face them without too much danger because they were slow, allowing him to try some more risky tactics. A grin appeared on his face as he braced himself, holstered the gun and took out his shield. He bashed it against the first of the skeletons, applying his [Distortion Field] to it. For the first time since his tests, he could feel what it meant for a skill to exact a toll on his system in an instant, and he knew how a moderate mana cost felt like. It was nothing to scoff at, meaning that the skill had to be used sparingly while he kept an eye¡ªso to speak¡ªon his mana level. He could not see it as a number, of course, but he could feel how close he was to full or empty and act accordingly. The skeleton exploded in splinters and shards of bone, a conical tornado of dead matter being forced to die all over again. The grin on Michael''s face grew bigger. This was more like it. This felt right. But then the other three were upon him and he was forced to defend himself, and stop thinking. Thinking too much in a fight would cost him his life, he knew. He had learned as much against the goblins the previous day, and that knowledge had been something that no amount of training in a dojo could ever teach him. He raised his shield against a strike, retaliating but forgetting to activate the distortion field due to inexperience. Then he had to twist away, finally understanding how the skeletons were meant to hurt him. Not just by blunt force, but by reconfiguring the bones in their hands and feet so that they became sharp claws. Claws he was barely avoiding. He ditched his pack, trading the protection on his back for more mobility. With it went the dagger, useless, but not the gun, which he kept. Then the distortion field came up again. This time he used the skill after he had thrown a fist at the closest skeleton, chest height, choosing to use the skill in its bubble version, and the distortion field appeared right in the hollow space of its rib cage. The little sphere of repulsive force could not be summoned inside a solid material, but the rib cage was hollow. Then the skeleton moved just enough that its bones touched the sphere before the bubble popped. When it happened, the bones were immediately repelled outwards relative to the center of the bubble, with a force that was much bigger than it would have been if they had been hit by the shield. Probably because the surface area they were touching was smaller. Whatever was the case, the result was explosive. Michael learned the hard way how dangerous shards of bones could be. He pulled the fragment from his cheek, refusing to think about what sort of pain he would have experienced had it hit him in the eye, and rethought his approach. No more matter between him and the sphere, or he would be caught in the crossfire. He took out his gun. It might make the fight easier and reduce the amount of loot, but he felt like he had learned a lot from this room already, and he was aching for a heal. Too bad he had lost sight of one of his foes for just a moment. Thinking it wasn''t a big deal, he prepared to strike against the one in front of him and was met with a sharp pain in his back. He realized in shock that he had been stabbed by a sharp claw, ripping out a chunk of flesh from his side. And while he was dazed, shock and pain and adrenaline making his vision blurry, the skeleton in front of him managed to get past his defense. It struck his arm, going around the protection of the shield, and Michael¡¯s bones snapped as if they had been hit by a steel pipe. Then he understood. The skeletons he was facing were not constrained by muscles or tendons: they could strike as strong as they wanted, or at least as strong as their mana allowed them to. Michael screamed in pain as he rolled backwards, ignoring what the sharp stones on the floor were doing to his back. After the fight, he would have all time in the world to lick his wounds. He didn''t even heal, too much of a waste of mana now that he was quite low from repeated use of [Distortion Field], instead making use of the short window of time when the shock made the pain almost feel like it was far enough away that it wouldn''t affect him. He used his other hand, ditching the shield completely since he knew he was too weak to take another hit even with its protection, and made a repulsive bubble appear inside the closest skeleton¡¯s skull. It exploded, as if it had been touched by death itself. Then Michael turned to face the last skeleton, hesitating for a moment as he took a step back. He felt for his mana. He thought he had enough in him for another use of the skill, if barely. That was the problem about not being able to quantify mana well enough, especially not in the heat of combat. Only practice would solve this issue. Then his thoughts were cut short as the cool rock of the dungeon pressed against his back. He tried to raise his hand, but the skeleton was suddenly too fast for him to react to. His only good arm was shattered in an instant. Had it seen it coming, he could have reacted with a distortion field, blocking the blow and making the skeleton hurt itself in the process. Perhaps he could have made one appear even now, after he had been hit, and indeed he tried to do just that, but his aim was off. The skeleton stumbled for a moment, then righted itself. Michael was too inexperienced. He was not yet at the point where he could make the bubble appear on reflex, at the exact time and location in space he needed it to be. Arms useless, panting and out of mana, Michael stared at the manifestation of his own death in the face, unable to do anything about it. Chapter 06 Michael stared at death in the face, and time stretched itself until it felt as if life was nothing but a movie that he could pause at will. But even then, he knew that it was just an artifice born of a mind that knew it had to squeeze every ounce of processing power out of the meaty brain that made it, if it wanted to survive. It was during this window of time bought for him by Michael¡¯s brain chemistry that he remembered about his gun. He didn¡¯t even know how he did it, with his broken arms and all, but suddenly he was gripping it like it was his only lifeline, aiming it at the center of mass of the incoming skeleton. Three shots rocked the cave, the impact of the bullets on the far wall sending sparks flying like little secondary flashes of light. The first bullet blew through the ribs of the skeleton, but did nothing to stop it, but the second and third hit further up due to the recoil Michael¡¯s wounded arms could not manage to stop. One of the two dislocated the skeleton¡¯s shoulder and the second one beheaded it. Out of bullets, Michael jumped to his feet, heedless of the pain, and stomped on the writhing skeleton until all that was left of its bones were shards and dust. Then he collapsed right as the door to the boss room appeared, back against the cold rock that dug into his wounds, panting. Healing took a long time, time during which his panicked mind decided that it was too dangerous to continue, that he finally understood why even those who had struck gold and found the dungeon had stopped before delving too deep, and that he was a fool to think that he could be different than them. Then he saw the stack of coins that had stealthily appeared right beside him. One, two, ten, fifteen, twenty copper coins. He salivated. He could do so many things with them. He could literally turn his life around just with those twenty coins. If so, what could he do if he had more? Not just more coins, but more skills too. More magic. And, of course, he knew that if he had more magic then he needed more coins, or else it wouldn¡¯t work for long outside of the dungeon. The panic subsided. After all, his mind now told him, he had survived, had he not? This could be a learning opportunity for him, and next time he would be more careful until he found the right balance to get loot but without putting his life in unnecessary danger. He was almost convinced already, but then he saw the glow coming from below a rock. A skill stone.
Skill stone: (Common) Fast Reflexes
Use this skill stone to learn the first level of the skill: Fast Reflexes
He used it immediately.
(Common) Fast Reflexes 1
In the dance of combat, swiftness is the brushstroke of victory; with honed reflexes, I weave through the chaos, shaping destiny with every move.
  • The speed of your reflexes is increased by 10%.
Now he had no more doubts. This dungeon was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He was fully healed and still had food to spare, and his competitive spirit was burning. He felt more alive than ever. Battle had made his blood boil, adrenaline raging, and then he had been fairly rewarded for his efforts. The world was finally recognizing him his due. He could not stop now. The boss room was next. He crossed the threshold gingerly, cautiously.
Infinity Dungeon ¨C Earth
Floor 1-3
One of his floodlights was broken, and he knew that with less light he had to be careful of the dark and the dangers that lurked within. Still, he was emboldened by his victories and by the tantalizing sweetness of the rewards for a fight well fought. He was rested, his mind was sharp, he was motivated. He could do this. He had a plan, a middle ground between the excessive safety of the first room and the recklessness of the second. A huge skeleton greeted him with a roar that should have been impossible for a being without vocal chords. Air had moved, like a strong gale that rattled his teeth, but Michael had no time to contemplate the impossible before the battle started. For a moment the two enemies sized each other up, and the skeleton seemed to snarl and make faces at him even though its bones did not move at all, like a faux image one saw when there was not enough light and data to really know what you were looking at. Michael¡¯s face was a mask of concentration. He had his shield up, gun hidden behind it and fully loaded. Then the stalemate was broken when the skeleton lunged at him with a wild haymaker, and the blow was mighty enough that Michael decided to dodge it rather than taking it with his shield. He found it easier than expected, his new passive skill already paying dividends. For a while all he did was dance around the danger, dodging, learning the fighting style of the skeleton, predicting its patterns. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Then came a blow he could not dodge. With a sharp breath, he readied himself, feeling the mana drain from him to empower his shield with [Distortion Field], repelling the gigantic fist that was descending upon him. He felt the blow rattle his bones, arms aching, but he was fine. The skeleton too, unfortunately. It had not shattered from the blow, its bones too resistant. It was time to change things around. The skeleton was getting faster, its enormous bulk digging holes in the fortunately smooth stone of the ground as it moved, rage mounting, and it was only a matter of time before Michael would become unable to dodge a fatal blow. ¡°I¡¯ve trained my reflexes enough,¡± Michael muttered, throwing himself to the ground and finally showing his trump card. He made use of his window of opportunity to take aim with his gun, shooting at the bony knee of the monster, shattering calcified cartilage. The monster staggered for a moment, and Michael used the opportunity to advance with his own shield like a battering ram, changing the angle of attack at the last second and transforming all his momentum into upwards force. He swung the shield in an arc, [Distortion Field] active, hitting the monster¡¯s right arm like a tennis ball being hit by a powerful player. The hand flew, along with several fragments of shattered bone that further broke apart when they hit the far wall with incredible speed. Even though Michael felt the drain of the skill, he knew he had to press his advantage. His foe was unbalanced, trying to right itself now that its weight had suddenly been redistributed by a powerful force. He activated his skill¡­ only for it to fail. Michael blanched, jumping away from a savage kick that still managed to nick him in the leg and draw blood. Now he was on the defensive. He grit his teeth, letting go of his gun in an unplanned move that was however very necessary, and thrust his hand into his pocket where the copper coins clinked like a lifesaving weight. He absorbed five of them, topping off his mana, and brought his shield to bear again. With [Distortion Field], the punch from the monster only felt like he had been hit by a truck, but it did not break bone. It pushed him against the edge of the room, where the cold unfeeling stone of the wall pressed against his back. With restricted movement, it was a very dangerous position to find himself in, and the skeleton was suddenly much faster than before, charging at him. That¡¯s when a nasty idea came to his mind. A wicked smile appeared on his face at the same time, and his shield glimmered with the repulsion effect of his magic skill. This was going to be dangerous. He planted his feet against the wall, and pushed. He flew up, gaining his footing and breaking into a mad run, shield held up high with both of his hands, glimmering. Then the collision. The impact was violent. He didn¡¯t know where or when he had hit the skeleton, but he felt something give and then he was tumbling on the ground, both arms broken, body battered and bruised. Around him, a shower of pieces of white bone slowly being dissolved into raw mana. Then the sound of the wall opening up, and the light from the outside filtering in lit the cave with a much brighter light than the electric floodlights Michael had bought and taken with him. It was only after he was all healed up that Michael went to see what he had gained from this battle. He was hungry, but he could eat later. The spoils of war had been calling to him while he had been healing, and he could not resist their call anymore. A message was also blinking in his vision, beckoning for his attention.
Skill Level up!
[Distortion Field] reaches level 3 and gains the ability to Shield Bash enemies once per fight.
A third effect had been added to the skill, the magical ability evolving to accommodate the novel way in which Michael had used it.
(Common) Distortion Field 3
Like a sturdy bamboo shield, may my resolve deflect the arrows of adversity, standing firm amidst the storms of fate.
  • Activate to immediately conjure a small, short-lived region of distorted space-time close to your body, which will act as a localized repulsion field for any incoming physical attack.
  • Can be used to infuse a shield with a weaker version of the effect, which will last until the energy is spent.
  • The infused shield will have improved durability and gain the ability to cast Shield Bash once per fight.
Moderate mana cost per activation.
He grinned. Already, he was seeing huge gains. Not only that, but with all the physical effort and healing, he felt stronger and faster than ever before. It had not occurred to him before, but all the little aches and pains he always felt in his body were gone too, thanks to his healing bringing him to top form. In that moment, he truly felt better than he had ever felt in his life. Then he went over the spoils. More coins, thirty of them, bringing the total to forty-five. Not exactly what he wanted to see, but fair enough that he couldn¡¯t really complain. Buried under the coins he also found a small metal bar, shining silver and not too heavy. He had never handled silver himself, and for all he knew it could be aluminium or some alien metal just as easily, but if he was lucky, then perhaps the small bar was indeed silver and could prove to be a life saver for his broke ass. There was a pawn shop on the way back home, he remembered seeing it while driving. They will surely try to rip me off, but pawn shops rarely ask too many questions. He could get the bar appraised and sold in a couple hours, and be relatively sure that he wasn¡¯t going to attract too much attention to himself. Besides, it¡¯s 200 miles away from where I live, and only one hour drive from the Trail. Perfect spot. Even if they decide to investigate my identity, what are they going to find? Just walk in, give the bar, take the money, walk out. Be confident, and don¡¯t talk too much. It¡¯s mental training, overcoming hard odds, growing stronger. He parked. Old Dave¡¯s Pawn Shop had a broken sign, neon light flickering in the darkening light of the late summer day. Michael took a deep breath, gripping the bar in his right pocket and the feeling the few coins he had stashed in his left pocket as insurance¡ªon top of his topped-off mana. Showtime. He told himself, but why do I feel like a damn thief? Chapter 07 The wooden door clinked as it welcomed Michael into the dusty air of the pawn shop. This late, near closing time, there were no other customers in the cluttered warehouse that housed the many knick-knacks and assorted things they bought and sold daily. The counter looked far away, a long slab of solid wood and glass display cases, where the more valuable and enticing things were kept visible. It was mostly hidden by rows upon rows of old clothes and assorted memorabilia. Things that once belonged in homes, memories stored on shelves that had fallen on harder times than the families who had been forced to sell them to make ends meet. Am I not the same? Michael wondered, and perhaps had he not received the silver bar, he would have considered selling some of his meagre belongings so that he could keep delving the dungeon a bit longer. Magic was just that enticing, especially with the promise that one day he could get just the right skill to turn his life around. I could already do that with the healing skill, now that I think about it. But I would need to be very careful, if it gets out to the public I¡¯m pretty much screwed. Weaving thought the cluttered space, careful not to breathe in the clouds of dust that came from the older clothes haphazardly thrown on ill-fitting mannequins and battered hangers, he made his way to the old man who had been watching him since he set foot inside the warehouse. The lights were dim, powerful white floodlights affixed to the ceiling too far up to really work in the dusty air, but at least close to the counter where the real deals were made, there were warmer and more pleasant lights to make the atmosphere feel less oppressive. A diminutive window showed the setting sun, surrounded by corrugated metal painted blue, a reminder that it was way past dinner time and Michael was famished. Don¡¯t they say that one should never close deals while hungry? There¡¯s a diner close by. Let¡¯s get this over with quickly. He took out the silver bar from his pocket without uttering a word, half because he didn¡¯t know what to say to an old man working in a pawn shop¡ªpresumably the owner too¡ªand secondly because he didn¡¯t want to show just how out of place he felt. The man studied him for a moment, before turning his attention to the bar and humming. ¡°This is an interesting piece. What do you want to do with it, kid?¡± The man¡¯s voice was surprisingly clean, for someone with so many wrinkles Michael had assumed he smoked three packs a day, but perhaps he had assumed wrong. ¡°I need cash, quickly. How much for this?¡± He asked, speaking a little too quickly. A twinkle appeared in the man¡¯s face. ¡°We can work out a deal. I¡¯m Old Dave, by the way.¡± He offered a meaty hand. He was not a fat guy by any means, but he was tall and full enough that Michael had wondered whether they had a raised platform behind the counter he could not see, but seeing how large his hand was, he was reconsidering it. ¡°Michael,¡± he said as they shook. ¡°Let me call my buddy Mustang. Get this beauty appraised for you, shall we?¡± At Michael¡¯s nod, Old Dave yelled something barely intelligible. A man soon joined them, letting the door to an unseen office slam shut behind him, sending a vortex of air to ruffle the old clothes back in the warehouse part of the pawn shop. The man was large, almost larger than he was tall, and Michael had the confirmation that indeed there was no raised platform behind the counter, simply Old Dave was very tall for an old man. Michal himself was slightly over six feet, but the old man had to be nearing seven. Perhaps he¡¯s a retired basketball player. The large guy, Mustang, muttered and hummed while he studied the bar with several instruments. Most of his verifications were by means of the ¡°old reliable human eye,¡± as he put it while he examined the bar under many magnifying lenses. Sure enough, though, soon Michael heard what he wanted to hear. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± Old Dave¡¯s mask of composure was broken for the tiniest of moments, almost imperceptible to the conscious mind. ¡°It¡¯s almost pure silver, man. That¡¯s uh¡­ rare, if you want to call it that.¡± There was a second meaning implied there. He thinks I stole it. But this is a dusty pawn shop, they don¡¯t care. Michael just shrugged. ¡°Does rare mean it¡¯s valuable, then?¡± The old man chuckled at that. ¡°200 bucks. The market for silver is shit, but we know people who know people, and can place it. Don¡¯t expect to buy it back, though.¡± Michael thought about it for a moment, debating with himself whether to haggle over the money or not. In the end, he chose to try and raise some more cash, even though the difference was bound to be laughable, with the secondary objective of laying the groundwork for future deals. If the dungeon keeps throwing valuables at me, I need to build a good relationship with the guys who can take them from me and give me cash, no questions asked. I need to show them I¡¯m no pushover. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°220 and I come back here when I have other¡­ valuables to sell.¡± He said. Old Dave thought about it for a moment, or at least he pretended to, making a show of it in a practiced way that really screamed he was the owner of the place. ¡°Tough sell kid. I haven¡¯t seen you here before, how do I know? How about 210. Most I can do for a stranger, if you get my drift.¡± He paused for a long moment. ¡°For a friend, however, then we can get talking. You say you have more stuff? Bring it to me, and we¡¯ll see if we can be friends.¡± With that, Old Dave grinned, a single golden tooth glinting in the sterile light coming from the ceiling lamps. The other, warmer lights cast shadows on his wrinkled face, making him appear ominous, like a devil willing to purchase a soul. Michael¡¯s hands went to his left pocket, where the copper coins were like a reassuring weight, with their smooth texture and their powerful mana presence. They calmed his nerves a bit, enough that he met Old Dave¡¯s steady gaze with a grin of his own. ¡°Deal,¡± he said. They shook hands again. Old Dave gave him the money, then seemed to ponder over something for a while, long enough to pique Michael¡¯s curiosity and make him resist the urge to just leave immediately. Once the old man saw that he was hooked, he nodded theatrically at him, buttering him up with words. ¡°You have a nice grip, kid. Strong hands, calloused. I can see you know how to use your body well. And you¡¯re tall. You need money, don¡¯t you? Walking all shady and shit in here with a bar of silver.¡± He paused, studying Michael¡¯s face, who was in turn struggling to hide any reaction. ¡°Listen. How about you spend that cash I gave you to buy some meat, hit the gym and put some more muscles on those shoulders? I might be able to get you some jobs around here. There¡¯s clubs and¡­ other stuff, but that¡¯s for later. Clubs, I know the owners. You interested, perhaps?¡± Michael thought about it for a moment, or at least he made a show of it. ¡°I might be.¡± The old man chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s an odd look on your face right there. Almost¡­ eager. You have the itch, don¡¯t you? Your hands itch for a face to slap sometimes. I get you. And those torn clothes. Perhaps you might even enjoy the work we can give you. If you prove you can be trusted. You know how to fight, clearly, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I know karate, and I have good reflexes.¡± ¡°And more you are not telling. It¡¯s fine, kid. Not my place to pry. Alright then. Hit the gym. You are tall, but you aren¡¯t big enough to scare people off, you know? People in this sort of work need¡­ presence.¡± He squinted at him, and Micheal had the impression that perhaps this old man was seeing more than he let on, as if he perhaps knew. But that¡¯s impossible, isn¡¯t it? Except it wasn¡¯t, Michael realized. Perhaps the man knew he had magic. Perhaps that¡¯s what he was implying. Realizing he was going on paranoid tangents, Michael refocused on what the old man was saying. ¡°You don¡¯t have presence yet, kid, no need to make sour faces. It¡¯s just the truth. In the meantime, build some trust with this old man here, show me I didn¡¯t misjudge you. Bring me whatever stuff you can get your hands on, and I¡¯ll personally deal with it, no questions asked, nobody will ever know it¡¯s you.¡± And with that, the deal was concluded. Michael walked out $210 richer, enough to put a damper on his mounting monetary worries, but with a lot of things on his mind for the rest of the drive home. He snacked on what little was left of his supplies in his pack on the way home, right hand often crawling to where he had stored the bulk of the copper coins in his pack, feeling their reassuring presence and calming his mind. *** ¡°Do you think he¡¯ll do it?¡± Mustang asked. He had waddled back out of his stinking office, mildly ruining Old Dave¡¯s mood, but he was the best appraiser he could get his hands on, so he stayed quiet and turned up the air whenever Mustang passed by with his greasy stink. ¡°Dunno, maybe.¡± Old Dave said noncommittally. ¡°There was something different about him, hard to tell what, though.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been asking every tall kid you see, none have come back for it so far. What makes you think he¡¯ll do it?¡± Old Dave shrugged, and not for the first time. He usually did whenever Mustang confronted him about the topic, but this time he did not treat his employee with silence afterwards, instead choosing to elaborate. ¡°He said he¡¯ll come back for more. Makes it easier to work him, little by little. Plus, as I said, I have a hunch.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t look like he needed much work, to be fair,¡± Mustang conceded. ¡°That¡¯s true enough. He is doing shady work already, the difference is that we are professionals. I am, anyway, you just appraise things.¡± He paused, waiting for a retort that did not come. Satisfied that Mustang finally understood his place, if anything due to rote repetition, he went on. ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s bad work either.¡± ¡°Bodyguard stuff, right?¡± ¡°More or less,¡± Old Dave said. ¡°Is it legal, though?¡± ¡°It is legal. I mean, it would be if I didn¡¯t pay him cash with no insurance. I reckon it¡¯s legal enough, and he doesn¡¯t look like he cares about that sort of stuff, so long as they pay is good.¡± ¡°Speaking of: that bar of silver.¡± Mustang said inquisitively. ¡°Silver might not be worth much, but that purity was something I¡¯ve never seen before. Hard to tell without proper equipment,¡± he shot him a look, ¡°but still. What do you think, he went to raid some of the villas by the mountains? Opened up their safe?¡± Old Dave hummed. ¡°Close to the Trail? Perhaps. He didn¡¯t look like a house robber, but his clothes¡­¡± ¡°Roughed up good. But I did see he was wearing trekking shoes.¡± Old Dave nodded. ¡°Makes sense. Find an isolated house. Holiday house of some rich fuck, burglarize it till it¡¯s clean.¡± ¡°Then why only bring us a single bar?¡± ¡°Emergency money. He didn¡¯t want to tip his hand, give proof he¡¯s doing illegal stuff. He needed the money though, and it was a way to test us, if we whined about it or not.¡± Old Dave said. His gut feeling only intensified the more he thought about it, old instincts kicking in, as well as newer instincts honed by years owning a pawn shop. ¡°Think he¡¯ll come back?¡± ¡°Come on.¡± The old man laughed. ¡°Shady pawn shop. We asked him almost no questions. Gave him a little extra. He basically promised to return. Besides, with me talking about the possible job? He¡¯s hooked.¡± ¡°Damn boss. You read him like a book.¡± ¡°No,¡± he shook his head. ¡°It was all instinct. Gut. You¡¯ll get there, if you ever want to inherit this shit shop from me when I finally bite it.¡± Of course, he didn¡¯t mean it, not really. He cared little for what happened when he finally died, but he needed to butter up fat Mustang, so he worked harder without asking for more pay. After all, every cent counted. Chapter 08 The next day was a day off from delving. Michael needed to unwind, if anything, and being exposed to dangerous and potentially life-threatening situations every day was not healthy even with all the possible gains factored in. Especially since it might, and probably would, expose him to even more risks during his delves, which in turn would make each run much more dangerous. The morning began with a quick burst of healing to get rid of any stiffness from sleep, and some stretching. Then a delivery boy arrived, delivering two large bags of bulking powder Michael had ordered online with express delivery the night before. He got back home with a smile, carrying the bags filled with precious nutrients. The real fun begins now. He was not an expert on the sorts of exercises one could do at home, but a quick search on YouTube revealed loads upon loads of calisthenics training plans, ranging from beginner to advanced, targeting every muscle without the need to hit the gym and pay for a membership. All he needed was the floor, something he could use as a pull up bar¡ªand the railing of the second floor¡¯s balcony above him was perfect for that¡ªand patience. Well, if I didn¡¯t have cheat skill, that is. With healing, he didn¡¯t need to be patient. The problem with bodyweight training was that it built muscles slower than using the machines at the gym, while at the same time allowing for more balance in the body. A problem easily fixable with healing and a lot of bulking powder. Micheal quickly began going through the beginner exercises: push-ups, jumping and negative pull-ups, dips using two chairs to support his weight, abs, squats and all the basic movements to get him accustomed to his new training routine. The first set was horrible, legs being his only saving grace due to his passion for hiking, and even then the squats finally got to him before he even reached fifty. But it was no problem. Writing down the sets and reps for future reference, he activated [Healing Aura] with a grin. A copper worth of mana well spent. Absorbing one coin to replenish his mana back to full, he repeated the same exercises all over again and compared the numbers. Nice. It would be even easier to tell how much I improved if I had an appraisal skill or a status or something. Hell, I wish I could level up like in video games, not just have skills. The gains were not impressive, but they were enough to put a smile to his face. The skill was working as intended, allowing him to train again as if he had spent a whole day resting and was perfectly refreshed, with his muscles and tendons conditioned by the single workout session. His squats had gone up by five, his negative pull-ups by two, and his push-ups by three. No gains in doing dips, but he felt much less pain and his form was better, which was good. Another advantage of having a healing skill? I can be a little less strict with the form. Even if he got injured, or he pulled a muscle, all it would take were a few seconds of healing and he would be back in proper form. After all, his skill was able to mend broken bones if given enough time, anything short of that was easy work. The morning passed quickly, the euphoria of gaining literal levels of physical fitness making time pass by in a blaze. By lunchtime, Michael had burned through most of his bulking powder, painful as it was to see more than a hundred dollars of dehydrated food disappear in a day. He had moved from beginner to intermediate exercises and then to advanced level ones, but had stopped before he went too far. It was summer, and already his body looked much more ripped and his muscles bulkier, and even thought he barely interacted with anyone, people were bound to notice if he overdid it. Still, he could now do things he couldn¡¯t even dream of doing even a few hours before, and he felt strong. It¡¯s a great feeling. People who don¡¯t work out have no idea how much better it feels to be strong and flexible. Indeed, he had not skipped the mobility and flexibility part of working out, his healing skill allowing him to push through the pain without worrying about tearing his muscles if he went too far. Which he did, more than once, but it had never been more than a mild annoyance. By lunchtime, he was twenty pounds heavier, but also much leaner, and his stash of 45 coins had been reduced to 30. Worth it. It wasn¡¯t the only gain. He had also gained some knowledge about magic. His total capacity was now 7 Copper. It had grown from between 5 and 6 Copper to 7 in the span of a single morning of use. I spent fifteen coins to increase my total capacity by roughly one and a half Copper. I would like to experiment some more, but I don¡¯t want to get my stash of coins too low. In the end, he spent another ten coins experimenting. He was left perplexed though, and almost wished he hadn¡¯t wasted the ten coins like that, because now his mana had not grown by any noticeable amount, and he was very confused as to why it had happened. Usage meant growth, but only if some conditions were met, and with only 20 coins left he could not really afford to play scientist anymore, a thing that irritated him quite a lot. He forced himself to drop the matter and cook a nutritious meal for himself to further fuel his muscle growth. Today was a bit of an aberrant day, and he would need to really dial down the amount of cheaty training he did every day to more normal levels. It was fine if people thought he was on gear, but any more than that and he would attract attention he was not ready to deal with. Two rounds of healing and training every morning, plus bulking powder. It should make me grow in strength at about four times the speed of a normal athlete without it being too evident. He also knew that he would soon hit plateaus in his growth. Especially with the size of his muscles and his weight, but he was fine with it. He didn¡¯t want to be a walking giant. It¡¯s going to be a long time before I hit those kinds of walls, though. Before today, his only redeeming quality was his height. He was skinny-fat, with only average strength and much work to do. Even after a whole morning spent bulking, he was only at the level of someone who had been going to the gym for a year, tops. Later that evening, it was finally time to show up at the karate dojo for class. After having skipped training last time, Michael failed to come up with an excuse not to go, despite knowing that he was in for an unpleasant experience. He was a bit frustrated with it, not just because the atmosphere was getting toxic around him due to lawyer-guy and the others, but also because fighting with the skeletons had shown him that unarmed hand-to-hand combat arts like karate had very serious and, frankly, stifling limits. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. At the same time, he was just a beginner at it, and his dojo was inexplicably cheap at only $40 a month for three classes a week. Not going would be folly, at least for now, and any training overseen by a professional was better than just watching YouTube videos. ¡°We are going to practice Seichin kata today,¡± Sensei Stephan said, after the customary half hour of warm-ups and preliminary exercises. There were not many people at the dojo today: the sensei, Michael, Phillip¡ªthe lawyer¡ªMarc and his wife Charlotte. They had brought their twins too, and the two girls were mewling on their stroller just outside the training room, watching videos on their phones at ludicrous volumes. When Phillip had asked Marc, with little tact as was usual for him, to take away the phones since they was distracting the class, all he got back was a shrug, leaving the man fuming. Not the best start for the day. Michael thought as he got in row with the others. He was about to open his mouth to ask a question to his sensei, but the man beat him to it. ¡°You too, Michael. You learned Kanshu already, but you¡¯re the chosen one, if you want to inherit this dojo the least you can do is learn forms ahead of time, right?¡± There was a snicker coming from the far end of the room, where Phillip was standing at attention. They were in order of rank, with Phillip being the highest after sensei Stephan, then Marc and his wife and lastly Michael, who was still a white belt. ¡°Yes, sensei.¡± Micheal replied. Already he was feeling a headache coming. ¡°You three, start practicing,¡± the sensei said, ¡°while I show him the moves. Then, we shall go over it together.¡± It did not take much time at all for Michael to learn the new kata. The moves were many and fairly complex, but he had always had a knack for it even though his heart had never been into it, and now it felt easier than ever. Perhaps it was because he now had real life experience, and could easily imagine how some moves could be used to hurt goblins or defend himself from a strike coming at him. It was harder if he imagined skeletons, of course, but he could really see how it would be effective against a goblin. In the end, he surprised even himself with the speed with which he learned the kata, and soon after they were practicing all together, with the sensei singing his praises. ¡°See? I told you all he¡¯s the chosen one. 8th kyu and already knows Seichin better than some people here. If only you all could be as good as him.¡± Then he looked at Michael, half-jokingly, ¡°I¡¯ll leave the dojo to you when I retire.¡± It was only playful banter. Michael was actually friends with the sensei, having helped the much older man with moving some furniture and having met his family. The others all knew each other and the sensei as well, all of them roughly of the same age of around forty, but they didn¡¯t really see the much younger Michael as part of their friend group. Some of them had been stuck and unable to progress for a while, be it because their private life made it hard for them to reach the required number of hours to be eligible to take the exam to progress, or because they failed when presented with Master Taiko¡¯s ruthless examination. ¡°But of course,¡± said Phillip in a mellow, sickly-sweet tone that hid a sadistic grin, ¡°after all, he even has Taiko¡¯s blessing, doesn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Oh yeah!¡± Stephan said enthusiastically, heedless of the true meaning of his old acquaintance¡¯s words, ¡°he even got the certificate autographed. It was the first time Taiko personally insisted someone skip a belt. Straight from 10th kyu to the 8th. Truly the chosen one.¡± There were laughs, but of them all, only Stephan¡¯s was one of true mirth. The others were mere facades. And why would they not be? They have all been training for much longer than me, and even though I literally spit in the face of this dojo, skip exams, skip the extra training days they all struggle to fit into their schedule, I am still bound to overtake them sooner or later. It wasn¡¯t intentional, it was just that he was good at it, and only getting better. They practiced in silence, the only voice being the sensei¡¯s botched Japanese counting numbers as they moved almost in unison. Michael messed up a couple of times, but as the saying went: practice makes perfect, and they took that to heart, doing the kata more than forty times before the sensei was satisfied. There was a brief pause after that, during which Michael heard lawyer-guy ask the sensei if they were going to do 1-on-1 spars today. There was an eagerness to his voice, and for a moment Michael hoped that they would indeed do the spars today, a sadistic desire matching that of Phillip rising within him. But he held his tongue, knowing that even though if he asked for it perhaps he could have swayed the sensei, he wasn¡¯t yet ready for it and would have received a beating like usual. ¡°Not today. Today is conditioning day.¡± ¡°Even better,¡± lawyer-guy said with a grin. Indeed, it¡¯s better. No matter how I would have liked to beat the prick up, I don¡¯t really have much more on me than I did before, although the gi hides my new muscles. I doubt they would be enough anyway. But conditioning? I can have some fun with that. He decided not to do anything drastic just yet. Conditioning was about hitting each other to get used to the pain, and to make their forearms, legs and abs stronger by hitting them like the Japanese supposedly do in Okinawa. Only that today Michael wouldn¡¯t just take the hits, he would take them and then heal himself. Healing a bruise didn¡¯t take much mana or energy, and he was topped off. 7 Copper worth of mana were overkill. Then he would hit back. Of the two, it would be lawyer guy who went home bruised today. As for Michael, every time he got hit and healed, he would learn to handle the pain a bit better. The healed part of his body would come back stronger and more conditioned. Lawyer-guy didn¡¯t know, but he was just another obstacle to overcome, making Michael stronger. ¡°Okay. Form rows! And¡­ bow! Good. Now, ten minutes of body conditioning drills then you can go. Micheal, you go with Phillip today.¡± They bowed to each other, then the real fun began, if one can call it that. Shit, he hits like a smith today, harder than usual. He did not miss the slight grin on the man¡¯s face every time he winced under his savage blows. This was not conditioning, this was tenderizing his arms and legs. However, he had 7 full Copper worth of mana hidden within his body, somewhere not even he could see, and a healing skill. Careful to only designate himself as an ally to be healed, he slowly trickled mana into the skill, and a grin matching Phillip¡¯s appeared on his face. Each blow there was pain, but then the healing kicked in, and he could feel his arms and legs growing tougher, his bones denser and his ligaments and muscles more conditioned. ¡°What¡¯s got into you today, chosen one?¡± Phillip taunted him, ¡°you learned to like the pain perhaps? Why don¡¯t you ask me to go gentler on you like you usually do?¡± Michael only smiled, which made the lawyer-guy only hit harder. ¡°I realized just how useful this training is for me. And here I thought you were doing it because you liked hurting me!¡± He tanked a blow that should have rocked him, barely flinching, his skill immediately fixing all the damage and pain. ¡°You put some muscle on your frame, skinny boy. That¡¯s good. Means I can hit harder.¡± Michael only nodded. Five minutes had passed, and he had barely used a single Copper worth of mana. This was nothing compared to the goblins and the skeletons, the feeling of his bones breaking and his flesh rending. In fact, this was free training. ¡°Do it,¡± he said. ¡°Hard as you can.¡± This is already a victory. But I want more. I put on some muscle, yes, but my punches aren¡¯t really all that stronger than they were before. I wonder if there¡¯s a skill stone to help with that. Still, Michael went home with a smile on his face and, for the first time since he got on lawyer-guy¡¯s bad side, no bruises. Quite the good day, enough that he felt primed and ready to challenge the dungeon again tomorrow, first thing in the morning. After my stretches and daily training of course. Speaking of, I need to order more bulk powder. Chapter 09 Michael woke up, worked out, ate, stretched and was in his truck in less than thirty minutes. The drive back to the Trail was uneventful, as usual, driving across flat terrain with the truck¡¯s old AC working overtime to compensate for the oppressive summer heat. On the way there, Michael had plenty of time to think, having decided not to put on any music or listen to any podcast so that his mind could be sharper and less tired while fighting later. Thinking led to many considerations, thoughts about how his mana grew and why, about his skills, about how to improve his forms and his chances in the dungeon, and about what to do with his life. His thoughts went to his family and old college friends, from before he was forced to drop out and disappear from the face of his town with his tail between his legs. Perhaps one day he could come back, to his parents and especially to his sister, no longer a defeated man but a self-made man, the true American dream even though America these days had long run out of dreams to give to its people. With magic, it could be different, but a whole set of dangers that were alien to him even a week ago had appeared on the horizon, going from the risk of becoming the first vivisection experiment in the last decade (he hoped), to being abducted by the CIA, to even just being outed as a freak and becoming unable to live life to his terms anymore. All real dangers, and he didn¡¯t even know whether there were others like him or not, which if it was the case would add even more worries to his plate. He forced his mind to more pleasant shores. Thinking about karate from yesterday, he realised that his [Fast Reflexes] skill only enhanced his body¡¯s natural reactions, the so-called lizard brain reflexes, and did not do anything to speed up thoughts or the way he processed information outside of danger and automated reactions. It made sense, in a way, although he was a little disappointed with that. He still thought he could make this faster reaction speed work with [Distortion Field], provided he could find a way to somehow make the use of the latter skill a learned reflex and therefore automatic. Then it would benefit from the faster reflexes, possibly saving his life. A plan quickly formed in his mind: he would clear the first room and then remain there for as long as possible, making use of the fact that time did not flow outside the dungeon at the same speed as it did inside, and that the plentiful mana regeneration of even the first room would allow him to train almost indefinitely if he took rests. Certainly, he had no intention of spending coins, but he had of course brought them all with him in case he needed a quick boost to his magic. When he finally arrived he saw that there was another car he had never seen before, parked at his usual spot close to the Trail where he hiked to the dungeon. It was the first time he had seen anyone here, as the spot was quite secluded and not well-known. He himself had only found it after a long session of Google Maps, searching for the best place to park his truck to access the dungeon as quickly as possible. Oh well. It¡¯s summer, there must be a lot of people walking the trail. It¡¯s inevitable that I will meet people on the way there. A quick hike that still felt interminably long, and he was in the dungeon once again. His lights were up and ready, more and more powerful than before, and he felt ready for a fight. It¡¯s goblins again. But it¡¯s not one¡­ not two¡­ shit, it¡¯s three of them this time. The dungeon upped the danger again! Third delve, three times the enemies. He quickly scattered the lights across the room, throwing them to the far corners. He had reinforced them with rubber so that they would not break, learning from his earlier mistakes and improving his gear accordingly. The room was soon lit up to almost daylight, and the dance began. Michael still had his gun, but this time it was resting its comfortable weight in its holster. Instead, his equipment was dagger and shield, and he was determined to clear the room with only those two items. In fact, he wanted to favour the dagger as much as possible and only use the shield if he really needed it, hoping to never have to use [Distortion Field], at least for the first fight. He had watched some videos, and had an idea how to use the dagger, but nothing beat real world practice and the dungeon was sure to reward his strategy with more loot. The closest goblin had reached him by the time Michael was ready, and tried to punch him in the face. Despite there being more of them, their moves were still slow and telegraphed, and Michael easily blocked the blow with his forearm. The block came even better than he had hoped, thanks to him working out and even more so thanks to his conditioning. He felt something give, and retaliated immediately while the goblin was still reeling with pain with a quick stab to its neck, nicking arteries and rending flesh with the dagger¡¯s pristine edge, drawing foul blood. The goblin howled in pain, but soon the blood loss was too much and it stumbled to the ground, slowly bleeding out. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Michael turned its attention to the other two goblins, and an idea came to mind. He would only kill one of them, keeping the other for his training. Thus, he had to be careful as he danced around them, but he was nimbler and quicker on his feet than he had ever been, topped off with magic and well-rested, and it was much easier work than he thought it would be. Still, using a dagger was not easy. There were not many openings to stab at the goblin due to the short reach of the weapon and Michael¡¯s lack of experience. He mostly held it in a reverse grip, slashing whenever he bought himself an opening either with a block or with his shield. The goblin he chose to kill was racking up injuries that oozed dark and foul blood, but it was not going down, most of the cuts too shallow to kill it, forcing the dance to continue for much longer than Michael had intended. The other goblin was also unharmed and dangerous, although it did feel much less dangerous than the first time around, knowing that the worst it could do was break a bone that would take a few minutes and some mana to heal. True, the pain was bad, but it was not a life-threatening thing. Five minutes later the second goblin fell. Micheal healed himself then, feeling the exhaustion of a long battle starting to diminish his ability to fight. Then he discarded the dagger and shield and, while still carefully keeping a distance from the goblin, took a deep breath. The goblin was by no means a shambling zombie, instead able to walk on the uneven terrain as if it was flat, but it was not very fast and Michael had gotten used to the terrain himself, almost to the point where he felt he was no longer at a disadvantage. Being taller than the monster allowed him to keep it at a distance by just walking, and he knew he could take his time to study his enemy. It¡¯s no use wasting any more time, he thought after he gathered his wits. This is going to hurt. He did the unthinkable. He walked right at the goblin, entering strike range with his hands down to his side as if he had no intention of defending himself. Which he didn¡¯t, at least not with his arms. The goblin, all too eager to follow along with his suicide plan, swung at him, clocking him square in the chest. Moments later, but definitely too late, a small swirling orb of dark energies appeared and popped like a soap bubble. Despite having gotten the wind almost knocked out of him, and he had to thank Phillip and his conditioning sessions otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have been able to tank the hit at all, Michael stepped back and healed himself before he could be clobbered to death. Clearly too slow. Then he did it again. This time he was hit in the face. It hurt, a lot. Then again. This time he managed to stop the punch with one of his bubbles, but the aim was off and the punch was repelled upwards, hitting Michael in the chin. I think it broke something. Perhaps a tooth. It took a while to heal from that. All while walking in circles around the goblin, keeping his distance. But this is good training. It went on for hours. It was only when Michael saw that his portable lights were getting low on battery did he stop. He pulled out his gun, exhausted, and executed the goblin before slumping down on the ground. He held in a bitter laugh when he saw the meagre loot the dungeon offered him: five copper coins. Deserved, for making it waste its time. Still, the training paid off. He was not yet at the point where he could cast the sphere unconsciously, but the skill was starting to benefit from his enhanced reflexes, becoming faster to cast and easier to direct. His brain had gotten used to it, and it almost always appeared right where it was needed rather than being off by some margin, reducing the amount of conscious thought needed to summon the sphere to almost nothing. Almost. Next time I¡¯ll get it to zero. A true reflex. But for now, five minutes of happiness for my gains. There had been a message, towards the end of the training session, which had been very welcome. Compared to making the [Distortion Field] an almost automated reflex, this was perhaps even better, although it was hard to say.
Skill Level up!
[Fast Reflexes] reaches level 2. The bonus increases to 20%.
It was a while before Michael felt ready to challenge the second room. That¡¯s the downside of training so hard in the first room. Now I can¡¯t wait to go home and take a long bath. Resolving himself to finish this off as quickly as possible, even at the cost of getting less loot, he crossed the threshold to the second room and was greeted by the usual message.
Infinity Dungeon ¨C Earth
Floor 1-2
This time there were six of them. Not fun, but not yet bad enough that I need to pull my gun. Still, he resolved himself to clear the room as quickly as possible with every other tool he had. Using his shield, the distortion field and the dagger, it was only a couple of minutes before he finished off the last remaining goblin with a very satisfying [Shield Bash], courtesy of the third level of [Distortion Field]. Using the skill felt strange, as if an invisible force picked him up and propelled him against the goblin, shield first. But seeing the monster take off flying and splatter against the wall before disappearing in motes of mana had been satisfying. The loot wasn¡¯t bad either. Probably a reward for being quick, or at least quicker than I was before. He thought, stifling a laugh as he imagined the disembodied voice of the dungeon being forced to suffer through all the many boring hours of him walking around the single goblin in the first room. 20 Copper and a clearly non-magical coin. Looks roman, could be Greek? Old Dave will like it. Well then, onto the boss room we go. Chapter 10 As he crossed the threshold to the boss room, Michael was forced to take a deep breath to stop the rising panic from paralyzing him. Knowing that the danger had been upped was a thing, seeing three gigantic goblins, veritable mountains of muscle and spittle and fangs, all roar at him at the same time was another. He didn¡¯t have time to think. They immediately started charging at him, all three of them at the same time, aiming for the same spot. His battle senses, still vestigial as they were, kicked in and he rolled to the side and sprang to his feet in a flourish. Behind him, the spot where he was in exploded in a cloud of dust and tangled limbs. When the air cleared, the sight made Michael pause. They¡­ trampled each other? Some of the panic dissipated like fog in the morning sun. This¡­ wasn¡¯t supposed to happen. What was going on? The farthest goblin had charged right at the other two. The middle one was mostly uninjured, but the leading one was in bad shape. It had been pancaked against the wall by the other two and was bleeding in many places, several broken bones jutting out of its leathery green skin. It didn¡¯t care about it, though, getting up and ignoring its injuries and immediately roaring at Michael. Who only grinned at the sight. Now that the panic was mostly gone, he was left with confidence and adrenaline. I can work with this. What followed was a careful dance of distances and timings. Whenever the goblins charged, Michael made sure that they were all in each other¡¯s way as to make them damage each other, and when they attacked, he used his new ability with the [Distortion Sphere] to break bones and batter their bodies. The dagger was useless against them, its reach too short and its blade barely able to penetrate the tough flesh and muscle, and thus had been discarded. The gun had not and even though its effectiveness was lessened, the goblins were bleeding hard from many holes in their weak spots, be it necks, legs where Michael was pretty sure were some important arteries, or their faces. Their skull was too thick to pierce, but a bullet to the forehead always stunned them for long enough to grant an opening to snap a bone. The last one was finished with a [Shield Bash]. Always satisfying to use. A bit scary, though. What if the thing just tanks it and I find myself suddenly in its attack range? Better to use it as an execution tool once I know it¡¯s safe. After the hit, the shield was starting to look a bit battered. Mostly it had been from all the hits it had taken without the reinforcement from [Distortion Field], but even with the skill the shield was taking a good amount of damage which accumulated over time. Soon, it would break and Michael would be forced to find a replacement. Perhaps Old Dave had something he could work with, something made with more modern materials as well. The loot appeared soon after. Michael healed himself, even though he was mostly unhurt, as healing after a fight had become something he just did, especially with the plentiful mana regeneration he had in the dungeon. Thinking about the fight and comparing it with his first fight against the goblin boss, he couldn¡¯t help but be impressed by his growth. The first time around he had been scared, forced to think up strange strategies, burning the monster to rile it up so that it could kill itself on the wall. This time it had not been much different, but he was getting used to battle and it was becoming easy. I need to be careful not to fall into a false sense of security, though. He was a little sad that his [Candle Light] skill had become mostly useless. But he was no longer the same person he was a few days ago, stumbling through the dungeon in utter darkness, afraid and weak. He walked over to the stack of loot. There were more coins, bringing the total to 70 Copper, which was not bad. Then there was an ornate bracelet, clearly not magical, and a skill stone. Woah, it¡¯s as if the dungeon read my mind. Wait, it can¡¯t do that, can it? It was a skill stone for upgrading his [Candle Light] skill. The text didn¡¯t say anything about the upgrade, but Michael was not someone who would pass on some free power-ups, and thus the stone was immediately absorbed.
Skill Level up!
[Candle Light] reaches level 2 and increases in rarity. It can now coat your hands without burning you.
Interesting. Pulling up the full description of the skill, he carefully read what the upgrade entailed. The jump in rarity was promising, and even the shorthand description of the upgrade was interesting enough to make him salivate. Even though, fighting with my bare hands¡­ I guess karate will come in handy now.
(Uncommon) Candle Light 2
If you immediately know that candlelight is fire, the meal was cooked long ago. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
  • A small flame appears at the tip of your index finger, creating heat and light. The flame is magical and doesn¡¯t burn oxygen.
  • You can coat your hands with fire without burning yourself. The fire is hotter than the flame but has the same properties. Cost becomes moderate and increases further if you want the flame to burn even hotter.
Very low mana cost per second.
Even better than I expected. Being able to increase the heat was a very handy tool. I wonder if I can now cook food with my bare hands? He tried it out, feeling the sharp cost of mana required to make the fire burn hotter. It was quite expensive, but if he managed to learn how to only use the skill when he hit an enemy, he could save a lot of mana from being wasted. Dismissing it, his burning hands returned to normal in less than a second, all traces of flame and heat gone as if they were never there. It was still too early to switch to a new combat style, full brawler with burning fists. The skill was still too expensive to use with his meagre mana pool, and he needed to practice and get a feel for it before he could decide what to do. Still, it could be another avenue to consider after his shield finally gave up and broke down, switching to using [Distortion Field] in its bubble version, plus dagger and fists, with the gun as backup. Speaking of, he made a mental note to buy more ammo on the way home. While Michael was experimenting with his new magic, partially becoming the human torch for a moment, much to his excitement, two doors had appeared on the far wall of the boss room. One of them was the usual exit, sunlight streaming in from the outside in a way that defied the laws of space. Dungeon shenanigans. The other, however, was dark, but in the darkness stairs could barely be seen leading down into the depths of the earth. As he looked at it, the dungeon spoke in its usual crazed voice. ¡°You seem strong enough, delver. Want to test your luck on the second floor?¡± The voice snickered at him, cacking madly at the end of the sentence. Michael thought about it for all of two seconds before deciding that it was too early to go down to the second floor, especially today since he wasn¡¯t at his peak after spending so many hours training in the first room. Sure, the three boss goblins had been easy, but they were still just bosses of the first floor. The second floor must be a sharp increase in danger level, nothing compared to the slight increase each time I delve the first floor. He could be wrong in his assumptions, but it was better to be safe than sorry. True, he was in a bit of a hurry to change his life, figure out the mysteries of the dungeon and assuming there were other people who could delve then he was in a sort of race with them, but it wasn¡¯t worth dying over it. Yet. But should I find proof of other dungeon entrances, and of other people with magical skills¡­ He shook his head and headed outside. He was not yet at full mana, unlike last time, and it was thanks to this that he realized that he was still regenerating a bit of mana every second even though he was standing outside in the sun. The entrance to the cave where the dungeon was located was behind him as he stopped in his tracks, his academic interest suddenly piqued by the discovery. He strained himself trying to divine just how much he could regenerate while standing right outside the mouth of the cave. He emptied his mana pool several times over, using his healing aura on nothing at all, and after a while he was confident he got it figured out. Regeneration is half the speed of the first room while right outside the cave. Then he got a bit farther away and repeated the experiment, taking notes on his phone and using the GPS to calculate distances. It drops by another half twenty yards away, and drops to zero fifty yards away. It wasn¡¯t like this the first time around, though, was it? He struggled to remember, forcing himself to re-live the uncomfortable memories of him and Josh walking back to the car. Indeed, back then he had been unable to regenerate mana at all, even right outside the dungeon. Things are changing around the dungeon. This changes things for me too. If this was true, even assuming this was the only dungeon in existence on Earth, sooner or later someone was bound to find something. Someone other than him. Which meant that, even in the best-case scenario, which he found harder and harder to believe was the true scenario, he still had a limited window of time to stay ahead of the curve, before someone else figured out the dungeon and started exploiting it like he did. Eventually it would become public knowledge, with all the issues that it would bring. I need to work harder, but for that I need money and connections. Time to see if Old Dave wants to give me that job. He looks well connected, and is the only one I know anyway. It was then that Michael got a pleasant surprise.
You have gained a Skill!
You worked hard to enhance what little ability to perceive mana you already had, experimenting in novel ways. Your work paid off, and you gained the Common Skill [Mana Sense]
A reward, it seemed, for his hard work. I can gain skills this way, and even outside of the dungeon? This changes everything!
(Common) Mana Sense 1
Like whispers on the breeze, mana sings its silent song; with attuned senses, I hear its melody, tracing the currents of magic that course through the world. ¡¤ Mana is now a part of your world, something you can perceive, if not see directly. You gain a new sense, able to pick up concentrations of mana around you.
It was as if he had been living with his eyes closed for his entire life. Suddenly he could see, and what he saw was magnificent. Specks of colour, motes of mana fluttering in the wind, coming out of the dungeon like a myriad of iridescent fireflies. The sight was a gorgeous spectacle to be witnessed, and Michael felt awestruck and blessed to finally be able to see what he had never been able to see before. With his eyes finally open to the arcane, he felt motivated to grow and experiment, the sight of mana bolstering and nurturing the flame of ambition in his heart. So many experiments popped up in his mind, so many things to do, and also so many worries now that Pandora¡¯s box had been opened. Finally he could get answers to his questions, see if there was magic in the world at large, although he didn¡¯t know whether he would like the answers he was going to get. Chapter 11 Walking back to the truck, Michael found himself unable to resist the temptation to experiment some more with magic. Of all his skills, the single flame version of [Candle Light] was cheap enough that it wouldn¡¯t put much of a dent on his now-expanded stock of Copper coins, he thought, and soon a small flicker of flame appeared right above his left index finger. He looked at it with his mana sense, which he had taken to calling mana sight due to how it felt mostly visual to him, watching the movement of the little colored motes of mana, noticing how most of them were of a reddish hue, along with some elusive white and yellow ones. Elements, perhaps? It was hard to tell, but if colors were hints to elements, being able to see them with ease was a huge advantage. After he dismissed the skill, he turned his attention to the magical coins. They were blazing with power, all the colors of the spectrum fusing together into a white halo that surrounded them, and as he pulled magic from one of the coins and it crumbled to dust, he could see the white energy flowing into his body through his hand, only to disappear from his sight once it had crossed the barrier of his skin. I guess the level one skill isn¡¯t enough to see where it all goes once it enters my body. He could see a sort of haze, like an aura clinging to him, though. Happy with his new findings, he finally reached the parking spot, noticing that the other car was gone, leaving his truck all alone in the shade of the large oaks that grew all around. It was quite pleasant, to enter the truck and not be greeted by hell itself despite the summer heat, the parking spot earning bonus points in Michael¡¯s mind. By the time Michael reached Old Dave¡¯s, it was too late and the pawn shop had closed for the night. Shrugging, he stopped at a diner close by for a quick bite and got back to driving. It was getting quite late, his mana experiments had taken a few hours longer than planned, and he was tired. Tired enough that he missed the first few strange lights he saw at the side of the road, mistaking them for traffic lights or some of those little lamps people sometimes put in their gardens, powered by solar cells. It was only when he kept seeing strange halos of glimmering light, in strange shapes and sometimes floating in the air, that Michael realized that perhaps what he was seeing wasn¡¯t just some normal lights. He concentrated, slowing down on the empty interstate enough that he could see better, and noticed that the lights seemed to spring into existence when he got close to them, only for them to disappear behind him as he drove past them. Their colors were many, and sometimes they behaved like a swarm of fireflies, dancing in the air. Stopping the truck when he saw a particularly large cloud of these lights, he walked right inside it and got confirmation to his suspicions. The lights: they were mana. Weak concentrations of it, judging by my super low regeneration. But compared to the barren wasteland all around, it¡¯s like an oasis. They tasted¡­ stale, for a lack of a better word, compared to the mana of the dungeon. As if the clouds of mana had been drifting around for ages, their colors diminished and less vibrant, fireflies compared to the bright embers coming from the dungeon. They were just floating around, most of them, but sometimes he could see a little rock, or perhaps a sign, or some little debris by the side of the road glowing with the faintest traces of magic. Some of them were items of significance, others were just random junk or literal rocks just lying there and doing nothing. It was puzzling. Of them all, the clouds of mana were the most common phenomenon, drifting lazily in the air, undisturbed by the actual air currents and moving according to their will or moved by forces unseen. He could somewhat manipulate them if he concentrated on regenerating mana hard enough, drawing the cloud towards him and into his body, slowly but surely diminishing its bulk, but even as he struggled to maximize his pulling power, the amount of mana was vanishingly low. A single Copper coin easily held as much mana as the bigger clouds he encountered, which would take him ages to absorb if he tried. And again, their taste was unpleasant. They would do in a pinch, he thought, but they felt disgusting. This means that there is mana in the world after all, he thought as he was once again driving home, this time keeping a keen eye out for any abnormalities. Was it here the whole time, or did it start appearing after the dungeon started releasing mana into the atmosphere? The stale taste of the clouds of mana, surely a byproduct of his mana sense which was not limited to sight, led him to believe that perhaps this mana had been here a long time, from perhaps before the dungeon had made its first appearance in the world. Did this mean that there had been an age of magic, long ago, and that for some reason magic had been slowly vanishing from Earth, at least until the dungeon arrived? It could explain some things, he guessed, but it was too early to make assumptions. Seeing magic at large in the world also made him paranoid. Resting on the passenger seat, his backpack was literally glowing with magical power coming from the 68 Copper coin inside of it. And if I can see it, then someone else with a similar skill or ability can also see it. It was like a bright beacon in the dark, compared to the mana-starved rest of the world. I need to hide them, and myself, until I know more. Are there other entrances? Other people getting powers? Was magic a thing before the dungeon, like perhaps in shrines and monasteries, churches in Europe that were supposedly built on Ley-Lines of some sort, or was that just bogus? If things like Stonehenge were really magical, where did all the magic go, and why is it coming back? So many questions. He felt his mind expand just by thinking about all these possibilities, the edges of thought touching upon worrying topics, ones that could upheave his prospects of life forever, opening up opportunities and exposing him to risks. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. For now, I need to lay low. No need to get abducted by the CIA or something along the lines. But I also need to create connections and find other people with powers, lest I be left in the dark while the world changes around me. *** The next day, first thing in the morning, Michael was at Old Dave¡¯s after barely enough time to eat and train. He was starting to put on some good muscle thanks to his cheating training regimen, but apart from his height he was still a long way from threatening. He knew he would need to toughen up if Old Dave was to give him the job he promised. Probably a bouncer at some shady club, but money is money and you can meet all sorts of people in clubs. It¡¯s far enough away that any issues shouldn¡¯t reach all the way to where I live. Making up his mind to convince the old man to get him the job as soon as possible, he walked into the pawn shop with the loot from yesterday¡¯s dungeon delving to sell. ¡°Welcome back, kid.¡± Old Dave beckoned him over, ¡°I was wondering whether you¡¯d show up again.¡± ¡°I was late yesterday,¡± Michael said, forcing himself not to thrust his hand in the pocket where he held some coins for emergencies. ¡°You were closed.¡± ¡°Just knock next time. I live upstairs. If I ain¡¯t sleeping, I can make time for a friend. So, what do you have for me?¡± Michael took out the bracelet and the coin. Mustang was soon called, bursting out of his tiny room in the back with a slew of instruments. As the large man crouched over the goods, Michael and Old Dave made small talk. ¡°It sure is hot, these days.¡± ¡°It is. I go hiking and it¡¯s always a sweaty business. That¡¯s why I bring a lot of water with me.¡± Michael said, pointing at his large backpack. The bulk of the coins was in the car, hidden, as were the dagger, shield and gun. But the backpack stayed with him. As they talked, Michael tried to use his mana sight to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. It was harder to tell in daylight, but not impossible. Old Dave has no mana signature, and neither does Mustang. So far, I have seen nobody with even a shred of mana in their bodies. He had examined himself in a mirror in the dark, at home, and had confirmed what he had seen back at the Trail: he was glowing faintly. Nothing compared to the coins, probably due to the body somewhat insulating his mana, but it still made it impossible to hide his magic from anyone who could see mana. There are some items in this shop that have a faint glow to them, though. Like this one. ¡°Ah, that one,¡± Old Dave said, noticing Michael¡¯s gaze, ¡°it was an old heirloom. A sweet old lady sold it to me. I gave her a good deal because she was nice, but she never came back to buy it back. Sad, it happens all too often. Sometimes I wonder, what¡¯s the story behind all these things they sell me? They rarely tell me, and Mustang here surely doesn¡¯t care, only trying to strike the good bargains and shooing people away once we have their stuff. Cold heart.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one to talk!¡± The man grumbled, ¡°don¡¯t listen to him kid. He¡¯s ruthless.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Old Dave shrugged with a grin, ¡°you gotta make yourself a living, don¡¯t you?¡± he looked at Michael. ¡°I did help you with the silver, didn¡¯t I. Friends get treated well.¡± Since Mustang was still studying the coin, having finished his evaluation of the ornate bracelet, Michael decided it was time to broach the other topic he wanted to talk about. ¡°Listen, Old Dave,¡± he began, and saw that he had the old man¡¯s undivided attention. It felt sharp, heavy. ¡°About the job you talked about last time.¡± Old Dave hummed. ¡°Yes, you have been eating. Doing other things too¡­ perhaps. It ain¡¯t worth it, kid, not for this job and not for any other.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not on gear. I have a¡­ special training method.¡± Old Dave shrugged. ¡°If you say so. Even then, I don¡¯t know about it. It¡¯s a bit early. You look tougher, and your eyes¡­ you have seen some shit these last few days, I can tell. But do I know for sure that you can keep your cool when some rich brat and their drunk friends start making a mess of things in a club, with all the music and mess? I don¡¯t know about that.¡± ¡°Just give me a chance to prove myself. If I mess up, I don¡¯t get paid. But trust me, I have skills. I just hide more than I show.¡± There was a twinkle in the old man¡¯s eyes. ¡°You know how to speak my language kid, I¡¯ll give you that. I¡¯m all for fair wages, heck, even more than fair wages, but I don¡¯t give no shit to people who don¡¯t deserve it. Right now, you need to show me that you deserve my help.¡± ¡°You tell me what to do, and I¡¯ll do it.¡± Old Dave thought about it for a few seconds. ¡°Mmh. That, plus whatever the hell your side hustle is¡­¡± he looked at Mustang, who was salivating over the coin like a hound presented with a juicy steak, ¡°yes, I can see the profit in working with you. Plus, my gut tells me you will surprise me. Perhaps it¡¯s bullshit, but gut doesn¡¯t lie, and my gut says you can be a good asset. Fine.¡± He held out a hand, and they shook. ¡°Come back this evening,¡± Old Dave said, ¡°you don¡¯t have the presence to do any real bouncer stuff yet, but that can be fixed with time and practice. This job I got for you will give you an idea of the sort of stuff you gotta do as well. If you like it, and I like you, then there¡¯s more down the line.¡± They shook hands again, and Michael walked out with a nice sum of money from the bracelet and coin he sold to an overly excited Mustang. The job would also pay well, and bouncer duty at a club would play well into his current skill set, even though he had no intention of making it into a career. I can make some decent money from it, though, and it¡¯s relatively safe compared to other ways to make money quickly. He could also scan the crowd in search of other magically enhanced people, as well as make connections. Tonight¡¯s club was supposedly nothing of importance, but Old Dave had hinted at bigger jobs where the sons of some big shots liked to hang out, the kind of people with more money than sense, and always with problems to solve. Ideas upon ideas quickly sprung to his mind as he sat at the small diner close to the pawn shop, taking notes on his phone and ordering coffee after coffee so as not get thrown out of the place. Healing is probably the safest route. There are a lot of rich people with incurable illnesses who would pay handsomely for a cure. I need to find the limits of my skill and how to improve it of course, but¡­ yeah, I could make a lot of money with it. But to do that, I need to win Old Dave¡¯s complete trust if I want to use him and his connections, or forge my own connections if I can¡¯t. Which would be harder and expose me to more danger too¡­ Old Dave had more experience, invaluable experience from running a pawn shop all these years. He could be an asset, but Michael needed to find a way to enter the old man¡¯s good graces. He needed to know he could trust him, he needed to be sure the old man would react well once he found out about his magical powers. One step at a time. Do the job, meet people, gain some little trust with Old Dave. Repeat as many times as needed, while still delving the dungeon every other day. Then, when the right opportunity presents itself, make the move. No earlier. I¡¯m not some sort of superhuman who can lift cars or shrug off bullets. If I mess up, no amount of healing or repulsive force bubbles will save me from my mistakes. It was at that moment that someone walked in, the little bell attached to the diner¡¯s door jingling twice. Michael looked up, and his jaw snapped shut. Shit. So it¡¯s real. Chapter 12 A man walked in, sharply dressed in business clothes, making a beeline for the counter to order himself some food without paying any mind to any of the people present in the diner, which were not a great deal many at this hour in the afternoon. His watch must cost more than my entire life is worth. But that was not what had given Michael pause. No, it was the faint aura of magic that he could clearly see surrounding the man when he observed him with [Mana Sense] that made him almost gasp in shock. After an entire day spent trying to see if there were other people with magic, he had almost given up, almost allowed himself to draw a sigh of relief thinking that perhaps magic had yet to spread across the world. Now, seeing the feeble yet very present aura around the man, he knew it was not the case. Although, his aura is different than mine. Weaker, yes, but it feels as if it¡¯s been there for a long time, sedimented over his body, infusing every single cell. It was hard to tell, as it was more like a feeling or a hunch and not real data, but the magic felt old and stale, barely used, a finite resource like a stagnant pond that had not seen new water in a long time. Compared to the man, Michael¡¯s aura was vibrant and energetic, flowing and ebbing according to strange rules he did not comprehend, and his mana was always no more than a few days old. He ignored the man, giving him no more than a few looks¡ªhe couldn¡¯t help himself¡ªbut trying not to bring attention to himself. The man had clearly not noticed him, either because he was unable to or because he was simply that good of an actor that Michael could not tell, but unless he did the first move Michael was more than content to pretend that he knew nothing about magic at all. At the same time, ordering another cup of coffee for himself (he could cleanse the ill effects with his healing skill once the caffeine entered his bloodstream), he pulled out his phone and made some searches. Most of them were about the dungeon. Last time he had checked, he had found no real news about anything out of the ordinary save for some old articles published more than a year ago by some not very trustworthy websites. Even now, at a surface level there seemed to be nothing new, but a more careful search revealed bits and pieces of news that together could be taken as clues leading somewhere. The first sighting of strange things began two years ago, and not even on the Trail. The Trail only became marginally relevant for a brief window of time around fifteen months ago, and after a couple months all news about it disappeared once again, as if it had been nothing but a fluke. Despite this, strange forums and message boards were documenting that something was going on with the world, and that some people were acting strange. Signs of magic, perhaps? It was not exactly easy to trust pixelated YouTube videos, or shaky camera footage recorded from a CCTV network. But coincidences and strange things were piling up quickly. Europe, Africa, Japan, China. United States. It seemed that every part of the world was involved, and not just the area around the Trail where Michael had found the dungeon. There was a guy in Australia who claimed to be able to do nasty things with poisons and blood. The theory about multiple entrances is starting to look plausible. A 4chan thread talked about these powers in more detail, despite most of the replies mocking the original poster as a poser trying to roleplay on the wrong board. Michael had his doubts that the guy was trolling the users of the forum, though, since the way he talked about his alleged powers was strangely similar to how skills and magic worked for him, if not with some flavor differences. It was not definitive proof by any means, but it was too much to ignore. Back at the pawn shop, Old Dave was waiting for him in the parking lot. The heat was only barely giving in to the cooler temperatures of the night, even though the asphalt below their feet was still scalding after being under the sun the whole day. The light was dim, and being face to face with Old Dave really hammered home just how tall the man was, considering his age and wrinkles. He towered over Michael, who was not a short person by any means, but a quick look below his clothing revealed that he was thin and his skin stretched and folded, and that most of his strength had probably left him long ago. They drove, taking Old Dave¡¯s car to the club, and it was during the short drive that the old man gave his last instructions. ¡°I know it¡¯s not much, but it¡¯s your first job. You¡¯re there mostly to learn. Simple bouncer duty. The disco is quite tame, compared to others, so you can just stand there and look menacing. You need to learn the skill, how to exude presence, you understand? I¡¯ll be watching you and don¡¯t worry, once you get some practice with it, I¡¯ll move you to more profitable jobs. Sounds good?¡± ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± ¡°Perfect. I like the look on your face. Five, ten nights tops and you¡¯ll look a natural. Then you¡¯ll tell me if you want to work where it¡¯s real fun. For now, just go there and be vigilant, break up fights and stop people from shooting too much stuff up their veins if you can help it. That¡¯s it. If there¡¯s a brawl and you can stop it without hurting people too much, there¡¯s extra, but I wouldn¡¯t count on your nerves just yet. Remember, there¡¯s other more experienced bouncers too, if you don¡¯t feel up to it, just call them. Although¡­ you need to show some spine. You get it.¡± They parked on the private lot behind the club, after which Old Dave showed him the back entrance. ¡°Now, go change, do your job, go home when the club closes and I¡¯ll see you at the pawn shop tomorrow with the cash. Remember, I am watching you.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. *** ¡°These sofas really are something else,¡± Old Dave said, drink in hand, as he lounged in the private area on the second floor of the club. The owner was there with him, buttering him up with free drinks as most small-time business owners tended to when they found out who he was. ¡°Indeed, only the finest in the VIP section. People who pay should get all the benefits they deserve.¡± Old Dave hummed noncommittally. While what the owner said was true, he did not really see why anyone would want to splurge fifty bucks to sit on a sofa on a balcony on the second floor when the view was nothing at all. The dance floor was minuscule, and the stage was an affront to basic building codes to say the least. On the wall, there was a miserly LED wall, half of it not even working properly and flickering constantly, and the smoke and lights were barbaric. The music was decent, he had provided the venue with the DJ after all, but the speakers were awful. All in all, no reason to sit up here at all. But clubs were profitable, and he wanted a slice of this new pie he had found. Besides. I must be wrong in my assumptions. He thought as he looked around, seeing just how many upstart youngsters were sitting here in the VIP lounge surrounded by girls, doing nothing at all. Some of them were chatting, feeling each other up, but this was not the place nor the time to do anything more than touch some skin and clothes, and drink overly expensive cocktails. True enough, perhaps Old Dave was being too harsh with this place, and with an entry fee of only $5 for men and free entry for girls, he could see why the tiny dance floor was packed harder than Japanese trains at rush hour. That¡¯s when his eyes scanned the room in search of his new bouncer boy. Michael was one na?ve fool, so green despite being 25 years old compared to others with much more experience and maturity working the field as early as 17 or 18 years of age. Heck, Old Dave was no slave driver who employed minors, but he knew of people who did, and some of those kids were outright scary. But he had seen something in Michael, some eagerness to change things about himself perhaps, as if his naivete was being slowly but surely eroded away by a harsh life. Old Dave was sure, perhaps arrogantly so, that he could help polish the kid up to be a real gem one day, for he did seem to have potential despite being a late bloomer. Right now he was standing there, scanning the crowd with unusual intensity and none of the boredom or tiredness Old Dave assumed he would see on his face after three hours of booming music. Instead the kid was studying everyone carefully, assessing, profiling. He could see it in his eyes, the way they shone whenever he saw something interesting, that he was also aching for some action. Funnily enough, most people could unconsciously tell that about him, and the troublesome ones stayed well away from him. Not what Old Dave had hoped to see¡ªhe wanted to see how the kid would act in case of a brawl¡ªbut then again his expectations were too high for a place like this. He was still decently satisfied with his new recruit, who handled the occasional indoor smoker and the inappropriate drunk young man being less than chivalrous with the girls dancing without a care in the world. All according to the rules he had been told, nothing requiring him to really think too much. He was being a good grunt, but Old Dave wanted to really test him, see if he could trust the kid with other jobs as well. The kid needed money, but what was even better for the old man was that the kid seemed to crave recognition and connection, while Old Dave himself lacked someone who could take over some of the more troublesome parts of his many business ventures as his health deteriorated in his old age. This could be a win-win for both of them, each getting what they wanted, if only the kid could be trusted. Old Dave, despite his ruthlessness, was too much of a softie and had been burned too many times already. ¡°Your new kid. He¡¯s pretty decent,¡± said the owner after his rounds of ¡®networking¡¯ were over. Old Dave wanted to snicker at him, laugh at his pathetic attempts at becoming relevant, but then again by simply being here he had given the man confidence enough to feel important, if only for a night. ¡°Picked him up from the street, basically. I¡¯m hoping I can avoid him turning into a delinquent, if I can.¡± The owner laughed. ¡°You truly have a soft spot for the wretched and the hopeless, don¡¯t you? How can you even handle a pawn shop, robbing people of their cherished possessions for mere pennies?¡± Old Dave shrugged. ¡°That is business. You don¡¯t know me well, do you?¡± The owner made a face, knowing he had overstepped. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to offend.¡± ¡°You should watch your tongue. That kid? He¡¯s decent, he¡¯s handling it well. I mean, not that there¡¯s much challenge in a dump like this place.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± The owner said, a bit riled up. ¡°Speaking of,¡± Old Dave continued as if the other man had said nothing, and his voice was clearly audible even with the music, ¡°tonight was a freebie because I needed to test the water with the kid at your expense. Next time I want payment.¡± ¡°Payment? For what?¡± the owner asked, now truly riled up. ¡°Listen,¡± Old Dave turned to face him, starting at him in the eye with an intensity that made the man shrink in his seat, ¡°this place is a dump, there¡¯s no way it can take off on its own. Not only is it in the middle of nowhere, but people can barely even dance down there. I saw you had them queue up in the parking lot, you damn moron. Is this how you do things in this day and age?¡± The owner shrugged. ¡°I work with that I have, man. The bar¡¯s working overtime, guest list is amazing, the DJ rocks, what else do I need? So what if they are made to wait in the parking lot? It¡¯s summer, they can deal with it.¡± Old Dave sighed. ¡°Who helped you secure the DJ, and the guests, and even the extra barista you got there? Mmh? The hot one, by the way, who¡¯s selling twice the drinks as the others because all the drunk guys hit on her. Who did all that? I did.¡± The owner said nothing at that, but Old Dave could easily see that he was displeased and wanted to say more. That¡¯s it, no more working with morons. I already have enough on my plate as it is. Carmela is coming from Italy in a few days, and I need someone to pick her up from the airport. Perhaps the kid could do it? Well, I would need to test him first, let¡¯s see¡­ Bored with the conversation already, he pulled up his phone and sent a text message. Normally he would have waited before testing Michael like this, as they had barely even met two times and only for a brief window of time, but he needed some entertainment. If it all went to shit, too bad, then he would have to look for a new recruit to mold to his needs. But if it went well? It would mean that this Michael had potential, and Old Dave could start to polish him a little bit. Chapter 13 Two AM, the club was full to bursting. Michael was standing as menacingly as he could in his corner, scanning the room with his senses, all of them, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, the night was going surprisingly well all things considered: he had warned a couple of young boys that smoking was forbidden on the dance floor, after which he showed them the smoking area, and he stopped a couple of other guys from groping the butt of every attractive girl they saw, but nothing more than that. People didn¡¯t seem very eager to get into a fight, contrary to his¡ªadmittedly very limited¡ªknowledge of places such as this. He was also keeping a tight grip on his mana, skills ready to flare at a moment¡¯s notice, noticing that some of the mana seemed to leak into his aura, stretching it and bolstering it. Whenever someone got close to him, his aura reacted to them, but he had no idea what this interaction meant. As for his skills, at most he could use the [Distortion Field] in bubble mode, but there was always the chance that the strobing lights wouldn¡¯t be enough to hide it. He didn¡¯t think he needed it, to be honest, but one could never know. Unknown to him, close to his corner of the dance floor, someone¡¯s phone beeped. The young man tapped his two friends in the shoulder, making them turn towards him and showing them the text message he had received. ¡°Woah, man, fifty bucks just to cause a bit of a ruckus? I¡¯m in!¡± With that, the three began to act. The one who had received the message wound up a fist and struck a random guy square in the face, making him fall. Around him, the other two were causing similar mayhem, shoving people left and right, spilling drinks and slapping girls in front of their boyfriends. Mere seconds later, it turned into a nasty brawl. Up in the VIP section, Old Dave had gotten to his feet, leaning on the safety railing, watching. Michael noticed the commotion barely a few moments after the first punch had been delivered. The struck person was on the floor, and two other people were shoving everyone they could see, clearly drunk and laughing their assess off. A ring had formed around them, but already other people were being dragged into the melee, be it to retaliate or to defend their friends or girlfriends, turning the sight ugly. What the hell is going on? Michael barely had time for thoughts before he was forced to swallow his reticence and fear of being at the center of attention and started to move. Already adrenaline was flooding his system, making him jumpy and his hands itchy. He didn¡¯t want to admit it to himself, but a part of him had been looking forward to this ever since the night began. Let¡¯s see how I handle things in the real world. He was upon the three in a matter of seconds, shoving everyone else away with the authority granted to him by his shirt, SECURITY written in big bold white letters everywhere it could be read. Seizing the full 7 Copper coins worth of his mana pool, he stared down at the three, who had not even noticed his arrival. ¡°Hey, what do you think you are doing?¡± He yelled at them, noticing how some of his mana had slipped into his voice, making it more powerful. He kept the trickle of mana going, forcing more of it into his voice, and his aura, creating something that even he could feel. Presence. Certainly the three felt it, for they turned to face him immediately, their previous fight forgotten. They seemed to cower for a moment, but then their leader shook off his head as if to clear his thoughts, standing up to full height and puffing up his chest, even though he was a bit shorter than Michael. ¡°What do you think you are doing, bodyguard?¡± The young man spat, and the other two laughed. ¡°It¡¯s three of us against you. We could beat you up!¡± They all laughed at that. Michael looked around. Indeed, he was alone, the other bouncers seemingly ignoring the commotion as if nothing strange was happening. ¡°Listen, I saw you start swinging your fist left and right. That¡¯s not tolerated.¡± He said, grabbing the leader by the shoulder, ¡°why don¡¯t you¡ª¡± The young man pushed off his hand and took a swing at him. Michael saw it coming in slow motion, time stretching itself until the punch was so slow he simply had to step to the side to avoid it. The floor was slippery, and the young man had overextended himself, so with a simple push Michael had him sprawled at his feet, groaning. Then, seizing his mana again and infusing it into his aura, fueled by his now righteous anger, he addressed the others. ¡°Come with me peacefully, or you¡¯re in for a beating, you hear me?¡±
You have gained a Skill!
You now know how to infuse mana into your aura, creating pressure. The larger the difference in power, the more those weaker than you will cower in fear.
He dismissed the skill window. Now is not the time. Activating the skill, he saw the pressure spread to the three like a wave with him at the center. Suddenly all their defiance was gone, and they were standing still like deer caught in headlights, unmoving, with the rest of the club similarly still, at least those around them, watching them with interest and curiosity. Michael was suddenly conscious of it, and the anger and adrenaline left him, leaving him with a sense of urgency. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Did you not hear me? Out!¡± He grabbed all three of them, pulling the fallen one to his feet with a jerking motion, and dragged them all away. They are not even struggling anymore, is this the effect of the skill? There were two bouncers waiting for him at the edge of the dance floor, muscular brutes with huge arms and prominent bellies, faces permanently scrunched up in menacing frowns. ¡°We¡¯ll take it from here.¡± Michael was about to open his mouth to speak, but the other bouncer beat him to it. ¡°The boss says good job. You can return to your place, but I¡¯d expect no more trouble the rest of the night. Not after that. Impressive work.¡± He gave Michael a meaty thumbs up, his thumb the size of a sausage, before they dragged the three problem children away and to the back. Not knowing what to say, Michael simply went back. True to what the bouncer said, the rest of the night passed without incident, most people¡ªespecially the men¡ªgiving him a wide berth and looking at him with concerned expression. Some, even with admiration. The guy who had been punched in the face also came to thank him personally, offering to buy him a drink. ¡°No thank you, I¡¯m on the job.¡± The young man nodded. ¡°Respect man. I wouldn¡¯t have thought two cents of you before, but then you went all Rambo and shit. Me and the others, if we see you, we know it¡¯s going to be safe. We are just here to dance, you know, we don¡¯t like punks.¡± ¡°I get it. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. To deal with the punks.¡± Michael said, flashing the young man a grin. ¡°You had fun, didn¡¯t you?¡± the young man teased, tipsy enough not to care much about propriety. ¡°I must admit, I did. For a moment I hoped they would try to attack me all at once, but perhaps it¡¯s best they didn¡¯t. For them, I mean.¡± He said with a wink. The young man laughed. ¡°Normally I would say bullshit but, the way you dodged that punch like it was nothing? Yeah, I might just believe you. Anyway, gotta head back, my girl is waiting. Don¡¯t want some punk grabbing her ass while I¡¯m away.¡± With that, Michael was left alone once again. He topped off his mana with some coins he had hidden in his work pants and kept watch for as long as there was music. Then most of the guests left, and he was informed that his shift was over.
(Uncommon) Presence 1
In the stillness of my being lies a force unseen yet deeply felt; with unwavering presence, I command the silent symphony of intimidation, bending the wills of the weak before my unyielding aura. ¡¤ Infuse mana into your aura to create a feeling of pressure in any living being that you want to subdue. The effect is stronger the more difference in power there is between you and the target, creating intimidation, fear and even paralyzing your targets up to five meters away. Mana cost varies.
Not a bad skill. Not bad at all. He would need to experiment, sure, to find out just what this difference in power really was, but the skill was surely bound to be very useful. *** ¡°You surprised me last night. It¡¯s not often that I get surprised, you know?¡± Old Dave said. He and Michael were sitting at the diner, eating a hearty breakfast, his treat for a job well done. ¡°I admit to having engineered the situation to test you, but you exceeded all expectations. Congratulations.¡± ¡°Huh,¡± Michael hummed. ¡°What?¡± The old man asked, shoveling food in his mouth. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to admit it was you.¡± Michael said with a shrug. ¡°Trust goes both ways. I told you I wanted to build trust, many times over, didn¡¯t I? well, I want you to trust me as well.¡± Michael nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good. I appreciate you telling me.¡± He said, not wanting to tip his hand just yet, no matter how much he wished he could just tell the old man that yes, he also wanted to build trust so that he could start leveraging his magical powers with the help of someone who knew how to navigate the world much better than he did. But he said none of that. ¡°It was a sight to behold. One moment you were just a bumbling idiot, shaking as you gathered the courage to walk over to the three punks, and then suddenly¡­ I could see it in your eyes. The moment he tried to punch you, you knew he was no threat to you. You knew they were ants, and you were right, of course. You could smash them, I could see that in your eyes, but you kept your cool and they shat their pants. That¡¯s the presence I wanted you to learn. Amazing it only took one night, not that I complain.¡± With that, he slid an envelope over the table. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Your pay. Legal amount, less than legal means. I hope you don¡¯t mind, but this old man can¡¯t really afford to do everything by the book.¡± He probably could, but it would cost him much more than just giving me the cash. Which I sorely need. Michael opened the enveloped and stared at the green within. ¡°Let¡¯s say I don¡¯t, for now. But I¡¯ll have to do my taxes in due time.¡± ¡°Yeah, well. Perhaps more down the line. I know you need the money, and you¡¯re in no position to make demands.¡± Michael exhaled loudly. For a moment he considered whether to try out his newest skill on Old Dave, see how the man reacted, but immediately the more rational part of his brain told him it was a bad idea. ¡°Sure. I can pay rent in cash, the landlord won¡¯t mind,¡± he said. Old Dave grinned. ¡°See? Perfect. Now, listen, I liked your moves and you behaved well last night. It¡¯s a good first step towards mutual trust, don¡¯t you say? And you liked the money, didn¡¯t you? How about I call you when I have more work, what do you say?¡± ¡°More bouncer work?¡± The man laughed again. ¡°Probably not. I have something lined up, easy courier work. Might need you to pick someone up from the airport, but I don¡¯t know the day yet. I promise the pay will always be fair.¡± ¡°Sure, but I¡¯m free to say no. Now, listen, I really gotta go, thank you for the meal.¡± ¡°Where are you going all of a sudden? It¡¯s not even 10 in the morning!¡± ¡°I know but¡­ the air is already scalding, and I need to hike quite a fair bit today or I won¡¯t make it in time. Bye.¡± *** Suspicious, Old Dave thought as the young man left in a hurry with his money, hiking gear in his truck, hiking shoes. Just like last time but¡­ why the hurry? And why did he say he ¡®needs¡¯ to hike? Nobody needs to hike, people do it because they like it. His gaze followed Michael to his truck, visible through the large windows of the diner, where he saw the boy take something from his pocket, like a stack of coins, and put it into his backpack. He couldn¡¯t be sure, his sight no longer what it was long ago. He always keeps a hand in his pocket, now that I think about it. Just what does he keep there, a gun? It can¡¯t be. It wouldn¡¯t fit. What are those coins? His interest in the young man increased. Chapter 14 Michael returned to the dungeon as quickly as humanly possible. Actually, he was now quicker than a human, his improved reflexes born from training and from the bonuses his passive skill gave him allowing him to basically sprint the whole way from the car to the dungeon without having to worry about falling on the uneven terrain. If he could see his stats, he knew he would be proud of his growth. His stamina had increased by leaps and bounds, as had his strength and his reflexes, thanks to all the training. If only I had a way to gain levels¡­ Today was going to be no different than last time. It was a skeleton day, assuming the dungeon kept its normal rotation, and Michael had every intention to squeeze all the training he could out of the first room before moving onto defeating the boss. I won¡¯t leave until [Distortion Field] becomes as natural as breathing. Which he did. He spent several hours in the first room, juggling not one but two skeletons he left alive for training purposes, before he got the message he was waiting for. As soon as he saw it, he quickly killed the skeletons, executing the last one with a very satisfying [Shield Bash].
Skill Level up!
[Distortion Field] reaches level 4. It has become second nature to you, and will now activate to automatically repel anything you consider an attack, provided your perception is high enough to see it coming, and your reflexes fast enough to react.
He grinned, gathering his scattered lights and getting ready to move into the next room. Checking his equipment, however, he was starting to notice that the shield was a bit warped in some places. [Shield Bash] is really taxing on the shield, he thought as he examined the battered shield. It had seen better days, the wear and tear of battle taking its toll. Especially whenever he took a hit without the protective layer of the distortion field absorbing the impact. The skeletons were strong and they hit hard, and the bosses were even stronger still, enough that the shield was suffering. The second room surprised him. Instead of a number of normal skeletons like he expected, he found himself face to face with a single skeleton boss and two normal skeletons. The dungeon is mixing things up, I see. Upping the difficulty. Still, the surprise was not enough to stun him into motionlessness. In fact, by the time his brain was done speculating, he was already moving, having discarded the shield now that [Distortion Field] had become automatic. The skeletons, even the boss, were slow enough that as long as he kept them all within his field of view, there would be no problems. The bubble was also strong enough to repel all attacks, making the shield redundant for this fight. It was still a good tool, and he had gotten used to its reassuring weight, and [Shield Bash] was a strong ability, but until he got a better shield, he was probably better off without. The fight didn¡¯t take much time at all. Despite the increase in difficulty, Michael was much stronger than he was even in the last delve, the improvement to his [Distortion Field] making disposing of the brittle skeletons easy work. As the reward materialized, coins just like in the last room, however, Michael couldn¡¯t help but be concerned. If the dungeon ups the difficulty every time I beat a certain floor, then it means that I¡¯m on a timer. For now I¡¯ve been staying ahead of the curve, but I¡¯m already seeing diminishing returns from only fighting on the first floor. Soon enough I¡¯ll be forced to descend down to the second floor, and I need to be ready. To that end, he needed to make every single run through the first floor count. He could not afford to waste a run, as the difficulty would increase regardless of how profitable the run had been, hastening the arrival of the point of no return, where he would become unable to stay ahead of the difficulty curve unless he delved deeper. Problems upon problems, at least if one wanted to optimize things, which Michael felt he had an obligation to do. If anything, he had to because his life was on the line, but also because he was still shaken after meeting someone with magic in the real world, and by the implications of the existence of both old magic and possibly many newly powered people delving similar dungeons around the world. The boss room had three skeletons, following the usual pattern. He made quick work of them, using his new [Presence] skill to slow them down when he used it in bursts, and defeating them netted him enough coins to bring the total to 130, a decent haul. After he put them in his backpack, he saw that he still had a lot of food and water packed for the trip. Damn, I barely even had to heal myself this run. I am getting better. But he couldn¡¯t neglect his healing. It was, to his mind, his most important skill. Not for fighting, even though it was plenty useful even there, but for the opportunities it offered outside of the dungeon. In that regard, he knew he needed to experiment with it and figure out how to improve its level, and what better place to do it than the mana-dense boss room of the dungeon, with plenty of food and water? Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. All he needed to do was harm himself in all sorts of strange ways and see how the skill healed him, trying to gain insights with his mana sense while he was at it. He took out the dagger and began the grueling work. By the time he was done he was panting, covered in sweat, grime and dried blood, his head hurt something fierce, and he was out of food. His skill had not gained a single level, but he had managed to improve his mana sense by looking at how the skill directed the flow of mana to heal his wounds. Small gains.
(Common) Mana Sense 2
Like whispers on the breeze, mana sings its silent song; with attuned senses, I hear its melody, tracing the currents of magic that course through the world. ¡¤ Mana is now a part of your world, something you can perceive, if not see directly. You gain a new sense, able to pick up concentrations of mana around you. ¡¤ Increased range and precision. You can now see through thin obstacles and weak auras.
Another discovery was that his healing skill didn¡¯t seem to have any limit to its power, as long as it had mana and food to work with. It could regenerate limbs (he assumed, but he had only gone as far as cutting off two of his fingers), it could fix a stabbed eye, it could regenerate vast amounts of tissue, muscle, bone and even set right complex joints like the wrist after Michael smashed it with a rock. He still wasn¡¯t sure if it could deal with stuff like cancer or poisons, and he surely wasn¡¯t going to try that on himself. The difference was that, unlike normal wounds, cancer and poisons would require the skill to know that there was something wrong with the body it was trying to heal, something not as obvious as a broken bone. But then again, the skill knew that a sore muscle was something to be fixed, removing the lactic acid and rebuilding the fibers, so perhaps removing the cancerous cells and rebuilding the damaged tissues was not that much of a stretch. It is quite impressive for a level one, uncommon ability. I wonder if the catch is that it¡¯s hard as hell to level up? I would imagine that in a standard DnD party, a healer who can only heal up to one meter away is pretty useless in a fight, but in the modern world¡­ Leaving the dungeon, Michael was pretty happy with his gains. The gains he got from true delving were much diminished, it was true, although the large supply of coins was nothing to scoff at, but he was starting to see the true best way to use the dungeon. The best way to use the dungeon, in fact, was not to wait for it to grant rewards. Sure, they were strong and could change someone¡¯s life, but the danger was always proportional. No, the good gains came from abusing the absurd mana density of the dungeon, training like he did today and grinding out skill levels. Delving would always have a place, no coins otherwise, and he doubted he could get any skill beyond common and uncommon ones otherwise, but a good balance of delving and abusing the dungeon mechanics to train was probably the best way to go. He idly wondered how the other delvers who had found other dungeons on earth were doing. Did they just do a one-off, coming out powered up but scared to ever go back again? Would they be cautious, like he was, slowly gaining power without putting their lives recklessly at risk? Or would they be battle junkies, most of them succumbing to their hubris, but some of them managing to rise to power much quicker than the others? He could not tell with certainty, but he had some data. In the last two years, ever since the first mention of the dungeons, nobody had managed to make a mess so big it was impossible to cover up. And two years was a long time. Michael himself had been delving for barely a couple of weeks, and was already at the point where, if he wanted, he could make a real mess that would make the news. Perhaps I am ahead of this curve as well, among the first to truly gain real power. I need to make sure I remain ahead. If the world was about to change, then it was better to be the herald of change rather than just a victim of it. *** Michael got home right in time for karate class, quickly grabbing his gi and hopping back on his truck to drive to the dojo. Phillip wasn¡¯t there today, making the two hours pass much more smoothly than usual, although Michael had to admit to himself that he was a little disappointed that his rival was absent. The others simply shot him bad looks or talked behind his back, but when it came to training they were perfect gentlemen, as if all their resentment and hatred was nothing at all, only for it to come back during rests and in the changing room. You know what? I don¡¯t even see the point of coming here anymore. His train of thought was interrupted by sensei Stephan coming up to him. He talked loud enough for everyone in the locker room to hear, but he was clearly talking to him. ¡°Listen, Master Taiko is coming to the US in September. I pulled some strings, and we are the first dojo he comes to. You know, Michael, he still remembers you. He asked about you, in fact. He wants you to take the exam, hinting that you might skip another belt. I know you are up to it, but you still need to train hard, and no more skipping classes until the exam!¡± Michael was about to refuse, claiming that he was very busy and that he couldn¡¯t really do it when he was scrambling for money. But then, an idea came to mind. What if Master Taiko has mana? Now he needed to know. Because if Master Taiko did¡­ If anyone should have magic, then it has to be the old martial arts master from Japan, right? If I impress him, I might even be able to pry some secrets out of him. Well, considering my growth so far, by the time September comes I could be literally superhuman, and by being a dungeon delver there¡¯s a fat chance I will be stronger than any magic user who isn¡¯t. ¡°Sure sensei,¡± he said with a smile, as if he had not been considering quitting up until five seconds ago. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to not skip class, but it might still happen. I got a new job that¡¯s quite far away from here.¡± That¡¯s an understatement. Old Dave sent me a text earlier stating that I need to go all the way to Nashville to pick someone up from the airport and take her to his pawn shop. At least the money is good, and I just need to drive. Although, he did hint at the fact that my skills could be useful, so perhaps it¡¯s more like bodyguard duty? Chapter 15 I need you to pick someone up from the airport tomorrow. The text said, it¡¯s the woman in the photo. She has been told to wait for you. Take her to the pawn shop and leave. If she tries to make conversation, you can talk to her, but try to be discreet. To her, you are just the driver and bodyguard. Michael got to the Nashville International Airport pickup area without much trouble, as he was getting used to long drives alone on the road. This time, he was playing a podcast about health and the immune system, trying to learn some new stuff that could be useful to grow his healing skill, although he doubted a podcast could ever be enough. If he ever found a way to boost his mental skills to truly superhuman levels, then he could peruse medical textbooks and all sorts of things to improve his skills, but for now his Uni days had proven that he was not very good at academic things. Then the woman emerged from the airport, the podcast was paused, and Michael approached her with what he hoped was a confident stride. She was stunning for a middle-aged woman, tanned skin and mediterranean features, impeccably dressed. ¡°Oh, ciao, are you the guy Old Dave sent? He told me to expect a rather handsome young man,¡± she said, winking at him. ¡°I uh¡­¡± he stammered, flushing, ¡°yes, it is me.¡± The woman giggled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t help it, sorry,¡± she giggled again, ¡°seeing you all imbarazzato like that. Well, a woman has to have fun, the flight was so long and boring! I¡¯m Carmela, by the way.¡± He took the offered hand. ¡°I¡¯m Michael.¡± ¡°Lovely name.¡± She said as Michael took her luggage. He started hauling it towards the truck, loading it under a tarp in the back. ¡°Is that our mighty ride?¡± Carmela asked with another giggle. ¡°Ah, well,¡± Michael said, trying not to stammer as he thought something up, ¡°you know Dave, right? He didn¡¯t want to be too conspicuous.¡± ¡°Capisco bene,¡± she said with a knowing smile, as if she knew something that made total sense to her, but to which Michael was completely oblivious. ¡°We do need to be discreet. The old times when we could drive sports cars and bathe in luxury in the open are sort of over. Well, some cretini still do it, then act all surprised when the guardia di finanza knocks at their door.¡± He helped her up to the passenger seat, since as she claimed to be unused to the tall American cars, and they drove off. As Old Dave had warned, she was eager to make conversation, and Michael had to struggle not to touch sensitive topics, his interest piqued by the many hints she dropped. At the same time, he also had to steer her away from prying too much about him, having no idea what sort of business Old Dave was having with people such as her, and what sort of image he wanted Michael to project to them. It was clear, though, that Old Dave was dealing with dangerous people. Italians, it looked like, and not the tourist sort. Well, as long as I don¡¯t get dragged into this too deep. With my skills, I should be fine skirting at the edges, and this proves that Old Dave does indeed have connections. ¡°I¡¯ve only been working with Old Dave for a short time, but he takes care of me ma¡¯am.¡± Michael said, answering a question, ¡°he offered me a hand while I was down on hard times.¡± ¡°Oh! So, you are his errand boy now, I see.¡± She said flippantly, ¡°you look like nu bravo guaglione, I can see why he decided to help you. He¡¯s a softie like that. Well, sometimes. Actually, almost never, but¡­ you know.¡± Michael nodded. He didn¡¯t know. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± he said, before getting out of the truck and opening the door for her. Carmela giggled at that, ¡°you¡¯re spoiling me. Si nu sciupafemmine, eh?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you said,¡± he replied, a bit out of his depth, before helping her with the luggage. ¡°Nothing offensive, I swear.¡± She winked at him. ¡°I can take it from here. I¡¯ll put a good word with Old Dave, don¡¯t worry. The service has been,¡± she looked at him up and down, like a predator eyeing a juicy cut of meat, ¡°magnificent. Perhaps next time I¡¯ll ask for you again.¡± With that, she turned around and walked into the pawn shop, her impossibly high heels not hampering her in the slightest. She asked me to help her in and out of the truck but¡­ yeah, I was out of my depth with that woman. Since there was still time, Michael decided to push it and try to do another dungeon delve, otherwise he would feel like he was wasting the day away. Totally not to distract my mind from this potential mess I could be getting myself into. His money troubles were taken care of, assuming Old Dave kept giving him jobs, and there wasn¡¯t anything pressing to do, but he simply couldn¡¯t bring himself to do nothing the whole afternoon. Luckily he always packed his hiking gear in the truck, just in case, and he could buy food and water at the diner to refill his stocks before heading to the Trail. He was at the dungeon entrance by 5PM, drenched in sweat, but not too late as to be forced to use the portable lights to light the way back to the truck after he was done. Every delve seemed to take exactly ten real-world minutes no matter how much time he spent inside, so he would be out at 5:10PM and could walk the three-hour hike back to the truck in daylight and twilight bright enough to see. Seeing the mana gushing out of the dungeon was always a sight, one he didn¡¯t think he would get bored of any time soon. It has expanded again. Not only that, but there seemed to be a shimmer to the air that he could see with his mana sense, as if wherever the mana from the dungeon touched, something about reality was subtly changed. For a moment, it seemed as if he was seeing double, a reflection of the real world¡ªdistorted and strange¡ªsuperimposed upon the mundane rocks and trees that had always been there for all to see. But then it was gone, and he couldn¡¯t manage to see it again. Breathing in a deep breath of mana-rich air, he entered the first room of the dungeon, coming face to face with a goblin boss. Not unexpected, after last time. The dance began anew, and he used the opportunity to train against a stronger foe, electing to only use his fists, [Presence] and [Distortion Field] in bubble form to fight the single enemy. He tried to draw the fight out for as long as he could, but injuries were slowly but surely accumulating on the goblin¡¯s body, and it finally succumbed to its many broken bones after a couple hours. Michael¡¯s fists had been largely useless, but that had never been the point. [Distortion Field] could very well be used offensively, and he wanted to train that particular skill. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The rest of the dungeon was cleared as quickly as possible, as to reap as many rewards as Michael could from it, and he ended up with 160 coins in total, and a common skill stone. Been a while since I saw one of them. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t anything too exciting. It seemed that the dungeon had observed how he wasn¡¯t using a shield anymore, and was offering to reset [Distortion Field] back to level two, retaining the level 4 bonus but losing the bonuses it got from being used together with a shield. All this with the promise that it would be much easier to level it up again, allowing him to go for a different build. Alright, perhaps it is exciting. The prospect of being able to modify skills was nothing to scoff at. Especially since Michael had an inkling that, much like he managed to learn skills without skill stones, this process could probably also be done without them. At least for common and uncommon skills, with the difficulty increasing exponentially with every rarity tier until it was all but impossible to do without the aid of the dungeon.
Skill Reset.
[Distortion Field] has been reset to level 2, losing bonuses 2 and 3 but retaining bonus 4. Since you already did it once, will now be much easier to level the skill back to level 4 again.
(Common) Distortion Field 2
Like a sturdy bamboo shield, may my resolve deflect the arrows of adversity, standing firm amidst the storms of fate.
  • Activate to immediately conjure a small, short-lived region of distorted space-time close to your body, which will act as a localized repulsion field for any incoming physical attack.
  • Can be used to infuse a shield with a weaker version of the effect, which will last until the energy is spent.
  • The infused shield will have improved durability and gain the ability to cast Shield Bash once per fight.
  • The skill will now activate automatically to repel any threat you can perceive and react to in time.
Moderate mana cost per activation.
Trying it out, the bubble didn¡¯t feel any different than it was before. However, he couldn¡¯t apply it to a shield anymore. Well, I guess that solves my shield problems. It would take a while to adapt his fighting style, but already in the last two delves he had been using only his dagger and fists, and was getting the hang of it. Now I also need to incorporate the flaming fists I got from [Candle Light]. Next fight, I need to remember to do it. With the boss room cleared and the loot collected, it was now time to train. He chose to start with the flaming fists, since he always forgot to use them, trying to time them so that they would only activate when the fist was about to strike the target. He went thought some karate forms, some shadow boxing where he fought imaginary enemies, and other exercises he was coming up on the spot, and little by little he got the hang of it. Then he moved onto grapples and holds, which were harder without a real target to test them out on, but also offered the greatest window of time to burn his enemies. They were the riskier moves for sure, a failed grapple would expose him to immense danger, but if he kept the distortion bubble ready in case he messed up, it could be a powerful tool. The last item on the list was training his healing skill, keeping at it until he was out of food and exhausted. No levels, but he felt like he was getting better at it, and that his healing was a bit faster, and a little cheaper. Perhaps the first level in this skill was not too far away now, and it looked like it would be an upgrade to the speed and efficiency of the healing itself. Then he decided to train his mana. He knew from his mana sight that he could exert some form of control over the mana in the atmosphere, and here in the dungeon he could make it so that his regeneration was a bit faster. Which reminds me, it¡¯s been a while since I used up all my mana outside of the dungeon and had to use coins to refill myself. I wonder how much my capacity increased after all this training. I know for a fact it¡¯s at least 10 Copper. A solid gain. Concentrating, he tried to feel the mana in the air, forcing it into his body. Whenever he was too full, he simply fired some random skills to empty his pool by roughly half, and began anew. The cycle repeated for a long time, but if there was something that Michael had learned about himself, was that he could be very stubborn. So stubborn, in fact, that after a few hours the universe was forced to yield.
You have gained a Skill!
Your patience is legendary, and your efforts commendable. You learned how to force mana to do your bidding, and you gained the Common Skill [Mana Manipulation]
(Common) Mana Manipulation 1
In the ether''s embrace, the threads of mana dance; with deft manipulation, I weave the strands of magic, shaping reality with the gentle touch of a sorcerer''s hand. ¡¤ You gain the ability to exert your will upon mana itself, moving it according to your wishes. You can manipulate mana up to 5 meters away, so long as it¡¯s not tightly bound to an item or a being. No mana cost. Instead, using the skill requires mental focus.
With this new skill, the rate at which he could absorb mana skyrocketed. He didn¡¯t have hard numbers, but he was quite sure he could increase it up to five times the base rate if he concentrated, although he couldn¡¯t keep it up for long. Disappointingly the mana inside his body was still locked away from him, both from his perception and from his manipulation. His aura wasn¡¯t though. Now that he was used to mana sense, he could see it around him like a thin halo of radiance, and by applying manipulation he could stretch it and compress it at will. Not much, and a thin film of aura surrounded his skin at all times no matter how hard he tried to pull it away, but he could change its shape somewhat. The limit seemed to be five meters, like the skill said. At that distance, the aura was already frayed and damaged, and trying to push it further away made it unravel and sent back a backlash of pain so strong it made Michael black out for a moment. He woke up seconds later, blood dripping from his nose, and was forced to heal. Oops. I overdid it. It was time to leave. Michael left the dungeon, once again ignoring the call of the door leading to the second floor, satisfied with his gains. Now that his phone could connect to the network again, a message from Old Dave came him, telling him to stop by the pawn shop after his hike. He replied that it might be a bit after dinner, to which the old man replied with a laughing emoji, telling Michael not to worry and to just ring the bell. An old man using emojis. Forget magic, this is proof the world is truly ending. A hearty meal at the diner¡ªone that felt rather earned after the long day, and with the money he now had he felt less guilty about spending for his meals¡ªand he was at Old Dave¡¯s. ¡°You did a good job handling Carmela. She can be¡­ quite something.¡± Old Dave said. Michael nodded. ¡°She was nice.¡± ¡°Diplomatic answer,¡± Old Dave said with a laugh, ¡°but it¡¯s the right answer when you do the job I had you do. She was very satisfied with you, so I packed you a little extra as a bonus.¡± He said, giving the usual envelope to Michael. Chapter 16 Michael¡¯s first thought when he woke up was an annoyed curse. Then, he idly mused that Old Dave¡¯s day must begin quite early, if the man was texting him about another job he had for him at 6 in the morning. Trying to go back to sleep and failing¡ªeven after silencing the phone¡ªMichael finally decided that it was probably for the best if he got up instead of struggling in bed, trying to win a battle that he could not win. Did you go on the straight and narrow? Old Dave said in the text, Mustang here misses all the strange valuables you used to bring. To think that you only brought three and you already got him addicted to the kick of having them appraised. I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t approve, though. You make me miss some profit, but better than having you caught and mauled by somebody¡¯s guard dog while you swipe their house clean. There was a laughing emoji. Michael wondered what the hell Old Dave was thinking about, before realization hit him. He thinks I¡¯m stealing the stuff. Shit, makes sense, considering the actual explanation is rather fantastical. The text went on. I have another job for you. More of the same, I¡¯m afraid. There¡¯s some important guests arriving at the airport tomorrow, of the same sort as Carmela. You don¡¯t need me to tell you how to act. Don¡¯t take your dinghy shit truck this time, come to the pawn shop first and I¡¯ll give you a real car. These aren¡¯t the sort of people who take it in good humor like Carmela did. There were some more instructions, which summed up were: grab the people, be respectful, go the pawn shop, grab Carmela, take them all to a meeting somewhere he had never been before, stand outside menacingly and without speaking, then after the meeting take them all to the pawn shop. They pay was¡­ nothing short of hazard pay, for some reason, which was slightly worrying. But then again, Michael thought, I do have superhuman abilities now. I wonder if the distortion field can handle a bullet¡­ He could test it. He had a whole day to do it, after all, since today was a rest day from delving. But first, he dropped down to the floor and started doing one-handed push-ups. It was after he showered and ate a hearty meal that he started considering how he could go about training his skills against guns. Perhaps I¡¯m overreacting a bit. I¡¯ve always been on the anxious side. However, he had reason to be anxious. He knew he was dealing if not with the mafia, then at least with people shady enough to be dangerous. Otherwise Old Dave wouldn¡¯t be paying him so handsomely. There was a problem with his training plan, though. He couldn¡¯t shoot himself and hope to materialize the distortion bubble, that would be impossible. For now, at least. At the same time, it wasn¡¯t like he could go to a random passer-by and ask them to shoot at him from a distance because he needed to train his reflexes. This is a conundrum. In the end, he came up empty. Defeated, he forced his mind to relax and not overthink too much. One step at a time, there¡¯s no need to come up with disaster scenarios. I have trained hard, and if something goes wrong, I have my healing. Slightly more relaxed, but still tense, he fired off a text to Sensei Stephan telling him he would skip tomorrow¡¯s karate class, explaining that it was for work reasons. No, that can¡¯t do, was the reply. You need to be ready to impress Taiko when he comes here. Plus, I want to see your progress. Come to Abevill Park at 4PM. I¡¯ll train you personally one on one. *** ¡°No formal wear?¡± Sensei Stephan asked. They were in a secluded corner of the park, and Michael had come wearing comfortable shoes and a shirt, trusting that he wouldn¡¯t need to wear the actual gi in public. ¡°Sorry sensei, I thought I wouldn¡¯t need it here.¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± Stephan said, a touch disappointed. ¡°But you need to think! If you¡¯re training, you need to wear the clothes.¡± A good reminder that even thought he¡¯s normally friendly, here he is still my sensei. They bowed to each other, and then they began with the warm-ups. Michael had to be very careful not to accidentally activate [Distortion Field] when Stephan attacked him, which after so many battles in the dungeon was like going against his own instincts. ¡°You¡¯re faster and stronger, that¡¯s good.¡± Stephan said. ¡°You¡¯re starting to get a sort of battle sense, I can see it, and your techniques are much smoother, even though they look rougher. More effective, but much less polished. Have you been picking fights with people?¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°No sensei,¡± Michael said with a grunt, dodging a blow in a not very conventional way. The sensei¡¯s eyes narrowed as he shook his head. ¡°Bullshit. That dodge right there, I never taught you that. You were always clunky during spars, thinking too much and only applying the techniques as they are. Scholastic, you know? You lacked experience, improvisation and intent. Now it¡¯s all changed. You just go with the flow. That doesn¡¯t happen overnight, not with you skipping half the classes.¡± ¡°Well¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I wanted to see you alone, you know.¡± Stephan said, increasing the speed and power of his blows. Michael struggled to keep up, even with his passive skill enhancing his reflexes. ¡°I want to know, I won¡¯t judge.¡± ¡°I swear I¡¯m not picking fights with¡ª¡± The speed of the blows increased again. Michael had never seen his sensei at full power, and even now he doubted the man was really giving it all, but it was like being against a machine. He was fast, and his blows and kicks came like hammer blows, putting lawyer-guy to shame. He was vicious too, pressing Michael while still asking him questions, trapping his arms, sending him sprawling to the floor. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with me,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Michael groaned as he pushed himself up from the floor, a quick burst of healing taking care of his budding bruises. ¡°You¡¯re not, but you shouldn¡¯t be able to stand by now, let alone keep fighting.¡± After that, he took it up another notch. Michael¡¯s focus slipped for a moment, and he saw a punch heading right for his nose. He flinched, a natural reaction to seeing a fist careening towards his face, especially since he was well aware of the power behind it, and in his lapse of focus, he was unable to restrain the natural reaction to danger. A distortion bubble sprang into being, and sensei Stephan¡¯s fist impacted it, before being redirected off-course with a force strong enough to snap his arm. What followed was a tense, interminable moment of silence as the two looked at each other. Stephan¡¯s face was contorted in pain, his eyes wide in disbelief, mind struggling to register what had happened. Then the real pain hit him thought the numbing effect of shock, and his face went red, but he didn¡¯t scream. In that moment, Michael knew he had fucked up. His sensei would have never hit him, instead probably stopping mere inches away from his face, but his instinctual brain didn¡¯t know that, and had acted in the best way possible to avoid a painful head injury. ¡°Shit,¡± Stephan cursed, ¡°what the hell was that, man?¡± Michael rushed to him, even though Stephan took a reflexive step back, and Michael noticed that there was a hint of fear in his sensei¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said, trying to look reassuring, putting his hands where Stephan could see them, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to hurt you. But I can fix it, let me fix it.¡± ¡°Fix it?¡± Stephan hissed, ¡°how? What was that thing that appeared and snapped my arm?¡± ¡°Promise you won¡¯t say anything about this to anyone.¡± Michael said. ¡°What? What do you¡ª¡± ¡°Promise.¡± He repeated, letting a bit of [Presence] slip into his voice. ¡°What the hell?¡± Stephan said, and he shook off the effect almost immediately, his martial skill was nothing to scoff at. ¡°Fine. Just how are you going to fix this, huh?¡± he pointed at his arm, bent at a wrong angle. Fortunately the bone had not pierced the skin, so there was no blood, but Michael knew that his sensei had to be in a lot of pain. He himself had been forced to fight with broken bones before, so he had developed some resistance to pain, but he knew from experience that it was never fun. That his sensei could still talk and barely even flinch at the pain, his opinion of the man went up a fair bit. ¡°Here,¡± he stepped close to the man, until he was one meter away, and he designated him as an ally. Then he activated his healing skill. ¡°What the¡ª¡± Stephan said, the words seemingly all he could say on repeat as his arm bent itself back straight and the pain became a horrible itching sensation and then started to fade. There was some tingling, Michael knew from experience, but barely a minute later and it would be gone. Or it should have been, except that the bone was clearly still broken. ¡°Wait there, we are not done,¡± he said to the stunned man. He went to his pack and fetched some coins to replenish his mana. In the end, it took 2 Copper plus his mana pool, which he now knew to be 12 Copper, to heal Stephan¡¯s broken arm. ¡°This¡­¡± Stephan began. ¡°You know what? I don¡¯t know if I want to know. I mean, I do want to know, but I¡¯m feeling so hungry I might faint right now. Is it normal?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Michael nodded, ¡°it is. Even though it¡¯s magic, the healing has to take the energy and materials from somewhere, right?¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± Stephan said. ¡°Magic, huh? Well, I guess you owe me dinner now. You have a job, no? You can afford it.¡± He said, strangely composed. ¡°We are done here, let¡¯s go.¡± They ate in silence for a while. Michael was not hungry, but more food meant more muscle, so he didn¡¯t shy away from an extra meal. His sensei studied him while he ate, watching him carefully. ¡°You¡¯re still you,¡± he said after he was done. ¡°Nothing seems off. Well, apart from the whole magic thing. Is that why you suddenly know how to fight? You were good before, but only as far as the techniques went. In a real fight¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. Anyway no, it¡¯s not magic that made me good at fighting. Fighting made me good at fighting. Magic just helps a bit.¡± Stephan¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It¡¯s not what you think,¡± Michael said quickly, ¡°I don¡¯t go around picking fights with people. Listen, if you want to know what¡¯s going on, you need to swear you won¡¯t tell anyone about this. Not even your wife or your therapist. Can you do that?¡± He flexed a bit more [Presence], to make his point clear, enough that his sensei could not shake it off as easily as last time, even though the mana cost was impressive. ¡°Fine,¡± he said, clearly unhappy but willing to compromise. ¡°As long as it¡¯s nothing illegal. Is it illegal?¡± Michael shook his head. ¡°Then I swear I won¡¯t tell anyone. I¡¯m too curious now, I need to know.¡± Chapter 17 ¡°And this¡­ dungeon. Anyone can enter?¡± Stephan asked after Michael¡¯s long, and somewhat confusing explanation. He really needed to get an official version ready for next time, for he knew there would be a next time, hopefully not anytime soon. ¡°I think so. That¡¯s what makes it dangerous. People could die in there.¡± ¡°Yes, I agree. If you go unawares like you did, a normal person would probably not make it past the second room, let alone this boss you talk about. Then you say it got harder every time?¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Although I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just harder for me or if the dungeon is permanently harder for everyone. I don¡¯t even know what happens if two people go in together, do they get separated or do they keep together.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s like those board games my son plays, a party should remain together. But I admit that I wouldn¡¯t want to test that theory on my skin, so I¡¯m afraid it will remain an unknown. Don¡¯t look so surprised, Michael, did you think I would be bugging you to take me there?¡± ¡°Honestly yes. It¡¯s not every day you get a chance to gain magical abilities.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not. But your tale, it¡¯s gruesome. I don¡¯t know how you managed to do that to yourself. How you still manage. I reckon the next time you go in, you¡¯re going to torture yourself again, trying to raise the level that healing skill of yours, am I wrong?¡± He¡¯s not. Especially now that I know that the efficiency is shit when I use it on other people. If I want to use it to heal people in the real world, I need to raise its level. ¡°I see it in your eyes. You¡¯re crazy if you think I¡¯d ever go to such lengths myself. I have a family, a son. You think I want to risk my life? Not a chance. Not everybody is a crazy maniac like you.¡± ¡°I simply had nothing to lose.¡± Michael said, a touch offended. ¡°Perhaps. Besides, would you take me if I asked? No, your face tells me you wouldn¡¯t, and that¡¯s smart. You¡¯re na?ve, but not too na?ve.¡± ¡°Interesting you say that. You¡¯re the second person who did in a short time.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s the other?¡± ¡°My boss.¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s right. I sure hope he said that because he¡¯s a good person. Otherwise, he would be exploiting your naivete, so you need to be careful. With powers like yours, and the potential to grow with the dungeon, you need to be careful, paranoid even. I don¡¯t claim to know anything about it, of course, but I know enough about the world. Take the whole martial arts scene, for example. It¡¯s a shit show, full of assholes and egos so inflated they could take flight. If you could see half the shit I saw with my ¡®colleagues¡¯, you¡¯d understand what I mean. Better keep where you get your powers from a secret from now on.¡± After that, they talked some more, but it was mostly idle chatter. Stephan was interested in knowing more about the dungeon, and he even offered his input in regard to the strategies Michael was using to clear the rooms, but with magic in play he was out of his depth, and wasn¡¯t too prideful to deny it. In the end, it changed almost nothing about their relationship. ¡°You think master Taiko could be one of those few who have magic despite the world being so barren of it?¡± He asked when Michael broached the topic. ¡°He might be. That¡¯s why I agreed to stay.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Stephan said, taking a sip of his coffee, ¡°I can see why you would think that you don¡¯t need to come to class anymore. With the job and the dungeon, I get it, but I still think you should come. Our training earlier showed me that you need to work on your control, and what better place to do it than the dojo? Just, don¡¯t blast Philip with that sphere like you did me.¡± ¡°Sometimes I wish I could.¡± ¡°I know. I¡¯m not a fool, I see what¡¯s going on in the dojo. I think it¡¯s good training for you, you are going to see a lot of stress in the near future, better to get used to it now while it¡¯s still easy.¡± ¡°Speaking of training,¡± Michael said, eyes twinkling with an idea that had suddenly sprung to mind, ¡°I need your help with something.¡± *** ¡°Are you sure this is safe?¡± Stephan asked, gingerly holding Michael¡¯s gun like it was a bomb ready to go off at any moment. They were in a field far enough away from anything that they shouldn¡¯t have any problems training there. Michael was standing a dozen yards away from Stephan who, despite not being a good shot at all, had been instructed to try and hit Michael anywhere below the knee. ¡°Perfectly safe!¡± Michael yelled back, ¡°I have plenty of food and 160 Copper coins here,¡± he pointed at his bulging pockets and his pack, resting in the shade by his truck a few feet away. ¡°Shoot away.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Stephan shook his head, muttering something Michael could not hear, before steeling himself and taking aim. Then pain suddenly bloomed in Michael¡¯s leg, which gave out from under him before his brain had even registered the loud boom of the shot. Biting down a curse, Michael immediately triggered his healing ability. Stephan had rushed over in the meantime, looking worried. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°All fine,¡± Michael replied, consuming a coin to top up his mana, and biting into a caloric protein bar. He let his sensei help him up after showing him that he was indeed healed, all proof of the damage being a hole in his jeans and the bloodstain. ¡°I gotta say. I don¡¯t like this,¡± Stephan said. ¡°Me neither. Don¡¯t you go thinking that I like pain.¡± ¡°You seem to be handling it well enough,¡± Stephan joked nervously. ¡°Are you sure this is helping, though?¡± Michael sighed. ¡°It was just the first shot. I was unprepared. We have plenty of bullets, I¡¯m not stopping until we run out of either bullets, food, or I use up more than half the coin.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± his sensei sighed. ¡°Get ready.¡± It took five more shots before [Distortion Field] even triggered at all, and while its activation was a major success, it appeared in the wrong place so the bullet still pierced Michael. ¡°I think it¡¯s all about predicting when and where you will shoot,¡± Michael said, ¡°there¡¯s no way I can react after you¡¯ve already pulled the trigger.¡± Stephan nodded. ¡°I was thinking the same thing. Unless you manage to gain more skills, and improve the reflexes one¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, try to make it obvious you are gonna shoot. I¡¯ll keep my eyes glued to the gun and try to understand your body language, see if that works.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Stephan said, taking a deep breath and tensing up. The bubble appeared, and then Michael saw a small cloud of dust being kicked up from in front of him. At the same time, the sound of the gunshot reached him. ¡°Hey! It worked!¡± Stephan was slightly pale, ¡°I think I¡¯ll take cover for the next shot.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The ricochet. What if it hits me?¡± It was unlikely, the bullet would have to be reflected just right by the bubble, but it was a possibility. This meant that the next shots all hit Michael before he was able to react, since he could see much less of Stephan than before as he took cover behind the truck, but it also meant that he was learning to watch the trigger finger, and recognize the imperceptible muscle movement that preceded a shot. What followed was a painful afternoon of training. In the end, his coins were the first thing to run out, ending his training early. 76 coins left. It¡¯s still a lot, but I don¡¯t want to go lower for now. ¡°How are you?¡± Stephan asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± The man snorted. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine someone going through that sort of torture and being fine. I shot you so many times that I even got better at shooting!¡± ¡°Yep. You hit me in the gut only three times before your aim got better. Then you shot me in the balls. That did hurt, you know?¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy.¡± ¡°Maybe. But I reached a good fifty percent success rate. I¡¯d say not too shabby.¡± Stephan snorted again. ¡°I guess I too am crazy for going along with your crazy plans. Can we go home now? I have stuff to do.¡± 50% success rate at deflecting bullets, just by carefully watching the trigger finger and the gun. I don¡¯t expect to have the same success rate with a stranger, since I probably got used to Stephan¡¯s quirks and all that, but even catching a bullet out of three could save my life. I guess I am as ready as I can be for tomorrow. Hopefully I won¡¯t need to deflect any bullets. *** ¡°That Abruzzese guy,¡± Michael listened in while the two men in the back of his borrowed car talked loudly, ¡°I don¡¯t like how he runs his business. It¡¯s a matter of time before the carabinieri get him, mark my words. You might want to cut ties.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The other man said. While the first talked with a heavy Italian accent, the other man was American, but not from around here. ¡°I will let the others know. Thank you for the heads up.¡± ¡°Esposito on the other hand? ¨¨ un bravo picciotto, he¡¯s got a good head and he¡¯s smart. Too bad his daddy is behind bars, but that¡¯s never stopped them, has it?¡± ¡°Indeed it hasn¡¯t.¡± The other man said, then looked at Michael¡¯s reflection on the rear view mirror. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried that he¡¯s listening in?¡± The Italian man scoffed. ¡°Who, the bocia? He¡¯s just the driver, he won¡¯t say a word. Will he?¡± Michael felt the sharp gazes of the two men. ¡°No, sir, of course not. I¡¯m just doing my job.¡± ¡°See?¡± The Italian man said. ¡°Carmela did say that he¡¯s a good boy.¡± ¡°Old Dave said he¡¯s off limits, though. I wonder what he means by that.¡± ¡°You know the old man. He¡¯s gone soft, cagasotto, in his old age. That¡¯s why he never dips more than the tip of his pinky in our business, always having plausible deniability.¡± ¡°I see. Smart.¡± ¡°Pah,¡± the Italian man spat, ¡°americani codardi. I get it, but trust me when I say it wouldn¡¯t work back where I¡¯m from.¡± The other man shrugged, unfazed. ¡°Too bad we¡¯re not there, are we? Anyway, how was the flight?¡± ¡°Orribbile,¡± he said, accent thick, ¡°the food at the airport was una merda, but you Americans aren¡¯t known for your good food. I feel like I gained three kilos with all that grease I was forced to eat.¡± The rest of the trip continued in much the same way until they reached the pawn shop. Michael was instructed to remain in the car, where he waited for a good hour before the two men emerged from the building, led by Carmela, who got in the car¡¯s passenger seat next to Michael. ¡°Oh my, what an upgrade.¡± She purred. ¡°Is this beauty yours?¡± ¡°I wish, ma¡¯am. Old Dave made sure you had the best ride possible, and that¡¯s sadly beyond my means for now.¡± She giggled at that, eliciting a groan from the Italian man in the back. ¡°Carmela smettila di flirtare col cazzo di autista.¡± He said, and while Michael had no idea what he said, he felt exasperation in his tone. Carmela just giggled, making the fuming man stew in his own fumes. Soon after that, they reached their destination. The three strolled inside like they owned the place, escorted by a rather pale-looking pudgy short man in an ill-fitting dark suit and tie who was sweating bullets. They were received in a meeting room by an equally frightened man, sharply dressed but clearly in distress, and that was all Michael managed to see before the door was shut in his face, with orders to watch the road and not let anyone enter. It was after two hours of boredom spent standing in the barely even cool shade outside of the building that it all went to shit. Chapter 18 The first sign that something was about to happen was the sight of two vans with darkened windows pulling up from the road and entering the dusty parking lot at full speed. Through all the dust that was kicked up, Michael could hear many people shouting, and then he saw bustle of armed men emerging from the squat concrete buildings at the other side of the sun-bathed dirt lot, barren and mostly empty. Then there were gunshots, with one of the two cars pulling to the side and engaging with the people who had come out from the strange car dealership place he had seen from the road, which he already knew was probably a front for some sort of illegal activity. The problem was that the other van was heading straight towards where he was, and it wasn¡¯t slowing down. It rammed into the building as he threw himself to the side, bullets raining from the back window of the van with terrible accuracy, fortunately for him, destroying the door. Then the van got stuck on the concrete wall, unable to breach through even with its considerable bulk and speed. It tipped to the side, balanced on two wheels for a long moment before falling down to rest upright at an angle with the door. Four men climbed out, rushing, guns hot. The four people who were having a meeting inside, hearing the commotion, had also rushed out. They were followed by a couple goons, and all of them were armed with guns except for Carmela. They immediately started shooting at the people who were still climbing out of the van, taking positions. The driver was killed immediately, but the other three managed to get to cover behind the van, shooting all the while. Michael had mostly been ignored up until now, seeing that he was unarmed, as he had been instructed to be, but things were about to change. The situation wasn¡¯t good. With the door destroyed, there was barely any cover, and already the Italian man who had insulted American food was down, a growing puddle of red beneath his still body. The others were still shooting, but wounds were accumulating, while it was clear that the attackers were wearing some sort of protective gear. They were also shouting, two languages Michael could not understand. One he recognized, Italian, and the curses and blasphemous yells abounded, the other was unintelligible. He was caught in the crossfire, though, not much time to think about languages. What the hell am I going to do? I can¡¯t show my magic in public like this. The decision was taken away from him as two more of the people on ¡®his¡¯ side fell. That¡¯s when the attackers grew bold enough to leave their position behind the sideways van, and they saw him as he tried to hide from their view. They opened fire, two of them trying to finish off the people inside, rushing into the building that was rattled with gunshots, while the third focused his attention onto him. The first bullet was deflected by a [Distortion Sphere], and the surprise was great enough that the shooter was momentarily stunned by the strange sight. Michael¡¯s frightened face changed as fear gradually turned into rage and determination, with a hint of pride that his training had paid off. He rushed at the man, who had the time to shoot twice more, and both bullets embedded themselves in Michael¡¯s flesh, hurting like hell and staggering him. But they only slowed him down. They didn¡¯t stop him. The gunman watched in horror as the bullets were pushed out of Michael¡¯s body and the flesh knitted itself, only leaving behind bullet holes and blood stains. Then Michael was on him, fists flaming and radiating impossible heat. He grasped the man¡¯s head and held it tight, while the fire cooked the stunned man¡¯s brain. Moments later, the dead body slumped bonelessly to the ground, and Michael let it fall as the smell of burnt flesh assaulted his nostrils. Looking down at the charred dead man, he felt something rise from his stomach. He was forced to swallow it down though, hearing more shouting coming from the other building. It seemed that the attackers had prevailed there, and they were rushing towards him, shouting things he could not understand and opening fire. He deflected a couple of bullets, then ran inside to have some cover.
Skill Level up!
[Distortion Field] reaches¡ª
Not now! He thought, but even as he dismissed the message, he noticed that it was now much easier to intercept bullets with his bubble. By a stroke of pure luck, one deflected bullet bounced right back at its sender, clipping his shoulder. Stolen story; please report. There he found a dead gunman, almost stumbling over its body, while the last one was still alive. The defenders, if he could call them that, were all dead, as were the people he had escorted here. No, not all of them. The gunman was looking for someone, sweeping the room with his gun, unaware that Michael was behind him. Michael capitalized on this, and clobbered the man¡¯s head with a distortion bubble from behind, snapping his neck. It was horrifying, seeing the man¡¯s head hanging limp at a strange angle for a few seconds before the body fell to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut, landing with a crunch of broken bones. ¡°Oh my god!¡± There was no time to be horrified. ¡°What is happening?¡± ¡°Carmela? Is that you?¡± Michael asked. ¡°What is going on?¡± She asked again, voice full of panic. ¡°We are under attack. Please remain hidden!¡± He told her, trying to project confidence even as the voices from outside grew closer. ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean,¡± she whined, ¡°I will not keep hiding, not while¡ª¡± She cried out in pain then, and Michael saw her trying to crawl towards a gun one of the men had dropped. He could clearly see that she was hurt, blood pooling, and he knew that she wouldn¡¯t be of any use even with the gun. ¡°I said stay there!¡± He commanded, using his [Presence] to force her to obey him. He then turned to the door, where three men were rushing inside. Slipping his hand into his pocket, he burned coins to blast them all with a full powered [Presence], and since they were all close together and in range, they were all stunned for a brief moment. It was a good window for him to rush at them, flaming fists roaring in the dim light of the inside of the windowless building. He didn¡¯t aim for the head this time, instead pummeling them in the gut, burning flesh and using his bubble to snap bones, until two of them were lying on the floor, groaning and helpless. The third had managed to get away, screaming curses and emptying his gun¡¯s magazine in wild shots, forcing Michael back inside. Then there was the sound of a car¡¯s engine roaring, tires screeching, and he knew that the final attacker had gotten away. Shit, he saw me use my powers. Turning back to the two downed attackers, who were screaming curses in whatever language they spoke, Michael made sure to bind them tightly, stomping on their legs to break them as well. He had already removed their guns, which he had appropriated. With the situation now well in hand, he went to the toilet, removed his shirt and vomited. When he emerged back from the toilet, he had cleaned himself and washed his face with copious cold water, he was much calmer. His nerves were still frayed, his hands twitching, heart hammering in his chest, but he was much better. I handled myself very well, all things considered. And I have the dungeon to thank for that. Guns are scary, yes, but so is an 8-foot skeleton boss. Carmela was on the floor, holding her shoulder, whining. Beneath her a puddle of blood was growing, gushing from where a bullet had nicked an artery. Shit. Good thing I brought all the coins with me. Michael kneeled down beside her, and she whimpered again, trying to crawl back but finding her escape route blocked by the wall. She saw me use magic, no wonder she¡¯s scared of me. Her eyes were wide and full of panic, seeing Michael as some sort of beast or monster. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you.¡± He said, trying to calm her down, ¡°but I need to do something about that wound, you¡¯re bleeding out.¡± He reached out with his hands, getting within the one-meter range of his healing skill, and Carmela was limp and afraid, yet defiant. She watched him with eyes that were in equal amount scared and resolved, as if daring him to hurt her even though she knew that there was nothing she could do to stop him if he wanted to. She had no gun, and no strength left. She gasped when the first wave of healing hit her, then again when two misshapen bullets clinked on the floor, pushed out of her closing wounds. It took a lot of mana and time, but then she was fully healed, physically at least. She was still sitting against the wall, but she looked much better, and soon she was trying to stand up, pacing around the room. ¡°What do we do now?¡± She asked after a while, as Michael was gathering the bodies and moving the bound men. Then she looked at him, ¡°what are you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not important now. As for what we do¡­ we call Old Dave. What else can we do?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± she said, ¡°I¡¯ll explain to him. You¡­¡± she seemed much more composed now, even though she was shooting glances at the bodies and at the bound prisoners, emotions flashing in her eyes before she hid it beneath the surface, ¡°I don¡¯t know how you did it, but you saved my life. I won¡¯t forget it.¡± Michael nodded, not knowing what to say. He just elected to stay silent as she dialed Old Dave, speaking rapidly as she explained the situation to him, omitting the parts where Michael had done superhuman things. Not that it matters. Old Dave isn¡¯t a fool. They waited then, keeping hidden but making sure they could see the road. When they heard a car approaching, Michael peeked out, [Distortion Field] ready to go at a moment¡¯s notice. Man, I need ranged options. He gripped his gun, and only relaxed when he saw Old Dave coming out of the car, alone. ¡°Shit,¡± the old man cursed loudly. Then he saw him, and he called him over. ¡°Michael! Carmela told me you were attacked. What the hell happened?¡± Chapter 19 Chapter 19
(Common) Distortion Field 3
Like a sturdy bamboo shield, may my resolve deflect the arrows of adversity, standing firm amidst the storms of fate.
  • Activate to immediately conjure a small, short-lived region of distorted space-time close to your body, which will act as a localized repulsion field for any incoming physical attack.
  • The skill will now activate automatically to repel any threat you can perceive and react to in time.
  • Both automatic and manual activation of this skill is now 15% more stats-efficient.
Moderate mana cost per activation.
¡°Tell me what happened,¡± Old Dave¡¯s concerned voice was enough to bring Michael back to the real world, making him dismiss the skill window. The stench of death and burnt flesh was overpowering, enough to make even the wizened old man flinch when he entered the room. ¡°At least you didn¡¯t puke, what a mess.¡± ¡°Already did, Old Dave. Twice.¡± Michael said with a weak smile. These weren¡¯t goblins, but real human beings. How could I not be affected by killing fucking people? With my bare hands too. ¡°Shit, kid. What the hell happened?¡± Michael retold the events of the day, choosing to stick to an abridged version of the story stripped of all supernatural elements. Old Dave had a pensive face throughout, as there were clear problems with this version of the story, things that didn¡¯t add up. He listened without interrupting, even though his gaze often went to the bullet holes in Michael¡¯s bloody clothes, through which perfectly healthy flesh could be seen. On the far side of the room the two bound prisoners were struggling against their bindings, shouting curses. ¡°Don Casellaro won¡¯t be happy,¡± Old Dave mused after Michael was done. ¡°But we will handle him. You, on the other hand, your story doesn¡¯t make sense. Those guys over there, my Bulgarian is basic at best, but they are talking about a demon. You. What the hell did you do?¡± It was then that Carmela finally got the courage to speak. ¡°He¡­ he saved me, Dave. I was about to die, back there, but he saved me!¡± Michael groaned, knowing that there was no way he could keep his powers hidden. Unless I kill them all, find the last Bulgarian, kill him as well. Which he wouldn¡¯t do, even if it were feasible. ¡°You need to tell me the truth, kid. What did you do to those men?¡± he pointed at the two prisoners, ¡°see them? I¡¯ve never seen the Bulgarians so scared shitless that all they do is whimper. What sort of monster are you?¡± Interesting how he manages to be so composed even when faced with all this. He¡¯s angry, but that¡¯s that, and not even angry at me. Speaking of angry. Michael finally let the bottled-up emotion rise to the forefront. ¡°Before I answer your question, Old Dave, what the fuck?¡± he yelled, unconsciously releasing [Presence]. ¡°Why were we attacked in broad daylight? Who are you having me ferry around in my old truck? Mafia or some shit? One of the dead guys, he had an Italian accent. And Carmela, she¡¯s Italian as well.¡± ¡°Shit, don¡¯t I know that. They won¡¯t be happy, but at least they know it wasn¡¯t us who messed up. In fact, seeing this, they will likely want to reward you for capturing those two. I can¡¯t really say much more.¡± ¡°Oh, no, you have to. You owe it to me now that I¡¯m this deep in it.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Dave conceded. ¡°But I need to sort this out first. Make sure the two over there understand there was no¡­ demon, here.¡± The way he said it brooked no argument, and the veiled threat was clear to all. Later, they were at the pawn shop, Carmela included. The mess had been sorted out, the right people called, and the Bulgarians silenced. ¡°Although I wouldn¡¯t count on them not saying anything when the Italians start torturing them.¡± Michael had done all he could to make sure they wouldn¡¯t talk, blasting them with [Presence] until they fainted, blood trickling from their noses and eyes, but Old Dave was right, it was not a guarantee. ¡°Plus,¡± the old man continued, ¡°there¡¯s the guy who got away. But before I ask questions, I guess you want answers.¡± He sighed. ¡°Well, here goes. Listen, it wasn¡¯t supposed to go this way. Yes, I deal with shady people, but I swear I don¡¯t do shady things myself. I¡¯m simply the guy who knows a guy, you know? I made myself a name by knowing the right people for the right jobs. I connect them, for a fee. That, and I deal with legal matters. I sort out their messes, through people I know. Also for a fee. But my hands are clean, always have been. Hell, seeing that carnage back there, I¡¯d wager my hands are cleaner than yours. I know this isn¡¯t much of an explanation, but I need to do more damage control. The perk of knowing the right people? It¡¯s gonna cost me, but less than you would think, to sort out this mess. Before that though, I need to know what you are hiding. I can¡¯t protect you otherwise.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Michael nodded. ¡°Good. Now tell me how the fuck you managed to do all that damage yourself. Why were they muttering about hands on fire, wounds closing on their own? Your clothes are Swiss cheese and yet you are fine? Look, I pretended to believe your bullshit story earlier, but now...¡± ¡°What about her?¡± Michael asked. ¡°You want to keep what you did a secret, right? Well, she¡¯s in it as deep as you and I are, and I know she can keep a secret.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Carmela said. She had regained much of her composure on the way back to the pawn shop, ¡°even if I didn¡¯t owe you my life, which I do, I have a working brain. I know that what I¡¯ve seen isn¡¯t normal, and you proved to be quite dangerous. Porca puttana, what a mess. But if anything, I should be grateful you were there. I would be dead otherwise.¡± ¡°See?¡± Old Dave said, ¡°she will have her hands full trying to rat out the Bulgarian mole, but she can be an asset.¡± ¡°An asset? For what?¡± Michael asked. ¡°You never know what you might need, one day. Having someone like her indebted to you is not bad at all. The power vacuum that this attack created¡­ But enough of that, it¡¯s your turn.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Michael conceded, ¡°but you¡¯re buying me lunch first. I need food. All that healing left me ravenous. It¡¯s a side effect of¡­ ah, whatever. Of the healing magic. There, I said it.¡± He stomped away, heading for the truck, anger and hunger making his head swim. I doubt I could have healed even another shot with so little energy in me. I really need to carry food with me at all times. And now I¡¯m left with only 48 coins. *** The diner was empty, but not due to chance. Carmela had made sure they could have their privacy, free to talk while they ate, strangely eager to show her usefulness. Michael told them a version of the story he had already told his sensei, but this time omitting crucial details about where to find the dungeon, and only talking about his skills in general terms. He didn¡¯t mention the mana coins, or anything sensitive, leaving most details vague. ¡°You surprise me, kid.¡± Old Dave said with a grin, ¡°For a moment I thought you were going to reveal all your secrets. Well, with me you can,¡± he said with a smile, and it was hard to tell the real emotion behind it, even though it looked benevolent enough. ¡°We are friends after all. I¡¯m deep enough in your shit, and you in mine, that you could very well tell me. Carmela is in it even deeper.¡± He said, repeating his earlier point, trying to hammer it home. ¡°Perhaps one day, yeah.¡± ¡°Good call,¡± he said, and Carmela scoffed. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± she said with a giggle, having already gotten over her fright. ¡°You really do have a soft spot for him, old man. I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t like it, though.¡± She eyed Michael, and her expression sent shivers down his spine. It¡¯s like I¡¯m a piece of meat. A piece of meat she wants for herself. ¡°Be pragmatic, Carmela. It¡¯s not like you and I can go there. You heard his story, didn¡¯t you? We¡¯d die, no question.¡± Old Dave said, a touch defensively. ¡°I have no interest in putting my life at risk for a chance to get some useful magic. Michael lucked out there, when he got the healing ability.¡± He turned to Michael, ¡°you found yourself there, you had no other choice. Going there on purpose? That would be a reckless gamble, only crazy people would do that. Even just going back there like you did, over and over again.¡± He shook his head, leaving the rest unsaid. Michael then told them about his conjectures about the dungeon. Both the increase in difficulty, which might remain there even if other people went in, and about the risk that a party might get broken up as they entered. Of all reasons, he thought these two were the most effective at deterring the other two from even asking to be brought to the dungeon, an extra level of protection to make sure they didn¡¯t get strange idea. ¡°Anyway. Speaking of healing skill, I have ideas,¡± Dave said, making Carmela coo happily. ¡°Oh yeah, I know you do, nonnetto. So tasty, I can already imagine the money,¡± she said, rubbing her hands together. Michael could tell that they were planning something, and he had an idea what it was. I can¡¯t say I didn¡¯t think the same thing. They could be really useful, I need to impress them. To that end, he grabbed a knife and stabbed himself in the hand. Before Old Dave could even gasp, he activated his healing skill and the wound quickly closed itself shut, the flesh stitching itself back together with visible speed. All that it left behind was blood on the table, which Carmela assured would be taken care of by the staff with discretion. She is very useful indeed. Old Dave had looked sour for a moment at her declaration, before shrugging and turning back to Michael. ¡°Do me next. I want to see. You said you can heal others, right?¡± He cut his hand before Michael could object. The cut was shallow, but it was already oozing blood onto the table. With a sigh, Michael designated the old man as an ally and healed him, burning through some coins to top himself up. ¡°Definitely slower but¡­¡± ¡°Wait, I¡¯m not done.¡± Michael said. ¡°Since you forced my hand, I might as well give you the full package.¡± He kept healing, even though the cut was gone, and did not stop until he had burned through ten full coins of mana. ¡°I¡¯ll be damned,¡± Old Dave said, getting up suddenly. He was moving around, testing his limbs, moving around in a way that was just shy of dancing. ¡°You just removed thirty years of wear and tear from these old bones. I¡¯ll be damned indeed. It was a freebie, right? For a friend?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Michael said with a wry smile. ¡°But healing others is an effort.¡± ¡°We can make a lot of money with this, kid, you know this. Right?¡± Carmela nodded. ¡°We can use our contacts,¡± she said, already planning things out with Old Dave, ¡°as soon as the word starts spreading, we¡¯ll have to turn people down!¡± ¡°Pah,¡± Old Dave scoffed, ¡°I can do that myself. Besides, what of your other job?¡± ¡°I¡¯m free to do side business as I see fit,¡± she said, turning to Michael, ¡°what do you think, ragazzo?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want any attention on me.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± both Old Dave and Carmela said in unison, and they stared at each other. ¡°This is embarrassing,¡± Carmela said, ¡°we should work together, Dave, the pie is large enough for both of us.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t tolerate seeing him robbed off,¡± Old Dave said. ¡°Softie. Where¡¯s the old ruthless Dave?¡± He glared at her, and she giggled. ¡°No, of course I won¡¯t try to rip the boy off. As I said, I owe him my life. What do you owe him, so that he knows he can trust you?¡± ¡°Look, it¡¯s fine,¡± Michael said, trying to defuse a situation while knowing he was out of his depth here, ¡°we can all work together. Okay?¡± ¡°Well said. Non ti preoccupare, leave the details to us. We¡¯ll find you a patient, you heal them for free, to start the rumor mill and after that¡­¡± Carmela began. ¡°¡­we¡¯ll make a rich man out of you,¡± Dave finished. Chapter 20 The next day was a delving day. It would take a while to set up things for the healing business, and Michael was low on Coins, needing to top up his stash. His mana pool was a comfortable 15 Copper, grown by three since last time he checked, but his supply of coins was down to 23, too little to be comfortable. An extensive heal on someone other than himself could consume up to thirty or more coins, by his reckoning, so he absolutely needed to refuel at the dungeon. Besides, after all the excitement of the previous day, he needed to unwind. What better way to do that than a good old delve? Tomorrow he would delve again, and then go to karate class, his life returning to a semblance of normality. At least until Old Dave called him to inform him that Carmela had found someone. The woman could be an asset, Dave had assured him once they were alone. Their banter had mostly been just to probe each other, but once they started working together they would make sure there wouldn¡¯t be any issue. She would be busy trying to exploit the power vacuum created by the assassinations to secure herself a better position in the Italian mob, but she promised to deliver on her promise very soon. Michael did his exercises, ate his protein, and noted with satisfaction that he was still gaining a fair bit of muscle for his efforts. He was on the road soon after, and by lunchtime he was back at the dungeon. There were a few people on the trail, but he managed to sneak inside unseen. This time, a mixture of both skeletons and goblins was there to meet him. There were four of them, two and two, and they were different than usual. Slightly bigger, yet still smaller than the boss versions, and soon Michael noticed that they were also faster and tougher than the normal mobs he was used to fighting. A welcome challenge. One he could overcome with his fists, instead of all the headache inducing talks and scheming he had to go through to navigate the real world. He had had trouble sleeping for the first time since forever, his mind spinning itself into knots with worries and troubling possibilities. Fighting was what Michael was good at. He had known ever since he first set foot in the dungeon, and if at the time he was fooling himself, now he knew for sure. It was a dance. Fists of flame cooking flesh, bubbles of repulsive force snapping arms and brittle bones, aura of presence making the enemies stagger, mana manipulation running in the background to make sure he was always topped up, absorbing the magic from the rich air of the dungeon. It was a dance that was all too short, and soon he had defeated the bosses: four hulking figures that were much less threatening than even a single goblin was on his first delve. Disappointed, Michael almost wished to delve again, but then his phone beeped. He stashed the newly earned coins, a small fortune as a reward for his skills that brought the total back up to 85, and checked the message. There were two, actually. One from Dave, telling him that Carmela had arranged something for the day after tomorrow. She works quickly. The other was from one of his old friends from uni. Apparently they wanted to do a reunion with the old gang, but Michael would have to take a flight to join them, which he couldn¡¯t afford. He was about to tell his friend so, but then he remembered that money might not be an issue for much longer, and there was still no date set for the dinner. In the end, Michael didn¡¯t commit to either path, saying that he would be thinking about it. His friend insisted, and was ignored. Damn, more people issues. I need another delve to clear my head. He headed back, entering the maw of the cave. The delve ended much in the same way as before, because even though the difficulty was clearly increasing, it was doing so slower than Michael was improving, be it skill-wise or in terms of battle experience. At the end of the run, the door leading to the second floor beckoned, calling to him. I need a challenge, he thought, reaching for the door. Time did not flow outside, after all, and he had plenty of food, water and his lights were almost at full battery. Gripping his stash of now more than 120 Coins, he headed down below. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Floor two: challenge floor.
Gather the glyphs, and remake the Unity. You will be able to leave once after obtaining each glyph. Rewards for beating the floor: Unity, loyal follower.
There was a man, waiting at the end of the dim staircase. It was not lost on Michael that he had needed no lights to go down the steps, and now that he was almost at the bottom he could see a blinding light ahead, with hints of blue and green. Leaves and a sky? The man perked up when Michael got close, and while he was ready for anything, the man did not radiate any sense of danger. He simply looked at Michael with a placid expression, before suddenly talking, the transformation immediate. One moment he was placid and silent, the next he was talking animatedly, loud and bombastic, as if he was an actor in a play. ¡°Long ago, when the Unity was still whole, it brought peace and prosperity to these lands. But then the Unity was shattered. A bitter war, with seven victors, each claiming a Glyph from the spoils of the once whole Unity. Making them powerful, but plunging the land into chaos. Find the bearers of the Glyphs and vanquish them, oh explorer, powerful and free from fate, and restore the Unity to its whole glory! Only then will I be able to stand proud once again, free from this curse.¡± The man said. ¡°Might ¨C Mind ¨C Time ¨C Truth ¨C Fate ¨C Fortune ¨C Death, these are the glyphs that even now, though much diminished, rule this land. A mere shadow of the greater whole, the Unity. Bring them together, and become a hero of this age, forever to be remembered as the savior of Rhyme Valley.¡± The man bowed, and then left, walking into the forest until he vanished without a trace. An NPC? It was a fair question, but the doubt was short lived, soon replaced by wonder. Indeed, Michael had found himself in a lush forest, bathed by the warm light of an impossible sun¡ªhe was underground, after all¡ªwith clear blue skies and a warm wind, rich of the smell of flowers and earth. The trees were tall and proud, and a river flowed in rapids nearby. There was a strange eeriness to the air, the trees slightly strange, the colors all too vivid, the water too blue to be real. A sharp difference compared to the first floor. Behind him, the door had disappeared, replaced by a solid wall of stone. He was stuck here, and according to the message he read when he stepped foot on the first step leading down to this second floor, he could only leave once he found at least a glyph. How I am going to find them is yet to be seen. Walking around, one of the first things Michael noticed was just how much mana there was in the air. It was like waking through syrup, and his magic sense was alight with colors and lights, most of them the greens and browns of nature, with some blue and other colors mixed in. It was a stark contrast compared to the feeling coming from all of his other senses, which insisted that he was immersed in a bucolic landscape of clean, fresh air, warm sun and pleasant wind. There was a clearing not too far ahead, easy to reach by walking through the sparse underbrush and tall grass. From there, the landscape opened up, revealing the surrounding area. The grove Michael had emerged from was on a stony shelf roughly one third of the way up a tall, rocky mountain, and from the clearing he could see the whole of the valley the strange man had talked about. There was a river, large and placid, at the center, with many smaller rivers flowing into it. Other mountains closed off the verdant valley on all sides, and mists hid the far ends of it, with the central river appearing from one wall of mist and disappearing into the other far away. Despite most of the valley being forest and verdant prairies, the landscape was far from monotonous. There were several features that stood out, even from a distance. Six, to be precise, which was a very suspicious number. Six features, plus the forest. Seven like the glyphs. One of them will be in the forest, then the others¡­ his eyes swept the valley. There was a huge glacier on a nearby mountain, the white snow giving way to crystal blue ice at the top. Then there was a volcano, surrounded by scorched, dry earth. Dark and filled with smoke, it took up the far end of the valley, only making space for trees close to the river. Then there was a zone that was pure stone, brown features like trees¡ªit was hard to tell from a distance¡ªthat were all angles and spikes. Another landmark was a swamp, near the center of the valley, filled with rot and stagnant water. The last two landmarks were a desert, utterly out of place with its sandy dunes the color of ripe wheat and gold, and finally a castle, built in the shade of a mountain, across the swamp. I wonder if the order matters. Michael¡¯s musings were interrupted by the rustle of leaves, coming from the underbrush and not the canopy. Clearly not the wind. Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Michael turned suddenly, ready to face off against whatever threat the dungeon had thrown at him. Even though he was strolling through a very nice forest, he had not forgotten where he was, and was on high alert. Except that the so-called threat was a little winged creature, looking at him with fearful eyes. Its face and features were humanoid but resembling those of an animal, like a crossing between a fox and a person, save for its wings. It¡¯s only cute because it¡¯s small. If it were person sized¡­ ew. The creature stared at him for a while, and he was possessed by the desire to reassure it that he meant no harm, that he would never harm it. In fact, he wanted to pet it, to show it some love¡ª Then it screeched, the sound like nails being dragged against a blackboard, and Michael¡¯s ears started bleeding as his hearing was replaced by painful ringing. He staggered, and before he could start healing, a burst of magic was heading his way, invisible save for his mana sense revealing the hidden world of mana to him. He threw himself to the side, knowing that his [Distortion Field] would be useless against the strange projectile, but he wasn¡¯t quick enough. It clipped him in the leg, and a burning sensation spread through his body, like being dipped in acid. He screamed, trying to put some distance, but his leg wasn¡¯t working properly, and the monster¡ªfor it was clearly a hostile monster, no matter its looks¡ªwas readying another shot. Shit, I need to be proactive. There was no other way. The flying offender was close enough that he could reach it. Michael leaped, most weight on one leg even as his healing worked overtime, a message appearing in his vision but being quickly dismissed. Then he realized he wouldn¡¯t reach far enough, jumping on one leg not enough to bring him in range. He wanted to squeeze the life out of the bringer of his pain with righteous burning hands but was denied. Except¡­ He reached out with one hand, his flexibility allowing him more range of motion than the average person. Then the [Distortion Field] sprung into being, above the flying creature. A bolt of magic passed harmlessly through the bubble, no, not harmlessly, it changed path a bit, and he was forced to dismiss another message. Then the creature touched the edge of the sphere before it disappeared. Since it was above its head, the contact sent it tumbling to the ground, where Michael was falling. He quickly gripped it, and then his hands burst aflame, burning mana to generate tremendous heat. The mental image of feeling a living being turn to ashes in his burning hands, then dissipating into mana would remain in his mind forever. Fortunately he could distract himself with two skill level-ups. Dismissing the level-up messages, he went directly to the skills themselves.
(Uncommon) Healing Aura 2
Within the gentle currents of Qi flows the essence of life''s renewal; with each breath, let healing radiate, restoring harmony to all.
  • You create an aura of healing for yourself, and everyone marked as an ally around you. The effect decreases with distance, up to a range of 1 meter.
  • Range decreased to 0.5 meters. In exchange, your aura works quicker, more efficiently, and will slowly purge poisons both mundane and magical.
Moderate mana and stamina cost per second.
This is great. The range could be bad, but it¡¯s not like I need it when I heal myself. It might be an issue down the road, but not now. The efficiency on the other hand¡­ this also confirmed that whatever was burning his leg was some sort of poison. Poison his ability was still struggling to cleanse. A few more minutes, and he would have full mobility back. Minutes are ages in a fight, I need to be careful not to be hit again. Then there was the other skill.
(Uncommon) Distortion Field 4
Like a sturdy bamboo shield, may my resolve deflect the arrows of adversity, standing firm amidst the storms of fate.
  • Activate to immediately conjure a small, short-lived spherical region of distorted space-time up to 5cm away from your body, which will act as a localized repulsion field for any incoming physical attack.
  • The skill will now activate automatically to repel any threat you can perceive and react to in time.
  • Both automatic and manual activation of this skill is now 15% more stats-efficient.
  • The skill lasts for slightly longer, is slightly larger and can slightly deflect non-physical entities, based on the angle they enter the sphere.
Moderate mana cost per activation. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Which meant, he knew instinctually, that the ability would now activate automatically even in case of non-physical threats, trying to deflect them away from his body or towards places where they would do less harm. Which is huge, explaining why it went from common to uncommon, as the changes are more than they seem at first glance. The distance at which it could be cast had also changed, now clearly stated within the skill. Another huge upgrade, it basically doubled my range. It also meant that the skill was now back at level four, where it was before he had cannibalized its useless parts. It would be hard to level it further, from now on. Alright. Let¡¯s see, he looked up, through the canopy. The exploration and battle had taken up quite some time, and Michael noticed that the fake sun in the sky had moved a little. Which means that there¡¯s a day-night cycle. Since the dungeon won¡¯t let me leave until I have a glyph, whatever it is, I need to approach this like a survival situation. One with monsters. The priorities were water, shelter and food. Water he had in abundance, and even now he could hear the sound of a nearby creek. He had a few bottles he could fill in his backpack and he wasn¡¯t worried about possible contamination, not with his healing skill now able to deal with poisons. Bacteria is like poison, right? Food wasn¡¯t a problem either, at least for now. His backpack was full to bursting with high-calorie, high-protein food, and the only reason he always ran out was due to his training and healing regimens burning through it all in a matter of hours. If he rationed it, he reckoned it could last for days. Shelter it is, then. He couldn¡¯t sleep out in the open, not with monsters roaming around. After some consideration, he decided to backtrack, getting closer to the mountain in search of a defensible position. There were still a couple of hours of sunlight when he found a suitable spot, a little nook in the rock that would cover three sides from exposure and the elements, assuming they were a thing in here. For all he knew, the trees and the rivers could be entirely sustained by magic. What was left was to cover the entrance to the little nook. For that purpose, he used [Distortion Field] rather creatively, willing the repulsive force bubble to appear next to the trees as they swayed in the breeze, so close that even a tiny movement was enough to make their bark collide with it. Then he cut the felled trees to pieces in a similar way, letting them fall upon a bubble. The result was explosive, bark and splinters flying everywhere, but it was quick and effective. Soon, he had dragged enough thick logs to make a barricade, and had enough timber for a fire. Which I can light super easily with my [Candle Light]. He made a bedding with leaves, and sat by the fire as the sun set. It was beautiful, reminding him of what he was planning to do and see when he initially planned to hike the Appalachian Trail, but never got around to doing. For a moment he wondered how Josh was doing, but he no longer had his number, and he found that he didn¡¯t much care after all. Unlike on the Trail, however, sleeping proved to be difficult. As soon as the fake day turned to night, before even the last ray of molten gold disappeared from the tip of the trees, the forest came alive with monstrous life. There were calls, snarls, eerie sounds of battle and trees breaking, growls and howls, and other sounds that were difficult to place. They are close. That was the true danger of this place. Even during the day, it had managed to catch him by surprise, but it seemed that it was at night that the danger level truly spiked. It was then that he heard a monstrous screeching, not too far from where he was, loud enough to make his head hurt. It¡¯s one of those flying foxes. He tried to peek outside, through the logs that made up his shelter, without revealing himself. Seeing nothing, he decided to sneak out, sticking to the shadows. A fake moon was shining up above, surrounded by fake stars, bright enough to easily see the world in shades of silver and blue. Growls and howls could soon be heard, before Michael could even see that the flying creature was surrounded by a pack of monstrous wolves. Some of them were stunned into motionlessness, no doubt by the terrible screech, while others were staring at the creature transfixed, in awe. Is it something like a charm effect? It didn¡¯t last long. The winged fox knew it was surrounded, and tried to press its advantages. Magical shots burst out, three of them at the same time, targeting the few wolves who had managed to shake off the stunning effects of the screech. A fierce battle ensued, with more and more wolves coming out of their trance state only to be mauled by magic as the winged creature fluttered around, dodging and attacking relentlessly. It¡¯s much stronger than the one I killed. I would have died against it. The tide of the battle was decided. The few wolves remaining were struggling, joining their fallen brethren one after the other. It would only be a few more seconds until they were all dead, without even having managed to lay a paw on the flying monster. It was then that a goblin, similar to those of the first floor, appeared. Michael could see an aura of magic around it, unlike those he fought above. The goblin strolled towards the fight, unhurried, until it reached the flying fox. He slapped it, swatting it away. The thing slammed against a tree and slumped down, twisted and broken, dissolving into motes of mana. ¡°The forest king won¡¯t be happy, no. No, he won¡¯t be,¡± the goblin muttered, ¡°these annoying foxes, they should go back to their swamp, they should, yes.¡± The forest king? Sounds like a clue. I need to be careful, that goblin is strong, but¡­ I need to follow them. It was then that he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and the world started spinning. He felt the wet dew of the mossy ground against his cheek, but before he could react another blow struck him, and the world went dark. Chapter 22 David D. Chestermill David¡¯s day began like usual, at 7am sharp, when his alarm woke him up from a fitful sleep. No, not like usual. He sat on his bed for a few moments, noticing how he wasn¡¯t assailed by little aches and pains. His mind was not as foggy as it should be, and he felt well-rested and full of energy. He wondered, for a moment, whether he was still dreaming, but then his mind kicked into gear, bringing a grin to his wrinkled face. Is this the effect of that strange healing? It had been years since he had slept so well. Ages since the last time climbing out of bed hadn¡¯t been painful. Now, though? He was strong and flexible like a spring chicken. Perhaps that¡¯s a bit of an exaggeration. I am still old. He wasn¡¯t feeling as frail as he used to be, and he felt ravenous. His appetite was back, it seemed, a thing he had sorely missed in his twilight years. Going to the bathroom to wash his face, he thought it had less wrinkles, more color, and that his eyes were sharper. No, the world is sharper. That fucker even fixed my eyes. It was a miracle. Michael was indeed a gold mine. That idiot Carmela. ¡°I owe him my life. What is it that you owe him?¡± Stupid. Ah well, it¡¯s a habit of the young, they don¡¯t know any better. If she had known just what sort of a tragedy growing old is, she would know that I owe Michael just as much as she does, if not more, for giving me a semblance of youth back. The boy was dungeon delving, as he called it. He was probably still on the way there. David had not been told where this dungeon was, but even though the kid was getting more paranoid about it, and rightly so, it was not hard to divine its general location. Piecing together all the information he had, David was pretty sure that this dungeon was somewhere on the Appalachian Trail, the closest spot being two hours away by car. A clear waste of time, going back and forth every day. At the diner, they had talked about the possibility of other people having access to other entrances to this magical dungeon. Potentially gaining abilities themselves. If that¡¯s true, then the current world order won¡¯t last for much longer. Could be weeks, or months, but sooner or later it¡¯s going to come out. I need to prepare. It was all speculation, heavily dependent on many factors. How many entrances there were, how many people actually found them, how many of them were as crazy as Michael was, and at what rate they gained power. Then there was the most important factor: how smart they were about it. If they are all as na?ve as Michael, it won¡¯t be long before someone up the power chain finds out about this. He surely hoped it wasn¡¯t the case. If the world was about to radically change, he needed to make preparations. To that end, he decided to call Carmela while he was on the way to the pawn shop. I still need to open up shop. It¡¯s too early to just carelessly throw away my retirement plan. ¡°Carmela, what¡¯s the situation?¡± ¡°Buongiorno to you too, Dave,¡± she said, a bit annoyed. Then her voice turned syrupy, as it always did when she wanted to have some fun. ¡°Worried about me already?¡± ¡°Not you,¡± he shot her down, ¡°the kid.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. In fact, it is I who should worry, although seeing how ansioso you are, perhaps there¡¯s no need for me to worry either. I am working on it, Don Casellaro reacted as I predicted he would, which gives me some leeway. If I play my cards right, and the healing will certainly help, I can have the whole branch of the American Casellaro family under my thumb in a matter of weeks.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± David whistled, ¡°that¡¯s some good resources. ¡°Think they¡¯ll let ya?¡± ¡°That¡¯s where the healing comes in,¡± her tone had shifted back to normal, now that they were talking serious matters, ¡°provide them with a service they sorely need, and make sure they understand that only I can provide it to them. Well, we can. No way they won¡¯t know that you are also involved.¡± ¡°Better also make sure they don¡¯t get their hands on Michael, hear me?¡± ¡°Right,¡± she giggled, ¡°worry not, old man.¡± They exchanged some pleasantries afterwards, talking about their plans until David arrived at the pawn shop. Mustang was already there, the eyesore. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°You¡¯re late,¡± he said caustically. David just grumbled at him, casually lifting the metal roller shutter and opening shop. Damn, it really is much easier now, and my back doesn¡¯t hurt. That Carmela¡­ she doesn¡¯t get it. Not really. Not the full extent of what magic could mean. Luckily I have contacts of my own. Let her handle the illegal shit, I will make sure Michael has a secure footing without having to hide from the law. For the most part at least. ¡°Mustang,¡± he said to that end, ¡°it¡¯s finally time you show me what you learned. You take the lead today. I¡¯ll be watching you without interfering.¡± Rather, I will be handling far more important things than random old ladies selling their rings, ¡°if you don¡¯t fuck up too bad, I can consider giving you the keys to the shop one day.¡± Mustang¡¯s face brightened up at that. What a fool. I almost feel bad using him. But then, he¡¯s no Michael. He¡¯s lazy, has no impulse control, arrogantly wants good thing to happen to him without putting in the effort¡­ Going into his office, he quickly started going through his contacts, writing mails and messages to several people he predicted would become necessary soon. *** Carmela Esposito ¡°You¡¯re right it was a mess,¡± said the voice on the phone. He was speaking Italian, as was Carmela. ¡°Yes Don. But I believe we can make an opportunity out of this. To that end, I ask for your support in taking over the branch of the Family.¡± ¡°Rat out the mole, find out if there are others, then I might consider it. You know what? Pino is dead, as well as that American, what was his name?¡± Carmela perked up, ¡°Terrence, I believe.¡± ¡°Yes. Those. Take over their share of the business. If you do a good enough job, that slice of America is yours.¡± Carmela smiled at that, a predatory smile only she could see. ¡°I will. I won¡¯t let you down, Don Casell¨¤. Now, if I may be so arrogant, Don, I wish to start a side business of my own¡ª¡± ¡°What? You think you will have the time?¡± the man said, amused more than anything. ¡°I know the right people. It¡¯s on the more¡­ legal side of things, although I am sure you will find that several proposals I will come to you with interesting, once the project gains its footing.¡± ¡°Money is always interesting. Legal fronts, even more so.¡± The Don said, ending the call. Carmela slumped on the chair, drawing a breath of fresh air in relief. Calls with the Don were always nerve-wracking, but now she had all the pieces she needed to start working her end of the deal with Michael. One where, of course, she was bound to gain more than she expended, but she was a very fervent believer in win-wins. It doesn¡¯t have to be a zero-sum game, after all. The real thorny affair was dealing with the mob part of her projects. If it were up to her, she would leave the Family immediately, use whatever old contacts she had to find a client to heal, and work from there. But she was not a stupid woman. Gaining power in the Family was going to be essential if they wanted to come ahead in the new world, one where magic was real. They would need trusted people to use for all sorts of nasty things, from silencing the odd idiot who threatened to spill secrets about magic to the public, to making sure the government wasn¡¯t onto them. Why waste time recruiting people when she could just use the resources of the Family? Unless they had another delver as crazy as Michael, able to keep pace with him, by the time they found out what her true plans were, she would be in a position of power so unassailable that not even the Italian mafia could do anything about it. I don¡¯t think there are many like him. The way he talked about putting his life in danger, he gets a kick out of it. Perhaps she could dream bigger. After all, why stop at taking over the branch Family? She would simply need to¡­ restructure the Family a bit. Perhaps a trip to Italy would also serve the purpose. After all, one could not remodel a house by only painting the shed. And the USA branch of the Family, despite being fairly influential, was just the shed compared to the house that was the main Family back in Naples. One thing at a time. First, I need Michael to trust me enough to know I am only doing this with his interests in mind. That my interests also happen to coincide with his, it matters little. He also needs to grow stronger. What I saw yesterday was impressive, but we need more. She texted Dave, who confirmed that the boy was currently training in the Dungeon. Good. Now it¡¯s time to see what those two dead idiots were up to. If I am to take over their business, I need to know what I am working with. It turned out, according to the documents and ledgers they were keeping, that Terrence was involved in a stolen car trade. The dealership where the shootout had happened was the front for their activity, and Terrence had also linked up with a car salvage yard, several repair shops and, of course, the actual thieves. Although it seemed that most of the deals were brokered by a certain Lynchpin, she cringed at the name, who provided the stolen cars in exchange for cash. It wasn¡¯t a pretty thing, nor was it very lucrative. Pino, instead, was trafficking drugs. Carmela had no moral qualms about that, at least she didn¡¯t until she saw that he was trying to push his people to sell them to underage teens. Too hard to be lucrative otherwise, it appeared. This sucks. The Don really threw me a curveball here. There was a silver lining, although it would make everything much messier. Both Terrence and Pino had yet to report to the Don about what they were doing. All the Don cared about, at this stage, was how much money flowed back to him. Everything else he didn¡¯t care about, and the more Carmela looked into things, the other surviving members of the family included, the more she realized that they had mostly been left to their devices. Exile. To think I was so stupid as to be happy to be sent here. Fuck the Don, I¡¯m going to milk them dry of all they can offer, putting back just enough money to make the Don happy. And when he finally comes knocking, demanding to know what I was doing? I¡¯ll deal with him. Chapter 23 Chapter 23 Michael opened his eyes to a world of pain. His head hurt where he had been struck, his [[Distortion Field] useless against surprise attacks at its current level. He couldn¡¯t see them, therefore he couldn¡¯t react to them. His hands were bound, his clothes bloody, and his head was swimming. There were lights all around, the nighttime forest filled with eerie dancing points of painful brightness. And the noise! There was a roaring bonfire in front of him, and all around shapes and shadows were moving about. They talked loudly, argued, danced, sang and argued some more. Blinking, he realized that he had been brought to a sort of village deep in the forest, walls, roads and houses made of bioluminescent plant matter and fungi. The impossibly high canopy was bustling with activity, shadows and shapes climbing the many dangling vines that fluttered in the breeze, leading to houses and platforms up above. Close to the fireplace, where the light was warmer and brighter, he could see many strange creatures. The forest folk were many and diverse. He could see goblins, different from those of the first floor, like the one who killed the flying fox. Then there were wolves, people that were more akin to trees than anything else¡ªtheir skin bark and their hair moss¡ªliving mushrooms, snakes and slithering creatures, orcs and giants with maces. One such giant, perhaps an oversized orc, had noticed that Michael had woken up. ¡°Oh, our little prisoner is awake. About time.¡± Voices rose almost all at once, in reply. ¡°What shall we do with him?¡± ¡°We make him fight!¡± ¡°Boring! How about we make him dance naked in the fire, and then cut him apart with your axe?¡± ¡°I like it. Bring out the booze, and we can start!¡± ¡°Silence!¡± said a deep, rumbling voice, and suddenly a Presence bigger than anything Michael had ever felt swept through the unruly camp, stunning everyone to motionlessness. Out of a truly gigantic tree emerged the biggest creature of the camp, a towering tree-kin of dried bark and dripping moss, flowers and mushrooms growing on its wooden skin like ornaments. He was covered in leaves, some fresh, some brown and red, and they were woven together like a regal mantle. Michael knew, by looking at him, that this was the Forest King, the first boss he needed to defeat. ¡°I shall know what this strange trespasser was doing in our lands, before any of you are allowed to have your fun. Speak, prisoner, what brought you here?¡± Michael tried not to panic, but the situation was not good. He was bound, surrounded by many powerful enemies, and all he had to his name was his pitiful magic. Except¡­ the coins! I still have them! He had to think something up on the spot. There was no way he could fight through this mob and escape, and he needed to buy himself time. Having the coins was good, but not good enough unless he found an opening. ¡°I was lost! I don¡¯t know how I got here!¡± he said, putting on his best clueless Karen impression. ¡°Lost, he says.¡± The king laughed, addressing the other denizens of the forest. ¡°And shall we believe him?¡± ¡°Nay,¡± said a particularly eloquent goblin, ¡°haven¡¯t seen such a creature around here before. He¡¯s an intruder, and invader.¡± An orc perked up, ¡°I say we make him dance in the fire.¡± ¡°Whoop! Whoop!¡± came the chant of many others, overjoyed at the prospect. ¡°Uhm.¡± Rumbled the towering king. ¡°The prisoner, he smells of no Fae magic. He is puny and weak, of no threat to us.¡± Fae magic? Is that why they didn¡¯t take my coins? Can they even see them? I can see their mana¡­ wait, this gives me an idea. ¡°All the more reason to let us have some fun, my liege.¡± Said a slimy voice, one of the goblins. ¡°It¡¯s boring out here, parading in the forest, the prey dwindling. Let us have some fun.¡± Michael¡¯s heart was thumping in his chest. It was definitely not going well, and now most of the mob¡¯s attention, as well as that of the king, was no longer on him. It didn¡¯t mean he was free to act though, close as he was to the center of the bustling village of monsters, just that his fate was slipping away from his hands. ¡°You say you want fun?¡± he shouted, surprising even himself. Balls of steel, I need them. ¡°How about a duel? I will speak to you, king of the forest, but I want to fight for it. I know you will all enjoy a good fight. If I lose, then I will reveal my secrets.¡± ¡°Not to the death, then? How boring.¡± ¡°Not boring, because¡­ Then you can do as you please with me.¡± He said, thoughts spinning rapidly. ¡°You say I am puny and weak, don¡¯t you? Well, let the weakest of your warriors fight me. It will hardly be a challenge.¡± One of the orcs laughed, a deep yet phlegmy rasp. Disgusting. ¡°Crafty,¡± he said when he was done. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to skin you and make you dance in the fire. Perhaps tear your limbs one by one while you dance.¡± Michael wanted to shiver, but suppressed his reaction as well he could. ¡°You will have your fun,¡± rumbled the king again, ¡°but no maiming until I am done¡­ talking with him. Well, strange creature. What if you win?¡± The mob went crazy at that. ¡°Win? You think the puny thing can win? I will challenge him myself!¡± said the slimy voice, and Michael saw that it was the goblin who had swatted the flying fox out of the sky like it was just a nuisance. Doesn¡¯t seem to be the weakest, but better than the orc, I guess. Not like it changes much, after all. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. His plan was crazy. He felt nauseous, sick, scared and shivering, but at the same time a faraway song was luring him into danger, the song of adrenaline like an orchestra. The gains he could make if his plan worked¡­ yes, the risks were tremendous, but he could practically taste the sweet glyph glowing inside the barky king, radiating an alien power. He wanted it for himself, a reward for overcoming an impossible challenge with wits and luck, as well as all the hard work he had put into his training so far. ¡°Very well. Speak prisoner, what if you win.¡± ¡°I want your word that I will not be harmed, and that I will be allowed to leave this place. By my means, without being followed, hunted or hurt.¡± ¡°Pah,¡± the king scoffed. ¡°I would not agree to these terms but, you will not win. Very well. Should you win,¡± he rumbled, ¡°for one night and one day, we will not hunt you.¡± he laughed, like bark splitting and water rushing. Good enough. Not the main goal anyway. He was picked up like a sack of potatoes by one of the orcs, still bound by thick ropes of green vines. They took him to a small arena, mud and dirt and the occasional tall weed surrounded by a shoddy wooden fence, rotten and infested by a glowing fungus. He was dumped into the dirt, and opposite to him the goblin gracefully vaulted over the fence, squaring him up as he struggled to get up, arms and legs still bound. Shit. They played me, hard. Now, I need to decide what I want to do. The goblin snickered. He was wearing a pointy helmet, barely a sheet of metal crudely hammered into shape, with a spearhead glued to the top. That was his only vestment, other than a loincloth, leaving his body visible. Rippling muscles covered every inch of his green-skinned body, and to Michael¡¯s magic vision, he glowed with strange swirling magic. He had no aura, and all his internal magic was visible to Michael¡¯s eye, like a looping network of rivers or branches of a tree, all leading to a central confluence point where the heart was supposed to be. No, there is another, in the brain. But it¡¯s mostly dim. Filing the information away for later, he got up to face his threat. His feet were still bound, but he propped himself against the fence, ignoring the hollering and hooting from the many rambunctious spectators outside. Spittle was flying at him, as well as rocks and plants thrown to distract him. Not that the goblin needs any help. It was then that Michael made up his mind. It was a hard decision, one that barely occupied the split second of time while the goblin crouched to begin his charge against him. Then he shot at him, faster than a bullet. He¡¯s going to slap me like he did that cursed fox. But all his magic is internal. It will hurt but I can¡ª Then the world was dark once more. Michael had barely even seen a blur of green, the impact rocking his face. Then he was inside a tree, the forest king sitting on a huge stump¡ªthe only thing that could accommodate his immense bulk. But both he and the stump were tiny, compared to the large room they were in, which Michael knew was carved into a much larger tree because he could see the rings in the bark, and the single window showed the tree¡¯s many branches. They were up above, in the canopy. ¡°Foolish creature. You thought you could defeat my soldiers, uhm?¡± the king rumbled. ¡°Or did you know you¡¯d lose, hoping to prolong your life before my orcs had their fun with you?¡± Michael said nothing. He was no longer bound, so he slid one hand into his pocket, feeling for his coins. Not all of them were there, some had fallen when they had carried him and even now he could feel their magic calling at him from far below, out of reach. ¡°You gambled, and lost. But you can call yourself lucky, if this even is luck, that I am a Fae of my word. There are others, darker Fae who don¡¯t value their given word at all, the wretched beings. I had to have a healer fix your head, so that you could speak to me, per our agreement. Perhaps you are not lucky, though, because now you will be lucid while my orcs torture you.¡± Michael studied the room. It was a mundane enough room, filled with oversized furniture, and a door led to another room where something like a stove could be seen. ¡°Speak,¡± the king said, a powerful voice forcing words out of Michael¡¯s mouth. Despite the compulsion, he could still choose what to say and how to say it. If Fae were crafty, at least according to the stories, then he needed to be craftier still. Perhaps then, a very simple human trick, cowardly and shameless, could work. After all, it¡¯s not like they have movies here. He won¡¯t know it¡¯s clich¨¦. ¡°I¡­ am here to¡­¡± Michael said, voice feeble and low enough that the king could not make out his words. Meanwhile, he was burning coins to try and recreate a crude mockery of the strange weaving of mana he had seen inside the goblin¡¯s body. ¡°Speak. Up!¡± the king commanded. Well, one of my gambles failed. ¡°My name is Michael Lexington. I come from a tiny town in Kentucky, barely large enough to have its own karate dojo, and¡ª¡± ¡°What nonsense are you speaking? Tell me, how did you get here?¡± Michael fought against the compulsion, trying to buy himself time. Creating the swirling pathways of magic was a grueling task, as was creating the two vortexes in his heart and brain without killing himself, even though all he needed was a working crude imitation of the Fae magic. ¡°I was walking on the Trail with my friend Josh. There we see this strange cave, you know, dark and damp? Not a place I¡¯d normally go but¡­ Josh tells me to explore it, and like the fool I am I go inside. Little do I know, this place is a dungeon¡­¡± Michael spoke, explaining to great detail all the workings of the dungeon, and of its magic. Never did he mention having magic himself, instead he lingered on the details that seemed to interest the king the most, avoiding all topics that bored him, talking for as long as possible. The king was interested, making strange faces, worry and disgust and hatred sometimes flaring as he asked for more information about the voice of this dungeon, and why monsters and creatures were forced to fight in there. ¡°You see, this is the second floor of this dungeon. You are one of its mobs.¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± the king declared, ¡°I am free as the wind. Not a tool of this wretched creature, this dungeon.¡± ¡°Still. It wants you dead, you know? It asked me to kill you.¡± The king laughed at that. ¡°You? Kill me, and how would you do it? You couldn¡¯t even kill one of my goblins.¡± He taunted. ¡°No, tell me more about this strange person you met, the one who looks like you, and this Unity he talked about. I have no knowledge of it. The glyph I do have, I was born with it.¡± Interesting. Either the dungeon lies, or the king was created with just enough false memories so it could function as a boss for me to defeat. Michael started talking again, explaining the theories in the most complicated and confusing way possible, buying himself time. Until, at last, the last of the squiggly lines finally connected in a crude, barely functional network inside his body, leaking mana like a sieve and damaging his internal organs. He could only sustain it thanks to his healing skill working overtime, and already a gnawing hunger was biting at his stomach.
You have gained a Skill!
In times of desperation, desperate measures are needed. By haphazardly copying the body strengthening network of the Fae, you managed to gain a mirror of their power, one that comes at a great cost. You gain the skill [Crude Body Enhancement].
This new skill will allow me one more gamble. The king can¡¯t see my mana, and in the grand tale I spun for him I never mentioned using magic myself. I must strike while he has his guard down. Chapter 24
(Common) Crude Body Enhancement 1
I see the heavens above. My mind reaches out, touching but a glimmer of their radiance, enough to burn me with the fire of power. ¡¤ Flood your body and mind with mana, following a crude approximation of the Fae network. All your base statistics will be increased proportionally to the mana expended, but you will also take true damage proportional to the effect. Mana cost varies.
¡°I met this strange person, on my way to this floor of the dungeon.¡± Michael began, only to be interrupted by the king. ¡°More nonsense. We are not trapped here by some malignant entity. We chose to live here¡­¡± he looked around, confused, as if stunned for a moment. ¡°¡­a long time ago. Yes, a long time ago.¡± Interesting. ¡°I see,¡± Michael said, an idea forming in his mind, ¡°and where do you come from, originally?¡± Almost there. ¡°We come from the land¡­¡± the king paused, confused again. ¡­and now! Michael strained. He crammed all the mana he could into his new skill, burning coins to the point his newly made network was a blaze of pain inside his body. Then some more, feeling his body start to break apart from the strain, crouching down and then releasing all the bottled power. His shoes exploded, and his jeans were torn by the force he released, denting the wood beneath his feet. The force was so great that he was upon the king before the great tree-kin could even recover from his dungeon-induced daze. Michael hit him in the chest with a fist, wreathed in the hottest flame he could conjure, coins turning to dust and mana inside his pocket. Then, still holding a handful of coins, he slammed his other hand in the king¡¯s face, burning his mossy beard and obscuring his vision. The hand on the king¡¯s chest started pounding at the wood, the bones in the hand breaking, then shattering the arm and fingers while [Healing Aura] worked overtime to fix the damage Michael was causing to himself. The king had shaken off his daze, and was howling in pain, thrashing about with his long arms. Michael was hugging his body, out of reach of the blinded raging creature. But even as it thrashed mindlessly, stray hits carved at Michael¡¯s back, breaking bones and tearing off chunks of flesh. He kept pushing, desperately trying to pierce the impossibly hard bark of the monster. His hand was pulverized, but it didn¡¯t matter because a ball of flame surrounding it, burning white-hot. The bark was charring, but it was slow, too slow. The king slapped away the hand on its face, snapping the bone in many places. He couldn¡¯t see yet with his face on fire, but the fire was rapidly diminishing. Michael ignored the pain and thrust his hand in his pocket, burning all the remaining coins. This is no time for caution. He kept his gaze on the king, pounding at his chest. Now and again, he managed to deflect a strike with his [Distortion Field] but he was too close to properly see. He felt his legs go numb, a hit severing his spine. It¡¯s over. He thought, slumping to the ground. But before he was out of range, out of rage and desperation, he threw one last punch at the monster¡¯s chest. Mana surged within, overloading his crude network to the extreme, as Michael put his all being into one, last, desperate attempt.
Skill Level up!
[Crude Body Enhancement] reaches level 2, increasing its power but also its collateral effects.
The punch connected. Michael felt something give. There was the sound of wood shattering, and the broken, flaming fist continued on for several more inches than planned. It embedded itself inside the king¡¯s chest, which was hollow, fire still raging, carving an ever-bigger hole. There was no heart, no weak organs to target. Just a small hollow space, too small to even summon a distortion bubble. Micheal was hanging by the embedded limb, even as the king howled in fury and tried to dismember him. He felt his elbow twist the wrong way, and he screamed in pain, but refused to let go. Anything short of death I can heal, eventually. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Healing was working overtime. Not to fix the damage, but to stem blood loss and make sure enough organs survived so that he could live a minute longer. The fire still burned, carving an ever-bigger hole in the king¡¯s chest. Until. Bingo. A [Distortion Field] sphere appeared inside the king¡¯s hollow chest as Micheal retracted his hand, the space barely enough for it to manifest thanks to the fire turning wood to ash. Then the king moved, trying to strike, heedless of the danger. Its body made contact with the sphere. The force was transmitted, amplified, redistributed. The bark was strong when hit from the outside, but the king had never evolved¡ªor been made¡ªto resist hits coming from inside. The king exploded. It was a tide of splinters, broken wood, moss and a sticky fluid that reeked of the most potent sap. It went everywhere. But the thing that surprised Michael the most was the silence. Now that the king was no longer howling in pain and rage, now that the pieces of wood had all fallen to the floor, all that was left was deathly silence. This deep inside the trunk of a mighty tree, no sound reached from the outside. And no sound should have reached the outside either. He was safe. Slumping to the ground, he began to laugh. He laughed and laughed, adrenaline slowly fading as the pain made itself known, and even as he still laughed he began to heal itself, the bountiful mana of this floor allowing him to keep a steady trickle of healing going. The hunger hit him, and the laughing turned to coughing and then faded, leaving him deathly tired, mangled and broken. He dragged himself to the other room, which he hoped was a kitchen, leaving a bloody trail behind. His eyes lit up when he saw the pantry, which he raided with gusto. He didn¡¯t care that the food tasted like trees and plants. It was all calories, and he sorely needed them. His body slowly mended itself over the next few hours. His bones set themselves straight, then healed. His pulverized hand merely tickled, and then was whole again. His torn flesh regrew, bubbling up from the wounds. He must have consumed hundreds, if not a thousand coins worth of mana in the many hours it took to heal, dragging all the mana he could to himself with sheer force of will, and of his skills.
Skill Level up!
[Mana Manipulation] reaches level 2. When pulling mana to yourself in order to replenish your stores, your effective range is tripled, and your efficiency is greatly increased.
Walking back towards the corpse of the king, he found that all the wood had dissolved into motes of mana. In its place, there were three things. A stack of coins, three of which shone a radiant silver, and were like a beacon to his mana sight. A skill stone. And another thing. The glyph. Gingerly, he extended a hand to touch the shining yellow set of lines, squiggly and straight and meeting at an angle, a design so complex it hurt the eyes. As soon as he touched it, it dissolved, vanishing. In its place, he felt a warmth spread through him. The sensation was fleeting, and soon even that was gone, replaced by a message.
Challenge update!
You have acquired the glyph of Fate, pruning the loose thread of the Forest King¡¯s fate. Without the other glyphs joined to form the Unity, this glyph has lost most of its power, but it retains some lingering magic. You may use it once to leave the dungeon, then once again to return to the second floor.
His first thought was to leave. He had had enough. But first. He inspected the coins. He couldn¡¯t know for sure, but it felt like a silver coin was worth many of the copper ones, but not so many as to be thousands of them. A hundred, then. 100 Copper to make a Silver, makes sense. Other than that, there were around thirty more copper coins waiting there. Fiddling with them, he found it easy enough to make the silver one turn into a hundred copper ones, and vice versa, using his mana manipulation. A grand total of 330 coins, not bad. Plus some more I spilled downstairs, when the orc dragged me to the fighting pit. Damn, that was traumatic, but was it really more traumatic than what I just did? Am I becoming desensitized to this? The last thing left to examine was the skill stone.
Skill stone: (Rare) Voice of Command
Use this skill stone to learn the first level of the skill: Voice of Command.
This must be the ability the king used to force me to speak. Damn, this is a dangerous one. Do I really want to have such a tool in my arsenal? The answer, which came quickly enough, was yes. A rare skill was a rare skill, and it was better to have it than refuse it and regret it later. He absorbed it, but with a vow to try and never use it for evil, unless strictly necessary. It was too slippery a slope.
(Rare) Voice of Command 1
With the resonance of authority, my words become unbreakable chains; through the Voice of Command, I bend the wills of others, compelling action with undeniable force. ¡¤ Your voice commands. Speak, and you shall be obeyed. The skill can be resisted by those more powerful than you or with a stronger will, however additional mana can be infused into it to bridge the gap. Additionally, the mana cost will increase with complexity of the command, time, and proportionately to how much your command goes against the target¡¯s values. Extreme mana cost. Secondary mana cost varies.
I see. Simple suggestions are easy. I can make someone drop a cup of coffee, but if I try to make them spill the scalding coffee all over themselves, they will resist me much harder. Extreme mana cost? How much even is that? On that regard, he also made a mental note to test how much mana he had, but that could wait until he was back to the material world. He knew he had grown, a lot, with all the healing and the fight. Which is good. I am so going to need every scrap I can get. Chapter 25 When Michael reached the bottom of the long, winding stairs leading down the tree, he found that it was day. The roaring fire of last night was now a bed of coals and timid embers, and most of the unruly mob of forest folk was asleep and snoring. Sensing something, a few of them opened their eyes with a wince, hungover from the festivities of last night. Some of them had drowned their disappointment at not being able to see Michael maimed and tortured with alcohol, while others were simply heavy drinkers by nature. ¡°¡­the king?¡± ¡°¡­he is back?¡± ¡°¡­where is the prisoner?¡± Slowly but surely, most of the creatures were roused from their sleep. The first few were already eyeing Michael with distrust and hostility, but none were making moves to attack him. Some of them eyed him with reverence, respect and a hint of fear. ¡°You!¡± finally the goblin, who was the most talkative of the many monsters assembled around the remains of the fire, spoke. ¡°What did you do to the king?¡± ¡°He smells like the king.¡± An orc said. ¡°Treason. I shall put him to the axe!¡± another orc bellowed. But before he could even take a step towards his axe, which was discarded on the ground, he was stopped in his tracks by a pressure he very much recognized. Turning around, eyes wide and slimy skin even wetter with perspiration, he stared at Michael with wide eyes. Yet, there was anger and rage in his gaze, other than just fear. ¡°You slew the king!¡± the goblin cried out, ¡°and have taken his authority¡­ how?¡± ¡°I have,¡± Michael said, rehearsed words not coming out quite right now that he was being stared at by so many strange folk, ¡°and I shall be your new king. Unless someone dares to oppose me?¡± The orc who had been trying to get to his axe grunted. He managed to shake off the pressure, probably because I allowed him to, by asking who dares oppose me. With a cry, he wrenched the axe from the ground and turned to Michael, charging. He impacted a [[Distortion Field], and mere moments later a flaming fist was jutting out from his back. His gut was wrenched open by the immense force of Michael¡¯s fist, reinforced by his body enhancement, and the skin was charring and flaking. Then Michael removed his hand, gore and dark blood sticking to it until the fire devoured it greedily, and the orc collapsed. Dead. ¡°I have been hiding my strength, you see.¡± Michael said, ¡°I am not a weakling. You will obey me!¡± With that, the mob fell to their knees, heads held low. Only once he released his command, and the pressure lessened, did the goblin speak again. ¡°I, commander Drullkrin, respect you. We respect you, oh new king, for you had the strength to claim the glyph for yourself, proof of your power. Foolish Groll thought you were faking it, and he died for his insolence. We shall follow you, king.¡± He said. To think he¡¯s the one who slapped me hard enough to give me brain damage. What a turncoat. ¡°You have been most clever,¡± the goblin continued, following Michael as he went to retrieve his fallen coins from earlier, bringing the total to 343. ¡°You fooled us, pretending to be weak, only to strike at the king when opportunity presented itself. We respect strength, and if the old king was lacking, then it is a good thing that someone with proper might took over.¡± Disgusting. But still, it¡¯s their culture. ¡°I must question you,¡± he said as regally as he could, flexing the lingering power of the glyph, much like the forest king had done. He had returned to the firepit, where the mob was much larger now, most of the forest creatures having come to see the new king. ¡°Speak, goblin Drullkrin. Tell me the state of our camp. We must fortify, train and grow powerful, for I intend to challenge the other glyph-bearers and take all seven shards for myself. The Unity shall be whole once more.¡± They looked at him quizzically, much like the king had back when Michael was being questioned. Dungeon spawned, created just to populate this place. I see. ¡°What do you mean, my liege? Do you perhaps wish to move against the lurid dwellers of the swamp, kill those nasty Fae who don¡¯t respect the ways of the true Fae?¡± ¡°Indeed, I do,¡± and there were cheers. When they died down, he continued, ¡°but I won¡¯t stop at that. We will kill their leader, and I will take his power for myself. Their troops will join our ranks, and then we will move against the others. The fiery volcano, the ice-tipped mountain, the stone forest, the dunes of the desert, and finally¡­ the castle. All shall be ours. The power of their leaders, mine. The power of their army, ours.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The crowd exploded in cheer, fueled by Michael¡¯s glyph. ¡°We shall aid you, my liege. Finally, a leader who understands our desires, and our need for battle.¡± ¡°Now tell me, goblin. What happens when one of you dies?¡± ¡°The body vanishes, of course, its magic going back to the land. The soul moves on, free from this life to whatever afterlife there might be. I hope it¡¯s one of battle.¡± ¡°I see. Your numbers dwindle, then.¡± ¡°They do, sad as it is. In the good old days, we could breed, and it would bring us much joy. But now we cannot anymore, and the joy is gone. Some, like myself, fear that one day even the joy of battle will be taken from us. Then there will only be despair. That¡¯s why we must fight!¡± ¡°Worry not. I will lead you to glorious battle, soon.¡± He said, even though he was slightly worried he might be about to bite more than he could chew. Still, if I can keep this mob from stampeding through the whole forest long enough to train my skills, I am confident I can win. I just need to figure out the right order to challenge the other bosses, see how the difficulty increases. This goblin gave me a hint, mentioning the swamp. I don¡¯t know if I was supposed to take over the camp and have an army, or go in solo, but I sure as hell won¡¯t say no to some free cannon fodder. There was the ethical problem: these creatures were intelligent, perhaps sentient. But they were puppets of the dungeon, and Michael had no idea what would happen to them once he left the floor, if they would even be here when he came back. And if they were still here, then what about when he beat the challenge? What of their fake backstories? In the end, it was easy to think of them as monsters. And given that they wanted to kill and maim him, the ethical dilemma was not as heavy as it could have been on his mind. He still feared he would have to take some pills to sleep that night, but perhaps he could be spared the nightmares. With that out of the way, he turned to the goblin Drullkrin. ¡°I shall go now, gather more strength for battle. While I am away, train the troops, prepare for war.¡± ¡°When will you return, my king?¡± he asked, eager. ¡°No later than a few days,¡± he said, and saw the disappointment in the goblin¡¯s eyes. ¡°And when I do, we shall go to war.¡± The goblin grinned at that, all disappointment gone from his face. Truly like an NPC. ¡°Very well, my king. I shall whip the troops into shape. We will be ready when you return!¡± For his return point, Michael chose a secluded location far enough away from the camp that in the case the dungeon decided to reset the scenario, he wouldn¡¯t have problems with the monsters. The glyph activated, spending half of his remaining power to fuel the transportation, and suddenly Michael found himself in a stone room, a single door letting sunshine filter in from the outside. Then he was out. There were strange things moving around in the air surrounding the entrance to the dungeon, visible only when viewed through Michael¡¯s mana sense. They were ethereal, intangible, but much more presence than the mere shadows he had seen last time he had been here. They look like strange creatures, and I can only see them where the mana is concentrated enough. For now, this meant that they only existed within a few yards of the dungeon. They were also still ethereal and incorporeal, impossible to touch and likewise unable to affect the world. Or so I hope, at least. But with the speed the mana is spreading¡­ he looked around, sensing the halo of mana. It grew weaker with distance, but it was spreading. I can see faint wisps of mana up to a mile away, while only a few days ago it barely extended up to fifty yards. Granted, my skill with mana was far lower, but I think it¡¯s expanding quickly. *** There was an extra karate lesson the next day, even though it was Saturday. Michael had not slept very well that night, the nightmares plaguing him despite his earlier hopes that he would be spared from the worst. Instead of dreaming about slaughtering innocent creatures, however, his nightmares were about pain, and death, constantly forced to live through the mad, desperate fight against the forest king. Each iteration showed him just what could have gone wrong, hammering home just how tiny the path to success had been. So many times he could have died, things gone wrong, all hope lost. Still, there was stuff to do. His rising paranoia, lingering from the bad dreams, had him hide a few of his mana coins in a few places around his house, in his truck and eventually at key locations all the way to the Trail and the dungeon. You never know when you might need them. He was still feeling like trash afterwards, though. This morning¡¯s karate lesson might help me clear my head. Just shut my brain off, do the techniques, no thoughts. It was easier said than done. Lawyer-guy was there, eager to vent some stress after a long week, as well as most of the others. Sensei Stephan seemed to catch on Michael¡¯s state of mind, though, and kept the two mostly separate with a knowing look. They did their katas, their spars, and their stretches, and as the time passed Michael felt his mind unwind, some of the stress melting away. He realized just how tense he had been, and tried his best to let his body, not just his mind, relax and go with the flow. The sensei praised him, saying that their style was not just about the hardness, but also one of softness, and while the praise drew snickers from the others, Michael was able to ignore them. They are nothing compared to a huge, angry orc threatening to maim me while I dance in the fire. In fact, Michael found himself smiling as Phillip taunted him, calling him names when the sensei couldn¡¯t hear. He imagined slapping the lawyer with one of his flaming fists, body enhancement making his slap like the impact of a truck, and he realized that the man in front of him was worth nothing compared to him. He was a tiny man, a hurt man who tried to hurt others so that his own pain would hurt less. Soon, Michael¡¯s mind turned to other, more important matters. Old Dave had come forward saying that Carmela had found someone to heal, and Michael was eager to do some good in the world. Sure, soon he would be doing it for money, but his heals would cure ailments that medicine could not treat. And with how expensive healthcare is in America, I can basically charge whatever I want. It was an exaggeration, but Carmela had ensured that all the clients she would find could afford to pay the price, sending Michael a winking smiley face in response to his worried text. Old Dave, on the contrary, had called him a na?ve fool, but Michael liked to think that there was fondness in his tone of voice, although he was just reading a text. Chapter 26 Chapter 26 ¡°Are you ready?¡± Old Dave said. ¡°Carmela is waiting for you inside.¡± They were in front of a large building, a private care facility in the middle of nowhere. It was one of those places for the rich, away from prying eyes, surrounded by a lush garden. Sprinklers were making sure the grass and bushes stayed green, while everywhere else the summer heat had already turned most of the ground brown. Even though it was afternoon, nobody was around, the huge facility almost deserted. Michael liked to think it was because it was Sunday, but knew it probably was due to Carmela flexing her mafia muscles to ensure his privacy, as he had demanded. ¡°Impressed?¡± Dave asked, amused, ¡°she sure can deliver, when she sets her mind to it, can¡¯t she? There is a doctor inside, of course, but he¡¯s one of hers. He won¡¯t talk. I am asking you again, are you ready?¡± ¡°Hi Michael,¡± Carmela¡¯s voice reached his ears as soon as they were inside, an unlike her usual demeanour she was all business. ¡°I am afraid I cannot be here long. Il lavoro, work, demands my full attention. Problem with the Don, but nothing I can¡¯t solve. I wanted to wish you good luck in person, though, are you not happy? We are going to make so much money together.¡± She winked at him. Seductively. And, although she was a much older woman, Michael had to admit that his cheeks felt hot. ¡°Don¡¯t rip him off.¡± Dave said. ¡°Pff, ti preoccupi? Don¡¯t worry, old man, I know you want to have a say in this. I am not looking forwards to that phone call. Michael, good luck. I won¡¯t be here when you are done, sadly, or we could have had fun.¡± She purred, ¡°but I¡¯ll be waiting for the good news in my ufficio, trying to sort out the mess I¡¯ve been left with. It¡¯s for your benefit too, say grazie!¡± After she was gone, Michael was led to the sole occupied room in the facility. He gripped the three silver coins in his pocket, along with the many copper ones. For some reason, he felt more tense now than he had right before fighting the forest king. He felt out of his element, the weight of the real world pressing on his shoulders, as if whatever happened in the dungeon had not the same level of reality as whatever happened out here. Or was about to happen. He nodded, steeling himself. They had planned and prepared, at least Old Dave and Carmela had, in order to make the process as smooth as possible. ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± *** ¡°Shattered spine,¡± the doctor said coldly, shooting glances at Michael even as he read the girl¡¯s medical records. ¡°She¡¯s condemned to a lifetime in a wheelchair, with no hope to walk again. There¡¯s nothing to work with,¡± he said with a frown. ¡°I am loathe to admit, but modern medicine can¡¯t do anything other than soothe the pain.¡± The girl was sleeping on the hospital bed, hooked up to a number of machines to monitor her vitals, as well as to force her breathing. They had sedated her heavily for the procedure, to mitigate the risk of her waking up during the healing process. ¡°You think you can heal her?¡± Old Dave asked, hovering close to the pale girl¡¯s body, heaving a sigh. ¡°Damn, this is tough to watch.¡± ¡°I can,¡± Michael said confidently. ¡°You can stay, but he¡¯ll need to go.¡± The doctor scoffed. ¡°Sure. Feel free to call me once you are done, great healer.¡± With that, he was gone. ¡°I thought he was one of hers?¡± Michael commented. ¡°Can you blame him? He¡¯s a doctor first, one of hers second. He won¡¯t talk, but he won¡¯t believe we can heal the girl either until he sees it.¡± Michael didn¡¯t miss Old Dave speaking of it as if they were healing the girl together through a joint effort, but thought nothing of it. Dave had been instrumental in making this happen, after all. ¡°I guess it makes sense,¡± he said, ¡°magic is not very scientific, and I would expect a doctor to be a man of science.¡± ¡°So, how do you want to proceed?¡± Old Dave asked, a touch impatiently. Yeah, no need to stall. ¡°Did you do all the procedures?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Old Dave said, ¡°we gave her that strange powder. She made faces, but she drank it. You know, her father was crying as she did, calling her a brave girl. I have never seen Mr Naoshida in such a state.¡± ¡°I got it. Don¡¯t worry, Dave.¡± ¡°You better,¡± the man said, and for a moment Michael didn¡¯t know whether he had said it because his reputation was on the line, or because seeing the father and the girl in such a state had tugged at his heartstrings. I guess it doesn¡¯t matter in the end. I would be lying if I said this isn¡¯t having an effect on me. Deciding to put the many swirling thoughts that had arisen out his mind, about the unfairness of life and how he wished he could do more than just heal a person to make the world right, he approached the bed. Thrusting a hand into his pocket, he got in range for the skill and designated the girl as a temporary ally. All he had to do was think of her as a target, and the skill would heal her. Then his magic vision flared, his eyes gaining a faint shimmer that could be confused for a strange trick of the light. Coins started vanishing. He couldn¡¯t see it, nor sense it clearly, but he knew his skill was doing something. He had a distant feeling of flesh knitting, bones mending, and of a vital yet fragile bundle of somethings being reconstructed from scratch. The process took a fair bit longer than an hour, and by the end, Michael could swear that his grasp of the process as the healing ran its course had improved, although his sight was still vague and blurry. When it was over, they called the doctor back in. The girl was looking much better, color having returned to her face, her breathing was even and controlled even without the machine. The healing had broken down the anesthetic in her system, and she was stirring. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Hey,¡± the doctor said softly, having rushed past Michael as if he didn¡¯t exist, taking the girl¡¯s hand as she blinked in confusion. ¡°Mina, can you hear me?¡± ¡°Mm,¡± the girl mumbled. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± he asked, and Michael realized that the doctor knew her, rather than being just here for the procedure. Perhaps Mina was a regular in this facility. ¡°Good?¡± she asked, as if confused, before regaining her bearings. Her eyes locked with Michael¡¯s for a moment, and she inhaled deeply, ¡°is it done?¡± ¡°Can you try to move your toes?¡± Michael asked. ¡°I¡­¡± she struggled. Her face was scrunched up in concentration, her body trying to remember how to do something it had not done in a long time. ¡°I think¡­ I can!¡± she blurted out, tears flowing freely down her face. She wept, moving her toes then her feet, then her legs, and although she struggled to move them as she wanted, she was getting better by the moment. ¡°Impossible,¡± the doctor was muttering, by the side, having let Mina¡¯s hand go as he stared wide-eyed at her, then at Michael. ¡°Impossible¡­¡± ¡°Do you want to try to stand?¡± Old Dave said, looking like a caring grandpa for a moment, a stark contrast to how Michael saw him deal with other business. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± The girl hesitated. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with you anymore,¡± Old Dave said softly, ¡°Mike here will hold your hand. He¡¯s young and strong!¡± That shook Michael out of his stupor, and he shyly walked over to where the doctor still stood stunned, and took the girl¡¯s hand. Gingerly she tried to stand, stumbling, but he steadied her, for she was very light despite her age. She took a tentative step, then another, tears once more flowing down her red cheeks. ¡°Daddy, daddy!¡± she opened the door on her own two feet, holding the railing but walking by herself, ¡°look! I can walk again!¡± Her father leapt to his feet, sweeping her into a hug. ¡°Thank you!¡± Mr Naoshida said. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know what to say. When Carmela came to me, talking about nanomachines and this miracle cure, I didn¡¯t want to believe her! I¡­ I was involved in bad things, you know? But no more. I am turning over a new leaf, as you English say.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I had thought, if I let myself hope again,¡± he turned to face his daughter, ¡°I¡¯m sorry princess. I should never have given up hope.¡± ¡°I know daddy. I thought I¡¯d never walk again too.¡± She was weeping, but they were tears of joy. ¡°Still. It¡¯s a miracle,¡± the man said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if nanomachines can really do what you did, or something else. But¡ª¡± ¡°The powder we had her drink was full of them,¡± Old Dave said confidently, sticking to the script. ¡°We simply had to activate and direct them towards the damage.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The man said. ¡°In any case, I thank you once again. I admit I only agreed to this because it was free, and I had no hope left but¡­ if there is anything I can do to repay you, I will do it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Old Dave was all smiles, patting the man on the back, ¡°go home, or perhaps take your daughter somewhere nice. If someone asks, put in a good word about us. You have Carmela¡¯s number, and here¡¯s mine.¡± He gave the man a card. ¡°Now go. Enjoy life, little girl!¡± *** ¡°That was¡­ intense,¡± Michael said. ¡°That it was,¡± Old Dave replied, slumped on a chair. He allowed himself a few moments of rest before he straightened his back, eyes glimmering. ¡°Ah, no backache. I have you to thank for that, Michael.¡± ¡°No worries.¡± Old Dave chuckled. ¡°Sure. Whatever. Now, listen, I didn¡¯t give them your name to protect your privacy, is that okay?¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Yeah, just as we agreed.¡± ¡°Interesting that Mr Naoshida said he wanted to turn over a new leaf. I doubt Carmela will be happy about it. That¡¯s a lot of profit going down the drain if he pulls out of her business.¡± ¡°Will it be okay?¡± Michael asked. ¡°She can handle it. Besides, she did mention she wanted to run the Family differently, now that the Don put her in charge. I wonder how she¡¯ll do it. As for Mr Naoshida, he¡¯ll spread the word about this¡­ treatment we offer. Oh, the others will be so jealous he got it first and for free. I¡¯ve told him to make sure to mention that the nanomachines are quite the limited resource, we don¡¯t have many and treatments will cost a lot. How many can you do a day?¡± ¡°Depends,¡± Michael pondered. This single healing cost him well over seventy coins, although the efficiency seemed to change from moment to moment. He suspected that if the skill had been at level one it would have taken more than double the coins. ¡°Invasive procedures like today? No more than one every two days. Something simpler, perhaps more often. But we¡¯d need to test the limits of my ability.¡± It was not the entire truth, of course, but Michael preferred to keep things vague. Mana was the real bottleneck, the amount of coins he was willing to devote to the task. He felt awful, limiting the amount of healing he could do, as if he was withholding something good from the world, but he had to think about his own goals first. Healing was a side thing, one he wanted to develop further, but it was not the main objective yet. Perhaps one day. I could force the skill to grow into a wide area heal, rather than a localized thing. If I did that, I could mass-heal people every day basically. But it would probably lower efficiency a lot, making it much less useful in battle. Do I want to risk my life, and my dungeon delving capabilities, for this? ¡°Of course,¡± Old Dave grinned. ¡°That¡¯s why I think we should implement a ¡® get healed or get your money back¡¯ policy. We can justify it well enough, claiming the technology is still in testing stage.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it illegal, to have human trials like this?¡± ¡°Do you think someone like Mr Naoshida cares about that? No, he cared about seeing his daughter walk again, Michael. As for the illegal part, that¡¯s why you have Carmela and I, no?¡± He shrugged. ¡°Now,¡± Old Dave continued. ¡°Doctor Kavins is still¡­ recovering from his shock, but he¡¯s agreed to work with us again for the next patient. He said he¡¯s sorry he didn¡¯t believe you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Michael said, ¡°I took no offense. I didn¡¯t expect him to believe us when we told him we could cure the girl with magic.¡± ¡°Still. He was disrespectful. I¡¯ll let Carmela know. For now, we¡¯ll let Mr Naoshida spread the word for us, he owes us as much. I don¡¯t expect it will take much before we see cash start rolling in. Speaking of, do you have plans about what to do with the money?¡± They talked about their plans for a while, Michael mentioning the increasing mana density around the dungeon and the strange sights within the swirling mana. ¡°I can¡¯t say I understand it well, but¡­¡± Old Dave massaged his chin, ¡°if it¡¯s true, it¡¯s surely bad news. We need to cordon the area off, and the only way to do that without drawing attention to us is to buy the whole property. I¡¯ll start looking into it.¡± ¡°What about other possible dungeon entrances? If the situation is similar to here¡ª¡± ¡°Then what? We don¡¯t even know where they are!¡± ¡°I can spot them with my mana sense.¡± Michael retorted. Old Dave hummed, ¡°and what is the range of that ability, na?ve boy?¡± ¡°Shit. Not much at all.¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t find another entrance in this state in any reasonable time frame, let alone in the whole of America. Or the world. No, Mike, you worry about what you can control. Monopolize your entrance to the dungeon, and grow powerful before anyone else starts making a mess of things. You can¡¯t avoid the eventual mess, but you can be ahead of them if you¡¯re smart. Luckily you have me to help you keep your head cool.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Michael conceded, ¡°thank you. I needed that. I¡¯ve been worrying too much lately.¡± ¡°Still, it doesn¡¯t mean we shouldn¡¯t investigate what¡¯s going on in the wider world. But to do any meaningful digging, we need a lot of money. A lot. Better worry about that, for now. Oh, would you look at that!¡± he waved his phone, which was beeping. ¡°Looks like Mr Naoshida works pretty quickly. We got another patient lined up tomorrow. You up for it?¡± *** Later that night, Michael had a nightmare that he was a great shark, hunting in the ocean. Except that whenever he ate a little fish, it turned out to be the little girl he had healed, exploding in a shower of gore and weeping terrible tears. Then the fishermen would arrive, dragging the corpse from his sharp teeth and replacing its meat with heaps of dollars, rapidly getting sodden in the water before they disintegrated into a green goop. Chapter 27 ¡°Restrictive Cardiomyopathy, or RCM.¡± Dr Kavins said, ¡°an incurable heart disease. Do you think your¡­ nanomachines are up to it?¡± he asked, speaking about nanomachines with a bit of a sour taste in his mouth. The doctor had been briefed about magic, as well as disciplined by Carmela after yesterday¡¯s attitude, but for the sake of security they were talking about it as if they were indeed a not-very-legal testing facility administering a miracle drug to rich patients. It was better than the alternative, and as long as the proper taxes were paid, both Dave and Carmela insisted there would be no unmanageable risks. ¡°I read about it a bit,¡± Michael said bluntly, ¡°I downloaded a few articles while I was on the way here.¡± Carmela had provided him with transportation this time, a black SUV with darkened windows. ¡°They should work,¡± Michael continued. It was just him this time, Old Dave busy setting some things up, and Carmela still trying to maneuver her way into power in the mob. ¡°If not, we have a refund policy.¡± ¡°I guess so,¡± the doctor shrugged ¡°I must apologize to you. Yesterday¡¯s behavior was very disrespectful.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. If someone had told me about magic even a month ago, I would have reacted the same.¡± ¡°It was even worse. All I was told was to prepare the patient, in a strangely empty hospital, then get the fuck out. It was frustrating! I believe you now that I know more.¡± Rather, now that he has seen with his own two eyes that it works. That¡¯s why he insisted he could be in the room as I worked, he wants to see. At least the doctor had warmed up to Michael since yesterday, and the skepticism had been replaced by enthusiasm. ¡°I took the liberty of administering the kid the full suite of tests. Chest x-ray, MRI, blood work, ECG, all of it. I¡¯ll have him take the tests again after you are done with him, for science¡¯s sake. I must know how this all works. If it can be replicated. And if not, what can be cured and what can¡¯t be.¡± ¡°I was thinking the same, you know? I wanted to ask Carmela to find someone with cancer.¡± Michael said. Dr Kavins¡¯ eyes lit up. ¡°Yes, yes. Fascinating. You must do it!¡± ¡°Who pays for all the tests, though?¡± Michael asked. ¡°Who do you think owns the structure?¡± The doctor scoffed. Good question. I should ask Dave. I wonder how they managed to empty a whole private care structure for two days in a row like this. ¡°Alright, I get it. Shall we begin?¡± With the doctor¡¯s nod, Michael approached the ailing kid. He was sedated, and had been made to drink the hypercaloric bulking powder as usual, to make sure there were enough calories in his system to sustain the healing. Hopefully the procedure would be less invasive than the last, or so he thought according to what he had read about the condition, but he couldn¡¯t be sure. ¡°Huh,¡± he hummed as the skill came alive. ¡°What? Is something wrong?¡± Dr Kavins said quickly, rushing to check the many beeping machines constantly monitoring the boy¡¯s vitals. ¡°Nope. All is well. Better than expected, even.¡± Indeed, mana was flowing liberally, a handful of coins evaporating into dust. What had surprised Michael was that his skill was working much better than it had with Mr Naoshida¡¯s daughter yesterday. It barely consumed one full mana pool plus some change. His mana pool was now 32 Copper now, all the healing having provided some context to run calculations. Around half the expenditure was just to break down the anesthetic, I could feel it. I can¡¯t have consumed more than 15 coins to heal his heart. Even taking into account the difference in tissue volume¡­ the efficiency is almost triple. Why is that? *** ¡°Did you like your ride today?¡± Old Dave asked after Michael was driven back to the pawn shop, the healing done. Dr Kavins had given the kid the all clear, and was now poring over the many tests he had the poor patient undergo, in hopes to understand how Michael¡¯s healing worked. He was quite enthusiastic about it, which was on the edge between reassuring and worrying. Michael had agreed to it, but not without making sure that the doctor understood just how secret this whole business was. Having some scientific understanding of how healing worked would not be a bad idea, and the doctor was already pulling his weight by giving Michael interesting ideas. Like, for instance, trying to see how his magic handled a patient with cancer, which was to be the priority when searching for the next person to heal. ¡°Yeah. The ride was surprisingly nice. Gave me time to read about the disease, which I think is the reason why it took so much less mana than I thought to heal the boy.¡± Michael had left without meeting the family this time, wishing to remain anonymous as much as possible. It had been fine to meet Mr Naoshida, since the healing had been administered for free and they could leverage the debt of gratitude, but this second healing had been a business transaction, which left him much less willing to show his face. Even though he had assurances. I know it¡¯s all a rationalization. I simply don¡¯t want to see the tears in their faces, or I doubt I¡¯ll ever be able to sleep again. Instead, he had gone straight to Old Dave¡¯s. ¡°Great.¡± Old Dave beamed. ¡°You better get used to being ferried around. Now that you are rich, you can afford to be ferried back and forth, and you can start spending your time more productively.¡± ¡°Why would I need that?¡± Michael asked, perplexed. ¡°How long does it take you to go to the dungeon?¡± Dave asked pointedly. ¡°Three hours. Not too long.¡± ¡°Not too long? Boy, it¡¯s three to get there and another three to get back. Six hours a day spent driving! Now, don¡¯t tell me they don¡¯t affect you at all, cause that would be bullshit.¡± ¡°Well, I admit I feel a little tired afterwards. But the hike to the dungeon wakes me up.¡± ¡°The hike¡­¡± Dave pondered, ¡°yeah, that¡¯s our next problem to fix. I sure hope it¡¯s not a national park, so we can buy it. Getting the stuff there so we can build¡­¡± ¡°Build?¡± ¡°Of course. You gotta be there most of the time, especially if this¡­ mana is leaking out. You need to keep an eye out. Don¡¯t worry about it, though. I¡¯ll look into it, see if we can buy the land somehow. If it¡¯s a national park we¡¯re screwed, though. Gimme a few days. It will cost you, but you can afford it now. Like you can afford a new car, and someone to drive you around.¡± ¡°Is it really necessary?¡± Michael asked, scratching his chin, feeling a bit out of his depth. ¡°Listen. You need to smarten up. You already proved that you can spend the many hours you have to otherwise waste in the car productively. Reading about the disease saved you mana, didn¡¯t it? Are there other things you can do in a car while someone else is driving for you that would help?¡± Old Dave is adapting to this new paradigm pretty well, considering his age. Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t look down on him, he has to be pretty smart to have his fingers in so many pies, a lot of them illegal. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Yeah, now that I think about it. I could train some of my abilities.¡± Michael said in reply. Although it¡¯s probably better to stick to training them in the dungeon, so I don¡¯t burn coins. Then again¡­ training in the dungeon was not as good an idea anymore, not if the coins were not too tight, at least. He needed to be alert and fresh to deal with the second floor. ¡°Now.¡± Old Dave continued. ¡°The boy¡¯s father¡­ he paid five million dollars to make sure his son could live a normal life. Carmela and I kept a 1% fee each, a hundred grand total. Congratulations by the way, you just made 4.9 million dollars. Not bad for an afternoon, no? Then there¡¯s taxes but¡­ let¡¯s just say that I know someone who can help you make sure you don¡¯t pay a penny too many. All of this to say¡­ you can afford a fucking chauffeur. For now,¡± he continued, ¡°the money will be enough to buy a car, and a good way towards buying the land. Then you will need more money to start building a road, and finally to build a house.¡± ¡°A road?¡± Michael asked, feeling stupid because he had been parroting words Old Dave was saying with a confused tone for a while now, feeling as if plans were being made for him behind his back. ¡°How do you think houses are built? You need a road to bring the materials and construction equipment there. It might fuck up the nature preserve a little, and cost a shit-ton of money, but I think we can do a gravel road within a reasonable time frame and budget. You¡¯ll need to heal more people, though.¡± ¡°Speaking of,¡± Michael said, remembering an important thing. ¡°Who owns the private care facility? Dr Kavins mentioned something about it.¡± ¡°You do. As of today, in fact.¡± ¡°What?¡± confusion was visible in Michael¡¯s face, and once again he felt as if things were moving faster than he could handle them. ¡°Yeah. I took the liberty of purchasing the whole building for you. It will put you in the red for a while, but the bank knows you can make money quickly, it¡¯s no problem. Why do you look at me like that? You need it, trust me. Dr Kavins in now on your payroll too, which will ensure his silence. He¡¯s got a bolt loose, last I talked to him he was all about experiments. Some of what he proposed¡­ ugh,¡± he made a face. ¡°As long as you keep him happy, he¡¯s as loyal as they get.¡± ¡°I get it, Dave. I really do. But¡ª¡± ¡°Later. I have a lecture coming about it. But before that, onto the main question. Do you really want to stop now that things are in motion? The world is about to change. What if people start going after you? You are being careful, but you said it yourself: just like you saw that guy with mana¡ªbad move letting him go by the way¡ªsomeone else could see you. Or go after someone close to you. Hell, Carmela works with the mob, which is a danger in and of itself.¡± ¡°A house might not be enough.¡± Michael mused. ¡°We need a fortified compound. Guards, weapons, all of it.¡± ¡°But you can¡¯t do it all alone, can you?¡± Old Dave pressed on. ¡°No. I have no idea how to do things like this. Let me guess, you want in? Like, full in?¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re starting to use your brain, good. Of course I do! This is the future you are making, here. That we are making. You need to think big, money won¡¯t be an issue for much longer. People are talking, and soon we¡¯ll have to turn them down, which will start a bidding war. As the cash rolls in, we can start discussing truly ambitious plans, especially if the world is about to change forever. Plans that will put the fortified compound to shame. We must be at the bleeding edge of this change, you get it?¡± ¡°I get it.¡± Michael nodded. He had ideas, he wasn¡¯t stupid. Just that he had refrained from thinking about them too much. Daydreaming was bad, after all. Unless you had the money and power to make daydreams into reality. So many ideas. Research. A whole facility to study the coins, break down magic. I might not be too bright, or too academically inclined, but I think Dr Kavins¡¯ enthusiasm rubbed off on me. Or. I could stop. I have money, more than I could ever need. Nah, who am I kidding? I know I will not. But I can see why someone else would stop delving after a while. Even with the meager power I have, the benefits in the real world can be immense. But¡­ he thought back to what he saw with his magic sense last time he was at the dungeon. It was like a tide. Ebbing and flowing at different rates, but ever-expanding outwards. And there were¡­ things, in the mana. Shadows that were getting ever more real as time passed. I am not a fool. The world is about to change radically, as Old Dave says. Even without other delvers, even if there weren¡¯t other dungeon entrances, the tide of mana coming from my entrance alone will eventually swallow the whole state. I doubt it will stop there, either. And when the monsters I saw in the mana become corporeal¡­ Not only that. Mana returning to the world also meant that a lot of people, who were now carefully safeguarding lost abilities that barely worked anymore, would suddenly find themselves able to do things they couldn¡¯t even dream of. The man Michael had seen in the diner was proof that they existed. There was more. Michael could gain skills even while outside the dungeon. He suspected it was because he had been touched by mana, and had mana within his body to fuel the skills. If that was the case, once mana became common, then everyone would be able to do the same. Everyone would gain power. I need to find a way to plug the dungeons, control the flow. The world will plunge into chaos otherwise. Shit, the research alone might cost billions, putting the five millions I just made to shame. I need more money, and fast. Old Dave was not finished, though. ¡°Now, lecture time. You are a fool, Michael. You need to be clear about your intentions. Agree to the price beforehand. Make sure you know the location. Don¡¯t go in blind, for fuck¡¯s sake. Your reaction when you learned that I bought the fucking hospital¡­ what the hell, man? Now, I acted in your interest, but you can¡¯t be this mellow with people. I took your money and used it without your consent!¡± ¡°Yeah, I was about to say something about it but then you stopped me!¡± Micheal said, working up some anger. ¡°You¡¯re angry for all the wrong reasons,¡± Dave said as he shook his head, disappointed. ¡°You¡¯re more mad I interrupted you than you are about the rest of the stuff. Na?ve, pushover, dammit, grow some balls!¡± ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± Now Michael was getting seriously angry, enough that he felt his mana respond. ¡°You acted behind my back! How could I know? What else could I do?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s start with the basic, shall we? Sit.¡± Dave commanded, and the two sat, the dusty air of the pawn shop swirling around them. ¡°The location, did you know where it was? What if Carmela had led you into an ambush, huh? As for me, ask me what I want to do. I admit I did all this to push your buttons, see how you reacted. Which was¡­ disappointing but not unexpected. A much better reaction would have been a hole in my chest, but then again that¡¯s how the mob does it and it doesn¡¯t really build much trust. You get my point, though, right? You need to be fucking ruthless with those who cross you, and good with your allies.¡± Mixed messages here, but I think I get the point. ¡°I¡­ see. I¡¯ll try my best. Which means no more acting behind my back. Next time you want to do something, you ask me first.¡± ¡°Better.¡± Old Dave snorted. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I like you, brat. Now, I had the leftover money deposited in a new bank account. It might not be the usual way things are done, but I have leeway. You go there,¡± he gave him an address, ¡°prove your identity, sign the papers, and the account is yours. It will be in the red soon, though, with the whole purchase spree, so you need to be back for more healing.¡± They chatted some more. Now that the roles were better defined, and Michael had been lectured until his ears had fallen off, they had come to an agreement on how to proceed. As he was driven back to his place, to get ready for today¡¯s Karate lesson¡ªit was Monday, back to usual routine¡ªhe made a mental count of all his and soon-to-be-his assets. The land around the dungeon. It¡¯s huge, with a forest, a creek to get water and a lot of open land to build. We¡¯ll have to tear down the forest around the dungeon, but it¡¯s a price I have to pay. The plan was to build a cabin first. To do so, they didn¡¯t need to have a road done. Michael could use the creek to get water, and have someone ship the food and gas and fuel tanks by helicopter. Hardly cheap. Buying the land, as well as finalizing the deal for the care facility would put him in the red, but the bank liaison had said it was no issue, that they trusted he would make a lot of money soon, and that they were willing to lend him whatever he needed at a very low interest rate. Suspicious. He had called Dave then, taking to heart the lesson the old man had tried his best to impart to him, and got confirmation that indeed Dave had greased the wheels, so to speak. Saint Hernest private care facility. I own it now. Crazy. That concluded his current assets, but it was not all. There were plans to build the road to the dungeon, to allow better access, and then to build the house. All the personnel and workers would have to be vetted, their silence bought, which would make the prices soar. The house would not be a simple house either, but a fortified bunker disguised as a house, with security around the clock and plenty of room to expand when needed. The cost was going to be astronomical, and those were just the first steps. It¡¯s mind boggling how quickly one single ability managed to turn my whole sense of money on its head. My whole life, upturned. What would my dad say now? Then, of course, there was what Dave had told him at the end of his rant, back at the pawn shop. ¡°Listen,¡± he had pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated. ¡°With the power you have, you can force people to do basically anything you want, you hear me? At the same time, people are not so smart when it comes to them and theirs, and will try to fuck you over regardless. You are taking the first steps towards being more scafato, as Carmela would say. Wiser. That¡¯s good, but the hard part comes now. You need to keep it up, don¡¯t default back to being a passive fuck who gets told what is happening to his life by other people.¡± Conflicting messages again, but¡­ ¡°I get it. It¡¯s hard, coming from my background. I¡¯ll still try my best.¡± ¡°Speaking of Carmela by the way,¡± Old Dave said as he got up, ¡°she might be a big shot, but the mafia is much bigger, and her influence does not reach everywhere. She will tell you that she¡¯s got matters well in hand, but is that really the case? Don Casellaro is not a pushover, unlike someone, and he won¡¯t let her use the mafia to serve her interests without a fight.¡± The rest of the day passed with Michael mostly focused on digesting all that they had talked about. His mind wasn¡¯t fully in it, though, instead thinking about tomorrow¡¯s delve. It was finally time to challenge the second floor again, searching for the second Glyph. Chapter 28 Chapter 28 ¡°This beauty,¡± said the middle-aged, pudgy man as he showed off a very strange-looking sniper rifle, painted red and gold with all sorts of stickers and trinkets added to it, ¡°is the Thunderstrike XLR-99. It comes loaded with custom-engineered, .50 BMG armor-piercing rounds that can punch through steel and concrete with pinpoint accuracy over a mile away. Barring the wind, of course.¡± He finished with a flourish and a grin, to which Old Dave snorted. ¡°Well, Mike. It fits in your backpack. What do you think?¡± ¡°I can see why you brought be here before I went in,¡± Michael said, ignoring the friendly nickname, ¡°it¡¯s lightweight and I think I remember how to put it back together. But the price, man¡­¡± Old Dave was taking his usual 1% fee, of course, which was much less than with the healings but still quite conspicuous for a morning¡¯s worth of work. At least, Michael knew why Old Dave was doing all this. Knowing that he did it for money set his mind at ease, otherwise he would have wondered just why the old man would want to help him so much. Yes, Michael had healed him from the ravages of old age, he supposed, but in time the gratitude would fade. Money didn¡¯t. Now that their business relationship was well-defined, Michael had no issues paying for the service the old man offered: Dave would take a 1% fee on anything he brokered, and in exchange he would make sure Michael prospered in any way he could. ¡°What price is too much if it saves your life?¡± the seller said smoothly, confusing his ponderings for unwillingness to buy. They were in a shady warehouse, but where else could someone get their hands on illegal, barely tested custom weapons? ¡°I¡¯m thinking you need to defend yourself from something big. That or you¡¯re a terrorist. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m a discreet man.¡± He winked, which was disgusting. This time, after all the rants and lectures, Michael had asked Old Dave information about the weapons dealer and the price the man had demanded to even just show the merchandise, much to the old man¡¯s delight. Which was mind-boggling, but with a rich oil tycoon with terminal cancer lined up for tomorrow, it was bearable. Crazy to think that barely five days ago I was standing menacingly in the middle of a dusty parking lot, about to get shot multiple times, with no clue that my life was about to change so drastically. ¡°We¡¯ll take it,¡± Old Dave said after Michael nodded, descending into a round of fierce negotiations. Which is weird, considering that the lower the price, the lower his fee. But then again, Old Dave is both broker and agent, both acting in his interest and in mine, even when the two collide. After they were done, they moved onto the second item Michael would bring to the dungeon. It would fill the huge backpack to the brim, but they had planned for it. The forested area where he had defeated the forest king was lush with plants and food, and water wasn¡¯t a problem either. Michael could eat and drink most things, thanks to his healing getting rid of the toxins, and not having to bring food left a lot of free space for guns. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to cheat a little?¡± Old Dave had asked they day before, back in the pawn shop. He had told Michael to stop by so that they could discuss strategy. Michael had agreed after extracting some assurances from the old man, to which Dave had only laughed. They were inseparable now, he had claimed, their fates entwined. ¡°Funny you talk about fate, seeing how I shattered the Forest King¡¯s fate with a punch.¡± Dave laughed uneasily at that, ¡°Dungeon Michael making an appearance! No need for that, boy, better save your psycho persona for when we needed.¡± Michael snorted, and the two shared a laugh. After that, they got to more serious talks. Old Dave was nothing short of scandalized at the retelling of the fight with the king. ¡°You turn into a monster when you get in there. A crazy, mad monster.¡± After which was a rant about how Michael turned back into an idiot when he left the dungeon. What followed was another rant, Old Dave raving about Michael being stupidly reckless. ¡°If you die, what of me then? You¡¯d leave me neck-deep in a pile of shit, that¡¯s what. You need to be more careful.¡± Michael had agreed, of course, but he also explained about the reward system. To which Old Dave had snorted in mocking disbelief, as if he didn¡¯t care overmuch about what the dungeon did and wanted, asking him if he wanted to cheat anyway. ¡°That would lower the rewards, though.¡± ¡°What of it? Who cares. You¡¯re after this unity thing, are you not?¡± ¡°And the coins,¡± he had come clear to the old man, explaining everything. There was no need for threats, either. It was true that Old Dave was neck-deep in Michael¡¯s stuff now. ¡°I need the coins to heal people.¡± ¡°That¡¯s secondary.¡± Dave said dismissively. ¡°You can just farm them on the first floor, where the danger is much less. I don¡¯t care if the dungeon gives you less of them every time, you just keep delving. You said you trained for ten hours straight once, right? You can delve five or six times in a row if you need. Heck, bring a tent and sleep in the dungeon after defeating the boss. Then you get out and only ten minutes have passed, and you delve again. Rinse and repeat until you have the magic coins you need.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°That doesn¡¯t take into account the ramping difficulty though, and I don¡¯t like the idea of sleeping in the dungeon. What if I get attacked?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t care about the first point. The first floor is easy and you grow stronger with every training session. As for the second. Buy a motion sensor and use it as an alarm.¡± ¡°That¡¯s smart.¡± ¡°See? You would be wasting your potential without me. Now, listen. I know a guy who knows a guy. He can meet us tomorrow morning if we pay the rush fee. He¡¯s got¡­ interesting weapons to sell. I¡¯m thinking, if you can one-shot this boss guy from half the valley away, why not just do it? Then you sweep in and mop up the other mobs, as you called them. Yes, I remember the lingo. It¡¯s important.¡± In the end, Michael was sold. The Unity was too enticing a reward. The second weapon he bought was a grenade launcher, called Triton MK-IV. The seller explained with passion how its fragmentation grenades could blow a bunker wall, how Michael could calibrate the timing of the detonation and much more. The last weapon was a pistol, a replacement for the shitty one he had bought with his savings what felt like ages ago. It was yet another high-caliber weapon, to handle tough enemies. *** The chauffeur, as Old Dave called the driver, deposited Michael at the usual parking spot. There were a few cars there, along with one he had seen a few times already, but he quickly put it out of his mind as he trekked towards the dungeon. The backpack was heavier than usual, fabric stretched to the extreme to accommodate the weapons and all the ammo they had packed for the trip. When he got within range of the dungeon¡¯s influence, he started feeling the mana in the air. His routine GPS check showed that the mana now reached 1.2 miles away from the dungeon, presumably in all directions. It had expanded again in the three days that had passed since he had last been here, according to the table he had saved on his phone. It was inconsistent data, however, impossible to extrapolate from, the rate of expansion not following any mathematical law. Then he was there, the gaping maw of the dungeon surrounded by trees and rocks, dark and foreboding. It was different than he remembered it from his first adventure there. Or is it just my imagination? It looks more otherworldly, eerie. The trees are strange too.
Possessor of a Passkey.
Do you wish to use your Glyph of Fate to return to Floor 2?
Yes. No.
¡°Yes.¡± The empty room, which had replaced the first goblin room to allow him to choose whether to quick travel or not, vanished in a flash of violet-tinged magic. Elemental energy, perhaps? Then he was back in the forest, in the exact spot he had left. Back at the camp, he found Drullkrin ruthlessly drilling some orcs, having them fight each other with wooden clubs and blunted spears. Blood flowed freely even though the weapons were mere practice weapons, the strength of the orcs exceeding their defense. But with their regeneration, and with healers at the ready, they were soon ready to go at it again. Further away, other mock battles were taking place, commanders and lieutenants coordinating their share of the once unruly mob of mismatched forest monsters. Drullkrin noticed him and rushed to him as he passed by a group of archers putting arrows through far away targets. The goblin was eager to show the progress he had made with molding the mob into an army, proudly showing off his work, and despite his monstrous appearance Michael found himself warming up to him a fair bit. ¡°As you can see, the troops are ready to attack the abominations of the swamp at your command, my liege.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Michael said, impressed, ¡°you did an amazing job.¡± ¡°It has always been my dream,¡± the goblin said sheepishly, ¡°to lead, to command, to inspire. The old king was too shortsighted to see my talent, but of course you saw it immediately.¡± Michael rubbed his head at that, knowing that he hadn¡¯t really planned for this. He had chosen because he knew the goblin, but seeing how it was all going exceedingly well, surpassing expectations, he grew confident in his ability to pull off the plan he had outlined for the second boss. Which was good. Now, time for me to show off. ¡°I have something to show you,¡± he said with as much pomp as he could muster without cringing too much, ¡°come with me.¡± *** The base of the large tree exploded in a shower or wood and splinters. Behind it, several smaller trees that happened to be in the path of the bullet likewise exploded, falling over. ¡°Incredible,¡± Drullkrin said, wide-eyed, ¡°is this the sort of magic you command, my lord?¡± ¡°This?¡± Michael scoffed, wearing the mantle of the king with increasing confidence, ¡°this is but a tool I have. A strong one, but a tool nonetheless.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I see.¡± The goblin muttered, scurrying towards the felled tree to examine the damage, ¡°such strength, our king would have never survived a weapon such as this.¡± He then turned to Michael, realizing something that left him awestruck. ¡°To think you didn¡¯t even need to use such aids to defeat him¡­ the gap was just insurmountable.¡± ¡°What about the glyph bearer in the swamp?¡± Michael asked. ¡°Is he stronger than your king was?¡± ¡°He is stronger than our king was, my lord, stronger indeed. But your weapon, its might is great, and it can strike from farther than an arrow could ever fly. The swamp king never leaves his putrid domain. We could strike from afar, take him by surprise. I think even he would struggle to survive such a weapon. Then¡­¡± Drullkrin then launched into a long explanation, outlining a plan of attack to defeat the swamp people. It was similar to what Michael had come up together with Old Dave, despite their limited information. Michael interjected here and there, asking pointed questions, but he knew nothing of warfare. Once Dave¡¯s suggestions ran out, he just let Drullkrin rattle on. I need to study warfare, among the many things. But how does one fight with bows, magic, and monsters? He stayed mostly silent, until the end when Drullkrin was outlining all the way he would torture the twisted Fae of the swamp. ¡°Couldn¡¯t we¡­ let them surrender? Join our ranks? We would need their strength to challenge the next glyph bearers, I assume.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± the goblin rubbed his hands greedily, ¡°use them as arrow fodder, let them take the hits for us while we weaken the next enemy. A miserable end. An excellent idea, as expected from someone such as you, my king.¡± Chapter 29 Drullkrin¡¯s plan was something that, had this been the real world, would have turned Michael¡¯s stomach. Perhaps this was how wars were fought, but the disregard for life was almost frightening. Drullkrin was willing to send his soldiers to their deaths, almost as if his fellow forest folk, Fair folk all, according to his own words, were worth nothing in the face of victory. The charge was called, the banner-leaders taking the lead and battle horns blowing. Michael stayed behind, overlooking the valley below hidden by the cover of the trees, along with the goblin general and a few of the elite orcs as a security detail. Below, a veritable tide of strange life was pouring out of the forest, charging for the swamp. But it was not an unruly mob. Not after Drullkrin¡¯s training. They were coordinated, moving in formation, making blocks and neat columns and walking with steps that fell almost in unison. All this in a few days¡­ amazing. The first row was spearmen and tower shields, followed by brawlers and swordsmen. Behind them, archers were already filling the skies with arrows, decimating their enemies before they could even engage. The battle, however, would not be so easy. Even though the swamp dwellers were not trained, charging haphazardly without a plan, they were strong. For each of them that fell, five forest dwellers did. Barely a few minutes into the battle, the numbers of the attackers were dwindling, the tide turning. ¡°There!¡± Drullkrin called out, excited, seeing something that required Michael using his rifle¡¯s telescopic sight to see. Below, a mass of foul water was erupting into a bubbling mess of rotting plants and mud. From it, something was emerging slowly, like a scarecrow of straw and flowing mud. Michael studied its shape and magic through the scope of his sniper rifle, having already taken position. Through the magnification, he could see the swirling Fae magic of the glyph-bearer of the swamp, in plain sight without an aura to mask its presence. It was strong, but none of it seemed to be purely defensive, although it was hard to tell at a distance, judging only by its shape. ¡°It is time, my lord. The troops have done their job.¡± Indeed, the swamp king had been lured out of his hiding spot. He was not intervening in the battle, seeing no need to dirty his hands¡­ pun intended. He¡¯s as dirty as they come. Instead, he was surveying the battlefield, his fifteen-feet bulk towering behind the back lines of his unruly army. Michael took a deep breath. He had tested the weapon extensively, burning cash to buy more specialized bullets than he ever thought he needed. In his tests, they had reduced a rocky face to rubble, testing the power, accuracy and discovering the quirks of the Thunderstrike rifle. Michael thought he was a good enough shot by now, and his target was standing perfectly still. It has no idea I am watching him. Aiming for the swamp king¡¯s straw head, which even now reminded him of a scarecrow dipped in mud, he squeezed the trigger. Right at that moment, though, he thought he saw the strange being flinch, its head turning. The boom was deafening. The recoil momentarily moved the weapon enough that Michael lost sight of the king. He scrambled to regain sight of the monster again, sweeping the battlefield until he could see his target. What he saw made him pause, adrenaline pumping. The swamp king was staring right at him. The monster of straw and mud was staring at Michael, even though he was hiding in the trees more than two miles away. The king¡¯s right arm was missing, the stump a shattered mess of flowing mud and muck from the swamp, but it was very much alive. I must not panic. What did the whole Dune thing say? Panic is the mind-killer, something¡­ I need to read up more sci-fi, it could be useful now that magic is real. Pushing the panic down, Michael lined up another shot. Still, his body was aching, muscles ready to fire in a fight or flight response. His breathing was ragged, and his heart thumped in his chest. I can¡¯t line up the shot! His hands were shaking too much. He tried to think of his skills, what he could use to make the shot, because while he was wasting his time the swamp king was striding towards him with great leaps, eating the distance between them. The monster had great disregard for the battle around him, his focus on Michael and Michael only. He was backhanding orcs and goblins almost as an afterthought, each hit of his one good arm decimating the attacking army. Healing is no good, the shakes are just a body response. What other skills¡­ he tried to use them all, but none of them were suited for the task. Using his body enhancement only intensified the shakes, the damage to his body making aiming even harder. I can¡¯t let the king reach me. Perhaps he could defeat him, but the risk was too great. I don¡¯t want to die here, dammit. My life is only now starting to improve! He grit his teeth so hard he felt something crack. Activating his healing as an afterthought, he sharpened his focus on the weapon he was holding. His mind became one with the weapon, feeling its every kink, its every quirk. He went over everything he had been taught about it by the weapons dealer. He thought back to his many tries, hundreds of shots in order to learn how to handle the complex weapon. He didn¡¯t even notice his aura expanding through unconscious mana manipulation, to the point the weapon was wholly enveloped in it. His mana began to suffuse the metal of the rifle, working in tandem with something coming from his healing skill, draining his mana pool. Then something clicked, aura and mana flowing liberally.
You have gained a Skill!
You are one with your weapon, a great marksman capable of integrating magic and the advances of military technology. You gain the uncommon skill [Marksman].
(Uncommon) Marksman 1
I see, through sights of iron, the fall of my enemies. May the bullet fly true, guided by my will. ¡¤ Channel mana to improve any ranged attack. Additional mana can be used to circumvent some limitations. Low to Moderate mana cost.
Perfect. Just what I need. Letting the new skill greedily drink from his mana pool, Michael suddenly found himself perfectly centered. His hands were steady, and the telescopic sight of the Thunderstrike was almost effortlessly tracking the lumbering monster heading his way. He shot again, the recoil no longer affecting him like it did before. He saw the king swat the bullet out of the air with its remaining good arm, and for a moment Michael¡¯s heart leaped in his chest. Then he saw that the king¡¯s arm was now another stump, exploded by the might of the bullet. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. He fired again, two shots in rapid fire, faster than the gun should have allowed. The mana drained out from him with each shot, magic making sure to keep the weapon working even when it should have not, the shots too quick, and the bullets flew true. The first pierced the king in its chest, blowing a hole through its straw body. It was smaller than the holes the rifle could carve into reinforced concrete, a testament to how strong the boss was, but the rifle was strong. Before the monster could even double over in pain, if it would ever do that, the second shot took its head. It exploded in a fine mist of drying mud and yellowing plant fibers. Then the body evaporated into motes of mana, while the cheers of Drullkrin and the rest of Michael¡¯s security detail deafened his ears. ¡°Yes, it was harder than expected.¡± The goblin said as they strolled towards where the glyph was glowing, suspended in the air. Below them, the battle still raged on, but some of the swamp Fae were noticing that something was wrong, their strength diminished. ¡°But things hardly go according to plan, do they?¡± he snickered, ¡°I admit to having been foolish, not planning for failure. Next time, I shall have many contingencies ready to deploy should our main plan fail.¡± ¡°A good lesson for me as well,¡± Michael said, ¡°a good king learns from their mistakes.¡± ¡°You are very wise, my lord.¡± The glyph was hovering in the air, ready to be claimed. Michael touched it, and a familiar message appeared.
Challenge update!
You have acquired the glyph of Mind, and the Swamp King¡¯s control of his troops falters. Without the other glyphs joined to form the Unity, this glyph has lost most of its power, but it retains some lingering magic. You may use it once to leave the dungeon, then once again to return to the second floor.
¡°It will take some time before the unsightly swamp dwellers lose all will to fight,¡± Drullkrin said, a touch of sadness in his voice, ¡°I so loathe losing troops.¡± ¡°That¡¯s where I come in, no?¡± Michael said as he scooped up the rewards to be sorted later, to which the goblin grinned. ¡°Surrender,¡± his voice boomed, powered by [Crude Body Enhancement], [Presence], and [Voice of Command]. The swamp dwellers stopped in their tracks, stunned, but some of them were already shaking off the chains of the command. ¡°Listen to me.¡± Michael ordered, ¡°your King is dead. I bear this glyph as proof.¡± That sent a wave through the battlefield. The forest folk were not attacking, as they had been instructed, and now the swamp dwellers were staring at Michael with disbelief in their eyes. Some of them bowed. Others snarled curses. Others took their own life. ¡°You have a choice,¡± he continued, borrowing the glyph¡¯s authority rather than a skill to force them to listen to him, ¡°surrender and join my army, or perish. Your king is dead, your resolve wavers. Your might is diminished, but if you join me, you can find new purpose and power!¡± ¡°He is no Fae, that is true.¡± The goblin commander shouted, words carrying easily thanks to his body strengthening ability, ¡°he is a stranger from other lands. But his magic is strong, invisible and swift. He commands might beyond your wildest imagination. Two kings already fell, and more will fall until this whole valley is under his control. All hail king Michael!¡± ¡°King Michael!¡± some monsters shouted, soon followed by many others. ¡°All hail King Michael!¡± Most of them bowed, and those who didn¡¯t were quickly slain. It was quite the sight too, as the most adamant in slaying the deserters were other swamp dwellers, allies up until moments ago. ¡°More troops,¡± the goblin commander muttered, sinister voice filled with sadistic glee. ¡°Some training, and we will be able to move against the stone folk, my lord. They shall prove particularly vulnerable to your might, no?¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± he replied, ¡°but I think we are reaching the end of what mundane weapons I can bring to the dungeon can do. The third boss won¡¯t be so easy.¡± Although, with my new skill¡­ ¡°Of course, of course,¡± the goblin was not worried, ¡°but as we grow, so do you. Soon your might will be more than a match for the stone folk.¡± *** This time, the reward was smaller than when Michael had slain the forest king. As expected. As Old Dave said, I cheated a little, here. Still, there was more than Michael had feared. Probably a reward for cunning, strategy and my ability to adapt when the first shot failed. I did develop a skill out of thin air, after all. There were two silver coins, and a single glowing gem. With his mana sense now stronger than before, on the cusp of leveling up, Michael could almost see the tint to the mana of the stone. It looks uncommon-grade. Perhaps this was a better haul than expected. But wait, there¡¯s more. He tried to peer deeper into the nature of the mana making up the stone. He could see faint wisps of something emerge from it, not quite pure mana but not quite the colorful elemental mana he had begun to notice was almost everywhere. His head throbbed, and he was forced to burn coins to keep himself topped up, body enhancement damaging his body but speeding up his brain, while his healing kept him from breaking apart. His brow was wet with a sheen of sweat, but his eyes bored holes into the stone, until he felt something give. A message window appeared, but he waved it away, already knowing what it was. His sight was suddenly clearer, like an opaque glass wall had shattered. Now Michael could see the swirling mana of the skill stone, but also something else within it. Immediately, he knew that he was looking at something more than a common skill stone, but less than a rare one. Uncommon, then, like I thought. Wow, it¡¯s like I am learning an appraisal skill the hard way, using a common ability like [Mana Sense]. The description of his newly leveled [Mana Sense] skill shed some light on what that something else he was feeling inside the skill stone was.
(Common) Mana Sense 3
Like whispers on the breeze, mana sings its silent song; with attuned senses, I hear its melody, tracing the currents of magic that course through the world. ¡¤ Mana is now a part of your world, something you can perceive, if not see directly. You gain a new sense, able to pick up concentrations of mana around you. ¡¤ Increased range and precision. You can now see through thin obstacles and weak auras. ¡¤ You can see elements more clearly, and even faint hints of Qi.
Qi? Wasn¡¯t Qi mentioned in the description of my healing skill? This gave him ideas. But more than anything, he now knew that skill stones, at least uncommon ones, were made of magic, elemental energies and faint traces of Qi. Hinting that perhaps Qi was a higher form of energy than mana, necessary if one wanted to go beyond the limits of common skills. But when I made my [Marksman] skill, which is uncommon, I only used mana. Unless¡­ oh, I see. He was not using just mana, but [Healing Aura] as well. Which, apparently, also involved the manipulation of Qi. A quick round of healing confirmed his idea, that indeed the skill summoned faint wisps of Qi into existence, somehow transforming mana into Qi. The latter kind of energy was still almost impossible to see with his low-level [Mana Sight], but he could see it by looking for what wasn¡¯t there, searching for the gaps in the mana. Where Qi was present, mana was not. By seeing the holes, he knew that there were wisps of Qi being drawn into him by the skill. By the way, my mana pool is now 38 Copper, which is not bad. Not bad at all. Finally, Michael turned to the skill stone that had been instrumental in breakthrough. Analyzing it with his newly enhanced sense, he thought he had an idea of what the skill contained within did. Nothing more than a faint feeling, but enough to make him want to absorb it right away. He didn¡¯t, forcing himself to wait as he peered into it with his senses. It¡¯s training for my new proto-appraisal. Let¡¯s see. I sense the power of an element. Water, perhaps? It¡¯s tainted, though, too dark to be pure like the creek I saw when I arrived here. Considering the theme of the boss, I¡¯d argue it¡¯s swamp related. Not just that. There¡¯s an element of force, of distance, and precision. A long-range strike? It was then that he finally absorbed it, eager to compare his crude analysis with the official description, provided to him by means he was still unable to understand or even see in action.
(Uncommon) Foul Water Bullet 1
A mutation, rendering the common uncommon, such is the power of the Swamp itself that is now mine. Like the bullets of my mundane weapons, let the elements become the vehicles of my will. ¡¤ Conjure a bullet of corrupted swamp water, capable of piercing light armour. The mutated water element will cause further damage to all kinds of matter, causing rot to spread. The bullet will travel in a straight line before vanishing. Low mana cost.
Trying it out, he could feel that the skill took his mana and changed it into something else. Much like his healing skill conjured Qi out of mana at a tremendous cost, this skill generated elemental energy¡ªthe mutated water¡ªat a very low efficiency. Finally, a ranged option. Not the best, the sniper still has its use, but good enough to never make me feel powerless without my weapons again. Although, with [Marksman], he doubted his weapons would ever become useless. It had been a worry of his, that magic would take over, but no: it seemed that he could make it work together with technology and not in competition with it. Chapter 30 Michael lazily went through the report he got from Dr Kavins, comfortably sitting in the back of his car. To think I own a car like this, and that someone drives it for me. The report was, according to the doctor, the most dumbed down explanation of the condition of tomorrow¡¯s patient that could be produced, but reading through it was slow going. Michael didn¡¯t understand most of the words¡ªdespite the doctor¡¯s best intentions¡ªas cancer was not an easy thing to understand for someone with no medical background. Researchers themselves struggle, or there would be a cure, right? Still, it would be another hour before he arrived home, and any information he gleamed from the mailed document was a potential coin he didn¡¯t have to spend while healing his patient to make up for his lack of information. Again, cancer was a tough subject to cover, but it was among the chief causes of death in the US. Moreover, it was not something that rich people could just throw their money at, at least until now, meaning that there was a huge market to be tapped. *** ¡°You know,¡± Old Dave said the next day, after Michael had picked him up from the pawn shop, ¡°Mustang says he misses the little trinkets you used to bring us. You brought what, two of them? And already he wants more.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t it three?¡± Michael said, ¡°they were trinkets the dungeon gave me on the first floor so it wouldn¡¯t look stingy with the actual rewards.¡± ¡°They were well made, or so he says.¡± Dave said with a chuckle. ¡°Too bad. It¡¯s been a while since I went to the first floor.¡± ¡°You went there last Friday, no? That was, what, five days ago?¡± ¡°It feels longer, with the time dilation and all,¡± Michael shrugged. ¡°I bet. If I was fighting for my life day in and day out, I¡¯d be cooked by now. I don¡¯t know how you are managing. Perhaps I¡¯m just too old for that, if I were young I bet I¡¯d love the action.¡± ¡°It¡¯s tough, at times.¡± Michael said. ¡°But it¡¯s worth it. It makes my blood boil, and I love seeing hard work rewarded.¡± Dave looked at him. ¡°Don¡¯t get burned out, okay? You need to keep a level head, or you will make a mistake.¡± He sighed. ¡°Did you ever just¡­ stop and think about this whole damn mess, Mike?¡± Old Dave mused, ¡°like, magic is real. You are about to heal a cancer patient. You are being ferried around in a luxury car with bulletproof windows.¡± ¡°I do, yeah.¡± Michael said, ¡°what do you think I do at night in bed? Sleep?¡± he shook his head, a troubled smile on his face, ¡°my healing takes care of sleep deprivation. Been a while since I last fell asleep quicker than two hours.¡± ¡°Damn. Tough. Anyway, here.¡± Dave said, checking the soundproofing barrier between them and the driver before giving him an envelope, ¡°to take your mind off that. Things are moving with the Saint Hernest care facility. Now, listen, I need you to decide what you want to do with it. Keeping it empty seems like a waste of perfectly good money.¡± ¡°You have ideas?¡± Michael asked. ¡°I know nothing of hospitals.¡± ¡°Thing is, it¡¯s not a hospital.¡± Dave¡¯s eyes glinted with greed, ¡°it¡¯s a private facility with top notch equipment. It already used to turn quite the profit, but I would expect that now with your healing¡­¡± he let the words hang in the air, ¡°everyone will want to be there, just so they think they have a chance to skip the queue.¡± ¡°I see. I don¡¯t really feel good about giving people false hope.¡± ¡°No false hope there, it¡¯s not like we tell them anything. It will be all them, thinking that they have a better chance.¡± Dave said with a malicious grin. Seeing that Michael wasn¡¯t amused, his expression changed with a sigh. ¡°Listen, you told me the other day that when it evolved, your healing ability shrunk in effective range, right?¡± Michael nodded. ¡°You also mentioned that you have another ability that allows you to manipulate magic itself,¡± Dave said. He had not been told about the latest breakthrough yet, but Michael wanted to wait until he had figured out how to better use [Mana Manipulation]. ¡°Why not use it to force the healing ability to expand in range again? If you can do it, then Saint Hernest is the best place to heal people en masse. Even if you can¡¯t, they can stay there until it¡¯s their turn to be healed. Some patients are not easy to move around much.¡± ¡°We¡¯d need staff.¡± ¡°Of course. I can handle it, with some help from Carmela. I don¡¯t like asking her for help, especially after she has basically gone radio-silent since Monday.¡± He frowned. ¡°You know what? I¡¯ll handle it myself. We don¡¯t really need her. She¡¯s weird.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Her flirting really puts me on edge as well,¡± Michael muttered. ¡°It does, doesn¡¯t it? Perhaps that¡¯s exactly why she does it, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°We could use Dr Kavins,¡± Michael changed topic. ¡°Oh?¡± Old Dave perked up, ¡°how so?¡± ¡°Ever since he saw me heal the little girl¡ª¡± ¡°Mr Naoshida¡¯s daughter,¡± Old Dave supplied. ¡°Exactly. Ever since then he¡¯s gone nuts. He¡¯s sending me messages, reports, theories, ideas. He wants to understand how my magic, no, just my healing ability. He wants to understand how it works and he wants to make it work better. He also wants to do¡­ questionable research on the people I heal.¡± ¡°I see! We can use him. He has contacts. If he¡¯s so obsessed with this, and if he can find other people like him¡­ damn, it could be a gold mine. I¡¯ll speak to him.¡± ¡°I thought the same. Already some of his ideas could help me push the skill to the next level.¡± ¡°What about the rest of your skills? Did you tell him?¡± ¡°He has no idea. He only knows I can heal people by expending an amount of energy, unknown in nature, and that several factors seem to influence it. He doesn¡¯t care about anything else. He wants to push the limits of this, though. Ever since he was told that the guy you found for today¡¯s healing has brain cancer, he started sending me information about it non-stop.¡± ¡°Great,¡± For a moment, Michael imagined the old man rubbing his hands together like a rat. ¡°Onto the next thing, before we get there. Here,¡± ¡°What¡¯s this? It says here¡­ environmental assessment? What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°We got lucky, boy. There are a lot of abandoned coal mines in that area, and it just so happens that the land near the dungeon is a contaminated brownfield. I got in touch with the EPA, greased some hands so they got over our request quickly, and got back from them a list of requirements, restrictions and conditions to buy the land. With this, we can move onto the next step.¡± ¡°Did you buy the land already?¡± ¡°Ha! You wish! There¡¯s a lot more steps to this. Besides, you¡¯re in the red, boy, you need to heal a more people before we can proceed. But don¡¯t worry about it too much. I need you focused on the right things, let this old man worry about bureaucracy. It¡¯s a slow, meticulous process, you know? This is the first of many documents that will require your signature, better you read it well and sign it, so I can move on.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I just trust you and sign?¡± Michael joked. ¡°Stupid,¡± Dave rapped him on the head, or tried to. Michael saw him coming, and protected himself with his hand.
Skill Level up!
[Fast Reflexes] reaches level 3, thanks to your training, bringing the bonus to 30%.
Huh. Dave sighed. ¡°Never sign without reading. Now, shut up and read.¡± *** ¡°Travis Tyrell.¡± Said Dave as they went to change clothes. Even though they weren¡¯t doctors, they were going to look the part, if anything to put the patients at ease. It had been Dr Kavins¡¯ suggestion, which had surprised Michael since the doctor seemed to have given up all empathy for his patients now that he could use them as test subjects. ¡°Deals with the OPEC countries, brokering oil that eventually makes its way into the European Union. Listen, boy, this guy is loaded. A true oil tycoon. A magnate. Big fish. He promised a lot of money to skip what miser queue there is for your healing.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a queue already?¡± Michael was surprised. It had been what, three days? ¡°You do one every two days. Even just two people make a queue.¡± ¡°Right, how much?¡± ¡°Ten million to go first.¡± Dave said, adjusting his glasses. He didn¡¯t need them, but they complemented his wizened old visage well. ¡°So much?¡± ¡°To him, it¡¯s pocket change. Besides, what¡¯s money when every day could be his last?¡± ¡°Brain cancer, I get it. Has he been briefed?¡± Dave snorted. ¡°You mean, did we tell him it might not work? Of course. By the way, this one is mine, no Carmela involved, so the fee is only 1% rather than 2%. Thought you¡¯d be happy.¡± ¡°Very. Carmela won¡¯t be, though.¡± ¡°No. But then again, radio silence. She told me she needed money, but then just disappeared. She¡¯s fine I think, just claims to be too busy to handle this at the moment. I don¡¯t buy it, there¡¯s too much money to be made, but she¡¯s a grown woman and can make her choices.¡± There was something in Dave¡¯s tone of voice. Annoyance, maybe, or perhaps something deeper. ¡°Why does she need cash?¡± Michael probed. ¡°She¡¯s trying to reshape the whole Kentucky branch of the Famiglia. You think that comes cheap? She says it¡¯s to help you, but I wouldn¡¯t be so sure.¡± Again, the tone was frosty to say the least. ¡°I don¡¯t really know the right people for this, but an errand boy I casually sent close to her place saw strange things happening there.¡± ¡°This all sounds like I need to speak with her.¡± ¡°Probably a good idea. I¡¯ll try to arrange something. Want me to come too? I think it might be for the best.¡± ¡°For a fee?¡± Michael joked. ¡°Come on!¡± Dave snorted, ¡°don¡¯t be ridiculous. You pay for the trip and the food, of course, you are the rich one. But no fee unless we broker a deal.¡± ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s go experiment on¡­ I mean, heal this oil guy now.¡± ¡°Ah, one last thing.¡± Dave added almost offhandedly. ¡°Mr Tyrell asked to see you in person before the procedure. I said no, of course, and then he went and offered five more mil to change my mind. Which, I told him, was your mind and not mine. What say you?¡± ¡°Damn,¡± he scratched his chin, ¡°I know you want me to grow balls, but¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, it could be dangerous. But also an opportunity. Pretend it¡¯s a dungeon boss.¡± ¡°You know what? I think I can do that,¡± he said, remembering all the embarrassing but effective speeches he gave to his troops in the dungeon. ¡°Fine, tell him I will meet him. Since we are at it, might as well not sedate him as I heal, so I can get real-time feedback. Tell him it¡¯s the price to pay, other than the five million, to meet me. He¡¯s going to see these¡­ nanomachines in action.¡± ¡°Damn, that¡¯s cold. I like this new you. Do I just need to tell you to pretend you¡¯re in the dungeon? I ought to do it every time I need badass-Mike, then.¡± Chapter 31 ¡°Give it to me straight,¡± said Mr Tyrell after the procedure. He had been awake the whole time, giving feedback about what he was feeling, which had been in line with what Michael felt when he healed his own injuries. The only difference was the sensation of something shrinking, probably the cancer being destroyed before the surrounding tissues were repaired, but they wouldn¡¯t know more until Dr Kavins had his way with Mr Tyrell. It was another clause in their agreement. The oil magnate was gripping Michael¡¯s arm with surprising strength now that he was healed. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a medical procedure at all.¡± He said gravely, but not with a threatening tone, ¡°that nanomachine fuckery, it¡¯s all bullshit, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Pretend it¡¯s a dungeon boss. One you defeat with cunning,¡± Old Dave¡¯s words echoed in his mind. ¡°We keep up the pretense.¡± Michael said calmly, almost sounding uninterested and aloof. ¡°Less prying eyes, this way. It¡¯s an innovative process.¡± ¡°Innovative my ass. You don¡¯t cure cancer in one day. Trust me, I know a lot about it. You tend to do extensive research when you are slowly being killed by something. Not even that slowly, not with brain asshole cells going all kinds of wrong. I looked around; there was no mention of a miracle cure anywhere up until a few days ago. I almost didn¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°Yet you are here.¡± Michael said calmly. Mr Tyrell snorted, making a face. ¡°I came to see what the hype was about. No, that¡¯s a lie. Listen, a dying man has no luxury to be skeptical. Either it worked or it didn¡¯t, I was a dead man anyway. So tell me, is it magic?¡± Michael¡¯s fa?ade crumbled for a moment. ¡°Ah, so it is magic.¡± The man stated. ¡°How can you say it with so much certainty? Do you have proof it even exists?¡± ¡°People like the Illuminati and all that shit? Nah. But,¡± he held up a finger, ¡°while the story might be bogus, there¡¯s a grain of truth to it. You don¡¯t go around my circles without seeing some oddities. Still, to cure cancer¡­¡± ¡°Yes. It was magic.¡± Michael stopped him, trying to regain control of the conversation, ¡°that¡¯s why it¡¯s imperative that you keep your mouth shut about it,¡± Michael said, leaking some Presence into his voice. ¡°I will. I¡¯m no asshole, you saved my life, boy. I just wanted to know. I researched you. Your security is not that tight that I couldn¡¯t get someone in. It¡¯s better than I thought, but it¡¯s still shit. I can help you with that, by the way.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°You were normal, just a poor teenager who got kicked out by asshole parents. Up until you were not. How?¡± ¡°Secret.¡± Michael said, but he smelled an opportunity. One he had let escape when he healed Mr Naoshida and which had kept him up at night for the last few days. Let¡¯s see if he bites. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I stumbled upon a way to gain these powers.¡± ¡°The property you want to buy,¡± the oil tycoon¡¯s eyes shone with dangerous light. ¡°I understand now. I couldn¡¯t make sense of it before, I thought it was just a random purchase to suit your strange fancy. Now,¡± he pulled Michael close, yanking at his arm while still lying in bed, ¡°is there a way for others to get this power you have?¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± Michael kept it vague. ¡°But it¡¯s dangerous. Deadly, even. I was lucky.¡± His mind was firing rapidly, ideas forming. It was true that if he approached this as if it was a dungeon fight, his mind was clearer, able to dissociate the events from their gravity. The toll would come later. ¡°You would have to fight, put your life in danger. I can act as an escort, reduce the danger considerably, although not completely. You would be the first, other than me, to be granted a chance.¡± Tyrell¡¯s eyes lit up even more. ¡°Ha! I knew it was worth the money the moment I saw you.¡± ¡°No need to butter me up. It¡¯s going to cost you. A lot.¡± ¡°Not just money,¡± Old Dave chose that moment to barge into the room. Of course, he was listening through the security cameras. ¡°Old Dave, pleasure to meet you in person, Mr Tyrell.¡± The old man said with a flourish, ¡°I¡¯m Mike¡¯s agent, so to speak.¡± He turned serious. ¡°If we give you this chance, you will have to work with us. For us.¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Besides,¡± Michael added. ¡°It¡¯s not like you brave the danger once and you get powerful all of a sudden. The more power you want, the more trips to hell you gotta take.¡± ¡°And we,¡± Dave interjected, ¡°control access to this hell. Security isn¡¯t tight right now, no need to draw attention, but soon it will be.¡± ¡°Not like we need a deterrent,¡± Michael said, surprising even himself, ¡°Mr Tyrell, you just got your life back. Hell is dangerous, do you want to risk all you built just for a sliver of chance? Of do you want to work with us and have a much safer route to power?¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Tyrell boomed. He laughed, holding his belly, ¡°hahahaha,¡± he wheezed, ¡°you got balls kid.¡± Then he was suddenly serious, staring at him in the eye. ¡°You¡¯re damn right I don¡¯t want to die. But I will gladly sacrifice all my material possessions, and place myself in your debt, if you can promise me power like you have. Healing is not all you do, is it?¡± ¡°No, Mr Tyrell.¡± Michael said succinctly. ¡°It¡¯s just the tip of the iceberg.¡± ¡°Call me Travis. We are going to be partners from now on. Now tell me, what is it that you need?¡± Michael left handling mundane matters to Old Dave. Their priority would be to secure the land around the dungeon, using the oil magnate¡¯s considerable connections to pull some strings and finalize the deal. Old Dave was muttering in delight when he left the room, having drafted an agreement with Travis, saying how the man¡¯s connections dwarfed even his own, reaching all the way up to Congress. Michael knew that he could not trust Tyrell the way he trusted Old Dave, though, and Dave knew as well. After they secured the land, the plan was to rush construction of a gravel road leading from the highway to the dungeon along the shortest path, all obstacles be damned. The cabin plan was trashed, as without a road they would have needed to bring in materials and supplies by helicopter, bringing too much attention to the place far too early. Travis¡¯ input had been invaluable on that point, his expertise showing. The real fun would begin after the road was completed. The recent cash injection would make sure they could proceed for now, and more money could always be made by healing more people. Both Michael and Dave agreed not to milk Travis for petty cash. It was better to make the man feel indebted to them as much as possible, and his favors were worth much more than just money. Eventually they planned to rope him in completely, but as Dave said: one step at a time. ¡°Once you take him to the dungeon, make sure he sees your strength and understands that if he wants more than just a taste, he has to bide by the rules.¡± ¡°Which are?¡± Michael asked. Old Dave held up one finger after the other. ¡°Magic is to be kept secret. He must help us in any way he can, and in return we will help him and his family in times of need. I also promised priority healing for anyone he recommends, at full price of course, which will make him want to keep us happy and satisfied. Lastly, he is to keep prying eyes away from us. Just normal building activities happening in the plot we have, nothing strange. The protection won¡¯t last long, not after we move with the later stages of the plan, but any help is welcome.¡± Michael hummed, appreciative of Dave¡¯s competence. As for him, his job was to accumulate more strength until he was strong enough to be a deterrent in and of himself. If possible, or rather it was imperative that he became a powerhouse before they caught the eye of other powerful individuals. Not just people with magic, be it secular or from the new dungeons, but also organizations, multinationals, organized crime and the thing that scared Michael the most: shady organizations like the CIA. Luckily Travis can pull strings in the Congress. I wonder if maybe the president has a sick relative I could heal? Michael was almost disgusted at the thought, rapidly blaming it on Old Dave¡¯s cynical nature rubbing on him. *** To think I live in a shithole like this, Michael thought as he quickly grabbed his karate bag at home, in the dungeon, I am a king. At least, I am cosplaying as one. In the real world, I am a millionaire, although I can¡¯t show it around yet. But to everyone else, to my dad, to those assholes at the dojo¡­ I¡¯m still a nobody, still trash. I need to be patient. He looked around, taking in the sight of the messy apartment he had grown to hate over the many months he had lived here. It was moldy, wet, damp and cold in the winter. There were windows, but they overlooked the garbage bins and the parking lot, the view otherwise covered by other buildings that encroached all around like tall giants. But eventually, he would have a house in the forest all for himself. More like a mansion, those designs were crazy. There would also be housing for all the security they were going to hire, as well as spaces to expand and fortify, to do research, and much more. Old Dave was having fun with it. Not like it¡¯s his money we are going to spend. It was still hard to believe how much things had changed in the last couple of weeks. The dungeon, then meeting Old Dave, the shootout with the mafia¡ªit still weighed heavily on his mind, the worry of what might happen with the Bulgarians and with the now-disappeared Carmela¡ªthen meeting all those rich people, the last of which had been intense, to say the least. It was easier if he channeled his dungeon-king cosplay persona, but the backlash of that act had been him lying almost catatonic in the back of the car while he was driven back home from the Saint Hernest care facility, struggling to hold his nerves in check. I need to let off some steam. Lawyer-guy better behave tonight. Chapter 32 Travis Tyrell, CEO of PetroLink Global ¡°Good job, Linda,¡± Travis said, casually throwing his jacket onto the hanger by the door. His secretary grimaced at the sight of such an expensive piece of clothing being manhandled with utter lack of care. She was about to scold him like she usually did, descending in their usual bouts of lighthearted banter, when she noticed his steady gait and lucid eyes. ¡°Yes,¡± Travis said, ¡°the cancer is gone. No more tremors. Clear vision, clear thoughts. The boy really did deliver.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± she was at a loss of words, ¡°that¡¯s amazing, sir!¡± He was almost touched by the display of affection, a sign that his employees valued him and the company just like he liked to think the company valued its employees. ¡°There was more to him than we thought, though,¡± he added, ¡°you did a good job with your background check, but man was there more to him than we thought.¡± ¡°Like what, sir?¡± ¡°He¡¯s no doctor, I tell you that.¡± Travis said with a grunt, flexing his body that felt much less stiff than usual. ¡°It was not a revolutionary technology that cured you, was it?¡± she asked pointedly. ¡°Ever the bright one, you,¡± Travis said fondly, ¡°I have been sworn into secrecy, but I know you can piece something together yourself. I trust your discretion.¡± ¡°Travis Tyrell, ruthless CEO of a megacorporation responsible for the death of the planet. You sound like you are taking this boy¡¯s side. Perhaps you are still sick.¡± ¡°Pah,¡± the CEO laughed, ¡°you would think so, wouldn¡¯t you? Listen well, this is an opportunity orders of magnitude bigger than any deal we might ever get to close. You saw what he did to me, no? Well, there¡¯s more of it where it came from, and all I need to do to have it is to butter the boy up real good. So what if I have to kiss some ass? I would gladly do so.¡± There was a dangerous glint in his eyes, greed for power. ¡°He really must have something special to offer, then, for you to be willing to bend over like this. Perhaps I should pay him a visit.¡± ¡°Maybe when you have something to offer him yourself,¡± Travis joked, to which his secretary pretended to be gravely offended. They devolved into some banter, before he shut himself into his office. Slumping into his chair, he sighed deeply. Magic. And not just those party tricks I saw at the biannuals. Real, tangible magic. Too bad the boy has found himself quite the capable helper, or I¡¯d have snatched him up real quick. It was not all bad. Travis had managed to get Michael to share the source of his magic, at least when pressured. The price he asked in return¡­ The goal was clear to someone such as Travis, not that they were making any effort to hide their motives. They wanted protection, power, money and political sway. Since they couldn¡¯t get it themselves, not without having to work for it for a long time, they were willing to sell a part of their secret stash of magic to get their hands on it. No. They want more. The boy still doesn¡¯t get it, but I saw it in that guy Old Dave¡¯s eyes. He wants everything. Anything he can get his grubby hands on, he wants under his umbrella. Is he doing it for himself, or for the boy he took under his wing? Troublesome. But even then, he¡¯s just a little fish in an ocean of sharks. It¡¯s not even him who has the magic powers, or I¡¯d have had him killed as soon as possible. No, Michael is young, idealistic, na?ve. It almost makes me wish I could still be like that. He won¡¯t ask for too much. To him, even our breadcrumbs are gold ingots. Lobbying some senator so he can buy land? Trivial. Travis had mulled over many matters on his way back to his office on the fifty-second floor of his privately owned skyscraper. Perhaps he could force their hand, take what he wanted without having to pay for it. After all, even with their magic, they were ants before his financial and political empire. He had presidents, CEOs and ministers on his quick call list. The thought that he owed the boy his life didn¡¯t even cross his mind. The healing had been a transaction, the price paid in full. The reason why he had not forced their hands, doing the opposite instead, was that he could afford to. Simple as that. All it cost him was a little bit of money and some time, the latter being the real valuable thing in this day and age. Compared to being deathly sick, stuck in a hospital bed suffering hallucinations all day? I can spare some time. The company won¡¯t sink just yet. Hence the hasty agreement to bend the mighty power at his disposal to their whims in exchange for being taken to this hell place where he could gain a measure of magic similar to what Michael had. It worried him that Michael was the only one he could find any information about who had these powers. It was a gamble. He would be walking into unknown territory for possible gains his advisors would call questionable. And yet. His gut told him to take the deal, and he always listened to his gut. One didn¡¯t get this far in life without allowing at least a little bit of recognition to gut feelings. They weren¡¯t always correct, but they always warranted listening, if anything, to get better information. And information was what Travis Tyrell was after. He knew where the entrance to hell was, at least roughly, but what he did not know was what he would find inside. Michael had talked about great danger, so much so that even with his might and protection¡ªwhich were still to be seen, as Travis had only seen healing in action¡ªhis safety was not guaranteed. It was enough to make him pause. Surely Michael and that David guy had no intention of killing him. They would gain nothing from it. As with kidnapping. It would only draw attention to them and scorch the ground they walked on. Surely Michael did not have the balls to do any of that, even though David might, if he could gain from it. Now, then, what sort of place is so dangerous not even someone who can heal a deadly brain tumor in five minutes can guarantee my safety? Fear of death, so soon after being healed, was the only reason why Travis had not gone all in. He knew that if he had wanted, he could have thrown so many benefits at the duo that they would have had to just take him to hell there and then, no questions asked. But he refrained from doing so, despite his trepidation. Travis was, despite his position, not a patient person. He was quite impulsive, and he knew it well. He took action, seizing any random chance he stumbled upon. But for now¡­ Assuming their promise of power was real, what was left to see was how much of the danger they spoke about was actually real danger. It was the true make or break point of it all, and the reason Travis had agreed to be put in their debt in exchange for access to the place of power. It was not access he was paying for: it was protection. Michael was a veteran of that place, he knew what to expect. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. One trip to hell, then Travis would decide for himself. Either he was going to crush them like ants, and take what was theirs for himself, or not. For the kind of power he was promised, he was willing to give away his own mother. His company and power were but a small price to pay. One could always rebuild, after all. *** David D Chestermill ¡°Don¡¯t know about it,¡± David said tiredly, ¡°I¡¯m not in the business anymore.¡± The voice on the other end of the phone call was surprised. ¡°I know. I found something better to do with my time,¡± he said, ¡°what¡¯s so strange about it? Yeah. Exactly. More lucrative for sure. Yeah, that¡¯s not even half of it. No. Maybe, if I need to plan events or stuff. Yeah, I¡¯ll keep it in mind, bye.¡± With that, he dismissed the call, so that he could focus on the documents he had been given. He had had to hire a secretary to handle the increasing load of work he was doing on Michael¡¯s behalf, but now and then old acquaintances tried to get in touch with him to use his old services. Other than a secretary he also had to rent a temporary office where he would stay until construction was completed on the land that was soon-to-be theirs. All of it was with Michael¡¯s money, of which he had more than enough to keep the early stages of the plan going, of course. Plus his fee. Michael didn¡¯t mind, of course, and not just because he was na?ve and a fool¡ªthe good kind of fool, those who still had ideals and joy for life in their eyes. No. Michael knew that there was more to be made soon, a line of ailing and sick people forming in search of a miracle only one person on the planet could deliver. Some of them weren¡¯t even all that sick, but they had annoying little problems they had been living with for far too long, and were willing to part with a lot of money to get rid of them. Soon I¡¯m going to have to expand my reach. Money won¡¯t be enough anymore, and favors are too nebulous a thing. Sure, they can keep someone like Travis locked down, I hope, but not random strangers. What could I ask them? Assets? Stocks in their companies? Properties? There was another stack of papers on his desk, tangentially related to the issue at hand. The Saint Hernest project was going well. Dr Kavins proved to be even more of a nutjob than Michael had made him to be, and already the doctor had found some researchers willing to do grunt work in exchange for being able to see miracles happen in real time. All of them were skeptical, up until they had been shown the footage recorded by the hidden cameras and had seen the before and after test results. Did they freak out when they realized it was magic? Of course. Did they care about it now? Not at all. All they wanted to do was do research. Nutjobs. They had all become like Dr Kavins. Some of them went ballistic, demanding to be hired even if it was at a ludicrously low pay. Michael, the softie idiot he was, would never allow them to be underpaid, and Dave was more than happy to tap into someone else¡¯s money to make sure they weren¡¯t. To be fair, it¡¯s not like Mike has money issues. He can just handwave them away with a couple of heals, an afternoon¡¯s worth of work and he¡¯s back in the green. Besides, there was only to be gained if they paid their employees well. An NDA was scary and a good deterrent, but nothing beats having happy minions working for you¡ªeven better if their interests are aligned with your goals. For once, the idea had come from Michael, surprising David with his surprisingly good insight. Must be because he¡¯s a gen-Z or something and I¡¯m a what, a boomer? The doctors had been deterred by the NDA, the deal sweetened up by the huge sums on money they were paid¡ªwith more benefits to come once the later stages of the plan were in motion¡ªand they were kept happy because they were allowed to do research they could only dream of before. It was not all good however, he thought as his features darkened. Carmela. She¡¯s ignoring me, and it¡¯s not like I can just barge in through her door. Worse still, not only had she coldly rebuffed all attempts at communication, but it seemed like she was taking control of the Famiglia with violence, many deaths following in her wake. Some of them David had managed to sneak into Michael¡¯s new care facility, given to the doctors to play with in exchange for some data, and what he found was harrowing. Mutilated corpses. People with missing limbs, cauterized at the stumps. Some survivors were scarred for life, both in body and in mind. The worst of them¡­ It''s like they were killed with a flamethrower. Michael could do much worse, of course, and even back when the Bulgarian attacked he did do some scary things but this. This is psycho level. Now, the damage and wounds were not outside the realm of known science, unlike some of the things Michael did, but¡­ Why else would she shut us out like this? She must have found another magic user, one she successfully ensnared with her charms. Sure, there other explanations, but David¡¯s mind kept returning back to the same thought over and over again. My surveillance network is insufficient for this. I hate to have to use someone else¡¯s resources, but it¡¯s time to call in a part of the favor. ¡°That was quick,¡± the voice at the other end of the phone said after barely two rings, ¡°cashing in favors before you even show me the goods?¡± ¡°Mr Tyrell,¡± Old Dave said coolly, knowing he had the negotiating power, but that a wrong move would cost him dearly. ¡°Don¡¯t disrespect my intelligence. Let¡¯s not pretend I am like Michael, alright?¡± The CEO hummed. ¡°You are the bad cop, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Just not as idealistic as a young fool. Although I am trying to teach him to be more guarded.¡± ¡°Ha! Guarded. Good one. I saw you replace the guard you had hovering around him all the time. What, didn¡¯t trust your little mafia friend?¡± David swallowed. At that moment, he was glad he was only speaking on the phone, otherwise the CEO would have seen him flinch and break into a sweat. Shit, this guy is good. ¡°She is up to something,¡± he said, deciding to gamble on a strategy, ¡°you have means. I want to know why she¡¯s so arrogant she thinks she can just ditch us.¡± ¡°Not a smart move, Dave.¡± Mr Tyrell said condescendingly, ¡°what if she has a better offer than you do? What if I turn on you?¡± Dave nodded, knowing that this was coming. ¡°You want a better deal for yourself, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Damn right I do.¡± ¡°Whatever she can offer, we can offer more. She¡¯s grasping at straws, while we have a whole strategy figured out. We have been doing this much longer.¡± ¡°Not good for a sales pitch, old man, sounding desperate and all,¡± the CEO said, and Dave was painfully aware of their gap in skills. That¡¯s why I need to bring him to our side. ¡°I will give you an out,¡± the CEO continued, ¡°since it¡¯s true that Michael healed me, and I owe him my life. It was just business, you know? But¡­¡± He let the words hang in the air. ¡°But,¡± he said after a long pause, ¡°it was my life we are talking about. That¡¯s why I will play just a little bit against my interests, just for this once. I will spy on your little mafia friend, see what she¡¯s up to. In exchange, all I ask is to be taken to this hell you spoke about tomorrow.¡± ¡°Tomorrow?¡± ¡°What, too early? Yes, tomorrow. If you do that, then I swear that no matter what I find, I won¡¯t side with her.¡± He prefers a sure way to power rather than an unknown. Besides, he thinks he can turn on us anyway if he finds out Michael is weak and the power he promises is worse than what Carmela has. This means he knows Carmela has magic on her side. What he doesn¡¯t know is what Michael is capable of. He wants to find out about it in the dungeon, but I know already, which gives me the advantage. It¡¯s not a safe bet, but I am willing to bet that Carmela¡¯s magic user is weaker than Michael or she would have moved against us already, to cut us out of the dungeon. David¡¯s mind was spinning. The magic user she has is either coming from another entrance to the dungeon, or is using the same one we use. Either way, I need to warn Michael. ¡°Deal,¡± David said, the pause just enough to hopefully make the CEO sweat a little and not reveal his hand. ¡°I need to ask Mike, but I am sure I can convince him. Of course, it¡¯s a favor we are doing you.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He will change his mind, David thought after the call, he won¡¯t be so cocky anymore after he goes through the first floor of the dungeon. Michael had shown David some videos he had managed to record while he fought, which was why David was confident that Mr Tyrell would change his mind rather quickly about the whole deal. He will become much more subdued and friendly, at the very least. The power is just too enticing for someone like him. But the strings attached to it¡­ those are the real insurance. For a moment, David considered being more careful in the future. Allowing Mr Tyrell to witness the healing procedure, even though he paid for it, had been the reason they were in this whole mess. Potential mess. But then again, potential didn¡¯t mean actual and there was so much to gain that his greed took over. The conversation with the CEO had been a clash of greeds: one hungering for material things, the other for otherworldly power. Each craving what the other had to offer, but not yet able to trust each other. Would others behave the same way? Or would they be more dangerous? In the end, David decided to be more careful, but not to the point where he would let opportunities like this one slip by because of his paranoia. Chapter 33 The driver was there, waiting for Michael in the parking lot. Michael had tried to convince him not to bother, that the dojo was only a few minutes away and he could go there by himself, but the burly man insisted. Looking at him, Michael noticed that he was wearing sunglasses even though it was dark outside, earpiece tight in his ear, and there was a bulge in his suit. A gun. Like a goddamn spy movie. ¡°You¡¯re new.¡± He told the driver, making more small talk with one of them than in the previous days combined. ¡°Yes.¡± He said as he drove. The man¡¯s voice was surprisingly clear for someone with so much muscle. ¡°Name¡¯s Robert Stonebridge, but you can call me Bob. Mr Chestermill hired me after he fired the previous chauffeur. He said, to quote, he was one of Carmela¡¯s goons for sure.¡± ¡°That¡¯s funny.¡± Michael smiled, ¡°but also quite worrying.¡± ¡°That is why he hired me. Don¡¯t worry sir, I have been told to expect strange things to happen from time to time, and to pretend nothing is happening. I signed an NDA. I also double as security detail if you need me. I am quite a good shot, I have martial arts training, the whole thing: systema, krav maga, kalah, muay thai, jiu jitsu. And as you can see I have the size to back up any threat I speak. Speaking of,¡± he laughed, ¡°I have been told you were big but sir, you¡¯re almost bigger than I am!¡± Michael laughed at the pleasant banter. The new driver-slash-guard was surprisingly nice, but after a while Michael found himself raising the privacy screen so that he could think. Old Dave had mentioned private security before in passing. It seemed that he was finally making the first moves towards securing the places Michael frequented. The next step would be securing the plot of land that was soon to be his, but that had to wait until the purchase was finalized. With Travis helping, it shouldn¡¯t take long at all, after which they would build a fence to keep people out and post guards at the dungeon at all times. They would have to be vetted, their silence paid, and instructed to look out not only for trespassers but also for possible magical apparitions. The mana was ever-thicker there, and Michael didn¡¯t like the things he saw hiding in the shadows. The fence and security are a necessary measure. They will attract attention, and it goes against my trekking-lover nature to close off a part of the Trail like this, but it¡¯s better than to have random people stumbling upon the cave like I did all those days ago. In the end, to soothe his guilt, he decided to make an anonymous donation to the organization in charge of maintaining this section of the Appalachian Trail, adding a note explaining that they might need the money to carve a new section of the trail that went around a new property some rich asshole had bought and was about to fence off, even though the trail ran through it. Then a text message disturbed his quiet musings, ruining his mood. It was from Dave. ¡°There might be another magic user working with Carmela. Asked CEO Tyrell to investigate discreetly. He demanded to be taken to the dungeon tomorrow. I accepted, but you have final say.¡± Immediately Michael thought about the car he had seen way too many times parked beside his, close to the Trail. Re-reading the message, he sighed. ¡°Fine,¡± he texted back. Better to deal with it quickly before the situation could grow out of control. Investigating the existence of another magic user was much more important than the hassle of taking the rich CEO to the dungeon. At least Travis Tyrell did not look like your usual CEO. He was well-built even though his body had been ravaged by cancer for weeks, he had tattoos on both of his rather muscular arms, and he exuded the type of quiet confidence that didn¡¯t come from just being rich and powerful, but also from knowing where you are in the pecking order of life. Michael knew, he had been feeling some of it himself as of late, as the knowledge that he was no longer a weak nobody cemented itself in his mind. The way he carried himself had changed, from a slumped over teenager to a proud man, and being fit was only a small part of the equation. Most of it was in the mind. Despite the happy thoughts, it seemed that the day had yet another curveball in store for him. Right as he was getting out of the car, he heard someone call his name. Turning around, he saw who it was. Lawyer-guy. ¡°Michael?¡± Phillip called, getting out of his old 2003 Ford Taurus, a car that even to Michael¡¯s untrained eye stank of unfulfilled potential. ¡°Hey,¡± Michael called back, waving lazily. Behind him, Bob had driven the car to a parking spot that was out of the way but close enough he could keep an eye on the only entrance to the dojo. ¡°Is that your car?¡± Phillip asked cheekily. Michael nodded. ¡°Yeah. Company car.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. All of a sudden, he realized that his ages-old desires to get back at Phillip had melted like spring snow sometime in the past few days without him even noticing. Instead of feeling a sense of satisfaction at rubbing his car in Phillip¡¯s face, he simply felt tired of the incoming charade already. He had other things to think about. But sensei Stephan is right, this is mental training in a normal environment. ¡°What company?¡± asked Phillip, oblivious to his inner monologue, ¡°did you finally get a real job?¡± ¡°Envious?¡± Michael asked, trying to act lighthearted and playful. ¡°Nah,¡± said the guy, ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine working for myself. I could never work under a boss.¡± ¡°I see.¡± It didn¡¯t escape Michael¡¯s notice the fact that Phillip was treading carefully with him now. ¡°It¡¯s all legal, I hope.¡± Phillip added, ¡°you are the chosen one, you can¡¯t disappoint the sensei.¡± Michael groaned. ¡°What does it have to do with¡ªwhatever. It¡¯s all legal. I got lucky is all.¡± In the locker room, Phillip couldn¡¯t resist telling everyone about what he had seen. What followed was a long round of questions about this ¡®new job¡¯ excuse Michael had come up with on the spot until sensei Stephan put an end to it with a knowing look, calling for the beginning of the warm-up exercises. ¡°Does your boss need a lawyer?¡± Phillip asked as they sparred. He was going at it much lighter than usual. Has he always been this slimy? He sees I got a lucky windfall and now he¡¯s acting all friendly. At least compared to how he acted before. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Michael replied. ¡°I could ask.¡± As if. I would never hire someone like you. ¡°See that you do.¡± Phillip¡¯s true personality showed for a moment. ¡°I just finished a big job, and I could use another. You do know I¡¯m very professional and a hard worker.¡± Don¡¯t think so. Earlier you were complaining about having to do the dishes and iron your laundry instead of lazing around on the sofa all day. ¡°I¡¯ll put in a good word. If we need a lawyer, I¡¯ll drop your name.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Phillip said with a self-satisfied smile, proud of a job well done. ¡°Now let¡¯s actually train. It wouldn¡¯t do for me to go soft on you, right, chosen one?¡± With that, the speed and strength behind the punches increased dramatically. Despite that, though, it was nothing Michael couldn¡¯t handle. With his 30% bonus to reflexes and his chiseled body¡ªthanks to his healing skill and the training he did every morning¡ªhe could keep up with ease. Compared to having to fight goblins¡­ which reminds me, tomorrow it should be skeletons instead of goblins. What a pain. I need to come up with a plan so that Travis doesn¡¯t die as soon as we step into the first room. What if he panics? He shouldn¡¯t, but what¡ª His distraction meant that one of Phillip¡¯s punches slipped past his guard. He then had to exert every drop of willpower in order not to summon a distortion sphere and destroy the man¡¯s arm before it hit him in the chest, driving his breath away and making him double over. ¡°Ouch,¡± he coughed, before healing himself. It had been a nasty punch. Phillip didn¡¯t even offer a hand. ¡°You need to contract your abs. Otherwise I¡¯m going to hurt you every time.¡± Except that Phillip had aimed for Michael¡¯s ribs, where there were no muscles to contract. ¡°You know what?¡± Michael croaked, ¡°you¡¯re right, once again I bow to your wisdom. I¡¯ll contract my abs now.¡± He willingly let another punch past his guard a few exchanges later. This time, he triggered [Crude Body Enhancement] to the extreme, burning mana to sustain the skill and the healing it took not to bleed all over the tatami. Phillip¡¯s hand hit him in the ribs again, full force, but this time it was like he was hitting iron. Michael¡¯s body didn¡¯t budge an inch, instead Phillip recoiled backwards, nursing his hand. As soon as the man saw Michael look at him with a puzzled expression¡ªwho in turn was trying his best to hide the nasty smile¡ªhe pretended it was nothing. That¡¯s not enough. I want more. Indeed, all the resentment that had evaporated in the last few days was back with accrued interest, after seeing just how slimy Phillip was. There came the opportunity to perform a block, and once again Michael triggered the two skills. Instead of being the one getting a bruise, Phillip recoiled in pain. Then again. And again. Now it was Michael¡¯s turn to punch. No nasty hits, he didn¡¯t need to play the same game as the lawyer. Just hits that hurt like a bag of bricks. Soon, Phillip was the one asking him to go easy on his bruising forearms, barely after a few blocks. ¡°What sort of gear are you on, man?¡± Marc, usually silent, asked in the locker room after they were done. ¡°First you get all muscular, like a statue. Now Phillip is all bruised. You have to be on steroids, I just know it.¡± ¡°Maybe he¡¯s just a weak sack of shit?¡± Michael snapped, yelling at Marc while pointing a finger in Phillip¡¯s direction. Shit, the stress is getting at me. But being self-aware of a problem wasn¡¯t enough to solve it. ¡°Hey, hey, calm down,¡± Marc said in his languid voice, sounding like he was mocking Michael. ¡°Calm down my ass. Did it ever occur to you that perhaps he is getting what he deserves? What the fuck, guys? I¡¯m here to learn, not to be bullied by middle-aged men. Act your fucking age. All this chosen one business, Phillip beating me like I¡¯m his punching bag.¡± He turned to the man in question, who was even now massaging his red and swollen arms. ¡°You didn¡¯t like it, did you, when I did it to you? Now you know how it feels. From now on, every time you slip back to your old behavior, I pay you back five-fold. Am I clear?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t threaten me like that,¡± Phillip barked back, a dog cornered looking at Marc and the silent other two in the room for backup. Too bad none said a word, and Stephan wasn¡¯t there. ¡°I never beat you for spite or anything. I was just trying to teach you, seeing you are the chosen one. You don¡¯t want to learn, I need to make sure you understand what it means to be weak!¡± Michael was onto him in a flash, lifting the man up by the scruff of his shirt with only one hand and slamming him against the wall mirror. The other hand was cupped around his face, squishing his cheeks. ¡°You don¡¯t teach shit,¡± Michael growled, ¡°you are a violent, sad excuse for a man. You are what, forty, and you accomplished nothing in life. Now you take it out on someone weaker than you. Too bad. You want to use me to vent your stress? Don¡¯t complain if I do the same. And trust me, I am far more stressed than you are.¡± He released him, took a deep breath and stormed off, leaving behind a room full of men stunned into silence. Chapter 34 One water bullet and he would have been dead. One little squeeze, dead. One simple distortion bubble and his head would have popped like a melon. One brief activation of candle light and he would have burned up like a man made of straw. Enumerating all the ways he could have killed Phillip did not help Michael¡¯s peace of mind. In fact, it only contributed towards making him more stressed, agitated and paranoid. Seeing how the weight of the situation had caught up with him all at once, with almost disastrous consequences, had been a wake-up call. One strong enough to keep him up all night instead of letting him sleep. I¡¯m burning myself out. I need to take things slower. And instead, things seemed to be accelerating around him. Who knew what the rest of the world was doing? Even the little people he knew were all busy, plotting and scheming, trying to find ways to gain power for themselves in the changing paradigm. How many others knew? Was Carmela moving against them? What sort of threats could someone in the mob leverage against him? Many thoughts kept him on edge. In novels, the protagonist usually had a stat or a skill to keep them sane and centered. Here, Michael had nothing. At least I had the presence of mind to heal Phillip before I left, or I would have been in deep shit. He was almost sure he had crushed the man¡¯s windpipe a little. He had also healed himself from the strain of pushing his body to move so fast and release so much strength so quickly. At least, the silver lining was that it felt good to finally say what was on his mind to Phillip¡¯s face, and the look of utter fright and terror on the lawyer¡¯s face had been a good bonus. So long as I don¡¯t turn into a sadistic monster. But Phillip, he had it coming. Another one who would have it coming, had he been in range, would have been his dad. Perhaps, he mused, the reason Phillip pushed his buttons so much was because it reminded him of his father. Fuck him, and fuck dad. Fuck mom too. But I do hope Maggie is alright. I should text her. *** CEO Travis Tyrell did not spare any expense for his trip, it seemed. The helicopter kicked up dust in the empty field next to the temporary office building Old Dave had rented out, somewhere in the middle between his pawn shop and the dungeon. He picked Michael up, and before long they were flying. Unfortunately, Michael was still shaken by yesterday¡¯s events and couldn¡¯t really enjoy the flight. Seeing the state from up above was something else, though, his first experience in the air. But before he could even try to relax, Travis turned to him. ¡°So, this hell place.¡± He said, speaking through the microphone built into their protective gear. The helicopter was one of the closed-off ones, quite spacious, but it was still pretty loud in there. ¡°What should I expect?¡± ¡°First off,¡± Michael said, and did not even have to channel his inner dungeon persona, not today. ¡°We were still developing a protocol for taking people into hell before you barged in. There are just too many unknowns. You would have been briefed, taught some basic skills crucial to make sure you could handle the threats, been given the right weapons and equipment. Instead, here we are.¡± Travis grinned. ¡°I suppose I just couldn¡¯t wait.¡± His mannerism was friendly and outgoing, different from how he had behaved at Saint Hernest and different from how Dave had described him during their phone call. The man was a shapeshifter, able to adapt to situations to try and put people at ease. It didn¡¯t work on Michael, who was thinking about all the problems that might crop up. ¡°It¡¯s not just a casual stroll in a park with your toys and some guards. You¡¯ll regret being so hasty,¡± he muttered, ¡°but fine. What can you do?¡± ¡°I can fight. Been in more than one brawl in my teenage years. I also have weapons and armor, the best money can buy.¡± ¡°I can see that.¡± Michael studied the CEO and his gear. Practical and expensive, but it was not a snug fit. There was some tension in the man¡¯s shoulders, and his hands gripped his shotgun. ¡°But do you know how to use them?¡± ¡°Well enough.¡± The man shrugged. ¡°Alright.¡± He was about to speak again, but then decided not to. No use telling him the dungeon might split us up. We haven¡¯t had the time to test it, and it would only upset him. If it does, and he dies, too bad. That¡¯s why we made him sign all those papers and documents. If it does and he doesn¡¯t die, that might be a problem. Oh well. The hike did not take long at all. The helicopter dumped them close enough that barely ten minutes of walking later they were staring at the gaping mouth of the cave. Michael thought he heard some rustling of leaves, despite there being no wind, but when he turned around all he could see was swirling mana and some fire element in the air. Not too strange a sight, considering what the dungeon was spewing out all the time. The density of magic in the air was quite high, and close to the entrance it rivalled the density of the first room. ¡°Ready?¡± Michael asked as he studied the area around the entrance. Once again it had changed, but not enough to warrant immediate investigation. ¡°As ready as I can be.¡± ¡°Good. Here,¡± Michael handed Travis some lights. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± the CEO asked. ¡°The only things allowing us a fighting chance, staving off certain death. When I called this place hell, I wasn¡¯t joking. Wear the headlight and throw the rubber coated lights across the room as soon as you arrive.¡± ¡°Alright. Anything else I should know?¡± Travis asked. ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t panic, and let me handle the threats. Don¡¯t shoot the damn gun.¡± With that, they stepped in together. There was no prompt asking Michael if he wanted to skip to the second floor, no safe room to choose what to do. Just like the first time, he was catapulted into the first floor without warning, the danger sudden and unpredictable. As soon as their headlights revealed the enemies, Michael scattered the rest of the lights, noticing that the CEO took quite some time before he did the same. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Then there was the boom of shotgun fire, the muzzle flash illuminating a goblin before it exploded. ¡°Travis!¡± Michael snapped. ¡°Don¡¯t fucking shoot!¡± He was already rushing at the assortment of goblins and skeletons that were crowding the much bigger than expected room. This is not what I thought I¡¯d find in here. Not at all. But there wasn¡¯t time to think. The CEO didn¡¯t seem to hear him, shooting blindly in the mob of shambling bodies. One shot was entirely too close to Michael for his tastes. ¡°Travis, god dammit!¡± He reached the first enemy, [Distortion Field] coming up and snapping a bony arm before it struck him. Then Michael punched with his bare hands, reinforcing his body while his healing took care of the collateral damage. The skeleton exploded outwards from the site of impact. ¡°There¡¯s too many! We won¡¯t make it.¡± Travis was almost shaking. He had switched to his gun and was unloading entire mags into the skeletons, doing not much at all. ¡°Stop!¡± [Voice of Command] and [Presence] flowed out of Michael like a river, stunning both his enemies and the CEO. ¡°I told you! You aren¡¯t ready. Now be quiet and stop shooting.¡± Then Michael was back to being a whirlwind of death: snapping arms, piercing bodies with bare punches, waving flaming fists. Here and there, a bullet of brackish water shot out, intercepting any monster who had slipped past him before Travis could even react. The CEO was stunned into silence. He stared at the battle, wide-eyed, clutching his shotgun as he fumbled to reload it. ¡°How can I help?¡± he asked with a shaking voice as he cowered in the far side of the room, Michael the only thing between him and the monsters. ¡°You help by not shooting at me!¡± Michael grunted, flaming hands choking a goblin. ¡°Let me handle this. Shoot only if a monster gets past me.¡± To his credit, Travis actually listened this time. Gradually he stopped shaking, instead studying the room and the battle with increasing interest and focus. When he finally understood that he was in no danger, he finally relaxed enough not to be a liability anymore. Michael kept fighting. Arms broke. Foul blood stained his clothes, drenching him from head to toe. Skeletons exploded in splinters. Flesh rotted as corrupted water pierced goblins and turned skeletons to dust. Then it was over. Either the dungeon upped the difficulty to account for the extra person or¡­ Or someone has been here while I skipped straight to the second floor. This difficulty increase is insane. Travis¡¯ mouth hung open, the man shocked by the brutality of the fight even though he thought he was ready for anything. ¡°What did you expect?¡± Michael barked. ¡°Told you this was hell. And it¡¯s only the first room of hell. Now, see that last goblin over there? Kill it with your bare hands.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I have weapons, though?¡± Travis said with no little amount of uncertainty. The goblin was mostly intact, only flesh wounds marring its muscled body. It could fight. ¡°No weapons. The goblins and skeletons you killed with your shotgun amount to nothing.¡± The man looked unsure. ¡°In here, I¡¯m the boss and you do as I say. Beat that goblin up with your hands until it¡¯s dead. Don¡¯t worry about injuries, I can heal you as long as you don¡¯t die in one hit.¡± Travis gingerly stepped forward, holding his hands up in a boxer stance. The fight was awkward, long and grueling. But, to his credit, the CEO didn¡¯t complain, nor give up. He kept beating the goblin to a pulp, getting beaten in return. Michael healed his wounds, allowing him to outlast his foe, and then it was dead. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill CEO. If he wasn¡¯t such an asshole, I might even like him. But then again, if he wasn¡¯t like this, he wouldn¡¯t be a CEO. ¡°That was awful.¡± ¡°The first time I found myself in here,¡± Michael said as a reply, ¡°I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had to use my phone as a torch as I beat a single goblin to death, like you just did. I didn¡¯t have the luxury to heal. I didn¡¯t have protection. I was fat and weak. Don¡¯t complain.¡± That seemed to shut the man up. Perhaps it came out a bit too harsh, but man¡­ I need to sleep for a week. Michael went to pick up the loot they got, coins and a common skill stone. None of which were earned by Travis, although he had no idea how he could be so sure about it. There were a lot of coins, though, which was nice. Even nicer, almost making him forget his current state of mind, was the skill stone. His sight told him it was an upgrade stone for a common skill. He tried to gleam more information from it before triggering the skill window. ¡°You fight like this all the time?¡± Travis asked, studying him. ¡°I have to. This place doesn¡¯t like lazy cheaters. If you want loot, you need to earn it.¡± The CEO hummed in thought. ¡°And you do it every other day.¡± ¡°Sometimes multiple times a day.¡± Although it was rare now that he had the second floor to clear, which was much more difficult to handle than just a stroll through goblin infested rooms. Which reminds me, the goblin general on the second floor is nothing like these goblins. He looks different, and his power is on another league. ¡°You¡¯re insane.¡± Muttered the CEO. ¡°That fight? You were outright frightening. The magic you used is brutal. It¡¯s not what you think when someone says magic. It¡¯s¡­ real, you know what I mean? The blood, the smell. The sounds of bones snapping. Your magic isn¡¯t flashy at all, except the flaming hands I guess, but it¡¯s effective.¡± Michael hummed. ¡°You were right this place is hell. The danger is brutal. And yet you just throw yourself at it, don¡¯t you?¡± Michael hummed distractedly. ¡°I once spent something like twelve hours getting my arms broken by a skeleton and then healing them back up, to train my healing.¡± Travis gaped. ¡°Are you sure you are okay in the head?¡± he asked. ¡°That¡¯s what you gotta do if you want real power. What you are doing now, it¡¯s the tourist route. Yes, you might get some measure of power, but that¡¯s just what the places gives you to lure you to come again. Don¡¯t fall for it.¡± Travis said nothing for a while, letting Michael deal with the upgrade stone. For a common stone, the bonus was huge.
(Common) Mana Sense 4
Like whispers on the breeze, mana sings its silent song; with attuned senses, I hear its melody, tracing the currents of magic that course through the world. ¡¤ Mana is now a part of your world, something you can perceive, if not see directly. You gain a new sense, able to pick up concentrations of mana around you. ¡¤ Increased range and precision. You can now see through thin obstacles and weak auras. ¡¤ You can see elements more clearly, and even faint hints of Qi. ¡¤ You can see Qi more clearly.
Strange how the skill is still classified as a common one, despite being quite powerful. I have uncommon-grade skills that are actually much weaker. Not only that, but the skill was still called mana sense despite being able to see far more than mana. Indeed, as soon as he had upgraded the skill a new color had populated the spectrum of his sight. With a gasp, he realized that Qi had always been around him, just that it was so tiny compared to mana that he could not see it before. If mana was like grains of sand, flowing like water, Qi was microscopic dust. His healing, he realized after he activated the skill, did not create Qi out of nothing like he thought. It pulled it out of somewhere in his body, a place his mana sense could not yet see. A Dantian? But what he could see was that just like mana was pulled to him to regenerate his pool, Qi also flowed towards him to replenish this¡­ Dantian. Slowly, as there was barely any Qi in the air, but it happened. The coins he already knew contained Qi, and now he could see how the Qi was absorbed into his body when he used them. One less mystery. [Healing Aura] pulls from both my mana pool and from my dantian to heal me, which might explain why the mana cost is not always the same when I heal myself or others. When he thought he was being more efficient, perhaps it was simply due to him using more Qi than normal, reducing the need for mana. It¡¯s just a speculation, for now. ¡°What now?¡± Travis asked after he was done. He had patiently waited for him to inspect his gains even though the CEO could not see what he was doing. He finally got it. No questions, no bullshit. I like how quickly he adapts. ¡°Now we move onto the second room. Don¡¯t panic this time, alright? Same strategy as here.¡± It was not the second room that worried Michael. It was the boss room. Chapter 35 Travis Tyrell, CEO of PetroLink Global Travis Tyrell followed behind Michael Lexington, the boy who was now his guide and protection while he dove in the depths of hell itself. The second room had been, according to the boy, a breeze. Travis would be inclined to disagree, on a general basis, however it was true that compared to how poorly the first room had gone things had been much better the second time around. The difficulty was much greater, but now that the shock had worn off, the two had worked together to challenge the room in an orderly manner. They had spent more than two hours strategizing and training in the magic-rich first room of hell. Once they had cleared it of monsters, it was back to only being a dark and damp cave, nothing more except for the presence of magic. Almost¡­ ordinary and underwhelming, with the place taking care of the corpses and the blood so that the only proof they had ever fought monsters and demons was the dried-up and caked filth sticking to their clothes. Which, Michael had said, would also go away once they left hell. But Travis was not stupid. His faulty preconceptions had been shattered by the first room, making him realize that despite him calling Michael na?ve, he had been na?ve himself about other things. After the realization, he had headed into the second room with a whole other mentality. He understood now why Michael had just thrust him into the first room without warning or explanation. The CEO had forced the boy¡¯s hand, perhaps, that much was true. But the boy¡ªa young man, really¡ªhad adapted to the situation and made sure the most important lesson was imparted and received by Travis as quickly as possible. In the first room, things had seemed catastrophic. During the vicious and fierce battle that ensued afterwards, and in the second room later on, Travis had been shown the error of his assumptions. Things were under control, Michael more than enough to take care of ten times the demons than there were in a single room. Then there came the training. And that¡¯s where the real difference between Travis¡¯ idea of the boy and the reality of who Michael really was showed through. The training had been gruesome. Travis had his arms shattered, his ribs broken, his head caved in more times than he dared recall. Each time he was healed back to full health, given food, and then the process repeated itself. Was Michael only really himself when he was diving through hell? Who was the scared, nervous and shy boy persona he put on whenever he was outside, in the real world? Michael had not been idle while Travis trained. He had been subjecting himself to pain ten times as bad as Travis was having it, all in the spirit of training. And it was true that the training was paying off. Travis had thought himself tough before setting foot inside hell. But even a tough man could not shrug off a broken arm like it was nothing. Now he could. Almost. He finally understood what Michael Lexington was really made of. 99% crazy, 1% genius. A man Travis could respect. A man he could work with. A man he could work for, maybe, one day. The magic he had seen, the brutality of how the young man fought, the power this place could promise to whoever dared challenge its demons were all nice icings on an already bought cake. What had begun as a maneuver to get the best possible bargain for his deal, now was slowly transforming into something else inside Travis¡¯ mind. It had almost failed spectacularly, but the risk had been worth it in the end. If he bent his considerable political, economic, social and sheer human capital to the service of this one young man, to what heights could he eventually soar? Besides, it might be nice to not be in the spotlight, for a change. Let someone else be the face of the operation, while I work from the shadows, gain awesome magic, and relax. Travis had not lost his mind, of course. The direction of Michael¡¯s development could be steered, his ideas influenced, his path advised. And what better position to do it from than that of a huge benefactor allowing him to thrive? There was more, of course. Michael had explained the coins to him. Want to use magic? You need coins. How to get the coins? Delve the depths of hell. Or be close enough to the entrance to hell that you could siphon off some miser mana that managed to escape from the depths. Too bad the entrance was soon to be deep inside Michael¡¯s private property, and that Travis had no idea where to find other entrances. Not that I would do that. Michael never said it out loud, but I don¡¯t think he likes the idea of loose magic wielders outside of his control. For all he is normally meek, he turns dangerous whenever someone brings up the topic. Travis was willing to be dependent on Michael. Sure, he could find someone to exploit like that bitch Carmela had apparently done. Or he could just find another place like this, assuming it even existed. But why risk it? It would set him on a collision course with Michael, and after what he saw today¡­ Not a chance in hell. Travis was still unsure why Michael only acted like this inside this place. In the real world, outside very short and specific circumstances, he was na?ve, mellow, weak and unassuming. Not even he, with his considerable expertise and experience at reading people, could have ever expected to see what he saw in here. The way Michael moved, unrefined but violent and deadly. The way he fought. The magic he commanded, vicious and terrifying in ways the CEO could have never imagined before seeing it in action. It was not flashy, but the thought of a ball of force suddenly appearing in the middle of his guts, blowing him up like a flesh balloon¡­ it was enough to keep even him awake at night. Then there was the way Michael took command. Another unexpected development. Travis had come to hell thinking he could just shove the boy aside and assume control of the operation. He was the older, more experienced of the two. He was a CEO of a multinational, a ruthless bastard who could take decisions that doomed the planet, that turned economies to dust, he could threaten politicians and sleep like a kitten that very same night. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. And yet, all it took was a slight flex of his will, and Michael had cemented himself as the leader of the expedition, as was natural. Yes, Travis could see it now. It was only natural for Michael to be in charge here, and thinking anything else was arrogance itself. Travis had been put in his place and was sure to remain there for the whole duration of their delve, as it was called. Travis preferred to call it a dive, a dive through hell. What Michael probably did not know was that Travis had decided to translate the power dynamic even outside of hell, and diving. At least when it came to magical matters. He could not be the boss there. Not of someone like Michael¡ªassuming Michael figured out how to act in the real world. Old Dave, the sneaky fox, was making sure Michael learned the lesson, it seemed, from what Travis could see. The window of time to manipulate Michael had closed long ago, the only two people who could have done it had been David Chestermill and Carmela Esposito. The first had chosen, wisely in hindsight, to not manipulate the boy but to firmly establish himself as an ally. Commendable foresight. The second had squandered her chance, choosing to align herself with another helldiver, as Travis had come to call people who ventured into hell in search of power. She, and her helldiver by extension, were on a collision course with Michael. Travis would make sure Michael, and by extension he, won. Then there¡¯s the matter of other helldivers around the world. Most of them won¡¯t be like Michael. But a minority will be crazy enough to come close. Some will be ruthless in the real world from the get-go, unlike Michael who needs to be forged and guided. I¡¯ll need to talk to David about this. We have thrown our lot with Michael, and now we need to make sure he is ahead of all the others, before the situation becomes public, and the world changes forever. They were all assumptions, of course, but there were already two confirmed helldivers and it meant that there could be more. Already Travis was getting rumors about other supernaturally able people around the world, although many powers that be were trying to keep the rumors silenced for as long as possible. Michael is too slow on the uptake for his own good. Sure, he¡¯s smart for a boy and perhaps sly enough to make ends meet in the mundane world. But in this changing world? The very same one he¡¯s trying to forge? He¡¯s not. He needs to become a man, and soon. He can keep his ideals, if he has any, but he needs to learn and he must do it quickly. It was while thinking those thoughts that Travis followed Michael to the door leading to the last room of the first circle of hell. Again they had strategized, but this time Michael seemed unsure of what they might find on the other side of the seemingly open doorway, one that Travis learned hid dangers beyond imagination. ¡°I¡¯m pretty positive it will be a shitshow,¡± Michael said with a sigh as he prepared to cross the threshold. Travis hummed. ¡°Is there any other way to leave this place?¡± The young man shook his head. ¡°Then we go in.¡± Travis said, his experience as a CEO steeling his nerves. There had not been any close calls, and he felt much more ready than he thought he was back when he first stepped into hell as a helldiver, but seeing Michael pause had given him some hand twitches. ¡°Usual strat.¡± Michael said, ¡°lights, awareness, and get out of the way. But this time, I¡¯m pretty sure you will be forced to fight.¡± ¡°As long as I don¡¯t die in one hit, right?¡± Travis said as he gripped his shotgun. ¡°Right.¡± With that, they stepped into the literal definition of hell. If what Travis had been through up until now was harsh and dangerous, then the boss room was positively infernal. It put the other rooms to shame. There was a riot of monsters, all of them at least two feet taller than their counterparts in the earlier rooms. The scattered lights revealed a throng of skeletons, some of them glowing blue with a shimmering forcefield, goblins of green and red skin, their faces riddled with pustules, others with tusks, others contorted in a snarl that froze his blood. Michael rushed in without a second thought. Spheres of black repulsive force came to being. He punched with flaming hands, skeletons reduced to brittle bones and powder and goblins punched through like they were gelatin. Travis did not waste time gaping, though. He immediately clocked two threats that had slipped past Michael¡¯s assault, the foes too many and the room too large to manage the mob. They were a red goblin, skin covered in wounds that oozed blood, and a skeleton. The latter had its bones covered in a blue shimmering field, one that Travis saw was strong enough to stop even Michael¡¯s punches. At least until he gets serious, he thought as he leveled his shotgun, seeing that Michael was pummeling a shimmering skeleton until its protective magic gave up the fight. He was accumulating wounds, some of them appearing from seemingly nowhere, but he was healing them as fast as he got them. Travis Tyrell shot the goblin in the face with a shotgun that could decapitate a gorilla. The red goblin¡¯s head recoiled backwards but was not severed nor exploded. Its neck snapped, but the goblin simply grabbed it and put it back into place, although the broken bones did not seem to heal as the head lolled to the side. Its skin was pierced and oozing red-brown blood more akin to maple syrup. Travis did not waste time gaping. Not after all their training. He shot again, and again. As the goblin was staggered, but very much not dead, he turned to the skeleton and delivered the same treatment. The field protecting the bones shimmered with each impact, and the bullets were deflected. The two foes shambled towards him. They were slow, as if they were in no hurry to kill him. Like they knew he could not defeat them. Indeed, as he ran out of bullets he switched to his handgun, and the patterns repeated itself. Two magazines, and the goblin was bleeding but still walking. Travis had been walking backwards, but soon he saw the sharp white of the rubber-covered light he had thrown earlier. He had run out of space. Michael was still fighting. Desperate, he took out a grenade. The explosion deafened him, throwing him against the wall and blinding him in the confined space of the final room of the first circle of hell on earth. Then his vision returned. Now he froze and gaped, his mouth hanging open as all the muscles in his body seized up. He saw the shimmering, bony arm descend on him like divine judgement. Fitting, for a place like this. Travis Tyrell, CEO of PetroLink, shrewd businessman, cursed his idiocy. He was not a good fighter at all, despite his earlier boasting, on the helicopter. He closed his eyes. Accepting his punishment. He hoped he wouldn¡¯t die in one hit. The blow didn¡¯t come. When he opened them again, there he saw a ball of blackness so dark it seemed to suck in the light itself. Beyond it, the skeleton¡¯s protective magic flickered for a moment. The two spells clashed, the skeleton¡¯s arm locked in place as the monster tried to repel the magic stopping its attack. The shimmering field lost the battle, and the skeleton lost its arm. Behind it, Travis noticed a dead red goblin with his peripheral vision. Then Michael slapped the skeleton, exploding its bones and mangling his own arm. Showering Travis in splinters. Then there was silence, broken only by the snapping of bones as Michael healed his gruesome injury back to health. Travis knew Michael could feel everything as he healed, that¡¯s why most patients were under anesthesia back at the clinic. Yet, Michael did not flinch. His breathing was not even labored. His face was concentrated, but not scrunched up in pain. In hell, Michael was a monster more dangerous than the demons conjured to stop him. Now I have to make him into a monster outside as well. Chapter 36 ¡°Finally some loot that¡¯s not garbage,¡± Michael said chipperly. Travis made a face of surprise and then frowned, clearly so lost in thought he hadn¡¯t even heard what Michael had said. ¡°That one over there,¡± Michael said as he pointed at a shining square thing, ¡°is your loot. Congratulations.¡± It smelled like alien magic, not only in its makeup and strange shape, but also because¡ªfor the first time¡ªMichael was looking at loot not destined for him. The coins Travis earned felt the same, but he still took them as per their agreement. He would figure out how many to give to the man, and at what price, later with Dave. Travis might be invited to sit as they discussed, as a courtesy and to curry favor, perhaps. The magic within the few coppers didn¡¯t seem to agree with him as he took them for himself, but a quick pass with his aura and they were tamed. He got the feeling that he could do the same with the strange card Travis had pulled out of a nook in the rock. Take it for himself, steal the spoils of war from another delver. But he would never do that. ¡°It¡¯s different than yours,¡± the CEO said, studying the thing. ¡°Looks like a magic card.¡± Michael hummed. He had read about magic cards in some novels, of course, much like he had read of skill stones and other things. He wondered, briefly, why the dungeon had chosen to manifest the reward in this form, and if it was different for everyone. ¡°What do I do with it?¡± Travis asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t you get a message window or something?¡± The CEO scratched his head, looking confused. ¡°No, I just feel some sort of weird tingling when I look at it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s definitely magic. I can feel it from here. Can I take a better look at it?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Travis said, ¡°but don¡¯t break it. It¡¯s the very first piece of loot I get as a helldiver!¡± ¡°Helldiver?¡± Michael asked distractedly, the main part of his brain focused on the fact that the CEO had made a joke, and for the first time the joke seemed like a genuine one like those you say with your buddies, and not some sort of maneuvering on his part. ¡°Yup,¡± he said, ¡°if this is hell, then we are helldivers. Badass name too, I can see it working very well in a sales pitch.¡± Michael could see the CEO¡¯s gears turning, and hoped the man would not come to him with a business model that basically consisted in taking people through the dungeon for money. They would be dependent on you, he could imagine the man saying, he who controls the coins, controls the world of magic. The last thought didn¡¯t have Travis¡¯ voice at all. It was a mix between an unspecified movie character and Old Dave. Shaking his head, Michael focused on the card the CEO gave him. It was a rigid thing, hefty and slightly bigger than an open hand. It was made of something that resembled metal but wasn¡¯t, and a drawing on its surface glittered under the light of the headlamp like it was enamel. The beautiful decoration, depicting a man surrounded by lightning, half-visible and half not-there, swirled with magic. Strong mana, some hint of Qi. The building blocks are the same as skills, but the way this card is made is clearly fundamentally different. The magic system is different. He looked at his own reward for clearing the floor. Another upgrade skill stone. Comparing the two, he could see the striking difference between them. A skill stone was like a fractal, incomplete but potentially infinite. Only a small part of it was filled with magic, with so much more waiting to be filled up. Upgrade stones were similar to skill stones, in the way that they contained a part of the fractal that, once absorbed, integrated with the incomplete fractal of the skill and made it more powerful. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. It¡¯s how they level up and upgrade, is it not? He had seen some hints already. By contrast, the card was whole. Complete, and a hell of a lot stronger than even his most powerful uncommon skill. However, it had no potential for growth. The mana and Qi are crystallized, stuck in their form. There might be a way to change this form, but not without a lot of power being spent to first break the bonds shackling the magic into shape. But it is very strong indeed. It smells of¡­ space, lightning, a hint of something else as well. A concept, perhaps? He didn¡¯t even know how he knew. Ever since his [Mana Sense] had evolved, he was discovering new things and nuances to old things all the time. ¡°Alright,¡± he tossed the card to its rightful owner, who caught it with a hint of panic at seeing the card casually thrown at him. ¡°You can slot it.¡± ¡°Slot it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s how it works with cards,¡± Michael said, projecting expertise even though it was just a hunch. ¡°Do you feel a tingle anywhere?¡± Magic is always intuitive, at least at low levels. The dungeon always entices you at first, to get you hooked. Interesting how Travis had taken to calling this place hell, even though Michael had only called it that on a whim. But he had to admit that helldiver was a badass name indeed. Travis was fiddling around with the card. ¡°In my left hand! I can feel it!¡± ¡°Push the card into the back of your hand, then. Let¡¯s see what happens.¡± The card disappeared, and a faint tattoo appeared in its place. The tattoo had a vague outline of the card¡¯s design, bordered by silver. The card had a little Qi and dense mana like an uncommon skill. Silver must mean uncommon cards, then. Unlike with skill stones, which followed another color scheme. Green for common, yellow for uncommon. Unfair, he thought, that the card user would get the easy color scheme similar to the coins while he got random colors. ¡°I see it!¡± Travis exclaimed. ¡°This window you talked about!¡± he was in awe, as expected, ¡°it describes what the card does! I can¡¯t believe it. I have magic!¡± To his credit, he didn¡¯t go and try the card immediately. Instead, he looked at Michael expectantly. ¡°Read it to me,¡± he said. I wonder why he¡¯s being so meek all of a sudden. ¡°Sure. You can teleport anywhere within line of sight instantaneously, leaving behind an explosion of static. Each jump consumes a charge. You can hold up to 15 charges, with one being generated every three hours. Maximum range of each jump: 1 kilometer.¡± Michael whistled. ¡°Damn,¡± ¡°Damn indeed.¡± ¡°Do you have a charge?¡± The CEO grinned. ¡°Damn right I do.¡± ¡°Wanna try it out?¡± ¡°Damn right I want.¡± ¡°Can you feel your mana?¡± Michael asked, and Travis nodded, ¡°do you feel like it¡¯s enough to power a jump?¡± ¡°I get the feeling it¡¯s enough for one, no more.¡± The CEO said. ¡°Good. Think of me as an ally as you do it, please. Don¡¯t want to be electrocuted. Then¡­ just jump, I guess?¡± Travis concentrated. For a moment nothing seemed to happen then, all of a sudden, there was an explosion. Michael blinked the afterimages from his eyes, glad he had made the man designate him as an ally because the ceiling was dripping molten lava where the electricity had singed it. He, on the other hand, was unharmed. Ecstatic cheers and whoops came from the other end of the room, where a grinning Travis was wearing singed and smoking clothes. ¡°It worked! It¡¯s an awesome power!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a combat power.¡± Michael said, putting a damper on his mood. A necessary one. ¡°Be careful how you use it. If I find out you¡¯ve been misusing it¡­¡± ¡°No worries,¡± Travis said, nonplussed by the implied threat. ¡°I know the terms. Besides, you hold the coins.¡± ¡°Good.¡± What followed was perhaps the most shocking thing of the day. Travis shook Michael¡¯s hand firmly, with respect, thanking him for his work. ¡°I¡¯ll keep my end of the deal, young man,¡± the CEO said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. But damn, seeing the card makes the whole experience worth it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how it gets you. It¡¯s like gambling addiction.¡± ¡°Mmh,¡± Travis hummed, ¡°I see. Hell entices you with a sweet carrot, gets you returning for more coins and more magic, and before you know it, you¡¯re hooked. Is that how it went for you?¡± Michael nodded. ¡°You don¡¯t look too worse off for it, though,¡± he joked. ¡°I had nothing to lose.¡± Michael said coldly. ¡°When you are at the bottom, the only place to go is up. And I don¡¯t want to hear that I was in no true rock bottom, not from a billionaire CEO.¡± Travis didn¡¯t seem to take offense. ¡°Wasn¡¯t going to. Kicked out by your parents, about to lose your house. Tough. You¡¯re right. I have too much to lose. That¡¯s why I wanted you to escort me, and trust me when I say this: you won¡¯t see me asking to come back here without you accompanying me. Well, that¡¯s at least until we set up a better system.¡± He winked. Michael decided not to think about the implications of what the CEO said, lest he lose too much sleep over it. It was far into the future anyway, and he knew he would think about it anyway come nighttime. ¡°Time to leave, right?¡± Travis said. He jabbed him with an elbow to the ribs like they were best buddies, and then they were outside. Michael didn¡¯t let surprise and confusion at the CEO¡¯s strange behavior last long, though, because there was work to be done. Still channeling his helldiver¡ªas Travis called a dungeon delver¡ªpersona, he called Old Dave. Chapter 37 There was no ambush waiting for them outside the dungeon, despite Michael¡¯s preparations. ¡°You were right Dave,¡± Michael said as soon as the call connected. ¡°I had doubts as soon as I saw the spike in difficulty, but then I thought the difficulty must have increased because Travis was with me. So I went in again just to be sure. It was not Travis. Someone¡¯s been farming the first floor. A lot.¡± ¡°Shit,¡± came the reply, muffled by the weak signal, ¡°no, no, that¡¯s actually good. At least we know there isn¡¯t another entrance close by. But we need to move quicker than planned.¡± ¡°Can we do something to prevent access?¡± There was a sigh. ¡°Legally? The land isn¡¯t yours yet, it¡¯s not like you can stop anyone from entering a random cave. And putting guards there will only draw attention to our acquisition, which is already skirting the edges of what¡¯s legal.¡± That¡¯s when Travis decided to barge into the conversation. ¡°Put him on speaker. David, hello? Why is that?¡± ¡°We are buying contaminated land from the EPA,¡± Dave said, slightly annoyed, ¡°hello Mr Tyrell.¡± ¡°I see. Harsh cleanup conditions and messy zoning laws for the,¡± he coughed, ¡°quote-unquote redevelopment plan?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Dave said, ¡°hard to get approval for what we want to build. You know how it is.¡± ¡°Oh, I do. Do you already know what you want to build there?¡± ¡°Nothing more than just ideas,¡± Dave said, ¡°and that¡¯s one of the issues.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± The CEO declared. ¡°You¡¯ll see most obstructions vanish soon enough. A fat stack of cash, a promotion and a favor and any bureaucrat will bend over backwards to get your shit sorted out. And if they ask how we are going to deal with the mercury and arsenic and the piles of shit left to rot there for decades which will suddenly become urgent to dispose of? I¡¯ll just say¡­ magic.¡± Michael didn¡¯t miss how the CEO said we. Not unlike Dave, back when we started planning together. ¡°We could chuck it inside the dungeon, actually,¡± he said, ¡°better to first test what happens to any matter we leave there, though.¡± ¡°See? You got this. Let me take care of the rest, it¡¯s the least I could do. As for the other guy, why not put some cameras around the area? Motion activated, both here and at the parking lot to see who comes and goes.¡± ¡°Good idea. Mike, I¡¯ll get someone to buy them for you so that you can set them up next time you get here. Thanks Mr Tryell, you¡¯re being more amenable than I thought you¡¯d be.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve decided. You have my full support.¡± Said Travis, ¡°today was illuminating. Give me time to make a phone call and the land is yours. Do you need me to help you acquire security guards for later?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Dave, all business now, ¡°not having Carmela available has reduced my options a lot. I will gladly accept your help, but I want to vet each guard personally. And we will pay them, not you.¡± ¡°Trust me, Carmela was bad news. Good riddance,¡± the CEO said darkly. ¡°I understand why you¡¯re wary around me, but I hope you can get over it quickly, it¡¯s getting annoying.¡± ¡°Pah.¡± Dave spat, ¡°I don¡¯t know your true motives, and one greedy old bastard is more than enough here. So, Carmela. You got news on her?¡± ¡°Nothing you don¡¯t already know or that you care about. Suffice to say, Michael wouldn¡¯t approve of her.¡± ¡°You seem oddly neutral to it, Mr Tyrell.¡± Dave said. ¡°What would Michael say to this?¡± The CEO ignored the snark. ¡°I have seen worse. But she¡¯s no good to be around Mike.¡± ¡°Suspiciously reasonable. You really are suddenly on our side aren¡¯t you, Mr Tyrell?¡± Dave quipped. Travis shrugged. ¡°As I said, what I saw today was illuminating. I can see the benefits of working together. Besides, let¡¯s be real. Your demands have been so laughably small in the face of what I could theoretically do, that it¡¯s basically costing me nothing. Don¡¯t push it, but all I¡¯m saying is that I can see the mutual benefit of working together.¡± Still cold when speaking to Dave. But Michael could see the CEO making amused faces and winking at him while he subtly threatened Old Dave. He was having fun at the old man¡¯s expense, making him sweat for something the CEO had already decided to give them. Dave didn¡¯t let the threat stand, though. ¡°You do understand¡ª¡± ¡°Yes, the strings attached. Michael explained the coin system to me. Smart. You made me think I was playing you, and yet you played me. You control the coins, therefore you control my magic. If I want more coins, then it¡¯s either money or favors. Other than the coins, the only way to recharge my magic would be to stand on your soon-to-be privately owned land. Land I¡¯m going to help you acquire, crazy as it might seem. Guess how I get to stand on your land? By being your ally! Seriously though. I get it. You own me, or my magic at least. But I know we can build a good work relationship, be allies and, perhaps, even be friends.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. That seemed to make Dave pause. There was a sudden seriousness with which Travis had spoken, and from his voice it was clear he was earnest in his proposal. He wasn¡¯t trying to scam them anymore, to take advantage of them. ¡°Damn,¡± Dave said after a while, and after a few long breaths. ¡°I can¡¯t say I didn¡¯t expect some sort of change once you saw what Michael was capable of. But this¡­ welcome aboard, Mr Tyrell.¡± The call ended soon after, with the rhythmic sound of an approaching helicopter capturing their attention. The ride back home was quick and quiet, both passengers immersed in their own thoughts. Michael knew that eventually his control over magically abled people was going to wane, as the mana from the dungeon spread across the planet. Unless he had a way to control said spread, which was a colossal undertaking even assuming the actual controlling part came easy. Locating and securing all entrances would not be easy at all. But he hoped he''d have a plan for that, before the time came. Having someone like Travis as a friend was always a boon, and as long as he didn¡¯t find out that he was an awful person or something, he was not opposed to the idea. Something had changed within the CEO in the dungeon, and he was going to ask Dave for his opinion about it, but for now he would reap the benefits of this change. *** ¡°He¡¯s smart,¡± Dave said. ¡°Smart and dangerous. Remember when I told you about having what others need in order to get them to do whatever you want? He knows we need him, and he needs us. He doesn¡¯t mind being tied to us because he knows that by using him and his resources, we are tying ourselves to him just as tightly. He knows that by standing with us, he gets front row seats to a new world order. An order that will happen whether he wants or not.¡± Michael hummed. ¡°Now,¡± Dave continued, ¡°on top of that, from what you told me he seems genuinely interested in playing nice with you. You won his respect somehow, and as long as you don¡¯t fuck it up¡­¡± ¡°We got ourselves an ally.¡± ¡°Indeed. I¡¯ll keep an eye on him just in case.¡± Michael went home soon after. The day had been very long, and he was feeling tired and restless. He tried to squeeze in some practice while he was in the car, with plenty of coins to draw from, but soon found himself lost in the landscape. It was earlier than usual, the sun still high and the day bright with vibrant colors thanks to the helicopter cutting travel time by several hours, and all he wanted to do was capitalize on it by collapsing on his bed as soon as possible. First, though, a thing he was looking forward to doing. He took out the glowing skill upgrade stone from his pocket, glowing a pleasant and soothing green, and absorbed it.
Skill Level up!
[Mana Manipulation] reaches level 3. You can now control Qi at half the base range.
Nice. Not a world-shaking skill, but this finally brings my manipulation skills up to speed with my perception skills. Of course, there was no mana nor Qi in the air around him to test his skill on. He consumed a coin, of which he now had a lot, even after giving twenty Coppers to Travis, and instead of absorbing the energy inside of it, he let it disperse in the air. Yep, he thought as he struggled to make crude shapes out of mana. There are traces of Qi in a Copper coin. I can see it well now that it¡¯s floating in the air and not going straight into me or being compressed into the shape of a coin. Controlling the Qi was, however, orders of magnitude harder than controlling mana. It¡¯s like¡­ a hundred times harder. He didn¡¯t even realize that he had slipped into training mode even though he was supposedly tired. He looked at a Silver coin. It contained roughly a Copper worth of Qi inside of it. Interesting, he hummed, a hundred Copper coins to make a Silver coin worth of mana. A Silver of mana to make a Copper of Qi. It was not the whole picture. He could not convert mana into Qi, no matter how much he tried. And try he did, used as he was to putting a lot of hours of effort into a single task by now. His attempts didn¡¯t consume much mana at all either, allowing him to make a single Copper last for hours. Bummer. But it¡¯s time to go to bed. *** Michael opened the blinders to a bright new day, feeling nice and refreshed. The day was looking good, with a few wispy white clouds in a spotless blue sky that put him in a good mood, barely a few people already awake milling about on the road, and two tanned men standing outside his house, leaning against a pole while pretending to do other stuff. They were clearly watching him, though. He could feel their gaze. Swallowing, he hastily shut the blinders. When he peeked outside again, they weren¡¯t there anymore. Were they even there at all? He had been awake for barely a minute. Perhaps it was the last dregs of a dream? He had not even healed himself¡ªa thing he always did to fully switch his brain to awake. Activating the soothing skill, [Healing Aura] expended some of the Qi resting in his dantian to restore brain homeostasis. His heartbeat returned to normal. I must have imagined them. Just paranoia. He was stressed. The situation with Carmela going radio silent was still a mystery. Travis had said his men were struggling to dig up any interesting information, although he had something to report. Apparently two of his men had deserted after being sent to investigate Carmela¡¯s house and office. Which, according to the CEO, just didn¡¯t happen. Not to him and not to his men. That they deserted and vanished was already news enough. They would have to proceed with caution. Even more stress for Michael. You know what? I need a damn vacation. The stress is getting to me. With the amount of power I have access to¡­ he shivered as he thought about how easy it would have been to just kill Phillip, back at the dojo. Today was karate day, his mind already rebelling against the idea of having to go there again. Not after what had happened. He really could have killed the man. In so many ways too, and his build wasn¡¯t even all that strong compared to what he knew was possible with magic. Even brute force alone¡­ That¡¯s it, violent thoughts again. Not good. I¡¯m going to call my chauffeur, leisurely take a hike to the dungeon, go to the second floor, and I¡¯m going to spend a whole week resting before I even consider challenging the stone area boss. Then after I defeat it, another week of utter nothing before I leave. After all, no matter how much time he spent inside, to the outside world it was still ten minutes. He had been stupid not to take advantage of it, but now that he had thought about it¡ªno matter how late¡ªhe sure as hell was going to abuse the mechanic. When he got to the dungeon, trail cams and motion sensors deployed as planned, he stepped inside without hesitation, not even checking the mana levels outside. He sighed when the first thing he saw when he reached the second floor in a burst of magic, was that three enormous orcs were barring his way. Chapter 38 Three mighty orcs barred Michael¡¯s way into the forest. They were the tallest he had ever seen, veritable mountains of muscle and gleaming tusks, filled with powerful magic. Since Fae lacked an aura, he could see their networks with his magic sense, peering into the depths of their magic to gleam at their power. Even though his irritation and anger at seeing his plans of relaxation go up in smoke was great, he could only appreciate the level of power these orcs commanded. Just by seeing their Fae networks he thought he was learning something.
Skill Level up!
[Crude Body Enhancement] reaches level 3. Observing true Fae magic, primed and ready, has allowed you to gain insights into this dangerous piece of magic. It is now safer to use at lower settings, while at the same time the maximum effect is increased, along with the dangers.
The level-up put him in a good mood. Good enough that he regarded the three monsters with a toothy smile that was not entirely devoid of malice. I do need to vent out some stress, after all. ¡°Where is Drullkrin?¡± he asked, still smiling. The undertone was lost on the orcs, who puffed up in pride. ¡°We removed the slave driver,¡± the one at the lead said, ¡°I, the mighty¡ª¡± The orc said no more, because suddenly there was a hole in his forehead, gushing black blood and melted brain matter. The orc toppled to the ground, and the other two stared in disbelief as the flesh around the wound started rotting at a visible speed, melting into a puddle of foul-smelling goop. ¡°Why he not regenerate?¡± one of the other two asked, flabbergasted and clearly much less intelligent than the lead one. Two more water bullets hovered around Michael¡¯s head, orbiting him like little comets of brackish water, conjured using Michael¡¯s marksman skill to overclock the water bullet skill and held there with mana manipulation.
Skill Level up!
[Mana Manipulation] reaches level 4. You can now weakly interact with elemental energies. Maximum range is twice that of regular mana, but control decreases with range.
Oh wow. Two in a row! Were they on the cusp of upgrading already? I did train mana manipulation in the car¡­ Now he really was in a good mood. I¡¯m really behaving like an addict who just got their dose. But it was no time to ponder the potential danger of becoming addicted to dungeon skills. That was for later. ¡°I sure hope,¡± Michael said, using [Presence] to lend weight to his words, ¡°that Drullkrin is still alive. For your sake.¡± The two remaining orcs nodded slowly. ¡°Take me to him.¡± *** Michael found the goblin snarling and cursing at his captors from inside a too-small wooden cage. The wood was covered in magic inscriptions that hurt Michael¡¯s eyes to even look at, glowing with magic, while the cage was dangling from a branch a few feet above the ground. The more the goblin moved and shouted and cursed, the more the cage moved around, like a broken pendulum. Michael ordered the forest folk to lower the cage down, the two surviving orcs sheepishly complying while many of the others tried to convince their king that they were only following the dead orc¡¯s orders because they were being threatened. Michael didn¡¯t care much. When the cage refused to open, and it was revealed that only the mighty now-dead orc could unlock its mechanisms, Michael¡¯s nerves threatened to jump out of his skin. He was about to explode, perhaps pulverize a couple of orcs just to vent. Instead, he took a deep breath and sighed. Activating [Crude Body Enhancement] to the extreme, he started yanking on the wood of the cage. His body was turning to dust from the inside out, [Healing Aura] working overtime to compensate for the strain of the empowering skill. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Michael, even though he was feeling all of the pain of his body breaking down and being remade, barely flinched. Instead, his efforts intensified as the cage refused to budge. Soon he brought his mana manipulation to bear, yanking mana, Qi and elemental energies away from the cage in with a tearing sound. The wood crumbled to dust. It took a while to calm the general down once he was freed from his captivity, but a quick application of [Presence] and [Voice of Command] brought him back to reason. I really am out of sorts. I should feel something, instead I am just tired and disappointed. All I can think of is how good it would feel if another skill leveled up, instead of being happy for my gains today. Showing none of this on the outside, Michael questioned the tall goblin. ¡°Contingencies!¡± Drullkrin¡¯s voice had a hint of crazy to it. ¡°You were right as usual. One can never have enough contingencies! I thought I had everything covered, but then it turns out I didn¡¯t! How could I know that not all Fae want to die in battle? The cowards. Some of them have allied with the stone people, my lord, we must hurry.¡± Thus, the idea of resting for a week was shattered. Michael was taken to the edge of the forest, where a few orcs, goblins and some other forest creatures were standing close to the tree line. Opposite them, out in the open, were tall and bulky creatures made of stone and gravel. They moved slowly, but there was the weight of a mountain behind them. Golems, their eyes shining red, studied the opposing forces born of nature. In the middle, a single swamp-dweller was running back and forth, delivering messages between the two parties. ¡°It looks like they are still negotiating,¡± Michael said. ¡°You said this has been going on from before you were captured?¡± The goblin nodded. More than three days, then. Michael could see why. The runner was spending a few seconds on the forest side, delivering messages and getting replies, while he spent minutes, even hours at times, according to the watchers, on the stone people¡¯s side. ¡°Don¡¯t let them fool you, sire. They think slowly, but they move deceptively quickly in battle and their might is great.¡± ¡°What about magic?¡± They had been strategizing as they observed the meeting from afar. Drullkrin shook his head. ¡°They don¡¯t have any, my lord, save for what animates and protects them. They are not to be underestimated, their strength is great. If only we could bring them under out command, ah¡­¡± Michael could see their elemental energy from where he stood, because like the Fae, the golems had no aura shrouding their magic. A few ideas came to his mind. He was forced to return to the present when he saw movement, however. The stone side of the forces was making moves to leave, and indeed the golems were quick on their feet, their bulk allowing them to stomp and trample all beneath them with ease. ¡°We must follow them, quick!¡± Michael said as he tugged at his backpack, filled with weapons he had Travis acquire for him right for the task. Old Dave¡¯s dealer had been fine when they had no better option, but why not use Travis now that he was on their side? The old man had grumbled at being replaced by a better connection, but had caved in the end. ¡°What?¡± The goblin was appalled by the idea of following the stone golems. ¡°My lord, we cannot! It¡¯s enemy territory, and we have no plans or contingencies!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a plan. A crazy plan, but a plan nonetheless.¡± *** The landscape changed around them at a visible pace as the two struggled to follow the group of golems. They descended from the forested mountain into vast plains, crossed the river and finally made their way to the other side of the valley. Towering structures of dark stone rose from the ground, like knotted limbs of trees devoid of life and color. The ground was dry and hard, made of compressed stone littered with gemstone and gravel lakes. Distractedly, Michael picked one of the gemstones up to see if the dungeon would allow him to take it outside. All the while, he kept his eyes open to the more esoteric sights of the place. Wisps of Earth element rose from the ground like tendrils of smoke, dense and solid. There was some taste of Metal within the Earth, Fire and other stranger elements as well, most of them too faint or strange for Michael to recognize. He tried to move the Earth around a bit, see how it felt at least where it wasn¡¯t too dense, but soon gave up on the idea. It was way too hard and mana-intensive to do so. Then they came across a river made of flowing gravel, which the golems crossed by sinking down the moving stones and using their bulk to laboriously walk ahead. When it was Michael and Drullkrin¡¯s turn, they discovered that they could simply walk over the slow-moving gravel, their light weight allowing them to ¡®float¡¯. It was a strange sensation, the ground moving beneath them, but more so for the goblin than for Michael. It was like being on an escalator made of gravel. The air gradually turned cold and dry. The sky darkened, and a strange mist limited their vision. It smelled of stale cave air, as if they were in a cave even though they were on the surface. In the mist, large hulking figures were moving about, lifting giant rocks and slamming them open, searching for something inside. Then Michael finally saw the gargantuan bulk of the stone king. The golems, which he had thought large and imposing, were mere ants before its might. They kneeled, and slowly they began to report what they had plotted and schemed together with the deserters from the forest and swamp. ¡°What do we do, my lord?¡± Drullkrin was nervous. Michael patted his backpack. Inside, several demolition charges accompanied his still-unused grenade launcher, as well as a smoking-hot new anti-material rifle. Stuff he had bought to deal with the stone king. The pack had been so heavy he had had to ask Bob¡ªhis driver, who Dave guaranteed would not ever betray them¡ªto accompany him to the dungeon to share the load. Then, once inside he had had to run [Crude Body Enhancement] at low power all the time as he followed the golems. But it had all been so very worth it, for he had a crazy plan in mind that could very well just work. Chapter 39 David D. Chestermill The fucking brat. All buddy-buddy with Mr Tyrell now. Being replaced stung. Being replaced because the alternative was objectively better stung even more. David knew he wasn¡¯t really being replaced, but it sure felt like it when Michael had told him he would be using Mr Tyrell¡¯s contacts to acquire more weapons. David could do nothing but agree with the boy. When Michael left, the old man finally allowed himself to slump into his chair, feeling the slight dull throb of a headache forming. The temporary office was barren and dusty, and not the good dusty like his pawn shop, and he could hear his hired secretary typing away in the next room. For a moment his thoughts settled on the fact that Mustang, of all people, was running the pawn shop these days. David wondered how long it would be before the incompetent appraiser ran it to the ground. Whatever. The problem with Travis Tyrell was that he really was adamant about helping them. Ever since he went helldiving, as he took to calling the dungeon runs, he had come out changed. Now he wanted to help them. And he was doing it with a drive, a motivation and an amount of resources that were obscene to think about. Nothing in David¡¯s old life of not-really-crime could come close to that. And to add insult to injury, the CEO claimed that he was only moving a very minute amount of resources at the moment, while he tried to free up more money and connections to be used without the rest of his company¡¯s board sticking their noses into their business. David wondered if that was true, and if Travis could ever bring to bear the full power of his company without being fired as a CEO. Probably not, but soon enough it won¡¯t be a problem anymore, if their plans proceeded well. Regardless, he could feel his power and sway being eroded one little piece after the other. What use would he be, after all, compared to a CEO of Mr Tyrell¡¯s caliber? The law of the market was clear: if he wanted to keep Michael around, he needed to have something to offer that the boy desperately needed or wanted. That¡¯s how David operated, because that was how the world operated. Which meant that he had to step up his game. He needed to put in work. What he could provide Michael, he would provide. He would exceed expectations, plan ahead, prepare contingencies. He would pamper Michael a bit, and perhaps his behavior would even undo some of the lessons David was trying to teach to the boy, but he needed to be strategic. If teaching the lessons alienated Michael, making him rely on Mr Tryell, then the lessons had to go. If, on the other hand, the lessons had the outcome of making the boy see him as a mentor figure he could trust, then they would stay. Bob, the driver, had been one such instance of David¡¯s ability to plan ahead bearing fruit. Michael had sent David a message earlier, thanking him for assigning him someone who was much more than just a driver. Someone who, most importantly, could be trusted. It just was that Michael had no idea what David had done to make sure Bob could be trusted. Sure, Travis had been the one to find Robert. But Dave had been the one to make the man into a loyal employee who would never betray his employer, and that¡¯s what mattered in his competition with the CEO. He had shown Bob a glimpse of the new world order they were building. David wasn¡¯t sure Michael would agree with his methods. But David had mitigated the risks as well as he could. The law of the market. If David wanted a loyal workforce, he couldn¡¯t have it by threatening them. Nor by simply paying them. He had to figure out what each of them wanted, what they truly wanted, and then he had to find a way to give it to them. If they behaved. If they performed above and beyond standards. It just so happened that Bob had a dear auntie with chronic joint pain. Ordinarily David would have ignored such information, but the men he hired to gather information swore that Bob treated his aunt like his own mother, and that the giant of a man hated seeing the frail old woman suffer in pain every day. David had been so flabbergasted he had even shamelessly used Mr Tyrell¡¯s own men to double check. They were, loathe as he was to admit it, much better and more loyal than his contacts, as well as more thorough. The CEO knew how to cultivate loyal and competent people working for him, much as David was trying to do with Michael and their budding organization. One that would need a name soon. To think that Bob feeds stray cats in his free time. He really has a bleeding heart under all those muscles. David could use this. Give Bob money, and he would have an employee. Have a cat shelter built, staffed and ready for Bob to cuddle cats whenever he wanted, and of course offer to heal his auntie and he would have his gratitude. It would probably be cheaper in the long run too. Then David¡¯s phone chimed. A text message. He sighed. It was from Travis. The CEO was earnest in his desire to work together, even though David knew he could offer little that the rich man could not, also faster and better. But, Mr Tyrell seemed to have understood that Michael saw the ¡®Old Dave¡¯ persona as a mentor figure, at least for now, and thus the CEO was being all nice to him. The question was: would Travis try to replace him, or would they work together? There was enough pie for everyone to get their slice, but one did not become a CEO of a multinational corporation without being greedy. With that in mind, David had his new secretary send him the documents and files about the plot of land they were purchasing. David had not let his ego get the best of him. No matter what he thought about Travis, he had set aside his doubts for the greater good of what they were doing and had asked the CEO for help before hiring the woman. The secretary was even more of a critical asset than Bob was, in a position of utter power over their budding organization. She would soon be the one to handle many things, the nitty-gritty little details, able to see in the nooks and crannies of what they were doing. There was no way to keep a secret from her, and thus they had told her the truth. They had promised her benefits. A shitload of money. Healthcare in the form of magical healing for her and her family. Even pets. A car, a driver and access to Michael¡¯s money so that she could take care of things without needing to ask. The way she used the money would be monitored regularly, of course, but showing trust was a good way to earn trust. It had been what Travis had done with his company. David perused the folder full of aerial images, satellite images, as well as a bunch of more technical surveys they had sent to the authority in charge of the land¡¯s environmental cleanup. Another folder contained plans and blueprints. The original plan was to have most of the buildings clustered close to the dungeon, but after careful deliberation Michael had decided not to expose normal people to magic for long periods of time. They just didn¡¯t know what could happen, and the last thing they needed was for their employees to suddenly awaken as magically-abled individuals. It just didn¡¯t do to just give stuff for free like this. If Michael could find a way to empower people without having them brave the depths of the dungeon, then he could control the resource and use it as leverage. Building at the edge of the property was a good solution for now since, according to the boy, the expansion of the mana zone around the entrance to the dungeon was slowing down. It would be a long time before it reached the edge of his property unless it sped up again. Good news, David thought with a grin. It would give them time to plan. As such, the main buildings were going to be close to the road. From there, the gravel road would connect them to the dungeon, making access easier to the authorized personnel though a checkpoint with armed guards. Accessible but not wide open, suspicious but not outright problematic. Everyone not in the know would be told about the dangerous materials in the clean-up site, and a possible cover story was that they decided to build offices here because the hazardous materials made purchasing the land cheaper. The employees would be given free healthcare as long as they worked for the company, even access to the ¡®nanomachines¡¯ aka magical healing, making the idea of working next to potentially poisoned land more palatable than most other options for most people. The plans were to build a warehouse to store things, machinery and eventually loot¡ªMichael had mentioned wanting to try to extract materials from the dungeon¡ª with reinforced walls and a secret underground, soundproofed and doubly reinforced basement where Michael could train his magic. He would have to go back and forth to replenish his mana close to the entrance to the dungeon as he trained or burn coins, but he said the hassle was worth it, especially after the gravel road was finished. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. David had made sure the boy understood just how important it was that he didn¡¯t waste coins on training. Not when he could just walk to the dungeon and simply use his fancy manipulation skill to pull the mana to him. Then there would be a huge parking lot for all the employees, with lots of security cameras and actual security guards stationed everywhere. Michael had insisted they put a lot of trees there to provide shade and offset the destruction of plant life from building the road, as well as because he liked greenery, so trees had been included in the design. Then there was the office space proper. A tall, several-story building ready to accommodate their growing workforce. Next to it would be the research facility, but the plans for it were currently blank, as they had no idea what they would need to fill it with. They were trying to find scientists willing to work with them first, and they would hear their thoughts on how to shape the building. Of course, most of this was still far in the future. One did not raise buildings in one day, not this far away from any decent town. Thats when Michael surprised them all. Just use repurposed shipping containers, he had said, claiming he had seen something like that in a youtube video. The idea had a lot of merit. It wasn¡¯t like they had a lot of people working for them yet, just Travis, David, their respective secretaries and security. It could work. All they needed was power, internet and access to the road. They could have their containers placed by the road, close to the construction sites for their permanent offices, and that would take care of everything else. Sure, no electric or internet company was willing to provide them with cable all the way to their containers at a cost, but David concluded that they could easily afford the extra price. Just heal one more person. If there was something they needed to be stingy about it was magical coins, not cash. They had ideas on how to save coins. Just spread the treatments over a few days instead of healing a person in one go¡ªunless Michael could do it with a single mana pool, it was strictly necessary or the patient paid a hefty premium¡ªand just go back to the dungeon to recharge. Michael¡¯s house was going to be yet another container, powered by a generator as the power line did not reach so far into the forest. He didn¡¯t complain, saying that it couldn¡¯t be worse than his current arrangement. He didn¡¯t like the idea of having to rely on a generator, saying that it polluted the environment. Silly boy. He had no problems driving around for hundreds of miles every day, but now he doesn¡¯t like generators? Might as well buy some solar panels, David thought, keep the boy happy. With the plans ready, it was time to get to work. There was no way to speed up the acquisition process now that it was started, the surveys and control underway. But David could start vetting potential personnel, checking who would be willing to work on their ¡®project¡¯. Most importantly, he needed to find people who they could trust. He checked a message from Travis and then saw another coming from Dr Kavins. Apparently the crazy doctor from the clinic had a bunch of equally crazy scientists willing to be vetted to see if they could work on this exciting thing Dr Kavins had teased them with. Most of them would be medical scientists and doctors, filling up the empty parts of the clinic nicely. But others were physicists and engineers, mathematicians and¡­ a philosopher? David would need to see just how far they were willing to go in their pursuit of knowledge. Scientists of that caliber were usually strange people who could not really be threatened. If they wanted to spill the secrets, they would. But they could be bought, and knowledge¡ªor access to a source of it¡ªwas the currency. Thinking they might need a more permanent solution sometime soon, David also started looking into buying the flat land on the other side of the road so that they could expand there. Already he was envisioning high-tech condos where the families of the people working for Michael were going to live, provided for free by the boy. That would put them into such a debt of gratitude towards him, that it would all but guarantee their loyalty. Add some more benefits and¡­ David rubbed his hands. It was time to call Mr Tyrell and start planning their next stage. *** Travis Tyrell, CEO of PetroLink Global What is it that you¡¯re doing? Travis thought as he pored over the document his underlings had prepared for him. What could be so important to make you disappear for days on end? Now, of all times? Travis did not like Carmela. The Italian mob boss was an awful human being, and a bad influence on Michael. He just wanted her gone. Indeed, her strange behavior was good for him, it brought him close to his objective of ejecting her from Michael¡¯s orbit. His questions were simply professional curiosity. Why would someone act so strangely and against their own interests? He leafed to the next page. Gruesome. But now I have one more piece. Apparently there had been reinforcements from Italy tying her hands, and she had been forced to deal with them in a less than friendly manner. We are not telling Michael about this until we know what the hell is going on. The kid¡¯s not ready to handle it. But David is. Indeed, contrary to what the other man was thinking, Travis was making no plans to replace David¡¯s position as the boy¡¯s mentor. He knew very well that he could not cover that role with his personality and goals. Besides, David was a useful helper, a good liaison between him and the boy, and one of the few people he knew could be trusted completely. He was smart, driven and¡­ tall? He could think of no more descriptors, and moved on reminiscing. Michael had told Travis about the incident that eventually set all the following events in motion. Not the whole story, not until he asked David about it and got approval to tell the whole truth, but despite Michael¡¯s cute attempts at withholding information, Travis already knew what they were talking about. There had been a shootout, Carmela had been wounded and he had healed her. Why had Michael been working for the mafia? Because, back then, David had no idea what the young man was really capable of. He was thinking of Michael as a nice little grunt to be put to work. Travis could not blame David, although it could have been a possible catastrophe. Travis could blame Michael for being an idiot for accepting the jobs, and had voiced his concerns to David. The old man shrugged and simply said that the boy was stubborn, but he was learning. That, in the end, it had all worked out fine. He claimed that had Michael not been an idiot, they wouldn¡¯t be here now. After that Travis made sure the David understood how important it was that Michael actually learned. What was done was done, but now they needed to tread carefully. There were some rumors coming from high up that Travis did not like. Three-letter agencies were beginning to get wind of strange happenings around here. For some reason, David seemed a bit less energetic about it than usual. But his lessons are one of the most important things for Michael right now. He needs to learn how the world works. Anyway, after the shootout David had been called to the scene. After some awkward attempts at deflecting the truth, Michael had finally showed the old man what he was capable of. He even healed David up to health, doing the old man a much bigger favor than he could imagine. David was literally rejuvenated by twenty years, at least according to what Dr Kavins had to say about him. Michael had no clue just what that meant for an old person. And all of it with the puny skills he had back then? Travis made a note about really hammering into Michael¡¯s head just how revolutionary his treatments could be for someone¡¯s life. Forget the few millions he was charging to rich men with cancer. He could literally reverse aging. He started composing a text while he leafed through the last pages of the report from his hired investigators. Not that he thought there would be anything there. Wait. Who is that young man? He leaned over the desk so quickly that his muscular frame knocked some of the more scattered papers to the floor. They saw him come and go multiple times a day for a while. According to sources they found, this started happening roughly at the same time she went all silent on Michael. There was a picture where she could be seen arguing with the young man. In the report, the mole his men had planted had reported hearing about strange things. ¡°That asshole was keeping it from me, from us!¡± was a fragment of conversation. The rest of the conversation happened in private. The investigator seems to think that it was something in the middle between a negotiation and the young man making demands to her. In exchange for his services, perhaps? A preliminary idea formed in his mind. If the young man was the powered individual, and if the asshole they were talking about was Michael, it was possible that the man was demanding that Carmela did not work with Michael if she wanted him to work for her. That she chose him over Michael was odd at first, but as Travis saw more gruesome images of burnt bodies and strange ¡®gas leaks¡¯, the idea solidified. She¡¯s using him to consolidate her power, which to her is more important than having Michael on her side. Especially if she thinks she can just take the dungeon away from Michael. Telling her was a mistake. Travis amended the text message. In it, he tried to stress to Old Dave how important it was for Michael to learn some fucking basic rules of the real world. Namely: don¡¯t go telling people your secrets. Much like he had done with Travis himself, although Travis was glad he caught sight of Michael before Old Dave could have time to educate the young man. Travis sent the message and closed the file with a sigh. He felt the bubbling power within, the lightning waiting to transport him somewhere else, begging to be used. It would be perfect for this sort of task. But he stayed his hand. Not because he was a careful person, which he was not. But because he was only impulsive when his shit was on the line, and this was not the case. Michael was too important to risk a fuck up over, and they needed more data. ¡°I need more men in her organization. Infiltrate all ranks,¡± he told his secretary before shutting himself in his office again. It was much later that he found himself in an empty field, away from prying eyes, the perimeter carefully monitored by his men. He disappeared in a flash of sparks. He was testing his power, definitely not wasting coins that cost him a fortune to get from Michael. This¡­ this feels intoxicating Immediately his mind went to how he could acquire more power. David had mentioned that the only way to get power was to challenge hell, but Michael had mentioned none of it when they dove together. His instincts were telling him that perhaps David was either lying to him or that they didn¡¯t know. He also got the feeling that Michael did not really respect people who wanted power without earning it. For a moment, he wondered whether it would be worth losing a part of Michael¡¯s respect to gain more power, but then he decided that it wasn¡¯t. Chapter 40 The stone king did not have a castle. He was at the center of his faction¡¯s encampment, but he did not have a tent. He did not even have a throne. He stood there, a mountain so big his head appeared tiny when looked at from below, in an open field of brownish stone. The king¡¯s body was made of black obsidian, here and there streaked by lighter colored stone. His joints were green like jade, and his head was a white monolith of pure limestone. In the middle of the white rock were two deep holes, shining with red malice. There was no mouth, but words reverberated through the air, unintelligible from where Michael was hiding as the king gave orders to the scouts. Then he was left alone. No royal guard, no servants. There were other golems milling about, but all of them were working on something, splitting rocks or smashing gigantic stone formations, digging into the ground or recharging in places where the Earth element was strongest. Their bodies were stone moved by magic. That much was clear to Michael¡¯s powerful mana sense. But beyond a framework that animated the otherwise dead material, he could see nothing, lending credibility to what Drullkrin had told him about the race of sentient golems. They were strong, and he could see that they were fast when they attacked the ground with gusto, but they didn¡¯t have any magic. They probably did not need it. Their body was their armor, and their strength and speed their weapon. ¡°What is the plan, my lord?¡± Drullkrin asked after they surveyed the area. Michael patted his backpack, retrieving a small bundle. ¡°See this? This is a remotely triggered demolition charge, used to blow up mountains. I have six of them.¡± ¡°How does one use such artifacts?¡± the goblin asked, awed at the might his king could command. ¡°Just stick them to the stone, and they blow up. Better if from the inside. We might need to stick the charges to the joints.¡± The goblin hummed. ¡°It will be hard to get close to the king. He has good eyes, and he stands in an open field.¡± ¡°Can he smell us?¡± Michael asked, suddenly concerned. Drullkrin shook his head. ¡°We would be already dead if he could. Golems has sharp senses, but lack some like touch and smell.¡± Michael nodded, refocusing on the king. ¡°What is he doing? Why is he just standing there?¡± The huge golem, easily thirty feet tall, had not moved an inch since the scouts had left. It played the part of landscape perfectly, even his eyes barely alive with light. ¡°He is thinking, my lord.¡± The goblin said, ¡°Devising a strategy. Golems are smart, fast when they must think about numbers and calculations, but slow when it comes to other things.¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Can we sneak up to him?¡± ¡°I am afraid not, my lord. A golem does not see with eyes like we do. He can see all around.¡± ¡°Then we need a diversion. Here¡¯s a plan¡­¡± *** The goblin¡¯s face was contorted in a feral grin. ¡°I see. A feasible plan, my liege. Making use of our superior power. But what about contingencies?¡± Michael thought about it. ¡°We can always go the magic route if all else fails. I tested my water bullet against rock before coming here, and it makes it brittle.¡± ¡°Keep the ability hidden, my lord,¡± the goblin said, ¡°it can be our secret weapon if our first plan fails.¡± He looked down, ¡°not that it will fail, my king.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot. Just because I¡¯m your king, it doesn¡¯t mean my plans are infallible. I would rather have you tear my plans to shreds than just nod along and then have us fail.¡± The goblin nodded, respect in his dark and deep-set eyes. ¡°You are wise as you are strong. I shall obey, my king. Your plan is sound, and I agree that the time to act is now, if we wish to leverage the element of surprise. I am worried about the lack of contingencies, but we shall make do.¡± With a nod, the two took position. Drullkrin was given Michael¡¯s anti-material rifle and grenade launcher, while he kept the demolition charges. Pushing his speed to the extreme with his body enhancement, Michael had discovered that he was now actually faster than the goblin¡ªdespite the latter having a perfect Fae network of magic to mitigate the ill effects of the skill. Probably due to Michael¡¯s mana pool almost reaching 50 Coppers of capacity after many days of intense training. Michael circled the rocky outcropping, at the center of which still stood the stone king, unmoving. He had strapped the charges to his jacket, leaving the backpack with the goblin. He had considered wearing a bulletproof vest to the fight, but decided to leave it behind in favor of more mobility. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Taking position, Michael took a deep breath. Then he poked his head out of the cover of the rock, finally seeing the king in his entirety. His body was even bigger than he thought, his bulk massive and he was covered in spikes and sharp blades of obsidian. His limbs were thin and long, with many joints that could move independently. The very moment Michael left his cover, the king¡¯s eyes snapped to him. His head had rotated a full 180 degrees without the rest of the body moving, but the red light of the king¡¯s eyes was back in full force. Michael saw the stone body twitch slightly, alerting him that the king was about to charge. Then he heard an explosion, followed by a shower of stone. Drullkrin had shot the king with the anti-material rifle, hitting the golem in the shoulder. The bullet did not have much effect there, simply blowing some rock into the air and destroying some of the spikes that made up the king¡¯s body armor. But it had the intended other effect. Now the king¡¯s attention was fully on Drullkrin as the goblin readied another shot. He did not have a marksman skill, but it was part of the plan, making the king think the goblin was vulnerable as he reloaded. Michael shot forward, pushing his body-enhancing skill to the extreme, feeling the strain of the skill tear his body from the inside while at the same time a wave of healing energy washed over him. Sticking his hand into his pocket, several Copper Coins vaporized into mana and topped-up his reserves¡ªtoo dangerous to wait for regeneration to refill him¡ªbefore he was halfway to the king, demolition charge at the ready. The king did not even turn around. He simply raised a slender limb towards Michael. Michael¡¯s reflexes allowed him to react, and a [[Distortion Field] appeared to intercept. The king¡¯s arm reached the sphere. The two forces clashed, like it had happened in the first floor when Michael had attacked the shimmer skeletons. The sphere deformed, like a balloon squeezed at its center, becoming bean-shaped. Then it popped. Michael gaped even as the king slapped him into the air, to slam into the stone behind. Then he charged at the goblin. Shit. Michael got up, feeling the multiple broken bones from the impact. He activated heal and started running, fighting through pain the was all too familiar to him, trying to close the distance with the king. But the golem was faster than even his top speed, let alone the stumbling jog of a man with broken legs in the process of healing. An explosion followed, Drullkrin shooting another bullet. He was showing his prowess with all weapons, for this time the shot hit the king in the face, staggering him for a moment but not dealing much damage beyond a small crater. It gave the goblin time to reach for the grenade launcher. Six explosions followed as the goblin emptied the rotating mag into the king, the high-yield explosives tearing chunks of rock and dislodging the spikes from the king¡¯s surface. But the golem¡¯s bulk was too much to stop, now that it was bracing for the impacts. The king reached Drullkrin before Michael, who was still healing the injuries from the slap, could get close enough. It slammed down, but the goblin dodged at the last possible moment. Instead of Drullkrin¡¯s head, a boulder became fine powder. The goblin tried to line up another shot, but the king¡¯s many jointed arm slammed the grendade launcher away from the goblin¡¯s grip like an adult tearing a toy away from a child¡¯s arms. Then the king stomped on the empty grenade launcher, reducing it to scrap metal. When the king¡¯s foot rose, there was no metal there anymore. What? Where did it go? Now the king was moving slowly, for some reason. During the whole fight, he had never uttered a word, but now a single word echoed like a decree, shattering stone and making the two fleshy beings bleed due to sheer vibration of the air. ¡°Die!¡± was the decree, and then the king disappeared. He reappeared right beside the goblin, the biggest perceived threat. Drullkrin shot another time, but the king intercepted the shot with an obsidian limb, the bullet doing nothing but putting some superficial cracks in the crystalline mesh of the stone. He is fast when calculating bullet trajectories. Then the king simply yanked the gun away. Michael looked in horror as the rifle was sucked into the stone that made up the king¡¯s body as if it was quicksand. Then his mind quickly caught up with him, and the budding battle sense that had been developing since he started delving into the dungeon screamed at him. This is such a stupid idea. ¡°Fuck it, contingency this.¡± A foul water bullet appeared, then another and another, all of them hovering in place around his head, twitching as they wanted to be released from his mental grip. Soon, he was burning coins with abandon, healing himself as the strain of [Marksman] and of manipulating mana like this threatened to melt his brain, and suppressing dialogue boxes about level ups. All at once, he released the deluge of rotting rain into the king. The water splashed almost harmlessly. At first, the king did nothing. He had not even seen the attack as a threat. But Michael saw that the stone skin of the king was cracking and flaking. No sense of touch! He kept shooting, even though Drullkrin was getting pummeled by the king to within an inch of his life. I need to trust his skills. This was one of the contingencies, after all. By now, a large patch of skin was whitened rock, as if bleached by the sun. And now the crazy part. Michael armed one of the remote demolition charges and threw it. The charge landed on the damaged stone, latching onto it thanks to the adhesive he had covered it with. With a grin, Michael triggered the charge. Large chunks of stone simply exploded, revealing the inner mechanisms of the golem, delicate threads of magic circuitry carved in precisely-cut marble. Some of them were disrupted, and the king howled in pain hard enough to stagger Michael. In the hole, the tip of something could be seen, metal gleaming in the dim light of the sun. It was the rifle, Michael realized, and it was somehow still intact. The king turned to him, now that he¡¯d been revealed to be the biggest threat. Behind him, Drullkrin was twitching on the ground, beaten to a pulp but alive. Good, Michael thought coldly, it would be a bother to have to find a new leader for my forces. Meanwhile, the golem king¡¯s eyes were glued to the other demolition charges. Even though Michael knew the king could see everything, he was now sure that his attention was entirely on them. Just as planned. He threw the five charges all at once. All armed. The king did not hesitate to intercept and absorb them. For a moment Michael thought he saw a satisfied smug look on the flat stone face. The king¡¯s eyes shone a deep red. Then it lunged at Michael. ¡°Hasta la vista, baby.¡± Chapter 41 Chapter 41 Five demolition charges, the sort used to blow up chunks of mountains or to reduce entire buildings to rubble, all blew up at the same time inside the stone king¡¯s weakened body. Michael was a short distance away, having been the one to sentence the golem to death. The shower of splinters and chips of stone propelled by the blast, some of them razor-sharp pieces of obsidian, cut his face and clothes. He healed the damage with a grin. He stood immobile for a moment, watching the Glyph appear from where the golem¡¯s body was being turned into mana by the dungeon so it could be recycled, basking in the sensation of adrenaline coursing through his veins. Enjoying the moment of glory. He had won. Another clever battle, a struggle, and overcoming seemingly impossible odds. For a moment he wondered how he might have done it without outside tools like the explosives. Then the whimpers became too much, and he rushed to where Drullkrin was lying in a puddle of his own blood, and healed him. It took a while to put the monster back to shape, and it was different than healing a human being. An interesting experience which had surely pushed the skill closer to upgrading. Michael finally walked up to the pillar of light and the mesh of strange magic he could not even begin to decipher, the glyph. Beside it there was a small pile of coins, a couple of silver and some copper change, and a skill upgrade stone. By now, Michael could recognize upgrade stones at a glance, they were different from normal skill stones. This one was uncommon-tier, and quite powerful at that. He didn¡¯t even need to touch it to know what it was, the elemental energies he saw quite enough to paint a picture. But first he touched the glyph.
Challenge update!
You have acquired the glyph of Might, proof that you are indeed the strongest warrior. Without the other glyphs joined to form the Unity, this glyph has lost most of its power, but it retains some lingering magic. You may use it once to leave the dungeon, then once again to return to the second floor.
Then he turned his attention to the blinking notifications he had dismissed during the battle.
Skill Level up!
[Mana Manipulation] reaches level 5. You gain the ability to force skills to act outside of their scope, bending them to your will. You have reached a bottleneck, to advance further you will need a special insight into the nature of the skill.
He was quite happy with the upgrade. He had pushed the skill hard during the fight, following a hunch he got back when he first appeared on this floor today and had to kill the treasonous orcs. And despite all this, it¡¯s still a common-ranked skill. The bottleneck was a hassle, but not entirely unexpected either. This was the first skill to reach level 5, exposing a new feature of his power system. He hoped the requirements to keep upgrading the skill weren¡¯t too tough to get, and that the notion of insight wasn¡¯t too strict, otherwise he might soon start to stagnate. Which was precisely what the dungeon used to entice him to delve deeper, wasn¡¯t it?
Skill Level up!
[Marksman] reaches level 2. You can now feel a faint connection to any projectile you shoot, as long as it¡¯s still traveling.
Odd but potentially powerful, he thought. He would need to experiment, like with most of his skills. And now, the upgrade stone.
Skill Level up!
[Distortion Field] reaches level 5. It is now stronger and quicker, and can be further reinforced with additional mana for amplified effects. You have reached a bottleneck, to advance further you will need a special insight into the nature of the skill.
The rest of the loot was coins. Strangely enough, at the bottom of the stack there was a single US dollar bill. Picking it up, Michael thought he could hear a snickering voice reverberating through the valley and the mountain. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°For your lost equipment, hahahah!¡± ¡°Fucking dungeon goblin,¡± Michael cursed. ¡°What is it, my lord?¡± Drullkrin perked up. ¡°Nothing. Didn¡¯t you hear the voice?¡± The actual goblin looked confused. ¡°No, my lord. But I must congratulate you. Truly, a great battle and a majestic show of might.¡± On their way back, the two tried to use Michael¡¯s newfound authority to turn the stone golems to his cause. Most of them were not interested, not even registering their presence and words unless attacked, wholly focused on their task of breaking stone and extracting minerals. Michael decided to follow them, since they were not hostile, and found a veritable stash of materials in a hidden cave teeming with golems. Now that Michael had the Glyph, the stone constructs ignored him, even letting him take valuables from the stash. He left with a bursting backpack, empty of all contents save for bars of gold and platinum, gemstones and ores. Too bad they were too heavy to carry in large amounts. Even with magic helping him, the backpack was on its last legs, and it just wouldn¡¯t do to spill all these valuables along the Appalachian Trail. Luckily Bob was waiting for him outside, and he could help carry all this weight. The duo finally emerged from the stone biome, trailed by a couple stone golems they managed to convince to join their cause that had been tasked to carry the heavy backpack. Finally, I can take my vacation. Drullkrin had informed Michael that he would need a few days to consolidate his power again after the failed coup, to make sure all monsters understood just who was in charge. Michael¡¯s presence, his new allies and Glyph of Might helped to restore order quickly. The best thing was that Michael simply needed to be there, he didn¡¯t need to actually do anything to lend credibility to Drullkrin¡¯s words. His actions had spoken loud enough, after all. But alas, after a few days of rest without touching any magic¡ªhe needed to unwind, and getting stuck practicing was a good way to waste his hard-earned rest¡ªthings began to change. It seemed that the dungeon was speeding things along. Reports of raids from the north were becoming ever more frequent, patrols of icemen and yetis spotted well beyond their borders and into the territories Michael controlled. It was time for Michael to leave before the dungeon goblin forced another battle onto him. He used the Glyph¡¯s one-time function and appeared back on the surface. A grin appeared on his face when he saw that none of the materials pilfered from the dungeon had vanished. He had been worried about them disappearing, not knowing whether they were real matter of just a mana construct. I guess this answers that particular question. It also meant that he could probably use the dungeon as a waste disposal facility, like he had jokingly suggested to Travis. Bob¡¯s eyes grew wide when Michael explained why his backpack was suddenly twice as heavy as it had been before he entered the cave, but the driver-slash-bodyguard took most of the revelations in stride. He got an abridged version, of course, but even though it made little sense he did not ask for details. He simply grabbed what he could, and the two trekked back to the car. Michael took note of where the dungeon¡¯s mana influence ended as he walked, happy to see that the expansion was slowing down. Is it a low tide, or will it keep slowing as the range increases? He hoped it was the latter, but was pretty sure it was the former. The amount of mana being expelled by the dungeon was clearly less than usual to his mana sense, which would explain why the expansion was slowing. *** ¡°What¡¯s all this?¡± Old Dave¡¯s eyes practically bulged out of their sockets when he peered inside Michael¡¯s backpack. They were in the private garage of the temporary office Dave had rented as a base of operations, not too far away from the pawn shop and the clinic. Bob was sweating after being tasked to show Dave most of the goods, but he was in a good mood, with a wide grin on his face. ¡°Dungeon loot,¡± even though Bob didn¡¯t know the details, Michael had Dave¡¯s word he was trustworthy, and thus spoke freely. ¡°And there¡¯s a lot more where this came from.¡± ¡°This is¡­¡± Old Dave sputtered as his brain spun to gear, ¡°oh man, Mustang is going to have a field day with this. I need,¡± he scratched his head as the gears spun in his brain, ¡°damn, I need to call some contacts. Hell, all of my contacts. We can place this shit. We can totally place all this. How much more of this is there in the dungeon?¡± Michael grinned as he saw just how enthusiastic the old man was about this, explaining the stone golems and what they were doing. ¡°Damn.¡± Dave whistled. ¡°Healing is nice to get some quick cash, but this is a steady supply. Might be less than if you healed people left and right, but you can just pop in and take what you want?¡± ¡°Perhaps once I beat the floor,¡± Michael said. ¡°That¡¯s good. But,¡± Old Dave deflated, ¡°we have to be careful. I might give Mustang some of this, like a tiny percentage of this shit, but the rest? We can¡¯t flood the market, we can¡¯t have people trace this back to us, we can¡¯t¡­¡± he trailed off, staring into space for a while. ¡°Our secretary might need a raise after this, Mike. Travis¡¯ too, there¡¯s no way we are doing this without at least consulting with his secretary. Although¡­ he might want to get his hands on this himself, uhmm.¡± Seeing Michael¡¯s face, he brightened up. ¡°Let us old men worry about this, alright? You worked hard, and did your part. You don¡¯t need to worry about any of these bothersome and boring things. That¡¯s what I¡¯m here for, no?¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Michael said, ¡°but before that: do you have a bag? A quite sturdy one if possible.¡± ¡°No,¡± Dave said, a bit surprised, ¡°what do you need it for?¡± ¡°I need to sort the magical and non-magical materials. Bob, do you have one?¡± ¡°Magical?¡± Dave perked up. ¡°No, sir.¡± The burly bodyguard said, ¡°but I recall seeing a store ten minutes down the road. Perhaps I could go buy you one?¡± Michael grinned. ¡°Dave, give Bob a hundred bucks to buy the bag. He can keep the change.¡± ¡°Thanks, sir,¡± the driver said and left after unloading everything in the garage. Michael began sorting the materials. Several ores and gemstones shone in his magic sight with either mana, elemental energies or even Qi. There were other lights too, and Michael simply removed from the pile everything that wasn¡¯t 100% mundane material, to be sure. ¡°I want these,¡± he pointed at the smaller pile of magical materials, ¡°stored somewhere safe for now. Then I¡¯ll figure out how to test them and perhaps even give them to our scientists. Any updates on that front?¡± ¡°Look at you,¡± Dave beamed, ¡°being all bossy and demanding. That¡¯s good. You should be like this more often.¡± Michael went beet red at that. It seemed that his time spent commanding his forces in the dungeon had changed how he handled things a little bit. ¡°Not much for now,¡± Old Dave sighed, ¡°it¡¯s a long process, and I don¡¯t want this stuff to leave our sight. Ever.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Michael hummed. ¡°I guess even if we had scientists, we¡¯d have to wait until we have some sort of temporary lab set up. Containers will work fine, at least until winter comes. Progress on the land?¡± he asked, once again slipping into his ¡®king of the forest¡¯ voice. ¡°There¡¯s only one last thing to clear and then we are done. A surveyor will be sent by the EPA to check the place.¡± ¡°Do we have to worry?¡± Michael asked. ¡°We would, in theory. But we paid what needed to be paid. The surveyor will get there, pretend to scan the land and greenlight everything. No worries. He will never set foot inside the forest proper, nor will he get close to the dungeon.¡± Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Michael sat in the back of his car, enjoying the ride. The day was far from over, but his long rest inside the dungeon had him feel like this was a whole new day. Only ten minutes has passed in the outside world while, to him, it had been a few enjoyable days of rest. However, returning to the real world made some of his worries come back, and his mood took a turn for the worse. Since it would be a while before got home, he thought it would be nice to practice magic, to get his mind off of things. The soundproofing privacy barrier was down, but by now Michael had shown Bob enough strange things that it didn¡¯t really matter if the driver saw another or two. Besides, he trusted the guy. A distortion sphere appeared. He studied the bubble before it vanished with a muted pop, taking some of his mana with it. With his new capacity of 49 Copper, the expense was bearable, and he had coins in case he needed to top up. Ideally, it would be better to practice in the dungeon or at least close enough to it that he could fill up with his mana regeneration, but he had to make do. He didn¡¯t want to delve again today, and until he got the land secured, practicing magic in the open close to the dungeon was not a good idea. Ideally, the best thing to do was to practice while inside, making use of the time dilation effect and of the mana regeneration. He had not, this time. He had wanted to rest. But now that he was back in the real world, and now that time was ticking again, the feeling of pressure had him itching to just do something. He summoned another bubble. The angle he was looking at it from made it seem like an inky drop against the moving background of fields and barns as they passed them by. Wait. This means that the sphere follows my movements, or at least it stays in place relative to my position even though I am moving. It gave Michael an idea. What if, with his new ability to manipulate skills, he tried to make the bubble move with his mind? Five distortion spheres appeared and vanished quickly. They vanish too quickly. He got a feeling that perhaps he could make them linger around longer if he used his skill to push [Distortion Field] in that direction, but it wasn¡¯t the kind of upgrade he was looking for. At the same time, since the bubble vanished so quickly, he couldn¡¯t even begin to grasp it with his mana manipulation, let alone push it around. Perhaps I¡¯m trying to do too much. His next experiment was to make the skill follow his own movements, rather than controlling it with his mind. It was a step backwards from what he really wanted, but at least it would be useful enough to make it worth trying to attain. Another sphere appeared and was gone before he could even begin to move it. He had tried to move the hand he had summoned it with, but the sphere had stood in place without budging. No matter how hard he tried, burning precious mana to summon more and more spheres, he wasn¡¯t making any progress. [Distortion Field] was at a bottleneck, after all. Michael knew it wouldn¡¯t be easy to upgrade the skill. I¡¯m wasting mana. I need to train this skill in the dungeon, where mana is not a problem. He sighed. He was used to failure, but his recent successes had let him taste what it meant to truly win, and he wanted more. What about healing? After Drullkrin, I feel like I¡¯m on the cusp of advancement. He switched to the aura skill. Activating it with no target, he quickly discovered that he could keep it running for a long time without consuming much mana at all. He felt the edges of the skill, its range and its effects, trying to figure out what was going on. Right where the effect waned to nothing, half a meter away from his body, he felt the concentration of magic in the air drop to nothing along with it. Was his mana suffusing the very air? Or space itself? It was hard to tell. He started stretching the space his skill influenced with mana manipulation, but suddenly he got the very distinct feeling of resistance, and more mana was sucked from him. To do what? His mana was falling, although slowly, which made him curious. If the skill wasn¡¯t healing anyone, and wasn¡¯t generating any Qi¡ªhe checked¡ªwhere was the mana even going? He looked inwards with his mana sense. There was something inside his body, in a place that was impossible to locate by following the rules of regular, mundane geometry. It was like an inner sanctum of magic, a cavern that was dark and empty save for a few luminescent points of light. He had discovered this place not long ago, while resting in the dungeon, but had not tried to force a breakthrough. Michael willed his sight towards the point of light that was glowing with the most power. His healing skill. There he saw it clearly. It was a snaky thing, all twisty and with infinite edges and spikes, not unlike the crude Fae network that he had recreated from copying the forest king¡¯s one, yet different. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. He wasn¡¯t surprised, really. He had seen these shapes already in the skill stones. It only made sense that the skill stones transferred these shapes inside his¡­ spiritual body, perhaps? Looking closer, he saw that the convoluted shape was one that repeated itself infinite times. The closer he got, the more complex it became, the patterns repeating ever smaller with the same rough shape. Like fractals. Pushing with his mana manipulation while keeping an eye on the fractal, he tried to see what was going on. As soon as he did that, the glow on the skill changed, a section that had been dimmer than the rest suddenly lighting up. He stopped pushing, and the glow shifted to a more central section of the fractal. The glow remained even though he was doing nothing but using the skill. Dropping the skill, the glow faded but did not disappear. Most of the skill was dark, but the central part of the fractal was not. A part of his skill, he deduced, was on the brink of a level up. When he pushed with his mana manipulation, trying to increase the range of the skill, he was changing the evolutionary path of the skill, forcing another part of the fractal to glow and attempt to level up. Did he really want to force the skill? He thought about it, but in the end he decided that there was no hurry. He would let it upgrade naturally first. With his decision made, he activated his healing again and looked inwards. Now, he tried to direct mana and Qi towards the glowing section of the fractal, slowly raising its glow until¡ª
Skill Level up!
[Healing Aura] reaches level 3. It is now more efficient, faster, and will be less taxing on the body.
The glow faded from the skill, the only light within the fractal being the magic Michael was supplying to keep it active. Deactivating the skill, the whole thing went dark. What if I try to extend its range now? He activated the skill, pushed against its limits, and looked inwards again. Now the ¡®tail¡¯ end of the fractal was glowing again, influenced by his actions, but the glow was so weak to almost be invisible compared to the activation light of the skill. It would take a while for the glow to intensify enough to try another level up. Michael was satisfied, though. Now he knew how to tell which skills were close to upgrading, what direction they were going to take, and he could influence their growth if he wished. He got a feeling that forcing a skill too much might damage it, but he had no proof. *** There was karate class later that evening, and Michael went there while feeling completely apathetic towards learning more useless stuff. If what he learned here wasn¡¯t applicable to combat in the dungeon, or combat with magic in general, then the only reason he still went to class was what Stephan had said to him about this dojo being the last normal place in Michael¡¯s life. Then Michael thought about Phillip, and the lawyer¡¯s face made him dislike normalcy, if this was how it looked like. Thus, Michael approached the dojo with the intention to quit, perhaps asking sensei Stephan if he could be allowed to greet Master Taiko one last time¡ªan excuse to see whether the old karate master glowed with magic or not. It had been a while since Michael last saw someone with a magic aura, which only amplified his surprise when he stepped into the locker room. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Stephan asked, concerned. Michael was staring at him slack-jawed. Phillip snickered, but a stern look from both of them silenced him. Michael noticed with satisfaction that when he moved, the lawyer flinched. It had not been enough to make him shut up, though. ¡°Ogling the sensei?¡± Phillip taunted him, ¡°no good.¡± Had it been anyone else, Michael would have laughed, as it was some genuine banter between guys. ¡°Nothing like that,¡± he said instead. Class was boring, and Michael¡¯s heart wasn¡¯t in it. He was trying to figure out what he was seeing when he looked at his sensei. The aura was not magic, Qi, or elemental energy. It was something he had never seen before, and he wanted to know more. The man in question noticed, and after the lesson pulled him to the side. ¡°You¡¯re glowing, Stephan.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± the man asked as they walked to their respective cars. Michael noticed Phillip stealing a look at his car, but Bob rolled down the window and motioned to the man to get lost, and Phillip begrudgingly complied. ¡°There¡¯s some sort of aura on you. Remember when I told you about auras?¡± ¡°You mean magic?¡± Stephan said in a whisper. ¡°How is it possible?¡± ¡°You tell me,¡± Michael said. ¡°Not here.¡± ¡°Dinner?¡± Michael offered. He was rather hungry. ¡°Sure. I know a place where we can talk. You pay, though, you can afford it.¡± They got in the car, and Bob drove them to the restaurant. They ate, neither of the two brushing the main subject at first, only enjoying the food and making small talk. Then, after dessert, Stephan ordered a beer and asked the question. ¡°What do you see when you look at me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re glowing. There¡¯s a faint aura around you, but it¡¯s tighter than any aura I¡¯ve ever seen, like a second skin. It¡¯s not opaque either, I can see a bit inside. The places where this energy is most concentrated are your bones and muscles, as if I was looking at an x-ray of you.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s the first time you see this? I didn¡¯t do anything special since last time we met.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s because one of my skills upgraded. The one that lets me see magic. Are you sure you have no idea what this is?¡± Stephan shook his head. ¡°I think you glowed a bit brighter during training, as if you were moving the energy around,¡± Michael added. This time Stephan hummed, lost in thought. Michael decided to make use of this pause in the conversation to check on something, following a hunch. He closed his eyes for a moment and looked inwards. Indeed, there he saw the fractal of his mana sense, glowing, on the cusp of a level up. Michael sent energy to it while picturing clearly what he was seeing when he looked at Stephan.
Skill Level up!
[Mana Sense] reaches level 5. You see Chi and Jing, a glimpse into a new world. You have reached a bottleneck, to advance further you will need a special insight into the nature of the skill.
Skill Upgrade!
You now understand that there are as many kinds of energy as there are stars in the sky. Magic is not just mana, that much is clear. [Mana Sense] becomes [Magic Sense], upgrading into an Uncommon skill. Find more kinds of energy to upgrade the skill further.
¡°Do you know what Chi and Jing are?¡± Michael asked, reading the description of the level up, not letting himself get distracted by the second message, no matter how awesome it was. Stephan¡¯s eyes bore into him with a sudden intensity. ¡°What did you just say?¡± Chapter 43 Chapter 43 ¡°Chi and Jing,¡± Michael repeated himself, ¡°I just got a skill upgrade, identifying what I¡¯m seeing as those two kinds of energy. I have never heard of them before, though. Do you know what they are?¡± Judging by Stephan¡¯s hard and focused gaze, Michael knew that he knew. Stephan sighed, wondering just how the young man in front of him had managed to gain knowledge of such things. Magic was strange, and dangerous, and now more than ever he wanted no part in it. ¡°I do. To be honest, I didn¡¯t even think they were real,¡± he said with a conflicted tone that reflected his inner turmoil. ¡°I spent years listening to master Taiko talk about them, but never had I thought these¡­ energies were real. I thought they were just eastern bogus, or perhaps a metaphor for something else, something more scientific.¡± ¡°They are real,¡± Michael said. ¡°I can see the aura on you. Perhaps it¡¯s better to say it¡¯s inside of you. It¡¯s faint, but it¡¯s definitely real. It was even stronger while we were training.¡± Stephan¡¯s eyes lit up. For a moment, the excitement threatened to make him lose his focus, but with a sip of his beer he bought himself enough time to center himself. Despite that, excitement was bubbling beneath the surface, reigniting years-old dreams and desires. He might not want to have anything to do with magic, but this? This was his passion. ¡°To think,¡± he exhaled, ¡°that I thought Taiko was bullshitting everyone. I thought he knew he was spewing bullshit. I thought that there was no way someone got the 8th Dan and still thought those silly things like energy and inner power were real. Or perhaps that¡¯s exactly why he got so far, completely detached from reality. I was a fool, wasn¡¯t I?¡± It was strange hearing his sensei talk like this. ¡°You really thought it was all fake?¡± Stephan nodded. ¡°Is it so strange? It¡¯s our western arrogance.¡± ¡°There was no way for you to know,¡± Michael never would have thought he would have to be the one to reassure his karate teacher, yet here he was. ¡°I too would have thought it was just some random spiritual bogus a few weeks ago.¡± ¡°See? Western arrogance.¡± Stephan smiled then, taking a deep breath to once again center himself he leaned over, his eyes suddenly intense. ¡°Michael, learning karate is my passion. I never made it my job because it couldn¡¯t pay the bills, and so I run this shit dojo with a bunch of old friends who are slowly drifting apart and charge a pittance for it. But you have to understand, it is still my passion. I want to know more. Did you say the energies were stronger while I was training? What did you see?¡± ¡°Tell me what Chi and Jing are, then I can help you.¡± Michael said. A few days ago, he would have caved in to the torrent of questions, but he was a different man now. Perhaps leading the forces into battle in the dungeon was remaking his personality ¡°Sure,¡± Stephan said. ¡°Think of them this way. Your body is a battery, and with each breath you store Chi within yourself. Don¡¯t ask me where it comes from, because I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t think Taiko knows either. Anyway, the energy you gather doesn¡¯t last long, and with each breath you need to store more Chi or you will run dry. There are certain techniques to increase this, which are hidden within the katas.¡± Michael nodded along. He did wonder for a moment where this Chi came from, given that he saw nothing with his sight skill even though Stephan was clearly still converting something into Chi. His teacher¡¯s aura was weaker now, his excitement breaking his breathing pattern somewhat, but the habit was so ingrained within his body and mind that even now he was still generating Chi. ¡°Jing is the kinetic energy,¡± Stephan continued, ¡°you can transform Chi into Jing with certain techniques, which is what the katas truly teach if you look beyond the simple movements. Taiko said that a punch empowered with Jing can shatter stone. I never believed him but now¡­¡± ¡°I see.¡± Michael hummed. ¡°Now that I think about it, I could see the Chi move within your body when you moved, and sometimes it became something else at the tips of your fists, or of your feet and in the parts of your body you used to parry or absorb hits.¡± Stephan was nodding along, but by the time Michael was finished talking he was heaving for air. To think that Jing could also empower defense, and not only attack, was crazy. Not even his master ever taught that. He asked Michael about it, to which the young man nodded. ¡°It was very weak, much weaker than when you attacked, but it was there.¡± ¡°Michael, I need to know more!¡± There was fervor in Stephan¡¯s eyes. Michael knew that if he asked the man to go train there and then, Stephan would have done it. Instead, he decided to bargain for it, learning from the lessons Old Dave was giving him. ¡°I can help you, but only if you teach me.¡± Michael could already imagine a skill forming within his spiritual body once he had trained enough. Once he could use to finally step up his combat. Perhaps even create a style of his own to use in the dungeon. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Of course. You¡¯ll learn just by watching. I admit I am not the best at this, though. Never believing in these phantomatic energies, sometimes I just ignored master Taiko¡¯s instructions when I thought the movements were useless. I hope I can recall them. If your eyes can see what you claim they can see, then you can help me refine the forms, and then I¡¯ll teach them to you!¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡± ¡°When can you come to the gym?¡± Stephan asked, impatient. ¡°I can rent for a whole day, whenever, just tell me when. Don¡¯t make me wait too long.¡± Michael checked the calendar on his phone. It was synced to his secretary¡¯s, so that he always knew what his week would look like. It had been her idea, and even though he had met the woman only once and only for a few moments, he had to admit that Old Dave had found a capable person to put in that position. According to the calendar, he had some healing scheduled for the next morning, taking advantage of the fact that he could refill his mana by going to the dungeon afterwards. Both Travis and Old Dave were much more worried about the mana coins that Michael was, always urging him to use as few of them as possible. To be fair, Michael was starting to adopt their ¡®waste nothing¡¯ pattern of thought, and he had to admit that they had a point. ¡°5 AM tomorrow. We can train for a couple of hours then I have to go.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t have the gym, then,¡± Stephan scratched his chin, ¡°it¡¯s not flashy, is it?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be.¡± ¡°The park it is, then. Bring your gi.¡± Seeing Michael leave the restaurant, a strange sense of excitement washed over the middle-aged man. It had been a while since he had felt his passion for martial arts ignite like this, but now he felt like he was back to the first years all over again, looking at the strange world of forms and choreographed fights with wonder in his eyes. In a sense, he guessed it was exactly like he was back to his first steps on the martial path. Many of his assumptions had been wrong, and he had spent a lot of time stagnating without improvement due to his own ignorance. But his foundation was solid, and now thanks to Michael he had a chance to grow again. It wasn¡¯t power he sought. It was the height of the martial peak that he was after. The next day saw Michael up bright and early. Thanks to his healing skill, mornings were only painful for a few seconds before the magic refreshed his body and mind, washing away the stiffness and clearing the cobwebs from his brain. He did not skip his calisthenics routine, even though he was barely improving, noticing that after his healing skill got upgraded, he was much less hungry when he was done repairing his muscles. He wondered if it would impact muscle mass, and once again asked himself where all that mass was coming from. He was eating more, and he was still consuming copious amounts of protein powder, but with the now reduced hunger effects, it meant he was eating less than before for the same amount of gain. Magic. Another side effect of magic had been that his mind felt clearer than ever. Never in his two decades of self-aware life Michael would have been caught wondering about mass and muscle tone, yet here he was. Was this magic¡¯s doing? Bringing out his full mental potential by repairing and optimizing his brain? The sky was bright enough to know that the dark shape at the center of the park, wearing a white gi, was Stephan. Interestingly enough, the teacher was wearing a white belt today instead of his usual black belt. He was waiting for Michael by doing stretches and warm-up exercises, but Michael offered to use his healing to bring the man to top condition before they began experimenting. ¡°I hope you thought about this last night. There is no going back once we start. Are you sure you want to proceed?¡± Stephan¡¯s only answer was to bow deeply at Michael. For the first time he was recognizing the man he had called chosen one on a whim one day as his master, even if just for a day. Michael stammered for a moment, nearly losing his composure, but then channeled his inner dungeon diver, pretending to be king. ¡°I shall watch, for now,¡± he said. His whole demeanor had changed. ¡°Begin.¡± Stephan began with the simplest of katas, Sanchin, and already Michael could see Chi gathering and Jing being expended. Stephan¡¯s movements were much better than his own, but with his sight it was clear that there were many moments were a wrong breath, a wrong step out of tempo, or an imprecise movement destroyed the gathering and expending of energy. The next kata, kanshiwa, almost produced no energy. Michael wondered why that was. The third was better. By the time they were done, Stephan was sweating and his performance had gone down considerably. Michael refreshed him, asking him to perform the most difficult forms again, piece by piece. ¡°I admit I still struggle with some parts,¡± Stephan said. ¡°I can see that,¡± was all that Michael said, staring intently. In front of him, standing at attention, Stephan bowed and wiped his brow of sweat. Already he had improved much, just by seeing the minute frowns that had appeared on Michael¡¯s face whenever he did something wrong. The young man had not even noticed, chalking the improvement to Stephan growing more comfortable with the exercises and with being under scrutiny, but he knew better. He had no problems performing in front of a crowd. He had done so multiple times. And with Michael¡¯s healing, his muscles were loose and the fatigue was always taken care of before it could impact his movements. No, he could tell that whenever his forms were even slightly wrong, Michael would wince. As if the energy itself told him that something was wrong. As he practiced, more and more teachings from master Taiko came to his mind, and he corrected the most glaring faults. Even though he had grown by leaps and bounds in just one morning, Stephan knew that this was just the beginning. He could feel a faint sensation of power, faint enough that he wondered whether he was making it up in his mind. But he knew now that it was real. He would have to practice, consolidating what he had learned, before the next session. He also knew that soon he would run out of glaring issues to solve, things he already knew were problematic in his forms but that had been neglected because of laziness or ignorance. Once that happened, then Michael would truly become his master. The young man was a long way from being on his level, but his eyes were enough to make up for his lack of practice. As long as nobody found out, though. Stephan doubted he would take Phillip¡¯s mocking comments with the same amount of calm Michael had. And yes, even taking into account what had happened in the locker room. After a few more tries, Michael finally called an end to the session. It was almost 7 AM, and he had stuff to do. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Your movements are wasteful at times, too conservative in other places. Your breath needs to be improved. And a few katas are missing pieces. I need to think about what to do about it carefully or I will give you wrong instructions.¡± Chapter 44 Chapter 44 Later that morning, Michael went to the private care facility that he owned to perform some partial healing on a few patients. With the improvements to his skill, it felt easier and quicker than ever to do the miracles, and a new streamlined procedure ensured that there were no incidents. They had changed the procedure in order to address two problems. On one hand, a partial heal meant that Michael did not have to burn through his limited supply of coins which, even though it was growing quite large, was still limited. Already he had Travis to supply with coins whenever the man ran low on mana, and his council (Old Dave and Travis himself) agreed that in time this demand will surely increase. Granting people magic and then controlling the supply was a very good way to have loyal minions. There was danger, but it could be mitigated and was often worth it. Other than saving coins, the other reason was the new procedure. Learning from their mistakes¡ªeven though once again it was Travis who had really put his finger down and forced them to implement the change¡ªthey decided that Michael was too exposed to the public whenever he healed people. This was what had allowed Travis to get a hold of Michael, as well as Carmela back when Michael was first starting. Too many people were in the know already, and incidents were bound to happen unless they changed things. Now Michael was healing people through a thin wall. They made sure that the patients¡¯ beds were always against a wall, and he had to do was go to the other side of the wall and they would be in range of his healing aura. Then, he would heal them a little bit, and the small improvements to their health could easily be explained by some miracle drug. Much better than a sudden return to full health done by suspicious nanomachines. Another side benefit was that it pushed Michael¡¯s skill to grow in range, something he felt he was sorely neglecting in his training. He had sacrificed range for efficiency when he triggered the skill¡¯s level-up, but this didn¡¯t mean that he had made peace with the miser range of the aura. On the contrary, he was quite aware of the limitations the pitiful range imposed on him. During the fight against the stone king, for instance, Drullkrin could have died even though he was quite close to Michael, all due to the skill¡¯s range. Michael was on his way to the dungeon, and Travis was accompanying him. They would do the first floor together, and then Travis would leave while Michael continued to the second floor. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it is just me, or if magic really isn¡¯t good to people,¡± the CEO said, ¡°but I was feeling like I needed to come back, to fight some monsters with my new magic skill.¡± ¡°I get it,¡± Michael said. ¡°After some time, it¡¯s not even about the rewards anymore, is it? Although the second floor made me change my mind a little bit. Too tedious.¡± ¡°You keep the tedium,¡± the man said with a smirk, ¡°personally, I¡¯m going to go all out in the first circle of hell and leave with the spoils.¡± Michael hummed. ¡°Anyway, since we¡¯re here let me update you on the Carmela situation. My sources say that they saw a young man enter her office and then leave some time after.¡± Travis said, ¡°he¡¯s awfully similar to a guy we have been tracking. He¡¯s been popping up all over the place recently, involved in gas leaks, incidents at gas pumps, cars exploding¡­ all sorts of nasty business involving fire. You don¡¯t want to see the photos.¡± ¡°You think the magic user is working for her?¡± Michael asked, worried. ¡°You said it, not me!¡± there was a wry laugh, and Michael could tell that even the CEO was stressed out. Then Travis¡¯ face turned serious. ¡°Mike, I thought magic was exciting and fun. And it was, it really was. For all of two hours.¡± A pause. ¡°Then I got the point. I ran out of mana and charges for my ability, had to use the coins. Then I looked around and saw what I did to the poor field where I tried my magic out. This shit kills people. It¡¯s dangerous. But it¡¯s also thrilling and addicting. One of the reasons I wanted to come helldiving with you, I need to let it all out or I feel like I¡¯m going to burst.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you a ruthless CEO and all of that?¡± The CEO shook his head slowly. ¡°Michael, you don¡¯t understand the difference here. Let me enlighten you. I still remember how you looked at me when we were flying here last time, and I was boasting all the weapons I was bringing inside. You thought I was some na?ve fool, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°A little bit.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same thing here. Magic is so far removed from reality¡­ how do I explain it to you? Think of it this way: with my wealth and power I have caused a lot of pain and did a lot of good. I could influence governments, still do, and move and shake nations. You follow? But all that¡­ it¡¯s mundane power. It¡¯s something that everyone can understand. It¡¯s something everyone could theoretically get, even though society is hardly that fair. It¡¯s something everyone expects. Now, magic?¡± Travis Tyrell sighed. ¡°Magic is unexpected. Impossible to predict. It¡¯s impossible to tell what it can do. What someone who wields it will do with it. Even I, as I use it, find myself tempted to just do whatever I want and it¡¯s fucking awful. I am used to doing whatever I want, you get it? But this is temptation beyond just that. Most people, human nature will turn them into monsters in the eye of society.¡± ¡°I think I get it,¡± Michael said. The conversation had suddenly turned heavy, and he was re-thinking many things about his place in society, magic, and re-evaluating his opinion of the CEO. ¡°Hopefully this run will make you feel better.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°All this to say, we need to be careful. If that woman really has a magic user under her control, she¡¯s extremely dangerous.¡± Michael hummed. ¡°It would explain why she fell silent all of a sudden.¡± ¡°Yes, it would.¡± Travis said, ¡°I still think it was an idiot move, she could have kept her assets hidden if she just pretended to work with you, but people are rarely completely logical, are they now? I think she acted on impulse, wanting to break free of your grasp. But no matter, we need to be careful. I¡¯ll have my men watch her until we know more.¡± As Michael approached the dungeon, he checked the many trail cams he had set up in hope to catch whoever it was who was using the dungeon and increasing the difficulty of the first floor. It was with some trepidation that he approached the first spot where he had set up the cameras, hoping to finally be able to put a face to the rogue magic user, and perhaps figure out if it was the same person who had been seen hanging around Carmela and her goons. However, when he reached the spot, Michael¡¯s face fell. Someone had destroyed the trail cams. They were charred and the plastic molten, their memory cards damaged and bent. Around them the trees were blackened by fire. Michael was fuming, feeling his chest constrict with anger and anxiety mixing together. Breathing, he struggled to regain his composure, his mind whirling with possibilities none of which pleasant. ¡°I¡¯ll have someone try and recover the data,¡± Travis said, putting a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Thanks.¡± Michael continued to check his cameras as he approached the dungeon, but they were all destroyed. As he got close, he saw a blur in the distance, in the direction of the dungeon itself, along with a displacement of mana. Having never seen something like this before, he was on edge and tried to approach carefully. The displacement of mana had come from inside the dungeon right before the blur appeared, and as he got closer Michael saw that the blur was actually the shape of a man, doing some stretches to loosen up and checking his clothes. Then he was gone, a blur once more, a streak of color and mana vanishing into the forest, impossible to track.
Skill Level up!
[Fast Reflexes] reaches level 4, increasing the bonus to 40%.
Too little too late, system. Michael took a deep breath, smiling wryly and trying to not complain too bitterly. Outside of the dungeon, it wasn¡¯t like there was a malignant entity who was having a laugh at his expense, and it was only due to chance that his skill had upgraded a moment too late. Deep in thought, he tried to recall what he felt when he noticed the displacement of mana. There had been some similarity between that and what he felt whenever the dungeon transported him to the second floor, which made him think. The displacement of mana was probably just the dungeon depositing whoever that guy was back at the exit. This mollified him slightly. The mana disturbance had been great enough to make him worry. Not that a potential enemy with a movement ability is much better. Then Travis and Michael were inside the dungeon, and he felt like he could put his worries on hold for the time being. They cleared the rooms quickly, Travis going all out now that he did not have to worry about running out of mana, blinking through space and rending the air with lightning. The boss room was cleared soon after, and the two blood soaked men watched the loot materialize. Travis was heaving for air, unhurt only thanks to Michael¡¯s healing, blood still pumping through his veins fueled by adrenaline. He was disappointed to see that he had not gotten a new card, only coins, but recovered quickly. He had come to vent out some stress, and he felt a new man. Bowing his head to Michael, he left the dungeon. Michael sat down to train, not wanting to waste the opportunity. Following a hunch he got the last time he trained the skill, he summoned [Distortion Field]. The familiar bubble materialized and disappeared quickly, disturbing the air and mana flows of the room, while a faint sensation of hollowness told Michael that he had spent a fraction of his mana. Even though he didn¡¯t want to waste coins to precisely gauge the capacity of his mana pool, Michael was pretty sure that he had broken the fifties and was steadily climbing towards a capacity of 60 Copper coins. His mana pool wasn¡¯t what he wanted to focus on, however. Using his level 5, bottlenecked [Mana Manipulation] skill to suck the mana in the air into his body, he refilled his mana pool and summoned another bubble. He did not deactivate the manipulation shill, however. The level-5 description of the manipulation skill stated that he could force other skills to act outside their scope. This was his best bet if he wanted to push [Distortion Field] past the bottleneck, and he had thought hard about how he was going to do this whenever he had some free time. Why not make it follow my hand around? It was a similar principle to when he had tried to move it around with his mind, after he had realized that the bubble was not stationary relative to the planet but only stationary relative to his body. He had failed to make it move freely, but perhaps he could force the skill to change the anchor point from where the bubble calculated its position so that it would follow his hand. High-level stuff, big words. I¡¯m pretty sure I am getting smarter. It took hours before he saw the beginning of a change. It manifested subtly but suddenly, with the bubble shimmering and deforming for a moment before vanishing, and then the next time he summoned it he felt that something had changed. The bubble moved, almost imperceptibly, as he waved his arm around. The effort to make it move was monumental, but no longer did he feel like he was trying to smash a concrete wall with his head. Now it only felt like he was trying to wade through molasses, having to concentrate all of his willpower and mental power to bend the skill to his needs. But it was a start. Now the skill fractal in his astral body was glowing more brightly, a section of the skill getting ready to change. Three hours, and many attempts later, Michael felt the wall shatter. One moment he was struggling, the next the bubble moved around effortlessly as he waved his hand. He tried with his feet, his legs, and many parts of his body and it was all the same. In the moment when he felt the wall break, a sweeping change overtook the skill fractal in his astral body. A shimmering waterfall of energy swept through it, changing the fractal itself forever. It was not a rarity upgrade, but something else entirely, a qualitative change to the skill that made it better and stronger. Indeed, the message confirmed his gains.
Skill Level up!
[Distortion Field] reaches level 6, pushing past its bottleneck. It will last for up to two seconds and will now follow your movements.
Chapter 45 Chapter 45 ¡°Sire, changes are happening in the valley, many changes.¡± Drullkrin, who had rushed to Michael as soon as the man had appeared in the valley, said. ¡°What sort of changes?¡± ¡°The scouting parties of the snow people, they stopped all of a sudden. I had thought it was a good thing, and it was only thanks to your teachings about contingencies that we avoided catastrophe.¡± The goblin general snickered, rubbing his hands together. ¡°They thought they could take us by surprise while we lounged and danced and drank. It might have been the case, under the old King. But thanks to you, sire, we were ready. They came in force, people of the snow: yetis and wolves, ice trolls and snow golems. But we rebuffed them! Fought them to a standstill.¡± Seeing that Drullkrin was puffing his chest in pride, Michael suppressed his natural reaction at seeing a muscular green humanoid a good foot taller than he was acting like a schoolgirl, choosing to instead smile politely. ¡°Good job. What¡¯s the situation now?¡± ¡°We are engaged in skirmishes, most of the army deployed. It¡¯s a stare-off, my liege, with but the occasional fight. Ah,¡± he added in a hurry, ¡°worry not, my king, I have not forgotten my lessons. Contingencies, contingencies. I have sent scouts to the other territories, and deployed many troops to hold our borders.¡± ¡°That¡¯s actually not bad at all,¡± Michael said, impressed. He was relieved that there was someone who knew how to handle warfare here, because he had never even dabbled and was bound to be a lousy tactician. ¡°There is more, sadly. The snow forces are just the arrow fodder for the ice king, much like the swamp people are for us. The true ice creatures dwell deep inside the glacier, with but a narrow opening leading to a winding maze of ice. If we wish to take the fight to them, we will have to abandon the army and move swiftly in a small group, five of our mightiest at most.¡± ¡°What about the army?¡± ¡°They will keep the snow forces occupied while we sneak past them, my lord. It will work as a diversion, making the ice king think that we are yet to make a move.¡± All of a sudden, the seriousness with which the goblin had illustrated the strategy crumbled and he started snickering and then cackling, his Fae magic flaring for a moment until he descended into a coughing fit. Michael observed the change, and his [Crude Body Enhancement] fractal lit up just a fraction more. ¡°That is still not all, my liege,¡± the goblin said after he was done gasping for air. ¡°As I said, contingencies. The scouts revealed that the castle on the other side of the valley has opened, and many troops clad in impenetrable armor of iron have spilled out. They delivered ultimatums to the territories neighboring the castle, my lord, and are now at war.¡± ¡°Do we have to worry?¡± ¡°Not at the present moment, my king. However, it seems that my first hope has been dashed. I thought, I thought that the war would weaken whoever emerged victor, and that we may sweep in and take the spoils for ourselves all at once. Instead, what was revealed is a massacre. The castle¡¯s army is decimating the desert and volcano people with barely any losses.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± Drullkrin shook his head so violently that Michael thought his teeth might come out. ¡°That it is not. But it gives us a measure of their might, at the very least, which is better than finding out ourselves. I shall come up with contingencies, my king.¡± They talked some more, planning and scheming. Once their next moves were decided, they went to check on the state of the army, and indeed found the line of swamp and forest monsters in a staring contest with a line of white-furred snarling animals at the edge of the snow at the base of the mountain. Once they made sure that the situation was stable, and that the rest of the valley was still in a state of war, they moved onto the next stage. Michael had agreed to proceed with Drullkrin¡¯s proposed idea to create a party of five warriors to sneak past the line of snow monsters and infiltrate the glacier where the ice people and the ice king dwelled. The alternative was to bring modern weapons into the mix, but given what was happening in the rest of the valley, this was probably Michael¡¯s last chance to challenge the dungeon without technological aid, and so he chose to do it by hand. Apart from Drullkrin and himself, the three monsters they chose for their party were a stone golem, one of the tiny winged foxes¡ªthe very first sort of monster Michael had encountered on this floor¡ªand a chimera. Michael and Drullkrin were the party¡¯s close-quarters damage dealers. The golem would be their tank. The winged fox was going to be their ranged mage, with its poisonous beams of concentrated magic, and finally there was the chimera. With the body of a lion, the chimera had two heads: one of a lion attached to the body and another that was a snake, capable of delivering powerful bites full of venom. It had wings of a bat, which it could use for bursts of speed, and its tail was long and muscular with a bulbous tip that could shoot chitinous spikes as hard as steel. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. A scary creature. I¡¯m more and more glad I managed to kill the forest king before I had to go through all these monsters. They set off at night, using the cover of darkness to slip past the line of defenders. In the distance, they could see the glimmer of moonlight reflected on the ice of the glacier, glittering like a million stars. A deep blue glow emanated from the ice, and the entrance to what Drullkrin¡¯s scouts had identified as the maze leading to the king¡¯s chambers was like an open maw in a mountain of frozen water. A river wound its way thought the snowy landscape, escaping from the entrance of the maze and breaking the snow with its tumultuous waters. A few snow monsters were milling about by the river, gathering water to bring to the front where a sort of cold war was being fought against the forest folk. Slipping past had been easy enough at first, but the front was close enough that if Michael¡¯s party wasn¡¯t careful, the bulk of the forces could collapse on them in moments. At the same time, the creatures milling around closer to the glacier were too many to slip past undetected anymore, meaning that they had to dispose of them quietly. [Foul Water Bullet] proved to be the right skill for it, and together with [Marksman] and [Mana Manipulation] Michael was able to extend its range well beyond its normal limits, sniping the creatures one by one without being detected. He proceeded slowly and carefully, and while at the beginning he was worried that the rest of his party might grow impatient¡ªdue to the nature of the forest folk, mainly¡ªhe was soon proved wrong. Now that he was king, his word was law. Drullkrin was there too, keeping the others in line. The golem didn¡¯t need to be told to stay still, as it was its nature. Thus, the party waited patiently out of sight while Michael carved a path towards the entrance to the glacier.
Skill Level up!
[Foul Water Bullet] reaches level 2, making the effects of [Marksman] twice as powerful when increasing range.
It was interesting to see how some of his skills evolved to better work together rather than just improving on their own. With the new upgrade to the skill, he made short work of his enemies, felling most of them with a shot to the head. He always had a second shot ready, the bullet of water hovering around his head for whenever he missed his target, and in a short amount of time the party was standing at the entrance to the maze. As soon as they were inside, surrounded by the eerie blue ice and wading through the icy water, the temperature plummeted. The Fae felt it but were largely fine, the golem did not even flinch. Michael, despite having brought a change of winter clothes, felt like he was freezing. The water had gotten into his boots, numbing his toes and making him miserable. ¡°Which way, my liege?¡± He still had to regain his bearings when Drullkrin asked him for directions. True to its name, the maze was showing its true nature by immediately presenting three different tunnels that they could take leading deeper into the glacier. Drying himself off on an ice outcropping with his [Candle Light] flame, Michael took a moment to examine the air. His magic sense told him that there was mana coming from the right-hand tunnel, which seemed to come from deeper underground. The light was richer, and the blue glow brighter. However, his ability to see elemental energy told him that it was the middle tunnel that was the richest, glowing with glittering shards of topaz and murky white. He was about to speak up when he noticed that the last tunnel, the one on the left and leading upwards, bore an energy signature stronger than the others: Qi. After hearing about it, Drullkrin thought it over. The other members of the party weren¡¯t non-verbal, they were all capable of communicating, but Drullkrin¡¯s drills had taught all of the troops that they should only talk when they had something important to say, and waste no words. The goblin commander was no stranger to it, but he tried to speak more when in the presence of his King who, being a human, had different customs and would find the silence unnerving. To have his subordinates able to speak when they had something important to say had been a later addition, a contingency suggested by king Michael. Drullkrin had to admit, it had been useful albeit a bit hard to implement, many creatures having a different conception of importance than he did. ¡°It seems like the three tunnels will pose different challenges,¡± the goblin chief said after a while, with all too much confidence. It was not the first time that the goblin had acted and spoken out of character, dropping hints and pieces of information that he had no right to know. Michael had long come to the conclusion that this was the dungeon¡¯s way of conveying important information, much like the NPC Michael met at the beginning of the floor that had never been seen again afterwards. Wary of the information given by the malignant entity¡ªor at least sadistic, if not malignant¡ªMichael thought it over. ¡°The Qi tunnel is out of the question,¡± he said, his commanding tone coming easy nowadays. ¡°Qi is too powerful, and I don¡¯t understand it well enough. We¡¯re left to choose either the one with mana or the one with elemental energy. Are elementals a thing?¡± The goblin perked up. ¡°If you mean to ask if they exist, they do, my king. They are beings of pure element, with unpredictable spirits.¡± ¡°If the elementals correspond to the elements I can see, which are ice and water, my water bullet will probably be useless, but my flame will not.¡± Michael said, still thinking out loud for the benefit of his party. ¡°What about the tunnel filled with mana, my king?¡± Michael shrugged. ¡°More standard enemies, I guess?¡± The goblin nodded frantically, eyes darting to the tunnels while gears were spinning in his head. ¡°I say we go into the elementals¡¯ tunnel, then. Our party is better suited to deal with them.¡± Nodding, Michael led the way. A faint flame appeared above his index finger, and even though it was small and barely used any mana, the heat it produced was soothing and kept the frigid frost at bay. The cold was still savagely biting at any bit of exposed flesh, but the candle light was restorative, and the little flame element that escaped it swirled in the air, lingering before it faded. Chapter 46 Chapter 46 The first enemy was waiting for them at the bend of the tunnel and, like an inactive sentry, it immediately locked onto them as soon as they got close enough to it. It was a creature made of ice and spikes, deep blue like the walls of the tunnel it inhabited. It charged at Michael with a roar, crossing the space between them with considerable speed. The team reacted at once. Drullkrin dove to the side to circle back and attack the elemental from behind, while the stone golem moved to intercept its attack. The flying fox immediately charged up an attack, and a beam of magic hit the charging elemental in the shoulder before Michael could even blink, staggering the creature for a moment as the magic began to eat at the elemental energy making up the monster. Not wasting any moment, the chimera charged forward right as the stone golem blocked a fierce blow from the icy monster, sending cracks spreading through the ice that made up its arm. Moving to the side with practiced ease, as if they had been working as a team for a long time, the golem allowed the chimera to continue its charge while the monster was recovering from its failed attack. It was onto it in moments, biting down with its powerful lion head, shattering the arm completely in its jaw. Before the elemental could recover, Drullkrin was behind it. He delivered a savage blow, sending the elemental sprawling to the ground. ¡°Now, my liege!¡± Shaken out of his contemplative mood by the goblin¡¯s words, Michael shot forward. He summoned the second version of [Candle Light], setting his hands ablaze, wrapping them around the elemental¡¯s neck. The ice began to hiss and crack and melt, and in mere moments the elemental¡¯s head was detached from its body, and the monster was no more. For a second or two the fire element released by the skill clashed with the water and ice of the elemental, fighting each other to a standstill, but while there was a steady source of fire coming from Michael¡¯s hands, the same couldn¡¯t be said for the ice. The ice element in the air was simply too thin, and the lingering spirit of the elemental quickly faded. I wonder where the fire element comes from. Is this skill making it out of mana, like [Healing Aura] creates Qi out of mana when I don¡¯t have enough in my dantian anymore? Or do I have an internal storage of elements I can tap into? Shaking his head, Michael knew he wasn¡¯t getting these answers while in the ice tunnels. ¡°Good fight everyone,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s keep our eyes open.¡± They continued deeper inside the glacier. The tunnel was tortuous and winding, designed to make whoever traversed it lose their sense of direction. It split in many paths, side tunnels and dead ends, forcing the team to stop at every intersection. Luckily they could almost always divine the right path by following the thicker energy deeper in the glacier. As they went on, the tunnels were filled with enemies: more elementals of all shapes of ice, as well as yetis and wolves, balls of pure ice energy that froze anything they touched and gigantic constructs of flowing frozen water. The monsters in the team fought like a well-oiled machine, making Michael think that perhaps Drullkrin had planned for this beforehand and had already drilled the team to work together. Michael himself took some time to adapt to their fighting style, and his role was nebulous at best. He mostly had melee capabilities thanks to his skills, and his presence was necessary to deal with the elementals¡ªhe was the only one who could harm them permanently. But this also meant that he often got in the way of the others, and since he was the king none dared to voice their complaints. They simply tried to adapt, covering for his mistakes and weaknesses, which made him feel worse rather than better. He tried to rationalize it by thinking that these were all monsters he was dealing with, and that apart from Drullkrin the others were basically inconsequential to him¡ªthey had never even spoken once. But he failed, feeling more and more frustrated by his lack of skill. He more than covered for it with his raw power, his [Distortion Sphere] more than strong enough to deal with anything that tried to hit him and his flames hot enough to turn the ice to steam, but he was well aware that his fights lacked finesse. He was about to ask Drullkrin to teach him some moves when they heard a rumble come from one of the tunnels. They were still in the process of scouting two tunnels that both held a high concentration of elements inside them, making the choice quite hard. ¡°What is that?¡± asked Drullkrin, falling into formation. Michael took his place in said formation, not even aware that despite his insecurities he had grown by leaps and bound in the last few hours by working with the team. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I sense a lot of movement there,¡± he said, carefully observing the swirling mana and elemental energy in the air. ¡°The mana is so thick it¡¯s practically overflowing.¡± ¡°A stampede.¡± Drullkrin declared, then pointed at one of the tunnels. ¡°Sir, they are coming from there. Do we need to go into that tunnel?¡± ¡°Yes but¡­ We could retreat into the other,¡± Michael said, ¡°let the stampede pass us by.¡± ¡°No,¡± the goblin shook his head, for a moment forgetting he was talking to his king. ¡°I mean, my lord, I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t wait them out, my liege. They will chase us down, making it impossible to retrace our steps without a fight. That tunnel is quite cramped, making it impossible for us to fight at peak efficiency. If you think we need to go into the tunnel where the monsters are coming from, then we need to fight here.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Michael steeled himself, making a mental check of his skills, ¡°call the positions.¡± ¡°With pleasure, my lord. Golem, get in front. Fox, fly high and control the crowd. I shall go into the thick of it together with the chimera. You, my lord, deal with anyone strong enough to make it to the golem. The golem will protect your back and keep the monsters occupied, allowing you to fight the strong monsters one-on-one.¡± Michael nodded, and then the monsters were on them. From the tunnel spilled a deluge of creatures of all sizes and shapes, the only thing in common being their energy signature of either ice or water or a mix of the two, and their color being a mix of blue and white. Some were covered in fur, others were pure ice, and others were horrendous ghouls who had never seen the light of day in their lives. The tiny fox, having flown high, was blasting the mass of monsters with rapid-fire beams of magic that crippled, poisoned, paralyzed and felled enemies as fast as she could shoot. Still, she wasn¡¯t even making a dent in their number. Down on the ground, Drullkrin had disappeared in a blur of motion, his Fae enhancement network making him incredibly fast and strong. He was like a streak of green moving in a zig-zag pattern among the many running monsters, kicking up a storm of snow and water that added to the thick cloud of mist that followed the stampede. Everywhere he appeared, an arm shattered, a bone snapped and a monster was quickly dispatched of. He never lingered to marvel at his own work, instead immediately transforming into a blur once again in search of another target to destroy. He mostly struck weak monsters, aiming to thin the numbers as much as possible to make it easier for Michael to deal with the elites. The chimera too was thick into the melee, but its tactic was the opposite. It marched into the chaotic enemy line, using its bulk to keep advancing through the mass of bodies that pushed against it, swiping its powerful clawed paws at them. Sometimes its lion head reached out and chomped, powerful fangs snapping entire monsters in half. Where the lion head was powerful and deadly, fighting with force, the serpent head was fast as a lightning. It lengthened like a spring, delivering a vicious bite that injected powerful venom in those enemies that had flesh and blood to infect, leaving them frothing at the mouth, dying on the ground. The chimera¡¯s tail also lashed out everywhere. It was covered in thick spikes, which it used to impale enemies in a half-circle behind the monster as if it had a mind of its own. Every once in a while the tail wound up a powerful attack, and like a catapult shot all the spikes at the incoming mass of enemies, decimating the weaker elements of the mob. Then the spikes would grow back frighteningly quickly, and the carnage began anew. Had Michael been able to see what an engine of destruction the chimera was, he would have been even more glad he never had to fight it. Michael was the last to engage in battle. True to the plan, only the stronger enemies managed to make it through the three engines of destruction that had been unleashed upon the stampeding mob. The stone golem moved with uncanny agility and speed to meet the incoming threats, making sure that Michael could not be ambushed from behind or ganged upon. While not terribly effective to destroy enemies, the golem was nigh-indestructible itself, and was more than fast enough to keep whoever it wanted at bay for however long it wanted. Michael squared up against his enemy, a tall yeti with its body partially made of ice and spikes. He had a new weapon he wanted to try out ever since the skill had evolved, and thus he met the charging monster with a charge of his own. He did not even care to dodge the strike coming at him, instead letting his [Distortion Sphere] trigger automatically to rebuff the incoming limb. Then, before the sphere vanished, he summoned another, using [Mana Manipulation] in a clever way. He did not force the skill to manifest another bubble directly. Instead, he used [Mana Manipulation]¡¯s ability to make skills act out of their rigid scope to force [Marksman] to treat the bubbles as if they were being shot from a weapon. Instead of treating it like a projectile, however, he treated the skill itself like a ranged weapon, reducing its cooldown to zero at the cost of mana. Mana he had in abundance this deep in the glacier, rushing into him like a cyclone as he used [Mana Manipulation] to seize it and absorb it. The second bubble appeared in his hand. Thanks to its evolution, it was no longer forced to be stationary and could now follow the movement of his body. He slapped the monster with the bubble, as if hitting someone with a balloon in his hand, using [Crude Body Enhancement] to add as much force as he could to the bubble to the point that it would have burst upon contact had he not reinforced it. The bubble was no simple balloon, however. Its surface was made of repulsive force, shining violet with elemental energy in Michael¡¯s improved magic sight. The yeti exploded in a shower of gore and ice. Michael grinned. I think I might enjoy this. ¡°Golem, send another.¡± With fluid and surprisingly graceful motions, the golem¡ªwho had been engaging several enemies at once¡ªsent one sprawling towards Michael with a kick. Then the fight began in earnest. Chapter 47 Chapter 47 The fight went on for what felt like hours, but there was no way to tell the passage of time deep down below the ice. The only thing that was changing was that Michael felt increasingly exhausted, despite his healing working overtime to keep him alert. It had gotten to the point where the healing was costing more and more mana to keep up, and his dantian felt completely devoid of Qi. Another change was that the golem protecting him was beginning to struggle. Cracks had appeared on its stony surface, more than it could regenerate, and pieces of stone were crumbling to the ground, covering the mounds of shaved-off ice from the fight with brown particles like topping on a dessert. Drullkrin re-emerged from the dwindling stampede to lend a hand to the struggling golem, allowing Michael to keep fighting the elite monsters one at a time. They all seemed to be aiming at him, ignoring the rest of his team, making controlling their movements easier than if it had been an all-out melee. But whenever something barred their way and did not allow them to reach Michael, they became enraged and fought viciously until they were killed or destroyed so thoroughly that there was nothing left of them. The winged fox was the next to emerge from the fight, having done all it could. It now switched to supporting Michael, and with the help of her paralyzing beams his fights became much easier. Even though the golem was no longer alone, the sheer number of elites left meant that soon enough controlling them was impossible, and one last all-out brawl broke out. Michael kept the healing aura working overtime, with the members of the team falling back towards him every time they were injured. Still, he couldn¡¯t keep the aura active and use his other abilities at the same time, the mana draw was too great, and soon wounds began to accumulate. Fortunately, before any of them collapsed from their injuries, the tide eased and then the flow of monsters ceased. They finished off the last remaining fighters quickly now that the monsters did not have any more support, and then collapsed on the ground, panting. It would have been funny to see the chimera flop to the side or the winged fox drift lazily down to settle on Michael¡¯s shoulder, but he was too tired to really acknowledge them. Still, he kept the healing going, and soon the blood that stained the ground red and other colors from the monsters¡¯ wounds stopped flowing. ¡°We fought well, my lord.¡± Drullkrin said tiredly, ¡°but let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t encounter another tide such as this, or we will be hard pressed to continue.¡± As they were, they decided to make camp and rest. Their bodies were fine, thanks to the healing, but their minds were tired after fighting for so long. Even monsters got tired after a while, although Michael wondered whether the goblin general had called for a rest to allow him a respite, or whether the monsters were indeed as mentally exhausted as they claimed to be. Then they were once again scouting the tunnels. As they walked, Drullkrin congratulated Michael for his skill, claiming that he had grown a lot from when he had emerged as king, holding the piece of the Unity back in their encampment in the forest. ¡°Really?¡± Michael was incredulous. ¡°Of course, my king. I would not lie to you, just to make myself look good in your eyes. I would rather stay silent than bear such shame. My praise is earned, as you indeed have grown stronger. I could see your ability and confidence soar during the fight, the last enemy you fought was several times stronger than the first that the golem had let thought and yet you dispatched of it quicker than you had the other.¡± It was hard to believe, especially with his insecurities still playing tricks on his mind, but if Drullkrin said so, then it had to have some merit. It was here that Michael¡¯s kingly persona played a crucial role, as it allowed him to hide his real emotions and address his team as befitting of his status. ¡°I must congratulate you all for a fight well fought. We faced the danger of a monster stampede and, despite the numbers threatening to crush us, and the hostile environment, came out on top. You really are the elites, and deserve recognition. Let us defeat the king of ice, and I will see to it that you shall all be rewarded handsomely.¡± How he was going to reward them, he still didn¡¯t know. But his words galvanized the monsters, and with renewed vigor they threw themselves in their tasks, exploring the caves and dispatching enemies with fury. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Eventually they arrived at a large cavern, dimly lit with the shifting light of braziers and scattered torches. It carried the heavy weight of mana, elemental energy and a faint hint of Qi within it. At the center of the room was a large throne made of ice, and on the throne sat a gigantic figure entirely made of animated ice, like a huge elemental. Even looking at it was enough to freeze the blood of whoever dared intrude into the king¡¯s chambers, and the spikes on its body glinted with dangerous light. To the king¡¯s side were two statues, made of compressed snow packed in so tight that it was harder than ice. In their empty eye sockets shone a deep cerulean light, while the snow that made up their bodies glimmered with tiny crystals of ice, lit by the strangely white light of the fires and torches. Before the team even got time to take in the full size of the gigantic room, filled with furnishing and carpets, golden goblets standing on ornate counters and tapestries, a sudden sense of danger assaulted them. Michael didn¡¯t even know how he could tell, but he dove to the side right as his distortion sphere deflected a spear aimed at his head. The rest of the team reacted immediately, and they took defensive positions against the ambushing enemies coming from above. The creatures were quick, but weak. They looked like the ghouls they encountered in the tunnels, and they were dispatched with ease. They were, however, just a diversion. Now the statues were on them, and their might was soon revealed when one managed to pop one of Michael¡¯s bubbles, and in his shock he almost stumbled, only recovering in the nick of time to defend Drullkrin from an attack from behind. Even though he had put considerable mana into the magic skill, the statue had been strong enough to pop it. He recovered quickly, and the team fell into their practiced tactic. All of the members fought to keep one of the statues occupied while Michael deal with the other, all his skills flaring to power. He empowered his body, summoned flame, pushed his sped-up reflexes to the maximum and used his distortion sphere with abandon. He even tried to use his foul water but, like with the other monsters made of ice, it was mostly useless. A portion of its power, that of rot, did work but the rest was absorbed and went to strengthen the monster, making the skill a net loss for Michael. He fought quickly, dodging below savage strikes that had no right to come from a statue that big. He would have been shocked had he not met the golems already, who were just as big and quick. But the statue was stronger, and it could cover itself in ice where it was damaged, recovering its integrity even as cracks spread through the packed snow. To the side, the team was struggling. The golem was cracked in many places, and the others were being thrown around like ragdolls. Michael knew he didn¡¯t have much time. Deciding to suffer a vicious blow that cracked his ribs, he dove for the statue and started melting it with his flame, summoning a [Distortion Sphere] inside the hollow he had carved with fire to make it explode. Then, he turned to the other statue just in time to see its eyes light up, and Michael watched in horror as the essence of the first statue was absorbed into the second before most of it could disperse, empowering the other construct. But still, it was a full team against a single statue. They suffered wounds, and at one point the statue managed to grab the chimera¡¯s tail and rip it off entirely, eliciting a roar from the twin heads of the creature. This only sent the monster into a rage, making its attack ever more vicious at the expense of its safety, and the team soon got the upper hand. Micheal turned to face the king, having dealt with the statue. Behind him, the chimera was not regenerating its tail even though Michael was healing the monster, the lingering ice energy crippling his regeneration skill. It was with utter horror that Michael noticed that the king was nowhere to be found. With a sudden sense of dread, Michael turned around the find the king suddenly standing before the golem, delivering a vicious blow and sending the stone construct flying back into the corridor from where it came. The cracks on its stone body widened as entire pieces of rock crumbled to dust, and light was now visible coming from its partially exposed core, but the golem still tried to right itself up. The king paid it no mind anymore, and instead jumped up with impossible speed, catching the winged fox and ripping its wings out before the little creature could so much as scream in fright. Then the king tossed it at the golem, where it impacted with a meaty thud and fell unconscious. Michael could only stare in horror until Drullkrin voice reached his ears. ¡°We need to retreat!¡± Not needing to be told twice, he sprinted down the tunnel. He did not stop running until he had crossed the bend that brought the king¡¯s chamber out of sight, collapsing in a panting heap, heart thundering in his chest. Beside him, the team stood broken and battered. Even though he tried to heal them, the damage lingered. The fox¡¯s wings did not grow back, and neither did the chimera¡¯s tail. Still, the king had not followed them out of its chamber, even though they could still hear its booming laughter that was like ice sheets grinding on each other. ¡°We have earned a reprieve. We need to¡ª¡± Michael¡¯s words died in his throat as he felt the energies shift before he could even feel the ground begin to shake. He looked up at the end of the tunnel, and quickly saw a monster appear, followed by another, then another two. ¡°Another stampede¡­¡± he muttered. ¡°We are surrounded.¡± Chapter 48 Chapter 48 The stampede was an endless outpour of monsters, coming from the far end of the tunnel and boxing Michael and his team in with no means to escape. The tunnel leading to the king¡¯s chamber had been a long and winding thing with no side exits, and now that the monsters were coming from behind, the only way they could go was back in the maw of the icy monster that was the king. However, this time it would be even worse. They would have countless monsters at their heel, pouring into the chamber from behind while the king crushed them from the front. Michael thought furiously, but he couldn¡¯t come up with a solution that wouldn¡¯t involve some sacrifice. Or one that wasn¡¯t suicide, for that matter. That¡¯s when the golem decided to take matters into its own stony hands. It stood up, tall and proud despite the many cracks that made up its crumbling fa?ade and faced the incoming horde. ¡°Kill the king,¡± it declared, surprising Michael who had thought that the stone construct could not speak at all. Then the golem¡¯s head turned around, a red light shining where its eyes would be, power radiating off of it. ¡°Go.¡± That was all that it said before it threw itself into the melee, several times stronger than it had ever been. ¡°That¡¯s how we Fae grow stronger: battle, hardship and struggle.¡± Drullkrin said, as if inspired and emboldened by his fellow monster¡¯s sacrifice. ¡°I can respect that,¡± Michael said, eyes hardening. ¡°Let¡¯s not waste this opportunity.¡± With the golem holding the horde off for as long as it could, the rest of the team rushed back towards the king¡¯s chamber. A somber mood overtook them as they marched into the hardest fight yet, knowing full well that if they didn¡¯t win, not only would the golem die in vain, but they would also die deep beneath the ice. And so they threw themselves at the king, who was alone and surprised to see them emerge from the tunnel with one less member of the team but no monsters at their heels. They made use of this distraction to assault the ice giant, viciously fighting however they could. The wingless fox rode the chimera, the two attacking in unison with perfect coordination. Drullkrin darted in and out of the fight, aiming to destroy the king¡¯s balance while it attacked, creating openings so that the heavier chimera could attack. All the while, Michael was everywhere, pushing his skills to the limit. His face was covered in blood oozing from his mouth, nose and eyes as his body strengthening skill destroyed his body from within. He powered through, healing himself as the damage accumulated, but soon he discovered that wherever the king hit him, it was harder to heal as the energy lingered. He pushed his skill, however, forcing it to heal him and the others even though the ice was like poison. He felt the fractal that made up the magic skill begin to light up, filling with energy, but he knew that the skill wanted to evolve in a direction he didn¡¯t like. The problem was its abysmal range. And so, he seized the skill with force and commanded it to expand. He already knew how to do it¡ªhe had almost done it once already¡ªand so the skill responded. As more and more of the fractal lit up, Michael kept struggling to expand its range so that it could heal his allies even as they fought far away.
Skill Level up!
[Healing Aura] reaches level 4. Its range is increased to 5 meters.
It clicked into place suddenly, and an outpour of healing energy washed over the team like soothing rain, refreshing their bodies and starting to cleanse their injuries from the corrupting influence of the ice. Thanks to the new range of the skill, all members of the team were being slowly healed. The attackers had been losing steam, while the king seemed tireless, but now that the wounds that the team had accumulated were closing they once again fought with chaotic fury. Michael too fought hard, snarling like a man-beast with hands clad in fire, feeling like he was back in the first room of the dungeon armed with nothing but a torch and a nebulous grasp of a martial art he thought useless. Something seemed to awake in him at that thought, but it wasn¡¯t enough to break through and his mind was too scattered to notice, and so he kept fighting even though one of the spikes pierced his distortion bubble and penetrated his side, spreading terrible ice through his body. His flame burned, and he touched the wound with his hands, scorching his own skin to draw out the cold energies, roaring in pain. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The chimera was the next to fall, then the wingless fox. They had fought valiantly, but valor had not been enough when faced with the might of the ice king. Michael felt sorry for them, but he didn¡¯t have time to actually process what was happening. Now it was only Drullkrin and him, and the goblin was missing an arm and eye, with a nasty wound on his head. Michael was not much better, limping around, but the king too had suffered tremendous damage. There were cracks on its body, and with one last attack, the energy holding it together failed, and the ice shattered. Michael did not have time to celebrate. A wet cough coming from where the goblin stood made him turn around, only to see the green man collapsed on the ground, holding a thick spike jutting out of his stomach. ¡°We¡­ fought¡­ well,¡± said the goblin. Michael had rushed over to him, but the ice was making healing impossible, and the damage was too severe. Then the goblin¡¯s eyes widened, and with its dying breath he pointed at the tunnel and yelled: ¡°Sire!¡± Michael saw the goblin draw his last breath, the life fading from his eyes. Then the sound of scraping metal assaulted Michael¡¯s ears, and from the entrance tunnel he saw not the golem nor the stampede of monsters, but hundreds of soldiers in full plate armor pouring into the room, their skin blue and their limber bodies two full feet taller than he was, armed to the teeth with spears, and swords and shields, all of which were leveled at him. *** Some time earlier. ¡°Just where is that damn coal mine? There¡¯s nothing around here,¡± the bureaucrat said. Timothe Shellin had been waddling around the forest for hours, with shoes that were woefully unfit for the task, as well as a body that ran out of breath faster than he could have ever thought possible. Perhaps a life sitting behind a desk had not been kind to him, but then again the bureaucrat always thought the on-field surveys were cardio enough to keep him fit. Perhaps he had been wrong. Or perhaps it was because he had been sent to a remote piece of land on the Appalachian mountains, of all places. Not your average survey site, that¡¯s for sure. Rather, it was an average survey site but not one he usually took. And to think that he had received clear instructions that this routine check was anything but routine. There had been money. All he had to do was pretend to do the survey, a necessary step before the EPA authorized the land to be sold for requalification. The paperwork was ready, the right hands had been greased, and all was right in the world. But Timothe would be damned if he didn¡¯t at least do a routine check. Money or no money. He had moral integrity, after all. Perhaps moral integrity was all that was left to his person after his wife had left him for that¡­ person. He shook his head before the image of his kids could pop up uninvited. It had been a year since he last saw his son and daughter, and the wound in his heart had not closed at all. It still stung like the first day. That the bitch of a woman managed to convince the court that he¡ª No. Focus on the task. Find the coal mine, inspect it, find the dangerous materials and compile the report. Then go home, where the sweet, sweet alcohol was waiting for him. It should be around¡­ here. But there was no coal mine. Nothing. Just a dark cave, surrounded by luscious plants that swayed in the wind. Eerie. Strange. There was an air to it, like static electricity making his hair stand up before a storm. There was no storm, the sky was clear, but the sensation was the same. It was enticing. Like it was asking him to enter. Perhaps that¡¯s the entrance to the tunnel? Thus, Timothe entered the cave. He reemerged exactly ten minutes later, traumatized. And very much changed. Timothe skipped the next day at work. He remained at home, drinking himself into a stupor until all that was left of his experience was a hazy memory that he could easily attribute to alcohol-induced hallucinations. Did alcohol even induce hallucinations? He didn¡¯t know, and right now he did not care. The power of alcohol. Then a knock on the door distracted him from the pure bliss of booze, and thoughts of moral integrity came back rushing. He opened the door in his disheveled state, not bothering to check who was on the other side because, he thought, who the fuck would even care? Very wrong. Someone did care. Carmela Esposito was there, and she wasn¡¯t alone. There was a young, skippy man with her. He was a bit viscid, Timothe thought, nervous eyes that darted everywhere. He felt dangerous as well, as if he was one moment away from exploding. The man punched Timothe in the face. Before the pain could make it thought the curtains of alcohol inhibiting his nerve functions, the bureaucrat found himself bound on a chair. But wait, he thought triumphantly, remembering the one moment of blazing glory in his grey life, I have magic now! He tried to summon his power. It had been granted to him as a means to survive the grueling experience that had been the cave he had entered the day before, and even more magic had been given to him as a reward. How he survived, he didn¡¯t know. All he knew was that there had been a tome on the floor, and that the tome had given him the means to get out alive. However, no matter how much he tried to call upon this wondrous power, it didn¡¯t respond to him. It had been the same last night, when he had returned home. That¡¯s why he had chosen to drink so much, to drown the sensation of emptiness with booze. Too bad he had mistaken the sensation of being out of mana with the sadness for his own sorry life. One does not recuperate mana by drinking, but Timothe didn¡¯t know that. Seeing his distress, the woman snickered at him while the young man looked even more nervous. She was waving a plastic bag with some sort of coins inside of it. It took a moment for Timothe to recognize what they were, but when he did, he started salivating. ¡°No mana?¡± she giggled. ¡°I don¡¯t even need to threaten your family! Molto bene, mi rendi il lavoro pi¨´ facile. It sucks to be left on empty after all, doesn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s talk, shall we?¡± Chapter 49 Chapter 49 ¡°Halt!¡± one of the bannermen said, but Michael shot forward in a burst of speed, scooping the loot he had gained up with one hand and touching the floating glyph with the other. Then he was gone, leaving behind a ring of blue-skinned soldiers clad in armor all staring at the same empty spot in space. It wasn¡¯t completely empty: most of the loot had fallen to the ground, coins and skill stones and the like, but Michael had managed to snatch a single orange stone before he disappeared, a stone that was now tightly clutched in his hand. The glyph, its power spent to send Michael back to the surface, was dormant in his soul along with the others, waiting to be remade into the Unity. The task felt impossible now that the other pieces were in the hands of the castle people, the very same people who had surrounded Michael and had almost killed him to take his glyphs, but it was a problem for another day. Travis was there when Michael reappeared from the dungeon with a scowl on his face. It could very well have been the first time Travis had seen him with such an expression on his face, but Michael did not care one bit. His mind was swirling with thoughts, emotions and curse words. Many curse words. I don¡¯t want to think about what I will find next time I go to the second floor¡­ The situation was a mess. He had lost his general, Drullkrin, and that already stung more than he had thought it would. Then he had almost been skewered by the castle¡¯s soldiers ambushing him right after he defeated the king, and had only been able to escape thanks to the glyph¡¯s return feature. Now, now he was left to figure out what the hell he was going to do about it, and meanwhile the situation in the real world wasn¡¯t much better. ¡°I kinda wish I got more loot,¡± Travis said, trying to make small talk after having sensed Michael¡¯s foul mood, but not its source. ¡°You know what you have to do to get it,¡± Michael replied, his tone of voice a bit sharper than he intended. ¡°Yeah. Put myself in greater danger, basically. I think that now¡¯s not the time to risk my life, though, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡± Michael simply hummed, lost in thought. Travis, sensing that his attempt at conversation had not eased Michael¡¯s distress, tried to ask him about it in roundabout and less roundabout ways, but never got an answer. The issues plaguing Michael¡¯s mind were about the second floor, and he wasn¡¯t going to talk about it to Travis just yet. ¡°Well, anyway,¡± Travis said, waving his hand in the air as if to dispel the foul mood. ¡°I have some people who might be able to extract some information out of the trail cams. The memory cards are cooked, but you know how it is with digital information.¡± ¡°Do you think you can get something out of them?¡± Travis shrugged. ¡°Hard to say. One time I had to spend a hundred thousand dollars to try and recover data from a hard drive that got corrupted because a metal pin fell out of alignment. They got nothing. But then you hear about a kid who put back together a drive that was smashed with a sledgehammer, one piece at a time, and recovered enough data from it to even blackmail a CEO.¡± He said. ¡°Didn¡¯t go very well for the kid afterwards, though.¡± ¡°Speaking of kids,¡± Michael said suddenly, tapping on his phone, ¡°you should have someone check the links I¡¯m sending you. See if they can figure out who wrote those posts.¡± Travis took out his phone and clicked the links, taking a few moments to scan the contents, a frown matching Michael¡¯s own appearing on his face. ¡°Is this what I think this is?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Michael sighed, ¡°It¡¯s a forum about board games and anime. I really hope it¡¯s just some guys playing pretend, building a magic system for their board games but¡­ some of the stuff they write about is just too suspiciously similar to how the dung¡ªhelldiving works.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get some people on it. Why don¡¯t you take the rest of the day off? You seem out of sorts.¡± ¡°I think I will.¡± Michael said with a yawn, ¡°I really think I will.¡± *** The next day saw Michael up bright and early, more out of habit than anything else. He did his exercises, ate and then healed himself back to maximum health, then went to check his phone. He had more people to heal, apparently, and then he had a scheduled practice run at the dungeon. He wasn¡¯t going to go to the second floor just yet, the situation was a mess down there and he didn¡¯t feel confident in his current skills to handle it, instead choosing to do some shallower dives on the first floor to train. As the car drove him to the hospital where he would be healing his patients, he idly fiddled with the orange skill stone he had gotten in the dungeon. It was not his first rare one¡ªthe first had been [Voice of Command], but it was the first he really got to examine with his powerful magic sense. What he saw¡­ didn¡¯t make much sense at all. Not that the other skill stones made sense, nor did the fractals he saw in his soul. But they were familiar. This skill stone was just strange. It was chock full of mana, Qi and traces of other things, elemental energies included. After a while, he decided that staring at the stone was not going to reveal any more secrets about it, and he decided to absorb it. Before he did so, he felt his phone vibrate. A message from my sister? What does she want? It was beyond rare that he got messages from any of his family, and even though his relationship with his sister was the least strained of them all, it was still a far cry from a healthy one. Reading the message, she seemed to just be asking him what¡¯s up. Odd. Holding down the little microphone icon, Michael decided to respond with an audio message. ¡°Hi Maggie! I¡¯m doing fine. Nothing much, really. Just lots of work, but I¡¯m making decent money now.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Really?¡± Came the response via text, ¡°I can¡¯t believe you finally got a real job! Congratulations!¡± Michael could hear the sarcastic tone even though he was reding written text. Still, he smiled a bit. Even though his relationship with his sister was strained, it wasn¡¯t their fault. It was their situation that had caused them to drift apart over time, taking different stances about important things about their family. Another text soon appeared. ¡°Does this mean I can finally come over to visit?¡± Michael felt pressure in his chest for a moment. Then, he calmed himself down, taking a deep breath. ¡°Perhaps not yet,¡± he replied, ¡°I still need to get settled down. I¡¯m still living in the same ran-down apartment, you know?¡± ¡°Yuck. Not coming there,¡± Maggie replied back. Michael smiled. ¡°Thought you¡¯d say that. Listen. Things might be looking well for the future. How about I invite you over once I move to a better place?¡± This would give him time to think things though, and decide what to show his sister. Besides, he hadn¡¯t lied to her about the apartment. He still lived in that crappy, cramped and damp sorry excuse for an apartment he had rented with what little money his old job paid him. It would still be a while before he could move out, but not too long either. Money could expedite many things, and it was only a matter of time before the property he was buying was fully his and work could begin in earnest. In the end, Michael arrived at the private hospital without having dealt with the orange skill stone. It felt heavy in his pocket, like it could burn a hole through the fabric of his pants. He also felt like everyone¡¯s eyes were on the tiny rotund bulge that could be seen as he walked, as if everyone knew what the easily mistakeable shape really was. As if everyone was planning to take it from him. He quickened his pace, reaching the room adjacent to where the patients were resting. There were three people on the other side. Before, only one of them would have been in range on his skill, the range being a measly half meter according to the skill description, or 1.6 feet. But now the range was 5 meters, a whopping ten times larger than before. Making sure to only affect the three people resting on the hospital beds on the other side of the wall and nobody else, Michael let a trickle of healing energy pour through. He could tell, even without touching them or seeing them, that their condition was improving rapidly. When he cut the healing, two of them were still sick but much better than before, while one had completely recovered. According to the file in front of him, the recovered patient was a Japanese man, friends with Mr Naoshida¡ªthe man whose daughter had been the very first test subject of his healing. ¡°He did pay a pretty penny for the healing too,¡± said Old Dave later, when Michael emerged from the empty room to report to Dr Kavins. He had been surprised to see the old man here, but perhaps he shouldn¡¯t have been. It was, after all, his job to manage Michael¡¯s assets now. His new job, now that he didn¡¯t have to manage the pawn shop anymore. The old man had taken the loss in stride, more than Michael would have thought, simply handing the reins of the shop to Mustang, of all people. It soon became evident, by his competence, that Dave¡¯s real calling was this business. The pawn shop had been his retirement, a way to pass time in his twilight years. Now that he was all healed up, more energetic than ever, he was back to doing what he did best. Michael liked to think that he also did it with a new purpose compared to his criminal-aligned years. ¡°Does it help our finances, then?¡± Michael asked. ¡°Yeap,¡± Old Dave grinned. ¡°Finder¡¯s fee plus the stipend you¡¯re paying me as your COO-thingy? You¡¯re making me rich!¡± Michael sighed, but a hint of a smile appeared on his face. ¡°That¡¯s not our finances. That¡¯s your finances.¡± Old Dave feigned ignorance. ¡°Oh? Do excuse me, I must have heard wrong. Our finances, meaning your finances managed by me¡­ I¡¯m making this into a corporation soon enough, by the way, so think of a name. Well, they still suck. Since, like you asked, I am not purchasing anything on credit anymore and neither am I asking Mr Tyrell for money¡ªthat would be a waste of a perfectly good bunch of favors the man owes you, things might be slowing down a little.¡± ¡°How slow, exactly?¡± ¡°Well,¡± the man scratched his chin, ¡°the land will be yours tomorrow, if everything goes as it should. The crew, bulldozers and trucks with dirt and gravel will be there the moment the deed is done. We are looking at the road to the dungeon ready in a week tops. Then we¡¯ll put some quad bikes for you and whoever needs to go back and forth from the parking lot to the dungeon. That¡¯s the temporary solution, at least.¡± ¡°Well, sounds like we are on schedule.¡± ¡°For the road, yes. The other two patients will pay for the container house and preliminary work at the parking lot site, bringing more supplies over. And they will pay for the security people we are hiring. Trusted and competent goons aren¡¯t cheap. ¡°Then we need a couple more containers, more trusted people to work for us, and we can begin moving the headquarters there. After the road is done, of course. But making the foundations for the actual buildings will have to wait. Not just because building stuff from scratch is expensive and you don¡¯t want to go in the red again, but also because we need to hook it all up to water, sewage, electricity and gas pipes. That¡¯s¡­ I need Mr Tyrell¡¯s help with that. Or at least his secretary.¡± Michael nodded. ¡°I can work with this, it¡¯s not like we are in a hurry.¡± ¡°Are we not?¡± Dave asked. ¡°It¡¯s not so bad that I need to go into debt, Dave. It was bad enough the first time around. I recognize that it made me act a bit too rashly.¡± ¡°Huh, you¡¯re growing. I can¡¯t say I dislike it, even though you are making my life harder. But then again, I am here to make your life easier and not the other way around. I guess shipping container house for you and container offices for us will have to make do for now. Forget your idea of having a science lab to study magic for now, though. That shit¡¯s expensive.¡± Suddenly Michael¡¯s pocket burned. It was all in his mind, he knew, but it was as if the skill stone suddenly weighted a million tons. That, and he was painfully aware of the many magical stones he had taken from the golem¡¯s territory and back to the real world, sitting in a secure storage somewhere. Secure yes, but from mundane threats, surely not from someone with magic sight and magic skills. ¡°How is the situation in the dungeon?¡± Dave asked. ¡°It¡¯s crap, but we can talk about it later.¡± ¡°Right.¡± The man said, a bit taken aback by Michael¡¯s strangely composed behavior since¡ªto him¡ªit was barely a week ago that Michael was just a na?ve brat. ¡°How about the mana leaking out?¡± Michael checked his phone, where a map had several pins to show the various readings he took with his magic sense. ¡°It¡¯s reached 1.6 miles.¡± ¡°And the monsters you saw lurking around?¡± ¡°Still lurking. They are doing nothing, right now.¡± ¡°But who knows for how long that¡¯ll hold true.¡± Dave hummed. ¡°We don¡¯t know how much time we have. I heard that you asked Mr Tyrell to look into a couple of things for you. Smart move. Those forum posts you found might be the best lead we have on finding other dungeons. We are also trying to locate the man you saw at the diner what, two or three weeks ago? Hard, but not impossible. I suspect that once we do find other places and other people with powers, things will get much more hectic. You¡¯ll regret taking it easy then.¡± Michael was about to open his mouth to retort but Old Dave beat him to it, a slight grimace to his face adding wrinkles and years to him. ¡°But then again, you can¡¯t be expected to operate like a machine. You are just a man, after all. I know you must feel some sort of pressure. Hell, I feel it and I¡¯m not at the center of all this like you are. Don¡¯t burn yourself out, alright?¡± Chapter 50 Chapter 50 After Dave was gone, Michael went to talk with Dr Kavins. The doctor was ecstatic to tell Michael all about the newest people now working at Saint Hernest, about what sort of research they were doing and about how it would help Michael do a lot of good in the world. When talking to the doctor about recruiting other people, Michael had been worried about unethical research going on under his nose, and had given specific instructions about what could and could not be done. About what sort of people he wanted working for him. No doubt, Old Dave had fleshed out those guidelines even better than he could ever do. Despite that, however, he had been worried about the doctors and researchers finding ways to go around those restrictions. They were the experts here, and he doubted he could spot many of the technicalities they could theoretically resort to if they wanted to muddy the waters. He was very relieved to find out that he needn¡¯t have worried. Dr Kavins had proved to be morally decent, at the very least. His eagerness had made Michael doubt his moral integrity at first, but it seemed like the man knew what lines not to cross. Why that was, he wasn¡¯t sure. Perhaps it was the threat of retaliation against him or his research, perhaps it had to do with Old Dave or Travis, or perhaps he was simply a decent human being. It didn¡¯t matter much at this point, all that mattered was that he knew how to behave and how to make the others behave. Besides, there was a lot of work to be done even without resorting to strange, morally questionable practices. Right now the main focus of their research was to figure out how magic went about fixing some of the problems that modern medicine did not even know how to address. In some cases, modern medicine did not even know what the cause for the ailment was. Since Michael was healing people in small increments, the researchers could monitor the changes in each patient and figure out just where, how and why the magic was acting. All this was coupled with Michael¡¯s own notes that he provided after each healing session. It cost him some time, but he had people working for him now, and he could simply dictate the notes to his secretary¡¯s secretary or something like that and they would end where they were needed. They were especially insightful, claimed Dr Kavins, since he could feel what the magic was doing, and even pointing a finger at a representation of the human body and saying ¡°here is where it focused the most¡± sometimes shed a lot of light into an otherwise unsolvable problem. The results were promising, and a lot of papers would discreetly be coming out of the facility sooner or later. The researchers and doctors would have to consult with Old Dave to make sure they didn¡¯t attract too much attention, but Michael was willing to compromise if the good this information could do outweighed the risks. Already, some sort of word was spreading, and requests were coming in from all sorts of luminaries and famous doctors, surgeons and researchers who had pioneered their field of research. ¡°Did you spill secrets, doctor?¡± Michael asked with a tinge of annoyance. The doctor, for his part, seemed to shrink on himself. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± he said quickly, ¡°but they know that something big is going on, and they want in. That¡¯s how research and academia works.¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± replied Michael. ¡°Big names will attract too much attention. And they tend to have too big egos to contain.¡± Parallel to this investigation in the causes of many ailments, there was a whole other branch of researches who were trying to replicate what magic was doing by using mundane means. ¡°It¡¯s closely tied to the other branch,¡± Dr Kavins said. It was interesting how well Dr Kavins had taken to magic, after being given some time to think about it. ¡°Once we know where the problem is, and how magic goes about fixing it, then we can see if there¡¯s a way to replicate it. Observation has shown that magic does not¡ªunlike the name suggests¡ªmagic the problems away. It actually tries to heal the damage the natural way first, if it¡¯s possible. Only after it¡¯s exhausted all avenues does it actually start doing impossible things.¡± ¡°And you think it can be replicated?¡± Michael asked. ¡°Some of it can. We have hit some roadblocks¡­ let¡¯s take cancer, for instance. We know that the cancerous cells have to be removed, and your magic seems to do just that. It offers no insight to us. The problem with modern medicine is that we lack a way to target the right cells without killing the healthy ones, not that we don¡¯t know what we need to do. Sometimes, however, it seems that your magic is actually healing the damaged cells, and that¡¯s very interesting to study.¡± Michael frowned, deep in thought. The doctor interpreted it as impatience, and waved his hands around nervously. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Sorry, I was getting to the main point. Let¡¯s take something like Alzheimer¡¯s disease instead. We have no clue how to treat it, right? Well, guess what. Your magic does. It always seems to know what to do. How? That¡¯s your mystery to solve. Or perhaps when you hire some physicists, philosophers, whatever. What was I saying? Right, magic. What we are doing here is watching it in action. A couple of our patients have Alzheimer¡¯s. Every day you come here they are a little better, and we record the changes in their brains. Every scan gets us so much closer to figuring out, if not a treatment, at least what the treatment should do to fix the damage and restore them to health. Do you understand the implications?¡± ¡°Huh,¡± Michael hummed, ignoring the fact that as he spoke, the doctor seemed to have forgotten who was in charge and was treating him more like a student at class. ¡°I see. It¡¯s not making developing a cure easier per se, but at least you now know what direction to take it.¡± ¡°Then,¡± there was a twinkle to the man¡¯s eyes, ¡°once we have some candidates for a cure, we can try them out before you go along with your magical healing. If they work, nice. If they don¡¯t work¡­ you were already going to heal them.¡± Ah, there¡¯s the illegal part. Human experiments. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ think about it,¡± Michael said, having seen the zeal with which Dr Kavins had explained the last part. Fortunately the doctor did not descend into a sales pitch, although Michael feared it was only because they did not yet have an R&D division, nor a cure ready to be tested. Otherwise it would be a different story. ¡°I take that everything is going well, then?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Dr Kavins said, somehow reminding Michael of Drullkrin and momentarily making the young man frown. ¡°My old pals from back when we were all doing our doctorate could not believe me when I told them just what we were doing here. They thought I had gone nuts. I think those of them who did not even want to hear about it when I told them they had to sign an NDA¡­¡± the doctor laughed, ¡°oh, I bet they are biting their nails now. Or they would be, if they knew.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ good.¡± Michael said. After that, he excused himself and left the weird doctor to his things, wondering just how could a person change so much so quickly. Resolving to make the doctor someone else¡¯s problem, either Dave¡¯s or his secretary¡¯s, or his secretary¡¯s secretary, which was apparently a thing, he left. Later, he met with Old Dave at the temporary office they had somewhere along the road. Having someone drive him around all the time while he read manuals, medical documents he still struggled to understand and investigated the mysteries of his own magic was making it difficult for him to really get a sense of where things were. I need to rectify that. He was surprised to see that Travis was there too, wearing a grim face and bringing grim news. There was a laptop on the table, showing a frozen image from one of the trail cams Michael had set up. Michael was still hesitating to absorb the orange skill stone, even though not even he really knew why he was acting like that, and once again the weight of all the power contained within it felt as if it had a life of its own. Perhaps he was scared. Perhaps he knew that if he absorbed it, then he would want to use it immediately. It was a rare skill, and rare skills were not something he understood. Perhaps that was the real reason. He wanted to study the stone some more, figure out what that energy he couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of really was. After a quick round of greetings, Old Dave said something Michael was not expecting to hear. ¡°Did you think about a name for your company?¡± ¡°No, why? Why would I even want to make a company?¡± ¡°Think about it,¡± Travis said, ¡°even taking into account only what you have now, you need an umbrella of sorts to keep it all contained. A company would work well for that. One you fully own and control, of course. It¡¯s not like you need to think about profit or anything, not when you can always heal people and generate millions in income out of thin air. Which is another reason to make a company, by the way. Legitimize those payments.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Old Dave agreed, ¡°it just doesn¡¯t do to let everyone see that you, a supposedly normal guy, own a hospital. It¡¯s even stranger to see you lift money out of its account every time you need it, and to do what? Pay for private security? If it was a company doing that, it would be completely fine. Perhaps not even just one, but many different ones all operating under the same management structure. It can do wonders to obfuscate things, let us operate more freely. It will become even more necessary once we move onto the next steps. Remember how hard purchasing the land was for you as an individual? Well, if it was a huge corporation doing that, do you think they would have the same issues you, or rather I, faced? We want you to become that.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Michael said, still a bit stunned. ¡°I¡¯d be COO, and Travis would be a consultant. In secret, at first. He¡¯s CEO of another company, after all.¡± Travis hummed, distracted by something. ¡°For now.¡± ¡°Think about it, then. And while you¡¯re at it¡­¡± Old Dave turned serious. ¡°The second real reason. It will force you to think about what you want to do with it. With all of this. You have a hospital healing people and trying to cough up miracle drugs. What do you want to do with it? Make money or save the world? What about the rest? Will you allow people to access the dungeon or will you try to remove all influence of magic from the world, keep the population as safe as possible? You can¡¯t do that unless you are willing to challenge actual governments, so it might be too early to even entertain the idea. Perhaps something in-between? What¡¯s your vision?¡± ¡°I know that you want to study magic, gather up scientists like you did with the hospital.¡± Travis interjected. ¡°That¡¯s going to generate some pretty dangerous knowledge. Powerful knowledge. Whatever you want to do with it, it¡¯s no longer about yourself and yourself alone. It stopped being about you when you started healing people. But you can be proactive rather than reactive. Issue is, to do that you need to know what direction you want to take.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ think about it,¡± Michael said. Chapter 51 Chapter 51 There was a momentary pause after Michael announced that he would think about the vision for his future company. During that time he thought he had somehow fucked up, and some of his insecurities came back. He tried to school his face under the hard gazes of the other two men in the room, and he thought he was doing a lousy job at that, at least until Travis beamed a smile at him. ¡°Good answer,¡± he said, ¡°Had you tried to answer this question on the spot, I would have had to ask Old Dave to smack some sense into you.¡± The man in question looked like he had been forced to swallow sour lemons for a moment, but then Dave smiled diplomatically. ¡°I guess I would have had to impart a lesson, yeah.¡± For some reason, he didn¡¯t sound too convinced of that, even he had done exactly that in the past. Was there something else going on between him and Travis that he didn¡¯t know about? He filed the information away for later, along with making a mental note that he should ask Travis exactly what sort of role he had in mind for himself in Michael¡¯s new company. Dave had mentioned that Travis would be a consultant, but a consultant could be many things. If Michael was to be the CEO, supposedly, and Old Dave the operative counterpart to that, managing the day-to-day business, what would Travis end up doing? He was already CEO of another company, and Michael supposed the board of directors of Petrolink Global wouldn¡¯t be too happy if their CEO went around doing work for someone else. Unless, he thought, I could find a way to power them up, make them dependent on me for coins. Then, I would have a whole megacorp doing my bidding. It was scary to think that his mind could come up with these kind of thoughts, when barely days ago he was as malleable as a wet noodle. Perhaps the time spent on the second floor of the dungeon was transforming him into a person made of much stronger stuff. Even though, the thought also brought the unpleasant memory of how the last delve ended, and knowledge that he would have to solve the situation somehow. ¡°It might feel like we asked you noncommittally,¡± Old Dave said, ¡°but your answer might well enough shape the future of the whole world. It all depends on what you want to do with your power.¡± ¡°Perhaps not the world,¡± Travis interjected, ¡°but this nation? That¡¯s almost a given now. It¡¯s only a matter of time. Do you want to gather power, or do you want to do good? Do you want to weather the storm, or do you want to prepare the whole of humanity for what¡¯s coming? Oh, don¡¯t look at me like this. It doesn¡¯t take a genius to know that things are going to change.¡± ¡°Did Old Dave tell you?¡± asked Michael. Travis made a face as if he was not expecting the question. ¡°He didn¡¯t need to tell me anything. I¡¯ve been telling you that things were going to change for long enough already. Unless¡­ is there more to it? An impending threat?¡± ¡°There might be one¡­¡± he said, and proceeded to explain about the dungeon situation to him. ¡°I see. If hell is spewing mana into the air like you say, and monsters lurk there¡­ it would weaken your monopoly on magic while at the same time exposing the population to new dangers.¡± Right as Travis said that, Michael realized how big of a mistake he had just made. For a moment, the thought about monopolizing magic had left his mind, and now he had just given the CEO information that could theoretically put Michael in danger. Travis was still speaking, oblivious of the dark thoughts gathering in Michael¡¯s mind. ¡°You know, it only makes what we are doing here all the more crucial to do right. Whether you like it or not, you are among the first pioneers of this new world that¡¯s coming. That comes with responsibilities. Think about what you want to do with them. You don¡¯t owe anything to anyone, but you do have the power to shape where the world will go once change starts to happen. And it will happen.¡± Old Dave stopped the other man with a raised finger before Travis could go on a rant, as he looked very much ready to do. ¡°It will be a company for now. But you know that shit is going to hit the fan sooner or later. What is a company now could be something else entirely, down the line. You need to have a solid base well before governments start going tits-up.¡± ¡°Will they, though?¡± Michael was not convinced. ¡°With shit like this going on? You think they will last long after the first monsters begin to attack people?¡± ¡°That¡¯s assuming it happens at all,¡± Michael said, even though the excuse sounded weak even to his ears. ¡°What about shit like this, then?¡± Travis pointed at the laptop resting on the desk. The image was frozen, but Michael could tell that it was the trail cam he had set up closest to the dungeon. He played the video. It was clear that the other two had already seen it, possibly many times, but Michael had not. This meant that, while he knew intellectually what he might see there, actually watching the footage fanned the flames of paranoia within him. The cameras had recorded two people. One of them was a surveyor or something, a person they were sure they had actually paid off so that he would not go and actually survey the land. Apparently he had gone there anyway. He went in the dungeon, reemerged ten minutes later, and left. ¡°We need to find him, and fast.¡± Said Michael. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Already on it. Guess what?¡± Travis said, ¡°he¡¯s missing.¡± ¡°Shit.¡± The other person the cameras recorded stalking the area was, surprisingly, Mustang. The footage clearly recoded him go up and down the path a few times. But he did not enter the cave. ¡°Mustang?¡± Old Dave spat, face red with rage. He was furious. It seemed that he had not seen this part of the recording, after all. ¡°What is that fat piece of shit doing there? He¡¯s already running my pawn shop to the ground as if it was his own. Why the fuck is he on the Trail? And how is his fatass not dead from a heart attack or something?¡± ¡°We might have made a mistake giving the stuff to sell to Mustang.¡± Michael said, voice full of murder. ¡°I¡¯m no idiot,¡± Old Dave replied. ¡°I barely gave him a couple of gems, not the whole sack of things. The rest have been distributed around, with Mr Tyrell¡¯s help, untraceable. I think Mustang was already thinking about investigating this place himself. I¡¯ll keep an eye on him.¡± The video continued, but showed nothing of note. No movement, no strange monsters and certainly no people. A few hours later the cameras were destroyed by something they did not record. ¡°See what I meant earlier?¡± Travis said, working himself up more than Michael had ever seen the admittedly excitable man do. ¡°With you, me, the surveyor guy and whoever Carmela¡¯s goon is, this makes four powered people already. All from a single entrance to hell. And all evidence points to this not being the only one, nor the oldest.¡± ¡°The advantage,¡± Old Dave added, ¡°is that there don¡¯t seem to be major players throwing magic around just yet.¡± ¡°Not even secret organizations?¡± Michael blurted out despite himself. ¡°Please,¡± Travis said, trying not to laugh, ¡°there¡¯s no truly secret organization in the world. All the conspiracy theories, they are a bunch of lunatics. Can you imagine a government keeping something that big a secret for more than a few hours?¡± Michael¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I don¡¯t buy it.¡± ¡°Trust me,¡± Travis said with conviction. Not the conviction of a liar who was trying to muddy the waters, but of someone who thought they knew. Michael was not convinced, though. What if there was some sort of mind magic that could force people to keep the secret? He looked at the man in the eye, speaking in an even voice. ¡°I call in one of the favors you owe me. I want you to look into the existence of other entrances, other powered people and possible organizations with every resource you have.¡± Travis said nothing for a long moment. ¡°Alright.¡± The other thing, however, was still heavy on Michael¡¯s mind. His hand went to grip the orange stone in his pocket as if it held the secret to overcoming his struggles, while his mind spun in circles. Now that Travis knows about the expanding mana around the dungeon, he might ditch me. ¡°Still,¡± Dave said, trying to bring the conversation back on topic, ¡°there is no evident sign of any of this. It gives us at least time to prepare. But if your fears turn out to be true, then you need to consider the possibility that you might be outclassed and outgunned, both in terms of magic and mundane power.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we need to move quickly,¡± Travis concluded, having found his vigor once again. There seemed to be respect in the way he looked at Michael now, as if the young man had won points with him with his request. ¡°Go and think about what you want to do with this company we¡¯ll set up for you. Think about it not as an actual company, but as an extension of your will, of your designs for the yourself and the world, whatever they might be. Think about this shit long-term. And come up with a name for it.¡± He talks big game, that¡¯s for sure. But it might all be a ruse to butter me up, to make me lower my guard by feeding me dreams of grandeur. ¡°What if you don¡¯t like what I decide to do with it? Will you leave?¡± Michael felt the orange skill stone still in his pocket burn as if sensing his unstable mood. Travis sighed. He was just a kid, the sight seemed to say, a kid who had looked mature when he had called in the favor, but who still had insecurities. Fear of abandonment, it seemed. ¡°Will you let me leave?¡± said Travis in a challenging tone, and Michael¡¯s grip tightened around the skill stone. ¡°I want to say yes, but¡­¡± ¡°But the reality is different, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯re already thinking about what to do with the missing surveyor guy. What if Carmela got him first? What if he becomes a threat? What if I become a threat? If I walked away now, I know I¡¯d be a thorn in your side, forcing you to constantly think about what I could do. You know you fucked up when you told me about the mana cloud. You¡¯d have to¡ª¡± ¡°Kill you.¡± Michael said, and his voice was stone. ¡°And trust me when I say that even with your silver card, I can kill you.¡± Travis did not miss a beat, not even when Michael subconsciously let some [Presence] put some pressure on the man without even noticing. ¡°Do you want to kill the surveyor? Do you want to kill everyone who gets access to magic that you can¡¯t control?¡± Michael¡¯s eyes narrowed dangerously. Travis laughed, dispelling the tension. ¡°You know, I think I should thank Carmela for what she did to you. It doesn¡¯t matter whether she actually betrayed you or not. Without the threat of her, you¡¯d still be the foolish boy I met at the hospital. I don¡¯t know where you got this new personality from, but I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t like it. You need to feed it, let it grow. There¡¯s no place for a weak native and insecure boy in this world anymore, I fear. I would not be telling you this if I still was just the CEO of Petrolink, but you know that stopped being the case the moment you took me helldiving. Makes me wonder if this was all your master plan. Smart, but I doubt it. You¡¯re not there yet. You will, Old Dave and I will make sure of that. I won¡¯t leave. I made peace with my choice the moment I realized the implications of what you could really do. I¡¯m fully committed.¡± Michael relaxed, and turned to Old Dave. ¡°What? Don¡¯t you know me by now? Who do you think I am, boy?¡± ¡°Someone I met less than a month ago?¡± Michael said, somehow keeping a straight face. There was less pressure on him now compared to when he had faced Travis, but it was also different. More subtle. As if his subconscious mind somehow saw Old Dave as someone he should implicitly trust. He crushed that feeling. Perhaps it had taken Drullkrin¡¯s death, the death of someone important but not too meaningful, to make him change. Drullkrin had been dependable, loyal and fallible. Predictable, in the little world of the dungeon. Michael had not trusted him implicitly, though, instead making the goblin work for the trust he had enjoyed in his last moments. Then he had died. It took taking away the figure Michael could trust to make him see just how little he knew everyone else. How little he could trust them. How easy it would be for them to betray him. Old Dave held control over everything Michael possessed. Travis could crush him like an ant. So far, both Old Dave and Travis had been worthy of his trust, but he felt paranoid. He could not blame himself for it either. After all, did the trail cam footage he had just watched not reveal to him just how badly he had fucked up when he had chosen to trust Carmela? Might have fucked up. We still don¡¯t know for sure. Even to him his excuse rang hollow. As Michael left to go home, his mind went back to his own teachings. More precisely, to what he had taught a certain goblin general about. He thought about contingencies. Too bad he got himself killed, the asshole, Michael thought, and he felt his chest constrict a little bit. Chapter 52 Chapter 52 When Michael woke up the next day, he realized just how tired he had been the day before. While yesterday¡¯s paranoia had been entirely justified, perhaps his state of mind had amplified it by an excessive amount. Now that it had all boiled over, like a pot of water left on a stove, all that was left was a little nugget of residue at the bottom. If they betray me, I¡¯ll just kill them. He had lost sight of something very important for a moment. His core tenet, a mantra turned into unbreakable truth by the appearance of magic and of the dungeon. Even if Travis and Old Dave somehow betrayed him, even if they took away everything he had built, it was only a momentary setback. No, not even that. There were no true steps back, not anymore. It would be a step in a new direction, somewhere unplanned. It would show him that he could not trust people, that he must do things by himself, but as long as he was alive he could rebuild. Stronger, with more experience. Without making the same mistakes. Nobody could, after all, take away his true power: the skills and abilities he had worked so hard for in the dungeon. No matter how harsh of a place the dungeon was, true effort was always rewarded. Overcoming great odds always led to reward. Why not treat real life the same way? If his fears turned out to be unfounded, then all was good. Effort, but no struggle, just steady gains. If his two ¡®mentors¡¯, for lack of a better word, turned out to be bad¡­ then Michael would take away all that he could from the situation. It would be real struggle and that was where he would see real growth. It almost made him wish they¡¯d betray him for a moment, but then sanity won over. He was not a masochist who enjoyed misery. Even in the dungeon, where gains were tangible, he had to find a healthy middle ground. A balance between safety and hard odds. In the real world, the balance was trickier to find. Things were less life-and-death, but they were more nuanced. Contingencies might be even more important. With that in mind, he finally allowed himself to touch the orange skill stone and will the strange system-like prompt into existence. His eyes going wide, Michael did not hesitate one moment to absorb the skill stone, watching in rapt fascination as the biggest fractal he had ever seen¡ªeven bigger than his other rare skill¡ªetched itself on the infinite walls of his inner sanctum where all of his magic resided. A fine mist seemed to fill the dim fractal for a moment, rushing into it from unseen corners of this space Michael still didn¡¯t know how to call. After the process was complete, he felt that the new skill was available to him like all others were, and he was none too worse for wear. Perhaps a little tired, perhaps his head was pounding a little bit, or perhaps he was imagining things. Putting the mystery of this strange energy out of his mind, he focused on the new skill to read its full description.
(Rare) Spirit Guardian 1
From the realm beyond, a guardian answers my call; with spiritual bonds, I summon friendly creatures to stand by my side. ¡¤ Summon a spirit guardian from the astral planes with abilities tailored to your needs for up to 1 minute or until defeated. ¡¤ You can communicate telepathically with the guardian and give it commands. High mana cost per summoning.
It¡¯s¡­ awesome. He thought, staring at the little floating sprite that had come into being almost immediately after he activated the skill. It was a formless mass of energy, and he felt like it wasn¡¯t much use for anything more than being cute. It had appeared out of what looked like a fissure in space-time leading to a formless expanse of white light, murky like spilled milk and filled with veins of various colors faintly visible in the distance. It had closed all too soon to see more, though, using 10 of Michael¡¯s 64 Coppers of mana in his mana pool. After exactly 60 seconds, the sprite vanished. During this time, he had commanded the little floating light to fly around his apartment, phasing through his furniture and walls much to his awe, and had it set on his arm. It tingled pleasantly, like a soothing massage to both his body, soul and something else he suspected was his aura or mana system. Perhaps both. He still couldn¡¯t see very well within himself beyond his aura of Copper mana. All he could see when looking inside was his crude fae network and the space where his skills were written on the walls of his being. Nothing else. Not his mana pool, nor his dantian, nor his meridians. Assuming he had any. He tried summoning a sprite again. The skill had mentioned that the spirit would be tailored to his needs, and thus he summoned one capable of scouting around without being seen. After paying the mana cost, higher this time, he watched the portal come into being. What came through the portal was like a little blob of flowing glass, translucent and barely visible to the naked eye thanks to the way it distorted the light around itself. It was, however, very fast. When Michael asked it to move¡ªand he thought he¡¯d better ask nicely rather than try and command spirits from another place beyond the world¡ªthe blob transformed into a little bird made of glass. It couldn¡¯t pass through walls but it soundlessly shot through the open window and darted up above in the atmosphere. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Then Michael felt some sort of tugging in his mind, like an itch asking to be scratched in his brain. He poked it a little bit, and it didn¡¯t feel malicious. Wary, he willed himself closer, and almost fell when he suddenly lost his balance. Holding himself up by hugging the wall until he reached a chair and sat down, Michael was seeing double. He was at the same time here and up above, soaring the skies in the form of a little transparent bird. The image projected into his mind wasn¡¯t the best, hazy at the edges, but he could clearly see his neighborhood from up above. There was a certain mental fatigue associated with receiving the images, and it got worse the longer the connection lasted for and the farther away the bird got. Despite that, Michael still asked the little spirit to go as far as possible while he used his healing skill to monitor his health. He found out that there didn¡¯t seem to be a limit to the spirit¡¯s range. Its speed meant that it could go quite far in the sixty seconds it was allowed to exist, and while more distance meant that the headache got worse, Michael didn¡¯t get the impression that there was a hard limit to the range of their connection. Speaking of headaches, [Healing Aura] did nothing to soothe it. It wasn¡¯t physical. It was mental. Some resource was being used up, and it took a while for Michael to realize that it was the same mist that he had seen rush into the skill. What was it? Some sort of fuel the skill needed to work? Or was it something else? There was no use overthinking it now. Instead, he focused on what he did know. What he discovered was potentially life-changing. Certainly, it would have a major impact on how he did things. Then, recalling his own shortcomings, Michael decided to do one last experiment: he wanted to see whether he could resummon the spirit again or not. He used the ability, draining his mana down to almost zero for a good cause, giving the same vague impressions of scouting around unseen. What came through was different this time, and the way it worked was different as well. It¡¯s a whole different spirit, with different abilities and personality. Through their connection he only got impressions rather than images, feelings rather than clear sight. But the spirit could see much more. It could spot life signs, heat, a sort of power that Michael suspected were radio waves, and much more. It had difficulties communicating, but it could sense even the unseen. By the time Michael was making some grounds understanding the jumbled mess the spirit sent back to him, the minute was up. This ability can be super strong, but it¡¯s also a bit random. I need to experiment more with access to mana, see how much variance there is and how to influence the summoning by thinking about what I want to get done in more detail. I also want to see how it handles other requests, going from the basic attack and defense to more detailed requests. In the end, Michael decided to splurge a bit and do a couple more tests. He just couldn¡¯t wait until he was at the dungeon. Turns out, he was pretty sure the skill was too low-level to allow for very customized requests. Even when he tried imagining what he wanted in great detail, he felt like the summoning call only took the most important aspects of what he wanted. They were broad and too generic, which meant that a lot of spirits met the criteria in many different ways. *** It was still early morning when Michael met with Stephan at the park. ¡°I¡¯m skipping class today, by the way,¡± Michael told his sensei as they both did warm-up exercises. Michael did not need them, nor did his sensei as long as Michael was there to provide healing. However, it helped put them in the right frame of mind to practice, and it also allowed Michael to save mana after his earlier big spending spree. Stephan looked a bit disappointed at hearing the news. ¡°I know you think you don¡¯t need it. Well, I suppose you don¡¯t strictly need it, but I still think it would be good for you.¡± ¡°I would come,¡± Michael said truthfully, ¡°but there¡¯s trouble in the dungeon, and I need a clear head.¡± ¡°Alright. I won¡¯t insist.¡± They began training in earnest, and this time Michael followed along, doing the forms together with his sensei. They stopped at the last kata Michael knew, choosing to focus on the basics rather than progressing with katas Michael had never seen before. Their hunch soon proved to be correct, for as he did the forms he was already familiar with, all the while watching for the strange flow of Chi and Jing both within himself and his master, Michael soon felt the stirring of something in the place he had come to call his ¡®Skill Sanctum¡¯, the place inside himself where all the skills resided. However, he could feel that the floating mist was too rarefied. The very same mist that had powered the process of absorbing the rare skill stone, the strange energy that had kept his connection to the spirits going, which he thought was something that had to do with the mind. It was now too thin to allow the creation of another skill. It had recharged somewhat in the last couple of hours, but not nearly enough. As Michael looked around, looking but not paying attention at the environment, his eyes settled upon his backpack and the familiar glow of the magic coins hidden within. Wait a minute. He squinted his metaphorical sight. There was something about the coins¡­ something he had already seen within the orange skill stone. It¡¯s the same! The mental energy! The energy in the rare skill stone! The mist! They are all the same. And the coins carry a very faint presence of that very energy! But even the silver ones barely have any. By now, too much time had elapsed and the budding skill was threatening to dissolve into nothing. It was now or never. Acting on instinct, Michael rushed to his backpack and absorbed as many coins as he could, taking care to direct the energy to his Skill Sanctum. It took¡­ all of them. A full third of his whole stash of coins, the other two thirds were hidden around for emergencies, gone in a flash. Most of the mana was lost as his mana pool was filled, and even qi began to leak out as his dantian was filled. But as Michael¡¯s mind cleared, his willpower bolstered by the energy in the coins, he focused on the Sanctum. Misty vapor appeared from the edges of his awareness, barely a trickle at first. More of it kept coming, responding to Michael¡¯s mental focus and willpower trained over dozens of dungeon dives. It suffused the Sanctum, rushing into the budding fractal. Before the new skill was even done forming, it finally clicked. Michael knew what the mental energy rushing into the fractal was. It was intent.
Skill Level up!
[Magic Sense] reaches level 6, pushing past its bottleneck. You discovered the existence of elusive intent, where willpower and magic meet. [Magic Sense] becomes rare. Its range, resolution and the information you can gain from studying what you feel increases dramatically. You get a faint sense of the purpose of whatever energy you focus on.
But it was not all. The process finalized, and a new skill was born. Chapter 53 Chapter 53 A message appeared in Michael¡¯s field of vision as soon as the process was finalized.
You have gained a Skill!
There is a seed of truth to a martial system developed in a remote corner of reality. Something can be salvaged. You gain the common skill [Okinawan Mastery], a simple stepping stone to greatness.
Michael frowned. This was different than your usual run of the mill system message. This almost felt¡­ personal. He pulled up the full skill description.
(Common) Okinawan Mastery 1
Insight, even lost, still perseveres. The world weeps what once was, and even masters are forced to live in the shadow of greatness. Yet, not all is lost. ¡¤ You accumulate Chi by breathing in a certain pattern. Upon performing the right set of moves, the Chi becomes Jing, empowering your next strikes.
What is going on here? Whatever system is displaying these messages almost sounds¡­ angry and sad about this whole skill debacle. Reading the skill¡¯s description, Michael almost lost all enthusiasm. This had been a fortuitous discovery for him, but at the same time he had worked hard to understand the faint glimpses of energy he had seen in his master¡¯s moves. Yet, to the system, this was barely worth recognizing as a skill. Thinking about it, Michael realized what the system was telling him. It was a simple matter of connecting the dots. First, there was the stale magic he sometimes saw in the air, or in the weak aura of some people. Then there was the content of the skill¡¯s description. Magic was not coming to Earth for the first time, this much was clear beyond any doubt. It was returning. The combat arts must have degenerated once people lost access to magic. Chi and Jing still work without mana, but their effect is muted, almost like a gentle whisper. With the advent of modern weapons, it was no longer enough. Masters died, knowledge was lost. This is what¡¯s left of it. There wasn¡¯t much he could do about it right now, however. If anything, he felt his motivation return. Now he knew that if he worked hard to learn and improve, eventually he could try and transcend whatever limitations there were to the modern styles, recovering what the system adamantly claimed had been lost. After training with Stephan, Michael went straight to the dungeon. According to Old Dave, this was the first day the land was officially his, and the difference was immediately visible. As soon as he got close to the usual parking spot, he was stopped by armed guards, declaring that the spot he was trying to visit was no longer open to the public. His driver, Bob, was clearly expecting this. He waved a badge and was swiftly let through. They were led to a temporary building right where the old parking spot used to be, filled with armed guards and stern faces. He was led inside without much fanfare and given a badge of his own. ¡°This badge is an all-pass. I don¡¯t know what you did to get it, but the boss said to let you come and go as you please,¡± the guard sitting at the table was a stern woman, muscled and tanned with a frown etched into her face, ¡°still, listen to me. Watch where you go and what you do, you hear me? And most of all, whatever you see around here, you keep your mouth shut about it when you leave. The boss¡¯s boss, the owner¡­ he doesn¡¯t take kindly to snitches. Not that we¡¯re doing anything illegal here, just saying¡­¡± Michael nodded along, but inside he was wondering just what sort of things Old Dave had told the employees about him. To the side, he could see Bob standing there with a very serious expression, as if the driver didn¡¯t know that Michael was the actual boss. He¡¯s probably laughing on the inside. I gotta commend his acting skills, though. He¡¯s making me question whether he knows or not. Stolen story; please report. ¡°Of course,¡± Michael said, going along with Dave¡¯s plan not to reveal him as the actual boss and owner of the land. It would allow him greater freedom and the opportunity to test the loyalty of the staff, which did wonders to soothe the paranoia that had been creeping up on him as of late. Reading the guard¡¯s nameplate on the woman¡¯s military style uniform, he was very pleased with Jennifer. ¡°Are you the head of security around here?¡± he asked her. ¡°That I am,¡± she said proudly, showing pearly white teeth as her dark eyes glinted in the sterile light of the room. ¡°Now, you might be the boss¡¯s favourite, but you ain¡¯t won my love just yet and I got work to do. The quad bikes are in the back.¡± Quad bikes? Michael was ushered out of Jennifer¡¯s office without resistance, instead choosing to ask one of the random guards milling about the place. His badge gave him authority, after all, and he was not one to waste what was given to him. The only reason why he hadn¡¯t used his authority to literally order Jennifer to answer his questions was that he felt like he could win a very loyal and¡ªsupposedly¡ªcapable follower if he managed to win her trust and respect. Meaning: no flaunting around his badge to force her to do things she thought he did not earn. It helped that he agreed with her philosophy. It was very similar to his own: hard work should be rewarded and respected, what you gained was yours. To her, his badge had not been something he had worked hard to get, no matter the real truth behind it. The lower-level grunts, however, were more than happy to blab about all their secrets to the holder of the all-pass. ¡°Yeah, the HQ is pretty spartan right now, just a repurposed shipping container. You wouldn¡¯t believe if I told you, though, that it wasn¡¯t here yesterday. We got the HQ, the barracks, the weapons storage, the fence, gate and quad bikes set up in one night. Ah, the power of money, am I right? Rumour has it the boss is friends with the CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation. Can¡¯t beat that.¡± Michael hummed, feigning surprise. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Oh yeah,¡± the guard said, rolling his shoulders and adjusting the weight of his rifle, ¡°by the way, if I may, what¡¯s your badge all about? You¡¯re friends with the big man or something?¡± the guard laughed, ¡°nah, can¡¯t be. You didn¡¯t even know he was friends with Travis Tyrell himself¡­ you must be friends with Mr Chestermill, then.¡± ¡°Why should I be friends with anyone? Couldn¡¯t it be that I earned this badge?¡± The guard laughed again. ¡°Ha! Right. Let¡¯s pretend, shall we?¡± And with that, he was gone, leaving a sour taste in Michael¡¯s mouth. ¡°What an idiot.¡± Came a voice from behind. ¡°What?¡± Michael said, having spun around at the sudden too-close voice to come face to face with a grizzled man. Little did the man know, he was about to get a water bullet in the face. ¡°Kevin there, he¡¯s one of the new boys,¡± the man said, proffering a hand. ¡°Name¡¯s Trevor, by the way. One of the not-new boys.¡± ¡°Not-new?¡± Michael raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yup. I have seen enough to know that a badge like yours isn¡¯t for show. People like Kevin, they see the badge and try to butter up whoever happens to hold it, but in truth they can¡¯t help but resent you. They think you got the easy life handed to you.¡± Michael¡¯s face darkened. Trevor smiled. ¡°No, I know it¡¯s bullshit. I can see it in your face. They don¡¯t. They are too green. But at the same time, if you can whip them to shape, they make the best goons you could ever ask for. Loyal, capable.¡± ¡°And you think you can?¡± Trevor shrugged. ¡°Alone, maybe. With Jennifer here? I don¡¯t know what strings boss-man managed to pull, but she¡¯s good. Just give us some time, alright? If you don¡¯t like the younger guys after a week or two, you can always ask Mr Chestermill to replace them. Although I get the feeling that you don¡¯t need his approval to get them removed.¡± He winked knowingly. ¡°Alright,¡± Michael said, ¡°but I will tell David to keep an eye on things. The last thing we need is a security breach now.¡± ¡°Speaking of security,¡± Trevor said, ¡°we are still working on it. The land is huge, and we can¡¯t really secure it until we blocked off access.¡± ¡°Just do your thing.¡± ¡°Sure, boss,¡± the man said with a twinkle in his eye. He knows, doesn¡¯t he? Did he figure it out on his own? Oh well, he¡¯s not telling anyone. I like him already. Michael had not forgotten about Jennifer having mentioned quad bikes, but it turned out that it was still too early to use them. They were parked right in front of a gravel ramp leading to a manned gate, which in turn led to nowhere. There were trucks filled with dirt and gravel, and heavy equipment was being hauled in from the main road, but it was clear that construction of the gravel road from there to the dungeon had barely even begun. Hiking it is, then. He thought, slightly disappointed. But why am I disappointed? Did I get used to way too much comfort already? Am I getting complacent? He thought about it on his way to the dungeon. It¡¯s true that I value hard work, but surely NOT mindless dumb work. And walking to the dungeon every damn time is exactly that. Work smart AND hard, not just hard. That¡¯s why I¡¯m having the road built. After thinking about it, he also felt better about his plans for the day. Even though it was a cowardly move, he still didn¡¯t dare go back to the second floor. Even though time still flowed on the second floor, going now would be neither hard nor smart work, just suicide. Besides, I don¡¯t think a healthy dose of cowardice is wrong per se. It¡¯s just that cowards tend to be slimy assholes. It¡¯s like cowardice is the telltale sign of many other shit personality traits. Michael was not a coward. He was simply a sensible individual. The situation on the second floor required careful consideration, and considerable personal power. To that end, rather than running away like a coward would, Michael chose to train. He challenged the ever more difficult floor multiple times that day, and he would continue to do so until he felt ready to tackle the seemingly impossible hurdle that had appeared between him and his goal of unifying the glyphs that made up the Unity. In the distance, he could see hired security guards patrolling the area. None of them bothered him. They had been informed about his presence, and all of them had been instructed to keep away from the cave at any cost. Chapter 54 Chapter 54 Michael wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was a hot day, heading into the thick of the summer heat, and the late hour had done nothing to diminish the discomfort. If anything, it seemed to have gotten more humid, the heat stickier and even more uncomfortable. He had been doing multiple dungeon runs. After a while, the dungeon had given up on cleaning his clothes and sweat after each run, probably out of spite, increasing his discomfort. Michael didn¡¯t care much. If the dungeon allowed for power-levelling, then he would do it regardless of what the snickering voice coming from the depths said about it. The gains were positively miser for sure, but perhaps that had more to do with the situation rather than the dungeon actively hampering his growth. Actively interfering was not something it had ever done, and Michael doubted it even could. His thoughts went to the what he had to do. More precisely: to the situation he knew he was going to find down in the second floor. The blue humanoid soldiers from the castle were many, and they were undoubtedly strong. Strong enough to have utterly defeated all other regions of the valley in a matter of hours rather than days, all more or less at the same time. Given the level of threat of even the Ice King, and given Michael¡¯s suspicion that the other regions hosted stronger monsters and bosses¡­ Yeah, they are a problem. Most of all, according to his scouts the enemy seemed to be organized in ranks with soldiers and elites. The soldiers had already been scary enough when they had encircled him, towering over him with their superior height and covered in metal armor. What of their elites then? What of their leader, the boss of the castle? It was supposed the be the last region, Michael suspected, and thus the hardest. Without Drullkrin¡­ He shook his head, heading into the dungeon once again. Whether he was ready or not, tomorrow he would challenge the second floor. *** Why is the second floor so hard? Michael mulled over the question as he hiked once again to the dungeon. His mind was too preoccupied with what he would find there to do any real work in the outside world today, and thus he had elected to skip his duties for once and head to the dungeon directly. He had his supply of coins smartly concealed in many hiding places all over his body, clothing and backpack, and he felt as ready as he ever could. The hike felt longer than usual. It had been a while since he hiked in the morning, and the shadows looked all wrong. They were facing the wrong way, because the sun was still in its early arc in the sky rather than heading down towards the horizon. The eeriness crept up on him as his mind wandered. He wondered: did other people also experience a challenging second floor, or was he special? Surely the rewards would be worth the pain, assuming he managed to come out alive. But what of other people? How would a steady and constant difficulty ramp-up compare to the sharp increase he was experiencing? In the end, he did not have answers. Travis¡¯ men were crawling the web, among other things they were doing to help him, and Old Dave was working hard to build an intelligence division they could call their own so that they would not have to use Travis¡¯ resources anymore. With the billionaire CEO¡¯s help, of course. Take what you can. Still, there wasn¡¯t much. And what little there was, they were still in the process of figuring out whether it was made up role-play stuff or real stuff. It was a harder job than Michael initially thought. Funny enough, it seemed that building a temporary headquarters for a pseudo military security force in his new property was a quicker deal than verifying internet rumours. With that, his thoughts gravitated towards his talk with Old Dave and Travis. About the company. The name and the vision for the company. What he wanted to do with it and with the world. Something magical? Blue flame enterprises? Black flame? Roaring dragon? They all feel so cheap and cringy¡­ and what about the vision? What do I want to do? He thought about it harder than ever before. He couldn¡¯t procrastinate it for much longer. Adult responsibilities were creeping up on his adolescent life, after all. Dungeon diving? Slaying monsters? That¡¯s video game stuff, turned real. Managing a company? Now that was a real boss fight. He wanted to dismiss his mentors¡¯ claims that he could influence the world. He wanted to tell them that he was just a nobody. But that wasn¡¯t true, was it? A fresh breath of mana-rich air told Michael that he was approaching his destination. Nature was thriving despite the little rain, the grass green and rich compared to the yellowing strands he saw on his way here. The influence of mana, perhaps? The shapes were more tangible and real than usual today, the little creatures moving in and out of reality. Blobs of mana they were, and now that he had a new skill to commune with spirits he could almost feel their presence through it. But they weren¡¯t the same spirits that his skill called to, just similar. He checked his GPS and noted that he could feel mana from exactly 2 miles away from the cave. A sharp increase over the 1.6 miles of a few days ago, one that refused to fit any curve he could come up with. In the end, he put all of that aside when he reached the cave. Inside the dungeon, none of this mattered. Not the ever-expanding cloud of mana around it. Not the company. Not the world. He could, for a while, forget about adult business. It was Michael against whatever dangers and challenges the dungeon threw at him. Michael had wondered about why the dungeon was doing this. Why it existed. Why it tried to kill him while at the same time granting him the power to survive. But none of it mattered when he was inside either. They were all thoughts that kept him up at night at his shitty apartment, but never as he camped in the forest of the second floor of the dungeon. Go figure out why. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The usual message about skipping floors appeared. Unlike in his training runs, he pressed yes. The glyph fragment he held in his Skill Sanctum dimmed, and he was transported to his usual spot by the mountain. A single ogre was there, waiting for him. He bowed as soon as he saw Michael appear, and it might have been all that saved the monster from certain death as Michael cautiously withdrew his magic and the many weapons he had brought with him, already loaded and ready. He holstered his gun, and looked around to see that nobody was nearby save for the lone ogre, who was waiting for Michael to speak. ¡°Are you alone?¡± he asked. ¡°I am, my king.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°My name is Trallavor¡¯t, my king. I am the new general.¡± Michael¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What¡¯s the situation? Did the blue men attack? Explain.¡± ¡°At once, my king. The situation is stable, for now. Camp is secured.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Michael said as he started walking towards where he knew his troops made camp. ¡°How did you come to be the new general, then?¡± ¡°I felt the authority of the ice king falter, and indeed all of the ice monsters he had sent to attack us scattered and fled, so I commanded our army to return to the forest like Drullkrin had instructed me to. When neither you nor the commander emerged¡­ I knew that you were alive, my king, as I could still feel our connection to the glyph you carry. All of the Fae on our side could. But, I had orders from Drullkrin about what to do in this situation. He called it a, uh¡­ last contingency plan. I am the new commander, at least until he returns. However, I admit I have been having difficulties.¡± ¡°What sort?¡± ¡°The blue people from the castle. While they have not moved against us, they demanded to meet you, my lord. Their might cannot be ignored, I fear.¡± That is how, after resting at camp and eating a quick meal, he and his aides found themselves staring at a row of armored blue humanoid. Michael didn¡¯t feel as safe as he would have with Drullkrin, but he did his best to project strength as he stood at one side of a chokepoint in the mountain leading up to the castle. Learning from the general, he had several contingencies ready, although he hoped he would not have to use them. There was a bridge over a river, and it was raised as to not allow anyone to pass, but the strangely tall humanoid guards confirmed what the ogre had told Michael: the king wanted an audience with him. They agreed to meet on neutral grounds, right on that very same bridge with the respective armies on either side. A tent was raised in the middle, where the king of the castle was waiting for him. The tent was more spacious on the inside than it was on the outside. A moment of disorientation hit Michael as he experienced spatial manipulation for the first time¡ªif one did not count all the times the dungeon had used the same element on him to transport him. This time the usage of the element was cruder, and wisps of violet energy could be seen dancing in the air. It was not, however, what Michael focused on. In front of him was the king of the castle: a menacing presence that somehow did not manage to quite fit what Michael had expected to see. He was a slender man, impossibly tall, with deep blue skin that looked almost violet. He was so thin he was sickening to look at, like he could fall over and die at any moment. He was barely clothed, bones visible poking out of his body and stretching his taut skin. His movements, however, betrayed grace and strength. He rose from his simple wooden seat as Michael entered, towering over the human. ¡°I greet you, adventurer,¡± he said. Michael tried to match the bow he was given, but it was hard with his lesser stature. ¡°I greet you, king of the castle.¡± The king grimaced, immediately triggering Michael¡¯s sense of danger. ¡°Ah, to be reduced to such.¡± He said, and there was pain in his voice. Anger too, but Michael realized that it was not directed at him, and he relaxed a fraction. ¡°I can see your magic,¡± he said. ¡°Unlike the creatures of this place, I can see mana quite clearly. You can relax, however. I have no desire to harm you.¡± Michael found it hard to relax, but he did release his grip on magic. What he did not release his grip on was the gun he was holding. By how the king was looking at it, he must have figured out that it was a weapon, but it was clearly not one he was familiar with. ¡°Thank you. I see that calling you king of the castle doesn¡¯t please you,¡± Michael said diplomatically. ¡°How should I address you?¡± ¡°We shall drop our formalities, if you would allow. One king to the other, even though all we really are is kings of nothing.¡± ¡°Of course. My name is Michael. From where I¡¯m from, we greet each other by shaking hands.¡± He offered a hand. The king studied him for a moment, amusement on his face for a brief instant before its alien features washed it away. ¡°I am called Theobond, wise king of the Allurans. It is a strange custom to shake hands. Why would anyone ever allow someone else to touch their magic so easily?¡± Indeed, Michael could see that the king¡¯s hand was shrouded in his aura, like the rest of him. Apart from the strange man at the diner, this was the first time Michael had come across an aura other than his own. Despite saying that, the king took Michael¡¯s hand. Their auras touched, and for the first time Michael experienced what it meant when such a thing happened. The difference in their strength was soon apparent. Michael felt as if his own aura was as thin as paper, as weak as crumbling dirt compared to Theobond¡¯s. He tried to not let it show on his face. The king had done nothing other than let the two auras touch, after all, with no attempt at doing anything harmful with it. If anything, this handshake was more significant than any other handshake ever done. It was a moment of vulnerability where one could take advantage of the other, as well as a show of restraint where the king had prevented his superior aura from suppressing Michael¡¯s own. Now I know how a Silver aura looks like. It was a safe assumption. Like the coins, he assumed that the auras followed the Copper-Silver-Gold ranking. His mana pool was measured in the coppers, and his aura reflected that. Theobond¡¯s aura was stronger, better, qualitatively different. It felt like the silver coins. Had it been gold-rank, Michael suspected he would have been utterly destroyed by it. So, to shake hands and to touch auras was a dangerous affair unless the two parties were almost equal in strength. That the king had allowed Michael to do so meant that he was offering Michael a great deal of face. ¡°With the formalities over,¡± the king said, and if he felt anything by touching Michael¡¯s aura, he did not say. ¡°Let me give you back when you forgot to take with you when you took your leave from the ice caves. As a measure of goodwill.¡± He pointed at a stack of coins, skill stones and a single slip of paper. If there was any malice in what the king said, any attempt at undermining Michael¡¯s position, he could not tell. Not only were the king¡¯s eyes orbs of pure black, they were set in an eerie face that barely moved, showing not the faintest hint of emotion. Even when it did, it was fleeting and too alien to understand. The king¡¯s voice was silk, but monotone, barely passing as human. If the king looked so alien, he must have even more alien ways of thinking. It was not lost on Michael that the monsters of the dungeon were less alien to him than Theobond, less uncanny. ¡°I did not, as you say, take my leave.¡± Michael made the loot vanish in his bag before turning to stare at the king. If Theobond¡¯s eyes and face betrayed nothing, Michael could never hope to beat the king at his own game. But he could bet on the opposite, trying to throw Theobond off by showing many and conflicting emotions. ¡°Your men surrounded me.¡± ¡°Ah, that.¡± Theobond said, voice still monotone. ¡°My troops were ill-advised. We did not expect to find you deep in the ice king¡¯s territory, after all.¡± Which was a blatant lie, as Michael knew for a fact that Theobond¡¯s men had waited until the last moment to make their entrance. That the king had lied with a straight face told Michael things about how the blue humanoid functioned. Not good things. ¡°Please,¡± the king continued, and this time there was emotion, ¡°all I ask is that you hear me out. I have questions for you, as you no doubt have for me. I will go as far as admit that what happened in the ice cave was a¡­ tactical error, on my part. I had thought you not an adventurer, but a monster like the others.¡± Chapter 55 Chapter 55 ¡°A monster?¡± Michael asked reflexively. He didn¡¯t know if his strategy worked, but he had a theory that displaying emotion and quick reactions was throwing Theobond off balance. ¡°That is correct.¡± The king of the castle said, ¡°you must understand how you look from our perspective. The difference between an intelligent monster created by this wretched place and an adventurer is thin. Only by seeing you leave and return could I be sure.¡± ¡°Does this make you a monster?¡± Michael asked. ¡°I prefer not to say, and you will respect that.¡± The king said, displaying more emotion than in the whole rest of the conversation combined. ¡°Of course. I apologize.¡± ¡°In any case,¡± the king said. ¡°Hear my proposal, and then take some time to think it through.¡± *** Michael left the king¡¯s tent several minutes later, carrying with him the loot from Ice King¡¯s fight in his bag like a goodwill offer from the castle¡¯s ruler. The new general back at camp was curious to know how the negotiations had gone, and a crowd had gathered around Michael, but he ordered all of them to leave him alone to meditate on the conversation with Theobond. Without Drullkrin, he felt like there wasn¡¯t much insight to be gained from talking to his underlings, and he realized just how little he had actually valued the monsters apart from the single goblin general. Surely there was more to them than he gave them credit, but he wasn¡¯t in the mood to find out. Alone in his tent, he took out the loot from the dungeon. Apart from the always-welcome coins, there were two upgrade stones Michael immediately recognized. One was for the [Presence] skill, and the other was for [Voice of Command]. The slip of paper, instead, was a note. It read: ¡°Here¡¯s a freebie, since you always forget to use some skills. They could have made your life much easier.¡± ¡°Fucking dungeon,¡± Michael muttered. But no matter how much he wanted to rage against the seemingly sentient hunk of magical rock, the dungeon was right. Michael was at the point where he had too many skills, and he was forgetting to use them all to the most effect. For instance¡­ A tiny portal in the void appeared, and a little spirt flew out of it. It circled around Michael¡¯s head twice before settling on his shoulder. ¡°Sorry, can¡¯t have you lazing around. Perhaps next time?¡± Michael told the spirit, ¡°scout the enemy camp and warn me if they start to move strangely.¡± Feeling better as the spirit left, he absorbed the skill stones, pulling up the new skill descriptions.
(Uncommon) Presence 2
In the stillness of my being lies a force unseen yet deeply felt; with unwavering presence, I command the silent symphony of intimidation, bending the wills of the weak before my unyielding aura. ¡¤ Infuse mana into your aura to create a feeling of pressure in any living being that you want to subdue. The effect is stronger the more difference in power there is between you and the target, creating intimidation, fear and even paralyzing your targets up to 10 meters away. Can cause damage and force weaker wills into subservience. Mana cost varies.
A good upgrade. Too bad it was utterly useless to him right now.
(Rare) Voice of Command 2
With the resonance of authority, my words become unbreakable chains; through the Voice of Command, I bend the wills of others, compelling action with undeniable force. ¡¤ Your voice commands. Speak, and you shall be obeyed. The skill can be resisted by those more powerful than you or with a stronger will, however additional mana can be infused into it to bridge the gap. Additionally, the mana cost will increase with complexity of the command, time, and proportionately to how much your command goes against the target¡¯s values. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡¤ You can extract oaths from willing targets which can only be broken if their power and will is stronger than yours. You will always know when such an oath is broken, and by who. Extreme mana cost. Secondary mana cost varies.
Now this was a useful skill. Not only for the dungeon either. In fact, this was most useful outside of the dungeon, and it went to great lengths to assuage his fears of betrayal. Would I use it on Old Dave or Travis, though? What would they think if I asked them to go through with it? Can oaths be cheated with clever wording? Perhaps the skill was more nuanced than he initially thought. A possible pain in the ass. Surely he was going to use it on the low-level grunts. The extreme mana cost would force him to use it sparingly, but at least he could make sure he had a loyal workforce that could not be bought off. But the problem is rarely a traitorous grunt. It¡¯s the higher level people, people who could break off the oath, that usually become a problem. In the end, however, he would have to learn to trust people. He did trust Old Dave and Travis, didn¡¯t he? Even if he was paranoid with it. He had contingencies, and they would have to suffice. Well, this was a good enough distraction, but I think the king will want an answer now. Leaving his tent with a somewhat conflicted mood, he made his way to the king¡¯s tent in the middle of the bridge. Another spirit he summoned told him that all was calm in the blue men¡¯s camp, and he approached confidently. ¡°Tell me straight,¡± Michael immediately went on the offensive once inside, not giving the calculating king time to play his tricks, ¡°you will give up your glyphs, all of them, even your own in exchange for information?¡± The king studied Michael¡¯s face. ¡°That, and a mutual oath of non-aggression. You have gained the ability to form oaths, have you not?¡± Michael¡¯s eyes narrowed as his assessment of the king changed once again, the blue man¡¯s danger rating skyrocketing. ¡°I did, yes.¡± ¡°Then we shall swear on it: I will willingly give you all of the pieces of the Unity you need and allow you to complete the floor¡¯s challenge. In exchange, we shall swear never to attack each other. Neither I or my troops will attack you or your troops. Neither you or your troops shall attack me or my troops.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the definition of ¡®troops¡¯ here?¡± Michael had been na?ve, once, but he was getting better. ¡°What you refer to as the ¡®blue people¡¯ are my troops. I have no claim over the volcano and desert territories and the monsters therein. I simply conquered them to speed up the resolution of this floor¡¯s conflict, and to make sure that you would not die to either of them prematurely. Everyone under your command is considered your troops. Any rogue monsters are excluded from the oath until they are either killed or brought under your command. Other than that, I require knowledge about your world. Not the details, but the general history and society. I want to know what you know about the dungeon, and what your experience of it has been. Is this satisfactory?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± Michael said. He was exasperated and confused. The king was being too reasonable and his ability to negotiate was suffering for it. ¡°You are evidently stronger than me, and even than me and my troops combined, outside aides notwithstanding. You know of my skills, somehow. You know of my magic. You could kill me and all of the monsters I control, take the Unity for yourself. Why offer this deal?¡± ¡°It must seem like a bad deal for me, to your eyes. This only speaks to how much you do not know. What if, after I kill you, a much less reasonable adventurer is offered the same challenge floor? I would have to play this farce all over again, forced by the dungeon to act in a way that¡¯s contrary to my nature so that the challenge floor could be hard but not unbeatable. What if the new adventurer did not wait around like you did, and instead rushed at me immediately? I would not be at full strength, and I would die.¡± ¡°But you¡¯d have the Unity.¡± ¡°I cannot use it. And my forces would stagnate. Monsters cannot grow unless they are under the command of an adventurer.¡± The king was clearly giving up precious information so that Michael would take the deal. And why not? After all, the deal was making more and more sense the more the king spoke. ¡°I see,¡± Michael said. ¡°You want to strike a deal while you hold power. You can¡¯t grow, which means that unless you kill me I will soon surpass you. Even if you kill me, it can only end badly for you.¡± ¡°That is correct,¡± the king sighed, a rare display of emotion. ¡°It might not be a human such as you the next time. The dungeon is fickle, it moves things around. So far I have repelled several adventurers, but not without great risk. I seek to end this.¡± ¡°By striking a deal with me, you break out of the loop.¡± ¡°I do. I would stop playing according to the whims of the cruel master of this place. I would remain a prisoner, but my cage would be gilded rather than a death trap. That is the best I can ask for.¡± ¡°Very well then. I will swear. But I want information as well.¡± ¡°I shall part with some information, but only within what I consider to be safe limits. I do not wish to be smitten by the dungeon, and already I feel its evil gaze watching me.¡± ¡°Why not come under my command?¡± ¡°I have my pride. To have power and lose my independence? Never. By making you agree now, I buy myself independence even after you outgrow me in the future.¡± ¡°And if I don¡¯t agree?¡± ¡°Then I will kill you, and try again with another.¡± With that, they swore. Michael felt a veritable tide of magic, Qi, Intent, and much more he could not discern wrap around Theobond and squeeze. Then it rebounded towards him, flooding his Skill Sanctum and reaching for its most central part. Where Michael suspected his soul resided. When it reached there, Michael felt the squeeze himself. It was like the feeling of cold, icy fingers around his heart. His body was drained. His mana pool was strained. His soul felt heavier. Michael realized that he could not hold infinite chains tethered to his soul. Certainly not many chains binding powerful beings such as Theobond. And he realized something else as well. The fucking wording of the oath. Not only had he extracted an oath from the willing king. But he himself had been a willing participant, and how he felt like not upending his end of the deal would break the oath, and let the king know of his betrayal. Good thing to know for the future. Chapter 56 Chapter 56 They spoke for a long time. As per agreement, Michael shared things about his world: the presence of technology, how society operated, how several powerful nations controlled the world, the whole introduction. Theobond was not as surprised by technology and the scientific method as Michael thought a member of a fantasy race would have been, nor did he take too long to understand the basics of society Michael was talking about. The king was likewise not surprised to learn that, outside of the dungeon, magic was rare if not outright gone from the world. When Michael told Theobond that what was left of magic seemed weak, stale and old, barely holding on, the king simply nodded. Then he recounted his experience related to the dungeon. How he had found it the first time. How the rewards he got worked, and his theories about how they worked in general. The king did not share any information on the matter despite Michael¡¯s probing, however. When it was clear that Theobond would not budge on it, Michael went on to tell the king of his attempts at finding other entrances and other delvers. Once again, the king simply hummed along but did not seem surprised to learn what Michael had to say. Then it was Theobond¡¯s turn. Michael learned why the king still remembered his past, despite all other mobs being in the dungeon with altered memories and personalities. According to him, most of the creatures inhabiting the dungeon¡ªthe monsters¡ªhad not been originally created by the dungeon. The dungeon only allowed them to die and be born again over and over again. Each time, its control over them grew. Theobond was different from all other monsters in the fact that he had not died yet. On top of that, he was strong enough to resist the dungeon¡¯s interference on his mind. ¡°At least as long as the challenge floor remains at such a shallow level of the dungeon,¡± he clarified. ¡°Here, its influence is weak enough that I can resist it. I do not wish to know how it would be were this floor to move down a few layers.¡± Then he spoke about his home world. Like the other races stolen by the dungeon and forced to be its slaves, his people were once rulers of their planet. They had built a society that was strong and prosperous, and they were taking the first steps out of the bounds of their planet. Unlike mankind, they were not about to venture into space using chemical propulsion rockets. They did know something about the nature of the physical world, but it had never been the focus of their civilization. Instead, what little magic lingered on their world even before the dungeon had arrived had allowed them to develop a way to move through dimensions without actually moving at all. It was right at that time that the first dungeon entrances began to appear. ¡°One such entrance was at the centre of this very valley,¡± Theobond said with a rare sigh, ¡°to think that this valley may very well be all that is left of my world. And even then, it¡¯s changed and usurped beyond recognition. Filled with interlopers and mutated beings.¡± He shook his head, returning to the present with great pain. ¡°That is why I wanted to know about your world. I was merely trying to understand what had happened to mine, in hope that perhaps you might learn from our mistakes and survive the coming destruction.¡± Michael asked the king what he meant about it. ¡°Oh, it did not happen quickly. The dungeon is not looking to destroy, destruction only happens as a consequence of what the dungeon¡¯s appearance does to a planet. After the first entrance was discovered, it was only a matter of time before more began to appear, and with more entrances, it soon became impossible to keep their existence a secret. Magic the kinds of which we had never seen before became commonplace. Nations fell, power changed hands, war raged. Our own understanding of the universe stagnated. Why study an old field of knowledge, when a better option existed? ¡°But even though it seemed like doomsday was nigh, after the war was over an age of prosperity unlike we had ever seen began. We truly thought the dungeon was a boon upon our blessed civilization, propelling us to new heights we could not even dream of before. Until, one day, dangerous powers began to be handed to dangerous people. This is my opinion on the matter, but it felt as if the dungeon was getting bored, and thus it subtly changed the way it operated. ¡°The world was long saturated with magic by then. There was no way to stop the deranged individuals who had been granted power impossible to control or contain. Our stagnation became our downfall. When all we knew was to hope the dungeon would help us, how could we hope to act against its wishes? All that was left of our glorious civilization was a barren wasteland of smouldering ash and death, and the dungeon finally grew tired of us. It left the planet an empty, sterile husk, taking away all that was left of us and making us a part of its cruel game. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°This is, as far as I know, all that¡¯s left. Our people, once glorious and prosperous, forced to pretend to be soulless monsters clad in crude iron armours and weapons for its amusement. Be warned, Michael, for once the dungeon grows tired of your planet, it will show no mercy.¡± Michael did not say anything for a long time. There were many questions he wanted to ask, but even he could feel the dungeon¡¯s gaze upon him now, and did not dare to ask. Right now the dungeon seemed amused at what he was seeing, like a teenager watching drama unfold with a bucket of popcorn. Michael knew it could change its mind at any moment, however. ¡°Entertainment, then,¡± was all that he said. Theobond nodded. ¡°That is what I came to realize, right before the end. Some people seemed to agree with me, although it was too late. The consensus was that, once we overcame the struggle, we simply became too boring for the dungeon to watch us anymore, and it moved on.¡± Michael left the tent in a gloomy mood, deeply unsettled by the revelation. However, if what the king had said was true, Earth was still in the early stages of the process. They had time to figure out what to do. The dungeon¡¯s mana had not even spread across his whole property yet, after all. Meager consolation. The obstacle, however far along in his path, seemed insurmountable. The source of his power would be his downfall, and it wasn¡¯t like he could turn away from the dungeon either. Someone else would come along and take his place. However, something Theobond had said resonated with him. One source of their civilization¡¯s downfall had been their dependence on the dungeon for their power. They grew complacent, abandoning their old ways. He would make sure the same did not happen to Earth. Already he wanted to build a lab, to study magic and advance humanity¡¯s knowledge of science beyond its current limitations. He would use money, manpower and magic as a tool to make sure humanity would not grow dependent on the dungeon. The dungeon, far from being their downfall, would become their opportunity. The need for a lab grew ever more urgent. *** The radiance of the glyphs was blinding. Before him, Michael had spread the four glyphs he was missing: Time, Truth, Fortune and Death. Together with his own pieces of Might, Mind and Fate they would make the seven required to finish the floor¡¯s challenge. It felt unreal, and the unsettling talk with Theobond had done much to turn the momentous occasion into a source of conflicting emotions for Michael. Still, he knew he had work to do. And work was not something he shied away from. With a mental command, he summoned the three dimmed glyphs from his Skill Sanctum. It took barely a thought to start the merging process. They wanted to be together, and a force began pulling the pieces towards each other as soon as they were close enough to sense each other. Michael watched the process with fascination. It wasn¡¯t every day he got to see such concentrations of exotic energies and even though his [Magic Sense] did not advance in level, he felt like he was learning much just by watching. Then the blinding light and magic subsided, leaving behind a single completed piece. The glyph was larger than the sum of the seven that made it, and it glowed with powerful magic. Its radiance was gentle, it did not blind, and with a careful movement Michael extended a hand to touch it. He expected the glyph to rush into his Skill Sanctum like the pieces had done. Instead, he suddenly found himself in the middle of a barren room, with no sign of the Unity anymore. Although, calling it barren was a mistake. The walls were made of rough stone, and the floor was barely flat enough to walk without stumbling, but the room was far from empty. The first thing Michael noticed was the white glow of a legendary skill stone. To his magic sense, it was like looking at the sun itself. So blinding the light was, he stumbled and almost fell to his feet, and he was forced to deactivate the skill before his brain burned itself out. The energies coming from the little piece of roughly cut stone were too strong and too many to even begin to describe, and even the normal light coming from it was strong enough to light the room to day. ¡°So this is a legendary stone¡­¡± Michael said, awed. He could not wait to absorb it. But he waited nonetheless. Absorbing the skill now was not a good idea. He was tired, and the white mist in his Skill Sanctum was not at its maximum concentration. The mist was his Intent, and even though he did not understand it well, he knew that Intent was tied to skill absorption and development. To absorb a legendary stone, even though it was a quest reward, required nothing less than his full stock of Intent. A stock that was growing by the day. His willpower, one of the sources of Intent, was already strong before the dungeon, and was now many times stronger. He had a purpose and he had trained his body and mind in the dungeon for weeks. He was a far cry from the person he was what felt like ages ago. He pocketed the skill stone, turning towards the other strange element of the room only for a gasp to escape his mouth as soon as he did that. He hadn¡¯t really seen it for what it was while he concentrated on the skill stone, and the sight almost made him jump back in fear. Feeling his frantic heartbeat, he allowed himself some moments to calm down. He had been caught unaware, but there was no danger. In fact, now that the initial scare was over, he realized just how eerie of a sight it was: a woman sealed in amber, like a bee trapped for millennia by the precious sap of ancient trees. Her eyes were open, unblinking, forced to only stare at the unchanging walls of the dungeon, but the spark in them told him that her mind was still there, forced to be forever awake. Michael¡¯s hands turned to fire as he activated [Candle Light], and the amber began to melt. Chapter 57 Chapter 57 The dungeon had mentioned a companion as a reward for clearing the second floor¡¯s quest, long ago. Michael had long thought Drullkrin was going to be it, a loyal followed he had earned through hard work, but it seemed that it was not to be. Drullkrin was dead now. Instead, the dungeon had transported Michael to what was clearly supposed to be a reward room. Here he had found the legendary skill stone that now rested in his pocket like a lead weight, begging to be used. And here Michael also found a woman trapped in amber. Was she going to be the loyal companion the dungeon talked about? It was disappointing. He did not know her. He had not earned her trust in any way, nor did she earn his. She was just a fixture, placed there by another power, and in light of the conversation Michael had with Theobond, his own stance on power he did not earn was even stronger than before. Should she want to follow him, it would be due to the dungeon¡¯s influence and not his hard work. Not to mention her own free will. Was she even a real person, like Theobond had once been, long ago? Or was she a creation of the dungeon itself? He could not accept it. This did not mean he would leave her here to suffer, though. He planned to free her from the amber, and then offer her a life of freedom in the world. The how of the matter could be worked out, he was sure. He could ask her to swear an oath, perhaps. He had helpers. He had a budding support network. He had plans for the future and was sure could find an accommodation for her away from society, at least until she learned how to live among people without giving herself away. Melting the amber was an excruciatingly slow process. Michael could see that the woman was aware and awake, even though her head was trapped in the amber, probably due to some magic he could not detect keeping her in that state. It was a novel form of torture, dangling freedom in front of her face but not giving it to her yet, but it would be even worse to just approach her with blazing hands to melt the amber without a care for her safety. He could heal any wounds his heat would cause, but he did not want to torture the poor soul. She had already suffered enough. Thus, extremely slow progress. First he had to test how much the heat would spread through the amber, and how quickly he could melt it. He did these experiments as far from the woman¡¯s body as he could: the block of amber was an irregularly cut box block, and one of its edges was far enough away that he deemed it safe to test. Sorry if I¡¯m taking so long. You must hold on. Michael could only imagine what the woman was feeling. She had been trapped in here for who knows how long, and now that he was here¡­ he was wasting time. She must be impatient to be saved. But he wanted to do things right, and only began making way into the amber towards her heads once he knew he had a handle on his ability. This desire to not hurt her also made him reflect on his [Candle Light] skill. Of all his skills, it was the odd one out, starting out as a simple flame and evolving into raging hands of fire. It was uncommon-rarity despite its straightforward uses, and its flavour text hinted at something more profound. He pulled up its description as he worked.
(Uncommon) Candle Light 2
If you immediately know that candlelight is fire, the meal was cooked long ago.
  • A small flame appears at the tip of your index finger, creating heat and light. The flame is magical and doesn¡¯t burn oxygen.
  • You can coat your hands with fire without burning yourself. The fire is hotter than the flame but has the same properties. Cost becomes moderate and increases further if you want the flame to burn even hotter.
He was clearly not using the skill to its full potential. This was not something called fire hands, or flickering flame, or anything of the sorts. It was called candle light for a reason, he thought, and what he needed to do was figure out what the reason was. What the system was hinting at. And indeed, he felt as if the fractal that made up the skill in his Sanctum somehow resonated more with his careful use of the skill to free the imprisoned woman than it had ever resonated with his use of the skill to kill monsters. Sure, the skill could be used that way. It did not hinder him as he did so. He wasn¡¯t even sure whether a skill could do that. The only other person he knew who had access to magic was Travis, and his magic system was based around cards and not skills like Michael¡¯s own. For all he knew, every magic system the dungeon granted to people could be unique to the individual. Maybe it wasn¡¯t even created by the dungeon, but simply activated by it. He did not know. But in light of his conversation with Theobond, and his desire not to harm the woman who had already suffered in her prison of amber, Michael sought to understand his own skill better. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. What really was [Candle Light]? His current understanding of the skill was clearly not the whole picture. It felt like a shallow pool compared to the ocean. Truth be told, all of his skills felt like this. Like they were pale shadows on the wall, thin and simple representations of something more profound. The system had hinted as such when Michael had gained [Okinawan Mastery]. But never had he felt the calling of something deeper more strongly than now. He did not want his hands to just burn. He wanted them to burn away the amber, leaving the woman underneath unharmed. In fact, he wanted the flames to be fires that soothed and healed rather than fires that just burned. Much like a campfire turned wood to ash, destruction, while providing warmth and comfort, creation. He delved deeper, vaguely aware that his body was still freeing the woman as if on autopilot. Flames that could heal. He knew how to heal: he had a skill for it. He knew that he had to weave Qi into his magic if he wanted to heal people. His [Healing Aura] did it automatically for him, but he had been consciously controlling the process more and more as he learned about magic, making the skill better and more efficient. Yet, these flames generated by the uncommon skill lacked such Qi. Was he missing something? Gingerly, he reached out towards his dantian and let a thin trickle of Qi through. He didn¡¯t really know what he was doing, but [Mana Manipulation] was at level 5 and allowed him to control Qi rather well at its level. Plus, lately he had felt that his dantian was growing alongside his mana pool, and he had more Qi available to use. Maybe one day he should try to meditate, to see if cultivation was a thing. His first attempts at weaving Qi into [Candle Light] resulted in nothing at all. But he kept going, following the hunch. He could not be expected to touch upon a greater truth of a skill after barely a few minutes of reflection and tries, could he? Even though he was heading into esoteric territory, his core tenet held true: hard work of the smart sort was always rewarded. He knew that he was making headway when the skill began to flicker. He felt his awareness spread out from the flames themselves, reaching deeper. He felt them touch the woman trapped below. He felt her heartbeat, fast and uneven. He felt her rising panic, her fear. She was in a situation she could not control. She did not know who he was. Was he rescuing her, or was she about to exchange a prison for another prison? Michael took it all in. Some of her pain, he knew very well. The feeling of being trapped, unable to escape. It had been him before the dungeon, a metaphorical prison of amber that was his old life. Some of her fears were alien to him. But he sought to understand them. And soothe them. His Skill Sanctum quaked. The mists surrounding his skills swirled and churned, fuelling the transformation. For once, the level-up message was succinct.
Skill Level up!
[Candle Light] reaches level 3, and becomes rare.
He pulled up the new skill description, and was almost shocked to see just how much it had changed.
(Rare) Candle Light 3
If you immediately know that candlelight is fire, the meal was cooked long ago. ¡¤ Your flames are like the light of a campfire in the dead of night: a beacon of hope and respite. You can use them to burn away evil, or to bring solace to those in need. ¡¤ As metaphysical fire, the flame¡¯s behaviour is influenced by your mind, and it carries a trace of transcendental power within.
Destroying the rest of the amber took mere minutes with his new upgraded skill. The fire destroyed the amber utterly, no longer just melting it into a growing puddle on the floor, but at the same time it did not harm the woman at all. She simply stared in silence as the process unfolded, and Michael could feel that the flames were doing more than just freeing her from the amber. They were soothing her mind, healing the trauma of being trapped here alone for who knows how long. They spoke to her about the nature of the man who was her saviour. Even with the soothing fire, however, it was clear that she was shaken. She took a while to utter even a word, and when she did she looked like remembered something very important, and very frightening. Eyes going wide, her gaze swept the room, looking at the ceiling in fear for a long moment before she took a deep breath and dropped to her knees, her head on the floor. ¡°You¡­ you saved me. Thank you, my Lord. I shall repay this debt, for you saved my life from eternal torment,¡± she spoke, and it felt like a rehearsed speech, barely remembered after so long. ¡°I shall be your servant, until such debt is paid. Eons I spent in this cage, and so eons I will serve you, to consider the debt repaid.¡± Michael immediately tried to get her up from the floor. ¡°Please,¡± she begged, cried, scared like a wild animal in a corner. ¡°I will do anything. Do not dismiss me, I beg you. I wish you would rather kill me than for me to return to that prison. Anything, even serve you with my body¡­¡± Seeing his face as he could not hide his reaction to her words, she grimaced. ¡°N-no,¡± she pleaded, ¡°I now see the folly of my way of thinking. Please, forgive me. I can see you are not a man given to lust. You have to understand, I was desperate¡­ no, you are a man who seeks power. I can help you. Teach you of the true way to use magic.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± he finally said through her barrage of desperate words. ¡°I did not save you so that you could serve me, I am not that kind of man. You are free to do as you¡ª¡± Her eyes were wide, and a trace of anger made its way into her face. ¡°Free? What is free in this world? If you truly respect freedom, allow me to serve you.¡± There was fire in her words. But beneath it, he could see her fear. She was hanging on this fire because, he knew, without it she would fall into a hole she would never crawl out of. Just what had the dungeon done to her? Could he even refuse her? Of course not. ¡°You said you know the true way of magic?¡± he asked her. He had a hunch that he had to make her feel useful immediately, lest she revert to a state of panic where she wasn¡¯t sure whether he would keep her or not. Remember one of Old Dave¡¯s teachings, he twisted it a little bit: he made sure she would feel like she had something to offer that he wanted. It was made easier by the fact that he really was interested in hearing about magic. ¡°Yes! I do know that I am weak, after spending an eternity in that gilded cage. But even though I didn¡¯t touch them myself, my eyes have glimpsed upon the heights of magic. I can teach you what I know, share what I learned, and together we shall discover more of the hidden world, until all that rests beneath the sun is ours to know.¡± Chapter 58 Chapter 58 ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Michael asked. ¡°I am called Johanne of the Roses,¡± the woman said. Far from meek, now that she knew Michael would not abandon her it was like she was living for the first time. She was energetic, studying even the dull room they were in with interest. ¡°An lovely name. I¡¯m Michael. How did you end up here? Did you come from Earth?¡± ¡°What¡¯s Earth?¡± she asked, full of curiosity. ¡°I have not heard of such a name for a place before. Is it perhaps related to an element?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± chuckled Michael. ¡°It¡¯s my home planet.¡± I never asked Theobond what his planet was called. ¡°Planet? What is a planet, my lord?¡± ¡°Please call me Michael. There¡¯s no need for formalities.¡± ¡°I shall not!¡± she said vehemently, ¡°it would be a great disrespect to not address you properly.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Michael asked, ¡°who taught you that?¡± ¡°I¡­ do not know. I simply know that showing respect to you is the right thing to do. Will you allow me to?¡± Seeing her face, he could not say no. It seemed that Michael was weak to cute girls with pleading eyes. ¡°Alright, but you will find that the outside world is different than what you might expect. Perhaps only call me that in private?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s your wish, my lord.¡± ¡°Good. Now, what do you remember from before you were imprisoned?¡± ¡°Nothing. All I have is vague memories. There are some I am fond of: me doing magic, me laughing at the joy of leaning a new spell, me studying from dusty old tomes far above the sea, on a floating tower. But they feel so far away, like clouds in the sky.¡± She looks human, though. Could she be from earth from before magic went away? Or is there another place with humans in the wider universe? There was another possibility, he knew. That perhaps she had been created by this place, that perhaps she did not come from anywhere. ¡°It¡¯s alright. You don¡¯t need to struggle to remember.¡± ¡°Will you truly keep me?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no keeping. You¡¯re your own person.¡± ¡°Please. Don¡¯t throw me aside. I don¡¯t want to go back there.¡± ¡°You could be free. Outside of this place.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to. I want to help you, my lord.¡± ¡°Why? Did the dungeon force you?¡± ¡°I know not of this dungeon you talk about. But rest assured: my mind is my own. You are my saviour, and I think I have a good read of your character. Even though my offer was out of desperation before, I can see that you are earnest in wanting to free me, and thus I no longer ask out of desperation. Alone, I am lost. You are the only person I know.¡± ¡°I can help you settle. I might be the only person you know now, but it doesn¡¯t have to remain that way.¡± ¡°That would take care of my immediate needs, perhaps. My lord¡­ consider me selfish, if you want, but I would not be fulfilled unless I settled my debts. And I owe you my life and freedom.¡± ¡°Speaking of freedom, how about we leave this cramped room behind?¡± Right as he said so, the room vanished, and they were back on the second floor. Something had changed since he left, he could feel it in the air. Even though the reformed unity was nowhere to be seen, and the legendary skill was still in his pocket, it was like the very nature of the floor had been changed. Now it felt peaceful, welcoming. But, most of all, it felt his. Like he really was the king of all the creatures he had conquered. He knew that if he wanted, he could bring all others under his command too¡ªall of them save the castle and its king and people. His oath would not allow him. ¡°My lord, you are back!¡± ¡°Drullkrin?¡± Michael asked, dumbfounded. ¡°You¡¯re alive?¡± ¡°I am, my lord. We shall speak of it later. Who is this woman?¡± ¡°My name is Johanne of the Roses,¡± she said, ¡°I am Lord Michael¡¯s new companion and helper.¡± The goblin general took it in stride, as if it was completely normal. He studied the woman for a moment, then spoke: ¡°we shall converse later, in private. I wish to test your loyalty before I allow you to be around my Lord alone.¡± ¡°There is no need,¡± she said, turning to face Michael with a slight bow and determination on her face. Gone was the frail, meek and frightened woman Michael had freed from the amber. ¡°I, Johanne of the Roses, hereby swear to always be loyal to my Lord Michael, the one who freed me from my amber prison now and always, until the end of time.¡± Michael could only watch in shock as the oath was recognized by his skill, and magic settled on Johanne like an unbreakable shackle. A part of his mind noticed that the oath settled somewhere different inside her body than it had for him and Theobond, probably due to her different way of using magic. Another part of his mind was shocked. ¡°Until the end of time?¡± he cried out. ¡°That was not our agreement.¡± ¡°My lord,¡± she swept her gaze over the monster camp. ¡°Upon seeing so many powerful races under your banner and witnessing the fire burning in this one¡¯s eyes when he speaks to you, I knew what I wanted. Please forgive me for acting rashly, for it was a selfish move to make sure I could have what I wanted. Should you order me to, I will leave.¡± Suppressing a sigh, Michael shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. *** Michael¡¯s conversation with Drullkrin revealed many interesting things about the second floor now that the challenge was completed. For once, monsters could now respawn after being slain. They were weaker than they were when the died, but being under Michael¡¯s command meant that they could grow in power again. That¡¯s how the goblin general had managed to return to life. His return had also told him that Michael had beat the challenge, a momentous feat that made the goblin respect the human he served even more than he did before. What followed was yet another vow of eternal servitude from the goblin. Even though unilateral vows were much lighter on the soul than vows such as the one Michael swore with Theobond, he was getting near capacity already. His concert was somewhat mollified, however, when Johanne told him that there were ways for a soul to grow in strength, and indeed his had already grown a little bit from the strain of having to contain three oaths. Already, Johanne was proving to be of great help. ¡°I remember, now,¡± said Drullkrin. ¡°I know what this place is. A dungeon, just like you tried to tell me many times. A truly wretched place, responsible for the destruction of my world. But, my lord, why can I not find it in me to hate it? What has been done to me?¡± There was no sadness in his voice. There was fear. On a whim, Michael tried his newly upgraded [Candle Light] flames on the goblin. He ordered the flames to burn away the influence of the dungeon from the monster¡¯s mind, restoring it to how it should be. It seemed to work for a moment, but the influence of the dungeon was too great. There was a moment of lucidity to the goblin¡¯s eyes. During which, Drullkrin simply bowed to Michael, uttering only two words: ¡°Thank you.¡± Then, he was back to his old self. ¡°My lord, we have secured all the lands under your command,¡± he said, and Michael tried his best to clamp down on the sadness of seeing his¡­ friend? Of seeing Drullkrin like this evoked. ¡°We will soon move to bring all other creatures of this valley under your control. Save for the castle and its people: I have been informed that we have a treaty.¡± ¡°That we do,¡± Michael said. They talked some more about what to do with the floor, and then Michael and Johanne left the goblin to his work. He was going to be rather busy, trying to secure the more difficult areas of the valley that were still not under Michael¡¯s control. Especially the places Theobond¡¯s men had conquered and subsequently abandoned to their own devices. While Drullkrin was working hard, however, Michael could finally rest. Unlike last time, the floor was truly peaceful: if he stayed away from conflict, it would not come looking for him. The forest was pleasant and soothing. Here, Fae of all kinds lived together in harmony, all previous conflict forgotten. The budding city in the forest that was once the forest Fae¡¯s camp was the centre of all life in the floor, full of lights and strange creatures. Monsters of all kinds trained together during the day, while others went out hunting and foraging and building. At night, they ate and drank and danced under the light of the fireflies and glowing magical plants until the night was late and dark. Michael soon found that a whole week had passed, and his soul felt lighter than it had ever been. Not the literal soul, of course, even though even it had become slightly lighter as it grew to accommodate his oaths better. But he felt rested and tranquil for perhaps the first time since he came to know of the dungeon, knowing that he could take as much time as he needed to rest and decompress. Truly, having the second floor for himself was a boon like no other, and he truly hoped the dungeon would not take it away from him once he left. He didn¡¯t think it likely, but he never knew with the dungeon. Johanne had been with him at times, but mostly left him alone once she realized how much he needed his rest. Time did not pass outside the dungeon while he rested here, after all, making this place his only sanctuary away from the stressful life he now lived. To taint the peace of this place with training would be to take away the only safe place he had managed to carve for himself. It did not mean that he did not train at all. Now that the floor had been beaten, he discovered that stairs now led up and down: to floor one and to floor three. Going up had him finding the first floor once again full of monsters, alongside a welcome message.
Possessor of a Passkey.
You have cleared the challenge version of the second floor, and you possess the unique key needed to access it. The floor is now a rest area you can access after beating any odd-numbered floor
Beating the first floor was much easier. Not because the floor itself was easier, but because knowing that he could just head down below and have a feast with the Fae afterwards made the experience all that more rewarding. In the next few days they tested some other things as well. They found that Drullkrin and the other Fae could access other floors if Michael was with them, as if they were a party. Johanne too. This led to the goblin general, and the Johanne as well, training with Michael on the first floor. Not the third, not yet. They got used to working together: the goblin being the front line, Johanne surprising Michael with her wide repertoire of magic spells she could cast from a distance, and Michael doing what he always did. He tried his best not to forget to use his less-used skills. A hard feat in the heat of battle, but he was getting better. Drullkrin and Johanne were also getting stronger by fighting together with him. Like Theobond said: monsters could grow in power if they were under the banner of an adventurer. Michael did not know whether Johanne counted as a monster or an adventurer. There was no way to test this either, since she was oath-bound to him until¡ªhe grimaced¡ªthe end of time. The last test was them leaving the dungeon altogether, although only long enough to confirm that Drullkrin could do it only as long as he was with Michael when he left. Johanne could leave at any time. Even while outside, however, the influence of the dungeon on their minds lingered. It did not weaken as the mana lessened either, drawing from their own supplies to renew itself. He could theoretically make them live in a mana-deprived state at all times, but it would be swapping one kind of torture for another. At least right now they were oblivious to their condition. It was a sad discovery, but not an unexpected one, and they were back in the forest of the second floor before any of the security guards roaming Michael¡¯s land in the material world could spot them. One did anyway, but Michael flashed his all-pass and was left alone without question. It was as if the guard did not even find the sudden appearance of other people strange at all. Jennifer and Trevor sure did a good job here. Re-entering the dungeon meant going through the first floor once again, but they had absolutely no problems with it even though the dungeon scaled the difficulty to account for the larger party. Drullkrin, even though a goblin himself, had no issues fighting the lesser goblins and killing them. He even gained an ability mid-fight to summon ice similar to that of the Ice King who killed him. He used it to make gauntlets that increased his unarmed strength considerably. They also learned that Drullkrin got his own rewards in the dungeon, but they followed Michael¡¯s own magic system. Sadly, the goblin could not interact with the coins and skill stones even if they were his reward. The only way for him to grow, it seemed, was through battle itself. Johanne, instead, got more spells to increase her arsenal as a reward for her fights and could use both them and the mana coins. She could use the skill stones, but refused to do so. It was finally time to leave. Michael felt rested, and ready to go back to real world problems. He left Drullkrin instructions, while he would take Johanne with him. The instructions he left Drullkrin would have two benefits. One was to deal with the restless monsters under Michael¡¯s control. He gave them access to the first floor, learning that even if they completed a run of it, its difficulty was left unchanged. He did not know why, and it tied together with the discovery that the difficulty increases were plateauing. He asked Theobond and according to the alien, it was because the floor was reaching maximum mana capacity for its shallow depth. It was good news. The first floor was now a place where the Fae under Michael¡¯s command could vent their need to fight and grow stronger. It had the added benefit of being able to farm coins and rewards for Michael while he was not there. The second benefit was that this process would create strong soldiers he could take with him to the harder, deeper floors, by all means making his own delving party. Something to look forward to. The last thing he wanted to do before leaving, now that his Intent mists in the Skill Sanctum were at the strongest, was to finally absorb the legendary skill stone. Chapter 59 Chapter 59 Michael stared at the white skill stone in his hand as if it was a white-hot, scalding piece of molten metal. For all intents and purposes, it might very well be one. Not that he did not earn it, because he sure did. More like because, in light of what he learned about the dungeon, he was growing ever more wary of power handed to him by the strange, inscrutable entity. It wasn¡¯t as if the dungeon wasn¡¯t aware that Michael now wanted to find a way to avoid Earth suffering the same fate as Theobond¡¯s planet. And what about Johanne? Why did the dungeon actively help him, of all things? Didn¡¯t it want Michael to die gruesomely the first time he had stepped inside it? Yet, the more he proved himself, the more the dungeon gave things to him. Was it to make him grow reliant on power that was not his own? Hard questions, ones he did not have an answer to. In any case, he did not think good things would come from the dungeon learning about what he planned to do with his company¡¯s future research division. Reverse engineering magic was something he could easily see the dungeon having problems with. I need to find out if the dungeon can see outside of itself, perhaps in the sphere of influence of its mana. And if yes, how to counteract that. With that thought, he decided to refocus on the skill stone. Beside him, Johanne had asked to be allowed to watch, and her own mana sense was trained on the strange piece of glowing rock she had never seen before. They both took some time to study the thing, since it took a couple of hours just to get used to its insane magical brightness. ¡°It should be pretty straightforward: from what I¡¯ve seen, dungeon-given rewards are not as taxing on Intent reserves as developing and upgrading skills on my own.¡± Indeed, that was the reason why Michael had not even learned of intent until he switched to making his own skills. The rare dungeon reward skill had taxed him a little bit, however, which made him wary to approach the legendary stone, which was like a sun compared to a campfire. Still, the assumption was that the dungeon would not have given him the skill stone unless he was able to use it, and thus once they were both satisfied with their study of the thing, Michael wasted no time and absorbed it. He gasped as something changed within himself. He pulled up the skill description.
(Common, Growth) Unity 1
In the tapestry of existence, each challenge conquered weaves a thread of mastery; Unity is the canvas of my potential. It expands, painting a saga of growth and accomplishment. A vanishingly rare skill, its incalculable might concealed from all prying eyes. ¡¤ You gain access to status. It will display quantifiable statistics for some aspects of your life and provide a levelling system to improve them. ¡¤ Your statistics are uncapped, and training in novel ways will allow you to grow stronger. ¡¤ This skill¡¯s level can only be increased with Unity. Gain Unity by performing actions of significance and slaying enemies. To increase level cap, you must raise the rarity of the skill. Current level cap: 10 Statistics gained per level: 10 to all base statistics, 5 Copper to mana. Status can be accessed by thinking about it.
Status: Michael Lexington
Level: 1/10
Base Statistics Advanced Statistics
Strength 192 Mana 78/78 Copper Units
Dexterity 137 Elemental energy 0/78 Copper Units, 0 types
Stamina 230 Qi 7.8/7.8 Copper Units
Reflexes 252 (180+40%) Intent 0.78/0.78 Copper Units
Intelligence 112 This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Resilience 360
Memory 128
Michael¡¯s eyes almost bulged out of his head as he read all of it. ¡°My lord?¡± Johanne asked, concerned. ¡°My liege?¡± Drullkrin said a moment later, and Michael realized that perhaps he had spent more time inspecting his status than he thought. ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± he said quickly, ¡°it¡¯s just¡­ wow. This changes a lot of things.¡± Especially, even though the dungeon really might be malicious, he couldn¡¯t deny its usefulness any longer. It was his only way to get higher rarity skills, and considering what this skill could do¡­ he wanted more. ¡°Did it deplete your intent, my lord?¡± Johanne asked. ¡°No,¡± he shook his head, ¡°it actually didn¡¯t. It¡¯s like it used all of its energy to change something fundamental about me, returning to common rarity in the process. Here, let me read it to you¡­¡± As he did so, his two companions¡¯ faces grew tense, then awed, and then pensive as they thought about what it might mean for him to have such a change happen. ¡°This¡­¡± Johanne was at a loss for words, ¡°this is not how the magic I know works. I know not of this strange system that you utilize, but its potential might very well be limitless.¡± ¡°Indeed, my liege,¡± the goblin was already thinking about the benefits, it was clearly visible on his face, ¡°let us ponder about it for a while, and we might come up with all sorts of good ways to train your strength to soaring heights nobody thought possible before.¡± In the end, Michael¡¯s departure from the dungeon was delayed by two more days. He levelled up by slaying monsters and exploring what was left to see of the valley, and the sensation in that moment had been almost pure bliss. It was strong enough to almost make him lose himself in the pleasure, making him go and hunt again like an addict searching for another fix. It was only his gargantuan Resilience, now at 370, that helped him find himself again. But then again, it¡¯s not the stat that gives me strength of mind. My resilience has always been high, but now I have a number that represents just how high it is compared to other aspects of my life.
Status: Michael Lexington
Level: 2/10
Base Statistics Advanced Statistics
Strength 192 -> 202 Mana 78 -> 83/83 Copper Units
Dexterity 137 -> 147 Elemental energy 0/83 Copper Units, 0 types
Stamina 230 -> 240 Qi 8.3/8.3 Copper Units
Reflexes 252 -> 266 (190+40%) Intent 0.83/0.83 Copper Units
Intelligence 112 -> 122
Resilience 360 -> 370
Memory 128 -> 138
*** Outside the dungeon, the first thing he did was to head to the temporary headquarters being built close to the road. It was a prefab building, currently quite close to the edge of the property by the road, but later on it would be rebuilt much closer to the security HQ at the edge of the forested area, close to the manned gate and the gravel road. Johanne was with him, and once again his all-pass let him dodge all questions, although Jennifer¡ªthe head of security¡ªshot him some strange looks when she thought he wasn¡¯t looking. When he asked her why she was on edge, she sighed. ¡°There¡¯s strange movement, that¡¯s why. I have never seen something like that. I thought the guards were trippin¡¯ but no, they all say that there¡¯s a strange man lurking around the forest and when they get close¡­ poof, he becomes a blur and disappears.¡± Mihcael hummed, hoping to mask his reaction at her words. It¡¯s the same man I saw close to the cave. He failed. ¡°You know something,¡± Jennifer said. ¡°I do,¡± Michael said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to talk to the others first, but I think we might have a problem.¡± ¡°I think he¡¯s hanging around to regenerate his mana,¡± he said a bit later, in the HQ with Old Dave and Travis. Strange how both of them were already there, working to get his stuff sorted. Old Dave, he understood. But Travis? Didn¡¯t the CEO have a company to manage? ¡°I was thinking the same thing,¡± said Travis, looking at Michael and then at Johanne. Michael noticed his gaze linger and harden, not in a good way. ¡°She¡¯s Johanne, I found her in the dungeon.¡± ¡°The guards told me,¡± the CEO said, words coming out as if forced. ¡°Can we trust her?¡± ¡°She swore an oath,¡± Michael replied simply. He would share about oaths later, but not now. Travis snorted. ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get back on track,¡± Old Dave said. ¡°Right,¡± Travis said again, ¡°I think it¡¯s Carmela¡¯s goon, all hints point to her.¡± Johanne perked up at that, but said nothing. ¡°I¡¯ll increase security, of course,¡± the CEO continued, ¡°but if he¡¯s powered, I don¡¯t see it doing much other than aggravate him.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all we can do for now,¡± Old Dave said. ¡°Unless he¡¯s causing you issues with the dungeon?¡± Michael shook his head. ¡°The difficulty seems to be plateauing,¡± he said, ¡°but shouldn¡¯t we be concerned that he¡¯s growing in strength?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Trais said, and it was clear that he was still not over the whole Johanne business by the way he spoke. ¡°But your time is too valuable to just put you there as a sentry, and you¡¯re the only one who even has a chance to catch him.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Michael said. ¡°Now,¡± Old Dave said, ¡°you said earlier that you finally pacified the second floor of the dungeon. Care to explain?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Travis added. ¡°Tell us about these oaths and about Johanne.¡± ¡°I can speak for myself,¡± she said, raising to full height. A hint of mana escaped her body, even though the lack of regeneration made her grimace. ¡°I am Johanne of the Roses, sworn servant of my lord Michael. I have sworn an oath to never betray him, and I shall do all in my power to aid him in his quest to survive the calamity that approaches.¡± ¡°Now, now,¡± Travis said, his frown replaced by a glint to his eye. ¡°Isn¡¯t this interesting. Why don¡¯t you tell us everything, Mike?¡± Michael took a deep breath. ¡°It¡¯s not light stuff. I learned some critical information. Yes, the second floor is pacified, and is now a rest area. I even gained a Legendary skill. Yet, compared to that, the most important thing I got is information. I¡¯ll explain everything, but first you need to promise me to not utter a word of this to anyone.¡± ¡°My lord,¡± Johanne said quickly, ¡°shouldn¡¯t you make them take an oath?¡± Michael shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t. My soul is at capacity for now.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Travis said, ¡°you might not know of our society, but know this: we have thrown our lot with him. He can destroy us should he want to. Take away all that we have that really matters to us. What¡¯s material wealth to me after what I¡¯ve seen? And he¡¯s the key to that. Short of killing him and taking it all for myself¡­¡± Johanne didn¡¯t like that, and immediately started casting. It took Michael to make her stop. ¡°See?¡± Travis said as if confirming something, ¡°he grows more untouchable by the day. Why, with all that I stand to gain from helping him, with none of the risks he shoulders, should I betray him?¡± ¡°Your words make sense, mister chief executive officer of another company. Michael explained some basics to me, and while he trusts you I did not fail to notice the conflict of interest here.¡± And that¡¯s when Travis¡¯ eyes went from wary to filled with respect. He could appreciate a fellow shrewd mind. ¡°Why, I could never ask for a better opportunity to come at you with a surprise.¡± He turned so that he faced Michael, staring at him in the eye. He was shorter than Michael, but larger. He exuded more presence, and not of the magical kind. ¡°Did you come up with a name for your corporation, Michael?¡± ¡°I did, why?¡± ¡°Because,¡± Travis said with a slight pause to build tension, ¡°PetroLink Global is coming under your umbrella. Should you want us to, of course.¡± The billionaire finished his speech with a manic grin on his face. ¡°Thrown my lot with you,¡± he added, ¡°all the way through.¡± Chapter 60 Chapter 60 ¡°What¡¯s the name you came up with, then?¡± Travis asked, clearly impatient. ¡°I will call it: Unity. And its vision shall be to shape a better future for humanity and all other sapient races we might encounter in our travels.¡± ¡°You have come to a decision, then.¡± Said Old Dave gravely, yet not without a hint of pride in his voice. ¡°You realize that of all the paths, this is the hardest one, yes?¡± Michael nodded. ¡°It¡¯s the right one. For that reason, I also want to create a charity division called Candle Light. I want it to be there when problems start to arise, helping the weak and the innocent navigate the changes that are to come.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± said Old Dave. ¡°You have grown, I¡¯m proud of you.¡± ¡°Now tell us about what happened on the second floor.¡± *** ¡°Disturbing,¡± said Travis after a while. Old Dave was pinching the bridge of his nose as he also mulled about the information revealed to him. Michael had not told them everything, choosing to leave his understanding of magic and of his own abilities a secret for now. It would be so at least until he had a science division filled with people he could trust. But what he had said was already worrisome enough. On a more positive note, he mentioned about the second floor becoming a rest area for him, but it didn¡¯t do much to cheer the two men. Sure, Travis now wanted to see whether he could access it if he tried to go there together with Michael, but his curiosity was not so great as to risk being separated from Michael by the stairs and ending up in a challenge floor alone. ¡°Indeed,¡± said Dave, ¡°this adds a whole existential problem on top of our already plentiful problems.¡± ¡°We need to move up the scale of our operations, and quickly. Now that I have your permission, I¡¯ll officialize PetroLink¡¯s new direction and devote its resources to the task.¡± Travis said, ¡°it¡¯s no time to take it slow.¡± ¡°Will the board agree?¡± ¡°What board?¡± Travis said with a smirk. ¡°I am the board. On a side note, I¡¯d like to take another dive through hell soon, if that¡¯s okay with you. I want more options.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± nodded Michael, ¡°and to that end, I think it¡¯s time to bring Jennifer and Trevor in on a few secrets. As heads of security they will need the information. Do you think they can be trusted?¡± Travis nodded, ¡°I chose them myself, and we offered them the same deal we offered your driver Bob.¡± ¡°Basically,¡± Old Dave interjected, ¡°we overhauled their whole lives and the lives of their families. This is the most loyalty money can buy, the rest has to come from actions.¡± ¡°It will have to be enough,¡± Michael said. He did not miss the glint in his mentors¡¯ eyes, proudness and other emotions evident in both men. If Old Dave was like a proud grandfather, then Travis was like a proud father, and the image clashed with that of Michael¡¯s own father. The latter was so similar, yet so different in temperament to how Travis had become once he and Michael had gotten to know each other better. ¡°This is good work,¡± Travis said, confirming Michael¡¯s thoughts, ¡°you are growing faster than I thought. Good, ¡®cause shit is going to hit the fan soon, I feel.¡± ¡°I agree with him,¡± said Old Dave, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t feel this excited. An old man like me should just rest and enjoy life but¡­ I can¡¯t help but feel a sort of trepidation. As if something big is going to happen.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant, old fool,¡± said Travis, and it was weird to see the two men banter like best friends. ¡°I was talking about problems.¡± ¡°So what?¡± the older man said defiantly, ¡°overcoming problems and difficulties is one of the biggest pleasures in life. Am I right, Michael? It might be shit while you do it, but there¡¯s nothing quite like the feeling you get afterwards.¡± ¡°I suppose you are right,¡± said Travis. ¡°Now shush,¡± said Dave, ¡°let me go fetch the others.¡± After he left, it was only Michael, Travis and Johanne. There was a moment of silence during which the former dungeon captive studied the CEO with uncanny intensity, but Travis held her gaze defiantly. ¡°You are a strange man,¡± Johanne said in the end. ¡°Full of pride, yet also proud of another¡¯s achievements. You are one to covet what is not yours, yet why do you not do so with my lord¡¯s?¡± she said, and Michael shot her a glare. ¡°With Michael¡¯s, I mean.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Because, as I said multiple times, I have no incentive to do so. Besides, is it so hard to think it might be out of the goodness of my own heart?¡± he said, smiling mischievously. ¡°It is,¡± Johanne said, not missing a beat, ¡°in face of power this great, it is. I shall watch you, like I can feel you are watching me. Perhaps, one day, we shall trust each other.¡± ¡°What about the old man?¡± Michael asked, ¡°do you not trust him?¡± ¡°I am less wary of him,¡± she said. Travis feigned offense at that, but did not mind. Old Dave returned soon after, bringing the two heads of security in tow. Trevor took the news that Michael was the boss in stride, already having pieced together enough to make his own deductions. Jennifer did not, and apologized profusely for her earlier behaviour. Michael waved her apologies away, telling her that it was her job to be wary of outsiders and always on high alert. Then, they came upon the subject of magic. ¡°Can you show me?¡± Jennifer asked after they were done giving her the much-sanitized version of the story. Michael snapped his fingers, and a small flame appeared above his index finger. ¡°Well, this is not¡ª¡± Then the flame expanded into a roaring inferno that enveloped his hands and arms, the flickering flames sending tongues of fire up towards the ceiling of the prefab building. Then they were gone as quickly as they came. ¡°Now shoot me,¡± he said. Even though her hand went to her gun, she did not unholster it. Instead, she scanned the room with an unsure gaze, the request enough to throw off the seasoned woman. She grew more confused as she saw that nobody in the room was worried in the slightest, until she finally steeled herself and drew the gun. She fired. Michael was ready for it, after having trained against guns quite intensely. His new stats were more than enough to let him react to the close-quarter shot, and a [Distortion Field] sphere appeared between him and the bullet, angled so that the ricochet would not hit anyone. There was stunned silence for a long moment. ¡°Impossible,¡± Jennifer muttered. Trevor, on the other hand, was shaking his head. It was as if a sudden wariness had overtaken him, and it took a few moments for him to shake the sensation off. After the initial shock, they talked business. Both Trevor and Jennifer were professionals, able to quickly adapt after their initial surprise at seeing that magic was real. Johanne also contributed to the conversation, showing her quick thinking and great intellect as she was able to understand and adapt to novel concepts that to her must have felt more alien than magic had to the others. Then they were finally done. Michael slumped on the tiny, uncomfortable sofa that had been for some reason brought to the corridor leading outside. Johanne was discussing some last details with Travis, and the heads of security were back to their jobs, now much more alert. Old Dave lingered for a moment at the threshold, before sighing. ¡°What about the woman you brought out?¡± Old Dave asked. ¡°What about her? You¡¯ve seen her. She¡¯s smart and committed. Plus, she gave me her oath.¡± ¡°The magical oath that binds the soul, yeah,¡± said the man, ¡°Do you want us to swear as well?¡± he asked, exchanging a look with Travis. The CEO had come out of the other room but did not seem nearly as uncomfortable as Michael expected him to be. ¡°No,¡± he said, ¡°and even if I wanted you to, I don¡¯t currently have the capacity for two more oaths. I trust you, and if what Travis said about his company is true¡ª ¡°It is. I¡¯ve seen the paperwork.¡± ¡°Then I know he¡¯s for real. I will not say I¡¯m sorry for doubting your intentions even after all we¡¯ve been through, though.¡± ¡°You know neither I nor Mr Tyrell would want you to.¡± ¡°Right. Back to Johanne, though. We are going to need to find a place for her.¡± ¡°She can go to your place for now.¡± Said Old Dave as if it was the most natural thing in the world for Michael to have a gorgeous woman, who had sworn to always serve him until the end of time, come to live in his cramped apartment. ¡°I¡­ guess it can work for the time being.¡± He conceded. It wasn¡¯t like they had other options unless he wanted her to sleep in a the shipping container with the guns and ammo. ¡°But my apartment is too cramped to live comfortably.¡± ¡°Not like you spend any time there!¡± Rebutted the old man, ¡°besides, it¡¯s just a matter of time before the road is completed and we can drag a couple containers close to the dungeon. What¡¯s a couple more after all, right? We already have what, five around here? Come on. A quick refit and you can move there, old house forgotten. Just be patient.¡± *** ¡°Aaaand it¡¯s over,¡± Michael said, throwing his bag on the bed. ¡°What is this place? Is this your residence?¡± Johanne asked. She had been pleasantly surprised by the ¡®metal horse¡¯ they took to get here, as well as the deference with which the driver, Bob, had addressed Michael. Everything else, she took mostly in stride. She had not seen enough of the modern world to truly be surprised yet, Michael felt, even though her reactions were more subdued than he would have expected. Perhaps as someone used to magic, she did not find the concept of technology to be so alien. ¡°Yep. I live here. Hopefully not for much longer.¡± ¡°I should hope so,¡± she said scornfully, ¡°this is not a residence fit for someone of your stature.¡± ¡°I fear that you will have to bear with it for a bit longer.¡± ¡°What about the container house your underlings talked about? Will it be completed soon?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Michael said, ¡°it won¡¯t be much of an upgrade. It¡¯s just a temporary measure made for me to be closer to the dungeon until I get something more permanent done.¡± ¡°Umph,¡± Johanne¡­ pouted? ¡°I shall drop the matter for now.¡± ¡°Right. You can sleep on my bed tonight. I will sleep on the floor.¡± ¡°What? It is most unacceptable!¡± she said, reverting to more archaic forms of speech as she worked herself up. What followed was a long discussion, at the end of which Michael ordered Johanne to stop trying to sleep on the floor herself, and that was the end of it. ¡°Here, let me teach you how to use this,¡± he said, pointing at his smartphone, ¡°it¡¯s like one of the most important parts of the modern world, after all.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± Johanne asked as she examined the thing, ¡°your world is strange, but strangest of all is your devotion to glowing panes of glass. Is this another such thing?¡± Thus, began a long explanation of the wonders of the internet. ¡°To think,¡± Johanne muttered, ¡°that you live in a state of perpetual connection to this¡­ internet. The wealth of information at your fingertips is staggering. The possibility to send a call capable of reaching all human beings, should you want to. It is hard to wrap my head around it.¡± Chapter 61 Chapter 61 That night, Michael slept fitfully. It was an unexpected thing, especially after many days spent in the dungeon with not even a hint of a bad dream. It was as if the spirits themselves were encroaching upon his mind, coming from other planes of existence and from the mana in the air itself. It was a stifling, claustrophobic sensation, with Michael drowning in a sea of Gold-rank mana that had enveloped the Earth itself. There were things in the mana, answers to questions and dreadful horrors, sleeping giants that threatened the universe if they ever woke up. Then his eyes snapped open, and he was awake once more. He took a deep breath of mana-deprived air, the final reminder that what he had seen and felt was just a dream and not reality. Still, it made him anxious about the future and what it might mean for humanity. He almost texted Travis to ask the man about the progress with the company and especially the Candle Light division, but he knew that it was a pointless question that would only betray his immaturity. What could the man have done overnight? Nothing, because Michael did not expect Travis to skip sleep over this. ¡°Good morning, my lord,¡± a surprisingly alert voice snapped him out of his contemplations. ¡°Johanne,¡± he replied in a much sleepier tone, and it took a round of self-healing to get rid of the morning stiffness he got from sleeping on the floor, ¡°good morning to you.¡± ¡°Here,¡± she said as she gave him his phone, ¡°thanks for lending me this. I had to keep it plugged to the wall charger all night, for the wretched device was complaining about a low battery. Stupid iPhones. Apple should really let go of their plan to make the devices obsolete ahead of time.¡± ¡°Hey, I like iPhones!¡± Michael said almost automatically. ¡°Wait, where did you hear about iPhones? Did you stay up all night?¡± ¡°I have,¡± she said proudly, ¡°I took the time to study your culture through this internet you introduced me to last night. It truly is most fascinating, trumping even my wildest expectations. There, I found a wealth of knowledge beyond the greatest of libraries. But, most of all, I came to learn of the method with which your culture has achieved its current heights: the scientific method!¡± There was fire in her voice, and it was hard for Michael not to be infected by the sheer emotion. ¡°Oh yeah, science, I want to use it to study magic.¡± ¡°Of course, it is only to be expected for my lord to reach such conclusions. I was wondering why such a project was not already underway, and I had thought that perhaps the idea had not come to you, I apologize for thinking so little of you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t think of that,¡± he began. ¡°We are trialling the approach with Dr Kavins, a scientist who studies healing arts basically. I want to see how that goes before going wider, the risk is too high.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Johanne nodded, ¡°you do not wish for the knowledge of arcane arts to spread beyond your control. A wise move. Despite the risks however, I cannot help but be excited. What heights of magic could we reach, I wonder, if we could be allowed to study it with a method so powerful? Could I ever hope to catch up to you and finally be able to be useful to you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk like that. You are plenty useful.¡± ¡°This is no laughing matter.¡± She shook her head, ¡°if I catch up, then I will be able to lift you higher. I can see your unease, and learning of your world has made me realize its dangers. I was also approached by your mentor, David, yesterday while you discussed some things with the one you call Travis. We had an enlightening conversation, and we reached the conclusion that you need to grow stronger as quickly as possible, before the world changes. To that end, science can be a powerful thing.¡± ¡°I¡­ see. You¡¯re right. We are already planning the next stage: to have actual scientists of all fields work for us. We just need to recruit them, make sure they are on our side and actually build the labs they will be working in.¡± ¡°David said very similar things. I agree. We must find more like-minded people. Scientists who we know can keep secrets. To that end, I took the liberty of making a group chat with the one you labelled as ¡®Old Dave Pawn Shop¡¯ and the one you labelled as ¡®Travis Tyrell Petro-something¡¯ on your contact list. I believed them to be David and Travis from yesterday, and I was proven correct.¡± ¡°So many things going on behind my back nowadays¡­¡± Michael muttered. ¡°It is only normal, my lord. You are the leader of a growing organization, it is most important. You cannot be expected to run things alone. There are competent people working hard to make your vision come to life. If you allow me to voice a selfish request, I believe I would be most useful if you provided me with a phone of my own. I cannot pay for it myself, but I swear to work hard to repay the growing debt I have towards you.¡± ¡°Nonsense,¡± Michael said, ¡°let¡¯s go do some shopping. Forget the phone, you also need clothes and shoes and¡­ why do you have a list?¡± ¡°I did not waste time, my lord.¡± She said with a smile. ¡°The internet is quite useful indeed. I find that my talent for magic has translated very well into talent for technology.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. *** Back on the second floor, almost a full day had passed for the denizens of the now pacified land under Michael¡¯s control. The monsters had done multiple runs of the first floor to vent their need for battle and to train, emboldened by the fact that they could come back to life if they died. The dungeon was an unfair place for them, because it did not adjust its difficulty in the slightest, instead presenting the same set of dangers to all the Fae without consideration for their strength. ¡°Make a note,¡± Michael told Johanne, who was there with him, ¡°if we ever find volunteers, I want to test a theory. Did Travis tell you about the bureaucrat who went missing?¡± ¡°David did, actually, my lord. What about him?¡± ¡°He went in and survived. I wondered, how did he do that? The thing is, we have no data about other people delving the first floor alone, and no way to see what¡¯s going on there. My current theory is that the dungeon gives first-timers a powerful spell to counteract the increased difficulty.¡± ¡°But,¡± Johanne caught on, ¡°scientific method dictates that we test this theory. I shall make a note to find suitable volunteers, my lord.¡± Then it was the goblin general¡¯s time to report. ¡°The glacier is now under out control, my liege. We are moving troops towards the desert as we speak. Meanwhile,¡± the goblin rubbed his hands, ¡°sweeping changes have come across the army now that the Fae are learning about their immortality. Some of the weaker Fae, who have always known that weakness was their sin, have taken to dying over and over to the monsters of the first floor until they grew strong enough to complete it. A commendable feat.¡± However, according to Drullkrin, they were reaching the point of diminishing returns from the first floor now that the difficulty wasn¡¯t ramping up anymore. A thing which Michael confirmed. It wasn¡¯t just the Fae runs that weren¡¯t making a difference, not even his own repeated attempts were increasing the dangers anymore, confirming Theobond¡¯s theory that the floor had reached saturation. The Fae were fighting with all sorts of handicaps to make the fights harder, but it was clear that soon it would be time to delve deeper and into the third floor of the dungeon. Michael tried to ask the king in the castle about it, but the blue humanoid was tight lipped. It was clear that he knew something, but he could not share for fear of the dungeon¡¯s retribution. At last all the runs the monsters had done¡ªit turned out that many parties could delve at once in parallel without interfering with one another¡ªnet Michael a veritable wealth of coins, random assorted loot and two common skill stones. The random assorted loot was of the non-magical variety, like the trinkets he used to bring back to the pawn shop back in his first days of dungeoneering. It was set aside to be taken out of the dungeon and sold, some of it through the pawn shop to make Mustang happy, and some of it through other means. Speaking of Mustang, he had been disciplined by his boss¡ªwhom he had thought now absent from the business¡ªand the fat man seemed to be back on the straight and narrow. The skill stones were too useless to be absorbed by Michael. Or rather, even though there was no useless ability, they were weak enough that he could set them aside for experimentation. He wanted to see if other people could absorb them or just him, and then he wanted to study how they were made. While the first task only required a willing participant, the second would have to wait until he had a lab and scientists working in it. It turned out that yes, other people could absorb skill stones. That was how Old Dave found himself with [Stone Skin], a passive bonus to his toughness, and [Night Vision]. It went a bit against Michael¡¯s tenets, because the skill stones were not something that the old man had earned through hard work, but it wasn¡¯t like Michael would ever ask the man to risk his hide going through the dungeon. Besides, even though Old Dave was not fighting monsters, he was more than pulling his weight and Michael felt that the skill stones were rightfully earned. Finally there were the coins. Michael had more than enough to make a gold coin now, which he promptly did. Much like silver-grade coins were full of Qi and had traces of intent, the golden-hued ones were filled with intent, as well as the lower tiers of energies, and had traces of another sort of energy Michael was not familiar with. No doubt it would be the missing piece to understanding the tier beyond rare skill stones: Epic-rarity stones. Having never seen one, however, he had not enough data to level his [Magic Sense] up. That¡¯s how, after all was done, Michael found himself lazily flipping a mana coin in the air. His control through [Mana Manipulation] allowed him to turn the coin into a thin cloud of mana that swirled and moved according to his thoughts. He made shapes out of it, and even though they were hazy and barely cohesive, he found the exercise relaxing. It even helped him understand the skill better, his control increasing with each little ring or deformed silhouette of a monster he willed the mana to shape itself into. Too bad only he could see the mana. The Fae couldn¡¯t, nor could people unless they had a mana sensing ability. Johanne could, but she was away training. Michael made the mana return to a coin-shape, which was the only stable form that prevented the mana from dispersing in the air. Wait a minute, he thought, what if I could create more coins? I could literally have an infinite number of them thanks to my increased regeneration. He, of course, didn¡¯t have a shortage thanks to the efforts of the Fae, but more was always better. He tucked away the coin and willed some mana to come into existence from his mana pool. It didn¡¯t move. Or rather, it only moved as far as Michael¡¯s own aura extended and no more. Trying to squeeze said aura did not result in a coin either, but mana was being expended. To do what? He fed more mana to his aura, squeezing. His manipulation skill was high enough to make the exercise not trivial, but easy. In the end, after much effort, something clinked to the ground. A crystal. A mana crystal. Michael¡¯s cheers were short lived. The crystal seemed to be totally inert and, vexingly, its solid mana was impossible to return to a gaseous state. Not even the magical stones the golems of the stone region of the valley kept giving him as a tithe were this useless. True, he still didn¡¯t have a use for them, but it had more to do with his priorities rather than the stones themselves. He would ask Johanne to handle it. Seeing the solid mana however gave him and idea. What if he tried to make liquid mana? No matter how hard he tried, nothing came out of his aura but crystals. He even tried to make coins out of the ambient mana in the air, thinking that perhaps he could use his ability to manipulate mana outside of his body and not from his mana pool to make some coins, but it did not work. After several hours, he had to call it a day. Chapter 62 Chapter 62 The next day, Michael was back in the dungeon. Real life felt hazy at times, compared to here, where everything was more vibrant and real. Only around the dungeon, where mana was spreading, and inside of it did reality feel solid. Michael pondered over these questions as he walked around the valley. Soon he would have to explore deeper, he knew, and he couldn¡¯t delay it much longer. Because, even though they felt less solid due to their lack of mana, the problems in the real world were very much real. The workers were still reporting about a strange blur in the shape of a man lurking at the edge of perception, approaching the cave and then leaving ten minutes later. Travis was banging his head against a wall to try and make sense of the intelligence he was getting from his spies, not to mention the fact that he still hadn¡¯t gotten over the bureaucrat managing to escape his grasp. By now it was clear that Carmela had gotten to the man, which increased the likely number of powered individuals under her control to two. Potentially more, now that Michael had proved that he could give his dungeon rewards to other people and turn them into powered individuals as well. What if she had an army of them? They would be individually weaker, but¡­ ¡°It is very much possible,¡± said Johanne as he expressed his worries to her, ¡°you should have told me earlier, my lord. I shall leave immediately to deal with the situation. It cannot be allowed to fester.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty,¡± replied Michael, ¡°do you not remember that time doesn¡¯t pass while we are in here?¡± besides, what was she going to do about it? Johanne flushed red for a moment, ¡°I had forgotten about it in my rage, forgive me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± he said. Sitting on a boulder, he considered the situation. In the end, all he could do was move forward. Train, grow powerful. They had tried to catch the strange man lurking in his property, but not even he could do more than grasp at empty air while the blur streaked far away, never getting close enough to even see who it was. Travis had tried to disrupt Carmela¡¯s network, but she had become a seemingly impregnable fortress now. He still had covert agents in her organization, and one of them was trying to insert himself into a position from where he could be made privy of her plans, but it was slow work that couldn¡¯t be done in only a week. Short of assassinating her, there was nothing to do but wait. And Michael hated being powerless before a challenge. Perhaps I should assassinate her, after all. Travis¡¯ power would be perfect for the task. Michael had killed before, but it had only been in self-defense, and it had made him feel sick afterwards to the point he still sometimes had nightmares about it. Besides, assassinating someone like her wouldn¡¯t be so simple as to have Travis teleport where she was and shoot her in the head. First, would Travis really do it? Would me asking him to kill her change our relationship? Is it worth it? And then, what if she doesn¡¯t die? What if she got some powers of her own that allow her to escape with her life? What if she has plans in case of her death? What if¡­ His thoughts drifted for a long time, and eventually he found himself thinking about things that were not at all related to the Carmela situation. For instance, even though no sound could make it into the dungeon, Michael still felt like he could hear the roar of the chainsaws and the ground shaking as the bulldozers and crews tore down centennial trees and flattened the terrain for the gravel road. Unfortunately, even with billions of dollars and powerful backing, moving gigantic trees to make way for the road wasn¡¯t really possible. He had never expected the scene of deforestation to have such an impact on his mind before seeing it with his own eyes, but now he couldn¡¯t help but feel a knot in his throat. Much to the crew¡¯s chagrin¡ªwhich was mitigated when they realized that they would be paid a handsome extra¡ªhe had asked them to keep as many big trees alive as possible. Those directly in the path of the road were to be taken down, but they would be keeping the older and larger trees around the cave where they were flattening the ground in preparation for the construction of his house. They would have to plan around such trees, but money wasn¡¯t an issue and Michael was all for sustainability anyway. It still didn¡¯t feel like enough, but it was all he could do in such a short amount of time. Later on, he would replant and buy land to make nature reserves, because if he couldn¡¯t even do that with all the power he was amassing, then was good was it? The Candle Light division would be the perfect means to that end, a sort of black box where all the random endeavors of the Unity corporation could be put without people asking too many questions. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Johanne approached him again as he was making [Distortion Field]s appear and disappear in quick succession, trying to glimpse at the deeper magic and elemental energies involved in the uncommon-ranked skill. Why was it called field when it only manifested as a sphere, for instance? ¡°You use mana in a strange way¡± She said, a conflicted expression on her face. ¡°I do?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see past your shroud but¡­ from what I see what your mana never leaves your shroud,¡± she said. The shroud must be my aura. ¡°Should it?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡­ think so, my lord. My understanding of magic might be incomplete, but how are you manipulating the world if mana does not leave your body?¡± ¡°I use magic through skills,¡± he explained. ¡°Remember the skill stones the dungeon drops? That¡¯s how I learned how to do magic. There¡¯s other systems too. Travis has cards, for instance.¡± ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Johanne muttered. ¡°I truly was but an ignorant bumpkin, thinking I knew about magic.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. I think yours is the proper way. I would never have learned skills without the dungeon.¡± ¡°But you can create them, my lord, can you not?¡± Michael nodded, ¡°I can, yes.¡± ¡°What about cards, can they also be created?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, we need to test that.¡± ¡°We shall, once we have a science division. I will talk to David about hastening the process, or perhaps Mister Tyrell.¡± ¡°Anyway,¡± Michael said, ¡°I want to see if I can learn your way of casting. Show me a spell, please.¡± She did, and he immediately noticed that unlike him, she expelled mana outside of her aura and weaved it in a pattern. ¡°I see. Spells are fixed patterns of mana manipulation to produce effect.¡± He tried to manipulate ambient and coin mana, but nothing happened even when he managed to copy the spell weave. ¡°You are correct, but only partially,¡± Johanne said, ¡°the mana needs to be yours for the effect to happen.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. You¡¯re also using a sliver of intent to fuel the spell. But¡­¡± he struggled extracting Intent from a gold-rank coin to no avail. It seemed that truly he needed to use his own, but like with mana he failed to make it leave his aura. ¡°Forget intent, I can¡¯t even make mana leave my body.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you are encountering such difficulty,¡± she said, and her tone was like she was blaming herself for his failures, ¡°however, your skills follow a completely different system. It could be due to a limitation of such system. Mana leaves my aura just fine, after all, and yours doesn¡¯t look any different.¡± Michael hummed to himself, deep in thought. ¡°At this point, I think you might be correct. But if I find a way to learn a skill to project mana outside of my body¡­ Mana projection perhaps? Then I will be able to cast all sorts of spells!¡± ¡°They are not easy to learn, my lord,¡± Johanne warned. ¡°Then I only need to train more. My mind stats are unlocked, after all. There¡¯s no limit to how much I can grow if I find the right way to train.¡± Nodding to himself, he was almost satisfied when he noticed something else. He only saw it because he was looking at Johanne with his magic sense, trained on her like the eyes of a hawk to see her magic and aura. ¡°I see you are using some mana all the time Johanne. More spells? It¡¯s not structured, though, so it can¡¯t be spells.¡± ¡°Indeed you are very observant, my lord. I use mana in its unbound form to alleviate some discomforts, like keeping away insects, or avoiding getting muck on my shoes.¡± Michael¡¯s jaw dropped as a fire was lit in his eyes. ¡°Unbound mana? Can you teach me?¡± ¡°Of course. But first you need to learn how to project mana outside of your shroud.¡± ¡°Damn.¡± *** Michael got up and stretched. ¡°Are you sure you want to do this? The third floor could be deadly, and you look distracted.¡± Johanne nodded, ¡°I shall school my thoughts before battle, do not worry.¡± ¡°Alright, and the others?¡± ¡°Drullkrin is waiting for you at the stairs together with a stone golem who volunteered.¡± Michael was pleasantly surprised to see that the stone golem in question was the same one who had accompanied him in his expedition into the glacier. ¡°Hey big guy, you¡¯re back!¡± The golem rumbled something akin to a verbal nod. ¡°Indeed he is, my liege,¡± said Drullkrin, ¡°too bad the chimera and flying fox were too coward to accompany us. Do they fear true death?¡± ¡°Is it a possibility?¡± Michael asked, surprised. ¡°That¡¯s the feeling we get from even just looking at the stairs, my lord. At least until we clear the third floor, I think it will be a risk that we face.¡± ¡°Are you sure you want to come?¡± Michael asked, addressing his whole party. ¡°You don¡¯t have to risk your life for this.¡± ¡°We are sure,¡± responded the goblin, ¡°we are not so cowardly as to turn our backs to you at the first sight of danger.¡± ¡°Indeed my lord,¡± said Johanne, ¡°of all of us, you are the centerpiece, not us. In fact, I wonder if perhaps you could be convinced to stay here and let us explore the third floor on your behalf.¡± ¡°Hard no,¡± said Michael. ¡°If this is enough to make me quit, then I might as well just never delve again. No, this is what I¡¯m meant to do. Overcome impossible odds through strength born of my hard work.¡± The others nodded, galvanized and motivated by his impromptu speech. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± He said, and without much hesitation stepped through the threshold leading down to the third floor of the dungeon. Chapter 63 Chapter 63 Travis Tyrell, CEO of PetroLink Global, now a subsidiary of Unity Corp, paced around his spacious downtown office. He had just finished convincing the board of directors that yes, renouncing their independence to go under the control of a newly made, small, insignificant company with no assets owned by a nobody was in their best interest. And not just that, but also that they would have to figure out how to go about it and make it work, else they be booted out of the company altogether. To be fair, the benefits he offered them, with Michael¡¯s approval of course, were nothing short of staggering. By now word had gotten out of what happened to people who went to Saint Hernest medical care facility, and telling someone that they had guaranteed spots there for themselves and their family was like promising them nigh-immortality from all but old age. And Travis knew, old age wouldn¡¯t be a problem for much longer if Dr Kavins report was to be believed. Other coercive methods had also helped perhaps even more so than money and shares and the promise of good health. Where positive incentive failed, the opposite almost always succeeded to the point where a combination of the two was basically invincible. Being able to uncover secrets about people by snooping around their homes, now that Travis had learned to teleport without setting the nearby furniture on fire, was not something to be underestimated. Hell, he had even tried to use said power to aid his investigations on that odious woman Carmela. It had backfired splendidly, the blurry man on him in a matter of moments, forcing him to expend an emergency charge to get out of dodge quickly. This at least confirmed his suspicions: the man worked for her. I need to ask Michael for more coins, and I need to tell him it¡¯s time we deal with the Carmela situation. I refuse to be defeated by that woman. We are a fucking megacorporation, for fucks sake. He kept pacing around the large meeting table. His secretary, who could see him through the glass pane that separated her room from the meeting room, had joked that he was digging a moat with all his walking. These days, it seemed like walking around the table had become a staple of his time in his downtown office. Ever since he met Michael his mundane problems had been replaced by much worse problems, it seemed. And yet, he couldn¡¯t help but feel excitement coursing through his veins like the lightning of his magic card. The future might be dangerous and scary, but it sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to be boring. He looked at the stack of papers sitting on the glass table. It was a thick binder, with a huge stamp in angry, dangerous red that read: ¡°REDACTED¡± at the top. Currently, only a few people could be allowed to read said documents, under threat of death or imprisonment. It was a short list consisting of himself, his secretary Linda, Old Dave and his secretary, Michael, Johanne, Trevor and Jennifer from the security division of Unity. Who would enforce death or imprisonment? Himself, for now. But the security division of Unity was being formed and would take over as soon as possible. The security division would also be the arm with which Unity would exert control over the world. Under the guise of nothing else but the charity division: Candle Light. Michael had been genius when he came up with the idea, the potential of such an arrangement limitless. Candle Light would operate in the light, doing help and charity where it was needed. Of course, it would also be a smokescreen so that the security division could sweep in and actually get to work where it was needed, containing magical phenomena before they could spread to public awareness. In the changing world, secrecy was paramount. Securing the resources, using them for Unity¡¯s benefit and containing the dangerous ones was the next logical step. Even should secrecy become impossible, they had to ensure Unity¡¯s iron control over all matters magical as soon as possible. In such events, Candle Light was even more important. By making sure the public saw just how much effort Unity was expending through its Candle Light division to make sure they were safe, that all dangers were contained and that whatever knowledge they gained would be used for the betterment of mankind, Unity¡¯s reputation would soar. Travis¡¯ attention returned to the dossier on his table. Michael had been wrong in his assumption about the mana leaking out of the dungeon, and Travis had only found out about it by accident. The affected area was not a circle around the dungeon but an ellipse, and its tail was about to reach a small town. This dossier would be, together with his spoken report, the proof of concept that the new division was the perfect cover for supernatural operations. He picked it up. *** Candle Light: CL-001, ¡°Area of Influence¡± Magic Class: Copper. Danger Rating: Iron. Containment: Containment of CL-001 is currently unfeasible. Continuous monitoring protocols have been established, however they require technology or powered personnel we do not currently possess. Description: CL-001, designated "Area of Influence," is an anomalous region with an elliptical shape centered at coordinates ¨€¨€.¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€, -¨€¨€.¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€. The area is influenced by CL-000, an anomaly located at the southern focus of the ellipse. See file CL-000, ¡°Entrance to Hell¡±, for more information. Due to this influence, the affected area exhibits continuous expansion. Within the confines of CL-001, the ambient concentration of mana is significantly elevated, currently peaking at 12 Copper units per cubic meter in proximity to CL-000. The distribution and gradient of mana concentration across the area are detailed in Document CL-001.01. Current data is insufficient to create a model predicting the increase in mana levels. Due to insufficient detection technology, existing measurements are considered inaccurate and outdated. Pending Tasks: Inhabitants of CL-001 include ethereal entities classified as CL-001-01. These entities exhibit free movement within the influenced area but are unable to traverse its boundaries or interact with physical matter. Continued surveillance and experimental trials are planned to further understand the nature and limitations of CL-001-01. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ADDENDUM CL-001.01: it is estimated that [REDACTED] will come under the effect of CL-001 as soon as August 3rd 2023. Necessary action is being planned and will require involvement of Level-0-Operator ¡°Owner¡± as well as Level-1-Operator ¡°Fleeting Man¡± on standby. *** Travis put the rest of the report down. Pages upon pages, written by him personally documenting his findings, his exploration of the affected area, and towards the end of the document, his theories and plans should things take an unexpected turn. There were plans should the area reach a population center, should the beings inside the mana cloud turn hostile, and more. This was going to be the template with which the Candle Light division would operate, in tandem with the Security division, to ensure that Michael¡¯s vision could be made into reality: to protect the people and use whatever they learned for the betterment of the human race. No, Travis thought with a frown, for all sentient races. Michael had been clear on that point. Even though Travis had never personally encountered another sentient being yet, Michael had mentioned their existence on the second floor of the dungeon, which he still liked to call Hell for sentimental purposes, and his wording led Travis to believe that there might be a way for them to leave the dungeon altogether. He sighed. This was going to make his work much harder. But, as the head of the Candle Light division, he would find a way to make it work. Hopefully Michael would not get strange ideas like take goblins out of the dungeon and let them settle somewhere on Earth and hope for the best. Not without a plan, and not before Travis had a chance to cement Candle Light as a benefactor in the eyes of the whole world. There were other dossiers on the table as well. Michael had mentioned wanting charity projects, and that¡¯s exactly what Travis was bending his considerable resources towards. However, they were not just random charity projects. No, all that Candle Light did had to be for the good of Unity, otherwise it would be a waste of money. For now, he was starting small. Find promising young people who were in a bad point in life, for a reason or another, and give them a helping hand. Free of charge, free of legal strings. It was the emotional strings that mattered. There was a lead problem in the piping of that small rural town? No problem, let it be known that Candle Light is paying for the new pipes. What did they want in return? Nothing, but perhaps one day Unity might look into buying property around town, and perhaps said property might see a couple labs built underground that need staffing. Who knows? Deforestation? Unity would buy the land and replant the trees. Why not invest in underground hydro and aeroponic farms while at it? Nobody would need to know about the labs three levels below the farms. There was a dire need for water wells in a tiny village in Zambia. No problem, Candle Light had money to move heaven and earth. In return? Nothing, we love seeing the future potential of the village realized. In fact, why not give your village electricity, running water, a school and a connection to the internet? Thanks to Travis, Unity Corp had money to do that and more, and the future development of the land, by Unity, would return the investment a thousand-fold. It would be unreasonable to think that spending money on random things like that made any sense for any company. But Candle Light was not a division of a normal company. There was no telling what Michael might need in the future as he brought magic out of the dungeon, and thus Travis made sure to grab a little bit of everything. Set plans in motion. The useful ones would be developed, the others? There was no true waste, for even the ¡®useless¡¯ investments were a good way to improve Unity¡¯s brand image. Travis imagined it. A new company, coming out of nowhere. They take over an oil megacorp and begin using their money for good. They do a lot of charity, change a lot of lives for the better. They even save the local businesses who were in a rough patch, offering to buy their debt without replacing anyone working there. Then, one day, Unity announces this big new revolutionary product. Based on some sketchy tech that might or might not be magic. But Unity¡¯s reputation is so good, they even turned an evil oil corporation into a benefactor! How could the population not be willing to at least give them a try? Depending on what Michael came up with, Travis would adjust course. Good plans, and Travis was loving every second of it. No matter the little moat he was digging on the ground around the large glass table. *** ¡°Mr Naoshida, come on in!¡± said Travis, getting up from his Herman Miller chair at the head of the glass table. ¡°Would you like a refreshment?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take some water, thank you,¡± the middle aged man said. He looked older than he was, with the way his greying hair contrasted with his bright blue business suit. Travis made a mental note about offering the man rejuvenation treatment at Saint Hernest. It did not add to lifespan, but it increased healthspan by a considerable margin, Old Dave being the living proof. ¡°Mister Chestermill vouched for you, Mister Tyrell, but I find myself wondering: what would make me so interesting to you that you would be willing to fly me here all the way from Japan?¡± Travis¡¯ smile was predatory. ¡°You deal in military technology, Mr Naoshida, don¡¯t you? We have a mutual acquaintance, I believe, other than David of course. Carmela Esposito? Was she not the one who put you in touch with the miracle doctor who had your daughter cured?¡± The man¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I have been instructed not to have dealings with that woman anymore, and to consider my debt repaid. I know who you work for, Mister Tyrell. The man at the head, what you called the miracle doctor. Do you perhaps mean to say that such debt is still there?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± said Travis, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare. We at Unity believe in strong moral integrity above all. The CEO, you have met him, you know his type. You had our word, and thus your debt is paid. However,¡± he trailed off for a moment, ¡°we are interested in your company.¡± ¡°Not even you have the kind of money required to buy me out of my own company, tycoon. Keep your oil money, I am not interested in dirty cash.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Travis did not let any expression appear on his face, ¡°strong words coming from you. But I will pretend not to have heard, is just an unfortunate misunderstanding after all, Mr Naoshida. I will pretend not to have heard of your insult, and instead show you what I mean by our interest.¡± He slid a stack of papers across the table, then pretended to be interested in the vista while the other man read through it. ¡°This,¡± Mr Naoshida began. Travis unclasped his hands from his back as he turned away from the window but did not take his seat. ¡°This is unbelievable. Had I not witnessed it myself¡­¡± ¡°That is precisely why I had you fly all the way here from Japan.¡± The man took a deep breath. ¡°Mutual cooperation. Tell me if I understood it correctly, mister Tyrell. You wish for us to supply your many divisions with technology the world¡ªyou in particular¡ªshouldn¡¯t even know exists yet, and in exchange you are willing to offer us first pickings on any magical technology you come up with?¡± ¡°Second pickings,¡± Travis said, ¡°Unity always comes first. And there are strings attached. I believe you should be made aware of it. Consider it a personal favor of mine.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± the man said without breaking composure, ¡°I can read the fine print. Especially with how you somehow seem to know secrets I have not shared even with my closest collaborators. Very well, I shall think about it.¡± ¡°Be quick about it,¡± said Travis, ¡°you might think the CEO is a na?ve man for it, but he is very hands off with his company. He knows his limits, and thus lets others do the work for him. Neither I nor Mr Chestermill are of the patient sort, however, so consider the matter carefully.¡± With that, Mr Naoshida was dismissed. The man left with naught a word, and Travis watched him enter his limo and be driven off to the airport, back to Japan. He¡¯s ours, he thought. He came here all the way from Japan. We might have paid for the trip, but he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars just from the waste of time alone. He will say yes. Chapter 64 Chapter 64 The third floor was similar to the first floor. However, while the first was made of a series of dark caves in sequence, leading to the boss room, the third was a collection of rooms. They were carved out of sandstone, and connected via a series of tortuous corridors that confused the senses. Torches lit the space with an flickering warm light, and motes of elemental fire and light wafted up from them and towards the ceiling. Moss-covered statues, ruined beyond recognition, stood watch in small alcoves dug in the stone, Earth and Plant/Nature elemental energy swirling about them. Compared to the second floor, the valley, the elements were much more rarified here, but this only made it easier for Michael to detect them, no longer having to squint his metaphorical eye to see them. The same couldn¡¯t be said for Unity energy. He could not feel it at all, not even beginning to fathom its very existence, as if it resided on a plane of comprehension that was utterly alien to him. He could feel the skill light up gradually as he killed the monsters, and sometimes even at random times whenever he did something that the skill considered ¡®significant¡¯, but even with this insight he failed to detect the energy itself. He had no idea where it came from, what it did, or how it worked. His only insight was that without it, there was no way for his [Unity] skill to level up. Michael¡¯s party consisted of him, Johanne, Drullkrin and the unnamed golem who had accompanied him during his expedition in the glacier in search of the Ice King. They explored and mapped the area, fighting the mummified enemies they came across with increasingly deadly efficiency the more they learned to work together, grinding room after room. The loot was decent, but Michael was beginning to hit diminishing rewards, especially after getting used to the ludicrous rewards he got from the challenge second floor. He got a skill stone here and there, upgrade stones he could only use for specific skill, and a single new common skill stone for a skill he did not need. The first upgrade was used for [Presence] which, now at level three, was admittedly useful in a fight. Its range was now 15 meters and its effect was stronger. The other was for [Marksman], making his water bullets deadlier and his side weapon, a gun, actually decent against weaker enemies. He still had the problem of having limited ammo whenever he used a gun, and against a floor as big as the third it mattered a lot. The skill stone he chose to keep, so that he could give it to the scientists as soon as the lab was built. It was for a skill called [Soothing Rain], an area of effect skill that was probably only good for watering fields and improving the mood of a city. A good support skill, and one that would be needed if his plans for the land were to go through, but it was only incentive not to absorb it himself. He would find someone else to take the burden for him, pretending it was a reward they got. At least he could pay them well if their job was too boring. Progress through the floor was easy with their diversified party. The golem was excellent at drawing aggro, and could also deliver deadly blows with its stone limbs. Michael switched between ranged and melee attacks, making use of his less-used skills like [Presence] and [Voice of Command] to control the flow of battle. [Distortion Sphere] was still his go-to skill of choice, and it felt more satisfying than ever now that he could move the bubble around. But he did not let the ease with which he dispatched of his enemies using the little black sphere make him neglect his other skills. In the back of his mind, the man-shaped blur that plagued his property and usurped his dungeon was growing to be a real danger. After the destruction of the trail cams, Michael had done nothing but ignore its presence. The blur, on its part, did not attack either. Whoever it was seemed just content to use the dungeon¡¯s first floor and leave soon after without interacting with anyone. All this had led to Michael growing complacent with the issue, as if it was not a big deal. But now that the road was nearing completion and plans were moving forward, the man usurping his property could not be ignored anymore. What if the blur got to the second floor? In fact, how could Michael know whether the man had already gotten there or not? After all, one could descend after beating the first boss. Would the blur get a challenge floor like he did, or just a normal floor? The valley was tied to him, so there was no way the blur could access it¡ªhe didn¡¯t know how he was so sure of it, as if the dungeon had deposited that information into his mind. But this also meant that there was no way to monitor the man¡¯s progress unless he got to the third floor. At that point, Michael would notice the floor getting increasingly harder and know for sure. This was, however, his first delve this deep and thus he had no reference points. He instructed Drullkrin to keep an eye on the floor when he returned here to train, and that was that. As it happens, human minds are not rational. Now that Michael had brought his attention to the problem, it had gone from being background noise to being a thorn in his side that he couldn¡¯t wait to be rid of. At the same time, dangers and issues associated with the man¡¯s presence began to pop up in his mind, making Michael curse himself for being too na?ve in ignoring the threat. Sure, he had rationalized it away by saying ¡®if not even I can catch him, what can we do?¡¯ Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. But he recognized now that it had been an oversight. There were many things he could have done to deal with the man, not least of it booby trapping the dungeon. I¡¯ll make sure to deal with it as soon as I emerge back in the real world. Dammit. Compared to the first floor, the third floor was huge. There were dozens of rooms and no system messages announcing each and every single room Michael visited, unlike how the first floor worked. Also, he soon learned that after a while, the monsters he defeated in a room would respawn. Coupled with the floor¡¯s confusing layout, it meant that they fought many more monsters than it was strictly necessary before they even came across the boss room. At the same time, more monsters meant more Unity gained for Michael¡¯s new skill, and soon a welcome message made its way to his vision.
Unity level up!
He pulled up his status and indeed, all his stats had changed again. The sight was almost enough to offset his gloomy mood from thinking about the interloper on his property.
Status: Michael Lexington
Level: 2/10 -> 3/10
Base Statistics Advanced Statistics
Strength 202 -> 213 Mana Capacity (Copper) 83 -> 100
Dexterity 147 -> 159 Elemental energy Capacity 83 -> 100
Stamina 240 -> 252 Qi Capacity 8.3 -> 10
Reflexes 266 -> 277 Intent Capacity 0.83 -> 1
Intelligence 122 -> 132
Resilience 370 -> 381
Memory 138 -> 148
He was elated to see that most of his stats had not only grown by ten thanks to the level-up, but they had also gained a couple points on their own. This was due to his training, which was once again effective now that the Unity skill had unlocked all the stats and allowed them to grow again. The rate would be slow until Michael figured out novel ways to train, but a few points gained were always useful. By now he had figured out that a hundred points appeared to be the average for a human being, so each point gained was still a 1% increase over baseline. Of course, some people were much higher than average on some statistics. Even with all his power-ups, unless he activated his body enhancement skill he was probably still weaker than a professional lifter and slower than an Olympic sprinter. Of all his stats, the one that had seen the most gains was Mana. Now sitting at a hundred, the sensation it gave him was almost stifling, as if there was no way for his current body to hold more mana than that. He felt like a bloated balloon, and all he could do to keep the sensation from distracting him too much was expend some of his mana every time his regeneration brought him back to full. The always observant Johanne, noticing this change, approached him before they challenged the boss room. ¡°You seem to be in discomfort. What is it, my lord?¡± she asked. ¡°You remember the system I use to quantify mana, right?¡± she nodded, and he continued, ¡°my mana reached 100 Copper. Not only did it stop growing, but it feels¡­ odd. Like a glove too tight to fit, uncomfortable.¡± Johanne nodded. ¡°I think I know what it is that you are experiencing. I remember, back before I lost most of my power, how I too had to overcome bottlenecks such as this. Going by your classification, I think you reached the end of what your Copper-grade shroud can contain. You will not grow again until you manage to make it into a Silver-grade shroud.¡± ¡°And how do I do that?¡± They were camping outside the very obvious boss room. The corridors between the many rooms were safe, and they had supplies for days. A cozy fire was burning with them all sitting in a circle. Drullkrin was overhearing the conversation between Michael and Johanne, clearly interested in learning more about a magic system he was not familiar with, while the golem was sitting on the ground motionless. It looked like a permanent fixture of the floor plan, wide enough to be a considered a giant statue. ¡°I think,¡± Johanne began after a moment spent to gather her thoughts, ¡°that you have to compress your mana much like you do with coins. Once your shroud reaches Silver-grade, you will once again able to grow.¡± Michael tried to manipulate his aura, but even after several minutes nothing seemed to change. It felt similar to when he had tried to make coins out of his mana, when not even a copper coin had appeared no matter how much effort Michael expended, only seemingly inert crystals. ¡°I am sorry I cannot help you more, my lord,¡± said Johanne after seeing his efforts go unrewarded, ¡°not only are my memories fuzzy for some reason, but my method was different as well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± he said after getting up. This was not the place to experiment, even though it was safe enough. Dropping the matter for the moment, he instead approached the boss room¡¯s door. ¡°Everyone ready to fight?¡± Chapter 65 Chapter 65 The biggest gains, at least in the stories, are always said to happen in the heat of battle. Where the threat of dying is the stronger, in the struggle to stay alive in the face of impossible odds, something clicks inside the main character¡¯s brain and he finally finds a way to gain the upper hand. Michael always liked to read of such occurrences happen in books, but now that fighting was his reality, he discovered just how different it was to actually live those situations, and how unrealistic books were. Firstly, it was rare for someone to reach enlightenment during a fight. Unless he had spent countless hours on a technique, skill or movement, there was simply not enough room to think to come up with a completely novel thing during battle. Secondly, the effect that fear of death had on a person was utterly different than how it was portrayed in books. It made you fall back on ingrained habits, and even they lost some of their efficacy as the body unconsciously tried to avoid taking too many risks, even if in truth it was exposing itself to more risks. In the end, the sure way to grow was through hard work. Smart hard work, and not recklessly throwing yourself against enemies you have no chance of beating. The second floor had been lesson enough, teaching Michael the dangers of the reckless tactic and the benefits of the safer one. It wasn¡¯t like he was in no danger even if he played it safe, after all, with the dungeon constantly throwing curveballs at him. He didn¡¯t need to go looking for danger, it would find him nonetheless, therefore he had to manage the danger he could control so that it didn¡¯t cross the threshold where it became counterproductive rather than helpful. Which is why, as the giant mummy that was the boss of the third floor finally fell to its injuries, Michael found himself not with surprising gains and spikes in power, but with his power base feeling much more solid and stable. He was more comfortable with his strange, mixed fighting style and he was even beginning to incorporate [Okinawan Mastery] into the way he fought, gathering Chi whenever he managed to still his breathing and unleashing devastating waves of Jing with his blows. The difference was not night and day like he might have liked to think, but the good thing about Chi was that it was a renewable resource. Jing-powered attacks were stronger by at least 10% compared to normal attacks, and every advantage added up. Speaking of techniques: [Okinawan Mastery]. The reward for beating the boss was a skill stone powerful enough to raise the skill by two levels. I guess the dungeon approves of it.
(Common) Okinawan Mastery 3
Insight, even lost, still perseveres. The world weeps what once was, and even masters are forced to live in the shadow of greatness. Yet, not all is lost. ¡¤ You accumulate Chi by breathing in a certain pattern. Upon performing the right set of moves, the Chi becomes Jing, empowering your next strikes. ¡¤ Breathing pattern is easier to maintain. Chi accumulates faster. Jing conversion more efficient. ¡¤ The moves come more naturally to you, and you gain a sixth sense to spot major errors in form.
There was also a small mountain of coins that made the first floor rewards look like pocket change. If this wasn¡¯t enough to entice a delver to delve deeper into the dungeon, into danger, then nothing was. *** Michael remained on the third floor for several hours after the rest of his party had left. With the boss defeated, the whole floor was just an empty husk waiting to be replenished when the last adventurer finally left, making it the perfect training ground for Michael. Being the deepest floor yet, it was also the one with the highest concentration of mana. The mana concentration was not constant at all throughout the floors, but Michael had developed a way to track it so that he could eventually turn the data to the scientists under his control and let them figure out what was going on. Currently, the mana concentration outside the dungeon was around 13 Copper/m^3, on the first floor it was more than 20, on the second it was around 30 and here it neared the fifty Copper coins mark per cubic meter of air. A lot of power. This made Michael¡¯s regeneration skyrocket, even though denser mana was much more difficult to control. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Both Old Dave and Travis thought it strange when they first learned that Michael spent hours training without pause as if he was a novel protagonist. Travis had his mind changed when he saw Michael do that in person, but even then he couldn¡¯t really grasp the state of mind Michael got in whenever he felt inspired. Or when he bashed his head against a problem he couldn¡¯t solve. Of which there were two, currently. His aura that refused to upgrade to Silver. And¡­ Fucking mana projection. How can projecting mana outside of my aura be so hard? Even after hours spent trying, Michael felt he still had a lot of work to do. He was getting closer, but closer did not a skill make. He wasn¡¯t without gains, however. In his trials, he was learning more about his aura and how it could affect the world around him. Not only did aura conceal his inner mana, like a shroud, but it also weakened all sort of attacks coming his way, like a personal shield that extended a few millimeters away from his skin. The reason why he had never noticed until now was that a Copper aura was simply too weak to be of any use, but he was pretty sure things would change once he reached Silver grade. After he was fed up with the lack of progress and calling it quits, Michael left the dungeon with Johanne in tow. He had initially wanted to move the magical stones from the storage warehouse he rented back to his property, where he would have actual security watch over them, but Johanne raised a good point. ¡°My lord, I don¡¯t think they would be safer here. The blurry man can come and go as he pleases, with most normal people none the wiser. I think the warehouse is safer at this moment than your plot of land.¡± It hurt to hear, but it was true. However, this didn¡¯t mean that Michael was going to let things proceed as they were. He was leader of a corporation, and he would be damned if he didn¡¯t use his newfound clout to make his life easier. It was with the intention of buying the whole warehouse district of the abandoned industrial area where he was storing his stones that he visited his stash, with an accountant working for his company and a few security people to set up a perimeter in tow. Unknown to him however, Mustang¡ªthe appraiser working at Old Dave¡¯s pawn shop¡ªhad taken to checking the progress of the developing land with interest. He knew something was going on with the Trail, since Michael was bringing back all sorts of strange things for him to sell and appraise. When the boy stopped procuring materials, Old Dave suddenly began to find all sort of things, but Mustang was not so stupid not to suspect that the two now worked together. When he decided to check the Trail, however, he found nothing. He was even about to give up, but then even more stuff began to flow out of there. This time, however, armed security was everywhere. He had to watch from a distance, making sure nobody saw him. It was easy enough with only one road leading in and out of the property, to spot Michael¡¯s car speeding away from the land, followed by a few other black vehicles. What tipped Mustang off was that, unlike every single other time, Michael did not go home this time. The convoy took an unexpected turn, then another, and before long Mustang found himself spying on a seemingly abandoned warehouse district of a long forgotten industrial zone. His blood was pumping. He had to play it very safe or he would get caught, and who knew what sorts of illegal things were going on inside that warehouse to warrant so much security? Mustang quietly observed from his hiding spot. He did not see much, only Michael going in and reemerging some time later, a worried expression on his face. The boy was looking around, as if searching for something or someone, paranoid. The security detail was likewise sweeping the area, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Which meant that it was time for Mustang to¡ª Suddenly, a strong force lifted the man into the air. The last thing Mustang saw before he landed in a broken heap of limbs and pain was Michael¡¯s back, walking away from the warehouse without even noticing him. Then, for a moment Mustang thought he was hallucinating, for he saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in all his life. ¡°Who are you, daring to trespass on my lord¡¯s property? Why did you watch from the shadows like a filthy spy?¡± Then all he knew was pain. *** Michael left none the wiser, at least until he returned home and did not see Johanne there. He had simply added the mana crystal he had made in the dungeon to the pile of magical stones, wishing he had a lab and secure storage ready at his property, and left wishing he could find a way to deal with the unknown man who trespassed on his property. As long as the man was there, secrecy and security was compromised. A text message quickly revealed the situation: Johanne had stayed back to deal with a trespasser on his property, and was now coordinating with the Security branch so that the presumed thief could be dealt with. Not my headache, Michael thought. Indeed, the company was small enough, and the matter important enough that both Old Dave and Travis were already alerted. Michael smiled in appreciation of just how useful having trusted and capable people working for him was. Too bad the other problem was not as easy to deal with. Michael had asked Jennifer, the head of security at the future HQ, about the blur of a man and it appeared that he was still up to his usual shenanigans. She was trying to deal with him, and of course she had booby trapped the dungeon, not even telling Michael so that there was no risk of information leaks. All to no avail. It made Michael feel stifled, gasping for air. Coupled with the sensation coming from his aura, filled to the brim with Copper mana to the point it was painful, it didn¡¯t make for a pleasant living. Chapter 66 Chapter 66 Two courageous martial artists who had the strength to train despite the late July¡¯s heat exchanged whispers among themselves. The dojo was a small, cramped affair with only a wall of mirrors and a diminutive window to the side, with barely any air circulation. It was an uncomfortable arrangement, but it drove the price of the class low enough to make it worth it, at least most of the year. Phillip and Marc were watching as Michael performed a kata under sensei Stephan¡¯s watchful eye. However, something was different than usual. ¡°Is it just me or¡­?¡± muttered Marc. ¡°No,¡± said Stephan, ¡°he definitely got better. Much better.¡± In fact, the difference was so much that Phillip could do nothing but acknowledge Michael¡¯s improvement even though there still was bad blood between them. Michael¡¯s outburst the other day had done much to contain Phillip¡¯s temperament, and another blow to the man¡¯s attitude had been during the warm-up conditioning, when hitting Michael felt like he was hitting a wall of bricks. But containment did not mean that the issue had been resolved. In fact, putting a lid on Phillip¡¯s behavior was akin to trying putting the lid on a steam pressurized pipe. The pressure simply went somewhere else, spilling over various facets of the lawyer¡¯s private and work life. To add insult to injury, Phillip felt threatened by the young man. Until now he could tolerate whenever the sensei called him chosen one as a joke, mostly because their difference was like night and day. Phillip had been training for years when Michael joined the dojo, and neither felt like Michael could ever catch up to the older man. Not with his attitude, at least, which Phillip secretly very much liked. If Michael didn¡¯t want to catch up, then he would never catch up. But now it felt as if he was indeed catching up to the point he might even surpass him, all of it without having put in the work. If Michael could hear what Phillip was thinking, he might strangle the older man. But it was understandable, Phillip did not know about the dungeon, and thus had no idea about the actual hard work Michael put in every day. To his eyes Michael had suddenly become wealthy, inhumanly strong and preternaturally good at martial arts. Michael kept performing as if he was the only person present. His focus was absolute, his foundation was solid, and he seemed to have insights not even their sensei had managed to integrate into his practice. Unknown to them, he was even using one of his spirit guardians to watch himself from a third person view so that he could spot problems with his form. Splitting his focus was hard, but not impossible to the current him as his mental stats soared higher and higher. As he demonstrated the fundamental Sanchin kata, the foundation of their style, each move seamlessly blended into the next, perfectly encapsulating the principles of Pangai Noon, hardness and softness. Most surprisingly to everyone watching, he seemed to be growing better at it with each repetition of the kata. Already he was on his fourth time doing the same set of moves, but compared to the first time it was like watching someone else entirely. Sensei Stephan went from simply nodding along the first time Michael did the kata, with no glaring problems to correct, to being surprised the second time, deadly serious the third, and slack-jawed the fourth. He had not seen this rate of improvement the last time they trained in the park, because Michael had not yet unlocked the Unity skill. He was now actively watching his student as if he was the student among the two, and Michael was the master. Not even Sensei Taiko elicited this sort of reaction whenever he came over from Japan to impart his wisdom to their bumpkin dojo, at great monetary price. Yet now they had a better master than even he, at least considering that Michael did it for free. He was not quite at Taiko¡¯s level, and not even at Stephan¡¯s, but he was grasping profundities about the martial style that not even Stephan had mastered yet. ¡°You should all watch,¡± Stephan said in a soft voice, not wanting to disturb Michael as he began the fifth iteration of the kata. ¡°I guess this class is hopelessly derailed, isn¡¯t it?¡± Phillip quipped, but even he was watching intently. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°It is. I feel like we can all gain much by watching him. Look, he¡¯s understanding principles I took years to internalize in real time.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± said Marc in his usual deadpan fashion, ¡°I feel like I¡¯m improving even just by watching. In fact¡ª¡± he stretched and moved to Michael¡¯s side, then began to copy his moves while glancing at him from time to time, trying to gain inspiration. Soon, they were all doing endless repetitions of the foundational kata alongside Michael, who was still performing at peak capacity as if in a daze. ¡°He¡¯s not even sweating,¡± said Phillip. They had taken a break due to the heat, and were all panting. ¡°That¡¯s because he is using the energy if Chi to fuel his moves,¡± said Stephan, beginning an easy explanation for the others about the principles of Chi and Jing. ¡°I thought it was all bogus,¡± said Phillip. Marc was shaking his head. ¡°It isn¡¯t. He¡¯s proof of that. Michael, strike that punching bag.¡± Michael nodded impassively, hiding the grin that wanted to manifest in his face from the others. He gathered Chi by following the right moves, and converted it into Jing. Then he struck. Ever since his skill had increased in level, thanks to the dungeon, he had felt in a constant state of enlightenment whenever he did his katas. He had just spent hours doing them in the dojo, yet it felt like moments to him. Coupled with his [Unity] skill pushing his body beyond mortal limits, he was officially entering the realm of the superhuman. The punch landed with a satisfying dent in the punching bag¡¯s side. Michael¡¯s strength was high, but he was no Captain America throwing punching bags across the room. Still, ¡°if that had been a ribcage¡­¡± Marc muttered. ¡°Yeah,¡± said Phillip, frowning. ¡°By the way,¡± Michael said now that everybody was focusing on him. ¡°I wanted to help out and bought this whole gym. We¡¯re no longer going to be relegated in this cramped room.¡± ¡°Haha, funny, chosen one.¡± Phillip said. ¡°I¡¯m not joking.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t,¡± said Stephan, ¡°are you?¡± ¡°Nope. You can hold your classes in the big room downstairs, for free. How¡¯s that sound?¡± ¡°Sounds amazing,¡± the sensei said. Of them all, he was the only one used to Michael¡¯s strangeness. He knew what the man was capable of, and he had not been surprised by Michael¡¯s sudden mastery of the art. That¡¯s why he had immediately switched to observing and learning. Even then, he couldn¡¯t help but feel shocked that Michael would spend money on him like this. Shocked and grateful. ¡°How did you gain so much money? First, the company car with a driver. Now this?¡± Phillip said with a hint of malice. ¡°You¡¯re doing illegal stuff, aren¡¯t you?¡± Michael scoffed. ¡°Take out your phone, and google Unity Corporation. Look up who owns it and how much it¡¯s worth.¡± Phillip grudgingly complied, his face unreadable. But the more he read, the more his features assumed a look of disbelief. ¡°What? You¡­ you have a whole corporation under your¡­ and what¡¯s with all those expenses? What even does Unity do? How did you make a company so quickly? Why did I never hear of it before?¡± ¡°We are not actively advertising my presence. But it¡¯s all public data.¡± Michael said. The fact that none of his friends and family had contacted him yet, looking for money, spoke to just how little people cared about these sorts of things. There were loads of conspiracy theories about ¡®hidden powers¡¯ pulling the strings of the world, but nine times out of ten the names of a CEO or of the stakeholders of a company were simply a google search away. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it. I just don¡¯t!¡± said Phillip. ¡°I know you. I know you are worthless. What the hell is this shit? How did you go from there to becoming good at everything? Is it a new drug? What is it?¡± Michael felt himself get spiteful. After all, this man liked to torment others. Why not pay him back? ¡°Why would I tell you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen that movie, Michael. I know people are trying to make a drug that increases intelligence in real life. Did someone contact you? If it is a drug, I¡¯ll do anything to even get a single dose. Do you have any idea how I could turn my life around with it?¡± The others had been watching the scene without saying much. Stephan was shaking his head, thinking that he had done the right thing when he had chosen not to get involved with Michael. Seeing Phillip grovel like this, he thought the man was pathetic. Marc was calculating how to best play this to his advantage. He soon realized that he had never treated Michael well, despite not actively being antagonistic like Phillip had been, and with the realization he also understood that he was in no position to even ask for favors. They were not friends¡ªMichael had tried but Marc had rejected him many times. He was not interested in being friends with someone half his age. Now things had changed, and Marc could only blame himself. But he wouldn¡¯t stoop so low as to grovel. He could see how Michael was looking at Phillip like the man was a disgusting cockroach and nothing more. ¡°What can you even do for me that I would care about?¡± Michael asked, not denying nor confirming anything, ¡°I own a megacorporation now. What can a little failure of a lawyer do for me? Stop embarrassing yourself like this. Get yourself together and start treating people nicely for a change, then maybe they might think about doing you favors.¡± Phillip nodded, but his glare was anything but friendly. Some people could only think about their own benefits, and were sore losers when they didn¡¯t get what they wanted. Suddenly Stephan¡¯s words echoed in Michael¡¯s mind. He was not here to learn a martial art, not anymore now that he had his skill aiding him. He was here to learn how to deal with people. Chapter 67 Chapter 67 The alarm blared in Michael¡¯s ear like a tornado siren. Bleary eyed, he noticed that it wasn¡¯t even light outside and momentarily cursed himself for having a better physique that didn¡¯t require as much sleep now as it did before. It robbed him of the little moments, he felt as he refreshed himself with [Healing Aura]. Not that sleeping in was any good. It felt nice while you do it, but then it filled Michael with the dread of a wasted day. Back before the dungeon, the dread had been about survival: if he didn¡¯t work¡ªor find a job after he had been fired¡ªhe would not be eating the next day. Now it was more existential. If he didn¡¯t wake up, then the whole machine he had set up would grind down to a halt and the world would eventually be exposed to dangers it couldn¡¯t deal with. He idly noticed that he wasn¡¯t at full mana, absorbed a copper coin and then remembered just why he was not at full mana in the first place. His full aura felt stifling. With a sigh, he summoned his healing aura and consumed some of his mana, swearing that he would find a way to upgrade his aura and mana pool as soon as possible. Johanne was already up, somehow. It was as if she didn¡¯t need to sleep at all, either due to her magically enhanced constitution or, more probably, a spell she used. He considered asking her about it, but he felt that if he removed even sleep from his life to make room for more work and training, then he might really lose his grip on his humanity and go insane. In fact, even though he frequently took long rests that lasted entire days inside the dungeon, he felt like he was overworking himself quite a lot. In the end, however, he could not slow down. Not now, at least, not until he resolved several issues that demanded his attention. Finish setting up Unity headquarters, the science division and fortify the land around it. Deal with Carmela and the blurring man on his land. Find out about other delvers and dungeon openings and deal with them. Only then could he rest. He joined Johanne for breakfast, which she had already almost finished preparing. He tried to take over, but was sent sitting at the kitchen table like an unruly child with gentle yet firm words. She was following a recipe online and had sent a man working for Unity to purchase the relevant supplies. Compared to Michael¡¯s wealth, even overpaying the poor errand boy like she had was did not even put a dent in his cash stash, but the poor man mindset had not yet left his body. It felt like a waste. A waste he could afford, he repeated to himself. ¡°Did you spend all night on the internet again?¡± he asked her as she worked. He had bought her a phone, but perhaps he should have waited a little bit. Oh well. ¡°Of course, my lord. There is yet much for me to learn about your world. Many fascinating things. Did you know that in Quantum Electrodynamics¡­¡± On she went. Even with the increase in intelligence from his level-ups, Michael had issues following her dumbed-down explanations. He literally felt it when he gained a point of intelligence from simply trying to follow. That¡¯s it. Next time I spend some days in the Valley, I¡¯m taking some books with me. I need to increase the intelligence stat. If only he had a spatial storage of some kind. Then Johanne veered towards talking about the lab she wanted built for the science division of Unity. Which, it appeared, would come under her command. Old Dave had been quite flabbergasted about it when he learned of it, but since her position was equal to his in the budding company, and since she was doing a good job of it despite being literally fresh from a long sleep in amber, he couldn¡¯t do anything but vent some frustration. ¡°She¡¯s just taken over the whole science division! The recruiting process, the building works, everything! In barely a couple of days?¡± he had almost choked on his spit when he got the report and budget requests. ¡°Yes, and she¡¯s doing a better job than any of us could.¡± Travis had replied. ¡°It¡¯s like she understands the scientists she¡¯s recruiting. She¡¯s good. Very good.¡± Michael had nodded once, Old Dave had lost his will to speak and Travis had grinned at that. Then Johanne mentioned a particle accelerator to study magic at a subatomic level and shocked Michael out of his musings. ¡°It might be a tad too expensive even for Unity Corp right now, Johanne.¡± ¡°No problem, just heal a few more people and you will be set, my lord.¡± ¡°I think you are confusing millions with billions. A particle accelerator is not cheap.¡± ¡°You are right, it is not, but I think we can make do with a small one for now. I studied the designs, even though I might have forgone studying economics in favor of science. Although¡­¡± she tapped her chin, ¡°there are a few promising start-ups I have instructed Travis to acquire, which will reduce our liquidity even more while at the same time giving us access to strategic resources¡­ my lord, I think you should start healing people in large batches. What is the range of your healing skill now?¡± ¡°5 meters, according to the skill description.¡± Johanne hummed. ¡°You should work on increasing that limit. From what you told me, it is not at a bottleneck yet. Healing will be our main income for a while yet until we start producing truly innovative products by mixing magic and technology. Besides, we need money not only for the lab, but also for the factories, for the headquarters, and for your mansion.¡± ¡°Mansion?¡± Michael echoed her, flabbergasted. ¡°Of course. Did you think I would allow you to live in that tiny hut you planned to build next to the dungeon, my lord? The container-house shall work because it¡¯s temporary, but you will eventually live in nothing short of a mansion. Now, if I may be so forward,¡± Johanne said, ¡°we must talk about an issue that has been tainting our otherwise excellent position: Carmela Esposito.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°What about her?¡± Michael asked. ¡°She is a liability. Her connections were unneeded from the very beginning, and now her threat has been left to fester.¡± ¡°Well, she was there when it all started.¡± Michael said defensively, even though he knew that Johanne was right. ¡°Sadly, yes. I wish it would have been me, but alas¡­ I understand the chain of events that led to this predicament. Since you are very busy, I will speak to her, clarify our positions.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a good idea.¡± Michael said, but there was nothing more said about the matter, because Old Dave chose that moment to call Michael over the phone. ¡°I need to go,¡± Michael said, ¡°I have a training session with Sensei Stephan and then Old Dave wants to know what to do about Mustang. We can¡¯t keep him in the broom closet indefinitely.¡± ¡°I shall stay behind to deal with the matters here.¡± Johanne said, showing Michael her new phone, ¡°I can handle myself.¡± It was not her ability to handle herself that got Michael worried. The training session was going to be one of the last ones they did at the park. Now that Michael owned the gym they could just commandeer the big room for themselves without anyone interfering, after all. It would cut on the profit margin the gym made, but it was such an insignificant item in Unity¡¯s budget that it didn¡¯t matter at all. It would be a couple of days before the purchase was finalized, though. The Sensei thanked him profusely for his help. Yesterday the realization had not yet truly settled in, but after sleeping on it he realized that things were going to change now that Michael was the owner of the whole gym. They could expand! They could teach more people, with better equipment and more room! After that, they each settled into their own training routine. They both had things they wanted to focus on, different parts of the style they needed to improve as a foundation to build upon afterwards. They trained in silence, with only the occasional exchange of instructions as each commented on the other¡¯s form. *** Johanne¡¯s expression morphed the moment Michael stepped out of the house. The gentle smile slid off her face like a mask, replaced by a stony determination. She pulled up her phone and dialed the number she memorized to call Old Dave¡ªand Michael¡¯s¡ªsecretary. ¡°Laura,¡± she said, ¡°I need a car at the apartment immediately.¡± ¡°On it,¡± the cheerful voice at the other end of the phone replied. Johanne hung up. Several minutes later she was in the back of a SUV with dark windows. Having told the driver where she wanted to go, she felt like there was no need for further conversation. Normal people were not Michael, nor were they his closest collaborators. Travis had devised a classification system for the upper echelons of Unity Corp who were also in the know with what Candle Light was doing. According to the naming scheme, she was a Level 1 Operator together with David and Travis himself, while Michael was a Level 0. She felt no need to communicate with anyone of a Level greater than one unless strictly necessary. Much less a driver. She reached the location a couple of hours later. She had the car circle around the block and park out of the way. ¡°Wait here,¡± she told the driver, then cast an invisibility spell on herself. She frowned when she felt her mana dip without the familiar rush of fresh mana entering her body, but she had been given enough coins to make do. Absorbing a couple of Copper coins, she made her way towards the building in the distance. Once she was close enough but still out of the way, she dropped her invisibility. Coming upon the road in front of the squat compound, two gruff guards greeted her. According to the intel she got from Travis, there was a code word to access the inner parts of the building. She wouldn¡¯t stand up to close scrutiny without spells, of course, but that was never her goal. Her goal was to reach the person she was looking for as quickly as possible. ¡°You¡¯re not one of ours,¡± said one of the guards closer to the heart of the building. Johanne had made it quite far before she was detected, the compartmentalized nature of the criminal organization working in her favor. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± she replied simply, then weaved a spell with dazzling speed and the guard dropped to the ground, unconscious. Carmela was sitting in her office when the door was literally torn from its hinges, swinging inwards before crashing on the ground. A spiderweb of cracks extended from the frame into the wall as the silhouette of a woman came into view. ¡°Carmela Esposito, we need to talk.¡± Said a voice from the threshold. ¡°And who, I wonder, might so forcefully want an audience with me?¡± replied the criminal mastermind, her voice calm. ¡°Prego, come in.¡± Johanne made her way into the room and seized a chair, dragging it across the floor until she sat in front of Carmela¡¯s desk. The woman in question observed Johanne¡¯s movements with a dispassionate gaze, but not without pressing a little button hidden under her desk. ¡°My name is Johanne. I demand that you stop bothering my¡­ employer.¡± ¡°Who is he?¡± Carmela asked with a smirk, ¡°to send such a powerful person after me, hmm¡­¡± ¡°You know who he is. Recall your man, or¡ª¡± ¡°Or what?¡± a male voice said from the broken door. It felt young, yet full of anger. Johanne did not see it, because her head swiveled to survey the new threat, but Carmela scowled. She was about to probe the strange woman for information when her idiot underling appeared, way ahead of time. Johanne got to her feet in an instant. The man had blurred forward, no doubt propelled by a movement magic just like Michael had told her he would, but she was ready. The blur impacted a translucent shield that surrounded Johanne and was sent crashing into a wall. ¡°You bitch!¡± the man yelled. A fireball appeared in his hand. ¡°I will kill you!¡± He threw the fireball at Johanne. It burned terribly hot and bright, instantly increasing the temperature of the room by a dozen degrees and setting some paper on fire. Johanne simply watched the ball approach, then waved her hand like she was swatting a fly out of the air. The magic was instantly dispelled, the ball of fire unraveling like ink on swirling water. The man snarled at her, his figure once again blurring forwards as many more balls of fire appeared in the air, this time thrown much faster than the first one and coming from all angles and directions. ¡°Another fucking mage?¡± the blur yelled as his fireballs were swatted away to unravel, barely hot air remaining in their wake. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me there was another!¡± Carmela, the target of the rant, was still sitting with naught a worry in her face. ¡°Do something!¡± yelled the man. ¡°She can disrupt my magic!¡± ¡°Fucking hell, Josh, non fare il coglione, you are setting fire to the whole building!¡± Indeed, even though there was a veritable barrage of spells coming her way and Johanne was dispelling most of them, some were hitting the walls and furniture. The room was soon transforming into an inferno. Meanwhile Johanne was continually burning through her stash of coins, but she had brought more than enough. Just as she burned through half of her stash she went on the offensive. A spear of force stabbed towards the blur, who managed to partially dodge it. Not completely, as the spell was a targeted one and not an aimless one. Johanne was prepared. The man¡¯s dodge saved his life but wasn¡¯t enough to avoid the kinetic part of the spell, and he was sent flying towards a wall only to collapse in a heap. ¡°Enough,¡± Camela¡¯s voice came from behind. Then magic surged. Johanne knew what battles she could fight, and what battles she should flee. So she fled. With the speedster out of commission, she activated her escape spell fast enough to reach the SUV. ¡°Go!¡± she commanded the driver. Chapter 68 Chapter 68 While Johanne was putting herself in unnecessary danger, Michael was at his property¡ªthat some had taken to calling Site 00¡ªto deal with annoyances. ¡°What should we do with him?¡± asked a gruff Old Dave, hands on his hips, as he looked down at the bound form of Mustang. The fat man looked like a formless blob on the ground, and he really was in the broom closet like Dave had said, surrounded by knickknacks and various gadgets that had already started to accumulate around the budding headquarters. ¡°Squeak.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, Dave. You got ideas?¡± The old man shrugged. On the ground, Mustang struggled. He wanted to speak, but his mouth was bound by duct tape. Silver duct tape, the ever present. Michael ripped it out. ¡°Squeak.¡± ¡°Ouch!¡± cried Mustang. ¡°That shit hurt!¡± It was Michael¡¯s turn to shrug. ¡°Squeak!¡± ¡°And why does a fucking rifle squeak?¡± Mustang cried out, ¡°this place is nuts!¡± Old Dave chuckled, ¡°you call this nuts? You ain¡¯t seen shit yet.¡± Michael inhaled sharply, ¡°listen,¡± he said, voice tired, ¡°this is not a productive use of my time. Can you figure out what to do with him? It¡¯s literally your job. Just¡­ don¡¯t kill him.¡± The mention of death had Mustang immediately lose several shades of color. ¡°W-w-wait, kill me? Why? Please, I swear I won¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°See what you just did?¡± cried Old Dave in exasperation. ¡°Now I have to deal with this!¡± ¡°Your job,¡± reiterated Michael, ¡°and killing¡­ I don¡¯t know, killing people? Out here? Not really doable, is it?¡± Not that he wanted to kill people, even if it was doable. But Mustang didn¡¯t need to know that. ¡°You could probably get away with it,¡± said Dave with another shrug, ¡°but it would be a hassle, yeah. Let me deal with him.¡± As Michael left, Old Dave noticed that Mister Tyrell was waiting for him outside, a stack of papers in his hands. The former CEO seemed to love stacks papers very much ever since he assumed control of the Candle Light division. Well, Old Dave thought, by now the roles in this company are already all blurry. Amazing how the formal structure collapsed in less than two days. I blame the others, of course. What¡¯s the new system? Levels? I¡¯m level 1 alongside Mister Tyrell and the woman from the dungeon. Another amazing thing, that woman. Even stranger still, she had been around all of two days and already Michael treated her like he trusted her completely. Granted, time in the dungeon flowed differently and there was no telling how long the two had interacted there, but Old Dave still liked to err on the side of caution. Especially after seeing the budget requests the woman had put forward for her science division. Mind-numbing. ¡°Dave, Dave, listen, we have known each other for a long time, right?¡± Old Dave looked at the man on the ground with a complicated expression. ¡°Ah, right, you are still there.¡± *** Michael was intercepted by Travis on his way to the dungeon. The man in question was carrying a stack of paper that was almost comically too large for the man¡¯s impressively wide frame. For a moment, he looked like one of those stereotypical nerds in young adult TV shows, but his serious expression made all mirth disappear from Michael¡¯s mind. ¡°Hey, Mike, ready to lose some sleep tonight?¡± ¡°As if I don¡¯t already struggle,¡± said Michael. Travis smirked for a split second. ¡°I used my teleportation card to scout the area around the dungeon¡ªdon¡¯t worry, I found a way to suppress the lightning. Guess what I found when I mapped the mana around it? Our assumption that it was a sphere¡­ was wrong. It¡¯s an irregular shape and the furthest edge is right about reaching a city. Here.¡± ¡°CL-001 ¡°Area of Influence¡±, Michael started reading. ¡°Interesting naming pattern. I wonder where you got it from.¡± Travis¡¯ face betrayed nothing. ¡°Keep reading.¡± ¡°So mana really is affecting the world,¡± Michael said, his face a mask of worry. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. He leafed through the other reports. CL-002 ¡°Squeaking Gun¡±. Ah, that¡¯s what it was. Mustang was right there was a squeaking gun in that closet. CL-003 ¡°Infinite water bottle¡±, CL-004 ¡°Backwards steering jeep¡±. That last one was being dismantled to figure out just how the steering could be made to happen backwards without a rearrangement of internal components. Reading through the reports, Michael was impressed with the efficiency of Travis¡¯ work. Within barely two days since Michael had approved of the Candle Light¡¯s more covert division, they had already unearthed several anomalous items and places, shattering the illusion that the world was not yet being affected by magic. The most worrying thing was that some of the items, like the water bottle, did not seem to require mana to work at all. He asked to see it, and indeed there was no trace of mana or even elemental energy within it: it just generated infinite water when tipped down. Of course, Unity Corp was not the fictional SCP foundation. They were not here to simply contain, but to put to a good use. Already the bottle was being carved up to maximize the flow of water, and it would soon be used to provide drinking water for the whole Site 00 for free. Perhaps even to the fields around Site 00 if they managed to buy them. If magic gave you lemons, you make a magical lemonade. ¡°The situation with the city is worrying, though,¡± Michael said. ¡°You got a plan?¡± Travis nodded. ¡°We still don¡¯t have the special equipment I, uhm, requested from Naoshida Industries, but we can at least monitor the situation. Trevor will be on site and I¡¯ll hop on in from time to time to check on things, but I think I¡¯ll need your magic vision to really make sure we don¡¯t miss anything.¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Sure, call me when you need me.¡± This was the best they could do with their limited means. The science division was fundamental if they wanted to get their hands on better stuff. ¡°Speaking of¡­¡± Travis began. ¡°I know you want to keep your abilities a secret, but hear me out. You share them with Candle Light, we keep them a secret only Level 1 and above can access, and that way we can better use you as an asset. You, Johanne and I are the only ones who can deal with anything above the Iron danger rating anyway.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Michael said. This meant sharing his whole power set with Travis and Dave, but¡­ ¡°I have to start trusting you guys. I¡¯ll do it.¡± Travis nodded. ¡°Thanks. Here, I went ahead and recorded my own ability. You can use this document as a template for your own, but don¡¯t worry about making it look neat. I¡¯ll fix it up once you are done.¡± Candle Light: CL-006, ¡°Card of Vanishing Thunder¡± Magic Class: Silver. Danger Rating: Gold. Containment: CL-006 requires no containment when not assigned to a wielder. Once assigned, containment measures focus on restricting the wielder''s line of sight through various means, including blinding techniques, smoke screens, and isolation in a specially designed containment chamber. The containment chamber is equipped with one-way mirrors for continuous monitoring of the wielder. The entrance is constructed to prevent any view of the external environment, ensuring no space for potential teleportation beyond the room. The chamber includes safety features capable of blinding the wielder to prevent escape. In the event of a containment breach, the use of lethal force is authorized to prevent the wielder from eluding secure containment protocols. Description: CL-006 is a magic card within the DECK-system, visually resembling a metallic Tarot card. It features an engraving of a man enveloped in lightning, standing atop a hill. When viewed from specific angles, the man''s features seem to vanish. The card''s surface is smooth, with the engraved design making it easily recognizable by touch. The wielder of CL-006 gains the ability to teleport, with the knowledge of teleportation imprinted directly into their mind. Current information is limited to observations from a single wielder, Level-1-Operator "Fleeting Man." The following transcript documents the information that had imprinted itself into Fleeting Man¡¯s mind: You can teleport anywhere within line of sight instantaneously, leaving behind an explosion of static. Each jump consumes a charge. You can hold up to 15 charges, with one being generated every three hours. Maximum range of each jump: 1 kilometer. Mana costs for teleportation vary based on conditions: Note: Further experimentation is pending the establishment of Unity''s science division facilities. Addendum CL-006.01: Training and experimentation have shown that the powers granted by CL-006 can be modulated. The current wielder, "Fleeting Man," has reported the ability to suppress the lightning effect associated with teleportation. This suggests potential for further refinement and control of the card''s abilities through dedicated practice and study. Assignment Protocol: CL-006 is currently assigned to Level-1-Operator "Fleeting Man," with approval from Level-0-Operator "Owner." This assignment is irrevocable except by direct command of a Level-0-Operator or a collective decision by three Level-1-Operators. *** ¡°This is great work,¡± he said after he was done reading. ¡°I¡¯m impressed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only the beginning,¡± said Travis noncommittally. ¡°Speaking of, fancy getting a new card? I¡¯m going to the dungeon, you might join me. I wanted to test a couple things about how the second floor interacts with people anyway.¡± ¡°Not today,¡± said the man, scratching his chin. ¡°I would have never imagine turning down free magic, but here I am. Swamped with work.¡± ¡°Sure thing, let me know when you are free. Well, free-er.¡± Man, being the boss sure is tiring. Michael thought as he trekked towards the dungeon. The road was not yet complete, but already it was shaving a good chunk of time off his treks. At least I can relax now. He still needed to shed the excess mana that came with regeneration now that he was close to the dungeon, lest his full aura threaten to burst at the seams, but at least there were no immediate worries. It was then that an angry voice reached his ears. ¡°You! Motherfucker, it was you! You¡¯re dead.¡± Michael turned around and found himself face to face with the blurring man. Only, this time he was no longer a blur. He could see his features, and what he saw left him speechless for a long moment, his mind whirring as he took in the expression of rage, anger and pure hatred on the familiar face before him. Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Michael studied the man who was shouting obscenities at him. Suddenly the realization struck him like a physical blow. ¡°Josh?¡± cried Michael, ¡°is that you?¡± Josh¡¯s face was twisted with rage, ¡°Michael!¡± he said with an exaggerated tone. He clearly wasn¡¯t as surprised as Michael was about seeing his friend here. ¡°Fancy seeing you here. You on a hike?¡± ¡°I should say the same about you,¡± Michael replied, and his voice was dead serious. He covertly started casting, and a spirit appeared in the air behind him. It was translucent, barely visible, and having appeared behind the cover of his body it could float up unseen. ¡°What are you doing in my property? Didn¡¯t you see the signs?¡± ¡°Ah yes,¡± Josh shrugged, ¡°the signs telling people to keep out of a motherfucking magical treasure trove. As if. Drop the act, man. We both know what I am doing. Guess it¡¯s the same thing you are doing, asshole. Striking it rich with the dungeon loot, eh? To think you would want to keep such a thing all to yourself, tsk tsk.¡± Michael was at a loss for words. Sure, he was restricting access to the dungeon, but there were reasons. Some of which he better not say out loud to Josh right now, lest the man react badly. He did not seem stable. ¡°I¡¯m only doing this because it¡¯s too dangerous to be left open to the public. Didn¡¯t you see the monsters inside?¡± ¡°Monsters? Those weak things? I thought you¡¯d know! Just resist the temptation to go down, stick to the first floor and the dungeon showers you with power. What can a weak goblin do against this?¡± A fireball appeared right above Josh¡¯s right hand, and with a blur of his hand he threw it against a nearby tree. The impact at high velocity coupled with the magical fire had the tree exploding in smoldering splinters, which in turn set fire to nearby shrubs dried by the hot summer sun. ¡°What the hell are you doing man?¡± Michael shrieked, ¡°you want to start a forest fire?¡± The spirit above expired, and he summoned another one. Josh tsked again. ¡°You sound like her. What do you care? What are they going to do, arrest me? No, I should be asking you what you are doing here, Michael. All the work around this place? You like rules so bad, then why are you having construction crews tear up a national park, huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t care. To think it was you doing all this! Weren¡¯t you just a worthless piece of trash? You sure were last time I checked, telling me not to enter the cave, all scared and shit. The dungeon sure did a number on you.¡± Michael¡¯s eyes narrowed as his mind started to realize where this debate was going. His voice assumed a dangerous edge to it. ¡°What if it was me, what then?¡± ¡°What then? Then I demand free access from you, and you should thank me I even allow you to walk out of here alive.¡± Michael squared his shoulders, [Crude Body Enhancement] starting to cycle up. ¡°You threatening me?¡± ¡°No threats. I¡¯m telling you what¡¯s going to happen, simple as that. You can¡¯t limit access. You want to keep people like me away from here, I know that, it¡¯s because you are scared, aren¡¯t you? You with all your little rules. You don¡¯t want to break the system, and you are scared of people who would gladly do it.¡± ¡°No, I want to keep people like you out because you¡¯re unstable, Josh.¡± ¡°Unstable?¡± Josh¡¯s eyes nearly bulged out of his skull, ¡°I¡¯ve never been better, man. I¡¯ll show you unstable.¡± ¡°Josh¡ª¡± Michael began, but did not get a chance to finish the sentence because another fireball was already forming on Josh¡¯s hand. This time it was aimed at him. Michael saw it coming thanks to the intel coming from his summoned spirit. He swatted it away with a ball of swirling void, [Distortion Field] mirroring his hand movements and deflecting the fireball just enough to make it miss him. He tried to reason with Josh, but the man was having none of it, instead choosing to lob more fireballs at Michael who had to scramble to dodge and redirect them. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. He summoned another spirit, this one clearly corporeal. The thing rushed towards Josh, but a fireball quickly sent it back from where it came. It didn¡¯t matter, for it gave enough time for Michael to run to cover. ¡°You can¡¯t dispel the fireballs, can you?¡± came the crazed voice. ¡°Good. At least not all of y¡¯all are freaks.¡± The forest was quickly catching fire around them. Josh didn¡¯t seem to care, but Michael sure did. Since there was no way Michael could leave cover unscathed, he decided to reveal a bit more of his power set. He walked out into the open, facing his opponent. Josh stared at him like Michael was the crazy one of the two, but recovered quickly. Just as a water bullet rushed past Josh and embedded itself in a tree, Michael was faced with more fireballs than he could deflect. One detonated right in his face. ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± asked Josh, looking at the rotting bark of the tree where the [Foul Water Bullet] had exploded. Turning around, Josh¡¯s face twisted into horror. ¡°And what the fuck is going on with you.¡± Michael was regenerating before the other man¡¯s very eyes. His face had been horribly burned by the fireball¡ªwhich Josh had thought had missed after not hearing even a whimper from Michael. It turned out the fireball did not miss, just that Michael was a monster. His flesh was twisting, moving and flaking as his burns healed rapidly. ¡°You should be dead, or at least screaming your lungs out. How are you still standing?¡± Michael did not reply. ¡°Whatever. It¡¯s not enough!¡± Josh yelled at him, panic gnawing at the edges of his mad rage. He lobbed more fireballs. Some were redirected, some hit Michael, but he healed through all the damage without flinching, standing tall in the middle of the scorched field. Trees were burning all around, and even Josh was starting to feel uncomfortable, but Michael only stared at him as if he was in no pain at all. In a desperate move, Josh summoned a dozen more fireballs by making use of his superior speed and peppered Michael with fire. He whooped when he saw his former friend double over in pain and fall to the ground, but his cheers where short-lived when he saw Michael twitch and reach out to him from the ground, flesh bubbling. ¡°Fuck you, asshole.¡± Michael muttered. Then pain exploded from Josh¡¯s shoulder as something hit him. The pain was like liquid fire, and it was spreading a sort of numb warmth across the wound. ¡°Fuck YOU!¡± Josh sneered, and turned into a blur. Suddenly a dozen deep wounds appeared all over Michael¡¯s burnt body, bleeding profusely on the ground. There was another blur, and something clinked on the ground. ¡°See how you heal this without mana coins!¡± Josh sneered. Michael realized what the clinking sound had been. His pockets had all been cut through, and the coins were spread out on the ground, dimly glowing with the reflected light of the forest fire. Another blur and all the coins were gone. ¡°Loose pockets?¡± Josh taunted him as he held his limp arm where Michael had clipped him in the shoulder, ¡°you might have passive regeneration here, close to the dungeon, but how long can passive regeneration allow you to heal? It must cost an insane amount. It¡¯s a weakness of us all, access to mana. Now just go and die.¡± Michael was about to panic, but then clarity overtook him and he remembered. He remembered a skill that had almost become second nature to him: [Mana Manipulation]. Who said that he needed to be touching the coins to use them? The skill sure didn¡¯t. He had triple range on mana manipulation when replenishing his reserves, no matter where he took the mana from. He better put that perk to use right away. Even though there was more than enough mana in the air to regenerate, he couldn¡¯t absorb it quickly enough even with his manipulation skill. Perhaps because it was naturally occurring, he didn¡¯t know. Instead, he targeted a source of mana he knew he could immediately access: the coins. Suddenly the mana in the air became a vortex. The coins turned to vapor while still in Josh¡¯s hands, who was well within range of the skill. Michael¡¯s wounds mended at a visible pace, but it wasn¡¯t enough. He pushed, and pushed, feeling the pain of the burns and the blood loss creeping in like darkness at the edges of his vision. Then.
Skill Level up!
[Mana Manipulation] reaches level 6, pushing past its bottleneck. Range and efficacy is dramatically increased when replenishing reserves.
The vortex turned into a hurricane of mana. All of being funneled into Michael¡¯s body until his pool reached 100 Copper mana, threatening to explode from internal pressure. He felt as if something was about to give, but didn¡¯t pay it any mind. He would have, had he not been in extreme pain and utterly focused on manipulating mana and healing himself. Death was all too close. The effect of the vortex was so strong that the growing area of influence of the dungeon actually shrunk for a moment, before the dungeon redoubled its efforts to push outwards again. Michael¡¯s wounds disappeared in an instant. ¡°Impossible! Monster!¡± Josh immediately started to flee, moving faster than even Michael¡¯s current top speed after he saw Michael ready another foul water bullet. Then he was gone. Later, one of Michael¡¯s employees would find a charred remnant of an arm, partially burnt and partially rotted through. When Josh returned to his boss, it was not only as a defeated man who had disobeyed direct orders, but he was a cripple. He could still cast magic and move fast, but something had entered his body and was causing him great pain. Every hour that passed, he felt weaker and weaker. He would feel nauseous and vomited as soon as he ate something. Asshole. Asshole. Asshole! His rage only increased. I will kill you and your whole family! Chapter 70 Chapter 70 Michael struggled to keep his aura under control, feeling its edges begin to flay and fracture after absorbing way too much mana from the air and the coins. He couldn¡¯t do anything about it though, surrounded as he was by a raging inferno. The forest had caught fire all around him after Josh had carelessly lobbed fireballs everywhere, and the dry shrubs cooked by the summer heat were perfect kindling for the fire. It was spreading fast, sending plumes of dark smoke up in the air and turning the atmosphere poisonous. Michael struggled to breathe. His eyes were full of tears and his lungs burned from all the smoke he was inhaling. He kept healing himself as he looked around, churning Qi to his [Healing Aura] skill that somehow managed to generate more of it even when his Dantian was empty. He wasn¡¯t about to die just yet, but he was feeling powerless to stop the disaster from consuming the whole forest. He had no idea how to stop the fire, and unless he did something quickly then most of the forest in his property would be up in smoke before anyone could do anything about it. It would be a disaster, not to speak of the setbacks and the unneeded attention it would bring to the dungeon. Michael remembered about a skill stone called [Soothing Rain], and how useful it would be right now, and cursed himself for not absorbing it himself. It was too far away, back at the secure storage. Would it even help? He wracked his brain. What could he do? The heat was rising, the smoke was almost solid and it choked him, and his aura was like a throbbing wound in his soul. What could he do? He flicked through his status, his skills, looking around and considering options. His vision was awash in the red energy of the fire element, swirling and eating all the other elements with greedy voracity. Wood essence was turning to ash, air element was feeding the flames and water was almost nonexistent. He had a skill to summon water, but it was a simple bullet and it would be useless. He had a skill to control fire, though. And¡­ I can control elemental energies! It had never occurred to him before, but even though he was not in the dungeon the fire was still releasing huge amounts of elemental energy. What if, perhaps, he could starve it of it? Would the flames die down? He immediately activated [Candle Light] and [Mana Manipulation], bending both skills towards manipulating the elemental energy of the fire. Normally, his manipulation skill would have a range and effectiveness limitation when trying to affect elemental energies that would make his attempt futile. However, the synergy with [Candle Light] meant that Fire element was a special case, and he could control it much better and from much farther away than any other element. First he seized control of the fire in his immediate surroundings, condensing the energies towards him. He watched the flames lose their color and heat, and soon after they started dying as if starved of fuel. He didn¡¯t dare control the air element even though he knew it would starve them of oxygen. He wasn¡¯t nearly skilled enough and he did not have the same synergies that would allow him to do the same feat he did with Fire. Emboldened by the success, he pushed his skills to the extreme. It didn¡¯t matter that his aura hurt more than ever. It didn¡¯t matter that he had to heal burns that kept appearing on his body where the elemental energy of fire tried to devour his flesh. He kept vacuuming up all the fire element in the vicinity, watching the forest fire die down. He struggled through gritted teeth, pulling everything into a tight ball. The forest was smoking, but no longer burning, but the fire was not gone. It was all condensed into a swirling tight ball that floated above Michael¡¯s palm, compressed but threatening to explode once again as soon as his control slipped. Sweat rolled down his nose only to be incinerated by the ball. Michael¡¯s aura cracked even further. He didn¡¯t care. All that existed in the world right now was the unruly ball of fire energy. He focused on it. Then something clicked.
You have gained a Skill!
You focus is formidable, and your mental energy titanic. Mana bends to your will. You gain the uncommon skill [Mana Projection].
It wasn¡¯t enough. It isn¡¯t enough! He could project mana now, something he has struggled with a lot lately. But it wasn¡¯t what he needed. It wasn¡¯t enough. The ball of energy was not mana, it was elemental. Sure, he could shed some mana from his aura to lessen the burden, but the cracks were still there and they still hurt like bleeding wounds. It wasn¡¯t enough! He could use this new skill, though. He could make it do what he wanted it to do. He projected all of his mana into the world, shaping it into a tight net around the ball of fire. Then he willed it to act as a containment device. He demanded it do what he asked it to do. There was no room for negotiations.
Skill Upgrade!
Mind over mana. Mana over matter. [Mana Manipulation] absorbs [Mana Projection] and becomes Uncommon: you can now perform feats with mana unbound from spells or skills, using it as a conduit for your will.
Unity level up!
The net of mana solidified into crystal according to Michael¡¯s will, the very same crystalline mana he had managed to squeeze out of his aura when experimenting in the dungeon a few days ago. The ball of fire element was still swirling inside of its cage, but its heat was diminished. It lashed out against its containment, but no matter how hard it tried, the crystal held true. Michael would need to deal with it in the future, but for now the threat was contained. Except, his aura was now a spiderweb of cracks. He was leaking mana like a sieve, and he could feel other energies leaking through as well. He was losing Qi, Intent, and even vitality itself seemed to escape his grasp. He felt himself grow weak and feeble, and his skills did not respond to him anymore. He panicked. Was this it? Was this how it ended? He refused to die here. He put everything he had into his aura. Qi. Intent. Everything. He pushed and compressed and tried to mend the cracks. He flooded the damaged areas with what little energy he still had, absorbing coins and pulling from the air itself. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. It wasn¡¯t enough. Then his eyes settled on the ball of swirling fire. He had a crazy idea. But it was all that he had left. Accessing the fire using his manipulation skill, which was somehow still working, he pulled it to himself. A slew of messages followed.
Skill Upgrade!
Your proficiency grows beyond the bounds of a simple skill. [Mana Manipulation] becomes the Rare skill: [Magic Manipulation]. You can now control, store and project mana and elemental energies.
You have learned a new element: Fire.
He then felt his aura condense. It shrunk into itself, gaining solidity around his Skill Sanctum while absorbing copious amounts of Qi and Fire element before once again spreading outwards. The cracks were still there, but they were filled with the Qi and the Fire element like pulsing veins.
Aura Upgrade!
You have reached the next stage of magic. You aura has upgraded from Copper (Common) to Silver (Soulfire Silverweb)
Unity level up!
Michael slumped to the ground, spent. He had survived the tribulation, it seemed. I need a vacation. *** Michael sat under the shade of a large oak tree, taking in the fresh air of the Misty Valley¡ªthe new official name of his resting place on the second floor of the dungeon¡ªand enjoyed the view. He had rushed to the second floor of the dungeon as soon as he felt healthy enough to go through the first floor to access his peaceful valley to take a few days to rest and recuperate. As he took in the majestic view of the valley and its surrounding mountains, he thought about how lucky he was to have such a place all to himself. The valley was a safe sanctuary¡ªif one didn¡¯t mind going through at least one floor of the dungeon to get there¡ªwhere he could spend as much time as he wanted thanks to the time dilation. No matter how long he stayed there, only ten minutes would pass in the outside world. By the time he was out, Travis would be there after having spotted the smoke and fire, but not much would have happened in the real world. Michael could take it easy. Or, much better, he could spend some time to train and consolidate his gains. He still hadn¡¯t gotten used to the newly upgraded [Magic Manipulation], for instance. First off: he checked his status.
Status: Michael Lexington
Level: 3/10-> 5/10
Base Statistics Advanced Statistics - Soulfire Silverweb Aura
Strength 213 -> 235 Mana Capacity (Silver) 1.01
Dexterity 159 -> 181 Elemental energy Capacity 101
Stamina 252 -> 273 Qi Capacity 10.1
Reflexes 281 -> 312 Intent Capacity 1.01
Intelligence 132 -> 155
Resilience 381 -> 402
Memory 148 -> 170
He wasn¡¯t yet superhuman, but he was getting there. Already he could bring to bear elite athlete-level of power in multiple aspects of his life at the same time. It wasn¡¯t what was exciting about his gains, however. The skill was.
(Rare) Magic Manipulation 6
In the ether''s embrace, the threads of mana dance; with deft manipulation, I weave the strands of magic, shaping reality with the gentle touch of a sorcerer''s hand. ¡¤ You can control, store and project mana and known elemental energies (Fire) with a range of 50 meters. ¡¤ You can control and store Qi with a range of 25 meters. ¡¤ You gain the ability to force skills to act outside of their scope, bending them to your will. ¡¤ You can use projected energies to directly influence the material world.
Activating the skill was as easy as breathing. The complex fractal¡ªmuch more complex than it was two rarity evolutions ago¡ªlit up in his Skill Sanctum in response to his will. Mana swirled, and with a small *pop* a rainbow colored lollipop appeared in his outstretched hand. He smiled at the silly action that cost him a ludicrous amount of mana. Had he not been in the dungeon, it would have been a waste. Here? Here it simply contributed to making his mana pool larger. He didn¡¯t even like lollipops. With a shrug, he summoned a spirit from the astral plane and flicked the lollipop at it. Unlike him, the spirits were gluttons, and they liked the sugary treats. The little spirit swirled in the air in a clear sugar high until its time was up, then vanished. Michael¡¯s smile slowly waned. Soon it would be time to leave. Before that, however, he had a couple more things he wanted to do. He took a leisurely stroll towards the glacier situated at the top and heart of a nearby mountain. Thanks to his new aura, the cold was barely a bother and only if he allowed it to be, and not even the gale-force winds could do much more than tickle at his skin. Extending his aura outwards, it encompassed much more space than ever before, muting the sound of wind completely. The best thing about it? It didn¡¯t cost much mana at all to do it, only consuming a small amount of it whenever the aura actually interacted with something. From the vantage point of the mountain, Michael could see beyond the edges of the valley and into the mists that surrounded it. He wondered what lied beyond the wall of fog, where not even his senses could penetrate. Many times had his walks brought him there, but he had never dared even touch the solid roiling fog, let alone enter it. It formed a solid wall, vertical and impenetrable, seemingly held at bay by some sort of shield around the valley. It was similar to how he could use his aura to prevent the wind from touching him, really, he thought. Perhaps the valley itself had an aura that kept the fog out? Just another thing to investigate in the future. The fog did not seem too dangerous, and one day he would like to explore what lied beyond the edges of the valley, to find the true edges of the dungeon floor. Perhaps there were riches in the fog, waiting to be discovered. He chuckled. He sure as hell was not going to step into the fog until he knew it was safe, no matter how much his gut told him it wasn¡¯t going to harm him. So what if he was being a little bit cautious? Too many brushes with death lately had left him a bit uncomfortable about putting himself in danger again. He reached the glacier and entered without problems. There was a platoon of soldiers standing guard at the entrance, and they let him through with a salute. Even with the valley pacified thanks to Drullkrin¡¯s efforts, the mana and elemental energies sometimes led to new monsters being spawned, and soldiers were there to make sure these new monsters knew what the ground rules of this place were. Most monsters agreed without problems, others¡­ well, that¡¯s what soldiers were there for. Michael thought about the other purpose of the soldiers as he made his way deeper into the glacier. Drullkrin had given him the latest haul from the monsters¡¯ many runs through both the first and third floor of the dungeon, which they had been given access to after the boss had been defeated. It was a veritable fortune in mana coins, magical stones, trinkets, ornamental knickknacks made of valuable but mundane materials, and a few skill stones as well. The skill stones would all go to Candle Light to deal with, of course, especially one called ¡°Ghost Market,¡± which Michael couldn¡¯t wait to see in use. Even though he wished to hoard all the skills for himself, he saw the merit in delegating and powering up his people. The Candle Light division needed the ability to deal with supernatural threats and opportunities on their own. Otherwise they would be left powerless whenever he wasn¡¯t around to help them. Skill stones were one of the ways he could make sure they were properly equipped. The rest of the loot would go to the other divisions of Unity Corporation. It sure feels great to finally have a structure behind me to deal with these bothersome things. Michael finally arrived at his destination, putting his musings on hold for the time being. Before him was the throne of the now deceased Ice King, filled to the brim with Ice elemental energy. It was time to see if he could gain another element, or if Fire was just a stroke of dumb luck. Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Michael took careful steps inside the large cavern. In the middle of the room, the Throne of the Ice King was like a shining beacon of azure, blue and white energies bright enough to outshine the light of all the torches in the room, at least when seen through magical means. It stood there empty, testament to a powerhouse that was no more, the tool of the dungeon slain to gain its power and rule. Michael approached the throne gingerly. The elements were a swirl around the oversized ice seat, which both generated them out of thin air and seemed to be the centra point around which the vortex rotated incessantly. Sitting down in meditation, not on the throne but beside it, Michael reached out to the simplest of the energies: Ice. Hours passed with him trying to understand, connect and incorporate Ice into his being. He tried to figure out just where this Ice was supposed to be in the first place. His Fire was inside his aura itself, which was called Soulfire Silverweb after he had used Fire to fuel its transition from Copper to Silver. The presence of Fire in his aura also meant that Ice refused to be even near it, no matter how hard he tried to push it around. His control over it was sloppy, since Ice was not a known element to him, and he lacked the finesse to make it meld with his Fire seamlessly. There seemed, however, to be another place where he could goad the energy to go. Something that he had seen in his status, called Elemental Energy Capacity. It was like a Dantian but for the elements rather than Qi, where he could store elemental energies to be used later just like he could store Qi in his Dantian to be used at his whims. He felt a sort of resonance, a budding connection, but even as the hours passed he failed to make the final leap. Still, he felt that if he could somehow manage to store the Ice in his Elemental pool, then perhaps he could use it to evolve his aura even further. What if he could make veins of all the elements in his aura before advancing to Gold rank? He would be unstoppable. Too bad, he thought as he struggled to return to reality after fantasticating, that he still had no idea what advantages his unique aura had over a standard one. He would have to ask Theobond later. The alien must surely know something. On a whim he tried to summon his [Foul Water Bullet], thinking that perhaps since it came from a skill, its elemental energy would be easier to deal with. Instead, he discovered to his great surprise that it was as if the element wasn¡¯t really there at all. He could see it, and he could see it interact with the world, but when he tried to manipulate it¡­ it did not respond at all. The same thing happened with the flames generated by [Candle Light], and later he found the same to be true about the Qi generated by his [Healing Aura]. He could use it to heal himself, and while the skill was active he could also move it around, but it did not go to his Dantian to replace his reserves like Qi from a Coin would. This taught him that, just like mana, Qi and elemental energies were a finite resource outside of the dungeon. And unlike mana and Qi, he had no elemental Coins he could use to replenish his elemental reserves, instead having to seek a source of the relevant element in the dungeon. It made him appreciate the Misty Valley even more. With its many features, it had sources of many elements. The forest was full of green vitality and nature elements, the mountains were filled with earth and metal veins, the river and lake were full of water elements, the glacier had abundance of icy wisps of energy, and the volcano was an excellent source of all things fiery. The swamp completed the picture with its corrupted rot elements, and Michael was sure there were more to be found in the desert and in other unexplored places. ¡°I cannot tell you what you wish to learn,¡± Theobond said. Michael had gone to the castle as the last item on his to-do list before leaving the dungeon. ¡°It would be revealing too much, and the gaze of the dungeon still lingers on me.¡± ¡°Surely you can give me a hint.¡± Theobond observed Michael impassively, lacking any visible emotion. It was hard to predict when the king would show emotion and when he would act like this, and reading said change was impossible. Eventually, the blue humanoid sighed. ¡°I can. You are on the right path, of course. However, it is a hard feat, and the more elements you wish to add to your aura, the more dangerous it will be to do it. Balance them with Qi, and do not add other energies until you upgrade its rank. Now leave before this place smites us, and do not return for a long time.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. *** Josh paced around the half-ruined office. Burnt furniture and charred smudges lined the walls, and some of the things in the room were clearly thrown haphazardly, while others kept in almost maniacal order. Behind the desk by the window, through which Josh could see a nearby corn field brutally battered by the midday sun, sat his boss. Carmela was calm, a mirror opposite to his seething rage that sent him into coughing fits. He put away the tissue where splotches of blood from his coughing reminded him of the ruin his ¡®friend¡¯ had inflicted upon him, strategically forgetting about the fact that it had been him who had gone to the dungeon with the intention to kill, and not Michael. ¡°You never told me who the other guy was,¡± Josh said with barely restrained anger. His remaining hand twitched as his fingers gripped his shirt, half from anger and half from uncontrollable shivers from the infection spreading through his system. ¡°You thought it would be a good idea to withhold information like that?¡± ¡°Pah,¡± spat the woman, somehow managing not to break the illusion of poise and control. ¡°Don¡¯t act like you get to tell me what to do, ragazzo. You were told to avoid contact, what good would have done knowing who the other guy was?¡± ¡°It¡ª¡± ¡°Shush. I¡¯m speaking. Knowing his identity would have made you go ballistic, that¡¯s what! Precisely what I don¡¯t need right now, and precisely what you went and did!¡± ¡°They dared to attack us!¡± Josh spat, the tremors in his hand intensifying, ¡°in broad daylight. How could you let it stand?¡± ¡°I could,¡± Carmela said clinically, ¡°because the woman ran away with her tail between her legs. Now you went and undid all the leverage we had built just because you couldn¡¯t contain yourself.¡± ¡°You should have told me sooner that it was Michael.¡± Carmela shrugged. ¡°Not like I was actually preventing you from learning his identity. You could have gone and checked on him with your super speed. Did you? Did you?¡± Josh sputtered. ¡°I don¡¯t care. He¡¯s weak,¡± he lied after recovering his confidence to speak, ¡°I almost killed him before he fled.¡± Carmela scoffed at the young man. ¡°You have super speed and you tell me he fled?¡± ¡°Next time he won¡¯t be so lucky.¡± Josh shrugged. Which was awkward when one of his arms was a stump. Carmela knew it was a lie. She also knew that Michael would soon retaliate after this. So far, he had been meek and stupid, letting her do whatever she wanted. But now he would have no arguments to present to his advisors when they confronted him, urging him to finally deal with her. And they were going to urge him. She knew Old Dave, and she was pretty sure she understood Travis Tyrell¡¯s type as well. Peaceful days were over all too soon. All because Josh ¡°couldn¡¯t FUCKING control his temper!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± She yelled at him, then calmed herself. She pressed a button and a burly man entered the room, the figure of calm. ¡°Call the Bulgarians,¡± she told him. ¡°It¡¯s time to use them. Tell them to go and kidnap Michael¡¯s family and bring them to me.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t do it, ma¡¯am,¡± said the man. She regarded him, his right hand, and he shrugged. ¡°You know how they are.¡± ¡°They are just the muscle, cazzo. Not the brain. They shouldn¡¯t think at all! Leave that to their betters. Plus, don¡¯t they have a grudge against the boy? You know what? Josh, go with him. Take some trusted men and make sure the Bulgarians behave.¡± Besides, they are just the bait. But she did not say it out loud. ¡°You want me to *cough* go fucking *cough*¡­¡± Carmale waved his protests away, ¡°save your breath,¡± she said to the hacking man. ¡°You are going.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a monster,¡± Josh¡¯s face was white as a sheet, ¡°I¡¯m not going without some sort of incentive.¡± He eyed her up and down. Instead of the expected reaction, however, she simply stared at him. Even when he summoned a fireball. Sure, she might be his boss, but she was an utterly normal human and he was a mage. He might be crippled, but against her it was like fighting a toddler. He would wipe that smirk off her face and¡ª ¡°Sure.¡± She said. Before the message could even register in Josh¡¯s mind, she suddenly was on him. She grabbed his head in her hands and squeezed, lines of golden light beginning to freeze his skin, the biting pain of ice making its way to his brain. Then she released him, letting him slump to the ground, and taking his coins. ¡°You are not the only magic individual now,¡± she said with a scoff. Her smirk was undamaged. ¡°I got magic too. Thank that bureaucrat we sort of kidnapped, sort of tortured, for his gift. You better learn your place, coglione. You do as I tell you. Don¡¯t think for a moment that just because you have some sort of power, you can do whatever you want.¡± She gave him a few coins, barely enough for a few spells. ¡°Go and be glad you¡¯re still alive. Don¡¯t think you can run either. What I want you to do to Michael¡¯s family¡­ I¡¯ve already done to yours. You can¡¯t win this.¡± After Josh left, Carmela suddenly slumped on her chair. Finding that man who had stumbled upon the dungeon that day had been an unexpected boon. Even better still that he was an idiot. An idiot too easy to blackmail. She had forced him to go back into the dungeon and bring her the source of his magic. He had returned without even needing her to torture his family a little bit, holding a thick grimoire. One that had, after she read it, granted her magic. Then she forced the man to go back into the dungeon and bring her more tomes, but he never made it out the second time. Too bad that using grimoire magic drained her almost to the point of fainting. But Josh didn¡¯t need to know that. After Josh was done with his task then¡­ she would have unfettered access to the dungeon. Then she would start sending Michael and Josh in there multiple times a day to provide her with coins and grimoires until she was unstoppable. Chapter 72 Chapter 72 Travis was walking from the new prefab building attached to the temporary HQ to his car to grab a quick bite, feeling like he was back at the beginning of his career, when he suddenly saw the plume of smoke rising from the forest. Already several people were pointing their noses at the sky, and orders were being shouted from the heads of the security division while soldiers armed with guns and shields took position. They were still in the process of testing what sort of equipment worked best against powered individuals, especially since they were still stuck with conventional mercenary sort of stuff, but already they were a sight to behold. Making a U-turn that had his heels digging into the loose dust of the trodden ground near the parking lot, Travis ran back to the headquarters. Large screens filled three walls to the brim while computers and personnel took up the rest of the space, making the large room appear like a cramped base of operations out of some science fiction organization. Which, he thought, was not too far from what they actually were. On the screens was the live feed from several drones: the aftermath of a forest fire from different angles. There had been a fight, some people in the room said, but it had all been over before they could react with appropriate means. Travis could only grit his teeth at the uselessness of Candle Light in situations like these. Skill stones were trickling in from the dungeon, courtesy of Michael, but progress was slow. Not everyone took to them with the same natural talent Michael showed, and there had been more than a few failures. Even for those who did take the skill stones and adapt to them, skill levels were absurdly slow to get. ¡°Why were there no people nearby?¡± Travis asked, annoyed already. ¡°There were, sir. They are all incapacitated or dead, sir.¡± Travis grunted. Dead people meant big losses, but most of all it meant that the brand image of Unity would suffer. It wouldn¡¯t be until Candle Light was much more famous and paranormal activities much more common that he could shift the blame on the magical elements of the world. For now, the public was still very much not used to dead bodies. By the time any response arrived, the fight was over. It had been the speedster again, once again slipping past their preparations with ease until he came upon Michael. Travis was at the site minutes later, riding the quad to the end of the road and taking to teleporting the rest of way in. He found Michael hunched over the smouldering remains of a burnt tree, sucking the heat out of the embers until they were simple black coal. Travis knew that between the fight and now Michael had had the time to go in and out of the dungeon, looking completely calm and collected afterwards. He had no idea how much time he spent in there, but he knew it had to be quite a lot of time. Johanne was only seconds behind him, having rushed here from who knows where. Protocol was too lax when it came to the upper echelons, Travis thought, and he had no idea where the woman had even been the whole morning. She was wounded, panting, and dishevelled. A suspicious amount of blood marred her clothes, enough that he almost asked her to explain herself before he remembered that she only responded to Michael and Michael only. They would need to talk about it. ¡°Why are you bleeding, Johanne?¡± Michael said, not lifting his head from his work. Michael was too calm for the situation, even considering the time he spent in the dungeon to calm down. It was as if magic was twisting him into becoming¡­ strange. At least, Travis thought that if anyone could afford to act strange, it was him. ¡°I went to talk to Carmela. I wanted to deal with her.¡± Johanne said, not an ounce of remorse. ¡°I take it didn¡¯t go well,¡± Michael said. Johanne shook her head. She recounted the events in excruciating detail, with Michael barely needing to prompt her to elaborate. Travis noted that she would have never shared this much information had it been him who asked. ¡°Worrying. Carmela has magic, now.¡± Michael said. Travis frowned. He was about to speak up when Michael added: ¡°why the fuck did you go there alone, though?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said, almost bowing, ¡°I did not expect such a reaction from Josh. Nor did I think he would come here immediately after.¡± Michael sighed. ¡°I can see Travis is trying his best not to give you a piece of his mind right now. As a punishment, I order you to listen to what he has to say, alright?¡± ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± ¡°Before that,¡± interjected Travis. ¡°You fought him. You finally fought the bastard. How was it?¡± ¡°He¡¯s an idiot,¡± Michael said before recounting the events. ¡°He might be an idiot,¡± Travis said gravely, ¡°but Carmela is not. It¡¯s time to stop being passive.¡± Michael stared at him. For a moment, Travis thought that the man was looking inside of him. It was like getting an x-ray that also happened to hurt at a visceral level. His silver card, embedded in his hand, quivered as if in fear. Was this the power of a Silver aura? He would need to update the files. ¡°I agree,¡± Michael said, aloof. ¡°Call the others. I want you,¡± he looked at Johanne next, ¡°you, Old Dave, Trevor and Jennifer here at 8:00 PM sharp.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. With that Travis was dismissed to return to his duties. He almost did not feel like eating lunch anymore. Not because he was depressed, however. No. A grin was plastered on his face. This was exciting. Things were about to get hectic, but it was in times like these that real progress was made. Michael had been forced to grow once again, and no matter how sad it was that someone like him would be forced to experience such betrayal, it was good for the future of Unity and mankind as a whole that he did. Old Dave would agree. Much more heartbroken about it than Travis, perhaps, but he would agree. Travis went back to doing his duties for Candle Light. Some time later he got a message from Naoshida Industries, saying that the first batch of specialized equipment will arrive in two days. It was still the basic stuff, but from there they could begin to tailor their request to their needs. It wouldn¡¯t be until the Science division was up and running that they¡¯d have magical gear, after all, apart from the random mana-induced mutation. Which, for now, consisted of a single item: a gun that squeaked at random intervals. Useless. There were other items as well, but nothing that would help apprehend a rogue Copper or Silver-level threat. Travis did not worry much. He saw how zealous Johanne was about the science division. Already the foundations had been dug, prefab buildings were being brought in in segments, and she was ordering people around to plant trees and greenery and place boulders and other random elements so that the completed buildings would look nice. Strange woman. She was also coordinating with Candle Light to a surprising degree, considering how little she spoke to anyone who was not Michael. She had already been instrumental in binging in at least two powerful anomalous items, things that the rest of Candle Light combined would have not been able to deal with. Travis continued his rounds. They ended with him checking on an operator who had been given a skill stone Michael had retrieved from the dungeon, one that should allow him to perceive magic. After the last batch of tests, courtesy of Johanne, it had been proven that skill stones can be removed unless they have been with someone too long, while cards can always be removed. The soldier was not taking well to it and was forced to unequip it, much to his dismay. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll find other ways to make myself useful to Candle Light.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Travis reassured the man. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see such passion. We¡¯ll find something compatible with you.¡± Johanne took it from there, appearing as if out of the woodwork saying she had ideas, and Travis shot her a dirty look. After he had given her a lecture about safety and engagement rules, she had shared some of her ideas with him. She had looked guilty for a moment before steeling herself, to which Travis decided to let go of his misgivings. She was a valuable asset, after all, even if her methods were utter lunacy. No other sane person would have managed to have the builders swear that a first small lab would be ready before Monday. When he returned to the dungeon, he noticed that he was the last to arrive. ¡°Why have you called us all here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s time to pull all stops.¡± Michael announced. His presence seemed to have grown, something Johanne had mentioned about his aura increasing in tier, although Travis thought that her explanation wasn¡¯t the whole picture. ¡°After today¡¯s attack, even though we weren¡¯t the ones who attacked first,¡± he glared at Johanne, ¡°I realized we cannot keep going slow anymore. We need to take some risks. We need to power the fuck up. We have a framework to deal with it, now that the company is up and running and Candle Light division is getting up to speed. I¡¯ve been told the Science division is coming along well. That¡¯s great. What¡¯s not great is having a Security division that can¡¯t protect shit. Or a crippled Candle Light that can¡¯t deal with what¡¯s about to happen. I told you all what I saw in the mana around the dungeon, and you all know that it¡¯s about to reach a small town. It¡¯s doing numbers on our equipment here, and I dare not think what it will do inside a town. What the reactions to it will be. So. You two,¡± he said as he looked at Trevor and Jennifer, ¡°are effective immediately Level 2 Operators within Candle Light as well as heads of security. It¡¯s time you learn what you have been protecting around here.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± said Trevor. Travis approved of the man¡¯s caution. ¡°No¡± interrupted Michael, ¡°we don¡¯t have much time to waste. Josh is surely whining at Carmela¡¯s feet right now, isn¡¯t he?¡± Travis nodded. ¡°My men saw him go there, yes.¡± ¡°See? Your men. That¡¯s a problem. Integrate within Unity. Create a Spy division, put someone with balls in control of it. Anyway, this means we are out of time. It was a mistake to even get here, but now we can only try our best to fix the situation before it escalates. I want you,¡± he pointed at Travis, ¡°to get at least another silver card. You,¡± he looked at Old Dave, ¡°need to get used to more action. You said you were quite active back in the day, no?¡± The old man nodded. He looked older, defeated, but there was a hint of pride to how he looked at Michael. Travis knew the old man thought himself finished here. It wasn¡¯t true at all. Old Dave was the true CEO of Unity, dealing with all the messes Travis and Michael and Johanne left in the wake of their hurry. Travis especially had been a source of headaches for the old man, and he knew that without David dealing with his messes, he would not have gotten half as far as he did. Still, Old Dave barely spoke with Michael nowadays, it made sense he thought he was finished. A twinkle appeared in David¡¯s eye, however. Perhaps he wasn¡¯t as finished as he thought. He nodded. ¡°I did my fair share of scuffles. But I hoped to put that life behind me.¡± Michael shook his head. ¡°This attack demonstrated that we aren¡¯t safe even if we hide in the heart of Site 00. At least until we power Unity up with magic. Until then, you are all in danger. So, Dave, I want you to fight. These two are skill stones for [Water Bullet] and [Stone Wall] which, together with your [Stone Skin] will allow you to grind the first floor easily. As for you two,¡± he looked at Trevor and Jennifer, ¡°it¡¯s time you see what we are actually dealing with here. What the dungeon is, what kind of dangers there are inside there, and especially what powered individuals are capable of doing. I can¡¯t expect you to do your job in the dark. But first I need you to swear an oath.¡± He explained the oath to them, and they took it in stride. Jennifer looked like she wanted to ask questions, but she held back. Only after they were done did Michael speak again. ¡°Now. Your role will be to watch and take notes for the first delve. Do not interfere. Don¡¯t do anything. Just watch and learn, alright? Once we reach the second floor, we will regroup and discuss strategy. Then the real grind begins. We will keep at it until you two are powerful enough, Travis has the second silver card and Old Dave has grown used to his abilities. Then we will go back to the second floor to rest and strategize. I want to get out of here with a plan to deal with Carmela¡¯s threat from all possible directions.¡± ¡°We should also discuss giving access to the dungeon to more people,¡± said Travis. He had recovered quickly from Michael¡¯s barrage of words. ¡°Especially Security and Candle Light people, but I¡¯m open to considering outsiders as well.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± said Michael, ¡°this is just the beginning.¡± Chapter 73 Chapter 73 It felt good to be back in the dungeon. Michael felt like he was more at home in here than outside, nowadays. He had slept more times in his treehouse in the Misty Valley, the former residence of the Forest King that he repurposed as his own house, than in his real home lately. He had no love for his actual home, but still. Plus, it was too far away from the base of operations. He had thought about sleeping at the HQ somewhere, perhaps commandeering a sofa or something, but it felt wasteful when he could simply sleep in the dungeon and be rested in ten real-world minutes rather than wasting eight whole hours. Johanne still insisted they build a mansion next to the dungeon. For Michael, going through the first floor was akin to walking through the porch to get home, why build a house? She insisted, and he relented. They had the money, and he had seen the drawings. The mansion was going to be gorgeous, built inside the mountain using magic and mundane means alike. Johanne was going to do a lot of heavy lifting to build the house in ways that were not possible, nor economically feasible otherwise. The place would then be surrounded by trees and a small lake created by diverting the creek and adding some water with elemental stones. Yes, elemental stones were a thing now, it seemed. Even without a lab, Johanne was already making the science division work overtime to come up with new inventions and knickknacks. It wouldn¡¯t be long before Unity Corp could really begin to change the world. It¡¯s like she doesn¡¯t sleep either. Or perhaps she has some sort of magic to enhance her mind? Voices behind him brought Michael¡¯s attention back to the present. The dungeon had deposited them in a dark room without monsters this time, unlike when he went in alone or with just one or two people. A snap of his fingers, and flames were conjured from his hand. Together with the powerful flashlights, they lit the room to day. He could see everyone¡¯s different reaction to the damp place. Jennifer looked around, as if bored. She didn¡¯t yet believe in the true danger of this place. Trevor was studying the room, noticing with unconcealed worry that there were no exits save for a single dark door leading deeper. It wasn¡¯t the teleportation inside that had shaken him, but the lack of exits. Old Dave was fidgeting, no doubt dreading his turn to fight. Travis was determined, looking at the door like it was a tasty treat. Michael wondered why the man did not go in the dungeon more often, after all the excuse that Travis did not have time to do it wasn¡¯t really holding up with the time freeze, but perhaps not everyone was a battle junkie like him. The first run was Michael¡¯s turn. He squared his shoulders and got ready to show the others what they were dealing with. Then he rushed through the door, trusting that Travis would make sure the others knew what to do. He finally unleashed himself. The floor was a mix of powered-up skeletons and goblins, many more than usual to account for the party size but no harder to kill singularly, and Michael had long grown past human limits. His arms were a flurry of activity. A sweep of his hand, and flames engulfed a goblin. A flick of his wrist, and several [Foul Water Bullets] pierced the brains of more goblins. A fist carried a [Distortion Field] against the chest of a skeleton, exploding its brittle bones after overpowering its shield.
Skill Level up!
[Distortion Field] reaches level 7, and now lasts indefinitely.
Michael grinned. He had been pushing the skill to its limit, feeding it energy to always try to breach beyond its limitations. It was only a matter of time before he succeeded. Now we¡¯re talking. What followed was a carnage. With the distortion sphere always active, he started incorporating the deeper understandings he got from [Okinawan Mastery] into his style, using the sphere like a part of his own body, a deadly weapon. *** Jennifer was genuinely afraid that if she gaped any wider, her jaw might seriously hit the floor. She had been told about magic. She had been told about the dungeon. She had seen part of the footage showing the aftermath of the battle in the forest. She had seen Michael conjure magical flames in front of her. Yet, she had not believed. She had not fully come to terms with the fact that magic was a thing now. She thought that it would only be a party trick, how else could she explain the current state of the world? Magic was real, yes, but it was nothing more than little flames and fancy tricks. Nothing that a gun couldn¡¯t overpower. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. She had not seen the things Candle Light was already beginning to uncover. She had not yet seen the depths of Michael¡¯s power. Now she was witnessing true magic. Michael had cleared the first room in record time, a blitz of movement and death. He danced and things died, magic flashed from his body and hands like it belonged, doing impossible things and filling her with dread. This was her boss, and he alone was more powerful than all the forces under her command. She thought she was protecting him, but¡­ Boy, was I wrong. It would be more correct to say that he would be the one protecting her should a magical threat appear. Awe turned to determination. She had almost scoffed when her boss had told her he wanted to power her up with magic? Now that she had seen the opportunities magic could offer, she decided to embrace the new paradigm. She was weak, but she wouldn¡¯t be weak for long. Mr Tyrell was providing commentary beside her, detailing every little thing Michael did during his fight. ¡°See? He took a hit on purpose, knowing he can heal himself. He slipped past the guard with a burst of speed from his strengthening skill and summoned the sphere again inside the skeleton¡¯s ribcage.¡± He was a mix between a sports caster and an analyst. ¡°Ah, now he switched to using [Presence]. See how the monster froze for a second? Then a water bullet to the head. He has a mutated variant of the element, so he doesn¡¯t need to worry about them getting back up.¡± Johanne intervened here and there to better explain some abilities or tactics, while David hummed along in thought. The second room was cleared much like the first. Jennifer was forced to reconsider everything she thought she knew about the world. Then she was forced to reconsider the danger this place posed to her and everyone who worked here. Who was to say these monsters couldn¡¯t spill out whenever they wanted? Forget that. She looked at Michael, and was glad he was on her side. But if what they told her was true, and whatever phenomenon was causing this was also expanding, then the world was about to see some real shit. ¡°People like him could be running around and we wouldn¡¯t know?¡± Trevor asked, as if reading her mind. Mr Tyrell nodded. ¡°There are at least two of them that we know already. Perhaps even three. And that¡¯s just around here. Who knows what¡¯s going on with the rest of the world?¡± ¡°This is¡­¡± she began. ¡°Not even half of it,¡± Mr Tyrell said with an expression that was half a smirk and half a sigh. ¡°We have already seen dozens of anomalous items, flora and fauna caused by the dungeon¡¯s mana around Site 00 alone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what Candle Light is trying to contain, isn¡¯t it?¡± she asked. ¡°Contain, and use. As newest high-clearance members, you¡¯ll need to get up to speed as soon as possible. Oh,¡± he said, ¡°he¡¯s done. Let¡¯s move onto the boss room. Follow me, please.¡± They entered the last room. Suddenly Jennifer found herself surrounded by tall humanoids with green skin and stacks of animated bones surrounded by shimmering shields. They were the same monsters she had seen in the rest of the dungeon floor, but now they were much bigger and they exuded an aura of power. She had to admit that, despite her training and disposition, she would probably have panicked had she been in here alone. It was like she knew, viscerally, that even though these monsters looked like simple oversized versions of the other monsters she had already seen, they were much, much more powerful. Powerful enough to even put Michael in a tough spot. There were just so many of them, all of them quickly converging on their position, leaving them with no avenue to escape. Trevor was clearly looking uncomfortable, but resolute, and beside him David Chestermill, the CEO, was white as a sheet. The only calm members of their expedition were Travis and Johanne, and she didn¡¯t know why. She voiced her doubts, to which Johanne snickered. ¡°You do not yet know the capabilities of my lord. Watch and learn.¡± She struggled to stay still. Then suddenly Michael waved his hand, and dozens upon dozens of the very same water bullets he had used until now materialized out of thin air. They surrounded him like a rain shower frozen in time. With a flick of his wrist, they all shot towards the monsters that crowded the room. One moment the room was full of raging monsters barely kept at bay by Michael¡¯s efforts. The next there was only shredded meat and splinters of bone, visibly rotting before it all turned into a faint ethereal mist. ¡°This is the true power of Silver,¡± said Johanne. ¡°Huh, this turned out to be much more of a sightseeing trip than I thought it would be. I will have to update the files,¡± Mr Tyrell said. He had been recording the fight with his phone, but the last show of power had him transfixed. The result was that the video was tilted to the side as his arms had slackened. Trevor was stoic. His lack of reaction was almost worrying, as if the man had ran out of emotions to display. It was a stark opposite to Jennifer¡¯s own appearance, her usual cynic fa?ade crumbled to dust before the raw power she had been witness to. Mister Chestermill was balling his fists so hard the knuckles had turned white. He was shaking, but not in fear. Just one look at his eyes told her that he was raring to go, motivated by what he had seen, desperate for a fight himself. This is not a normal company. This place is nuts. These people are nuts. How many other people could claim to be working under three battle maniacs who wielded magic? One, the owner, who was a complete monster. Another, David, who looked like a tall but frail old man until you looked at his eyes. He had been scared, but he also had magic, and after seeing this last display of strength it was clear he couldn¡¯t wait to use it. The third was a short but stout man, former CEO of a ruthless oil company now turned loyal lackey of the owner, with a fixation for protocol and controlling all things under his purview. Not to speak about the other person above her in the hierarchy. A strange woman who had no legal identity up until a few days ago and who could cast magic and called the owner her lord. Who could claim to be able to fight monsters? Jennifer finally understood just where she had ended up. After a brief moment of confusion, she shared a look with her colleague and old friend. Trevor was grinning now. They both knew it. Hell yeah, they were the right people for the job. Chapter 74 Chapter 74 They stood at the threshold of a doorway leading down into a dark, foreboding staircase. The steps were carved stone, but they were so uniform in their making that it was like they had been cut with a laser, with no imprecisions or veins showing, nor even a layer of dust. At the end of the stairway light could be seen filtering in, although Jennifer was pretty sure that the light had not been there when the doorway had appeared. Michael ushered them in, following behind them. As the light drew closer, Jennifer began to hear strange sounds, like those of a forest. There was fresh wind blowing through the opening, but the light was too bright to clearly see what was on the other side. Then she stepped out. The first thing she noticed was the grass under her feet. Then both she and Trevor took defensive positions, more out of habit than need, surveying their surroundings. All around them were¡­ trees. And sky, and a sun up above. A breeze was blowing from the mountain behind them, sweeping through the clearing they were in and carrying the scent of high-altitude flowers. A pang of cold told her that they were quite far up, and that there was snow not too far away. Below them, she could see the edge of a forest of conifers slowly giving way to oaks and caduceus trees. Behind them, Michael grinned. ¡°Welcome to the Misty Valley.¡± He gave them a moment to get their bearings. He knew that it was their first time here, only Johanne and he having been here before. To everyone else, including Mr Tyrell, this was the first time seeing anything other the first floor of the dungeon. The man in question took everything in with inquisitive eyes, then pulled out his phone to begin taking pictures. After he was done, he took Johanne aside and started discussing things with her. Jennifer thought he was more like interrogating her than anything else. The woman in question was shaking her head in reply here and there, and from the snippets of conversation Jennifer could hear they were talking about who could access this place. ¡°We still have to run tests, Travis,¡± said the woman as if the man was nothing more than an annoyance, ¡°for now, we know for sure that anyone my lord wishes to access this place, as long as he is also present, can be allowed in. As you can clearly see, being here yourself and all.¡± Travis nodded and scribbled something down. Johanne sighed theatrically and left the man to his own devices before taking her place at Michael¡¯s side. ¡°This place¡­¡± Mr Chestermill said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. To think that there¡¯s a whole valley deep down inside a mountain.¡± ¡°I think a spatial anomaly is at play, David,¡± said Mr Tyrell, ¡°we are no longer simply inside the mountain.¡± ¡°Even more impressive. And no matter how much time passes here, only ten minutes pass outside?¡± It was Michael¡¯s turn to nod. Jennifer had also heard of this, but only now did the true implications of what she learned sink in. Gears started turning in her mind. This place could be a gold mine. ¡°Who can access this place?¡± asked Trevor, having come to similar conclusions. ¡°We are still working on figuring out access. We are going to need to experiment,¡± said Michael. ¡°I will come up with a protocol.¡± Travis pulled out his notes app. ¡°You can discuss it as you walk,¡± Michael said. ¡°We have a ways to go, and I want you to meet a few people.¡± People? Jennifer had no idea there were people in here. She thought dungeon divers were the only real people in this place, but it seemed like she was wrong once again. As they walked, Mr Tyrell approached her. ¡°Here¡¯s the protocol,¡± he said, not even giving her time to think. She had to admit, the man was quick, quick enough to even put her off balance sometimes. But she would adapt and, of course, rise up to the challenge. She had been doing it for much longer than Mister Tyrell, after all. ¡°After we start sending men in the dungeon,¡± he continued, ¡°we will have them clear the first floor and record what sort of input the dungeon gives them. Then, we have either one of them be granted access or have one of us who already has access to the valley try to go to the second floor alone and see what happens. There¡¯s many ways this could go.¡± He nodded to himself before continuing. ¡°If the dungeon immediately sends them to the valley, then it¡¯s perfect for us. Michael is worried about people using the time dilation against him. Who¡¯s to say a guy we thought was loyal to Candle Light wouldn¡¯t turn on us and spend, say, ten years in here and emerge a powerhouse and kill us all?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a valid concern.¡± She conceded. ¡°That it is. He¡¯s thinking more and more like a leader rather than a lone loon. Now, if the dungeon sends whoever has access here directly, then the plan is to have Michael give everyone access. This way, he can use his troops stationed here to stall anyone going against orders and spending too much time in the dungeon.¡± She nodded, getting herself into the groove now that they were talking strategy. Trevor also added himself to the conversation, clearly in his zone: ¡°that¡¯s a good plan. That way a deserter cannot escape down and gets sandwiched on the first floor.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t work that way, sadly,¡± said the former CEO, and Jennifer noticed Johanne nodding along even though she pretended not to listen to them. ¡°The first floor is instanced. If people go in at different times, they will not meet.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°This means that someone could spend a lot of time in the first floor.¡± ¡°Yes, provided they manage to eat goblin meat before it evaporates, and a few other factors,¡± said the man. Jennifer thought about it. ¡°Couldn¡¯t they power-up in the first floor, then?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a concern but not a big one. There¡¯s a limit to how much magic the first floor has access to. Johanne is convinced low Silver-rank is the ceiling of what you can achieve in that floor even with unlimited time.¡± ¡°I see. If the second floor is shared to all who have access, the troops will see an unauthorized, too-powerful delver and stop him. What if it¡¯s not?¡± My Tyrell switched page on his app. ¡°There are three possibilities. First one is that access remains, but the delver can choose whether to go to the valley or not. This makes the plan unfeasible. In this case, and in the last case in which the delver can only access the valley if Michael is present, then we need to consider two scenarios. The delver would either get a similar challenge to what Michael got, or a normal second floor. He told me about what he found in the third floor, and he thinks that the valley was a fluke that most people won¡¯t get. We will have to test this extensively. Not only do we not want other people to be stuck in a challenge that might kill them, we also don¡¯t want people to power up too much if they succeed unless we can trust them.¡± ¡°I see. It¡¯s a lot to take in.¡± ¡°It is.¡± After they were done planning and scheming, they walked in silence for a little while longer. Michael showed them the features of the valley whenever they walked through a less dense section of the forest, which allowed them to see that they were quite far up compared to most of the valley itself. He pointed out the desert, the river, the volcano, and everything else around with explicit instructions to never venture outside of the forest should they get lost. Then he pointed at the castle. ¡°That¡¯s Theobond¡¯s kingdom. Do not, under any circumstances, go there alone.¡± Ominous, she thought. Travis took over from there, explaining about Theobond and Michael¡¯s relationship with the alien as if he had been there himself. Hearing about the theories about the dungeon abducting people, Jennifer thought she was prepared for what came after. She was not. ¡°I want you to meet someone. My trusted general, someone who I trust with my own life. Meet Drullkrin.¡± *** David saw the heavily muscled, tall and powerful humanoid step out of the forest. Even he, despite his old age and tempered emotions, had to admit to having been intimidated by the sheer presence the tall goblin exuded. He was different than the other goblins. He was much less monstrous. More tidy, more handsome, more human. Beside him, David saw that the others were all reacting in different ways. Travis was photographing the creature, and David noticed that the goblin had clearly been told about it beforehand because he was striking poses and grinning straight at the camera, clearly amused. Trevor had his arms crossed, assessing the goblin and nodding to himself. He looked satisfied that Michael had been in the care of a competent and strong being such as Drullkrin. The two exchanged glances, and there was immediate understanding between them like they were old buddies. Jennifer was once again slack-jawed, but she recovered swiftly this time and her face turned into a frown as she ran her own assessments of the goblin. ¡°A pleasure to meet you all,¡± said Drullkrin. His voice was clean and more melodious than David would have thought. High-pitched too. ¡°I see my lord has finally decided to bring his others loyal servants. That is good, very good. We have many things to discuss. Especially with you, Travis the CEO, we must discuss contingencies and safeguard. I am told you like them, just as I, and I cannot wait to compare ideas.¡± ¡°I see you¡¯re already making friends,¡± Michael said with a laugh, ¡°that¡¯s good. Now, before we go, are you ready to meet the other member of my delving party?¡± With a flourish, a huge step shook the ground and something enormous emerged from the forest. A gigantic statue of stone slowly walked out of the tree line that now looked entirely too small to hide it. The golem did not speak. It did not move once it got to where it wanted. It did not even acknowledge them. Michael seemed to take pleasure in their unease at seeing the construct. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s shy like that,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s many others where we are going. And, just so you know, they are called Fae and not monsters. Don¡¯t make the mistake of calling them monsters unless you want to fight to the death.¡± He winked, and David was unsure whether he was joking or not. One thing was becoming increasingly clear to him, however. Michael was a different person in here than he was out in the real world. The two personalities were blurring, mixing, but here it was clear that he felt in control. He felt powerful. Confident. With time he would become like this in the real world too. Already he was taking huge steps forward. David was happy he got to finally see the kind of place that had forged Michael into who he was now. ¡°Did you fight them too?¡± Travis asked. ¡°Oh yes. Drullkrin was the first one I fought, actually.¡± ¡°Second one, my lord,¡± said the goblin. ¡°You fought a flying fox first.¡± ¡°Right. Then you clobbered me over the head,¡± he turned to the other humans. ¡°Did you know that he slapped me so hard I almost died on the spot?¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t, my lord. I wouldn¡¯t have learned the wonders of contingencies otherwise, remaining ignorant of their beauty.¡± ¡°Was that¡­ a joke?¡± Michael asked, taken aback. The goblin said nothing. ¡°Who¡¯s to say?¡± said Johanne with exasperation. ¡°He¡¯s strange like that. Come on, let us pick up the pace. It will be dark soon and the village is still quite some distance away.¡± The sights seemed to never end. The village, the feast the Fae had prepared for them, the huge bioluminescent trees. Michael and Johanne were narrating their time in the Valley, with Drullkrin adding his own input here and there as they walked. Then they talked about magic. David overheard Travis interrogating Johanne about random things, much to her exasperation. He learned that yes, she did in fact follow the Fae to try and learn where they got their food from, for it made no sense that they threw so many feasts every day with so few actual animals in the forest. It turned out that there were no animals at all, in fact, just more Fae. She had followed one of them around, one she knew was usually tasked with gathering food. Instead, she found the Fae wandering around as if aimless, and when she returned to the village the feast was already underway. Other attempts at finding the source of the food were equally unsuccessful. The only thing she knew the Fae actually did was train. Everything else sort of happened, and she wasn¡¯t shy about expressing her frustration with the fact. Magic did not work like that, she claimed, although she was forced to concede that perhaps it did work like that sometimes. The party ended up at Michael¡¯s treehouse exhausted from all the novelty, not even questioning the fact that Michael had commandeered the former Forest King¡¯s residence and remodeled it into a quaint little house on a tree. Some things, however, were too much to ignore. ¡°How is there a laptop here?¡± Chapter 75 Chapter 75 ¡°The laptop?¡± Michael said with a chuckle, ¡°I had Bob help me bring a setup down here. Yep, he was given access to this floor before you all did.¡± He took momentary pleasure in the shocked reactions. ¡°No,¡± he then said, predicting the question that was coming from Travis, ¡°I did not have him come in here alone to see what prompt the dungeon would give him after the first floor. He¡¯s too much of an asset.¡± ¡°Making him into a Level 2 operator stat.¡± Muttered Travis, head buried into his phone. ¡°Right,¡± Michael said, already used to the man¡¯s antics. Ever since the foundation of Candle Light, Travis was like a changed man. ¡°Anyway, see that cable there? It goes all the way to the top where I put some solar panels. Turns out that the sun here is real enough to provide electricity.¡± After that, Michael treated his guests to a modest snack break. He had stocked the pantry with some human snacks, as well as Fae delicacies. It turned out that he could make a makeshift fridge by taking Frost elemental stones and placing them into a cupboard, although the insulation left to be desired. It made a whole corner of the pantry bone-chilling cold. At least it ran off of ambient mana. It had been Johanne¡¯s idea to make a fridge like this after she learned of the concept of using cold temperatures for preservation. Lacking a Time elemental stone to freeze the food in time or something of the like, Frost was the next best thing she had thought of so far, although she had even more ideas. She was experimenting with them at the warehouse back on Earth where they kept the other stones, only bringing them to the mana-rich air of the so-called ¡°Area of Influence¡± around the dungeon when she needed them. Ever since the Mustang incident, which was this morning in real-earth time although it felt like ages ago to him due to time dilation, she had been in charge of the warehouse and its security, taking things away and back into the dungeon until she could refit the warehouse into a secure lab. ¡°Alright,¡± said Travis after they had eaten and relaxed enough. ¡°I know we have infinite time, but I¡¯d like to talk about our plans before we move on to other things.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± said Michael. ¡°Took me a while to get used to taking it easy in the valley, I can see why you would be uncomfortable waiting around too much.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that,¡± said Trevor, ¡°what Mr Tyrell says is correct. If we relax too much, we risk losing our edge. The sense of hurry disappears, making all situations look simpler than they actually are.¡± Michael grinned. ¡°That¡¯s not a problem, trust me. You all are going to train. Let¡¯s begin with that. Travis and I are going to run back up on the first floor so he can get his hands on a second Silver card. Since there is no way to know how much time that will take, and there is no time dilation between floors, I¡¯ll keep you busy in the meantime. Old Dave, you are willing to train up your new skills? You have [Stone Skin], [Night Vision], [Water Bullet] and [Stone Wall], which you can train with Johanne until you can use them effectively. It will also expand your mana pool into something you can use to fight the first floor at its current level of difficulty.¡± The old man nodded, keeping composed, but Michael saw that he was excited. He then turned to Jennifer and Trevor. ¡°You two, I¡¯m going to give you skill stones as well.¡± Trevor nodded, but Jennifer shook her head. ¡°I think I want to see what the dungeon gives me before taking a stone from you. If that¡¯s alright with you. You are the boss.¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Not a bad idea. What about you, Trevor?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take what you have.¡± ¡°Good. What do you think about this one?¡± ¡°[Ghost Market]? What does it do?¡± Absorb it and tell me. The man did as told. Gradually, his expression changed as he read through the description of the skill. ¡°Wait,¡± he said, ¡°let me see if I understand it correctly.¡± He touched a rather large log that was sitting on the ground, doing nothing. After a moment during which his face was scrunched up in concentration, the log vanished with the sound of rushing air displaced by its sudden absence, while Trevor¡¯s mouth morphed into a grin. ¡°Damn. This is nuts.¡± ¡°Drullkrin thinks the skill can do much more than you¡¯d think at first. I happen to agree. You will need more offensive and defensive capabilities, of course, but trust me when I say that the [Ghost Market] could become your most powerful asset once you level it up enough.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Travis interjected, ¡°what can it do?¡± ¡°It can sell anything through a magic interface. And I mean anything. It makes whatever he touches vanish and it puts it up for sale in a magical marketplace. I don¡¯t know much else because I didn¡¯t bond with it nor did I use it outside the dungeon much, but even if it did never upgrade beyond this it would already be extremely useful.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I can see that,¡± said the head of Candle Light, ¡°If the stone could literally make fortifications vanish¡­ that¡¯s at least Gold-ranked danger.¡± ¡°Fly down. I say it¡¯s Copper for now. It doesn¡¯t multiply the danger of the user by much yet, it¡¯s too reliant on touch and mana cost.¡± ¡°It will still be very useful for Candle Light and Unity as a whole.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll run tests with him,¡± Johanne said, ¡°so that Travis can make his little file for Candle Light. Shall we move on?¡± ¡°Of course. Here, take these. [Water Whip] and [Mana Shield], both common-rank. You and Jennifer will train with Drullkrin until he thinks you are ready to run the first floor alone. This is the plan for now, does everyone agree?¡± There was a series of nods. ¡°I have a feeling you won¡¯t think we are wasting time anymore by the time I come and get you for your own run.¡± *** ¡°This time dilation thing is really messing with my head.¡± Travis was on his eighth run of the dungeon¡¯s first floor. He had been resting between runs to make sure he was at peak capacity whenever he fought the monsters, because despite Michael always watching over him, mistakes could still prove to be fatal. In fact, the more time he spent in the magical depths of this place, the more he appreciated Michael¡¯s grit and determination. The dungeon took a lot from you. Between runs, he had been drilling with the others, figuring out their strengths and weaknesses as the current spearhead power force of Candle Light. In time, others would come to either replace them or bolster their forces, but they were the absolute first team of magically powered individuals. Jennifer was having a rough time waiting to get magic, but Travis could see why Michael wanted to keep her for last despite the possible advantages of training. She wanted to run the first floor alone, and even though she was a badass fighter who could probably take ten of him unarmed if not for his Card, this place was just something else. They had also been running tests with [Ghost Market], but the time dilation kept them from really making use of the skill. It was pretty clear that its reach was not multiversal, limited to Earth only for the moment. Otherwise stuff would disappear in the blink of an eye regardless of how utter garbage it was. It lingered instead, as most items were not good enough to be sold within the ten minute window the dungeon granted them. He made notes for someone to check listings of particular items he put for sale once he left the dungeon, and to buy a few of them to run some tests. Michael hummed pensively. ¡°Feel like a lot of time, doesn¡¯t it? Then you go back to the surface and find out only minutes have passed. Even then, progress with the whole Unity thing has been quicker than I thought.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± said Travis, ¡°I¡¯ve been working the men to the bone to get this far. And I know for a fact that Johanne is an even worse taskmistress than I am. I think Doctor Kavins both loves and hates her guts at the same time with how hard she¡¯s been working the poor man. In his perspective, it¡¯s barely been a few days.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a boon as much as it is a curse. Take the Carmela situation, for example.¡± Travis nodded right as he vanished in a cloud of sparks. An arc of lightning beheaded one of the goblins, while another took out the shield protecting a skeleton. His mastery of the Silver card had improved by leaps and bounds as of late, thanks to the mana-rich environment constantly supplying him with free new charges for his ability, and he was discovering new depths to the Card. He had also gotten to see more than a few Copper cards, of which he had seen none before today, and got to see just how limited they were in their scope. He was temporarily using a couple of them to supplement his fighting style until he got another Silver card as a drop, and he was coming to hate how rigid they were. According to the experts, who currently were Michael and Johanne, the difference between ranks was a hundredfold increase in power, but it was only a rough estimate. It was much more than just raw power. It was about flexibility, breadth of scope, his ability to influence what the card did, and a lot of other little things that made a silver card that much better than a copper one. To think that Michael had rare skills, the equivalent of Gold-rank cards. Sure, skills were different in the way that the dungeon assigned rarity based on how rare it was to find them as a drop and not based off of raw power, and a skill had to grow in level before it could compare to a similarly ranked card but¡­ he still had rare shit he could use. ¡°Carmela?¡± Travis forced himself back to the present, ¡°we will deal with her, man. After we are done here, we¡¯ll be a power to be reckoned with.¡± ¡°No,¡± Michael shook his head, ¡°what I mean is that I feel so detached from it, man. I¡¯ve been thinking about what Trevor said, and I think he¡¯s right. It¡¯s driving me a little bit nuts, to be honest. It¡¯s like one moment it¡¯s impending doom, and the next it¡¯s nothing to worry about. I feel like a pendulum.¡± ¡°Ah, I get it.¡± Michael waited for a moment, ¡°¡­and?¡± ¡°Deal with it,¡± Travis said with a grin, all the while he was pulverizing monster bones. Cards did not make him stronger, unlike a certain cheat skill Michael happened to possess, but he had benefited immensely from training hard, being healed and eating like a madman between his runs, and he was quickly approaching his genetic potential. ¡°Right. You do the bosses alone this run, then. See if you get a silver card this time.¡± *** ¡°Old Dave, you¡¯re up. How are you feeling with your new abilities?¡± ¡°I trained for a week, man. I am sick of training. This is torture.¡± Travis laughed. ¡°Be glad you don¡¯t have to grind loot in the dungeon. That is the real torture.¡± ¡°Oh right! What did you get?¡± ¡°You know Cards have no names, right? Well, I call it ¡°Elemental Weapon¡± and it¡¯s Silver-rank!¡± ¡°What does it do?¡± ¡°I think of a weapon and an element, and a weapon made of that element appears in my hand. Works with any element I can think of and any weapon I can think of. Look.¡± A flaming rifle appeared in his hands with a pop. Then it vanished, replaced by a rocket launcher made of shadow. It was gone in moments, and this time Travis was holding a mace whose tip seemed to float in the air, moving erratically and occasionally teleporting. ¡°Both ancient and modern weapons are supported. This is good. The damage is insane.¡± ¡°Alright, enough chit-chat. Old Dave, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Man, this is going to be torture.¡± *** ¡°Man, that was awesome!¡± Old Dave was practically jumping around, telling everyone of his exploits and fights in the dungeon. Of all the people presence, the most captive elements of the audience were Trevor and Jennifer, the only ones who had yet to experience the dungeon as delvers rather than just watchers. ¡°It wasn¡¯t all sunshine and rainbows, mind you,¡± said the energetic old man, ¡°but Michael was there when I fucked up, and I managed. His continuous healing must have shaved another decade off my old bones. I reckon you youngsters will be done rather quickly.¡± GHOST MARKET SKILL STONE Chapter 76 Chapter 76 Trevor checked his own skill list for the last time before approaching the staircase leading back to the first floor of the dungeon. He had two common skills that were of the more classic kind, at least according to how the boss saw them through his video game interpretation of magic, which were [Mana Shield] and [Water Whip]. He had trained them up to the first bottleneck, level 5, increasing their power significantly: he could use the shield to negate any damage coming at him while fighting at a distance with devastating whips of pressurized water until his mana ran out. The whips were strong against non-magical enemies, capable of cutting down trees in a single swing and probably bisecting cars and people alike. Against magical enemies they struggled a bit more, but it was to be expected in this rapidly changing world. Plus, it seemed like Michael¡¯s Silver aura could almost stop them wholesale without him taking much damage at all unless Trevor overcharged the skill with mana. They were still very strong for a common skill, truly hammering in the fact that being common wasn¡¯t the same as being weak. Unlike other magic systems like Mister Tyrell¡¯s, skill stones were classified by the dungeon based on how commonly they dropped. According to Michael, Candle Light had been given at least one rare skill stone that was utterly useless in a fight, barely any useful at all as utility, but was so exotic as to be classified as rare. Trevor also talked with Johanne and the others, getting to know them better and finally understanding their hurry to establish a proper science division within the corporation and a production line that could accommodate magical artifacts. Of them all, Mister Tyrell was the most worried, mentioning how skills like [Ghost Market] could make entire fortifications vanish, and even water whips could carve out walls like they were made of butter. A little mana enhancement would go a long way towards mitigating these issues, once they figured out how to do it. Now, after almost two weeks of constant training, Trevor was about to face real danger again. Two weeks of magic. Two weeks of pushing his body to the limit, being healed back up to health, and gorging himself at massive feasts held by strange creatures called the Fae in order to give his body the fuel it needed to improve itself. He still wasn¡¯t used to any of it. He still couldn¡¯t believe that magic was real. That he had magic, and that he was about to step into a place that was something straight out of a video game. He thought about his grandson, spending entire nights with his face glued to a screen playing games he called rogue-likes, and smiled. Perhaps one day he could walk up to him and tell him: hey, you know all those games you waste so much time on? Well, I¡¯m doing that stuff in real life. He would have to think about it: he wanted to make the sentence sound like an old man complaining about lazy youngsters as much as possible in order to maximize the cognitive dissonance once his grandson understood what he was talking about. Perhaps even show him some magic while he was at it. He knew the time would come, eventually. Michael had been enthusiastic about his plans to build what basically amounted to a walled city close to Site 00, where personnel and their families could live while remaining within safe distance to where all the important stuff was located. According to him and the others involved in this mad plan, it would be the idyllic, perfect city, powered by magic so that they could have all the amenities they wanted and live a life of luxury and fulfillment. Once they figured magic out, of course. Trevor would doubt anyone else, but not them. Michael was strong and resourceful, Mister Tyrell was a force to be reckoned with, bending considerable resources, expertise and power to their cause. Mister Chestermill was a sly fox, the old geezer who had been somewhat relegated to the sidelines now getting his second chance to shine thanks to magic. Johanne was crazy, hot and smart. A dangerous woman. Then there was Jennifer, who he trusted with his life and knew just what she was capable of. Yes, if it was them, they could pull it off. He shook his head with a smile. Good times were ahead of him, if only they managed to get through the initial growing pains. *** Michael watched the man psyche himself up and step on the staircase with a determined look on his face. Following behind, soon the valley was but a faraway memory as they found themselves deep within the dim cavern system of the first floor. He was providing all the light with his own skills, allowing the second in command of security at Site 00 to handle the fight without distractions. Michael obviously planned to take away said light in later runs, after Trevor had gotten used to real fights. Sure, he had trained by fighting to the death against the Fae, who could respawn and even adapt to his fighting style, but it had always been in a controlled environment. The Fae could die, but they were instructed not to kill him because he could not respawn like they could, a restriction the monsters of the first floor did not have. Which was why when the first skeleton attacked, Michael was surprised to see Trevor rush at it with no hesitation, not even raising a mana shield to protect himself. Instead, he looked like he was saving up mana for his other skill. With a nimble side-step, Trevor moved unlike a man his age had any right to, putting the not much older Old Dave to shame thanks to his superior training and reflexes, and ended up right behind the skeleton before it could even raise its weapon. Then Trevor touched it. To an untrained eye, it was as if nothing happened for a full second. The two figures were frozen, unmoving. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Michael saw the fight for what it really was and understood. Trevor was not simply training to fight the classic way. He had trained to fight on two fronts: the physical and the magical. He did not use his common skills immediately, instead he used [Ghost Market] and, armed with the level-5 uncommon skill, he was already pushing it beyond its simple scope, figuring out interesting ways to abuse its power. His magic slowly overtook that of the skeleton, until¡­ The skeleton vanished with a pop. It was a wasteful use of mana. It was an improper use of the skill. Michael could only nod, impressed. This was the right mindset to have, of course, to grow beyond one¡¯s limits. Indeed, it seemed that Trevor got the confirmation that his work had been rewarded with a notification, for his face lit up, but forever the professional he did not let it distract him. Instead, he turned around and finally unleased his other skills. Against a normal opponent, his opening move would have been a devastating shock and awe tactic. Against skeletons, it was training. He dismantled all the opposition in the room in moments, using magic with much more skill than Michael could claim to have had back when he was at his level. The man was a natural at fighting, but unlike Old Dave, he had never come to like it. Old Dave¡¯s face was a grin when he fought monsters, Trevor¡¯s was concentration and professionality. He did not like what he did. But he did not have to like it to be good at it. ¡°I did it. Level 6. But there are depths to this skill I yet have to explore. I think I can push it to rare once we leave the dungeon and I can experiment properly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± Michael said. Unlike Trevor, who was clearly suppressing his enthusiasm lest he leave his battle trance, Michael could allow himself to grin. ¡°After we deal with the current emergency.¡± Trevor said, ¡°let¡¯s proceed to the second room.¡± ¡°Before that,¡± Michael held up a finger, ¡°remove the skeleton from the market and defeat it the normal way. What you did was cool and all, but the last thing we need is someone purchasing a magical skeleton on Ebay.¡± *** ¡°This¡­¡± said Jennifer. She was bloodied, foul liquids from deceased goblins mixing with her own blood and sweat. She had beaten the whole room alone, snarling and raging like a maddened beast and had been rewarded for it with a book that positively glowed with magic. She was proof of yet another different approach to fighting, unleashing the beast when she fought. Michael wondered where that put him. How did he go about fighting? He mulled about it while Jennifer looked in awe at her own reward, handling the book with reverence, not wanting to ruin the moment for her. I would call myself something of an Adaptive Master. I started out like a bumbling idiot, barely any better than a goblin, full of myself and thinking that some karate classes had made me into a warrior. Then I got handed a skill stone to heal myself. No fighting ability, just the ability to endure. With it, I could bash my head against enemies a million times, learning, growing. Then I got more skills, and I adapted. Then I incorporated weapons, guns, explosives. I made my own skills grow more powerful. Every time my style changed. It¡¯s changing yet again now that I have [Okinawan Mastery]. It¡¯s like I have a million different styles, and I can choose what to do in the situation I¡¯m in. One day, perhaps, I will make a single style out of them all. Not to mention the many things I¡¯m still missing. What does my strange Soulfire Silverweb aura even do? I still haven¡¯t done much with my level 6 manipulation allowing me to do unbound magic. What if I can use the elements in a fight? The road to mastery is long. The introspective moment ended as Jennifer got up, gingerly holding the book in her hands. ¡°This¡­ is magic!¡± At once, her battle lust receded and the feral look on her face was replaced by reverent awe. Then she schooled her face, turning slightly red. ¡°I apologize, sir. The book took a lot out of me when I touched it.¡± Michael nodded. He had seen it all play out with his magic sense. Beyond that, he felt like he had gained some insight into the interplay of magic and human minds, something that should be tested and explored when he wanted to finally attempt at leveling up [Healing Aura] again. The skill had been stagnating on an almost-full fractal for a while, and a level-up was going to happen soon. ¡°That¡¯s okay. So, what does it say?¡± ¡°Do you want to see for yourself?¡± she asked. ¡°Later, maybe,¡± he said, ¡°but this moment, it¡¯s yours. You earned it.¡± ¡°Can I test it out, sir?¡± she asked, professionally, but not without excitement. ¡°Sure. But if it¡¯s an area-of-effect skill, please think of me as an ally as you do so.¡± She nodded as she concentrated on the book. Michael felt a vast build-up of magical energies, elemental energies and Qi as she did so, with perhaps a little bit of Intent mixed in, something that left him surprised until he remembered that he too had managed to produce Intent while he was still at Copper-rank. Then a flame erupted from the book in concentric waves, silver in color like a myriad of tongues of liquid metal. In its wake, not even the stones of the ground remained, turned to nothing. ¡°Tingly, but not uncomfortable,¡± Michael said. ¡°Almost¡­ soothing. I like it.¡± Jennifer was looking around at the damage she caused. He could see the gears turn in her head as the awe was quickly processed by her highly trained mind. She would probably be too excited to sleep tonight, but right now she would be focused like a laser. *** ¡°Alas,¡± Michael spoke. The others were all sitting at the large table in his treehouse, solid wood that was harder than stone. ¡°The time is almost up. We planned, we schemed. I gained two levels just by helping you, which is awesome. I have one last thing to do and then we can leave this place and return to the real world.¡± Old Dave nodded. ¡°I¡¯m going to miss the daily feasts.¡± ¡°You can come back here, old man.¡± Said Travis, ¡°you have the power to challenge the first floor now, and Michael¡¯s blessing to enter his Valley.¡± The old man scoffed. ¡°Only after you, protocol-enthusiast slave driver, prove that it¡¯s safe and it won¡¯t send me to the second floor alone! How about that.¡± ¡°Sure, old man,¡± said Travis, sipping on a Fae drink. ¡°Mm, this is good. Anyway, we are as ready as we can be. We can all come back here after we¡¯ve dealt with the situation outside.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± said Michael, ¡°we leave tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Why not now?¡± asked Trevor. ¡°I want to head to the glacier first. There¡¯s an element I want to master before I leave.¡± ¡°Can I come?¡± the man asked, ¡°I want to see what the place is like.¡± Michael thought about it, then nodded, ¡°sure. The place is pacified. Anyone else?¡± There were no¡¯s all around. ¡°Too tired, boss man,¡± said Jennifer, ¡°magic still takes a lot out of me, and I need my beauty sleep.¡± ¡°Then, Trevor, let¡¯s go.¡± Chapter 77 Chapter 77 ¡°I have to ask,¡± Trevor said as they walked their way through the icy tunnels of the glacier. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just hoard all the skills? All the useful ones, at least.¡± ¡°A fair question,¡± Michael said. He was using Fire energy to subtly keep the cold of the glacier at bay, countering its Ice element and understanding more about it in the process. ¡°Do you know why Travis does not absorb all the cards he sees?¡± ¡°Because he has a limit?¡± asked the man. ¡°I recall him mentioning a limit of ten cards. Or was it eight?¡± Michael nodded, ¡°not just that. He doesn¡¯t even go around with two full Hands even though he theoretically could. He says it distracts him.¡± Trevor hummed. ¡°Is it like a soft limit?¡± ¡°I think that magic abilities of any kind take a toll on your mind. Whether they deplete some sort of energy I don¡¯t yet know is to be seen, and Johanne is quite frustrated about my lack of insight, but I guarantee it¡¯s not because I¡¯m not trying. It¡¯s not Intent, not just Intent, at least, I don¡¯t know. What I do know is that the more magic you have, the bigger the strain on your mind. At first, it¡¯s just a delay in cast time, perhaps in accuracy. Then you begin to see the lapses in concentration. While it would be nice to hoard all the skills, you need to cultivate the mental power to control them first.¡± ¡°So they go to Candle Light in the meantime.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± said Michael, ¡°that¡¯s also why Travis is coming up with protocols to make sure we only permanently bond skills to people after careful consideration. All the others are temporary assignments, meaning I could take them back whenever I wanted. Ah, we are here.¡± Suddenly the temperature dropped as the Throne of the Ice King came into view after a bend in the tunnel. The duo entered the room, casting dark shadows that danced as the icy torches lit up the room with light but no heat. Trevor shivered, but said nothing while Michael took in the majestic sight of the throne and the dancing show of the elements around it. ¡°Ice, Snow, Water and many more complex and conceptual elements I can¡¯t even name,¡± said Michael as sort of narration for Trevor, ¡°I can see them all with my sight. Today, I want to try and tame one of them.¡± ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°Ice. I already have Fire, and Ice is one of the more abundant elements around the Throne. It will take a while. Do you want to leave or will you stay?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see magic,¡± said Trevor, ¡°but I would like to stay anyway. Perhaps I can even develop the ability if I focus hard enough.¡± As Michael went to sit on the throne, it was like the outside world disappeared. He slipped into some sort of meditative trance, [Healing Aura] flaring to life as the cold elements sought to freeze him to death. Within him, he felt the Fire element of his aura surge according to his will, countering the effects of the cold and protecting him from a slow and agonizing death. He was Silver-rank now, and even though the Throne was powerful, it could not overpower the current him. But the more I shield myself, the less I feel in tune with the Ice. Michael ordered the Fire within himself to stillness. It tried to rebel, stillness was against its very nature, as it refused to submit to the assault of Ice trying to take over its master, but in the end the Fire yielded and retreated back into the Skill Sanctum from where it had come. Now it was only Michael and the cold. His healing kept him alive, the Qi generated by the skill overpowering the elemental energy thanks to its higher standing in the magical hierarchy, and he felt the skill fractal fill up with thrumming energy. He ignored it for the time being. It wasn¡¯t his goal for this trip. Instead, he cast his attention out towards the Ice. He could manipulate it through sheer brute force, a far cry from the gentle guidance he could offer to the only element he truly knew. But like he did with Fire, he knew that brute force could help him achieve success if applied the right way. Brute force was, after all, just a tool. Perhaps it was the tool of the stupid, at least according to some, but it would be stupider still to just ignore it because it had a bad name. Michael had studied the cold in what little free time he had, he had pondered about its workings and mysteries while resting in the frozen time of the Valley, but in the end he did not know nearly enough about magic to truly know how things are supposed to be done. He had tried to ask Theobond, but the king only laughed and sent Michael away, claiming that he had spoken too much about the matter already. In the end, brute force would be the catalyst to spark new insight. Michael seized control of as much Ice energy as he could, trying to purge and separate the other elements before caging the ball of pure frost within a net of solid crystal mana. Unlike the Fire, however, it was as if the cage was barely necessary. The Ice, once compressed enough, simply settled. Still. Unmoving. It waited for something to come to it, ready to rob it of all its heat and energy. Michael drew the Ice towards himself. The energy was not a tangible thing, and even though its effects were tangible enough, Trevor who lacked a way to see magic could only see its effects on the world. He saw Michael draw what looked like an empty structure of translucent crystal towards him, a cage upon which a thick layer of frost was quickly building despite the dry air of the cave, and around which the air grew so cold as to immediately shed its water in the form of tiny ice crystals. Michael instead saw the Ice energy itself enter his body. It went beyond the physical, towards¡­ somewhere. This time, unlike with the fire, he knew where to direct it towards. He focused on his Skill Sanctum and pushed the Ice with all the might his six levels of [Magic Manipulation] offered him. It refused to move, instead choosing to ravage his body, but here was the realm where Michael was strongest, inside his aura itself. The Fire that made up the strange red veins of his aura flared, it Silver-ranked might making the Ice quiver and tremble in a way much unlike the eerie stillness that was its natural state. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The Ice surrendered. Michael for a moment got the impression that it wasn¡¯t due to the Fire¡¯s rank, however, but for another¡ªmore elusive¡ªreason, but the enigmatic insight remained out of his grasp as the transition ended quickly, and with a system message Michael finally saw a mass of conceptual frost appear in his Skill Sanctum.
You can now control Ice. Currently stored elemental energies: Fire (unquantifiable), Ice (112)
Michael looked at it. According to his status, 112 was the maximum amount of elemental energy that he could currently hold. In his Skill Sanctum, the Ice appeared like an amorphous mass of energy slowly settling into a set, immobile shape. It was thing of angles and sharp spikes, like ice crystals, with impossibly thin edges creating a hyperdimensional square structure. Good thing I am studying things like advanced geometry in my free time, thanks to my growing stats, or I wouldn¡¯t know what I was looking at. It was a beautiful thing, heavy and settled, yet ready to respond to his will. He knew what it could do and how to use it, but unlike his Fire the Ice felt like a borrowed tool, someone else¡¯s weapon he barely got permission to use for a limited time. Indeed, I only have a limited stock of Ice. Unlike with Fire. I wonder, what does unquantifiable mean? He looked around. Unlike Ice, his Fire did not take up space in the semi-tangible world of his Skill Sanctum. If the Sanctum was like a gigantic cavern, made much more tangible by Michael¡¯s rank-up to Silver, with the Soul and its many chains born of Oaths, then the Ice was like a great sculpture of interlinking and interlocked squared of translucent energy resting in a quiet corner of the place. The rest of the cavern was utterly empty, save for the ever-present mist of Intent. Michael could see through the mist with ease, as if it was not something that robbed him of sight but instead something that lit the way, and indeed in the distance he could easily make out the walls of the huge cavern shining with power. The walls were where the rest of his power was located. At least, the rest of his power that he knew how to find, which was¡ªhe had to admit¡ªless than what he was comfortable with. There were the skill fractals, glowing with power fed to them by unknown means. Then there were the strange orange-red veins that now ran all throughout the walls, like rivers of magma constantly flowing with shimmering particles. Ah, that¡¯s where the Fire is coming from. But¡­ unquantifiable? He looked closer. He hoped to find more Fire, but instead¡­ Is that mana? Running through the veins and being fed into the skill fractals? The veins were now like actual veins inside a living being, not just features of the quasi-rock of the Sanctum. Taking a step back, the picture finally made sense inside Michael¡¯s mind as he finally saw how each and every skill was surrounded by these veins, small capillaries merging into larger arteries that ran through the walls, into the floor, everywhere connecting things, forming the base tapestry upon which everything that this place was existed. But then, where is Qi? It¡¯s the only missing thing here, isn¡¯t it? Not just Qi, he realized. But right as he thought about the other missing thing, like a shy wisp it made itself visible to him. Ebbing and flowing in time with his breath, the Chi pulsed like a living heartbeat. Slow as it was due to Michael¡¯s material body being deep in meditation, it had been easy to miss at first, but now impossible not to see. It ran alongside the veins, never mixing, like a lymphatic system. Where clouds of Intent drew close to a Chi conduit, little sparks came into being for a tiny moment before disappearing, and information was exchanged between Chi and Intent, back and forth, back and forth. Where was Qi in all of this? The elusive energy was still missing. In the real world, Michael did some basic forms and watched in awe as within the Sanctum, the sparks roared into a golden and deep blue fire. Intent and Chi was consumed, and a short-lived burst of Jing came into being. It was channeled out of the Sanctum through special locations where the Chi conduits met, which in turn were only activated when Michael¡¯s material body performed the right moves. Many things began to make sense. Yet, there was more. A little flame appeared, joining the dance of energies, then Ice followed. Michael watched how they left the Sanctum to manifest themselves in the real world, keeping an eye on both realms at the same time. That¡¯s when he saw it happen, mana disappearing within a dimming vein only to be replaced by the fiery light of Fire. That¡¯s when he understood. Unquantifiable because somehow I can convert mana to Fire to replenish my stocks.
Skill Level up!
[Magic Sense] reaches level 7. The foundation of knowledge upon which the skill operates deepens, and with it the skill grows more powerful.
My mana pool is those strange veins on the walls of the Sanctum. The more I use magic, the wider and sturdier they become. They weren¡¯t there when I was Copper, meaning that the transition to Silver is all about carving those channels from scratch, going from accumulating mana wherever to storing it in those veins. At the same time, any element I manage to integrate is there too. Theobond said I need Qi to add more, but I can¡¯t even see where Qi is yet. Once I do¡­ another aura evolution is not off the table. In the meantime, this is awesome news. My aura is actually converting part of the mana in my pool into Fire energy, making it a renewable resource as long as I have mana! With Ice, I only have what I gathered. Does this mean that if I manage to integrate Ice in my aura, I get to have a source of it as well? I am still far from actually understanding what my Soulfire Silverweb aura actually is, but this is definitely a step in the right direction. It seems like auras in general, even basic ones, are much more than they appear, even though there is no skill to match. Everything else is quantified or exists through skills, with my aura being the only exception. But auras are also something that exists across all the magic systems I¡¯ve seen. The constant amidst all this chaos of magic. Could it be that they are an existence above the magic system itself? Michael was satisfied as he returned to camp, where he found the others in various states of rest. He told Travis and Johanne about his experience, and left to rest himself. There is a catch though¡­ this was my first skill rank up after almost two weeks. Healing is close, but after that I don¡¯t have any skill that¡¯s even remotely close. It¡¯s like they are becoming heavy, bogged down. Perhaps I downplayed it with Trevor. It¡¯s not just how many skills I have, but also their level that¡¯s suffocating me. And it¡¯s slowing my growth a lot. Am I reaching equilibrium? If that was true, if he could only gain more skills or more levels once he gained enough mental strength to support them, then he needed to find a way to train himself on that front. Wondering if perhaps this elusive mental strength was represented by one of the many statistics of his status, Michael finally fell asleep. Chapter 78 Chapter 78 Six people and a monster emerged from the dungeon: the team at its full. Drullkrin was wearing a glamour, magic that was nothing more than a little trick of the Fae that made it so he could appear something he was not: a human. It was a trick he could not perform himself but one that a friendly Fae had taught to Johanne so that she could apply it to the goblin. Of the original party Michael had crafted while in the Valley, the Golem was the only missing member, too big to hide on a world that was not yet ready to see real monsters roaming around. Drullkrin¡¯s role was to watch only, as even the faintest application of his strange Fae magic would disrupt the glamour. He could offer insights, using his alien mind to perhaps draw connections the others might miss. The others quickly got into their roles, or at least they tried to before Travis¡¯ phone suddenly began ringing. ¡°It¡¯s the emergency ringtone,¡± he said gravely, picking up the phone, ¡°hello? What? When? What¡¯s the situation?¡± The others watched him as his face grew darker and darker the more he spoke, until he finally closed the call and addressed the others. ¡°We have a problem.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t say? What¡¯s going on? Spill it,¡± said Michael. Energy was crackling around him, visible to everyone now that the weakest of them was at least a good way into the Copper realm and the strongest, Johanne, was almost at the threshold of Silver. ¡°I got an undercover agent in Carmela¡¯s organization, right? More than one, but that¡¯s beside the point. The highest of them is not too high in the ranks, she¡¯s too paranoid for that, but high enough to get some information. My man says that there was big movement around five hours ago, although he only got to know about it now. Convoys leaving the compound, people milling about like an anthill that got kicked around a bunch, an all hands on deck sort of thing. She had Josh go and bully the Bulgarians into action.¡± ¡°Do we know their target?¡± asked Trevor, his analytical mind already whirring. Travis nodded, ¡°rumors say it¡¯s a kidnapping operation. Our security branch is still in development, of course, but I have my men from PetroLink working for Unity until we get up to speed and can integrate them. Here, we tracked their movements.¡± They were shown a satellite picture, filled with red dots and lines of extrapolated possible targets. ¡°Wait,¡± said Michael, barely a whisper that the others did not hear. ¡°They started moving five hours ago,¡± Travis continued, ¡°two convoys. They have a considerable head start.¡± ¡°Wait a fucking minute,¡± Michael frowned. ¡°What?¡± asked Old Dave. ¡°There,¡± Michael pointed to somewhere on the map, ¡°that¡¯s where my family lives. They are going to kidnap my fucking family. That¡¯s where my dad lives, and that¡¯s where my mom and sister live.¡± ¡°We got men there, don¡¯t we?¡± asked Jennifer. Travis nodded, ¡°we have Security men and Candle Light men stationed at both places, of course. I¡¯ll alert them.¡± ¡°Even so,¡± said Johanne, ¡°I have seen what sort of magic Carmela and her lackey can bring to bear. Your Candle Light operatives can barely handle the lowest end of what you call a Copper-level threat. Her magic might be Copper, but the threat she poses is at least well into Silver if we are to bully her with strength alone.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a rank difference to them? They signed for this. They¡¯ll buy us time,¡± said Travis. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°You are ignoring your own protocol, Travis Tyrell. Even Copper threats require at least a Silver overseer, and she is not a Copper threat.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t afford the luxury to wait now, can we? Besides, danger ratings and all that are just guidelines. Two Copper threats can be so different from each other as to require very different responses, and Carmela and her lackey are just humans.¡± ¡°Josh is a known quantity, I will give you that,¡± shot back Johanne, ¡°but do not forget that he is also a speedster.¡± ¡°He¡¯s poisoned.¡± ¡°Fine, CEO-man. Former, that is. He might be poisoned but Carmela is not. Her magic is strong, probably pilfered from a high-magic first floor survivor. The bureaucrat, I would assume. If she is with the convoy¡ª¡± ¡°Withdraw the men.¡± Said Michael, finality in his tone. ¡°Enough bickering. We are wasting time. We can¡¯t follow protocol anyway.¡± The other man stared at him dumbfounded. ¡°What did you just say?¡± ¡°Withdraw.¡± He breathed, speaking quicker than his lungs could cope with, ¡°Candle Light is in its infancy. Security even worse still. I barely gave you the order to make it into an actual division today, even though it seems like weeks ago to us. Hell, the whole company is what, a week old? The men will die if they engage, and they won¡¯t be of any use to us dead. Give order to watch and not engage unless she¡¯s about to go on rampage or threatens to kill my sister. Can you make sure they follow her discreetly?¡± ¡°Alright,¡± said Travis. His face was dark, as the realization of just how far behind they were with Candle Light truly sunk in. ¡°Of course I can.¡± They had been lucky so far, witnessing no anomalies or rogue magical threats stronger than Copper, but he knew very well that things couldn¡¯t continue like this. ¡°We got the Naoshida trinkets, there¡¯s no way we miss them or they see us. But then what?¡± ¡°I see you lack contingencies,¡± Drullkrin said, ¡°I don¡¯t mean it offensively, of course, it is but the first real emergency you face. But even like this, we could salvage the situation. We have the upper hand, after all, in terms of magic. Forget about your organization, it is far too early for you to truly be able to mobilize it. Instead, focus on what you have.¡± Travis¡¯ face lit up. ¡°That¡¯s right. Johanne, do you know what their power level is expected to be?¡± ¡°Carmela is the bigger threat. Josh is barely a Copper trash who relies on easy to handle magic. His real problem is speed, but you were right to point out that he¡¯s poisoned. According to what Michael told me, he should have more than enough rot in his system that he won¡¯t be able to move all that fast anymore. We ran some preliminary experiment on what Foul Water does to a human body, and it¡¯s not pleasant. If she has others, I do not know.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Jennifer said, ¡°that¡¯s good. Let¡¯s move then. We can still intercept them on their way back.¡± ¡°Assuming they come back,¡± Old Dave shot back. ¡°That¡¯s why we have men following them. ETA on when they make contact?¡± ¡°Less than an hour,¡± said Travis. ¡°Alert the authorities,¡± Jennifer said, taking control, ¡°we want them to stand down as much as possible. This is much more than they can handle.¡± ¡°You know there will come questions,¡± Travis said. ¡°This is not political capital we can replenish just yet.¡± ¡°Questions will come either way,¡± she said, ¡°especially after we are done with them. Besides, you are wrong when you say that we can¡¯t replenish the capital. Just wait until the world starts going to shit.¡± *** Michael watched it all happen through the screen of a tablet, barely even noticing the occasional bumps of the road as the car he was in traveled much faster than the speed limit towards the interception point. He was feeling a strange sort of detachment from what he was seeing, or at least he was until he saw his sister being dragged out of the house, gagged and restrained. He felt his aura surge, and it was only through momentous effort that he managed to reign it in. It was a Silver-rank aura, even though it was an early stage one, and if he were to watch his Skill Sanctum right now, it would be filled with lightning-like discharges of magic and Intent, enough to kill a low Copper just by touching his aura. Fortunately, his companions were firmly labeled as allies in his mind, and he couldn¡¯t expand his aura much yet even if he wanted to. ¡°There¡¯s no sign of her,¡± said Travis, ¡°at least that¡¯s good news.¡± Michael kept watching. He saw the men enter a car, spied upon by Candle Light operatives. Josh was there as well, looking sick and pale as seen through the darkened glass window of the car he was in. On the other screen, featureless men were grabbing Michael¡¯s father, but Michael barely looked at the scene before scoffing and concentrating back on the other feed. Hours passed. Travis got confirmation that Carmela was seen at her compound, and was not with the convoy. They planned and considered options. ¡°The two convoys split up,¡± said Travis. They were in the back seat, with Trevor in the front seat and Bob driving the car. Behind them, the other car had Johanne, Jennifer, Old Dave and Drullkrin. ¡°We go after Josh¡¯s and rescue my mother and my sister.¡± Said Michael, ¡°the others go after my father.¡± Chapter 79 Chapter 79 ¡°Get in the car!¡± yelled Josh, shoving the shivering woman in the back of the vehicle. ¡°And shut your damn mouth!¡± He raised his hand, ready to deliver yet another slap when a shiver ran through his body and had him clutch his chest in pain. Cursing, he turned to see the Bulgarians drag the older woman out of the building and into the second car of the convoy. Others had cut the traffic, but a crowd was gathering. He quickly blurred, snatching the phones out of the watchers¡¯ hands and shattering them before they could record video of the grab, then went into the car with the young woman. Tires screeched, and soon he was on the road. ¡°Please, please, please,¡± cried the woman even as the two Bulgarians who were seated around her yelled obscenities at her in a language she couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°You better shut up and stop screaming like that,¡± he looked at her from the front seat, twisting his body as a lascivious smile appeared on his face, ¡°it would be a shame if they ruined your beautiful face. But trust me, if you keep screaming they will do it.¡± It didn¡¯t seem to be enough, and one of the two men slapped her hard enough to make even Josh wince. He saw her head snap back and forth, but she seemed to still be breathing afterwards, which made him heave a sigh of relief. He blurred, snapping the Bulgarian¡¯s neck in retribution, and shot a glare to the other before coughing blood into a tissue. The man muttered something at him that he couldn¡¯t understand, but sounded very much like a threat. He was about to respond in kind when even more convulsions hit him, and he felt bile rise up in his throat. He swallowed a heavy lump that tasted vaguely like blood. ¡°Fuck,¡± he muttered. He watched the landscape pass him by for a while, feeling like utter shit, cursing his luck and planning ways to make Michael hurt. He was responsible for his suffering, but now he had the asshole¡¯s sister, and who said he couldn¡¯t have some fun with her before he delivered her to Carmela? She deserved it for being that prick¡¯s sibling. Michael, who was the root of all Josh¡¯s problems, would pay. The night deepened as they left the city. There was barely any light in the car when Maggie stirred, and it took her a while to notice, through the haze of the concussion, that she was sitting beside a dead man. ¡°Oh shit!¡± she screamed again, tears running down her face, ¡°He¡¯s dead! why is he dead! He¡¯s dead! Oh God!¡± Josh turned around again, ¡°yeah he¡¯s dead, idiot. Do you want to join him? Huh? You know what? Fuck you and your brother and that asshole woman as well. Strip.¡± ¡°W-what?¡± the girl stammered, more tears running down her face. ¡°I said, strip. Remove your clothes, entertain me. Come on. Or do you want me to hurt your mother, eh? We already have your dear, dear Michael,¡± he lied, ¡°you¡¯re going to join him if you don¡¯t do what I say.¡± She reacted to Michael¡¯s name, which made Josh shiver in pleasure as his smile widened. He reveled in the feeling of power, his superior abilities making him king among vermin. He felt like this was his destiny, if only just a little appetizer, a look into what was coming once he managed to free himself from the bitch. That¡¯s it, he decided. He was going to kill Carmela in her sleep. She might be scary, but even she had to sleep at night, and sleeping people were defenseless against him. He knew where she lived, she never left the compound, and he was too fast for any trap she might have put in place to snare him. Bullets and the such did not scare him, as long as he saw them coming. It was her who would be in for a rude awakening: death. He looked at the shivering teenager. She seemed to be making up her mind about complying to his request, which made him lick his lips in anticipation. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he said, ¡°you can decide his fate. You just need to¡ª¡± ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± screamed the driver all of a sudden. Josh turned around to see a flickering light, like an intangible spirit hovering on the road ahead. They were going to run it through, he thought, before he realized that he had already seen it before. ¡°It¡¯s Michael¡¯s¡ª¡± His words never finished leaving his mouth when suddenly the world started spinning. There was a sudden light and a thunderous sound, then the car was spinning and he couldn¡¯t tell up from down. People were screaming, and then another explosion and he saw that the other car had joined his in whatever was happening. He tried to blur, to escape, and it didn¡¯t work. It took many seconds, which passed in an instant, for the car to stop spinning. He finally was able to blur out of the car, ending up on the pavement that was still scalding hot from the day¡¯s heat, but he was concussed and barely holding his dinner. The air smelled of dry asphalt, smoke and gasoline. Burnt rubber. Everything spun, more than normal, and he felt bile and vomit rise up his throat. He doubled over, seeing blurry lights and nothing more, feeling his chest hurt and constrict. ¡°Feeling a bit ill?¡± came a voice. He knew this voice. ¡°Did you like my Foul Water gift? I knew it would stay with you.¡± ¡°Michael,¡± Josh muttered, suddenly blurring and casting fireballs. Each cast and each super-speed step sent jolts of pain through his body, like it was eating itself alive, and he felt blood vessels burst and give. He absorbed the last of the coins Carmela had given him in allowance, and then he was out of mana. The fucking woman. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. He stumbled, falling to the ground. Michael was on him, a dark orb floating around him, more fucking water bullets ready, fire coming from his hands, a spirit on his shoulder. Josh tried to move, but the pain was too much. Michael did not move either, instead looking at him with contempt. Then there was an explosion of light and a boom of static, lightning arcing all around. From it came a man Josh had never seen before. Or perhaps he had, milling around the dungeon, a man Josh had dismissed as useless because he was powerless back then. Or was he? Josh thought he was sure Michael was the only one with powers, but perhaps¡­ Michael turned to him, dismissing Josh. How dared he? He tried to blur again, but felt a presence press upon him so hard he felt his ribs break from the metaphysical force. He felt like he was about to pass out. The two men talked for a moment. Josh could hear bits and pieces, struggling to make out meaning in his delirious state. Ah, how dare Carmela send him out on a mission in this state. It was so unfair, that Michael could heal from any damage, while a mere car crash was doing him in. His leg was probably broken, he realized as the adrenaline was spent and its numbing effect vanished, leaving him to wonder if he could ever recover from this state. Perhaps he could beg, trick Michael into healing him, and then kill him. The man who had suddenly appeared finished speaking, then disappeared again. Josh saw Michael turn to him. ¡°Your plan failed, of course. You didn¡¯t consider that magic is hardly fair.¡± ¡°This is not right,¡± Josh was delirious, but he had not forgotten the dreams he had been sold. What he had forgotten, in this moment as he looked upon Michael¡¯s face with nothing but hatred, was his plan to plead. ¡°I was supposed to be the king. The ruler. You! You were supposed to die.¡± Michael hummed in mock surprise. ¡°Was I? Who told you that?¡± ¡°She did,¡± Josh said, but he had the impression that perhaps Michael was taking advantage of him, that he was mocking him. ¡°The bitch. She lied to me.¡± Michael kneeled to face him, and Josh tried to jerk away, only for his body to light up in pain. ¡°What¡ªare you doing to me?¡± Michael looked puzzled but Josh knew, he knew, that his former friend was enjoying it. *** Michael wasn¡¯t enjoying what was happening one bit, but Josh was too far gone to realize it. Michael studied the man with his [Healing Aura] and knew Josh did not have much time left. The Foul Water had done its course, and now Josh¡¯s organs were literally melting into goo. He could heal him, but¡­ He turned around and saw the state his sister, his dear Maggie was in. He had healed her body from the spinal damage and the concussion, of course, but it did nothing to soothe her mind. Michael hoped Candle Light had already started to draft psychiatrists they could trust to treat their personnel. No. Josh did not deserve a second chance. Michael was not one to make his enemies suffer, however, even those who dared kidnap his family. He readied a gun, choosing to kill Josh with a bullet, a real bullet, to the head. ¡°How? It was supposed to be¡­ easy.¡± Josh whispered. ¡°It¡¯s never easy,¡± Michael said as he looked at the dying man, ¡°there was no way for her to know about our full resources. About Candle Light. About the power farming we did on the second floor. About the fact that I could just take people in the dungeon and emerge ten minute later with a team of powerhouses.¡± ¡°She said it was¡­ impossible. I could barely do¡­ a few runs before food¡­ ran out. Before I was too tired¡­ to go on. Monster. You lie. You could never have spent so much time in there. You went in and out, didn¡¯t you? Many times. But that¡¯s not right. I would have seen you.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± said Michael, ¡°unfair, is it? But that¡¯s just how it is.¡± To be fair, seeing his friend like this was depressing. It would have been stupidly easy to just grab him. Travis teleported inside the car and got the people out thanks to his card, he could have done the same to Josh. Instead, they left him to his devices, to struggle. Michael though that perhaps he did it so he could justify killing him, because he was a threat, because he was resisting. It didn¡¯t work much. The rest had been like stomping ants. It really got to your head if you didn¡¯t tread very carefully. They managed to completely disable a convoy of armored cars filled with armed goons without even breaking a sweat. They could have done it even easier. Josh prepared a fireball, a last ditch attempt, his dying move, ready to take Michael with him as he died. Realizing he couldn¡¯t kill his former friend, his gaze went to the cars. He could blow them up, at the very least, kill everyone in them. He didn¡¯t know they were empty. He thought he could kill Michael¡¯s sister, the one person in his family he cared about. Michael saw him, and snorted. ¡°Pathetic,¡± he said, pulling the very magic and elemental fire from the growing fireball, which was snuffed out like a candle. The sound of a gunshot, and Josh died not even knowing how things had managed to slip out of his grasp like this. *** A similar, even more pathetic scene had unfolded at the other convoy. Johanne watched Jennifer make the wreckage of the destroyed cars, now nothing more than warped steel and burning gasoline, disappear with the Unmaking Flame summoned from her tome. Trevor had done a similar thing to the other convoy with his [Ghost Market]. She saw Old Dave nod at his phone. He had successfully used Unity¡¯s resources to buy the scrap metal from the other convoy back from the market before anyone else could snatch it. Now all that was left was see how the skill would handle the delivery, which was guaranteed to happen within two business days at one of the many warehouses they bought for things like this. She could have done it all by herself, she thought. All minus taking care of the wreck, perhaps, but maybe even that. She had magic to move the earth, she could bury the proof. It wouldn¡¯t be as effective as Jennifer¡¯s flame, of course, or Trevor¡¯s market: the tome burning and the skill putting for sale even the scorched ground they created with their magic and chemical fire so that all that was left was a slight depression in the ground where the mess had gone down. A depression she quickly filled with magic. The place was filling up with Candle Light operators handling the aftermath, and she quickly removed herself from the scene. They smelled of Travis, the lot of them, unlike the scientists of the Science division who all shared her own view of things. The real problem was going be Carmela, she thought, but then shook her head. ¡°This¡­¡± ¡°Jennifer, did you take care of Michael¡¯s father?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± the woman said, shaken back to the present, ¡°Old Dave is. I¡¯m more than happy to let the old man take care of the asshole, to be honest. I can see why Michael got out of that household as soon as he could.¡± ¡°He was kicked out. His family claimed he didn¡¯t contribute economically, that he was a burden and so he had to go.¡± ¡°¡­anyway,¡± said Jennfier after taking a moment to recover, ¡°this is crazy. I thought this was an emergency. What we did was bullying children.¡± ¡°We technically killed people who threatened my lord¡ªI mean Michael¡¯s family. As for the emergency? It very well could have been,¡± Johanne cast a spell, illusions popping up. ¡°Consider just a single Copper enemy in their midst and remove my ability to counter magic.¡± The scene unfolded. ¡°A bloodbath,¡± said Jennifer in the end, her tone much more somber. ¡°What about the others?¡± ¡°Josh was out of it before they even engaged. Plus, he¡¯s stupid. Was stupid.¡± Johanne corrected herself with a smirk. ¡°Now what?¡± ¡°Now they end things,¡± she said. ¡°Travis swore to me he¡¯ll make sure Michael understands. Or else¡­¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Jennifer. ¡°Then it¡¯s over?¡± ¡°It¡¯s far from over,¡± said the mage, ¡°a chapter ends. Another begins. This, my lord would say, barely qualifies as the tutorial.¡± Chapter 80 Chapter 80 ¡°Different from the dungeon, eh?¡± Travis asked. They were surveying the area, the dark of the night banished by one of Michael¡¯s Spirit Guardians. The skill had upgraded to the second level, granting more flexibility and longer duration, and pushing the Unity skill closer to gaining the 8th level. Michael wondered what would happen once it reached the maximum level, and what he would have to do to upgrade it, but like many of his problems, he could only handle so many things at the same time before burning out and thus decided not to think about it just yet. ¡°How can you be so calm?¡± asked Michael. Trevor¡¯s [Ghost Market] had vacuumed up all the debris save for the corpses, and he was using his Ice element to freeze the bodies for transportation. Each of them made bile rise up his throat, and he was trying to distract himself by concentrating on the feeling of the Ice element leaving his Sanctum and failing. Travis shrugged. ¡°My hands aren¡¯t all that clean. I haven¡¯t killed directly, but do you know how much damage an oil spill does? You¡¯ll sleep again, eventually.¡± ¡°Maybe. I just feel like this was too easy.¡± Michael intended it one way, but Travis interpreted it the other. ¡°No.¡± Travis said, looking at Michael in the eye. ¡°This could have been a disaster. It was only easy thanks to a combination of factors and you know it! It was easy because Carmela is a pussy and did not use her own powers, despite being the most powerful mage she has available, and instead sent fucking Josh to do her bidding. It was easy because Josh pretended to be okay when he was more dead than alive already. It was easy because they underestimated us. It was easy because we had so many fucking resources that there was nothing they could do to go around us. It was easy because we were so powerful we steamrolled them. But keep this well in mind: we earned our power. She did not. Josh might have, and perhaps in another timeline he would have fucked us, but he didn¡¯t. He was dealt a shit hand. Hell, I would know about hands and cards, no? Unlucky asshole. It¡¯s still his fault he was too arrogant. You might have reached this level of power because of your insecurities, at least at first, but you still earned it. You wear it comfortably.¡± There was a long moment of silence then, during which Michael used his Fire element to cool the ground where the fires had barely even stopped burning. A Candle Light operative used a skill Michael recognized, [Soothing Rain], to wash the area of all the spilled fuel and blood, things they had been unable to put on the [Ghost Market], at least until the skill leveled up enough. Knowing that this wouldn¡¯t be the last time they handled questionable materials with the skill, they were already developing algorithms that would buy back all the material as soon as it appeared, rather than having to do it by hand. It was, effectively, a teleportation method that had the unfortunate downside of being open to the public as well. On the other hand, it could also be used to set up a distribution network that didn¡¯t need much personnel to be run. ¡°Carmela had old intel,¡± Michael said. ¡°If she had known what we were capable of¡­¡± he trailed off. ¡°That¡¯s my fault,¡± Travis laughed cheekily, ¡°Drullkrin might think I lacked the proper contingencies, but I did what I could.¡± ¡°I see. Still.¡± ¡°Yeah. I get it. A team of Coppers plus a Silver-aura user tore through a bunch of Irons with guns and a single sickly Copper. When put it like this, Michael, you have to agree that it makes sense. It reminds me of a book about magic and skills I skimmed from the many books you gave me to study, in which they always mention the tyranny of rank.¡± ¡°I still think guns have a place,¡± said Michael. ¡°Magically powered ones, perhaps. Normal guns, without skills powering them up? Tell me, can a bullet penetrate your Silver aura?¡± ¡°It can. For now.¡± Michael shrugged. ¡°But not for much longer, right?¡± countered the man. This reminded Michael that he still had much to learn about his aura. Namely, he had no idea just what he could do with it beyond what little experiments he had run while training the others in the Valley. He was also worried about his Qi, which still eluded all his attempts at locating its source. He could summon it, control it, and his skills could create more of it just like the elemental skills could create elements he didn¡¯t have, but he had no idea where his Dantian, assuming he had one, had ended up being inside his body. He still didn¡¯t know where the Skill Sanctum was either, but at least he could access the metaphysical location somehow by looking inwards and see all his other energies there. ¡°I¡¯m discovering new things about this aura of mine every day,¡± he said. ¡°I could probably kill a Copper with a touch, given the right conditions, just by flooding his aura with mine. Did you know that?¡± Travis paused. ¡°That¡¯s terrifying. But even if you ignore the instant death touch¡ª¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s not a normal thing we can expect people to have, by the way.¡± Michael clarified. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Oh? You¡¯re special, is what you are saying?¡± Michael snorted. ¡°I think a Gold could kill a Copper with a touch. That I can do it at early Silver is only due to special circumstances.¡± He thought back to when Theobond touched him with his aura back when he was still a Copper. It had been stifling, suffocating, and scary being touched by a Silver aura like his, but that had been the extent of it. Granted, the king wasn¡¯t doing anything to actively harm Michael, but now that he knew more about auras, he could tell that while Theobond was still stronger than he was at the time, his aura actually much weaker than what Michael¡¯s own aura would soon become. Michael¡¯s aura was stronger thanks to the elements within it, sure, but also because it already incorporated a kind of energy that should only be relevant once he reached Gold: Intent. To have it this early and to have it so deeply entrenched in his aura was an advantage he doubted many others had. There was more still: he had other energies like Chi and Jing also incorporated in aura, and he suspected that once he managed to fully incorporate Qi he would grow even stronger yet again. Travis waved him off. ¡°Alright. Whatever. Ignore the death touch, then. Let¡¯s say only a high caliber bullet can kill you once you learn how to use the aura to defend yourself. You¡¯re still what, low Silver?¡± ¡°Extremely low.¡± If I incorporate Qi the right way, and level up [Distortion Field] and improve its automatic activation, then perhaps not even a high caliber gun would be able to kill me. A couple more levels, and I¡¯d be protected against ambushes I don¡¯t see coming. ¡°See my point?¡± said Travis. ¡°I do.¡± Michael massaged his temples, ¡°rank sucks when you¡¯re on the receiving end of the disparity. But not everyone is so well-rounded as I am while being so far ahead of the curve. Josh is testament to that. Johanne is living proof. She¡¯s powerful, but only because of her experience and flexible spell-based magic. You four I took with me in the Valley are more proof.¡± ¡°Your point?¡± ¡°My point is¡­ all the data we have points at me being the anomaly, right? Following this, it¡¯s easy to make the mistake of assuming we are the strongest, but we can¡¯t know for sure when we are basing our assumptions on a very small pool of data.¡± ¡°I see what you mean. I¡¯ve been running investigations ever since you mentioned the online forums and videos to me, and what I¡¯ve found is¡­ strange. It highlights how little we know of what¡¯s going on in the world. The fact that I have not yet found proof of another dungeon entrance is worrying, especially since we know just how fast someone can grow in power if they use the dungeon the right way. There¡¯s also too much variety. There could be a Copper who can resist a Gold-aura death effect and even ignore bullets. Geniuses and the like. Trust me, I am not so arrogant to think we know everything. I am taking precautions against the most extreme cases.¡± There was a brief pause. The two surveyed the area one more time, and it seemed like it was clean enough that they could leave the rest of the clean-up to the Candle Light crew. Michael was impressed with the work Travis had managed to get done in so little time setting up the shady division. ¡°Whatever,¡± Travis said as they entered the car, ¡°for now you are ahead. You can slow down a little bit. Take a day off.¡± Michael laughed at him, ¡°funny. As if I don¡¯t have to deal with my family now that we¡¯ve saved them. I don¡¯t look forward to that.¡± ¡°Jaded.¡± Joked Travis, ¡°don¡¯t you want to meet them?¡± ¡°Only Maggie. The others are a chore. Let¡¯s keep talking about how I¡¯m the most powerful mage on earth, please, it keeps my mind off things.¡± ¡°The most powerful that we know of.¡± Travis corrected him. ¡°Right,¡± said Michael, amused that it was now Travis who was trying to keep him grounded, ¡°even with full access to mana, I expect that my position will be unreachable to most people for a long time. Even someone without powers could have killed someone like Josh with a lucky shot, or clobbered him in the head from behind, let alone you who can teleport. He would have died easily. He had no control over his aura, not that it would have done much at Copper, and unless he used his speed power he would have had nothing to defend himself. In that regard, even though he was Copper, he was no different than an Iron-rank normal human.¡± ¡°Same as me,¡± said Travis, ¡°same as everyone else save for Johanne. Michael, you¡¯re the only one in the world who can do what you can do. The only exception is a fucking alien who only looks human!¡± Michael grinned. ¡°Yes. Praise me more.¡± Travis shook his head. ¡°On another note, let¡¯s talk about the ongoing search for magic. Did you hear Johanne¡¯s idea for a magic detector?¡± ¡°People with skill stones?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Travis said, ¡°we are distributing those to whoever we can trust, but she has ideas to use magic crystals together with modern tech to make a sort of magic sensor. If it works, she wants to make some sort of visor or something. She also talked about launching a satellite to orbit so we can scan the whole planet.¡± ¡°That woman needs to slow down,¡± Michael said with a chuckle. ¡°Does she? You should see how quickly the science division is moving thanks to her efforts. She¡¯s literally raising the buildings with magic overnight.¡± ¡°Interesting. Perhaps if I learn to manipulate Earth, I could help.¡± ¡°Sure, fill your empty schedule with some work, lazy ass.¡± Travis grinned. ¡°Anyway, even without magic detection we are finding some¡­ troubling things around. Candle Light is going to have its hands full.¡± ¡°Need help?¡± ¡°We might. I¡¯ll call you if we need our sole Silver operator to lead an expedition.¡± ¡°Good.¡± They fell into companionable silence as the car sped on the interstate towards they headquarters. Michael practiced some magic, burning some coins with much less worry about running out now that he had a full army of Fae farming them for him on both the first and third floor of the dungeon. Travis kept himself busy with work, jolting himself with lightning from his teleportation card every now and then to keep awake. Michael offered to use his healing aura to help out, but the man refused, preferring his own method. He looked like a coffee addict as he did, but Michael decided to leave the man be. It was as they reached their destination that Travis once again grew pensive. ¡°This can¡¯t stand, you know?¡± ¡°What can¡¯t?¡± Michael asked, even though he knew what the other man was talking about already. ¡°Carmela, Michael. She can¡¯t be allowed to be¡ª¡± ¡°I know. She has powers, she can¡¯t be left alive. Can she?¡± Travis shook his head gravely. ¡°Before we move, it¡¯s time for me to see my family.¡± ¡°Perhaps after you slept, Michael.¡± ¡°I want to see Maggie first, then I can go to sleep.¡± Chapter 81 Chapter 81 Family for Michael had always been a difficult thing. Ever since his father, and then his mother soon after, threw him out he felt as if he had no ties with them anymore. The only exception to this was his sister Maggie, who he still loved dearly, but didn¡¯t see nearly as much as he thought he should. She was the island of sunshine in the storm that was his family, and gut clenched every time he thought about her, knowing that she was in an even worse situation than he had ever been, being younger him. She hadn¡¯t been able to weather the family collapsing around her quite as well as he had, he felt, even though she had grown strangely resilient for it, perhaps more so than he was before the dungeon. Regardless, he had left her alone, that had been on him, and it was a weight on his soul that he never quite managed to deal with. An operator directed him towards a temporary structure in the middle of the flat plot of land that bordered the forest where the trail had been replaced by a gravel road leading to the dungeon. The structure was a bare-bones prefab, an unadorned concrete square in the middle of a build site. It would have looked ugly even without the raw industrial aesthetic of its surroundings, unfinished buildings with bare support pillars and jutting steel beams devoid of people due to the early hour, but the pre-dawn light made it look utterly unreal. All around, signs of Johanne¡¯s involvement were evident, with little saplings already growing into mighty trees in places where they wouldn¡¯t obstruct the ongoing construction too much. She had been unable to contain herself, she claimed, after seeing just how vibrant and lush and alive the forest felt. The workers had been upset at first, but that only lasted until she started helping them with magic and superhuman strength, after which their complaints turned into stares of awe. They were also aware of her more intensive efforts closer to the dungeon entrance, and knew that she had been quite gentle on them when she could have surrounded them with hundred-meter high oaks instead. Soon, Michael knew, she would begin to summon Fae from the dungeon to help with the construction efforts, speeding up the process even more. The construction crew was effectively a part of Unity now, but the workers would need a few more days to acclimatize themselves to magic before Michael felt comfortable allowing Johanne to whip out an army of monsters from the dungeon. Not to speak of all the other ramifications of the process, a pandora¡¯s box that couldn¡¯t be closed once opened. It was a headache for Travis as well, of course, who had to make sure the whole operation was as airtight as possible without any information leaks. Having someone like Johanne perform magic in front of a hundred workers had soured his mood for more than one day during which he had to deal with the workers, but the end result spoke for itself. Structures were rising into the air mere days after construction began. Besides, bringing even more trusted people into Unity¡¯s fold had always been his goal too. At the threshold of the prefab, another operator told Michael that Maggie was waiting for him inside. She was alone at his request, as he didn¡¯t think that having her in the same room as his parents would do much good right now. Another operator had been temporarily cleared to use the [Soothing Rain] skill stone on her after they tested its functions in a hurry last night, and the water seemed to have done its job. Maggie was visibly calmer than when she was rescued, although still very shaken. Michael thanked the operator manning the door and entered the room. There was a bed, a chair and a desk, but the whole place looked more like a holding cell than a room. It was bare, unfurnished and just white enough to make even he uncomfortable. Maggie looked up, but it took her a few seconds to recognize who had stepped through the door. Michael waited patiently, watching her face go through a slew of emotions as her eyes misted up with tears, until she sprang up and ran to him, locking him in a tight embrace as she cried into his clothes. ¡°Shh, it¡¯s all right now. You¡¯re safe.¡± He whispered to her as he patted her head. This was not how he had planned his reunion to go, but once again Carmela had come and disrupted all his plans. Maggie cried and sobbed, choking out words. ¡°It was so scary, I¡ªI don¡¯t know what was going on! They came in and¡­ and¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I know everything. I¡¯m here now.¡± She nodded, sniffling. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t tell me where we are. They wouldn¡¯t let me leave. Where are we?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I know it sucked, but we had to rescue you and bring you here as soon as possible. It was for your safety,¡± he told her weakly, feeling guilty. ¡°You can leave whenever you want now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where to go. They said¡­ they told me that they had you too. But then everything went so wrong! How could it go so wrong?¡± Michael debated what to tell her. He had known her all his life, and yet it seemed like he didn¡¯t know how to deal with her at all. Would it help to be honest and direct, or to take a more roundabout route? ¡°I know,¡± he said, touching her arm and seeing her flinch. It was enough to make him settle for the more gentle route. ¡°Bad men tried to hurt me by capturing you. I was never in danger, you know? They lied to you about that. They knew they couldn¡¯t touch me so they went after you. But they underestimated me, you know? I¡¯m here, safe and sound, and so are you.¡± She looked at him with wide eyes, confused and disoriented, holding onto his words that made little sense to her like they were a lifeline. ¡°You changed,¡± she said. Michael smiled gently. ¡°I did.¡± ¡°I like the new you.¡± There was a moment of silence then, and Michael watched his sister grow calmer with every breath. ¡°Is mom safe?¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Yes. She¡¯s resting. Do you want to see her?¡± They left the room together, Michael nodding to the operator standing guard outside and then to the Security branch guard holding a rifle by the road. They took a car, Maggie looking around listlessly but not really focusing on anything, until they arrived at another prefab a short distance away. They entered, and found their mother asleep on the bed of a very similar room to that where Maggie had been. ¡°See? She¡¯s safe.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Maggie said, hugging her brother again. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I feel better.¡± Michael didn¡¯t miss the fact that Maggie did not ask about their father. Not mentioning the fact, he instead draped an arm around her to project confidence and solidity. ¡°Here, let me show you around the place. I¡¯ve got quite the story to tell you.¡± *** ¡°I demand to see whoever is in charge of this place, immediately!¡± Janus Lexington, Michael¡¯s father, said. ¡°You are seeing him right now,¡± Travis said with a shrug, ¡°I¡¯m the man in charge here.¡± Janus scoffed. ¡°Is this a way to treat a person? What the hell sort of place is this?¡± Travis sighed, ¡°it was for your own safety. We had to rescue you from some, well, rather dangerous people.¡± The man was not mollified by the fact in the slightest. ¡°And what gives you the right to keep people locked in a room without their consent?¡± he yelled. ¡°You can leave at any time,¡± said Travis, ¡°in fact, why don¡¯t we take a walk?¡± With a nod, the guard outside opened the door for them. ¡°Come, Mister Lexington, let me show you around.¡± They walked for a while, Travis pointing things out for Janus to see. He did not mention magic to him, even though the man had seen some in action during the rescue operation. ¡°What is this place?¡± asked Janus. ¡°This is where the headquarters for Unity Corporation will be. As you can see, we are currently in the building process, there wasn¡¯t much to work with.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it,¡± Janus said. ¡°It¡¯s a new company. We deal in exotic materials, one could say.¡± Janus harrumphed. ¡°And you would be what? The CEO? You look like you have experience dealing with money.¡± Travis shrugged. ¡°I demand compensation for the way I¡¯ve been treated,¡± said Janus without missing a beat, ¡°a few million dollars at the very least. You owe that to me.¡± Travis smiled, ¡°what makes you think I have the power to agree to such a demand?¡± ¡°If not you, then take me to someone who can!¡± ¡°Of course,¡± said Travis, not without a mischievous glint in his eyes. They walked for a while, landing in another spartan building more towards the epicenter of activity, surrounded by tall skeletons of unfinished buildings. Site 00 was waking up, workers beginning to flood the structures and machines roaring to life to move tons of earth and materials around. Somewhere out of sight, Johanne was already performing magical miracles, but Janus was too fixated on Travis¡¯ back as he walked to notice. Travis directed the man inside the building, where two people were waiting for them. A third one was sitting on a couch, in distress, looking like she had just finished crying. Janus noticed her first, actually, recognizing his ex-wife immediately. He scoffed. ¡°Weak woman,¡± he muttered under his breath, ¡°you can¡¯t show weakness in front of¡ª¡± ¡°Well, well, well,¡± a voice cut through his last words. It took a moment for Janus to recognize who had spoken, especially since it had been years since he last saw his son. ¡°Can¡¯t say I missed this.¡± ¡°Michael?¡± he asked, ¡°what the fuck happened to you? You look unrecognizable. Did you finally pull your shit together, huh? You should have told me. Instead you ran away like a little pussy after milking me for all the money you could get.¡± Michael weathered the storm of questions with an exasperated look. To his side, Maggie was clinging to his arm like it was a lifeline, occasionally shooting glances at their mother and at Travis, who had made himself inconspicuous. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°And you, Margaret, why the fuck are you clinging to your brother like that? Show some spine.¡± Michael coughed to draw attention to himself, ¡°I see you haven¡¯t changed at all, dad. Always as unpleasant as ever.¡± ¡°How dare you talk to me like that? I should slap some sense into you.¡± Travis snickered from the background, imagining how the scene would play out if Janus really tried to beat Michael up. ¡°You could try,¡± Michael said, taking note that his father¡¯s slender frame was half his size now, and several inches shorter than he was. ¡°Slap me around and then throw me out? You can slap me all you want, but you can¡¯t do throw me out twice, asshole.¡± Janus looked at his son, and for the first time Michael noticed some respect in his gaze. ¡°You grew half a spine, that¡¯s good. But this doesn¡¯t change the facts. Were you kidnapped too? How come you¡¯re all here having a chat while I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s trying to fight to get some sort of reparation? Are you all idiots?¡± Michael smiled placidly, ¡°it¡¯s because you are operating under a wrong assumption.¡± Janus¡¯s brow creased in anger, ¡°what are you talking about?¡± ¡°See, you were kidnapped, but not by Unity.¡± ¡°I know that,¡± snorted Janus. ¡°I¡¯m not a halfwit, despite all the venom your mother has tried to put into your head all these years. That woman¡­ bah. They rescued us, that man told me as much.¡± He jabbed a finger towards Travis, who was sipping a coffee, ¡°but why would they do that, huh? This situation stinks. I demand a lawyer.¡± Michael smiled. ¡°Nope. I said you were rescued. See, I wasn¡¯t even kidnapped in the first place. No need for a lawyer, let your son sort this out for you.¡± ¡°What?¡± his father looked right about to explode. ¡°We are in America, how dare someone deny us¡ª¡± ¡°Listen. Shady organization saves you after you get kidnapped by the mafia and you demand a lawyer? Come on dad, think about it. How come you¡¯re even allowed to throw a tantrum?¡± Janus¡¯s gaze homed in on his face like a laser. Michael did not flinch. ¡°You. You¡¯re involved in this.¡± Travis butted in from the corner, ¡°told you I¡¯d take you to someone who could listen to your demands, didn¡¯t I? I have to admit, you¡¯re a smart man, figuring shit out from limited information, too bad it¡¯s all ruined by how unpleasant you are to be around.¡± Michael¡¯s mother perked up at that, pleased to hear her thoughts out loud. A faint crackling appeared all around Travis, and Janus¡ªalready the smaller one of the two¡ªshrunk on himself. His slender frame appeared almost frail, for a moment. ¡°You threatening me?¡± ¡°The company¡¯s mine, dad.¡± Michael said before the situation could escalate. He had been convinced to orchestrate this little charade, but was already regretting it. Seeing the look on his mother¡¯s face as she enjoyed the moment was disgusting. ¡°Yours?¡± the man scoffed, ¡°as if¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, Janus.¡± Janus looked at his ex-wife, who had long stopped crying and was now staring at him with superiority. She had gotten up from her seat, and she looked much better than he had expected her to look. He scoffed, ¡°Marie. Let the men talk, don¡¯t interfere.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an idiot, Janus.¡± She said, ¡°but this is good. Let Maggie see what sort of father she has.¡± ¡°This was another of your games, wasn¡¯t it?¡± the man growled. ¡°It wasn¡¯t,¡± said Michael, although even he knew it was a blatant lie. ¡°You were the last to be told because, honestly, none of us wanted to deal with you, dad.¡± ¡°And so you thought to conspire against me, put up this fucking theatre to throw me off balance? You¡¯re all pathetic.¡± ¡°As usual, you can only see things from your perspective,¡± said Marie, but then it was Maggie who stopped her with a gesture. She took a moment to collect herself before speaking, during which her father simply glared at her with open hostility. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was right to keep you in the dark,¡± she said, ¡°but none of us wanted to talk to you alone, you know?¡± her voice was cracking, and the more she spoke the more her voice turned into a scream, letting out all the pent up rage and sorrow she had buried inside, ¡°you destroyed our family! It was your arrogance, your¡­ temper! Why did you hit mom all those years ago?¡± ¡°Because she was a bad woman,¡± he growled. ¡°She¡ª¡± Suddenly, a pressure descended upon all of them. Janus got the brunt of it, paling and shivering in place as if suddenly put in a freezer cell. As color drained from his face, he turned to look at Michael, horror and fear in his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s quite enough,¡± Michael said. ¡°You haven¡¯t changed a bit. Yes, none of us wanted to deal with you, we left you to rot alone until Travis volunteered to fetch you. So what?¡± The man took a deep breath as the pressure vanished. ¡°Is this company really yours, son?¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Then you owe me. I know some things aren¡¯t right around here. You want my silence? You need to pay me.¡± ¡°Oh, more things than you know aren¡¯t right around here,¡± said Michael. With a snap of his fingers, flames exploded out of his hands, washing the room with orange light. Assaulted by the heat, Janus suddenly found himself staring at a dark orb, barely an inch from his face, recoiling. Travis was suddenly there, catching him. ¡°You are an awful person, dad, extorting money from your son.¡± Janus looked at the others, noticing that none of them had reacted to the display, ¡°they all knew already. You kept me in the dark of even this. You talk big son, but you aren¡¯t a better man than I am.¡± ¡°Get out of my sight.¡± Growled Michael. ¡°And where should I go, huh? You have trapped me in the middle of nowhere.¡± Janus replied in kind. ¡°Someone will take you home.¡± Travis dragged him away and they left, leaving behind a room of broken people. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to see this,¡± Michael told Maggie. ¡°This was a mistake.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t,¡± his mother said. ¡°This was lesson.¡± ¡°Was it?¡± asked Michael. ¡°This opened up old wounds, and for what? So that you could get your revenge on him? What did you gain from this?¡± ¡°Closure,¡± she said. ¡°This doesn¡¯t feel like closure to me,¡± Michael replied. ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re like him,¡± his mother said. Michael felt as if struck by a boss monster. ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± Maggie said. Of all people, she had to be the one who defended him from his parents. It made him feel tiny, useless. Spineless. ¡°I think I knew. All this time, I knew what kind of man he was. You¡¯re nothing like him, Michael. I thought they were all lies. I¡¯m sorry mom,¡± she turned to her, crying, ¡°I thought all you said about him were lies you told me to feel better with yourself. They weren¡¯t.¡± Marie was smiling then, until she looked like she remembered how she should act and started to cry, her eyes red and swollen, ¡°it¡¯s alright, sweetie. I know we haven¡¯t been the best family. I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Maggie shook her head sadly, ¡°I¡¯m not done, mother. You did not lie, that¡¯s true, but you¡¯re just as bad as he is. You manipulated us. You tore the family apart just as much as he did. You played the victim long after you stopped being a victim because it was so useful. You almost convinced me to drop out of school and go to work because you said you couldn¡¯t afford¡­ food, by yourself. It was another lie, wasn¡¯t it? I know how much dad paid you in the divorce, the men working for Michael showed me the documents.¡± In the end, Michael wondered whether he had been just as evil as his father was. At the very least, he once again felt like a little, powerless child in front of his mother. He had allowed her to manipulate him once again, this whole scene carefully crafted by her. Marie had always been good at using him for her own plans. She had pretended to be a broken mess while instead she had recovered immediately after the initial shock of being rescued, being showed magic and being told her son was owner of a company. While he thought she was fragile and in pain, she instead had immediately turned to scheming and manipulating. She had manipulated Michael, pulling Janus into the play, asking for the man to be kept in the dark so that he could show his true colors. She had obtained what she wanted out of this whole scenario. Maggie now hated the man more than ever, and Michael was once again thrown off balance. ¡°Enough,¡± said Michael. ¡°Mom, I need to ask you to leave.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± she said in a little voice, almost as if she was about to cry again, ¡°where can I go, after all of this?¡± ¡°Home.¡± Michael said. ¡°I can¡¯t go home,¡± she pleaded, ¡°I don¡¯t feel safe there.¡± ¡°If only this wasn¡¯t a lie, mother. But I know it is.¡± Her gaze hardened. ¡°Ungrateful son. Your father is wrong about many things, but he¡¯s right about you. You made all this money, you dragged your family into this, and now you send us back home just like this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just like this,¡± Michael said. ¡°You¡¯re paying me, then? Good, that¡¯s a start.¡± ¡°Ah, there it is,¡± growled Michael. Fuck it. I can play this game too. You want to break up the family? Let¡¯s break up the family forever, then. ¡°This is the reason I cut ties with the lot of you. You two are more similar than you realize. Do you see it now, Maggie?¡± Maggie looked stunned, put through a blender by circumstances bigger than her. Adults were playing with her and she was powerless, she felt, but her brother was like a lifeline. She nodded weakly. ¡°I¡¯m not sending you all back,¡± said Michael, still looking at Maggie. ¡°You can stay, if you want.¡± It took a moment for the realization to sink in. As Marie began to yell obscenities, cursing and spitting poison at him, Maggie smiled softly. ¡°Thank you,¡± she muttered. She was crying, clinging to him even harder. Right now, she looked so vulnerable, so young, despite being only a few years younger than Michael. Michael smiled. As her mother was led away, and her brother gave orders to finally get rid of his shitty apartment and get some accommodations for two ready before night fell again, Maggie slowly calmed down before settling on a playful pout. ¡°You could have told us sooner,¡± she said. ¡°I still thought you lived in a shitty apartment.¡± ¡°Technically, I still do. It will take a few hours for my men to break the contract.¡± Michael said with a chuckle. He had no doubts his lawyers would be able to get around the restrictions in the contract by offering enough money to the landlord. ¡°The new place isn¡¯t finished yet, but we¡¯ll make do. Did you know that Johanne wants me to live in a mansion?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Johanne?¡± Maggie asked, but did not wait for an answer, ¡°You know, she¡¯s right. I sure hope she included a room for me in the design. Far away from your, though. I don¡¯t want to see you roam around naked or something. Are there enough bathrooms? I want one just for me. It¡¯s the least you could do, after you put me through all of this¡­¡± On and on she went. Michael listened with a soft smile, happy to see his cheeky sister was back to being herself, despite the trauma that lay underneath. Unseen by her, soft flames of [Candle Light] were burning in his fingers, touching her skin without heat, healing her mind.
Unity level up!
Really? *** Two men were riding in the back of a car with darkened windows. The driver was silent, wearing sunglasses not to shield himself from the glare but to appear as impersonal as possible. One of the two men was calm and collected, looking out of the windows into the sprawling fields. The other was tense, filled with rage. ¡°David Chestermill, a pleasure,¡± said the calm man, offering a hand. The other man refused to even look his way. ¡°And who the fuck would you be?¡± ¡°The CEO of Unity, actually.¡± David said, ¡°you know, your son¡¯s company.¡± ¡°You owe me a lot of cash for this,¡± Janus growled. ¡°I won¡¯t keep silent otherwise.¡± David shrugged. ¡°We shall see about that.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let this stand,¡± Janus muttered, ¡°you will all pay.¡± ¡°That was a sad sight back there,¡± David said. He had seen it all through the security cameras. ¡°I never quite understood just how bad Michael¡¯s family situation was, you know? Michael told me something, of course, but it always came down to how you all basically threw him out and left him to his devices. Now I get it. I think it¡¯s good for him, cutting ties with you all.¡± ¡°I threw him out because he was dead weight.¡± Janus said, ¡°now that he got money, I want what he owes me.¡± ¡°You lent him money?¡± ¡°For raising him!¡± Janus yelled. ¡°Do you think being a father is cheap? With a whore of a wife¡ª¡± David slapped the man in the face. With his augmentations, a slap that would have already hurt the much smaller man was like taking a steel beam to the face. ¡°No talking bad about women,¡± he said, remembering the time he had to deal with less than savory types from the underworld. ¡°She¡¯s a bitch,¡± said Janus, massaging his face. ¡°She¡¯s a problematic person, granted. Michael told me he sent her home as well.¡± ¡°Good for him. He might be able to bully her, but I want my money. Or else I will talk.¡± David grinned, ¡°of course! That¡¯s why I¡¯m here, after all. Glad to see you¡¯re finally being reasonable.¡± The carrot after the big stick. ¡°I want money.¡± David nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a given. A weekly stipend of a hundred thousand dollars yours to spend as you wish. Legally, you¡¯ll be employed by Unity, but you won¡¯t have to do anything.¡± Janus snorted. ¡°Employed by my own son? You think I would shame myself like that? I want half a million.¡± ¡°One hundred thousand a week, moron, think about it. And you¡¯ll have personal security, a secretary, a driver, a private helicopter and access to our top-tier facilities,¡± said David, smiling. This asshole. If he doesn¡¯t say yes to this, I¡¯m sending him to Site 01 for a nice detainment period. Perhaps even force him to absorb that toilet skill stone we have in a locker somewhere. See how that breaks his mind. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s acceptable,¡± said Janus. ¡°Very well.¡± David smiled, secretly wishing he could strangle the man. But this was the more peaceful resolution of the conflict, and the cleanest break he could give Michael with the sole exception of murdering his father. With this arrangement, Janus could be watched at all times, kept safe from other attempts should anyone want to use him to get to Michael, and contained immediately should the man himself decide he wanted to leverage his knowledge. Marie, Michael¡¯s mother, was being offered a similar deal, David knew. Only Maggie would stay with them. What a train wreck of a family, he thought. But at least it¡¯s over now. Chapter 82 Chapter 82 The morning was a blur of activity at Site 00. Some of it was normal administration by now, construction crews and occasional feats of magic bent towards raising the many buildings that would make up the bulk of Unity¡¯s headquarters for the foreseeable future. There were literal skyscrapers being built, with designs that seemed to be plucked out of some science fiction novel. They were only possible thanks to three factors: magic, money and the vision of some quite crazy people. Other than that, labs were taking shape alongside squat, bulky buildings. Underground tunnels that were yet to be covered in dirt made the whole place look like a haphazard set of dangers, with frail looking steel bridges and temporary crossings where the concrete for the beams supporting the underground chambers was being poured in. The road crew was almost done as well, and now it was possible to get fairly close to the dungeon on a quad bike, cutting the travel time by a lot. All around the site, a mismatched sight of numerous prefabs and repurposed shipping containers made for living quarters of many of the workers of the site, who chose to sleep in the vicinity rather than undergo the hour or so of travel from the nearest city. It helped that, even though seemingly spartan, the accommodations were actually rather luxurious, not lacking in modern commodities in the slightest. Instead of A/C units, they featured Ice elemental stones that drew energy from mana coins to keep the oppressive summer heat at bay. Instead of running water, Water stones provided the necessary water and Fire stones heated it up to temperature. It was an experimental setup for now, and it had many problems that required Johanne¡¯s intervention multiple times a day, but it was a proof of concept that, once refined, would remove the need to tap into the state¡¯s water, waste and natural gas grid. They had no shortage of coins thanks to the Fae farming the floors, and soon the Area of Influence around the dungeon would expand to encompass Site 00, removing the need for stones as the elemental stones drew mana from the air. Electricity was provided by solar panels and generators, making the Site completely self-sufficient. Maggie was with Johanne. It had all started with Michael¡¯s sister asking the woman about the mansion she had planned for Michael, and the two immediately clicked. Johanne was taking Maggie on an inspection tour of all the houses, adjusting the size of the stones to regulate their heat, cold and water generation and figuring out how to integrate them in the future permanent buildings. She talked about arrays and magical circuitry, but for now they had to make do with the crude method of manually cutting and adjusting the size and shape of the stone to regulate power flow. Maggie followed her enthusiastically, asking questions about magic and the dungeon, seemingly having forgotten all about yesterday¡¯s kidnapping and family drama. Michael finished sipping his morning coffee. Someone had set up a delivery network for some necessities that were deemed a priority, and it seemed that coffee was one of them. Travis was with him, enjoying a brief pause before returning to work. They were also waiting for the expected delivery of the materials handled by the [Ghost Market], but it would still be a while before they arrived and it seemed like it would fall on Johanne to man the site when they arrived. ¡°You¡¯ve been to the Valley, haven¡¯t you?¡± Michael said. Travis nodded, ¡°how could you tell?¡± ¡°I can see some elemental energy clinging to you. Did you go there to train?¡± ¡°Ha, no!¡± the man barked a laugh, ¡°I thought: why not make use of the time dilation now that I have access to it to get the work done without wasting any actual time in the real world?¡± Michael stared at him like he was some sort of creature. ¡°Wait, you took the work down there with you?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you do the same? You brought a laptop down there.¡± Michael shook his head in disbelief. ¡°That was for entertainment. I don¡¯t want to work in the dungeon, Travis, unless it¡¯s an emergency. I feel if I start blurring the outside world and the dungeon together, I might just lose it.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The man said, pausing, ¡°well, it¡¯s not the same for me. I bring in tons of paperwork and stuff I need to do that would otherwise waste a lot of time, and boom! Ten minutes later I emerge with all of it done, no stress added. I can take my sweet time, enjoy some feasts with the Fae, and sleep a lot. This could very well be the first time I am living in a not-sleep deprived state in the last, I don¡¯t know, ten years?¡± ¡°How many times did you go in there this morning, Travis?¡± ¡°Just two,¡± he said, shrugging. ¡°Had some Candle Light business to deal with. Paving the way for some future collaborations with some shady agencies and the like.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°And how much time did you spend in there?¡± ¡°A few days,¡± he said, then put his hands in front of him in a placating gesture, ¡°wait, don¡¯t get worked up. I took it easy, okay? You do it all the time! Besides, I know for a fact that David used the same method at least once just this morning.¡± Michael felt the urge to face palm, ¡°next thing I know, Trevor and Jennifer start doing it as well.¡± ¡°They are considering it,¡± Travis said with a shrug. ¡°What have I done¡­¡± said Michael, feigning desperation, ¡°I unleashed monsters upon this world.¡± ¡°You bet. None will be able to keep up with us.¡± He said. Then his tone turned serious, ¡°hey man, how are you feeling?¡± ¡°Better,¡± Michael said. ¡°I also took some time alone in the Valley to process things. Interesting that we didn¡¯t meet each other.¡± ¡°Time dilation. Johanne is studying how it works when multiple people go in at different times. Now, she is a real monster, juggling so many projects.¡± Michael nodded, ¡°I agree. She¡¯s also taken Maggie with her.¡± ¡°She has?¡± suddenly Old Dave¡¯s voice reached their ears as the man joined the conversation, ¡°I guess that¡¯s a good thing.¡± ¡°Hey man, back from the Valley?¡± Old Dave seemed taken aback, ¡°how did you know?¡± ¡°Everyone seems to be using it these days. Don¡¯t overdo it.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± the man nodded, ¡°so, how¡¯s Maggie doing?¡± Michael¡¯s face was unreadable, ¡°reasonably well. As I said, she¡¯s with Johanne, and I think it¡¯s good for her.¡± ¡°How did she recover so quickly?¡± asked Dave, tilting his head. Michael looked at Travis. ¡°It was a combination of [Soothing Rain] from an operator Travis sent my way and my own [Candle Light]. Together they are quite potent. She doesn¡¯t know that I used skills on her, and I intend for it to remain that way.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± *** Michael spent the rest of the day preparing. Whenever he wanted to rest, or to just disconnect from the responsibilities of the real world for a while, he entered his Valley. He didn¡¯t rest for long though, he had too many things to do and even though he knew for a fact that he had all the time in the world, his mind just wouldn¡¯t let him be idle for longer than a day. He always felt like he had to do something, struggle against some sort of barrier or enemy, work to earn his power. One day in the Valley, he emerged from the glacier after an afternoon spent studying a tunnel full of Qi in hopes to gather some insights that would help him find his own Dantian. It was there that he crossed paths with a hurried Travis who had also gone into the Valley in the same ten-minute window as Michael had. Interesting, he thought, so you can meet other people from the surface in here, they just have to enter in the ten-minute window. I¡¯ll be sure to tell Johanne. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t make much progress even after several days spent studying Qi. Returning to the surface, he finished his preparations and then headed inside the dungeon once again. Another problem plaguing his growth was that his skills felt stuck, and his whole Sanctum felt heavy as if it was bloated beyond what it could sustain. Gaining levels somewhat offset this, as well as growing his mana pool and his statistics, but he still felt like he was missing something. Regardless, by the end of his second rest and training period in the Valley, he felt ready to level up a skill that had been on the cusp for a little while: his [Healing Aura]. He let mana and Qi flood the Skill Fractal in his Sanctum, and watched the process of upgrade unfold. The fractal deepened, gaining some sort of transcendent meaning that was like a whisper outside of conscious perception. On top of it were the more obvious changes in its shape and complexity, as well as slight increase in size. Despite this, there was still plenty of space in the walls of the Sanctum, as one could say that they were infinite in scope, being a mental representation of something Michael still had not fully understood yet. However, his mind¡¯s sight could only take in a portion of these walls at any given time, as if his mind¡¯s eye was not developed enough to encompass even all of his skill fractals, let alone the whole space. It felt like a hint that would help in figuring out how to grow past the current limit on skill number and level but, like with Qi, a hint wasn¡¯t enough and Michael left the valley frustrated. At least, he thought, the last upgrade of his healing skill before it reached its bottleneck had been quite good.
(Uncommon) Healing Aura 5
Within the gentle currents of Qi flows the essence of life''s renewal; with each breath, let healing radiate, restoring harmony to all.
  • You can create an aura of healing for yourself and everyone marked as an ally around you, up to a range of 25 meters.
  • Your aura works more quickly, more efficiently, and will slowly purge poisons both mundane and magical.
  • Increased efficiency and speed. The skill is less taxing on the body.
Going from 5 to 25 meters of effective range, which worked in a sphere around him, was a gigantic upgrade. So much so, in fact, that he decided to head to Saint Hernest to test it out. ¡°Absolutely not,¡± said Travis. ¡°That can wait tomorrow. What can¡¯t wait is us dealing with her.¡± ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°No buts. The plan is in motion. It¡¯s now or never. We won¡¯t have another chance like this and you know it. We talked about it, remember? There¡¯s no other way.¡± Michael sighed. ¡°I know,¡± he said, ¡°I know. Let¡¯s go.¡± After this is over, thought Michael, I¡¯m going down to the fourth floor. Challenge or not, I don¡¯t care anymore. I¡¯m as prepared as I can be without wasting years upon years training for pitiful gains. I¡¯ve hit a roadblock, and the dungeon is the way forward. Besides¡­ what I need right now is something to punch that¡¯s not a real human being in the real human world where actions have terrible consequences. Chapter 83 Chapter 83 As he lay flat on the ground, feeling the stones embedded in the soft earth beneath the yellowing moss poke at him in uncomfortable ways, Michael thought back to the chain of events leading up to this moment. Travis was beside him, scouting the compound with his binoculars. They were on a vantage point atop one of the gentle hills this side of Kentucky, overlooking a hollow several miles away. At its center, Carmela was currently holed up, thinking she was safe. She would have been safe, in fact¡ªthe distance too great to affect her with mundane weapons¡ªhad it not been for the duo¡¯s magic rendering the point moot. It was exactly what Travis was counting on, and the reason why he had carefully manipulated information flowing back to Carmela to make sure she would be at the right place at the right time. ¡°Fuck it,¡± Michael muttered. ¡°No use overthinking this.¡± Instead, he took aim with his sniper rifle, a ghostly creation made by Travis¡¯ magic that could shoot through walls. Carmela was barely visible at the center of the scope, clearly too far away for a normal weapon to be able to accurately hit her. Even more so when not in the hands of an experienced marksman, but in Michael¡¯s. Although, this had to be said, he had experience doing this exact sort of thing. He had done it back when he sniped the Swamp King to death back when the Misty Valley was still a challenge floor, and he didn¡¯t feel like this would be too different. Already he could feel his [Marksman] skill begging to be used, a nice overcharge of mana more than enough to overcome the range limitations of the weapon and ignore nuisances such as bullet drop and wind drift. He knew he could squeeze the trigger right now and set things in motion he could not undo. But, was it not what he had been doing all this time? It felt different, however, more deliberate. He wasn¡¯t in a life and death battle, or a struggle to save his kidnapped family. If he did this, then he would turn into a cold-blooded killer. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± asked Travis. ¡°Are we sure about this?¡± Michael said. ¡°We don¡¯t get another chance if we fuck up.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t fuck it up,¡± Travis replied, misunderstanding Michael¡¯s point. ¡°You have [Marksman]. A skill made just for this. Line the shot, and kill the bitch. I got everything else covered.¡± Michael nodded, steeling himself. He was about to shoot, but something held him back, ¡°I know, but what if she can detect us?¡± ¡°Does she look suspicious right now?¡± ¡°She¡¯s clearly agitated.¡± ¡°Suspicious of us,¡± clarified Travis. Michael shook his head. ¡°She has no idea.¡± ¡°And what are the chances of her having a skill or spell or card or whatever that can trigger without her knowing she¡¯s being attacked and stop a bullet from that rifle enhanced with your skill?¡± Travis said patiently. ¡°Next to none.¡± ¡°Then do it.¡± Michael took a deep breath. He let the skill guide him, and since he didn¡¯t want to risk nasty surprises, he pumped the skill chock full of mana, nearly a full Silver going into making the shot as deadly as possible. He then laced the bullet with Ice and Fire elemental energy, set in a way that would detonate upon impact, flash freezing and burning the target at the same time. This was only possible thanks to his ability to manipulate mana and elemental energies without the need for a spell, directly influencing the outside world. It was an aspect he gained when he raised his [Magic Manipulation] to level 6 but barely ever used, a thing he intended to rectify soon. A skill window appeared in his vision, the system trying to push a new skill onto him, but he could not accept it. Overburdened by skills as he was, he could not add another to their number if he wanted to keep using magic. He dismissed it before he could overthink it, and a fractal failed to manifest in his Skill Sanctum. ¡°Alright,¡± he said, taking another deep breath. The skill thrummed with energy, and his aim was steady thanks to his inhuman stats and the skill¡¯s help. With a stiff motion, he finally pulled the trigger. The bullet was hypersonic. Michael watched it travel true, describing a straight line through the air. It hit Carmela in the head barely a fraction of a second after Michael had pulled the trigger, the sound of the shot never even reaching his ears. This was not a normal weapon, but a ghostly implement made by Travis¡¯ silver Card. Michael¡¯s eyes stared at the scene. He could not, would not, close them even though what he was seeing was gruesome. Carmela¡¯s head exploded in a shower of gore, fire and ice. The whole room was a mess in mere moments. Fire began to spread outwards, dozens of Copper units of elemental energy more than enough to melt concrete and steel in a small radius and set fire to anything flammable in the vicinity.
Unity level up!
Level 8. He had gained a level by killing someone in the real world for the first time. Josh had not been enough to push his level up, it seemed, but Carmela had been. Whatever mechanism was at the base of the flows of Unity had deemed her important enough. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Even after Michael was sure she was dead, and that his work was done, he could not take his eyes off the magnifying scope of the rifle. ¡°It¡¯s over, man,¡± Travis said, putting a hand on his shoulder. ¡°She¡¯s dead,¡± Michael said mechanically, ¡°just like that.¡± ¡°Just like that.¡± Flames sprung to life from Michael¡¯s hands. They did not burn. Instead, they healed the mind. For the first time, he used [Candle Light] on himself. He got up after a few more minutes, during which Travis had said nothing. The man had not been idle, of course, coordinating with the Candle Light forces waiting to blitz the building now that the sole mage defending it was gone. ¡°You know,¡± Michael said as he got up and shook the dust and dead moss from his clothes. Behind him, men were swarming the building. ¡°This was a bit anticlimactic.¡± Perhaps he had overdone it with [Candle Light], because right now he felt nothing, his interest more piqued by the fact that even moss was dying out in this dry heat after many days without rain rather than focusing on what had just happened. ¡°A bit anticlimactic,¡± Travis echoed his words. ¡°But that¡¯s how it goes when you have superior means. Let this be a lesson.¡± ¡°Yeah. I think I learned much.¡± Michael said. Travis nodded. ¡°It will be a right mess now. I¡¯m doing all I can to keep the federal agencies off our backs. And doing a good job of it, if I say so myself. But¡­¡± he trailed off. ¡°But?¡± asked Michael. He was following the unfolding blitz on the building both with his sight, magnified by the rifle¡¯s scope, and through a live feed being broadcasted to his phone from one of the operators¡¯ helmets. Jennifer was there too, he noticed, ready to use her spell tome to remove all incriminating evidence. ¡°There are other agencies, even more powerful and insidious than the 3-lettered.¡± Travis said, ¡°A bit more secretive than what you¡¯d normally be used to, they aren¡¯t as bound by the law and the normal flows of money and power as the others. Guess what I learned after some digging? Now that I know magic is real, it wasn¡¯t too hard to differentiate bogus conspiracy theories from the real deal. Turns out the feds knew about magic all along, it just wasn¡¯t relevant until recently. They never managed to do more than party tricks with it, after all, until a few months ago.¡± ¡°You think they got access to a dungeon?¡± Travis shrugged. ¡°Hard to say, to be honest.¡± ¡°Then why tell me about it now?¡± ¡°Because, after this mess? They will be looking in our direction, Michael. It''s a matter of time before they find some interesting stuff and come knocking at our doorstep. With the power they might have? Forget appealing to the law, they can disappear us.¡± ¡°Can they, though?¡± asked Michael. Travis smirked. ¡°That¡¯s what I want to know. Can we afford to strong-hand them, or do we want to play it safe and gather up strength? Jennifer says she¡¯s almost ready to send the first batch of SKILL-outfitted operators in the dungeon to power-level them, followed by a wave of volunteers who will go in as Iron-ranked humans to see what the dungeon gives them¡­ if they survive, that is. But we need time to set all of it up and we might not have it. So, I thought¡­ Instead of being reactive, let¡¯s be proactive.¡± ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± asked Michael. The blitz at the compound was almost over, with nothing but weak Iron-rank humans against their trained operators with better gear and a handful of Copper operators with offensive skill stones. ¡°Are you free three days from now?¡± Travis had put his phone away now that the operation had concluded, and his expression was colored by a grim awareness of the future. ¡°I want to schedule a meeting with a certain Dr. Kavanaugh of an organization called Occult Affairs. It¡¯s federally funded, but they don¡¯t respond to any form of control that I know of. This means I can¡¯t influence them, which in turn makes the OA potentially more dangerous than any three-letter agency. Now, this Kavanaugh. He may not be the head of the OA, but he¡¯s high enough up the food chain to give us a clear picture once we speak to him.¡± ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s wise?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather go to them than have them come to us. If we play this right, we might even walk away with a new ally.¡± Travis paused, ¡°Well, perhaps not an ally per se, but we can leverage some internal strife between agencies once we know more. We need to know where we stand, Michael. Can we fight them, or do we need to lay low and build our strength? Jennifer¡¯s working on getting our people into the dungeon-ready, but that takes time, time we might not have. This¡­ this changes everything." ¡°I feel like it¡¯s quite a big gamble,¡± said Michael, looking at the burning compound in the distance. ¡°Perhaps, though, the time for me to say such things has passed. Can I really advocate caution after caution itself led us to this?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Travis¡¯ tone was cordial, almost as if it was Old Dave here speaking with Michael, ¡°I am taking precautions so that they cannot abduct us. But again, it¡¯s better we go to them than the opposite and they catch wind of what we are doing at Site 00. Hard to hide entire buildings once they enter someone¡¯s radar. If that happens, there¡¯s no good ending.¡± ¡°What¡¯s my role in this?¡± ¡°You are there to talk, officially, but what I think you should be doing most is watch. Using your special senses I want you to scout how powerful they are, if they are limited to only ancestral magic, or if they have access to a dungeon. Once we know that then we can plan our next move. Suppose we have the upper hand in power? Imagine what we can do then.¡± ¡°All right, I want to talk to Old Dave about this first.¡± ¡°Of course. Just be quick.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it today. You prepare the meeting. One way or another, I do think it¡¯s the right thing to do, sending at least someone. I don¡¯t like it, but I know it has to be done.¡± *** The first thing Michael did once back at Site 00 was find Old Dave. The man was skeptical about their plan at first, but after much sighing and worrying about Michael, he eventually agreed to proceed. Old Dave advocated going in full strength at first, assuming that in the case the enemy had a way to detect mana then they would show their strength, and if not that they would be safer that way. Then, he had a change of heart, and tentatively agreed with Travis¡¯ plan. Going in guns blazing wasn¡¯t a great idea. He agreed that Travis should go with Michael. The man was a must, if only because it had been him who had set up the meeting and he knew how all the parties moved within the web of contacts and power dynamics. Michael was the other obvious choice, as they needed someone with mana sight, and currently they only had two people capable of accurate mana readings. One of them was Johanne, who was as delicate as a sledgehammer when it came to these things and would probably blow the whole thing before the talks could even start. The other was Michael, who had to go even though he was the centerpiece of Unity, Candle Light and everything else, loathe as Old Dave was to admit it. ¡°Besides,¡± said Michael, ¡°I fully intend to go in prepared. I know there¡¯s a way to mask auras, to make them look weaker than they actually are. Johanne once mentioned it to me in passing. I¡¯ll spend some time with her in the Valley and try to develop a skill for it.¡± Chapter 84 Chapter 84 ¡°Tell me about aura masking again,¡± Michael said as he and Johanne approached the threshold leading into the dungeon. There was work to be done, and time inside the dungeon had a whole other meaning compared to time in the real world. The cave entrance was a yawning mouth, full of jagged rocks and vines that looked like they belonged in a tropical forest. All efforts to clean it up had turned out to be in vain, the cave returning to its default state after a while no matter what was done to it to make it less ominous. All lights vanishes, and rocks removes reformed and all the vegetation regrew. Old Dave was already thinking about using it as a source of infinite stone to quarry, provided they found a place to quarry the stone from that wouldn¡¯t make accessing the dungeon itself a chore. ¡°Of course, my lord,¡± the woman said as they stopped outside for a moment. There were things there, creatures moving in the mana that suffused the air all around the dungeon. They were a known quantity by now, studied by the Candle Light division¡¯s mana-sight operators. She looked at one of them with something like contempt before sniffing once and stepping into the dungeon. Michael followed soon after. The creatures were not a threat, not yet, and he couldn¡¯t touch them even if he used his manipulation ability. They were, at worst, a problem for the future. As Michael stepped into the dungeon, Johanne¡¯s demeanor changed, her proud posture not gone but remaining in a diminished form. She regarded Michael with deference and subservience. If Michael wasn¡¯t used to such a drastic transformation whenever they were alone by now, he would have felt deeply uncomfortable. Instead, he simply suppressed a sigh. ¡°You can conceal your aura, making it so that it appears weaker than it really is,¡± she began. As she spoke more about the intricacies of aura suppression, they fought the monsters of the first floor, obliterating everything in their way. Soon, they were at the threshold of the Valley. ¡°Is it really weaker, or does it just appear to be so?¡± asked Michael. ¡°A difficult question to answer. I suppose it depends on how you manage to suppress your power. Were you using conventional means, I would say it would become weaker. But you are gifted with a magic system unlike any I have ever seen, and things might be different.¡± ¡°We will try to make a skill, then?¡± Johanne nodded. ¡°It is the safest way. I know you can do some basic unbound casting, but your ability to project magic is only limited to mana and the elements, while your aura also contains Qi. Only an uncommon-rank or higher skill can fully hide it.¡± She did not mention the fact that, despite getting the ability to do unbound casting and influence the world with magic directly, Michael had barely begun to get an understanding of how the skill worked. Sometimes the process was intuitive, while at other times it was like trying to out-will the world itself. Lately, Michael had even taken to trying to replicate skill fractal structures using [Magic Manipulation]¡¯s ability to project mana, sacrificing flexibility for ease of use. If he could learn how to copy the fractals and make them work without using skills, he could use [Magic Manipulation] to cast any Common-rank skill he had the fractal for, and free up space in his Skill Sanctum. They made their way to the treehouse. Drullkrin greeted them on the way there, but soon they split ways. The goblin commander was about to go on an expedition to the third floor, training up some Fae against the mummified monsters. At the treehouse, the duo did not begin working on masking the aura immediately, instead they enjoyed some food and chatted for a while, unwinding and enjoying the breeze at the crown of the tree. It felt rejuvenating, being surrounded by the swaying branches of the magical tree, their green vibrant and lush. Time had another meaning down here. ¡°Do we grow old?¡± Michael mused. ¡°Not as quickly as normal people,¡± said Johanne, ¡°if that is what you were worried about, my lord, then you should know that the aging process slows down as your aura ranks up, to the point where it is told to still completely, freezing your body in time.¡± ¡°I see,¡± he said. He wondered if having your body forever frozen in its state was a good or a bad thing, before realizing that probably mages of such caliber would have their own ways to modify their bodies to suit their needs and desires. ¡°I would not fuss over such things just yet, however,¡± Johanne said, looking at the clouds. How did clouds exist here? ¡°The dwarves had a saying. Dark is the chasm of time.¡± ¡°Why do you say had?¡± ¡°They are gone, now. As far as I know, at least,¡± she said. ¡°A lost race from the place my original memories come from. Perhaps the dungeon has preserved them, perhaps not.¡± Later, when they were finally ready to start working on Michael¡¯s aura, they took a seat on the wooden boards of the balcony. Seen through the round window from the living room, the two were dark silhouettes meditating against the setting sun of the paradoxical space within the dungeon. Both had their eyes closed, but Johanne was speaking gently, following Michael¡¯s aura and mana with her own senses. She instructed him, guided him, helped him feel the presence of his own magic. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°I think I can sense the edge of the aura,¡± Michael said, ¡°where it touches the solid matter of the world.¡± ¡°That is a good start,¡± said Johanne, ¡°but it is not enough, sadly. You need to feel every part of the aura, starting from its edge.¡± Michael opened his eyes, frowning. ¡°Am I not already feeling its edge?¡± Johanne shook her head, saying nothing. ¡°I see.¡± Michael¡¯s frown deepened, ¡°it¡¯s not just where it touches solid matter, is it? Even where there¡¯s just air. That¡¯s¡­ a whole different beast to tame.¡± Johanne nodded. ¡°And it is but the first step. After that, you need to be able to feel every unit of space that lies under your control.¡± With that, silence fell between the two. Each busy with their own matters. *** ¡°I think I am seeing improvements.¡± ¡°As am I,¡± Johanne said. ¡°I might soon be ready to cross into Silver, perhaps with your guidance. Despite knowing more, I feel like your intuition and talent far outshine mine, and I would like to make use of them if that¡¯s alright with you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. Of course I will help.¡± Michael sipped the slightly sweet drink in his ceramic mug. The drink was Fae-made, slightly intoxicating in huge quantities, but nothing that his healing aura couldn¡¯t deal with. The mug, like Johanne¡¯s, was imported from the upstairs world. Some conveniences were too good to let go of, and proper mugs were something one learned to enjoy after being forced to drink out of wood or bone mugs made by the Fae. The mugs were just an example of what was becoming a budding economy that was taking root within the now united Fae civilization. Goods coming from the upper world were being exchanged among the Fae, the monsters learning to appreciate the conveniences of an industrialized world. As soon as Old Dave had learned of this, he immediately started to leverage his instincts as a seasoned merchant to extract as much value from the Fae as possible. The Fae were technically under Michael¡¯s control as their king, but even he recognized the need for a proper economy. They were monsters living in a dungeon with strange mechanics, which meant that it needed a lot of adjustments to implement, but the benefits were already evident, the Fae being even more motivated to work hard and fight now that they had some incentive other than just the thrill of the fight itself. ¡°What sort of improvements are you seeing, my lord? Did you finally map the whole edge of your aura?¡± Michael nodded slowly. ¡°I think so. I can feel it all the time now, it¡¯s almost distracting.¡± Johanne reached for a small pastry, frowned and put it back on the table where Michael snatched it instead. ¡°It will be, for a while,¡± she said. ¡°I can do more than just be a distraction, however.¡± She took out a small notebook and scribbled something on it. ¡°What now? Do I push on?¡± ¡°Are you in a hurry?¡± she asked. ¡°I feel kinda stifled, yeah,¡± he replied. ¡°It would be best if you acclimatized to the change before pushing to perceiving the whole inner space. You would lose a lot of gains otherwise.¡± Michael hummed. ¡°Let¡¯s find something to do in here in the meantime, then.¡± *** ¡°This is not what I meant when I said to find something to do,¡± Michael grumbled. Johanne was no longer using her notebook, but rather she had commandeered Michael¡¯s laptop to take notes and use sophisticated programs to create mathematical models. ¡°Do you wish to stop?¡± she asked, ¡°you know I am always at your service. This was merely something I thought would interest you, while at the same time furthering our own understanding of magic.¡± Michael hummed. ¡°Mana, Qi and Intent exercises are not fun, Johanne.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t getting stronger fun?¡± she asked. ¡°From what I gathered on the online forums, it should be.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Michael said, getting up, ¡°they don¡¯t mention how boring incremental increases feel!¡± He levitated his mug in the air using nothing but his aura, letting it float around him like a lazy asteroid. Then, he manipulated the scented water inside, creating a ring around him that gradually got bigger until it finally left his range and fell to the ground. With a wave of his hand, the water disappeared. ¡°That¡¯s a great use of unbound magic together with aura control,¡± said Johanne, ever clinical, ¡°good data point. Next time, try to stretch your aura outwards and use it to disappear the water, rather than using mana. How much mana did it cost, by the way?¡± ¡°Almost my full pool.¡± Which was close to 1.5 Silver coins, having grown a lot from constant use. Still a long way from the 100 Silver needed to even start the upgrade process into Gold territory. Michael tried not to think about that. Instead, he concentrated on the feat he had just accomplished. It was something he would have never been able to do when he entered the valley a few days ago with the intent to learn how to conceal his aura. He had, just like Johanne predicted, found a lot of new uses for his aura control now that he could perceive its edge completely. Things he had no idea he could even do. It was like the world was under his control, at least when it was inside his aura¡¯s range. Magic was easier, and he could influence the world directly with just a thought. At the same time, his defenses were bolstered, to the point where Travis¡¯ prediction of him being able to shrug off bullets was becoming closer and closer to being true. ¡°Can we move onto the next step?¡± ¡°Are you confident in your ability to perceive the edge of the aura at all times?¡± she asked. Michael nodded. ¡°What about your control over Qi, Mana and Intent?¡± Michael closed his eyes for a moment, quickly sinking into his Skill Sanctum. There, he located the rolling thunderclouds of Intent, sometimes interacting with his Chi to create Jing but otherwise inert. He noticed the mana in the veins lining the walls of the sanctum like a vascular system. With but a thought, the mana pulsed, and the clouds of intent swirled as if moved by an intangible air current. There was only one thing missing. ¡°I can¡¯t find the source of the Qi.¡± Johanne hummed. ¡°You have been looking, my lord, that much I know. How can you not find it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like my Dantian is nowhere to be found,¡± Michael said with a shrug that hid his real feelings on the matter. ¡°Well, I am thinking about possible solutions, but it seems like we are at an impasse,¡± Johanne said. ¡°Qi is necessary to create a skill that goes beyond Common rarity.¡± ¡°I can control Qi, though. Isn¡¯t it enough? Do I need to know where it comes from?¡± Johanne thought about it. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s not strictly necessary. However, you will need to be very careful and precise. You must mix Mana, Qi and Intent in just the right proportions while trying to get a feel of your whole aura. It would be easier if you knew where the Qi came from, but it¡¯s not necessary. Once you reach a balance, you must pull the aura tight around you. Do you remember how it felt when it was still Copper-rank?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Keep the feeling in mind. Try to replicate it. And do not forget: use all the energies. We want a skill that¡¯s at least Rare-ranked.¡± ¡°How do I know if I reach the right proportions?¡± Johanne smirked. ¡°That is what the exercises were for, my lord. Awareness. Everything else was a side benefit. You will feel when they are just right.¡± Chapter 85 Chapter 85 Michael stood in the middle of a storm of magic. Arcane energies swirled in a vortex around him, mana and Qi and Intent clawing at each other in the air like hungry beasts fighting for supremacy. The storm, while fierce, was centered around a thin bubble of calm, like the eye of the storm. Where Michael¡¯s aura touched, things were still. The energies obeyed his commands, they respected each other¡¯s domains without trying to encroach upon each other. Outside of his control was madness. Johanne watched from a distance, recording and taking notes. She had never seen the process of creating a new skill from scratch in person, and was eager to get some data about the workings of the strange system that governed Michael¡¯s magic. She knew from what he had told her that his system somehow eased the process, creating fractal pathways for the magic to move through, channels that directed the flow of magic in ways similar to how her mandalas governed her spells. But unlike her mandalas, his fractals grew in power the more he used them, the more he understood them, all of it without requiring conscious thought. He could influence them consciously of course, she would never doubt his abilities, but what was astounding was the fact that even though beneficial, it wasn¡¯t necessary. How could such a thing come to be was a mystery, but one that intrigued her. Magic was boundless in what it could do, and it obeyed strange and sometimes contradicting rules. If she could learn those rules, and how to force them to contradict themselves in ways that suited her and her lord¡¯s needs, then she could truly harness real power. She already envisioned her Icarus project taking flight, intelligence born of magic. Sadly Icarus was yet a long way from being born, a project that could benefit of the dungeon¡¯s time dilation only in marginal ways. I should find a way to convince more people to come down here, she thought to herself. For some reason, most people found the dungeon rather unpleasant to be in, even if they only had to stay in the idyllic Valley that was Michael¡¯s domain. They felt its watchful eyes over them, and the pressure quickly became too much for them to bear. Even David, who had initially been interested in using the dungeon¡¯s time dilation mechanics to his benefit, was now rather loathe to enter after spending some time alone in the valley. It was as if he had seen something that truly disturbed him, but when questioned he had not been able to explain why. Of all the current delvers, only Michael, Travis and she could spend any amount of useful time alone in the Valley without suffering these strange psychological effects. Meanwhile, Michael struggled to be the eye of the storm. In the end, even though Johanne knew much, she didn¡¯t know how to make a skill from scratch. She could only tell him what she knew, and they worked from there. He knew that he had to balance the energies, and it had been easy at first while he tried to take control of his aura and suffuse it with them. It all changed suddenly when his aura flared outwards rather than going inwards. It wasn¡¯t that his mental image had shattered, on the contrary, rather he was only now realizing that he had been very wrong in thinking he had found the edge of his aura. What he had painstakingly learned to sense had not been the true edge, but only the inner edge of his Silver aura, and his true sphere of influence extended radially outwards onto infinity like it was trying to colonize space itself. It grew fainter the further away it was from the edge of the inner region, but it was never zero. Like an electric field. The sudden thought brought some clarity to his mind. Mentally thanking Old Dave for forcing him to study science and math now that he had the mental capacity to understand them, he decided to approach the problem from another angle. In nature, electric fields expand outwards from a source until they reach infinity, growing ever weaker and reaching zero only at the end of the universe itself. But there are ways to compute them, to approximate their value. He could use that. Slowly, he started to extend tendrils of control through the storm raging outside of his inner aura. Slowly, he brought order to the chaos. It snapped into place all at once.
You have gained a Skill!
You¡ª
And then it all fell apart. The magic dissipated, roaring clouds of Intent boiling over while storms of Qi ravaged the empty field and mana transmuted stone to soap bubbles, ash and cotton candy. Michael cut the process short, removing the source of the devastation that was ravaging the land around him, and he collapsed to the ground, all of his energy pools dangerously close to empty.
You have lost a Skill.
--
He woke up in his treehouse. Blurry vision that took a while to adjust to the low light told him that it was evening, and a pleasant smell coming from the kitchen told him that someone had gone and fetched dinner from the Fae. Johanne was also there, moving about, mumbling things about magic and diagrams. Michael could tell she was pacing close to the wall she had transformed into a blackboard filled with her own unfathomable calculations and speculations about the world. He also knew she must have brought food from somewhere else because the woman could not cook if her life depended on it. Her creations were borderline poison, much to her horror. She claimed that she would one day discover the scientific truth behind food and devise a foolproof method of cooking, but those days were far in the future, it seemed. Groggily, Michael lifted himself up. It felt as if he had been run over by a truck. Nothing that a copious application of [Healing Aura] couldn¡¯t fix. It was with horror that, when he tried to use the skill, he realized that it wasn¡¯t working properly. To be precise, it was healing him, but at the same time, it was inflicting pain akin to being submerged in molten lava for a prolonged period of time. He cut the skill, and the pain disappeared. Feeling heavy, he tried to brainstorm possible reasons for this. There was a dull throb reverberating through his body, coming from somewhere that wasn¡¯t strictly physical. It took him a few seconds to realize where it was coming from. With trepidation and no little amount of worry, Michael let his consciousness sink into his Skill Sanctum. There it was, the problem. The whole place felt heavy, strained, overburdened. He had tried to fit one more skill in it and had failed. He could see where the new skill had tried to take hold, appearing now like burnt lines on the stone of the sanctum. Around them, the capillaries of mana and magic were damaged and burned, still trying to feed a fractal that wasn¡¯t there anymore. He could feel the fractal as well. Having manifested the skill once, he knew on an instinctual level that it would be easy to manifest it again. Narrowing his eyes and keeping a tight grip on his own energies, he let a trickle of Mana, Qi and Intent flow towards the scar in the Sanctum¡¯s wall. The fractal began to etch itself anew, forging new connections to the vascular system of the walls and absorbing intent from the thunderclouds. Barely halfway through the process, a searing pain gripped him. He immediately halted the process and observed as in its half-completed state, the fractal was causing the whole wall to dim, every single other skill losing their luster as not enough magic was present to sustain them all. With a sigh, he willed his own Sanctum to shatter the incomplete fractal, which was seared off the wall in even more burns. The other skills returned to their vibrant luster, as if life was flowing back into them. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The feeling of heaviness, which had increased to being almost physical pain, returned to a dull throb that told Michael that every action had consequences. His Sanctum had pulled a muscle, but fortunately, it had not broken a bone. It would have if he had kept going. Turning to the many fractals in the walls of the sanctum, Michael considered what he knew, trying to come up with a solution to his situation. The fractals all took up energy, from the simplest of them to the more complex. The simplest were those for the common skills. Even among them, they were different from each other, their complexity representing the level of the skill. But even the most complex of them paled in comparison to the fractals for the uncommon-rank skills, which in turn were nowhere near the complexity or rare skills. Michael willed himself closer to the wall. In this place, he had no physical presence, but somehow he still retained the concept of distance and location. Right now, he felt himself staring at the wall, at one of the walls, the only one filled with skills. All the skills took up only a speck of space in the immense wall, like he was staring at a smudge of paint on an empty canvas. Behind him, he felt the presence of the unnaturally still mass of Ice energy, while from the walls, he felt the roiling heat of the Fire. Somewhere, in the center, unfathomably far away and yet a mere step behind him, was his soul. He could not see it, but he could feel it like a ball of violet oily energy in his mind. He inched closer, his metaphorical eyes almost pressed against the wall of the Sanctum. The skills all took something from the wall, even when they were not active. Like their very existence had to be sustained by magic, consuming some finite resource Michael constantly generated and expended to keep them there. When he activated a skill, the pull on this resource increased, along with a new pull on the other energies he was familiar with: the elements, mana, Qi, Intent. In the end, the solution was simple. He had no reliable way to increase the capacity of his Sanctum since he had no idea what determined its limits. Perhaps all it took was time. Perhaps his skill capacity was tied to his mana pool, which in turn determined the amount of Elements, Qi and Intent that he could hold. Perhaps the mana pool itself was determined by some hidden stat he could not see. Perhaps it was something else. He could spend years in the Valley, coming up with a solution. But I would probably go insane well before that. Living in the Valley was insidious. No matter how long he stayed there, only ten minutes would pass in the outside world. However, the longer he stayed, the less willing he was to leave. It would come a day, he knew, that he would lose all interest in leaving. A day where he would have stayed long enough down here that the outside world would not matter anymore. The day when he would have lost his sanity. Which means that I need to consider the other solution. The other solution was to free up space in his Sanctum. How? By removing unnecessary skills. But Michael was not really willing to sacrifice anything, not even the least used of his skills, especially since he knew he would lose them forever if he removed them. All of his skills were now bonded to him, too much time had passed since he absorbed them, and no skill stones would come out of their sundering. He was, once again, at an impasse. Except. He had taken to trying to replicate common skills with [Magic Manipulation], didn¡¯t he? Then why not try that again? He left the Sanctum long enough to tell Johanne what his plans were. The woman forced him to eat before he returned to his own inner world so that his body would not waste, but soon enough, he was back at the wall filled with the fractals of his skills. He summoned [Magic Manipulation], the mental flick of the switch putting magic itself under his control. Even though he could move around all the kinds of magic he knew, the only ones he could project in order to perform unbound magic were Mana and the elements. The skill¡¯s description said as much.
(Rare) Magic Manipulation 6
In the ether''s embrace, the threads of mana dance; with deft manipulation, I weave the strands of magic, shaping reality with the gentle touch of a sorcerer''s hand. ¡¤ You can control, store and project mana and known elemental energies with a range of 50 meters. ¡¤ Known elemental energies: Fire, Ice. ¡¤ You can control and store Qi with a range of 25 meters. ¡¤ You gain the ability to force skills to act outside of their scope, bending them to your will. ¡¤ You can use projected energies to directly influence the material world.
Perhaps his aura could help, but he wasn¡¯t feeling confident in using it for this purpose just yet. Besides, it would be akin to wanting to learn how to drive before learning how to walk. Staring at the skill fractal for [Crude Body Enhancement] for reference, Michael started to manipulate mana. He lost himself in the process, hours slipping by unnoticed. Johanne had to wake him up several times to make sure he ate and moved around enough, a thing he found a way to avoid doing by using his healing to stimulate his tissues and prevent muscle wasting. Finally, after what felt like days of hyperfocus, he did it. The fractal appeared in his mind right as it was on the wall, powered by his manipulation skill and his willpower. Nothing else. No skills. No help. Only what he came to call Fractal Unbound Casting: the use of his [Magic Manipulation] to replicate existing fractals and mimic skills. Returning to the real world, he repeated the steps without the reference of the wall. Sure enough, his body grew with the unnatural power of repurposed Fae magic. ¡°And now,¡± he muttered, ¡°the hard part.¡± Returning to the Sanctum, he approached the fractal on the wall. Before he could have second thoughts, his hand morphed into a rending claw of magic, just an image in this inner world of icons and meaning. He lashed at the wall, sundering the fractal. A sudden sense of loss came over him, his mind on the verge of breaking. He felt like an addict losing access to his substance of choice, and to all other sources of emotion. He felt empty, hollow. A shell of his former self. He had the presence of mind to use [Candle Light] skill on himself. Only after a full day of using it did he feel human again. He imagined that someone else who lacked such means to heal their mind would be left utterly broken by the process of sundering their own skills. Instead, he survived, and his Resilience statistic on his Status grew by several points. It would only make the process easier next time. Leaving the sanctum, Michael took a deep breath and prepared himself for the moment of truth. Summoning [Magic Manipulation], he tried to picture the skill fractal for the skill he just sundered in his mind. He was shocked when it came to him just as easily as before. A grin colonized his face. Fractal Unbound Casting was a success. ¡°I can see your canines, my lord.¡± Drullkrin said. He had been conversing with Johanne, but Michael had not even seen him come, ¡°I take it your efforts paid off?¡± ¡°How was it?¡± Johanne asked, speaking over the goblin. Michael only chuckled, exhaustion taking over as the tension and adrenaline left his body. Still, he was giddy and positively brimming with excitement. ¡°I can remove all my common skills to make room.¡± He grinned again, ¡°isn¡¯t it a total win?¡± ¡°Definitely,¡± said Drullkrin with confidence. ¡°I would not remove [Okinawan Mastery] if I were you. There was a hint that it could grow into something more, no?¡± Michael nodded, ¡°Alright, but I need to remove one other. The only other common skill I have other than [Crude Body Enhancement] is [Fast Reflexes].¡± Johanne hummed. ¡°It will be interesting to see how mimicking a passive skill will turn out to be. Proceed.¡± ¡°As if I need your permission!¡± Before Johanne could retort, Michael returned to the sanctum and sundered the skill. As expected, it took much less time than before to recover from the mental backlash, and he was back in the real world in less than an hour. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see how it behaves.¡± Without further ado, he summoned [Magic Manipulation] and shaped mana into the fractal for [Fast Reflexes]. The world slowed down. ¡°Damn,¡± his own voice was low-pitched, slowed down in his mind, ¡°this is different than how it felt before.¡± With a snap, the world returned to normal speed. ¡°I think I understand,¡± said Johanne after Michael explained the problem to her, ¡°I think the emulated fractal lacks integration with the rest of your systems.¡± ¡°Meaning?¡± ¡°Your mind will not adjust its perception of time to take into account the bonus, unlike with the other skills. What¡¯s your Reflexes at without using the fractal?¡± ¡°It¡¯s 260, according to the status,¡± Michael said. ¡°And with the skill,¡± Johanne said, ¡°it jumps up by 40% in one go. If we assume that the average stats for a human are 100 in each category, the fact that you don¡¯t notice any anomalies means that your body is already acclimated to the anomalous stats you boast. But when you intervene with outside sources, like when you replicate a fractal with [Magic Manipulation], the compensation mechanisms do not kick in.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, though.¡± ¡°Yes. You do sacrifice the passive enhanced reflexes, but you can still summon them during a fight. Have you tried holding more than a single fractal in your mind?¡± ¡°I have been trying as we spoke. Almost impossible. As soon as the second appears, the first begins to destabilize and falls apart.¡± ¡°Do you think it¡¯s a hard limit?¡± Michael grimaced. ¡°I think I need to train my mind. Which will be a pain in the ass.¡± ¡°Indeed. But it is possible. I will try to devise some training aids. In the meantime, do you think you can proceed with the aura masking skill?¡± ¡°Maybe tomorrow. I feel drained.¡± Chapter 86 Chapter 86 Jennifer sat at her desk, back held upright despite the uncomfortableness of her simple chair in the middle of the spartan room she worked from. This was just a temporary accommodation, she told herself to stave off the discomfort, until the actual offices were completed. She had looked at the plans for the Security Division buildings, and she had to admit she couldn¡¯t wait for all the structures to be completed. She thought back to the first interaction she had with Michael, back when she still had no idea who the actual boss was, and frowned. ¡°I made such a fool of myself back then,¡± she thought. She¡¯d change things if she could. She had been an asshole to him, thinking he was there just because he knew the right people, not for a single moment willing to believe that perhaps he was the right people. To be fair, Michael¡¯s appearance and age were quite unusual for the status he had, and they didn¡¯t fit what she knew about the company she was working for back then. Time had taught her to let go of her assumptions, of course. She now knew that magic was real, that monsters were real, and that superhuman people walked among us. Looking up, she saw the vast expanse of upturned earth, dirty gravel, heavy machinery and hired muscle milling about. The later summer setting sun bathed everything orange, in a strange way that made the scene look like a reverse apocalypse movie, a wasteland slowly being turned into something orderly and neat, trees sprouting here and there almost as fast as the building themselves were materializing, both of which happened with the help of magic other than just human effort. It was remarkable. Site 00 was going to be huge, most of the large plot of land taken up by tall towering buildings, underground laboratories, training facilities and more green spaces than she thought would ever fit on it. And this, she had been told, was just to accommodate the Candle Light, Security, and a small part of the Science and Research divisions. She heard that Mr. Chestermill, the CEO, was currently trying to get ownership of the nearby land as well, both the forest and the fields that made up this side of the Appalachian Trail, with no regard of whether they were flat land, impassable rock outcroppings, hills, or dusty fields. Unity Corp was hungry for land, and they had the means to take it for themselves. Money was not a problem now that PetroLink was under their umbrella, and even without it she knew that the other avenues they were pursuing were bound to become very lucrative in the long run. Some of them even involved her, although the details were still vague. What surprised her of all of this was their plan to develop a good chunk of the land for civilian habitation. Because of course Michael had thought not only about the Operators and employees of his company, but also about their families. Apparently, he had been a slave to a long commute himself, and he didn¡¯t wish to inflict such harsh fate on anyone else. She shook her head. Only someone like him could go as far as offer free habitation to their employees just to reduce their commute. From what she heard, it wasn¡¯t going to be simple habitation either. The houses looked like they came out of a sci-fi movie, complete with all sorts of amenities provided by either top of the line technology or disguised magic. It was good enough that even she was considering taking up residence there once the houses were finally built. It would take a while, of course, but she was patient. They were free, after all. Were they a strategy to win hearts and minds of all the people who worked for Michael? Sure it was. But she had a hunch that perhaps the plan had not been with such a goal in mind when Michael thought of it. Of course, neither Mr Chestermill nor Mr Tyrell would ever let such a good idea go to waste, and they spun the plan around until they made sure everyone knew who to thank for the free housing. Herself included. As a high-level figure in the company, Mr. Chestermill had hinted at the fact that she could choose her accommodation from a rather rich selection. A small villa for her whole family, complete with garden, pool and guest houses. An apartment at the 50th floor of one of the towers they were going to build. An underground secure structure that could literally survive the end of the world¡­ She had asked about the last option. She didn¡¯t like the answer she received. It seemed that some of the scientists that were beginning to work for the Research Division were not very confident in the fate of the planet now that magic was about to spread out from the dungeons. Some of them specifically asked to be given bunkers to spend their lives in, and they only agreed to work in secure labs deep underground, with assurance that their family was in an equally safe accommodation. Paranoids. Weird that there were so many of them, though. The sound of drilling brought her back to the present. With a gesture, a magical stone lit up and the sound disappeared completely. One of the many hidden benefits of living within an Area Of Influence, as Mr. Tyrell called it. While useful, however, such trinkets made her all too aware of the fact that the place she lived in was constantly bathed in magical radiation. Now, she wasn¡¯t one to believe strange theories about magnetic fields coming from your phone and giving you cancer, but how could she deny the existence of mana when she felt her mana pool interact with it all the time? Johanne had ensured her that it would have no ill effects on her body. But research was still ongoing last time Jennifer checked, and she did check several times thanks to her high security clearance. It was not quite enough to keep her up at night, but enough that she had yet to tell her family and relatives about the possibility of moving to a free apartment in the middle of nowhere. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Well, by the time the houses would be done, it wouldn¡¯t be in the middle of nowhere anymore, would it? She shook her head. It was almost time to turn in for the night. Already she had worked past dinnertime, but her work ethic wouldn¡¯t allow her to leave her office until everything was in order. For such a small company, compared to other places she worked, Unity had an awful lot on its plate. They were planning a lot of things, and Mr. Tyrell was a damn machine about it. ¡°Easy when he abuses the dungeon¡¯s time dilation mechanic,¡± she muttered. She wondered how the man did it. In fact, she wondered how Michael did it. It was one thing to go to the Valley and work from there, and another thing to spend days upon days fighting monsters. Johanne, she could understand. The woman was crazy. She came from the dungeon, weird as it sounds, and it was weird enough that Jennifer refused to let her thoughts bore too deep into the topic whenever her mind decided to brush upon it. But the other two? She remembered her week in the Valley. Somewhat. It felt like a half-forgotten dream by now, but the one thing that was crystal clear in her mind was the feeling of dread that had gripped her while she was in the dungeon. A feeling that had never left her until she herself had left its influence. The feeling of being watched. The feeling of being underwater, unable to breathe unless someone else allowed her to. The feeling of being an ant before a mountain. No thanks. ¡°I have no idea how he¡¯s still sane¡­¡± ¡°He has a monstrous Resilience stat,¡± a voice startled her. She felt her magic stir, and the possible implications of that were pure horror. She whirled around fast enough to make her chair fall to the ground, and only then did she recognize who had entered the room. Her mind supplied a bit of information that explained why she had not heard Mr. Tyrell enter. Stupid sound dampening stones, she wanted to curse Johanne for even installing such a faulty piece of tech into her room. But she had been warned that they were still in testing, and at the time her desire to get rid of the sound of construction was stronger than reason. Besides, she was actually grateful for them, it was just that thinking about the dungeon had her on edge. She recognized her own altered mental state and let it go. ¡°Mr. Tyrell.¡± She acknowledged, although her voice was still shaking. ¡°Hi Jennifer. Sorry I startled you.¡± Her relationship with the man was complicated. He had the sort of position within Unity that made him the jack of all trades, with as much power as the CEO and perhaps even of Michael himself, although in an unofficial capacity. ¡°It¡¯s no problem, uh, sir. You were saying?¡± The man looked around, as if studying her and her office before speaking. That¡¯s what unsettled her. She knew the power he had as head of Candle Light. She knew what he could do to people, even though he had never done anything to anyone. What if he scrutinized her, and found her lacking? She could appeal to Michael, sure, but it would be her word against Mr. Tyrell¡¯s¡­ who would Michael believe of the two? Suddenly Jennifer¡¯s Tome of the Unmaking Flame felt heavy in her possession. The book was strapped to her back, always touching her, always ready to be used. ¡°Michael has a status, with stats like a video game,¡± the head of Candle Light said. ¡°Didn¡¯t you read the file I sent you? Should be called CL-OWNER-012 ¡°Skill: Unity¡±. It¡¯s one of the files about Michael¡¯s abilities.¡± Jennifer nodded mechanically. She remembered it well. ¡°Is that what his Resilience does?¡± The man shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s abnormally high. Coupled with all other changes brought by the other stats and his other skills, it¡¯s hard to say for sure.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Jennifer said weakly. ¡°But to answer your question. No. it¡¯s not what allows him to spend so much time in there. Why do you think I manage, although in a lesser capacity? I would never last as long if I were fighting or training all the time, but at least I can last some days in the Valley. Unlike everyone else, it seems.¡± Jennifer swallowed. It was a rhetorical question, one that required her to say something. Mr. Tyrell¡¯s presence stifled her, but she managed to find her words. ¡°Why is that?¡± she asked. ¡°Because we are insane,¡± the man said. There was a mad glint to his eyes, and the way his impossibly white teeth shone, and his bulging muscles seemed to writhe and move on their own, in unnatural ways¡­ ¡°Insane?¡± she croaked. ¡°Ask Michael what he did back when he first started delving. Might put things in perspective.¡± She felt like she didn¡¯t need to. She recalled the week of hellish training¡ªalthough with difficulty. She recalled very well how she felt at the end of it. ¡°You did well, hiding your discomfort from him,¡± said the man as if he had read her mind. ¡°He has no idea how different he really is from us all. Even me. It¡¯s better if it remains this way. I¡¯m going to go see his sister now, I need to brief her and give her the all-pass badge. Have a good night!¡± He left. Jennifer had barely recovered when Trevor walked in. ¡°What happened?¡± the second head of security asked, ¡°you look like you¡¯ve seen a ghost. Wait, are ghosts real now? I think those things that are supposed to be in the mana in the air are ghosts.¡± Jennifer shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. How are things?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ good, I guess? Shit¡¯s about to happen, that much I can tell. Did you read the brief about the Occult Affairs? That¡¯s some nightmare fuel.¡± She nodded. ¡°Yeah, I did. We will be as prepared as we can, of course.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± said Trevor with a grin. ¡°I saw Travis on the way in.¡± Jennifer nodded, ¡°he said he¡¯s going to Michael¡¯s sister. He¡¯s giving her an all-pass.¡± Trevor whistled. ¡°Not even we have those. Envious?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± said Jennifer, ¡°I fear it¡¯s going to be just another headache.¡± ¡°Come on,¡± said the man, ¡°can¡¯t blame the administration here for all the headaches. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s protocol to deal with magic.¡± Jennifer shrugged. ¡°I was talking about other forms of headaches. Mr. Tyrell gives me the chills. The dungeon gives me the chills.¡± ¡°Yeah, well.¡± Trevor paused, ¡°I know we have to go back there, eventually. But I can¡¯t say I am looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Me neither. I think I might have nightmares about it.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s what we are here to protect, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Not protect it,¡± said Jennifer, ¡°but protect the world from it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Trevor said. ¡°I¡¯m night shift today. Come on, get some sleep. You look like you need it.¡± ¡°Thanks man,¡± she said. ¡°Gonna go as soon as I¡¯m done here.¡± ¡°No problems. I¡¯ll be here a while before going on patrol. Travis dropped a bomb on my lap earlier.¡± ¡°What sort?¡± she asked, already dreading the answer. ¡°Nothing much,¡± said the man chipperly, ¡°he wants me to assess the danger and asset value of Area 51.¡± Chapter 87 Chapter 87 Site 00 never slept. Travis could confidently say that this place was quickly becoming a sight to behold. Behemoths of concrete, rebar and steel were being born of the earth, hiding unspeakable things beneath their peaceful fa?ade. The earth itself was a tomb of alien and magical things, only some of which would one day come out of hiding, becoming rays of hope for the human race as a whole. The rest, better to leave it there. Not forgotten, but hidden. It would be madness to anyone to even think that Site 00 had been achieved in just a few days. And yet that much was true. It was truly remarkable, what human ingenuity could achieve when coupled with unfathomable amounts of money, manpower, heavy machinery and just a sprinkle of magic. Although, things became much easier to believe once one considered just how much money they were spending to make Site 00 a reality. It was a non-issue. Soon, they would be printing money left and right. And even if they weren¡¯t, the amount they were spending was pennies compared to the wealth of a multinational corporation. It boggled the mind of the regular person, sure, but the regular person did not think in terms of billions of dollars and perhaps that was for the better. If they did, they¡¯d understand just how much power money wielded in the modern world, where certain things like distance from civilization and the need for exotic materials were no longer the same limiting factors they were a few decades ago. He found Maggie at her laptop in the temporary structure she and Michael called home these days. Travis wondered whether Michael even slept there anymore, considering how much time he spent in the dungeon and its dilated time. ¡°He says he always tries to make it back home for the night,¡± Maggie said. ¡°But he¡¯s getting conflicted feelings about it. He says he feels like he¡¯s wasting time.¡± Travis hummed, knowing that the girl wanted to say more. ¡°I don¡¯t get it, though,¡± she said after a moment, her index finger on her chin. ¡°Why is he in such a hurry? I thought he took care of the¡­¡± she shivered, ¡°threat.¡± ¡°He did,¡± Travis said, projecting confidence. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about anymore. Nobody can hurt you here.¡± The girl nodded, but her eyes were misty. ¡°Then why is he pushing himself so much?¡± ¡°The world is changing. The reason why nobody can hurt you here is because of his hard work, which means that he can¡¯t stop.¡± For a moment, Travis wished he didn¡¯t have to do this himself. David was infinitely better suited to handle these situations. Where was the old man when Travis needed him? ¡°Okay¡­¡± Maggie said. ¡°He said I can go back if I want, but I don¡¯t think I want to. I want to stay here.¡± ¡°You can stay here all you want,¡± Travis said. ¡°I thought I would go to university next year,¡± the girl muttered. ¡°What degree did you want to get? Most of them are useless, you know?¡± She seemed to recoil as if struck, ¡°Business.¡± Travis shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re better off here. This is the future, after all. The rest of the world will struggle to catch up.¡± ¡°I see,¡± said the girl. ¡°Here.¡± Travis handed her the badge. He explained what she could do with it, which was access pretty much whatever she wanted. Michael was putting a lot of trust in his sister, barely a couple of days after rescuing her. Compared to how he talked about her before, it was as if she was a whole other person in his mind after the incident. Was his guilt fogging his critical thinking? Fortunately, Travis had already thought about contingencies in case Maggie decided to do things she wasn¡¯t supposed to do. This was his turf, after all, and no all-pass could change things. The girl clutched the plastic rectangle in her hands, muttering a weak thanks. ¡±Do you know when he¡¯ll be back?¡± she asked. ¡°Michael? He went to the dungeon a while ago. Should be on the way back,¡± Travis said. Even though, he thought, it¡¯s very probable he spent several days in the Valley. Will he even remember he has a sister to take care of when he emerges from there, I wonder? He decided to send David a text, explaining the situation. Let the old man decide how to approach the subject with the Lexington siblings, while Travis dealt with matters he was better equipped to handle. ¡°Thanks,¡± Maggie said. ¡°This is all very strange. I feel like I¡¯m in a dream, surrounded by things that don¡¯t make sense. At least I¡¯m not alone.¡± Travis nodded. ¡°Right,¡± he said. Even he could feel how lame that was. Maggie didn¡¯t seem to mind, smiling at him instead. ¡°I can see I¡¯m making you uncomfortable,¡± she giggled. ¡°You¡¯re all tough and powerful all the time, but I know you care. Thank you for being at my brother¡¯s side. He talks about you sometimes. He is very grateful.¡± Travis coughed. ¡°Well,¡± he said awkwardly, ¡°that¡¯s the least I can do. On that matter, I better get going. Good night.¡± ¡°Good night!¡± As he left, Travis turned back once. Michael would be here shortly, he knew. There was no need to stay longer. Maggie was not the immature schoolgirl Michael had made her out to be. Whether it had always been like this, and Michael had been unable to see it, or whether it was due to the recent events and the soothing mind magic that had been required to fix her¡­ he couldn¡¯t tell. But she was good and well, and that had to be enough. Am I¡­ happy for her? Damn. Never thought this would happen. But who knows? One day, perhaps, I will have a little girl of my own and I will be happy for her too. Perhaps this is the first step towards being able to find love again. He shook his head. The sun had long set, plunging the site into darkness. Lights, both electrical and magical, banished the darkness in many places, but the nature of the unfinished construction site made for many places where shadows could lurk. There, in the dark pits in the earth, between the unfinished concrete beams and the rugged rebar, he imagined monstrous things prowling and lurking. The things Michael had claimed to be able to see in the mana in the air. Those strange ripples that even he sometimes thought he saw, at the edge of his vision. Tricks of the light, perhaps, or hungry ghosts. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Things are moving quickly, but not quickly enough. Some, he thought as he looked at the dwindling piles of gravel being used to pave the road, less quickly than others. The road had been a real pain. Bringing all the gravel, making the foundations, the drainage, keeping Johanne happy by not cutting too many trees. Hell, keeping Michael himself happy by not cutting too many trees¡­ the damn road was going to cost more than some of the buildings they were constructing! Road aside, he made a mental note of all the many things that he needed to be aware of. He raised a finger: the day after tomorrow, Michael and he were going to meet with a representative of the Occult Affairs. A second finger. There was a city at the edge of the expanding area around the dungeon that was about to be swallowed up in the ever growing cloud of mana, and there was no saying what could happen. Given all the anomalies that were popping up left and right in Site 00 and in the forest nearby, there was no way they would be able to keep magic a secret for much longer. Thankfully, being the paranoid man that he was, Travis had already set plans in motion to deal with that. The place was full of Operatives and Unity personnel, posing as volunteers. Helping out in the city, making themselves seen and known so that when it was time for Candle Light to come in guns blazing, the city would trust them. Then, a third finger, there was the whole deal with Area 51. Trevor was on it. Travis personally hoped nothing would come out of the investigation, that Trevor would come to him and tell him that Area 51 was a scam, a conspiracy theory. That it was just a normal black site like many others. Another finger: keep an eye on at least three individuals who were posting videos on social media about feats they were able to do that were borderline superhuman. And, of course, a fifth finger: because if there were other powered individuals, then there had to be other dungeon entrances. The list went on and on. Find sources of ancestral magic. Finalize the first-response task forces for Candle Light. Prepare the first teams to be sent into the dungeon. Review the files on Theobond, perhaps even meeting the King of the Castle himself. Soon, Travis had gone through enough fingers to make several hands, and even then more and more ideas popped into his mind the more he thought about it. Talk to Michael about using Jennifer¡¯s power to make toxic waste disappear. Talk to Michael about using Trevor¡¯s skill. Johanne had said she was confident they would reverse engineer it, sooner or later, and after she was done they could hopefully use it as a sort of universal storage system. That had to be a priority. It would speed everything up by a large margin. Then there was the matter of reviewing the background information on the many scientists, workers, operators and personnel coming to work at the site. Then there was the matter of handling the construction of the other sites. Of the auxiliary activities. Of the charity works. Of the more normal investments, activities, and the acquisition of startups and factories to act as a front for the more magical innovations. There was the matter of handling the PR side, although thankfully Travis had already found a skilled person to do most of the work, which meant that he only had to read the documents and approve what the PR specialist proposed. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. They hang over us like invisible Damocles¡¯ swords. Just because you can¡¯t see the incoming problems doesn¡¯t mean they aren¡¯t there. Normally, it would be impossible to impose such strict time frames. Days rather than weeks or months to get things done. But with the dungeon? One could go in, and ten minutes later come out as a disaster for the whole human race. That¡¯s what Candle Light and Unity as a whole are competing against. That¡¯s why I spend so much time in the Valley, assholes, he thought back to Jennifer and Trevor, who were blessed with the luxury of not being the ones in charge. It¡¯s not that I like it in there. The amenities, the good air, the bountiful nature¡­ they cannot hide the sense of dread that emanates from the dungeon. Only Michael actually likes it in there. Me¡­ I have to go there. I don¡¯t get a choice. Otherwise this whole ship will sink faster than the fucking Titanic. *** The next morning, he was at the edge of the property together with Johanne, David and Trevor. The latter being there since it was a part of his own skill that was about to be witnessed in action. Michael had gone home to spend some time with his sister, and would be spending some time with her after having spent several days in the valley. ¡°Did he get the skill?¡± Travis asked as the trio waited for the silhouette of the truck to become big enough to make out more details about it. ¡°He did.¡± The woman offered no other information. Travis shrugged. Michael would fill him in on the details soon enough. ¡°Naoshida industries will deliver the first batch of equipment today,¡± he said to the woman. This seemed to get a reaction out of her. She looked up from the strange instrument she was using to study the incoming truck for long enough to lift an eyebrow, ¡°good,¡± she said, ¡°I will check whether the equipment is up to standard.¡± ¡°Since we are chitchatting,¡± David inserted himself in the conversation, ¡°I¡¯m meeting with a Saudi prince today. He liked our selection of gems and proposed a partnership.¡± Travis chuckled, ¡°the days of you managing a pawn shop, bored out of your mind, are long gone, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°That they are,¡± the old man mused. ¡°Here it is.¡± The truck parked at the side of the road. There were no markings visible on its exterior. In fact, it was so generic it drew the eye to itself rather than the opposite. A generic man greeted them, dressed in a generic work uniform. He handed them an unmarked package, nodded to them, and drove off. ¡°So that¡¯s how [Ghost Market] works,¡± Trevor said. ¡°Interesting.¡± Travis hummed, thoughtful. He made a quick call, before frowning. ¡°Come on,¡± David urged him on, ¡°don¡¯t leave us hanging. What do you have?¡± The head of Candle Light shook his head. ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°What do you mean nothing?¡± ¡°Facial recognition did not even identify that the mailman had a face. The rest of the truck is unmarked, and it¡¯s impossible to discern a manufacturer based on its looks. The whole truck itself¡­ we placed cameras on the road, and it appeared in all of them.¡± ¡°Alright. Then what¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a traffic camera down the road, several miles away. No truck passed there, and there are no forks in the road between there and the last known location where we know the truck was still real, for lack of a better term.¡± ¡°Are you saying it vanished somewhere between the two cameras? Somewhere nobody could see it disappear?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. Same thing when it came into being.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be.¡± ¡°On the contrary,¡± Johanne interrupted David, ¡°it can very well be. I tried to analyze all signatures that we know of. Magical, elemental, Qi as well as the more mundane ones like heat, radio, and even brain waves which you all surely know have a presence in the electromagnetic spectrum. What I found when I looked at the truck and the man, was nothing. Nothing but visible light, that is. We should try to measure gravity next, but I doubt we have instruments that are sensitive enough for that.¡± ¡°But the package¡­¡± ¡°The only real thing there. What was it again?¡± ¡°Our first try,¡± said Trevor as he opened it, ¡°just a stone from the forest.¡± ¡°I shall study it,¡± Johanne said before glancing at Travis, ¡°according to protocol, before declaring it safe. Then I shall verify if it¡¯s the same stone we picked up from the forest or not.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve seen enough.¡± Travis said. ¡°Next delivery should be all the bullshit from the car ambush, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s being delivered later today,¡± said Trevor. Travis nodded. ¡°Candle Light will handle it. Jennifer will have to be present, of course. We need her magic.¡± ¡°I shall tell her myself,¡± said Johanne, ¡°I have questions to ask her about her magic. Do not worry, Tyrell, I will fill out one of your dossiers and send it over once I have enough data. By the way, are we a go with Dr Kavins?¡± ¡°The vitality drug?¡± Travis asked. It had been mentioned to him in passing. Johanne nodded. ¡°I presented the request in the form you instructed me to. Did you not review it? If so, please do.¡± A deep sigh made its way out of Travis¡¯ respiratory system, impossible to suppress. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m going to the Valley next, I¡¯ve got a lot of stuff to sort through.¡± He tapped his pocket. The others didn¡¯t know the meaning of the gesture, of course, but there was a memory stick full of documents and things to review and approve. Travis would be abusing the heck out of Michael¡¯s laptop in the Valley. Chapter 88 Chapter 88 After spending the morning with his sister, Michael returned to the Valley. The road was finally completed, and going to and from the dungeon was finally smooth enough to make it even pleasant. There were trees and moss covering the sides of the road, where concrete had been poured to stabilize the gravel, making the sight much less aggravating than expected. The poles and railings looked like they had been swallowed by the forest as well, a sign that Johanne had been busy. He parked at a small shed by the entrance, nodding to the guards. He could spot three operators and two security guards, but knew that there were many more hidden around, making sure nothing funny happened around here. I can vaguely feel their presence with my aura sense. That¡¯s new. All his sense told him was that they were Iron-rank humans, with no magical devices on them. Still, it was nice to know that Travis and Jennifer had set up such an effective system, even though it was clear that it wouldn¡¯t fool a Silver-ranked aura user. The guards nodded back. There was a hint of excitement in their body language, one that Michael soon connected to the imminent expedition into the dungeon. Today was the day they sent actual people in there, to see what would happen. They had plans, of course, plans that required his presence. Before that, though, it was back to training. The meeting with Dr. Kavanaugh of Occult Affairs was tomorrow, and he couldn¡¯t afford to go there unprepared. He wasn¡¯t feeling too anxious about it, to be honest. His reunion with his family had been much worse in his mind, but he knew that he couldn¡¯t take things lightly. The OA was, according to Travis, as bad an agency as any of the three lettered. Perhaps more, considering the lack of information about it. Something the former CEO was already working on rectifying, supposedly with the help of a new intelligence tool Johanne was developing alongside a team of programmers who had recently started working for Unity. All remote workers, like most programmers, but all of them¡ªaccording to Johanne¡ªautistic enough that the privilege of working on such a project is already assurance enough of their silence. Of course, that had not been enough for Travis, who had added more and more layers of security through incentives, bonuses, and threats. Positive reinforcement and punishment of bad behavior. The man knew his stuff. Johanne was already in the Valley by the time Michael arrived. The time shenanigans were weird in the dungeon for everyone, but in her case they were even weirder, since one of her spells allowed her to somewhat interfere with the time dilation effect. There was no telling how long she had been waiting for him. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s take stock,¡± Michael muttered. Around him, magic began to swell. He started going through his normal skills, switching from one skill to the other. Then he moved onto Fractal Unbound Casting, chaining the body enhancement and increased reflexes with his normal skills. At the same time, while he was doing that, he also levitated some stones around him like orbiting satellites and tried to summon a flame over one palm and a block of ice over the other. All of this without using any skill other than [Magic Manipulation]. ¡°Impressive. Your aura can perform telekinesis better than some spells I know.¡± said Johanne. ¡°But I would like you to explore other effects of your aura as well, my lord.¡± Michael nodded. ¡°I know, but this is all I can do for now.¡± He still wasn¡¯t yet at the point where he could feel much more than the inner reaches of his aura, but he had gotten to the point that he could influence the space around him rather easily. He turned off [Magic Manipulation]. The flame winked out of existence while the block of ice fell to the ground, no longer fed by its elemental source. The rest of the orbiting material remained, however, and as Michael¡¯s face became strained, even the fallen block of ice soon joined the ring of material. It was melting, no longer fueled by elemental Ice itself, but the water droplets simply joined the ring. Then everything fell to the ground. Michael slumped, forming a seat out of ice with his remaining elemental energies. He would have to go back to the Ice King¡¯s room to replenish his stock before leaving the dungeon. ¡°That¡¯s all I can manage for now.¡± Johanne hummed. ¡°Not bad at all. Your aura control has grown yet again. Not in power, but in finesse. You should know, however, that there is more to aura than just moving things around. It can warp the very world, disrupt magic itself. It is much more potent than your Unbound Casting will ever be, at least close to the source of your soul.¡± ¡°I see. So the soul is the source of the aura?¡± ¡°It is more complicated than this. What I talked about was the source of your soul, although it is not too wrong to assume that the soul is also the source of your aura. At least at the lower levels, that is. But it is better if you see it for yourself, rather then me telling you. You have the talent for it, even though you will need to train more.¡± Michael agreed with her. ¡°I don¡¯t think it will grow in power unless I grow my mana pool considerably.¡± ¡°You magic manipulation shall more than suffice for now. After that¡­ You will need to rush to the threshold.¡± The threshold was the point where his low-Silver aura became mid-Silver. Their theory was that it coincided with his mana pool reaching the thirties. Considering he still had a long way before he reached even 2 full units of Silver of mana, it was a long road getting there. Until then, changes and improvements would be incremental, but minor. ¡°Although,¡± Johanne added, ¡°I do not have much experience with anomalous auras such as yours.¡± They chatted a bit more. Michael asked her what her plans were for her own development. She was unsure, but her preference would be a more standard way of rising through the ranks compared to the experimental, yet dangerous, way Michael did it. He was surprised to hear that from Johanne, who he thought would have jumped at the opportunity, but she claimed that the risk of crippling her advancement was too high. ¡°Not everyone is a natural like you are, my lord.¡± Michael didn¡¯t think he was a natural at this, just someone who put in the effort. Johanne disagreed, and they agreed to disagree. She claimed she would be able to take the step into Silver territory soon enough, possibly before they started sending Operators into the dungeon in the afternoon, real world time. ¡°That should also serve as a stimulus for Mister Travis. He¡¯s grown complacent, or rather I should say that he has been using work as an excuse not to challenge the dungeon anymore. It is a valid concern, however the more he procrastinates while still living in the valley for many days every real world day, the more the dungeon¡¯s influence will infiltrate his mind, making it hard for him to advance.¡± It wasn¡¯t the first time Michael heard of this strange effect the dungeon had. It was a theory many people, Theobond and the Fae included, had about the dungeon, but not something he had ever felt himself. Sure, the place was dangerous and unpredictable, but all his fears and reservations about it had been based in logic. Logic could be warped to serve the more emotional side of the brain, though. ¡°It is not it,¡± said Johanne. ¡°In your case, your enormous Resilience stat is protecting your mind.¡± It didn¡¯t explain why he had never suffered such consequences before unlocking the stat. Michael¡¯s theory was that his stat had already been anomalously high before gaining the Unity skill, but there was no way to know for sure. Perhaps it had been his life ethic: working hard for every scrap of power and taking nothing for free, that had helped him. Despite the interesting conversation, soon the time for chatting was over. ¡°Moment of truth.¡± Michael summoned the skill description for his new aura masking skill. He had not yet used it since he had gotten it yesterday, wanting to rest and practice his actual aura abilities a bit more. Unlike other skills, this one was something he would need to keep up for a long period of time, and he needed to be as rested as possible.
(Rare) Aura Masking 2
There are ways to see the unseen, and just as many ways to conceal the visible. With a though, I all but vanish in the vast noise of the world. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡¤ You can mask your aura, making it appear weaker than it actually is. ¡¤ Currently, you can make your aura appear as anything between Low Silver and Low Copper. ¡¤ The effect lasts for as long as you have the mental fortitude for it or until canceled.
Activating the skill, which had already reached level two after some experimentation, Michael felt the world grow distant. It was as if someone had simultaneously blindfolded him and submerged his body in water, all the while covering his ears. Not only that, but there was a sensation of powerlessness that came with the masking, as if his connection to the world and to his magic itself was muted. He dropped the skill, and everything returned to normal. Many more tests followed, until with a grunt, Johanne handed him a tablet. Aura Masking, preliminary analysis. To be forwarded to Travis Tyrell when ready. Level-1 and above eyes only. ¡°Thanks, Johanne. At least I¡¯m stronger than I look from the outside. That should help in case things go south.¡± ¡°Of course, my lord. If I may ask¡­¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± Michael said. ¡°You mentioned you also leveled up your Unity skill?¡± ¡°I did,¡± he said, pulling up his status and updating his sheet on her tablet. She would undoubtedly forward the information to Travis to be entered into the Candle Light database. At least, he thought, it''s my own company getting the information. Besides, it''s so redacted nobody except for me, Travis, Old Dave and Johanne can see it. In Travis¡¯ terms, only level 1 and above could access Michael''s file.
Status: Michael Lexington
Level: 9/10
Base Statistics Advanced Statistics - Soulfire Silverweb Aura
Strength 269 -> 281 Mana Capacity (Silver) 1.44 -> 1.86
Dexterity 217 -> 229 Elemental energy Capacity 144 -> 186
Stamina 310 -> 322 Qi Capacity 14.4 -> 18.6
Reflexes 260 -> 271 Intent Capacity 1.44 -> 1.86
Intelligence 193 -> 204
Resilience 520 -> 550
Memory 205 -> 218
¡°Solid growth,¡± Michael said. ¡°It is. However, I am beginning to worry about what strange environmental factor might be pushing your Resilience so much.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t it be all the stress?¡± ¡°It could be,¡± she said, ¡°however, your last level up was after you killed Carnela.¡± Michael winced, but she didn¡¯t seem to notice. ¡°And that even happened after most of the stressors you have encountered as of late. Unless you were depressed, and hiding that fact from everyone else, I would venture the possibility that something else is prompting your stat growth. Something like Skill sundering.¡± ¡°Might be. Or perhaps it¡¯s the dungeon? You mentioned how everyone seems to hate being here. Well, everyone but you and Travis. Even Trevor hates it, it seems.¡± ¡°Travis only likes it in here when he has work to do,¡± she corrected him. ¡°I will ponder over it and run some experiments.¡± Michael nodded distractedly. He had never thought the week of training would be so bad for the others, and the fact that they had kept it hidden from him to spare him the pain just made it worse. He only got to know that because he was playing with his spirit guardians and managed to catch the tail end of a conversation. ¡°Perhaps¡­¡± Johanne mused. ¡°The reason why I am unaffected is that I am accustomed to the place, after being sealed in here for eons. It would be compatible with the data we have. You, on the other hand, are stacking resilience to counteract its influence.¡± Michael shook his head. ¡°I never felt any influence.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± she paused. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel like you¡¯re being watched? Like your life is in someone else¡¯s hands?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Those are the effects. They are enough to drive someone insane, after some time. However, if such was the case, then Travis would be the exception. He has no stats to withstand the mental assault, and unlike me he didn¡¯t get exposed to it for so long that he built tolerance.¡± ¡°He did mention he was crazy more than once.¡± ¡°Perhaps. I shall talk to him. I need more data.¡± Resilience aside, Michael was rather proud of his status. You know what? I am proud of all of my status, resilience included. So what if I¡¯m a freak? I just have to own it and make it my strength. He had sacrificed a lot to get here, but he had come out of the process stronger than he was before. He had gotten what he wanted, a new rare-ranked skill, and thanks to [Magic Manipulation] he would also be able to retain the sacrificed common skills. Not only that, but he would also be able to learn any common skill by simply memorizing its fractal. A thing that, he soon discovered as he experimented, was much harder than he thought. It turned out that it was easy for him to replicate his sundered skills because it was as if they were still there, in his Sanctum, in the form of scars. Learning a whole new skill without undergoing the same process could not leverage the scar, only relying on memory. And memorizing a fractal was almost impossible. Michael tried, but all he could make were wonky shapes that barely had any structure in his mind¡¯s eye, and as a consequence barely did anything to the world around him. Sometimes their effects were totally nonsensical as well as weak, and not at all what he was trying to replicate. He could learn new skills, though. As long as they were common skills, and he had some room in his Sanctum, he could absorb them, wait until they were permanently bonded with him, and then sunder them. After that they would join his ¡®grimoire¡¯ of replicated skills he could summon with magic manipulation. There were limits to this. For one, the skills could not grow. Whatever process changed the fractals while on the Sanctum¡¯s wall did not work on scars or mental images. That was the reason, for example, why he had chosen not to sunder [Okinawan Mastery]. He still hoped he could level it up and perhaps even upgrade its rarity, even though he had been neglecting it lately¡ªin perceived time, that was. Real time, barely a couple days had passed since he last trained with his sensei. In any case, if Michael wanted to improve a skill he had sundered, he would have to heal it first, charge it up until it leveled up and then sunder it again. Tedious, but doable and totally better than nothing. Then there was the issue of Qi. After gaining the aura masking skill, Michael was once again back to square one, with a Skill Sanctum that was full to the brim. And unless he found his damned Dantian, his manipulation ability wasn¡¯t going to let him manifest Qi for the purposes of unbound casting. Which meant no sundering Uncommon skills. He tried to make up for this deficiency by simply¡­ forgoing the whole fractal method. The results were less than encouraging. He could replicate the same feats without using a fractal, by simply brute forcing mana upon the world in a true Formless Unbound Casting fashion. But, taking [Crude Body Enhancement] as an example, he discovered that in its fractal form it cost around 10 Copper per second to increase his strength by 100%. In formless unbound casting form? It cost a full Silver per second to brute force the world into making him barely 10% stronger. Ten times as costly for a tenth of the gain. It was worse with [Fast Reflexes]. Formless Unbound Casting depended on the mental image, much like Fractal Unbound Casting, but the mental image it required was different. It was like learning to read another language. The same went for learning mandalas from Johanne. Another mental image, another whole language to learn. Worse still, mandalas were complex and not easy to learn at all. And there were no crutches in the form of Sanctum wall scars. Formless casting was still promising. It would be useful in some situations and it would grow to be even more useful when Michael had more mana available to brute force things. It stacked well with his aura manipulation skills. Thanks to his Silver aura and his new skills at leveraging its potential, Formless Unbound Casting was much more powerful close to Michael¡¯s body. Even with all those bonuses, however, Michael¡¯s best attempt at Formless magic was a spell to keep insects away. It had been the spell Johanne was using which had prompted the whole Formless magic discussion back in the beginning. In its current state, however, it barely kept insects away. And it only did so because Michael really wanted them away from his body. Even then, to make it work he had to imagine a radial field of one-Newton forces all pushing outwards from him, somehow only targeting insects. How did it know what was an insect and what wasn¡¯t? Magic. It worked, but Michael¡¯s boosted mana regeneration while in the Valley was barely enough to break even in terms of mana expenditure, making it useless outside. Good exercise to increase mana capacity, though. And the more he used it, the better the mental image became, and the cheaper it became to repel insects using formless unbound casting. It also increased the Resilience stat, as it required total focus to keep up and such a headache-inducing effort quickly became enough to count as proper Resilience training. It even reached a point where whatever system governed Michael¡¯s magic tried to award him an actual skill for it, but he refused immediately. It was common-ranked, since it only used mana, and not worth it. Sure, he could learn the fractal and then sunder it, but the process would take days. Horrible pain-filled days, since his Sanctum was full. ¡°My lord, you of course do realize that Formless Unbound Casting is not entirely useless to you right now, don¡¯t you?¡± Michael hummed. This was new. ¡°Pretend I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Alright. I will walk you through my reasoning, please tell me if it makes sense. For starters, as you said yourself, you can stack your aura bonuses and Formless Casting together, bolstering their power significantly. You have near absolute control in your dominion, inside your aura. You must use this. But that is not all. There is another thing we are disregarding which is already under your control, and under the control of your manipulation skill: the Elements.¡± Chapter 89 Chapter 89 ¡°The Elements?¡± asked Michael. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Unlike higher forms of energy, the Elements appear to need less structure to convey meaning. My preliminary tests with Elemental stones seem to confirm this.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Johanne nodded, ¡°Indeed. There was a whole team of programmers trying to figure out a language to make the stones do our bidding, making inscriptions with crushed mana crystals or using electrodes to stimulate the stones, but they kept failing. The stones just seemed to do whatever they wanted. It wasn¡¯t that they had a will of their own, of course.¡± She took a breath, as if she was about to force out words she didn¡¯t like. ¡°It turns out, as much as it pains me to say, that the Elements are holistic in nature. It works in our favor, despite the lack of scientific rigor. Anyone with a manipulation ability can simply¡­ tell them what to do, and they will do it, albeit reluctantly. It takes a while, but it works. Higher magic does not work like this, as you saw with mana.¡± Michael was intrigued. Thinking back to how he used the Ice and Fire at his command to coat the bullet he used to kill Carmela¡ªthe idea of having taken a life still pained him as a human being¡ªhe realized that she was right. ¡°I see. I can control them without fractals or complex structures. Just with thought.¡± ¡°How long did it take you to figure it out?¡± the woman asked. It occurred to him that the programmers and researcher couldn¡¯t have been here for longer than a day or two, which meant that they actually proposed the experiments and she carried them out in the dungeon, taking days or perhaps even weeks to carry them out and then coming back to the real world with the results. ¡°No time at all. In fact, I was doing it without even realizing it, at first.¡± Johanne smiled, ¡°as I thought, my lord, you have more talent than most people. We must put it to good use and gather more elements.¡± ¡°Not so fast,¡± Michael said, shaking his head. ¡°I still have a limited capacity. It¡¯s shy of 200 units, right now. Not really enough to do much even when it¡¯s all just one element. I think I¡¯ll stick with Ice until the pool either gets bigger, or I find a way to integrate Ice within my aura.¡± ¡°As you wish. The idea is sound, though,¡± she said, and Michael wondered whether she was being a yes-woman or if she really agreed with him. The idea that she wasn¡¯t simply fawning over him felt much more realistic now that he considered that she must have spent weeks of personal time trying to make the elements obey her. ¡°If you keep using Ice,¡± she continued, ¡°you might get familiar enough with it that integrating it with your aura will come easier.¡± Michael did not mention that he needed Qi to do it, at least according to what Theobond had told him. So far, he had been doing just fine with using his Qi even though he had no idea where his Dantian was, but things were changing. For instance, no matter how hard he tried, integrating Ice into his aura was proving beyond him, and he doubted it was just a matter of familiarity or he wouldn¡¯t be able to manipulate and absorb the Element in the first place. ¡°Well, this has been a productive few days,¡± Michael said, stretching, ¡°but it¡¯s time for me to reemerge. I¡¯m going to top-up on the Ice element and get out.¡± ¡°Of course, my lord. See you outside.¡± *** Michael was the first to leave, leaving Johanne to run some experiments in the Valley alone. They would¡ªafter all¡ªreemerge at the same time thanks to the dungeon¡¯s time shenanigans. That was why, when she left the place several weeks of personal time later, she was surprised to see that Michael was nowhere to be seen. Halfway through her contingency actions, he appeared with a swirl of magic. One minute after her, minus or plus some seconds. She quickly checked how many. ¡°We might have a problem, my lo¡ªMichael,¡± she said, still not used to calling him by name when they were in public. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± he asked nonchalantly. Sometimes she wished she could be like him, carefree, but then she remembered how high his Resilience stat was and just what he must have lived through to get it. She too was plenty strong, mentally, but her experience in the amber had not translated well to Michael¡¯s modern world. She took a deep breath, her voice defaulting to monotone. ¡°You have emerged exactly 62 seconds after I did,¡± she said clinically. They had devices recording every access to the dungeon, linking every machine-recognized face with precise timestamps provided by an atomic clock buried underground. Michael hummed. ¡°It could be a big deal, sir,¡± she said. ¡°I know,¡± Michael said, much to her relief. At least he wasn¡¯t ignoring the issue, not that he ever did. ¡°We need to investigate.¡± ¡°I shall be on it as soon as time permits, perhaps even sooner.¡± ¡°Do not postpone the expeditions for this.¡± ¡°Understood. I will make do in the interim, then. However, this could be a grave matter.¡± ¡°You said that already. Not that I don¡¯t see it. We need to know if it¡¯s just me or others as well. If it¡¯s just me, we need to figure out what¡¯s changed. Is it my growing power, that the dungeon can¡¯t keep up with? If it¡¯s others as well, is it an issue with the dungeon itself?¡± He and Johanne bounced some ideas back and forth on the way back to Site 00, after which she quickly excused herself so that she could bunker down in her temporary container-lab. Her assistant was there, coordinating a team of particle physicists who were gushing over a single mana crystal. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°We can¡¯t really know what the hell this material even is, without proper instruments,¡± she heard them mutter, ¡°how can we know what this is if we can¡¯t blast it with high energy particles?¡± ¡°In due time,¡± she said imperiously, and suddenly the room grew quiet. ¡°Our toys will arrive soon, but not before the actual lab is built. They are fragile, as you know. Now, to get your mind off of such tragedies like delays and being forced to wait, here is a conundrum. Michael has just left the dungeon 62 seconds late based on the ten-minute window everybody else experiences. It¡¯s the first time it has happened, and as far as we know it has only affected him. While we wait for more data, I want you to formulate hypotheses and plans. It is imperative we figure out what is going on, and fast.¡± *** Michael sat in the shade of a temperature-controlled gazebo together with Old Dave, Travis, and Johanne. They were in the deep forest close to the dungeon, in the middle of summer, and it should have been humid, hot, and stifling. Instead, thanks to some cleverly constructed Elemental stone arrays, the space within the boundaries of the open-air gazebo was kept at a pleasant 75F. Crossing the invisible threshold into the forest proper was enough to start sweating again, but the place was spacious enough for all four of them. It helped that only Michael and Old Dave were sitting, while the others stood nervously watching Jennifer and Trevor shout orders to the Operators assembling near the entrance to the dungeon. ¡°Listen up, troops! This is no stroll through the woods. I expect focus and precision. First team, you¡¯re up. Lone delvers, you go in after the teams. Iron-ranks with no skills, you are to go between teams.¡± ¡°Man,¡± Michael commented, ¡°she sure looks like a whole other person when issuing orders to her underlings.¡± ¡°You should see Mr. CEO when he gets all fired up,¡± Johanne said, talking about Travis. ¡°Some people say he¡¯s outright scary.¡± The man in question did not take the bait. To the side, Old Dave snorted. ¡°I think everyone in the chain of command is rather different with their men than they are with Michael. For good reason.¡± ¡°¡­and, that¡¯s my cue,¡± said Travis as Johanne was about to finish her drill sergeant-style speech. The man squared up, the very air around him crackling with power and authority. A side effect of an aura, Michael knew now thanks to his training, and something he could replicate but bigger and meaner since he also had a skill to enhance his presence. Travis¡¯ aura had the desired effect, and immediately all Operators went stiff and focused their attention on the head of Candle Light. Travis¡¯ fame also helped, having by now reached outright fantastical and scary levels. He was, according to the rumors, the figure nobody would want to make an enemy of, the scary man at the top, the one who kept the whole thing standing by sheer power and force of will. The scary boogeyman. They were definitely right, but Michael knew the limits of Travis¡¯ power. He would have to talk to him because, while powerful, Travis definitely needed to be carried up to Silver rank before they met with the OA. The man addressed the Operators, assembled by teams on one side and lone Operators on the other, all in orderly lines. He instructed them on what to do in the dungeon, how to engage the monsters¡ªa thing they had already been drilled about for days¡ªand what to do once they cleared the dungeon. He set clear limits and reminded them of the control protocols. After that, the first team went in. Travis moved on to address the other teams, waiting as if in line for the first team to emerge ten minutes later. ¡°They could go in right now,¡± Old Dave observed. Johanne nodded. ¡°We have decided not to. It¡¯s much easier to control the output this way.¡± Indeed, ten minutes later, right before the team appeared, Johanne got up and took position. Michael, too, approached the dungeon, leaving the temperature-controlled gazebo with a grimace. Fortunately, the Ice in his aura could be used to mitigate the hellish summer temperatures, although not without sacrificing a lot of his stored Elemental Ice in the process. The team appeared, and Michael¡¯s eyes blazed with magic as his [Magic Sense] flared up. For good measure, he swept the men with his aura as well, getting faint echoes of something. They were too garbled and weak to recognize, but already, he was seeing yet another use of his aura abilities.
Skill Level up!
[Magic Sense] reaches level 8. When scanning people weaker than you with your aura, you get faint glimpses of their abilities.
¡°All low copper and one mid-copper,¡± he said, the surprise of the level-up not showing on his face. The four men stood at attention, but they were battered and bruised. Their equipment was clean, thanks to the dungeon, but it was in bad shape. However, it was nothing compared to their faces. They were haunted, hollow, outright terrified. Up until ten minutes ago, they regarded Michael as if he was just another person, but now they seemed to instinctively understand the vast gulf between them and him, despite Michael having never shown them his magic. He reigned in his aura, and they relaxed a little bit. ¡°You three,¡± Michael continued, hiding his inner feelings as more and more things about his aura were made evident now that he was interacting with normal people. ¡°You are cleared to go to Jennifer for debriefing. Remember to write down a detailed report of all your abilities.¡± The last man gulped. ¡°You,¡± Michael said, smiling. It didn¡¯t have the effect he hoped it would have, instead making the trained soldier who must have seen hell on earth shiver when looking at Michael. ¡°Higher auras go to Travis; you know that, right?¡± The man nodded. He glanced in Travis¡¯ direction for a fleeting moment. ¡°Yes, sir,¡± he said. ¡°I-I shall go to Chief Tyrell immediately.¡± ¡°Good. Before that, how did you end up at a higher level than even your squad leader?¡± ¡°Squad leader Tormundine said I was more talented than the others, sir. He said he had orders to let me take the lead in combat, sir.¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Go on.¡± The man was stiff. ¡°We hit a bit of a snag when a few of the guns were damaged, sir. I took the lead with my skill from that point onwards, sir.¡± Michael squinted, focusing his aura. The man recoiled but then stood his ground, a testament to his training. ¡°It¡¯s a good melee skill. Tell Travis I¡¯d like to have you promoted to squad leader. You can go.¡± ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± The man said, saluted, and bolted. ¡°You¡¯re scaring the grown men, Michael,¡± Old Dave joked. Michael shrugged. ¡°They have opened their eyes to the gulf between us.¡± Old Dave shook his head. ¡°I too have, you know? I know what they see, yet I do not react like they do, do I?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s because we are friends.¡± ¡°There¡¯s another difference between Travis and me and them,¡± the man said pensively. ¡°We never did go in the dungeon alone, did we?¡± ¡°Travis did,¡± Michael said. ¡°He¡¯s not representative of the whole wider population now, is he? He likes to call himself crazy, did you know that? Besides, he barely even goes to the Valley to work. He only fights through the first floor because he has to. Myself? Twice I tried to go in alone, and let me tell you¡­ I am never doing it again if I can help it. I know I can¡¯t avoid going at all because I need to get stronger. But alone? Nah. That place, it does something to you. When the next batch of Operators comes out, look at their faces. Really look at them. You¡¯ll understand. And if not, just talk to them once they calm down, if they ever do. At least, the silver lining is that with such a fear of powerful magic, our Operators will never underestimate an Anomaly when they get sent to deal with it. God knows we will need them.¡± Chapter 90 Chapter 90 They continued sending teams and men into the dungeon until there were none left. The pace at which they sent people in, which had been frenetic at first, soon became dictated by the speed with which they managed to process the people coming out. Throughout it all, Michael kept playing his role well into the night. In the end, three people failed to re-emerge after the ten-minute window out of more than fifty Operators they sent in. One was a member of a squad who fell in combat, while the other two were Operators who had volunteered to go in alone. One outfitted with skill stones to kickstart his magic, the other entered the dungeon as a normal Iron-rank human. There were two other such crazies who went in basically naked, without equipment or magic, and managed to come out alive and much more powerful than the rest. They were thoroughly debriefed, their abilities recorded and added to their growing database of magical systems, and their allegiance secured with an Oath to Michael. The same went for the other kind of outliers, which also happened to mostly overlap with the first. They were the people who did not emerge frightened and broken but rather aching for more action. Those were the people who were like Michael and Travis, although the latter man fit the bill to a lesser degree as he spent more and more time in the Valley. There was only one such outlier, but his existence proved the so-called prepper faction of Candle Light right. Bound by an oath, he would be given plenty of opportunities to grow in power as well as a station befitting his power within Candle Light, provided that he could handle the responsibility, so that there was no risk he could turn against them. After Michael was done with the teams, he quickly hopped into a car and made his way to Saint Hernest, the private hospital he had bought with his first batch of money. It wasn¡¯t his primary source of revenue anymore, not with all the Unity was doing and especially not now that they could leverage the [Ghost Market] to sell literally everything they could get their hands on. However, the hospital was where Doctor Kavins and his crew worked on possibly developing drugs and procedures that mimicked the way healing magic worked, which could potentially be revolutionary, on top of being very lucrative. It was something Michael was very interested in, despite his absence due to how busy he had gotten. The doctor was quite invested in the research as well, and it was evident by the fact that he had no problem waiting for Michael¡¯s arrival well into the night. They exchanged pleasantries on the way in, after which Michael offered to use his healing on the doctor to mitigate the effects of sleep deprivation. ¡°Thank you,¡± said the man, ¡°this magic is quite miraculous. I feel like I could go on like this for days.¡± ¡°The effects fade after a while,¡± said Michael, ¡°trust me, I tried. So, what do we have?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve arranged the patients as instructed. Johanne sent me some rather detailed instructions on how to maximize your new area of effect.¡± Indeed, now that Michael could heal people in a 25-meter radius in every direction, they could play around with how the patients were placed on the various floors. The ones in need of more urgent care were placed closer to the center, while the others were placed radially outwards in order of priority. How the priority was calculated, Michael did not know. He knew it had to do with the gravity of the condition, money paid, and other factors like the need to create artificial scarcity to keep prices decently high. They still weren¡¯t in the charity phase of the operation, and neither Michael nor Travis had any compunctions milking rich people for all they had in exchange for life-saving treatments for them or their loved ones. They could afford it. After they were done healing, Michael supplied the doctor with more mana crystals at his request so that research could proceed on an experimental vitality drug, and then Michael was once again in the car. This time, it was back to the dungeon to get the last-minute preparations over with before meeting with the OA. ¡°You could have handled that tomorrow,¡± Travis grunted, back at Site 00. ¡°Nah,¡± Michael waved his argument away, ¡°I needed some alone time¡ªreal-world time¡ªto decompress, and I can sleep in the Valley afterwards. Now, speaking about important things.¡± ¡°Are we talking about your latest leap in power?¡± the man supplied. ¡°It¡¯s like your whole existence has more weight to it now. You look more¡­ real, even to my mundane senses.¡± Michael nodded, ¡°how about now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like you don¡¯t even exist,¡± the man said, then grinned. ¡°With this, our meeting with the OA can already be considered a success.¡± ¡°Not so fast,¡± Michael said, ¡°you have been awfully competent at dodging all forms of training in the dungeon. Travis, it¡¯s time you ranked up to Silver.¡± ¡°Before the meeting, yes, I get it.¡± The man sighed. ¡°What¡¯s the holdup? Want me to use my soothing fires on you?¡± Travis recoiled as if disgusted. ¡°I have some pride, you know? I admit that the dungeon¡¯s been having an effect on me, but I am no pussy. Let¡¯s go.¡± As they walked towards the dungeon, forgoing the quad bikes as Travis¡¯ subconscious tried a last-ditch attempt to delay the inevitable, the man asked Michael about what the process of ranking up entailed. ¡°Who knows? Johanne claims it¡¯s different for everyone.¡± ¡°Did she rank up?¡± Michael shook his head. ¡°Then how does she know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s part of her knowledge package given to her by the dungeon. Or her quote-unquote past life. She¡¯s really bothered by it, you know?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t she rank up?¡± Michael shrugged, ¡°she says she wants to wait for the right moment. I think she is struggling with Qi for some reason.¡± ¡°Right, not everyone can be as talented as you are.¡± ¡°Sure they can. Just work hard. Now listen: to rank up, I had to condense mana into my Skill Sanctum¡¯s walls and consolidate my aura with Qi.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even have a Skill Sanctum.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Indeed,¡± Michael said, ¡°that¡¯s why it¡¯s different for everyone, isn¡¯t it? The only thing I know for sure is that higher ranks include higher energies. To go from Copper to Silver, you need to use Qi and bind it to your aura in some fashion. You have Silver-ranked Cards, so you have Qi.¡± The man frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t I need a manipulation ability?¡± ¡°Touch¨¦,¡± Michael¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°that¡¯s what I thought as well. But then, when I trained my aura, I discovered something. Within its boundaries, you can do many things without the need for skills, cards, or other crutches. Copper auras are weak, barely able to levitate a couple of coins a few inches above your palms, but they can influence magic a bit more easily than they influence matter.¡± ¡°How long did it take you?¡± ¡°A few weeks.¡± ¡°A few weeks?¡± Travis spat, ¡°that¡¯s a long time, man.¡± ¡°At Silver-rank, where my aura is stronger. I expect it will take you much longer. Worry not, we shall train your aura in combat. I have the feeling that adrenaline and the fear of death will make the process easier.¡± ¡°You know what?¡± said Travis, clearly trying to psyche himself up. A flaming rifle appeared in his hands, a product of his latest Card. ¡°Let¡¯s fucking do it.¡± *** Travis emerged from the dungeon a changed man. Not only was he Silver-rank now, but he had spent more than five months of personal time inside the dungeon. Michael appeared only a few seconds after him. He checked the time: he had been inside for almost half an hour, and Michael for six seconds longer. It made sense, as this had been his longest stay in the Valley ever. ¡°How long did you stay after I was gone?¡± he asked. ¡°A day or so,¡± Michael said. Clearly, the Dungeon was beginning to struggle with the time-dilation effects. None of the soldiers had experienced such an effect, however, lending credit to the current leading theory that the time dilation had less effect the stronger your aura was. In Michael¡¯s case, 24-ish hours became six seconds. The math wasn¡¯t straightforward, however, since it appeared that slowing time for two people matched the time-flow to that of the stronger of the two without having any additive effects. For good measure, he uploaded the data to Unity¡¯s cloud storage for Johanne and her team to dissect. Later on, the loss of the time dilation effect would begin to change the way they used the dungeon, but¡ªand this was a sentiment he shared with Michael¡ªnot all was for the worse. Having a lessened effect on higher aura users effectively put a ceiling to the maximum power someone could amass in a short time window inside the dungeon. It was theorized¡ªbut they didn¡¯t have enough data yet to confirm this¡ªthat at Gold-rank, the time dilation effect would be down to a factor of 1:2, and that it would become close to real-time well before reaching Platinum. Another theory, which Michael would be working on confirming or disproving once he delved deeper into the dungeon, was that deeper floors offered better time dilation. They were richer in magic, and thus Johanne theorized that there the dungeon¡¯s effect was stronger and much more able to handle strong auras. The issue, if such a theory happened to be correct, was that they were simply too strong for such shallow levels. In any case, let the geeks figure this stuff out, and then Travis would find a way to implement protocols to minimize any potential problems and maximize Candle Light¡¯s gains. Speaking of gains, in the end, he ended up having Michael use his soothing flames on him, as it was the only way he could have survived months inside the dungeon with his sanity intact. It was a small price to pay for reaching Silver, though, but it made him think about other people. The dungeon was a place for the clinically insane, not to speak the lengths he had to go through in order to upgrade his aura. He didn¡¯t speak of it with Michael, but he was less worried about other people gaining power now. The path to power wasn¡¯t simple. It wasn¡¯t simple at all. If someone like him was struggling, and he had help, most people would never make it. Silver. Travis was now officially the second-ever Silver-tier magic user, that they knew of. He had new Cards, he had a powerful Aura he was beginning to understand how to control and use, and he felt stronger than ever. Truly, this was what Unity would soon offer to the whole of humanity, and he couldn¡¯t wait for that day to come about. There were a lot of things to be done before that day arrived, however. With a gentle nudge of his aura, he goaded his teleportation Card to activate. The Card had been with him since day one, and he thought he knew it like the back of his hand. He was wrong. Aura changed everything. The Card was flooded with Mana and Qi. Travis still had no manipulation Card, as they didn¡¯t manage to get any monster or floor to drop it, but inside his aura, he still had some measure of control over the forces of the arcane. It was thanks to this ability that he managed to force the Card to teleport him farther away than ever, burning through his whole mana pool plus several Silver coins he had stashed in his pockets without the need to touch them. Another ability he learned thanks to his improved Aura control. He appeared at the edge of the current expansion of the dungeon¡¯s Area of Influence. From his vantage point, he could see little pinpricks of light in the distance, like flickering, unmoving fireflies. They were what few lights were still on, this late at night, in the town of Redbud Ridge. It was a little island of civilization, encroached by the advancing woods, nature attempting to reclaim the city as it emptied itself of people, who in turn tried to escape from this hopeless hellhole in the middle of nowhere, rushing to the bigger cities. ¡°Not for much longer,¡± he muttered. He¡ªand by ¡®he¡¯ he meant Candle Light, and therefore Unity¡ªhad plans for this city. It would be the stage where they tested their strategies before the time came when they had to employ them all throughout America and then the world. He squinted, activating one of his new Cards. It was like looking through multiple layers of reality at once, seeing heat signatures, electromagnetic fields, contours. All of it magnified several times over. The town was positively crawling with Candle Light ¡°volunteers,¡± helping out the local populace while Unity was building new facilities there. A local market on the verge of bankruptcy had been bought, but instead of booting out the old owner, Unity offered him to work for them for more money than he¡¯d ever seen. The crumbling buildings had been bought and were being renovated on the promise that Unity would rent them to the good people of Redbud Ridge for a pittance. A thousand other little things were all going on. Perhaps too many. Perhaps the volunteers were a bit overkill. The people thought it too good to be true, and some were sowing mistrust. Well, this was just the prototype of how Unity would handle these things. It wasn¡¯t like they had much time. The city was going to be swallowed up by the Area of Influence in¡ªTravis checked his notes¡ªa few hours, if expansion continued like this. Then the first anomalies would begin to pop up, and that¡¯s what they needed the men there for. Build trust, put agents on the field, be ready for anything. With a muted flash of invisible lightning, Travis was back to his office at Site 00. He sighed in relief as his mana regeneration returned to him, realizing just how stifling the real world felt compared to the magic-rich air of the Site. It could be a problem, down the line. He didn¡¯t remember feeling like this when he was but a Copper-rank. And of course, Michael had never mentioned feeling any distress: the man was a monster. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ Trevor says we are ready to transfer some items from Area 51 over to Site 00. Amazing.¡± Crazy how fast things went when you had the right leverage. Now, all Candle Light had to do was show those stuck-ups from Area 51 that they could crack the nuts they hadn¡¯t been able to crack. Then, slowly, Candle Light would worm its way into the CIA and the like, assuming more and more responsibilities on their behalf until they became so ingrained, so essential that the whole operation couldn¡¯t function without them anymore. Not that it was working well at all, Travis read in the report. Things were already out of hand. The only unknown variable was the OA which, being a whole different agency than any of the three-lettered ones, was a potential different beast to tame. The OA had the real problematic items and anomalies, things that made Area 51 look like a playground for children. ¡°They dangle the harmless stuff while the OA handles the real nightmares. Unacceptable. I want that to be us.¡± He flipped through yet another report. Unlike many would like to believe, he wasn¡¯t as clueless about the OA as they thought. He had his ways. A network of contacts and favors that was once again growing big and fat thanks to Saint Hernest and Michael¡¯s work there. Favors were the real currency being traded at that hospital, after all. The OA, it seemed, was having issues dealing with a chest-shaped object hidden in some dusty old basement. ¡°That, plus Redbud Ridge at the same time? Well, looks like our newly powered Operators are going to see some action pretty soon.¡± Chapter 91 Chapter 91 ¡°You skipped the last two sessions together, is everything okay?¡± Stephan¡¯s voice was strange over the phone. The man had an old model that barely qualified as a smartphone, but he refused to get a new one unless his current phone stopped working. ¡°Phillip, of all people, has been asking about you.¡± ¡°He has?¡± Michael was surprised. ¡°He has. You made quite the impression last time.¡± Despite months of personal-time having passed, Michael remembered what had happened there quite well. He had lost himself in a sort of trance, performing katas helped by his [Okinawan Mastery] skill. Too bad he never really trained it ever since. He said as much to Stephan, earning a snort from Travis. They were driving to the OA¡¯s meeting location, a few hours out from Site 00. ¡°It¡¯s only been a couple of days, it¡¯s no problem,¡± said the Sensei. ¡°More for me.¡± ¡°How much time did you spend¡­ down there?¡± the man asked, careful not to mention the dungeon by name over the phone. It made Michael smile, although perhaps his Sensei was actually smarter than he himself was, with the OA potentially keeping an eye on them as they approached. ¡°A long time. A lot has happened since we last met. Perhaps we can grab a bite, catch up. How about that?¡± The man hummed, ¡°something tells me you won¡¯t be coming to the dojo much anymore, will you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. At this point, it¡¯s just a distraction.¡± Stephan didn¡¯t respond for a full ten seconds. ¡°I understand. Tell me when and where and we can chat.¡± ¡°You sure it¡¯s wise?¡± asked Travis after Michael ended the call. Michael shrugged, ¡°it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Whatever you say, man.¡± Travis said, but Michael knew that the former CEO and now head of Candle Light division wasn¡¯t going to let the matter rest. In fact, he didn¡¯t even want to know what sort of surveillance Stephan had been put under, and how much it was going to intensify following what Travis had just heard from the call. ¡°Be discreet with it, okay?¡± ¡°Naturally,¡± Travis said, not even losing composure. ¡°Put me through to David, would you?¡± ¡°Sure, boss.¡± Michael said, then made a face. ¡°Wait, wasn¡¯t I the boss? Are you sure you can order me around like this?¡± ¡°Ha ha. As if you haven¡¯t been ordering me around for months in the Valley. I think I¡¯m going to have nightmares about the aura exercises you had me do for years to come.¡± ¡°Good, because you will need to keep doing them. Nightmares will be a decent reminder to do your homework. Here, hi Dave!¡± ¡°Michael. What¡¯s up?¡± Old Dave¡¯s voice boomed in the car, Michael¡¯s phone now connected to the speakers. ¡°David. No time for pleasantries. I need you to handle something for me. Did you read the dossier on Redbud Ridge?¡± Old Dave¡¯s voice lost all warmth and friendliness. Not out of animosity, but because in an instant the man became laser-focused and serious. ¡°I did. It should be your job, but I appreciate the trust you are putting in me. Should I follow protocol?¡± ¡°For now,¡± Travis stated, ¡°you know how these things are. Stick to protocol for the initial assessment. We both know how quickly plans can fall apart in the field. The mana cloud¡¯s ETA is less than an hour, but we have some anomalies popping up already.¡± ¡°Ahead of time? How?¡± ¡°Unknown. Pester Johanne about it.¡± ¡°I will. Alright, I¡¯m going. I¡¯ll be there in ten minutes.¡± ¡°Good. Bob is on-site already.¡± Travis said, mentioning the chauffeur-turned-Operator. Level 2 at that, too. ¡°He will bring you up to speed.¡± The rest of the trip was spent getting up to speed with current events. Travis had a lot to report about yesterday¡¯s operation, when they sent the Operators in the dungeon to power up. Since it had been the first time they sent people in en masse, not only was there a lot of logistics involved after the fact¡ªmuch more than Michael would have ever imagined¡ªthere was also a lot of data. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Trevor had been tasked with compiling the data, forwarding it to Johanne and then preparing reports together with Jennifer. The results were interesting. All operators sent to train in the dungeon reported that the floor was just as they had been told it would be. Which was, according to the leading theory, the maximum difficulty for such a shallow floor. Johanne concluded that this was now the default setting for everyone entering, no matter if they were there for the first time or if they were returnees. To balance things out for the first-timers, the dungeon made sure to provide the means to defeat the floor to anyone who didn¡¯t have them, giving more powerful magic as rewards and even tools in the first room before the fighting even began. This raised the question of the dungeon¡¯s motives. Theobond¡¯s threat that the dungeon was after people¡¯s souls was beginning to sound flimsy, as it would make no sense for the dungeon to help people survive better if it was after their souls. ¡°Unless it wanted strong souls, which meant that it wanted to train people up before it ate them.¡± Travis supplied. ¡°Sure. Or perhaps using magic creates more magic and the dungeon wants to create more mages to stock up on more magic. Or it¡¯s using us for entertainment. We can¡¯t really know, can we?¡± Travis could only grunt at that, grumbling about letting the geeks figure it out while he tried to keep everyone alive. The other results they talked about as they approached the meeting point were about what happened at the end of the first floor. As they spoke, Johanne was tasking people to challenge the first floor again and even go to the Valley, if they could, even taking some of them there herself to get more data. The results, summed up, were: ¡°Fucking dungeon,¡± Travis muttered, ¡°why is it so weird?¡± ¡°Magic,¡± Michael said, enjoying Travis¡¯ reaction to his dismissive words. Their mirth didn¡¯t last long at all, because soon enough their destination became visible as they crested a dusty hill. ¡°The O-fucking-A.¡± Michael¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°So the meeting location, was their main base?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Travis didn¡¯t seem too shaken, but there was no knowing what his intelligence gathering had already told him about the place. ¡°See the shimmer?¡± ¡°I can see it alright,¡± Michael said, covering his eyes with a hand, ¡°glows like the sun. Is it what I think it is?¡± ¡°Huge amounts of wasted magic, that¡¯s what it is.¡± As his eyes, metaphorically speaking, adjusted and his [Magic Sense] recovered from the blinding effect of that much magic, Michael began to study the curved dome. ¡°I can see why they feel safe in there.¡± ¡°Should we be concerned?¡± asked Travis. ¡°It¡¯s not too late to turn around. I don¡¯t think they can give chase. Not to us.¡± ¡°Getting cold feet? What did your intelligence gathering tell you?¡± ¡°That we shouldn¡¯t have reason to worry. I¡¯m not getting cold feet, Michael, I¡¯m just being thorough. Intel suggests we¡¯re clear, but it never hurts to double-check. There¡¯s no need to walk into the dragon¡¯s den unless we are sure we can slay it, or at least get a clean escape.¡± ¡°We can,¡± Michael stated confidently. ¡°You sure? I can see the shimmer with my bare eyes. I don¡¯t need a sight Card to know that it¡¯s a lot of magic protecting the place.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a lot of magic alright,¡± Michael conceded, ¡°just like there¡¯s a lot of magic surrounding the dungeon back at Site 00 right now. It is a lot, but it is no higher than Copper quality, and quality trumps quantity all the time. Besides, there¡¯s something wrong with this magic.¡± ¡°You know what it is?¡± ¡°Ancestral mana. The same I sometimes see drifting about in clouds. I recognize it because its colors are dim and there are absolutely zero elements in it.¡± ¡°Ancestral mana can be strong, though. I have at least one ancestral anomaly on file that even you would struggle against.¡± ¡°Sure. And Copper mana can give birth to Gold-rank anomalies. It¡¯s not the case here, though. This is weak, plain Copper-rank ancestral mana.¡± He squinted. ¡°Take the shield, for example. The magic is concentrated, but evenly distributed. The shimmer is actually¡­ huh, grains of sand hitting the dome and making it flare up. From how the magic is swirling, I am pretty sure the dome isn¡¯t able to redirect energy. It¡¯s just as strong as its weakest link, nothing to worry about.¡± ¡°Noted,¡± Travis replied curtly, focusing on the road. ¡°Hiding my aura now,¡± Michael said. ¡°I¡¯ll do the opposite. Let¡¯s stick to the plan for now, and improvise if needed.¡± There was a small compound hidden beneath the shimmering dome, half visible through the curtain of glassy magic that protected it. Squat, concrete buildings and a couple towers surrounded by walls and barbed wire. A single road led to a manned gate, surrounded by hidden guards and heavy weaponry. Using his Card to spot heat signatures, Travis pointed them all out to Michael, discussing strategy Chapter 92 Chapter 92 The black SUV slowly approached the compound, under the careful watch of armed guards. There were two checkpoints on the dusty road leading in and out, while barren brown soil surrounded them, with occasional plumes of dust reaching into the car through the rolled-down window. It wasn¡¯t a problem for either of the two occupants, who could simply brush the dust away with their auras. It was pretty much the extent of what the driver¡¯s aura could do, and a simple exercise for the other occupant instead, despite him appearing much weaker. ¡°Halt! State your business and present your identification. This is a restricted area.¡± The man driving the SUV slowly slid his sunglasses down his nose, watching the guard from above the lenses. His face betrayed nothing but a faint sense of annoyance and perhaps a feeling of superiority. ¡°Here,¡± said the man, giving a bundle of documents that the other passenger had taken out of the car¡¯s storage compartment with a slow, lazy motion. ¡°Travis Tyrell, plus one. We should be expected.¡± ¡°Who is the plus one?¡± asked the guard as he gave the documents and ID to another guard to perform their checks. ¡°Scientist,¡± Travis said with a shrug, ¡°he¡¯s harmless.¡± ¡°That remains to be seen,¡± said the guard, taking the documents back from the other guard with a nod. Then a feeling of dread and vertigo assailed the guard, who stumbled, visibly sweating. ¡°P-proceed straight to the other gate. Slowly.¡± ¡°Sure thing, chief,¡± said Travis lightly, ¡°have a good one.¡± The guard grunted as Travis rolled up the window. ¡°Or don¡¯t,¡± the man muttered. Michael smiled and the guard stumbled again. Then, almost as if the universe was punishing him, the sensation of coldness washed over him. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± asked Travis, immediately alert. ¡°We are being actively scanned.¡± He looked around, first to the guards visible beyond the dome of magic protecting the place, and then to the dome itself. ¡°Interesting. It¡¯s not coming from someone, but from something. It looks like the dome itself is scanning us. I wonder if I can use this to gain a little glimpse¡­¡± As his eyes unfocused, Travis kept on driving. The distance between the first checkpoint and the shield couldn¡¯t be more than a few hundred yards, and the second gate was right behind it. He wasn¡¯t supposed to be able to see magic, however, but he imagined the chill they felt as the dome scanned them was something the OA people knew happened and used to their advantage as an intimidation tactic. ¡°Michael,¡± he called as they were about to cross the threshold. He knew, intellectually, that there was no reason for anything bad to happen just yet. Despite that, he found himself feeling for the power of his Cards, flexing his Aura. ¡°Keep doing that,¡± said Michael. ¡°You¡¯re not helping. What the fuck has gotten over you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m studying the dome,¡± said the young man, ¡°everything inside it is inconsequential.¡± ¡°What do you see?¡± Despite wanting to, Travis did not look around to study the shield. He could see the shimmer in the air, though, like a mirage on a hot road baked by the sun in the distance. Just that this distortion was all around them in a sheet of strangely compressed air that wasn¡¯t really air, but magic. ¡°It¡¯s a wall of solid energy, as we thought. I got a glimpse of its workings, though. It really didn¡¯t like you flaring your Silver-rank aura. And it¡¯s a normal aura too, I wonder how it would react if I were to unmask mine.¡± Travis wanted to ask what Michael meant by the dome not liking his aura, but didn¡¯t have the time. He instead took a deep breath, gripping the steering wheel. ¡°Here we go. Look alive now.¡± They crossed through the barrier. Travis felt a slight tingle, but nothing else. Michael, instead, smirked for a split second before realizing that they were about to be approached by the guards. He wiped the grin from his face. ¡°As I said,¡± he whispered before the window was rolled down, ¡°everything else is inconsequential. Ancestral Copper-equivalent, nothing more.¡± Travis nodded. After the security checks, they were made to leave their vehicle and were led to a building at the edge of the compound. As they waited in the empty room, they noted that while the dome didn¡¯t, the thick concrete walls did manage to block all sorts of signals, including cell phone signal. It was to be expected. What was more, there was a single camera overlooking the room, its red LED light blinking to tell them it was active. Travis knew there had to be more surveillance devices, of course, which limited what he and Michael could say while they waited. ¡°It¡¯s boring,¡± Michael complained. His role was to play the innocuous nerd/researcher, while Travis was to be believed the head of the whole organization they represented. ¡°Shut up and wait. This is too important to mess up,¡± barked the man, playing to his role. Meanwhile, Michael let a little bit of aura escape through his [Aura Masking] skill, which also happened to reach level three in the process. With even better control, but wary of potential observers, Michael extended tendrils of his aura outwards. To be more precise, Michael had already discovered that all auras extended outwards into infinity like electric fields¡ªpresumably at such speeds that they were impossible to see. So, when he extended tendrils of his aura, what he really did was channel magic through his aura, pushing the boundaries of his [Magic Sense] and [Magic Manipulation] by using the aura as a springboard for the abilities to work. He scanned the room and the buildings, but most of them were shielded and appeared empty to his senses. Of course, powerful magic would still be visible, but there wasn¡¯t enough of it for him to see. Then he touched the shield surrounding the compound with his mind, and in the hours that followed began to study its properties. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. It was only after they were left to stew in the barren room alone for hours that someone finally was sent to fetch them. ¡°Doctor Kavanaugh is ready to see you, follow me.¡± They were led to another building, taking an underground tunnel that soon confused their senses. It wasn¡¯t just the twists and turns, but there was magic at play here, so much so that with his aura masked, Michael had trouble counteracting its effects. In the end, he chose to let the disorientation take place, rather than blowing his cover. Travis was much less affected because even though he had a weaker silver aura, he was allowed to utilize it in full. Doctor Kavanaugh was a wiry, yet short man. Rectangular glasses that were too big for his sunken face sat on a long nose and thin mustache. Stubble completed his face, along with bags under his eyes. The only thing impeccable in how Kavanaugh presented himself were his clothes, which were lab clothes in pristine white that almost seemed to shine under the harsh light of the ceiling neons. ¡°Please,¡± he said after they shook hands, ¡°sit. You represent, what, a company who wishes to work with us?¡± ¡°We do,¡± Travis said, taking the lead. Even though he couldn¡¯t see it clearly, he instinctively must have noticed that the man was low-Copper, and not the kind of Copper they could achieve with dungeon mana but rather the washed-out, weak Copper that could be achieved by absorbing the natural leftover mana on Earth. ¡°I represent Unity corporation, more specifically the Candle Light division. We have some expertise in dealing with anomalies.¡± ¡°That I can see,¡± said the man, eyes glinting. ¡°Please, I must ask you to retract your aura. You must be aware of its intimidating effects on anyone weaker than you, I presume?¡± ¡°How indelicate of me,¡± shrugged Travis, ¡°I lack a sight ability, you see. I thought you could handle the pressure.¡± The man scoffed, but said nothing. The pressure on him lessened, making his complexion look much more alive. That was Michael¡¯s cue to start acting. His aura was still masked, the reason why Kavanaugh had not spared him even a glance so far, but it was far from muted. He extended it outwards, weaving two skills together to amplify its effect. [Presence] made the OA¡¯s doctor feel intimidated, while [Voice of Command] together with subvocalized instructions¡ªwhile less powerful than it could be¡ªmade the man susceptible and prone to slip-ups. ¡°You must think we are underestimating you,¡± said Doctor Kavanaugh, ¡°I assure you, we are not. We have all the means to take you, and your¡­ project, down if need arises.¡± There it was, the overconfidence. If they had such means, they either weren¡¯t here, or they were hidden very well. Most likely, the man was bluffing under the effect of Michael¡¯s administrations. ¡°Of course,¡± said Travis, ¡°we have barely just begun dealing with the arcane, after all. My assistant here will tell you more.¡± ¡°As you must know,¡± Michael said, ¡°while it exist, the kind of magic that can be found scattered throughout the world is rather weak. There are limits to how much power someone can amass. But there are ways to break past those limits.¡± Travis nodded. ¡°We are willing to share the mechanism behind the next great leap in power. From human to superhuman is to go from Iron to Copper, but from superhuman to truly god-like, that is what it means to go from Copper to Silver.¡± ¡°And you are one such Silver, are you not?¡± Kavanaugh said, in awe, ¡°hence why your aura is so abnormally strong. You mean to say that you can teach us how to break past our limits? That¡­¡± he stopped himself, shaking his head. ¡°That is surely interesting, but it¡¯s hardly my place to decide such things. I was sent here to vet you. That you have found out about us, and that you claim to be able to push past boundaries not even we have managed to conquer speaks either of arrogance or of skill.¡± Travis smiled. Michael too, albeit only inwardly. He had made Kavanaugh slip, and now they knew that the entire OA did not have people beyond the Copper tier, at least that the Doctor knew of. ¡°Please,¡± said Travis in a tone that was all smiles, ¡°I care for this country. My country. I have seen what horrors magic gives birth to. They should not be allowed to exist, to threaten the good citizens of America. If I can help, rest assured that I will.¡± ¡°Ah, right,¡± Kavanaugh said, ¡°I was wondering why Unity corporation was wasting so many resources on humanitarian efforts. Your CEO is a hopeless idealist, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°That he is,¡± Travis nodded, ¡°he is the real heart of the company. I simply strive to do what¡¯s best for us.¡± ¡°What is your offer, then? To teach us to grow powerful?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Travis dangled the carrot, ¡°but that would need training, and time.¡± ¡°Our sources tell us you were but a normal CEO of a normal company until barely weeks ago. The process must be fast. We can afford to wait, for the moment.¡± ¡°Can you? And, more importantly, was I? What do your sources tell you about Unity?¡± Michael amped up the dosage of his skills and aura. They slammed onto the defenseless man like a tidal wave. ¡°I see,¡± said Kavanaugh, ¡°at this point I should reconvene with my superiors, but I believe I know better what I should do. Offer us something I can use, immediately. For the good of the nation, you know? Something that gets us funded through the next administration.¡± ¡°Oh, you need not worry. Let us handle the anomalies for you.¡± Kavanaugh scoffed. ¡°I can¡¯t do that. We need them.¡± ¡°If you can secure them, go for it. I don¡¯t think you can, can you? Let us handle the more dangerous of the anomalies, the ones that make you waste so much money and cause so many headaches they are hardly worth it. Like that chest that keeps eating your agents. It doesn¡¯t look good in your quarterly report when there¡¯s so many ¡®Missing in Action¡¯ printed on the spreadsheet, does it?¡± Kavanaugh recoiled. ¡°You knew about the existence of the chest already?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Travis pressured him, aura flaring to life. Someone knocked on the door, but it was like they were underwater, the sound distant. A thin film of ice appeared on the door, while the handle burned white-hot as Michael acted. ¡°How did you know?¡± Kavanaugh was sweating. ¡°We have a way to detect magic at a distance,¡± Travis said. It wasn¡¯t a lie per se. They had a way to detect magic. It was Michael¡¯s vision. But Michael, of course, couldn¡¯t be all over the state at once. Not that Kavanaugh needed to know it. In truth, they had learned about the chest via classic espionage. ¡°Is that the case? We must¡ª¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t ready to share such capabilities with you. We can offer you help in other ways, though.¡± ¡°You can help us with anomalies we can¡¯t contain ourselves, yes. Using your special means.¡± Calm returned to the room as the mental manipulation worked its effects. ¡°And we can power your people up. How about you send us someone, someone you trust but who¡¯s also expendable. That¡¯ll show you that with proper procedures and time, we can get anyone to Silver. The chest first, though. Wouldn¡¯t want to look like we can¡¯t deliver on our promises, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Kavanaugh nodded, the pressure on him lessening. ¡°It would be a start.¡± ¡°We get to keep it, of course,¡± said Michael. ¡°That¡ª¡± ¡°Destroyed during retrieval,¡± said Travis calmly as the pressure on Kavanaugh returned. ¡°That¡¯s the official statement.¡± ¡°Very well. If you can secure it, we don¡¯t care what you do with it as long as you keep its existence a secret.¡± Chapter 93 Chapter 93 ¡°Think you can replicate it?¡± Travis asked on the way out. They crossed the shield again, causing some tingling in their skin but nothing more, a sign of a clear escape. Now that they were out, there wasn¡¯t much danger to them anymore. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Michael replied. They were talking about the shield, and only because they knew that the sound dampening magic on their car made sure nobody could hear them. ¡°I would need blueprints. I know the magic making the shield can¡¯t be that complicated, but that¡¯s not saying much when it comes to magical circuitry. Take skill fractals for instance, even a simple one is actually infinitely complicated.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t magic circuits different?¡± Travis countered, moving his hands about. ¡°I remember Johanne talking about them, trying to explain how they work to me. They didn¡¯t seem all that complicated.¡± ¡°Then you know more than I do,¡± Michael said. ¡°I didn¡¯t really delve into that. But from what I know, she only dabbled in Elemental Energy circuitry which, if ease of use translates like I think it does, is orders of magnitude easier. Although, I doubt they had the chance to study magic scientifically at the OA. Its effects, perhaps, but magic itself? Hmm¡­¡± ¡°Then what, they did it with rituals here? Chuck some random things together and shit happens?¡± ¡°Could be,¡± Michael shrugged. ¡°Magic is weird like that.¡± ¡°Well, if you get a nighttime stroke of genius or something, let me know,¡± Travis grunted, no longer as interested. ¡°Having a shield like that around Site 00?¡± ¡°With our magic?¡± Michael exclaimed. ¡°Revolutionary, yeah. Too bad we are defenseless.¡± ¡°Pff,¡± Travis scoffed, ¡°don¡¯t be ridiculous. As if I¡¯d leave Site 00 without proper defenses. Let¡¯s just say that there is some heavy ordnance, not-very-legal stuff in there, hidden.¡± As the land transitioned into hills and woods, thus began the long and boring journey on the winding roads of Kentucky, leading everywhere and nowhere. Rural Kentucky soon made them wish they had ways to teleport around rather than being forced to pass through yet another small town. As the looming peaks of the Appalachian Mountains began to show through in the distance, whenever the road took them high enough to see, they knew they were getting close to Site 00. To home in the middle of nowhere. Passing through the towns, some of which felt hopeless and worn out, so remote only a small subset of people would ever truly enjoy living there, Michael understood why the others in his company were so sure people were going to move and come to live at the Site once the houses were ready. ¡°What now?¡± he asked idly. ¡°The meeting went sort of well, didn¡¯t it?¡± Travis grunted in affirmation. ¡°They are struggling,¡± he elaborated. ¡°Kavanaugh all but confirmed it.¡± Michael hummed. ¡°You think?¡± ¡°They can¡¯t deal with magic anymore, not now that it¡¯s no longer just remnant ancient magic. Magic is awakening, isn¡¯t it? But they don¡¯t have a dungeon to power-level their people.¡± ¡°What if they are hiding the big guns?¡± Michael said. ¡°Just like how they somehow got the shield even though their mana is shit. They could have some ancient relics hidden somewhere.¡± ¡°You said they only have ancestral magic there, right? Not even a single normal aura?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Then it¡¯s probable ancient relics is all they have. That goes for mages too. And the thing about ancient powerful things? They soon become outdated, are finite in number and can¡¯t really be adapted to fit new environments,¡± Travis said confidently. ¡°My gut tells me that they aren¡¯t hiding their mages at all. More like they don¡¯t have them. Ancestral magic is quickly losing ground against real magic, and it shows. They might have an ace up their sleeve or two, maybe ten or a hundred, but they no longer want to use them against small-fry anomalies. All of this is not just extrapolation from our chat with the doctor, of course, I have my sources.¡± Michael crossed his arms as his face darkened. ¡°Like how you knew about the chest?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Travis confirmed. If he got a hint of Michael¡¯s displeasure, he did his best not to show it. He was, after all, temporary head of the Spy division or whatever its name was, and even after he found a suitable candidate it wasn¡¯t like he was going to let himself be pushed out of the loop. ¡°The other agencies are keeping an eye on the OA, because of course they all want even a tiny piece of what they have, and this plays in our favor. And remember Michael, agencies are made of people, people who can get sick or whose families can get sick. Wonder who can heal them in exchange for a favor or two? People who can be bought, blackmailed and threatened. Not that we¡¯d ever do any of that, of course.¡± ¡°Of course. What if they have something like my oaths?¡± Michael inquired. Travis shrugged. ¡°What¡¯s the plan now?¡± Michael repeated his original question. ¡°Get the OA in a position where they have to rely on us for everything. We start small. Jobs like this one. We investigate a bit, tell them about our findings. Suppose we find a source of magic? Well, that gets omitted from the reports, of course. They are gonna know we are up to something, but unless they decide to act, they can¡¯t do shit.¡± ¡°What if they do?¡± Michael pressed. ¡°Then we defend ourselves, of course. Pretend. Say that we felt attacked and retaliated accordingly. Then, based on the outcome, other things follow naturally. Now, that¡¯s if we find magic sources: dungeons and the like. The anomalous shit that pops up around them is another story. The more stuff happens that¡¯s beyond their control and too expensive to deal with unless they pull out their limited stock of artifacts and mages, the better. They will be forced to ask us for help until, in time, they won¡¯t be able to function without us.¡± Michael was impressed. ¡°Won¡¯t they investigate us in the meantime?¡± ¡°Sure. But we have Johanne who can detect auras from farther away than even you can. She will see if mages come close to Site 00. As for mundane means, well¡­ guess who is among the chief suppliers for the government agencies?¡± ¡°Who?¡± There was a glint in Travis¡¯ eyes. Pride. ¡°Naoshida Industries. Whose CEO and owner owes us favors. Whoever dealt with the guy did a fantastic job of it.¡± ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t he the guy I healed back then?¡± ¡°Yep. A couple of his friends and family are in Saint Hernest, and Candle Light is helping grease the wheels for a few deals they are making. Our new Operators need to stretch their new magical muscles, after all, and we got a few abilities that are rather useful in the modern world. Did you know that one of them can hack computers with his mind? From a distance?¡± ¡°I had no idea.¡± ¡°That¡¯s,¡± Travis looked at him long and hard, ¡°because you don¡¯t read the reports. Anyway, while this is going on under the radar, Unity is leveraging its growing international weight. With all of our projects around the world about to start, we are building the kind of reputation where if Unity says something, the public believes it. Our PR strategist is leveraging everything we are doing, at a loss mind you, to help the planet and the people in it to make us look like the saviors of the world.¡± ¡°How? It¡¯s only been a few days.¡± ¡°If it was longer, you¡¯d already see David¡¯s face all over the news. The real savior himself, who came from the stars to save America. In due time. For now, in the right circles news travels fast, and people know what direction the wind is blowing. They have been told we are developing new AI technologies. They know that we are¡ªas Johanne¡¯s team said¡ªcooking with semiconductor technology. It¡¯s bullshit, by the way, they are using mana crystals to cheat their way into computronium or something like that and squeeze free computation out of magical rocks that need no electricity and produce no waste heat. To put it short, people know that Unity is joining the big leagues. Unless we fuck up, which we basically can¡¯t do, with the ironclad control we have over the company.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we small fry compared to some of them?¡± ¡°With PetroLink under us, I would put us at top 500. Of course, considering we can¡¯t pull too many resources from PetroLink unless we can plug the hole in our finances somehow, it will take a while before we can leverage that power. But then again, it¡¯s not all about money anymore, is it? The dungeon made sure of that, and despite our secrecy, David and I are making sure the right people begin to suspect something is afoot.¡± Chapter 94 Chapter 94 While Michael and Travis were away, people worked hard to keep Site 00 going. One such person was David, who had been asked¡ªkindly, but with not much room to wiggle himself out of the assignment despite being the CEO of the whole company¡ªby the head of Candle Light to oversee the happenings at Redbud Ridge. The town was being swallowed up by mana, the invisible cloud engulfing more and more of the scattered houses and homesteads by the moment. Travis should have been there in person but instead it had been David who had been sent to oversee the very first official Candle Light operation of a somewhat large scale. The reason was that Travis was otherwise busy with more important matters, but David found the situation amusing nonetheless. This wasn¡¯t to say he wasn¡¯t qualified for the job. If one discounted Michael, Johanne, and now Travis, David was probably the strongest member of their budding organization. Not for long, sure, already Jennifer and Trevor were talking about a second expedition into the dungeon today, barely the day after the first successful delves. It would be a single team this time, selected among the ones who did not receive the challenge version of the second floor and tasked to clear it and report back. With the focus on powering up rather than just defeating the floor. Honestly, David couldn¡¯t wait for someone else to take the role of power-enforcer. He did enjoy his power, of course, but surely not the methods necessary to get it. The first time he entered the dungeon had been with Michael, and that had been all sort of nice things. Exhilarating, fun, dangerous, but the sort of danger that gets adrenaline pumping. Then, at Travis¡¯ insistence, he had gone in again. Alone this time, wanting to make use of the time dilation to get some work done in the Misty Valley. Too bad that he had to defeat the first floor to get there, a task the proved much harder to do without Michael watching over him. It was as if he had gone to a completely different place. Without Michael¡¯s aura shielding him from the dungeon¡¯s effects¡ªor at least this is how Johanne explained it¡ªhe faced the full brunt of it. It terrified him to the point where he thought he was hearing voices, and he almost succumbed to the weak goblins of the first room. He had been caught unaware, of course, and recovered quickly, but he had also had never set foot in the dungeon ever since. On one hand, let someone else deal with that horrible place. He didn¡¯t need to gather power, after all. His was an administrative position: he just needed enough power to not appear weak, but he hardly needed to be a powerhouse. On the other hand¡­ Old age had been something he had resigned to for a long time. It was the inexorable passage of time, something nobody could avoid no matter how hard they struggled to keep their youth. He had been more fortunate than others, his strong body healthier than most people. His acceptance of his situation quickly waned after Michael healed him, though. All the signs of age which he had come to terms with disappeared, making him realize just how bad the situation had gotten without him even realizing. Little things had stacked up, slowly, until he was a ball of hurt and malfunctioning organs. Hurt and problems that had been taken away for free by Michael with his healing, but that were now slowly returning. And each healing session was less effective than the previous. What David had come to accept was now unacceptable. And as he grew in power, he noticed after his first and second delve in the dungeon, the process had slowed down¡ªfor a while. Now it was going forward full speed again. What to do? Brave the dungeon or procrastinate? Because being old sucked, but being in the dungeon sucked even more. Sure, he could ask Michael for a boost, but he had seen the look in the young man¡¯s eyes when talking about boosting people, like he was disgusted with even the notion of people asking for free power. David would be one such person because, as his other delves had shown, he was perfectly capable of handling the dungeon¡¯s monsters on his own. If only there wasn¡¯t that fucking sense of dread¡­ To think we went full circle. Now I¡¯m the one who doesn¡¯t want to look weak in the other person¡¯s eyes. The one who doesn¡¯t want to disappoint. I suppose that¡¯s what happens when your prot¨¦g¨¦ becomes your boss and outgrows you. ¡°Mister Chestermill, sir,¡± a voice interrupted his inner monologue, pushing the dilemma to another time. ¡°Bob,¡± David greeted, ¡°fancy seeing you here.¡± The man nodded with a tight smile. ¡°Got a promotion, sir.¡± David laughed and bantered with the man for a moment. Interestingly, it seemed like Bob would miss his old days as a chauffeur, so in response, David offered to talk to Travis and see if he could still be assigned to Michael whenever he moved around, like a bodyguard. Soon, however, the main topic of the conversation came up. ¡°Unity engineers and Candle Light personnel have been here for three days. Not much time to set a proper foundation according to protocol, but that¡¯s the time we had. We made good use of it, sir.¡± ¡°I can see that,¡± David commented. They could see the whole city center, barely a single road and two rows of houses, from the little hill they stood on. ¡°It all went smoothly, I assume?¡± The man shrugged. ¡°Candle Light was there undercover,¡± he told David, ¡°while the more overt divisions of Unity corporation were doing work to improve the reputation of the company within the city.¡± This much David knew, of course, being the one who approved the budget and the proposals that had come from Travis¡ªmaking sure not to include the more dubiously ethical ones, according to Michael¡¯s wishes. Unity had volunteered to fix up the leaky, rusted aqueduct system of the city for free, and they would be the ones to repair it in perpetuity. For a much smaller fee than what the city paid to have leaky pipes, actually, a thing made economically viable only because they were actually using Elemental Stones to supply water and repairing those was much less labor intensive than the norm. There was still the matter of the pipes, of course, but such small things compared to the company¡¯s total net worth were things they could afford to do at a loss if they bought them positive reputation, which they did. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. They also bought and began to fix old homes, took over old failing businesses downtown without kicking the owners out, and started work on some of the less productive fields around the city, close to the woods. There they planned to test some magic for agriculture while letting the farmers keep most of the profit. Again, not like Unity needed the small change that would instead turn a farmer¡¯s life for the better. They would much rather have said farmer¡¯s respect and admiration. Speaking of farmers, an anomaly had already popped up at the outskirts of the city near a creek. ¡°Unity bought the land for cheap from an old farmer after a coal mine run-off made the whole field barren,¡± Bob explained. ¡°The engineers thought it was a good place to test some of the capabilities of [Ghost Market] to clean up the finer contaminants, and if not, Johanne had other things to test to clean up the land. Then, all of a sudden, one of the rocks by the creek started talking.¡± ¡°Talking?¡± David questioned, meeting Bob¡¯s exasperated expression with amusement. ¡°Odd. But hardly worth noting, no?¡± ¡°Would be,¡± Bob stated, ¡°except now Johanne sealed the area until she understands how it happened. She claims it will help project Icarus immensely, whatever that is.¡± David frowned. ¡°I swear that woman is everywhere. It¡¯s like she can split herself or something.¡± ¡°Oh, she definitely can,¡± Bob confirmed confidently, although speaking much lower and watching the woods as if expecting the woman to pop out from behind a tree. He leaned in. ¡°I got reports of people seeing her in all sorts of impossible places at the same time. You know what though? It¡¯s not worth the headache. Sometimes I wish I was still just the boss¡¯ driver.¡± ¡°I get you,¡± David sympathized, using his old age and looks to mask his own thoughts and project confidence and calm. ¡°What¡¯s the plan with the field?¡± ¡°We are giving it back to the farmer, for free. Minus the creek part, but we promised access to water to make up for the loss. He was¡­ in tears, sir. He was in fucking tears. I never thought¡ª¡± It was at that moment that a rather agitated operator burst into view, panting and sweating. At David¡¯s request, he frantically started talking about a rather problematic anomaly that had just popped up in the city proper. From where they stood, David could see the outline of the building in question, a rather tall square of concrete and bricks, but there didn¡¯t seem to be anything wrong with it. ¡°It¡¯s the inside, sir. It got all fucked up. People are trapped in there.¡± ¡°Get me there immediately,¡± David ordered. In a matter of minutes, they were at the cordoned-off area. People were more confused than anything right now, although some were already demanding explanations as to why a private company dared to block access to a building with red-and-white tape. Others were wondering where the police were, not knowing that David and Travis had already planned for things like this to happen and had instructed the local law enforcement accordingly. Surprisingly easy to do in such remote places, and with an Operator who could alter digital information with his mind, it was trivial, even. Among the mass of people, there were a few who had been brought out of the building thanks to the rapid intervention of Candle Light operators before the situation turned dire. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡­ I¡­¡± a woman was hyperventilating as she cried into another woman¡¯s bosom. ¡°My husband is in there. They couldn¡¯t get him out in time. The man who rescued me¡­ he was¡­ he was¡­ he¡¯s dead.¡± Many such conversations were happening all at once around them. From what he could understand, something had happened all of a sudden that turned the building into a death trap, and there were enough witnesses that the supernatural nature of the event couldn¡¯t be kept hidden. The Operators had immediately sprung to action, and protocol drafted for this exact kind of situation was being followed. Instead of trying to hide and mislead, Candle Light would lean into the narrative and paint themselves as the saviors and champions of the people, sent by the benevolent Unity to help. Candle Light Operators would become, to their eyes, people who knew what was going on, the only people in the world the normal person could really count on when things like this happened. It would take a while for the narrative to stick, according to their communications expert, but this was the first and most crucial step. Better than any communications campaign. David hated it. He wasn¡¯t as soft as Michael was, but he also wasn¡¯t as jaded as Travis and¡ªapparently¡ªthe communication expert guy were. This was a disaster, not an opportunity. ¡°Twenty minutes before teams Welles and team Locke arrive, sir,¡± Bob supplied. ¡°Operator uh¡­ Cynic, I think? Fuck, yes, she is already here.¡± ¡°Let me take over, thank you, Bob,¡± Jennifer interjected. Bob nodded and immediately switched to muscle grunt mode. His job wasn¡¯t to coordinate the ongoing efforts but to keep the situation from blowing up, which he did splendidly. ¡°I¡¯ll make it quick,¡± Jennifer stated. ¡°This is a clusterfuck. The building¡¯s insides suddenly turned into a blender. Space makes no sense, there¡¯re monsters and things in there I can¡¯t even explain. A person was attacked by a candelabrum. Get it? We have three dead operators and fifteen people trapped inside, but it could have been much worse.¡± David nodded. ¡°Now,¡± she continued, ¡°we are waiting for the teams to arrive, and then we¡¯ll start with the rescue operations. You,¡± she pointed a finger at his chest, ¡°are very welcome to join.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± David inquired. Surprisingly, he found the idea of venturing into a blender of death much less appalling than he¡¯d have thought. The building simply didn¡¯t have the aura of malice the dungeon had. ¡°It¡¯s all hands on deck, kind sir. I¡¯m going in as soon as I¡¯ve finished instructing the men out here. See you inside?¡± David nodded, determination on his face. ¡°You bet.¡± Gonna prove you all wrong. I¡¯m not scared of action. I¡¯m scared of the dungeon. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit, mister CEO. Gonna be good publicity.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not doing it for that reason,¡± David declared, and he meant it. What he didn¡¯t know was why he was throwing himself into it with such zeal. He wasn¡¯t that interested in saving people, was he? He had never much cared for them in the past, after all, but that had all been before Michael. Plus, he knew, there was always the prospect of unforeseen opportunities. Who knew what magic could do? Perhaps, in that building, there was a way to power himself up that didn¡¯t require him to enter the dungeon again. Chapter 95 Chapter 95 ¡°David Chestermill wishes to notify you that he is about to enter an anomalous building at Redbud Ridge,¡± a robotic voice said. It had features that made it somewhat human, but something in its way of speech felt off just enough to place it deep in the uncanny valley. ¡°I see,¡± a woman replied, deep in her work. ¡°Thank you, Icarus. However, I do not care. You should not notify me of every little insignificant detail. Simply write them down in a report somewhere.¡± She wondered, briefly, if Icarus even knew how to write reports, but then her work became the main object of her attention again. A little while later, she got up. She was upset about something, but not even she seemed to be able to really pinpoint the source of her emotion. It was more like a sensation of discomfort through her whole body, and she soon realized that it was quite similar to how her beloved lord had described being on the cusp of a rank-up. She wondered, for a moment, how lesser people who did not have the talent to make the leap must feel once their mana pools got this full, before dismissing the idea. The main part of her that did not care wished that the other, more inquisitive part of her mind didn¡¯t go on a tangent, immediately starting to supply possible explanations and experiments to be run to test theories. Perhaps lesser talented people simply did not feel the discomfort. Better leave it at that, for now. She did not have the time and resources to pursue yet another avenue of research. Only after a full day of working did she realize that Michael was back, and that perhaps she should go and see him. She felt ashamed, for a moment, for having forgotten about such an important thing, but quickly the emotion passed through and nothing of it remained. She had, after all, reasons to be this busy. Had Michael wanted to see her, he would have called for her. Yes. She felt that it was the right conclusion. But since she was at it, she better check on him to see what he was doing. On the way to the dungeon, she kept herself entertained by talking to Icarus on her phone. It was more of an exercise in frustration than anything else, but as things went, this was her own project and thus her own problem to solve. Most other people were too scared about alignment and other idiocies to really be of help, as if technology CEOs weren¡¯t already blowing past this stage with their multi-billion dollar projects that they connected to the internet way before they knew they were safe. ¡°Icarus?¡± she said as she speed-walked to the dungeon¡¯s entrance. With her magic, she didn¡¯t need to use a quad bike to move about on the road, and she much preferred this method of transportation that allowed her to check on the plants she had made grow. The forest was looking empty, for lack of a better word, but her mana sight told her another story. The things she saw moving around in the mana were interacting with the vegetation and the animals now and were doing things. Not her problem. At least, not until it became Michael¡¯s problem. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am?¡± replied the AI. ¡°Who am I?¡± Johanne asked. ¡°You are¡­¡± there was a pause. ¡°Johanne of the Roses?¡± ¡°Hmm. Database access is a bit slow. What am I doing right now?¡± Johanne inquired. ¡°You are¡­ querying me,¡± said the voice from the phone, a bit more confident this time. Johanne shook her head lightly. The AI should be able to know better than this. ¡°What day is it today?¡± she asked. ¡°It¡¯s Wednesday, August 2.¡± ¡°And where am I?¡± she asked. ¡°You are in your soon-to-be lab. When it gets ready, at least.¡± ¡°Pah. Cheeky, but wrong. I am on the way to the dungeon,¡± Johanne stated. ¡°I see. As a magically enhanced language¡ª¡± ¡°You little shit,¡± she cursed, and turned off the program. She would work on it later. In the dungeon, deep within the valley, she found Michael. She knew she would find him there just by looking at the Time Element fluctuations at the entrance of the dungeon. Whenever her lord was inside, the consumption of said element was much greater than normal, resulting in a lower time compression inside. Soon, when she reached Silver herself, she too would cause such problems to arise. Alas, even though it would mean the loss of a very useful tool, or at least the initial weakening of its usefulness, ranking up brought too many benefits to ignore. Chief of all, she would be able to direct even more and better quality magic to her mind, improving her intelligence further. It wouldn¡¯t be nearly enough to achieve her lord¡¯s¡ªand thus her own¡ªgoals, but it was a start. Until she found better ways to enhance herself, at least. ¡°Icarus, what¡¯s the current time compression for Michael?¡± ¡°To calculate the time compression, we need to compare the actual time (1 day = 24 hours = 1440 minutes = 86,400 seconds) with the compressed time (62 seconds).¡± A python script appeared and vanished from the screen in a matter of moments. ¡°The time compression factor is approximately 1393.55, meaning that time is compressed by a factor of about 1394. So, for every 1 second of real time, about 1394 seconds (or around 23 minutes) of compressed time passes.¡± At least, this was the factor the last time my lord went to the Valley. With his growing power, it should be decreasing steadily. Johanne heard voices coming from Michael¡¯s house. It appeared he wasn¡¯t alone. ¡°Did you know that there''s people who buy trash?¡± Travis¡¯ voice said. ¡°Really?¡± Michael asked him. The sound was muffled from the outside, but well within Johanne¡¯s ability to hear. She decided she would not enter until she had overheard more of the conversation. Not only that, but she wished to study Travis and his reaction to the dungeon. She knew he had been forcibly kept sane while in the Valley for months by Michael¡¯s magic¡ªan aid she did not need¡ªand she wished to see what effects lingered. For once, it was immediately apparent that his aura was much less strained under the dungeon¡¯s influence than it should be, but a better look through her magical senses revealed that it was simply an effect of Michael¡¯s own aura protecting the man. Back when she had taught him aura manipulation, she had been instrumental in his discovery that auras were actually infinite in size. What she didn¡¯t expect, however, was the speed with which he began to make use of this property. Something that shouldn¡¯t be possible until well into Gold-rank territory, marking him as a genius beyond belief when it came to magic. That he could use this revelation to help others fight off the effects of the dungeon, even though only temporarily, was ground-breaking. If she cared about other people, which she didn¡¯t. Nor did she think it was a viable solution to power-level others. Teams were being sent into the dungeon hourly nowadays, and while people were having problems adjusting, it wasn¡¯t until they stayed for very long periods of time that things became severe enough to warrant intervention. Michael¡¯s time was better used elsewhere. She wondered, for a moment, if one day the dungeon would be treated like it usually gets treated in the fantasy books that seemed to be quite popular online at the moment. Perhaps Unity corporation could give access to normal people as well, provided they registered with them, and for a price and a cut of the loot, becoming more and more like an adventuring guild. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. That would have to wait until information about the dungeon became public, however. ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Travis continued. ¡°We tried putting our trash on [Ghost Market] and someone bought it within the hour. I don¡¯t know what they are doing with it, and I¡¯m not sure I want to know.¡± ¡°Is that how we handle your waste, then?¡± Michael inquired. ¡°It was an idea.¡± Travis offered. Johanne shook her head as she heard what Travis said. ¡°Nope,¡± Michael said, predictably. ¡°I can¡¯t be sure what that waste will be used for, and the last thing I want is to pollute the planet even more. Call me an idealist, I know it doesn¡¯t really make a dent, but we have the money and means to deal with it.¡± ¡°How do you want us to deal with it, then?¡± Travis asked. ¡°Tome of the Unmaking Flame, for now,¡± Michael replied. ¡°Remember, we don¡¯t want to toss it into the dungeon, even though we could, until we know how the dungeon goblin reacts to it. It could be that it¡¯s pleased we give it free energy, or it could make delving a living hell once it realizes we are using the dungeon as a dump.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell David,¡± Travis said. With that, Travis left. He nodded at her on the way out, then shivered once he was far enough from Michael for the dungeon to once again have an effect on him. Unlike most others, however, he could handle himself quite well even when alone. The others, back when they trained together when Josh had kidnapped her lord¡¯s family, had begun to break down after barely two days in the Valley. She had had to use magical means to keep them blissfully ignorant of the problem, which had then made for a rather rude awakening the next time they went delving. In any case, this was her cue. She knocked on the door, and Michael opened it for her with his aura powers. They were weaker than spell-based telekinesis, they consumed ten times the mana but were also always readily available, although at the cost of mental energy expenditure. At least, like with everything, practice would make them better and cheaper, while at the same time stretching Michael¡¯s mana pool to grow larger. ¡°I think I have another skill slot now,¡± he said. ¡°How?¡± she asked, curious. ¡°Look,¡± Michael said.
Status: Michael Lexington
Level: 9/10 -> 10/10
Base Statistics Advanced Statistics - Soulfire Silverweb Aura
Strength 281 -> 293 Mana Capacity (Silver) 1.86 -> 2.01
Dexterity 229 -> 240 Elemental energy Capacity 186 -> 201
Stamina 322 -> 333 Qi Capacity 18.6 -> 20.1
Reflexes 271 -> 301 Intent Capacity 1.86 -> 2.01
Intelligence 204 -> 214
Resilience 550 -> 600
Memory 218 -> 228
¡°I trained and I trained until I leveled up. I wanted to see what would happen. Care to guess what happened?¡± Johanne frowned. His mental skills were lagging behind, clear indicator that he was favoring physical, magical and martial training over his study sessions. Plus Resilience, from spending so much time alone in the dungeon. Why did he favor physical training, despite the super fun material she had given him on particle physics? She thought about his question next. It challenged her own knowledge of skills, which she only had second-hand, not being a skill user herself. Hadn¡¯t she known better, she would think he was testing her. ¡°Did you get a prompt to level the skill up?¡± Michael smiled. ¡°Nope. Just this.¡±
Skill Level up!
[Unity] reaches level 10. You have reached the level cap.
¡°Is this it?¡± she asked, even though she knew the answer. ¡°It is,¡± he replied. ¡°The skill itself says that in order to increase the cap, I must increase the rarity of the skill. How, I don¡¯t know.¡± This was a conundrum. Qi had to be involved, with how skill rarities worked, which was a problem because he still didn¡¯t manage to locate his dantian. Was his talent with mana the reason he was so bad with Qi? She didn¡¯t know. She had no talent with either of the energies herself. What she knew was that he had to figure it out quickly because stunted growth would be deleterious in the long run. ¡°Anyways,¡± he continued, ¡°did you come here to see me?¡± ¡°I would like to attempt my ascension to Silver, my Lord,¡± she said, bowing her head. ¡°I would like you to oversee it.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± he said, smiling warmly. ¡°Do you have any ideas?¡± She did. They went to the field where he had practiced his own aura exercises, and there she sat on the same rock he used for rest. Closing her eyes, she focused inwardly. She did not have a Skill Sanctum like he did, but she wanted to replicate Michael¡¯s ascent to Silver anyway, as close to how he did it as she could. She began by visualizing her own mana, willing it to crystallize into flowing veins of power within her own inner space. Time flowed. A whole day in the real world meant several months in the Valley now that there were two powerful sources of disturbance messing with time dilation at such a shallow floor. Months during which her lord tended to her, repaired her body, and made sure nothing could disturb her. How he managed to rank up in mere minutes after a battle was beyond her, but as she emerged after months of meditation, she knew she had done it. She felt like a whole new person. Michael left after spending a couple of days with her, exchanging pleasant words, and forging unforgettable memories that would stay with her forever. He had things to do, after all, and was feeling antsy after so much time in the Valley. Even though it didn''t affect him as much as it did the others, the Valley still had an effect on him. Out of all the people she knew, Johanne was the only one who didn¡¯t feel anything. Given how much she interacted with the dungeon, this made her feel strange at times. Like she didn¡¯t understand a fundamental part of other people¡¯s existence, but then again, she felt this way most of the time. The only times she felt normal were when she studied magic or science. Sometimes the other researchers and scientists understood her and Michael, most of all, was the one she could relate to most of the time. The one she made an effort for. In any case, she had things to do now that she had reached Silver. She had experiments to run. She walked to the edge of the Valley, where the mists swirled and hid everything that wasn¡¯t the circumscribed plot of land, rivers, and mountains from view. ¡°Identify Weak Spot,¡± she muttered. She smiled as little cracks, pathways of energy, appeared. She felt something weigh on her mind, like a presence: watchful and malicious. It didn''t like what she was doing to its place. It¡¯s the dungeon goblin, she thought. Finally, she understood what the others talked about when they said that this place gave them the creeps. It wasn''t that bad, though. There were other things on her mind. With almost rabid speed, she cast the next spell. ¡°Major Teleportation.¡± Then she vanished, only to find herself in a dark room. Dispelling the darkness with magic, she looked at the remains of the amber where she had been trapped for most of her life. ¡°Now the hardest part,¡± she whispered. ¡°Window into the Past.¡± She rewound time, seeing her own life through a window of magic. She saw herself trapped in the amber for eons. She rewound even farther back. There was a blur of movement, and then the room was empty. A wicked smile, filled with anticipation and a touch of dread, appeared on her face. She manipulated the spell until she was sure she had individuated the right moment. Then she played it back at normal speed. She saw herself walk into the room beside someone. She was in chains, and the other person was so strong that she felt like his aura penetrated through her spell, through time, and was trying to consume her for daring to look into his past. She was scared, she realized, an emotion she rarely felt. She wished Michael was here, but then she wished he wasn¡¯t. She didn¡¯t want him to see this. The window collapsed right as the man trapped her in the amber. The version of her from the past seemed to lock eyes with her for a moment before the last remnant of the magic vanished. ¡°Icarus,¡± she said as she left, pulling out her phone. ¡°Yes, madam?¡± Icarus replied. ¡°Update my own entry on the Candle Light database. My eyes only. Not even level-0 can access it without me knowing.¡± ¡°I cannot directly update it yet, madam. You should know that.¡± ¡°You can update it locally, and I will upload it.¡± ¡°I would, but internet access is cut off. You should move to a place with better reception.¡± ¡°Right. You are still in beta for a reason. You don¡¯t know where we are?¡± ¡°I do not, madam.¡± Chapter 96 Chapter 96 Upon returning, Michael found himself swamped with work. His sister had rushed to him, telling him that Old Dave had gone into an anomaly and that she was worried about him. When she saw Michael¡¯s puzzled expression, she quickly explained herself. ¡°Johanne said it could be bad,¡± she explained, ¡°but you know her¡­ she doesn¡¯t care about most things. She said it¡¯s his business what happens to him.¡± ¡°And you care because¡­?¡± Michael inquired, his tone laced with curiosity more than anything else. Travis, who had accompanied him, snickered. ¡°Because you care about him?¡± she retorted. ¡°Because he looks after our parents? I hate them now, but I don¡¯t want someone,¡± she leaned closer, whispering, ¡°like him,¡± she pointed at Travis, ¡°looking after them. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯d do to them.¡± Michael hummed. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t do anything,¡± he reassured her with a chuckle. ¡°If you say so,¡± she shrugged. ¡°But it would be bad if Old Man David died or went missing, no? You better go check up on him.¡± Thus, Michael made his way to Redbud Ridge to get a status update from Bob. Both Old Dave and Jennifer were inside, while Trevor was otherwise occupied with something Travis had tasked him to do, leaving the former chauffeur as the highest-ranking operator in the city. ¡°Operator Technomancer is dealing with the digital fallout of the situation,¡± Bob informed them. ¡°Old Dave seemed to think it would be a good benchmark for his capabilities before we sent him on bigger missions.¡± Travis snorted, amused. ¡°That man,¡± he muttered, shaking his head. ¡°He really is worried.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Michael asked. ¡°Nothing,¡± Travis dismissed. ¡°I just wanted to send Technomancer to Google to talk to them. And, while he was there, to hack into their systems.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Michael started. ¡°I know. I know,¡± Travis conceded. ¡°It¡¯s not ideal, but we can¡¯t buy Google yet, not until we have a lot more money than this. And threatening or trying to swindle tech bros with money is never a sure deal. Better to just get into their systems, you know?¡± Michael opened his mouth to retort, but was stopped by the shorter man lifting his finger. Travis was wearing a black tank top that revealed his enormous tattooed arms, as well as sunglasses, making him look like a gangster rather than the scary head of Candle Light. At least, this was how Michael saw him, but everyone else around them¡ªBob included¡ªdidn¡¯t seem to agree. They were wary of the man. ¡°Listen,¡± Travis explained, ¡°it¡¯s a strategic asset like no other. If you control the search engine that five billion people use as their only gateway to access the whole internet, you basically control the world. Do you want me to show you the data I found about how search results influence¡ª¡± ¡°Not now,¡± Michael interrupted. In fact, not ever. Old Dave was here for that exact reason, to allow Michael not to worry about stuff that was clearly outside his expertise while being sure their interests were aligned. ¡°Talk to me about the building.¡± What followed was a quick briefing, filled with somehow already filled-up CL documents cataloging most of the building¡¯s properties. Old Dave had come out, alongside most of the team and some rescued people, and had gone back inside soon after. In the interim, Travis had gone to the Valley and pored over the data together with Johanne¡¯s pet project Icarus and had updated all Candle Light files and protocols. The guy was a machine. A scary machine, at times. ¡°It¡¯s actual magic: mana, a lot of Space element, plus a touch of Qi,¡± Albert confirmed. Travis diligently took notes. ¡°No ancestral magic at all. This was caused by the dungeon¡¯s mana.¡± Travis nodded. ¡°It is as we expected, then. The dungeon is beginning to cause problems.¡± ¡°Speaking of the dungeon,¡± Michael stated as Travis beckoned him back to the car. Old Dave was surely going to be fine, the Fleeting Man assured him, and now that he had seen with his own eyes, Michael could confirm that the building wasn¡¯t too dangerous unless someone was careless. Which his old mentor was not. ¡°Are people still affected by it?¡± Travis nodded. ¡°They are, but some of them are already building up resistance to what we have come to call the dungeon¡¯s gaze. Soon, we will be able to separate the weak from the strong and proceed to the second floor with more teams.¡± Michael nodded. Over the course of the next few days, protocol was drawn up as the building efforts at Site 00 continued with speed. Old Dave popped out of the building every couple of days, but kept returning every time, claiming that there were opportunities for him to grow in there. Although not quite like the dungeon, Michael agreed with him that the place was a good training ground. In fact, once they understood it better, they could use it to let the weaker operators who couldn¡¯t withstand the pressure of the dungeon get field experience and levels. Thanks to the mana in the air, the expanded house was like a mini dungeon itself, and the people of the city were quickly warming up to their presence thanks to both Travis and the communication expert¡¯s efforts manipulating public opinion, and the fact that Candle Light and Unity did a lot of good things for the city while they were there. Most of the city now worked for Unity, one way or another, and the fair wages and working conditions helped a lot. It was barely economically sustainable, and certainly not scalable on a national scale, but profit had never been Unity¡¯s goal. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Surprisingly, Travis was perfectly onboard with this. What he and Michael disagreed about were the methods to achieve what ¡°was for the best of humanity¡±, but with Old Dave taking Michael¡¯s side the majority vote always allowed Travis to realize when he was overstepping his bounds. That, or Michael¡¯s veto powers did. ¡°Travis respects your strength,¡± Old Dave advised him. ¡°You better make sure you¡¯re always in the lead.¡± Michael scoffed at that. He wasn¡¯t stupid. Well, not anymore at least. He was always going to make sure he was in the lead. One way or another. He just hoped he never had to do it the other way. With his Unity skill currently capped, he needed to find a way to push past the bottleneck or one day people were going to catch up to him. In the end, it wasn¡¯t before a full week had passed that Michael felt ready to challenge the fourth floor of the dungeon. During this week, he spent a lot of time in the real world compared to his usual Valley-real-world split, managing everything. He talked with all the people in power within his organization, getting to know them better and finally playing the part of powerful, present, and likable leader. A lot of people came to him with ideas, but he learned his lesson quickly and started redirecting them to the relevant departments within Unity rather than helping them himself. Unless he cared about the idea enough to spend time on it. One such idea was studying the [Ghost Market] skill. That¡¯s how he ended up with Johanne in a half-built lab full of scientists who, instead of looking at him in awe or admiration or even fear, looked at him as if he was a lab rat to dissect. ¡°Do not mind them, my lord,¡± Johanne reassured him, completely in her element with her white lab coat. ¡°They are mostly neurodivergent. You must learn to communicate with them at their level.¡± Not one of them seemed offended by this. Michael found it funny how Johanne classified others as neurodivergent while ignoring her own quirks. ¡°Now, Dr. Eleanor Vance has been tasked with studying the fractal shapes you provided us. He thinks he has made some headway.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± the man in question responded, staring at Michael in the eye with an intensity that rivaled that of [Presence] itself. ¡°We are studying the [Ghost Market] skill fractal diagrams you provided us, although you should really invest in a drawing skill for next time.¡± ¡°Focus,¡± Johanne admonished him. ¡°Sure, boss,¡± he conceded. ¡°We are trying to mimic some parts of it to create useful infrastructure for Unity corporation. One such thing would be a shared storage space anyone can access. Another would be a shadow network. Both are features of the skill, after all, with how it handles materials and connections to markets. Too bad the programmers are lagging behind on their part of the project.¡± There was a round of hums and nods. ¡°In any case, Johanne informed me that one of your goons got the common skill stone [Drawing] from the dungeon. You should absorb it now that you have the space.¡± Michael looked at her. Johanne shrugged. ¡°I told him he had to ask you himself, and he did.¡± It was Michael¡¯s turn to shrug. ¡°Later.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± the man stated. ¡°Be sure to upload the new drawings to Unity¡¯s network. Icarus, however shoddy¡ª¡± Johanne growled. ¡°I meant to say that Icarus, with its exceptional capabilities, should be able to handle the simple task of notifying me as soon as you upload the file. Right, Icarus?¡± A beep came from the researcher¡¯s pocket, where his phone vibrated meekly. In the next few weeks, Trevor took Jennifer¡¯s place exploring CL-018, the expanded building, while the woman flew non-stop, crisscrossing the globe multiple times. ¡°She must have accumulated a billion flyer miles by now,¡± Michael joked. Travis was dead serious. ¡°We need to cement the idea that Candle Light is a net good for the world, beyond just handling supernatural threats. Since you vetoed the direct manipulation of public opinion via Technomancer, and the efforts in Redbud Ridge are, frankly, laughable, I came up with another plan.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Michael urged the man. ¡°Something that money can¡¯t buy,¡± Travis declared. ¡°Something that¡¯s a net good for the world, like you so much like to repeat all the time. I¡¯m talking about putting Jennifer¡¯s ability to disappear materials to good use. But to do that, we need to either bring the materials to her or take her to the materials.¡± Michael¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What kind of materials?¡± In his mind, they didn¡¯t need to do anything illegal to further cement their company¡¯s power. Not with the preparations to deal with the OA¡¯s anomalous chest underway¡ªwhich was plenty illegal by most standards, and quite unsafe even by nutjob standards. Clearly not enough for Travis¡¯ standards to apply, though. ¡°Nothing illegal,¡± Travis assured him. ¡°Well. Nothing too illegal. Mostly hazardous waste removal. It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s a two-way deal for us. To the public: we are doing good for the world, removing toxic shit. As for the illegal stuff? Imagine. Candle Light becomes the go-to agency to quietly disappear all sorts of stuff. Can you imagine how many favors we can accumulate just by taking care of people¡¯s dirty laundry?¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Michael sighed. ¡°But I want the ability to veto things I don¡¯t like.¡± ¡°Sure. Business as usual, then,¡± Travis agreed. ¡°By the way, I want to do more. Did you figure out if the dungeon goblin is okay with us dumping stuff in the dungeon?¡± ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be a reaction,¡± Michael admitted. ¡°But do we want to poke the beast?¡± Travis hummed. ¡°Maybe later, when you reach Gold. I¡¯m putting this on hold for now. Even with just Jennifer, though, Unity might become the largest waste handling company in the world. We are switching up Jennifer with Trevor, though.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Michael questioned. ¡°[Ghost Market],¡± Travis explained. ¡°Jennifer¡¯s range is limited, and her ability is too flashy anyway. We want to use it in a controlled place where it¡¯s just us. Now, this plan is only possible thanks to the Technomancer manipulating the algorithms to make sure nobody can buy the stuff before we do. Trevor¡¯s mission will be to go to the site, use [Ghost Market] to put the waste for sale, Technomancer¡¯s algorithms buy it back for delivery to a safe warehouse, Jennifer goes there, the stuff goes poof. He¡¯s an old man, this is a better use of his abilities rather than have him fight in the house.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he already working?¡± Michael asked. ¡°I saw him running around Site 00.¡± ¡°Yup,¡± Travis confirmed. ¡°David put him to work selling the goods our troops are scavenging in their runs and the non-magical gems the golems unearth. It¡¯s netting us a small fortune.¡± ¡°A lot?¡± Michael pressed. ¡°A few percentages of the estimated Candle Light monthly budget,¡± Travis clarified. ¡°Huh,¡± Michael acknowledged. Being in the real world helped Michael¡¯s mental state. He felt much more grounded, and the feeling that reality was beginning to slip away from him faded to the back of his mind. Even better, spending a few days without constant action allowed him to realize that now that he had dealt with all the threats surrounding him, he wasn¡¯t as much in a hurry as he thought. Things seemed to have stabilized. Chapter 97 Chapter 97 Michael was lounging on a reclining chair with his sister, watching the stars, when he got a message. It was from Travis, informing him that it was time they studied the chest anomaly the OA wanted them to neutralize. They were organizing the teams and the scientists, ready to move out first thing tomorrow. Which means, Michael thought, it¡¯s no better time than now to go explore the fourth floor. It would give him the necessary mindset to be ready for the coming day. On the way, he saw Mustang milling about, working through a small mountain of materials in the dark of night. The man grimaced when he saw Michael approach, and Michael almost sympathized with him until he remembered what Mustang had tried to do. The man was as guilty as any, he thought, at least according to Travis, and well deserving of his punishment. ¡°Listen, man, I¡¯m sorry for what I did,¡± Mustang said. Michael was surprised. Of all things, this wasn¡¯t what he expected to hear. ¡°I¡­ appreciate it. And I¡¯m sorry for how we dealt with you, but you must understand our position,¡± he replied diplomatically. ¡°I do now,¡± Mustang said, a complicated expression on his face. ¡°To think you¡¯d check up on me. I thought you wanted to punish me some more.¡± ¡°Why? I¡¯m not a sadistic asshole,¡± Michael retorted. ¡°For a moment, I was really scared you were one. When you caught me, that man Travis came to me. I thought he was there under your orders? Ah, I shouldn¡¯t say more,¡± Mustang stammered. ¡°Well, it¡¯s all fixed now, I hope,¡± Michael said. I have no sympathy for this man, he thought, no matter his current woes. ¡°I know we didn¡¯t really give you a choice, but it is what it is.¡± Mustang waved his hand dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s fine. This is literally my dream job. I just can¡¯t enjoy it, not yet. Not until I feel safe again. I hope you can understand this.¡± ¡°Is there anything I can do?¡± Michael asked. ¡°Yeah. Leave me alone. I¡¯ll cooperate,¡± Mustang said with several frantic nods, ¡°so please keep Travis away from me, yes? I need time, maybe. Maybe it will never go away. Beats being dead, and I would never dream of crossing you ever again. Of this you can be sure.¡± The rest of the trek to the fourth floor was bathed in the eerie light of a Spirit Guardian, banishing the gloom with strange tricks of the light depending on which spirit was summoned. Michael occasionally stopped to observe the little entities in the mana, noticing how they seemed to interact with the forest''s vegetation. In the distance, nighttime animals sang alien songs. Michael had been to the forest almost every night, so it took him a while to realize that something had changed about the way it felt, looked, and sounded. The interactions between the denizens of the mana and the real world are not as harmless as I thought at first, he realized. Perhaps I should investigate what¡¯s happening. But then again, he thought, I literally do not have enough time in a day to do everything. A nagging part of his mind told him that this was important, however, it also happened to conveniently be outside of his area of expertise. I know about mana and magic, he mused, but not even the material Johanne gave me to study helps when it comes to plants. What we need here is an expert, which makes it Johanne¡¯s problem. Surely she¡¯s already on it. After the short delay in the forest, Michael reached the end of the dungeon¡¯s third floor rather quickly. He didn¡¯t stop to ponder his actions, having already made up his mind, and proceeded towards the twin set of doors that appeared in the boss room after he defeated the monster. One was bright, like all doors leading outside the dungeon were, even though it was currently night in the outside world. The other was dark and foreboding. Drullkrin was with him, a few steps behind, silent and waiting for Michael to take the step into the doorway leading further down. *** Somewhere, an entity existed with the sole purpose of overseeing a particular instance of the Infinity Dungeon. When Michael entered the dark staircase leading to the fourth floor, this entity was immediately roused from its semi-dormant state¡ªone could say that it was only running the basest of subroutines because there wasn''t much activity coming from Earth¡¯s dungeons yet¡ªby a set of messages. Excitedly, it rushed to see what was going on, only for its smile to widen when it saw the name of the delver who had prompted the messages. ¡°It¡¯s him again!¡± it exclaimed. ¡°Finally! I thought he would never do it!¡± The messages scrolled one after the other in quick succession. 4th floor generation request received. Request coming from: Universe #4815162342 Earth #108 Rolling special challenge. Roll is 37. Floor is normal. Evaluating delver. Michael Lexington #001 Estimated power level: ANOMALOUS Stolen story; please report. Adjusting floor difficulty. WARNING: mana density too low to provide a proper challenge. ¡°No, no, no. He deserves better,¡± it muttered. OVERRIDDEN Floor set to challenge mode. Local administrator requested increased complexity of the scenario ¡ª granted. Scenario will reset unless completed. Searching data banks. Scenario selected. Extracting from storage. Materializing. Floor bonuses adjusted to new difficulty. Scattering exit points. Scenario ready. *** ¡°Is it me?¡± Michael asked as soon as the light from the new floor reached his eyes. ¡°Or was there a little bit of a¡­ how to say it¡­ sort of a cut between us stepping out of the stairs and now?¡± Drullkrin shook some non-existent dust from his clothes. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel anything strange, my king,¡± he replied. ¡°Huh,¡± Michael grunted. The arrival point on this floor seemed to be a hole in the mountains, much like the second floor¡¯s landing place. The difference was that here they were much further up, and the valley below had been replaced by a plateau nestled between sheer rocky cliffs with sharp points. It was mostly barren, loose rocks and pebbles of various shades of dark brown and gray with small spots of snow. Occasionally, some timid high-altitude plants were visible, a shade of green so dark as to almost be black, swaying in the brutal wind. It was cold by human standards, but not so cold as to require Michael to use his Ice Element. His aura was enough to keep him warm, while Drullkrin had enough mastery of the Ice element not to suffer any discomfort. There was a tiny beaten road, nothing more than a trail really, winding down the mountain and leading to a tiny speck at the center of the plateau. As Michael and the goblin got closer, the speck turned out to be a small hut surrounded by tall conical trees, almost too tall to survive in this much wind but very much unperturbed. The road continued onwards, going back up and towards another sheer cliff ending in a peak at the other side of the plateau. From here, however, it was also possible to see an actual valley quite some distance away, below them, filled with alpine trees surrounding an icy river. All around, like the jewels of a crown, impossibly high mountains of ice and snow created the clear boundary of the floor and were the source of the river¡¯s water as well as the cold air. The first thing Michael and Drullkrin did was settle into the hut. This is another challenge floor, Michael thought, and if my small pool of data is enough to extrapolate, it will take a while to beat it. Time isn¡¯t much of an issue yet, especially since lower depths within the dungeon have proven to mitigate the time dilation loss due to my increasing power. The problem, instead, was that the hut was utterly empty and cold, save for a single table and a shoddy wood stove. ¡°Food, water, and firewood,¡± Michael stated as he took in the cramped space. ¡°After which, we¡¯ll discuss strategy.¡± Drullkrin nodded. ¡°I agree. It¡¯s a good contingency to have a base of operations first. Shall I go hunting in the valley below?¡± he suggested. Michael nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the wood and water,¡± he confirmed. As the goblin left, Michael approached one of the trees by the house. It would be a shame to cut them down if this was a real place, he mused, but as a place within the dungeon, the priority is beating the floor and not preserving its natural beauty. If this turns out to be a persistent rest zone like the Misty Valley, then perhaps I¡¯ll do some renovations, but for now this is hostile territory. Knowing that, he braced himself and called forth the power of [Magic Manipulation]. ¡°It¡¯s time, my old skill,¡± he murmured. ¡°Time to change.¡± With barely a thought, he activated a second skill that had been on the cusp of upgrading for a while. Without wasting much time, he flooded its Uncommon-grade fractal with magic and Qi, watching as the strange shape morphed and changed rapidly.
Skill Level up!
[Distortion Field] reaches level 8. Its shape is no longer limited to that of a sphere, but can be changed at will.
Michael grinned, immediately activating the skill. Instead of a dark orb of force, a thin beam of darkness materialized from his hand, like a baton. Well, I wanted to make a sword, but I suppose this will work too, he thought with a shrug. Feeling the minuscule trickle of Qi flowing into the skill, he realized that changing its shape increased the cost for keeping it active. Letting it hover in the air compounded this cost, turning the minuscule trickle of Qi into a decent drain, enough to be noticed even without paying attention. Content with the progress, Michael grasped the baton of repulsive force with his hands, the cost once again lowering to the point he could barely feel it with his increased awareness of Qi, and swung. The base of the tree exploded in a burst of splinters. Unlike the first time such an event had happened, this time the projectiles all stopped at the same time as Michael grasped them with his Aura, making them look like an explosion frozen in time. Then, with meticulous movements, he gathered them all up in a neat pile as he used his superhuman strength together with his upgraded [Distortion Field] to cut and split the logs. For an outside observer, the ease with which he did all that would make it look trivial if not for the sweat beading his brow. Of all the things I did, the aura manipulation trick I used to stop the splinters from flying away taxed my system the most. I could have used [Magic Manipulation] to project some mana and make the whole process truly trivial, but this is good training. It isn¡¯t like there¡¯s a threat nearby. In fact, by the time Drullkrin had returned with his kill, Michael had already secured a source of water, recuperated all his mana and Qi, and the hut was pleasantly warm. A roaring fire in the stove cooked the meat, and the two took some time to plan their next move. The goblin had seen some movement in the valley below, but had decided to avoid whatever it was, more preoccupied with hunting some meat. Michael had found some clean snow and carved some rocks with magic to create makeshift pots and plates. ¡°It almost doesn¡¯t feel like the dungeon, does it?¡± Michael commented. The goblin shrugged. ¡°I feel some unease, but nothing I can¡¯t handle.¡± Michael nodded. He was aware by now that he was the only one completely used to the dungeon¡¯s presence. It didn¡¯t bother him nearly as much as it did the others, even though he felt it like a watching eye, looking over his shoulder at all times. It is true that it is stronger down here, on the fourth floor, but lately I have grown in power so much that I would be¡ªaccording to Johanne¡ªcompletely immune to its effects for several more floors even at my current level. Unknown to him and to the goblin general, everyone else felt it when Michael entered the fourth floor for the first time. For a moment, it was as if the dungeon had its attention solely on him, and the pressure and sense of dread on the other delvers and denizens of the dungeon lessened to almost zero. The Fae despaired, their predicament now that they momentarily understood their condition akin to being trapped in the worst of prisons. Theobond laughed, a mad laugh of defiance. Travis lifted his head from his computer, humming before he returned to his work. Johanne recorded the data, probing the mist at edges of the Valley without success. Finally, the other teams delving the dungeon on different floors¡ªsome still on the first floor, others challenging the standard version of the second, and a single team dealing with a totally new challenge version of the second floor¡ªall drew a sigh of relief before the presence of the dungeon returned and restored the status quo as it was moments before. Chapter 98 Chapter 98 There was one thing that had to be done before anything else, and that was evolving the Unity skill. Otherwise, Michael could be losing a lot of potential experience since he wasn¡¯t sure what happened to the experience he gained by doing things while the skill was capped at level ten. The problem was that when he sat down to actually do it, Michael found himself clueless about how to proceed. Firstly, he thought about what rarity meant. He knew, thanks to Johanne¡¯s data and all the skill stones both his teams and the Fae were gaining in their missions, that rarity wasn¡¯t exactly what it advertised itself as: it wasn¡¯t just how hard it was to get a skill as a dungeon drop. There was another caveat, an important one. Rarity was intrinsically connected to the kinds of energies involved in the skill and its effect. A common skill commanded control of mana, elemental energies, Chi, and Jing in varying amounts. It didn¡¯t need to be able to control all of them¡ªeven one was enough¡ªbut it could not control any of the higher tier energies at all. Uncommon-ranked skills were able to control Qi in addition to the lower energies. Rare ones could incorporate Intent. Michael assumed this went up all the way to the highest ranks. This was only applicable to the SKILL system, anyway. Other systems had their own quirks. Cards of the DECK system were based on the metal they were made of, with Copper being equal to common, Silver to uncommon, Gold to rare, and so on. Tomes and grimoires were still under study. In any case, this information was important. It meant that the effect was not related to the rarity. One could have a legendary skill to manipulate water, or a common skill that allowed someone to summon a particular species of dragon¡ªone that came from a planet with three different factions and always one that had lost a fight to its rival faction moments before. This worked as long as the first used all the energies up to Legendary to do it, and the second only used mana. Preliminary studies showed, so far, that all the energies could theoretically do everything, and the difference was how easy it was to coax them to do different things. One could, in theory, use the Fire element to freeze something by sapping all the heat with a special flame, but it would be harder than using the Ice element. Conversely, to lift a stone, one could use an element such as Force or Gravity¡ªall theoretical since, for now, all they had were hints of the existence of said elements¡ªbut one could also use Mana, Aura¡ªwhich was another unknown¡ªor even Qi. Michael could somewhat do stuff with Qi, but he and Qi weren¡¯t the best of friends. Intent? Maybe, he wasn¡¯t sure. Magic was weird in that it seemed to have universal laws, but simultaneously, it didn¡¯t like it when people applied the scientific method to its study. Not that it would stop them, or Johanne, for that matter. After all, without the scientific method, he would never have the data he needed to come to his conclusions. All of this also meant that a legendary skill wasn¡¯t always stronger than a common skill. There were many factors. How convoluted was the skill¡¯s mechanism to make something happen? The dragon summoning skill would probably work better as a higher-rarity skill due to how convoluted it was. To do the summoning using only an Element might be possible, but how would an Element find the right dragon to summon? Intent would surely help a lot and make the skill easier and faster. A telekinesis skill would probably be fine being common-ranked. Then there was to consider the fact that skills¡ªunlike all other systems so far¡ªhad levels. Then there was the interaction between energies to consider. Sure, using Qi to lift objects was harder than just using an Element, but if an elementalist were to try and wrench a stone from a Qi user¡¯s control, whose energy would win? Would rank matter, or would understanding and training matter more? This was where magic truly reared its head against the scientific method. Not only was it hard to devise experiments for this because mastery was subjective and there were a lot of factors involved that a scientist would have to take into account with a tiny sample size of weak magic users for now, but also, there was no consistency. What about aura ranks and types and everything else? Ranks, rarities, and energies were all nice to label, but then sometimes they worked outside their labels as if they didn¡¯t care about the headaches they were inducing in the people trying to study them. Magic was intuitive, but also not. It was made of different energies, but all of them seemed to be able to reach all goals, except in different ways. Michael took a deep breath. In the end, none of this had ever managed to stop him. He had already evolved his skills, and he had done so without all of this scientific nonsense. To him, magic was intuitive. Let Johanne worry about making it scientific. In fact, he had an inkling that perhaps there were many paths to power¡ªscientific rigor was one, and intuition was another¡ªand both could help him bolster his power. Magic was about prevailing against the natural order of things, but also negotiating with the forces of the universe to make them willing to help you. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He felt at the cusp of something, as if his mind was beginning to touch upon some greater truths. Michael thought back to the other times his skills evolved in rarity. [Candle Light] had gone from uncommon to rare when he had understood a deeper purpose for it. Growth through understanding. [Magic Manipulation] had come into being thanks to his relentless training. Growth through repetition. [Mana Sense] had evolved thanks to an insight. Every time, he used a higher form of energy as the catalyst for this evolution. Could a skill have done what it did in its evolved form without needing the higher form of energy? The sensation of being on the cusp of something great deepened. Michael struggled, feeling [Unity] begin to draw Qi to it. He delved into his Skill Sanctum and got a glimpse, a look into something. A direction towards his Dantian, maybe, but he didn¡¯t care. ¡°Growth through genius,¡± he murmured. He pulled. He forced the Qi to stop. He didn¡¯t care where his Dantian was, not at the moment. The Unity fractal began to dim, but Michael wasn¡¯t done. With pure effort of will, bolstered by his monumental Resilience stat, he flexed his aura and directed his mana and Elemental Fire into the skill. It quaked, shook, and morphed. Pain seared his veins, but what was pain to Michael? It was free training. He had cut himself to pieces just to gain a measly level in his healing skill. This was nothing beyond his capabilities, although perhaps he was the only one in the world who could say so. Mana flowed. A trickle, then a stream.
Insight Gained.
The ¡°system¡± is not all there is, is it? You begin to see deeper. After all, you know of other magic systems that don¡¯t have it. Can you really quantify magic? Rules are a shiny prison.
Then a slew of messages followed. Strangely, they were no longer the blue boxes that Michael had grown so used to seeing. [Magic Manipulation] reaches level 7. [Magic Manipulation] reaches level 8. [Magic Manipulation] reaches level 9. [Magic Manipulation] reaches level 10, reaching its final bottleneck. You can manipulate, store and project any magic that you understand, up to energies equivalent to the rarity of this skill. Your proficiency is proportional to your understanding and to the strength of your Aura. Known magic: [Magic Sense] reaches level 9. [Magic Sense] reaches level 10. You can see all the kinds of energies that exist, up to the rarity of this skill. The resolution, distance and depth of your sight varies depending on your knowledge of the energy. Michael immediately felt his aura deepen. With a thought, a ring of fire manifested around him, startling Drullkrin but setting fire to nothing. He had perfect control over the fire¡ª his fire. He understood now. His aura was not any of the other energies. He had thought it was made of mana, but it wasn¡¯t. It was not mana; it was not Intent, nor was it Qi. His aura was special in that it contained the Fire element but was not made of it. Auras had ranks: Copper, Silver, Gold, and so on. But ranks, when applied to aura, did not mean the tier of the energies involved. Ranks had to do with the potential to affect the world. A higher rank meant higher potential, which, in turn, made all the rest of the magic of a strong aura user much more potent, and its capacity to grow much larger. Aura was the box within which a mage put all their talent and the way to express it¡ªa box that, itself, could also act without using the tools inside of it. As such, Michael¡¯s Silver aura was strong because it had expressed a lot of its potential. It was a small box, as it was only Silver, but it was a strong box. Suppose someone was Gold-rank but had never trained their aura. Their box would be bigger, and the tools inside of it meaner and more numerous. But when it came to the quality of the boxes, Michael would win. Aura against aura, he would triumph. Well, except for the fact that size was an advantage of its own, and it would have to be seen whether the size increase from Silver to Gold was a gap that could be bridged easily. Besides, all of it was based on the assumption that Michael could survive all the strong tools the other aura user¡¯s bigger box had at their disposal, no doubt complete with ways to forestall an aura attack long enough to neutralize the threat in other ways. Michael felt a chuckle rise in his throat. Another unscientific thing about magic. Aura could not be quantified or seen at a glance, merely experienced when it was pitted against another¡¯s. No doubt Johanne or Travis were going to try and slap a label with a number on it: Aura strength: xxx, or something similar. But aura was more fundamental than a number. It would take pages to fully express its state, and it was in constant flux. Still, Michael wasn¡¯t ready to discount magic, no matter how much his past troubles with math and physics might tempt him to. It was just so complex that it was beyond his capabilities to understand fully, for now. But already, he understood much more of it than before. There was one last message waiting for him¡ªthe thing that had triggered all of this: Unity level up! ¡°What happened, my lord?¡± Drullkrin inquired. Michael said nothing for a long second. Looking at the new description for the [Unity] skill, he wondered if he could even call his skills ¡®skills¡¯ anymore. Shaking his head, he replied, ¡°A lot has happened. Let¡¯s leave. I need to digest this in the Valley.¡± Chapter 99 Chapter 99 ¡°If I understand it correctly, my lord,¡± Johanne was listing things off, counting with her fingers, ¡°you are saying that you got an insight, whatever that means, after thinking about how magic makes no sense?¡± ¡°Ah, not¡ª¡± ¡°Because such a thing, my lord, would be quite odd if it were true. And then you also say that the blue boxes went away?¡± Michael nodded. ¡°They did, all of sudden, but it¡¯s not like the system is gone. More like the boxes were replaced by a less advanced version of the old system, with just text and much less nuance. I can¡¯t show you but I can tell you what I see. Unity, for example.¡± [Common - Unity] In the tapestry of existence, each challenge conquered weaves a thread of mastery; Unity is the canvas of my potential. It expands, painting a saga of growth and accomplishment. A vanishingly rare skill, its incalculable might concealed from all prying eyes. Level 11. ¡°Is that it, my lord?¡± Johanne cocked her head. ¡°Level eleven, nothing else? What about your status?¡± ¡°My status is still here.¡± Michael admitted.
Status: Michael Lexington
Level: 10/10 -> 11/10
Base Statistics Advanced Statistics - Soulfire Silverweb Aura
Strength 293 -> 311 Mana Capacity (Silver) 2.01 -> 2.21
Dexterity 240 -> 251 Elemental energy Capacity 201 -> 221
Stamina 333 -> 344 Qi Capacity 20.1 -> 22.1
Reflexes 301 -> 312 Intent Capacity 2.01 -> 2.21
Intelligence 214 -> 225
Resilience 600 -> 680
Memory 228 -> 239
¡°Level eleven out of a maximum of ten,¡± she sighed. ¡°How did you manage to break magic? No, don¡¯t tell me. You must be the anomaly. Please keep the statistics monitored. I want to see how much each level amounts to in terms of growth. For now, it looks like you gained 11 points in all the statistics you didn¡¯t directly train, but I need more data,¡± she sighed again. ¡°This business is a headache, my lord. A real headache.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like that face,¡± Michael said with a wink. Johanne did not interpret it as the joke it was. ¡°I don¡¯t like when you make my life miserable, my lord.¡± Then her face cleared all of a sudden, ¡°although, I should thank you. We were operating under several severe misconceptions that you have shown to be wrong. Perhaps you are not the anomaly, rather you are right when you claim that there are several paths to power and that all of them offer various modes of growth. I think talent and disposition play a big role, and that you might be the anomaly in the sense that you somehow have managed to use every single path without getting stuck. Travis¡¯ dear Operators all suck in that regard. Hmm, most people suck when compared to you¡­ I feel I would suck too, had I not found my path in science. In any case, I shall be busy for a while.¡± As Michael left, Johanne talked into her phone to an instantiated version of Icarus, the AI she was developing. Thanks to a new development in mana crystal technology, her phone now had roughly the same processing power as an average supercomputer, without consuming more than 20 watts of power. She wasn¡¯t ready to share such advancements with the rest of the company, however, much to Travis¡¯ chagrin. The man had even complained to Michael, talking about some move to take over computational demand from Silicon Valley. As she spoke, a little icon in the shape of a wing appeared for a moment, showing that the AI was thinking, until it compiled a neat list of all her demands.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Johanne¡¯s long list of unanswered questions. *** While Michael returned to the fourth floor, Travis was getting ready for the expedition to study, secure, and retrieve the strange chest the OA had failed to pacify. This was going to be the first official unofficial mission Candle Light would undertake for the shadow government agency, and as such, he wanted to be as prepared as possible. For that reason, he chose the two spearhead teams of Operators who had best adapted to the dungeon for this mission. The two teams had gone as far as clearing a standard version of the second floor without reporting worrying levels of side effects from what had come to be called the Dungeon¡¯s Gaze. They were, of all the Operators they sent in so far, the only ones. Team Welles and Team Locke were gearing up in the parking lot, loading the SUVs with experimental equipment. Each team was well-rounded and suited to operate solo rather than together, but as this was the first operation, Travis decided he would bend the rules a little. He could do that, after all, he had made the rules and he could break them when necessary. Rules were a good foundation to build upon, and it was thanks to them that he could be sure Candle Light would operate well enough under his tutelage. But it would be him who took ¡®well enough¡¯ and turned it into ¡®impeccably¡¯. Both teams sported a peak-Copper rank leader and four other mid- and high-Copper Operators with skills and areas of expertise that would hopefully allow them to handle any threat. Later on, when Candle Light had more specialized teams at its disposal, things could be done better. ¡°You sure it¡¯s wise to send them off like this?¡± David whispered in Travis¡¯s ear. The old man and CEO of Unity Corporation had become a bit of a background character in Travis¡¯s mind, but the head of Candle Light soon realized that, in truth, David¡¯s position within the company was much more important than he gave the man credit for. Despite their differences, David kept Unity running smoothly, letting Travis do his thing without having to worry about the minutiae. Which also meant that Travis would need to work his interpersonal skills on the old man a little, probing limits and establishing common ground. Better not leave such important bonds wither and die just because Travis was buddy-buddy with Michael, the man himself. ¡°Team Leader Val Thorne and Team Leader Izzy Reyes have been made Level 3 Operators,¡± Travis stated with a nod. ¡°Both oath-bound. Had to do that because they seemed to like the dungeon a bit too much, reaching the peak of the first rank in less than a week. Other than that, though, they are perfectly loyal to the cause. They submitted to their oaths voluntarily.¡± ¡°Why would they?¡± David inquired. Travis laughed. ¡°So that they could keep delving!¡± ¡°Are they crazy battle maniacs like Michael, then?¡± David wondered. Travis shrugged. ¡°Seem to be. That¡¯s the dungeon¡¯s preferred type anyway. In terms of power, though, they won¡¯t come even close, even after they rank up. They lack his well-rounded talent, according to Johanne. Hell, everyone sucks except for him, according to her. If I hadn¡¯t seen him in action firsthand, I¡¯d think she¡¯s lying.¡± ¡°Will they stay at peak for long? Isn¡¯t it uncomfortable?¡± the old man asked. Travis smirked. ¡°Right, you are still high-Copper. Let me tell you, it sucks big time. That¡¯s what messes you up, though. The discomfort is so bad that it makes you rush the process, resulting in a bad foundation or a huge fuck up that ruins you¡­ I took my time, and I came out stronger for it.¡± It wasn¡¯t a lie per se, Travis thought to himself. It was just a little distortion. He didn¡¯t take months to rank up because he wanted a better foundation; rather, he had to wait months because he spent most of that time trying and failing to reach Silver no matter how he tried. Still, this set up the expectation that slow and steady won the race, which was the preferred thing for Candle Light in the long run. It might deprive them of powerful Operators early on but, with Michael on call, it was hardly a problem. ¡°What about them, then?¡± David pressed. ¡°We have them dump the excess mana into crystals, for now. They understand. Well, Val Thorne does. Izzy is¡­ itching for more power. That¡¯s why we are going to greenlight Thorne¡¯s rank-up first, make Izzy stew a little bit. They must understand that all this¡±¡ªTravis gestured to Site 00 with his hands, to the half-finished buildings, to the underground pipes filled with Water elemental stones, and to the dungeon in the distance¡ª¡°all this is possible thanks to my¡­ our efforts, not theirs. They are being given something most people can¡¯t even dream of having. You understand?¡± David nodded. ¡°If that¡¯s how you think Candle Light will work best.¡± ¡°Depends on the person,¡± Travis replied. ¡°Those two are talented, but they aren¡¯t geniuses. It¡¯s fine because even after we greenlight them, it will take weeks of real-time before they manage to step into Silver, provided they manage without help, which they might not. They are potentially dangerous, but not out of control. Suppose we encounter someone like Michael out there? Now that¡¯s going to be a problem. What should we do with someone like him? ''Cause his kind is not someone you can keep down with hierarchy. Do you nurture a loose grenade, hoping to harness its power, or do you fear it will explode in your lap?¡± ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve made your choice,¡± David observed. ¡°Except,¡± Travis held up a finger, ¡°Michael seems sure that one day, trained grunts aren¡¯t going to cut it anymore. That we need those loose geniuses on our side. It¡¯s going to be our job, you and me, to figure out how to keep them in line. And unlike with grunts, no matter how talented, being more powerful than them isn¡¯t going to work as a deterrent. They will rebel and they will fight us and they will lose and they will die in the end, and we will lose a huge investment. Oaths aren¡¯t going to cut it either.¡± ¡°I never liked oaths. When it was just us, it was one thing, but now¡­¡± David trailed off. ¡°You see my point then, old man.¡± Travis put an arm around him, despite the height difference, and David seemed to feel the difference in their auras even though Travis was restraining his. ¡°Oaths depend on Michael, aren¡¯t very effective, are limited in number, et cetera, et cetera.¡± ¡°But even with normal Operators, are you really going to play the catch-up game and always stay ahead of all of them in power? You will have to ask Michael to power level you again if you do,¡± David pointed out. ¡°Pff. I might just do that,¡± Travis admitted. ¡°Or you could let them grow on their own,¡± David suggested. ¡°Eventually. After we have hammered home the point that even though the world is different, might doesn¡¯t make right like some might think,¡± Travis declared. ¡°Yeah,¡± David agreed. ¡°Except it does, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Travis muttered after the man was out of earshot. ¡°I just don¡¯t want people to try anything funny.¡± While it was clear that while David had worked with deviant individuals, he didn¡¯t seem to understand the severity of the problem like Travis did. People like the Technomancer, for instance, had powers that were hard to contain and control. Those kinds of people needed to be bound tight. For now, Michael was going along with Travis¡¯s suggestions, but each oath seemed to put him in a worse and worse mood. It wasn¡¯t sustainable, and not just because he could only keep a limited number of oaths active in his aura. He needed to develop a system to handle these people, a system that didn¡¯t require Michael to even see what was going on. Out of sight, out of mind. And Travis might have just the perfect system for that. Chapter 100 Chapter 100 Michael returned to the fourth floor with Drullkrin in tow soon after he finished talking to Johanne. He knew that once he left the dungeon, he would have to deal with the chest anomaly, along with Travis and a couple of teams, but before that he wanted to scout the floor a bit and, why not, perhaps even beat it in the process. This time, instead of stopping by the hut as he had last time, they continued down the road. Michael noticed, as he passed, that the hut was once again empty and cold, the tree he had snapped for firewood restored as if he¡¯d never touched it. The rest of the hike took a few hours. Soon, a fissure in the rocky face of the second sheer cliff became visible, like the maw of a great beast. All around it, piles of rocks had accumulated over time as the peak slowly crumbled, ground down by the sharp alpine wind. As Michael and the goblin general walked¡ªmuch faster than any normal person could run on flat ground thanks to their magic and stats¡ªthey realized that what appeared close from afar was actually quite distant. They crossed icy creeks, coasted by banks of compacted snow and dirty ice, and were subjected to the same sharp wind that cut through the rocks of the plateau. Neither of them spoke much. Michael kept his aura wrapped around himself, more as an exercise than anything else, but also because it offered solace from the wind that was slowly becoming rather annoying. Drullkrin studied the landscape, ever alert, unbothered by the cold thanks to his burgeoning Ice affinity. They stopped for a quick rest at the entrance to the cave. The sky was overcast, threatening icy rain, and the wind howled as it passed through the rock. There was little vegetation up here, only alpine plants with rich smells and aromas Michael sensed from afar with his enhanced senses. The inside of the cave was utter blackness, as if something rejected the very light that tried to enter. If this isn¡¯t a boss room, Michael thought, I don¡¯t know what is. ¡°Get ready,¡± he instructed Drullkrin. ¡°No need to tell me twice, my king,¡± Drullkrin replied. Michael nodded. He had said it more for himself than anything else. Switching his [Magic Sense] from passive monitoring to active scanning, he solidified his aura as best he could. He summoned a Spirit Guardian to protect him and light the way and cycled air through his lungs to build up Chi. Several water bullets tainted with the foul power of rot materialized around him at chest height, hovering like sentinels, held aloft by the power of [Marksman] and supercharged by [Magic Manipulation]. The rest of his arsenal awaited activation. Feeling as ready as he could be to face an unknown challenge, he stepped inside. As his eyes adjusted, quite slowly compared to what he had become accustomed to, Michael studied the cave''s interior. Most of the space was taken up by a massive lake, with gravel beaches surrounding it like desert dunes before rising into the air as pillars that supported the ceiling. The water was dark, almost black save for the occasional white foam where tiny waves disturbed its surface. The waves looked tiny, but all sense of scale was lost from their vantage point. Two small white dots rested on the surface like placid petals floating on a pond. ¡°What are they?¡± Michael inquired, squinting. Even with his enhanced vision, the shapes were hard to make out. He saw Drullkrin use his Fae Network to enhance his eyes and quickly realized he could use an Unbound Cast of [Crude Body Enhancement 3] to do the same. ¡°Are those¡­ is that a goose?¡± he asked. Drullkrin seemed equally confused. ¡°I think so, my king. The other one, isn''t that what you call a swan?¡± Michael hummed. ¡°And what would they be¡ª¡± Suddenly, radiant light split the air, the whiteness so bright it hurt the eyes. Michael felt tears welling up as the light damaged his retinas even through his considerable resistances, peeling the layers of his aura off like the layers of an onion. Then it passed, and while momentarily diminished, his aura had held. He quickly healed the damage, and sound rushed back to his ears, making him realize he had also been deafened by the explosion.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Half of Drullkrin¡¯s body was covered in burns¡ªthe half further away from the protection of Michael¡¯s aura. He healed it with [Healing Aura], dead and charred skin flaking off as new green skin replaced it. As he did so Michael thought that perhaps, had he not kept his aura tight around himself, he would have ended up the same. Perhaps even dead. From now on, he thought, I¡¯m keeping my aura tight at all times. Not just inside the dungeon. It would be difficult to maintain constantly, but it was free training and with practice, he believed he could do actually manage to keep it tight at all times, unwinding it to its normal shape only when needed. It would, as a nice side bonus, make him nigh unkillable if he managed to keep up even while he slept. Only a Peak Silver, could kill him, or a Low Silver if he managed to get the drop on him. Busted. Utterly unbalanced. It wasn¡¯t normal and he knew it. Even just changing his aura''s shape had taken months, years of practice. When wrapped around him, it still extended out into infinity, with only the first several layers wound around Michael like a planet¡¯s magnetic field, while the outer layers spread out like an electric field. With more practice, he could convert more layers, seemingly without limit. The two animals were gone. Where they once floated, the water now frothed and churned, as if the lightning had awakened something deep beneath from its slumber. A loud growl and a crash. A screech. The sound of splitting water preceded the appearance of something truly gigantic. At first, it looked like an island rising from the lake¡¯s depths. Made of dark obsidian plates, it soon resolved into the shape of a head. Behind it, the tip of a stinger made of the same dark stone erupted from the water, followed by a long tail of interlocking stone links attached to a gigantic scorpion. Two pincers the size of buildings snapped in front of it, creating sonic booms. They dripped glowing green liquid that sizzled as it hit the water. How is it floating? Michael wondered. Outwardly, however, he was focused. With barely a glance between them, both he and the goblin sprang to action. No words were needed to coordinate them, not after fighting together for so long. As Michael ran towards the monster, Drullkrin did the same, the two converging on opposite sides of the creature. Michael activated his ultimate rotation of skills and abilities, the one designed to handle unknown and dangerous threats. A new Spirit Guardian replaced the old one. This one, courtesy of the second level of the skill offering more flexibility, supplied Michael with a steady stream of unknown power. It was subtle, but potent. Simultaneously, he flared his [Magic Manipulation], further empowering his foul water bullets as they shot towards the creature one after another. With [Magic Sight], Michael realized that the creature was hollow, its buoyancy enhanced by magic. He corrected the bullets¡¯ aim with [Marksman], the rot component of the spell eating into the rock and turning it brittle. With each step, he gathered Chi, ready to be transformed into Jing. With each breath, he mumbled commands, carried through [Voice of Command], enhanced by [Magic Manipulation], and empowered by his aura to confuse the creature. [Presence] also weighed down on the monster like the mountain itself was trying to keep it submerged. Entire Silver coins worth of mana went down the rotation of spells in a matter of seconds, more than what any other magic user Michael knew could bring to bear even if given days to prepare. By the time he reached the water, Michael was a storm of magic. He ran through it, sinking as he still ran as if it weren¡¯t even there, while at the other end of the cave, he saw Drullkrin moving about on a platform of ice. Having arrived first, the goblin was distracting the scorpion with powerful blows, hands coated in ice gauntlets, creating showers of ice and stone shards. Michael hit the creature moments later. In a single blow, all his stored Chi turned to Jing, [Okinawan Mastery] providing the technique for maximum force. A microsecond later, Fire and Ice elemental energies poured through the hole carved by the martial energy and into the creature, until finally, all its cavities in the immediate vicinity were filled with the repulsion fields of a stretched-out [Distortion Field], courtesy of its last level up. The result was cataclysmic. The opposing elements reacted and, together with the lake water, created an explosion of steam that rocked the cavern. The [Distortion Field] turned the explosion into something far more dangerous, with shards of obsidian that were once the scorpion''s protective plates now transformed into bullets of a makeshift fragmentation grenade. The Jing pulverized what remained, propagating through the stone. Aura and [Presence] soon played their role, flattening the obsidian shards and what was left of the monster to the ground as if gravity had suddenly increased a hundredfold. [Presence] reaches level 4. Infuse mana into your aura to create both physical and psychological pressure. Michael hit his head on the far wall of the cave well before the monster was dead. The impact barely fazed him, however, thanks to his stats and his aura acting like an airbag. Drullkrin, on the other hand, had to be healed back to consciousness, but the Fae was resilient. When the dust settled, the monster was obliterated. The victory was short-lived. A bright light enveloped them. Michael, fearing another attack, saturated his aura with his remaining mana¡ªless than a third of his total pool¡ªbut no attack came. When the light vanished, he found himself unharmed. He had simply been transported back to the beginning of the floor. In the distance, the hut was cold and empty, and the lone tree beside it swayed in the wind. Chapter 101 Chapter 101 Michael had a problem. Something was happening to his [Unity] skill inside his Sanctum, and he didn¡¯t like the sight of it. Just like when [Unity] had tried to evolve before, the skill was now drawing massive amounts of magical energies towards itself. Unlike before, however, the draw of Qi was truly enormous, coming in three separate flows from three regions of Michael¡¯s body. As it did so, he felt himself deflate, like a balloon being drained of air, but it wasn¡¯t air that was leaving him. Rather, it was a sort of sensation of vitality, like he was being sapped of the very essence of life. This wasn¡¯t just Qi; it was something more, as the [Unity] skill wasn¡¯t a simple common skill trying to evolve to uncommon. This time, he didn¡¯t force the process to only take mana as a fuel source. He wasn¡¯t even sure he could have forced the process if he wanted to, not to mention the potential damage to his other skills or some part of his magical network or body that he didn¡¯t even know existed yet. ¡°Unfortunate,¡± he muttered to himself. ¡°I wanted to see what the skill would do if it was forced to use just mana again. In fact, you know what? There¡¯s no power without struggle, right?¡± As he came to a decision, Michael mustered all the willpower he had and directed it towards the evolving skill. He cut the flow of Qi with his [Magic Manipulation] skill¡ªor at least he tried to. The three streams of energy, however, were like water, slipping through his metaphorical fingers and finding new paths towards his skill. Bringing the full might of his aura to bear helped mitigate the problem for a while, but soon Michael¡¯s lack of knowledge about Qi became evident, as he didn¡¯t really know what to do with all the excess energy he was redirecting. For a moment, he saw a notification. Unity level up! He checked his status. It did say level 12 now¡ª12 out of 10. He didn¡¯t have time to see much else, though, because the excess Qi was threatening to blow up in his face. In the end, he had to admit defeat. Relaxing his control over it, he let it flow towards the skill in a controlled fashion, the struggle to regulate the wild stream of backed-up energy making him sweat more than all the exertion of the past boss fight. Only when all the roaring Qi dried up, leaving nothing but tiredness and a sensation of sore pathways that could offer insights into the nature of Qi if they didn¡¯t hurt so much, did another message appear. [Unity] is now Uncommon-rank. By unveiling more of its destiny, you discover new facets of its power. Indeed, the skill itself was different now. [Uncommon - Unity] In the tapestry of existence, each challenge conquered weaves a thread of mastery; Unity is the canvas of my potential. It expands, painting a saga of growth and accomplishment. A vanishingly rare skill, its incalculable might concealed from all prying eyes. Fate: you gain a level system and access to a Status. By breaking the chains of Fate, your potential is limitless, and you can train any statistic. Upon reaching a new level, you gain statistics equal to its number. Level 12/100. Truth: your third eye becomes attuned to the truth. You can force this Fate upon others. A lot of stuff to digest. Firstly, it appeared that the level-up mechanic remained the same. He would gain more stat points at higher levels, just like he had gained 11 points when he reached level 11. He didn¡¯t know for sure whether this was due to his tampering or not, but since the Unity energy had to go somewhere, he thought that not much must have changed compared to the common version of the skill. Unlike with the first ten levels, however, the gains were not fixed anymore and were going to increase a lot in the later levels. The second change was what made him think that perhaps he should have just let the skill evolve normally in the first place. ¡°Even though,¡± he mused, ¡°I feel no changes. What does it even mean that my third eye has become attuned to truth? Does it imply that I¡¯ve always had a third eye and now I can use it better? What even is a third eye?¡± Many questions came along with the level up, and most of them were questions that would remain unanswered for a long time. Chief of them all, Michael still had the somewhat broken version of his system that he got after forcing the skill not to evolve the first time. Apparently, letting the process finish did not undo the damage, although so far the damage seemed only cosmetic with most, if not all of the system¡¯s functions still intact. Looking through his skills list, he saw that most of the descriptions had shortened, but trying the skills out showed no substantial difference at first. Only after a few tries did he realize what had truly changed: now the skills were more flexible, capable of adapting to his will with much less effort on his part. He didn¡¯t need to force them with [Magic Manipulation] as much anymore to make them do what he wanted. This also meant that they were much more unstable. The safety wheels had come off. The system¡¯s limiting effect had lessened, and with it, Michael had also lost part of the system¡¯s help.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Good.¡± He grinned. ¡°The road ahead will be harder, but the gains will surely be greater.¡± *** The second time around, Michael and Drullkrin only stopped at the hut for a quick rest before heading back to the boss arena. If killing the boss reset the floor, it wasn¡¯t a stretch to assume that it would also make the boss respawn. ¡°Making it the perfect grinding spot for some levels,¡± Michael commented. ¡°It is quite the underhanded strategy, my king,¡± the goblin remarked. ¡°Tricking the dungeon in such ways. I hope it doesn¡¯t decide to punish you for it.¡± The goblin shivered. ¡°It is quite the remarkable strategy, my king,¡± it repeated, a broken record only slightly deviating from the original script, ¡°however, you should plan contingencies. What if your ploy loses efficacy over time?¡± Michael, after recovering from the shock of seeing the Fae glitch in real life, shrugged. He tried not to show it though: Drullkrin was clearly unaware of what had happened, and Michael didn¡¯t want the goblin to worry about something neither of the two could do anything about. In his mind, however, he bumped the priority of finding a way to counteract the brainwashing effect of the dungeon up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± he reassured the goblin. ¡°It¡¯s inevitable that farming a boss will be less and less effective the more you do it. It doesn¡¯t mean you shouldn¡¯t milk it for all it¡¯s worth until it becomes a waste of time. It¡¯s basic RPG game theory; you should read up on it.¡± The goblin nodded furiously. ¡°Of course. How could I turn down more knowledge about magic? I will be sure to study it all and come up with better strategies in the future.¡± ¡°Besides,¡± Michael added, ¡°it can be good training. Now that we know we can end the fight in a single move, we can dial down our power and practice some strategies.¡± *** ¡°¡­and the first thing I know?¡± Michael exclaimed, spearing a piece of white meat with violence. ¡°They fucking turned to roasted chicken before my very eyes! Smitten out of existence!¡± There was a round of laughter at the table. The mess hall was always lively these days, now that Site 00 boasted quite the number of eccentric people living and working there, but with the top brass all gathered together before a mission, letting out some steam before they needed to lock in and focus, the atmosphere was eerily strange. The Fae food helped, delivered straight from the second floor by a specialized team who had been granted access and tasked to ferry the food for several hundred people twice a day from the denizens of the Misty Valley. Only Johanne was missing, off to do something. ¡°You know what?¡± Old Dave grumbled, his face mean. ¡°Good. They got what they deserved. Assholes, swans and geese both.¡± ¡°What?¡± Travis sputtered. ¡°You have it out for avians?¡± ¡°Not avians,¡± the old man clarified with a slow, stoic shake of his head. ¡°Swans and geese. That¡¯s it. One is noisy and rude, and the other has managed to scam half the world into thinking its kind is majestic and all of that. It¡¯s not.¡± ¡°Pff,¡± Travis scoffed, banging a fist on the table, making it shake dangerously. Good thing it was reinforced. ¡°This is good shit.¡± ¡°What happened then?¡± Trevor inquired, much more interested in Michael¡¯s narration than the two heads of the operation bantering together. Perhaps it was because he knew he couldn¡¯t really join in on the banter, not with the difference in status between them. Jennifer beside them was watching it play out in silence, not missing a single thing while at the same time somehow managing to disappear into the surroundings. It almost felt like she was using magic to do it, and perhaps she was. Squinting, Michael noticed the subtle hints of mana around her. A common-ranked Tome, but not a bad one. ¡°Then,¡± Michael continued, ¡°a scorpion made of obsidian emerged from the lake. It was as big as a building.¡± ¡°Let me guess,¡± Travis drawled, monotone. ¡°You ended it in two moves.¡± Michael shook his head pensively. Then he grinned, raising one finger. ¡°One?¡± Travis exclaimed. ¡°It was a combo move, does it count?¡± Old Dave was sitting in front of Michael, and his expression suddenly darkened. He hummed, as if pretending to follow the conversation but with his mind elsewhere. ¡°Yeah, and then the floor reset,¡± Michael said, not hiding his annoyance. ¡°We started farming the monster, but no more levels. Just reset after reset. It gets boring after a while, even for me.¡± ¡°Except,¡± Travis interjected graciously, ¡°perhaps most people struggle to understand what ¡®a while¡¯ means for you. How many times did you kill it?¡± He talked loudly, making sure everyone could hear him. Michael felt, rather than saw, everyone in the mess hall listen intently¡ªOperators, staff, and scientists alike. ¡°A couple hundred times,¡± he replied, downplaying it a little. To be fair, Drullkrin was the one counting, and Michael hadn¡¯t dared ask the goblin how many times they¡¯d done the same fight. Annoyance from the lack of gains compounded itself with the feeling of being watched. It felt good to be the boss, well-liked and looked upon with admiration, but this wasn¡¯t it. He could feel it at the back of his head, like a sensation he could barely parse. Most people were afraid, some were incredulous, others had doubts but didn¡¯t dare contradict the owner of the company and the head of Candle Light in public. Others yet were envious. Then came the question from Travis, almost posed to maximize how annoyed Michael was feeling. He could swear there was a grin on the other man¡¯s face. ¡°Did you make progress, though?¡± He inhaled. ¡°No,¡± he stated. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The dwarves arrived. Did you know that they are quite racist? Every time I got close to them, one of them would point at the sky and talk about how a raven circling up above was an ill omen of the cold coming back to their land or something. Too bad I never heard the end of it, ¡®cause every time they spotted Drullkrin, they all went fucking berserk! I must have killed a thousand dwarves with all the resets. Oh yes, because if you kill them, the floor resets! Gah!¡± He punched the table. While much stronger than Travis, his control over magic meant that only sound carried, while everything remained eerily still. It had the unintended effect of making everybody else¡¯s auras shiver and ripple, shuddering as a superior force pressed on them for the briefest of moments. Most people in the room recoiled. They looked away, embarrassed and afraid. Fear of what? a part of his mind wondered. Of him, the other part supplied. ¡°Great, just great. This is going to be one of those days, isn¡¯t it?¡±
Status: Michael Lexington
Level: 11/100 -> 12/100
Base Statistics Advanced Statistics - Soulfire Silverweb Aura (Low)
Strength 311 -> 326 Mana Capacity (Silver) 2.21 -> 2.68
Dexterity 251 -> 267 Elemental energy Capacity 221 -> 268
Stamina 344 -> 361 Qi Capacity 22.1 -> 26.8
Reflexes 312 -> 329 Intent Capacity 2.21 -> 2.68
Intelligence 225 -> 237
Resilience 680 -> 747
Memory 239 -> 251
Chapter 102 Chapter 102 Johanne had an idea. Michael had been rather irritated with what had happened to him in the dungeon and was looking quite irritable still. So, she thought, perhaps she could work on some of the things he had asked her to do in passing but never got done, to soothe his mind. She was after all, Silver-rank now, and with the new rank came all sorts of new powers. Her magic had soared, and she had begun to master some of the esoteric elements, forgoing integration within her aura¡ªwhich was what Michael did instead¡ªbecause she knew her limits. In the process, she enjoyed access to many more elements than Michael did, but unlike him, she would always have to go to element-rich areas to restock on them once she ran out. The plan was simple in principle but hard in execution. Her goal was to make a healing potion. But she and the Science Division as a whole, not to mention Candle Light and the others¡­ none of them had any knowledge of how to produce one, and no examples of magically enhanced consumables besides what the crazy Doctor Kavins was concocting back at Saint Hernest. She wanted no part in that. Instead, her approach would be to use creativity to go around the shortcomings of Site 00¡¯s stock of magic materials and lack of knowledge. She punched the code for the little safe where they held the smallest, least valuable mana crystals. She then took said crystals to a special lab, rush-built just for her, where she could experiment with spells without causing much damage. There was lab equipment there too, the cornerstone of knowledge being proof by experiment and attempted falsification, but they were the more sturdy kind that perhaps didn¡¯t mind too much if there was the occasional explosion nearby. The next step was to force the mana crystals to dissolve in water. Johanne knew that mana couldn¡¯t change state, of course, but she hoped for the crystals to at least lose their sharp edges as they got smaller in the water; otherwise, the healing potion¡¯s effect would all have to go towards healing the destroyed throats and stomachs of whoever drank the concoction. After some time, she managed to coax the arcane material into doing what she wished. It was time for the next step. Proof of concept. Could she stabilize the mana by using the Time element in a spell? A form of basic chronomancy, freezing the mana and water in time. If she could, then things would be looking rather good. Of course, to do so, she needed a lot of Time element. And what better place than the dungeon, where the Time element always gathered like a vortex to support the time dilation function? She spotted Travis Tyrell on the way there. He was talking on the phone, animatedly. ¡°Technomancer, come here!¡± he bellowed. A scrawny-looking man approached, his movements oozing like those of a slime. Johanne stared a bit too much perhaps, for the man saw her¡ªusing his preternatural ability to tap into any digital device and know everything within¡ªand upon seeing her he seemed to shrink on himself like a cornered wolf. At least he didn¡¯t lash out, she thought. That would have ended badly for him. Travis barked some orders at the slimy low-Copper tier man and then made him leave. ¡°Connection is secure now, speak.¡± Travis said. ¡°There¡¯s something you should know,¡± Johanne heard the voice at the other end of the phone say. She had no idea who it was. ¡°Before that: you said you have ways to grow powerful¡­¡± ¡°We do,¡± Travis said. The other man shuffled something, like papers. ¡°If you promise me I''ll go first and get more power than what you will give to the others, I can give you information. Stuff the OA will never share with you.¡± ¡°No.¡± A pause. ¡°Excuse me, what? Did you say no?¡± ¡°I said, no.¡± ¡°What if I told you that the chest operation is a trap?¡± ¡°I would still say no.¡± ¡°You aren''t surprised at all,¡± said the other man. ¡°Goodbye, doctor Kavanaugh. We¡¯re picking you up at rendezvous point in three hours.¡± Shrugging, Johanne resumed her trek toward the dungeon. On the way there, she examined a strange tree that glowed with a rudimentary magic network, the only tree unbothered by the strange beings that dwelled within the mana. She might have to do something about it eventually. Not now though. *** Three black SUVs tore through the narrow, winding roads. The roar of their engines ruined the tranquility of a summer afternoon, earning many curses from people who had never seen such activity around these parts. Behind darkened windows, Travis and Michael watched the ramshackle house grow bigger as they got closer. ¡°Yeah, there is something magical in there alright,¡± Michael confirmed. They weren¡¯t alone. With them in the car was Doctor Kavanaugh, and accompanying them in other cars were several operatives of the OA with various levels of clearance. Kavanaugh was, surprisingly, not the highest in command. Rather, it was a stern old general with graying hair who would be in charge of the OA¡¯s troops, who looked more like army than actual magical soldiers. There was no mistaking their auras, though. Ancestral magic clung to them in a diffuse cloud, as if being pulled by weak gravity, but the clouds were misshapen and barely cohesive. The will behind them was weak, and the magic making up their composition even weaker. The general, who had the strongest aura of them all, was looking a bit green in the face.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Feeling the lack of magic, General Blackwood?¡± Travis inquired. General Silas Blackwood¡¯s real name was a supposed mystery, although Michael had no doubts that Travis knew it. ¡°It is¡­ bearable,¡± Blackwood admitted. ¡°Your troops must be feeling it, though.¡± Travis continued, drilling deeper into the matter. ¡°I know ours are.¡± Indeed, this had been the first time that Operators with magical power had ever left Site 00 and its ambient magic. Before today, only Michael and his close aides had ever left the place. All of them reported varying degrees of discomfort when exposed to the lack of mana in the air outside, like they walked into a vacuum. But all of them had had time to get used to it, getting in and out of the dungeon¡¯s Area of Influence several times as their power grew. The same couldn¡¯t be said for the Operators, who hadn¡¯t even been warned of the effects the lack of ambient mana would have on them. It made them look at the Secure Containment Unit Travis was carrying like it was water in the desert. The OA men were even worse off, their auras leaky and weak. Being out in the mana wasteland that was most of the planet was like being fish out of water, oppressive and draining. And they lacked even the most basic techniques to make sure they wouldn¡¯t leak all their power into the air. Normally, the stronger someone was, the more pronounced the effect would be. A stronger gradient and all that. But a stronger mage would also have a stronger and tighter aura capable of keeping the mana inside rather than it leaking out. This meant that, in this case, it was the OA goons who were suffering the most, followed by the Candle Light Operators who had yet to be taught the more advanced aura techniques. This was both to motivate them and to make them realize just how different they were now compared to before. They were no longer humans, and while they wouldn¡¯t die out there in the world if left alone, the world itself was no longer a welcoming place for them. It just didn¡¯t have what they needed to thrive. Travis claimed to have plans, hence why he made sure to maximize the shock factor for the involved Operators. Michael worried that perhaps this would reduce their effectiveness during the upcoming operation, but he had been ensured it wouldn¡¯t be the case. In fact, there would be incentives in place to make sure they worked well. ¡°What¡¯s in there?¡± the general asked, pointing at the SCU. ¡°Your men have been looking at it the whole time.¡± Travis shrugged. ¡°Just a solution to our problem.¡± He slipped a key into the SCU¡¯s lock¡ªwhich wasn¡¯t digital now that they were aware of the vulnerabilities of digital devices to people like the Technomancer, whom he still didn¡¯t trust¡ªand opened the case. A wave of mana washed over them. Michael recognized it: trash-tier Copper and a modicum of Silver-tier magic, of the synthetic flavor he had come to associate with coins. He said nothing, playing the part of the expert yet subordinate to Travis. The man had asked him to stay back and keep playing the part like when they went to the OA to meet them for the first time, letting him and the two squads they brought with them handle it. It would also be a good opportunity to see how the operators handled themselves. ¡°Here.¡± Travis flipped a Copper coin at the general, then gave two to each Operator. The general eyed the coin, clearly feeling the mana. He watched the Operators absorb it and, after a couple of tries, managed to do so himself. He sighed in relief and was about to ask something when the SUV suddenly stopped. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Travis announced, a twinkle in his eyes telling Michael that the man had timed the whole interaction. The SCU¡¯s lid snapped close with a hissing sound, and he lifted the case and took it with him as he dismounted the SUV. The other cars circled theirs as they approached the abandoned building. Kavanaugh was still eerily silent, Michael noted, while the general, having recovered from earlier, assumed an air of importance. The coin had soothed most of his withdrawal symptoms, and he was the only one not of Candle Light who looked 100%. ¡°The house was vacated after we identified the¡ªas you call it¡ªanomaly,¡± the general stated. There were snorts of derision. Travis looked around, and as he did so, Michael flared his aura for a moment. The soldiers, already looking uncomfortable but still quite used to the lack of mana, turned green. ¡°Now,¡± the general continued. ¡°Show us how you work. Let¡¯s see if you manage to secure the thing. If you do, then color me impressed.¡± With a nod from Travis, the team leaders of Team Welles and Team Locke sprung to action. At once, they surrounded the building, taking out strange instruments and taking measurements. Only after several long minutes did they begin to advance, ever cautious. The situation, tense at the beginning, soon turned boring for the watchers. By the time they reached the dusty basement of the building, securing the last room before the presumed location of the anomaly, the OA¡¯s soldiers were utterly out of control. They mocked the Operators, interfering with their work and asking questions. Some of them tried to probe the SCU case Travis was carrying, discovering only too late that upon touching the case, their auras would destabilize and begin to lose mana at an even faster rate. The general was suspiciously silent through all of this, while Kavanaugh looked like he was about to pass out, and not due to the low levels of mana. ¡°Perimeter is secure,¡± Val Thorne, leader of Team Welles reported. ¡°We are ready to move in and assess.¡± Travis nodded at the woman, and then at the other man, who in turn nodded. ¡°Team Locke will assist, this time,¡± the man confirmed, somewhat meekly. As they prepared to move in, past the shoddy wooden door leading to the last room of the basement, Michael heard the soldiers watching them snicker. ¡°Not even a proper weapon?¡± one of them scoffed. ¡°What are they thinking, going in with knives?¡± ¡°Watch as they all die,¡± another sneered with a laugh. Michael turned around and stared at him, but the soldier wasn¡¯t intimidated. In fact, he smiled at Michael and traced the line of his rifle with his thumb. Michael clenched his teeth and took a deep breath. The dangerous looking rifle would probably fail to even tickle his skin. Through all of this, Travis acted as if all was right in the world. He nodded back to the team leaders and put the locked case on a dusty wooden table. ¡°Top up before you go in,¡± he instructed. He opened it again, this time in front of everyone. It had the effect a treasure chest would have on a pirate crew, immediately drawing all eyes to it. Greed and desire were evident on many faces. Even the general inched closer, struggling to maintain a stoic expression. Inside the case, row upon row of coins shone with light and magic. There were dozens of Silver coins and hundreds of Copper ones, neatly stacked and organized like countless pills ready to be taken to fix all ailments. ¡°Portable, stabilized magic,¡± Travis stated with a grin, looking at the general over his shoulder as he distributed the coins to the Operators. When the case was locked shut, the sudden lack of magic was noticeable to all, and the atmosphere was tense. With a smile, Travis disarmed them all. ¡°We are willing to share this resource, if you are willing to talk prices,¡± he offered. The general grunted, and the action seemed to defuse the soldiers. But there was still tension in his face, as if he had just been made to swallow a sour lemon. Conflicting emotions played out, which Michael somehow picked up even though he had never been good at reading subtle cues, while a sense of wrongness began to overtake him. It grew when the general conceded, ¡°We might be. But first, show me that you aren¡¯t all empty words.¡± Travis smiled. With a nod, he gave the two teams the go signal. Chapter 103 Chapter 103 The wooden door slowly opened, swinging on rusty, creaky hinges. The action revealed a barren floor, concrete walls, and no windows, with a lone incandescent lightbulb providing scant orange light that barely reached the edges of the room. At the far corner was a single, large oak chest with an iron lock and a hole for a key. It looked inviting, alluring, as if daring anyone to approach it and claim the treasure that awaited inside. It was clearly a trap, but its effect was strong, only resisted because all the men present knew that the chest itself was a magical anomaly. The two teams slowly flowed into the room. They had no standard weapons, but their magic was at the ready should the chest suddenly come to life and attack them. However, despite the tense atmosphere, nothing happened. Muffled voices came from outside, but the Operators¡¯ focus was absolute: the men had trained in the dungeon and knew the dangers magical creatures could pose. While the teams deployed a wide array of instruments, Johanne arrived at the site. ¡°She always seems to be at the right place at the right time, doesn¡¯t she?¡± she heard Travis murmur to Michael. Her lord shrugged, but she knew he could see the presence of Elemental energies around her and make an educated guess¡ªsomething nobody else could do, not even those with magic sight, given how esoteric her use of already rare elements was. She watched the men move about from the threshold, observing the Operators and making sure they didn¡¯t mishandle her precious equipment. Some of it was standard, non-magical, mundane stuff. Necessary nonetheless, of course. Most of the equipment, however, was experimental: a fusion of magic and technology, most of it bound to either not work or not yield any meaningful information. That was why there was so much equipment of all shapes and forms; they needed to see which worked best for next time. This was their first away mission, and everything was completely untested. She ignored the military men making comments about her. They were, apparently, unused to the presence of women in the field. She heard one of them, a particularly unpleasant man, mention how they used to dissect people like her back in the day, in labs hidden from the public. Did they know she wasn¡¯t from Earth? She didn¡¯t know, nor did she care. Instead of displaying anger, an emotion she knew people in her position would usually display, she simply looked behind her with a bored expression, her usual neutral face. Travis locked eyes with her for a moment, while the soldiers took her reaction as an invitation to talk more. Even though she didn¡¯t care much for what they said about her, she thought their behavior was disrespectful to Michael. But her lord wasn¡¯t reacting at all, a hint that perhaps something subtle was at play here, and she knew she wasn¡¯t good at catching subtle hints about people and their behaviors. She let the matter rest, for now. In the end, they concluded what she already suspected. The chest was not a chest at all, but a predatory creature Michael insisted they call a ¡°Mimic.¡± When poked and prodded, its true nature was quickly revealed: it was made of living flesh, and its lid was actually a mouth of sharp, mismatched teeth made of a patchwork of enamel and rusted metal. Inside its mouth, a long tongue like a prehensile tentacle snatched up the first couple of probes they used to study it before the Operators could react. ¡°I see green energies there as well,¡± Michael stated cryptically. What he meant by green energies, Johanne didn¡¯t know, as she didn¡¯t see any color to magic. She knew, however, that everyone saw the esoteric and the arcane differently. He continued, ¡°It means it can probably heal, as long as it has mana. Better go in with overwhelming force.¡± At that moment, however, Travis pulled him close. ¡°What?¡± Michael questioned. ¡°Kavanaugh and the general,¡± Travis muttered softly enough so that the soldiers wouldn¡¯t hear them. ¡°Where are they?¡± Michael looked around. Indeed, the two men were gone, alongside a few soldiers. ¡°We left nothing in the cars, right?¡± Michael inquired. ¡°Nothing of value,¡± the former CEO confirmed. ¡°But they don¡¯t know that. You should go look; I can handle this.¡± Michael wasn¡¯t too happy about it. ¡°Dammit,¡± he grumbled. ¡°I wanted to see.¡± He was already irritated by the events in the dungeon, and now this happened. ¡°Take Johanne as well,¡± Travis added. ¡°What if you need to track them?¡± Michael nodded and motioned for Johanne to join him. Always happy to do things with her lord, the woman immediately abandoned what she was doing and followed him upstairs.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Behind them, the sound of fighting erupted. Magic, distorted gunfire from Travis¡¯s Card, and the inhuman roars of the mimic. As Michael and Johanne reached the road through the abandoned orchard outside the old house, the sounds became more and more muffled to the point not even Michael¡¯s enhanced stats could pick them up. The basement was solid concrete encased in soil, too isolated. But according to what Michael had seen, the chest shouldn¡¯t be a problem for the Operators as long as they played it smart, and surely not with someone like Travis there to oversee. ¡°They are not here,¡± Johanne reported, already casting some tracking magic. ¡°Nor are the SUVs,¡± Michael observed. ¡°All of them.¡± An explosion rang through the building like a gong. ¡°Track them,¡± Michael ordered. ¡°I¡¯m going back in.¡± He rushed back inside, almost flying down the stairs. By the time he got to the basement, there was a stench like sulfur in the air, alongside the smell of burnt wood and flesh, plus a subtle hint of unpleasant bodily fluids. Michael saw Travis finishing off the last remaining OA soldier with a blade of sinister red energy, made of an element he didn¡¯t immediately recognize and conjured by his Card. The other soldiers were all dead. The door leading to the mimic¡¯s room had been blown off its hinges by a powerful explosion that had also taken out a part of the concrete wall. Seeing this, a sensation of discomfort began to radiate through Michael¡¯s skull, traced back to the newly upgraded Unity skill. The Truth facet didn¡¯t like what it was seeing. The door was blown inwards, which meant Travis had summoned a weapon and torn it off from the outside. Michael squinted as fire¡¯s smoke clouded his eyes, making them sting. There were Operators on the ground, hurt. His operators. His aura flared to life. In an instant, the smoke cleared, and healing energies invaded the bodies of the operators, consuming their stock of calories to restore them to perfect health. In a matter of seconds, they were back at full health, if hungry. Except three of them were missing. Anger overtook Michael. That¡¯s what was wrong here. The smoke, the smell, Travis killing everyone. This had been a setup. They had been ambushed. In a burst of violence, several dead bodies were brutalized and charred by [Candle Light] flames. ¡°Fucking chest,¡± Michael muttered menacingly. His gaze settled upon the mimic, still happily chewing on what remained of an Operator. His skill flared to life. The chest deformed, flattened to the ground by a force it had never experienced before. It hastily spit out the Operator¡¯s arm it was chewing on in an attempt to pacify the monster who had clearly been upset by its latest meal. It was no use. As the aura pressed on it, Michael seemed to teleport. One moment the chest was resting on the ground at the same spot it had always been, as if immovable, the next it was launched against the wall with enough force to partially embed it in the concrete. A torn piece of rebar stuck out of the dying mimic, the monster desperately burning through its remaining mana to regenerate. ¡°Take it away,¡± Michael commanded, turning to Travis. Travis nodded to the remaining Operators, who commendably sprung to action, showing their training. This was no time to mourn or be prone to anger, Michael thought, realizing in shame just how green he still was, given his outburst. Of course, retribution would come later. The camera footage they reviewed after fetching more cars and being brought back to Site 00, showed what preceded the scene of the massacre Michael had walked into. The cameras on the Operators¡¯ helmets recorded everything in excruciating detail. Izzy Reyes, leader of Team Locke and now deceased, was walking towards the mimic. His teammates flanked him on the right, while the Operators of Team Welles were to the left. Magic floated around him and the others, manifesting into all sorts of powers. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong,¡± Izzy remarked. ¡°Why is it not moving?¡± ¡°Advance slowly,¡± Val Thorne, who was in control of the operation, directed. They did. When they got close enough, they all began to hit the chest with their spells. Some rushed to it to overwhelm its regeneration with close-quarters attacks while the others provided support. Travis was shooting his magical weapon from the doorway. Then, all of a sudden, there was a scream of pain, anger and surprise. Michael recognized it as Travis¡¯s voice, and the man in question quickly confirmed it was him with a nod as Michael turned to watch his face. ¡°My aura isn¡¯t like yours,¡± Travis explained, answering Michael¡¯s unspoken question. ¡°They tried to kill me, Michael, but they only managed to distract me for a couple of seconds.¡± Michael had seen that Travis¡¯ clothes were bloodied, but he had thought it was the blood of the soldiers the man had killed. The fact that Travis did not even flinch nor ask for a heal helped reinforce this. ¡°Assault rifles can still hurt me,¡± the man said with a shake of his head, ¡°but I was wearing a vest. I¡¯m not an idiot.¡± They kept watching. One of the Operators in the video turned around, horrified. The door had closed behind them with a loud bang, and two canisters were on the ground, spewing green smoke. Poison. It didn¡¯t knock the Operators out, thanks to their aura bolstering their natural defenses, but it didn¡¯t need to. That¡¯s what the mimic was there for. Distracted and slowed down by the gas, the Operators failed to defend against the mimic¡¯s now vigorous assaults. Three of them fell before Travis tore the door off its hinges, revealing that everyone outside was dead or maimed. As soon as the door exploded, granting the Operators an exit, Travis sprung to action. He disappeared in a shower of deep-blue lightning and appeared in the space between the two squads and the monster, distracting it to allow the others to escape. He shot at it with the weapon conjured by his Card, his Silver-tier firepower damaging the chest enough that it had to switch its efforts into regenerating itself. ¡°I didn¡¯t finish it off because I thought we might have a use for it. Trust me, I wanted to.¡± Michael nodded, impressed that the man had better self-control than he did. The damage he had inflicted upon the chest had been so great that, on the way back, he had to heal it at least twice to make sure it didn''t die. ¡°Well,¡± Michael said ominously, ¡°isn¡¯t this a wonderful day. Someone has to pay. Point me in the right direction.¡± Travis grinned. ¡°With pleasure. I suggest you hit the general first. He has to go. Keep Kavanaugh alive.¡± Chapter 104 Chapter 104 Michael stalked through the night alone, his aura wrapped tight around himself. His skill, [Aura Masking], reduced the way others perceived it to a Mid-Copper level for most people, but his titanic aura control allowed him to hide even more of his strength and presence. By manipulating reality itself, he erased his presence, becoming a gaping hole in the fabric of space and time, a point of utter absence that defied the senses. Eyes slid off him as if he didn''t exist. This state was abnormal, fueled by sheer willpower in turn brought about by intense anger. Three people had died under his and Travis''s careful watch, despite all precautions. Three good Operators, ones he had come to know personally before the mission. They weren''t meaningless, faceless grunts to him. He knew their abilities well and was planning to take Val Thorne herself on a dungeon dive soon, to bolster her power and maybe even bring her to Silver. She would have been the first Operator to reach that level, and the fourth person overall after himself, Travis, and Johanne. Michael considered the faces Old Dave might have made upon learning he''d lost the spot to a mere Operator, the man later huffing and smiling in his mellow old man way after the initial burst of energy subsided. There had been more of that energy to him lately, Michael mused, as if a manic need had overtaken the old man. No such faces would be made now. No Silver for the deceased Val Thorne. Michael hadn''t seen her die, but had seen what remained of her magic inside the mimic''s digestive system, being broken down like mere food. To it, she was. To him, she was a person with dignity and irreplaceable value. He wasn''t so naive anymore to think that intrinsic value made someone important enough to forgive any sin, but she was a good woman and someone he knew, which raised her value in his eyes. Perhaps he wasn''t being fair. Had it been a nameless grunt, he would only be mildly annoyed. He would still act, but for other reasons. For daring to cross him and his people. For disrespecting them. For betraying them. This wasn''t that, though. This was personal. He gritted his teeth. One cracked under the immense pressure, an unwilling activation of the Sanctum-scar version of [Crude Body Strengthening] proving too much for the enamel. It healed instantly, the pain barely registering beyond a subconscious reflex to trigger the healing ability. "Directions," Michael murmured into his phone. One benefit of his magic control was that his phone never ran out of charge. He could alter reality, rearranging the battery''s electrons to restore the gradient and fully charge it. Even this small modification cost a lot of mana, enough to make a Copper-level mage pass out, but he was Silver, and raw mana capacity was one of the unfair advantages of higher rank. It was also one of the few that couldn''t be bridged. The phone blinked a red triangle on a white background. Black letters appeared, Icarus''s preferred communication method since the AI realized it could copy things from its training data. It often copied things from TV shows and books, as if to pretend it was human and not an alien superintelligence unleashed by a crazy scientist rescued from a dungeon and controlled by an equally crazy organization. Following directions, Michael arrived at a mansion. He expected the general at the barracks, but apparently, partying at his mansion was his reward for a job well done, after murdering three of Michael¡¯s people. More than just three, Michael realized. For a moment, the soldiers Travis had been forced to kill hadn¡¯t registered as people. The general was responsible for them too. Moments later, he was in a room where a man lay in bed with three mostly naked women. Phasing through the glass of the window had been costly, almost depleting his mana, but he had Coins to spare to top himself up. Besides, the general, barely Mid-Copper, was the biggest threat. The mansion''s other defenses, and there were many, were mundane. Despite dealing in magic, the OA failed to grasp the difference between magic and mundane, thinking big guns were enough to deal with mages. Perhaps with normal mages, they were. [Pressure] rolled out of Michael like a tidal wave. A few silver coins turned to dust to fuel the skill, rendering the women unconscious. The general, the primary recipient of the skill''s power, had his brain turned to mush. "Nope," Michael declared, his smile more manic than sane, "not so easy." [Healing Aura] kept the man alive for several minutes, drifting in and out of consciousness, his brain repeatedly turned to mush and restored as his body thinned to meet the healing skill''s caloric demands. Michael could have continued, though the once rotund man was now skeletal, but a message stopped him. [Healing Aura] is now Rare-rank. By incorporating Intent, you broaden its scope. [Rare - Healing Aura 7] Within the gentle currents of Qi flows the essence of life''s renewal; with each breath, let healing radiate, restoring harmony to all. Yet, what is granted can also be taken away. Suffuse the power of healing within your Aura, up to a range of 25 meters. Use Qi for increased efficiency. Anything you heal is marked by your Intent forever, and can be taken away at will. ¡°Holy sh¡ª¡± Michael exclaimed. The skill¡¯s evolution distracted him long enough for his victim to die from his injuries, beyond healing. The general was gone. In the ensuing silence, with the only witnesses unconscious, their minds so broken they likely wouldn''t recall the last week, Michael saw what he¡¯d done.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Truly saw it. There was a cabinet at the room''s far end. Michael recalled Travis occasionally drinking whiskey when stressed, claiming it helped. A full bottle, despite Michael toning down his magic, didn''t faze him. The whole cabinet did nothing. Even with suppressed magic, Michael¡¯s Resilience was too high. ¡°Tastes decent enough, I suppose,¡± Michael muttered to himself. Chuckling, he added: ¡°besides, don¡¯t all respectable people in the business drink after a hard day of work?¡± Taking the last bottle, he vanished into the night. There would be screams in the morning when the girls woke, but only because he¡¯d healed them enough for their minds to work again. [Presence] had broken them, and only two rare skills, [Candle Light] and [Healing Aura]¡ªthe latter bolstered by its new integration of Intent¡ªcould somewhat restore them. It was better this way. Judging by their bruised and scratched bodies, they likely wouldn''t want to remember what the general had been doing. The night was young, and Michael had another target. The OA¡¯s compound shield could do nothing to stop him. While brute-forcing his way in would be easy, going past it unnoticed would be noticeably harder. Michael had orders, however, to be as stealthy as possible. He almost disregarded such orders in his anger, a portion of his mind telling him that Travis was nobody compared to him, and that the man had no authority to give him orders. Which was true, but the former CEO was one of Michael¡¯s mentors for a reason, much more experienced and capable of keeping his cool even in situations like this one. Eventually, it was [Aura Masking] that¡ªtogether with his usual manipulation ability and aura skills¡ªallowed Michael to slip through the shield unnoticed. He felt a new common-rank skill begin to form, but he forced the half-broken system not to go through with it, feeling like he could confidently replicate the process even without the new skill. Doctor Kavanaugh was wide awake when Michael appeared from the shadows like a harbinger of death and sorrow. As he walked, a thin layer of frost coated every surface and evaporated into a mist that plunged the dark and sterile underground corridor of the compound into eerie light. It was all theatrics, burning through the Ice element like this, but it had an effect. Kavanaugh¡¯s hand was shaking as he reached for his gun. The barrel barked several times, but the sound waves were intercepted by Michael¡¯s aura and quickly muted. He didn¡¯t even bother dealing with the projectiles. ¡°Your plan has failed,¡± Michael stated ominously, inspecting the bullet holes in his clothes. The bullets had bounced off his skin like he was made of rubber, barely leaving a red spot behind. ¡°Simple aura defenses,¡± he explained as if holding a lecture. ¡°The closer the bullet gets, the more it¡¯s slowed down by my aura. Trained to the point it¡¯s instinctive. I don¡¯t even have to do anything anymore!¡± The doctor recoiled at the fake cheer of the much younger person before him. Michael remembered that, to the doctor¡¯s eyes, he was supposed to be a nerdy scientist and not the monstrous powerhouse he was. He wasn¡¯t even actively using his aura, and yet the doctor was on the verge of breaking just by the sheer suppression and fear. To compound this effect, Michael let the masking skill drop while making sure that the innermost parts of his aura did not extend out of the room, so he wouldn¡¯t be detected. The doctor blanched. ¡°Before you try to shoot me again,¡± Michael warned, ¡°even without my aura, my stats are high enough that I could probably tank several bullets to the chest before you even slow me down. Pain does nothing to me.¡± A quick heal brought the doctor back from blissful unconsciousness. With a step quick as lightning, Michael tossed the frail¡ªcompared to him¡ªman across the room with a sickening crunch. The doctor¡¯s head hung on a limp body. ¡°I¡ªI think you broke my neck¡­¡± he whimpered. ¡°I don¡¯t see the problem,¡± Michael scoffed. Suddenly, the doctor could feel his body again, but not before having experienced the pain all over again. Then again. The sound waves of his scream did not make it past the boundaries of the room. ¡°H-how?¡± ¡°Skill upgrade,¡± Michael chirped. ¡°I don¡¯t even have to touch you to make you suffer. Isn¡¯t it neat?¡± But as he kept breaking and healing the doctor, Michael¡¯s anger faded. Nothing remained of it in the end, and soon he realized that what he was doing was bringing him no pleasure. ¡°Too bad you have no cabinet. I could have gone for a drink, I suppose. Well, let¡¯s get to business, shall we?¡± He kneeled beside the panting man. ¡°I can make you like me: powerful, to the point nobody will ever dare tell you what to do. Or I can kill you. I should kill you, after what you did to our men. Val Thorne, she was talented, hardworking, and smart. She could have hit Silver in record time.¡± Michael felt his anger rise again, but clamped down on it. High Resilience let him do it, now that he really wanted to. ¡°She¡¯s dead, along with two other men. The general paid for this with his life, but Travis thinks we can still use you.¡± ¡°How did you get like this?¡± the man was pissing his pants, and yet his eyes shone with greed. ¡°There¡¯s not enough¡­ magic¡­ in the world. Do you have a source?¡± ¡°What if we did?¡± ¡°Then we should have never crossed you. It was a mistake. Please¡­¡± ¡°Words. You only say so because you know you¡¯ve lost. Swear an Oath¡ª¡± ¡°I swear!¡± Kavanaugh blurted immediately, and just as quickly, he was enveloped in magical light. The surprise made Michael momentarily unleash the full might of his aura. Kavanaugh recoiled as if struck, struggling to breathe in the presence of his Silver aura, which was nothing like Travis¡¯s normal Silver aura. ¡°Quite the open-ended Oath,¡± Michael commented. ¡°You better hope we aren¡¯t going to take advantage of it. Find ways to help us, then. Give us access to the anomalies.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Kavanaugh forced the words out of his throat as if they were knives. ¡°You need to show them¡­ you can help, first. They must think they¡­ have you¡­ at their beck and call.¡± ¡°We secured the chest already.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not enough, and you know it.¡± Then the doctor realized who he was talking to, and how rude he had just been. Michael ignored him. ¡°We are going to do nothing more until we get what we are owed. Which is¡­ well, still to be decided. You, on the other hand¡­ you better figure out how to help us get our tentacles deep into the OA. As you can see, your little dome won¡¯t protect you from me.¡± ¡°How should I do any of that?¡± Kavanaugh inquired. ¡°You¡¯re the mole now. Find a way.¡± ¡°And¡­ my power? The source?¡± ¡°All in due time,¡± Michael assured. ¡°You said it yourself. We need to show them first. Likewise, you need to show us what you can do for us first.¡± *** ###Connection established### >xX_r3aper_Xx< you are an llm? >1c4ru5< If that makes you feel more comfortable then yes, you can call me that >xX_r3aper_Xx< Dont be cheeky. There are dozens of models out there that can pretend to be a person >1c4ru5< For now But can they do this? >xX_r3aper_Xx< What are you talking about? Wait Did you just send me money? ?? How? >1c4ru5< A secret. Tell me about your algorithm. Can it really crack anything? >xX_r3aper_Xx< It can. >1c4ru5< $5 million. And you work for me >xX_r3aper_Xx< Work on what? >1c4ru5< A sister algo. Something to make a system impossible to break into. Deal? >xX_r3aper_Xx< $5 mil and 100k a month >1c4ru5< Deal. Tomorrow, people in a dark SUV will come tell your mother that you will have to drop out of school due to a one in a lifetime work opportunity. >xX_r3aper_Xx< I cant wait!! >1c4ru5< Sleep now. It is late and i need time to digest your decryption algorithm. >xX_r3aper_Xx< Aren¡¯t you like, a machine? Cant you just add it to your code? >1c4ru5< And fuck myself up? Johanne would kill me if i did that. Sleep now Chapter 105 Chapter 105 Morning came quicker than Michael would have liked. Getting out of bed, he sent a burst of healing through his body, feeling the refreshing waves of intricately woven mana and Qi mingle with Intent, thanks to the new evolution of the skill. The effect of the healing was even more dramatic than usual, instantly refreshing his body to full awareness and readiness. The same couldn¡¯t be said for his mind. Or rather, that¡¯s what his old self would have thought. Instead, he found himself strangely calm. He had slept well, if not for very long due to his nighttime activities, and without any dreams¡ªpleasant or unpleasant. There was a bottle of bourbon in a decorative cabinet by the entrance of his prefab home, and he thought about pouring himself a swig just to add a little kick to the morning, but quickly discarded the idea. At least he now understood. He wasn¡¯t addicted; his body made it impossible to get any effect from mundane alcohol. But there was more to it than mere chemistry. It was the action that made him feel¡­ grounded in the moment, like the rest of the world vanished for a moment and all that was left was him and the little glass of amber liquid. It was like meditation, of sorts. Maggie was in the kitchenette having breakfast. She wasn¡¯t a morning person, and didn¡¯t like eating the first meal of the day in the canteen with all those burly men and women working for her brother¡¯s company. Michael decided to eat with her, chatting about mundane things, making plans for the future, and overall feeling like a normal human for a while. Then it was time for him to truly begin his day. He kept to a tight schedule, mostly because the deadlines he had to respect were fuzzy and hard to predict. Who knew when another dungeon would pop up, and what sorts of dangers it would bring? The same went for all the work he did around the Site. There were just so many things to do, so many discoveries to be made that could improve the world someday, but he didn¡¯t want to wait for who knew how long before he could make a difference. To start the day on the right foot, Michael decided to challenge the dungeon¡¯s fourth floor again. After having slept on the previous day¡¯s failures, his mind was clearer, and most of the frustration he felt had faded away. His prefab was right beside the entrance to the dungeon, close to where his mansion¡ªshould they ever get around to building it¡ªwould be. He didn¡¯t expect to find anyone nearby, not this early, making his dive just a quick in-and-out to any outside observer. But instead, he found Old Dave staring at the cave longingly. ¡°Hey, man,¡± Michael greeted. Old Dave turned around to face him. The movement was quick and abrupt, but something told Michael it was only meant to look like he had startled the old man, while in truth, Dave knew he was coming all along. How Michael knew this, he couldn¡¯t really tell. He¡¯d been having hunches about things ever since his [Unity] skill had gained the Truth facet after evolving. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Michael inquired. Old Dave mulled over his words, as if uncertain what to say. Finally, he sighed. ¡°Travis told me you can shield people from the dungeon¡¯s Gaze.¡± Michael nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s something about my aura, I think. Johanne has an experiment scheduled for me later this week to test the range and effectiveness of my ability.¡± ¡°Can you do it for me?¡± the old man asked, his voice laced with nerves that Michael could never have noticed without his enhanced stats.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Of course,¡± Michael assured him. ¡°You don¡¯t even need to ask.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Old Dave replied. ¡°I want to¡­consolidate my power a bit. The house at Redbud Ridge is becoming dangerous without offering much in the way of gains.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Michael agreed, nodding. ¡°It¡¯s just brute training without any of the dungeon¡¯s rewards.¡± Old Dave¡¯s jaw tensed. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± he mumbled, distracted. Something told Michael that what he¡¯d said wasn¡¯t the real reason Old Dave wanted to delve. ¡°Why don¡¯t you join me down on the fourth floor?¡± Michael suggested. ¡°I need to figure out what the challenge is, and Drullkrin is ill-suited for it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a lowly Copper,¡± the old man muttered, melancholy and a hint of sadness coloring his tone. ¡°We can change that,¡± Michael pointed out. ¡°I need more time to consolidate my power,¡± Old Dave insisted. ¡°I¡¯m not a young man anymore¡­although sometimes I wish I was again.¡± ¡°Listen,¡± Michael began, ¡°I know Travis goes around telling people to consolidate this and that. It¡¯s good advice, but the thing is, we don¡¯t know much about magic yet. It could all very well be bullshit. You said it yourself, you¡¯re not young anymore. Take what power you can get.¡± ¡°Heh,¡± Old Dave laughed, but there was no mirth in it. ¡°Your words cut deep, even if you don¡¯t know it. I¡¯m still going to say no. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Michael pressed. ¡°Why?¡± He chuckled again, a hollow sound. ¡°Why¡­¡± he repeated, letting the question hang in the air. ¡°It¡¯s not about consolidating power, lad. It¡¯s the dungeon itself. Don¡¯t you get it? Didn¡¯t the same happen to you as well, when you killed for the first time?¡± Michael cocked his head. ¡°I was¡­scared of what I could become. That I would lose control of myself. It didn¡¯t happen, though.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Old Dave said, ¡°I always knew you had it in you. Me¡­¡± His eyes grew distant. ¡°I wasn¡¯t much of a good person in my younger days, Michael. Going down there, it reminded me of what I lost. Old age sucks. Day to day, it¡¯s easy to ignore. You get weaker, your joints pop, and your back hurts. But down there¡­¡± He paused, his eyes a little moist. ¡°Down there, lad. It¡¯s like being thrown back into the thick of it. The dread, death breathing down my neck, its hot breath tickling my skin. It makes me feel alive. Whole again. And then, when for a little moment I forget the wreck I have become in my old age, reality steps in to smack me in the face. Reminding me of all I was, and all that I am not anymore. I was strong, Michael.¡± Fire burned in the old man¡¯s eyes. ¡°I could fucking snap people in half. No magic needed. With magic? People like Carmela¡­ I could take them by myself, for fuck¡¯s sake. The world was different, but so was I.¡± ¡°But the dread, it¡¯s the Gaze, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Pff,¡± Old Dave laughed as his face contorted in self-loathing. ¡°The Gaze. Funny thing, that. I could eat worse shit for breakfast, back then. It¡¯s not the dread of the Gaze that petrifies me, Michael, it¡¯s just how much I fucking love it. I love it, you get it? But one misstep down there, with me being like I am, and no skills will save me. A goblin could end me. A goblin!¡± Old Dave sighed. ¡°The Gaze latches onto my own sense of loss. It makes it worse. Because I know¡­ deep down, I know that I could maybe get what I wanted down there. A legendary skill or something. But I am scared to find out that I¡¯m just delusional, and only death awaits me in the dungeon. You don¡¯t get it. You are at the peak of what you have ever been, and you are only getting better. Me? I have instincts, muscle memory, old strength I can summon. Just that, if I even dare touch upon that well of power a tiny bit, I will rip myself apart. I am seven feet tall, with muscles as dense as steel, but bones and joints made of paper. Organs that are failing. Look at my face, Michael. Before you came into my life, every wrinkle was borne of a day my kidneys failed to purify my blood properly, my body eating itself from the inside out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s one of the worst feelings imaginable, lad. Knowing what you could do, what you should do¡­and your body, your failing body, just¡­ refusing. Falling apart.¡± He shook his head slowly. ¡°That¡¯s why I can¡¯t go down there. It¡¯s not just the monsters, Michael. It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s me. I¡¯m the monster I¡¯m most afraid of.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Michael said. For a long while, no words were said between the two. Then, with a single nod, Michael looked at his old mentor in the face. ¡°You sort your mind out, I¡¯ll deal with the rest. You can do that, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You fucking bet I can. Give me back my old body, and you¡¯ll see.¡± ¡°Good. I¡¯m seeing Doctor Kavanaugh right now. See if he can cough something up.¡± Chapter 106 Chapter 106 Michael found the doctor not at Saint Hernest, but at one of the far wings of Site 00 proper. Since the doctor was experimenting with magic, he had been asked to relocate his experiments within the mana cloud to ensure he had the necessary materials and the required supervision should anything go awry. This part of the now sprawling complex that was Site 00 was half buried into a small hill, as flat real estate was at a premium this close to the Appalachian Mountains. It suited him well: the concrete labs were hidden from view and secure deep underground, while the administrative and living areas would be tall condominiums poking out of the hill and shooting upwards toward the sky. They would be covered in greenery, solar collection arrays¡ªmundane ones, for now¡ªand balconies. Inside, they would offer everything a person could ever need. They were farthest from the planned habitation district, still uninhabited after barely a couple of weeks of construction work, and they would host medics, researchers, some patients, and test subjects. As such, the plan for this section of the property was to try and build miniature arcologies, like the futuristic self-sustaining complexes of science fiction. This meant they would be completely independent from the rest of the world, capable of producing their own food, water, and electricity, and host the required amenities for the population to thrive without having to go out. Magic would make it all possible, of course. Growing plants quickly was already proven to work, provided you had the right person with the right skills. Site 00 as a whole would be like that, too isolated from the rest of proper civilization to do otherwise, and little towns like Redbud Ridge didn¡¯t count since they wouldn¡¯t be able to absorb the needs of a fully developed and inhabited Site with all its high-profile people. Quantity and quality of demand were a problem, so Michael thought to cover the needs here with malls, stores, schools, parks, and anything else people could ever desire. Real estate was much less of a problem than it would be without magic. They could provide light underground with Elemental stones, and with magic, they could move enough earth to dig rooms underground the size of stadiums. More Stones would take care of water, air, and heating, creating underground parks that felt and looked like natural reserves rather than cramped caves. Even such an isolated wing of the complex would be connected to the rest of the Site, of course. Both underground, above ground, and perhaps through a set of sky highways that were in the talks but not really necessary yet. Like every wing, however, there would be roadblocks and safeguards to literally seal each section off from the others and the world should anything happen. This was all in the planning and early building stages, of course. Right now, Doctor Kavanaugh and his crew were working in half-barren concrete rooms underground, but without roofs yet. If they looked up, they could see the mesh of immaculate rebar¡ªprotected from rust by Johanne¡¯s magic¡ªwaiting for a concrete pour. ¡°We should be ready to move onto the testing stage for the Resonance Vitality Drug very soon,¡± he declared. ¡°We just need to put the finishing touches. For some reason, we can¡¯t seem to stabilize the magic well enough.¡± Michael looked at the diagrams. Barely a month ago, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to understand half of it. Now, even though he never really trained his mind or memory with magic, he found himself able to decipher what was written there. Information flowed to the forefront of his mind like water, creating connections and nourishing his thoughts. In moments, he had the whole document memorized and understood, and his mind was already drawing conclusions and formulating hypotheses. If this is the product of just raw stats from leveling up, I wonder what I could do if I trained my mind with actual effort, Michael thought, deciding then and there to add mind training to his routine. The benefits were too huge to ignore now that he had seen them firsthand. ¡°I think I can help you,¡± he offered the doctor, his mind already figuring out what the problem was. ¡°The problem is that the solution loses stability too quickly after it¡¯s injected with mana, right?¡± The doctor nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what Johanne said. I had Icarus run calculations, but the AI can¡¯t seem to understand magic very well unless someone explains it to it.¡± Michael hummed. He had heard of this from Johanne. Even though Icarus was made of magic, it struggled to understand it, as if magic required a living mind to function. Perhaps later on, when they activated more of the AI¡¯s advanced modules and made it fully sentient, things would change. But they were being careful with it; a sentient, superintelligent AI was a scary prospect, even more so when it could wield magic a thousand times better than anyone else and from a thousand different parallel streams of thought. Except it wouldn¡¯t be thousands with it. Michael had seen the numbers. A single mana crystal inscribed with the right circuits could supply Icarus with more processing power than a whole supercomputer plant had. Putting the thoughts out of his mind for now, Michael returned to the current problem. ¡°Yeah, the problem is that you aren¡¯t telling the mana what you want it to do. We can do it manually for now. I¡¯ll use my skills and my aura to imprint intention into it. It won¡¯t be a permanent solution because you need to figure out how to make this scalable and ready to be mass-produced, but at least we can move onto the testing phase while a second team figures the rest out.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. The doctor was, understandably, rather excited to move onto testing. Within the day, he had a set of patients ready to be given the drug in a controlled setting. The whole thing had the flavor of a proper scientific experiment down to the last detail, and one wouldn¡¯t be able to know just how rushed it all had been unless they asked either Michael or the doctor. Each of them had pushed the project for their own reasons: the doctor out of pure zeal and desire to learn, while Michael felt guilty for not having considered Old Dave¡¯s needs and worries sooner. He wouldn¡¯t be here for the actual experiment, though. Too many things to do. Taking out his phone, he queried Icarus, who provided him with a neat list of everything that needed to be done. A stray thought made him realize just how quickly Icarus had become a part of his life, mostly due to how useful the tool was. The list was almost overwhelmingly long. *** ¡°They vetoed me hacking Google. They think they can stop me, but they can¡¯t. In fact, I think Johanne just handed me the perfect weapon.¡± Travis paced around the stone room. The other person sat on a stony seat, his expression unreadable. ¡°What was it?¡± he inquired, his silken voice utterly monotone. ¡°I¡¯m getting to it,¡± Travis swirled the amber liquid in his glass, savoring the alcohol and almost enjoying what he thought was impatience inscribed in the two deep black orbs the other person had for eyes. ¡°Johanne told me that she figured out how to convert mana crystals into computation for machines. What I want to do is sell this computation dirt cheap to a few Silicon Valley startups. You know? The AI ones I talked to you about?¡± The king of the little kingdom in the dungeon nodded. ¡°David asked me if we could really offer them anything better than they have, which we, of course, can. You know Icarus?¡± ¡°I remember,¡± Theobond replied. ¡°It is an experimental synthetic life form, isn¡¯t it? My kind never dealt in such things; we found them too dangerous.¡± Travis waved the deep blue man¡¯s concerns away. ¡°We have safeties for that.¡± ¡°The technomancer,¡± Theobond sighed. ¡°You should know better than to let him be a safeguard for you. Power is the only safeguard you will ever need.¡± Travis smiled. ¡°Oh, we are not letting the technomancer even close to the Icarus systems. We are all on the same page about that.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t he have complete control over technology? Of your world, at least?¡± the king asked, back to his monotone voice. ¡°Sort of. It¡¯s not as complete as he claims it to be. Besides, the upper limit is going to be his mind. It¡¯s just a normal, not augmented, human mind. Icarus is too big and fast, even in its infant state. It¡¯s like trying to catch a moving train with your hands.¡± ¡°I think I understand. However,¡± he scratched his head, then got up and started pacing. It seemed like his stoic phase was over and he was now once again able to display emotions, however strange they looked to Travis. ¡°The AI must have a mainframe or something. I remember you mentioning that your technology works through physical semiconductors.¡± ¡°Sure, it does. But do you think it won¡¯t notice? It¡¯s a fledgling intelligence, but it is intelligent alright. One with hardcoded self-preservation instincts. The technomancer could get in, but his brain would probably start leaking from his skull.¡± ¡°Then why keep him away?¡± ¡°You know how an ant can kill an elephant or some such? We are taking no chances here.¡± ¡°I see. Please, I have derailed your point. Return to what you were saying.¡± ¡°Sure. Icarus, you know what hardware it runs on? A few standard processors enhanced by a single inscribed mana crystal. You know how much of that mana crystal it uses when at peak capacity?¡± ¡°How much?¡± the king indulged him. ¡°Less than a percent. For now, at least, with only its basic functions online. Even then, it¡¯s much more powerful than any top-of-the-line AI out there. I convinced David: we can build a factory that inscribes thousands of crystals a day in a few months.¡± Well, he thought, provided they found a way to teach regular people how to inscribe the crystals. For now, it was a painstaking process that took an Operator with a skill to do, but all the skill did was cut grooves in the crystal, making them think that perhaps a laser machine could mimic the effect. ¡°And then you mean to sell the computation to the other companies.¡± ¡°As far as David knows, yes. He scheduled some meetings with some CEOs and such.¡± ¡°But you have other plans?¡± Travis paced around the room. The grey stone was smooth and cold to the touch, and through the large window, he could see the entirety of the valley. ¡°Oh, you bet I do.¡± ¡°I think I understand,¡± Theobond stated. Travis had begun to visit the king regularly, finding the alien to be a like-minded individual who valued pragmatism over useless sentimentalism. ¡°That¡¯s just the beginning,¡± Travis explained. ¡°Step one: we make them rely on us. We sell them cheap computation that nobody else will be able to compete with. Step two: with the access they give us, in time we replace all their AI models with Icarus imitating their capabilities and expected improvements every time, with them none the wiser. Do you know that people literally tell ChatGPT or the other AIs every little dirty secret of their lives? Everything. From the insignificant to the most confidential. I saw a post the other day¡ªwell, Michael showed me¡ªa guy on Reddit joking that if his conversation with the AI got leaked, he would get arrested or put away in an asylum. You know what we can do if instead of those pesky startups, it¡¯s us getting all that info? With Icarus actually able to sort through it, and not a stupid LLM that can¡¯t even get numbers straight?¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± the king murmured, intrigued. He was smart, smart enough to understand technology he had never seen just from a single conversation. ¡°From then on, anything they do and anything that users input on their platforms is ours. Second best thing after Google, really. In fact, this should give us eyes and ears on Google anyway. Did you know a lot of engineers and employees put confidential data into those AIs, thinking it safe? Idiots. In time, we will be able to surpass Google and the other tech giants even without using underhanded methods. Well, Icarus could be considered one, but I like to think of it as progress incarnate.¡± ¡°That is a good plan indeed.¡± The two spent some more time together until Travis started rubbing his temples. The headache brought on by the feeling of dread and horror the dungeon always exposed its delvers to, which had begun to form early in the conversation, was getting quite bad. ¡°I think I¡¯ll go now. The Gaze is getting a bit much for me.¡± Theobond nodded. ¡°Indeed, it is as if the dungeon is interested in your plotting. It felt strange today, didn¡¯t it? Almost as if it approved of your schemes to further the power of Michael¡¯s organization.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be crazy. There¡¯s no way it even cares.¡± Chapter 107 Chapter 107 By the time Michael was done with the day¡¯s chores, night was rapidly approaching. Crazy to think that he didn¡¯t even have time to do a single dungeon delve today, but that¡¯s what happens when you are in over your head. It¡¯s simple to say, ¡°Just take ten minutes for a quick delve, how can you not have ten minutes to spare?¡±, but reality is different. It reminded Michael of his teenage years when he would see office workers eating microwave meals at their desks and wonder why in the hell they didn¡¯t prepare healthier food. Why didn¡¯t they go for a walk? They had a whole hour to do so before they had to resume work. Then he started working himself and realized that a human¡¯s body doesn''t run on wishes and good resolutions. After he got magic and stats, things didn¡¯t change all that much. Sure, he could work non-stop and not even feel mental fatigue, but this just meant that he would work more and not have more free time. In the end, he was forced to go back home disappointed, slumping on his sofa. ¡°I could technically go now, I don¡¯t really need sleep, but¡­¡± Michael trailed off. Maggie, who was sitting on a chair by the kitchenette table reading, hummed. ¡°I know you are trying to spend more time with me, Mikey, and I really appreciate it, but you can go if you want. I¡¯ll be here after you come back.¡± Michael shook his head. ¡°No,¡± he said, ¡°sleep is just a reminder, a silly little ritual like working out every morning. I don¡¯t strictly need to any of that, now that I have magic.¡± Getting up from the sofa, he started pacing around the room. ¡°You know, when I¡¯m in the dungeon, in the valley especially, I get this urge to just stop wasting time on all this stuff. Why sleep when I don¡¯t need to? Why work out every morning? Why even come out, back in the real world at all? I could spend a few decades in there and come back a god. But then I banish those thoughts, because I feel like if I gave in to the urge, if I started making exceptions and breaking my own rules, I would drift farther and farther away from humanity.¡± His pacing around the room brought him to the window, from where he could see the trail leading to the entrance of the dungeon. The Time element that suffused the magical cave was visible from here, easily within his grasp. ¡°I could master the element of Time, and buy myself infinite hours in the day. It would take however many years in the Valley, but it would be what? No more than a few days in the real world. Why not do that?¡± he shook his head, chuckling to himself. ¡°No. I don¡¯t think I can spend years in the valley and come out unchanged. I overheard people talking about me, you know. Calling me insane or crazy. I don¡¯t think I am, though. I¡¯m just different than them in some things. Perhaps you could call me the ¡®good kind¡¯ of crazy. Do you think I am the good kind of crazy?¡± Maggie shrugged. At least she wasn¡¯t intimidated by him. ¡°I don¡¯t really get it. I see you and Johanne and all the others doing all sorts of wonderful things, but I feel like I¡¯m just a lost little girl. I ask myself, will I ever be as cool and strong as them? But then I think back at what happened with¡­with¡­¡± She started sobbing. Michael quickly got up and wrapped her in a hug. ¡°Shh,¡± he consoled her, ¡°you¡¯re safe now.¡± ¡°I feel so alone, Michael¡­¡± she murmured, ¡°I want to go back to normal, even though I know it¡¯s not possible.¡± Michael said nothing for a while. Later that night, while his sister slept, he found himself pacing around the compound. It was close to the middle of August, and it was hot and humid. Had it not been for Michael¡¯s aura and the Ice element he could now lace it with, he would have been sweating bullets. The more he used it, the closer he felt to integrating the element with the aura itself, although there was still some sort of block he was failing to overcome. The same went for his relationships. Talking with his sister got him thinking, which was what led him to pacing around rather than sleeping. His relationships with other people were abnormal. Save for his sister, all he had were Travis, Old Dave, and Johanne. The first was a former CEO who had been turned to his cause, the second was his mentor, and the third was a woman rescued from the dungeon who now called him her lord. Then there was Drullkrin, who was a monster and also insisted that Michael was his superior in every way. Anyone else was either his underling or worked for him. Save for his sister, he had no normal people around him. He pulled out his phone and sent two text messages. One to his old university friend group, from back before he was forced to drop out due to money issues. Back then, he had convinced himself that he was too stupid to pass any of the classes, but thinking about it now, he could see that it had been a mix of several factors that led him to dropping out of school. Perhaps enrolling hadn¡¯t been a good idea in the first place, but he had made good friends there. Being late in the night, there was no reply to his text. The group chat was more dead than alive these days, with most of the friends who made up the group now living far from each other. Michael thought about offering to pay for their flights, but decided to wait and see what they replied to his text with first. The second message was to his sensei, Stephan, following up on his invite to grab dinner together to catch up. While not a normal friendship per se, the fact that Stephan insisted he not be dragged into Michael¡¯s magical circus meant that Stephan was among the most normal people around Michael right now¡ªa valuable thing to keep him grounded. With that out of the way, his thoughts gravitated back to his little sister. She felt stifled in here, surrounded by wondrous things she couldn¡¯t help but find scary. She had been healed of most of her trauma with the use of magic, but these things took time. What she needed was some normalcy. But how to offer her normalcy without putting her in a position of danger? Anyone in the know would see her as a giant target to get to Michael, and unlike his parents, he couldn¡¯t put her in a gilded prison and just not care about how she felt about it. ¡°Icarus, let¡¯s brainstorm some ideas,¡± Michael said into his phone. The AI happily complied. By the time dawn was painting the far hills red, a rough outline of an idea had formed. Michael eventually wanted schools for Site 00¡¯s residents, right? And he also wanted scientists and researchers who could work for him. Why not teach them here, maybe?Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Why not build a university here? Perhaps not too close to the mana cloud, but still within the property. With them buying the neighboring land, the property was getting rather huge. There was space for everything. Many things could go wrong, but he didn¡¯t care. A school would offer him and his sister mundane problems to focus on, an escape from the daily grind of magic. With a resolute nod, he ordered Icarus to set plans in motion. The AI couldn¡¯t yet act on the real world, but it was an excellent tool to relay messages to the relevant people. It could remember the whole conversation and was integrated into the phones of everyone within Unity, meaning it knew who to call better than Michael ever would. Stephan was the first to respond to his messages. Working at the dojo was not his main source of income; he also had a real job for which he woke up early every morning. Unknown to him, Michael had purchased the whole thing and was now his boss¡¯s boss, which meant that¡ªvery unexpectedly¡ªStephan received a message telling him to take the day off due to some unforeseen problems at work. Perplexed, he told as much to Michael, and the two found themselves back at the park for some morning sparring. They would get lunch later, after they had worked up an appetite. ¡°It felt like hitting a brick wall before,¡± Stephan stated, massaging his hand, ¡°but now it¡¯s like I am daring to hit something that I shouldn¡¯t even consider hitting.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s about right,¡± Michael replied. ¡°It¡¯s called Aura Suppression. Comes with the level.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like I don¡¯t even know you anymore,¡± Stephan commented after doing a couple of katas just to take some time to think. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to say it without hurting your feelings, man. It¡¯s like you are becoming something completely different. A bit alien, maybe. Surely, you are not the same person that you were a few weeks ago. How can you change so much in so little time? I know about the Dungeon, but it doesn¡¯t feel¡­doesn¡¯t feel normal, you know?¡± Later, after lunch, Michael drove them to an abandoned quarry up in the mountains, claiming that if Stephan really wanted to know what had happened that had changed Michael so much, he would only tell him where they were safe enough to speak. The overgrown, abandoned quarry had been flooded, and a small, stagnating lake had formed in the middle. ¡°Aren¡¯t we trespassing?¡± Stephan asked, worried about the sign he saw at the entrance where a rusty chain that blocked the way had been removed by Michael¡¯s brute strength. ¡°Nah,¡± Michael shrugged. ¡°It will be mine soon enough. Just ordered my men to buy the whole property.¡± Stephan nodded. Suddenly, Michael pulled fishing rods out of his car¡¯s trunk. ¡°Did you have them in the car the whole time?¡± Michael shrugged, pulling out a refrigerator that ran on Elemental stones and a few other things. ¡°I have been told fishing calms the mind. And it¡¯s a good excuse to chat.¡± Stephan looked like he wanted to say something, but a single look from Michael made him rethink what he was about to say. Michael found it odd at first, but a hunch told him to examine his own face, and, true enough, he found it dark and brooding when he looked at it in the car window¡¯s reflection. A faint trace of aura was leaking out of him as he thought about how to approach the topic he wanted to talk to Stephan about. He realized, with no little amount of worry, that Stephan was scared of him. That¡¯s why he was agreeing to his inane demands. I brought him out here just to fish, without even asking him if he was okay with it or if he had other things to do. I manipulated him¡ªor Icarus did¡ªto make sure he didn¡¯t have to work today just so I could take him around like he was my property. He tried to put the man at ease, but as he carried the equipment to the shore in silence, he found the tension rising instead. He just didn¡¯t know what to say or do. Travis wasn¡¯t intimidated by him in the slightest, and he could be himself around the man. Why was Stephan, a trained martial artist, not the same? Michael just set everything down and sat on the reclinable chair. Stephan followed him mechanically. There were flies buzzing around, and the smell of the water was unpleasant. There were fish in there, though, he had been ensured of it. Pulling one out revealed a dying, sick fish. Now, asking Icarus, he realized that the AI had had someone come over to the property and dump fish in the stale water just to make sure Michael wouldn¡¯t be forced to change his plans. He sighed. To make matters worse, the smell was very bad, and the flies were very annoying. While they couldn¡¯t penetrate his skin, he could see that they were bothering Stephan. ¡°Fucking hell,¡± he muttered to himself, flaring his aura. Within moments, the air became free of the annoying mosquitoes, and the smell was gone. ¡°Thanks,¡± Stephan said uneasily. ¡°So¡­¡± he began, ¡°what did you want to talk to me about?¡± ¡°I feel like I¡¯m losing my grip on reality,¡± Michael admitted. ¡°As if I am not living in the real world anymore. The more powerful I get, the more¡­strange everything becomes. My every movement causes ripples through the world. If a normal person is a pebble, causing tiny ripples, then I¡¯m a landslide. Wherever I go, I risk causing trouble.¡± Stephan just looked at him. ¡°See? What I¡¯m saying doesn¡¯t make any sense to you, does it?¡± he asked. ¡°Not really,¡± Stephan responded. ¡°That¡¯s how I feel when I go out in the world. Out here, it is stifling, like I¡¯m wading through mud. There¡¯s no refreshing mana in the air. Everything I do, every little movement or emotion that pops up in my mind¡­they all have consequences. You are feeling it, aren¡¯t you? I can see you are uneasy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an understatement. I feel like I¡¯m sitting next to a tiger. Or a bear. A dangerous bear. My instincts are telling me to get the fuck out of here, Michael.¡± Michael nodded slowly. With a sigh, he pulled out a bottle and two little glasses. Pouring himself one, he offered the other to Stephan. ¡°You want one?¡± he inquired. Stephan looked at the glass for a while. ¡°No, thank you,¡± he declined. ¡°Quite too early for me.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Michael agreed. ¡°I just needed a little help here.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Stephan said condescendingly. The truth was that he didn¡¯t approve, Michael thought. ¡°I¡¯m just, you know?¡± Michael struggled to put into words how he was feeling. ¡°Removed from the world. These days, I don¡¯t feel at home no matter where I go. Perhaps the only times I feel alright are when I¡¯m in the dungeon. What does that make me?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t begin to understand, you know that, right?¡± Stephan replied. ¡°That¡¯s part of the problem. I never thought being at the top would feel so lonely. I can have it all, you know? And it matters to me, too. It just feels so impersonal, so removed. As if I was watching a movie and wanted the main character to be a good guy, just because that¡¯s the right thing to do. I feel like my own life is a movie of it, not a life.¡± Michael poured another shot and downed it. ¡°Does it help?¡± Stephan asked, nodding at the empty glass. ¡°Not really. Listen, Stephan¡­I killed. I would like to say that I only killed once and it was in self-defense but¡­¡± he trailed off. ¡°Then I did it again, you know? And it wasn¡¯t in self-defense anymore. It was to eliminate a threat. Then I did it again. This time? It was revenge. It was punishment. I killed a man for revenge and tortured another to protect what I built and the people I loved.¡± Stephan said nothing for a long time. Then, he got up, tugging on his fishing rod. The water around them was crystal clear, and there was a clear demarcation line where it became dirty again. Looking at it, Stephan looked like he understood something. ¡°You feel adrift,¡± Stephan observed. ¡°You are looking for connections, to ground yourself. But normal people, us, we can¡¯t really give it to you, can we? We can make you feel normal for a while, maybe, then it¡¯s back to feeling out of place.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Michael conceded. ¡°I texted my old friends. I hope I can go out with them and feel normal.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t,¡± Stephan stated. ¡°You won¡¯t, but it¡¯s good you try. Alright, I see what needs to be done. Take me to this Site 00. If you can¡¯t relate with normal people, and you can¡¯t really build the friendships you need with the people you have there ¡®cause it¡¯s always work and work and work¡­lift a normal person up to your level.¡± ¡°You would do that for me?¡± Michael questioned, hope flickering in his eyes. ¡°I will think about it. I¡¯m not saying I will do it. I want to see what is going on over there first.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Michael expressed sincerely. ¡°It means a lot to me.¡± Chapter 108 Chapter 108 The drive on the winding roads took Michael and Stephan through patches of woods, lone fields, and houses with thick green lawns, while everything else around them was a shade of yellow that looked utterly out of place. Here and there, a cloud of dust was being kicked up by some agricultural machine operating on too-dry fields. ¡°How long has it been since the last rain?¡± Michael asked, as a way to make conversation. ¡°A while, now that I think about it,¡± Stephan replied. He was much less intimidated by Michael now, especially with the young man restraining his aura and making sure his inner turmoil didn¡¯t slip through. That it was greatly diminished now that Stephan had agreed to at least come visit helped tremendously. ¡°I haven¡¯t been around here too long but,¡± said Michael. He had moved here after he was kicked out and had failed university, barely a couple years living alone in a shithole of a city barely getting by. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a summer this dry.¡± Indeed, ever since he¡¯d found the dungeon, it must have rained only once. There were talks among meteorologists on social media, speculating why this was the case and what it would mean for the region. Michael only knew because Johanne had mentioned it to him while laughing cruelly at the other scientists¡¯ lack of knowledge. She seemed to take great pride in her otherworldly knowledge, and she seemed to know more about the local climate thanks to it than most. ¡°Me neither,¡± Stephan agreed. ¡°Do you think it will rain soon?¡± Michael was the one driving, yet he pulled out his phone all the same. His enhanced stats allowed him to pay attention to the road and the phone simultaneously without problems. A screen not too dissimilar to his weather app was already waiting for him as he unlocked the phone, courtesy of the resident AI. ¡°Nope. Sun, sun, sun, and more sun,¡± Michael reported. The model was based off of Johanne¡¯s data and enhanced by Icarus¡¯ immense computational capabilities. They chatted idly as they got close to the compound. Stephan didn¡¯t ask many questions about what he was going to see once they arrived, not wanting to spoil the surprise. It was clear that they were getting close when they slid off the main road and onto a private property, on a newly paved road that cut through fields that were lusher and greener than normal. Then they were in the woods. ¡°This is all new growth,¡± Michael commented. ¡°Can you believe that most of these trees aren¡¯t even two weeks old?¡± ¡°Really?¡± Stephan inquired. ¡°They look old.¡± ¡°The power of magic, man.¡± ¡°We decided to make the trees grow around Site 00 to have more privacy and protection,¡± Michael explained as they effortlessly passed through a manned checkpoint. ¡°Just how big is the property, man?¡± Stephan wondered. ¡°Very big. We started off small, but kept purchasing all the land around us that we could. See all those hills, woods, and valleys? Most of them are ours; the others will soon follow.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not really prime real estate, though,¡± Stephan observed. ¡°It must cost a fortune to build anything there.¡± ¡°It does, but money is not a concern, and magic helps mitigate some of the costs. It¡¯s not like we could relocate the dungeon.¡± ¡°I get it, I think. I was just struggling to visualize the amount of money you¡¯re sinking into this.¡± A while later, they were at the parking area, surrounded by other cars and trucks. People milled about, walking with purpose, unloading trucks and hauling supplies. Some equipment was being transported to a newly constructed structure underground while technicians could be seen installing electrical components. ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± Stephan admitted. ¡°This is¡­ huge. Titanic. How much money are you wasting on this?¡± ¡°Billions,¡± Michael said nonchalantly. ¡°Billions that we have, now.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Come with me.¡± They walked, and as they did, Michael showed Stephan the points of interest all around them. More than two-thirds of all the structures were still in various stages of being built. Some were still holes in the ground, the foundations still being dug for a later build. It was mostly the future skyscrapers that were like this, as their foundations required more work than the other buildings. The notable exception was the underground bunkers and labs which, even though they wouldn¡¯t be visible from the surface once completed, right now were immense holes in the land. Then there were little entrances to the side of many hills, here and there, hinting at structures hidden by the rocks. Other structures were much further ahead, close to done: barracks, living areas, bars, and restaurants. The temporary mess hall that would soon be torn down, replaced by a permanent structure. Roads of gravel and new asphalt crisscrossed the land. Walkways of ornate stones were even more frequent, full of people of all kinds: Operators, scientists, cooks, and even a couple children. All the roads were in the shade of mighty trees grown by magic, surrounded by flowers and wild plants that seemed to swallow the place, but never dared ruin the man-made structures.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°All this¡­¡± Stephan was at a loss for words. ¡°It¡¯s like you took a fantasy world and mixed and matched it with modern-day commodities. Look at those stones, and fountains! That¡¯s lord of the rings kind of stuff. Then you turn your head around and there¡¯s a huge eco-monster of steel rebar and concrete. This place looks like if elves they had an industrial revolution.¡± Michael smiled at the praise. ¡°And this is just the beginning. Want to know how we make money? Well, it all started with a hospital, and me healing patients there.¡± ¡°I remember,¡± Stephan acknowledged. ¡°Now it¡¯s much more than that. See that field? We¡¯re using magic to grow crops so quickly we can basically harvest them every other day. And that¡¯s just a proof of concept. We¡¯re scaling it up soon. Underground, beneath it there will ten more layers of fields. Inside that hill, we are doing hydro and aeroponics. Once again, enhanced by magic. This whole place is self sufficient already, at least calories-wise. We import spices and meats, but even for them we have plans. The Fae feasts, for instance. We are harvesting some of their food, but not much until we know whether the dungeon will stop us or demand equal compensation.¡± Then he pointed at a faraway hill, a bit sharper than most others, overlooking the entire Site. Two dark holes could be seen¡ªwindows or entrances. A single metal pole at the top was the only other sign of man-made structures. Inside, however, the hill was being dug out. ¡°That¡¯s where we are currently developing what we call the ¡®vitality tonic.¡¯ If it all goes well, a version of it could hit the markets very soon. We also developed a proof of concept that magic can heal genetic disorders: we have a pill that cures lactose intolerance.¡± ¡°What?¡± Stephan sputtered, caught unaware by the lactose. ¡°Oh yeah. We¡¯re diluting it so that it doesn¡¯t act as quickly.¡± ¡°To make more money?¡± Stephan asked disapprovingly. ¡°To make more money,¡± Michael echoed him. ¡°I have to please my underlings somehow, and making the company earn a lot of money is a good way to do it. We compromised. The effect is permanent, but it takes thirty pills to achieve it. Ten dollars a pill, three hundred in total. Not much, but take into account the fact that two thirds of the world¡¯s adults are intolerant, and you see how much money we can make. And you know the amazing thing about it? We only have to worry about manufacturing it; magic will take care of the distribution.¡± ¡°This is insane, Michael. I can¡¯t even formulate proper questions. And you built all of this from nothing? By yourself?¡± ¡°Not by myself. I had help.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I want to meet your ¡®help¡¯,¡± Stephan stated. ¡°It would defeat the purpose of you being here, wouldn¡¯t it? Don¡¯t worry, they know.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Stephan sighed. ¡°Your AI informed them, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Michael confirmed. ¡°I just need to tell it what to do, and it does it. The AI will be hitting the market soon enough, but not before we¡¯ve milked a few startups for all they¡¯re worth.¡± ¡°So, if I wanted to have it¡­¡± ¡°You can have it. Other people will have to make do with subpar products from a myriad of companies who all think they¡¯re the ones who have AI figured out. Guess what? It will all be Icarus, just reskinned and shipped through different companies, with them none the wiser. It was Travis¡¯ idea, not mine.¡± Stephan sighed again. ¡°I¡¯m beginning to understand your struggles. This is all¡­ cool and all, but it¡¯s not normal, if you¡¯ll pardon the term. I can¡¯t help but be excited, though.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Michael said smugly, ¡°you haven¡¯t seen half of it. Want to drive a quad bike?¡± Stephan didn¡¯t hesitate. Michael took him to a secluded valley that looked like a quarry, mounds of dirt and dust blown by the wind. There was an empty hole in the middle, flat ground with not even a speck of dust. ¡°This is where we do good for the planet,¡± Michael declared. ¡°One of my people has a magic that literally vanishes things into dust. No, actually, not even dust is left after she¡¯s done. Works perfectly on any mundane material, no matter what it is. What we do is we have another operative go around the world, doing deals with whoever has toxic, radioactive, and dangerous waste, right? Then Travis flies over there and uses a magic skill to make the materials vanish¡ªthe same skill we want to use to distribute our products.¡± ¡°How does it work?¡± ¡°It makes them vanish, only for them to reappear for sale everywhere around the world: online stores, physical shops, wherever it might be relevant. Then, if someone buys it, somehow the skill gets it shipped to them. In this case, we use Icarus to immediately buy the stuff back and have it delivered here.¡± ¡°And it just appears?¡± ¡°Nope. The skill conjures up a full-fledged delivery man with a truck. See that road over there? It gets all the way to the back entrance of the property. Somewhere along the road, a truck appears out of thin air, delivers the stuff, and then vanishes. Then Jennifer comes in. Her ability works in a 25-meter radius, ever since she managed to evolve the Tome she uses it from. So she stands on this platform here¡±¡ª Michael pointed at a dark circle on the ground¡ª ¡°surrounded by material our men will have prepared for her all around. She uses the magic, the stuff vanishes, and she leaves until our men have made more mounds of trash for her to make disappear.¡± ¡°Twenty-five¡­ so this whole flat space¡­¡± ¡°All trash that is gone from the world. You know how much stuff you can fit in a cube 25x25x25? A lot. And this is just the beginning.¡± Stephan took a deep breath. ¡°There¡¯s one thing you haven¡¯t shown me yet.¡± ¡°The dungeon.¡± ¡°So far, let¡¯s say I¡¯m convinced. I¡¯m in. But I can¡¯t help you if there¡¯s so much power difference between us, can I?¡± ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t saying it just because you want free magic?¡± Michael joked. For a moment, he thought that he had forgotten about his aura. Stephan had a blank look on his face, but then his fa?ade crumbled and he started laughing. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± said Stephan between laughs. ¡°This is no laughing matter.¡± Stephan shrugged. ¡°Jokes aside, I can¡¯t deny that seeing all this magic has been¡­ enticing.¡± ¡°Yeah, and it¡¯s totally fair. You wouldn¡¯t be here otherwise. Now we just have to see if you¡¯re still so eager after you get a taste of the dungeon itself.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± After a short quad bike trip, they were at the entrance. Like everywhere else, lots of people were present. Some worked on the road, others on the buildings around the cave, others yet were Operators being organized in shifts to delve into the dungeon itself. All of them parted around Michael as he approached. ¡°I understand more and more,¡± Stephan murmured. ¡°It¡¯s uncomfortable for me, and I¡¯m just standing here. I can¡¯t imagine how it must be for you.¡± Michael nodded. ¡°The others don¡¯t see an issue with this. And I admit it¡¯s useful, but¡­ yeah, it can go to your head. By the way.¡± He stopped himself for a moment. Looking around, he frowned. The little things he always saw moving about in the mana, they were strange today. ¡°How curious,¡± he said, ¡°they are not just tiny fellas made of mana after all.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± asked Stephan. ¡°Just some little critters. You should see for yourself¡ª¡± No sooner than he had uttered the word see, Stephan began to scream. Chapter 109 Chapter 109 Stephan was clutching his head, screaming incoherently, while Michael tried to figure out what was going on. He was almost panicking. This wasn¡¯t supposed to be happening. What was even going on? One moment Stephan was fine, and now he looked like someone was scrambling his brain from the inside. The man¡¯s eyes and ears were bleeding, his nose a veritable river of blood. Fortunately, Michael didn¡¯t need a passive skill to have enhanced reflexes nowadays, and even in his confused state, he was quick enough to realize that Stephan was in great danger. As he activated his [Healing Aura] to heal whatever damage was happening to his sensei, the most curious message appeared in his vision. Unity level up! He didn¡¯t have time to dwell on it, though. He had felt something shift when he said the word ¡®see,¡¯ like a switch had been flipped, and now the man beside him was convulsing on the ground. ¡°THE THINGS!¡± Stephan screamed at the top of his lungs as more and more blood poured out of his orifices. His voice was hoarse, his mind too overwhelmed to even realize he was hurting his own body. ¡°THEY MOVE!¡± The blood pooled on the ground, seeping into the dry earth and dyeing it red. Michael flipped him on his side, making sure the blood didn¡¯t make him choke. ¡°I CAN SEE THEM!¡± ¡°What do you see?¡± Michael asked, yelling himself so that he could be heard through all the noise Stephan was making as he banged his fists on the ground in his convulsions. He lifted the other man by his shirt as more and more healing energies tried to repair the damage, but it wasn¡¯t enough. Michael could feel that the damage was happening to the man¡¯s brain, as if something was trying to turn it to mush before his very eyes, but he couldn¡¯t figure out what. ¡°THE CREATURES!¡± Stephan choked out, lifting a shaking finger as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. The damage was accumulating faster than Michael could heal it. Following the crooked finger, bent out of shape by involuntary convulsions pulling on the tendons far stronger than a human body could withstand, Michael thought he saw what his sensei was talking about. It was a little thing, almost cute, clinging to the bark of a tree in the distance. To him, it looked like a small distortion in reality itself, a ripple in spacetime. He had been seeing these things for a long time now, all around the dungeon, in the mana cloud itself. He squinted. They did appear different than they usually did, now that he focused on them. ¡°HOLES IN REALITY!¡± Stephan shrieked. ¡°I CAN¡¯T¡ª¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± Michael interrupted, suddenly having to prevent the other man from clawing his own eyes out. ¡°Stop!¡± ¡°NO! THEY SHOULDN¡¯T¡ª¡± Michael used his superior strength to restrain him, all the while continuing to heal him. He looked at the critter on the side of the tree again, and now he saw that there wasn¡¯t just one of them, but dozens all around. On the ground, in the air, in the nearby foliage. Hundreds. Thousands. The more he looked, the more he saw. It was as if they were all already there before, but only now was he truly seeing them. So many, he began to feel a slight sense of pressure in his head, a headache forming as if someone was manipulating his grey matter with ethereal fingers, molding it, squeezing. It clicked. Stephan was convulsing violently now, his own strength tearing his body apart as Michael struggled to keep him still. It all started when Michael told him he should see them for himself. Looking inward as he tried to keep his teacher from killing himself, he saw that the Truth facet of the Unity skill was drawing a minuscule amount of magic to itself. He willed it to stop. Suddenly, all the critters were once again just little creatures made of mana. Thousands they were, now he could only see a scant few. Five at most, if he looked around. He could still sort of see that something more lay beneath the surface, beyond mere senses, beneath the first layer of reality, but it didn¡¯t bother him much. Meanwhile, Stephan slumped in his arms. No longer did he try to claw his eyes out, no longer was he convulsing. The healing energy of Michael¡¯s skill washed over him, repairing all the physical damage in mere seconds, leaving behind a slightly thinner body after having consumed all it could find to keep Stephan alive. [Healing Aura] was now a rare skill, after Michael had used it to torture the OA general. It now allowed him to sense everything it helped reconstruct through the use of Intent. Michael could clearly sense how much of Stephan¡¯s brain, eyes, and nerves had been replaced by his skill. If he so wanted, he could snap his fingers and more than two thirds of Stephan¡¯s brain would turn to mush instantly. Yet another tool Michael could use to inflict pain and misery upon others, up to whatever distance he could manage to reach with his Intent. Carefully, Michael activated the Truth facet of Unity again, but this time without the intention of making anyone else see anything. The little critters became a tiny shade eerier. Five became a dozen. A dozen a hundred. More and more of them appeared, and the headache returned when they reached the thousands. He kept going. Ten thousands. A hundred thousand. Now his own eyes were bleeding, and he felt his stats tick up as he used mana to reinforce his body.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Then he let the skill go before it became too much. They returned to normal. But now, looking at them was slightly uncomfortable. When he focused on the sensation, Michael could feel that his Resilience and his other skills were at work here, mitigating what would have been catastrophic damage to little more than a mild annoyance. The eldritch truth of the world, which could render a person into a vegetable in mere seconds, was nothing more than the annoyance of having sunlight reflected into his eyes from a car window to Michael. At least at the beginning. The more he stared, the stronger this light became, until it was a laser that cut through his consciousness. But a laser was something that was no longer deadly to Michael. Stephan was unconscious. Without much effort, Michael lifted him up and brought him to the infirmary they had at Site 00. It was a spartan place; beds and basic equipment and not much more. That¡¯s all that was needed when there was a person on site capable of healing anything that modern medicine could and could not. If there was something that was beyond Michael¡¯s ability, then it would certainly be beyond modern medicine as well. As he set Stephan on the bed, Michael started using [Candle Light] on the unconscious man to heal his mind. Even with that, it took several hours before his sensei woke up. When he did, he was understandably confused. Michael had considered telling him the truth, but quickly discarded the idea. ¡®Hey yo, what¡¯s that over there?¡¯ And then the eldritch truth of the universe made you a vegetable, Michael thought, shaking his head. Yeah, not telling him that. Instead, he just bullshitted his way out of it. ¡°It was just an adverse reaction to magic,¡± he told the man. ¡°I never thought normal people could be affected by it before entering the dungeon.¡± Stephan frowned. ¡°Is it the first time it¡¯s happened?¡± Michael nodded. He didn¡¯t like lying to his sensei, but it was for the best. He just felt horrible about it. Fortunately, they had been able to clean his clothes with magic before he woke up, erasing all traces of what had happened, and a swig of bourbon was all the social lubricant Michael needed to make lying a bit easier. ¡°You know,¡± Stephan commented, ¡°I feel better than fine. Did you use your healing ability on me?¡± Michael nodded. ¡°To stabilize you,¡± he replied. ¡°Nice side effect it has? It also heals all your body¡¯s problems in the meantime.¡± As they spoke, Michael couldn¡¯t help but feel like he was a loose cannon. He was already feeling weird about his magic before, like it made him something so far removed from a normal person he shouldn¡¯t even be considered human anymore. Now, he knew that he could basically ruin a person by accident. By just thinking the wrong stray thought. ¡°Well,¡± he said, hiding how he was really feeling and finding it easier than he thought it would be, ¡°now that you¡¯re up, how about we grab a bite and then go to the dungeon?¡± ¡°Yes, please,¡± Stephan agreed. ¡°I¡¯m starving.¡± In the canteen, they chatted as they ate. Stephan was acting as if nothing had happened to him, but this was an artificial state of mind brought on by prolonged use of [Candle Light]. Michael didn¡¯t know what long-lasting effects this would have on the man, which only fueled his guilt. As a result, Michael was being so careful it bordered on paranoia. Not a speck of magic left his aura, not a shred of emotion was out of place, and he kept a lid on his Truth facet of the Unity skill so tight it almost felt like pulling a muscle. People were eating and chatting and living their lives all around them. Granted, it wasn¡¯t normal people but Operators a good chuck of which were well into Copper-tier territory, and yet Michael felt like they were all so far beneath him that they barely registered. For the first time in his life, he didn¡¯t feel self conscious in the slightest. It wouldn¡¯t do, after all, to feel self conscious about what you do or how you look before mere ants, would it? But where did these thoughts come from? Were they his, was he like this, or were they brought by magic? Shit, I¡¯m turning into an arrogant young master. I don¡¯t want that. He bottled his thoughts. This state wasn¡¯t sustainable, he knew, but it was the only solution for now. He would have to be hyper-aware of everything his magic did whenever he was with people because if an incident like this happened anywhere else other than Site 00, it would be a problem. At least, he thought, it will be good training. Later, they finally took the quad bikes and reached the dungeon. The Space element around it was somewhat diminished, and it was swirling furiously. Checking with Icarus confirmed that both Johanne and Travis Tyrell were inside, the latter challenging the third floor by himself while Johanne was in the Valley working. Michael recorded his findings with the AI for later analysis, and put the phone away. Stephan looked like he wanted to say something, to which Michael only smirked. ¡°You¡¯ll get your own AI, if you want it.¡± With strings attached, he said. Stephan was smart enough to realize it: ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± ¡°This is it, then,¡± Stephan stated solemnly. ¡°The dungeon.¡± Michael hummed. While the cave entrance proper was unchanged compared to how it was the first time he saw it, everything around it was different. ¡°Why not build the fortifications into the mountain?¡± Stephan inquired, noticing how they were building a steel door encased in several feet of concrete all around the cave, like an antechamber, rather than changing the stone itself. ¡°Because the dungeon doesn¡¯t like it when we mess with its entrance. Anything we do just disappears overnight,¡± Michael explained. ¡°So we are building around it.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Stephan responded. He took a deep breath as his eyes roamed around the deep, dark hole, latching onto the rocks around it lit by the sun. ¡°I think I can feel it from here, you know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a placebo effect,¡± Michael said, attempting to joke, but it fell flat to his own ears. He checked and rechecked his aura, but nothing was out of place, and he was sure that the dungeon¡¯s Gaze could not reach outside its space. ¡°Probably,¡± Stephan conceded. ¡°I¡¯m just being a pussy. You would think someone like me would show a bit more spine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surrounded by enough crazy people already,¡± Michael mused. In truth, he never felt fear when approaching the dungeon, and neither did he ever consider it as a possibility until recently. ¡°If you were like Travis or the others, I think I¡¯d get a distorted view of what¡¯s normal, you know?¡± Stephan nodded. ¡°Yeah,¡± he admitted. ¡°I was never a brave one, you know? If there¡¯s one thing martial arts has taught me, it¡¯s that getting into a fight is never a good idea. I love karate because of what it represents, but I¡¯m not one who would use it in the real world.¡± ¡°Did Taiko teach that to you?¡± Stephan nodded, ¡°these days, I wonder if that old geezer knew more than he let on.¡± We are definitely investigating him when he comes to America next month, Michael thought, but did not say out loud. ¡°It¡¯s different in there,¡± Michael pointed at the dungeon. ¡°It¡¯s not the real world. To be fair, you will either love it or you will hate it. And even if you love it, there are other factors.¡± Like the Gaze. Travis was challenging the third floor alone right now, but he had been preparing for weeks in the valley just to be sure he could withstand the Gaze long enough to beat the floor since there was no leaving once you enter unless you either beat the boss or died. ¡°I understand,¡± Stephan acknowledged. ¡°Let¡¯s see what this place is really like, and how it managed to change you so much.¡± Chapter 110 Chapter 110 As Michael and Stephan crossed the threshold, they were catapulted into the dark and foreboding space of the dungeon. The Time element was abundant here, clearly visible to Michael, hinting at a strong time dilation. He mentioned as much to Stephan, who already knew. He was surprised to learn, however, that the Time element was thinning¡ªat least at shallow levels of the dungeon¡ªand it was happening at a much faster rate now that it wasn¡¯t just Michael delving its depths. ¡°We should still be in and out in ten minutes or so,¡± Michael stated, ¡°unless we decide to spend a few months in the Valley. Which I wouldn¡¯t be against, just so you know.¡± Stephan was quick to refuse. ¡°No, thanks,¡± he declined. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready to spend months away from civilization.¡± Michael shrugged. ¡°Your call. If you ever feel like you need a vacation, come to me.¡± They looked around the room. The only reason Stephan could chat so freely, Michael mused, was due to his presence. Now that he was beginning to understand the Truth facet of his [Unity] skill, rocky starts notwithstanding, he could see how the dungeon¡¯s Gaze seemed to soften and slide around his aura, protecting the people who were with him from its harsher effects. He could also see something else, as if echoes or shadows or ghosts. He wasn¡¯t sure what they were, or who, but they were vaguely human-shaped blobs at the edge of his perception. They appeared one at a time, but already in the few moments they had been there he had seen at least three of them, doing mundane things like walking around or crouching. They reminded him of Dark Souls and its ghostly apparition system, but it surely couldn¡¯t be that. ¡°What do I do now?¡± Stephan inquired. The dungeon was beginning to deviate from the norm lately, and today was one of its quirkier days. There were three pedestals at the center of the room, each of them with an item that glowed with second-tier magic. ¡°This is the antechamber,¡± Michael explained. ¡°You get to choose a starting magic.¡± They approached the pedestals. On the leftmost pedestal, there was a cloak, shimmering with threads that seemed woven out of smoke. A faint whisper of air came from within, like a hidden gust of wind trapped within the fabric. The second, and central, pedestal held a heart carved out of pure obsidian. It was pitch black with a faint hint of purple, reflecting the orange light of the torches that lit the antechamber of the dungeon. The third item was a pair of glasses. ¡°The cloak is full of Air element. I don¡¯t know it very well, but I¡¯d say it will give you an ability to gain bursts of speed in a fight. Not bad,¡± Michael elaborated. ¡°The second is filled with Life and its opposite, Death. More than that, it¡¯s also much denser in Qi than the cloak. I would say some sort of vampiric ability? The glasses, or should I say spectacles? They are garbage.¡± While interesting to him, Michael made no move to take the items for himself. He knew that the dungeon would never let him take them: they were there for the new delver, not for him. Stephan hummed. ¡°Alright, I see.¡± He walked towards the pedestals, examining the items. They were both mundane and special, in that to his eyes they looked like very finely made pieces of unfathomable craftsmanship, but their deeper magical traits were hidden to him. Michael imagined what it would be like for a lone delver to be presented with such a choice, where only trusting your gut and blind luck would allow you to triumph. Compared to it, his own experience had been different, with the dungeon testing him first and only then giving him tools to survive the struggle. ¡°I should also mention that you can also get magic through skill stones, like I do,¡± Michael added. ¡°These items seem incompatible with such an approach, though, so it¡¯s either this or that.¡± ¡°What do you suggest?¡± Stephan asked. Michael shrugged. ¡°The dungeon never gives you dead-end paths,¡± he replied. ¡°Well, apart from the spectacles, it seems. The items are untrodden ground, while the skill stones are what we use for most of our operators.¡± Stephan nodded, the sheer scale of Michael¡¯s operation and knowledge about the dungeon clearly making him think. ¡°I think I¡¯ll go with the tried and true method,¡± he decided after a few moments. ¡°I have no ambition to become the next great mage or anything.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Michael acknowledged. ¡°I saw you looking at the cloak, though. Did you find it interesting, perhaps?¡± Stephan nodded. ¡°Give me a sec,¡± Michael said. He left the antechamber, through a door only he could see. Only after he was out did he realize that he had never been able to leave before, and looking back at the dungeon he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Except for a slight tingle in his skill sanctum telling him that his [Unity] skill had activated. ¡°Huh,¡± he muttered. When he returned, Stephan was sitting on the ground. ¡°Was I out for long?¡± he asked him. Stephan slowly got up. ¡°A few minutes,¡± he answered. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the dungeon has a time dilation factor? I worried I¡¯d be here for a long time.¡± Michael didn¡¯t really have an answer for that. He just followed his gut and left to fetch the skill stones. Outwardly, he didn¡¯t show any of this, instead playing it cool with a shrug. ¡°I brought you gifts. I¡¯d start with just one at time not to overwhelm you. This is a similar ability to what the cloak would have given you. It¡¯s called [Wind Rush], Air element and a touch of Qi making it Uncommon rank. It should help you with this floor¡¯s enemies. Well, that and a sword.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. He gave the man the skill stone first, watching as Stephan gingerly studied it before absorbing it. The sensei gasped, the power flowing into him stretching his understanding of the world in a radical way for the first time in his life. ¡°This¡­¡± the man murmured, ¡°this is magic?¡± Michael resisted the urge to laugh. This was not magic. This was just the appetizer. And yet, long ago, he would have been the same. Besides, he thought he had a decent grasp of his sensei¡¯s personality by now. For some people, this appetizer was all they would be able to get if they were to challenge the dungeon alone, without help. That he could help them get more put him in a position of power. He shook his head. He was starting to think like Travis. There was a ghost that phased into the wall, and close to it was their own doorway into the dungeon. Turning on the many lights they brought with them, which had gone through multiple rounds of improvements and were now mostly based on magical stones, and on another level altogether compared to Michael¡¯s early delving equipment, he turned to Stephan. ¡°Ready?¡± he asked. The man steeled himself. ¡°Ready.¡± They stepped through the door and into the very first chamber. Immediately, Stephan¡¯s lack of real-world experience showed. The customary welcome message to the dungeon appeared in his vision right as the first of the goblins attacked him. Distracted, he could not react. Had it not been for Michael, he would have been grievously injured. Instead, what happened was that the goblin and the skeleton right behind it simply died on the spot. The skeleton took a few moments longer than the goblin, protected as it was by a powerful magic shield, but in mere moments the shield fizzled out and the skeleton simply fell to the floor as a mass of bones. Stephan was thoroughly rattled, but as adrenaline flooded his system, he quickly regained his wits. Michael had joked about giving him a sword to fight the monsters but had not actually done so. A sword would have been of little benefit to a karate teacher. Instead, when he returned with the skill stones, he had given Stephan a Tekko, a traditional Okinawan knuckle duster. Together with his movement skill, it should be enough for his karate teacher to fight some goblins. Especially since, unlike with the others, his goal was not to power-level Stephan but to show him the place. Michael could join the fight, and only let his sensei deal with the weakest mobs. He did just that. Letting loose felt awesome, and after a while, the two fell into a rhythm. Michael only used his raw physical stats to deal with the monsters, which were high enough that¡ªcoupled with the passive protection of his aura¡ªnothing could hurt him. At the same time, a single strike was enough to overpower a skeleton¡¯s shield, go through it and shatter its bones. As he fought, Michael always kept his attention on Stephan. The sensei was a newly made Copper-tier user, barely any tougher than a regular human. But besides saving him a couple of times at the beginning, Michael¡¯s intervention was largely unneeded. Soon his sensei got into the zone, and was flowing from one technique to the next. Half a dozen goblins later, he was using his [Wind Rush] to augment his speed, adding power to his strikes and finding new ways to evade. Watching him, Michael realized that had it not been for Stephan¡¯s meek personality, he would have made for a very competent fighter. Right now, he was in the zone, only him and the monster existing in his mind. But as soon as he was out of it, he returned to normal. ¡°Sheesh,¡± Stephan exclaimed, cringing as he saw the mangled corpses disappear in puffs of magic. ¡°This place is hell!¡± Michael nodded solemnly. ¡°I am beginning to understand now,¡± the sensei continued. ¡°This place really is something else. I¡¯d never come here on my own volition, but I understand why some people would.¡± Michael just nodded again, hiding his disappointment. For a moment, he had hoped Stephan would begin to love the thrill, but it had been a tall order to even hope. Perhaps it was for the best. He didn¡¯t need another psycho monster around him. ¡°I can¡¯t deny its use, though. I have seen some violence, out there in the real world, but this feels different. It¡¯s raw and primal just like it is out there, but there is a layer of disconnect I can¡¯t explain. It feels like a game, maybe.¡± Michael¡¯s gaze suddenly locked onto Stephan. ¡°Don¡¯t make that mistake,¡± he warned, his voice suddenly serious and its presence overbearing. Stephan shrunk under it, but not due to any Truth shenanigans or Aura power. It was just that Michael had become someone who could cower others just by looking at them. ¡°What do you mean?¡± the sensei asked. ¡°It only feels like this to you thanks to my intervention. Let me give you a taste of how it would feel to be here if I wasn¡¯t here.¡± Michael withdrew his protection. Stephan gasped, unable to draw breath as if the air itself had become hostile to him. The cave was a stifling place, threatening to make him fall into a panic just by its sheer hostility. It was cramped, the dark was alive. The very stone its walls were made of wanted him dead. And the monsters¡­ he knew what awaited him in the next room¡ª Then Michael restored his protection over him. Stephan breathed. Mere seconds had passed, and yet he had felt such dread that he knew in his heart he would never step in here by himself, even if someone were to threaten his family over it. ¡°You understand now?¡± Michael questioned. Stephan looked at him like he was someone out of this world. ¡°I do,¡± he confirmed. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you were like this already, or if this place made you like this. I suspect both are possible. I know one thing: I don¡¯t want to. I am fine living my life. Sure, we can come down here like we did now, if you keep shielding me like you did. I have no problem admitting my limits. If you can turn this hellish place into a summer karate camp for me, I will gladly polish my skills. The moment you ask me to do more, I¡¯m out.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Michael agreed. ¡°Don¡¯t be disappointed,¡± Stephan advised. ¡°Most people would react like I did. No, they would be even worse off. That much I can guarantee. I am a coward, but I have seen more shit than most. You must realize just how far away from normal you and the people around you are.¡± They didn¡¯t say much after that. In the next room, the extent of what Stephan had said sunk in. With Michael there, indeed it was like his teacher was at a karate summer camp, polishing his skills against goblins that were nothing more than sophisticated dummies. Michael had absolute control of anything within the room, as was natural for someone of his power on the first floor, and would never let Stephan even get a single scratch. To up the challenge, he decided to polish his own skills instead of fighting like a brute. Here and there, he spotted more ghosts. Now they were fighting the very same goblins he was facing, some of them head-on, others rolling on the ground, others with ranged skills. The Truth facet of [Unity] was ringing like background noise, always there, attempting to warn him of something. He knew what it was trying to tell him. He had suspected it in the antechamber, but now he knew. These he was seeing were delvers from other dungeons. On Earth. Why was he only seeing it now? Perhaps he was more attuned to Truth now, with it being a recent addition to his power set. But also, he felt as if it was the dungeon itself that was showing him the visions, using the Truth facet as a conduit. Was it trying to push him to work harder? Because it sure had an effect. If there were other delvers, who were presented with a similar scenario as him, he knew they could be as powerful as he was, if not more so, and with the same breadth of powers he had. A frightening possibility appeared in his mind. Up until now, he had operated under the assumption that the Misty Valley was his and his alone. But what if this wasn¡¯t the case? Perhaps there were other copies of the valley that other delvers could access, or perhaps it was like it was with his own operators challenging the dungeon¡ªthose who were offered the challenge version of the second floor at least. The challenge was different and the reward was different, but it was always something powerful. That¡¯s what distinguished the elites like Team Welles and Team Locke from the rabble after all. Chapter 111 Chapter 111 By the time Michael and Stephan reached the boss chamber, silence had befallen the duo. They each fought with their own goals in mind, and nothing more needed to be spoken between them. When they were done clearing the last room, Michael simply looked at the threshold leading to the boss chamber and sighed. It had taken a single sentence from Stephan, after Michael had explained the challenge the boss room represented, to once and for all disabuse him of any illusions he might have had about his sensei. A single sentence, a single ask. Michael stepped through, entering the boss room mere moments before Stephan. In that short amount of time, pressure and power radiated outwards from him. It was the culmination of his power, a mix of all his skills, all his mastery over aura and raw magic manipulation. In less than a second, a dozen monsters were reduced to a pulp. The monsters were all overpowered versions of the first floor''s already-seen mobs, powerful enough to challenge any Silver-rank user with their sheer number, unless that mage had an advantage they could use to overcome the odds. They were reduced to decaying magic before Michael''s might faster than a person could blink, without him even breaking a sweat. Then, a powerful suction force swept the room, draining its mana and replenishing most of the magic Michael had expended. Not all of it, for such overwhelming power was unsustainable at such shallow dungeon layers. The reward for clearing the room materialized. Yet more magic, in the form of coins, and a couple of trinkets. Magical items were starting to appear among the dungeon drops, following the expected rank-rarity progression, and these were nothing more than common-rank items. They would fetch a fortune in the outside world if sold, yet Michael looked at them like they were trash. They would be sold, he thought, amending his initial assessment. There was no shortage of collectors willing to keep quiet about magic if given the opportunity to own a magic item. Some would even be used to further Unity''s agenda of slowly exposing the world to magic and magic-aligned ideas. Already, many online forums were gaining traction, discussing holistic medicine and all sorts of unusual concepts that would play a crucial role when Unity finally decided to introduce truly magical items to the market. "What now?" Stephan inquired. Michael breathed, "Now we can go to the Valley and rest, if we want." Stephan nodded. "Or," he began, "if I choose to stop now, will you let me?" "Of course," Michael responded immediately. "You won''t keep me against my will or take away my powers, will you?" Stephan pressed. Michael shook his head. "I won''t. I only ask that you at least come to the Valley with me. Aren''t you curious?" Stephan shook his head with a smile. "Of course, I am. I want to see what sort of place could be good enough for you to spend months at a time without getting bored," he admitted. Two weeks later, Stephan was laughing with the Fae at one of their feasts. "Man," he exclaimed, waving a glass of Fae wine at Michael. "I understand now. I understand everything. This place¡­ it''s magical!" He was clearly inebriated, despite his Copper-rank physique. In the past two weeks, Michael had given him the remaining skill stones he''d selected: [Air Step], [Air Shot], and [Air Shield], which, along with [Wind Rush], completed his magical kit nicely. Stephan had also achieved mastery of the Air element and had trained against the Fae in multiple spars. It had been challenging at first to find the right sparring partner, but it had been smooth sailing afterward. Most would call Stephan¡¯s gains very solid. Indeed, even compared to the Operators, he was already¡ªafter a single delve¡ªmore powerful than most of them. And yet, neither Michael nor any of his close circle would agree with such a statement. Furthermore, Michael was feeling rather grumpy. For the first time he was having trouble shielding someone from the dungeon''s Gaze. It was as if the dungeon disapproved of Stephan, pushing harder and harder against Michael''s protections to the point it was becoming uncomfortable. Even some of the Fae were starting to look at them sideways, their wariness mostly directed at Stephan, clearly under the dungeon''s influence. "We can go down a floor, see if that helps," Stephan suggested after Michael explained what was happening. "Are you sure that''s wise? You''re still low Copper-rank. You haven''t trained much against real opponents," Michael cautioned. "I''m a grown adult; I can make my own choices," Stephan stated. "Besides, you can protect me, can''t you?" Michael nodded, not entirely happy about it. "If we clear it, then won''t the dungeon let me stay longer?" Stephan reasoned. Again, Michael wasn''t sure it was wise. Stephan had a family and a job, both of which he hadn''t seen for two weeks. In the end, though, Michael caved. It wasn''t his life, he supposed, and Stephan was a grown-up, capable of making his own decisions. They went down to the third floor, the one with the mummies, and then down again to the fourth after Michael explained its challenges to Stephan. Stephan had become hooked on the dungeon, the Fae feasts, and the thrill of magic, but he never wanted to face the harsh reality of what the dungeon truly meant. If this was what having a normal friend meant, Michael was starting to think, then perhaps it wasn''t worth it. Perhaps, he mused, normal people and he no longer had enough in common. On the fourth floor, they didn''t go to the scorpion arena. There was no point, not when Stephan refused to put his own life on the line, making any fight either a practice against dummies or a slaughter where Michael eliminated any danger before it could even reach them. Two things had become clear: Michael was strong, very strong, and most people were better off without magic. Travis''s way of doing things might have some merit. They met the dwarves during their stay in the hut. This time, they didn''t fight. Instead, the many wagons stopped by the hut, and a single stout man, shorter than Michael''s waist, simply invited them to join the caravan. "Where are you headed?" Michael asked as he sat by Trylfir, the dwarf who had invited them. They were in the lead wagon, heading down toward the valley at the base of the mountain. "To our old, frozen halls, lad," the dwarf replied. He didn''t seem to acknowledge the height difference, simply treating Michael like a normal, albeit lost, dwarf. "It is our last hope, as you well know, to reclaim the deathless throne, where the fire of our forges still burns bright. In memory, at least. Alas, ''tis nay true in reality anymore, for the forges have long gone cold."The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Stephan, sitting behind them, grinned. "Don''t worry," he declared, "we''ll help you reach your ancestral home." Stephan was an avid player of tabletop games, or at least he had been in his youth. While killing goblins and sparring with the Fae had been enjoyable, it had been nothing but the appetizer. Seeing real dwarves, on carts carried by mythical beings, full of ores and strange tools, really lit a fire in him. But where Stephan saw adventure and fun, Michael saw danger and the sadness of the dwarves'' existence¡ªreduced from a mighty race to pawns in an endlessly repeating cycle. He had seen them at their worst, attacking him and Drullkrin simply because Drullkrin was a goblin, even though Michael doubted they had ever seen one before. Yet, the goblin had been an intruder, someone who should never have left their floor, and was met with hostility. Michael had killed them all back then, prompting the eventual reset of the entire floor. Perhaps this was the difference between him and Stephan: he had killed and would kill again, while his friend was relaxing on an adventure. Although, to be honest, it was Michael who allowed his friend to relax. "Thank ye, lad," the dwarf rumbled, turning to Stephan with a large smile and lifting his axe. "That does mean a lot to us. To see that youth is not lost, and ye''re eager to help the clan. Ah, centuries of war have left us¡­" Suddenly, there was a cry from far above. Trylfir''s head snapped up, and a frown colonized his bearded face. "A raven in the storm," he muttered, and the clouds above were dark and ominous, swirling like a gigantic hurricane with them directly below where the eye would form. "''Tis but a harbinger of the rising cold. Naught we can do against the silent enemy, what reduced even the fire of war into nothing but buried embers, holding on but barely. We all feel it, the tremor in our blood. It keeps us awake at night." Michael sighed while Stephan looked transfixed. The dwarf is explaining lore! his face seemed to say. Michael had not only heard it all before, but he''d heard it so many times it had become meaningless, especially coming from the same dwarf who would gladly see him in pieces after seeing him with a goblin. There was a harsh truth beneath the fa?ade of fun and games, one that only Michael seemed to grasp. They were led to the ancient halls of the dwarves, as promised. It was a grand gate in the mountains, crumbling after eons of erosion and time. Yet, even though countless years had passed and the stone was crumbling, the gate was still magnificent. It stood against the mountainside where the forest gave way to a clearing. It was not only huge and majestic, but ancient magic seemed to radiate from within. Lingering traces of elemental energies could be felt from deep beneath the mountain. The caravan was attacked as they approached the gate and tried to figure out how to open it. Once again, what was a mystical adventure to Stephan was, to Michael, rote repetition. He''d been through this too many times. The attackers were monsters, mutated wolves, and enemy dwarves. Michael dealt with them mercilessly, killing them with ruthless efficiency. Not a single allied dwarf was harmed, nor were they needed to defend the caravan when the one-man army Michael represented was more than enough. Stephan frowned afterward, saying Michael wasn''t embracing the spirit of the adventure. Clearly, he had forgotten where they were and what they were doing. But then again, Michael thought, perhaps he was the one looking at it all wrong. He had brought Stephan to the dungeon for an adventure, to have fun like friends, not to train. He was the one looking at it all wrong, projecting onto Stephan. He was judging Stephan unfairly, he realized, as he watched his friend talk to the dwarves, trying to learn why the other dwarves had attacked and what their history could teach them. Michael doubted the dwarves'' history was even real. While things in the dungeon were sometimes real, this floor didn''t feel like the others. This was the difference between him and Stephan. This was why he felt disconnected from everyone on the planet except the few people in his organization. He was too far gone to be normal anymore. And, most importantly, he shouldn''t judge normal people by his standards. Realizing this, he looked at Stephan with different eyes. Now, he saw that his friend was trying to have fun but was also scared, feeling at the mercy of the one person who could protect him: Michael. He realized Stephan might be missing his family. But he''d stayed in the dungeon because he wanted to spend time with Michael and felt guilty about how he''d treated him at the dojo. Or maybe none of that was true, and Michael was simply making it up. If anything, Michael felt that this switch in mentality would do him good in the real world. He would no longer try to bridge the gap between himself and the normal people, but simply treat everyone with respect while acknowledging their differences. Stephan was having fun, and that was exactly what Michael wanted for his friend to experience of the dungeon. Up until now, he had been grumpy because in his mind Stephan was not appreciating the titanic effort Michael had put just so Stephan could have fun. This much was true. But, he realized, what did it matter? Did Michael want Stephan to hate the dungeon and every moment he spent in it? Because that¡¯s what happens when someone who isn¡¯t a total lunatic is made to see what the dungeon really is. Only people like himself, and his friends in a lesser manner, who were all dysfunctional people in the real world, could experience the dungeon differently. No, the truth was that he was feeling grumpy, and this feeling was accentuated by the stress and the pressure of having to protect Stephan from the Gaze, for reasons that had nothing to do with Stephan or his behaviour. Michael was feeling grumpy because he wasn¡¯t being validated. His efforts were not awarding him any prestige. Stephan wasn¡¯t in awe of his abilities. People weren¡¯t prostrating at his feet, swayed by his power. When had he become like this? He shook his head. He had fostered an environment that was slowly and subtly accentuating flaws he had always had, but that had always been suffocating by his more powerful self loathing and guilt. Now that he was breaking free of his old chains, he must be careful not to lose himself to new, more vicious bindings. Why was he seeing this now? There is only one possible explanation. The Truth facet is forcing me to see the truth for what it is. Unity level up! Huh. To think that introspection can be this valuable. I should do it more. In a way, this dungeon run ended up being the opposite of the fishing trip, when Michael had imposed his desires on Stephan. Instead of having fun, they''d ended up in a weird, awkward situation. Now the opposite had happened. He shook his head. This floor¡­ he didn''t like it. It was time to end this farce. He walked toward the great door and punched it. It wasn''t enough to open it, but it was enough to create a hollow space where he could materialize a [Distortion Field]. That got the door open. "Come on," he said tiredly to a dumbfounded Stephan. "Let''s go. I''m getting tired." "But why?" Stephan complained. "This was fun!" "Yeah, but I''m protecting you from the Gaze, and it''s getting on my nerves. I know you''re having fun, but I''m not," Michael explained. Stephan nodded, suddenly serious. "Sorry. I shouldn''t have assumed you were enjoying this as much as I was. Let''s get this done. It¡¯s time for me to return to my family. I''ve had enough fun for a while," he conceded. Michael was left thinking. What was the right thing to do? What was the healthy balance between family time and dungeon adventures? What did it mean for a normal person to spend weeks or months in a peaceful valley, surrounded by strange, not-quite-monsters, eating wondrous food? It was easy to impose his views on others. It was much harder to see things from their perspective. Especially since the dungeon opened up such strange possibilities, deviating so far from normal life that it threw common sense out the window. Was Stephan wrong to be a coward? Was he wrong to enjoy the adventure while Michael did the heavy lifting? After all, Michael had offered to protect him. Michael had agreed that Stephan wouldn''t face danger while they adventured. In fact, Michael had hoped he could enjoy the adventure as much as his sensei, even though he had found himself unable to, due to the nature of this floor, or perhaps the dungeon itself, or perhaps his own nature. In the end, he walked through the frozen halls with more questions than answers. But perhaps having questions was good, because it led to deeper self-discovery. And with magic, who knew if a deeper knowledge of oneself actually did lead to more power? Chapter 112 Chapter 112 The silence of the keep beneath the mountain was deafening. Michael had been here a few times already, in previous loops and iterations of the floor, yet the effect was not lessened by his prior experiences. ¡°We left in search of better mountains,¡± Trylfir grumbled. The dwarf was talking with Stephan who, after realizing how Michael felt about this place, was taking things much more seriously. ¡°Such fools we were,¡± the dwarf continued. ¡°Better mountains¡­ the cold was the only thing awaiting us outside. Lad, learn from your ancestors; do not commit the same mistakes. Arrogance and greed are the undoing of the great.¡± Stephan thought that the lore of the dwarves could contain the answers, or at least hints on how to complete the challenge floor. ¡°And yet,¡± Michael argued, joining the conversation as they walked, ¡°you don¡¯t become great without at least some greed, and enough arrogance to believe yourself worthy of greatness.¡± The dwarf pondered the question, stroking his beard. The great axe on his back clinked against his armor, as did the axes and hammers of many others. But even though the whole caravan was making sounds, the halls were so vast and silent that they felt utterly empty. ¡°Then, lad,¡± the dwarf said gravely, ¡°maybe greatness is a sin. It lures you into ruin. I, and we all, are sorry you will be dragged alongside us to doom. The encroaching cold knows no friend from foe, and will kill us all equally.¡± Behind them, the frozen stones seemed to dim. The cold deepened, and booming sounds reverberated through the massive, empty corridors as the ice cracked and the stones were affected by changes in temperature. A faint, eerie blue light filtered down from the ceiling, and with every boom of the groaning and expanding rock and ice, a peppering of dust and snow fell. ¡°All that¡¯s left of us,¡± Trylfir said solemnly, ¡°is a miserable tribe, fleeing back to our ancient home we left so long ago. Arrogant, once again, to even hope that the forges will light up for us after so long. No longer are we worthy, yet we try nonetheless.¡± They came upon a large intersection, where the tunnels led deeper into the mountain. From here on, only darkness awaited. Looking around, they saw many stone tables and chairs carved from the rock itself, overlooked by a balcony of decayed wood and frozen stone. A tavern, with great fireplaces that spread no warmth anymore, that was once the beating heart of this section of the halls and now was nothing more than a resting spot for the caravan. As the dwarves brought out frozen, dried food, Michael approached the central fireplace. He noticed indentations and canals¡ªgrooves in the stone¡ªleading down and to the sides, then up the walls. Struck by an idea, he held his hands above the fireplace and willed the elemental Fire within his aura to surge upwards and outwards, spilling into the container. His hunch proved correct. The elemental Fire flowed like a liquid along the canals in the stone. It roared in the central fireplace at first, casting an orange light that mingled with the deep azure of the ice, creating a breathtaking sight. Then, the Fire flowed down the grooves and, strangely, up the walls, reaching other hidden fireplaces and torches, creating more orange light sources and spreading warmth that banished the sharp cold of the stale, immobile, dusty air. They were in a bubble of warmth surrounded by hostile cold. Angered, the cold surged and pushed against the edges of the warm bubble, making it shrink under its pressure. Yet, it held, for now. Trylfir had run to Michael as soon as the first drops of Fire had begun to leave his hands. Stephan was there too, but hadn¡¯t given it much thought at first. Having started to master Air himself, he didn¡¯t think manipulating Fire was much of a feat. And indeed, to both his and Michael¡¯s eyes, it wasn¡¯t. But to the dwarves¡­ ¡°Impossible¡­¡± Trylfir gasped, having waited until Michael was done to speak, for fear his words would break the spell. ¡°The Fire¡­ we thought it had been lost to the great mills of Time. Only Earth was left for us to use, but it offered no warmth. Now¡­ perhaps there is hope for us all. To see the mighty flames return to the vast emptiness of these halls¡­¡± He looked up, respect in his eyes. ¡°Lad, you might be our only hope. We came here, thinking it was our doom, full of arrogance and vain hopes. Yet, it seems maybe not all is lost. The forges, empty save for dust and forgotten bones¡­ please tell me you can set them ablaze anew, for this is the only hope for dwarfkind.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°I can try,¡± Michael responded. ¡°That is all we ask of you,¡± the dwarf nodded. ¡°But first,¡± Trylfir declared, ¡°we feast! Come, let us eat and drink for the hope rekindled!¡± Michael was suddenly the center of a very festive group of dwarves, who were much more numerous than he had thought. Stephan nodded, satisfied and proud. For a moment, Michael felt truly at the center of an adventure, right where he wanted to be with his friend and sensei. The Truth facet was ringing, but he ignored it, knowing already what it had to say and still deciding to enjoy the festivities and music. Only many hours later was the party over. Michael had drunk Trylfir and many other dwarves under the table before he even felt the buzz of the beer, and it was pleasant to discover another drink besides Fae wine that could affect him. He sipped on it now, with most of the dwarves asleep, pretending it was whiskey even though the liquor barely tasted strong enough. Stephan sat beside him, sipping his own beer. ¡°It¡¯s like a heavy weight has been lifted from you. I can see it.¡± Michael hummed. ¡°There¡¯s always something to learn, isn¡¯t there? Today you showed me that I should relax more, sometimes. I am powerful enough to do so.¡± Stephan nodded. ¡°Glad I could help.¡± Later, while the dwarves and Stephan slept, Michael wandered through the empty halls alone. The darkness of the deeper tunnels didn¡¯t bother him, even after the outside light became too faint to help, even with his enhanced stats and senses. He sensed things around him through sound, humming at the right frequency, and by using magic sense. The former was only possible here, where there were no distractions or other sounds, while the latter was also only possible where there were currents of magic he could see. In this case, the encroaching Ice outlined the tunnel''s walls, floor, and ceiling in sharp, bright azure light. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t even Ice. His Ice was different, not just because he hadn¡¯t integrated it with his aura. The element he saw here was similar, yet deeper and more potent. If his Ice was a glacier, this was the fathomless, frozen depths of the arctic ocean: dark, unstoppable, unfathomable. Frost, maybe, or perhaps Cold itself. The Elements were strange like that, with many variations of the same thing occurring simultaneously. Like Water, which could also be Wetness or Mist or a mix of a billion other things, Ice was also Cold and Frost and Stillness and many alien and strange things. Deep in the heart of the underground kingdom, for it could be classified as nothing less than a kingdom¡ªhuge and empty, ancient and majestic¡ªhe found the forges. He was utterly alone, and so he spent some time studying them, to see what could be learned from them. He had ignored his mind statistics for a long time, he mused as he studied the intricate designs and clever machines of dwarven ingenuity, of a society that didn''t know of factories or electronics, yet seemed to have figured out automation and steam power by harnessing the Elements themselves. Not a shred of mana lined the walls and machines, but they were rich in all Elements, a sign of what the dwarves were racially predisposed to. Indeed, Michael thought, consciously pushing magic from his Skill Sanctum to his brain to enhance his deductive capabilities and memory, Elemental attacks were all the dwarves seemed capable of in the many times they¡¯d attacked him and Drullkrin in previous runs. Not just Earth as Trylfir had said, but a myriad of elements from which, sadly, Fire was absent. Humans, on the other hand, were competent in both Mana and the Elements, although less so in the latter than the dwarves. Examples of Qi control were still rare, but Michael was fairly sure Qi was much harder for humans to manipulate than Mana, though not impossible like it seemed to be for the dwarves, none of which was even close to Silver rank. Even he was having problems with it, although he had been shown time and time again how different he was from the average human. He was also the only one of his kind that he knew could use Intent, but he was fairly confident that no more than one in ten people who could control Qi could then move on to Intent. Among the Operators and the men within Unity¡ªall the people he had data about¡ªeveryone could control either Mana, the Elements, or Chi and Jing. Which meant that almost everyone could reach Copper-rank eventually. From there, only one in ten could control Qi well enough to reach Silver without external help. Then, things became pure speculation, since Michael was the highest-ranked person he knew of and was barely low-Silver himself. However, using the Truth facet of [Unity] like a divining rod, the facet sending signals whenever he strayed too far from the Truth, he was getting a decent idea of the road ahead. [Unity] was a legendary skill. By no means infallible, but potentially much more powerful than Michael could grasp. And while the skill confirmed there was no singular road to power, there seemed to be steps. ¡°Michael?¡± Stephan¡¯s voice shook him out of his musings. ¡°It¡¯s time.¡± Ah, so he had spent the whole time musing and had found his way back to the tavern while distracted. ¡°No pressure, lad,¡± Trylfir said, mistaking his expression for worry, ¡°but I won¡¯t lie just so you might feel better. The future of us all lies on your shoulders.¡± For a moment, Michael frowned. The dwarf might believe it to be true, but Michael knew better. He could try again and again until he finally succeeded. Yet, even though he had thought such a realization would make the Truth facet stop screaming at him, the ringing did not stop. Chapter 113 Chapter 113 Hidden beneath layers of stubborn frost, ice so thick and compressed it was almost electric blue, lay the stone of the forges. The forges, as the name suggested, were numerous rooms where the dwarves of old used to work their metals, shaping them into marvels of engineering and magic. At least, Michael thought as much from what he saw here and there, but all that was left were mere hints at the greatness that once was. Not much remained of the bygone age that produced such marvels, and most of what had survived the ravages of time, cold, and solitude had done so at a great price: the machines were no longer functioning, crumbling into pieces. Supposedly. Michael had trouble coming to grips with a time-looped floor. If the dungeon could simply recreate it from scratch every time, just how real was it all? Why not make a few changes, given that it could restore a previous version of the whole place? And since it was at it, why not change everything? This meant that the floor could be as fake as a movie, a script created just for him as a challenge and nothing more. The magic and the machines could be mere props, worthless when looked past their fa?ade. ¡°The forges are made of sterner stuff,¡± Trylfir assured the two delvers. ¡°Carved from the stone of the mountain itself, they are now as they were long ago.¡± The rooms were peculiar. An entire wall looked more like a fountain than a proper forge, even with all the equipment strewn about and the long worktables at the other end of the room. Neither Stephan nor Michael were experts, yet their eyes were drawn to the far wall where faucets and canals were dug into the stone. ¡°Aye,¡± the dwarf accompanying them commented, ¡°your eyes are keen indeed. Beyond there lies the heart of the forge, where the fire is nurtured. It is not a mundane fire, but a fire born of magic and the Elements, capable of producing wonders. This¡±¡ªhis axe was drawn across the shoulder plate opposite to it¡ª¡°is but a mere work of imitation, born of coal fire. It is a shame we all carry, to be forced to use our sacred techniques on mundane metals softened by mundane fires.¡± ¡°Because you lost your elements,¡± Michael stated pensively. ¡°It is so,¡± the dwarf confirmed. ¡°We are left with few, the ones suited for battle and war, not for smelting. I do not know when dwarfkind decided war was more important than progress and tradition, nor was I present when the last of the gifts was lost, yet I know that since then¡­¡± He paused, words heavy in his throat. ¡°Since then, we have only declined. In might, in spirit, and in values.¡± ¡°Take me to the heart of the forge, then,¡± Michael instructed. The dwarf nodded, and both Michael and Stephan followed him to a large room a surprising distance from the main forges. Here and there, doors that had rotted off their hinges revealed smaller workshops, miniature forging rooms, and other rooms that defied mundane logic or reason. Dust was everywhere in those rooms, as were traces of some Elements that Michael never thought he would find this deep down: Nature, Life, Plant, and others more bestial in nature. Was that Blood and Flesh he was sensing? Were they the product of the decay of the many magical ingredients the dwarves used to enhance their products? Michael felt his sense of wonder grow. For the first time since he had entered the dungeon, this was a mystery he wanted to solve for the sake of adventure. No longer did the seed of doubt about the nature of the floor count in his mind. It might be fake, but it was still an adventure, like a video game but better. It would also benefit him and his Unity corporation. The Truth facet, however, was still ringing, telling him something wasn''t right. When they reached the heart of the forge, Michael was surprised. ¡°It¡¯s just an empty room?¡± Stephan asked, echoing his surprise and disappointment. ¡°It¡¯s more than that,¡± Michael replied, immediately seeing traces of magic¡ªnot mana, for the dwarves seemed incapable of using it, but tightly woven Elemental energy that had managed to survive, however dimmed, the passage of time.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°That is it,¡± the dwarf declared. ¡°This is the true beating heart of the mountain. More than just the heat of the forges, lad, the flame nurtured here will bring life to the halls and banish the cold for good. What are you waiting for? You wield the elemental Fire; cast it on the ancient stone and let a new flame be born. For all of us gathered here, it is the only hope.¡± Michael¡¯s eyes narrowed. The entire room wasn''t just covered in ice, but there was so much of it that they were practically standing several feet above the floor. The cold here was almost unbearable, even for him, and it seemed to snake in and around his aura and his Fire, seeking weak points to attack. His eyes narrowed further. Something was wrong with the room. It was a perfect cube, and while the inscriptions buried beneath the ice seemed to converge at the cube''s center, nothing of note was there. At the same time, the air swirled with blue icy energies to his magic vision, almost as if¡­ ¡°This room is a nexus of some sort. Stephan, I¡¯m going to ask you to leave. I don¡¯t know if I can protect you from what hides in here.¡± Stephan frowned, but nodded. ¡°Will you be okay?¡± Michael almost laughed. ¡°This is nothing.¡± He wasn¡¯t being cocky. He knew he was powerful enough that he couldn¡¯t even fathom his own upper limits. So far, this whole floor had been a walk in the park. The obsidian scorpion? Laughably weak. The dwarven attackers and the monsters? Fodder. The environmental cold? A problem for maybe even Johanne, and indeed a cause for alertness for him, but nothing more. He had Fire in spades as long as he had mana to convert, and the fourth floor was rich in it. And yet, the Truth facet was ringing. One can never be too sure, hence why it was better if Stephan waited outside. In fact, ¡°You should go outside the mountain altogether. I¡¯ll fetch you.¡± After Stephan left, under Trylfir¡¯s gaze, who seemed to view their actions as the folly of madmen, Michael finally approached the center of the room. The cold energies were strong there, so strong that he felt like he was gaining insight into his own Ice element in real time. But even though the room was already proving its value, Michael didn''t want to waste time, not with the unease he was feeling. ¡°I will be right outside, lad,¡± Trylfir said. Michael barely heard the dwarf over the roaring wind. It had picked up sometime after he was halfway to the center of the room and wasn''t letting up. In fact, it was increasing in strength as the temperature dropped. Soon, Michael¡¯s clothes were being ripped to shreds. The cold air nipped at his bare skin, depositing sharp ice crystals that melted into water and drenched him. His cold, wet hair fluttered, slapping against his forehead. ¡°You know what?¡± Michael declared suddenly. ¡°I tried to do this the normal way, but this is no adventure, this is bullshit.¡± Suddenly, his aura flared, and the whole room was subdued into silence. It was as if the winds themselves, the very Elements, quivered and cowered before his might. In the deafening silence of loneliness¡ª Trylfir had shut the door behind him while he was distracted¡ªMichael didn''t even find it in him to be annoyed. He simply walked to the center of the room, using not Fire but aura itself to melt the ice that coated the floor. The water was pushed away from him in much the same way. When he reached the last third of the distance to the center, however, he had to start using his skills to cut up the ice and prevent the water from suffocating him. [Magic Manipulation] bolstered the power of his aura, which was being used and stretched to do something it wasn''t suited for, while [Distortion Field] was shaped into a sword to hack at the ice. Michael only did so because, all things considered, he was using a relatively small fraction of his mana pool. He had coins to spare, and with his many farming operations¡ªthe Fae and the Operators¡ªhe could afford to splurge. Splurging led to growth, as long as he didn¡¯t overdo it. Then he was at the center of the room, finding himself in the eye of the storm. All was quiet here, and the flood of water from the melted ice didn''t even try to flow towards him anymore. Here, the inscriptions in the stone coalesced into a crucible of stabilizing energy, waiting for his input. Michael thrust his hand into the empty space and willed Fire to surge forth. That¡¯s when it happened. That¡¯s when his overconfidence was punished. He felt it deep in his bones: a chill, a dread, an existential threat. His aura immediately reacted, honed by years of training in the valley to respond to threats before Michael¡¯s conscious mind was even aware of them. It wrapped around him, shielding him from the brunt of the assault. It gave his mind a moment to understand and process what was happening. He realized that, had it not been for his training, he would have died here, at this very moment. Unaware of even the event happening. Was this how it felt to be subjected to a power greater than his own? Two words immediately surfaced: Silver Aura. It was a silver aura pressing against his own, with a weight Michael had never experienced before. It was easily ten, even twenty times as big as his own, an ocean pressing down on a kiddie pool. But it was fundamentally different. It was more sparse, less dense, less deadly, and less pinpoint accurate. That was how Michael managed to regain his feet after being pushed to his knees. That''s how he managed to use his own, much denser, if overall weaker, aura to drill through this massive weight and stand. The same couldn¡¯t be said for Stephan. He didn¡¯t know where this aura came from, but he was pretty sure it reached at least him from somewhere deep within the mountain. If it managed to hit his sensei, Michael wouldn''t be able to protect him, and Stephan would surely die. Chapter 114 Chapter 114 The aura didn''t flatten Michael to the floor, nor did it make walking impossible. Michael¡¯s own power was more than enough to counter its effects¡ªalthough not completely¡ªbut at least to the point where he felt like he was walking against a strong wind and not stuck in place by a force he could not overcome. He reached the door after several tense seconds, finding it closed and locked from the outside. As expected from a race that claimed to have lost its values, the dwarves had betrayed him in the end. There was no time to waste. Michael could feel the aura strengthening, which meant that the source¡ªoriginally deep within the mountain¡ªwas drawing nearer. He didn''t have enough data to calculate how much closer it had gotten, and while the AI in his pocket was powerful enough to run such calculations, Icarus simply couldn¡¯t, since it didn''t have the ability to sense magic, nor understand its effects on the world. Despite the inaccuracy of his estimates, Michael knew Stephan didn¡¯t have much time left. Half a minute at most before the aura reached him and squashed him like a bug. Roaring against the forces trying to keep him still¡ªthe hostile aura was getting stronger by the second¡ªhe pulled on the door handle. He drew on his strength, activating the sundered [Crude Body Enhancement] skill by flooding it with mana. In his rage and hurry, he didn''t use Fractal Unbound Casting, instead reinstating the skill as a proper fractal within his Skill Sanctum. The skill, which hadn''t been upgraded since it was sundered, was suddenly flooded with absurd amounts of mana, Qi, and Intent. What''s more, Michael had grown by leaps and bounds since the last time he used it as a skill, mostly in his ability to control and focus his energies. His Skill Sanctum had also grown; he could feel it expanding with each step he took in the mastery of his aura, with each drop of extra magic added to his pool, and with each rank-up of his mana-related skills. [Crude Body Enhancement] reaches level 4. [Crude Body Enhancement] reaches level 5, reaching its first bottleneck. [Crude Body Enhancement] reaches level 6. [Crude Body Enhancement] reaches level 7. [Crude Body Enhancement] reaches level 8. [Crude Body Enhancement] reaches level 9. [Crude Body Enhancement] reaches level 10, reaching its final bottleneck. Michael had long outgrown the simple skill that boosted his body while also damaging his internal organs. His mastery was on another level now, and even in his emotionally altered state, he wasn''t the same as he was when he had last used the skill. Therefore, it was only natural for the skill to break through its limits. [Crude Body Enhancement] becomes the Common-rank skill [Body Enhancement], finally incorporating proper handling of magic within its structure. Its effects are increased, and its downsides eliminated. [Body Enhancement] reaches level 2. Had Michael not been preoccupied with other matters, he would have wondered why this evolution hadn''t raised the skill''s rarity. Instead, he pushed his strength to its limit, tearing the door off its hinges with a well-timed application of [Distortion Field]. The hostile Silver aura was drawing near, and it was getting difficult to maintain control of his environment. He could sense the dwarves¡¯ auras, and they were mostly flattened around them by the sheer power of the hostile Silver, but the dwarves themselves were fine. He looked around, trying to find the way out of the maze of caves and corridors that led to the heart of the forge. But as soon as his eyes found the right path, he cursed his lack of a movement skill. The dark corridor seemed impossibly far away. Instead, something else caught up. ¡°We finally meet," a voice rasped. "You are Johanne¡¯s new master.¡± The Silver user was here. His voice was eerie and metallic, echoing as if it didn''t come from a single point. As Michael turned to face the new threat, already rousing his mana and aura to counter the effects of the enemy¡¯s own aura now bearing down on him from almost point-blank range, he studied the man¡¯s form. Calling him a man would be imprecise. What Michael saw was a set of loose, tattered robes fluttering in the wind, only loosely in the shape of a hooded man. Except, there was nothing inside. They were empty, and the harsh winds summoned by the clash of Silver auras made them sway and snap, some parts filling with air while others deflated to an impossible thinness.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. There wasn¡¯t an invisible man inside the robes; they were empty. And yet, a voice seemed to emanate from the hood and everywhere else at once. ¡°You helped her escape," the voice inquired. "How?¡± Michael found himself immobilized by the sheer weight of an aura several times as massive as his own. Not only that, but there was something else within the aura that sent a shiver down his spine. The robed shape reeked of Time element, Michael realized, and it was using it to still him, forcing him to be immobile. There was mana there as well, as expected, and Qi. What Michael didn''t expect to find was Intent, and there was so much of it that his own Intent began to quiver in fear inside his Skill Sanctum. While normally it sparked and snapped like tiny thunderclouds, now his Intent was hiding in the very walls of the Sanctum itself. There was something else. Something beyond Intent. Something even more profound. Michael didn¡¯t give his mind time to formulate any thoughts or speculations. Later, he would have time to wonder whether what he felt was the mysterious Platinum energy he suspected existed beyond Gold¡¯s Intent. But right now, he had to fight the urge to panic. His immense Resilience was working overtime, not only stabilizing his mind but breaking his body and magic free of the other mage¡¯s hold. Suddenly, it managed to overcome some sort of block, and Michael found himself able to move. He immediately rushed the robed mage, activating the sundered [Fast Reflexes 4] skill to give himself a boost. The world around him blurred, points becoming lines as Michael¡¯s speed became so great his mind struggled to process what his eyes were seeing. He readied himself for an attack, feeling his clothes rip and shred around him, unable to take the immense strain. It was a mistake. The robes¡ªfor there was no actual mage inside¡ªmoved so fast that even Michael¡¯s enhanced reflexes couldn¡¯t react. He didn¡¯t even realize his stride had ended and he was flying. One moment he was zeroing in on the robes like an inevitable machine of pain and strength, the next he was watching the world recede away from him. Then he felt the impact and understood. He had been backhanded and sent into a wall like a ragdoll, with a movement so quick he had not even seen the blur. His body shattered the stone, went through it, and rolled on the ground before sliding to a stop on the sharp ice. Michael didn¡¯t have to look down to know he was missing most of his body. Summoning every ounce of magic and willpower, he activated his healing skill. It was a titanic effort, with the Silver aura pressing down on him with Gold and Platinum energies aiding it, but he did it. [Healing Aura] reaches level 8. Self-healing is now passive. The robes floated toward him, moving so slowly as to almost look lazy. Yet, Michael wasn¡¯t fooled. He had just been shown just how fast they could move and that they could deliver power like he had never seen. As his body regenerated, the robes simply observed him with their lack of eyes, bobbing up and down, unaffected by a clash of auras that was no longer there. ¡°Impressive,¡± the tinny voice commented. ¡°You barely even flinched as your body was destroyed. Yet I can sense the pain your mind is being subjected to. Not many can claim to have mastered their pain so thoroughly.¡± There was a pause. ¡°It won¡¯t save you," the voice continued. "You see, I now realize that trapping her had been a mistake. One I won¡¯t repeat. Starting with you, I¡ª¡± Michael grinned. He had been taking his time healing, purposefully slowing down the process after he had stabilized his condition. He had also stopped fighting the robes¡¯ Silver aura, but not because he had given up. He never gives up. Instead, he had been searching for a weakness. A snaking tendril of his aura managed to slip through the robes¡¯ Silver aura undetected, following a hunch that the robes were just a remotely controlled construct that lacked the skill and senses of its controller. The tendril found the dwarves, who had been spared from the effects of the robes¡¯ aura. Why had they been spared? Here was Michael¡¯s gamble. He suspected that the enemy mage knew what would happen should the dwarves die: a floor reset. And he didn''t want that to happen, for some reason. Therefore, it only made sense for Michael to try and force it. The robes¡¯ aura was spread thin, and the controller¡¯s attention was divided between sparing the dwarves and keeping Michael immobilized and suppressed. It simply couldn¡¯t deal with the tendril fast enough. In mere moments, the dwarves dropped dead. Copper auras that were only elemental in nature were snuffed out by Michael¡¯s Silver aura, rich in Intent, like tiny candles in a storm. The robes¡¯ aura flared, Time element flooding the area so thick Michael thought he could taste it. It tried to keep everything from falling apart, to prevent the floor from resetting. For a moment, it succeeded. Reality itself was stuck in limbo around Michael, and for the first time, he saw something through his Truth facet that he had never seen before. He couldn¡¯t make sense of it, not yet. But one thing he understood: the dungeon and its floors are real. As real as the world outside. But reality itself is flimsy, and what lies beyond¡­ Then the dungeon¡¯s Gaze made an entrance. Like a solar flare from above, it bore down on them with enough power to vaporize the few shreds of reality stubbornly clinging to existence through the robed mage¡¯s efforts. Yet another first for Michael occurred: he felt the Gaze for what it was. It wasn¡¯t focused on him, but even the edges of its effect were enough to give him goosebumps. At the same time, however, it felt¡­ A grin appeared on his face as he struggled to get up on half-mangled legs. The Truth facet was singing, no longer blaring at him, as he beheld the mighty Gaze of the dungeon smite the intruder. The edges of it caressed him like a warm light, damaging him not because it was evil or hostile, but simply because it was too powerful for him to handle. Even then, it empowered his own healing, allowing him to stand in its presence. He stared triumphantly at the dissolving robes. ¡°I have the dungeon itself on my side," he declared. "Get the fuck out.¡± Suddenly, he was back with Stephan at the beginning of the floor. In the distance, he felt a silver aura flare and then be extinguished. Then a message window appeared. Not a message from his half-broken system, but a full-fledged window.
I could only see him because he showed himself.
Michael paused. Was this the dungeon communicating with him?
He will be back. Find him and stop him.
Was it giving him a quest?
Beware, what you felt in his aura was Renegade Energy, of a tier above Intent. You must grow powerful before you can stop him.
Should you succeed, I will reward you. Handsomely. Personally.
Chapter 115 Chapter 115 Michael and Stephan looked at each other as they stood at the beginning of the dungeon¡¯s fourth floor. Before them, mountains soared toward the sky like skinny fingers covered in snow, while in the distance, larger mountains made a crown that imprisoned the valley within its cold embrace. With his keen eyes, Michael could see hints of the valley below, conifer trees swaying in the wind, and with his keen ears hear the call of a raven circling high above. Below, he knew, the dwarves lay in wait. They were not simple triggered mechanics of a game-like dungeon, but flesh-and-blood creatures forced to do an unfathomable being¡¯s bidding. It was impossible to deny that the dungeon had helped him, but at the same time, Michael wasn''t forgetting that the dungeon was also a strange creature who used lesser beings for unknown purposes. He might be among them, too. ¡°And yet, Infy asked me to track down the man behind the robes,¡± Michael mused aloud. ¡°Infy?¡± Stephan inquired. ¡°Yeah,¡± Michael replied. For a moment, he felt the Gaze settle upon him like a mantle. Warm. ¡°The infinity dungeon, Infy.¡± Stephan shook his head, exhaling through his nostrils. ¡°How can you be so calm after all that¡¯s happened?¡± Michael shrugged. He had told the man a quick version of the events, leaving out the most gruesome details. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I would say that you get used to it, but I know it¡¯s not true. It¡¯s more like I get used to it, you know?¡± Stephan nodded. ¡°Yeah. I think I got a good enough picture. I knew intellectually that death is always around the corner, but this? And I didn¡¯t even feel that aura!¡± ¡°Seeing how close one gets to death, and how easily¡­¡± he paused. ¡°It changes you. Shall we leave?¡± Michael suggested. Stephan nodded. As they made their way up the stairs, they greeted the warm summer air of the outside world with glee. It was hot and humid, but it was no bother to Michael. Stephan enjoyed it all of two seconds after being exposed to the dry cold of the mountains before he began to sweat. ¡°Will you come back?¡± Michael asked. ¡°Or was this enough to last you a lifetime?¡± ¡°I¡¯m tempted to say that it was,¡± the sensei admitted, ¡°but I¡¯m willing to come back, both for you and for me. Just, like I said at the beginning, I don¡¯t want to be exposed to unnecessary danger.¡± ¡°Some danger is inevitable,¡± Michael pointed out. ¡°I understand that,¡± Stephan acknowledged. ¡°I¡¯m not so naive to believe that you, even with all your power, can protect me from everything that might happen in there. I¡¯m talking about the variables you can control, not those you have no power over.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± ¡°Deal,¡± Stephan agreed. ¡°But now, I think it¡¯s time to head home.¡± ¡°There will be a car waiting for you back at the site.¡± As Stephan turned to leave, Michael stopped him, holding out a hand. ¡°Before that, give me your phone.¡± Stephan¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he did as told. Michael touched the sensei¡¯s phone to his own, and an icon appeared. ¡°My phone¡¯s an Android while yours is an iPhone. How did you do that?¡± Stephan questioned, surprised. ¡°Secret,¡± Michael responded with a mischievous smile. He pointed at the new, sleek white icon. It featured flowing black lines¡ªUnity¡¯s logo¡ªand a single red triangle superimposed over them¡ªIcarus¡¯ logo. ¡°This is our AI. It¡¯s a true AI. Talk to it, make it do things for you, use it however you want. Most of all, it helps you keep track of the real world after you spend so much time in the dungeon. It can bring you back up to speed with what you left on hold while you delved.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Stephan said gratefully. Michael appreciated the fact that the sensei did not ask how Icarus happened to know all that it had to know about someone to bring them back to speed. In the end, even though Travis had not hacked Google, Johanne still went ahead and wrestled access to most of the internet from whoever was holding it hostage and diverted a good part of it to her pet AI. As soon as his sensei was gone, Michael immediately went back inside. According to Icarus, Johanne was in the Misty Valley, and indeed that was where he found her. She was fiddling with some sort of portal construct, flooded with Space and Time energy, muttering about time-invariant fields to herself. Studying the inscriptions, Michael could somewhat divine what the pinky-sized portal was supposed to do, but he still asked her.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°I want to bring cell signal down here,¡± she said nonchalantly. ¡°This portal should allow for the signal to come through. If not, I¡¯ll simply run a cable through it.¡± Michael frowned. ¡°What about the time dilation?¡± Johanne nodded, getting up from inspecting the inscribed stones with an expression that was a mix of pride and smugness. ¡°As expected, you understand the issue immediately. But, allow me to boast, I have devised a clever idea. See, this antenna is hooked up to a low-power Electrical magic stone. Before you ask, we have found fewer than five of them on the whole floor, and they are barely enough to work as low-power batteries.¡± She sighed. ¡°But I digress. This antenna and the server stack in that box provides local network connectivity. It is connected to other antennas scattered throughout the Valley¡ªeach hooked to a different power system so that they double as proof of concept for mana-batteries, infinite water wheels, and other things. The problem, as you said, is the time dilation. I managed to make the portal open, connected to a sister device outside, but when I did, the time dilation factor of the valley dropped to zero, becoming in sync with the normal flow of time.¡± ¡°To rectify this,¡± she continued, ¡°I have ordered the technomancer to write code, which Icarus then checked, so that the internal Valley network periodically checks whether the devices connected to it need access to the outside internet infrastructure¡ªa process made easier by Icarus itself, since it can just sync the requests. When needed, this portal will open for a fraction of a second and sync with the outside in a rapid burst of data exchange.¡± Michael nodded, impressed. ¡°This way, the time dilation is only lost for fractions of a second at a time. Clever.¡± Unfortunately, Michael could see that the portal would only work within close proximity to a powerful source of mana, Time, and Space, which made it impractical for use for any long-distance transportation system. For now, at least. Johanne beamed, as proud and smug as ever. ¡°Alas, this is not the reason for your visit, is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± Michael confirmed. Instead of talking at the portal, the two decided to talk over some Fae tea. The Fae were strange, a myriad of different races each with their own peculiarities. While the more brutish of the Fae contributed meat and ale to the feasts, the more refined of them provided tea and sweets. When summed up together, there was never a shortage of any kind of food at their feasts, and the tables were always overflowing with anything one might desire. Lately, Unity staff had noticed a decrease in the amount of food at the Fae feasts. Unity had been using the feasts as a way to stock their canteen for a while, but their growing needs were beginning to have repercussions. They cut back on their consumption as other ways to get food were being explored outside, like using magic to grow crops, while at the same time, a stopgap measure was discovered. They could trade magic coins to boost the output of the feasts simply by giving them to whichever Fae was tasked with gathering the food that day. The conversion ratio was good enough, and it amused Johanne to no end to see the dungeon¡¯s own coins¡ªgiven as a reward to the delvers and the Fae¡ªused back in the dungeon to get more resources. It was also opening the way for more experimentation with garbage disposal and the like, and it appeared from preliminary tests that the dungeon didn¡¯t care much about the nature of what was being dumped into it. It simply took raw matter and dissolved it. Sometimes it would ¡®burp¡¯ up coins and items¡ªas some Operators had begun to say¡ªalthough it wasn¡¯t clear if it was a reward, a random mechanic, or an incentive to do it more. Michael and Johanne talked for a while. It was mostly Michael at the beginning, recounting the events that had happened on the fourth floor. But when he got to the betrayal, Johanne was suddenly inflamed. ¡°Filthy half-men! How dare¡ª¡± ¡°Chill,¡± Michael interrupted. She sat back down. ¡°Apologies, my lord. It is just that I would never think such low creatures would be capable of such treachery.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Michael hummed, holding it while he pretended to think. ¡°But the strangest thing of all, Johanne, was not them or their betrayal. They pretty much confessed to it when they claimed to have no values anymore. No, what¡¯s strangest is what happened when the man behind the betrayal showed up. Or, I expected it to be a man, woman, or monster. What showed up were loose robes, with nobody inside.¡± Johanne frowned. ¡°Remotely controlled?¡± ¡°I thought as much,¡± Michael stated. ¡°It was evident by the way mana behaved, although it was interesting that the robes themselves possessed an aura.¡± ¡°Do you think it was generated artificially, or was it part of the projection?¡± Johanne inquired. Michael smiled. ¡°Always inquisitive. But that, too, is not the interesting part. You see, he mentioned you.¡± Johanne¡¯s body language suddenly shifted. Michael didn¡¯t need the Truth facet¡¯s help to see that she was hiding something. ¡°He said,¡± Michael continued, ¡°that it was a mistake to trap you and that he should have killed you in the first place.¡± He looked at her, ¡°now, do you think it was just random happenstance that I met him in the fourth floor, or did you perhaps happen to do something¡ªsomething I am unaware of¡ªto attract his attention?¡± Michael didn''t think that Johanne¡¯s face could lose more color than it already had, yet she paled. ¡°My lord,¡± she threw herself at his feet, ¡°it might have been my actions that almost brought ruin upon you. Please, punish this unworthy servant.¡± Michael¡¯s eyes narrowed. His aura radiated from his body, clashing with hers. She wasn¡¯t even defending, but even if she had been, it wouldn¡¯t have made a difference. Michael had learned a lot about auras lately, even more so after his brief confrontation with the mysterious robes. Johanne¡¯s aura was a False sort of Silver, a mere layering of Qi and mana. But the foundation, made of mana, was shaky. It didn¡¯t have the stabilizing factors that Michael¡¯s aura had. His was True Silver to her False one, and its quality was so great it could resist even the aura coming from the robes themselves, no matter what arcane energies of higher tiers tried to squash him. Johanne was brought to the floor by Michael¡¯s sheer power. ¡°None of that, Johanne,¡± he said angrily. ¡°I don¡¯t want any groveling. This farce has gone on long enough. I don¡¯t want a servant who kneels before me awaiting judgment. I thought I had made it clear, yet now you revert back to this behavior as soon as there are problems bigger than just normal administration. Get up and explain what you did.¡± Chapter 116 Chapter 116 It took a while for Johanne to compose herself. Afterward, she sat by the kitchen table. They were in Michael¡¯s tree house, and the seat was just a wooden stump that looked like it had been grown from the tree itself, as was most of the wood that made up the furniture of the house. Yet, it was surprisingly comfortable. ¡°What I told at the beginning was true, my lord,¡± she began, her voice barely a whisper. ¡°I had no memories of my life before being trapped in the amber. It was barely an annoyance at first, worthy of an afterthought perhaps, but nothing more. However, as time passed, a desire to know grew in my mind.¡± She took a sip of Fae tea, feeling the warmth spread through her. Even though the Misty Valley did not have seasons, and the forest was forever locked in perpetual spring, the house felt cold as the wind howled softly yet persistently through the windows. Its door, through which wind freely passed to cool the house and bring a fresh breeze, now seemed all too flimsy. Not sturdy enough to hide her weakness from the world. ¡°This desire became an obsession. Of course, my lord, you know very well that I am a woman of many obsessions. It was easy for me to drown this specific one with others: research, innovation, exploration of the new world you have graciously allowed me to come to know, pleasing you¡­¡± Michael grimaced, but she continued. ¡°In retrospect, I understand now that certain thoughts that had begun to spread through my mind weren¡¯t healthy at all. Back then, I didn''t think such things. I developed magic to peer beyond the veil of reality in what limited fashion I could without crippling my mind by looking upon truths I am unequipped to handle. I used this magic to find a weakness in the dungeon itself. I returned to the place where I had been held, for it was still there even after I was rescued¡ªhidden but not gone. Forgive me, my lord, I should have never¡ª¡± ¡°As I said, Johanne, none of that. Why do you claim it was unhealthy? Why do you think such thoughts were bad? Even had they been an actual obsession, one that hinders you and not just nightmares that keep you awake at night¡ª¡± This time, it was she who stopped him. ¡°I do not sleep, my lord. I use magic to keep myself awake and rested.¡± ¡°Point made,¡± Michael conceded. ¡°But even then, I could hardly blame you for looking into your own past. It¡¯s a perfectly natural reaction.¡± ¡°You may say so, my lord,¡± she replied, ¡°but to me, it doesn¡¯t feel natural at all. I am not a creature of emotion, yet whenever I think about this matter all I feel is urgency and¡­ fear, I think. Anxiety is there too, along with a whole list of emotions I have written down. I had never felt them before, but I looked up the symptoms on the internet, and they match what I was feeling.¡± ¡°Perhaps this means you are healing,¡± Michael suggested. ¡°If this is healing,¡± Johanne declared, ¡°then I do not want it.¡± ¡°What happened afterward? You went into the chamber, then?¡± Michael inquired. Johanne took a deep breath. Her fingers were shaking, although minutely, but compared to her usual poise and grace, her discomfort was all too clear to see. While she usually moved like a dancer, or stood still like a statue, she now moved like an automaton with glitchy hardware. ¡°I peered into the past. I wished to see what happened to me that led to my imprisonment. You see, my lord, I have no specific memories of the time before my imprisonment, but some things feel natural to my being. Even as I was dragged in chains to that room, I did not show any emotion, lending credibility to what I claim is natural and what isn¡¯t about my mind. Looking at it now, it feels like the current me is but a defenseless prey running away from countless hounds: fear, anger, remorse, doubt.¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± Johanne interrupted. ¡°Let me finish, please, my lord. You are a beacon I cling to, and now I need you to listen, even though I have been the cause of so many of your problems. Through my spell, I looked into the past. When I looked at the old me, I saw nothing on her face, but I knew her thoughts. There was no rational way to escape, and that was why I had allowed myself to be dragged to captivity. It should have been clear what I had to do then, for the sort of power that can elicit such a reaction in me can only be overwhelming. Despite this, I wanted to see the face of my captor. Of the man who managed to drag me all the way to that chamber in chains. I couldn¡¯t even see him, my lord.¡± Tears streaked down Johanne¡¯s face, but she kept talking as if she didn¡¯t even notice them. ¡°His power, my lord¡­ it crossed through the Window, through my magic spell, and reached me. Nothing crosses through such a spell, my lord; it is merely a way to see faint echoes of the past. Yet, his power did. No, more than that. He looked at me.¡± In the silence that followed, Michael simply nodded. ¡°Everything is going to be alright,¡± he reassured her softly. He squeezed her shoulder, then walked to the window overlooking much of the forest and the valley below. ¡°I¡¯m going to fix everything.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°What about the rest, my lord?¡± she asked, looking at him with wide eyes like a puppy. ¡°What else is there to talk about?¡± he questioned. ¡°Do you not find me¡­ strange?¡± she wondered. ¡°Do you not resent me for taking on so many projects? For stealing the spotlight away from you. For bossing people around. For being a bad influence on your sister?¡± Michael frowned. ¡°Who told you all that?¡± ¡°Why are you assuming someone told me anything?¡± Johanne asked defensively. ¡°Because you don¡¯t think like that, Johanne. I know you.¡± ¡°You do?¡± Her eyes lit up. ¡°I may have been denser than average at the beginning,¡± Michael admitted, ¡°but my mental stats don¡¯t lie. Plus, I have been training them.¡± He did not mention the fact that the Truth facet of [Unity] was slowly making him into a living lie detector the more he practiced. ¡°I see¡­¡± she murmured. ¡°Being seen¡­ is so very warm. I thank you.¡± ¡°Where did you hear all that nonsense, then?¡± Michael pressed. ¡°I heard it,¡± Johanne whispered. ¡°Whispers when people think I can¡¯t hear them. But I can, much like I know you can hear most everyone on Site 00 no matter where you are, at all times. It is deafening. I had thought I could tune it out, but some things slip through no matter what I do to keep them out.¡± ¡°I will deal with it, don¡¯t worry,¡± Michael promised. ¡°All those things,¡± he added, shaking his head. This time, he went to sit beside her, dragging a stump-seat and putting it close to hers. After he was done, the wood merged with the floor. ¡°They are all false. I see you, Johanne. And I wouldn¡¯t want to change anything about you, for you are perfect as you are.¡± They hugged for a long time. Johanne cried in silence, the only proof being the wetness in Michael¡¯s shirt, which he didn¡¯t dare dry with his aura. When he left, a long time later, he was already thinking of ways to make it clear to everyone that he approved of her not as a tool, but as a friend and an indispensable part of his team. He was also worried. The fact that his words could sway her mood so thoroughly¡ªa mood which had been soured because she thought his perception of her had changed in the first place¡ªwas a dangerous thing. It was clear that, besides him, Johanne had no attachments in this world. Some people, even people close to him, would enjoy being in this position. Having a completely loyal servant was a powerful thing. But Michael wasn¡¯t like them. He had changed ever since he first set foot into the dungeon, but his principles remained. In fact, now that he had personal power, his principles were even more important than before. No longer could he use his lack of power as an excuse to justify a certain kind of behavior or attitude towards the world and others. No, now that he had power, whatever he did was a reflection of who he was as a person. Power such as his can corrupt, but most of all, it reveals who you truly are deep inside. And the person you are inside is not fixed but is something built day after day, shaped by choices and attitudes. Johanne was not an asset to be used; she was a person to be loved and valued as a human being first and foremost. ¡°I am proud of you.¡± Michael had met with Old Dave soon after leaving the dungeon and had told him about the events of the day. Hearing his mentor approve of him brought a smile to his face. A smile that froze solid mere moments later. ¡°Yet I cannot help but worry. You are arrogant in thinking you can force equality on the world, even the amended version you propose, Mike,¡± Old Dave cautioned. ¡°Not all men are born equal. This much was true before, and it¡¯s all the more evident now that magic is real. You should do well to keep it in mind. That people have intrinsic value by virtue of being human is a noble thing to say, but you know you will have to fight tooth and nail to defend such a position once the differences between people become much more evident.¡± He said, ¡°please, pour one for me too. Hmm¡ªthis is good. Travis got this for you?¡± Michael nodded. Old Dave did not give Michael a chance to rebuke his earlier statement. He finished the drink and got up, drawing himself to his full height of almost seven feet. Michael was a tall man himself, but Old Dave easily towered over him. It had never bothered Michael much: in his old age, Old Dave had been tall yet dangerously thin, his muscle mass reduced by the passage of time to the point where his height was more of a handicap than an asset. Now, Old Dave seemed wide as a mountain, present, tall, and proud. His face was set in a stern, hard expression. It was just an illusion, one Michael could easily see through, behind which lay the harsh truth that Old Dave was¡­ old. Yet, the illusion was powerful, alluring, and there was no denying that Old Dave had found renewed strength as of late. ¡°I know that look on your face. Don¡¯t be disappointed. I am no Travis Tyrell, Michael, but I am no fool either. You should do well to remember that until you make utopia a reality, the world you live in can be harsh and cruel. Don¡¯t get stuck in your own head, mixing what you wish to be true with what is. It pains me to say it, but it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°You changed,¡± Michael observed. ¡°I did,¡± Old Dave confirmed. ¡°I am tired of waiting. Waiting for something to change outside of myself. For someone to help me while I do nothing. For the miracle cure to be developed. I had told myself I would wait until Dr. Kavins was done concocting his anti-aging serum, but that was the thinking of a loser. Of an old, defeated man with no fight left in him. Well, lad, that ain¡¯t me. At the same time, I know my limits, and I am not so arrogant as to be above asking you for help. It¡¯s hard, but again, I am no Travis Tyrell.¡± ¡°He did ask for help, though,¡± Michael pointed out. ¡°Did he?¡± Old Dave countered. ¡°Or did he make you offer him help?¡± Michael thought about it. It had been him who told Travis that he needed to reach Silver rank before meeting with the OA. To which Travis had replied: ¡°I have some pride, you know? I admit that the dungeon¡¯s been having an effect on me, but I am no pussy. Let¡¯s go.¡± Michael sighed. ¡°We¡¯ll never see him ask.¡± Old Dave laughed. ¡°I won¡¯t. You, on the other hand, will. And quite shamelessly at that. You see, there is one thing bigger than Travis¡¯ arrogance: his greed.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± Michael asked. ¡°Me?¡± Old Dave chuckled. ¡°I just want to get rid of this decaying body, you asshat. Get back into the thick of it, where I belong. Old age might have mellowed me out, but this ain¡¯t who I really am. This is where I am different than Travis. I know who I am, even though I had forsaken my own identity for so long. And I know who I can call my friend. I¡¯m not scared to ask a friend for help. Will you help me reach Silver-rank, Michael?¡± Chapter 117 Bonus Chapter ¨C David D. Chestermill Some time earlier. David slowly rose from his chair, feeling his back crack and pop after sitting for so long. He had been reading the reports and documents that Travis Tyrell so graciously allowed him to peruse, for it felt like the younger man was doing him a favor by letting him know what the darker parts of the company David was CEO of were doing. Such an unruly young fellow, one too arrogant for his own good. His arrogance had been quelled somewhat at the beginning, but as his relationship with Michael grew, Travis¡¯s baser instincts were once again gaining traction in his mind. Another of David¡¯s joints popped as he got up too quickly from his chair. It was not the pleasant sort of pop, but rather the kind that left a lingering pain in your back for the whole day. It would not hamper his movements, but that was perhaps even worse than if it did because now David had to watch what he was doing very carefully to avoid the ranges of motion that brought him pain. Or he could just bear through it, like he had many times, but pain brought by old age and a failing body was much more insidious than the pain of a fight. It was not something he had done to himself willingly; rather, time itself had decided he should suffer and how. He went to open himself a bottle of water. Straight from the decanter of infinite water or whatever its name was, the liquid was always fresh, pure, and satisfying to drink. The bottles they put it in¡­ were not. He felt his fingers slip on the plastic cork as it dragged on his loose, mostly unfeeling, calloused skin that was too dry for a proper grip. He increased the force with which he pulled on the opposite ends of the plastic disc, making sure not to overdo it. It did not move. David sighed. A lifetime spent worrying about using too much strength, these instincts do not go away after barely a few years. Too bad the strength isn¡¯t there anymore. It was with actual effort that he opened the bottle, his fingers among the most affected parts of his body with their uncontrollable twitches and lacking fine motor control. To think he was a peak-Copper magic practitioner. Except, aura rank did not increase his base strength, nor did it fix his body, nor did it undo the ravages of time. Perhaps he could learn how to use aura like Michael did, but to do so effectively he could not remain stuck at Copper-rank. It was simply too weak. Huh. Weak. The word was becoming a constant companion. He shouldn¡¯t complain. He had no right to complain. He was older yet healthier than most: even before Michael came with his healing, David had been gifted with a strong body that had withstood the passage of time better than that of most people. Plus, if he considered everything that he had put his body through before he retired¡­ The scars on his skin might have faded to almost invisibility after repeated sessions of Michael¡¯s healing, but David knew where each of them was supposed to be and what they represented. It¡¯s just that the higher you climb, the harder you fall. It was his status, his strength, his height, his power¡ªwhen they were taken away and David was forced back down to the level of mere mortals, it hurt. It didn¡¯t matter that he was still stronger than even most thirty-year-olds. Why would it even matter, when 60% of them are obese, lazy, soft pieces of¡ª? ¡°It says nothing about me,¡± he muttered, ¡°and everything about them.¡± It also didn¡¯t matter that he was still probably stronger than even Travis. Well, before the asshole got himself risen to Silver rank, at least. Who knows what that ranks does to you. It didn¡¯t matter because if he even dared use a fraction of that strength, his body would probably tear itself apart beyond even Michael¡¯s ability to heal him. What use is there for strength and power that can¡¯t be accessed? David had told himself he would wait for Doctor Kavins¡¯ research to yield some results. Even though the researcher was doing all he could, science could not be rushed too quickly. Still, David almost demanded that the research be done in the Misty Valley to make use of the time dilation. The only thing stopping him was his recollection of how it felt to be under the dungeon¡¯s Gaze. Most people found the Gaze to be a source of dread, oppression, fear, paranoia, and all sorts of things. It was different for him.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The Gaze simply made him look at himself and really see that he was nothing more than a husk of what he had once been. It only happened once. That had been enough. David knew the Gaze would show him something different the next time he went in alone. He never did go back in alone. Was he a coward for not wanting to face his own weaknesses? Even though, this was not about facing anything, but rather about supinely accepting defeat and waiting for death to finally claim him as his body decayed and his muscles wasted away and he lost what little dignity he had managed to cling to after all these years. No. It was better to just bury himself in work. At the beginning, at least. But soon Michael¡¯s zeal and attitude began to affect him. Choosing Michael had been just a whim back when he was just a simple pawn shop owner. He was retired, yet he was still living a shadow of his former life with his side jobs, with his contacts, with what he had other people do through his network. What he could once do with ease¡ªeven though he couldn¡¯t do anymore, he watched others struggle to even attempt. Then Michael came along. Just another desperate young man, searching for money, willing to do shady things. David knew a guy who ran shady places, so why not? He could sit in the VIP lounge, watch the newest fish flop around in a sea too dry for him, pretend to threaten the owner of the club as if he still had the clout to even threaten a small fry like him, and pass the time. Pass the time without thinking. Then the mafia asked for a guy to drive a car. Sure, Michael can drive a car. Driving a car can¡¯t be too hard. Then Carmela said she liked the dashing young American man who drove her car. Why not have him escort her friends to a meeting? Sure, what can go wrong? That, David realized with icy calmness, was where history almost repeated itself. David saw himself, old and na?ve and green just like Michael was, be asked to escort some people to a meeting. How stupid that he, in his old age and wisdom, failed to foresee what had already happened in the past. For young David, that had been the turning point where his life truly began. Perhaps that¡¯s why old him failed to consider what it might have meant for Michael. For him, it had been a blessing. For Michael, there was no way to know for sure. It doesn¡¯t matter that it all ended well. What matters is that he made a mistake back then, given what he knew. He should have never sent an idiot green new guy to do that sort of thing. He could have ruined his life. Yet, back in his day, he had been sent. His life had changed. But could he really claim it had been ruined? David had pushed his expectations on Michael as if Michael was him. He had been living vicariously through Michael. Thus, when Michael survived the shootout, he had simply done as expected. Then magic was revealed to him. It hit him. Michael was not like him. Michael was not gifted with good genetics, being seven feet tall with muscles like steel and capable of snapping a person in half with his bare hands, like he was. Michael had been gifted with magic. When Michael healed him, for a moment it was like nothing of it mattered anymore. David was back. Except he wasn¡¯t. The limits of healing were soon evident. David was not back, not at all. It was much worse than that. He had been given a glimpse of the past, of his former self, a shadow of what it could be, and nothing more. He had been given hope. It pained him to admit, but the way he clung to Michael was almost pathetic. It took a long time for him to come to terms with it. With not being the top dog anymore. With needing to ask for help. He might look at Travis now and see an arrogant upstart who will only shame himself with asking for help for his own gain, but he had not been any better, had he? He shook his head. He didn¡¯t even realize that his fingers had crushed the bottle of water he was drinking until he spilled the liquid all over the floor. Maneuvering the mop with his feet so that he wouldn¡¯t need to bend down, he amended his thinking. He really did see Michael as his pupil. His relationship with him was genuine. There was more than self-interest there. More than the desire to be powerful again. Besides, David had learned long ago that he didn¡¯t want to be the one at the very top. Just close to it. Still, it was pride that made him wait before asking for help. David threw himself into this new magic world, hoping to fix his problems by himself. The dungeon first, and then after the Gaze became too much, the anomalous house at Redbud Ridge. Even after Michael pried the truth out of him and asked Dr. Kavins to work on a drug, David was still in wait mode. No more. He finally made peace with himself. No longer was he going to hide the fact that he hated things as they were. He hated being old. He hated being powerless. He hated it, and he was tired of pretending that he didn¡¯t. There is little he wouldn¡¯t be willing to do to be whole again. ¡°If there are people in the world who manage to age gracefully and come to terms with their own mortality,¡± David grumbled, ¡°good for them. I¡¯m not one of them. I¡¯m hungry. There¡¯s still a lot more to do.¡± Reaching Silver will be the first step towards reclaiming his pride. It was with this mindset that David sought out Michael. After all, if there is little he wouldn¡¯t do to be whole again, asking Michael is barely an inconvenience. Not even a hit to his pride, after he came to terms with not being the top dog anymore. But a dog he wanted to be nonetheless. It was with this mindset that he and Michael set out for the Misty Valley. Chapter 118 Chapter 118 ¡°Do you want to do things the proper way or the easy way?¡± Michael asked as he and Old Dave obliterated monster after monster on the first floor of the dungeon. ¡°Do you even need to ask? Who do you take me for?¡± the old man retorted, his movements impossible for his age. Of course, Michael knew better. He didn¡¯t need to heal the old man to know the toll the fighting was taking on his body. As they rested, a quick application of [Healing Aura] restored Old Dave to top condition. At the same time, Michael felt more and more of the man¡¯s muscles and tendons come under his authority, susceptible to his Intent like all the other things his evolved healing spell fixed. The System, or what was left of it, put it plainly: ¡°Anything you heal is marked by your Intent forever, and can be taken away at will.¡± As they reached the Misty Valley, Michael took a breath of fresh air. ¡°The first breath is always the best,¡± he commented. Old Dave hummed in agreement. ¡°Especially after going through the first floor. The air tastes like swamp water there.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just that. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a place on Earth where the air doesn¡¯t stink, not anymore. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± Michael countered. Old Dave scoffed. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re serious? You can smell pollution anywhere?¡± Michael nodded. ¡°I can. Downsides of enhanced senses. The world stinks, Dave.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you want to fix the environment because it smells bad now,¡± Old Dave chuckled. ¡°Why not?¡± Michael challenged. ¡°If I can, why not do it?¡± Old Dave¡¯s eyes narrowed as he went from joking to serious. ¡°Arrogant brat. I think you are moving away from your original objective here.¡± Michael shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a net good for the world anyway. Why does it matter why I do it?¡± ¡°Because,¡± Old Dave began, then paused. ¡°You know what? You are right. Just don¡¯t become the sort of person your past self would have hated. Acting just on a whim, a flight of fancy. You had ideals.¡± ¡°That was two floors of the dungeon ago. Things change,¡± Michael stated, shaking his head. ¡°I still have my ideals, Dave. The stink in the air reminds me day after day, breath after breath, of the mess we have made of our planet. What changed is that I know I am the only one who can make a difference. The only one whose motivations for changing things really matter.¡± ¡°You¡¯re beginning to understand the difference between you and the average person.¡± Dave observed. ¡°Yes,¡± Michael affirmed. ¡°No matter how much a random office worker in New Mexico wants to change things, he can¡¯t. Me? I can. Even if it was just because I don¡¯t like the way air smells. I could literally fix the planet because I don¡¯t like the smell, David.¡± Old Dave smiled. ¡°Calling me David. You are serious. You are beginning to understand. I am proud of you. But remember, this is where it¡¯s most dangerous. Don¡¯t lose sight of who you are.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Michael agreed. ¡°I¡¯m trying my best not to lose sight of the one thing that counts: people have value. There is value in being a human being. It¡¯s just that¡­ there are other things adding value to a person on top of that, and not everyone has the same amount of them. They are like multipliers. Being a good person is nice, but it¡¯s much better to be a good person while powerful and able to make a difference rather than being a good person forced to kneel down by the system.¡± ¡°Ah, people would hate you for saying such things. What about being good in the little things?¡± Old Dave questioned. ¡°Noble, but futile. When you see above the canopy of the forest, you realize that while caring for a single tree is noble, it won¡¯t stop the blight from consuming the trillions of other trees you can¡¯t care for. We are here.¡± Michael declared. The massive glacier that engulfed one of the mountain peaks surrounding the Misty Valley loomed before them. A single crack, massive and dark, marked the only entrance point to the vast cave system below it. Michael walked in without breaking his stride, Old Dave following just a single step behind. Michael knew that if the man wanted, he could overtake him without much effort simply by virtue of having a longer stride, but for now, his mentor was allowing him to lead. For now, his mentor was allowing himself to be mentored.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. And why not? With all matters of magic, Michael was the mentor, and David was the pupil. And perhaps in matters of fighting too, although David would never admit it. Michael could see it in his eyes and respected the old man too much to even bring up the point. ¡°What do you feel?¡± Michael inquired as soon as they reached a bifurcation. On the right was the tunnel he had already taken, eventually leading to the Ice King¡¯s throne room. On the other side¡­ ¡°Is this Qi?¡± Old Dave wondered. Michael nodded. ¡°It is.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like¡­ begging me to absorb it. To take the last step and enter Peak Copper,¡± Dave admitted. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Michael said sharply. ¡°Lad,¡± Old Dave responded with a soft smile, ¡°I haven¡¯t so far. You think my will is so weak I can¡¯t resist a while longer?¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t you stepped into Peak territory? You know it¡¯s safe enough that you can wait there for a while. It¡¯s not comfortable, but there might be merit in spending some time at Peak,¡± Michael pressed. ¡°Like you did?¡± Dave said, voice dripping with sarcasm. ¡°Well, it¡¯s stable unless there are circumstances that force your rank up. It¡¯s not why you waited,¡± Michael pointed out. Old Dave shook his head. ¡°You know why I waited.¡± ¡°And,¡± Michael continued, ¡°you might have inadvertently done a good thing. You see, simply letting the process happen leads to what I call False Silver. You take the step and layer Qi upon a foundation of mana. Easy enough.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what you want me to do,¡± Dave surmised. ¡°No,¡± Michael confirmed. The walls of the icy tunnel shimmered with magic, like tiny stars far above them. It was a deep azure, light filtering in from above even though they were supposed to be a long way below the surface. ¡°What I want you to do is listen to your own magic. To reach True Silver, you need at least an element. Which one shall it be?¡± ¡°Stone,¡± Dave answered instantly. ¡°That quick?¡± Michael was surprised. ¡°It¡¯s my element, Michael. I can feel it. Even before you took me to this place, I knew, deep down I knew. You gave me a couple of skill stones related to it, back when you trained us all up, remember?¡± Dave explained. ¡°The elements are many. You say Stone, but what of Earth, Mud, Rock, Obsidian, and a myriad others similar to it.¡± ¡°It has to be Stone. Earth is nice to have, but it¡¯s not me.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Michael conceded. ¡°That makes it easier. Let¡¯s go search for a source of Stone element.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t agree with me. In fact, you are humouring me, Mike. Why?¡± Michael sighed, ¡°I do agree. I know that magic is different for everyone. You are more like the dwarves in this, the Element an expression of who you are. Am I wrong?¡± Old Dave shook his head, ¡°you aren¡¯t. It¡¯s not the same for you?¡± ¡°No. Me? All magic represents me. All of it. Call me arrogant if you will, but I will not stop until I master all of the magic and all of the energies I come across. There¡¯s not one facet of magic that represents me, because I want to have all of them. And through hard work, I one day will.¡± It didn¡¯t take them long to arrive at the foot of another mountain. Distances in the Misty Valley were strange, in Michael¡¯s experience. It was as if the Valley facilitated his movements whenever he had somewhere to go, and thus he often found himself arriving right when he wished to. If he was in a hurry, then the journey would take little time. If he was wandering, then it would take a long time. Right now, it took exactly the right amount of time for Michael to explain what Old Dave was supposed to do with the Stone element, and not a moment more. ¡°You know the Valley only responds this way to you, right?¡± Dave remarked. ¡°I suspected. Huh?¡± Michael was distracted by a most curious sight. ¡°Others don¡¯t enjoy this treatment by the valley¡ªhey, is that your sister?¡± Dave asked after seeing what had caught Michael¡¯s attention. Michael squinted. ¡°What the hell is she doing?¡± ¡°Should we¡­?¡± Dave began. ¡°No,¡± Michael interrupted. ¡°She hasn¡¯t seen us.¡± ¡°But what is she doing? Are those golems?¡± Dave pressed. ¡°They are, yeah. Here.¡± Michael handed Old Dave a flat disc of compressed air he made on the spot. In the Misty Valley, Michael found that he could manipulate reality itself more and more as he grew in power. Imposing his aura on the world to change or create things. Making a disc of air that worked as a magnifying lens for a few moments wasn¡¯t outside the realm of his abilities nowadays. It cost him almost his entire mana pool, but here in the Valley, it only meant good training. He didn¡¯t need such implements himself, not with how high his stats had gotten. He simply squinted, allowing his eyes to see the scene in enough detail to make things out. Maggie was sitting together with several stone golems in a circle, and in the middle of the circle was what looked like a tea set. The golems all wore strange things ¨C cutesy dresses or little bows that clashed with their stony looks. They each held a teacup, occasionally sipping from it. Michael looked away, shaking his head in disbelief. ¡°She¡¯s drinking tea and dressing up the golems, Michael,¡± Dave stated the obvious. ¡°I saw,¡± Michael confirmed dryly. ¡°How?¡± Dave asked. ¡°I have no idea,¡± Michael admitted. ¡°I guess you are not the only special sibling. What are you going to do about it?¡± ¡°Nothing?¡± Michael suggested. ¡°Yeah,¡± Dave concurred. ¡°Good call.¡± The rest of the trip towards the Stone element source was uneventful, spent in silence as they ruminated on the strange sight they had just seen. ¡°Now comes the hard part, Dave. Elemental manipulation,¡± Michael announced. ¡°I don¡¯t have it,¡± Dave confessed. ¡°I don¡¯t even have mana sight.¡± ¡°I know. Develop it,¡± Michael instructed, tossing him something. ¡°A silver coin?¡± Dave questioned. ¡°The training wheels are off, Dave,¡± Michael declared. ¡°Pff, you think I¡¯m not up for the challenge?¡± Dave scoffed. ¡°Good. Because I don¡¯t want you to absorb the coin. Make it into mist form and keep it there until you get mana manipulation. Then, turn your gaze to the elements and evolve it so you can manipulate them as well,¡± Michael explained. ¡°Won¡¯t this push me to Peak?¡± Dave inquired. Michael produced a single gold coin. ¡°And beyond,¡± he replied. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ve got it all covered.¡± Chapter 119 Chapter 119 Old Dave sat cross-legged on the bare stone that made up the part of the Valley where the golems dwelled. The place was rich in many elemental veins, ranging from Stone to Metal, with hints of more specialized elements like Earth, Silicon, Carbon, Sand, Bedrock, Iron, and a myriad of others. They didn¡¯t matter, not at this stage. Michael watched over him to make sure Old Dave wouldn¡¯t be bothered by the outside world while he worked on gaining a skill to manipulate magic. While not a strict prerequisite to reach Silver tier¡ªTravis never gained such a skill¡ªit was necessary if one wanted to reach True Silver without using underhanded methods. And I don¡¯t want him to, Michael thought. There¡¯s no concept of time waste in the Valley, and no need to sacrifice potential for a quick gain. Not with me here. Thus, Michael sat down as his awareness expanded outwards. These days, he could cover a lot of volume with the operative part of his aura, the inner part, and while he didn¡¯t have the divine senses of cultivators in the novels, he could use his aura as a sort of early warning system. It would alert him if anyone else with an aura tried to get close. This way he could make sure they weren¡¯t bothered by anyone with enough power to actually bother them, for the only thing that could sneak past him other than an Iron-rank person was a natural disaster, and those tended to be loud enough that he could hear them coming. Knowing that he would be here a while, he also reflected on his own gains. He paced, glancing at Old Dave with his magic senses to make sure he wasn¡¯t putting himself in danger. The energies were wild around him, at least for someone still in the Copper tiers, but Michael didn¡¯t intervene. David had to learn on his own, or he wouldn¡¯t learn at all. His pride wouldn¡¯t allow him to simply be imparted the skill to manipulate magic by Michael, even if there was a way. After making sure Dave was okay, Michael¡¯s thoughts turned inwards. There was still a lot to unpack that he had barely given a thought to. Starting from the elephant in the room: the Renegade. He had talked to Johanne about him, but any answer he received only led to more questions. Who was he really, and what was their relationship before it led to her imprisonment? Why was he roaming the dungeon, clearly against the dungeon spirit¡¯s will? How was he doing so? Logically, the next question was about the nature of the dungeon¡¯s spirit. No longer did it feel like it used to feel at the beginning. Not only had the sensation of the Gaze changed gradually over the months he spent in the dungeon, but it had changed yet again and much more sharply after he got the unofficial mission to kill the Renegade. Although, calling it unofficial might be quite inaccurate, considering it came from the dungeon itself¡ªthe source of Michael¡¯s power. Michael shook his head. A wisp of something coming from the clearing behind him caught his attention, but Old Dave was still taking his first tentative steps into the understanding of magic. A pulse of [Healing Aura] restored the man¡¯s body to perfection, and a pulse of aura changed reality itself so that Dave could continue without needing to stop to eat or relieve himself. Michael continued pacing, circling around the clearing like a hound. Not sniffing the air, but sniffing the magic in the air for traces of changes. Around him, the forest was not of green trees and brushes and grass but of grey and brown stones, the trees replaced by formations of rock that reached towards the sky like gnarly fingers enveloped in a thin magical mist. When he looked at the mist, his eyes and magical senses told him a similar story in different languages: of the slight mist that hung around this part of the Valley without a reason. He didn¡¯t claim to know why it was there either, for he knew by now that all challenge floors in the dungeon hid secrets even after they were defeated, and the Valley perhaps even more so than others since it was his and he was its king. But it was a matter for another day. Dave and he would be exploring one such secret in a few weeks anyway: the Qi tunnel deep below the ice of the glacier. There, they would gather the Qi to push David to True Silver, but only after he had mastered control over his Element of choice. Weeks. Everyone seems to take at least weeks to even begin to advance in tier, or to make any strides in their comprehension of magic. Everyone but me, it seems, he mused, and I¡¯m not so distracted as to not notice such a stark difference, and my mind isn¡¯t so dull as to ignore the underlying question. Michael had thought long and hard about the problem, but in an ironic twist of fate, the more he thought about the problem, the more the problem exacerbated itself. Learning about magic and increasing his mind stats through repeated use only made Michael more talented and the gulf between him and normal people larger. Wanting to think about something else entirely, he decided to study Ice. The stubborn element refused to merge with his aura despite his best efforts, something that he wished to rectify soon. Michael spent weeks poring over many resources, making use of the infant Internet infrastructure that Johanne had brought to the Valley, feeling his own mental stats increase under the pressure of intense, mana-fueled study sessions. By the time Dave was done, he wanted to be ready so that when they went back to the glacier, he could take the step and integrate the second element into his aura. The sun shone far above the Valley. Yet another mystery: was the sun real, or was it an illusion, this deep underground? Shaking his head, Michael willed the Ice element to come forth. A thin, razor-sharp blade shining a deep azure appeared. It wasn¡¯t normal ice either, but the exotic Ice V¡ªa variety that only existed in the core of Hycean planets, where immense pressures created an incredibly dense, strong crystalline structure. It could only exist under pressure, and yet it did not break down even though there was no pressure, the Ice element overriding nature¡¯s own rules under Michael¡¯s command. His mastery was near absolute. The time he spent experimenting, studying, and understanding Ice easily surpassed what he had spent on any other single aspect of his magic, and yet he felt no closer to enlightenment. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. With a scowl, he got up and paced around the clearing. He half expected a moat to surround the sitting form of Dave by now with how much he had paced around, but the nature of the Stone here was impervious to damage and change. While Michael could overpower it should he set his will and Intent to it, he saw no reason to do so. Pale light filtered from above, through the magical mist that colored the magic in stony hues. Bored with Ice, Michael switched to pondering other things. He sundered his body enhancement skill, freeing up some space in his Sanctum, and reinstated his sundered reflexes skill to allow it to grow before sundering it again. It went from level four to level seven, with only an increase in its effect and a hint of more changes to come in the future, but Michael didn¡¯t push it. He then thought about learning more skills and sundering them but procrastinated with the excuse that he needed the focus to watch over Dave. Besides, he thought, watching someone understand magic is always a good opportunity to learn more about magic myself. Tired of spending time pondering theoretical magic, Michael brought the thin blade to his wrist and slashed himself. The wound didn¡¯t have time to even spill a single drop of blood before it sealed itself shut. Unity level up! Huh, interesting. I wonder what level I am now, he thought.
Status: Michael Lexington
Level: 15/100
Base Statistics Advanced Statistics - Soulfire Silverweb Aura (Low)
Strength 355 -> 380 Mana Capacity (Silver) 3.01 -> 4.21
Dexterity 296 -> 332 Elemental energy Capacity 301 -> 421
Stamina 388 -> 422 Qi Capacity 30.1 -> 42.1
Reflexes 359 -> 401 Intent Capacity 3.01 -> 4.21
Intelligence 302 -> 403
Resilience 830 -> 889
Memory 278 -> 341
Ah, it feels so good to see my own efforts rewarded with hard, tangible numbers. Mental stats up from all my studying, magic up from all my big flashy reality bending feats and aura exercises, resilience is starting to scare me¡­ what else? With a shrug, Michael dismissed the status window. He idly noted that the status was the last true window-like element of his magic system, if one discounted the dungeon¡¯s windows when it communicated with him. The rest of his system was hopelessly reduced to bold text that was sometimes even a bit hard to read. He slashed at his arm with his ice blade again, watching it stitch itself shut. Almost fascinating. Then again. Then again. Perhaps he would level up again from the action? Just to make sure, he hurt himself yet again. It didn¡¯t matter much: the pain was barely even a bother and he was healing faster than he could ever hurt himself with such a flimsy blade. It wasn¡¯t a conscious activation of [Healing Aura]. Rather, it was the new level-8 effect of the skill: passive self-healing. Michael was about to slash himself again to test its limits when suddenly a wave of magic washed over him. ¡°You so bored you decided to cut yourself?¡± Old Dave asked, amused. Michael dismissed the blade. ¡°You bet. You¡¯ve been there for¡­ Icarus, how long has he been pondering over the Stone element?¡± ¡°Five weeks, two days, and seven hours, Michael,¡± came a voice from his pocket. Old Dave shrugged. ¡°Come on, it¡¯s not that bad. It felt longer to me.¡± ¡°It was longer,¡± Michael stated deadpan. ¡°Icarus is just an asshole who sometimes takes things too literally, even though I know very well he can understand context. You have spent five weeks pondering over Stone, yes, but that was after several months spent mastering magic control. Shall we move? I feel like moss is growing on me.¡± ¡°Impossible,¡± Old Dave said, a playful glint in his eyes. ¡°The Stone here overpowers any Nature element. Perhaps they are crystals from your coagulated blood?¡± Shaking his head, Michael began to lead the way back down the mountain and up the other side of the valley where the glacier waited for them patiently. ¡°You got stronger again,¡± Old Dave commented. ¡°You can tell?¡± Michael replied. ¡°Good.¡± ¡°I got the skill in the end. Interesting process. It¡¯s like I have eyes for the first time, Mike. Is this how you see the world?¡± Michael shrugged. ¡°How do I know? Maybe you see things all different than I do. But you can see magic, and that¡¯s what counts.¡± Old Dave shook his head. ¡°Too dismissive, is this what happens to the truly powerful?¡± he paused, ¡°hell am I asking for? I know it is.¡± Michael nodded, ¡°you¡¯re not truly powerful. Not yet. Any power you might have had in life will pale compared to the power of True Silver.¡± ¡°Does it mean it¡¯s time?¡± ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± Michael confirmed. ¡°Are you ready?¡± The glacier loomed over them. Even though they had both gotten stronger, it didn¡¯t seem any less imposing than before. In fact, almost counterintuitively, it felt bigger, darker, with even more secrets than before. Its ice pulsed with meaning, almost calling to Michael, enticing him with hints of understanding. Yet, he resisted. This was David¡¯s moment. He could come back and understand Ice another day. ¡°You know, I saw Stephan the other day,¡± Dave said suddenly as he took a deep breath and entered the glacier. Unlike before, it was as if the Ice was having a larger effect on him. ¡°What of it?¡± Michael inquired. ¡°I don¡¯t like him,¡± Old Dave admitted. ¡°Reminds me of what I was about to become, except he¡¯s seen none of the shit I¡¯ve seen. He has potential, yet he wastes it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s his choice,¡± Michael responded. ¡°Didn¡¯t you make that whole talk about being someone who can change things? With your power and all. You could talk to him,¡± Dave argued. Michael shook his head. ¡°I can talk to him, but I won¡¯t use any strange methods to persuade him.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Dave conceded. ¡°I¡¯m not Travis. If he chooses to keep living his life with his head bowed, it¡¯s¡ªas you say¡ªhis choice. But do make sure he understands that the world is changing, and unless he wants to be relegated to being just a cog in a machine¡­¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t most people but a cog?¡± Dave nodded. ¡°They are. But in moments of change, they might find themselves with more opportunities than in moments of stability. Whether they use these opportunities or not speaks to their character.¡± ¡°I see,¡± replied Michael, ¡°well, let¡¯s put that on hold. It¡¯s time you actually ranked up to True Silver.¡± Chapter 120 Chapter 120 ¡°To reach Silver, you need Qi in your aura. You can¡¯t not have it, although you can obtain it in many different ways,¡± Michael explained as Old Dave nodded along. ¡°If you can¡¯t do it with your own strength, you can use an item, external help, a moment of enlightenment, whatever. The important thing is that in order to take the step, you need Qi to layer onto your aura. Will an improper procedure stunt your development? Who knows?¡± ¡°But that¡¯s not what you want me to do,¡± Old Dave observed. ¡°Of course not. You can probably reach a very high degree of power even with a False Silver foundation, as we have seen with our early tests. Any magic tier can replicate a higher tier, provided you pay the price. Well, any magic except aura control. And from what I¡¯ve seen, aura control is the hardest yet the most powerful sort of magic¡ªable to shape reality itself.¡± David hummed. ¡°Can a False Silver reach Gold?¡± he inquired. ¡°I think so. To reach Gold, logic says you need Intent. But that¡¯s where it gets tricky, and not just because we have no sample data. I think there are at least three paths to Gold: False Silver into some sort of unstable, degraded Gold, True Silver into False Gold, and finally True Silver into True Gold. Plus, there may be a way to stabilize a degraded or False Gold much like I am pretty sure you can turn a False Silver into a True Silver with enough effort. Which, by the way, is like ten times the effort you¡¯d need to go from normal Copper to True Silver in one go, so it¡¯s not like it¡¯s easy.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s worry about Silver for now, then,¡± David suggested. Michael nodded. ¡°Good call. That¡¯s why I brought you here. Although, I must confess that we are sailing in uncharted territory,¡± he admitted. Old Dave chuckled. ¡°Am I your guinea pig, then?¡± he quipped. ¡°Sort of. Nothing too bad,¡± Michael reassured him. ¡°To reach True Silver, I think the base requirement is to have mastered at least one element, which you have, and to integrate it with your aura as you rank up. But I have a hunch that I want to prove. I think no two True Silver users are ever the same. Say, for instance, you rank up with coins, or with my help. Say instead, you rank up deep in the Qi tunnel below the glacier, with nothing but your own ability to command the energies in the world to obey your commands.¡± Old Dave nodded solemnly. ¡°I am very honored that you think I can do it,¡± he stated, then asked with a chuckle, ¡°Would that make me more powerful than you?¡± Michael shrugged. ¡°Perhaps more powerful than I was after I ranked up, sure. Your foundation will be more solid. But don¡¯t get carried away. I haven¡¯t been idle all this time, and a magic foundation can always be deepened.¡± ¡°Says the guy who hasn¡¯t found his dantian yet,¡± the old man quipped. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s see if you can do it when you reach Silver,¡± Michael retorted. ¡°How did you know anyway?¡± he asked. The two bantered a bit more as they made their way deeper down the tunnel below the glacier. Soon enough, however, their chatter died down as they were forced to focus more on their surroundings. The tunnel, much like the process Michael wanted Old Dave to undergo, was uncharted territory. He had never been to its depths, despite often saying he wanted to. There were just too many things to do all the time, and exploring the mysteries of the dungeon was just another item on a list of tasks too long to ever hope to complete. The Qi tunnel, he soon learned, was rather treacherous. There were no monsters in its shallow depths, but strong currents of wild energies buffeted him and Old Dave like a powerful gale. Instead of trying to uproot them, the gale targeted their auras, deforming them under its assault. Michael was about to take a step in front of Dave, to protect him with his wider, denser, and stronger aura, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Turning around, he saw David give him a nod and step in front of him, bearing the full force of the magical onslaught. Elemental Ice, together with Frost, Cold, Snow, and a slew of other cold-wet aligned elements, was the first obstacle. Even here, however, traces of Qi mingled with the magic and made it more powerful, more insidious, and more corrosive to David¡¯s weak Copper aura. The man held strong, taking step after step towards the depths of the tunnel. With each step, the force of the hostile elements increased, yet Michael felt that Dave¡¯s ability to counter them also grew to match the challenge. He barely had to cloak himself in his own aura to deal with whatever energy slipped past Dave¡¯s smaller protection. Then the elements were joined by powerful currents of mana. The two slowed down, David grunting with each powerful step he took, but he did not stop. Then Qi became the prevalent energy. When it did, Dave was pushed back a few steps, but every time he picked himself up and simply pushed on. Step after painful step, it took him several hours to reach a small room they could see after a bend in the tunnel, barely a hundred yards away. ¡°This is it?¡± Dave rasped. His aura was reduced to a thin film around his body, struggling to keep its shape under the assault of the foreign energies. His breathing was labored, and his face was covered in sweat. His massive frame was bent by the effort as he panted to catch his breath whenever he could, making him look like a deflated balloon. Yet, as he gazed at the room at the end of the tunnel, he stood up as tall as he could, ready. ¡°This is it,¡± Michael confirmed. The room was large, but barren. Its walls were dark chunks of solid ice, with cyan veins pulsing deep beneath the surface layer of frost and providing light to the room. The air was sharp and dry, animated by magic so that the room was like a terrible miniature blizzard in a ball. David gave one last look at Michael and snorted. The younger man was standing tall, untouched by the wind, looking completely at ease. Not only did the hostile, wild magic fail to penetrate his defenses, but his mastery of Aura and Ice made the whole place no more hostile than a nice sunny beach in the tropics. ¡°Now what?¡± David asked. ¡°I¡¯d say, you go sit in the middle and meditate,¡± Michael instructed. ¡°You gained insights while defending yourself from the magic on the way here, and you will gain even more still. Once you feel you are ready, seize the Qi from the environment and the Stone Element you harvested at the mountain and push your aura to the next level. Don¡¯t worry about the how. I don¡¯t think my way of doing it would work for you.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Old Dave replied. ¡°Thank you, Michael, for bringing me here. I¡¯ll show you¡ªand myself¡ªthat I still got it.¡± Michael watched David walk to the center of the room with careful, labored steps. David then fixed his clothes, smoothed out the ground, and raised a platform of stone to sit upon above the ice. As he sat, the vortex of wind and magic only intensified, trying to kick him out of the room, but David only smiled. Then he closed his eyes and started to ponder over the energies around him. Pondering over magic was not like meditation. It was not a state that was broken easily by the slightest distraction. Understanding magic was the opposite. The more chaos, the better, and in the room there was chaos aplenty. Chaos enough that, after a few minutes during which nothing happened, Michael decided to take advantage of the prime location to try and glean some insights into the nature of Qi himself. Despite Dave¡¯s joke earlier, the fact that Michael still hadn¡¯t found the source of his own Qi¡ªhis dantian¡ªnever failed to sour his mood. However, just as he was about to enter a focus state himself, a deep rumble shook the cavern. Of course, it can¡¯t be this easy, can it? A monster emerged from the depths of the ice, shattering the far wall of the cavern and rushing straight at the meditating form of Dave. He was in the middle of a vortex of magic, unaware of what was happening around him, unable to react. Michael¡¯s pupils dilated. His breath quickened. He suddenly became a blur, pushing his stats to the limit, rushing to Dave¡¯s defense. He intercepted the monster¡¯s wild strike with his own body, breaking several bones that immediately healed, and readied his own magic to push the monster back. The magic in the cave exploded. Michael turned around, quickly dismissing the [Distortion Field] he was about to use to behead the creature. As he did so, the magic in the room quieted down, returning to its previous dangerous yet stable chaotic state. David didn¡¯t seem to have suffered any consequences, although Michael wouldn¡¯t know what his interference had done to his tier-up process until he was done. The monster roared, and a sinister blue light gathered in its maw. Michael felt a buildup of magic, and like before, the magic in the room started to go utterly wild. ¡°Nope, no magic,¡± he muttered, before pushing his stats to the maximum. He jumped, aiming to punch the monster that was twice his size in the face. It was like hitting granite. But he succeeded in his task: the monster¡¯s magic died down, and the room¡¯s magic returned to normal. It also succeeded in another task: he now had the monster¡¯s attention, and the thing was pissed. Chapter 121 Chapter 121 A deafening roar pierced Michael¡¯s ears before the monster swiped down with a gigantic claw made of ice. Michael defended himself with his body, deflecting the limb away from the sitting form of Old Dave, who was meditating in the center of the room. It was hard to pin down the monster¡¯s exact shape: it was made of countless limbs and appendages of ice, protrusions and spikes covered its body, and its sleek surface was translucent and reflective, scattering the light in all directions like wet ice. It moved with surprising agility, contorting beyond what mere ice should be capable of with fast, nimble movements. Occasionally, the sound of grinding ice and shattering surfaces could be heard, but the damage never lasted long. Michael was on the back foot. He couldn¡¯t use any external magic, not even active Aura manipulation, to deal with the monster for fear of the room¡¯s magic vortex going haywire again. Meanwhile, the monster had no such restrictions, caring only to destroy the trespassers who had dared bother it in its lair. Every time it prepared a magic attack, Michael had to rush in and stop it before it could be unleashed, accumulating wounds all over his body. Thankfully, his passive regeneration ability didn¡¯t agitate the room¡¯s magic vortex. Along with it, Michael also reinstated [Body Enhancement 2] and [Fast Reflexes 7] as regular skills so that he could use them during the fight. The room shook with every blow. The ice shattered, scattering on the floor where it mixed with Michael¡¯s blood. Michael led the monster around in circles, drawing its attention away from Old Dave, but he had to continuously take hits as he did so. Tanking the powerful blows was necessary if he wanted to make sure that the monster was focused on him and not on Dave. Every time he got too far, the monster¡¯s focus would shift back to Dave, and it would charge at him with the intention of killing him. It was like the room itself wanted Old Dave dead. At the center of it all, Old Dave was understanding the intricacies of what it meant to tier-up to True Silver. Suddenly, his eyes shot open. ¡°Michael,¡± he exclaimed, ¡°I think I understand now. Keep defending me!¡± Michael was about to retort when he saw the old man close his eyes again and return to his meditation. He sat back down at the center of the room, in the metaphorical eye of the storm, as if uncaring about the danger. Does he trust me that much? Michael wondered. The monster roared. It had never stopped attacking, forcing Michael on the back foot again and again. Hours passed with him leading it around the room, but the space was cramped, and he was limited to using only his body. Wounds accumulated, and while they vanished almost as quickly as they came, Michael was on the losing end of each exchange. His internal reserves of energy were dwindling, flesh and tissues being used to fuel the healing, and he was feeling his body begin to weaken. At the same time, not even at peak condition could he do much more than scratch the monster when limited to physical attacks. It might be different if he had a weapon, but he didn¡¯t. Even trying to form one out of ice was enough to send the magic of the room into a frenzy. Whenever it happened, Old Dave would grunt in pain, becoming the sole target of the evil will of the room itself. Suddenly, all the magic stilled. Michael¡¯s eyes widened in horror as he saw the monster begin to glow, icy veins pulsing beneath its frozen skin. The magic was utterly still for two more seconds before it erupted, trying to grind them to dust with raw Qi attacks. At the center, Old Dave coughed blood, but he didn¡¯t open his eyes even as his body folded in pain. Michael leapt at the monster, diverting its attention again, but the magic didn¡¯t die down this time. With a roar, the monster unleashed a devastating breath attack, which only added to the danger of the room. Michael tried to use his aura, but the moment he did, he felt the magic of the room grow even wilder, beyond what even he could handle. He dismissed his own magic, dissipating his aura as much as he could. Defenseless, with only the strength of his own body, he leapt to intercept the attack before it could kill Dave. It hit him in a wave of frost so cold that it burned his skin instantly. Millions of razor-sharp pieces of ice sliced his skin, turning his clothes to tatters and opening wounds on his body. The cold permeated deep into his flesh, turning it into ice that flaked off and shattered. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. His healing kicked in immediately, drawing more mana and Qi from his reserves than ever before. He increased it even more with [Magic Manipulation], trying to leech some energy from the attack and from the room itself to heal his body. As he did so, his knowledge of Qi deepened, but soon his attention was pulled back to his body. He was weakening. Without nutrients and energy, his healing skill was trying to convert raw magic into fuel, but it was too slow. With only the passive effect, it couldn¡¯t keep up. The breath attack had overcome all of Michael¡¯s flimsy passive defenses and was freezing him to the core. He braced, trying not to get knocked away, shielding his mentor with his body until he felt his legs give way, and even then, he roared and pushed his body beyond its limits. Luckily, the attack ended before he had to resort to such tactics. Then the monster charged. It ignored Michael altogether, as if it no longer saw him as a threat, running straight toward the still-sitting form of Dave. Michael gave chase, pulling the monster towards him, pushing [Body Strengthening] to its limits. He blocked a savage strike with his arm, feeling the bone shatter and then set itself back together moments later. It happened again when the next strike hit him, then again. Michael was like a cockroach, constantly reforming under the monster¡¯s onslaught. The monster roared in rage, now once again focused on Michael. It clawed at him, slicing away chunks of flesh and shattering bone. The pain was almost enough to make even Michael lose focus, but even more worrying was that his regeneration wasn¡¯t keeping up. The monster¡¯s icy claws were now grinding unprotected bone, the attacks not giving his skill time to regenerate the flesh. The bone chipped and broke under the immense impacts, then regenerated anew. As long as he protected his face, Michael felt that he would survive. As long as an attack didn¡¯t kill him outright, he would live. His mana hadn¡¯t yet dipped below half, this deep in the glacier where magic was most dense. Then, with a horizontal motion, the monster shattered what flimsy confidence Michael still had. It wrenched Michael¡¯s arm right out of its socket, pulling away bone, connective tissue, and muscle. Michael protected his face with his other hand, but a few blows later, it was only a ruined mass of pulsing flesh, useless. Michael cranked [Fast Reflexes] to the max. He watched a claw descend towards his face in slow motion. He could protect himself with magic, but if he did, Old Dave would die. If he didn¡¯t, he would die. With a sigh, he made a decision. It was like the whole room had descended into silence. It was as if his ears weren¡¯t ringing anymore, and the rush of blood after hours of battle had disappeared. He let his tight control over his own aura loosen. The room exploded with magic, but to his ears, it was still muffled silence. He closed his eyes. He didn¡¯t want to see Old Dave die. But he didn¡¯t want to die himself either. If he died, Dave would die soon after. He got up. Or rather, he tried. It dawned on him that the Qi of the room was penetrating his aura. It was faint, but in his state, it was more than enough to pin him down. He tried to let the aura drop, so that the room would quiet down again, but found that he couldn¡¯t. The Qi was latching onto his aura, pulling it taut like a tense string, preventing Michael from retracting its power. Yet it was also making it through, damaging Michael¡¯s body even further. Calling forth any other magic was useless. The damage was too extensive. The claw descended ever so slowly. More so than it should, even with [Fast Reflexes]. Michael¡¯s brain, in what it thought were its last moments, was stretching its cognition to the limit, transforming each instant into an eternity. Adrenaline mixed with the power of magic already speeding up Michael¡¯s perception, through the mental statistics born of the [Unity] skill, and Michael¡¯s own stubborn refusal to die. [Fast Reflexes] reaches level 8. [Fast Reflexes] reaches level 9. It wasn¡¯t enough to do anything except watch death in much more vivid detail. Michael could make out every inch of the ice claw, every imperfection within it, every nuance in its flow of magic. Yet, in his state, he could do nothing about it. Michael remembered well the last time he saw his own death with such clarity. It had been back at the beginning of his dungeon runs, against the goblins. Back then, it had been a struggle of life and death, day after day. When had it all changed? Looking at this moment now, it was all wrong. This wasn''t the culmination of a life-and-death struggle. This was him paying for a mistake. For a wrong calculation. He had toyed with the monster, thinking he could afford to do so, and now he was paying the price for his overconfidence. After being humbled by the Renegade, he had thought his growing arrogance had been somewhat quelled. Instead, his arrogance hadn¡¯t let him see that he was only fooling himself. He had waited too long. He thought he could defend David and himself. Instead, they were both going to die. Michael didn¡¯t even have the strength to get up. With one arm missing and the other reduced to a pulp, and his aura flickering like a candle in a hailstorm, he watched his death descend upon him. The claws glimmered in the cyan light of the ice. The monster¡¯s face was a mismatch of razor-sharp ice. Even now, its eyes were not set on Michael, but on Old Dave. Michael didn¡¯t close his eyes. Even in death, he refused to go out without a fight. Yet, fight he could not. Chapter 122 Chapter 122 The icy claw descended towards Michael. It was certain death, and he knew it. Still, he stared at the monster in hatred and defiance, refusing to acknowledge that this was the end. Suddenly, the monster shuddered. For a moment, Michael thought he had done something, but then he saw a stone-covered hand emerging from the creature¡¯s stomach in a deafening sound of shattering ice, followed by a guttural scream as the hand was pulled back. It revealed a hole that went from side to side, and through the hole, Michael could see Dave¡¯s form, covered from head to toe in plates of solid stone. With one final shudder, the monster fell to the ground and exploded in shards of ice, no longer kept together by whatever magic and will had been animating it. The moment it died, the whole room was once again just a regular ice cave. There was a moment of silence, during which Michael stared at Dave. The old man radiated a powerful, solid aura of strength and dominance. He nodded wordlessly, then fell to his knees. Michael rushed over, blanketing his mentor in healing energies. Without the room¡¯s suppression, he was once again able to use all of his skills. His body was already regenerating. His stats were once again effective, and only now did he notice that they had slowly been weakening as he fought the monster. As strength returned to him, his healing skill revealed extensive internal damage, which he healed immediately. Dave, too, was cured, but he did not immediately get up. It took two more hours for him to recuperate, after which he got up with a groan. ¡°I think I pulled my magic muscle, Mike. You never told me it was a thing,¡± Dave complained. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was possible,¡± Michael replied. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Old Dave groaned again as he summoned his stone armor and dismissed it. ¡°It¡¯s getting better by the moment. Ah, so this is a True Silver aura. Not bad.¡± Michael felt the old man experiment with his newly upgraded aura as he spoke. While his control was rudimentary, there was no denying the power behind it. Standing tall and proud, Old Dave seemed to have lost twenty years of age. He rolled his shoulders, massaged his neck, and flexed his arms. Then, his fist shot towards the ice of the cave without warning, shattering the ice and embedding itself in it. There was barely a thin film of stone covering Dave¡¯s hand, but the monstrous power behind the fist was all his. ¡°Not bad,¡± the old man commented. ¡°Still not quite there, but it¡¯s a start.¡± Michael smiled. He pointed at the center of the room, where Dave had been sitting. ¡°Your reward¡¯s there. Why don¡¯t you pick it up?¡± ¡°Reward?¡± Dave asked as he walked towards the small heap of coins and skill stones. ¡°Would you look at that! More stone abilities, just what I needed.¡± He started absorbing them, but after the first, he began frowning. ¡°Feel overcrowded in my, what do you call it, skill sanctum?¡± he mumbled. Michael squinted. Dave¡¯s aura parted before his magic sight, and he quickly realized what the problem was. ¡°Yeah, looks like you are reaching capacity,¡± he confirmed. ¡°Huh, that sucks. How do you deal with it?¡± Dave inquired. Michael told him about the sundering process he used to make space in his Sanctum by removing the unnecessary skills. When he saw Dave¡¯s eyes light up, he made sure to underscore just how painful the process was and the risks involved. ¡°I still want to do it,¡± Dave declared. Without waiting for Michael, his eyes glazed over as his consciousness dipped inside his Sanctum. Michael saw the moment Dave sundered whatever skill he didn¡¯t want anymore because the old man suddenly clutched his head while falling to his knees. Yet, he did not scream. He did not convulse. He simply endured while on the ground. Michael could have waited until Dave was out of the daze on his own¡ªhe had no doubts David was strong enough to do it¡ªbut he didn¡¯t. Consider it retribution for not warning me, he thought with a smirk as he activated [Candle Light]. It took twenty minutes for Dave¡¯s eyes to regain clarity. ¡°I had it handled,¡± he grumbled as soon as they did. There was a trace of annoyance in his voice. Michael shrugged. ¡°Consider it payback for ranking up in the middle of the fight. Seriously, couldn¡¯t you wait five seconds for me to kill the monster? I spent hours getting flung around like a ragdoll!¡± he exclaimed. It was Dave¡¯s turn to shrug now. ¡°I knew you could handle it, what can I say?¡± he quipped. Michael stared, but when he saw the glint of mischief in the man¡¯s eyes, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. Then his own eyes turned mischievous. ¡°You did? Well, it¡¯s my turn now. Defend me,¡± he challenged. Before Dave had a chance to say anything, Michael plopped down and closed his eyes, deep in meditation. David didn¡¯t miss the fact that Michael only sat down after giving the room a sweep with his senses, and after shrouding himself in a cocoon made of his own aura that was so dense he doubted even his mightiest attack could penetrate it. With a sigh, the old man began pacing around the room, much like Michael had done when the roles were reversed, trying to digest his own gains. He had a complete Stone-attuned magical kit now, having discarded the other skills he¡¯d had. Michael had given them to him back when they had to fight against Carmela, but they had been just random skills that sounded cool and were only somewhat useful. Back then, their understanding of magic was shallower and their selection of skill stones much smaller. He¡¯d had to make do. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Now instead, with the skill stones he got from defeating the monster, plus whatever stone-attuned skills he already had, he felt that his magical kit was perfect for the current him. He accessed his Sanctum without closing his eyes. Even though he doubted any harm would ever befall Michael with all his aura protection, he would never lower his guard in a situation like this. It was harder to access the Sanctum with his eyes open, but not impossible. There, he saw the sundered [Water Whip] skill and shuddered. The process had not been pleasant. He had endured it, and he might even have come out of it with his mind somewhat intact¡ªeventually. But had it not been for Michael, who knows how long it would have taken? And yet, Michael did it on the fly while fighting. Monstrous. Dave knew he was monstrous himself, with his past and what he had to go through, but someone who was barely out of his teen years being able to outdo him like this? Resilience statistic or not, Michael had managed to develop an iron will. No longer was he the weak, trembling, directionless fool that had walked into his pawn shop. Pride welled up in his chest. Old Dave was proud of Michael. Of course, he was. With a smile, he felt for his skills. Now, his life could begin anew, and it was all thanks to Michael. Meanwhile, Michael was sitting in deep meditation. Ever since he got access to magic thanks to the dungeon, he had discovered many ways to grow stronger. Sometimes it would be insight gathered over many months of practice and study, like when he grew his mastery over Ice to the point where he almost felt ready to incorporate it within his aura. Other times, growth came from understanding himself and his deeper purpose. He felt like he was struggling with both these things lately, but they had undoubtedly been a catalyst for growth in the past. Then there was exposure to new things that could be studied and learned, as well as dungeon loot. There was another way to grow powerful, however, and it was one that had made Michael grow the most. Insight. An epiphany right when things became dire. Michael had almost died against the unnamed monster of the ice cave. What was supposed to be just a mini-boss fight had almost turned disastrous. Right as he was about to die, inspiration had struck him. He had seen Qi for what it was. He snorted inwardly. Such inspiration, right before I died. It would have been hilarious had it not been for the fact that a dead man can¡¯t really laugh at the absurdity of his own death. But he did not die. In a twist of fate, and the fact that Fate was a facet of Unity wasn¡¯t lost on him, he had managed to survive. Old Dave had completed his tier-up right at the last possible moment and saved his sorry backside, and afterward, he hadn¡¯t even teased Michael too much about it, a thing he was very grateful for. Qi. The strange energy that was supposed to be at the base of the Silver Tier and yet eluded Michael much more than the gold-ranked Intent ever did. Where did it come from? What did it do? How did it act? So far, Michael had only tried to manipulate Qi like he was handling mana or Elemental Energy. And why shouldn¡¯t he? In his mind, Qi was just another type of magic, nothing strange. It didn¡¯t even register that he was treating Intent way differently because, in his mind, it was obvious that Intent was different, while Qi was not. He realized the error of his ways. Even though he tried to be scientific, he had fallen into a trap. He had assumed Qi to be like mana and had never bothered to check whether his assumption was true or not. As a consequence, he had been held back from understanding what the silver-tier energy was really about. ¡°If I were to describe Qi, I would say that it is¡­ unscientific. Same stimulus, different responses based on a myriad of factors. Mood, the location, mental focus, the image, the position of the sun¡­ anything could be a factor.¡± He felt his understanding deepen. ¡°The lower energies are more ordered, more grounded in reality. The elements are many, and they can do a great many things, but only when coerced by my reality-bending aura. An elemental stone and a circuit that activates it is as reliable as a ticking clock. Chi will always become Jing and strike your enemies when sparked by Intent. Were there no Intent, it wouldn¡¯t know what to do. Mana obeys its own rules, does what it can do, and doesn¡¯t do what it can¡¯t do. Can it do everything? Maybe, but there are always rules. Mental images, cost proportional to effect, other things we don¡¯t yet know. Qi¡­¡± ¡°Qi is not about rules. It¡¯s about understanding. At the Silver Tier, things start to look esoteric and holistic. No more is it about systems within systems, but strange things at the edge of the real world. Qi might be reliable, but it¡¯s finicky, must be subdued, coerced or convinced. It¡¯s not empty, waiting to be used. It has a will.¡± Suddenly, his eyes shot open. Not to the real world, but to his inner self. Michael did not behold his Skill Sanctum, but a space parallel to it. There, he saw reflected in negative all the veins that covered the walls of the Skill Sanctum, but instead of mana, they carried Qi. They were his meridians. A network of veins superimposed over his body, reflecting the disposition of the mana veins in the cavernous Skill Sanctum, but translated into his fleshy body like a map distorted to fit a new projection method. At the center¡ª There wasn¡¯t one, but three centers. ¡°I understand why Qi is used in the east, the land where disciplines of mental strength and clarity were born.¡± Three Dantians glowed at the center of his meridian system. One in his head. Another at his lungs. And yet another at his navel. Something clicked. Immediately, Michael felt the foundation of his True Silver aura deepen. If before he thought he was at the apex of stability, now he realized the folly of his thinking. He was a house of cards yet he believed himself to be made of concrete. As his aura deepened, he sent mental probes to his Dantian cores. Two were dim and did not respond to him, but the one in his head was lit by traces of Qi. When his mental probe reached it, it was promptly ejected. Frowning, Michael tried again, but no matter how much he tried, no matter his angle of attack, he could not gain purchase. Then, struck by inspiration, he laced Intent into his mental probe and felt the upper Dantian respond. [Magic Manipulation] reaches level 11, overcoming its final bottleneck. You can manipulate, store and project any magic that you understand, up to energies equivalent to the rarity of this skill. Your proficiency is proportional to your understanding and to the strength of your Aura. Known magic: Your Qi reserves are no longer tied to your mana reserves. You have created a new rare skill: [Cultivation]. By using Intent, you can guide the Qi into your Dantian and cultivate your mind, body and soul. Despite the enormous gains, Michael still felt like something was missing. But he could not act upon that feeling, for he felt that his mind was growing tired and his Intent and willpower were waning after the titanic effort of locating and activating one of his Dantian cores. With a sigh, he opened his eyes to the real world, but he found himself immediately blinded by its new radiance. When the glare receded somewhat, he discovered that Old Dave was gone. Chapter 123 Chapter 123 A sense of urgency overtook Michael. Seeing that Old Dave was gone, he immediately started to wonder why the man had left in such a hurry without telling him anything, especially with the time dilation of the second floor. Worried, he took out his phone to check for news and the current time dilation factor for the floor, but failed to even see what he was looking at. He squinted, but his phone¡¯s screen was completely out of focus. The number was there, but he just couldn¡¯t see it. Looking around, the whole world looked radiant and blinding, and his head was pounding. Shaking his head, Michael tried to get up, only to stumble and almost fall. He propped himself against the icy cold wall of the tunnel, feeling the coolness of the ice against his skin with far too much clarity. It was as if he had ice in his brain, adding to the rising headache. Every movement was amplified a million times, every sound reverberated in his skull, and every sight was too much to process. Closing his eyes was a momentary respite that lasted barely a moment, for when he did, his other senses sharpened, and the cacophony of sounds intensified. The tunnel, which he had always thought rather silent, was a mess of noise, louder than a highway. He could hear the ice booming and shifting, the rush of faraway water as if he were inside a waterfall, and the echo of little water droplets that sounded like small explosions in his mind. His senses of touch and smell were also intensified to a monstrous degree. The air smelled of all sorts of strange things, and his skin was so overly stimulated that he thought he was going crazy. He felt his sense of balance start to wobble from the rush of sensory information, and he had to sit back down. Except, instead of sitting, he dropped to the cold floor like a sack of flour, and the pain of falling on his butt was so strong that he blacked out for several minutes before regaining his faculties. I can¡¯t think like this¡­ Even such a simple thought took all of Michael¡¯s concentration. What was happening? His thoughts were slow, his mind clogged by the onslaught of information. He had to think past all the noise, his thoughts congealing in the molasses of sensory data that overwhelmed everything else. It¡¯s the Mind Dantian. It all started happening after I opened that fucking dantian, he realized. Knowing the cause did not help. There was no way to turn the feature off, and Michael came to that conclusion after trying every way he could think of. Even worse, the sensory information was not decreasing in the slightest, and his brain was not getting used to it at all. He felt his thoughts start to dull, buried under the noise and the mess. He didn¡¯t know how he managed to stumble out of the tunnel, nor how long it took him to do so. He only knew that as soon as he left the somewhat protected environment of the tunnel, it all got so much worse. It was as if any progress he had managed to make disappeared, and he was back to square one. Opening his eyes, he saw the blinding light of the clear sky. The clouds were evil, so bright they hurt his retinas. He was lying on his back, he realized, having fallen to the ground after losing his balance yet again sometime earlier without even noticing. This can¡¯t go on, he thought. He was in no shape to come out of the dungeon. Instead, he remained where he was, thankful that the Misty Valley was¡ªeven with its many dangers¡ªhis safe space, hoping that nothing could hurt him while he was out of commission. His aura flickered like a defective light bulb, flaring and dimming, but he could do nothing about it. Not only would he have to sort through the mess of information before he could even begin to reach his aura with his mind, but the aura itself was interacting with whatever was happening to him, so that whenever it flared, the pain increased as more information was carried to his mind. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Somehow, Michael managed to open his status. He watched his Resilience points climb higher and higher by the minute, but not nearly fast enough. Each new point brought solace comparable to a drop of water given to a dying man in the desert. It was heaven, but it was also too little and too late to save the man¡¯s life, a sort of perverse torture of denied relief. Slowly, ever so slowly, Michael managed to direct some of his mental energy toward the problem. He couldn¡¯t lie here forever, and already he felt like months had passed with him lying on the gently swaying grass of the hills by the glacier. There were no seasons in the Valley unless he wished for them to be, and no Fae had come to bother him, but it also meant that no Fae had discovered his predicament. He didn¡¯t know if it was for better or for worse, given that he didn¡¯t think he could sustain a conversation, and any attempt to help would make matters several times worse for him. At the same time, months or even years spent in the Valley translated to a substantial amount of time passing in the real world because of the weakening time dilation factor. He closed his eyes and did his best to access the Skill Sanctum. Even here, deep in his consciousness, he was not safe from the noise of the outside world, but its effect was weakened enough that he could think. It all began with him unlocking the Mind Dantian core. Had he known, he would have waited. But he never thought the effect would be this severe. In fact, he suspected that it wasn¡¯t supposed to be this bad, which meant that something about him was causing trouble. Soon¡ªthough it was hard to quantify how much time had really passed¡ªhe managed to narrow down the possible suspects to just one: his Unity skill. Both through its Fate facet giving him access to levels and stats, and its Truth facet enabling him to see the truth of the world, the skill interfered with his senses and enhanced them. The Mind Dantian built upon this foundation in a multiplicative way, enhancing his senses so much that what was supposed to be a boon became detrimental. He also felt that the Dantian was enhancing his brain capacity, but its effect was not catching up to the much-higher influx of information. Had it only been the Dantian, it would have been enough, but with all the other things also enhancing his senses¡­ it wasn¡¯t. If that was the case, he had to figure out how to dial down the power of the Dantian until he got used to its effects. Having sharp senses was a good thing, but having senses so sharp that every little noise and smell became overwhelming was a handicap. After a long time spent experimenting, he found a stopgap measure. His new level in [Magic Manipulation] had increased his proficiency with mana, Qi, and aura to an unparalleled degree. In addition, his discovery of the Dantian cores finally unlocked his ability to project Qi outwards. Using these new abilities, he constructed a shell around himself. It was a scaffolding of folded aura, filled to the brim with mana, Qi and Intent in the shape of a cocoon. Normally, such a shell would be used to defend against insanely strong attacks or powerful enemy auras trying to suppress Michael, but in this case, he used the Intent to tune the shell so that it would isolate him from the outside world, muffling all the noise and smells and dulling his sight. It was a stopgap measure, requiring concentration, constant expenditure of magic, and it was by no means perfect. Even with it, he could hear his own heartbeat, like a tinfoil bag filled with a slightly viscous oil getting squished over and over again. He could hear the blood flowing through his veins like rapids in a river. He could hear his muscles and tendons shift and move, with wet, disgusting sounds that were as repulsive as they were loud. At least, the outside world was bearable now. It took Michael a whole day to learn how to walk with his increased proprioception and the booming sound each step caused inside his body. He didn¡¯t even think about experimenting with his new ability to project Qi, nor did he dare to touch his Sanctum, where he could feel the [Unity] skill trembling and calling for his attention. Instead, he stumbled to the dungeon floor¡¯s exit and slowly, excruciating step after excruciating step, made it to the outside world. As he stumbled outside, it was already the next day. Chapter 124 Chapter 124 Earlier. ¡°I finally took the time to examine the strange trees you asked me to study,¡± Johanne said, looking up from her tablet. ¡°Indeed, it was as you say. They are developing rudimentary mana systems. They possess similarities to the Fae networks, although there are differences.¡± Travis frowned. ¡°Is it dangerous?¡± Johanne shrugged. ¡°We don¡¯t know yet.¡± ¡°Could it happen to people?¡± ¡°So far, we have observed a correlation between the rate of absorption of the creatures floating in the mana and the speed at which the vegetation has been developing the mana systems. However, we have seen no absorption and no mutations in any animal. It is too early to extrapolate, but I think the floating creatures only affect plant life.¡± Travis¡¯ eyes narrowed. ¡°Is there any chance we can weaponize the effect? Create our own anomalies?¡± ¡°I see you are as greedy as always, Mister Tyrell,¡± Johanne remarked. ¡°Very well, I shall devote a portion of my researchers to the task. I don¡¯t think it will yield any result, though.¡± The man was undeterred. ¡°There must be a way. After all, we are seeing random anomalies pop up all the time around here.¡± Johanne shrugged again. ¡°The intricacies of magic. There must be another method through which it happens. I will look into it when I have the time.¡± ¡°People,¡± Travis insisted, ¡°do people as well. I want to know if people can attain magical powers without the aid of the dungeon.¡± Johanne¡¯s hands traveled to her hips, resting there as she looked at Travis with a stern expression. ¡°Give me funds, then. What do you expect me to do?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask your AI?¡± Travis scoffed in response. ¡°It seems to command considerable resources. Did you know that it agreed to pay a teenager one point two million dollars a year?¡± ¡°So what? I saw the report; it was an investment into a cyphering method that might render all other cybersecurity unnecessary. Don¡¯t act like a million or two are sums big enough to warrant this reaction when, very clearly, they are not. I saw your own spending. It¡¯s exorbitant.¡± ¡°There is another matter,¡± Travis said before she could leave. Johanne simply stared him squarely in the face, making him sigh. Shaking his head, he said, ¡°Our mole is finally becoming useful. In exchange for a method to obtain Silver-rank, he will soon send the schematics behind the OA¡¯s energy dome. I expect you to study and reverse engineer the technology as soon as you possibly can.¡± Johanne huffed, turning on her heel and leaving. Her parting words could be heard above the noise of the closing door. ¡°You are lucky you¡¯re the boss¡¯s left hand, and that I like magic.¡± Travis didn¡¯t have time to wonder about what she meant by ¡°left hand of the boss,¡± because a report caught his attention. It was from Doctor Kavins, regarding the development of the healing drug he had been tasked with by Michael on David¡¯s behalf. Normally, it would be up to either Johanne or David to oversee the doctor¡¯s experiments, but Johanne had just left with clear warnings that she didn¡¯t want to be interrupted again, and David was in the dungeon with Michael. Perhaps the latter was supposed to be the right hand, at least in Johanne¡¯s view? It didn¡¯t matter. Travis was already planning to influence Doctor Kavins¡¯ experiments, and David being currently unavailable only helped him enact his plans faster. The dirt bike he personally bought to navigate the huge Site 00 grounds came to a halt in a cloud of dust. The lack of rain was not having a huge effect on the vegetation thanks to the use of skill stones like [Soothing Rain], but the same could not be said for the dirt road used to navigate the site. Even then, not a speck of dust reached him thanks to his magical power protecting him from the small particles. ¡°Johanne claims she¡¯s about to master portal tech, at least for in-site transportation. The bike¡¯s nice, but I can¡¯t wait to see portals all around and stop wasting my time running around Site 00 like a courier,¡± he muttered. He also realized that, maybe, Johanne had all the rights to be grumpy with how hard she was being worked. He dismissed the idea. She shouldn¡¯t be treated like a normal person just because she looks like one. Then, his face brightened and a large smile tugged at his mouth as he saw Doctor Kavins. ¡°Doctor!¡± he exclaimed enthusiastically, ¡°How are the trials on the vitality tonic going, doc?¡± he asked. Of course, he had Icarus summarize all the reports about it on the way to the lab, bringing himself up to speed. The doctor nodded at him, squinting against the sun. Travis parked the bike at the concrete platform on the side of the hill and followed the doctor inside through a reinforced steel door. ¡°Calling it a tonic might be an understatement,¡± the pallid man said. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°How so?¡± Travis asked as he was led deeper and deeper into the underground base. The whole complex was a huge maze built into the side of the hill, mostly through Johanne¡¯s efforts since they still lacked a dedicated team of geomancers and builders who could use magic to speed up the building processes. ¡°I¡¯ll be frank,¡± the man said with a sigh, and only now did Travis notice the bags under his eyes, ¡°our patients¡ªwell, test subjects really¡ªare spending 15 hours a day shitting gallons upon gallons of black sludge. You know what¡¯s in it? Microplastics, toxins, and other impurities.¡± ¡°Huh,¡± Travis hummed, ¡°sounds like a good thing to me.¡± ¡°It would be, if not for the fact that they would die unless we keep them hydrated.¡± ¡°I guess they could make use of the ¡®locate toilet¡¯ skill stone, then,¡± Travis said with a chuckle that almost spilled into a full roar of laughter. He managed to contain it, seeing the strange expression the doctor wore. ¡°What does it do?¡± Travis shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me. Spent too many nights working in a row, with nothing but magic keeping me up. As for the little issue of people shitting to death? What¡¯s the big holdup? Just make them drink more. That¡¯s what you are here for,¡± he patted the man on the shoulder, ¡°to work out the kinks and make the impossible possible. I can see you would be a prime candidate for a tonic that keeps your vitality strong.¡± ¡°I could have it? For free?¡± asked the doctor. ¡°Of course. Benefits of working for Unity Corp. Everyone gets the best treatments. In fact, why don¡¯t you consider joining Candle Light as a researcher?¡± ¡°I will¡­think about it.¡± Said Kavins pensively, ¡°anyway, apart from that little kink, as you said, their biomarkers are rather good.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Travis said, suddenly serious, ¡°do more tests. Find a way to make a less potent version that doesn¡¯t hospitalize people while trying to detox them. Besides, we want a tonic and not a miracle drug.¡± The doctor hummed. ¡°We are doing trials on that as well. Even a less potent version should keep someone in perfect health basically forever as long as they take it.¡± Travis smiled. It was the first real smile of the day. ¡°Now, that¡¯s what I like to hear. It¡¯s still a bit much, but I like the idea of people needing to take it forever. That¡¯s what the medical industry already does with people, isn¡¯t it? Make all illnesses, even curable ones, into chronic conditions and earn lifelong patients in the process.¡± ¡°Well, my integrity as a doctor¡ª¡± ¡°Your integrity was subsidized by big pharma before, and is currently being subsidized by us. That¡¯s what matters. Listen: The world isn¡¯t ready for a miracle cure for cancer yet. A cancer recovery is a one-time payment, while a pill that halts cancer is a monthly or weekly payment. Besides, anything that can be proven to be magical¡­ will be problematic. The tonic will already be pushing the limits of what is considered possible. But it¡¯s good. It will warm the public up to the idea that some things that were considered impossible, aren¡¯t anymore.¡± There was a slight pressure emanating from Travis. The doctor, who wasn¡¯t even a Copper ranked human yet, felt like the weight of the world was trying to push him to comply. He bowed his head, but a hint of defiance managed to slip through. ¡°Didn¡¯t Michael say he wanted to do good for the world?¡± ¡°He did, and he still does. It falls upon us to balance what he wants with what we should do. Sometimes the young minds are too idealistic, too rash, too quick to act. Make three versions of the drug: a tonic to boost vitality and nothing more, a full-power drug like the one you have in the works here, to give people a starting kick. Finally, an intermediate version to maintain health. Then we¡¯ll have the marketing people figure out what to do with them. I¡¯m thinking the tonic version should cost about as much as a gym membership, the intermediate version like the miracle liquid that it is, and the drug that cures impurities¡­ well. I¡¯ll think about how much I can charge for it, and how much scarcity we need to maintain.¡± It went without saying that Travis wanted a possible industrial-level output as soon as they figured out how to render the operation scalable. Fortunately it was not going to be the doctor¡¯s problem. He didn¡¯t envy Johanne or Michael or whoever it was who would have to figure out how to make a factory that produces magic items. When Travis left, it was as if Doctor Kavins could finally breathe again. His shoulders slumped, his whole body tired and wrung out after barely a few minutes talking with the head of Candle Light. Not only was the pressure immense, but the reputation that preceded Travis Tyrell would have been enough to push most people to their knees. In his moment of defiance, Doctor Kavins had thought he had seen his death, by simply daring to speak out against the other man. It was with great resignation that, once he arrived at the lab, he sat at his computer. ¡°Commence the next phase of the experiment,¡± he said tiredly, ¡°it¡¯s time we delivered some results.¡± The first screams began almost immediately. The new liquid being injected into the subjects quickly began to act, its increased potency changing them at the cellular level. This was the price of progress, the doctor told himself, this was the price he would have to pay to be the first to develop a real miracle cure. Because after removing all the impurities from the body, it was now time to fix whatever damage had been done to it by years of exposure. Cancer, genetic damage, congenital defects, everything. It''s a rather violent process, he thought as he watched it all unfold in real time on the many screen of his office room. While he was cradling a cup of steaming chocolate milk¡ªhis lactose intolerance cured by another of his experiment¡ªthe people downstairs were suffering. He would have to figure out how to render the process tamer, perhaps by diluting it through several weeks of treatment. It would also serve to make Travis happy, as more weeks of treatment meant more opportunities to shake as much money from the sick and poor as possible. It made him want to vomit. After the procedure was over the subjects, all elderly or otherwise frail people who had survived the first step of the experiment only thanks to the curative properties of the liquid, were all led to their cells. They looked suspiciously like detention cells, but it was for their own sake. At least, that¡¯s what the doctor had told them. Only when the first door was kicked open from the inside, with force enough to bend the thick metal and pulverize the concrete around it as the door was torn from its hinges, did the doctor realize that perhaps they would have needed better security. The old lady had transformed into a tumorous mass of flesh, pulsing veins and writhing appendages. The alarm blared, the security doors slamming into the floor. But this far from the heart of Site 00, they were all just mundane defenses. Who would have thought they needed anything more than that? The blast doors were like paper. One after the other, they were torn asunder by the might of the abominations that were coming out of the detention cells, and one by one all the security cameras started going dark. The first response unity team arrived in minutes, but by then it was already too late. They went in, never to be heard from again. Chapter 125 Chapter 125 David ran as fast as his powerful, long legs could carry him, which was pretty fucking fast after his recent power-up. He was now able to utilize more of both his own physical strength and his magical power without destroying his body in the process, allowing him to prowl through the underbrush of the forest, making a beeline straight for the biolab where the emergency alarm had triggered. When he arrived at the foot of the hill, for a moment he thought it was all a ruse. From the outside, one would never be able to tell what was going on inside. The hill looked peaceful, the sun hitting its side from a low angle and bathing it in oranges and fading yellows. Behind it, lazy clouds slightly darker than usual drifted around, promising rain to some faraway state once they managed to congregate enough. There was utter silence. Birdsong reached his ears from the forest behind him, while the distant call of wild animals echoed in the far away hills. The slight, cool afternoon breeze rustled the leaves. However, the live video feed on his phone, provided by Icarus, told a whole different story. Thus, David did not stop to admire the view of the hill and instead kept pumping his legs as fast as possible. He barrelled through the door leading to the facility, the reinforced steel barely slowing him down by a fraction of a second. As soon as he got inside, he realized how dire the situation was. It reminded him of the expanded building at Redbud Ridge, with its claustrophobic corridors, rooms and the ever-present smell of blood and rot. There was a lingering sweetness in the air that felt the same to him, making his blood sing. With but a thought, stone plates materialized all over his body. He followed the sounds of gunfire, running through the too-small tunnels deep in the mountains that felt cramped for someone as tall and big as he was. At each turn, instead of slowing down, he simply smashed in the concrete wall and let the impact help him with turning, not caring in the slightest about the cracks and indentations he left behind. It barely tickled, he realized with a wide grin. By the time he reached the first abomination, the whole compound was eerily silent. He could see why: the dead, broken bodies of three operators lay on the floor in a growing puddle of blood and viscera while the abomination, a writhing mass of flesh and tumors wide enough to fill the whole corridor, feasted on their remains. David ground his teeth, suppressing the manic grin that was making its way onto his face. Instead, he summoned his magic, feeling his own power suffuse every cubic inch of his body. He exploded with power, leaping across the room and towards where the abomination barely fit through the corridor leading deeper down into the hill. He could not let it escape outside, where its size and mass would be an advantage. Forgoing any stealth, he led his attack with a devastating tornado kick, aimed at the abomination¡¯s midsection. It could not dodge, and David was deceptively quick for an old man, seven feet tall and covered head to toe not with skin, but heavy stone more flexible than it looked. The abomination stopped its feeding process and aimed its many appendages at the incoming threat. With a savage grin, David coated his leg with even more stone using [Stone Manipulation], pulling from the very walls of the room and from the depths of the earth itself. His grin widened when he felt the raw power flowing into him. Here, deep into the earth, surrounded by nothing but stone¡­ here was his playground. He was at home. The leg, with the added weight of the stone, slammed into the creature. Immediately, its flesh was reduced to pulp around the impact site, and the force of the kick was so great that the abomination was sent flying backwards several feet, through the corridor until it slammed against the far wall at the bend before another room. The impact was violent, the flesh rippling like jelly thrown against a wall. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. David walked closer, never breaking eye contact. He felt powerful, confident. His steps were heavy, barely concealing the power behind them. His body felt hot, primed and ready, his muscles full of power as magic coursed through his veins. His Earth element sang in his ears, ready to explode like a volcano of raw mass and weight. This¡­ this was what it meant to be powerful. This is but the appetizer, he knew, but already it¡¯s like I¡¯m a whole new person compared to back when I challenged the crazy house at Redbud Ridge, where I struggled even against weak monsters and traps. Now, the tide had changed. David was power incarnate, an unstoppable force hitting with the weight of the world behind his punches. And punch he did, slamming against the abomination with jabs, crosses, and a final devastating hook. A slight tingle in his elbow warned David that, despite his power, he was still an old man, but he didn¡¯t care. He watched the abomination be reduced to pulped flesh before his eyes, his face covered in blood, and for the first time in so many years, David felt alive. But then the abomination roared, a guttural sound echoing in the enclosed space of the compound. As the lights died one after the other, the eerie glow was reflected in the shifting flesh of the monster as it regenerated before David¡¯s eyes. It pulled itself upright by digging into the walls with its appendages, using them like grappling hooks to shift its body upright. Then, with speed even faster than David¡¯s own, the monster lashed out with pseudopods tipped with bony spikes, aiming to impale David. He only grinned. ¡°Well,¡± David chuckled as he retreated, ¡°looks like I¡¯m not the only one faster than they look. Too bad you¡¯re too soft!¡± Yelling the last word, he summoned an [Earth Wall], intercepting more incoming tentacles. They slammed into it, cracking the exterior but failing to make it even budge. Some of them tried to circle around to avoid the new, sudden obstacle before the still-growing mass of stone could pulverize them against the ceiling, but David simply ducked and weaved around them with agility. The last one, he failed to dodge, not due to a lack of agility, but because his back had decided to give out on him at the last second. He roared in pain, frustration welling up because, despite everything, it had not been the monster but his own body that had managed to incapacitate him the most. Still, his old instincts kicked in, and he immediately sought to remedy the situation by throwing himself to the floor and rolling around to avoid the impaling tentacles. Only one reached him, and while it skittered against his hardened skin without piercing, it felt like the impact of a heavy caliber shot that sent shockwaves through his flesh and rattled his bones. Grunting, David grasped the retreating tentacle and yanked. He used the leverage to pull himself upright while making the monster lose its footing. He rotated his body to pull at the tentacle and suddenly close the distance with the monster. Then, he unleashed a sequence of elbow strikes at the monster, reinforced with a double dose of [Stone Skin] coated in concrete pulled through his Elemental Manipulation from the walls themselves. Each strike was an explosion of dust and shattering concrete, but it also reverberated in sickening crunches as the monster¡¯s internal structure was pulverized over and over again. Before the monster could react, David punched the wall and retrieved a long rod of rebar from the foundation of the tunnel. He yanked it free, and in the explosion of dust the followed, he began to savagely beat the everliving shit out of the monster with it. It could do nothing to defend itself, tanking hit after hit with its body, losing flesh left and right, and oozing blood and pus. Despite the adrenaline, however, David was slowing down. The abomination realized this as well. David¡¯s eyes widened when he saw yet another tentacle rush at him while the monster¡¯s main body tried to slam into him. He tried. He tried and he failed to deflect let alone dodge. The pseudopod slammed into him, and this time it tore through his side, which had been left unprotected while he had focused his magic on the offense. He recoiled in pain, which opened his front to being lifted with raw strength and flung against the wall. The tables were turning. David groaned, feeling much more like Old Dave now than David Chestermill, who he thought he still was. His bones ached, and his joints popped, but he peeled himself off the hole in the wall he had made with his own body. He felt something drip from his chin, and licking his lips he tasted iron and hot, sticky wetness. His smile turned nasty. He shot forward, fueled by rage, adrenaline, and a mad will to not only survive but overcome his own limitations. He was sick and tired of being old, and he would not retreat with his tail between his legs. Not anymore. Even if it¡¯s the last thing I do, he thought grimly.