《Magical Engineering [Progression Fantasy, LitRPG]》 Chapter 1: Eggs & the Apocalypse I have a routine. It¡¯s not complicated, but after a long life, I¡¯ve found that it helps me to stay on track for the day. I wake up, turn on the television, and make myself eggs. Nothing fancy; I like them over-easy with toast. The satellite service being out should¡¯ve been my first clue that today was not going to be a great day. Regardless, I decided to push through that first obstacle, and as I sat down to enjoy my first yolk-dipped bite of toast, I pulled out my phone to see if that had any reception. To my complete lack of surprise, there was absolutely nothing, which, given that I lived in semi-rural Alaska, was entirely what I expected. I moved here for the peace, not the blazing-fast Internet. What surprised me during my next bite of fried egg was the notification sound my phone made. I dropped my fork back to the plate and grabbed my phone, hoping the outage was over. Instead, I was greeted by the words ¡°EMERGENCY ALERT: TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. THE MILITARY HAS BEEN DEPLOYED.¡± ¡°What the hell?¡± There was no answer to my confused question, as I lived very alone. My only companion was one of the local birds I had nursed back to health a few years ago. It was some kind of albatross, but I wasn¡¯t quite sure of the exact species. My phone dinged again twice this time. I had two separate messages each from kids, and both said the same thing: ¡°Dad, I love you.¡± What the hell was going on that enough emergency services had been activated that even my cell phone was now emergency roaming? If that hadn¡¯t been enough to turn my nagging worry into a full-blown panic, that loud crash that was immediately followed by horrible squawking at my kitchen window was. The bird, who I had nicknamed Big Bird, was screaming for my attention while dodging out of the way of what appeared to be some sort of axe, which managed to find a new target after Big Bird¡¯s dodge in my window. It crashed through, burying itself into my sink. I was finally able to get a glimpse of what was trying to hunt my friend. I suddenly understood what the messages had to be about. The creature standing outside my window wasn¡¯t remotely human. It stood around seven feet tall and was covered in some sort of armor made of bones. Its face was green with a piglike snout. The only thing I had for any comparison was some sort of a fantasy orc, which I know sounds insane, but considering the rage it appeared to be in, the comparison seemed apt. As it worked to yank the axe free, Big Bird seized on the opportunity to fly through my window, squawking at me as it did so. ¡°Dammit, don¡¯t come in here, get back out there and run. There¡¯s no reason we both need to die here,¡± I said, knowing it couldn¡¯t understand me and was just coming to me in a desperate hope I could save its life again. Sadly, considering the texts from my kids, I doubted that that was likely to happen. The moments I had wasted trying to coax the bird to save its own life had been used by the monster in a much more useful manner, at least for it, not so much for me. It had ripped its axe free, completely destroying my sink and countertop below, and it was now flying toward my head. Somehow, I managed to throw myself to the side, crashing hard into the ground while the axe embedded itself again. This time into my wall. My shoulder was screaming in pain from the impact, reminding me I was not a young man anymore. There was no way I could beat this thing in any direct fight. I needed to get out of the house and as far away from it as I could. I felt my knees pop as I forced myself, far too slowly, back to my feet. In the time it had taken me to regain my footing, the monster had ripped a larger hole in the exterior of my wall and was now climbing through, apparently very intent on both my and the bird¡¯s death. I grabbed the bird and ran for my front door, managing to get us both outside before the orc thing had managed to catch up to us. That meant we had a chance if I could just get us deeply enough into the woods. I wasn¡¯t remotely dressed for a night in the woods, so this wasn¡¯t much of a chance. Hopefully, I could find some kind of shelter before night fell. Stumbling around in the darkness seemed like a great way to die without the monster¡¯s help.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Just as I was thinking I might find a way to survive this nightmare, several trees in front of me exploded into a ball of sharp toothpick-sized shrapnel. I felt several embed themselves in my right side. Once again, I crashed to the ground. This time, my shoulder hit something harder and more jagged. I felt both my shirt and flesh tear as the searing pain set in. I looked over at the bird I had dropped during this. Somehow, he looked free of any wounds. ¡°Sorry, buddy. I think this is the end of the road for us.¡± As I said this, I understood why my kids had sent their texts. If it was this bad in the middle of nowhere, it must be a nightmare in any major city. So this was how humanity ended: an invasion of orcs. I wondered which author had managed to get that one right as about a dozen of them came into view. They all looked similar to the first but held an array of different weapons. One of them carried something looking like a bazooka, and I guessed that was what had caused the tree explosion. ¡°Any chance you would be willing to accept my surrender.¡± I coughed the words out to no response. One of them stepped menacing over me, and I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch the club it was carrying cave in my skull. After several seconds of no impact, I finally risked opening my eyes. Had something changed? The sight that greeted me certainly meant that, yes, it had, but I didn¡¯t understand what. The creatures were all frozen where they had been moments before. The club was inches away from my face but, for whatever reason, hadn¡¯t crashed down yet. What was happening? ¡°What the hell is going on now?¡± I muttered, not expecting any answer. ¡°You tried to save me, not to mention that you did save me before when I was wounded. So I decided to use what little power I still had available to me to try to save you and your world.¡± The voice came from Big Bird. I was sure of it, but even considering today''s events, I had a hard time believing it. It seemed far more likely I had hit my head in the fall. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, did you just speak? I understand it¡¯s a weird question to ask considering all of this.¡± I waved my hand at the scene around us to accentuate the point. ¡°But, what the hell is going on? Did I hit my head? Is any of this real?¡± I asked these questions, knowing there wasn¡¯t any realistic way the bird could prove the reality of the situation. I supposed that without any way of doing anything about the alternative, it was in my best interest to, for now, work under the idea that this was reality and that my sanity hadn¡¯t cracked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but it is all very real. What I believe is going on is that some Orcish faction has won your world, possibly your universe, as a prize. I don¡¯t know why, though; as far as I can determine, it is entirely without any mana sources. This frozen time used up what little reserves I held within me. It will not last forever, especially if I have to continue to make you exempt from it. So I ask you again, Dave Imogen, my only friend in this universe, do you wish to save it?¡± Big Bird looked into my eyes as he asked this. ¡°Yes, if there is a way I can do that, then yes, but I don¡¯t know what you think I can do,¡± I answered truthfully. I would do whatever I could to save my family. Even had I known what the future entailed, that is something that I can¡¯t imagine I would ever change my mind on. ¡°Good, I assumed as much. I am going to mark you with my insignia. It will grant you access to the spiral. Take this orb as well. I believe it will be useful.¡± Big Bird coughed up a glowing purple orb onto my chest before he resumed speaking. ¡°It¡¯s refined experience I was collecting. I had planned to use it for another purpose, perhaps in the far future, but this is as good as anything I¡¯d have done with it. Goodbye, my friend, and good luck.¡± Surprising myself, I slid the disgusting orb into my pocket before speaking again. The falls had seriously rattled my brain. ¡°Wait, what do you mean goodbye? I need more information.¡± Even as I shouted these words, I knew it was too late. I felt my body pulled through something as the world around me seemed to stretch into nothingness. My body still ached. My mind raced. How was I supposed to save the world?
Orcs are one of the more common peoples of the Spiral, hailing from many universes. They are by far the most represented of the Spiral¡¯s many differing inhabitants within the Arena, with no less than a hundred smaller factions competing at any given time. Despite their greater numbers, their overall performance is rarely above average. An excerpt from The Varied Peoples of the Spiral by Krrtck Chapter 2: Lines ¡°Come on, you gotta get up. If one of the guards catches you on the ground, they¡¯ll make you start the line all over,¡± someone said to me. They were the first words I¡¯d heard since my brain had settled back into my skull. I was fighting through waves of nausea as well as the pain of what I was sure were several broken bones. ¡°Just leave him. We don¡¯t have time for this,¡± another voice said. ¡°Can you help me? I was attacked pretty badly before I got here, wherever here is,¡± I groaned as I forced down another attempt at vomiting and finally opened my eyes, trying to see whatever this new world was; instead, my vision was blocked by the person who had been speaking to me. I blinked, trying to clear any fuzziness from my eyes as the man ¨C assuming that was what he was ¨C that stood before me now reached one of his four hands down, offering help. I reached out with my good arm and was quickly pulled to my feet. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, looking up at his faces¡­ He had two heads, and both the voices I had heard earlier in my daze belonged to him. ¡°No problem. Name¡¯s Cecile and the grouch is my brother Elicec,¡± the left head said. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯m Dave. What is this place, and what do you mean by going to the end of the line?¡± I asked, somehow managing to keep the panic out of my voice. I was still working on getting my bearings. Now, on my feet, I was better able to get a good look around. Everywhere I looked were lines of creatures, some human, some so alien I couldn¡¯t easily compare them to any fantastical creature I knew of, and everything in between. What I didn¡¯t understand, though, is why I could understand the multitude of signs I could see. Each one seemed to be written in plain English, but that was the least pressing question of the many in my mind. For now, it was probably best that I just accept the small blessing that it was. ¡°This is the spire, specifically the line for new arena fighters, but you should know that. You¡¯re already on the third floor of the line,¡± Cecile said. I could tell he was getting suspicious by how he looked down at me, and considering the way his brother¡¯s glare deepened, I decided to go with the truth about my situation as an answer. ¡°My planet was attacked by a faction of orcs, and as I was about to die, a bird froze time and sent me here, saying it was the only chance I¡¯d have to save the world. He said he was going to mark me with his insignia, but I have no idea where that is, or I¡¯d show you,¡± I said, leaning my weight onto my right leg. It was getting harder to stand on my left at all. ¡°Oh, that explains it, you¡¯re a newbie. We¡¯ve never met one before. So, if you have an insignia that explains how you cut the line. Most of us just have to buy our way in¡­¡± Cecile was cut off by his brother. ¡°Some of us have to work for our chance,¡± Elicec grumbled. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be mean. Would your rather our whole family be dead to some asshole orcs as the reason we are here? Do you think Dave wanted any of this to happen?¡± Cecile asked his brother. Elicec¡¯s glare finally lessened as he answered. ¡°No, you¡¯re right, I¡¯m sorry Dave. You didn¡¯t deserve that. It¡¯s just that there are a lot of shady people around, and we have to be careful. It took a long time for our families to get the funds to send us here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, no harm done. So how do I go about finding this insignia?¡± I asked the brothers. Not that seeing it would do anything for me, but I wanted to know anyway. ¡°No idea,¡± Cecile answered. ¡°Open your right hand and concentrate on who you are,¡± Elicec answered immediately afterward. Ignoring the pain, I held out my arm and stretched out my fingers. Then, I focused my thoughts on who I was: Dave Imogen. I felt something in my hand, almost like a thought on the tip of your tongue that you can¡¯t fully grasp but somehow centered in my hand. I considered who I was, everything about myself: I was a father. I was once a husband. I was an engineer. I was a refugee of the planet Earth and somehow the only hope to save my kids. The sensation on my hand changed. Written on my palm was a symbol that just looked like a bunch of meaningless scribbles. Below the symbol seemed to be my address of sorts. Name: Dave Imogen Origin: U-1.9392912^10e37 Earth-107I2T112 Origin Status: Unincorporated Affiliation: Error Class: N/A Ranking: N/A ¡°Should it say error like that?¡± I asked, confused about what most of it meant. As soon as I stopped focusing, the information vanished from my palm. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, no. Strange, that¡¯s a pretty far-out-there universe designation as well. I wonder why anyone even bothered invading it,¡± Elicec answered. He cocked his eyes at me, and I suspected he once again doubted my story. ¡°I don¡¯t know that one either, but they did manage to break several of my bones when they invaded. Is there a doctor, or is there something similar I can see? I¡¯m going to need to get these treated before they get worse.¡± The pain was moving from vomit-inducing to barely able to suppress a scream. I wasn¡¯t sure how much longer I¡¯d be able to stay in this line, required or not.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Here, take this. It should help!¡± Cecile said, pulling a pill out of his pocket and pushing it into my hand. ¡°Dammit, Cecile, we don¡¯t have many of those restoration pills, you can¡¯t give them away like that!¡± Elicec¡¯s voice had shifted from annoyed to angry. ¡°You can have it back; it¡¯s alright, but if you can point me to a place to get some medical attention, that would be great,¡± I coughed into the hand that wasn¡¯t holding the pill after I said this. My hand came away from my face with blood in it. That was an increasingly bad sign, and both of the brothers had spotted it. ¡°No, Elicec, just because we aren¡¯t on the farm doesn¡¯t mean we are going to lose our manners. Dave clearly needs our help, and you aren¡¯t the kind of man who just leaves someone to die like that,¡± Cecile said. ¡°Dave, take the pill right now, forget what I said, do it, or I¡¯ll have to force it down your throat,¡± Elicec said, his glare dropping again. Not having much choice in the matter, I shoved the alien pill in my mouth and swallowed. Instantly, I felt a rush of energy throughout my body. It reminded me of the first time I¡¯d ever had an energy drink. I felt like I could do anything, but as quickly as that feeling came, it vanished. It left behind a body devoid of pain. Either it was an amazing painkiller, or it had instantly healed my bones. The latter seemed nonsensical, but considering I was in another universe talking to a two-headed creature that towered over me, I figured it was well past time to argue what was possible and what wasn¡¯t. ¡°Okay, I feel amazing. How did that work?¡± I asked, blinking rapidly, still shocked at the pain being completely gone. Even the usual aches and pains I felt in my knees and back seemed to have gone. I lifted my cracked glasses off my head; sadly, the world turned blurry. The pill hadn¡¯t fixed everything. ¡°It was just a C-grade healing pill, nothing special. Good enough to knit bones back together, but can¡¯t do much beyond that. Have you never had one before?¡± Cecile asked. ¡°There isn¡¯t anything like this in my world, no magical healing or whatever this is at all,¡± I replied. The bird had said something about that, hadn¡¯t he? How he¡¯d been surprised anyone would come to our universe with its complete lack of mana? Did that mean other worlds were full of magic or mana if that was somehow different from magic? I probably shouldn¡¯t assume they were the same. ¡°That sounds awful, and I¡¯m sorry you came from such a hellish world. Stick by us, and we¡¯ll do what we can to help you through registration, though I don¡¯t know that we¡¯ll know too much more than you. Our planet is pretty backwater itself,¡± Cecile replied, once again offering a hand. This time, it looked to be for a handshake. Were those somehow universal? I reached my hand out to grasp his, and he squeezed once and twice and released. Okay, that was different than the handshakes I was used to, so not quite universal. ¡°I appreciate it, and thank you again. I¡¯ll try to find a way to repay you for the healing pill if I can,¡± I said, and I meant it. For all I knew, they were here trying to save their own planet, too and had just wasted one of their precious few resources to help me. That was a debt I had to repay. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. As much as Elicec might be a bit of a grump, even he knows making some friends and allies here is a good idea, especially someone who already has an insignia. You really don¡¯t know who gave it to you?¡± Cecile asked. ¡°I only know him as the Big Bird I found with a broken wing once, and up until minutes before I ended up here, I didn¡¯t even know he could speak. Oh wait, I just remember he gave me something else,¡± I fiddled around in my pockets, ignoring the cell phone, keys, and wallet that were likely wholly useless now, until I found the small orb Big Bird had spat at me and pulled it out. ¡°Put that away, quick, before anyone sees!¡± Elicec said gruffly. I dropped it back in my pocket, not willing to argue with someone who had a better handle on what was going on than I did. ¡°Okay, but why?¡± I asked after I had done so. ¡°That¡¯s a crazy amount of refined experience, and it¡¯s worth a fortune. Someone is going to steal that if they see it. Don¡¯t tell anyone else about it, and we can talk about it more once we get somewhere private. Here, get in front of us. It looks like we¡¯re next, so you go first, and we¡¯ll block your insignia from prying eyes,¡± Elicec explained, then gestured for me to move in front of him. I took the offer. I wasn¡¯t sure if I entirely trusted these two or if I just didn¡¯t have much of a choice in my friends at the moment. I walked in front of them just as a surprisingly human-like figure behind the desk called next. ¡°Form twenty-nine C, please,¡± the lady behind the counter said to me. ¡°Uh, what?¡± I asked back. ¡°Show them your Insignia, Dave,¡± Cecile whispered behind me. ¡°Did you lose your form? You will have to go back down to the first floor¡­¡± She had started explaining before I cut her off. ¡°Sorry, I have an insignia right here, see?¡± I raised my hand to show her the symbol and read out. She studied my hand for what felt like much longer than she needed to before speaking again. ¡°Are you two with him?¡± she said towards the brothers behind me. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°No.¡± They both said this at the same time, causing her to glare at them. ¡°Alright, I want all three of you to follow me. You¡¯ll be getting a private meeting with my boss. There¡¯s something off with that insignia, and I don¡¯t like it,¡± she explained as two extremely large elephant-like creatures walked up beside her. They were dressed in a way that screamed security guard to me. ¡°Yep, you heard the lady. We¡¯re coming,¡± Cecile nudged me forward after her as he and his brother followed behind. I guessed that meant they were some sort of security guard, and the brothers didn¡¯t want any trouble. Was the insignia some kind of fake? Had the bird been lying to me for some reason? I hated being so far out of the loop on information that I didn¡¯t even know the right questions to ask. So I just shut up and followed her silently into the hall.
The Spiral, named after the pattern they make, are the universes that are connected to the System and aligned as though spiraling around a column that both ascends and descends forever into the infinite expanse of space between worlds. This space is not empty, though, as it is where the infrastructure, personnel, and, most of all, the bureaucracy that is needed to administer something so large are housed in an ever-expanding tower. An excerpt from A Visitor''s Guide to the Spiral Tower by Greg. Chapter 3: Ununderstood Explanations & Limited Choices She led us through a series of corridors with doors that all read ¡°Employees Only¡± for several minutes before picking one of the seemingly endless copies of said door, opening it, and ushering us in. The security guards did not follow. The room had a large table and several chairs, with a second door on the other side. Beyond that, it was entirely empty. ¡°Please take a seat. My boss should be with you shortly. I strongly suggest you do not lie any further,¡± she said before exiting back the way she had come, shutting the door behind her. ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡± I asked the brothers as we took our seats on the side of the table nearest to the door from which we came in. ¡°Not really. As long as you weren¡¯t lying to us, and that experience orb makes me think you weren¡¯t. We can¡¯t really fix what we didn¡¯t know about. This could be a disaster, though; some of these clerks are complete assholes for no reason,¡± Elicec answered first. ¡°No panicking, Elicec. There¡¯s a good chance everything works out fine once we explain what happened to Dave,¡± Cecile said, calming his brother down slightly. I hoped he was right. After a short, silent wait, the door in front of us swung open to reveal a very short man with glasses carrying a stack of paper. He closed the door behind him, pulled out a chair, and hopped up on it. He proceeded to stare at each of us for nearly a minute before he finally spoke. ¡°Please show me the insignia,¡± he said, still staring at me. I raised my hand up and concentrated on myself again, letting the symbol and information pop into view. ¡°Look, this is all my fault. These guys were just trying to help me, so whatever it is that¡¯s going to happen, they shouldn¡¯t be included,¡± I said, trying my best to get what was possibly my only two friends in this universe their freedom. ¡°This insignia is deregistered from the system, and it has been for much longer than any of you have been alive. So even if somehow you had learned about it, you wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to also use it in an attempt to gain free access to the arena. That leaves me to conclude that you¡¯ve met Sanquar and that he is still alive somehow,¡± the clerk said, still focusing on me, while he shuffled through some of his stack of paperwork. ¡°Uh, maybe? I met a bird who gave me this and sent me here. It was during an Orc attack on my homeworld,¡± I tried to explain but was cut off. ¡°Why, though? Wait, don¡¯t answer yet,¡± he said as he shuffled through several papers in one of the folders. The ink on the papers seemed to blur as I tried to make any of it out. ¡°Yes, the only Orcish faction to win any universe prizes in the last month does match your origin. Oh,¡± he started laughing uncontrollably before speaking again. ¡°The idiots, they lost track of him in their own unending bureaucracy. Oh, this is just great.¡± ¡°What¡­? I don¡¯t understand. They lost track of who exactly?¡± I asked, feeling like I was missing half the conversation. ¡°Yes, I suppose none of this would make any sense to you. Here is what I believe is going on. A very long time ago, millions of years by the way your planet would track time, there was an Arena fighter named Sanquar. He was and probably still is the best the Arena has ever seen. The details on what exactly comes next are fuzzy. I wasn¡¯t high enough ranking at the time to really know what was going on, but somehow, he was branded a criminal and thrown into a universe devoid of mana as an eternal prison. That universe was supposed to be locked away and off-limits, but someone screwed up something and gave your universe away as a level-one Arena prize. You¡¯re here because Sanquar used whatever mana he had managed to store up to magic you here. I have no idea how he would have gotten the mana, but clearly, he did,¡± the clerk explained. ¡°Okay, well, that explains a little, I guess, but what now? Are you going to remove the Orcs and let us have our world back?¡± I asked. It didn¡¯t actually explain much, but none of them made any sense, and I was just hoping to get it fixed by someone. Was it possible this really was all I had to do to save the world? ¡°Oh, no, it¡¯s much too far along for that. You¡¯ve been branded with his insignia, and you are here in the spiral. I can probably make this information disappear into the system for a few years, but eventually, it¡¯ll hit the right person and set off real alarms. When that happens, you¡¯re going to need to be capable of fighting. So what I¡¯m going to do for now is register you with the spiral, like I would for any new contender. You¡¯re going to get your standard six mana orbs and your choice of a training world. Are these two coming with you?¡± the clerk asked.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°After that explanation, how can we not? Dave¡¯s going to make waves!¡± Cecile replied. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my original intention, but I¡¯m guessing Dave will be getting somewhat of an enhanced access to training worlds due to the insignia?¡± Elicec added. What the hell was a training world anyway? ¡°Correct, and whoever left that thing active in the System is going to get all kinds of shit, assuming they are still alive. Okay, then, the only real question left for you three is what kind of training world you want to spend this time in. Dave¡¯s insignia gives you access to primarily just some E and F-grade worlds. I suggest something that¡¯s going to push magical abilities as quickly as possible. I also suggest you pick which orb to focus on as soon as you can; don¡¯t waste time getting stuck in decision paralysis there,¡± the clerk further explained. I was so lost at this point. Why did those two even want to stick with me? What the hell was going on? I was getting quite desperate, confused at the deluge of random terms that seemed to mean something to anyone but me. "Can someone please just explain to me what exactly a training world is?¡± ¡°A training world is where new climbers are given some time to acclimate themselves to the System¡¯s path and learn how they want to build their way into it. As I said, you¡¯ve got some choices there, but I strongly recommend a heavy combat world. You¡¯re going to need the training,¡± the clerk answered. I didn¡¯t know if that was true. The idea of just physically training myself sounded like hell. My knees barely worked as it was. ¡°Are there other options? I¡¯m not a young man, and I just can¡¯t do some kind of insane physical training to prepare for something I don¡¯t even understand. Is there a school or something I can start with? I can¡¯t just pick a mana orb to focus on if I don¡¯t even understand what they are,¡± I said. If I had any chance of getting anywhere in wherever here was exactly, I needed a chance to really learn. Was that an option here? There had to be some system for education, right? ¡°There is a single D-Grade archival world you have access to, but I¡¯m not really sure it¡¯s the best plan. There''s a reason knowledge worlds sometimes come at lower ranks. While there will likely be at least a few combat-related quests you could pick up, it¡¯s doubtful they will challenge you the entire time you¡¯re there.¡± The clerk had a look of begging me not to choose it in his eyes. ¡°I understand if Cecile and Elicec would rather pick something else, but I¡¯m going to have to go there. My brain doesn¡¯t work on everything being total unknowns. If you say I have to train, then I also need to learn everything I can about whatever the training is for. You have to understand I was eating breakfast happily ignorant that any of this existed a few hours ago, and now I¡¯m on the verge of a complete meltdown from anxiety,¡± I said, explaining my case as best I could at the moment. ¡°If that¡¯s where we¡¯re going, that¡¯s where we¡¯re going. Normally, we wouldn¡¯t get years of practice, so this is a pretty big boon for us,¡± Cecile answered for both of them. ¡°Alright, archival world it is. Then, I guess my only other piece of advice is to read a little about core construction. At the very least, the extra time to study should let you make a stronger core than the average newbie. It won¡¯t be much, but it might get you through the first floor of the arena with a lot of luck. Now follow me.¡± The clerk hopped down from his chair and opened the door he¡¯d come in through. Like much of the conversation, I had no idea what a core was. I would need to make a list of priority topics to read about and hopefully manage to settle my brain down to be able to do the reading. Dammit, was this all even real? He didn¡¯t wait to see if we were following before disappearing through it, leaving us to play catch-up with him. Despite the man¡¯s short legs, he moved quite fast, and by the time we caught up to him, he was already sitting in a new chair, pushing several pieces of paperwork in front of the chairs we were clearly expected to sit in. ¡°Fill these out. Feed them into the terminal over there, and then, and I stress only then, open this door and walk through. You¡¯ll find yourself in the training world once you¡¯re through. Good luck, oh, and by the way, in case we do ever meet again, I¡¯m Pryte.¡± ¡°Thanks, I think,¡± I called to Pryte as he left through the door we had just come in through. I was reasonably sure the man had put his neck on the line slightly to help us, not that I understood why or even how for that matter. ¡°I call first through the door!¡± Cecile said loudly. ¡°You can have it, but that makes Dave last,¡± Elicec replied. ¡°I¡¯m okay with that; I took your place in line anyway and got us all into this situation. You may as well go before me this time,¡± I said as I started to fill out the paperwork. Just how much training was he thinking I needed? And when did I get these mana orbs he was talking about?
The spire occupies the outermost rings of the Spiral Tower and is where the vast majority of visitors enter the tower. It handles everything from licensing, inspections, and Arena registration. Some of the lines have been known to take years to reach the front of, so it is strongly recommended to hire a proxy if possible. An excerpt from A Visitor''s Guide to the Spiral Tower by Greg. Chapter 4: Systems & Libraries I was the last one to step through the door, and as I did so, I heard a message in my head. ¡°Dave Imogen. Registered, starting level¨Cerror, please wait. Starting level, negative ten, standard six orbs have been deposited on your person.¡± When the voice stopped, I felt a new weight in my pocket, and the room around me came into view. I was standing behind the brothers in front of a large wooden reference desk. Behind it sat what I assumed were the librarians. Initially, I thought they were both humans, but then I spotted the extra set of eyes on the sides of their heads. My brain snapped me back to the message I had heard: levels? Like in a game? And why, or for that matter, how was I at a negative number? Usually, that only happens in poorly programmed games with underflow issues. It wasn¡¯t really my expertise, but I had played a lot of older games where that happened. ¡°Welcome to the Archives of Gortrin. Will you be staying with us long?¡± one of the librarians behind the desk asked the brothers, pulling me out of my thoughts and back to reality. ¡°Likely a few years. We¡¯re newly registered, and this was our training world of choice,¡± Elicec answered. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s so interesting. We rarely get anyone coming to us as a training world anymore mostly, they prefer the ones full of monsters, but we are fully equipped as one. There¡¯s a terminal in your bedroom that¡¯ll give you your full system access, and of course, the archive is available at all hours for your convenience. If you have any questions, the reference desk is always available to help. Here are your library cards. I hope you both enjoy your time with us,¡± she said as she pushed two laminated cards across the desk to the brothers. One of them grabbed them both and stuffed them into their pockets. I stepped up to the desk as they stepped to the side. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Dave. It''s the same story as those two for the most part,¡± I said, hoping to skip any repetitive information. ¡°Oh, good. Assuming you heard everything, I¡¯ll just give you your card and let you head off with your friends. It was nice meeting you all,¡± she said as she passed another laminated card to me. ¡°So, gentlemen, what¡¯s next?¡± I asked, still not really sure what I was supposed to be doing here besides seeing how much of the archive I could read per year. ¡°Use your library card at the elevator over there. It¡¯ll take you to your room. Then, you can look at the terminal and see if there are any system quests available for you. We¡¯re going to do the same. After that, you¡¯re welcome to join us for a meal. I¡¯m starving,¡± Cecile said. The invitation sounded nice. I hadn¡¯t even gotten to finish my breakfast and could use something to eat. ¡°That sounds good. I¡¯ll give that a try and then see if I can find the dining hall,¡± I said. My stomach decided that was the perfect moment to rumble loudly. I gave them an awkward half-smile and walked over to the elevator. I inserted my library card into the slot marked for the card. It beeped, and the words changed from insert library card here, to please remove the card. There was no screen, as far as I could tell. The words looked painted on. There was a lot I needed to learn. The doors opened in front of me and closed again behind me once I stepped inside. I felt a small moment of acceleration, then stopping, and the doors opened again, revealing a completely different room. I had only been inside for a few seconds. The speed at which it must have moved was impressive. I stepped off and surveyed my new room. There was a bed, a desk, and what looked like a computer sitting on the desk. There were two other doors at the back of the room. I checked both and found a large closet and a bathroom. I guessed that meant the computer was the terminal the librarian and the brothers had been referring to. The problem was I didn¡¯t see anything that resembled a keyboard or a mouse, much less a power button on the tower or monitor. I pulled up the chair and sat down to take a closer look at the side; maybe I was missing something. As soon as I relaxed in the seat, an interface popped into view. ¡°Welcome Dave Imogen to the Master Spiral Control System version two million point seven, stable version. What can I do for you today?¡± I heard the voice in my head, the same as when I had stepped through the door.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Uh, what questions can you answer?¡± I asked, once again not knowing what questions I should be asking. I hated unknown unknowns. ¡°I will attempt to answer anything you ask, though I may fail to do so,¡± the system replied. ¡°Okay, then, let¡¯s start with something simple enough. What are levels?¡± I had a feeling I partially knew the answer already, but I wanted to hear it from a native of whatever this was; I wanted certainty. ¡°Levels are a derived categorical system to help push all beings to further heights. They are defined by how much experience a person gained in a certain proximity from a mana-rich environment,¡± it explained. Was that why I was negative? The lack of mana in my world? Wouldn¡¯t that just be a zero? ¡°Then why am I at level negative ten?¡± I asked it. ¡°Error, Error, Error,¡± It responded. Great, so that was an answer it wasn¡¯t capable of giving me. ¡°Okay, what happens when you gain a level?¡± I asked. ¡°You gain a subset of points that you can allocate to boost certain aspects of yourself. By applying these, you can transcend the normal limits of your form,¡± it answered. Now, that was interesting. So this did work something like a video game. ¡°Are you able to tell me my starting stats?¡± I asked, expecting more errors. ¡°Base human, with the origin of U-1.9392912^10e37 Earth-107I2T112, error,¡± it had managed to get further this time before the error, at least. ¡°Alright, how about quests? Are there any of those?¡± I asked, annoyed that the level topic was getting me nowhere. ¡°One quest available. Read Karlinovo¡¯s Guide to Core Creation. Would you like further details?¡± the voice asked. ¡°Yes,¡± I answered enthusiastically, glad to finally be getting somewhere. ¡°Track down the works of Polliosh Karlinovo, read it first, understand it, and read it again. Successful completion will unlock further quests in this chain. The reward for this quest is a better sense of inner self. Complete further quests in this chain to unlock more rewards and potential completion bonuses,¡± the system explained. That quest didn¡¯t seem all that great. Was it just an abstract for something else? ¡°What are the usual types of quest rewards?¡± I asked. ¡°The range of potential quest rewards is too great for an answer beyond that anything is possible, depending on the quest itself.¡± Great, it was another vague answer. ¡°What about completion bonuses? What are those? How do they differ from rewards?¡± I imagined they had something to do with completing multiple quests. ¡°Completion bonuses come from completing entire quest chains. These are usually something related to the quest in some way,¡± it answered. At least this time, the information actually answered the question. ¡°Is there anything you think I should know?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure what to ask next, so I figured I¡¯d give a generic question a shot. I wasn¡¯t hoping for much. ¡°The food in the dining hall is quite good. It is important to share meals with friends and discuss your starting quests.¡± That was not remotely the answer I expected. I felt like it was trying to give me a hint at what to do next, though. Okay, maybe more than a hint. That was closer to beating me over the head with an order than it was a hint. I opened my closet again, this time to look closer at the clothing in it. It looked to all be made for a human, and better yet, in my size. I changed out of my bloodied and torn clothing, then went in search of the dining room. Who was I to question a computer telling me to discuss quests over dinner?
The Master Spiral Control System has existed at least as long as the Spiral has; the records from first worlds are sparse, but they do make reference to a System, and we have to assume it¡¯s the same one, as we¡¯ve never found records suggesting a second one. Now, the question of what came first, the Spiral or the System, is something historians have been long investigating, and due to just how little evidence exists from the first worlds makes it seem as though we will never know the answer, and as the time synchronicity bubble continues to hold I don¡¯t expect that to ever change. Paulio¡¯s Twenty Rules For a Better Tomorrow Chapter 5: Quests, Cores, Dinner I found the brothers already sitting with two giant plates of food in front of them. There was a third open seat for me, and what looked like a menu was sitting in front of it. I quickly sat down as my stomach made even more noise. ¡°Do they have eggs, by chance?¡± I asked, looking at the menu. They did, actually. Under breakfast options, it listed fried eggs and toast. Finally, I could make up for my lost breakfast. ¡°I think they just have everything. Somehow, our mom¡¯s famous glorintaraj is on their menu, and it¡¯s amazing,¡± Cecile answered. ¡°For once, he¡¯s possibly underselling something. This really is great. It¡¯s like a slice of home,¡± Elicec added as the waiter appeared at the table, and to be clear, I do mean literally appeared. They didn¡¯t walk up and surprise me. One second, the space next to the brothers was empty; the next, a six-armed man was standing there holding drinks. ¡°Can I interest any of you in tonight''s special? It¡¯s a wine from the Caves of Terunda. We haven¡¯t had any in quite some time,¡± he said. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll try a glass. Could I also have some water, fried eggs, and toast, please? Over easy if you could,¡± I asked with a giant smile on my face. Finally, something I understood: breakfast. ¡°Of course.¡± My drink and food order appeared in front of me instantly. Apparently, cooking time wasn¡¯t a thing here either. ¡°Does everything look good?¡± ¡°Yes, perfect, thank you." The moment I finished speaking, I dipped my toast in a yolk. I don¡¯t know if it was because of my day, but the food really was amazing. Somehow, the eggs tasted better than any other egg I¡¯d had in my life. ¡°Dave, did you check your terminal and get your quest to form your core?¡± Elicec asked after taking a drink of the wine. ¡°Should I have gotten that quest? All I got was a quest to read a book. Also, the system keeps giving me an error when I try to check my level. Any idea what might cause that?¡± I asked between bites. ¡°Uh, as far as I know, everyone¡¯s first quest is to form their core, I guess, unless they already have. Do you have a core already? Did you try socketing a mana core in it? As for the level thing, glitches do sometimes happen. It might resolve itself in a few days,¡± Elicec didn¡¯t look confident in his answer, though. ¡°Don¡¯t really see how I could, but I guess we can try socketing an orb in. How do you do that?¡± I asked as I pulled one of the orbs from my pocket. It was a dull green color. ¡°Hold it up to your chest, and just kind of picture it melding into your body,¡± Cecile explained. ¡°That¡¯s it, just picture it?¡± I asked, a little surprised that was all it took. ¡°Yep, if you¡¯ve got a core, it should go in,¡± Cecile answered. So I tried, and nothing happened. It just stayed pressed against my chest. ¡°Yeah, I think this proves I don¡¯t have a core, guys.¡± So that left the question of why my quest was unique, not to mention why my levels keep reading as either negative or error. I decided that tomorrow, I would read that book, mostly because I was at a loss for anything else I could do at this point. While I was at it, I should have looked for some introductions for dummies'' types of books. We spent the rest of the night making small talk and trying random dishes from the menu. I told them stories from my home, and they told me stories about theirs. Apparently, the two-headedness was entirely normal there. Their people were called the twinoges, and they had spent several generations saving up to send a representative to the Spiral in hopes of winning their freedom from a particularly cruel faction of dwarves. In turn, I told them stories about my family and my life before this happened. They seemed to particularly enjoy the story of how my ex-wife and I first met. Apparently, in their culture, the idea of embarrassment leading to romance was not a remotely common experience. We had met after she had watched me walk straight into a fountain on our college campus. I had been reading a book and walking at the same time, something I stopped doing after this incident. I didn¡¯t see the signs warning me away, and by the time I realized what was happening, I was already falling face-first into the water. After several more drinks and even more stories, I was well past, ready to climb into bed. I was glad the elevators here just brought you directly to your room, as the idea of stairs sounded like a nightmare. I set my cracked glasses on the nightstand by the bed and crawled under the covers. The stress of the day finally fully caught up to my mind, and I fell into an anxiety-induced drunken slumber. The next morning, I woke up in a cold sweat. It turned out that nearly being killed by creatures you had no idea really existed after goodbye texts from your kids all in the same day could have a lasting effect on your psyche. Surprising right? Even more surprising was that the pair of glasses I had set on the nightstand the night before were gone, replaced with an unbroken pair. Did that help settle my brain? Not even remotely, but it would let me see things better, which, in turn, should make it easier to read the book my quest assigned. I forced myself back into my routine, hoping maybe that would help settle me. Whatever had been holding me together yesterday, likely a combination of adrenaline and whatever that pill did, had faded the night before. Now, I was fighting a losing battle to push away my imagination¡¯s ideas of what had already happened on Earth and what would still happen if I didn¡¯t find a way to help. The food was as good as the night before. There was no sign of the brothers so far today, so I dined alone. That added to my routine and helped center my sense of reality. By the time I finished my breakfast, I had some of the anxiety under control¡ªat least so much that it wasn¡¯t threatening to overwhelm me and cause a breakdown anymore. I assumed the brothers were either sleeping off the effects of last night or working on their own quests, so that meant it was time for me to try hunting down a book. Reading, especially reading entirely new concepts to me, had always been something I could lose myself in. I had high hopes then that once I started to sink my teeth into practical information about mana and cores, I could further shake off some of the fears that were plaguing my brain. At the moment, they did nothing but fuel anxiety, which would only slow down my mental processing. I needed to find a way to get that back to where it had been during college. I needed to devour this archive, which meant multiple books per day. In my solitude back home after the divorce, I had let myself slow down on the knowledge consumption front, and that seemed to be proving to be a real issue for me finally. I couldn¡¯t count on finding anything to deal with my aging issue, but that was another problem I had to try at least to solve in the archives. If I had to fight an army somehow, I needed a body that didn¡¯t break at the first fall I took, and the existence of those healing pills gave me hope that it wasn¡¯t a futile goal. All of these thoughts raced through my head on the very short trip back to the reference desk. The same two librarians appeared to be working as the day before. I caught a glimpse of the nametag of the one that had greeted us yesterday. Her name was Elody. I wondered what kind of species her people were. Did the extra eyes increase their ability to ingest information? Was that why they seemed to be the only ones working the archives? These were questions I could look into later when I had more time.Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m trying to find a book. I¡¯ve got a quest to read Karlinovo¡¯s Guide to Core Creation. Any chance you could point me in the right direction?¡± I asked her. I assumed there was some sort of organizational structure to the shelving system, and that was something I added to my list of things to learn, but first, I wanted to get this quest under my belt to see what happened. Since the brothers considered core formation so important, I needed to understand why that wasn¡¯t my first quest and how I could do it anyway. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a name I haven¡¯t heard in a long time, kind of archaic for a quest on core creation. Most of his theories have been abandoned for quite some time now. I believe the issue was the energy expenditure for his core model wasn¡¯t feasible in the long run, but who am I to argue with a quest? Core creation should be in the seventh archive, the twelfth wing. From there, it¡¯s alphabetical, based on the author''s last name. If you decide to take the book with you back to your room, make sure you see us at the reference desk; otherwise, the elevator won¡¯t let you in,¡± she answered, her smile never wavering. ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. I noticed that while her bottom set of eyes stayed focused on me, the top set seemed to roam over the archive behind me. Did they see in the same spectrum as me? I hadn¡¯t considered that before. Human vision was surprisingly limited even on our own planet compared to some other animals. It was entirely likely many of the different species I had encountered could see things I could not. I filed that away as something else to look into, possibly a reference book on the different peoples of the Spiral. As I followed the various signs to my destination, an earlier thought came back to me as another thing to look into. How was I reading and understanding everything? Language was not remotely a universal concept. Was it an effect of their system, or was it some other magical effect? Just how much power did the Master Spiral Control System have? I knew that I needed to focus my mind on the task at hand; otherwise, I¡¯d end up trying to chase down the endless questions that kept forming, but that was something I had always found easier said than done. The other big distraction during my walk was the multitude of different variety of peoples I saw. While there were plenty of people I could compare to animals or fantastical things I knew of, there were other more abstract species. At one table, I saw what looked like a small dark cloud turning pages with gusts of wind. Another table had a group of scribbly lines in each chair, loudly arguing over the philosophical principles of someone named Groltris the Unwise. To the Librarian and archive¡¯s credit, the book was exactly where it was supposed to be. There was something about a well-organized library that appealed to me. It screamed that it was a system meant to help people instead of discouraging them. Usually, at least, organization systems could be and had been designed in ways to oppress people further before, but generally that had more to do with how the creator decided to classify things they didn¡¯t like instead of basing the system in a more objective reality. Problems always arose when factual information was forced to conform to someone¡¯s subjectional beliefs. I found the nearest table, plopped the heavy book down, and blew off the layers of dust. It seemed the librarian hadn¡¯t been exaggerating about its disuse. I spent the next several hours digging into the text. A core was, as the name implies, the core of how everything worked when it came to mana orbs and magical abilities. The vast majority of people, upon reaching a particular biological stage of growth that lined up with their species'' completion of puberty, were able to form a construct inside themselves. You didn¡¯t need a quest to do so, and in fact, that wasn¡¯t how most people formed theirs. Quests were only given to those who registered with the Spiral. Most people formed their core with the ambient mana of their home, and this apparently meant that the cores they produced were generally weaker. This wasn¡¯t universal, and a core formed somewhere with a notably stronger ambient mana flow could be much stronger than usual. It seemed that all a quest guaranteed a person was a shot at a higher grade core. I couldn¡¯t back up my thoughts on this yet, but I had a feeling I knew what that meant. Just like everywhere else, the rich and powerful would get their usual headstart in life. Some things never seemed to change. They were universal, pun intended. Not much of the book was dedicated to this part, as the author seemed to assume readers would already know this. The book didn¡¯t even seem to contain what a weaker vs a stronger core actually meant. The book did cover, in great detail, a series of drawings that reminded me of a basic circuit. The main idea was how to socket more than one mana orb into your core and through a series of what the author called mana switches, but to me, it looked exactly like a binary circuit with on and off as the only options. The author theorized that with a more complex pattern, it would be possible to expand beyond two orbs. Once I understood the math that was being described, I entirely agreed with him. To me, it seemed like all he was describing was an early circuit board design. Was this how cores looked? I wondered why the librarian had said his designs had been abandoned. I read through the book twice, as the quest had suggested, and I was reasonably sure I understood it. The main problem was that I needed some foundational information to make it all click. I placed the book back on the shelf and grabbed three texts that looked dust-free. Each one was titled ¡°A Very Basic Introduction to Cores,¡± all by different authors. They all agreed with Karlinovo that weaker ambient mana flows produced weaker cores. What they disagreed with was exactly what that meant, though. One of them emphasized that a starting weaker core didn¡¯t mean anything in the long run. Others consider it a disaster and an end to any potential Spiral career. Reading between the lines, I thought I had figured out what was happening. Cores were measured in grades just like everything else, with F-Grade being the lowest. Virtually no one started with anything above a C, as your body needed time to grow and adapt to handle the kind of power that came with higher grades. This meant that the grade of your core could be increased, but most people who started with a weaker core wouldn¡¯t have access to the resources needed to strengthen their core. Correlations were being treated as facts by two of the authors, which explained why there were so many competing books on the various topics. What does that mean for any kind of centralized education here? I spent the next several hours cross-referencing more books on the topic until I felt confident in my understanding of cores. The real reason Karlinovo¡¯s works weren¡¯t favorably looked on was as the Librarian had suggested. Very few people had the energy reserves to build something as he described, and even Karlinovo himself considered the work all hypothetical at best. Some people were able to sustain multiple cores, usually those who belonged to species housing multiple souls, such as the twinoges. Still, there was also a class of specialists capable of increasing the number of orbs a single core could fit at a considerable cost. Most people, it seemed, had a single core that only housed one orb at a time. And while these could be switched, the orbs grew in power themselves the longer they were in a core absorbing mana, so there was a trade-off in doing so. Mana was the energy that powered everything, and the more of it that was absorbed, the stronger an orb became. Most basic items were stuck at the grade they were created at, but anything tied to a person had the ability to grow with them. It was a fascinating system, and before I knew it, my stomach had started grumbling again. I had no idea how long I had spent reading. I couldn¡¯t find any clocks on the walls. Finding a way to keep track of time was something else I would have to add to the list. I put the current books I had back on the shelves, grabbed one on quests to look through tonight, and made my way back to the reference desk. ¡°Checking something out, I see? Did you find what you were looking for?¡± Elody asked me as I approached the desk. ¡°I did. Thanks for all your help so far. And yep, I wanted to check out ''Quests and You'' for some further reading tonight,¡± I said, putting the book on the counter in front of her. Her second set of eyes moved to the cover, blinked, and went back to watching the room. ¡°All registered. It¡¯s our pleasure to help those seeking knowledge. Enjoy your night,¡± she said with a polite smile. ¡°Thanks again,¡± I said before hopping in the elevator. The day had been productive. I didn¡¯t feel totally clueless about this new world anymore, and that was doing a lot to fight off the existential dread that was constantly looming.
Twinoges are one of the new races incorporated into the Spiral in the last System expansion. Due to their dual soul nature, they are able to host two cores within a single body, something extraordinarily rare amongst the ever-growing diversity of the Spiral. With their planet currently in the possession of the Wrenderling Dwarves, it is unlikely that we will find out just how far this potential can go any time soon, but if Orgo Lemoire is any indication, we can expect at least one champion Arena climber from them one day. Peoples of the Expansion of Spiral: Year 2.981.34-PT Chapter 6: Quest Reward Time This time, I beat the brothers to dinner. I had already eaten two slices of a pizza that I hadn¡¯t had in thirty years by the time they joined me. They looked exhausted; their hair was out of place, and Elicec had a fresh cut across his forehead. Both of them looked like they had run a marathon and then fought a dragon afterward. Did forming a core take that much out of you? Was it because their race formed two? ¡°Hey guys, everything okay?¡± I asked, my voice was full of concern. I hoped they were okay and that if anything was wrong, it hadn¡¯t been caused by bumping into me. ¡°Great!¡± they both said at the same time before Cecile continued alone. ¡°We formed our cores on the first try, and it turns out the mana in this place is pretty potent. We both managed to get a C-grade. I had expected a D at best, considering where we came from. This wouldn¡¯t have been possible without you, Dave, so get that frown off your face. Tonight is a celebration!¡± ¡°My brother is right, and he''s underselling it. Our cores are even aligned already. I¡¯ve got a knowledge affinity, and he¡¯s got a hoe affinity,¡± Elicec added. ¡°Not to sound judgemental, but yours sounds a lot more useful than his Elicec,¡± I said. What did an affinity with a hoe even mean? Could he use it as a weapon? Sow seeds better? ¡°Oh no, while knowledge is great, and I¡¯m glad to have it, the gains are much more abstract than my brother¡¯s. He can specialize the hoe as a weapon or use it to grow mana-infused plants. It¡¯ll have some pretty amazing uses as he grows his core,¡± Elicec explained while his brother kept smiling like it was the best day of his life. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re both happy with the results. As for me, no core yet, but I did learn a ton. After dinner, I should be able to complete my first quest,¡± I said, stuffing another piece of pizza into my mouth between words. I had forgotten how much I loved this place¡¯s cooking. ¡°Well, there¡¯s always tomorrow. Make sure you complete the quest with the system, or it won¡¯t count. So, with everything you learned, is the world making a bit more sense now?¡± Cecile asked while his brother placed their order with the waiter. ¡°Yeah, somewhat; one question, though, you can probably still help with. How do you all keep track of the time? I haven¡¯t seen any clocks anywhere.¡± As I asked this, what looked like two bright blue heads of cabbage appeared, one in front of each of the brothers. ¡°Oh, yeah, you probably don¡¯t know about universal time. So the way our mom taught us when we were kids was to close our eyes and focus on the smallest bit of passing time we could think of, and try to think of that filling up the next increment of time and so on. She used different words, but they probably won¡¯t help you,¡± Cecile explained. After my next bite of pizza, I closed my eyes and considered a second. I wasn¡¯t sure if that would be small enough, but generally, everything else was just defined as fractions of a second instead of their own unique units. Plus, I knew roughly how to count out a single second; that wasn¡¯t going to happen for a millisecond. I counted out sixty seconds and then tried to picture sixty grains of sand filling an hourglass. From there, I pictured sixty of those hourglasses on a shelf labeled hour. As I started to picture twenty-four shelves, a new image flashed in my brain.
June 3rd, 2024, 8:27 PM.
Assuming I understood how this concept of universal time worked, that meant over two days had passed since the invasion. I would have assumed it was only the second day, not the third. Where had the lost time gone? ¡°Did it work?¡± Elicec asked, interrupting my confusion. ¡°Yeah, though I can¡¯t fully account for all the time I¡¯ve spent here. So, I think I understand how this works. The system is translating its passage of time into whatever the person¡¯s normal passage of time would be considered, is that right?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s how I understand it as well. For example, if I say we should meet back here tomorrow at eight thirty PM for dinner, you probably heard that translated as a time you understand, whereas I certainly said it in my own local time.¡± As Elicec explained this, his brother picked up a whole cabbage and ate it in one giant bite, licking his lips after finishing it. ¡°Yeah, strange. How does the translation work anyway? We can¡¯t speak the same language, can we?¡± I asked, figuring I may as well get another curiosity out of the way. ¡°Yep, that¡¯s another gift of the System. There are whole fields of study into it, so I can¡¯t explain much beyond that. As for your lost time, this is our third dinner since we¡¯ve been in the archives. We just assumed you were too busy for the last one. Did you sleep through a whole day?¡± Elicec asked. ¡°I must have. I guess the stress had gotten to me even worse than I realized. Well, congratulations again on the cores, guys, but I don¡¯t want to stay out too long again tonight. I¡¯ve got some more reading to get to before I hit the sack and get back into the library tomorrow. I also really want to see what happens when I complete this quest,¡± I said as I pushed my plate forward and took one last drink of soda. They both wished me luck as I left. The fact that they had such a great experience forming their cores relieved a lot of the guilt that I had been harboring from them becoming entangled in my mess. That, in turn, did more to reduce some of my stress levels. Now instead of worrying about screwing up their lives, I just had to worry about saving my world¡ªno pressure at all there. Once I was back in my room, the first thing I did was sit down at my desk, letting the system¡¯s interface flashback into my vision. The same welcoming voice played just like it had before. This time, though, instead of asking any questions, I focused on the options I could read on the menu.
Master Spiral Control System
v2,000,000.7ST
Status
Quests
I selected status, only to be greeted with what should have been a readout of my level and attributes. Instead, it was a series of errors. While I had expected this, it was still disappointing to find. I wondered if the librarian could give me any advice on this. She seemed pretty knowledgeable. I¡¯d ask her in the morning when I made my return to the archives, I decided.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Returning to the previous screen, I selected quests instead. Unlike the last sub-menu, this one produced no errors. I had two quests listed. The first was the one I had worked on today: Read Karlinovo¡¯s Guide to Core Creation, and there was an exclamation point at the end of it. Did that mean it was completed? The second one was greyed out and said Save U-1.9392912^10e37 Earth-107I2T112. I had no idea why it hadn¡¯t been listed the night before or what exactly it meant for the quest to be greyed out. Luckily, I had a book with me that could probably help there. For now though, I selected the first quest. The next screen showed a bright yellow quest complete banner above the original text of the quest, and the system¡¯s voice once again played in my head. ¡°Quest complete, three new quests unlocked. Your reward is a better sense of inner self.¡± Just as I started to contemplate what that meant, I felt something surge through me. Somewhere around my heart, I could now feel the tiniest bit of energy inside myself. I didn¡¯t think it was a core based on the writings I had gone over today, but it was certainly something. It was possible that this was what most people exposed to ambient mana felt all their lives. I¡¯d have to ask the brothers tomorrow or see if I can find a book about worlds without mana. I returned to the main quest screen and read my new quests, two of which already had exclamation points next to them.
Read Karlinovo¡¯s Guide to Core Creation
Learn About Core Grades!
Learn About Mana Orb Slots!
Read Doplingint¡¯s Manual on Synergistic Effects
Save U-1.9392912^10e37 Earth-107I2T11
This implied that I could complete a quest before I even knew I would receive it. Did that mean that the listed quests were simply hints at potential paths I could pursue? Every bit of information managed to unlock even more questions in my head. I opened the core grades quest and read it over.
Learn About Core Grades
Understand the concepts behind why cores are formed at different levels.
Reward Core Grading Ability
¡°New ability unlocked, Core Grading, Rank F,¡± the System¡¯s voice said as soon as I read the reward. What did that mean? How did I use my abilities? I acted on a hunch and returned back to the first screen. My hunch had been correct. Now, between Status and Quests, there was a new option: Abilities. I went back into quests, determined to get through that before starting anything new, and selected Mana Orbs.
Learn About Mana Orb Slots
Understand how to slot a mana orb into a core and how it grows once slotted.
Reward Mana Orb Grading Ability
¡°New ability unlocked, Mana Orb Grading, Rank F,¡± once again, the System¡¯s voice announced the ability the moment my eyes glanced at the words. Is there a way to turn that off? It had been growing annoying. ¡°Can I disable the reading out loud of notifications that I have already seen?¡± I asked the System. ¡°Yes, would you like me to do that?¡± it asked in return. I very much did. ¡°Yes, please, and thank you,¡± I said, glad to be done of that annoyance. ¡°Active reading notifications disabled. They can be reenabled at any time,¡± the System said. I had zero intention of reenabling them. I returned back to the main screen and went into the ability menu. The only things listed were the two I had just unlocked. I selected Mana Core Grading and read the description. ¡°Mana Core Grading allows the user to predict the grade and affinity of a core given the current environment and history of the soul involved. Higher ranks will improve the accuracy of the prediction as well as give insights on how to improve the outcomes.¡± It was also labeled as a passive ability. I assumed that just meant it was always running in the background of my brain somehow. Mana Orb Grading had a similar description. It let me predict how a mana orb would interact with a core and what kind of abilities it could gain. It was also labeled as a passive ability. There was a pretty high learning curve with the system''s complexity, which I was somehow expected to overcome in only a few years'' time. My only real choice was to rise to the occasion, as failure meant the end of everything I knew. Oh good, there was that existential dread again. I focused my mind and managed to push it back down. I still had to read the last new quest before I could lose myself in the book I had brought with me. I selected it and read it over. All I had to do was read the book, and I would be rewarded with an insight. I didn¡¯t know if that was something unique to the system, like quests and abilities, or just a fancy way of saying it would give me an idea of what to do next. I dismissed the System¡¯s menu and grabbed the book I had checked out. Instead of pondering the nature of the quests, I could read about how they actually work, and that seemed like a much more productive use of my time. The first piece of information I gleaned was that quests could be literally anything. The author had managed to track down someone with something as small as scratching their nose and as large as defeating a multiversal army of sapient black holes. Interestingly, though, it seemed the System never gave a quest that it considered impossible. That didn¡¯t mean the odds in the questors'' favor would be high, but as long as they weren¡¯t zero, it could be assigned as a quest. Now, in reality, I knew that didn¡¯t actually mean much; giving someone a quest with a success chance below one in one-millionth of a percent may as well be zero, but it was still likely an important distinction, as that meant there was at least some intelligence behind how they were assigned. Rewards seemed to range just as much, though they were generally something that was always useful. Quests should also produce experience, which is used in leveling. It wasn¡¯t lost on me that I had not received any experience for the quest completion. It was probably tied to the error that I received whenever I tried to check my level. I was going to need to find a way to resolve that, as from everything I had read today, levels were constantly referred to as a vital component of growth. What I didn¡¯t learn anywhere in the book was why I had a quest that was greyed out. That was frustrating, but there was nothing I could do to help it tonight. I resolved myself to another restless night of sleep and resumption of the knowledge hunt tomorrow.
The inherent problem with core creation is that no one agrees on how it actually works. While I could easily just claim my own research as the be-all and end-all of the topic, I am not nearly egotistical enough to make that claim. I am, though, willing to denounce my fellow scholars in the field as a collection of short-sighted fools who have no real desire to unlock the mysteries of the Spiral. The problem that I think we have all missed is that core creation just isn¡¯t a universal concept, and the rules that govern it are more of guidelines at best. An excerpt from Karlinovo¡¯s Guide to Core Creation. Chapter 7: Cores, Experience, & Knives I woke up the following day, surprisingly refreshed. The nightmares of the previous night hadn¡¯t returned, and with the hope that they wouldn¡¯t, I took the book, grabbed a quick breakfast, and returned to the reference desk. Elody was sitting behind the desk just like the last two times I had been here. ¡°Do I need to do anything special to check this book back in?¡± I asked her. ¡°Just pass it over for me to do a quick check, and I¡¯ll return it to the shelf,¡± she said. I pushed her the book, and her upper eyes once again scanned it. The moment they finished, the book vanished. I assumed that meant it was back in its proper place. ¡°I¡¯ve actually got a couple of questions. Besides the book hunt I was hoping you could help me with today. Would that be possible?¡± I asked, giving her my best friendly smile. ¡°I don¡¯t know. You¡¯d have to tell me the questions before I know if I can help,¡± she replied. ¡°Fair point. So, first up, every time I try to check my level or attributes in the system, all I get is an error. Alongside that, I don¡¯t seem to be gaining any experience for the quests I¡¯ve completed. Any guesses what might be the cause?¡± Her second set of eyes lowered from watching the archive and looked directly at me for the first time. ¡°When you say you get no experience, are you getting any notifications that you gained experience, but no counter goes up, or are you not even receiving those?¡± she asked. Her bottom set of eyes narrowed. ¡°Nothing at all,¡± I replied. Judging from her expression, this wasn¡¯t a common experience. ¡°Certain high-grade items could be responsible for the experience loss, though to even suppress the notification, you would be looking at something exceedingly rare. Do you have anything like that on your person?¡± she asked, her tone having become accusational. ¡°So the world I come from has no ambient mana at all. The fact that I¡¯m even here is kind of strange, so it¡¯s pretty unlikely unless it¡¯s this thing?¡± I said this as I pulled the experience orb from my pocket. ¡°It is certainly that thing, as you so put it. Put that away now!¡± her voice had dropped to a whisper, but I still felt the threat of that whisper. ¡°I promise I didn¡¯t steal it if that¡¯s what you think. It was given to me by the person who sent me to the spiral. He said it would be more useful for me than him at this point,¡± I said, pleading my ignorance. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I believe you. I apologize for the harsh tone. It¡¯s just items of that nature that will draw prying eyes, and not everyone who seeks out a refuge of knowledge does so with noble intent. Be very careful of who you trust with the existence of that orb. Do your comrades already know of it?¡± she asked, her second pair of eyes having resumed watching behind us. ¡°Yeah, they told me to put it away as well when I showed them,¡± I answered. What had the bird, no, Sanquar apparently, given me? I know he had called it an experience orb, but what did that mean? ¡°I have no idea how someone would have attained an item like that or why they would ever give it away, but I would rather not have this discussion in a public setting any further. Would you be open to joining me for lunch in my private study here? I can make sure we aren¡¯t overheard,¡± she asked. Was I? She was one of the people who said I shouldn¡¯t trust people with this information, so should I risk being alone with her? I wasn¡¯t sure I had much choice in the matter. She already knew about it and knew far more about the archives than I did. If she really wanted to take it from me, it seemed likely she could just slit my throat in my sleep or something similar. ¡°Yeah, I could do that. What time were you thinking?¡± I asked, having made my decision ¡°Meet me back here in about six hours, and we can break for lunch. In light of that object, I suggest you hold any other questions you may have until then. Now, what was the book you were looking for today?¡± Her tone had returned to its usual pleasantness as she asked the question. ¡°Doplingint¡¯s Manual on Synergistic Effects,¡± I said, causing her eyebrows to rise. ¡°My, you really have an interest in the archaic, I see. For that one, you¡¯ll want to take the elevator to the archival sub-basement thirty-seven. While you could walk there, I don¡¯t imagine you would be back in time for lunch, or dinner for that matter. It should be in the fifth row. Good luck, and I¡¯ll see you for lunch,¡± She said, still giving me the curious expression the name of the book had elicited. As I stepped from the elevator into the dimly lit sub-basement, another question to ask her the next time we met occurred to me. Was it possible to access the System¡¯s interface anywhere besides my room? It would be convenient to see the new quests as I completed the old ones instead of having to make the trek back anytime. I was making footprints in what was hopefully just a thick layer of dust on the ground with every step. Why was the System sending me off to read books that hadn¡¯t been touched in god knows how long?The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I found the book exactly where she said it would be. What I didn¡¯t find, though, was anywhere to read it comfortably. I sighed, knowing it wouldn¡¯t be the first time I had sat on a dirty floor to read a book, but I had hoped those years were long past. I tried shoveling some of the dust away with my shoes before sitting down, but all that did was cause it to fly into the air, giving me a round of sneezing. Accepting my fate, I sat down in the dust, wiped a couple of cobwebs from my hair that had gotten tangled, and opened the well-worn cover of the book. I could feel my old habits settling back in, the long unused need to pull apart a book for the parts that really mattered. It had been decades since I last digested information like this, but it looked like you never truly forgot it. Old memories of long nights with engineering textbooks sitting in my lap popped into my mind unbidden. As much as I wanted to reminisce on the nostalgia of those long-ago, happier moments, I didn''t have the time for that right now. I pushed those thoughts away to focus on the book in my hands, steadily working my way through its contents. The book covered in great detail how different mana orbs would interact with one another if in the same core. It primarily focused on dual socketed cores, which I gathered was the easier kind to study, and even that was difficult to get access to. He did mention that he knew of at least three individuals who had a triple socket core, but they were not willing to talk to him, let alone test any interactions. He further theorized that there were those with even more sockets who kept that secret to themselves. I was finally starting to understand the root of Karlinovo¡¯s research. He must have been trying to replicate the concept of multiple sockets in a way that would be more accessible to the average person. Wait, was the system pushing me towards following in their footsteps? I supposed that made some sense the more I considered it. If it was just a matter of building a circuit capable of handling energy flow, that was pretty close to my expertise. That would also explain why I hadn¡¯t received a quest for creating my core yet. For some reason, the system had taken an interest in me learning about these concepts and possibly applying them in my own core creation. But why? There had to be people already within its influence who knew as much as I did. There wasn¡¯t anything special about my knowledge. If anything, I lacked so much foundational knowledge when it came to these concepts that I should have been a hindrance in pushing the field further. As I was considering the implications of all of this, an alarm started sounding in my head, and the words ¡°upcoming appointment: lunch with the Librarian in fifteen minutes¡± popped up into my vision. I hit my head on the bookshelf behind me in surprise. I blinked my eyes in annoyance and rubbed my head in pain. The alarm was now starting to give me a headache. I tried dismissing it as I would a System menu, which seemed to work. While I was glad that something had notified me, I sincerely wished it hadn¡¯t caused my near concussion. ¡°Hey there, are you alright? I saw you hit your head.¡± A voice brought me out of my annoyance and pain and back to the world around me. ¡°I¡¯m alright. Thanks for checking, though,¡± I said as I pushed myself to my feet. My knees cracked in protest, dragging back the worry about my age yet again. Maybe Elody knew something there as well. I looked over at the voice and realized I had a problem and that I really needed to pay more attention to my surroundings. The figure had a hood drawn over its face so that I couldn¡¯t make out any details there, but due to the large knife it held in its hands, the intent was obvious. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t want any problems, so how about we both go on our separate ways, no harm, no foul,¡± I didn¡¯t have any expectation of my words working at this point, but talking had the added effect of buying me some time. ¡°I saw you come into the archive yesterday. You¡¯re a newbie to the system, right? No core yet, I can tell. So give me the mana orbs, and I¡¯ll make it quick. Otherwise, well, as you can probably tell from the dust, no one comes down here, so I¡¯ll let you leave that possibility to your imagination,¡± the voice said, inching closer with the knife. I had no intention of giving away any of the few possessions I had, especially when the only thing I would be getting in return was a less painful death. If this guy wanted to kill me, he would have to at least work for it. I threw the book in my hands as fast as I could at him, somehow managing to hit him square in the face. I followed that up by running at him and slamming my shoulder into his chest as hard as I could. I felt the knife bite into my left arm as we both crashed into the bookcase. It hurt like hell, but it didn¡¯t compare to what I had been through only days ago. Instead of continuing the fight, I took the opportunity my shoulder check had given me and ran as fast as I could for the elevator. I could hear him huffing behind me, the distance growing as I ran. Either I had hurt him enough that he couldn¡¯t keep up, or he had decided I wasn¡¯t worth the risk. I got into the elevator as quickly as I could, ordering it back to the main archival floor. My arm screamed in pain as the doors closed. There was a lot of blood coming from the wound. I stumbled through the elevator¡¯s doors as they reopened. The energy I had used in my run had apparently faded, and the reference seemed so far away. How much blood had I lost? I felt arms grab me and pull me up, and a warm feeling flooded my body. The burning in my arm faded, and my vision came back into focus. Elody was holding me up, and it felt like she was healing me as well. ¡°Can¡¯t have you die before our lunch. That would be rude,¡± she said, smiling brightly at me. ¡°I suppose it would. Someone had a knife and demanded my mana orbs. They managed to stab me before I got away.¡± The words poured out of my mouth at rapid speed, blurring them together so much that I doubted she fully understood what I said. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s head to the study room and get something to drink in you, and you can tell me again once you¡¯ve calmed down a bit. I¡¯ve healed the wound, so you shouldn¡¯t be in any danger of exsanguinating,¡± she said as she guided me to a door beside the reference desk.
With careful application of how they channel the mana through their orbs, certain secondary effects can be observed. For example, I witnessed a spacial gnome who was capable of channeling mana through his necromantic orb into his life orb that allowed him to heal himself while draining the life of others, drastically cutting the mana required for healing. Doplingint¡¯s Manual on Synergistic Effects. Chapter 8: Answers Over Lunch Elody passed me a glass of something fizzy. The carbonation tickled my nose, and I had to suppress my sneeze as I tried to sniff the drink. Not wanting to risk another sneeze, especially considering the dust I had built up in my system, I decided to risk a taste test instead. I liked it; it reminded me of some cucumbers I had managed to grow a few summers back, but in carbonated drink form. I downed the contents in two large gulps. ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it. It¡¯s one of my favorite things to pair with trescient sandwiches.¡± She set a platter of circular sandwich-like objects on the table in front of me and then refilled my glass. ¡°It¡¯s very good. Thank you for fixing up my arm. What I was trying to say before was that I was attacked by a guy covering his face. He wanted my mana orbs, but I managed to get up here with only a single stab wound, so probably a victory for me,¡± I said, trying to cover the growing trepidation with a joke and half a smile. I reached for one of the sandwiches, seeing she had already done so, and bit into it. I didn¡¯t know how to describe the combination of flavors on my tongue. I didn¡¯t hate it, but unlike everything else I had so far, it wasn¡¯t something I would have chosen on my own. ¡°Yes, all training worlds tend to attract those looking to prey on the newly registered. If it¡¯s any comfort, at least he only knew about your mana orbs. Had he learned of the experience orb, I don¡¯t think you would have lived to be having this conversation,¡± she replied. It wasn¡¯t exactly comforting, but I understood her point. ¡°Well, since we are on the topic, what is it? I know it¡¯s powerful and apparently some kind of refined experience, but I don¡¯t know what that means or even how to use it.¡± I pulled the orb out of my pocket again and placed it on the table in front of me. This was the first time I had done this, and no one had yelled at me to put it away. The deep purple was streaked with what looked like lightning arcs every few seconds, and the longer it was the table, the quicker they seemed to come. Before answering my question, Elody finished her sandwich while also watching the orb. ¡°Normally, experience is collected into a person¡¯s soul and then used by their connection with the system to enhance themselves in some way. This is usually called the soul-system bond by those who research the interaction, but you won¡¯t likely hear the term used often. Some people are capable of siphoning off that experience into a mana orb and transferring it to another. This isn¡¯t often done outside of some extremely powerful factions, and even then, it is not often. Experience is lost in the process, and the question of who you¡¯d take the experience from is another problem. Only extremely high-level people are capable of doing this, making the benefits almost non-existent. I know of a few exceptions where they have done so to empower their children, but it is a very risky move.¡± She paused and picked up another sandwich, taking a bite out of it. ¡°So then, why does this even exist?¡± I asked, more confused about why I had the orb than before. ¡°Do you know the name of the person who gave it to you? You don¡¯t have to share if you don¡¯t want to, but that may help me solve the mystery,¡± she said after finishing her next sandwich. ¡°Apparently, his name is Sanquar. At least that¡¯s what I was told by the clerk when I showed him the insignia I was given,¡± Elody coughed on her drink when I said this. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you¡¯re sure they said Sanquar? May I see the insignia, please?¡± All of her eyes were focused on my left arm. I opened my palm and showed her the same thing I had shown Pryte. Her eyes all went wide at the sight of it. ¡°Well, that does actually explain a lot. What happened leading up to Sanquar giving you that orb?¡± ¡°A faction of Orcs had attacked my planet. Pryte told me that they had won my universe as a level-one arena prize, I think. Anyway, during the attack, the bird, whose wing I had mended in the past, crashed through my window while being chased by one. Eventually, we were captured, and just as I was about to be killed, the world froze, and the bird spoke to me. He said he was giving me a chance to save the world, gave me that orb, marked me with his insignia, and sent me to the Spiral. I wasn¡¯t given any time for questions, so that¡¯s all I really know,¡± I explained. She nodded her head along as I talked. ¡°That explains a little more. I think I can now tell you what happened. I can¡¯t promise it¡¯s entirely accurate, but I would personally gamble on it. Sanquar was, or I suppose is, one of, if not the best fighter the Arena has ever seen. He changed the way the spiral worked for countless people and was on the way to changing it forever. The people at the top weren¡¯t happy about that, and after some trumped-up charges supposedly involving theft and assassination, he was banished from the spiral to a universe without a mana flow. That experience orb there is likely everything he was able to personally cultivate in his own body over the millennia of his exile. I would guess, he one day planned to use it all at once and try to escape to a universe more to his liking without being caught, but giving it to you in order to give you a chance to save your world is entirely something he would have done in that situation,¡± she explained as though this should answer all my questions. It had not, not even remotely. ¡°Okay, so the random bird from my yard is actually some hero of the people. That doesn''t actually explain what use I have for the experience orb. Sorry, that came out grumpier than it should¡¯ve. I only know what I do about the system and how it interacts with everything based on what I could learn in the past couple of days, so there¡¯s a huge gaping hole in my understanding, likely bigger than that of what any average toddler knows,¡± I explained, hoping she understood my frustration with what had happened to me.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Yes, that is a problem, and I don¡¯t know entirely how to solve it. Generally speaking, people aren¡¯t randomly thrust into the spiral. Usually, universes like yours are added to the spiral by some other faction through a reward of conquest, and as the ambient mana slowly bleeds into the newly added universe, eventually, your people will start to gain their own levels and abilities, allowing for proper integration. While frustrating, what you¡¯re going through now is likely better for you though, than the alternative would be. If it¡¯s any consolation, you are in one of the best places you could to bring yourself up to speed,¡± Elody said, and she had a point. Occupation and colonization of my entire universe didn¡¯t sound like a great alternative. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll concede that much. Pryte had said that giving away my universe had to be some screw-up due to a bureaucratic mistake. Do you have any guess how that would have happened?¡± I was curious about her opinion, but this one I understood. Things like this happened all the time on Earth, and we didn¡¯t have untold years'' worth of records for singular people that had to be kept track of. ¡°So, your universe should have been without any ambient mana, especially any singularly powerful sources, but somehow that orb you have was created. Likely, no one double-checked that this universe was off limits and it got entered in as a prize, and barely a prize at that. Other than this experience orb, it would have taken the Orc faction generations to actually do anything useful for them with your universe, which is probably why they were chasing after Sanquar,¡± she explained. I found myself agreeing with her; it was the only reasonable recommendation. ¡°So, how do I prevent the orb from interfering with my connection to the System until I¡¯m ready to use it?¡± I asked. That was the crux of the problem at hand. While I appreciated all the information, my complaint remained a problem. Right now, it was just a series of unconnected facts that didn¡¯t help me towards my goal of saving the planet. ¡°You won¡¯t have System storage unlocked until level ten, and you can¡¯t get to level ten without storing the orb, so that does create a bit of a problem there. How much do you trust me?¡± she asked with a shrug. ¡°Enough that I don¡¯t have much alternative. I¡¯m guessing you are about to suggest putting the orb into your storage?¡± I asked. I was willing to do it, as it would not only let me gain experience, but it would also get the apparently super desired item away from me. I didn¡¯t want anyone to realize I had it and hunt me down for it. ¡°Correct, so if you¡¯re okay with that, I can move it right now, and then we can move on to any other questions you may have.¡± I nodded and pushed the orb towards her. She put her hand over it, and it vanished. I felt an odd sensation inside of myself, almost like something had settled into place. ¡°Any guess why the System hasn¡¯t given me a core creation quest yet? So far, it¡¯s sent me to read two books, both of which you called archaic. Considering the location of the second, it certainly seems like these aren¡¯t popular reads.¡± I didn¡¯t want to share my own possible conclusion, which could taint her own thinking on it. It was better to see what she came up with on her own. ¡°Nope, trying to read into the whims of the System is a good way to go insane, though. Just keep in mind you don¡¯t have to do all the quests it wants you to. You could always just form a core on your own. There are plenty of more modern books on the process,¡± I considered what she said, and while I might eventually end up doing that, for now, I wanted to see where this quest path ended. ¡°You mentioned souls before. How do those work? Is this just something everyone has? We have a lot of religions on my planet, and most do posit that, but there is no connection to anything like this,¡± I had been wondering about souls every time the word popped up, but I assumed it was just another word for inner self or something similar. The mention of the Soul-System connection earlier made me question my theory. ¡°Souls are what makes everyone unique, the singular lifeforce that gives rise to you. I don¡¯t really specialize in any soul magic, so for anything more in-depth on the study, I recommend looking into soul orbs. It¡¯s a bit of an esoteric field, but there is some research into it,¡± she explained. From what I understood of mana orbs their colors represented their general types. Of the six I had received, two were green, two were white, one was red, and the final one was blue. The green ones represented some sort of body enhancement. The white ones would give me access to different elemental magics. The red one controls aspects of life, which I had already decided would be the one I socketed once I had a core. I hoped to use it to deal with the problem of my age. Finally, the blue one allowed someone to imbue the effects onto others. They all sounded interesting from what I had read, but I didn¡¯t know enough about long-term growth abilities or anything like that to make an informed decision, so life jumped out at me as the easy choice. I didn¡¯t remember seeing a color for soul, though I also hadn¡¯t seen one for experience either, and I knew that existed. These were likely covered in more advanced books than what I had thumbed through so far. ¡°I have one last question that I want to bother you with today. I seem to have infinite questions, but the rest can wait. Is there any way I can check the System without having to go to the terminal in my room?¡± I asked, hoping there was just an easy way I had missed. ¡°At level one, you unlock the mobile interface; likely, the experience orb was preventing that as well. With it safely in storage, you should now be able to complete a few more things at your terminal, and as my lunch break is about over, it¡¯s a good thing that was your last question. I suggest you go give the terminal a try. If you ever need the orb out of storage, let me know, and as always, I¡¯m always here if you need any help.¡± She smiled as she stood up, clearing off the table before leading me from the room.
The addition of a new universe to the Spiral during the times between expansion cycles isn¡¯t as common, but it does happen. Every decade, a few such universes that are easily detectable and breachable through chaotic space are offered up as prizes. These universes generally have very little value but are useful to motivate some of the Arena factions when the prize pools dwindle. JRit¡¯s History of Spiral Growth Chapter 9: Level 1 The moment I opened the System menu, the words ¡°You¡¯ve reached level one" flashed over the usual interface. Below that was the question, ¡°Would you like to enable system integration?¡± That must have been what Elody had been referring to. Without my usual level of internal debate, I quickly selected yes. The electrical jolt through my brain made me regret it. I woke up on the ground, my face covered in my own drool. Something felt different inside of me. It wasn¡¯t an unpleasant difference, though the memory of how it had gotten there was. Had Elody known about the pain I would feel? If so, she had likely made the right call by not informing me. I pushed myself back to my feet and sat down again at the terminal, once again bringing up the interface. Nothing new flashed over the menu this time. I still had the same three options as before. I tried status again, hoping for but not actually expecting a change. Before I could find out if my hope was in vain, a new message popped into my view. ¡°Would you like to enable mobile System access?¡± I selected yes. The message disappeared, revealing the screen I had been waiting to see, this time with only a single error. I almost jumped in joy at having solved one mystery.
Name Dave Imogen
Level 1
Experience 0/20
Origin U-1.9392912^10e37 Earth-107I2T112
Origin Status Unincorporated
Affiliation Error
Class N/A
Ranking N/A
While affiliation was still showing the error, I believed I knew the answer there. My insignia shouldn¡¯t be possible, and yet it was something the System recognized as existing despite that. It was something else to look into and added to the ever-growing list of topics, but nowhere near the top of the pile. More interestingly, I could now see my experience. Hopefully, that meant when I checked my quests; I would finally gain some for completion. I moved over to that menu and saw that I had completed another four quests. ¡°Read Doplingint¡¯s Manual on Synergistic Effects,¡± which I had already known about; ¡°Sanquar, a Very Brief History,¡± ¡°Experience Orbs and You,¡± and ¡°Soul-System Integration,¡± which were all new to the list and already completed. Plus, I had another new quest to find and read ¡°External Core Materials¡± by Thomas Jorvat. I selected the first one, still curious about what an insight was. The words ¡°New Insight Gained¡± were displayed, followed by another popup that said, ¡°2 experience points gained.¡± There was nothing else listed beyond that, so I moved back to the main menu. Sure enough, I had a new option entitled Insights. The only option under that was something called ¡°MultiSocket Cores,¡± so I selected that as well.
MultiSocket Cores
Congratulations, Dave. You have given your first insight into a potentially new way of developing a core. Proceeding down this path could bring you to unheard of heights, but with anything new, the path is full of unseen dangers. Do you have what it takes to walk the path?
Unlocked Quest, Esoteric Core Creation
Well, I had done it, I guess. I had my own core creation quest. Now the question was, did I want to walk that path? If using multiple mana orbs was something usually limited to the upper echelons of society, someone like me showing up able to do that was not only likely to cause a stir, it could quickly get me killed, but it could also be the power boost I needed to save my world. I couldn¡¯t make any decision on it yet, since I had no idea how to even do it, so back to the quest menu I went. Each of the other three quests I had completed provided a single point of experience as well as an attribute point, which apparently was another menu that I couldn¡¯t access until level five. Was everything gated behind arbitrary barriers in the System? I sighed in annoyance. There was nothing I could do to change that, so it was best to try not to let it get to me. Instead, I selected the first of the two new quests, reading External Core Materials. The reward for completing this was a supply of ten refined soul mana plates. I had no idea what those were, so I mentally added it to the list of things I was going to have to ask Elody in the morning.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I moved on to Esoteric Core Creation. The description was only to make a core that qualified as esoteric. What that meant, like most things, I didn¡¯t know. The reward was even strange. ¡°System Modification,¡± which I¡¯m sure meant a change to something in my System menu, but I had no clue as to what. I checked the time and realized that I had been unconscious from the jolt a lot longer than I thought. It was time to meet the brothers for dinner, and now that my experience gains were working, I had a few questions they could likely answer. Considering I had lost track of time, it was no surprise to me that they had already beaten me to our usual table. ¡°Hey Dave, figure anything new out?¡± Cecile greeted me while his brother chowed down on something resembling a burrito. Which now that I thought about it sounded good. I bet they had a nice Texmex one on the menu. ¡°Surprisingly, yes, a lot. Though, it did leave me with a ton more questions. My leveling interface is now working, so I¡¯m officially level one and gaining experience from quests. I also finally got my core creation quest, but it¡¯s to create an esoteric core, any guess what that means?¡± I asked, pointing out the burrito on the menu that I wanted to the waiter as I spoke. It appeared at about the same time I finished my story, which also happened to correspond with Elicec spitting out his own food. ¡°Did you say the System wanted you to create an esoteric core?¡± he asked after wiping his face with his napkin. ¡°Sure did. I¡¯m guessing, based on your reaction, it¡¯s not great.¡± At this point, I was done being surprised by just how shitty my situation continued to be. ¡°Well, usually no, but that¡¯s only as far as I know, and it¡¯s not a common thing. It happens sometimes, and it¡¯s usually a sign that someone has been experimenting on their own body before they go for a core quest with the System. It doesn¡¯t have to be a bad thing, though. Most new mana orb types have come from experiments into core creation. You¡¯re just going to have to be very careful and follow the System''s guide. Are you still getting other quests?" Elicec asked after his explanation. So it wasn¡¯t shitty so much as it was exceedingly dangerous, which matched up more with the description the quest had given me. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got a new book to read tomorrow, and now with my mobile interface working, hopefully, I can clear out the book quests a bit faster. How about you two? What have you been up to today?¡± I asked. I¡¯d bug them about other ways to gain experience later. It was only fair to let them share their exploits first. I had also decided not to share my experience in the sub-basement. I didn¡¯t want them getting worried and trying to protect me when they had already gotten so tangled into my mess. ¡°Oh yeah, we checked out the local adventurer hall to see if they had any missions we could help. With this being the type of world it is, there weren¡¯t a lot of monster problems, but we signed up for everything we thought we could handle. Hopefully, it will be enough to push us both to level five. I want to start working on my attributes as soon as possible,¡± Cecile answered. Well, that was certainly an opening to bring up the experience question. ¡°So how does one gain experience outside of quests anyway?¡± I asked after taking a bite of my burrito. It was a little spicier than I remembered, but still great. ¡°Basically, anything can give you experience if it¡¯s something you haven¡¯t done before. You¡¯ve likely already missed out on quite a bit. We¡¯ve hit level two just by poking our heads around and talking to people. Hunting monsters is one of the reliable ways to get some early experience, but that can quickly get difficult if you don¡¯t choose a combat-focused path. I¡¯ll likely get a ton of experience once I start my own farm, though, so don¡¯t think that monster hunting is the only good way. You kind of have to find what works for you and keep breaking past your limits,¡± Cecile explained, which honestly made a lot of sense the way he did. For the most part, it seemed that experience points were just a direct measure of the experience you gained, as quantified by the system. This really all did function like someone had decided to take reality and mask it with a layer of gamification. At this rate, I expected to find a micro-transaction portion of the system eventually. ¡°Interesting, so you think as I peruse the archives tomorrow for my daily reading, I¡¯ll gain more experience as a byproduct?¡± I hoped that would be the case, as I also wanted to hit level five and see just what these attributes represented. ¡°Yep, Cecile is right. Go do your usual thing tomorrow. You will probably hit level two by our next dinner,¡± Elicec agreed with his brother. That was a good sign that it was likely. The rest of the night was spent swapping tales of our homeworlds. I think they needed it as much as I did. The way they talked about their family, I was surprised they had agreed to leave them. Then again, this was something that could improve all their lives, so in the end, they didn¡¯t have much of a choice, just like me. They were trying to save their world. Sometimes, you were forced to play the hand you were dealt. As I climbed into bed, prepared for another day spent learning what I could do, I received a system notification. It turned out that telling stories of home amongst friends was worth another two experience points. The brothers had been right. Anything and everything had the potential for experience point gains.
Anyone can make a core, they don¡¯t really need the System for that. The problem is that very few people, prior to their incorporation into the System, understand just what their soul is, let alone how to push it further. It¡¯s telling that even though this is certainly possible, there is no record of it ever being done prior. Which begs the question, how exactly was it even developed here? Karlinovo¡¯s Guide to Core Creation Chapter 10: Books & Levels Apparently, today¡¯s book wasn¡¯t as disused as the last two, and this one was only a couple of minutes'' walk from the reference desk. Considering yesterday¡¯s stabbing incident, I preferred being on the main level with plenty of people around. I wasn¡¯t sure I was even willing to go into a sub-basement alone again. It was possible that would change once I had a core and some actual abilities. For that matter, what was the distinction between magic versus an ability? I had seen them referred to in different ways throughout my reading. Were they essentially the same thing but slightly categorized differently? Another day, another pile of questions was added to the list. I would have to start a physical one at this point, or I would likely forget some of the smaller ones. Did I really need to make a physical list if I had constant access to the System interface? Ignoring my reading for the moment, I pulled up the System Menu. ¡°Can I create a to-do list that I can look up on the interface menu somehow?¡± I asked the system, unsure of how to phrase it properly. ¡°Yes, Dave, I will add the notes tab to your main menu. Is there anything else you need?¡± As the system voice returned the answer, I saw a new menu titled Notes appear at the top right of the menu overlay. As I was already deep into my reading, I decided I¡¯d finish that first before trying to populate a to-do list. Sitting on the table in front of me was the External Core Materials book the System had assigned as my quest, as well as several other books on rudimentary core construction. I planned to thumb through them once I finished off this book. If I was going to create my own special core, I wanted to at least know the usual way most people went about it. Stumbling around blindly seemed like a great way to get myself killed, especially considering the amount of energy that a core was capable of channeling. Apparently, it was possible to influence the affinities of your core by using the right materials. For the most part, affinities tended to come from your own personality, but by burning through items attuned in different ways, someone could override that. To make it reliable, it required higher-grade items, mana orbs, or something called extracted cores. This was the first reference I had seen to the latter things, and the book didn¡¯t have any description of them. Most of the book was dedicated to a series of calculations on how to lay out materials to give the best chance to create the core you wanted. It looked incredibly similar to stoichiometry. Did that mean affinities operated similarly to elements, and it was just a matter of balancing how they formed their bonds in order to get a stable reaction? For some reason, that realization hammered home a thought that had been nagging at the periphery of my brain since we arrived on this planet. Why was all the information seemingly contained in textbooks and oral knowledge? Everyone had access to an integrated supercomputer that was somehow involved in all aspects of daily life, so why wasn¡¯t there a collective source of information that came with it? Was there something like a Wikipedia, and I just hadn¡¯t come across it yet? I pulled up my Notes and added the line: Ask about a resource similar to Wikipedia or something like the Internet in general. I moved over to the quest menu and found that I had completed my reading assignment for the day. As well as something called Books, Books, Books, Internet? So my own curiosity was now triggering quests? That was interesting. I didn¡¯t know what it meant, but it was exciting nonetheless. The reward, though, that really made me wonder what I had started down with this train of thought. All it said was, ¡°Yes, curious, isn¡¯t it?¡± along with a single point of experience. I selected my other completed quest and was met with a pop-up that said, ¡°Reward Delayed Until Level 10¡±. Wasn¡¯t that when Elody said I would unlock my System storage? That meant I probably wasn¡¯t able to access my physical rewards until I had that feature unlocked. I gained the usual single point of experience and returned to the quest screen to read off the new quests. There were two this time. One below the Books, Books, Books, Internet? quest: A Series of Tubes. I selected it, curious on what potential reward it had, but the description and reward sections just said had a single word in each: classified. That was different. I added it to my notes to check over later. The other was the new entry to my reading chain of quests. I had to go find another Karlinovo book about orb socketing interlinks. And that was how I spent the rest of my day, reading book after book that showed up as a new quest after I completed the last one. I had two goals for the day: hit level two before dinner and see if I can¡¯t get my reading comprehension back to where it had been in college. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure if I had managed the second one, but thanks to the quest system, I knew when the first goal was approaching.
Read Karlinovo''s Theories on Core Socket Interlink
Read Karlinovo''s Principles of Energy Novice
Read Karlinovo''s Principles of Energy Beginner
Read Karlinovo''s Principles of Energy Intermediate
Read Karlinovo''s Principles of Energy Proficient
Read Karlinovo''s Principles of Energy Expert
Read Karlinovo: The History of a Troubled Mind by Gastronil
Read Karlinovo: Genius or Mad Man? by Gastronil
Read Revisiting Karlinovo''s Theories by Gastronil
Read Karlinovo''s Final Experiment by Gastronil
Read A Study of Souls & Cores by Doplingint
The last book, as suggested by the writer, necessitated my return to the sub-basement, but I didn¡¯t stick around to read it down there. I quickly grabbed it and returned to the main floor to read in the comfort of a well-lit, safe space. I also planned to give it to Elody to return once I finished it, but before that, I had more important things to check. Assuming that gave me the standard point of experience, I should have hit level two.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Everything except the last quest had just given me an attribute point that, annoyingly, I still couldn¡¯t use, as well as a single point of experience. The last gave me a new ability: Inner Soul Channel Awareness. The description said that if I focused on myself, I could see the channels my soul had created and how the energy pulsed across my body. I immediately understood why the System had given me that reward. It tied into everything I had read today. Cores interacted with a person¡¯s soul, which allowed them to channel direct control over the mana orb they inserted. A core was constructed over the strongest concentration of soul energy with the socket directly on top of it, but as I learned from Karlinovo, if you wanted to add more than one socket, they had to be spread out so as not to interfere. That meant I would need to understand how and where my soul¡¯s energy flowed through my body at any given time. When I selected my status, I was greeted with a new pop-up.
Congratulations on reaching level 2, Dave. You have gained 10 attribute points. Get to level 5 to distribute them. Experience for next level 20/40
That was a little anticlimactic. While I had the level, there wasn¡¯t anything I could actually do with it yet. Pushing for level five entered the forefront of my brain, I would have to if I wanted to further understand how the System interacted with my person. Furthermore, today¡¯s reading had changed my thoughts from considering whether or not I should make my own special core to a debate of how to go about doing it, which meant I needed to see my attributes. One of the constant things Karlinovo had observed was that a higher will and constitution lead to better results. That said, the man had only ever successfully given a handful of people extra cores, and in his only attempt to push it beyond two, the experiment had ended in disaster. Several of the books were written by Karlinovo¡¯s assistant Gastronil. She had been the only survivor of the disaster, and considering an entire world had been destroyed by the attempt, I had no idea how she had managed to make it through. That wasn¡¯t covered in any of the books I read, though I did now know the name of the event, and I supposed I could find some details on it another time: Karlinovo¡¯s Folly. This was the biggest thing slowing me down on pursuing this path. How could I risk so many lives? Though I had no idea how to get access to the level of energy Karlinovo had used, it seemed unlikely I could replicate anything on the scale of his final attempt. Another effect of my binge reading was that the new quest I received no longer required me to read a single specific book. Instead, it was a quest titled ¡°New Reader,¡± and it just wanted me to read ten books. The reward was listed as Skill: Reading. When I read that, I naturally assumed skills were just another part of the System I hadn¡¯t yet unlocked. The way my brain had moved to total acceptance of my new reality was fascinating and slightly out of character the more I dwelled on it. I had a feeling the System integration had some sort of calming effect on me, and I wasn¡¯t sure how much I liked the idea of that. I knew that it was a potential reality I had to accept for now, though, and I filed it away as something to investigate later. I purposely did not make a note of it in the System itself. While it likely didn¡¯t matter if the information existed in my brain or the System¡¯s memory banks, I decided I would keep some things to myself, just in case. That was a problem for future me, though. Currently, I was hungry, and had a standing dinner appointment with friends. I had good news to share and was looking forward to theirs as well. It surprised me how quickly my routine had shifted to find this new dinner important. I was sure that a therapist would say something along the lines that I was a man adrift in the ocean, clinging to anything I could to keep my head above water. That was also a problem for the future me, someone who had more free time to worry about the trauma of my new experiences. My stomach rumbled, pushing the future worries aside entirely in favor of something tasty.
Whether the man was truly the genius he thought he was, or the madman most considered him to be is something that seems impossible to now learn. Along with his death, the majority of his research into his final experiment was lost. Many have asked me my opinions on the man, but I don¡¯t feel qualified to give them. I do, though, believe that with his death, the Spiral lost something important, and we may all never recover from the loss. Karlinovo: Genius or Mad Man? by Gastronil Chapter 11: Power Leveling & Attributes The next several days flew by in a blur. The New Reader quest kept repeating itself, though the number of books doubled each time, as did the experience points I gained. The problem was the other reward. Skills, it turned out, were yet another progression system locked behind a level requirement. This one was level twenty-five, and each successive quest only provided another rank to the reading skill that I had no access to yet. At least the good news was that the quest line had forced me to finally learn some of the more basic concepts of the system. Without being forced into the very specific direction the System had in mind for my education, I was free to start poring through introductory guides to any topic I could get my hands on. Attributes were more or less what I had expected them to be. They were a numerical value abstraction of someone''s core components. The range and granularity were much greater than I had expected, though. I had been imagining something similar to a tabletop RPG system, and while that wasn¡¯t an incorrect assumption exactly, as the attributes were organized into several basic categories: Senses, Actions, Reactions, Interactions, Soul, Core, and Luck. Everything got much more complicated once you went below those top-level designations. It seemed that when it was designed, it had been done so to take into account that some attributes were not a universal constant and tried to boil it down to labels that were universal. Senses was a broad category that covered all ways a person perceived the world. For example, it was something that covered anything from how far a human eye could see, to the pain tolerance certain parts of your body could handle. Those were sub-attributes that were applicable to someone with my body, but there were also things that covered the detection of underwater scents or electromagnetism readings with antennas. Actions governed anything someone consciously did. Things like strength and memory fell into this category. Reactions were things that happened on a subconscious level caused by external phenomena. This included willpower and fighting off most diseases. Interactions was where charismatic influencing fell. Physical beauty seemed to be the main aspect of it. Soul and Core were pretty straightforward and governed all aspects of those components. Luck was apparently mostly a mystery and was used as a catch-all for attributes that didn¡¯t seem to fit anywhere else. Either an exhaustive list of all known sub-attributes hadn¡¯t been written, or I just couldn¡¯t find it. Given the infinite complexity of life, I assumed it was the former. Skills were exactly what they sounded like, but even the lowest rank of them granted a benefit above what would normally be possible for someone without a core. That meant that reading was likely to improve either my speed or my retention. Both skills existed, but I wouldn¡¯t learn just which one I had until I was able to get into the menu, which I also had learned was impossible to do until I created my core. For virtually everyone, there was no purpose in delaying the formation of their core, and it was usually done before any leveling had even occurred. It was impossible, though, to progress past level twenty without a core. At that point, the soul was no longer able to contain the energies a person had gained alone. This was the reason cores had been developed at all, as a way to break through the soul-level barrier. And while that meant I was locked out of the skill system until I could form my core, it did not mean I was locked out of the attribute system. Thanks to the less restrictive reading quests I was gaining experience at a much quicker pace. It took me only four days to hit level five and unlock the attribute system, and I had plenty of points ready to assign. After the usual dinner with the brothers, I laid down comfortably on my bed and pulled up the menu, eager to see what my options were. I dismissed the popup about unlocking the menu and selected it. Core was missing, but that came as no surprise to me.
Senses Actions
Generalized Auditory 4 Generalized Mental Use 6
Generalized Gustatory 4 Generalized Physical Use 1
Generalized Nociception 1 Reactions
Generalized Olfactory 3 Generalized Body Toughness 1
Generalized Proprioception 2 Generalized Disease Resistance 1
Generalized Mechanosensory 3 Generalized Mental Resistance 3
Generalized Vestibular 2 Interactions
Generalized Visual 2 Generalized Beauty 1
Generalized Presence 2
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Soul Luck
Soul Energy Detection 2 Cheat Death 4
Soul Energy Projection 1
Soul Energy Regeneration 1
Soul Energy Strength 1
I had been wondering how my attributes would be organized. I knew it was possible and entirely likely that I would have higher-level generalized attributes for the senses. I was surprised to see the same in the other three that had it, though. I had expected those to be a bit more straightforward in their lists, but apparently not. Part of the reason why there was no exhaustive list is you didn¡¯t get to see all the attributes you could potentially learn, just those that you had some rank in already, knowingly or not, and it was possible to gain more from later experiences. While I may have felt the tiniest bit insulted at some of the attribute''s starting values, I also wasn¡¯t totally surprised by any except for cheat death. Every author had agreed that starting with a luck attribute would give someone a leg up, but as they were incredibly unpredictable, no one should ever count on it. I selected cheat death and read the description. You should be dead. The fact you aren¡¯t is one of the most improbable events to have ever occurred in your universe. Every point placed into this attribute will further raise your chances of not dying when the statistics otherwise say you should. That was it; there was no numerical breakdown of how the points affected the statistics or anything quite so useful. This was why luck attributes were considered their own particular category. The authors I had read claimed that anyone who studied them always ended up with nothing to show for the time spent. However, luck worked. It also seemed to work to keep that a mystery from everyone. I reread the names of the senses, not fully connecting them all to what they did. I knew the ones that represented sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell, and I was pretty sure vestibular had something to do with balance. I was drawing a complete blank on the other two. I knew one had to involve a sense of pain, and one was likely tied to spatial awareness, but I couldn¡¯t say which was which. Selecting any of them for further information didn¡¯t help either, as apparently, I had to allocate a single attribute point before I was provided a description of an attribute. The System seemed to work under the idea that a person with the attribute should already know what it was. While that was frustrating, I did have sixty-three points to spend, and I was unlikely to spend them on the same attribute. There were caps to how high one could, but they also weren¡¯t universal, and I wouldn¡¯t know I was at the cap and how to get past it until I was there. So, I started by quickly assigning a single point to each of my senses so I could get a better idea of what they did. That wasn¡¯t the best idea, but everything in my body suddenly felt stronger, which in a normal circumstance tends to cause a nasty headache. When one of the senses that you had increased was the one that controlled feeling pain, that headache was multiplied. My head felt like someone had hit it repeatedly with a hammer. The room was instantly both too loud and too bright. The air smelled and tasted wrong. I could feel my insides moving. I rolled onto my side and curled into a ball, hoping that this would end soon. It took nearly an hour and expelling the contents of my stomach for my body to start to get used to the changes. That had been a colossal mistake. I even knew that one of the senses was pain, so I should have realized the possibility of what would happen, but I had been too much like a kid home after trick-or-treating. I vowed that from now on, I would only raise one attribute at a time, and the smell of my room as I cleaned up what had happened helped to imprint that as a hard rule into my brain. So it turned out that I was right, vestibular was balance. Nociception was a sense of harm to my body and the cause of the increased pain. I could think of a few reasons why I might want to increase it in the future. It was likely a good way to track internal changes in my body before they became a real problem, but I would need to boost my pain tolerance before that was a realistic path. My joints already ached more than they had, and that was going to be a problem. Proprioception was my sense of position in the space around me and the one I had wanted to identify the most. I could possibly use it to offset some of the knee problems I currently had. Boosting that should, in theory, solve the constant issue I had with running into things. But before I could spend points on that, I needed to find the cap for all of my reactions. These would be important for core creation, so that meant I needed to get them as high as I could. I placed ten points into each of them, this time one at a time. The only real change I felt immediately was the pain in my body seemed easier to ignore. I didn¡¯t know at this point if that meant my body was actually stronger or just more capable of shrugging off wounds that would still cause lasting long-term damage. I moved mental resistance up to twenty-five next, as that was closest, and there I found my first cap. Once I was able to break through this, it should, in turn give me access to some of the specific attributes below it. Essentially the furthest attribute down the chain had the most dramatic effect on the very specific thing it controlled, while anything above also applied, but the boosts they gave were spread out and lesser. On a whim, I decided to put the last thirteen points into mental use. With the pain tolerance increase, I decided to wait on my original idea and see if I could instead increase the speed that I was gaining knowledge. That had the potential to cause a feedback loop to improve my stats even faster. Anything I could to move towards an exponential gain seemed the smart way to go. All in all, despite the memory of the throbbing headache I had caused myself, today had been the most productive day I¡¯d had had since I arrived in this world. I hoped that was a sign of future things to come, and as I remembered that I still had to save my world, I decided not to dwell on that hope and instead take a well-deserved long rest.
What the hell is luck anyway? Why are we breaking that down as its own attribute? Was it always this way, or did the System decide to group it because every single sapient species seems to have some concept of the idea that they can just be better or worse at chance than someone else somehow? Why have we just accepted that reality? Is the System altering reality to make things better for those with higher luck attributes, and if so, why are those few chosen? Grom¡¯s Musings Chapter 12: An Introduction to Dungeons While I was sitting down to my usual breakfast, I was surprised to see the brothers pull out the chair on the other side of the table and sit down. So far, all of my breakfasts had been alone, and while I liked their company, don¡¯t get me wrong, I also liked my solo morning routines, so I internally hoped this wasn¡¯t going to become a constant. ¡°Hey Dave, don¡¯t mean to intrude, but we¡¯ve got a limited-time chance at a new dungeon someone found and posted. I know you don¡¯t have your core yet, but you should really check this out with us. It¡¯s only a rank F, so we should be fine. It can give you an idea of what some of the other worlds have out there,¡± Cecile explained with such enthusiasm that I was nearly ready to abandon breakfast on the spot and considering how I had felt just moments ago, that was impressive. ¡°Let him finish his food. We aren¡¯t in that big of a hurry; no one is likely to steal that low-ranking of a dungeon from us, especially since anyone looking for dungeons here has already headed out for the day, but yes, my brother is right. This is something you should learn about while you have the chance in a safe and somewhat controlled environment,¡± Elicec added. ¡°Well, boys, you have me convinced. Just let me finish off my eggs and lead me wherever this dungeon is. I¡¯ll hold the questions until I¡¯m done chewing,¡± I replied. It made sense that with a gamification System like this, actual dungeons would be a part of it. They had already told me about monster hunts, so this didn¡¯t really come as any sort of surprise. ¡°Yes, our first real adventure together!¡± Cecile said with just as much cheer in his voice as before. I finally realized why I liked these two so much. They reminded me of my son when he was a teenager, full of a wanderlust for everything in life before it was tempered down by the need to understand any risks before he took action. I wondered how that would have played out if he had had two separate brains fighting over the actions instead of just the one. I quickly finished the rest of my meal, wiped my face with a napkin, and stood up, ready for a day of adventure instead of books. ¡°So what exactly does a dungeon entail anyway? I have an idea of the concept, but I have to imagine it works a bit differently in reality,¡± I said, picturing a series of random monsters in different chambers that we had to fight through for arbitrary reasons. ¡°It has something to do with natural mana orbs and attracting monsters. It wasn¡¯t something our family knew a lot about, so it¡¯s one of my bigger knowledge gaps. You don¡¯t really get to see a dungeon unless you¡¯re registered with the System, as they¡¯re one of the only reliable ways to gain any significant amount of experience once you start getting past level one hundred, other than the Arena itself, that is,¡± Elicec explained. I quickly added finding a book about dungeons to my notes tab. I wanted to accrue as many levels as I could before I returned to Earth, and if dungeons were an essential part of the process, I¡¯d have to explore the topic more. ¡°If we find any monsters, just stay behind us, Dave, you should gain experience as long as you¡¯re in the proximity,¡± Cecile followed up on his brother¡¯s comment. What would happen if I did more than just hang behind them? ¡°Would I gain extra experience if I took any direct action instead of staying back?¡± I asked, already considering how I could best contribute. ¡°I¡¯ve been avoiding saying this, but you¡¯re a bit old for the typical human who is starting out, and you guys are already pretty fragile as it is, so I¡¯m not sure fighting would be a good idea just yet,¡± Cecile answered. For someone as large as Cecile and his brother, I understood how they could see humans as generally more fragile, especially considering my state when we first met, but that didn¡¯t change the fact that I needed all the experience I could get. ¡°That wasn¡¯t an answer to my question,¡± I said, pushing back. ¡°Yes, you will gain more experience the more you directly interact with any situation in the dungeon. Just please try not to get yourself hurt Dave. We don¡¯t have an unlimited supply of healing pills, and we have no way to afford more right now,¡± Elicec answered, his voice more pleading than ordering. ¡°I¡¯d rather not break myself either, so I¡¯ll try not to get hurt too badly, but I do have to learn these things eventually, even if I¡¯m a lot older than the usual newbie,¡± I replied. At least I¡¯d finally unlocked my attributes, which could help somewhat with dungeoneering. Sure, I didn¡¯t have my core yet, but I felt that I was progressing reasonably well now toward that. I just had to find a way to avoid the mistakes the previous person who had dedicated their life to studying the concept had made. How hard could it be?If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Hi, how can I help you all?¡± A wispy voice asked, interrupting our conversation. I looked over and realized we had already made it to the adventurer hall. The voice belonged to a greenish cloud that was hovering above a counter. We were the only other people in the room. There were several stands with signs above them signaling various things for sale, but no one was manning them. Were there just not enough adventurers in this world to run the hall, or was this the norm everywhere? ¡°Hey Mel, that dungeon we were talking about earlier still available? No one sniped first dibs from us, did they?¡± Cecile asked. There was a hint of worry in his voice. ¡°Nah, no one here is going to want that thing. We don¡¯t get newbies, and that thing is so weak I¡¯m hard-pressed to even call it a dungeon; honestly, I doubt the dungeon core is even stable, so whatever it¡¯s managed to pull in so far is likely all it¡¯s getting, but if you want it, it¡¯s all yours,¡± Mel said as his form rocked side to side slightly, in what I believed to be amusement, but reading the expressions of a cloud was not something I trusted myself to do. ¡°Perfect, thanks, man. Can you register Dave, Elicec, and myself for it?¡± Cecile asked. The words spilled out of his mouth rapidly in his excitement. I hoped the dungeon didn¡¯t disappoint him. ¡°Sure can, no classes, right? What¡¯s the team name? Wait, does Dave have a core?¡± Mel¡¯s color shifted slightly as his eyes moved to focus discerningly on me. I felt a peculiar tingle of energy move across my body, almost like a small static shock. Had Mel scanned me somehow? ¡°Is that important? He¡¯s even more a newbie than we are at this. He¡¯s from an unintegrated universe, so this is all blowing his mind, so to speak,¡± Elicec explained to Mel for me. I was glad he had left off my core quest. The more I considered the implications of what the System was pushing me towards and just what the last experiment down the route had caused, the more I thought it was best to keep my quest somewhat secret. ¡°Look, normally, yeah, you¡¯d need a core for something like this; now it¡¯s within my power to give an override for that requirement, but usually that¡¯s for certain private showings, some kids on a field trip with a much more powerful guardian, that type of shit, but, because I like you two and with how weak this place really is I¡¯m gonna let you do it, if and only if Dave understands there¡¯s still a pretty big risk here, got it?¡± Mel asked, turning his eyes back to me. ¡°Got it, but not fully understood. Why does my lack of a core make this so risky?¡± I asked. It wasn¡¯t like the brothers were that much more powerful than I was already, were they? I mean, sure, they started a lot stronger, and they were younger, but in terms of core development, they were only a few days ahead of me. ¡°Like I said, this place is barely a dungeon, so that dungeon core is going to want to find itself a much better host than whatever it¡¯s currently in, and normally, that¡¯s pretty hard to do. Your personal core can punch pretty far above its weight class when it comes to soul intrusion like that, so that¡¯s why I ain¡¯t worried about the brothers here despite their low level. You, on the other hand, have no core, so do you think your soul is going to be able to handle fighting off an intrusion all on its own?¡± Mel floated down below the counter as he was asking this and had begun to ruffle through some drawers. ¡°Maybe, I don¡¯t know, what if I just don¡¯t let it near me?¡± I asked, now a little concerned about the dungeon. It was too late to add any points to my soul attributes. Or was this a reaction attribute? I hadn¡¯t hit anything that covered dungeon core attacks at all in my reading. ¡°Eh, you¡¯ll probably be fine. Didn¡¯t really mean to scare you that much, just wanted to make my point clear. Don¡¯t do anything too stupid, and it should be fine. Assuming you still want to go, here, take this,¡± As Mel said this, an arm poked out of his frame and produced a badge with the words ¡°core exempt¡± on it. I reached across the counter and took it from him as I voiced my agreement. ¡°Yeah, I need to learn about this, so I¡¯m going.¡± ¡°Good, I like newbies with spunk, means you got a chance out there. Now, the last question, and the most important. What¡¯s your team name? Gotta register it.¡± The reaction of the brothers to Mel¡¯s question made it obvious that they hadn¡¯t a team name yet. Both of them were just staring open-mouthed back at Mel. ¡°The more heads, the better.¡± I smiled as I suggested it. It was a terrible team name. I loved it. ¡°Uh, yeah, sure, it even works if we find more people for the team,¡± Cecile said, looking to his brother for some confirmation. ¡°I don¡¯t care, it¡¯s fine,¡± Elicec conceded, and my smile grew wider. ¡°Alright then, The More Heads, the Better; exploration of unnamed and untyped dungeon registered, good luck boys.¡± Mel reached out the arm again and gave what looked like a thumbs up. Did he form the arms whenever he wanted to use one, or were they just concealed in his body somewhere? I realized I should read up more on the different species that make up the Spiral in the future, but for the moment it was time to explore a dungeon.
We love to rank everything, and the System gladly agrees to let us. The problem is that a generalized ranking of danger in a multiversal reality with infinite directions a person can go once they start their true adventuring career can mean that one person¡¯s F grade dungeon is another person¡¯s A grade dungeon. All newcomers to dungeon delving should understand and be wary of this fact. An Excerpt of The Adventurer¡¯s Primer Volume 1 by Hume Grenderson Chapter 13: Slugs, Snails & Worms We took the adventurer hall¡¯s transport service to the entrance of the dungeon immediately after Mel finished our registration. The driver let us know he¡¯d be around for the next twelve hours or so, but anything past that and he was heading back and reporting us as missing in action. We thanked him and headed inside. The entrance was just a small crack in the side of a hill, and we had to slosh through a muddy pond to get to it. I slipped through the passage just after the brothers and felt a cold shiver run down my spine as I passed through into the chamber. ¡°Hey guys, did any of you feel that?¡± I asked, hoping it didn¡¯t mean my soul was already under attack somehow. ¡°Yeah, sorry. Should have warned you; that¡¯s the feeling you get when you enter into a dungeon''s zone of influence. It¡¯s how people know the borders of one since they can grow and shrink,¡± Elicec answered. ¡°Just try to ignore it. It can¡¯t really hurt you as far as I know,¡± Cecile added. ¡°Cecile, grab your hoe, looks like we¡¯ve got giant slugs, and they¡¯ve already spotted us,¡± Elicec yelled to his brother. I poked my head around them, trying to get a view, and sure enough, there were four orange creatures with long black protrusions from their head sliding across the ground towards us. One of them had its mouth open, revealing a row of razor-sharp teeth. I grabbed a rock from the ground and pelted the open-mouthed slug as hard as I could, which was considerably less than I¡¯d have liked. Still, the rock made contact and fell away, leaving a gash where it had made contact. I may not have a core, but as long as I had a supply of rocks, I wasn¡¯t entirely useless here. ¡°Good job, Dave. Now watch this!¡± Cecile said as he swept the hoe out hard in front of him, cutting straight through one of the slugs and into a second. The first one wriggled slightly as though it hadn¡¯t fully realized its head was no longer connected before it seemed to deflate in on itself, melting into a steaming puddle of orange ichor. ¡°Let the world around us cool, winter unleash your gale!¡± Elicec''s chanting had started in the middle of Cecile¡¯s swing and finished the moment the ichor had appeared. His hand then pulled something from his pocket that looked like a small leaf and crushed it. Immediately, I felt a cold wind sweep past, noticeably chilling the air. The full effects played out in front of us as the wind made contact with the remaining slugs. The liquids inside of them seemed to freeze and crystalize as their forms cracked apart. But unlike the others, as the wind hit the final one, its color shifted from orange to light blue, and the protrusions on its head sparked in a bright yellow glow as energy danced across them. I grabbed two more rocks and threw them one after the other as hard as I could at the monster. Both of them dented into its flesh but did nothing to slow it down. Worse still, as the second rock hit home, some of the energy it had collected rebounded off its head, blasting back at me. Luckily, it looked like my attribute increases had paid off because I could feel the energy as it shot through the air at me. My senses had improved enough alongside my reaction time that I was able to throw myself down, completely dodging the blast. My elbow screamed in pain as I hit the rocky ground. While I had successfully evaded one attack, a second that I hadn¡¯t known of became apparent as worms swarmed over my arm, biting at all my exposed flesh. ¡°Dammit, what the hell?!¡± I screamed out, trying frantically to get the worms off me. I managed to squash several dozen of them, but more kept coming. It looked like there had been more monsters in the fight than we had realized. I thrashed my body around, trying my best to kill as many as I could, but no matter how many died trapped between my mass and the rocky floor below, it seemed the number on me kept increasing. ¡°Dave, you okay back there?¡± Cecile called back to me while his brother had started chanting again. ¡°Torrential rains, pour downward!¡± Elicec¡¯s chanting was followed by water pouring across my body from somewhere above. The worms were washed away by what would have seemed a flood at their size. ¡°I am now, thanks! Just get the last slug, and I¡¯ll explain,¡± I said as I started to force myself to my feet, trying to wipe off as much worm goo as I could, but before I could completely stand up, I spotted a small glowing shard of something in the remains of the worms. I reached out and grabbed it, pocketing it as I finished getting to my feet. I¡¯d ask the brothers about it later, once we were in less of a ¡®monsters trying to eat us'' scenario. ¡°Good, because this one just refuses to die.¡± Cecile¡¯s words were accentuated by weird squishing sounds that I realized were the hoe smashing down into the last slug over and over. It looked entirely unphased by the attacks as it charged up the energy on its head again, looking once again over to me. Before it had a chance to release the built-up charge, the hoe was suddenly covered by a silvery metallic coating a split second before it made an impact, this time finally cutting deep into the mollusk¡¯s head, severing both of the appendages. This saved me from having to try and dodge another blast, but it also seemed to enrage the creature as an otherworldly roar erupted from its mouth. I felt the force of it crash into my skull and somehow slide off. The brothers hadn¡¯t been so fortunate; they had fallen face-first onto the ground from the cry. Neither were moving. Fresh fear hit me as the possibility of their death entered my mind, but before the feeling could grab full control of my thoughts, I saw one of their arms move and then heard one of them moan slightly. They were just hurt, possibly badly, and the slug was still moving towards them. The damage the hoe had inflicted had slowed it down, but onward it came. I couldn¡¯t leave them to be eaten by the monster, but what could I do to help? My rocks had done nothing but annoy it. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something that gave me an idea. The hoe, still covered in the metal, had been thrown into the cavern wall to the side of the approaching snail. I ran forward, leaping over the downed body of the brothers, barely keeping my feet, and doing my best to ignore the creaking pain from my knees as I made the mad dash for the hoe. It was the only chance we had. As I grabbed the farming tool, I saw the slug had turned towards me, its mouth now open and more of the earlier energy starting to form. There was no time left, I had to take my one shot and hope it was enough. I slammed the hoe as hard as I could, blade end first directly into the slug¡¯s open mouth. Whatever the energy was inside, it reacted with the head of the hoe, causing the slug¡¯s head to explode, raining down its disgusting goo on all of us.
Monsters Defeated
Giant Slug x3 5 Experience
Giant Slug, Electric x1 20 Experience
Bitey Worm Swarm x1 10 Experience
Experienced Gained 45 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
No Magic x1.1
Coreless x2
I Stand Alone x1.5
Total Experience Gained 180 Points
A message box popped into my vision, and the first thought that hit upon reading it was that that was a lot of experience, but I didn¡¯t have time to do anything with it just yet. The brothers were still down, and I had no idea what else lurked in the dungeon. Dismissing the notification and still holding the hoe firmly in my hands, I walked back over to their prone form.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Hey guys, any chance you are mostly alive down there?¡± I asked. In response, I heard some moans of pain but nothing beyond that. I really hoped they were just unconscious and not dying in some way that I couldn¡¯t do anything about. ¡°I¡¯ll make you a deal, Dave, surrender yourself to me, and I¡¯ll make sure they leave alive,¡± a new voice said slowly in my head. I spun my head around, trying to find the owner of the voice, and saw nothing. That wasn¡¯t great; I was effectively alone down here and now hearing voices. ¡°No, and stay out of my head!¡± I called back into the darkness further into the cavern, figuring it had to be hiding somewhere back there. I was wrong, so very wrong, as what I thought was a boulder on the ground rose up, revealing a large snail below it. The head whipped around, latching onto my chest before I had the slightest chance to react. ¡°No, Dave, I don¡¯t think that I will, and now all three of you will die. Such a waste,¡± the snail said, still speaking directly into my mind. I fell backward, not able to hold myself up both from the force of its head and the tearing pain above my heart. Was the dungeon core inside this creature and trying to get into me now? The question was purely academic, as I had no way to stop it, rendering any answer moot. I was going to die here, and my friends were going to die shortly after me. The hoe clanked down onto the ground before the handle hit Cecile in the head as I hit the ground myself. The metal casing vanished as it touched him, and I saw his eyes open, making eye contact with my own as I silently pleaded for help, now in too much pain to even cry out. Cecile pulled himself and his brother to their feet, holding the hoe strongly in both his hands. I watched him charge at the snail, slamming it down over and over into the elongated neck. After a few hits Elicec had joined in the assault. I couldn¡¯t hear exactly what he said, but I saw something burn away at the creature''s flesh, and the hoe finally severed the head off, and a small orb fell free from the head still attached to me, clattering to the ground and rolling against the wall. With the snail dead, the teeth of its mouth released, and I was able to pull it off my chest. There was surprisingly little blood, but each tooth mark was accompanied by a small burn. Whatever it had been doing to get to my soul, had been working, and with it dead, my senses were returning to normal.
Monsters Defeated
Rock Snail 30 Experience
Experienced Gained 30 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
No Magic x1.1
Coreless x2
Dungeon Core Boss x2
Total Experience Gained 160 Points
¡°Dave, you going to be okay, buddy?¡± Cecile asked. His voice was full of concern as he looked down at me. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m hurt that badly, actually. You two going to be okay?¡± I asked, far more worried about them than I was myself. ¡°Oh yeah, we¡¯re pretty tough. Though if you hadn¡¯t taken out that last slug, I¡¯m not sure what would have happened, so great job there. Bet you got a ton of experience, eh?. Too bad we can¡¯t do anything with it until we¡¯re out of the dungeon,¡± Cecile said, now sounding a little annoyed. ¡°Wait, really? Why not? Let¡¯s just get out of here then,¡± I said, forcing myself once again back to my feet. Someday, I hoped my knees would forgive me for the torture I was putting them through. ¡°Not yet, Dave, first we need to loot the place!¡± Elicec said, hoarse but excited.
We are born in a darkness that few of us can remember, but from there, a small pull grabs us, something familiar. I have been told that what I''m describing here reminds many of a parental bond, but that is not something I can personally speak on. This is where intelligence stops for most of my brethren. Why? I don¡¯t know, but few dungeon cores truly awaken, and fewer still escape the madness of that awakening. Interconnectivity, Linkages Through Space by Traveler-1 Chapter 14: How to Loot a Dungeon ¡°Two questions: what exactly do you mean by loot? And are you okay? Your voice doesn¡¯t sound so great.¡± Was there random treasure to find in a dungeon? Considering the entire rewriting of what I thought were the standard rules of reality that I had already experienced since my arrival in this new universe, I wasn¡¯t entirely sure why I was stuck on this concept alone. Still, for some reason, the idea of loot was just pushing my brain past the easy acceptance point. ¡°He¡¯ll be okay; he¡¯s just gotta get his body more used to channeling mana through his throat like that,¡± Cecile explained. That explained the chanting he had done before the weather effects. That had apparently been my first exposure to someone casting real spells here. I added another note to my continuously growing list to read up on how exactly spells worked alongside mana channeling. ¡°Okay, and the loot, what are we looking for? Wait, actually, I found this shard earlier; what is it?¡± I asked as I fished around in my pocket and produced the small crystalline object. Now that I had time to look at it without the anxiety of looming monsters, I noticed that it glowed a faint pink, similar to the worms that had nearly engulfed me. ¡°Good find, Dave! That¡¯s a mana shard; every monster should have at least one of them. We¡¯re also gonna want to find wherever the dungeon core rolled off to after I killed the snail. Can¡¯t leave it for something else to get ahold of, or the dungeon will start to grow again. As for other loot, it¡¯s too new for that, bigger older dungeons, well, those tend to have attracted other mana beasts, so there can be extra chambers full of strange things. It''s those places that would hide magical plants or items with strange abilities from the dungeon infused mana,¡± Cecile explained. I felt like he was leaving out another potential source of loot in the more dangerous dungeons¡ªthe possessions of those who didn¡¯t survive their expedition. ¡°I saw where that rolled to; I¡¯ll grab it; you two can dig through the mess that used to be the slugs.¡± The smell alone of the dead slugs was already getting to me, and I really didn¡¯t want to start vomiting during my search; this was already bad enough. ¡°We should check the back end of the cavern, just to be sure there¡¯s nothing else, but likely, yes, we only need the core and the shards,¡± Elicec said, his voice still scratchy. I spotted the dungeon core, now a dull black, in a pile of rubble near one of the walls and bent to carefully pick it up. As I touched it, I realized my newest mistake in what felt like a series of nonstop blunders. I felt a small surge of energy tingle its way through my palm and up my arm. The core still wanted my soul. ¡°Dave, have you changed your mind and considered letting me take your body? That would be an incredible gift.¡± The voice¡¯s smooth, almost melodic words blanketed my brain yet again. This time, though, I was more prepared for how it would feel. ¡°I told you last time, stay out of my head.¡± I gritted my teeth, whispering these words, hoping the brothers didn¡¯t overhear. I forced my hand to drop the core into my pocket, and the moment the contact was released, the voice vanished again. So, the intelligence in the core persisted past the death of the host, did that mean the rock snail had no control of its own body at all? That explained why Mel was worried about me going in here. What would happen if the dungeon core used my body to leave? Did it even want to? ¡°That¡¯s all five shards over here. Did you find the core?¡± Cecile¡¯s question, his voice full of excitement, brought my mind back to the situation at hand. I didn¡¯t have time to plot the nature of dungeon cores yet. That was better left for when we returned to the archives. ¡°Yeah, safely tucked away in my pocket. Are these things sapient?¡± I asked, unsure what the ramifications of the answer would be. ¡°What¡¯s sapient?¡± Cecile asked as a look of confusion had covered his face. ¡°It essentially means intelligent, do you ever read, brother? Yes, they can be. I assume it tried to speak to you?¡± Elicec asked while giving his brother an annoyed expression. ¡°Yeah, twice - it really wants my body. What would it do if it got it?¡± I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. This really could have waited, but having a talking, body-stealing, otherworldly orb in my pocket made it hard to ignore the risks for the moment. ¡°I know it¡¯s happened before, but I don¡¯t really know the outcome, probably nothing good for you, though. I know some people have based their classes and skillsets around dungeon cores, so it is possible to make the thing¡¯s intelligence useful. You can keep that one if you want to explore its uses. Since it doesn¡¯t have a body there isn¡¯t a lot it can do to you, just don¡¯t eat it or anything stupid like that,¡± Elicec explained. ¡°Yeah, I doubt it¡¯s worth much considering how weak it is anyway; I can already feel the dungeon starting to lose its energy,¡± Cecile said. A few seconds following his claim I also felt the weird feeling that had been with me since we entered lessen. ¡°Come on, do a quick perimeter check of the cavern before all the energy fades. Grab anything that seems useful. We can check it later,¡± Elicec ordered. I picked the opposite side the brothers went to and started walking along the wall towards the far end. With the dungeon¡¯s influence fading, I felt a little of the earlier fear go with it. In its place, some of the anxiety turned into an excitement of sorts. We had fought monsters and survived. That was something to be proud of. The usual aches and pains of my body didn¡¯t seem to bother me as much as I searched the cavern for anything of potential use.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. In my haste, I almost missed it. Growing from the crack between two rocks was a small black flower. I reached down, pushing the pebbles away to reveal more of the stem. I grabbed it firmly as far down as I could and carefully plucked it. I had no idea if this was just a natural cave plant or something special, but that was something I could find out later. I stood back up, keeping the flower safely in my hand, and continued my path, finding nothing else until I bumped into the brothers. ¡°Hey guys, found a black flower, what did you guys find?¡± I lifted the flower into their field of vision, giving them a glimpse of my potential loot. ¡°Nothing, but that looks like it might be magical. We should plant it when we get back. I can test some of my magic on it,¡± Cecile said. I liked the idea. I didn¡¯t have any idea what to do with it, and they had given me the core to keep. It was only fair they got something. I handed the flower to Cecile, who smiled brightly as he grabbed it from me. ¡°All yours, buddy. Are we good to get back now?¡± I asked. I was exhausted. I wanted a nice long shower, some food, and then to get back to a safe world of research. The memory of being stabbed flashed unbidden in my head. Okay, so it wasn¡¯t always safe, but that was exactly why I needed to get back to it. I had to work on my core so that I could avoid future incidents while trying to accomplish other tasks. ¡°Yep. Honestly, that went quicker than I thought it would. I know we¡¯ve got experience to spend, so I bet you can¡¯t wait to either, Dave. Let¡¯s meet up tomorrow at adventurer hall around lunch. We can give our full report and see what we wanna do with the shards,¡± Cecile said, clapping me on the back gently. The man¡¯s enthusiasm was almost contagious, but I couldn¡¯t fault him for it. I was glad he had invited me to this, not just because of what could have happened without me or even the potential level increases. This was an experience I had needed. It gave me a better picture of what was coming and reinforced how far I had to go. After much small talk and assurances of seeing each other the following day, I was finally back in my room and no longer covered in the grime of the day. I sat down at my desk and pulled up the System¡¯s interface. I had points to apply. I quickly dismissed the list of notifications and started by looking at quests. It seemed the dungeon¡¯s completion had counted as a series of new quests, and more interestingly, it had been given a name.
Dungeon Exploration Slimy Slithering Depths!
Dungeon Boss Defeated Slimy Slithering Depths!
Dungeon Looted Slimy Slithering Depths!
I had gained another seventy points of experience from the quests, and three new skills as well, not that I could use them yet: Cartology, Malacology, and Treasure Sense. The first and last, I was already aware of what they were. They were basic skills that most people ended up with access to. The second one, though, I wasn¡¯t sure about, and outside of diving into books, I had no way of learning until I reached level twenty-five and considering how much experience I had gained already, that wouldn¡¯t be far off, assuming I could get my core formed to get past the level twenty barrier. Speaking of levels, I checked my status. I was sitting at level fourteen, which when you take into account I started the dungeon at level five, was quite the jump. How many attributes did I have to spend? I quickly moved to my attribute section and found one hundred and ten points waiting to be assigned, which didn¡¯t add up to what I had expected. I should have had less. I checked back on the level-up notification logs I had earlier dismissed, and apparently, once I hit level ten, the attribute points I was gaining had increased to fifteen. I remembered skimming something about point values increasing with levels, but it hadn¡¯t been my focus at the time. I¡¯d look more into it tomorrow. The first thing I did was push all of my reactions to twenty-five and my mental use as well. I hit the caps in all three, so that looked like it might turn out to be true across the board for me. I had seventy-six left. I moved each of my soul stats up to twenty and put the remaining into my physical score. I figured I was probably going to need the soul attributes if I wanted the core experiments to go right, learning from the last time I did each of my increases separately, letting my body settle after each. The biggest change I felt was a growing presence inside of me, but not an alien one at all. It felt like it was my own self, almost coming awake within me. Was this tied to the growth of my soul? I thought I understood now why a stronger soul made it easier to fight off something like a dungeon core, as it was the master of its own system, my body. This had the added effect of increasing my confidence in the core experiment. I believed my soul was ready, but there was no reason to rush it just yet. I could still gain another six levels worth of attributes, which would help fortify my body as much as possible before I did this, and I would gladly take all the help I could get. Then there was the question of the dungeon core: what exactly did I want to do with that little monster?
The Floating Empire is one of the rare examples of an old faction that long sat at the top of the Spiral hierarchy to lose nearly everything. They went from a people that controlled entire clusters of universes to having a singular home planet and being mostly scattered throughout the Spiral. All because their king chose to support the wrong man¡­ Opening statement from the dissertation A History of Power, the Rise and Fall of the Floating Empire by Melhelm VII Chapter 15: Dungeon Lore & Economics After my usual breakfast, I spent the morning reading up on a few different things that had piqued my interest the most after the previous day¡¯s events. All of my research for the day was tied to dungeons, as I didn¡¯t want to go into any future ones quite so blind. I stopped by Elody¡¯s desk, looking for directions. ¡°Hey, Elody, I did my first dungeon yesterday, and I was hoping you could point me to some books about them,¡± I chucked a bit awkwardly. ¡°As always, I have more and more gaps to fill in my knowledge.¡± As per usual, only one set of her eyes focused on me as I spoke. ¡°Ah yeah, dungeons are covered on this floor. Just head over to the third wing. You¡¯ll find the information there. I take it since you¡¯re here, alive and well, the dungeon was a success?¡± she asked with a smile on her face. ¡°As well as can be expected. The brothers and I had some issues with the monsters, but we all made it through intact and with a lot of levels gained, plus a dungeon core. So, no real complaints, well, other than the fact that we did it flying by the seat of our pants. And I really don¡¯t want to repeat the experience in the future,¡± I answered honestly. ¡°Well, in that case, after you feel you¡¯ve studied enough for another dungeon, why don¡¯t you bring your friends to see me? There¡¯s something I¡¯ve been wanting to look into in the sub-basements, and I need a team I can trust to join me,¡± she said, her smile unwavering. ¡°I¡¯ll have to talk it over with them, but I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯ll be glad to tag along. I¡¯m planning to see them after lunch, so I¡¯ll see what they think then. For now, though, gotta get some reading done. Thanks for the information,¡± I said. Why had she grown to trust us so quickly? And just what was it in the sub-basement she was worried about? ¡°Good luck. Stop by once you have their answer, and I¡¯ll give you all the details I have,¡± she said, waving at me as I walked away in search of dungeon tomes. There were an obscene amount of books on dungeons, with an entire wing of the archives dedicated solely to the study of them and their inner workings. I barely had time to even scratch the surface of my reading today. Still, as far as I could tell, the basic facts that most people agreed upon were that if a natural mana orb with the right affinity was left alone long enough, it could begin to draw in enough mana from the environment that it created a rupture to a universe more aligned with its specific affinity. This would allow more ambient mana than the local environment could handle to flood in and start mutating the creatures nearby. The natural mana orb would then begin to grow in strength until it developed into its own being. At this point, it would become a fully-fledged dungeon core. Finally, after reaching this point, it would start using what powers it had to attract the creatures around it, with the goal of parasitically attaching itself to their soul in the space a core would normally occupy. This would give the dungeon core more freedom to further grow its realm, and if left unchecked long enough, the small tear into the other universe would grow to the point that otherworldly monsters would begin to pour in, attracted to new hunting grounds. Usually, these universes were entirely unincorporated for various and often extremely dangerous reasons, so the System strongly promoted dungeon raiding. Which was what my unknown skill was tied to, just like the two known ones were. Malacology was the study of mollusks, and killing the dungeon boss, a rock snail, had unlocked that particular skill tree for me and likely the brothers as well. Eventually, I would also be able to get access to an entire bestiary to track other aspects of monsters. There were uses for all kinds of monster parts beyond just the mana shards, assuming you had the way to collect those parts, which neither I nor the brothers currently had. By the time I had to head back to adventurer¡¯s hall, I had already read six books on dungeons in their entirety, as well as thumbing through several others for references. The points I had thrown into mental use were certainly paying off. Now, if I could break the cap and unlock my skills, I could really start to make a dent in this archive. ¡°Ah, Dave, glad to see you¡¯re entirely whole after yesterday,¡± Mel greeted me as I entered. ¡°Hey, Mel. Yeah, there were some painful moments, but we made it. I''m not sure I would have without your warning either, so I really appreciate it, man,¡± I said, watching the cloud man bob up and down near his counter, one of his arms stretched out to a shelf beside it, organizing some items despite his eyes being focused on me. I was entirely serious, too. Had Mel not given me the speech, I¡¯m not sure if I would have understood what was happening with the dungeon core, and things could have gone much worse then. ¡°No problem at all. I like those goofballs, and you seem like a decent guy, too, wouldn¡¯t want to see any of you get hurt. There¡¯s enough of that in The Spiral. Far too many good kids are lost every year¡­ But that¡¯s not a topic for celebrating achievements. What brings you back today?¡± Mel¡¯s voice had slipped as he mentioned the Spiral. There was something personal there that had affected him. I wondered who he had lost, but I didn¡¯t know him well enough to press the topic, especially when he had already changed it. ¡°I take it I beat the brothers here then? They wanted to go over the shards we found in the dungeon and see what they were worth. Oh, and I don¡¯t know if it matters, but the System called it Slimy Slithering Depths in my quests,¡± I said. I figured he¡¯d want to update his records if they weren¡¯t automatically done so. ¡°Thanks; I was hoping one of you would have the official System name. And no, they ain¡¯t here yet,¡± Mel¡¯s voice was interrupted loudly by the sound of someone entering behind me. ¡°Sure we are, hey Dave, Mel! Sorry, we¡¯re a bit late; someone just had to find a book on spellcraft,¡± Cecile''s booming voice said, marking the brother''s arrival.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°There would have been plenty of time had you not spent forever eating,¡± Elicec said, audibly annoyed. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I told you that imbuing the hoe takes a ton of energy out of me. Then I have to spend even more just to use it, so I¡¯ve gotta pack in the calories if I want my core to keep up,¡± Cecile replied, immediately following his words with a loud belch. ¡°Yes, fine, well we¡¯re here now,¡± Elicec sighed before continuing. ¡°Mel, we have six mana shards we were hoping you could take a look at, maybe grade them if you think it''s worth it?¡± ¡°Sure can, boys, hand ''em over. How about the core? You wanna sell that?¡± Mel asked as six arms popped out of his cloudy mass, each with an open palm awaiting the shards. ¡°Not really. I¡¯m thinking of seeing if I can find any use for it, but if there¡¯s an examination you could do it, that would be great,¡± I said as I fished it out of my pocket. I had placed it in a smaller container the night before, hoping to find a way to identify more about it without risking any direct contact unless necessary again. So, if Mel could do that for me, it would save me some time and trouble. ¡°Yeah, no problem at all,¡± Mel answered, adding a seventh arm to the already waiting hands. The brothers and I put all the shards and the dungeon core box into each of the hands, and as each object was set into one of the open palms, the cloud-like fingers immediately closed around it until all the objects were sealed in Mel¡¯s grasp. His color then began to shift from the usual green shade to a bright blue and back again. Once he was done, he placed each object gently onto the countertop below him. ¡°Well these five are nothing special, grade F elemental shards, bottom of the barrel. If you¡¯ve got any crafting builds you¡¯re looking into, they could be useful. Otherwise, I¡¯ll give you two UCs a piece for ¡®em. The last one, though, it¡¯s a grade C elemental with a lightning affinity. I¡¯m pretty surprised it was down there, and there¡¯s no way I would have let you boys go alone with that level of monster roaming around if I¡¯d known. Finally, this dungeon core is even more impressive; it¡¯s also a grade C. That place would have rapidly expanded had you not taken it down. Be careful with this thing, Dave. It¡¯s got a fully developed personality. So, all that being said, you all did an amazing job on this dungeon. You three hit well above your weight class down there; you should be proud of yourselves.¡± Mel gave each of us what looked like a nod of respect, which isn¡¯t the easiest thing to interpret from a floating cloud, but the face kind of moved downward and back up, similar to how a human head would do it. ¡°Dave, do you do any crafting?¡± Cecile asked as all three faces turned towards me. ¡°Actually, probably. I don¡¯t know how much I¡¯ll need the shards, but I don¡¯t have everything mapped out yet. Mel, any chance I could run something by you in private in a couple of weeks, once I¡¯ve had some more time to plot it out?¡± I asked. Mel just felt like someone I could trust, and right now, I needed a couple of people who were much informed of the Spiral to tell me how insane my plan was forming up to be, and my own real choices for that were Mel and Elody. ¡°Yeah, of course, I love hearing about what crazy new build newbies come up with. Hell, sometimes they manage to find something no one had considered before. Just let me know when you¡¯re ready, and we can talk,¡± Mel said enthusiastically. ¡°Great, oh, I just thought of something. I should have unlocked my System storage at level ten, shouldn¡¯t I? Can I just put those things in it? How do I do that?¡± I asked, remembering the conversation with Elody. ¡°Oh yeah, you wouldn¡¯t know that. Sorry, Dave, forgot about how new you were again. Put your hand on the shard and think about putting it inside an empty room. Once you get it in there that should unlock something new in your interface. It will be much easier after the first success,¡± Cecile said. Not wasting any time, I placed my hand over the first shard and pictured placing it into an empty room on a shelf along the wall. It took a few seconds, but I felt the shard under my hand vanish, and the room seemed to become more real in my brain. I could also see a stack of objects sitting on the shelf next to the shard. They were labeled as refined mana soul plates. I remember the quest reward that I hadn¡¯t been able to receive until this moment and was glad to see that it was still there. I then made the shard appear back on the counter to verify I could do it, and as Cecile had said, it was much easier than it had been placing it there. I placed it back into my System storage and did the same to the other shards, hesitating at the core. I looked up and saw Mel nodding again, so I placed it there as well. ¡°That was an interesting experience. Is there a limit to what it can hold?¡± I said, still able to easily visualize the room and its contents in my brain. ¡°Yes, but it can be upgraded. You should have a menu in your System interface now. I wouldn¡¯t bother with it much until we actually have a source of items to keep in them. Seems like a waste of resources with how empty they all are,¡± Elicec said, and I saw his point. Assuming the shelf space remotely lined up with the current limits, it would be a while before I had any storage issues. ¡°Well, guys, before I head back to never-ending studies, Elody wanted to know if you would be willing to accompany us for a task in the sub-basements. She apparently needs all three of us, but I¡¯m not really sure what it is she needs us to do,¡± I explained to the brothers, wanting to let her know once I was back in the archive. ¡°If Elody wants your help, you should give it. She¡¯s a smart cookie; no idea why she¡¯s still hanging around here. That woman has a bright future ahead of her,¡± Mel said before either of the brothers had a chance to answer. ¡°If Mel vouches for her, who am I to argue? I¡¯m in,¡± said Cecile, his brother nodding along with him. ¡°Great. I¡¯ll let her know when I see her and catch you guys up the next time I see you at dinner. Thanks again for all your help, Mel,¡± I said. I heard the brothers start discussing future dungeon raids and possible spell builds with Mel as I was leaving. It was almost tempting enough to make me stay, but my studies called, and I really wanted to know just what it was Elody needed help with. Was it possible for a dungeon to form within the archives itself?
Chaotic space is the wild, untamed regions between universes before the System begins to align them properly with the Spiral. The dangers that lurk in these places are well beyond what anyone faces in virtually any aspect of life in the Spiral, and the empires that have hidden themselves deep in the darkness should scare everyone. 117 Scary Stories for Sleepovers by S. M. Grime Chapter 16: Book Learning The first thing I did once I¡¯d reached the library was to make a stop at the front librarian''s desk to check in with my favorite librarian. For the first time since I arrived with the brothers, I found myself waiting in a line. There were two people in front of me, apparently newly arrived, already speaking to Elody. If it hadn¡¯t been for the four legs each of them were standing on, I¡¯d have assumed they were some sort of dwarf, given their long beards and smaller stout frames. ¡°Yes, this is a knowledge world, as I said when you arrived. This is the Archives of Gortrin, and you are welcome to stay as long as you like,¡± her voice sounded annoyed, and I couldn¡¯t remember ever hearing any anger from her before. ¡°Yes, we know, you told us, but what I need to know now is if you have any of these books,¡± the newcomer said aggressively, pushing a list over the counter to Elody. ¡°And as I told you, we are a knowledge world,¡± Elody¡¯s smile started to slip as she said. What was going on here? She was always extremely helpful to me when I was looking for something. ¡°I¡¯m not sure you understand. We are representatives of the Triox Council, and we need to check your archives for any restricted materials,¡± the second one said gruffly. ¡°I do understand, and I¡¯m reasonably sure you¡¯re the one who doesn¡¯t understand the reality of your situation. This is a knowledge world, and you do not represent any Spiral official or System proclamation. We do not and will not accept your authority on what is considered restricted materials. You, as much as everyone else here, are welcome to browse the archive as you please, but please note that any attempt to destroy anything within the archive or to remove it from the archive without permission will result in extreme consequences. Do you understand now?¡± Her voice made her sound ready to rip their heads off herself if needed, and it was further amplified by all four of her eyes staring daggers at the Triox people. As they both took several steps backward away from the counter, it became obvious to everyone watching, including myself, that her point had finally been made. Still, one of them opened their mouth to protest again. ¡°Madam, you do not want to cause a rift with us; I assure you of that.¡± ¡°Dave, what can I help you with today?¡± Elody asked, moving two of her eyes over to me, entirely disregarding the last thing the Triox had said. ¡°Oh, hey Elody. Exciting day, I take it?¡± I asked, hoping to lighten her mood a little. Her usual smile returned as she answered. ¡°Yes, we do have the rare bit of excitement here.¡± ¡°Well, if it helps at all, the brothers agreed, especially since Mel gave you a glowing recommendation,¡± I said, returning her smile. ¡°Oh, wonderful, and you¡¯re all working with Mel, that¡¯s fantastic. You won¡¯t get better adventuring help around here than him. Don¡¯t let him fool you. He¡¯s been places you couldn¡¯t imagine, but back to the point. I should have a free moment in my schedule in a couple of days to join your team for dinner, and we can discuss the details. I really appreciate the help, Dave. Now, is there anything I can do for you today?¡± she asked while her second set of eyes tracked the movement of the two who had been berating her as they slunk off into the archives. ¡°Nope, I¡¯m just off to get some reading done for the rest of the day. Should I worry about those two?¡± I pointed to their backs as they vanished behind a row of bookcases. ¡°No, their interest in you is likely non-existent, though I would recommend against mentioning any of your reading quests to them. Best to keep yourself off their radar if possible,¡± she answered. ¡°I see. Thanks for your help, hope to see you later,¡± I said as I considered the implications of an organization trying to ban books. I don¡¯t know why it surprised me as much as it did. There were always attempts at banning books on Earth, so it shouldn¡¯t come as any surprise there was at least a single group working on that in the Spiral. I spent the time between our planned dinner reading nearly nonstop, only taking breaks to sleep and eat. I wanted to see how far my new mental stat could push me, and it was surprisingly far. I was able to complete two New Reader quests and unlock another called Intermediate Reader. This one had a reward of a new skill: Comprehension. This actually left me a little confused, as I hadn¡¯t seen any mention of it on the skill lists I had found, and I also wondered how it differed from retention. I supposed just because I could recite something word for word didn¡¯t mean I actually understood. Would this skill let me grasp concepts faster? The downside was that the experience had slowed down with the fifth New Reader quest. It was no longer doubling, but I had reached level nineteen, so there was only one more to go before I maxed out the attributes I could gain before I made my attempt at core creation. I hoped that whatever it was that Elody wanted would be enough to push me to that final level. Most of my reading focus in the last few days had been on the working of spells. I wanted to know exactly, or at least as much as I could before our next possible adventure, how Elicec¡¯s spells worked. The way people cast spells depended heavily on the progression path they were choosing with their core and mana orbs, and as far as I could tell, it ranged pretty far and wide. I quickly narrowed my focus though to what I thought was how he had been casting spells. As I had heard him chanting and saw him crush something in his hand at least once, it looked like he was using the three-component approach: somatic, verbal, and material. This meant that he was focusing heavily on building mana channels out from his core through his hands and his throat into his mouth. As he grew these channels, he could fine-tune how the mana flowed, allowing him to mix and match for his desired results. The words of the chant weren¡¯t as important as understanding the focus they created, but it was nearly impossible for someone new to spellwork to pull off anything successfully until they learned the exact rhythm of the words. The material components gave a further adjustment to the mana, letting him add further features he may not have access to in his core.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Spellcraft was agreed to be a very powerful path and an extremely viable build for the Spiral Arena, but it would take a long time to master, and without a team willing to back a practitioner up, they had little chance of going far. This wasn¡¯t the first time I had encountered references to the Spiral Arena in my reading. Hell, I knew that was what the brothers had come to compete in. I hadn¡¯t bothered much with it in my research as I had no intention of sticking around to compete, but it was interesting that authors had a whole field dedicated to the concept of the meta aspects of success there. Perhaps once the Earth was saved, I could learn more. That is, assuming I could ever return here, and there was no guarantee that would be possible or that I would succeed. With my attribute cap looming at level twenty in mind, I considered where to spend the seventy-five points I had now. There would be another fifteen likely coming before I created my core, so anything I could do to push my chances of both surviving and not causing a cataclysmic level disaster were the prime factors in how I assigned them. I started by moving cheat death up to twenty-five points, figuring that was probably one of the better bets for staying alive, and noticed that it didn¡¯t hit a soft cap there, unlike everything else so far. I had to move it all the way to fifty before I hit the same stopping point. I felt like I had certainly made the right move there. I moved physical use up to twenty-five as well, hitting the cap as I expected to. That left me with six points now and the fifteen I¡¯d gain at the next level, which was enough to move one of my senses up near the cap as well. Which would be the best one for the experiments? Was there more than one? Instead of dwelling on the question for now, I needed to meet everyone for dinner. Considering I didn¡¯t even have the final points yet, there was still plenty of time to consider where they would go, and I didn¡¯t want to be late for this dinner. Elody was expecting us all, and I had no intention of disappointing her. I spotted the brothers in the hall on the way to our usual table. I quickly sprinted up to them, sticking by my original intentions. Before I opened my mouth to greet them, two things hit me at once. The first, something to consider more for later, was that my body had no problem with the sprinting I had just done. I wasn¡¯t breathing hard; my knees didn¡¯t ache; it was almost like I was a kid again. The second thing I noticed was that, unlike how I felt, the brothers looked like they had been through a meat grinder and back. They were both covered in bruises, and several large gashes on their bodies had been stitched shut. What had happened? ¡°Hey, you two okay?¡± I asked, extremely concerned with whatever they had been through. ¡°Yes, mostly. A team invited us out to a persistent desert dungeon, and we had the bad luck of taking a dire scorpion¡¯s stinger to the chest. Gotta finish letting the poison work its way through before we can do any magical healing, well, any we can afford anyway. Mel says we should be fine tomorrow,¡± Elicec explained. ¡°Good, you two had me worried for a second there.¡± My relief was evident on my face. ¡°Last time we do anything with that team, though. We pulled off a better job in our dungeon, and we¡¯re complete rookies at this,¡± Cecile added. I was surprised to see a frown visible on the man¡¯s face. That was usually reserved for his brother. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Well, the good news is our next outing should be just us and Elody, but I can¡¯t promise a dungeon, and it looks like she¡¯s already at the table,¡± I trailed off my initial words, having spotted her already sitting at our table, calmly sipping from a glass. Her top two eyes moved to look at us, and she gave us a wave, smiling brightly as she did. I hustled over to grab my chair, followed by the brothers. ¡°You two look like you¡¯ve had quite the adventure today. Are you recovering alright?¡± Elody asked, her gaze moving to the brothers. ¡°Yeah, just a bad scorpion encounter. Dave was worried too, but Mel says we¡¯ll be good to finish patching up tomorrow,¡± Cecile said while Elicec looked over the menu. I did the same, choosing an item labeled as Mother¡¯s Meatloaf, hoping that the name carried through on the promise. ¡°Well I¡¯m glad Mel is confident, and not just because I need your help,¡± she said after taking another sip from her glass. ¡°Speaking of our help, what¡¯s going on anyway, you said it was something in sub-basements?¡± I asked, wondering if it possibly had anything to do with my attacker. I hadn¡¯t heard anything about them being caught. ¡°As you can imagine, the information contained in the archives is massive. We generally cycle the lesser-used or very out-of-date books to the lower levels. The problem is some of our automated functions at the lowest levels have started to fail. It could be a number of things. I assume Dave told you he was attacked down there, though I doubt anyone would want to draw attention to themselves by disrupting the archive to that level. Just something to keep mind as a potential possibility. I need some people I trust to join me in investigating just what is happening,¡± Elody explained. I wasn¡¯t sure entirely why she needed us still. ¡°That makes sense, but why do you need us? I¡¯ve seen some of what you can do, and you are on a whole other level we are nowhere near,¡± I said honestly. ¡°Dave¡¯s got a point there. I assume you librarians are pretty capable. At best, we¡¯re rookies,¡± Elicec said, backing me up. ¡°We are, and I honestly don¡¯t expect much of a problem, so I¡¯d rather not take another librarian off duty. The reason I want you, though, is just in case I need to do any in-depth spellwork to fix something; I¡¯d rather you three stay focused for anything that might draw in. Plus, as it will be an official archive request, you¡¯ll each be getting one hundred UC a piece.¡± I saw the brothers¡¯ eyes go wide when she said the amount of money. ¡°We¡¯re in,¡± Cecile said the moment after she had mentioned the money. ¡°Who am I to argue with them? Plus, it sounds like a good learning experience; I¡¯d like to see what the lowest levels look like,¡± I said, agreeing to join them. ¡°Perfect, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing like an awakened intelligent book spawned a dungeon in our basements or anything like that,¡± she said, her smile growing as she talked. Given the look on her face, I was fairly certain that that was exactly what it was¡­
The standard six orbs for those paying their registration fee with the Arena were decided on so long ago that few records exist about the reasons, but what little can be found shows an idea that while most will only ever be able to use one orb, it will at least let them choose which they want, and deciding to swap out the orbs is potentially viable. Most people, though, it was assumed, would sell the other five and use the funds to purchase weapons and armor. The Adventurer¡¯s Primer Volume 1 by Hume Grenderson Chapter 17: Elody, Master Librarian We waited two days after our dinner to start our adventure, mostly to give the brothers some extra healing time before heading into the sub-basements. We took the elevator as far down as we could, which turned out not to be as far as Elody had expected. It seemed the dysfunction had increased since she had last looked into it. We moved onto the stairs to continue our descent. The brothers spent most of the time telling stories of their home. It helped to distract from the creepiness that seemed to grow with every floor we passed. Most of the stories revolved around a pet they had that would often disappear into the mushroom valleys above their home. As far as I could tell from the stories, it was something like a cat crossed with an anteater and loved a certain type of mushroom deep in the valleys. It was hard to follow all of their tales, as I had no full frame of reference for many of the things they referred to. The concept of the valleys being above their village alone was something I wasn¡¯t sure of and now wasn¡¯t the best time to ask for in-depth explanations, so I just listened without question, trying my best to ignore any of the distant, strange noises. As we passed yet another floor, I felt it again. It was the same feeling that had hit me as we entered the dungeon last time. We were here, and it was a dungeon. I looked to Elody, about to open my mouth, but she beat me to it. ¡°Sorry guys, it does look like we are walking into the worst-case scenario. So this has changed from more of a ¡®watch my back¡¯ mission to a ¡®stay close by me¡¯ mission. Don¡¯t engage with anything unless I tell you to. Dave, you are not to leave my area of influence under any circumstance. The dungeon core down here is going to be a lot more dangerous than what you faced before.¡± I felt a refreshing sensation pass over me after her words. The air around Elody had started to glow lightly, illuminating the stairwell around us. Now that I could see all the things looking back at me from the darkness, I almost wished it hadn¡¯t. I knew, though, that without this bubble of light, the creature that formed the dungeon would be coming straight for me, and I took Elody¡¯s warning to heart. I would stick by her until we were back on the main floor. Cecile swept his hoe out into the darkness, causing something to growl until a thud came from the hoe, ending the life of whatever it had been and also prompting a response from Elody. ¡°Cecile, what did I just say? In unknown dungeon situations, like we¡¯ve found ourselves, it¡¯s important that we do not engage with the creatures until we ascertain just what we are facing. So please don¡¯t attack anything else unless I either tell you to or I am not capable of doing so.¡± ¡°Sorry, swung before I thought,¡± Cecile replied meekly. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m not upset. I led you into a situation you¡¯re not remotely prepared for, but I promise I¡¯ll get us all out of here. Now follow me, and stay close,¡± Elody said as she opened the door in front of us into a new room of complete darkness. Not wanting to lose the light or her protection, I stuck close. If this place had her worried, then I knew it was a problem. She had patched me up immediately following my attack like it was nothing, and now even she couldn¡¯t hide all the fear in her voice. ¡°How big do you think the dungeon is?¡± I asked, hoping we wouldn¡¯t need to stumble around down here for too long. ¡°Hopefully, just this floor, but I don¡¯t know exactly how long the dungeon core has been active or what it is in. Cecile, you should get your hoe back out. I want you and Elicec to stop anything coming in from behind.¡± While Elody was speaking one of her hands was gathering up some of the glowing light, forming it into a ball. A book appeared in her other hand, from what I assume was her System storage. She raised the energy ball she had collected above her head and squeezed. It fragmented into thousands of smaller light shards that shot across the room, igniting the entire area in what felt like a bright sunny day. Somehow, despite my eyes having adjusted to the darkness, there was no sign of pain or irritation at the new light either. I looked back to Elody as she opened the book and began reading aloud. ¡°As the light ignited the room, and the shadows fled, the book that Elody had begun to read was transformed into a silver sword to better vanquish that which still lurked!¡± Reality followed the words she had just spoken, and the book in her hands had become a gleaming silver sword. Was that always the form it took? Did she have different books for different occasions? The questions quickly fled my mind as her sword sliced a shadowy creature that had darted inside her aura into pieces. Several more shadows appeared before us, these ones careful not to cross into our space. ¡°Lots of shadow things back here,¡± Cecile yelled, letting us know the same was true around our entire space. ¡°Attack, now!¡± Elody ordered the brothers. I watched in awe as the light shards around the room began to dance across the air, cutting holes through every shadow in their path. Elody sliced two more of the nearby shadows in half, then stepped forward, leaving the protection of her circle. At first, the shadows attempted to descend on her in a crazed frenzy, but as her sword moved like lightning through their forms, the ones that survived quickly backed away. Once her path was clear she asked one question into the room. ¡°Where is your master?¡± Her voice echoed across the room, the authority in it plain for all that could hear.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Hello, librarian, what brings you all the way down here?¡± A human-looking figure walked into view from behind a row of books. It was dressed in exactly the same way my attacker had been. Was this why the dungeon had grown so fast in recent days? The dungeon core had taken a host? Or was it already in the figure when it attacked me? ¡°That¡¯s who attacked me in the sub-basements!¡± I yelled to Elody, not sure if the proclamation really mattered. ¡°Did I? Ah, perhaps my host did so. Is that what caused him to enter into my domain? Was he running from your wrath? If that¡¯s the case, then I must thank you. I¡¯m much more free to explore and push the boundaries in this form. I¡¯d be willing to repay you for all your help; just leave that circle and join me.¡± The figure¡¯s voice had gained a musical quality as it made the offer. I had a feeling that without the circle¡¯s protections, I¡¯d have found the offer much harder to ignore. At least it had been nice enough to answer my unsaid questions. ¡°Nah, I think I¡¯ll let Elody handle you. She seems far more capable than me.¡± I smiled back at the figure, not willing to let it see any fear. ¡°Thank you, Dave. I appreciate your vote of confidence. Now then, creature, which book did you spawn from?¡± Elody asked as her eyes focused back on it. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± it spat back. ¡°Do not play games with me. Someone placed an untracked book down here, and eventually, the knowledge grew into a mana orb that we were not able to harvest before you became this abomination. Understand that there are only two ways this can end. In both of them, I find the book, but in the first, if you guide me to it I will remove you from that host, still functional, and perhaps in time, you will be allowed a place within the archives again. The second choice is not nearly so pretty,¡± bright laser-like lines of light emitted from all four of her eyes painting a target onto the creature. ¡°You underestimate how much I¡¯ve grown!¡± The shadows reemerged from where they had fled, ten times the numbers they had before, stampeding over each other to claw at Elody. She didn¡¯t even move as their mass engulfed her. The light in the room briefly started to recede before, moments later, the shadows were utterly destroyed by a blindingly intense light that originated inside of their pile. The light erupted across the room, followed by the form of Elody, her sword raised above her head. She slashed once across the figure''s neck and then stabbed the sword deeply through its chest. ¡°No, I do not.¡± The circle we were standing in vanished. I looked back to see several corpses of the shadows at the brothers¡¯ feet now fading away. The feeling the dungeon had brought with it was gone. A notification box popped into my view. We had completed the dungeon and I had gained one hundred experience despite doing nothing at all. It didn¡¯t matter, though, as I had hit twentieth level. There was no putting off core creation anymore. ¡°That was fun; we should take you on all our dungeon raids,¡± Cecile said. ¡°As much as I wish I could accompany you, I have many duties to perform in the archive, but before we return, help me find the book that caused all of this,¡± Elody said, starting to look around. ¡°Do they ever surrender?¡± I asked, joining in the search. It seemed preferable to being destroyed, but that assumed they had enough intelligence to truly understand how outclassed they may be. ¡°Sometimes. This isn¡¯t our first rogue knowledge orb, and it won¡¯t be the last. Three of them currently work for the archives and have come to enjoy their lives,¡± she answered as she lifted up scattered books in search of a specific one. ¡°I believe we¡¯ve found what you are looking for!¡± Elicec¡¯s voice came from the other side of the room. I followed Elody as she tracked it. He was holding a large, very clean book titled ¡°Minds of Magic, Thinking Arisen.¡± ¡°Yes, that would be it. Now, how did such a dangerous book get down here without our knowledge? Something to investigate when I have the time, but for now, let¡¯s get you all back upstairs. I imagine you¡¯ve all gained quite a bit of experience,¡± she said, leading us back the way we came. She was right, of course, but did she have any idea what my next steps were? She knew most of the books I had been reading. Had she figured out my quest? I wondered if that was the real reason she had chosen us for this excursion.
The irony of writing a book for people to read in the Spiral isn¡¯t lost on me. Just because so much knowledge is being siloed off by the factions doesn¡¯t mean we should just abandon our attempts to preserve what we¡¯ve learned for future generations. Besides, it seems impossible that the chronicling of my work could infuriate certain parties any more than my existence already has. My experiments are not well appreciated in many circles, but my only real and final thoughts regarding that are ''fuck them.'' Karlinovo''s Theories on Core Socket Interlinks Chapter 18: Mana Circuitry & Friends Once I was safely back in my room, the first thing I did was look over my attributes. I officially had the last fifteen I could gain until I got my core. Alongside them came another quest completion for having cleared the dungeon Basements of Shadow. It wasn¡¯t the best name, but I wasn¡¯t in any place to argue with the System and how to name things. I avoided clicking on the quest itself, not wanting to risk losing the experience if I wasn¡¯t allowed to go above the cap yet. It could wait until I had my core. As for my remaining attribute points, I didn¡¯t know if it was the best idea or not, but I¡¯d decided on generalized proprioception as the place to throw them. I had enough to get it up to twenty-four ranks. My reasoning was a hope that it might let me better understand my body¡¯s relation to the artificial sockets I had been plotting since I resigned myself to this goal. The good news about my goal was that I was fairly confident I understood part of what caused such a cataclysmic level of failure for Karlinovo. I understood that sounded incredibly egotistical given that I was a newcomer to all of this, but he was essentially trying to invent something very close to the field I am incredibly well-versed in. Looking at his design as a rudimentary circuit system, he failed to control the energy flow at all. From the moment the system came online, all the energy entered the system, moved in all directions, and ultimately collided back uncontrollably into the subject¡¯s core. It would be like building a modern house without any sort of fuse or breaker to safely interrupt the electricity as it overloaded. The second problem I saw with his design was a lack of logic controls. It was entirely possible, at some point, that my core and mana channels would be able to handle the energy output from multiple mana orbs at once, but I didn¡¯t think it was possible in a brand-new core. From what I read, even just a single mana orb could blow out mana channels if the user tried to force too much energy across them. Part of learning to properly use your core was understanding how much energy could safely be moved around your body. So this meant I needed to lay out a system of gates that I could open or close, thus deciding the direction of the mana flow. In theory, this would let me choose between combining various mana orb powers or just using a single one. In practice, I had no idea how time-consuming it would be to flip the right switches mentally whenever I wanted to use an orb. I figured, worst-case scenario, I was stuck with only one orb easily usable, but all the while, all six were growing from my core energy, and I could at least change the one I wanted to use ahead of time, just possibly not in active battle or benefit from any real combination effects. If this actually worked, it might even be possible to scale more sockets in the future. Now, the problems. The mana circuity itself turned out not to be the issue I was initially worried about. The System had been apparently expecting and preparing for this problem and that was why the refined mana plates had been a reward. Based on some quick sketches, I had just a little over enough to make all six sockets and the wiring between them. I had also figured out how to make some basic switches for the gates. Using secondary lines that were attached to a different spot within my core, I could control when and how they were toggled. The only real problems I had left were the amount of energy it would take to create this, where I could safely do it without destroying everything around me, and how I could ask my only friends to risk their lives to help me. There was just no way I could figure out how to control the energy flow into the system to prime it while also aligning and placing the artificial sockets with the wiring. I was going to have to ask the brothers, Elody and possibly even Mel, for help. That meant revealing the quest the System had me on, and I had no idea how well that would go over either. The brothers mostly knew what was going on, and I suspected Elody had some idea, but Mel likely had no idea. Resigning myself to that fate, I decided to approach Elody first. I knew the brothers would agree no matter the danger, so I needed someone else to really assess my work, ideas, and threat to life before this went any further. After sleeping on it and still finding no alternative, I made my way to see Elody first thing after breakfast. She was at her usual spot, chipper as always, overseeing the archive from her Librarian desk. ¡°Hey Elody, there¡¯s something I was hoping to talk to you about, probably in private. Any chance you have a break coming up?¡± I asked her, hoping I didn¡¯t sound like an awkward teenager about to confess some crush. ¡°No problem, I can take one right now. Follow me,¡± she answered. I followed her to the same room where we had shared lunch once before. ¡°So I assume it¡¯s core forming time, and that quest is still there worrying you?¡± she asked me the moment I had taken my seat. ¡°Good guess, but I know a lot more about it than last time we talked. It wants me to make an esoteric core,¡± I answered, watching her face for any reaction. There wasn¡¯t one that I could catch. ¡°Yes, I was worried it was something like that. With all the interest in Karlinovo, it was obvious where the System was pushing you. As far as I know, there have been a few attempts to replicate his work, and none have managed to even go as far as he did. Are you sure this is something you want to attempt?¡± she asked me with a concerned smile. ¡°No, I¡¯m not, but I also think it¡¯s something I have to attempt. I¡¯m going to need a lot of power if I want to save my home. I had already decided on which mana orb I would have to focus on if I wanted my body to stand any chance at the fights, but this gives me a real chance at being able to do something,¡± I explained, almost pleadingly so. I needed her to understand what was at stake. ¡°I understand, and I¡¯m not implying that I¡¯ll stop you. New knowledge is often dangerous to acquire. What can I do to help?¡± she asked, seemingly understanding how desperately I needed this. ¡°I¡¯m going to need help with the experiment itself. For now, I was just hoping we could have a meeting somewhere private once I ask Mel and the brothers as well,¡± I said. While I knew the details of how I wanted to lay out my circuit, where everyone would be best placed wasn¡¯t something I knew just yet, and there was still the matter of the energy, but these were best discussed once I had everyone together.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Okay, just let me know once you¡¯ve figured that out, and I¡¯ll make the time to attend. It''s so rare to get anyone like you, or even the brothers for that matter, through the library doors these days. You haven¡¯t been beaten down in the arena yet. You aren¡¯t using the archives to find a better way to kill someone or advance your ranking there. I hope you never lo¨C¡± Whatever she was going to say was cut off by a yell from the other room. ¡°Elody, I need you out here!¡± A voice I recognized as belonging to the other librarian called. ¡°Coming!¡± she yelled back, leaping from her chair to the front of the door in a single motion. I blinked several times just to confirm my eyes were working correctly and that I had, in fact, watched her leap twenty feet from a sitting position. As she was still there, now passing through the opened door I assumed they had to be. Would I be capable of such things as I continued to level up? ¡°Ah, there you are. You are the master librarian, Elody Meadows, correct?¡± The question had come from a tiny figure, maybe two feet tall and shaped like a cardboard tube. Two much larger beings flanked the speaker; both looked like someone had carved a wrestler out of stone and given them the job of bodyguard. ¡°I am, and you are?¡± she asked, annoyance obvious in her voice. I didn¡¯t like the look of the newcomers either. They looked ready for a fight. ¡°I am a representative of the collective courts, and I have an injunction for this archive to be shut down until a proper audit has been performed. We have learned of the dungeon that formed under your watch, and that is not something that can be allowed,¡± they said rather smugly, pulling out several pieces of paper and placing them on the countertop. ¡°I see such a little man for such a big task. If you could give me a moment to read your documentation, I¡¯ll consider your claim,¡± Elody responded, grabbing the documents from where they had been set. The cardboard tube man¡¯s face went from smug to angry, but he said nothing as Elody quickly scanned the papers before setting them back down. ¡°I trust you see that everything is in order,¡± the representative said through a sneer. I wanted to hit him. Elody had done everything she could about the dungeon, and as far as we knew, no one besides the man who had attacked me had even been hurt by it, but this was Elody¡¯s fight, and she could handle it far better than I had a chance to. ¡°They are. I resign. Quarilyn is now the master librarian. That resolves your audit as written. Thank you for your time, gentlemen. If you have any other matters here, I¡¯m sure that Quarilyn will be able to help you,¡± Elody said, giving them a small nod. ¡°What? That isn¡¯t how this works!¡± the small figure said, his rage boiling over. I tried not to laugh. I had no idea if Elody was correct or not in how she read the documents, but the idea of a cardboard tube being red in the face was too comical for my brain at the moment. ¡°The clause specifically says to audit the master librarian Elody Meadows, and once her removal has been done, and a new master librarian appointed, then the archive may reopen. I understand that may not have been the goal of whoever snuck that book into our sub-basements, but that is the ruling that was given to you. Now, if you will excuse me, my friend and I have some people to see,¡± Elody signaled for me to follow her as she walked past the representative and his guards into the elevator, and I quickly did so. ¡°What just happened?¡± I asked the moment the doors closed. ¡°Another attack in a long series of people trying to stop the free flow of knowledge. There are those who prefer to keep knowledge away from the masses, hoarding it for their own personal libraries to better control those who get access. I regret not catching the dungeon plot earlier as I did enjoy my job, but this change in circumstances does free me up to assist you fully in your core creation,¡± her answer pushed me back to the memory of the dwarf-like figures who had earlier demanded their audits. I was sure they were tied together, but if Elody couldn¡¯t do anything else at the moment, neither could I. ¡°I appreciate the help; next stop, Mel,¡± I said, deciding to change the topic as best I could for now. The doors opened, revealing the well-stocked site of the adventure hall. ¡°Well, that¡¯s an interesting pair. Shouldn¡¯t you still be manning the front desk, Elody?¡± Mel said, his cloud form turning towards us. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s been a change in position there. The Triox made their move, and managed to outmaneuver me for the moment, but all they managed to do was cost me my position, no real damage to the archives,¡± Elody explained. Her usual bubbly smile had disappeared, replaced by an annoyed scowl. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d count that as no real damage, but I see yer point. What can I do to help?¡± Mel asked. ¡°Me? Nothing, I¡¯m here for Dave. Any chance you could put in a call to his buddies and find a private room where we can all talk?¡± Elody said, turning her scowl into a determined grin. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was a good sign for my future or not. ¡°I can, yes, but just what are you two playing at? I can tell he still ain¡¯t got a core,¡± Mel said. His eyes focused strongly on me for a second. I assumed he was once again scanning my person. I opened my mouth to speak, but Elody hushed me. ¡°Private room first, please, Mel,¡± she said. ¡°Fine, have it your way. Follow me.¡± As Mel floated out from behind the counter, a smaller part of him broke free of the rest of the green cloud. I turned my head, watching as it flew into the elevator. Was that how he was sending a message? I realized Elody had already left my side, following Mel as I looked back to his main form and quickly moved to catch up to them. I followed them both through a door into a smaller room with several chairs and an oddly shaped table in the center. As we sat waiting for the brothers, several questions ran through my head. Why had Elody decided to rush this meeting? Was I in danger from the Triox people? Or was she in danger?
This world I¡¯ve found myself in is beyond belief. I do not understand how or why I¡¯ve come to this place, but in the off-chance that some future person should find themselves in my same fate, I find myself drawn to the idea of chronicling what has happened to me to give them possible aid in their understandable confusion. How a fish in a bed could ever lead me to a land of giants I do not know, and even stranger I have learned that this world is only one of many connected to something called the Spiral. Ronald Tammen¡¯s Personal Diary Chapter 19: Plans with a Paladin of Knowledge The brothers had arrived, each carrying a tray of food. Behind them floated what now looked like a little version of Mel. It flew past me and joined back into the main cloud body, and Mel looked as though nothing had ever left him. The trays the brothers had brought were covered in several foods, including a few I even recognized. ¡°What made you decide to bring the snacks?¡± I asked, looking at the food hungrily. ¡°Mel¡¯s message said it might be a long night, figured we could all use a dinner. Sorry, Elody didn¡¯t know you were here too or we¡¯d have found something for you,¡± Cecile answered while Elicec passed out drinks. ¡°You have nothing to apologize for,¡± Elody said, producing her own platter of the sandwich-like things we had eaten before. She placed them on the table along with everything else. ¡°So now that you ain¡¯t a master librarian, what kind of title¡¯re you planning to use anyway, Elody?¡± Mel asked as he stuffed two apple-like things into a second mouth that had formed below the first. Did that count as talking with your mouth full or not? I wondered what the experts on etiquette would say. ¡°Ah, yes, that. I think I¡¯ll just revert back to my previous position. The Spiral could always use another paladin of knowledge. The order is so small these days,¡± she answered in between bites. I knew what a paladin was, or at least what one was in most fantasy works. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how that applied to a concept like knowledge, though. Did she follow a god of knowledge or was she on a path of the concept itself? ¡°What does a paladin of knowledge do exactly? Sorry, still really new to all of this,¡± I said, slightly embarrassed by the look everyone except Elody had given me at my question. ¡°Dave, you can¡¯t just ask people that, it¡¯s rude!¡± Cecile said immediately. I opened my mouth to apologize, but Elody cut me off. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Dave, I don''t consider your question rude. For that matter, I don''t find questions of that manner rude at all. I find the taboo of not discussing personal class features to be a concept wholly against my purpose as a paladin of knowledge. My order works to teach others how to learn, give them the tools needed to teach others, and build their own repositories of knowledge. The main problem is that we are few, and the resources that can be generated by such repositories are highly prized, so right now we fight a losing battle against informational entropy.¡± Her smile faded as she reached the last part of her explanation. ¡°Is it actually that hopeless?¡± I asked. With the powers I¡¯d seen her display, I found that hard to believe. ¡°I never said it was hopeless. It¡¯s just a losing battle. I still hold hope that one day, that can be turned around. That¡¯s a big part of why I¡¯m here today. If what you¡¯re planning actually works and can be replicated, it could potentially change everything,¡± Elody said. I was going to have to break the bad news soon. I still had no idea where to get the energy needed to create this thing. I hoped she had some idea, as I didn¡¯t want to crush her hopes so soon after she had been forced to leave her position. ¡°Wait, what exactly is it that Dave is trying to do here? What kind of mess are you getting us involved in, Elody?¡± Mel asked, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the former librarian. I inhaled deeply, trying to settle my nerves before I spoke. ¡°I believe that means it¡¯s my turn for explanations. So, all of you know I don¡¯t have a core. What you don¡¯t know yet, Mel, is that the System assigned me an esoteric core creation quest, and it has been sending me on further quests to read all about the times people, primarily Karlinovo, tried to create an artificial socketing system for a core.¡± I stopped speaking having spotted Mel with a raised hand. I nodded at him to go ahead. ¡°So, yer trying to kill us all, and blow up a planet then? You have a target in mind, Elody?¡± Mel¡¯s color had shifted to a darker green, and I had no idea what that meant. ¡°I know it sounds super dangerous. I¡¯m aware of what happened to Karlinovo, but I have a set of knowledge from my own world that doesn¡¯t seem to exist here. Have you ever heard of an electronic circuit or even a circuit in general?¡± I asked, unsure of how that would translate as I hadn¡¯t seen a single reference to one in any of the books.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Not in what I imagine is the way you mean them. Please explain,¡± Elody spoke first, and no one bothered to speak after her as she waited for me to continue. ¡°So what Karlinova laid out is similar to how my world uses electricity, but there are several components we¡¯ve advanced on that you haven¡¯t. This is likely due to your access to magic and our complete lack of it. We had to go a technological route with our creations, but that¡¯s not entirely important right now. What is, though, is that I know how to build a more advanced circuit than what he used, and I can do so in a way that regulates the mana flow between the sockets and the core, even going so far as controlling which orb is in use at the given time. Now, I¡¯m not sure how fast it¡¯ll be to switch between the orbs, but I believe I can build it,¡± I explained. Mel had his mouth hanging open, which on a cloud was a strange sight. The brothers just kept eating and nodding along as I talked. It looked like they had long since decided to help me. ¡°You said you needed our help, though, so where do we come in?¡± Elody asked. I wasn¡¯t surprised she was the one still curious about how this would work exactly. ¡°I still have one major problem to work out. I don¡¯t know where to get the energy for this, and from my calculations and references, it will take a ton. I do have the materials to make the design, though. So where you all come in is brainstorming a solution to the energy issue, and then helping me do the creation itself. I won¡¯t be able to do much beyond form my core and control some of the energy flow there. Feeding the energy in from the outside and aligning the parts over my core will need to be done by others,¡± I explained. Surprisingly, I didn¡¯t spot any negative reaction on Elody¡¯s face at the mention of needing energy to do this. ¡°I take it you¡¯ve forgotten what you gave me for safekeeping then, Dave? It should have all the energy you need for this. It¡¯s an insane way to use something like this, and I imagine no one would ever consider it, but we can¡¯t really use it for anything else, so why waste our lives holding onto something that may turn out useful later when it can be now,¡± Elody suggested, and she was right, entirely so. I had forgotten about the experience orb Sanquar had given me. I wasn¡¯t sure that if I had remembered it, I would have considered the possibility of using it as an energy source, but that didn¡¯t matter now. I had a solution to my biggest problem. ¡°Well, from the smile on Dave¡¯s face, I think that means all he needs is for us to agree. We already discussed helping him with his core creation quest and are, of course, still willing,¡± Elicec said as his brother looked at me with a smile. ¡°This is a completely terrible idea, but why not? I¡¯ve been around a real long time and wouldn¡¯t mind seeing something new one more time,¡± Mel said, his color finally shifting back to the original shade of green. ¡°I don¡¯t know that I can quite match Mel¡¯s eloquence, but yes, I¡¯ll also help. What needs to be done to get you ready for this, Dave? I¡¯m not sure how much longer it¡¯s safe for me to remain here, so we need to do this as quickly as possible,¡± Elody said. I was almost ecstatic that they had all agreed to risk their lives for someone they had known for such a short time. Was I instilling that much confidence in my abilities? ¡°I don¡¯t know, a day, maybe two. I need to make the wiring system, but that¡¯s about it. I¡¯m already sitting at level twenty, so I¡¯ve got my attributes as far as I can push them. I think we really just need a room large enough and safe enough to do this in,¡± I said, trying and failing to keep the excitement out of my voice. ¡°We can use the same area we cleared the dungeon from at the bottom of the archive. The systems there should stop any cataclysmic-level destruction, though I can¡¯t promise we¡¯ll survive the mishap, but everything else should. I¡¯ll prepare it once we finish this meeting. If I don¡¯t see you in three days, I¡¯ll come to make sure everything is okay. Otherwise, I¡¯ll stay scarce down there for now.¡± Elody¡¯s room offer was great, and I had nothing better. I wasn¡¯t thrilled with her living alone for several days, though. ¡°You sure you want to hide down there and wait? It might take me two days to get everything ready to go,¡± I said. ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t want to draw any attention from anyone else watching the regular areas of the archive,¡± she explained. That made sense, she was trying to make this easiest on us by avoiding passing her problems over. It looked like all I needed to do now was fabricate a circuit capable of handling magical energies. I¡¯ve built microcircuitry before, just how hard could it be?
Paladins are one of the least common and yet most powerful career choices a person can make within the Spiral. They are rarely chosen partially due to how rarely the Arena offers it as a potential path, but mostly due to the lack of interest by most in seeking out someone to train them and then dedicate their lives to the cause. The idea of the gods and the role they play behind paladins is something I am not qualified to discuss here and will not be doing so. System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp Chapter 20: Core Creation? The refined soul mana plates turned out to be incredibly easy to work with. Thankfully, Mel had lent me several tools in order to fabricate my design. All he had asked for in return was to see exactly what I was making before we brought it down for the experiment, which is how we ended up in my room only hours before I planned to find Elody and get started on this. ¡°Interesting. So these little doohickeys let you change where the energy is going?¡± Mel asked, pointing to the little black boxes that the wires were attached to. The boxes were holding the switching mechanisms with a secondary wire below that fed from underneath, which would also attach into my core. In theory, this would only require minute amounts of energy and should be easily changeable. In practice, I had no idea. I was working on total unknowns, and without a core of my own, I didn¡¯t know how it actually felt to push mana down across a real channel, let alone an artificial one. ¡°Hopefully, yes. This would all work with electricity at least, I¡¯m sure of that, and I believe it¡¯ll work the same with mana, but we won¡¯t know until the experiment is over whether or not they can handle the levels we have to push through them,¡± I explained. The fear was still there, but at this point, it was nearly entirely just a fear of failure, as that meant Earth was doomed. I¡¯d come to terms with the concept of my own death at any moment, which was certainly not something I would¡¯ve thought possible before. An appendage protruded from Mel¡¯s form, pointing at the circuity, and fired a small blast of energy before I could stop him. It ran through the open circuits, dissipating once it hit an open switch. I reached out to touch the wiring, still cool to the touch. They had handled that amount of mana just fine, at least, though I wished he had warned me ahead of time. ¡°Please tell me if you¡¯re going to do anything like that in the future. We could have better prepared an experiment; that said, it does seem to have worked entirely fine. How much energy do you hit it with?¡± I asked. ¡°Plenty. Well, maybe not plenty. It won¡¯t come anywhere near what you are going to hit it with, but if that much had gone wrong, I was planning to put a stop to all of this. I don¡¯t need any more pointless deaths on my conscience,¡± Mel explained. That was the second time I had heard him reference some horrors of his past, and while it was piquing my curiosity, I wasn¡¯t without empathy about it either. Since he hadn¡¯t elaborated, I certainly wasn¡¯t going to push it; those were his stories to tell when and if he wanted to. ¡°I guess all that¡¯s left is getting the brothers and bringing this down to Elody. The sooner we get this over with, the longer I have to figure out how far I can push it myself,¡± I said. It was only partially a lie. That benefit was real, but the thing currently driving me the most was the anxiety of the wait, and I¡¯d rather not spend another sleepless night on this. ¡°Yep, sure is. I¡¯ll go get ¡®em. You get your little contraption down to Elody. See you in a bit,¡± Mel said as he left the room. With nothing left to distract me from my fate, I carefully packed away the components and took the elevator to the bottom of the archives. Was death even the same here? Did any of their magic allow for something like resurrection? I was once again left wondering if I¡¯d ever have all the answers I sought. ¡°Dave, here already, are you?¡± I heard Elody¡¯s voice from around a corner before I saw her. ¡°It turned out to be easier than I expected to get the materials into the forms I wanted. Mel is grabbing Cecile and Elicec so that we can get started,¡± I said, rounding the corner and spotting her lounging in a chair with a giant dusty book in her hands. ¡°Wonderful. Then I suppose we should get you set up in the other room while we wait. Follow me,¡± she said, standing up from her chair and gently placing the book on the table in front of her. ¡°So, if I understand the experiments correctly, I¡¯ll need to lay on the table with my artificial core sockets laid out on my chest around where I intend to form my core. I¡¯ll set the switches up so that each wire pathway is traced by the external energy flow without a backflow. That should bind the entire system to my core. Now, the hope is that it doesn¡¯t ignite my newly forming core and that I¡¯ll be able to push whatever residual energy is left out through all my mana channels,¡± I explained, trying to drive away the anxiety with my prattle. ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing to worry about. You¡¯ve got it all figured out,¡± Elody said, looking over from the corner she was in. While I was talking, she had been placing some sort of warding in each of the corners. I assumed it was to better protect anything outside should this whole thing go nuclear. ¡°Yeah, except for the part where I have no idea what it intrinsically feels like to use mana or a mana channel, so I¡¯m going to have to learn that part on the fly. Your vote of confidence would also go a little further if you weren¡¯t shielding the room,¡± I said, worried the last part had come out with more snark than I meant. She was here to help me. None of this was her doing, but before I could apologize, she spoke first. ¡°Dave, I know you¡¯re scared, and that¡¯s okay. I do believe this will succeed, but I still plan for the worst case,¡± Elody explained, making me feel even guiltier about my tone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to sound like an ass there, and it¡¯s not a fear exactly, well, not a fear for my safety,¡± I grimaced, trying my best to explain my emotions was something I was never great at in the best of times. ¡°I kind of got over that fear after the first few days of not having died in the attack on Earth. The fear now is entirely about failing and not being able to save the people left behind,¡± I explained, hoping she understood because I didn¡¯t think I had it in me to explain it again at the moment. ¡°So, I hear it¡¯s time for all of us to see which hell wants us the most!¡± Cecile¡¯s booming voice announced the presence of both himself and his brother, and as depressing as his statement may have been, I was glad for the interruption of the previous topic.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so quick to choose an afterlife if I was you. Now get yer ass over there and help Dave onto the table,¡± Mel ordered the brothers as his floating form came into view beside them. ¡°Come on, Dave, get up on the table; we¡¯ll help get this weird thing laid out once you¡¯re up there,¡± Cecile said, his brother¡¯s head busy studying the circuity I had unpacked. I took my shirt off and placed it in my System storage before I acquiesced. I wasn¡¯t sure that I needed to do this on my bare chest, strictly speaking, but I didn¡¯t think the shirt would survive if I didn¡¯t, and I saw no reason to waste a perfectly good shirt. ¡°Alright, I need you to lay this all out along my chest, with that bigger metal circle around where my core should form. There¡¯s a sketch on the chair over there on how to place the wiring and where to put the other circles and switch boxes.¡± ¡°Cecile, let me look at the diagram before you do anything, please,¡± Elicec said, gently scolding his brother for jumping into it without checking anything. A small laugh escaped me. The absurdism of the situation had started to set in finally. I was trying to build a circuit to graft more magic into my body with the help of people who have no idea what circuits are, people I¡¯ve only known a few months at that. Mel spoke up from his floating observation. ¡°Dave, I want you to listen to me. This is real important. When you feel that energy touch your soul, you have to push it into a new spot. It¡¯s gonna hurt like hell, probably worse than I can imagine considering what yer doing, and I know how to do it the normal way, but you have to do it. It¡¯s going to feel like time is standing still as the pain spreads out due to yer mana channels coming to life in your body for the first time.¡± I took another deep breath, trying to calm myself. In an unusually kind voice, the odd cloud man floated over closer to me before continuing. ¡°Yer gonna have to fight through that, too. Once anything touches yer soul, there ain¡¯t anything we can do to help, so ya gotta do what I said no matter what happens,¡± Mel explained this all to me in a calm voice, but the clear sense of fear underneath it killed my previous amusement of the situation. This was all too real, and it was about to start. ¡°Understood, probably, maybe, well, I understand the words you said. Whether or not I¡¯ll get the meaning once everything starts is yet to be seen, but I promise I¡¯ll try my best, and I deeply appreciate the help, Mel.¡± While I said this, the brothers were carefully laying out my wiring design across my chest, all of the strange, refined soul mana that was about to become part of me. All I could really think about it at the moment was how cold it felt against my bare skin. ¡°We should tie Dave to the table. I¡¯ve got the energy transfer process ready, and experience prepared as well, but I¡¯m worried the initial jolt might cause him to move out of the effective zone,¡± Elody said. I wasn¡¯t against it; I had even considered the possibility myself, but as I did a lot of the early planning without imagining how exactly this would go, the idea of somehow manacling myself to a wall or table had quickly been abandoned. ¡°Do it. Whatever is needed to keep our chances highest, I say we do,¡± I said. I wasn¡¯t sure that I would just accept any of Cecile¡¯s ideas, but I was willing to hear them out and let others comment on them; the rest though, I was entirely on board with their advice at this moment. ¡°Relax, I want to make sure I get these tight without hurting ya,¡± Mel said. He followed his instructions by producing a large coil of what looked like twine. While I initially thought to consider something stronger, the moment material bound my left arm, I understood this wasn¡¯t just common twine. ¡°Alright, my brother and I have this all aligned correctly,¡± Elicec said. I tried to move my head to glance down, but the binding made that impossible. I would just have to trust them. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s pretty well tied here,¡± Mel added and I very much agreed on that one. ¡°Good, I¡¯m going to handle the energy flow from the orb end. Mel, it¡¯ll be up to you to keep it flowing into Dave on that end. Cecile, Elicec, you need to keep the mechanism Dave designed in place, and the moment the core forms get that final ring directly around it. We are starting in three.¡± I took a deep breath as Elody started the countdown. ¡°Two.¡± I felt my anxiety spiking. I was wrong. I wasn¡¯t over the fear of my own death. I had just managed to ignore it until now, when it felt incredibly imminent. ¡°One.¡± Afraid or not, it was too late to do anything about it as I felt the energy hit me before my eyes registered the change in the light. That feeling deep inside me that I had been assuming was my soul? I was sure of it now. The pain I felt tearing through it was beyond my ability to rationalize. I managed to fight through agony to remember Mel¡¯s words. I had to somehow move the energy, and I had to do it now, as I could feel something deep inside me on the verge of tearing. I just instinctively knew if that happened, I was dead. I flexed the thing, trying to compress it and force the energy out. My body rebelled, but I ignored it and used the pain as a focus. If I felt more pain at doing something, I decided that meant it was the right thing to do. I squeezed hard on my soul, wringing out all the new energy and collecting it somewhere behind my rib cage near my heart. It seemed like the right spot. My thoughts were getting harder to process, but I refused to let go of my soul. I was going to do this no matter what it took out of me. As I clamped down even harder on my soul, I felt new lines of pain flash out, burning themselves across my body, starting from the spot where I was containing the energy. My mana channels were forming. That meant I had the core working, and that meant this was all about to get much more painful. That thought hit what felt like milliseconds before a new mind-numbing level of pain crashed across every fiber of my being. There was no thinking anymore. All I could do now was let the energy flow and hope I had managed to create a stable core. Any dreams I had had about being able to guide the energy were long since gone as the eternity of pain continued. Finally, I felt the overwhelming pain recede, and it was replaced by a new, much less severe one. There was a searing pain on my chest. It felt like I had been branded. I could no longer remember what that meant. I wasn¡¯t even sure why I was here anymore. My thoughts barely had any coherence left to them. Was I dying?
One of the questions that plagues my mind is how the people with so many mana orbs manage to control them all. I know there are those out there hiding their techniques to host extras, and I know how difficult of a feat it is from the scant few people willing to talk to me about it at all. So those ones secretly hoarding the orbs, how do they manage to spare the brain power needed during a big fight? Do they only use passives and just accept the mana drain? Damn the Spiral¡¯s secretive overlords, and damn their refusal to help us progress. Why do they want us so stunted in our growth? Karlinovo¡¯s Theories on Core Socket Interlinks Chapter 21: Core Created ¡°Oh god, why does everything hurt?!¡± I screamed. Wait, had I managed to form actual words? My brain was finally clearing, and while the pain was still there, it was no longer coming in new horrible waves. I thought that the pain might actually be decreasing slowly, but it already felt a little less intense than when I had screamed out. ¡°Dave, you¡¯re doing great. I think we¡¯re through the worst part. Just hold on in there.¡± Was that Elody¡¯s voice? I tried to respond, but it seemed my scream of pain was all the words I could form at the moment. I was still thinking, though, and while my vision was blurry, there were shapes in front of it. I thought I could make out everyone, all still alive. Had we done it then? I felt the new presence in my chest, where I had pushed the energy from my soul. We had done it, there was a new growing core there. It was hard to explain how I knew it, but this knowledge came to me intrinsically. The vague concept of a soul that had been growing within me since I¡¯d started gaining experience had turned into a burning inner world that pulsated with life as it exchanged energy with my core. The flow went in both directions. My core transformed my native soul energy into the mana I would need to power my magic and other abilities. While most of it was sent out testing my newly developed mana channels, some of it was sent back to my soul, further reinforcing it. This must have been how people were able to break through the level twenty barrier. It wasn¡¯t just the new soul-mana reactor they created but the slow reinforcement of the existing soul itself. Both grew stronger together, pushing the person onward beyond what one alone could ever do. Was there a hard limit to how far even these two pieces could push me, or was the sky the limit? I wasn¡¯t sure that was the best metaphor anymore, considering my circumstances, and I realized my brain was willing to judge my own train of thought again. That was a good sign for my long-term recovery. Okay, I needed to stop musing about my own brain and focus more on the changes. I could feel my soul and my core and the energy going between them; that was great, but could I feel the new orb sockets? I tried to move one of my switches, and yes, there was something there. It felt empty, was that right? Weren¡¯t the brothers supposed to be setting up my circuitry? As I started to run down the ideas of what had gone wrong, the simple, obvious answer hit me. I needed to actually take the orbs into my sockets. They couldn¡¯t force that without my soul agreeing. So right now, everyone was watching my body convulse in pain, hoping they would see the orbs disappear, and I needed to validate that hope. I pushed my perception harder into the cold emptiness of the socket and grasped something sitting above. I felt a clicking sensation in the socket and I seemed to register a feeling similar to a limb now in that socket. The socket now contained the unrealized potential of a life orb, and I was sure of that much. I probed the sensations the orb was giving out and found pathways of growth within it. There were different ways that I could push it as it developed, and that would further unlock more branches and forked pathways, but while I could feel the map¡¯s existence, I couldn¡¯t see any of the destinations other than a single starting point with five pathways off of it. I focused harder on it, causing a message box to pop into my brain.
Mana Orb Life Tier 1
Orb Rank 0 Skill Inner Vitality
Inner Vitality allows the host to understand the functions within themselves beyond what they are normally capable of. Further growth and development will allow for synergistic applications with the host¡¯s senses to build a detailed understanding of everything within themselves.
Skill Rank 0
As much as I wanted to try and use the life orb, I knew that rushing anything at the moment was the wrong move. I had five more of these orbs I needed to attempt to place into their sockets. I flipped the switch and the feeling of access to that socket vanished; glad that function was working as intended, I flipped on the next one and pulled the orb sitting above the socket into its new home. I was greeted by another System message.
Mana Orb Body-Enhancing Tier 1
Orb Rank 0 Skill Soul-Core Bonding
Soul-Core Bonding reinforces and further strengthens the bond between the host''s soul and core, allowing for future growth paths for all features of the host. Further ranks increase core energy regeneration speed.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Skill Rank 0
That was interesting, and as much as I had already decided to focus on the life orb, I was glad that I had more options now. I moved on to the next orb, only to realize it was another of the same above. I wondered if similar mana skills would stack or not. This hadn¡¯t been covered by the scant bits of information I had found about those with multiple sockets, as the users seemed to prefer different types of orbs. Pushing those thoughts aside for later practice, and with both my second and third sockets filled by the body-enhancing orbs, I switched over to the fourth socket.
Mana Orb Elemental Tier 1
Orb Rank 0 Skill Fundamental Forces
From the small to the large, all manners of interaction are made from minute changes that grow into something well beyond themselves. Fundamental Forces allow a host to connect with these changes and understand how to direct them. Further growth creates a synergistic effect with mental attributes for a more detailed understanding.
Skill Rank 0
There had been two of these elemental orbs as well. Did fundamental forces mean things like elementary particles and the forces that governed them, or was this a more magically intended meaning for creating cold snaps and lightning storms? There was always more to learn. I toggled the switches again, moving to the final orb.
Mana Orb Imbuing Tier 1
Orb Rank 0 Skill Core Projection
Through Core Projection, the host is able to direct their core energies into objects, giving them different effects as the host needs. Further growth allows for more core energy to be imbued.
Skill Rank 0
That confirmed my thoughts on how Cecile had been able to change his hoe. How far was I able to push something like that? Some part of me had considered the implications of further testing this in the future, and the idea of imbuing the parts of the circuits before I added them into the system seemed like a good way to make it safer. That had mostly been a distant, idle thought. Once I returned to Earth and found a way to defeat the orcs, I wasn¡¯t even sure I wanted to continue on any of this. With the success of the core creation, other thoughts came through the floodgates, things I had ignored as irrelevant unless I could even finish these steps. How long could Sanquar keep time frozen? Would I return to a world even worse than I left it? Entirely subjugated to the orcs? I hoped I wouldn¡¯t, but even then, what happened once the planet was free? There was no way everything would remain the same. I forced myself to put those worries on the backburner yet again. I still needed to examine my core. I could feel the energy flow into my body decreasing, and with my sockets now firmly in place and full, the core should be able to handle what little was left. What I wanted to know was the potential for an affinity. The brothers had gained one. Had I? I focused my will on my newly created core, trying to get a read on it. Just as I hoped, a message box swam into my inner eye just as it had with the mana orbs.
Core
Grade F
Affinity Engineering
Rank S
Well, the core grade was terrible, but it had an S-ranked affinity. I didn¡¯t even know that was something that was ranked. I would need to talk to the others about this. Considering the brothers¡¯ core grades, I¡¯d hoped for something a bit higher. Was it possibly, due to the way I had to create it that there just wasn¡¯t enough energy for anything higher? It was possible, of course, to increase the grade of the core. I knew that much, but I also knew it was a long, arduous task, and the specifics seemed to be different for every person. From what I had read, it boiled down to becoming a better you and pushing yourself as far as you can go. I blinked my eyes open again. This time, the room came back into view. While things were still blurry, that was likely just an effect of not wearing my glasses. I should see about boosting my attributes to get past the need; then again I had been wearing them most of my life. Could I imbue them to make them more useful? The possibilities before had become endless. The ticking clock that I had felt ever since this mess started had grown somewhat distant, and a little joy was flooding in. For the first time, I started to feel like it was possible to save my family and the planet. How many levels could I gain in the time we had left here? Were the brothers ready to help me push myself even further?
Is there any mana orb more varied than the elemental orb? Perhaps possibly the matter orb, but the rarity of those makes focusing writing on them considerably difficult. The mana orb, from nearly the start, has six different possible focuses that grow even more unique as the ranks of the orb increase. The rumors of just what can be controlled at the highest levels should scare anyone facing off against such a host. The Many Facets of Elemental Mana Orbs by Henjen Klank Chapter 22: A New Dave ¡°Hey, I think I¡¯m alive,¡± I coughed out, noticing just how dry my mouth felt. A cloud hand pushed a flask of something to my lips and poured it down my lips. It burnt slightly as it went down, though the pain couldn¡¯t compare to what was quickly and thankfully growing into a distant memory of what I had just experienced. Flavor-wise, it reminded me of barbecue sauce, which wasn¡¯t something I had ever considered drinking before. ¡°Get down as much as ya can, Dave. It¡¯ll help get your body back together after the mana channels form, which let me be the first to say, amazing job. We all saw those orbs disappear into the sockets. Somehow, ya did it. This is one for the history books,¡± Mel said enthusiastically as he tipped more of the strange drink into my mouth. ¡°Assuming there will be history books. The Triox council has been growing far too powerful¡ªSorry, now isn¡¯t the time to focus on my problems. Dave, you¡¯ve done wonderful, and I am glad to have met you. What we¡¯ve accomplished here could change so much, and as much as I would like to stay around and watch how you grow, I¡¯m already pushing my luck by waiting for you to wake up. Good luck to all of you; my further presence will only endanger you all more, and none of you, save Mel, are ready for those battles.¡± The sorrow in Elody¡¯s voice was plain to everyone, even me. I knew she would be leaving us soon, but I had grown so used to her presence as one of the few regular things in my new life that her absence would hit me hard. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to see you go so soon after meeting. I hope we see each other again,¡± I said between gulps of the liquid. ¡°We will, Dave, I¡¯m sure of that. Goodbye, everyone.¡± Elody smiled as she spoke these words. I watched her form disappear from the room. ¡°She was really worried about you, Dave. She was supposed to have left yesterday, but you were unconscious for two whole days, man. How do you feel?¡± Cecile asked. Two days? That explained the dry mouth and extreme thirst. I¡¯m surprised I felt as good as I did, considering that. ¡°That explains how I feel. Which, all things considered, not terrible¡­ I think. Hey, did you get ranks for your affinity or just your core grade?¡± I asked, curiosity as always pushing through. ¡°There are affinity ranks for cores? I¡¯ve never heard of that before at all,¡± Elicec said; he sounded intrigued by the discovery. ¡°There are, kind of; I thought Dave might get one but didn¡¯t want anyone to get their hopes up fer nothing. Sometimes people from unincorporated worlds get affinities that can be raised. This is a thing most people don¡¯t know about because it¡¯s pretty rare for anyone unincorporated to have a chance at a core before System incorporation happens, but I¡¯ve seen it before. What¡¯s yer rank, Dave?¡± Mel asked. ¡°Uh, well, not sure, there¡¯s a lot of room for growth. I got an S-ranked engineering affinity along with an F-grade core,¡± I said, a little embarrassed at my core grade. ¡°Holy shit! An S ranking already?¡± Mel stared at me what I thought was shock. ¡°Keep that to yerself as long as you can, Dave. You don¡¯t need that attention yet. I ain¡¯t surprised by the core grade, though. With what we did to you, even forming a stable one at all was a miracle,¡± he continued. I¡¯d already been planning on keeping it quiet. Standing out was never the best idea when you didn¡¯t know anything about the environment you were doing it in, and I didn¡¯t even like doing it when I was completely familiar with my surroundings. ¡°Yeah, nothing wrong with a bad core grade; we can get that up. I bet we can get you caught up to us before we¡¯ve gotta head back to your home even. Plus, now that you¡¯ve got that core, do you know how many levels we are going to gain? Pryte might have said there weren¡¯t many dungeons here, but there¡¯s a lot of unexplored area in the wastelands. We can hit that as soon as you¡¯re up and ready!¡± Cecile said this with such enthusiasm in his voice I almost tried to roll off the table and join him immediately. Something else he had said hit me before I could do that, though. He and Elicec were planning to come back to Earth with me? Why?This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°My brother, in one of his rare moments, is entirely right. It¡¯s time to start really running ourselves ragged to get as much improvement as we can before your insignia is discovered and we fight an Orcish invasion force,¡± Elicec added to his brother¡¯s comments, also affirming their desire to join me. When had they decided that? I appreciated the intention deeply, but they could do so much more without potentially wasting their lives stuck on Earth. There was no telling what happened once the planet was saved. ¡°Not that I don¡¯t appreciate it, I really do. But are you really sure you want to stand by my side? I¡¯ve got no idea what¡¯s going to happen or even what state Earth will be in when we get there,¡± I said after finishing off the drink Mel had provided. Pins and needles were spreading through my extremities as everything continued to come back to life. ¡°Oh, we never even discussed it. Once we formed the team, there was no way we were ever abandoning you. Remember all those stories you¡¯ve heard about our home? Well, there are just as many, if not more, horrible ones, and a billion sad ones in between. Someday, we¡¯re going to make our people safe, and honestly, Dave, you seem like the right man to help. So we aren¡¯t going anywhere,¡± Elicec said, giving me one of his very rare smiles as he did so. That told me all I needed to know. Even if I could stop them, what right did I have after how much help they had given me? If I could find a way to help them, of course, I¡¯d repay it all. ¡°Thank you, guys; you have no idea how much I appreciate it,¡± I said, doing my best to smile. ¡°Alright, alright, enough of the sentimental crap for now. Dave, you need to stand yer ass up and try unlocking one of the mana orb skills. We still need to make sure it all works. You likely don¡¯t have anywhere near the core energy today to do more than one, so more can wait for now, but get up and pick one so we can get some food in you,¡± Mel said. His tone was full of a caring that didn¡¯t match his words. He reminded me of one of my mentors back in school, probably why I trusted him as much as I did. I forced myself to sit and slowly dragged my legs over the side of the table. The brothers had moved in front of me, likely to catch me if I couldn¡¯t stay stable. I pushed my feet to the floor and lifted my body up off the table. I felt different, like I weighed a lot more than I did before my core. Was this normal? ¡°Should I feel heavier?¡± I asked, a little worry escaping into my voice. ¡°Yeah, happens to everyone, probably more so you. Quit wasting time and pick a mana skill already,¡± Mel said impatiently. Already knowing which I needed to start with if I wanted any chance of fixing this old body of mine, I flipped the switches to my life orb and focused on learning Inner Vitality. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how this worked. The books had described it as my core being a key that unlocked a mana orb¡¯s skills, but what that meant exactly I couldn¡¯t determine. The mystery quickly revealed itself to me as I felt my core energy release as a burst of mana that flowed across my artificial mana channels into the mana orb, filling up the bubble that had been next to the skill on the tree. Once it was entirely full, the bubble changed, gained the number one in the center of it and a message appeared in my vision telling me I had unlocked Inner Vitality. This also answered a second question of mine as I pulled up my System menu quickly. I still had no access to the skill menu, and it appeared that it included mana skills as well as my own developed ones. I needed to hit level twenty-five soon. ¡°Done, no issues. Though, until I hit twenty-five, I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯ll know for sure,¡± I said. I wondered if I¡¯d feel good enough after eating to try a dungeon today. I really wanted to get access to that system. ¡°Yeah, I knew that would happen, but the fact that you were able to learn it at all is a good sign. Alright, boys, you should get some food into Dave here, and if he¡¯s feeling up to afterwards, come see me in the adventurer¡¯s hall. I¡¯ve got a monster-hunting quest I think should be perfect,¡± Mel said, winking in the direction of the brothers. What did he have in mind to cause that? ¡°Perfect! Come on, Dave let¡¯s go get some eggs in you. That¡¯s what you eat for breakfast every day, right?¡± Cecile asked as he pushed me forward gently, staying behind me as I walked. ¡°Yeah, with how hungry I feel, I wonder just how many servings I could eat.¡± I checked the time as I said this and realized it was still before lunch. Even if I had been unconscious for two days and now had magical orbs inserted in sockets that I grafted into my system attached to a core that attached to my soul, I still wanted my eggs. I have a routine, after all, even if that routine turned out to include ten times as many servings as before. Just how hungry was I?
Does the ranking of affinities even matter? Sure, people often get them when their core forms, but as no link can be found for their evolution, what exactly does the rank mean? It would help if we had a complete study of a person before and after gaining their affinity, but the logistics of doing that seem like a nightmare. Taken from Karlinovo¡¯s submission to a newspaper. Chapter 23: Five Dozen Eggs Somehow, by the time I finally felt full, I had easily eaten five dozen eggs and a few loaves of bread worth of toast as well. I kept eating until I felt my core stabilizing with energy. It didn¡¯t seem entirely full, but I finally felt like myself again. The exhaustion was entirely gone. The part I considered the strangest was that I didn¡¯t even feel like I had eaten too much. I certainly hadn¡¯t been any sort of competitive eater prior to coming here, so where did I manage to fit all? Did some of it just get converted into energy for my core? Wait, how did refilling my core energy work? I should have read more on that as well. ¡°Hey guys, I can tell I¡¯m refilling the energy in my core by eating, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be doing it completely. What¡¯s going on exactly?¡± I asked, not sure if they even had a full answer. ¡°So, other than some very special items and skills out there, your core won¡¯t directly take any energy unless it comes from your soul. Only your soul can provide the right energy, and then your core turns it into mana when it releases it out into your internal channels. That part you likely knew.¡± I nodded at Elicec¡¯s explanation so far. I had known the part about the Soul-Core energy reaction. ¡°Well, when you nourish your body, you nourish your soul, which helps, in turn, speed up the recovery of core energy. Now, it¡¯s unlikely you¡¯ll ever be able to push it much above halfway full with food alone. Sleeping will help with the rest, and the bigger your core gets, the longer it can take to fill up entirely, but I wouldn¡¯t worry about that. As long as you¡¯ve got enough energy in there to supply your mana channels and your orbs, you should feel perfectly fine.¡± ¡°Guess that means I need more core reserve then if I want to use more than one orb at a time. I wonder if I have enough energy now to unlock another skill,¡± I said, then immediately tried. Within seconds I received the message that I had unlocked the Soul-Core Bonding skill, and I felt my stomach rumble hungry again. That seemed to have taken about half of my current core energy or a fourth of the total. That was something I would need to start tracking. ¡°Did it work?¡± Cecile asked after my stomach had finished its noise. ¡°It did. I can now use two mana orbs, well, once I can use skills, at least. Now I need a few dozen more eggs, I think.¡± I picked a few more off the menu, digging in as they appeared in front of me. After I finished my second breakfast we met up with Mel for the promised monster hunt. ¡°So, you boys are going to like this. I found the dire scorpion that attacked you. It¡¯s been bothering some folks trying to set up an outpost in the desert. Now that you know more about it, willing to try and tackle it?¡± Mel asked with a smile. I was sure Mel knew there was zero chance of them saying no. ¡°Absolutely!¡± Cecile yelled while Elicec nodded. ¡°Perfect, and this time, you get a much more reliable teammate. Transport is ready to take ya¡¯ll out there. Dave, make sure you go through your System messages on the way, don¡¯t skip anything. You¡¯ve got some travel time, so you should use it. You¡¯ve got a core now. Make sure you understand everything about it, as that¡¯s as much you as your brain is now,¡± Mel said. He was right. I did need to check through my System menu. At the very least I had a quest complete, but it had to be more than that. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I haven¡¯t even done it already. Honestly, thanks for everything, Mel,¡± I said. ¡°It was a rough day, happens to a lot of people. Now get yer asses out there and take out a monster,¡± Mel ordered, and we obeyed. ¡°How do these things work anyway?¡± I asked once we were seated in the cabin of the transport. From the outside, it looked like a boat made out of a child¡¯s blocks, one pyramid and one cube, with the pyramid pointing towards where the thing moved. The driver sat in the front pyramid while we sat in the back cube. It was comfortable seating, plenty of room and no real turbulence, but that added even more questions to how this was possible. Was magic actually able to decrease the turbulence on an aircraft, or had I just not been in one long enough to hit any? ¡°No idea, really. I mean, I know the driver has a specialized class built for it, but neither of us were ever interested in any sort of driving or pilot life. It¡¯s not a bad living, don¡¯t get me wrong, it¡¯s one of the professions where you can skip the danger of the arena, but you¡¯re also never going to push yourself level-wise,¡± Elicec explained. It made sense that there would be plenty of non-combat-related builds out there for people. In fact, I would assume that was most librarians and that Elody was just an exception. ¡°Fair enough. I¡¯ll probably look into it at some point. Alright, guys, I¡¯m going to dive into my System changes, so I may be quiet for a while. Don¡¯t be afraid to get my attention if it¡¯s anything important, though,¡± I said before pulling up the interface and seeing if there were any changes. I now had an option for Core on the main menu that just told me what I had already learned when I initially examined it, so likely useful once I upgraded it a bit, but for now, nothing special. I moved onto my quest menu and selected the newly completed Esoteric Core Creation. I was rewarded with a thousand experience immediately and instantly shot up to level thirty-one. So much for worrying about when I would hit level twenty-five. I had a lot more to do on this ride than I had expected. A new box popped up asking if I wanted to apply the System modification. I figured this was tied to my new strange core, so I selected yes. A small bit of pain shot through my head before a new message popped up saying that the upgrade was complete. What had that done exactly?This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Before checking the main menu I saw that I had another quest called ¡°Can You Really Control Six Orbs at Once?¡± Which, point taken, I very much doubted I could. So far, in toggling the switches, it took me about a second or two to swap them. There was no way I could switch orbs in the middle of a critical moment. That was something I needed to work on as well. The reward was another System modification and now was as good as any time to see just what that meant. I returned back to the main screen and spotted the change. The option that had said core before now read ¡°Core Integrated Circuit.¡± My design was a little simple, but I supposed it did fit the definition, especially if I ever did any future modifications. The submenu was just a diagram of my system, showing the ranks of each of my orbs, my core, and the affinity. So far, all my orbs were rank zero, which made sense as I hadn¡¯t used a single skill from any of them yet. My unexpected increase in my level meant that it was something I could look at as well. I finally had access to the skill menu. It was time to see what all I could do.
Skills Ranks Attribute Synergy
Cartography 1 Generalized Mental Use
Dungeon Simulation 1 Generalized Mental Use
Malacology 1 Generalized Mental Use
Reader (Speed) 5 Generalized Mental Use
Treasure Sense 1 Generalized Visual
Mana Skills Ranks Attribute Synergy
Inner Vitality 1
Soul-Core Bonding 1 Soul Energy Projection, Core Energy Projection
So I had the speed reading skill after all. The description was exactly as I expected it to be. I could now read books faster, and every point applied to the skill increased my speed by ten percent. Cartography was what it sounded like a map-making skill. I wasn¡¯t sure how much I would invest there, but anything was possible. The Dungeon Simulation was interesting. Apparently, I was now able to recreate any dungeon I had been in before and access it via any full System terminal. Further ranks of it would let me control the dungeons in various ways. That was something I¡¯d need to explore further when we returned. Treasure Sense somehow would help my eyes pinpoint things my team or I would consider valuable, each rank adding to how easily the items could be found. I didn¡¯t know if the lack of an attribute for Inner Vitality was because I hadn¡¯t gotten access to the correct one yet or because it just didn¡¯t have any. When I used the skill for the first time, it just gave me a generalized health report, similar to something you would get from a very basic physical. I would need to increase the ranks if I wanted more specific information, and I very much did. I also had twelve points to spend on my skills. I had gained one per level up until level thirty and two on the next level. I decided to hold off on applying any until I could see just how Dungeon Simulation worked. I held off on my new attribute points for a similar reason. I had a feeling that applying some of my skill ranks might break through some caps, and the ones currently sitting at those were the ones I most wanted to increase. A chiming sound brought me out of my focus on my System interface. We had arrived. I hoped I was as ready as I thought I was to put this core to real use.
Once the soul-core reaction has begun, the need for food will rapidly increase; this is one of the reasons the Arena dining halls are always overflowing with food on the lower levels. The problem is, though, as your mana usage climbs, food won¡¯t always be enough to keep up. Those who have moved into their first transcendence must begin to develop their own mana flows if they hope to push further, but that isn¡¯t what you¡¯re reading this cookbook for. Let¡¯s start with one of my more favored dishes, spacial stew¡­ 100 Recipes for Your Core by Jordan Hamsy Chapter 24: Monster Hunting We found the outpost after only a few minutes of walking. The heat here was nearly overwhelming, and I wished that I¡¯d considered how I was dressed before we¡¯d headed out. A message flashed before my eyes as I was considering this telling me I had unlocked a new skill called Body Temperature Regulation. Okay, that was certainly one I could see myself spending points on. In fact, considering how I was currently feeling, I was going to have to do this as soon as we took a break. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to handle the rest of the trip without it. ¡°So, where was the last time you guys saw the dire scorpion?¡± Cecile asked the first person he saw. They looked vaguely like a cactus with a face. They were also the person I had seen with three arms previously, two arms on either side with the third poking up the center of their frame. ¡°About two miles into the dunes, directly East of here,¡± the cactoid replied. I made a mental note to ask the brothers about a proper name for the species, and then I pulled up my system menu and took a look at the new skill. Each rank I spent in it allowed me to cool or heat my body one degree more than I was normally capable of. I decided to start with two for now to see how well that made the next walk, figuring I could add more as needed. The relief washed over me as soon as I closed the System menu. As I was sitting in the shade, I couldn¡¯t be sure if it would hold once we started walking again, but I was just grateful that I no longer felt like I was going to pass out at any moment. ¡°Hey Dave, you okay over there? It¡¯s not too hot for humans out here, is it?¡± Elicec asked. ¡°Probably normal humans, but I just ranked up a temperature regulation skill that I think will help. Something I should have considered before I left, too. You guys don¡¯t have like a basic club or something similar I can use, do you? I had meant to ask Mel for a weapon and entirely forgot,¡± I said, annoyed that I had only just remembered. ¡°Uh, will this work?¡± Cecile produced what looked like a thick tree branch from his System storage and offered it to me. It would work, maybe not as well as something with an easier grip, but beggars can¡¯t be choosers. ¡°Yep, that¡¯ll do nicely. Any issue if it gets destroyed?¡± I asked, not wanting to ruin any potential precious heirloom. For all I knew, this was a parting gift from their father. ¡°That thing? Found it under a tree the other day, I was going to see if I could do anything with it and my farming abilities, but I¡¯ve got a few more just like it, so all yours now,¡± Cecile answered with a smile. ¡°Well then, gentlemen, if we have nothing else to do here, I guess it¡¯s time to go scorpion hunting,¡± I said, returning Cecile¡¯s smile. Once we were decently well out of sight of the cactoid, I finally asked the brothers what they were called. I wasn¡¯t sure the answer ¡®cactomen¡¯ was all that much better than my own, but I¡¯m sure humans seemed just as strange to some of the other people out there. It took us nearly two hours to reach the place where the dire scorpion had last been spotted. I was thankful to learn that Cecile had some mapping skills and that I shouldn¡¯t worry about finding our way back. I was also even happier to learn that my temperature regulation skill was working out here like a charm. I was pretty sure it would only take a few more ranks, and I would be able to handle almost anything climate-wise that Earth could throw at me. I doubted that would remain true for the multitude of worlds and universes outside of my home, though. How many universes were connected to the System? Was it entire universes, or was it just planets? What about parallel universes? Were there places already in my universe that were incorporated? These were even more things to look into once we returned from monster hunting. The more I knew, the more questions I had. ¡°Anyone see the thing?¡± Cecile asked, spinning his head from side to side. ¡°No, but what¡¯s that?¡± I asked, pointing to the snake-like creature moving fast across a sand dune in our direction. ¡°That, Dave, is an unexpected problem. Elicec, what do you think it is? Can we take it?¡± Cecile¡¯s voice had a slight panic to it. What the hell was the thing that had him so worried? ¡°Probably not, but running won¡¯t help. It¡¯s a sand wyrm, and there¡¯s no reason it should be hunting this close to the edge of the desert. Dave, if there¡¯s anything you can do to add some power to your build, you need to do it now. In thirty seconds, we are going to be in the fight of our lives again,¡± Elicec explained, his voice sharing the panic of his brothers. Was there anything I could do? This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I guess my core had about three-fourths of its energy back. I could grab one of the mana skills. I flipped the switches on my circuits and poured the core energy into imbuing as quickly as I could. ¡°Elicec, any idea if this thing has weaknesses?¡± I asked as I worked. ¡°Maybe water, big maybe,¡± he answered. Not much of a choice but to take that gamble as I tried imbuing my tree branch with an aspect of water. The bark turned a brownish-blue color, and water dropped from the end of it. My core energy was down to about one-eighth left, but I was pretty sure I could keep the branch like this as long as I needed, and only changing it would use more mana. Elicec was the first to attack. I couldn¡¯t make out what exactly he was chanting, but I could see the obvious effect as a dozen icicles rained down onto the beast moments before it reached us. It reared its head up in pain and anger and roared. The idea that snakes could roar was brand new to me and somewhat terrifying. That didn¡¯t stop me from following up on the seconds that Elicec¡¯s magic had bought us. I slammed my tree branch hard into its open mouth as it roared while, at the same moment, Cecile¡¯s hoe slashed across its neck. Its tail whipped around, knocking us to the ground, but more chanting from Elicec caused a puddle of water to rise around where we had crashed. Thankfully, the wyrm hesitated. Between the blood already dripping from its neck and face and the water, it looked worried. I threw myself forward, managing to spring back to my feet and swing the branch again. My arms and legs were both screaming at the pain from what I had just put them through, but after everything I had just accomplished with my core, there was no way an oversized snake was eating me. It roared again. This time, I roared back. I was angrier than I had ever been, raining blow after blow down on it. The branch snapped in half, spraying water into its open wounds. The head spun, ready to take a bite out of me, but before it could, Cecile was back at my side with his hoe shoved into its throat, and Elicec was casting something else. The water around us turned and began to flow through the air down the throat of the wyrm. It thrashed desperately, trying to get the hoe out, but even knocking us back again with its tail did nothing to help it. After several more screams of desperation, it was dead, and all things considered, we were in pretty good shape.
Monsters Defeated
Sand Wyrm, Lesser x1 100 Experience
Experience Gained 100 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
Total Experience Gained 110 Points
¡°Well I think I know what happened,¡± Cecile yelled to me from the other side of the thing¡¯s corpse. ¡°Yeah, what was that?¡± I asked. We had started breaking down the body after we killed it. Apparently, several of the parts would be very valuable. Cecile especially wanted the fangs for some projects. ¡°There are several stinging wounds back here, and even the broken-off tail of the scorpion we were looking for is embedded into it. So somehow, they got into a fight, and our original quarry is long dead. It also explains how we even lived through this. We shouldn¡¯t be fighting wyrms,¡± Elicec explained. ¡°Don¡¯t complain. That wasn¡¯t bad experience,¡± I said, trying to look on the bright side. I had even gained another level. I was up to thirty-two. Once we got back, I¡¯d really have to spend some of the attribute points I was accumulating. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not. My brother may only want the fangs, but there are a lot of spells I can try to learn using some of these parts. I hope I can add some sort of venom spell to our arsenal. Good thinking on the water imbument, by the way, Dave. Not sure we¡¯d have made it through without it,¡± Elicec said. He actually looked more cheerful than I could remember seeing him before. He reminded me of my kids on some of the better Christmas mornings. God, I missed them. Sure, the visits might have grown more infrequent in the last few years, but we still texted daily. Was I ever going to see them again? I pushed the depressing thoughts to the back of my head and got back to work. We needed to be back to the outpost before nightfall and it was already getting close.
Cactomen hail from one of the rare Spiral universes that have shattered and fallen into the darkness of chaotic space. Their various settlements across other Spiral worlds are the descendants of those lucky enough not to be in their home universe when it happened. Their status has never recovered, and few even bother to Arena climb these days. Peoples of the Shattering Chapter 25: Night Terrors Something I hadn¡¯t considered that would further slow us down on the return was me. I had felt so good on the walk here that I¡¯d almost managed to forget just how bad my joints really were, but after the wyrm, there was no way for me to ignore it now. I was slowing the brothers down, and badly. ¡°Hey guys, we aren¡¯t going to make it before the sun sets the rest of the way. What exactly is so dangerous about the night here?¡± I asked. ¡°Shadow vultures, they¡¯re all over this desert. It¡¯s the big reason so much of it is unexplored. And yes, you¡¯re right, there''s basically no way we¡¯ll get back in time,¡± Elicec answered. I had no idea how afraid I should be of shadow vultures, but considering we weren¡¯t risking any sort of rest breaks, it had to be something bad. ¡°The first time we came out here, Mel told us we''d be done for if we got stuck out here with a pack of them. I think we might get lucky, though. We aren¡¯t that far from the outpost, and it takes time for a pack to come together. We might be able to handle a single one. Dave, take this,¡± Cecile produced another tree branch from his System storage. ¡°Thanks, but I don¡¯t know how much more fighting I¡¯ll be able to do,¡± I said. I was having trouble standing at this point. Each new step felt like my knee would pop, but if I had to fight, I would try. I had no intention of dying without at least trying to hit something. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t have much left in me to imbue my hoe again either, but better armed than nothing,¡± Cecile said. Somewhere in the darkened distance behind us, screeches erupted in the night. The birds were awake and hunting. In front of us, I could now make out the outpost as well. We still had a chance. ¡°Guys, if you have the energy to run ahead of me, you really should. There¡¯s no reason for all of us to die,¡± I said. I didn¡¯t want to potentially die alone, but I was sure they could make the outpost. I wasn¡¯t so sure I could. ¡°Not going to happen. You have no chance against one of those things alone. We have a real shot at taking down one together, we did kill a wyrm today, so don¡¯t go doubting yourself already,¡± Elicec said, trying to encourage me. I appreciated the effort, but I hoped my failing body wasn¡¯t the thing that got them killed. The screeching behind us grew louder with every step we took toward the outpost, but still, nothing had come close enough for us to spot yet. I was starting to think we were going to make it when a giant shadow came fully into my view. Now I understood why Mel had given the warning he had. These shadow vultures looked far more like crocodiles with wings. Its colors seemed to shift as it moved across the sky. It let out another loud screech as its head turned towards us. We had been spotted. ¡°Dave, I know you¡¯ve got nothing left, but run, man, run!¡± Cecile yelled at me. With just how close we were to survival, I listened. I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d ever walk again after this, but I managed it. I ran behind the brothers for the last minute or so until we were all banging on the door of the largest building together. The pain had turned to numbness after I felt something pop. I had no idea how long it would take to heal whatever damage I had just done or if it was even possible. The door flung open, and several cactomen were standing in front of it, ushering us inside. ¡°Thank the rains, I was so worried about you boys. Once we heard the birds, I thought there was no chance,¡± one of them said as the others slammed the door behind us. ¡°Neither did we,¡± Cecile agreed with them. I, for my part, collapsed forward. There was something wrong with my right knee. It was no longer able to hold my weight. ¡°Any chance someone could help me get somewhere to lay down? I¡¯m not sure I can do much walking for a while,¡± I said, grunting through pain as I spoke. Had I really just formed a core only to be taken down by my own joints? ¡°I got you, Dave,¡± Cecile said, helping me off the ground to a nearby piece of furniture that mostly resembled a couch. ¡°How bad is it?¡± he asked after setting me down. It was the perfect time to really test what Inner Vitality told me, I guess, so I pulled up the skill readout and was greeted by the very useful description of ¡°Knee Dysfunctional.¡± I almost screamed at the uselessness of it. ¡°Not great. I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯ll take me to heal from this if I ever really can,¡± I said, trying my best to keep the quickly spreading depression from my voice. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, the worst thing that happens is we go into debt with Mel for some high-quality healing. Are you able to access some kind of regeneration in your life orb yet? That would make this all a lot easier if you can,¡± Elicec suggested. Oh, why hadn¡¯t I thought of that? What was the next set of mana skills? ¡°I¡¯m going to need some food if I want to invest any core energy right now. Any chance you guys could find me something while I explore my System interface?¡± I asked, hoping it wouldn¡¯t cost a fortune out here. ¡°On it!¡± Cecile responded, turning around and talking to the cactomen immediately about where he could possibly find dinner. I pulled up my System interface and went straight to the Life Orb skill tree. The five little pathways I had initially seen were now lit up, and I was able to see the details of the dark bubble each of them led to.
Mana Orb Life Tier 2
Orb Rank 0 Skill Medical Telemetry
Requirement Inner Vitality (1)
Medical Telemetry allows the host to apply what they¡¯ve learned through Inner Vitality to others. Further ranks allow for more data to be transmitted.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Life Tier 2
Orb Rank 0 Skill Stitch
Requirement Inner Vitality (2)
Stitch allows the host to seal their own wounds with a mana-based stitch that reinforces itself as the wound heals, dissipating once completed. Further ranks have increased benefits.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Life Tier 2
Orb Rank 0 Skill Sling
Requirement Inner Vitality (3)
Sling allows the host to immobilize and protect damaged or broken bone using a mana weave that decreases the healing time. Further ranks have increased benefits.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Life Tier 2
Orb Rank 0 Skill Pain Management
Requirement Inner Vitality (3)
Pain Management allows the host to reduce the pain of injuries. It does not do anything to treat them, and further use of a damaged body part could make the injury worse. Further ranks have increased benefits.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Life Tier 2
Orb Rank 0 Skill Lesser Regeneration
Requirement Inner Vitality (5)
Lesser Regeneration uses the host¡¯s mana flow to slowly repair their body. This is uncontrolled, and body parts need to be placed in their proper position for full effect. Further ranks increase the rate of healing.
Skill Rank 0
Well, there went any real choice I had in my skills. I needed to invest as much into Lesser Regeneration as I could, and I needed to, at the very least, unlock the others as well. The food couldn¡¯t come soon enough. While I waited, I brought Inner Vitality up to a total of five ranks and checked my new readings there. There was degradation in nearly every joint in my body. My eyes were showing signs of decline, as well as my heart, liver, and spleen. Surprisingly, my lungs were still considered well above average for my age. Apparently, my blood pressure had gotten much worse during my time here, not that I had seen a doctor any time recently back home, so I guess it was possible it had been creeping up there for a while now. I was never big on the yearly physical, which was certainly biting me in the ass now. The big pressing problem, though, was my legs, starting from my hips and going into my ankles on both of them. I had ruptured the bursa sacs in both, and there were micro-fractures in several spots down both the tibias and fibulas, with a complete break of my right ankle in several different spots. So, it wasn¡¯t the right knee specifically that had made it seem so much worse, but rather the right ankle. I was going to need more than just the regeneration skill to fix this all properly, and as much as I would have liked Pain Management, I just didn¡¯t have the skill points to spare at the moment. Once the food was here, I¡¯d start with unlocking Sling and get my bones in place, then move on to Lesser Regeneration. I hoped this wouldn¡¯t keep me down too long, but at the very least, I supposed I could find a way to cart myself to the archives and get more reading done, even if monster fighting was out until I healed. At least I finally had a potential pathway on patching up my old and battered body. The downside was that I still needed to get back to the archives and my room, and I was not in any shape to do so on my own. How willing were the brothers to carry me?
The Life mana orb was once considered a revolutionary advancement in magical skills throughout the Spiral; now, it''s one of the most common orbs in existence. Like the Shield mana orb, many try to keep one in reserve, swapping it into their core during moments of desperation. The problem with this move is that they aren''t often ranked for the task needed. That said, they are still the first mana orb any settlement makes an attempt to acquire. Mana Sources by Henjen Klank Chapter 26: To Be Young Again The next day was spent packing as many calories as I could while I laid on the couch at the outpost and during the ride back to the archives. The brothers had dropped me off in bed with a giant selection of foods and a promise to check up on me the next day. I once again had no idea what I would have done without them. Our chance first meeting was turning into one of the most important events of my life. I had just finished my second roast chicken when I decided my core had enough energy to unlock Sling, and while I likely had enough for Lesser Regeneration as well, there was no sense in wasting the mana until I had my bones into the proper places before I turned it on. I put four of my pending skill points into it as well, bringing it up to five ranks. Immediately, I felt some relief as a meshwork of mana formed around both of my legs, with a much stronger presence on my right one. The pain was in no way gone, but it felt like the bones were no longer grinding against each other for the moment. A new System message popped into my view.
Estimated Time Until Bone Repair 9 Days
My jaw almost dropped as I read that. Only nine days to repair the level of damage my ankle had suffered was something amazing. I knew this wouldn¡¯t do much for the bursa tears, but that was what regeneration would be for. It seemed I also had a few new completed and uncompleted quests. I clicked into the menu to see just what I had done.
Rank 5 Reached in a Mana Skill!
Second Tier Mana Skill Unlocked!
Rank 5 Reached in a Second Tier Mana Skill!
Reach a Combined 30 Ranks in Mana Skills
Rank 10 Reached in a Mana Skill
Third Tier Mana Skill Unlocked
Rank 10 Reached in a Second Tier Mana Skill
Each one of the completed quests had given me five skill ranks, as well as enough experience to push me to level thirty-five, which in turn boosted my available skill ranks again by another two per level gained. This had created a bit of a feedback loop as I was reasonably sure I could now complete the rest of the skill quests I had available and further adding skill points and experience. I quickly started clicking through things, dumping my available skills into Inner Vitality and Sling as rapidly as I could and checking new quests as they appeared to see just how far this loop could take me. I was able to easily finish off all the new quests besides the third-tier mana skill by increasing my Sling and Inner Vitality skills, which in turn unlocked three more quests and pushed me up to level thirty-nine.
Rank 50 Reached in a Mana Skill
Rank 50 Reached in a Second Tier Mana Skill
Reach a Combined 100 Ranks in Mana Skills
I invested more skill points into Sling only to find I wasn¡¯t able to go beyond twenty-five, locking me out of reaching any further quest completions at the moment. At least with these, the System informed me how to increase my ranks further. Every rank increase on the mana orb itself allowed an increase to the skill cap by five points for the corresponding tier. It did the same for every tier below the corresponding tier, with an added effect of an extra one above per tier below. For example, once I hit rank two on the Life Orb, it would increase my skill cap by six points for tier one, and once I hit rank three, it would increase the same tier by seven points. This meant it was always easier to max out lower-level mana skills than it was higher ones. I invested the rest of my skill points into bumping Soul-Core Bonding up to twenty-five and Inner Vitality up to Seven. I was reasonably sure that the Soul-Core Bonding skill would help rank up my mana orbs faster, so that was a priority if I wanted to push my healing. The good news was even with the maximum I was stuck at for the moment, my bone repair time had dropped to seven days. That was a lot of progress for thirty minutes of brain work. I spent the next hour chowing down on more food and relaxing my body as much as I could. I still hadn¡¯t put anything into Pain Management as I only had enough skill points left to max out Lesser Regeneration, and that seemed the way I should go. Pain Management would be most useful in the middle of combat in keeping myself focused, I reasoned. Checking my core reserves before I progressed any further, I was glad to see I was back up to about half, and the drain from Sling wasn¡¯t as impactful as I had worried it would be. So, I unlocked Lesser Regeneration and put all my remaining skill points into it. I had no idea if I was hurting my growth long-term in doing this, but it was something I had to do. I felt a strange sensation spread across my body, almost like a million tiny fingers touching me. It lasted about ten minutes, and I was glad when it was over. The initial feeling had worried me that that was how it would feel forever and I wasn¡¯t sure I could stay sane with that feeling. My bone repair time was now down to two days, and my Inner Vitality was showing that all my issues were now being worked on, and assuming no further damage I would be in prime health again in about six months. I wasn¡¯t even sure what that would feel like anymore, as it had been so long since my twenties, and I had gotten used to various parts of my body creaking as I moved. Sure, I woke up with a little back pain every morning, but that was a sign of age. Now, I¡¯d have to get used to the idea of that meaning that something was really wrong instead of being a thing I took a couple of pain pills for and ignored. How far did this go, was my lifespan increased as well? I knew Sanquar was incredibly old, but for all I knew, that was also his average lifespan. Wait, had he always had the bird form, or was that part of his banishment? I realized as I thought these new questions that I really knew nothing about the man who had sent me here. Pryte and Elody had both given me stories, but with so much time having passed, who knew how much was true? Elody herself said she hadn¡¯t been alive at the time. I needed to know about the history of the Arena Spiral, and since I still had a couple of days of recovery ahead of me, that was just what I would spend them reading. While that was a great plan for tomorrow, today, I was still stuck in bed, and my brain wasn¡¯t nearly ready to shut off for some more sleep. I began looking through the new mana skills that I could see but hadn¡¯t yet unlocked. Sling had a line that combined with Medical Telemetry to a new skill that I couldn¡¯t see yet. I followed the second line instead and looked at the locked orb.
Mana Orb Life Tier 3
Orb Rank 0 Skill Cast
Requirement Sling (15)
Cast further refines the Sling skill, allowing the host to better immobilize bone damage. This skill allows even the worst of comminuted fractures to be healed with Sling. Further ranks increase how much destruction of bone that Sling is able to repair.
Skill Rank 0
That was certainly something else I¡¯d want to put points in as soon as I could. I imagine the more powerful the monsters became, the more that was bound to be needed. I moved over to Lesser Regeneration and checked both of its new nodes.
Mana Orb Life Tier 3This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Orb Rank 0 Skill Regeneration Efficiency
Requirement Lesser Regeneration (15)
Regeneration efficiency decreases the rate of mana needed for lesser regeneration. Further ranks will allow for even less mana expenditure.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Life Tier 3
Orb Rank 0 Skill Regeneration Efficacy
Requirement Lesser Regeneration (15)
Through the use of Regeneration Efficacy, the host is able to direct which parts of the body to focus their regeneration on at triple the speed. This halts regeneration effects on the rest of the body while repairing the singular location. Further ranks increase how many pieces of the body can be selected at one time.
Skill Rank 0
Both of these were useful in their own ways. As it was, the use of my Lesser Regeneration had to be turned off every couple of hours to make sure Sling didn¡¯t run out of mana. Using the first, I could likely get to a point where I never had to shut it off. The second also meant if I wanted to I could focus only on the worst parts first. Based on the wording, I had a feeling it would slow down the healing of my whole body in the long run, but in times where I immediately needed a hand to work again, it could be a life-saving skill. Core Projection had two nodes to check, and I went through those next.
Mana Orb Imbuing Tier 2
Orb Rank 0 Skill Elemental Affinity
Requirement Core Projection (10)
Elemental Affinity allows the host to permanently align an item with an elemental source. Further ranks in this skill increase the strength of the element within the item.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Imbuing Tier 2
Orb Rank 0 Skill Magical Durability
Requirement Core Projection (10)
Magical Durability allows the host to infuse their own mana into an item, greatly increasing its ability to resist damage. Further ranks in this skill increase how much damage an item can absorb before it is destroyed.
Skill Rank 0
These both seemed like great skills if I wanted to pursue any crafting, and that was likely the case if I decided to further improve on my core system, which I would like to, given the chance. So, these were both high on my list of future investments. I moved on to Soul-Core Bonding and the three nodes that branched off of it.
Mana Orb Body-Enhancing Orb Tier 2
Orb Rank 0 Skill Strength Training
Requirement Soul-Core Bonding (25)
Strength Training allows the host to use their mana to increase muscle strength well beyond normal levels during training. Further ranks in this skill increase the effectiveness.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Body-Enhancing Orb Tier 2
Orb Rank 0 Skill Mental Training
Requirement Soul-Core Bonding (25)
Mental Training allows the host to use their mana to increase their mental retention well beyond normal levels as they expand their mind. Further ranks in this skill increase the effectiveness.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Body-Enhancing Orb Tier 2
Orb Rank 0 Skill Lesser Mutation
Requirement Soul-Core Bonding (25)
Mutation allows the host to mutate their body in a permanent way. The amount of mana used directly impacts the strength of the mutation. Each rank in this allows for a new mutation with a maximum of 10.
Skill Rank 0
The first two were more or less something I had expected to see from this orb. Mutation, on the other hand, I didn¡¯t know what to make of. There was no further description of what exactly a mutation would be, and I wasn¡¯t sure that was something I wanted to try without knowing just what I was getting myself into. While I liked the brothers a lot, I certainly didn¡¯t want a second Dave head arguing with me about all our decisions. Now, if this was just something like mutating parts of my genetics to give me an extra finger or even webbed toes that helped me swim faster, that was something I could get behind, but this would require a lot more study before I risked any points being placed into it. I yawned loudly; my mind had finally caught up to what my body felt. Hopefully, I really did heal as fast as my skills claimed I would. I wanted to find more dungeons as soon as possible. The more levels I could pack in, the better.
The negatives of aging are now symptoms belonging only to the poor. Those most capable of escaping their beginnings can soon find themselves in a world of immortals, where age is but a costume worn to convince others of their years of built-up wisdom. Often, though, the offered wisdom is just another disguise for something else. The gatherings of truly ancient beings have started to grate on me. Is this all we chose to live for? The Last Recorded Words of Zhrole Chapter 27: Simulations & You Finding information on the history of the Arena Spiral or even the Spiral incorporation itself was nearly impossible. I went to the sections the librarians sent me, but they warned me there wouldn¡¯t be much. There were laws that restricted what information about the Arena was allowed in worlds without current representation within it, and the Archives of Gortrin had never bothered with it as a whole. All I really learned was that the Arena was made up of an unspecified number of floors, and active challengers fought through them for any number of reasons, from glory to poverty. The little I was able to learn about the Arena may as well have been a mountain of information when it was compared to the totality of what I managed to gleam about the history of the spiral. There was nothing about its creation, how the System tied into it, or anything at all, really. I found some historical breakdown of multiversal federations, and factions, but even that was several hundred years old. How much information had already been lost to people like the Triox? Now I did find a reasonable history of the Archives of Gortrin themselves. Scholars had found this universe entirely devoid of life and mana two hundred years ago. They decided to build a repository of knowledge free and independent of the many regimes out there. It had been a political hot button since the moment the doors opened. Elody, it seemed, was not the first master librarian to resign. After what felt like a giant waste of my first day trying to learn anything, I decided to pay Mel a visit and pick his brain, assuming he had one. How did his body work? Did his mana channels just fluctuate the same as his cloud form? It probably wasn¡¯t considered okay to just demand someone explain the inner workings of their body so I decided against that in favor of my original questions once our usual greetings were over with. ¡°So what brings ya down here today anyway? I thought you¡¯d spend yer whole time healing with the books,¡± Mel asked. ¡°I had as well, honestly, but after my search for information about the history of the Arena or the Spiral in general, or even just generalized knowledge about the Arena turned up nothing, I figured I¡¯d come poke your brain and see what it had to say on the topic,¡± I explained. It certainly wasn¡¯t because I missed a friendly face in my daily studies now that Elody was gone. ¡°Ah, yeah, you wouldn¡¯t know about that, would ya? So, just to cut off any questions you might be thinking before you interrupt me, I also can¡¯t tell ya anything about the Arena or Spiral for the most part. I do know plenty; I¡¯ve fought in it and even managed teams, but that was a lifetime ago. No, close your mouth. I see you opening it!¡± Mel stopped his reminiscence to yell at me, and he was right. I had, in fact, been about to ask a question despite his earlier wish. ¡°In order to enter the Arena and become a combatant, you have to declare a core oath. That seals all the stuff you¡¯ll learn throughout your time there. You can only talk about it with those who share the oath.¡± ¡°What happens if you try anyway?¡± I asked. This was the first I had heard about core oaths. Were they binding in some fashion or just a matter of respecting a tradition? ¡°Nothing, well at first at least, the harder you try, the worse the pain will get. No matter what you do, you won¡¯t succeed, but you might accidentally kill yerself in the process. It¡¯s happened before, and it¡¯ll probably happen again,¡± Mel answered. I felt a bit guilty about having tried to press him on the topic. Was this conversation enough to hurt him? ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t realize it worked like that. Did talking about it like this hurt you?¡± I said, my voice full of worry. ¡°No, I know where the line is, and I ain¡¯t gonna cross it. Most learn that pretty quickly.¡± Relief washed over me at Mel¡¯s answer. ¡°Well I really don¡¯t think the Arena is in my future, so I guess that¡¯s a topic I¡¯m done with for today. You wouldn¡¯t happen to know how the Dungeon Simulation skill worked, would you? I wanted to test it out, but I think I might still be too broken for that,¡± I said. There hadn¡¯t been any real information on that skill in the archives either. ¡°Never heard of it. Yer gonna get a lot of weird skills tied to the way you think that may be entirely unique to you or rare enough that they may as well be. You¡¯re a strange guy, Dave, and for whatever reason, the System seems to be pushing you somewhere. You need to be real careful with that. Just because the System wants you to do something doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯ll protect you.¡± Mel gave me a stern look alongside this warning. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve started to figure that first part out a bit. It seems with the advancements that were made on my world to compensate for our total lack of magic, the way I think about things and processes is a lot different than the way most people here do, but shouldn¡¯t there be others like me? Every time a new universe is conquered without any native mana, shouldn¡¯t they also enter the Spiral at a similar technological level?¡± I asked. This part had been confusing since I first considered the idea of why branches of technology had seemed to stall here in favor of magic. ¡°My best guess there is that the vast majority of worlds don¡¯t get the chance to grow like yers did. You had a prisoner that made it off limits until someone screwed something up, and now yer here, and the System wants you to upend a lot of things, and I bet that your core layout is just the start,¡± Mel¡¯s said. His explanation made some sense. Since there was no real history of the Spiral here, I had no way of seeing when worlds were generally invaded. ¡°Well, thanks for everything you could tell me,¡± I said, intending to head back to my room and try out the Dungeon Simulation skill. ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t just tell me about some wacky named skill like that without giving me some more details. What¡¯s it do?¡± Mel asked.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Supposedly, it lets me recreate any dungeon I¡¯ve been in and tweak the difficulty. No idea if that means I get experience or anything like that, though,¡± I answered. ¡°Oh, it most likely does. Well, I ain¡¯t ever heard of that exact one. I know of some very powerful skills that let people recreate events and places, it¡¯s a very useful way to train. Between your core and that skill, you may have hit the motherlode, Dave. Let me know how it goes. I wanna know how far you can alter them,¡± Mel explained. ¡°I can do that, Mel. Thanks again. Now I really want to check this thing out,¡± I said. Mel returned my words with one of his standard nods, and I took my leave, back to my room, to the full System interface, ready to give this skill a whirl. I had a total of two dungeons on the list that I could choose from: Slimy Slithering Depths and Basements of Shadow. Basements of Shadow was still a terrible name for the dungeon at the bottom of the archives that we had cleared. Well, Elody had done most of the clearing, but the brothers and I had been there too. I selected the first dungeon, and the next screen just said modifiers, with nothing listed other than a next button. I selected that and felt my perception become for lack of a better word, fuzzy. I blinked, trying to clear my eyes, unsure how that would help with a System interface, but I tried nonetheless. When I opened them I was no longer in my room, but instead, I was back in that first dungeon, where the core had almost taken my body, only this time I was entirely alone. I could easily see the four slugs down the pathway this time. Had I grown that much since this dungeon already? I took a step and realized my body was whole. The simulation apparently also removed my injuries. That was handy. In theory, that meant any time I had to spend in recovery. I could instead run through these dungeons for more experience. As I walked towards the slugs, it occurred to me I was still unarmed, and this time, there was no hoe to borrow from Cecile. I stopped to lean down and gather enough rocks to fill my pockets, took a few steps closer to where I thought I could aim perfectly, and started whipping the rocks at the slugs as fast as I could. With the changes to my attributes, I was able to take down three of them with no real effort. The last one began firing its electric blasts at me just like it had before. One hit me, and it didn¡¯t hurt nearly as bad as I had been expecting. While I tossed several more rocks at it, I felt sharp needles on my ankle. I had forgotten about the bitey worm swarm. With nothing else I could think of to do to them, I just started stomping my feet over and over until the biting stopped. I looked back to the last slug just in time to take another lightning blast, this time to the face. It hurt marginally more than the last. I had an idea. I knew where the rock snail boss was hiding, and I waited for the snail to charge another shot. Just as it did, I leaped behind the camouflaged snail and let the energy find a new home in its body. The snail roared to life, and instead of giving it any time to attack me, I grabbed its neck in both of my hands and ripped as hard as I could, pulling it free from the shell in a sickening, squelching sound. Throwing the head to the ground, I walked back to where the last slug was and finished it off before it could recharge for another shot. A popup similar to the first time I was here swam into my vision.
Monsters Defeated
Giant Slug x3 5 Experience
Giant Slug, Electric x1 20 Experience
Bitey Worm Swarm x1 10 Experience
Rock Snail x1 30 Experience
Experience Gained 75 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
No Magic x1.1
I Stand Alone x1.5
All At Once x1.5
Total Experience Gained 225 Points
I was sent back to the Dungeon Simulation starting screen as soon as the box disappeared, but the good news was that the experience was real. I had leveled up to forty-three and had three new skill points. I put them all into my Dungeon Simulator skill to see what had changed. I was going to have a very productive day after all.
Environmental replication skills are some of the most sought-after skills. They can give anyone who can access them an easy leg up, sometimes even bridging the gap between someone with access to the greater resources elite factions have to someone born in poverty. Given the right commerce world and suitably trained transmogrifier, enough wealth has been known to change hands to buy an entire faction before¡­ Rare Skills & Their Value by Kongus Kingly Chapter 28: Dungeons, Dungeons & More Dungeons I thought I was finally starting to understand at least a portion of what the System was giving me. As I put the skill points into Dungeon Simulation I found I had three new options on the modifiers page.
Remove Weapon
Remove Armor
Randomize Starting Locations
I was sure that each of these would add even more experience to the totals when I was done. This would let me add even more skill points to the simulation skill, allowing me to get more experience creating a feedback loop. The big question now, though was whether removing things I didn¡¯t already have doubled up or not. Not wanting to risk what randomization did on my next test run, I only selected removing armor and weapons. I quickly ran through the monsters the same as the last time, only to be greeted by an additional area below the multipliers.
Modifiers In Effect
Remove Weapon x1.1
Remove Armor x1.1
Modified Total Experience Gained 234 points
More interestingly, I unlocked a quest titled ¡°Cheaters Always Win.¡± The description said I needed to find five ways to exploit reality, and all the rewards just had question marks. If I hadn¡¯t been sure I was onto something before about the System, I was now. Next up was trying the randomize function and see how badly that went. I appeared near the roof of the cave, above thirty feet from the rapidly approaching ground. The impact hurt like hell for a split second before I was booted back to the menu. In a moment of panic I pushed myself backward, entirely out of the zone of the interface. The pain had felt incredibly real, and the fact that it was a simulation did nothing for my adrenaline rush. While dying inside the simulation may not do any true physical harm, it still sent my brain into fight or flight. That was something I would need to get used to if I wanted to continue to use the skill, and I absolutely did. I didn¡¯t think I was capable of taking down the archive dungeon on my own yet, so it was back to going through the first dungeon again using the modifiers I had before. This time, I ran up to the slugs and started punching them. I had taken two boxing classes in my teenage years, and I remembered exactly nothing I had learned. Despite that, it turns out that hitting your fists very hard against something else¡¯s body tends to break that body. This worked great until I finally took a swing at the rock snail and felt several bones in my hand crack. I managed to finish off the fight despite the pain, mostly with the knowledge that the faster I ended it, the faster the pain went away, as a driving force in the back of my mind. I once again returned to the status screen with another level, forty-four, but also two new skills, Close Combat and Pugilism. Close Combat, as the name would suggest, increased my ability to fight within reach of an opponent. Pugilism similarly increased my ability to fight with my fists. I had no idea what ¡®increased my ability¡¯ meant exactly, but like most of my skills very few gave me the actual raw numbers on how they worked. I took the three new skill points and put them in Dungeon Simulation again with the intention of seeing my new options. Before I could do that, I gained several new quests. With the sheer number I seemed to be unlocking, clicking through each of them was becoming a hassle. ¡°System, is there a way to change the display of the menus? Can I have everything related to something new or changed put into a spreadsheet-like view?¡± I asked, hoping something like this existed. ¡°Detailed View Enabled,¡± the voice answered back.
Quest Reward Experience
Use 5 Modifers at Once in a Dungeon Simulation New Modifier 250
Use 5 Modifers at Once in a Dungeon Simulation and Win New Modifier 500
Unlock 25 Dungeons for the Dungeon Simulation New Feature 750
Defeat 25 Dungeons in the Dungeon Simulator New Feature 1000
Rank 5 in a Skill! 5 Skill Points 100
Rank 5 in a Unique Skill! 5 Skill Points 500
The experience from the last two quests that I had already completed pushed me again straight to level forty-six. I, of course, took those new skill points from the quests and leveling and put them immediately back into Dungeon Simulation. I was determined to push this as far as I could tonight. So, that meant the next step was the five modifiers. I looked over my new modifier list to determine my best choices. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Remove Weapon
Remove Armor
Randomize Starting Locations
x2 Opponents
x3 Opponents
x4 Opponents
x5 Opponents
? Level
? Level
? Level
? Level
x2 Opponent¡¯s Level
x3 Opponent¡¯s Level
x4 Opponent¡¯s Level
x5 Opponent¡¯s Level
All Opponents are Bosses
The Floor is Lava
The Air is Lava
The Walls are Lava
Remove Sense: Auditory
Remove Sense: Visual
The last two modifiers in the list made me remember my attributes, I hadn¡¯t touched those since my core, as I was hoping something would break some of my current caps. I checked my remaining points. They were sitting at a whopping six hundred and thirty. I would need to see what the brothers knew about breaking stat caps the next time I saw them, but right now, I had dungeons to run. Most of the new ones were just impossibilities from the start. I might be fast enough for the walls to be lava, but the overwhelming heat would almost certainly still down me before I could do anything. I couldn¡¯t think of anything I was using my ears for, so that seemed a safe one to turn on, along with the starting two. My next best bet was doubling the opponents. I toggled that one as well, and after deciding nothing else here was likely survivable yet, I picked randomize again, figuring I had around a fifty percent chance of surviving where I spawned in at. Luck was with me on my first try. I started standing flat on the ground. Around me, four slugs exploded as they crashed to the ground. I saw the worms fall slightly as well and ran between the two piles, stomping them as quickly as I could before I lost track of them. Both of the electric slugs had survived. I learned this by taking two blasts of energy straight to the chest and being knocked backward into what turned out to be a rock snail. It latched hard onto my shoulder as the second one rose up from a boulder in front of me. That was a problem I hadn¡¯t considered. I now had no idea where the snails were hiding unless they fell out of the air, and I spotted it at the start. My thoughts were cut off as the second one¡¯s jaw unhinged and engulfed my head. There was a quick ripping sense of pain, and then I was again once back at the menu. I was shaking in the shocking brutality of that death. Living through your own decapitation just wasn¡¯t something anyone was meant to do. After taking a few moments to calm my brain down and push the vivid memories back, I was able to function again. I had hoped to finish both quests at once, but one was better than nothing, at least. I checked the new modifier it had unlocked. The words random mutation were now staring at me on the options list. I supposed that I had asked just how far mutation could go. I selected it instead of doubling the opponents and started the dungeon again. I fell about a foot to the ground. My legs weren¡¯t happy about it, but hopefully, that would soon be a thing of the past. I looked down at my body, spotting the mutation I could already feel. My left arm had been replaced by a lobster¡¯s claw. It wasn¡¯t the worst random mutation I could imagine by far, but it didn¡¯t seem overly helpful either. Three decapitated slugs later and I had entirely changed my mind on that initial thought. The claw was surprisingly powerful and had no issue cutting through anything. Once I moved onto the rock snail and managed to cut straight through its shell, I was wishing I could always have this during these simulations, but I knew random meant it was more than likely going to get worse from here.
Monsters Defeated
Giant Slug x3 15 Experience
Giant Slug, Electric x1 20 Experience
Bitey Worm Swarm x1 10 Experience
Rock Snail x1 30 Experience
Experience Gained 75 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
No Magic x1.1
I Stand Alone x1.5
All At Once x1.5
5 or More Modifiers x5
Total Experience Gained 1,124 Points
Modifiers In Effect
Remove Weapon x1.1
Remove Armor x1.1
Randomize Starting Locations x1.5
Remove Sense: Auditory x1.5
Random Mutation x2
Modified Total Experience Gained 6,115 points
Had I read that right? That was more experience than I had gained so far in total in a single battle. Toss in the experience for the completed quest and I had shot up to level fifty-seven with that single simulation. I had even earned two more skills, one of which seemed like I should¡¯ve already had, Stomp. The second would be very hard to make any use of in the future. You just didn¡¯t get a lot of times where Chelae Combat seemed like a viable strategy. As fun as the thrill of rapid leveling was, the new pain in my head worried me. I had noticed a buzzing earlier, but I assumed it was just part of the previous death scares. Now, though it had grown into a pounding drum in my skull, was this because I had used the simulation too much? Or maybe I had leveled too fast? The answer at the moment didn¡¯t matter nearly as much as lying down and hoping this didn¡¯t kill me. As long as I survived the night, I could talk to the others and see what they thought. It was too bad. I really wanted to see that last new modifier.
One of the things that I most wanted to know before I began my experiments was how the System used replication skills to create experience. Where was the experience coming from? In the time it took me to find twenty people willing to speak on their extra sockets, I found a total of one willing to talk about their replication skill, and by the time I arrived to speak to them, they had already sold it to the Windows & Doors Dynasty, which means I¡¯ll hear nothing else about it, damn those secretive bastards. Karlinovo¡¯s What is Experience? Chapter 29: Headaches & Breakfast I woke up the next day with the headache partially gone. It still wasn¡¯t great, but I was pretty sure I could handle more complex thoughts now. The first of those thoughts that hit me was to check my Inner Vitality and see what was going on. That would have been a great idea last night, but I can¡¯t expect my brain to get into these routines overnight. My bones were fixed. Somehow despite knowing that was supposed to happen, I was still in a bit of disbelief that it actually had occurred. That meant the rest of my body was going to eventually repair itself. I would be back in my prime, no, likely beyond anything I had ever been in my prime. I could punch snails now. Well, maybe not rock snails. That hadn¡¯t been the best idea. Phantom pains went through my hand at the memory of that bone-shattering mistake. Strangely enough, Inner Vitality wasn¡¯t showing anything wrong with my head. The pain was there, though, sure it was all in my head, but that was generally where a headache was. With the pain from my broken bones gone, I decided I could weather the drumming that was happening in my brain and get some breakfast. As luck would have it, I met the brothers at the table. Both of them had minor burns on different parts of their faces, and Cecile was missing half an eye. Just what did those two do when I wasn¡¯t around? Then again, considering what we did together, I¡¯m not actually sure they looked that much worse for wear. ¡°Hey guys, new monster fight?¡± I said, sitting down. ¡°Oh yeah, after the wyrm parts we sold Mel, though, we were able to get a pretty decent regeneration bottle. We should be back to fighting shape in a couple of hours. I mean, Elicec¡¯s face is already mostly solid again and I bet you can¡¯t even tell I was missing an arm a few hours ago. Best of all we only had to drink a shot apiece. We¡¯ve got over half the bottle left!¡± Cecile seemed enthused over the story despite the wounds, and who could blame him? I¡¯ve seen firsthand how great regeneration actually is. ¡°Congrats, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re both alive and healing. So, question for you two. Any idea why I¡¯d get a horrible headache that my own Inner Vitality skill can¡¯t detect?¡± I asked as I tried to find my usual eggs on the menu. It wasn¡¯t there. Instead in its usual spot was a lobster omelet. Did the System have a sense of humor? I ordered it anyway. I was too hungry to complain much, but I really did miss how solid my morning routine had been. ¡°Could be a mana backlash, sometimes those happen if your core can¡¯t handle the level of power your skills pull through it,¡± Elicec said. Okay, that made some sense. That last simulation had demanded more out of my core than I could safely channel at once. I was going to have to test that more and see where my limits were. I took a bite out of a newly arrived omelet before following up. ¡°Any reason I can¡¯t detect those headaches?¡± I asked, still wondering why my skill had zero recognition of it, not even the nerves firing. ¡°You probably won¡¯t be able to detect anything mana-based affliction-wise with a low-level skill. That¡¯s my guess, at least,¡± Elicec answered. ¡°Okay, much more important question, how do I get through all these caps on my attributes? I know there are generally ways to break through them, and you have to find them, but so far, I¡¯ve got absolutely nothing,¡± I said. The omelet wasn¡¯t bad. I still preferred my normal breakfast, but this could be something I added on occasionally for more caloric intake. ¡°Like just your basic attributes? Those are level-gated. That other part you read about is for more special stuff, some of the rarer stats people get. The first goal is level fifty, so you should still have a ways to go. What is your level anyway?¡± Elicec asked, causing me to choke slightly on my food. Coughing, I forced out a response. ¡°Uh, I hit level fifty-seven last night alongside the mana backlash.¡± I had an awkward smile as I said this. Should I tell them about my unique skill? I wasn¡¯t sure it was dangerous, but at this point, I was starting to think it was best to keep most of my strangeness as quiet as I could. Then again, I trusted these two, and they knew everything else about me.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Damn, Dave, we¡¯re only in our thirties! How did you get there so fast?!¡± Cecile asked, staring at me with his eyes wide. He had dropped his fork directly into the weird, gooey mass of green he had been eating at my revelation. I looked around and didn¡¯t see anyone in the room with us before I decided to tell them. ¡°Let¡¯s keep this just between us, and well, Mel, since he already knows. I¡¯ve got a unique skill that Mel considered extremely rare and powerful. It lets me recreate simulations of dungeons and then tweak them with special modifiers to make them more difficult. This increases the experience I gain. So far, the only downside has been that if I push it too far, I get a mana backlash. This headache started last night after I shot up eleven levels in a single run.¡± As I explained this, Elicec had also started staring at me, his food forgotten. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! Any chance it works on more than just you?¡± Cecile asked, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, at least not yet. There¡¯s a lot I still need to unlock for it, but right now, I haven¡¯t seen anything that would let me add anyone else. Is the trick to curing a mana backlash headache just food?¡± I asked as I realized the longer I had been sitting there, the better I felt. I was nearly pain-free in my head again, and that was always a great feeling. ¡°Yeah, usually food and water helps a lot, some people swear by a good fight being the cure, but I¡¯m not so sure on that one,¡± Elicec said. I imagined there were a million different hair-of-the-dog-type cures for mana backlashes, similar to how there were hangovers. ¡°Guess I should have a second breakfast then,¡± I said as I ordered another omelet before I resumed with another question. ¡°So, got any leads on a new dungeon? I¡¯d like to get as many into my simulation list as I can.¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s the persistent desert, but even with your new level, I don¡¯t think we are ready for that yet. There¡¯s a scouting party coming in later tonight, we can check with Mel tomorrow and see if he¡¯s got anything new or even old. It¡¯s possible he just hasn¡¯t mentioned anything he didn¡¯t think we were ready for,¡± Elicec answered. I took several more bites of my omelet, each one pushing out some of the little pain that held on in my skull while he was talking. ¡°What exactly makes a dungeon persistent anyway? Couldn¡¯t we just dig deep enough into it to kill the boss and take or destroy the core?¡± Somehow, it hadn¡¯t occurred to me before that the word persistent wasn¡¯t just part of the dungeon name. What caused them to stick around so strongly? There had to be people powerful enough to still destroy them, or were they too weak to be considered important enough by those with the power? ¡°No idea what makes it like that, but I know it means the monsters are a lot harder, and there are usually sub-bosses and sometimes more than one dungeon boss. Mel might know more if you¡¯re really curious,¡± Elicec answered. Curious was an understatement. I was strongly considering making my goal clearing the desert before we left this world. I had no idea, of course, if we¡¯d have the time to actually complete it or not, but I¡¯ve found goals give you something to work towards and have always helped push me further. ¡°Sounds good to me. I¡¯m going to head over to talk to him after breakfast anyway. I¡¯m hoping he has some tools. Do you know how much credit we got from the last trades?¡± I asked. I hadn¡¯t been with them when they sold off the parts of the wyrm we didn¡¯t want. I didn¡¯t plan to spend much, but I had a hunch on some interesting uses for a few tools, preferably starting with a mallet. ¡°I think your total was sitting at two hundred something, but feel free to take any from either of us if you need some extra. We should probably start a team account anyway. We¡¯re going to need it eventually,¡± Cecile answered. I assume a team account functioned similarly to a bank account, and yeah that did seem like the best idea. I wasn¡¯t even sure how much I¡¯d ever spend. With the way the simulation bonuses worked, I didn¡¯t really want traditional weapons or clothing, though if my current idea worked, I would want a lot of quality tools. ¡°Thanks, I shouldn¡¯t need much. I¡¯ll let Mel know about how well my test went, just in case that motivates him into giving up a few more dangerous places; either way, I¡¯m going to head back to my room and play around with my attributes. I¡¯ll see you guys tomorrow,¡± I said, quickly finishing off my plate. Just how would Mel feel about the System¡¯s new big quest, making me cheat?
The transmogrifier is not a career choice; it is a calling. It isn¡¯t a job you get to work towards, it¡¯s something the System decided you should be one day, and if you don¡¯t choose the path, you¡¯re a fool. It has very little risk, and the demands by the elite for your services will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams within the first year. Most won¡¯t even have to do anything horrible in their activities, as there are very few transmogrifiers out there capable of ripping a skill from an unwilling subject. Few, but not zero. System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp Chapter 30: Cheating Since I got my new quest and realized that you could stack the bonuses for having no weapon equipped, I¡¯d been considering what exactly counted as a weapon. So far, my fists didn¡¯t seem to count. It was possible there was a point where I became skilled enough in pugilism that they did, but for the moment, I was going to operate under the idea that weapons were only things that were primarily used as such. What would that mean if I started getting myself a nice tool belt full of useful things? As an engineer, I¡¯d used all kinds of implements that were never designed for or meant to harm anyone, but I had certainly maimed myself by accident many times. So my current plan, after I ran this by Mel for his opinion, was to get a nice craftsman¡¯s mallet and see how the System treated it. ¡°Afternoon, Dave. You look a lot better today than you did yesterday; that mean you''re healing up well then?¡± Mel asked the moment I stepped into the room. ¡°More or less, gave myself a mana backlash headache last night, at least I think I did. I only learned they existed this morning from the brothers,¡± I responded. The pain was finally gone, and I had a pleasantly full stomach after breakfast. Maybe I could consider branching out a little on my routine. ¡°Ah, so that special skill of yours was useful then?¡± Mel asked, his voice dropping to a whisper. I looked side to side and didn¡¯t see anyone in the room, but followed suit anyway. ¡°Yeah, hit level fifty-seven in a single night. Probably going to play around with it again tonight. This time, though, I¡¯ll be a bit more careful at how much I push myself, but I¡¯m actually here for a different reason. The System is knowingly pushing me towards cheating, or as the description said, exploiting reality. What¡¯s your thoughts on that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to you as plainly as I can for a minute. I like you a lot, Dave, especially the way you¡¯ve been looking after those two kids. If they¡¯d gone to the Arena instead of with you, I think they¡¯d already be dead. Yer walking a mighty dangerous path here, not that I''m saying you have much of a choice in it. The System seems to want something changed, and for better or worse you¡¯re the one it¡¯s expecting to make those changes. This is gonna make you a giant fucking target one day, not that the whole Sanquar shit wasn¡¯t already going to, but to put all this on a newbie, well, it ain¡¯t right. So what I¡¯m trying to say here is yeah, do what the System suggests and push yourself as hard and as fast as ya can because bad shit is coming your way, and you¡¯re going to need to be as prepared as possible.¡± The speech had been the sternest Dave had ever heard Mel¡¯s voice become, and his color had shifted into a deep, almost blue shade of green. ¡°Well then, I¡¯m going to need a craftsman¡¯s mallet and maybe a few other tools if you have them, and I need to stress this. I don¡¯t want any weapons, only some tools and possibly a belt to put them in. And who knows what kind of smelting I may have to do? Got any flame retardant gear to go with it?¡± I asked, figuring I may as well try to cheat the armor modifier as well. ¡°I think I see where you¡¯re going with this, and yes, I have everything,¡± Mel said, giving me what I was pretty much sure was his nod of approval. ¡°Oh almost forgot, why are some dungeons persistent? Elicec thought you might know, and I was curious. I think one of my goals is to take out the desert one, is that even possible, though?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s possible, and maybe you¡¯ll even be able to knock it out in a year or two, but it still won¡¯t be easy without a full-sized raid party with you. The problem with persistent dungeons is that unless you kill everything in them, things start to respawn, so there¡¯s no going back for supplies in between sub-bosses. You¡¯re stuck taking them all out, including the big one, all at once. I don¡¯t know exactly how they form in the first place, but once they¡¯re there, they¡¯re crazy dangerous, so please don¡¯t go running into that one thinking you¡¯re ready to take it on anytime soon,¡± Mel explained. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, wasn¡¯t planning to. I¡¯ve got a bunch of stuff to experiment with tonight anyway,¡± I answered. I still wanted to take on the dungeon, just not yet. ¡°Good, now come get yer stuff,¡± Mel said with another nod. An hour later, I was standing back in my room, looking like I was ready to play around in a crucible. I had to spend ten points moving my body temperature regulation up to twelve to handle how fast this outfit was making me overheat. Wrapped around my waist was a tool belt loaded with a few different items. I¡¯d gotten the mallet as I¡¯d originally intended, but I¡¯d also decided to add in a prybar and a couple of screwdrivers, flathead and phillips both. I sat down in front of my interface and checked what the new modifier I had received was.
Lose 5 Levels Per Modifer
That had some potential, but first, I wanted to run the dungeon with no modifiers for a simple test. As soon as I spawned in, I grabbed my mallet and made short work of all the enemies. The experience window had both a positive and a negative. The suit counted as armor, which I had been worried about as it did protect me from environmental hazards. On the other hand, though, and the far more important one, is that the mallet did not register as a weapon at all. As long as I stuck to using my new tools in combat, I could always gain no weapon bonuses. As the cherry on top, I picked up a new skill to go along with it: Malleting. I stripped off the suit, thankful It wasn¡¯t a complete waste. I¡¯d give it a try with some of the lava options another time, but I was going to go for one massive power level again and see if that single one gave me the backlash or if it was the number of simulations I had run the night before. It was a rare moment for me since arriving here. I felt in my element, running experiments and testing just how far I could push something. I put my last twenty free skill points into Malleting to get that rank up, and then I selected all the modifiers I wanted.
Remove Weapon
Remove ArmorSupport the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
Randomize Starting Locations
x2 Opponents
Remove Sense: Auditory
Random Mutation
Lose 5 Levels Per Modifer
I entered the dungeon, dropping a couple of feet to the ground. The pain wasn¡¯t great, but I could handle it at this point. To my disappointment, I hadn¡¯t gained another lobster claw; instead, I had a pair of antennae sticking out of my head, and I could feel a weird sense of energy in the room. To make it worse, I hadn¡¯t thought about how my loss of level would hurt all the points I had just put into my skills. I had barely realized how much more confident I had felt about swinging a mallet until the skills ranks were suddenly gone. Ignoring the weird energy buzzing as I didn¡¯t have the time to figure out exactly how that worked, I scanned the room, quickly getting my bearings. This was going to be a harder fight than I had planned. Everything had survived the randomized spawn as well, which made things even worse. I spun behind me and quickly took out three of the approaching slugs with my trusty mallet, scooped up a handful of rocks, and pelted several more as I moved in on the bitey worms before they could attack me. They went down easily enough with a few heavy stomps. I then ran around the room as best I could, dodging the various attacks from the electric slugs and the rock snails, both of which had revealed themselves, hammering blows into each of the slugs as I passed. I only took a couple of direct hits before they were all down. The snails proved to be a tougher challenge. Every time I got near one, the other attempted to hit me from behind. Finally fed up with the game, I ran at one, screaming, ¡°Die snail!¡± and hit its shell as hard as I could with my mallet, cracking it down the center. I spun catching the second snail by surprise as it had lunged in for a bite, and brough my mallet down onto its head, nearly as hard as the last hit. Which, in hindsight, had been far too strong of a hit as the impact obliterated the head, sending its remains all over me. At least the fight was over before I threw up. I managed to catch a slight glimpse of the experience screen before my vision went black.
Monsters Defeated
Giant Slug x6 5 Experience
Giant Slug, Electric x2 20 Experience
Bitey Worm Swarm x2 10 Experience
Rock Snail x2 30 Experience
Experience Gained 150 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
No Magic x1.1
I Stand Alone x1.5
All At Once x1.5
5 or More Modifiers x5
Total Experience Gained 2,246 Points
Modifiers In Effect
Remove Weapon x1.1
Remove Armor x1.1
Randomize Starting Locations x1.5
x2 Opponents x1.5
Remove Sense: Auditory x1.5
Random Mutation x2
Lose 5 Levels Per Modifier x7
Modified Total Experience Gained 128,409 points
System exploitation is a tried and true method of maximizing your gains while minimizing your losses. One must be careful on how far they are willing to push it in combat, though. There have been many lives lost to someone trying to fight a dungeon core boss without using their mana orbs or setting aside their weapon to wrestle a simple squirrel. It¡¯s important to remember that experience is worthless if you''re dead, and it¡¯s pretty unlikely you have the connections to make death nothing but an inconvenience. Grom¡¯s Musings Chapter 31: A Glimpse of Home I didn¡¯t understand what was happening in my brain. I was having trouble connecting thoughts to memories. I wasn¡¯t even sure who I was, and the more I tried to grab at memories to fill in the giant blanks, the further everything slipped through my fingers. Why was it all so slippery? What was going on? Why was everything so dark? ¡°Can you hear me?¡± While I could hear the voice, it seemed so far away. I was sure I¡¯d heard the voice before, but who exactly it belonged to was another piece of information I wasn¡¯t able to dredge out of the sludge that was my mind. ¡°Yes, who are you?¡± I asked, after a lengthy internal debate on whether I should trust the voice or not, but as my current situation seemed pretty terrible, I wasn¡¯t sure how much worse it could really get. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what¡¯s happening exactly, but your mind somehow is being drawn back to me, and that isn¡¯t something you can survive. You need to focus on your memories, the things that make you you. Use those to hold yourself together. Who I am won¡¯t help until you can remember. Do not let your spirit collapse. It¡¯s all that you have left at the moment,¡± the voice answered back in what I considered a rather cryptic way. It did have a point though, if I couldn¡¯t connect the voice with a memory anyway, what use was a name? Now, what was my name? How did I figure that out? Is there a trick to grabbing a memory and forcing it to present itself? As I searched through the haziness of the images, I spotted something that looked like an anchor attached to a long chain. I grabbed it and yanked, hand over hand, until a memory came within reach. I watched it struggle and try to flee from me, but the chain held firm, and I was able to grasp it. I was suddenly seeing out of the eyes of someone, and based on the size of the other people I could make out the body I was in wasn¡¯t very big. Was this me as a child? Were these my parents? That thought triggered something else: a deep sensation of loss. ¡°What are you doing there, David?¡± The man, possibly my father, asked. ¡°Building a tower!¡± The words left my mouth of their own will. ¡°Isn¡¯t he such a good builder, Tom?¡± My mother said, and yes, I was sure of it now: these were my parents. My mother¡¯s name was Barb, and my name was David. No, that wasn¡¯t quite right either. Something was off with that name. This time, a memory flew at me unprompted; no struggling was needed to draw it in. ¡°Really, your name is David? I¡¯m calling you Dave. Someone who walks straight into a fountain needs to take themselves a bit less seriously,¡± another woman¡¯s voice this time. I was much larger now, likely full-grown. Had she said a fountain? This was Laura, my first and really only love. She had given me the name Dave, and I had been sticking by it ever since, some small way of clinging to the remnants of our relationship. The memories were coming back to me at a rapid speed now. The last one had unlocked the floodgates. I saw the birth of Alex, my daughter, the oldest. The blizzard and resulting car crash that was tied to the earlier sense of loss. The birth of my son, Tom, named for the grandfather he¡¯d never get to meet. The end of my marriage and the beginning of isolation came next in two rapid bursts as the memories sped up even more. ¡°I texted Dad. I doubt he¡¯ll get it, but I had to try,¡± Alex said. ¡°Same, what do we do now? So much has been ruined, and despite what they claim, it doesn¡¯t look like the military is going to win this,¡± her brother replied. ¡°First up, we try to find Mom, and then I don¡¯t know, but we can figure something out,¡± Alex responded. Their conversation stopped as the world also stopped, completely frozen. The few missing memories finally caught up to me. These couldn¡¯t be my memories. How was I seeing this? They were almost a continent away while losing the fight against several orcs. ¡°Sanquar, what the hell is going on?¡± I knew who the first voice had belonged to now.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Dave, I¡¯m glad you pulled yourself together to remember my voice. And while it¡¯s Interesting that you¡¯ve also learned my real name, I do not believe we have time for those stories at the moment. As I said, I don¡¯t know what is going on. What¡¯s the last thing you can remember?¡± Sanquar asked. ¡°I had just finished running a dungeon simulation with enough modifiers to shoot me up thirty-six levels in a single go. I¡¯m guessing I also answered the question of whether the mana backlash was from how strong the use was or if it was repeated use,¡± I answered. How had I returned home, assuming I was even home? Everything was still black, as far as I could see. ¡°Well then, I believe I know what happened. You managed to so deeply deplete your core in a single burst that it drained your soul in an attempt to keep itself going. It¡¯s nothing short of amazing that your mind and soul found their way here instead of just dying,¡± Sanquar responded. ¡°And where is here? Am I back on Earth?¡± I asked. I had almost killed myself apparently, and still may succeed; I had no idea how to get out of this blackness. ¡°No, your soul tried to save you, and I¡¯m guessing your mind played back all your memories as it thought you were dying; somehow, your soul forced itself and your consciousness to this nowhere place between wherever you are and Earth. Likely, it attempted to get to Earth itself, but with my active effect, that didn¡¯t work, and as I¡¯m the only one actively conscious on the planet at the moment, you were stuck linked to me. Now we need to get you back before this link breaks and you¡¯re stranded here,¡± Sanquar explained. I had no idea how much of that was just guesswork or logical deduction. I was guilty of doing the first and pretending it was the second, often enough to see the signs. ¡°How do I get back then?¡± I asked. I did not want to be stranded here in this nothingness, alone for eternity. ¡°Focus as hard as you can on everything about the place you were in before this. There has to be a tether between your soul and your core still. Use that to pull yourself back to your body and do it quickly; once it fades, I won¡¯t be able to help,¡± he ordered. I pictured everything about my room at the archives and where my body would have to be within. In the center of blackness, I spotted a threadlike line, giving off just the tiniest bit of shimmer. I was sure it hadn¡¯t been there before. I ran towards it and grabbed it. A jolt of energy ran through me, and I felt myself pulled hard along the thread. My eyes opened. I was in my room. Had that experience just actually happened, or did my brain make up some insane dream while I was unconscious? I had no real way to know until the next I saw Sanquar. A message box appeared in my view.
New Attribute Unlocked Mana Backlash Resistance (Luck)
That almost felt worth the sheer amount of pain that I felt across my entire body. My head pounded from what I¡¯d just done to myself, and I had managed to bang up both of my knees as I fell from the chair. I was pretty sure my left wrist was broken, too. I pulled up Inner Vitality to see just how bad off I was. After checking myself over, I was glad to be wrong, my left wrist was in fact just bruised, but beyond that, nothing serious had happened. My headache got worse and I realized the mistake I had made in using the skill. I didn¡¯t have the mana to spare in doing anything. I needed to drag myself to the dining hall and get something to eat in me, or I was liable to make matters even worse. I needed to get regeneration and sling turned on, but that required mana, and that required food. It was a vicious chain of requirements, considering how bad my knees hurt. Using my right hand, I braced my body and slowly got my legs underneath me enough to stand back up. My head swam with the movement, and I almost collapsed again. I took a deep breath and began the walk to my door, each step causing enough movement in my head to feel like someone had stabbed me in my skull, repeated until I was through the door. I stepped out of the elevator and collapsed forward into the room. Most of my strength was gone, and worse yet, I saw no one to help me. I had hoped the brothers might be around, but no, the room was entirely empty. The pounding in my head had reached a level I didn¡¯t know was possible. I was sure it would just explode at any moment. ¡°Dave, you look like death, man. What the hell?¡± I had trouble making out the voice. Instead, I pushed every bit of will I had left into two words; ¡°need food.¡±
System Breakers, a path no sane person chooses, is something you do totally alone. There is no guide; there won¡¯t be any mentor figure. There is maybe one of them a generation, and should the factions learn about them before they have a chance to push themselves far enough along the path, it will be a very short one. Should a System Breaker grow strong enough, there is little that will stand in their way. A System Breaker at their peak will change everything. The Forbidden Paths by Glarppp Chapter 32: Weeks Not Years ¡°He likes eggs, right?¡± one of the voices asked. The owner had carried me somewhere to sit me in a chair. I still had trouble making out what they were saying, and opening my eyes wasn¡¯t happening just yet. ¡°Yes, we need a lot of eggs,¡± said a second, different voice. Something suddenly smelled quite good, and then I felt hands pull my mouth open and push some of the good smelling stuff inside. The hands then forced me to chew. I managed to choke down the food. The second it hit my stomach, it seemed to evaporate into me. I felt almost alive again. I wasn¡¯t anywhere near normal yet, but I managed to open my eyes. The figures I saw weren¡¯t any real surprise, as I hadn¡¯t interacted with many people here enough to be on a first-name basis. Cecile and Elicec had, to my luck, spotted me. ¡°Thanks,¡± I whispered, barely. The first bits of egg on my own took me nearly five minutes to get down, but by the time I had hit the second plate of eggs I was shoveling them in with no regard to what I looked like. My stomach felt bottomless, and I was determined to prove it wrong. I ate more food in the next hour than I think I had eaten in the last three months combined, but I was finally starting to feel like a real person again. The next time I risked overdoing it to that level, I was going to need to keep some food on hand. ¡°So, uh, Dave, you don¡¯t look like someone tried to kill you so much anymore. What happened?¡± Cecile asked. ¡°Bad idea, well no, good idea, good results, bad after results. I tinkered around with my skill again at the suggestion of Mel to push myself as hard as possible. He seemed pretty worried when I met him earlier, so I decided to listen. Not really sure what happened afterward. It was probably a really weird dream, but hey, I did shoot up to level ninety-three this time and even gained an attribute to resist mana backlash. So win-win,¡± I said, not really feeling the enthusiasm I was trying to show. I didn¡¯t want them to worry about me. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s just great, and you didn¡¯t even die! We¡¯ve gotta be qualified for a few more dungeons now!¡± Cecile said. I hoped he was right. ¡°You¡¯re going to hit your first level threshold soon. Do you know anything about those yet?¡± Elicec asked. I remembered seeing the term somewhere, but what I considered at the time as high level issues were not something my reading had focused on. ¡°No, I assume I hit some barrier or something at a certain level? Do I stop leveling, or does it change something else?¡± I asked. ¡°Kind of both. At level one hundred, the multiplier for how much experience is needed to get to the next level starts to radically increase. Right now, the amount needed is just doubling every ten levels. The first hundred levels are generally considered the novice period, and despite the name, most people don¡¯t actually get past them,¡± Elicec explained. ¡°Wait, really? It doesn¡¯t seem that bad,¡± I asked, somewhat confused. While the dungeons had been great initially, the people starting this in their prime with a better idea of what was going on should be fine. ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t tell you why exactly, but once you start down this path, it just gets more and more dangerous, and a lot of people can only see the potential rewards,¡± Elicec explained. I thought I understood it now: idealistic kids facing off against things they had no real idea about, especially with how secretive the Arena apparently was; most of them were actually going in as blind as I was. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to a less depressing topic. Any idea what the new formula is for leveling?¡± I asked, trying to change the topic. The idea of so many kids and young adults dying wasn¡¯t helping my own anxiety. ¡°Nope, just know that¡¯s the first. There are more too somewhere, but Dad didn¡¯t really know much more, and that hasn¡¯t been my focus here either,¡± Elicec answered. That would slow me down, of course, but it wasn¡¯t the end of the world in any way. I¡¯d just need to unlock more dungeons for my simulator. There was still plenty of time for that here, And while I was curious, I had no plans to waste any time looking it up. I¡¯d learn it soon enough on my own. ¡°At my current rate, I should figure it out pretty soon anyway. I might try another dungeon or two tonight and hit it, but I¡¯ll decide that after I figure out my attributes,¡± I said. At the very least, I needed to max out my new mana backlash one. It should make using the simulator safer.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°We were on our way here for a nice pre-dinner starter course. I¡¯ve been really working on getting the hoe ready for some harder fights, so I''ve gotta eat a lot, which is what you need to do with your training, too,¡± Cecile answered. I had already decided on that truth. ¡°I know, I know,¡± I said, looking over the menu for an option for take out or delivery, something like that. I didn¡¯t see anything, so I selected the option to call the waiter instead. ¡°How can I help you, sir?¡± He said immediately. ¡°Is it possible to get food to or ordered to my room, or something like that?¡± I said, willing to accept a ton of options as long as I wasn¡¯t forced to come back here mostly dead after every hard simulation run. ¡°Yes, just say the destination you want it at before selecting it. You can also add a time for later deliveries. Is there anything else I can help you with?¡± The waiter asked. ¡°Nope, that was perfect, thank you,¡± I said, letting him get back to whatever else he did. I started picturing all the food I was going to have ordered to my room tonight. I didn¡¯t used to think about food this much, it had to be an effect of just how much energy I needed now for my core. ¡°Excuse me, are you Dave?¡± A meek voice interrupted food fantasies, and I spun my head to find the new source of the voice; there was a tiny little gray creature walking into the room. ¡°I am. Do I know you?¡± I asked. ¡°No, I¡¯m Glorp, Pryte sent me with a message!¡± Glorp said. With his large black eyes, Glorp reminded me of the common depiction of Martians. ¡°Dave, be nice to him. He looks like an official courier. Do you want to join us for a meal, Glorp?¡± Cecile said. ¡°Oh, sorry, I didn¡¯t realize that was a thing, and of course, you¡¯re welcome to join us like Cecile said. Did you say Pryte had a message for me, though?¡± I asked. Pryte had never reached out before. What did he want now? ¡°Sorry, can¡¯t stay. The offer is very appreciated, though. Pryte said that the paperwork moved up the chain much faster, and you have a few weeks at most to get back to your home before someone comes looking for you here.¡± My eyes went wide as I heard the message. Well, that put a damper on the idea of finding someone else to help us. There wasn¡¯t enough time for that. Had Mel known something already that he couldn¡¯t say? Is that why he gave me the warning? ¡°Thank you. You¡¯re sure he said weeks, though?¡± I asked, hoping it was possible there was a miscommunication somewhere. I just didn¡¯t think either I or the brothers were strong enough to take down the invading orcs yet, not that I won¡¯t try if it comes to that, but I really wanted more time. ¡°Yep, he made me repeat it three times. Sorry for the bad news, gotta go,¡± Glorp said as he retreated back out of the room. So much for any consideration on pacing myself, I was going to have a very busy few weeks. ¡°What do you wanna do, Dave?¡± Elicec asked. Cecile had the same stunned look on his face that I¡¯m sure I had moments ago. ¡°I need to get stronger, faster. So, for tonight, I will stick to my original plan. Tomorrow, we grab breakfast and talk to Mel. We need a list of all the dungeons in this world in order of which we can most likely survive. We knock as many of them as quickly as we can by day. By night, I¡¯ll rack up the simulator hours. I wish I knew exactly how many weeks they were giving me; a few is too vague. I have a feeling Mel might know more, though, and I¡¯ll see about that tomorrow as well,¡± I said, laying out my hastily built new plan. It wasn¡¯t much of a plan, mostly just a gauntlet of trying not to die, but that was the best I could do at the moment. ¡°Dave, be careful, man. I know you¡¯ve gotta push yourself now, and you¡¯re real worried about your home and kids, but remember, if you screw up and die, then we have no chance,¡± Cecile said; he didn¡¯t look happy with the turn of events, but who was? I understood his sentiments, though. He was just worried about me. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Cecile. I have no intention of killing myself through training, whether the vision I had was real or a weird hallucination earlier. I saw my children back on Earth, and I¡¯m going to do everything I possibly can to save them. I promise I¡¯ll see you two in the morning,¡± I said, forcing a large smile to add to the reassurance. I ordered a ton of food to my room and made my exit. Time was short, and I had to get everything allotted I could before forcing in a few more simulator attempts. It was going to be the first in a series of long nights.
Mana backlash as a power source is an extremely dangerous path, but it is viable. There''s a group of warriors that call themselves masokinetics, and they utilize their own backlash pain to push their spells even stronger. Some of them are even capable of fighting well beyond the point they should be dead and yet somehow returning very much alive in the future. These are the elite warriors of the Phrentic Collective. Mana Sources by Henjen Klank Chapter 33: The First Long Night I had managed to accumulate just over nineteen hundred unused attribute points in my recent rapid leveling. The speed I was acquiring them now compared to before without my core made it even more obvious why virtually no one waited. The first thing I did was immediately max out my new mana backlash attribute. I was able to get that to one hundred ranks. The same held true for cheat death. I was reasonably sure that it was likely the only thing that had kept me alive a few times now, that and mana backlash were a key part of my plans for the next many nights. Following that, I maxed out my soul and core attributes, and each was able to hit fifty ranks. As I moved onto my actions and reactions, I unlocked several sub-attributes. Below generalized physical use, I now had access to six different attributes: strength, speed, and accuracy, three for my arms and three for my legs. A similar thing happened with generalized body toughness, where I gained resistance to bite, energy projectiles, electricity, and impact. While I was very happy to have them, I no longer thought I had enough unused attribute points to go around, especially as fifty was not the cap for any of them. Before I tried to find a cap, I spent some points on a few of my senses, specifically visual and olfactory. Since I planned to continue the simulations without my hearing, I needed to boost those up in hopes of compensating. Learning from the last time, I did each one at a time. While nothing was unlocked below either of them, I suspected I had to encounter a use for the sub-attribute before it actually became available, as all of my resistances were things I¡¯d experienced over and over in the simulations. I had to move arm strength all the way to five hundred points before I hit another cap on the stat, which meant I didn¡¯t have enough to max any other sub-attributes at the moment. I instead divided the remaining points between arm speed, leg speed, and leg strength. I figured this would at least give me a good boost in how fast I could take things out. As for skills, I was still stuck at the twenty-five maximum ranks cap I had been before. I knew how to break through this for mana skills, but the rest were a mystery at the moment. Speaking of mana skills, another goal of the next bit of power leveling was to unlock more of those. I needed to look deeper into the elemental and body-enhancing mana orbs. First up, though, was getting my three combat skills maxed out: close combat, malleting, and stomp. Following that, I maxed out dungeon simulation and body temperature regulation. That left me considering just what mana skills I still needed. After my massive meal, my core felt full enough to unlock a couple more, and the obvious choice at this point was pain management. Would that count as magic use? That multiplier, while useful initially, wasn¡¯t worth worrying about long term. I had yet to unlock a simulation modifier that would double it, so it was probably best that I start down the path of magic use. That was the second factor that drove me to my next decision. The first was that, apparently, I couldn¡¯t unlock any tier-three mana skills yet. I likely needed to rank up the orbs. I chose strength training instead. Now, the big question would be how well my core handled passive mana use for three different orbs. I already knew I wouldn¡¯t have been able to manage three active uses, and flipping between the orbs fast enough to make it viable otherwise wasn¡¯t going to happen yet, either. I toggled the three orbs on, making sure to keep elemental and imbuing off for now, and tested the flow. So far so good, and my mana wasn¡¯t dropping at an alarming rate either. That probably had a lot to do with my further investments in core and soul regeneration. Was there a way to get more numerical readouts than just going by how full something feels? I was sure that actual numbers would make this much easier for planning purposes if I could unlock that. Annoyance with the lack of data aside, it was time for another dungeon run. The two new modifiers were poisoned and starving, both tempting, but for now, I wanted to experiment. So, with everything as far as I could push it, I tried nearly the same thing that had earlier almost killed me. I figured with my changes, I should be able to survive this, plus it wouldn¡¯t be as bad this time, as there was a good chance I was now using magic. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was the third eye that had appeared in the back of my head at the start or the fact that the fall felt painless despite being a couple of feet in the air, but the dungeon started off much easier than the previous time. While some of my skill additions were lost thanks to the level decreases again, which seemed to be somewhat random, as I was pretty sure I was missing some of the earliest skills I had put points into rather than delivering the most recent changes, the difficulty had radically dropped from those that I kept. I was out and back to the rewards screen within a minute. I had gained slightly less experience this time, due to the active magical effects. That was too bad, but I had expected it, so no real setback. The good news, though, was my head was fine. The bad news was that Elicec was underselling the level one hundred threshold. It had taken me a little over ten thousand experience to go from level ninety-nine to one hundred. It will take me over one hundred thousand experience to get to level one hundred and one. The difference was staggering. If I wanted to go further, I¡¯d have to push the multipliers even more. I ate some of the food I¡¯d had delivered just to be sure I wouldn''t pass out while I distributed more of my new attribute points. Strength and speed were now both maxed for my legs and my arms. I decided to hold onto the few remaining points for now. There still wasn¡¯t any pain in my head, and that reassurance gave me the push to start looking over the other modifiers I hadn¡¯t used yet. I needed to push my experience gain even further if I wanted to continue power leveling, and considering what the very near future held for me, I did. With the level loss modifier in place, I didn¡¯t think I could use any further negative level scaling just yet, but there wasn¡¯t any reason I couldn¡¯t make the enemies more difficult. I figured I could reasonably lose twenty levels again and stand a chance. I just needed to stay above fifty to keep some of my stuff active. With that all in mind, I added on doubling the enemies'' levels, turning them all into bosses; the walls are lava, and I figured I¡¯d risk being poisoned. Mostly because I figured I¡¯d win quickly enough that it wouldn¡¯t become a real issue and that I might gain a new resistance for it to make it easier to use in the future. The walls being lava worried me more than any other change, but I figured that was just as dangerous for all of the enemies as it was for me, hopefully, more so with my ranks in temperature regulation.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. When I spawned into the dungeon this time, it was the first time that the mutation had been a very clear detriment. One of my feet had been replaced by what felt and looked like a block of wood. I spotted all twelve of the rock snails, some as they crashed to the ground but most as they started to quickly move away from the walls. The lava had started to slowly flow into the room. Within seconds, half the snails were already gone, which was a good thing as I could feel the poison working through me. I was able to handle the heat mostly at the moment, but I was growing weaker fast. With no more time to waste, I moved as quickly back and forth across the room as my new wooden block foot would allow. Snail after snail fell to my wrath; their double levels did nothing against my mallet. Despite how quickly I was going through them, by the time I reached the final one, the lava had already encircled us. I was having trouble breathing, and my body felt ready to collapse. I didn¡¯t know if it was the overwhelming heat or the poison coursing through me. With few options left, I leaped onto the snail¡¯s back instead of taking a mallet swing. I felt it crack below me as the lava flowed over it. The jump had likely won the run for me. The experience box popped into view, and I felt my head begin to hurt again.
Monsters Defeated
Rock Snail x12 30 Experience
Experience Gained 360 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
I Stand Alone x1.5
All At Once x1.5
5 or More Modifiers x5
10 or More Modifiers x10
Total Experience Gained 49,005 Points
Modifiers In Effect
Remove Weapon x1.1
Remove Armor x1.1
Randomize Starting Locations x1.5
x2 Opponents x1.5
x2 Opponent¡¯s Level x1.5
All Opponents are Bosses x1.5
The Walls are Lava x2
Remove Sense: Auditory x1.5
Random Mutation x2
Poisoned x2
Lose 5 Levels Per Modifier x11
Modified Total Experience Gained 39,624,585 points
Interestingly, the System never seems to directly increase someone¡¯s physical abilities other than their senses, despite there being many examples of attributes that would, in name at least, seemingly do that. What it does instead is reinforce the body using a combination of soul and core energies, allowing the person to grow up to the new limits. It is unknown if this is a limit to the System''s abilities or if this was something put in place to force people to push themselves to these new heights. An excerpt from A Generalized Guide to Attributes by Thomjal. Chapter 34: Aether? It hurt like hell, but not as bad as the last time. I forced myself to start eating more of the food in the room, giving myself a break to try and reduce the pain. I was sure this level would be manageable, even if I didn¡¯t like it. Slowly, the pain receded as I forced the food down. My brain finally cleared enough for me to check my new-level situation. I had shot up to level one twenty-two, which was great and all, but I was now pretty sure I knew what the new modifier was. At every ten levels, the experienced needed for the next level was increased by a factor of ten. This just wasn¡¯t something I could keep up with. I had found a sweet spot, at the very least, where the modifiers hurt, but they didn¡¯t hurt enough to make me stop. I could push this a little further by adjusting all the modifiers so that I was only using the ones with the largest multiplier, but it still wouldn¡¯t be enough to push me that far beyond where I was. What I really needed was base dungeons that were harder. I did have access to the Basements of Shadow still, but as I had done no fighting at all the first time I was there, or even really explored it beyond what Elody had done, I wasn¡¯t sure if I could tackle it alone. Even with my increase in levels, she still seemed to have been far beyond me, but there was only one way to be sure. I booted up the simulator, cleared all the modifiers, and started the dungeon. I started back on the same floor where I had felt the dungeon begin the first time. This time, I could feel all the shadows around me without any of Elody¡¯s magic to keep them at bay. I was surrounded and the darkness was pressing in on me. It only now occurred to me I had no way to counter that issue, so without a better idea of how to handle the problem I started swinging my mallet at every shadow that felt like it was moving. I managed to catch a few, but not nearly enough, as several claws raked their way down my back. I screamed out in pain, and my mana began to rapidly drain and my skills tried to compensate for the damage. Several more shadows used that moment to attack me from all sides. I had no chance at this fight at all. Within moments, I felt my whole body torn to pieces, and I was back at the menu screen, trying to force the horrible memory from my mind. The difference in power between myself and Elody was now more evident than ever. I wasn¡¯t remotely able to fight anything on her level. Steeling my mind as best I could, I moved myself onto other topics. I had attribute and skill points that needed to be assigned, and I¡¯d unlocked a few more new things as well. I had sub-attributes for heat and slashing resistances and one under disease for something called withering poison. I¡¯d also gained a sub-attribute for generalized visual: night vision. Crossing level one hundred had done nothing to further increase my attribute caps, so I instead maxed out night vision and split the rest across my resistances. Skills were an entirely different matter. Despite the constant cycling of my core, none of my mana orbs had ranked up, so I was still stuck with what I had there. Considering what had just happened, it was probably time for me to stop ignoring my elemental orb. I unlocked fundamental forces and moved it up to twenty-five ranks. That unlocked two tier-two mana skills, and they were different than anything I had seen so far.
Mana Orb Elemental Tier 2
Orb Rank 0 Skill Elemental Focus
Requirement Elemental Focus (25)
Only a single rank may be invested into this skill and doing so will prompt the host to pick an element, locking this orb into a specialization of that element. Once this is done, Elemental Mixture may no longer be selected.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Elemental TierIf you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. 2
Orb Rank 0 Skill Elemental Mixture
Requirement Elemental Focus (25)
Only a single rank may be invested into this skill and doing so will allow the host to use Fundamental Forces to mix different elements together. Once this is done, Elemental Focus may no longer be selected.
Skill Rank 0
I had a feeling that most people choose elemental mixture so as not to limit themselves. The good news for me is that I was not most people. I wasn¡¯t nearly so limited in what I could do with mana orbs. I quickly picked elemental focus and looked at my options.
Air
Earth
Fire
Water
Aether
So, it was a classical element situation. I was reasonably sure I could work with this, with one slight problem. I had no idea what aether could be. It had long ago been removed as any real scientific concept on Earth. I understand the other four weren¡¯t exactly elements either, but guessing what they represented was easy enough. Looking at what aether could be through the scope of what was missing could have an answer, but that also had a ton of options. Where did electrical energy fall in these elements? Magnetism? Then, there were even more concepts I could pigeonhole into a classical element list ranging from nuclear energy to antimatter reactions. Delaying this wouldn¡¯t help anything either, as even if there was someone who could answer my questions anywhere, I certainly didn¡¯t have access to them. I had started this with the intention of wanting access to some sort of light magic, so after debating between air, fire, and aether, I selected fire. I then moved on to the second orb and repeated the process, this time choosing aether. Strangely, neither of these had any other lines connecting from them to anything else. As of now, it looked like tier one was their max. I¡¯d have to ask Elicec about that, as there had to be something I was missing. Not knowing what else to spend skill points on at the moment, I finally decided to max out my speed reading as well, and interestingly, with the four bonus ranks I had gained in it, I was allowed to go above twenty-five up to twenty-nine. With nothing else I could do productive at the moment, other than sleep, and I didn¡¯t consider that productive enough at the moment, I decided to put my new reading ranks to the test. Once I returned to Earth, I had no idea if I¡¯d ever be in a place like this again, and there were a few things I still wanted to read up on while I still could. As soon as I read the first ten books in under an hour I made another decision to max out mental training as well. I may as well stretch my brain in every way I can. My first focus was on the concepts of elements and how they had been defined here. Somehow, they had mixed a classical understanding with a somewhat modern understanding. They know of many other forces that existed but defined them as traits of the main four, and anything they couldn¡¯t agree on a placement for ended up under aether. Things like electricity all fell under air as it was considered tied to lightning. Magnetism fell under earth due to the naturally magnetic rocks. What I was pretty sure was a description of an antimatter/matter reaction fell under aether. What I didn¡¯t understand was why the System had gone along with this. Considering its interactions with me, it certainly knew better. Did it, though? I knew better, and it was interacting with me. Was it possible I was the only source it currently had on these new ideas? Did that mean it was currently testing if the things I knew were actually truths or just nonsense my own world believed? Had I been assuming the System had more knowledge than it did? That line of thought had the potential to be a giant problem. If I was just a lab rat in a new series of experiments for an unfeeling multiversal-level artificial intelligence, there was no way I could assume I was actually in any way safe during these. It may not care at all about the outcome, so much as it sees there is an outcome. A new and even more terrifying question occurred to me. Was this just Roko''s basilisk come to life? This didn¡¯t seem exactly like I would expect a lifetime of torture to be, but it was also possible I wasn¡¯t the target, and this was just what happened to some people when the integration occurred, but no, the brothers seemed to disprove that idea. They weren¡¯t tortured, though their family was, and Mel seemed to believe that their chance meeting with me was the only reason they were still alive. This thought experiment was going to get me nowhere, much like the original one itself; it was just something that ultimately didn¡¯t matter. It was either true or it wasn¡¯t, and no amount of existential dread affected that in any way, so it was best to operate as though this was all what it seemed on the surface. I was reminded of the similar thoughts I had about my own sanity when this all started. Was this just a recurring thought that would find a new way to worm itself into my brain?
The aether that makes up the space between all things is what bonds the universes together. Altering these bonds in any way can produce both explosive and implosive reactions. It is critical when using aether as a source of magical energy that the user be aware of the damage they can do to not only their target but also the unintended consequences to themselves and those around them. One must never forget the folly of Selmas, the grand wizard of Trelina who, in a desperate attempt to slay an invading army of titans, not only turned all the oxygen in their lungs into water, he did it to himself and the entire planet. An excerpt from Aether, the Element of Danger by Henjen Klank. Chapter 35: A Dungeon With the Boys ¡°Alright boys, there are currently eight dungeons on this world that don¡¯t have active claims. There are seven that I think are doable in the time left to you. The eighth is the persistent desert that y¡¯all already know about, and we can discuss the possibility of that if and when you clear the first seven,¡± Mel said. We were in a small private room connected to the adventurer¡¯s hall. Mel had said it was used for more advanced private briefings and that this certainly qualified. After last night¡¯s reading-induced anxiety attack, I had decided to turn in early and distract myself instead with another dungeon. There was no way I was going to continue to climb at my current rate unless I added more options to the simulator. Time spent with what few friends I had here was an added benefit as well. It was easier to clamp down on the intruding thoughts when others were around to distract me. Even better if they were others I happened to like. ¡°So what¡¯s first?¡± Cecile asked. ¡°I¡¯m getting there, don¡¯t rush me! I got more to say first on this whole plan. If it weren¡¯t for the time constraints, I¡¯d be incredibly against any of this, but I¡¯m the one that told Dave to push as hard as he could, and now y¡¯all know why. There ain¡¯t no backing down at this point, so we need to catch you two up with Dave as quickly as possible, which means I¡¯m giving you the Undead Wood dungeon as your first choice. It¡¯s still pretty far out of yer leagues, but I think it¡¯s within Dave¡¯s. Now remember, there¡¯s still a shitton that he don¡¯t know about how any of this works, so even if he¡¯s the one in the front, you two are going to have to give him as much coaching as you can. Treat this as a reverse of what happened in the first dungeon you guys did together, got it?¡± Mel asked after his unusual style of pep talks. We all nodded in return. ¡°Assuming I can get these new dungeons into my simulator and do a power-leveling session each night after we finish one, do you really still think we won¡¯t be able to take on the desert?¡± I asked. I knew it was dangerous, and considering my abject failure with the Basements of Shadow, I could see how it might just be impossible for us, but I wanted to at least know why. ¡°You hit level two-fifty, and we can talk about the desert, and even then, I don¡¯t like the idea of you trying it without any class levels,¡± Mel said. I had seen the class listing before for myself back when I was first sent to the Spiral when we were at the Spire; I hadn¡¯t thought much of it since, but just what were class levels? ¡°Uh, maybe this is something I could know already, but what are class levels?¡± I asked. ¡°Actually, yeah, when do we get to pick a class anyway? No one at home knew anything about that,¡± Elicec said. I was glad for once not to be the only ignorant one on the topic at hand. ¡°How do you not know what classes are? What did you think paladin of knowledge meant?¡± Mel was glaring at me with his return questions. ¡°I just thought they were like an organization Elody belonged to, I guess,¡± I said. I hadn¡¯t even really considered it beyond her words. I figured it was just her job, like the master librarian job she had had here. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what a class is Dave, a specialized area of learning with access to very different abilities, as for when you can get a class, technically anytime after level one. Realistically, though, none of you will have access unless you decide to go off to the Arena, which is a terrible idea considering Dave¡¯s other problems. It¡¯s possible you could find an organization to mentor you or someone to apprentice to, but we don¡¯t have any time or funds for either, so for now, we do this all classless. Any other questions, or are you done yapping and ready to go raid a dungeon?¡± Mel¡¯s glare moved back and forth across all three of us. He was certainly in a bad mood today, and I wasn¡¯t sure why. Was it just the idea of sending us off to a possible death? Not wanting to make anything worse, I nodded in agreement. ¡°We¡¯re as ready as we can be at the moment,¡± I said, hoping to lessen some of the glare. ¡°Good, transport is ready to go outside, and ya damn well better come back alive! Ya hear me?!¡± Mel yelled. So he was worried after all. We said a quick goodbye and boarded the transport, ready to tackle the new dungeon. ¡°So, what level are you guys anyway? I hit one twenty-two last night myself,¡± I said, watching their eyes once again go wide.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m forty-two, and Cecile is forty-four. He got ahead of me with some of his gardening breakthroughs,¡± Elicec answered. So my simulation wasn¡¯t the only skill we had to increase our leveling, though Cecile¡¯s did seem to fall far behind it. ¡°Okay, only eighty levels or so to catch up, and the closer we get, the easier the next few dungeons should be, right, guys?¡± I said, smiling. Despite Mel¡¯s warning, I wasn¡¯t overly worried. The fear of our destination paled in comparison to my nightmares of the last night. With the deadline looming ever closer, those had returned in force. How much sleep did I really need any more? Could my healing abilities resolve sleep deprivation? Probably something better left unexplored at the moment. Neither of them had a chance to answer my voiced question as the door flung open. We had already arrived at our destination, much faster than I¡¯d have expected. It seemed this dungeon was even closer than the first we had visited. As I stepped from the vehicle, I saw a giant dead tree in front of us. Carved into the center of its trunk was what looked like a mouth. ¡°That¡¯s not creepy at all,¡± Cecile said. I agreed. It was not the most inviting sight. ¡°Nope, but the sooner we go through it, the sooner we can get out of here,¡± I replied as I walked toward it. The moment I passed through the opening, I felt the same thing I had felt in the other two dungeons wash over me, and for the first time, I realized that wasn¡¯t something the simulator had duplicated. Did that matter at all? I wasn¡¯t sure, but it was something to ask Mel about later. The path sloped downward, with the walls on either side of us covered in dead yet somehow still wriggling tree branches. Movements that, even if alive, would look unnatural. Based on the name Mel had given us, I started to suspect we were heading into some kind of cross between nature and zombies. The deeper we walked, the less the light was able to reach, While my new senses were compensating somewhat, I wasn¡¯t sure the same could be said for the brothers. ¡°Hey, you two doing okay? I know I can barely see, so if you¡¯ve got anything to light up the path, now wouldn¡¯t be the worst time,¡± I said, remembering that I needed to ask Elicec about how the elemental orb worked exactly. I¡¯d do that at the next moment of calm. ¡°I¡¯m working on it. It feels like something is fighting against me, so give me a moment,¡± Elicec said. His needed moment didn¡¯t take long as what looked like small dancing balls of light flew from his hand down the path. They followed us as we walked, constantly repelling the darkness. ¡°How do you do that anyway, Elicec? I unlocked some skills on both my elemental orbs and specialized one to fire and the other to aether, and I seem just stuck with the same fundamental forces tier one skill they started with,¡± I asked. The light of his spell had relaxed me enough for the curiosity to bubble up to the forefront of my brain. ¡°When you rank up your elemental orbs you should get some new tier two skills branching off of fundamental forces. I''m a little surprised you haven¡¯t yet, considering how far ahead you are in levels,¡± Elicec said. ¡°I haven¡¯t ranked up a single mana orb itself, just applied skill points to increase the mana skill ranks within them. Also, there¡¯s a difference between my simulator runs and these real dungeons, I only realized it when I came in. There¡¯s none of that feeling of being in a dungeon. Do you think that¡¯s hurting my ability to level up the orbs?¡± I asked. It was the only thing I could really think of that was different between the two that I experienced so far. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was under the impression mana orbs only grew more powerful as they absorbed some of the ambient energy your core released, and that shouldn¡¯t be any different during the simulation runs, especially considering the backlashes you¡¯ve been experiencing,¡± Elicec answered. So it was back to Mel still for an answer there. ¡°Remind me to ask Mel when we get back; I don¡¯t want to forget about this topic; it seems like something I really need to figure out,¡± I said. The lights moved past us out of the corridor we had been walking in into a large open chamber. There were three branching paths, two to our right and a single to our left. This place was much larger than the last two dungeons we had been in. ¡°What¡¯s that in front of us?¡± Cecile asked. I hadn¡¯t seen anything, so I glanced that way again. Was he referring to the weird dead tree? I was about to ask exactly what he meant when the thing¡¯s trunk opened wide and roared as its elongated branches whipped at us. We had found the first enemy, or more accurately, it had found us.
Dungeons are a huge problem across all worlds in the spiral. Still, they remain a problem without a solution, not only because of how useful the rewards are for clearing the higher-level ones, but also because they are almost impossible to find before they fully form. Generally speaking, the only time they are ever found before they become dangerous is when someone hunting for unclaimed natural mana sources accidentally finds one on the cusp of transforming. This almost never happens, and instead, those hunting the natural mana sources often end up as some of the first people lost to a new dungeon. An excerpt from The Adventurer¡¯s Primer Volume 1 by Hume Grenderson. Chapter 36: Undead Wood I caught most of the branches across my chest, purposely trying to keep them off of the brothers. I figured I had a better defense at this point than either of them, and while it was painful, it wasn¡¯t anywhere near debilitating. As the branches retracted, I felt an odd pulse through my body, and a message popped into my view for a split second.
Disease Resisted Treerot
I had no idea if that was due to my resistance or because I wasn¡¯t a tree. I hoped it was the second, as that would make the brothers immune as well, but I strongly doubted it. That wasn¡¯t the kind of luck we generally had here. From behind me, a blast of fire shot out over my shoulder, striking a solid impact in the center of the monster. I pulled out my mallet and charged forward, not wanting to waste the impact of Elicec¡¯s fireball. I heard the heavy footfalls of them directly behind me. Two branches whipped forward, catching me under the chin and drawing blood. Another instance of treerot being resisted popped into my view. I ignored both the message and the pain as I slammed my mallet into the side of the tree, feeling it crack under my blow. More of the branches slashed across my back in response, and it opened its mouth to roar again. I met the roar with a hard swing of my mallet into whatever was inside of it¡ªsomething ruptured with the impact, covering the head of my mallet in a vile green substance. The next roar never came as another fireball struck it, this time in the snake-like branches. Both myself and Cecile rained down blows across the trunk at the same time, finally splitting the thing in half. Once the top half crashed to the ground, all the movement stopped.
Monsters Defeated
Awakened Tree, Rotting Pine 25 Experience
Experience Gained 25 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Total Experience Gained 30 Points
¡°That wasn¡¯t much experience; I¡¯m not sure this is going to help you guys level up that quickly,¡± I said. I had been hoping for a lot more, it wasn¡¯t bad for my simulator with the modifiers I could apply, but it was nothing special for them. ¡°Oh, the real experience is going to be in completely clearing the dungeon, once we remove the core, we should get a good boost there,¡± Cecile said. I had entirely forgotten about the three quests I had completed when we finished the first dungeon. At the time, they had been a good early source of experience, so I was wrong. This would still be viable for their leveling, which is great. Sometimes, being wrong is for the best. ¡°Fair enough, somehow I¡¯d forgotten about that part. So do we want right or left?¡± I asked, pointing to the three paths we had to pick from. ¡°Let¡¯s do the two on the right and see what¡¯s hiding down there,¡± Elicec said. ¡°Works for me,¡± I responded, heading to the path closest to the entrance. It didn¡¯t make much of a difference to me how we explored this place as long as we cleared it. The balls of light continued to follow us as we rounded the corridor. There was a second entrance to our left for this new chamber that likely linked up to the one we had just left. I made a note to make sure we backtracked that way to verify it was entirely cleared. Looking ahead into the room, I saw what I was pretty sure were another five or so of the tree things in the distance. I wasn¡¯t sure if they hadn¡¯t spotted us yet or if we were just too far away for them to attack. The last one hadn¡¯t seemed able to move from the spot it started in, so if that continued, this place wouldn¡¯t be all that difficult. ¡°I can count five more of those trees in the distance. What do you two see?¡± I asked. While their eyes looked the same as mine, I had no idea if that meant they functioned the same or not. For all I knew, they had some other specialized senses to detect just what was in the room. I made a note to ask them about it later.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Same,¡± Cecile said, agreeing with my assessment. ¡°I think they¡¯re in range for one of my bigger fireballs, and since they haven¡¯t moved yet, I can likely take the time to make it a bit more powerful,¡± Elicec said. ¡°Go for it. I¡¯ll watch for any movement in the meantime,¡± I replied. I was curious about just what Elicec was capable of with his elemental magic, and this should give me a good demonstration. Elicec had closed his eyes, and while I could see his lips moving, I couldn¡¯t make out any words. This was a stark difference from when I had first seen him casting spells. What had changed there? Was it just better skills or more practice? These questions were certainly not important enough to interrupt his casting with. I¡¯d likely find the answers out myself in time. Elicec raised his hand as a ball of fire about three times as big as the previous one appeared in it. He lifted it up higher, obscuring his face from view. He held it there for another minute or so before the ball flew from his palm towards the cluster of undead trees, hitting the one in the middle with a booming impact that exploded into smaller balls of fire. Each of them ignited a different tree as they expanded out from their point of impact. That was our sign to join the battle before the trees had a chance to put themselves out. It took us no time at all to finish them off as they flailed about, unable to fight back.
Monsters Defeated
Awakened Tree, Rotting Pine x5 25 Experience
Experience Gained 125 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Total Experience Gained 151 Points
¡°Nice job, Elicec,¡± I said. He had made short work of the trees, which looked to be the only residents of this side of the dungeon. The lights were dancing across the room, illuminating every nook and cranny. ¡°Ready for the other side?¡± Cecile asked. I was. ¡°Yep, let¡¯s take that other path back, just in case there¡¯s something in that passage. Seems unlikely with the size, but why chance it,¡± I said. There was, in fact, nothing, and we continued down the final passage with no other monsters in sight, just the constant weird, wriggling branches on the walls. They seemed to be getting more active the deeper we went. It was unnerving, to say the least. ¡°I really don¡¯t like these walls,¡± Cecile said, breaking our silent exploration. ¡°Same, I have a pretty bad feeling about them. I¡¯m worried they¡¯re connected to something deep in the dungeon. When you consider this has all been pretty easy so far, and Mel¡¯s seemingly lack of confidence with us going here. Something just isn¡¯t adding up. So, what I¡¯m trying to say is be on your toes, guys,¡± I said, worried about what was coming up. As we worked our way through an extremely narrow passage, the wriggling all around us suddenly came to an end. The balls of light flew over my head, showing exactly why that had happened. Laying sideways in the center of the new chamber was a massive tree, with thousands of tendrils growing out from it, blanketing the walls of the room. It had been using them as feelers during our whole exploration, which meant that this thing was expecting us. As I had this realization, all the little vine-like branches came back to life, wriggling free of the walls and trying to wrap themselves around us at every point they could. I quickly pushed myself forward out of the cramped corridor to give the brothers a chance to squeeze free as well, but it was too late. They¡¯d already been deeply entangled. I turned back to try and pull them free, but as I did so, I felt something new rake down my back and latch onto my ankle. I found myself lifted into the air by my leg, dangling helplessly as the appendage reeled me closer to the opened maw of the monstrous tree. I switched over to my fire elemental orb and concentrated on fundamental forces, trying desperately to do something with it. In the back of my mind an image of rubbing two sticks together popped up. I focused on it, and the sticks moved faster. I felt the words leave my lips without fully understanding why or where they had come from. ¡°Dry twigs ignite, burn brightly!¡± I had no complaints, though, as the fire did exactly what I had somehow asked it to do. The branch dropped me as the flame engulfed it, running quickly up back towards the monster it was attached to. I looked back to verifying the brothers were still breathing and saw that Cecile had managed somehow to gain control of a few of the branches. Several of them had sprouted leaves and were now wrestling the ones holding them to the wall. That gave me all the reassurance I needed to charge forward at the thing trying to kill us. I switched over my orb to imbuing as I ran, trying to align my mallet with fire. I felt the mana pour into it, but I wasn¡¯t sure if it had worked. I swung my arm wide at a branch trying to block my path towards the trunk. It ignited on contact, ending my worry. Nothing else stood in my way as I leapt off the ground, coming down hard onto the trunk, feeling my stomp skill activate as my boots made hard imprints into the rotting wood below. I followed up with mallet strike after mallet strike into the thing, fighting off each branch as it tried knocking me down yet again. A gleaming hoe caught my eye as the blade cut straight through a branch directly attached to the trunk. The brothers had freed themselves and caught up with me. More flames shot out from Elicec as his brother and I continued our onslaught. I heard them both yell in pain, but as the hoe kept breaking away chunks of rotting wood, I had to assume they were okay for now. Finally, after one last mighty swing, I felt the trunk crack deeply below me as the tree stopped moving. We had won. Wait, why wasn¡¯t the experience box popping up yet? The trunk we were still standing on exploded, catapulting us into the air.
Necromantic mana orbs, while common in some portions of the Spiral, are not usually sought after by many factions. They are seen as distasteful by many at the top due to the end results of their use, and this has led to them falling out of favor. That isn¡¯t to say they have in any way disappeared as many a person still uses them in specialized builds, and they are as popular as ever amongst the children of the long silent sun. An excerpt from Mana Sources by Henjen Klank. Chapter 37: Twice the Dungeons in Half the Time The dungeon core had broken free of the trunk in the same explosion. I crashed into the ground, badly bruised but mostly unbroken. Pain flared, and I was forced to toggle back to my life orb to blunt it. I looked up at the floating core, which seemed to be glowing. I had no idea what it was doing, but I couldn¡¯t afford to waste time finding out. My mana was already quickly draining from the healing work. I threw my mallet at the core, wishing I had invested anything into accuracy. I got lucky, and the mallet hit the core with a clink, knocking it out of the sky. The brothers charged towards its falling destination, and Cecile smashed it the second it hit the ground. This time, the experience window did pop up, signaling our actual victory.
Monsters Defeated
Fallen Elder Oak 100 Experience
Experience Gained 100 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Dungeon Core Boss x2
Total Experience Gained 242 Points
¡°Was that normal? Do higher-level cores tend to do that?¡± I asked. The brothers both shrugged. We were moving into unknown territory for all of us it seemed. We spent another hour or so gathering up what shards we could find until each of us received the completion quests for the dungeon. It seemed there was nothing else of note here. The experience, less than five thousand total, hadn¡¯t really done anything for me, but to the joy of Cecile and Elicec, it had pushed them both to level sixty-six. Apparently, they had completed a couple of quests beyond the dungeon exploration itself. I was just happy to see how happy they were about the leveling. Elicec had System quests to collect various knowledge skills, and Cecile had his own for plant life. Luckily for him undead plant life still counted. The return trip was spent in silence as they allocated their growth. I checked how long the whole trip had taken us, and as it was a little less than three hours, I was debating trying another dungeon or two today. I examined all the wounds and found the vast majority of them were already mostly healed. There was a single deep cut on my arm that I seemed to be having the most trouble with. Remembering I still hadn¡¯t unlocked stitch from the life orb, I pushed that up to my cap as well. It was a strange feeling watching a thread of mana slowly work its way through a slash in my flesh, sewing it shut. There was no pain, the opposite in fact, once it finished, I felt the mana usage of pain management decrease. I checked my mana and saw at my current usage I was going to run out before the healing had time to finish. I toggled off my body-enhancing orbs, and the drain radically decreased. No more mental and strength training for me at the moment, not if I wanted to be healed and try tackling another dungeon today. ¡°Dave, how you doing over there?¡± Cecile asked, breaking the silence first. ¡°I¡¯m alright, a little banged up from the big guy at the end, but the healing magic is going to work. I wish it didn¡¯t drain so much mana, though. I¡¯d like to keep my body-enhancing orbs active at the same time,¡± I said. I knew it was a petty complaint. Virtually no one even had access to more than one orb at the same time, and I was here whining that I couldn¡¯t always actively use both. ¡°It¡¯ll get better; well, you¡¯ll get more mana and be more efficient at using what you have, at least. I guess with the multiple orbs, it¡¯s always gonna be harder than for us,¡± Cecile replied. I appreciated the effort to cheer me up, even if it didn¡¯t really work. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°How would you feel about another dungeon today? I figure we can grab some quick food and see about the next easiest. Honestly, that place seemed easier than Mel sold it as,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m game if Elicec is, and yeah, Mel¡¯s just really worried about us. I think there¡¯s a lot of stuff brewing behind the scenes he can¡¯t tell us about,¡± Cecile replied. I had been considering the same thing, especially when his early warning had been taken into account. Every time I went down that path I got stuck at one point, though; if things were moving in a way that Mel was very aware of them, why am I still here? Why not just deal with me and Sanquar right now? Was it just a matter of red tape or strange legal questions I didn¡¯t understand? I knew I¡¯d have my answer soon enough and worrying about it now was just a waste of time, but pushing it out of my mind was something easier said than done. ¡°I¡¯m also game. Those levels were what I needed to start on my planned path. I¡¯ve got several nodes unlocked in my elemental orb now, and with the dendrology skill we gained from that dungeon, I¡¯ve got enough knowledge skills to start figuring out monsters¡¯ weaknesses,¡± Elicec said. I checked my skills, and he had been right. We had gained that skill. Why hadn¡¯t I gotten a notification? ¡°Congratulations, that should be a pretty big asset. Question though, why didn¡¯t I get a notification on the new skill? I checked just to be sure, but it¡¯s there, just nothing to inform me,¡± I said, confused. ¡°Oh, after the first species knowledge skill, it doesn¡¯t bother telling you. I assume you don''t get notifications about most attributes anymore, either,¡± Elicec said, and he was right. None of the sub-attributes had alerted me. They had just been there as things I could invest in. ¡°Fair enough. I suppose I was getting tired of the endless notification windows,¡± I said truthfully. They had rapidly grown annoying. The door swung open, signaling the end of our trip. We all hopped out and made our way back to Mel to report our success and see about another dungeon. Pushing through the heavy exterior door, I looked around the adventurer hall as we reentered, and for the first time, I noticed how empty the place was. I knew we rarely had any kind of wait to interact with Mel or do any of our business. Was that normal? Before the thoughts really settled into the forefront of my curiosities, Mel spotted us from behind one of the weapons racks and floated out, looking glad to see us alive. Cecile spoke first, and Elicec and I let him tell the story in silent agreement. ¡°Look, I¡¯m glad ya did as good as ya did there, but are you really sure you want to tackle another dungeon right now? With how quickly you grew, it¡¯s possible, but the next two are directly on top of each other and may even be linked. We don¡¯t have the full details there yet,¡± Mel said after Cecile finished. ¡°We¡¯ve gotta push through this as fast as possible, right? We won¡¯t gain much besides a little extra healing time sticking around here right now, so I figure we grab some food and get going,¡± I said. Mel sighed before speaking. ¡°I already ordered yer food. I figured there was no talking any of ya outta this, and I didn¡¯t wanna waste any time. The next two dungeons are the Froggy Swamp and the Caverns of Sparkling Death. I strongly suggest you try to take out the first one before the second, but depending on how linked they turn out to be, I don¡¯t know if that¡¯ll end up viable or not,¡± Mel said. ¡°What makes a linked dungeon special? Oh, and before I forget, any guess why my mana orbs haven¡¯t ranked up? I¡¯m still double their level, and yet they¡¯re beating me there,¡± I asked, both questions itching away in my brain for answers. ¡°I¡¯ll get to that second question in a second, but first up, a linked dungeon means the cores are working together somehow. It could range from a simple agreement of non-hostility towards each other all the way to a weird type of romantic partnership, so ya gotta be careful as you figure out exactly what it is,¡± Mel answered the first question, pausing to grab some of the food that had appeared, and quickly gobbling it down before he continued. ¡°The orbs, now that¡¯s a hard question, tell me how your simulations work exactly.¡± In between my own eating I did exactly as Mel asked, receiving several nods as I did so. ¡°So the only real differences I can see between the simulation and the real thing are my injuries don¡¯t last other than backlashes, and none of that feeling of being in a dungeon,¡± I said, wondering if it was either of those. ¡°The first is very unlikely to be a negative for anything, but some weird pain builds. The second could be a problem, though it won¡¯t really ever put you behind since I guess you will still be doing the same number of dungeons generally. You just get a lot of extra fighting in you. That dungeon feeling yer describing, though, that¡¯s your soul being pressed down on by an external force, it will learn to fight back against that more and more. That also ain¡¯t the reason for the orbs. It¡¯s gotta just be yer core ain¡¯t big enough to give them all the energy for ranking up yet. You will probably always be a bit behind due to that, but the sheer volume of spells yer gonna have access to should greatly make up for it, and who knows, once your core is big enough, it might be able to push out more energy than the orbs can even take in daily,¡± Mel explained. That did make the most sense, there was only so much ambient core energy I had at the moment, and mine was being divided by six. I should have thought of that on my own. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s likely it. Thanks, Mel,¡± I said. I wished I had more time to analyze all that¡¯s going on with my systems myself, but for the immediate future, I was already far too pressed for time to make that a priority. My inner engineer raged at the idea of using so many untested things, but what choice did I have? ¡°No problem, now finish up yer food and get yer asses back out there. I want you three back before dark. I swear if y¡¯all make me send a search and rescue team after you¡­¡± He trailed off with the threat. I half expected he¡¯d have just sent himself if he actually became worried enough. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure they don¡¯t do anything stupid, and we greatly appreciate everything you¡¯ve done for us, Mel,¡± Elicec said. ¡°You better!¡± Mel laughed at this statement, letting his angry dad persona slip. We spent the rest of the quick meal with a strange story from Cecile involving mushrooms and ducks, and then it was back in the air again. Two dungeons awaited.
Pain, cuts, bruises, broken bones, these are all things that most people avoid as much as they possibly can, but this isn¡¯t true universally. As I¡¯ve said before, all things can become mana sources if there is enough of it to form into an orb, and while no record of a naturally forming pain orb exists, there have been at least a dozen created throughout the history of the Spiral. Eleven of these were created by some of the worst people history has ever seen, but strangely, the twelfth was created by the famed healer Lorica Jolre. How and why he did this remains a mystery. An excerpt from Mana Sources by Henjen Klank. Chapter 38: The Frog That Glitters ¡°I¡¯m going to miss these weird plane things once we¡¯re back on Earth,¡± I said as I stepped out of it, my boots splashing as they made contact with the puddle we''d managed to park next to. ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s nothing like ¡®em back in Erkinmushave either. Mostly on our big trips, we take the shroomdog sleds,¡± Cecile said, the brothers joining me in the puddle. ¡°I hope after everything is over, I somehow get to see your world. It sounds so extremely alien to what I¡¯m used to. I don¡¯t know how you two have managed to handle all this so well compared to me,¡± I said. Any small difference sent my brain wandering down a path, trying to understand what was happening, and somehow, it had never occurred to me that they must have been experiencing the same. Sure, they had the System already, but from the stories of their home, it was nothing like this. ¡°We had a lot of time to prepare, lots of stories from all the elders on what they knew, but you missed the first two weeks in the lines. We didn¡¯t do nearly as well as we are now, and yes, you have to come to visit some of the fungal farms with us. There are amazing hot springs,¡± Cecile offered. To my own surprise, I wanted to go. What had happened to the man I so recently was, who¡¯d loved his solitude, shut off from the rest of the world? The feeling of the dungeon¡¯s presence swept over us suddenly, which was strange as we hadn¡¯t moved yet. ¡°Uh, guys, I assume you felt that too?¡± They both nodded. Cecile had drawn his hoe. I looked behind me to see the transport already far in the distance. The dungeon had waited until our only getaway was gone before imposing itself, great. I decided Cecile had the right idea and pulled out my mallet. ¡°There¡¯s something large moving through the deeper water over there,¡± Elicec said, pointing at a dark shape moving quickly below the surface. Before anyone could respond, a giant frog leaped from the water, crashing down hard enough to knock us all to the ground. It had several crystalline shapes jutting out from its flesh, with a large blood-red one on its head. I had a feeling I knew what was going on. The dungeons themselves were mobile due to the two dungeon cores taking on what was essentially the same host. Somehow they were able to quickly move the borders, possibly due to the strange minerals attached to the mutated creation. My theory, while interesting, did nothing for the problem at hand, though. The battle had just started, and this thing was already winning. The brothers were back on their feet before I was. Which left me to watch in horror as its tongue shot out and wrapped around their legs and instantly retracted, their body disappearing behind its closing mouth. ¡°Dammit,¡± I yelled as I forced myself up and toggled my mana orbs back to the elemental ones. I focused hard on the aether orb. There had to be something in the fundamental forces skill that could help here. Just as its mouth opened again, ready for a second snack, new words poured out of my mouth, as unbidden as the time before. ¡°Molecules, sever your bonds, dry this amphibian¡¯s flesh!¡± I took several rapid steps backward, reasonably sure I had just split the water molecules all around the giant frog into hydrogen and oxygen gasses. I didn¡¯t think some hydrogen gas was a big issue to breathe, but it wasn¡¯t something I had ever really looked into. While I knew heavier-than-air gasses could be dangerous, hydrogen being lighter than oxygen meant it probably wasn''t a huge problem, but that didn¡¯t mean my body would like it. I hoped the brothers were fine inside the frog from this. The frog shuddered, collapsing forward in pain. Had I really done that much damage just from drying out its skin? The reasons didn¡¯t fully matter at the moment. I had to get the brothers free. I ran forward, bringing my mallet down onto its soft head. As I lifted my mallet for another swing, I felt a blast of energy surge across my body. The dark red crystal had shot me point blank. Apparently, they could operate independently of each other. I had once shocked myself pretty badly in an experiment during my first year of college. This felt so much worse than that memory. I was having trouble focusing beyond the pain and was forced to cycle back to my life mana orb just to keep me going. I jumped onto the creature¡¯s head, stomping down hard as I did, swinging my mallet at the crystal. It bounced off, but a small chunk had broken where I had hit it. It was glowing brightly now, and I had a feeling I was about to get hit by another blast. I swung as hard as I could, worried it was my last shot. The crystal cracked in half. The energy exploded anyway, and I flew backward, hitting a tree hard enough that my vision started going dark. No, I screamed in my mind, trying to fight past the blackout. Cecile and Elicec were still inside that thing. I have to save them. The struggle was in vain. I felt my head slump to the side. The fight was over, and we had lost. Something inside my brain yelled back.
Mana Orb Rank Increase
Mana Orb Rank Increase
Mana Orb Rank Increase
Mana Orb Rank Increase
Mana Orb Rank Increase
Mana Orb Rank Increase
The popup was just enough to keep me conscious. All my orbs had finally leveled up. I forced my eyes open to see the frog still hadn¡¯t moved. It was alive, and it was recovering. So we were in the same boat, a race against which one of us managed to stand up first. I quickly pulled up my life orb and unlocked both the third-tier regeneration skills, maxing out both of them. With the new mana skills improving it, I put regeneration to work only on the parts of me that were stopping me from standing up. I felt mana flow through my body into my back, carefully collecting small broken bones and binding them back together. I wasn¡¯t able to walk yet, but I could feel my toes. The frog¡¯s eyes still hadn¡¯t opened yet. It was possible I¡¯d win this race still.
Mana Orb LifeThe tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Tier 4
Orb Rank 1 Skill Regeneration
Requirement Regeneration Efficiency (25) Regeneration Efficacy (25)
Regeneration builds on everything from the tiers below it, now allowing the host to continue to focus their greater efforts without halting the regenerative effects in the rest of the body. While initially decreased still while using Regeneration Efficacy, each rank further increased the speed of Regeneration.
Skill Rank 0
I checked over my new life orb skill while waiting. I wanted it, but considering how long it had taken me to unlock tier three, I didn¡¯t expect it anytime soon. I checked over my mana pool and found it draining rapidly. Inner vitality suggested I¡¯d be back on my feet before it was empty, though. It didn¡¯t of course, tell me if I¡¯d be on my feet before the frog was. The frog''s eyes opened, and it looked over at me. I saw its lips curl into a smile. It knew I was still alive and expected it would soon be eating me, and I was worried it just might. I had to try something else. I unlocked cast and threw twenty-four ranks into it as well. It kind of worked. I felt further mana, knitting the parts of my spine back together and sealing itself around it. The pain in my legs grew much worse, but I could feel them again. That was a drastic improvement. This was eating into my mana even faster, but considering I saw the frog move one leg forward, I was going to have to make do with what I had. I fought through the pain, pushing myself to my feet for the second time since we arrived. Each step was agony as I felt things shift in my back and new stabs of pain course through my body. Would I even be moving without pain management? The frog, realizing I was the first to manage any real movement, went from a smile to a look of terror as my mallet crunched into its head again and again. I saw a gleaming hoe tear through the side of the creature, followed by Twinoges pushing themselves free, covered in who knew what but still very alive, to my incredible relief.
Monsters Defeated
Frog Behemoth 75 Experience
Crystalline Parasite 75 Experience
Experience Gained 150 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Double Dungeon Core Boss x4
Total Experience Gained 726 Points
I sat back down, dismissing the notification. The sitting quickly turned into laying. I was in no shape to do anything else until the healing finished more on my back. I turned off everything but the regeneration for now. Letting myself feel the pain made me wish I was dead, but I needed the mana, or I wasn¡¯t moving again anytime soon. ¡°Dave, are you going to be okay?¡± Elicec asked, standing over me. ¡°Yeah, just need a bit, go loot the place. The big one is dead anyway,¡± I forced the words out in a whisper. ¡°Alright, just don¡¯t die, man. We¡¯ve still got five more dungeons,¡± Cecile said. I managed to give him a thumbs up. It hurt less than talking at the moment. I heard their footfalls as they walked away, searching the area for anything that remained, loot or monster. In an attempt to distract me from the pain, I pulled up cast to see what my investment had unlocked.
Mana Orb Life Tier 4
Orb Rank 1 Skill Bandaid
Requirement Cast (15)
The use of this skill allows the host to create physical bandaids out of mana that do not degrade until used. These bandaids work to heal anything they are applied to. Each rank increases the effectiveness of the bandaid.
Skill Rank 0
This was the first skill that would let me extend my healing to anyone else. I had a feeling medical telemetry might allow a path for that as well. That was something I decided to explore once we were back at the archive. My bed sounded amazing right now. I felt several more bones adjust themselves in my back and screamed out in pain as they did. Why did healing a broken spine have to hurt so much?
Sometimes, though very rarely, the best course of action when fighting a thing much larger than you is to fight from within it. This is especially true of creatures that do not crush their prey when they swallow them. Virtually everything is less defended from the inside, and if you can mitigate the various pitfalls associated with being swallowed, cutting yourself free can potentially mortally wound your enemy. Please note any creature large enough to have its own intelligent internal defenses such as the asterohemoths make this strategy much more dangerous. An excerpt from The Lesser Used Tactical Options by Sir Lemsworth Fenil. Chapter 39: New Problems The brothers helped me into the transport once they returned from their exploration. They¡¯d found several gems they thought might be useful but not a single other monster. Elicec believed the big thing had been consuming everything else that came near, which explained why it immediately attacked us. They had jumped up to the mid-seventies in levels as well and were pretty happy about that. I was just glad for the comfort of the transport¡¯s seats. I was going to need at least a day off, possibly two before we did another dungeon, but hey, at least we weren¡¯t dead. Mel couldn¡¯t yell at us for that one. Sadly, playing around in the simulator likely wasn¡¯t worth it yet. None of the dungeons had enough monsters in a way that I could abuse them, being weaker for mass amounts of experience. I needed some dungeons that gave me fights with higher base amounts of experience. Fights I could win would also be preferable. The trip soon came to an end and we walked back into the adventurer hall, some of us better than others, ready to tell Mel of our new success. Instead, there was a very human-looking man sitting in front of Mel¡¯s usual counter with Mel floating behind him. Mel''s eyes kept darting between us, the newcomer. Something was up. ¡°Ah, Mr. Imogen and his teammates Cecile and Elicec, glad to see you¡¯ve returned in one piece. Your local adventurer hall representative was kind enough to let me wait here with him for your return,¡± the man spoke first. ¡°Thanks, but it¡¯s mostly only true on the outside. Some things are still fixing themselves internally. Is there something we can help you with?¡± I asked, paying close attention to Mel¡¯s eyes. They seemed to be screaming for me to be careful. ¡°Mostly you, but as I understand, you are officially registered as a team, so it is perhaps best if they hear this as well. It has come to the attention of certain interested parties that the prisoner universe of Sanquar has been connected to Spiral, and you, Mr. Imogen, are from that universe. I¡¯m here to offer you some assistance. I¡¯ve been told that you are doing remarkably well so far despite some unsavory influences initially.¡± I was sure he was talking about Elody, and as much as I wanted to call him on it, Mel¡¯s eyes continued their silent pleas. ¡°Thanks again, we¡¯re trying our best,¡± I said. Would he notice if I upped my presence in the middle of this conversation? Probably best not to risk it. ¡°Yes, and I would like you to continue to do so. In a couple of months, we should have this whole Sanquar issue entirely under wraps, and when that happens, I¡¯d like to sponsor you for the Arena. How does that sound?¡± Mel¡¯s eyes quickly dart from side to side. ¡°Well, it sounds nice and all, I haven¡¯t fully decided if the Arena is something I want to do. Any chance I could think on til you take care of the other problem, and we could discuss it then?¡± I asked, stamping my foot down, with what I was sure was much more pain for me than him, onto Cecile¡¯s foot when he started to speak. ¡°We¡¯ve been debating about possibly going down the dungeon raiding path instead of the Arena climbing,¡± Elicec said, helping me cover up whatever Cecile had been about to say. ¡°Oh, that would be a great path, too. Either way, I believe my sponsorship would be of great benefit. Thank you for understanding, and I¡¯m glad this was such an easy conversation. I look forward to our next meeting. It¡¯s been great seeing you again as well, Mel. Goodbye, gentlemen,¡± the man said, disappearing in a flash of light. I opened my mouth to speak, but Mel held up his hand to stop me. Several smaller Mel forms broke off from his main body and began floating all over the room. Each of them was emitting a small light from its eyes as it moved. I pulled out a chair and sat down as we waited, the pain in my body no longer letting me stay standing. It took nearly half an hour, but finally, all the little clouds returned to his main body. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s safe to speak now; good job. I really thought we were screwed there for a minute. I had no idea you were so capable of going toe to toe with someone like him,¡± Mel said. I had no idea exactly what he was talking about. ¡°I didn¡¯t know there was another Twinog in the greater Spiral. I thought we were the only ones. And why¡¯d you stop me from talking anyway, Dave? I just wanted to know which village he was from,¡± Cecile said. So the man wasn¡¯t a human after all, he was just appearing that way to me.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a Twinog Cecile. You have to invest some points into interactions, brother. I can¡¯t always be saving you from every charlatan that comes along,¡± Elicec said. ¡°I think there might be a second way if it helps Cecile. Extreme pain will make it harder for them to manipulate you. I have nothing invested in my interaction attributes either, and I thought he was human until your brother said something. Here¡¯s to a broken spine. Apparently, it¡¯s sometimes useful,¡± I said sarcastically. The pain was not worth the trade-off. ¡°He certainly ain¡¯t human or twinog, and I couldn¡¯t even say for sure if he was a man, but that¡¯s what I¡¯ve always known Korl as, so it¡¯s the best I have for you. Good job at not giving him any definite answers. I don¡¯t think he had any binding fields up, but still best practice to be very careful how you talk to these types. So, what are your plans now? Looks like you do have the option to stay here and ride out this whole mess. Probably a lot more likely to keep you alive, too,¡± Mel said. If Mel was implying I was remotely interested in Korl¡¯s offer, he was incredibly wrong. ¡°Nothing has changed. I assume Pryte knew this was coming and why he gave me the warning. I also assume you had some idea as well, but can¡¯t say anything due to how you got it. We have a few weeks remaining, then we have to go back to Earth, deal with the Orcish invasion and then figure out whatever comes next with Sanquar,¡± I said. The priority, as it had always been, was saving my family and the planet. ¡°Glad to hear it, and yeah you¡¯re on the right track there with your assumptions. That guy and who he represents are slimy as hell, but they have far more power and resources than anything we can dream of, so right now, the only thing keeping y¡¯all safe is carefully staying inside the bounds of the law. Remember what Elody did? Make sure you read any documents that anyone gives you in detail, and then have Elicec double-check it. That goes twice for you, Cecile, no offense intended, but it just ain¡¯t your specialty,¡± Mel said. ¡°No, I understand. I really thought that guy was another twinog,¡± Cecile said despondently. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Cecile, we all make our mistakes. Nothing bad happened here, so it¡¯s just a good learning experience now, guys. As much as I want to stay and discuss this as if nothing has really changed, I desperately need to lay down and heal,¡± I said, tired, hungry, and in excruciating pain. ¡°No, you should be good to go get some rest, Dave. Cecile and Elicec can go over the report with me. I¡¯ll send some food up to your room; try to get as much down as you can. It¡¯ll help keep your strength up as you heal, and you¡¯re going to need everything you''ve got for the desert. There¡¯s no avoiding that future now,¡± Mel said. ¡°Thanks. I hope it goes better than you¡¯re worried it will,¡± I said as I made my escape back to my bed. I stepped into my room to find a strange small creature asleep on my bed, with a note next to it. The creature looked up and made a low purring sound. It looked something like a cat if you crossed it with a monkey. Where had it come from? I sat down and grabbed the note likely to contain the answer to my question. Dave, This is a forest pumakey, they come from one of the fringe worlds of the Spiral that are considered to have no intelligent life. I strongly disagree with this assessment, and I recently saved this little guy from a black market trade. As I have nowhere safe to send him at the moment, I thought you might like the company. You¡¯re both strangers stuck somewhere you never wanted to be. He should be fine eating mostly the same diet you do. Just make sure he gets some extra protein. Elody, Paladin of Knowledge I reached over and scratched the little guy behind his ear, causing him to stand up and rub his head against my leg. Elody was right; I already liked the company. ¡°Hey, little guy, I didn¡¯t see a name anywhere in Elody¡¯s letter. Do you have one already?¡± I asked, not expecting any answer and none came. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to think something up then. In the meantime, wanna join me in eating all this food?¡± I pointed to the dishes that covered my desk and bedside table. He must have understood something I was saying because, within a second of my offer, he had leaped off the bed onto my desk and started devouring one of the pieces of the roast fish whole. He wasn¡¯t nearly so cute with those razor-sharp claws in full view, but as long as he didn¡¯t use them on me, he was welcome to stay. Would he handle an Alaskan winter okay?
Dungeon raiding is a completely, if much lesser used these days, viable path for anyone within the Spiral. It is a trade in desperate need of more young blood as the lure of the Arena takes most newcomers to the System¡¯s path. Already, entire worlds are being lost to uncontrolled growth of dungeons. What happens when the first universe itself is lost? With no one rushing to stop the expansion of the Sapient Sun, I believe we will soon know that answer and come to regret it. An excerpt from System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp. Chapter 40: Forests & Oceans I was woken up the next morning by my new roommate, who was purring loudly on my chest. The fact that I had even managed to sleepthrough him climbing up there was a good sign for my body. I wasn¡¯t completely healed yet, but most of my back was holding in its proper place. There was no more horrible feeling of bones shifting as I moved. I gently lifted the pumakey and laid it on the bed next to me. Its little tail reached out and wrapped around my arm, pulling it back down. I gave it some more gentle scratches behind the ear, and I was released. Thinking back over the events of the previous day, I was more concerned than ever about what had happened. There was plenty more unsaid in that conversation than I had initially realized. What would they have done with Earth once Sanquar was dealt with? Would Earth even survive that? Somehow, I doubted sponsoring me meant I got to live so much as it meant I got to be monitored until they decided what to do with me, too. Then there was their whole problem with Elody, just how widespread was the dislike of the archive? None of this sat well with me, and that meant more dungeon raids sooner. The brothers were mostly fine from yesterday despite having been eaten, and while I wasn¡¯t operating on all cylinders just yet, there was plenty of time to heal on the way. ¡°Hey, little guy, I¡¯m probably going to be gone again all day, but I¡¯ll make sure water and food are sent here for you. Hopefully, I¡¯ll even have a name for you when I get back,¡± I said, leaning back over the bed to pat the fluffy little guy one more time before heading for breakfast. After several servings of eggs and a special order sent back to my room, I made my way to the adventurer¡¯s hall to discuss the future dungeons with Mel. As always, I found the man floating behind his counter, moving things around. ¡°Hey Mel, what¡¯s next on our agenda?¡± I asked. ¡°That depends a lot on you, Dave. How¡¯s yer body holding up anyway?¡± Mel asked. I checked my inner vitality just to be sure before I answered. My mana had held up surprisingly well throughout the night, and at this rate, I¡¯d be fully healed in another few hours. ¡°All things considered, pretty good. I think I¡¯m ready for another dungeon already if Cecile and Elicec are,¡± I said. I stretched out my arms, giving everything a test. Nothing screamed in pain. Yeah, I was ready for another dungeon. ¡°They were down here earlier trading in all the crap they picked up at the last two, seemed fine. If you¡¯re serious, I¡¯ll send a drone to go find ''em,¡± Mel said. I nodded my approval and watched as a mini-Mel floated off, disappearing into the elevator. ¡°So what¡¯s next on our list?¡± I asked, curious as ever. ¡°The trip out to these dungeons is gonna take awhile, so it¡¯s actually best you do them all at once without a break between. Technically, I¡¯m pretty sure the first one ain¡¯t gonna be any issue for the three of you, but the fact you have to rush three at once that¡¯s the real challenge. They aren¡¯t linked far as I know, but for whatever reason, they formed on paths to each other,¡± Mel said. ¡°Nice, I haven¡¯t been camping in so long,¡± Cecile¡¯s voice came from behind, signaling their arrival. ¡°Yeah, you say that now, but the first dungeon ya gotta go through today is called the Waspy Treetops. I¡¯ll let you figure out why. After that, you should be close enough to find yer way into The Dreaming Deer and then finally head to the nearby beach for Seaside Crustaceans. I recommend only camping after the second dungeon. You don¡¯t wanna risk any of those diredeer after dark,¡± Mel explained. I had to agree; the idea of monsters attacking us while we tried camping sounded pretty awful. ¡°What does that leave after these three?¡± I asked. Hopefully, the Waspy Treetops had a ton of wasps. That would make for a good simulation run to boost me up before the desert. ¡°There¡¯s one more potential one before the persistent desert, but I ain¡¯t got a lot of info about it. You¡¯ll have to head out to Smithtown and see what they tell you. Supposedly a dungeon has formed nearby, but they aren¡¯t sure on a lot about it, likely just don¡¯t have the right folks to scout it,¡± Mel answered. ¡°At this rate, we might have these dungeons cleared out before the end of the week. That¡¯s pretty far ahead of schedule,¡± I said, smiling. The more time I had to prepare for the return trip, the better. ¡°Yeah, I wouldn¡¯t count on that just yet. That desert ain¡¯t going to be a walk in the park, but we can talk about that later. Yer transport¡¯s here, get yer asses outta here, and good luck,¡± Mel said ushering us from the building. We were dropped off in front of a ladder attached to a very tall tree. ¡°I take it we climb?¡± I asked, not seeing any other way. ¡°He did say treetops,¡± Elicec answered. I grabbed the ladder and hoisted myself up the first rung, slowly making my way to the top. The ladder ended in a platform far above the ground with a single direction to go in front of us. Who had built this? Was it the monsters, or had they just taken it over? ¡°Looks like a bunch of wasps ahead of us, and I think that¡¯s their hive over there,¡± Cecile said, pointing far into the distance, well beyond anything I could make out. I did see several of the wasps though, along our only path. Each was about the size of a mouse, so while not a ton bigger than the wasps I was used to, I had a feeling their stingers were going to be a lot more painful. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m in front. Elicec, shoot down every wasp you can before it gets to us. Cecile, handle anything that gets too close from your side, and I¡¯ll clear anything from the front of us, ready?¡± They both nodded. I had considered my own fire magic, but with the pathways being made of wood and all the trees below us, I didn¡¯t want to cause a forest fire. I figured Elicec would have some better alternatives, and as it was, it just occurred to me I hadn¡¯t even checked the elemental orbs for their new rank. How had that slipped my mind? Something to do once we were done with this dungeon, I supposed, and started forward. The wasps waited until we were halfway across the first bridge before massing on either side of us. Elicec made short work of a few dozen on one side while Cecile swept across the other. I put my mallet to work on the few still in our way. Mel had been right about this being easy enough. So far, not a single one had managed to land a sting. Fighting our way to the other side, I could now spot where Cecile had said the hive was. We only had another bridge to cross on the way.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Guys I¡¯m going to run ahead and see if I can¡¯t just take out the queen or whatever the boss is, you okay with that?¡± I yelled over the buzzing. ¡°Yes, we can keep as many of them distracted back here in the meantime!¡± Elicec yelled back as guided bursts of hail rained down onto our attackers. I crushed another twenty of the wasps as I charged across the last bridge towards the hive, slamming my mallet into the papery walls the moment I was near enough. The buzzing sound increased as the queen ripped free from the damaged hive. She was nearly my size, and her stinger was dripping venom. I threw my mallet at her face, not wanting to give her a chance to get any closer. The impact was brutal, and she dropped out of the air, still flailing desperately. Two quick kicks, while I retrieved my mallet and gave her another hard strike to her head, brought the hard part of the fight to an end. The few wasps that continued to fight were quickly dealt with. The first dungeon was already done and I already knew this was the perfect choice for the simulator once we returned.
Monsters Defeated
Wicked Wasp x77 5 Experience
Wicked Wasp Queen 50 Experience
Experience Gained 435 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Dungeon Core Boss x2
Total Experience Gained 1053 Points
¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t get any completed quests for this. Did either of you?¡± I asked. I was worried the dungeons were linked now somehow. ¡°Nope, any idea why?¡± Elicec asked back. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m worried these are linked despite what Mel thought, but that was easy enough. Could you guys grab the cores while I take a look at my mana orbs real quick?¡± I asked. I wanted to get this done and over with before we headed down the ladder on this other side. ¡°No problem,¡± Cecile answered. I pulled up my elemental orbs and took a look at them.
Mana Orb Elemental Tier 2
Orb Rank 1 Skill Recall
Requirement Fundamental Forces (5)
The host gains the ability to recall the various interactions they have discovered through the use of Fundamental Forces. Each rank allows the recall of one additional spell.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Elemental Tier 2
Orb Rank 1 Skill Components
Requirement Fundamental Forces (5) Recall (5)
The host is able, through the use of various components described in their entry, to further empower their spells. Each rank allows for further empowerment.
Skill Rank 0
Recall was a no-brainer and I maxed that on both of my elemental orbs. I decided to skip out on components for now. I needed to look over what the average requirement looked like before I wanted to pursue that very far. I already had the spells taking control of my vocal cords without permission. ¡°We managed to get some royal jelly from the hive, too. I bet that¡¯s useful,¡± Cecile said sounding happy with the discovery. ¡°Yeah, can¡¯t hurt. Ready to head down?¡± I asked. Neither of them disagreed, so I grabbed the top rung and started my descent, happy to soon have my feet back on the ground. About twenty feet from the ground, my hands slipped on the side of the ladder; something had greased it, and I proceeded to slide the rest of the way. ¡°Careful guys, someone greased the ladder!¡± I yelled back up the descending brothers. ¡°Yes, that would be us. How dare you step on our sacred grounds!¡± An angry voice yelled from the nearby thick brush.
Why some dungeon cores seem more intelligent then others is something that has been long studied, with no answer found. Many theories have been proposed, the most prominent being just what the first host is, but that has never been conclusively proven. An excerpt from A Study of Dungeon Cores by Brij Flun Kerg Pil-Flin V Chapter 41: A Diredeer Cult ¡°Sorry, we didn¡¯t realize anyone was living here. We can just head out, no harm, no foul,¡± I said, doubting that it was that simple, especially as the accusers had yet to show their faces. I heard the brothers drop to the ground behind me. ¡°Even now, you threaten us! There shall be no escape for you; a sacrifice is demanded!¡± The figure again yelled from its cover. I looked behind me for a second to make sure they had landed all right, and they both looked fine. ¡°You two ready? I have a feeling we¡¯ve already found our diredeer,¡± I asked, knowing it likely made no difference whether we were ready or not. All around us the figures emerged from the woods, twelve in total. Each of them stood taller than any deer I had ever seen before, closer to the size of an Alaskan moose. Half of them were walking on two legs and carrying torches. All of them looked insane. They were twitching, and some were drooling. Most of them were rambling incoherently. Only the one who had first spoken seemed to be in any control of itself. ¡°Soon, your blood will adorn our dear deer dreamer, and we will be granted an even greater gift,¡± it whispered, its voice having dropped to a low snarl as it spoke. I was liking this less and less by the minute. Elicec was the first to attack as a strong burst of wind erupted all around us, knocking several of them off their feet. I followed up with a hard mallet swing into the head of the one threatening me. It whipped its head to the side, goring me deeply into the arm and throwing me to the side. I realized my mistake as I crashed to the ground. If these things were anything like moose, they were built to take heavy blows on the skull. ¡°Don¡¯t hit them in the head, too much bone!¡± I yelled, barely rolling out of the way from being hoofed. Two of the crazed things had descended on me, and I wildly swung my mallet, trying to knock them away. I managed to entangle the mallet into the antlers of one of them as it came down for another goring, and it flung me back into the air, desperate to free itself. It failed, and I managed to get my legs around its neck as I came back down. I flipped my mana orb over to imbuing and aligned my mallet to fire, channeling as much mana into the head as quickly as I could. The smell of the sizzling hair and antlers told me I was on the right path. It bucked hard, trying to get me off as a second one charged at me. I felt one of the antlers graze past my thigh as the rest of them found a home in the side of my temporary mount. I ripped my mallet free and pushed myself off the monster as the two of them crashed to the ground, locked together, snapping at each other in their rage. ¡°Two down!¡± I yelled, spotting the brothers in their own fight with six more of them. At least it looked like they had killed one of them, as there was a body already on the ground. ¡°Heathens!¡± the original one screamed, swinging his torch at me. How the hell was it even holding that thing? No, I forced the question down out of my brain. This was absolutely not the time to ponder how an insane diredeer cultist who could speak was also somehow holding a torch. Now was the time to fight, no distractions. I knocked the torch out of its hoof with my mallet and turned the motion back onto the thing with an upward swing, catching it hard in the lower jaw. Unlike my last hit on it, this time, I felt something crack, and it fell to the ground with a scream of pain. I ran towards the encircled and overwhelmed brothers, swapping to my elemental orb as I did. I swung my mallet hard at the first one I reached while concentrating on the fundamental forces of my aether orb. It had to have something that could help here. From inside the ring of diredeer I could still hear the brothers fighting for their lives. I just needed to give them an opening to fight through. ¡°Forces invert themselves. Feel the bonds of gravity reversed!¡± I had a feeling what the words were going to do as they left my mouth. Two of the diredeer rocketed off the ground a couple of hundred feet before crashing back down, both dead. Was aether only this scary because of what I knew, or did it have this potential for anyone? Once again, I forced myself to save the questions as I entered the new opening swinging. I wasn¡¯t about to give the diredeer a moment to close up ranks to surround Cecile and Elicec again. I saw Cecile¡¯s hoe transform in his hand. He stepped into the now free space, and a gleaming sickle slashed across the necks of three more of the diredeer. At the same time, Elicec released a glowing ball from his hand that drifted toward the only still-fighting deer. The moment it touched its flesh, electrical sparks leaped across its body accompanied by a sizzling sound as all its limbs convulsed, knocking it to the ground as well. Where had the last two run off to? ¡°We need to find those other two and destroy the insane dungeon core they are worshipping!¡± Elicec yelled, angrier than I had ever heard him. ¡°Did anyone see where they went?¡± I asked, not disagreeing, but I had no idea where it was. ¡°I think they went that way,¡± Cecile said, huffing heavily. How much had that weapon transformation taken out of him? I wasn¡¯t in the greatest shape myself; that last attack had cut my mana in half and I was bleeding from the gorings, but we didn¡¯t have much of an option but to push through now.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I ran into the woods, the direction Cecile had pointed and was able to spot the diredeer now in a full sprint away from us. We¡¯d never be able to keep up, but we chased after them nonetheless. Elicec launched two balls of light from his hand. One flew after our prey, while the second stayed in front of us as we ran. ¡°This will let us track them for a good while,¡± he said, also sounding exhausted. What was waiting for us at the end of this path? We weren¡¯t in the best shape for a dungeon core boss at the moment. Our pursuit came to an end as we stumbled out of the thick trees into a clearing. The targets of our long run had their heads bowed, whispering to a statue in the center of the clearing. It was another one of the diredeer, only made of stone, and antlers sprouted from all over its body, not just its head. Its stone skull turned to face us. Damn, it was the dungeon boss, and we were more exhausted than ever. ¡°Are these the ones that killed your brothers, my children?¡± It asked. ¡°Yes, we are, to, be fair, they did attack us first!¡± I yelled back, cutting off any reply of their own. ¡°You speak in my presence? The continued insolence you show must be punished!¡± It said. I saw two of its legs lift up, and then it was just standing in front of us before I understood what had happened. It checked me with a shoulder that felt like it had the force of a car behind it, knocking me backward into a tree¡­ again. At least this time, I didn¡¯t feel my back break with the impact, but god did it hurt. Cecile was fighting a losing battle against it while Elicec slung spell after spell, each bouncing off its body. Could we even hurt this thing? I looked at the diredeer still kneeling in front of where the statue had been, and something clicked in my brain. What happened to a god when it had no one left to believe in it? I activated recall and launched the remaining diredeer skyward as I recited the same words as before. My mana was virtually tapped out now. If my gamble didn¡¯t pay off, we were all dead. I ran up to join Cecile as he tried to chip away at the monster and hammered down with my mallet. It cracked. Killing the worshippers had changed something, at least. One of its antlers knocked the sickle from Cecile¡¯s hands, and he retaliated by slamming his own head into the creature¡¯s solid stone skull. To my utter shock, several cracks appeared across its head. Cecile had an impressively strong head. Elicec stuck his hand into the thing''s open jaw. There was a small boom from deep inside it, and more cracks appeared all over its body. I swung again, putting all my remaining strength behind the blow. It broke apart, crumbling away to dust.
Monsters Defeated
Diredeer x12 30 Experience
Avatar of the Diredeer 150 Experience
Experience Gained 510 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Dungeon Core Boss x2
Total Experience Gained 1234 Points
I fell backward onto the soft ground. The dungeon feeling had vanished, and the area now seemed to have a refreshing feeling about it. What was causing that? ¡°Dave, eat this; we¡¯re going to have to build camp here once we can move a bit better,¡± Cecile said as he dropped a large wrapped-up sandwich onto my chest. I was surprised he was the one most able to speak after the impressive headbutt. ¡°Thanks, just give me a bit, and I¡¯ll see what I can about the camp,¡± I said, unwrapping the food and taking a bite before swapping over to my life orb. Mana or not, I¡¯d need it eventually. ¡°I get it, but try not to take too long. There¡¯s something strange about the area. I don¡¯t want to spend the night outside of our tent,¡± Cecile said.
It''s important to remember, when traveling new places, that social norms differ vastly from species to species. A polite gesture in one culture could mean war in another. Even similar species from different universes rarely share cultural norms. One must only look to the goblin wars¡­ Dame Kchee Locinda Ara¡¯a¡¯s Simple Etiquette for New Spacefarers (Old Version) Excerpt Only Bonus Chapter New Excerpts How does the system align the universes when it begins to grow into a new one? What happens to the space the universe used to occupy? Are we just creating a breeding ground in chaotic space for the horrors that terrorize every child¡¯s nightmares? These are the questions someone must ask themselves before considering on the path of a chaos explorer. This career option is one of the most dangerous things someone can choose, but the potential rewards can be worth it for those few willing to take up the task. From trades in lucrative goods to discoveries of rogue planets, any explorer capable of survival is soon a very rich person. Every faction employs their own guild, but it¡¯s important to note that every guild is constantly hiring. System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp One of the choices that has to be made when a faction gains control of a new planet is just how to best utilize that planet. Most opt for a client-world situation, where they get the better end of the deal. Some go for full colonization, while others brutal slavery. The least chosen option these days is true integration. It used to be very common for the melding of worlds together, sometimes even entire universes. This was to strengthen the mana flows of the faction and makes for less territory to defend. The problem is the time required to do so often leads factions to consider a more immediately profitable solution. Factions, Dynasties, Royalty, and the Holdings by Trig Plunderscan Existing Excerpts Chapter 1 Orcs are one of the more common peoples of the Spiral, hailing from many universes. They are by far the most represented of the Spiral¡¯s many differing inhabitants within the Arena, with no less than a hundred smaller factions competing at any given time. Despite their greater numbers, their overall performance is rarely above average. An excerpt from The Varied Peoples of the Spiral by Krrtck Chapter 2 The Spiral, named after the pattern they make, are the universes that are connected to the System and aligned as though spiraling around a column that both ascends and descends forever into the infinite expanse of space between worlds. This space is not empty, though, as it is where the infrastructure, personnel, and, most of all, the bureaucracy that is needed to administer something so large are housed in an ever-expanding tower. An excerpt from A Visitor''s Guide to the Spiral Tower by Greg. Chapter 3 The spire occupies the outermost rings of the Spiral Tower and is where the vast majority of visitors enter the tower. It handles everything from licensing, inspections, and Arena registration. Some of the lines have been known to take years to reach the front of, so it is strongly recommended to hire a proxy if possible. An excerpt from A Visitor''s Guide to the Spiral Tower by Greg. Chapter 4 The Master Spiral Control System has existed at least as long as the Spiral has; the records from first worlds are sparse, but they do make reference to a System, and we have to assume it¡¯s the same one, as we¡¯ve never found records suggesting a second one. Now, the question of what came first, the Spiral or the System, is something historians have been long investigating, and due to just how little evidence exists from the first worlds makes it seem as though we will never know the answer, and as the time synchronicity bubble continues to hold I don¡¯t expect that to ever change. Paulio¡¯s Twenty Rules For a Better Tomorrow Chapter 5 Twinoges are one of the new races incorporated into the Spiral in the last System expansion. Due to their dual soul nature, they are able to host two cores within a single body, something extraordinarily rare amongst the ever-growing diversity of the Spiral. With their planet currently in the possession of the Wrenderling Dwarves, it is unlikely that we will find out just how far this potential can go any time soon, but if Orgo Lemoire is any indication, we can expect at least one champion Arena climber from them one day. Peoples of the Expansion of Spiral: Year 2.981.34-PT Chapter 6 The inherent problem with core creation is that no one agrees on how it actually works. While I could easily just claim my own research as the be-all and end-all of the topic, I am not nearly egotistical enough to make that claim. I am, though, willing to denounce my fellow scholars in the field as a collection of short-sighted fools who have no real desire to unlock the mysteries of the Spiral. The problem that I think we have all missed is that core creation just isn¡¯t a universal concept, and the rules that govern it are more of guidelines at best.Stolen story; please report. An excerpt from Karlinovo¡¯s Guide to Core Creation. Chapter 7 With careful application of how they channel the mana through their orbs, certain secondary effects can be observed. For example, I witnessed a spacial gnome who was capable of channeling mana through his necromantic orb into his life orb that allowed him to heal himself while draining the life of others, drastically cutting the mana required for healing. Doplingint¡¯s Manual on Synergistic Effects. Chapter 8 The addition of a new universe to the Spiral during the times between expansion cycles isn¡¯t as common, but it does happen. Every decade, a few such universes that are easily detectable and breachable through chaotic space are offered up as prizes. These universes generally have very little value but are useful to motivate some of the Arena factions when the prize pools dwindle. JRit¡¯s History of Spiral Growth Chapter 9 Anyone can make a core, they don¡¯t really need the System for that. The problem is that very few people, prior to their incorporation into the System, understand just what their soul is, let alone how to push it further. It¡¯s telling that even though this is certainly possible, there is no record of it ever being done prior. Which begs the question, how exactly was it even developed here? Karlinovo¡¯s Guide to Core Creation Chapter 10 Whether the man was truly the genius he thought he was, or the madman most considered him to be is something that seems impossible to now learn. Along with his death, the majority of his research into his final experiment was lost. Many have asked me my opinions on the man, but I don¡¯t feel qualified to give them. I do, though, believe that with his death, the Spiral lost something important, and we may all never recover from the loss. Karlinovo: Genius or Mad Man? by Gastronil Chapter 11 What the hell is luck anyway? Why are we breaking that down as its own attribute? Was it always this way, or did the System decide to group it because every single sapient species seems to have some concept of the idea that they can just be better or worse at chance than someone else somehow? Why have we just accepted that reality? Is the System altering reality to make things better for those with higher luck attributes, and if so, why are those few chosen? Grom¡¯s Musings Chapter 12 We love to rank everything, and the System gladly agrees to let us. The problem is that a generalized ranking of danger in a multiversal reality with infinite directions a person can go once they start their true adventuring career can mean that one person¡¯s F grade dungeon is another person¡¯s A grade dungeon. All newcomers to dungeon delving should understand and be wary of this fact. An Excerpt of The Adventurer¡¯s Primer Volume 1 by Hume Grenderson Chapter 13 We are born in a darkness that few of us can remember, but from there, a small pull grabs us, something familiar. I have been told that what I''m describing here reminds many of a parental bond, but that is not something I can personally speak on. This is where intelligence stops for most of my brethren. Why? I don¡¯t know, but few dungeon cores truly awaken, and fewer still escape the madness of that awakening. Interconnectivity, Linkages Through Space by Traveler-1 Chapter 14 The Floating Empire is one of the rare examples of an old faction that long sat at the top of the Spiral hierarchy to lose nearly everything. They went from a people that controlled entire clusters of universes to having a singular home planet and being mostly scattered throughout the Spiral. All because their king chose to support the wrong man¡­ Opening statement from the dissertation A History of Power, the Rise and Fall of the Floating Empire by Melhelm VII Chapter 15 Chaotic space is the wild, untamed regions between universes before the System begins to align them properly with the Spiral. The dangers that lurk in these places are well beyond what anyone faces in virtually any aspect of life in the Spiral, and the empires that have hidden themselves deep in the darkness should scare everyone. 117 Scary Stories for Sleepovers by S. M. Grime Chapter 16 The standard six orbs for those paying their registration fee with the Arena were decided on so long ago that few records exist about the reasons, but what little can be found shows an idea that while most will only ever be able to use one orb, it will at least let them choose which they want, and deciding to swap out the orbs is potentially viable. Most people, though, it was assumed, would sell the other five and use the funds to purchase weapons and armor. The Adventurer¡¯s Primer Volume 1 by Hume Grenderson Chapter 17 The irony of writing a book for people to read in the Spiral isn¡¯t lost on me. Just because so much knowledge is being siloed off by the factions doesn¡¯t mean we should just abandon our attempts to preserve what we¡¯ve learned for future generations. Besides, it seems impossible that the chronicling of my work could infuriate certain parties any more than my existence already has. My experiments are not well appreciated in many circles, but my only real and final thoughts regarding that are ''fuck them.'' Karlinovo''s Theories on Core Socket Interlinks Chapter 18 This world I¡¯ve found myself in is beyond belief. I do not understand how or why I¡¯ve come to this place, but in the off-chance that some future person should find themselves in my same fate, I find myself drawn to the idea of chronicling what has happened to me to give them possible aid in their understandable confusion. How a fish in a bed could ever lead me to a land of giants I do not know, and even stranger I have learned that this world is only one of many connected to something called the Spiral. Ronald Tammen¡¯s Personal Diary Chapter 19 Paladins are one of the least common and yet most powerful career choices a person can make within the Spiral. They are rarely chosen partially due to how rarely the Arena offers it as a potential path, but mostly due to the lack of interest by most in seeking out someone to train them and then dedicate their lives to the cause. The idea of the gods and the role they play behind paladins is something I am not qualified to discuss here and will not be doing so. System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp Chapter 20 One of the questions that plagues my mind is how the people with so many mana orbs manage to control them all. I know there are those out there hiding their techniques to host extras, and I know how difficult of a feat it is from the scant few people willing to talk to me about it at all. So those ones secretly hoarding the orbs, how do they manage to spare the brain power needed during a big fight? Do they only use passives and just accept the mana drain? Damn the Spiral¡¯s secretive overlords, and damn their refusal to help us progress. Why do they want us so stunted in our growth? Karlinovo¡¯s Theories on Core Socket Interlinks Chapter 42: Familiar Voices ¡°What exactly makes the tent any safer?¡± I asked. As far as I knew, they generally only helped with the elements. ¡°Mel gave us a good deal on a D-grade tent yesterday. He figured we might need it at some point. It won¡¯t defend us from a herd of those diredeer, but it should keep out any magic that¡¯s blanketing the area,¡± Elicec answered for his brother. ¡°Ah, so you feel the weird peaceful feeling, too?¡± I asked, not really sure what it was. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t trust it. I¡¯d be even more worried if we hadn¡¯t found the dungeon core but never trust a natural magical effect. Who knows what the cause or intention of it is,¡± Elicec said. I understood his point. In a world full of monsters and mana, not taking precautions could very easily turn deadly. I stood up, feeling the effects of some healing magic kicking in. The food had restored some of my core energy and, in turn, had given me a tiny mana boost. I turned off regeneration and pain management, as they were the biggest mana draws, and just let cast and stitch do some work on my body. ¡°How long do you think we have until dark?¡± I asked. I wanted to make a trip back to where the ladder was and go over the corpses we¡¯d left there. I wanted to make sure we grabbed any mana shards or anything else they might be carrying. ¡°About an hour, what are you thinking?¡± Cecile asked while staking down the tent. ¡°Going to run back to where we left the other diredeer. Figure we better grab anything we left behind; don¡¯t want another animal coming along and gobbling up a shard, or who knows what,¡± I explained. I wasn¡¯t actually sure if mana shards worked anything like a dungeon core, but it seemed like a bad idea to risk it. ¡°Good thinking. We can finish this up, should have it ready to go by the time you¡¯re back, be careful, though,¡± Elicec said. ¡°Will do; see you all shortly,¡± I said, heading back into the woods. Our trail was easy enough to follow, thanks to the crushed plant life from our chase. I found the bodies just where we had left them and set to work picking out any of their shards. All ten each had one. The diredeer that had initially yelled at us had a whole backpack full of items. Where had it gotten that? Had they killed other adventurers and taken it? None of the possibilities I could think of were happy ones. I opened my System storage and placed it on one of the shelves. ¡°Dave, wait, please!¡± a voice called out before I closed out the storage. There was only one thing I was aware of capable of intelligent speech in here, though it hadn''t done so since I placed it in here. ¡°What? Find a new way to try to take over my body?¡± I asked, not sure if I should even be risking a conversation with it. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry okay. I¡¯ve had a lot of time to think in here, and well, I¡¯m really sorry. Can we just talk about it?¡± the dungeon core asked. ¡°I¡¯ll consider it, but it won¡¯t be happening right now. Maybe once I¡¯m back in my room, and that¡¯s a big maybe,¡± I said, closing the storage. What exactly did it want to talk about? Why did it feel like all my problems decided to grow bigger at the same time? Once I arrived back at the camp, the brothers had already fully set up the tent, and it looked plenty big enough to fit us easily. They were sitting in front of a small fire roasting something. It smelled surprisingly good. Up until now, I hadn¡¯t found any of their foods that appetizing, but this, I was tempted to give it a try. ¡°Hey Dave, find anything?¡± Cecile asked as I sat down on a log they must have placed for me. ¡°Yeah, that one that first attacked had a backpack. I haven¡¯t gone through it yet, but isn¡¯t that kind of weird?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s possible he got it from someone they killed, but yeah, kind of strange he just kept it. Usually, things like that get moved to a central collection spot or just destroyed. Once the dungeon core boss is smart enough, it generally wants everything for itself and then sometimes doles out part of the collection. I don¡¯t see a whole backpack being something, though. We should check it out once we¡¯re back at the archives with Mel. I might have a lot of knowledge skills, but he still has me beat,¡± Elicec said. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°What exactly do the knowledge skills do anyway? I know you said it helped with their weaknesses, but is that all? I haven¡¯t touched any of them, figured I had more important things for my skill points,¡± I asked. I had figured they just gave more information about the monster¡¯s species, but if Elicec was specializing in them, it seemed like they were worth more than that. ¡°Each rank directly helps you fight them; it kind of downloads information into your actions and reactions that automatically lets you better defend and fight back against the type of creature. My ultimate goal is to be some kind of magical sniper that pinpoints the weaknesses of anything we come across. I won¡¯t be that great up close, but that¡¯s what Cecile is for,¡± Elicec explained. ¡°Yep, sure am, can¡¯t believe the hoe transformation worked. That was the first time I tried it out in a real fight. Pretty great, though, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Cecile asked with a smile. ¡°It was definitely a big part of what got us through that fight. So, what are you two roasting over there anyway?¡± I asked, still hungry from earlier. ¡°Oh, this is a fruit Mel introduced us to. It¡¯s called cloudum. Want some?¡± Cecile offered one that he already roasted. I grabbed the offered one and took a bite. A sweet and mildly spicy juice ran across my tongue. I liked it. I¡¯d have to talk to Mel about some other potential food. ¡°That was great, thanks guys. Any objections if I head into the tent for an early night? I¡¯m still pretty low on mana from earlier,¡± I asked, doubting they did. ¡°Nope, we¡¯re heading in soon ourselves. I really don¡¯t like the feel of the forest,¡± Cecile said. Elicec nodded his agreement. I wasn¡¯t sure I felt the same. Ever since the weird statue had been destroyed, it felt peaceful to me. I didn¡¯t know why we were having such a different feeling from it. It was possible they had very different senses than I did, which wouldn¡¯t surprise me. Even on Earth there were plenty of animals with senses drastically different from humans, so I¡¯d have to assume that the species of the Spiral had some of their own unique ones as well. I drifted off to sleep, trying to catalog all the ones I could remember from home, most of the list slipping away as sleep took me. I woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed than I had in a while. Something about this place just felt nice to be here without diredeer. My core was fully replenished, as was my mana pool. Considering how unnerved the brothers felt here, I was even more confused by the development and added it to the list of things to talk to Mel about when we returned. I let the brothers sleep a little longer as I carefully climbed out of the tent to watch the rest of the sunrise. There was a man sitting on the logs around a freshly lit fire. He was cooking what looked like eggs in a cast iron pan on top of it. I knew the man, but it was impossible. ¡°Dad?¡± I whispered. ¡°No, not really, but come and take a seat. This seemed like a memory you enjoyed so I thought it might help relax you. I promise there¡¯s nothing sinister here.¡± The voice matched the form in how convincingly it was my father. Not knowing what else to do, I walked back to my seat from the night before and sat down. ¡°It¡¯s generally considered an asshole move to tarnish memories of loved ones where I come from. So, maybe not the best idea in the future. Who are you, and what do you want?¡± I asked, still not understanding what was happening here. ¡°I don¡¯t really have a form that works in a reality like this, and you seemed to really like the memories of this man when I last saw you adrift in my home,¡± it said. ¡°So my dream of home, that was real then? And you somehow decided to follow me back here? Why?¡± I asked. Had this thing been causing what I was feeling here? ¡°Yes and no. I didn¡¯t follow you anywhere, and while that wasn¡¯t a dream, this is occurring in one, but it¡¯s also real. This was the first time you¡¯d been anywhere that the barriers were thin enough that I could reach you,¡± it said, pausing to place the eggs on a plate and pass them over to me. They smelled exactly like they had at the campfire my father and I had shared so long ago. ¡°None of that has answered why yet,¡± I said, taking a bite despite the danger. If it wanted to hurt me, I didn¡¯t think there was anything I could do to stop it anyway. ¡°I don¡¯t know, you were the first person I had ever seen there besides me. Before you, I had believed that there was only me, and now I just want to learn what else is out there or even how I came to be,¡± it said. ¡°Interesting, so my intrusion woke you up to the idea of consciousness. That has to be terrifying,¡± I replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it is or not. Other than me, all I know is your memories. Would it be okay if I slip into your dreams when I can to learn more?¡± It asked. I didn¡¯t really see any harm. ¡°Sure, but the next time we can have a conversation like this, and I do want to talk again. Just please pick a different form, okay?¡± I asked. ¡°Understood, and thank you, Dave,¡± it said. My eyes shot open.
What exactly are Gods? They exist; that much is known. Are they just extremely powerful people far along the System¡¯s path, or are they representations of the System itself? We have enough recorded instances of their actions and presences that even if we have no known first-hand accounts of their words to know for certain, that something akin to gods roam somewhere out there, but whatever their greater place in the Spiral is. is either only known to them, or to people who are not sharing that information with others. Grom¡¯s Musings Chapter 43: Crabs, Crabs, So Many Crabs ¡°Dave, come on, wake up man.¡± My eyes shot open to see the brothers standing over me, Cecile having been shaking me. ¡°Wha,¡± I mumbled, barely awake. The dream was fading from my brain. Had that really been my Dad? ¡°You were talking and shaking a lot, got worried, sorry,¡± Cecile said. ¡°No, it¡¯s okay, weird dreams I think, hard to remember,¡± I said. As the sleep started to clear from my mind, I realized that I felt oddly refreshed. I wish I could remember what the dream had been. I didn¡¯t usually toss and turn like that, as far as I knew. ¡°Come grab some breakfast. We made your favorite,¡± Cecile said. I pushed the sleep haze further from my brain and forced myself out of the tent to the smell of eggs. They were a little burnt but better than nothing. There was something on the tip of my tongue that the eggs had reminded me of, but I just couldn¡¯t wrestle it to the surface. My mana had recovered a bit from yesterday, and my core was full enough that as long as we didn¡¯t run into anything as bad as the diredeer I figured we could handle it¡ªstill no quests for finishing the dungeon. I hoped what we got in the end was worth it for Cecile and Elicec. I doubted it would be for me. That was the downside of abusing the simulator, all levels, no mana orb growth. ¡°I can hear the water, so we can¡¯t be too far from the last dungeon,¡± I said once I¡¯d finished off my food, helping the brothers get the tent packed away. ¡°Good, I really want to be back in the archives by the end of the day,¡± Elicec said. The forest seemed to have bothered him more so than his brother, but neither of them liked it. ¡°Agreed, I¡¯ve got a lot I want to take care of before we tackle our last two dungeons,¡± I said. I needed to have a long discussion with Mel and get every question I still had on my mind answered as best I could, then have a nice long talk with this dungeon core that was supposedly so apologetic. It was a quick walk to the beach. The forest came to an abrupt end, with about thirty feet of sand separating it from the water. I guessed it was an ocean from how big it looked, but that was no guarantee, I didn¡¯t even know if anything was saltwater on this planet. It was entirely possible the concept of saltwater bodies was rare throughout the Spiral. Those thoughts were forgotten as I stepped into the sand and felt the now familiar sign of a dungeon. Hundreds of tiny red crabs popped out of the sand and started running towards us. We jumped into action, swatting them away, crushing and burning everything that could be hit, but it seemed endless. No matter how many we killed, more took their place. We fought on, killing crab after crab for what felt like hours. The exhaustion was rising again. I was sure if this lasted much longer, we were going to have to retreat. Then I saw a strange blue crab surface just long enough to be crushed beneath Cecile¡¯s hoe. The rest of the visible crabs disappeared with a pop.
Monsters Defeated
Illusionary Crab Swarm 100 Experience
Blue Crab Illusionist 200 Experience
Experience Gained 300 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Dungeon Core Boss x2
Total Experience Gained 726 Points
Was that really it? There was nothing special here but the damned illusionist crab making us think we were getting somewhere. I don¡¯t know why that pissed me off as much as it did, but man was I angry. At least it looked like that had completed all the dungeon quests. The quest menu called them a ¡°3 Dungeon Marathon.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if that meant they were linked or if it was something else I hadn¡¯t experienced yet. At least the experience had been nice. Forty thousand should go a long way on getting their levels up, and I had a few new things to try in the simulator. ¡°Damn, I accidentally smashed the dungeon core there, and it looks like there¡¯s nothing else here at all. This was some terrible loot,¡± Cecile said. ¡°Well, we still have the backpack to go through, unless you just mean this beach, because yeah, that was awful,¡± I said. How had Mel even managed to learn about the crabs? Considering how dangerous the damned forest had been, we¡¯d barely made it out of there alive. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get back, no sense in wasting any more time. Cecile and I both hit level eighty-nine, and we need to figure that out as soon as we can,¡± Elicec said. ¡°Yep, and I ranked up my imbuing orb again. That¡¯s gonna give me some fun options with the hoe,¡± Cecile said happily. I should probably look at that at some point as well, but the downside to having as many mana orbs as I did was the need to invest skill points across all of them. Most of my focus so far had been on the life orb for a reason; it was keeping me alive, but I was going to need to branch out more to make real use of this setup. For that, I was going to need to gain even more levels, or find another way to gain skill points. I had gained a lot from some quests, so it seemed entirely plausible as a path. I needed to go through all my quests again when we returned as well. I hadn¡¯t been paying as much attention there during the dungeons as I should have been. There had to be a few of the mana skill quests completed.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. The only difficult part of the return trip was the greased ladder that the deer had used to trap us. After the first several attempts and some bruised asses later, I had finally managed to climb past the grease and tie off a rope for the brothers to get past it. I planned to let Mel know about the issue once we were back. I¡¯d have cleaned it off myself, but I just didn¡¯t have anything to do it with easily while dangling from above. By the time we got back into the adventurer¡¯s hall, Mel had already closed up for the night. I left him a note saying we were all fine and we¡¯d be down in the morning to fill him in. I didn¡¯t want to leave him worrying any longer than necessary, and we went our separate ways for long-needed showers and sleep, with a fair bit of analysis tossed in, of course. The amount I was starting to enjoy all of this gamification worried me. Initially, my only plan had been to get back home and not worry about any of this again, but more and more, I wondered how realistic that actually was. I doubted the System was just going to let me go or that I could do anything to stop Earth from being integrated fully into the Spiral, and I had no idea what exactly that meant for the future of the planet either. Could I get some mana orbs to bring back with me? I knew there were more types than what I had, but where did people get others? I might not be able to set my kids up with anything like I had, but I could at least help them prepare somewhat if integration was inevitable. These thoughts made me realize just how much I still had to plan out before my return. I entered my room and found my new friend chowing down on the remains of some of the fish I had ordered for him. I really needed to come up with a good name for him as well. ¡°Hey there, little guy, how would you feel about being called Chip?¡± I asked. He wagged his tail in response; Chip, it was. I scratched him behind his ear and ordered us some more food. I needed to pack more the next time we went on another overnight trip. I had gotten too used to the dining hall here. While chowing down on some roast turkey, I checked over my quests. As I thought, I had completed a few more of the mana skill quests after the orbs ranked up, all of them, in fact, for an extra fifty-five skill points. No new skills were unlocked after I gained their reward, though I had expected more for the chain, so that seemed odd. Maybe I just needed to push the orbs even further. It was possible the System didn¡¯t really expect someone to have spent as many skill points as I had without higher-level mana orbs, and considering how far ahead of me the brothers were in that regard, that was the likely answer. Checking over my skills I had added knowledge skills in batrachology, crystallography, vespology, and carcinology to my list. While I wasn¡¯t entirely sure that batrachology referred to frogs, by process of elimination, I figured it had to. I had also unlocked a climb ability, probably from all the attempts to get back up the greased ladder and falling on my ass repeatedly. As much as I wanted to invest in some of the new ranks there, I held off for now. First up, I needed to run a simulation or two, and then I could decide where the new ranks went. More importantly, I needed to take a look at the mana skills I still hadn¡¯t checked out.
Mana Orb
Body-Enhancing Orb
Rank 1
Tier 3
Brains & Brawn
Requirement Strength Training (15) Mental Training (15)
Rank 0
Combining the benefits of both the lesser skills, the host is able to, and for an increased mana expenditure, train both aspects of their body even further. This skill stacks with those below it. Further ranks increase the benefit at an increased mana cost. Once this skill is unlocked, no other tier-three skill will be available on this orb.
Mana Orb
Body-Enhancing Orb
Rank 1
Tier 3
Brains Over Brawn
Requirement Mental Training (15)
Rank 0
The host is able to rapidly increase their mental gain at an increased mana expenditure. This skill stacks with those below it. Further ranks increase the benefit at an increased mana cost. Once this skill is unlocked, no other tier-three skill will be available on this orb.
Mana Orb
Body-Enhancing Orb
Rank 1
Tier 3
Brawn Over Brains
Requirement Strength Training (15)
Rank 0
The host is able to rapidly increase their strength gain at an increased mana expenditure. This skill stacks with those below it. Further ranks increase the benefit at an increased mana cost. Once this skill is unlocked, no other tier-three skill will be available on this orb.
This was an easy choice as I had two orbs, and if I was going to head into the simulations tonight anyway, I figured I might as well put my new skill points here. I spent five to move the soul-core bonding up as well, since I had increased that maximum level with the increased rank, and then invested the same into the second orb as well. I really hoped these effects were stacking. I instantly felt my mana channels thicken a little, and the flow into my core increased. I had to remember to do this immediately on rank-ups in the future. I needed to find a way to switch between my orbs faster to make the best use of all of this, though. A crazy idea occurred to me involving just that problem and a certain core that had wanted to talk to me. I had no idea if it was even possible or something I was willing to try, but it was time for the promised conversation.
Pursuing a path of bodily enhancement almost always leaves the host looking radically different from when they started. For most, this usually shows up as a hulking, battle-ready monster, but some go the far rarer route and specialize in mutation. Many a cult has spawned from someone claiming to be a divine angel or a hideous hellspawn. Still rarer are those that push only the power of their mind, not the most useful for many of the alluring Spiral careers, but these few are highly sought after for their talents. Despite the compensation that may come with this, the terms of the contracts forced on them by the faction leaders help ensure few end up rigorously pursuing this pathway. The Adventurer¡¯s Primer Volume 1 by Hume Grenderson Chapter 44: A Sense of Self I reached into my storage space and grabbed the bag containing the dungeon core from my first-ever dungeon experience. I closed the bag, setting the core on the table in front of me. ¡°So I assume you can talk since you did in there?¡± I asked, not actually sure if it could or if the System storage just connected it to my mind in a way that allowed communication. ¡°I can now, I was not able to when we first met without direct contact,¡± the core said. ¡°Alright, good, so let¡¯s start with why you¡¯ve become so apologetic all of a sudden. It wasn¡¯t that long ago you were trying to take over my brain and use me as some sort of meat puppet. I wasn¡¯t a big fan of that idea, so I recommend coming up with some good reasons not to destroy you,¡± I said. I wasn¡¯t joking. The increased intelligence of the thing worried me, and just because I had a possible plan brewing that involved it didn¡¯t mean I was going to risk this thing taking over my body. ¡°As I said, I am deeply sorry for that, but I was very young and did not fully understand the world around me. I won¡¯t claim that I have aged much, but I was able to grow outside of the influence of that field that engulfed me the moment I awakened. I think my connection to you, however brief, allowed me to understand the ramifications of what I had attempted. I don¡¯t ask for your forgiveness, but I do beg not to be destroyed. I wish the chance to experience the myriad elements that make up all of existence, but I do not know how I can do that as I am now,¡± it explained. Dammit, I was starting to feel bad for the thing. Sure, it had tried to effectively kill me, but if it really hadn¡¯t understood the world around it outside of a base level it was hard to fault it. Dogs and cats were adorable, but they could be monsters in the hands of the wrong person, and this creature was much more intelligent than either of them. Were all dungeon cores something akin to a newborn child? I know Elody had said several had become productive members of the archives, but what did that mean in general? I couldn¡¯t imagine being able to reason with the one we recovered from the deer statue, and the wasp queen one, in my possession, hadn¡¯t done anything since I took it. ¡°So all you want from me is not to be destroyed at the moment?¡± I asked. It wasn¡¯t much of a request. I hadn¡¯t been planning to anyway unless my hand was forced. ¡°Correct, I would like time to grow, and find out my capabilities. What am I, Dave? Did I become something different during our brief bonding?¡± it asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know. You likely know more about dungeon cores than I do. I can do some reading in the archives if I have the time, but I do know you aren¡¯t entirely unique, at least in the idea of dungeon cores wanting to grow beyond being any kind of monster. Intelligence-wise, it¡¯s possible, though the one Elody destroyed seemed intelligent enough. Alright I think I¡¯m willing to make a deal with you, but first up, you need a name. Since I already gave Chip one today, how about you name yourself? What do you want to be called?¡± I asked. I had gotten tired of referring to a clearly sapient being as just it. ¡°A name, an interesting thought. Can I have time to consider the implications that go along with one and what I would want to be called?¡± the core asked. ¡°Of course, as I said, I have a potential deal for you, but I¡¯m not sure exactly yet how it would work; for now, I¡¯m going to let you think on your name while I consider my own ideas a bit more. I¡¯ll start checking in on you nightly. Does that work for now?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, thank you, Dave. I look forward to finding an idea that represents me,¡± it said. ¡°Good, then I¡¯m going to put you back in the bag and into my System storage again,¡± I explained to it. ¡°Understood,¡± it replied and did nothing at all while I placed it back in its storage spot. That was one potential problem on the way to a solution, at least. Now to see just what I could do with the wasps and the simulator. Looking at my options, I considered whether turning the floor to lava would affect me or not. I wanted to turn off all enemies being bosses for now, as that seemed like a terrible idea with the sheer number that had been in there, so I made that change. I took off poisoned as well and replaced it with three times the opponents. It didn¡¯t unselect the two times I had already chosen. Did that mean I was about to have six times as many? I was willing to try it, but six bosses could still be a problem. I started the simulation, and despite both lava settings being on, I didn¡¯t see any real effect from where I was. That was a good start. If I had started at the bottom of the trees, I wasn¡¯t sure if I would have been able to make it to the top before the lava got me. I switched over to my fire elemental orb while keeping both my body-enhancing orbs running as well. I pointed my finger towards one of the flying wasps in the distance, about to launch a bit of fire at it when my fingernail flew off, impaling it instead. I had forgotten about the random mutation, and apparently this one involved claw projectiles, weird. That had worked well enough to get the wasps¡¯ attention, though, as a giant swarm formed up in front of me, which was exactly what I had been hoping for as I recalled the fire spell again, aiming for the center of the swarm. The fireball exploded outward, igniting several wasps and knocking most out of the air. I ran forward, swinging my mallet at those still in front of me. A few minutes later, and I was standing on the corpses of hundreds of dead wasps, with only a few minor stings. Something smelled off, though. Was it smoke? Why did I smell smoke? Had I used too much fire too close to the trees? No, dammit, it was the lava down below, the trees were on fire. I hadn¡¯t considered that problem at all. I sprinted forward, ignoring any other wasps until I reached the hive. Five of the queens were hovering outside of it. That meant the sixth was inside where she had been the first time. I swapped my elemental orb over to the aether one and tried to launch the hive into the air. It worked well enough, clipping two of the other queens on the way skyward. My mallet and I came in afterward, crashing hard into the first of the queens I could reach. I felt a second¡¯s stinger pierce my side hard, and something injected into my body. Everything burnt, but I was so close to winning. There were only two still fighting. I couldn¡¯t drop now. Ignoring the growing burning through my body, I turned and brought my hammer into another wasp¡¯s head, the exoskeleton crushing under the impact. Just one left. I managed to dodge the stinger as it came for me. It couldn¡¯t manage the same as my mallet ripped through its body.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The simulation didn¡¯t end. Dammit, all those other smaller wasps I skipped, I had to kill them too. I switched all my orbs off and turned on my life orb. The smell of smoke was getting worse. I felt my regeneration going to work on the damage and doing its best on the poison, which was enough to keep me on my feet for now. I took a deep breath and trudged back across the bridge, smashing every new wasp that got in my way. I fired a few of my mutated fingernails at some that refused to come close enough. Still, the battle wasn¡¯t ending. There were too many of them too far away, and I couldn¡¯t afford to turn off my life orb. It was only slowing down the poison, not stopping it. The trees around me were catching on fire now. Interestingly, the smoke seemed to be affecting the wasps, too. Wasn¡¯t that something exterminators did? Smoked out wasps? Okay I just needed to stay alive a little longer then. I rested my back against the rail, watching more of the wasps drop into the inferno below. How many were left? I could see at least three still hovering about, and I only had one of my fingernails left; best to hold onto that for the last one if I needed it. The planks around me burst into flames as one of the three remaining wasps disappeared into the smoke. In a last-ditch effort to buy myself time, I switched to my aether elemental orb and launched myself into the sky. I had maybe ten extra seconds from this, and I had to make it count. I aimed my finger at the wasp that looked most alive and fired. Its body split in half and fell from the air at the same time the other one succumbed to the smoke. As the ground quickly rushed up to meet me, the simulation stopped before the impact. I sighed in relief. I was getting better at insane tactical decisions.
Monsters Defeated
Wicked Wasp x480 5 Experience
Wicked Wasp Queen x6 50
Experience Gained 2700 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
I Stand Alone x1.5
All At Once x1.5
5 or More Modifiers x5
10 or More Modifiers x10
Total Experience Gained 367,538 Points
Modifiers In Effect
Remove Weapon x1.1
Remove Armor x1.1
Randomize Starting Locations x1.5
x2 Opponents x1.5
x3 Opponents x2
x2 Opponent¡¯s Level x1.5
The Floor is Lava x4
The Walls are Lava x2
Remove Sense: Auditory x1.5
Random Mutation x2
Lose 5 Levels Per Modifier x11
Modified Total Experience Gained 792,492,786 points
When mana is properly channeled in a series through multiple orbs, the synergistic effects are impressive. While I have found many mixed types of orbs, strangely enough, the most common I have come across are dual elemental orbs. Apparently, the host can learn to control aspects of both spells, allowing for much greater applications. I¡¯ve witnessed an example of fire and air where the increased flow of air deeply intensified the fire spell, collectively using much less mana than would ever be expected for such a large blaze. The host was willing to demonstrate many different applications of their combination of orbs under the promise I would never share any other identifying information. Doplingint¡¯s Manual on Synergistic Effects Chapter 45: Pushing Your Limits Level one thirty-seven, not bad, but still only another fifteen levels. If I wanted to get to where Mel wanted me, I had to hit two-fifty, and while there was still another dungeon to do before then, I just couldn¡¯t count on those to do much. My head didn¡¯t hurt all that much, and in theory, I should have a better soul-core reaction going, which meant it was likely okay to try another modifier. I was going to need to remove the floor being lava anyway. That had been a near disaster. So that meant adding two more. I just didn¡¯t think I had a chance if I dropped my level any more than it currently was, especially with the losing five levels per modifier, but that was worth far too much to turn off. Alright, it was time to turn on all the extra opponents I could and see how that played out. Before I did that, I made the decision to invest in a knowledge skill. I was going to be facing one hundred and twenty of the queens, so that was a little terrifying. After maxing out Vespology, I looked over my skills and attributes and saw that I had gained both a ranged combat and a claw dart skill. I wasn¡¯t sure if the first applied to my spells or not, so for now, I skipped them both. In attributes I had gained a wasp venom resistance as well as a piercing one. Had that second one been from the wasps or the diredeer? It didn¡¯t really matter, and I threw almost all my new attribute points into both. What little I had left went into arm accuracy since I was going to need to pick off any stragglers once this was over. After that was done, it was back to the simulator. I changed up my options and launched the simulation. I started on the ground, and so did more wasps than I could count. They weren¡¯t what I was worried about. The several larger queens that were also directly in front of me were my bigger fear. I swung my mallet, and as I did so, I saw an overlay pop up on the wasps I was aiming at. Several parts of their bodies were highlighted with percentages of the likelihood of what kind of damage. Fatal damage was highlighted in red. So this was why Elicec was pursuing knowledge skills, smart kid. Looking at the giant clustering masses all around me, I wasn¡¯t sure I could actually win this. Despite my doubts, I tried anyway. My mallet went to work with one hand while the other channeled my aether orb, launching columns of wasps skyward over and over, crashing into each other, stingers ripping apart allies. It wasn¡¯t nearly enough. The sheer number of wasps was far more of a problem than I had considered. It wasn¡¯t the queens. There were few enough of them that they had trouble even reaching me through the wall of their drones. Within minutes I was out of mana and had more venom coursing through my body than I did blood. I gasped for air on the ground as more stingers found their home, and the simulation ended in failure. At least my head felt fine. There was no real backlash at all from adding the extra modifier. As I was contemplating if it mattered whether I could push it or not with how badly I had lost the last simulation, I remembered the armor. I had purchased it from Mel and it was just sitting there doing nothing in my storage. I had a new, much more interesting idea. It would have been great before I wasted the skill points, but there was no helping that now. I exited the simulator menu and put on the flame retardant suit. Could I live in lava longer than the wasps could? I had no idea, but it seemed entirely likely. I removed the no armor and weapon modifiers, the weapon one only because the bonus wasn¡¯t better than turning on more lava, and decided to risk both starving and poisoned. The chances of living more than a minute in this attempt were exceedingly low, so I doubted the effects had a chance to hurt me. I launched the new, much more firey iteration of Waspy Woods. For the briefest second, everything was red. Through the goggles, I could make out a few wasps packed in around me, and then I was encased in a solidified stone. That was something that hadn¡¯t occurred to me; the relative temperature difference between any of the beings here, myself included, would likely instantly form a lava cast around us. It shouldn''t change the idea of the wasps dying faster than me, as the casts were still super heating, and no one was coming to their rescue. So now it was a waiting game of seeing who would cook the slowest. I had no idea what the mutation was or where I had started, neither of them mattering much as the agonizing wait was unaffected. If this worked and my head didn¡¯t hurt too badly, I could likely run it again, possibly even start decreasing my level or increasing theirs. I¡¯d have to be very careful, though. It was entirely possible the queens could outlast me, especially if any of them started in their hive, away from the flames. I didn¡¯t want to experience this kind of pain for nothing. The feeling of your own body rapidly cooking itself while you hope you roast the slowest is one of the least enjoyable experiences I could imagine. Toss in the fact that I was ravenously hungry, and the smell of my own cooking flesh triggered some feedback with the poison in me that caused me to start throwing up, sealed in a suit with nowhere for it to go. That wasn¡¯t even the worst thing I could think of. That was that, in the very strong likelihood this worked, it was something I¡¯d be forced to repeat, at least until I had enemies that had no issue with lava, which was probably sooner than I¡¯d like to think about. Just as I felt my lungs start to scream with superheated air, the simulation came to an end with a new record experience total.
Monsters Defeated
Wicked Wasp x9,600 5 Experience
Wicked Wasp Queen x120 50 Experience
Experience Gained 54,000 PointsUnlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Multipliers Applied
No Weapon x1.1
I Stand Alone x1.5
All At Once x1.5
Nanosecond From Death x5
5 or More Modifiers x5
10 or More Modifiers x10
Total Experience Gained 33,412,500 Points
Modifiers In Effect
Randomize Starting Locations x1.5
x2 Opponents x1.5
x3 Opponents x2
x4 Opponents x2.5
x5 Opponents x3
x2 Opponent¡¯s Level x1.5
The Floor is Lava x4
The Air is Lava x8
The Walls are Lava x2
Remove Sense: Auditory x1.5
Random Mutation x2
Poisoned x2
Starving x3
Lose 5 Levels Per Modifier x14
Modified Total Experience Gained 27,280,638,000,000 points
My head hurt like hell, and the memories of that last simulation run were refusing to fade, making the pain just that much worse. Even with the pain, I was still able to see a couple of ways I could push it. I didn¡¯t really need my vision for this, and they may as well all be queens, but that was it. These thoughts ran through my head as I tore the suit off my body, fighting the urge to vomit yet again. I grabbed some of the leftover food and forced it down, crawling my way into the shower as I did so. I let the hot water wash over me as I devoured everything I was able to drag in here with me. Chip sat outside the stall watching me, looking like he found the whole thing hilarious. As the food settled and my head stopped swimming, the intensity of the pain was slowly going down. Fourteen modifiers were my current maximum, and I wasn¡¯t willing to push that again anytime soon. Had the food not been waiting, I wasn¡¯t even sure I¡¯d have made it to the dining hall this time. One eighty-two, all that, and I was still short another sixty-eight levels. I guess the skill points I gained made up for the ones I had wasted. The problem was since my mana orbs weren¡¯t growing with the simulations coupled with the already impeded growth to the extra amount of them, this meant I had to just sit on the skill points in fear of wasting them before I hit a mana skill I really needed. While this wasn¡¯t as true for attributes, it still seemed like a good idea to hold them as well and only apply them when situations deemed them necessary. That had the potential blowback as had happened when I initially assigned several, but I was confident the potential gain outweighed the risk. What I really needed to do was to figure out some way to predict my mana usage. So far my guestimations were not accurate enough. Had I actually tried to use any spells in that last battle, it was fully possible that my headache would have been back in the realm of unconsciousness and strange dreams. I didn¡¯t understand why so many of the mana costs seemed random when it came to my skills and spells. Was this on purpose to make it harder to quantify exactly how much a person was capable of or was there just a more complex formula to it all? I wasn¡¯t going to be sleeping any time soon with how I felt, and another simulation was out of the question. That meant it was the perfect time to get some more reading done. I wouldn¡¯t have access to this archive much longer and I may as well see what I could learn about applied mana theory or whatever they called it, and if they hadn¡¯t named it yet somehow, that was my new official term for it.
Unfortunately, not all species responded well to integration. Some lesser species succumbed to what was officially known as Eldritch Rejection Syndrome, or more colloquially, core madness. Their minds could not handle the vastness of the universe outside their own home world for whatever reason, be it strict religious or cultural beliefs that the System did not align with, causing whole civilizations to fall. Many mourn them, but if you were to ask me, I can''t imagine what good they''d have done for the universe at large in the first place. Freckeridge VonScralmp, Diaries of an Observer Chapter 46: Applied Mana Theory There was only a single librarian behind the desk, which seemed unusual. It wasn¡¯t that late yet. The stacks seemed oddly empty as well. On my previous visits, there had been hundreds of people milling about, but the number of visitors had dwindled down to a handful sitting alone at tables with stacks of books. Had something changed while we were away? That was a question better suited for Mel in the morning. There¡¯s a big problem with trying to find books on the basic concepts of something, and the same thing would likely occur on Earth. There are just certain things that it¡¯s expected a person knows having been raised in the environment. In this new reality, I found that the ideas of mana, skills, and experience were as built-in to everyday life as something like eating. This was a problem I had constantly run into in my early readings. I couldn¡¯t find books that equated to an introduction to chewing and swallowing food, so I was always stuck with a foundational absence that I would have to make up with my own self-teaching. This problem was no longer just a simple annoyance where I could mostly guess at the missing building blocks. Now, it felt like I was trying to put together a puzzle without the picture while I had to guess which pieces went to which puzzle. After my thirtieth book on the topic, I realized I wasn¡¯t going to get any closer than a single formula for how mana spend worked. Someone¡¯s skill tier multiplied by their hunger level, both divided by their core, with that total multiplied by the opposition¡¯s defenses, if any, is equal to the mana rate over the effective time. This is where it got incredibly complicated, and I wanted to bang my head against the wall. Effective time did not mean any sort of standard time scale. It meant whatever the effective time coefficient was for how the person using the mana experienced time versus how the thing being affected by the skill experienced time. I had no clue how to figure something like that out, let alone do so on the fly in a combat scenario. Hunger levels were another thing altogether. This concept was just something everyone apparently understood. It was referenced all the time, but never how to actually know what your hunger level was. I was starting to guess there was more to the lack of scientific development here than just progressing with magic. It almost seemed like they were stuck in a chicken and egg problem where they needed a developed problem-solving computer to do the math that was needed to build one. This realization made it all the more astounding that I wasn¡¯t dead, given the crazy experimentation I had done on my own body. I was incredibly lucky that any of my energy regulation plans had worked. A new distant goal in my mind was building something into my circuit that gave a reasonable estimate of mana usage. I had no idea how to do that, though, as it would require analyzing things I didn¡¯t yet know how to measure. It was a good thing I liked unsolved problems, even if this one chased me into my dreams as I tried to get some sleep. The next morning, as I ate breakfast with the brothers, I found the same strange lack of people was occurring in the dining hall. We were literally the only people there, which I had never experienced before. Late night snack or early morning breakfast, there had always been someone else around. ¡°Is it just me, or are there fewer people here than usual?¡± I asked, knowing it couldn¡¯t be just me, but maybe there was an event I didn¡¯t know about. ¡°No, I noticed that too. The training hall is entirely empty; no one was in the gardens, and when we we to see Mel earlier, he still wasn¡¯t in. Something is going on, and I wish I knew what,¡± Elicec said, sounding incredibly worried. Mel¡¯s absence had me feeling the same. ¡°If Mel¡¯s gone, we¡¯re going to have to figure something out fast,¡± I said, unsure how to proceed without the man. He was the only reason we had managed to get this far. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re worrying too soon. Here comes one of his messengers!¡± Cecile said. Relief flooded my brain. I very much had not wanted that potential problem of a missing Mel. ¡°Go pack everything you have; we¡¯ve gotta get outta here. Get yer asses down to the training hall as quick as ya can, and I¡¯ll explain what¡¯s going on once we are on the move,¡± the mini-Mel said before floating away. The familiar anxiety spike returned. What had happened now? ¡°You heard him, let¡¯s go. I don¡¯t want to get caught in whatever shitstorm is coming that everyone except us seems to know about,¡± I said, stuffing a few more bites of egg and toast into my mouth before standing up.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°If you aren¡¯t in adventurer hall in ten minutes, we¡¯re coming looking for you,¡± Cecile promised. ¡°Same to you two. We came here together, and we¡¯re leaving together,¡± I agreed as we boarded separate elevators back to our rooms. ¡°Hey Chip, it looks like it¡¯s time for us to go. Are you going to be okay without a cage? I don¡¯t have one and I really don¡¯t want to leave you behind, little guy,¡± I said to my favorite roommate as I grabbed the few possessions I had scattered around the room and placed them in my System storage. I considered putting Chip in there as well, but I had no idea that it interacted with organic life. It didn¡¯t seem to be bothering the dungeon core at all though. Chip solved my worries by leaping on my shoulder and purring loudly. I scratched him behind the ear, glad he wasn¡¯t going to make a fuss about this. I did one last check over the room for anything I was forgetting, opened my system storage a second and let the dungeon core know I had an emergency and may not be able to do our talk today, then headed for the adventurer hall. Cecile and Elicec were already there talking to a strange-looking Mel. The man had shifted from the usual green shade to an orangish green and was bobbling around frantically, tossing things into both himself and a large backpack. His eyes went wide when he spotted me. ¡°Dave, where the hell did you get a pumakey?¡± he asked, with no fear in his voice, just a lot of surprise. ¡°Elody sent him to me to keep me company. Why?¡± I asked, not sure why it was such a big deal. ¡°I¡¯ll explain later. I¡¯ve got everything I can take, I think. You boys better have it all, too. We ain¡¯t coming back here. Now follow me. Timon stayed here as a personal favor, and he is itching to get gone,¡± Mel said, floating out the front door. I had no idea who Timon was or why he was important, so I followed after Mel, hoping to learn. Instead of the usual smaller transport vehicles that generally waited for us outside, there was a single bus-sized one, and Mel was already climbing aboard. That must have meant that Timon was the driver, and whatever was scaring everyone else away had him wanting to get out of here, too. I climbed aboard, following the brothers¡¯ lead, and took a seat near Mel. The second my butt was firmly down, I felt the flying bus spring to life. There was no motion dampening on this, apparently. ¡°Really wasn¡¯t sure we¡¯d make it,¡± Mel said, sighing loudly as his color started to return to his normal shade. Chip chose this moment to finally remove himself from his perch on my shoulder and leap onto Mel¡¯s head. ¡°No, Chip, dammit, sorry, Mel,¡± I said, starting to reach out to grab him. ¡°All good, Dave. He¡¯s just doing what his kind do, let him sit up there for a bit and I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll come back to you,¡± Mel said, reaching up to pet Chip. ¡°Well, in that case, how about you fill us in on exactly what the hell is going on? I thought we had weeks before we needed to leave,¡± I said, the confusion finally boiling over into a need-to-know. ¡°Oh we do still for the planet. Believe it or not, everything ain¡¯t about you, Dave. Without Elody here the politics of keeping the archive running without interference were a lost cause. It just happened a lot faster than I thought it would. That woman must have made some real enemies because they swooped in fast after failing to take it directly from her. The only reason I wanted you out of there is these types of folks weren¡¯t likely to take any simple explanation for what y¡¯all were doing here, let alone what was going on with yer core. That¡¯s why everyone is getting the hell out of here. No one likes answering those kind of questions. We ain¡¯t in any danger of being hunted, and I resigned my position, so that¡¯s done as well,¡± Mel explained. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do that for us, Mel. We could have, well maybe not, but we could have at least tried to figure this out without you,¡± I said, the guilt of the man losing his position to protect me settled in my chest. ¡°No, you couldn¡¯t, and I was on my way to retirement anyway. Haven¡¯t liked how things have been moving in the upper ranks anyway. I¡¯d much rather spend some time keeping you idiots alive than having to bite my tongue as the archive is ransacked by spoiled brats,¡± Mel said, putting emphasis on the last word. ¡°I still really appreciate it, thank you. What¡¯s our next plan?¡± I asked. ¡°Timon is taking us to Smithtown so we can figure out where the hell their new dungeon is. You handle that, and then we move onto the desert,¡± Mel said.
One of the few logs I found after the disaster contained his thoughts on the mana needed. I¡¯ve copied that verbatim below. The biggest problem with my plans is exactly how much mana will be required. I know there are formulas that could predict an amount, but the problem is that there are multiple formulas that will all predict different amounts. I think what is best for now is a variable flow of mana that we can control as the subject¡¯s core expands. I believe this is the best way to avoid critical overload. Karlinovo: Genius or Mad Man? By Gastronil Chapter 47: Roadtrip ¡°Before we get to Smithtown, I need to hit you with a ton of questions, Mel, especially if time is running short,¡± I said. The mountain of questions I had was calling too loudly to ignore any further. ¡°I¡¯ll answer what I can, but remember the core oath,¡± Mel said. ¡°Speaking of the core oath, that can¡¯t be everyone who does anything with the arena, right? I assume, at some level, people get exempted from it?¡± I asked. I found it hard to believe those at the top would be willing to place themselves in a position of control like that. Mel just didn¡¯t answer, which, honestly, the silence did somewhat answer. This all depended exactly on how the oath worked, of course, but a no wasn¡¯t new information. Only a yes was any real data given to me. ¡°Okay better topic instead, lots of odd dungeon questions that you can much more likely answer. The diredeer in the one dungeon seemed a lot more intelligent than other monsters so far, and they formed some kind of cult around the dungeon core. Is that normal?¡± I asked. That whole situation was bizarre the more I thought about it. Why had the dungeon core wanted a religion like that anyway? ¡°Dungeons can do anything, and the more remote or longer they¡¯re allowed to grow, the more that can change. The only real general rules I can give you ain¡¯t that different from what I told ya day one when you went out to the first dungeon without a core. Also, keep in mind that this is just what I know. Whatever information may be tucked away in some noble or royal library somewhere could be entirely different. Dungeon cores are natural mana orbs that absorb enough energy that they draw in something from a universe very closely aligned to themselves. That something combines with the orb and becomes a much more alive thing that we call dungeon cores, primarily because they start to form dungeons around themselves. Sometimes, they team up with other cores, which we don¡¯t understand at all. Sometimes, they decide they prefer working menial jobs and not being megalomaniacs. Sometimes, they¡¯re lying and trying to turn their new location into a dungeon. I know of at least two dungeon cores that have become full-fledged people somehow and another person who works with a series of cores as a way to summon creatures from other universes. What I¡¯m saying is that I can¡¯t tell you what¡¯s normal and what isn¡¯t for cores, only that when left alone, they usually grow into giant problems,¡± Mel explained, somehow managing to answer a lot and nothing at the same time. ¡°Mel, anyone ever told you that you can talk alot without saying much?¡± I said jokingly, hoping I didn¡¯t offend the man. ¡°Only my grandkids have been allowed to do it more than once,¡± Mel replied, still smiling, but I decided to take the hint just in case. ¡°So, what exactly is going on with the archives? Is this just a case of idiots wanting to burn books?¡± I asked. ¡°Not exactly. Some of the lower people probably just want to get rid of a few books they don¡¯t like, but those at the top are just doing it to control their own positions. Too much free knowledge out there and they won¡¯t be able to hold their own secrets as easily. The archives have been fighting to stay open since before the first person stepped through the doors. Elody was just one of the many master librarians who kept the place running smoothly and safely, and apparently she was the last one willing and able to continue. I¡¯m sad to see it go. It was a great idea, and maybe if they weren¡¯t in such a rut with expansion, the focus wouldn¡¯t have been nearly so strong on it,¡± Mel said. ¡°What do you mean by rut with expansion?¡± I asked, wondering if he meant the archives had stopped growing or if he meant something grander. ¡°Yeah, this one, you wouldn¡¯t really know. The Spiral tends to go in cycles of expansion and breaks while everything gets settled out from the new additions. It never fully stops. Some prizes are given out, and random conquests happen, your world, for example, but the System isn¡¯t doing full universal-level integrations of its own accord right now. This has been one of the longer lulls in that, nothing record-breaking, mind you, but the longer they last, the more restless the nobility tend to get. Without new universes, it¡¯s hard for them to expand, and their little stalemate becomes all the more tenuous. So some of them start to play games with the people they see as below them or in any way threatening. Which is another big reason I didn¡¯t want you there during the takeover. Good news though, the faction that is taking over the archives certainly ain¡¯t the same faction Korl is working for, and man, are they gonna be angry when they find out we got lost in the shuffle,¡± Mel said, smiling at that last part.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°So, are these large-scale factions rival royal families or something else?¡± I asked. I could think of several possibilities, from giant corporations to a more mafia-life system. ¡°Both royal families and factions exist, and don¡¯t ever assume all members of the same family are part of the same faction. There¡¯s been more faction wars started from a family feud at a royal party than probably anything else,¡± Mel answered with a tinge of anger in his voice. ¡°Interesting, it doesn¡¯t sound that different from Earth, just on a much larger scale. Oh, about Chip, you said he was just doing what he does. What does that mean? Why were you so surprised I had him?¡± I asked. Chip had woken up from his sleeping position on Mel¡¯s head, reminding me of Mel¡¯s earlier reaction. ¡°Your pumakey, you really haven¡¯t noticed?¡± Mel asked. ¡°Noticed what?¡± I had no idea what he was talking about. ¡°The reason these little guys are all over the blackmarket is they recharge your core constantly by being in close proximity. Haven¡¯t you noticed how much he¡¯s been eating, or probably why you¡¯ve been feeling so great every morning?¡± Mel asked. I had, but I had figured it was a combination of the life magic and finally getting used to this place. ¡°Oh, Chip, are you the reason I¡¯ve been able to push the dungeon simulations even further?¡± I said, suddenly realizing the actual reason I was able to go further. It wasn¡¯t just the increase in my soul-core. It was Chip actively boosting my core. As though in answer, Chip leaped back onto my lap and curled up to resume his nap. ¡°Almost certainly, and speaking of, how far did you manage to push yourself? I assume ya ain¡¯t two-fifty yet, or you¡¯d have some more questions. Where are ya at?¡± Mel asked. ¡°One eighty-two, but I think I can push further when we get some free time, assuming this bus has enough food for me and a shower I can sit in while my head stops screaming,¡± I said. ¡°It does. Let¡¯s wait til we get set up in Smithtown for that, though. We don¡¯t need you out of it if anything weird comes up on the road,¡± Mel replied. ¡°Hey, what about that backpack we found?¡± Cecile interrupted with a shout. ¡°Oh yeah, good point, Cecile. I found this on one of the weird diredeer cultists,¡± I said, producing the pack from my System storage. ¡°Wonder where he got that. See that insignia there on the side? This ain¡¯t some newbie¡¯s gear. I don¡¯t see how diredeer could have killed someone with this but still lost to you guys. Something don¡¯t add up. What¡¯s inside?¡± Mel asked, looking at the pack with a glare. I had seen the marking before, but it wasn¡¯t like I had any idea what insignias belonged to who or even if they were that. I opened the backpack as Mel asked and dumped the contents gently on top of the table between rows of seats. A dozen mana orbs, a few knives, and several potions spilled out of it. Mel immediately started to grow hands, each one grabbing an orb. Eight of them were green, two white, so I knew what those were. The last two, though, one was sky blue, and the other one was grey. ¡°Yeah, this don¡¯t make any damned sense. All of these orbs have invested skill ranks, and most of them are tier three. Plus, this one right here is a shield orb. That ain¡¯t something a nobody has, especially a nobody who is gonna lose to a random dungeon monster.¡± Mel held up the sky-blue orb. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what this grey one is, and I like that even less. Are you okay if I put this all into a special container in my System storage? I think we need to really look over these before we risk any use,¡± Mel asked. His color had turned back to the orange-green hue, which I now connected with worry. ¡°Of course, and the rest of these things?¡± Elicec agreed and then asked, pointing to the other items on the table. ¡°Harder to see what those can do, but let¡¯s be careful with them too. Dave, put that backpack into your storage, and don¡¯t take it out again unless I tell you. We need to keep this find under wraps for now. It means something, but I don¡¯t know what,¡± Mel said. ¡°Secret¡¯s safe with me!¡± Timon called back from the front. I turned around to take a look at the driver. It was the first time he had actually come into view. I was staring at a nearly six-foot-tall praying mantis wearing a Hawaiian t-shirt.
Many of the native mana-infused animals from throughout the Spiral have found themselves as part of illegal black markets. The pumakey is one of the most sought-after, and the trade of them has been heavily restricted, but this hasn¡¯t stopped the poachers. The few that remain in their home world are closely guarded. Considering just how valuable a pumakey is, though, it¡¯s unlikely they will be able to protect them for long. Taken from Lorntal, Paladin of Conservation¡¯s Speech at the Grand Gathering. Chapter 48: Smithtown ¡°Thanks, Timon,¡± Mel said. ¡°No problem at all, man, just remember the deal. No one mentions where I am to my ex-wife, bitch is crazy,¡± the giant mantis said. I blinked several times, trying to shake the odd sensation in my brain. Had she tried to eat his head? Did mantises really do that, or was it a thing we just heard they did? I wasn¡¯t an entomologist, so I had no concrete idea there. The situation was somehow too surreal for me, despite everything else. ¡°Dave, you doing alright? You look a little strange,¡± Cecile asked. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m fine, just a random weird thought, don¡¯t worry about it. Hey Timon, how long until Smithtown anyway?¡± I asked; I was suddenly very eager to get off the bus. ¡°Another hour or so,¡± Timon answered. That wasn¡¯t what I wanted to hear. ¡°Mel, what happens when I get to level two-fifty anyway?¡± I asked, needing a distraction. ¡°Core strengthening, but it¡¯s best we leave that until you get there. It¡¯s a bit odd, and I''d rather walk you through it once you can do it. There¡¯s a lot that won¡¯t make any sense until it¡¯s staring you in the face, but what I¡¯ll say for now is we have to improve your core at that point if ya wanna go any further,¡± Mel explained. I had been wondering about that. I knew improving your core took a ton of work, but the specifics weren¡¯t exactly covered. I¡¯m guessing because I hadn¡¯t been looking in the correct place. ¡°Oh, fair enough,¡± I said. From there, the conversation turned into Cecile and Elicec talking about their own animals back home. Apparently, they had a creature that was something like Chip but had four arms and four legs, and a lot of time was spent keeping them out of mushroom patches. I zoned out for a lot of it, but that much made it through. The bus coming to a stop brought me back to reality and I caught the tail end of Cecile saying something about eels. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re here. I¡¯m gonna go find a place to park the bus. You all want to stay on or go do some information gathering?¡± Timon asked. ¡°We¡¯re gonna go find someplace to stay, something a bit more comfortable than the bus. I¡¯ll leave a messenger for once yer parked to let us know where yer at,¡± Mel said. I wasted no time getting off the bus for some fresh air. For whatever insane reason, Timon just pushed me past a sense of reality. I knew I¡¯d have to get used to him, but I think I was allowed to take it slowly with how much I had already accepted. I watched a mini-Mel break off before he and the brothers joined me near a pathway into the village. ¡°So where to?¡± I asked, guessing we just followed the path for now. ¡°There should be a place somewhere in the village center where we can get a room for a few days while we figure out just what this dungeon is; then, you boys can go handle it while I dig into those items you recovered a bit more,¡± Mel said. ¡°So is a town like this in any trouble with the archive closing? I assume it only exists because people cared about the knowledge aspect of this world, not the resources,¡± I asked, looking around at the inhabitants we passed. They were shorter than most humans and a bit mole-like, and they seemed to keep to themselves. I saw a few heads turn our way, but for the most part, they minded their own business, working on the various projects they were engaged in. Several buildings were being constructed, and that seemed to be their primary focus. ¡°Depends on the town, looks like this place was started by a group of reltleons, so they¡¯re probably fine. I doubt they were expecting any trade in the first place and are likely only here, as no one else wanted the space. Their home world has been gone for a long time, and that¡¯s never a great place to be for a people,¡± Mel explained. We reached a building with a sign outside that said rooms for rent, which was apparently what Mel was looking for as he turned and entered the door. ¡°Welcome travelers to Smithtown,¡± said a voice from behind a large counter the moment we entered the building. ¡°Hey, we heard about the dungeon problem y¡¯all have been having. I know there hasn¡¯t even been any official scouting done yet, but I figured we¡¯d take care of that as well. Rent some rooms for a few nights and get it all taken care of nice and neat. Any chance you¡¯re the guy that can help us with this?¡± Mel said, getting right down to business. I had the feeling he didn¡¯t want to be here any longer than needed. I wasn¡¯t sure I bought his claim about how little danger we were actually in, considering the vibe. ¡°I can get you set up with rooms, absolutely, but I¡¯ll have to get the mayor to stop by later. He has all the information that¡¯s been collected about the dungeon so far,¡± the man said.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Good enough, put the rooms on my account,¡± Mel said, showing the man something on the back of his hand. Was that the equivalent of a debit card? Just show someone your details, and they can pull up your banking info. It wasn''t that far off where things were headed back on earth anyway; hell, take into account biometrics, and we were already there. Were there any worlds that had knowingly rejected magic and entered into what was essentially an arms race using technology? ¡°Second-floor room seventeen, it connects to four bedrooms, sorry we don¡¯t have anything with just three beds,¡± he said after looking at Mel¡¯s hand for a few seconds. ¡°No problem, it won¡¯t be an issue,¡± Mel said, immediately heading for the stairs and straight to the rooms. The second he had the door closed behind us, several more of his mini-Mels broke off while he glared at Cecile, who had just opened his mouth. We waited ten minutes in silence before they all joined back into his main body, and he spoke again. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong; the drone should have been back by now.¡± ¡°Wrong as in Timon and the mini you is kidnapped, or wrong as in it¡¯s been destroyed?¡± I asked, not sure just how much information he got back from his drones. ¡°What did you call my messenger drone? No, wait, we can deal with that nonsense later. Gone as in kidnapped, it¡¯s still functional. I¡¯ll know when it''s destroyed, but there¡¯s no reason it should be missing, either. For one thing, Timon can handle himself reasonably well, so whatever got them both is a big new problem,¡± Mel said, shifting back to what I was pretty sure were colors that signaled his anxiety. ¡°Alright, clearly, we need to go find Timon. Cecile, Elicec, you two stay here with Mel. Mel give¡­¡± I started to say before my words were cut off by a loud, frantic knocking at the door. Cecile, who was still near the door, opened it, revealing another one of the relteons. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Mel asked, fury bubbling into his voice. ¡°Damn, am I too late? Did something already happen?¡± The newcomer asked. ¡°It sure as hell did; get yer ass in here and tell me who the hell you are now!¡± Mel said. His color had shifted to dark red. ¡°I¡¯m Glunderlin, the mayor of Smithtown,¡± he said, walking in and shutting the door himself before continuing. ¡°What happened? From what the clerk said, it doesn¡¯t look like anyone is missing yet¡­¡± ¡°Well, yer damn wrong, someone is missing, and we know is there¡¯s some unscouted dungeon that you idiots reported. Somethings telling me yer about to say it¡¯s a lot worse than we know, and then I¡¯m going to get even angrier about an inaccurate report!¡± Mel interrupted furiously. ¡°I¡¯m sorry; if I had known anyone was coming, I¡¯d have sent a warning. It¡¯s just I assumed with the change in planetary affiliation, we weren¡¯t going to see any help any time soon,¡± Glunderlin explained, the words leaving his mouth at lightning speed. ¡°Fine, ya got a point there. Just tell us what ya know,¡± Mel said, sighing loudly and starting to shift back towards his usual green. ¡°What we initially thought was going on was that we had built the city on an existing undiscovered dungeon. We even found a series of caves that seemed to back up this theory. That was when we sent word of the possibility of a dungeon. We weren¡¯t overly worried at the time, as we had the entrance barred and guarded at all times. Then, more people started to go missing. We went into action, and some of our best fighters at the settlement went deep into the caves, trying to find if there was another way out we couldn¡¯t find from the surface. That was a week ago, and they still aren¡¯t back, but while they were gone some of the initial victims reappeared, seemingly mostly okay, they just couldn¡¯t remember what had happened. They were checked out by our healer, and he thought everything was fine, too. It wasn¡¯t. I don¡¯t know how they were changed by whatever had taken them, but three days ago, they made their move and captured Traveler Thirty-Two. If they managed to corrupt him and establish a tunnel, all our settlements are in danger, and while I¡¯m deeply sorry you¡¯ve already lost someone, we desperately need any help you could give,¡± Glunderlin said. ¡°Well, shit. I don¡¯t think you had a dungeon here at all, well, at least not initially; you might if something happens to that core of yours, and a multi-universal dungeon at that. That¡¯ll be a real big problem if it happens,¡± Mel said, his anxiety colors coming back. ¡°Wait, I think I¡¯m missing something here, what is going on exactly?¡± I was lost on what Traveler Thirty-Two was or even what Mel thought was going on. ¡°It¡¯s one of the damn seedlings; they take root and slowly start to replace people until they can gain the real access they want. A way off the planet, and the reltleons just happen to have their own little network used to attach their cities together. Dammit, Glunderlin, how could you let a seedling anywhere near one of yer dungeon cores, especially after the core was attached to yer network. We have two, maybe three days at this stage to stop the seedling infestation before someone a lot more powerful than us does it the easy way,¡± Mel said. I didn¡¯t remotely like the way he had phrased that. ¡°What¡¯s the easy way exactly, Mel?¡± I asked, having a feeling I knew the answer. ¡°Bye-bye planet and everything already attached to their corrupted Traveler when it happens,¡± Mel answered, glaring at the reltleon mayor.
The reltleons are one of the only people to have had some amount of growth following the loss of their home world. Their development of unique pathways through chaotic space alongside dungeon cores turned allies are a rare example of something truly new in the Spiral. Luckily for them, their paths represent something all of the factions desire and they sit safely, for now, in the middle of the cold war. Factions, Dynasties, Royalty, and the Holdings by Trig Plunderscan Chapter 49: Pod People, Always a Problem ¡°Alright, alright, there¡¯s some potential good news here. We might just have the right people to handle this problem. Seedlings ain¡¯t generally able to grow husks that work correctly for anyone with more than one soul, so Cecile and Elicec are gonna be able to put a damper on that mother root¡¯s plans. Next piece of good news: they grabbed a messenger drone of mine, probably thinking it¡¯s the full me, and any attempt to tamper with it is gonna cause a nice big explosion. That¡¯s gonna lead us directly to where the current pod nest is. Dave, I know you were starting to come up with a plan, but we¡¯re gonna go with mine. I know what these things are, and you¡¯re still real green to all of this, and I swear that if you make a joke about that statement, it will be the last one you make. Glunderlin, yer gonna take the twinog here and let them into the entrance to the caves. You two are gonna take another messenger drone with you. Dave will, too,¡± Mel explained, making sure to glare at me the moment he brought up the joke part. I hadn¡¯t really been thinking about the joke, but he was right; there was an easy one there, but I wisely kept my mouth shut. ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± I asked, not sure where he had me in his plans. ¡°Yer gonna go kick down the door of whatever building that is about to be a dungeon and hopefully free that core before it ends back up where it started. Fire should work pretty good on the reltleons pods, don¡¯t hesitate, they ain¡¯t real, just puppets of the mother root,¡± Mel said. I thought I could handle that. I hadn¡¯t really had a chance to see what combat was like with monsters outside of a dungeon, so now was as good a time as ever. ¡°Got it; what are the mini yous for?¡± I asked, ignoring their proper name. ¡°Yer really gonna keep calling ¡®em that, are ya? It¡¯s so I know what happened; I may not get all the info, but even their lack of return will tell me a lot. Now get going, all four of ya. I gotta figure out if these mana orbs are safe because we may need them before this mess is over,¡± Mel said, barking the order. Even Glunderlin jumped to obey, racing us out of the building. ¡°Point me at where I need to go, please,¡± I said to the mayor once we were back outside. ¡°Straight down the road, it¡¯s what looks like it used to be a big open building at the center of the intersection. I doubt anyone will try to stop you going in, but if they do, say I sent you,¡± Glunderlin said. I nodded and took off at a sprint down the street, hoping Mel would be safe in the room with Chip. There was still some pain in my knees during the run, but nowhere near what it had been on the retreat from the desert. Regeneration hadn¡¯t fixed everything yet, clearly, but it probably didn¡¯t help that I kept adding new injuries on our rapid fire dungeon excursions. The building quickly came into view and it looked something like a four-way intersection with a large train station built on top of it. There were several guards at the sides I could see, but they all looked terrified of whatever was happening on the inside. Just how few people were actually capable of handling dungeons? Had I already jumped above most of the population? That didn¡¯t seem right. Then again, specialized tasks didn¡¯t always have a large pool of people to pull from. Maybe that held true here as well. ¡°Sorry, no time to talk. Glunderlin said it was fine,¡± I yelled as I leapt over the guard standing in my way, mostly to see if I could. The landing stretched something a bit, but nothing broke. While this may have been something any human in their twenties in reasonably good shape could do, it certainly wasn¡¯t something I had been able to do. That confirmed one of my theories: my body was getting rebuilt better than it had been, likely partially because of the strength training I was trying to keep on as much as I could. I stopped in front of the door and heard a few murmured words of hope from the guards as I tried to open it. It didn¡¯t seem locked, but like something was blocking it from the inside. Good thing I had a makeshift battering ram in my possession. Two heavy mallet blows later and I was through the door and glad for my improved night vision. Every light in the building had been snuffed, but with the little bit of light flooding in from the opened door behind me, I could easily see a dozen figures standing in the center of the room. The fact that they were entirely unmoving, showing zero reaction to my sudden presence, was somewhat unnerving. ¡°Hey, what are you guys doing?¡± I called out as I walked towards them. No answer came. There wasn¡¯t the tiniest hint of movement, even once I was directly behind one of the figures. I poked it from behind, my finger going straight through what felt like long rotted away wood. I pulled my hand back and gave it a shove. The figure broke apart, collapsing to the ground in a pile of dust and splinters, revealing a thick root from the foot of where it had stood to the center of the circle of these husks. Each of them had a similar root running to the center into some sort of egg. My destruction of the husk looked to have triggered something as the egg rapidly cracked, and a creature erupted out of it with a sickening squelch sound accompanied by an ear-piercing cry. Rising out of the egg and quickly growing was best described as a plant abomination. With what I assumed was a head, it stared directly at me with a palpable rage. I realized I should have switched to my fire elemental orb much earlier at the exact moment one of its appendages elongated and slammed me backward across the room into one of the pillars.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I coughed in pain, very tired of being thrown against things. At least nothing seemed broken or even bruised this time, but it had become a repetitive experience that I wanted to stop having. I used recall to quickly hit it with a series of fireballs as it rushed toward me for another strike, pulling my mallet up at the last possible moment, countering its charge with my own hard swing directly in the center of its mass. I managed to knock it down at the cost of slamming my back again into the pillar behind me. Water started pouring out from several spots in its body, extinguishing the flames as it writhed on the ground to find its footing. That wasn¡¯t a great development for me. I was afraid of switching to the aether orb and just knocking the whole building down on top of us, so instead, I swapped over to my least-used mana orb, imbuing, and, using core projection, infused some fire mana directly into the mallet. Pushing the mana that way felt so much harder than it did on the elemental orb, likely because of how few ranks I had on it, something I was going to need to change when I had more free time to consider how best to do so. I managed to catch one of its appendages with a swing of my mallet as it shot out at me again, sending a small burst of fire into the dent I left on it. The thing screamed in anger, pain, or possibly even just annoyance. I had no idea which, but the launching of its entire body off the ground at me told me it wasn¡¯t any sort of attempt to surrender. I hit it again with my mallet twice before it managed to land its own blow. A new appendage shot out of its midsection and rammed me hard in the chest. This time, I did feel something break, hopefully just a rib or two at most. I turned my life orb back on; I was just going to have to deal with the mana drain. I needed the pain dulled and the healing to start, but what I really needed was this damned thing to stop getting back up. I ducked under another attack and landed a swing of my mallet into the joint of the arm-like protrusion. It cracked with my force, and this time, the fire didn¡¯t immediately go back out. I swung again before it could recover, putting more of both my strength and mana into the blow, aiming for under what I thought was its head. An even louder crack resounded through the room as it toppled backward again. ¡°Help me, please!¡± a voice cried out, badly muffled from somewhere inside the creature¡¯s body. Dammit, what had it managed to seal inside itself? I grabbed a large screwdriver from my System storage into my offhand and used the mallet to drive it deeply into the thing, ripping off pieces as I went. It soon stopped struggling against me, and I found what had pleaded for my help. The creature had grown around what looked like a dungeon core. No, it was a former dungeon core, now a traveler, whatever that was.
Monsters Defeated
Seedling Golem, Core Infused 250 Experience
Experience Gained 250 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
All At Once x1.5
I Stand Alone x1.5
Total Experience Gained 681 Points
¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked it. ¡°Yes, thank you so much. I thought for sure it was going to use me to destroy all the good my brothers and I have done,¡± it said. Before I could say anything, a second mini-Mel floated into the room and yelled in his usual voice, ¡°Dave, we need you in the caverns the second you finish there; the brothers are overwhelmed. Take this new drone, send me back the old one!¡±
We do not know where the Seedlings come from, only that they first showed up after the expansion of the year 3.92.23-PT and they have been a growing problem ever since. Every attempt to eradicate them has seemed successful, only for a new infestation to spring up years later and be noticed far too late to save the world it was found on. As of yet, no universes have been overtaken, but countless worlds have been annihilated in the eternal crusade against them. These are only one of many menaces that someone choosing a career in extermination can expect to deal with. System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp Chapter 50: Mother Root ¡°Sorry, Traveler, uh, I don¡¯t remember the numbers, but looks like I gotta go. You want me to put you in my System storage or leave you with the guards?¡± I asked, worried about Cecile and Elicec. ¡°Storage, please, until I¡¯m sure who is entirely still real,¡± the core requested. I dropped it off on a shelf next to the other cores, then quickly ordered the first mini-Mel back to full Mel and ran outside. ¡°Hey, this is clear of monsters now, and Traveler wants me to hold on to it for now. Where¡¯s the entrance to the underground caverns? I¡¯ve gotta help my friends and finish off your infestation,¡± I informed and asked the first guard I saw. He looked at me like I had just saved his entire family. ¡°Back the way you came, go to the entrance into the city, turn towards the mountain, and you should see several guards on the far wall; head for them,¡± the guard said. I nodded before taking off in another sprint. My speed was certainly better than anything I could have ever done when I was younger, but it didn¡¯t seem like I had surpassed any championship sprinters just yet. How long until my basic feats of athletics were as superhuman as my magic? Despite my lack of Olympian level speed as of yet, it didn¡¯t take me long to find the entrance and Glunderlin standing outside it with two dozen guards. ¡°Any idea how much trouble they¡¯re in?¡± It wasn¡¯t likely they knew the answer, especially since Mel hadn¡¯t relayed any, but any extra information was useful. ¡°No, just saw your friend¡¯s drone leave the cavern about ten minutes before you showed up,¡± Glunderlin answered worriedly. ¡°Okay, well, I¡¯ve taken care of the other problem; I¡¯ll explain everything after I¡¯m back. Can you send someone to Mel and let him know I¡¯ve gone down,¡± I asked. Glunderlin nodded, and I heard him telling the guards to send a runner as I started into the depths. The path was straight forward enough, and I could hear fighting somewhere in the distance, and while my body still wasn¡¯t overly happy with the last fight, there was no way I would be leaving the brothers to fight this alone. Strangely, the further in I went, the lighter things got. I had been expecting more darkness, similar to the last building. Then again, if these were plant creatures, it was entirely possible they needed sunlight to really grow. That left the question of how the previous monster was surviving without it. Maybe they just needed it at the start until they had something functioning internally to otherwise provide the energy? I had no idea, and I didn¡¯t really want to waste the skill points on dendrology to possibly find out. ¡°Elicec, just hold on; I¡¯ll get us out of here. You¡¯ll be okay!¡± Cecile¡¯s cry echoed from somewhere far ahead. Damn, something bad had happened, and I had no idea how much further away they were. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m coming, you hear me, seedling or mother root, whatever you are, I¡¯m coming for you, and if my friends are in any way hurt, I¡¯ll pay that back to you ten times over!¡± I screamed it as loud as I could, any potential surprise be damned if I could provide a distraction to get the brothers a moment of safety. My taunts continued as I chased after the sounds of my friend''s desperate attempts to stay alive. I switched to elemental orbs as I ran, letting the pain sweep back through my body without the life orb, but I was going to need to channel a ton of mana as quickly as possible, and any residual drain had a strong chance of overloading my core. The last thing I needed was to fight off a mana backlash in the middle of this. Frankly, it was amazing one of them hadn¡¯t hit me yet during a fight. Was it because of gaining the backlash resistance attribute so early? As I rounded a corner, both the noise and light rapidly increased. I was sure the fight was happening at the end of this passageway. ¡°I already killed whatever monster it was you spawned trying to capture Traveler, so if you think I¡¯m afraid to do the same to you, you¡¯re very wrong!¡± I yelled, continuing my taunts as the scene finally came into view. It was worse than I had thought. Elicec had a bad head wound, and his eyes weren¡¯t open. Cecile was pushed back against the wall with only a single functional arm, bleeding from a dozen other wounds fighting off a host of thorny vines. In the center of the room was a giant bulb with dozens of tendrils extending around the cavern. Several of them ended in what looked like cocoons. Those had to be all the missing people. Was Timon somewhere in there? I hit the vines that were stabbing at Cecile with a fireball using one arm and attempted to let loose with the aether orb on the other arm. I felt the mana channel through me. I could tell recall had worked, but the massive bulb hadn¡¯t moved at all. Was it just too rooted to the ground? I could change that. I charged at it with my mallet back in my hands. ¡°Cecile, work on getting the cocoons opened and get everyone to the surface,¡± I ordered the conscious member of the twinog as my mallet struck the hard outer casing of the root bulb. What would happen if this thing blossomed? Was that even how it worked? ¡°What about you, Dave?¡± Cecile yelled back, already ripping open the nearest cocoon. ¡°Either I¡¯ll be fine, or I won¡¯t. You aren¡¯t in any shape to help at the moment, so the only good outcome you can add is getting everyone out right now,¡± I yelled, producing my screwdriver again and using it as a tree spike, this time cracking the shell of the monster. Cecile stopped arguing and continued getting everyone to safety. The moment I felt the screwdriver hit empty space, I put my hand up to the crack and sent a fireball directly into it. The explosion sent me flying backward. Instead of a wall, for once, I managed to land on my feet. My ribs were killing me. I was pretty sure the explosion had either made the existing breaks worse or broken something else. All around the room, the roots and vines started to wither away, all life vanishing from them.
Monsters Defeated
Seedling Mother Root, Immature 200 Experience
Experience Gained 200 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
All At Once x1.5
Total Experience Gained 363 Points
As I coughed blood into my hand, all I could think was how little experience that was worth compared to the damage it had done. I switched off both elemental orbs and turned on only the life orb, letting all the healing magic run without any pain management for now. I checked my body and found what I had suspected following the bloody cough to be true. One of my broken ribs had pierced my lungs. That explained why breathing was getting so hard. I worked the life orb¡¯s magic to get everything back where it belonged and then made regeneration focus on the lungs first, and I coughed up the rest of the blood before I was able to get a good breath again. ¡°Mini-Mel, go get help. We aren¡¯t going to be able to get all these people out ourselves,¡± I ordered before turning to Cecile and asked, ¡°How bad is your brother?¡± ¡°He¡¯s barely breathing. We¡¯ve never been hurt this bad, Dave. I¡¯m really worried,¡± Cecile said as the smaller cloud shape disappeared at a rapid speed back to where we had come from.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Alright, let me check some skills I haven¡¯t learned yet. Keep getting everyone free, and I¡¯ll see what I can do,¡± I said, leaning against one of the walls in pain. I immediately unlocked and put a rank into medical telemetry to see what the skill between it and sling was, hoping it was something to heal someone else.
Mana Orb Life Tier 3
Orb Rank 1 Skill Stitch Other
Requirement Medical Telemetry (15) Stitch (15)
Stitch Other allows for the host to use Stitch on another person through the use of Medical Telemetry.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Life Tier 3
Orb Rank 1 Skill Sling Other
Requirement Medical Telemetry (15) Sling (15)
Sling Other allows for the host to use Sling on another person through the use of Medical Telemetry.
Skill Rank 0
A second line had either opened from medical telemetry and stitch leading to another tier three skill, or I had somehow missed it before, but I was reasonably sure it hadn¡¯t been there. Did that imply secret mana skill pathways? I stopped that line of thought to focus on the here now and immediately invested the ranks needed to unlock both spells. I scanned Elicec and was glad that I had decided on this course. His skull was cracked in several places, and without immediate intervention, he wasn¡¯t likely to live. I didn¡¯t want to find out what happened to a twinog if one of them died. I turned off most of my own healing, just keeping enough going to make sure the lungs didn¡¯t get worse again, and started channeling my mana toward keeping Elicec alive. Cecile immediately looked back at me when a weave of mana appeared across Elicec¡¯s forehead. I nodded at him, signaling it was me, and he went back to work. My mana was rapidly draining, and I wasn¡¯t sure if I had enough to keep us both alive until help arrived, but I¡¯d do my damndest.
Fire; the element most often chosen by those new to the Systems path and planning to use an elemental orb. The allure of the flame has tempted many a soul, and I won¡¯t deny its usefulness here, but within fire are different mana disciplines one can specialize in. Few consider the secondary crafting uses that come with a specialty in fire, and even fewer push it beyond the flames into the raw heat alone. Fire, the Misunderstood Element by Henjen Klank
Chapter 21 Is there any mana orb more varied than the elemental orb? Perhaps possibly the matter orb, but the rarity of those makes focusing writing on them considerably difficult. The mana orb, from nearly the start, has six different possible focuses that grow even more unique as the ranks of the orb increase. The rumors of just what can be controlled at the highest levels should scare anyone facing off against such a host. The Many Facets of Elemental Mana Orbs by Henjen Klank Chapter 22 Does the ranking of affinities even matter? Sure, people often get them when their core forms, but as no link can be found for their evolution, what exactly does the rank mean? It would help if we had a complete study of a person before and after gaining their affinity, but the logistics of doing that seem like a nightmare. Taken from Karlinovo¡¯s submission to a newspaper. Chapter 23 Once the soul-core reaction has begun, the need for food will rapidly increase; this is one of the reasons the Arena dining halls are always overflowing with food on the lower levels. The problem is, though, as your mana usage climbs, food won¡¯t always be enough to keep up. Those who have moved into their first transcendence must begin to develop their own mana flows if they hope to push further, but that isn¡¯t what you¡¯re reading this cookbook for. Let¡¯s start with one of my more favored dishes, spacial stew¡­ 100 Recipes for Your Core by Jordan Hamsy Chapter 24 Cactomen hail from one of the rare Spiral universes that have shattered and fallen into the darkness of chaotic space. Their various settlements across other Spiral worlds are the descendants of those lucky enough not to be in their home universe when it happened. Their status has never recovered, and few even bother to Arena climb these days. Peoples of the Shattering Chapter 25 The Life mana orb was once considered a revolutionary advancement in magical skills throughout the Spiral; now, it''s one of the most common orbs in existence. Like the Shield mana orb, many try to keep one in reserve, swapping it into their core during moments of desperation. The problem with this move is that they aren''t often ranked for the task needed. That said, they are still the first mana orb any settlement makes an attempt to acquire. Mana Sources by Henjen Klank Chapter 26 The negatives of aging are now symptoms belonging only to the poor. Those most capable of escaping their beginnings can soon find themselves in a world of immortals, where age is but a costume worn to convince others of their years of built-up wisdom. Often, though, the offered wisdom is just another disguise for something else. The gatherings of truly ancient beings have started to grate on me. Is this all we chose to live for? The Last Recorded Words of Zhrole Chapter 27 Environmental replication skills are some of the most sought-after skills. They can give anyone who can access them an easy leg up, sometimes even bridging the gap between someone with no access to the greater resources elite factions have to someone born in poverty. Given the right commerce world and suitably trained transmogrifier, enough wealth has been known to change hands to buy an entire faction before¡­ Rare Skills & Their Value by Kongus Kingly Chapter 28 One of the things that I most wanted to know before I began my experiments was how the System used replication skills to create experience. Where was the experience coming from? In the time it took me to find twenty people willing to speak on their extra sockets, I found a total of one willing to talk about their replication skill, and by the time I arrived to speak to them, they had already sold it to the Windows & Doors Dynasty, which means I¡¯ll hear nothing else about it, damn those secretive bastards. Karlinovo¡¯s What is Experience? Chapter 29 The transmogrifier is not a career choice; it is a calling. It isn¡¯t a job you get to work towards, it¡¯s something the System decided you should be one day, and if you don¡¯t choose the path, you¡¯re a fool. It has very little risk, and the demands by the elite for your services will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams within the first year. Most won¡¯t even have to do anything horrible in their activities, as there are very few transmogrifiers out there capable of ripping a skill from an unwilling subject. Few, but not zero. System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp Chapter 30 System exploitation is a tried and true method of maximizing your gains while minimizing your losses. One must be careful on how far they are willing to push it in combat, though. There have been many lives lost to someone trying to fight a dungeon core boss without using their mana orbs or setting aside their weapon to wrestle a simple squirrel. It¡¯s important to remember that experience is worthless if you''re dead, and it¡¯s pretty unlikely you have the connections to make death nothing but an inconvenience. Grom¡¯s Musings Chapter 31 System Breakers, a path no sane person chooses, is something you do totally alone. There is no guide; there won¡¯t be any mentor figure. There is maybe one of them a generation, and should the factions learn about them before they have a chance to push themselves far enough along the path, it will be a very short one. Should a System Breaker grow strong enough, there is little that will stand in their way. A System Breaker at their peak will change everything. The Forbidden Paths by Glarppp Chapter 32 Mana backlash as a power source is an extremely dangerous path, but it is viable. There''s a group of warriors that call themselves masokinetics, and they utilize their own backlash pain to push their spells even stronger. Some of them are even capable of fighting well beyond the point they should be dead and yet somehow returning very much alive in the future. These are the elite warriors of the Phrentic Collective. Mana Sources by Henjen Klank Chapter 51: Heroes ¡°Come on, none of ya are allowed to die in here, ya hear me!¡± I did, in fact, still hear Mel. The pain had made things a bit hazy, and I had killed all of my own healing just to keep Elicec functioning, but Mel¡¯s voice somehow cut through it all. I heard the man loud and clear. ¡°Mel, I really hope you¡¯ve got something for Elicec,¡± I coughed out the words and saw more blood in my hand. My lungs needed desperately needed some healing of their own. ¡°I don¡¯t, but yer in luck the folks here have decided all three of ya are heroes and brought down some of their own elixirs, so go ahead and stop using yer mana on Elicec. We¡¯ve got that for now. Focus on yerself until they can get to you. You aren¡¯t in much better shape, but I don¡¯t think yer about to die on us,¡± Mel ordered. Easy for him to say, did he even have lungs? What kind of internal organs didn¡¯t a cloud man have anyway? Was he a cloud man? I couldn¡¯t even remember if I knew what species Mel was. That had to be a pretty bad sign for my health. ¡°You know, I hadn¡¯t broken any ribs, let alone punctured my lungs, before I met you, Mel,¡± I said, turning the healing toward myself and feeling my lungs inflate properly. ¡°Stop whining. Yer gonna get a lot more bruised and battered before long. One day, yer gonna look back at this with nostalgia, I can promise that. Good friends, hard-fought battle that you won with no casualties, it ain¡¯t always gonna be that way, Dave. Trust me,¡± Mel said, floating over to where I was slumped over. ¡°Yeah, but I bet my healing magic works a bit faster by that point,¡± I said, trying to deflect from the harsh reality of Mel¡¯s words. ¡°Don¡¯t always count on that working. Just cause yer a special case doesn¡¯t mean there ain¡¯t a lot more special cases out there waiting to test just what you can do. Assuming yer ass manages to live long enough, shit¡¯s gonna come knocking one day,¡± Mel said, seemingly determined to reignite my anxiety. ¡°Any chance we can save this, whatever the opposite of a pep talk is for when I don¡¯t feel like death?¡± I asked. What was the opposite? Harsh realism talk? Come to Jesus moment? I wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°No, we can¡¯t. This is yer first real brush with something more dangerous than you understand just yet, and it¡¯s only gonna get worse from here. So I need ya to tell me that you understand just how serious this is because right now, I¡¯ve got some real dumb ideas kicking around my brain, and I ain¡¯t willing to follow through with any of them unless I¡¯m sure you get this won¡¯t end anytime soon,¡± Mel explained. I knew what he was trying to get at. Even if, no, when I saved Earth, everything was just going to get harder from there. There was no turning the clock back on first contact, let alone the destruction that had happened across the planet. ¡°I get it, Mel. I may try to avoid thinking about it, but no, I get it. My reality is never going back to what it was. There isn¡¯t actually a when this is all over unless I¡¯m actually dead, and considering souls are real and magic exists, I guess I don¡¯t even know that¡¯s permanent anymore,¡± I said, coughing up the blood left in my lungs from the stress of that much speaking. On the upside, breathing was easier again. ¡°Good. In the future, there¡¯s gonna be some big moments where you need to trust me. I don¡¯t know what they are yet or when they¡¯ll be, but I got some cogs turning in my brain,¡± Mel said. I wanted to know what he was planning, but he didn¡¯t seem ready to share any of it yet. What the hell was the man planning with my future? Woah woah, I calmed my brain down. The surge of rage that had accompanied that last question had been intense. Where had that come from? So far, Mel has done far more for us than he ever had to. I trust the man. I reached up and put a hand to my head, and it came back covered in blood. Ah, a head wound. That explains the difficulty keeping my mind focused and probably even the weird anger. I felt Mel tip something into my mouth, and I instinctively swallowed. ¡°What was that?¡± I asked, realizing the answer before he responded; my mana pool was refilling itself. How hard were those potions to get ahold of? ¡°Mana restoration elixir, gift of the mayor, insanely valuable. Then again, we may have just saved their entire race, so ya probably earned it. Kick your healing into high gear, and let¡¯s go check on Elicec and Timon,¡± Mel said, his earlier glare entirely gone. He even reached out a hand to help me up. Whatever the burden on his mind had seemingly to have lessened after our conversation, at least.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. As we slowly made our way out of the caverns, I saw teams of the relteons working on cutting apart all the roots and plant matter while others burnt it all, likely to avoid any chance of anything surviving dormantly. It was a plant, so who knew what it was capable of? This hadn¡¯t been the dungeon I had hoped it would be, but it was hard to be upset about helping those in desperation. I¡¯d have to figure out how to push myself harder in the simulator. We found Cecile and Elicec back in our rooms. They were lying on their bed with several people tending their wounds. Two relteons were casting several spells I wasn¡¯t familiar with, while two more cleaned and checked over every wound on the twinog¡¯s body. Cecile¡¯s eyes opened, and he looked directly at me, mouthing the word ¡°thanks.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me. You¡¯d have done exactly the same if you were able. Now, get some rest. We gotta figure out our next move once we feel more alive,¡± I said, smiling at Cecile. ¡°Good thing we ended up with the fourth room. Timon¡¯s stuck in here with us for now whether he wants to or not. The bus is gonna take a ton of work to get moving again. They did a real number on it,¡± Mel said, pointing to the previously unoccupied room. ¡°Am I good to go lay down? I desperately need it, and I need to check what Traveler wants to do,¡± I asked Mel, wondering if he was going to question Traveler still being in my possession. ¡°Nah, go get some rest. Keep that pumakey near you. It should help keep your mana up with how much healing ya gotta do. I¡¯ll see you in the morning for some grub,¡± Mel said, floating away toward his own room. Walking into my room and shutting the door behind me, I stripped the tattered remains of my clothing and climbed in the hot shower connected to the room. Chip plopped down in the room, sitting just outside the stall, watching me. I reached into my System storage and pulled out a bunch of the more travel-hardy food I had stuffed in there, as well as Traveler and the as-of-yet-nameless dungeon core. I tossed some of the jerky to Chip and ate a lot myself before I finally spoke the cores. ¡°Traveler, this is a dungeon core that is trying to understand the concept of existence; I was hoping you might be able to give it a hand since you seem to have a pretty strong sense of self,¡± I said. ¡°I would be honored, Dave. The chance to help a newly questioning core into the light is something we Travelers see as a divine responsibility. Hello, young one, how are you handling this new sense of world?¡± Traveler asked. ¡°I am not certain, but I have decided on a name. Would you say that is a good thing in regards to my sense of self?¡± the dungeon core asked in return. ¡°Very much so. A name can help you find a purpose, and a purpose is one of the best things our kind can do to stop the madness from returning. What is your name?¡± Traveler asked. Were they all basically power-mad when they first came into existence? The wasp queen¡¯s core still didn¡¯t seem alive at all, so I found it hard to believe that was all of them. ¡°I wish to be called Corey. From what I glimpsed in Dave¡¯s mind, that is a common name in his world, and it seems suitable for how close it is to what I am,¡± Corey explained. I clamped my mouth shut, killing any chance of the laughter escaping. This seemed to be an important moment for the core, and whether I found that name hilarious or not didn¡¯t matter. ¡°Good, then I believe there is nothing else I can teach you at the moment. You¡¯ve taken the hardest steps, and I believe Dave will treat you far better than most would. Dave, once you are more mobile tomorrow, will you return me to the travel gate? That will soon need to be established so my brothers may attach the new stop in the chain,¡± Traveler asked. ¡°Yeah, absolutely. What is the chain exactly, anyway? Mel said something about connecting your worlds?¡± I asked. No, that was quite right, the relteons didn¡¯t have any worlds anymore. What had Mel said exactly? Stupid head wound. ¡°Not worlds, but cities. The relteons use the services of us Travelers to build a linked network through space and universes to connect their cities, establishing a world without a world, and as thanks for all you¡¯ve done, I grant you free passage across the traveler¡¯s gates,¡± Traveler said. ¡°I appreciate it, and tomorrow I¡¯ll get you back there, but for tonight, it¡¯s time to put you back in storage if that¡¯s okay. I¡¯m ready for a long sleep,¡± I said, exhaustion hitting me all at once. ¡°Yes, I am ready,¡± Traveler responded. I returned everything to my storage and curled up in the bed; Chip cuddled up on top of me. Traveler¡¯s offer made me realize something else. I had no idea how to get home. Without the archives, I didn¡¯t know how to return to the spire, if that was even how I got back to Earth. How hadn¡¯t this problem hit me before?
Assuming the dungeon core is not destroyed alongside the dungeon, it is possible to coax some of my fellow cores into more awareness. It is rare to awaken true intelligence if it is not already there, but it has happened, and I am glad for those willing to try. Interconnectivity, Linkages Through Space by Traveler-1 Chapter 52: A New Mana Orb True to Mel¡¯s claim, the night before, the common area was full of food in the morning. Mel, Cecile, Elicec, and Timon were all sitting at the table when I walked in. I was glad to see the twinog was already okay enough to be eating on their own. The benefits of magical healing were something else. ¡°How are you feeling, Dave?¡± Cecile asked the moment I sat down. ¡°I¡¯m doing okay. I¡¯ve got the benefit of Chip to keep my mana up while I heal myself. I¡¯m still pretty banged up inside, though. Apparently, a pierced lung isn¡¯t the easiest thing to heal. How about you two? You okay over there, Elicec?¡± I asked, unsure of just how well someone could recover from a head wound like that. Traumatic head injuries were a pretty big problem for the people who suffered them on Earth, but we also didn¡¯t have anything like regeneration to deal with. How well did healing magic work with brain injuries? We didn¡¯t fully understand the brain yet, but I assumed that once a memory was gone, it was gone. Could magic actually restore lost memories from damage? ¡°I¡¯m not doing great, but it¡¯s pretty hard to kill only part of a twinog; lots of internal redundancies. Though if you hadn¡¯t arrived when you did, I think they would have pulled it off,¡± Elicec answered. That made some sense. I wasn¡¯t much of an expert on human anatomy, let alone alien biology. Was that xenobiology? I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what the word meant or if alien even applied here since it was a different universe altogether. Adding to the list of things I wasn¡¯t was a linguist. ¡°Man, I can¡¯t believe a plant tried to eat me. I¡¯m having a terrible year, and now even the bus is trashed. Mel, I gotta stop doing favors for you. They never go well,¡± Timon said, gobbling down several sausage-looking things. ¡°I ain¡¯t ever promised you well. You rather live a life of boredom?¡± Mel said, surprisingly smiling at the mantis-like man. They must have been very old friends to get a reaction like that out of Mel. ¡°Yeah, yeah, don¡¯t think I forgot who introduced me to my ex. But I guess more to the point now, just what the hell did you get me stuck in this time?¡± Timon asked. ¡°Honestly, didn¡¯t know anything about the seedlings, but this did prevent an interesting turn of events. I was worried we¡¯d have to use the archives and find something in the spire to go back to Dave¡¯s world. I have a feeling we can convince the relteons to add it to their network. And since ya asked so damned nicely, what I got you stuck in is coming with us. I promise yer ex won¡¯t find you there,¡± Mel said. ¡°Damn, Mel, you¡¯ve got some grand plan kicking around in that cloud head of yours again, don¡¯t you? Fuck, they aren¡¯t ever boring, I¡¯ll give you that. Any chance you¡¯re ready to lay your cards out?¡± Timon said, rubbing his head with his arm. ¡°No chance in hell, you gotta make this decision blind, but you should still have some time. These boys need to finish off the last dungeon on the planet before they¡¯re ready to head back, and I want Dave here to get through his first hardening before they tackle that. Which means Dave, you need to get yer ass back in that simulator of yours,¡± Mel said, turning his glare towards me. Apparently, only Timon warranted the jovial version of Mel. ¡°I¡¯ve got a couple of ideas, but if I push much further, I¡¯m risking really hurting myself with a mana backlash,¡± I said. ¡°Yeah, good thing I¡¯ve got a couple more elixirs from our friends and nonstop food ordered for the day. Oh, and this,¡± Mel said, tossing me the shield orb we had found in the backpack. ¡°Pop that into one of your slots. It¡¯s already rank three, which I believe is better than the rest of your orbs.¡± ¡°What happens with the invested skill ranks?¡± I asked, having no idea. Did I get to keep them, or did they just disappear, only tied to the person who placed them there? ¡°Sorry, should have said that before. They ain¡¯t actually transferable, just they have had them before. Skill ranks tend to help orbs grow a little faster in the long run, but the second an orb is slotted into someone else, the old skill ranks fizzle away since they¡¯re really just paths to the mana skills in the host¡¯s core,¡± Mel explained. ¡°Ah well, I¡¯ve got plenty to spare, I suppose,¡± I said, wondering how people with a single orb managed to spend all their skill points. I seemed to have more than I knew what to do with. I guess that was entirely possible to change as I got higher levels. ¡°Ya won¡¯t. It¡¯s like that for all the newbies. Gives them time to play around with their builds, not lock anything in until a few hardenings, assuming they can live that long, and considering yer unique situation, yer gonna have a lot less than most as this goes on. Likely a problem we might have to solve later,¡± Mel said. ¡°Alright that¡¯s twice you¡¯ve said hardening, you want to explain beyond that?¡± I asked. ¡°Nope, at least not til you hit level two-fifty. I¡¯ll do all the explaining then. I just need ya to prove to me yer capable first,¡± Mel answered unsatisfactorily. ¡°Alright, but first, I need this returned to Glunderlin,¡± I said, producing Traveler from my System storage. ¡°I got it. I¡¯m no use to whatever Mel has you doing right now,¡± Timon answered, reaching for the orb. I caught Mel¡¯s nod and decided if Mel trusted the man this much, how could I argue, but there was still one other I had to ask. ¡°You okay with that Traveler?¡± I asked, not willing to trust the core to Timon without its consent. ¡°That would be acceptable,¡± it replied. ¡°Perfect, thank you,¡± I said as I passed the orb over before continuing, ¡°so, uh, is there a System terminal here? I need a full one for the simulator,¡± I said. There hadn¡¯t been one in my room last night. ¡°Over at the desk, let me know once you start the simulation, put everything you¡¯ve got into, and don¡¯t lose,¡± Mel said. I scarfed down some more food and walked over to the desk. First up, I needed to see just what this shield orb could do, being tier three likely gave me some strong possibilities. Imbuing seemed the best to drop at the moment, so I unslotted it and put the new orb in its place.
Mana Orb Shield Tier 1
Orb Rank 3 Skill Magical Shield
Requirement
Magical Shield allows the host to encircle their body with a mana-based shield that blocks incoming magical damage. Further ranks increase the damage the shield can absorb.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Shield Tier 1
Orb Rank 3 Skill Physical Shield
Requirement
Physical Shield allows the host to encircle their body with a mana-based shield that blocks incoming non-magical damage. Further ranks increase the damage the shield can absorb.
Skill RankEnjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. 0
Unsure if a mana backlash was included under magical attacks or not, I decided to go ahead and max out both of the skills and check the new nodes from the magical side first.
Mana Orb Shield Tier 2
Orb Rank 3 Skill Rebound
Requirement Magical Shield (15)
Rebound allows the host to use a burst of their own mana to rebound some of the magical damage back at the initial source. Further ranks allow more of the magical damage to be returned.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Shield Tier 2
Orb Rank 3 Skill Extend Shield
Requirement Magical Shield (25)
Extend Shield allows the host to increase the shield at a heightened mana cost for every cubic foot. Further ranks allow for a larger shield.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Shield Tier 2
Orb Rank 3 Skill Absorb
Requirement Magical Shield (35)
Absorb allows the host to channel some of the magical damage back into their own core. Further ranks allow for more mana to be captured from the damage.
Skill Rank 0
These all seemed great but weren¡¯t exactly what I needed now. Did the physical nodes have better options?
Mana Orb Shield Tier 2
Orb Rank 3 Skill Environmental Shield
Requirement Physical Shield (15)
Environmental Shield allows the host to more efficiently block out damage from the environment around them. Further ranks allow the host to block more damage.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Shield Tier 2
Orb Rank 3 Skill Weapon Shield
Requirement Physical Shield (25)
Weapon Shield allows the host to defend from an opponent¡¯s direct non-magical assaults. Each rank spent on this skill adds a new weapon type the shield specializes in blocking.
Skill Rank 0
I could see myself using both of these eventually, but for now, I started with the Environmental Shield and checked what that unlocked.
Mana Orb Shield Tier 3
Orb Rank 3 Skill Heat Shield
Requirement Environmental Shield (15)
Heat Shield allows the host to block the effects of extreme heat. Further ranks increase the temperature that the shield can handle.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Shield Tier 3
Orb Rank 3 Skill Cold Shield
Requirement Environmental Shield (15)
Cold Shield allows the host to block the effects of extreme cold. Further ranks decrease the temperature that the shield can handle.
Skill Rank 0
That was a no-brainer, and I maxed out heat shield immediately. There was a line leading from the node, but then it joined up with several broken lines. I wasn¡¯t sure what that meant, but I wasn¡¯t able to see any further skills on the orb. I figured it was just more lower-tier skills I needed to hit certain ranks in order to see the node. Knowing what I needed to do next and not really wanting to put it off, I pulled up the simulator menu and checked the options. Once I had it all set, I¡¯d tell Mel before I hit start. I hoped he was right about me having what was needed for me to survive this.
Shield mana orbs are the most common of the mana orbs after the initial four standard orbs. They tend to naturally form anywhere large defensive structures are built, which makes them relatively easy to harvest. Most fighters desire one for their reserve, and some even go so far as to specialize in their use. Few if any are willing to part with one once they have it. Mana Sources by Henjen Klank Chapter 53: Quadrillions of Experience I looked at the list and decided the only things I wouldn¡¯t enable were cutting my level beyond one-half or removing my armor. Further deleveling still seemed too risky to win the fight. If I screwed up and didn¡¯t have any of my added resistance and shielding, I risked burning my brain out for nothing. In a last-second change, I also realized I needed my vision. I had no idea how the shield worked, and I had a feeling I was going to need to see it. I took a deep breath and decided it was now or never. ¡°Mel, I¡¯m going to press start in ten seconds,¡± I said, starting the countdown in my head. ¡°Good, don¡¯t screw this up and ruin all my plans before they even really start,¡± Mel said. Ignoring the burning curiosity of just what the man was planning, I instead hit start on the wasp dungeon and saw the lava flash around me briefly before my new shell popped into existence. I immediately put my new shield magic into use, and while I couldn¡¯t see it, I could feel it. My stone cocoon was rapidly cooling. Before it had a chance to fully harden, I rapidly flexed and shook my body enough to break some of it away and then slammed my wrist into the chunk on my face, breaking that off as well. I gulped down the strangely cool fresh air as the world around the shield was lightened from the magical energy that currently protected me. I only had inches of space, but it felt like infinitely more oxygen than I had had the last time I did this. I could make out some of the wasp queen''s bodies pressed to the outside of the shield as they slowly melted away from view. For the first time since starting these simulations, a thought arose in my mind. How real were these constructs? Did they feel pain? I hoped not. I didn¡¯t need a new philosophical guilt on my mind. I watched as my mana levels rapidly dropped. I knew it wasn¡¯t the end of the world if I lost the shield, as I still would have my own regular defenses that would hold for a while longer, but that didn¡¯t mean the wasp queens didn¡¯t, too. Just because the ones in front of me were gone didn¡¯t mean that held true across the board. There were also the starvation and poison effects taking their toll on my body, but I didn¡¯t think those were likely to become a problem before I was burnt to a crisp anyway. The tail, though, that was an odd sensory experience. It was like having a new limb with a single big finger. That likely meant it was prehensile, but it wasn¡¯t like I had any experience to know that for sure. Would a zoologist be able to tell the difference from feel alone? I doubted it, as you¡¯d generally need a personal basis to compare without an actual test. Did my mind always wander so much as it waited for the possibility of death? I didn¡¯t have the answer as this wasn¡¯t something I had ever had a chance to experience back home. All my near-death experiences had been incredibly recent, with no time to waste pondering them before they had entirely passed. My life had certainly taken a strange turn. I saw a large crack appear in the front of the shield. My mana was still over a quarter full, so the shield must have been quickly reaching the maximum damage it could handle. Could I just put up a second shield behind the first? It was too bad I hadn¡¯t seen the original come to life. I wanted to know how it had drained the lava from around me. Another crack appeared in the shield and I decided it was now or never to try the second shield. A film of pure mana seemed to form around me and then slowly grow out until it covered the inside of the nearly failed first attempt. With it came a new burst of fresh air and a pleasant cooling feeling. I really liked this new mana orb. Was it possible to expand beyond the six I had in my system now? I know I had read about people with two orbs per slot. Was that a possible future for me? I had no idea, but if I wanted to push this experiment as far as I could, I¡¯d likely need to find out. Did I want to? Was that where my life would go once back on Earth? A message popped into my view just as that thought ended.
Monsters Defeated
Wicked Wasp Queen x9,720 50 Experience
Experience Gained 486,000 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Weapon x1.1
I Stand Alone x1.5
All At Once x1.5
So Many Bosses x5
Even More Bosses x10
5 or More Modifiers x5
10 or More Modifiers x10
Total Experience Gained 3,007,125,000 PointsUnauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Modifiers In Effect
Remove Weapon x1.5
Randomize Starting Locations x1.5
x2 Opponents x1.5
x3 Opponents x2
x4 Opponents x2.5
x5 Opponents x3
x2 Opponent¡¯s Level x1.5
x3 Opponent¡¯s Level x2
x4 Opponent¡¯s Level x4
x5 Opponent¡¯s Level x8
All Opponents are Bosses x1.5
The Floor is Lava x4
The Air is Lava x8
The Walls are Lava x2
Remove Sense: Auditory x1.5
Random Mutation x2
Poisoned x2
Starving x3
Lose 5 Levels Per Modifier x19
Modified Total Experience Gained 479,827,450,080,000,000 points
My head screamed in pain, and the blackness threatened to engulf me. The sudden feeling of a thick liquid in my throat seemed to force my brain back into my skull. It hadn¡¯t done much for the pain, but I was at least aware. I could see a fuzzy form in front of me, lifting something to my lips. I felt another liquid burn its way down my throat. This time, my vision started to clear, and my head calmed down enough for the sounds I was hearing to get through. ¡°Well, ya look like shit, but yer still alive, so I ain¡¯t complaining,¡± Mel said. My head wasn¡¯t sure it agreed with Mel¡¯s claim. Was this really what being alive felt like? Chip leapt onto my lap as Mel forced another bottle of liquid down my throat. Between the two of them, I felt my mana finally start to fill back up my body. Movements were becoming easier again. The pain hadn¡¯t gone down much, but I knew if I could get enough mana back into my system, I could switch on the management. ¡°Don¡¯t think I can do that again,¡± I managed to cough out the words as the world started to swim yet again. My body was fighting to use every bit of energy as fast as it could be replenished. The searing pain within my chest refused to die down. If I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d assume this was a heart attack. Then again, who said it wasn¡¯t on top of everything else? ¡°Yeah yeah, stop yer bellyaching and work on getting your recovery skills turned on. Start with regeneration, do not waste any mana on killing the pain just yet; first, we need to get you past the point of dying,¡± Mel said, forcing some of the food from earlier into my mouth. Forcing it down my throat was a herculean task in my current state, but down it went. I enabled regeneration and somehow felt my body scream in agony while simultaneously feeling parts of my brain start to reattach. Things that I didn¡¯t realize had broken were coming back together. The room was in color now, a thing that hadn¡¯t even been a concept for me to realize was missing only moments ago had returned. I lifted my arm and reached for the plate of food near Mel, grabbing several things resembling sandwiches, I forced them down in large gulps. I was gaining more mana than I was losing finally. ¡°Okay, I think I might be in the clear now,¡± I said, this time managing to do so without a single cough. ¡°Good, if ya can do it, go check what level ya managed to hit,¡± Mel said. I closed my eyes again and swallowed, trying to clear my throat. I then brought back up the mobile interface. I opened my status, and immediate joy swept over my body. The newest near-death experience had been worth it. I had been pushed to level two hundred and fifty. I hadn¡¯t gone any further, but for now, this was all Mel had wanted. Just before I closed my status screen, a new option caught my eye.
Fortify Core
¡°Mel, what does fortify core mean?¡± I asked. ¡°So ya hit two fifty then? Perfect, that is exactly what we needed to do,¡± Mel said, explaining nothing. ¡°That didn¡¯t remotely answer my question,¡± I said in return, a little annoyed he hadn¡¯t just told me already. I was growing tired of whatever secrets the man was holding, whether he thought they were for my own good or not. ¡°Right, I suppose you do deserve an answer. Boys, you know anything about core fortification?¡± Mel yelled to the Twinoges. ¡°No, what¡¯s that?¡± Elicec asked. ¡°Yeah, didn¡¯t think ya would. It¡¯s not a thing most newbies live to see anymore, but it¡¯s not strictly an Arena topic, so yer in luck. Ya already know that ya ain¡¯t stuck with the core grade it starts at. What ya don¡¯t know is how exactly the process to move up a grade works. Well, what ya gotta do essentially is get yerself enough added power through levels so that you can reinvest it all back into yer core,¡± Mel said. ¡°Wait, what happens to the levels?¡± I asked, interrupting his speech. ¡°They¡¯re gone,¡± Mel said.
I have witnessed a core graded lower than F, I did not know it was even possible, nor how the poor creature had managed so pitiful a core. Had I not seen it with my own eyes I¡¯d have never believed it possible. How did this core come to exist? Would the creature even be capable of progressing past the first-level gate? I wished I had more time to study it, but as with many new to the Spiral, they quickly met their end in an ill-advised Arena match. System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp Chapter 54: Fortify Dave! ¡°So how come I didn¡¯t read any of this in the archives?¡± I asked. Despite the multitude of books I¡¯d managed to read, it seemed like there were always missing portions of information. ¡°Because one of the ways the archives skirted around any big faction coming down hard on it was to mostly focus on theories and opinions when it came to core development. Didn¡¯t ya ever think to wonder why there were a billion books on different recipes from Spiral worlds and only a handful on advanced core structures? It ain¡¯t like this stuff doesn¡¯t exist and isn¡¯t known by people across the Spiral. It¡¯s that those with the power like to keep the power for themselves. They don¡¯t want a rival to have a chance at anything they can avoid sharing,¡± Mel said. These were things I had constantly wondered about and had mostly started to think they were primarily tied to the Arena secrets, but apparently, they were part of a cold war. Was it a cold war? I suppose I can¡¯t say that one for sure, either. ¡°So then, how much did I learn that was accurate within the archives?¡± I asked, hoping I hadn¡¯t filled my head with nonsense. ¡°Elody was a great librarian, so anything ya learned as a fact from the books was prolly a fact, but remember, this was a library available to most peoples. So there just happened to be all kinds of core advancement shit that they didn¡¯t keep there. I¡¯m sure many a master librarian has pushed those bounds, and Elody herself I know, was considering a massive expansion, likely a big part of why she got removed. The good news, though, is ya still got me. The bad news is I ain¡¯t any good at the theoretical shit ya got going on, but when it comes to the reality of core advancement, as long as we stay on topics I can talk about, I¡¯m better than that library ever was,¡± Mel said gruffly. It was one of the few times I had heard the man toot his own horn so blatantly that I believed it. This pushed other matters to the forefront. I understood why the brothers were helping me, they weren¡¯t in all that different of a situation than I was. I even understood Elody¡¯s help. I was a stranger in a strange world but also a bit of a fellow academic and someone who had met one of her personal heroes. I may not be the best at socializing or even people reading, but if you hammer me over the head long enough, some things do eventually come through. So then, why was Mel so determined to help? He had talked about trusting him, and while he had given many reasons to do so, I still found it hard without at least some concrete answer to his future plans. That said, if he refused to give one what could I even do? Could I get home without him? ¡°Mel, before I do this, I need some real answers here. Why are you really helping me so much? Not the bullshit answer involving Cecile and Elicec. Why specifically me?¡± I asked, my tone almost demanding an answer this time. Mel sighed loudly before he started talking. ¡°Because yer a chance for something to change, Dave. I really can¡¯t tell you everything, and as I said, ya gotta trust me blindly on a lot right now, but I promise I won¡¯t screw ya over. I¡¯m working towards what I think is the only way to keep you and yer family alive and safe, and I¡¯m using a lifetime of built-up resources in the background to even give us this chance. I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t tell you more, I really am, but there is just so much broken in the Spiral that it would take a lifetime to even get you to the level of fully understanding the universal politics that got us to where we are now. Think about what I just told you about the archives and try to put that into a big-picture context. You¡¯ve already realized there¡¯s no keeping Earth out of the Spiral. There¡¯s just getting the orcs off of it and then dealing with the fallout. I¡¯m doing everything I can to help us there, and I mean us. I¡¯ve thrown myself in with ya for the long haul, so if that helps with the trust at all, consider it,¡± Mel explained. The whole time he talked I didn¡¯t see a single glare, just a pleading look. I don¡¯t know if he was trying to manipulate me or not, but as so many times before, as of late, I decided I was going to trust him. I knew that eventually, the blind trusting of people was going to bite me in the ass, but for now, I went with my gut. Mel was a friend and he was helping, so that meant it was time for some changes to my core. ¡°Alright, I believe you, I think. So what do I do next, just do the core fortification? If my levels are gone what happens to my skills and attributes? If they just reset too, won¡¯t that hurt me a lot?¡± I asked, confused about the benefits of upgrading my core. ¡°So it¡¯s kinda weird the way it works. Not exactly intuitive. Everything you¡¯ve unlocked in a mana orb stays unlocked, even things you wouldn¡¯t meet the requirements for anymore, but the ranks all drop back to the initial one. What¡¯s important is that means they stay usable. The same applies to any other skill or attribute. Now, with attributes, it gets even weirder. Despite the drop, yer body won¡¯t initially regress; your core will keep pushing enough energy to hold you ya where yer at as long as you keep training. If ya go long enough without getting those attribute caps back to where they were, though, you¡¯ll start to experience some weird mana channel issues. I have no idea if your backlash resistance will apply to them or not, but at the very least, don¡¯t risk keeping that one under its cap for long. Ya can test the rest all ya want, but be prepared for some debilitating pain across the parts of your body tied to the attribute. As for why to do this? Well, a stronger core and to push you further, with higher levels, higher attributes and skill caps, more energy to your mana orbs to increase them faster, and most important of all, fighting higher graded cores. Ya aren¡¯t going to be able to stick with only fighting monsters and dungeon cores forever. Sooner or later, yer gonna have to fight another person on the System¡¯s path, and when that happens, core ranks can strongly come into play. Once we get you a real class, things are gonna get even more confusing, but if you really want me to, I¡¯ll try to explain here, but I promise it will be easier understood once ya got the class locked in,¡± Mel said, dumping a ton of information on me. Most of which, to my surprise, I understood. I guess I was finally learning how the Spiral functioned somewhat. ¡°Okay, well, you kind of had me at higher limits. So that¡¯s how I really start to use up all these points,¡± I said, finally really understanding how I wouldn¡¯t always have the same excessive extra amounts I do now. ¡°Good, now I just gave you the basics, and what I mean by that is those are the only hard rules. Yer core can do some weird shit when it fortifies itself. So go ahead and start it and tell me any other changes that it alerts you to,¡± Mel said. What possibilities were there for core changes? Was it possible for my affinity to be altered? If there weren¡¯t any real rules, the only way to find out was to press forward. It was too bad at the danger level knowledge worlds presented. I¡¯d have loved to put Earth on that path if I had any say once it was safe. Then, the people coming into this after me could actually learn how things worked instead of stumbling around in the dark so much. ¡°Alright, time to get it over with, I suppose,¡± I said before pulling the menu back up and selecting the new fortify option. Instantly, everything around me seemed to vanish into a void, and I could sense nothing beyond the System menu in front of me. It was similar to a simulation but totally empty. It was not a pleasant experience. ¡°Would you like to fortify your core? Note that once the process has begun, it cannot be stopped, and any attempt to do so may result in irreparable harm towards your brain,¡± the System¡¯s voice said. Apparently, I didn¡¯t get to do this part in silence. ¡°Yes, I understand the risks and won¡¯t be turning back,¡± I said, not sure I actually did understand them, but what could I do? ¡°Core fortification process underway. Would you like to evolve your affinity?¡± the System asked. I had no idea if I did or not. Mel hadn¡¯t mentioned this possibility, and I didn¡¯t know if this was because of how different changes could be or if he didn¡¯t know about it. So far my affinity hadn¡¯t done anything I was aware of, so I figured I may as well. ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked before just accepting. ¡°Your affinity will unlock its first ability,¡± it answered. ¡°And what is an affinity ability?¡± I asked, pushing for more information. ¡°A refinement of your affinity; any specifics are unknown until it has happened,¡± the System answered, giving me no new real information. I really hated that, but it did sound potentially useful. ¡°Alright might as well,¡± I said. ¡°Affinity evolution underway. All attributes and skills ranks have been been ingested by your core. Your new core grade is now E. Your core affinity has gained the ability Mana Tinkering.¡± Mel was right I could feel a better flow of energy in my core. This had almost certainly been the right move. A message box had also popped into my view as the System spoke.
Affinity Engineering Rank S
Ability Mana Tinkering
Through the use of your engineering skills, your core has managed to evolve in a way that allows you to more easily alter mana channels and flows. Further ranks allow for a greater control and understanding of how mana flows work.
Ability Rank 0
Predicting an affinity evolution is more or less impossible. All current studies into it have failed to produce reliable results. The ideas that your mana skills, regular skills, or attributes guide what the evolution is or even if it happens have had no conclusive proof. Even the affinity itself isn¡¯t guaranteed to explain what the evolution is. Sometimes, people gain abilities; sometimes, their affinity morphs into something totally new. The only sure thing I¡¯ve found is that affinity evolutions are upgrades. I have yet to see one that became worse. Gastronil¡¯s answer to the question ¡°What is an affinity evolution?¡± on his application to work with Karlinovo.
Dave¡¯s stats before fortification.
Core Attribute Attribute Name Starting Rank Bonus Rank Ranks Spent Current Rank
Senses Generalized Auditory 4 0 46 50
Senses Generalized Gustatory 4 0 1 5
Senses Generalized Nociception 1 0 1 2
Senses Generalized Olfactory 3 0 1 4
Senses Generalized Proprioception 2 0 22 24
Senses Generalized Mechanosensory 3 0 1 4
Senses Generalized Vestibular 2 0 1 3
Senses Generalized Visual 2 0 48 50
Senses Night Vision 1 0 499 500
Actions Generalized Mental Use 6 0 44 50
Actions Generalized Physical Use 1 0 49 50
Actions Arm Speed 1 0 499 500
Actions Arm Strength 1 0 499 500
Actions Arm Accuracy 1 0 201 202
Actions Leg Speed 1 0 499 500
Actions Leg Strength 1 0 499 500
Actions Leg Accuracy 1 0 49 50
Reactions Generalized Body Toughness 1 0 49 50
Reactions Bite Resistance 1 0 150 151
Reactions Energy Projectile Resistance 1 0 150 151
Reactions Electricity Resistance 1 0 150 151
Reactions Impact Resistance 1 0 150 151
Reactions Heat Resistance 1 0 150 151
Reactions Slashing Resistance 1 0 150 151
Reactions Piercing Resistance 1 0 499 500
Reactions Generalized Disease Resistance 1 0The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. 49 50
Reactions Withering Poison Resistance 1 0 150 151
Reactions Wicked Wasp Venom 1 0 499 500
Reactions Treerot Resistance 1 0 0 1
Reactions Generalized Mental Resistance 3 0 47 50
Interactions Generalized Beauty 1 0 0 1
Interactions Generalized Presence 2 0 0 2
Soul Soul Energy Detection 2 0 48 50
Soul Soul Energy Projection 1 0 49 50
Soul Soul Energy Regeneration 1 0 49 50
Soul Soul Energy Strength 1 0 49 50
Core Core Energy Detection 1 0 49 50
Core Core Energy Projection 1 0 49 50
Core Core Energy Regeneration 1 0 49 50
Core Core Energy Strength 1 0 49 50
Luck Mana Backlash Resistance 1 0 99 100
Luck Cheat Death 4 0 96 100
Skill Skill Tier Starting Rank Bonus Ranks Ranks Spent Current Ranks
Batrachology 1 0 0 0 0
Body Temperature Regulation 1 1 0 24 25
Brains & Brawn (Body-Enhancing Orb) 3 0 0 0 0
Brains Over Brawn (Brains Body-Enhancing Orb) 3 1 0 24 25
Brawn Over Brains (Brawn Body-Enhancing Orb) 3 1 0 24 25
Carcinology 1 1 0 0 1
Cartography 1 1 0 0 1
Cast (Life Orb) 3 1 0 24 25
Chelae Combat 1 1 0 0 1
Claw Dart 1 1 0 0 1
Climb 1 1 0 0 1
Close Combat 1 1 0 24 25
Components Aether (Elemental Orb) 2 0 0 0 0
Components Fire (Elemental Orb) 2 0 0 0 0
Core Projection (Imbuing Orb) 1 1 0 0 1
Crystallography 1 0 0 0 0
Dendrology 1 0 0 0 0
Dungeon Simulation 1 1 0 24 25
Elemental Affinity (Imbuing Orb) 2 0 0 0 0
Elemental Focus Aether (Elemental Orb) 1 0 0 1 1
Elemental Focus Fire (Elemental Orb) 1 0 0 1 1
Environmental Shield (Shield Orb) 2 1 0 29 30
Fundamental Forces (Elemental Orb) 1 1 0 24 25
Fundamental Forces (Elemental Orb) 1 1 0 24 25
Heat Shield (Shield Orb) 3 1 0 24 25
Inner Vitality (Life Orb) 1 1 0 7 8
Lesser Mutation (Body-Enhancing Orb) 2 0 0 0 0
Lesser Regeneration (Life Orb) 2 1 0 24 25
Magical Durability (Imbuing Orb) 2 0 0 0 0
Magical Shield (Shield Orb) 1 1 0 35 36
Malacology 1 1 0 0 1
Malleting 1 1 0 24 25
Medical Telemetry (Life Orb) 2 1 0 14 15
Mental Training (Brains Body-Enhancing Orb) 2 1 0 24 25
Mental Training (Brawn Body-Enhancing Orb) 2 1 0 24 25
Pain Management (Life Orb) 2 1 0 24 25
Physical Shield (Shield Orb) 1 1 0 35 36
Pugilism 1 1 0 0 1
Ranged Combat 1 1 0 0 1
Reader (Speed) 1 1 4 24 29
Recall Aether (Elemental Orb) 2 1 0 24 25
Recall Fire (Elemental Orb) 2 1 0 24 25
Regeneration (Life Orb) 4 0 0 0 0
Regeneration Efficacy (Life Orb) 3 1 0 24 25
Regeneration Efficiency (Life Orb) 3 1 0 24 25
Sitch Other (Life Orb) 3 1 0 24 25
Sling (Life Orb) 2 1 0 24 25
Sling Other (Life Orb) 3 1 0 24 25
Soul-Core Bonding (Brains Body-Enhancing Orb) 1 1 0 29 30
Soul-Core Bonding (Brawn Body-Enhancing Orb) 1 1 0 29 30
Sprint 1 1 0 0 1
Stitch (Life Orb) 2 1 0 24 25
Stomp 1 1 0 24 25
Strength Training (Brains Body-Enhancing Orb) 2 1 0 24 25
Strength Training (Brawn Body-Enhancing Orb) 2 1 0 24 25
Treasure Sense 1 1 0 0 1
Vespology 1 1 0 24 25
Unspent Attribute Points: 11275 Unspent Skill Points: 1805 Chapter 55: A New Grade of Dave Freezing cold water splashed across my face as the room around me swam back into view. Mel was floating in front of me, holding a bucket. I coughed and spluttered, having accidentally inhaled some of it before getting out some words. ¡°What the fuck?¡± I asked, the profanity slipping out where it normally wouldn¡¯t. Apparently unexpected ice water baths were still very much not a favorite thing of mine. A memory of a winter when my kids were young flashed into my brain, but I pushed it aside for the more important matters at hand. There would be time for reminiscence later. ¡°Sorry, something seemed wrong. You¡¯ve been down there mumbling and shaking for nearly an hour. I ain¡¯t never seen a fortification take that long. You all right?¡± Mel said, looking actually apologetic. Had I managed to permanently remove his glare finally? I thought that seemed unlikely, but anything was possible. ¡°I don¡¯t think anything was wrong. I had something called an affinity evolution, but the ability it gave me seems pretty great,¡± I said, standing up and looking for a towel, still not happy to be soaking wet. ¡°Yer kidding, right?¡± Mel said. The glare was half back. I knew I hadn¡¯t beaten it. ¡°Nope, how would I be? I didn¡¯t even know what core fortification was before I started,¡± I said, not thinking Mel actually doubted me, just surprised at my revelation. ¡°What was it?¡± He asked. ¡°Mana Tinkering, here let me just read the exact description for you ¡®Through the use of your engineering skills, your core has managed to evolve in a way that allows you more easily alter mana channels and flows. Further ranks allows for a greater control and understanding of how mana flows work.¡¯ Like I said, it seems pretty useful,¡± I said, watching Mel¡¯s jaw literally drop the more I talked. ¡°No one, and I mean no one, ever repeats what Dave just said! You two understand me?¡± Mel roared as his glare turned to the couch that the brothers had moved to at some point. ¡°I wasn¡¯t really following what he said. I¡¯m still pretty out of it, but I¡¯m sure Cecile will agree,¡± Elicec said groggily. ¡°I guess. I don¡¯t really see what the big deal is, though,¡± Cecile added, clearly not enthused with it. Which, honestly, was entirely fair. I had no idea just what Mel was worried about now. Was this due to how rare it was for people to really play around with their own mana channels and core? Then again, how rare was it really? I only had the archives books to go and Mel had made it clear there were gapingly large holes of knowledge within it. ¡°Dave, I know yer about to ask for yerself just why we need to shut up but don¡¯t. We can discuss this later once we have a nice secure room somewhere, but for now, yer welcome to play with it all you want. Just do not say what exactly it is. If anyone ever asks, tell them you¡¯ve got an affinity for raw mana manipulation or something. That should be similar enough for now,¡± Mel said, and I could tell this was more of an order than a request. ¡°Good, because I¡¯ve got some ideas I want to try out. So what¡¯s next on our agenda anyway?¡± I asked. ¡°The three of you are gonna spend the rest of the day resting. Timon should have the bus ready tomorrow. Then he¡¯s gonna take yer asses to the persistent desert dungon. I want you in yer simulator on the trip, don¡¯t push anything, but make sure yer mostly back where you were, if not at least a little higher. I¡¯m gonna stick around here and prepare for our trips outta here. The moment y¡¯all get back, we¡¯re leaving. I know I ain¡¯t the best at saying it, but y¡¯all¡¯ve done pretty great, and I¡¯m proud of ya, so I swear if ya manage to die now, I will pay someone to resurrect yer asses just to yell at ya even more,¡± Mel said, surprising me with a smile. ¡°Good, because I really need some more sleep. Between everything I¡¯ve been through in the last two days, I¡¯m surprised I¡¯m even able to think. I guess that says something about how I¡¯m progressing, I suppose, but it doesn¡¯t stop my brain from trying to force its way out of my skull,¡± I said. The headache had returned, not nearly as bad as it had been before the fortification, but it was back nonetheless, and I was sure a nice nap would help.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Yeah, go get some rest, you two too,¡± Mel said, looking from me to the Twinogs. I didn¡¯t wait to see if they argued; my bed was calling, so I made my escape, and soon my head was on my pillow.
¡°Hello again, Dave. How are you doing?¡± a voice said. I bolted awake at the sudden sound and quickly spotted who it belonged to. In the chair on the other side of the room was a man dressed as a circus clown. I was reasonably sure it was a clown I had once met as a child, and with that realization, the memory of the last dream meeting returned to my brain. How had I forgotten it? Was I going to forget this one as well? ¡°Hey, thank you for taking a different form it¡¯s appreciated, but why couldn¡¯t I remember our meeting until just now?¡± I said, worried that whatever this creature actually was was about to be a problem, and I really had enough of those to last several lifetimes at this point. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I came to you with a warning. In my journey to discover myself, I traced the path your mind took when I encountered you the first time, and I found the world of your origin, frozen under the power of the magic I saw within your memory. In the deep darkness far out from your home, I felt other presences that had also become aware of it. I cannot tell you for sure what their intentions are, but I believe I experienced what you know as fear when I tried to observe them,¡± the clown said. So there was a new problem, just not from it. ¡°Do you have any idea what the presences are?¡± I asked, not sure that it even mattered. If I forgot this conversation when I woke up again there wasn¡¯t anything I could even do about them. ¡°They swam across the blackness, their teeth tearing and rending at the blackness itself, and when one of them saw me, I fled as I said. That is all I know. What their teeth were attached to or how they swam is unknown to me,¡± they said. ¡°Well, great, so there''s a new mystery monster out to devour the Earth that sounds like something of a Cthulian horror. Maybe it¡¯s best I won¡¯t be able to remember this, as I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything I can do about it,¡± I said, entirely understanding why this being fled. I was sure I¡¯d have done the same. Hell, I¡¯m not even sure I¡¯d have approached them at all to begin with. ¡°There is one more thing, as my awareness grows, the faintest memories belonging to neither of us have started to stir somewhere deep inside me. I do not understand where they came from or what they mean, but there are flashes of things. Dave, what am I?¡± They asked as though I had any idea. Wait, did I have no idea? I mean, I certainly didn¡¯t know who they were, but perhaps I knew what they were. ¡°Wait, you became aware of me during a very bad mana backlash event I suffered that nearly killed me. Is it possible you are the consciousness remaining from another extreme mana backlash? It¡¯s possible you are someone from the Spiral who suffered the fate I managed to recover from. It might explain why you are so drawn to me,¡± I said. As far as I understood it mana backlash wasn¡¯t particularly rare, so the possibility did nothing towards identifying who they may have been previously, but it was a start at least. ¡°That is a reasonable idea. I will need to dwell more on these flashes and see if I can piece anything together. Will you assist me the next time I visit?¡± they asked. ¡°Yes, and for now, stay away from whatever the monsters are. Hopefully, they aren¡¯t an immediate problem with how far away they are, but even if they are, I don¡¯t think there is anything you can do about it, so don¡¯t risk it,¡± I said, preferring that this person stay alive for a future meeting, especially if I still couldn¡¯t remember this dream when I woke up. How does one plan for something they can¡¯t remember? I felt myself start to stir with that thought and tried desperately to hold onto the slippery dream as my eyes opened.
The headache had mostly vanished after my nap, and I was glad for it. If I had to spend the trip in and out of the simulator, I needed to keep my brain as functional as I could. I also had another plan I wanted to work on, and I was going to need Corey¡¯s help for that one. I was tired of fighting up close with my mallet. I wanted to be able to easily cast spells and fight at the same time. With my new ability, was it possible to place the dungeon core into the mallet and, perhaps, even give him the imbuing mana orb? Would he be able to fight alongside me? I had a feeling I¡¯d have to find a way to extend my own mana channels into the mallet, but for some reason, this all seemed more possible since I had gained mana tinkering. It was refreshing to feel some confidence in the idea of engineering something again. It felt like it had been forever since that simple joy had entered my brain.
The giants, it turned out, were only the beginning, and now that I¡¯ve learned of what they call the System¡¯s path, I am forever changed. The fantasies of youth have returned at the simple idea that I could be someone who could wield magic like the wizards of folklore. I¡¯ve made a new friend who has promised to help me form what he calls a core. I am honestly not sure I¡¯d have made it this far without the help of Grom. He was one of the first people who didn¡¯t treat me with utter disregard. Ronald Tammen¡¯s Personal Diary Chapter 56: Dungeon Cores & Mallets Starting the first simulation run again was an interesting experience. For some reason I could now just tell that there were lower-graded cores around me. Was this something the brothers had been detecting about me the whole time? I¡¯d have to ask them once I was finished. True to Mel¡¯s word, my attributes seemed to have not taken any hit yet despite their return to their starting point. This let me make short work of the dungeon. The worms, slugs, and snails piled up as I increased their modifiers, making sure not to push beyond what my core was capable of. Within an hour, I was already back at level one hundred and two. I was reasonably sure I could at least climb just past level two hundred again without hurting myself, but anything beyond that was likely out of reach for the moment. Chip was nice enough to spend the day resting on my lap as I slowly went back and forth between the simulator and applying my skill and attribute points. I was sure his presence was helping me keep going, as was the constant food Cecile was keeping in front of me. For now, I decided it was best not to make any changes, as I was used to what I had. Once I was done with the simulator, I would explore what my new limits were, but without time to really practice anything and another project that I wanted to complete before we arrived, it was best that I stayed within what I was familiar with. As the sun dipped below the horizon, I felt the tiniest bit of a headache forming and decided it was time to call it. I had managed to hit level two hundred and one anyway, nearly exactly where I had expected to end up before pushing anything. ¡°You doing okay, Dave?¡± Cecile asked, looking up from a plant he was carefully pruning. He had caught me rubbing my head. ¡°Yeah, the headache just started, but it¡¯s more an annoyance than pain. Plus I¡¯m done with the simulator for now. I don¡¯t want to risk pushing any further with our final dungeon of the planet coming up,¡± I said, which was mostly true. I had considered risking it, but the pull of my new affinity ability was too strong at the moment. I couldn¡¯t get the idea of a mallet that fought on its own out of my head, and I felt like the ability had almost implanted a blueprint into my mind for it. ¡°Good, don¡¯t push it. I¡¯m only just now starting to feel whole again. We¡¯re going to need everything we have for the desert,¡± Elicec said. It seemed his near-death experience had brought back much of his original abrasiveness. I couldn¡¯t fault him. The amount that I had nearly died so far had pushed my anxiety to levels I didn¡¯t know it was capable of; somehow, I was managing to keep the existential dread at bay at the moment, but who knew how long that would last? ¡°I won¡¯t. I¡¯ve got some other things to occupy myself with,¡± I said as I reached into my System storage and produced the dungeon core, who was now going by the ridiculous name of Corey. ¡°You may remember this dungeon core from our first dungeon together. They are going by Corey now and are less determined to steal my body.¡± Both of the brothers stared at me like I had lost my mind. ¡°Uh, Dave, you sure whatever you¡¯re doing is a good idea?¡± Cecile asked. Elicec just started angrily. ¡°Nope, but after talking to Traveler for a bit, I¡¯m willing to risk it. So that thing we aren¡¯t supposed to talk about, well I think I can use it to give Corey here their own body, assuming they¡¯re okay with the idea. How would you feel about being the core for a mallet?¡± I asked, looking down at the core in my hand. ¡°As in, the mallet becomes my body? It is an interesting thought. I¡¯m not sure how feasible it would be, though, unless you have some way to extend out your mana channels into it. Do you?¡± Corey asked. ¡°I believe I do. I¡¯m not sure what the range will be yet, and this is going to require a lot of guesswork, but I think I know what we need to do,¡± I said. Elicec¡¯s anger looked to be fading the more Corey and I discussed it. That was a good sign. I didn¡¯t want to alienate him. ¡°You really think you can make a new weapon?¡± Cecile asked. I did, my confidence in the idea had been growing throughout the day. ¡°Yep, I¡¯ve got an engineering affinity after all; time to put it to some use,¡± I said, careful only to mention the affinity itself. ¡°I agree. I wish to join your group as a living weapon, but I have one request,¡± Corey said. ¡°And what request is that?¡± I asked, curious what a dungeon core desired once they were more sane. ¡°The other dungeon core within your storage, I have managed to coax it awake. It was not easy, and I¡¯m not sure how much intelligence it will ever truly gain, but I do wish to continue to work with it,¡± Corey said. I had no real issue with that. There was a minor worry about them teaming up against me, but I was reasonably sure I was a bit beyond their ability to actually hurt me. The number of simulations I''d won against both of them made me reasonably confident there.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Yeah, sure, considering I might have some bigger plans for you one day, Corey. We can always give the wasp core the mallet if you want to move on,¡± I said. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what those plans were yet, but there were some hints kicking around my brain about possibilities. First, though, the mallet had to go correctly. ¡°Hmm, I have two dungeon cores from the frog and the crystal on its back. Would you be interested in them as well?¡± Elicec asked. The anger on his face had entirely disappeared, replaced by a look of curiosity. Good to know he was as much a slave to the need to ask questions as I was. ¡°Yes, I would gladly take them if Dave is okay with adding them to his storage as well,¡± The dungeon core said. ¡°Sure am. Hand ¡®em over,¡± I said, reaching out and grabbing them once Elicec produced them. ¡°Alright, well, now that you all know and are in agreement on my plan, I¡¯m going to make an attempt at it, probably in the back of the bus, just in case it goes wrong. I don¡¯t think it will, but I don¡¯t want to hurt anyone. So, for now, all you dungeon cores can hang out on the table. Corey, you¡¯re in charge of them,¡± I said, not getting a response from any of the cores besides Corey. ¡°Understood, please be safe,¡± they said. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, I¡¯ve got the plans right in my head to get his working,¡± I said, standing up and walking towards the back of the bus. I heard Cecile start a story about his home shortly after I had settled into a new seat. Before anything else, I checked my attributes. I wanted to test some possible new maximums there. Both of my luck skills now capped out at five hundred, as did my core and soul attributes. I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d need them for the experiment, but it didn¡¯t seem overly likely to hurt anything. Skill-wise the only one I was worried about was malleting for the moment, and that was now able to hit fifty ranks. I hoped that by extending my own mana channels into the mallet, the dungeon core would gain access to my ranks. I had no idea if this was true or not, but it seemed plausible, and even stranger, it felt right. Finally, I looked at my core menu itself and selected the mana tinkering ability. For the price of fifty skill points I was able to upgrade the ability. I assumed that meant this also reset on a core fortification. It was a heavy expense, but I still had plenty to spare. I started by moving it up to rank five and was greeted by a new menu.
Crafting Blueprints
Dancing Mallet Channeling Boots
Dancing Phillips-Head Screwdriver Channeling Gloves
Dancing Flat-Head Screwdriver Channeling Shirt
Dancing Prybar Channeling Pants
Was it my core or the System that pushed me down this direction? The System had certainly started the path, but at this point, was it still in real control? I wasn¡¯t unhappy about it exactly, but the question of how much free will I had in all of this wasn¡¯t lost on me. I wasn¡¯t quite willing to push at those bounds yet, but in the future, who knows? I selected the dancing mallet option and was greeted by a list of required materials that, surprisingly, only required the mallet itself, my mana, mana channels, and a dungeon core. I had been worried I¡¯d need more of what I had used in constructing my own core, and I only had scraps of that left. I made a note to remind myself to start gathering materials if this was something I wanted to take full advantage of, and I very much did. Below the list of materials was the description for the item.
Dancing Mallet
The Dancing Mallet utilizes a dungeon core to control the mallet. Once slotted into the item, the Dungeon Core gains access to any skills the creator may have that would benefit it. It will also suffer any condition affecting the creator¡¯s soul or core. One mana orb may be socketed alongside the Dungeon Core, giving it access to the mana skills the creator has unlocked within the orb.
The path of crafting is a difficult one; it can be profitable for those able to push their abilities, but the problem of how to push their abilities exists. The System rarely gives quests worth enough experience in the later stages of someone¡¯s career, and if their only focus has been on the craft itself, how can they hope to gain experience through fighting? It¡¯s almost as if this is by design to control the supply of the best items. System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp Chapter 57: Finally, More Magical Engineering Not sure how to start this process, I placed my mallet on the table in front of me, causing an overlay to pop into my vision, similar to how the knowledge skills seemed to work on monsters. I hadn¡¯t been expecting that and was only setting it down to get it out of my hands, but I couldn¡¯t complain about the results. The overlay had three points highlighted on the mallet. One at the base of the handle, one where the head connected, and one on the head itself. I selected the point on the handle, and text appeared in my view. Mallet Handle: Potential mana infusion point. Investment of mana here will create a bond between the tool and the wielder, so that even if separate from them, their core will continue to supply the tool with a passive mana flow. The range is limited. I had some theories on how to increase the range, but at the moment, I didn¡¯t have the best access to resources. Conductivity had increased with the refined soul mana plates I had used to build my core, so it stood to reason that different elements could very well be used to further enhance my ability to channel into the mallet. With that in mind, I selected the connection point between the head and the handle. Mallet Eye: Potential mana infusion point. Investment of mana here will create a malleable eye that allows for adjustment to how strongly or lightly it holds to the head. Okay, I had a feeling that meant I could increase the force, but that just wasn¡¯t something I was overly knowledgeable about. I would need to do a lot of reading on how to properly construct a joint to change the swing of something before I even considered that avenue. I selected the final option, pretty sure already of what that would give me. Mallet Head: Potential mana infusion point. Investment of mana here can be used to embed different materials within the tool¡¯s head. Well, I guess that meant it was the best place for the dungeon core. It was possible there were other uses for it. Could I alter the physical structure of the mallet based on what materials were embedded in it? I had no idea, and right now, there were just too many things I was going to need to test and so little time left here to do so. If my house hadn¡¯t been entirely destroyed, I did have my workshop full of materials that could be useful, though none of them were magical in the slightest, so how helpful they would actually be remained to be seen. That thought left me deeply nostalgic for home as a flood of memories rushed through my brain. With some difficulty, I pushed them away for the unknownth time since I got here. The anxiety that worrying about home brought did nothing to help the situation as it was now, and it was important to remember that. I had work to do, and that was what I was going to focus on. I pulled some of the mana soul plate scraps out of my storage and carefully started to work the first bit of it into a ring. Once I had it nearly the right size, I pushed it up the handle of the mallet until I couldn¡¯t move it any further. My hope was that this would increase the mana flow from my core, as it would be needed with my next plan. Going back to the scrap, I made two smaller overlapping rings, closer to the way I had seen a core diagrammed with a single mana orb. I wanted Corey to have access to its own spells. I pulled a smaller hammer out of my storage and beat the rings into the top of the mallet head, doing my best to keep them from horribly unbalancing it. I wasn¡¯t sure how much the balance would matter if it could fly, but I imagined it wouldn¡¯t hurt to attempt precision even if my workbench wasn¡¯t the best. Once I had those in place, I pulled the overlay back up and placed my hand over the mana infusion point on the handle. I could feel small tendrils of mana prod from my palm into the wood. I closed my eyes and focused on my core and slowly, deliberately pushed my mana out through my palm into the handle, seeking out the soul plate ring I had put on it. The grain of the wood seemed to fight my attempts to infuse it. It was too late to worry if a metal mallet would have been a better choice now, so I pushed on, forcing the tendrils deeper until they grasped onto the ring. I could feel the energy flowing from my core down my arm, building into the mallet.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Suddenly, the overlay flashed red with a warning. Danger: Mana overload imminent I ripped my hand free of the mallet with some difficulty, but it was enough to cut the flow. The handle¡¯s out edge had charred slightly in the energy exchange, but it remained whole. I picked it up and gave it a gentle swing. Nothing broke. Better yet, I could feel the mallet as an extension of myself now. My mana channels were treating it as something akin to a new limb. How would this feeling interact with the dungeon core? There was only one way to find out, and that meant more mana infusion. As I repeated my attempt on the head, I felt my hand start to burn. I attempted to pull it free, only for the mallet to refuse to come off. Dammit, I had forgotten a core rule of playing with electricity, never complete the circuit with your own body. It was a terrible time to learn how similar mana flow and electricity were, but energy was energy, after all. The fact that it was being generated from me was probably the only reason I was still alive. The backflow down the handle was passing across my heart and while I was pretty sure it wasn¡¯t giving me a heart attack, I still didn¡¯t like the feeling at all. Then, the pain of burning flesh seared across my brain. Trying to shut down my mana channel wasn¡¯t working, it just kept circulating as the pain increased. I grabbed the handle with my free hand and tried to rip it off with no success. I opened my mouth to yell for help, but before the words could leave my lips, the mallet dropped back down to the table, the metal now gone with only an imprint left on the wooden head where it had been. I wasn¡¯t anywhere nearly in such good shape; my core was nearly exhausted, and I could feel the mana still rapidly flowing through my channels. I knew from one of my shield mana skills that it was possible to reabsorb mana, but I had no idea how to actually do it, and now wasn¡¯t the best time to learn. I grabbed my screwdriver from where I had set it on the table and pushed mana into the handle, hoping it had been an infusion point. Danger: Mana overload imminent The message popped up again. I had managed to discharge most of the excess mana; what little was left I used to turn my regeneration on. Checking over my health, it had turned out that, yes, my heart had been in danger. Three out of four of the valves had been damaged. I focused the regeneration there instead of the burns on my hand and crawling up my arm. Those were much less likely to kill me than a failing heart was. ¡°Cecile, could you bring me Chip and Corey? I overdid it and need some help recharging my core, but I think I¡¯m ready for the next step,¡± I yelled back to the twinog. ¡°Yep, one second!¡± he called back. I examined my work while I waited. As far as I could tell it had worked correctly, but that didn¡¯t mean much yet. This was only my second real step onto this path, and I was sure I had a very long way to go. I poked my finger on the spot where the rings had left an imprint, and I could feel something similar to my own socket there. I was sure I could insert a mana orb, but could I insert the dungeon core? That would be the real test. I felt Chip leap onto my shoulder as I watched Cecile place the dungeon core on the table in front of me before sliding into the seat on the opposite side. ¡°Interesting, I can feel the mana in that thing, and is it connected to you?¡± Elicec asked while Cecile eyed my burns. ¡°Yeah, in theory, Corey should have access to core and mana channels once inserted into it. We may even be able to give you a mana orb if this works the way I planned. How¡¯s that sound? Ready to continue the experiment?¡± I asked, already knowing the core was on board. ¡°I am. Do you know if it will hurt? I¡¯d rather not experience what your arm looks like,¡± Corey asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think it will. This was due to my own inexperience in doing this. I¡¯m going to have to figure out a backflow regulator in the future, but the mallet itself should be entirely safe. The big question left is just if this actually works,¡± I explained, hoping I wasn¡¯t talking out of my ass. ¡°Okay, then let us begin,¡± Corey said. I reached over and picked up the core and carefully worked to place it on the bigger of the imprints left over from the rings. The core disappeared as it slid inside the hammer, and my linking channels flared to life.
One of the many forbidden paths of the Spiral is that of dungeon core advancement. While technically forbidden, the ban on it is a moot point, as the knowledge of how it was done in the past has long been lost. And with the lack of dungeon raiders these days, it seems very unlikely to be rediscovered. Then again, with almost no knowledge of how it was done in the past, how would we even know it was happening again? The Forbidden Paths by Glarppp Chapter 58: My Dungeon Core Pal & Me My vision swam as my brain seemed to be rebuilding something within itself. I could feel neurons forming new connections. My consciousness felt bigger somehow. Focusing my thoughts on that strange expansion, what looked like a chat terminal appeared. What the hell was that? What had just happened to me? Without any other option presenting itself, I focused on the terminal window and started typing.
Dave: Help Corey: Help with what, Dave? Dave: Oh, is this actually an internal communication system with you, Corey? Corey: I am unsure. I am communicating with you, and neither of us are speaking out loud, but I cannot say for certain if that is the purpose of this system. Dave: Understandable. Well, this is an interesting development. At least it should make our communication easier. Corey: For what purpose? Dave: Corey, I am as much a stranger in a new world as you are, just a little further on that path. I know you were already willing to attempt to be socketed into the mallet, but this has to be beyond what your expectations were. I think you and I are somewhat linked now. It¡¯s possible that if I remove you from the mallet, it¡¯ll stop this connection. Do you want me to attempt that, or are you okay with it as it is? Corey: I believe I am okay with it. Can we try inserting the mana orb now? I wish to know if I will actually have access to the mana skills you have already unlocked. Dave: Glad to have you on board, and yes we can do that.
That was a new experience. I certainly hadn¡¯t been expecting the equivalent of an older chat interface to spring into existence in my mind. Hopefully this didn¡¯t allow for the core to have any direct control back over me. I was reasonably confident it didn¡¯t, mostly because as useful as the chat may be for secret communication, it also was a way to segment my active thoughts. This may just have been the way my body chose to represent this connection more than an actual reality. What would happen if I added another dungeon core to the mix later? For now, this was going to be a trial run on my connection with just the single dungeon core. As much as they may be apologetic for our first encounter, I wasn¡¯t fully trusting them yet. In truth, I would have preferred a much less direct connection than what had seemed to form, but it was a little late for that. If everything went well with Corey at this level, I would consider the next level of my plan. First, though, the core needed to prove to me that it was a safe decision. I opened my eyes and saw the faces of both Cecile and Elicec staring. Chip was still sitting on my shoulder, minding his own business, and the mallet looked virtually unchanged from before Core was inserted into it. ¡°So, what happened, Dave?¡± Cecile asked first. ¡°I think it was successful. Corey, before we try adding a mana orb, are you able to do anything with the mallet on your own?¡± I asked, curious if the word dancing meant what I thought it did. ¡°Yes,¡± Corey said as the mallet lifted off of the table and hung in the air for a second before taking a few empty swings and then settling back down where it had started. ¡°It is much more agile than the snail I once inhabited. Thank you, Dave.¡± ¡°Glad you like it. Alright, now for part two,¡± I said, reaching for the imbuing mana orb. I moved it to near where I had previously inserted the dungeon core and fed it into the tool. The moment it was inside, I felt access to the associated mana skill return. It seemed I had found a way to add a seventh slot. I bet Karlinovo would have loved to see this if he were alive. ¡°Dave, do you have any spare skill points to invest into this orb? As it stands, you have placed nothing in it, and I wish to see if I will gain access to them when you do,¡± Corey asked. I did have the points, and while I previously hadn¡¯t seen much use in investing ranks into this orb, if Corey could directly control it during combat, that would make this all the better. ¡°On it,¡± I said as I pulled up the menu and put the ten ranks into core projection that was needed to unlock the next tier of skills. I put another ten into magical durability, with a plan to max both of them if Corey was able to access them. ¡°I can feel both mana skills on the orb now. I will try cycling them both,¡± Corey said, and immediately following their words, I felt some of my newly regenerated mana flow into the mallet. Both because I wanted to test if I could and because I didn¡¯t have a lot to spare at the moment, I tried shutting off the flow. It felt like flexing a muscle I hadn¡¯t known I had, but it did work. ¡°Sorry for shutting that down, but there isn¡¯t a ton of mana left in my core at the moment, and I need regeneration to keep going. Creating your new home was somewhat more intensive than I had thought it would be. The good news is though, it looks like that was a resounding success. Welcome to the team, Corey,¡± I said, smiling at the enjoyment of my own achievement. Building something had always been a surefire way to push my anxiety away. I really needed to remember that in the future. ¡°Welcome aboard. Always glad to add another head to the team,¡± Cecile added, smiling as well. Even Elicec had a grin on his face. ¡°I will do my best to make up for previous transgressions at our destination,¡± Corey said. We would see if that was true. As much as I wanted it to be, it was still best to trust but verify.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Corey, you okay going into my storage for a moment? I want to try something,¡± I asked, wondering if our mana link would hold across the space. ¡°Yes,¡± Corey answered. I focused on the linkage to the mallet and tried to place it into my System storage without touching it. It vanished from the table and appeared in the storage. Instead of reaching my consciousness fully into the space, I pulled back up the chat window.
Dave: Can you still see this? Corey: Yes, Dave, I can. Dave: Good, I want you to try and remove yourself from the storage. Corey: Understood.
The mallet appeared back on the table. ¡°Interesting, somehow we didn¡¯t lose any connection while they were in my storage,¡± I said. I could think of a few potential uses for the mallet having that level of control, most of them being some manner of coming unexpectedly to my defense. Could I build an army of tools able to do that? How far could I extend myself? It couldn¡¯t be possible to daisy chain an infinite number of mana orbs into my control, could it? Even if it was, that would just increase the problem of actively controlling them all without instantly running my mana dry. Just another reason to hope this little experiment worked out in my favor. ¡°Dave, did you just gain another mana orb socket?¡± Elicec asked. ¡°Seems like it, yes,¡± I answered. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know if I¡¯m jealous or a little scared of you at this point,¡± Elicec said. Was I scary? ¡°Ignore Elicec. He¡¯s just amazed at how quickly you¡¯ve grown, man. You are something else. I¡¯m just glad we were the ones there when you appeared,¡± Cecile said, smiling. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I get it. I¡¯m surprised you two went through all this, honestly. You know you don¡¯t have to come back to Earth with me; it¡¯s okay to get out of my mess. I wouldn¡¯t be angry about it,¡± I said, and I meant it. I was sure I wouldn¡¯t have gotten this far without them, but they certainly deserved the right to get away from all this before it got any worse for them. ¡°I just said I was either jealous or scared of you, which means you¡¯re the perfect person to stick with. We¡¯ve already grown a lot faster than we¡¯d have had a chance to without you, so no getting rid of us now,¡± Elicec said while his brother nodded along. ¡°Alright, if you¡¯re sure. Could you guys take Corey back to the other cores so they can continue from where they left off? I¡¯m going to play around with my mana skills a bit, then probably take a long sleep before we get to the desert,¡± I said, hoping a nap near Chip would get me mostly recharged before we arrived. ¡°No problem,¡± Cecile said, reaching for the mallet. Before he could grab it, it went airborne again and bobbed its way through the air back to the other table, with the twinog chasing after it. That was going to take some getting used to. I leaned back into my seat and pulled up my mana skill menu again, quickly maxing out the two imbuing skills and seeing what that had unlocked.
Mana Orb Imbuing Tier 3
Orb Rank 2 Skill Damage Pool
Requirement Magical Durability (10)
Damage pool allows the host to build up a pool of damage received into the item, and release it once a sufficient charge is built up. Each invested rank increases the amount of energy held within the Damage Pool.
Skill Rank 0
Mana Orb Imbuing Tier 3
Orb Rank 2 Skill Damage Redirection
Requirement Magical Durability (25)
Damage redirection allows the host to redirect the damage from the item into their own body. Further ranks increase the amount of damage that may be redirected.
Skill Rank 0
Damage pool was a given. Damage redirection, on the other hand, was risky. I was willing to put a point into it, but until Corey passed the trust test to my satisfaction I couldn¡¯t give them that level of access to hurting me in the middle of a fight. Instead of letting myself waste time waffling, I quickly maxed the first skill and put the single point in the second as I had initially considered. Then I laid back in my seat, finally letting my brain drift off into a relaxing sleep.
The children of the long silent sun have been absent in the politics of the Spiral for an age. While they still send representations to the Arena, they seem to have entirely withdrawn from all other aspects. As they do not allow visitors into their universe very often, the reasons for their isolation from the greater Spiral remain as much a mystery as ever. Factions, Dynasties, Royalty, and the Holdings by Trig Plunderscan Chapter 59: A Return to the Desert ¡°So, uh, two days, then I¡¯m out of here. So try not to die, I don¡¯t need Mel up in my ass about that for the next century,¡± Timon said as we exited the bus. He had stopped near the Cactomen settlement and planned to spend the next two days drinking. I wasn¡¯t exactly confident he was only going to give us two days, not that I planned to test him. As much as I was looking forward to testing out some of the changes in my abilities, I was getting tired of the nonstop dungeons. I had much preferred this new life when I was spending my days in the archives. Even as the allure of home grew stronger, it didn¡¯t do much to temper exhaustion. Was this how normal dungeon raiders spent their lives? Just going from dungeon to dungeon until they were too beaten down to continue? I at least had the benefit of the simulator to strengthen me between the raids, but that just added to the fatigue of it. The upside to this situation was that this, in theory, would be the last dungeon for a while, and we were doing real, tangible good for the planet. Although, I wasn¡¯t sure if we¡¯d be leaving the archives better than when we arrived or not. Likely, they were worse off without Elody, but there was nothing I could do to help that situation. All I could do was plow ahead on my mission. ¡°You leave us, and I¡¯m telling Mel why we had to walk all the way back to Smithtown,¡± Cecile said, gently punching the mantis on the shoulder. I wasn¡¯t remotely surprised they had become fast friends. Their attitudes meshed well. Whether Timon was the best influence for Cecile, I wasn¡¯t so sure about. ¡°I¡¯m still a little worried about those birds. Are we sure we¡¯re going to be able to handle them this time?¡± I asked, not eager to repeat a mad dash from the desert. At least if it did happen, my legs were a lot better than they had been the first time around. ¡°The shadow vultures? I think we can handle them now. Well, maybe not all of them at once, but we should be able to handle a few. We¡¯ve got the tent now anyway. That should keep us camouflaged,¡± Elicec explained. I had forgotten about the tent. I didn¡¯t particularly enjoy thinking about the creepy diredeer dungeon core statue. What caused a dungeon core to start thinking it was a god anyway? ¡°If you say so. Come on Corey, we¡¯ve got an oasis at the center of the desert to find,¡± I said as I started the long trek into the sands. My new enchanted mallet floated next to me while the brothers followed close behind as we all felt the familiar feeling of a dungeon slide over us. ¡°So Dave, with it getting so close anyway, after we beat the orcs, what¡¯s the first thing you¡¯re going to do back home?¡± Cecile asked. That was certainly a top question to start our long walk with. ¡°Assuming we can beat the orcs, I¡¯d like to think I can sit down with my kids for a nice breakfast, but the more I¡¯ve thought about it, that probably isn¡¯t going to be the end is it?¡± I answered with my own question. The silence hung loudly in the air. We all knew something was coming afterward. An Earth in some serious state of major worldwide disaster recovery suddenly thrust into the eyes of the powerful as they come in search of Sanquar. Realistically, there was nothing we could do to stop it either. Could we even stop the next faction that came to take the planet? I had no idea, and that line of thoughts only brought anxiety back in force. ¡°Yeah, probably a bad topic. Dave, have we ever told you about our brothers?¡± Elicec asked a few minutes later, breaking the silence. ¡°Not that I can remember no,¡± I answered, and that was how we spent the rest of the day, much happier conversations about their family. Stories of twinog near-year celebrations and their annual mushroom stew cook-offs kept my mind distracted. A chat window highlighted itself in my mind. Luckily for us Corey, hadn¡¯t been lost in the reminiscences.
Corey: Dave, we are being stalked. Dave: By what, and are you sure? Corey: Very sure. I waited until I was sure to inform you, but they are now close enough that I can feel their shards. Dave: You can do that? Corey: Yes, I was not sure it would continue outside of my own dungeon, but so far, it appears to. Dave: Okay, what are they? Corey: There are five sand sharks circling around us. I believe they are waiting until we get further ahead to attack, as there is something up there that I am unable to determine the exact nature of. Dave: Got it, so it¡¯s best to lure them into an attack now. How do we do that? Corey: Switch to your aether mana orb. I will attempt to guide the attack.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
I switched over to my aether elemental orb as Corey asked and felt the mana link tugging on me from the mallet, directing my eyes and hand to a spot ahead of us. As soon as the forced movement stopped, I immediately let recall fire off the gravity reversal at the spot. I felt the mana drain from my core and pass out through my arm, followed by what looked nearly identical to a bull shark launching from the sand into the sky. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Cecile yelled. ¡°Four more sharks are stalking us,¡± I yelled back as my spell released the shark, and instead of it splatting into the sand, it turned its body into a dive and disappeared again below the sand. Damn, how the hell were we going to fight these? All five shark fins broke through the sand¡¯s surface as they sped towards us. ¡°Elicec, blast the sand around the sharks with the strongest lightning you can muster!¡± I yelled as I readied my fire attack. Corey had already flown on ahead, ready to test out its ability to fight independently. Elicec¡¯s hand lifted skyward, and as he brought it down, a dozen bolts of lightning fell into the ground around the sharks, both electrocuting them and turning the sand into piles of glass that splinted into razor-sharp pieces as the sharks'' momentum crashed them into the new obstacle. I followed up with two fireballs while Corey malleted the rest.
Monsters Defeated
Sand Shark x5 50 Experience
Experience Gained 250 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
All At Once x1.5
Total Experience Gained 454 Points
That had turned out much easier than I expected. Cecile hadn¡¯t even had a chance to join the fight, but I was back to wondering how dungeon raiders ever went very far with their leveling. Did monsters give much more experience in harder dungeons? ¡°Can I have any shards we find?¡± I asked. I didn¡¯t want to monopolize all the potential loot, but I wanted to test some of the aspects of shards for the mana conductivity, and for that I would need a large range of samples. ¡°Yeah, not like we have any use for them at the moment,¡± Cecile answered. I realized Corey was still hanging in the air, mallet pointing directly ahead. Then I remembered what they had said about there being something further ahead. ¡°Any idea what it is?¡± I asked the core. ¡°No, but it¡¯s large. Something feels off about it,¡± they answered. What did that mean? ¡°Off how?¡± I asked. ¡°Oh no, I understand now why it feels off. I also understand why this is a persistent dungeon. Dave, that monster has become a dungeon core spawner. The original dungeon core grew powerful enough to reinforce itself,¡± Corey explained. I thought I understood part of that, but not the full ramifications of it. ¡°Okay, so it¡¯s able to create more dungeon cores. What does it mean that it reinforced itself? Is that similar to when I fortified my core?¡± I asked. ¡°I am unsure, but what it means for the core is that it has absorbed enough soul energy to begin its own soul-core reaction. Likely it is seeding this desert with new creatures to bring it fresh souls to make sure the reaction continues,¡± Corey explained more. Damn, that explained the shadow vultures everywhere too. Everything out here was probably an agent of this thing. ¡°Can we fight it?¡± Cecile asked, having joined our little conversation. ¡°We do not have a choice. It has detected us and is coming. Brace yourselves!¡± Corey¡¯s voice had changed tone for the first time I had heard since the first encounter. They sounded afraid, and despite that, I felt them trigger the imbuing orb to power the mallet up. They were going to fight alongside us. It erupted out of the sand, still a few hundred feet away, but quickly working to close the gap. It looked like someone had taken a centipede, crossed it with a shark, and then enlarged it to the size of a blue whale. The ground was shaking with the force of its legs as it charged forward. Its tail whipped back and forth, shattering a boulder. The fact that Mel had warned us so strongly against coming here until we had no other choice made a lot of sense in hindsight. I had absolutely no idea how to fight this thing. We were likely all about to die.
Once a dungeon core has grown large enough to spawn new dungeon cores, the dungeon has reached a peak growth stage. Many of those spawned cores will go out and establish their own domains connected to the primary dungeon. It is critical that a dungeon raider understand the danger they are in if they encounter a reinforced dungeon core host about to give birth. Should you have to fight one unprepared, there is little advice I can give. I will tell your families you fought valiantly. Lord Commander Terry¡¯s Speech to the New Dungeon Raider Cadets. Chapter 60: We Who Are About to Die ¡°Here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do; Cecile, do you have any of the bomb plant left?¡± Elicec yelled, cutting through the terror that gripped my brain. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got about ten of the ruptured petunia¡¯s fruits, but I don¡¯t think they can do much against that thing,¡± Cecile answered. Exploding fruit was an interesting idea, but I had to agree with Cecile, this thing was the size of a small battleship, and I had no idea if it would work. ¡°That¡¯s why they need to be inside it. We need to get as many of these as possible into it, whatever it has that passes for a nose. Cecile, that¡¯s your job. Dave, Corey, your job is to provide as much distraction as you can. You¡¯ve got the shield orb, Dave. Use it! I¡¯ll start working on removing its legs,¡± Elicec yelled, trying to get his message across over the noise of the monster¡¯s footfalls. And just like that, our planning time had ended as one of its feet crashed down inches away from Cecile, sending us all flying in different directions. I managed to switch over to my shield orb and turn on the physical shield before I hit the ground. Before I could decide on the next move, a chat window popped up. I would really need to test how fast this communication method worked relative to the real world when we weren¡¯t all in mortal danger.
Corey: Dave, I am going to attempt to regulate my mana draw, I can¡¯t see your core reservoir, though, so I will need you to inform me if my calculations are wrong. Dave: Got it, what¡¯s the plan? Corey: Elicec is correct, we have an actual chance of living through this now. Dave: Any guesses on how to improve that beyond a chance? Corey: I am going after the antennas. You should target the eyes. Dave: Good thinking, and good luck, buddy.
I quickly judged the carnage playing out in front of me. Not being stuck on the ground during a small earthquake had its benefits. Corey had already managed to place itself in striking distance of the antennae, and I felt a surge of mana as the mallet became charged with mana. I couldn¡¯t spot either of the brothers, but I doubted they were down just yet, and part of my job was to do what Elicec had ordered to buy them whatever time they needed. Now, just how was I going to do it? The thing was pausing a few seconds every time Corey managed to connect with a swing, which gave me a terrible idea. It was just as likely to get me killed as it was to succeed, but considering how bad our choices were at the moment, this whole fight was going to be one giant Hail Mary anyway, so I may as well go for it. I switched off both my body modification orbs and turned on my aether orb. The moment the centipede froze again, I recalled reverse gravity and targeted myself with it, doing my best to aim directly at one of its eyes. My body launched off the ground with the shield still fully encasing it. My flight path went true, and I crashed hard into its left eye. It exploded with the force of the impact, my shield deflecting all of the disgusting parts away from my body. I could get used to that change. It screamed in shock and pain and started wildly whipping its head back and forth, easily dislodging me. As I fell back to the ground, I spotted the brothers, currently under its head. With one arm, Elicec, with a look of grim determination, was controlling what looked like a saw blade made of mana, and with the other, was lifting the odd banana-shaped fruits up toward the creature¡¯s face. Cecile, on the other hand, had a shit-eating grin across his face. Doubtlessly, he was happy about his plants finally being useful. I crashed to the ground, making a small crater below from my impact, and felt my shield fizzle out around me. That explained how I had hit so hard before. It seemed the shield was adding to the force involved. Before throwing another shield up, I checked my mana pool and found only a quarter drained; the core fortification had really helped there. I popped another shield up just in time to feel a shockwave across the sand as the monster toppled over. Elicec had managed to cut enough of its legs away to ruin its balance. We might just survive this yet. As the mouth of the monster closed around me, I wished I hadn¡¯t cursed myself with the previous sentiment. Thinking quickly, I switched to my fire elemental orb and recalled fireball, rapidly releasing a series of five shots down the thing''s throat. Vomit rushed up the throat to meet me and expel me free from the possibility of being swallowed. Once again, I was glad for the shield orb. Hopefully, that hadn¡¯t knocked loose any of the bombs, and in hindsight, I was glad I hadn¡¯t set any off. I really needed to keep my head in the game at times like this. The monster roared again. I looked up and spotted the new source of its rage. Corey had destroyed one of its antennae. Instead of letting myself consider any possible future, I instead of scanned the battlefield for the brothers. They were still standing, but both of them were covered in slashes and standing next to what used to be one of the creature¡¯s mouthpieces. I tried to remember the name. The word forcipule kept hitting my brain, but I wasn¡¯t sure if that was right. It might have just been a mandible. These completely irrelevant thoughts ran through part of my mind while the other part took in just how bad the brothers looked and switched off my fire orb in favor of my life orb. They were both losing a lot of blood, but I wasn¡¯t detecting any poison through medical telemetry, so that was at least a good sign. My mana was still holding at only slightly below half full, and that meant the most useful thing I could do at the moment was heal Cecile and Elicec. Even from my distance, I could see some of the pain melt off their faces as the mana stitches closed up several of the wounds. I wished I had a way to help with the blood loss they had already experienced, but that much was far beyond my abilities to do for anyone other than myself. Would I be able to push regeneration that far? I hoped so. What I really needed was a doctor whose brain I could pick after showing him just what this orb could do, but that was a thought for the far future. Right now, there was still a giant monster thrashing for its life.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Corey: Dave, I need to take a significant amount of mana. Do you have at least a quarter of your reserves? Dave: Uh, yeah looks like it. What¡¯s up? Corey: I am going to release the entirety of the damage pool into its head and then burn the mana to get myself away from it as fast as possible. Dave: Time for Cecile to detonate, then? Corey: Correct
I switched off all of my mana orbs, other than life, and ran quickly away from the monster, giving Corey as much of the mana as they wanted. The moment I was behind one of the larger rock outcroppings, I peeked my head out to see the brothers not far behind me, following my escape path, and Corey rocketing away from the centipede itself, having left a large mallet-shaped impression in its head. ¡°Back here, quick!¡± I yelled to the running twinogs. ¡°Now!¡± Elicec yelled after spotting my hiding spot. The brothers leaped behind the rocks at the same moment the centipede¡¯s head exploded in one of the loudest booms I had ever heard, and I had been a kid far too interested in homemade fireworks, so that was saying something. I felt the force of it through the rocks. It had been powerful enough to create a small sandstorm, small, painful grains of sand colliding with all parts of my exposed flesh. ¡°Is it dead?¡± I yelled, barely able to hear my own voice over the ringing in my ears. ¡°I think so,¡± Elicec yelled back. ¡°If it survived that and is in any way still able to fight, we¡¯re screwed, so we¡¯d better hope it¡¯s dead,¡± Cecile added. He was entirely right. We sat in relative silence for several more moments, waiting for the thing to move. So far, nothing had happened, and the sand had started to settle back down. Even the ringing was fading. Just as I was considering poking my head above the rock, a System message popped into view.
Monsters Defeated
Colossal Sharkipede 50000 Experience
Experience Gained 50000 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Dungeon Core Boss x2
Reinforced Dungeon Core Boss x10
Total Experience Gained 1,210,000 Points
So, high-level monsters did start to give a lot more experience. Now, I understood how my simulator would eventually run into issues. I wouldn¡¯t be able to farm all the small guys with a million modifiers forever. If I ever got to the point where I could reliably kill several of these, then I might able to really push it, but for now, I was quickly reaching a limit on what I could do with it, and it was good to know there were other options. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of levels,¡± Cecile said, bringing my focus back to the world around us. I wasn¡¯t sure where Corey was, so I tried placing them back into my storage. It worked, so I removed it again back to where we were. ¡°I am pleasantly happy we survived. I did not expect to,¡± Corey said the moment it left my storage. ¡°Same. Good thing Elicec had good tactical ideas to counter that expectation,¡± I said, clapping the twinog on the back. ¡°I¡¯m honestly as shocked as you all are, but I didn¡¯t want to die without trying. I can¡¯t believe we just destroyed a persistent dungeon,¡± Elicec said, his smile breaking through some of his usual sourness. ¡°We may have destroyed it, but whatever is left of its spawn will go out and make others, and we¡¯re in no shape to hunt them down,¡± Corey said. ¡°Good point. We should loot that thing and start on our way back. I really don¡¯t want to fight anything else tonight,¡± Cecile said. I agreed with him, I needed to get something into my stomach and a good sleep before even thinking of another fight. ¡°Dave, we need to check it for its core. I doubt it survived, but we should collect any shards we can find,¡± Corey said. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s looting time then,¡± I said, wondering just what the dungeon core had in mind.
Desert mana orbs are one of the harder to procure of the environmental mana orb types. The places they spawn tend to be extremely hostile to outsiders, and therefore, they generally become a dungeon core before anyone is able to find them. This isn¡¯t to suggest they aren¡¯t valuable; all of the environmental orbs can be. Altering the terrain in a fight is incredibly useful. I believe they are underutilized, and the fact I was only able to find two recorded instances of their use in the Arena seems to agree with my findings. Hopefully, in a future edition, I will have learned more of these elusive orbs. Mana Sources by Henjen Klank Chapter 61: Desert Camping for Four It had taken several hours, but we had managed to carve up a few parts of the monster and even found many of the shards from the dungeon core. It was too bad we¡¯d destroyed it, but I wasn¡¯t even sure it would be safe to try and transport that level of a core. After my success with Corey, my mind had wandered several times to the idea of just what level of partnerships I could form with willing cores and my new abilities. Hopefully, we would be able to expand past the three in my possession one day. I wasn¡¯t sure when that would be, though, as our time in this world was nearly up. If I got so lucky, I would love a return visit. There were still so many books to read, but that assumed they would still even be here under the new management. Plus, the level of luck that allowed me to go anywhere after we returned to Earth felt like something I had long spent to even get this far. The brothers spent all of the return walk so far entirely focused on their own progression paths, and while I was happy for them, the silence was forcing me into my brooding anxiety, something I never enjoyed. Why hadn¡¯t that ever happened back home? The silence of my home always seemed so relaxing before. What had made that change? A memory of my kids when they were younger flashed into my mind. We had spent the day exploring some of the trails in the Huron National Forest while Laura visited her brother. During the whole trip, we all talked about the various animals we saw. Tom and Alex kept arguing about the frogs they heard and which one had made which call. I pointed out several bugs and a couple of chipmunks. It had been a fun day, one of my favorite memories of the kids before the divorce. So that was it, was it? That explained a lot of my eagerness and enjoyment of being around these two. I already had realized they reminded me of my kids, I just had realized how much I had missed that. No matter what else happened back on Earth, I was going to do everything I could to repair that relationship. It was an unrealistic claim, as there were plenty of very possible things that could stand in the way of it, but I didn¡¯t care. It was an important vow, and I would stand by it somehow. ¡°Guys, sorry to interrupt, but the sun is starting to set. I think it¡¯s time to break out that tent before the birds make our night miserable,¡± I said, noticing the deeply lengthening shadows. While I was confident that we could handle a horde of them, the idea wasn¡¯t a pleasant one. A nice long rest sounded a lot better. Plus, there was the food I had tossed into my storage, which would be good right about now. ¡°Oh yeah, sorry, was plotting out my crop space plans. Hey Dave, how much area do you have on Earth? We aren¡¯t going to have much in the way of a mana flow, so I figure I¡¯m going to need to get a lot of mana crops growing to at least supply our home until we can build that up further,¡± Cecile asked. While I did have a lot of land, I wasn¡¯t sure how great it would be for farming; then again, I had no idea how well magical crops needed arable land. The idea of planning out our base of operations from my house was something else altogether and a topic I wasn¡¯t sure I was ready to explore yet. It just seemed too hopeful even for me. ¡°I¡¯ve plenty of land. We can figure something out,¡± I said, hoping to end that topic for now. ¡°Great. I¡¯ll figure it all out once we have some time with it,¡± Cecile said as he produced the tent from his storage, and we went to work assembling it. An animated intelligent mallet is surprisingly useful when staking down a tent. It didn¡¯t take long at all before we were all comfortable inside of it, setting up our cots and preparing for some well-earned relaxation. ¡°Thank you all for today. It was a very interesting experience. I appreciate the trust you have all been willing to place in me despite our first meeting,¡± Corey spoke from the center of the tent, the head of the mallet slowly rotating back and forth as it did so. That seemed like a good sign for our future work. ¡°I¡¯ll admit, when Dave first started talking about this, I was skeptical, but I think this was actually a great idea,¡± Elicec said, grunting slightly as he and Cecile laid down in their cot. Some of their wounds must have still been bothering them. I did a quick telemetry check, but there was nothing else I could add to increase their healing speed. I really needed to find a way to rank up my mana orbs faster. That bottleneck was one of the more frustrating ones. I had access to a ton of spells, if only I could actually progress the orbs far enough. ¡°Glad to have you on the team, Corey,¡± I followed up on Elicec¡¯s words as I pulled out some smoked meat to munch on before going to sleep.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Thank you, Dave, Elicec,¡± Corey said before resting itself on the ground. Did dungeon cores sleep? I¡¯d ask them about it tomorrow. I didn¡¯t want to keep the Twinogs up with their state any longer than needed. Once I finished eating, I laid my head as well and drifted off to sleep. For once, I woke up the next morning before everyone else. That was a rarity, but thanks to my new shield orb, I was in better shape than they were. That gave me some time to check over my skills. In theory, I was supposed to have a higher cap on them, but I had only tried my attributes so far. Primarily because most of the skills I really cared to spend the points on were mana skills, but there was at least one that was still very useful: malleting. I scanned over my skills to find I had gained several new ones. I needed to make a habit of doing this nightly. I had two new knowledge skills Myriapodology and Ichthyology. The first, it seemed, applied to centipedes and millipedes, and the second applied to fish. Animal study classifications were very strangely categorized. Would this work the same for Elicec if his world had further branches for fish studies? Another thing I had no idea how it worked. I added a linguist to my list of people¡¯s brains I wanted to pick if the time ever came on Earth to do so. My third and final of the new skills was forging, mallet, metal. So animal knowledge skills could be as broad as fish, but forging had to drill down this specific? It was possible that my ranks into this were just better than they would be into a broad forging skill, similar to how attributes worked. The more I thought about that idea, the more it made sense. That would actually explain a lot. If I focused further on the knowledge skills, I could probably unlock more specific zeroed-in ones. How did I get a general forging skill then? I wanted that alongside my sub ones. I was able to put a total of fifty ranks into both malleting and forging, so that was certainly an improvement. Interestingly, I wasn¡¯t able to increase my dungeon simulation skill at all yet. What was that tied to? Before I had long to consider it, the brothers had woken up. ¡°Morning Dave. Ready to head out?¡± Cecile asked. Corey floated up into the air at his words. ¡°Yeah, I want to get back to Timon and Smithtown as soon as we can,¡± I answered. ¡°Same. I can¡¯t wait to see your world or the looks on the orcs'' faces when we send them running,¡± Cecile responded with a smile. I liked the confidence, and I wished I had entirely shared it. As we finished our walk back to the bus, I decided to tell the brothers and Corey about the time my children and I had spent in that National Forest. It felt good to share the memory with them, and Cecile followed my story up with a tale of his own. The time their father had taken them deep into the quarry to see a rare gem formation before it had been seized by the dwarves. That was one of the big things they forced the twinogs to do, but despite the ramifications of the story, Cecile told it with the glee of a kid who had had a great time with his dad. His story had made sure my vow had been a good choice. Finally, after several more nostalgia-filled stories, we spotted the settlement and our ride home. ¡°Oh good, you¡¯re back. I didn¡¯t need Mel telling my ex where I was just because you all died in a desert,¡± Timon said, greeting us as we walked onto the bus. ¡°Yeah, good to see you too,¡± I said as I plopped down into a seat and focused my regeneration back onto my knees. For some reason, they had started to break down again somewhat. Did I have some underlying condition I needed to repair before I could keep them fixed? I had no idea, and my inner vitality skill wasn¡¯t detecting anything, but I wasn¡¯t sure if it worked on a genetic level or not. More reasons to talk to a real doctor at some point. ¡°So, did you do it? Finally get rid of that desert?¡± Timon asked. ¡°We did, and it wasn¡¯t easy,¡± Elicec answered. ¡°Damn, honestly, it¡¯s kind of impressive. I mean Mel thought you could and all, but he¡¯s an optimist. We good to head back?¡± Timon asked. Had he really just called Mel an optimist? Mel? ¡°Yes,¡± Elicec answered, and his answer was immediately followed by Timon rapidly accelerating the bus. ¡°Good, ''cause I really wanna know what Mel¡¯s got planned next,¡± Timon said as the bus¡¯ acceleration relaxed into a gentle cruise speed. You and me both, Timon, you and me both.
Some of the older models of transport are surprisingly preferred by a few of the drivers out there. They consider being able to feel the terrain around them a benefit to their abilities. Some studies have shown some of the more able drivers to be accurate in this assessment, but this is not universally true and anyone seeking a career in transportation should first learn the current modes of transportation. They will almost always be what their client prefers. System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp Chapter 62: Traveler鈥檚 Gate When we returned, we found Mel floating in the center of the room with three arms extended, each holding a different book. The books disappeared into what was likely his storage, and he looked up at us with a smile. ¡°So ya did it then? What was it?¡± He asked. ¡°It was a reinforced dungeon core. It had taken on the body of a giant mutated sand shark,¡± Corey said as it floated through the door behind us. ¡°Damn, I can¡¯t believe yer all alive. In no world would I have let ya go if I knew a spawner was alive in that dungeon. Impressive work. Wait, is that mallet what I think it is?¡± Mel asked, glaring at me. It wasn¡¯t lost on me that this was the second time he had sent us into a dungeon, not realizing the full danger. ¡°I am the dungeon core that attempted to possess Dave when we first met. I have apologized several times for it. I was new to the world and did not understand the true ramifications of my actions,¡± Corey said. I wasn¡¯t sure if I had quite accepted the apology yet, but babies did do a lot of weird things, to be fair. It had to be worse for a baby with even more processing power. ¡°Corey was instrumental in our success against the giant monster, and you¡¯ve been wanting me to push my capabilities, haven¡¯t you? Well, there¡¯s the product,¡± I said. Mel¡¯s eyes narrowed even further, and then suddenly and entirely unexpectedly, he smiled. ¡°Yer right, and honestly, a dungeon core partnership path ain¡¯t a bad one, plenty of great builds out there that use them. However, they ain¡¯t usually so free. Yer gonna want to be careful with that, not for fear of the core. I think this one is probably fine, but there are a lotta people out there that ain¡¯t gonna like it around them without a leash, so keep that in mind,¡± Mel said. Was that how most dungeon cores were kept? Traveler seemed pretty free. ¡°Traveler wasn¡¯t leashed?¡± I said, more as a question than a statement. ¡°No, he wasn¡¯t, but the reltleons are pretty unique in how they handle dungeon cores, and I ain¡¯t saying everyone is gonna expect it, so I just want y¡¯all to be prepared if it comes up. Most dungeon cores are dangerous, so people kind of have a right here,¡± Mel explained. It was hard to argue that point. I supposed no matter how friendly a tiger was to me if I had brought it into a gathering, most people would not be happy I had done so. ¡°Mel is correct, Traveler and I briefly spoke of this. Many people are overly hostile to our kind,¡± Corey added. ¡°Good, I like ya more by the second. This group needed someone a bit more logical to keep ¡®em alive, which brings me to my next point. The dungeon is over. Yer clock is ticking, and I got a lot of shit to get done real quick. The good news is I got passage setup for yer return trip. The four of ya and Timon are gonna take the bus to the traveler¡¯s gate, and the reltleons will get you home,¡± Mel said. Why hadn¡¯t he included himself here? He had said he was with us before, so what was going on? ¡°And you? Where will you be?¡± I asked, once again suspicious of the cloud man. ¡°I¡¯ll be there as soon as I can, and I promise I¡¯ll be there for the big parts. Y¡¯all just need to focus on the orc invasion. Once that¡¯s dealt with, find yer kids and try to get all yer asses back to yer house. That¡¯ll be when the real shit starts, just follow my play, and we might just all get outta this alive,¡± Mel said. I already knew there was no point in pressing the topic, and I couldn¡¯t gain anything by refusing to go along with it anyway. It was a completely useless fight to have on my part, but damn if I didn¡¯t really want to know what he was planning. Did he have some way to keep Earth safe as it connected with the Spiral? ¡°Look, I really need you to know how much I hate being in the dark here. I know you won¡¯t tell me anything new, and I trust you as much as I trust anyone since my life dramatically changed. All I¡¯m trying to say is, please don¡¯t screw us over Mel,¡± I said, sighing. It wasn¡¯t exactly what I wanted to get out, but I couldn¡¯t find the right words for how I felt. ¡°I won¡¯t if it all goes wrong. I¡¯ll be there to die fighting alongside ya, and that¡¯s a promise I haven¡¯t made to anyone in a real long time,¡± Mel said. ¡°Shit, we¡¯re all gonna die. Mel¡¯s gone sappy!¡± Timon exploded with laughter halfway through the last word. Speaking of Timon, I was surprised he was willing to stick around. That showed a lot of faith in Mel, and I hoped it held true.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Yer gonna be fine. I haven¡¯t gotten ya killed yet, ya giant moron!¡± Mel said, smiling. How long had those two been friends? ¡°You absolutely have! Just because you paid for the resurrection doesn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t dead!¡± Timon¡¯s laughter had grown even louder with this new exclamation. That was interesting. I hadn¡¯t seen any resurrection mana skills yet. Was my life orb capable of that? How did resurrection magic even work here? Did the System just store your consciousness until your body was returned to a state it could function? Even if I could never have something as grand as this archive back at home, I was going to try to import some books from the rest of the Spiral. There I went again, considering actual plans after the orcs were gone. That was such a dangerous level of hope, and yet it did seem to push some of the anxiety away. Maybe that was what I needed, to let myself see past what I was stuck on as an inevitable end. But what would such a future hold? Could I really start to explore the real wonders of the Spiral? A knock on the door interrupted the laughter and my thoughts of a world post Spiral integration. Cecile opened the door immediately to reveal Glunderlin standing outside. ¡°Sorry to interrupt, but the preparations are complete for your departure and we¡¯d rather not leave the Traveler¡¯s gate opened for long. Until the final connection is made, the mana expenditure to do so is incredible,¡± he said. ¡°Yeah, I was just telling ¡®em that it¡¯s time to pack up and get their asses out of here. So if yer ready, Glunderlin, I think they should be too. We more or less already said our goodbyes for the moment, and I appreciate yer being so willing to send us both on our separate ways for now,¡± Mel said. ¡°Yes, well, thanks to your help, you¡¯ll always be welcome on the Traveler¡¯s Road, in fact, Traveler Thirty-Two has requested to personally set up a gate on your world once you secure it, assuming you¡¯re willing,¡± Glunderlin said. The idea of speaking at length to Traveler was deeply appealing, to say nothing of the access our own gate would provide. ¡°Of course, I¡¯d be glad to have them. If all of this actually works out, of course,¡± I said. More plans for the future, a future that may never come. No, I was done thinking like that. The pessimism wasn¡¯t helping anyone, especially me. We would have a future. I would reunite with my family. ¡°Good, I¡¯m sure Traveler Thirty-Two will be happy. Now if you are all ready could you please follow me. Timon, please bring your bus to the traveler¡¯s gate,¡± Glunderlin said as he looked around the room at each of us. ¡°Just give me a second. I need to go pack up all my plants; I didn¡¯t realize we¡¯d be leaving this soon,¡± Cecile said as the brothers walked into their room. From the open door, I could see a shelf in front of a window with a dozen potted plants sitting in front of it. I was no botanist, but most of the plants looked incredibly alien to me. One of them had vines that seemed to be curling into different shapes as Cecile placed the others into his System storage. Once they were all packed away Cecile and Elicec returned to the main room ready to go. ¡°Quit yer lollygagging and follow Glunderlin already!¡± Mel yelled. ¡°Alright, alright, we¡¯re going. You can be so grumpy sometimes, Mel,¡± Cecile responded, and I stifled a laugh. Was Timon rubbing off on Cecile? Mel¡¯s only response was an agitated snort. I reached my hand up and scratched Chip who was riding on my shoulder, ignoring the small talk. Alex and Tom were so close. I let myself smile as we walked. I was going to see them soon. Instead of the dark and decaying plant matter smell the building had had the last time I was here, it was now brightly lit and cleaned. There were statues of reltleons with plaques below them. I caught a few of the words as we passed. The building was full of statues and words to honor reltleons who had been lost in the fall of their world. My eyes were then pulled up to the large open space in the center of the room. I had expected the gate to look more like a stereotypical wormhole design for some reason. Instead, there was just a spot in the air that seemed to be a giant open window facing a long, enclosed road. ¡°Welcome, my friends. It is with great gratitude that I may provide some small assistance in your own journeys,¡± the familiar voice of Traveler said. I spotted the core in some sort of control panel near the gate. I heard the van come to a stop behind us. Timon had caught up. ¡°I appreciate it a lot, Traveler,¡± I said as Mel was ordering everyone onto the bus. ¡°It is the least I could do. Good luck, Dave. I hope we meet again,¡± Traveler said. "Thank you, I do as well,¡± I said as I stopped ignoring Mel¡¯s furious glare and hopped on the bus myself. He didn¡¯t join us; he just gave Timon a thumbs up, and the bus departed through the gate.
The spelling plant of the ice expanses is a common starting point for anyone considering a career in horticulture. With the proper care and maintenance, it can be trained to help take care of the rest of the nursery, allowing for an easier time maintaining a growing greenhouse. The only downside is the time it takes to train the plants on each new species. This is why many of the larger factions prefer cuttings from existing plants. This author will not get into the ethics of such actions on a sapient plant. System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp Chapter 63: Home The road we were traveling was much more boring than I had hoped. I¡¯d initially thought we¡¯d see glimpses of towers or at least other highways, but the way the transport was enclosed prevented that. I had no idea if it was to hide the secrets of the reltleons or to keep us safe from whatever else was out there. From what I had read, I knew chaotic space was extremely dangerous, but beyond that, I hadn¡¯t bothered with much further research. I didn¡¯t expect it to be something I encountered, and despite this trip, that did remain mostly true. While it may have been on the other side of these walls, I wasn¡¯t likely to encounter it. ¡°Any idea how long until we get there, Timon?¡± I asked. The anticipation of seeing my home again was hard to fight. I could be a patient man when waiting for something I wanted, but this was something that I needed. ¡°I¡¯m guessing they set up a one-way transport path for us, so probably pretty soon. Haven¡¯t used one of those in a real long time, though, and I''ve never used one to go to an unincorporated world, so no clue where it¡¯s gonna spit us out. Prolly gonna need Chip to come sit up here just to make sure the bus has enough mana. I¡¯m gonna have to supply it all since your world don¡¯t have any natural flow,¡± Timon answered. I hadn¡¯t considered the issue of the bus and how it would run without mana. It was a good thing Timon had. ¡°Sure.¡± I scratched Chip behind his ear and pointed at Timon. The little guy wasted no time in leaping off my shoulder onto Timon¡¯s. ¡°Stick with Timon for a while, okay? He needs your help to keep this bus running once we hit Earth.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an impressive little dude, Chip,¡± Timon said as I sat back down, barely able to contain myself as I waited for the trip to be over. The chat window, which I still hadn¡¯t fully gotten used to, appeared in my brain.
Corey: Dave, what is the plan once we have defeated the orcs? If I understand what I have learned correctly, it seems very unlikely any of the bigger Spiral factions will want Sanquar alive on Earth. Dave: Ah, you caught onto the big old problem. Yeah, I agree. I¡¯ve been worried about it for a while now. Once we stop the orcs, assuming we can, then that¡¯ll be the big thing we likely have to face next. I will admit that my very first order of business is finding my kids, and I have zero intention of letting anything get in the way of that. Corey: I understand. I will assist you in that. Dave: Not that I don¡¯t appreciate it, but why? Corey: You were correct when you said we were in this together. Both strangers to all of this, and as I come to be more aware of the world around me, I believe you are the best mentor I could have to allow me to grow safely. With what Mel said, I fear what would happen to me if I were not part of your team. Dave: Well, it¡¯s probably for the best you feel that way. I have no intention of abandoning you; as I said, I¡¯ve got some future engineering plans in store for us. Corey: I look forward to them. But this still didn¡¯t address the question of what comes after the orcs. Dave: You¡¯re right, it didn¡¯t. The simple truth is that I don¡¯t know. I hope, no, I believe that Mel is off planning something that¡¯ll help us there, but I can¡¯t be entirely sure of that. Corey: I hope that you are right. I wish to see much more of the Spiral and to further grow and evolve myself. Dave: I hope I am, too, buddy. I really do.
The chat window disappeared. Had that been enough to calm the dungeon core for now? I doubted it, but considering my own uncertainties with the future, I wasn¡¯t sure what else I could do. I looked at the brothers sitting across from me and figured I should check on them as well. Just as I opened my mouth to say something, the tunnel walls were gone, replaced by a blue sky. A sky I recognized. There were clouds, beautiful clouds. Was I finally home?A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Timon, can you track mana sources? I¡¯m guessing the biggest one is going to be Sanquar keeping time frozen,¡± I asked, it was the only thing I could think to quickly get us where we needed to be. I was worried that if it took too long, our presence here would add too much of a tax on Sanquar¡¯s spell that was keeping time frozen. He had wanted me gone as quickly as possible after first casting it. ¡°Already on it, my dude. Looks like the tunnel shot us out real close. Probably also looking for the biggest source here. Brace yourselves, it¡¯s gonna be a rough landing. I didn¡¯t prep this baby for air travel!¡± Timon shouted. I looked out the window and realized that, yes, the bus was plummeting fast. I was sure the brothers and I would survive a crash, but could the bus? Could Timon or Chip? I doubted it. The bus jerked, and our descent slowed as the sound of several cracking tree branches hit my ears right before the bus impacted the ground, relatively gently, all things considered. ¡°Anyone hurt?¡± I called, not expecting anyone was. The landing had been much gentler than Timon¡¯s warning had made me expect. More of a big speed bump than a high-speed collision type of crash. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be. I found us a couple of trees to come down on nicely, gave me time to fire the mana thrusters. Any landing or crash you can walk away from is a good one, right? Uh, there¡¯s an angry-looking bird standing outside. You know him, Dave?¡± Timon asked. Standing up, I dashed for the bus door, hoping that I, in fact, did know the angry bird. ¡°Ah, Dave, good, it¡¯s you. You¡¯ve returned in plenty of time. I could have kept this spell going for another year or two, maximum. I had nearly forgotten the thrill of mana channeling to this extent. I admit, though, I was concerned after your mind had returned here,¡± the bird, whom I most certainly did know, said. ¡°So that was real then? I hadn¡¯t been sure, but we can discuss that later. How long until your spell ends, Sanquar? I assume not long since we¡¯ve added five more people to it,¡± I asked. ¡°Perhaps two minutes. I am glad to see you brought back others to help,¡± Sanquar nodded as the brothers, Corey and Timon, with Chip still on his shoulder, exited the bus. ¡°Some yes, Cecile, Elicec, and Corey will help me fight the orcs. I believe we can handle them. The moment time unfreezes, we¡¯ll take care of the batch here, and then we can figure out how to hunt down the rest,¡± I said. Could Timon just track them? It seemed plausible, as he''d tracked Sanquar. ¡°Good, because that moment is quickly approaching,¡± Sanquar said. I looked around the area. I counted twenty of the orcs near us, but there could easily be more hiding in the woods. How many more were in the cities if they had twenty out here? Were they just attracted to Sanquar¡¯s mana? ¡°Can we just kill them now before time unfreezes?¡± I asked. It seemed like a good idea, even if it wasn¡¯t exactly fair, but considering they had tried to kill me and, I assume, had already killed many more across the globe, fairness didn¡¯t really matter to me. Was there even such a thing as a fair fight? Maybe in a duel or a sporting event, but certainly not anything pertaining to life or death. ¡°I¡¯d rather you not. Altering any living being in the frozen time causes extraordinarily painful feedback to myself relative to their sapience, and these orcs, as much as I may dislike them, are very much thinking beings. Luckily, the trees you crushed on your way down were only very rudimentarily aware of anything. Most of the plants in this world have yet to develop their own souls,¡± Sanquar answered. ¡°So uh, dumb question, but do you think my shield orb can easily take a hit from one of their clubs? I know it¡¯s stupid, I really do, but I want to do something funny,¡± I asked. I had no idea why this had popped into my head, but it was now something I felt I had to do. ¡°Likely yes, but hurry with whatever you¡¯re planning,¡± Sanquar answered. I switched to my shield orb and moved back to where I had been, trying to get it exactly as close as I could remember. I saw Cecile pulling out his hoe and the two twinogs moving behind several of them, ready to strike. Corey stuck near me, likely curious about just what I was doing. I doubted this was something that I could easily translate in a way that made any sense because it made no logical sense at all. Well, not no sense; there was a certain power in presentation, and I hoped that this drove home some of the fear they had managed to so deeply ingrain into me. The bastards deserved every bit of what was coming to them. How quickly would they notice the new people on the battlefield? Time unfroze to the sound of several grunting orcs, and the club that had been about to end my life so many months ago resumed its swing as though nothing had changed. With all the force the orc had put into the swing, it collided with my mana shield and shattered into splinters.
Chaotic space is a misnomer. It¡¯s not as though we haven¡¯t mapped it; things don¡¯t really shift other than when we shift them. In reality it¡¯s just a name we use for the unknown, the things not truly under the Spiral¡¯s control. Yes, there are monsters that hunt the darkness, but how is that any different than life within the Spiral? Grom¡¯s Musings Chapter 64: Orcish Combat I stood up with a smile as all around me, shouts and screams in a language I could now entirely understand hit my ears. The yells about the strangers who had just appeared and my apparent strength spread across the collected orcs. It did not, though, stop them from immediately attacking us all. Corey made quick work of the orc in front of me while I recalled gravity reversal into the nearest group of raging orcs. At the same time, two blasts of lightning connected with several more orcs, and I spotted Cecile¡¯s hoe having transformed back into the sickle, easily slashing through another handful. In less than a minute, they were all dead, and there was barely a wound on any of us. Had I really been so worried about this fight for nothing? I know Earth had supposedly been a low-level Arena prize, but were these orcs even really capable of taking over the planet? We humans had a lot of weapons, and I could easily imagine an event like this being the long-desired cry to unify us against a common enemy. This just didn¡¯t add up. ¡°Sanquar, how was this so easy?¡± I asked in my confusion. ¡°That was just a scouting party. They probably shouldn¡¯t have even engaged you or me, but they thought they saw an easy prize, and now we have proven them extraordinarily wrong in their conclusions. The real fight will be with the one who won this planet. They¡¯re in charge of this invasion, and hopefully, he¡¯s coming directly for us now,¡± Sanquar answered. There it was; I knew this had been too easy. ¡°How long do we have until the big boss gets here then, and just how dangerous is he?¡± I asked. He had to be scary enough to have caused a worldwide panic, and from what I had seen in my mana backlash-induced dream, some of the orcs under him had to be pretty powerful in their own right. How strong did you need to be to be able to handle an anti-tank round? There was no way I was strong enough to survive a hit from a real explosive yet, especially not some like a nuke, but I also couldn¡¯t imagine the military using them on occupied cities. Truth be told, I had no real idea of how this invasion was happening outside of my own very small corner of the world. ¡°He¡¯s coming right now. Can you not sense him?¡± Sanquar asked. No, I couldn¡¯t. Though now that I thought about it, I had felt something with the simulator enemies. Was there a way to detect cores that I just hadn¡¯t learned about? It seemed my knowledge gaps would never end, even now. ¡°Timon, get the bus away from here!¡± I yelled. There was no sense in him dying with us if it could be avoided. Despite the visible damage from the crash, The bus returned to life and quickly disappeared down the dirt road that connected my house to an eventual highway. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Cecile yelled out, pointing at the sky. I looked up and saw what he was talking about. It looked like a giant sword flying through the sky toward us. I squinted, trying to make out what exactly it was. There was something riding on it. Shit, that had to be the guy in charge. ¡°Scatter!¡± Elicec yelled. He was entirely right. We needed to be out of their direct sight. I dashed for the cover of the trees, hoping that would be enough, glancing back just as a sword the size of a car landed in the clearing where we had left the bodies of the recently slain orcs. ¡°So, there¡¯s someone on this damned planet capable of a real fight! Show yourself!¡± the hulking figure of an orc said as it stepped off of the sword, which immediately shrank in size and floated to his hand the moment he was off of it. I had zero intention of listening to his demand, and based on the lack of responses, neither did anyone else. Instead, I focused on the chat window in my head.
Dave: Are the brothers anywhere near you? Corey: No, but Sanquar is. Dave: Okay, then we will just have to hope they realize what¡¯s happening and join us. Corey: What do you want to do? Dave: I¡¯ve got my shield and aether orbs up. I want you to grab his attention, and if the blow is too strong, just channel it back to me. But while he¡¯s distracted, I¡¯m going to throw him into the sky and hope Elicec joins in the attack. I doubt the fall will hurt him, so that¡¯ll be when we try to overwhelm him before he has a chance to really take us down.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Corey: Understood.
I felt the mana drain from our connection drastically increase as Corey prepared for his attack. The orc suddenly turned around. Had he sensed Corey? Well, that would help with the plan, and in theory, there was no way he could kill the dungeon core in one strike anyway. ¡°I smell you, you coward; show yourself and fight me!¡± the orc roared into the trees. ¡°I will oblige your request,¡± Corey stated loudly as the mallet rapidly flew from the woods and took a hard swing at the orc. The orc took the hit hard into its shoulder and countered with his own swing. It wasn¡¯t so devastating as to trigger the redirection mana skill. That boded well for us. I recalled gravity reversal and targeted the orc. Just as I hoped, he launched skyward. ¡°Elicec, blast him!¡± I screamed out, not knowing where the brothers were. He must have heard me as I saw both an icicle and a bolt of lightning hit the orc in quick succession. Moments later, the orc crashed back into the Earth, loudly laughing. ¡°Yes, finally, entertainment!¡± he screamed as he stood back up. Was this man insane? His sword began to glow a bright blue before striking Corey again. This time, I did feel the pain through our connection. My shield managed to hold, but barely. As Cecile moved into direct combat with the orc, I worked to switch off my aether orb in favor of both life and fire. I really needed to find a way to speed up these circuit switches if we were going to be in fights like this. ¡°Earth, lend us your strength!¡± Elicec yelled. I hadn¡¯t heard him use an actual incantation in a while, but considering the ground rose and pulled the orc partially down into it, it had certainly seemed like the correct move. I capitalized on the moment and launched several fireballs directly at his head. Even as his hair burnt away and some of his flesh melted, his insane laughter continued unabated. Right as Cecile¡¯s sickle swung for his skull, he managed to rip himself free from the bindings of the Earth and caught the blade in his teeth. Lifting the twinogs over his head by the strength in his just jaw and neck, he tossed them to the side, his manic laughter returning. ¡°Hey, over here!¡± I yelled at the orc, hitting him with more fireballs, trying to shift his focus to give the twinogs the time needed to regain their feet. Plus, I was the one with the shield orb, which meant that I had the best chance of surviving a direct blow. The orc turned towards me and roared. I only saw him take a single step before he was in front of me, his sword coming down into my shield. It held, and I retaliated with several point-blank fireballs at the same moment Corey came in behind, hitting the raging orc directly in his skull and letting loose the built-up damage pool as he did so. Despite the loud crack from his skull, the orc didn¡¯t fall. His laughter faltered. ¡°Dave, duck!¡± Cecile yelled as his sickle sliced through the air directly where my head had been, biting deep into the orc¡¯s flesh. I reached my hands up from where I had ducked and pushed out several more rapid-fire fireballs into him again. My mana pool had dipped below a quarter full. I doubted the brothers were doing much better with theirs. Despite my worry, three icicles appeared in the air above the orc and descended, stabbing downward, shattering as they drove into his skull. The last one had the added force of a mallet strike behind it. Still, despite all our attacks, the orc raised his sword above his head for another swing, but this time, Cecile came in again with his scythe and caught the orc under his arm. Both arm and sword dropped to the ground. Finally, the laughing vanished entirely. ¡°Hit him with everything you have left!¡± Elicec screamed. I didn¡¯t disagree at all with his order, but I had very little left to give. I reached my hand as close as I could to the orc¡¯s stomach and blasted fireballs until I wasn¡¯t able to anymore. I felt both the lightning bolts as they hit home and the force of Corey¡¯s strikes until my lack of mana caused the dungeon core to fall out of the sky. Cecile claimed the last blow, his scythe separating the orc¡¯s head from its shoulders moments before the twinogs joined Corey and me on the ground. I hadn¡¯t pushed anything to the point of mana backlash, but the exhaustion was nearly overwhelming. I forced myself to pull some cheese from my System storage, just managing to choke it down. Somehow, physically, we had barely been scratched, but it had taken nearly everything we had to put the orc leader down. I heard a vehicle approaching from the driveway. The feeling of a soft furry form on my chest confirmed my hopes; Timon and Chip had returned. ¡°Dave, where did you find such an amazing companion? I feel my own mana surging as I¡¯m around this creature,¡± Sanquar said, looking down at me.
Berserkers are a common class choice for those who prefer a path of rage. The class can be extremely effective in a fight, especially in pushing your body well beyond what should have already killed you. The biggest weakness of the class is in its inability to easily change tactics once a fight is going against you. This is why the berserkers who go the furthest almost always have a second class or an emotional mana orb ready to shut down their rage when needed. Classes Volume 1 by Zolinjar Chapter 65: Where We鈥檙e Going, We Actually Do Need Roads Before I could answer Sanquar, an experience popup flashed in my vision. Had it really taken the orc leader that long to truly die, even without his head?
Enemies Defeated
Singing Blade Faction, Squad Commander, Berserker, Orc Core Grade A 25000 Experience
Singing Blade Faction, Squad Scout, Deep Scout, Orc Core Grade D x20 5000 Experience
Experience Gained 125000 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Undergraded x10
More Undergraded x100
Even More Undergraded x1000
Somehow Even More Undergraded x10000
Total Experience Gained 1,250,000,000,000,000 Points
¡°Is this what it feels like to be you, Dave? I just jumped to level one seventy-seven,¡± Cecile asked, managing to get some mirth into his voice despite our collective extreme exhaustion. I understood the sentiment, even if I knew that they had to have gained less than me. My core was only at an E. Theirs was C, so I doubted they had gotten the last two multipliers I¡¯d gotten. Sadly for me, though, even with the extra two, it hadn¡¯t been enough for a level, but I was now starting to understand the draw of the Arena even more. That was far more experience than I had gotten anywhere other than the simulator. ¡°It usually comes with a lot worse of a headache,¡± I said as I climbed back to my feet. Thanks to Chip¡¯s help, I didn¡¯t feel on the verge of passing out anymore. I placed Corey into my storage for now until I could easily support us both and signaled for Chip to hop onto the twinogs¡¯ shoulder, as I needed him less than them at the moment. In lieu of Chip¡¯s help, I pulled out some of my stored food. ¡°That was crazy, man; you all just took down a faction invasion commander. That just isn¡¯t something that happens every day. Mel¡¯s gonna be mad he missed this,¡± Timon said before giving a loud celebratory whistle. ¡°I am very impressed, Dave. That¡¯s a remarkable growth since we parted,¡± Sanquar said. He wasn¡¯t wrong. I knew that logically, but at the moment, I didn¡¯t feel like it. That fight had taken nearly everything out of me, and I found it a bit unbelievable we had even managed to win in the end. The System had listed him as a berserker, and I¡¯m not sure we could have beaten anything else. If he had stopped to actually think instead of laugh, we¡¯d have certainly been dead. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll tell you all about it when we have some time. Right now, there are a lot of other things that need our attention, such as what the rest of the orcs on the planet will do now that their leader is dead?¡± I asked. Would they even know already? How did a faction invasion work exactly? Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°They¡¯ll know, you can count on that. Each of them right now just got a giant failed quest notification. For the most part, they are going to go to ground, maybe try to get out of the universe if they can, but that likely isn¡¯t possible considering what it took to get us here; it would take a group that size even more. In reality, we¡¯ve got an orc infestation to deal with. Well, you do. I¡¯m not fighting any orcs, but I¡¯ll drive the bus wherever you need to go,¡± Timon answered, surprisingly. I just hadn¡¯t expected him to be the source of information. Then again, considering his long relationship with Mel, there had to be a lot more to the man below the surface. ¡°Good, because I need to find my kids. The world is likely in a real bad place right now, and I¡¯m sure it¡¯s about to get a whole lot worse until it gets better if it even can recover from this, and while we can¡¯t do much on that front, I will protect my family,¡± I said, the conviction in my voice stronger than it had been in years. ¡°Then everyone aboard the Timon Transport, and hopefully, you can tell me exactly where we¡¯re going, Dave, ''cause this place looks like every other cold forest planet I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± Timon ordered, shaking his head as he looked at land around us. ¡°Everyone hop on the bus like Timon said. I¡¯ve gotta check the house for some things we¡¯ll need to find my kids,¡± I said. Had the cell phone survived the earlier assault on the house? Would it even work? The door was still wide open, the way I had left it in my desperate escape, one that felt like it had been so long ago. I found my cell phone next to the remains of my kitchen table. It was in a similar shape to the table, likely stepped on during the initial fray. Damn, I had been hoping to use the GPS on that to find our way to Columbus. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how the GPS satellites worked, but I suspected that that system would still be functional. At least more so than the cell towers. Okay, I needed to think, I had maps, we could take the road. That might even give us a good idea of how bad of shape the planet was in. How well could Timon maneuver the bus on our roads? I guess he always had the option of hovering if he needed to get around obstacles. As I walked around the house, placing anything I spotted that might be useful into my System storage, I imagined what else I could possibly need. In the end, it was the maps, several more tools, the rifle, what little ammunition I had on hand, and my laptop. I had every intention of returning here with Alex and John once I found them. Keeping us all out of whatever chaos was gripping the world seemed like the best idea, especially considering who I had brought back with me. With that last thought I closed the door behind me, not really sure why, considering the giant hole in the kitchen, but I did it anyway and boarded the bus with my friends. ¡°Where to?¡± Timon asked. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to pinpoint an exact direction we need to go, so we are stuck with some of my older maps. That means I want you to head down this dirt road, take a left when it ends, and drive until that road ends. By then, I should have figured out our full route. There may be a lot of obstacles. Are you going to be okay dodging them?¡± I asked after explaining the initial route. ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m gonna need Chip up here. Kinda glad you didn¡¯t ask me to fly, honestly. It¡¯s gonna take us time to build up the mana needed to keep this bus running, and flight will be a bit costly. We can do that on the way back, though. I should be able to navigate a nice straight flight path now that I know where your house is. Oh I meant to ask earlier: is a hole in the wall like the normal style for your people¡¯s homes? Seems weird,¡± Timon asked as the Bus started forward. I couldn¡¯t tell if he was joking or not. ¡°No, that was some orc damage; generally, we try to keep our homes pretty enclosed,¡± I answered. Timon shook his head, laughing to himself as Chip ran past me to hop onto him. I pulled the maps out as I plopped down across from the brothers next to Sanquar, the bird I had once known only as Big Bird. ¡°Is that a map of your world?¡± Elicec asked as I unfolded the big one that covered United States highways. ¡°Yes, it is, though I haven¡¯t had to use it in a long time. We had mostly moved to computer-based mapping, but I¡¯m glad I had kept these around,¡± I answered. Kept around was a strong way of saying I had put them in a drawer and entirely forgotten to look in that drawer in the last couple of years. I wasn¡¯t even sure when or why I had bought them. Had John left them the last time he was here? I looked out the window, trying to gauge just how fast the bus was moving in relation to my own car, maybe four times as fast. It was a hard thing to estimate with just the eyes, especially considering it would make small jumps off the ground every so often to dodge something. ¡°Alright, now that I¡¯m not driving blind, we can really move this bus,¡± Timon said after I had shown him my planned route and he had taken a moment to study my markings and the area on the map around them. The bus was now moving significantly faster than it had been before, almost spending more time hovering over the abandoned cars and the rare blockade we passed than it was on the ground. Rarely did I manage to spot a person, but considering the speed we were traveling at, they were probably doing their best not to be seen if they could help it. Not to mention, the invasion had only just ended, and people were likely still hiding as much as they could. Only two hours had passed when I spotted the now entering Columbus sign. The trip so far had been spent bringing Sanquar up to speed with promises of more details to come later and his own returned promise to let me pick his brain as much as I wanted. There were unspoken words between all of us that this was only the beginning. The twinogs were nice enough not to bring up any future planning just yet. They knew how much I wanted to find my family first. ¡°Where to now?¡± Timon asked, slowing down. The city outside the window was a disaster. Buildings had been destroyed. Fires were raging out of control in several places. I hoped they were still where they had been in my strange dream. ¡°John¡¯s apartment. Go straight for a bit while I remember more of the directions; it¡¯s been a while,¡± I said to Timon, racking my brain for the last time I visited and managing to slowly pry the memories loose, guiding the mantis as he drove. Finally, we pulled down the street I thought it was on, and there, ahead of us, I saw them. Alex and John were walking down the street. My heart nearly leaped free of my chest. They were still alive. ¡°Pull over now!¡± I yelled, feeling Timon immediately obey.
Deep Scouts are one of the specialized scouting classes, focused more on ranging far away from any central squad. Their goal is to quickly assess the battlefield and relay that information back. While they aren¡¯t usually strongly combat-oriented, it doesn¡¯t mean they are helpless, and there are certain builds that do specialize in some weapon use, though generally limited. Classes Volume 1 by Zolinjar Chapter 66: Family & Friends Timon must have slammed on the brakes, as I had never felt the bus lurch so hard before. The sudden stop was hard enough to knock me off my feet, but the slight pain that accompanied the fall was nothing compared to the importance of getting off the bus immediately. Two of the biggest reasons I had managed to keep going so far were out there, alive. I stood up and walked off the bus to see them. ¡°John, Alex!¡± I called to them from down the clutter-strewn sidewalk. Both their heads turned towards me, their faces full of confusion. ¡°Dad?¡± Alex said first. ¡°Yep, somehow still alive and here to help,¡± I said, smiling. Both of them had tears in their eyes as they ran towards me. ¡°How are you even here? There are no flights, and your house is a three-day non-stop drive on a good day,¡± Alex said, crying slightly as she hugged me. John was standing back slightly now, looking at me skeptically. ¡°Dad, you look different. Where are your glasses?¡± John asked. Where were my glasses? I checked my System storage quickly and spotted them on one of the shelves. I remembered putting them in there one day before a shower. Had I just not put them back on? I suppose it made sense that my eyesight had improved, considering both my attributes and skill systems that were now a part of me, but I hadn¡¯t even realized that it had to that degree. It just somehow felt natural without them. The rest though, I hadn¡¯t even considered that. When was the last time I had a haircut? I used to shave my head weekly, but there was a full head of hair up there now. ¡°You look like you did when I was a kid,¡± Alex said as she pulled away from me following John¡¯s question. ¡°I¡¯ve been through a lot, which I know sounds insane since this all started this morning from your perspectives, but I swear it¡¯s me, a weirdly physically healthier version of me, but it is me,¡± I said almost pleadingly with them. Somehow, I hadn¡¯t even considered this a potential problem. Of course, showing up looking at least twenty years younger would be jarring. Had John ever even seen me before the balding had started? ¡°What¡¯s my middle name?¡± Alex asked. Oh, now that was a good question to catch an imposter. She always was smarter than me. I was oddly proud that despite the ruin around us, she was still able to think so quickly on her feet. ¡°Legally, your middle name is Madeline, but as a kid, I used to call you Alex Andra, and your mom once got pretty angry at me when you told your preschool class that was your real middle name,¡± I answered, laughing slightly at the memory. Alex¡¯s arms wrapped back around me in a tight hug. ¡°John, I don¡¯t know how, but I believe it¡¯s him,¡± she said as she ended her second hug. John still didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°John, you¡¯re named for your grandfather, and every year on his birthday I got up early and made eggs for everyone the way he always made them for me and him when he could. When you were nine, you secretly turned off the alarm clock and did the cooking instead,¡± I said. My smile grew even larger at the memory. The breakfast had turned out surprisingly well, even if not the exact eggs I usually made. I think it was one of the events that gave John his lifelong love of cooking. ¡°Okay, okay, I believe you, but what can you even do to help? It¡¯s not like you can do anything about the aliens. Who knows how many they¡¯ve killed?!¡± John looked on the verge of breaking down as he said this. ¡°I know I can¡¯t fix the world, but I can get you two to a place of safety for now, at least while we figure out what¡¯s going to happen. If you both are willing to come with me back to Alaska, and I¡¯m not saying you have to stay forever, but I¡¯ve got food and plenty of propane reserves, it¡¯s as safe as anything will be for now,¡± I said, trying to convince them. I had no idea how I was going to sell the bus full of my otherworldly friends, but first, I needed to even get them on board with Alaska. ¡°Three of us,¡± John said, pointing to a woman standing a bit behind them. So focused on my kids I hadn¡¯t even noticed her. Did he have a girlfriend I didn¡¯t know about? I suddenly wished I had never let myself become so isolated from them. How much had I missed just because I couldn¡¯t handle my own broken heart? ¡°Of course, sorry I didn¡¯t see you back there,¡± I said, feeling awful about how much I had to have missed. ¡°It¡¯s okay, um, can the cats come too?¡± she asked, pointing to what I had thought was just a backpack, but now I realized it was a cat carrier styled as one.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Absolutely. Hopefully, Chip likes cats, but even if he doesn¡¯t, we can figure something out. So, back to how I look so different, well, younger, which Alex realized. It¡¯s a very long story that I promise to tell in full once we are safe, but I need you to trust me and get on a very strange bus with me. There are people on there who are very much not human, but they also have nothing to do with the devastation. They played a big part in how I¡¯m even here in one piece,¡± I explained, hoping they had inherited some of my naivety when it came to trusting people. Honestly, it had bitten me in the ass less than it should have throughout my life. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just how insane today has been or if I¡¯m just in a coma right now, but okay, yeah, I¡¯m willing to go for now,¡± Alex said, looking back to her brother, likely waiting for his response. ¡°Funny enough, I thought the same thing, the whole considering I might have already died too. There was also an anxiety-fueled session of worrying about hyper-intelligent AI possibly torturing me,¡± I said, trying to lightly laugh off the situation. ¡°Roko''s basilisk?¡± the woman behind John asked, surprising me. ¡°That¡¯s the one, but I decided I had to accept what seemed like reality at face value for now,¡± I answered. ¡°Okay, we¡¯re in, too; we need to get the cats somewhere safe. Thank you, Dad,¡± John said, relenting to the stares of both the women. ¡°Alright, just remember I said no one on the bus is human, okay?¡± I reminded them, worried about their reactions. ¡°Dad, trust me, we all heard you,¡± Alex responded. ¡°Alright, well, follow me,¡± I said, turning around and walking back toward the bus. Four heads were staring at me as I stepped back aboard. ¡°So, are they coming?¡± Cecile asked, breaking the silent stares. ¡°They¡¯re right behind me. Just remember, none of them have seen people that aren¡¯t human other than the invading orcs, who you know just happened to butcher the planet,¡± I said. Everyone nodded, and I walked further into the bus, clearing the way for them to join me. ¡°Oh, you really are aliens. Hi, I¡¯m Maud, do you all have names? Wait, do you speak English?¡± The woman with John, who was apparently named Maud, asked. That was actually a good question. I had no idea how our translations actually worked, let alone how they interacted with people on an unincorporated world. ¡°I don¡¯t know what English is, but we can speak if that¡¯s what you mean. I¡¯m Cecile, and this is my brother Elicec. Timon is the driver, and this bird is Sanquar,¡± Cecile said, dispelling any worry about a common language. Each person nodded as Cecile introduced them. I liked Maud; John had good taste, which shouldn¡¯t come as a surprise at all, considering his cooking skills. ¡°Uh, hi,¡± John said from behind Maud, taking one of the free seats to let his sister through. ¡°Dad, don¡¯t take this the wrong way, but what the fuck happened to you?¡± Alex said, scanning the faces of my companions. ¡°A lot, and as I said, I promise I¡¯ll explain everything once we are back,¡± I said, remembering all the dead orcs near the house. I hoped they were far enough away that they wouldn¡¯t notice them immediately. We would need to clean those up at some point. ¡°Okay,¡± Alex said, sitting down across from John. Maud, strangely enough had taken my old seat next to Sanquar and was quietly talking to him about what it was like being a bird. The brothers were both looking at the cats in their carrier strangely. Did they have anything like cats on their world? ¡°We good to go? Got any more passengers to pick up?¡± Timon asked. I looked to my kids to see if they had any more passenger requests, but neither spoke, so I assumed it was a no. ¡°We¡¯re good. Let¡¯s get back to the house. Uh, is anyone any good at building a wall? There¡¯s a bit of damage to the kitchen,¡± I said as I sat down next to John. ¡°I¡¯m pretty good at the do-it-yourself stuff. It might not look great, but if you¡¯ve got the materials, I can probably patch it,¡± Alex answered. She always had been more like me when it came to tinkering. Had she graduated yet? No, she¡¯d have invited me to that, right? Wait, she was only twenty-six. There was no way she had her doctorate already. I pushed some of my worries down, we could figure out everything I had missed later. ¡°Glad to hear it. That should make things a bit easier. How about you, John? Is Maud someone special?¡± I asked. He just nodded in return. He still looked ready to make an escape if he could. I knew what was wrong the moment I saw this look. He had inherited my anxiety. I wouldn¡¯t wish that on anyone. ¡°Anyone wanna meet my mallet?¡± I asked, trying to cut some of the tension.
The Singing Blade faction is one of the younger orc factions, having broken off from the Giant Blade faction when one of their commanders became tired of never getting the glory he believed he deserved. Due to the number of warriors that followed him when he left, the Giant Blades were forced into a tentative nonaggression pact if both factions wanted any chance at survival. They both specialize in oversized bladed weapons, but the big difference in their styles comes from the Singing Blades preferring berserker rages, while the Giant Blades prefer controlled strength. System Paths, Careers in the Spiral By Glarppp Chapter 67: A Hole in the Wall I dropped the mallet joke, as neither of them looked amused, and went back to the small talk. As awkward as it was, it was necessary. It had been a while since we¡¯d all seen each other in person, and things had changed for all of us. Even if my changes happened to be the most drastic, it didn¡¯t make theirs any less important to me. Somehow even when the bus took to the sky, we just kept talking about some of the changes in their lives. John had met Maud two years ago at the restaurant he was working at, and they hit it off. They had just moved in together last month and had only gotten the cats three days ago. Alex was still in school and doing well, but I could tell there was something she didn¡¯t want to tell me, so I didn¡¯t push it. Considering how alike we were, I had the feeling it was a bad breakup. Before I could learn anything else, the bus landed, apparently, Timon hadn¡¯t been lying when he said the return trip would be much faster. ¡°Man, I need to see your world. It sounds great,¡± Maud said loudly from behind me, likely trying to talk over the noise of the landing. She was taking this much better than I had, or that it looked like my kids were, for that matter. ¡°Well, it¡¯s probably better to tell the story here than inside. It¡¯s going to be cold in there until we get the wall covered. So everyone who wants to hear the story of what I¡¯ve been doing since this invasion started, please join me at the larger area in the back of the bus,¡± I said as I pulled out Corey while we walked to the roomier part of the bus. The dungeon core was part of the story, and they needed to meet it anyway. ¡°Since we already know everything, I think we¡¯re going to go and see if the orc bodies have anything useful and dispose of the rest if we can,¡± Cecile said, Elicec nodding along. While I wished they hadn¡¯t mentioned the bodies yet, I was glad they were going to go deal with them. ¡°Sanquar said he froze time and sent you off to some other world; seems insane to me, but then, you know, there¡¯s all of this, making it seem a bit more real,¡± Maud said, pointing to the people in the bus. That was as good an opening as any. So I explained everything to them, from when I started eating breakfast that morning to the moment I saw them on the sidewalk. They were completely silent the entire time. Sanquar, too, his silence surprised me a little. I would have expected him to have more questions. ¡°That really all happened?¡± Alex asked first, apparently, their lack of questions was only during the telling of the story. ¡°Yep, straight down to us killing the leader of the invasion,¡± I said. ¡°I confess, my memory isn¡¯t the best, but it seems things have stagnated somewhat in the Spiral. They were not great before, but this seems worse than anything I can recall,¡± Sanquar said. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I mean it sounded real dangerous, but kind of awesome,¡± Maud said cheerfully. John said nothing, but he did put his arm around her. ¡°So what happens now, then? Is Earth safe?¡± Alex asked. ¡°I don¡¯t fully know, but I very much doubt it. From what little I saw, it looks like the orcs did a lot of serious damage to the places I passed, so I assume that¡¯s worldwide. We also have to assume the death totals will be astronomical, so I have no idea how the planet rebuilds from this, but if it¡¯s safe from future invasion, it should,¡± I said, not sure how to break the news that I very much doubted it was safe. ¡°We aren¡¯t. Considering the orcs, I¡¯m sure things haven¡¯t changed that much. Earth will be incorporated into the Spiral, whether we like it or not,¡± Sanquar said with a strong, matter-of-fact sentiment. I knew he was right, but it didn¡¯t mean he really had any idea what that meant. ¡°Bird¡¯s right. There¡¯s no real way they are ignoring this universe after charting chaotic space to get it. Now, there is that whole giant fucking complication of Sanquar sitting there, not to mention the invasion faction is essentially dead, thanks to Dave here. That¡¯s gonna have some repercussions somewhere. Whatever it is Mel has up his sleeve, well, would have up his sleeve if he wore shirts, had better be damn good. He¡¯s gotten us in worse shit before, but not by much,¡± Timon added from the front of the bus. How good was his hearing anyway? ¡°This Mel guy, when is he coming back?¡± Alex asked. That was the million-dollar question. When would Mel be here? We needed him, and I hoped he would keep his promise. ¡°That¡¯s another thing I don¡¯t know, and I really wish I did. I¡¯ve told you everything I really know, so I guess it¡¯s decision time. If you want to leave, I¡¯ll have Timon take you back. While I really want you both to stay with me, I won¡¯t make you,¡± I said, worried about what they might choose.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Not sure we have much of a choice there. If, and it¡¯s still a pretty big if, despite the fact that the mallet can talk, but if your story is true, the only real safe place is here with you, so I¡¯m staying. Are your tools still in your garage?¡± Alex asked after a loud sigh. That was one heartbreak avoided. Was another possible? ¡°Yes, my tools are still there. John, what about you?¡± I asked my son, looking over to him. ¡°Yeah, someone has to do the cooking here if Alex is staying. Plus, you do have all these new faces who probably need to eat, too. You don¡¯t eat heads, do you, Timon?¡± John asked the mantis driver. ¡°How do you know my ex?!¡± he asked back incredulously. At some point, I was going to have to tell Timon about Earth mantises that, by some insane fluke, share a trait with only his ex-wife. That was much less important than the fact that John was also staying. I smiled, letting my own anxiety fade a bit for the time being. There was work to do, after all. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll stay too,¡± Maud said. Somehow, I had forgotten about her, but she was welcome too. ¡°Glad to hear it. So I guess we need to start getting this place ready for all of us then. Alex, are you planning to work on patching the wall and kitchen damage?¡± I asked her. ¡°Someone has to. We can¡¯t all freeze to death. Dad, I think I can safely speak for John here as well. We both love you and kind of believe you, but this will take some time to get used to, and eventually, we¡¯re going to need to find out if Mom is even alive,¡± Alex said. I completely understood. Honestly, the entire conversation was going so much better than I had ever expected or had any right for it to go. ¡°That¡¯s all I can ask, and I promise to help find her when we can,¡± I said, meaning it. Laura was once the love of my life, possibly still was, and even if she wasn¡¯t, she was the mother of my children. They deserved a chance to see her again. ¡°Come on, John, let¡¯s go see if we can set the cats up in a bedroom and find something to use for a litter box,¡± Maud said as she stood up. John followed after her. ¡°So what are you going to do then?¡± Alex asked. ¡°First, I¡¯m going to go find the twinogs and see what they found on the orcs. I figured Corey could hang out with you and help with the repair work. It will be good for them to talk to other humans. After that, I need to take a deep dive into all my quests and figure out what I still need to do,¡± I answered. ¡°Okay, after that then I expect you in the kitchen for dinner. John will have made something by then, and you can¡¯t disappoint him again. I know how much you were hurt, I get it, but John was fourteen; this is the only other chance you¡¯re going to get to reconnect with him,¡± she said. I would make sure I was there for dinner. ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll be there,¡± I said. ¡°Thank you,¡± Alex said, standing up and heading off the bus, followed by a floating mallet. ¡°I¡¯m going to stay here and check that everything on the bus is still in good shape, but then again, no one asked,¡± Timon said, sounding upset. I was reasonably sure he was joking, though. I could not actually read him at all, which, considering how bad I was at reading, people normally didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°I will accompany you, Dave, I want to try an experiment if Cecile and Elicec have found what I suspect they have,¡± Sanquar said. That was interesting; what was he up to? ¡°Alright, well, follow me,¡± I said, heading off the bus myself and walking towards where our big fight had been. ¡°Dave, what do you want now that I have changed your life so radically?¡± Sanquar asked as he followed me. What did I want? I thought I wanted a return to a peaceful life, but that likely meant letting the divide with my children settle back in. Plus, there was the fact my body didn¡¯t ache every morning anymore. Hell, I hadn¡¯t even noticed when I stopped wearing my glasses. So what did I want now? I think I wanted to push myself further. I hadn¡¯t felt this kind of drive in a very long time, a thrill for the new and my brain wanting to see just what is over the next change so badly. Yes, I had gotten tired of the dungeons, but there was so much else to explore, and I could even live with a few of those as long as I had time to practice my own craft. Most of all, though, I wanted to build things again. ¡°So much that I don¡¯t know how to easily explain it. When this started, I was running on pure anxiety, day after day, just trying to figure out what was happening and why, but now? I can feel the thrill of it all. There¡¯s just so much potential to learn and so, so much to build. I want to say that it''s been years since I had this many ideas in my head, but I don¡¯t think I ever really have,¡± I answered. Sanquar nodded back, seemingly understanding the nonsense I had just spewed. I needed to pick the brain of the bird soon.
The high judges exist as a way for factions to bring matters to a resolution without a war. Instead they can plead their cases to a panel of judges and have a ruling. While legality can sometimes sway just what the ruling is, what usually matters is the power of the petition relative to the power of the defense. In the Spiral, rarely do those with less power come out ahead. Grom¡¯s Musings Chapter 68: So Many Orbs Sanquar and I found the brothers as they were dropping a bunch of things onto the picnic table next to my garage. Cecile was rapidly pulling things from his storage while Elicec was sorting what he had placed down. Not for the first time, I wondered how easy it was to control their arms so independently. The layout of their nervous system had to be fascinating. ¡°Oh hey! We found a bunch of stuff!¡± Cecile yelled to us. They certainly had. There were several mana orbs, a few weapons, and even an odd gauntlet on the table. The sword that the leader had been using was lying on the ground next to it all. Were any of us sword people? I¡¯d been wanting to move away from more direct combat, though I could consider a dancing sword at some point in the future. Although, if I wanted to keep the no-weapon bonus, how would the System feel about a dancing boxcutter? ¡°We piled the bodies up to burn later, but we scavenged everything useful they had on them. I¡¯d really like to claim the gauntlet unless there are any complaints,¡± Elicec said. I didn¡¯t really have any, but I also had no idea what it was. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked, looking over the different colored mana orbs on the table. There were several I didn¡¯t recognize in a wide variety of colors. The most curious to me, though, were the black and white checkered patterned orbs. There were more of those than there were dead orcs. What was so special about that mana orb? ¡°It¡¯s a socket swap reserve gauntlet. Looks like three slots; that¡¯s a good find,¡± Sanquar said. ¡°So it¡¯s a quick way of swapping mana orbs? Yeah, sounds like something you two could use, no complaints from me,¡± While it wasn¡¯t overly useful for me at this point, or at all useful really since I had all my orbs socketed, there was a strong chance that I¡¯d want one in the future. And looking at the orbs on the table, that future could be within the next few minutes, but they needed it more than I did currently. I already had access to seven orbs and could likely build further tools to house more, assuming I had willing dungeon cores. ¡°Yep, Cecile has been wanting a good way to add a life orb to his retinue for a while, and he¡¯s okay with me using the other two slots. I¡¯m thinking of a body-enhancing orb for one of them, but what I really want is a mana siphon orb for the last. Too bad there isn¡¯t one here. Speaking of, Sanquar, any idea what type the weird color ones are?¡± Elicec asked. ¡°I¡¯m a little surprised you don¡¯t already know this, but those are class cores. Looks like you have twenty-two of them. I¡¯m guessing you found two on the tough one?¡± He asked, looking intently at the orbs. So, classes were orb-based as well? How exactly did that work? Mel hadn¡¯t explained much there, and it wasn¡¯t something I had been aware even existed while we were in the archives. ¡°Yep, he had the gauntlet, too. So we don¡¯t really know anything about class orbs or much about classes at all. How do they work?¡± Cecile asked. Even if those two didn¡¯t know much, they knew far more than I did. ¡°Keep in mind that my knowledge is vastly out of date, so it is possible none of my answers represent the modern way things work in the Spiral. Class orbs contain the features of a single class. Once you socket the class into yourself, you¡¯ll have an option of applying some of your experience towards the class to further evolve it and unlock the various abilities within. Classes tend to grow with the host and can take on different aspects as their power increases. As you saw with the leader, you can use more than one class orb at a time. I recommend against it unless you have a path in the class that offers a class synchronization feature; otherwise, the orbs will work against each other, making each weaker,¡± Sanquar explained. That was interesting. When a class grew with the host, did it fundamentally change or just add more things that worked with the host¡¯s style? ¡°When you say grow, does that mean if I took one of these orbs, as I leveled it up, it would change to fit me better?¡± I asked, very curious about that concept. ¡°Yes and no; a class is a class, so while you can choose to let the orb evolve when you level it up, you can always reject the option and force it to maintain the exact pathway it started with. Many factions don¡¯t, or at least didn¡¯t, allow their rank and file to choose their own classes. They were assigned them and strictly analyzed for any deviation from that pathway,¡± Sanquar answered. That made more sense than a class orb just randomly changing. That likely meant there was some influence from a host''s core trying to push the evolution. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°How do we tell what these classes are?¡± Cecile asked. Yeah, that was a good question. I didn¡¯t want to socket anything unknown just to see what it was. ¡°You don¡¯t unless the bird has some Arena management skills hidden away. We¡¯re likely gonna have to wait on Mel for that piece of knowledge,¡± Timon answered as he sauntered up to us, looking at the table. ¡°Sadly, no, as far as I can remember, that is not something I ever did,¡± Sanquar answered. Well, at least for the mana orbs, I had the skill to identify them. I hadn¡¯t ever tried it and hadn¡¯t really wanted to waste the ranks when Mel was around. Did I want to use them now? ¡°I think I can identify the mana orbs if no one else has the skill, though I¡¯d be glad to save the ranks and let someone else if they can,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s also typically an Arena manager or an adventurer hall skill, not much use in people wasting their ranks in it when they can just hit up a hall. But considering Mel isn¡¯t here yet, and we have zero access to any halls, you might be stuck, Dave,¡± Timon said as he bent over and picked up the sword, giving it a few swings. ¡°Fair, let¡¯s go ahead and sort them by color first, and I¡¯ll see if I can just identify the type without too many ranks, and then if anything sounds super interesting from there, we can go further if needed. Sound good?¡± I asked. Should I be so stingy with my skill points, considering I could reset them when I fortified my core? I wasn¡¯t really sure, but I still didn¡¯t like wasting them. They could be needed in a pinch for something, and that seemed like as good a reason as any to keep some in reserve. We had a dozen body-enhancing orbs, five shield orbs, and three imbuing. Those were the ones I recognized. There were another twenty silvery grey orbs, two orbs with different shades of yellow, one much whiter than the other, two brownish green orbs, and finally, a blood-red orb. I set the ones we could immediately identify aside. ¡°So, which ones do you want me to start with,¡± I asked. ¡°Those are weapon orbs. You can probably skip them for now; they¡¯re all going to be locked into weapons that it¡¯s unlikely you¡¯d want to use anyway,¡± Sanquar said, pointing at the silvery grey orbs. I would want to investigate them later, same as all the other orbs we could ID on sight, but he was right, it seemed like a waste of time at the moment. I doubted we had much interest in clubs, axes, or the big sword. Hadn¡¯t one of them had a bazooka-like weapon? What had happened to that? ¡°Agreed, hey guys, speaking of weapons. Wasn¡¯t there some kind of big projectile-firing thing with one of them?¡± I asked. ¡°We didn¡¯t collect the scrap for it yet. One of my lightning bolts reacted poorly with it,¡± Elicec answered. That explained that. Too bad, I kind of wanted to take it apart. ¡°Ah, well, if no one has any order in mind, blood red it is,¡± I said as I reached for it. I started by bumping my mana orb grading skill up to ten ranks. I now at least had an overlay saying mana orb, type unknown. So that was a start. I slowly increased the ranks until it finally gave me a name at seventeen ranks invested: Anger. ¡°This one is apparently an anger mana orb,¡± I said. I hadn¡¯t read much about the emotional mana orbs. I had mostly focused on what was in my possession at the time, which meant that I didn¡¯t know anything about it beyond what I could infer from the name. ¡°Ah, that would make sense with the level of rage he showed. That¡¯s a dangerous emotional orb to use. It¡¯s a very good way to get yourself killed without realizing you¡¯re overwhelmed, which explains what happened in your battle,¡± Sanquar said. I set the orb down and went through the others one by one. All three of them were environmental orbs. The lighter yellow was a polar desert orb, while the darker of the two was an arid desert orb. The final one was a woodland orb. ¡°I haven¡¯t used any of these myself, or even seen a polar desert orb that I can remember, but it does make some sense that the scouts would have several environmental orbs. I imagine they make traversing strange climates that much easier,¡± Sanquar said. It did make a lot of sense, and I was sure when we identified the class orbs, we¡¯d see many classes relating to scouting as well or would we just see the one? I suppose it depended on how the System listed a combatant. They¡¯d all been called deep scouts other than the boss. Did that mean that was just all the orbs were other than the bosses? ¡°Hey guys, John says he¡¯s managed to get some dinner going if you¡¯re all done discussing your balls. Okay, he may not have said the last part, but you know what I mean,¡± Maud said, appearing from the corner of the house. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re coming,¡± I said, not intending to miss my first dinner with my family in years. I could always check my quests later. ¡°Let¡¯s move all of this into the garage real quick and go grab some food.¡±
An arid desert mana orb is an interesting choice for someone looking for a more advanced mana orb typing. It combined some heat magic, drain magic, and terrain-handling skills into a single orb. These are generally used more often by scouts and rangers, but there are very powerful offensive and defensive applications if utilized in conjunction with a team. The rarity of their use in the Arena means very few are prepared to deal with them. Mana Sources Volume 2 by Henjen Klank Chapter 69: A Nice Dinner The kitchen, while mostly covered now thanks to Alex, wouldn¡¯t have been nearly big enough for all of us, even if it wasn¡¯t still incredibly drafty. So, instead, we all found places in the living room using whatever spare surface I owned. John had dug out some of the shrimp and vegetables from the freezer and made a surprisingly good stir fry. I didn¡¯t expect Sanquar to complain, as I¡¯d fed him many of my leftovers before, not knowing he was intelligent. I was surprised to see both brothers and Timon go for seconds, though. Corey, not interested in the food but having enjoyed working with my daughter, wanted to resume his talks with the other dungeon cores in my System storage. They thought there was some progress in the wasp cores awareness and willingness to interact.. ¡°So, Dad, I¡¯ve been thinking a lot about what you told us while I was doing what I could for the kitchen, and I¡¯ve got some questions now. To start, how did you even manage to handle all of that? I mean no offense, but you aren¡¯t great at socializing in the best of times, and uh, you¡¯re a bit reckless with your own safety, so the fact that you even survived it is almost surprising,¡± she said. I had left out most of the details of the times I got hurt simply because I didn¡¯t stop to think something through. She was right to question my survival instincts. As for socialization, that was something that I had questioned many times myself. ¡°Honestly, I think I was running on anxiety and adrenaline for a while there, and as for socialization, how many people did I really interact with closely? Cecile and Elicec helped me. I met Mel because they invited me to a dungeon, and I met Timon through Mel. I do concede that it is a bit more social than I¡¯ve been in a while, but I used to have a whole social group when I was younger, thank you. So I guess the best answer here is I honestly can¡¯t answer it fully,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I were thrown into another universe by a bird; I think I¡¯d have handled it a lot worse than your dad here. Then again, I also once got stuck in a basement for a couple of days, so I may not be the best at handling difficult situations,¡± Maud added. I almost questioned her but decided not to press that topic for John''s sake. ¡°A lot of how I handled it was focusing on getting strong enough to come back here and make sure you two were okay. It was one of, if not my primary motivation, the whole time,¡± I said entirely truthfully. ¡°So what¡¯s in store for you now? Let¡¯s say Earth is entirely safe soon. What do you do next?¡± John asked. ¡°Good question. I think I want to explore all of this. What kind of weird technology can I build now? It¡¯s one of the few things I¡¯ve felt so passionate about in a long time, so it feels like the right thing to do, and that means I need to push myself as well. But all of that hinges on the idea that the Earth is fine, and until Mel shows up and tells us it is, I¡¯m going to have a hard time trusting in that potential fate,¡± I said, wishing the man would show up already. I knew it was an unrealistic expectation; we had been separated from him for less than a day at this point, and he¡¯d said that he had a lot to do. I just didn¡¯t like waiting for the other shoe to drop. ¡°So, uh, let¡¯s say we wanted in on this, how do we do it? I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s something I want to jump into, but damn, Dad, you look like I remember you as a kid, and I haven¡¯t heard you say anything about your knees today at all,¡± Alex said. I hadn¡¯t even remotely considered that question yet. If they wanted a core for themselves, or at least if Alex did, I didn¡¯t really know how to help. Was it even possible before Earth was truly part of the Spiral? ¡°I don¡¯t know how to form a core normally, and I especially don¡¯t know how to do any of it here. Anyone have any input?¡± I asked the non-humans of the room. ¡°No reason they can¡¯t; just going to need a decent mana flow to really do it. Your pal Chip might be enough, but more than likely, you need the farmer over there to use his hoe for something other than killing,¡± Timon answered. ¡°That¡¯s tomorrow¡¯s plan. Elicec has some reading to do, so I may as well work out the logistics for a good area for a crop of magical plants,¡± Cecile said. Was my house about to become the only possible place to form a core on Earth? I wasn¡¯t sure I liked the sound of that, but that also assumed a lot, like just what would happen to the Earth post-incorporation into the Spiral. ¡°So it¡¯s possibly possible, though? Yes!¡± Maud said, sounding absolutely thrilled with the potential news. At least someone was excited at the idea. ¡°Any other questions for the night?¡± I asked. No one voiced anything, and I saw that most of the plates were empty at this point, which meant sleeping arrangements talk time. ¡°Since it¡¯s getting late, and we should conserve the propane as much as we can, probably best we figure out sleeping arrangements.¡± One of the many ideas in my head was replacing the propane tank with a mana tank. Considering the amount of energy that had to be used to produce the magic we were capable of, it seemed like a basic mana heating system would be pretty easy to keep fueled. I just had to figure out how to build one.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°I¡¯ll be in the bus, got room for a couple more if anyone wants,¡± Timon said as he stood up, looking ready to get out of the room already. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll join you. The backseat folds down and can actually fit us. I¡¯m guessing Dave doesn¡¯t have anything like that in here,¡± Elicec said. I did not. Hell, my bed was only full-sized. ¡°Alright, well, John and Maud can have my room. Alex, the couch folds out if that works for you. I¡¯ve got a cot in the garage that I¡¯ve slept on a few times. Sanquar, considering you usually live outside, I assume you¡¯re fine anywhere?¡± I asked after my explanations. He nodded. The house wasn¡¯t big, but it should hold us all reasonably well. There was my bedroom connected to a bathroom, with a second bathroom off the living room. I had a small study slash library that I used mostly for reading these days and a decently large attic that I had planned to someday turn into a bigger library, but that had never happened. The garage was part garage, part workshop, and that was another thing I kept planning to expand and still hadn¡¯t gotten to. Old age creeps up on you surprisingly fast, and that makes moving lumber from an annoyance into a herculean feat, but now, who knows what I might do. The workshop expansion was calling me. ¡°Thanks, Dad. How cold should we expect it to get?¡± John asked. ¡°Eh, it¡¯s not that much worse than winters with your grandparents. There are extra blankets in the closet if you need them. Your sister will need some of what¡¯s in there, probably. Where did you put the cats anyway?¡± I asked for the first time, noticing they weren¡¯t around. ¡°I found some old boxes, and we set them up with a bit of sawdust in it for now in the bathroom, guess we can move them to the bedroom,¡± John answered. ¡°Yeah, of course, let them sleep with you guys. What are their names?¡± I asked, glad John seemed to be settling in a bit. ¡°Sweater and Gordon,¡± Maud answered. Those were certainly interesting names. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll need to setup a meet and greet time for them with the rest of us at some point if that¡¯s okay? But in the meantime, I¡¯m going to get some sleep. It¡¯s been a long, emotion-packed day,¡± I said, standing up to make my own escape. ¡°Yeah, it has, Dad. Thank you for everything,¡± John said as Alex nodded along. ¡°You don¡¯t ever need to thank me,¡± I said, smiling at them before heading to the garage. Somehow, today had worked out better than I had thought it would. I took the door from the kitchen to the garage, noticing the patchwork Alex had managed on my way. It looked like she had used some of the broken wall and the cabinet itself, along with a bit of my scrap materials, to get it covered. I was honestly just amazed the orc¡¯s axe hadn¡¯t caused a giant leak. Losing the well pump with everyone here would be a whole different kind of nightmare. The cot, blankets, and a pillow were all stored in one of my closets out here. It had been a while since I used it, but I had an independent split heating and cooling unit set up in here, so for the few times things got hot enough to bother me or I was running low on propane and didn¡¯t want to run out overnight I¡¯d bunk up out here. Initially, I had bought it thinking when the kids were out, we might sleep under the stars, but that hadn¡¯t happened. As I lay down in the bed, I checked through my quests and took a look at just what I had unfinished. It had been awhile since I really went over them.
Save U-1.9392912^10e37 Earth-107I2T11
A Series of Tubes
Intermediate Reader
Can You Really Control Six Orbs at Once?
Cheaters Always Win
Unlock 25 Dungeons for the Dungeon Simulation
Defeat 25 Dungeons in the Dungeon Simulator
Find Your Class
The fact that I still had the Save the Earth quest cemented my worries that this wasn¡¯t nearly over yet. There was also the fact that I had no idea what to do with the second quest, and until I found a library, I couldn¡¯t do much about the third, either. As for controlling six orbs, no I could not, but I had a hunch on how I could do that. The next three were just a matter of finding either the exploit or a dungeon. But that last one? It was new. It had no reward listed with it, either. What class did I even want? Something that harmonized with my engineering plans, I guessed, but was that even possible? How far-ranging were classes? With no real answers, I let a few fantasies of weird mixes play out in my head as I drifted off to sleep. A day hadn¡¯t passed for Earth since the last time I had slept here, but it felt like it had been forever for me, and I was glad to be home.
I agreed to accompany my friend Grom on a trip to what he called the darkness beyond chaotic space. He didn¡¯t know what we would find out there, but he was tired of it being one of the few things in the Spiral he had never laid his own eyes on. I wonder if, somewhere deep out there, my home still exists. Is there an Earth somewhere in this chaotic space that I once called home? Ronald Tammen¡¯s Personal Diary Chapter 70: Fan & Shit, a Romance ¡°Dad, you up yet?¡± I heard as my groggy mind came awake. John was standing in front of me carrying two plates of eggs. ¡°I am now, what¡¯s up?¡± I asked, thinking I already knew the answer. ¡°I figured it was long past time for a breakfast together, so I made your favorite and kind of just wanted to talk,¡± he said. I pulled myself out from the blankets and found a couple of chairs and a crate for a makeshift table. ¡°Your cooking is much better than the first time,¡± I said, smiling after eating an egg. It was quite good, even if I had gotten used to my own breakfasts, but just the idea of having eggs in my house again was a nice feeling. ¡°That tends to happen with years of practice, but I need to talk to you about something I haven¡¯t told Alex yet. I don¡¯t think we are going to find Mom. I mean, it¡¯s possible, I guess, but she was at the UN when the attack started, and from what I¡¯ve seen and heard, basically every government or leadership type of installation was the first targeted. I mean, the White House is just gone. There was some footage of that before everything really went down,¡± John explained. Even after all this time, that news felt like a gut punch; Laura was likely dead, and John had been keeping that whole burden to himself. I did my best to push down what I felt. Right now, John needed me to be clear-headed. ¡°It¡¯s okay, we can talk to her together. It is possible your Mom is still alive, but I understand what you¡¯re going through. We can talk to her about it,¡± I said. Now I understood the real thing that had been weighing on him yesterday. It wasn¡¯t just the shock of seeing me. ¡°I really appreciate¨C¡± John started to say before the banging on the garage door started. ¡°Dammit, I know yer in there, Dave; get yer ass here! We don¡¯t got a lot of time.¡± The voice belonged to a perpetually grumpy man I knew and had been waiting for. He had followed through on his promise, and while that removed some of the weight, the new additions of my ex-wife¡¯s likely death more than canceled out that relief. ¡°John, go grab everyone inside. I have a feeling this will be an all-hands-on-deck type of moment,¡± I said as I opened the garage door to my favorite floating cloud man. While I was glad to see Mel, he looked incredibly worried, and that wasn¡¯t a good sign. ¡°I already woke up Timon and the brothers. Now come on, we don¡¯t wanna be inside when they get here,¡± Mel said. Timon and some very groggy-looking Twinogs were standing outside the bus. ¡°When who gets here?¡± I asked, hearing the front door open and spotting the others out of the corner of my eye. ¡°Korl, at the very least, but if any of my schemes worked, might just have a few more incoming visitors,¡± Mel said before turning to my family and eyeing each of them. Was he analyzing them? ¡°Korl is still alive?¡± Sanquar said as he landed next to me. ¡°Who the hell are you, and what the fuck happened to yer core?¡± Mel asked, looking strangely at the bird. ¡°Uh, this is Sanquar, Mel,¡± I said. For the first time I had ever seen, Mel floated backward, away, looking both annoyed and worried. His eyes managed to narrow beyond what I thought he was capable of. ¡°So yer the damn idiot that started this whole mess! Yer lucky Dave met someone capable of untangling all the shit ya caused!¡± Mel said, nearly snarling the words. ¡°I can apologize for saving Dave¡¯s life if you want,¡± Sanquar said. Another first, I hadn¡¯t heard any snark from him before. ¡°No, fine, I get it. Just like this mess, you were suffering from a lack of choices. But yes, Korl¡¯s alive, and he¡¯s got himself a court order involving this world. I don¡¯t know what that order is, but there¡¯s a real chance ain¡¯t no help is coming. If that happens, well, it might be the end. The reason I wanted y¡¯all out here is I need every one of ya to follow my lead, no matter what happens. If it gets to the point I say fight, well, it was great knowing y¡¯all, but ya fight,¡± Mel yelled to the assembled group. What the hell was coming on his heels?Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Are you the weird cloud guy Mel from the story Dave told us last night? That¡¯s so awesome that you¡¯re real. How do you float like that?¡± Maud asked, cutting through the tension. ¡°Ya know what, I like her. Real way of cutting through the bullshit,¡± Mel said, which was possibly the biggest shock of the day so far. ¡°Glad to hear you like someone, Mel. I wasn¡¯t sure you still had it in you after all these years, and Sanquar, it¡¯s been even longer. I¡¯d ask how you¡¯ve been, but I can¡¯t imagine it was great,¡± the figure I recognized as Korl said, walking from the forest towards us. I looked to Mel, who just shook his head at me, which I knew well by now was him telling me to shut up. ¡°Korl, what brings ya to Earth?¡± Mel asked, his voice had shifted. He seemed to be trying to hide any annoyance or anger. I risked a glance back at Timon. The mantis¡¯ eyes were glued to Korl, and his usual smirk had been replaced by what looked like hunger. Did Timon want this fight? ¡°I think you know exactly what I¡¯m here for, Mel. I¡¯ve got a court order to take possession of this planet. We can¡¯t have this soon-to-be incorporated world without a leader, after all,¡± Korl said smugly. ¡°And just what happens to everyone already on this planet when ya take possession of it?¡± Mel asked, a bit of anger seeping back into his voice. ¡°I¡¯m feeling generous, so I¡¯ll give everyone here, except Sanquar over there, one chance to board that bus there and head back to where you came from. From there, make whatever you want of yourselves,¡± Korl said, smiling. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong here, Korl, not much of a legal guy myself, but seeing as how no faction actually ever took this world, wouldn¡¯t that mean that anyone who just happens to be a resident of this here world and is on the System¡¯s path has a right to challenge that there order?¡± Mel said. There was only one person he could mean, and I had no idea how to challenge a legal order within the Spiral. I opened my mouth and immediately shut it before a word could escape at the sudden death glare from Mel. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty archaic concept there. Has that ever actually happened? When was the last time there was even someone with a developed core before Spiral incorporation? And seeing as how I have the court order, I¡¯m not really sure what you intend to do anyway,¡± Korl said. Out of nowhere, a large bubble suddenly appeared in between where Mel and Korl were standing and the bus was parked. Then it looked like reality itself popped for a split second, and the bubble was gone. In its place were what looked like three black bowling balls stacked on top of each other, and standing next to them were Elody and Pryte. ¡°And as you can see, your honor, the paperwork I filed is entirely accurate, yet for some reason, this man is here trying to seize a world that is already possessed by a faction,¡± Elody said. I thought I caught Mel smiling for a fraction of a second as she said this. ¡°Hrm, her paperwork does appear to be in order,¡± the three balls said. I had no idea where their mouth or voice had come from, but they had certainly said it somehow. ¡°Even if that is true, why is a former librarian filing paperwork as though she is their legal representative? As far as I know she has gone back to her former paladin career and does not have a license to practice law,¡± Korl said, sounding just slightly caught off guard for the first time. ¡°Korl is correct, your honor. I do not possess a legal license. I am, though, a member of the Arena team: The More Heads, the Better. Pryte is here willing to testify to that as well as that Dave is fully registered for the Arena within that same team and therefore has the right to allow a member of his team to represent that team in all legal matters, license or not,¡± Elody said. This time, I was sure I saw Mel smile. ¡°She¡¯s got you there, Korl. You sure you want to go up against a paladin of knowledge here? The world¡¯s mana-barren, do you want to take the time needed to change that? And before you say it, even if Sanquar is here, who cares? There isn¡¯t anything he can really do anymore,¡± the three balls said. ¡°I demand to know what faction has taken possession of this world. Considering who I represent, I find it very hard to believe anyone would be willing,¡± Korl said, the anger now rising in his voice. ¡°The Empire of Dave, a newly registered faction. What, ya haven¡¯t heard of them yet, Korl?¡± Mel said, this time not even dropping his smirk after he finished speaking. On the other hand, I just frowned. Had he just said the Empire of Dave? As I opened my mouth to question it, both Elody and Mel glared at me this time. And for the third time since this started, I shut myself up. Had they just made me emperor of Earth? Fuck, I really didn¡¯t want to rule a planet¡­
The birth of the Empire of Dave should, for all rights, just be a simple footnote in some history of the lesser-known factions'' book. There is no reason at all that a faction with zero political power, no resources, not even a mana flow, and only marginally more channelers should have lasted a year, let alone grown to shake the foundations of the Spiral. And yet here we are, ten thousand years past that day, and there isn¡¯t a being alive who doesn¡¯t know of the planet Earth. Systems of Change, A Book Not Yet Written by a Man Not Yet Born. Chapter 71: The Empire of Dave ¡°I demand proof of the faction¡¯s solvency. They may be registered with the Arena, but have they even challenged a single floor? Can they even field a squad, for that matter? I¡¯ve seen Dave¡¯s accomplishments if you can call them that. He''s conquered nothing more than a few dungeons while he was mostly carried by his betters, so tell me, how exactly is this faction solvent?¡± Korl asked, the rage now plain in his voice. I disagreed with my own capabilities; at least past the first dungeon, no one had carried me. Sure, Elicec was emerging as the real combat leader, but I was never going to be good at that anyway. This was entirely beside the point, though. Korl was mostly right, if for the wrong reasons. In no way was I qualified to run a faction. The idea that my house would be the main source of mana for Earth had been bad enough, but this? Dammit, Mel, was this really the only choice? ¡°Hmm, Korl has a point. I¡¯d rather not grant a universe to a faction that is completely incapable. The Spiral doesn¡¯t need that kind of instability. Melhelm, what are the plans for continuity of faction?¡± the three balls asked. Great, so it wasn¡¯t just Earth. It was the entire universe. ¡°Those two over there are. They just happen to be Dave¡¯s kids. The daughter is currently knocked up, so the line of succession is pretty secure,¡± Mel answered. Alex¡¯s eyes went wide when Mel said this, but she managed to stay silent. Was I going to be a grandfather? I tried to sneak an approving smile at my daughter, but she wasn¡¯t looking my way. ¡°And the rest of the offices? Are you planning to pull double duty as an adventurer hall representative and Arena manager?¡± the judge asked. Just how many positions did we have to fill to be a real faction? ¡°I am, but as most of those here haven¡¯t sworn the soul oath, I ain¡¯t gonna risk commenting much there,¡± Mel answered. ¡°Exception granted. If he¡¯s going to be a faction leader anyway, it¡¯s not like that will matter, and I want to hear it all before I render any decision,¡± the judge said. I felt a wave of force pass over me after the words. Had that temporarily disabled Mel¡¯s soul oath? Wait, why didn¡¯t faction leaders have to take one? That was strange. ¡°Thanks. As you know, my record as a manager speaks pretty damn well for itself. While I may have retired, that doesn¡¯t mean I ain¡¯t willing ta return to help some people I consider my friends. And no, we obviously can¡¯t field a full squad. But that ain¡¯t a damned requirement anyway. Hell, Sanquar here famously fought alone most of the time. Cecile, Elicec, Elody, and Dave himself oughtta be plenty until we recruit some new climbers,¡± Mel explained. It seemed like there was no avoiding the Arena now, and somehow, that was much less of an anxiety-inducing thought than being emperor was. ¡°Fine, I can see where the vast majority of offices can be filled with who you have here, but there are two pretty big gaps. How do you plan to manage traffic between the Spiral and here? This world is mana barren, so you aren¡¯t building any kind of door anytime soon, and not even Miss Elody here is capable of being an official Spiral liaison,¡± the judge continued. I thought I knew the answer to at least one of those. Traveler¡¯s offer could easily fulfill the first part. ¡°One of the Travelers has already granted Dave, and by extension his empire, free travel, and is planning to migrate here in a new traveler¡¯s gate once we have all the paperwork done. As for the second, you¡¯re right; we don¡¯t actually have anyone lined up yet. But, hey, Pryte, interested in a change of scenery? I imagine your job is about to get real unfun soon, so why not change up your career a bit?¡± Mel called to the little man next to Elody. ¡°Yes, actually, I would be very interested,¡± Pryte answered, sounding oddly afraid. Had Korl threatened him? What had happened once the paperwork was discovered and they realized Sanquar was here and learned of Pryte¡¯s role in hiding it for as brief a time as he had managed? ¡°Well then, I have my ruling, which will be contingent on one thing, which I will cover after it. I doubt either party will be overly happy with it, so I¡¯m confident it¡¯s the right move. Korl, they do, in fact, have everything needed to form a faction, and while yes, the laws on the matter are archaic, they are still on the books. Dave was able to repel the orc invasion, even going so far as to kill the Singing Blade¡¯s squad leader. He has every right to lead his universe. That said, Melhelm, you need to recognize we cannot have any more chaos than we currently have. Things have grown increasingly tense with how long it has been since the last System expansion, and we don¡¯t need a faction war breaking out trying to claim this new universe. So, The Empire of Dave has one month to climb past the tenth floor of the Arena. Otherwise, the universe goes to Korl,¡± the judge said. Mel¡¯s jaw dropped, and I was sure that wasn¡¯t a good sign.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Zcalria, we need longer than that, please. No one can climb that fast,¡± Mel said pleadingly. ¡°You aren¡¯t getting it, and trust me, Melhelm, it¡¯s for the best. You need to prove just what your faction can do, or the wolves will be on you before the week is out, but as I said, this is still contingent on a single thing. Dave, you haven¡¯t spoken the entire time I¡¯ve been here, despite the fact that you have looked ready to. Is everything Melhelm has said true? Are you really willing to be the head of a faction?¡± Zcalria asked. I was not, but it turned out I was going to be a grandfather, and I was already a father. That meant I had responsibilities to protect my family, and even beyond that, I couldn¡¯t just abandon my friends who had been so willing to follow me back here. ¡°Sorry, my dislike of Korl primarily kept me quiet. Mel understandingly made sure I didn¡¯t put my foot in my mouth there. Do I want to lead the faction? No, not really. I¡¯m going to, though. I can¡¯t run away from responsibility, and this is the hand that was dealt, so I guess I¡¯m the emperor of the Empire of Dave,¡± I said. What choice did I have but to do everything in my power to protect those I cared about? ¡°Good answer. Well, that settles that for now. I¡¯ll see you all in a month. Korl, in the meantime, you are to stay out of this universe,¡± Zcalria said before both he and Korl vanished. ¡°Dammit, dammit, dammit. That was going so damn well too, but y¡¯all just ain¡¯t ready for that quick of a climb. I know Dave can do some insane shit, but there¡¯s just no way,¡± Mel said, sighing loudly and changing color to a dark blue. ¡°Put aside the idea we can¡¯t, as we now have no choice, and I haven¡¯t signed on with a losing faction. The judge was nice enough to leave the soul oath inoperable as far as I can tell, so explain what you¡¯re so worried about, Mel,¡± Elody said. ¡°Look, you can likely carry them all through the first seven floors without much of a hassle. I ain¡¯t worried there. Hell, ya can probably even find and recruit the three more people yer gonna need for the eighth. With a lotta luck, it¡¯s even possible y¡¯all make it through the ninth. The problem is the Tenth. It¡¯s a two-squad duel, and killing is entirely allowed. Whoever we¡¯re up against is definitely gonna get paid to go for a total team kill, and I promise y¡¯all they¡¯ll be fielding a full fifteen people. I don¡¯t know how we get y¡¯all ready to win that fight in time,¡± Mel said, his color going even more blue. ¡°Okay, then we worry about the tenth when we get there. Why do we need to recruit more people?¡± Elody asked. Not to mention, how did we recruit more people? We didn¡¯t exactly have, well, anything to offer. ¡°The first floor is a grand melee. Well, it¡¯s more of a bloodbath, honestly, but a hundred faction squads and just as many free agents are tossed into a constructed city, and hundreds of monsters are let loose. None of the free agents are prepared for it. Almost all of them end up dead by the end. The few that make it through are usually so far in debt to a sponsor they may as well be their slave. The floor ends once only ten squads and/or free agents are still able to fight, and all the monsters are dead. Which means people generally start slaughtering each other, and the faction with the most power will have outfitted their squads so well that the free agents don¡¯t really stand a chance,¡± Mel explained. ¡°Couldn¡¯t they just all band together and instantly win once the monsters were dead?¡± I asked. It seemed like a viable way. ¡°They could, and it¡¯s even happened before. They were all dead by the next day. Those at the bottom do not get to make peace calls for those at the top, and trying to disobey a faction leader is a great way to end up dead, but the good news here is that with all them free agents desperate to get through it alive, there¡¯s likely to be a few you can convince to join up. Oh, and the word free here is a bit of a misnomer. Some of these guys will not be there of their own free will. They just won¡¯t have any squad backing ¡®em,¡± Mel explained. Well, that at least explained how we could get some people. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re the ones that killed Wralf, right? I¡¯m willing to join your squad in exchange for my life!¡± a voice yelled from a figure exiting the woods. Was that an orc?
The first floor of the Arena was originally designed as a way for people to make alliances and learn to form bonds that would teach them how to better defend their own worlds and help promote the diversity of System pathways. Instead, it has long since turned into a way to churn through those unlucky enough not to understand the reality of what the Arena has become. Personal Diary of Sanquar Chapter 72: Rabyn the Orc ¡°Get yer ass over here and drop everything yer carrying, or yer about to be a very dead orc!¡± Mel screamed at the newcomer. It was a good thing he did, as I had already pulled Corey from my storage, and Cecile had his hoe in his hand. Surprisingly, the orc listened, and the moment he was in front of Mel, he undid his belt, dropping a ton of things to the ground, several of which were pots and pans that clattered as they pilled up. I wasn¡¯t even sure how they had all fit on his belt, but I hadn¡¯t been paying enough attention to it before he dropped it. ¡°The only thing still in my storage is food. If you are able to do a penetrative scan, you¡¯re welcome to do it,¡± the orc said. Mel stared intently at the orc for a few seconds, similar to how he had looked at my kids. ¡°Alright, yer clean. Now what the fuck did ya say ya wanted?¡± Mel asked as his color returned to normal. Was anger just the man¡¯s happy state? ¡°I heard what you were all saying from the woods. I was already making my way here after Wralf¡¯s death to pledge myself to whatever faction decided to take this world for themselves,¡± the orc said. What made him think any faction, especially mine, would want him? They had just slaughtered their way across the planet. ¡°Then, as ya just overheard, Earth took itself, so what exact worth do ya think yer ass has to these people after what yer faction just did?¡± Mel asked, his voice growing angrier. Considering I was having a hard time holding my rage in check, I was amazed Mel was. ¡°My offer still stands. I heard what you said: you need Arena fighters. I¡¯ve been there. I¡¯ve even climbed further than Wralf ever did. He died in his pathetically failed attempt to claim a first-floor prize. I¡¯ve already cleared floor nine. So before you decide to kill me, consider that,¡± the orc said. Was that enough to keep him alive? It sure wasn¡¯t doing anything to reduce my urge to kill him. I knew that. ¡°Dammit, what¡¯s yer class. I assume something in support and this is yer play to get a chance outside of the orc factions?¡± Mel asked. ¡°War Chef,¡± the orc answered. So he cooked things for battle? That seemed strange. ¡°Dave, I can¡¯t make the call; it¡¯s yer home, but as much as I may hate it, I strongly suggest we take him on for now, at least. We can always kill him later,¡± Mel said. I already had to make life-or-death decisions? How hard was it to abdicate a faction head position? I sighed and thought for a moment, then finally spoke. ¡°What¡¯s your name, and how many people have you killed on this planet?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t sure if the answer would help me make a decision or not. If we really needed him like Mel said, was there much of a choice? With how worried the man seemed, I didn¡¯t know if I could safely say no to the request. ¡°Rabyn, and personally killed? Zero. But I did supply many of the buffs that allowed for the squadron to decimate your world,¡± Rabyn answered. Before I could make up my mind, Corey sent me a message.
Corey: Dave, do you want me to kill him? Dave: No. Well, I mean, I do want him dead for what he¡¯s done, but right now, we have a bigger problem, and Mel seems to want him alive. Corey: I do not understand. Dave: To be clear here, you and the orc did very different things, but sparing him, at least for now, would be done for the same reason I didn¡¯t destroy you at the time. Sometimes the value of someone or something at a given moment can be greater than the damage they already caused. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s true here, but it¡¯s hard for me to argue with Mel. He¡¯s gotten us this far. Corey: So you believe Rabyn is needed to solidify the foundation of your faction? Dave: I wouldn¡¯t put it exactly that way, but yes, that is what Mel appears to believe. Personally, I¡¯d rather not have a faction, but it seems like it¡¯s too late for that now. Corey: I believe I understand now. Sometimes, there are no good choices, so you are stuck making the best of a bad choice. Dave: Exactly.
¡°I¡¯m going with Mel¡¯s recommendation here. There is no chance beyond this one, though: if you hurt any of my people, that is the end of you. Is that understood?¡± I tried channeling my best dad voice from years past. That was pretty close to how an emperor talked, right? Even if it wasn¡¯t, it was about the best I could do at it for now. I added politics of empires to my list of things I would need to read about begrudgingly. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I accept. I pledge my allegiance to the Empire of Dave,¡± Rabyn said. I shook my head, trying not to laugh at the stupidity of the name and how ludicrous this entire situation was. Was it possible to at least change the name? ¡°Well, as much as I hate it, this does make our lives a tad easier. Speaking of classes, we¡¯re gonna need to handle that. Pryte, I assume yer access to the Spiral is still good?¡± Mel asked, looking at the small man. ¡°It is. Do you want me to go collect Cecile and Elicec¡¯s class orbs?¡± He asked. ¡°I want you to get all three of ¡®em, not just those two. We need to see what their options are and work on synergizing a team ASAP,¡± Mel said. So that was how this worked. The class orbs the Arena provided gave us options to choose from. I assumed that it worked with our cores in some fashion and gave a list. What would my options be? ¡°No can do for Dave. He entered with an insignia. That means Sanquar is supposed to provide that part of this, and unless you have the money, there isn¡¯t any way we can really change that,¡± Pryte answered. I had forgotten about the insignia, the thing that kicked off even more of this mess. ¡°Damn, alright. Did you get the class orbs off the orcs here?¡± Mel asked, turning back toward me. ¡°Yeah, we have twenty-two of them,¡± I answered. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going to go get those identified. Pryte, you get these two their classes. Elody, Cecile, and Elicec go find out just what Rabyn can do. Timon, Sanquar, yer with me, we need to talk about some things. Dave, go spend time with yer family. I may have brought some stuff to light that wasn¡¯t supposed ta come out just yet,¡± Mel said before turning toward the garage and floating inside, likely having spotted the class orbs. As the group parted, I joined my family at the front door. ¡°So, uh, I get to be a grandfather?¡± I said to Alex, who was determinedly staring at the ground. I didn¡¯t think I had been the type of father to make her think this would bother me. Yeah, the world had gone to hell, but having a kid at her age was entirely normal. Hell, the grandkid might have been the biggest deciding factor in accepting that I was stuck as head of an empire. ¡°Yeah, it looks that way. I didn¡¯t really know how to tell you or anyone, for that matter. Kyle was a bit of an asshole, and we just didn¡¯t mesh, and I didn¡¯t realize I was pregnant until after the breakup. Then the world went to hell, so I guess I don¡¯t really need to worry about telling him,¡± Alex said with tears in her eyes. I hugged her tightly. ¡°We¡¯ll figure this out. That kid is third in line to rule an empire, after all,¡± I said, trying to lighten the mood with a terrible joke and considering the nervous laughter through her tears, it had worked. ¡°Dad¡¯s right because I sure as hell don¡¯t want to be an emperor,¡± John added. Alex¡¯s laughter got a little louder. ¡°Can I be an emperor? Wait, is it empress if it¡¯s a woman? If I¡¯m empress, can I just demand to be called emperor?¡± Maud asked, trailing off and talking to herself. ¡°How far along are you? We¡¯re going to need to find you a doctor somehow, and I have no idea how we are going to do that in the immediate time frame,¡± I said, suddenly realizing the real issue. She needed to be under the care of an OB-GYN. ¡°Two months, and I¡¯ve got some pre-natal vitamins in my bag. The baby was healthy during the last checkup, so we might be safe for now, but yeah, that was one of my big worries, too. I do not want to deliver naturally,¡± Alex said. I wondered if my remote telemetry could pick up the pregnancy. I switched over to the life orb and scanned Alex. Yep, I was able to see she was currently carrying a fetus, and her own health was in acceptable, if not perfect, parameters. I¡¯d have to play with the mana skills on the orb later and see if I couldn¡¯t find a way to get data on the baby as well. ¡°Well, the good news is I can use some of my magic from my life orb to give you a quick medical check-up, and it¡¯s reporting back that you¡¯re healthy. I can¡¯t seem to do it for the baby yet, though,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll take what I can get. God, it¡¯s been a weird day. Did you really just become the leader of an empire?¡± Alex asked, her tears mostly gone. ¡°Sadly, it looks that way. I suspect Mel has been plotting this for a while. I¡¯m not overly happy about it, but it may really have been the only way to potentially save the planet,¡± I said, still extraordinarily annoyed at the whole situation. ¡°And that orc, are we really stuck with him?¡± John asked. ¡°For now, I don¡¯t know about long-term. Until I really understand what the Arena is like, I can¡¯t say anything long-term. Are you three okay if I go find Mel? I need to discuss something with him,¡± I said. That thing specifically was every detail I could get out of him on the Arena. I refused to go into it blind. ¡°Yeah, go, I¡¯ll get some dinner started. I think Maud is dying to talk Alex¡¯s head off about potential baby names, so that should keep them busy, too,¡± John said, patting his girlfriend on the back as he did. I nodded and headed for the garage. Another thing I wanted to know was why Timon was the only one willing to stare at Korl like he was ready to murder him. ¡°Dave, think fast,¡± Timon said the moment I spotted them in the garage. The words were followed by one of the class orbs flying at my face. Somehow, I managed to grab it before it broke my nose. I opened my mouth about to complain when a new option appeared in my vision.
Would you like to overwrite the class orb?
One of the main functions of a liaison to the Spiral is to handle the faction¡¯s business, licensing, and documentation. As factions grow, the office of the liaison will need to grow with them. It¡¯s usually a thankless job, but all factions are required to have one. Due to how much they are privy to, many a liaison has wound up dead after an attempt to sell faction secrets has backfired. System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp Chapter 73: Showing Some Class ¡°Dammit, Timon, I said we were going to discuss it with him, not just throw him into the deep end! I¡¯ve done that enough ta him already,¡± Mel said at the same time I got the new message. ¡°You do that, and Dave¡¯s just going to get stuck in his own head for too long. The man already overthinks everything,¡± Timon said back. ¡°You know I can still hear both of you, right? Why do I have an option to overwrite the class orb? I assume that isn¡¯t the normal thing that happens when someone holds a class orb,¡± I asked, annoyed that I had even more strangeness to deal with. Did it never end? ¡°So they just filled me in on your core affinity, and we all suspected something like that might happen. There is a good chance this is even further my fault than I initially realized, Dave. I don¡¯t remember everything that happened. When my core was shattered into the state it¡¯s currently in, it had a cascading effect into my brain. I have no idea how long I spent in this universe, essentially catatonic, before something caused my soul-core reaction to reignite ever so slightly. It was just enough to slowly bring me to the state I am now in over a very long time. So, understand that I do not remember nearly enough to tell you anything in full, but from what I do remember and understand, the System and I were friends. I don¡¯t know how it happened or why, and from what these two have told me, the idea of anyone being friends with the System isn¡¯t a thing. Sometimes the System does seem to play favorites, but actual friends is apparently a very different matter,¡± Sanquar explained. I thought I was finally beginning to understand why the System had taken such a strange interest in me. ¡°And because you sent me to the Spiral with your insignia, the moment I was registered in the Arena and entered the System¡¯s path, something triggered in its processing somewhere connected to you, and I became a special project. Well, at least that finally explains a lot,¡± I said. It didn¡¯t really explain much beyond the System¡¯s interest in me. Hell, it didn¡¯t even touch on the core experiments. Had those just been chosen because my knowledge base meshed best with them? Were there millions of potential unexplored paths out there that I could have ended on if I had had a different background? I had no idea, and we now had the giant mystery of how Sanquar had been tied to the System and just how much freewill the System even had of its own to add to our growing pile of questions. I was starting to get pretty tired of the mysteries at this point, too. ¡°So I ain¡¯t met many of the people the System has favored; they don¡¯t usually make it far. The factions don¡¯t want that kind of person running around. But sometimes, and possibly more than sometimes, yer type gets a special class. Now, I don¡¯t think ya have to take it. You can just pick a regular old class if you want, but I do think it¡¯s in yer best interest to give whatever it offers a try, especially considering we ain¡¯t gonna have time to find something better before the Arena,¡± Mel said. He had a point. I could always just change the class later if I didn¡¯t like it. The System had been pretty nice to me so far, and I was between a rock and a hard place now anyway, so what was the harm in another experiment? ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to overwrite the orb and see what happens,¡± I said, as I confirmed that, yes, I did want to do that in the menu. My vision went a little weird, and things suddenly felt similar to when I was doing my core fortification. Class Orb Wipe In Progress, Please Wait¡­ Wipe Sucessful, Uploading Core Information, Please Wait¡­ Analyzing¡­ Analyzing¡­ Analyzing¡­ Analyzing¡­ Analyzing¡­ Data Analysis Complete, Class Orb Overwrite In Progress, Please Wait¡­ Class Orb Restructured Class Orb: Core Architect Socketed I felt something new inside of my core, similar to a mana orb, but slightly more energy-dense, maybe? The class orb seemed to sit in between my core and the mana circuitry that connected to all the sockets. I didn¡¯t know if that was a lucky coincidence or just the way it worked for normal sockets as well. I opened my eyes and for yet another moment of my life, was greeted by several pairs of eyes staring back at me intently. I was not a fan of the experience the first time, and I still wasn¡¯t now. ¡°It worked, I think, I have a Core Architect class orb socketed now,¡± I said, feeling Mel begin his own scan of my body the moment I had said it worked. ¡°Yer sure it says Core Architect?¡± Mel asked. I pulled up my interface and saw a new menu for class. I selected it, and sure enough, it confirmed that the class orb was a Core Architect one. ¡°Yep, just double-checked, and it says Core Architect. Why? Do I have some legendary, forbidden class now, too?¡± I asked sarcastically. ¡°No idea, can¡¯t read that class at all on ya. You just keep coming up as Deep Scout, specialized marsh. Which is what the orb was before ya touched it,¡± Mel answered. ¡°Huh, that seems weird. I guess I can go check what options I have, and throw some experience in it. With the simulator, I can probably beef it up a little, at least,¡± I said. ¡°Go for it, though keep in mind that if that thing is unique, it¡¯s gonna be a bitch to change anything ya pick, so be sure with your selections,¡± Mel said. While I didn¡¯t know how to even change selections in a normal orb, I understood his point nonetheless.
Core Architect
Path of the Dungeon Path of the Mana Weave Path of the Soul
Experience Required Experience Required Experience Required
0/1,000,000 0/1,000,000 0/1,000,000
Each of the entries, including the Core Architect itself, were selectable, so I started at the top.
The Core Architect class is a versatile class that allows the host to deepen their understanding of the underlying forces that guide existence and, through that understanding, begin to modify themselves and the world around them.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
I wasn¡¯t sure how to judge that blurb of information. That could be anyone who works in any experimental engineering or physics type of profession. Hell, it almost certainly described the engineers working with any particle accelerator. I read the description for each of the paths next.
Path of the Dungeon works to unlock the mysteries behind dungeons and the intelligence that shapes them.
Path of the Mana Weave seeks to better understand the flow of mana across all things and, through this knowledge, allows the user to manipulate those fundamental energy connections.
Path of the Soul is a journey of inner reflection. To truly understand a soul is to take control of the soul-core reaction itself.
Nothing implied choosing a path would lock out the others, but just to be sure, I canceled out of the menus and told the others my options so far. ¡°Anything that locks you into an option and removes others always alerts you. I probably shouldn¡¯t say always, but I ain¡¯t ever seen otherwise,¡± Mel said. Timon nodded in agreement. I assume Sanquar stayed quiet due to his memory issues. ¡°So you think I¡¯m safe to just unlock each path?¡± I asked, not sure why I was being so cautious now. Had the earlier warning of how difficult it would be to change anything in the class gotten to me? ¡°Yeah, go play around,¡± Timon answered. I pulled the menu back up and unlocked Path of the Dungeon. The feeling of the experience leaving me and flowing into the class socket and then the orb itself greatly reminded me of my fortification again, but not quite as extreme. There were options below it now, but before I selected anything I instead tried unlocking the other two. I had the same feeling for each, but no problem at all investing the experience. It seemed I very much was allowed to have all three paths. I selected Path of the Dungeon and a whole new tree of options appeared below it, but only the first three options were entirely visible to me. I could only see shadowy branching paths beyond them, with lines going in tons of different directions, almost like a mana orb, but with far more connections. Plus, I wasn¡¯t able to see all the branching pathways on mana orbs from the start. I looked at the options that I was able to see.
Path of the Dungeon
In choosing this path you have decided to advance your knowledge in all aspects of dungeons, from the beings that live within them, the shapes and forms they may take, all the way to the reasons for their existence. Be wary, as knowledge gained is rarely lost.
Sapience Environment Authority
Experience Required Experience Required Experience Required
0/10,000,000 0/10,000,000 0/10,000,000
Other Requirement Other Requirement Other Requirement
Dungeon Cores: 4/5 Dungeons Explored: 9/5 Linked Cores: 1/1
Well, this seemed amazingly promising and tied very strongly to some of what I was already working toward. I checked the other two as well before proceeding any further.
Path of the Mana Weave
Unlocking the secrets of the Mana Weave Path is to understand magic on a deeper level. Archmagic, the true mastery of the Mana Weave, can only be grasped at the highest level, but what hidden dangers await those on the path?
Types Channeling Archmagic
Experience Required Experience Required Experience Required
0/10,000,000 0/10,000,000 0/10,000,000
Other Requirement Other Requirement Other Requirement
Mana Orbs: 5/5 Synergies Discovered: 0/5 Mana Orb Evolutions: 0/1
I wasn¡¯t sure what to make of this path. It was certainly interesting, but I wasn¡¯t even sure what a mana orb evolution was.
Path of the Soul
The mysteries of the soul are those for one on the Path of the Soul to unlock. As the keys are discovered, so too will the soul be strengthened. As the infernos of the soul flame grow, what happens to the shell containing it? Can the reaction be sustained?
Projection Fortitude Soulfire
Experience Required Experience Required Experience Required
0/10,000,000 0/10,000,000 0/10,000,000
Other Requirement Other Requirement Other Requirement
Soul Separations: 1/5 Soul Intrusions: 1/5 Ignitions: 0/1
I wasn¡¯t touching that path until much later. The description unnerved me, not to mention it was the one I had met the least requirements for by far. I moved back to Path of the Dungeon. I did have plenty of experience to waste after all, and Mel wanted us as strong as we could get.
All classes are unique, or at least they should be. Every single class orb works best when evolved alongside the core of the host. The problem is that the factions want easily trained shock troops, and rarely are those at the bottom of the factions allowed to guide their own growth in any meaningful way. This is the sad reality of the current state of the Spiral. Classes Volume 1 by Zolinjar Chapter 74: Path of the Dungeon I started by unlocking authority, which gave me another three options coming down from it. I zoomed out quickly, just to check if it was always three new abilities from each one. It was not. There were several shadowy paths that seemed to just be a single ability chain of one after the other, and some seemed to require multiple different abilities just to get to a single one. Going back to authority, I looked at my three choices.
Authority
Core Interlinkage
Each Core Interlinkage unlocked allows for a deepening bond with a dungeon core, allowing for experience to be directly invested into a willing core itself. This feature may be unlocked multiple times. Each application will be applied to a new dungeon core at an increased level cost.
Levels Required Unlocked Count
0/1 0
So, I had moved past just experience into the actual levels required for investing. I could already see an easy-to-abuse trick for this, considering experience requirements scaled only as I leveled up. So investing the first one hundred or so levels over and over would be simple. However, that did assume my level would reduce. It was possible that I just lost the benefits of the level and not the level itself. If that were the case, how would that work during a core fortification? What would happen if I gave my experience directly to Corey? I was strongly leaning toward that as the first choice, but I had two more to check before making that final call.
Authority
Dungeon Authority
Dungeon Authority allows the host to use their presence to directly influence their interactions with dungeon cores.
Levels Required
0/100
That wasn¡¯t an attribute I had really touched, but I had a feeling it would let me attempt to reach out to the cores diplomatically instead of being forced to fight them. That was something I liked the idea of. The continued smashing my way through dungeons just wasn¡¯t me. It had been fun at first, and truth be told, I had lost myself a bit in some of the exhilaration after healing my body, but the thrill had quickly dissipated. If this allowed me to end a threat of a dungeon without being forced to kill a core that may not even understand what it was doing, it was a path worth pursuing.
Authority
Core Reservoir
Core Reservoir allows for the host to establish a reservoir of their own core energy within a willing dungeon core, allowing for the core to continue to function independently without the host as long as the reservoir lasts.
Levels Required
0/200
This had strong possibilities as well. With a life orb, Corey could keep healing me even if I went down. Despite the large potential loss of levels and the drawbacks that came with it, I could see some extreme benefits to this one, but I had people to talk to again before making any further choices, and this time, those people included Corey. I exited out of the menu and looked at the three men clearly waiting for what I had decided to do. ¡°I unlocked each of the paths, but I have a few questions. So the class orb doesn¡¯t reset upon fortification, correct?¡± I asked. Mel nodded, confirming what I thought. ¡°Okay, so then what happens with invested levels themselves? Because if I¡¯m able to just earn those back immediately without fortifying my core, this seems pretty powerful.¡± ¡°Yeah, that is a common loophole people exploit when they can, but, remember, most people don¡¯t have the sorta access to something like yer simulator. The heads of the factions, the wealthy, and the connected generally all have access to something similar, but the vast majority don¡¯t. This doesn¡¯t put you above any of the big guns; it just gives you a chance to catch ¡®em,¡± Mel said. He had a point. There was always still a matter of time. Yes, I could easily get a hundred levels, but I couldn¡¯t do it in a single run without risking a backlash, and as these requirements got higher, the time sink would increase. And currently, we were running on a clock, so it looked like no giant investments for me just yet. ¡°How many levels do you think it¡¯s safe to invest then?¡± I asked. This entirely depended on how quickly we were off to the Arena, so I needed Mel¡¯s answer. ¡°As few as you can for the quickest power boost. Initially, I was going to have y¡¯all go slow and see what kind of gains ya could make floor by floor. But truth be told, that orc changed my plans for the better. I¡¯d have understood if you¡¯d¡¯a killed ¡®em, hell I might¡¯ve myself in yer situation, but I¡¯m glad ya didn¡¯t. The new plan is a blitz. As soon as those boys get their classes, yer doing the first seven levels immediately. We¡¯ll try to knock them out in a single day. Then, we¡¯ll take a little bit of time off to get the new recruits that ya¡¯ll¡¯ll find up to speed, and when I say will find, I mean that it is absolutely critical that ya get at least two of them. Then down will go floors eight and nine. From there, yer gonna spend every waking minute pushing yourselves for floor ten. I¡¯m gonna train yer asses so much yer gonna want me dead,¡± Mel explained. He didn¡¯t sound nearly as worried as he had earlier today. Had Rabyn changed the picture that much? ¡°Got it, okay, I¡¯m going to grab a seat, talk to Corey and explore all these options, that work for you?¡± I asked. Mel nodded his approval, so I pulled up the chat window.
Dave: Hey, so I¡¯ve got a class that lets me boost you up, not entirely sure how it will work, but I¡¯m going to try to give you some experience directly shortly if you¡¯re okay with that? Corey: I am. I wonder what that will cause in me.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Dave: Well, we will soon find out. Corey: Good.
I took that as complete approval by Corey, went back into the class menu, and invested a level into core interlinkage. I felt the level itself drain from me, now glad I never used all my attribute and skill points, as I could see that quickly becoming an issue with randomly losing access like I did during modified simulation runs. That thought keyed me onto another way to cheat for the simulations that I made a note of. If I was already at level one, what difference did it make if I dropped my levels lower in any way? Getting my mind back onto the current track, I saw the lines that were now lit up from the class ability, but before exploring those, I needed to see how exactly I could invest experience into him. On a hunch, I backed out to the core menu and found a new option for linked cores. I probably should have checked how permanent this link was, but there was no going back now.
Linked Dungeon Core Corey
Level 0/10
Experience Invested Locked Locked
0/1E+10 Locked Locked
I quickly invested the experience needed for that first level and watched the level increase to one out of ten as well as the exponent in the listed scientific notation increase to eleven. Corey sent me a message before I could send them one.
Corey: Dave, I appear to have gained a level. I was not aware dungeon cores could do that directly. Dave: What do you mean? Corey: The creatures we can inhabit are able to gain levels, but they do not stay with us if we are separated from them. In this case, I have gained the level directly. I do not know what it means exactly, as nothing appears to have changed. Dave: Do you have any menus or anything you can sense? I gained access to my own stat sheet when I hit level one. Corey: Not that I can tell. Dave: Well, there are further things listed as ¡®locked¡¯ on your entry as a linked core with me. I may need to unlock them to give you things you can do with your levels. Corey: Understood.
Going back in, I checked each of the lines quickly and found they all correspond to an attribute category.
Authority
Linked Senses
Linked Senses allow for linked dungeon cores to begin to develop their own external awareness through the bond shared with their linked partner.
Levels Required 0/10
Authority
Linked Actions
Linked Actions allow for linked dungeon cores to further learn to act on their own.
Levels Required 0/25
Authority
Linked Reactions
Linked Reactions allow for linked dungeon cores to better defend themselves from intrusions upon their own being.
Levels Required 0/50
Authority
Linked Interactions
Linked Interactions allow for linked dungeon cores to better grasp their own place in the world and learn to influence the world around them.
Levels Required 0/100
Authority
Linked Soul
Linked Soul allows for linked dungeon cores to begin the process of coalescing the rudimentary forces within themselves into their own true soul by tapping into the soul-core reaction of their linked partner.
Levels Required 0/10000
Authority
Linked Luck
Linked Luck allows for linked dungeon cores to interact with the conceptual concept of luck.
Levels Required 0/100000
It wasn¡¯t lost on me that the attribute category of core was missing, but I had a feeling it was either that linked soul was required to be unlocked beforehand or that the nature of the dungeon core itself didn¡¯t allow for the formation of a core beyond what it already existed as. Considering how many levels that linked soul required, I wasn¡¯t sure we¡¯d get to test that anytime soon anyway. I was willing to drop the ten levels for senses, though, mostly because I wanted to see if that caused Corey to get his own attribute point pool. So I quickly spent the levels and then pushed its level to five. The other fields remained locked, but I did get a new message from them.
War Chef is a class specialized in boosting their allies while retaining some ability to fight as well, usually specializing in either knives or other non-traditional weapons. Rarely a third function is added to their retinue, a way to poison others. As it¡¯s generally hard to get an enemy combatant to consume anything given to them in the heat of battle, rarely do you see these types in Arena climbing. Classes Volume 1 by Zolinjar Chapter 75: Growing Awareness
Corey: Dave, whatever you did, I now have access to an attribute menu, and I have five points available to spend in several categories. Dave: Good, I was hoping that would happen. What categories do you have? Corey: Generalized Mechanosensory, Visual, Auditory, Manareception, Corereception, and Soulreception. Dave: Okay, what did they each start at? Corey: The first three started at 1. The second three started at 3. Dave: Interesting. I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re terms for sensing those energy types, and we know you can do that already, so that would make sense. I wonder how your auditory and visual senses work. I know you likely can¡¯t explain it, but it¡¯s an interesting thought experiment. We should ask Elody what she knows about core senses when there¡¯s some time. Corey: What should I do with the five points? Dave: I can¡¯t tell you that. This is your advancement. You get to make your own choices as to how you do that, and we¡¯ll find a way to work together however you choose to advance. Corey: I think I would like to be able to sense mana pools better. This may allow me to better understand yours, as well as sense our enemies'' pools in the future. I can see a large tactical advantage in investing there. Dave: As long as that¡¯s what you want to do, not just what you feel you have to do, go for it. Corey: I will. Thank you, Dave. Dave: How¡¯d it go? Corey: At the moment I can only sense your own mana, but I assume that is because I am within your System storage. One moment. Corey: Yes, after leaving and entering the garage with the others, I can now sense all your mana pools. Sanquar¡¯s seems quite strange, though. Dave: Yes, it¡¯s because I believe it was damaged. Alright, well, I¡¯m glad this worked, feel free to explore the bounds of it. I¡¯m going to talk to some people about some other information I want. Corey: Understood.
¡°Good news, Corey can now level up. They can¡¯t act fully independent of me yet, but they¡¯re capable of gaining their own levels and attribute points when I invest in the linked class abilities,¡± I said to the three men in the garage as Corey floated out the open door. ¡°Let¡¯s add that to the list of shit ya don¡¯t tell people. To be clear, I don¡¯t actually know if it¡¯s a problem, but everyone who uses dungeon cores keeps a tight lid on how they¡¯re doing it,¡± Mel said. I wasn¡¯t surprised about that. With what he had told me about the general public¡¯s reaction to dungeon cores, it made sense that it was best to limit letting others know of your own connections to them. ¡°Yeah, I figured you might say that. So, I¡¯m down eleven levels. Nothing critical lost with the drop,¡± I explained. Mel nodded along, seemingly unbothered by my level of loss. ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve made up a decently sized lunch for everyone and I think we all need to have a big talk about what happened this morning,¡± John said as he opened the door to the garage from the kitchen. ¡°Yeah, and what d¡¯we need to talk about?¡± Mel said gruffly before I had a chance to speak. That would need to stop. He could be as much of a dick as he wanted to, to me, but not my kids. ¡°For starters? Resource management, not to mention living space. You just founded an empire while we were already a little short on food supplies. So now we need to solve that problem. So next time, be a little less of a jackass before asking questions. I expect everyone inside within ten minutes,¡± John said, slamming the door behind him. Mel looked slightly deflated after that dressing down. I was glad to see John able to handle that himself.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°You heard the man. Mel, could you go find the others? And Timon, I¡¯ve got some folding chairs buried over behind you; wanna help me get those inside as well?¡± I said, phrasing my questions more as orders. Neither man said anything, but both did as I asked. Good to know there were some upsides to being an emperor. Ten minutes later, we were all gathered in an even more cramped living room than we had the day before. The only new resident that was missing was Pryte, as he was still away doing whatever it was he needed to get the class orbs. John had managed to make enough sandwiches to feed us all, which was probably a good choice as I wasn¡¯t sure how long my bread would be good for anyway. While we were eating I noticed Timon was keeping his eyes on Rabyn pretty strongly. I was starting to question if the mantis was really only a pilot. He always seemed to be paying attention, even when you didn¡¯t notice. ¡°Alright, we need to talk logistics. I¡¯ve done the math on the food Dad has in storage, and I wasn¡¯t sure it would last more than a month before. Now I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t. Right now the world isn¡¯t in any shape that we can easily just go shopping, so we¡¯re going to need to handle that before anything else,¡± John said after he had finished his food. ¡°Timon, what do we have on the bus?¡± Mel asked. ¡°We can probably double what¡¯s in the house, but I¡¯m guessing John didn¡¯t take into account the added caloric needs of our fighters here. You and me can skip out on the extra food, but they¡¯re gonna need it pretty badly,¡± Timon said. He was right. I hadn¡¯t mentioned that at all to John. He had no way of knowing that I needed extra food to replenish my core energy, damn. ¡°Rabyn, how much are you storing?¡± Mel asked the orc next. ¡°Much more than that, but if we start depleting my larder, it will severely hurt our climbing capabilities,¡± he answered. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d rather not do that either if we have any other choice. How¡¯s the hunting around here?¡± Mel asked. ¡°Probably pretty good. I was never a big hunter myself, but we do have moose, and those are some of the bigger animals on the planet that hunters go after, tons of meat,¡± I answered. Hunting was likely trivial with my abilities, but we¡¯d still need to butcher and store the meat. That wasn¡¯t a thing I knew anything about. We did have Rabyn now, though, so he might know something. I wasn¡¯t sure if John knew much about game meat, but he was also a strong possibility. ¡°Alright, then what we¡¯re gonna do is load up as much shit as we can during our free time at the Arena. Plenty of food there, so if we all fill up our storage every time we can, that should add a ton to our stock here. Let¡¯s keep hunting as the second option and only dip into Rabyn if we ain¡¯t got any other choices left. Cecile, how soon can you get a farm going?¡± Mel asked one-half of the twinogs. ¡°Already started; I mapped out a clear patch last night. I¡¯m hoping one of my class options speeds this all up. Otherwise, we¡¯re looking at at least four months for the first crop. The ground has no mana at all, so I¡¯ve gotta slowly build that up first,¡± he answered. I assumed that had to do with the fact Earth was mana-barren. ¡°That¡¯s actually faster than I thought. Does this sound viable, John?¡± Mel asked, surprisingly respectfully this time. ¡°Yeah, I think we can work with that, but we need better sleeping arrangements too. Yes, we can all fit in the house and bus, but not comfortably, and if I understand what happened this morning, that means we need to figure out how to handle living together long-term. So we are going to need more buildings,¡± John said. I had already started considering that. I wanted my own independent workshop as well, and we would need something for indoor training, as well as a library. I very much intended to start collecting as many Spiral books as we could safely have here. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s gonna be something else we have to handle. If we can manage to make do with the space we have now, I think we should have enough that we can trade for some basic building supplies once we get the traveler¡¯s gate here, maybe even lure in a carpenter if we¡¯re lucky. Also, I think John has elected himself quartermaster for the Empire of Dave, and considering none of the rest of us even thought about these issues, he¡¯s the only one apparently qualified for it,¡± Mel said. ¡°Motion passed,¡± I said, smiling at my son, who sighed loudly but didn¡¯t voice any complaints, possibly because he had none or, much more likely, because Maud¡¯s laughter had drowned out any feasible attempt. ¡°So something that¡¯s been bugging me since this started, why do we have to fight in the Arena exactly? Why is that a requirement of having a faction?¡± I asked. I knew the judge had mentioned showing our strength, but it seemed like we would have to field a squad eventually, no matter what. But why did we have to? ¡°New factions aren¡¯t required to field an Arena squad unless they have holdings. This new empire started off by holding this planet and will likely hold the universe should we complete the judge¡¯s demands. There are a lot of differing historical claims as to why this is required, so I can¡¯t give you an exact reason for it. I also don¡¯t know exactly how the scoring system works,¡± Elody said, speaking up first. ¡°Yeah, well, I can explain that part at least. She¡¯s right on the history being lost to the ages unless Sanquar knows something, but it was likely long lost by that point, too,¡± Mel said.
The majesties of the worlds in the place the Spiral labeled chaotic space is something I find hard to describe in these diaries. Grom was right to convince me to join him on this journey. There are so many uncontacted universes across the wildways, but beyond that there are even those that know of the Spiral and choose to remain apart. I wonder how much of the lost knowledge of the Spiral has been retained in some secret hidden corner of a maelstrom. The mind boggles at the immensities of what I have seen. Personal Diary of Ronald Tammen Chapter 76: Rules & Registration, Terms and Conditions Apply ¡°So basically, factions with planetary-level holdings need to keep climbing in the Arena, or they risk losing rank, being dissolved, and their holdings being liquidated. As a faction squad climbs, it gets a ranking based on floors cleared, time to clear those floors, performance within the floors, etc. Basically, if they can find a way to measure it, yer gonna get it added into yer ranking. Now, here¡¯s where the problem comes in. That ranking it¡¯s attached to yer highest floor achieved. Well, those scores deteriorate. The longer it takes ya to clear the next one, the faster they start to drop. That means if ya ain¡¯t climbing fast enough, ya start to go backward, and with that comes giant penalties to yer ranking, making ya fall even faster,¡± Mel explained. Great, so I was going to be stuck playing Arena games well past our initial ten levels then since we weren¡¯t likely able to recruit a full squad anytime soon. ¡°Can you climb back up after being knocked down?¡± I asked. ¡°Ya can, but it ain¡¯t that easy. Ya won¡¯t be going up against the same squads ya did before. Yer now in the falling brackets, along with other squads in their descent, and ta make it even worse, the bigger factions can field multiple squads. So they often keep what¡¯s called a drop squad for the sole purpose of wiping out any up-and-coming faction they think may be an issue or just don¡¯t like. Normally, as ya climb, ya won¡¯t get paired against anyone that much outta yer league, but that won¡¯t be true for climbing back up. If someone fell from the hundredth floor back to the ninth and yer climbing back up to the ninth from the tenth, you can and will go against them. The good news is that this ain¡¯t really our problem to worry about at all now,¡± Mel said. I really didn¡¯t understand the purpose of any of this. I know they had said it was lost to time, but why kill so many of their strongest channelers like this? Or was that exactly the point? Had the system been set up to make it that much harder for prodigies to come along and rock the boat? That was something to strongly consider with the maelstrom we seemed to be stuck in. ¡°Let¡¯s say we manage to pull this off, clear floor ten, and really establish the terribly named Empire of Dave. Then what? How often do we have to keep climbing?¡± I asked, hoping it wasn¡¯t that often. ¡°Too many factors to say, but there¡¯s likely gonna be times y¡¯all want to climb fast for certain prizes. For the most part, I doubt yer gonna be forced to do more than ten levels a year, and even that is more than most factions do. There ain¡¯t really any factions of our size to compare with, though. Now, if yer asking what we¡¯re gonna do outside the Arena, well, that¡¯s a good question. I vote we table that discussion ¡®til it¡¯s relevant, though,¡± Mel said. ¡°Fine, but one more question I need answered. Elody, What made you want to sign up with us? Why risk your life like this?¡± I asked. While I had been glad to see her and have her legal knowledge on our side, I really didn¡¯t understand why she would risk her freedom for our essentially worthless faction. ¡°I¡¯m honestly unsure if I can give you an answer you would find entirely satisfactory. There are so many facets of the Spiral you¡¯ve never experienced or likely even fully heard of, adding to the difficulty in answering your question; I¡¯ll try, though. There are a multitude of events that pushed me in this direction. One of the most profound and most recent events was being forced out of my position as master librarian,¡± Elody said, starting her explanation before I interrupted. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that happened,¡± I felt partially responsible, even if I knew logically that it wasn¡¯t my fault or that there was anything I could have done to change the outcome. ¡°I appreciate the sentiment, which is partially why I chose to join this new faction when Mel reached out to me for assistance. As for another reason, let me propose a situation to you,¡± Elody said. ¡°Go for it,¡± I said, wondering what hypothetical she was about to hit me with. ¡°This is a two-part proposal, so please listen to both questions before answering me. I have a rather large personal library, and while it isn¡¯t nearly the size of the Archives of Gortrin, It does include books I would never have risked shelving there due to situations that you yourself have witnessed. I wish to establish, initially privately, a library here. I assume you can already see the benefits of growing our strength potentially by utilizing that knowledge. So, will you support me in seeking out sources of information as I learn clues to their whereabouts in order to add them to the faction library? Furthermore, I do not like the idea of a private library, so once we have the power to defend it, will you be willing to support me in turning the library public?¡± Elody asked both of her questions. While I had already been considering establishing a library here, this seemed like it had the potential to move that along much further than I¡¯d have expected so quickly.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Well, considering I had already wanted to start our own library, yeah, I¡¯m entirely behind the idea. Question though, when you say seek out knowledge, is that one of the functions of your class?¡± I asked, not sure I had phrased my question exactly right. ¡°It¡¯s the way that I¡¯ve built my own pathway. Paladins of knowledge focus on some aspects of information retention and understanding. This manifested in a lifelong pursuit of just that. I found my passion and subsequent pathway in the idea of knowledge itself. The archiving, replication, and dissemination of collected knowledge is something I strive for. To that end, before I served as the master librarian, I spent many decades hunting down supposedly lost works, collecting records, interviewing scientists, even working with the paladins of conservation, essentially anything you can imagine to make an attempt to keep knowledge from being lost,¡± She answered. I could get behind that. Who didn¡¯t love the Indiana Jones movies? Well, maybe not the last two. ¡°Alright then, I think I understand now. Partially, you have nowhere else to go anymore, thanks to the pushback against free trade of knowledge, and while we don¡¯t really have anything to offer you yet, we have the potential to offer you everything,¡± I said, smiling. It made a lot of sense. We were a brand new faction and, for the most part, had no idea how any of this was supposed to work, let alone an idea of how it actually would work. So Elody had a real chance to influence our growth toward her own goals, goals which I, for the most part, shared. ¡°Hey, are you all in here?¡± the voice of Pryte called from the other side of the front door. ¡°Yes, get yer ass in here with those orbs,¡± Mel yelled back through it. The door immediately swung open to reveal the small man carrying a stack of paper. He quickly sat the stack down on a clear surface and then materialized two class orbs in his hands. ¡°Here,¡± he said as he passed them over to the twinogs¡¯ outstretched hands. They both looked overjoyed to finally have them. ¡°Perfect. You two, socket those immediately. Pryte, I want us registered for the first seven floors as soon as possible, preferably tomorrow, but no earlier. Then, if they find at least two people to sign on for our idiotic idea, register them for floor eight two days after that. I was considering trying to get the squad registered for today, but I wanna give them a rundown on all¡¯a the first seven floors before tonight and get these two prepared with a class,¡± Mel said, barking the orders at Pryte, who didn¡¯t even flinch. He seemed used to these types of communications, honestly. ¡°I already figured we¡¯d be registering immediately, just didn¡¯t know the planned days. I have all the paperwork there. I¡¯ll get it filled out and submitted. I don¡¯t see any reason I can¡¯t have them ready to go tomorrow morning. So make sure you all get plenty of rest and are ready to go first thing, as the porter won¡¯t wait on us, and if we miss it, there¡¯s a huge fine. Which, I assume, we cannot afford to pay,¡± Pryte said. ¡°No, we cannot. We¡¯ll be awake and ready. Just let us know the exact time when you get back,¡± I said. Pryte nodded before disappearing back out of the door he had come in from. ¡°We got real lucky with Pryte. If he weren¡¯t in so much danger, no way in hell we ever coulda afforded someone of his skill to handle the paper pushing, but more importantly, you two get those orbs in and pick yer damn classes already,¡± Mel said, turning to the twinogs. I watched both of the class orbs disappear into their bodies before they went entirely silent for a few minutes. No one else spoke, either too enraptured by this new sight or, much more likely because we were all tired of Mel¡¯s yelling. ¡°Huh, Elody, I have an option for a class called Paladin of Agriculture. It looks a lot better than the others. They¡¯re all either fighting or plain farming classes, but I don¡¯t know anything really about being a paladin,¡± Cecile said, breaking the silence. ¡°Choose that. Do not even consider anything else. The last Paladin of Agriculture fell without passing on his class. The System is giving you a chance at a lost class, Cecile,¡± She said. I could figure out what a lost class was by context. It was good to see I wasn¡¯t the only one to get special System treatment. ¡°You heard her, pick it!¡± Mel yelled. Neither of twinogs responded. Instead, they started to convulse.
All I ever wanted to do was to feed everyone. Every single being. I wanted to elevate this existence beyond the constant push against starvation. While I didn¡¯t understand the pushback at first, it became clear in the end. Not everyone considered it a benefit for children to no longer starve in the street. The Last Recorded Interview with Jornlorn Rown, the last known Paladin of Agriculture Chapter 77: Only Their Mother Can Tell Them Apart ¡°Dammit, what the hell is going on?¡± Mel yelled. I barely heard the words as I had immediately pulled up remote telemetry on them, hoping to see what was wrong. Strangely other than a slightly elevated heart rate, they were apparently fine. ¡°As far as I can tell, they¡¯re physically fine, but if anyone has better healing magic than me, now would be the time to use it.¡± I looked at Elody as I said this, remembering how she had healed me after the attack. ¡°There¡¯s something happening in their mana channels. Somehow, they¡¯re being redirected, and a new cavity is being filled with fresh mana directly from their cores, a mix of both.¡± Surprisingly, the voice came from Corey and not Elody, who was still staring silently at the twins. ¡°It¡¯s the twin souls. So few people in the Spiral have them that there is no standard way of predicting how any orb will interact with their unique physiology. I should have realized the potential issue with class orbs, though. I¡¯ve never heard of a class orb where synchronization was available from the start, but these two need their classes not to interfere with each other, and despite the fact that they have two cores, their mana channels are still somewhat interlinked. I believe their cores are working out a method for the classes to interact somehow, much earlier than we would expect to be possible,¡± Elody explained. ¡°Uh, for those of us that only somewhat understand any of this class stuff, do you think they¡¯re in any danger?¡± I asked. ¡°No. Although, this is all guesswork on my part,¡± Elody answered. Had Elicec managed to pick a class before this started, or did this happen the moment Cecile had made his choice, locking them both into this path? ¡°Well, looks like it¡¯s a real good thing you bumped into ¡®em, Dave. If this had happened in the damned Arena lobby, they¡¯d¡¯ve been shoved into the fight whether they were outta this state or not,¡± Mel said with a bigger frown than usual. The more he explained about the Arena, the less I liked the whole way it worked. Had it started off as something similar to our Olympics before becoming this monstrosity of a bloodbath? Both twinogs began to cough as their eyes opened. ¡°I hope you¡¯re all happy with my class choice of Elemental Sniper. It was likely my first choice, but before I could really decide, it was locked in by what Cecile picked,¡± Elicec said, sounding incredibly annoyed by whatever their experience had just been. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Are you two okay, though?¡± I asked concern etched across my face. ¡°Yeah, somehow socketing my class caused us to form a special third class in between our cores. It¡¯s called Soul of the Twinog,¡± Cecile answered. ¡°Oh, interesting, you¡¯ve developed a species-based class. That sometimes happens to the first representatives of a species to get an unlocked class orb. I¡¯ve never heard of it forming like yours did, but the name itself is likely just the answer to why it did. What kind of abilities does it have?¡± Elody asked, suddenly sounding extremely interested. ¡°Just one, and it requires we invest one hundred levels to unlock it: Path of the Twin Soul. So for now, it stays locked,¡± Elicec said. I understood why. I wouldn¡¯t even want to spend that many levels on improving my class orb yet, and I had better access to getting the levels back than they did. ¡°Hrm, honestly, I think ya prolly got something pretty nice there. Now y¡¯all just need to live long enough to use it,¡± Mel said, less grumpy than usual. He may try to hide it, but every so often, the fact that he cared about us did shine through. ¡°Speaking of living long enough, can you give us a full rundown on the Arena levels?¡± I asked. I knew he had talked a bit about some of them and possibly even entirely covered the first floor, but I wanted as much information about what we had to face as possible. ¡°Good, glad yer ready for that talk ''cause it had to happen very soon. Normally, I¡¯d make one of ya the squad leader, but that ain¡¯t happening yet. None of ya except maybe Rabyn are ready for that, and he sure as hell ain¡¯t getting it. So for now, I want y¡¯all to just stick together as best ya can and defer to the person who sounds the most right, which is likely gonna be Elody or Elicec most of the time, but even if it¡¯s Rabyn, listen to him. Now, as for the floors themselves, I already told ya just about everything there is for the first floor, but as I said, make sure you find at least two people to join up. The eighth floor is gonna be a disaster if ya don¡¯t. So the second floor is just a monster fight, nothing special, but no matter what the creature might look like, understand it is gonna be powerful,¡± Mel said.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Dungeon core type monster or just something else?¡± I asked, wondering if I could claim another dungeon core this way. ¡°Regular beasts they either bred or found somewhere, honestly don¡¯t know a lot there. Cored monsters won¡¯t show up for a very long time in yer climb. Floor three is going to be a capture-the-flag scenario with five squads. Ya won¡¯t be able to kill anyone during it, but ya can let loose as much as you want, and they¡¯ll just end up getting removed for the level if it was strong enough for a killing blow. That¡¯ll basically be the same thing anytime you¡¯re competing against another squad until floor ten. First and Second place move to floor four, which is another monster fight, this time fifteen monsters. Floor five is going to take y¡¯all and three other squads and toss ya into random starting locations. The squads with the most members at the victory zone in two hours wins. If no one is there, the squads with the most members still active on the floor wins. Top two squads move on. This all making sense so far?¡± Mel asked as he turned from side to side, scanning the room. His question was answered by a chorus of yeses and head nods. ¡°Good. Floor six oughtta be real fun, as it¡¯s a race, and y¡¯all ain''t got a pilot member and likely won¡¯t find one, so yer gonna need to focus on taking out the other seven factions, or at the very least stay in the top four. No idea what kind of vehicle it will be, but the good news is most factions don¡¯t bother fielding pilots that low anyway, not worth the wasted spot. Seven is gonna be yer first multi-faction monster fight, and unlike every other floor so far, you¡¯ll get penalized for hurting any member of a rival faction. It¡¯ll range from two to nine possible extra squads. Basically, yer all gonna get ranked based on who did the most damage, healing, etc, and that¡¯s how they decide who moves up,¡± Mel said, pausing for a moment again, ready to take questions. This time, I did have one. ¡°Is there a standard pattern to the floors that repeat?¡± I asked, curious if this was just how all floors were set up in a series of ten. ¡°No, and the further you climb, the more random they¡¯ll get. The first twenty-five have the most set-in-stone rules, in theory, to give the newbies a chance, but since they almost always enter with zero knowledge of those rules, it basically does the opposite. Now, floor eight is the one I¡¯ve referenced several times in it being critical that ya find at least two more people. The reason is yer gonna be separated again, each into yer own maze. There are six paths, and if ya manage to get more than two people recruited, ya¡¯ll¡¯ll get doubled up, which ain¡¯t a bad thing. Cecile and Elicec already will be, and it¡¯ll make their run that much easier, but to win this one, ya need every member of yer squad to get to the end with the item in the starting zone. The end is a hub, so y¡¯all can try to go back and rescue someone if ya need to, but it¡¯s very unlikely you¡¯ll have time to get back to their starts, get the item, and get all the way to the hub, which is why the recruiting needs to happen,¡± Mel said, again stopping to look for questions. ¡°Sanquar famously did this alone, did he not?¡± Elody asked. I had heard the same thing. Maybe from her? I couldn¡¯t actually remember where I had heard it. ¡°I was both a lot stronger and a lot faster than I am now and far beyond any of you. If I remember correctly, I just destroyed all the walls in my way, collected all the items, and flew them into the hub,¡± Sanquar answered. ¡°And y¡¯all best hope there ain¡¯t anyone or anything like him going up against ya, or this is over before it even really started. So once ya manage all that, then we¡¯ve got floor nine, yer first randomizer. It could be anything, so all I can say there is good luck, and we¡¯ve already talked about floor ten,¡± Mel said, finishing his rundown on the levels. ¡°Now come on, I want all of us outside seeing just what Cecile and Elicec can do with their new classes. Once that¡¯s done, yer gonna all eat a good dinner and get some sleep. I want y¡¯all well rested tomorrow,¡± Mel said just as the door burst open, revealing Pryte for the second time today, only this time looking in a lot more distress. ¡°They screwed us,¡± he said the moment he was through the door. Why did nothing ever work as planned?
An Elemental Sniper is in his, pardon the pun, element when surrounded by a team. Using a combination of their knowledge, skills, and magic, they can quickly assess the enemy''s strengths and weaknesses and move themselves into the best position to exploit them. If you want to stop an enemy combatant in their tracks, an Elemental Sniper is what you need in your squad. Arena Build Outs by Bjorn Madhen Chapter 78: Welcome to the Arena ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, extremely worried. ¡°We¡¯re out of time. They¡¯re sending us now. I¡¯m almost sure they were waiting for me to file for entry and then planned to move it up without letting us know, but, well, don¡¯t actually worry about how I found out. I¡¯ll explain that later. The porter is here, and we just need to leave now,¡± Pryte said. ¡°Damn. Alright, let¡¯s go. It¡¯s just me and the squad. We¡¯ll be back as soon as we can,¡± Mel said, sounding pissed. ¡°Mel, how bad is this?¡± I whispered to the floating cloud man as we left the house. ¡°Don¡¯t know yet. Hopefully, it¡¯s just the first seven floors they fucked us on,¡± he whispered back and then said much louder, ¡°Remember what I said about loading up on food.¡± There was a surprisingly human-looking man waiting for us in my front yard. He didn¡¯t look happy to see us. ¡°This better be everyone. I¡¯m not waiting for any stragglers,¡± he said as we got closer. I checked and it did indeed look like we had everyone. I moved Corey into my System storage just to make sure he wasn¡¯t lost on the trip since I had no idea how this worked. ¡°It¡¯s everyone, and we didn¡¯t make you wait remotely past the cutoff time, and as we are all ready, let¡¯s go already,¡± Pryte fired back at the porter, still sounding as angry as he had been when he entered the house. The man raised one hand, snapped his fingers, and between one blink and the next, we were in a completely different place. The style and architecture reminded me of the spire area I had been in when we first arrived. Was the entire spire just the same? ¡°Follow me and Pryte, and stay close. Don¡¯t agree to anything anyone asks or says unless me or Pryte tell ya to. How long til our match starts?¡± Mel asked Pryte after yelling at us. All around us were makeshift tables and peoples of all shapes and sizes selling goods. Some had signs offering sponsorship deals, and even more had promises of cash if they agreed to a deal. None of them said just what that deal was, but based on what Mel had already told me, I had a very bad feeling about anyone who signed up for one of those. I imagined it led to a life of what basically amounted to corporate indentured servitude. ¡°Minutes, we need to move fast. We aren¡¯t getting any prep time at all,¡± Pryte answered. This didn¡¯t seem remotely fair, though I don¡¯t know why I expected it to be. Nothing else had been so far. ¡°Alright, come on, we need to move faster,¡± Mel yelled as his floating cloud form sped up from its usual slow bob into something closer to my running speed. Everyone chased after him. Nearly a minute of the chase later, Mel stopped fast enough that I almost crashed into him, just barely dodging around him to avoid it. ¡°The Empire of Dave¡¯s Arena Squad, the More Heads, the Better are ready for their match,¡± Pryte said from somewhere in front of Mel. ¡°Man, you barely made it. Head through there,¡± a voice said, which I assumed was accompanied by pointing in a direction, but as Mel was still blocking my vision, I had no idea which direction. ¡°Alright, this is it. Pryte and I will be in the waiting room, remember what I told you, and good luck,¡± Mel said, leading us through a door. The new room was full of tables with food and tons of other places to sit. Several people were in lines grabbing said food. Others were sitting around talking. Some were staring anxiously at monitors in the room that showed ongoing matches squads were performing in. I was about to ask how we got to the Arena when a new voice spoke up. ¡°The More Heads, the Better. Please follow me.¡± I looked down and saw a small spider like person as the source of the voice. ¡°In the future, please try to be earlier,¡± it continued as we followed behind, with Mel doing his odd floating nod as he watched us leave. ¡°Apologies, Floor Master, we won¡¯t let it happen again. We deeply thank you for being so generous as to make sure we are still getting our spot despite our dilatoriness,¡± Rabyn said, utterly shocking me at the comment. I didn¡¯t even know what dilatoriness meant. Clearly, he was just trying to be polite, but well, he was an orc and I hadn¡¯t ever expected that level of eloquence out of him. Wait, did that make me racist? I didn¡¯t think so. The orcs had literally beaten it into me that they were overly aggressive. I thought I had earned a little bit of prejudgement, but just in case, I¡¯d try to reserve any judgment on species that matched up with the fantasy races of Earth.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Ah, Rabyn, have you found a new squad?¡± the spider asked, turning toward the orc. Was Floor Master the spider¡¯s name or their title? I decided it was best to keep quiet for now unless I had to speak, as it seemed Rabyn had this under control. ¡°Yes, despite my former faction¡¯s failed invasion of their planet, Dave has been amiable in giving me a new opportunity,¡± Rabyn answered. I wasn¡¯t sure if I agreed with the description, but I wasn¡¯t about to argue. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. You were wasted with the Singing Blades. Well, we are here. Please head through that door and it¡¯ll drop you at your starting locations. Don¡¯t attempt to leave the room you start in until the door within swings open. I hope to see you all again for a future floor,¡± the spider said again as they bid us through the final door. Passing through it was nearly identical to how I¡¯d arrived at the archive the first time. One moment, we were in the waiting room; the next, we were in what looked like a kid''s bedroom. There was a small bed, and the walls were covered in pictures of cartoon characters I didn¡¯t recognize. The room had a single door and two windows. Did we have to use the door when the match started, or could we create our own exit? ¡°I believe we got incredibly lucky that Floor Master was our placement referee. I suspect a veritable fortune has changed hands to stack the deck against us, given the situation and the information Pryte gave us,¡± Rabyn said. ¡°I take it that means a bad placement referee could¡¯ve dumped us anywhere?¡± I asked. The idea of the door opening to reveal a giant hydra that would eat us less than a minute into the match didn¡¯t seem like a pleasant one. ¡°Yes, I understand I¡¯m not in command of this squad, but as I¡¯m the only one present to have done this previously, I strongly recommend that no one should leave the room the moment the door opens. We should have enough time for me to prepare a quick dish that¡¯ll give each of us a boost,¡± Rabyn said. I looked to Elody, who nodded back at me. ¡°Alright, we can do that, but after that, we need to start hunting down some recruits. Do you think we¡¯re going to get a chance to rest between the floors?¡± I asked, wondering just how badly we had been screwed here. ¡°Not much. I assume we¡¯ve been registered in such a way that we will receive minimal breaks in between matches. If that¡¯s true, we should spend what little time there is healing up as quickly as possible and, if time allows, procuring the provisions we need,¡± Rabyn answered. The door swung open, cutting off any chance at more discussion. A large cooking pot and several ingredients appeared in front of Rabyn as he went to work preparing a meal. At the same time, Elody stuck her head out the open door, looking side to side, likely checking for anyone else. Cecile and Elicec both looked incredibly nervous, which was probably similar to how I looked. They were finally doing the thing they had left their homeworld to do, but the stakes had somehow managed to grow even higher. The twinogs were now stuck in my faction, fighting for the continued freedom of Earth. ¡°I don¡¯t see or sense anyone,¡± Elody said, and on the word sense, I realized Corey was still in my storage. I pulled the mallet out into the room. It just floated near me, saying nothing. The smell of Rabyn¡¯s work was deeply enticing. I briefly considered the idea of this being used to kill us all, but that doomed him as well, and Mel seemed confident he wouldn¡¯t betray us in the Arena. ¡°Good. If we can get outside and take a good look around before any engagement, it¡¯ll greatly benefit us. Now here, everyone eat this,¡± Rabyn said as he passed out bread bowls full of what he had just cooked. His tools of the trade had already disappeared back into his storage. The fact that he had managed to make this in under two minutes was amazing. I poured the contents of the bread bowl into my mouth, the flavors mixed into a nearly perfect harmony of savory and spice as I gulped it down, devouring the bread afterward. A surge of strength passed through me as I ate. My mana pool looked larger than normal, and all my senses seemed somewhat sharper. ¡°Woah, that was awesome!¡± Cecile said, more or less echoing my own thoughts on the matter. ¡°Thank you. Now it¡¯s time for the real fight. If it attacks us, don¡¯t hesitate in your retribution. We¡¯re likely stronger than a lot of the squads down here, so as long as we stick together, making it through shouldn¡¯t be much of a problem,¡± Rabyn said as he led us from the room, opening the front door of the house we were in. Immediately, all the sounds of a chaotic battle hit me: the screams, the roars, every bit of it.
One of the key things to do before starting an Arena match is to make sure you stretch. You don¡¯t want a muscle cramp at the wrong time. Always make sure to get a good night¡¯s rest and have a big meal before the match as well. Keeping your energy up is critical. These rules can be just as useful in climbing the corporate ladder as they can in climbing the Arena. Twenty Rules For a Better Tomorrow by Paulio Chapter 79: The First Floor ¡°Take down as many of the easy monsters as possible, it¡¯ll help rack up the points. Always bank as many points as you can, as there¡¯s likely to come a time when we need them to cushion a blow,¡± Rabyn yelled back to us as a cleaver appeared in one of his hands. The other hand was working to rapidly throw a series of knives into a small flying creature in the yard.
Dave: Try to conserve our mana as much as possible. There¡¯s a strong chance we¡¯re running a gauntlet today. Corey: Understood, I will fight with mostly blunt force. Dave: Stick close to me, please. I want to try to keep my mana use down as well. Corey: Understood.
¡°Does anyone else hear singing?¡± Elicec asked as his hoe-turned-sickle ripped one of the flying monsters from the sky. I did. Somewhere in the distance, someone was blasting out some impressively loud vocals, though I couldn¡¯t make out the words. ¡°Some sort of bard class, most likely. Stay focused on our own goals for now!¡± Rabyn yelled over the singing. Corey slammed into the side of a flying lizard thing that had dove off the roof toward me, throwing it across the lawn. Rabyn was right. I needed to focus on what was going on directly around me. ¡°Pretty sure those are the ones!¡± a voice yelled from an alley across the street. No, they hadn¡¯t actually yelled. It was just the enhanced senses from Rabyn¡¯s food that made me hear it so clearly. Were they talking about us? That question was immediately answered before I even had a chance to voice it as several rat-like creatures poured out of the alley, charging straight at us. ¡°Well, that confirms your theory on people being after us, I think,¡± I said to Rabyn as his knife-throwing changed targets, striking two of the rat-men before they even crossed the road, both dropping dead with a knife lodged into their chests. As I readied my own blast of fire, I spotted Cecile¡¯s scythe as it grew in size ten times over and swept across the street, easily knocking all of them to the ground. None of them moved to stand back up. That had to be a feature of Cecile¡¯s new class, and it was damn impressive. ¡°Holy shit, going to have to make sure I use ¡®clear the weeds¡¯ more often; that was amazing!¡± Cecile yelled, cheering himself on. I couldn¡¯t argue with him. That was some perfect timing for that ability. ¡°As Elody pondered where we could be of most use, the guiding font of knowledge rose up from the page, the words themselves leading us to those who were most in need of a timely rescue,¡± Elody chanted as she read from a book, and just as she had read, the words themselves broke free of the pages and began to fly off down the street. ¡°I assume we need to follow them?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes; in theory, this will speed up finding our recruits, and then we can just focus on holding down an area until we need to find further things to engage us,¡± Elody answered before beginning to chase after her own words. The rest of us joined after her. The singing grew louder as we chased them. Were they bringing us to the source of it? I spotted several people fighting a giant gorilla with eight arms in the distance at an intersection and was happy when the words turned down a different path. The more mana we had to use in fights here, the harder things would get throughout the day. I was sure Korl was behind the bribing, but what exactly had he done? ¡°Look, lady, I¡¯ll make you a deal. Quit the singing, give us the kid, and we won¡¯t kill you unless we have to at the end!¡± yelled a voice over the singing directly in the path of flying words. I couldn¡¯t see the source of the singing yet as the view was obscured by the group, who I assumed included the one that had just threatened her. I had to stifle a laugh and force myself to recognize that even if the creatures in front of me looked like oversized turkeys, they were still potentially dangerous. ¡°Hey, you in the orchestral aura. Any chance you want to fill some openings in our squad?¡± Rabyn yelled, completely ignoring the birds. Several of the birds¡¯ feathers ruffled at his shout. ¡°Hey asshole, this is our kill!¡± one of them said as they turned around to face us, and then nearly deflated as their eyes looked us over. Apparently, we were not the people they wanted to see. Partially likely because Rabyn had already landed a knife into its chest.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°I would prefer less vulgarity, thank you!¡± Rabyn yelled, stepping closer to the group. ¡°I¡¯ll gladly join your group if you can get these vulterians off me,¡± the singer answered Rabyn¡¯s earlier question, stopping her own melody. In answer to her request, Rabyn immediately waded into the group of birds, his cleaver seeming to dance between his hands as bird after bird fell to the ground in piles of bloody feathers. With them now dead or dying on the ground, I could see two figures in a small pinkish bubble, one of them a small squat woman who reminded me of a dwarf, but she was dressed far more like an opera singer than the usual way dwarfs were depicted. Behind her was a figure I thought I recognized. ¡°Glorp, is that you?¡± Elicec called to the small man before I could. What was Glorp doing here? ¡°Elicec, Cecile, and is that Dave?¡± Glorp questioned back, his voice going from panic to elation as he said our names. ¡°So you know them then, kid? That¡¯s good news. I thought for sure we were going to end the song prematurely there,¡± the woman said. ¡°I met them once. They were very nice to me. Um, can I join your squad too? I really didn¡¯t want to fight here, but they didn¡¯t give me much of a choice,¡± Glorp said. Who had forced him into this? Then I remembered just what he had told me. Pryte had been the one to send him with the message. Was this what would have happened to Pryte if he hadn¡¯t joined up with us? But how did he end up in the exact match we were in? This had to be a message aimed at me for causing Korl problems. ¡°It¡¯s your decision, Dave. You must agree to it,¡± Elody said. How did that work when a faction leader wasn¡¯t present? Probably just a squad leader¡¯s decision, but we¡¯d decided not to have one of those yet. ¡°Yeah, of course, uh, what¡¯s your name?¡± I asked the dwarf. ¡°Constance Aurelia V, Connie for short,¡± she answered. She certainly had a name fitting of an opera singer. I noticed Cecile and Elicec giving the dwarf a weird look. Wait, hadn¡¯t their planet been part of a dwarf faction¡¯s holdings? Hopefully, she wasn¡¯t a member of that. We didn¡¯t need that potential wedge driven into team unity. ¡°I assume you both have classes. That didn¡¯t strike me as a standard battle bard, more of a trained operatic voice,¡± Rabyn asked. ¡°I am a student of the great Trelione, not some simple bard. I practice the Path of the stellar Opera,¡± she answered. I had no idea what that meant. From Rabyn¡¯s confused look, neither did he. ¡°Really? How did you find him? He¡¯s been in seclusion for a century,¡± Elody spoke up, apparently not nearly as ignorant as the rest of us. ¡°He is my grandfather. It required no finding,¡± She replied, and that claim was enough for the twinogs to stop scowling. I guessed that meant there was no way she was connected to their oppressors then. ¡°We can discuss that later. How about the kid? What¡¯s your class?¡± Rabyn cut off the lineage talk with a much more pressing question. ¡°I¡¯m just a courier, not really any use in fighting,¡± Glorp answered. Damn, that was a problem. Could we even use him on the next floors? Not that we had much of a choice; there didn¡¯t seem to be anyone else around for us to recruit, especially if bribes had taken place to target us. ¡°Alright, then, for now, your job is to stay in the center of us and stay alive. We can sort out the class problem later. Oh, and we¡¯re likely stuck in this Arena until we manage to clear floor seven, so pace yourselves. You¡¯re going to need the mana,¡± Rabyn explained to them. ¡°So, how much longer do you think we have on this level?¡± I asked, wondering how long the average floor lasted. I¡¯d guess we had been here roughly fifteen to twenty minutes. ¡°Honestly, it could be minutes, could be hours. It really depends on the quality of the other squads, but since I don¡¯t see any more monsters around us, let¡¯s go find a building to hide out in for now,¡± Rabyn answered, parroting Elody¡¯s earlier plan of laying low. ¡°Hey, so you aren¡¯t a member of any faction, right?¡± I heard Cecile ask quietely the dwarf as we headed for the nearest intact building. ¡°No, well, maybe yours now, I guess. Why?¡± She asked back ¡°Just had to check you weren¡¯t part of the dwarves who own our planet. That would have been pretty awkward,¡± Cecile answered. The moment we were all through the door, Rabyn pulled back out his cooking utensils and got to work. ¡°Why did they want you so badly anyway, Glorp?¡± I asked, remembering what one of their attackers had said about wanting the kid. ¡°This is all punishment for helping Pryte. How was I supposed to know the big factions would be angry, though?¡± Glorp said, looking on the verge of a breakdown. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s alright; you¡¯re going to stick with us now, and we¡¯ll figure it out,¡± I said, trying to calm him down. Was Glorp another person caught in the crossfire for having the bad luck of knowing me?
The last known public performance of the great Trelione ended with two faction wars, thousands in custody, and the complete destruction of the opera hall he played in. Later interviews of those in attendance claimed that it was entirely worth it and they would gladly pay any money to see him perform again. A History of Music in the Spiral by Emwood Greens Chapter 80: Reverse the Targets for Treasure! A loud explosion rocked the building that we were taking shelter in as the row of buildings across the street all collapsed, blowing out the windows around us and sending shards of glass flying into the room. ¡°Everyone alright?¡± I called out, despite not immediately spotting any injuries. ¡°We¡¯re fine, but what the hell was that?¡± Elicec fired back, and I realized my ears were ringing. I suppose that was one downside of enhanced hearing. ¡°Good question, that¡¯s a lot more force than you usually see on an early floor. Here, everyone eat one of these. It should give you some extra mana regeneration so we aren¡¯t entering the next floor entirely drained if it comes to a big fight,¡± Rabyn said, passing out something that looked like a baked potato, only bright orange. The fact that it tasted like peanut butter made the experience even stranger, but he hadn¡¯t been lying. I felt my mana pool surge in an unfamiliar way. ¡°There¡¯s a gigaturtledon marching across the destroyed buildings. I don¡¯t believe it did the destruction itself. More likely, the squads trying to take it down didn¡¯t understand its physiology and have now created a much bigger problem for themselves,¡± Elody said, looking through one of the broken windows. ¡°Any idea how many squads are left?¡± Rabyn asked the paladin. ¡°No, but I can find out, one moment,¡± she answered before lifting a book to her face and beginning to read. ¡°The visible mana signatures each registered uniquely in Elody¡¯s mind as she counted the ones belonging to people.¡± ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Connie asked, which was a fair reaction. I had now seen quite a few monsters, and some people use their abilities, but so far, no one¡¯s seemed to work remotely like Elody¡¯s. And with Cecile¡¯s class choice, we¡¯d all soon get to learn if it was just Elody who was so unique or if all paladins were so different. ¡°That was one of my knowledge-gathering techniques. Gathering easily available information, such as an enemy count, when it isn¡¯t being attempted to be obscured is trivial for me. If I can formulate a plausible way to do something with the things I have at hand, my class path will finish the linkages needed to make the attempt. Note that it¡¯s not guaranteed to succeed, but in this case, it did. There are twenty-one squads and seven free agents left,¡± Elody answered, showing a slight smile as she did. I suspect she had just the tiniest bit of vanity in being able to use her abilities so well, which was entirely fair and well-deserved. ¡°I like those numbers. It¡¯s too bad we have to blitz these floors; I¡¯d have liked to search for prizes. Not that there are going to be any planet-level prizes hiding here, they announce those ahead of time, but even any crafting supplies for your new empire would be worth it right now,¡± Rabyn said. That explained how Earth had been won. I was wondering where the concept of prizes came in. ¡°Elody, I¡¯ve got an ability that lets me target hidden opponents. It seems it''s far more meant for people, though, is there any way we could combine that with your abilities to try and locate an object? It seems like a waste to just hide if there¡¯s a potential prize nearby,¡± Elicec said nervously. The confidence he had shown during the desert seemed to have melted away somewhat. Remembering just how young the twins were, I looked over at Glorp to check in on him. His expression was hard to read, but if I had to guess, I¡¯d go with extremely stressed. ¡°What¡¯s the name of the ability, and do you give me permission to call it forth?¡± Elody answered his question with two of her own. ¡°Unconceal, and yes, I do,¡± Elicec answered. ¡°Through the power of the Twinog Elicec¡¯s class ability unconsceal, Elody was able to scan the building they resided in and the nearby buildings for anything that had appeared to be purposefully hidden,¡± Elody said, reading the words from her book again. Were the words in the book before she read them, or were they created after she said them? I¡¯d have to ask about it later. ¡°Woah,¡± Elicec said before his eyes snapped shut and he held up his hand, swinging it around the room and pointing in various directions as a golden light shot from it three times before his eyes opened again. ¡°That was a weird feeling, but I think those lines lead to some prizes.¡± ¡°Can anyone besides us see those lines?¡± I asked, causing Rabyn to burst into laughter. ¡°We just put targets on ourselves. I¡¯ve never seen that done before,¡± he said as his laughter got louder. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s see what''s upstairs, and we can then hit the next two that look to be outside this building. Hopefully, they go away,¡± I said, trying to make the best of a potentially bad situation. ¡°Sorry,¡± Elicec said meekly. ¡°Not your fault, we didn¡¯t know this would happen either, so now we just fix it,¡± I said back to him. The reality of trying out new things was you screwed up constantly; the important part was you fixed them. We followed Elicec¡¯s line up the stairs and into one of the empty rooms up there. It was pointing directly at what should have just been an exterior wall. Rabyn shrugged and took a swing at the wall, punching straight through, revealing another small room that couldn¡¯t possibly exist within the space. Well, it was as good a time as any to learn that Euclidian geometry wasn¡¯t a hard and fast rule for the Arena. The line pointed into the small room, directly at a pouch lying in the center. Rabyn reached in and tossed it to Elicec. The moment he had it, the line disappeared. ¡°At least that gets rid of the lines. Don¡¯t look so morose, kid. This is going to be incredibly useful as we climb,¡± Rabyn said.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Should I open it?¡± Elicec asked. ¡°No, stash it in your storage until we get some free time. We don¡¯t want anyone to know what we¡¯ve found,¡± Rabyn answered while Elody nodded. The next closest destination for the line was through the window into the window in the next building over, directly pointing at a pillow on a bed. Suddenly, a booming voice interrupted our hunt with three words: ¡°NO MONSTERS REMAIN!¡± ¡°Damn, we need those lines gone now,¡± Rabyn said. ¡°Corey, go grab the pillow. Where¡¯s the other line going?¡± I asked, scanning the room as I heard Corey smash through to windows. ¡°Back into the street, come on,¡± Rabyn said, leaping through the broken window into the alley below. Surprisingly, everyone followed him; I went last, watching Corey manage to get the pillow case wrapped around itself before floating down into the alley to rejoin the group, finally leaping after them. Elicec grabbed the pillow and ripped it apart, finding another pouch that immediately vanished into his storage. The last line pointed across the street directly behind a group of something that looked like a cross between a bear and an ant. ¡°Go find another squad to pester. We don¡¯t have time for your worthless hides!¡± Rabyn yelled. ¡°It¡¯s the two-headed thing and the human. That has to be the squad!¡± one of the people yelled. Several members of the group smiled. They all drew weapons. I knew where this was going and quickly switched to my fire elemental orb, firing off several fireballs before they had a chance to act. The few standing after my attack scattered as Elicec fired off small blasts of energy from his fingertips at them. None of them escaped. I noticed Rabyn giving me a curious look. What was that about? The final hidden pouch was in a trashcan behind where the other squad had been standing. Seconds after Elicec had moved it into his storage space, a familiar experience notification popped into my view.
Combatants Defeated
Batzards x3 150 Experience
Scurtils Bashers Core Grade E x7 7,000 Experience
Scurtils Hunter Core Grade E x3 9,000 Experience
Scurtils Tank Core Grade E x4 8,000 Experience
Scurtils Thinker Core Grade E 20,000 Experience
Vulterian Knife Specialists Core Grade F x15 7,500 Experience
Abrent Lumberjack Core Grade F x14 14,000 Experience
Abrent Axemaste Core Grade E 10,000 Experience
Experience Gained 75,650 Points
Arena Bonuses
Prize Found x3 3,000,000 Experience
Squad Wiped x3 300,000,000 Experience
Floor 1 Cleared 1,000,000,000 Experience
Experience Gained 1,303,000,000 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Unoccupied Squad Positions x256
Total Experience Gained 403,640,713,344 Points
Not the worst experience, especially considering it was just floor one, and had been surprisingly easy. Had we really been that much stronger than the competition? The landscape around us disappeared into a black void. All that remained was a single door in front of us. ¡°Come on, before they send in the janitors. You don¡¯t want to see that,¡± Rabyn said, opening the door. I immediately spotted Mel floating near the top of the room, likely to get a good look at us as his color rapidly shifted back to the normal green. ¡°Grab the food, and do any healing ya need; ya ain¡¯t got long. Finish the next one as quick as ya can, though. That should buy ya more time,¡± Mel ordered from across the room, managing to carry the aggression in his voice straight toward us somehow. Happy to see us or not, he was still Mel. I caught a strange look from Pryte as he spotted both of our companions. His eyes went wide for a split second, but then he managed to hide it. ¡°The More Heads, the Better, please come with me,¡± Floor Master said. Only Rabyn and the twinogs had made it to the food table, but they had managed to move a ton of it into their storage. Hopefully we could take out the big monster quickly and have a little more time next round.
Becoming an Arena referee is a job some of the climbers retire to, but not many. For one thing, you have to get far enough up the Arena for it to be viable, and most would rather continue that climb, but sometimes, the lucrative salary is enough to tempt a few out of it. It¡¯s one of the few reasons anyone stops their climb at those levels short of death. System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp Chapter 81: Blitz Sans Ballroom ¡°Are you able to share any details of what we¡¯ll be facing, Floor Master?¡± Rabyn said, leaping back to us from the food table. While I was incredibly impressed by his abilities, the idea that he was this powerful and yet did nothing to stop the slaughter across planet Earth wasn¡¯t helping my acceptance of him. I wasn¡¯t sure I could bring myself to order his execution if it came to that, but I doubted I¡¯d ever like him, and once Earth recovered, there was a real chance he¡¯d face a trial for war crimes. But that was a potential future that required his help in the here and now. ¡°You know I can¡¯t, but smart to ask anyway. I do know that the earliest they could get you scheduled for a third floor is in ten minutes. So if you were to somehow make quick work of what¡¯s behind the door, you could make up the time you need for a break,¡± Floor Master said as they led us to the door. ¡°I deeply appreciate you telling me this,¡± Rabyn said before we all walked through the door into a monochrome, featureless hallway, the door closing behind us once we were all through. ¡°How did you become friends with Floor Master?¡± I asked, curiosity finally getting the better of me. ¡°That¡¯s not a story I currently wish to tell,¡± Rabyn answered. ¡°And it doesn¡¯t look like we have time anyway!¡± Elicec yelled as the hall we had entered vanished, leaving us standing in a giant empty field. ¡°Uh, shouldn¡¯t there be something here?¡± I asked. There was nothing I could see other than fields of grass. Then I heard it, just before I saw its shadow pass over us. The loud screech of a giant bird somewhere far in the skies. ¡°There!¡± Elicec shouted, firing a blast of electricity out of his finger at the monster, managing to strike it on one of its massive wings. It screeched again, now diving in for an attack.
Dave: Corey, hit it as hard as you can. We want this battle over as soon as possible. Corey: Understood.
I followed my own order, switching over to my aether orb. I tried a quick gravity reversal, not sure how it would apply to something already flying. As soon as my spell touched the creature, all of its momentum seemed to cancel itself out, and the bird slammed hard into the ground below. Corey capitalized on my strike, hitting it in the head several times, soon joined by Cecile and Rabyn. It didn¡¯t stand a chance.
Combatants Defeated
Giant Plains Falcon 150,000 Experience
Experience Gained 150,000 Points
Arena Bonuses
Floor 2 Cleared 2,000,000,000 Experience
Experience Gained 2,000,150,000 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Unoccupied Squad Positions x256The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Total Experience Gained 619,566,464,000 Points
The landscape vanished around us, and we were back in the same bland hallway we had started in. ¡°That was impressive, though a shame they had such a magnificent creature used like this,¡± Elody said. ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re even real, honestly,¡± Rabyn replied, his knives already gone from his hands. ¡°Conversation for later. Everyone, grab the food. Glorp, Connie, load your storage space with as much food as you can. I¡¯ll explain everything once we¡¯re home. Everyone meet me by the green floating cloud,¡± I said as the hallway door opened, letting us back into the waiting room. Before I could get to the table, the others had already picked it clean, so instead, I made a beeline for Mel. ¡°Good choice on the dwarf, but why the Larvin? Looks like a kid, too. Is he some kinda prodigy?¡± Mel asked the moment I reached him. I already knew he wasn¡¯t going to like this answer. ¡°Glorp is my fault,¡± Pryte said before I could answer. ¡°He was the courier I sent to warn Dave.¡± ¡°Oh, so he was bait for some trap, and ya managed to get him out anyway?¡± Mel asked. ¡°More or less, not really sure what the end goal with him was. We can see what he knows after we finish this place. The problem is that most, if not all, of the other squads seemed to be bribed to target us, so even if we hadn¡¯t wanted him, what choice did we have?¡± I responded. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t put words in my mouth, ya saved a kid in there. That¡¯s always the right move. I just didn¡¯t know the whole story. We¡¯ve got a bunch of class orbs just lying around gathering dust back in yer garage anyway, so we can make this work. They didn¡¯t fuck us past floor seven, either because they couldn¡¯t or because they assumed this was good enough, but we¡¯re watching now, so it ain¡¯t happening again. Now, tell me everything that happened on the first floor quickly,¡± Mel demanded, and I did, speaking as fast as I could. I managed to get it all covered just before Floor Master appeared next to me. ¡°Please follow me. Your floor three match is about to begin, and if I may be so bold, Thank you for giving Rabyn a chance. He deserves far better than what was done to him,¡± Floor Master said. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, I think,¡± I said, not knowing what else to say. I wanted to press for answers on what the orc had been through, but I also knew that now wasn¡¯t the time as I caught up to the others already standing in front of the usual door. ¡°Our squad is too empty to play the actual game, I think,¡± Rabyn said the moment I caught up. ¡°Oh, I agree entirely. My plan was already the same if I couldn¡¯t find a full group by floor three, and you bunch do seem a notch above the usual first-timers,¡± Connie said as we entered a familiar hallway. ¡°Rabyn isn¡¯t technically a first-timer, and neither myself or Elody ever really intended to climb, but you have to accept the reality you are faced with sometimes. So what exactly is this plan you two seem to already be in agreement on?¡± I asked. ¡°The moment the floor starts, a signal light goes up, alerting all teams to where everyone else is. Once someone captures a flag and gets it back to their starting zone, the color of the light changes, but for the most part, we aren¡¯t going to care about that. We¡¯re going to go for squad wipes. Despite our squad lacking in numbers, the collective power of most of us puts us well above what we should be facing until the tenth floor,¡± Rabyn said. ¡°How does that work? Couldn¡¯t we just end up fighting one of the powerful squads early?¡± I asked. It seemed entirely plausible and likely Korl would want that. ¡°No, well, yes, but it¡¯s pretty unlikely now; we could¡¯ve on the first floor. They probably even intended us to. Everything after that is going to be System randomized from the near infinite numbers of competing squads throughout the Spiral,¡± Rabyn explained. That actually made some sense. Considering the size of the Spiral, there had to be a near unlimited number of squads wanting to compete. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure why we were so likely to have such an issue on floor ten, though, but that was a question better saved for when it mattered. The hallway shimmered out of existence, and in its place was left a massive forest. Trees the size of redwoods surrounded us, and standing in the center of our group was a flagpole with a bright green flag on it. A blinding yellow light, similar to a spotlight, erupted into the sky from the flag. I looked around, spotting four similar lights. We had our targets. ¡°Connie, do you have anything that can speed us up, preferably something nice and loud?¡± Elicec asked. Rabyn nodded at Elicec in what looked like approval. ¡°I sure do,¡± Connie answered before she began belting out the most shrill vocals I had ever heard. While the song may not have been pleasant on my ears, I could feel the energy of it deeply in my muscles urging me forward. Rabyn pointed at a light and yelled something, but I couldn¡¯t understand him over the sound of the singing. His meaning became clear when he tossed each of us what looked like a piece of candy and ate the one still in his hand. I did the same, and somehow, the sound of the dwarf¡¯s singing seemed less overwhelming. ¡°That should let you filter sounds a little better, but it isn¡¯t good for anything else, and I don¡¯t want to waste time on a complex meal preparation, so let¡¯s just make our way through these lights starting clockwise,¡± the orc said now that we could all hear him. I nodded back at his suggestions, and no one else spoke up to disagree. The scenery never seemed to change as we ran on; it looked like the entire floor was this giant forest. How did they manage to construct these areas? Was it all real and they just had planets sectioned off for the events? Rabyn threw his hand up as he ground his feet into the dirt, signaling all of us to stop, causing my wandering thoughts to end. ¡°There are at least seven ahead of us. They obviously know where we are,¡± he said as his knives appeared in his hands. I pulled Corey from my pack just as a group of mantis men came into view, though not exactly like the one I already knew. For one thing, there were no Hawaiian-style shirts. For another, they were all shades of blue and pink, and their arms looked much more like menacing blades than things used to pilot a flying bus.
For whatever reason, the nature in the multiverse seems to favor the sapience and growth of some species over others. Given the idea of infinity, you would expect that, eventually, all types of people would be equally represented in the Spiral, but as of now, that is far from true. On the far end of the most commonly found species are humans, dwarfs, orcs, mantoids, and then on the other end are many different species with a sole representative universe, one of the most famous being the cloudforms of the Floating Empire. A History of Power, the Rise and Fall of the Floating Empire by Melhelm VII Chapter 82: No Flagpole Sitting I only saw the mantises for a split second before they all launched themselves into the air, diving toward us fast enough that even with my currently enhanced senses, I had no chance at dodging. One of them latched onto my back and raked their razor-sharp claws deep into my flesh. I screamed in pain as I switched to my life orb and triggered regeneration while simultaneously slamming my skull backward into what turned out to be an incredibly hard exoskeleton. The shock to my head added to the growing desperation of my situation. Luckily for me, I had a flying mallet that hadn¡¯t been grabbed by a mantis because right now, I was in no condition to focus on my own defense. The loud cracking sound as Corey made its own first contact with the mantis, accompanied by the loosening of its death grip on me, told me that it hadn¡¯t taken the blow well. I flipped my aether orb on as I spun to attack, only to watch it blink out of existence. I hoped that meant it had been removed from the match due to a death blow and not under its own ability. There were only three of the mantises left, one of which was on the ground wrestling with Rabyn as he stabbed it, and Glorp stomped on its limbs, so it was more like there were two. I focused on the one Elody had just knocked off of the twins, launching it skyward while Cecile¡¯s hoe cracked through another exoskeleton. In moments, none of the mantises remained. They¡¯d been considerably stronger than any of the other squads we¡¯d encountered so far, and I wasn¡¯t sure how well I¡¯d have fared without my life orb. ¡°Rabyn, take one of these,¡± Cecile said, passing what looked like a bandaid made of mana to the orc. Rabyn grabbed it with a nod and slapped it on the large cut across his forehead. I was glad to see that Cecile had started working on his own life orb with their new gauntlet. That meant at least three of us were capable of healing magic now. ¡°Come on, we need to keep up our momentum!¡± Rabyn yelled as he resumed his run without waiting to see if we would follow. Every one of us did, of course, which only led to a growing worry deep in my stomach of just what we would have to do with Rabyn one day. Decisions like this were yet another reason I truly didn¡¯t want to be an emperor. We found our first target already under attack as a group of dwarfs, orcs, and some kind of wolves were defending their flag against an assault by some sort of giants. If the defenders were a single squad, and it seemed likely that they were, that meant none had left their flag yet, whereas there were only five of the giants. Just as I targeted the center of the giants with a gravity reversal, I spotted Elicec let loose with his own lightning assault on the defenders. The giants crashed back to the ground a few seconds later, one of them managing to bounce onto several of the defending squad members. Half of the defenders vanished, but only two of the giants did, and now all their attention looked to be focused on us. Rabyn loosed a flurry of knives at our remaining foes. Connie¡¯s song seemed to shift, and while the same horrible shrillness continued, it now felt oddly protective. I understood what that change had done as soon as the first giant bounced off an invisible wall, a wall that was still letting knives through it from our side. That was a handy ability. ¡°Carefully studying the ground the defenders stood upon, the paladin of knowledge was able to determine the perfect spot to guide Cecile, the paladin of agriculture¡¯s axe,¡± Elody said as Cecile¡¯s hoe transformed into something any lumberjack would¡¯ve been proud to hold. Even the handle had elongated, allowing Cecile to take a swing from a distance, cutting through a tree in a single blow, felling it directly onto the collective of defenders, leaving only two giants still fighting. ¡°Two of us get to win this match. How about you take their flag, tell us which light is yours, and we continue on our way?¡± Elicec yelled at the giants. It wasn¡¯t the worst idea. They¡¯d draw attention while we searched for whatever remained of the mantis squad and the final one. ¡°Deal!¡± one of the giants roared pointing at the light furthest away in our clockwise plan as the other grabbed the flag. Without graduation, they both trundled off back into the forest, quickly vanishing into the deep foliage. I spotted Rabyn nodding his approval at Elicec again, and realized I was smiling as well, very much glad to see him come more into his own. Then we were off on another run, the forests blurring by yet again, and I couldn''t help but wish we had time to enjoy a nice camping trip. This time, Elicec threw his hand up first, signaling us all to a halt. I noticed he had a light blue glow around his eyes. Was that a new ability, too? All these changes were actually making me look forward a bit to Mel¡¯s planned training regimen. I was pretty sure I¡¯d regret that desire long before it was over, though. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what species they are, but there are eight of them guarding a flag,¡± Elicec said. ¡°That answers the question of what faction the flowermantoids were with. Those are high webweavers, and this is the Jeweled Silk Trading Conglomerate. I almost regret letting the giants go now,¡± Rabyn said as I moved in for a slightly closer look. They resembled something like the very hungry caterpillar come to life and were actively spinning some sort of webbing around their flag. ¡°We already took out their scout force, so there isn¡¯t much these can do to win,¡± Connie said, stopping her singing for the moment. ¡°I¡¯d rather piss off whatever faction the giants are attached to than the Jeweled Silk Trading Conglomerate,¡± Rabyn replied. Even if it was the better tactical idea, I wasn¡¯t big on going back on the deal we just made. Besides, I doubted these guys were a bigger threat than the one we already had looming. ¡°If I have to lead a faction, I don¡¯t want it to be one that screws over people we just made good faith deals with, and we already took down half of this squad anyway, so if they¡¯re going to consider us a future problem, we probably already caused that,¡± I said, putting an end to the debate instantly, leaving me a bit unsettled by the lack of further arguments. Leadership made me queasy. ¡°Webweavers it is; for those who haven¡¯t fought them before, we need to burn their webbing to have any chance, not really my specialty. I assume the mages can, though?¡± Rabyn asked. I swapped over to my fire orb, ready to join in as I nodded in confirmation, drawing another of Rabyn¡¯s odd looks at me. Was he picking up on when I changed my orbs? Strange. ¡°As soon as Dave and I hit them with fire, I want the rest of you to mow them down before they can rebuild any web walls,¡± Elicec said confidently before starting a countdown. His intent was clear, so the moment he hit one, I launched several fireballs directly into the center of the web while he matched me with three lines of flame extending from his fingers. I was a bit jealous of how controlled they seemed compared to my blasts. The webs instantly ignited, followed by the sound of odd chittering as the whole base went up flames. The fire had managed to make a few holes before the defensive webs stopped burning and started sealing themselves again. But it was too late to save them; Rabyn and Elody were both already inside. The chittering died in seconds. ¡°For better or worse, one target left, let¡¯s go,¡± Elicec ordered. Connie resumed her singing, and we charged towards our last target. We arrived to find that there was only a single guardian of this flag, a massive pile of rock in the shape of a gorilla. Were the other fourteen already searching for more flags? The final light belonging to the giants changed colors suddenly, in what I assumed was the signal that they had successfully returned the flag back to their base. ¡°That¡¯s some insane overconfidence in only leaving a single stoneape guardian, but the Rockmeister faction was never known for their brains,¡± Connie said. ¡°How do we take it down?¡± I asked. ¡°Just throw it into the sky,¡± Elicec answered, smiling. I made no argument against the idea, instead swapping back to my aether orb and doing just as the young twinog had instructed. It launched into the sky and crashed back to the Earth, disappearing just as it made contact. The scenery vanished into a black void that was quickly replaced by the usual bland hallway as an experience notification popped into view. Guess the giants had taken care of the rest of this squad for us. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Combatants Defeated
Flowermantoid Grappler Core Grade C x7 70,000 Experience
High Webweaver Webwall Smith Core Grade C x8 80,000 Experience
Hill Giant Brawler Core Grade D x2 10,000 Experience
Cavehound Tracker Core Grade E x2 2,000 Experience
Dwarven Rage Drinker Core Grade E x8 12,000 Experience
Orc Berserkers Core Grade D x5 25,000 Experience
Stoneape Granite Defender Core Grade F x1 500 Experience
Experience Gained 199,500 Points
Arena Bonuses
Squad Wiped x2 600,000,000 Experience
Floor 3 Cleared 4,000,000,000 Experience
Experience Gained 4,600,000,000 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Undergraded x10
More Undergraded x100
Unoccupied Squad Positions x256
Total Experience Gained 1,424,957,797,120,000 Points
It had taken three floors, but I had finally gained a level. This was now nearing on my simulator for potential experience totals, but considering the biggest modifier was coming from our unfilled squad, I knew we couldn¡¯t keep that up forever. Not to mention, the faster we gained levels, the sooner I¡¯d catch my core up with the others, removing those multipliers as well, but the way the floor experience seemed to double each time was promising.
The history of the Jeweled Silk Trading Conglomerate is a story of blood and conquest. Initially the conglomerate was founded by several of the insectoid species throughout the Spiral, as they felt those without exoskeletons treated them as lower lifeforms. Soon, their faction had holdings in countless worlds as their power grew, and inversely, so didn¡¯t their compassion for insectoid species not already within their conglomerate. Factions, Dynasties, Royalty, and the Holdings by Trig Plunderscan Chapter 83: Alone ¡°Well, we did that pretty quickly. I would assume that means we have some time for a break,¡± I said hopefully as we stepped back into the waiting room. ¡°Doubtful, our next floor is just a monster match. They can have those ready to go immediately,¡± Rabyn said, and to prove his claim, Floor Master appeared next to us. ¡°Ah, good, here and ready for the next battle. Good luck,¡± the spider said before ushering us right back through the door we had just left, with no chance for rest or grabbing the tiniest bite to eat. My stomach rumbled slightly; I needed to get something into it before the fifth floor, or my performance was going to suffer. The hallway disappeared the moment the door was closed behind us, and this time, there was no wondering where the enemy was. A group of humanoids split between what looked like mutated rhinos and pigs were surrounding us. Each of them had a strange-looking large gun drawn and pointing at us, clearly ready to fire. ¡°Hit the ground!¡± Elicec yelled. I threw myself down, immediately understanding his reasoning as blasts of bright red light flashed above our heads. Several of the creatures dropped to the ground around us, the victims of friendly fire. ¡°Is this normal?¡± I called out, confused about why they¡¯d kill each other like this. ¡°It can be, especially when they try to use more aggressive or experimental sapient species as monsters!¡± Rabyn answered. ¡°Remembering where they had all stood before, Elody rose back to her feet as the written words, sharp as freshly cut paper, flew from the page guided by her memory to their targets,¡± Elody said, followed by the sound of several more bodies hitting the ground. I was reminded of how Mel had initially planned for Elody to carry us through most of this as the hall came back into view alongside the experience notification.
Combatants Defeated
Mutated Warthog x7 70,000 Experience
Mutated Rhinosaurus x8 80,000 Experience
Experience Gained 199,500 Points
Arena Bonuses
Floor 4 Cleared 8,000,000,000 Experience
Experience Gained 8,000,015,000 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Unoccupied Squad Positions x256
Total Experience Gained 2,478,084,646,400 Points
Sadly, it wasn¡¯t remotely comparable to the experience I''d earned on the previous floor. Fighting people with cores seemed to be the best way to gain experience, other than my own simulator, but that had some drawbacks. Then again, I supposed so did fighting actual people. The door swung open at the end of the hall, bringing me back to my earlier desires before this had started. I wanted, no, needed something to eat.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. I ran from the room as quickly as I could, ignoring any weird looks from Mel as I made for the food tables, quickly downing several sandwiches, gulping water to wash them down with. My core seemed to appreciate the food. Wait, why was I so hungry? I¡¯ve done more than this between meals. Did Connie¡¯s speed boosts accelerate my metabolism as well? Finishing my face stuffing and deciding to prod the dwarf for answers later, I moved as much of the rest of the food into my storage before finding Mel and Pryte in the crowd. ¡°Well, that¡¯s four down. Y¡¯all ain¡¯t half bad so far, which is damn impressive considering we didn¡¯t get shit for a chance at team training,¡± Mel spouted the moment I drew near him. He was still his usual shade of green and I was starting to associate with a positive outlook, not that I was fully sure what a positive Mel sounded like. ¡°I¡¯m concerned about floor ten. As well as we¡¯re doing currently, by that point, most, if not all, of the fodder will be gone. When we return to the home base, I wish to know more about your specific power set, Dave. I¡¯ve seen many humans, but you appear to have somehow both greater and lesser access to different magics,¡± Rabyn said, joining us. The orc¡¯s eyes were darting side to side as he spoke. Was he looking for someone or just trying to see if anyone was listening to us? ¡°We can talk builds once we¡¯re outta here, not before, and yes, floor ten is gonna be a giant fucking issue, but I¡¯ve been thinking on that, and we just happen to have several enclaves of yer people sitting back on Earth that need to be rooted out and a squad that needs to practice teamwork,¡± Mel said, smiling and glaring at us at the same time. I felt my stomach drop slightly at the thought of the orcs. Did we really have the resources to flush all of the remaining forces out? Hell, how many were sticking around? ¡°We may be of a similar evolution, but we do not share a true bloodline. They are not my people,¡± Rabyn said, with a heavy emphasis on the word my and the tiniest hint of anger escaping alongside the words. I had an idea of what was going on with him now, but just as with my own strangeness, this wasn¡¯t the proper environment for answers. ¡°Hrm, for yer sake, ya better not be lying. Pryte is getting the proper files together for Dave to review on all the new faction members,¡± Mel said, his color darkening just slightly, but before any further arguments could happen, Floor Master appeared again, signaling our return to the Arena. ¡°I just realized that that is Melhelm as your Arena manager. I wasn¡¯t aware he had returned. Excellent choice, Rabyn,¡± Floor Master said as he led us to the same spot as the last few times. That was the second person I had heard use Mel¡¯s full name, and both times related to just how big of a deal he had been. I was going to have to find a way to get him talking about his past, too. If he was going to make me run an empire, then I wanted to know how the hell he ended up on this life path. ¡°Fate has chosen to favor me with a third chance. Thank you for your confidence, Floor Master,¡± Rabyn said, pausing to thank the referee while the rest of us entered the familiar hallway that so far had been the gateway to every floor. ¡°So this floor is going to scatter us all. There¡¯ll be something in the sky constantly pointing you towards the victory zone, but keep in mind it¡¯s pointing this out to all the squads, so be careful,¡± Rabyn said. I didn¡¯t like the idea of us all being split up, mostly because of one person. ¡°Glorp, don¡¯t worry about making it to the finish. Just hide out and stay safe, alright?¡± I said. I knew he couldn¡¯t really be killed, but if it were anything like my simulator, the experience wouldn¡¯t be great. Plus, we weren¡¯t actually healed up between fights, so I didn¡¯t know how that would affect someone who was saved at the last second. ¡°O¡­¡± Glorp started to say before I felt my stomach lurch as my current reality slipped away, only to be replaced by water moments later. The System had been kind enough to drop me into water that was well over my head. As I kicked hard back to the surface, I was at least glad it wasn¡¯t freezing cold. I hated the experience of jumping into a cold body of water. Once my head broke the surface I looked around, finding myself entirely alone. I could easily see the shore in the distance if it could be called that. It looked to be wriggling. Despite the unnerving nature of the shoreline, I decided it was best to swim for it before I learned just what lived in the water of this place. The shore was even stranger once I reached it than I had initially realized. For one thing, it seemed to be floating on top of the water, which made it a bit difficult to pull myself out of. The worst part by far, though, was the way the ground groaned as I stepped on it. At first, I thought the ground itself might have just been a strange creature living on the water, but the land stretched as far as I could see. I looked up and spotted the arrow Rabyn had mentioned. I was glad to find it wasn¡¯t pointing back over the water but instead towards a weird mass, possibly trees, far in front of me. It was too bad I didn¡¯t have access to Connie¡¯s enhancements. I¡¯d have to make do with my own running speed. First, though, I focused on my chat interface.
Dave: Corey, can you fly overhead and keep a lookout? Corey: Yes.
Corey appeared from my storage and took to the air above me. While my mana drain did seem to increase based on the distance it was from me, this seemed like a valuable use. There were three other squads out here, likely overtly hostile toward me. I wanted as much of a warning as I could get if we found any. Running toward the strange trees made me realize just how long it had been since I was doing anything really alone, not counting my brief fight in Smithtown. My only solo experience since arriving in the Spiral had been during my reading and some of my experiments. It was a far cry from the solitude I had spent so much of the last few years in. Considering how open and alone I felt at the moment, was it possible I had become numb to the loneliness during my self-imposed seclusion? Or had I just grown accustomed that quickly to my new friends? Corey messaged me reminding me I wasn¡¯t even all that alone at the moment.
Corey: There are two people in the trees, likely waiting to ambush you. I do not believe they have spotted me yet. Should I attack? Dave: Not yet. Can you time your attack for when I get close enough that they try to attack me? Corey: Likely, yes. Dave: Perfect, interrupt anything they attempt, and I¡¯ll come in blasting after you.
The jesters and their puppets aren¡¯t a myth, but most who have met them soon wish they were. What exactly are the puppets? Or perhaps it¡¯s better to ask what the puppets were. When the jesters appear, people often go missing, and those with the misfortune to encounter the jesters again often report how lifelike and familiar their new puppets are. Should you ever find yourself exposed to a gathering of jesters, accept nothing they offer, be polite, and excuse yourself as soon as possible. Remember these rules, and you may just survive. Another 117 Scary Stories for Sleepovers by S. M. Grime Chapter 84: Forests of Illusion ¡°Dave Imogen, please halt your planned attack and that of your linked core. We do not wish to fight or harm you, only to speak of an unusual matter that we believe you¡¯ve become part of,¡± a pleasant, melodic voice called from the strange trees. I quickly sent a message to Corey.
Dave: Hold your attack for now, Corey. Stay nearby. Corey: Do you believe this to be a trick? Dave: Absolutely, but if there are only two of them, I¡¯m willing to test that theory. I¡¯m sure most of the squad will make it to the victory zone anyway. Corey: Understood.
¡°Fine, for the moment. Why not come out where I can see you if you want to talk to me, though?¡± I yelled back, not big on the idea of going to them. ¡°It¡¯s far too bright out there. It would be better for all of us if you came in here,¡± the voice answered serenely. I sighed before answering. ¡°Fine,¡± I said as I walked under the trees while a message popped up from Corey.
Corey: Dave, I do not believe this is a good idea. Dave: I¡¯ll be fine. Corey: Please be careful.
As I got closer to the trees, I still wasn¡¯t entirely sure that that was what they were. Their trunks and limbs were flesh-colored, while the leaves were all jet black. Worse, some of them seemed to be dripping a blood-red sap. It wasn¡¯t the best place to be alone. ¡°Thank you for joining us, Dave Imogen. Would you like to further join us for a meal before we get down to business?¡± the voice asked, revealing itself while it spoke. From behind one of the strange trees, two, possibly humans, maybe, walked out on their hands and feet. Both of their heads were tilted up, looking toward me with a reassuring grin. The one that spoke pushed itself upward onto its feet with a series of cracks down its spine as it did so, the whole time staring directly into my eyes with that calming smile. I, uh, I wanted something? Had they said something about food? That did sound nice. Ugh, why was an annoying message bothering me? I was hungry
Corey: Dave, something is wrong. Dave: I¡¯m fine. Stop bothering me!
I closed the message and forced Corey back into my System storage. I didn¡¯t need their potential rudeness during the meeting with nice people. ¡°Thank you for having me. What kind of food is there?¡± I asked ravenously. ¡°Oh, we have all the best kinds, but first, why not try some sap tea? It will help put your stomach in the correct place, Dave Imogen,¡± they said, pulling a small teacup from somewhere and offering it to me. ¡°Enough of this!¡± Corey yelled, having removed themselves from my storage, and before I could force their return or grab the offered teacup, smashed it. Corey was being just as rude as I had been worried they would be. ¡°Dammit, Corey, why?¡± I yelled, feeling my lip curl. Who did that core think they were? My mana channels blazed to life as I felt Corey¡¯s imbuing orb begin to cast. Immediately, the mallet slammed into the head of the one who had done all the speaking. It disappeared in a flash, and for a second, the strange forest seemed to flicker. Wait, what was going on? Why was I under these trees? ¡°Dave, focus!¡± Corey yelled, but something was happening in my head. Everything felt thick. Wait, was that my mana flowing through my body? No, somehow, foreign mana had gotten into my system and it was blurring everything. Taking a gamble, I pushed my soul-core reaction to its limit in an attempt to churn out as much of my own mana and push it through all of my mana channels at once. I felt something briefly ignite inside myself. My body screamed in pain as it happened, but the intruding force was gone. I opened my eyes, only to see Corey malleting down into another creature. How the hell had I ever considered taking anything from them? The creature vanished, and with it went the trees and strange ground, leaving in its place a much more normal, if not still a little alien forest. ¡°What the hell happened?¡± I said, sputtering half the words. My insides still hurt from whatever I had managed to do to myself, expelling the invading mana. And now my mana didn¡¯t seem to be flowing completely right. The channels felt burnt somehow. I wasn¡¯t sure that was quite right, either, but I didn¡¯t know how else to describe the feeling. ¡°I believe the members of a squad had managed to place you under their control. I do not know exactly how or when, but as I also saw the land transform when they were removed from the match, I don¡¯t believe that was part of their control over you,¡± Corey answered. ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, still feeling off. Corey had just acted on its own, against my orders, to save me from whatever was about to happen. Had they just been about to attack? It seemed different than that somehow. ¡°The mana linkage between us feels different, somewhat stronger than before,¡± Corey said. They were right. I could feel that as well. ¡°Yeah, it does. Something to talk about later once this is over,¡± I said, looking back overhead for the arrow. I was having trouble telling how much time I had wasted with those things; hopefully, it hadn¡¯t been too long. Once I had sight of it, I resumed my run towards the goal, with Corey floating after me. Neither of us spotted anyone or anything else until the victory zone came into sight. Strangely, only Elody and Glorp were in it. No one else from our squad or any other were there. ¡°Dave, did you encounter a Jester?¡± Elody asked frantically the moment I crossed over the line into the zone. ¡°Was that what those were? Weird clown-like humanoids?¡± I asked. The name fit if they had been. ¡°Yes, and this is critical. Did you consume anything they offered?¡± She answered before asking her next question, her face grim as she looked me over. ¡°No, I almost did, but Corey put a stop to it and bashed them hard enough to remove them from the match. Why, how bad would it have been?¡± I asked, my eyebrows narrowing as my concern grew. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t even understand how they¡¯re here. The Jesters don¡¯t have a planet in the Spiral or a faction as far as I know. It doesn¡¯t make sense for them to be a creature on this level, either. I¡¯m going to need to discuss this with Mel. Everything I¡¯ve ever read about them suggests that any deal made with them cannot be broken, and deals are tied and bound to the soul once their offerings are consumed, but I have no idea what that would mean for something like the Arena,¡± Elody explained, rambling slightly, it was the first time I had ever seen her so worried, almost out of her element. The feeling in the pit of my stomach told me my own anxiety was mirroring hers.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Glorp, how did you manage to get here? No offense intended, but if Rabyn wasn¡¯t able to, I¡¯m a little surprised you could,¡± I asked, still confused by his presence. ¡°Well, I do have a courier class, and you know there are a few things it specializes in. Getting to a set target at a rapid speed while dodging potential obstacles, well that¡¯s basically the main one. Since I was alone, I didn¡¯t have to worry about stopping to fight. I just followed the arrow and was here before anyone else!¡± the little guy said happily. At least someone was feeling cheerful. ¡°I found myself trapped in one of the jester''s illusions; luckily, my mind is rather hardened against them, but it still slowed me down while I puzzled out what exactly was happening. I was worried no one else was as lucky,¡± Elody said, explaining her own trip here. Just in time to reinforce Elody¡¯s fears and my own growing anxiety, a booming voice announced that all the other squads had been eliminated. As the hallway came back into view at the same time the experience window did, I was left wondering what that meant for the rest of our squad.
Combatants Defeated
Puppetless Jester Dealmaker, Core Grade B x3 300,000,000,000 Experience
Experience Gained 300,000,000,000 Points
Arena Bonuses
Floor 5 Cleared 16,000,000,000 Experience
Experience Gained 316,000,000,000 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Undergraded x10
More Undergraded x100
Even More Undergraded x1000
Unoccupied Squad Positions x4096
Total Experience Gained 1,566,146,560,000,000,000,000 Points
¡°Um, I think I just maxed my level,¡± Glorp said. That was also more experience than I had ever gained before, but we didn¡¯t have time to focus on that at the moment, let alone attempt a core fortification for Glorp. It had shot me up to level two-seventy-nine, which was past where I had maxed out at before. I would deal with the questions that the levels had caused later, as the door had just swung open, and we needed to see what had happened to the rest of our squad. ¡°How in the hell were there damned jesters on a floor?!¡± Mel shouted loudly enough that I could hear him from within the hallway. Exiting it, I spotted him arguing with several people. Surprisingly, a few shouts were added on our side every so often by Floor Master. ¡°We have no idea how jesters managed to hijack a squad spot. But I assure you it will never happen again,¡± one of the men they were screaming at was saying. ¡°And what does that possibly do fer us in the meantime?¡± Mel yelled louder. ¡°You need to bring their squad members out of the infirmary this moment, so they may join the next floor,¡± Floor Master added. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t think they¡¯re ready for¡­,¡± the man started to say before Floor Master cut him off. ¡°Ready or not, I gave you an order. Are you really willing to disobey me?¡± Floor Master asked, his pedipalps aggressively shaking as he spoke. ¡°No sir, sorry, they¡¯ll be here in a moment,¡± the man said, grabbing something out of his pocket and speaking into it. ¡°Dave, listen to me. We won¡¯t have much time once they¡¯re here. You and Elody need to fully scan ¡®em on the next floor. Anything out of the ordinary needs to be sealed, cured, or uncursed. Whatever any of ya can do, just don¡¯t let any of it fester. Ya hear me?¡± Mel yelled from across the room. Floor Master was already heading our way. It seemed that time was short. I nodded back, letting him know I heard him, loud and clear.
The courier class is almost never used in a combat or Arena role. Its primary function is to deliver something to a location or person as quickly or accurately as possible. Note, though, that I said almost never used. Glordjral the Tall famously used the courier class alongside his own rift wizard class to amazing effect. Classes Volume 1 by Zolinjar Chapter 85: Chariots of Fire ¡°So what happened to everyone?¡± I asked as soon as the hall door was closed behind us. None of them looked particularly healthy. Even Rabyn looked ready to fall over at any moment. ¡°Whatever those things were, they got into our heads. I think we ate something they offered, hard to remember exactly,¡± Elicec said. Cecile gagged but managed to keep his stomach down. ¡°Dave, you and Glorp are going to have to handle the race. I¡¯ll do my best to join you later, but I have to spend the start of the floor attempting to purge whatever happened to them. Hopefully, my knowledge of jesters doesn¡¯t prove inadequate,¡± Elody said. I didn¡¯t remotely like what that meant. There were seven other squads on this floor. Glorp and I were going to have to somehow handle a race against them alone. ¡°Rabyn, can you tell us anything before this starts?¡± I asked, hoping at least for some extra information. ¡°I¡¯ve never actually done this floor. The squad swapped me out for an actual pilot. You¡¯ve got that mallet, though. Use it against the other vehicles,¡± Rabyn said, swaying slightly as he spoke. Just what did the jesters do to people? The hall disappeared again, depositing us in a large open area with dozens of other people around us. ¡°Ten minutes til start, racers take your chariots!¡± an unseen voice boomed out. I looked around, not spotting any of the chariots. The other squads looked just as confused as I did. ¡°There!¡± Glorp said, pointing to several small dots in the distance that were quickly growing larger. They mostly looked like horse-pulled chariots with extra wheels. The difference was the flaming horses that were pulling them. I looked around at the other squads, and none of them looked particularly pleased. The chariots were only big enough to hold three to four people max, which meant the other squads got to split up. I bit my lower lip slightly as I considered how to play this, a habit I thought I had broken long ago. Glorp and I would be a solo target, and I didn¡¯t like that thought at all. ¡°Think you can drive a chariot, Glorp?¡± I asked, having no idea if that was in his metaphorical wheelhouse, but it was probably better he did it while Corey and I fought. ¡°Possibly, no, likely. With how many levels I gained on the last floor, I believe I can greatly contribute. Give me three minutes. I should be able to quickly adjust my build,¡± Glorp said, twitching excitedly as he spoke. I looked back at Elody, about to ask if they¡¯d be okay, but shut myself up as I saw her deep in concentration with several of her books floating in front of her. I wasn¡¯t about to interrupt whatever she was doing. My own telemetry scans could wait until the race was over. Instead, I walked over to one of the newly arrived chariots. There was nothing special inside, just a small area for standing and the reins to control the flame horse, however that may have worked. The various discussions I could overhear sounded as though the other factions were having a similar problem. Then I noticed something amongst the mass of different peoples: there was a group of giants standing around arguing about squeezing a third person into a chariot or not. I was pretty sure I recognized two of them. I quickly ran over to them as a plan formed in my head. ¡°Hey, we met a couple of floors down, right?¡± I asked, their eyes all turned coldly toward my interruption. ¡°Yeah, on the flags, why?¡± One of them asked. He sounded similar to the one who had agreed to the previous deal. ¡°Well, four of the squads can move on, right? You already know we keep our word, so interested in another team-up?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± the giant answered. Well, that had been easy. Then again, he¡¯d been pretty agreeable before as well. There was also the fact they had no idea it was just me and Glorp, so that had probably helped things. ¡°I¡¯m Dave, by the way,¡± I said. There was always the chance I had just made my first faction ally, so I figured I should let them know who I was. ¡°Tomthy,¡± he replied before resuming his argument about chariot space. That was for the best, as I didn¡¯t have a huge amount of time left, and quickly dashed back to Glorp. I found him already standing on the nearest chariot to where I had left him. I hoped that meant there was some good news.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I invested almost all the levels and experience we gained from the last floor into my courier class, mostly focused on the path of mobile delivery. I think I can handle this chariot fine now. I hope we get enough experience to bring me up to core fortification again, though. I was really looking forward to that,¡± Glorp said nervously as I hopped onto the chariot behind him. Most of his fidgeting had stopped, but he still seemed pretty excited about this. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If you¡¯re stuck with us, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get another chance. I made an alliance with the same giants we dealt with on floor three. Assuming they don¡¯t screw us, it should make this a bit easier,¡± I said, unsure if they would really stick to the agreement or not. Considering four squads moved on, it had to be the better move to stay on our good side, right? I wasn¡¯t sure whether I wished I knew more about faction politics or that I didn¡¯t need to know anything about them at all. ¡°I really didn¡¯t think this was where my life was going,¡± Glorp replied as he fiddled with the reins. ¡°Welcome to the club. It might be the only defining requirement for joining the faction right now. Okay, I¡¯m going to bring Corey out the second we take off. My plan is to just start eliminating as many other chariots that aren¡¯t the giants as I can. You just keep us going toward the finish line as best you can,¡± I said with a deep sigh. It was the best plan I had for now. ¡°Dave, thank you for saving me, but um, when we get some time, can we talk? I might need more help,¡± Glorp spat out the words like a dam had broken. If it hadn¡¯t been for my own years of super-speed rambling, I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d have completely understood him. How bad of a situation was he in? It didn¡¯t really matter. He was here because of me, so I¡¯d help in any way I could. How did I seem to keep collecting these debts? ¡°Of course, as¡­¡± The rest of what I was going to say was drowned out by the return of the voice. ¡°Three, two, one,¡± it announced loudly, signaling the start. Glorp grabbed the reins and gave them a gentle pull, causing the flame horse to take off. We weren¡¯t out in a complete lead, but we had pulled ahead of well over half the other chariots. Glorp¡¯s new classpath had paid off. Now, it was my turn. ¡°Take down everyone you can that isn¡¯t a giant,¡± I said out loud to Corey after producing them from my storage. ¡°Understood,¡± the mallet responded before throwing itself hard into the wheel of the nearest chariot, causing it to splinter and cascade into two others. I quickly switched to my shield orb, as it hit me, quite literally, that I was going to need to soak some of the damage the core was taking. It felt like someone had punched me in the chest. I was tempted to turn my life orb on as well, but I was afraid I¡¯d need the mana, plus my channels still felt a bit off from what had happened on the last floor. I flipped my fire elemental orb on and scanned the track. Corey was currently hammering away at another wheel. Virtually every chariot was under attack by someone, except for ours. Why weren¡¯t we being attacked? I wasn¡¯t one to look a gift horse in the mouth and decided to hold off on blasting anyone in case that drew their attention. Corey was doing plenty for now anyway, and I could just hold the mana in reserve for keeping up shields as needed this way. We raced along at a breakneck speed as Glorp slowly darted the chariot through the mass of racers, carefully maneuvering us time and time again as he inched the chariot to the front of the pack. After several minutes of this precision chariot driving, he managed to pull it out ahead of the others, but just as he did, I spotted one of the carts next to us. There was a large blue-skinned woman pointing directly toward us, screaming. The words were too muffled to make out, but unlike everyone else, she had clearly noticed us. I launched two fireballs at the side of their chariot just as an arc of lightning sprang out of her hand toward us. My fireballs hit home, knocking the cart sideways into another, but so had their lightning. And it had been aimed at Glorp. He screamed out in pain but managed to hold the chariot on track. I could see the finish line up ahead. We were somehow going to win this.
Dave: Corey, take out anything behind us that isn¡¯t a giant. I want to make sure they have a shot at second place. Corey: Understood.
I shot out a few more fireballs myself while Corey knocked down several of the chariots nearest to us. The giants hadn¡¯t attacked us during the race, and whether that was due to the strangeness in no one seeming to notice us besides the one blue woman or not, I didn¡¯t care. If Mel wanted me to run a damned faction, then I was going to make some alliances. That meant as we crossed the finish line and the voice loudly declared us the winner, I was also cheering on the giant¡¯s chariot that crossed immediately after ours. Glorp joined, jumping up and down as well while cheering. Apparently, the pain of the lightning hadn¡¯t been enough to stop his joy.
Faction alliances can be formed in many ways. Generally, the largest of the factions out there form them for reasons of power-sharing or to block an up-and-coming faction. When a faction war starts, alliances are more often formed for defensive reasons. When it comes to the smaller factions, alliances can form for nearly any reason, sometimes even just camaraderie. The Green Nebula Collective and the Elder Underpork Empire famously have been millennia-long allies after two of their scions went drinking together on a whim. Factions, Dynasties, Royalty, and the Holdings by Trig Plunderscan Chapter 86: Order to Chaos Behind the giants came several more chariots, and while I couldn¡¯t tell who exactly crossed the line in what order, I was sure the System could. Glorp was jumping up and down, celebrating his victory, and who could blame him? I doubt we could¡¯ve done better even if everyone was still up and ready to go. Hopefully, Elody had been able to do something about what the jesters had inflicted upon the others. I spotted Tomthy nodding at me from his chariot moments before I was back in the hallway with the others. I really needed to figure out what faction they were part of.
Combatants Defeated
Experience Gained 0 Points
Arena Bonuses
Floor 6 Cleared 32,000,000,000 Experience
Experience Gained 32,000,000,000 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
First Place x9
Unoccupied Squad Positions x256
Total Experience Gained 89,210,880,000,000 Points
¡°How are they doing?¡± I asked, switching to my life orb as I spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve done everything I can, but there¡¯s something odd in their soul, almost like a tiny knot of energy, and I have no idea how to deal with that,¡± Elody answered. She looked completely drained. I wasn¡¯t sure she had anything left to even help us on the next floor. I scanned them over with my own remote telemetry and learned even less, not surprising me at all. Elody was much more skilled at this than I was. ¡°I can¡¯t even detect the knot, but once we¡¯re back home, I¡¯ll play around more with my build, and we can talk to the others for more information. There has to be something we can do,¡± I said, noticing the door had opened. ¡°The worst part about what Elody said is that I feel perfectly normal now,¡± Rabyn said as we exited the room. The fact that they all looked to be standing and even walking normally again was a testament to Elody¡¯s abilities and a stomach-sinking worry about the part she couldn¡¯t fix. I spotted Mel, his color having shifted dramatically, giving us a concerned look. I shrugged back, hoping he got the message, as Floor Master was already here again, leaving us no time to grab anything else or let Elody take even the smallest break. ¡°My apologies. I would give you a break if I could, but I believe this is your last floor today,¡± Floor Master said. ¡°It is, and we thank you for all your help,¡± I said back, mirroring some of Rabyn¡¯s earlier politeness. The spider¡¯s strict adherence to punctuality may have been annoying, but he had defended us alongside Mel, so he had earned my respect. ¡°Your gratitude is appreciated, but it is my job. Please treat Rabyn well,¡± Floor Master replied before closing the door behind us for our final floor of this nightmare of a blitz. I could go my whole life without ever seeing one of those jester things again, and I wasn¡¯t big on the other mantises either. ¡°Based on what Mel told us, we need to just focus on the monster, whatever it is, and do everything to avoid friendly fire,¡± Elicec said, sounding entirely ready and willing to resume command. ¡°That will be easier said than done. There are going to be a lot of morons running around and getting in everyone¡¯s way, so we will need to take extra caution around them,¡± Rabyn added. ¡°Okay, Dave, I want you to focus on healing other squads, get the points up that way, and send Corey to attack whatever we see. Connie, buff everyone as much as you can. Rabyn, Cecile, and I will focus on whatever the creature is. Glorp, keep Elody safe, she¡¯s drained her core far more than she should have trying to help us,¡± Elicec said. While we all voiced our agreement, I flipped over to my shield and life orbs, noticing Rabyn giving me the same look yet again. I considered bringing it up this time, but the room vanished before I could. We appeared in the middle of a fight that had already started. There were dozens of people running in all directions, magic firing off nonstop, and at least four other songs that didn¡¯t remotely harmonize together. All of this was happening because of the giant blobfish-like creature that was currently sucking in as many people as it could get its lips on. Each one it swallowed seemed to inflate it further. ¡°Connie, get those other bards under control and see if you can¡¯t put together a joint performance. Dave, get to work on the healing and get Corey swinging. Rabyn, let¡¯s go!¡± Elicec yelled before charging forward, the orc following directly behind without a question. I didn¡¯t argue either, as I pulled Corey from my storage. Elicec was clearly the standout for leading this squad. ¡°Follow Elicec and do what he says,¡± I yelled over the noise of the battle, watching the mallet rapidly fly after the twinogs. I spared a glance behind me and caught Glorp casting something on Elody while she spoke guided instructions from the book floating in front of her face. I couldn¡¯t make out the words. More importantly, I had also spotted several giants in need of healing. That was the perfect place to start, even if they didn¡¯t look like the same faction as before. After a quick scan I threw several healing mana patches onto their body where they were needed. I received nods from several of the giants and felt one of them cast something on me that made my core regenerate my mana pool faster. How come it was only giants I seemed to get along with in the Arena? A System notification popped into my view as I was looking for others to heal.Stolen story; please report.
Mana Orb Rank Increase
Mana Orb Rank Increase
Mana Orb Rank Increase
Mana Orb Rank Increase
Mana Orb Rank Increase
I hadn¡¯t realized it was possible to get the notifications in the middle of the floors, but I supposed it made some sense. Who knew how big these floors could end up being? There had to be some huge ones with their own built-in downtime. The messages themselves though, I was ecstatic to see. That meant more access to mana skills, and I was going to need that more than ever as this all continued. It was too bad I only had five notifications. The shield was already past the others, and I knew why imbuing didn¡¯t rank up either. I had unslotted it for several battles.
Corey: Dave, Elicec has requested your help fighting the creature. He was hoping you could do something similar to what you did to the frog. Dave: Got it. I¡¯ll give it a try.
I switched my concentration back from the surprise message and ran toward the front line. The horrible noise of all the singers came to a screeching halt. The sound of a chaotic battlefield replaced it briefly before a strong beat alongside several instruments and a beautiful voice flared to life. Unlike before, this music was amazing. I had no idea how Connie had managed to form a band in the middle of this, but I certainly wouldn¡¯t be complaining about it. Alongside the impromptu concert came several waves of enhancements. I was moving faster, my mana regeneration had managed to increase even further, all of my senses felt sharper, and I swore I could now see weak points on the creature. Several areas were highlighted in giant red targets.
Dave: Tell Elicec to attempt to take charge of the battle for all the squads. I think his voice should be amplified by what Connie pulled off. Corey: Understood.
My hunch proved right as I heard Elicec¡¯s booming voice the closer I came to the front lines. ¡°Everyone listen up. Thanks to the musicians, we now have the creature¡¯s weaknesses highlighted. Focus all your attention on those spots, and we can take it down!¡± His shouts were followed by cheers. The squads were happily listening as everything from guns to slingshots started firing at the targets, soon followed by heavily focused magic. The moment I was at the front lines, I switched my aether orb on and focused on the concept of the molecules inside the creature¡¯s mouth. I had an idea. ¡°Join together the gasses of nitrogen and oxygen and find a new, much more deadly form,¡± I heard myself yell. I was pretty sure that meant it had worked, and when the thing started to cough loudly, expelling several of the people it had swallowed, I was entirely sure it had. Its color quickly changed from pink to grey as it shrank, writhing in pain and expelling more of its previous victims. As the united attack continued, the creature''s form started to shred until, finally, nothing of it was left. The cheers increased, growing substantially even louder at the monster''s defeat, completely replacing the sounds of the former battle. Shockingly, I saw different factions shaking hands and yelling thanks to each other. It was a nice sight to see. I had been worried the giants were the aberrations, but it seemed most people weren¡¯t actually horrible cutthroats here after all.
Combatants Defeated
Hunger Blob x1 150,000,000 Experience
Experience Gained 150,000,000 Points
Arena Bonuses
Floor 7 Cleared 64,000,000,000 Experience
Experience Gained 64,150,000,000 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Top Squad x11
All Squads Still Standing x1000
Unoccupied Squad Positions x256
Total Experience Gained 218,582,144,000,000,000 Points
So it looked like on cooperative floors, you got pretty big experience bonuses if you could keep all the squads alive. Was there more if you could keep every single person up and fighting? Those were questions for later as we were done with today¡¯s goal. Seven floors were over, and we only had a couple of potential disasters to deal with. The door at the end of the hall opened for our final exit of the day.
Some of the more impressive musically inclined classes try to synergize themselves with certain skills that can make their growth easier. One of the strangest skills I¡¯ve seen put to extraordinarily good use was an improvisation skill that a group of bards used for spontaneous concerts. The effects they could produce on the spot were amazing, and I¡¯ve never seen their like. Rare Skills & Their Value by Kongus Kingly Chapter 87: Spiders & Giants ¡°C¡¯mon, we¡¯re getting back to yer place immediately. Everyone keep their mouth shut and don¡¯t agree to anything anyone asks,¡± Mel said as his way of greeting us. Whether he was willing to say it or not, his dark green shade gave away his happiness at our survival, so I was willing to take some of his feigned anger. ¡°I¡¯m very glad to see you all managed your climb so successfully today. I have some of the details of what happened and the formation of your faction, and I wish you all the best of luck,¡± Floor Master said once Mel had finished, and I felt one of his legs brush against my shoe as he spoke. He pushed something small under the tongue of my left shoe. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it was, but given that he wasn¡¯t trying to hide it from me, just everyone else, it didn¡¯t seem overly dangerous just now. So, I wasn¡¯t willing to draw any attention to it. I¡¯d check it the moment we were back home. ¡°Thank you, Floor Master. We greatly appreciate everything you¡¯ve done to help us today,¡± I said, mimicking how Rabyn had treated the spider initially. Floor Master just bowed their head in return before heading off to a new group that had just entered. Mel was bobbing his way for the door, with Pryte walking directly behind him. It seemed he wanted out of here as soon as possible. I checked to make sure that everyone was following before heading off myself. I understood the feeling and wanted to get home as well. We needed Mel¡¯s advice to discuss the soul knots further, and that was best done away from prying ears. ¡°Hey there, little guy, that was some impressive work on the race track. Are you sure you want to be attached to a no-name group like this? I bet I can get you some real deals out there,¡± a slimy voice said to Glorp. Its owner looked as shady as they sounded, somewhere between a used car salesman and a slug. Glorp pushed them away before anyone else had to intervene, apparently having made his own decision to stick with us or just not trusting a slug dressed in a cheap suit. The rest of the walk back was filled with much of the same. Most of the focus was on Glorp and Rabyn, which made some sense based on their performance. What I didn¡¯t understand was why, by extension, Connie was getting none of the offers. I figured the other three were just too attached to me and that news had spread enough to dissuade anyone from making the attempt. I filed that away as something to bring up with Connie again later. Since we weren¡¯t in the same mad dash on the way out as we were on the way in, I was able to get a much better look at what was around us. One side seemed to be entirely made up of waiting rooms, and I guessed that was the inside of the ring, though I wasn¡¯t entirely sure that was the shape of the building, but it made the most sense in my head. The outer side was full of various shops, restaurants, and other gathering locations. Several of the places reminded me of sports bars with their giant monitors showing highlights of different matches. How exactly did that work with the soul oath that people were required to take? Was everyone here just already subject to it or exempt like I apparently was? For that matter, when would the others be forced to take it? ¡°DAVE!¡± a loud voice bellowed excitedly from somewhere down the busy walkway. Considering I didn¡¯t know a lot of people, and the vast majority of who I did know couldn¡¯t be here, I had my suspicions about who the voice belonged to. They were quickly confirmed as Mel stopped and turned angrily to me. ¡°Dave, why the hell is a giant hollering your name?¡± he asked. ¡°Hopefully, it¡¯s Tomthy. We allied up with a giant squad twice, and it seemed to go well,¡± I answered somewhat nervously. Mel¡¯s eyebrow raised, well, the spot that would be an eyebrow if he had one raised at least. I was pretty sure it was just a darker patch of cloud, not actual hair. ¡°Hrm, well, actually, that ain¡¯t the worst thing I can imagine,¡± Mel said, sounding oddly okay with the news, as several giants pushed their way through the crowds to reach us, Tomthy leading the small pack. ¡°Glad I caught you, just wanted to say thanks. If you¡¯re ever on Tregulep, make sure to look us up; we owe you a drink,¡± the giant said, his voice still as loud as it had been in the Arena. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to do that. What faction are you guys with anyway? Sorry, still new to all of this,¡± I said, hoping that was a question you could just ask. ¡°Gold Mountain Hammerfists,¡± he answered with a huge smile. The other giants cheered at the name.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Well, the Empire of Dave is glad to have worked with you,¡± I said in return, smiling awkwardly as the embarrassment from the choice of name spread over me. ¡°Sorry ta cut this short, but we¡¯ve gotta get going. If yer interested in a formal alliance though, send a courier ta Earth. We¡¯d be interested in discussing it,¡± Mel said as he started to usher us back on his path. ¡°I¡¯ll see what my dad says!¡± Tomthy called after us, his voice easily carrying over the rest of the crowd. The remainder of our walk wasn¡¯t nearly so exciting, and we found a porter waiting for us at the same place we had been dropped out. This one was, at least on the surface level, much less impatient than the last. ¡°The Golden Mountain Hammerfists are pretty new, but making a potential alliance with the crown prince was a great idea, Dave. I doubt any major faction will want anything to do with us, and considering the history of that giant faction, they aren¡¯t likely to abandon us if we get anything formal in place,¡± Pryte said the moment the porter had returned after dropping us back on Earth. ¡°Honestly, had no idea. Elicec was the one who made the first suggestion. I just followed up when I saw them on another floor,¡± I said, glad to be once again back on Earth. ¡°Y¡¯all did great. It¡¯s important I get that out before I start whipping yer asses into a real fighting squad. I¡¯m sure yer all exhausted, so I¡¯ll let ya have tomorrow off before we resume any real training. That don¡¯t mean we¡¯re doing nothing, though. Dave, Pryte, and I will be talking to each of ya about a detailed class manifest and yer position in the faction. We need to get that all squared away,¡± Mel said, volunteering me for things I had no idea how to do tomorrow. At least I could use the meetings to get some of the answers I wanted on how people¡¯s abilities worked, but I also needed some of my own time to go through the changes in my mana orbs. The sun was already setting here, and we still had a ton to discuss tonight, the jesters being my first priority. ¡°Wait, what kind of faction did I just join?¡± Connie said, her head looking around the property. I had been a little concerned about how she¡¯d react when she finally learned just what she had gotten herself into; Glorp at least had some idea. ¡°The Empire of Dave is a brand new faction, ya want out? Fine, but we ain¡¯t got any transport off Planet setup yet, so yer stuck with us til we head back ta the Arena,¡± Mel said, glaring at the woman. ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t say that, just wasn¡¯t what I was expecting for a faction that had such a show of force against it on the first floor,¡± Connie answered. The front door of the house had opened, likely alerted to our return from Mel¡¯s angry response. Alex, John, and Maud had emerged, watching us from the front porch without saying anything. Timon and Sanquar were nowhere to be seen. Neither was the bus now that I looked around. Where were they? ¡°Good, cuz before ya walk into that house, ya need to make a decision. Assuming the Empire of Dave lasts for another year, I mean both of ya, Glorp included here, to agree to at least one year of service with the faction. If ya can¡¯t do that, I can¡¯t let ya in on any of the big discussions we¡¯re about to have,¡± Mel said sternly. ¡°I will agree, but I don¡¯t know how useful I am, and what I tell you tomorrow may make you not want me,¡± Glorp said sadly. I doubted there was anything he could really tell us that would make us kick him out. For one thing, we were desperate, but for another, he was in this because of us and had already done great. ¡°We¡¯ll cover that tomorrow, and what about you, Connie?¡± Mel asked, turning his glare back toward her. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s probably better this way. I don¡¯t need a million fans trying to track down my grandpa anyway. What are we signing?¡± She asked after agreeing. I thought she looked a bit unsure despite her agreement. Then again, I¡¯d be pretty damn unsure in her place, hell I still was, and I was the one who had to lead the empire. Pryte produced two pieces of paper and pens from somewhere and handed them to both of the newcomers. Each of them signed without further questions. ¡°Good, now everyone inside, assuming we can even all fit, which is gonna be one part of the discussions tonight. John was right about that problem,¡± Mel said, less angry than he had been a minute ago. I hadn¡¯t realized he considered those two signing a contract such a sticking point. ¡°So, how did it go?¡± Alex asked as we finally broke for the door. ¡°Honestly, they did great, yer dad pulled through impressively, but that was also the easy part. It¡¯s gonna get real bad from here,¡± Mel said as he floated through the door, everyone else following.
There are many things a faction needs if it wants to stay solvent, not the least of which are skilled channelers. Alliances help, but they can only take a faction so far. What they need more than anything are resources. How can they possibly hope to attract any talent if they have nothing to offer? And if a faction doesn¡¯t have enough channelers, it will only be a matter of time before they lose it all within the Arena. Factions, Dynasties, Royalty, and the Holdings by Trig Plunderscan Chapter 88: More Problems ¡°First up, all of ya start emptying yer storage space unless you¡¯ve got some ability to keep things fresh in it. Glorp, Cecile, and Elicec, put everything where John tells ya. John is the guy that looks like Dave, for those that don¡¯t know,¡± Mel ordered the moment the door was closed to the house. The entire squad started loading every surface down with different kinds of food, some prepared, some not. Cecile had even managed to take all the condiment containers. It took nearly half an hour and a lot of guesswork from John on where exactly to put everything, but we finally had it all stowed away. I wasn¡¯t sure we had managed to grab nearly enough, but it was much more than we had started with, so I wasn¡¯t about to complain. ¡°So, what¡¯s this new crazy meeting about tonight, then?¡± Alex asked me after we had finished getting the food put away. She was chewing on her lower lip like she had when she was a kid. That was something she had picked up from me and meant worry, which was probably my fault. Less than a day after learning I was alive, I ran off to another possible death. Then, there was her mom. We still needed to have that conversation, but I had decided that could wait until we did a little search and rescue of our own. If Mel wanted us to train by hunting down some of the orcs still on Earth, then that meant we had time to check several of the places they had destroyed. ¡°I don¡¯t know everything Mel needs us to go over, but at the very least, we have to talk about what happened in the Arena, and I¡¯m sure everyone will want to hear about our new members. I think everything mostly went okay, though. We only had one real problem, but I¡¯ll explain that soon,¡± I said, trying and clearly failing to reassure her. The lip-biting hadn¡¯t stopped. ¡°This is just our lives now, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯d like to say that I don¡¯t know how long I can handle all of this, but it¡¯s not going to go away,¡± She replied, looking at me for answers I didn¡¯t really have. ¡°I wish it weren¡¯t our new reality, but I do think things will get better. If we can get through the terms to truly start the faction, then we can go full tilt into fixing Earth and keeping us safe from whatever¡¯s coming next. And I promise, I''m going to do everything I can to keep you all safe and secure,¡± I said, reaching out to hug her as I made my promise. ¡°I know, I know. Part of this is just the baby hormones, I think. Which is a whole other thing I¡¯m trying not to think about too much,¡± She said, accepting my offered hug. ¡°Alright, before I start, does anyone else need to bring anything up?¡± Mel yelled, gathering everyone¡¯s attention to the living room, ours included. Alex wiped the tears from her eyes and found herself a seat before they were all taken. I stayed standing, deciding to let the rest of the limited seating stay free for others. ¡°Yeah, what the hell were the jesters?¡± I asked immediately, still unnerved by my own encounter and worried about what half the squad had experienced with them. ¡°I suppose we can start there, not that I know much, either. May as well cover it while we wait fer Timon and Sanquar, anyway,¡± Mel said. At the mention of Sanquar¡¯s name, Connie dropped her food midbite. ¡°Not the legendary Sanquar, right? I¡¯ve heard a lot of stories about him from gramps, but you can¡¯t possibly mean him?¡± She asked with a note of confusion in her voice. ¡°It is, in fact, that Sanquar, and more or less how this all started. But I¡¯ll fill you in tomorrow during our meeting,¡± I said, not wanting to cover it all again tonight, even if neither she or Glorp fully knew the story yet. ¡°Alright, back to the jesters. Someone got a squad of them in there purely to hurt us; no other way I can imagine that happened. I couldn¡¯t tell you exactly what they are, but they ain¡¯t welcome on virtually any Spiral world, and no one knows where their homeworld is, either. The real problem comes if they manage to get their grip on ya,¡± Mel started to explain when Elody interrupted. ¡°Yes, and we have just such a problem. I did everything I know how to do for them, but each of them has a soul knot that I cannot break,¡± she explained, slumping deep into her seat as she did, looking defeated. That reminded me of Floor Master and Mel arguing to get them released to us, which further reminded me that Floor Master had slipped something in my shoe. ¡°I figured there was no way around that, but kinda hoped you knew more about that than me,¡± Mel said, and while he was talking, I had fished a scrap of folded paper out of my shoe and opened it, quickly reading the contents. Dave Imogen, I am slipping this note to you in hopes it will help you in the future. With both Rabyn and Melhelm as part of your faction, I believe I can trust your intentions and, therefore, believe it is my duty to warn you. I am aware of the plot against you within the Arena, an,d as of writing this, they have managed to stack the tenth floor against you. I do not know the exact squad you will face, but they have managed to manipulate the parameters for the floor so that it will put you against the highest possible challenge it can within the bounds. That likely means you will be facing one more people with a core rank of S. I can do nothing else to help you, but please inform Melhelm, as he may have ideas.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Floor Master ¡°Dave, are ya listening?¡± Mel yelled as I looked up from the paper. I hadn¡¯t been entirely, but this was important. ¡°Sorry, I missed everything after you said you hoped Elody had known more, but after the jesters, I¡¯ve got another topic to discuss,¡± I said, flushing slightly. I hadn¡¯t been called out for not paying attention since college. I hated it then, and I wasn¡¯t big on it now. ¡°I was saying that those soul knots could turn into either nothing or a giant fucking issue; now, what was so important that drew yer damn attention away from potential soul domination,¡± Mel asked, glaring at me. ¡°Oh, just, y''know, Floor Master had snuck me a note, and I was finally reading it,¡± I said smugly and then followed up with its contents. Mel¡¯s color slowly shifted to a dark red as I finished reading it aloud. ¡°Damn, just when I was starting to get hopeful we might pull this off. Dammit, dammit, dammit,¡± Mel yelled, sounding somewhere between rage and tears. ¡°Honestly, I already expected something like that was coming. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve already lost, but it won¡¯t be easy,¡± Rabyn said, interrupting Mel¡¯s outburst. ¡°Yeah, and how exactly do ya propose we get all of ya ready to face S-grade channels in a few weeks?¡± Mel asked angrily, his fury turning toward Rabyn. ¡°Constance, what exactly is your core grade right now? Yours as well, Elody?¡± Rabyn asked, ignoring Mel¡¯s gaze. ¡°A, but only because of how much I¡¯ve dumped into my class. I¡¯ve regressed from S twice already,¡± Connie answered first. ¡°B, for similar reasons,¡± Elody followed immediately after. ¡°And I am currently sitting at an S core myself. I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s possible for the System to choose anyone with a transcendence level. So I have some confidence that this is entirely winnable if we can train up the other four more.¡± As Rabyn explained this, Mel¡¯s shade started shifting back to green. That was also the first time I had heard anyone mention transcendence levels. I filed that away to ask about another time. ¡°No, yer right, it won¡¯t be able to select anyone with transcendence levels. They get an instant bye past the first twenty-five, so they could only be there on a reascent. I knew Elody was up there, and I had my suspicions on you as well Rabyn, but I¡¯m surprised the dwarf agreed to join us with that much power,¡± Mel replied. ¡°Gramps said the most important thing to do if I really wanted to experience Spiral life and climb the Arena was to find some interesting people to do it with, and well, you all fit that bill pretty easily. Most people would just want to use me to meet the old man anyway; you just want to use me because I¡¯m that awesome. I kind of like it,¡± she answered with a smile. ¡°A dwarf, huh? Are you like really good at mining or crafting? Or is that just in books and movies?¡± Maud suddenly spoke up, sounding intrigued. Had she not realized Connie was a dwarf until now? Then again, she really didn¡¯t look anything like how Earth stereotypically depicted dwarfs, especially dwarven women. Sure, she had a beard, but she was dressed as though she was ready to put on a show at any moment. ¡°How crude. I am a student of the stellar Opera. I do not mine or craft other than crafting on my art while I mine for new inspiration,¡± Connie answered. It wasn¡¯t lost on me that she fell into a different manner of speaking when she talked about herself and her class versus her more casual tone. The why she did it, though, I had no idea. Why people did what they did was never something I was particularly great at figuring out, and I had gotten much worse at it after the loss of my own parents. Likely another of the big reasons for my eventual divorce. ¡°Oh, oh, and ya just happened to be on the same first floor as this squad? Pryte, are ya thinking the same thing I am here?¡± Mel asked, suddenly looking at Connie very intensely. ¡°Possibly, assuming the gramps she has mentioned several times is Trelione, it¡¯s hard to believe something like this could happen coincidentally. We already know Sanquar and the System were somehow friends. On top of that, we know it¡¯s favoring Dave somewhat as well. So yes, I agree it looks like the System fought back a little against the Arena being stacked so against us,¡± Pryte answered as Mel nodded along to his similar conclusion, his color entirely back to the standard green. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m missing something, which I usually do, but more so than usual right now,¡± I said, confused about what Trelione had to do with Sanquar. ¡°I confess I, too, don¡¯t know the connection between Trelione and Sanquar,¡± Elody chimed in. ¡°Trelione is the last living member, or at least was the last living member, of Sanquar¡¯s faction. He¡¯s only still in the Spiral because he left it long before whatever happened, happened,¡± Pryte answered
What little is publicly known of the faction Sanquar once led is that it was open to any and all who wished to join. As he fought in the Arena alone, no one else was ever required to do so. How many people he had at its peak has been lost, or more accurately, removed from the record. While this information almost certainly still exists in some noble¡¯s personal archive, no one willing to speak on it has seen the figures, and what exactly happened to that faction once Sanquar was removed from the Spiral is another question altogether. A People¡¯s History of the Spiral, Author Unknown Chapter 89: Beneficial Conspiracies ¡°Pryte, just how old are you?¡± I asked curiously, as I was reasonably sure I remembered him claiming to have been around during Sanquar''s initial time in the Arena. ¡°No idea, well, not really no idea. I think my official birth record has me listed as a few hundred million years old, but time measurement tends to get a bit complicated in the Spiral. I was born on a planet long before it was integrated, and merging that timescale with the Spiral standard year isn¡¯t really possible. Why?¡± He asked nonchalantly after his explanation as though his age was perfectly normal ¡°Very few humans make it past a hundred years on Earth, and I still have no idea what old really is in the Spiral,¡± I answered, trying not to let any of the shock I was experiencing at the idea of being alive so long show on my face. ¡°Once your core reaches C-grade or above, normal means of aging aren¡¯t really much of a thing anymore, and my species is already naturally long-lived,¡± Pryte answered without any hint of this being unusual in his voice. So that meant even without using different magic, anyone fortifying their core enough was functionally immortal. Was that the right word? I couldn¡¯t remember the difference between eternal and immortal. I was sure one meant can¡¯t die period, and the other one was couldn¡¯t die of old age, but which was which escaped me at the moment, assuming I ever knew. ¡°Can we get back ta something that¡¯s actually important right now?¡± Mel asked, gritting his teeth in a way that I knew meant it wasn¡¯t really a request. ¡°No, Dave has a point about aging here. Just because so many people die fighting constantly doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m anywhere near an outlier in old age. There are plenty of people with a lot of amassed power who aren¡¯t going to like it when they learn about Constance here. Korl¡¯s presence in all of this already means we¡¯ve struck a pretty big nerve,¡± Pryte continued, completely ignoring Mel¡¯s request. ¡°Well, if I wasn¡¯t sure before, now I know I¡¯ve just gotta stick around. Gramps would be pissed if he found out I walked out on this,¡± Connie added, her wide eyes full of excitement. ¡°I don¡¯t think it was the System that gave us Constance,¡± Elody said, speaking up. ¡°Then who? I can¡¯t believe you, of all people, expect a coincidence,¡± Pryte asked doubtfully. ¡°Judge Zcalria,¡± She answered confidently. Mel grunted loudly and rejoined the conversation. ¡°Hrm, I think Elody¡¯s right. It explains how he even thought us clearing floor ten would be possible. He prolly already knew she had registered. Now, ya got me wondering if Korl was even behind anything besides maybe the jesters. Dammit, it¡¯s all Zcalria. He told Floor Master to slip Dave the note. He¡¯s setting this all up so we can make the biggest possible show of force,¡± Mel said, deflating as he voiced his full realization of the situation. ¡°My thoughts exactly. He¡¯s giving us the only real chance we¡¯ll have. We have to make just a big enough splash to make everyone back away for now and rethink how they want to interact with us,¡± Elody replied with a smile. ¡°Alright, fine, I¡¯m convinced. We¡¯re gonna win this damn thing, even if it kills most of us. Now for the other point of this meeting. I put some feelers out for a handyman. The problem is we ain¡¯t got shit to pay them with yet. I know what little Dave and the brothers managed to save during their dungeon raids, so the faction is effectively broke. Elody can¡¯t dip into her own funds for risk of her order being considered tied to the faction. Rabyn¡¯s certainly been cut off, and I¡¯ve been broke for years,¡± Mel said. Considering everything I had heard about Mel, it seemed odd for him to have no money, but I wasn¡¯t going to embarrass him in front of anyone by pushing the topic. ¡°Didn¡¯t really bring any funds with me. I thought it would be important to try to make my own way without relying on the family fortune, sorry,¡± Connie said as though Mel¡¯s comments were pointed toward her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; he didn¡¯t mean you. I¡¯ve got a pretty big nest egg, but I¡¯m going to have to blow the whole thing just to keep this place remotely operational,¡± Pryte said, loudly sighing. ¡°Hey, once my fields start to come in, I¡¯m sure we can start paying you back!¡± Cecile exclaimed happily. ¡°Okay, so I assume a handyman is more than just a basic handyman. What exactly can one do?¡± John asked. That was a good point; for some reason, I had been just sticking my own frame of reference onto the term when they had used it. It had to be much less limited than what I would expect.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°It¡¯s a specialized crafting class. Most factions employ a ton of them, but there are independent contractors we can hire. I assume Mel wants to shore up the area around us, as I assume it¡¯ll take some time for your world to accept that it¡¯s been placed in your father¡¯s care. If we can hire one, we can get the buildings and fortifications we¡¯ll require in the short term taken care of,¡± Rabyn answered. So they were actually just an advanced version of our handymen. I supposed that made sense with the weird language translation functions, however those worked. ¡°Good, we¡¯re going to need them before winter. There¡¯s no way this place is ready to hold us all through an Alaskan winter, and at the rate Dad seems to acquire people now, we need to prepare for growth as well, which is still a problem with our limited food supplies,¡± John replied. Mel had been right on the quartermaster idea; John was taking to it extremely well. ¡°Alright, then,¡± Mel started before the door swung open as Timon entered the house, followed by Sanquar. Where the hell had they been anyway? ¡°Started without us? That¡¯s a bit rude,¡± Timon said as he looked around the room. ¡°Who¡¯re the new guys?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll explain later. What did you learn?¡± Mel asked. ¡°That even with Chip, the bus does not have enough mana for quick trips around this planet right now,¡± Timon said, eliciting a glare from Mel. ¡°Oh, you meant about the orcs. Yeah, you were right. I was wrong. Most of them stuck around and are either fighting it out with some of the humans or going underground. Literally, this planet has a pretty big network of caves,¡± Timon answered. Did we? There were a lot of caves all over, but I didn¡¯t think we had a ton of major connections between them. Then again, spelunking wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d ever had much interest in. I preferred camping under the trees. ¡°How many groups did ya find still on the surface?¡± Mel asked. ¡°At least five, though Sanquar is convinced there¡¯s something weird going on on the southernmost continent,¡± Timon answered. Southernmost? Did he mean Antarctica? ¡°Weird, how?¡± Mel asked. ¡°There¡¯s an energy source in Antarctica, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s connected to the orcs. I¡¯m not sure what it is exactly. It doesn¡¯t seem possible for a dungeon to already be forming, which leaves me out of guesses,¡± Sanquar answered. ¡°To be clear, this wasn¡¯t here before the orc invasion, right?¡± I asked. I couldn¡¯t see how it could be, but I didn¡¯t want to overlook that possibility. ¡°No, well, if it was, it didn¡¯t make itself known until their invasion started,¡± Sanquar answered. It wasn¡¯t the most reassuring of answers, but it would have to do. ¡°Well, add that onto the potential shit pile. Fer now, we¡¯ll focus on the certain shit pile. Here¡¯s how we¡¯re playing the rest of the Arena. Tomorrow, y¡¯all get a day off, and we do the meetings like I said, we need to put together some good profiles. The next day, yer gonna start taking out the big orc encampments on the surface. I doubt it¡¯ll be much of a problem, but this is gonna be more about learning how ya function as a team. Once that¡¯s done, it¡¯s back to the Arena for two floors. Any questions?¡± Mel finished his eyes darting around the room, looking at every set of eyes in turn. ¡°Still the same ones as last time. I really want a core,¡± Maud said when Mel¡¯s eyes hit hers, garnering a chuckle from the perpetually angry man. Maud had somehow graduated to Timon levels with Mel, and I had no idea how she had pulled that off other than by being herself. ¡°If you¡¯re going out to take down the rest of the orcs, or at least as many as you can, I want to come with you. I¡¯ll stay on the bus, but I need to see how bad things are,¡± Alex said when Mel got to her. It wasn¡¯t the worst idea. She was likely entirely safe on board. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re all going. All the newcomers to this world need to get an idea of what it¡¯s like, and the rest of ya need to tell me how bad shit has gotten while they do the fightin¡¯,¡± Mel explained calmly. Was he just gentler with all the humans that weren¡¯t me? ¡°Not to be too self-interested here, but did we ever decide on how to handle the soul knots within some of us?¡± Rabyn asked. Oh yeah, I had entirely derailed that part of the conversation, hadn¡¯t I? ¡°Thought I made it clear, ain¡¯t anything we can do as of now. If any of ya encounter a jester, run, best thing ya can do now until we can find a way to break whatever hold they managed to get into ya,¡± Mel answered matter of factly, ending that line of questions. ¡°I¡¯m exhausted, and I¡¯m sure Cecile feels the same. It¡¯s been an extremely taxing day, so if this is the end of the discussion for now, we¡¯re heading to the bus,¡± Elicec said once Mel finally reached the twinoges. Now that he said it, I felt the waves of exhaustion break over me as well. This was the hardest I had pushed myself outside of simulations, and the fact that I was still going was a testament to my own growth in power. ¡°Yeah, y¡¯all need the sleep. I assume the only spare space is in the bus for sleeping, so everyone who doesn¡¯t already have a bed, follow me,¡± Mel said as he floated towards the door, officially ending tonight¡¯s discussions.
Gnomes as a whole are hard to describe in the Spiral. It¡¯s almost like when some species refer to all things in the water as fish or all large plants with bark as trees, but a bit stranger when you consider how much gnomes resemble a thousand other species and yet can still easily be identified as a kind of gnome by most they encounter. The main unifying trait seems to be an inherent curiosity in at least one lifelong passion. The Varied Peoples of the Spiral by Krrtck Chapter 90: Tropical Beaches With Saint Nick I tossed and turned in a half-awake state when, suddenly, the sound of birds caused my eyes to shoot open as I bolted upright in the cot, fully awake. Those had been tropical bird calls, something I hadn¡¯t heard in years. How could they be here? The darkness of my garage vanished into a cheerfully bright sunlight, illuminating a beautiful beach as the bird songs continued. Instead of my cot, I was now sitting up on a beach chair, and next to me was apparently Santa Claus. The memories came flooding back that I only seemed to be able to fully grasp while I was asleep. Damn, those creatures were still heading for Earth, and this intelligence was stuck here because I couldn¡¯t find a way to make myself remember any of this happened. ¡°Hello again, Dave. I¡¯m afraid as usual, I have some bad news. With your new return to Earth it seems to have further drawn in those monsters. And it appears you¡¯ve had no luck in remembering any of our conversations in your waking world,¡± Santa said. I did my best not to let the scene of Santa Claus on a beach distract me too deeply. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t, and we already have a ton of problems going on. I wish I could add yours to the list, but I¡¯m not sure how to. The moment I wake up, this is all entirely gone,¡± I said. This was a serious problem, but I had no way to solve it or even work on solving it. ¡°What about that strange black box over the ocean? Could that help?¡± Santa asked, pointing one of his jolly fingers toward the water. My eyes followed where he was indicating, only to spot a giant, familiar black message box that was usually only in my mind.
Corey: Dave, what is going on? There is another presence in our link. Dave: Corey, are you asleep? Do you sleep exactly? Corey: I relax my mental state and go into a lower thought mode. I do not shut down like most species, nor do I dream. Dave: Perfect. I think that means you¡¯re the solution to this giant problem. Corey: What problem is that? Santa: The potential invasion of your universe by monsters from beyond. Dave: You can message here as well? Santa: Apparently. Can most people not? Corey: No, this should be private. I do not understand how you are able to speak here. Dave: When I had my out-of-body experience, I made contact with this entity, and it must have tied us together in some fashion. That isn¡¯t important right now, though. Corey, you need to tell me everything about this conversation. Including that I¡¯ve met him twice before, once in my father¡¯s form and again as a clown. Corey: Do you trust him? Dave: I think I do, yeah. He believes he used to be a person who experienced something similar to what I did and that there are some sort of shark-like monsters being drawn to Earth. Tell me all of this when I wake up. Corey: Understood. Santa: This has all gotten very interesting. I almost feel like a human again. Does that mean I was human? Dave: That too, Corey. Corey: Understood.
I rolled over in my cot as I started to wake up. The smell of breakfast wafted in from the house. Why was there already a chat message from Corey? I quickly read through its contents.
Dave: And you¡¯re entirely certain of this? Corey: Yes, it was real. Dave: Great, let¡¯s keep this to ourselves for now. I want to talk to Elody about it in private. Everyone else has enough to worry about.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Corey: Understood.
As I climbed out of bed, the temptation of eggs too great to ignore, I wondered how hard my dream self had been fighting to try and make my awake self remember. How did that even work anyway? Was it just my subconscious, or were there entire memories tucked away inside my head that were refusing to make themselves known? I wasn¡¯t sure I particularly liked either of those possibilities. ¡°Morning, Dad, surprised it took you so long to get here, but I saved some eggs just for you,¡± John said as I entered the kitchen, spotting him doing his best to clean up what he could, the destroyed sink greatly impeding his progress. ¡°Yeah, I had some weird dreams. I may put up a good front, but the anxiety is still there strong,¡± I answered, giving him half a smile, hopefully hiding some of my own insecurity about everything. ¡°So about mom,¡± John started while I was pilling the remaining eggs onto a plate. I cut him, wanting to speak there first. ¡°I did a lot of thinking about that while I had some time, and I want to try to find her first. Since we¡¯re all heading out to see how bad Earth is, we¡¯ll do some search and rescue of where she was, and from there, we can tell your sister if we can¡¯t find her. Sound good?¡± I asked after giving my plan, trying my best to sound hopeful. It wasn¡¯t a feeling I totally shared, but Laura deserved, at the very least, an attempt to find her. ¡°That¡¯s actually what I was hoping you¡¯d say,¡± he sighed slightly, seemingly glad for my answer before continuing. ¡°And on that same note, how do you think what¡¯s left of the world governments are going to respond to this? To you, for that matter?¡± I had been avoiding that line of thought. So I took a few bites of egg before responding. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know how they¡¯ll respond to me. I doubt anyone is just going to roll over and accept my rule, and I really don¡¯t want them to anyway. I¡¯ve never been great at the whole politics game; that was always your mother¡¯s area of expertise, but if I had to guess, initially, there¡¯s going to be so much chaos to handle worldwide they¡¯ll have their hands full in the immediate future. After that, we¡¯ll see,¡± I answered as best I could. I purposely left out the fact that eventually, whether they wanted to or not, the whole Earth was becoming part of the Spiral, and we would need to present a united front before it was too late. ¡°Dad, what happened between you two?¡± John asked suddenly. I felt the panic grip my stomach, and I almost dropped my plate. For a split second I was there again, the day Laura had told me she wanted the divorce. I shouldn¡¯t have been so blindsided by it. I know that now, but at the time, it was like being hit by a truck. I forced in a deep breath and started answering. ¡°So, when my parents died, I went deeper and deeper into a shell. I kind of withdrew a lot from the world. You didn¡¯t really experience me before that, so it was probably hard for you to see the change, but it was there. Your mom tried to help me. She did her best. It wasn¡¯t her fault. Eventually, she couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and then I made everything worse by running out here and almost losing you guys,¡± I answered. It was a very abridged story, but considering it had taken years and mostly moved at a snail¡¯s pace of small events, it was best told this way. The simple reality was that I had gone into a deep depression and was totally unwilling and unable to start my climb out of the hole. ¡°Oh,¡± was all John said back, looking at me with both pity and sadness in his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s alright, let¡¯s change the topic. Too much to do to dwell on things we can¡¯t change,¡± I said, finishing off my plate. John nodded, though not looking entirely convinced. ¡°Oh, since you¡¯re officially in charge of stocking, I think it might be best you draw up some plans for a kitchen remodel.¡± I figured that would help take his mind off it. ¡°Not a bad idea. You¡¯ve got a ton of space outside we could add on with. As long as none of the building disrupts Cecile¡¯s plantings, he might kill us for that,¡± John said, finally returning to a smiling face. Poor kid, I wish he had inherited less of my anxiety. ¡°The real question is if Cecile¡¯s plants can kill us. I¡¯ve had some surprisingly painful encounters with several overly mobile plants recently in my life I¡¯d rather not repeat here,¡± I said as I left the room, leaving John to dwell on just what kind of creatures I had encountered, hoping that added to his distractions. ¡°Ah, good you¡¯re awake.¡± Pryte¡¯s voice called from the living room as I left the kitchen. He set down whatever he had been reading and looked up at me. ¡°Mel wanted us to start the meetings as soon as you were ready to go. We¡¯re starting with just the three of us.¡± I sighed. It was time for a different conversation with Pryte before we found Mel. ¡°So, remember when we first met and how clueless I was?¡± I asked the small man, trying to make a point very clear to him. ¡°I do,¡± he answered. ¡°Consider that when I asked the next question, as I¡¯m still more or less there. I¡¯ve had months of exposure to only a tiny subset of the Spiral compared to your apparent millions of years. From now on, I want you, alongside your other duties, to be my official explanation guy. Tell me how things are supposed to be and how bad or good it would be if I decided to do them differently. I also want you to answer anything I ask as though I know nothing about the topic. Does that make sense?¡± I asked, hoping he understood my intent, as I wasn¡¯t sure I had explained it perfectly. ¡°That somewhat was already my role, but I understand. You need me to be a bit more hands-on with leading you. That alone is a pretty big difference in most of the rulers, especially the older ones. Though some newer factions will appreciate it more. How about we start taking some time out each night as time allows for a few lessons?¡± Pryte explained before making the offer. It seemed like a good idea. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d like that. Alright, let¡¯s go figure out these meetings with Mel,¡± I said, feeling a bit more reassured about the day. I was glad Pryte understood my real plight here, a lack of information.
Who is the oldest being in the Spiral? It¡¯s a question I¡¯ve long wished to know the answer to, but I¡¯ve realized my question was flawed. It only pertained to the Spiral itself, and in that eternal darkness that exists outside of the connected universes live so many beings fully aware of the Spiral and older than time itself. So then, my new question is which being can remember the most of existence, and will they talk to me? Grom¡¯s Musings Chapter 91: What Would You Say You Do Here? Mel was waiting for us in my small study and, judging by the additional chairs, had been preparing for the day¡¯s meetings. The rest of the room looked just like it had before I¡¯d been whisked away to another universe. Several bookshelves were full, with titles ranging from construction guides and textbooks on different engineering principles to some of my favorite fiction. My copies of Lord of the Rings and The Hitchhikers Guide were both well-worn from repeated readings. Memories of reading them and many other titles to my kids at their bedtime rushed through my mind. Alex had loved a lot of the same things I had, but John had liked more grounded stories. Magical realism was about as far as he had enjoyed the books straying into fantasy. I smiled at the memory of his hatred for Alice in Wonderland, and to be fair to him, the book was pretty nonsensical, but his young brain had found it entirely unacceptable. It offended his sensibilities. There was a cluttered desk at one side of the room, along with a reclining chair next to it that I used for reading. On the wall above my desk, I had pictures of my family, all from a happier time. The idea that somehow the world had gone to hell was what it had taken for me to finally push through some of my loss wasn¡¯t lost on me. Somehow despite how much I had missed them, I had still been stuck in my own head for far too long. Mel had his more relaxed shade of green going, so hopefully, that meant he wouldn¡¯t explode too poorly when I brought up what I had to say. I didn¡¯t want a giant fight, but I also needed to make a few things clear, and I hoped Mel would understand that. He wasn¡¯t an unreasonable man, just a bit overly grumpy. ¡°About damn time,¡± Mel started before I cut him off. ¡°Let¡¯s curb the aggression a bit, please, Mel. So, assuming I understand these meetings correctly. We want to assess what everyone can do, wants to do, and why they really are here in the faction correct?¡± I asked, looking at Pryte, not Mel, for the answer. ¡°Yes, partially; we need records of our Arena squads on file to avoid any claims of cheating on our part. For example, we can¡¯t just swap out people in a squad at any time; we can have a reserve member list, but that can only hold five names. It takes official paperwork to change true membership. Beyond that, though, we want to know what they can do for us. What their aspirations are within the faction. This is, after all, a brand new faction, and we need people with passions,¡± He answered quickly, and I was glad to hear he had understood. The explanation of the squad membership was something I hadn¡¯t known and was glad to have learned. ¡°Good. Then, let¡¯s start with our grumpiest member right here. Mel, why are you here?¡± I asked, looking into the man¡¯s eyes as he floated above my desk, glaring at me. I refused to let my own gaze drop. I wanted the truth out of the man entirely for once, and I wanted it now. Mel deflated slightly and looked away before finally answering. ¡°I suppose yer the boss now, so yeah, ya deserve a real answer, and prolly less of me being an ass, but I can¡¯t promise ta completely kill that. I¡¯ll try and tone it down though.¡± Mel¡¯s color took on a lighter shade of green as he floated closer to us before resuming. ¡°I¡¯ve seen so many kids die in the Arena, so many big factions crush the small ones, time and time again. But that¡¯s only the big picture of what caused this. The real hard truth of why I¡¯m here, willing to give up everything in this desperate fight, is basically the same as yers. My kid¡¯s gone. He decided to write a book critical of the Spiral and the factions and the loss of our own world to all of this.¡± Mel¡¯s voice cracked as he spoke, and his color shifted to a dark blue. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mel, I didn¡¯t know,¡± I said; I couldn¡¯t imagine how hard it was to actually lose a child. The fears of my own kid¡¯s potential deaths had been a huge driving force behind my near-crippling anxiety while in the archives. ¡°How could ya? Not like I was being very open. It¡¯s also why I¡¯m broke. I spent everything trying to get him out of prison; in the end, he was shipped off to one of Crystalline Quasar¡¯s work camps,¡± He continued, sounding sadder than before. ¡°Oh,¡± Pryte said, sounding startled. I understand what the words work camps really meant here. They were work until you died camps. Everything clicked into place. Mel was here not just because he wanted change. It was because he needed it. Something to keep him going from doing something idiotic.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I think that covers enough of why you¡¯re here, Mel. I really am sorry to hear about your child,¡± I said, feeling awkward at having pushed the topic. ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I needed to get that out. Yer right to question me. I¡¯m as much a part of this faction as anyone, and ya need to know what I¡¯m here for. Well, my goals are obvious I think. I want to build this faction up to the point that we can change things. Shit has been stagnating for too long. Giant bloated factions clinging onto their power and hurting everyone new that gets in their way. I wanna change that,¡± he answered, his color shifting subtly back towards green. ¡°Got it, overthrow everything, nice simple goal for Mel. Can we leave that out of the official record, Pryte?¡± I asked, trying to defuse some of the tension. ¡°Leave what out?¡± Pryte asked with a wink. ¡°Perfect, I suppose then the next question is you, Pryte. Are you for here any reason beyond the little safety we can supply from Korl?¡± I asked the small man. I had a feeling there was more to that, especially considering he had been helping me from the start. ¡°I don¡¯t entirely disagree with Mel¡¯s views on things, but on top of that, I¡¯m bored. I¡¯ve been doing this for a very long time, and meeting you made everything interesting again. My blood was flowing in a way it hadn¡¯t since my youth. I want to do something new and fun, and Dave, you are the only path to that other than chartering an exploration vessel into the depths of chaotic space,¡± he answered with a smile. ¡°One day, we can both do that. It should be a fun trip. Assuming I survive that long, I do want to see everything. Which I realize is an impossibility given the concept of infinity. But I still want to try,¡± I replied with a smile of my own. ¡°Your turn, Dave. What do you want out of this faction? I think we can skip why you¡¯re here. That one is a bit obvious,¡± Pryte asked, looking at me intently. ¡°Someone has to do it, and I¡¯m the only candidate. Similar to both of you, I want to protect those I care about and help those we can, but also, just like Pryte, this has brought a level of excitement back to my life that¡¯d been missing. I want to build things again. I want to invent things. The idea of combining magic with technology has given me so many ideas, and frankly, I¡¯m amazed they don¡¯t already exist,¡± I answered honestly. The speed of my voice had increased throughout my explanation until I ended the whole spiel nearly breathless. ¡°That¡¯s a far better answer than you¡¯d get out of the vast majority of faction leaders, I think,¡± Pryte replied, nodding his head as he did. ¡°Frankly, it¡¯s the best I ever heard,¡± Mel agreed, his color now fully back to a dark green. ¡°Glad to hear it. At least, I think I am. So realistically, what are our chances of not just being wiped out by the bigger factions?¡± I asked. Considering how worried these two were about them and our complete lack of resources, I wasn¡¯t sure how we¡¯d fight if it came to that. ¡°For now, we¡¯re fine. They won¡¯t act outside of legal channels. It¡¯s not worth a potential faction war over this planet. Sanquar is just an annoyance that they¡¯d rather be gone again, not a real threat to them anymore. So until we become something much more noticeable, no one is going to be willing to bring their forces to bear against us. But once we start moving beyond splashes in the Arena into full-blown waves, which your magical technology will cause, things may change quickly,¡± Pryte explained. ¡°Ah, so once we potentially disrupt the way things currently work, we¡¯ll get a lot of blowback,¡± I replied, thinking I was getting it now. ¡°Basically, yes. Don¡¯t think that the idea of technologically advancing magic hasn¡¯t been tried before. Coincidentally, most of those researchers seem to either die or disappear, and the big factions grow stronger each time. I¡¯m sure you can read between the lines of what is happening there,¡± Pryte said. I could. ¡°Yep, I get it. Well, I think that covers the three of us. Who do we want to start with?¡± I asked, not really caring what order we did it in. ¡°Glorp, mostly because we need to figure out his path much more so than the rest, assuming he even wants to remain an Arena fighter, which is an extremely risky option for him,¡± Pryte answered.
The Crystalline Quasar faction is one of the most powerful and, by extension, most ruthless factions in the Spiral. They are thought to heavily support the Triox, and it is strongly believed they have some connections with the forgotten beasts deep within the boundless expanse. This faction was directly involved in the destruction of the Floating Empire. A History of Power, the Rise and Fall of the Floating Empire by Melhelm VII Chapter 92: First Annual Performance Reviews: Glorp ¡°Hey guys,¡± Glorp said nervously as he joined us in the room, followed by Pryte, who had left to find him. He looked ready to bolt at the drop of a pin. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t feel so nervous. We¡¯re gonna have these talks with everyone today. You¡¯ve already well past earned a place here. Hell, if anything, I owe you for what I¡¯ve gotten you stuck in. Basically, this is just about figuring out what you want to do,¡± I explained, smiling to him. I reminded myself how young he was. Was it even fair to ask any of this of him? Did we have a choice? ¡°I know mostly why you¡¯re here, and as much as Dave wants to take the blame, it¡¯s primarily my fault. I should have never involved you in alerting him, but as that can¡¯t be changed now, tell us about why you want to stick around,¡± Pryte said apologetically, with a look of guilt, something I had only seen him wear when he spotted Glorp with us after the first floor of the Arena. ¡°This is what I wanted to talk to you about, Dave. My parents died a couple of years ago, and it¡¯s just been me and my siblings since. I became a courier to keep food on the table and pay for some of my sister¡¯s medical bills,¡± Glorp explained, his nervous fidgeting finally subsiding to be replaced by a look of fear. ¡°Where are they now? Did Korl did take them?¡± I asked, worried about just how far they¡¯d have gone to torment us. ¡°No, at least I don¡¯t think so. They should still be safe on Mrasdentia, but I don¡¯t know how long my younger brother will be able to keep everything together. I don¡¯t think anyone will hire him to be a courier, and there wasn¡¯t much money left,¡± Glorp explained, the fear in his eyes growing as the words tumbled out. ¡°Pryte, what can we do?¡± I asked, wanting to help as best we could. ¡°I assume none of them are signed to a faction, just living on one of the Golden Path¡¯s worlds?¡± Pryte asked. ¡°No, we aren¡¯t. Dad refused to join when they tried to press him into service. That was what got both of them killed,¡± he answered. Hopefully, that was enough for Pryte to get them here. I¡¯d really like it if some good could come out of involving Glorp in this mess. ¡°Okay, once we¡¯re done today, I¡¯ll have you fill out some paperwork, and we can get them released to me. I should be able to bring them here without any real issue if no one wants them,¡± Pryte said in a way that sounded like more of a promise than a possibility. ¡°Thank you so much. I honestly don¡¯t know what to say at all here,¡± Glorp said, tears running down his cheeks. ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anything. There was no way I wasn¡¯t going to try to help them. Mel back there, despite his grumpiness, was glad we had brought you on board. Can you imagine what he¡¯d do if we didn¡¯t help your family?¡± I said with a smile, watching the young man¡¯s tears start to dry up. Mel just nodded his agreement. ¡°Let¡¯s move on to a different topic. Yer a courier that ain¡¯t the best class for the Arena; it¡¯s damn near the worst. We have some other options, thanks to the orcs here, and likely are gonna have more before the week¡¯s up. What sounds like something ya¡¯d like? Mel asked, finally speaking up. ¡°Well, that¡¯s actually something I wanted to talk about too. After the race, I checked out a new branch that had opened up, and it had an option for multiclassing. I¡¯ve heard that can be pretty powerful. Should I do it?¡± Glorp asked, darting his eyes back and forth between the three of us, his nervousness seeming to have returned. ¡°Yes, that is almost certainly what you should do. Unless Mel has a better idea, but I imagine you just made his day with that announcement. We can go through all the other class orbs we manage to get after our orc hunt and see what all works the best for you. Do you know how exactly you were registered for the Arena?¡± Pryte explained before firing off another question. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Some thugs grabbed me after a message delivery, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up on the first floor of the Arena. I found Connie outside and she offered to help, told me to stick with her, and you know the rest,¡± he answered. So that meant he didn¡¯t have any mana orbs; luckily, we had some extras now. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Alright, we can get you some mana orbs, too; we¡¯ve got plenty. Well, probably not plenty; I wish we had enough to start building a real force, but I suppose that requires people even being able to form cores here, doesn¡¯t it?¡± I asked. The question hung in the air without an answer, confirming my suspicions. ¡°I¡¯d like maybe some kind of scouting class if we can find one that meshes well with courier, and then maybe a mana orb to help me get faster. I think I¡¯d be pretty useful darting around at my size,¡± Glorp said, sounding unsure of the choice. ¡°One of the best builds ya can do is the one that sounds most enticing to ya, so, yeah, I think we can make that work,¡± Mel said. ¡°I¡¯ve got some ideas; assuming we can find a class orb that fits any of them, we can talk detailed paths then Glorp. I guess the last question I have is, how do you feel about staying with us long-term? The three of us here are pretty stuck, but I don¡¯t know that you will be,¡± Pryte asked. I was reasonably sure I already knew the answer. ¡°I¡¯m not going anyway. I think what you¡¯re trying to do here is important, and I want to do anything I can to help,¡± he answered, pretty much as I had expected. ¡°Well, that¡¯s all I have. Anyone else?¡± Pryte asked, looking at me and Mel. I had nothing else, and Mel stayed quiet. ¡°Sounds like we¡¯re good. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Glorp; not that we gave you much of a choice, but your honesty is appreciated. I promise I¡¯ll do everything I can to get your family here, even if it makes it that much more crowded.¡± ¡°Thank you. Did you want me to send someone else in?¡± Glorp asked as he backed toward the door. ¡°Not yet; I¡¯ll grab someone when we¡¯re ready, though,¡± Pryte answered. Once Glorp was out of the room, he turned back to us. ¡°So I have zero complaints or real worries about Glorp. I¡¯ve worked with him before, and he¡¯s always been extremely reliable. It¡¯s why I picked him to find you, Dave.¡± ¡°Yeah, I like the kid too. He¡¯s got spunk. My only worry is if we can¡¯t get his family. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s the type ta betray us, but it¡¯d still prolly make him somewhat of¡¯a liability,¡± Mel added. He had a point, but I figured we could cross that bridge if we came to it. ¡°While that is possible, let¡¯s just table the fear until it matters. Pryte, do you think you will have much of an issue getting his family here?¡± I asked, making sure the earlier promises weren¡¯t just for show. ¡°I don¡¯t think I will. Technically, I think they already belong to us and have from the moment Glorp agreed to join. But, the laws involving the specific ownership of children are murky and rarely enforced unless there is something to gain by doing so. That was why I asked how he had entered the Arena. If he had been forced into a faction contract, this would have become much more difficult,¡± Pryte explained confidently. I pushed my distaste for the idea of owning children down before replying. Primarily because, at least in this case, it worked for the benefit of those children. ¡°I assume they just expected Glorp to never make it out alive or become a burden to us as we had to carry him?¡± ¡°Almost certainly, that kid ain¡¯t what they expected, that¡¯s fer sure,¡± Mel answered. Those with power often underestimated just what those at the bottom were capable of; it was the age-old story of having no idea what it was like to truly struggle at life and what that made you capable of if you experienced it. I had never been in the same place Glorp had, but I had had my own struggles as a child. ¡°Well, then we all agree Glorp is a good addition to our faction. Who are we interviewing next?¡± I asked. It turns out I didn¡¯t hate this as much as I had expected I would. ¡°Constance. I have some questions for her,¡± Pryte answered as he stood up from his chair and left the room in search of her. ¡°You¡¯ve been surprisingly quiet this whole time,¡± I said, looking to Mel. ¡°Yeah, well, bullying you is one thing, bullying the kid is another, gotta relearn where the line is. I ain¡¯t been an Arena manager in a long time,¡± Mel answered. I didn¡¯t entirely believe the line, but I wasn¡¯t sure what the truth was or if it really needed to be dug out, especially if it had anything to do with the reopened wound of losing his kid.
Mrasdentia is a planet of refugees controlled by the Golden Path. They are one of the factions and planets considered to be friendly to anyone as long as they follow the laws. The Golden Path offers this benefit as a way to search for talented individuals who have slipped between the cracks. This has led to them fielding several total unknowns within the Arena to great effect and has more than once led them to a better position than they started in during various faction wars. What happens to those that aren¡¯t useful? The same thing happens to so many of the impoverished citizens of the Spiral, a constant fight for even the bleakest of survival. Faction Wars: A Brutal History by Melhelm VII Chapter 93: First Annual Performance Reviews: Old Melodies & Lost Knowledge ¡°So, what exactly do you all want to know about me?¡± Connie asked the moment she was through the door before Pryte even had a chance to return to his seat. Truth be told, I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how much more we needed to know about her either after the previous night¡¯s talk. ¡°We¡¯re doing this with everyone. I know we covered a lot of your details last night, but I want to go over some of them a little more. Specifically, let¡¯s start with your motivations. What made you set out on your own anyway? I assume Trelione has a pretty comfortable retirement going,¡± Pryte asked as he took his seat. ¡°How much of this information is being filed in the paperwork with the Arena?¡± Connie asked her own question, with no sign of answering Pryte¡¯s. It didn¡¯t come off as standoffish so much as that there were things she didn¡¯t want officially recorded. ¡°I only plan to submit the needed documentation, which covers: name, class, rank in the faction, those types of things. Everything beyond that is for our ears only,¡± Pryte answered, not sounding in any way bothered that she hadn¡¯t answered. ¡°Alright, well, may as well let the cat out of the bag then. Gramps is planning a new performance. He¡¯s thinking sometime in the next decade or so but wants me to scout out what¡¯s happening in the wider Spiral,¡± She said, smiling. ¡°Oh, that could be very interesting,¡± Pryte responded, sounding intrigued. ¡°Yep, and with you guys having Sanquar, I got a feeling there will be no stopping him once he learns about that. In the meantime, I figure I¡¯ll just do what I can to Arena climb with your faction and see about working on my path,¡± She continued, still beaming. ¡°Speaking of your path. Is that your whole class, or just a pathway in it? Sorry, this is all still pretty new to me,¡± I said, apologizing following my question after seeing her give me an odd look. ¡°The Path of the Stellar Opera is a potential pathway within any performance-based class, assuming you have someone capable of guiding you in the first steps,¡± she answered. The way classes worked still hadn¡¯t fully clicked in my brain. Was it possible to build a class into anything with the right tutor? I added classes and their functions to a list of topics I wanted books on as soon as possible. ¡°And just what is that actual class? We do need that for the records,¡± Pryte followed up with another question. ¡°Pop Princess,¡± She replied. I held my own laughter in check, assuming that was just the best way the translation layer could make me understand. She was the daughter of an apparently legendary musician, so that made her a princess. At least, that was how I rationalized how absurd the idea of the pop princess being a real class was. Neither Pryte or Mel said anything, the first just making a note of it like it was a perfectly normal class. ¡°I suppose we can skip the future you want here as well, as I assume that is completely up in the air?¡± Pryte phrased the statement as a question. The man was impressive at these interviews, better than any HR person I had ever talked with. ¡°Yeah. I can promise I¡¯ll stick with you until Gramps makes his own calls, and depending on how this all plays out, I may continue here as well, but I can¡¯t make any promises there. Plus, you can¡¯t even really promise me you will exist in a decade,¡± she replied. ¡°No, we can¡¯t. I think that means that was all we had for you. Thanks for doing this,¡± I said. Pryte nodded next to me. Mel didn¡¯t. He was staring at her. ¡°What made ya decide to help the kid?¡± Mel asked. Her face scrunched into a scowl as she responded. ¡°He was a kid in a situation well over his head and needed help. I know all you big tough faction guys would have left him, but, and do not pardon my language here, fuck that. My grandfather taught me better than that.¡± The anger of her words was directed straight at Mel. ¡°Good. Ain¡¯t got any more questions either,¡± Mel said after her very targeted outburst. The anger on her face cleared, likely from the realization Mel had liked her answer and, without any other words, left the room. ¡°I¡¯ll grab Elody unless we have something more to discuss here. But that seemed straightforward enough to me,¡± Pryte said; no one spoke up to stop him as he also left the room, returning almost immediately with Elody. She must have been right outside. ¡°I believe I can save you a lot of time and cut to what you really need to know here. My class is Paladin of Knowledge. I am on the Path of the Eternal Archive. I will not give you a great amount of detail about what places me on this path, as I do not wish to compromise the secrets of my order, nor am I willing to fully unmask my mentor. I am here because Dave, and by extension, all of you and this faction present a very unique opportunity. I believe in the free trade of knowledge and the preservation of it, and I wish to engage in that as unfettered as possible here,¡± Elody said, still standing. One eye was scanning the contents of my bookshelves while the other three were looking at us, one per person. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°What happens if yer order and us end up on different sides of an issue?¡± Mel asked, not breaking eye contact with Elody¡¯s own stare. ¡°That will depend upon the issue in disagreement. I do not agree with every member of my order on all things. It is entirely possible that I could end on the faction¡¯s side, but unlikely if the entirety of the order is against you,¡± Elody answered. At least she had been honest. How likely was it we would come into conflict with her order? Was this just a problem with paladins becoming parts of factions? ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong here, but there aren¡¯t many Paladins of Knowledge pledged to factions, are there?¡± Pryte followed up. ¡°There are not. I believe I make the fifth,¡± she answered. ¡°Well, that at least means it¡¯s unlikely to be a faction-caused conflict. How likely do you consider it that we would come into conflict with your order?¡± Pryte asked. ¡°Extremely Unlikely. It is far more likely that I would be ordered to gather information on you and report it back than a direct conflict would ever occur,¡± she answered. ¡°Would you be okay doing that?¡± I asked this time. I really couldn¡¯t tell where Elody¡¯s allegiances would lay in these scenarios at all. ¡°Likely, yes. I would also likely inform you that I was doing so. I have nothing against keeping certain information secret as needed, but I am willing to work with others in my order to determine if the benefit of releasing that information outweighs temporarily withholding it,¡± she answered. ¡°Alright, then, let¡¯s try tossing out a new piece of information no one knows, barely even me. I want this kept between the four of us for now, well, four and Corey,¡± I said, receiving a series of confirming nods before I resumed speaking. ¡°So when I was first testing out my simulation skill, I went harder into that than I should have and somehow broke my soul and consciousness free from my body. It was a very strange experience, but the important part here is I made contact with an entity that believes it did the same and was never able to find its way back. Apparently, when I was drawn closer to home during this, I somehow also drew the attention of some creatures that the entity claims are very dangerous and heading for Earth,¡± I explained. Neither Pryte¡¯s nor Mel¡¯s expression changed much beyond a slight shift toward what might have been confusion. Elody, on the other hand, her eyes went wide as she responded. ¡°This happened after I left the archives, I assume?¡± her question felt more like a statement, as though she would have known had she still been there. I realized all of her eyes were now on me. ¡°Yes, why?¡± I asked, feeling my mouth go dry, which happened to be one of my least favorite signs of my anxiety acting up. ¡°Does your class have anything relating to Soulfire?¡± She asked, not answering my question of why. ¡°Yeah, my Path of the Soul has something that mentions Soulfire, but I haven¡¯t ignited one yet, just a single soul separation and intrusion,¡± I answered, feeling her eyes bore deeply into me. ¡°We can add to the list of growing problems that we¡¯ve managed to attract soulhunters,¡± Elody said, her eyes still focused entirely on me. ¡°I actually don¡¯t know what those are, and judging by Mel¡¯s confused look, he doesn¡¯t either. Care to enlighten us?¡± Pryte asked, his voice no longer sounding as confident as usual. ¡°Dave separated his soul from the soul-core reaction, which is extraordinarily rare but can occur during a mana backlash. It is nearly always fatal. Some of the creatures that roam chaotic space feed on soul energy, especially wild souls. If you thought the little we knew of Jesters was an issue, we are now in a territory belonging to the Old Spiral,¡± Elody said. ¡°Now hold it, I¡¯ve maybe heard of the Old Spiral twice, ever, yer telling me it¡¯s real?¡± Mel asked, his color shifting quickly. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s real. There¡¯s a single file cabinet that contains what little records survive, not that anyone is allowed to touch it, assuming they even wanted to,¡± Pryte answered. ¡°A trillion souls ignite in unison. Flames call to the great darkness. Hunger answers,¡± Elody said. ¡°What the hell does that mean?¡± Mel asked, the confused fear in his voice growing. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s a small surviving fragment of a poem my mentor found on a cast-off world. One he was sure had been part of the Old Spiral,¡± she answered.
It was on the second year of our voyage in the depths of the black beyond, that Grom somehow encountered a man he considered an old friend. Grom never did tell me how, in all the vastness of this unknown space, they had found each other, but I assumed there had been some secret method of communication, as Grom had changed our course suddenly only days before the encounter. Torshal, Seeker of the Past, was waiting for us deep within an asteroid belt. It was there I learned of one of the hidden reasons for our journey. Grom wished to learn the secrets behind the fall of a Spiral before the current one. Personal Diary of Ronald Tammen Chapter 94: First Annual Performance Reviews: Crops & Cooking ¡°Okay, that¡¯s all well and good and incredibly unsettling, but you have to know more about the soulhunters, right?¡± I asked, deciding not to add the long-lost ancient Spiral civilization to a list of my own problems. That one was for the archaeologists. ¡°Somewhat more. As I said, what happened to you isn¡¯t common at all, but those who¡¯ve survived it have reported increasingly strange feelings within their souls as the years passed. Some have burnt out their soul-core reactions in desperate attempts to make the feelings go away. Others have fled deep into chaotic space. That is what the majority of people this happens to do, but I know of two cases that went differently. One managed to ignore the problem until creatures burst forth from the ethereal between realities and were able to pull the entire planet free of the Spiral and into wherever they had come from. The second managed to ignite his soul and channel true Soulfire,¡± she explained, pausing briefly as her eyes scanned all of us again before returning to me. ¡°Now, I¡¯m sure, as a man of science, you understand the problem here,¡± she finished. ¡°Not nearly enough test cases to have any idea what¡¯s true and what isn¡¯t, but it sounds like I need to ignite my soul,¡± I answered, my anxiety turning into annoyance at yet another problem. Then again, was it even a new problem or just the solution to a problem that had been building? ¡°Correct. Luckily, channeling Soulfire isn¡¯t nearly as rare as the other scenarios. It¡¯s just generally used in more specialized builds. The downside is that we have no one here capable of teaching you, nor do we have the time or funds to find someone, but,¡± A book appeared in her hands as she spoke, ¡°I do happen to have a copy of Karlinovo¡¯s Breakdown of the Soul-Core Reaction, which happens to cover Soulfire in some detail,¡± she said, passing me the book. ¡°That¡¯s one way to answer how willing you are to help us in the face of the unknown, I suppose,¡± Pryte said as I looked at the book. Hopefully, it was the first of many to be added to the faction¡¯s library. ¡°Yes, well, does that answer all the questions you need for now?¡± she asked. ¡°I believe so, at least as much as I could hope for. I think we can call this meeting good before Dave remembers some other Earth-shattering piece of information we all need to know immediately,¡± Pryte said, walking Elody to the door, likely heading off to find our next candidate. ¡°Ya alright?¡± Mel asked, looking at me with concern. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Honestly, that might be the quickest we¡¯ve had a potential solution to a problem,¡± I answered. ¡°Good, so far, these reviews are going better than expected,¡± Mel added as Pryte came back through the door with the twinogs in tow. ¡°What is this meeting for anyway?¡± Elicec asked, his brother staying silent. ¡°Well in your case, mostly to see why you want to stick around so much. You clung to Dave from basically your first meeting. It¡¯s hard to buy the whole friend immediately thing, so why are you here?¡± Pryte answered, looking at them intently. He had a point, as much as I didn¡¯t like to dwell on it. It was odd how quickly the brothers had decided to stick by me. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d have done the same for a stranger in their place. The number of faces I had ignored during my time wandering the archives alone somewhat proved that I was often lost in my own world, oblivious to the sights and people around me. ¡°Honestly, I thought Dave had been robbed and needed some help. He looked barely alive when I spotted him. Elicec wanted to leave him behind, but that didn¡¯t seem right. I just kind of got stuck on the idea of what would Dad do?¡± Cecile answered, eliciting a loud sigh from his brother. ¡°After that, besides my brother¡¯s refusal to leave, I stuck around because of the benefits. I mean, how quickly after meeting him did you let us go to the same training world as him?¡± Elicec added, looking at Pryte. ¡°Yeah, technically, not a thing I should have done either, but at that point, I was already screwed once they found out about Dave. I figured you two might give him a better chance at not getting himself killed,¡± Pryte responded, smiling as he spoke. ¡°And then things just kept piling on. Being around Dave has managed to push us further than we¡¯d have had any chance at otherwise, and even if Cecile doesn¡¯t know it, I know Mel thinks we¡¯d have died had we not gone with him,¡± Elicec said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if ya¡¯d have died exactly, but yer twin soul might have gotten the wrong people very interested. Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m real glad ya didn¡¯t go to the Arena without learning a lot more about the Spiral. Y¡¯all were just far too bright-eyed when ya arrived,¡± Mel said, almost fatherly. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Before you ask why we¡¯re staying, it¡¯s pretty simple, really. Where else would we go? Is there another faction out there that would ever help us free our people? Not that I¡¯m saying you have to, Dave, but I know the second it¡¯s really possible you¡¯re going to help,¡± Cecile said, his face flushing with embarrassment, causing him to speak at a breakneck speed. ¡°True, I owe you both. I doubt we¡¯d be back here without you. If it¡¯s ever viable to save your people and your homeworld, I¡¯ll do everything I can to help,¡± I answered. Hell, it might even be a way out of running this empire. There had to be someone a lot more qualified over there. ¡°Well, that¡¯s admirable; I¡¯m not sure when, if ever, that will be possible. Are you both really okay sticking around despite that?¡± Pryte pushed back. Both of the brothers answered with a resounding yes. ¡°Well, this might have been the shortest interview unless Pryte needs more, but we already know all of your classes, at least as well as either of you do so far. I imagine Cecile¡¯s is going to be pretty interesting as he develops it, though,¡± I said, the previous anxiety having vanished with the happiness those two had at being here. ¡°No, I¡¯ve already noted their classes, and I have all their previous information from their initial registration. I imagine the joint class will be more interesting than the paladin. There won¡¯t be any help at all to guide that,¡± Pryte said. ¡°Oh yeah, I¡¯d kind of forgotten about that. That should be interesting,¡± I said as both of the twinogs nodded. ¡°Could you two find Rabyn and send him in? I think he¡¯s outside, but he¡¯s the last planned meeting for the day,¡± Pryte said. That was the first time he hadn¡¯t just gone and found someone himself, and it became clear why the moment he closed the door. ¡°Dave, promise me, before you agree to free their planet, we will have a lengthy discussion on the ramifications of everything involved when it finally comes up because it will. Their planet is controlled by the Consolidated Dwarfs of the Mining Moon, and they are not doing well. The only reason I didn¡¯t tell the brothers is because I don¡¯t want them planning for something that may turn itself around, even if I don¡¯t expect it will,¡± Pryte explained. ¡°Yeah, I made you my information man for a reason. As long as I¡¯m able to, given the situation, you are now doomed to give me answers to questions you think a toddler should understand,¡± I said, smiling. He had no idea what he was in for. ¡°Gentlemen, the brothers said it was my turn,¡± Rabyn said as he opened the door. ¡°It is. Please take a seat,¡± Pryte gestured toward the chair in front of us. ¡°Is this where we discuss my future execution?¡± he asked, sounding entirely serious. ¡°No, this is where we discuss how you plan to avoid that. I had a few chats with Floor Master, and you aren¡¯t entirely what you seem, are you?¡± Pryte asked, echoing some of my own thoughts on the orc. ¡°That entirely depends on what you think I am. I am an orc. I primarily follow the Path of the Battle Gourmet in the class War Chef; my primary mana orb is a weapon orb specialized in cooking knives. I¡¯ve climbed as part of the Singing Blade faction to the eleventh floor of the Arena. What more do you wish to know?¡± He asked, after listing everything else off. ¡°Do you consider yourself the same species as the orcs you invaded this planet with?¡± Pryte asked, narrowing his eyes as he did. ¡°Yes and no. I am an orc. I will not claim otherwise, but I do not come from the same universe as so many of the rage-fueled brutes do. My home was a place of peace and learning before the integration,¡± he answered, sadness in his voice. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that long before you were born?¡± Pryte continued. ¡°Yes. I am the last heir of the empire, and I was sold to the Singing Blades as a joke,¡± Rabyn answered, the tone of his voice dropping even further. ¡°What was the name of that empire?¡± Pryte asked. ¡°I have vowed never to speak its name unless it is in a declaration of freedom and restoration,¡± he answered, his voice shifting to an air of determination. I almost laughed at the idea of how insane this collection of ragtag misfits was becoming. We now had a long-lost prince to a conquered planet? ¡°Damn, you know it would make our lives so much easier to just execute you? You¡¯re going to be almost as big a problem as Sanquar,¡± Pryte said, sighing loudly. ¡°I had really hoped Floor Master had the wrong information, even if I knew he hadn¡¯t.¡± ¡°What am I missing?¡± I asked. Mel had the same confused look I did, well, as much the same as a floating cloud could. ¡°Rabyn¡¯s people, I¡¯ll do him the courtesy of not naming the empire, refused integration. As much as they could, at least, there was no stopping that, but then they refused to participate in the Arena, considering it barbaric, which is likely why you¡¯ve never heard of them, Mel. The entire royal line was hunted down, and the people forcibly relocated. Somehow, we have the bad luck of signing the final surviving member of the lineage to our faction, and as he¡¯s now participated in the Arena, even if it was forced by the Singing Blades, his formal order of execution is stayed,¡± Pryte explained. ¡°If it¡¯s stayed, what makes him such a problem for us?¡± I asked. ¡°His great-grandfather is the one who killed most of the nobles of the Plutorian Empire, and the survivors have a very long memory,¡± Pryte answered, sighing again. Rabyn, though, began to smile.
Was Old Spiral just an old wives tale, whispered only in the darkest of corners, lest the doom that befell it return for us all? I didn¡¯t know, but the message arrived while we were deep into our wanderings of the great unknown; how could I not answer the call? I had long walked away from the Paladins of Knowledge to pursue my own path, but I still called them friends. Grom¡¯s Musings Chapter 95: Philosophy Bros ¡°Rabyn, what exactly do you want in life? Ignoring the possibility of an execution, what would you do given the resources to grow with this faction?¡± I asked the orc. His answer here was probably all that really mattered about the previous conversation. The revelation, while a problem, didn¡¯t seem like it really made anything a bigger issue at the moment, just another tally in the list of reasons the big factions would eventually make a real move against us. ¡°I could give you a fancy, long-winded speech about exactly what I want, but I think the easiest way to explain it is a single word: revenge. I am neither stupid nor rage-fueled. I will not compromise your faction to achieve my own goals but know that I will remember everyone who stands beside me when the moment arrives,¡± Rabyn answered, still smiling. ¡°What makes you so sure it will?¡± Pryte followed up. ¡°Fate. Somehow, despite everything that happens, I continue to survive, and now I¡¯ve found myself here. I find it incredibly difficult to believe that this is the meaningless whims of random chance. The chain of events needed for all these people to find themselves together on this planet boggles the mind to consider. So, instead, I choose to believe fate has decided to intervene. And I will answer. I will wield these knives in service of that unknowable cosmic arbiter so that my children may write poetry,¡± Rabyn answered, his words flowing with their own kind of energy. What kind of man would he have been had he not been forced into a world of violence? I was sure now that I was going to have to find a way to keep him alive. ¡°Hard ta argue with that. Been considering the same myself, and vengeance is a motivation I can get behind,¡± Mel added. ¡°How common is the belief in fate within the Spiral?¡± I asked, not sure if they were just waxing poetic or if this was a common theme. ¡°It¡¯s not an uncommon belief. In fact the idea of fate seems to be one of the truly unifying forces across all civilizations. We¡¯ve even quantified the concept with the idea of luck in the System somewhat, but I¡¯m not exactly a believer myself. I think we make our own destiny and that sometimes there are people pushing so hard against the normal flow that they can¡¯t help but draw others up in their wake,¡± Pryte answered. ¡°Can¡¯t say I expected the conversation with the orc ta be the one to go all philosophical,¡± Mel cut in, with a surprising lack of annoyance in his words. Was he enjoying this conversation? Was Mel a philosopher at heart? ¡°So then, which of us is the one catching everyone in their path? Sanquar?¡± I asked, also genuinely enjoying this turn of conversation. It felt like I was sitting around bullshiting with my friends back in college. ¡°If we entertain this idea instead of fate, then no. Sanquar is the force that started this, but all of this hinged on his meeting with you, Dave. How many other people on your planet are capable of doing what you did with your core?¡± Rabyn asked. So he had realized something was different about it. ¡°Dammit, how the hell did you figure that out?¡± Mel asked, some of his anger rushing back into his voice. ¡°I told you, I am neither stupid nor rage-fueled. I pay attention to what is going on around me, more so than most, as my class allows me to better understand the metabolism of people in order to give them their needed boosts. Dave¡¯s metabolism doesn¡¯t quite make sense to me. He also seems to have more mana orbs socketed than you would expect for anyone of his rank,¡± Rabyn explained. ¡°Mel, it¡¯s fine. This was always going to come out eventually. Hiding it from the people seeing me fight the most would be near impossible anyway,¡± I said, not wanting this to turn into an argument. The reality was I had been considering telling the newcomers anyway. ¡°Dave¡¯s core is not split. He has an artificial socket system sitting on top of it. Instead of socketing a mana core directly into it, he sockets six separate cores within his chest. He has managed to extend those connections into his mallet, adding a seventh mana orb as well as a dungeon core,¡± Pryte explained. Rabyn lost his smile as his jaw dropped, giving way to a look of total incredulity. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware that was possible, and even if it were, the energy that would be needed for something like that is impossible. How did you do it?¡± Rabyn asked the usual calm and collected nature of his voice entirely gone. ¡°The System pushed me towards it, and the energy came from Sanquar saving up his own experience for most of the time he was trapped here. Combine that with the unfinished works of Karlinovo, some refined soul mana plates, and an extremely dangerous experiment, and you get how I formed my core,¡± I answered, skipping over the unimportant details. ¡°And you really want to argue against it being fate pulling us all together? The head of this faction holds some of the greatest potential of a channeler I¡¯ve ever heard of. Trelione sends his granddaughter out to explore the idea of leaving his own retirement. Somehow, the Arena prize on a first level just happens to accidentally be the place Sanquar was banished to, and it¡¯s won by a faction I was forced into¡­¡± Rabyn¡¯s words slowly turned into laughter, abruptly ending anything he may have been planning to add. Surprisingly, Mel joined him. ¡°Sorry, Rabyn¡¯s right, this is all just so insane it¡¯s hilarious.¡± ¡°I assume this means we don¡¯t need to worry you are going to attempt to desert the faction at the first chance?¡± Pryte asked, shaking his head and smiling. He looked on the verge of laughter himself. I¡¯d likely have joined them if I hadn¡¯t already come to terms with how crazy all of this was. It was kind of nice to see the people used to the Spiral stuck in my world for once. ¡°Desert to what? Assuming my own reputation didn¡¯t stop me from joining anyone else, the rest of yours certainly has. No, as I said, fate has placed me here, and I will see this through to the end,¡± Rabyn answered, the laughter dying as his voice reverted back to the serious. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said honestly. The more I dug into the orc, the stranger he was from my own expectations. Rabyn stood up and stopped at the door, turning back to speak again. ¡°After we return from the expedition, I¡¯d like to test your abilities, Dave, and the mallet as well,¡± he requested. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine, assuming we have the time,¡± I said, hoping we did. Rabyn nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. ¡°That¡¯s everyone we need to cover for now. We can do another of these meetings later for the support staff and other members, but at the moment, I can¡¯t imagine that would add much to our knowledge,¡± Pryte said once we were alone again. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much we can learn from my kids or Maud. We do need to talk to Timon and Sanquar, though. Sanquar might be more of an entire-day event with Elody as well. As for Timon, I can already tell he¡¯s not just a pilot. Want to enlighten us a little there, Mel?¡± I asked, looking pointedly at the floating man. ¡°Caught on, did ya?¡± Mel asked back, maintaining my eye contact. ¡°Timon is an accomplished pilot, but that¡¯s not what his actual class is, just the secondary specialization some subterfuge classes allow for, for better blending in. I don¡¯t actually know the specifics of the class, and I doubt Mel does either. It¡¯s not something those with them generally share. Anything beyond that you¡¯d like to tell us, Mel?¡± Pryte asked, joining me in my stare. ¡°Look, I¡¯ve known Timon for a very long time. Pryte¡¯s right. I ain¡¯t got any clue what the real name of his class is, but he¡¯s always been my most reliable friend. The fact that he¡¯s sticking around here through this when he could be literally anywhere else speaks volumes. We need him,¡± Mel answered. ¡°I didn¡¯t say we didn¡¯t. I just wanted to know the truth about the man. I can appreciate a man able to rib you,¡± I said, glad to have confirmed the truth of my suspicions. I wasn¡¯t sure what else we¡¯d be able to learn during his meeting, but I still intended to have it when we had the time. ¡°Well then, that¡¯s it for our first squad interviews. Well done, gentlemen. I¡¯m going to get these filed, find us a handyman, and see about Glorp¡¯s family. If I¡¯m not back before the trip tomorrow, don¡¯t wait for me; it likely means something important has come up,¡± Pryte said before he stood up and stretched his legs. ¡°Alright, good luck. I¡¯m going to go take a deep dive into all my mana orbs, and some of my class abilities while we have the time. I¡¯ve got some more tinkering to do,¡± I said, joining Pryte in a stretch before nodding to Mel and making my exit. Corey and I had some work to do.
There are many classes specializing in spycraft, subterfuge, infiltration, and the like. The problem with detailing any such classes here is that those who possess them are very rarely willing to discuss the exact nature of the class for obvious reasons. Purchasing one of these class orbs on the open market is illegal, but unlike other such banned class orbs, the classes themselves are not considered illegal. It is just a further method to control the trade and access to these rarer specializations. Classes Volume 1 by Zolinjar Chapter 96: Synergy I made my way back to my garage, not wanting to be interrupted as I explored the new changes in my mana orbs. Before I started that though, I pulled up my chat window. I needed to push my abilities as far as I could. Too many people were counting on me now.
>Dave: Corey, how¡¯s the wasp core doing? >Corey: They are beginning to speak more. Why? >Dave: Just planning out the future use of cores. We¡¯re going to need to pull out all the stops if we want to survive the tenth floor as far as I can tell, so I¡¯m exploring all options. >Corey: Understood. I will work with them more. >Dave: Thank you.
Another dancing weapon was in my future, though perhaps not next. I still needed to find a way to better regulate my own mana flow and socket switches for optimal growth, and Corey was quickly growing into a more and more desirable solution, assuming they were willing to take our partnership even further. That was a question for the future, once I even knew how to do what I was considering. Today, several of my mana orbs needed to be explored further. I pulled up my life orb first and looked through the changes. There were two new mana skills available in the fifth tier, and they were mutually exclusive. Did all mana orbs eventually have split paths? There was also a new one in the fourth tier, which was a tier I could now invest in.
Mana Orb
Life (2)
Fourth Tier
Soul Regeneration (0)
Requirements: Inner Vitality (30) Pain Management (30), Soul Ignition
Soul Regeneration allows the host to repair the damage done by afflictions of the soul, ranging from soul degradation to mana channel scarring. The ability to directly channel soul energy is required for the use of this mana skill. Further ranks decrease the mana required.
Mana Orb
Life (2)
Fifth Tier
Eternal Body (0)
Requirements: Regeneration (25)
Eternal Body allows the host to specialize the life orb towards ailments of the body. Only one mana skill in the fifth tier may be chosen.
Mana Orb
Life (2)
Fifth Tier
Eternal Soul (0)
Requirements: Soul Regeneration (25)
Eternal Soul allows the host to specialize the life orb towards ailments of the soul. Only one mana skill in the fifth tier may be chosen.
That added another reason to figure out soulfire and sure did seem to add some weight to Rabyn¡¯s fate claim. I had a feeling, though, that I knew what had actually given me access to the Soul Regeneration mana skill, and quickly brought my Inner Vitality up to thirty ranks to test my theory. The odd feeling when I pushed mana across my channels was still there as I activated the skill and scanned my own body. Just as suspected, the damage I had done to myself during the fight with the Jesters was registered as mana channel scarring. That wasn¡¯t the interesting part of what the scan revealed, though. Apparently, the damage had been caused by a failed soul ignition. My memory was a bit hazy of what exactly I had done during the fight, but that meant I had taken the first steps toward actually unlocking soulfire, and that was some much needed good news. I finally unlocked Bandaid and Regeneration, incredibly glad to have them. Making several of the storable healing items would be a priority before we returned to the Arena. Next up was investing ranks in all of my healing abilities, bringing them up to their new maximum values. Even after this, I was still sitting at over fifteen hundred skill ranks. With how much core abilities cost to upgrade, I was finally starting to see just how these could be limited in the future, especially considering I had barely been touching regular skills, and there were likely infinitely more that could be learned if really attempted. How many knowledge skills did Elicec have at this point? Each of my Body-Modification orbs also had a new skill unlocked, one per orb.
Mana Orb
Body-Modification (2)
Fourth Tier
Overwhelming Strength (0)
Requirements: Strength Training (25), Brawn Over Brains (10)
Overwhelming Strength allows the host to temporarily increase their strength to their current maximum potential. The longer this skill is used, increasingly more recovery time for the body will be required. Increased ranks decrease the recovery time needed.
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Mana Orb
Body-Modification (2)
Fourth Tier
Mana Channel Reinforcement (0)
Requirements: Mental Training (25) Brains Over Brawn (10)
Mana Channel Reinforcement strengthens the mana channels at a slightly enhanced rate as mana is channeled, speeding up both the rate and amount at which the host can move mana across their body. Further ranks further increase the rate of reinforcement.
Overwhelming Strength seemed dangerous from the description. I easily imagined a situation where I went way too hard in a fight and found my body unable to cope with what I had done to it, only to still be stuck in the fight facing more people with nothing left to give. Mana Channel Reinforcement seemed like something I was going to need, though, especially if I wanted to further practice what was needed for Soulfire. That seemed to be the best way to go, so along with maxing out my previous abilities to their new limits, I invested another twenty-five ranks there. It seemed so long ago that I¡¯d read the basics of how the skill caps worked on them, but it was proving true, as the new max for the first tier skills seemed to now be thirty-six instead of the expected thirty-five. The new additions in my Elemental orbs were even more interesting. It turned out the synergistic effects of some mana orbs were entirely real, and I had accessed my first set of them.
Mana Orb
Elemental (2)
Third Tier
Silent Casting (0)
Requirements: Fundamental Forces (30) Recall (10)
The host is able to dampen the noise required to cast recalled spells. Additional ranks spent further reduce the noise of all components of the spell.
Mana Orb
Elemental (2)
Fourth Tier
Synergistic Magic (0)
Requirements: Elemental Focus Fire (1) Elemental Focus Aether (1)
Utilizing two Elemental orbs of different types, the host may combine their effects to produce harmonized spells. Equal ranks must be invested into this skill on both orbs, and both must be accessible by the core at the same time for these skills to function.
While Silent Casting was something I wanted, it wasn¡¯t something I needed, and in the realm of wants, Synergistic Magic far outweighed Silent Casting. I quickly maxed out both of the skills on the two orbs and then disabled all my other sockets to see if I could feel anything differently. Incredibly slowly, I pushed mana across my channels, focusing on the area between the two orbs, opening one of the switches I had placed there when I designed this but had long kept closed for fear of overloading myself. The mana trickled through the newly opened channel, flowing from the fire elemental orb into the aether; soon, I could feel the different flows intermingling and releasing further down my channels. Focusing my thoughts on a small piece of wood on the table, I released the energy, letting it flow across the rest of my body and out through my hand. ¡°Oxygen depart, wood ignite,¡± I said, the words flowing from somewhere beyond me like so many times before. Within seconds, the small piece of wood was blackened. I picked it up and examined it closely. It felt like what I had been attempting to create, but without something to test it on properly, I couldn¡¯t be entirely sure. In theory, I had just created charcoal. While I was sure there were plenty of potential uses for it, at the moment, I just let myself relish the exhilaration of having done it. Another step down the strange path Karlinovo had envisioned had been taken, and for once, there hadn¡¯t even been a potential disaster. As a message from Corey popped up, I briefly considered that I had doomed myself with such a thought.
>Corey: Dave, did you just change something within yourself? The mana signature felt different. >Dave: I unlocked the ability to combine my Elemental orbs. I just tested that and one of the circuits I had designed between the sockets that I hadn¡¯t opened yet. >Corey: Interesting, and there was no problem? >Dave: Not as far as I can tell. >Corey: I wonder what would happen if we were able to create a second socket within the mallet. >Dave: Good question, but I think before that happens, I want to add another core-controlled object as well, though we will likely need more willing cores before that is fully possible. >Corey: I will work with the other cores more often. Do you anticipate needing them sooner rather than later? >Dave: I wish I knew; Mel is certainly worried about what we¡¯ll need on the tenth floor, and even once we clear that, I doubt that¡¯ll end the incoming threats. >Corey: I doubt that as well. I will work with them. >Dave: Thank you. Once Traveler joins us, it may be easier for you if you include them. >Corey: Yes, I look forward to seeing them again.
With that done, I pulled out the book Elody had given me earlier, relaxed on my cot and started a deep dive into it. My earlier assumptions that what I had done against the Jesters had been a near ignition looked to be true. From what Karlinovo knew about Soulfire, the first step was to channel your soul directly into your mana channels, bypassing the usual reaction that refines the energy into something a person is more capable of handling. Learning to do this posed a great deal of risk to the body, including both burning out your core as well as killing yourself, but the benefits were impressively useful. Virtually all defensive magic was designed to fight against standard mana. Soulfire would cut straight through anything like that. Karlinovo believed one of the important steps to proper control of it was someone¡¯s presence attribute, apparently, there were some derivative attributes that helped the body handle the force. I guess it was time to stop ignoring that specific stat.
Most people assume your presence is just how well you interact with those around you, and while that can be true on some level, on a fundamental level, it¡¯s how your soul interacts with the universe itself. The higher your presence, the more you become the kind of person able to look into the uncaring void of eternity and assert your own right to claim an existence. Yell this loud enough, and sometimes the void even backs down. Breakdown of the Soul-Core Reaction by Karlinovo Chapter 97: Path of the Mana Weave I still needed to dive into my class today, but first, following the advice of the book, it was time to look over my long-ignored interaction attributes, starting with moving presence up to five hundred. I didn¡¯t feel anything noticeably different and started to assume that only came from changing my senses. Assuming my understanding was correct on how most attributes worked, I still needed to spend time training the part of my being associated with it towards that new limitation. The problem there was that I didn¡¯t know how you trained your presence. Four more secondary stats were unlocked below presence after my point expenditure: Influence, Defiance, and an awareness attribute for each. With what Karlinovo¡¯s book had said, I had a feeling these went beyond just people in how the interacted with reality. How did the awareness attributes work exactly? Would something ping in my brain to alert me, or would it just be more obvious that someone else¡¯s influence was acting over me? These were questions that I likely wouldn¡¯t find answers to on Earth. The implications of their value when dealing with other factions was an interesting thought. Did the heads of the big factions have these attributes pushed as far as they could, or did they employ specialists for faction negotiations? After investing five hundred ranks in each of the new attributes without finding a maximum value, I decided to call that good enough for now. I just still couldn¡¯t get myself to risk using all of my spare attribute points, especially when I was about to go potentially invest levels into my class. Like presence before, there was no immediately noticeable change as far as I could tell, but I made a mental note to force myself to pay extremely close attention in future conversations to see if I could spot anything. Even if that sounded like torture, it was important to test out these changes. Putting aside my own attributes for the moment, I pulled up my class orb instead. In my earlier rush through the Path of the Dungeon, I had more or less entirely ignored anything else. That meant that the Path of the Mana Wave had been virtually unexplored outside of the top level despite having enough mana orb types to have unlocked at least one path. The first step was adding the ten million experience needed. It was still an odd sensation as whatever the source was that made up the value left my core and flowed into the class orb. Several new options appeared under the newly unlocked Types category.
-Types\Combine {0/10 Levels} [Skill]
Combine allows the host to combine mana orbs of the same type and rank together to create a stronger orb. Doing so can unlock further hidden abilities as well as increase the growth rate of the orb. Further ranks in the skill allow for a better conversion rate when orbs are combined. They will not decrease the risk of an explosive backlash.
-Types\Dismantle {0/10 Levels} [Skill]
Dismantle allows the host to pull apart a mana orb into its base components, releasing its stored potential. This potential can be used in place of level requirements for class features. Further ranks in the skill will increase the amount of energy captured from the orb. They will not decrease the risk of an explosive backlash.
-Types\Mana Weave Control {0/100 Levels} [Skill]
Mana Weave Control allows a degree of control over the mana outside their person. Further ranks in this skill allow for better control and can help mitigate the chances and effects of catastrophic failures when manipulating mana flows.
All three of those were interesting,, the first two incredibly so, and the third one seemed important relative to using the first two. Then again, how far did that skill extend? Would I be able to manipulate the mana flow inside another person? If I could shut down someone else¡¯s ability to channel, that seemed potentially very powerful. Never mind, that was actually by far the most interesting of the three. There were several mana orbs sitting in here for me to experiment with if I wanted to. I doubted it would be an issue if I practiced on a few of the body-enhancing orbs. We had a dozen and would likely soon have more. Deciding to go for it, I dropped the ten levels needed for the dismantle skill and then pushed it as high as it would let me, which turned out to be fifty ranks. I figured it was best to start here and then use what I gained to unlock further class abilities. While more abilities had lit up below Dismantle, those could wait. My brain had focused on trying this out first. I grabbed two of the orbs and placed them on my work table. I focused on one of them and was immediately greeted by a new menu.
Mana Orb Body-Enhancing Orb (1) Dismantle Personal Absorption Backlash Chance: 2% Level Equivalency: 10 Would you like to dismantle the Body-Enhancing Orb?
How big would an absorption backlash be? Wait, would my backlash resistance skill help here? I hadn¡¯t initially considered that, but it seemed entirely possible, depending on what exactly this energy was considered. I¡¯d really need to set up a full lab sooner rather than later to start testing it all. That was something to consider as we scoped out how bad of shape Earth was in. Enticing some scientists to join this new faction would be a high priority, assuming we had anything to attract them with. Was otherworldly magical tech enough? The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. After a brief moment of further consideration, the reward of ten potential levels skipped for investment outweighed the risk as far as I was concerned, and I selected yes on the first of the two orbs.
Dismantle of Body-Enhancing Orb (1) in progress.
The orb glowed brightly like it had been superheated. It reminded me of the time the kids and I had seen a glass blower in action. Would it be possible to change the shape of a mana orb using a similar technique? Even if possible I wasn¡¯t sure to what ends it would accomplish. Several cracks formed in the orb, pulling my attention back to it. A loud shattering sound rang out as an arc of green energy hit me painlessly in the chest.
Dismantle of Body-Enhancing Orb (1) complete. Time of Energy Persistence: 1 minute
That wasn¡¯t long, and also wasn¡¯t something I had expected to happen. Luckily I already knew that Combine needed exactly ten levels and quickly invested the energy there, unlocking the skill. The time limit made me rethink my plan to try it out on both orbs. I¡¯d need to better plan out these attempts in the future. The good news, though, was that despite the loud shattering sound, nothing seemed to have gone wrong. Where the orb used to be was a pile of fine dust. I dumped out a container of screws and reached for a hand broom, carefully sweeping the dust into the now-empty container and sealing it. I had no idea if it was at all useful, but it was better to hold onto it now than regret not having done so in the future. Hopefully I could find a use for it in some later projects. Going back to the class menu I had several new abilities illuminated. Under Combine I had four new class abilities, all of them improved the Combine skill itself.
-\Combine\Divergent Ranks {0/50 Levels} [Skill Enhancement]
Allows the host to utilize the Combine skill to combine mana orbs of different ranks with an increased chance of explosive backlash.
-\Combine\Divergent Paths {0/100 Levels} [Skill Enhancement]
Allows the host to utilize the Combine skill to combine mana orbs of different pathways with an increased chance of explosive backlash
-\Combine\Divergent Types {0/1000 Levels} [Skill Enhancement]
Allows the host to utilize the Combine skill to combine mana orbs of different types with an increased chance of explosive backlash
-\Combine\Divergent Sources {0/10000 Levels} [Skill Enhancement]
Allows the host to utilize the Combine skill to combine mana orbs of different sources with an increased chance of explosive backlash.
Divergent Ranks seemed self-explanatory, and I thought I knew what Divergent Paths meant as well. It was likely when an orb was specialized in a way that locked off other paths on it, though if that wasn¡¯t the answer, I wasn¡¯t sure what was. What was the resulting orb like if you combined something with different paths? Divergent Types and Divergent Sources existing as two different enhancements confused me entirely. I wasn¡¯t sure what the difference meant in regards to mana orbs, but I was sure that was just coming from my own ignorance. If Pryte didn¡¯t have the answer, Elody or possibly Rabyn likely did. I checked the new nodes under Dismantle next.
-\Dismantle\Non-Destructive {0/50 Levels} [Skill Enhancement]
Allows the host to attempt to dismantle a mana orb in a less physically damaging way. Doing so has a chance to reduce the level equivalency gained but increases the chances of leaving behind larger shards. Explosive backlash chances are unaffected.
-\Dismantle\Energy Containment {0/100 Levels} [Skill]
Energy Containment allows the host to better contain the energy released from dismantling a mana orb. Further ranks invested into the skill allow for longer containment times.
The first one proved my earlier idea of the components having some use at least. Well maybe not the dust that had been left after that one, but potentially the things left over once I learned that enhancement. Energy Containment, while interesting, didn¡¯t seem that great on its own. Was it possible to use it in conjunction with something else to move the energy outside myself? If I could transfer around this energy that might be a game changer for us. It was certainly something to explore. The door opened into the garage, ending my class exploration as John walked in, wearing a very stained apron and looking exhausted. ¡°Dinner is ready. I went all out. I figure we may as well have a feast before we see how bad the world really is,¡± he said, looking proud of himself. ¡°Sounds and smells great,¡± I replied, catching a whiff of something savory. The smell reminded me of a pig roast, but that seemed unlikely, given what we had on hand. I followed John back into the kitchen, my stomach now ready for whatever dish was waiting in the other room.
It is believed that the Rainbow Sun itself used to be a mana orb. The origin of such a colossal mana source is a highly debated topic amongst scholars of the mana weave, but they are reasonably sure that it is not a dungeon core masquerading as a mana orb. The fact that it could ever grow so large without a dungeon core growing within it leaves even more questions. TCH¡¯s Universal Oddities Chapter 98: Dinner, Conversation, Plans, Futures It turned out that the meal wasn¡¯t all that different from a roast pig. A large buck had gotten into Cecile¡¯s newest field that he¡®d just planted this morning, and the twinoges had been forced to put it down after it tried to attack them, refusing to leave the area. John had then capitalized on it and, with the help of Rabyn, cleaned the carcass and spent the day roasting it over a large fire outside. I was somewhat amazed that I hadn¡¯t noticed this at all, but I¡¯d been incredibly focused on the other parts of the day, and it certainly wouldn¡¯t be the first time I¡¯d missed something else going on around me while lost in my own internal world. The fact that John had managed to work so easily with several of the newcomers, especially Rabyn, was a good sign. We might just be able to make this whole thing work yet. Wait, was I getting used to the idea of running this faction? Dammit, Mel, somehow this was entirely your fault. I sighed and took another bite of the roast venison. At least the food was good, and I was sharing it with my family. ¡°Soooo, what¡¯s the plan for tomorrow? We can all still come, right?¡± Maud asked loudly, interrupting the several smaller conversations going on around the room. ¡°Yep, same plan as before. We take out all of the orc groups we can find and see just how bad¡¯a shape yer planet¡¯s in,¡± Mel answered, slurring his words slightly. Had he been drinking? Could he get drunk? In answer to my questions, I saw Mel pass a flask back to Timon, followed by the mantis taking his own large swig of the substance. ¡°Nice, um, how long will we be gone? I need to make sure the cats have enough food?¡± Maud asked, her voice suddenly changing to that of concern as her hand gently moved back and forth over the back of one of said cats resting on her lap. ¡°Plan for a week, but I¡¯m hoping for only a few days,¡± Mel answered, letting off a giant hiccup halfway through. His color has turned a light shade of violet, with some darker spots starting to show up on his cheeks. ¡°Are the crops going to be okay without us? I mean, if we already have deer determined to destroy your fields with us here, it could be a real problem,¡± I said, worried more about a moose starting to sniff around. That could be a giant disaster, and not just for the field. I didn¡¯t need any more holes in the walls. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be a problem now. Glorp and Connie helped us set up a makeshift fence around the only field with the actual crops,¡± Cecile answered while Elicec looked to be in bliss as he ate a mix of carrots and peas. Good to know he liked Earth vegetables that much. ¡°The sonic wall should hold for at least two weeks before I need to reinforce it,¡± Connie added, explaining how they had managed any kind of barrier without spending a ton of time harvesting lumber. ¡°And once you get that crop up and going, it¡¯s possible the rest of us could start doing magic, too?¡± Maud asked, the excitement still clearly there at the idea of being a channeler. I couldn¡¯t blame her either. Even with the fear and anxiety I felt initially, I still loved the idea of what I could do with the changes my body had undergone. The exhilaration of it had easily overrode much of the underlying fear. ¡°Maybe. Is that really a path you desire?¡± Elody asked pointedly. The smile on Maud¡¯s face amplified before she responded. ¡°It¡¯s basically everything I¡¯ve ever wanted. Just it was mostly impossible before, so yeah, I would really love to be able to do magic,¡± she responded, her cheeks flushing slightly with the desire clear in her words. ¡°Once the crops are flourishing, we can begin the process of building a rudimentary mana flow here. It will take years before true core development will be possible with that path, and even then, it¡¯ll only be possible within the flow. Now, depending on the strength of what Cecile is able to grow, we may be able to stimulate the growth of a core with a strong mana-infused diet,¡± Elody explained. That confirmed several of my own worries. I¡¯d already suspected that newly integrated worlds didn¡¯t have much in the way for their residents to form their own cores. Why else would the twinoges have sought out the Arena if they could have just pursued a path on their home? It was going to take some time to bring Earth up to a state where it could directly compete with any faction in the Spiral. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve got some really good news there. Well, not for the mana flow. I can¡¯t do anything with that part, at least yet. But I¡¯ve started with the Path of the Bountiful Harvest. Since we have our own potential food shortages, it seemed the smart choice, and I think we can probably start a handful of people on some of the more mana-potent veggies in a couple of months. And once we finish off the tenth floor, I¡¯m gonna push the class as far as I can. We aren¡¯t going to let your planet starve, Dave,¡± Cecile said with a giant smile. I wasn¡¯t sure it was actually that bad out there, but it was entirely possible. The supply chain was a fragile thing, and I had to imagine a massive disruption to a single growing season worldwide had some potentially devastating ramifications for world hunger. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Good, make sure ya wait¡­ Excuse me, I need¡­¡± Mel started, stopped, and started again before fleeing the room through the front door. Whatever he¡¯d been drinking seemed to have caught up with him. ¡°The man talks a big game, but he can just never handle his booze. You all should have seen him at my bachelor party, well maybe you shouldn¡¯t¡¯ve. If he¡¯d been sober, he probably would have talked me out of the wedding. That would have saved a lot of trouble,¡± Timon said, taking another swig of the flask before heading after Mel. Now that I was sure about his real class, it made me question just how many of Timon¡¯s life stories were actually true. ¡°Going back to the previous topic, if this is something you truly wish to pursue, I believe I can help Cecile prepare the necessary diet,¡± Rabyn said, looking at Maud as he spoke. ¡°I mean, yeah!¡± Maud yelled, startling the cat in her lap as she did. ¡°Hey, that was mean!¡± she followed up after the cat had leaped from her lap, leaving several fresh lines of blood trickling down her wrist. Before I could heal her myself, Elody, who was sitting next to her on the couch, reached over and handled it. By the time Maud wiped away the blood, the lines had already faded. ¡°Good. It¡¯s not my intention to place an undue burden on you, but we¡¯ll need to begin training as many channelers as we can as quickly as we can. Those especially loyal to Dave would be the ideal starting candidates,¡± Rabyn followed up with. At least someone was considering empire building, I suppose, not that I had totally ignored the idea. I just wasn¡¯t sure exactly how to decide who got to be first in line for a core when our initial supply would likely be incredibly low. ¡°Are we sure she¡¯s loyal? She does have two cats, they could be the real ones in charge. Have any of you ever heard of toxoplasmosis?¡± I asked, trying to bring the conversation back to something a little lighter with a terrible joke. ¡°I doubt we¡¯ve had the cats long enough for that,¡± John said, laughing. ¡°Is that a thing cats are capable of doing here?¡± Cecile asked, a note of seriousness in his voice. ¡°No, they¡¯re just joking, kind of. The thing Dad said is real, but I don¡¯t think it can actually control anyone. Plus, you all have the magical healing spells now anyway,¡± Alex answered, shaking her head at me as she spoke. ¡°Sorry, bad joke. No, the cats, other than having some sharp claws, are just friendly pets,¡± I said, feeling a little guilty for making Cecile worry. ¡°Going back to the topic of classes though, Elody, what¡¯s the difference between mana types and mana sources? One of my abilities lists them as separate things.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t one of my areas of expertise, and it isn¡¯t a topic that often comes up with mana orbs, but I believe sources are generally the energy that formed the orb, whereas type is the energy the orb uses. Normally, I wouldn¡¯t expect the difference to be much outside of an academic reason, but if your class is considering them as separate things, there is likely something important that I don¡¯t know here,¡± she answered, not sounding overly confident in her answer. ¡°There¡¯s an important difference. I can remember that much, but the exact information is refusing to come out. I¡¯m sorry, Dave,¡± Sanquar followed up, sounding extremely frustrated. No one else spoke after. How hard would repairing the damage to his core be? Once we were done with the Arena, it was something I would have to explore, not just because of how useful he would be if he could actively fight again. ¡°Not your fault. Looks like it¡¯s just something I¡¯ll have to play with to figure out then,¡± I said, yawning. Between the food and the long day, sleepiness was starting to settle in. ¡°Yeah, sleep does sound like a good idea,¡± Glorp said, looking barely awake already. ¡°Agreed, I¡¯m calling it a night. I¡¯ll see you all in the morning. John, dinner was amazing,¡± I said, standing up and heading for my cot. ¡°Night, Dad,¡± he called back. Tomorrow I would push Timon into heading for the UN first.
Laughter mana orbs are one of the harder emotional orbs to come across. Those who have them rarely want to part with them or even demonstrate their exact skills. They generally allow those who possess them a greater degree of freedom of movement within the factions, as people love a good comedian. But what power lies beyond just the joke? There are rumors that some of the stranger magics seen in the Arena were actually from laughter orbs as the fighters hid their mana sources. Mana Sources by Henjen Klank Chapter 99: A World in Chaos Once we were all on the bus the next day, Timon displayed a surprisingly accurate depiction of the globe. On it were several dots, apparently representing the orc activity he¡¯d discovered, plus a giant question mark in Antarctica. We¡¯d have to hit that one eventually, but for now, it was the lowest priority. This trip was about learning to function as a team, saving lives, and accessing the planet¡¯s governments and resources. ¡°Alright, so the big red dots are the incursions that haven¡¯t gone to ground yet. We¡¯ve got five main ones I¡¯m worried about. After that are the yellow, we got a couple hundred of those. An orc squad was there but has either found a way underground or left the universe. Finally, there¡¯s the two green dots. Those are orc squads that are sure to be a problem in the future but can¡¯t be right now,¡± Timon explained. The five big red dots were in large population centers, which I suppose made sense. Lots of compacted people in small areas made it very hard to fight back without killing others. I was sure that one of them was New York City, but my international geography wasn¡¯t the best. At least I knew the countries; Japan, China, Brazil, and Egypt. Didn¡¯t India and Mexico also have cities bigger than the United States? What made these five places so special? ¡°So Tokyo, Shanghai, S?o Paulo, Cairo, and NYC then? Sure they are all giant cities, but Delhi is bigger than everyone except Tokyo. Is it just random?¡± Alex asked, speaking up. She had loved maps as a kid, guess that interest had held. ¡°When Wralf was killed, the various squads would have immediately known their quest had failed. They also know the Singing Blades would make no effort to recover them. Possibly me, but not them. I assume Sanquar¡¯s presence threw a giant wrench into any attempt there. What that means is that any of the particularly stupid squad leaders with their ideas of being a faction leader likely took charge of whoever would follow them and began an attempt to fortify whatever area they were in. The smarter ones understood that if Wralf was dead, there was someone stronger than them, and anyone still killing humans would be the first target. They found areas below ground and took their men there,¡± Rabyn explained. ¡°Ah, so then all big cities were likely initially targeted, but those missing orcs have since fled,¡± Alex replied, nodding along with her words. ¡°Yes. And I assume those green dots represent two groups that managed to flee off the planet, but not the universe. Those are the smartest ones,¡± Rabyn said, pointing to the dots. ¡°Wait, so where are they going? We don¡¯t really have other habitable planets nearby. At least, I don¡¯t think we do,¡± I said. Then again, they did have magic, so who knew what was considered habitable for them? ¡°Without knowing the means they used to escape the planet, I can¡¯t fully predict where they would go or what their future plans will be. Also, I believe it¡¯s best that during these fights, I wear a mask,¡± Rabyn said as he produced a dark red one from his System storage. ¡°Oh yeah, that¡¯s going to be a problem. Connie and Elody look human enough, but Glorp, Cecile, and Elicec are going to be a problem,¡± I said, not really sure what to do here. There was a good chance that their presence would just cause more panic, even if they were fighting against the orcs. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I already figured that would be a problem. I talked to Connie about this this morning. She believes she can keep us under a camouflage ability while we fight,¡± Elicec said reassuringly. ¡°Yeah, normally disguising us from this many people would be a problem, but without a mana flow here, it¡¯s gonna be pretty hard for anyone besides the orcs to see through the magic. That said, Rabyn, keep the mask,¡± Connie explained with a smile, looking incredibly proud of herself. ¡°Well, that solves that potential problem, I guess. If there¡¯s nothing else to discuss before we head out, I want to start here,¡± I said, pointing at the dot over New York City. The United Nations headquarters was there, and that was where we had the greatest chance of finding Laura. ¡°Nope, so far, yer planning this out well enough. I¡¯m going to try to keep my mouth shut and see how y¡¯all interact best without me interfering. It¡¯s important ta find a harmony since I won¡¯t be there with ya in the fights,¡± Mel answered gruffly, wobbling slightly in the air. It didn¡¯t look like he had fully recovered from the previous night¡¯s activities just yet. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Good, then everyone, sit the hell down. We¡¯re off to whatever Dave just called that place,¡± Timon said as the dot over New York City turned into an arrow moments before the bus sprang to life and took to the air. Chip was once against sitting on Timon¡¯s shoulder, likely supplementing the mana he needed for the trip. The bus had flown too high into the clouds for me to get a good look at the ground below. I¡¯d been hoping to see just how bad things looked from the sky, but considering what Timon had said was needed mana-wise to keep this bus in the air, I figured he was doing the best he could for the trip and didn¡¯t want to push it. We¡¯d know soon enough anyway. I tuned out most of the nervous small talk around me as we flew, trying to relax my racing thoughts. I was about to really make myself known to the world, and there would be no going back from that. I could joke as much as I wanted about finding someone else to take over the faction, but once I was known as the person in charge, I was likely stuck until I died, and that thought continued to terrify me. ¡°Someone get up here and show me where you want this thing landed, and make it quick. Pretty sure some of your military is still around, so let¡¯s do this before I have to waste mana blocking any projectiles,¡± Timon called to the back of the bus, snapping me out of my own thoughts. Alex had already walked up there before I had even stood up and was quietly pointing and explaining where she thought was best to land. ¡°The moment the bus is on the ground, the squad deploys. Everyone try to stay as near to Connie as possible, as it should lessen the drain on her to keep our disguises up. Glorp, your job is to loot every fallen orc. We can sort the spoils later. Dave, what¡¯s our first target?¡± Elicec ordered before turning to me with the question and a determined look in his eyes. ¡°This may be selfish, but my ex-wife works at the UN, so I want us to head to that building first and see what can be done there. We eliminate as many orcs as we can on the way and help anyone that needs it,¡± I said, nodding to Elicec to continue. But before he could, the bus made contact with the ground right in the middle of an active fight. ¡°Dammit, alright, let¡¯s save those people, and then we can make our next move!¡± Elicec yelled as the doors opened. I spotted five orcs, currently fighting a winning battle against a group of civilians. A few of them were armed, but the guns just weren¡¯t powerful enough against the bodies of the orcs. While each shot did seem to push an orc back slightly, it wasn¡¯t enough to actually hurt them. I immediately went into action and launched a fireball at the nearest one, only to see knives blossom in the throats of two more. Glorp was already dashing across the road almost faster than I could see. I spotted him stopping over the form of one orc briefly, but not the other two. The kid¡¯s speed was impressive, no wonder he had finished two of the Arena floors so well. The orcs¡¯ attempted victims were now looking at us with hope. That must have meant Connie¡¯s magic was working, which explained the odd low bass sounds I could feel coming from her. Cecile¡¯s scythe and a swing from Corey took down the remaining two orcs as I turned to address the now-growing onlookers. ¡°Ugh, hi, I¡¯m Dave. I want you all to go find somewhere safe, and we¡¯ll work on getting rid of the orcs. Does anyone know if there are any concentrated defenses still standing?¡± I asked, focusing on my new increased presence as I did so. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure, but I thought I felt a twinge of something coming off me toward the onlookers. ¡°Supposedly, there are people holding one of the fire stations two blocks over; it¡¯s where we were going before they found us, but it¡¯s been a nightmare. Those creatures are just everywhere, and they¡¯ve killed so many,¡± the woman burst into tears. Whatever force I had been exerting hadn¡¯t been stronger than the abject terror of the last few days. ¡°Okay, new plan then, everyone follows us, and we¡¯ll make you somewhere safe as we proceed,¡± I said, looking over to Elicec, who nodded his agreement back at me. ¡°Thank you,¡± someone screamed from within the terrified group as they all moved forward, starting after us. I sent Corey to the rear to keep watch back there. ¡°Dave, what¡¯s the plan?¡± Elicec whispered to me, sounding suddenly unsure. ¡°No idea, but we can¡¯t leave them. Hopefully, we can secure a building and let the local officials start putting things back together once we force the orcs out,¡± I answered, not entirely sure that was plausible as I scanned the streets. While a lot of buildings were still standing, more had been turned into rubble, and the remains of several burnt-out tanks were visible in the distance.
When visiting the moons of Glornchelia IV, always remember to bring your sunscreen, as the solar radiation can be extremely harmful to those not native to the planetary system. Try to make some time to visit the beautiful rainbow falls on the second moon. And if you¡¯ve gone at the right season, you might even be able to find the Jritotle fresh from its century-long hibernation, ready to make its new predictions. 10,000,000 Things to See in the Spiral Chapter 100: Unwanted Authority As we pressed forward, the group behind us swelled in size, each time over the corpses of several newly slain orcs. Interestingly, so far, no experience notifications had popped up despite the fact that we had now killed at least thirty of the invading orcs. Did this whole city count as one giant encounter as far as the System was concerned? This hadn¡¯t been part of the plan, but I wasn¡¯t willing to leave anyone behind. Everywhere I looked, the damage to the city was apparent, and I was growing more worried by the minute of just how quickly Earth could come back from this. The potential loss of life from the secondary issues caused by the orcs could outstrip the initial attack. We may have had healing magic, but there was no way for us to be everywhere with it, and we weren¡¯t even ready to feed ourselves yet. The broken fire hydrants without free-flowing water meant there was a deeper issue there. Nowhere seemed to have power, and there were no moving cars anywhere on the streets. In a major city like this any breakdown in city sanitation was a potential disaster. I thought I had also read that an interruption to food supplies could easily kill thousands in any major city in a matter of days. That seems a little fast, but I suppose anyone already facing poverty likely couldn¡¯t afford many more missed meals, especially the sick and the elderly. It was like the orcs had managed hundreds of terrorist attacks all over the world at once. Which was probably their goal, completely destabilizing the population in waves of chaos. That would make it easier to control the survivors they wanted to keep for later while culling the rest. The thought was enough to make my blood boil. I¡¯d always hated bullies, and this somehow played right into the same anger. I forced myself to focus on the issue at hand. We had to get these survivors to safety. I had to fix this all somehow, no matter how much the idea sent stabs of terror through my stomach. This was my disaster now. ¡°Connie, are you going to be able to keep up the disguises if the crowd continues to grow?¡± I asked the dwarf, concerned about losing control of the people we were saving. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I honestly thought it would be harder than it is, this is the first time I¡¯ve really dealt with people with no mana before. Even your family has started to gain a tiny bit, at least,¡± Connie answered. That was news to me. Just being around us has been enough to start priming them, apparently. I added that topic to the always growing discuss later list. ¡°Alright, good, the firehouse is coming up that they said survivors were holed up in. I¡¯m thinking we either leave them there or collect everyone inside and bring them to the UN building.¡± Even if it isn¡¯t standing, it has to have several below-ground floors. It¡¯s likely to be one of the safer spots. At least I assume it was built to withstand some sort of damage,¡± I said, not actually sure. It made sense in my head that it would be, but despite Laura¡¯s career, I had never really asked about anything like that. ¡°How many people are on your world?¡± Cecile asked before I could get too far down memory lane into even more depressing territories. ¡°Several billion, possibly nearing ten, I think,¡± I answered. Both twinoges looked at me with astonishment in their eyes. ¡°That¡¯s insane, Dave. There are only a few million twinoges,¡± Elicec said, explaining their strange look. ¡°Humans breed like orcs,¡± Rabyn said as he appeared from an alley, dragging an orc corpse behind him. Glorp rushed over and took care of any needed looting. ¡°Oh, that explains why there are so many in the Spiral,¡± Cecile said. ¡°There, that¡¯s where we heard people were making a stand!¡± the woman who had initially told me about the location yelled as we neared the firehouse. From the first look, I was pretty sure she was right. I was no gun expert, but the barrel pointing out one of the windows on the third floor looked like something designed to take down a tank. I had no idea how they had managed to get it up there or even if it was actually enough to handle the orcs, but considering the building was still standing, it must have been. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± a voice yelled from somewhere inside. ¡°I¡¯m Dave, working to clear out the orcs, got a bunch of people, as you can see, looking for a safe place to stay. Some of them were already trying to find you!¡± I yelled back. In response, the door burst open and several men in military gear filled out, each of them carrying a large gun. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°How¡¯d you get past the creatures?¡± one of them barked the question with the same voice I had moments ago heard through the wall. ¡°Mostly by killing them. Look, I don¡¯t have time to explain everything, but suffice it to say I¡¯ve managed to acquire similar powers to them as have several of the people with me,¡± I answered. ¡°About time someone figured it out. Is it tied to those weird orbs in their body? We managed to get a couple after they came close enough to the big gun,¡± The man replied. ¡°Yes, but we can discuss it later. How many orcs have you managed to kill? Do you know where their main base of operations in the city is?¡± I asked, looking at the man, slightly impressed now. As far as I knew, they were the only ones who had taken down any orcs other than us, but as I didn¡¯t know much, it seemed unlikely that they were, which finally gave me a little hope to work with. ¡°Three, and it was pure luck. This place won¡¯t hold against a full assault by them. They seem to be everywhere. Didn¡¯t know what to do as the whole chain of command had fallen apart, so we decided to do what we could to save people. God, I¡¯m glad to see we¡¯re finally taking the fight back to them. I¡¯d nearly given up,¡± the man said, his words turning slightly into ramblings as his desperation started to show. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Elicec said to the man, cutting in. ¡°Sergeant Grant with the US Army,¡± the man answered loudly, visibly calming down. ¡°Alright, how many people do you have inside?¡± I asked. ¡°Thirty people, most of them lost kids,¡± Grant answered. ¡°Obviously, I can¡¯t order you what to do, but it doesn¡¯t seem like there would be room in there for all the people behind me, so we¡¯re going to continue on to the UN building and see what it looks like. I¡¯m hoping we can find someone more capable of taking charge there,¡± I said, looking at the man. ¡°Sir, if you¡¯re actually able to kill these orcs? Are they really orcs? Then I think I can speak for my men that we¡¯re going with you. As for someone in charge, are you sure that¡¯s not just you?¡± Grant replied, looking at me with hopeful eyes. The man looked young, barely older than John. He wasn¡¯t remotely prepared for any of this military training or not, not that anyone was, but here I was, the only one with any answers. Of course, he wanted to follow me. How could I say no? Fate, deciding to make it clear I had no choice in the matter, chose that moment for several orcs to appear from one of the side streets. They instantly spotted us and charged in, roaring. They didn¡¯t even make it thirty feet before a dozen branching arcs of electricity shot from Elicec, tearing through them, dropping their bodies lifelessly to the ground. Before I had a chance to tell the soldier one way or the other he was barking orders to the others with him. ¡°Get everyone inside packed up. Let¡¯s get all the supplies we¡¯ve managed to gather out here. Between all these people, we should be able to move most of it. As far as I¡¯m concerned, Dave is now in charge.¡± No one seemed to disagree as they all sprang into action, and over the next few minutes, backpacks and supplies were distributed amongst our group, and we were back to moving toward my goal. ¡°What happens if we can¡¯t find any safe place?¡± Glorp whispered to me, looking worried. ¡°Then we make one. As it stands, we seem to drastically outclass the orcs,¡± I answered. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was actually universally true or not. We had just barely managed to take down their leader in a four-on-one fight, and I had no idea where we stood against someone like Rabyn. I was mostly gambling on the toughest ones being the smarter ones who¡¯d fled. So on we marched, and the group continued its growth with every building we passed. All of them looked to me as some sort of savior. The soldiers hopped to every order I gave, helping anyone who needed it without question. By the time we finally reached our destination, there were at least a thousand people with us, it was hard to keep track. Everything had slowed down while Elody and the twinogs moved through the crowds, healing those that needed it. The building itself was gone a few floors above ground level, but the rest was standing, and it looked like people had been working to reinforce it. Scrap of all kinds was piled in front of the windows, and a barrier of cars had been made around that. I hoped that meant there were still people inside alive. Monster Taming classes are rare these days within the Arena, as dungeon diving has fallen more and more out of favor for a pathway of growth among the new adventurers in the Spiral. Those who are willing to brave the regions needed to tame their potential fighting partners have further decreased as well. This has led to a rapid decline among the free mana beasts. With that loss of the unique power, culture, and viewpoints, I feel as though something special is going extinct. Mana Beasts, an Endangered Friend by Roril Thorl, Paladin of Agriculture Grand Warden of the Order Chapter 101: First of his Line ¡°Come on, let¡¯s start clearing a path. It looks like there are, or at least were, people inside!¡± I yelled to the crowd of survivors that we¡¯d managed to collect. Pulling up my chat window, I quickly sent a message to Corey. I wanted the kids here, in case we found their mother, but also to help me figure out what to do in case we didn¡¯t find anyone.
>Dave: Corey, I want you to head back to the bus and guide it here. Have them stay out of sight, though. >Corey: If I encounter any orcs, I assume you want me to handle that? >Dave: Yes. >Corey: Understood.
The further Corey flew from me, the bigger the mana drain grew. I didn¡¯t think they had to go far enough for it to be a real problem, but that was something to test once we were back in Alaska. For now, I switched off my other mana orbs to decrease the drain as much as possible. ¡°Dave, over here,¡± Elody¡¯s voice called from across the remains of the parking lot. Cement chunks and giant potholes had replaced the well-maintained entryway there had once been. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked, dashing over to her, hoping she¡¯d found some sign of life. ¡°There are humans alive underground in there. And I don¡¯t believe there are any living orcs,¡± She answered my question with a kind knowing smile. ¡°Found an entrance!¡± Grant yelled from behind several cars. Elody and I quickly made our way to him, spotting just what he had found. They had set up a series of cars as a makeshift tunnel, keeping the outermost entirely covered by enough scrap that it just looked like another pile of rubble. It wasn¡¯t a strong defense, as I had seen an orc rip straight through my wall, but it likely worked on the stupider members, especially when they were too busy hunting much easier prey. ¡°Grant, I want you to come with me inside to scope out the place first. I¡¯ll leave the rest of my group out here to guard everyone else. Sound good?¡± I asked the soldier, doubting he was going to argue but hoping he¡¯d point out glaring issues with my plan. I needed Connie to keep the disguises up out here, so taking any of my people seemed risky, and Grant could help with any actual politicians we encountered. ¡°Got it. Georges, stick with the rest of Dave¡¯s unit,¡± Grant ordered one of his men, who yelled back an affirmative. With that out of the way, I climbed into the first of the car doors, squeezing myself across several uncomfortable car seats and slowly making my way through the cramped tunnel, with Grant behind me, sounding like he was somehow having an easier time of it, despite being a larger man than I was. How did a shifter to the shin still manage to hurt so much? After several horrible minutes of contorting my body in ways it never bent on a good day, I pulled myself out of the final door into a small, dimly lit room. Neither my back or my knees would have allowed that cramped crawl before my trip to the Spiral. I looked up to see two people holding guns pointed directly at me. ¡°Woah, I come in peace, don¡¯t shoot!¡± I yelled the moment I saw them. ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± one of the men said angrily. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Grant asked, appearing behind me. ¡°I said don¡¯t move!¡± the man yelled again. ¡°Hey, hey, we aren¡¯t, just everyone, calm down, please?¡± I asked, trying to force my presence into action again, not feeling any twinge this time. I wasn¡¯t sure how well my body could handle a bullet, but I knew Grant¡¯s couldn¡¯t. ¡°Bob, it¡¯s alright, just calm down. They look pretty human, hell that guy looks to be a soldier. Let¡¯s just take them downstairs and see what they say,¡± the second man said to the one who had been yelling at us. ¡°Fine. Is there anyone else coming behind you?¡± Bob asked angrily. ¡°No, but we do have a lot of people out there, and the orcs should mostly be gone from the immediate area,¡± I said. There was no way cleaning up the cities was going to go nearly as fast as Mel had hoped for. Had he just not realized how dense our major urban centers were? Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°How did you manage that? No, never mind, just follow me,¡± the second man started to question us before changing his mind for whatever reason. Likely, he just didn¡¯t believe my claim, which was entirely fair. It probably sounded insane if you hadn¡¯t actually seen what I could do. He opened the door and led us through a series of barely lit halls, down several flights of stairs, until hitting a floor that was much brighter than the rest. Whatever power conservation efforts they were doing above must have been suspended as you entered their critical areas. ¡°Stay in here,¡± the man said, opening a small office door. I internally debated for a moment on how long I was willing to wait. With far more important things to do elsewhere, the answer was not long at all. Maybe it was the pain in my shin or possibly the far too hostile treatment we¡¯d received. In the end, it didn¡¯t really matter which, but I had no intention of sitting in a small room until they decided to talk to me. ¡°No. Take me to whoever is in charge. I want to talk to them right now,¡± I said firmly. This wasn¡¯t a request. ¡°Sir, I¡¯m going to need you to wait in here. Someone will be with you as soon as possible,¡± the man replied, much more forcefully than before. ¡°Not going to happen,¡± I replied before turning my next words into a shout. ¡°My name is Dave Imogen. I¡¯m here to find Laura Imogen. I also want to talk to whoever is in charge, and I want to do it now. I don¡¯t have time to waste here with how many people need my help!¡± That had set off the beehive worth of activity as the man with me drew his gun, and several more armed men appeared from other doors. ¡°Wait, stop. Dammit, Dave, is that really you?¡± My stomach nearly dropped to the floor as a woman¡¯s voice I very much recognized called from behind one of the groups of men. ¡°Oh good, you¡¯re alive,¡± I sputtered out the words, my loud, take-charge persona drying up the moment I heard her. ¡°How the hell did you even get here?¡± She yelled, pushing her way through the men in front of her, an angry, surprised scowl on her incredibly beautiful face. I did my best to push those feelings down. There was no going back there. I had to deal with the reality of the world as it was now. ¡°I¡¯ll explain that later. The kids are safe. I have them with me.¡± I said, assuming that was the most important thing I could tell her at the moment. Looking around at all the men still pointing their guns at me, it was possible I could have done this better. Grant, for his part, was standing perfectly still by my side, not looking one bit rattled. ¡°No, you¡¯ll explain it now. You wanted our attention, and now you have it. As of right now, the former attorney general is acting president of the United States. President Roberts, this is my ex-husband, who somehow, and completely unbelievably, has managed to fight his way in here,¡± Laura said, staring at me with those intense eyes of hers, but unlike so often in the past, there was no sign of mirth, just frustration. I couldn¡¯t look away. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s true. I¡¯ve seen Dave and the people with him fight the orcs. They were able to utilize some of their own powers against them,¡± Grant said, defending me. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t want to start a fight here. I came to find my ex-wife, hoping she was alive. Somehow, we ended up with a giant group of people in desperate need of someone to lead them. I¡¯m going to continue to clean out the orcs from the city as best I can and then move on to some other places,¡± I said, trying to cut to the heart of the matter. Getting stuck here explaining myself endlessly to bureaucrats wasn¡¯t something I was willing to do, even if Laura was one of them. No, especially if she was. With an incredible sense of timing that made me yet again consider Rabyn¡¯s fate theory, a chat window from Corey popped into view.
>Corey: Dave, I¡¯ve returned with the bus. >Dave: That was nearly perfect timing, thank you. I¡¯ll try to get Laura up there. >Corey: Understood. I will inform your family she is alive.
¡°Whether you want to start a fight or not, you¡¯ve certainly made an ass of yourself, Mr. Imogen,¡± an older man said. He looked familiar but I couldn¡¯t place the face. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t care. Who the hell are you anyway?¡± I asked, annoyed at the tone. ¡°Were you not even listening to Laura?¡± He asked back. Oh, so he was the president. ¡°I was. But at the moment, I don¡¯t really care. As I said more things to do, besides I¡¯m the emperor of the Empire of Dave anyway, not really sure you have any authority over me. Laura, can you please join me topside? The kids are waiting. Grant, up to you on what you want to do here,¡± I said, looking from my ex-wife to the soldier while trying to ignore the bubbling-up regret of declaring myself emperor. The man had made me angry, but I would have preferred keeping that quiet for now. ¡°Left my men up there, and while I do recognize your authority, sir, we need to start taking back control of the city. Dave has made that possible,¡± Grant said, sounding unsure of himself. ¡°Fine, we can deal with whatever problems and new issues your ex-husband has caused later. Laura, go see your kids. Holt, take a squad of men and go with the sergeant here. I want a full report of orc activity,¡± President Roberts ordered.
Paragon classes represent a rarely used class combination in the modern Spiral dynamics, but it was often popular in the previous centuries. Paragon classes were a good way to boost a species¡¯ innate abilities even faster than just normal attribute gains before finding a path to multiclass into another classpath of their choice, but as that often produced very unique builds, the factions preferred those basic units that followed their exact specifications. Classes Volume 1 by Zolinjar Chapter 102: Reunion ¡°Hey before we see the kids, we need to talk real quick,¡± I said to Laura as we entered back into the room with their escape tunnel, following behind the soldiers. I wasn¡¯t looking forward to another climb back through it, but I hadn¡¯t been given another choice. She turned to me with the same angry eyes she had had so often during the final years of our marriage and then let out a protracted sigh as the anger lessened. ¡°Dave, just because I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, I¡¯d really rather you not treat me like an idiot any more than you have in the past,¡± she said, causing a flashback of some of our worst fights. The guilt of it all hit me hard, but I didn¡¯t have time for that right now. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re an idiot. I never did. I¡¯m sorry for the past; I really am, but why do you think that I think you¡¯re one now?¡± I asked. I hadn¡¯t expected the encounter to go like this. Then again, I wasn¡¯t sure what I had expected. Even if somewhere deep down, part of me thought maybe saving her could reignite something, the logical part of me knew that wasn¡¯t how reality worked. Despite the fact that seeing her again had released a kaleidoscope of butterflies into my stomach, I wasn¡¯t a kid lost in a romantic fantasy. ¡°You two out of the room. I want to talk to my ex-husband in private for a moment!¡± Laura snapped at the two men guarding the tunnel. Both of them hastily left the room without a peep of argument. How much authority did Laura have here? ¡°Why do I think you¡¯re treating me like an idiot? Oh, I don¡¯t know. Could it be the fact that you somehow look like you did when we were in college, and you didn¡¯t even care enough to try to make an excuse?¡± She said, as her eyes narrowed and her glare intensified. Mel had nothing on her. ¡°Laura, come on, you know me, I don¡¯t always remember to tell people the details. The same thing happened with the kids. This is why I wanted to talk to you before we saw them,¡± I said, stammering slightly. That burning stare of hers was making it hard to think straight. ¡°Then talk. What the hell happened to you?¡± she asked as she forcefully closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. She reopened them while exhaling slowly, the anger starting to fade from her face. The stare returned. ¡°This is going to sound insane, but I promise it¡¯s the truth, if extremely abridged, but still the truth. When the orcs attacked, I was saved by someone who froze time here and sent me to another world. I had some adventures and learned how to fight like the orcs can, made some friends, and brought them back with me. Now I¡¯m back, and I¡¯m trying to help,¡± I said, the words pouring out of my mouth as I tried to make her understand. She lifted her glasses up with her index finger and thumb, closing her eyes as she squeezed the bridge of her nose. I knew that sign. I had seen it so many times when I¡¯d forget to do something obvious or manage to hurt myself by not paying attention. That was a sign she believed me. She wasn¡¯t happy about it, but she did. Letting her glasses fall back into place, she finally spoke. ¡°Dave, when there¡¯s time, you¡¯re going to tell me this story in its entirety. Every detail, I want it all. Every single detail will be important. Right now, I accept that you¡¯re one of the worst liars I¡¯ve ever met, and therefore this is all somehow true. Now, let¡¯s go see our kids, and then I¡¯ll let you get back to dealing with the orc issue,¡± she replied. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, accepting that this was the best I could get at the moment, and started my crawl back through that miserable tunnel. As I stuck my hand out from the other side, a strong hand grasped it and helped pull me out. ¡°Everything go okay?¡± Elicec asked as I stood up. ¡°As good as could be expected. Stay with the survivors. I¡¯m going to bring Laura to the bus. I¡¯ll fill you in later,¡± I said, turning around and offering my hand to Laura as her head appeared at the exit. She took it, letting me help her out and back to her feet. ¡°Got it,¡± Elicec replied. ¡°Where are the kids?¡± She asked while scanning the crowd of people. ¡°Follow me,¡± I said, heading off toward Corey¡¯s location following my mana flow. At first, I missed it, confused as to why the signal had led me down a nearby alleyway to a large dumpster, but as I grew nearer, the dumpster became fuzzier until suddenly, I was just looking at the bus. Was that Timon¡¯s way of hiding it? This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. The door opened as I neared. ¡°The mallet said to let you both in. Can¡¯t say I¡¯d let my ex on the bus, but it¡¯s your call,¡± Timon said in his usual half-joke tone. ¡°Dave, is that a giant Mantis?¡± Laura asked, surprisingly less angry than she had been back in the UN building. ¡°Yes, he came back with me from the other world. Come on, there are a couple of other strangers on the bus as well,¡± I said, motioning for her to follow me as I boarded. Would she stay just as calm once I told her about the Empire of Dave? Did I have to tell her yet? ¡°Mom!¡± John shouted the second she stepped up onto the bus. The relief on his face was plain to see. The weight that had been on him was gone and in the best possible way. I was so glad I didn¡¯t fail him again. We had found Laura alive. ¡°So your father wasn¡¯t lying, not that he¡¯s capable of it. John and Alex, I don¡¯t have words for how relieved I am to see you both alive. Considering what little news I have of the planet, I figured you were both dead,¡± Laura said, her voice cracking while pushing past me to first hug John and then Alex. ¡°How bad is it out there, Mom? We¡¯ve been mostly copped up in Alaska with Dad¡¯s new friends, and I have no idea how much he¡¯s told you yet, but it¡¯s pretty insane there,¡± Alex said, wiping away tears from her face but keeping the giant smile. ¡°Do you want the completely honest answer?¡± she asked, her voice turning serious. ¡°Yes,¡± Alex and John both said. ¡°I don¡¯t fully know. It¡¯s not good. It¡¯s not the end of the world, though, but there are a lot of people dead, and it¡¯s going to take a while to see just how bad this is as we clean it all up. As much as I hate to say it, with your Dad and his new friends clearing out the invading forces, we can recover, but it¡¯s going to take a lot of hard work,¡± Laura explained, sounding annoyed at my existence again. ¡°Can we not fight, please?¡± John asked, practically begging. ¡°I¡¯m sorry; I¡¯ll keep it civil, I promise. But I do have a question for your father. Dave, what you said to the president; what exactly did you mean?¡± Laura asked, turning back to me, some of her glare having returned to her face despite her tone remaining overly calm. I knew that declaration was going to bite me in the ass eventually. ¡°Look, he annoyed me, and I shouldn¡¯t have said it yet. It¡¯s only kind of true right now anyway,¡± I said, stammering slightly under her gaze again. How could she still do that to me after so many years? What would her base stat be for something like presence? I pushed that thought away, as the idea of my ex-wife with class levels was too terrifying for the moment. ¡°Alex, John, is your father actually the emperor of something as ridiculously named as the Empire of Dave?¡± she asked, turning back to them. ¡°Uh, yeah, kind of. He still has to complete three more levels of something. It was three, right?¡± John asked, looking to me for help. I sighed, shaking my head slightly before I answered. ¡°Yeah, it was three. And just to be clear, I didn¡¯t name it. I think the name is terrible, too. Blame that floating cloud man over there,¡± I said, calling out Mel for the first time, who had managed to stay noticeably silent for this whole interaction. ¡°Ma¡¯am,¡± Mel said, bowing his head slightly. ¡°What happens if you don¡¯t succeed at whatever those are?¡± Laura asked, her focus returning to me again. ¡°Most likely, someone much worse, or at least someone much more powerful than the orcs, gets control of the planet, and there won¡¯t be anything we can do to stop them,¡± I said, trying to keep my voice calm. ¡°Got it. Alex, take this,¡± Laura said, pulling a cell phone from her pocket and passing it to her daughter. ¡°With Dave handling the orcs, we¡¯ll work to get the cell network back up as fast as possible. That¡¯s a government line, so it should have priority. I wish I could come with you, but right now I¡¯m needed here. Take care of each other, and try to keep your Dad alive,¡± she said this last part with a surprising smile. ¡°Are you sure?¡± John asked. ¡°On keeping him alive? Apparently yes, he¡¯s needed to keep the planet around. As for being needed here? Yes. You two are safe, and now I have to work to find out just how much of our emergency services still function and what we can do to start getting help out to people. I promise I¡¯ll be in touch, though,¡± she said reassuringly. ¡°Timon, I¡¯m going to try to track down whoever is in charge of the orcs still here and see if we can¡¯t get them to scatter too. Once that¡¯s done, we can head to another location,¡± I said, following Laura as she left the bus. ¡°Dave, please just keep them safe, okay? I wish I could do it, but apparently, that¡¯s on you now,¡± she said, tears now in her eyes. ¡°I will, I promise,¡± I said, hugging her.
The first thing I did once I swore my oath to the order was to turn my home into a never-ending garden. Slowly I started by feeding everyone in my poor neighborhood, working to grow significantly. Perhaps if I hadn¡¯t been so focused on my own home, I would have sooner noticed what was unfolding across the Spiral. The Last Recorded Interview with Jornlorn Rown, the last known Paladin of Agriculture Chapter 103: Orcish Combat 2 We walked back to the still-growing group of people in silence. I had no idea what to say to her, and she didn¡¯t really want to talk to me. Even the end of the world couldn¡¯t change that. Too much has passed between us to ever really bridge that divide again. ¡°Dave, good luck, and I really mean that,¡± she said as she broke off from me, heading toward one of the soldiers who had come with us. I instead found Cecil and Elicec to check in with. ¡°Any new issues?¡± I asked, looking around. Nothing seemed to have changed other than more people showing up. ¡°No, just more and more people keep coming out of the woodwork,¡± Elicec answered. ¡°Yeah, this is probably the first sign of real hope they¡¯ve had since the orcs showed up. Which means we can¡¯t let them down. Any ideas where the leader might be hiding?¡± I asked, only to get two headshakes from each of the brothers. ¡°Elody, are you busy?¡± I yelled over some of the noise to where she was standing. She gently excused herself from the people gathered around her and joined us instead. ¡°What can I do?¡± she asked the moment she was clear of the crowd. ¡°We need to track the orcs, and considering what you and Elicec managed to do in the Arena, I was thinking it might be possible to apply that here,¡± I said. ¡°I already tried it myself, but, I assume it was more a matter of distance being the issue. If you can overcome that, yeah, we can probably find them,¡± Elicec said, smiling at the idea. ¡°As Elody opened her book and began to read, an idea dawned on her on how best to utilize the young twinoges¡¯ ability best. Looking into the sky, she commanded the mana flow, direct us to your target!¡± Elody ordered a burst that had emanated from Elicec as she spoke. While similar to the Arena incident, in this case, it was a single arrow that fired off without a trail left behind. ¡°Can you follow that?¡± I asked, unsure if this was actually going to work. ¡°I can. Essentially, Elody just managed to turn my skill much longer ranged at the cost of her own mana. Everyone who came with me, follow me!¡± Elicec yelled at the crowd, his voice growing much louder than normal, thanks to some mana amplification. By the time Elody and I had chased the brothers down the first alley, the rest of the squad had already caught up. Spotting them behind us, Elicec moved into an even faster run, helped by a new upbeat melody, thanks to our resident opera singer. Without our previous crowd in tow, we were now moving through the city at a breakneck pace, only stopping briefly for any orc we passed. Few crossed our path. The reason for that soon became obvious as we exited an alley into a large open street, finding more orcs than I could easily count gathered together, waiting for something. That something was almost certainly us. ¡°There,¡± one of the front ones screamed as we looked at the horde. ¡°That¡¯s it? That few? Kill them!¡± a voice from the center of the horde bellowed out in anger. ¡°Uh, that¡¯s a lot of orcs,¡± I said, which was not my proudest battle cry, but I was sure I had plenty of time to come up with something so much worse in the future. ¡°Yes, it is. Now, kill them before they kill us!¡± Rabyn yelled as a flurry of knives erupted from his body. While each of them found a home in an oncoming orc, the charging mass didn¡¯t seem to shrink at all. I quickly sent a message to Corey.
>Dave: Corey, I¡¯m keeping my shield and going all out. Take as many down as quickly as you can! >Corey: Understood.
All my friends and allies let loose with more of a coordinated concentration of magic at a single moment than I had seen so far in the Spiral. Connie¡¯s song ramped up to a near earsplitting degree, shaking the ground around as orcs collapsed on top of each other, holding their heads, screaming in pain. At the same time this happened, Elicec rained lighting down across the horde while Cecile¡¯s hoe transformed into a giant scythe slashing deeply into anyone, managing to get too close to us. I spotted Glorp darting back and forth, pulling knives free and placing them in new targets faster than any of the orcs could react. ¡°Elody drew her bow, a new silvery arrow appearing in her hand, ready to fire the moment the previous left the drawstring to find the nearest beating heart of an orc daring to threaten those she has allied herself with,¡± Elody recited the words calmly as the gleaming silver arrows of death began firing from her newly manifested bow. Corey had flown to the center of the horde and taken a swing at the leader. For my part, I started letting loose with fireballs, seeing if I could pour more mana into them to get them larger, and the answer was a resounding yes. When my mana finally dropped below the halfway point I let up on the oversized blasts and instead started working on healing up anyone who had taken a blow from an orc breaking through our counter onslaught. A chat window popped into my view just as I was patching a slash across Glorp¡¯s forehead.
>Corey: Dave, I am attempting to keep the leader distracted, but every moment I let up, he begins to attempt to cast something. I believe it is an attempt to bolster his army in some way. It would be extraordinarily detrimental if he were able to do so. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. >Dave: Got it; I¡¯ll see what I can do.
I dismissed the window and looked at the horde. While we were somehow managing to hold them at bay still, we had only cut their number in half so far, and more of their attacks were starting to get through. Corey was right. The leader had to die. ¡°Elicec, we need to find a way to take out the leader now!¡± I yelled. ¡°I¡¯m open for ideas!¡± he screamed back, dodging under an orc club swing while Cecile removed its head. ¡°Going to try what I did in the desert. Here¡¯s hoping I can aim well enough,¡± I yelled back, hating the idea, but it was the only one that had sprung to mind. ¡°Glorp, follow Dave!¡± Elicec screamed to our smallest member. I took that as the go-ahead for my incredibly stupid idea, wrapped a fresh shield around myself, and reversed gravity, attempting to fling myself directly toward Corey and the big orc. I missed. I crashed down behind the horde, the shield taking the brunt of the damage. I quickly forced myself back to my feet as the small form of Glorp raced between and under orcs until he was back by my side. ¡°Come on, we have to take down that guy!¡± I yelled, pointing to the orc that was currently sidestepping a blow from Corey. I really needed to find a way to get more magical attacks channeling through that mallet. Yanking Corey back into my System storage, I reversed the gravity under the orc leader, now close enough to do so, and watched him and several orcs fly into the air. The mallet returned instantly from my storage, realizing what I had done, flew into the air to resume their attacks on the leader. While the orcs that went with him crashed back to the ground dead, the leader himself had managed to slow his fall and gently land back on the ground, looking furious but unhurt. My fireball hit him directly in the face, quickly changing that, while Glorp stabbed two knives, one into each of his ankles. This made the orcs¡¯ next attempt at dodging Corey¡¯s swing laughable as he crashed to the ground in pain. While I targeted him with two more rapid-fire fireballs, Corey dove in and out, malleting down heavy blows. Within seconds, the leader was dead. Whatever force he had been exerting on the orcs to keep them in this fight seemed to evaporate away the moment his life left his body. The order they maintained throughout the melee instantly vanished as their ranks collapsed into complete chaos. I watched from the other side of the battle as my squad took to an all-out attack as they realized what was happening. The orcs didn¡¯t stand a chance. We had freed our first city, and I had only pissed off one president so far. Not a bad day, all things considered. The experience window flashed into view. It was over.
Combatants Defeated
Orc Blood Singer, Core Grade C x1 10,000 Experience
Orcish Horde, Averaged Core Grade C x1 100,000 Experience
Experience Gained 110,000 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Undergraded x10
More Undergraded x100
Total Experience Gained 133,100,000 Points
That was new. I didn¡¯t realize if you had enough enemies; it just grouped them up as a swarm, but that made some sense. I imagine the notification would get pages long if it didn¡¯t. Did that work as well if the enemies were different types? Or factions? Questions for the future. I looked over to the rest of the squad and saw them starting to patch each other up while Glorp collected the spoils. This was going to be a lot of potential orbs.
Blood Singers are a class usually favored by the more ruthless Arena climbers, rarely do you see it used in actual team climbs. Usually, it is used by one leader and their enthralled minions, who are often replaced every few floors when the controller has time to register more of them. Few people like being in the company of those willing to utilize such a class, but it is not yet considered an illegal one. Distasteful Classes Volume 1 by Zolinjar Chapter 104: Soul Plane ¡°Glorp, start looting everything, Elody, please help him identify and sort it all as quickly as possible. I¡¯m assuming the experience window means we¡¯ve handled this city for now, so unless Dave wants us to stick around, I want us all back on the bus as soon as possible,¡± Elicec said, giving out the commands with ever-increasing ease. He seemed born to lead. Had his parents realized? Was that part of why his home worked so hard to get him and Cecile to the Arena? ¡°So what¡¯s next,¡± Cecile asked as I approached. Beyond what Elicec said, I wasn¡¯t sure. We needed to make sure everyone was looted, not because I cared overly much about the government getting any of the spoils, but because I had some strong potential uses for the orbs. I also needed supplies for some upcoming experiments, and who knew what some of the orcs were carrying. ¡°We do what Elicec said and get ba¡­¡± I started to say before a searing light flashed in my mind, arcing across my vision, before exploding into a burst of pain as I crashed to the ground, unable to stand or even remember where my feet were. I fought as hard as I could stay conscious, babbling something in response to the worried shouts, but I had no idea what words came out or even what was said to me. I felt teeth gnawing deeply into me as my vision went dark. Within the blackness and searing pain, a chat window appeared, dominating the emptiness as it grew.
>Corey: Dave, can you read this? >Dave: Corey? What¡¯s going on? >Corey: I¡¯m not entirely sure. I experienced an intense sensation of pain and then nothing until suddenly I could perceive our interlink again. >Santa: Oh hey, you¡¯re both back. Did it work? Could you remember? >Dave: Yes, but that¡¯s not important right now. It has to be the creatures that Elody connected to your warning. I¡¯m not sure why else there would be the biting sensation. >Santa: So you figured out what¡¯s coming for your planet? That¡¯s probably good. How do we stop it? >Dave: That¡¯s a whole new problem, I think. I¡¯m pretty sure they are attacking me right now, but how do I ignite my soul from inside here?
¡°I¡¯d start by ignoring the chat window and talking to me more personably,¡± the figure currently going by Santa said from somewhere behind me. The blackness receded slightly, now more of a room instead of a nothingness. My body seemed to exist again, and behind me was the man who had spoken. ¡°Is this my weird dreamscape again?¡± I asked, not entirely sure, as it was much more devoid of substance than usual. The memories of our past encounters flooded back into my brain as soon as I saw his message in the chat. How was I even locking those out? Why was my brain doing that? ¡°I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s what it actually is. But since your friend joined us, I¡¯ve started to think about the nature of our connection. What if it¡¯s a manifestation of a bond between all of our souls? Yours and mine were linked when you had your first out-of-body experience, and then you linked your friend with yourself, I assume,¡± Santa explained. It wasn¡¯t the worst theory. I certainly didn¡¯t have anything better. Though if I could actually remember this all when awake, it was possible Elody would have something far more concrete then this theory. ¡°With a lack of other theories, I¡¯m willing to just accept it now, but how do I bring myself out of this? I have a potential way to get rid of the soulhunters, but I have no idea how to do it here. Hell, I didn¡¯t really know how to do it out there,¡± I replied, trying to focus on everything I could remember from the book. Then again, if we were in a manifestation of our soul bonds, what would happen if I tried to channel pure soul energy here? Would it be easier? ¡°Is that what they are? The name reminds me of something. I believe I once read of their destructive nature. I can¡¯t remember if I ever knew anything about how to stop them, though,¡± Santa replied, his jolly face showing lines of frustration. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°I¡¯ve been told soulfire might be the way. Let¡¯s say this really is what you think it is. How do I use that to ignite my soul?¡± I asked, frustrated. I doubted the man would be any help there. Dammit, I should have tried to do this before we left. This wasn¡¯t supposed to have been this close to critical mass as a problem. ¡°Now that brings back memories. Interesting, I believe I¡¯ve dealt a great deal with soulfire before. We may not need to totally ignite your soul if the goal is just to delay them. Can you feel your soul-core reaction right now? Feel it strong enough to grasp?¡± Santa asked, his voice suddenly full of a fervor I hadn¡¯t heard from him before. Considering he had also been separated from his body, it made some sense it could have been in a soul-related experiment of his own. Who had he been before this? ¡°I think so?¡± I said as I reached for where my core would normally be. The switches were all missing, and my mana channels seemed nearly intangible in my grasp, but as I focused my will more, I was able to lock onto where the reaction should take place, forcing it into my perception. ¡°Focus on your soul itself. Try to push it through your core without letting your core interact with it,¡± he explained, his voice still full of enthusiasm, almost like he had come alive again. ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± I said, as another stab of pain shot through my being, reminding me I was working on a very harsh and unknown deadline. I focused again on where my soul-core reaction should be, this time placing my attention firmly on my soul. This had to have been similar to what I had done with the Jesters. With the confidence from that thought in mind, I started pushing the energy out of my soul as quickly as I could. Trying to overwhelm my core past what it could easily convert. It hurt like hell, but the pain had nothing on the gnashing and rending feeling that had been constant since this started. I emptied my entire soul through my core in a matter of seconds. The mana channels I could barely touch flared to life as the energy seared its way through them. Down my legs and arms, through my eyes, even from my mouth, soul energy bled out of me in waves as it burned free of all my mana channels. A new scream escaped my lips as the pain worsened. Then it stopped. Instantly, the horrible feeling of being torn apart disappeared, and my eyes opened. My memories hadn¡¯t faded this. I could clearly remember it all. What did that mean? The room I was in finally registered through the after-haze of pain. I was on my couch back in the cabin. How had we gotten back here so quickly? No, we couldn¡¯t have. That couldn¡¯t have just been a few minutes like it felt. How long had I been unconscious? ¡°He¡¯s awake!¡± I heard Maud¡¯s voice call as I started to sit up. There was still a tingling sensation going across my mana channels, but everything seemed okay now. Maybe? ¡°Dammit, Dave. What the hell happened to ya?¡± Mel said from the other side of the room. Had he been watching me? ¡°How long was I out?¡± I asked first, figuring it was best to wait for the others before explaining what had happened. Or what I thought had happened, at least. ¡°Nine days,¡± Mel answered, floating into view, somehow managing to combine a frown and a smile into one of the strangest looks I had ever seen on someone. ¡°Shit, what happened with the orcs,¡± I asked. Dammit, that was a lot of wasted time. Time we didn¡¯t have. ¡°That problem was easy enough. The next few batches weren¡¯t nearly as bad as the first. Took us two days ta finish them off and get ya back here. Elody has been treating ya nearly around the clock since,¡± Mel explained. ¡°Oh, thank god. What the hell happened to you Dad?¡± John asked from nearby. ¡°I assume the soulhunters attempted to consume your soul?¡± Elody said as she entered the room, answering before I could. ¡°Yeah, I think that¡¯s what happened. I was able to partially ignite my soul in the weird space my mind was stuck in. I¡¯m guessing that pushed them back for now,¡± I answered. ¡°I¡¯m aware. It¡¯s the only reason I took a break a few hours ago. We are going to need to finish that ignition as soon as possible. I drained nearly every mana reserve I had holding those creatures at bay,¡± she explained. I couldn¡¯t argue with her. Having lost so many days meant we couldn¡¯t risk any other loss. At least the orcs had been cleaned up, but I had also missed out on the team building. This was a giant mess. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sorry. I should have worked on this earlier. As soon as I get some food into me, I promise I will figure out how to ignite my soul,¡± I said, terrified of soulhunters getting a new grip on me.
Soulsmiths are a very desired class choice for a faction to have. The problem is that they require the person to master the channeling of their soul before they can begin their true craft, which makes it incredibly hard and costly to attract one. But when you consider what soul-reinforced armor is capable of handling, not to mention it is one of the few easy defenses against pure soul channeled magic, it¡¯s plain to see why every faction wants one in their employ. Classes Volume 2 by Zolinjar Chapter 105: Soul Train ¡°Considering it¡¯s the middle of the night, I think you can sleep for a few more hours before you start,¡± John said. ¡°Yeah, Rabyn and Connie are gonna be out fer a bit still anyway,¡± Mel added. ¡°Wait, what happened to them?¡± I asked. It seemed unlikely they would have been hurt handling the orcs. They were two of our powerhouses. ¡°As I said, I ran my mana reservoirs nearly dry. Before utilizing those, I siphoned what I could from those two as they were the only other ones with cores powerful enough to tap,¡± Elody explained. ¡°They¡¯re going to be fine, though, right?¡± I asked. Had my own problems hurt someone else again? ¡°Yes, they¡¯re just in need of a few days of recovery to be at full strength again. Honestly I¡¯m a little surprised we were able to hold the creatures off at all. None of us are well versed in soul magic,¡± Elody answered¡ªthe breath I had been holding released, along with some of the tension. ¡°How did you manage it then?¡± I asked. ¡°The link between you and Corey. I was able to connect through that and slowly build a shield around your soul,¡± she answered. ¡°Oh! That¡¯s probably why I became aware at all. I bet that was enough to let my soul make contact with the other presence again,¡± I said, suddenly understanding how so much time could have passed. For most of it, I had likely been totally unaware. ¡°Yes, that would make sense,¡± Elody replied with a gentle smile, her eyes seeming to scan the room for something. ¡°My apologies, but I no longer think he can sleep for the rest of the night. Now that I know what to look for, I am somewhat able to see the creatures. There are two of them, and they are returning for their prey.¡± ¡°Damn!¡± Mel cursed loudly, his voice calming slightly before resuming. ¡°Okay, what can we do?¡± ¡°Go fetch Timon and Chip, I¡¯ll need them both. Dave, I need you to start working on whatever you just did, but try to build it even bigger,¡± Elody ordered, her upper eyes still frantically moving about the room even as the lower two settled firmly on me. ¡°Uh, we might want to go outside for this. It was a bit explosive last time,¡± I suggested, not really sure what would happen if my soul energy flared out of me inside. ¡°No, I¡¯ve already set up as many seals in this room as I could. I don¡¯t have the time or energy to replicate that outside. We¡¯ll have to make do and hope we don¡¯t damage the house too much more,¡± Elody answered firmly. I looked up at the ceiling. Just how strong was my roof anyway? ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do what I can then,¡± I said before pulling up a chat window.
>Dave: You doing okay, Corey? >Corey: I feel strange, the connection between us is both stronger and weaker somehow. >Dave: Yeah sorry about that, not sure what¡¯s going to happen when I really ignite my soul, but I¡¯m going to go for it. >Corey: Understood. Please be careful. >Dave: I¡¯ll do my best.
With that out of the way and hoping none of this hurt them, I focused on my soul as I had done earlier. This time, instead of trying to force it all through my core, a new idea occurred to me. I focused on the connection between my core and soul and tried to close that like I would any of the other switches I had built into my system. In this case, though, there was no simple mechanism to flip, leaving me forced to bend the path in half like a kinked hose. It hurt like hell, but my core reactor came to a grinding halt as the power source was cut off. Hopefully, I hadn¡¯t done any irreversible damage here, but desperate times and all that. Slowly, painfully, agonizingly slowly, I felt the energy build in my soul. With no outlet, the pressure continued to grow, intensifying the pain as whatever force contained my soul energy was forced to stretch in ways my body associated with sharp needles being stabbed deeply into my flesh. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. No, scratch that. It wasn¡¯t just an association. It was closer to reality. Some of the energy had coalesced into sharp spikes that were being forced into the walls as the pressure pushed them outward. It was hard to focus on the world around me. I was vaguely aware that Elody was telling Timon something, but the words were slowed down beyond my ability to decipher them. Finally, the stretching hit as far as it could, and something started to tear. Before it could entirely rupture, I released my stranglehold on the channel to my core and let the soul energy flood through it faster than it had any chance to burn. My entire body overflowed with the soul energy again, and this time, when my core ignited, it did so without the tiniest space for anything else in the reactor. I really hoped this was the right path because I doubted I could do this twice. All across my body, every single mana channel flared to life again. Unlike before, they didn¡¯t just swell and scar. They burst as small cracks formed across them, bleeding more of the soul mana directly into my body. I screamed in pain. I forced my eyes open, hoping Elody had whatever she was planning ready, as there was nothing else I could do. The flow was pouring from me entirely unregulated. ¡°Dave, focus on me!¡± Elody¡¯s voice cut through some of the pain, finally registering as I saw her lips mouth the words. I tried opening my mouth to respond, only to realize it already was, as soul energy shot from it. Wait, why wasn¡¯t anything destroyed yet? I forced myself to focus on Elody as she had ordered. There was something twinkling in her hand, pulling the energy in. Was that why the house was still together? Was she trying to tell me to push even harder and not worry? I squeezed down on my soul, trying to force every drop of energy out even faster. My core exploded. No, that wasn¡¯t quite right. It was still there. It was like a flame rollout that you can see in a damaged furnace. The energy had ignited in front of the core and burned the area around it. I collapsed backward into the couch cushion as the realization hit me. It had worked, and I even understood what happened for once. ¡°I did it,¡± I managed to say, the exhaustion and pain mixing together in a fight for which had more control of my brain. I felt the newly developed mana channel directly between my soul and the cavity that had formed in front of my core. ¡°Good, now for the second problem,¡± Elody said. Doing my best to ignore how badly my body wanted to rest, I again focused my vision on her. The thing in her hand wasn¡¯t twinkling anymore. It was burning her flesh. Several charred black patches were already forming. ¡°How do I get rid of that?¡± I asked, my voice coming out in a raspy whisper. Could I even help in my current state? ¡°You can¡¯t,¡± she shuddered in pain before her lips moved again. ¡°Thought I could contain this myself. I was wrong. Maud, are you serious when you say you want a core?¡± Elody asked, turning toward the woman. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m guessing I don¡¯t have time to think about it? What happens if I say no?¡± She asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I won¡¯t make you take it,¡± Elody answered, falling to her knees as the burn spread further up her arm. ¡°Fine, yeah, give it to me,¡± Maud replied, running over to where Elody had collapsed, reaching out for her hands. Instead, Elody shoved the burnt hand into the woman¡¯s chest. The strange twinkling object seemed to melt its way into her body. Maud screamed. John cursed. ¡°John, find Cecile!¡± Elody yelled as she collapsed onto the floor next to Maud. I moved my head enough to scan the room as John raced out of the front door, following her orders. Timon and Mel were both collapsed on the ground, unconscious, near Elody. What had happened there? ¡°What the hell¡¯s going on?¡± Elicec yelled as they burst into the room, followed by John and Glorp. Elody didn¡¯t answer. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Elody asked Maud if she wanted a core after Dad did something with his soul. Elody had to drain Timon and Mel just to keep the energy contained. I didn¡¯t fully understand what was happening,¡± John explained while Chip angrily screeched from atop Elody. ¡°Elody wanted Cecile, has to be healing. Heal her!¡± I croaked out the words, my throat feeling like I had drank fire. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try,¡± Cecile said nervously, dashing to her collapsed form and leaning over it. Green energy surrounded her as several patches of it affixed to her body. She groaned loudly, her body starting to come back to life. ¡°Good, now I hope you two remember what we did for Dave. I need you to go over there and help align the artificial core we just put into Maud. Once you¡¯ve got it where it should be, start healing her as well,¡± Elody said, coughing loudly. I tried to speak again, but I had nothing left to give, and my eyelids were just too heavy to stay awake. Exhaustion had beaten pain. I felt myself fall sideways as sleep overtook me.
Soul adepts are the most common soul-channeling class, primarily because they pair well with a traditional core. They use their soul magic to better enhance their other abilities; instead of only utilizing soul mana, they often blend it together with mana orbs, forming powerful combinations. Rarely, a soul adept has been known to specialize in a soul orb. The combination is both powerful and dangerous as the process to gain the ability to channel soul mana often leaves a person with damage to their soul containment, which can easily lead to backlashes from mana orbs attuned to that energy. Classes Volume 2 by Zolinjar Chapter 106: Soul Chain I woke up, not to a sense of opening my eyes, but as a chat window grabbed my sleeping brain, pulling my perception directly towards it.
>Santa: Welcome back. How¡¯d the soul ignition go? >Dave: It worked. How come there¡¯s no environment this time at all? >Santa: Pretty sure I was right on that whole soul manifestation thing, there just isn¡¯t enough energy to bring it all together now. Especially with your new friend. >Dave: New friend? >Maud: Um, what¡¯s going on? Why can I see a weird text window in my head? Did I die? I don¡¯t want to be dead. :( >Dave: You didn¡¯t die. I¡¯m guessing that whatever Elody did to give you the core joined your consciousness into this extremely odd communication system we have going. >Maud: Oh, that¡¯s awesome! :) Who is Santa? Is it Mel? >Santa: That¡¯s a great question, wish I knew. >Maud: Aww, I¡¯m sorry :( >Dave: He¡¯s not Mel Maud, I¡¯ll explain everything later. Corey, are you still here? >Corey: I am. >Dave: Were you affected by my soul ignition? >Corey: I believe so, but I am not sure how to explain it. I feel more complete somehow. >Santa: Interesting. I wish I could remember everything. There¡¯s something here. I¡¯ll have to ponder on it for a while and see what shakes loose. >Maud: Woah, why is there another window that says level 1? :\ >Dave: You should wait until we all actually wake up before you start touching that. >Maud: Why, is it dangerous? :( >Dave: Probably not, but right now, we all need time to heal. So, let¡¯s all try to disconnect from this chat session and go back to sleep. >Corey: Understood. >Maud: Understood. :) >Santa: Good luck.
I did my best to ignore the chat window and try to force my brain back into a state of sleep. I wasn¡¯t sure if I ever fully accomplished it or not. Time seemed hard to judge from here, but I did feel my eyes open as the smell of cooking eggs hit me. That seemed like a good sign. ¡°Well, Dave¡¯s awake. That¡¯s one of them, at least,¡± Glorp said, pushing a plate of food onto my chest. While it smelled great, the return to consciousness had brought back a lot of the pain of the previous event. I tried and, with some difficulty, managed to switch to my life orb, turning on pain management. A new pathway, without any safety switches, blazed to life as both core mana and soul mana flowed into the orb. The soul mana continued across the new deeply broken mana channels, filling all of my orbs and quickly draining what little I had regenerated. That was going to be a giant problem. How the hell was I going to regulate this now? I disabled all my passive mana skills, even pain management, drastically slowing the drain but not stopping it entirely. It was still flowing to Corey, and I didn¡¯t have an easy way to shut that off. Luckily, the little it was using was currently less than my soul was producing, but I had no way of fighting like this. If I used a single orb, the soul mana would rush across all the channels at once, mixing itself through the orbs, with incredibly unpredictable results. Dammit, we didn¡¯t have time for me to suddenly become this much of a burden. I forced myself to sit up, careful not to spill the plate. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, my voice still hoarse as I dug into the food. At least this should help recharge me. I¡¯d discuss the new problems with everyone once they woke up. There was no reason to worry them now with something that couldn¡¯t easily be fixed. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Alex asked. ¡°I¡¯m okay, mostly, kind of feel like a truck hit me, but it¡¯ll pass. Who all are still out?¡± I asked, scanning the room and spotting Timon and Mel laid out on the floor, with Elody propped against the wall, sipping something from a cup. Stolen story; please report. ¡°These two obviously, and Maud is also unconscious on the bed. Connie and Rabyn are both awake but still recovering,¡± Alex explained, lines of worry creasing her face. ¡°She should be fine, probably waking up soon herself,¡± I said, remembering her sudden appearance in the chat window. ¡°How do you know that?¡± Elody said, setting down her drink as she joined the conversation. I finished a bite of egg and set my fork down on the plate with a clink. ¡°She¡¯s able to access the chat window I have with Corey and the other being now. I¡¯m guessing it has something to do with the way we¡¯ve all been bonded together, thanks to the design of my core.¡± ¡°Fascinating. I wonder if she¡¯ll be able to level yet or not, since we''re here on Earth. She isn¡¯t officially registered with the System, but she might technically be through the connection to you,¡± Elody replied, sounding intensely interested in the results of what had happened. Her top two eyes were darting about the room. ¡°She hit level one, I know that much. Whether she can continue beyond that, I¡¯m not sure. What I am nearly sure about, though, is that I ignited my soul this time, and that¡¯s going to come with a whole host of extra problems we can discuss later, but are the creatures gone? Is everyone going to be okay?¡± I asked, trying to relieve some of the growing pressure on my chest. ¡°They¡¯ll all be fine. It¡¯s going to wreak havoc with Mel¡¯s timetable, but there¡¯s nothing that can be done about that now,¡± Elody answered while the brothers nodded along. ¡°I¡¯ve been checking on everyone. You¡¯re all reading pretty healthy, you just need to let your energies build back up. Especially Mel, he didn¡¯t really have a core built for this at all, but Elody needed everything available that second,¡± Cecile explained, plopping down on the couch next to me with a giant plate of food for both of them. ¡°Do you think Maud wants to come along to the Arena? We¡¯ve got so many mana and class orbs now I bet we could find her something nice,¡± Glorp said excitedly, probably happy to have someone closer to his skill level potentially in the squad. ¡°I don¡¯t know. We¡¯ll have to discuss that with Mel and Pryte. Speaking of, is Pryte still not back?¡± I asked, suddenly growing worried again. He shouldn¡¯t have been gone this long. ¡°He¡¯ll be back tomorrow. He dropped in a few days back to check in on our progress, but he had a lead on some other things,¡± Elicec answered, placating some of my anxiety for the moment. Hopefully that lead was Glorp¡¯s family. I¡¯d be glad if we could take that weight off the kid¡¯s shoulders as soon as possible. ¡°Holy shit! Can I do magic now?!¡± Maud screamed her question loud enough to be heard in every room in the house. In reply, there was a clattering of dishes as John ran past the living room to the bedroom, still wearing an apron and an oven mitt. ¡°Maud, are you okay?¡± he asked the moment the door swung open. ¡°I feel great, well, kind of. My chest hurts a lot, but I feel more alive than usual. Dave, was that dream real?¡± Maud asked as she sprinted into the room, grinning ear to ear. ¡°Yes, it was. As for magic, no, not until you get a mana orb, but before we do anything else, we need to discuss that new core of yours. Elody is extremely interested in it, which means we don¡¯t know enough about it yet to do anything safely,¡± I explained gently. I didn¡¯t want to spoil her mood. Forming a core was certainly something to be thrilled about. It wasn¡¯t like I hadn¡¯t been. Hell, I¡¯d gone off like an idiot and nearly destroyed my body almost immediately after doing so. ¡°Oh, yeah, that makes sense, I think. What happened anyway? Why did you need to shove whatever it was into my chest?¡± Maud asked, turning to Elody. While her voice calmed slightly, the grin plastered across her face made no such change. ¡°I was capturing all the energy Dave was expelling into an inert dungeon core. They can be useful in defending against soul-enhanced attacks, and I assumed the one in my possession would work well enough here. What I didn¡¯t understand until far too late was just how powerful Dave¡¯s soul has grown. I should have predicted that considering the soulhunters involvement, but there is so little information on them that I didn¡¯t consider it,¡± Elody explained, her face looking sunken in a way I¡¯d never seen from her. In contrast to her near-constant chipper demeanor, she looked disappointed. Possibly in herself? ¡°Hey, don¡¯t blame yourself here. I¡¯m the one with all the stupid mysteries that keep screwing us all. Why did the core have to go into Maud, though? I feel like I¡¯m still missing something,¡± I asked, giving her a smile, trying to convey that I didn¡¯t blame her at all for any of this. ¡°The dungeon core ignited a soul-core reaction within itself and began to go critical. With the amount of soul energy it contained, it was incredibly likely to have destroyed a large portion of land, us, and possibly even the soulhunters. The only way I knew to safely contain the reaction was to give it a body to regulate it. Thankfully, Maud was willing. Had she not, and no one else volunteered, I¡¯d have contained it within myself,¡± Elody answered, taking a long drink from her cup afterward. ¡°I assume that wouldn¡¯t have been great for your health?¡± I asked, trying to keep my phrasing lighthearted. She looked miserable enough already. ¡°No, it would not have been,¡± she answered. ¡°Good, you¡¯re all awake. I know you feel terrible, I do too, but we need to discuss the next floor because we are going to have to do that sooner rather than later,¡± Rabyn said, slowly walking into the room. His face was paler than it had been. ¡°Wait, can I come?¡± Maud asked, her smile somehow growing bigger.
None of the exploration ships in the area of chaotic space known as the Leviathan¡¯s Gauntlet have returned in several millennia, and for the last few hundred years, no faction has been willing to send another vessel out there despite the great resources found within. This has all but dried up the supply of true radiant shadowstone to the spiral. The few mines left are now firmly in control of a conglomerate of trading federations working to keep their own true identities secret. Shell corporations are stacked on shell corporations, and those who may know the identities at the top are not willing to share. Material Science, Rare Spiral Minerals by Ignium Volcinitus Chapter 107: Problems & Potential Solutions ¡°Probably not. We aren¡¯t even sure if you can level yet, and level one isn¡¯t a great place to start the Arena at,¡± I answered, not wanting to dash Maud¡¯s hopes, but that request just didn¡¯t seem realistic, let alone safe. ¡°Actually, our squad still is missing members, if Pryte can get her added on before we go, the potential for power leveling her and greatly benefiting our future performance is there,¡± Rabyn replied, countering my answer. ¡°What if she gets hurt, though? We can¡¯t easily protect her through a whole level, and then she¡¯s just wounded or worse,¡± I asked, pointing out my thoughts on the matter. ¡°Barring something like the Jesters, and I highly doubt they can throw that at us again. She can¡¯t be really killed or even wounded that badly on the next two floors, Dave,¡± Rabyn answered. He was right. I had forgotten that part. I wasn¡¯t sure if she¡¯d earn any experience if she didn¡¯t finish the floor, but there was no real risk in trying, was there? ¡°Oh yeah, sorry, my brain isn¡¯t doing so great this morning. It is morning, right?¡± I asked, looking toward the window, realizing I had no idea what time I had actually woken up at. ¡°It¡¯s not, it¡¯s late afternoon,¡± Glorp answered. ¡°Owwwwww,¡± Timon moaned loudly from the ground. ¡°Remind me never to listen to Elody again. My head almost feels like my first marriage over here.¡± ¡°Hopefully that means Mel is about to join us in the world of the living,¡± Rabyn replied with zero concern for Timon¡¯s pain evident in his voice. Honestly, I wasn¡¯t that far off. How much of it was even real versus the usual show? ¡°I¡¯ve been awake fer the last hour, just didn¡¯t wanna move yet, but some ass had to go and kick me,¡± Mel replied, as he slowly floated off the ground, hanging just slightly off-kilter as he reached the center of the room. ¡°Stay still,¡± Cecile said as he started working on both of the newly awakened men. Neither sounded happy about their situation, but after a few minutes of tending to by the new paladin, both of them were complaining much less. ¡°So, just how bad is the situation?¡± Mel asked, his floating a bit more normalized than before. ¡°Depends, everyone is alive, and we have a new channeler,¡± Rabyn started to say. Maud interrupted to announce her news with another happy shout. ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± ¡°Yes, that. The real question, though, is how Dave is doing. He hasn¡¯t been using his orbs in the ways he used to, and I am growing concerned,¡± Rabyn finished, staring intently at me. Damn, so he had noticed already. He was perceptive. ¡°Yeah, about that¡­ Well, those nice special switches I built into my system to make it so I could actually channel without killing myself. Thanks to the soul ignition, I now have a bunch of new channels alongside them with zero switches. I have no way to currently control that flow,¡± I said, feeling the pressure on my chest increase sharply. ¡°Oh,¡± was all Mel said in response. It was a very loud silence as people looked between Mel and Elody for answers. ¡°Yes, well, you¡¯re all incredibly lucky that I spent most of the time Dave was unconscious, reading about soul mana and the implications of soul ignitions,¡± Elody said in response to the stares. ¡°Is there something I can do then?¡± I asked, looking at her hopefully. ¡°Maybe. The problem is of course, that your core and the mana sockets attached to it are entirely unique as far as we know. The closest thing to it in existence, we accidentally created in Maud here. But, I believe if you start training the channels, you will be able to work on contracting them to overlay the positions of your other existing ones. It is possible the gates you use for controlling your flows may begin to handle the new channels as well. I am not sure how fast or how accurate they will be, though,¡± she explained. It was better than what I currently had going, at least. Could Corey help there? ¡°On the next floor, do we get to pick our layout of who goes with who if we have more than the minimum number of people?¡± I asked, debating what to do about that upcoming floor, considering my new problem and our lack of time. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Yes, technically speaking, anyone can choose any path. It¡¯s just there are six paths that ya need ta get through. Why?¡± Mel asked, focusing intently on me. Was he trying to scan me again? ¡°I think that means Maud is in and coming with me. Between the two of us, we might make a single functional channeler by the time we have to do this,¡± I said. It was the best idea I could think of, given the situation. ¡°Yes!¡± Maud yelled in the middle of literally jumping for joy. I hadn¡¯t ever seen anyone actually do that before, and until this moment thought it was just a turn of phrase. ¡°As terrible of an idea as it is, I ain¡¯t sure we really got another one. Well, the good news is I mostly managed to sort all the orbs while y¡¯all were fighting the orcs and got the last batch done while Dave was still unconscious. We should have a good selection for Maud and Glorp to find a class. I got a feeling she counts as another member of Sanquar¡¯s faction,¡± Mel said, seemingly resigning himself to my idea. ¡°Where is Sanquar anyway? I haven¡¯t seen him either of the times I woke up,¡± I asked, looking around to make sure I hadn¡¯t just somehow missed a large bird in the room. ¡°He¡¯s in the bus, one of the mana orbs we found was a rejuvenation orb. He¡¯s hoping it might help his core, but so far, every time I¡¯ve checked on him, there hasn¡¯t been a change,¡± Cecile answered glumly, reminding me we needed to figure out exactly how badly Sanquar¡¯s core was broken and if there was any way we could help. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him. Should have something for my pounding head out there anyway,¡± Timon said, most of his usual humor gone as he left the house. ¡°Woah, I don¡¯t feel so good,¡± Maud said, reaching out for John as she swayed on her feet. ¡°Yes, I imagine both you and Dave need a lot more rest. I think we¡¯ve discussed enough for today. Most of us need to spend the day recovering more anyway. We can resume this talk tomorrow once Pryte is back,¡± Elody said. ¡°Good thinking,¡± Mel replied, his color shifting as his floating yet again drooped. ¡°Alright, you heard the lady. Glorp, Cecile, and Elicec help Mel and Rabyn back to the bus. Dad, you stay where you are. Alex has taken up residence in your office for now. I¡¯m taking Maud back to bed. Elody, I assume you will find your own resting place again,¡± John said gently but firmly, his voice making it clear he wasn¡¯t taking questions on his orders. ¡°I will thank you,¡± she said as she forced herself to her feet. The exhaustion Maud had felt suddenly hit me as well. While I could feel my energy building slowly, it apparently hadn¡¯t been enough to sustain me for long, either. ¡°Yeah, what Maud felt just hit me too; back to sleep, I go,¡± I said, managing to get the words out before sleep rapidly overcame me again. ¡°Boom,¡± a loud noise woke me up as I opened my eyes to the feeling of light shining onto my face. While as far as my perception was concerned no time at all had passed, but I could tell from my mana pool and the dulling of pain throughout my body that I had managed to sleep through the night. A loud hammering sound brought me further out of my morning haze as I realized that was what had actually awoken me in the first place. It was coming from somewhere outside. Getting off the couch, for what felt like the first time in days, which I realized was likely actual reality, I decided it best not to question how that had worked with certain bathroom needs, hoping it was just something magic-related. I opened the door and made my way outside in search of the hammering. I found Pryte, Glorp, several smaller versions of Glorp, and a man twice my size hammering away at a wall that hadn¡¯t been there the last time I was outside. ¡°I¡¯m guessing the kids mean you have good news, Pryte?¡± I called from across my front yard. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll fill you in on the details later, but suffice it to say for now that we have what we needed from my trip. I even found Trolke at a decent price, and that was mostly thanks to your well-timed alliance-making in the Arena,¡± Pryte answered. That explained the size of the man. Was he from the exact same faction? I supposed those details weren¡¯t overly important now. I could discuss that with Pryte later. ¡°What are we building first?¡± I asked, looking at the start of the structure. ¡°A bunk house. We will spread it out to actual rooms eventually, but for now we just desperately need more places for people to sleep. The bus is likely to be incredibly cramped tonight unless Trolke can get this livable in a day,¡± Pryte answered. ¡°It¡¯s going to take a couple of days to get it done right. I need to plan out the future extensions to make sure this goes easy enough. At least the ground is solid. That saves some work. There¡¯s also the question of the plumbing. How cold does it get here?¡± Trolke asked in an incredibly deep voice. ¡°Extremely,¡± I said, not entirely sure what his definition of extreme cold might be. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll examine how the current house is set up then and mirror some of that in the plans. But yes, I think I can have us all somewhere to bunk out in within a week. We will just have to make do with what space is available for now,¡± he replied, smiling as he resumed swinging the hammer.
Debating whether or not someone has the right to exist is a futile gesture. At no point in the history of the known Spiral has any group ever gained their rights through rational debate. Your time would be much better served punching the other person who is daring to argue against the cause of equality in the face rather than wasting a single extra iota of energy entertaining their arguments. Never let someone convince you a black eye isn¡¯t an effective debate technique. Why I Learned to Box by Glorinious Jole Chapter 108: Private Talks ¡°Before you start, Glorp already told me. Luckily since the squad still isn¡¯t full, adding Maud to it is simple enough. What I am worried about, though, is you. We¡¯re nearing two weeks of time used up, and you¡¯ve regressed in terms of what you can do. I was kind of counting on you to pull off something amazing on that tenth floor,¡± Pryte said as we walked toward the back of the house for a private chat. I had promised Glorp I would meet his family over breakfast later. After that, I wanted to talk to Sanquar. ¡°Elody gave me an idea, so don¡¯t count me out just yet, but yeah, sorry you joined up right before we might all be screwed,¡± I said with a shrug, not knowing how to apologize for something like that. ¡°Eh, not that I had the biggest choice there, but I got myself into this. Dave, like I told you before, this is fun in a way that nothing else has been in so damn long. But on that topic of the tenth floor, there are three real possibilities for how it can go the way I see it,¡± Pryte said. ¡°And those are?¡± I asked after his pause. There was obviously win and lose. What was his third option? ¡°Technically, there¡¯s a fourth possibility, but that one doesn¡¯t matter as much to you. Actually, maybe it does. I know some species are reassured knowing there are plans for their death,¡± Pryte answered, looking at me intently. ¡°Ah, so you have a way to save my family if I die?¡± I asked. That was a somewhat comforting thought. It just meant only most of the planet was riding on me. ¡°If the squad loses and you die, I¡¯ve discussed a plan with Timon, which should be easier now that I¡¯ve hired Trolke. Everyone still here will be making their escape to the Golden Mountain Hammerfists¡¯ homeworld and petitioning for refugee status. Mel, myself, and any other survivors still in the Arena will be stuck figuring our own way out, but there won¡¯t be much we can do to plan that ahead of time. I¡¯m partial to a run for chaotic space, but I¡¯m not sure how much the others will be on board for that,¡± Pryte said with a glint in his eye that suggested he was more than just partial. ¡°I won¡¯t claim to like the idea of being dead, but I¡¯m glad you thought ahead for my family¡¯s sake. What are the other possibilities?¡± I asked, trying my best to ignore any thoughts of impending doom that were cropping up. ¡°There¡¯s the easy one that we¡¯ve touched on a lot already: you win, everyone comes back here, and we figure out the future. The other two are the more difficult ones. We win, but you die. In that case, your daughter inherits the faction in a much worse place than it¡¯d be had you lived. I¡¯m willing to promise you that I¡¯ll stick around and do everything I can there, but I don¡¯t know that everyone else will. The final possibility is we lose, you live. Now, that plays out similarly to the first option, but you are really going to have to disappear if it goes that way. Refugee status won¡¯t save you, and anyone stupid enough to grant it is risking themselves,¡± Pryte explained, looking at me silently after he finished. ¡°What do you suggest?¡± I asked, having a feeling I knew exactly where he was going with this potential outcome. ¡°You, me, and Sanquar, at the very least, are off for chaotic space. They won¡¯t ever chase us, and considering there¡¯s a good chance we will be dead in a year anyway, why would they?¡± Pryte asked, clearly not expecting an answer. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was the correct move or not, but I also didn¡¯t know enough about the Spiral still to know a better one. If that was the way this played out, I decided I¡¯d follow his lead. ¡°Well, if it comes to that, I¡¯ll follow you, barring something massive changes, but let¡¯s uh try to get the best results we can and not count ourselves out yet,¡± I said, trying to reassure myself far more than Pryte. I wasn¡¯t sure I could give the man a pep talk. He had his own future plans and didn¡¯t seem overly worried about what could go wrong, just that he acknowledged that it could. ¡°Good, that was all I wanted to talk about with you for now. Let¡¯s go get that breakfast. I need to have a discussion with Maud shortly,¡± Pryte said, circling back toward the house. I knew he¡¯d wanted to get a feel for what kind of class would work well for her, as well as a potential mana orb on top of it. Could she even use those at level one? I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how mana skills worked versus regular skills in that regard. Something to read up on later, assuming it mattered at all in the future. We were already out of seats in the house, so Pryte and I made do on the ground after grabbing our plates of food. Glorp, his younger brother, and his five younger sisters were taking up the couch, all chatting happily. It was hard to hear everything they were saying, but from what I picked up, it sounded like they saw him as a returning hero. And who could blame them? Glorp had managed to get them here. They had no idea that it was likely far more precarious of a position than they were in before, and I certainly wasn¡¯t going to tell them that was for Glorp to decide. Not when they looked so ecstatic just to be eating breakfast with their big brother. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Eventually, after several introductions and variations on the name Glorp that I knew I was going to confuse many times before I finally got them all right, I excused myself to go the find the bird who was still noticeably absent from breakfast. He was exactly where I expected him to be, sitting in the back of the bus staring at one of the mana orbs, a look of desperation on his face. I¡¯d seen that look before, in the mirror many times immediately following the divorce. It wasn¡¯t remotely a good headspace to be in for anyone, human or bird. ¡°That doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s going very well. Wanna talk about it?¡± I asked, startling Sanquar who had been so focused on the orb he apparently hadn¡¯t noticed my approach. ¡°Not particularly no,¡± he answered, anger in his voice for the first time I had heard it. ¡°Well, I think we should anyway. You look ready to implode, and that isn¡¯t going to help anyone,¡± I replied, sitting down across from him. ¡°I gave you something incredibly precious to me to give you a chance at saving your world. Is it so much to ask that I have the barest chance at fixing myself now that that goal approaches?¡± he asked, his eyes pleading with me for the healing he wanted that I didn¡¯t know how to provide. ¡°Nope, we¡¯d all be long dead without you. I owe you a lot, and healing your core is one of the giant entries on my to-do list. I just don¡¯t think we have entirely what we need yet. First, I think you need to let all of those who are capable of scanning your core work on figuring out exactly how it¡¯s broken. From there, we can likely start the path to a potential solution. Sitting here staring at this mana orb that you clearly can¡¯t use isn¡¯t going to make you feel any better,¡± I said, reaching my hand out to take it. Sanquar sighed loudly but withdrew his wing, letting his head droop. He looked as exhausted as he did depressed. Had he even slept since finding this orb? ¡°Thank you, Dave¡± he said as I placed the orb into my System storage. ¡°No problem, so why don¡¯t you tell me everything you can remember about what happened to your core,¡± I said, not sure the information would mean anything to me, but knowing that for someone like Elody or Pryte, it likely would. ¡°I can remember that I was invited to something. Several people offered me a deal that I found reprehensible. What that deal was or who the people were, I can¡¯t remember. There was a very large fight, and somehow, they managed to subdue me. If what I can remember of my abilities is anywhere near accurate, I don¡¯t think that that should have been possible. But as I can¡¯t remember their identities, it¡¯s hard to say exactly who I faced,¡± he answered, closing his eyes as he spoke. ¡°Do you think they were heads of powerful factions?¡± I asked. That seemed like the most likely guess to me, especially with Korl¡¯s involvement, assuming Mel was right about the man. ¡°It would seem the logical answer, but at the same time, it doesn¡¯t quite feel right. I believe they were involved, but I¡¯m not sure they were the ones to directly attack me. As for what came after, all I can remember is a blinding hot pain, and then slowly finding my ability to think again, trapped in this form and universe,¡± he answered, the pain of the event coming through in his voice. ¡°Wait, that¡¯s not your normal form?¡± I asked. I had just assumed that was what his species looked like and that, coincidentally, it was close to a normal larger bird. ¡°No, my species is able to shift forms as we mature, generally growing more powerful as we do so. We start similar to this once we hatch but quickly grow past this stage,¡± he answered. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry, there¡¯s nothing we can do to help at the moment, I really am. Why don¡¯t you come inside and get some food and help us figure out some class and mana combinations for Maud and Glorp? You¡¯re more of an expert than Mel is, even if you can only remember a tenth of what you once knew,¡± I said with a smile, trying to coax him inside. With a nod, he stood up. ¡°After you.¡± ¡°Can you do me a favor and figure out the names of Glorp¡¯s family, I¡¯m not sure what name belongs to who, and I feel bad asking now,¡± I said as we left the bus. ¡°I will make you a family tree, my friend,¡± Sanquar answered, his voice back to the usual calm and caring tone I had first heard from him.
The Combat Rogue class boasts a versatile mix of abilities somewhere between agile and quick thinking. Often used as a support class in the Arena, it is more commonly seen in the members of the squad held back for emergency position changes, as it can be used to counter several unsuspecting builds. It is one of the few variations of the Rogue class not banned in most universes. Classes Volume 1 by Zolinjar Chapter 109: Class Decisions ¡°The choice may be harder for Maud, but I think I¡¯m already sold on this Combat Rogue. I¡¯ve been eying it since the moment Mel identified it anyway. Mixing that with my courier class is going to do wonders for my battlefield mobility,¡± Glorp said as he looked at the list of class orbs we had available. The final count was a little over six hundred identified and a few strange ones that Mel had set aside for later examination. He didn¡¯t want anyone risking touching those yet. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a pretty good pairing for ya. What kind of mana orb are ya thinking?¡± Mel asked as he bobbed around my garage. Following the bunkhouse Trolke¡¯s next job was going to be building this out more, getting us room to really play around with different combinations of orbs as well as space for me to run my experiments. Eventually, I would want a clean room with some very strongly reinforced walls as well. ¡°What I really want, I don¡¯t think we have any, at least I haven¡¯t seen anything listed, so I guess for now I¡¯ll settle for a body-enhancing orb,¡± he answered, sounding slightly disappointed with the choice. ¡°We can always get you some socket swap reserve equipment later, though that¡¯s likely to be pretty far down the line before we can afford anything like that. We might be able to get a crafter before we can afford anything on the open market. I¡¯ll look into that,¡± Pryte said, seeming to also pick up on Glorp¡¯s mood. ¡°What kind of mana orb were you hoping for, Glorp?¡± Sanquar asked. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not so much a specific orb itself. I think a few would do it, but I wanted something to play around with the friction of the ground,¡± he answered. I could easily see how powerful something like that could be, and I already understood how it would play into his build. Instant boosts of speed or quick moments of traction while he rocketed around the battlefield. Considering he was already hard to see now, that would make him nearly unstoppable. ¡°Oh, ya wanna control the battlefield, do ya?¡± Mel asked, also catching on. ¡°Yep, That seemed like a big missing part from the group,¡± Glorp answered. ¡°Well, kid, I¡¯ve got some good news for ya,¡± Mel said as he produced a light grey mana orb that I had forgotten about from his System storage. ¡°It took me damn near forever ta figure just what this thing was. Ain¡¯t never seen its like before. It¡¯s a clay mana orb, one of the weirder environmental ones. Honestly no clue where it came from, haven¡¯t even heard of it before, and sure as hell ain¡¯t seen it used in the Arena, but as far as I can tell, it lets ya mess around with the dirt composition. That should cause quite a bit of chaos as ya learn to use it.¡± ¡°Huh, interesting. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s exactly what I had in mind, but it sounds close. I¡¯ll take it,¡± Glorp said with a giant smile, the earlier disappointment having completely vanished as Mel handed over the orb. ¡°Environmental mana orbs are always so strange and so oddly specialized to the place they were created, but yes, as far as I can remember, I¡¯ve also never seen a clay one. This should be very interesting, Glorp,¡± Sanquar agreed. ¡°That was easy enough. How do you feel now, Glorp?¡± I asked. ¡°Excited. I know potentially everything might go very bad for us in the future, but right now this is one of the best moments I¡¯ve had in a long time. My family is here, Cecile and Elody are working on treating my sister for free, there¡¯s plenty of food and now I can even start thinking about my own future. I kind of just figured I¡¯d always be taking care of them. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I love them. It¡¯s just I feel free in a way I don¡¯t think I have since my parents died,¡± he answered, his smile faltering as the sad memories surfaced. ¡°Aww,¡± Maud said, reaching out and pulling him into a hug. ¡°This brings us to Maud, which is actually going to require a bit more testing,¡± Pryte said as he produced a whole table from his System storage. Could I place things bigger than I could pick up into it? I hadn¡¯t tried it yet, but it was something to remember. The table looked similar to the setup I had had back in my room in the archives. ¡°Ah, a full System interface, was wondering if we got one before or after the floor ten,¡± Mel said, agreeing with my observation. ¡°After, but I called in a few favors. This was originally just going to be so I could get an early start on the needs for our headquarters, but it¡¯s a good thing I have it since we need to test if Maud can even use this yet,¡± Pryte explained. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°What do I do?¡± Maud asked, finally releasing Glorp from her hug. ¡°Assuming it works like it did for me, pull up a chair and sit down in front of it. It should bring a menu like you¡¯re in virtual reality. It¡¯s a very jarring sensation at first,¡± I answered, giving her a warning I hadn¡¯t had. ¡°Okay. Sitting is one of the things I am great at!¡± she said grabbing a nearby chair and pulling it up to the table before placing herself into it and immediately yelling in excitement. ¡°I¡­ believe that means it worked,¡± Pryte said. ¡°Huh, my stats are kind of boring, gonna need to pump those up! Can I see the quests next, oh, interesting. Wonder how I do that.¡± Every time Maud said one of these things she paused and then continued speaking. I was sure it was just the System speaking back to her, though this did give me a new idea to try after we finished with Maud. What would happen if Sanquar tried to interact with the System? ¡°Odd, I wouldn¡¯t expect her to have quests without the world being integrated yet,¡± Pryte said. ¡°I had quests,¡± I replied, I, in fact, had a lot of them, several that still needed to be completed. ¡°Yes, but the System saw you as an outsider, which usually happens to help acquaint them with their new reality, not that it¡¯s a common sight anymore. Remind me to have a conversation with you about System expansion later. I guess it¡¯s possible it¡¯s seeing Maud the same way, which could be very interesting,¡± Pryte explained. The noise of the chair sliding back from the table alerted us Maud had finished before her voice did. ¡°Um, I have two quests. One says to save a weird planet designation, but that was just clearly Earth, easy enough to figure out. The other one says it¡¯s a chain of quests for a special class orb.¡± ¡°I have the same quest to save the planet. I wonder if any humans would just get the same at this point. Are there any details for the class quest?¡± I asked. It was possible there weren¡¯t any. One of my quests was classified still, and it had been there for awhile now. ¡°Uh, one second, I¡¯ll read you exactly what it says,¡± She said, scooting her chair back toward the table. ¡°Inheritor Class. Speak to the Jritotle.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, did you just say Inheritor class?¡± Elody said, speaking up for the first time since we had begun. ¡°Yep, is it like a turtle? It sounds like a turtle,¡± Maud asked, standing up and stretching her legs. ¡°The Jritotle is the last of his kind, an ancient mana beast. As for the Inheritor class, that is a soul mana-based class and generally only given out as secondary classes, not primary,¡± Elody said. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to fill us all in more, as I¡¯ve never heard of an Inheritor class before,¡± Pryte said, turning toward Elody. ¡°You likely wouldn¡¯t. It¡¯s almost always only a classpath that paladins find themselves on. For whatever reason, though, the System has decided that Maud should gain an aspect of the Jritotle, and the implications of that worry me,¡± Elody said, pulling several books from her storage space and placing them on the nearby table. ¡°So is this generally just a path on a paladin class, or is this its own class?¡± Pryte asked, his eyebrows raised, looking both confused and interested. ¡°Inheritor classes are often created through paladin classpaths as a way to pass on their knowledge to those entering the order. It grants initiates aspects of the paladins that came before them. You can, of course, directly become a paladin class as well, but starting out as an Inheritor helps to guide those on the path. I suspect Maud¡¯s quest may involve the creation of a new paladin order,¡± Elody explained, now flipping through books with half of her eyes focused on that task. ¡°That sounds cool, um, why the worry though? Am I going to die?¡± Maud asked, frowning. ¡°No, one moment,¡± Elody said, rapidly flipping more pages. ¡°Ah, here, I knew I had read something before. Often, at times before catastrophic faction wars the System seemingly begins to give out more lost and rare classes. It¡¯s been theorized that it is an attempt by the System to control the damage it predicts is coming. If we consider everything here, including Dave¡¯s faction, that would suggest a path we are barreling toward.¡± ¡°We were already heading that way long before the rediscovery of Sanquar. It has been too long since any major expansion. All the large factions are about ready to burst at their seams. What do you do when there are millions of princes demanding their own lands and nothing to give them?¡± Pryte asked, shrugging as he spoke. ¡°Yeah, this ain¡¯t that surprising to me either. Shit¡¯s been getting pretty bad for a while now,¡± Mel added. ¡°We aren¡¯t in any position to fight a war, are you guys really expecting that,¡± I said, looking from face to face, trying to ignore the newest pressure building on my chest. ¡°Yes, but we won¡¯t be the center of that. Hell, it likely will barely involve us. There¡¯s nothing here anyone wants besides some old grudge against Sanquar. Why the people Korl represents even care this much is beyond me at this point. Honestly, while a faction war could be devastating for the Spiral, it might help us,¡± Pryte said, relieving some, but not all, of the pressure. I wasn¡¯t really sure anything could help all of it anymore.
Fifth awakening in the season of the Grand Walrus. The exact statement of the Jritotle is copied below. DUAMROTIREHNIGNIRB Official Scribe of the Jritotle¡¯s Words Chapter 110: Sanquar鈥檚 Quest ¡°Alright so we skip the class for now then. Maud any idea on a mana orb?¡± I asked, focusing the conversation back onto the here and now. I decided I¡¯d worry about faction wars later when Pryte explained to me more about them. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy, give me one of those elemental ones. I have plans!¡± she said with a devious smile crossing her lips. ¡°What exactly are those plans?¡± Sanquar asked curiously. ¡°Oh, um,¡± she started laughing nervously. ¡°So I have a favorite cartoon, and actually, how about I show you it later? That will explain it better, but let¡¯s just say I want to go for a mixture of all the elements like Elicec told me he has.¡± ¡°Interesting. I will try this cartoon with you, and that is a very safe choice, so I have no complaints,¡± Sanquar replied, nodding his head. ¡°Yeah, hard to go wrong there, though the class is gonna make it real interesting,¡± Mel added as he dug out an elemental orb for her. ¡°Here, this one is already set for for elemental mixture and is rank three. That will give you a bit of a boost since it¡¯s looking like ya gotta take care of Dave somewhat on the next Arena floor.¡± ¡°Wait, I¡¯m actually going?!¡± Maud yelled enthusiastically as she pushed the orb into her chest over her core, copying what Glorp had done. ¡°Yeah, you are. We need to get this floor done soon, and I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have my mana channels fixed by then, which means we are going to spend the rest of the day doing some basic practice work,¡± I answered. At the very least, I wanted her to understand how her channeling worked. I hated how blindly I had gone into that first dungeon and didn¡¯t want to remotely replicate it with her. Whether that was how I met Corey or not. ¡°What kind of training?¡± Maud asked. ¡°Gonna start ya with some targets as soon as we¡¯re done in here,¡± Mel said. ¡°I also want to test our connection in regards to mana channels and Corey. But first, I want Sanquar to come over here and take a seat. We should see what happens if he tries to access a full System terminal,¡± I said, looking toward the bird. ¡°Is that a good idea? I don¡¯t know the exact terms of how I was banished in regards to the System,¡± he asked cautiously. ¡°I doubt it will hurt. Personally I think the worst that happens is nothing, but we are in uncharted waters here,¡± Pryte answered. ¡°I agree with Pryte. The System shouldn¡¯t be capable of being weaponized in a way to truly hurt you, but I also agree with his second part, so the choice is yours,¡± Elody said, nodding at both of them, all four of her eyes studying Sanquar intently. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try,¡± he replied, hopping up onto the chair Maud had previously occupied and awkwardly managing to get it into the proper place. ¡°Oh, hello.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t remember.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you for everything you¡¯ve done. I will do my best,¡± Sanquar said, and instead of this one being followed by a pause, he hopped out of the chair. ¡°That sounded kind of promising,¡± I said, studying his face to get a feel for what had happened. I wasn¡¯t sure why I thought that would work. I wasn¡¯t even very good at that for people, let alone alien birds. ¡°It felt like talking to an incredibly old friend, and yet neither of us could fully remember what had happened between us, but while almost all of my menus were corrupted, I was able to access my quest menu, and it had a single entry. Curiously, it said I needed to track down the first human of this planet to enter the Spiral,¡± Sanquar responded, looking back at me intently. ¡°Is that not just me?¡± I asked, my curiosity now piqued. Had I not been the first person to find my way there? If not, who had been? ¡°I would have assumed the same thing, but as being near you isn¡¯t completing the quest, it seems not,¡± Sanquar replied. ¡°Anyone have any guesses then?¡± I asked, looking between Pryte and Elody, both shaking their heads in return. ¡°Guess that¡¯s a new mystery to add to the list.¡± ¡°Mystery or not, it is some of the most positive news I¡¯ve had in quite a long time. I have a quest, and that means potentially I can start on the path to fixing myself,¡± Sanquar responded, smiling in a way I hadn¡¯t seen from him before. He looked like a baby bird who had just seen his mother return to the nest. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Well, if you all want to take Glorp outside and start working, I¡¯ll bring Maud shortly, just want to play around with our connection between Corey,¡± I said. Everyone except Elody started filing out of the room. She instead leaned back in her chair, one pair of eyes on me and the other on Maud. ¡°I wish to try and detect this connection if that¡¯s all right,¡± She said. ¡°Sure, can¡¯t really see the harm,¡± I answered, pulling Corey from my storage space and bringing up the chat window.
>Dave: Hey Corey, any chance you can tell if you are pulling mana from Maud as well as me? Oh, and does the soul mana coming from me seem different than the core mana? >Corey: There is a weak connection to Maud, yes, but it is just a trickle. The soul mana does feel different. It seems to be filling a different component of myself that I was not entirely aware of. >Maud: How exactly did you all get used to this anyway? Having a weird chat window pop up in my head just feels off. :/ >Dave: You start to get used to all of this insanity pretty easily eventually. It may have helped me initially that I was so focused on the loss of everyone on Earth that the wonders of the Spiral took a giant backseat to my anxiety. >Maud: Ah, yeah, not a big anxiety person, now a talking too much person, that one I can cover. :) >Dave: And we all appreciate it. Maud, are you able to feel that trickle of energy feeding into Corey? >Maud: I don¡¯t think so. What should it feel like? >Dave: On my end I feel the connection almost like an extra finger. I can partially control it until it flows into Corey, or at least I could. >Maud: Hmm, I don¡¯t think I feel anything like that. :( >Corey: Maud, may I try something? >Maud: Sure. :) >Corey: I am unable to increase the mana draw from Maud. I suspect our bond is not the same as the one you and I share, Dave. It may be possible to increase it in the future, but for now, the trickle is likely just the connection that controls this chat. >Dave: Got it, thanks, Corey. Did you want to join us for some training? Should probably get an idea of how much you can do before the draw is too great on me now. >Corey: Yes, that is a good idea.
After closing the chat window, I looked back at Elody. ¡°Were you able to see any of the connections between us?¡± ¡°Yes and no. If I didn¡¯t know about the connection I¡¯d have never been able to spot it. It looks exactly like any small mana channel connection. I couldn¡¯t differentiate any part of it. We will need to experiment with it in a null mana zone at some point, but that isn¡¯t a high priority and not something I expect us to encounter any time soon. Getting Maud to see the Jritotle, though, that is. I think after we finish these ten floors, I will see about a trip,¡± Elody explained. ¡°Planetary roadtrip? One hundred percent in!¡± Maud replied. ¡°Well, if we want to have a chance at that trip, it¡¯s best we go join everyone outside and see what their plan is,¡± I said, heading for the door myself. This time, Elody did follow alongside Maud and Corey. Once outside, it became very obvious what they were doing. A series of targets had been setup all over the yard, and Glorp was running as fast as he could between them, placing and removing objects both into and near them. First he would stop near Pryte, grab something I couldn¡¯t make out, and then swap it with several items along the way, and finish by placing the last item directly into Sanquar¡¯s beak. The whole thing was done remarkably fast, making it hard to tell exactly where he was using the clay mana orb, but every so often, the ground looked the slightest bit different after he had passed. ¡°Good job, Glorp. At higher levels, that class should let you start to grab things from unsecured System storages as well,¡± Pryte yelled to the teenager. ¡°Get high enough, and there won¡¯t be much security that can stop him either,¡± Mel added. ¡°Glorp, put a hat on Mel!¡± I yelled, not sure if he would actually listen. But a few seconds later, a hat had appeared on the man¡¯s head. Where had he actually found a hat? I didn¡¯t have any inside that I knew of. ¡°Oh, very funny, just fer that, I wanna see ya run full out and use the clay orb to slow yourself as rapidly as ya can without breaking anything,¡± Mel bellowed back at the fleeing Glorp. ¡°What should I do?¡± Maud asked. ¡°Start firing at Glorp!¡± Mel ordered, with a devious smile on his face.
The urge to set up systems of control seems to be an innate desire amongst members of every species I¡¯ve ever encountered throughout the Spiral. The problem is those same peoples tend to think once they have those controls in place, written into official documents as laws, that they have become tangible things that can be applied equally and fairly across a society forever. The reality is that laws are neither real nor fair. Even when those rules begin from a place of good, they rapidly turn into weapons to be wielded by those with power against those without, while the ignorant continue to utter the words that will lead to their own inevitable doom. ¡®The law is the law, after all, and we must punish those who break it.¡¯ Xxlptr Paladin of Anarchy¡¯s Closing Words in his Own Defense Chapter 111: Floor Eight: Dave By the end of the second day of training, Maud and Glorp had both gotten a pretty good handle on using their new abilities, especially in regards to fighting each other with them. I, on the other hand, had managed nothing. Despite Elody¡¯s thoughts on the matter, I was nowhere near being able to control the new soul mana flows, and any attempt to use my mana orbs quickly turned into a disaster as the charges built out of control until I had drained my soul too far. The only saving grace I had going was that Corey was still able to regulate the mana flow once it reached them. The mallet¡¯s channels hadn¡¯t been affected in the same way my body¡¯s had. This meant that Corey was still effective in combat and even able to use the imbuing orb contained in the mallet. All that said, I was at least confident we could handle tackling the eighth floor now, and so was Mel. Beyond that, I was worried. ¡°Once yer in there, there¡¯s gonna be six paths. The entrances ta each are only gonna be open for five minutes, so pick yer path and get going. Maud, make sure ya stick with Dave,¡± Mel had explained right before the porter showed up. It was someone different, more kangaroo-like than human, and much more cordial than the last one who had come to pick us up. ¡°Thank you, Rorge. We had a very unprofessional porter last time. It¡¯s nice to see there are some who still respect the job,¡± Pryte said, greeting the man who had appeared in the front yard and waited perfectly calmly for us. ¡°Yes, Floor Master requested I personally handle the Empire of Dave¡¯s porting duty. He found the previous interactions with your squad distasteful and wanted to ensure a more efficient experience for all involved,¡± Rorge replied, sounding as though he entirely agreed with Floor Master. ¡°Ah, good. I suppose you wouldn¡¯t have any word on my official request for his continued representation throughout our climb?¡± Pryte asked. I hadn¡¯t been aware he had done that, but it made sense assuming it was possible. Floor Master had treated us entirely fairly, and if he were involved with the judge as we suspected, it would be incredibly beneficial for us this way. Why should we be the only ones without real connections behind the scenes? ¡°I am aware of your petition, and it has been granted. I am, in fact, allowed to bring you all straight to your designated waiting room now. You are now longer required to use a generic one,¡± Rorge replied, nodding his head to Pryte as he spoke. I thought I caught the slightest smile from the man, but if I had, it was gone before I could be sure. I got the feeling that Pryte and Rorge knew each other better than either was letting on, which considering our situation, was likely the best for Rorge¡¯s safety. I was just happy at the idea of another potential ally. We needed all we could get. ¡°Ah, good, so we can actually focus on the match now,¡± Mel replied happily, and while it wasn¡¯t the first time I¡¯d heard him so upbeat, the fact that it had been holding strong all day now was somewhat unnerving. I hoped it just meant he had started to believe we had a real chance of success here, and not that this was some nervous coping change in attitude. ¡°Are we ready?¡± Rorge asked, bouncing up and down on his large legs while his head went from side to side, scanning the area. ¡°We are,¡± Pryte answered, and the yard around us vanished to instantly, being replaced by a smaller waiting room than our previous one. Unlike before though, we weren¡¯t stuck pushing our way through any crowds, and the room wasn¡¯t already full of yells and cheers. There was also a full table of food sitting out waiting for us, and no one besides ourselves and Rorge was anywhere in sight, so it was all ours this time. ¡°Did the food get better too?¡± Glorp asked between bites as he immediately ran to the buffet table and downed several sandwiches. I followed behind him and noticed many of my favorite foods were present as well, leading me to grab my own handful of fried egg sandwiches without hesitation. Somehow, the bread tasted exactly like the way my mom had managed to toast it. I needed to talk to Pryte about how this worked, not that I wanted to take away from John¡¯s cooking, but this food had managed to fill a long empty void each time that I hadn¡¯t even realized was still there. The pure nostalgia for the meals I had shared with my family as a kid had been found somewhere deep inside me. ¡°The food should now be purely representative of the things you all enjoy instead of catering to a larger audience,¡± Floor Master said from the doorway that had just opened, allowing him entry to the room. ¡°Really, even me?¡± Maud asked as she examined the buffet and then squealed. ¡°Yes, Swedish meatballs!¡± ¡°Yes, Ms. Fisher, even you. Pryte provided necessary details in a full update with plenty of time to make the needed preparations,¡± Floor Master answered, some of Maud¡¯s joy seeming to echo in Floor Master¡¯s words. I got the feeling the spider was happy that we were happy. ¡°Awesome!¡± Maud replied through a mouthful of meatballs. I bent my head forward as I shook it trying to hide the laughter at the scene, and to contain the food in my own mouth. ¡°Are there any last-minute changes we should be aware of, Floor Master?¡± Rabyn asked the spider seriously. ¡°There are not, please prepare yourselves as the floor will be starting in the next few minutes,¡± Floor Master answered before walking over to a monitor and checking several readouts. While I could understand the words themselves, what they referred to seemed like gibberish to me. There were fields that said things like mana redundancy and area of reality that were followed by measurements in units I didn¡¯t at all recognize. I guessed they were tied to the floor being ready for us. How that worked was still a complete mystery to me. I could feel my inner tinkerer begging me to take it apart and see what I could learn, but now just wasn¡¯t the time to let that impulse out. One day soon though, it was coming. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Any last words of wisdom?¡± Elicec said to Mel while his brother ate something that resembled a dark blue turkey leg. ¡°Nope, yer all doing great. None of ya have balked at any of the shit I put ya through. Honestly, I¡¯m proud. Yer gonna get through this, and we¡¯re gonna get ta working on the rest,¡± Mel said, that cheeriness still there. ¡°I know that I¡¯m merely an observer and referee, but I do agree with Melhelm; considering the things stacked against you, your performance thus far has been impressive,¡± Floor Master spoke up in agreement, having returned from the monitor. ¡°Thank you,¡± Elicec said giving them both one of his own rare smiles. ¡°You are very welcome, but it¡¯s time. Please follow me,¡± Floor Master replied, beginning his usual walk toward the door in the front of the room. The hall on the other side was the same as it had been previously, and the moment we were all inside, Floor Master closed the door behind us, sealing us inside for floor eight to begin. ¡°What happens now?¡± Maud asked, but before anyone could answer, the hall disappeared, and a new reality came into view, leaving us in a circular room with six passageways. Each of them looked identical from where I was standing. ¡°Please proceed to your desired path. The passages will seal in five minutes,¡± a disembodied voice echoed throughout the small room. ¡°Does it matter which we choose?¡± I asked. I didn¡¯t think it did, as no one had mentioned anything about that, but I wanted to make sure. ¡°No, while they¡¯ll all be different, we won¡¯t have any way to know the differences until it starts,¡± Rabyn answered. ¡°Alright then, everyone grab a passage. Maud, stick with Dave,¡± Elicec said, ending the discussion. ¡°And you stick with Cecile!¡± Maud called as we walked, both headed for the same passage. Once inside I realized why they had seemed so similar. They were designed in a way to look like they opened deeper into another area, but in reality it was just an optical illusion, leaving only a small inner chamber for us to stand in while we waited for the time to run out. ¡°You ready for this?¡± I asked Maud as I removed Corey from my System storage. They were going to be doing the bulk of my fighting, as my next to no control over my channeling would be a disaster for me. So, I was staying back unless I absolutely had to join in. ¡°Yep, well, no, probably not, but I¡¯m ready to fake the enthusiasm that I am!¡± Maud replied, the fake enthusiasm shining through strongly already. ¡°Just try to remember everything Mel said, and pace yourself. We won¡¯t get any real downtime once this starts, so we¡¯ve gotta conserve our mana as we go,¡± I said, aiming that more at myself than her. ¡°I¡¯ll do my¡­¡± Maud started to say before the slamming shut of the passage behind us loudly cut off her last words. The wall with the optical illusion vanished at the same time, revealing a well-lit room with a long passageway leading deeper into our chosen path. Inside the room was a single golden egg sitting in a basket in the center of the room, with a sign that said we must bring all eggs to the final chamber to complete the floor, just as Mel had told us we would. ¡°I¡¯ll put the egg in my storage and then we can make our way further in. Corey, please scout ahead,¡± I said, touching the egg and placing it safely on a shelf inside my mind. A loud smashing sound came from where Corey had just flown at the same time that a chat window popped up.
>Corey: I am under attack, I do not believe I will need assistance, but be on guard. >Dave: Got it, we¡¯re coming.
I closed the window and realized that Maud hadn¡¯t even waited. Her form disappeared down the passage as I chased behind her. ¡°Maud, wait up!¡± Either she didn¡¯t hear me, or she chose to ignore me, as I didn¡¯t catch her until she was already firing a shot of lightning at a three-headed flying frog creature. There was a pile of them already on the ground under Corey. She had managed to get here just in time to take out the last one, as the lightning knocked it from the air to join the rest in the pile. ¡°Sorry just got really excited,¡± she said, looking at me nervously. ¡°It¡¯s alright, trust me, I get it. It¡¯s a little intoxicating. I¡¯ll tell you about just exactly how Corey and I first met once we are done here,¡± I said, reassuring her. Even if I¡¯d have preferred she waited for me, I¡¯d rather she keep her confidence than get a scolding from me for doing something nearly the same as I had. ¡°Yeah¡­ I can feel that. Are we ready to continue?¡± She asked. I gave her a nod in return, and we headed off down the path behind Corey.
The eighth floor of the Arena is one of the first real choke points for squads. It requires more than one person to make decisions on their own, preferably at least six. The squads that are built around only a single strong man tend to fall apart here. Sometimes, they can compensate, and the ones that do are almost always better off for the experience. Famously, Sanquar is known to have somehow beat the floor entirely alone. It is not recommended anyone else try, as he is the only known person to have done so outside those on a reascent. Jimbob¡¯s Manual for Arena Managers Volume 7 Chapter 112: Floor Eight: Elody Truth be told, Elody wasn¡¯t entirely sure why she had decided to join Dave. Sure, she had given him some reasons that were entirely true now, but they weren¡¯t from the start. There had been something different about that strange man the moment she had met him that had caught her insight eyes¡¯ attention. Reality rippled around him in a way she had only seen a few times before. Her mentor was one of such people and she knew from experience what kind of changes came in his wake. And that alone called for further research. It helped that the Triox had already been sniffing around the archives. She had known her days were numbered there, which meant that Dave also presented another path to pursue. The fact that he had somehow become connected to Melhelm, Sanquar, and Rabyn seemed to only further reinforce her initial feelings on meeting the man. There was a greater hand in play here, and she was determined to learn just what it was. Had any of them even learned about Rabyn¡¯s background? She considered whether she should check with Pryte about that or not. It seemed unlikely the gnome hadn¡¯t dug that out. It wasn¡¯t exactly a secret, even if not a commonly known story. Speaking of Pryte, he was another one that made this even more interesting. Would any other clerk have been so willing to buy Dave the time he had needed, especially one quite so experienced with the inner workings of the Spire? She wondered how surprised Mel had been when she offered her help. He certainly hadn¡¯t been expecting it based on his reaction, but he gladly took it. Managing to file that much paperwork in such a short time had nearly overwhelmed her, but in the end, it had paid off. The judge had granted all of her petitions, even if not exactly the way they had initially intended. She was now officially a member of a virtually unknown faction in a universe that had just started on the path of integration. This was not a path she had expected her life to take, but the chance to learn from Sanquar directly was one of the many things that made this all worth it. All these thoughts flashed through Elody¡¯s head as she waited in her own chamber for the floor to officially begin. She laughed to herself. She was Arena climbing, a thing she had long ago sworn never to do. So much knowledge was lost here, and the time wasted in the pursuit of the table scraps the bigger factions tossed to the fighters was a disgrace to everything she considered sacred. But then she wasn¡¯t here for table scraps. She was here to secure the future of her friends and, in doing so, safeguard knowledge that had long seemed lost. She supposed she could handle the annoyance of the Arena, given what she was gaining. When had she started to consider them friends? That was something else she¡¯d need to consider. The door in front of her slammed shut, and the passage behind her opened. She read the sign and stored the dragon egg while pulling out another book. She flicked through it and began to read. ¡°As Elody read a gleaming silvery sword appeared in her right hand, while a spectral dog appeared on the ground in front of her, ready to scout the path for any dangers ahead.¡± Both of these things occurred at the moment she read them, causing her to smile at her own success. It was risky to try a double effect from her reading, but with no apparent immediate danger, she had decided to give it a try and was glad to see that the Arena wasn¡¯t negatively influencing her abilities, at least as far as she could tell. That was another reason, one she was less likely to share with others, for why she had avoided Arena climbing. The way her class functioned could be influenced by outside forces differently than most, and she was sure there would be floors that would take great advantage of that. She followed the dog down the path in front of her, carefully examining every nook and cranny for signs of secrets, both dangerous and useful. He was a cute little dog, and his existence forced home another realization: she was no longer at the archives, and from what she had heard, Earth was full of dogs. She could adopt her own. Once she had a proper place to live, that was. She would never force a dog into the cramped conditions she currently suffered under. What other pet animals did the humans of Dave¡¯s planet keep? She would need to look into that. There was a whole branch of her class that had gone virtually unexplored as she just didn¡¯t have the time for any pets while she was overseeing the archives, but now, perhaps it was time for that to change. She smiled as she stepped into the new room, hearing the alert of her scout before she did, giving her time to duck under the swing of a large club soaring across the room. Instead of it crashing into her head as it had no doubt been intended for, it instead ricocheted off the wall with a loud crunching sound as both it and the wall looked worse for the blow. She spun around, driving her sword into the flesh under the arm that was holding the club, deep into the monster¡¯s side. Some sort of cyclops, she thought, but it was oddly colored for any she had seen before. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The silence and lack of screaming for its life made her further doubt her initial observations, though perhaps, as Rabyn had thought, none of these were truly alive. That would make the most sense of any of the possibilities she could think of she concluded, jabbing her sword through its eye, ending the threat. After all, if the System was just able to create hyperrealistic constructs, that would save the difficulty in needing to breed these monsters. And considering how many people are climbing the Arena daily, it seemed improbable for it to be anything else. ¡°Woof!¡± the spectral dog barked as it started down the exit from the chamber. Before Elody followed she first took the club and placed it in her System storage, and on second thought, leaned down and popped the remains of its eye out as well. She would check if these things remained the same once she left the floor. She was very curious if both of them would hold the expected properties of objects they mimicked or would revert to some base material that was being used. With that out of the way, she followed the dog down the next path. This time, instead of a monster fight, she found a giant pit blocking her path. No doubt somewhere below the fall were spikes ready to impale her and remove her from the floor. ¡°Sorry little guy, going to have to change somethings up,¡± she said before dismissing both the dog and her sword before producing a green mana orb from her storage. She socked it into her core, removing a red one as she did so. Hopefully, she wouldn¡¯t need the life orb during this run. She waited briefly for the newly socketed orb to attune to her core, and then felt the stored mana skills within it flare to life. The pain always surprised her. No matter how many times she had done it before, the experience of wings growing rapidly from her back shot waves of agony across her body. Despite that, she had yet to regret her choice in specializing a body-modification orb down a path of mutation. Most people would likely assume someone of her status would instead specialize in the mind, but she had plenty of intelligence already. What she didn¡¯t have was a body capable of flight. Minutes later, and thanks to a set of wings covered in snowy white feathers that had protruded from two slits in the back of her armor, she was airborne, gliding across the pitfall. These were the moments when the pain was worth it. The freedom of soaring through free of the ground was one of her favorite pleasures if only she could risk always keeping the orb socketed, but healing tended to be far more in need than her love of flight. Perhaps it was time for her to start exploring ways to replicate Dave¡¯s own experiment. Sure they didn¡¯t have any access to that level of energy that had been needed, but she also didn¡¯t need six sockets. She would settle for a single extra artificial one. Or maybe two. A knowledge orb would be an interesting addition to her build. She had considered it before and only passed it up due to the limitations it offered in the field. It was something to consider now, with her life having taken such a dramatic turn. She landed gracefully on the other side of the pit as these thoughts played out in her head. She really was in this for the long term, wasn¡¯t she? Making plans for the future? A home? Pets? What would her younger self think of her now if she had heard these fantasies? With a disappointed sigh, she swapped back to her life orb, having spotted the gleam of light reflecting off a scale of some creature further down. ¡°Pulling forth her book again, Elody read from it as her sword appeared in her hand, ready to slay whatever beasts lay in wait,¡± she said after retrieving the same book she had earlier. She would need to make a new class book soon, too many new options had opened up on her path as of late, and this one was lagging behind, but it would be adequate for now. She charged down the path ready to fight the monster, not because she wanted it dead, no, she would much prefer finding it a nice home where it could live its life in peace, but she wasn¡¯t even sure the monster was truly alive to begin with, and more importantly, it stood in her path to the exit, so vanquish it she must. There was of course, also the thought of what interesting parts she might be able to retrieve from this creature¡¯s corpse.
Those who start on specializing in mutations from a basic body-modification orb often find themselves hunting down a more specialized version of the mana orb, focused only on such changes. Once you¡¯ve grown beyond the demands the lesser mutations offered it is one of the only ways to continue on the path. Beware, though, as the path is not painless, nor is it remotely safe. A mutation mana orb demands much but offers more. Mutations, a Primer by Henjen Klank Chapter 113: Floor Eight: Rabyn Rabyn looked around the room the moment the door had closed. The item he had to bring to the finish had already appeared in the next room, but he wanted to be sure there was nothing worthwhile hiding in here first. It was always possible, and this would likely be one of the few places no one thought to search. A gleam of something metallic caught his eye, peaking from between two of the bricks. He produced one of his many knives and slammed the hilt of it hard into the brick, knocking it loose. Behind it was a single silvery coin. He picked it up and examined it. It didn¡¯t appear to be one of the mystery prizes they were sitting on, but he also wasn¡¯t sure just what it was. It was entirely possible for any kind of magical item to be hidden throughout the Arena, but this seemed different somehow. Unsure of how to better identify it at the moment he placed it in his storage for later. He suspected someone was trying to send them a message. When they finished with this floor, he¡¯d consider asking Floor Master about it. At the very least, they should have the mystery prizes redeemed before leaving the Spire. With their own private waiting room, it was entirely safe to do that much now. If there was time, he also hoped to also have a private conversation with the spider. He wanted the man¡¯s real opinion of his situation. He may have given in to the idea that the whims of fate controlled his path now, but that didn¡¯t mean he was going to sit back and let it push him wherever it chose without some pushback. There were things he had to do in his life, and while this new faction presented the best opportunity, possibly the only real opportunity he had ever seen toward accomplishing those goals, he was still wary of the situation. Wralf has been one of the most fundamentally stupid people he had ever had the misfortune of meeting, and while he bore no resemblance to Dave whatsoever, Rabyn needed to be on alert for other less-than-desirable traits out of the new faction leader. So far, he liked Dave much more than Wralf. For example, Dave was right, not about the idea of finding a way to avoid his execution. No, he was right before that. For the part Rabyn had played in the decimation of Earth, he absolutely deserved to have his head separated from his neck, and he knew that. Someday, it was incredibly likely Dave would also firmly come to that realization, and that would be the end of his bloodline, the end of a quest for both vengeance and justice. But perhaps that isn¡¯t how this would go. Dave was an odd man, the strangest faction leader he had ever met. It was entirely possible the man was willing to work with him to keep him alive and genuinely considered that as what was best for his people. It was a foreign concept to him, that much he was sure of. He would trust to the advice of Floor Master, as without the man, he wouldn¡¯t be here today. What Pryte hadn¡¯t put together, and he wasn¡¯t sure anyone truly knew anymore, was that while, yes, he was the only surviving member of the royal bloodline. He was not the only surviving member of their advisors. His great-grandfather, while still a baby, had been smuggled out of the palace as the empire came to an end, thanks to one of their most loyal staff. The grand chef of his people¡¯s long-fallen empire had escaped the slaughter, only willing to do so after being begged by Rabyn¡¯s great-great-grandmother. Floor Master had wanted to fight and fall with the people he had spent his life taking care of, but fate, it seemed, had started early with Rabyn¡¯s destiny. Rabyn had no idea how the man had earned his way through the ranks of Arena staff, but in doing so, he had been able to look after as much of his family line as he could. He had been the real one involved in selling him off the Singing Blades, a good way to keep him relatively safe after his father had been killed. Someday, Rabyn would find a way to repay the spider for everything his family owed him and more. What he really wanted was Floor Master¡¯s opinions on this Empire of Dave. Not that Rabyn had had much of a choice in joining them; it was that or death. But Floor Master had arranged for him to end up with the Singing Blades for a reason and he needed to make sure that this hadn¡¯t thrown off any of his plans. Had the former grand chef realized just how much of an idiot the leaders of that faction were? Especially the one who led the doomed assault on Earth. No matter what the spider¡¯s plans ultimately were, Rabyn had already decided he would not betray Dave. He wasn¡¯t sure he would die for the man yet, but betrayal was out of the question. Dave deserved as much. He had survived an integration just to save his family. It was one of the most respectable actions Rabyn had experienced in his lifetime. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it He took a deep breath and began to walk down the path. He wasn¡¯t expecting anything quite able to challenge him, but it was prudent to be careful nonetheless. He had already made a drastic misstep with the Jesters, and that was something likely to cost him far more than he wanted to pay in the future. The idea of owing those monsters anything had been one of the newest nightmares haunting him, but he had no idea how to break himself free from that problem, so he pushed that thought back down as best he could. There were other monsters to slay at the moment. The Jesters would have their time. In front of him stood some sort of slithering monster. Two of its several legs were being used to prop its head and upper torso into the air, far above his own. Fangs dripped a substance that sizzled as it hit the ground below. Rabyn hated centipedes, especially horrifying giant ones. He had yet to find a way to cook them that made the effort of fighting them worth it. Their venom had a habit of ruining anything it was paired with. Its tail whipped out at Rabyn¡¯s legs and was met with the slash of his knives, dropping it free of the body to the ground. The creature snarled, thrashing its head from side to side rapidly, causing the venom to fling everywhere. Several drops hit Rabyn¡¯s arm, burning him at the impact. He met that pain with a flurry of knives into the creature¡¯s torso. It crashed to the ground, all fight gone from it as the life left its eyes. Rabyn bent over it, reclaiming his spent knives, carefully cleaning each one of the potentially corrosive gore from the monster before replacing them in his storage. He stepped over its corpse, continuing down his path. He was good at fighting, very good at in fact. When he dwelled on that reality he wondered just what his family would think about that if they were around to see it. Had he disappointed them? Or would they approve of whatever was needed at this point to secure their people¡¯s survival? He hoped it was the latter, but he would understand if it wasn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t enjoy the killing, but he had long ago made peace with it. Focusing on a list he had memorized as a child he ran through the litany of names and places as had been drilled into him. Was it time to start collecting his people? The Empire of Dave would need a real force, but Earth wasn¡¯t the place to house displaced orcs, aggressors or not. They would be seen as enemies. No, for now, that collection of locations had to remain only in his mind. There was another way he could repay Dave for his trust. While there wasn¡¯t nearly enough of a mana flow on Earth to form a core outside of the near-disastrous way Maud had gained hers. It would be possible to form one here in the Arena if a person were quick about it. They would need a master to apprentice to. And it just so happened he had an extra war chef class orb ready for such an occasion. The trick would be convincing John to accept it. Perhaps the fact that Maud had gained a core could be useful here. No one wants to leave their partner facing dangers alone. Rabyn smiled. He was sure this was the correct way. Fate had yet again guided him on a beneficial path. Pulling up his class progression, he looked over to a long-ignored branching pathway. He had assumed it was a path he would never explore, but now it was not only possible but likely he would be recruiting the apprentice chef needed for some of the more impressive meal choices. He would need to speak to the giant when they returned. This called for a true kitchen to be designed and built. One where feasts worthy of emperors could be prepared. They would need a hall capable of hosting faction dignitaries. This of course, meant servers would be needed and someone to make the drinks. The proper pairings of drink to meal ran through his head. Alongside it, the idea of a life dedicated to the beauty of cooking for cooking¡¯s sake, a fantasy long denied, flared to life. For the first time in as long as Rabyn could remember, he found himself lost in a world of art. He was happy.
The Web of Eight-Legs is known to have produced some of the best covert assassins the Spiral has ever seen, but their names, as well as their planet of origin, have managed to be well hidden from the official record. So well that most speak as though the group is nothing but a myth. Likely, they prefer it this way. They are paradoxically some of the most dangerous and caring people to ever populate the Spiral, but what their ultimate goals are remains a complete mystery. Orders, Both Secret and Public of the Spiral by Qquauqq Chapter 114: Floor Eight: Connie Connie was proud of herself, extraordinarily so. Gramps was going to be over the moon when she got word to him that the plan had worked. They¡¯d made contact and none of them were the wiser for it. They all thought it was just a combination of luck and a Spiral judge that had pushed them together, and that was for the best. It was important they were in the dark until Trelione¡¯s concert. She had no idea how the man had managed to learn of Sanquar¡¯s reappearance from their isolation, but somehow, the news had trickled all the way to his ears, or more likely, knowing the man, he was one of the first to know and started making his plans immediately. All Connie knew was that one of his grand plans was for her to leave home and attempt to make contact. She was under orders to pretend this was only a mission to scout out how the Spiral would feel about a comeback tour. She¡¯d decided that the best way to accomplish that was to pretend the entire reason she was out was in itself the secret and let the concert itself seem like the answer to the mystery. It was too bad her parents had left over a decade ago on their own mission. They¡¯d have been proud of how far she managed to take her studies in just that time. But apparently, one of Gramps¡¯ old friends had found something deep in chaotic space and needed their assistance. She hoped they made it back in time for the big event but understood if they didn¡¯t. Whatever was out there had been important enough that Gramps had almost gone himself. Really, she just hoped they were safe more than anything. Her cover as the ditzy, high-class musician and heir to a legacy had worked great so far, though she suspected Pryte had seen through her, possibly the orc as well. They were impressively aware of things going on around them. Had Gramps ever met the gnome before? She¡¯d need to ask him. No, her real worry was her cousin realizing what was happening. That man had the potential of the biggest problem, but she had the benefit of him not seeing her since she was a kid. How the hell had one of her blood relatives ended up part of the Triox? They were another part of her list of things to deal with eventually. Sure, her Gramps had some of the credit for the destruction his concert had caused. But if he hadn¡¯t had to run from those pieces of shit trying to clamp down on art, he¡¯d never had to have detonated the arena like that. Their destruction was high on her list of priorities, just as soon as she made sure this new empire she had joined was strong enough to handle the fight. How hard would it be to convince their leader to fight her one on one? A nice old-fashioned duel would be satisfying. The funniest part of her whole journey so far was how she had finally found the man who could lead her to Sanquar. Once she had learned about Dave, she figured it would only be a matter of finding him. But that proved easier said than done. By the time she had gotten to the Archives, he¡¯d apparently fled, and she couldn¡¯t stick around to ask any questions thanks to the Triox taking possession of the place. That was another mark against them. Her grandfather¡¯s library was one of her favorite spots to spend time. Everyone needed access to places like that without some idiot whining about what counted as valid literature and telling people just what they couldn¡¯t read. Once she¡¯d finally learned where Dave had fled to on the planet, he¡¯d apparently left the Spiral, back to his planet that hadn¡¯t been fully integrated yet. That had placed him well beyond her abilities to find, and without another idea of how to proceed, she figured an Arena climb couldn¡¯t hurt. She might even find a faction that would be useful for information gathering. Okay maybe fate had played a small hand in all of this. It was hard to explain how else she¡¯d managed to sign up just in time to find Glorp and meet Dave¡¯s squad. Yeah, that was a bit of a fluke of chance there. She¡¯d have to reconsider how much of this really was her own doing or not. Not that that matters in the long run. Gramps would be proud of her for using lady luck to accomplish her goal. It¡¯s something that he¡¯d done in his prime. No, the important part now was to keep Sanquar and, by extension, this whole faction alive until the concert. Once that kicked off, and she came on stage herself for her own debut, no one would notice when Gramps disappeared to talk to an old friend. That did mean she had to get them all to the concert as well, but she figured that part wouldn¡¯t be a huge issue. Everyone loved live music. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. No, the real problem now was keeping this damn faction afloat until the moment was right. She¡¯d almost had to dig into her coffers already. Luckily, Pryte seemed to have that covered for now, but how long would he be able to fund this venture? She had no idea, but she did have an idea on how to not only gain them some goodwill throughout the Spiral but also bring in the needed cash to build this backwater planet up. Once they finished these Arena floors and they were able to connect to the Traveler¡¯s Gates, she would announce her intentions to open a bardic college. She¡¯d sell it as a reason for sticking around, keep them once again distracted from her real goal. It was a brilliant idea, and she was glad she¡¯d come up with it. Her path should pull in some interesting people as well. They¡¯d all need to be vetted, of course, couldn¡¯t have any spies or assassins using her to gain access to Earth. Gramps would be furious if she let someone assassinate Sanquar. She checked over her classpath, focusing specifically on the musical synergy ability. She had only told them all about her main class, which was technically the only one she actively used. Was it really her fault if the path her grandfather had designed allowed the borrowing of other class orb features in her possession without truly multiclassing? She hummed to herself, fully activating the skill and taking in the abilities of an Underground Warden. A scouting class might have been more useful here, but she didn¡¯t have anything that specialized in dungeon environments, so instead, she¡¯d stick with this. It had some abilities to let her feel vibrations in the ground, as well as spot walls that seemed off. That should be plenty to get her through this floor. Immediately upon activating said abilities, she could spot several traps on the corridor past the dragon egg she needed to take with her. It looked like there were at least two pressure plates tied to something slithering around the ceiling above. While she was sure she could beat them in a fight, there was no reason to get her hands dirty. So, instead, she pocketed the eggs and carefully made her way down the path, stepping over the plates as she went. Once past them, she realized the next area wouldn¡¯t be quite so easy. There were large figures stomping around in the chamber, but no traps as far as she could tell, and no treasure either, sadly. She broke her focus on the underground warden class and moved it instead to one of her favorite ones. The Screaming Banshee class did exactly as the name implied, and she¡¯d often used it to improve the range of her own music, but in this case, she wanted the sonic assault abilities it came with. She gently massaged her throat, preparing it for the waves of noise it was about to emit. Hopefully, she didn¡¯t need to heal herself after this. She stepped into the chamber with the creatures and spotted what they actually were, two giant stone statues come to life. They were both in the form of large pigmen, each carrying a massive stone sword. She focused on her throat and let the waves of destruction flow free from her mouth. An ear-piercing shriek resounded across the small room, building layers of sound upon itself until it crashed down onto the statues with the force of a battering ram. They both exploded into piles of rubble that crashed into the wall hard enough to crack it in several spots. She smiled. That had been easy enough. Why did everyone think that Arena climbing was so difficult? She hummed, testing her throat, and it came out pitch-perfect as always. Happy she had done no damage, she swapped her focus to a Speedmaster class. She was bored of this place and had remembered her own encounter with the Jesters. That made her reconsider the difficulty of the Arena, and decided to play it safe. Activating the dash abilities of the class, she ran for the exit, a song in her heart and on her lips.
Dad, you were right. It wasn¡¯t an easy journey, but we found the place Grom had described in his message. And it has to be a remnant of the Old Spiral, but that doesn¡¯t make sense. How could parts of it be out here in chaotic space like this? Shouldn¡¯t it all be contained in whatever reality it collapsed into? Is it possible we don¡¯t understand the reality of what happened to it? Or were we just lied to? Either way, we will continue as you instructed. Hopefully, we can find Grom. Madelane¡¯s last message to her father, one year into their journey Chapter 115: Floor Eight: Cecile & Elicec Cecile When Cecile had first spotted Dave, looking barely alive and out of his mind in the Spire his initial thought had been to help him. While most of the species he had seen over the last week had been brand new to him, humans weren¡¯t. A couple had passed through his village just last year, working on mapping the planet, or so they said. He wasn¡¯t sure, and the dwarfs certainly weren¡¯t talking, but they were nice enough and even shared soup at the community dinner. None of the dwarfs ever did that. That was a big part of why they were in the Spire at all. It had taken generations of hiding and saving every tiny bit of scrap they could get a hold of. When their dad had come to them two years ago and told them the truth of why their training had been so intense and so different from most of the other kids Cecile had been shocked. He couldn¡¯t believe the village thought he and Elicec could be the ones the ones to fight for their freedom. Would they have sent the brothers if they had known what the Arena was really like? He wasn¡¯t sure but was glad they had. Their dad had introduced them to a very strange figure a week before they had left their home. He was just a series of four triangles stacked on top of each other, but he had been nice enough. He took all of their scraps and promised them that he would be at the meeting place in a week. Cecile hadn¡¯t known what that spot was at the time, but his father had made it clear that he needed to remember exactly what the man they had met looked like. When he asked about a name, he wasn¡¯t given one. Elicec Elicec hadn¡¯t trusted Dave when he first saw him. He reminded him far too much of the humans that had visited their village. They had been there to gather information for the dwarfs. He was sure of that. He suspected the dwarfs knew something had changed just slightly with the village patterns, specifically how he and Cecile were being trained. Luckily, he was able to keep the humans in the dark. He had made Cecile go to the root fields that day, convinced him it was for some extra strength training, but they had stayed the entire day. He had wanted it to be convincing. His brother was just too trusting. He was sure that was why their mother had given him the book for safekeeping. He had the only complete copy of the history of their people, and now it would survive outside of their village. He deeply missed his parents, but this had been the right move, no matter how much it hurt to be away from them. He did have to concede at least one point in Cecile¡¯s favor. Without Dave, there is no way they¡¯d have ever had a chance to free their world. His brother had made the right move there. ¡°Looks like that egg thing is probably what we need to take to the end of this. Get your hoe ready. I can already tell this place is full of monsters,¡± Elicec said. His class ability for spotting long-range combatants had kicked in the moment the door had shut behind them. There were at least two dozen in his range. Cecile When he had told Eliecec they needed to help the human, his brother had been strongly against it. But he knew that their dad would have expected them to, and he would not let that man¡¯s ideals down. If you didn¡¯t help those in need, how could you ever call yourself worthy of being a Twinog champion? Cecile had long ago made a promise to himself not to be corrupted by anything outside his village, and he knew that ignoring someone like Dave would have been the first step down that path. ¡°Hey you doing okay?¡± he had first yelled to the slumped-over figure and gotten no response other than Elicec sighing. ¡°Come on, you gotta get up. If one of the guards catches you on the ground, they¡¯ll make you start the line all over,¡± he tried saying again, worried the man might have run out of food in these lines. Their dad had made sure they were prepared. The stranger had briefed them on that the week before they had left. The journey through the lava gorge had been terrifying at first, it was further down than they had ever been before, and while their great-grandfather had told them stories about the depths, it hadn¡¯t remotely prepared them for the noises when they slept. The first night, they had found a cool cave with a small pond. Elicec had warned against drinking anything they found down here, something about weird gas contamination, but that wasn¡¯t the part of the memory that had left the nightmares. It was the twisted scream of what sounded like a baby Twinog followed by loud crunching sounds and the beating of massive wings as something flew near their cave. Neither of them had slept that night. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He pushed down that memory and drew his hoe as Elicec had asked. His brother might be a bit grumpier than him, but he was a good leader. He was glad the others had seen that so quickly. An alert flashed in his mind as he turned the hoe into a scythe. !raqqashino row 1, #7 damaged by burrowing creature Apparently, something had managed to get into the garden and munch on one of the raqqashino plants. He¡¯d have to check into that when they got back. Elicec He had never told Cecile about what happened in that lava gorge they had gone through the first night, and hopefully, he would never have to. That was where the dwarfs left the Twinog young that they thought they had no use. The ones who hadn¡¯t quite matured the way they were supposed to, or if they had found some other defect they didn¡¯t like. Luckily, their village had managed to avoid that kind of treatment so far, as their harvests had been high enough for long enough that the dwarfs hadn¡¯t directly stepped in on that level. But he knew one day it would happen. He had read the book. His mother had managed to escape from a village where that was routine. The third day of their trip had nearly been a disaster. There was a lava elemental blocking their path, and as far as they could find, it was the only way through. Cecile, though, managed to convince the creature to let them pass. All it took were a couple of mushrooms from the surface, and it moved aside like they were all friends. This was Cecile¡¯s strength, and he knew that. His brother had an innate kindness that he could never match, and even if sometimes he thought it would lead them astray, he would never ask the man to get rid of it. That kindness was the reason they had a chance to save their world. Had Elicec had his way, they¡¯d have continued in the line, ignoring Dave¡¯s plight, and probably have died on the first floor of the Arena. After the gorge, they descended even further underground into the darkzones that Twinoges rarely ventured into. None of the villages had any first-hand experience that far down, but some of the elders had said their parents had once gone into the depths during a great storm. All they knew was that few who had gone had returned. They didn¡¯t sleep for either of the two days they were down there, choosing to press through as quickly as they could in search of the man their father had entrusted them to. ¡°Cecile duck!¡± Elicec yelled as two bolts of lightning flashed down the tunnel toward them, freeing him of his memories. It looked like something down there was just as aware of them as they were of it. The Twinogs began to charge down the path toward their new enemies. Cecile Cecile pulled his head down just as Elicec yanked their body under the blast. He had heard the rush of the attack but hadn¡¯t seen it as fast as his brother. They charged down the path ahead, quickly dispatching the weird, elongated things flying around the room that were firing off blasts of electricity. They managed to jolt them both a few times, but it was nothing too serious. Cecile hoped none of the creatures had been real. It wasn¡¯t like the corrupted creatures in dungeons, or the mutated monsters of various planets. These had just seemed like animals outside of their normal environment. That was why he had been so glad when they found the man in the underground. It meant they didn¡¯t have to risk fighting anything else down there that was just trying to survive. Elicec He was surprised at how easily the air eels had gone down. They really were getting impressively strong the longer they were in Dave¡¯s squad. He felt bad for trying to talk Cecile out of sticking with Dave in the Archives. When Cecile had first suggested bringing him to the dungeon Elicec had thought it was a terrible idea and made that as clear as he could, especially as Dave still didn¡¯t have a core. In the end, though, he had relented, and there was a good chance they wouldn¡¯t have survived that first encounter if he hadn¡¯t. This was a big part of why he had decided to stick so strongly with Dave. Cecile had been entirely right about the man, and he agreed that following him back to his home was the correct move. Now Cecile had his garden, larger than they ever would have had even if they survived the Arena at this stage of their development, and he had access to both Mel and Elody to learn from. One day, they would return to Hrorpia and free all their people. He was sure of that now. Cecile¡¯s optimism had finally infected him.
When the moment comes to act, you generally only have one chance to make real change in the Spiral. You can never know if the people with you are really ready for what that entails until it happens, either. That means it¡¯s entirely possible that when you stand up to make that change, you do so alone. And either way, the choice has been made, and while you may fail, it is entirely likely someone else will get that same chance in the future, but you won¡¯t be around to see it. Do not consider your sacrifice worthless, as you will be their inspiration. The introduction to the code of ethics of the Paladins of Liberty Chapter 116: Floor Eight: Maud, Corey, Glorp Maud Maud wasn¡¯t sure what to make her new life. It was somehow both her favorite dream and worst nightmare. She was glad her parents hadn¡¯t been alive to see it. Sure, she had gotten some of her wildest wishes fulfilled; she could do magic. She was off in another world, competing in something she didn¡¯t entirely understand. She was surrounded by all kinds of fantasy races. John had even reunited with his dad. But the world had been nearly destroyed in the process. So many people had been killed, and so many more were going to die before they got everything working to feed the planet. Her dad had spent a lot of his life doing logistics for both public and private places, and it was a nightmare. Supply chains, when they broke, could cause catastrophic effects worldwide, and this was beyond a simple break. This was a complete destruction. She also knew there wasn¡¯t anything she could currently do about it, and that was why she kept up the positive front. John didn¡¯t need her to be sad; he had plenty of that on his own, and somehow, for the first time in a long time, he was starting to come out of that. So that meant she was fun Maud. Not that fun Maud was some construct. She was always there, lurking below the surface. Professional Maud was the fake one, the one the world demanded to see. She much preferred fun, Maud, and now she got to live that life at the expense of so many others. She didn¡¯t remotely consider the trade-off worth it, but she couldn¡¯t change what had happened. She could grow, learn, and make sure it didn¡¯t happen again, though. She had heard all about the Twinoge''s homeworld and fully intended to help them free it when the time came. And poor Glorp and his siblings would need help there, too, and Alex would need a ton of help with the baby. Yep, there were plenty of things Maud needed to help everyone with, and she would make sure she did them all. What was she forgetting? Oh, she had to help the Jritotle. She had no idea what that would actually be, but she¡¯d do that too. These thoughts racing across her brain had distracted her from the chamber. That was why, when Corey called for help, she¡¯d raced after them. Her mind had just been occupied elsewhere, so she went into autopilot. Corey needed help; Maud was helping. Luckily, by the time she¡¯d reached the new chamber, most of the monsters were already dead, but she¡¯d managed to take out another herself. She was glad that Dave hadn¡¯t been upset with her about that. She still didn¡¯t fully know what to make of the man. John had told her some stories from his youth, and he seemed nice, but there was also a lot of pain in John around the divorce, so for now, his feelings would be her priority if there was any conflict between John and his dad again. She hoped there wouldn¡¯t be, but she wasn¡¯t great at understanding interpersonal things like that. Give her animals any day. Those were the easy ones to figure out. In the next room, she managed to pay attention to everything and follow Dave¡¯s lead. Until the giant rabbit had popped out of the ceiling, and she leaped back in terror. The nightmares of the giant carnivorous rabbits played out in her memory. How had they known about her dreams? As scared as she was, she still managed to hit it with two blasts of lightning and watched as it crashed to the ground, now a shapeless blob of goo. ¡®Uh, what was that?¡± she asked, confused. ¡°Looked like a weird scorpion to me,¡± Dave answered. ¡°It looked like a void to me. I believe it based its shape on some sort of perception field of the person that saw it,¡± Corey added. ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s why it was a giant rabbit. God, I hate those,¡± Maud said, forcing her smile back on and spotting a weird look on Dave¡¯s face at her words. She decided it was best not to elaborate and started off after Corey slowly. Corey Corey still didn¡¯t know what to make of its existence. They knew regret now. They were sure that was the proper term. Why had they ever tried to take Dave¡¯s body? Even in its earlier madness, the violation of such an act filled them with a deep hatred for its own kind. Had Corey never met Traveler, they weren¡¯t sure if they would ever trust any other cores. Dave, though, was interesting. Dave presented something new for Corey. Dave was a friend, and that was something they didn¡¯t fully understand, but it meant a possibility for growth and change. It also meant the possibility of helping more of its kind awaken and learn about this world without the madness they had felt. Corey was happy about this future. Corey was reasonably sure of what this would entail when it came to Dave¡¯s core and damaged mana channels, but that was fine. They had been prepared for that possibility all along. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The fact that Dave trusted them enough to be willing to even consider it filled them with a sensation they had trouble understanding. Was it purpose? They hoped Traveler would arrive soon to discuss these oddities. Glorp Glorp had his plan. It was simple: the moment the path opened up, he¡¯d grab whatever he had to grab and race to the end of the line, and then he¡¯d start checking on the others. That moment happened with a loud slamming sound behind him. Instantly, he saw an egg as a passage opened before him. The noise of the opening slamming shut had been like a starting pistol for him as he took off at top speed. The egg disappeared into his storage without him stopping. By the time the first monsters had realized he was there, he was two chambers past them. Onwards, he ran, his speed building ever more as he went. As long as he didn¡¯t stop, he could keep going faster; well, as long as his body could handle the damage from the atmosphere at that speed, but his stats were improving there, too. One day, there would be no speed beyond his ability to handle. Within minutes, he had found the end of his path, and in the center was a raised platform with a spot for each of the eggs and five other passages off the room. He quickly dropped his egg into the first spot, scratched a marker on the passage he had come from, and ran down the one to its right. Someone was down here, and they may need his help. He was only partially right, as he quickly found Rabyn. The orc was maybe a tenth of the way through but looked completely fine. Strangely, he was smiling. ¡°Need any help?¡± Glorp asked as he skidded to a stop in front of the man. ¡°I do not, but good thinking. Try to find Dave. He may be the most in need of assistance,¡± Rabyn said. ¡°Got it,¡± Glorp replied, turning around and running back to the hub, turning down the next path to the right. He was over the moon that Rabyn had approved of his idea. He wasn¡¯t sure if the more trained people would agree, but so far so good. ¡°Glorp, is that you?¡± Elody¡¯s voice called from down the passage, somehow hitting him before he could see her, but only a split second before. He forced himself to a stop before responding. ¡°Yep, need any help?¡± He asked. She didn¡¯t appear to, but he wanted to be sure. ¡°No, please continue on. I will be fine,¡± she said with a smile, all of her eyes focused on him. He could feel something from the top set but didn¡¯t know what to make of it. Instead, he nodded and ran for the next path. This time, he found Connie much further along than the other two had been, dancing her way across the ground. She shooed him away before he even had a chance to ask if she needed any help, but the giant smile on her face told him she meant well. Back he went again, and only two choices left. ¡°Ugh,¡± he heard Maud¡¯s voice yell out down this passage as he ran. This had been the right one, finally, and it sounded like they needed him. He pushed himself on with a new burst of speed, burning half of his mana pool to do it, and was glad he did when he spotted Dave, Maud, and Corey further down the path, around a bend. Corey was on the ground unmoving, while Dave was hitting a rock creature with his fists as it held Maud aloft. Instead of reducing his speed, he pulled out one of his new daggers and pushed himself forward, holding it in front of him. He felt the impact in his bones as his speed finally dropped, but not enough to save the monster. Glorp had rocketed through it; his dagger shattered as it pushed out the other side, but that didn¡¯t matter as the creature crumbled to rubble behind him. Glorp¡¯s speed burst had cost him a lot, and his breaths were coming in heavy gasps, but he had gotten here before the worst had happened, and that was what mattered. ¡°Hi guys,¡± he said between pants. ¡°Good timing, man,¡± Maud said as she pushed herself back to a standing position. ¡°Yeah, that could have gone very poorly. The creature had managed to drain some of my mana, which was enough to down Corey, and Maud just wasn¡¯t ready for something like this,¡± Dave said, smiling at Glorp. ¡°No problem, took me forever to find you, though. I¡¯ll stick with you til we get to the end; the least I can do considering my family is safe now,¡± Glorp replied, returning the smile, and incredibly glad to have found them. The rest of the passage was slow going, at least by Glorp¡¯s standards, with the other two beside him. Corey had to be returned to Dave¡¯s storage for now. At least there weren¡¯t any other difficult monsters hiding around the corridors. The few that were left were easily dispatched. Glorp figured that that one had to have been the scary thing in the passage, and they had just had the bad luck to find it first. As the exit came into sight, a giant creature roared from the final hub room.
Are mana orbs actually unique? While categorizing their types and sources is commonplace, it is often done in ways that are mostly nonsensical because people are continuously determined to put a square peg into a square hole despite other shapes fitting just as well. I question how useful these distinctions actually are. Mana orb growth can often unlock paths that seem as though and sometimes do fit within the growth paths of other orbs. Someday, I may move my studies there as well, but for now, cores are far more interesting. Karlinovo, when asked the difference between mana sources and mana types during a lecture. Chapter 117: Floor Eight: A New Challenger Approaches Not that I had ever really doubted our decision to save Glorp, but if I had the moment he showed up and returned us the favor with a save from the monster that had gotten the drop on me and disabled Corey, I would have doubted no more. Thanks to his help getting to the end our path was no longer in doubt. Sure, it was slow going, at least by what I assume had become his view of traveling, but he made no complaints as we got through it. The near-ruinous experience we had had cemented in my mind another decision. Once we returned to Earth, I was going to need to get to work on improving my bond with Corey. I had some ideas, and oddly, the changes to my soul-core reaction likely would make it safer to place them within my own socket system, but I was still worried about a potential backlash. I pulled up the chat window as we walked down an empty hall.
>Dave: Corey, do you have enough energy back to read this? >Corey: I do, but only barely. I do not think I am able to fight again yet. >Maud: :( >Dave: Once we are finished with this floor, I think we are going to have to move ahead on some of the planned experiments. >Corey: Understood. I believe I can help control your mana channels as well as your flows that way. >Dave: Perfect. >Maud: :)
I closed out the chat window after the brief discussion just in time to hear the roar of something up ahead. ¡°Huh, that wasn¡¯t there before,¡± Glorp said nervously. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked, worried if we could handle a big boss in our current state. Neither Rabyn or Mel had mentioned anything like that at the end. ¡°Going to need some help out here. This is a big one!¡± Rabyn¡¯s voice shouted from somewhere near the monster. ¡°Coming!¡± both Maud and Glorp yelled in return. We were near the end now, so it wouldn¡¯t be that big of a deal if either of them fell in the fight, well, other than what happened to the egg Glorp was carrying. I hoped he¡¯d drop it. How much mana did he have left anyway? He had done a ton of high-speed running already, and that had to be draining. I carefully crept closer to the exit of the passage we were in, following behind a much faster Maud and Glorp. I preferred to stay hidden. I just wanted to be close enough to see the fight, if possible. The trick was doing it without drawing the creature¡¯s attention, as I was in no place for that. God, I hoped that wouldn¡¯t be true on the next floor. I hated this feeling of helplessness. So many of these people were in this mess because of me, and now I couldn¡¯t even help them in a fight. There was what looked like a stereotypical dragon in the room, except bright yellow and moving faster than Glorp could, back and forth across the room. The feeling in my stomach at my own uselessness grew as I watched Rabyn¡¯s knives sink into walls and not their target. Glorp was managing to land several of his own daggers into its flesh, but he also looked to be slowing. ¡°Maud, stay behind me! Glorp, come grab these!¡± Rabyn yelled as the creature¡¯s tail swept across the room, trying to catch Glorp. He had produced several glowing kitchen knives that immediately disappeared as a blur moved across the room. ¡°Dear dragon, what brings you here without so much as a sheep? Did we wake you from your sleep? Shall we make you weep?¡± Connie¡¯s voice suddenly echoed across the room with the rhyming lyrics. I wouldn¡¯t call it a work of great poetry, but whatever she was doing seemed to be affecting the dragon. It was slowing down enough for Glorp to deliver more of the daggers. Rabyn even managed to catch it with a throw of his own. It roared again, this time releasing a blast of fire from his mouth. The lyrical rhymes ceased. I didn¡¯t think it had taken Connie out, but it had at least stopped her debuffs for the time being, as Rabyn¡¯s next attack again missed. Several blasts of lightning filled the chamber, far more than the creature¡¯s speed could hope to dodge. Cecile and Elicec must have arrived. We just needed Elody now. A large scythe, somehow now the size of the dragon, swept out, catching its body and eliciting a howl from the creature. It only stayed that large just long enough for the blow. How much had that cost Cecile for a single attack? Whatever it was, was worth it as it had bought Connie time to resume her rhyme scheme, stealing away more of the dragon¡¯s speed. The familiar chat window grabbed my attention from the fight.
>Corey: Dave, I believe your pool has recovered enough for me to join the battle. I will not risk the use of any magical abilities unless absolutely necessary. >Dave: Perfect, get out there and mallet some dragon. >Corey: Understood
I closed the chat box and returned my focus to the battle as Corey began their own assault. The slowed dragon wasn¡¯t able to escape the repeated strikes to its head as its focus was on trying to stop Rabyn¡¯s knives and Connie¡¯s chanting. Several gleaming silver arrows sparkled into my view, hitting it across the face. That meant Elody had joined the battle. I smiled comforted in the knowledge that we had all come through our paths. ¡°Elody, Rabyn, keep between Connie and its attacks!¡± Elicec yelled, taking charge of the battle. ¡°Corey, Glorp, keep hammering away at it. Maud, just stay alive!¡± He followed up on his orders with another blast of power. This time, icicles rained down onto the dragon¡¯s back. It reared up and let loose another breath of fire across them all. Elody said something I couldn¡¯t make out over Connie¡¯s voice, and suddenly, a wall of ice appeared in front of them, taking the whole blast. At the same time this happened, Glorp managed to get a knife straight down the creature¡¯s throat, barely dodging the fire himself. Glorp crashed to the ground, breathing hard. He looked spent. His effort appeared to be rewarded, though. The dragon began to cough. Then it began to writhe. Its scales started to glow a brilliant blue a split second before its form collapsed in on itself with a horrifying scrunching of a sound. What was left of it crashed to the ground, very much dead. What the hell had Glorp done? Was that one of Rabyn¡¯s weapons? The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Everyone eggs now!¡± Rabyn yelled, dashing toward the center platform and placing his next to the one that was already there. So Glorp had already placed his? Guess I had worried for nothing then. I quickly joined everyone else as we slid our eggs into their spots. ¡°Any idea where the dragon came from?¡± I asked after placing my egg. ¡°I have a suspicion, but we will need to wait until the floor officially ends to confirm it,¡± Rabyn answered. That moment happened just after Elody added her own egg last.
Combatants Defeated
Speed Dragon X1 1E11 Experience
Experience Gained 1e11 Points
Arena Bonuses
Floor 8 Cleared 1.28E11 Experience
Experience Gained 2.28E11 Points
Multipliers Applied
No Armor x1.1
No Weapon x1.1
Unoccupied Squad Positions x128
Yellow Speed Dragon Unlocked x10
Total Experience Gained 3.531264E14 Points
The black hallway came back into view, as did the door at the end. Another floor was completed. If only I could have been more of a help. That was going to change the moment we returned home. With Corey on board, it was only a matter of figuring out the process. I was sure I could do it. It felt like it was something my core affinity wanted me to do, strangely enough. There was almost a pull like I was heading in the right direction. I wasn¡¯t sure that meant I should listen to it, but I had already come far enough on my own that I believed it was the right move. ¡°Should I have gained all these levels?¡± Maud asked loudly, the joy entirely back in her voice. ¡°Yes, if you want to discuss your development wait until we return home, but you are free to guide it any way you choose,¡± Elody answered, looking relaxed herself. Considering the dragon they had just fought I was a bit surprised at her expression. Had she enjoyed the floor? We filed out of the hallway back into our private waiting room to find the same people still waiting for us, Floor Master included. ¡°Ah, good, Floor Master, I am glad you are still here. Before we leave, we have several arena prizes we¡¯d like to turn in. I also found this. Do you know what it is?¡± Rabyn asked, producing a silver coin ¡°Strange, I do not. You should hold onto that while I investigate it. As for your other prizes I will have them sent to your home. Two of them are a bit large to hand out here, and the other will take time to prepare and I imagine you have no desire to wait around,¡± Floor Master answered. I wanted to know what the coin was that Rabyn had found, but that could wait until we returned and there were fewer possible eyes and ears around. ¡°Thank you. Also that dragon at the end, what caused that?¡± Rabyn replied with another question. ¡°Ah yes, that is something added to the floor when someone clears a certain speed threshold. It is rarely seen, and the one you fought was one of the least of them, but congratulations on beating it nonetheless; it is a good way to cap off your day,¡± Floor Master answered. So Glorp¡¯s speed had triggered a secondary defense. That made some sense, as anyone with any sort of speed build could finish the floor nearly instantly without something like that in place. How hard were the stronger ones? And how rare were true speed paths? ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get outta here before we end up with any new problems fer once. Got work to do back home,¡± Mel said, ushering us toward the porter.
I am aware of Karlinovo¡¯s work yes. And no, I do not consider the man an expert on anything. I do not care what people claim he has accomplished. I taught the man I am entirely aware of his shortcomings as a scholar. He finds holes where there are none. He refuses to practice the fundamentals. His time would be much better served working to understand the rarer mana orbs than to try and force more of them into a person¡¯s core. It¡¯s an insane experiment that can only lead to his own destruction. Henjen Klank¡¯s interview on his former student Chapter 118: Surprises & Preparations ¡°So what¡¯s being delivered from those prizes anyway?¡± I asked. I had no real idea what they could contain, considering that the orcs had apparently won Earth as a level one prize. It seemed likely the prizes could be just about anything. ¡°Hard to say, but if we get lucky, we might get some special equipment,¡± Rabyn answered as he walked to a picnic table that hadn''t been there when we¡¯d left and took a seat. The porter had only vanished moments before I¡¯d asked my questions, so everyone was still gathered in the front yard of the cabin. Rabyn and Glorp both looked exhausted and considering they¡¯d spent the longest fighting the dragon, not counting Maud, who always somehow looked chipper, I wasn¡¯t surprised. ¡°Could also be a lotta nothing. Some of those prizes ain¡¯t worth the name, but hopefully, we get a little lucky here,¡± Mel added. ¡°So that was a lot of fun. Terrifying but fun. I promise I¡¯ll go over this level stuff later. Right now, I gotta go find John and tell him all about it,¡± Maud said, running off. ¡°Speaking of that, how can she? How does that Arena oath you told me about work?¡± I asked, confused, I had meant to ask earlier, but it hadn¡¯t been the most important of topics. ¡°Dave has a point. Why haven¡¯t they put us back under that yet?¡± Rabyn asked, backing me up. I liked it even less that he didn¡¯t know the answer. ¡°Honestly, don¡¯t know, don¡¯t like it neither,¡± Mel answered, looking unhappy at the thought. ¡°Well, in the case of Dave, he won¡¯t be put under it. Good luck making it stick to me, either. It could just be a matter of why waste the effort. Dave is going to tell everyone everything anyway. The judge knows this faction isn¡¯t anything you¡¯d call average,¡± Pryte spoke up, adding some good points. I¡¯d forgotten that faction leaders didn¡¯t generally get that. ¡°Oh good, glad I heard you all over here. That explains what¡¯s going on around back,¡± Trolke called, appearing from the side of the house. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked in return. ¡°Got a delivery of a greenhouse, some weird tree, and a mana battery,¡± the giant answered. It seemed like at least two of those prizes were for Cecile. The mana battery, though, sounded interesting. I hoped it meant it could be used to store mana, as I could see ways that would help with my future experimentation. ¡°What kind of tree?¡± Cecile asked with all the excitement of a toddler, exactly what I had expected from him during times of joy. ¡°Some kind of fruit tree. Couldn¡¯t get a good read on the wood type either; haven¡¯t had that happen in a while,¡± Trolke answered. I figured that meant his class generally let him understand building materials pretty well, which would make sense. ¡°Well, what are we waiting for?¡± Cecile said, pulling his brother into a run toward the other side of the house. I shrugged and went after him, not bothering to see if anyone else joined us. On the other side of the house was a large tree lying flat on the ground. I¡¯d been expecting a sapling. I glanced behind me to see who else had come along to see their reactions, and Mel, Pryte, and Elody had joined us. Elody walked over to the tree and started to examine it beside Cecile. ¡°Where¡¯s the greenhouse?¡± Pryte asked, only to be handed what looked like a miniature dollhouse version of one by the giant. ¡°Cecile, where do you want this? It¡¯s likely a good idea to get this up today if it does what I think it does,¡± Pryte asked. ¡°Oh, uh, put it around the Glornials,¡± he answered, pointing to a field. Pryte seemed to know where he was going even without the pointing. As soon as he placed the small greenhouse in the center of the crop field, a much larger version popped into existence, Pryte standing in the center. He walked out smiling. ¡°Yep, this should be great. The mana battery inside is going to help get these plants going much faster,¡± Pryte said, with Cecile nodding as he looked at the tree. ¡°I don¡¯t know what this is, Cecile,¡± Elody finally said, looking up from the tree. ¡°Me either, isn¡¯t it great?¡± He replied, beaming from ear to ear. ¡°I do, and ain¡¯t got a clue what to make of it,¡± Mel said, staring at the tree in what I could only describe as awe. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°What is it?¡± Cecile asked, turning back to the floating man. ¡°It¡¯s a pristine cloudwood tree. I didn¡¯t think there were any left,¡± Mel said, bobbing over to the trunk and running a hand over it. ¡°Well, better get it planted then. I¡¯ll secure some cuttings from it as soon as I think it¡¯s safe. We will want to make sure it isn¡¯t lost again,¡± Cecile replied, seemingly catching onto how important this tree was to Mel. ¡°Does it have any special needs that Cecile won¡¯t be aware of, Mel?¡± Elody asked. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know, ain¡¯t seen one in a long time,¡± Mel answered, sounding distant. ¡°Alright, the more important question is, where are we planting it?¡± Trolke asked, looking to Cecile and then to Mel. ¡°Follow me. I¡¯ve got the right spot, I think,¡± Cecile said, guiding the giant. ¡°Any chance I can see the three of you in the garage for a private talk? I¡¯ve some plans that I want to run by you,¡± I said, not sure if Mel could be broken from his current state or not. ¡°Of course,¡± Pryte answered, and I spotted a nod from Elody. ¡°Mel, if you want to stay out there, that¡¯s fine,¡± I said. He still didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Best let him have a moment. I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s from the Floating Empire, and there isn¡¯t a lot of stuff left from there. The System seems to have sent this as a very personal gift to him, and I don¡¯t know what that means,¡± Pryte said as he opened the back door of the garage and walked in. Elody and I followed after, letting Mel have his moment, as Pryte had called it. ¡°So, uh, anyone know anything about putting a dungeon core into your soul-core reactor?¡± I asked after closing the door behind us. I tried and failed to keep the nervousness out of my voice as I finally said the words I had been thinking for so long out loud. If this were remotely possible I needed Corey to move from the mallet directly into my internal systems. ¡°Ah, so you¡¯ve finally decided on that course of action. I suspected that was a path you were likely to pursue once I learned about Corey. Are they also okay with this?¡± Elody asked, looking intently at me. All four of her eyes were wide. ¡°Yes, and after the Jester incident, they¡¯ve certainly gained my trust entirely there,¡± I answered. ¡°I suppose the most important question here is, do you think you can actually do it? Sure, there are plenty of people working with dungeon cores, but I don¡¯t know of any directly attached to their core like yours will be. Will you even be able to act individually after this?¡± Pryte asked, seeming to also be studying me. ¡°I suspect they would be able to. This isn¡¯t actually totally unheard of. Consider a dungeon core actually possessing a person entirely or even a strong mana beast. It¡¯s not dissimilar, and there have been at least two cases I know of where they formed more of a symbiotic relationship instead of one dominating the other entirely,¡± Elody said. One of her eyes had changed color as it stared at me. ¡°Did either of those cases already have their own core, or did the dungeon core take the place of it within the soul-core reaction?¡± Pryte asked. I was glad to see I at least found the right people for this conversation, even if I was likely going to do it no matter the outcome of the talk, barring a guaranteed failure. ¡°I don¡¯t know. As you know, records on odd cases are generally kept away from the public. The larger factions prefer to keep those secrets to themselves,¡± Elody answered, annoyance clear in her voice. ¡°So, what¡¯s the final word here? We can argue about this all day, but do you both think it¡¯s possible?¡± I asked, wanting a decision here so I could start really figuring out how to go down the process. ¡°If you think you can do it, I¡¯m not against it. I assume this is a potential solution for the damage to your mana channels?¡± Pryte asked. ¡°Yes, it would likely fix that, as well as dramatically increase his channeling speed. All those switches he uses to avoid socket overloads could be swapped much faster using Corey¡¯s capacity,¡± Elody said, backing up thoughts on it. ¡°I want to do it, and I think I can do it without any serious backlash. I have a few ideas, but I¡¯m going to need to have some discussion with Corey and another core we¡¯ve been working with. I¡¯m hoping that core can replace Corey in my mallet. Assuming they can, I think the key to adding Corey to my core will be a core fortification,¡± I said. That was my guess, at least. I thought that if I forced Corey into my system, as though they were trying to take over my soul, and triggered the fortification it had a real chance of bonding them into my core itself. ¡°That¡¯s a very good idea. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d have even considered it, but that might be able to bypass the energy issues. I don¡¯t think your core grade will increase, but I assume you don¡¯t care about that part,¡± Elody said, all of her eyes now different colors and rapidly scanning over my person. ¡°I do not, but it will require a few more simulation runs, and I won¡¯t really be able to fight in them, so I¡¯ll have to work out other possibilities for cheating them,¡± I said. I had a few ideas, but I would need to be careful about how hard I pushed. We didn¡¯t have any extra mana potions sitting around to help me this time.
The cloudwood forests of the Floating Empire were one of the most beautiful sights ever seen within the Spiral. Their loss is something that cannot be truly understood unless you actually experienced them in their prime. It is with a heavy heart that I must remove their entry from this guide. I do not know that I will ever find something as majestic to fill the void their destruction has left. In my dreams, I find myself floating again in their serenity once more. 10,000,000 Things to See in the Spiral Chapter 119: Path of the Soul After that conversation, Pryte and Elody left me alone to do my own planning. Pryte wanted to check on the new equipment and make sure that Mel was doing all right. Elody had promised Maud that she¡¯d give her some advice on her leveling situation. This meant that I was able to consider a few things I hadn¡¯t tried yet. For one thing, could I bring Corey into the simulations with me? They didn¡¯t seem to count as another person, and we were linked, but I wasn¡¯t sure if that would extend to the actual skill or not. After some thought on it, I decided the first course of action would be asking their opinion and brought up the chat window.
>Dave: How much of my skills are you able to see these days? >Corey: I can see your entire ability list, though I can only take direct control of the imbuing orb without your permission currently. >Dave: Good to know. What do you think would happen if I tried to trigger a simulation with you as part of it? >Corey: As long as I am attached to your channels, I believe the System will see me as part of you. I cannot say that for certain, but I believe it will allow me into your simulation. >Dave: Alright, so I guess we can¡¯t do much more without a test. Ready to give that a shot once I¡¯m prepared? >Corey: Yes.
I closed out the chat window and debated the best way to do this. I already knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to fight, basically at all. I also needed the use of my shield orb to even have any chance at this. Luckily, at least in theory, Corey would be able to use it normally if I swapped it to the mallet. While we couldn¡¯t be sure this was true, the only way to actually be sure would be to try it. So that was the step one in my preparations. Carefully, I withdrew the imbuing orb from the mallet¡¯s head and swapped it with the shield orb in my own socket, then added the shield orb back to the mallet. I then pulled back up the chat window.
>Dave: Are you able to access the shield orb? >Core: Yes, but as with the imbuing orb, while my utilization of it will block any accidental regulation issues to your other sockets, it will still bleed far more mana through your broken channels on the way to me. >Dave: I know, but I¡¯m also not sure we have another option. Socketing you into my core might be the only feasible way to solve my dilemma. >Corey: I am not against it. I just wanted to make sure you also understood the potential risks. >Dave: I do. >Corey: Understood.
That was one problem out of the way. The next was deciding what modifiers I thought I could handle. I¡¯d need to reduce the number I¡¯d used before while also increasing the multiplier if possible. Or would I? Even if my channels were having issues, my core and soul were stronger. Basically, everything about my system, other than the channels themselves, were in a better position to do a big run. If Corey could come in with me, that also meant I could drop my own levels significantly. If that was the plan, though, I may as well invest them into my class as much as possible first, see what kind of extra defenses I could unlock against what I¡¯m about to do. Suddenly, I felt like I had several long-term plans and ideas, all building on each other for once, instead of feeling like I was constantly thrown into the deep end without knowing how to swim. My new reality was starting to fall into place in my mind. I was understanding how to build my class and other abilities. I checked my class status to learn what I had already known; I¡¯d ignited my soul, and that meant I had a whole new classpath to look at.
~Path of the Soul~ {0/1,000,000 Experience}
Path of the Soul is a journey of inner reflection. To truly understand a soul is to take control of the soul-core reaction itself.
{1,000,000/1,000,000 Experience}
The mysteries of the soul are those for one on the Path of the Soul to unlock. As the keys are discovered, so too will the soul be strengthened. As the infernos of the soul flame grow, what happens to the shell containing it? Can the reaction be sustained?
-Projection {0/10,000,000 Experience} | 2/5 Soul Separations |
-Fortitude {0/10,000,000 Experience} | 1/5 Soul Intrusions |
-Soulfire {0/10,000,000 Experience} | 1/1 Ignitions |
Interestingly, my soul separations had also increased. I figured that had happened when I¡¯d done the final ignition. I quickly unlocked soulfire, the experience cost at this point for it being incredibly negligible, and checked what the new items on the path were.
-\Soulfire\Soul Burst {0/25 Levels}
Allows the host to release a concentrated burst of soul energy. Further ranks in the skill allow for an increased chance of overwhelming the souls of those exposed to the burst, granting the host temporary and limited control over those affected.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
-\Soulfire\Soul Manipulation {0/50 Levels}
Allows the host to adjust their soul¡¯s flow into the soul-core reaction. Further ranks allow for a greater adjustment. Potential soul separation can occur if infusion rates are not properly aligned.
-\Soulfire\Soul Infusion {0/100 Levels}
Allows the host to combine their soul energy directly with their core energy when used in mana skills. Further ranks in this skill allow for a greater amount of soul mana to be intermixed with core mana safely.
While I wasn¡¯t against Soul Burst in the future, especially before the tenth floor, it wouldn¡¯t be overly useful at the moment. I briefly considered Soul Manipulation as a potential way to work around my problems, but I had a feeling, based on the warning, that cutting down the infusion rate would just weaken my core and do nothing for actually channeling the mana itself. That left Soul Infusion, which was easily the best of the three skills, in my opinion. However, it did make me question what would happen if I tried to mix the mana sources together without a high enough skill rank. Considering the damage my channels had already suffered recently, that was probably something best held off on for now, even if I was incredibly curious as to how much I could increase my healing abilities. I invested the levels, which was by far the most I had invested in my class up until now, and I felt an odd warmth in my core as I did so. Was that the class getting more powerful, or was my core somehow getting stronger from the investment into the class? Considering the direction that the levels were flowing, I assumed it had to be the class that was growing in strength, but I wasn¡¯t entirely sure. It was certainly something new to ask the others about later. Several new sub-routes opened up from there.
-\Soul Infusion\Body-Modification Mana {0/10 Levels}
Allows the host to use the Soul Infusion skill with both increased results and safety with body-modification orbs.
-\Soul Infusion\Elemental Mana {0/10 Levels}
Allows the host to use the Soul Infusion skill with both increased results and safety with elemental orbs.
-\Soul Infusion\Life Mana {0/10 Levels}
Allows the host to use the Soul Infusion skill with both increased results and safety with life orbs.
-\Soul Infusion\Imbuing Mana {0/10 Levels}
Allows the host to use the Soul Infusion skill with both increased results and safety with imbuing orbs.
-\Soul Infusion\Shield Mana {0/10 Levels}
Allows the host to use the Soul Infusion skill with both increased results and safety with shield orbs.
Those were more interesting to me in what their names implied than their immediate use. I fully intended to take them all. I just wouldn¡¯t be able to get the greatest use from them until I had my own channels working again. Then again, there was the soul energy that flooded into Corey and was currently lost anyway, that I might be able to use mixed with the shield orb. That led to me to unlocking Shield Mana for another ten levels and checking what I had gained there.
-\Shield Mana\Deeper Bond {0/10 Levels}
Allows the host to form a deeper bond with a mana orb, connecting their soul to it. The effects of this range from new mana skill pathways to reduced channeling stress and, finally, awakening. The loss of a soul-bonded mana orb is much more detrimental than the loss of a standard one. This feature may be unlocked multiple times, each time increasing the soul¡¯s bond to the orb.
Unlocked Count: 0
Did that just say I could potentially awaken a mana orb? I suppose it made some sense, considering dungeon cores generally grew from mana orbs. I just hadn¡¯t heard of anything like that, not that my knowledge was anywhere near complete on the subject, but it seemed like something even Karlinovo would have mentioned somewhere. I added that to the list of things I was going to have a conversation with Elody about before I moved on to my next simulation run. What would happen if I started awakening my mana orbs anyway? Could they be used to control more devices? Wait, just how far could I push that? If they were bonded to me and still counted as me, just what kind of force would I be able to unleash in the future? Dozens of possibilities flashed across my mind. Golems, mechs, and even just increasing my set of tools now all seemed closer. I needed to find Elody for this conversation now before anything slipped my mind. This was potentially a huge breakthrough in my future class features. With that in mind, I returned to the backyard just in time to watch the cloudwood tree being placed in its new home. It really was a beautiful plant now that I could see it in full.
Mana orb awakening is not something I recommend for those who haven¡¯t at least started walking the path of an archmage. Understanding the evolution of a mana orb is incredibly important before one begins to place part of their soul within it. Once a mana orb has been awakened, there is no going back, and if not properly guided, these orbs can quickly become monsters in their own right. Generally speaking, you are never going to hear anyone talk of this concept, as it¡¯s not a study publicly pursued anymore, and even teaching it to you both poses a great risk to myself, but someone needs to be capable of passing on the knowledge I¡¯ve learned. Segment of Thykle¡¯s letter of invitation to a singular seminar, sent to only Karlinovo and Henjen Klank Chapter 120: A Brief Break for Serenity All thoughts of having a quick conversation regarding my discovery became lost the moment the tree settled into its new spot. Its bark and leaves briefly shimmered before small clouds appeared around its upper branches. This was followed by a gentle breeze seeming to rise up from those clouds as the air itself changed. It was a subtle shift, and if I hadn¡¯t been running on high anxiety for so long, I wasn¡¯t sure I would have fully noticed it, but it was a welcome change. I closed my eyes for a moment and just breathed in this new sensation. Inhaling deeply, each breath of air came with the slightest smell of vanilla, and each exhale took some of my built-up stress with it. My heart rate slowed to a pace I hadn¡¯t forgotten was possible. The thoughts normally racing through my mind calmed slightly. I was able to just stand and relax, taking in the complete majesty of the tree that now stood in my yard. Now I understood why Mel had reacted the way he had. Something like this being lost to the many worlds of the Spiral was a travesty, and the return of it was something to celebrate. I had an idea, but first, I wanted Mel¡¯s permission for this one since this prize was clearly directed at him. I looked around for the cloud man, only to spot him floating near the top of the tree. He was drifting back and forth between the small clouds. ¡°Mel, how do you feel about the rest of the day just being a relaxing celebration?¡± I yelled loudly to him. ¡°Yeah, a party would be great. This is certainly something deserving of one!¡± Mel called down to me, still floating back and forth. This was yet another new side to the man. I pushed away the thoughts about potential problems with the tree being an Arena prize. For once, we were just going to enjoy the happiness in something. We¡¯d all spent far too long in a constant state of high stress. This was absolutely the kind of diversion we needed. The simulator could wait until tomorrow. Soon, Trolke had assembled several more picnic tables in the yard, and Rabyn had gone to work helping John prepare a meal. He¡¯d offered some of his special stocks for it, agreeing that a worthy cause for the use. I cleared off the long disused firepit and got it started. I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d ever gotten around to using it the entire time I¡¯d lived here. It was something you used with company, and I hadn¡¯t really had that until now. All around me, my family and friends had gathered. They were sitting, talking, and, most of all, enjoying themselves as the sweet scent of the air continued to grow increasingly pleasant throughout the day. I took a seat next next Glorp and his family, with Sanquar perched nearby. These newcomers were the people I so far knew the least, and there was no better time to change that. ¡°So, how are you guys and girls settling in? Do you like what you¡¯ve seen of Earth?¡± I asked, smiling at them, as Alex joined us with a plate full of food. I was glad to see she took eating for two to heart, which made me remember I still hadn¡¯t found a doctor for her yet. I¡¯d see what Pryte could do tonight before I let it be pushed out of my mind again. ¡°It¡¯s pretty different than what we¡¯re used to. Back on Mrasdentia, we didn¡¯t really have this much space. I mean, where we¡¯re sleeping is still kind of cramped, but you guys are working on that, but this whole outside, and the food, and everyone is so nice. Alex promised to read me a book tomorrow and everything,¡± one of Glorp¡¯s sisters said. ¡°Gorpila has been settling in very well. She and her older brother Glord just went on a small hiking trip with me this morning and quite enjoyed themselves,¡± Sanquar said. I understood what he was doing and greatly appreciated it. I would never have pulled their names out of my brain otherwise. ¡°Yep, tomorrow we start Caste as Dust, and then we¡¯re going to see if we can¡¯t get that abandoned car you guys found working again, though I think that one is going to be a bigger challenge,¡± Alex said, smiling at the kids. ¡°Where did you find the car?¡± I asked, curious as I hadn¡¯t seen one around, but I¡¯d also never done as much exploration of the forest as I thought I would when I moved out here. What had I even done in the years I¡¯d been out here alone? Had I really let my life slip that far into monotony? I knew the answer, of course. It was part of why my knees had failed so spectacularly early on. I¡¯d moved to the middle of nowhere and let myself slowly fade away. I looked around again at all the happy faces. I was glad that had changed, even if the cause of the change was so horrific. ¡°There¡¯s an old abandoned house a few miles away through the woods. I sometimes stay there during strong blizzards,¡± Sanquar answered. It made sense he¡¯d know the area pretty well. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°How long had you been out here before I showed up?¡± I asked the birdman. ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure, I didn¡¯t fully track the years often. I was considering the possibility of moving on shortly before your arrival, though. Warmer climates had started to call to me, but I decided to watch you for a while, especially after you helped from the wolf attack,¡± Sanquar answered. I¡¯d never actually known what had injured him. I¡¯d just come across him in my yard, bloodied, his wing looking broken. I was shocked when, in just a few months, he was up and flying around again. In hindsight, I probably should have realized something was off then, but I just wasn¡¯t any kind of ornithologist. ¡°Were you on the Earth the entire time you were banished?¡± Elody asked, pulling a chair up next to us. ¡°I¡¯m not actually sure of that. Some of my early recollections of my time here are hazy,¡± Sanquar answered. ¡°That is likely from whatever was done to your core. I¡¯m sorry we haven¡¯t found a way to help you yet,¡± Elody replied, her eyes studying Sanquar as they always seemed to do when she found something of interest. ¡°The System¡¯s quest is enough for now. The hope it has given me will see me through,¡± Sanquar said, bowing his head slightly before opening his beak and ripping into some of the meat on his plate. ¡°Well, since you¡¯re here Elody, might as well get some of my weird discoveries out the way,¡± I said. ¡°Yes, I was surprised to see your return. I expected you to spend the day in your simulator,¡± she replied. ¡°I was going to, but I discovered some interesting things in my class skills, and then, well, this tree was too important of an event to waste. We all deserve a nice night, and Mel looks on the verge of happy crying as far as I can tell, which is a strange sight on the man,¡± I said, glancing over to where Mel was rapidly talking to Timon, John, and Rabyn. ¡°Oh, what was that?¡± She asked, her eyes moving to me, clearly intrigued by my statement. Before I could answer, I spotted Gorpila whisper something to Alex, and they both burst out laughing softly. I shook my head, confused about just what I had missed. ¡°I seem to have the ability to awaken mana orbs. Is that something you¡¯ve ever heard of?¡± I asked, watching her intently, not that I thought I could catch her in a lie if she tried. It was more to gauge her reaction to any potential danger. ¡°I have not, though I can see how that would be plausible given what we know about dungeon cores,¡± she answered, the interest in her voice growing. ¡°Yeah, that was about where I was as well. I started exploring my Path of the Soul, and I think I¡¯m really starting to understand how I want to take this class now. What happens if I start placing awakened mana orbs or dungeon cores into devices I build?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, you¡¯ve seen some friendly dungeon cores working devices in the Archives, so it is entirely possible. I believe this will be a topic we should discuss with Traveler when they arrive. Unless you wish to pursue it already?¡± She asked. I did, but I wasn¡¯t sure I would really have time to push it that far yet, anyway. Getting my core ready for Corey was the priority right now. ¡°While I¡¯m tempted, I doubt I have time to fully push down that path already. just a curiosity for the future,¡± I said, turning my head as a new melody started to blanket out across our party. I spotted Connie high up on one of the cloudtree¡¯s branches, holding something similar to a flute to her lips and playing a hauntingly beautiful song. On a hunch, I looked back to Mel and found him bobbing along in rapt attention. ¡°What happened to his world?¡± I asked, turning back to Elody. ¡°It still exists, but all of its wonders were long since plundered. After the faction fell, it was basically sold off in pieces. I believe Mel was alive when it happened, and for him to find a piece of home so far away is something truly amazing, even if the repercussions of how this happened are worrying. I think it¡¯s safe to push that worry out of our minds for now and just enjoy the moment. You were right in your idea,¡± Elody explained, smiling at me. The rest of the night was spent eating, drinking, and surprisingly dancing, but that was mostly by Glorp¡¯s family and Maud, other than when she managed to drag John into it. Pryte had even promised me he would find someone to help with the pregnancy. All in all, the night was an amazing diversion and something I hoped we would find time to do more of in the future.
The olkerfins are a people who have long been in the Spiral. They aren¡¯t overly commonly found in newly integrated universes, but they shouldn¡¯t be considered rare, either. Superficially, they resemble both humans and elves, but one of their distinct features setting them far apart from either species are their second set of eyes, naturally attuned to the mana flows of the universe. This has often made them prized recruits for any trading faction wishing to capitalize on their abilities. The Varied Peoples of the Spiral by Krrtck Chapter 121: Back to the Simulator I woke up the next day without my usual sense of dread permeating my brain. It was a welcome change. From the lack of smells, it was possible I was even the first person awake. That meant it was a good time to go track down wherever Chip had slept last night and get an early start on my simulator plans. While I had no regrets at how we spent the day before I needed to get these runs done quickly, in case I needed to any sort of extended recovery time. We may only have two floors remaining, but we were running out of time to complete them. I found Chip asleep on a pile of children in the living room. Apparently, Glorp¡¯s siblings hadn¡¯t made it back to the bus after the party. Alex was asleep on the couch, a book resting on the floor nearby. Quietly whispering Chip¡¯s name, I managed to get his attention without waking anyone up. He dashed across the room and hopped on my shoulder as we made our way back to the garage, stopping briefly in the kitchen for some leftovers. It was better to do this on a full stomach and to have some food sitting nearby waiting for me once I finished a run. ¡°So, how are you enjoying Earth so far? Making some friends?¡± I asked Chip, not expecting any sort of real answer. I somewhat missed the days in the Archives when I would wake up to him sleeping on my chest, but I knew he had needed to spend a lot of his time helping Timon keep up the mana reserves for the bus, not to mention he seemed to love the cats, so I wasn¡¯t about to force him to spend the night with me in the garage. As expected, the only response I got from him was some chirps and stealing some of my breakfast. ¡°Glad you aren¡¯t hating it here, and thanks for being nice to the cats. I¡¯m sure John and Maud really appreciate it,¡± I said as I scratched him behind his ear, eliciting more happy chirping sounds. I finished up some breakfast and tossed a few more pieces to Chip before I felt ready to tackle the simulator again. My confidence in what I could handle modifier-wise had held strong, even after a brief discussion with Elody about my thoughts on it the previous night. She agreed the soul ignition was more likely to help me avoid a backlash than it was to make it worse. My body was now channeling soul mana directly, which should, in theory, make the conditions of my initial soul separation much harder to recreate. I pulled up a chat window, hoping it wouldn¡¯t wake Maud up. Was there a way I could send messages to Corey only? I¡¯d need to look into that in the future.
>Dave: How are you feeling this morning? Ready for this? >Corey: I feel normal. By this, I assume you mean you are ready for the simulator. >Dave: I do, and I am. >Corey: Understood, and I am also ready. >Dave: Perfect. Basically, once it starts just throw the shield up around us and keep putting it back around us until the simulation ends. I don¡¯t know if our chat will still work or not, so if I don¡¯t response to anything, assume that¡¯s what¡¯s going on. >Corey: Understood.
I closed the chat window and moved over to the full System interface Pryte had gotten us. It had been a while since I ran one of these. I opened up the menu, my anxiety still staying silent. I selected the full set of modifiers and started the simulation. Instead of my expected lava-filled wasp dungeon, I was greeted with a brand new warning menu. !WARNING! A DUNGEON CORE HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE SIMULATION !WARNING! System Override Simulation Injection In Progress Dungeon Simulation Regeneration In Progress Modifiers Disabled Starting I had no idea what had just happened. As the new simulation came into view, I found myself standing in a small room with a single square table and a chair on either side of it. Next to me was floating a black dungeon core. Was that Corey? If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Corey?¡± I asked out loud. ¡°Yes. This does not appear to be what you warned me to expect,¡± they answered. ¡°It¡¯s not. I have no idea what¡¯s going on,¡± I said, looking around in confusion. Beyond the table and chair, there was nothing else in the room. The walls looked like plain stone, and there were no doors or windows anywhere. The light in the room seemed to be coming from nowhere. Where were we, and how did we get out? ¡°My usual senses do not seem to be working correctly. Also, my expected connection to you seems weaker,¡± Corey said, floating away from me as they spoke. ¡°Ah, sorry. I apologize for the lateness. It¡¯s just been quite some time since anyone new has triggered that,¡± a new voice said. I turned my head back to the table to find what looked like a very old dwarf sitting in the seat furthest from me. Floating next to him was another dungeon core; this one, while still black had flecks of blue mixed with the yellow lines that seemed to float around the interior of it. ¡°Uh, who are you, and where are we?¡± I asked. Just because the dwarf was polite didn¡¯t mean we were safe, and considering they had hijacked my simulation run for this, I was already very much not happy with them. Wait, how had they even done that? Was it possible to hack the System like this? ¡°My name is Rorland, and my friend is Teral,¡± the dwarf said, pointing his head toward the dungeon core when he referred to his friend. ¡°As for where you are, that¡¯s a bit complicated. First, let me ask you a question. Why did you start a System replication effect with a dungeon core?¡± I considered not telling him anything, but as I seemed trapped in a world of his making, and more so because he had his own dungeon core partner, I decided honesty was likely the best policy at the moment. ¡°We are partners and are currently working towards growing our strength for future challenges.¡± ¡°So you consider this dungeon core an equal? Someone worthy of making their own choices?¡± Rorland asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked intently at me. ¡°I do,¡± I answered, unsure if my own declaration would be enough to convince the man. ¡°How about you child? How do you feel about this?¡± a second voice asked this one belonging to the Teral, the dungeon core next to Rorland. ¡°I am not sure I entirely understand the question or the purpose of what is happening here, but recently, I have found myself feeling a sense of purpose. I no longer feel the need to contain myself to something small, cocooning myself away from the world,¡± Corey answered. Had that been how Corey had felt originally? Was that why dungeon cores were drawn to creating their own lairs? Just to act as some sort of defensive measure against the harshness of the world they were awoken in? ¡°Good, that¡¯s a start, but I want to know more specifically how you feel about this person here. Do you enjoy working with them, or do you feel yourself more as a slave to their whims?¡± Teral asked. ¡°I do not consider myself a slave. Quite the opposite. I am grateful Dave has chosen to trust me as much as he has, considering in our first meeting, I attempted to enslave him,¡± Corey answered, floating closer to me. ¡°So you had a traumatic awakening then? I¡¯m sorry you experienced that, child. If I could secure our kind from that, I would,¡± Teral said. ¡°Okay, I really need someone to explain what¡¯s happening here. Corey and I are working on a tight deadline and this is a new distraction we don¡¯t need,¡± I said, getting annoyed with the lack of information. ¡°I¡¯m of the opinion we can make them initiates; what do you think, Teral?¡± Rorland asked, looking toward the dungeon core. ¡°Yes, I agree. It¡¯s refreshing to see someone new here, even if entirely unexpected. I second their initiation,¡± Teral said. ¡°Dave, you are in a special routine our order long ago snuck into an early version of the System. It triggers whenever anyone bonded with a dungeon core attempts to enter any sort of system-created environment the first time. It then alerts those of us high ranking enough to come and greet the newcomer. It¡¯s incredibly rare for anyone in the Spiral to make the kind of bond you have, and as it¡¯s generally anywhere from frowned upon to a death sentence depending on the type of connection and the faction involved, we like to find those we can and attempt to save them from such a fate,¡± Rorland explained. ¡°Great, that isn¡¯t exactly new information. I was well aware of how much the Spiral didn¡¯t like the type of path I was going down. It doesn¡¯t entirely explain why you have a secret order that cares enough to also interfere,¡± I replied. I didn¡¯t like the explanation he had given at all. It was one of those types of explanations that sounded like it was full of needed information without really giving anything. ¡°I¡¯m sorry; perhaps I can explain a bit more. For starters, you are the first new initiates in a few thousand years. Not that others likely haven¡¯t formed the needed bond. They just either never found a way to use the System in a way that would lead them to discover this hidden program, or more likely, they were killed. We maintain this routine to help each other stay safe and to better push ourselves to new heights,¡± Teral explained, adding onto Rorland¡¯s explanation in a way I found slightly more satisfactory. ¡°Look, not that I don¡¯t appreciate the warning, but I already knew this. Is there anything else I need to know? Or can I just be sent back to the normal simulation we wanted to run?¡± I asked. ¡°I understand your haste, but let us at least invite you to the next gathering,¡± Rorland said.
The System is not without its secrets. For one, who initially created it? The technology that would be required for such a massive undertaking, assuming it ever existed, has long since been lost to the Spiral. So how did it come into existence in the first place? But even ignoring that central mystery, within the seemingly infinite skills, the System supports are combinations that unlock whole new portions of access to different functions within it. While many have attempted to map out a full interface, no one has ever delved deep enough to truly get the full picture. Who how much is hidden within it? A Study into the System by IO