《The Forgotten Legacy》 Chapter 1 Fridays were generally a good day for Shaun, the same for everyone else that worked a 9 to 5 job, they indicated the end of the work week and the start of 2 days away from the city, not to mention the people in it. Shaun made a habit of leaving the moment his day was done every Friday and heading straight to his car, which had already been packed with all of his gear for a weekend out in the mountains. He had been doing this since the first week he started his job nearly two years ago. Sitting at his desk at work Shaun was watching the clock, it had just hit four o¡¯clock in the afternoon and nothing had been out of the ordinary for him so far, he had focused on his work all day. Working as an analyst wasn¡¯t the most exciting job in the world, he would pull together data on a company that his own was wishing to acquire, analyse said data and send to his manager the insights and findings for it to be passed up the chain for others to probably glance over or ignore completely, not that he minded. It was a job and it paid the bills. Just one more hour and I am free. Shaun thought to himself. His plans for the weekend, like he did most others, was going to involve some hiking through the mountains which were just a few hours north of the city and maybe even get in some rock climbing. He had always felt more comfortable being outdoors, being surrounded by trees rather than people which had always had an impact on the way he interacted with others. Shaun wouldn¡¯t call himself a loner, even though he really did prefer being alone, he just had a hard time connecting with people which lead to him purposely trying to blend into his surroundings rather than standing out. This wasn¡¯t hard for Shaun, although standing at 6 foot with short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes he still came across as average, forgettable even, thanks to purposefully not making eye contact with others and walking the other way when people approached him. ¡°Hey Shaun, hope the day has gone well. I have some good news for you.¡± Turning around Shaun saw Michael walking up to his desk. Michael was Shaun¡¯s boss and the complete opposite of him in almost every way. Michael was one of the most charismatic people he knew, always had a smile on his face and every time he spoke to you it was like speaking to a friend you had known your entire life. At over 6¡¯3 with dark hair, broad shoulders and a body that showed off hours being spent in the gym he always stood out in a room but never let this go to his head. He was a nice guy and a good boss but Shaun had trouble spending much time around him as people seemed to flock to him which in turn meant that they would inevitably be around Shaun. ¡°I am letting the team off early and taking everyone down for a few drinks to celebrate all the hard work everyone has been putting into their work lately.¡± The last thing Shaun wanted to do was go to a crowded bar on a Friday afternoon, ¡°Hey Michael, I can¡¯t today, I have plans.¡± ¡°Shaun I know you don¡¯t like spending much time with us outside of work but it would be good to get the whole team together and have a little fun before the weekend, it a great way to finish the week!¡± Michael said ¡°Even if you come with us for an hour you will still be able to make your plans, you can leave when you would usually leave work, no harm in that is there?¡± The last time Shaun had agreed to hang out socially with the team had been 6 months ago and he had spent most of the time sitting in silence nodding along to their conversation awkwardly wishing he could leave. Since then he had turned down every other invitation he could, coming up with any excuse he could find and Michael knew it too, if his grin was anything to go by. Knowing he wasn¡¯t going to get out of it this time Shaun looked at Michael ¡°I will go, but only for an hour like you said.¡± This was going to suck. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit, now pack up and we will all meet at the elevator in 5 minutes, everyone else is nearly ready to go and we can head down together.¡± Michael said. Sighing Shaun packed up his things and reflected back on his day, wishing he had known about this beforehand so could have just faked being sick to leave early or even just not come in that day and gotten an early start to his weekend, anything to get out of going to a social event. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Walking over to the elevator Shaun saw the rest of his team, standing with Michael was his assistant Jessica and his fellow colleagues Danielle, Richard and Gabriel. They were all standing around waiting for him, looking excited to be getting off work early and ready to get to the bar. As they were going down to the ground floor Gabriel nudged Shaun, ¡°So Michael finally convinced you to come back out with us huh?¡± he said with a chuckle. ¡°You know its hard to say no to Michael and when he really wants something he will find a way to get it¡± Shaun said just as the doors opened and they all stepped out to head towards the bar right across the road from their office building. Walking inside they managed to find a table, Michael went to the Bar with Jessica to get everyone a round of drinks, at least he wasn¡¯t going to have to pay for them he thought. Sitting down at their table Shaun waited patiently for the hour to come to an end, while vaguely listening to his colleagues, he looked around the bar and people watched. After a a drink he made sure to sip slowly, knowing he was going to be driving, and some stilted conversation with his coworkers the hour was nearing its end and Shaun was ready to say his goodbyes and finally head to his car until he felt something wet drip down onto his back as if someone had spilled their drink from behind him. Turning around Shaun looked at the person who was standing directly behind him, wanting to see who had spilled their drink on him. When he saw who it was he thought again how he really shouldn¡¯t have come to work today, as standing there with a smirk on his face was Trevor Rule. Trevor worked for the same company as Shaun and although they never had any need to interact with each other, from the day that he started Trevor made it his life¡¯s mission to look down on Michael and his entire team. It started small with little comments and soon escalated to him taking any chance he could to make the entire team look bad. The guy was just one of those people who got pleasure out of making others look bad to try and make himself look better, Shaun had known his kind since he was a kid, nothing but a bully with self esteem issues. ¡°So this is where you spend most of the day, is it Michael? Drinking in a bar and pretending that you and your team are doing such great work? Wonder what your boss would say if they knew you couldn¡¯t get through your day without a drink?¡± Trevor said with a sweeping look over Shaun and the rest of the team. ¡°Trevor, how good to see you. You know how it is, after a busy week the team deserved to be able to come out for a quick drink to finish off the week. Seeing as you are here with your team as well I imagine we had the same thought.¡± Micheal replied, smiling at Trevor like he was greeting an old friend. ¡°Although it looks like you lost your drink there on Shaun, might want to slow down, not a good look for you to spill a drink on someone and not even apologise.¡± This is why I avoid people. Shaun thought to himself while trying to blend into the chair he was still sitting on, Nothing good every comes from these things. Looking at the time the hour was up and Shaun should have been free to go but instead was stuck sitting there with a wet back, annoyed that he was now going to have to go home and shower before heading out of the city. If he got up and left now, in the middle of whatever Trevor and Michael had going on, it would look like he was running away from his team and in some way proving Trevor¡¯s point. I really wish this would end so I can leave. ¡°And why would I apologise for him being in my way, it''s his fau¡­¡­..¡± **Initiation of planet EA-9487 commencing. Stand by for further instruction** What the hell is that? Shaun thought as he looked at the blue words that were hovering in front of his eyes. I haven¡¯t had that much to drink, have I been drugged? Looking around the bar we could see everyone else also looking equally confused. ¡°Anyone else see this?¡± Gabriel said who was sitting across from Shaun. ¡°Clearly this is some practical joke¡± Trevor said ¡°only people like you are going to believe¡­¡± ** Initiation completed. Welcome to the Multiverse citizen Shaun Clermont. Starting tutorial sequence.** Chapter 2 Darkness was all that surrounded Shaun. Looking around he tried to make out any shapes in the shadows to gather some idea of what was happening to him and what he was meant to do. What is happening? Shaun thought to himself. What was that blue writing and what am I supposed to do now? Shaun tried to speak to call for help but he had no control over his body, he tried to move his legs then his arms but there was no response. *Welcome Shaun Clermont, you are now an integrated citizen of the multiverse. As a sapient from a newly integrated planet you will soon enter the tutorial while your planet is being terraformed. Due to EA-9487, known by its citizens as Earth, not having sufficient Mana levels it is currently being merged with other planets within your universe to increase its ability to fully integrate into The System.* That¡¯s helpful I guess. Shaun thought to himself. Not really an instruction as to what he was supposed to be doing here but it did at least provide some information as to what was happening. So Earth was being merged with other planets because of its Mana level? Shaun had heard of Mana before, as a kid he had played some games online where Mana was used to do magic but magic wasn¡¯t real, there was no proof that magic existed on Earth. When he thought of magic Shaun thought of magicians doing shows where they used smoke and mirrors to make it seem they were doing something out of this world but it was all a trick of the eye. Reading over the message again it started to make more sense, Earth was being merged so that there will be Mana? Magic might be real after all huh? Shaun thought to himself. *As a member of the multiverse you now have access to The System, please review your status sheet to start. This can be done by thinking ¡°status¡±* I have a System? What system is it talking about and what does it even mean that I have a status sheet? Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (F) Level: 0 Class: N/A Profession: N/A Health Points: 70/70 Stamina: 100/100 Mana: 30/30 Stats: (Available Points: 0) Strength: 6 Dexterity: 8 Endurance: 10 Vitality: 7 Intelligence: 8 Perception: 7 Willpower: 5 Soul: 3 Affinity: N/A Titles: N/A Skills: Class: N/A Profession: N/A That¡¯s different. This is exactly what I would expect if I was playing some role playing game online and I was a character just starting out. Shaun concluded still not quite believing this was all real. So The System is a game and I am now a player? Shaun thought back on everything that had happened since he first saw the blue message appear in front of his face in the bar. No, this isn¡¯t a game, everyone at the bar saw the message and now I am just floating in darkness. Everything that is happening right now is real and for all I know my life will depend on what this status sheet is showing me and what this System is saying. Okay let¡¯s take this one step at a time. Shaun thought. Name says Shaun Clermont, that¡¯s correct at least. My race says that I am Human which is good, but what is the F at the end of it? Have I somehow failed at being human? Shaun chuckled at the thought, sounds about right. Human (F): The weakest level of the Human species. Only found on newly integrated planets and are considered one of the lowest levels of sapient creatures. The human species are known for being one of the most versatile creatures in the Multiverse, while they are considered to be generally weak compared to most, they have the ability to follow many different paths to power not available to many other species. They are by far the most common race in the Multiverse. Stats per level: +4 Available Points (AP) So I am the weakest level of human possible, that encouraging I guess, nowhere to go but up. 4 Available Points per level, don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a lot or not but given that I¡¯m the lowest level of human I would assume its low. Chuckling to himself Shaun looked through the rest of his status sheet. Class is N/A, so is profession which makes sense. Usually in games these are things you choose once you start. Health points seemed obvious, get to 0 and you die. Looking at the number he had 70 HP available. Looking through his stats he guessed this would link with Vitality if his understanding of RPG was anything to by. That would mean that his Stamina would link with Endurance and his Mana to his weakest stat, Soul. Shaun continued looking over his stats, there were 8 altogether with 10 in Endurance being his highest which made sense considering how much time he spent hiking in the woods and rock climbing. This also explained his Dexterity, Vitality and Perception being on the higher end as well. His strength was lower than he would have liked but could have been worse. Intelligence was also sitting at a good place, he had always been book smart, spending years at college and then working as an analyst would have helped with this. His Willpower was low, although looking back on his life Shaun wasn¡¯t overly surprised, he was never great at being strong willed. Case and point was giving in so quickly when Micheal asked him to go to the bar after work, but that was just one example in a long list. His soul stat was the lowest by far, which was linked to his Mana but he did live on a planet that didn¡¯t have any so it only made sense that it would be low. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Moving on he checked the last three things on his Status sheet which were all empty; Affinity, Titles and Skills. Skills were the easiest to understand given that there was sub categories for both his Class and Profession, meaning that when he gained these he should be able to get skills which were associated with them. Titles were a little harder to understand although he guessed that these would relate to the things he did and maybe completing certain tasks or challenges? And finally Affinity, he knew that having an affinity to something meant having some kind of connection but in the case of his status sheet he had no idea what this meant and would need to figure it out at some point. *Class choices available. Please select a class to finalise initiation and enter tutorial. Once a class is selected the choice is final and will serve as one of the starting foundations to your Path.* Before Shaun could even consider what it meant by a foundation to his Path the classes available to him started popping up in front of him. [Basic] Warrior: One of the starter classes provided to the newly integrated. The warrior focuses on close combat and on close range weapons such as swords, polearms and may also utilise shields. The warrior is a class focusing on dealing damage and defending from the front line and is able to utilise both light and heavy armour. Stats per level: +3 Str, +2 End, +3 Vit, Okay, that seems pretty straight forward, the warrior is going to be front and centre in any conflict and is going to be the focal point of a battle. The description talks about doing damage so I assume there is going to be fighting once we get into this tutorial, whether that¡¯s going to be fighting each other like some kind of gladiator arena or if we are going to be fighting something else, I have no idea. The stats per level look good, would mean that my health and stamina would go up with every level, but being on the front line and having others focus on me isn¡¯t really something I want. [Basic] Rogue: One of the starter classes provided to the newly integrated. The Rogue is a versatile class and focuses on calculated sneak attacks that take their opponents unaware. Relying on stealth the Rogue can utilise short bladed weapons like daggers for both close and ranged attacks as well as short swords but lacks in defence. Stats per level: +1 Str, +3 Dex, +1 End, +3 Per, Moving down from the Warrior, the Rogue was definitely more appealing, especially the part about not being noticed, which seemed to match pretty well with Shaun¡¯s inclination to avoid people. But this was another class that would end up in close combat, although in a more calculated way, there was some ranged option but if he was going to be throwing daggers he couldn¡¯t exactly be that far away from a fight. The stat bonus was a little more varied and wouldn¡¯t do much for his health and stamina like the Warrior class. [Basic] Mage: One of the starter classes provided to the newly integrated. The Mage is focused on magical skill rather than physical ability. The class utilises Mana in their attacks but lacks strong defence. The Mage is focused on ranged destructive magic and relies on wands and catalysts to focus their power. Stats per level: +2 Int, +1 Per, +2 Wil, +3 Soul Magic, this is what every kid dreams of growing up. Being able to throw a fireball from your hand, shoot lasers from your eyes or even summon a lightning bolt. This was a fantasy come true. Looking at his Stats his Soul stat was the lowest by far, but this would correct that with getting 3 more points per level. The downside, would he survive long enough to even use it. Mana would run out and he would have no other means to attack or defend himself. If he was going to have to fight, would having a class that offered a little more into his physical stats be more beneficial for surviving in general? But still, magic. [Basic] Healer: One of the starter classes provided to the newly integrated. The healer class is a support focused class that mainly assists their party with mending injuries, removing afflictions and boosting the abilities of others. The Healer is useful in group battle but one on one is vulnerable to damage as they lack damage dealing skills. Stats per level: +3 Int, +2 Wil, +3 Soul Looking over the Healer class, Shaun immediately dismissed it, although being able to stay further back from a fight sounded good, the idea of having others rely on him and him having to always be around others did not fit well with what he wanted for his future. [Basic] Archer: One of the starter classes provided to the newly integrated. The archer is a long range damage dealer focusing on different types of bows to inflict injury. The class relies on knowing when and where to attack but has no defensive capability in close combat. The archer can be a versatile class when combining their arrows with poisons and utilising strategic positioning. Stats per level: +1 Str, +2 Dex, +1 End, +4 Per And lastly the Archer class. It helped with both his health and stamina while also being long ranged. The downside, he had no idea how to use a bow, maybe once he got the class he would automatically get a skill that would turn him into an Olympic level Archer, but maybe not. Taking another look at the 5 classes that he had to choose from he kept going over the pros and cons of each, however knowing that he couldn¡¯t keep putting off a decision indefinitely, for all he knew there was a time limit and if he didn¡¯t make a choice he would just be dumped in the tutorial without a class, Shaun made his choice. *Congratulations, you now have the class [Basic] Rogue.* Shaun smiled when he saw the notification pop up in front of his eyes, there was something about blending into the background while setting up an attack that appealed to him. Using a dagger or a short sword also seemed the best as it was easy to understand how to use these weapon, put the pointy end into the bad guy. Although he was really tempted to pick mage, he had no idea how to use magic and didn¡¯t want to risk being defenceless right from the start. *Skill Gained*: [Basic] Short Blade (Level 1) ¨C A Rogues best tool is the blade in their hand. This skill unlocks the basic understanding on how to wield a short blade. *Skill Gained*: [Basic] Stealth (Level 1) ¨C A Rogue is nothing without being able to move in the shadow¡¯s unseen. This skill unlocks the basic understanding of how to move without being seen or heard. If attacking from Stealth offers a small chance of dealing critical damage. *Skill Gained*: [Basic] Detection (Level 1) ¨C A Rogue needs to know what is around them to know when to act. This skill unlocks the basic ability to gain an understanding of who or what is around them when focusing. Scales with Perception. Looking over his new Status sheet Shaun could now see his Class being updated to reflect his choice to be a Rogue and newly gained skills all sitting at level 1 in the skills section. With one final look over his Status he was ready to face the tutorial. *Transportation to Tutorial commencing in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Good luck.* Chapter 3 After what felt like being ripped through space, Shaun opened his eyes to see where he had ended up and if he was in immediate danger. Around him were rock walls on every side, he was in what looked to be a small chamber which was illuminated by streaks of glowing blue veins running through the walls. Although he could barely see through the darkness there was just enough light to make out two exits to the small area he was in. Thankfully Shaun wasn¡¯t afraid of the dark, in fact as a kid he had always enjoyed exploring old mining caves that used to be near a mountain where he spent some time growing up. Looking down at himself he could see that he was no longer wearing what he had on at the bar, instead he could only describe his new outfit as something straight out of a game. He had on dark leather pants that hugged close to his legs, a dark shirt and a full-length shawl. He had a belt along his waist, attached to it were 2 daggers in sheaths as well as a small pouch. Flashes started going off around him and Shaun covered his eyes to the blinding light, when they stopped he could see 11 other people in the chamber with him. He could see Michael standing next to him in what looked to be a metal armour plate covering his chest and a sword on his hip. He must have chosen the Warrior class Shaun thought to himself, fitting that he would want to be a knight in shining armour protecting others. Gabriel, another one of his coworkers, was on his other side dressed similarly to Shaun but with a bow and a quiver of arrows on his back, clearly an Archer. In the chamber he also saw the rest of his team that he was at the bar with, Danielle who was dressed in white loose clothes with no weapon to be seen, Richard also dressed as a warrior and Jessica dressed similarly to Danielle but instead of stark white clothes she was in green and had what looked to be a wand on her waist. So that would make Danielle a Healer and Jessica a Mage, at least it¡¯s easy to identify everyone¡¯s classes. Shaun observed. Shaun had to hold back a groan as he looked at the rest of the people in the chamber that were with him, Trevor was there also dressed as a warrior and the rest of his team standing on either side of him, Of the 5 people in Trevor¡¯s team one was an Archer, two Mages, another Rogue like Shaun and another warrior. Just as everyone in the chamber was getting their bearings on where they were, a notification popped into view in front of Shaun. *Title earned: New Initiate* *New Initiate: Having successfully entered the tutorial after gaining a class you are now a citizen of the Multiverse. Race skills unlocked: Universal Tongue, Inventory, Loot the Dead, Identify* *Skill Gained*: [Unique] Universal Tongue (Level N/A) ¨C Allows communication with all sapient races of the Multiverse regardless of language spoken. *Skill Gained*: [Unique] Inventory (Level N/A) ¨C Provides a personal inventory where you can store items with capacity being determined by Race level. *Skill Gained*: [Unique] Loot the Dead (Level N/A) ¨C Provides the ability to pull resources from the recently killed. *Skill Gained*: [Unique] Identify (Level N/A) ¨C Used to gain information on an object or being including details on rarity and uses. Didn¡¯t think it would be that easy to gain a title, not that it is unique, everyone should be getting this. Shaun thought. ¡°What the hell is ¨C¡° ¡°This is insane¡± ¡°Where are we¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t possible, this has to be a?¡° Even with everyone trying to talk over one another Shaun could hear someone starting to cry, which then started turning into uncontrolled sobbing, looking around he saw Danielle with tears running down her face looking like she may be close to completely breaking down. ¡°Think we should do something?¡± Gabriel said in a whisper next to Shaun. Before Shaun could reply Michael walked across the chamber to Danielle and started speaking to her in a soft calm tone. ¡°It¡¯s going to be alright, we are all going to be fine. We are here together and we will get through this?¡± ¡°Quiet everybody!¡± Trevor shouted above everyone else, causing everyone to stop and stare at him ¡°Will you shut her up!¡± he directed at Danielle. ¡°Look around you, we are alone in some sort of underground cave with nothing but rock surrounding us. If you keep making so much noise, who knows what might come looking for us. Idiots. Everyone stay quite.¡± That has to be the most intelligent thing I have ever heard him say, Shaun thought to himself as he watched everyone now scanning the trees like something was going to jump out and eat them at any moment. *Tutorial sequence complete* Welcome to your tutorial citizens of Earth. Over the course of the next 90 days you will be introduced to the most important part of the Multiverse, Power Rules. The strong will rise to the top while the weak are left behind to die, this is the way in which those that rule operate. This tutorial will be done in 3 stages with different tasks needing to be completed to move to the next stage. Failure to complete all tasks in a stage will result in not being able to move forward and benefiting from the rewards provided upon completion. Each stage will last 30 days, completing all tasks must be done by the end of the 30th day, early complementation of tasks will allow for better rewards at the end of each stage. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. When working your way through the tutorial you will encounter monsters. By killing a monster you will gain experience to allow you to grow to a higher level. Within the tutorial you will also be able to earn Tutorial Essence at a set amount depending on the level of the monster slain, the higher the level the more essence awarded. At the end of each stage a leader board will be provided showing the most powerful individuals in the tutorial. Killing a fellow human will award 10% of their Tutorial Essence if their level is below your own, 25% if on an equal level and 50% if their level is higher. Stage 1 objectives: 100,000 participants Collect a total of 10,000 Tutorial Essence (TE) Reach level 10 Survive As Shaun reread the message a few things became clear, the first being why each of the classes he had to choose from had detailed both their ability to do damage and also what defences they had. This system had made it clear that if he was going to make it through this alive he was going to need to not only fight but kill monsters to gain both levels and TE. It did raise some questions, if each monster had a set amount of TE, and he assumed experience, would this impact the amount each person got if they were fighting as a group or fighting alone? If this got split between a group, that meant each person would get less depending on how many people were fighting vs getting it all if they were fighting alone. The message saying that the strong rise and the weak are left behind solidified this idea as if you were strong you could fight with less people in your group, or even alone, meaning you would gain levels quicker and then fight stronger monsters, where as if you had to fight with a much larger party because you were weaker it meant that it would be that much harder to gain the experience needed to level up. 10,000 TE was needed to reach the objective along with hitting level 10 in 30 days, if you didn¡¯t hit both of these objectives you would be left behind, with the weak, where as those that did manage to complete these goals and even do better than what was set out in the task would move on and be rewarded. The worst thing in the message wasn¡¯t that he would need to fight monsters, Shaun had expected something like this, it was the clear implication on what would happen when someone killed another person. If you killed another person you would get part of their TE, and although that didn¡¯t make sense to do now, some people would not hesitate to take another life to help raise them up the leaderboard and get better rewards. Shaun made a promise to himself that he would not turn into one of those people who went around killing others for their TE, and he knew that there would be people out there who would turn to killing people rather than monsters, as eventually they would give a lot more TE. He would defend himself if someone came for him, but he wouldn¡¯t lose his humanity just because the world had gone to hell and they now had to fight to survive. ¡°Shaun, you alright there. You look completely out of it¡± Michael said with a worried look on his face, like he thought he was going to break down at any second. Looking around everyone was staring at him, looking like they were expecting an answer to a question he hadn¡¯t heard. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. Just thinking about what this means. Why?¡± Clearly he had missed something while he was breaking down the notification, berating himself, he knew he had to pay more attention. If he got distracted at the wrong moment and wasn¡¯t paying attention to what was happening around him he could easily end up dead. ¡°We were just talking about what we will be doing next, we can''t keep standing here and wait for something to find us. We need to find food, water and somewhere safe to stay otherwise we won''t survive, even if no monsters get us.¡± It made sense, standing in a chamber in the middle of a cave system like this was like inviting a monster to come have a snack. ¡°We were all just checking over what we had on us that might help, check the pouch on your belt you should have potions in there, one for Health, Stamina and Mana.¡± Shaun looked in the small pouch and found the three small vials, one red, one yellow and one blue, not having any idea which one was for health and which for mana he decided that now would be a great time to see how his Identify skill worked. *[Basic] Health Potion ¨C Restores 100 Health Points* *[Basic] Stamina Potion ¨C Restores 100 Stamina* *[Basic] Mana Potion ¨C Restores 100 Mana* The Identify skill seemed pretty easy to use, focus on something with the purpose of wanting to identify what it is and then the notification will come up. Returning the potions to his pouch he looked at Michael wanting to see if it would work on a person rather than an item. *Michael Rife ¨C Level 0* It didn¡¯t show much, just his name and level, nothing on his skills or stats. Looking around he identified everyone in the chamber and when his eyes landed on Trevor, he was looking back at him with a sneer on his face and then looked away to talk to one of his team. ¡°We need to decide if we are going to stick together, all of us here, all 12 of us, until we get to safety or whether we are going to split the group.¡± Michael said in the voice he usually used in the office when he needed everyone to pay attention to him and take him seriously. ¡°I¡¯m sticking with the group, no way am I going out there alone. We need as many people as we can to stick together to make sure we stay safe¡± Shaun looked at Gabriel who had just spoken and when looking at everyone else from his old team they were all nodding alone with him. Seeing that everyone had agreed to stick together Shaun nodded in agreement, staying together meant a better chance of staying alive. ¡°Trevor, are you sticking with us?¡± Michael looked over at the other group gathered on the other side of the chamber. ¡°And why should we stick with you, you have never been useful for anything before, why would that change now?¡± Shaun hoped that would be the end of it, Trevor would take his team and walk away through one of the cave openings, then we could go in the opposite cave and we wouldn¡¯t have to see them again. He didn¡¯t know why Michael invited them, they had never gotten along and he figured in a life and death situation if Trevor was meant to have his back it would mean he would end up dead. ¡°Because we have the only healer¡± Michael said looking at Danielle, who still didn¡¯t look like she was coping well with everything that was happening. Trevor turned around and spoke to his team, none looking very happy with the situation before finally turning back to Michael ¡°I guess we will all be one happy team then, for now anyway¡± ¡°Anyone have any ideas on which way to head first?¡± looking around at everyone who was shaking their head ¡°Okay let¡¯s head this way.¡± Michael said, pointing to one of the two tunnel openings, because really each way looked exactly the same. Everyone followed behind Michael who started venturing into one of the tunnels with Trevor walking up to stand at the lead right next to him, the rest of us fell in line after them. Shaun took one final look around, he was unsure why but he felt good, excited for what was to come. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath he felt like his life was just beginning, being surrounded by the earth rather than the busy streets and tall buildings of his old life, he felt ready to fight, and as he opened his eyes he smiled. He had decided he wasn¡¯t going to be one of the weak, he was going to do all he could to grow and be one of the strong. Chapter 4 The tunnel that the group had chosen to go down was similar to the chamber that they had originally found themselves in, it was dark with blue streaks running through the walls offering just enough light for the group to see in. At the back of the group Shaun could barely make out Michael and Trevor who were leading from the front who were about 10 metres in front of them, but this didn¡¯t bother him, there was little noise in the tunnel which meant that he could hear everyone whispering and moving pretty clearly. The tunnel itself was pretty wide, easily big enough for 3 people to walk side by side with room to spare and the ceiling being at least three times as high as Shaun¡¯s 6 foot. After a few minutes of walking through the tunnel with nothing changing in their surroundings Shaun decided now was as good a time as any to look over his Status. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (F) Level: 0 Class: [Basic] Rogue Profession: N/A Health Points: 70/70 Stamina: 100/100 Mana: 30/30 Stats: (Available Points: 0) Strength: 6 Dexterity: 8 Endurance: 10 Vitality: 7 Intelligence: 8 Perception: 7 Willpower: 5 Soul: 3 Affinity: N/A Titles: New Initiate Skills: Class: [Basic] Short Blade (Level 1), [Basic] Stealth (Level 1), [Basic] Detection (Level 1) Profession: N/A As expected nothing had changed outside of the Class, Skills and Title that he had acquired since the start of the initiation, all his skills were at level 1 and labelled as basic. Looking over his Short Blade skill and then the daggers on his belt, Shaun figured he should see what this basic understanding in the skill description could do. Taking one of the daggers out of its sheaths, Shaun held it in his hand and instantly he felt an understanding wash over him on the correct way to hold the blade. He immediately started adjusting his grip, he released the death hold he had on the hilt and moved to a more relaxed yet still firm hold. Taking a deep breath Shaun focused on the feeling of the dagger and tried to let the knowledge from his skill take over, he swiped the dagger in front of him from right to left and then flipped his grip around so the blade was now facing the opposite way and made a stabbing motion back to his right. Okay that is cool, it¡¯s like I have been training on how to use a dagger for months and it feels so natural Shaun thought to himself. Captivated in this new feeling Shaun continued to play around with the dagger in his hand, imagining a monster in front of him and how he should be moving the dagger in a fluid motion, like an extension of his hand rather than just a knife he has picked up to chop a vegetable. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Gabriel said who was walking just ahead of him. ¡°Just testing out my dagger, I have never used one before.¡± ¡°Oh okay, good idea just don¡¯t test it out on me¡± Gabriel replied with a chuckle and turned around facing back the way we were walking. As they continued walking Shaun continued trying different ways to use the dagger, the more he played around with his grip, slicing it through the air and making quick stabbing motions the more comfortable he felt wielding the blade in his hand. *Skill Level up: [Basic] Short Blade ¨C Level 2* Stopping in his tracks he stared at the blue message that appeared in front of his eyes, I levelled up a skill just from doing a bit of practice with the dagger? Looking over his Status sheet he saw that the level next to the skill had indeed gone up to level 2. ¡°Shaun, why have you stopped, is something wrong¡± Looking up he could see that everyone had stopped moving and Michael was making his way back to him. ¡°Yeah I was just practising with my dagger when ¨C¡° ¡°What the hell is the hold up, we need to keep moving, if you don''t keep up we will just leave you behind.¡± Trevor said looking back at him, ¡°that goes for the rest of you too¡± looking at the rest of the group. Levelling up a skill was important and something he knew he should share with everyone, it could mean the difference between making it through these tunnels alive or ending up dead as soon as something found them. Looking at Michael about to tell him of what he had discovered ¡°I just ¨C ¡° Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Later¡± Michael interrupted him looking back at Trevor ¡°we need to keep going¡±. He turned around and walked back to the front of the group and everyone started moving through the tunnel again. He had been dismissed, like what he had to say wasn¡¯t important enough for everyone to stop and listen for only a minute. Shaun didn¡¯t speak out often, and rarely did he talk in front of a group, which should be an indication that what he had to say may have been something that everyone should hear, frustrated and even a little annoyed at what had just occurred, he looked at Gabriel who was still looking back at him and just shrugged and kept going moving on. Okay if no one wants to listen they can figure it out by themselves. Shaun thought I have three skills, Basic Short Blade, Basic Stealth and Basic Detection, if I can raise a skill level just by using the skill and practising I may as well start. Looking over the description of each skill he was drawn to his stealth skill. Move unseen in the shadows, it said, well I am in a tunnel with barely any light, this would be the perfect time to test this skill out. Focusing on the skill like he had when he was practising with his dagger Shaun again felt knowledge flow through him. Immediately he felt that the way he walked was wrong, his steps changed slowly as he kept moving forward, becoming softer like he was no longer stomping on the ground with each step but more graceful like a dancer moving across a stage. He focused on this feeling and his posture started to change with his steps, slightly bent at the knees, he felt like he was gliding rather than walking. He spent the next few minutes just paying attention to the feeling of how this new way of moving felt until it was completely natural for him, however his body wasn¡¯t used to it and he started to get cramps in his legs as he was using his muscles in a way that he never had before. He pushed through the aches, knowing that he just had to keep training his body to get used to the feeling, so he kept going, never breaking his concentration and focusing on his skill. After what felt like forever and about ready to collapse from the pains in his aching legs he suddenly felt a wave of relief wash through his body. * +1 point to Strength earned* So I can earn points in my stats without having to level up? Shaun smiled to himself. He didn¡¯t stop this time when the notification appeared in front of his eyes, not wanting to draw the attention of the group and be dismissed all over again. Instead he focused on his body and the feeling he had when he got the new point in strength. It felt amazing, like energy coursing through his body. If this is what it feels like to get just one point I can only imagine how it will feel to get 8 points when I level up my class. Focusing back on his stealth skill he realised that it hadn¡¯t levelled up at all. Looking back over the description it said to move in the shadow¡¯s unseen, he wasn¡¯t moving unseen, just walking differently, softer and more sneaky. Looking around he figured that if he was going to move unseen he should stick to the walls where he would be less likely to be noticed by the group, one of the benefits of being at the back is that if no one looked behind them they wouldn¡¯t be able to see him. Moving to the tunnel wall closest to his right while keeping up with the group, he again turned his focus on the skill, seeing what new insights he may be able to adopt into the way he was moving. Slowly his movements shifted again, crouching down slightly his body seemed to mould into the wall while he walked. At first it felt clumsy to move like this, like at any second he was going to trip over and land on his face, but slowly his body began to adapt. One foot in front of the other, bent knees and stay close to the wall. Don¡¯t make a noise, each step should be controlled, soft rolling steps. He thought to himself. No one can see me, I am just a part of the shadows. Shaun kept saying to himself like a kind of mantra. He continued like this for some time, focusing on his skill, willing himself to be hidden to everything around him. *Skill Level up: [Basic] Stealth ¨C Level 2* Success! He could now feel himself moving a bit easier and starting to really believe that if someone glanced back he would be just that little bit harder to see. Looking down at the dagger in his hand he figured why train one skill when he could try training two at the same time. And why only hold one of his daggers when he could practise with both. Taking the second dagger from its sheath he tried to focus not just on being stealthy and blending into the wall he was walking along but also on the blades in his hand, something wasn¡¯t right though. He still felt that his stealth skill was working but the feeling he had when he was wielding the dagger earlier didn¡¯t come back. Could he not use both skills at once? Looking back at his skills that didn¡¯t make sense, his skill said he could attack from stealth so he should be able to use his daggers but something had changed. Looking at both daggers in his hand, he had only been using one before this, could he not use both at once? Putting one of the daggers back in its sheath he again focused on using both skills together but this time with much more success. Can¡¯t use two blades at once, that kind of sucks. Instead of focusing on only being able to wield the one dagger and how this would limit what he could do in a fight, he turned his attention back to his two skills and practised using both at once. This is how he spent his time following the group, just concentrating as much as he could on being able to use both of his skills at once, which was much harder than using one at a time. Shaun refused to falter and committed every ounce of willpower he had on utilising these skills in tandem. Slowly it got easier, bit by bit he felt himself becoming accustomed to the feeling until it felt natural. * +1 point to Willpower earned* *Skill Level up: [Basic] Stealth ¨C Level 3* *Skill Level up: [Basic] Short Blade ¨C Level 3* The feeling of earning a new point washed through him, although different from when he received the point in strength, this time rather than flowing through his body it felt more focused on his mind, like it just became a little easier to focus. Both of his skills gaining a level felt like a huge achievement to Shaun and this was just the beginning. I am gaining skill levels and points and I haven¡¯t even had to fight yet, but this will just make me stronger, more prepared for what¡¯s to come. ¡°What was that? Did anyone else hear that noise?¡± ¡°Be quiet,¡± Trevor growled from the front of the group. ¡°But I he-hea-heard something¡± Danielle stuttered, clearly not wanting to be on the receiving end of Trevor¡¯s wrath. ¡°The only thing I am hearing is you, now shut up and get moving!¡± Out of nowhere a hissing noise could be heard from above, everyone stopped and looked up, waiting to see what had made the noise. Shaun, frozen where he stood, still in stealth along the tunnel wall, looked to see if he could make out anything in the dark. Everyone started looking around but no one commented on him being crouched against the well. It was like their gaze just brushed over him without fully making out that he was there. ¡°I don¡¯t see anyth ¨C¡° Michael started when a scream cut him off. As if emerging from the ceiling itself, 8 red eyes could be made out in the darkness. Not knowing what to do, Shaun focused on those eyes trying to see if his Identify skill would work. * Cave Spiderling ¨C Lvl 3* Chapter 5 Just as he was about to break his stealth and shout at the team, the spiderling, with another loud hiss, dropped from the ceiling into the middle of the group. As the group had been moving through the tunnels, they had been staying close together as they had all assumed that if a monster was going to attack them they would be able to see it come from in front of them and they would have the warriors who were in the lead best able to defend the rest of the group and attack anything that came to attack. However, as the monster had instead dropped on top of them from above this was the worst position that the team could have been in. The Cave Spiderling was huge, no natural spider could have grown so large as each of its eight legs were easily a metre long and its body the same size. Aside from its red eyes the spider was black all over, easily able to blend in with the darkness of the surrounding tunnel, explaining how no one noticed it on the ceiling until it decided to make itself known to them. The spiderling landed on top of one of the mages from Trevor¡¯s team and with its long legs knocked aside everyone else who was unfortunate enough to be close to it. People were sent flying into the walls of the tunnel with enough force that you could hear the sound of impact, there was no way that a spider, no matter how big it was, should have the strength to throw a person that hard. Everything dissolved into chaos, people started screaming, while those that hadn¡¯t been knocked aside looked to be in shock. ¡°Run, everyone run!¡± ¡°No, if we run then everyone left behind dies. We have to stick together and fight!¡± Michael shouted. Shaun looked around to see that 3 people had been knocked into the walls by the spider and weren¡¯t moving, probably unconscious, although they could be dead, Gabriel having also been knocked down was trying to get back to his feet but it was clear that he was struggling. Then there was the mage underneath the spider screaming but alive. Drawing his sword Michael looked like he was trying to hype himself up to attack and with a yell ran at the monster with his sword raised. ¡°Like hell I¡¯m going to let you get the first kill!¡± Travor drew his own sword and started following. Just as he was getting closer to the Cave Spiderling Michael was already taking his first swing at one of its legs. Expecting the sword to cut right through its leg he was not prepared for the sword to only sink maybe an inch into its flesh and then stop in its tracks. While Michael stood there in shock it gave the Spiderling enough time to knock him to the side with enough force to throw him on his back. Seeing that Michael couldn¡¯t even take off one of its legs with a full swing of his sword Trevor yelled at everyone to attack. Eric, the last of the conscious warriors drew his sword and started slowly getting closer to the spider, while Jessica and the other mage in Trevor¡¯s team drew their wands. Gabriel now on his feet pulled the bow off of his back and looked to be trying to figure out how to knock an arrow. Shaun, still in stealth along the wall, stayed still and watched what was occurring. He knew if he ran at the monster with his dagger in hand there was no way he would be able to get to its body, and there was no way that his dagger was going to be able to cut through its legs if even Michael¡¯s sword didn¡¯t even cut through it. Jessica started shaking her wand around, having no idea how to use it, why would she? She hadn¡¯t been practising and had never used magic in her life. ¡°It¡¯s not working, why won''t this thing work!¡± Shaun had to hold back a chuckle, he knew that this wasn¡¯t the right situation to find anything amusing, but if they had let him speak and explain using skills and being able to level them up they would have been better prepared for the situation they now found themselves in. An arrow went flying and went right over the spiderling, nowhere close to even hitting it, while the three warriors continued to try and hit the spider¡¯s legs without also getting hit in the process. A white light started to glow in the tunnel and went flying towards the spider¡¯s body, ¡°I did it!¡± Jessica yelled. Once the light cleared everyone looked to see what it had done, nothing, it hadn¡¯t even left a mark. What it did do was annoy the spider as it started to turn around to now face Jessica. Hissing in annoyance, it then started to move in her direction until Michael jumped in front of it with a broad swing of his sword. With the spider¡¯s attention now on Michael, the others took the opportunity to start hacking at its legs, still not being able to get anywhere near its body. Another arrow let loose but this time hit the spider¡¯s abdomen ¡°I got it!¡±. Another white flash went off as the other mage hit the spider, followed shortly after by another flash from Jessica, neither of which looked to do any damage but did seem to infuriate the monster. Arrows kept flying from Gabriel with only 1 of 3 actually hitting and staying in the monster¡¯s body. The warriors continued to attack at the legs, even managing to cut off one of them. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°I¡¯m out of arrows¡± Gabriel shouted at the group as one last arrow flew through the air, he then went running to stand behind Michael next to Jessica who then yelled that she was out of Mana, followed shortly by the other mage. This left the only people left to do any damage to the first monster that they encountered being the warriors. ¡°Everyone group together, with me!¡± Michael yelled as the warriors all formed a line, everyone else in the group was behind them on one side of the tunnel with Shaun on the other, the spider was in the middle, separating the two. The three unconscious people were still off to the sides of the tunnel and the screaming of the mage underneath the spider had long since gone quiet. Shaun surveyed the situation around him, he was alone, unnoticed behind the spider who had its full attention on the group to the other side. Looking at the spider it now had several arrows poking out of its abdomen and has also now missing two of its eight legs. It was by no means close to defeat and seemed like it could continue on indefinitely, while the warriors all looked to be breathing hard, clearly not used to swinging a sword around, let alone fighting off giant spiders. From Shaun¡¯s view they had two choices: fight and in all likelihood die, or run and leave everyone else behind to become food, that was if he chose to do nothing. Looking at the spider it was 3 levels higher than him and it was clear that it was a big gap when you were still level 0 and had never fought a monster before, but this was what his class was meant for, lying in wait until you had the perfect opportunity to pounce from the shadows and deal damage. This was the perfect situation for Shaun, the monster had no idea he was there still lying in wait in the shadows, it had its back to him and was vulnerable to an attack from this angle. All he had was his dagger, but if he attacked from stealth, the skill said there was a small chance at doing critical damage. If he only had one chance to do any real damage he needed to hit it where it was most vulnerable, if he hit a leg there was no way that it would do enough damage to make a difference, if he hit it in the abdomen he could potential hurt it but not enough to kill it if he was going from what damage the arrows did. The only option was to make sure his dagger landed right between its head and abdomen where he hoped that if he got his dagger deep enough that it would put it down for good. Taking a deep breath while the spider was still distracted by the warriors still attacking from the front, he slowly crept away from the tunnel wall, using everything he had learnt from his stealth skill to make sure he didn¡¯t make a sound. When he was in what he thought was the perfect position to be able to jump onto its back and drive his dagger in he took one last breath, It¡¯s now or never he thought. With a few quick steps he jumped onto the spider''s back and slammed his dagger in, hitting right where he wanted to. The dagger drove down right to the hilt and Shaun held on tight to make sure he didn¡¯t fly off the spiders back. The spider reared back onto its remaining back legs and made a painful screech, it was so loud that he almost let go of his dagger to cover his ears. The spider started swinging its body around violently, trying to shake him off but he refused to let go. It was clear that his attack had done significant damage, as the spider had lost all sense with its only goal to him off. Trying to keep hold of the dagger while the spider was frantically moving nearly made him lose his grip, when his shoulder brushed against one of the arrows sticking out of the abdomen that Gabriel had shot earlier. Keeping one hand on the dagger he grabbed a hold of the shaft of the arrow to help keep himself on the spider''s back. As it kept swinging around, the arrow that Shaun held on to slowly started to dig deeper into its abdomen which seemed to infuriate the Spiderling more. With the last of his strength, he pushed as hard as he could, forcing the arrow deeper, slowly the spider''s movements started to lag until finally, with one final sway, it dropped to the ground unmoving. *You have defeated a (Cave Spiderling ¨C Lvl 3). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 15 TE awarded* *Class: Rogue has levelled up by +1 levels. [Basic] Rogue has reached Level 1. +1 Str, +3 Dex, +1 End, +3 Per gained* *Skill Level up: [Basic] Short Blade ¨C Level 4* *Skill Level up: [Basic] Stealth ¨C Level 4* *Skill Level up: [Basic] Stealth ¨C Level 5* Laying on top of the spiderling, taking deep breaths, Shaun let the feeling of the new stats he gained wash through his body. It was incredible, he had never felt anything as good as the feeling he now felt course through his body. It was like he had not only gained back all of the energy he had spent fighting his first monster but it was as if he had just been hit with enough caffeine that he could run a marathon without breaking a sweat, he felt invincible. Too quickly though the feeling went away and he started to feel more normal although nowhere near as tired as he felt when battling the spiderling. Suddenly, he felt himself getting ripped off of the monster¡¯s body and found himself pushed against a wall with Trevor¡¯s face just inches from his own. ¡°Your going to regret taking that kill from me you little ¨C¡° Chapter 6 Everyone stood in shock, looking on at the scene that was unfolding before them, the last thing anyone expected after their first battle was to have to deal with an argument over who had managed to kill the monster. They should have been focusing on the people that were hurt, or the mage that has lying dead on the ground underneath the spiderling, but no, Shaun was stuck having to deal with a bully who thought it was his right to have gotten the first kill even, though he was barely able to do any damage to the thing in the first place and instead acted as a distraction, annoying the spider by trying to chop at its legs. Grabbing hold of his shirt Trevor pulled him so close the he could feel his breath on his face and he was then slammed back into the wall. Shaun hadn¡¯t been hurt in the fight, he was tired from riding on the spiders back and holding on for dear life, but compared to the others he was in a much better state. Looking over his status he had lost about 10% of his health and only had a quarter of his stamina left, the warriors looked to be bleeding from various part of their bodies and their armour had scratches from where the spider¡¯s legs had managed to hit them. ¡°I am going to make you pay for what you took from me, you''re nothing but a sneaky little thief. You know what I do to people that steal from me? I ¨C¡° ¡°Enough Trevor, let him go.¡± Walking up to the wall, Michael placed a hand on Trevor¡¯s shoulder, trying to pull him away, ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have won that fight without him and you know it, just let him go.¡± With a growl and a final push into the wall Trevor let go of his shirt ¡°This isn¡¯t over.¡± He said and walked towards the other warrior. With a nod Michael walked away towards Richard who was still lying unconscious on the ground, kneeling beside him he started looking him over for injuries, ¡°He is bleeding from the back of his head but is still breathing, we need to heal him and the others if we can. Danielle do you think you can¡­.Danielle?¡± He jerked to a stand looking around frantically, ¡° Where is Danielle? Has anyone seen her?¡± ¡°I saw her run down the tunnel after that thing dropped down from the ceiling¡± everyone stopped and stared at Jessica who just shrugged. ¡°The only reason we stayed with you people was because of the healer and at the first sign of trouble she runs. Useless, all of you.¡± In shocked silence everyone turned to stare at Trevor, after everything that just happened, one of them dead, three still unconscious and he still thought that he was too good for the rest of them. With a sigh Michael bent back down to Richard, ¡°What are we supposed to do now, I¡¯m not leaving him behind¡±. The group started splitting up to the others that were on the ground, checking them over and seeing if there was anything they could do. Looking over the group Shaun thought over everything that had occurred since getting transported to the tutorial, it had been less than a day but already it felt like a week had passed. Choosing a class, ending up in a cave system, gaining skills and fighting a real monster. He walked over to the spiderling, even dead and on the ground the thing was huge, he saw his dagger still in its body and with both hands grabbed it by the hilt and pulled it out. It was covered in its blood, he wiped off as much as he could on the spiderlings abdomen and then placed it back in its sheath next to the pouch which contained the potions he received with the rest of his new gear. ¡°Health potion..¡± he mumbled, looking over the group. ¡°Use the health potions¡± he said loud enough for everyone to hear. Walking over he bent down beside Michael and took the green potion out of the pouch on Richard¡¯s belt. ¡°Help me get him to swallow this¡±. ¡°We don¡¯t know what that will do to him, or if it¡¯s even real. It could be poison.¡± ¡°Identify said it restored health and the skill hasn¡¯t lied to us yet, besides what other choice do we have?¡± Moving Richard¡¯s head onto his lap he pulled the cork out of the vial, and a little at a time he poured the potion into Richard¡¯s mouth, making sure he didn¡¯t choke. When there was nothing left he put the cork back on and put the now empty vial in his own pouch, not knowing if it might come in handy later he decided to keep it rather than leaving it on the ground like trash. ¡°Nothing is happening, damn it we have already lost one person, Danielle has run off and we don¡¯t even know if she¡¯s alive or not and now we are going to lose Richard too!¡± standing up Michael started to pace back and forth, having been putting on a strong fa?ade from the moment we had arrived, the pressure of the situation had finally pushed him to his breaking point. ¡°What is the point of this? What kind of tutorial sets everyone up to fail? We can barely kill one monster and they expect us to kill hundreds more? Thousands? I got 3 TE from helping to kill that thing and we all nearly died in the process of¡­.¡± Wait what? He only got 3 TE? Looking back over his notifications he had received 15 TE from the spiderling not 3. Why would he get 5 times the amount that Michael got when they had all contributed to killing the monster? Unless it isn¡¯t split equally between each person. What if the TE is split based on contribution or the amount of damage each person does instead? The whole purpose of this stage of the tutorial was to gain TE and to level up and how do you do that? You kill. Monster, people, it didn¡¯t matter, you had to kill to get stronger, to meet the objectives and to move on to the next stage. Standing in the back of a group doing barely any damage didn¡¯t help you get stronger, so why should it award the same amount of TE and experience? Shaking his head Shaun decided that now wasn¡¯t the time to figure out the small details on how the tutorial worked. Coughing broke the silence in the tunnel, ¡°You''re awake!¡± Having stopped halfway through what could only be described as a breakdown, not that Shaun was really listening at that point, Michael rushed back over to where Richard was starting to sit up, ¡°You''re alive! How are you feeling? Don¡¯t move too much, you were unconscious and have been bleeding from a head wound.¡± ¡°I feel fine, everything is a little fuzzy but its getting better by the second. What happened?¡± Feeling the back of his head, Richard pulled his hand away and saw blood coating his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything, one second I heard a scream and the next nothing.¡± Shaking his head he started standing up, at first a little unsteady on his feet but soon looked to be able to hold himself upright just fine. ¡°Are you really feeling alright?¡± Still not convinced that he truly was better. With a nod Richard looked around until his eyes fell on the dead spiderling and froze. ¡°Okay I guess that settles whether the potions work. We should give the others their potions and get them back on their feet¡± While the group got to work Shaun thought back on the fight with the spiderling and the events leading up to the attack, recounting how everyone had done in the fight and how effective their skills were in causing damage. At the beginning no one was particularly effective at attacking with their skills, they did little to no damage, the warriors swung around their swords with no finesse and the way they used their weapons could have been mistaken for someone trying to take down a tree with an axe, but as the battle continued they started being able to move a little more coordinated, their attacks more precise. He assumed that at some point during the battle they had levelled up their skills, just like when he had when he started using his daggers and stealth on the walk through the tunnel. Curious about how much progress the team made from the battle he started approaching Gabriel who¡¯s accuracy with his bow improved quite a lot during the progress of fighting the monster but he stopped short when a notification popped up. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. *Looting attempted on defeated (Cave Spiderling ¨C Lvl 3) by an undesignated party, approve looting?* What the hell? Looking back at the body Trevor and two of his goons were muttering to each other while standing over the body, looking to be getting increasingly more agitated. The list of notifications in front of Shaun¡¯s eyes kept getting longer as they kept trying to activate their looting skills on the body. It seemed that even though they had all participated in the fight he was the one that got the first opportunity to loot the kill, probably because he was the one to do the most damage or because he was the one to strike the final blow. Staring at the growing list of notifications he kept thinking no at them, not giving them permission to loot the body, but the list didn¡¯t seem to be getting any smaller, there has to be an easier way to do this. Trying to push his intent at all the notifications to not give anyone permission to loot the body they all disappeared. Guess that works, intention seems to mean a lot with this System. Time to get this out of the way, it''s not going to go down well. Walking over to the body, everyone started looking on, trying to figure out why he would be heading towards Trevor and his team, just as he got close enough that if he wanted to he could lay his hands on its massive abdomen, the notification appeared asking him if he wanted to use his looting skill. With a deep breath he agreed and suddenly black smoke started drifting up from all over the body until there was nothing left except the body of the mage that had been trampled to death by the spiderling during the battle. ¡°What happened? What did you do to it Shaun?¡± walking up to stand next to him Michael looked down at where the monster had been and then stared right at him, he didn¡¯t look happy, in fact he looked just as annoyed as Trevor did in that moment. ¡°Answer me Shaun!¡±. ¡°I got a notification asking if I wanted to loot the body, didn¡¯t see a reason not to.¡± Scanning over the faces of everybody staring at him, most seemed confused, when his eyes landed on Trevor he looked like he was ready to start fighting him right there and then. When he finally turned to look at Michael he could see him trying to process what Shaun had just announced to the group. ¡°You didn¡¯t see a reason not to? Did you not think to talk to the rest of us before you did something, not knowing what the consequences of your actions would be? I¡¯m your boss Shaun, you come to me before you do these sorts of things! What has gotten into you?!?!?! Ever since we got into this damn place you have been acting differently, you jumped on top of a monster! It could have killed you! The Shaun I know never would have done something so reckless!¡± Breathing deeply he looked like he was gearing up to continue on his tirade. ¡°You are not my boss anymore Michael. Don¡¯t you get it? Our old lives are over, there is no going back to those 9-5 jobs once this tutorial comes to an end, everything has changed! We need to adapt to the new reality, that means fighting for our lives and embracing the System, if we don¡¯t we die.¡± Taking a breath to try and calm himself everyone looked on like he was a stranger, they had never seen this side of Shaun, so willing to speak up and voice his thoughts, but he had had enough of being silent. ¡°Maybe I should have mentioned the notification I got for looting the monster but the last time I had something important to say you dismissed me, why should I think that this time would be different?¡± ¡°I have never dismissed you! I have always listened when you have had something to say, how could you even think that?¡± ¡°When we were walking through the tunnel earlier, I stopped and then tried to tell everyone about being able to level up skills but instead of listening you just told me we would talk about it later. If you had agreed to just listen to what I had to say we could have been more prepared for what just happened, but you didn¡¯t. That¡¯s on you¡­.¡± It was a harsh truth, and he knew that it would hurt, but he couldn¡¯t just stand by and say nothing anymore. ¡°Wait, you knew we could¡­¡­You''re right.¡± All of the built up tension in Michael disappeared and he deflated, he probably shouldn¡¯t have said those things in front of the group but it was done and couldn¡¯t be changed. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Everyone was looking uncertain at that moment, even Trevor with his usual look of disdain for the rest of them was gone. The group was shaken and losing all of the remaining hope they had that they would make it out of this. He knew that something needed to change, they needed to focus on something, having a task that they could work towards together. Being the cause of everyone¡¯s current feelings, he focused on the one thing he knew would help both distract them and help the group as a whole ¡°We need to know what everyone can do, what everyone¡¯s skills are and even if they levelled up. It will help us create a plan for the next time we face a monster. If we can learn to work together we stand a chance.¡± He looked around at everyone who now all had far off looks in their eyes, they must all be checking their status. Pulling up the notifications that he hadn¡¯t had a chance to read from his looting he set about doing the same. *Two fangs from (Cave Spiderling ¨C Lvl 3) added to inventory* *Venom sac from (Cave Spiderling ¨C Lvl 3) added to inventory* *Spider leg meat from (Cave Spiderling ¨C Lvl 3) added to inventory* That must be what I got from looting the body, the fangs could be useful the same for the venom but leg meat? What was I supposed to do with that? Moving on from the notifications he then checked his status to see the gains from killing his first monster. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (F) Level: 0 Class: [Basic] Rogue - Level 1 Profession: N/A Health Points: 60/70 Stamina: 30/110 Mana: 30/30 Stats: (Available Points: 0) Strength: 8 Dexterity: 11 Endurance: 11 Vitality: 7 Intelligence: 8 Perception: 10 Willpower: 6 Soul: 3 Affinity: N/A Titles: New Initiate Skills: Class: [Basic] Short Blade (Level 4), [Basic] Stealth (Level 5), [Basic] Detection (Level 1) Profession: N/A He now had three of his eight stats over 10 which he thought was pretty good, he had also gained some skill levels which was always nice, he couldn¡¯t wait to try them out when they started moving again. His detection skill was still sitting at level 1, reading over the description he cursed at himself, if he had been training that skill as well he might have known the spiderling was there before it dropped down into the group. ¡°I will go first.¡± Michael said with more confidence than he had earlier, ¡°I got one level in my warrior class from the fight, my highest stat is Strength which is now at 12, my lowest is Soul at 5. I have three skills, Swordsmanship, Enhanced Strike and Strength Boost all of them now level 2 and labelled as basic. I gained 3 TE when the monster died.¡± Both Trevor and the other warrior that was in the battle confirmed the same, although while Trevor had also got 3 TE the other one only got 2, Richard who was unconscious during the battle had no changes. They went around in a circle with the mages confirming their skills as Mana Bolt, Meditation and Mana Manipulation, both had their Mana Bolt skills go up to level 2 and had received 2 TE each. Gabriel confirmed his skills as Bow Handling, Enhanced Aim and Empowered Arrow, all going up to level 2 and had gotten 3 TE. Doing a quick calculation of everyone¡¯s TE he quickly realised that when he added them up it was 30 TE altogether with him having gotten half of the monster''s TE. It was now his turn to share his skills and levels but he knew if he told everyone the TE he had received it would cause friction with everyone present, but he didn¡¯t really have a choice. If he lied and said a smaller number eventually everyone would figure it out once they started killing more monsters. ¡°I have gained one level in my class, my Rogue skills are Short Blade which is at level 4, Stealth at Level 5 and Detection at Level 1. I think killing the monster makes a difference in how much TE you get, or maybe it is the amount of damage done, but I got 15 TE from killing the spiderling.¡± There were exclamations of shock from most of the group, with Trevor growling at him like he had just insulted everything he stood for. Clearing his throat Michael stepped in before things could escalate ¡°Okay now we know what everyone can do. Is everyone okay to keep moving?¡± Nods from everyone followed ¡°What do we do with the body?¡± he looked down at the Mage. Trevor bent down and started taking the potions out of the dead mages pouch and the wand that was still attached to the hip. ¡°We leave him, there is no way we can carry his body. Besides, there''s nothing useful left on him anyway.¡± That had an impact on the team, as realisation dawned on them that if they died, there was going to be no funeral, no family to send them off, they would just be looted and left there for scavengers to find. ¡°Okay¡­¡­Then let¡¯s keep moving. We still need to find food and water and somewhere safe to stay. Let¡¯s go.¡± Chapter 7 Proceeding through the tunnel, they had decided to change the way they structured the group, rather than all of the warriors at the front they had split the group so that Michael, Trevor, Shaun and the mage that worked with Trevor, his name being Ian, Shaun learnt, were at the front, the rest of the group mixed into the middle and a warrior was protecting their back. Rather than walking without reason though everyone had their weapons out, testing their skills and always on alert for another spider on the ceiling, as well as any other monster that may be lurking in the shadows. Shaun was now being used as a scout, he would enter stealth and move ahead of the group and was to report back to the others if he found something out of the ordinary. He used this time to train up his skills, no longer ignoring his detections skill he was continually flexing the skill on and off as he walked through the dark. At the beginning when he used the skill he couldn¡¯t figure out what he was feeling, he would only get a vague understanding of what was within the 3 feet around him, but nothing that he could pinpoint with any precision. When he kept the skill on for longer than 10 seconds he would start to get a headache and would have to stop using it. He quickly realised the skill wasn¡¯t supposed to be used constantly and was only meant for short bursts to help give him get a quick snapshot of his surroundings. As he kept using the skill it slowly levelled up, once it hit level 2 he felt that the radius of the skill was a little bigger, every time he now sent out a burst he tried to focus the skill in front of him, trying to encompass the tunnel. Eventually he found he could manipulate the skill so that it wasn¡¯t spread out in a circle but instead sent in a specific direction. With this discovery he was able to level up the skill to level 3. This is how the first day in the tunnels continued, he would train his skills, slowly levelling them up, report back to the group and then continue on scouting. Twice they came across a fork in the tunnel where they would have to make a choice of which way to go and both times they chose right. Everyone had become thirsty after hours of non-stop walking, hunger had set in and the group became irritable with each other, for the majority of the group they had stopped training what skills they could with only Michael, Trevor and Gabriel still on alert. Not even a full day ago they had been attacked and one of them killed, but it seemed that hours of walking with no sign of another monster had lulled them into a false sense of safety. Travelling through the tunnels continued with no signs of anything changing until even Shaun felt like he was ready to collapse. A while later as he was moving ahead, the tunnel seemed to get lighter until he turned a bend and could see an opening. Staying as still and as silent as he could he listened to see if he could hear anything coming from within the opening, straining his perception as much as he could, he could make out that there was something inside but not who or what it was. Debating on whether he should sneak further forward and peak around so he could get a full view of the cavern opening or whether he should turn back and warn the others, he made his decision when he realised if there was a monster like the spiderling inside, or even multiple monsters he would be dead if they saw him. Turning around he made his way back to the group to let them know what he had discovered. The reaction from the group was as expected, although everyone was tired, they had quickly adjusted upon hearing the news. ¡°We can¡¯t go in there without a plan, we need to think this through. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s there, it could be monsters or even other people.¡± ¡°So you think we should what? Turn around and find another tunnel to follow in the hope we find food and water? That is ridiculous, this is the first time something has changed in these forsaken tunnels in hours, I say we go in and deal with whatever is inside.¡± There was arguing back and forth, some wanting to turn around, not wanting to risk having to fight after walking non stop for an entire day, while the others wanted to go in, weapons drawn and launch an attack before whatever was in there knew what was happening. Thinking over the situation Shaun could see why the group was split, he himself could see the pros and cons of both choices, but in the end they couldn¡¯t keep going like they had been, if they did they would die from dehydration before any other monster could get to them. ¡°We play it smart¡± he said over the top of the arguing, ¡°There is a bend in the tunnel before you get to the opening, I can go ahead in stealth and check what¡¯s inside, if it¡¯s a monster and they see me I can retreat back where everyone can be lying around the bend ready to attack. If there are people inside I can go in, I will talk loud enough that you should be able to hear what I¡¯m saying through the tunnel and then we can decide what we should do next.¡± Everyone thought over the proposal and in the end agreed that it was the best way forward. They slowly made their way forward and just at the bend before the opening everyone stopped and got into position. ¡°Are you sure about this? It¡¯s not too late to change your mind.¡± A hand on his shoulder made him turn around and he looked back at Michael. Nodding back at him he steadied himself and continued going around the corner. He could feel his heart beginning to beat faster the closer he got to the opening, trying to calm himself, he took a slow breath and gave himself a once over. Dagger in hand, check. Crouched along the side of the wall in stealth, check. Every few seconds he would send another burst of his detection skill out towards the opening ahead of him, with the recent level gains in the skill he was now able to push the skill completely out to the direction in front of him and reached around 8 feet ahead. He continued creeping forward slowly, so as not to alert whatever was in the room in front of him to his presence. The area around him started to get lighter the closer he got to the entrance, he wasn¡¯t sure how his stealth skill would work in a lighter space but he didn¡¯t have time to dwell on it. With another burst of his skill he could now make out part of the area in front of him, from what he could tell it was large enough to fit his entire group comfortably with room to spare, he detected a living presence on the ground inside along one of the walls. There''s no going back now, I agreed to do this, this was my plan, I have to see it through. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. He got himself into a position that if he extended himself out towards the opening a foot in front of him he would be able to see inside the open cavern but would also be ready to turn around at a moments notice in case whatever was inside saw him and went on the attack. Without anything further to do except to take that final step forward he learned around into the opening, inside was a cavern, circular in shape and bigger than he expected, the light that had been coming out of the cavern was off to one side, it was being emitted by a body of water that had some plants growing around it. What he had sensed with his detection skill was a person hunched over on the ground with their head in their hands looking to be quietly crying. Looking closer Shaun recognised who it was, Danielle, the healer who had run away when the spider had attacked. How she had made it here he had no idea, something to ask about later. He couldn¡¯t believe that after all the splits in the tunnels they had followed the same direction, they did just keep going to the right at every intersection but still, they had found her. Sighing with relief that he wouldn¡¯t have to run for his life, he walked into the cavern while yelling back to the others that it was safe to come in. This caused Danielle to jerk her head up, not expecting to hear someone there with her. She immediately got to her feet and launched herself across the cavern at him, she threw her arms around his shoulders and started crying louder, ¡°Thank god you¡¯re here, you found me, I have been all alone! I thought I was going to die!¡± she continued holding on to him. Not knowing what to do, and uncomfortable with the situation, he just stood there, waiting for the others to come in and hopefully get him out of this situation. He didn¡¯t know Danielle that well, and being hugged by her while she was babbling about being alone, after she was the one that ran away from the rest of them, wasn¡¯t exactly Shaun¡¯s idea of a good time. ¡°Danielle?!?!¡± Finally coming into the cavern, Michael rushed up to take hold of her leaving Shaun to get a better look around him. Walking towards the water he peered down into its depths, seeing that the light wasn¡¯t actually coming from the water itself but instead there was a collection of the blue rocks that had lit the tunnels up collected at the bottom. It didn¡¯t look too deep but there was plenty for them to stay hydrated for the foreseeable future. As the others rushed over to where he was standing they dropped to their knees and started collecting water in their hand to drink, not even considering whether it could make them sick, or even if it had been poisoned by the glowing rocks. Mana Infused Water ¨CAfter having been in contact with naturally occurring Mana Stones for extended periods of time the water has taken on some of their qualities. Consuming will boost Mana recovery for a short period of time. Poisonous if consumed in large quantities* ¡°You may want to slow down, the water is poisonous.¡± Looking around at everyone drinking as much of the water as they could handle, several of them stopped and backed away from the water while a few just looked at him with shocked expressions on their faces. ¡°Identify the water, you could get really sick if you drink too much at once.¡± Bending down to the water, Shaun started cupping small handfuls of the water and drank slowly, not wanting to risk getting poisoned, he decided a little at a time was safest. After a few mouthfuls he looked around at the plants, nothing useful came back from his identify, they were just normal plants that were growing in the cave system. Once everyone had had their fill of water, now a lot more cautious with how much they drank at once, there were decisions that needed to be made on what to do next. It was decided that they would stay in the cavern, let everyone get some rest after the day of walking, but they all agreed that there needed to be people on guard, both at the entrance that they had come in and also the tunnel leading out at the opposite side. There were 11 of them all together now that they had found Danielle again, they decided with four people per watch while the others slept and recovered, two in each tunnel with the last watch only having three people with one of them going between both tunnels. Once they split into three groups it was decided that Shaun would be in the last watch in one tunnel with Eric, the warrior, in the other, Gabriel would act as the go between. ¡°Before everyone goes to sleep and heads on first watch, Danielle we all shared our skills with each other so that everyone knows what we each different class can do, do you mind sharing with everyone what your skills are?¡± Although putting her on the spot with his question Michael had asked loud enough to make sure that everyone heard him ask her, probably to avoid others asking her the question individually, as everyone wanted to know what a healer''s skills were and how they could benefit the group. ¡°Oh, yes, of course. I have three skills, Basic Heal which lets me heal others as long as I have Mana, Basic Body Boost which says that I can increase a person¡¯s stats that relate to their body by 10% for 30 seconds and Basic Soul Boost where I can increase a person¡¯s Soul stat by 10% once every hour. I have never used them before though, I don¡¯t even know how they would work.¡± ¡°Some of us got hurt when we battled the Spider monster, you know the one you decided to run away from. Think you could use your healing skill to see if you can help with any of our wounds?¡± Trevor jumped into the conversation and although he phrased it as a question it was clear he wasn¡¯t asking, ¡°It¡¯s the least you can do for us. Besides, who is going to be left to protect you if we are all hurt?¡± Walking right up to Danielle, he stood in front of her, towering over her smaller frame, ¡°Lets see what you can do, heal me.¡± ¡°I¡­I¡­I can try,¡± She stammered out ¡°but I don¡¯t know how this works, give me a minute to try and figure this out.¡± Slowly she placed her hands on Trevor¡¯s chest, closing her eyes she stood there for a full minute before her hand started to glow, after about 30 seconds the glowing started to dim until finally she dropped her hands and looked up at Trevor, ¡°That¡¯s all I can do, I¡¯m out of Mana.¡±. ¡°That¡­.felt incredible.¡± Taking a step back Trevor eyed her up and down for a few seconds then smiled in a way that could only be described as predatory. ¡°Who knew you would be so useful, I will definitely be keeping an eye on you, to keep you safe of course.¡± ¡°Do you think you could heal the rest of us once your Mana is back up?¡± Moving between the two, Michael had effectively cut off the look Trevor was giving her by putting himself in the middle. ¡°Of course, I am happy to try, anything for you. I got a notification that the skill is now level 2, isn¡¯t that exciting! Hopefully it makes healing you easier.¡± After Danielle had finished healing everyone that needed it, those chosen to keep look out first went into the tunnels while the rest of them split up in the cavern to get some sleep before their own shifts. Shaun chose the wall furthest away from Trevor and his goons and sat down with his back against the wall. He was alone, but that was how he preferred it. The last thing he thought about before falling asleep was about the gains he had made throughout the day. If he could manage this on day one, what could he achieve before this tutorial came to end. Chapter 8 ¡°It¡¯s your turn to do the watch,¡± Jerking awake Shaun looked up at Richard who had just nudged him to wake up ¡°it was all quiet, didn¡¯t see or hear anything out there, the first watch said the same. I¡¯m going back to sleep, make sure to wake everyone in a few hours.¡± Gabriel and Eric were also in the process of getting up, walking over to the pool of water he took a few sips and wiped his face with his wet hands, trying to wake himself up a bit quicker so he could be more alert of his surroundings. With a yawn and a quick stretch he went over to the others to decide which tunnel they wanted him in, it was decided that Gabriel would start with Eric in the tunnel they had entered from and he would go to the one that they had yet to explore. Walking into the tunnel it was similar to the other one, it quickly curved around and when he reached the point where if he looked to his left he could see in the cavern and when looking slightly to the right he could see down the dark passage, he stopped. Triggering his detection skill he couldn¡¯t feel anything down the tunnel, but that didn¡¯t mean there wasn¡¯t anything further along. Looking over his skills he saw that from all the scouting and training he had done yesterday his Short Blade skill had hit level 5, as well as his detection skill, while his stealth skill had gone up the most and was now level 7. For having only been in the tutorial for one full day he decided that those were pretty decent gains, he figured the class levels would come with time, as to get class levels he needed to kill monsters, and to kill monsters he needed to have good skills. If I¡¯m going to have to stand guard for the next few hours I may as well start training, after all we are going to need to find something to eat which is probably going to involve hunting down monsters. He never had checked the items he had gotten from looting the spiderling, he also had no idea on how to get things in and out of his inventory. He knew the System acted on intent so without second guessing himself he tried to bring up a list of what was in his inventory in the same way he would when bringing up his status, appearing in front of his eyes was a list of what was stored. He had the fangs, the poison sac and the leg meat. Okay step 1 was a success, step 2 is figuring out how to take something out and then step 3 obviously putting it back in he chuckled. Starting from the top of the list he focused on taking out one of the fangs and having it appear in his hand, it took a few seconds but eventually it appeared. The fang wasn¡¯t huge, about the length of his hand. He started by testing its strength, it had a slight bend to it but didn¡¯t feel brittle at all, if he was desperate he could probably use it as a makeshift weapon but he had his daggers so there was no need for it at the moment. *Cave Spiderling Fang ¨C A fang from a Cave spiderling found in a Tutorial from a newly integrated planet. Known to be used by crafters when making crude weapons, can be used in some alchemical creations* Nothing too useful there. Applying the same logic as he had when he took the fang out of his inventory he willed the fang back in. Not so hard. Moving on. He repeated the process with the venom sac which was a little more interesting, yet also terrifying. *Cave Spiderling Venom Sac - A venom sac from a Cave spiderling found in a Tutorial from a newly integrated planet. This venom will cause paralysis once introduced to the bloodstream of a living creature. The duration is dependent on the amount of poison injected. If ingested it will cause full body paralysis depending on the amount consumed. Has some alchemical uses* All it would take is one bite from one of those spiders and you would be stuck, unable to move, probably eaten alive if someone didn¡¯t save you. Yeah I¡¯m going to have to be careful if I ever come across another one of those spiderlings. Finally he came to the last item he had in his inventory. *Cave Spiderling Leg Meat ¨C Leg meat from a Cave spiderling found in a Tutorial from a newly integrated planet. The only edible part of the Cave Spiderling, safe to consume* And that solves the food problem, he thought, although I doubt anyone is going to be happy about eating monster meat. Especially since we don¡¯t have anything to cook it with. Not enough for everyone anyway, would probably only feed three people. Now that he had gotten that out of the way he turned back to training, he would venture down the tunnel for about a minute using all of his skill as he went and would then turn back around and go back towards the cavern. This process continued for over an hour, he hadn¡¯t gained any levels in his skills, it seemed to get harder to improve them the higher they got but he did get into a good rhythm of being able to move in stealth with his dagger at the ready while pulsing his detection skill. As he was walking back to the cavern after having checked down the tunnel again, he noticed Gabriel standing near the cavern looking around. Staying in stealth, he decided that now was a great time to test out his skills on someone else. As he got closer he could hear Gabriel muttering to himself, trying to figure out if he should go down the tunnel to look for him or wake someone up to take over the watch now that he had disappeared. Shaun was able to sneak around Gabriel, getting close enough that he could clearly see the worried look on his face, once he was directly behind the unexpecting Gabriel he broke out of stealth ¡°Looking for me?¡± Tripping over himself as he tried to spin around as quickly as possible with the bow in his hand, Shaun grabbed hold of his arm to steady him so he didn¡¯t fall over. ¡°Sorry I couldn¡¯t help myself,¡± he chuckled. ¡°Damnit Shaun! How did you even do that, I was looking for you and couldn¡¯t see you anywhere. You didn¡¯t even make a noise! What level is that stealth skill even at now?¡± He held up 7 fingers with a grin on his face, he was proud of the work he had put into boosting his skill levels, and why shouldn¡¯t he be. ¡°Level 7?!?!?! How the hell did you get it to level 7? My highest skill is level 3 and I have been practising man. Wait, yesterday you said your stealth skill was level 5? You¡¯ve gained two levels since we fought the monster! How? Do you have a cheat code or something?¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Just keep practising, you will get there. Every spare second I have I have been using my skills, trying to level them up.¡± Moving over to the wall where he would be able to see in both directions Gabriel sat on the ground. ¡°Anything happen in the other tunnel?¡± Shaun moved to sit next to him, he had been training since he started his shift so having a break was well deserved. ¡°Nothing, we just sat there and watched, we spoke for a bit, Eric actually isn¡¯t a bad guy when he isn¡¯t around Trevor. You know he has a family? A wife and 2 kids, lives out of the city and has the all American dream, including the house with the white picket fence. He told me about them, wondered where they were right now. You noticed in the welcome message right? There is 100,000 people in this tutorial which means there has to be hundreds of tutorials going on right now, maybe one of them is on a beach where they get drinks delivered to them and we just drew the short straw with this one. My parents, sister and nephews are all out there right now, I just hope they are all okay, you know?¡± He didn¡¯t know, he didn¡¯t have anyone out there anymore. He had been alone for nearly as long as he could remember. His mom disappeared the day after she had given birth to him, no one knew why and the police couldn¡¯t find a trace of her after that day. His dad raised him as a single father until he was four, that was when he had gotten into a car accident and never came to pick him up from day care. He didn¡¯t have anyone to take him in, his grandparents on his dads side had died years earlier and he was an only child, while from what he was told, his mother had no family on record. He was placed into an orphanage and went through a few families over the years but never for long periods of time. They always had one excuse or another about how it wasn¡¯t the right fit. Pretty quickly he gave up on trying to find a new home after being returned to the orphanage again and again. Once he hit 13 he moved into a group home where he mostly looked after himself. He focused on school and would venture out into the nearby forest whenever he got the chance, anything to get away from the people that surrounded him at the home. When he finally turned 18 and finished school he got a full scholarship and moved into a dorm where he spent the next few years studying and working, saving everything he could to make sure that he would always be able to support himself and never have to rely on anyone ever again. Even to the last day on Earth when he was at that bar, he had always made sure that he had enough saved away so that if he lost his job and couldn¡¯t find employment he would be able to still live for a few years without the need to worry. He had worked hard on his savings, never made impulse purchases and always looked for the bargain, he didn¡¯t have a flashy apartment, just a small one bedroom unit where he had to walk up 6 flights of stairs to get to it as the building didn¡¯t have an elevator, not that all that saving meant anything now. Looking over at Gabriel who was staring at him waiting for a response, he just shrugged ¡°I don¡¯t have anyone out there to worry about.¡± ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t have anyone? Everyone has someone they care about! What about family? Friends?¡± ¡°All my family has been dead since I was four and I don¡¯t have any friends, people just tend to disappoint you when you need them most. It¡¯s easier being alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know.¡± He didn¡¯t speak about his life often, people tended to get uncomfortable when you told them that you had no one left in the world, even now Gabriel was fidgeting next to him trying to figure out something to say that would make him feel better. ¡°You do have friends though! What about all of us? We have known each other for years, that has to count for something right?¡± Thinking it over he thought of everyone that was in their group right now, he obviously didn¡¯t trust Trevor and his group as far as he could throw them, he always found Jessica to be somewhat annoying, always running around telling people what to do and how to manage their time. He really didn¡¯t know Richard and Danielle that well, outside of some small talk in the office and the occasional outing he really hadn¡¯t had a real conversation with them. Michael was¡­¡­. well Michael. He was a good guy but it always felt a little forced to Shaun, he was a good boss and always did what he could to help but since getting into the tutorial he also saw the other side of him. As soon as he lost control of the situation he started to put his foot down, trying to exert his will on others. Gabriel though? They would chat in the office every so often and he never tried to force him into a conversation or to go out with the team. Out of everyone there if he had to rely on anyone it would be him. ¡°Put it this way Gabriel, if I had to choose one person who I trusted to have my back in here, it would be you.¡± ¡°See! We are friends! But one thing has to change. My friends call me Gabe, not Gabriel.¡± Laughing Gabe put his hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. ¡°One friend is better than none right?¡± ¡°Sure, Gabe.¡± Standing up he decided that their little bonding session had been enough of a break. ¡°I am going to head down the tunnel for a bit, check it out and see what I can find. I will be fine though, if you can¡¯t see me when I am standing pretty much right beside you in stealth then I think I can avoid getting caught by any monsters I might come across. If I¡¯m not back in the next hour before we are meant to go wake everyone up then I would say it''s safe to assume the worst.¡± ¡°Are you sure that''s a good idea? We are supposed to stay here on lookout in case anything comes our way.¡± ¡°If the tunnel splits I will head back, that way there won''t be anything between where we are now and where I end up. Deal?¡± ¡°Fine, just be safe okay. And you better make it back in one piece! I can¡¯t lose a new friend.¡± With a smile and a wave, Shaun turned away from Gabe and headed down the tunnel, activating stealth he heard mumbling from behind him, complaining about having a level 7 skill. Now was the time for a little recon, they had no idea what was down this tunnel but if he was lucky he would find something interesting, and if he was really lucky he would find some low level monsters that he could further test out his skills on, maybe even gain another level or two he thought. Let the hunt begin. Chapter 9 Shaun hadn¡¯t been far down the tunnel during his time keeping guard of the cavern so he didn¡¯t know if he was going to find anything in the limited time he had to explore. They had walked endless for hours with little changing the day before so he didn¡¯t have a high expectation of finding anything different with only an hour to not only look around but also make it back before it was time to wake everyone. He didn¡¯t let down his guard though, not for even a second. He saw what could happen if you weren¡¯t paying attention to your surroundings, a monster could drop down from right from above you and you would have no hope in making it out alive, especially now that he was alone. After walking for what he guessed was around 10 minutes nothing had changed, he was starting to lose hope in finding anything and for a moment considered turning around and heading back. As he started turning around another bend he caught a glimpse of movement at the edge of his vision, stopping in his tracks. Shaun didn¡¯t make a move and slowed down his breathing to make sure he was as quiet as possible. Just as he thought he had imagined something he heard soft steps in the tunnel, it wasn¡¯t the noise of a person walking though, it was too soft and was followed by a slight swishing sound. Okay definitely not human, has to be a monster. Doesn¡¯t sound at all like a spider would so I can rule that out. Must be something new. As he stood there listening to the sound of the monster walking further away from him he debated in his head whether he should turn around and get some of the others or try and sneak up and get a better view to see what he was dealing with. If he turned back he might never find it again, if he chose to follow he could be seen and he didn¡¯t know if he would be able to get away, fighting was an option but if he couldn¡¯t use stealth then he didn¡¯t have much hope in being able to face it alone. Making his decision he decided to check and see if he could see what he was dealing with, nothing ventured, nothing gained he thought. Moving along the wall, focusing on being as quiet as he could, he finally caught a glimpse of what he was dealing with and it was not what he expected. He could see the back half of the monster, it was low to the ground, would have barely reached up to his knees, had a long tail and thick back legs. Moving further forward so he could see the monster in its entirety, it was a dark grey colour all over and couldn¡¯t be more than a metre long from its head to its tail. Every now and again it would flick out its tongue and would move its head side to side as it walked, it¡¯s a¡­.lizard? *Cave Salamander ¨C Lvl 2* I stand corrected, it¡¯s a salamander, although he was pretty sure a salamander was a lizard, but if the System wanted to make the distinction he figured that it was doing it for a reason. The lizard, nope salamander he corrected himself, hadn¡¯t noticed his presence in the tunnel and was still moving forward at a decent pace. No where near quick enough for Shaun to lose it but with how strong those legs looked he came to the conclusion that if it decided to attack, it would be able to move pretty damn quickly. He now had another decision in front of him, fight, follow or report on what he found. He quickly ruled out turning back and telling the others, that would defeat the purpose of him coming down here in the first place, it was level 2, a level lower then the spider and he had gained a lot of skill levels since then and a level in his class, if he could get close enough and got the jump on it without it knowing he thought he had a pretty good chance of being able to kill it by himself. Or he could follow it, see where it was going, it might lead him to something that would be useful to him either now or in the future. Weighing up each option, he made the decision to follow it and if after another 10 minutes it didn¡¯t lead him anywhere he figured that he would have another 20 minutes to fight it, loot it and probably clean up a bit, then would use the last 20 minutes to head back. For the next 5 minutes he could barely hold himself together, with every step he made he was fearful of making a mistake and drawing the attention of the monster, just as they were going around another bend in the tunnel the salamander disappeared from sight. He stopped, fearing he had lost it or worse that it knew he had been following it the entire time and this was some elaborate trap where it would flip the roles they were playing, and rather than him being the hunter he was now the prey. He looked around trying to locate where it had gone, making sure to check the ceiling as he refused to make the same mistake twice. Not seeing anything he sent a burst of his detection skill around him, not feeling anything he then focused it on where he had last seen it, still nothing. With levelling up the skill he could now push it out a few metres on each side, and although he couldn¡¯t locate it he was relieved that it wasn¡¯t somewhere around him and he just couldn¡¯t see it. Creeping further forward he started to turn the corner making sure to scan everywhere around him as he went, just as he thought that maybe the salamander had gotten too far ahead and he would have to give up on his first solo hunt, he noticed that part of the tunnel wall was darker than the rest. Peering closer, he noticed what was in fact an opening into another room, getting as close as he could he used his skill to get a better idea of what was inside. To his surprise rather than feeling the presence of the one monster he had been following he could make out three distinct beings inside. The room wasn¡¯t large, just big enough to fit the three salamanders with a little space left for them to move around inside, sending in another burst of his detection skill he got the vague impression that two of them were roughly the same size as the one he had been following with the last being only half the size as the others. Following the Cave Salamander had been the right decision, now instead of only one monster he could kill to gain experience and TE, as well as hopefully another level in his class, he could kill three. Assessing the situation he came to the conclusion that not only could he not fight all three at once but the opening was too small for him to sneak in without alerting them all to his presence. I need to get one of them out at a time, I can back away from the room and make a noise that will hopefully make one of them curious enough to come out and investigate, if I can get it far enough away I would have enough time to kill it before the others come to investigate. Having made his decision he moved back the way he had came, not to far as he still had to get its attention but far enough away that he could get into a good position before it would be able to come out, also so that he would have some time to see it come his way before he would attack. Moving first 5, then 10 and finally at 20 metres away he stopped and moved against the same wall that had the entrance to the room the salamanders were in, now to make a little bit of noise he thought, I don¡¯t want it coming straight at me so it¡¯s better to make a noise on the other side of the tunnel, looking around he couldn¡¯t see anything on the ground that he could throw at the wall, looking at what he had on him, he could throw one of his daggers but that would leave him without a weapon if he lost the one in his hand during the fight. He could take something out of his inventory but didn¡¯t know if they would make enough noise to get the monsters attention, he then thought about the empty potion vial he still had in the pouch from when he had taken Richard¡¯s to heal him, That should do it, I knew keeping that vial would come in handy! With a dagger in one hand and the empty glass vial in the other Shaun was as prepared as he could be for the fight. Without hesitation he threw the vial as hard as he could at the wall across from him and the shattering of the glass was loud enough to echo through the tunnel and down to the room the monsters were in. Crouching back down, making himself as small as possible while still ready to launch into attack if needed, he waited, hoping that he didn¡¯t draw out all of the monsters at once. If he did he would either need to run if they saw him or stay as still as possible to make sure that they wouldn¡¯t see him through stealth. He waited and even after 10 seconds there was no sign of one of the salamanders. Did it not work? Were they happy to stay safe in their little room rather than come and see what had caused the noise outside? After thinking for another few seconds, trying to figure out what else he could try, he finally saw a salamander come around the corner from where their room was, it was the same one he had been following and looked to be alone. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. With a silent cheer he watched the monster slowly move forward, flicking its tongue as it went and moving its head in all directions, clearly trying to find what had caused the disturbance, it couldn¡¯t see him though, so far the plan was working perfectly. The salamander continued moving down the tunnel, closer to where he was hiding rather than going for the broken pieces of glass on the ground to the opposite side, eventually when it was only 5 metres away it stopped and focused in on where he had thrown the vial. It continued forward but it didn¡¯t look like it was about to attack, rather it seemed more curious as to what was on the ground, and as it got to the glass directly across from where Shaun hid he got ready to attack. Just like the spider, come up from right behind it, jump on top of it and slam the dagger right into where it was most vulnerable, looking at the monster a final time he searched for the best place to put his dagger, the head, he decided. Taking his first step towards the salamander was nerve racking, he thought that at any second it was going to swing around and look right at him, but thankfully it didn¡¯t stop its investigation into the glass on the ground. Once he had gotten as close as he could he pounced onto its back, Damn it! He had missed the head with his dagger but had still managed to get it into the shoulder but that was not going to be enough to put this thing down before the other monsters came out to see what had attacked. Clinging onto the thrashing salamander Shaun wrapped his legs around its body and used one arm to put it in a headlock, being careful not to get anywhere close to its mouth. Using his other hand he tried to pull the dagger out of its shoulder but the damn lizard was bucking around like it was a bull. And yes, he had decided to think of it as a lizard because that¡¯s what it was damn it! Finally having been able to pull the dagger free he almost dropped it as the monster had shaken itself violently just as he had gotten the blade out, he no longer thought he would be able to get enough momentum to hit it on the head and pierce through it skull so he settled for the next best thing, tightening his grip on the monsters neck with his arm, he put all the strength he had into thrusting the dagger into the side of it neck. He couldn¡¯t get the blade all the way into the hilt, but he knew he did some damage when the salamander let out a loud hiss and reared it head back nearly head-butting Shaun in the process. Adjusting the arm he had around the monster, he tightened the head lock so that he had free access to the underside of its neck, and pulling out the dagger one last time, moved himself further around so he could get his arm around to the opposite side, as if he was going to hug it, and then with a determined swipe sliced cleanly through its neck. He tried not to get any blood on himself, not wanting to explain to the others how he ended up coated in blood when he should have been standing guard for his shift, but it was impossible not to get some of it on the arm still wrapped around its head. He could feel the salamander under him quickly losing energy until, with one final sway, it collapsed to the ground, dead. I did it! I just killed my first monster solo and I didn¡¯t even get hurt! Unable to stop himself Shaun started laughing, overjoyed at what he accomplished, until he heard an enraged hissing noise from behind him. The other monsters, I am an idiot! How could he have forgotten that the fight was far from over, sure he had taken down one of the salamanders but that still left the two now coming up behind him. Without a second thought he rolled off of the body of the dead salamander and came to a stand, looking back he could see both of the salamanders now out of their room and coming towards him, the larger one in the lead with the smaller trailing just behind. He didn¡¯t have the benefit of being able to take these ones by surprise so he needed to change tactics, he still had his dagger, having not let it go after defeating the first monster and there was still a few metres between him and the approaching salamanders. Stealth wouldn¡¯t help him in his current situation, all he had was his daggers and the workings of a plan, a stupid plan, but a plan nonetheless, as he refused to turn away from the fight. Running towards the salamander he lifted his arm and threw the dagger aiming right at its head, he knew it wouldn¡¯t be enough to cause any real damage but he did hope that it would at least cause a distraction. Against all odds, the dagger hit the salamander blade first right in the eye, not hard enough to stick inside as it still bounced off and ended up on the ground right next to it. Not expecting the move the salamander started shaking its head around, making a weird noise between an angry screech and a pained hiss, while pulling out his other dagger he decided to throw himself into a roll that landed him right by the monster¡¯s side and then stabbed down at the creature. The dagger punched into its body but he lost his balance when the salamander slammed its body into Shaun sideways, causing him to fly back and land on his back. He hadn¡¯t been able to keep a hold of his dagger but the salamander was no longer paying attention to him, rather thrashing around trying to get the dagger out of its side. Before he had a chance to think about what to do next he saw the smaller salamander launch itself at him, having no way to defend himself and not enough time to get off the ground, he put his arm up in front of him hoping to hold off the monster for just a little while so he could come up with something to get him out of this mess. The salamander ended up on top of him, thankful that it was the smallest one as the weight of its body wasn¡¯t overpowering, but he still didn¡¯t have the strength to push it off. Using his forearm he tried to push the salamander away but instead of working like he hoped, his arm was met with its front claws. Slicing through his arm, he couldn¡¯t help himself as he let out a scream, his arm felt like it was on fire, the pain radiating up his entire arm, nearly causing him to pull it back, but if he moved it out of the way it would give the salamander full access to his chest and face, and that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. While defending himself with one arm he used the other to search around him hoping to find something, anything, that would help him survive. One of his daggers was in the salamander which was still letting out screeches as it tried to get the dagger out of its body, the other he had thrown at the monster and he couldn¡¯t see where it ended up. Out of options he tried to think of anything else he had that might work, the spider fang! It was in his inventory and would take a few seconds to get it out but he didn¡¯t really have any other options. Focusing on bringing the fang out of his inventory and into his hand, he continued using his arm to fend off the salamander on top of him, he received another few slices through his arm from its claws but he could hold it off for a few more seconds. With a soft glow he felt one of the fangs appear in his hand and without hesitation he made sure to get a solid grip on it, nowhere near as comfortable or easy as one of his daggers, and then slammed it into the side of the salamander¡¯s head. Grateful that it was the smallest of the monsters, otherwise he didn¡¯t think he would have survived the attack, the fang pushed far enough into its head for it to stop its attack and drop on top of him. Having learnt from last time he knew that he wasn¡¯t done, pushing the body off of him, doing so highlighting just how damaged his arm was, he looked around for the dagger he threw. Spotting it he stood up and went to grab it off the ground. Now with a dagger in the hand of his good arm he set his sights on the final salamander. It was no longer jerking around and looked more lethargic than anything. His earlier attacks must have done more damage than he thought. Not wanting to delay, as he was on a timer, he moved up to the side of the monster, careful to make sure that it didn¡¯t swing around and attack, before driving the dagger into the creature¡¯s head, and with that he was finally done. He had won. Chapter 10 After collecting both of his daggers Shaun stumbled to the wall and dropped down to the ground, exhausted from the battle he just needed a bit of time to recover. Even though the battle only took a few minutes he had never felt more tired than he had in that moment, his body ached, his arm was throbbing with pain but even with all of that he was happy, excited and even impressed with himself. He still hadn¡¯t even gotten to the best part of the fight, the gains. *You have defeated a (Cave Salamander ¨C Lvl 2). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 20 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Cave Salamander ¨C Lvl 1). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 10 TE awarded* *Class: Rogue has levelled up by +1 levels. Rogue [Basic] has reached Level 2. +1 Str, +3 Dex, +1 End, +3 Per gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 1. +4 Ap gained* *You have defeated a (Cave Salamander ¨C Lvl 2). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 20 TE awarded* *Class: Rogue has levelled up by +1 levels. Rogue [Basic] has reached Level 3. +1 Str, +3 Dex, +1 End, +3 Per gained* Looking over the first set of notifications he could see that he had gained two class levels and one Race level. This was a big increase compared to his first day in the tutorial and it had only just started. As with the previous time he had levelled up, he felt the warmth rush through his body, it was more intense then the first time, probably because he hadn¡¯t just gained one level but three all at once. Shaun closed his eyes and welcomed the feeling, his body started to lose the aches he had just been feeling and even his arm didn¡¯t hurt as much. When the feeling faded he opened his eyes and went through the rest of his notifications. *Multiple Skill Level ups: [Basic] Short Blade ¨C Level 8* *Multiple Skill Level up: [Basic] Stealth ¨C Level 10* *Skill Level up: [Basic] Detection ¨C Level 7* He had gained three levels in his Short Blade and Stealth skills and one level in his detection skill, having already gained a level when finding and following the original salamander. Sitting back and smiling to himself, he had done well, looking over his status sheet he could see the rise in his stats from gaining the levels in his class and also the 4 unassigned attribute points. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (F) Level: 1 Class: Rogue [Basic] - Level 3 Profession: N/A Health Points:28/70 Stamina:16/130 Mana: 30/30 Stats: (Available Points: 4) Strength: 10 Dexterity: 17 Endurance: 13 Vitality: 7 Intelligence: 8 Perception: 16 Willpower: 6 Soul: 3 Affinity: N/A Titles: New Initiate Skills: Class: [Basic] Short Blade (Level 8), [Basic] Stealth (Level 10), [Basic] Detection (Level 7) Profession: N/A Looking at his stats he now had over half of them over 10 with Dexterity and Perception being closer to 20, he couldn¡¯t wait to see what it felt like to move now that his Dexterity had more than doubled since he started in the tutorial. He needed to consider what kind of build he was going to go with now that he had AP to assign, he could invest in what his class was already giving him or look to shore up his other stats and go for a more balanced build. He ruled out adding to Soul as he had no skills that used mana and it wouldn¡¯t help keep him alive in the immediate future, Intelligence and Willpower weren¡¯t helping at this point either but he assumed that they would have an impact on the future, but still it didn¡¯t help him now. His health and stamina had taken a hit during the fight, he had taken a damage when he was knocked to the ground and then again when he was being attacked by the salamander¡¯s claws, without contemplating where to put the points any longer than necessary he willed all 4 points in Vitality bringing it up to 11, the reasoning being the more health he had the less likely he was to die, once he was done he saw his health rise to 68. Having now finished with his stats he moved his attention to his arm, it was still bleeding but significantly less than earlier. Considering drinking his health potion, he decided against it as he could need it for something more important later on, instead he ripped off the bloodied sleeve of his shirt, then the other, and started wrapping his arm with the material, it wasn¡¯t perfect but it would do. He would deal with it for now until he could come up with a better solution later. Standing up he walked to the monster¡¯s bodies with the intention of looting each of them before doing a quick clean up of the tunnel to try and make it look less obvious that a fight had occurred. *Would you like to loot two Cave Salamander ¨C Level 2 and one Cave Salamander - Level 1?* Responding in the affirmative, he was thankful that he would be able to loot all of the monsters at once rather than having to do it individually, which would get annoying if he had to walk around to each body every time he was in a battle. *Three Salamander skins from multiple Cave Salamander added to inventory* *Salamander meat from multiple Cave Salamander added to inventory* He was thankful for this looting ability, if he had to butcher the bodies by hand he would have no idea where to start, this was not only much quicker but cleaner. Looking around the tunnel there was nothing he could do about the blood on the ground so he didn¡¯t even try, walking over to the broken glass from where he threw the vial he scooped it all up into his hand tried to put it into his inventory, figuring it was better then leaving it there or putting it into his pouch, with a glow it disappeared. With a final look around he could still see some signs of a fight occurring but there was nothing more he could do. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Ready to head back to the cavern, he figured he had only been gone for 30 minutes, even with the time he had spent going over his notifications and assigning his AP he had plenty of time before he would be expected to wake everyone up. While he walked back he reviewed the fight with the salamanders, killing the first one had gone well enough, he needed to work on his aim with the dagger but overall it was a success. His first real mistake was getting distracted afterwards, that left him open to the second monster which didn¡¯t go anywhere near as well as the first, throwing the dagger gave him the distraction he needed to attack further and for his first time throwing a dagger it wasn¡¯t a bad throw, if he had more practice and threw it with more strength, that attack would have killed it in one shot. His last mistake was leaving himself with no weapon to defend himself with, to resolve this he either needed more short blades to go with his skill or just learn to hold on to them. After about 15 minutes of walking the tunnel started to lighten, in this time both his health and stamina had both started to recover but his arm still hurt. As Gabe came into view he made sure to make a bit of noise, he dropped out of stealth so that when he approached he wouldn¡¯t scare him again. ¡°It¡¯s me Gabe, no need to worry.¡± He called out loud enough for him to hear but not too loud that if anyone was awake inside the cavern that they would hear him. ¡°I have been worried the entire time you have been gone man, it''s so good to see you back! Wait what happened to you?¡± Walking into view Gabe caught sight of him, he didn¡¯t look that bad, sure he was a little dirty and had bloody rags wrapped around his arm but it wasn¡¯t like he was limping or showing any signs of pain. ¡°Are you bleeding?¡± rushing forward to get a better look at Shaun, he grabbed hold of his arm and looked him over. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± getting a sceptical look from Gabe, he chuckled, ¡°no seriously I¡¯m actually doing pretty good. I will let you know what happened if you keep it between us, the people in there aren¡¯t exactly happy with me after everything that happened yesterday and if they found out I left watch it wouldn¡¯t go over well.¡± Getting the nod from Gabe he continued, ¡°I came across a monster, it wasn¡¯t one of the spiders, it was a lizard, well a salamander, eh they are really just the same thing. I followed it and it led me to a little room where there were two more of them. One thing led to another and I got into a little fight. I won, obviously, one of them got a few scratches in but I got it in the end. I even gained a few levels which was pretty amazing.¡± Taking a step back Gabe shook his head, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have gotten into a fight Shaun,¡± Ready to interrupt him Gabe just shook his head for him to stop ¡°let me finish. It was risky, you could have gotten seriously hurt, even died down there and no one would have known until we set out today. But I get it, alright? I have been thinking about it for a while, especially since you''ve been gone, the only way we are going to survive is by getting stronger and to get stronger we need to fight. Part of me is angry at you for taking on such a risk, but honestly, a bigger part of me is annoyed that I didn¡¯t get to come with you. I will keep quiet about this but next time I get to go with you. Deal?¡± Thinking it over Shaun didn¡¯t see a reason to say no, he would have to adapt his approach a little but if he had someone there with him when he was fighting the salamanders he would have made it out of that fight without a scratch. ¡°Yeah, I think we have a deal, friend.¡± Surprisingly, it felt good, to call someone a friend and mean it, he trusted Gabe to have his back, just like he was doing now. ¡°I have an idea about your arm as well. Follow me.¡± Walking behind Gabe back into the cavern, everyone was still asleep, it was about time to wake them up but he didn¡¯t see how that was going to help him with his arm. When they started walking over to Danielle he finally understood what the plan was. Gabe bent down and slowly nudged Danielle awake, making sure to be quiet so as not to disturb the others. ¡°Hey Danielle, it¡¯s time to wake up.¡± he said softly. As she slowly came too, he placed a finger to his lips indicating she should be quiet, with a wave he asked her to follow him out to the tunnel. Once they were all far enough away from the others he explained what he needed, ¡°We had a little trouble on last watch, no monsters or anything but we were practising our skills and Shaun got hurt. He wrapped it up with his sleeves because we didn¡¯t want to wake you but it''s kind of embarrassing you know? Is there any way you could heal his arm before we wake everyone else up? We don¡¯t want anyone to know, so can we keep it between us? Please?¡± Looking over at Shaun, finally taking in his appearance and the bloody arm she chuckled, ¡°It seems even in the middle of a crazy situation boys will be boys. I can try to heal him but you need to be more careful,¡± giving them a firm look ¡°both of you.¡± Stepping forward to grab a hold of his arm she focused on healing him, as her hands started to glow Shaun could feel energy travel into him as the pains in his arm slowly started to disappear. When he felt like his arm was back to new she pulled her hands away from him and gave him a nod, ¡°All done.¡± Slowly, Shaun started taking the rags off of his arms and when they were finally off he could only see faint white lines that marked his skin, a reminder of the mistakes he had made earlier, but he could feel no pain. Looking up from his arm and right into Danielle¡¯s eyes he thanked her, promising if she needed something in the future he would do what he can to help. ¡°I think it''s time to wake everyone up and get the day started.¡± As they re-entered the cavern they split up, Gabe went to get Eric who was still on guard in the other tunnel while Shaun and Danielle went around slowly waking up the group. Once everyone had woken up, had a drink from the pool and was more alert they all gathered in the centre of the cavern. Before they could start on the plan for the day Shaun was questioned on his sleeves and without even looking at Danielle or Gabe he simply replied that he thought the outfit looked better without sleeves., the little bit of humour went a long way with raising people spirits, although he did actually think that the sleeveless shirt did look better and a bonus was that it was easier to move in. Eventually Michael cleared his throat to gather everyone¡¯s attention, ¡°The first thing we need to do today is find food, I know everyone is hungry, so am I, so that has to be the priority.¡± No one disagreed with this, they hadn¡¯t had anything to eat in over a day, what followed was people putting forth their opinions on what they should do, there were suggestions that they should try eating the plants by the water but that really didn¡¯t hold much appeal to anyone. ¡°If Shaun didn¡¯t loot the spider we could have tried to see if anything on it was edible at least. Instead, he decided to take that decision away from everyone, only thinking of himself, isn¡¯t that right?" This came from Trevor, who was eyeing Shaun like he had just put him in his place. No one knew what Shaun did, that Trevor and the others were trying to loot the body before he had even approached, there was also no point in bringing it up, he couldn¡¯t prove it and he had nothing to gain from even bringing it up. Instead, he decided that now was the perfect time to put Trevor in his place instead. ¡°Your right, I wasn¡¯t thinking, looting the spider did get rid of it body and we could have tried to find something edible from it.¡± He looked around at everyone staring at him with accusatory looks all over their faces, until finally he looked back at Trevor, ¡°Thankfully when I looted the spider, I also got some of the meat from its legs, here let me show you.¡± Pulling all of the leg meat out of his inventory, he held up both of his hand, as there was too much for him to hold in just one, ¡°It¡¯s all safe to eat, I checked it with Identify, it''s not enough for everyone to get a full meal but it should tide us over until we hopefully find another monster. We just need a way to cook it.¡± Everyone started asking questions after that, everyone curious as to if he got anything else, which he answered honestly, if he had any more meat, which he again answered saying he had no more spider meat, technically not lying as he didn¡¯t have any left from the spider, that earnt a raised eyebrow from Gabe which he decided to ignore. The conversation then turned to how they were going to cook it, there was nothing to use to start a fire and eating it raw did not appeal to a single person there, everyone quickly fell into silence, slowly giving up hope on being able to eat the meat cooked. ¡°I have an idea,¡± Jessica spoke up, ¡°it might not work but it''s worth a try right?¡± Taking a piece of the meat from Shaun¡¯s hand she placed it on the ground, ¡°Everyone might want to take a step back.¡± Once everyone had moved away, now forming a circle around the single piece of meat on the ground, Jessica took out her wand and pointed it at the meat. With a flash of light she cast Mana Bolt at the meat, when it cleared what was left behind was what could only be described as a very well done piece of spider leg. ¡°Anyone willing to take the first bite?¡± The group all looked at each other, no one wanting to be the first to try an unknown piece of mana cooked meat. ¡°I will do it.¡± Michael said stepping forward, picking it up off the ground, he hesitated for a second before taking a bite out of the leg. Well he didn¡¯t spit it out, Shaun thought. ¡°It¡¯s edible, although barely. That was good thinking Jessica.¡± What followed was the rest of the meat being blasted by the two mages and once everyone had had something to eat they knew it was time. Eventually they had all agreed, now that they had a reasonably safe place to stay the only thing left to do was go out and hunt monsters for more food. It was decided that they would split up, Danielle wanted to stay in the cavern and both Richard and the other archer decided they would also stay to both protect Danielle and keep the cavern free of monsters, the rest of the group set out down the tunnel to see what they could find. Chapter 11 As they moved down the tunnel as a group, it was decided to let the other rogue take the lead this time to help him build up his skills, Shaun was fine with this as he had already made it a decent way down the tunnel earlier and he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to raise his skill further just by scouting ahead. Instead he spent the time thinking about how he would incorporate Gabe into his battle strategy the next time they had an opportunity to set out alone. Depending on the situation he concluded that his first attacks from stealth were too effective to not take advantage of if they could, this would mean that even with two of them he would still stay ahead and check for monsters before bringing Gabe into the fight, they could then plan an attack where Shaun had first hit on a monster and then Gabe¡¯s arrows would enter the fight. This would ensure maximum damage right from the start, weakening their prey for an easier finish. If multiple monsters were present they would split up targets with Shaun going for the strongest and Gabe taking care of the others, either as a distraction or hopefully by getting strong enough to put down their enemies with his archery skills. While everyone was concentrating on moving through the tunnel he moved up alongside Gabe and slowed him down a little to put some distance between them and the rest of the group. He talked through his plan on how they would approach a fight with Gabe agreeing that it made the most sense, the only thing they needed to figure out was a way for Gabe to do damage if a monster got close to him, he needed another weapon, even if it was to just for use in an emergency. Thinking over his last battle Shaun decided to hand over one of the fangs he had from the spider once they were alone, it wasn¡¯t the best weapon but it would do if he got into a desperate situation. As they continued forward, the other rogue came back and informed the group he had found something, judging from the amount of time they had been walking Shaun knew they were coming up on where he had fought the salamanders. When the Rogue reported that he found blood on the ground he gave Gabe a look and smiled, indicating that it was where he had battled earlier, they all moved forward as a group until they reached the still wet blood. ¡°Everyone that was on look out duty last night for this tunnel did you hear anything or see any indication on what happened here?¡± Michael had taken charge of the group before setting out, he seemed to have gotten over yesterday¡¯s breakdown pretty quickly. With everyone who was on watch all saying the same thing, they had not seen or heard a thing, even Shaun and Gabe, who did so convincingly, ¡°Okay then we know there is something in this tunnel that is a threat, it could be monsters attacking other monsters or there could be other people around. We need to be very careful moving forward from here, the rogue with the highest level in stealth will be in the lead scouting ahead,¡± this was obviously Shaun but he decided to say a lower level to the rest of the group to not bring any suspicion on him as having a level 10 skill, it would be a give away that he hadn¡¯t just been sitting and watching during his shift last night. ¡°the rest of us will follow behind, weapons drawn ready to fight if needed, agreed?¡±. Happy that he could now explore further in the tunnel, he happily agreed to head out ahead of the others, if he came across a monster he would come back and tell the others he decided, wanting to make sure that he came across as being nothing but a team player, although if he found anything useful along the way that he could easily put into his inventory he would have to rethink his approach. Was it a little selfish? Sure. But whether they liked it or not, if it came down to a life or death situation he was pretty confident it would turn into every man, or woman, for themselves. Just as he was setting forward he did act like he had just found a small room off to the side, he knew it was there already and that it was empty but showing the others that he was the right choice and clearly more observant than the other rogue would have its advantages down the line. Once they had had a look into the room where the three salamanders were and finding nothing they all decided to move on. The tunnel didn¡¯t change much as Shaun moved ahead, very much the same as every other tunnel he had been down so far, finally after what felt like forever, but really had only been about 30 minutes, he found signs of more salamanders, it was easy enough to figure out what causing the noise now that he had seen them before, the hissing and the way their tails would make the swishing noise along the ground when they moved was a give away. Moving further forward he found a group of the monster, there was five of them this time, six if you included the one that was already dead on the ground, the two largest salamanders looked like they were having some sort of disagreement, there was three on one side facing the two on the other, must be some sort of territorial fight, or maybe they ate the only other thing they could find in these tunnels, each other, he thought. With a quick Identify he found that the two largest who were having the disagreement were level 3, only a little larger than the ones he fought yesterday, two others level 2 and the last one in the group of three was only level 1. Having gotten the information he needed he turned around and went back to inform the others, once he finished telling them what he had found up ahead it was decided that with their higher number and the fact that they were prepared for what was ahead, that they would fight, they needed the food so it wasn¡¯t like they had much of a choice. Once Michael finished processing what Shaun had reported he told everyone the plan. ¡°Here is what we should do, we stay quiet and try to sneak up on them, once we are all in position every one that has one will use their ranged attacks, that¡¯s Gabe and the mages. After that all the warriors will move in, there are three of us which should be enough for us to form a line at the front leaving enough space between us for everyone else to attack from behind.¡± Getting nods from everyone he continued, ¡°Our two rogues should stay back, if you see an opening you can take it, but you are the most vulnerable to¡­.¡± ¡°No,¡± Shaun interrupted, ¡°I can go ahead, my stealth skill is high enough that I should be able to sneak past the monster and get behind all of them, once you attack from the front they will be distracted and I can then surprise attack from behind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous, what if you are seen? They could all turn on you and attack at once, there is no way you can take five monsters all on your own, you would be dead before anyone else could even get to you. No. we go with my plan to¡­¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking Michael. Your right, worst case is I¡¯m caught and I die, that won''t impact your plan at all though, they will still be distracted and you can attack as you wanted. But if my plan works then we will have a much better chance of killing these things quickly and with less chance of someone getting hurt.¡± He didn¡¯t know what had come over him, but the idea of playing it safe on the back line just didn¡¯t sit right with him anymore. He had taken down three salamanders all on his own, not that they knew that, and he was stronger now then he was during that fight. He believed in himself and his skills. He was doing this whether Michael liked it or not. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. He didn¡¯t like it, in fact he was furious, Shaun knew that Michael hated being told no and losing control of a situation, he had witnessed that yesterday, and doing so twice now in 2 days was clearly driving a wedge firmly between the two of them. ¡°If that¡¯s what you want to do I can¡¯t stop you Shaun, but if something goes wrong I won''t risk anyone here to save you, it''s your life, throw it away if you want to.¡± And with that it was decided, he would go ahead and try to sneak behind all five of the salamander¡¯s while the rest got into position. He turned around, away from the group, but not before catching a thumbs up from Gabe, at least he believes I can do it, moving forward he dropped into stealth and moved along the wall until the salamander¡¯s were in sight. Committing to his plan he slowly moved closer to the five monsters in front of him, not much had changed with them which was good, all their attention was on each other which was perfect. Once he reached the first salamander he stopped for a second and surveyed them close up, they all looked the same as the ones from earlier, same weak spots and around the same sizing. Continuing past the first monster, he knew what he was doing was risky, he was now right between the two sides and if he was caught now he would be in for the fight of his life, but he wasn¡¯t caught, so he continued on until he was finally on the other side. Assessing the salamander closest to him he was slightly behind it but close enough that it would be easy enough to attack without much movement, it was the level 1 and just on the other side of it was one of the level 2. Coming up with a plan, he decided to go with a high risk high reward approach. The level 3 monsters were further away from him, as well as the second level 2, these would be the ones that would be closest to the rest of his group when they chose to attack so posed the lowest threat to him. It was the two closest to him that he would need to deal with first, the level 1 would need to be killed quickly so he could move on to the bigger threat. Now all he had to do was wait for the first ranged attacks from the group to come and then it would be time. He didn¡¯t have to wait long, about 30 seconds later he saw the bright flashes from the Mana Bolts and an arrow fly into the level 3 monsters, it hadn¡¯t done much except get their attention. All of the gathered salamander¡¯s quickly turned their attention to the new threat, the ones that were attacked from behind turning around swiftly to see what had attacked. Getting ready, Shaun was ready to join the fight but wanted to wait for the moment that the warriors had engaged with the closest monsters to them, figuring that this would reduce the risk of drawing attention from those furthest away. Seconds after the attack from the mages and Gabe he saw the warriors running forward with a battle cry, why they were yelling, he had no idea, seemed foolish to announce yourself when running into a battle. As soon as the warriors were engaged with the salamanders Shaun made his move. With a leap over the Level 1 monster, as soon as he was above it he threw down his dagger right at its head. When he landed he went into a roll and drew his other dagger as he did so, the increased Dexterity and Perception greatly increasing his aim as well as the way he could control his body. As he got up from the roll he then launched himself at the level 2 salamander who was just turning its head to look at what was happening. Dagger in hand he swiped at its face then quickly back tracked to get some distance, he hadn¡¯t killed it, but he could see a deep gash along the left side of its head and although it was hurt it was also angry. He quickly sent out his detection skill and found the level 1 dead on the ground without even having to take his focus off of the monster now paying full attention to him. Just as he was getting ready for another strike an arrow flew out and hit the monster in the shoulder, its attention immediately moving towards the direction of where the arrow came from, thank you Gabe, he thought before immediately taking advantage of the situation. Without any hesitation he flipped the grip of his dagger and flew forward and stabbed down into its head and again not wanting to stay in range in case the salamander chose to attack him, he pulled the dagger out and moved back. This wasn¡¯t needed though as the monster fell to the ground, instantly dying from having a dagger piercing through its head. Two down three to go. With a look over the remaining monsters and the warriors engaged with them using their swords, he noted that none of the monsters were paying him any attention. Moving back to the level 1 he had killed he noticed an arrow sticking out of its head, he would have to thank Gabe for that later as well, he removed the dagger from its head, noticing that he hadn¡¯t quite hit the mark with his throw to instantly kill it. Turning his attention back to the battle he noticed that each Warrior was engaged with one of the salamander¡¯s, Michael and Trevor were fighting the level 3 and Eric fighting the level 2. They all seemed to be doing okay, not great though. The salamanders seemed more angry than hurt, with none of the Warriors looking too injured, Eric was slightly limping, looking like he had either been scratched or bitten on his leg, but the other two seemed to be fine. Having made his decision Shaun decided to help out Eric first, although he would have preferred to take out one of the level 3, Gabe had told him earlier that Eric was a good guy and he was struggling the most at the moment. Having already had some success with throwing his dagger he decided to attempt this again, with a breath he lined up his shot and threw with all of his strength, it hit the salamander in its back and sunk in straight to the hilt, not a kill shot but it was damn effective. The salamander whirled around to face him but before it could even make a noise Eric drove his sword straight down into its body, it struggled for all of a second before dying. Having done his good deed for the day he turned his attention to Michael and Trevor, if he helped Trevor and stole his kill it would cause mayhem but would also be rather satisfying, getting to say that he needed help to take care of his monster, on the other hand taking care of Michael¡¯s salamander would drive home the point of never underestimating his skills like he had earlier. With a smile he made his decision. Sneaking up behind the level 3 salamander he drew his dagger and decided to re-enact his first battle with a salamander from when he was on guard duty. He jumped onto it back, straddling it like he was about to go on a ride and then with both hands gripping his dagger and punched down right into its neck till the dagger was driven in as far as it would go. The monster stilled beneath him and fell to the ground, expecting this Shaun had already moved his legs into position to stand with the dead salamander now between his legs. Withdrawing his dagger from the body he looked up right into Michael¡¯s eyes, he was pissed. ¡°I had it covered, why did you interfere? The monster was mine to kill and you just¡­..¡± ¡°Looks like Trevor could use some help don¡¯t you think?¡± Shaun interrupted him with a smile. Michael looked over at Trevor, now the only one of the Warriors still fighting a monster, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go help him Michael, he looks like he could use some assistance?¡± Was it wrong for him to have taken Michaels kill and then direct him to do exactly the same to Trevor? Sure, but when opportunity presents itself what are you supposed to do but take advantage of it. Rather than lecture Shaun on how wrong it was he just nodded with a smile and went over to help Trevor, with the two of them fighting it from different sides the battle ended quickly. The mages had long since run out of mana and Gabe looked to be content just to watch the events unfold. Once the fight ended Shaun looked at Trevor, an expression mirroring the one that Michael had given him earlier. What a great battle Shaun thought. Chapter 12 As everyone started to gather around, Shaun decided to check through his notifications, wanting to see the gains he had through the battle. *You have defeated a (Cave Salamander ¨C Lvl 1). Experience gained. 5 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Cave Salamander ¨C Lvl 2). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 15 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Cave Salamander ¨C Lvl 2). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 7 TE awarded* *Class: Rogue has levelled up by +1 levels. Rogue [Basic] has reached Level 4. +1 Str, +3 Dex, +1 End, +3 Per gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 2. +4 Ap gained* *You have defeated a (Cave Salamander ¨C Lvl 3). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 20 TE awarded* *Class: Rogue has levelled up by +1 levels. Rogue [Basic] has reached Level 5. +1 Str, +3 Dex, +1 End, +3 Per gained* He had received experience from helping to defeat 4 of the salamanders, and in the process got 47 TE, gained 2 levels in his class and 1 level in his race. He concluded that for every 2 levels he had in his class he would gain 1 in his race, not sure why they weren¡¯t equal but assumed it would have something to do with not having a profession, something he really needed to look into. The stat gains were always helpful, but he decided to not use his AP just yet as he needed time to think about what he would add them to. *Multiple Skill Level ups: [Basic] Short Blade ¨C Level 11* *Multiple Skill Level up: [Basic] Stealth ¨C Level 12* *Skill Level up: [Basic] Detection ¨C Level 8* He had gained more levels in his skills with his short blade skill increasing the most by 3 levels, stealth by 2 and detection only 1, still good gains from the fight. ¡°Okay everyone, let''s go over everything that happened. I think it''s important that we get a good idea of what went well and what we could improve on. If everyone is comfortable sharing we should also go over what level each of us is at now.¡± Michael said. ¡°The plan worked well, attacking from range at the start and then following up with close attacks really reduced the risk of anyone getting hurt. The salamanders were a lot harder to fight then we thought.¡± Really? Shaun thought, it was actually a lot easier than my first battle with them. Goes to show what a higher skill level will do, and a couple of class levels I guess. Michael continued ¡°Engaging with the strongest monsters first was a good plan but it took too long to put them down with only one warrior fighting, in future we might need to double up on stronger monsters so we can move through them quicker. We also need to factor in how quickly the mages run out of Mana although I hope with the class level gained in the fight they will be able to attack for longer. I gained a level in my class and got a level in my race, my skills all levelled up as well.¡± As everyone went around and shared, Shaun couldn¡¯t help but notice that Michael never brought up Shaun¡¯s contribution to killing not one, not two, hell not even three but four of the salamanders. Not to mention that if he hadn¡¯t had gone through with sneaking behind the monsters before the attack the warriors would have ended up fighting all five of them at once. Once it got to Shaun sharing his gains he was very vague with what he gained just saying that his level and skills increased but not specifying by how much. If they really wanted to they would be able to identify him and see he now had a race level of 2. After everyone had spoken Michael continued ¡°We also need to decide who is going to loot the bodies and keep a hold of the meat, I believe that both myself and Trevor should claim the bodies as we both lead the group in different ways.¡± Shaun looked around seeing that the mages and the other rogue just nodded along, with Gabe, Eric and himself not agreeing with this in the slightest. Before any of them could speak up though Michael continued ¡°I¡¯m glad everyone agrees, it''s for the best.¡± I am starting to like this guy less and less the longer we are here Shaun decided. Trevor was the first to move, he walked right up to the body of the salamander that he was fighting and tried to loot the body. Swearing loud enough for everyone to hear, he exclaimed that he couldn¡¯t loot the monster. That¡¯s when Michael spoke up again ¡°I got a notification, says that I have to approve it because I defeated it, most likely because I got the killing blow.¡± That¡¯s when realisation dawned on him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to just go around claiming the bodies, he would need to get permission from those who had actually killed them to loot them. He then just stared at Shaun, not saying anything just looking at him like he was trying to evaluate how this was going to play out. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Well what are you waiting for? Give me permission already!¡± Trevor said It didn¡¯t look like Michael did, as the body didn¡¯t disappear in that black smoke like they did when they were looted. Instead he spoke to Shaun ¡°You don¡¯t have a problem letting Trevor and I loot the monsters, do you Shaun? We agreed that this was the right choice.¡± Shaun considered just agreeing but in the end he looked at Gabe and then Eric before turning back to Michael, ¡°You agreed to the two of you looting all the monsters. I think we should look at this a bit differently. I agree that all of the meat we get from the monsters can go to the two of you but everything else? If it wasn¡¯t for me sneaking behind the salamanders before you all attacked you would have been dealing with all five of them at once, if that happened this fight would have gone very differently. If it wasn¡¯t for Gabe helping me from a distance the two salamanders that we took down would have taken much longer to kill and would have delayed any assistance we provided to the rest of you. And Eric fought hard for his kill, even getting injured in the process. I think it''s only fair that we get to loot our own kills, and then hand over the meat we get to help the whole group. I think that¡¯s fair don¡¯t you? Like you said earlier, the point of coming down here searching for monsters is for food right?¡± Looking back at Gabe and Eric and could see both of them smiling and nodding along with everything he had just said. Michael had been backed into a corner and he knew it. What was he going to say to that? That he deserved everything because he was a leader? He couldn¡¯t force Shaun or any of the others to give their permission to allow him and Trevor to loot every single body. No, if he argued against him he would look like a tyrant, besides if he agreed he would still get the meat from the kills, holding onto what the group needed most right now. ¡°Fine.¡± Michael stated, ¡°I am learning that there is no point in trying to reason with you anyway. Loot the monsters but hand over the meat.¡± He then walked right over to Trevor and with a muttered apology looted the level 3 salamander. Shaun, Gabe and Eric did the same with Shaun looting the level 2 and 3 salamander, Eric the level 2 and Gabe walked over to get the level 1, with that done they handed over the meat to Trevor and Michael as agreed, although from the looks of it the amount that Gabe and Eric handed over was smaller than what he would expect, they must be keeping some of the meat in case they get separated and need it in the future, Shaun handed over some of the meat as well, although not all of it as he already had the meat from the three salamanders from earlier and he wanted to keep a stockpile in case he cut away from the group in future. As a group they agreed to move forward and see what else they could find. This time there was no question as to who should scout ahead, both Michael and Trevor told the other rogue to go ahead leaving Shaun to stay with the group. He didn¡¯t even argue, figuring that he could always go ahead if they reported back with finding something. As they walked he kept close to Gabe and Eric, both of whom were now hanging at the back of the group, both of them thanked him for not only the help in the battle but with the looting situation afterwards, this gave him a chance to thank Gabe for the help and also enquire into how Eric¡¯s leg was feeling, however after he levelled up he said that it felt much better as it wasn¡¯t a deep cut in the first place. Eventually, after walking for another 45 minutes the rogue came back and informed everyone of a split in the tunnel. Once the group had reached the split, Michael and Trevor had a quick conversation about which way to go before announcing they would continue right as they had before reaching the cavern the day earlier. ¡°I have a better plan.¡± Shaun said. ¡°Why must you always disagree with what we decide?¡± Michael replied back. ¡°I am not disagreeing with you,¡± and he really wasn¡¯t disagreeing with him, but the way that he saw it, if everyone went right it would be a missed opportunity. ¡°What I am trying to say is while you go right I can go down the left tunnel and see what¡¯s down there.¡± ¡°So you want to go down there by yourself? Not knowing what you may find or have to fight?¡± Michael¡¯s tone changed with that, now much more considering. Shaun couldn¡¯t figure out if Michael thought this was actually a good plan as they would be able to explore both tunnels at once or if he was actually just considering how nice it would be to get rid of him. Thinking back on his conversation with Gabe earlier about if they got the chance he would bring him along to any more of his outings, he figured now was a good time to throw it out there. ¡°I am happy to go alone, but if anyone else would like to join me they can come. It would be much more dangerous though without having stealth, something for everyone to consider.¡± He meant Gabe, this wasn¡¯t really an open invitation. ¡°Okay, I don¡¯t see why not.¡± Michael said to both him and the group, clearly assuming that no one would follow him. ¡°Anyone want to join Shaun?¡± He asked everyone else. ¡°Yeah, I will go with him.¡± Gabe replied immediately, giving Shaun a smile. ¡°Seriously? You want to go down there just the two of you with no one to back you up Gabe? I didn¡¯t think you had a death wish.¡± And that confirmed it for Shaun, this was a way to get rid of him. ¡°They won''t be alone,¡± Eric spoke up, ¡°I am going with them.¡± Didn¡¯t expect that Shaun thought, although it did make some sense, if he went with the others he wouldn¡¯t be given a chance to loot any more of his kills as he would be the only one going against both Michael and Trevor. With Shaun though he would have much more opportunity to grow and considering that in the last battle the three of them killed four out the five monsters, they were definitely stronger as a group of three, it also meant he could worry less about Gabe if he ended up in short ranged combat. ¡°Okay so it''s decided, Gabe, Eric and myself will go down the left and the rest of you will go down the right. I say we meet back at the cavern later on, no point putting a time limit on it, either we make it back or we don¡¯t, right?¡± Shaun said to Michael. Michael looked to Trevor before answering who just shrugged and said ¡°We don¡¯t need them, let them go, besides¡± Trevor then looked straight at Eric ¡°we need people we can trust to have our backs.¡± With that finally decided the group split, in more ways than one it felt. Shaun didn¡¯t know what the next few hours would bring but damn if he didn¡¯t feel better now that he wouldn¡¯t have to keep going against Michael, looking at Gabe then Eric he gave them a nod and they set off. Chapter 13 As they walked through the tunnel Shaun figured they needed a plan for when they encountered the next group of monsters. After a quick discussion it was decided that they would continue on with the same routine as they had with the group, Shaun would be the scout and the other two would stay a little behind and guard their back. It didn¡¯t take long before they encountered their first monsters, this time a group of three salamanders walking in the same direction they were, all around the same level as the last ones, one level 3 and two level 2. As Shaun returned to let Gabe and Eric know what he found they made their plan with each of them taking one monster each. ¡°Why do you want the level 3? I mean it''s fine, I¡¯m not complaining, just curious is all.¡± Eric asked Shaun. ¡°So I can get the bonus experience, I am level 2 now in my race so if I fight the others I wont get the bonus. This way we all get the benefit.¡± He explained to Eric. ¡°Wait, your race is level 2? What level is your class? You never did say how many levels you got in the last fight, but my class is only level 2, that would mean you have at least twice as many levels as I do! How?¡± Eric still didn¡¯t know about the fight he had this morning so he figured he should loop in him. ¡°You know that blood we came across earlier before the fight with the salamanders?¡± Eric nodded so he decided to continue, ¡°That was me from when we were on watch duty. Gabe kept watch while I went down and explored a little, I found some monsters and decided to get in a bit of training. We kept it quiet so no one would be upset that I wasn¡¯t watching the cavern the entire time or get annoyed that I killed monsters and got experience that the others missed out on.¡± ¡°Fair enough, honestly I would have done the same if I had your skills. I saw you during that last fight, the way you just appeared out of the shadows and moved around the battle was insane. I have never seen anything like it. It was one of the reasons I chose to come with you both, that and the way you stood up for us when it came to the looting of the monsters before.¡± Eric replied ¡°I won''t say anything to the others, besides, we are about to go get some more levels right? I will catch up to you eventually.¡± Laughing Shaun just looked at Eric, ¡°You''re not so bad Eric, but if we stand here much longer we might lose those salamanders so let¡¯s get moving. Oh and if you haven¡¯t done it already you should allocate your AP.¡± Shaun hadn¡¯t done this yet but had already decided he was going to split it with 2 in Vitality and 2 in Strength. Why? Because his strength was lagging behind how fast he could move and obviously he wanted more health points. It didn¡¯t take them long to catch up to the monsters as they were still walking down the tunnel but at a very casual pace, they had agreed that Shaun would try and move ahead of them in stealth as the level 3 was in the lead with the other two following behind. This would be a real test of his skills as he was essentially going to have to go fast enough to not only get up to them but move alongside them to get in front. They had also decided that Gabe and Eric would attack at the 60 second mark, so he had a time limit on him which added to the pressure. Shaun had just gotten up to the salamander at the back of the group and 20 seconds had already passed, he kept count in his head making sure he would know when he would run out of time to get in position. At 30 seconds he was in line with the middle of the group and at 50 seconds he had just made it to the front of the level 3 monster. Keeping a bit ahead of the group wasn¡¯t hard from there and he kept his detection skill on the entire time so that he could pinpoint if any of the salamanders broke their position. At the 60 second mark, like clockwork, Gabe shot his arrow and hit his monster right in the back and before any of them could turn around Eric was running towards the other, thankfully not screaming like a lunatic this time. As the second arrow flew and Eric reached his salamander Shaun made his move. Wanting to get more training in with throwing the dagger, he threw the first one right at its head, he was only about two metres away from it and he had increased his strength a fair amount, but he didn¡¯t expect it not only slam into the salamanders head to the hilt but also knock the entire salamander to the ground. Shocked he just looked at it, it tried to stand back up but then just fell to the ground unmoving. *You have defeated a (Cave Salamander ¨C Lvl 3). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 30 TE awarded* Increasing one¡¯s strength really isn¡¯t a joke, I just killed it with one hit Shaun thought. Looking at the how the fight was going with the other two he realised he didn¡¯t have anything to worry about, Eric was dealing with his salamander a lot easier then last time and Shaun didn¡¯t think he would need to help at all, while the other salamander had nearly half a dozen arrows sticking out of it and was barely able to move. Standing back he just watched, it didn¡¯t take long for Eric to finish his off and Gabe was just walking casually towards his with an arrow pointed right at the salamander. Once he got close enough he let the arrow loose and it punctured right through its head, dying immediately. Checking his notifications, he was annoyed that he hadn¡¯t gained a level but he did raise all of his skills by 1. He proceeded to loot the body, getting the same meat and salamander skin that he had gotten from each of the other bodies and then waited for the others to join him. Once they had all finished they informed Shaun that they had both gained a level, and both had level 3 classes. ¡°That was a lot easier than fighting in the last battle, gaining stats and skill levels really makes a difference in a fight. I am actually excited to see how the next fight goes.¡± Eric said to them, Shaun could tell he was happy about being with them, he didn¡¯t have to deal with who got what loot and only had to focus on getting his job done. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. They continued on like this for the next few hours, deciding that every time they got to a split in the tunnels that they would turn left. During this time they fought six more times, four of them being groups of salamander¡¯s with the other two being Cave Spiderlings. The first fight with the spiderling was rough, it was level 3 and Shaun had spotted it with his detection skill while he was scouting ahead, thankfully not missing it, as having one of those things drop down on top of you was a disaster. They approached the situation a little differently than usual. Shaun still used stealth to get to the other side of where the spider was hiding in the ceiling of the tunnel but instead of trying to throw a dagger at it, Gabe would instead shoot at where Shaun pointed with his arrows until it would fall to the ground. From there it was rather simple, Eric would step in and attack from one direction while Shaun lined up his attack and attacked from the other. The second spiderling went down even easier, it didn¡¯t even have a chance, as soon as it fell from the ceiling and Eric attacked, his sword strikes would go straight through its legs, it didn¡¯t take much for him to slice off half of its legs and then right through its head. Just as they were going to call it a day and head back Shaun came across something unexpected. His detection skill had picked up a small alcove in the wall in front of him, there was nothing living inside but something in there did give off a weird feeling that he couldn¡¯t ignore. Instead of going straight up to it to investigate he waited for the others to catch up to him. When they did reach him he explained what he felt. ¡°What do you think we should do?¡± Gabe asked him, unsure about whether whatever it was should be left alone or whether it was something special that would help them and they should grab it before anyone else stumbled along and found it. ¡°I say we check what it is. It''s not a monster so that means it has to be an item or something right?¡± Eric put forth his own opinion. ¡°I agree I say we go for it, the worst thing that could happen is it''s some kind of trap, we all still have our health potions so I think we would be fine if it is.¡± Shaun said to the others. Having made his decision he went up to the alcove slowly, it was at ground level so he needed to get on the ground to see what was inside. Without hesitation Shaun put his arm in and felt around until he got a grip on a handle and pulled it out. What came out was not what anyone was expecting, in front of them was a small chest, it was made of wood and had a clasp on the front. ¡°I am going to open it.¡± Shaun said out loud. When he opened the lid he had no idea what he was looking at. ¡°What is it?¡± Gabe asked, ¡°That doesn¡¯t look like treasure.¡± Sitting in the chest was an oval slab of stone, it was smooth and was an off white colour, having no idea why a stone would be inside of a chest inside of a wall Shaun resorted to using identify to figure it out. *Heat Attuned Stone ¨C This stone has been imbued with the properties of fire. When infused with Mana the stone will rise in temperature depending on how much Mana is provided.* ¡°That¡¯s useful, I guess¡­.¡± Shaun muttered. ¡°What is it?¡± Gabe asked, Shaun went on to tell them what Identify said, ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± Confused, Shaun looked back at Gabe ¡°Why is it so amazing? It¡¯s a rock that heats up.¡± ¡°Think about it Shaun, what would a hot stone be good for? Cooking meat! Especially when you can¡¯t just blast it with a Mana Bolt. It could also heat up water if you put the water and the stone in something and then heated the stone up. That¡¯s pretty cool!¡± Gabe was damn excited about finding the stone and once Shaun thought it through he now fully understood the benefits of having something like it on hand. Picking up the stone and removing it from inside the chest, the chest just crumbled to dust where it sat. Not even questioning it Shaun just stood up to face the others. ¡°Who gets to keep it?¡± Gabe looked like he wanted to, so did Eric, they exchanged a look and Eric nodded at Gabe, ¡°You need to keep it Shaun. Listen for a sec and you will know why. Out of the three of us you are the one that has caused the most trouble for Michael and Trevor. You have to have noticed the way Michael has been reacting to everything you say lately, he is one step away from just throwing you out of the group, I think if he could get away with it he already would have to be honest. If something happens and you end up alone, it''s best if you have the stone to be able to cook the meat you get from the monsters.¡± Thinking it over Shaun could disagree with a thing Gabe had said, it was all true. He had been standing up to Michael and it was causing issues, if he was right the only reason he agreed to let Shaun split the group was in the hope he didn¡¯t come back. And if he did need to split from everyone, having the stone would mean he didn¡¯t have to try raw monster meat, something he would be thankful for. ¡°Thank you, both of you. You''re right about everything that is happening with Michael and I, hopefully it doesn¡¯t come to getting kicked out of the group but I won''t let him walk all over us like he tried to earlier. If it comes to it I will leave.¡± Shaun nodded at both of them ¡°What do you guys say to trying it out?¡± Putting the stone on the ground he then looked at it, thinking over how to infuse it with mana. Every time he had seen someone use mana it had started from their hand, either with Danielle¡¯s healing or the mages with their wands, so he put his hand on the stone and imagined the Mana leaving his body through his hand and entering the stone to then cause it to heat. Keeping an eye on his status sheet, he watched his mana slowly start to drop, 29¡­..28¡­..27¡­..26¡­¡­25¡­..he then had to remove his hand from the now glowing hot stone. Without delay he put a piece of salamander meat on the stone and it started to sizzle, moving it around every few minutes so it cooked on every side, after what he thought was about 10 minutes he took the meat off the stone. After taking a bite he passed it around to the others, it tasted much better than the charred spider meat from this morning which was nice. Once everything was done he picked up the now cooled stone and put it in his inventory and checked his status sheet. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (F) Level: 4 Class: [Basic] Rogue - Level 8 Profession: N/A Health Points:180/180 Stamina:145/180 Mana:27/30 Stats: (Available Points: 0) Strength: 20 Dexterity: 32 Endurance: 18 Vitality: 18 Intelligence: 8 Perception: 31 Willpower: 6 Soul: 3 Affinity: N/A Titles: New Initiate Skills: Class: [Basic] Short Blade (Level 15), [Basic] Stealth (Level 17), [Basic] Detection (Level 12) Profession: N/A He had split his AP into Strength and Vitality again and over the course of the day increased all his skills by a few levels each. Without any further delay, they decided that now was the best time to head back to the cavern and see how the others had gone with their hunt down the other tunnel. Chapter 14 Making their way back to the cavern took a few hours and nothing happened during the journey back, this time though rather than walking the entire way they would also swap between running, jogging and walking. As they reached each of the splits in the tunnels that they would go down Eric would mark the cave wall with his sword so they could keep track of each tunnel they had gone down as they started to explore more of the cave system in the coming days. As they got close to the cavern they slowed down and just as they reached a point where they could see the light coming from the opening they came to a stop. ¡°Before we go in we need to talk about what we should and shouldn¡¯t tell everyone.¡± Shaun said to the others, ¡°Obviously the heating stone should stay between us otherwise it will end up causing issues with everyone in there, especially as it¡¯s a much better way of cooking the monster meat then a Mana Bolt.¡± He received nods of agreement from both Gabe and Eric. ¡°Secondly if they ask us for all of the meat we have gotten I think it''s smart to give over some of what we each have, enough that it wouldn¡¯t seem like we were holding back but we should still each keep enough in case of an emergency.¡± Shaun continued. ¡°Agreed.¡± Gabe said, ¡°If they ask about levels I think we need to be honest as well, the chances of someone identifying us is high. Eric and I are both going to come up as level 3 and you are going to come up as level 4. We say we got lucky with finding groups of monsters and that Shaun you are a higher level because you were able to take out more monsters because of being able to attack first from stealth when we were outnumbered.¡± ¡°Perfect.¡± Shaun replied, ¡°Is there anything else you think we need to cover off?¡± ¡°Just one last thing.¡± Eric spoke up, ¡°I think it''s smart that when it comes to keeping watch tonight that none of us are on the same shift. Think about it, we don¡¯t know what has happened with the other group today but we do know that they won''t be happy with you Shaun. I¡¯m not saying anything will happen while you sleep but if one of us is always awake we can keep an eye on you while you sleep. Just in case, you know?¡± Shaun actually appreciated Eric worrying about him. They had bonded today, during the walking and the fighting and although he couldn¡¯t quite call him a friend yet he did trust him enough to watch his back. The fact that he had thought ahead and wanted to make sure that he was safe around the others just reinforced the level of trust that Shaun had placed in him. ¡°Thanks Eric, I didn¡¯t even think about that. I doubt anything will happen but, yeah, I appreciate you looking out for me. I mean it.¡± He gave Eric a smile and nod and then did the same with Gabe, ¡°Let¡¯s get in there and get this over with, shall we?¡± As they entered the cavern the other group had already arrived, they were all sitting around talking in groups. Those that had been out hunting in the other group looked pretty torn up, especially Trevor and Michael. Their clothes had tears through them, their armour was scratched up pretty badly and they looked exhausted. The tone in the cavern was not joyful in the slightest, everyone looked pretty defeated. When they caught sight of the three of them walking in, everyone jumped to their feet. Danielle was the quickest and rushed over to them, ¡°Oh my god, your back! Are you okay? We were all so worried about you! Where have you been? Why has it taken you so long to get back?¡± She first grabbed a hold of Gabe and looked him over and then did the same to Shaun then Eric. ¡°None of you are hurt.¡± She said, it wasn¡¯t a question, but she still sounded confused as to why they weren¡¯t needing any healing. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you hurt?¡± she then asked, taking a step back and looking them over. ¡°We got lucky I guess?¡± Gabe replied, sounding a bit taken back by the barrage of statements and questions that were flung at them from Danielle. ¡°I guess the others can¡¯t say the same?¡± ¡°Oh it was terrible!¡± Danielle went on, everyone else in the cavern not saying a word. ¡°The others got back hours ago, they were all bleeding and cut up, it took so long to heal all of their injuries.¡± ¡°Where is Marcus?¡± Eric asked, looking around at everyone present. Who the hell is Marcus, Shaun thought. He looked at the group and the only one missing was the other rogue. ¡°He is dead.¡± Trevor replied, ¡°Got over confident and thought he could take on a monster alone. It didn¡¯t end well for him. Looks like you didn''t find much out there. No monsters to fight down your way huh?¡± he said with a sneer. Michael, who had been quiet up until this point stepped forward, ¡°No, they definitely found monsters to kill. Look at them Trevor. Eric and Gabe are both level 3. And I don¡¯t know how but Shaun has managed to get to level 4.¡± He gave them all an assessing look, ¡°How did you manage that?¡± ¡°Like Gabe said, we just got lucky.¡± Shaun decided to speak up at this point, knowing that staying quiet wouldn¡¯t help them, especially with everyone now staring at him. He quickly identified everyone there and the rest of the group were all level 2 outside of Richard and the other archer that stayed behind who were at level 1. Danielle had clearly levelled up from all the healing she had to do when the others got back. For a moment, which felt like an eternity, there was only silence in the cavern. Trevor was holding back barely controlled rage while Michael looked to be considering the situation he now had in front of him. Shaun was the strongest person present and both Gabe and Eric also out levelled the rest of them, they had all come back alive and stronger. This just solidified Shaun''s assumptions. Michael and Trevor weren¡¯t expecting him to come back, they had let him go down that tunnel in the hopes that he either decided to never come back or that his stunts would end up with him dead, a bit like the other Rogue. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°We are glad you all made it back.¡± Michael finally broke the silence. Sure you are, Shaun thought, holding back a laugh. ¡°When we got back and you weren¡¯t here we were worried about you. As the hours went by we honestly thought the worst, that you had all died. When we saw you walk back in here just now I can''t explain how happy we all were for you all to have returned unharmed.¡± Michael continued, ¡°I¡¯m assuming you would all be happy to contribute to the store of food that we have all collected? Shaun I¡¯m assuming you have hold of it all? Why would I have all of the meat? Shaun was confused by the statement for a moment until it dawned on him that Michael thought that he had taken control of the group and looted all of the monsters, or at the least had taken all of the monster meat from the others. ¡°I am sure we are all happy to hand over the meat we gathered from the monsters we killed, right guys?¡± He directed at Gabe and Eric. They both agreed, causing a look of confusion to flash across Michael¡¯s face for all of a split second before he composed himself. They each took turns putting a pile of meat on the ground in front of them, as each of them started emptying their inventory gasps could be heard through the cavern and as the piles grew they started to talk in excitement. They had killed over 30 monsters today as a group, which meant that they had a decent amount of meat to put forward, even with each of them holding back a little. Michael''s eyes got wider as the piles grew larger until finally he cleared his throat, ¡°This should do for a few days worth of food. Good work. Do you have anything else to tell us about? Anything different you came across?¡± Michael asked. ¡°Nope, just much of the same. Walking, fighting then more walking. Nothing out of the ordinary.¡± Gabe replied instead of Shaun, wanting to take some of the attention off of him knowing how much he disliked it. Thank you Gabe, Shaun thought to him. ¡°Okay, good to know.¡± Michael said with a nod, although Shaun wasn¡¯t sure he actually believed what Gabe had said. ¡°One of the mages can blast some of the meat for you, you all must be hungry. Then like last night we will split into 3 shifts to keep watch. With Marcus no longer with us we will have to change it up a little, the three of you should be split between each shift, Shaun, you and Eric can keep watch of one tunnel alone unless you have an objection to that as well?¡± Yeah he is definitely still annoyed with him Shaun concluded but didn¡¯t voice his thoughts. ¡°No issue, that sounds like a great idea!¡± He replied enthusiastically, receiving a questioning look back from Michael in return. After they had eaten the crispy salamander meat, they drank from the pool of water and everyone went back to their smaller group and got ready to sleep. Shaun still had the last watch but this time around instead of sleeping by himself, either Eric or Gabe would sleep right beside him. There were no issues throughout the night and for the next 3 days the same pattern followed with only one small change. This time when they all left to go hunting monsters no one stayed behind in the cavern, Danielle, Richard and the other archer had joined Michael and Trevor¡¯s group with the three of them breaking off at the first split to continue on alone. Over the course of the next three days Shaun, Gabe and Eric had explored a lot of the tunnels, not finding any more chests but finding plenty of monsters to fight. They never encountered anything they couldn¡¯t handle, instead their team work had become like a fine working machine, they knew each other''s moves and could instinctively tell where they needed to be and how they would approach a given situation. However on the fourth day, having now been in the tutorial for 6 days Shaun had started to get frustrated. He had only gained one more level in his class, now being a level 9 Rogue. He felt that he was close to level 10 but the low level monsters just weren¡¯t giving him enough experience any more. He had still gained a good amount of levels in his skills but there was no challenge in fighting level 3 monsters anymore. The only changes in the monsters they found was that every now and again they would come across another cavern, these caverns were generally pretty empty of any resources but they did find a different kind of monster. Blind blood bats they were called, they were the size of a normal bat but they would attack in huge groups of anywhere between 20 ¨C 30 per cavern. They would swarm them every time they entered one of these caverns, but if Shaun was being honest they were more of an annoyance than a threat. If they managed to land on you they would bite down and start drinking your blood, probably where they got the name blood bat, but they had no defensive ability so it only took one hit to kill them. Their loot was much the same, they didn¡¯t get any meat from these but instead just the bat hide. Both Gabe and Eric had both reached level 8 in their class, closing the gap between him and the others which he was happy about, while the other group had also starting gaining levels, Michael and Trevor had both hit level 8 as well but the others lagged behind, Danielle was now a level 6 healer and the rest of their group was sitting around level 5. It had been obvious that Michael and Trevor had both taken most of the kills to gain the experience, to the detriment of the rest of their team. They were all alive though and that more than anything kept the entire group from trying to change the status quo. On the next day, now 7 days into the tutorial, the day had started out the same as the rest of them. They had set out, went their own ways at the first tunnel split and continued on exploring the tunnels. They had set down a different tunnel today, having explored most of the others the previous few days, like every time they went down a different tunnel Shaun was back to scouting a head. As Shaun was moving through the tunnel he heard a fight up ahead, but this wasn¡¯t the sounds of monsters fighting monsters like he had heard previously, he could hear the sounds of metal slicing through monsters and see the flashing of lights that indicated Mana Bolts being released. He knew he had found other people up ahead. Making his way forward to get a better look, what he found was the ending of a fight between a group of salamanders and three people, one was a mage, one a warrior and the last a rogue. What did catch Shaun¡¯s eye was that the rogue didn¡¯t have the standard dagger in his hand, instead he saw that he had a short sword which looked like it was better quality then the daggers Shaun used and even the swords that the warriors had gotten. Before Shaun got a chance to turn around and head back to the others he heard the Rogue speak up loud enough for him to hear. ¡°Come out, I know you are there.¡± Shaun just froze, how the hell did they see him? He was in stealth and far enough away. Detection, he concluded. He used his detection skill and found me, crap what do I do now. ¡°There is no point hiding, we know you are alone, come out and talk, we won''t hurt you.¡± He didn¡¯t have a choice any more, if he tried to run they would be able to follow and they had ranged attacks if they chose to use them. Besides he didn¡¯t want to run the risk of leading them to Gabe and Eric, he had moved pretty far ahead so it would be a few minutes before they reached him at least. Stepping out of stealth Shaun came into view and walked a few steps towards the three people in front of him but still far enough away that if he really needed to he could run. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Shaun, and you are?¡± Chapter 15 The three people in front of him had no idea how to react to such a casual introduction, Shaun had considered how he would approach the situation in the moments before stepping into view. He immediately ruled out attacking as he didn¡¯t know what intention they had and starting out with violence would not be the best first impression. He had also considered acting like finding them was a dream come true, he could tell them some story about how hard it had been in the tunnels and that finding more people gave him hope but he ruled that out as well because if they really did have good intentions his level would be a giveaway that he hadn¡¯t just been sitting idly by or wandering the tunnels. Acting calm and treating the situation like he would if he was introducing himself to someone that he had met back home was his best bet to getting a better grasp of the situation at hand. ¡°Why are you all alone? Where is the rest of the group who got brought to the tutorial with you?¡± the warrior asked, with a quick identify Shaun saw that his name was Jason and he was level 4 like himself. Looking at the rogue named Paul he was also level 4 and lastly the archer Daniel who was the same level. Directing his attention back to Jason, Shaun replied ¡°I¡¯m not sure to be honest Jason, we spilt up a while ago. I couldn¡¯t tell you where they are right now.¡± It was true in a sense, he had no idea where the other group was and technically he had split with Gabe and Eric to scout ahead and he didn¡¯t know exactly how far back they were. The warrior, caught slightly off guard from Shaun using his name, quickly recovered and gave his party a look before they all started moving forward. ¡°That¡¯s a shame, you see we are under instructions to find and bring people back to Ruin. Its rare that we run into people all on their own in these tunnels. Usually, people don¡¯t survive without a team to fight with. But here you are all alone Shaun, pretty strong too.¡± That caught Shaun off guard, why exactly were they out looking for people? Who had given them instructions and what the hell was Ruin? He didn¡¯t really have time to contemplate these questions as the three of them were moving towards him, they hadn¡¯t even lowered their weapons. He wasn¡¯t an idiot, he knew where this was going but what annoyed him the most about the entire situation he was now in was that he wasn¡¯t going to get answers to any of his questions. ¡°So you¡¯re the good guys right? And who is giving you instructions? What is Ruin?¡± It was worth a try at least he thought. With a chuckle the Warrior just replied ¡°You know, it really doesn¡¯t matter.¡± And with that they made their move to attack. Shaun was prepared for this, he had been preparing and formulating a plan while they were speaking. Target number 1 was going to be the other rogue, they were the only one who would be able to detect him if he was in stealth. Second, he would deal with the archer, removing the need to worry about a ranged opponent and lastly, he would deal with the warrior. That was if he didn¡¯t die before then. As Jason ran right at him Shaun didn¡¯t move, waiting for his perfect moment, as the warrior got within a few feet of him and started to swing his sword, Shaun threw himself to the ground in a roll moving right past him with the sword completely missing. Standing out of the roll, out of reach of the warrior, Shaun threw his dagger at the archer, the purpose of the throw not to kill, although that would be nice, but so that they would be distracted and not be able to get a shot off while Shaun enacted the next step of his plan. Turning his attention to the rogue, he took out his second dagger and ran right at him, he wasn¡¯t scared about them throwing their short sword at him, it would be a stupid thing to do and as they had the same skills as each other Shaun knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to wield two blades at the same time with any success. Predictably when Shaun got close enough the rogue named Paul tried to stab out at him, he tried to move to the side while also stepping closer so that he could use his dagger but he wasn¡¯t quite quick enough. The sword sliced right through Shaun¡¯s side, cutting in at least an inch or two, but still better than getting stabbed right through the gut which was where the rogue had been aiming. Shaun clamped down on the scream that was building inside of him, it had hurt, a lot, but he refused to go down without the fight of his life. Trying to ignore the pain that hurt every time he moved, Shaun instead focused on what he was supposed to do next. He was now close enough to the rogue that he could attack without losing his dagger and Paul was just looking at him in shock because he had missed putting his sword through his stomach. Shaun tackled him to the ground, figuring that the sword wouldn¡¯t be anywhere near as useful if they were grappling with each other, he used one arm to wrap around the rogue and the other, the one with dagger in hand, he used to stab at their body. It wouldn¡¯t kill him but it would hurt, Shaun could attest to that. On the ground, Shaun landed on top of him, and not losing any focus, withdrew his dagger and then stabbed again. Paul tried to stab get with his sword but it was clumsy, the blade too long for what he was trying to achieve and Shaun easily battered his arm away. With determination Shaun lifted his dagger up a final time and plunged it down into the rogues chest. Before he could even think of what he should do next he felt and arrow go right through his shoulder with enough force to push him off the body he was still on. He lost the grip on his dagger and was now defenceless on the ground beside the rogue. Looking up, the archer was nocking another arrow while the warrior was coming right for him, looking beside him he saw the short sword still in the rogues unmoving hand and grabbed it before he rolled over and decided he needed to run. As he was getting up he nearly got hit by the warriors sword, if he hadn¡¯t rolled over when he did he would have been killed. Shaun kicked back at his knee which must have caused some pain as he immediately screamed and stopped focusing on Shaun, another arrow flew and this time only grazed his back, it still hurt but at this point what was a bit more pain. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Before either of them could recover to attack, Shaun was already on his feet and he ran with all of the energy he had left until he was far enough away to drop into stealth. He quickly fell against the wall, his energy quickly leaving him, he wasn¡¯t far from where he left the other two but he couldn¡¯t keep moving with all the wounds he had. That didn¡¯t mean he had given up, no, he was fully planning to deal with those animals, but first he needed to heal. He took the health potion out of his pouch with his good hand, the other he could barely move, and downed it in one go, it wouldn¡¯t work instantly but it would work, he had seen that. Next he took out the stamina potion and downed that one too. He still had to fight and his stamina was dangerously close to 0. With that done he looked down at his shoulder, he knew he was going to have to take the arrow out, he couldn¡¯t leave it in if he was going to go back before Gabe and Eric stumbled across the two he had left behind. With determination he stuffed some of the fabric of his shawl into his mouth and grabbed hold of the arrow behind his shoulder, only hesitating a moment he snapped it in half, it wasn¡¯t easy and it sent pain radiating through his body but he had done it. He didn¡¯t remove the shawl from his mouth though, he was only half way there. Grabbing hold of the point of the arrow that was sticking out of the front side of his shoulder he pulled it out, this time not being able to hold back his scream. He let himself take a few uncontrolled breaths through his nose before he removed the cloth from his mouth and took a huge breath and held it before releasing. He did this a few times before he felt back in control of himself. His health was only at about half, even after the potion, but his stamina was nearly back up to full. Thankful that the warrior and archer he had left in the tunnel hadn¡¯t come looking for him yet, he decided that it was time for him to stand up and go back before anything happened with Gabe and Eric. This time, with the rogue taken care of, the others wouldn¡¯t be able to detect him sneaking up on them. It didn¡¯t take long for him to come back to where the battle had taken place. Shaun could now see the warrior limping around, the kick to his knee causing him issues, while the archer was on the ground with the rogues body. ¡°How did this happen Daniel? There was one of him and three of us and still he got away. No, he didn¡¯t just get away he killed Paul! How are we going to explain this? We have done this multiple times and it has never gone wrong. What kind of animal is he? He just¡­.¡± So they had done this more then once, they had gone around killing people that were alone and for what? Shaun thought, and they are calling me an animal? They are nothing but a bunch of murderers. Jason was still pacing around and still hadn¡¯t stopped his monologue of how cruel and horrible Shaun was, neither of them looked to concerned about Shaun looping back and coming to finish them off, which worked well for his current plan. Sneaking along the wall until he was as close as he could get to Jason, who was still pacing around with his limp, Shaun waited until his back was turned and then made his move. Still in stealth he got right behind the unsuspecting warrior and without a sound stabbed the sword through his neck from behind. Without waiting around, Shaun backed up against the wall again and observed what would happen next so he could work on his plan to take out the archer. Jason had stopped his talking the moment the sword slide through his neck but still remained standing for a second or two before dropping down to his knees and then falling face first to the ground, alerting the archer to a change in his surroundings. ¡°Jason, what are you doing? Jason!¡± When he didn¡¯t receive a reply Daniel stood up and nocked an arrow. ¡°I know you are there, was killing Paul not enough for you? Now your back to kill the rest of us? You got your revenge what more do you want?¡± Shaun contemplated how he was going to approach the situation, he still wanted answers to his questions but he also wasn¡¯t in the best condition to have any kind of prolonged fight. While the archer was looking around trying to spot him he moved as close as he could, careful not to be spotted. He had already been shot once today and he had no desire to go through it again. Once he was as close as he was going to be able to get, while they were swinging around wildly trying to find him, Shaun pounced on him to knock him of balance and the quickly positioned his newly acquired sword against his neck. ¡°What I want Daniel,¡± Shaun said, ¡°Is answers to my questions.¡± Daniel had no choice in the matter really, he had a sword against his neck and with one wrong move Shaun would do what he had to, he wouldn¡¯t even hesitate. ¡°Tell me who is giving you instructions to find and kill people.¡± ¡°What?!?!? We were never given instructions to kill people!¡± Shaun pressed forward with the sword, cutting into Daniel¡¯s neck just a little which caused him to flinch. ¡°Alan! His name is Alan, he runs Ruin! He is the leader! But his orders were to only find people and bring them back, he never said to kill anyone I promise. He is just trying to gather everyone in a safe place I swear!¡± Shaun thought this over for a second considering what had been said. He believed the order wasn¡¯t to kill, they had made that decision themselves, he didn¡¯t really care why, there was no justification for it anyway. ¡°What and where is Ruin?¡± Shaun asked. ¡°Ruin is a safe place that was found in the caves. Its just what it sounds like, it a huge ruin of some ancient city, it has plenty of room, there are already thousands of people living there. It''s about a full day''s walk through the tunnels, we marked each of the passages with a cross so we knew which way to go back. Please just let me go there is nothing else I can tell you!¡± That was all Shaun really wanted to know, he didn¡¯t think of anything else he could ask at that point and he did believe the archer when he said he knew nothing else so instead he asked his final question, ¡°You have killed before haven¡¯t you?¡± The archer didn¡¯t answer him, but it was clear that he understood the implications of what he was being asked, ¡°Please don¡¯t¡­.¡± and before he got a chance to continue Shaun flicked his sword, silencing him forever. Before Shaun even had a moment to process what he had done, what had occurred over the last few minutes, he heard a voice from behind him, this time, one he recognised. Chapter 16 ¡°Shaun, what have you done?¡±, Shaun turned around to look at who had just spoken, standing behind him was Gabe, who was the one that just spoke, was standing there beside him was Eric, both of them with looks of shock on their face, even a bit of fear. ¡°It''s not what you think, I know this looks bad¡­..¡± Shaun started. ¡°This doesn¡¯t just look bad Shaun! We just saw you slit a man''s throat, not to even mention the two other bodies that are lying around!¡± Gabe interrupted. ¡°If you let me explain, I promise that this will all make more sense. Just please, let me explain.¡± He was practically begging them to just listen to his story. Over the past week he had gotten close to them, he didn¡¯t want one misunderstanding to destroy the bonds they had formed since they started hunting together as a group. ¡°Okay we are listening.¡± This time it was Eric who had spoken, he seemed a little more level headed then Gabe at the moment, not that he blamed him, what they had just witnessed would have been pretty shocking, they had never seen someone die before, let alone being killed by someone they called a friend. ¡°Do you guys mind if I sit down before telling you the story? I¡¯m not exactly in the best shape.¡± Shaun moved across to the wall and sat down, leaning back he got as comfortable as he could, he was still pretty hurt from the fight, the health potion only doing so much to heal him. Neither Gabe nor Eric moved any closer to him, or even asked if he was okay, he wouldn¡¯t hold it against them though, when he looked at the entire situation from their point of view it was pretty bad. Shaun started from the beginning, right from when he had heard the fight and got caught by the other rogue, he didn¡¯t leave out any details and told them everything that happened, including what he had been thinking during each part of the battle and his decision to come back after getting away to make sure they wouldn¡¯t hurt them when they got here. It took longer than Shaun expected, the entire fight lasted only 5 minutes, from the moment he was caught to coming back and finishing off the warrior and archer, but by the time he had finished recounting everything 30 minutes had to have passed. Once he was finished there was only silence, they hadn¡¯t asked him any questions through his retelling and now they seemed to just be thinking it all over, processing the implications of everything Shaun had said. Everything that he had done was only now dawning on Shaun himself, he hadn¡¯t had any time to process what had occurred but after having to relive it all and justify his decisions it all came crashing down on him. I am a murderer. There was no way around that fact, he had killed them. He could have run before the fighting started but instead, he had decided to meet them head on. He could partially justify needing to kill the rogue, if he hadn¡¯t they never would have let him go and there was no way he would be able to lose them. But the other two? He had made the decision to turn back and kill the other. And he did so, not in the middle of a fight, but in cold blood. ¡°It¡¯s finally hitting you, isn¡¯t it?¡± Eric asked him. Shaun couldn¡¯t even speak at that moment, the only thing going through his head was, I am a murderer. So instead of replying he just nodded, hoping that would be enough for Eric. Instead of walking away, which Shaun fully expected him to do in that moment, Eric walked over to him and sat beside him, he took out his health potion and tried to hand it to him. ¡°You look like you need this¡± Shaun shook his head, not taking the offered potion, ¡°I really don¡¯t deserve it.¡± ¡°Maybe, maybe not.¡± Eric let out a loud sigh, thinking over his next words. ¡°If I had been in your situation and they had come at me if I was alone¡­..I would have defended myself and if I am being honest, if I needed to, I think I would have fought to the bitter end to survive. I don¡¯t think that makes me a bad person and I don¡¯t think that makes you a bad person for actually doing it Shaun. But coming back to kill the warrior and the archer, even though you did it to protect us, I just don¡¯t know if I could have done that. And that¡­¡­that is what I am having a hard time processing. We watched you kill that guy, you didn¡¯t have to, but you chose to do it.¡± Eric didn¡¯t continue after that, it seemed like he had said everything that he needed to, and again silence enveloped the tunnel. Shaun just kept thinking about how it felt to kill those men but just couldn¡¯t reconcile the thoughts he had during the battle and what he was thinking now. What has happened to me? It¡¯s only been a week in here and already I have turned into someone I don¡¯t even recognise. The worst part for Shaun, if he was asked if he would have changed anything about what he had done, he didn¡¯t know what his answer would be. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Gabe asked them, he still hadn¡¯t moved any closer to Shaun, and when he looked at him, Gabe purposely turned to look at Eric, not meeting his eyes. ¡°Shaun, you need to loot the bodies.¡± Eric said, ¡°Don¡¯t argue, it has to be done. When we meet back up with the others we have to tell them what happened, or at least most of what happened. We will say that you came across them while scouting and they questioned you, asking about who you were, why you were alone and that they told you about this ruin and who was running it. Then when you turned around to take them back to us they attacked. By the time Gabe and I caught up you were hurt badly and the others were dead. It¡¯s the truth mostly¡­¡­and to make it believable you need to loot the bodies. We would never leave behind valuable resources, especially if they came from murderers, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not exactly the truth though is it.¡± Gabe replied, not disagreeing with what Eric had said but also not sounding like he was happy to go along with it either. ¡°It''s not a lie though, they attacked, when we arrived they were dead, Shaun was hurt. All of that is true. If we go back there and start saying that he saw Shaun kill that man what do you think will happen Gabe? At the very least they will send him away, worst case though, they try to kill him claiming that he is a cold blooded killer that is too dangerous to keep alive. They might still do either of those things, you never know with Michael and Trevor in charge.¡± It took a minute for Gabe to agree, but eventually he came around. He still hadn¡¯t said a word to Shaun, hadn¡¯t even looked at him, but he at least didn¡¯t want him to have to face the consequences of what would occur if the full truth of events came out to the rest of the group. It was going to be bad enough as it was. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Let''s get this over with then¡± Shaun said, standing up from the wall. He walked over to the first body when the notification popped up asking if he wanted to loot the 3 bodies. With a shiver coursing through his body he accepted, doing this on monsters was fine, doing it on humans, it just felt wrong. Unlike when he would loot a monster, this time the bodies didn¡¯t disappear, instead the items they had went straight into his inventory. *Two Basic Daggers from (Paul Decardo ¨C Lvl 4) added to inventory* *Short Sword Sheath from (Paul Decardo ¨C Lvl 4) added to inventory* *Basic Bow from (Daniel Truman ¨C Lvl 4) added to inventory* *Basic Quiver from (Daniel Truman ¨C Lvl 4) added to inventory* *Basic Long Sword from (Jason Lerser ¨C Lvl 4) added to inventory* *Basic Chest Armour from (Jason Lerser ¨C Lvl 4) added to inventory* *Five Basic Health potions added to inventory* *Two Basic Stamina potions added to inventory* *The inventory of three Level 4 humans have been transferred to your inventory* He took out one of the health potions he had just received and drank it down as he still refused to accept the one that Eric tried to hand him. The rest he would look at later, it really wasn¡¯t important at the moment. He still had notification flashing at him from the fight that he just hadn¡¯t had the heart to look at, knowing that when he did, the three notifications from killing three people would be in there and it would hit him all over again. He went to collect the two daggers that he had lost during the initial fight, the first being on the ground from where he had thrown it at the archer but the second¡­.He walked up to the body of the rogue and hesitated, he had put the dagger in his chest, ending the man''s life and now he was going to just rip it out, like it was nothing to him? ¡°Just do it Shaun so we can get out of here.¡± Gabe said, well at least he is speaking to me now. He reached down and took the dagger out of Paul¡¯s chest, he wiped off the blood and put it back in its sheath at his waist. ¡°Let''s head back now, I am done with this day.¡± And with that he started walking off. Eric gave Shaun one last look, attempting a smile but only reaching half way before turning and following Gabe. Looks like I will be following from behind this time, Shaun thought, there is no way that anyone is going to believe their story if Gabe continued to act the way he was. About an hour of walking they were about halfway back to the cavern, Gabe and Eric had spoken to each other up front but neither had turned around once, not even acknowledging he was there. Shaun decided that he needed to go through his pending notification before they all got back, he would rather deal with it while he was relatively alone then surrounded by people in the cavern. *You have defeated (Paul Decardo ¨C Lvl 4). Experience gained. 832 TE awarded* *You have defeated (Jason Lerser¨C Lvl 4). Experience gained. 1256 TE awarded* *You have defeated (Daniel Truman ¨C Lvl 4). Experience gained. 759 TE awarded* Seeing those notifications was just as hard as Shaun expected, he needed a few minutes to just look at them and process what was clearly written in front of his face before moving on. Eventually he came to the conclusion that this might not be the last time he saw this type of notification. Out of the 100,000 people that were in this tutorial the odds of only three of them turning out to be murderers was slim, people changed when they were taken out of their normal lives and thrown into a kill or die situation like the tutorial. Shaun could attest to that. He also made a decision, an important one, if he was ever in a situation like the one he was just in, where he ended up having to fight for his life against other people, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to defend himself and if he could, he would let them live. But he wouldn¡¯t risk his own life, he wasn¡¯t ready to die. *Class: Rogue has levelled up by +1 levels. Rogue [Basic] has reached Level 10. +1 Str, +3 Dex, +1 End, +3 Per gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 5. +4 Ap gained* *Multiple Skill Level ups: [Basic] Short Blade ¨C Level 23* *Multiple Skill Level up: [Basic] Stealth ¨C Level 25 - MAX* *Skill Level up: [Basic] Detection ¨C Level 20* What?!?!?! Why does it say max next to stealth? I only just hit level 10 in my class, 25 can''t be the max level of a skill can it? Shaun didn¡¯t like this at all. He looked at the skill description and it hadn¡¯t changed, he couldn¡¯t find anything to indicate why level 25 would be the max level. Unless, it is because of the Basic in front of the still itself, maybe it¡¯s a rarity thing, and the lower it is the lower level it can reach? He was starting to get really frustrated with the lack of information he had available to him, this damn system isn¡¯t helpful in the least when it comes to explaining things! *New Class Skill Available: Please choose from one of the following options:* Oh, okay, I take it back, what a great system. Now he was excited, he had hit the max level in a skill which he assumed was an achievement and now he got to pick a new one. It was a class skill which made sense, and he figured that it either had something to do with either hitting max level in stealth or hitting level 10, but again without more information, he really couldn¡¯t tell. Let¡¯s see what I get to choose from. *[Basic] Dual Wielder ¨C What better than one blade? Two of course! This skill unlocks the basic understanding on how to dual wield weapons.* I want it. This has been a weakness of mine since the beginning, especially since I have started throwing my daggers. Now that I have a short sword and extra daggers, being able to wield a weapon in both hands would make a huge difference in a fight. But no decisions before I see every choice, Shaun decided. *[Basic] Critical Weakness ¨C A Rogues needs to know where and when to hit their target. This skill unlocks the basic ability to find a being''s weak spot/s before entering a fight. Can not be used if already engaged in combat.* This one is okay, not good, but still decent. Being able to see a monster''s weakness before a battle would be helpful but only if you always saw an attack coming. Not as good as Dual Wielder though. I am going to have to pass. *[Advanced] One with the Shadow ¨C A Rogue is nothing without being able to move in the shadow¡¯s unseen. This skill allows for an advanced understanding of how to move without being seen or heard. If attacking from Stealth, offers a medium chance of dealing critical damage. Note: This skill is an upgrade on the [Basic] Stealth skill, this skill will replace the existing one.* Damn it! Shaun thought. He could see it pretty clearly now, he would need to upgrade his stealth skill if he wanted to increase the level. This one was advanced, clearly a label to show that it was a step above a basic skill, the name also changed to show its superiority over just Stealth and in most other ways the description of the skill didn¡¯t change outside of showing it was the same skill but just better. Now Shaun was torn, he wanted to keep being able to upgrade his stealth skill but he also wanted to be able to wield two weapons. As he walked he kept going back and forth between the two until they were almost to the cavern, and just when he could see the light brightening in front of him, he finally made his decision. *Skill Gained*: [Basic] Dual Wielder (Level 1) ¨C What better than one blade? Two of course! This skill unlocks the basic understanding on how to dual wield weapons. Now it was time to face the disaster waiting for him inside. Chapter 17 That could have gone worse, Shaun decided once they had all finished telling their story of what had occurred, Gabe and Eric both stuck with what they agreed with, not once bringing up what they had seen at the end of his fight. Although the worst of what had actually occurred was left out of their retelling, the change in the way the group now looked at him was obvious, Michael and Trevor didn¡¯t try and remove him from the group, although they did make a number of comments like ¡°What kind of person would be able to kill someone else?¡± and ¡°If someone is willing to kill other people what else may they be capable of?¡±. And even though these things were said about those that attacked him it was clear that what they were saying also applied to him. Afterwards, everyone kept their distance from Shaun, no one spoke to him but he did catch everyone looking at him with either open disgust or fear, and even uncertainty. The next few hours were much of the same and Shaun just sat by himself, not bothering to try and converse with the others, he just didn¡¯t see the point, he needed time to come to grips with what they said. There were discussions about Ruin, both around what kind of people were there and whether the group should head that way and try and find it, however it was decided that they would stock up over the next few days with food before heading out. Shaun took his shift as guard like normal and used that time to just sit and reflect, he considered training his dual wielding skill but he just needed some time to think and be alone. The next day instead of heading out with Gabe and Eric like normal, they had both asked to join the larger group before even leaving the cavern. Michael and Trevor couldn¡¯t have been more happy with the changes that were occurring within the group now that Shaun had been completely isolated from the rest of them, it was the perfect situation in their eyes. Instead of going out and hunting alone Shaun decided to spend the day in the cavern, he had indulged in his self pity for long enough and knew it was time to train up his dual wielding skill a little before he was to hunt alone. He also looked over all the updates that had occurred the day before. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (F) Level: 5 Class: Rogue [Basic] - Level 10 Profession: N/A Health Points:180/180 Stamina:200/200 Mana:30/30 Stats: (Available Points: 4) Strength: 22 Dexterity: 38 Endurance: 20 Vitality: 18 Intelligence: 8 Perception: 37 Willpower: 6 Soul: 3 Affinity: N/A Titles: New Initiate Skills: Class: [Basic] Short Blade (Level 23), [Basic] Stealth (Level 25 - MAX), [Basic] Detection (Level 20) , [Basic] Dual Wielding (Level 1) Profession: N/A The biggest changes on his status sheet were reaching level 10 in his class and adding a new skill. His stats had increased quite a lot over the last few days and he was happy with his gains. Looking at his 4 AP to spend he decided to put one in Perception, hating that it wasn¡¯t equal to his Dexterity stat, he put two in Vitality to bring it up to 20 and kept the last one unspent to use down the line. Wait, I have reached level 10! Shaun thought and then went to review the objectives of Stage 1 of the tutorial, hoping that he would see at least one of them completed. He hadn¡¯t even looked at these since he had first arrived. **Stage 1 objectives: 83,486 participants 22 days remaining Collect a total of 10,000 Tutorial essence (TE): 5,039 Collected - Incomplete Reach level 10: Level 5 - Incomplete Survive** That is a lot to take in. Starting from the top it looked like nearly 17,000 people had died in the first 8 days of the tutorial, he didn¡¯t know whether to be thankful that it wasn¡¯t more or shocked that so many had already been killed, either by monsters or other people. Looking at his TE count he was on track to complete that objective but he also knew that he had gained most of that from killing the three people the day before and that wasn¡¯t something he wanted to do again. He needed to increase the amount of monsters he was hunting otherwise he might be cutting it close. Stolen story; please report. And then his level, that was the most disappointing, he had hoped that hitting level 10 in his class was enough to complete that objective but it was clearly based off of his race level. That meant, even though he was halfway there, needing to get another 10 levels in his class with such low level monsters around would take a really long time, he had been hunting monsters for days and only gained a level and even then, the higher level he grew the more monsters he would need to hunt to level up. Finally moving on to the last thing he needed to check before training, he looked at his inventory. He hadn¡¯t checked this since the fight and he had received the notifications that the inventory for the three people he had killed yesterday had been moved into his own. As he went through what he now had tucked away, he could see that he had a huge increase in what he know considered the standard monster parts, he had more Spider fangs, Venom sacs, salamander skins, and the blind blood bat hides then he knew what to do with, not to mention all of the monster meat he now had in reserve. He had the equipment that he looted off of the bodies, looking through this he immediately took out the sheath for his new short sword and put it around his waist. There weren''t any other items like his Heating Stone but he did find something different that peaked his curiosity. *Giant Mole Rat Claws ¨C Claws from a subterranean Mole Rat found in a Tutorial from a newly integrated planet. These claws are as sharp as a blade and made to dig through hardened earth and are also used as the Mole Rats primary form of attack.* The claws were a few inches long and wickedly sharp, although he had no use for them at the moment, it did inform him that there were other types of monsters out there that he hadn¡¯t come across yet. The fact that they came from a Giant Mole Rat also made him believe that it could possibly be a higher level then the monsters he had encountered up to this point. With that out of the way he stood up and got to training his new skill. With his short sword in one hand and a dagger in his other, he went to work. At first he still felt a little awkward wielding the two weapons but instead of getting worried that he had chosen a useless skill he just closed his eyes, took a deep breath and tried to let the skills information flow through him. The longer he worked the better he felt until it came naturally to him. He had been training for hours without stopping, just focusing on his body and how the blades moved through the air in front of him. Once he was covered in sweat and completely exhausted he checked on the notifications he completely ignored during his intense session. *Multiple Skill Level ups: [Basic] Dual Wielding¨C Level 6* Not bad, will need to keep focusing on training this one, I want to max out every skill before I hit level 20 in my class Shaun decided. * +2 point to Willpower earned* That one came as a surprise, he hadn¡¯t gotten increases to his stats like that in a while, and if he was being honest, had completely forgotten he could. He had been working hard the past few days and hadn¡¯t had any increases like this, he would have expected at least some in his primary stats. He figured the higher his stats were, the harder it would be to get any of these free increases which is why he had only received them in his lowest attributes. Eventually everyone came back from their trip into the tunnels, no one greeted him on their return so he figured he would just stay silent. The rest of the day followed the usual pattern, eat, drink, sleep then watch. He decided that tomorrow he would go out alone and start looking for monsters again, and get back into his old routine. For the next two days he followed the same schedule, he would leave with the others, who made no comment about him joining them and when they hit the first split in the tunnel he would go his own way without a word. On the third day when he came back to the cavern he could hear voices inside that he couldn¡¯t recognise. He stopped before he would be noticed by anyone and just listened. He heard Michael and Trevor talking to at least two other people, one man and one woman, who he didn¡¯t know, the more he listened he could hear what was being discussed. They were from Ruin, which immediately put Shaun on the defensive, what they were talking about was preparations to set out the next day to take everyone back with them. Shaun now had a choice to make, he could turn around and just leave, he didn¡¯t need the group, if he was being honest with himself, he had everything he needed to be self-sufficient. But what he didn¡¯t have, which the people of Ruin did, was an understanding of where stronger monsters were, if he was to go by the Mole Rat Claws he now had. If I decide to go in there and go with them to Ruin I need a plan. If they turn and attack me I run, I don¡¯t want to fight them for no reason, if I go in and they agree with me coming with them and I get to Ruin and I don¡¯t like it I just leave. Shaun thought it over and he didn¡¯t see any other options, besides he was curious about what this Ruin was. Instead of delaying any longer than needed he walked into the cavern, ready to face whatever outcome his appearing there would lead to. When he came into full view everyone turned to him but didn¡¯t say anything, just silence. ¡°I am guessing you are Shaun? I am Tegan, and the two guys with me are Mitchell and Josh. It''s nice to meet you and be able to put a face to the name, we have been expecting you.¡± This was spoken by the woman from Ruin, he didn¡¯t delay and quickly identified each of them, all level 5, stronger than the people he had met previously. A little off guard with the welcome he had received, she seemed almost happy he was there. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m Shaun, it''s nice to meet you all as well.¡± Shaun replied, he didn¡¯t get any closer, still cautious of being attacked at any moment but he didn¡¯t see any reason not to be polite. ¡°You can relax,¡± Tegan said with a laugh, ¡°We have been informed about your run in with the other search party from Ruin and for that¡­¡­We want to apologise.¡± ¡°I never did like those three, always something off about them. Can¡¯t say I¡¯m sad to see them gone.¡± Mitchell said with a chuckle. This completely threw Shaun, he hadn¡¯t expected an apology, let alone confirmation that they didn¡¯t have a great reputation with the people standing in front of him too. Not knowing what else to say he just thanked Tegan and nodded at Mitchell. ¡°We are heading back to Ruin first thing tomorrow, everyone has decided to come along. Would you like to join us?¡± Tegan went on to ask him. This is what Shaun had decided on, to go to Ruin with them, even if for a short amount of time. But he couldn¡¯t get rid of the nagging feeling that this could be a trap of some sort, that they would take him there and then either lock him up or just kill him. ¡°Sure, I think going with you all is a great idea. I am honestly curious to see what these ruins look like.¡± Shaun replied back, he would go but he would never let his guard down, at the first sign of something off he would run. With that decided they settled in with the usual nightly routine, this time with their three extra guests. The others actually spoke to him, which surprised him considering the cold shoulder he had been receiving the last few days. He assumed that with these three confirming that the people he killed weren¡¯t good people, he was now back to being part of the group. Chapter 18 When the next day came and everyone was awake, they set off, they didn¡¯t have anything to gather as everything they did have was stored in their inventories so there was no delay in leaving. Tegan had informed them the night before that they would be walking non stop for a full day at least but closer to two as before they had found the group they had already slept in the tunnels once. This was fine by everyone as the idea of getting somewhere that was not only safe but full of other people was more than worth it. As they walked Tegan and Mitchell took turns telling them more about Ruin and how it worked, Josh didn¡¯t really speak much, which was fine, Shaun could understand not wanting to have to talk more than he had to. What Shaun found out during the first few hours of walking was that Ruin had a few thousand people in it, all gathered from the surrounding cave system by the original founder, Alan. Everyone in Ruin had a job as well, there was the hunters, who would go out and look for monsters with the purpose of bringing back food and materials, there was the scouts whose purpose was to explore the tunnels and look for people who they would then bring back to Ruin to help build the population and also to increase the number of hunters available. Lastly there was the three jobs for those who didn¡¯t want to fight at all, the healers who would be on call to look after anyone that had been hurt while out hunting or for those that had been brought in by the scouts, those that helped around Ruin in more mundane ways, like gathering water or cooking and finally, those that focused on their professions. The last one was what made Shaun the most curious, none of them had professions, they didn¡¯t even know how to get one, so the fact that Ruin had a group dedicated to focusing on it was incredible. Although Shaun stayed quiet, not wanting to draw any attention to himself, he did listen. ¡°Profession¡¯s are important to Ruin, when the first person unlocked theirs they were helping to fix up one of the buildings and they got a notification that they were eligible to take on the builder profession. It unlocked three skills associated with being a builder, very similar to how we all got the skills when we chose our class. You all would know that you gain a level in your Race for every two levels in your class right?¡± Tegan asked everyone and in turn got confirmation from those listening. ¡°Well the same thing applies for your Profession, every two levels you gain you get one in Race. To get the levels though it doesn¡¯t involve fighting monsters, it involves using your skills to do something in what your Profession is made for. So for the builder, the more he used his skills to repair the houses and buildings in Ruin the more levels he gained as a builder.¡± ¡°That¡¯s incredible!¡± Richard exclaimed, ¡°I fight because I have to, but having a Profession sounds a lot better than having to risk your life every day. What other professions do people have?¡± ¡°We have a few,¡± Tegan continued ¡°We have a blacksmith who is in pretty high demand fixing up weapons and armour, we have a Chef who looks after a lot of the cooks to feed everyone staying in Ruin, there are also Leatherworkers, Miners and even an Alchemist among us!¡± ¡°How did they all unlock their profession?¡± Jessica asked. ¡°You have to commit yourself to a task and do it over and over again. It seems the more you do it and the better you get at it the chances of unlocking and being offered the profession are higher.¡± Tegan answered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry though, you don¡¯t have to accept one just because it is offered. We have people who unlocked a cooking class but didn¡¯t accept it as they didn¡¯t want to have to be stuck in a kitchen for the rest of their lives.¡± She finished with a chuckle. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot, you also get attribute points for every level in your profession just like in your Class, but these vary depending on what you get, but it''s still better to get a profession as soon as possible so you can start levelling it up.¡± That gave Shaun a lot to think about, he didn¡¯t know what kind of profession he wanted, none of what Tegan had said about what the others had really appealed to him and he didn¡¯t want to be stuck with something that he wouldn¡¯t enjoy doing. He started making a list in his head of things he wanted a profession to include. Why? Because he wasn¡¯t going to stop hunting monsters and he was collecting quite a large store of materials that he wanted to be able to do something with, without having to rely on others. Again, he didn¡¯t want to have to be stuck in one place to be able to utilise his profession. He wanted freedom to be able to move around and go anywhere his heart desired. Relying on other people? Hard pass. He had learnt over and over again that people let you down, and if the last few days proved anything, friends could leave you at any moment. He could only rely on himself. So it wasn¡¯t a big list so far but they were definitely the most important to him at that moment in time. He continued to try and think of different professions that would fit in with each of his requirements but wasn¡¯t coming up with anything. He thought of becoming a trader, like a merchant that he would be able to sell all of the loot he would gather but quickly ruled it out, having to barter with people, that would be a nightmare for Shaun and who was he going to sell to? It''s not like anyone had any money here. ¡°What about Affinities? Does anyone at Ruin have anything on their status sheet for Affinity yet?¡± Michael asked. This was something Shaun was also curious to hear so he listened back into the conversation, waiting for a reply. ¡°Not that anyone has said. We have theories as to what it is but nothing for certain.¡± Mitchell informed the group. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Shaun didn¡¯t know whether to be happy that no one had gotten one, as if it was a common thing then his group was really behind the curve when it came to the system, or whether to be upset that he wouldn¡¯t be able to learn more about it. The day continued on like this, everyone would ask questions and Tegan and Mitchell would answer them as best as they could. The only other interesting thing that he found out was that if you wanted to stay in Ruin you had to contribute. They would supply a designated area for you to stay but in return you had to join one of the groups to fulfil a role, you would report into a team leader, who would report into their manager who would then continue to report up the line until you got to Alan. That did not appeal to Shaun at all, there would be no freedom, you would be taking orders from whatever leader you were assigned to. If you didn¡¯t get along or had a difference of opinion, too bad. The only ones with a little bit of choice were the crafters but even then they were given tasks they had to fulfil. After a day of walking they stopped for a few hours so everyone could get some rest and sleep, the three from Ruin taking watch as well as Michael, Trevor and Eric. Soon enough they were all woken up and set back out to get to Ruin as quickly as possible and after a few more hours of walking they were met by two guards at the end of a tunnel. Tegan went up to them and with a few muttered words turned around to the group and announced ¡°Welcome to Ruin everyone, we have arrived!¡± When Shaun got to the end of the tunnel what greeted him was something out of his wildest imagination. Below him was a city, buildings as far as he could see. They weren¡¯t in the best shape but it was clear that what was before him would have been magnificent in its prime. The city, Ruin, was in a huge cavern easily spanning what had to be a kilometre across, it was dome shaped and he couldn¡¯t even make out the ceiling, it had the glowing stones throughout its walls. Right at the top in the centre of the dome was a huge crystal, casting light onto the whole city. It was beautiful. Looking back down on Ruin it was clear that the centre of the city was in the best condition and the further that you moved out the worse it got with nothing but collapsed stone buildings on the outskirts. He could see what would have been roads, or pathways leading through the city and could even make out people moving among the buildings. As the group moved down a path from where they had excited the tunnel he could make out more details of the buildings. They definitely weren¡¯t designed the way that they had built houses or shops on Earth, these had been pulled straight out of some fantasy world. As they got closer to the centre, Shaun started to see more of the intact buildings, first they walked through what he assumed was the residential area, the houses were small, probably only a room or two inside, he could also see groups of people around fixing up some of the houses that were in slightly better condition than those he had just walked past on the outskirts. They soon moved into what looked to be a more profession focused area, there were people working on different monster parts, he could see salamander skin being cut into pieces and others using it like rope, tying different skins together. He could smell something cooking not far away and it smelled better than anything he had eaten since being brought into the tutorial. They walked past people carrying water in crudely made skin buckets, all going into one of the buildings where they seemed to be emptying all the water to just turn around and collect it all over again. Shaun didn¡¯t even notice when everyone stopped in front of a larger building, too distracted by everything happening around him. Everyone was being gathered together before they all walked inside. When they had all entered there were a few people in the building, each of them with a smile on their face looking happy to see them present. ¡°Everybody, meet Edward.¡± Tegan said, now standing and facing everyone. ¡°Edward will look after you from here. Our job is done and we could use a wash, so could all of you for that matter.¡± She added with a laugh. ¡°I hope to see you all around but we have to finish up with our report and then get some proper sleep.¡± And with that Tegan and the rest of her group left. ¡°Hello everyone, as Tegan said my name is Edward and my job is to get you all sorted and assigned jobs and places to stay.¡± Is this some kind of orientation? Shaun thought. ¡°Before we get started there are some rules here in Ruin.¡± Yep definitely an orientation. ¡°The rules are pretty simple, the first rule is everyone has to contribute to keep Ruin running. Second, no fighting, if we are going to make something here over the course of the tutorial we can''t have it turn into some kind of Lord of the Flies situation.¡± He said with a chuckle. ¡°Lastly, if you have any trouble in Ruin you go to your group leader who will be assigned to you. If you can¡¯t follow any of these rules you will need to leave Ruin now.¡± Silence followed for a while with no one turning to leave. The rules were fine with Shaun for the moment but he didn¡¯t foresee himself staying long term anyway. ¡°Perfect. Now on to the jobs we have available. We don¡¯t usually have such large groups come to us so I think we may be able to do things a little differently, especially with a few of you being at such a high level.¡± With that he signalled out Shaun, ¡°Shaun isn¡¯t it? I hope you don¡¯t mind me Identifying you, but being level 5 is quite the achievement. I am assuming you picked your new skill, yes? Or do you have both a Profession and Class?¡± This caused some issues with everyone else present, he hadn¡¯t mentioned getting a new skill and none of the others had reached level 10 in their class to find out. They had been ignoring him for days so what did they expect? ¡°I only have my class and yes, I picked up a new skill.¡± Shaun replied giving no other information as to what he was offered or what he picked. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful! I¡¯m assuming you will want to join a hunting team then?¡± Edward asked him. ¡°I work better alone.¡± ¡°Oh, well, that¡¯s not how we do things here. Each hunting party is made up of a group of 3-6 people depending on where they decide to go. There are some areas around here with stronger monsters than you may be used to. I am sure we can find you a party to work with, even some of your fellow group here maybe?¡± There was silence from the group but he could feel a few of them looking at him, Gabe was staring right towards where he was standing, trying to catch his eye. Eric, who had ended up standing right beside him, gave him a nudge with his arm but Shaun refused to turn and look at him. They had been ignoring him for days, treating him like a stranger, and now they what? Expected him to just reform their group to go out together, trusting that they would all have his back? No, that was over. He would prefer to be with a group that he didn¡¯t know, at least then he knew the only person who had his back was himself. ¡°You can put me with another group.¡± Shaun finally said to Edward. ¡°Yes, of course. I am sure that we won''t have any problems with finding someone to take you in.¡± Once everyone had been sorted into what jobs they wanted they were led back outside of the building and shown to the residential area. Some houses fit two people and members of the group decided to bunk together, Shaun however stayed alone in a smaller house made up of only one room but that was fine with him. They were told where they could bathe, the building he had seen all the water being carried to, and were informed to meet back at the building they had met Edward in at first bell tomorrow morning. And with that Shaun was left alone. Chapter 19 The rest of Shaun¡¯s day went by quickly, the first thing he did was have a bath, the water was cold but he didn¡¯t mind, he hadn¡¯t been able to properly clean himself in over a week and when he left the water he felt like a new person. Afterwards he explored Ruin, everyone he met was very welcoming, some even stopping to talk to him and would tell him about how great it was to have somewhere safe during such a terrible time. He didn¡¯t see any children around, which he supposed was a good thing, hopefully they were in a much nicer tutorial then the one he had been placed in, similarly everyone seemed to be in prime health, he didn¡¯t see any elderly around either. When he got food from what was designated the mess hall he sat alone and listened in to the conversations occurring around him, there were a few groups of hunters and scouts around and he was able to pick up a bit of information on the different areas surrounding the city. The hunters were apparently ranked and split into two different groups, those with a class above level 10 and those under, the higher levelled teams were sent towards the tunnels leading further down into the cave system, apparently if you went though specific exits from the city they led to tunnels that would take you to a deeper level and that was where the higher levelled monsters were. The lower level teams were sent throughout the other tunnels on this level till they got their new skill and would then either wait for the rest of their team to level up and they would all move to the higher levelled areas or they could choose to move to a different team. The scouts only worked on this level and they apparently had a system of which tunnels to search and for how long before moving to the next tunnel. Shaun had to admit it was all very well organised, everyone knew what they were supposed to do and when, making it so no one was left without a purpose or job to focus on. Once Shaun had finished eating and he wasn¡¯t hearing anything new from the chatter around him he started to get up to leave but not before spotting the rest of his group come in, they noticed him nearly immediately. A few of them started to make a move to the table that Shaun was still sitting at, as it had plenty of room for other to join him, Gabe and Eric among those headed his way. Rather than have to endure what was bound to be an awkward and uncomfortable conversation he just got up and headed to the exit without a word. He couldn¡¯t avoid walking past them to leave and although a number of the group said hello and a few tried to engage in conversation with him, he just told them to enjoy their meal and kept walking until he had left the mess hall. ¡°Shaun, you can¡¯t avoid us, please can we just talk?¡± Turning around Shaun saw Gabe and Eric standing behind him, apparently having followed him out rather than get food. Shaun considered what to do, if he just walked away he would only be putting off this conversation, they would eventually corner him, either at the building he was staying in or maybe the next time he was having a bath or getting food. Better to get this over with now I guess. ¡°What do you want?¡± Gabe and Eric shared a look before Gabe decided to take the lead in the conversation, ¡°We know that the past few days haven¡¯t been¡­¡­easy. We both cut you off after what happened. We have had some time to think about it and finding out more about those people from Tegan and Mitchell really put things into perspective. We just wanted to apologise for the way we acted, for treating you like we did. Hopefully we can move past it, as friends? Maybe even form our group again?¡± Shaun didn¡¯t really feel anything during Gabe¡¯s apology, he had already processed the betrayal he felt and decided to just close himself off from the situation and the group in general. Instead of getting into any kind of lengthy lets hold hands and sit in a circle BFF moments Shaun decided to just end the conversation as quickly as possible so he could leave. ¡°I told you once before Gabriel, people just tend to disappoint you when you need them most. It¡¯s easier being alone.¡± And not even waiting for a reply Shaun turned and walked to his house. Shaun wouldn¡¯t say he slept well, his dreams being haunted by memories of the past, different foster homes he had gone through, his time in the group home and finally the day he found out about his Dad, but when he woke up he felt good enough to get on with his day. He was already at the building to meet Edward before the first bell rang, eventually the others joined him at the same time Edward showed up with a few different people. He soon found out that the extra people with Edward were going to be the people that looked after the different teams that they would all be split into. Richard was going to join those who were rebuilding Ruin, Danielle was joining the healers, while the rest of the group were forming up, either joining a different hunter or scouting group or forming their own. None of them had hit level 10 in their class yet so they were going to be on this level while Shaun was going to join a team to travel deeper into the caves. ¡°Before we all go our separate ways, there is one final thing we need to do.¡± Edward said, ¡°To keep Ruin running, and to make sure everyone has what they need, we ask that everyone provide what meat, loot and potions they have. The meat will obviously go to feeding everyone, the loot goes to where it is needed, I am sure you have seen our leatherworkers utilising the skins we receive from monsters. The potions are then provided to those who need them most, we make sure that Mana potions are kept in store for the healers and mages who go out to risk their lives fighting, the same for the health and stamina potions. If you have chosen to stay in Ruin and not join the hunters and scouts there will be no need to have any potions on you. For those of you who do go out into the tunnels, the leader of your group will be given an appropriate number of potions to make sure you can be well looked after.¡± Everyone in the group did as asked and when it got to Shaun¡¯s turn he considered what to do. He refused to give up everything he had, but again he was in a situation where he would need to show that it looked like he was complying. He handed over half of his stock of loot, he had built up a huge collection anyway and didn¡¯t need it at this point, he kept the heating stone, the Mole Rat claws and all of the gear he had looted from the 3 scouts he had killed. He handed over his Mana potion as well as one each of his health and stamina potions. This left him with three health potions and one stamina potion left. They were all then split up and a man approached him, ¡°My name is Liam, I am going to be the one that you will be reporting into. I have already heard a lot about you.¡± Shaun was not getting the feeling that the things this Liam had heard were good things. ¡°I have chosen a team that I think will do you good, they all report to me and in turn I report directly to Alan, you know who Alan is, don¡¯t you?¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Shaun nodded along to what Liam was saying, letting the implications of what was said settle in. There was no way that Shaun should be looked after by someone so close to Alan unless they had a reason to want to keep an eye on him. The only thing he had done which might have raised unwanted attention was having dealt with the three people that had attacked and tried to kill him. So, either they wanted to make sure that he wasn¡¯t unhinged from doing what he did or there was more going on and people were not as understanding of what happened as Tegan and those in her group. ¡°Good,¡± Liam continued, ¡°You will be going down into the higher level areas, from what we have seen these areas are generally full of creatures at level 4 up to level 7 with the occasional level 8. We don¡¯t have many teams that venture down into these areas as before we put the rule in place around having to have a level 10 class to go down there we lost a lot of people to the higher levelled monsters, even now it¡¯s a risk. Most hunter groups chose not to go down there at all, even if they are higher level, they have seen one too many people die down there and figure it better to live and level slower than it is to die. I doubt you will be one of those that decide to just play it safe though.¡± Liam gave him an assessing look but it was clear he wasn¡¯t waiting for Shaun to respond, just trying to gauge his reaction. Once they had walked through Ruin and gotten to one of the tunnels exiting the city he could see just by looking into it that it did slope downwards, standing at the entrance were four other people, each geared up and looking ready to head out. ¡°Phil, team, this is Rogue Shaun. He will be joining you from now on.¡± Liam said to one of the warriors of the group. ¡°Shaun this is Phil, he is in charge of the team while you are out hunting monsters and will have hold of the potions, he is the one to judge if they are needed or not, he is obviously a warrior. The rest of the team are Archer Louis, Mage Sophie and Warrior Will.¡± They all looked at Shaun, some gave him a nod, others said hello, but none seemed shocked that he was joining their team. They had obviously been well informed ahead of time about everything that was known about him from either Tegan, his own group or both. ¡°Shaun, this is your first and last warning, you listen to Phil, if you step out of line you''re out, you do something stupid and someone gets hurt or killed and you''re out, you don¡¯t follow the rules of Ruin you''re out. No second chances. Understood?¡± Liam said right at Shaun. ¡°Understood.¡± Shaun replied, not even seeing the point to try and argue. With that Liam turned around and left, leaving him alone with his new team. Shaun focused in on the people standing in front of him, they didn¡¯t seem friendly but neither did they seem openly hostile. ¡°How do we do this? Do you have a specific formation you like to hunt and travel in?¡± Shaun asked them. ¡°We do, but we might need to change it up a little bit. We have never had a rogue in the team before, they usually level really slowly or die pretty quickly before even getting here. Tell us, how do you usually fight?¡± Phil asked him. ¡°When travelling as a group I scout ahead in stealth, report back when I find anything and then we set up positions before attacking. When I am alone it''s similar except I cut out the retreat to inform the group.¡± Shaun said. The team nodded along with what Shaun said, the way Shaun worked had a lot of benefits, that was clear to anyone that listened. ¡°Good, we can work with that. We will let you scout ahead, no fighting on your own though, you report back to the rest of us always, otherwise, like Liam said, you''re out. And not just from the team.¡± Phil turned back to his team and asked them all if they were ready to move out, once everyone confirmed he turned back to Shaun. ¡°Well go on then Rogue Shaun, lets see what you can do.¡± He smiled back at him and rather than say anything more just walked past the team and straight into the tunnel putting every ounce of confidence he had into his walk. Just as he had gotten far enough ahead that they could barely see him he went into stealth, completely disappearing into the shadows. ¡°Holy shit! I can''t even see him anymore! What level is that stealth skill even at?¡± He heard Louis exclaim from behind him. That put a smile on his face. He doubted that they even knew he was still close enough for him to hear them. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but you know what Liam said, we have to be careful around him.¡± Phil whispered to his team, ¡°We watch him and report on what he can do and what he is like.¡± That lines up with everything I assumed Shaun thought, this isn¡¯t just some normal hunting party, they have another job to do, spy on me. Not wanting to delay any longer he pushed forward into the tunnel, leaving the rest of them far behind. He was excited to find something new, a different monster he could train his skills against, something stronger that he could fight to raise his own skills and level. It took nearly an hour by Shaun¡¯s reckoning before he came across his first monster, during that time the tunnel kept a downward angle and seemed to continue to loop around to the right, like a spiral going down, there were no splits in the tunnel during that time and he couldn¡¯t make out any obvious differences to the tunnels he had been in before. As Shaun was checking on the monster he could see that it was different then anything he had encountered before, it stood as high as his chest and looked like a giant rat. It was digging at one of the walls, making good progress as nearly half of its body was now in the wall. He quickly identified it as a level 5 Giant Mole Rat. Before he could make a move to report back to the others he caught two more presences with his detection skill coming up to the Mole Rat he could see. Waiting, he saw two more Mole Rats, another level 5 and a level 6, come up and join the one that was digging into the wall. He couldn¡¯t feel anything else around him over the next few minutes, but did get a good understanding of how the monsters moved and seemed to communicate with each other through little squeaks. Having gotten all the information he needed, after a moment''s hesitation, he moved back to inform the team. Once he found Phil and the group again he dropped out of stealth, scaring all of them by his sudden appearance, they had even started aiming their weapons at him. He told them about the three monsters he had found and they all made their way to where they were now located. Phil had told him that it wasn¡¯t uncommon for the Mole Rats to make their way up the tunnels from deeper down, they liked to explore and you would occasionally see the smaller tunnels that were made from them. When they were close enough that they could hear the monsters up ahead Phil indicated for them all to retreat back so they could talk. ¡°Shaun, we want to see what you are capable of, we haven¡¯t seen you fight yet so we aren¡¯t sure what kind of skill you have in fighting monsters. Usually¡­¡­. we would never let someone fight three Mole Rats of that level solo, but if you are willing to give it a try, with us as back up of course, I am happy to let you have a go.¡± Phil said to him with nods from the others. Seeing as the entire point of me being in your team is so you can see what I can do Shaun thought, why not put on a little show. He just smiled at Phil, ¡°Sounds like fun. I will let you know if I need help.¡± This was going to be interesting. Chapter 20 This situation worked perfectly for Shaun, while he had been watching them earlier he had already decided what he would do if he was to fight them alone, he always did this when coming across a group of monsters. Without any further comment he just turned his back on the team and crept closer to the Mole Rats, they were in the same position as earlier, one of them digging, the other two standing around keeping watch. Without hesitation and with his short sword in one hand and dagger in the other, his second dagger still on his hip, he enacted his plan. He threw the dagger in his hand at the level 5 Mole Rate that was digging away at the wall, when the other two turned their attention to it Shaun grabbed the spare dagger at his waist then ran at the Level 6 full speed ahead. When it turned its attention on him and lifted its paw ready to swipe at him Shaun hit the ground and slid underneath it, with his dagger raised cutting into the underside of its body. When he had gotten to the other side of the Mole Rat he stood up and stabbed down into its shoulder and heaved himself on top of it. Before it could even react he took his short sword and sliced right through its neck, not waiting to get thrown off of the Mole Rat while it died, he stood on the top of it back, threw his last dagger at the third monster and then jumped from the Mole Rat he was on to the one that was digging into the wall. He came down sword first right on top of it, killing it instantly. Quickly he took out the sword from its back and jumped off landing on his feet looking at the last monster he needed to deal with. The dagger he had thrown at it buried in its back, it was alive but hurt, rather than waiting Shaun ran towards it and when he got close enough changed directions and launched himself at the wall, with practised precision, he kicked off of the wall and right at the Mole Rats side, driving his sword right through its body. It didn¡¯t even have a chance to struggle, he ripped the sword out and then quickly took off its head with a decisive swing. The days prior he had been training alone in the tunnels, but instead of just training his skills and fighting the low level monsters he had available to him, he had pushed his body to new limits, using every point he had in Dexterity to see what new ways he could move his body and practised dozens of different moves against the monsters he had encountered. He looked over the bodies of the three monsters around him, they were all dead, just like Shaun had predicted, he had gotten good at figuring out what would end up as a killing blow. Rather than looting the bodies straight away he walked past them until he was standing in front of Phil and the team. The look on their faces was one of both wonder and horror, wonder he assumed because of the way he could take out three higher levelled monsters at once by himself and horror, well, for the same reason. ¡°Should I loot these and then we can move on?¡± He asked, putting on the most innocent look he could muster. ¡°I¡­.¡± Phil cleared his throat, ¡°Yes, you should do that. Umm, well done. Yeah.¡± I bet that gave them something to report later on, Shaun thought, holding back his chuckle as he turned and looted the monsters. He received the Claws from the Mole Rats as well as their pelts and some meat. Overall he was pretty happy with the fight and was definitely looking forward to the next one. As they continued moving through the tunnel Shaun checked his notification. *You have defeated a (Giant Mole Rat ¨C Lvl 5). Experience gained. 50 TE awarded.* *You have defeated a (Giant Mole Rat ¨C Lvl 6). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 60 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Giant Mole Rat ¨C Lvl 5). Experience gained. 50 TE awarded.* *Class: Rogue has levelled up by +1 levels. Rogue [Basic] has reached Level 12. +1 Str, +3 Dex, +1 End, +3 Per gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 6. +4 Ap gained* He had also gained levels in skills, he had gotten the last level he needed in his Short Blade skill and it was now maxed out at level 25, he also had huge gains in his Dual Wielding skill which was now sitting at level 14. The rest of the day followed the same pattern, he would scout and report back, but instead of being allowed to fight monsters on his own he ended up being forced to stand back and only interfere if it was needed. He did get to kill a monster every now and again but after his first showing and levelling up to Level 6 in his race, now the same level as the rest of the team, they didn¡¯t seem to want him gaining too much experience. The entire next week followed the same pattern as the first one, when hunting with the group he was forced to just scout and nothing more, although they grew to be very confused and distrustful as the days went on. What they didn¡¯t realise was that Shaun was sneaking out at night, he no longer needed much sleep as his level grew, only two or three hours a night now, he chalked it up to the increase in his stats, his body now running more optimally then it ever had before. Instead of sleeping he would drop into stealth, leave his house and sneak through the city and whoever was guarding the tunnel that Shaun chose to enter. He would then spend hours hunting alone, he didn¡¯t come across anything other than Mole Rats but he did manage to find a few level 7 and 8¡¯s that did wonders for his levels. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. When he wasn¡¯t with the team hunting or out at night actually fighting, he spent time talking to those with professions, asking as many questions as he could trying to figure out more on how he could get one once he knew what he wanted to commit to. During this time he also made preparations, taking a lesson from a leather worker he was able to create sacks from the salamander skins that he had in his inventory by cutting some into pieces and making holes into the bigger ones. He threaded the strips of skin through the holes he made and when he pulled tight it would form a leak proof bag that he was able to store water in and then put in his inventory. He made sure to do this when no one would be able to see him, getting the water was difficult but if he went just after he got back from his solo hunts there was no one around. A few times Gabe and Eric had tried to talk to him, mostly when they saw him in the city but it was easy enough for Shaun to round a corner and drop into stealth. By the end of that week Shaun was impressed with all of his improvements. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (F) Level: 7 Class: Rogue [Basic] - Level 15 Profession: N/A Health Points:270/270 Stamina:270/270 Mana:30/30 Stats: (Available Points: 0) Strength: 27 Dexterity: 53 Endurance: 27 Vitality: 27 Intelligence: 8 Perception: 53 Willpower: 8 Soul: 3 Affinity: N/A Titles: New Initiate Skills: Class: [Basic] Short Blade (Level 25 - MAX), [Basic] Stealth (Level 25 - MAX), [Basic] Detection (Level 24), [Basic] Dual Wielding (Level 20) Profession: N/A He had gained 3 more levels in his class the past week and one more in his Race. He was now 75% of the way to Level 10 and meeting that objective for this stage of the tutorial. During his week of solo hunting all the Mole Rats he had already met the 10,000 TE requirement, in fact he now had over 12,000 TE to his name and the day he met that objective he felt like he was walking on air the entire day. On the 8th day since getting to Ruin things changed though, instead of going out on his usual hunt with the team he was taken to a building that Shaun had never been in before, he was escorted in by two warriors and then taken to a room where he found Liam standing to one side and a mage on the other. The rest of the team he hunted with was also standing to one side. Behind a desk sat a man that Shaun had never seen, although he had his suspicions on who it was. With an Identify his suspicions were confirmed. *Alan Sampson ¨C Level 9* He is strong, stronger than anyone I have ever met. How did he get so many levels by running Ruin? Has he really killed that many monsters? Or is it a profession? Shaun thought, trying to come up with a reasonable answer to all of his questions. ¡°Hello Shaun, as you may have guessed I am Alan. It''s nice to finally meet you. I have to apologise for not speaking to you sooner, but running Ruin takes up a lot of my day.¡± As soon as Alan spoke he felt the need to do anything this man asked of him. If he asked him to jump up and down he wouldn¡¯t hesitate, if told to run circles around the city? His only reply would be no problem sir! ¡°That¡¯s okay Sir, I completely understand. Anything you need I am happy to help!¡± Shaun couldn¡¯t even stop the words from coming out of his mouth, what the hell is happening to me? Alan let out a laugh at that, ¡°That¡¯s great to hear Shaun, I have a few questions if you would be happy to answer them?¡± Alan continued. ¡°Yes, anything you need just ask.¡± Again he couldn¡¯t get rid of the need to do whatever this man asked. ¡°Good, good. Now tell me, you have gained quite a few levels in the last week, you have to be one of the strongest people in all of Ruin, how have you done it?¡± He sounded more curious than anything else, he wasn¡¯t angry, maybe a little confused, but it didn¡¯t seem like he was going to persecute him for gaining so many levels. ¡°Sure, that easy, I can tell you that, you see I have¡­.¡± No! Shaun forced himself to stop speaking, clamping his mouth shut took every ounce of control he had. * +1 point to Willpower earned* That is unexpected. Why would I earn a point in Willpower from just not talking? ¡°Is something wrong Shaun?¡± Alan asked. ¡°No, nothing is wrong.¡± Come up with something, anything! Act dumb! ¡°I am sorry but I don¡¯t understand the question.¡± ¡°You were about to tell us about how you had gained your levels. Shaun, don¡¯t you want to tell me?¡± Alan continued. ¡°Right yeah, of course, sorry. You see I have been¡­¡± DO NOT ANSWER HIM! Shaun practically yelled at himself. * +1 point to Willpower earned* Silence once again fell on the room. Alan looked more intrigued, and also now annoyed at the delay in getting his answers. Shaun however was trying to figure out what was happening. His level is high and he doesn¡¯t fight. That means it''s his profession, he has to have some kind of Profession that relates to him ruling Ruin, whatever skills he has makes it easier for him to rule, but not just rule the city, maybe even control the people in it? ¡°Sorry, I got distracted. How have I gained levels? Well I have been out with the team, fighting monsters. How else would I get levels?¡± Shaun finally got out in a rush. ¡°Right, but how do you explain now being a higher level than them? From all reports you have been scouting rather than fighting?¡± Alan probed. ¡°I still get experience when scouting out, it''s an integral part of being in a team.¡± Shaun found it just a little easier now to talk to Alan after getting the two extra points in Willpower. ¡°We haven¡¯t heard of a rogue getting experience from that before?¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just special.¡± Shaun concluded. ¡°Special? Maybe.¡± Alan didn¡¯t continue for a while, just sat and watched him. ¡°There is a reason I have asked you and your team here today. We have come across a monster that has a higher level than anything we have come across, it''s stopping us from continuing further into a tunnel. A number of teams have tried to fight it but there have been too many casualties and I am hesitant to let more try. But I have heard such great things about you and the team. They have already agreed to go and challenge it today, join them Shaun, do it for Ruin, do it for me!¡± Alan was practically yelling at him at the end. ¡°Yes I will do it!¡± Shaun exclaimed, not even the extra points in Willpower would have done anything against the unstoppable Will that pushed down on him from Alan. ¡°Good, I look forward to hearing how it goes.¡± He said with a chuckle, and a look that said that he had gotten what he needed from him. Without anything further to be said they were led out of the room by Liam and were sent on their way. After 20 minutes of walking it finally dawned on him what had happened. What the hell have I gotten myself into now? Chapter 21 As they moved through the tunnel, Shaun became more stressed by the second, there was no way this wasn¡¯t a trap, if Alan truly had only wanted his help he would have just asked and provided him more information on what he was going to walk into, instead he didn¡¯t even know if there was an actual monster that they were supposed to fight or if the plan was for the rest of the team to just kill him and say a monster did it. He had asked Phil and the team questions, How long until he got to the monster? A few hours. What was it? They didn¡¯t know. What level was it? Still didn¡¯t know. Was there more than one monster they would have to fight? They would take care of it. Shaun quit asking questions after that, they weren¡¯t going to tell him anything so instead he just scouted ahead making sure he was in stealth and using his detection skill to keep an eye out behind him, wanting to have notice if they decided to try and attack from behind. Hours passed and when the tunnel split he was informed of which one to go down, when they came to a specific intersection that had three different ways they could go rather than the usual two they finally informed him that they were close now and to keep an eye out. The number of monsters they had encountered had gone up dramatically over the hours, at first it would only be six or so an hour now it was closer to twenty. That had made moving slow towards the end, with the Mole Rats they were encountering now all level 8 and they had found some level 9¡¯s among them. It was great for Shaun¡¯s levels but it also made him evaluate the situation more. He had never seen so many monsters so close together, not to mention at such a high level, if they were supposed to fight something that no one had been able to defeat what level was it going to even be at? They were able to take care of the level 9¡¯s with a bit of work so he couldn¡¯t imagine this supposed monster being level 10, it had to be higher. After moving through the last tunnel for about 30 minutes the walls started to get close together, shrinking in on him, he kept going but at a slightly slower pace. 10 minutes later he was walking hunched over and if he spread out his arms to either side he could touch both walls. It had also gotten dark, no trace of the rocks through the walls that gave off light but with his enhanced perception he could still make out his surroundings with them being so close. Eventually after a turn in the tunnel he saw light up ahead from an exit, he crept forward slowly, very cautious that he was in unexplored territory, not knowing what may be up ahead. When he got to the end of the tunnel what lay before him was terrifying, even to Shaun. There had to be about 50 Mole Rats in the room in front of him, all of them levels 7 to 9, that though he could have dealt with, what really terrified him though was the Mole Rat in the middle. It was bigger than the other Mole Rats, easily three times the size, it wasn¡¯t currently moving, but he knew if that thing stood up the entire room would shake from the vibrations made from its steps. *Alpha Mole Rat ¨C Level 15* There was no way they could defeat that thing, not with 50 other Mole rats around that they would also have to fight to even get to it. Shaun turned around and started to make his way back to the others. He found them waiting at a point where the tunnel was wider, they just stood in silence not making any move to follow. What the hell? ¡°I found it.¡± He informed them, he went on to explain what was in that room, in as much detail as possible, but they didn¡¯t look shocked at all by the news, they knew. ¡°We can¡¯t fight that thing and all the other monsters in there just us, we would die before we even got the chance to make a dent in the Alpha¡¯s health.¡± Phil just looked at the others, gave them a nod and they all drew their weapons. ¡°We know. We aren¡¯t going to fight the Alpha, you are.¡± Shit! Damn it! Low life scum! Shaun had two options, neither of them was going to end well. First, he attacked the team, it was four against one and they had blocked off the tunnel so he couldn¡¯t just run past. If he turned around and went into stealth and then came back he still wouldn¡¯t be able to get the jump on them, they would just follow to a point where the tunnel got smaller and he would effectively be cornered and they could kill him easily. Fighting them head on would end up with him dead, they were just better prepared for this situation than he was. Or the other option, go in and fight alone against the Alpha. He would still die, probably, no definitely, but at least it would be against a monster and not by the people in front of him, he didn¡¯t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing him run either. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°And before you think about attacking us or running, you haven¡¯t seen Sophie¡¯s level 10 mage skill have you? Sophie, if you would do us the honour?¡± Phil said ¡°It would be my pleasure.¡± And with a wave of her wand a wall of glowing light appeared between him and the others, he could still see through it, but when he went up to touch it, it was as solid as the wall of the tunnel. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about me running out of mana, I have enough potions to keep me going for a long while.¡± Shaun had already made his decision so really all this did was rule out the choice which he had already chosen not to take. He was curious about one thing though. ¡°Why? Why do all of this? What have I done that has offended Alan so much?¡± Shaun asked. ¡°Jason was his brother.¡± Phil answered. Who the hell was Jason? Shaun racked his mind to figure out the answer to that question, until it finally hit him. ¡°Jason, as in the guy that tried to kill me? The warrior if I remember correctly?¡± He figured it out eventually, Jason was the leader of the scouting group who had tried to kill him a week or two ago. His time in Ruin was always limited he realised, they were just waiting for the perfect time to end him, but when he started getting stronger they couldn¡¯t risk waiting any longer. ¡°Jason, had his issues, we all knew that, but he wouldn¡¯t have tried to kill you without a reason, if he even tried to kill you at all.¡± Shaun didn¡¯t even bother arguing, there was just no point. Instead, he just turned around and walked towards the room with the Alpha with a shake of his head. He kept track of them following him, far enough away that they could have Sophie put up a shield but close enough that they could still make out where he was and that he was still moving towards his death. Shaun had a little time to form a plan of attack, however whatever he did he couldn¡¯t find a perfect solution to his problem. If he tried to pick off them Mole Rats one by one then the Alpha would be alerted to an attack and be prepared to face him head on, not to mention he doubted he would be able to kill more than a few of them before he was discovered and when there was 50 of them in that room there was just no way that would make a difference. No, he would have to go to the Alpha first, do everything he could to weaken it as quickly as possible before any of the other Mole Rats joined in. It was suicidal yes, but his best bet. Assuming he could sneak up on it, where would he aim his first hit? His short sword was nowhere near long enough to do any real damage to it body, annoy it yes, kill it? No. From all of his fights he had only ever found two weak spots where he could end a fight before it really began, the head and neck. The good news was that the Alpha was lying on the ground so he could attack with his short sword if he chose too but he also had the option to first throw a dagger or two and hope that he could do some damage that way first, before putting his body on the line in close combat. The Mole rats were not very fast but those claws would do a lot of damage to the point that if he took one hit from them he would be dead, or close enough to it that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get away or defend, so in other words, dead. Too soon had he reached the exit of the tunnel and he was again looking over the room packed full of monsters, he turned around to check behind him and saw Sophie standing in the front blocking the way, she smiled at him, a cruel smile, like she couldn¡¯t wait to watch his death. Rather than dwell on it he just shrugged at her and dropped into stealth and moved into the room. He moved slowly, so very slowly, to make his way around the cavern he was in so he could get to where the Alpha was facing. Multiple times he thought the other Mole Rats had seen him which caused him to stop but it was a false alarm and he kept moving. There was only one other exit to the cavern but it was as small as the one he had entered and had Mole Rats moving in and out of it. If he tried to just exit that way he wouldn¡¯t be able to do so without killing at least a few of the monsters and drawing the attention of the rest. He would end up stuck, wedged between monsters on both sides and would be a sure way to die, and a horrible one. Once he was in position he was about 15 metres away from the Alpha¡¯s head, now that he could see it up close he could feel the nerves settle in, it head was huge, and its teeth, two sticking out of the top of its mouth and two on the bottom, they looked like they could split him in half with one bite. Not to mention the claws, they were each as long as his sword and ended in wickedly sharp tips. He knew if he stood here much longer, delaying the inevitable, that the others would get bored and do something to move this along, either shoot an arrow or even launch a Mana Bolt in here, either way it would cause mayhem and he would never be able to get his first attack off at the unsuspecting Alpha. Shaun gave himself one moment longer to check that he had everything he needed on hand. Dagger in one hand and Sword in the other? Check. He had two more daggers on his waist, one that he took out of his inventory from earlier? Check. He had two health potions and a stamina potion in his pouch? Check. Okay he was ready to go. ********************************* ¡°What is taking him so long!¡± Sophie said back to the others. ¡°I want to see him get what he deserves!¡± ¡°Be patient Sophie,¡± Phil replied, standing right behind her with his head over her shoulder so he could see into the cavern, ¡°If he ends up doing enough damage to the Alpha we might have a shot to kill it after he is dead. Let him do what he wants, his death is inevitable.¡± ¡°And if he manages to kill it?¡± She asked. ¡°Then we kill him ourselves.¡± Was Phil¡¯s only reply. Chapter 22 Shaun knew his chances of success were slim to none, but he was going to give everything he had to his plan, and if that included his life, so be it. Time to cause some chaos. With the Alpha in front of him and none of the monsters aware of his presence, he threw his first dagger right into the eye of the unaware Alpha. He was proud of how good he had gotten with his aim when throwing his daggers, when he started to incorporate this method of attack it was hit or miss, mostly miss, but now when he had the time to line up a throw and could put as much strength as he could into it, he would hit his mark 9 times out of 10. What followed after the dagger went straight into the Alpha¡¯s eye was complete and utter chaos, just as he had expected. The Alpha let out a squeal that was so loud that Shaun had to fight himself to not cover his ears, the noise caused all of the surrounding Mole Rats to starts scurrying around frantically, a number of them almost running straight to where Shaun was standing, who had to continuously use his detection skill to dance around them using every point he had in his Dexterity attribute to both avoid them and stay in stealth. The Alpha got to its feet, showing more speed than Shaun assumed it would have, and as he had thought earlier each step it made shook the cavern. He was both thankful that none of the monsters could see him yet but also unable to follow up with another attack as his full concentration was on not getting run down by the surrounding Mole Rats. He didn¡¯t want to alert the monsters to his presence by attacking anything but the Alpha, who currently was continuing to let out angry squeals while moving its head around trying to find its attacker. None of the Mole Rats were getting close to the Alpha, all too scared of its frantic state, if any of them got too close they could easily be squashed underneath its strong claws. Shaun took advantage of this and moved closer towards the Alpha where he was still far enough away that he could move out of its way if it did something unexpected, but also close enough that he no longer had to worry about the rest of the Mole Rats. The second part of his plan was a lot more risky than the first, he needed to reduce its ability to move, and to do this he needed to get up close to one of its legs and do enough damage that walking on it would hurt it every time it moved. Figuring with a dagger in its left eye he would go for one of the legs on its left side, the back one, as it would give him more time to move out of range before it could attack him. Moving around to the Alpha¡¯s rear was easier than Shaun expected, it was more focused towards the direction that the dagger had flown from rather than what was behind it. Once he was in position he ran towards the Alpha and with his short sword, cut as deep into the joint of its back left leg with all the strength he could muster, and rather than staying close, used his forward momentum to get as far away from the monster as he could get. It had worked, but barely, his cut through the monsters back leg had done enough damage that the back half of the Alpha immediately collapsed, not able to support its own weight from the unexpected attack, what Shaun hadn¡¯t accounted for was the swing of it tail which, as a reflex, swung right towards its leg and hit him right in the chest sending him flying to the ground a few metres back. Winded from getting hit, Shaun couldn¡¯t get up from the ground quick enough to get any further away or even attempt to drop back into stealth, thankfully he had kept hold of his sword. The Alpha turned around, each step causing vibrations to run through the ground, which he could feel run through his body, it struggled to turn, limping on it back leg from where he had done just enough damage to cause it some pain with each movement and also reduce its ability to move with any speed, but that really didn¡¯t help Shaun at the moment. The Alpha, after a quick sniff and hiss at its back leg quickly looked around until its eyes landed on Shaun, with a hiss directed right at him, the Alpha closed in on where he was on the ground. He didn¡¯t have enough time to get up anymore or to even move away so had no choice but to let the monster approach him, having only enough time to adjust the grip he had on his sword. As the Alpha got into striking distance, it lifted up its front right leg and slashed right down towards him, seeing the move coming, he rolled as quickly as he could to the side, rather than the claws coming down into his chest they instead grazed his shoulder, leaving five gashes in its wake. Ignoring the pain, he swung his sword around wildly towards the leg that had attacked him, it wasn¡¯t controlled like his first hit and instead born out of a need to live. He did successfully hit the Alpha¡¯s attacking leg, not doing as much damage as his attack on the back leg, as he wasn¡¯t at the best angle and couldn¡¯t hit the joint, but it was enough to cause the Alpha to jerk back, giving him enough time to get to his feet and get a little more distance between them. Before he could even get ready for his next attack on the Alpha, he caught one of the smaller Mole Rats coming right at him from behind. He didn¡¯t want to turn around and put his back to the real threat but he was left without much of a choice, he quickly turned around and moved sideways, as the Mole Rat was coming in for the attack, the Alpha let out a squeal that echoed through the cavern. Rather than every Mole Rat swarming at him like he expected they all started backing further away, even the one who was going to attack just moments ago. So this is how it is, you want to finish me yourself. Shaun thought, the Alpha didn¡¯t want its minions killing him, he had done enough damage to annoy the Alpha, and now it wanted its pound of flesh in return. Bring it on you overgrown rat! Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. No longer having to worry about all the other monsters around him he could fully focus on the Alpha, not that he let his guard down. Both Shaun and the Alpha just stood facing each other for a moment, each assessing the other, he had hurt the Alpha three times now, it had a dagger in its left eye, a back leg it couldn¡¯t walk on properly and now a gash through one of its front legs. In turn Shaun only had the slices through his shoulder, which although painful, were not deep enough to impede on his ability to attack. The Alpha was now taking him seriously, recognising a threat, and at this Shaun was actually proud of himself, against all the odds he was actually still in this fight. Taking a dagger from his waist he looked the Alpha right in the eye and smiled. That got an immediate reaction, the Alpha made its move and came straight for him, this time rather than attacking with its claws, it decided to use its massive teeth, Shaun threw himself to the side narrowly missing the attack. Regaining his balance, what followed was a dance between the two, the Alpha would follow him around attacking by either claw or bite and Shaun would do everything he could to dodge the attack. He never got a chance to follow up with one of his own and in the process received numerous injuries, but he was still alive. Throughout this his stamina and health continued to drop, he was down to about half of his health and his stamina was near depleted. He guessed that the Alpha was at about three quarters of its health, the injuries that he had caused at the beginning of the fight having an impact on its speed and movability, probably the only reason he was still alive. Its stamina though, that was a different story, like Shaun the Alpha was getting slower the longer they went on, having to put that much more effort into moving with two damaged legs, which was having an impact on its usage of stamina. If Shaun was to guess, if he could keep his current dance up he should be able to tire it out to be able to make his move, but at the pace they were going, he would be down before the Alpha, but he was about to change that. After dodging the next attack Shaun took the stamina potion out of his pouch and downed it in one go, throwing the empty bottle at the monster''s feet hoping that stepping on some glass shards would help him slow it down further. He knew it would take a few seconds before the potion took effect and in the meantime dodged two more attacks. He then repeated the process but this time with a health potion, wanting to make sure he had as much health as he could before making his move. By the time that both potions had taken effect his health and stamina were back over halfway full and he was now able to dodge the Alpha with ease, causing it to become more reckless in its attacks. Waiting for the next time the Alpha tried to attack, he would make his move, knowing that he couldn¡¯t drag this out forever and that it could call on all of the other monsters around him that were watching on at any point, he needed to end this quickly. As soon as the next attack came he made his move, dodging the attack was much easier this time, he didn¡¯t move further away like usually though, instead he stepped back into range and drove his sword into the side of the Alpha¡¯s neck, hoping that it would be enough to end the fight, or at the very least cause an injury that with time would prove fatal. Rather than backing away as it had done every other time it had hurt the alpha, it instead swung around, using the side of its head as a battering ram, hitting him like a truck and causing Shaun to be slammed into the ground. Before he could even regain control of his body, the Alpha pounced on top of him driving the claws of its front left leg into his stomach. He could feel each one of its claws sink deep into him as it reared back its head and let out a victorious screech that echoed around them. The other Mole Rats in the cavern joined in, letting loose their own screech to celebrate the victory of their Alpha. Shaun was close to giving up right there and then, his sword was gone, still buried in the monster¡¯s neck which it seemed to just ignore completely at that point, as it celebrated trapping its prey. He still had the dagger in his hand and another on his waist but they weren¡¯t enough to do any real damage and all he could attack was the leg that currently had its claws deep in his body. Reaching for his second dagger, he decided if he was going to die this way he would make sure he would leave an impression on the Alpha, he would fight to the end. With both hands now holding daggers he waited, he watched his health continue to drop, waiting for the very last moment before he let loose his final attack on the leg, even if it wouldn¡¯t do anything more than annoy it. As the Alpha finished its victory screech it bent its head back down and looked at him, deciding on how it was going to finish its caught prey. With a sniff of the air, it seemed like it had decided, it was going to eat him alive. But still Shaun didn¡¯t attack, just looked right back at it, he wasn¡¯t scared in that moment, he wasn¡¯t even angry at the situation he was forced into. He had accepted his death, but he was going to make sure his final act alive was going to be one to remember. As the Alpha lowered it head towards Shaun again, it got close enough that he could see the individual hairs on its head, it sniffed him once, then twice, but Shaun still didn¡¯t move. It was only when it started to open its mouth that he sprang into action with the last of the energy his body could offer. With both arms coming around the monster''s head, he drove both daggers in, one into each side of its head, it tried to rear its head back away from him but he refused to let go, and with the Alpha¡¯s paw holding him down it was stuck. Shaun felt like his body was being torn in two, the Alpha¡¯s head was trying to pull him off the ground as he still refused to let go of the daggers, the more it moved the more damage they were doing, and the lower half of his body was firmly stuck under the huge paw. Just when he thought he couldn¡¯t take the pain any more, the Alpha dropped on top of him, its head on his chest, it squeaked once, then a second time, which only he could hear, and then all was silent in the cavern. He had done it, he had actually killed it before he died. Shaun had done the impossible and killed an Alpha monster without anyone¡¯s help, he had given his life in the process and had to use two potions in the process, but he had done it. Chapter 23 Just as Shaun closed his eyes, ready to give in to the inevitable, he decided to let go of the daggers he still had hold of and try and get to the pouch at his waist, with a monster on top of him this wasn¡¯t going to be an no easy feat, but he figured he may as well try, he had nothing to lose. When he had been thinking about the two potion¡¯s he had used in the fight he had remembered that he never used the second health potion he had on him. It wasn¡¯t easy, and every movement that he made sent pain coursing through his body, the claws of the alpha still buried inside of him. After what felt like an eternity he was able to get his hand in the pouch and through some miracle found the potion still in there, unbroken. Slowly moving the potion out from between him and the Alpha¡¯s body, when he finally had his hand free he worked the cork out of the vial with one hand and then moving it to his lips drank it down. He waited a few seconds as he watched his health climb back up until it got to a point where it started to drop back down, one health potion wasn¡¯t going to be enough, not with the claws inside of him. He moved both hand under the monster, one on each side of where its massive paw was and lifted as much as he could, he wasn¡¯t trying to lift the entire body off of him, that would be impossible, but he hoped to be able to lift it just enough to be able to get the claws out of his stomach so he could push himself out from under the body. It took longer than Shaun would have liked and by the time he had successfully removed the claws and gotten out from under the body his health was back to being precariously low. He decided not to stand straight away, and instead laid next to the Alpha¡¯s body, taking a few breaths he willed the last of his potions out of his inventory and into his hand, when the glow became clear throughout the cavern he moved quickly to drink it and come to a stand. Around him the Mole Rats hadn¡¯t moved closer, the death of their Alpha clearly having some impact on them that he couldn¡¯t understand, but he didn¡¯t know how long that would last. He quickly retrieved all of his daggers out of the Alpha as well as his sword. He was now armed again, and although his stamina was low and his health not that much better, he was alive. For a moment he just stood there waiting, not knowing what he was supposed to do next, he had never considered that he would make it this far so he didn¡¯t really have a plan. *Would you like to loot Alpha Mole Rat ¨C Level 15* Now that was unexpected, wasn¡¯t he technically still in the middle of a fight? Not going to turn up this opportunity, just in case I do still make it out alive. Just as he accepted the prompt to loot the Alpha he heard a shout echo through the Cavern ¡°I am going to kill you!¡± Turning he saw Sophie rushing out of the tunnel that he had entered from, with wand pointed directly his way, followed by the rest of the team that had been lying in wait to see what would become of him. It was time to run. As soon as Sophie had yelled and made her presence known in the cavern, the 50 or so Mole Rats were broken out of their calm state and started running around, some went straight for Shaun, others for the group that was running for him and some of the Mole Rats started fighting each other. It was complete pandemonium and it was fantastic for Shaun who only needed to focus on killing the Mole Rats in his way while he tried to make it to the exit of the cavern that led away from the others. If Shaun had been at peak performance he probably could have made his way through the Mole Rats easily, but instead he was still hurt and barely able to stand. He fought though, he killed any Mole Rat that came at him, thankful that the others were also stuck fighting their way through the swarm of monsters. Over the next few minutes Shaun dedicated himself to surviving, if a monster came in to attack he would evade or if he couldn¡¯t get away he would attack, swiftly and always aiming for the killing blow. He didn¡¯t keep track of the Mole Rats he killed, just focusing on making it to safety. If he had to guess he would say that it was close to a dozen monsters that he ended up having to kill, he had earnt a few more scratches from not being able to move out of the way of incoming attacks quick enough, but none of them were enough to bring him down, just slow him slightly. Just as he had gotten to the edge of the cavern with the tunnel right in front of him he was thrown from his feet from behind by a Mana Bolt, pushing him straight into the small opening. The pain was almost more than he could handle at that moment in time, he hadn¡¯t been fully healed from his injuries, even after two health potions, and adding a Mana Bolt to the back almost broke what was left of the fight in him. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. But he didn¡¯t stop, he got to his feet and continued into the tunnel, dropping into stealth as soon as he was far enough in which would at least make it harder for the others to attack him. He couldn¡¯t move fast and he hoped that no Mole Rats would be coming down the tunnel from the other direction. He knew time was running out and fast, his stamina was so close to being depleted again and one more shot from the others would be all that was needed to finish him off. He kept his detection skill running, he had to know when anything was coming up on him either from the front or behind to give him time to prepare. He pushed the skill to its absolute limit, his only hope of surviving now was to find some way to block off the tunnel with both Phil, his team and the monsters on the other side. So he tried to spread his detection skill through the walls and into the ceiling, but the skill was never meant to be used to feel through solid stone, it didn¡¯t stop him from trying though. Long minutes later something started to change, he started to feel his detection skill move into the walls around him, slowly at first but then something snapped inside of him and it was like a whole new world was available to him now. The walls around him weren¡¯t solid, they were made up of densely packed rocks and a clay-like substance that had hardened together to make it seem like it was all just one giant stone surrounding him. He could feel veins of mana rocks running through the surrounding walls, it felt as if he put enough will behind it that he would be able to connect to the earth, not just feel it. Shaun didn¡¯t know what was happening to him, if this was some sort of mental break or if by taking too many potions in a short time, it had led to some kind of hallucinogenic trip. Before he could investigate what was happening further, he heard the others behind him having caught up, they were still a bit further back but he knew that they had now joined him in the tunnel. ¡°You wont get away from us, you are dead! You hear me? I am going to make you suffer!¡± Shaun could hear Sophie yelling from behind him. He couldn¡¯t keep going, they would be on him in a minute tops. He was just moving underneath a vein of the glowing rocks, when he just stopped. He was pretty confident he was tripping out from the potion¡¯s but he decided to just embrace the feeling of being able to connect to the rocks and stones around him, it''s not like he had any other choices that weren¡¯t equally insane. Closing his eyes he placed his hand on the wall, following the feeling of connection until he felt like, with a thought he could control the world around him. He tried to will the rocks to drop out of the vein and for all of the surrounding rock to come down with them, but nothing happened. Not giving up he tried again, this time focusing on nothing but the entire vein and everything supporting it to come crashing down. Still nothing happened. In a final bout of desperation he yelled, forcing everything that he had and could give at the wall. It was stupid, he knew that, but in that moment it just felt right. Shaun fell to the ground then, having nothing left and feeling utterly defeated, he just closed his eyes and waited for the others to catch up and find him. He started to feel vibrations around him, so they are finally here, he thought. He waited but no one arrived, the vibrations turned into rumbles as he heard something drop from the roof behind him, turning around he saw a singular glowing rock on the ground. What the hell? Shortly after, a second stone dropped down from the vein above, followed by another and then they just kept falling. It didn¡¯t stop and soon it wasn¡¯t just the glowing rocks that were falling, it was parts of the ceiling itself. He scurried further away from the growing pile of rock and stone then came to a stand and just watched. Before he could process what was actually occurring right before his eyes, he saw Sophie coming up in the tunnel followed shortly by the others. ¡°Nowhere to go now you¡­..¡± She was cut off by a loud cracking noise that filled the tunnel. ¡°What was that?¡± Before anyone had a chance to answer, cracks started forming along the tunnel, not just at where the rocks were but up and down the entire tunnel, the entire thing was going to cave in. What have I done? He turned and ran as fast as he could, getting buried alive was not part of his plan, living was currently number one on his to do list, it was even an objective in this stage of the tutorial and he was going to do what he could to make sure he hit every single one of those objectives as soon as he could. He didn¡¯t know if the others were following him, they would be pretty stupid to, but from the way that Sophie had been acting he really wasn¡¯t sure what they would do. Seconds after he had turned to run, the tunnel started collapsing, there was no turning back to see how close it was, but he could hear the tunnel falling in on itself, following him as he ran. He didn¡¯t stop though. Just as he had only 2 stamina left he could hear only silence. There were no monsters, no people and the collapsing tunnel had stopped, he had made it. He couldn¡¯t believe that he had done it, he had killed the Alpha, battled through a swarm of monsters afterwards, survived a Mana Bolt to the back and collapsed a tunnel to get away. He still didn¡¯t understand how he had done it, he assumed that there would be something in what had to be a very long list of notifications about it, but before he could even start to go through them he saw his stamina hit 0 and then only darkness. Chapter 24 When Shaun woke up his mind was foggy and he couldn¡¯t remember where he was or what he was doing before he had passed out, what he did remember was the pain. He tested out his body slowly, he could move both hands and feet and when he pushed himself up into a sitting position he felt tight, like he hadn¡¯t moved his muscles in days after completely overworking them. Slowly his mind began to clear and he recounted what had occurred with the Alpha and the others, he couldn¡¯t help himself, he began to chuckle which turned into a disbelieving laugh, I am actually alive! He had more notification than he knew what to do with, knowing that there had to be some pretty interesting ones in there, considering everything that occurred, he decided to start from the beginning and work his way down. *You have defeated a (Alpha Mole Rat ¨C Lvl 15). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. Double TE for killing a Stage 1 Tutorial Boss gained, 300 TE awarded* A stage 1 Tutorial Boss? Is that even a thing? Shaun thought back on the fight, the only reason he survived was luck and him willing to give up his life in the process of killing the Alpha. He doubted even a full group would be able to take that thing down, if the Alpha hadn¡¯t decided to fight him one on one he would never have won. *Title earned: Apex Predator* *Apex Predator: Having successfully killed a tutorial boss in a solo fight, you have shown that you have what it takes to stand at the top of the food chain. When fighting solo you gain 10% to all of your stats, if fighting an opponent above your level when solo this will double to a 20% increase.* That is¡­..incredible! Shaun preferred to fight alone and fight something stronger than him, well he did that enough that the 20% was almost guaranteed if he found the right monsters. He didn¡¯t think that anything would top getting a Title like that, but he still had a lot more notifications to get through, but if he was being honest with himself he just wanted to go find something to fight. He skipped through a few of the notifications about killing all of the normal Mole Rats and looked at the amount of levels he gained. *Class: Rogue has levelled up by +4 levels. [Basic] Rogue has reached Level 19. +4 Str, +12 Dex, +4 End, +12 Per gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +2 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 9. +8 Ap gained* Shaun nearly stood up and cheered when he saw how many levels he gained from the Alpha and the other monsters, 4 full class levels and 2 Race levels put him one level away from completing every objective of the tutorial. He would be able to complete it, that he had no doubt about, but if he could increase the overall amount of levels he gained then he would also get a better reward for this stage of the tutorial. He looked over all of notification from the skill level ups up until the end of the fighting and saw that each one of them was maxed out at Level 25 as well, Shaun was kind of annoyed at not being able to level up his skills anymore but figured that in only one more level he would get another one. Those looked to be all the notifications he had received up until the point he had left the cavern behind, confused though he still had quite a few left. *Affinity Detected: Earth* *Earth (Affinity): The multiverse is made up of many elements but Earth is one of the most abundant. Through your connection to the rocks and metal that make up earth you will be able to bend them to your Will to manipulate their shape and guide them as if they are an extension of yourself. +10 Wil, +10 Soul, +5% Wil, +10% Soul* He had an affinity? For earth? He couldn¡¯t quite figure this one out, he remembered using his detection skill as hard as he could, trying to figure out a way to close off the tunnel, he remembered the feeling of something snapping inside of him and then being able to really connect to the earth around him. But¡­.an Affinity? The stats were good, no they were great. His Willpower and Soul stat were two of his lowest stats by far with only intelligence still really low compared to all of his other stats, so getting extra points was going to be a great help. He got the Willpower increase, it said Will in the description of the affinity, but Soul? Maybe he had to use mana to work with the affinity, something he would need to play around with later. *Your skill [Basic] Detection (Level 25 ¨C MAX) has evolved into [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 1)* *[Advanced] Earthen Echo: Through the use of the vibrations given off by every thing in the multiverse, both living beings and objects, down to the smallest atom, you are able to clearly make out everything around you. This skill also allows for an Echo to be sent out from your body allowing you to detect things further away with less detail being provided the further away it is. Scales with Perception* He could evolve skills without needing to choose them when he levelled up his Class? That meant he could get more skills and then evolve them naturally, leading to not only more but stronger skills! This had a lot of promise and it seemed like the evolution directly tied into his Affinity. That couldn¡¯t be a coincidence. Was someone¡¯s Affinity so important that your entire Class will change to suit it? He only had two notifications left and he truly was very unsure as to what either of these would be about. *Title earned: Planetary Forerunner* *Planetary Forerunner: As one of the first 10 people across every Tutorial to have unlocked your Affinity you have shown that you are one of the future power houses of your world. You gain 10% to all of your stats.* So out of the billions of people from Earth I am one of the first 10 people to unlock my Affinity. Yeah that is an achievement. And 10% to every stat is going to really help in the long run. Sure now it may only be a few points but if I keep growing it could get to be a hundred, hell even a thousand! His last notification he could have done without. *You have defeated (Sophie Gray¨C Lvl 6). Experience gained. 1256 TE awarded* She must have tried to follow him instead of running back the way they had come and got caught in the cave in. That would be the only reason he would have gotten this notification. What he did caused her death. No, she made her choice and she died because of it, it''s not my fault. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. He decided to not dwell on it, there was nothing he could do, instead he opened up his status sheet and gave it an admiring look. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (F) Level: 9 Class: [Basic] Rogue - Level 19 Profession: N/A Health Points:212/300 Stamina:340/340 Mana:160/160 Stats: (Available Points: 8) Strength: 34 Dexterity: 72 Endurance: 34 Vitality: 30 Intelligence: 9 Perception: 72 Willpower: 23 Soul: 16 Affinity: Earth Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner Skills: Class: [Basic] Short Blade (Level 25 - MAX), [Basic] Stealth (Level 25 - MAX), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 3) , [Basic] Dual Wielding (Level 25 - MAX) Profession: N/A He still wasn¡¯t back to full health but without any more health potions there was nothing he could do. Next he checked the objectives of Stage 1. **Stage 1 objectives: 76,065 participants 10 days remaining Collect a total of 10,000 Tutorial essence (TE): 16,614 Collected - Complete Reach level 10: Level 9 - Incomplete Survive** He was close, so very close to being finished. By the time the 10 days were over he wanted to have over 20,000 TE and try and make it to Level 12. With nothing further to look at he made sure he had all of his weapon on him and stood up, stretching out all of his muscles. It was time to test his new skill and his Affinity, and what better way to do that than by hunting. He had been unconscious for over a day and he was surprised that no monsters had gotten to him while he had been on the floor, that gave him a pretty good indication that there wasn¡¯t going to be much around, they had all probably moved into the cavern when he had attacked the Alpha. This wasn¡¯t a bad thing as it gave him time to explore his new skill while we walked. It wasn¡¯t much different to the detection skill outside of being able to very clearly make out everything around him, including what was in the walls for about 25 metres. It took a while to be able to filter out the natural vibrations of the rock and instead only acknowledge the smaller changes of the things around him. Once he had gotten used to this part of the skill he decided to try and use the second part, the echo. Shaun stopped walking for a moment and focused on the skill, he hadn¡¯t done this before so it took some focus, closing his eyes he imagined sending out the burst from his body like he did with the old detection skill, but instead of just focusing on what was around him he imagined it flowing through the tunnels. He started to feel a pressure build within his chest, just when it started to get too uncomfortable it was like a balloon had burst inside of him and he felt the skill move out from around him, once it hit the size of the usual 25 metres, it then repeated the same process but this time the skill itself let out another burst of power. It continued on like this three times on top of the original 25 metres which meant that he had gotten information about the surrounding 100 metres, although the last burst only gave him a vague understanding of if there were any unique vibrations in that area. To his surprise he did find something, although he wasn¡¯t sure what, as it didn¡¯t seem to be moving at all and was rather small. Figuring that he had nothing to lose he made his way through the tunnel knowing exactly which ones to take every time they split. When he reached what he felt it was in a small alcove off to the side of a tunnel, inside of the alcove was a chest, like the one he had found with the heating stone, but this one was far from plain, it was plated in gold and decorated with patterns and jewels. He hoped that it wouldn¡¯t disappear when he took whatever was in it but he doubted he would be so lucky, besides it was just a pretty box, what was inside of it was the real prize. Before he opened the chest he sent out another echo with his skill to make sure there was nothing around him, and if he was being honest, he hoped that if the thing was some kind of trap he would be able to pick up on it. He found a few monsters down the tunnel but they weren¡¯t making their way to him and apart from that there was nothing in the surrounding area, just him and his new chest. Without delay Shaun dropped down and opened it, inside was a vial on a velvet cushion, it was about the same size as the other potions he had seen, looking at what was inside of the vial though, he couldn¡¯t figure out if it was a liquid, a gas or some other weird concoction. Whatever was inside swirled around changing colours as it moved, it was like a rainbow in a bottle. *Elemental Elixir (Legendary) ¨C The Elemental Elixir is a resource that when consumed will place one into a trance where it will become easier to connect to the world around you. Used by those who are lucky enough to obtain one to help them find their Affinity. If surrounded by a specific element that one wishes to connect too, it greatly boosts the chance of forming an Affinity with that element.* Picking up the Elixir from the chest, it predictably disappeared into nothing, but he honestly didn¡¯t care, what he did care about was the Legendary grade elixir he currently had in his hand. But the description did confuse him a little, it said that it would help him find his Affinity but he already had one, did that mean that it was useless to him? He pulled up his status sheet and checked it over and he could see Earth listed as his Affinity, instead he tried to identify what Affinity was, he had tried this before but nothing ever came up, but he was hoping now that he had one he could get some more information on it. *Affinity: Most creatures in the Multiverse have but only one connection to an element that make up the world around them. Finding that element is not certain and connecting to it can take some decades if not centuries. To form an Affinity to an element is to take it into yourself and become one with that aspect of the Multiverse.* It worked but the information he got back was less than ideal. Most everyone, not just from Earth, but in the entire Multiverse, only ever had one Affinity and he assumed those that had more made up the most powerful beings out there, the rulers of planets, the elite of every generation. That didn¡¯t fill him with much hope for having a second Affinity, let alone any more than that. So was the Elixir useless? No. Was the chances of it ever working on him high? Definitely not. But he wasn¡¯t going to just leave it here, he figured if the right opportunity came his way he could either use it and hope it worked or sell it to someone else once he got out of here and become rich, not a bad way to start his journey as a citizen of the Multiverse. Putting the Elixir in his inventory he realised that he never looked to see what he had gotten from the Alpha so decided to check, what he saw was disappointing. He had hoped for something special but instead he only found Claws, Teeth and its Skin. The teeth were different but when he identified them they weren¡¯t anything to really celebrate having, they were just its teeth which was kind of gross. Rather than dwell on it he figured that the title was the real loot from that fight anyway, standing back up he sent his echo back through the tunnels and found the monsters from earlier, now time to hunt. ********************************* Back in Ruin, Gabe and Eric were sitting together in the house they shared, having just been told the news of Shaun having killed Sophie in some attempt to gain power before running away into the tunnels before he could be captured by her team. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it, like I actually don¡¯t believe that Shaun would kill someone like that, and for what? To get stronger? He was already stronger than the others he wouldn¡¯t have gained much, if anything, from it.¡± Gabe said to Eric. ¡°I agree, I really do, but why would they say these things and make an announcement telling everyone that he was a cold blooded killer. What do they gain from it?¡± Eric replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but you saw him after he had to kill those people back before we got to Ruin, he didn¡¯t just let it go, it stuck with him. If he did kill Sophie, and it¡¯s a big if, I would say that he didn¡¯t have a choice and that it was either him or her.¡± Gabe just shook his head and laid down on the ground. ¡°You think we will ever get the truth?¡± ¡°Not unless we ever see Shaun again, and it''s not like he is ever going to come back here. I don¡¯t know what to do.¡± Gabe let out a defeated sigh. ¡°We get stronger, if they tried to do something to Shaun they could do the same to us. We have to be careful.¡± Eric decided for them. Chapter 25 Shaun learnt many things about his new skill over the next five days, the first being that advanced skills levelled much slower than the basic ones, he had only gained 2 levels in the skill and he had been using it constantly. The second thing he learnt was that with every level he gained in the skill the radius of his echo increased by another blast, so at level 4 he could feel up to 125 metres and at level 5 he could now get to 150. It was also very useful as he no longer had to scout ahead to prepare for monsters as he knew where they would be much further in advance. He was also able to use the skill to choose which tunnels to go down to get to more monsters. The last interesting thing about the skill was that the vibrations of the same type of monster were very similar, with the only difference being that it would be slightly stronger or weaker depending on its level. His Affinity was something else entirely. Unlike his skills he didn¡¯t get an immediate understanding of how it worked or what to do, it was something he was going to need to work on before he could instinctively use it. He ended up putting his AP into Soul and Intelligence, hoping that with these being higher that it would be easier to work with the Earth Affinity but it didn¡¯t seem to help much. He had tried to break off a small part of the tunnel wall so he had something smaller to work with but it didn¡¯t work and he was hesitant to put everything he had into it, as the last time he had done that he had collapsed an entire tunnel. He had reached level 20 in his class 3 days prior after hunting down monsters for two days straight and as he had previously assumed he had gotten another opportunity to either upgrade or add another skill to his class from three available options. *[Basic] Critical Weakness ¨C A Rogue needs to know where and when to hit their target. This skill unlocks the basic ability to find a being''s weak spot/s before entering a fight. Can not be used if already engaged in combat.* *[Advanced] One with the Shadow ¨C A Rogue is nothing without being able to move in the shadow¡¯s unseen. This skill allows for an advanced understanding of how to move without being seen or heard. If attacking from Stealth offers a medium chance of dealing critical damage. Note: This skill is an upgrade on the [Basic] Stealth skill, this skill will replace the existing one.* He had been offered this two previously and turned them down so that he could pick up the Dual Wielding skill, which looking back was the perfect choice, as if he hadn¡¯t had picked up that skill and levelled it to the point he had he would not have come out the winner of the battle with the Alpha. The third skill he had to choose from was different from what he expected. *[Basic] Empowered Strike ¨C This skill allows for the ability to power up an attack with mana, dealing increased damage at a level dependent on the mana imbued into the strike. Can be used with all forms of weapons that make physical contact with a target.* Although the advanced stealth skill was still something he wanted, having been able to upgrade one of his skills already on his own he was hesitant to pick it now. Instead, he had chosen the Empowered Strike skill, it let him use his mana in a fight and he figured it would be good practice, which in turn might help him use his affinity better. With making it to level 20 he had also met the requirements of the Tutorials Stage 1 objectives. He had now hit level 10 in his Race, he had hoped for something special to occur but nothing happened, and he had also hit over 20,000 TE, an objective he had set for himself to do before finishing Stage 1. Shaun concentrated on training his skills after that, making sure he was in the best position he could be in once Stage 1 finished, he had wasted a lot of time at the beginning of Stage 1 where he could have been out getting stronger but instead was held back by getting used to the changes that the System had bought, as well as having to stick with his old group. Now that he was alone he wanted to fully dedicate himself to being the best he could be, that meant levelling up everything he could and getting a better understanding of his Earth Affinity. When there was only 3 days left before the countdown hit 0 and he decided to settle in to get some sleep in a small cavern he had come across. He was running a little low on water but he had enough to make it the next few days and food wasn¡¯t an issue with all of the monster meat he had in his inventory. Once he had eaten and had his fill he turned to his daily Affinity training, he hadn¡¯t been able to make it work on the rocks around him without making them start to shake and when he used both his Affinity and his Echo skill he could feel that the walls were built in a way that if he made one wrong move and tried to take out the wrong part of a wall to train with, that it would all come crumbling down around him. Now instead of focusing on the rock he decided to focus on another part of his Affinity, metal. He put one of his daggers on the ground in front of him and focused on it like he did with the rock around him. He could feel it through his Affinity, but it was very different to what he had done before, it felt more unyielding, stronger than the surrounding cavern like its shape was set. He assumed that this was because the makeup of the metal was more densely packed together, whereas the rock was more malleable. Shaun didn¡¯t give up though, but he did change his approach. Rather than try and manipulate the metal he just tried to move it without trying to change its shape at all. He spent hours sitting on the ground just staring at the dagger telling it what to do in his mind, when that failed he started speaking out loud, feeling a bit foolish, but it wasn¡¯t like anyone could hear him. The next day he changed his approach, rather than trying to give the dagger orders he sat and closed his eyes, feeling out with his Affinity and connecting with it, it came slowly but he didn¡¯t lose focus and continued exploring every inch of the dagger until he could form a perfect image in his mind of it laying on the ground in front of him. He felt the way that it was thickest in its centre and would slowly thin out until it got to its edges, he could feel the blades edges, the slight chips that had occurred from all of the fighting and the once sharp blade now slightly dulled from overuse and little maintenance. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Once he was confident that there was nothing else he would be able to uncover about the dagger he then started to try and push his mana at it, similar to what he would do when he was using his Empowered Strike, but instead of trying to power up the dagger he wanted to wrap it in a cocoon of his mana and then use that to move it around. He didn¡¯t open his eyes when doing this, completely relying on his Affinity to sense if anything occurred. It took a while before anything started to happen and Shaun had to put a lot of his will towards making it move, but slowly he sensed it start to tremble. Not letting his excitement break his focus, he continued applying his will to the dagger, keeping up the stream of mana he was sending at it, slowly it started to rise into the air, a little at a time. The trembling didn¡¯t stop, probably a lack of control on his side, but the fact that he had been able to raise it into the air at all was a great start to being able to use his Earth Affinity. He didn¡¯t go out in search of monsters to hunt after that, instead he would spend his day remaining practising moving the dagger. Every time his mana got low he would stop and reflect on what was working and the improvements he had made, once his mana got back up to full, he was regaining 30 mana every 10 minutes at this point, he started practising again. This is how he spent the next two days until he was on the final day of Stage 1, in this time he had improved significantly with being able to control the blade. When he was able to lift the dagger up within a few seconds without the trembling that he had experienced when he first started, he started practising moving the dagger around in the air, first up and down then side to side, changing the direction in which the point was facing. When he could successfully do this he stood up in the middle of the cavern and practised moving the dagger around him, he could hold it above his shoulder, move it around his back and even sent it flying around the cavern. When he was confident, he moved from picking the dagger off of the ground to withdrawing it from its sheath, this took a little more time to do then just rising it from where had previously placed it in front of him, as he had to make sure the dagger came out of its sheath from the right angle while not stabbing himself, but after some trial and error he could now pull a dagger out of its sheath and have it floating in the air beside him in a second. Once he had a handle on the basics he moved on to practising attacks. This was more difficult than Shaun thought it would be, if he was standing still and concentrating he had no issue being able to send a dagger from its sheath straight at an imaginary monster that he pictured standing along the wall of the cavern, but when he incorporated doing this while moving it became significantly harder. Not giving up he continued his training and when he was ready he moved to training with his sword in hand at the same time as sending his dagger flying through the cavern. It was difficult work and took more out of him than just physical training, having to strain his mind in two different directions, one on his Affinity and the other on fighting with his sword left him exhausted. But what he had accomplished was beyond what he had imagined. Having an affinity was a huge advantage on the others in the tutorial and he had been one of the first 10 to get one across every tutorial. By the time he had finished practising for the day he had only a few hours left of Stage 1 and wanted to be in good shape, not knowing what would come next. He did a final check of the objectives wanting to make sure they really were all complete. **Stage 1 objectives: 69,824 participants 3 hours remaining Collect a total of 10,000 Tutorial essence (TE): 20,764 Collected - Complete Reach level 10: Level 10 - Complete Survive** As expected all of the objectives showed as completed, he would have liked to train up his level to 11 but the trade off was worth it when he thought about how much he had improved with his Affinity. The amount of people left in the tutorial had dropped again and over 30% of the entire tutorial had died before the end of Stage 1 and considering that it wasn¡¯t easy to get to Level 10 he didn¡¯t expect the number of participants to move on to Stage 2 to be very high. He got in a quick sleep and woke just in time to check himself over and make sure he had everything he needed on hand. Deciding that he would prepare for the worst he made sure to have his sword and a dagger in hand and two more dagger on his waist. Then he waited until he finally saw the notifications he had been expecting pop up in front of him. *Tutorial Stage 1 Complete** Congratulations on surviving Stage 1 of the tutorial citizens of Earth, the survival rate of this stage was 68.2%. For you to move forward you needed to have completed all set objectives, only 17,967 have successfully moved forward to Stage 2 and will be given a reward for your performance in Stage 1. For those that managed to survive but did not meet the requirements to move forward, know in your heart that you have failed and will not join the ranks of those destined to become strong and rule. You will spend the remainder of the tutorial in the Stage 1 area. The rankings of the tutorial leader board are as follows: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. 28. Shaun Clermont ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. For those moving to Stage 2 please prepare for immediate departure. There was a lot to take in from that announcement, first over a thousand more people had died in the last few hours, probably pushing as hard as they could to meet the objectives and ended up dying in the process. Second was that only around 18,000 people made it to Stage 2, that was less than a third of the remaining people alive in the tutorial, Shaun actually expected less if he was honest. Looking at the leader board he was at number 28 which was disappointing, he had hoped he would be higher, although without a profession he was solely relying on his class for race levels. Looking through the list he saw Alan, the ruler of Ruin, in the high teens and could also see Trevor, Michael, Gabe and Eric as well as a few others on the list much further down. *Transportation to Stage 2 commencing in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Good luck.* Chapter 26 Shaun felt the same feeling as he had when he was torn out of the bar, like he was being pulled through space, it was unpleasant but this time he had a better idea of what to expect. When he was deposited into Stage 1 of the tutorial he had opened his eyes to a dark cave and was joined by 11 other people. This time when he opened his eyes all he felt was joy, he was surrounded by tall trees, there were leaves on the ground and he could feel the sun on his face. For a month he had been stuck in caves, barely able to see and constantly surrounded by darkness, but now he was in a forest, with nothing but trees and the open air to greet him. He sent an echo out and he could feel monsters in the forest but no people. The information he got back from his skill was a lot more overwhelming than it was in the tunnels as now he was surrounded by living things, but he felt at home. Before he could even fully take in his surroundings he saw a chest appear at his feet, different to the ones he had seen previously, this one was silver and much more plain than the gold one he had found the Elixir. This must be the reward for Stage 1. Reaching down he didn¡¯t delay in opening the chest to see what was inside and what he found did not disappoint. He saw three potions, one of each of the basic ones that he had gotten when he first arrived at the tutorial, there was also a small white orb sitting amongst the potions. He picked them all up and inspected the orb. *Tutorial Upgrade Orb ¨C Can be used on any item received in the tutorial to increase its grade from Basic to Advanced.* He knew what this meant, he had inspected his gear before and everything was labelled as Basic except for his sword which was already at Advanced level. He didn¡¯t know what he wanted to use this on yet so he just put it in his inventory. Before he could do much else a notification made itself known. *Tutorial Stage 2* Stage 2 of the Tutorial will work to introduce you to the most common way that citizens of the Multiverse grow stronger, Dungeons. Dungeons perform a pivotal role in a person''s journey as they are a guaranteed way of being able to hunt monsters of a certain level and also provide better rewards upon completion, depending on the grade of the dungeon. For the dungeons in this tutorial rules have been put in place which only allow teams of a maximum of 5 to be able to enter. Note: Multiple teams are able to enter these dungeons at once where they will be transported to replicas of the same dungeon so as not to interfere with each other during completion of any given dungeon run. This will not stop interactions between teams before entering the dungeons. Each dungeon is themed and no two dungeons are alike and you are not able to complete a dungeon more than once. To complete a dungeon you will need to kill the boss inside, once you enter you will not be able to leave until the boss is slain. At the end of this stage a leader board will be provided showing the top 1000 highest individuals which will be the only ones moving on to Stage 3 of the Tutorial. This leader board will not just be based on Race levels and TE but will also incorporate Titles, Skill levels, Class, Profession and Affinity. As per Stage 1, killing a fellow human will award 10% of their Tutorial essence if their level is below your own, 25% if on an equal level and 50% if their level is higher. Stage 2 objectives: 17,967 Participants Clear 3 Dungeons: Incomplete Obtain Profession: Incomplete Optional Objective ¨C Form a blank Faction Emblem Survive A lot of new things were introduced with the announcement, first was the idea of dungeons and the impact they would have on his existence moving forward. The fact that they only allowed 5 people to enter as a team was fine as Shaun planned to do it all alone anyway, he would have to be careful though as he didn¡¯t know how strong the monsters would be and if he entered a dungeon he had no choice but to fight the boss, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be able to get out and in turn would fail Stage 2. The second thing that was cause for concern was that only the top 1000 people would be moving on to Stage 3, this meant that those that were shown in the leaderboard would be targets for those that were lower to help boost them up into making the cut. And lastly there was the objectives, completing dungeons was something he would have done even if it wasn¡¯t an objective so he wasn¡¯t too stressed about that one, although three did seem a little low considering that they had 30 days to do it. This meant the dungeons took a long time to complete or there was a decent amount of travelling one had to do to find one. Obtaining a profession was already on his to do list but the fact that others would have already completed this objective was just annoying. He still hadn¡¯t figured out what he wanted to do, not that he had even been offered one yet, but it now became a top priority. Something different was the optional objective, forming a blank faction emblem, which meant absolutely nothing to Shaun. He assumed that there were many factions in the Multiverse but he had no idea what that had to do with him at the moment, let alone how to start looking for pieces to form this emblem. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. There was only one thing left for him to do at this point and that was to explore and try and find a dungeon. He knew his surroundings were full of monsters and he hoped that his echo would give off a different vibration when he got close to a dungeon so he would train while he walked and try and level up as he went. As he moved the first thing he realised was that dropping into stealth was a lot harder out in the sun than it had been in the dark tunnels. He was no longer completely blending in with his surroundings and instead was only able to completely disappear when he pressed himself against the shadow of a tree and stayed very still. He was going to have to change his entire approach in the forest, not that he minded as he had been training hard with his sword and daggers and felt pretty confident in his ability to still move quickly while on the attack. As he approached his first monster he slowed down and made sure it was alone, through his echo he picked up that it was stronger than any of the monsters in Stage 1 outside of the Alpha and he didn¡¯t want to run in without having some idea of what he was dealing with. When he got close enough to see what it was, he was nothing but excited. *Horned Wild Boar ¨C Lvl 12* I am going to get me some bacon! No more lizard and Mole Rat meat, I am finally going to get some normal food from this thing! He was over eating the same thing again and again, it was just unseasoned tough meat from monsters that one really shouldn¡¯t be eating, but a Boar was just what he needed. Aside from the fact it was level 12, quite a few levels higher than his usual monster, he felt like it should be easy to take down. It was big, and looking at the way it moved it wasn¡¯t able to change directions very easily. The horns were long and pointed but that seemed to be its primary way of attacking so if he could avoid those and stay some distance away he should be fine. He had yet to attack using his Affinity guiding a dagger and he figured that now was the perfect time to give it a try. He stood hiding behind a tree and let go of the dagger in his hand, instead of falling to the ground it stayed floating in the air, using his Earthen Echo skill he kept it on keeping track of the Boar and where it moved. Without delay he guided the dagger out from beside him until it had nothing in the way of it and the Boar, he then sent the dagger flying until it was buried in the Boars neck. The dagger didn¡¯t kill it, but it had hit exactly where Shaun was aiming. He could only control the dagger when it was within five metres of his body, the further it went from him the less control he could exert over the metal. The dagger hadn¡¯t killed the Boar but it had done some damage, it seemed that the monster had a layer of Muscle and fat coating its body that meant that he would have to hit it perfectly in the head to kill it or do damage deep enough that it weakened it enough that Shaun could move in to then attack with his sword. He moved a second dagger from his waist and followed up with a second attack just like the first and then repeated it a third time until all three of his daggers were stuck in the Boar, causing it no small amount of pain every time it moved its head around. Like he had assumed it didn¡¯t kill it but the longer he waited the slower it became and the weaker it got. When he felt like there was little risk of the Boar being able to hurt him Shaun moved out from behind the tree and approached with his sword. The Boar immediately turned to him and charged straight his way, but it was slow, weakened and Shaun easily dodged. Having taken the time to infuse enough mana into his sword for an Empowered Strike, just as the Boar moved past him he brought the sword down into its head. If he hadn¡¯t empowered his attack he didn¡¯t think that he would have been able to kill it with one swing, but after having put nearly a quarter of his mana into the skill his sword sliced straight through its head, ending the fight with his first forest monster. *You have defeated a (Horned Wild Boar ¨C Lvl 12). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 120 TE awarded* He hadn¡¯t gotten bonus experience in a while and seeing the notification pop up showing he killed a stronger opponent was great news. With the battle over, rather than use his Affinity to retrieve the daggers out of the monster¡¯s body he got them by hand, wanting to save his mana for the next fight, he also looted the Boar as soon as he had all of his weapons back. *Horn from (Horned Wild Boar ¨C Lvl 12) added to inventory* *Meat from (Horned Wild Boar ¨C Lvl 12) added to inventory* He had received what he had expected, a horn and meat, but Shaun was happy with what he had got, knowing that he would have fought it just for the meat. Happy with his fight and the way he was able to use the daggers he didn¡¯t bother to stick around where he was and instead decided to go out and find his next monster. He repeated the same process five times, each time his efficiency in bringing down the Boar¡¯s increased until he was sending all three daggers out in a matter of seconds before joining in the fight himself and finishing up with his sword. He had also found a stream where he filled up all of his makeshift water sacks before stripping down and cleaning himself. It had been a while since he got to bathe, the last time was when he was in Ruin nearly 2 weeks prior, and he relished the feeling of being clean. He even washed all of his clothes, and laid them out to dry before he himself laid down in the sun and soaked up the much needed sunlight. He made sure to use his echo to make sure that there was nothing around him and waited for his mana to recover, even when it was back to full he decided to lay there a little longer to let his clothes dry and just bask in how good it felt to be out of those caves. After an hour Shaun got up, knowing that he had wasted precious time but he figured he deserved the break, for an entire month he had been in darkness and to get to feel the sun again was a luxury he would never take for granted for as long as he lived. He felt bad for everyone still stuck in Stage 1, but really it was their own fault for not trying hard enough to get out and hit the objectives. After getting dressed he put back on his weapons and set out hoping that he would be able to find a dungeon shortly. This time while he walked he identified all of the plants around him, most of it was nothing special but he did manage to locate 3 different herbs that when identified said they could either be used in alchemy or in cooking, he grabbed these and put them in his inventory to use to season his Boar meat later. After travelling for a full day he hadn¡¯t come across any dungeons but he had felt other people through his echo, he decided to avoid them for now as if they had found a dungeon they would have been in it rather than in the forest so there was no point in asking. There was nothing else to gain by interacting with others, he didn¡¯t need anything from them and there was always a chance that it would turn into a fight. He decided that if he wasn¡¯t able to find any signs of a dungeon in the next two days he would ask someone if they knew where any were located, but not before following them for a bit first and making sure they weren¡¯t the murdering type who would try and kill him. Now with a deadline in place to find a dungeon he decided that he could use a nap before figuring out which direction he should head in. Chapter 27 As he was searching for a place to settle down and get some sleep he felt a monster through the furthest reaches of his echo, different from the Boars and it also had a different vibration to the people he had come across. As he kept moving the monster seemed to be getting closer to him, he didn¡¯t know how but it was like it was following him, tracking him through the forest. He decided to change directions and for a while it continued on until it got to the point where he had made a turn and then it continued the same way that Shaun was going right now. It¡¯s definitely tracking me, but what is it? There were a lot of animals that could be found in a forest on earth ranging from snakes to spiders to bears, but this didn¡¯t follow the pattern of any of them. When Shaun got to a clearing in the trees he stopped and waited. Being in the open like this may not be the best decision but he knew the monster was coming and he planned to set up a trap. He threw two of his daggers onto the ground closest to where the monster was going to come from and waited. If he was right and the monster was coming for him he would be ready. As he felt the monster get to the edge of the clearing it stopped, he hadn¡¯t heard its approach but he could feel it. Shaun still didn¡¯t move, he had his sword in hand and dagger in the other, but he just stood still, waiting for his time to strike. When he felt the monster get closer to him he made his move. He had made sure to set this up in the hope that it wouldn¡¯t attack until it got close enough that it could get to him without having to announce its presence, and luckily he was right. While Shaun was waiting in the clearing he had connected to the daggers that he had thrown to the ground, at his level of ability he was only able to control one at a time, that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t prepare by forming the connection to both though. Without turning around Shaun took aim with the dagger and willed it to punch straight into the monster''s side, this caused the distraction he needed as he quickly turned around and came to face the monster. *Morphic Jaguar ¨C Lvl 15* What the hell is a Morphic Jaguar? It looks like a normal looking cat to me. Shaun thought before he moved in to attack with his sword. He sliced towards its head and managed to get a cut onto its face but it had moved too quickly for him to do any more damage. Instead, he connected to the second dagger on the ground aiming to send this one through the underside of its stomach, while he threw the dagger in his hand directly at its head. The Jaguar seeing him about to throw the dagger leaped out of the way and he missed while the one he was controlling he was able to redirect and send into its side. Before he had a chance to move in for another attack the Jaguar let loose a roar that shook Shaun to his bones, and right in front of his eyes the Jaguar started to change. Its claws elongated to twice their length, the same for its fangs, the muscles on its body started to convulse and double in size until it looked like it had been pumped full of steroids. Guess that¡¯s what it meant by Morphic. What now stood in front of him was a muscle bound forest cat that looked like it could rip him to pieces in seconds if it got the chance. Shaun couldn¡¯t turn his back to it to run, it would be on him in seconds, so instead he started to edge closer to where he had thrown his dagger, moving slowly so as not to come across as easy prey to the cat. Before Shaun had a chance to get closer the Jaguar lunged at him, much faster than before and covering a much further distance. He didn¡¯t have a choice but to jump out of the way, not even considering trying to fight it in close combat. He had made a mistake in fighting it here but he had made his choice and just like the Alpha he would die trying to win. The Jaguar quickly made another leap at him, this time Shaun wasn¡¯t quick enough to get out of the way and was quickly pushed down to the ground by its clawed paw, he tried to stab at it with his sword but before he could get in more than a scratch the monster bit down on his arm and dug its claws into his shoulder. The situation he found himself in was very similar to when he fought the Alpha except this time he had something he didn¡¯t have then, his Affinity. He knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to beat this beefed up cat easily, so he decided to put a contingency in place in case things went south. When he had gone to get closer to the dagger he had thrown he was able to bring it back under his control, but instead of using it right away, he instead decided to try something he had never done before, use Empowered strike on it. The skill never said he had to be holding the weapon for it to work so he took a gamble and hoped it paid off. As the Jaguar was biting down on his arm he had moved the dagger to be directly above him and in turn the Jaguar, he focused on throwing every bit of mana and Earth Affinity that he could spare, the dagger had started to glow when he combined the two, forcing them into the metal of the dagger, making it as strong as he could. When he had nothing left to give, he shot the dagger right down into the Jaguar releasing his Empowered Strike in the process. The attack wasn¡¯t quiet, a massive boom sent waves throughout the clearing and into the surrounding forest while the dagger tore straight through the Jaguar, quickly ending its life. *You have defeated a (Morphic Jaguar ¨C Lvl 15). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 150 TE awarded* *Class: Rogue has levelled up by +1 levels. [Basic] Rogue has reached Level 22. +1 Str, +3 Dex, +1 End, +3 Per gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 11. +4 Ap gained* Shaun couldn¡¯t believe that it had actually worked, so many risks and unknowns went into that last attack and he actually pulled it off. He was hurt, yes, but alive, and that¡¯s what mattered most. He pushed the Jaguar¡¯s body off of him but didn¡¯t make a move to stand, instead he took out his health potion and drank it to help heal his wounds. He didn¡¯t know if left untreated if he would eventually die but he still had to move through the forest before he could rest and didn¡¯t want to risk having to fight something like the Jaguar again without being at near full health. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. While he was on the ground he sent out an echo, confirming there was nothing around him, probably scared everything even remotely close off with the last attack. Thinking of the last attack, he still had notifications that had been left unread, but he wasn¡¯t expecting anything as he had already seen the ones declaring his defeat of the monster and the level ups. *(Basic) Rogue Dagger has been imbued and strengthened with the element of Earth, greatly increasing its resistance to being damaged and allowing for easier connection to those wielding the Earth Affinity.* *(Basic) Rogue Dagger has become (Advanced) Earthen Dagger* Reading through the notifications, Shaun didn¡¯t quite understand the implications of what he had done, sure he channelled as much of his Affinity and mana into the blade as he could, but doing so to the point that it upgraded not only in rarity but also in the type of dagger it was? He didn¡¯t think that was something just anyone could do with their Affinity, maybe it was because the dagger was linked to his Affinity already due to it being metal? He would need to experiment with other material he had to figure it out. *Profession available: Through the use of mana in creating a new object from an existing one you have been offered the Mana Crafter Profession* *Mana Crafter: Unlike most crafting professions the Mana Crafter relies solely on their Mana and what materials they have on hand to improve and craft items. Stats per level +2 Int,+2 Wil, +4 Soul* This was unexpected, he hadn¡¯t even been trying for a Profession when fighting the Jaguar and one just happened to fall into his lap. He hadn¡¯t considered being a crafter and especially one that relied solely on their mana to actually craft but the more he looked at the description and the more he tried to find a reason to reject it, the harder it became to say no. The upside was that this would provide increases to three stats that he didn¡¯t cover with his class and the biggest increase to Soul was an upside as it was something he was using more and more now that he had an affinity and a skill that relied on his mana. The fact that it also relied only on his mana and the material he could find was another upside as he had wanted a class that would allow him to use materials he found from monsters and didn¡¯t involve other people, which if he was reading the profession description right the Mana Crafter fit the bill. This was a profession that would also let him improve while on the move, not tying him down to any one place which meant that he would still have a lot of freedom to go and do whatever he wanted. The downside though was what would he even do with everything he crafted? He didn¡¯t want to have to deal with selling things to others although he guessed he could just do it in bulk every now and again and be done, but still that meant dealing with people eventually, not that it would have any impact on the profession itself as it was about the crafting itself not what he did with what he crafted afterwards. He tried to think of any other professions that he could do that would be better than this one and came up with a blank. After a few more minutes of delaying he gave in and accepted the profession as he just couldn¡¯t find a reason not to. *Congratulations, you now have the Profession (Basic) Mana Crafter.* *Skill Gained*: [Basic] Mana Meld (Level 1) ¨C Using Mana the skill allows for materials to be melded together to form a seamless join between compatible materials. The amount of Mana needing to be used is dependent on the type, rarity and size of the material. *Skill Gained*: [Basic] Mana Manipulation (Level 1) ¨C The skill to manipulate the shape of a material using Mana. Used by the lone crafters the skill allows for materials to be bent and shaped into the needed size and form without the need of other crafters help. *Skill Gained*: [Basic] Mana Attunement (Level 1) ¨C Through the use of precious gems, cores and other resources the Mana Attunement skill can borrow different types of attuned Mana from these objects and imbue an item with different types of Mana, changing an item to take on properties from a specific element. Can also use Affinity to attune an item or object. Just like when he had first gotten his class he had also gotten three basic skills for his profession, and they did not disappoint. The Mana Meld and Mana Manipulation skill were perfect for him, he would be able to forge metals together as well as monster skins and parts without the need of a blacksmith or another crafter which was perfect. Add that to being able to change the shape of these things using only his mana meant that as long as he had an idea of what he needed he just had to commit time and energy into making it happen. The Mana Attunement skill was unexpected though, although it really shouldn¡¯t have been, he had essentially attuned his dagger with his Earth Affinity and mana which is exactly what the skill said it did. What he didn¡¯t expect was the fact that if he could find existing attuned material¡¯s he would be able to use that skill and pretty much transfer whatever that attunement was into another item he had. To say he was excited to try all these skills out was an understatement and he couldn¡¯t wait to finally utilise all of the loot that he had in his inventory. But first he needed to get off the ground, finish looting the Jaguar and get somewhere relatively safe. As he collected his daggers he couldn¡¯t help but stop when he got to the upgraded Earthen Dagger, it was different to the others but not to the naked eye. When he picked it up and held it in his hand he could feel the energy that was now imbued into the dagger and he found it much easier to connect to than the others. He looted the Jaguar and got claws and its pelt which was fine, now that he had his profession he figured he would be able to make use of them in some way, he was only limited to his imagination after all. Looking down at himself he was a mess, covered in blood and his shirt was now little more than rags falling off of his body. Thinking back to the skins he had in his inventory he decided he might try and craft some clothes later on, just to see how it would turn out, he had enough of them that ruining a few skins in the process it wouldn¡¯t really have a big impact on his supply. Having finished everything he needed to do in the clearing he looked around trying to decide which direction he wanted to go. Apart from the forest around him he could see that there was a mountain not too far from where he was and decided to head in that direction to see if anything changed in the area. His number one priority was still dungeons after all and if each dungeon was different to the other he figured that would mean they would be in different parts of the forest. He decided as he walked towards the mountain he would play around with his new profession while also keeping an eye out for monsters he could use to level up as he travelled. It was only his first day in Stage 2 and already he had accomplished more than he had in Stage 1 over any one given day, he was ready to see what he could accomplish in the next 30 days, he wanted to be in the top 10 when before moving onto Stage 3 and that meant he needed to dedicate himself to getting stronger in every way possible. Bring it on, he thought before setting off. Chapter 28 As Shaun travelled to the mountain he further inspected the Earthen dagger and found that when he controlled it with his affinity, not only was it considerably easier but cost less than half of the mana that it usually did. With that decided he focused on upgrading each of his daggers with earth using his new Mana Attunement skill. It was a lot harder to do compared to when he had just thrown everything he had into making the last one but we wanted to utilise the skill, not only to bring it up in level but also so he could get a better understanding on how it worked. In the few hours it took him to get to the base of the mountain he had managed to level up the attunement skill five times but had only managed to upgrade one of his daggers, meaning he still had two more to go. He had already decided against using the skill on his sword as he wanted to wait and see what else he could do once his skills had been upgraded in the future. One upside to upgrading his dagger though was that he managed to also level up his class twice to level 2 and that got him another level in his race. He had put all of his AP into Vitality as it was now the only stat that he wasn¡¯t getting increases in from his class or profession and he didn¡¯t want to end up having such low health that he would be easy to kill by higher level monsters. He was pretty happy with his now completed status sheet. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (F) Level: 12 Class: [Basic] Rogue - Level 22 Profession: [Basic] Mana Crafter - Level 2 Health Points:236/390 Stamina:312/370 Mana:174/320 Stats: (Available Points: 0) Strength: 37 Dexterity: 81 Endurance: 37 Vitality: 39 Intelligence: 20 Perception: 81 Willpower: 28 Soul: 32 Affinity: Earth Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner Skills: Class: [Basic] Short Blade (Level 25 - MAX), [Basic] Stealth (Level 25 - MAX), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 8), [Basic] Dual Wielding (Level 25 - MAX), [Basic] Empowered Strike (Level 12) Profession: [Basic] Mana Meld (Level 1), [Basic] Mana Manipulation (Level 1), [Basic] Mana Attunement (Level 5) There was not one N/A in sight and he felt proud that he had gotten his profession so quickly into Stage 2, even if it was a fluke. His skills were coming along nicely for his class and with time his crafter skills would also start to increase. Looking around at the base of the mountain, it was much bigger up close than it had looked when he started setting out in this direction, he figured that he would rest now and tomorrow start looping his way up in the hope that he would find something of interest along the way. He decided that he would spend a max of two days looking around and if he didn¡¯t find anything he would set out in a different direction. There was nowhere to hide that would provide him with enough protection to rest comfortably so instead he decided to try something a little different. Walking up to the base of the mountain, just where it started to slope up, he placed his hands onto the ground and reached out with his earth affinity. He could feel the rocks and direct all around him and just like he had tried in the tunnel attempted to move the earth. At first the ground started to tremble until finally it started to move according to his will, the ground in front of him started to bubble up and move out of the way, forming a small tunnel into the ground, he continued doing this until it was a few metres deep and just big enough that he could easily hide inside without any of the larger monsters in the area being able to get in. Putting himself back into a cave wasn¡¯t ideal but it was better than getting hunted by another jaguar while he slept and ending up dead before he could even wake up. He wouldn¡¯t need to sleep for long anyway, he could get by on a one hour power nap and last the entire day at this point but he still didn¡¯t want to risk it. Before going into his cave he walked a few minutes out of the way and set up to start cooking his boar meat. He had been looking forward to this all day and couldn¡¯t wait to gorge himself on it. He took out some of the meat and the plants from his inventory, tasting each of them to see if any would taste good with the meat. In the end he settled on ruby the boar meat with one of the plants and then cooked it on his heating stone. When it was finally ready to eat it was better than anything he could have imagined. He would need to make sure he stocked up before finishing this stage in case the next one wasn¡¯t so kind in terms of the monsters it had to eat. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Once he was done he moved back to his cave and got comfortable. Rather than sleeping straight away he wanted to test out all of the skills he hadn¡¯t got a chance to use from his new profession. The first thing he did was take out two Salamander skins and lay them next to each other. He took out one of his daggers and cut the longest side of each of them and then lined up the edges. Focusing on his Mana Meld skill he directed his skill to meld both sides together forming one large piece of skin. It took some time to adjust to the feeling of the skill, rather than just willing the two pieces together he had to imagine that both pieces were just two parts of a greater whole that seamlessly fit together. It took some time to get it right and if he was being honest with himself the part where he started looked terrible, it didn¡¯t seem like it would hold together if any pressure was applied to pulling it apart, whereas towards the end it looked a lot more sturdy. He tested this out and took hold of the skins and tried tearing them apart down the join, he was right in that where he had first started tore apart easily but at about three quarters up it held strong. If he tried again putting as much strength as he could behind tearing it back into two pieces he probably would have succeeded. He repeated this process again and again until he had run out of mana three times. By the end though his Mana Meld skill was strong enough that he couldn¡¯t tear the skins in half and he could barely see where the join was. Happy with what he had accomplished he checked to see his improvements. *Multiple Skill Level ups: Mana Meld ¨C Level 4* *Profession: Mana Crafter has levelled up by +1 levels. [Basic] Mana Crafter has reached Level 3. +2 Int, +2 Wil, +4 Soul* He forgot how easy it was to level up skills and his class in the early days, but seeing how he gained a level in his profession by a few hours of work training his skills was great motivation to keep going. So moving on from his Mana Meld skill he moved to his Mana Manipulation one, but this time instead of working with the skins he would work with the claws he had in abundance from the Mole Rats. This was a little trickier as he didn¡¯t have any real plans as to what to do with them, just that he had a lot and didn¡¯t mind destroying a few. Taking out the claws they were about the length of his finger, outside of the Alpha¡¯s claws which he planned to save for a proper project later on if he could. He figured that if he could sharpen them enough into little arrow heads and at some point attach them to some metal or stone he could use them as his own personal makeshift projectiles that he could use in a fight without needing to always use his daggers. Shaun liked the idea and so with that in mind started trying to use his Mana Manipulation skill on the first claw. First, he needed to make them thinner, so that they would have less resistance when trying to work their way through a monster. The first claw he tried this on failed miserably, in the process of trying to flatten it, it simply just broke in half. He wasn¡¯t going to quit though, instead he picked up one of the halves and tried again with the same result. What am I doing wrong? He thought to himself. He tried this on three more claws before he stopped and re-evaluated what he was doing. If he couldn¡¯t change the actual shape of the claw maybe he could instead take off parts of it like he was whittling down the branch of a tree. Rather than take the brute force method he used his skill sparingly and tried to convince tiny slithers of the claw to drop off one side, it was a lot harder than melding material together but eventually he was able to slowly remove parts of the claw to give it a flat edge. Invigorated with his success he did the same to the other side until he had what looked more like an elongated arrow head melded with a dart. He then worked on forming the point, as the claw was originally curved he needed to fix this by making it slant from the base to the point removing the curvature so that it wouldn¡¯t have any resistance when he launched it. He got to this point with three claws and on each try he cracked the tip of each of them. But he kept trying and he found success once he realised that he needed to keep the entire claw thicker when he was whittling down the sides and then once the point was formed he could then go back and make it thinner. When he tested out how sharp it was on his finger he was able to easily pierce his skin and draw blood. Perfect. *Successful New Crafting ¨C Bonus Experience provided* *[Basic] Claw Arrow Head ¨C Made from the claw of a Giant Mole Rat a crafter has manipulated the material into the form of a crude arrow head.* *Profession: Mana Crafter has levelled up by +1 levels. [Basic] Mana Crafter has reached Level 4. +2 Int, +2 Wil, +4 Soul* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 13. +4 Ap gained* *Multiple Skill Level ups: Mana Manipulation ¨C Level 5* It actually worked! Even the system says so! He had gotten a notification that he had successfully crafted something new and because of it got bonus experience, the profession was purely crafting based but he didn¡¯t expect that he would get notification like this, it was a welcome surprise. He spent several more hours crafting the claws until they no longer proved to be any challenge at all. In this time he had made about two dozen of the arrow heads, only ever getting the bonus experience from the first one, but he was still happy about the progress, even getting another level in his profession and several more levels in his skill. When he was done he put together a mental list of things that he wanted to achieve with his profession over the coming weeks. First was that he needed to find a source of metal, he had a long sword in his inventory and an armour plate that he had looted all those weeks back when he was attacked by the people from Ruin but he was hesitant to practise his skill on them in case they may be useful later on. Second he wanted to craft himself a better outfit, he imagined himself with leather braces that held his new and improved claw arrow heads that he could send out at his enemies with his Affinity. Second, he wanted a better top, one that would hold two daggers on his back as well as more space for weapons on his front. He also wanted to find a way to reinforce it so it would be harder for monsters to get through. The outfit in his mind was pretty primal, considering it would all be made from monster skin, but if it worked out how he wanted to it would end up not only looking cool but also very useful in combat. What was supposed to be a quick test of his skills had turned into hours of crafting and by the end of it all Shaun was exhausted. Calling it quits to get some rest, he couldn¡¯t help but smile when he thought of everything that had occurred in the last day. He had nearly been killed by a monster but it was worth it considering everything he now had because of it. He would head out as soon as he woke up and work his way up the mountain, he would focus on the last of his daggers as he went and make sure to continue to hunt down any monsters he found as he didn¡¯t want to head into his first dungeon unprepared for the fighting he would need to do while inside. He had a good feeling about this mountain and what he would find, he just hoped that it wouldn¡¯t take too long before he could start meeting the objectives and get strong enough to stay in the top 1000. Chapter 29 The next day went as planned, he circled his way up the mountain, he hadn¡¯t encountered any dungeons but he did find a new monster that caused him some trouble. It was a giant snake, a Python the system called it, and it was terrifying. It was about the length of a bus and blended into the surroundings so easily that Shaun would never have seen it if it wasn¡¯t for his echo, he got close enough to identify it before it saw him but he didn¡¯t have the element of surprise on his side during the fight. It was fast when it tried to attack him but he was easily able to use the trees as cover and ended up weaving in and out of the surroundings while it tried to give chase. He wasn¡¯t able to get in a good finishing move so ended up having to wear it down over the course of about 10 minutes before it was injured enough that he was comfortable moving in closer to kill it. The reason behind it taking so long was that it was quite difficult to stay far enough away from its giant fangs and also ensure that it didn¡¯t end up constricting around him with its body, which it nearly managed to do several times. In the end through his ability to send his daggers at it from a distance and then get close enough to retrieve them and repeat the process was what won him the battle. That and he had managed to upgrade two more of his daggers before he came across the python and with his increased Mana he was able to use the Empowered Strike skill multiple times during the fight. He got the fangs, skin and meat from the python which was going to be helpful with his crafting as he had gotten a lot of skin and it was much more durable than anything he had gotten in Stage 1 due to the fact that this python was a lot stronger than the salamander¡¯s. He had managed to level up his Class and Profession once during the day which led to another Race level where he put all of his AP in Vitality. At the end of the day, once he had finished upgrading the final dagger he settled in, ate more boar meat and started to formulate a plan for his crafting. During the day he decided that he would need to dedicate time to his craft if he was going to make sure he had enough mana to continue to fight using his affinity, as if he ran out of mana mid fight he wasn¡¯t confident in being able to continue to fight monsters of a higher level one on one. Once he got comfortable he started working on a new top made out of salamander skin, knowing that he was going to end up ruining quite a lot of it in the process of making something decent. He had never made something like this before and didn¡¯t know the first place to start in making clothing so he went with making separate pieces that he hoped he would be able to meld together at the end. He started with making sleeves, to do this he took a piece of skin and cut it into a rectangle that would vit around his arm from shoulder to wrist, he would then wrap it around his arm and use his dagger to mark out where he would need to cut it to ensure it fight tightly on his arm, by the time he was done and he melded the piece together so that it resembled a sleeve of a shirt, he realised that it would never work, he couldn¡¯t even get his hand through the other side of the sleeve. Chalking this up as a failure he moved on to attempt number two, and then three, and when he got to his fifth go he decided that he wasn¡¯t going to get this right any time soon. Instead he moved to making a brace that would cover his forearm, and instead of having it all as one piece he would use a piece of skin and have it form a lace that he could tighten. This worked much better than expected, once had completed the first one he put it on and tied it up, it fit well, mostly. He found that even if he tightened it as much as he could it would slide down his arm when he moved around to much, realising he needed to have a support running through it he took out some of the claws he had that would meet the length of the arm brace and started forming long, thin and flexible rods out of it. Once that was done he embedded these into the brace using more skin to require them in place, when he put the new and improved brace back on it was perfect. He moved on, completing the other brace with the same design and then went with creating a vest, which it turned out was much easier than trying to create a full sleeves shirt. With the vest he had it so that it was all one piece that he would pull over his head and tighten on the sides in the same method as his braces. When he tightened it completely it sat against him like a second skin, when he tested moving around he found that it didn¡¯t restrict his movements at all and instead moved with him rather than against him. His pants were still in decent shape so he didn¡¯t bother trying to make any at that point but added it to his list of things to do. The final thing he wanted to do with his new pieces was to try the Mana Attunement skill with his affinity to try and reinforce them a little, he tried this on a scrap of skin first and didn¡¯t have any success straight away, he didn¡¯t give up though and after 30 minutes of continuous trying he had managed to imbue the skin with the earth affinity, although to a much lesser degree than his daggers. Testing the skin he still found it to be flexible, although a little less than what it was originally, but when he tried to cut it with his dagger he found that it had a much greater resistance than the untreated skin. Figuring that this was a success he moved on to attuning all of his new clothes, this took several hours, the braces being much quicker than the vest due to their smaller size, but knowing that having the skins attuned to earth could mean the difference between a death blow or a scratch he didn¡¯t give up. Once completed he had gained quite a few level ups in his crafter skills and had received notifications for the bracers and the vest. *Successful New Crafting ¨C Bonus Experience provided* *[Basic] Earth Strengthened Bracer ¨C Made from the skin and claws of various monsters and reinforced with the Earth Affinity, the Earth Strengthened Bracer offers increased resistance to stabbing and slicing and a small resistance to elemental attacks.* *[Basic] Earth Strengthened Vest ¨C Made from the skin and claws of various monsters and reinforced with the Earth Affinity, the Earth Strengthened Vest offers increased resistance to stabbing and slicing and a small resistance to elemental attacks.* The items were very similar to each other which was fine with Shaun, he had already noticed that the skin was resistant to damage by his dagger but the fact it was also resistant, even if just a little, to elemental attacks was nice to know. With his crafting done for the night he settled in to have a power nap before he set off back up the mountain. He had only given himself two days to explore but he was considering extending this another day considering he was also spending time crafting as well. He would make the call at the end of the next day depending on what he found. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The next day he continued hiking up the mountain, he had missed doing this since he had entered the tutorial and the fact he finally got to be back out in nature was like coming home after a long day at work. He found a few more monsters to fight, another snake and two boar, but the further he moved up the less monsters he was able to find, it seemed as if they had completely abandoned the area. That was the first clue that something was different about the mountain compared to the forest that he had first arrived in, the second thing was that now that he was high enough to the top he found that it didn¡¯t end in a peak, rather seemed to have more of a circular top, like a volcano. It would also explain the change in terrain as he got higher, it had become more rocky rather than dirt and leaves. As he became more aware of the changes he decided to identify one of the rocks he found, it had come up with a different vibration compared to the others when it came into range of his echo and he was curious as to why. *Volcanic Rock ¨C Formed in the depths of a volcano and shot out during eruption these rocks have a chance to contain both metals and precious gems.* That confirmed his theory of a volcano but it also gave him an indication of why this rock stood out to him amongst all of the others. He guessed that there was something inside of it, either the metal or gems that the description of the rock indicated. Excited he spread his affinity out towards to with his full focus and inside he did find small deposits of what he thought was metal, no gems though, as the feeling was similar to his sword and daggers. Excited by the find he started to break the stone down by using both his mana and earth affinity to crumble away the rock and force the pieces of metals out of the greater whole. It took a while and a lot of work to concentrate his mind in this way but in the end he ended up with three small lumps of metal. *[Basic] Fire Infused Aluminium ¨C Aluminium found in volcanic stone that has been exposed by high concentrations of fire mana which have left its mark on the metal.* This was a great find for Shaun as he had been needing metal and the fact it was infused with fire mana was just a bonus. He put them straight into his inventory and started searching for more volcanic rocks. Over the course of the next few hours he had only found another six rocks that felt different in his echo indicating that they held something worth going for. He found more aluminium, as well as some copper but no gems. It still meant he had enough metal now to start forming his makeshift Claw Arrow Heads into proper projectiles, but that would take time as he hadn¡¯t ever bent or shaped metal before, only ever moved it around. As the hours went by and the sun started to set he started to focus on finding somewhere he could rest for the night, as he focused on the mountain he noticed that it was packed in much harder than further down the mountain and that trying to carve through it would take hours as he would be needing to shift what felt like solid stone. He was about to turn around and head back down when he felt a shift on the outer reaches of his echo, it was an existing hole in the volcano, like a tunnel that had formed in its side. As he got closer and was able to push his skill further into the cave he felt something off, like an unnatural disturbance further in. He had never encountered anything like it, there were no people, monsters or trees around it, nothing living at all. He had hopes of what it may be but until he got closer he wouldn¡¯t get his hopes up, because if he was right, after days travelling up this mountain volcano, he had finally found a dungeon. When he had reached the entrance of the cave he hesitated for a second, he didn¡¯t know how dungeons worked or even if it was one, but if he went inside and it was a dungeon that would automatically send him in and not let him back out until the boss was dead he knew he had to be at his peak and ready for anything that he might encounter. He reviewed all of the information he knew about dungeons in the tutorial, only five people could enter as a group, indicating that there were going to be some strong monsters to fight, it should be a challenge that many won''t be able to do but shouldn¡¯t be completely impossible. Shaun was on his own though, so if the boss was designed to have 5 people fight it he wasn¡¯t sure if he was ready enough to take it on solo. He also knew they were themed, and guessing on the fact that it was in a volcano it was pretty safe to assume that fire and heat were going to be involved. And the most concerning was that if he went in there that was no getting out unless he died or killed the boss. Rather than blindly going in at that moment, he decided to rest for the night, make whatever preparations he could and then he would decide in the morning if he should go in now or get a few more levels first before returning. Walking a few minutes away from the entrance of the cave Shaun sat down and turned his mind to what he could prepare, if there was going to be fire he didn¡¯t want to get too close so he needed more ranged options. He took out one of his Claw Arrow Heads and a piece of the aluminium, there were two steps he would need to follow to finish off his idea, first shape the metal and second attach it to the arrow head. He wanted to use as little metal as he could in each as he didn¡¯t want to weigh them down but he still needed to be able to control them. Looking closer at the arrow head it was just thick enough that if he really focused he might be able to make a small hole run through the middle where he should be able to put in just enough of the aluminium to control it. Using his Mana Manipulation skill he concentrated on taking just a tiny amount out, he imagined it working as if he was digging a hole but on a much smaller level. As he worked slowly, making his incision just a bit deeper every time he could see tiny bits of claw dust fall out of the centre and once he was deep enough through he blew into the hole and what he was a tiny cylinder of space only a few millimetres thick and went about three quarters of the way through. Calling that a success he moved to the aluminium chunk he had and started trying to work a piece off of it and into the shape he wanted, just big enough to slide into the hole he had made. It took over an hour before he had successfully made a piece that would work, changing the shape of the metal was harder than anything he had done and took most of his mana to make it work. It was a battle of will between him and the metal but he eventually won. When he slid the metal rod into the arrow head it fit just as he had wanted and when he was happy he sealed it all together with his Mana Meld skill. He didn¡¯t receive any new notification for a new crafting but he didn¡¯t care as he had achieved what he wanted to. Repeating the process until he couldn¡¯t concentrate on his task any longer, he had made only 6 but with each one they had become easier. *Profession: Mana Crafter has levelled up by +2 levels. [Basic] Mana Crafter has reached Level 8. +4 Int, +4 Wil, +8 Soul* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 15. +4 Ap gained* *Multiple Skill Level ups: Mana Meld ¨C Level 8* *Multiple Skill Level ups: Mana Manipulation ¨C Level 10* He was making good strides in his new skills, and also with levelling up his profession, in just 3 days he had levelled up 8 times, which had to be some kind of record. If he didn¡¯t have his affinity though or all the monster material it would have been a very slow process. He knew the levels would start to come much slower as he got to a higher level but for now he was just happy with the leaps he was making in his craft. The only thing left to do was rest and then make his decision on whether to enter the cave in the morning. Chapter 30 Standing in front of the cave entrance the next morning, Shaun had done the last of his preparations, he had attached the new and improved arrow heads to his braces and vest through the use of more salamander skin and practised moving them around from their resting places on his body. The moment he woke up he knew he was going to go into the cave, if for nothing else because his curiosity had gotten the better of him and the idea that if it was a dungeon then not going in now, not knowing how long each one would take to complete, was idiotic. Failing the objective of completing three dungeons was not an option, he couldn¡¯t stand the idea of entering the new world as nothing but one of the strongest people around, if only so he could find a place of his own, away from everyone else, where he would have no need to rely on anyone but himself. Taking his first steps into the cave was terrifying, he thought that at any second he would be whisked away into a dungeon and given no warning as to where or what he should expect, but that wasn¡¯t the case. He was about three quarters of the way through the cave when the unexpected happened and he was greeted by a prompt that actually gave him options. *Welcome to the Heart of Fire Dungeon* The dungeon, born in the heart of a volcano, will test whether you can survive the heat and flame of one of the base elements of the world. Recommended that a full party of five enter at a minimum level of 20, once entered there will be no exit unless the boss is killed and the dungeon completed. Award depends on performance within the dungeon. One participant located, would you like to enter the dungeon? He was given a choice as to whether he entered or not, it even gave him a good idea of what level he should be and that it was recommended for a full party of five. It also said that he would get a reward on completion and it would depend on his performance which was interesting. He was only level 15 right now and he was alone, the chances were that if he entered he wouldn¡¯t make it out, still he had made his choice and decided to enter the dungeon regardless, he accepted the prompt and without much warning felt like the world around him simply shifted and he appeared within the actual dungeon from the entrance he was just moments ago standing in front of. When he looked around what he saw shocked him, he was in a cave that connected straight into an underground cavern again, he really couldn¡¯t avoid being underground since beginning in the tutorial, but instead of dark caves what he saw was lava pools around him, some even had lava flowing down the walls and into them, it provided light that made it easy for him to see but the heat also bore down on him, it was hotter than he could have ever imagined. Sweat started to immediately coat his body, making his palms slick and the hair start to stick to his face, thankful that he had stocked up on so much water he immediately took out one of the sacks, had a long drink, knowing staying hydrated in here was going to be crucial and poured a little onto his head to slick back his hair cool himself down a little. Turning his attention back to the cavern in front of him, he could see monsters spread out in front of him, using his echo to get a better count, he found 6 dispersed around the lava pools with one massive lava pool in the middle, moving forward to get a better look and identify them, he knew he was in over his head. *Lava Lizard ¨C Level 19* Level 19 was the strongest level monster Shaun had ever seen, he didn¡¯t care about the fact that they were lizards, in fact he welcomed that as he had experience fighting them, but the more he watched he saw one go from lazing around a lava pool to taking a dig in the lava itself, like it was taking a bath. Expecting it to go up in flames and die, it was lava so there should be no way that it could survive that amount of heat, instead it was completely unharmed, it even looked to be rejuvenated from its little swim. If he was fighting them one on one he might have a good chance to come out the victor, but with all six of the monsters being that strong and all in an enclosed area like the cavern there was little hope. This is why it recommends 5 participants. You would be able to split them up and if you were at level 20 they wouldn¡¯t be as much of a problem to fight. But he was 4 levels under them and alone, the odds were against him but what was new. He couldn¡¯t go back now. Rather than charge in wildly Shaun started testing out a plan. The first thing he did was test his stealth skill, it was darker than the forest and he found it much easier to become one with the shadows around him, not as easy as the caves in stage 1 but he was still confident of being able to move unseen. He then tested moving into the cavern, walking around to get a better gage of the surroundings and to see if there was anything he could use to his advantage, there was some large rocks that he could easily hide behind and soon he had marked out different ways to move through the cavern, going between rocks and his original cave until he had a route to where each of the lizards were. He had managed to do this all without the monsters being alerted to his presence which gave him a boost in his confidence. When he was back at his starting point he made his decision that he would wage guerilla warfare on them, he wouldn¡¯t go for the closest monster but rather one that was towards the outer edge and would give him a clear line back to his little cave. He would attack, see what kind of damage he could do then retreat. More than anything he needed to know what they were capable of. Moving closer to his target he found that they were not as big as he had thought, still larger than any lizard should be, but only seemed to reach his waist if they were standing up on all feat next to him. The first thing he wanted to test was how much damage one of his little arrow heads could do, he hadn¡¯t tested these out in battle yet and wanted to know if they were going to be as effective as he thought. The thing that made Shaun doubt his plan though was that he didn¡¯t know how strong the Lizards skin would be, it could be that they were only resistant to heat and flame or it could be that their skin was like the salamander skin that he had infused with Earth making them resistant to bladed attacks. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Once he was in position he used his echo ability again, making sure he could account for all six of the monsters and that none were moving in closer to his position. Relieved that none had made any signs of moving, he started to prepare for his attack, from his current position crouched behind a rock he could see around both sides if he leaned around a little and if he stood a little higher he could see above the top. Moving around to the side closest to where his retreat point was he readied one of his arrow heads and sent it flying. At the angle the lizard was at he didn¡¯t have a clear shot at its head but he was able to aim for the bulk of its body. When the arrow head reached the lizard he saw it sink deep enough that he could no longer see it, which was a good sign as it meant they could be weakened and killed using his blades. The bad news was that as soon as the lizard was hurt it stood up and hissed, loud enough for all the other lizards to hear and they all came rushing over in an instant. Shaun didn¡¯t attack again and instead hid behind the rock, continuously tracking the lizards throughout the cavern seeing if they would move closer to his position. He had gotten lucky as when they all congregated together they didn¡¯t seem to do anything but look around the immediate area of the lizard he had attacked. They soon gave up when they failed to find anything and all went back to their original lava pools. The lizard that Shaun had attacked went and submerged itself in the lava, figuring this was a defensive mechanism he just waited for it to emerge from the pool, and when it did he would continue his attack and this time with a lot more fire power. When the lizard did appear again it seemed like it wasn¡¯t even bothered with the arrow head in its body, and on closer inspection it didn¡¯t even look like it was hurt anymore. They regenerate and heal when they go into the lava? That changes everything. Shaun thought to himself. It would mean that he would need to take more risks in his attacks, as if he left one alive to retreat it would just heal in the lava and come back out unharmed, costing him his arrow heads and daggers. He now only had 5 arrow heads left and that wouldn¡¯t be enough to kill one of these things, thinking over his options he could use the rest of what he had as well as a dagger or two to see how he went or he could retreat and craft for a day or two until he was out of metal and had a stock of weapons. He really didn¡¯t want to delay his progress in here as he was on a time limit, not in the dungeon itself but in completing the objectives. Readying himself, he got back into the same position as before but this time put all but one of his arrow heads on the ground in front of him. He was going to use every single one of them as quickly as he could, but before he started with his attack he prepared an Empowered Strike skill on the dagger in his hand, which he would use for the final attack, and if that didn¡¯t work he would need to go back and revise his plan. Once he had used half of his mana powering the dagger he stopped and returned to connecting with each of the arrow heads on the ground. It was a strain on his mental energy but his stats were higher since he started levelling his profession so he was able to stretch his Willpower and Intelligence a lot more than he used to be able to. Without delaying any longer he sent the first arrow head flying, quickly followed by the second. He waited a moment to see how the lizard would react, and like last time, called for help and started searching for its attacker. Shaun then sent the last two flying at the opposite side of the lizard''s body to where the first two hit, wanting to spread out damage in the hopes that it would be weakened further. By the time he was done the five other lizards had reached the one he had been attacking, moving quicker than last time, sensing the distress of their fellow monster. Rather than delay any longer he took control of his empowered dagger and sent it straight towards the injured lizard, like the time he had done this with the jaguar the ending result sent a wave of dispelled energy from where the dagger hit the lizard, blowing back all of the other monsters surrounding it. Shaun was still behind his rock so he only felt a small amount of the blast, but even to him it had an impact, it didn''t move him but he felt it run through his body. He had put more mana and affinity into this attack than he had the jaguar, assuming that because the lizard was a higher level it would need more power behind it. The result was better than expected and Shaun was pretty certain that the lizard he had been attacking was dead but the blast knocking all the other monsters back had an adverse impact on his overall plan. They no longer went back to their own lava pools but had been whipped up into a frenzy, not just looking around the area they were in but now started searching everywhere in the cavern. One was getting pretty close to where Shaun was hiding and he had barely any mana left, so fighting wasn¡¯t a real option with this one. Instead of staying in place, knowing that now that the lizards were actively searching for him and his stealth wouldn¡¯t hold up to so much scrutiny, he went on the retreat. He had made it half way back to the cave before he was discovered by the lizard, rather than running he went in for the attack, not to kill, as he didn¡¯t think he could win without using his mana, but to hopefully cause enough pain that it would get distracted for a moment to give him time to escape. Using his sword he rushed right towards its face and he swung out with all of his strength, he didn¡¯t make it in time to stop its hiss to the other monsters but he did manage to do enough damage that it was momentarily stunned afterwards. Using his last arrow head he shot this straight into the lizard''s eye before turning and running to the next rock on his way to the cave. He had used the last of his arrow heads but they had done what they needed to do and he had successfully made it to the rock without any of the monsters following him. He continued on quickly until he reached the safety of his cave and then waited. The lizards searched for a while but didn¡¯t come close to where he was, thankfully after about 15 minutes they all retreated back to their lava pools, including the one he had hurt in his escape. It didn¡¯t die and instead recovered in the lava until it was as good as new, Shaun had also not gotten any levels out of the fight. *You have defeated a (Lava Lizard ¨C Lvl 19). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 190 TE awarded* When Shaun felt it was safe enough he went back to the body of the lizard he had killed, much slower than he could have but without all of his mana and lacking weapons he didn¡¯t want to risk himself getting into another fight. He needed his dagger back, and he hoped if he looted the body that the arrowheads would be returned to him. When he did get close enough he sneaked right up to its body and retrieved his dagger, he went back as far as he could from the body so that he would still be able to loot it and then accepted the prompt. Shaun assumed that the black smoke would alert the other lizards but they didn¡¯t even seem to care, now that it was dead it was like they had completely forgotten about its existence. *Skin from (Lava Lizard ¨C Lvl 19) added to inventory* *Claws from (Lava Lizard ¨C Lvl 19) added to inventory* Pretty standard loot, but very disappointing that he didn¡¯t get any of his weapons back from its body. It now meant that he would have to spend time crafting more to use in the fights. Deciding that he would make enough for two fights at a time and then follow up with fighting at the end so that he always had a surplus available to him. He doubted that this was the only part of the dungeon, instead it was really just the beginning as he could see the exit on the other side of the cavern. He could sneak past them but that would be a waste of good experience and leaving monsters to his back could go wrong very easily. He now had a plan to take care of all the lizards and all he had to do was dedicate time to doing it, something that he was conscious that he didn¡¯t have a lot of, but he didn¡¯t have a choice, he got started. Chapter 31 Shaun repeated this process over two days, he would craft, kill one of the lizards, retreat and repeat. He hadn¡¯t gained any levels in his class during this time but did manage to get one in his profession, repeating the same process over and over wasn¡¯t getting him enough experience to level up more which frustrated him to no end. When he got to the last monster he was glad that he would just be able to move on and do something different, he had been in here for 3 days so far and had barely made a dent in the dungeon, at the rate he was going he wouldn¡¯t be able to finish three before the stage had completed. As there was only one left, Shaun didn¡¯t even bother taking his time to get in position; he just strolled right out of his cave and straight towards it, sending arrow heads out as he walked; it barely got the chance to move before it was riddled with wounds. The good part about spending so much time working with his affinity was that he was now able to easily control two things at once, being limited to only controlling one had been bothersome so being able to wield two was a boon. This also had an impact on one of his skills which he was also very grateful for, his Dual Wielding skill had upgraded. *Your skill [Basic] Dual Wielding (Level 25 ¨C MAX) has evolved into [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 1)* *[Advanced] Enhanced Mind: This passive ability allows for parts of the mind to be enhanced when performing a task if enough concentration is focused on the task at hand. This applies to both combat and non-combat tasks, sufficient Willpower needs to be dedicated to any given task. Scales with Intelligence* The skill had changed a lot and no longer just applied to using two weapons but encompassed everything he did, he could still wield two weapons without issue but now he could apply enough Willpower to his affinity and skills and do two things at once. This had saved him from injury a number of times while he had been fighting off the lizards, especially when there were more of them around. The lizard died when he sent two arrow heads at once into its skull when he was close enough, it hadn¡¯t even had a chance to attack yet, when he stood above its body he was able to concentrate and pull out the arrowheads and put them back where they belonged before looting it. ¡°Finally, time to see where the exit to this cavern leads.¡± He said out loud, it was the first thing he had said anything in days and it felt rather odd, talking to himself was weird, yes, but not talking at all was kind of uncomfortable. He wasn¡¯t the most sociable person in the world but he didn¡¯t want to lose what little social skills he had. Shaun started walking towards the exit when he felt something change in the cavern, with his echo he was able to pinpoint that something had entered the area, bigger than the lizards, and stronger. Turning to the middle of the cavern, where the large pool of lava was he could feel something rising up from it, and quickly. With the little time he had before it would appear he readied two of his arrow heads in the air and started to infuse the dagger in his hand with an Empowered Strike, he wasn¡¯t going to leave this up to chance and would make sure he threw everything he had at it right from the beginning. It took only seconds before the monster appeared out of the lava with a roar, it looked similar to the lizard but much bigger, it had a frill around its neck that vibrated when it roared and spread out around its head. *Frill-necked Lava Lizard ¨C Level 21* Shit. Shaun thought, and without hesitation sent his attacks straight at the monster. The arrow heads went first then his dagger, they all did some damage, especially with the mana he put into the dagger but it wasn¡¯t enough to give him the edge he needed, not even close. As the monster turned to face him its frill started to glow red, showing veins that ran all across it towards its head, when it opened its mouth fire appeared within and the next second, started to spew from its open mouth right at Shaun. As quick as he could he jumped out of the way, not quick enough to avoid all of the flame, some hitting him on his right arm, instantly giving him severe burns all the way up his side. How the hell does it breathe fire? It is a lizard not a damn dragon! Distance was going to be the only thing that saved him here, so he turned and ran as far as he could away from where it stood. It didn¡¯t give immediate chase but watched him move around, every time he got to the safety of another rock it would breath fire at where he hid until it got so unbearably hot that he would need to move to the next rock and then the next. He was very quickly running out of places to run, he continued to launch his weapons at it but he wasn¡¯t able to do as much damage as he would have liked. The lizard did start moving to his location, cornering him against the edge of the cavern, he only had two more rocks that he would be able to hide behind before he was truly screwed and would end up burnt alive. Spending the time he had, he empowered another dagger and sent it towards the lizards open mouth when it opened it to send more flames at him, that did some damage, causing it to roar out into the cavern, but too quickly did it recover and continue to heat the rock he was hiding behind. With a rush he ran straight to the last rock, he was hurt, the skin of his arm was burnt and when he moved would split in places causing so much pain that Shaun had to concentrate on not passing out. The only place on his arm that seemed to be better than the others was where his Earth Strengthened Bracer was, it was damaged but still there, practically melded to his skin, but underneath it his forearm was a lot less damaged, more to the degree of spilling hot water on yourself than getting burnt by open flames. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Crouching behind his last defence he tried to think of anything that would help in his situation, his bracer had helped against the flames but that was only due to the fact it was imbued with his affinity. There was no way he had time to cover his entire body with his spare salamander skin let alone have the time to attune it to his earth affinity. That did give him an idea though, it was a long shot and probably doomed to fail, but he really didn¡¯t have anything to lose. Rather than try to attune the monster skin, what if it was possible to reinforce my own skin, not with the attunement skill but just with my affinity? Considering how that may work, he tried to replicate the skill he had and just use himself as material. Hiding behind his last rock he pulled forth his affinity, rather than direct it outwards though he focused on himself, letting it build inside of him. It came slowly at first, and with it a very foreign feeling, almost like he had something inside of himself that shouldn¡¯t be there, but he didn¡¯t give up. He kept going until he felt like he was going to explode, this was the same time that the monster decided to make itself known and started breathing its fire at the rock. Trying to ignore the heat at his back, Shaun continued to just focus on earth, the feeling of hardened stone, the unyielding nature of metal, and with it he tried to direct all of the energy he had built inside of himself into his skin, his face, his hair, into any exposed part of his body. He didn¡¯t know how long he had been crouching behind the rock, he had forgotten about the fire behind him and completely zoned out, using his new Enhanced Mind skill to do nothing but focus on the task at hand. When he was starting to give up he felt the energy of his earth affinity start to move around his body, creating a circuit from the tip of his toes through his arms and around his head, he focused on that circuit, pushing harder until it was like a river of energy coursing through him. The energy started to branch off in places where some of its power was lost from the whole but still present in his body. It was an odd sensation, and Shaun lost himself in the feeling until he heard the lizard roar. That quickly snapped him back into the present, had the lizard stopped roasting the rock? That hadn¡¯t happened before, usually the lizard would let up on its fire until Shaun had run, so why stop now? Turning around the rock Shaun was hiding behind was glowing white, melting down in places, but he hadn¡¯t felt a thing. It was hot, yes, he could feel the heat on his skin, but it wasn¡¯t harming him like it used to. *New Skill Created: [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 1)* *Skill Gained*: [Advanced] Stone Skin ¨C Infuse one''s own body with the element of earth to strengthen the skin as if it was stone. Provides moderate resistance to slashing and piercing attacks. Provides resistance to elemental attacks. Costs: Mana needed to be continuously provided for skill to activate. The skill was everything Shaun had needed and more, he hadn¡¯t been aiming at creating a skill, just to reinforce his body with his affinity, he didn¡¯t even know it was possible, and to get it at advanced straight away was incredible. The only downside was that it continuously used his mana, meaning he couldn¡¯t have it on all the time, and looking at how much mana was currently being drained by the skill, maybe 30 every 10 seconds, he only had about 1 minute before he was completely out. Like a mad man, he didn¡¯t even formulate a plan, he just rushed from around the melting rock and ran straight at the lizard with his sword in hand. He was going to need to do this the hard way, as he didn¡¯t have the mana to spare, so using just his sword and dagger he went in for the attack. He still tried to avoid the fire but Shaun¡¯s main goal was to do damage, if he didn¡¯t finish the fight in less than a minute it wouldn¡¯t matter how safe he played it he would die in the dungeon. He aimed for the most vital parts of the lizard, mostly its face and neck, he would get in close and stab with his sword before backing away, throwing a dagger at the monster and then moving back in to attack with his sword. He didn¡¯t manage to avoid every attack, he took more flames to his body, it still caused damage but much less than before, he also got hit by the monsters claws at one point when he wasn¡¯t paying enough attention, they sliced into his skin but only a by a centimetre, not enough to cause major damage. He slowly wore the lizard down, and when he only had 10 seconds left before he ran out of mana he dashed in, but this time made to finish it for good, he was out of daggers and only had his sword left, using the momentum of his movement towards the monster he jumped up into a leap at the last moment and landed sword first right onto the monsters back just behind its frill. Using the different angle to his advantage he climbed up onto the lizard''s back bringing his sword with him, it wasn¡¯t able to get at him with its fire breathing and also wasn¡¯t able to attack with its claws. Shaun stabbed down into its back, over and over again as close as he could get to its head and by the time the lizard stopped struggling beneath him he was covered in blood and sore all over. *You have defeated a (Frill-necked Lava Lizard ¨C Level 21). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 210 TE awarded* The moment Shaun got off of the lizard''s body he crashed to the ground, unable to stand, he had fully exhausted all of his mana, his health was barely at 10% and for the second time since entering the tutorial his stamina was near empty. He was relatively safe where he was, there was nothing else left in the cavern and he was confident that this lizard was like a mini boss of the area he was in. *Class: Rogue has levelled up by +1 levels. [Basic] Rogue has reached Level 24. +1 Str, +3 Dex, +1 End, +3 Per gained* Finally, after clearing the entire area of lizards, he had levelled up. He was still 6 more levels off getting another skill but he didn¡¯t mind, he had just upgraded a skill and created a new one over the last few days so it wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t have others to focus on. The stats though were nice, not to mention that it made him feel just a bit less sore in that moment. Without even moving back to his cave, he didn¡¯t even know if he could at that moment, he let the fatigue wash over him and closed his eyes, he would deal with the body and everything else when he woke up, for now he just needed rest. Chapter 32 When Shaun woke up he was still lying next to the body of the lizard, nothing had changed in the few hours that he rested and he couldn¡¯t pick up on any monsters nearby, getting straight to retrieving all of his weapons, he looted the monster and received something interesting. **Flaming Frill ¨C The frill, taken of a Frill-necked Lava Lizard, containing the element of fire. The frill is near completely resistant to flame and heat, can also act as a catalyst when broken down and used to increase the power for fire attuned items or rituals.** There was no denying how weird it was, the fact it was resistant to fire was great but no longer needed now that he had his Stone Skin skill, the idea of using it to increase the power of already attuned items held some appeal though. Collecting the last of his things he moved towards the cave that would lead to the next area, he was conscious of how much time he had spent here already and needed to get a move on. During his rest he had recovered almost to full so was ready to start getting a move on, the cave itself didn¡¯t have anything of note in it, and it wasn¡¯t until after he had walked for about 30 minutes did he come to the next cavern. This one was larger than the last, about twice the size, but had a similar layout. Lava was flowing down some of the walls in a waterfall of flame leading to rivers of the stuff flowing through the cavern. There were still rocks and boulders around, including a cliff-like edge near where the waterfall was, the monsters though were something else entirely. **Flame Bursting Crab ¨C Level 21** They were crabs, but not just any crabs, as he watched them, 9 in total, they would occasionally burst into flames. He couldn¡¯t figure out a reason for it, nor pick up on any pattern but he was certain that getting close to them without using his Stone Skin wasn¡¯t going to be possible. They were two levels higher than the lizards in the previous cavern and there were also three more of them. If he was to guess he also assumed that once they were all dead, a bigger, meaner and stronger crab was going to appear and if it followed the pattern would be level 23. Observing the crabs was easy from his vantage point, they moved around a lot more than the lizards and their shells seemed to be much more durable than anything he had fought before. Testing his theory he hid on one of the walls of the cave so that he would be hard to see in stealth and could still see a few of the crabs, letting one of his arrow heads fly he saw it hit the shell of the closest crab and barely make a scratch in its tough armour. His arrow heads were pretty much useless and he doubted his daggers would do much more unless he powered them with every little bit of mana he had. Even if he did go down that route, alerting every single one of them to his presence was a death sentence with the weapons he had on hand. Sitting down Shaun continued to observe them and tried to formulate a plan, he couldn¡¯t get close for any length of time or risk being burnt to death when his Mana ran out, his bladed weapons didn¡¯t really do any damage, he might be able to do some damage on the underside of its body but he would find it very difficult to get them in such an exposed position. There were still rocks and lava in the cavern but he didn¡¯t have any way to utilise either of them outside of using the rocks to hide behind. Unless¡­¡­he could use the rocks. He hadn¡¯t done much experimenting with them since he had metal weapons, and metal was always better than a rock, except if you needed to crush something rather than stab it. His experiments in stage 1 had not gone well but his use of his earth affinity on the ground and rocks since coming to stage 2 had gone much better. The beginning of a plan formulating, he moved back into the open cavern that he had fought the lizards in and started experimenting. Moving to the closest rock in the cavern he sat on the ground and focused on his connection to it, it was bigger than anything he had ever moved or controlled with his affinity but he did think it might be possible with enough effort. Exerting his control over the rock he imagined it lifting into the air, it took time but eventually he had it slightly off the ground before he lost control and it dropped the few centimetres he had managed to raise it. It was exhausting, even with his Enhanced Mind skill he struggled to hold onto it for any length of time, instead of giving up though this just turned into one more challenge to overcome. He would give himself a day to get this right, if he managed then he would be able to deal with the crabs quickly and efficiently, as he had a plan that may work. If he couldn¡¯t get it to work, then he was going to be fighting 9 crabs at once and would have to figure that out when the time came. Over the course of the next few hours he had managed to gain better control of the rock in front of him, now able to hold it up for a minute before it dropped to the ground, his Enhanced Mind skill had levelled up a few times and was now level 5, making it easier to use his affinity and keep control. When he was confident in being able to lift the rock without much thought he moved on to his next task, forming cracks in the rock walls. This was much harder than just lifting the rocks up in the air, he had to use his echo skill, mind skill and affinity at the same time to accomplish what he wanted. The echo skill was to try and find natural faults in the cavern walls, the affinity was to take advantage of these faults and widen them into larger cracks while he used his mind skill to focus on doing all of this without causing an avalanche of stone to come down from the wall. He continued his practice for hours more until he had been going at it for a full day, he felt like he was now prepared enough for his plan to work, the only thing he was missing was having enough mana to be able to see it all through. And to get more mana he needed more levels in his crafting profession, which was easier said than done. In his inventory he had, skins from multiple monsters, fangs, claws, the frill, a long sword, chest plate, as well as a bow and quiver full of arrows, which he had completely forgotten about. On top of all of that he had more meat than he could eat in a year some metal he had left over from making his own claw arrow heads and water. He had some other bits a pieces but nothing he could really use for crafting. Taking out the Lava Lizard skin he inspected them. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. **Lava Lizard Skin ¨C The skin form a Lava Lizard found in a dungeon with the tutorial of a newly integrated planet, the skin has traces of the fire element present within it making it resistant to heating and flame.** It wasn¡¯t as good as his stone skin but he figured every little bit would count, he took them all out and started forming them into one large piece. From there he started cutting off pieces to form into 2 new bracers, a new vest as well as a cloak that he would wear from around his neck and shoulders, so that in an emergency he would be able to cover himself in it and at least have some protection from the crabs fire if the worst occurred. Once everything was formed he tried to enhance the items with his own affinity using the attunement skill but it wouldn¡¯t stick, he assumed that this was due to the fact that it already had the fire element present within it and earth couldn¡¯t be added to it in such a crude fashion, something to experiment with when he wasn¡¯t on a time limit though. Next he took out more claws and metal as well as something he had never used before but now had a reason to. He had the venom from the cavern spiders that he had spent time hunting in stage 1, it was paralytic and very effective if you could administer enough of it. His plan was to create something both similar and yet different from the old arrowheads, this time he wanted to fill them with poison that once pierced into a monster would cause them to become sluggish and easy to take down. He wasn¡¯t going to use these on the crabs as he didn¡¯t think he could get them deep enough for the poison to work, but he assumed that the crabs weren¡¯t the end of the dungeon and preparing now would save time later. He followed the same process at the beginning of forming the arrow heads as he did before but this time when he got to carving out the middle for the metal he continued carving until there was room for him to deposit enough poison in it to effect a monster the size of the lizards. To make sure that the poison would indeed enter the body once the arrow head had done its job he made it so there was a weak join on the tip that would easily break off once it hit the skin of the monster but sharp enough that it would still enter the body. In Shaun¡¯s opinion he was a genius, these would work incredibly well in a fight, and although they were really only a one use item they would still pack one hell of a punch. He didn¡¯t stop crafting the new poisoned arrow heads until he had run out of metal and by that point he had a few dozen of the little weapons that he could use in a fight. He had been ignoring all of his notifications up until this point as he was so engrossed in his work. **Multiple Skill Level ups: [Basic] Mana Meld - Level 13** **Multiple Skill Level up: [Basic] Mana Manipulation ¨C Level 15** **Profession: Mana Crafter has levelled up by +2 levels. [Basic] Mana Crafter has reached Level 11. +2 Int, +2 Wil, +4 Soul** **Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 17. +4 Ap gained** He had just reached and surpassed level 10 in his profession, and with it he could now see the option of picking a new skill. He had no idea what the choices would be and was rather excited as to what he may be able to add to his repertoire. **New Profession Skill Available: Please choose from one of the following options:** **[Basic] Mana Transfer: The ability to transfer mana from the user''s personal supply into a compatible item to store for future use or to power an item.** Shaun could see a lot of uses for a skill like this, the idea that he could store mana and then use it later, for example if he was running low in a fight, would be extremely helpful. The downside to this was that whatever he used to store the mana had to be able to hold it and as far as he knew he had nothing like this on him, making the skill at this point in time practically useless. **[Basic] Rune Knowledge: Runes, the written language that governs magic in the Multiverse, have a multitude of uses throughout the Multiverse, they are used in crafting to inlay spells in items, in rituals to act as focal points and catalysts as well as in a multitude of other ways. This skill provides a basic understanding of runes in how to both read and create them.** He had heard of runes before, not in the tutorial, but before that, it was something that you came across a lot in games, movies, and even history. What one could do with runes was limited only to one''s knowledge and ability to use them and getting this skill early on would be a boon that could help him not only grow quickly now but also something he would be able to take advantage of in his upcoming fights. If he could learn enough he might be able to use runes on his weapons that would cause a significant amount of damage when used in battle. **[Basic] Meditation: The Meditation skill allows the user to more easily fall into a trance like state where they are able to recover their Mana at an increased rate, the skill also allows the user to block out their surroundings and fully focus their attention.** The meditation skill was one that he had wanted since he had started using mana, having to wait for his mana to recover had been a factor that was impacting how quickly he was able to craft as he would run his supply down to 0 and then have to wait, not being able to continue until it was back up to a reasonable level. It wouldn¡¯t help him in battle but it would help him in other ways. **Skill Gained**: [Basic] Meditation (Level 1)** Picking the meditation skill over the rune skill wasn¡¯t a spur of the moment decision, in fact the skill helped him with the second part of his plan on getting through the dungeon. Taking out an item from his inventory, he identified it again. **Elemental Elixir (Legendary) ¨C The Elemental Elixir is a resource that when consumed will place the one into a trance where it will become easier to connect to the world around you. Used by those who are lucky enough to obtain one to help them find their Affinity. If surrounded by a specific element that one wishes to connect to it greatly boosts the chance of forming an Affinity with that element.** There was a very high chance of this not working at all but as he looked through the description of the elixir again he started checking off different parts of what was needed. He was surrounded by a new element, fire, and it was one that if he could obtain would greatly boost his fighting ability. He couldn¡¯t think of an affinity that would complement his earth one more so wanting to connect to it was present. And the reason why he picked the skill, it would put him in a trance and he hoped the meditation skill would work hand in hand with this and help him boost the effect. It was a risk, using the elixir now had no guarantees of working, not that it ever would be certain, but he was running out of time and he needed every edge he could get if he was going to get out of this dungeon and complete two more afterwards. It''s worth the risk, Shaun thought, but I need to prepare a bit more first. Chapter 33 Shaun didn¡¯t drink the elixir straight away, instead he wanted to level up his mediation skill as much as he could first and try to really connect to the fire element around him. To do this he sat himself next to the largest lava pool in the cavern, the one that the boss lizard came out of. He got as close as he could where he could feel the increased heat on his skin but not so close that he would quickly start to burn. He didn¡¯t want his earth affinity to interfere in this process so he didn¡¯t want to use stone skin, he wanted to be able to concentrate on the feeling of fire, of heat and how it could burn. He set himself a time limit of two days to level up his skill as much as he could, drink the elixir and then continue on through the dungeon. He would then try and finish the dungeon within the following two days, he didn¡¯t know how long the dungeon would be but he hoped that it wouldn¡¯t take any longer than that, as if he could finish everything in this time period it would still leave him 20 days in stage 2, just enough time to do two more dungeons, or so he hoped. When he started out meditating at the beginning of the first day it didn¡¯t come naturally to him, it wasn¡¯t an instantaneous skill that he could just switch on and he would immediately fall into the trance like state, he had to first calm himself completely and only when he started to let his mind clear was he able to start utilising the skill. He first started out focusing inwards, he wanted to see if he could more easily pick up on the stream of earth that he had found when he created Stone Skin, he didn¡¯t want to use the affinity, just see how it interacted with his body. Only once he was comfortable with how it spread throughout him did he start to focus more outward and into the cavern itself, he could feel the heat radiating all around him, with all of the lava pools present it wasn¡¯t hard, but that was just the first step. He wanted to try and form some sort of connection to the heat and lava before he took the elixir, figuring that this would better his odds of success. During the course of the day he would slowly move closer to the pool of lava, he was adjusting to the heat and although he was going through his water supply pretty quickly he had decided it was worth the risk. Eventually, once the day had come to an end, Shaun had made good progress, he wasn¡¯t able to form a solid connection to the fire element but what he had been able to do was follow along with the movement of the lava, finding this easier than trying to connect to the heat in the air as he found that the lava also contained traces of earth. This also let him see how the two elements interacted with each other, something that may become useful in taking the elixir and trying to form that second affinity with fire. *Multiple Skill Level ups: [Basic] Meditation ¨C Level 6* He had levelled up his meditation skill a lot over the day, he hadn¡¯t really been doing anything but using the skill for over 12 hours so he had expected to gain at least a few levels. He was comfortable with using the skill now and although he would have liked to focus on it further before taking the elixir he was out of time. Taking out the elixir again, Shaun couldn¡¯t help but hesitate, second guessing everything he had done to prepare and whether he was even ready for such a big step, he had his earth affinity and it had done a lot for him so far, what if taking the elixir had some adverse effect, it was legendary grade after all, what if his body wasn¡¯t even capable of using it yet? No, it was in the tutorial, it wouldn¡¯t be here if we couldn¡¯t use it. He knew he was just procrastinating, it was a big decision to make, one that could affect him for the rest of his life, but if it worked he would have more advantages than anyone else from his planet, not to mention the Multiverse. He stopped delaying, cutting off all the doubts he had and opened the little bottle of elixir. He immediately smelt a sweet welcoming smell coming from the bottle, it was captivating in a way that made him just want to sit there and do nothing but lose himself in the scent. Turning his attention away from the smell, which wasn¡¯t an easy feat, he closed his eyes and with a final breath poured the elixir into his mouth, there wasn¡¯t a lot of it and he was able to swallow it all in one go. He gave it a few seconds, waiting for it to take effect, knowing that if it was anything like the usual potions it wouldn¡¯t be immediate, but after a full minute with nothing happening he started to worry. Just as he was about to give up all hope he felt a pressure build inside of him, it started out very slow but quickly gained momentum and within seconds his entire body was feeling like it was being torn apart cell by cell. The elixir said it would put me in a trance, not try to kill me! Shaun couldn¡¯t move, he was barely able to breath at that point, he had never experienced such pain. And like a switch being flipped everything came to a stand still, the pain was gone but he also didn¡¯t feel like he was present either, he could still feel his body but had no control over it, like he was an observer. Shaun didn¡¯t know what to do, after all of the training he had done with his meditation skill it had turned out to be useless. He could barely concentrate in his current state, let alone do anything useful like form a connection to fire, the only thing he knew for certain was that if he didn¡¯t do something, and fast, that this whole experience would be for nothing. Focusing his mind like he had when using his meditation skill he attempted to calm his thoughts, he imagined breathing softly, in rhythm with his heart beat. Slowly he calmed down, he turned his mind inward and found the stream of earth affinity inside of him in turmoil, it was completely out of control, wreaking havoc on his body. This explains the pain I felt, the elixir didn¡¯t say what would happen if you already had an affinity and used it, this must be the result. It would also explain why the description didn¡¯t mention feeling any pain, there wasn¡¯t supposed to be, but if you were foolish enough to use it when you shouldn¡¯t, like I have, this was the result. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Moving past the self-pity Shaun was currently feeling he decided not to give up, the first thing he set out to do was calm the raging river of earth inside of him, he used every skill that he thought might help, his Mind skill and Mediation running over time to try and correct what the elixir had done, slowly the streams inside of him started to calm but didn¡¯t fully settle. That done he turned his focus out into the cavern and what he found was different to anything else he had ever seen, through his mind he was able to see mana, more specifically, the different types of attuned mana around him. The vast majority of the mana was attuned to fire, it was like tiny little red glowing light around him, mixed in with that he could also see a darker brownish slate colour that he associated with his own earth affinity. There was also one more type present, it was more of a clear glow, and if he was to guess it may be associated with air. When he reached out with his mind he immediately gravitated towards the earth mana, almost like a magnet sticking to metal, but that wasn¡¯t what he needed at this time, he already had earth, he needed fire. It took a lot more mental energy to try and connect to the fire Mana, it was almost like it didn¡¯t want to form any kind of bond with him, he didn¡¯t give up though, instead he entered what could only be described as a battle of wills with the little mana particle. Eventually he was able to bring it under his control, but when he did it felt like his mind was on fire, a splitting headache instantly appeared, one that he wasn¡¯t able to ignore, he didn¡¯t let go though. Not knowing for certain what he was supposed to do, he did the only thing he could think of, he tried to bring it into his body. The closer he brought the fire mana towards him it seemed the harder it tried to get away, refusing to give up though he eventually bought it right in front of him, choosing not to delay and think of what could go wrong, he pulled it straight into his body. Turning his attention inward again he could see the mana now inside of him, but it didn¡¯t settle into the stream of earth affinity and instead seemed to try and escape. Rather than give up, he took control of his earth affinity and created a cocoon around the fire mana, essentially trapping it inside of him. The headache went away as soon as he lifted his control over the fire mana, it was solidly trapped inside of him and couldn¡¯t break through his existing earth affinity. Still unsure whether this was what he was supposed to do he continued the same process, he would gain control of the fire mana and then bring it inside of his body one at a time, trapping each one in the process. He continued doing this for what felt like forever, it had gotten to a point where there was almost no mana left in the cavern and he had used every single bit of the earth affinity inside of him to trap all of the fire motes. For what he hoped was the last time, he inspected his body, what was once a stream of earth running through his body was now solid spheres of earth surrounding the foreign fire mana motes, the more of it he had taken into his body, the hotter he had become. His body now felt like a furnace, ready to instantly combust into flame if he made one wrong move. He needed to get the stream moving again and he needed to do it all at once, if he just tried to move a small amount he would cause a blockage and he feared that he would cause an explosion inside of himself that would cause instant death. Spreading out his mind and will to encompass his entire affinity was hard, especially given how taxing the entire experience of bringing the mana into his body had been, but he felt like he was heading in the right direction. Slowly, he was able to get the stream moving again, at first he could barely tell there was any movement but eventually he could start to see small shifts in the spheres. He continued focusing on nothing but getting the stream moving until eventually it was circulating around his body, although slower than what it needed to be, so he continued pushing it, trying to build momentum. Once he was happy with the speed his affinity was travelling he now needed to figure out a way to incorporate the fire mana. He knew fire and earth could exist side by side, the lava had shown him that, but to replicate that harmony in his body was not going to be as simple as smashing the two together, he didn¡¯t want to change his earth affinity to a lava affinity, if that was even possible, what he wanted was to have the two affinity side by side. What if he could create a helix rather than just a straight stream, he could have the two affinities circle around each other while they travelled through his body, not touching but combined into an inter tangled corkscrew. Shaun liked the idea, thought it had some merit, now that he had his earth affinity moving he started to manipulate the way it travelled, still flowing through his body but now in a circular motion. It took time to adjust the flow but eventually he did it. The last step in his plan was to release the fire mana and form it into its own stream, this was also the most dangerous part as he didn¡¯t know what would happen when he released it. He started off with just one little mote, it felt like someone had stuck a hot poker through him the moment he released it but he ignored the pain and just focused on the one bit of fire inside of him, moving it in the way he wanted. Once he got used to the feeling he added another, and he kept releasing the fire mana until there was no more left to release. His entire body was on fire and at any second he thought he was going to just crumble into ash but he kept going, condensing the mana into its own stream until it looked exactly the same as the earth affinity, twin streams circling each other. Once he was done something clicked into place and instead of controlling the two forces inside of him he was able to completely let go and they continued on as they had been, his body started to cool back to his normal temperature and he was now able to move his body. When he opened his eyes and looked out around the cavern he could no longer see any mana floating around and he felt the last of the elixir''s effects wear off. *Affinity Detected: Fire* *Fire (Affinity): The multiverse is made up of many elements but Fire is seen to be one of the most valuable. Through your connection to heat and flame you will be able to manifest and control the element of fire within the world around you. You are one with the flame and are now immune to any of its effects. +10 Wil, +10 Soul, +5% Wil, +10% Soul* I did it¡­¡­ I actually got a second affinity. Shaun could barely believe the notification in front of his eyes, he had nearly killed himself multiple times during the process but it had all been worth it to be able to not only control fire but to manifest it. But to also be immune to any damage that fire could cause him? This dungeon just became a hell of a lot easier. *Heritage detected* What is happening? There is nothing on my status sheet about a heritage. *Prerequisites for Heritage awakening met* What prerequisites? *Awakening initiated* ¡°Will someone tell me what the hell is going on? What heritage is the damn thing even¡­..¡± Chapter 34 When Shaun came to he was lying on the ground, he had been rendered unconscious after receiving the last message, as he couldn¡¯t seem to remember anything after that point. He wasn¡¯t hurt which was a good sign but there was a lot going on that he didn¡¯t understand. His body felt different, not in a bad way, but like something vital that he had been missing his entire life was now present inside of him, making him feel whole. *Heritage: Azreal¡¯s Legacy has been fully integrated* He didn¡¯t know of any Azreal in his family line, not that he knew much about anyone in his family; it had always been just him and his dad until he was on his own. Looking further at what exactly this legacy was he was more confused than ever. *Azreal¡¯s Legacy: The remnants of a lost power, passed on from generation to generation never awakening, Azreal¡¯s Legacy is the hope of a long forgotten race that was hunted to extinction. The legacy provides the ability to more easily connect and harness all elements that make up the Multiverse, however the risk of doing so increases with each element bonded into an Affinity. The carrier of Azreal¡¯s Legacy has been unbound by the awakening of this heritage, transforming the body, mind and soul in the hope that what was once lost can be found again.* That was a lot to take in, the best part was the fact that he would be able to continue to bind elements into an affinity, the downside was the risk in doing so. He had just experienced how hard it was to bring a second element into his body, the idea of doing it with a third was, the havoc it would wreck on him was unthinkable. He didn¡¯t even have any elixir¡¯s to help him with the process, he would be doing it all by himself, and with the help of this legacy. The thing that made him even more hesitant to start adding more affinity was that the description of Azreal¡¯s Legacy talked about lost powers and an entire race hunted to extinction, if you put those two things together it was clear that they were hunted down because of the power they had, probably the power that Shaun now had to bind as many elements as he wanted as long as he was ready to risk it. Looking at what had occurred just before getting the heritage, he had successfully bound his second affinity and considering that the legacy was all about taking on more elements that couldn¡¯t have been a coincidence. The only reason he was able to bind fire was because he found the elixir, which thinking about it now also seemed too much of a coincidence. Why would there be a legendary grade elixir in the tutorial anyway? Why was he the one to find it? What did this all mean? He was starting to spiral out of control, there were too many questions he just didn¡¯t have the answers for and the idea that someone, or something, was pulling strings and making him dance around like a puppet to their tune was terrifying. Before he could really lose control he needed a distraction, he still had a notification he wanted to look through, anything to get his mind off of the legacy. *Title earned: Elemental Prodigy* *Elemental Prodigy: Having successfully bound two elements as an Affinity you have done what few others in the Multiverse are capable of. Title upgradable. +10 to all stats, +10% to all stats* The new title was fantastic, and all of the extra stats were even better, he felt a lot more confident with continuing on in the dungeon now that fire couldn¡¯t hurt him and he gained a significant increase in each one of his stats. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (F) Level: 17 Class: [Basic] Rogue - Level 24 Profession: [Basic] Mana Crafter - Level 11 Health Points:682/730 Stamina:550/550 Mana:756/1160 Stats: (Available Points: 4) Strength: 55 Dexterity: 108 Endurance: 55 Vitality: 73 Intelligence: 55 Perception: 108 Willpower: 81 Soul: 116 Affinity: Earth, Fire Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elemental Prodigy Heritage: Azreal''s Legacy (Hidden) Skills: Class: [Basic] Short Blade (Level 25 - MAX), [Basic] Stealth (Level 25 - MAX), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 14) , [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 8), [Basic] Empowered Strike (Level 20), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 3) Profession: [Basic] Mana Meld (Level 10) , [Basic] Mana Manipulation (Level 12), [Basic] Mana Attunement (Level 9), [Basic] Meditation (Level 10) His Soul stat had gone from the lowest to the highest and his Dexterity and Perception had also gone over the 100 mark. His Strength, Endurance and Intelligence were now his lowest stats, he was getting 2 points in intelligence for every level in his profession so decided that he didn¡¯t have to worry about that one compared to only getting 1 in the other two per level of his class. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He still had 4 AP to use as he had stopped putting them into Vitality when his health had gotten higher so now he had to figure out how he wanted to split up his AP going forward. He was relying more on his magic rather than anything at the moment but he didn¡¯t want to reach a point where he wasn¡¯t able to do physical damage. Deciding he would split his AP between Strength and Endurance for a while, at least until they were at the same level as his Vitality. Having finished off the last of his notifications and done everything he needed to with his stats he turned to start his fight with the crabs. As he walked through the tunnel leading to the cavern he had to resist the urge to play around with his new affinity, he needed the mana for his fight and although he really wanted to see if he could throw a fireball, he knew that it wouldn¡¯t help against these monsters. When he came to the cavern he looked out at the crabs, there were still 9 of them and nothing had changed, they were still moving around in the cavern with little care or worry. He was about to change that though. Walking into the cavern like he owned it Shaun went up to the nearest cluster of rocks and waited. The crabs hadn¡¯t noticed him, they acted like he wasn¡¯t even there which was rather insulting, his plan revolved around getting them to come to him rather than the other way around. ¡°Hello¡­¡­ I¡¯m here, the names Shaun. Thought you might want to know the name of the person who kills you.¡± That got their attention. All of the crabs froze and looked at him, for a second they didn¡¯t do a thing, almost like they were processing what he had just said and found the entire statement insulting. As one they started snapping their claws open and closed in the air, it was an odd sight and rather unexpected. This isn''t going fast enough for my liking. ¡°Will you just attack already!¡± Finally they all started to rush at him, they weren¡¯t very fast so he had some time before the first crab reached him, he was already prepared though. Just as the first crab got into range he lifted one of the rocks with his affinity and sent it with full force right at the monster. The rock was heavy and could easily crush a man, his hope was that it could also crush a crab. As he watched the aftermath of the collision he was awarded with an unmoving dead Crab that had its shell completely caved in from the front. This was going to be easier than I thought. One after the other the crabs rushed him and he met each one with a rock the size of their body, they couldn¡¯t avoid rocks quick enough from a short distance and he was making his way through them with ease. He had to move his position twice, each time one of the crabs would get close enough that when it burst into flames he would be engulfed in them, but it did no damage. When there was only one crab left he retreated back to the exit, hoping it didn¡¯t follow him through, he needed to regain his mana before the boss fight and he knew that would start as soon as the last crab was dead. As soon as he exited the cavern the crab stopped coming after him, as if it wasn¡¯t able to leave the cavern it was in. He waited a few hours until his mana was full and then went back in to finish it off. He was impressed with his slaughter of the crabs, he had beaten them easier than he had the lizards and in only a fraction of the time. He went around and looted what was left of the bodies, getting meat, which he was delighted about, as well as their carapace, the shell from the body. As expected he felt the boss come up from the largest lava pool, this one right underneath the waterfall next to the large cliff-like wall that the lava was flowing over. Before it had even gotten out of the lava pool Shaun had already set up how he was going to deal with it. He had hoped that it would appear out of the largest pool, just like the lizard, and he assumed the boss was going to be a tanked up crab as well. His suspicions were all correct when the monster finally appeared, it looked to be twice the size of the other crabs and had spikes on its shell that looked wickedly sharp. *Explosive King Crab ¨C Level 23* Just as expected. Before the crab had a chance to do anything Shaun triggered his trap. He had been preparing for this, he had tested out being able to find and form weak points in the cavern walls when he first went back to the lizard cavern and had great success with his tests. This time though, instead of a call he used the cliff like edge, spreading his influence throughout the structure until with a thought he could send it crumbling down on top of the boss. He watched the rocks drop down, piling one after the other on top of the king crab. It was an avalanche of earth, something he was rather proud of, especially as it meant he was going to save some time to get to the next cavern. Shaun waited for the notification to appear that the monster was dead but it never came, instead the rocks started to shift and then they all exploded out from where they had been piled on top of the monster. He had to dodge a few of the rocks but when he stopped and looked back at the monster he found that it was still alive, if barely. The spikes on its back were all broken, its shell cracked in various places, and it was missing one of its claws, but it was still ready to put up a fight. Shaun was at a loss as to how it had lived, even after he had dropped that much rock on top of it, but he now needed another plan, it was no longer invulnerable to his bladed attacks, he could easily get his sword or a dagger through the cracks in its shell but he would need to get close enough to do it. Before he had time to react the crab lifted its remaining claw in the air and it started to glow red, not knowing what was going to happen Shaun backed away as far as he could before the claw came crashing down into the ground releasing a blast or flame on impact that spread out all around it. When the flames hit him he worried for a second before he came to a stop. The flames can''t hurt me, so why am I running? Turning around he stood to face the monster, and with a smile on his face ran right towards it. The crab in response lifted up its claw again to power up another burst of flame but Shaun just kept running at it. Just as it smashed down to the ground he leapt onto the crabs back, the flames washed over him before he landed, blinding him for a second, but when they cleared he could see where he was going to land. Without a second of hesitation he rammed his sword straight into one of the cracks with an empowered strike, blasting the shell to pieces. He was sent flying off of its back and ended up crashing into the ground, he easily rolled into it and came to a standing position, drawing another of his daggers now that he had let go of his sword, but there was no need. *You have defeated a (Explosive King Crab ¨C Level 23). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 230 TE awarded* *Class: [Basic] Rogue has levelled up by +1 levels. [Basic] Rogue has reached Level 25. +1 Str, +3 Dex, +1 End, +3 Per gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 18. +4 Ap gained* Finally, after killing all of these monsters he had levelled up to level 25, he had felt like it had taken way more experience than it should have to be able to get that level. *Class upgrade available on [Basic] Rogue class* This shouldn¡¯t have been unexpected, his basic skills all capped out at level 25 so why shouldn¡¯t his basic class? It also made sense why it took so much more experience to hit level 25 compared to all the other levels, it was a milestone level, and he needed to put a lot more into getting it than the ones previous because he got the chance to upgrade it. He was curious as to what he may be offered, he didn¡¯t know if his choices were going to be based on his current class, his achievements or if they took into account everything that he had done up to this point in time. Chapter 35 Shaun decided he would look through each option one by one and try not to rule any of them out until he had read all of the options in depth and had weighed the pros and cons of each. However as soon as he read the first one he started to have doubts. [Advanced] Shadow Assassin: The Shadow Assassin is a class focused on one on one sneak attacks, using the shadows as a key element in their build to take down targets unaware. This class relies on knowing your target, choosing when and where to attack and staying anonymous. With a high reliance on stealth the Shadow Assassin gains additional power at night, the assassin also gains bonus experience from completing a job successfully. Stats per level: +1 Str, +5 Dex, +1 End, +5 Per, +3 Int Note: some skill may be upgraded or lost if this class is chosen. He could see the benefit of this class, it was a straight upgrade from his current rogue class, high focus on stealth and sneak attacks just with more shadow description mixed into it. The part about gaining additional power at night was beneficial, maybe the one upside to the class, as the rest of it wasn¡¯t really something he was interested in. Assassinating targets and doing jobs for others was not ever going to be on his to-do list, it was an advanced class though and the stats were good, nearly double what he was already getting. [Advanced] Elemental Mage: The Elemental Mage through a reliance on items to be able to use different elements and a strong connection to their affinity, focuses on ranged attacks and defence. The class is a full mage build and does not utilise melee weapons but rather staffs and wands to help focus their potent magic. Stats per level: +2 Per, +2 Wil, +3 Int, +8 Soul Note: some skill may be upgraded or lost if this class is chosen. This one was so much better than his last option, the Elemental Mage incorporated so much of what he had been working on, it had a reliance on elements and affinity, something he now had two of, not to mention that the stat gain was pretty great. The big downside to this was that he couldn¡¯t use melee weapons, that would mean no more swords or daggers, that in itself would have an impact on the way he fought, it was something he could adjust to in time but he wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to risk it. The fact that some of his skills could be lost, and he had a gritty good idea that some of them would be, was a big drawback to picking this one. Still better than the assassin class though. [Advanced] Earthen Warrior: A class focused on the element of Earth, capable of utilising the rocks, stone and metal around them to cause wide scale attacks as well as form near impenetrable defences. The Earthen Warrior can turn the very earth against their opponents while strengthening their allies, uses a multitude of different weapons, shields and armour in their pursuit of battle. Stats per level: +4 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +4 Vit, +2 Soul Note: some skill may be upgraded or lost if this class is chosen. The Earthen Warrior was a great balance between melee as well as using his earth affinity, it would further incorporate the two into a class, something he had already started to do with his Stone Skin skill. The idea of using large scale attacks was also pretty appealing and being able to use different types of weapons, not just short blades, was another bonus in its favour. But it might be a little too specialised, it just focused on earth as an element and he had just obtained fire which he really didn¡¯t want to ignore or forget about, especially after everything he had gone through to get it. His heritage was another factor that came into play, the mage class he had been given the option to choose would play well with all elements, this one not so much. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger: A class focused on utilising all types of bladed weapons as well as infusing their attacks with the power of the elements, the Elemental Blade Slinger is a balanced build that incorporates both physical and magical attacks in battle. With a heavy reliance on items to be able to use elements and a strong connection to their affinity, the Elemental Blade Slinger is usually on the front lines of any battle, capable of turning the tide of a fight in their favour. Stats per level: +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul Note: some skill may be upgraded or lost if this class is chosen. This was the most perfect, balanced class that he could have hoped for. It incorporated the elements and it also allowed for him to continue using a melee approach in a fight, not just short blades but all bladed weapons as well. He didn¡¯t mind being on the front line anymore, he had been doing it since he was alone, even before that if he was being honest with himself. The stats were great, a nice focus on the physical and magical, he had a good idea of what skills might be upgraded and even had a inkling on which he may lose, but he didn¡¯t mind. He was pretty confident this was the one, but he still had one more to look at. [Basic] Rogue: One of the starter classes provided to the newly integrated. The Rogue is a versatile class and focuses on calculated sneak attacks that take their opponents unaware. Relying on stealth the Rogue can utilise short bladed weapons like daggers for both close and ranged attacks as well as short swords but lack defence. Stats per level: +1 Str, +3 Dex, +1 End, +3 Per, What a pointless option, who would not choose an upgrade? Keeping the same class at this point was just ridiculous, he would lose out on nearly double the stats and all of the other upgrades that came with an advanced class. He immediately ruled it out, he knew what he was going to choose so wasted no more time in debating or looking over his options. *Congratulations, you now have the Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger* *Your skill [Basic] Short Blade (Level 25 - MAX) has been upgraded into [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 1)* *Your skill [Basic] Empowered Strike (Level 23) has been upgraded into [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 1)* *Your skill [Basic] Stealth (Level 25 ¨C MAX) has been lost* He had expected something like this to happen with his Short Blade skill from reading the description of the class, but the Empowered strike upgrade was unexpected, especially considering he hadn¡¯t hit level 25 in it yet. Losing the stealth skill was annoying, but also something he had expected to occur given that the class had absolutely nothing to do with stealth but instead leading from the front. The first thing Shaun did was check the descriptions of the upgraded skills. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. *[Advanced] Blade Mastery: Provides a higher level of skill and understanding of all bladed weapons, through training and use of the skill become a master of the blade in your hand.* It was pretty straight forward, very similar to his Short Blade skill but instead of being limited to certain blades it encompassed all of them, similarly it removed all traces of basic understanding and now allowed for him to master his ability to wield a blade. *[Advanced] Elemental Strike: This skill allows for the ability to infuse an attack with mana attuned to an element, dealing increased damage at a level dependent on the mana infused into the strike. The Elemental Strike attack does not need physical contact to cause damage and instead can also be used as a ranged attack by first infusing a weapon and then launching the attack at a target.* The Empowered Strike skill had changed a lot more than the blade skill. The change from just using mana to now using elements in the strike was great, something he had already been playing around with, but the fact he could now use the skill without having to make physical contact? That was a game changer. He imagined being able to power up his sword and with a swing send his attack through the air at a monster, causing much more damage from a distance. With looking over his new skill and upgrading his class now complete, there were a few things he needed to try out before moving on in the dungeon. He needed to test his new skills to make sure he was comfortable with how they worked, but he had yet to try out some aspects of the fire affinity that he couldn¡¯t help but give try. The first thing Shaun did was make sure that he was still capable of using his sword with the same, if not with a better ability, than he could before the skill upgrade. He spent about five minutes battling imaginary monsters and found that he could use the skill with no issues, he was even able to incorporate a few new moves that he thought might be useful in the coming fights. He moved on to the Elemental Strike skill, he powered it up like he had done previously but also focused on using his earth affinity while doing it. The sword in his hand started to glow with an earthish tint, the same colour as the earth mana motes he had seen when he had taken the elixir, he knew is he was to attack physically that it would have a very similar impact as his old skill had, although much more powerful. What he wanted to do though was see how it worked to launch the attack, it wasn¡¯t something he had ever done before and wanted to see how difficult it would be to do in a fight. Turning to face the cavern wall he swung his sword through the air with the intent to send the attack flying. As the sword cut through the air it released the energy that had been built up from the attack, the glow from his sword was sent through the air in the same direction as he had swung the sword and when it hit the wall the entire cavern shook from the impact, leaving behind a massive crater at the point of impact. Shaun stood in shock as he had seen just how much damage the attack had caused, it was multitudes stronger than he imagined and also much easier to use than he had expected. If he had this skill in the previous fights, especially with the lizards he would have been able to finish off the dungeon so much quicker. With a smile, he started to power up the attack again, this time though instead of using earth he wanted to see what his fire affinity could do. His sword started to glow red this time and when he had put in the same amount of mana as he had with the last attack he repeated the same motion to let the attack fly. When it had hit the same spot as he had aimed the earth attack an explosion of flames erupted, it was a more condensed strike but the heat that came off of the eruption was as hot as the lava around him. It may not help him in this dungeon but the next one? He was pretty optimistic about being able to clear it a lot more efficiently than this one. There was one more thing Shaun really wanted to try, lowering his sword, he lifted his other hand and focused on trying to form a ball of fire, it was something he had never done before but if he could do it, it would be a dream come true for him. What child didn¡¯t dream of being able to throw around fireballs? It was one of the most popular magic attacks in mainstream media after all. It took a while before he noticed anything occurring, at first it was just a spark in the air above his hand, but it started to multiply and grow until he had a ball of fire the size of a marble in front of him. He continued to focus and put more energy into it until the ball grew to the size of a basketball. He couldn¡¯t help but laugh at having accomplished what he had set out to do and with all the excitement he felt in that moment, threw the fireball at the wall. It didn¡¯t do as much damage as the Elemental Strike did, but if someone didn¡¯t have any resistance to fire, the fireball would cause a lot of pain. Checking over how much mana he had used he was down to less than half, he still had some time to walk to the next cavern to recover it though so he wasn¡¯t too worried. He had forgotten to loot the King Crabs body after all the excitement of a class upgrade and new skills, he didn¡¯t get anything exciting though, some of the spikes of its back and some shell, so didn¡¯t bother taking any of it out of his inventory to identify it. Shaun made some preparations for his next fight. He had his daggers and sword but also now made sure to equip all of the poisoned arrow heads, hoping that they may be useful against the next monster type. Once all of that was done he walked towards the new exit tunnel and started moving his way towards the next cavern. It took about an hour before he reached it and in that time he had regained a decent amount of his mana and was ready for the next fight. When he got close enough to the opening of the cavern he tried to slip into stealth before remembering that he didn¡¯t have the skill anymore, it was going to take time to adjust to that change but with his increased attack power he wasn¡¯t so worried. Rather than even try to be sneaky he just walked up to the opening and looked inside. What he saw was a lot different to the last caverns, if he could even call it that. This one had different platforms running up its wall, as if the rock had been carved to allow for the monsters that were currently spread out along the walls a height advantage on any who came into their space. There was still lava present in the cavern but rather than pools spread out around the area it was instead flowing down from the peak of a mountain in front of him. Looking around at the monsters present he identified one. *Wildfire Lioness ¨C Level 23* There were a dozen lionesses spread out around the cavern, all of them the same level. If he was going to take a guess, as soon as they noticed him they would all attack as a group and if these cats had anything in common with the jaguar he had fought, they would be quick, strong and would always go for the kill. There was one thing different about this cavern though, at the peak of the mountain at the furthest edge of the cavern, directly across from where he would enter, was a different monster, one where, when he identified it, made him doubt his ability to win. *Flame Pride Lion ¨C Level ??* This was the boss, but it wasn¡¯t hidden and waiting for the other lioness to die, it was already here, waiting, keeping watch over the others. He couldn¡¯t see its level, it had to be too high for him to be able to identify, meaning that it was, without a doubt, the strongest monster he had ever come across. If his assumption was correct it would be level 25, and from his own experience, when you hit level 25 you get stronger, a lot stronger. Before he had a chance to back away from the opening one of the lioness saw him and let loose a roar that echoed through the chamber, alerting every single monster present to his location. He didn¡¯t think that these monsters would be trapped in their cavern, if he ran they would be able to follow. He no longer had any choice in the matter, he had to fight. Chapter 36 He decided to run straight into the cavern at that point, it was going to be a twelve against one fight, thirteen if you countered the boss that would either join in the fight from the beginning or would just watch until the end and then decide to fight. He was going to have to find a balance in the battle, he couldn¡¯t use all of his mana on the lioness, otherwise he would have nothing left for the lion, but he also needed to protect himself using a lot of his mana skills if he was going to win. He had one mana potion still left in his pouch but that would no longer do much for him as it only recovered 100 mana, nowhere near enough to bring him close to full. Half of the lioness jumped down off their ledges and started coming towards him, they were as quick as he expected them to be, even faster than the jaguar by some degree, but he had also levelled up and gotten stronger in that time. Before any of the lioness could get close enough to attack he started sending out his arrow heads at them, hoping to get a few hits in which would slow them down. With how quickly they were moving he wasn¡¯t able to get a hit on all of them but he did manage to slow down four of the six that were now around him. Using this to his advantage he went straight at one of the ones he hadn¡¯t managed to hit, it leapt at him at the same time he was sending out an elemental strike imbued with his earth affinity, hitting it while it was mid air and blasting it with enough power to send it crashing into the wall of the cavern. Before he had a chance to do another attack the other lioness that he hadn¡¯t hit with his arrow heads leapt at him from behind, he knew it was coming from using his echo skill, so at the last moment switched on his Stone Skin. As the lioness landed on him he felt the flaws sink into his back, not doing as much damage as it would have if he hadn¡¯t used the skill, but the lionesses claws still managed to sink in a bit. Using his strength he rolled over using the elbow of his left arm to hit it in the side and then followed up with stabbing with the sword in his right hand. He managed to get in a shallow wound but the lioness had retreated too quickly to do further damage. Looking around he could see that the other four lioness were recovering from the poison, at a rate that was much quicker than he would have liked, rather than follow up with another attack on the lioness that had just attacked him he switched tactics and sent out elemental strikes at two of the other lioness and sent his daggers at the other two. Although the poison was wearing off, they were still sluggish enough that they could dodge the attacks quick enough, the two that were hit with the elemental strikes were sent flying and the two that were hit with the daggers were now weakened further. While he had been attacking the others, the last lioness had prepared its own strike and started to run towards him, its claws glowing red. He turned intime to meet it head on and as it leapt the final distance onto him he had positioned his sword so that it would sink right into the monster as it landed on top of him. For the second time in this fight he had ended up on the ground with a lioness on top of him, he was stronger than them one on one but as a group they were overpowering him. The lioness managed to sink its claws into his chest, even with a blade buried within its chest, causing more wounds on his body. This time the claws sank in a lot further than the last, the fire didn¡¯t do any additional damage but he hadn¡¯t had time to use Stone Skin as he was focusing on so many different skills at once already. The lioness had stopped moving so he pushed it off of his body and came back to a standing position. The three lionesses that he had hit with his elemental attacks were still where they had landed, dead, but the two he had hit with the daggers were still alive though. Before he had a chance to finish them off a roar came from the Pride Lion, and was soon joined by the remaining lioness in the cavern, all of whom had now jumped down to join in the battle, including the lion. This was less than ideal, Shaun was confident he could finish off the lioness alone but with the lion in the mix he was going to really struggle winning the fight. Before the battle started again he took out and drank the mana potion and then directly after the stamina one too. He needed every edge he could get in what was to come and saving the potions wouldn¡¯t mean anything if he was dead. Just as the battle was about to start again, as all of the remaining monsters had started closing in on him, he sent the last of his poisoned arrow heads out at the lionesses while powering up another elemental strike. If he stood a chance of winning he would need to take out the lion first, it was the strongest and led the rest of them, so in the hope of taking out the leader to weaken the rest, he sent his elemental strike directly at the lion. He didn¡¯t think that it would kill it like it had the lionesses but he hoped that it would give him some breathing room for a minute to be able to deal with some of the lioness that were poisoned or to charge another attack. When the strike landed it had only managed to hit it on the lion''s side, more of a graze than anything, but the resulting explosion on impact did manage to fling it to the side. Before he had a chance to do anything more the lion landed on its paws and then ran straight at him, both gaining speed as it moved and also starting to glow red all over. Its mane had turned into flames and travelled down its body, it looked like a comet racing right towards him. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. He had no hope in dodging the attack, so instead prepared everything he could, he used his Stone Skin skill pushing a lot of his mana into it, as well as preparing another elemental strike, this time not to send at the lion though, but to use when it was closer and make direct contact. The moment the lion hit the wind was knocked out of him and he couldn¡¯t even concentrate on using his attack. The fire didn¡¯t hurt him but the claws did more damage than he expected. It was as if his skill did nothing to protect him as they had easily penetrated his skin, one sinking deep into his shoulder and the other landing in his stomach. It didn¡¯t delay to roar in victory, instead it lifted up the paw from his stomach and swiped it down across his face. Shaun couldn¡¯t hold back the scream he had been trying not to let loose from his mouth, but the pain he felt from the attack had broken whatever control he had. Before Shaun could regain his senses the lion took the paw now coated in his blood and ran it down his chest, leaving long gashes in their wake. He was getting torn to shreds, he had never felt so powerless as he did in that moment, he had been so easily overpowered by the monster on top of him. Even if he managed to somehow kill the lion, he would still need to fight the 8 lioness, with the condition he was in he didn¡¯t have much hope of successfully winning that fight, but he could try. If I die like this, having given up on everything I have fought to accomplish, everything I still want to do, then what was the point in trying in the first place? I am better than this! Shaun screamed, this time not in pain but anger, he refused to go down without fighting right until the very end. Taking the sword back in hand he powered it back up until he had nearly no mana left and stabbed it right through the lion, caught unaware by the change in him, it didn¡¯t even have time to retreat or finish him off, instead he was able to stab his sword straight into the side of the lion, all of the mana he had put into the attack exploding out sending its body across the cavern. Trying to stand as quickly as he could, his body throbbing in pain in time with his heart beat, he looked around and saw all of the lionesses around him in a circle, before he had a chance to even prepare, the first one made its move. He was pretty much out of mana so had to rely on his sword and dagger to fight, he would slice at the lionesses as soon as they got close and then when he got the opportunity he would throw a dagger out to inflict further damage, this continued on, neither able to get the upper hand until his movements started to slow considerably. He didn¡¯t have long before he would be out of health and stamina as well, deciding it had to finish now, for better or worse, he went on the attack. Changing up his tactic took the monsters by surprise, he had no daggers left so went in as hard as he could with his sword. He took the first lioness out easily but got clawed by another in his haste to kill. Turning around as fast as he could he drove his sword into the one that had just attacked him, plunging the sword down to the hilt into its body. Two down six more to go. While he was taking his sword out of the lioness another leapt at him to attack, not letting go of his sword he leapt out of the way and rolled to a stand. Turning to the closest lioness he lunged for it and managed to cut it across its face, he then whirled around to face the approaching lioness that tried to sneak up on his back and met it head on. It took a step back then, probably in the hope that a different lioness who was coming up from behind him would get in the attack, but he knew it was there. Just as it was trying to attack him, he dropped to the ground and rolled under its leap, driving his sword up into its belly, before coming back up to standing. Five left. He was getting close to passing out but he didn¡¯t give up, when the next lioness came at him he couldn¡¯t dodge in time and ended up getting swiped along his side, it did give him an opening to stab it back though. Now four. Using the last of his mana he shot off the last of his arrow heads and then went and attacked the closest lioness with his sword, it had been distracted by the projectiles and paid the price. Three. He had managed to hit two of the remaining lionesses with the poison but he was now officially out of mana. He moved as quickly as he could to the monster he had failed to hit and with a few blows with his sword managed to put it down for good. Two. The last lioness were both sluggish, the poison working through them, Shaun took advantage of this and with a single blow to each of them managed to finish the fight. One and none. He didn¡¯t know how he had done it but he had won, not without significant cost to his body, but there was no lioness left. He dropped to his knees, unable to keep standing any longer and waited for the notification to come in now that the fight was over, but they didn¡¯t come. Confused, he looked around, all of the lioness were dead, the lion was dead, wasn¡¯t it? Looking over at the lion he watched, waiting to see if it moved. One second passed and then another and when he thought that it was truly dead, he saw its leg twitch. How? It has half of its body missing! How can it still be alive? Before his eyes he saw the lion continue to switch, which turned into it rolling onto its belly and then attempting to stand. Shaun tried to get up, he really did, but he couldn¡¯t move his body, no matter how hard he tried. As he watched the lion come to a stand it turned and looked at him. And with the slowest steps possible started moving towards him, it fumbled along the way, as if it was barely holding on to its life, but it didn¡¯t give up, it kept coming. When it was only a few metres from him it tried to leap at where he was on the ground, but as soon as it tried it collapsed, unable to muster the strength for its final attack. It was now a game of who could survive the longest before passing out and dying, neither was going to make it out of this alive, not in their conditions but it was now a battle of will as to who would go first. Shaun watched his health continue to drop, getting closer and closer to zero, just when he got to 10 health left he looked over at the lion, it had its head on the ground eyes wide staring at him, but it wasn¡¯t blinking, it was not moving at all. I won. Chapter 37 Shaun could feel the sun on his body, it was what had caused him to wake in the first place, that and the light. He opened his eyes first, not daring to try and move his body after being hurt to such a degree in the dungeon. I¡¯m not in the dungeon anymore? He didn¡¯t remember how he got outside, couldn¡¯t remember anything since the moment he had passed out, the last thing he did remember was the lion dying and then darkness as his health dropped down to near 0. He couldn¡¯t believe he had not only won, but that he was still alive. If he was out of the dungeon then that could only mean that he had completed it, that the lion was the last monster left inside and the boss that needed to be killed before you were allowed to leave. Rather than attempt to stand he kept lying on the ground and would use the time in which he hoped to recover further looking through his notifications. *You have defeated a (Wildfire Lioness ¨C Level 23). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 230 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ *You have defeated a (Wildfire Lioness ¨C Level 23). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 230 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Flame Pride Lion ¨C Level 25). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 1000 TE awarded* *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +4 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 29. +12 Str, +8 Dex, +12 End, +12 Vit, +16 Soul gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +2 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 20. +8 Ap gained* He had gained 4 levels in his class from defeating all of the monsters in the last cavern, he assumed at least half of that came from the level 25 lion, he was now able to confirm the level instead of the ?? he had seen when identifying it. It also came with a huge increase in the TE awarded, if he was to guess this was either because of the fact it was the boss of the dungeon or because it was level 25, which was a significant number with the system. *Multiple Skill Level ups: [Advanced] Blade Mastery ¨C Level 3* *Multiple Skill Level ups: [Advanced] Earthen Echo ¨C Level 16* *Multiple Skill Level ups: [Advanced] Enhanced Mind ¨C Level 10* *Multiple Skill Level ups: [Advanced] Elemental Strike ¨C Level 4* *Multiple Skill Level ups: [Advanced] Stone Skin¨C Level 6* Every single one of his class skills had also levelled up by at least 2 levels during that last fight, although that seemed small, levelling up the advanced skills took a lot more effort and practice than the basic ones, so to gain 2 levels per skill was a huge achievement. *Title earned: Beginner Solo Dungeoneer* * Beginner Solo Dungeoneer: Through the solo completion of a dungeon meant for more than one individual this title grants the holder a 5% increase to their stats while outside of dungeons and alone and a 10% increase while solo within a dungeon. The title is upgradeable.* He had expected to get a title from completing a dungeon, that it was tailored to the fact he had done it solo and gave a % boost was better than expected. Seeing that it was also upgradeable meant that the more dungeons he did solo the better the title would become. Only getting the increases when he was alone didn¡¯t bother him either, he was planning to stick to himself anyway so it wouldn¡¯t have much of an impact on the title taking effect. He only had a few notifications left, and these ones he was more excited to see as they should clue him into what had occurred after he had passed out. *Heart of Fire Dungeon Completed. Dungeon will automatically eject successful participants in 5 minutes.* He was already unconscious when this one came through, it was good to know that you got 5 minutes before you were forced out of the dungeon though. Annoyed, he just realised he never got a chance to loot any of the bodies from the monsters in the last cavern, all of that good loot had gone to waste, and if he was to guess the loot from that lion would have been incredible. But he was alive so he couldn¡¯t complain too much about missing out on what he would have gotten, still though, he imagined getting the pelt from that lion and making a cape out of it, he would have looked like Hercules. *Calculating dungeon reward grade* Party fully cleared the dungeon of monsters. Adjusting reward grade. No members of the party died during the completion of the dungeon. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed by participants at a lower level than recommended. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed by less than the 5 participants recommended. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed Solo. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon reward grade: A *Distributing reward at A level* *Blank Faction Emblem* *Soul Fire Orb rewarded* Stolen novel; please report. *Soul Fire Orb: An orb that is made of the most pure element of Fire, greatly increases all attacks made with this element if equipped. If the user has an affinity for fire, mana cost is greatly reduced when using their affinity. If the user does not have an affinity to fire, when equipped may channel mana through the orb and aspect attacks to take on properties of fire.* The fire orb was incredible, better than he expected if he was being honest with himself, it paired really well with his affinity and was as small as a marble, meaning that it would be easy to keep on his person at all times. The fact that he was graded on his performance and it took everything into account, the fact he was alone, under levelled and killed every monster pushed him up to getting a high rank in the dungeon, something that would be very hard for others to do. *Blank Faction Emblem: The base of a faction emblem yet to be infused and inscribed by a multiverse faction declaring which faction the holder belongs too.* He had received a full Blank Faction emblem which didn''t make sense. The objectives said that you had to form one, not that they would be given out whole. Thinking it over he did get A grade on the dungeon, which may mean he got the full reward available, whereas if you got a lower grade you would instead only get pieces of the emblem? The fact that the emblem would be used to declare who he belonged to didn''t exactly fill him with joy, he didn''t know any factions and had no desire to join any at this point either. There were no more notifications to go through, the only thing left to do was actually get up but the thought of the pain that he knew would come when he moved made him hesitate. Instead he started slow, he moved his left arm first, it was sore but manageable, he then moved to use right arm which hurt slightly more than the left but still, he could push through the pain. Moving his hand down his body investigated where the most damage was, he could feel where the long gashes were from the lions claws, they weren¡¯t as bad as they had been and didn¡¯t seem to be bleeding any longer but were still there. Moving up to his face, it was in the same situation although the wounds had scabbed over, probably leaving him looking like he had been mauled by a giant cat, which he had been. Committing to his next action he used his arms to help him into a sitting position, that one action brought about the overwhelming pain that he expected but using his enhanced mind he pushed through it. Once he was in a comfortable position he didn¡¯t move to get up, he would need to take this slow, he was in no state to be getting into a fight at this point in time and he used his echo to confirm no one was around. He looked at the time he had left in stage 2 and saw he only had 19 days remaining, he was already a third of the way through and completed one dungeon, he had some time left to do two more, especially as they should be easier with two affinities instead of one, plus the upgraded class and the extra stats and skills. He gave himself one day to continue to heal and rest, during this time he would focus on his profession, which he should be able to do with little movement. He had lost all of his arrowheads in the dungeon as well as all but one of his daggers, which he somehow had on him, he still had his sword though. He needed to craft more weapons if he was going to be at peak performance when fighting, and he decided that he would need to use every resource he had to recover what he had lost. He took everything that contained metal out of his inventory, including the gear he took from the others, as well as most of the fangs and claws, separating it all into piles so he could assess what he would be able to create. He had enough metal to make maybe three daggers, if he used all of it in that fashion, but it would leave him with nothing to use on the claws and fangs. Instead he moved enough metal out of the pile and set it aside to use on the other items, leaving him enough to make only two daggers, if he even could that was. He would start with trying to make the blades, then move on to everything else, if he failed at being able to do anything he could always repurpose the metal into something else. Before he got started though he took out the heating stone and ate as much meat as he could until he couldn¡¯t imagine being able to take another bite. With that done he drank as much water as he could, leaving only enough for a few more days to give him time to find a water source once he left the mountain, it was going to have to be a priority once he set out again. He wasn¡¯t sure how he was going to start with crafting daggers, but he figured that since they were metal and could already be used by his earth affinity he would try and imbue them with his fire affinity this time around. He took half of the remaining pile and, focusing on heating the metal, tried to form it all into one compact ball. It took a lot more out of him than he expected, but after a while he had successfully made a clump of malleable heated metal. Before he even tried shaping it into a blade he used his Mana Attunement skill and pushed as much of his fire affinity as he could into it. The process continued for about an hour until he felt the metal couldn¡¯t take any more of his energy, it glowed red, and even with his resistance to heat he could feel how hot it was through his hands. With that done he moved on to the shaping, he did this with both his skill and earth affinity, needing to get the blade as sharp as he could and in a shape that would work well if he wielded it by hand. He settled on a long stiletto shape with a small handle that he continued testing in his grip until it was comfortable. He needed to spend considerable time making the blade as sharp and thin as he could without it becoming too brittle that it would snap when he launched it at high speeds. When he was happy with the final product he sent a wave of his earth affinity through it, condensing the metal until it hardened and cooled. With that done he picked up strips of the lizard skin he got in the dungeon and wound it around the handle, melding it in place. *Successful New Crafting ¨C Bonus Experience provided* *[Advanced] Concussive Flame Dagger ¨C A blade deeply imbued with the element of fire and sealed with the element of earth, the dagger will cause a small blast of flame on contact that will momentarily stun opponents.* *Profession: Mana Crafter has levelled up by +3 levels. [Basic] Mana Crafter has reached Level 13. +4 Int, +4 Wil, +8 Soul* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 21. +4 Ap gained* The levels were nice, but the dagger, it was his new favourite toy, he couldn¡¯t wait to try it out in a fight. He had gained skill levels throughout forging the dagger, he had been meditating throughout the crafting as well to keep his mana up and help him focus on the task. This is how the rest of the day went, he did nothing but focus on his crafting, making the second dagger which turned out exactly the same as the first and also moving on to craft for arrowheads out of the claws and fangs until he ran out metal. He coated all of the daggers in the poison before storing them, he had plenty left and it had helped him a lot in his fights so didn¡¯t want to risk not having the advantage on hand. His clothes had been destroyed during the fight so the last thing he did was throw together another quick vest and braces with the materials he had left. He couldn¡¯t think of anything different he wanted to do with them from the last time he had made clothes so just replicated what he had originally. They held up fine for the most part but against high levelled monsters they wouldn¡¯t be able to do much, and outside of spending days working with crab shells, he had no quick and easy upgrades to make. He didn¡¯t gain any more levels in his profession but he was happy with the overall increase he received throughout the process. He had been working non stop for a while so decided to get in a quick nap and then moving out, he checked his surroundings again, and confirming there was nothing nearby, decided he would be safe enough for the moment. Chapter 38 Shaun found walking down the mountain a lot easier than coming up. He had a destination in mind, as, when he had woken up he finally gained the courage to come to a stand, and he looked around from the higher vantage point to see if he could find where other dungeons could be located. He was able to make out a few different areas that were around the forest that seemed to be different from their surroundings. In one area he could make out mist surrounding another mountain in the distance, a canyon in another area, a patch of forest where the trees were all taller than those around them and also a patch of land that seemed to be baron of trees. He was heading in the direction of the large trees as it was not only closest but if he planned on visiting all of these places to check for dungeons he would be able to circle around to all of them from the trees. He was still sore from the dungeon he had just finished but felt a lot better after his power nap, and now, could move around and if needed fight at about 60% capacity. He estimated that it would take about a day or two to get to the area with the large trees, and that was accounting for stops on the way for when he would encounter and fight monsters. He had also decided that he wouldn¡¯t go hunting for monsters outside of dungeons, if he came across them he would fight, but the monsters inside of the dungeons, if like the fire one, were a higher level and more packed together, meaning he would be able to gain levels much quicker this way. As he walked he also practised with his affinity and skills, nothing that would draw attention to him, but enough that he would be able to get a better handle on wielding fire and swapping between that affinity and earth. Changing between the two took time at first, but eventually he got the hang of being able to use both at once, he was able to hold a fireball in the air while also balancing one of his daggers beside him, he could even move them around with his mind at the same time. It was good practice but also got a little boring. He eventually came across a boar and very easily killed it with one of his new daggers, the blast that it caused on impact was impressive considering he wasn¡¯t adding any extra skill to it, it also did a decent amount of damage. The best part though was in the moments after it had hit the boar where it stood for a few seconds, just swaying as if confused and unable to move. After that it was very easy to finish off. Over the course of the first day he had encountered a few more monsters, some of a higher level, but nothing reaching level 20. It had meant that he was getting no bonus experience from these monsters and had continuously diminishing returns on experience. He had also came across another jaguar which was an enlightening experience and really showed how much he had grown. Unlike before where he struggled for the entire fight and nearly died, he was able to move quicker than it now, he dodged it a few times before coming to this realisation, but when he realised it didn¡¯t pose much of a threat he finished it off quickly with an elemental strike. He didn¡¯t put much mana into the skill but it seemed like it was still overkill. The second day proceeded much like the first, he just kept walking in the direction of where he thought he would find the next dungeon and kept a look out for monsters. He had been able to fill up on his water along the way when he came across a stream that ran through the forest, he had also come across two groups of people which he made sure to stick away from. It wasn¡¯t until he thought that he was only a few hours away from what was hopefully a dungeon did things change. He had felt on the edges of his echo another group of people, but this time, they seemed to be fighting a monster. Curious as to what skills they may have and wanting to compare himself to others when in a fight he headed in their direction. When he got close he was nothing but disappointed. There were three people still alive, one more dead on the ground, and they were all fighting off one jaguar. They were doing okay? They were still alive anyway, mostly. But they seemed to be outmatched by the one monster, even with three against one. Shaun identified each of them and found that two were level 15 and one was level 14 with the jaguar being level 16. Shaun was only 6 or so levels higher than them but when that converted to 12 full class levels it was a big gap. He could also tell that none of them had hit level 25 in their class as all of the skills they were using seemed to be the standard ones from the basic starting classes, two of them were warriors, both male, and one was a mage who was female. He was about to turn around and leave when one of the warriors got clawed by the jaguar which seemed to put him out of the fight, the other warrior stood in front and covered for the other but it didn¡¯t look like he was going to last long. Shaun didn¡¯t like being in this position, if he did nothing they would all probably die but if he went in and saved them he would be stuck having to interact and deal with them. With a sigh he walked the final way towards them with his sword out, ready to finish the jaguar and then leave, not wanting to have their deaths on his conscience when he knew he could have done something to help. ¡°Hi¡­¡­¡± cough, ¡°need some help?¡± Shaun felt awkward just saying it. He hadn¡¯t spoken to anyone in a while and it felt odd to do so again. ¡°Yes! Please! Anything you can do to help, we will give you anything we can if we live through this!¡± That came from the mage, who, if he was being honest, sounded pretty desperate at that moment. ¡°Oh, ah, sure. I guess I can deal with it for you.¡± Shaun didn¡¯t bother saying anything else, just walked towards the jaguar with his sword, ready to just cut it through and finish it off. ¡°Be careful! It is faster than it looks, it has already killed one of us, don¡¯t die too!¡± Eh, I really don¡¯t have anything to worry about. When he got close enough the jaguar turned to him and went in for the attack, with a quick side step and a swing of his sword he removed the head from its body. He could have used any of his skills to make more of an impact on the others but he had figured that showing he could defeat it without really needing to try would be more of a warning to them, a statement saying that you don¡¯t want to fuck with me. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°You can loot the body, won''t give me anything I need.¡± Was the only thing he said to them before he turned around and started moving away. He had done what he needed to and just wanted to head off. ¡°Wait! Please! We can''t defend ourselves properly until we heal up a bit. Can you stay with us for a while? I¡¯m Angus, and this is Jezelle and Marc.¡± This time it was the warrior that spoke, sounding as desperate as the mage had when she shouted at him to help. ¡°We owe you already for everything you have done for us, but if you leave now and another monster comes along it will be for nothing. Please, just stay a while?¡± Looking them over Shaun decided that they were telling the truth, they looked like crap. There was no way that any of them were going to be able to stay alive out here like they were, entering a dungeon was a death sentence for them, completing three was impossible. He could stay an hour, that¡¯s it, then he was going to leave regardless. He wasn¡¯t about to become a saviour of the people but he couldn¡¯t just let them die either. ¡°One hour, then I am going.¡± The look of relief on their faces was clear, the warrior who had been swiped by the jaguar had taken a potion and was looking slightly better. ¡°Thank you, for everything. We would be happy to give you anything we have.¡± ¡°Unless you have anything pretty interesting it''s probably fine.¡± He doubted that they would have come across anything of interest but you never know. They started listing off the things in their inventory but nothing really stood out as something he wanted, and taking something from them for no reason was just stupid and a waste of space in his own inventory. He told them that there was nothing that he wanted and left it at that. ¡°How did you get the scars on your face?¡± the mage, Jezelle, asked. ¡°With the way you took out that jaguar I doubt it was from one of them.¡± He had to figure out how much he wanted to tell them, he didn¡¯t think that sharing the story would disadvantage him in any way so he decided to be honest. ¡°A lion got me on the ground and decided to start trying to tear me to pieces.¡± ¡°A Lion! In the forest? What level was it? Did you kill it?¡± ¡°Hahaha, no it wasn¡¯t in the forest, it was level 25 and yeah, I killed the bastard.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the look of shock on their faces. As soon as he said it was level 25 and he had killed it they all went white with fear. ¡°I have never seen someone with a class like yours¡­..¡± Yeah they were definitely scared now, they had identified him, finally, and saw that he was no longer a basic rogue. ¡°Once you hit level 25 in your class you get a chance to upgrade it.¡± Figuring the information might actually help them. It''s not like it would be kept a secret for long anyway, others would have hit level 25 by now. ¡°That''s pretty amazing, and explains how you could kill the jaguar so easily. But if the lion wasn¡¯t in the forest¡­¡­¡± Seems they figured that out too. ¡°In a dungeon, yeah.¡± They all shared a look, it seemed like they all knew each other previously, the way they could communicate without talking was something that would be useful out here, not that he had anyone to communicate with though. He couldn¡¯t help but think about Gabe and Eric, they had been pretty shit towards him but they did try and apologise. He hoped that they were okay, wherever they ended up, he didn¡¯t hate them after all, he just didn¡¯t like putting himself at risk of being abandoned by others again. ¡°Where is the rest of your team? Did they not make it out?¡± So that¡¯s what they were worried about? That his entire team was dead? Or that he had killed them to level up? ¡°I don¡¯t have a team, never have really, except for the group I ended up in stage 1 with. I went into the dungeon alone, came out alone, and have been travelling alone.¡± ¡°Seems lonely.¡± The mage commented, and it was true, at times he had felt a brief pang of loneliness but it passed quickly. ¡°I like being by myself. Easier that way.¡± And wasn¡¯t that the truth. ¡°Can you tell us about the dungeon, we want to do one.¡± ¡°I can but you won''t like what I have to say.¡± Shaun told them everything, every detail he could remember and all of the risks that he had to take when he was in the fire dungeon. He left out anything to do with his fire affinity and his heritage, including the elixir, but he did explain that if he didn¡¯t have an affinity to earth he would be dead. He also put emphasis on the fact that if they were to enter a dungeon as they were now they would end up dead. He felt like he was telling children a bedtime story, they made all of the right expressions at the right time, shock, amazement, fear, it was all there, and at the end they seemed to agree that if they did a dungeon just the three of them that they wouldn¡¯t make it out alive. ¡°So where are you going now?¡± Angus queried. ¡°I have an idea of where another dungeon is, not far from here, so I was going to check it out and see what I could find. Hope to cross another one off the list to be honest.¡± They all shared another look, one that made him less comfortable than the last. ¡°Can we come with you? To the dungeon? Maybe even join you inside?¡± Shaun wasn¡¯t even considering letting them do a dungeon with him, but letting them come to it? There was little harm in that for him. ¡°You can walk with me, but I fight alone.¡± Were they disappointed? Yes. But they also expected that response. Soon after they all moved out, heading in the direction that he suspected the dungeon would be. It was still a few hours of walking but it went by quickly. They continued to ask him questions, which he answered, mostly, but towards the end he couldn¡¯t wait to get rid of them. They had started to idolise him in a way that was making him very uncomfortable, that paired with their incessant questions was getting on his nerves. Not much further and I will be alone again. Can¡¯t come quickly enough. Once the trees started to change around them, it didn¡¯t take long for Shaun to feel more people through his echo, and the closer he got the more people he felt. They were all gathered around the biggest tree that he had ever seen, and he felt the same feeling he had when he found the fire dungeon. He had been right that the changes in the forest were where dungeons would be which would make travelling much easier now that he wouldn¡¯t have to wander around. But he hadn¡¯t factored in all of the people. He could feel nearly 20 people gathered around the tree, some in groups, others alone. Why haven¡¯t they gone into the dungeon? What are they waiting for? As they got closer Shaun informed the others of what was ahead, they were surprised yet also happy about the situation. Once they started seeing the people milling around he figured out what was happening. These people were all trying to form groups of five to enter, not wanting to go in with less. And with them having arrived, they were like fresh meat at a market and they all wanted to suss out to see if they were worthy of joining them inside. This is going to suck. Chapter 39 As Shaun looked around at all of the people gathered he noticed that there was quite a range of levels and classes, the highest levelled person was at level 17 with the lowest at 12. How someone had managed to only get 2 levels over the past 14 days was a mystery, the fact they were still even alive at this point was incredible. Level 17 wasn¡¯t bad though, if they found a good team they would probably be able to make it through a dungeon, but only if they got pretty lucky and really took their time. Everyone was staring his way, having obviously identified him, there was chatter amongst the groups around the dungeon entrance, some seemed to be trying to gather the nerve to approach him and others looked more disappointed, thinking he was probably already in a team with those he had arrived with. Shaun ignored all of this and turned around to talk with Angus and his group, wanting to get this all out of the way so he could get in the dungeon and move on. ¡°We made it here, so this is where we will split. Good luck.¡± Short, sweet and to the point. They had already agreed that they would travel here together but no further. ¡°You sure you won''t reconsider letting us go in with you?¡± Jazelle practically pleaded. ¡°Like I said, I fight alone. Sorry.¡± Looking around at the others, there was a silver lining. ¡°You might be able to form a group with others here though, I assume that is why they are hanging about. Train a bit first though, you aren¡¯t ready to face a dungeon yet.¡± ¡°Okay, good luck then, with the dungeon and everything else. We really do owe you.¡± He just nodded at them and went to walk towards the dungeon, before he could even take a few steps though it seemed like everyone thought this was their chance to get someone stronger on their team. ¡°I¡¯m Jack, we are looking for¡­¡± ¡°Not interested.¡± He didn¡¯t even bother to wait for him to finish, he would be wasting time if he entered into polite conversation with everyone here. ¡°But¡­¡± the Jack guy tried again. ¡°No.¡± He just continued walking, he had to repeat the process four more times before he made it to the dungeon. *Welcome to the Nature¡¯s Retreat Dungeon* The dungeon, grown from the well of life, nurturing the world around it, will test whether you can survive the life and growth of untamed nature, of one of the base elements of the world. Recommended that a full party of five enter at a minimum level of 20, once entered there will be no exit unless the boss is killed and the dungeon completed. Reward depends on performance within the dungeon. One participant located, would you like to enter the dungeon? The prompt was very similar to the last one, same level requirement and people recommendation, the only changes from the last dungeon were that it was nature based rather than fire based. A theory that Shaun had been playing around with for a while now had further evidence to support it. Each dungeon he encountered in the tutorial was going to be focused around one of the basic elements, fire, located on the volcano mountain, nature in the trees, he assumed the other mountain that had the mist would be water, the canyon would be air, probably from a current forming through it and finally the rocky valley that had no trees would be earth. The reason behind having all of the basic elements located in dungeons in the tutorial would be to give those that are capable a chance to bond an affinity, why else have these elements all present for those who had shown some level of worth in stage 1. He couldn¡¯t help but smile when he thought about the natural counter to nature, what could wreak havoc in a forest and grow stronger the more it consumed the trees and leaves that made it up? Fire. An element he now had access to. This dungeon should be a cake walk. Just as he was about to accept the prompt to enter the dungeon he was interrupted. ¡°You can''t seriously be considering going in there alone? You''re strong, we can all understand why you would think you could do it. But there is a reason why every bit of information we have says that it should be five people going in there, not one.¡± This was said by the level 17 guy, the strongest person there outside of Shaun. ¡°I will be fine, thank you though.¡± Turning back around to the dungeon wanting to leave already, it seemed like this guy wasn¡¯t going to give up so easily. ¡°You know we have seen teams go in and none have returned yet. We have been here a few days as well. If you go in alone you''re as good as dead. Let us join you.¡± He then gestured to a few other people he had with him, none very impressive in Shaun¡¯s eyes. ¡°Well, I guess I will be the first to come back.¡± It was a cocky thing to say, he knew that, but he didn¡¯t want to leave any room for anyone here to doubt him, to give them any hope that he would change his mind and let them come with him. Deciding to have a little fun, he lifted his hand and coated it in flames, letting it spread down his arm until the flames were coating him up to his shoulder. He then smiled and gave them a wave, the flames leaving a trail behind his hand. This caused many of them to back up in fear, even Angus and the others he had walked here with looked surprised. He hadn¡¯t shown them any of his elemental abilities, but seeing someone able to easily wield one of the elements was shocking to everyone here. Even mages didn¡¯t have a skill like that, all they had was the mana bolt skill that wasn¡¯t attuned to any of the elements. Turning off his flames, he accepted the prompt to enter the dungeon, disappearing instantly from in front of the group of people and immediately appearing within the dungeon. Stolen story; please report. As expected, when he looked around the dungeon he was surrounded by things related to nature, it was very similar to the forest he had just been in, although a little more dense and overgrown. He didn¡¯t see any direction marked out for him to travel like in the caves, when he used his echo he simply found that there were no monsters in the forest around him. The set up was rather different than the fire dungeon, and he didn¡¯t know if he preferred this open design or not, it would certainly mean he would need to take a more exploratory approach rather than the direct one he took before. There was a few things that he knew he needed to do while in the dungeon, which he had learnt about from seeing how the rewards were graded in the last one, he would need to kill every monster, to get a better grade, he would need to completely explore the dungeon to do this, which would take time. Doing it alone and under levelled, one he had already met but he was now over level 20 so he wouldn¡¯t be getting that bonus again. That may or may not affect his grade, so he had to figure out if there was another way to boost the grade up this time. Potentially doing it quickly would help, or even doing it without sustaining an injury? He would aim to do both, just in case, but he wouldn¡¯t risk his life for it. The other thing he needed to consider, which would be the riskiest thing he could possibly do if he chose to go through with it, was trying to bond with the nature element using his heritage to gain it as another affinity. It would be dangerous and take time, but it would also offer benefits if he did it correctly and succeeded, if he did it wrong he would die though. It put him back to the mindset he was in the fire dungeon, with great risk can come great reward. He decided he wouldn¡¯t make that decision yet, he would work through the dungeon first and see how quickly and efficiently he could do it before considering if he had the time to sit and try to bond with nature. Having made the decision, he created a fireball and started heading to the closest monster, it wasn¡¯t too far away which was good, and if it followed the same trend as the fire dungeon it should be at around level 19, which should be a problem for him given he was at a higher level and wielding flames. When he got close enough to where he should have been able to see the monster he couldn¡¯t manage to locate it, he felt it in his echo, it should have been right in front of him, but he couldn¡¯t manage to see it. Looking around at the surrounding trees, nothing seemed to have changed from where he had started, they all looked alike, he was getting frustrated as he knew something was there with him and he just couldn¡¯t see it. In his frustration he threw the fireball at where he felt the presence using his echo. Instead of the tree being set on fire though, something seemed to drop off of it onto the ground, something that he had not even seen on the tree. The monster was letting out pained croaks while trying to put out the flames but it was no use, the fire was burning it alive quickly, and the monster had no resistance to the flames. It didn¡¯t take long before it stopped moving altogether and laid still on the ground just under the tree. *You have defeated a (Camouflaging Tree Frog ¨C Lvl 19). Experience gained. 190 TE awarded* A frog? A damn frog that can blend into its surroundings as seamlessly as if it had a high grade stealth skill? If someone didn¡¯t have a detection skill the monster would easily cause chaos, both with trying to find them and being attacked unaware. It was level 19 which meant that it was the exact same level as the first cavern in the fire dungeon, if it followed the same trend there should be 5 more to be a total of 6 and then a boss. But with the different layout he didn¡¯t know if that would still hold true. His fire had killed it so easily that he didn¡¯t think he would even be able to call it a fight, it wouldn¡¯t be until he was fighting opponents above level 21 that he would get the bonus experience again, meaning that he had to start moving if he wanted a real challenge in this dungeon. He looted the body, because why leave monster parts laying around when he may be able to find a use for them, he received some toxic slime for his troubles. Better than nothing I guess. May be useful like the venom though, I will need to look at it more later. Without delay he continued on through the forest, continuously using his echo to locate the frogs, it took him at least two hours before he had found and killed six frogs and even then he couldn¡¯t find a boss. What proceeded was another hour of walking around trying to find where to head to next, he hadn¡¯t been able to find any other monsters in this forest, and he had explored a good amount of it by now. It was frustrating, not being able to do anything but search for his next opponents, it wasn¡¯t in the least bit productive and a waste of time. He started playing around with his heritage while he walked, he figured a dungeon would be the safest place to do so and if he did decide to try and form an affinity to nature, he wanted to be as prepared as he could. While walking he continuously engaged his enhanced mind, trying to locate the attuned mana that he knew was around him. He had seen it when using the elixir, but without that boost he was trying to do it blind. The wandering around and trying to practise with his heritage lasted for hours before something changed. He had stopped using his echo skill, a stupid thing to do, but he was so focused on trying to locate nature mana that he had lost sight of why he was in the dungeon in the first place. He found himself having entered a grove in the forest, where on the other side there looked to be subtle shifts in the trees and surroundings. But between him and the other side was a pond of water, with a huge leaf floating on top, on top of that leaf was a monster, similar to the frogs but bigger. Finally, the boss, that took forever! He formed and threw a fireball in a split second, hitting the monster head on before it had a chance to do anything. Being hit with fire had killed the other frogs immediately, this one though jumped into the air after being hit, but instead of landing on him it went straight into the water. Damn it! I should have used an elemental strike. The frog had disappeared under the water, Shaun could feel it in there, just under the surface, but he couldn¡¯t see it. If it had the same ability to camouflage as the other frogs then it would explain why it was invisible in the water, but generally the other boss monsters had another ability that gave them an edge in a fight. He started to power up an elemental strike, planning on aiming it directly into the pond, but before he had a chance to send it the water of the pond exploded out, and with it the frog. When the water landed on his clothes it started to fizzle away, doing some damage but not enough to fully eat through it. Must be because of the earth attunement of the skin when I crafted it. As in contrast, where the water landed on his skin it immediately started to eat through it. Not hesitating, he activated stone skin and the effect of the water immediately lessened, turning to the frog he growled at it, he was more annoyed with himself than anything else, but he was still pretty angry at the monster for being able to get in a hit. He sent the elemental strike out before the frog got another chance to move, he had figured that the toxic trait of the frogs was amplified in the boss and that while it was in the water it had also turned it toxic. Hitting the boss frog directly with a fire-imbued elemental strike sent it flying backwards, hitting a tree which also sent a crack through its thick trunk. The tree swayed from the hit and eventually started to tilt further to the side where it snapped and fell. The sound of the tree hitting the ground blasted out from where it had impacted the ground, it didn¡¯t cause any of the other trees to fall but it was enough to nearly deafen him. *You have defeated a (Camouflaging Toxicroak Frog ¨C Lvl 21). Experience gained. 210 TE awarded* Didn¡¯t even get a level. What a joke. Chapter 40 Shaun was annoyed at himself for not taking the fight seriously from the very beginning, he had stopped paying attention to his surroundings, that was the first mistake, throwing a fireball instead of starting with his elemental strike was the second mistake. The third was not using all of his skills from the beginning, he had become over confident and although it didn¡¯t really cost him much in this fight, it would in others. He looted the frog and got more of the toxic slime that it seemed to be able to excrete through its skin, and then moved on through the glade, around the pond and into the next part of the forest. Once he entered he could feel the subtle changes in the area, it was like the forest itself was trying to suppress him, force him to give up and give into nature itself. It took a bit to get used to but still kept him on edge. It took a bit of his willpower to continue moving through the forest but he didn¡¯t slow down his pace. He used his echo skill and found that he was actually surrounded by monsters, far enough away that he wouldn¡¯t notice them by sight, by close enough that they were able to follow him as he moved, keeping to a circular shape and moving along with him. He checked and he could feel the nine monsters, which in a lot of ways was very helpful as he wouldn¡¯t have to go looking for them, but at the same time he would end up needing to face them all at once and he still didn¡¯t know what they were. Rather than change his movements he continued walking through the forest, keeping track of the monsters around him. They were slowly moving in closer to his location, but slower than he would have liked. The thing he did notice though was that the feeling of giving into nature, the one that weighed down on him got worse the closer that the monsters got to him. He kept trying to resist the feeling, although it got harder to do as time went on, whatever these monsters were they were working as a group, trying to weaken him before they came in to attack. It was smart, much smarter than monsters he had fought previously, and that meant he needed to be ready for anything. Instead of continuing on he decided to stop, he needed to really concentrate on resisting the urge to lay down his life and dedicate himself to the natural world, he powered his enhanced mind as much as he could spare and at the same time powered up his elemental strike. I am done with this situation, it is time to end this. He ran as fast as he could through the forest until he was close enough to see one of the monsters that had been harassing him, the others rushing in after him so that they were all together. It was a monkey, sort of? It looked like a monkey but an unusual one, it had a cloak of leaves on its back and a stick in its hand, making it look very wizard-like. *Druidic Monkey ¨C Level 21* So it¡¯s a monkey but also a druid? Would explain the magic and the feeling of nature. He didn¡¯t hesitate to send the elemental strike out at the monster, it didn¡¯t even try to dodge, just held up its stick and a wall of green energy appeared in front of the attack. When the fire strike hit the wall it instantly exploded, devouring the monkey magic and continuing on through to the monster and engulfing it in flames. Thankfully it didn¡¯t cause the entire forest to light on fire but there were a few places where leaves started to catch and if nothing was done it would spread. This wouldn¡¯t really impact him but the other monkeys did seem to have a problem with it. They immediately moved in and smothered the flames, making sure that every single one was put out, while some of them focused on doing this, the others moved in to attack. Fighting the monkeys had gotten a lot easier, now that they had been distracted and no longer focusing on him as a group, the feeling had abated quite a lot, it was still there but to a much lesser degree. The monkeys'' attacks were odd to say the least, they would launch green spells at him, similar to a mana bolt, when he dodged and hit the areas around him it was like an uncontrolled growth of the surrounding plants. On seeing this he made sure that he had his stone skin active and pushed mana into it, hoping that if he got hit that it would lessen the degree of whatever effect it would have on him. He continued to take down the monkeys one by one, usually using elemental strikes but occasionally he would throw a fireball and if he was close enough just cut them through with his sword. They moved quickly through the trees though and it was hard to pin them down, even when they were distracted with putting out the flames from his attacks. He did switch it up though, he eventually moved to using his earth affinity and sending out his daggers and arrowheads, this ended up causing mayhem for the monkeys as they hadn¡¯t been expecting the change in tactic. He would alternate between fire and earth, sometimes even using the two at once, and eventually he started to make good progress on the monkeys. They were tricky to actually hit, the way they moved through the trees was fast and efficient and it meant that he wasn¡¯t able to hit them every time. At one point one of the monkeys got so angry at him for the fire he kept using that it jumped onto his back and tried to bite him. His stone skin deflected the attack pretty easily, and luckily for him it meant that he was able to easily dispatch of it by running it through with his sword. He took out a few more with the daggers, the concussive blast that went off every time they hit a monkey made it easier to move in and finish the job off, the other monkeys tried to protect their comrade but they also wouldn¡¯t risk getting in close to him, having seen what he was able to do with his sword. When there were only three monkeys left, the feeling that had been weighing on him completely disappeared and the remaining monkeys tried to retreat, but he wasn¡¯t going to allow that, he did not want to have to go hunting for monkeys through a forest. He did find out what the green mana shots from the monkeys did when they hit him though, wherever the shot landed that part of his body would start to undergo a transformation, turning his body into a tree, where his skin would turn to bark and make it harder to move. Thankfully his stone skin didn¡¯t let it get too deep and he was able to add a layer of flame to the areas and it would remove the effects of the spell. As he was about to finish off the last monkey he held back, there was a chance that it would lead him to the boss, as they tried to retreat, it could be assumed they went to go get back up in the form of a big bad monkey. It was an opportunity that he didn¡¯t want to lose as it would save him a lot of time in finding the boss, at the same time he would be leaving the bodies of the monkeys behind to get to follow the monkey and miss out on looting them, or having to travel back to get them, neither was a great situation. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. He thought quickly as to what the monkeys had to offer him, their sticks? Meh not needed. Kins and meat? He was stocked up. The capes they wore? It was just leaves. Making his decision he followed the monkey, there would always be more monsters to loot in his future, missing out on a few here to save time was worth it. Now that he wasn¡¯t technically in battle, only following the monkey at a distance that he could track it in his echo but not alert it to him following, he got the notifications for the kills. *You have defeated a (Druidic Monkey ¨C Level 21). Experience gained. 210 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ *You have defeated a (Druidic Monkey ¨C Level 21). Experience gained. 210 TE awarded* *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 30. +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul gained* He got notifications for eight monkeys, which was to be expected, and also finally gained a level. He had to get a lot more kills now that he had upgraded his class, and even after killing 15 monsters that were all of a similar level to him inside the dungeon plus what he had killed since leaving the fire dungeon, he had only gained one level. He followed the monkey for close to 10 minutes before he felt the presence of a second, stronger monster. He slowed his approach at this point, making sure that he could prepare a little beforehand so he didn¡¯t end up putting himself at risk like he had with the frogs. He checked over his health, stamina and mana levels, all of which were still at a good point, his mana was at about half, but as soul was his highest stat now, he still had plenty left. Pretty confident that he should be able to face the boss as he was, he moved in to get a better look, it didn¡¯t take him long to get to the clearing with the boss, it was on the ground in front of a huge tree, the other monkey with it, moving around frantically, as if it was trying to communicate everything that it had seen from the fight. *Druidic Gorilla ¨C Level 23* They seemed distracted, not yet aware of his presence so he moved in wanting to make the first hit while they were not expecting it. The gorilla was much larger than the monkeys, it had huge muscled arms and a beefy chest, it was going to be tougher to take down as it seemed not to just have magic but also strength behind. He was going to go all out with this fight, aiming to end it as quickly as he could before it had a chance to attack him with any force. Setting off his fire strike at the gorilla, he immediately followed up with one of his daggers and an arrowhead. When the blast from the strike cleared he could see that it had done some damage but it was still standing where it had been originally, glowing a soft green with both its arms and legs firmly planted in the ground. The follow up dagger and arrowhead barely made a scratch on it either, practically bouncing off of the monster''s body, if the green glow was anything like what the monkeys did it was a protective barrier, one that was much stronger than the others. He didn¡¯t let up with his attacks, he sent two more elemental strikes, one fire and one earth, to see if either of them would have an effect on the shielding. The more he attacked it seemed the dimmer the glow became, but at this rate he would need to send all of his mana into an attack to be able to do enough damage to not only break through the shielding but also hit the body. The lone monkey attempted to fight but he killed it quickly, sending a dagger at it and following up with a fireball. It was nothing but an annoyance to him at this point, the main fight was with the gorilla. The battle took a turn when the gorilla raised one of its arms into the air and pointed at him, the trees around him started to shake and roots sprang up from the ground, coming towards him like snakes. It¡¯s controlling the trees? From the leaves to the very roots it can control and tap into nature? He didn¡¯t have a choice but to defend, he threw fireball after fireball at the roots, burning them to cinders as they came close, but there were too many. He shifted his attack to try something different, rather than trying to attack with singular fireballs he attempted to use his flames like a flamethrower. He found that he could do this if he concentrated, but the amount of mana it used was insane, he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep it up for long and still have any left to attack the gorilla. Shaun was getting angry and frustrated, he couldn¡¯t keep this up forever and he would eventually run out of mana and then what would he be left with? His sword was the only thing that didn¡¯t require mana. So why aren¡¯t I using it? Cutting off his flames altogether he started attacking any roots that came at him with strikes with his sword, cutting them to pieces as they came near. He had been an idiot, he had become too reliant on his affinity and had forgotten that he was capable of wielding his sword as just that, a sword. It was having an impact on the amount of stamina he had but he could spare plenty seeing as it was full when he started this fight. The roots couldn¡¯t get close to him, he was a whirlwind, swinging around and cutting through roots as quickly as he could. The gorilla roared when it realised it couldn¡¯t get close to him with its magic, turning to face the monster, it was no longer glowing green. It¡¯s run out of mana? Shaun couldn¡¯t help but laugh. This fight just got a lot easier. He still had some mana left, not enough to finish the battle, but just enough for one last attack, and with the gorilla no longer having its shield up he would be able to strike with an elemental strike and actually do damage. He powered his sword up with the last of his mana and ran at the boss, it had the same idea and headed straight towards him. Just as it was close enough that it could attack him, he released his attack first and sent it exploding backwards. Shaun didn¡¯t let up though, knowing it wouldn¡¯t be enough to kill it, only weaken it, he ran to where it had landed and jumped on top of it, slamming his sword into its stomach, before withdrawing his sword and backing away. He didn¡¯t go in for another attack, he wanted to see what shape the gorilla was in so he could evaluate his next best move. The gorilla wasn¡¯t dead, he knew that, but it struggled to get back to a standing position, it was able to get on to both its legs and arms but could make it any further. Perfect. He ran back at the gorilla, it didn¡¯t run to meet him but that was fine by Shaun, he feinted a strike to the right and went left, slicing through its front arm, creating a deep wound that caused it pain if he put weight on it. He kited the monster again and again, he would go in for the attack, cut it up with his sword and then back away. It tried to attack him but with its growing number of wounds it just couldn¡¯t move quick enough to cause any damage or even dodge his blade. He didn¡¯t delay its pain though, when he was confident in going for the kill he took the opportunity and sliced through its back, straight into its chest, ending it quickly after that. *You have defeated a (Druidic Gorilla ¨C Lvl 23). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 230 TE awarded* He didn¡¯t delay after that, he looted its body and the monkeys, he got the knuckle bones from the gorilla, a very odd thing to get, and as expected got the cape and stick from the monkey. With that he expected he only had one more fight left in the dungeon, something he would need to prepare for, as he now needed to make a decision on whether he would risk bonding the nature affinity. Chapter 41 Shaun spent a bit of time considering his next steps, he hadn¡¯t left the area where he had fought the boss as he still wasn¡¯t sure whether he was going to move straight into the last area on the other side of the tree or whether he was going to attempt the bonding. He hadn¡¯t been in the dungeon for a full day yet so he had time to spare, he just had doubts as to whether he wanted to use his heritage and the risks that came with it. Dying was a risk, he knew that, but it was the unknown that held him back the most. The heritage spoke of a forgotten race, one that had been hunted to extinction, which in all likelihood meant that there had been a war against these creatures that ended in them losing. There was no other information as to why or when, but the name was Azreal¡¯s Legacy, so it must have something to do with the power they had, and if he continued exploring that power, would he too end up being hunted down and killed? The only thing that made him even want to risk it was the chance for more power, having one element had given him a huge edge in a fight, the second made him more versatile and able to turn the tide of a fight with a monster in an instant, so what would a third do? He had seen how the monsters in this dungeon had used nature to great effect, and if they could be so effective without it being an affinity he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what he might be able to do with it. It also seemed that no one was going to be able to see his heritage, on his status sheets it had hidden in brackets that must mean that no matter how strong someone would be, the system itself was going to keep it hidden from prying eyes. He was thankful for that, otherwise the first time he was going to meet someone with a specific skill or at a greater level he may be found out immediately. Outside of the practice he had done earlier, he hadn¡¯t really tried to use this part of himself, and he couldn¡¯t lie, he was curious to know if he even could do it successfully, to him it was just another challenge that he had to overcome, which made it that much more appealing to attempt. He sat himself down under the large tree, cross legged and slipped into meditation, figuring that this was going to be his best bet for being able to connect to the nature mana that he knew was going to be all around him, if it was anything like the fire dungeon. He didn¡¯t think he was going to be able to get anywhere close to the trance he was in when he had the elixir so he was going to need to try other ways to control the ambient mana, mediation and enhanced mind were the two sill he had that would work in tandem and hopefully, help him overcome that. He was going to see if he could even do the first step of locating the nature mana, then he would try to control it a bit before he made his decision on whether to bring it in his body. Before that though he wanted to investigate his own mana channels within his body. Turning his mind inwards, he was able to easily locate the streams in his body, one red and the other brown, still circling each other through his body, in complete harmony. It hadn¡¯t changed much since the last time he checked but he wanted to make sure that nothing had changed, he investigated how each of the threads interacted, it was like they always stayed a certain distance from each other, no matter where they went in his channels, if he was going to add a third though, would this mess with the balance or would it just be added in and the distance would just become smaller between them, there was only so much space that he could fit them in his body. He continued watching them for a little while, making himself very familiar with the feel of each element, at one point he tried to see how far he could push them, moving them two streams closer together, he could condense the gap between them by about half before he started getting a feeling that if he pushed any further the results would be dangerous. It was a good result, as if he added a third he didn¡¯t think that it would move them that much closer to each other, meaning that he could probably fit it in without any problems, but only if he was able to get them to condense back up after he brought the foreign mana into him. That opened up another question, with the fire mana he only had earth inside of him to trap the mana but now he had both fire and earth, that either meant he only had to use one of them to make it work, or maybe, he could use half of each and still keep the two threads of affinity in his body without having to fully dismantle either? That led to his next test, trying to remove part of his affinity from the thread and form it into a sphere in his body. He started with earth as he thought it to be more stable than the fire affinity, less explosive and likely to cause less damage. He focused on one part of the thread, the one closest to the side of his abdomen, hoping that he would be able to heal the damage done there easier than anywhere else. Shaun focused on connecting to the thread and taking control of it completely while still letting some of the affinity pass through to keep it flowing inside of him, it was a delicate process and took a lot of concentration but eventually he was able to form a small branch from the thread and form it into a sphere, still connected to the main affinity stream but also separate. It was an odd feeling, manipulating his affinity to sprout out of its natural rhythm didn¡¯t hurt, just felt unnatural, but once he had shaped the sphere it took little thought to keep it like that. Keeping the sphere in place he repeated the process a second time, then a third, it got both easier and harder each time. Easier to actually complete the sphere, but with the more affinity he moved out of the mainstream the slower it moved through his body and the more time it took to form the spheres. After finding success with the earth affinity he decided it was worth the risk to do the same with fire. He used a similar method to earth but found that fully controlling fire was a lot harder, like the element itself, fire could be wild and controllable and it took a different mindset to connect to it and manipulate it compared to earth. He had practised a lot with fire since entering the dungeon though, it being his main weapon against nature, so although he struggled at first, he was able to get it moving in a way he wanted. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. It took him twice as long to form the first sphere of fire, moving it in the same direction as he had the earth spheres so that they would all be close to each other, if he brought in the nature mana it would all be in the same line between the two affinity. It took hours to form as many spheres of the two affinities as he could, making sure that the space between the two alternated between fire and earth, he put them as close together as he dared, making sure that they wouldn¡¯t cause a chain reaction in his body that would blow him up like a popped balloon. I am actually doing this aren¡¯t I? Shaun didn¡¯t know when he had made the decision, it had to have been at some point while he was carried away with forming the spheres, but he had done all of the prep work he needed to before moving on to the next step. It would have all been for nothing if he didn¡¯t at least try now. It didn¡¯t take much concentration to keep all of the elemental spheres in place, now that they were formed they seemed stable enough that he could shift his attention out into the world around him. *Multiple Skill Level ups: [Advanced] Enhanced Mind ¨C Level 16* *Multiple Skill Level ups: [Basic] Meditation ¨C Level 20* He had levelled up both skills quite a lot doing the prep work, which would only help him more with the next step. He turned his attention to the world around him, eyes closed, and just focused with his mind. Trying to pierce the world around him and feel deeper into the mana that was located around him was hard, and he didn¡¯t know how long he tried but he didn¡¯t give up. He knew there had to be earth mana around him, to at least some degree, as the dirt was made up of rocks so it would need at least some presence in the world around him. He focused on this first to see if he could locate a type of mana that he knew intimately. He pulsed out his earth affinity into the area to see if he would get any feedback from the earth mana, to his surprise he was able to feel the small motes of mana send back a frequency that resonated with the pulse. He did this a few times until he was able to easily locate each one around him. It gave him an idea though, the mana motes had a frequency to them, much like living creatures did when he used his echo to locate the things around him, so what if he could use his echo to locate mana? He had never tried anything like this before and wasn¡¯t what the skill was supposed to be used for, but it was worth a try. Changing over to his earthen echo skill, he focused on sending out pulses with the skill and focusing on where he knew the earth motes were. It didn¡¯t work, in fact the only feedback he got from the skill was from all of the trees around him, but he didn¡¯t give up. When he first got his detection skill it had been overwhelming and he had to learn to block out the things he didn¡¯t want information on, so he focused on doing the same with his echo. Every time he sent it out he aimed on removing the feeling of the trees, he needed to strip it down before he could try and feel the tiny motes. He continued mediating and using his enhanced mind when sending out the echo, and eventually he was able to feel the trees fading into the background of the echo, still present but now an afterthought of the feedback from the skill. He didn¡¯t stop and kept going until the skill came back with almost like a blank canvas, that¡¯s when he changed up the skill, he infused his earth affinity into it and then sent out a pulse of his echo, and just as he had felt before he could now locate the mana in the area, but on a much larger scale. He was thankful that there were no monsters or people around as he was certain that they would be able to feel the large amounts of energy he was sending out into the world around him, this was not something he would want to do unless he was certain he was alone and safe. He practised a few more times with his skill infused with his earth affinity until he was confident on what the mana felt like, he then stopped and tried the same steps with his fire affinity. As expected there was next to no fire mana in the area, only a few located in the areas where he had fought recently and left his mark on the world with his fire attacks. The fire mana had a different feeling to the earth motes, the vibrations they had were much faster, almost on the verge of combusting. He expected something like this, the attuned mana should feel the same as each other as the element that made them up was completely different on a base level, so what should nature feel like? He thought back to the attacks from the monkeys and gorilla, he felt that the nature aspects of their magic were more stable than fire but also had a flip side where it encouraged growth, sometimes untamed and uncontrollable but could also be nurtured and protective. He thought about how it felt to be hit by the bolts from the monkey¡¯s sticks, I have one of those sticks! Without breaking his concentration, he took out the magic stick that he got from the monkey, he didn¡¯t identify it as that was not what he needed it for, what he needed was to see if he could feel the energy that came from it. Once he had it out of his inventory he put it on the ground in front of him and focused his echo on the energy signature of it, it was faint, but he did pick up on the remnants of its connection to the magic it used. He concentrated on that feeling until he had grown accustomed to its feeling and then turned his attention back to the world around him, focusing on picking up on the same signature of the stick but in the mana that he knew would be present. Slowly his mind adjusted, and faintly at first he started making out different mana motes around him, not well enough that he thought he would be able to take control of them, but it was a start. He kept focusing his energy into being able to more clearly make out the mana, trying to bring the vibrations that resonated with nature to the forefront of his mind. With a snap, as if his mind had crossed some kind of threshold that had been holding it back, he could now sense all of the mana around him with stark clarity, each mote of mana, no matter what attunement, was now in his grasp. *New Skill Created: [Advanced] Mana Sight (Level 1)* *Skill Gained*: [Advanced] Mana Sight ¨C When in a deep trance, the Mana Sight ability allows you to look deeper into the world and bring the mana around you into sight through your minds eye. Using this skill will block off the physical world and leave you defenceless, unable to move until you exit the trance. *Profession: Mana Crafter has levelled up by +2 levels. [Basic] Mana Crafter has reached Level 15. +4 Int, +4 Wil, +8 Soul* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 22. +4 Ap gained* Chapter 42 The new skill had made it much easier to seek out the mana motes in the area, he hadn¡¯t expected to get a skill from what he was doing, he also noticed that the skill wasn¡¯t under his class but instead part of his profession. Gaining levels for creating the new skill was also rather unexpected, he hadn¡¯t crafter anything, unless it counted on crafting a new skill using his other skills as base to work off? He had grown distracted by the notifications for a moment and he knew that he was part way through the bonding so he couldn¡¯t stop, but still, there was a lot he needed to uncover about his profession, he really needed to explore it more than he had so far. Turning back to the job on hand he slipped back into deep meditation and used the new skill to locate the mana around him, now that he had the skill it was a much easier process, he now just needed to find a way to gain control of the nature mana. Reaching out to the one closest to him, he replicated what he had done with the fire mana last time and used all of his will to effectively battle it into submission. It was much harder to do without the elixir, he just wasn¡¯t able to bring it under his control, it was like it would slip through his fingers every time it got close. He decided to change tactics after an hour of failure, he instead turned his attention inwards and focused on a sphere of earth he had created earlier, once he had the sphere under control he opened it up and tried to move it out of his body, still connected by a little string of affinity to the main line. The further he moved it away from the main stream of affinity, the harder it became to keep it connected, but once he had moved it past his skin and out of his body he felt a sense of accomplishment. He had always been able to use his affinity outside of himself, but taking the actual embodiment of it from the stream was much harder, and he assumed, much more dangerous. If anything happened to the connection while he had brought it outside of him he imagined that it would cause a lot of harm to not only the entire thread inside of him but to his affinity as a whole. It was something he wouldn¡¯t have done if he wasn¡¯t desperate and in a reasonably safe area. He shifted his attention back to the nature mana around him, and used his earth affinity to lead the now open sphere towards one of the motes, using it like a mouth about to greedily consume a meal. When he got close to the nature mana with his sphere he slowly wrapped his affinity around the mote and sealed it in. It didn¡¯t fight back like the fire mana did in the last dungeon, instead it almost resigned itself to what was occurring, bringing the sphere back towards him he knew that the dangerous part was about to start. When he brought fire mana inside of his body the first time he started to overheat, it felt like he was burning alive from the inside out, but he was unsure what the nature mana would do to him. When it was close enough that it just had to pass through his skin and enter his own mana channels, he hesitated for a moment, not knowing what kind of consequences this would have on his body or if he should take some kind of precaution beforehand, like activating his stone skin. He did rule this out pretty quickly, assuming that having a barrier around his body made of earth would just make it that much harder to bring nature inside of him. Committing to his actions, Shaun moved the sphere containing the nature mana inside of him. The moment it passed through his skin he felt the change, as soon as the mana made contact with him his body started to change in that localised area, it had caused his skin to turn green and form growths in the area. It didn¡¯t hurt him, which was a surprise, but when he concentrated on the area he knew that on a cellular level his skin had changed. Before he addressed the change on his body, he moved the sphere into place in his mana channel, ensuring that it wasn¡¯t going to move or wreck any damage inside of him, before he moved his attention back to where he had brought the mana inside of him. He debated on whether he should try and fix it now or keep going and try something later, but with the amount of mana he knew he would need to bring inside of him covering his body in these growths would kill him before he had a chance to finish the process. He attempted to use his earth affinity to remove what had been done to him, but it didn¡¯t have a positive effect, instead it almost encouraged the growths to spread out and start covering his entire body, so he stopped immediately. Earth and nature would go hand in hand, plants need the earth to grow. But fire? Maybe I can burn it off? He changed tactics and pulled some of his fire affinity into the area, just a little at first, not wanting to cause further damage like he had with earth, but enough to still see what reaction it would cause. As he touched the fire affinity to the very edge of the area, the growths immediately started to shrink back and his skin lost some of its green hue, but it hurt much more than he expected, it was as if he was killing a part of himself in the process. He didn¡¯t stop though and pushed through the pain until what was left was a brownish yellow colour, not too dissimilar to if he had tanned for a little too long, but the pain was gone. He investigated his entire body for a while, seeing if any other changes had occurred, and after a while gave himself the all clear to continue. He set out to repeat the process again and again, alternating with the earth and fire spheres. After every time he brought in a mote of nature mana he took the time to burn away the growth that would appear. He had adjusted to the pain pretty well now that he knew what to expect, he didn¡¯t enjoy the feeling, but it was better than ending up dead, or green, or even covered in growths for the rest of his life. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. He didn¡¯t know how long had passed, but eventually he had filled every single sphere with nature mana, not stopping until he felt overstuffed and his mana channels felt like they could burst if he moved the wrong way. He knew what came next, condensing all of the mana into a stream, adding another thread to join along with the other two, he hadn¡¯t considered how he was going to do this, as this time around his existing affinities already had their channels through his body and all he would need to do was release the nature mana and pull the existing affinity back into its original shape. Turning his attention towards the full structure of his channels he would have to release all of the nature attuned mana and then get it moving in the same direction as the other two and then start condensing it into its own stream. But what if I got it all moving first? It was an interesting idea, he could move the spheres along his channel before opening them up, already jump starting the process before he even started releasing the mana, he thought it was something he could do, the risk though was keeping it all moving while he opened the floodgates to the nature mana, not letting it touch as it would result in opposing forces battling it out in his body. Giving his idea a solid chance of working he took full control of all of his affinities and got them moving in the way he wanted, once he decided that they were at a good speed, not as fast as what they would usually be at, but fast enough that he should be able to keep everything moving in a good rhythm, he let the first mana mote free. It didn¡¯t go well, it bounced off of both affinity like a ping pong ball, leaving him feeling like he had been punched in the gut every time they hit each other. It took a minute before he got the one mote under control and by that point he felt like he had been mauled by the lion again. It was a disaster, something he didn¡¯t want to do again but had to if he wanted to finish the process. He released a second mote, the damage done to him just as bad as the first, but he continued going. When he got to the tenth mote he couldn¡¯t help but vomit, and what came out of his mouth was nothing but blood. It was a bad sign, he had really screwed this one up but he couldn¡¯t stop, it was too late to go back now that he had filled himself up with all of this mana and started releasing it, so he just kept going. At some point he ended up lying on the ground, curled in a ball due to the amount of pain he was experiencing, he was shaking uncontrollably, his body riddled with internal wounds and a pool of blood around him. He had progressed from vomiting blood to having it leak from his eyes, ears and nose, he looked and felt like shit, but he didn¡¯t stop. He had committed to doing this and refused not to finish the job, eventually he had gotten to the point where he had released all of the nature mana and it was moving uncontrolled through his body, Shaun was barely conscious at this point, and now at the final step of the process he didn¡¯t know if he had the strength to finish it. He kept going though, focusing what was left of his willpower on the uncontrollable stream of nature and attempting to condense it down, he didn¡¯t get anywhere with this process until he started exerting his earth and fire mana on it, trying to bully nature into obedience. Slowly, so very slowly, did it condense down and when finally he didn¡¯t have anything left to give the mana snapped into place, forming the third thread through his mana channels. Shaun instantly jerked upright with a gasp, feeling a flush of warmth, like sunlight flowing through him, healing his insides of all of their damage, bit by bit he felt his strength return, the healing aspect of nature coming to rescue him now that he had bonded to it. *Affinity Detected: Nature* *Nature (Affinity): The multiverse is made up of many elements but Nature is the one most nurtured by healers and druid types alike. Through your connection of life and growth you will be able to use nature''s power that is inside of you to heal from wounds and encourage the living world around you. You are part of nature¡¯s design, set to make the world around you flourish and grow. +10 Vit, +10 Soul, +5% Vit, +10% Soul* So the nature affinity is truly healing me from the inside out? The affinity was better than expected, if he knew he would be able to heal himself with this affinity, bonding it would have been much higher on his list of things to do in the dungeon. It also explained why this affinity gave him boosts in vitality rather than any of the other stats. It was odd considering that Earth and Fire gave him willpower but he was happy for the change. *Title upgraded: Elemental Prodigy to Elemental Master* *Elemental Master: Having successfully bound three elements as an Affinity you have done what only the peak members of the Multiverse are capable of. Title upgradable. +15 to all stats, +15% to all stats* He had almost forgotten about this title being upgradable, doing a comparison to the last title, it had changed names and now said three instead of two, he also got an extra 5 in each stat as well as another 5% increase. If it continued this way, every time he added a new affinity he would get an extra 5 in each. While coming to a stand, he thought about the reasons why is heritage had detailed the race of beings being completed wiped out, if they were able to self heal as well as focus on damage through the elements, it would mean that they were at the top of the food chain, there was no way they couldn¡¯t be. He could see others being jealous of such power, to a point that killing them all would be the only way to get out form beneath them, but the cost in lives must have been huge, fighting beings that had so many affinities would be suicide if fought one on one, the only way to do it would be with sheer numbers. When he got a chance, at some point in the future, he was going to have to ask someone these questions, or better yet, find a library or something where he could do his own research. Checking how long the bonding had taken another day had fully passed, meaning 2 full days had passed since entering. Not bad, now time to finish this dungeon off and move on to the next. Chapter 43 It didn¡¯t take long for Shaun to grow accustomed to the nature affinity, he spent a bit of time meditating to get a better feel of how it had settled into this body before he headed off. The three affinity now swirled around his mana channels, and like when he had only two, they didn¡¯t touch each other but simply moved in their own lanes. When he focused on bringing the nature affinity into his body he couldn¡¯t help but feel the overwhelming urge to just bask in the forest, help it grow and to nurture it into a haven that he could call home. It was a feeling he would need to keep control over so as to never let it become overbearing, but it was a nice feeling, something that resonated with him on a deep level. He tested out a mana strike with the nature element and found it to be a bit underwhelming, it definitely wasn¡¯t an element that was best suited to attack, but he was okay with that as it did offer him self healing instead. He tried connecting to the trees around him and found that in some ways they were conscious of their surroundings, they were slow moving but seemed to track the feeling of the sun and search for the water in the ground. He could get lost in this connection to the world around him if he wasn¡¯t careful, and he was on a time limit after all, so quickly moved on. He only had about 14 days remaining in this stage of the tutorial and if he factored in about 2 days of travel and another 3 days in each dungeon he was running out of time, and quickly. He had decided that he would try and do all of the dungeons he had seen from the mountain top where he had found the fire dungeon, he would next travel to the canyon he assumed would be air, than the misty mountain that should be water and finally finish with the baron land that would be earth, that is if all of his assumptions were correct. It was ambitious to do five dungeons instead of only three, and he had also decided that he would try to bond the elements he found in each dungeon. Shaun knew the risks, but he was just too curious as to what each of these elements could give him when bonded, it was greedy, to want more than what he had, but the lure of power and unity with the elements was just too great to give up. It was probably why the race that he got the heritage from was killed, to need to bond with so many elements was overwhelming, and the more they bonded the more powerful they became. But Shaun wasn¡¯t them, he could control himself and live a quiet life alone, not drawing any attention from the powers of the multiverse that would see him dead for what he had. He moved past the tree and into what should be the final area of the dungeon, he kept his echo going to make sure he would be able to catch any monsters around him, he had a dozen to find and a boss afterwards, and wanted to get this done as soon as possible so he could move to the next dungeon. What he found in this area of the forest was an interesting trend, the trees started growing taller and thicker in one direction and if you went in the opposite way they would become smaller. He didn¡¯t find any monsters while he walked but had trusted his gut and decided to follow the way that the trees became bigger. Eventually he found an area that was different to the forest around it. There was a big clearing with twelve trees spread out in a circle and in the middle was the biggest tree he had ever seen. It would take at least 15 of him to hug around the tree and form a complete circle, its trunk was huge and when he looked up he couldn¡¯t make out the top of the tree either. The twelve smaller trees that were in the circle looked to be only three quarters the size of the larger one, still huge, but not as intimidating as the one in the centre. If I was a betting man, I would say that the twelve smaller ones are going to have something to do with the monsters that should be in the area, the larger one should be the boss. The issue though was that his echo skill wasn¡¯t picking up any monsters, just the trees themselves. He was stumped as to what he should do, sure he could burn down the trees and see if anything came running, but that also seemed a little destructive? Maybe even wasteful to kill such a magnificent tree for no other reason but to find monsters. He had yet to enter the area of the circled trees yet, and if he did maybe that would trigger something to happen and the monsters he needed to fight would come running, if that didn¡¯t work he would figure out something else, and only as a last resort burn down the world around him. When moving through to the largest tree he used his nature affinity to connect to each of the trees, they were different from the ones in the forest, seemed more aware, like they were watching him move. Just as he reached his destination did things start to change, through his affinity he felt the presence of each tree fully awaken, at first he didn¡¯t know what he was feeling but the more he concentrated he realised that these trees were more than they had appeared. Each one of the trees housed the monster he was looking for, they were the trees, mostly. A being stepped out of each tree, their bodies made of bark and their arms and legs branches of the whole. They had sticks growing from their bodies with leaves attached to them, their heads resembled flattened shields of the trunk, sturdy and seamlessly connected to the rest of their bodies. *Sapling Treant ¨C Level 23* He had heard of a Treant before, they were pretty much big trees that were fully animated and were conscious of their environment, their aim to protect their trees and home from invaders and those wishing to do them harm, like Shaun was planning to do. If he was being honest with himself, a large part of him didn¡¯t want to have to fight these monsters, he didn¡¯t know if it was because of his new affinity to nature or whether it had something to do with them wanting to protect their home, but he didn¡¯t have a choice. Turning back to the biggest tree and the monster standing in front of it, it was larger than the others, had more branches and its head had a miniature tree growing on top of it, making it look like it had hair made of leaves. *Elder Treant ¨C Level ??* As he had expected it was showing question marks instead of a level, meaning it was probably level 25 and would be just that much stronger than the others. He nearly dies that last time he went up against a level 25 monster, but this time he was much more prepared, and a hell of a lot more powerful. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Rather than going straight for the elder though he decided to start off this fight with clearing the saplings first, as quickly as he could he threw fireballs at the 4 closest monsters, aiming to burn them to ash before they would be able to join the fight. It was a solid plan if it worked, which it didn¡¯t, as each of the monsters started glowing green, starting from their roots and moving up into their entire bodies. This is just going to be annoying. He started running at the closest monster, dodging roots that were moving towards him from both above and below the ground. With his nature affinity he could feel where each and every root was, making it incredibly easy to dodge them or cut them through with his sword. He didn¡¯t know how much mana he was going to have to use to take down the Elder Treant so wanted to not waste it on the saplings. When he reached the first treant he powered up a fire strike and decided on using that combined with actually cutting it through with his sword to see if that would do enough damage to the saplings to kill them. As soon as his sword made contact with the body of the monster the resulting explosion engulfed both himself and the treant, he also felt that his sword had pierced through its body but not cut all the way through. When the flames cleared around him he saw that the treant¡¯s body was still on fire, his sword having cut through its shielding there was no escape from the flames. It didn¡¯t fall to the ground, though it had stopped moving altogether and just stood there, like a stationary tree. With his nature affinity he searched for a consciousness within the treant but couldn¡¯t find anything, it was dead but still rooted to the ground, as if petrified on death, at least its dead. Now that he knew what it took to kill them he didn¡¯t hesitate to move around in a circle, dispatching each of the monsters in quick order in the same fashion that he had the first. The Elder Treant had tried to stop him during the entire process but it was slow to move its body, relying on its roots for attacks, and if he was right, it would have a very high defence and recovery. When he had killed the last of the saplings he turned to face the elder, it couldn¡¯t really show emotions but if it could it would be showing a lot of anger right about now. He had effectively killed its children, assuming the saplings were the kids and the elder was like a parent to them. Its attacks had reached a whole new level by this point, there were over a dozen of its roots attacking him at once, but still it had been unable to land a hit. Shaun was much quicker than he had ever been before and he felt like he could fight for at least an hour longer, but he didn¡¯t really want to waste time. Instead, he launched fire strikes at the monster¡¯s body over and over again, he had a lot of mana to spare, having used such a small amount of it so far in the fight, he dodged the roots as they attacked him and worked his way closer to the elder¡¯s body. Once he had gotten close enough he sent both of his concussive daggers right at the elders body, sending it into shock instantly, without any delay Shaun moved in with his sword and with nearly a quarter of all his mana infused into this last fire strike, sliced into its body with all the strength he could muster. The blast from the attack was enough to send him flying backwards, not being able to keep his feet beneath him from such a powerful blast. When he stopped rolling along the ground, he immediately got to his feet and ran straight back towards the elder, wanting to get in another strike. He knew it wasn¡¯t dead, he could still feel its consciousness through his affinity. At the last moment the elder had managed to reinforce itself with a nature shield and block part of the blow, it was still hurt, and its head was currently on fire, but it wasn¡¯t out of the fight yet. As the elders'' roots continued to come out towards him, he cut them apart as soon as they got close enough, working his way back towards its body. When he was ready with another fire strike he moved in as close as he could get and sent his strike right into the same place he had his last hit, cutting even further into its body. Again, he was blasted back from the shockwave that ensued from nature energy meeting fire, although this time it didn¡¯t send him as far back. He again got back to his feet, a little more tired now than he had been, and looking over his mana he only had enough for one more of these larger strikes before he would have to rethink his approach. The last attack had done a lot more damage than the first, and if he was right, the shielding had failed part way through the blast. A number of its branches were no longer attached to its body and although it wasn¡¯t bleeding he could now see a large wound running along its lower body. He wasn¡¯t able to get anywhere near its head, the damn thing was nearly 3 times his height, but it didn¡¯t mean that a gut wound, or what he had assumed would be its gut, wouldn¡¯t hurt it. Although the Elder Treant still stood, when it sent roots out towards him this final time they moved slower and there was less than half the amount as before. It made running towards it that much easier and he only just had enough time to power up his last strike before he had gotten to the monster. Without any hesitation he unleashed his last attack, this time he wasn¡¯t thrown back, instead it was just the normal explosion of flames that greeted him. He did back away a few steps though, not knowing if this would be the end of the monster or not. *You have defeated a (Sapling Treant ¨C Level 23). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 230 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ *You have defeated a (Sapling Treant ¨C Level 23). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 230 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Elder Treant ¨C Level 25). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 1000 TE awarded* *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +2 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 32. +6 Str, +4 Dex, +6 End, +6 Vit, +8 Soul gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 23. +4 Ap gained* He didn¡¯t know whether to be happy about gaining two levels or annoyed, he had gained four in the last fight in the fire dungeon which meant that the same amount and level of monsters was now only returning half the efficiency as before. Even with 3 more dungeons to go he doubted he could gain more than 3 maybe 4 levels in his class. He was gaining levels in his skills though, most notably the ones he had been using when bonding his affinity as well as the attack skills like blade mastery and elemental strike. *Nature¡¯s Retreat Dungeon Completed. Dungeon will automatically eject successful participants in 5 minutes.* Oh yeah, forgot about that timer, I was unconscious last time. Walking around to each of the monster''s bodies, he looted each of them, and he received the roots and bark off of each of them, with the elders being something a little more special. Knowing he didn¡¯t have time to get lost in inspecting the items he waited until the countdown was getting close to zero and made sure he was ready for anything that would happen when he was sent back outside. The last time he was there, lots of people were around, he didn¡¯t know if that would still be the case or if something had changed but he didn¡¯t want to leave without being ready for a worst case scenario. When the countdown ended he couldn¡¯t help but smile, this dungeon had taken him a fraction of the time as the last one and the gains were nearly as good. Chapter 44 Appearing back outside of the dungeon, he was greeted by even more people than when he had entered, before there had been about 20 people around but now there was nearly double that, he still didn¡¯t get why they were all waiting, time was ticking down after all, but these people had either given up or were preparing to enter, maybe hoping to get some idea of what was inside from people that completed the dungeon. His appearance caused quite the commotion, everyone stopped their chatter and started to look on at who had completed the dungeon, there was a mix of reactions from those present, the newcomers looked almost sad for him, having come out alone, probably thinking he had lost his team inside. Those that had been here before knew he had gone in alone and had looks of shock on their faces, that and a good dose of fear. In their minds he was dead as soon he went inside, because who would be able to survive one of these dungeons alone? Shaun looked over everyone around him, one by one, he spotted Angus and his team, who although looking a little worse for wear, seemed to have gained a few levels since he last saw them, apparently taking his advice to get stronger before entering seriously. He recognised a few others from when he entered but what surprised him the most was a group of people that he hadn¡¯t seen in a while, standing off to the side and giving him a look of absolute shock. He recognised two people in this group, Gabe and Eric were there as well as three others who he didn¡¯t know. Looking them over he saw that they had done pretty well for themselves, he identified each and couldn¡¯t help but be happy for them both. Both Eric and Gabe had hit level 19, and by the looks of it had also managed to upgrade their classes, the feeling they were giving off was different to the standard basic classes. The rest of their team was a few levels lower than them but was still in the upper range of the people present. It didn¡¯t take them long to start walking up to him, but before they could get far he held up his hand, signalling for them to wait. He wanted to deal with everything else before he had their mini reunion, he knew that everyone present would want to know about the dungeon and he was happy to tell them, but before he even got to that there was something even more important he was waiting for. *Calculating dungeon reward grade* Party fully cleared the dungeon of monsters. Adjusting reward grade. No members of the party died during the completion of the dungeon. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed by less than the 5 participants recommended. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed in less than 3 days. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed Solo. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon reward grade: A *Distributing reward at A level* *Blank Faction Emblem* *Nature¡¯s Harmony Orb rewarded* *Nature¡¯s Harmony Orb: An orb that is made of the most pure element of Nature, greatly increases all effects of healing and connection made with this element if equipped. If the user has an affinity for Nature mana cost is greatly reduced when using their affinity. If the user does not have an affinity to Nature, when equipped may channel mana through the orb and aspect their mana to cycle through their body to offer basic healing* Because he was actually conscious this time the orb appeared in a flash of light in his hand, causing exclamations from those present, they obviously hadn¡¯t seen awards being handed out from a dungeon yet so they didn¡¯t know what would happen once someone completed it. Putting the orb into his inventory, he looked back around at everyone present, he wanted to get this over with quickly so decided that running through the dungeon and everything he had seen would be better to do as a full group than with these people individually. ¡°I don¡¯t want to spend too much time here, so I am going to be quick and to the point, if you want to know about the dungeon, listen in, if you don¡¯t, then I really don¡¯t care.¡± That sure got their attention. ¡°I won''t be repeating myself so listen closely.¡± He then went on to tell them about each part of the dungeon, splitting it into the three sections, detailing each type of monster, the number of them, their attacks and also what the bosses were capable of. It took about 15 minutes to go through everything, no one interrupted him during this either, most too scared to be on the receiving end of his wrath if they did. He finished with explaining the reward calculation at the end, and the different things that looked to impact on the grade. When he was done he couldn¡¯t wait to leave, but he decided to give them a chance to ask questions, he was in a good mood from getting another orb as a reward for the dungeon. ¡°What grade and reward did you get?¡± Really, this was the first question? It wasn¡¯t going to help them survive in the dungeon at all. ¡°A grade and none of your business. Next Question¡± He was regretting this already. ¡°Any advice on the best way to take out the monsters?¡± A much better question. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°You will need to work as a team, focus on physical and magical attacks and be careful with the shields they use, break through them with physical attacks first and then follow up with magic if you can.¡± This continued on for a while, some of the questions were really good and would definitely help them if they chose to enter the dungeon, others were just stupid and focused more on him than the actual dungeon, which he chose to give short responses, if he decided to answer at all. Once he was done with the questions he wished everyone good luck before making eye contact with Gabe and Eric and walking past them into the forest. If they chose to follow he would make sure he was easy to find, if they decided they didn¡¯t want to come after him, he was okay with that too. He didn¡¯t have to wait long before they started trailing after him, he kept track through his echo and once he has far enough away from the prying eyes of the people around the dungeon he stopped and waited for them to catch up. He wasn¡¯t sure how this conversation was going to go but he no longer held any ill will towards them for what they did back in stage 1, it felt like a life time ago now and he had moved past it. When they finally came to where Shaun was standing there was a moment of awkward silence, no one knowing what they should say or do to start off their conversation. They had already had enough time to suss each other out and were now just standing around, the rest of their team looked even more uncomfortable than the rest of them, having never met Shaun they really didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°I am glad you are okay Shaun.¡± Gabe broke the silence first, it was a short statement but he meant it. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯m glad that you are both doing well. You are some of the strongest people I have come across in the tutorial so far, you should be proud.¡± And he really did mean that, they were strong, and seemed competent in a fight. Their gear was a little rough, and their weapons were still basic but they looked like they knew how to use them. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you did that dungeon alone, was it your first one?¡± ¡°Nah, it was my second, I went into a fire dungeon last week, it was a lot harder than this one, but I am stronger now than what I was then.¡± He also had an extra affinity which the monsters had a weakness too which also helped. ¡°What about you guys? This is going to be your first?¡± Gabe chuckled at this, seeming to find the fact that Shaun had done two dungeons already funny or that he only thought this was their first a joke. ¡°How the hell have you already done two? This will be our second so we are hoping to finish it quicker than the last but after everything you said before it might be a lot harder than the first one, for us at least.¡± Shaun looked them over, outside of Gabe and Eric, they had one mage, a rogue and another warrior, he was right though, this dungeon wouldn¡¯t be easy for them, not without a little help at least. He considered each of their weapons and how he could make them better, stronger, for what they had to fight in the dungeon. He had some ideas, for everyone except the mage that was, he wasn¡¯t going to give up anything of value to help out with their magic. ¡°I can help out a bit, if you want. It shouldn''t take too long but you would need to trust me with your gear.¡± He was a little hesitant to offer this, both because he didn¡¯t want to expose any of his affinity, but also he was a little scared of being rejected flat out, not willing to trust him with the only things keeping them alive. ¡°Really, that would be cool! But how can you help out with our gear?¡± Eric sounded eager to get some upgrades, no hesitation whatsoever, which was a relief. ¡°My profession is quite useful. I have a sort of crafting profession, I usually make most of my gear or upgrade it depending on what I need. Here, have a look.¡± He handed over one of the daggers he had made, they each identified it and the look of disbelief on their faces was so entertaining that he couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°What kind of crafting class can create something like this? It''s better than anything we have.¡± This was said by the Rogue, who was captivated by the dagger, probably because he still had the basic ones he would have started out with. ¡°I got lucky to be honest, but it has saved me more than once when preparing to fight monsters. Pass me one of your daggers and I can show you.¡± The rogue handed over one of his daggers so quickly that it shocked Shaun, they actually trust me this much? Better not let them down then. Taking the dagger, he sat down on the ground and inspected it, as expected it was just the straight up basic rogue dagger from the beginning of the tutorial. ¡°Do you generally use the daggers by throwing or keep them in hand?¡± Shaun asked the rogue. ¡°A bit of both, I also chose the Dual Wielding skill so I can use both at once.¡± Good to know, very similar to how he started himself. ¡°Do you guys have any spare metal on you at all?¡± He looked around at everyone present. ¡°We do actually, why?¡± Eric replied instead of the rogue. ¡°I can make more weapons from it if you want, depending on how much you have. I could probably make a dagger or two, maybe even a sword or shield if you have enough. Up to you though.¡± He was curious about the metal, where they got it and what kind, but he wouldn¡¯t force the questions if they didn¡¯t want to provide the answers. ¡°Oh we have plenty of metal. The first dungeon we did was earth based and had golems in it made of rock and metals, when we looted them we got ingots of the stuff. Here, have a look.¡± Eric pulled one out of his inventory and passed it to him. *Earth Infused Carbon Steel ¨C Reinforced carbon steel from the body of a golem, has been strengthened through the infused element of earth.* Before he had a chance to digest the incredible piece of metal he was handed a different type from Gabe. * Earth Infused Bronze - Reinforced bronze from the body of a golem, has been strengthened through the infused element of earth.* ¡°How many of these do you guys have?¡± He was envious of them in that moment, the things he could do with this metal, the ideas he had, were running through his mind like crazy. ¡°We have nine bronze and twelve carbon ones. We didn¡¯t have any use for them so have just been sitting in our inventory, think you can do something with them?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think I can. Actually, I think I can do a lot with these. Alright we can either use your current weapons as a base and just upgrade them or, we can do something completely new and make new gear out of the metal and anything else you may have.¡± He knew what he would prefer, making something new would do a lot for his profession and making something from scratch would be a lot more fun. ¡°It¡¯s your choice.¡± They all shared a look and seemed to come to an agreement pretty quickly. ¡°If you have time.¡± Eric said, ¡°Let''s go with some new gear and after if you want you can upgrade what we already have?¡± He knew he didn¡¯t have that much time, but if he committed a day to helping them out, the growth in his profession would be worth it. He would just need to speed run the dungeons afterwards. With a smile Shaun¡¯s only reply was ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡± Chapter 45 After conversation with each member of the group they had figured out what they wanted and where the priority was. Gabe wanted an upgrade to his arrows and bow and also an outfit if there was time, Eric wanted armour, a sword and if possible a shield. The other warrior wanted the same and the rogue wanted daggers and if possible a short sword like Shaun¡¯s. The mage was the only one that was left out, seeming not to need anything as much as the others, but Shaun did have a plan if everything went as expected. He decided to start with the basic gear they already had and would continue to use, hoping that he could gain a few levels before he started crafting new equipment, it would also be much quicker in case they had to move out. He started with the daggers, having the most experience with these, and went to work attuning both of the ones the rogue already had. He started with fire, imbuing it with as much as he could before making a slight change to what he had done with his own daggers. Rather than fully sealing the blade with earth, which would result in a Concussive Flame Dagger he instead taped in deeper to the structure of the dagger and intertwined his earth affinity with the flame, creating pockets of fire surrounded by a weaker earth shield. His hope was that it would cause an explosion on impact, the only issue was that the rogue would only be able to use the effect once in an emergency and would need to overcharge it with mana before using it to create instability. It would help them a lot in the upcoming fight though so he thought it was worth it. *Successful New Crafting ¨C Bonus Experience provided* *[Advanced] Blasting Fire Dagger ¨C A blade deeply imbued with the element of fire and contained by a barrio of earth. In stable form will burn those it comes in contact with. When charged with mana will allow for a one time use explosion which will unleash all of the imbued fire from inside.* *Profession: Mana Crafter has levelled up by +2 levels. [Basic] Mana Crafter has reached Level 17. +4 Int, +4 Wil, +8 Soul* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 24. +4 Ap gained* He inspected his work a final time and then handed it to the rogue, it hadn¡¯t taken too long to craft so immediately picked up the next one and started getting to work. ¡°This is different from the ones you have? But how?¡± ¡°I changed it up a little, the ones I have wont do as much damage against the treant¡¯s in the dungeon as that one will. The one I just made might be one time use but it is a good attack against the monsters that are weak to fire and will do a lot of damage, giving everyone time to finish off a boss.¡± Shaun replied. ¡°I can make one of the same ones I have for this one or another of the blasting ones. Your choice.¡± ¡°You''re right, this will be a game changer in that dungeon, can you make another of the same?¡± He replied. As he set to work replicating the dagger he had just upgraded, the group each took turns inspecting the dagger, from what he could tell they were more than happy with the result, realising just how much it would help them fight the bosses in the dungeon. It didn¡¯t take him long to finish the next dagger and he didn¡¯t gain another level, but he still had a lot more to draft so he wasn¡¯t too upset about it. With that done he moved on to the warrior''s sword, not Eric''s, but the other one whose name was apparently George. There was not much that he could do with a sword at this point but he did do his best. He used his attunement skill to fully saturate the sword with fire, it took longer than the dagger but Shaun continued to meditate while he worked which kept his mana up. Once he was done he coated the blade with earth, using his affinity with just a little bit of his mana meld and manipulation skill to alter the edge a little to make it sharper and really attune the blade. Finally, he decided to do something a little different. He attuned only the sharp edge of the sword with nature, he didn¡¯t know if it would work but he hoped that this would make it easier to break through the shields that the monsters were able to use in the dungeon. It had taken a lot longer than the dagger to finish but really only an hour or so of his time, damn was it worth it. *Successful New Crafting ¨C Bonus Experience provided* *[Advanced] Piercing Heat Sword ¨C A blade deeply imbued with the element of fire and reinforced with the element of earth. The sword has the flames contained by earth and can be super heated by infusing mana to destabilise the barrier and heat the sword. The sword has a coating of nature on its blade reducing the effects of magical resistances on its strike. Note: if the sword is over infused with mana it will cause the sword to explode, releasing all energy from the blade.* *Profession: Mana Crafter has levelled up by +3 levels. [Basic] Mana Crafter has reached Level 20. +4 Int, +4 Wil, +8 Soul* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 25. +4 AP gained* Shaun couldn¡¯t help but be excited for this, he had finally reached level 20 in his profession and now he got to pick another skill. He waited for the prompt to pick a skill to appear but what happened instead was more shocking. *Race Human (F) has upgraded to Race Human (E)* Human (E): The most common level of the Human species. The base level of Human in the multiverse, when born human babies are generally at the E rank unless one or both parents are still at F rank. The human species are known for being one of the most versatile creatures in the Multiverse, while they are considered to be generally weak compared to most, they have the ability to follow many different paths to power not available to many species. They are by far the most common race in the Multiverse. *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 26. +16 AP gained* My race grade has increased? Before he even got a chance to think about what this meant his whole body started being riddled with pain, it was like the very cells of his body were changing. He had no choice but to ride the pain and get through it, he felt his organs start to shift inside of him, contracting and then stretching, tearing apart and reforming together. He felt his heart stop beating, and he couldn¡¯t take a breath. The others around him rushed to his side and were yelling at him, trying to figure out what was happening and what they could do to help. When his heart finally started to beat again it was changed, slower, but also stronger. He started to get an ache in his head that built, gradually at first, but eventually he lost the ability to see and feel and there was only darkness before everything snapped back together. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Finally his skin started to tingle, a black tar-like substance seemed to be flowing out of his pores until he was lying in a puddle of darkness. Eventually everything stopped hurting and he felt fine, no he felt better than fine, he felt great. Sitting up he ignored the others, focusing only on his body, he touched his skin, feeling stronger and tougher, like it would be just that much harder to cut through. Upgrading his race had changed him, made him better, he was no longer the weakest human possible, now just in line with every other human in the multiverse if the details on an E grade human were to be believed. But still, he felt powerful. ¡°I upgraded my race¡­..¡± It was barely a whisper but the others heard him. ¡°How? That didn¡¯t look like an upgrade! It just looked painful, and gross¡­.¡± ¡°I hit level 25 in my race and it upgraded, like my class did on hitting 25. It hurt, but damn does it feel good.¡± Shaun answered, he also went through a few more questions that they asked while cleaning off the black tar that he had on him with the water he had in his inventory. They also moved a little further away to get away from the sludge before Shaun continued looking at the notification. Seeing the one he expected to be there for his skill choice. *New Profession Skill Available: Please choose from one of the following options:* *[Basic] Mana Transfer: The ability to transfer Mana from the user''s personal supply into a compatible item to store for future use or to power an item.* This was the same as last time, and he still didn¡¯t have a need for it so he moved on. *[Basic] Rune Knowledge: Runes, the written language that governs magic in the Multiverse, have a multitude of uses throughout the Multiverse, they are used in crafting to inlay spells in items, in rituals to act as focal points and catalysts as well as in a multitude of other ways. This skill provides a basic understanding of runes in how to both read and create them.* This was the one he had been hoping for, as soon as he had offered to craft for Eric and Gabe he knew that if he could use runes he would be able to do so much more with the things he made. It was also why he decided to start with their existing equipment rather than do anything new, he hoped that he would be able to use runes to carve in something that could be used over and over again. He had one more option left before he picked it though. *[Basic] Mana Plan: The ability to use mana to create plans of crafting ideas. Allows for a full replica of the schematics of what is wanting to be crafted and can be tested to see if it is viable. These plans can be saved down and named, to be recreated at a later date.* This was definitely something he would get in the future, being able to create all of his ideas and save them for when he had the time and material would be beneficial in so many ways, but for now, it wasn¡¯t as useful as the runes. *Skill Gained: [Basic] Rune Knowledge (Level 1)* He basked in the feeling of the new skill, he could feel some basic runes come through to his mind, most notable was the three elements he had bonded with but also runes for words like mana, channel, strike, infuse, blade, barrier and coat. It was an odd combination, but he could see the need for these sorts of words if he was going to be able to have others use the engravings he put on weapons. He still had a lot to do, and he had lost some time upgrading his race, he didn¡¯t regret it happening, especially when he was safe and surrounded by people that would protect him in case something went wrong. But he still had plans that he wanted to see though, mostly completing all five dungeons. He skipped upgrading the blade that Eric had, he instead went straight into crafting a new sword. Taking one of the carbon steel ingots, he started heating it up until it had gotten hot enough that he would be able to use his mana manipulation skill much easier. First, he focused on getting it into shape, he spoke to Eric throughout the process, asking him if he wanted it longer, thicker, more pointed and even if he would prefer to wield it two handed rather than one. Once the shape was settled, having gone with a longer length than his current sword, but keeping it one handed so he could also hold a shield. He then focused on the runes next, he played around with all of the different words he had in the runic language, trying to find ways he could phrase them together that would help out the most and eventually settled on Mana, Channel, Fire, Strike. He hoped that this would mean that Eric would be able to channel his own mana into the runes, and be able to strike out with fire, very similar to his own elemental strike skill. Each rune would be carved going down one side of the sword, and each would be connected to the last, causing a running script down the blade. He didn¡¯t know if it would work, it was his first time doing something like this, but he gave it his best shot. With the blade still hot to the touch, he used his mana manipulation skill to carve the runes down the blade, he made several mistakes, not getting the runes right, and would need to smooth out the metal and start over. It took him over an hour to just get the runes right, and when he did he felt that something was missing. He looked over the runes multiple times and couldn¡¯t find any mistakes, he was stuck and didn¡¯t know what he was supposed to do. In a last ditch effort he started pushing his own mana into the runes, starting from the first and moving his way down. They sucked in as much mana as he could give them, slowly starting to glow the more he pushed into them. After 45 minutes of this, having to stop once to recover mana, as his mediation wasn¡¯t able to keep up with the growing needs of the sword, the glowing of the runes came to a fevered pitch and then once they couldn¡¯t take any more, the mana sunk into the sword. *Successful New Crafting ¨C Bonus Experience provided* *[Advanced] Fire Strike Sword ¨C A blade made from earth infused steel, and shaped through the element of fire by a Mana Crafter, the blade is enchanted to allow for a magical fire attack when channelled with mana. Rune Spell: Fire Strike ¨C build up and unleash a strike infused with fire, strength of attack dependent on mana used, able to coat blade in the attack or project with additional mana cost.* *Profession: Mana Crafter has levelled up by +2 levels. [Basic] Mana Crafter has reached Level 22. +4 Int, +4 Wil, +8 Soul* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (F) has reached Level 27. +16 Ap gained* The levels were nice, but the sword was damn right impressive. Taking out some of the lizard skin he had in his inventory he finished off melding it to the handle to make it more comfortable and then looked over the finished blade. It was much sharper than his old sword and made for him to fit the way he wanted to attack, it gave more reach and had a spell engraved into it. He was impressed. Standing up, he walked over to Eric and handed him the sword, not saying a word and just waiting for the reaction he knew would come. For a while Eric just played around with it, striking out and pretending to battle a monster in front of him. ¡°It¡¯s perfect, so much better than the last one. You don¡¯t know what this will do for us.¡± Confused, he expected more questions or even for him to give the spell a go, until he realised that Eric hadn¡¯t inspected the blade yet. ¡°What do you think about the enchantment?¡± Eric stopped then looking slightly perplexed before looking down and identifying the blade. When he did though the look on his face was priceless, the emotions ranged from shock, excitement and disbelief, it was everything Shaun wanted to see. ¡°But how¡­¡­¡± Eric couldn¡¯t even form words, it was amusing to watch. ¡°Why don¡¯t you give it a go?¡± He was curious as to how it would work without having a fire affinity to boost it, he hoped it would still cause enough damage to an opponent, even without the boost. Eric just nodded, took a wide stance and started to channel his mana, the runes started to glow with the more mana he infused into them and the blade started to glow red. With a strike through the air the spell was unleashed at the closest tree and the resulting blast was even better than Shaun had expected. Everyone just looked on in shock, there was no other sword like it in the tutorial that they knew of, it was a game changer for their team and had just made the dungeon they were about to enter that much easier. What came after was so many questions on how he had done it, what exactly his profession was and finally what was he going to make next. Their excitement had grown 10 fold and they couldn¡¯t wait to see what equipment Shaun would make for them. After they spoke for a while, Eric split off from the group and practised further away with his new sword, Shaun however, just got straight back to work. Chapter 46 As Shaun moved through the forest he thought over all of the new things he had made for Gabe and Eric, as well as the rest of their team. He still limited himself to only spending one day with them crafting but he did end up accomplishing quite a bit in that time. He had made another sword for the warrior, exactly the same as the one he made for Eric, and also managed to make two shields with all the metal they had. The end product was sturdy and he had imbued them with earth and nature, as well as but runes on them that allowed for them to channel and store mana into the runes that would be able to boost the area of protection, much like what the monsters in the dungeon had been able to do. He made new arrows for Gabe, He ended up using the roots form the treant¡¯s he had gotten from looting them and was able to attune them to nature and engrave some runes into the shaft, which was very difficult at first, that would cause an ensnaring effect where the roots what multiply and trap whoever they hit. That wasn¡¯t all though, he had attuned the arrow heads with flame in a way that would cause fire damage to whatever they hit. He was even able to upgrade the bow by imbuing it with his nature affinity which strengthened it and made it less likely to break. For the rogue he made two new daggers, both of which he enchanted with spells that would explode on contact, they would need to be powered up first with mana, but they were still pretty useful. And lastly, he made a steel wand for the mage, he engraved a spell into it that let him cast fireballs from the wand which would also help them power through the dungeon. He did all he could in the time he had to make sure they would survive, and on splitting ways they promised to repay him in some way in the future. He also had a private chat with Eric and Gabe where they aired out their baggage and agreed to move past what had occurred, Shaun had already done this so it wasn¡¯t a big revelation, but the others felt better for it. The only thing that really annoyed him now was that after all of that crafting, nearly 24 hours straight, he only made it to level 24 in his profession, he felt he was close to level 25, just one more thing and he would push over, but still, it was frustrating. He had gained so many levels in his skill though that most of them had now capped out or very close to it. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (E) Level: 28 Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger - Level 32 Profession: [Basic] Mana Crafter - Level 24 Health Points:1310/1310 Stamina:1000/1000 Mana:2153/2520 Stats: (Available Points: 76) Strength: 100 Dexterity: 146 Endurance: 100 Vitality: 131 Intelligence: 100 Perception: 127 Willpower: 130 Soul: 252 Affinity: Earth, Fire, Nature Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elemental Master, Beginner Solo Dungeoneer Heritage: Azreal''s Legacy (Hidden) Skills: Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 7), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 24), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 21), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 12), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 7) Profession: [Basic] Mana Meld (Level 24) , [Basic] Mana Manipulation (Level 25 - Max), [Basic] Mana Attunement (Level 23), [Basic] Meditation (Level 25 - Max), [Advanced] Mana Sight (Level 8), [Basic] Rune Knowledge (Level 9) He was pretty happy with how his status sheet looked, every single one of his stats were now at least 100, with Soul having increased by such a large amount it was ridiculous. He had gained a lot more levels in his race after evolving, especially after bringing up his profession to much a high level. The big thing he noticed was that he was gaining 16 AP per level now that he was E grade in his race, something he didn¡¯t even pick up on before. He hadn¡¯t been paying much attention to his AP and if he was being honest, reviewing his status sheet in general, he hadn¡¯t allocated the AP yet as he was never positive on where he wanted to put them, and so far it hadn¡¯t really harmed him. He knew he had to do something with them, and he was leaning towards putting them in Strength and Endurance to bolster them a bit but he hadn¡¯t had to worry about either of them so far in a fight. Still with 76 AP to use he knew it would be wasteful not to use them, rather than procrastinate any longer, he just split them 50/50 into Strength and Endurance. He had never really gotten so many stat points at one time and he couldn¡¯t help but trip over his own feet when it all hit him at once. The feeling was euphoric, his whole body tingled and he felt drunk on the experience. It did quickly pass, but he couldn¡¯t help but linger in the feeling a while before he continued on reviewing the rest of what the status sheet showed him. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. His skills were all progressing, each levelling up, especially those that he used more regularly than others, and he knew he would need to start looking at ways to upgrade his profession skills without waiting for level 30. He had five titles, a good amount he thought, especially considering that most of them wouldn¡¯t be available to others, and lastly was the change from F to E grade for his race. For him it was quite the change, he felt almost superhuman compared to when he was F grade, it might not be noticeable in his stats but he felt it on a cellular level. It didn¡¯t take him long to move through the forest and towards the next area where he assumed the air dungeon would be, after speaking to the others and where they found the earth dungeon, they had confirmed that it was in the clearing where he had assumed it would be, and taking that into account he was more than sure that he was on the right track of finding each dungeon. Rather than walk he decided to run towards the dungeon, he avoided people if he came near them and didn¡¯t bother to stop and hunt monsters, nothing in the forest was going to give him any good experience, and now that he had levelled up his race to over 25, not even the boss in the dungeon was going to give him much either. It was frustrating to say the least, he almost regretted levelling up his profession which pushed his race up too high for any bonus experience. It was going to make the dungeons even easier than they were before, and he would be able to spend more time bonding with the new elements, but still, it seemed like he now out-levelled stage 2, hopefully stage 3 would be harder. Not even a full day later did he reach the canyon, at first he thought it was going to be difficult to find the entrance of the dungeon as it was a pretty large area, but the group of people waiting around at the entrance was a dead give away as to where it was. Why is this becoming a trend? People should be in the dungeon not around it! It just makes this whole thing more annoying. He didn¡¯t bother waiting and watching, he just walked straight up to where all of the people were. The difference between these people and the ones at the nature dungeon was clear though, these people were angry, annoyed even, not uncertain about going in in the slightest. So why are you all still out here? It became obvious pretty quickly, a group of 5 people were surrounding the dungeon entrance, not letting anyone close enough to enter. When he came to the edge of the group he turned to a woman that was with her team, a scowl on her face, and he decided to just ask. ¡°What¡¯s happening here? Why are they blocking the way in?¡± Shaun asked her. He didn¡¯t bother to identify her, he really didn¡¯t care who she was or how strong, he just wanted answers and then he would solve the problem. ¡°They are demanding a tax for use of the dungeon, you pay to go in with whatever loot or equipment you have that they want and then when you exit they will try and claim whatever reward you get.¡± She didn¡¯t even look at him, just spoke in an annoyed tone. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t everyone just dealt with them already?¡± She laughed at this, he didn¡¯t think it was a funny question, in fact he thought it was a pretty solid one, even though it was obviously something that he would ask. ¡°They are part of Trevor¡¯s men, and he isn¡¯t someone you want to cross.¡± It couldn¡¯t be, could it? No, there is no way these people are scared of Trevor retaliating? It had to be a different Trevor right? He started describing what Trevor looked like to the women, hoping that she knew what this other Trevor looked like. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s him, a mean piece of work. You attack him or his men you''re done for.¡± Shaun laughed, like really laughed to the point where his stomach started to hurt and everyone was looking at him wondering who the lunatic was. He could help it though, it was just too damn predictable that the bully that Shaun knew hadn¡¯t changed, he was still nothing more than an asshole. ¡°You better stop, these guys might not be the strongest people around but Trevor has evolved his class and he is not someone you want to get on the bad side of.¡± He tried, he really did, but he couldn¡¯t stop laughing, it was uncontrollable at this point, just the idea that Trevor had instilled so much fear into these people and gained a following of goons was insane. ¡°What do you think you are laughing about!¡± One of Trevor¡¯s men walked up to him, sword drawn and looking ready to attack. He was going to have to take this a little more seriously, but not by much. ¡°You! I am laughing at you, and Trevor, and this entire thing!¡± ¡°You think you can insult us? Insult Trevor and get away with it?¡± Oh he was angry now, good, it would make this more fun. ¡°Yeah, I really do.¡± Before the idiot in front of him could do anything more than squeak in alarm, Shaun grabbed hold of his armour and using his affinity to grab hold of it as well he turned and threw him with both his strength and his control over the armour plate nearly 50 metres away. He had to admit, it was an impressive sight. Turning back towards the rest of Trevor¡¯s men he walked up to them slowly, the gathered crowd parting for him, giving him a straight line forward, both to the dungeon and the fools standing in his way. ¡°Where is Trevor now?¡± He asked them all, the laughing fool now gone and instead the powerful Elemental Blade Slinger now in his place. He was done fooling around, he had better things to do. ¡°Like hell it''s any of your business!¡± Another of them ran towards him with their sword out, without even bothering to lift his own he simply sent one of his daggers into the guy''s leg. He dropped to the ground pretty quickly and screamed in pain, but really, he was the fool that tried to attack him. ¡°Anyone else want a go?¡± He asked again. All of them just shook their heads. ¡°Good. So where is Trevor?¡± ¡°He is inside the dungeon, has been for two days.¡± A mage spoke this time. ¡°Good, I am going to go into the dungeon now, but before I do.¡± He turned back to the gathered people and spoke. ¡°Does anyone want to go in before I do? I will make sure they all let you in with no trouble.¡± That caused a stir through the crowd, he gave them a minute to decide before he would go in himself. The reason he was doing it was mostly to annoy Trevor, but it also annoyed him that this was even occurring in the first place so he figured it was a win-win situation for everyone. Every single group there had decided to go into the dungeon, no one wanted to risk being left out here alone in case Trevor came out and they were still there. Time was also ticking down for all of them and from the looks of it, most of the groups had a fair way to go before they had finished all of the objectives. Once everyone was in he turned back to the remaining men, ¡°Tell Trevor that Shaun says hi when you see him next. He knows who I am.¡± *Welcome to the Wings Fury Dungeon* The dungeon, formed into existence from the winds blowing through the world, will test whether you can survive the brutal winds of the sky, made of one of the base elements of the multiverse. Recommended that a full party of five enter at a minimum level of 20, once entered there will be no exit unless the boss is killed and the dungeon completed. Reward depends on performance within the dungeon. One participant located, would you like to enter the dungeon? Without hesitation he accepted and immediately got transported into the dungeon. Chapter 47 Appearing in the air dungeon, Shaun couldn¡¯t help but be shocked at what he found, it was unlike any of the other dungeons he had been in. He had appeared on an island, but not just any island, one that was floating in the air. It was barely big enough for him to stand on, let alone for five people to be able to comfortably move around on it. Walking over to the edge he peered down to see how far he was from the ground and what he saw made him quickly move back to the centre of the little island. There was no land beneath him, just empty space as far as he could see, if he fell off the side there would be no coming back from the fall. He wasn¡¯t scared of heights usually, but when you are stuck on a tiny floating island the nerves and fear are bound to set in. Falling from a great height to one¡¯s death was not in his list of things to do. The wind wasn¡¯t too bad where he was but if he had to guess the further he moved into the dungeon the worse it would become. He knew which way he needed to go, out in front of his island was more islands, each spread apart a little further the more one moved along the islands, they were like stepping stones. He could see far enough along the path that it came to a larger island about 500m away where he could in fact see the boss flying around its roost. Along the way were 6 other birds that would circle around the islands that he would have to hop along to get to the boss. *Wind Swept Pigeon ¨C Level 19* ¡°No one likes pigeons, they are so dirty, all they do is scavenge for food.¡± He was talking to himself, but he really didn¡¯t like pigeons, he would have to walk through parks in the city where he lived and they would always have groups of pigeons that would fly up into the air every time you got close, on more than one occasion one had nearly flown right into him. He didn¡¯t think they would cause much issue in a fight, but having to navigate jumping from one island to another while also dodging and attacking at the same time would be a challenge. He had the range attacks that would help him with this but the fear of falling to his death still played on his mind, it held him back from moving along and getting this dungeon over with. Dropping down into a seated position he slipped into mediation and searched out with his mana sight to see if there would be enough air mana around him to bond his affinity now rather an further into the dungeon, Shaun knew it was a long shot, he had always done this when he was truly surrounded by the mana he needed and there just wasn¡¯t enough wind around, like he knew there would be further in, to be able to bond the affinity at this point. Coming back to a stand, he really had no choice now but to leap to the next island, then the next, to get to the boss and hopefully try again there. Gearing up for his first jump, he moved to the furthest edge of the little island he was on, wanting to get a decent run up before he jumped across. Once he was in position, he had to hype himself up for a minute before he committed, he ran and jumped towards the next island, when he was in the air he refused to look down, he made sure to only concentrate on where he wanted to land. As he got closer to his destination, he couldn¡¯t stop his momentum and ended up landing towards the edge of the opposite side of the next platform, nearly flying off the edge. He had forgotten about the massive boost in stats he had just applied, and without taking into consideration the upgrade to his race and nearly a 50% increase to his strength, he almost completely leapt over the island and went straight down into the abyss. He still had 11 more islands to hop across before he was at the boss and still had the 6 pigeons to kill along the way. The first pigeon wasn¡¯t to far away from him, circling around on the island where he would need to run to next, He now knew that with all of his increases that he could jump along with no issues, in fact he needed to reduce the power he ran and then leapt with so as not to fly off of the edge. Rather than delay the next jump, he prepared for his next leap and right before he went he threw a fireball at the pigeon, as he ran the pigeon moved to dodge, much quicker than it should have been, but it did cause the distraction he needed to safely get to the next island without having to worry about an attack. As soon as he landed he turned his attention to the monster who was now flying straight towards him, he waited until it got closer and as it dived down at him he simply sent a fire strike at it, at low power as it was significantly lower level than he was. He expected to see it go up in flames, but out of nowhere a wind swept through, moving the pigeon quicker than the fireball could reach it and at the same time redirecting where his attack was going. ¡°What the hell you stupid bird!¡± Shaun yelled at it, unable to control the outburst. The pigeon was so many levels beneath it that the fight should have been over before it even started, but he hadn¡¯t accounted for the wind boosting its ability to move and throwing off his attacks. He doubted that the monster could actually do any harm to him but killing it was going to be annoying to say the least. He watched the pigeon for a moment, seeing what it would do, but it didn¡¯t come straight back at him for an attack, instead it circled around in the sky, watching him, waiting for him to make his next move. He couldn¡¯t figure out a way to get it to come closer to him, so he was going to go the brute force method and see if that worked. He created three fireballs and took control of one of his arrowheads, he would start by throwing the fireballs and then once the pigeon had either dodged, or hopefully, died, he would assess the need to use the arrowhead, not wanting to potentially lose it in the process. Waiting for an opportunity where he would aim his fireballs at the pigeon as well as where it was flying and slightly to the side, he counted down and then threw all three at once. He watched on, never taking his eyes off of the pigeon, as the fireballs got the wind picked up again in a gust that sent it sideways away from the fireball that was travelling right at it, and into the one he had aimed directly to the side. Getting hit head on by a fireball caused massive damage, and the pigeon flew around for a few seconds, its feathers were falling off of it, having been burned by the flames. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Although it had lost most of its feathers it was still alive, it was as if they acted as a protective coating that you had to get rid of before being able to do more damage. He didn¡¯t hesitate and sent the arrowhead forward, keeping control of it the entire time so he could redirect it if it moved again, it wasn¡¯t needed though, as it punctured into one side of its body and straight out the other. It took a minute but eventually the pigeon couldn¡¯t stay in the air and plummeted down into the depths of nothingness below. *You have defeated a (Wind Swept Pigeon ¨C Lvl 19). Experience gained. 190 TE awarded* Although he couldn¡¯t deny being happy about the dead pigeon, he hadn¡¯t been able to loot it and had caused more trouble than what it was worth. He still had 5 more of these things and then the boss, and if he had to guess the next areas weren¡¯t going to change much, he was going to have to repeat this process over and over again until the end. And he did, five more times he killed the pigeons in the exact same way, and the further he moved along the more annoyed he got. It was a waste of time, the only good thing about it was that he got to experience how annoying monsters that could fly were. When he got to the boss, it was just a bigger version of the last pigeon except it was able to control the wind a little more and had a tendency to blast him with gusts of wind with his wings. He didn¡¯t really change up his attack styles though, just added more fireballs and a few more arrowheads. He was tempted to use one of his daggers but having to replace them would be more annoying than what it was worth, while the arrowheads were more disposable. When the area was clear of the pigeons he again sat down and decided to test the area for mana, it was a lot more windy here than it had been at the beginning so he was hopeful that he may be able to bond air now rather than wait. He had decided when he was in the nature dungeon that if any opportunity, either in the tutorial or after, presented itself to bond new elements he would take it, risk everything, to gain the power and rise to the very peak of what a human was capable of. He doubted that there were only five elements in the multiverse, in fact he guessed that they were the most common and easiest to bond into an affinity, so he wanted the practice for when he came across something truly dangerous. Slipping back into mediation he again used his mana sight, although he could feel a lot more air mana around him, it was more spread out than he would have liked, and never stayed in one place. He had a decision to make now, he figured that further ahead would be more abundant with the mana he would need but would also be moving quicker, probably due to the wind also picking up. Either way he figured that trapping the air mana was going to be painful, he would almost need to chase it down and capture it rather than only needing to move his own affinities out to grab a hold of it in his spheres like he did with nature. He decided that more mana was better than less, even if it would be moving around quicker, so he stood back up and moved towards the next islands he would need to hop along. This time around he could make out 18 separate islands, before getting to the boss, and nine of the new monsters he would be needing to fight. *Gale Eagle ¨C Level 21* He expected another bird, he had also expected the shift from something like wind swept to gale, the level of wind was going to be much higher form these monsters and that meant that the fight was going to be even more frustrating than the one with the pigeons. He didn¡¯t delay, just continued on like he had with the last birds, the space between the islands that he needed to leap across had grown but at the same time Shaun had grown more comfortable with making these jumps, his fear of falling lessening to a small degree. As he made the leap to the island where the first eagle would attack he threw off a fireball as a distraction and came to land, before he even had a chance to follow up with another attack though the eagle had flown up into the air then done a 180 and launched it self straight towards him at a speed that he could barely follow. Is it actually going to come to me? This just got easier. Shaun planted his feet solidly on the ground, infusing earth and nature through his legs and into the island, creating an anchor that any monster would be hard pressed to knock him from. He then powered up his sword with an elemental strike, ready to send the attack flying when the eagle got close enough that it could dodge. The eagle didn¡¯t slow down as it approached, it actually built up speed, it was like a cannonball, there was no way it could stop before hitting him, he started to second guess his plan of attack, but before he could come up with anything else, the eagle had closed the distance and the only thing left to do was send out his attack. The attack hit the eagle just before the eagle hit him, the resulting explosion engulfed both of them, while the body of the eagle hit him straight on and slammed him into the ground, his feet were still anchored to the island through both earth and nature, because if he hadn¡¯t taken that crucial step he would have been sent flying straight off of the edge of the island. The beak of the eagle had gone straight into his stomach but seemed like more of a flesh wound than anything. Once the flames cleared, while he was still on the ground, he grabbed the eagle and pulled it out of his stomach, its body still had cinders glowing in its feathers, but it was dead. He pulsed his nature affinity through his body to heal the wound, not taking much mana or time. *You have defeated a (Gale Eagle ¨C Lvl 21). Experience gained. 210 TE awarded* The only upside to this entire situation was that at least they came to him, also if they continued to do so, he would get a chance to loot them, which he did with the body still in his hands. He got the beak and feathers from it, which he would probably be able to do something with if he really put his mind to it, but nothing that would help in the immediate future. He repeated the process 8 more times until he got to the boss, where he had to endure hurricane level winds that tried to throw him off of the island, the only thing keeping him on was being anchored to the island, and when that failed to displace him, the eagle came in for the kill, just like the others, this time glowing all over. He didn¡¯t wait for it to get close before he sent out attack after attack, trying to slow it down before impact, but nothing had helped. Instead, he just bore the attack head on, this time infusing his body with stone skin, and the result ended the same as the others, except this time he needed to finish it off by driving his sword through its body where he didn¡¯t need to with the others. It had taken about the same amount of time as the pigeons, so he was progressing well, only now he would need to focus on his heritage and gaining the next elements over actually fighting. He couldn¡¯t wait to see what he could do with air after he was successful, because I will be successful. Chapter 48 He didn¡¯t delay in getting comfortable on the ground and slipping into his meditative trance while using his mana sight to see into the world around him. As expected, there was more air mana present here, almost twice as much as there had been when he checked after defeating the last boss, and to his disappointment they were also moving around even quicker than he had expected them to be. There was enough mana around that he didn¡¯t expect to have any issues with being able to fill himself up with them, but the issue he did have was which of his affinities he would use to capture them. Turning his attention to his mana channels, the process of looking inside himself had become second nature at this point so he could switch between his internal and external mana rather easily, he found all three of his affinities moving around with no issues. He already knew he would be using earth again to form his spheres, but the choice between nature and fire was harder. He had contemplated using all three but that just made the entire process more complicated than it needed to be. He had successfully bonded fire with earth and then nature with earth and fire, using earth, fire and nature to do air though it just seemed like it would cause more issues than it would solve. Fire would work, but it was a little more uncontrollable and less stable than nature was, he also had never done this with nature before so it was adding in an unknown factor. He tried forming a sphere from both fire and nature and took turns bringing them outside of his body, that solved the issue for him almost immediately, the fire sphere flickered in the wind, much less stable than it had been when bonding to nature, while nature remained more cohesive and strong when being battered by the surrounding wind and air mana. Having sorted that dilemma rather quickly he went back to forming the spheres inside of his mana channels, using the earth and nature affinity, it would mean that the air stream would form between these two, he didn¡¯t know if that would have any impact on how the affinity worked, or even if it would interact differently inside of him, compared to if he had chosen fire but he had made the decision with the best information he had on hand. It didn¡¯t take long to form all of the spheres, he had now done this twice before and it had become easier the more affinity he had bonded. Once completed, he reviewed his internal mana channels and found a few places that he had been a little sloppy in forming the spheres, some too close together and others not as solid as he would have liked. The fact he had made the mistakes in the first place annoyed him, it wasn¡¯t his best work and when playing around with forces he really shouldn¡¯t be, he should have been more careful. This resulted in him having to do another thorough look through of his work, not moving on to the next step until he was certain that there were no more mistakes, it was time that he had to spend fixing things he should have done correctly in the first place. Once he was happy he then moved on to the next step, trying to catch the air mana and bring it inside of him. He grabbed one of his earth spheres and moved it out towards the air surrounding him, he kept a keen eye on all of the air mana until he found one that was going to be coming towards him soon. He prepared his sphere, knowing he would need to move it quickly and accurately to be able to catch the mote of air, and just as it had come close enough that he could reach out and touch it, he sent the sphere forward to grab it. It was a disaster, as soon as the sphere got close the air mana kept drifting further away from it, pushed aside by the momentum of the sphere of earth. He kept trying to chase it but failed each time. He decided to reel in the sphere and try again, he waited, found another mote that would be close enough for him to snatch and just like last time it moved away from the sphere. He attempted this three more times after that until his frustration grew to a point of wanting to just completely give up and just move on. Shaun took some time after that, to just breathe and calm down, repeating the same thing over and over again with no success was stupid, he needed to figure out a way to do this better, more efficiently. He spent a lot of time just observing the air mana as well as how it moved and interacted with the surroundings. He wouldn¡¯t be able to chase them down, they moved too quickly and seemed to be repelled by any motion around them. What if I use a trap instead? It wasn¡¯t a bad idea, but what kind of trap would work with something that moved away every time you approached it. You don¡¯t approach it, you let it approach you! A plan started to form, one that would take considerable time and more energy but it just may work. Taking his earth sphere back into his control he moved it out in front of him and opened it up, stretching it so it looked more like a cone than a sphere, the problem he encountered was that the wind was hitting it and with nothing to let the air through it was taking all of his mental control to keep the earth affinity formed. He started to create holes in the cone, only a few at first and rather small, but he increased the amount and size until his cone looked more like a filter, the holes were big enough that it let the air through but not wide enough that the mana could pass. This might actually work. He had to wait a while before he saw a mote of air mana come in the right direction, he slowly shifted the placement of his earth affinity until the air mote would be coming straight at it and, hopefully, end up caught in his trap. He shifted the positioning again and again until he was certain that it would catch the mana, he counted down in his head until impact, praying for this to work. When the air mote finally did hit his earth affinity, he closed up the open end of the cone and sealed all of the holes, at the same time reducing the size so it was back to being a small sphere which would be able to fit inside his mana channels. Oddly enough, the air mana didn¡¯t bounce around inside of the sphere and instead calmed considerably once it was trapped, like the air of a still room. He couldn¡¯t believe he had actually done it, the plan actually worked as expected and he had finally caught his first air mana mote. He continued reeling it in until he was about to force it into his body when he stopped, every time he had done this in the past there had been some reaction to him, he still bore the signs of the impact from the nature mana. When he had burned the effect off of his skin in the nature dungeon it had turned him a deep tan colour, better than being green, but that effect hadn¡¯t gone away, he looked like he had spent a long time in the sun and tanned to a sun kissed brown. It wasn¡¯t too different from his normal shade, but he could tell the difference, it was his body after all. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He tried to think of the impact of the air mana but he was coming up blank on what the effects might be, so instead of delaying and continuing to think about it he just committed to bringing it inside of him. Passing it through his skin, it started to sting, quite a lot, and when it finally finished entering his body and he had firmly placed it in his mana channel, he opened his eyes and looked down at his arm where he passed the air mana through. It was an angry red colour, it stung and slightly throbbed with pain, but apart from that he felt fine. It''s just wind burn? That¡¯s it? To say he was confused was an understatement, every time he had done this there had been a bigger reaction on his body, but this? It was little more than an annoyance. What has changed? He reviewed everything that had happened since finishing bonding the nature affinity, he had levelled up his profession, increased his stats and upgraded his race. It must be one of the upsides of increasing my race. I felt my body change, from my organs, to my blood and even my skin. The mana is having a lesser effect because of being E grade instead of F. He hadn¡¯t fully delved into all of the changes of upgrading his race, but the more he thought about it, the more things started to make sense. He didn¡¯t even bother using stone skin to protect his body when the eagles were attacking him, only when the boss tried did he utilise the skill. Being able to run through the forest to the dungeon instead of walking, another change that, although could be his stats at work, also felt like it was related to his race. Then there was the way he was able to move, he had become faster, stronger, and more in control of his body. It was hard at first, especially when he started this dungeon, but the more he focused he realised, the easier it was to leap from island to island, even though the distance was increasing. He had really underestimated the impact of reaching that milestone, and he couldn¡¯t help but imagine what the difference would be from E to D or even D to C, let alone reaching A. Is there something beyond even A? These were all things he added to his growing list of questions he wanted answers to, but couldn¡¯t actually find any way to get them answered. Soon though, people in the multiverse will know the answers. He went back to focusing on the task at hand, dwelling on these things wasn¡¯t getting him anywhere in that moment, so he went back to grabbing a sphere and forming his catcher out in the world around him. It was going to take a lot of time doing it this way, and now that he knew the risk of bringing them inside of him had lessened considerably, he decided to play it a little more risky. Rather than only using one sphere and forming it into a filter he added another on, then another and kept going until he was fully straining his will. In the end he had formed a dozen of his catchers in the world, and waited for his prey to fall in the trap. It still took a while, but eventually he felt a mana mote fall into one of his traps and he quickly closed it up and brought it inside of him. He was only using the earth spheres at this point as it was easier to control the one element rather than two, once he had filled all of the earth spheres he would then move on to the nature ones and repeat the process. It took longer than he would have liked, but about 8 hours later he had filled all of the spheres for both of his elements and placed them into his mana channels. During this time he just focused on meditating and keeping his awareness throughout each of his traps. It wasn¡¯t the most exciting thing to do but it had worked so he wasn¡¯t going to complain. Turning back into his mana channels, he knew he had to get them all moving again, his fire element hadn¡¯t been impacted by any of this so he decided to leave it alone unless he found that it was going to interfere with the process of forming his next elemental threat. Just like last time he got them all up to a decent speed and started to release the air mana a few at a time, everything was running smoothly until a stray air mote bounced off one of the unopened spheres and ended up hitting his fire element. The result of this was explosive, it was like a bomb had gone off inside of his body, it had happened when the mana was running through the thigh of his left leg and he felt that the explosion hadn¡¯t just damaged his mana channel, but if he opened his eyes and looked down at his thigh, he would be missing a large chunk out of his leg. He didn¡¯t let this distract him though as he had damage control to do with his mana channels. Where the explosion had occurred, each of his affinity streams had been cut off from each other, causing havoc to the surrounding area. Air mana was running rampant and his affinities were starting to fray from both sides, if he didn¡¯t take control of it all at once everything would unravel and he knew that would kill him. He used what remained of his nature and earth affinity to clean up the air mana that was in the area and then quickly took control of the fraying ends, using all the control he could spare to form the back up and tie them back together. He managed to fix it without further issues, but it was a slow process as he needed to keep all of the loose air mana running through his mana channels from hitting the fire stream at the same time. Once it was all fixed, he didn¡¯t bother healing his leg, he would get to it when he was done, instead he pushed forward with forming the air bond, he was a lot more cautious of the consequences of doing this wrong now, he had never had a mistake like this occur with any of his other bonding¡¯s, although he had less room to play around with now that he had three affinity already established. He eventually managed to get to the end of the process, making no more mistakes during the final part of the process, and when the affinity snapped into place he couldn¡¯t help but fall onto his back with relief that it was done. The heritage was not joking when it spoke of risks in bonding so many elements, some played nicely together and others would cause mass damage as soon as they interacted. He couldn¡¯t argue with the gains he could make from bonding them though, they were just incredible. *Affinity Detected: Air* *Air (Affinity): The multiverse is made up of many elements but Air is the most essential for allowing mortals to live and breathe. Through your connection to the wind and the sky you will be able to manipulate the air around you to reduce resistance, condense the air into a physical form and use it to aid you through the worlds. +10 Dex, +10 Soul, +5% Dex, +10% Soul* Chapter 49 Shaun didn¡¯t move on to the last islands straight away, instead, he played around with his new air affinity. He didn¡¯t use it on his skill just yet, but rather used it in the way that it was described in the description, or at least, he tried too. The first thing he attempted was to harden the air, condensing it into something that would be able to hold his weight. It was hard at first, but he eventually found that when the air condensed enough that it had an opaque look to it. When he stepped onto his initial attempt it broke instantly, making him fall to the ground, the second time wasn¡¯t that much better but it did hold for a fraction of a second before he dropped. It took a few goes before he was able to form a platform of air that would hold his weight for longer than a second, but it was enough that if he wanted to he could use it as something to push off of in the air to quickly redirect himself in battle. He didn¡¯t have enough room on the island to really test it out but he was happy with the progress of being able to control the air like that. Reducing the resistance in the air and using it to aid him when moving were rather difficult to test out, removing the wind resistance was self explanatory but he didn¡¯t know how he could do it, helping him to move though was more interesting, it seemed like he could use the air around him to make him move quicker, how much quicker he didn¡¯t know, and falling off the island still wasn¡¯t high on his to do list. Sitting down and sinking into meditation, he tested his ability to manipulate the winds around him, seeing if he was capable of redirecting them or even parting them around where he sat. Connecting to the air wasn¡¯t hard, it was as easy as breathing, he sank into the air around him and an overwhelming feeling of being free enveloped him, it was joyous and made him smile to himself. Shaun sat like this for a while, just getting accustomed to the change before moving onto actually controlling the gale blowing around him. When he tried to exert his will and move it in the opposite direction to where he was, he was met with a resistance that no matter how hard he fought against, he couldn¡¯t break. When he changed tactics and coaxed the air around him to simply flow to both sides of him, effectively leaving him untouched, it was more than happy to listen, it didn¡¯t go against the natural direction it was already flowing in and simply slightly adjusted the course to still going in the same direction. It was a lot easier to do, taking very little energy or will, he realised he needed to work with the wind rather than against it if he was going to be able to fully envelop the element. Once he had adjusted to using air at a very basic level he decided it was time to move on, he would have plenty of time later to play around more, without the fear of falling off an island. Moving to the last of the path of islands, he couldn¡¯t see any monsters along the way, this wasn¡¯t shocking as the last boss always seemed to have their weaker kin around them when the fighting started. He could see the islands leading away from where he was, all the way until they ended at a much larger island, if it could even be called that. The last island was more of a mountain in the sky, he could make out shapes flying around it but not with enough detail to get a good idea of what he would be dealing with next. He didn¡¯t have anything more to prepare so instead got started in moving towards his final destination. When moving through the smaller islands to get to the larger one, he also practised with condensing the air, one platform at a time, until if he wanted to he could run along them in the air without even having to touch the ground. It was a crazy feeling, and he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if eventually he would be able to get good enough with the affinity to be able to fly. If he could condense the air around him fully, like making a suit of air, and he propelled himself forward with his control, it could possibly work. But he was a long way from that, he could barely keep a small platform in place for longer than a second, coating his entire body indefinitely with hardened air was going to be impossible at this stage, but something to look forward to in the future. When he was only two islands away he stopped and decided to check out the monsters a little bit more, what he saw took his breath away. The monsters were larger than any bird, they had the body of a lion, great big wings coming from their back shimmering gold as they flew, they had a tail like that of a lion as well as back legs that were similar to paws. Their front legs ended in claws similar to a bird and their heads, they had the head of what looked like an eagle. They were griffins, taken straight out of myth and legend, and they were his next monster to fight. *Griffin Cub ¨C Level 23* He got lucky with one flying close enough to be able to identify it, it didn¡¯t attack but did note his presence. He was right that they were griffins, but the fact it said it was a cub was odd, they seemed to be the size of a normal lion, there was no way it was a cub, unless a fully grown griffin was significantly larger. He didn¡¯t know if that terrified him or if he thought it was just really really cool. He wasn¡¯t sure what abilities the griffins would have, he knew it was going to have something to do with air, not to mention the physical damage they would be able to do with their claws, but he couldn¡¯t find it in himself to be scared, if anything he was excited to find out. None of the monsters so far had provided a challenge, outside of the fact they had just been annoying to pin down, but once they got hit with an attack it was all over for them. The griffins though? They may provide a bit more of a challenge. Shaun practically skipped the final way onto the mountain island, ready to get started and have a little fun. The moment he stepped onto the mountain everything changed, the griffins were no longer leisurely flying around and instead sped up and became more erratic. They started making screaming whistling noises that echoed off of the mountain, he didn¡¯t know whether it was a call to arms or an alert to all of the other griffins that someone had trespassed onto their turf, whatever it was it was soon joined by a much louder, deeper noise that set is teeth on edge. None of the griffins were close enough for him to attack, he would need to make his way up the mountain to get to their level unless they came down to him, before he could make the decision though one was made for him. From the top of the mountain the boss finally made its appearance, it looked exactly the same as the other griffins, just bigger, much bigger. It was easily twice the size of the others and its wingspan stretched out what had to be 10 metres in each direction. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Shaun didn¡¯t make a move or do anything to prepare, he was captivated by the magnificent sight of the creature. He didn¡¯t really want to fight it, it was majestic and beautiful, he really wanted to give it a pat, or even go for a ride. It wouldn¡¯t be possible though, he had a job to do and there was only one way to get out of the dungeon, and that was to kill the boss. He gave the timer of the stage 2 countdown a look and if he wanted to get out of here in the three day limit to make sure he got the bonuses for the reward, he only had a few hours left to do it. He had spent a lot of time working through the bonding, taking much longer than usual due to the nature of air, it was still worth it but he really wanted to get another A, he had plans for the orbs he was collecting. When the griffin boss took to the air it circled around three times, all of the other griffins falling in behind until it formed a V formation in the air with the boss leading the charge. *Griffin ¨C Level 25* He was momentarily shocked when he saw the level of the boss, it now showed level 25 instead of question marks, but in a way it made sense, he was now the same grade as the monster, if they even had grades, so he could now see the level of everything from E grade or equivalent lower. When the griffins all did a final turn around they then started flying straight towards him, he didn¡¯t bother running, not that there was anywhere he could really run, instead he powered up a fire infused elemental strike, his go to move at the moment, and waited for them to come at him. When they had reached half of the original distance each monster''s wings started to glow with the power of air, he didn¡¯t know if they were going to dive bomb at him like the eagles did or what the plan was, but he did want to be prepared to shelter the storm. He grounded himself into the mountain and turned on his stone skin so that he was protected, when he was confident in his protections he waited until they were close enough for him to fire his attack. As soon as the boss came into striking distance he let the strike fly, at the same time the griffin folded its wings down in his direction and blade of air were sent his way, where the attacks met the explosion that ensured was bigger than anything he had ever seen, he ended up covering his face to shield from some of the blow back. As he couldn¡¯t see past the blast, he didn¡¯t realise that each of the griffins had released their attacks just as they came into range. Standing there unaware he was hit by two dozen of the wing blades, one after the other, effectively hammering him into the ground with their strength. The damage wasn¡¯t major as the level 23 griffins were significantly lower level than him, that added with his stone skin, protected him from the worst of the attacks. They did manage to make him bleed though, he was covered in scratches from each of the hits, barely going through his skin but still enough to sting. If the boss had hit him with one of those the result would be much worse. He couldn¡¯t wait for them to come to him anymore, he knew he would need to go to them, and the only way to do that was by getting into the air. He saw the griffins make another loop around, some of them looked like they got a little burnt from the explosion but none of them were on fire. Before they had a chance to attack again he started running up the mountain, where he couldn¡¯t find anywhere on the ground to step he would create a platform of air to use, sometimes multiple times in a row. He started to feel like he was just running vertically but he was gaining a lot of height very quickly. He used his echo to track when the griffins came back into range, and as expected they were in the same formation and heading right for him. Rather than wait for them to approach, Shaun did something slightly more erratic, using the compressed air platforms he ran out from the mountain directly towards the griffins. He had to focus on making sure he was always producing the platforms ahead of where he was going to be to make sure that he wouldn¡¯t fall from the sky, but it was good practice and he figured he would be able to slow his fall if he had too. It didn¡¯t take long for him to get close to the griffins with how quickly they were coming for him, and just before the boss launched the air blades again he started running vertically up into the air to get above their height. The attacks completely missed him, and when the boss made to turn and get away from where Shaun was in the air he decided to give chase. He wasn¡¯t as quick as the griffins but he did have the same affinity to air as they did, so trying something he had never done before, he focused on removing the air resistance in front of him and tried to will the air to blow him right towards the boss. It ended up working, better than expected, he was sent forward as if he was a rocket, sent straight at the griffin. They collided in the air and he nearly ended up going straight over the side of it, but he managed to grab hold of some of its feathers to keep him on its back. It must have hurt when he started grabbing fists full of its fathers as it let out an indignant squawk that nearly made Shaun laugh. He only had a moment to get on its back, legs around its massive body, before it started to twirl around in the air, going upside down and doing loop de loops, trying to throw him from its back, he didn¡¯t let go though. He had always loved roller coasters as a kid, and this was even better than anything he had experienced before. He yelled out into the air around him with joy, its was the most fun he had had in ages and he was planning on enjoying it for a while. The other griffins refused to attack him while he was on the bosses back, and the griffin could manage to get its head around enough to do any damage either, he was reasonably safe in that moment, and he just rode the monster for a while before he decided he needed to actually finish the fight. The griffin he was riding seemed to just give up after a while, after he didn¡¯t attack it for a while or do anything more than hold on and enjoy himself, it seemed a little more content to just let him do what he wanted, trying to get him to let go of his grip a bit so it could attempt to throw him off again. He didn¡¯t give it a chance though, turning his body he powered up his sword with a strike and sent it flying into the griffin cubs around him, they were too close to be able to dodge and also refused to run away, he was on the boss after all. They still wouldn¡¯t attack him and risk hurting the griffin he was on so they were all sitting ducks to his attacks. It didn¡¯t take long to dispatch the twelve griffin cubs, the boss had started to try and throw him off again the moment he started the attacks, but it was no use. When it was only himself and the boss left he couldn¡¯t help but hesitate, he really didn¡¯t want to kill the griffin, if he could take it out of the dungeon with him he would, if only to see it fly above the forest and see it glittering in the sun, but he knew that the dungeon needed to end, that he had to keep going on his quest of completing all the dungeon and moving on. With a heavy heart he stabbed his sword down into the griffins neck, aiming for a quick and painless death. He knew it was dead when it started falling from the sky and the notification confirmed it but moments later. He looted the body as soon as he could, not wanting any of it to go to waste, he received the wings feathers as well as its beak. When he started to free fall towards the ground he slowed his descent with more compressed air platforms until he had reached ground safely. * Wings Fury Dungeon Completed. Dungeon will automatically eject successful participants in 5 minutes.* He should be happy with having finished the dungeon, instead he just felt sad about having to kill the griffin. It didn¡¯t stop him from running around trying to find any of the other griffin bodies to loot though, he only had five minutes after all. Chapter 50 Once he appeared back outside of the dungeon he didn¡¯t see anyone waiting around this time. He assumed that they had all moved on, or after what Shaun had done before entering, decided it was in their best interest to either enter or meet elsewhere. He couldn¡¯t find anyone close by when he used his echo to check the area, which he supposed was a good thing, although he was a little disappointed at not catching Trevor and being able to see in person what kind of strength he had compared to his own. He looked through his notifications from defeating all of the monsters in the dungeon, he hadn¡¯t done this when looting the bodies, he was still kind of upset about having killed the beautiful creatures. *You have defeated a (Griffin Cub ¨C Level 23). Experience gained. 230 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. *You have defeated a (Griffin Cub ¨C Level 23). Experience gained. 230 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Griffin ¨C Level 25). Experience gained. 1000 TE awarded* *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 33. +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul gained* He had only got 1 level from killing 13 monsters, it was sad to see but he had expected to get reduced return when killing monsters now that he out levelled them all. He was also now pretty much back to being on schedule, he had about 9 more days left in Stage 2, plenty of time to do two more dungeons and have some time left over, hopefully. He looked to the final notifications of his dungeon completion, hoping that everything went to plan and he got another orb for his reward. *Calculating dungeon reward grade* Party fully cleared the dungeon of monsters. Adjusting reward grade. No members of the party died during the completion of the dungeon. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed by less than the 5 participants recommended. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed in less than 3 days. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed Solo. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon reward grade: A *Distributing reward at A level* *Blank Faction Emblem* *Fleeting Air Orb rewarded* *Fleeting Air Orb: An orb that is made of the most pure element of Air, greatly increases control and ability to manipulate this element if equipped. If the user has an affinity for Air, mana cost is greatly reduced when using their affinity. If the user does not have an affinity to Air, when equipped may channel mana through the orb and aspect their mana for short periods.* He was happy with the orb, and it was as expected, linked to the air element and very similar to all of the others. He had received another faction emblem, now having 3 fully formed emblems was nice, but he still had little use for them, if he continued on like he was he would end up with five of them before this stage ended, he might even try trading them with others if he got a chance, but only if he got some good loot that he could use in return. *Title upgraded: Beginner Solo Dungeoneer to Solo Dungeoneer* *Solo Dungeoneer: Through the solo completion of three dungeon¡¯s meant for more than one individual this title grants the holder a 10% increase to their stats while outside of dungeons and alone and a 15% increase while solo within a dungeon. The title is upgradeable.* Wasn¡¯t expecting to be able to upgrade that title so easily. It was an unexpected boon, one that he was more than happy to accept, it wasn¡¯t a huge upgrade or change, just the removal of beginner from everything and a 5% increase to his stats when both inside and outside of dungeons, still, any % increases to his stats were helpful, they would provide the best return the more powerful he became. He had no more notifications to go over so had no more reason to be waiting outside of the dungeon, instead he looked around getting a better idea of where he was in respect to the next dungeon. He knew where he needed to head to next, the closest dungeon to him now would be the water one, and if he travelled at the speed he had gone when he was running through the forest before, he assumed he would be able to get there in 2 days tops. If he estimated the time he could spend in every area he figured it would be 2 days travelling to the water dungeon, 3 days inside, if everything went to plan, then another 2 days travelling to the earth dungeon, and that would leave him only two days to finish the dungeon and make it out, he was hoping he could do it much quicker as he didn¡¯t have to bond an affinity to earth, but he set himself the two days regardless, hoping one would be enough though so he would have a full day left once he finished to craft and evolve his profession. He set out towards the mountain with the mist, he had the direction where he needed to head and all he really needed to do was run, avoid people, and not delay in attacking monsters unless he found something truly interesting that would be worth the delay. The whole first day of running went by pretty quickly, and while he ran, he thought through everything that had happened in this stage of the tutorial. Bringing up the objectives he was happy with what he saw. *Stage 2 objectives: 11,246 Participants* Clear 3 Dungeons: Complete Obtain Profession: Complete Optional Objective ¨C Form a blank Faction Emblem - Complete Survive He found that he had already completed every objective, and if he really wanted to, he could just chill out and do nothing but his crafting for the remainder of the next 9 days, but that would be a waste of potential returns, and the thing that was most important to this stage wasn¡¯t just the objectives but also where you sat in the power ranking. You needed to be in the top 1000 to move on, and there were 11,000 people still fighting for one of those spots. Over a third of the people that had moved on from stage 1 had already died, it was a lot, but this stage was also a lot harder than stage one and the gap one needed to close between their own strength and the level 25 bosses wasn¡¯t easy at the beginning, the more you fought though, the easier it became. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. As he continued to move through the forest he also did a comparison of his own strength compared to every other human he had met in the tutorial so far. Most of the people he had met so far hadn¡¯t reached level 20 in their race yet, but a few had successfully evolved their classes, Gabe and Eric had just completed their upgrades when he saw them, they had spoken a bit about what they had become, but they had all agreed that keeping class evolutions to oneself was important to ensure that your build, including strengths and weaknesses, were not well known. If it was to be believed, Trevor had also upgraded his class, and that would mean that out of the 11,000 people he would assume that at least 1,000 of them were at this point, if not more. Looking at his TE count, he had just over 45,000 to his name, he would easily hit the 50k mark with two more dungeons, and if he was to guess, this would be on the very high end of what people had in the tutorial so far, the thing that may interfere with this was if people were also killing off their competitors for the 1,000 spots, gaining other peoples TE as well. Even then though, he was always fighting alone, meaning he never had to split the TE or Experience with others which gave him a big lead on most people. This also directly linked into his level, he was heading towards level 30 in his race, something he wanted to hit by the end of this stage, it was going to be pushing it, he knew that, especially as he had only gained one class level for completing a full dungeon by himself, it was ambitious, but he liked to aim high. The last things that would impact on the rankings were Titles and Affinity. He had no problems with his affinities, having already bonded four now, there was no way that it wouldn¡¯t put him in a very high position on its own, but he also didn¡¯t know if it would count the same as if he only had one compared to the four when everything was calculated. The titles were a bit harder to compare, currently he had five titles, one was New initiate which everyone would have, so he ignored that giving him a boost. The rest though were all a bit more unique, Apex Predator was something that he got from fighting the Alpha in stage 1, and not many people in the tutorial would have had the opportunity to get it, if any at all. Planetary Forerunner was only given to the first 10 people to get an affinity from every person from Earth, and unless there were a lot of powerful and lucky people in his tutorial it would have an impact on his ranking. Elemental Master and Solo Dungeoneer had both been upgraded once form their original title, so he didn¡¯t know if they would count as one title or two each, either way there would be very limited, if any others, with his dungeoneer title, although hey may have something of the equivalent for just completing a dungeon. Elemental Master though was going to be next to impossible to replicate, which should give him at least one title on everyone else. Overall, his conclusion was that he was definitely in the top 1,000, probably in the top 10, and a chance he was actually number 1, but he wouldn¡¯t know for another week or so. As expected it took him two days to reach the mountain, he ended up stopping and getting in a power nap during his travels, running non stop for a full day was a lot even for his new and improved body. During the time he ran though he wasn¡¯t idle in his training, he practised with the air affinity a lot, predominantly with using the air to make him move faster and more nimble through the trees, but he also dedicated some time to testing his increasingly useful ability to compress air and run through the air. He couldn¡¯t deny how fun it was to be able to run in mid air, at one point, when he couldn¡¯t feel anything around him, he ran up as high as he could, above the trees just so he could get a view of how far away he was from the dungeon, also to just enjoy the view. As he got closer to the mountain where the water dungeon should be, he realised why it looked like there was mist in the air surrounding it. He had to circle the mountain to get confirmation, but what he found was a waterfall that flowed from the very peak of the mountain all the way down to the ground, falling into a large lake at the bottom. The mist was from all of the water that was in the air from the waterfall, and the sound coming from the water crashing into the lake was deafening up close, he couldn¡¯t hear a thing over the sound, but he could still use his echo to get an idea if anyone was around, which surprisingly, there wasn¡¯t. It was as if no one had bothered coming here to explore the dungeon, or they had already entered and left. It took a bit of time travelling around the mountain before he found the dungeon entrance, it was actually on the other side of the waterfall itself, meaning he would need to travel either underneath the water, to avoid the crashing water, or just go right through the falling water. As he was thinking it over, he had a moment of doubt about this dungeon, when he was in the air dungeon he had found himself literally so high in the sky that he would have died if he fell off the edge of one of the islands. The nature dungeon was surrounded by forest, the fire surrounded by lava. If it followed the trend he would find himself surrounded by water, and there was a chance he could be deposited in the middle of an ocean, or even under water itself. He couldn¡¯t breathe underwater, not that he had tried, but he didn¡¯t really want to test the theory either. There was something he could do to prepare though. He decided to go for a swim, he dived straight into the lake, he knew it was deep from checking with his echo, but what he didn¡¯t expect was for the water to be so cold. If he didn¡¯t have his upgraded body or a fire affinity he was pretty sure he would freeze pretty quickly if he stayed submerged. Rather than focus on the cold though, he focused on holding his breath for as long as he could. 30 seconds quickly turned into a minute, before reaching 5 minutes. It was only when he started hitting the 10 minute mark that he didn¡¯t have a choice but to come up for air. I am the world''s biggest idiot. I can literally control the air. Once he had gotten his breath back, he tried going under again, this time though he connected to the air around him and pulled it in close, he couldn¡¯t harden it for long, but he didn¡¯t think we would need too. When he went back under water, this time he focused on keeping a bubble of air around his head, it was disorientating at first, being underwater and also being able to breathe, he adjusted to it quickly. He needed to keep a lot of control on the air though, it continuously wanted to rise up out of the water and escape into the air above, but he held on. He didn¡¯t wait long after that, he approached the waterfall and where the dungeon was located, when he passed underneath where the waterfall hit he was pushed around a bit and had to move deeper to avoid getting blasted around. Once he made it to the other side, rising back up to the surface, he found that the dungeon was in the water itself, he would need to swim into it to enter, leading him to believe he would end up in the water as soon as he entered. *Welcome to the Ocean¡¯s Storm Dungeon* The dungeon, formed into existence from the untamed water of the world, will test whether you can survive the endless expanse of water, one of the base elements of the multiverse. Recommended that a full party of five enter at a minimum level of 20, once entered there will be no exit unless the boss is killed and the dungeon completed. Reward depends on performance within the dungeon. One participant located, would you like to enter the dungeon? There was no doubt in his mind how much this was going to suck, he would be at a huge disadvantage in this dungeon, being forced to move through water greatly impacted his ability to move and fight, but he didn¡¯t have much of a choice, he had already committed to getting this done so he just accepted and wished that it would end sooner rather than later. Chapter 51 The moment he was deposited into the dungeon, his fears were confirmed, he was in the middle of an ocean, when looking around in every direction he couldn¡¯t see land at all, there were just the swells of the water, moving him up and down as they reached him. He had hoped that he would be deposited on an island or something where he would be able to fight on land against the monsters in the water, and only if he really needed to, would he enter the ocean. But no, the entire dungeon was going to have him swimming around and fighting aquatic monsters in their home turf. He didn¡¯t know if he was going to have to go under the water to find the monsters or if they were going to come to him, it was a big ocean after all, and having to swim around and try and find the boss would take forever if there wasn¡¯t some clue as to what he was supposed to do or where he was needing to go. Not seeing any clues above the water he gathered enough air around him and swam below the surface, he could see beneath the water but the further he tried to look the harder it was to make anything out. His echo was helpful, but it didn¡¯t give him any indication of monsters in the area, so unless he decided to just swim around and keep using the skill he was out of luck with it helping him. He stayed underwater for a while, just thinking about how he should approach the situation, if he swam above the water the chances of him finding anything were pretty slim, unless he stumbled upon something by pure luck. Under the water he could get a better feel for if anything changed, but it still meant he would need to go back up to the surface every time he ran out of air. The temperature of the water close to the surface was comfortable at least, and if he stayed close to the surface it wouldn¡¯t be too hard for him to rise up, gather more air and then swim back down. With that decided on he decided to pick a direction and just swim around, hoping he found the first set of monsters. It was boring work, and after the first hour of doing nothing but swimming, finding nothing to give him a clue as to where he should go, he started to get frustrated. After another few hours of this he was furious, he should have left this dungeon till the very end, at least then he would have already gotten the reward for the earth dungeon, but no, he was stubborn and thought that he would be able to complete the dungeon like any of the others. Once it had been nearly twelve hours of no change, Shaun couldn¡¯t handle being in the water any longer, humans were not supposed to be in the water for longer than a few hours, and being submerged for such long periods of time was starting to screw with his head. The next time he came up for water he decided he would attempt to get out and into the air. He swam as fast as he could to give himself a boost once he hit the surface and as soon as he broke through he gathered air into compressed platforms that he used as hand holds to pull himself fully out of the water. When he was completely free he switched to running on the air rather than climbing on it, he had done this enough that he was comfortable in compressing air and running around for as long as he needed, or until he had run out of mana, which would be a while with how high his soul stats was. Shaun moved higher and higher into the air, just allowing himself to be free of the pressure from the water, he needed this for a while, just to help him reset. He didn¡¯t know how anyone was expected to complete this dungeon, especially if you didn¡¯t have any affinities or a class that would greatly assist in fighting underwater, or even finding where you needed to go. He spent at least 30 minutes just running in the air, by the time he was done he had dried out completely which just made it that much harder to turn around and drop right back into the water. Before he decided to get wet again though he looked around, trying to see if he could spot any differences in the ocean from a higher vantage point. He didn¡¯t really see much, it all just looked like water to him, but one thing he did notice was that the water appeared to be darker in some spots compared to others, he didn¡¯t know if this meant anything, it could simply mean that some areas were deeper than others, but he had nothing else to go on in being able to find monsters so he decided to run towards the closest dark spot in the ocean before going back down into its depths. The closer he got to the dark area of the ocean the more he started to hope that he was on to something. He was able to see a little bit more as he approached, it wasn¡¯t just darker, the ocean was also a bit more turbulent as well. It was a promising sign, one that he prayed would turn out to pay off. Once he was directly above the area, just hovering above the water, he searched out with his echo and he almost let out a scream of joy at what he found, he had located a singular monster within. He had finally had a bit of luck in this god forsaken dungeon. He didn¡¯t hesitate in getting back into the water after that, he launched himself directly into the depths with his sword now in his hand. As soon as he was in the water he found himself directly across from his foe. *Tide Shark ¨C Level 21* Why is it level 21? It should be level 19! Only the first mini boss and the second set of monsters were level 21! He had either skipped the entire first monster or gone straight to the boss, either way he was pissed at the entire situation all over again. The shark immediately started swimming directly at him, its jaws open wide. The thing was huge, at least three metres long and chunky. The only good thing about it was that it could really only attack with its teeth, the bad news was that it moved so quickly that he didn¡¯t really have an opportunity to move out of its way, the water causing resistance to his movements as well. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He didn¡¯t know what element to use in the current situation, fire wasn¡¯t going to do anything underwater, there was no earth or nature to use, doubting it would do much to harm the monster either, which really only left him with air. He powered up an elemental strike infused with air, having no other choice as he couldn¡¯t throw anything and the resistance in the water making all of his ranged attacks nearly useless. He didn¡¯t bother even attempting to dodge the shark, he waited for it to get as close as it could, its mouth side open ready to eat him, when he launched the strike straight into its mouth. The resulting burst of air sent him flying back through the water and sending the shark back the way it had come. It wasn¡¯t the most exciting explosion or attack he had ever done, definitely not the most powerful, but the end result was fine. When he finally was able to right himself in the water he looked back to the direction of where the shark was sent and saw the water coloured red. *You have defeated (Tide Shark ¨C Lvl 21). Experience gained. 210 TE awarded* He hadn¡¯t expected the shark to die so easily, especially given that his attack was nowhere near as strong as usual, but the level difference between the two must have really come into play, especially given that he had launched the attack straight into its mouth. He started swimming towards the body, or what was left of it, but when he had only gotten half way there he started to feel more monsters enter the radius of his echo. It didn¡¯t take long for them to come into view, and to his surprise they were all sharks, 8 of them at level 21 and one of them at level 23. He had in some way managed to skip the first monsters completely, he was going to need to back track and find them before being able to move forward and find the final boss, it was a waste of time but he needed to kill all of the monsters and within three days if he was going to get the A grade on this dungeon. Fighting 9 of the sharks at once also wasn¡¯t ideal, he would need to be more careful, but he also didn¡¯t know how they were all going to attack him at once as they would just end up swimming into each other. He guessed that the blood of the dead shark is what drew them in, which was great as it meant that he wouldn¡¯t have to find them, but it again raised the question, how was anyone supposed to survive in this dungeon? He guessed he had about 5 more minutes before he would need to get more air from above, and he didn¡¯t really want to do that in the middle of a fight, so he was just going to go on the offensive from the beginning and get this over with before it could drag on into something more dangerous. When the first shark reached him, he just repeated the same process as the first, the downside of this was that he was sent flying directly at another one of the sharks, he was upside down when it tried to bite him but he again just repeated the air strike and was sent back the way he came, this time going straight past a different shark. It was a ridiculous situation, he felt like a ping pong ball getting hit back and forth across a table, the only difference being that he was underwater and now trying to control his breathing so as not to drown. After taking out an additional five sharks in this manner he started to get completely disoriented as to which way was up and down, if it wasn¡¯t for his echo and knowing where each of the monsters were he would have already lost the fight and been torn limb from limb. Eventually he wasn¡¯t able to right himself for an attack in time and was bitten by one of the sharks on the leg, it didn¡¯t do too much damage, the monster even struggling to puncture through his skin, there was a large gap between a level 21 monster and a level 28 E grade human, one that they struggled to breach. Rather than using another air strike he just stabbed this one through its head, ending its lie rather efficiently, after that he didn¡¯t bother with using powered up strikes to kill them, he would let them get in close and get in a bit, now using stone skin to make it even harder for them to actually hurt his body, and just kill it with his sword. The only one he was really careful of was the boss, like every other boss this one had more power and a different sort of attack. As it swam at him it opened its mouth wide and it started to suck in all of the water around it, straight into its mouth, like a vortex consuming everything around it. Once he realised what it could do he didn¡¯t worry as much, the worst that could happen was that it got so close with its giant mouth that he resorted to an air strike to send it away. The closer it came to him, the more he realised that the shark was truly massive, it was three times the size of the others and he would easily get swallowed in one bite. It completely put him off any risky moves, instead he just sent an air strike at it that consumed half of his mana, overkill if he was fighting a normal monster, but he wasn¡¯t to make sure that even with the water interfering with the attack, it would be enough to kill it. When he let the attack go, he was sent flying through the water at breakneck speed, when he eventually stopped the first thing he did was go up for air. He could still clearly see where the bodies were given the amount of blood in the area so wasn¡¯t stressed about looting the bodies, and the notifications confirmed he didn¡¯t need to worry about any more attacks. *You have defeated a (Tide Shark ¨C Level 21). Experience gained. 210 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. *You have defeated a (Tide Shark ¨C Level 21). Experience gained. 210 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Great Ocean Shark ¨C Level 23). Experience gained. 230 TE awarded* He wasn¡¯t shocked about not getting any levels, he also doubted that the loot would even be that good, which it didn¡¯t take him long to confirm when he went back and finished with all of the bodies, teeth and fins, not the most useful materials, but loot was loot. There was one upside to having skipped the first area, even though he was going to have to backtrack and fight them later, he was now pretty confident that there would be plenty of water mana around for him to bond his fifth, and probably for a while, last element. The only thing he questioned was where he should do it. He would need to fully focus on the bonding, and having to worry about breathing at the same time wasn¡¯t an option, that meant he would need to do it while on the surface of the water. Swimming up to the surface again, he moved so he was floating on his back with his arms and legs spread out to either side like a starfish. It took him a while before he could let his mind relax and stop fearing that he would sink and drown if he wasn¡¯t focusing on staying on the surface, but when he was he slipped into his meditative state and searched for the mana in the area with his mana sight skill. There was no water mana in the air but he felt it in abundance beneath the surface, so much of it that he would have no issues gathering the required amount, so without delay he got started. Chapter 52 When Shaun had bonded the air last time he had made many mistakes that he had to go back and fix before he could actually start the process of bringing the mama into his body, this time he chose to take the time from the very beginning to ensure that he did it all right the first time. He had chosen his two affinity to use pretty quickly as they were obvious choices, He had ruled out fire and nature almost instantly, fire would not be useful in the slightest given he would need to push into the water and nature wouldn¡¯t have any ability to properly capture the water mana he needed. He did test his earth and air affinity in the water before he decided though, they were much harder to move around, his earth having much more resistance to the surrounding ocean than his air did, but he was still able to properly form and move the spheres around. He wasn¡¯t planning on changing anything about his approach to forming the water bond, he created his spheres as usual, checking each one twice once he was done, making sure he was confident in his work before moving onto the next stage. He used air as his first sphere to grab the mana mote he needed, there was so much of it around him that it wasn¡¯t hard to pick one to trap. When he sent his air sphere out, he had no issues with capturing the water mana, it was simply floating along with the water current and didn¡¯t move erratically or try and escape him like the air mana did. When he brought the water mana closer to him, he immediately felt the water shift around him, causing him to slightly lose balance on the ocean''s surface. Pulling the water to him too quickly had caused all of the water surrounding it to follow in its direction, causing a wave to be produced that came directly towards him. He had to stop what he was doing, nearly losing all of his control due to the unsuspecting wave, which would have proved disastrous if it had occurred at the wrong moment. He had to stop moving his sphere towards him at this point, needing to calm back down and slip further back into his trance. Shaun realised just how risky what he was doing was, if the water shifted at the wrong time, especially when he was moving the mana inside of him, he could end up blowing up parts of his body like he had with air. It didn¡¯t stop him from continuing though, just approaching the task with more caution. He hadn¡¯t risked everything already to stop at just the four affinity he had, he wanted to leave this stage of the tutorial with a full set of five, and this was the last one he would need to get to complete the set of basic elements available to him. He continued bringing the water mana towards him once he had stabilised, much slower than he had before though, it still caused movement with the surrounding water but to a lesser degree, one that he could pretty much ignore. It was going to extend the entire process out again but he wasn¡¯t going to be reckless. When he was ready to bring the mote of water mana inside of him, passing the barrier of his skin, he stopped for only a split second before continuing, the risk of doing this part had greatly reduced when he upgraded his race so he was a lot less stressed about the repercussions and the effect it would have on his skin and body. When he crossed the line and started pushing it into his mana channel he started having trouble breathing, at first it was annoying but the feeling grew to be very uncomfortable after a while. Just as he finished placing the sphere back in place he couldn¡¯t hold back a cough, breaking him out of his meditative trance. He coughed again and again, and with each heave he expelled water out of his mouth, without even realising it, when he had brought the water mana into his body he had effectively started to drown himself. Thankfully he had already put the mana in its place, otherwise it could have been let loose throughout his mana channels and wrecked destruction. If he wasn¡¯t already annoyed and over being in a water dungeon he would be now. Everything that had to do with the water element had been nothing but a pain, first it was wasting hours of his life swimming around for no reason, next it was completely missing a group of monsters that he would need to go back and find, and now, it was nearly constantly drowning with every step he took with bonding the element. If quitting was an option he would have done it, but he wasn¡¯t a quitter when it came to gaining power. Having the water element better be worth it. He was rattled by the experience of nearly drowning form the water mana and would now have to come up with a solution to fixing the water that would flood his body without breaking out of his trance every time, if he didn¡¯t he doubted he would even have the time to finish bonding the element before the counter hit 0 and he was forced out of stage 2, without completing the last dungeon. He needed to experiment, and to do that he needed to continue with the process of bringing in the foreign mana. He captured another mote of the mana and this time, much slower than last time, brought it towards him without causing a massive wave to knock him about. When he was at the point of bringing it inside of him he made himself more aware of his entire body, specifically his lungs. As soon as he pushed the mana through his skin he felt the change, his lungs started to fill slowly with water, as if his whole body had been saturated and it needed to find an exit, his lungs being the only place where it could find escape. He quickly moved the sphere into its place, and when that was done tried to expel the water from his body using his air element, he wasn¡¯t quick enough though. Before he could stop himself, he again broke out of the trance and started heaving, expelling the water that had invaded his body. He felt as if he was close to figuring out a solution, moving air through his lungs had helped but he just wasn¡¯t quick enough. He repeated the process three more times, the last time he fully saturated his lungs with air, and when he brought the mote into his body, forcibly ejected it using his affinity. It wasn¡¯t a comfortable process, and it made him split his focus, pushing his enhanced mind to its limit, but he did manage to stay in a trance the last time. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Now having a solution in place, he continued on with gathering the water mana. It was slow, needing to be exceptionally careful the entire time, but he did manage to get there in the end. If he had to compare it to all of the other bondings, this one was taking the longest and was probably the most dangerous. Once he was filled to the brim with water mana he now looked at getting the bonding completely finished, he hated this part more than any other and had always caused him the most issues. Releasing the foreign mana and getting it moving and condensed had led to issues in the past, and with how he was reacting to water, he expected that there were going to be complications with doing it now. What was making the entire thing harder was that he now had a lot less room in his mana channels to be able to move things around comfortably, with each element he had added the space between them had shrunk, looking at the space he was left with now he couldn¡¯t even imagine being able to form any more affinity after this. He knew he was just delaying now, thinking of anything other than the task he needed to complete, but he wasn¡¯t going to lie and say he wasn¡¯t scared of what was about to occur. Instead of delaying any longer he got the spheres moving, getting them to a speed that he was comfortable with. When he released the first mote of mana he expected a chain reaction chaos to start, but rather than the disaster that he envisioned he was pleasantly surprised at just how happy the water mana was to just flow along. Sceptical at first he didn¡¯t release any more of the motes, rather he just watched the one he had released flow through his channels. When he was happy that nothing had changed he opened up a second sphere, again with no problems being caused by the stray mana. When he continued opening up his spheres, the water mana bonded to each other without resistance and happily created the stream that he needed. This was both shocking, but really should have been expected. Water liked to be together, forming lakes, streams, rivers and oceans, so doing the same thing inside of him was understandable. After all of the problems he had had getting to this point, having the final step be so easy was almost anticlimactic, he wasn¡¯t going to complain though. When the only thing left to do was condense it all down into a tight thread he didn¡¯t give it a second thought before applying pressure, as with every other bonding he felt when it was done after everything clicked into place. *Affinity Detected: Water* *Water (Affinity): The multiverse is made up of many elements but water is one of the most cohesive. Through your connection to the water around you, you are able to control and manipulate the smallest droplet to the current of an ocean. All water is connected, forming a cycle that all mortals are dependent on, it is needed to sustain life, for the living to grow and for a species to thrive. +10 Vit, +10 Soul, +5% Vit, +10% Soul* It was different, not bad necessarily, he wouldn¡¯t make that conclusion until he actually tested it out, but it was definitely not very straight forward when it came to what the element would actually do, not compared to some of the others. *Title upgraded: Elemental Prodigy to Elementalist* *Elementalist: Having successfully bound five base elements as an Affinity you have done what hasn¡¯t been seen in many eras. Title upgradable. +20 to all stats, +20% to all stats* The title upgrade was nice, there were not many changes except the boost to stats and also moving from describing something that could be done by the truly peak members of the multiverse to now something not done in eras. Before he had a chance to test out the affinity or get back to hunting monsters, he felt his whole body tighten, something inside of him was changing, and he knew where to look. He had spent enough time inside of his mana channels to know what they felt like to know when something was happening with them. He quickly turned his attention back inside of himself, and before he could fully comprehend what was happening he saw each of his affinities pulsing, but not just as singular streams, it was if they were each forming connections to each other, bonds that seemed to create one full structure rather than the now five separate streams. There was nothing he could do to stop such widespread change, he didn¡¯t have the ability to halt or even change the process, if it was one, or even two, of his affinity he might have had a chance, but all five? It would be a pointless exercise. He had no choice but to watch the changes that were occurring, he noticed that the affinities were not bonding with every affinity he had, instead it was as if they each chose two and started forming strands between each thread. Starting with his first affinity of earth, it bonded with nature, which then bonded with water on the other side, which moved into air, and followed by fire which then bonded back into earth. It formed a circle of interconnecting elements, it was beautiful to watch, but he also didn¡¯t understand why it was happening. The threads of affinity started tightening towards their neighbouring threads, condensing down even further until it formed what could only be described as a single stream of affinity. He could still make out the individual threads, their colours making them stand in contrast to each other, but now there was also a blurring between them, like it was harder to see where each began or finished. The process finished with a final pulse and he was free to move again, no longer sensing any changes occurring inside of him. He expected to get some notification as to what had occurred but even after waiting for a while nothing appeared. Whatever had happened wasn¡¯t something that would be announced by the system, it was going to have to be something he would need to find out on his own. Add that to the list of things I will need to research when I hopefully find somewhere where this information is kept. When he gave up hope of any explanation as to what had happened, he reverted back to his usual steps after bonding an affinity, testing out what it could do. Before he did that he checked to see how much time had passed in this dungeon. Three days! I have been in here for three full days! He had wasted time swimming around at the beginning of the dungeon but he had now spent almost twice the time he usually did when bonding an affinity. It meant that he only had hours left before he ticked into the fourth day and would potentially lose out on the orb he desperately wanted. He didn¡¯t have time to play around any longer, he needed to find the monsters and quickly, he was now on the warpath. Chapter 53 Shaun didn¡¯t bother going back into the air to look around for where other monsters may be hiding, instead he tried a different approach and utilised his water affinity to attempt to cover ground quicker. When he swam at first he wasn¡¯t able to fully utilise his ability to manipulate the water around him, it would take practice and patience, but the more he attempted to control the current to push him around faster, the closer he came to gaining full control. As he moved around he continuously used his echo skill, and after an hour he was able to take full advantage of his affinity and was shooting through the water faster than he could comprehend his surroundings through eye sight alone. It didn¡¯t matter though as he was relying on what he felt through his detection skill rather than what he could actually see. He was moving at what had to have been 10 times the speed as he had been in the air and thankfully the time he had used to practice had paid off. He found a monster not long into the second hour of searching and he wasted no time in tracking each and everyone one of them down. He did spend a second or two getting an identify in and was thankful that he had found the first set of monsters before finding the last boss of the dungeon. *Oceanic Octopus ¨C Level 19* They didn¡¯t have anything special about them, they were able to move decently quick through the water and had long tentacles that would try and wrap around him when he got close, but his new affinity to water made him nearly impossible to catch and he simply would shoot himself past the monsters and cut through them with his sword, not even bothering to use any of his stronger attacks. Thankfully all of the octopus were decently close together and it didn¡¯t take long to find all of them and kill each and every one. The boss didn¡¯t even stand a chance, he simply sent straight up to it and cut it in half. The loot was just the tentacle meat, which although may taste good when he cooked it right, wasn¡¯t anything that he was excited about. When he had finished counting off all of the monsters he needed to kill here, Shaun immediately turned back the way he had come and shot through the water towards where he had killed the sharks. If things were in the same kind of structure he realistically should have killed the octopus first, then the sharks to finally move on to the last of the monsters in the dungeon, he had screwed up the pattern but he was slowly getting back on track. It didn''t take him long to get to where he had fought the sharks, and he just sped straight through where he had the battle and continued on in a straight line that would hopefully lead him to the end boss, and with it, the end of the worst dungeon he had ever done. As he was swimming he caught sight of something that he did not expect, it was an underwater structure, a spiral that led up to a giant shell, on it sat a creature that he had to look at a few times before he truly understood what he was seeing. *Mermaid Queen ¨C Level 25* If he had to describe the boss creature he wouldn¡¯t hesitate in saying that it was beautiful. It had flowing blue hair, cascading down around it, the top half of it was humanish, although its skin was tinged blue, rather than sea shells covering its chest it had scales covering parts of it body, leading down to a tail that shifted colour from blue to green hues and practically sparkled when it swished through the water. In its hand was a trident, the length of its body and ending in three sharp prongs. From what he could make out the weapon was gold metal but also had a gem forged into the centre close to the top before it started to split into the tips. He knew this as he could see a glowing blue light coming from it. This was unlike any of the bosses he had fought before, not only did it have a weapon but it seemed that it was more powerful, more sentient than any of the monsters he had met before. She, it, he wasn¡¯t sure. I will refer to it as she, it is a queen after all, and clearly female. The queen had yet to make a move, she watched as he approached but made no sign to go on the attack. Around the queen were the twelve other creatures he had come to expect, each had a weapon, not a trident like that of the queen, but they had spears and shields made of shell, each showing an intelligence that he had not seen before, they were organised, alert, but not rushing at him to attack. *Merman Guard ¨C Level 23* Shaun slowed his approach when he noticed that they weren¡¯t coming at him, weapons drawn and ready to kill. Although the merman were keeping watch and seemed to be ready to attack at a moment''s notice, they seemed to be waiting for the order rather than simply giving into their base instincts. He did continue to come closer and it wasn¡¯t until he got within 10 metres of the guard did they change positions and point their spears at him. The queen simply raised her hand, immediately the merman lowered their weapons and went back to simply watching him. What is happening here? They aren¡¯t acting like monsters in the slightest, if I didn¡¯t know I was in a dungeon I would have assumed they were just a different race in the multiverse. For a while they just floated in the water, the creatures watching him, and him assessing each of them in return. It wasn¡¯t until his gaze fell back onto the queen on her shell throne that something he truly hadn¡¯t expected came to pass. ¡°He has bonded with water, has he not Captain Filesh?¡± Did the queen just speak?!?! And to one of the guards? ¡°Indeed he has your Majesty. It is most peculiar, if you do not mind my saying.¡± This came from the merman closest to the queen, almost directly by her side. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. How am I even understanding what they are saying, there is no way they are speaking English. Only after some thought did he realise that it was due to the unique skill he had gotten when he first entered the tutorial, Universal Tongue, which allowed him to understand and converse in any of the languages of the multiverse. Should I speak? He couldn¡¯t deny how confused he was at the current situation, but he was not willing to just attack, knowing that they were actually sentient, and in many ways just like him. He tried to open his mouth to say something before realising he was underwater and that he couldn¡¯t actually speak with a mouthful of water. Finding a solution, he focused on the air that was in the water, trying to pull it close to him and form a bubble around his mouth in which he would be able to speak, and hopefully, for them to understand. The moment he started connecting and moving the air, all of the gathered merman went back to an attacking position and even the queen shifted her position to aim her trident at him. He stopped what he was doing for a moment, letting his connection to air go, and instead put his sword into its sheath at his side and raised both hands in the air with his palms open, the universal sign that he meant no harm, or at least he hoped it was universal and not just an earth thing. This caused some level of confusion to come from the gathered Merfolk, he didn¡¯t shift his position further but did reconnect to the air and start pulling it back in towards his mouth. They didn¡¯t attack, but they still kept their positions, ready to impale him at a moment''s notice, or try at least. Once he had gathered enough air around his mouth and formed a little bubble, he took a breath, then, more nervous than he had been in a very long time, decided to try and communicate. ¡°Hello, my name is Shaun. It is a pleasure to meet you all.¡± Good manners would hopefully get him far, if they understood him at least. ¡°Oh, er, I mean, your Majesty?¡± Damn it, why do I have to be so awkward! The moment he spoke, every single merman present flinched, the queen though simply looked at him, a look of consideration on her beautiful face. ¡°You speak Mer?¡± This came from the queen, who had now, thankfully, stopped pointing the trident at him. ¡°No, I speak English. Ummm, your Majesty? Should I call you your Majesty? You are coming up as a queen when I identified you. And the umm, Filesh? Yeah, that¡¯s what he called you right?¡± So very awkward. I wish I could just hide under the covers of my bed and die! The queen didn¡¯t reply to him straight away, in fact she ended up sharing a look with the captain, communicating without speaking, before she looked back at him. ¡°You are odd, even for a human.¡± She said, God , her voice is like a song, a melody that just lures you in and makes me feel safe. ¡°You are not Mer, so you may call me Queen Vilerelle.¡± ¡°Thank you, Queen Vilerelle. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡± Yeah that sounded smooth. This caused the queen to smile, a small pretty smile that seemed like she would indulge his stumbling, for a while at least. He had so many questions, but he didn¡¯t want to risk saying the wrong thing and ending up in a fight that he was hesitant to be in. He knew he would need to kill the queen if he was going to make it out of the dungeon, but to kill a sentient being for no reason other than to finish the dungeon, which truly he didn¡¯t need to do now that he had finished all of the objectives, seemed wrong. ¡°I have questions, Shaun, which I hope you will answer willingly.¡± It was phrased like a question, but there was no mistake in that it was anything but. ¡°I also have questions, Queen Vilerelle. Maybe, if it is acceptable with you, we may take turns in asking and answering the questions we have for each other?¡± Immediately the merman started to shift towards him, angry at what he had said. He thought it was a reasonable request, but maybe to them, answering with a counteroffer to a queen was not done? ¡°Yes, I can imagine you would have many questions.¡± She said to him, she waved the merman down who immediately lowered their weapons. ¡°Tell me Shaun, is this your first dungeon?¡± ¡°Is that your first question, Queen Vilerelle?¡± He tried to come off as confident with his question, but really, he failed, and instead came off as rude? Maybe a little flirty? The queen just laughed at him, ¡°And is that yours?¡± Shaun was starting to get very comfortable with the situation he was dealing with, it was clear that the queen, Vilerelle, was not going to order his death just because of a lack of formality or protocol, he actually found he was enjoying the back and forth with the queen. ¡°Touche, Queen Vilerelle, to answer your question, this would be my fourth dungeon since starting the tutorial.¡± ¡°And I assume this is the first time that any of the denizens of a dungeon have been able to communicate with you?¡± ¡°That would be correct. Although in my last dungeon, I found that the griffins I had to fight were much more aware than in the previous ones I have been in. They did not speak, or communicate with me though.¡± He figured giving a bit of information would help him form a connection to the queen, or some trust, so when he asked questions back she would be more likely to answer. ¡°Griffins you say? I would assume that it would have been a dungeon focused on the element of air then? An element that you seem to be able to use rather easily? Almost as if you have bonded said element?¡± So she is now fishing for information, pun intended, she must be very curious about me. ¡°You are correct in that it was an Air dungeon, and if I have bonded the air affinity? Although I am new, very new, to the multiverse. I assume that asking one about their affinity would be rude. Would it not be something that people keep quiet about?¡± He was pushing the level of what one would say would be respectful when talking to royalty, but he was fishing for information himself. The queen laughed again, clearly knowing that she had been called out on her question but taking no offence. ¡°You would be correct, but know that anything you share in here will never leave. We are all but a replica of who we are on the outside, a base copy taken purely for this dungeon tutorial.¡± Interesting, so they aren¡¯t actually monsters, not like those previously found in the dungeon, somewhere out in the multiverse they are real creatures. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind my asking, why are you here? I thought the dungeons would only have monsters, not copies of actual creatures in the multiverse?¡± ¡°Hmmmm. I shall answer your question, if you answer mine.¡± Shaun ended up weighing the benefits of telling the truth vs whether to lie. This was an opportunity to find out more about the multiverse, maybe even get his questions answered by someone who may know them. But he was on a time limit and he would need to decide whether he would give up the rest of his gains stage 2 for information. It wasn¡¯t a hard decision, he made his choice pretty quickly, information was power, and right now, he had none. ¡°Deal. You are right that I bonded air into an affinity, and as you assumed earlier, I have also bonded water.¡± He said nothing about the other elements though. She didn¡¯t ask so he wouldn¡¯t divulge that information. This caused a stir with everyone present, he knew that having an affinity was important and that having two was something that only the peak of the multiverse had, but the reaction from the merfolk was something else entirely. ¡°Get comfortable Shaun, we have a lot to talk about.¡± Chapter 54 Shaun didn¡¯t hesitate to obey the direction he was given, he made himself as comfortable as he could, not an easy thing to do when you are surrounded by water, but he managed. He knew what he was going to learn was important and he didn¡¯t want to be distracted by anything while he listened, processed and asked questions of his own. ¡°As you must have realised by now, not all dungeons in the tutorial are the same, some, like the one you have found yourself in, have been seeded with creatures from the multiverse that will have the ability to communicate with those that enter, if we so choose. There is a purpose to this, although not the one you may think. Those of us that have been copied into the dungeons are scouting talent, so to speak. We are from different factions with the goal to see if there is anyone we may wish to take in or simply share information with, to help them along the way.¡± It all leads back to factions then. The blank faction emblems, having these copies in some of the dungeons. Will this all impact on what occurs in stage 3? He didn¡¯t know but he figured if an objective, even if optional, was to have a blank faction emblem that could be inscribed to a certain faction, why wouldn¡¯t it come into play in the next stage of the tutorial. ¡°Why though? What is the benefit to the factions? We have only been in the tutorial for less than two months, why scout talent now?¡± ¡°Because the most talented of your universe will be sought after by many factions, we are always looking for new members, not to bolster our numbers, but to cultivate those that show the most promise into powerhouses for our clans.¡± Right, they don¡¯t just want anybody, they want the most powerful. ¡°I will share some information on the factions of the multiverse, it will make more sense. There are 12 major factions, each faction is made up of smaller, lesser factions or clans and so on down to the lowest members. But each person in the multiverse, each planet and sometimes universe, is a member of one of the high twelve. So when one of the clans under the main major powers, or major factions, brings in and nurtures a member that boosts the overall ability of a clan or lesser faction, they move up in the ranking of the major power. Does that make more sense?¡± It did. The powerful rule, the weak are left behind. The copies sent into dungeons would be from the lesser factions, trying to find those that show an ability to grow strong to boost them up and have more power so that the entire faction would rise closer to the top of the major faction. ¡°It does, it''s all about power. The more power you have, the more respect you have, and with it, the stronger the faction you belong to is. Is that why you are speaking to me? You want me to join your faction?¡± ¡°I am simply sharing information with you at this time, however if you asked to join our faction, I would not oppose such a conversation. I can give you some information as to the major faction that we are part of, but not the others, if you would like?¡± Not seeing a reason not to learn more he simply nodded his head, asking her to continue. ¡°So be it. The major power we belong to is called the Collective of Beastial Creatures, or the Collective for short. We are a faction that is made up of the more, how should you say, unique creatures in the multiverse, for the most part. Creatures that have unique preferences to their environments and have the ability to usually shift to a more humanoid look as we grow in power. As you can see, us Mer are creatures of water, it is our preferred environment although we can shift into a more human looking shape once we reach a certain level of power, although I am unable to tell you more on power levels.¡± A faction made up of creatures sounded cool, not sure how well he would fit in with it, but he did wonder how many different creatures were out there and how many seemed to be linked with earth myths. ¡°I have heard of the Merfolk before, in our myths. How is that?¡± The queen couldn¡¯t stop her laughter at his question. ¡°You will find that your myths are based on truth more than they are not.¡± ¡°So things like elves and dwarfs and gods? They are real?¡± He asked and the queen simply nodded her head, ¡°What about dragons?¡± His question made everyone tense up, like the topic of dragons was a step too far. ¡°Be careful what you ask human, there are some beings in the multiverse that you do not wish to tangle with.¡± It was a cold statement, said in warning, and if he had to guess, a tinge of fear. ¡°I am sorry, for bringing up a topic that I shouldn¡¯t have.¡± He didn¡¯t know why, but figured an apology was better than not. It made him very curious though. ¡°We shall move on to the last of what we should cover. Affinities. As you may know, having an affinity is an important thing, and choosing the right one, if you even have a choice, is an important decision. Not everyone will always find theirs but if you wish to have any respect in the multiverse you must have at least one. To have two though? Only the elite will ever accomplish such a thing. And a lesser faction that has a member with two affinity is always seen as being close to one of the major powers. Having two affinity compared to one isn¡¯t just doubling one''s power, it is more akin to having three times that of a single bond. It comes with better class choices, better skills, and overall more powerful abilities. Many will spend centuries trying to cultivate a second affinity with very few succeeding. It is why it is so odd that you appear in this dungeon, only months into your tutorial, with two bonded affinity. Do you understand why you will be sought out by every faction you may come across?¡± He had to think it all through for a moment, if it became well known that he had two affinity he would end up being scouted continuously, and if he was to guess some would be kinder than others. If anyone was to find out he had more, like say five bonded affinity, would he go from being sought out and prized to hunted? Probably. Except if he joined a major faction. But that in itself may cause instability throughout the multiverse. ¡°What about people that have more than two affinities? Is it possible?¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The queen looked at him, considering his question for a long while before she decided to answer. ¡°There are some who have more than two bonds, they are rare, even among the major powers, those that do hold more than two are the pinnacle of power. The leaders of each major faction have more than two, as do their immediate subordinates. But it is a delicate balance of power between each of the major factions, they all wish to have more than the other, yet it takes thousands upon thousands of years to even get close to a third affinity, if you even have the connections to do so. That is all I will say on the matter.¡± ¡°Thank you for answering my question, Queen Vilerelle. If I may ask¡­.¡± ¡°I am afraid our time for questions must come to an end. I have already shared more than I should have. You have many choices in front of you, Shaun, ones that you should not have to deal with at such a young age, but I am afraid you must. Your time in the dungeon must end now. But I wish you good luck, and hope that we may one day see each other in the greater multiverse.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t want to kill you!¡± He didn¡¯t think he would even be able to bring himself to do it anymore. They had done nothing to him, if anything they had helped him a lot through their conversation. He wouldn¡¯t kill them in cold blood after that. ¡°Do not worry, we are but copies, we are not real even if we may seem to be. Do not fret for our lives.¡± Before he could even reply the queen made a signal to the mermen and on que they each started taking their own lives. He tried to rush in and stop them but he couldn¡¯t get to them quick enough to stop them. When the only ones left alive were Shaun and the queen, she simply smiled at him before the trident in her hand glowed brighter until he had to look away. When the light stopped there was nothing left of the queen, only the trident laying across her throne. Why would they do this? * Ocean¡¯s Storm Dungeon Completed. Dungeon will automatically eject successful participants in 5 minutes.* He didn¡¯t receive any notifications for killing any of the Merfolk, which he was very glad for. He didn¡¯t kill them and wouldn¡¯t have done so if they had asked. The self-sacrifice was bad enough, he could still see the twelve bodies of the Merman in the water, floating around, dead. He didn¡¯t know if he should loot them or not, to be honest he didn¡¯t even know if he could, but in the end he decided to as he couldn¡¯t keep looking at the bodies around him. He received their scales but nothing else, he would not have been able to fold back from vomiting if he had received any tail meat. He did swim up and grab the trident though. That he had no issues with taking. *[Advanced] Ocean¡¯s Royal Trident: The trident from the ruler of an ocean, embedded with an attuned water sapphire, capable of storing mana and being used for attacks through the trident.* Holding the trident it felt powerful in his hands, it was about the length of his body and was light in his hand. He had never used a weapon like this before, the fact that it had a powerful gem in it made him want to use it, but he had never gotten the ability to store his mana in a material, although he didn¡¯t know if he would need it considering it already said that it could store mana. It would be something he played around with in the future. Soon enough the five minutes were up and he was sent outside of the dungeon, back to where he had entered. He quickly checked his surroundings and found a few people out around the lake he was in, but not in the water. He waited where he was until the last of the notifications came from finishing the dungeon. *Calculating dungeon reward grade* Party fully cleared the dungeon of monsters. Adjusting reward grade. No members of the party died during the completion of the dungeon. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed by less than the 5 participants recommended. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed in a unique way. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed Solo. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon reward grade: A *Distributing reward at A level* *Blank Faction Emblem* *Waters Bliss Orb rewarded* *Water Bliss Orb: An orb that is made of the most pure element of Water, greatly increases control and ability to manipulate this element if equipped. If the user has an affinity for water, mana cost is greatly reduced when using their affinity. If the user does not have an affinity to water, when equipped may channel mana through the orb and aspect their mana for short periods.* The orb was as expected, and he also got another emblem which now made his total four. The one thing he found interesting was that although he didn¡¯t complete the dungeon in three days it did say that he completed it in a unique way, when he thought about it, having the full last group of monsters, or in this case creatures, kill themselves was pretty unique. He still had the trident in his hand and the sword in its sheath, deciding to see how he could use the trident he decided to keep it this way. He swam back underneath the waterfall and out to the other side of the lake, he would be in full view of where the people currently were but he didn¡¯t really feel like delaying his exit and moving on. There were only two groups around, both with teams of five, and none seemed to be overly strong to his senses so he didn¡¯t see the need to hide away or avoid them. When he broke the surface of the water near the edge of the lake he immediately looked over the people present. With a quick identify he found that a number of them were in their 20¡¯s for their race level, a good achievement and indicated that they would most probably have an upgraded class. He didn¡¯t say anything as he lifted himself onto land again, it was nice being back on solid ground, he looked forward to getting dry and having something to eat. He hadn¡¯t had the opportunity over the past few days to actually cook anything, and although he felt the hunger, it didn¡¯t seem to impede on his ability to function as much as it should have. ¡°There is a dungeon in there right?¡± One of the people that had been around the lake had walked over to him, they didn¡¯t have their weapon drawn and seemed more curious than anything. ¡°Yeah, water type, it isn¡¯t a good time.¡± ¡°Anything you would be willing to share with us?¡± Looking over everyone, they had all moved in and were waiting for him to answer. He didn¡¯t think they would survive in the dungeon, let alone complete it in the time they had left in stage 2, but he figured they could make their own choices. He told them everything he knew about the dungeon, every annoying aspect of it, right down to being stuck in the water the entire time. The more he spoke, the more they all started to lose hope. ¡°Dammit! We need one more dungeon before we have completed the objectives! We are screwed if we can¡¯t do this one!¡± Shaun thought it over for a minute, they all seemed pretty capable of themselves, they hadn¡¯t tried to kill him either which was a bonus. So he decided to help out a bit. ¡°You see over there?¡± He pointed the way to the canyon. ¡°There is an air dungeon in that direction, if you run, and I mean really push yourselves, you should make it there in less than two days. That will leave you with only two days tops to finish the dungeon, it will be tough, but I would say it¡¯s a better bet than doing this one.¡± ¡°Have you done it already? The air dungeon I mean.¡± ¡°Yeah, it wasn¡¯t so bad, unless you hate heights.¡± With that they all walked away from him, they walked back over and he told them a bit about the air dungeon and after they decided to risk going over to it than dying in the water dungeon. With that done he now had less than four days, closer to three, to run for the earth dungeon and try and get it done. Chapter 55 Shaun didn¡¯t delay in moving towards the final dungeon, it was going to be the easiest for him, and the quickest as he already had an affinity for earth and would not need to spend time doing it inside of the dungeon itself. From everything that he knew about the dungeon from Gabe and Eric, it was pretty straight forward. There were three levels that you would have to move through and on each level was a different golem starting with ones made from marble, then bronze and finally carbon steel. It took him nearly two full days to get to the dungeon, and by the time he had arrived at the entrance and he checked the countdown it showed that there was just under two days left until the stage would end. That would be the point at which the top 1000 would be set and then stage 3 would begin. He didn¡¯t doubt that he was in the top 1000, he even thought that the top 10 was easily in his grasp, but being able to complete this last dungeon was something he wanted to do. He wanted the orb more than anything else, that and hopefully one more level in his class. *Welcome to the Earthen Force Dungeon* The dungeon, formed into existence from the earth, will test whether you can survive the strength and durability of earth itself, one of the base elements of the multiverse. Recommended that a full party of five enter at a minimum level of 20, once entered there will be no exit unless the boss is killed and the dungeon completed. Reward depends on performance within the dungeon. One participant located, would you like to enter the dungeon? He wasn¡¯t in peak shape at the moment, he hadn¡¯t slept in nearly a week and had been running non stop since leaving the water dungeon. He didn¡¯t care though, he accepted the prompt and immediately was sent into the dungeon. The moment he was inside of the dungeon he didn¡¯t hesitate to move immediately to the first area where the marble golems were, and as expected six of the golems were present. *Marble Golem ¨C Level 19* He threw the trident that he was holding straight at the closest golem, it didn¡¯t get a chance to do anything except turn to face him. Even though the golem stood two metres tall and was solidly built of solid marble, the moment that the trident hit it squarely in its chest it exploded into pieces of stone. He hadn¡¯t even powered up the attack, simply just thrown the weapon at it. Let¡¯s see how quickly I can finish off these monsters. Shaun ran right to the next golem, having drawn his sword, he was ready to smash them to pieces. As soon as he reached the golem he sent the tiniest bit of mana through to his sword for an Elemental Strike, attuned to his air affinity, and hit it in its face. It was blasted to pieces, nothing remaining but small pieces of stone and dust. He had used such a small amount of his mana that it was practically negligible when compared to how much he had available to him, and the results spoke for itself. Rather than run at the remaining golems he simply shot out an air strike at each of them, turning each one into nothing but broken stone. He waited patiently for the final golem to wake up. It was a bit different this time around. It was in the room with them already but not powered up. The moment the other golems were dead though it lifted its head and looked straight at where he was standing. The entire thing was bizarre, they weren¡¯t living creatures in the traditional sense, but powered by the earth affinity itself. If he had to guess the way it could see and feel was the same way he used his echo skill, which would make hiding from them, if someone had to anyway, rather difficult. Rather than wait to see what it could do, he simply sent another airstrike at the golem and finished it in one hit. He had become so overpowered when it came to any of the monsters, even the level 25 bosses that he had encountered, that stage 2 had become less about fighting and more about the loot. *You have defeated a (Marble Golem ¨C Lvl 19). Experience gained. 190 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. *You have defeated a (Marble Golem ¨C Lvl 19). Experience gained. 190 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Reinforced Marble Golem ¨C Lvl 21). Experience gained. 210 TE awarded* He didn¡¯t even know if he could call what he just did a fight, it was more a one-sided slaughter, but still experience was experience and the TE was better than nothing. What was nice was the loot, marble slabs were put into his inventory, it was a pretty stone, something that he would find a use for eventually. He walked over and retrieved his trident before moving to the stairs at the end of the room and making his way up. This room was bigger than the last, but still not large enough to cause any issues with being able to attack all of the golems present. He only spent a spare second to identify the golems, confirming they were level 21 and bronze, just as he was told they would be, before attacking. This time, as they were made of metal, he changed up what kind of element he was using, switching to fire over air. He didn¡¯t even bother using elemental strikes, relying on his flamethrower ability to just melt them all down to puddles. It was a bit slower than using the strikes, but no by much. The closer the golems came towards him the more they were hit by the flames. None were able to get within a metre of him without dropping to the ground. It was an interesting experience, the joints would melt first and they would lose their arms and sometimes legs when the metal got hot enough that they could no longer hold together. They tried to reinforce themselves with their own skills using the earth element, but the sheer amount of flames that Shaun was conjuring overwhelmed their meagre skill quickly. It took all of five minutes before every golem was dead, and even then, the boss was taken out with one fire strike, not wanting to waste any more mana he had decided to just end it quickly and efficiently. He got the notifications for the dead golems and made sure to loot them all for the bronze ingots, knowing that they would come in handy with his crafting. He had been in the dungeon for all of maybe 30 minutes and already had cleared two of the areas. He was finishing off these monsters quicker than expected and if he really wanted to, he could kill the last of the golems in the room above him and be done with the dungeon in the next 30 minutes. But he was exhausted, the week he had just gone through had been rough, the travelling, the nonstop swimming, barely having time to eat. He needed to rest, especially with stage 3 coming up at the end of the next day. He was safe in the dungeon, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about anything attacking him and would not be interrupted in the slightest if he took a nap and treated himself to a meal. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. And that¡¯s what he did. He cooked himself as much meat as how he could, using the last of the herbs he had on him to add some flavour. Only when he was completely stuffed did he take out some of the more comfortable pelts he had gotten from the monsters he had killed and made himself a soft bed to sleep on. As soon as his head hit the ground he was asleep. When he woke, he had not felt this relaxed and refreshed in a long time. He checked how long he had been asleep and saw that it had been nearly 8 hours, the longest amount of time he had slept in a row since entering the tutorial. So worth it. He still had one full day left before he would be moving on to stage 3, plenty of time to finish off the dungeon and also get some crafting done afterwards. He put all of the pelts back into his inventory and stretched out his muscles. He doubted that the last room would take him long and figured he should get it over with now that he was at peak health again. Walking up the stairs he couldn¡¯t help the joy in his step, he had done so much in the last month, thinking back to the first dungeon, he couldn¡¯t believe it took him over a week to finish, he had been so weak back then. It felt like a lifetime ago that he hesitated out the front of the entrance to the fire dungeon and then had to spend days fighting some level 19 lizards. When he got to the final room he looked over all of the golems, thirteen shiny carbon steel prizes that he would soon be looting for metal. What a great day. *Reinforced Carbon Steel Golem ¨C Level 25* The boss was over 4 metres tall, it was huge, and if he hadn¡¯t been as strong as he was, it would have been very intimidating to fight. He wasn¡¯t scared though, his heart didn¡¯t even speed up when standing before the golem before him. If anything he was as calm as he could be. The boss quickly started to power up its own attack, its body starting to glow as it walked towards him. The golems were not fast, they were so slow that he would simply need to jog and he would stay ahead of them. What they didn¡¯t have in speed though they made up for in their durability and strength, just not enough to make a difference to Shaun¡¯s power though. He quickly sent our fire strikes at the golem, one after the other. The normal golems were taken out in one hit but the boss was still standing after having been hit by two. It was annoying more than anything, he hadn¡¯t put much mana into them, but still, if it was any other monster it would be dead. This was the earth element at play, he knew that it allowed for some resistance to the elements, every time he had attuned an item with it, the description detailed the change. When it was just Shaun and the boss left, he decided to actually use a physical attack. He prepared his trident with a water strike, something he had never done before, but given the gem that was forged into the weapon he figured that it was better to use water than any other element. When he had powered it up enough that he figured that it would have easily been able to take out every golem in the entire dungeon he threw the trident right towards the boss, waiting to see what would occur. As soon as the trident struck, the resulting escape of water mana was overwhelming. At the point where the trident met the golem a wave of pure compressed water was set loose, soaking everything in the room, but that wasn¡¯t the worst part. The wave was so powerful that even he couldn¡¯t stand up to its force and ended up being slammed backwards until his back hit the wall and then dropped to the ground. He wasn¡¯t hurt by the attack but the shock of that much power had knocked the air from his lungs. The golem, if he could even still call it that, was laying in pieces throughout the opposite side of the room, the unlucky bodies of the other monsters that were in the room had not been left intact either. *You have defeated a (Carbon Steel Golem ¨C Lvl 23). Experience gained. 230 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. *You have defeated a (Carbon Steel Golem ¨C Lvl 23). Experience gained. 230 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Reinforced Carbon Steel Golem ¨C Lvl 25). Experience gained. 1000 TE awarded* *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 34. +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 29. +16 Ap gained* To say he was happy about the level in both his class and race would have been an understatement. He had pretty much given up hope on getting any more levels in his class before entering stage 3, especially after not getting any experience from the Merfolk. *Earthen Force Dungeon Completed. Dungeon will automatically eject successful participants in 5 minutes.* Once he received the final notification of only having 5 minutes before being forced out of the dungeon he quickly set to looting what was left of the bodies and gathering the trident back up. He looked at the trident in more detail after this, the amount of power that had been released from his attack was beyond anything that he had expected. The gem, or maybe even the trident itself, was at a whole different level to any of his other advanced weapons. He didn¡¯t know if it was the gold metal it was made form or just the gem itself, but it made him reevaluate his plan on what he would be crafting next. Before he could consider further the timer hit 0 and he was sent outside of the dungeon, where thankfully, no one was present. *Calculating dungeon reward grade* Party fully cleared the dungeon of monsters. Adjusting reward grade. No members of the party died during the completion of the dungeon. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed by less than the 5 participants recommended. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed in less than 3 days. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon completed Solo. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon reward grade: A *Distributing reward at A level* *Blank Faction Emblem* *Earth¡¯s Might Orb rewarded* *Earth¡¯s Might Orb: An orb that is made of the most pure element of Earth, greatly increases control and ability to manipulate this element if equipped. If the user has an affinity for Earth, mana cost is greatly reduced when using their affinity. If the user does not have an affinity to Earth, when equipped may channel mana through the orb and aspect their mana for short periods.* And with that he had successfully finished his final dungeon and obtained all five of the elemental orbs. He had set out to do this and it had been a battle to get to each of them in time, but having completed each one solo, and all at A grade, he couldn¡¯t help but be impressed with himself. *Title upgraded: Solo Dungeoneer to Expert Solo Dungeoneer* *Expert Solo Dungeoneer: Through the solo completion of five dungeon¡¯s meant for more than one individual this title grants the holder a 15% increase to their stats while outside of dungeons and alone and a 20% increase while solo within a dungeon.* The upgrade to his title was nice, another extra 5% was always welcome, this time though it was no longer upgradeable. Not that he minded anymore, he had done all the dungeons in the area so it''s not like he could do any more solo completions any time soon. He only had less than a day left, and he had the perfect plan on what he was going to do, time to craft. Chapter 56 Shaun didn¡¯t stay outside of the dungeon, instead he moved back into the forest from the baron area around him, he didn¡¯t find anything useful in the area that may help him with his craft so didn¡¯t delay in finding somewhere safe to stay for the final day, somewhere he wouldn¡¯t be interrupted. He found a quiet clearing not far from where he had entered the forest, and getting comfortable, took out all of the items that he knew he wanted to use in the next item he crafted, as well as some of the items he wasn¡¯t yet sure on. When he was done lying in front of him were the five orbs he had received from completing the dungeons, the carbon steel and bronze he had received from looting the golems as well as the trident and the upgrade orb that he had received as a reward from stage 1. He had never ended up using the orb, he never really had a need to as all of his main equipment was already at advanced grade and he didn¡¯t want to use it on anything just for the sake of it. He had a rough idea of what he was going to create, he had been planning it for a while. He had in his mind a gauntlet, one that he would wear on his left hand that he would combine with each of the orbs so that he could have all of them on his body at all times, making it easier to take advantage of all of the benefits that they provided him. But if he just moulded some metal and melded the orbs into it, the end result would be rather ordinary. He wanted to take advantage of every kill he had in his profession and make something truly incredible. The one thing he hadn¡¯t accounted for in his plans was getting the trident, the metal it was made out of was better than the carbon steel from the dungeon and the gem that it had, although only attuned to water, was powerful, not to mention useful in that it could store mana. The issue was that he needed the gauntlet to be completely balanced with the five orbs, and in turn, the five elements, meaning that adding a gem attuned to water would completely throw off what he had planned, but not using it was also a waste of a good item. He was also very close to upgrading his profession, one level and he should be able to evolve it into something new, something better than what it currently was, which he hoped might aid him in his crafting of the gauntlet. The only thing he needed to do was get that last bit of experience and he would be done. He picked up the trident, investigating the gem and the gold metal it was made of, and at the same time looking over his skills and what he should do first. He liked the trident as a weapon, it had been useful in the earth dungeon, but he also didn¡¯t see himself wielding it as his primary weapon very often, it was just too big and didn¡¯t fit his style. He didn¡¯t want to dismantle the trident unless he was confident in being able to craft the gauntlet in the first place though. Instead of rushing into anything he moved all of the items in front of him out of the way except for the bronze, he decided that if he was going to practice making the item he wanted he should use the material that he would be less upset to ruin. He had already planned out a general design in his head, the gauntlet was going to cover from his fingers to his elbow, not in one piece though, he planned on making interlocking sections that he could easily take apart if he so needed, he also planned on one more aspect of the gauntlet that would aid him in a melee fight, he wanted retractable claws made of metal that he could move in and out of the fingers using his earth affinity. He didn¡¯t care about others being able to use the gauntlet, it was for him only, so having a few quirks that only he could use wasn¡¯t an issue. What was an issue was making his dream come to life. Deciding he would start with the part that would cover his hand and then work down to his fingers then up his arm, he got started. He picked up one of the pieces of bronze and started heating it up, once it was easy to manipulate the shape with his skill he started forming it around his hand, only from his wrist to where his fingers. It didn¡¯t take long to cover the area he wanted with the metal, and he continuously tested out his movement each step of the way. At first the metal was too thick and reduced his ability to move properly so ended up having to remove almost half of the bronze he had initially used. He also found that the area around his thumb would need to be a separate piece as when it was all formed as one piece it restricted his ability to move his thumb easily. When he was happy with the shape, size and weight of the first piece he then started forming the areas where he would have embedded each of the orbs, and as it was just a trial, also where he would put in the gem from the trident. In the end he had one slot for each orb just underneath where each of his fingers were with a larger slot in the middle where he could put them gem. With this done he hardened the metal and took it off. It slid of his had with a bit of effort, he had made sure that there was enough room to be able to move it on and off, but not enough room that it would be uncomfortable to wear. He tested it a few more times, putting it on and taking it off and found he was happy with the shape, with the easiest piece done he moved on to the fingers. This was going to be a lot more involved, especially getting the retracting claws down right, but he was determined. Starting with his little finger he had a general idea on how he wanted the claw to work. He wanted to make three interlocking pieces for each finger that would slide inside one another with the last piece, the claw, having two parts, a top and bottom, allowing him to retract each price inside of each other until it reached his knuckle. He wanted to do this by carving grooves that would allow each part to slide in and out where it would lock into place once fully extended and retracted, where he would need to actively use his mana or affinity to unlock them to move. Making the three separate pieces for the finger was the easy part, creating the grooves took a little more effort, but when adding them all together and placing it on his finger he found that there was not enough movability at the joints for him to fully bend his finger, greatly reducing he efficiency of the overall design. He didn¡¯t give up though and continued to manipulate the metal as a whole. He ended up changing how each of the joins ended, rather than a rigid slot in the end he ended it with more of an open spherical space that was only just big enough for each joint to move around without completely falling out of each other. It took a lot of trial and error, and if he wasn¡¯t able to reinforce the metal with his affinity and attunement skill it probably would have broken. Bronze wasn¡¯t the most sturdy metal in the first place but he knew that both the carbons steel and the golden trident were made of stronger stuff. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. To meld the finger piece to the larger hand piece he ended up having to open up small sections in the metal and slot it in before melding it shut, again leaving a ball joint so that it could freely move around, yet not loose enough that it would be annoying in battle. He tested out the start of his gauntlet again, now with one finger attached and was happy with the outcome, he ended up making a few minor adjustments but overall it had been a success. He quickly moved on to finishing the remainder of the four finger pieces, and when all of them were firmly attached, he put the gauntlet back on and did some testing. The first thing he tried was retracting and extending the finger pieces, each forming a sharp claw on the end. The result was nearly perfect, he had movability when the claws were both in and out and also had little issue manipulating the metal with his earth affinity. He picked up his sword and tried to use it but found that with the gauntlet on he had less control and grip. That was an easy fix though, he took out some of his rougher monster skin and wrapped it around the blade and tried again. This time he could keep a firm grip and decided that he could just meld the skin to his sword handle when the time came. Moving up to the arm pieces, these went a lot quicker, the only hard join to form was the one at his wrist, the rest of the pieces, another three in total locked up his arm with no issues. He did encounter one problem at first, taking them off. When the arm bands were formed as one piece on his arm he struggled to get them over his wrist, the problem was easy to fix though and he ended up making each of the bands into two pieces, one on top and another on the bottom that would all slot into each other and form one tight protective barrier on his arm. If this was all he had planned to do, the result would have been impressive but not incredible. He still had one more layer to add to the gauntlet before he would be happy with the overall design. It was missing runes. This was also the part he was less confident in, he wanted to carve in several spells into the different sections of the gauntlet, ones that eh would be able to use in conjunction with the orbs. The gem though threw his plans out the window. If he could integrate the gem into the gauntlet it would have its own source of mana and he would need to account for that in his inscriptions. He decided that he would risk creating the runes as if the gem was in the gauntlet, if he didn¡¯t succeed than he would be delayed hours, if not more, as he would have to go back and start from the beginning, but if he could manage to incorporate the gem the item would be so much more powerful than without it. The first runes he inscribed were connection and channel runes between where each of the orbs and gem would be. Next he started to inscribe the first spell, it would be a defensive spell, a replica of the nature barrier used by the monsters in the dungeon. This took a bit more work as he also wanted to connect it from where the gem was up through the gauntlet to his arm, so in battle he could form a protective shield directly from his gauntlet. He had done something similar when he had crafted the shield for Eric a while ago, but this time he needed it to fully form from the gauntlet instead of a shield. He again inscribed connection and channel runes from the gem, leading into nature and barrier runes and finally ending in a projection rune. He hoped this would mean that he could project a nature barrier from the gem through the gauntlet and out in front of his arm, he would need to test that though. Moving on he went to carving spells into each of the fingers, something that was a lot harder to do as he didn¡¯t want to use one finger per element, rather create a system between each orb and finger so that any spell could be used on all fingers. What he ended up creating was similar to what was done within his mana channels, a circuit between each of his affinity, replicated on the gauntlet. It took time to form the connecting lines and runes, and after a few mistakes that he had to clear and redo he could see a similarity between his own mana channel and the runes on the gauntlet. He then moved those fines into each finger, inscribing runes for element, power and strike. The first time he did this was difficult, but he had levelled up his rune skill a few times now and with it came new runes that he understood, making it easier to create the network of interlocking power lines through the gauntlet. He had decided on using the rune for element rather than any of the specific runes for each of the fingers, in the hope that it would allow for easier channelling, relying on the orbs to attune the mana rather than his own affinity. The last thing he added to the gauntlet was a circle from the gem, and circuit of orbs through to his palm, where he inscribed the runes for channel and heal. It was a long shot, but he hoped he would be able to heal both himself and others if ever needed using the gem rather than his own mana. He gave the gauntlet one final inspection before he concluded that with the skills he had, this was the best he would be able to do. The only thing left to do was test it. During the process of crafting the test gauntlet and had come up with a plan on how he would see if it worked. He took out some of the marble he had from the dungeon and formed it into balls the size of the orbs, attuning every single one to each of the elements before melding them into the gauntlet. The attuned marble was underwhelmingly weak, none of the elements were able to really stick to the marble outside of earth, but for the purpose of testing they would do. He didn¡¯t have anything that he could use as a replacement for them gem so instead he would need to fully rely on his own mana, continuously feeding his own supply into where the gem would sit, acting as its replacement. With nothing further holding him back he started channelling his mana into the gauntlet where the gem would sit and through each of the runes. He knew it was going to be a long process considering how many of the runes he was going to need to power up to finish the final step of activating them but he was persistent. One hour turned to two which quickly became three, mediating the entire time so that he could recover as much mana as he could during the process. Just when he started thinking that it was a lost cause the runes hit a limit to the amount of mana they could take and the glow disappeared and was fully absorbed into the gauntlet. *Successful New Crafting ¨C Bonus Experience provided* *[Advanced] Unstable Elemental Gauntlet ¨C A bronze gauntlet inlaid with marble attuned to the five base elements of the multiverse. Highly unstable due to the conflicting elements. Spells for Nature¡¯s Barrier, Healing, and elemental strikes located on gauntlet.* *Profession: Mana Crafter has levelled up by +1 levels. [Basic] Mana Crafter has reached Level 25. +2 Int, +2 Wil, +4 Soul* The description of the gauntlet was, to say the least, troubling, the fact it was unstable made him doubt the plan he had, but at the same time he had also committed to making the gauntlet, hopefully the orbs instead of the marble will help, that and the gem. *Profession upgrade available on [Basic] Mana Crafter class* Chapter 57 This was what he had been waiting for, upgrading his class was the last thing he wanted to do before moving on to make the final gauntlet and finishing stage 2. He was hoping for something that would aid him in being able to craft the gauntlet, something that would also help with the gem would be nice, but he knew that the descriptions of his profession choices wouldn¡¯t just tell him what would happen to his existing skills. Looking at the first choice he was ready to find out what he would be offered. **[Advanced] Mana Smith: Unlike most crafting professions the Mana Smith relies solely on their Mana and Earthen materials to create weapons and items predominantly used in battle. Similar to a blacksmith, the Mana Smith has a high ability to change metals into a desired shape and increase the properties of the metal they use. Stats per level +3 Int, +4 Wil, +3 Per, +5 Soul Note: some skill may be upgraded or lost if this class is chosen. Shaun got why he was offered this profession, he had gotten a lot of his levels through manipulating metals. It wasn¡¯t a bad profession, and he wasn¡¯t upset about it being an option, but the fact that it removed the ability to work with so many other materials was a huge downside. He would consider it, if only because he did enjoy working with metals most and creating weapons and armour was fun. *[Basic] Universal Crafter: The Universal Crafter is not tied down by any one type of craft, instead they are able to freely utilise any materials and objects that they may need to craft any given item. Stats per level +2 Int, +2 Wil, +4 Per Note: some skill may be upgraded or lost if this class is chosen.* This one was just kind of insulting, it took away all of the good things about his current profession, there was no mention of mana or elements or attuning anything. It was not only still basic but also just worse than his Mana Crafter profession. *[Advanced] Elemental Creator: The Elemental Creator relies on the elements to create and craft items. When creating items using an element the Elemental Creator has a small chance to increase the rarity of an item. Stats per level +5 Int, +2 Wil, +3 Per, +5 Soul Note: some skill may be upgraded or lost if this class is chosen.* This one was both different and similar to the profession he currently had. Instead of being mana focused though it was elemental focused. He didn¡¯t know what that would do his skills, as having everything moved from unattuned mana to elemental could impact his ability to actually work with some materials. The change from crafter to creator was interesting though. It didn¡¯t seem like it had much difference but after everything he had learned since the integration he knew that words had meaning. The chance to boost up the rarity of a creation was also something he was inclined towards, he had only been able to create advanced items when he had a basic class, so would this let him move up into whatever rarity was above it? *[Advanced] Rune Scribe: The Rune Scribe is a highly intelligent crafter that solely focuses on imbuing items with runes to add spells, forming complex rituals and delving into the nature of the runic art. Stats per level +6 Int,+2 Wil, +2 Per +5 Soul Note: some skill may be upgraded or lost if this class is chosen.* The Rune Scribe, it many ways it was a great profession, especially knowing how powerful runes could be, but it took away all of the joys of crafting things. Taking pieces of metal or monster parts and creating something more with them was something he had come to enjoy, almost as much as fighting monsters, and he didn¡¯t want to give that up. *[Basic] Mana Crafter: Unlike most crafting professions the Mana Crafter relies solely on their Mana and what materials they have on hand to improve and craft items. Stats per level +2 Int,+2 Wil, +4 Soul* And finally the same profession he had, when this happened with his class he immediately ruled it out, but this time there was much more to consider. He had narrowed down the options to the Elemental Creator and his current Mana Crafter. The two were very similar, but in some ways also conflicting. He was worried that if he chose the Elemental Creator profession he would lose some of the skills that he was relying on to create the gauntlet. He was confident in being able to do most of the crafting with his current profession and moving away from it now was a risk. He had to decide on the short-term gain of keeping his current profession or the long term benefits of upgrading to advanced, and with it getting the extra stats and potentially better skills. In the end he decided to risk it, he couldn¡¯t think short term and needed to consider the long game. If he couldn¡¯t make his gauntlet now he would figure out something different in the future. *Congratulations, you now have the Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator* *Your skill [Basic] [Basic] Mana Meld (Level 25 - Max) has been upgraded into [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 1)* *Your skill [Basic] Mana Manipulation (Level 25 - Max) has been upgraded into [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 1)* *Your skill [Basic] Mana Attunement (Level 25 - Max) has been upgraded into [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 1)* The new skills were thankfully, very similar to the ones he already had. Elemental Fusion allowed him to channel an element and fuse material together, apparently in a way that was near unbreakable, the caveat being that you had to use a suitable element dependant on the material. Creators Control, was using ones Willpower to manipulate and control a material to bend it into shape and position, it worked similar you his old skill just without the mana and more intent, his Enhanced Mind skill working in tandem with this one would be perfect. Lastly Elemental Coercion was the same as his attunement skill, except that it was more forceful, allowed for greater power and when connecting to an element you could either infuse into an item or forcibly remove it. Shaun was shocked he hadn¡¯t lost any of his skills, especially the rune one, apparently the change in profession was slightly less strict in what skills would or wouldn¡¯t fit under it. Creating was a very broad term anyway, so it came to reason that it could justify his other skills still playing a role in the advanced profession. Once all of the changes were completed he looked over his status sheet, checking all of the changes over and concluding he was happy with what he saw. He still had some AP left but at this point left them, he would decide during the crafting where they needed to go. Status: Stolen novel; please report. Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (E) Level: 29 Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger - Level 34 Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator - Level 25 Health Points:1830/1830 Stamina:1830/1830 Mana: 2512/3980 Stats: (Available Points: 16) Strength: 183 Dexterity: 197 Endurance: 183 Vitality: 183 Intelligence: 122 Perception: 149 Willpower: 155 Soul: 398 Affinity: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer Heritage: Azreal''s Legacy (Hidden) Skills: Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 14), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 28), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 29), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 23), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 22) Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 1), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 1), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 1), [Basic] Meditation (Level 25 - Max), [Advanced] Mana Sight (Level 19), [Basic] Rune Knowledge (Level 15) He tested out his new skills to make sure that he could use them with enough precision to move onto crafting the final gauntlet. He spent about 30 minutes testing them out on the different materials he had laying around, and it didn¡¯t take him long to adjust to the changes. The first thing he did was dismantle the trident, he focused his new Creators Control skill and popper the gem out of the weapon. *[Advanced] Water Attuned Diamond: A Diamond that has been deeply attuned to the water element, greatly increasing power of all water spells that are used with the gem. The Water Attuned Diamond is capable of holding 50,000 mana.* Now that he had removed the diamond he was able to identify it separately from the trident, it was impressive to say the least, but not what he needed at the moment. The first step in making his gauntlet a reality was removing the water attunement part from the diamond. Which thankfully his new skill would help with. Focusing on his Element Coercion skill, especially with an element he had an affinity with, was surprisingly easy. He connected with the diamond almost instantly and when he did he started trying to pull the water affinity from the gem. As he started to pull from it he came to his first problem, he had nowhere to put the water element that he was taking out of the gem. He had no other materials he could transfer it too and he didn¡¯t want to risk putting it in the orb as it would create an unbalanced effect if he then put it in the gauntlet. Having no other choice he released it into the world around him, which was the second mistake. Releasing huge amounts of the water element into the world instantly started causing rain to form in the air, soaking him immediately and nearly causing a flash flood in the process. He didn¡¯t stop doing it though until the last of the water element was removed from the gem. *[Advanced] Unattuned Diamond: A Diamond that has no elemental attunement, capable of holding 50,000 mana.* It was not as impressive as when it was attuned to water but still, it would do for what he needed it for. He packed up all of his things, drying them out with a pulse of heat, and moved from where he was, further into the forest until he found a new clearing he could work in, it was annoying but sitting on the wet ground was very unappealing. Once he was settled back in, he only pulled out the trident, orbs and gem, as well as his unstable prototype. These were going to be the only things he needed to finish the gauntlet. Without delaying any longer, now only having about 8 hours left to finish before the stage would end, he got to work. Creating all of the parts for the base was easy, he simply replicated what he had already done. The metal of the trident, which when he identified it was an advanced reinforced gold alloy and thankfully was completely unattuned, was harder to work with than the basic bronze metal, it took a lot more focus and energy to shape, even with having an advanced skill. It didn¡¯t take too much longer than he had expected though, and when he was done and tested out all of the joints while wearing it, he moved onto inscribing the runes. He couldn¡¯t find any fault with what he had done before, he just hoped that using the orbs rather than marble would change it from being unstable. It took him longer than before to do all of the rune work, the harder more advanced metal had a resistance to it when trying to do such delicate work, and covering up any mistakes he made extended the process, as he would settle for nothing less than perfection. When he got to the point where there were only two things left to do, fuse the orbs and gem into place and power the entire item up, he gave himself a quick break to eat and recover a little. He was cutting being able to finish the gauntlet pretty close to the ending of stage 2, but he also didn¡¯t want to end up entering the next stage hungry or overworked, taking a short break now was worth it. When he was done, he fused the orbs and gems into place. This was delicate work as the orbs didn¡¯t seem like they wanted to be close to each other, having some kind of resistance in between them, but he hoped, like with his affinities, that when the runic lines were powered, harmony would occur. The gem went in with no issue, happy to be surrounded by any and all of the orbs, he was carful not to infuse any element into it as he needed to keep it unattuned for any of this to work. The only thing left to do was meditate and infuse the gauntlet with his mana, he would be doing it differently this time though, he would be pushing all of mana out into the gem and from there working it through the runes, wanting to create the connections from the very beginning. It was a different feeling, sending his mana into the gem, it was like an empty well that was craving to be filled, it greedily took whatever mana he gave it but was also less willing to give it up for the runes. He didn¡¯t stop sending mana into the gem and then circulating it through the gauntlet, it was stressful, he kept looking at the countdown timer to check how long he had left to finish it. When three hours had passed, about the tie it took to infuse the bronze gauntlet, he still saw no sign of the runes being fully completed. After another hour, when there were only a few hours left in this stage he started to worry. When there was only 1 hour left until the end of the tutorial he finally saw the runes glowing to the point that they felt fully saturated with his mana. It had taken twice as long as the bronze tester but he saw the end in sight and was relieved. It still took another 30 minutes before the runes clicked into place and all of the mana he had sent into it was fully absorbed, but he had done it. *Successful New Crafting ¨C Bonus Experience provided* *[Epic] Mana Powered Elemental Claw Gauntlet ¨C A gold gauntlet inlaid with orbs of the five base elements in their most pure form. Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Nature formed into a stable circuit of elemental energy. When using any of the five elements, mana cost greatly reduced and power output of spells increased. The gauntlet has an unattuned diamond capable of storing mana to power the runic spells enchanted into the item. Spells for Nature¡¯s Barrier, Healing, and Elemental Strike located on gauntlet.* *Further Bonus Experience provided for creating first Epic Item* *Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by +5 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 30. +25 Int, +10 Wil, +15 Per, +25 Soul * *Race: Human has levelled up by +3 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 32. +32 Ap gained* It¡¯s Epic? The gauntlet is at epic rarity! And the description is everything I wanted and more! This is incredible! He couldn¡¯t hold back his excitement at the first epic item he had created. The levels were great, better than expected, but the gauntlet was the most incredible thing he had ever seen. He could feel the power radiating from it, a weapon in its own right. Not wanting to delay putting it on he immediately assembled it onto his hand and arm. It was comfortable in a way he couldn¡¯t explain, it also made him feel more powerful than he ever had before. He only wished he had the time to truly test it out but his own mana was practically depleted and the gem was running on empty. He only had 15 minutes left and knowing he needed to prepare he sat down and slipped into mediation, Stage 3 better have stronger monsters to fight, I want to really test this baby out. Chapter 58 When there was only 5 minutes left before he was set to move onto the next stage of the tutorial he decided to have a quick look over the objectives, not to make sure that he had finished all of them, but to see how many people were left alive. *Stage 2 objectives: 8,964 Participants* Clear 3 Dungeons: Complete Obtain Profession: Complete Optional Objective ¨C Form a blank Faction Emblem - Complete Survive It was shocking to see, he hadn¡¯t checked in a while but half of everyone that had moved onto stage 2 had already died, and of those still left only 1000 were going to get to move on. He also checked over all of the things that would count towards the top 1000, most notably he had hit the 55k mark in TE and was now level 32 in his race. His titles, affinity and overall class and profession were also quite impressive, especially when he compared them to everyone else he had met, but really he had only come across a very small amount of the people in stage 2. As soon as the countdown hit 0 he saw the message he was expecting. *Tutorial Stage 2 Complete** Congratulations on surviving Stage 2 of the tutorial citizens of Earth, the survival rate of this stage was 49.9%. For you to move forward you needed to have completed all set objectives and be in the top 1000 to successfully move to Stage 3 and be rewarded for your performance in Stage 2. For those that managed to survive but did not meet the requirements to move forward, you have shown strength in making it this far but have failed to rise to the top. You will spend the remainder of the tutorial in the Stage 2 area. The rankings of the top 1000 are as follows: 1. Shaun Clermont 2. Li Al Sal 3. Rodger Jacobs 4. Vivenne Grace 5. Louisa Trang ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. 263. Trevor Rule ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. 348. Gabriel Lisburn 351. Eric Chapman ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. 563. Michael Rife ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. 859. Alan Sampson ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. For those moving to Stage 3 please prepare for immediate departure. Shaun couldn¡¯t help the cheer that erupted out of him, he was not only in the top 10, but number 1! All of the hard work he had put into completing the dungeons, every single one he knew about at least, as well as doing it all solo had really paid off. Spending time bonding the element and increasing the titles that he could had also been time well spent, in so many different ways. Looking through the full list of the top 1000, he was happy with the few people he had seen. There had been movement in the top 10 compared to stage 1 but not a huge change, those that seemed to had been at the top then also carried over now with a few exceptions like Shaun. Looking down the list he caught Trevor being quite high up, at 263 he was nearly in the top quarter, he must have put it a lot of work to get so high in this stage, that or he had taken advantage of all of his little soldiers and cheated his way to a higher rank. Gabe and Eric had also made it, not as high as Trevor but he was still more than happy with what they had accomplished. He planned to see if he could catch them in the next stage, at the very least to check in and give their gear another upgrade. Shaun didn¡¯t care for many people but he found that he was invested in both staying alive at the very least. Michael and Alan had both made it into the top 1000 as well, although much lower on the ranking. It seemed that Michael was doing decently well for himself, not that he really cared one way or the other, and Alan? He had dropped much further in the rankings, probably being carried through the dungeons by others. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Shortly after he finished going through the list he started to recognise the feeling of being pulled through space, it seemed that his time was up and he was set to go to the next stage, he couldn¡¯t wait for what was to come. So much had happened in the first 2 stages and with the final stage now upon him, he was ready to take it for all it was worth. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Gabe jumped on Eric, giving him a hug and yelling with excitement, they had both managed to get into the top 1000, allowing them to move forward. Of the rest of their team only one other had made it, barely getting a place in the 900¡¯s. ¡°We did it! God damn it we made it!¡± Eric yelled back at Gabe, returning the massive hug. The rest of their team was happy for them, they knew that the only reason they had made it as far as they had was because of the two of them leading the way. ¡°And Shaun is number 1! Can you believe that? What has he even been doing the past weeks to get so strong?¡± Gabe said, releasing Eric and taking a step back. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I sure as hell want to find out, depending on what happens in the next stage we should try and find him, it would be nice to have him around for a bit.¡± Without much warning they felt the draw of being pulled through space, without hesitating Gabe grabbed hold of Eric hand. ¡°Together?¡± He asked looking Eric in the eye with a smile. ¡°Always.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°How did he do it? How did that good for nothing little brat manage to get the top spot! I want him dead! I don¡¯t care what it takes, I want everyone who can to hunt him down and kill him in the next stage. Do you understand me!¡± Trevor was raging, walking around to all of those that had pledged themselves to him. ¡°But Sir, most of us didn¡¯t make it into the top 1000, we won¡¯t get a chance to see him if we are stuck here.¡± ¡°Excuses! What are you even good for if you can¡¯t even make it onto a leaderboard! Why do I always have to do everything myself!¡± And he would, he decided. He didn¡¯t care how strong Shaun was, he would hunt him down and end him himself. From the moment he had met Shaun he had hated him. The little shy act was not fooling anyone, he would show everyone that he was more powerful than Shaun, everyone would see that he is the strongest person here. He would make sure of that. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Elsewhere in the Multiverse ¡°You may enter.¡± Swimming through the entry to the palace, Vilerelle was nervous, she had never had an audience with the true queen of the Merfolk. She had been picked to send through a copy of herself into a dungeon for one of the newly integrated planets, it wasn¡¯t something that many were chosen to do as one had to sacrifice a portion of themselves to be able to successfully make a replica of oneself at her level. But when she was chosen she did not hesitate to accept. She had only just gotten that part of herself back, and what came with it was an odd sensation, she had a feint memory of killing herself for a human, she couldn¡¯t remember why or who it was, only that she had given orders to the replica to do so if they had encountered someone who should be actively pursued to join the Merfolk clan. ¡°Why have you requested an audience with Her Majesty, Vilerelle Swarfile?¡± This came from one of the queens guard, the one standing next to the great queen who was staring down on her from atop her throne. ¡°I thank you for the permission given to me to enter the presence of Her Majesty. I was chosen to seed a dungeon of the new universe and have just received that part of myself back. There is something that I have learnt that I feel may be of interest to Her Majesty and the Merfolk.¡± She continued telling the queen all she knew from what little memory and feeling she had received from her copy. Once she had finished telling all she knew silence filled the throne room, each of the Mer present looking to be in deep thought, the news she had brought was troubling yes, but could also be a boon to the entire clan. ¡°And you are sure that this person was human?¡± The queen asked directly. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°And you have no idea why you would enact the order to sacrifice yourself? No indication of what power this human holds? Only that your replica was only to enact the sacrifice only if the being you encountered was someone we would wish to join us?¡± ¡°Your Majesty, although I am certain they are human, they must have had great power or a tie to water for my replica to do such a thing.¡± ¡°Hmmm, there is much to consider. Who is representing the Collective for this tutorial?¡± The queen asked to the room. ¡°The Wolven, Your Majesty.¡± Her adviser replied. ¡°Send word to them, I want them on look out for this human. I want a report on them, whoever they may be. Only then will we decide how to proceed. Vilerelle, you have done well.¡± With that Vilerelle was escorted from the room, hoping she hadn¡¯t just made a mistake. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Somewhere else in the Multiverse. ¡°This integration, does it not seem different to the last?¡± A being spoke to the gathered eleven. ¡°Yes, but I am unable to pinpoint why. From the reports gathered by the overseer¡¯s the death toll has been smaller on some of the planets, larger on others. However, the average growth is almost 10% higher than usual, higher even on the planet that was called Earth.¡± Another being observed. ¡°Is it agreed then?¡± Another of the eleven gathered beings asked. Everyone present agreed with the one that had just spoken. ¡°This era shall bring about change, we must consolidate power.¡± ¡°What of the others, has there been any word?¡± ¡°They have been offered a position to send a representative, as is their right. We have had no responses though, which is only fitting from their kind. We must keep watch, we can not allow them to reap the regards of this integration. Ensure everyone who is scouting out the new universe is on alert and that they must report in immediately if any of their kind are seen or felt.¡± With everyone¡¯s agreement in place, the eleven beings that had gathered simply dissolved into the air, as if the meeting had not occurred in the first place. Unknown to them, it was all for naught. This integration was different from the previous, the new era that had begun had a different feel that was felt by all of those with enough power. The pieces had already been moved into place, only time would reveal how the game would end. Book 2: Chapter 1 Much had changed over the last two months, Earth had been integrated into the multiverse, and with it came the system. A game like interface where people could kill monsters to level up their class and work in a profession to help them gain skills that revolved around what could be an infinite amount of different jobs. All of this revolved around a specific purpose, to get stronger, to gain power, to rise to the top. Everyone from Earth had been moved into a tutorial, while their planet was undergoing major changes, one of which was having it flooded with mana. Earth had never had any mana, meaning those that lived there never had the ability to use magic, now with the changes occurring and being in the tutorial they had all been exposed to what living truly was. When Shaun had first entered the tutorial he found himself in a dark cave system, he had chosen a class, a Rogue, and found himself in a group of people he had worked with pre integration. The month he had spent in the first stage of the tutorial had been filled with ups and downs, he had ended up in a situation where he had needed to take another human life and also been betrayed by others that he had hoped to trust. Over the course of the first stage he had ended up growing stronger, nearly dying multiple times, but managing to survive and come out on top. Stage 2 had been different, finding himself in a forest, having to hunt down dungeons to grow stronger, but no matter what he always strived to win, to grow and be powerful. He had unlocked a profession, being able to craft using mana, which had come in handy when making weapons and equipment. The biggest change was unlocking a heritage, one that while incredibly powerful, would also make him a target in the multiverse if anyone ever found out about it. Still he had used it at every chance he had to bond multiple elements into an affinity, leading to so many changes that he had become too over levelled for the stage of the tutorial he was in. In the end he came out as the number 1 strongest person in the entire tutorial. Just before the stage had ended Shaun had managed to not only craft an Epic ranked weapon, but one that he tailor made to his own elemental power, using his craft to imbue it with spells and orbs that he had received along his journey, as well as a gem that would be able to store mana and fuel that gauntlet. He hadn¡¯t yet had a chance to use his new weapon, but it was the first thing he planned on doing. Having now finished the second stage of the tutorial, he was transported into what would be the third and final stage. If it followed the previous stages he expected that he would end up in another area that would have monsters and, hopefully, stronger dungeons. Only the 1000 strongest people in the tutorial were being moved into this stage rather than everyone that had completed very objective, taking this into account he assumed the area would be smaller than what he had been in previously, but he was unsure what to truly expect. After the feeling of being moved through space finished he was standing at the ready, if he needed to fight or defend himself he would not hesitate to go on the attack. He had learnt how important it was to always be aware of your surroundings and expect the unexpected. However when he finally got a look at where he was, he truly had never expected what he saw. Around him wasn¡¯t caves or a forest, it wasn''t even an island or some other weird environment that he would have expected from the tutorial, what greeted him was a structure that had been pulled straight out of history itself. He was standing in the middle of an arena, one where a fight would take place, around the centre of what could be described as a fighting pit were rows seating, stretching so far back that he couldn¡¯t make out the full details of the furthest chairs. I am standing in a Colosseum. He could see where the fighters would enter and exit, leading out of the colosseum to who knows where. It was taken straight out of ancient Rome, an incredible sight, but he didn¡¯t get the opportunity to enjoy it. Appearing in flashes of light around the arena, coming in quicker as more people appeared. If he was to take a wild guess, there were soon 1000 people in the arena with him. Surprisingly, no one was attacking each other, instead they were taking in the sight of the structure around them, soon though people saw others who they knew and started forming groups. Shaun quickly pulsed his Earthen Echo skill, one that allowed him to make out everything in a small radius around him, although he could push it out to encompass 100¡¯s of metres, there was no need to as everyone was in the arena with him. He quickly caught sight of someone heading towards him, turning he looked straight at the last person he wished to see. Trevor, a bully and fool of a man, was heading towards him with his sword at the ready. Shaun quickly identified him and had to hold back a laugh at what he was. *Trevor Rule ¨C Level 25* He was level 25, which meant that he had upgraded his race to E grade but Shaun was still 7 levels higher than him, a gap that one person would not be able to close on their own, especially not with all of the additional power that he held. Before Trevor could make it any closer to him he felt 3 people join him, standing behind where he was standing, weapons drawn. He knew who they were without having to turn around, Gabe, Eric and another of their team had come up to show support against Trevor. He couldn¡¯t help but smile, it was a nice thought, them coming over to have his back, but it really wasn¡¯t needed. Seeing that Shaun wasn¡¯t alone made Trevor stop for a moment, hesitating slightly, before continuing to move closer. Shaun didn¡¯t make any move though, he lowered his sword as well as the hand wearing the gauntlet, he wasn¡¯t scared of having to fight, but with having 1000 people around him he also didn¡¯t expect this to escalate much. Once Trevor closed the distance he stopped a few metres in front of him, he looked angry, like he was about to completely lose any control he had and lash out, but he held back. ¡°You think you are so much better than the rest of us because you were number 1 on the leader board? Don¡¯t fool yourself, I know you, you are worthless, pitiful and the only thing you are worth is going to be the experience and TE I get from killing you.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. He hadn¡¯t seen this guy since they went sperate ways all the way back in stage 1 of the tutorial, He had screwed around with Trevor¡¯s men in stage 2, but really it was their own fault for trying to impede people from going into a dungeon. This crazy aggression really wasn¡¯t warranted, and if he was to guess, Shaun figured it had more to do with him beating him in ranking than it did anything else. Still, the idiots outburst did have one consequence that he could have lived without, nearly every single other person around them had turned and watched the interaction. They all now had eyes on him, assessing him, trying to figure out how he had become the strongest person there, at least according to the leader board anyway. He didn¡¯t pay them any attention, focusing instead on Trevor and if he was going to say anymore. He wasn¡¯t going to reply to the outburst either, he didn¡¯t find the need to justify himself in any way and really all he had done was spurt nonsense around killing him, which really, he was more than happy for Trevor to try. But it seemed that it wouldn¡¯t be the case, the longer they stood there, Shaun saying nothing, just looking at him, the silence had turned awkward. Trevor had come over in the hopes of getting him to enter into some battle of words and he just wasn¡¯t going to take the bait. Instead, Trevor turned around with a huff and walked away, everyone else though was still looking towards him, some now talking to each other in whispers. Ignoring everyone around him he turned to Gabe and Eric, seeing the two with huge smiles on their face he couldn¡¯t help but smile back. He was happy to see the two of them, when he found them on the leader board he was overjoyed that they had made it into stage 3. ¡°I am glad you guys made it, its only been a few weeks but It feels like forever since I last saw you.¡± He was going for a casual conversation, he was aware of many people still looking on and figured that the less they knew about them the better. Checking them over he also saw that both were sitting at level 24, so close to upgrading their race that one more fight would probably put them over the edge. ¡°Couldn¡¯t let you have all of the fun, could we?¡± Gabe joked before moving and giving him a quick hug. ¡°Besides, who would have helped with the dick head over there?¡± ¡°Right, as if he would need any of our help!¡± Eric laughed, quickly followed by Gabe and Shaun joining in. ¡°So, what do you think we are supposed to do?¡± Gabe asked them. This prompted them all to really look around, usually when they appeared in the next stage they would get a message from the system, informing them of the objectives they would need to meet to move on, but as this was the last stage they would be heading back to Earth after this. ¡°Don¡¯t know. But if I was to guess, being in an arena and all, there is going to be fighting.¡± Shaun replied. Before they had any more time to ponder on what to do next, they got the message that they had been waiting for. *Tutorial Stage 3* Stage 3 of the Tutorial will work to introduce you to an important lesson of the multiverse, fight to grow strong but never overestimate your abilities. This final stage of the tutorial will separate the strongest that this tutorial has to offer into tiers, over the next 4 weeks each contestant will be matched with another and have to fight to prove they have what it takes to move into the next round. These fights will be held in a one on one gladiator style match where to win your opponent must either forfeit the match beforehand, concede during the fight, be rendered unconscious or die. You will not get to chose who you fight, the matches will be allocated randomly and you will have no choice but to either fight or forfeit. Over the first five days, starting two days from now, each person will only fight in one match, with the 500 winner¡¯s moving forward into the second round. You will then receive a two day break to increase your power and prepare for the next fight. Over the 3 days after this, you will fight again, with the 250 winner¡¯s moving forward. Over the following two days the winners will fight again, leaving only 125 winners. Over the following week, on day one 124 of the 125 winners will fight, with the person with the highest win streak and ranking will be exempt, leaving 63 left in the next round. On day two 60 of the winners shall fight one on one while a fight of three shall be randomly chosen with only one winner being able to move forward. This shall repeat on day three with 28 fighting one on one and three in a group. The fourth and fifth days shall be rest days, and with only 15 winner¡¯s remaining. On the sixth and seventh day of the third week of stage 3 all those who are left alive from the loser brackets will have the opportunity to fight any of the 15 winners, and if you successfully win, will take their place in the top 15 champions. At the beginning of the last week of the tutorial each day will see each of the remaining 15 champions fight, with one being randomly selected on day 1 to automatically move forward. Once there is only 2 champions left they will fight and a winner will be crowned. Each successful win will provide the TE equivalent of 50% of the losers holdings. As per Stage¡¯s 1 and 2, killing a fellow human will award 10% of their Tutorial essence if their level is below your own, 25% if on an equal level and 50% if their level is higher. Stage 2 objectives: 1,000 Participants Be crowned winner of tutorial Survive Once he had read through the objectives, not just once but three times to make sense of it, everyone gathered seemed to start looking at everyone else present like they were enemy number 1, and he could feel many of the people staring directly at him, because at this point in time he was sitting at the top. It didn¡¯t take long for some of the people present to voice objectives about fighting other people, Shaun agreed with this to a certain extent, but the purpose wasn¡¯t to kill, although he was sure that some of the people here would happily do so, the purpose was instead to crown a winner of the tutorial. Out of nowhere the air shifted and a presence was felt, pressing down on all of the people present, with a flash of light, including some sparkles that drifted through the air, a being appeared. They were rather short, maybe half as tall as Shaun, had slightly blue skin and big eyes. As soon as it appeared he lifted his sword and gauntlet, ready to defend himself if needed. *Dijaun Tellermotrius ¨C Level ???* Upon identifying the being he knew immediately that there was no hope in winning any kind of fight with this thing. It had 3 question marks on its level, meaning that it had to be over level 100, if not much higher. ¡°Hello citizens of the planet Earth, my name is Dijaun, but you may refer to me as Di if you would like, and I am your appointed Overseer for this portion of your tutorial. Please lower your weapons, I mean no harm.¡± All the humans present were silent, many still had their weapons at the ready, willing to attack and defend themselves at any moment. He couldn¡¯t blame them, over the last two months they had had the fight or flight reaction ingrained so deeply into them that it shouldn¡¯t have been a shock to this Dijaun that they were hesitant to lower their guard. ¡°Haha, you are all a feisty lot aren¡¯t you. I shall move on, lower your weapons in your own time.¡± He felt the pressure he had been experiencing that came from the being rise higher, growing more uncomfortable by the second, until it completely disappeared. ¡°Now, you would have all received the message as to this stage of the tutorial, but there was much that it didn¡¯t say, so please listen closely as I will not be repeating myself.¡± Book 2: Chapter 2 To say that the tutorial had taken an odd turn would have been understating it, all they had to do in the previous stages was fight, grow stronger and survive. This stage should have been the same, and in some ways it was. The objective was to fight each other and win, but what the little blue man was saying was that there was going to be more than just what the system message said and he didn¡¯t know how he felt about that. ¡°As you can all see you are in a colosseum, and the purpose of a colosseum is not just for people to fight in it.¡± Dijaun stopped speaking after that, a silence settled across the area as everyone waited for him to continue. This guy is worse than a TV presenter. ¡°It''s also so people can watch of course!¡± That was a given, they would all be watching each other fight, at least at first, to try a figure out everyone¡¯s strengths and weaknesses in case they would need to fight them later on. He didn¡¯t get why that was such an exciting thing for the blue man to say to them all, honestly it was a bit of a let down. ¡°Haha, you are mistaken if you think you will get to watch each other fight, only those who lose will get such an opportunity. No, what I am saying is that we will soon be hosting guests from the multiverse who will get to watch all of you up and coming champions fight it out to see who wins!¡± Now that caused a stir to go through the crowd, they had yet to meet anyone outside of humans from their own planet, so getting to see what other beings were out there was an exciting notion, if not a terrifying one. Shaun had a sneaking suspicion on what was about to come next, he had spoken to someone from the multiverse before, kind of, a copy of a Merfolk, Vilerelle, had provided him some information on what they were doing in a dungeon, scouting for talent. And why else would others come here to watch them if not to suss out if there was anyone here that would be worth being taken into a lesser faction, or clan, maybe if someone truly proved them selves they may be offered to join one of the twelve major factions, otherwise known as the major powers. ¡°Now you may be asking yourself, why would powerful beings from the multiverse want to come here and watch little old me fight? And it would be a great question! Now I shall give you a bit of a lesson of the multiverse and you will soon understand why. The multiverse is made up of twelve major factions, commonly referred to as the major powers, and they each control their own part of the multiverse. Under each of the major powers there are what is called lesser factions, or clans, depending on the major power they are under. Each of the major powers is made up of thousands, if not millions of clans, each vying for their own power within the ranks of their faction. And do you know what the best way of moving up the ranks is? Having powerful members! And what better way to get fresh blood to build up a clan than to scout out a new universe, you never know when you might find a diamond in the rough!¡± And I was right. He thought to himself. The objective of this stage was indeed to win the tournament and be crowned, but the real objective here was not just to win but join a faction. The faction emblems they were encouraged to collect now made a whole lot more sense in the grand scheme of the tutorial. You needed an emblem if you wanted to join a faction, it would serve as an identifier and mark where you belonged. If he was going to make a bet the stands would soon be full of lower levelled members of all different clans, seeing if they could find anyone worthy of joining them who had the promise of rising in power to help boost them up the ranks. ¡°And you may be asking yourself, what is in it for you? Well that is an easy answer, you join an established clan, you can get a mentor to help you grow in power, the resources you may be offered will help boost you to levels you couldn¡¯t even imagine. And what does it cost you? Just loyalty to the clan that you join! They will be a family, one who will always have your back. Now, some more information on this stage of the tutorial. You see¡­.¡± ¡°Why bother joining a clan when I can join one of the major powers directly?¡± Someone shouted up at the being hovering in the air talking at them. ¡°Join one of the powers directly? Oh my, ha, haha, hahaha!¡± Dijaun had completely lost all sense, he was just laughing uncontrollably at that point. Shaun thought it was a valid question for one to ask so he wasn¡¯t sure if this was an act on their part or if it really was such an outrageous statement that he couldn¡¯t hold in his own laughter. ¡°Well now you see young Philip, was it? To join a power directly is no easy thing, only the most powerful and respected of beings in all of the multiverse are ever offered such a thing. You may feel powerful now, but let me put it in perspective for you. At level 25 you are generally thought to be E grade, at level 125 you are D grade, at level 250 you are C grade, level 500 B grade and at level 1000 you are considered A grade. But that is not where power ends, oh no! at around level 10,000 you are considered S grade, or what is more commonly referred to as a lesser god. The S grade will stretch into different categories such as a full god, Transcendent god, Divine god and finally an Ancient god. There are only twelve Ancients alive today, all of whom rule the twelve major factions. They are the powers so to speak. Now back to your question, to join a major power directly is to sit in the direct faction of an Ancient, and I can tell you, none of the twelve are currently looking to take on a member of a newly initiated universe, unless of course you are something truly special and unique.¡± To say that Dijaun had just put everything into perspective would have been an understatement, yes they had all gained levels rapidly in the last two months, but they also knew how hard it was to get levels the higher you went. To get to level 125 to reach the next grade would not be something that happened quickly, to make it all the way to 1,000, 10,000 even, was not possible in one lifetime. It also seemed that there was a way to increase your lifespan though, these Ancients wouldn¡¯t live 100 years and then die, they had been around for a long, long time if he was to guess. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. There was a lot of chatter amongst the groups that had formed from the 1000 people present, so much so that Dijaun didn¡¯t even bother quieting them down, he simply waited, knowing that they would need to digest the information he had just provided. Eventually though he had had enough. ¡°Alright all, listen to me now, its my time to talk.¡± After a moment everyone managed to calm themselves, if only barely. ¡°In two days everyone is to meet back here for what I like to think of as a little opening ceremony, at this point we will have a little meet and greet, in that I will introduce some the more important beings who will join in watching the fights, and you will stand there and be respectful. You will then see who and when you will be fighting up on the board behind me.¡± Out of nowhere a giant board appeared in the air, blank for now but it would be assumed it would fill with names once the time came. ¡°Soon each of you will be provided with an orb, that orb will glow when you have one hour until you will be called to fight rather than standing around for hours on the day you fight waiting for your name to be called. Pay close attention to it as if you fail to show you automatically lose. The orb will also guide you to your room where you will stay for the duration of this stage.¡± All of a sudden he felt the orb appear in his hand, it was small enough that he could carry it on him and was completely clear, meaning when it glowed it would be obvious. The idea of having a room, hopefully with running hot water sounded nice, it had been months since he had a shower and bathing in a cold lake was not the same as having a proper wash. ¡°One last thing. You may be wondering how you are to grow strong enough to re-enter the fight if you have already lost, especially as there are clearly no monsters here for you to fight. There are three dungeons available to you here, all of which are at a different level of difficulty, but they do have one thing in common. They are not like what you have experienced before where you kill the boss and your done, these dungeons will send wave after wave of monsters at you, not stopping at all and slowly rising in power. You may exit these at any time simply by voicing or thinking the statement ¡®I give up¡¯. Simple really. There are also many stores that are fully stocked where you may purchase many different types of goods, and for the purpose of this stage you will be able to exchange items, may they be monster parts, crafted goods, or even your own services, for coins to spend on whatever you wish.¡± This definitely caught his interest, he had so much stuff in his inventory that he didn¡¯t need nor want that he would be able to unload for coins to hopefully find things more valuable to him. It seemed many others had the same thought as there was excitement growing within the arena, he could understand that as most of the people present were still using very basic gear that looked in need of an upgrade. Looking down at himself he figured he did too. His pants were in tatters, his boots worn through and his vest could use an upgrade. His weapons though were in good condition though, even if he had yet to improve his sword, something he would do in the next few days unless he found something better. ¡°Now, before you all go running off, know that no one is able to enter your room but you unless you give them permission, you also will not be able to fight each other outside of your scheduled battles, would hate for us to miss out on watching wouldn¡¯t you? Now off with you all, I will see you again in two days.¡± And with that he disappeared into a sparkly white light. ¡°Where do you guys want to go first?¡± Gabe asked first. ¡°I say we check out where our rooms are, get settled for a bit, hopefully have a shower, and then meet back up in lets say an hour. By then most people would have done what they need with selling their stuff and looking around at what to buy. Unless you guys are different, I don¡¯t need anything except some clothes and armour and I can''t imagine them running out.¡± Eric said. They all agreed that that was the best plan, Shaun was in no rush to queue in a line to get rid of his stuff, a shower was much higher on the list of priorities. Everyone was moving through one of the exits of the arena, whichever one was closest to them as it wasn¡¯t like they actually knew where they were heading. Once Shaun and the others started moving through their own exit it became clear just how big the space was. There were signs pointing the way to where the shops were as well as directions to the dungeons and lodgings. They all moved towards the lodging sign and eventually found where they needed to be. The different rooms where they were to sleep were split into 10 areas, each with 100 rooms, thankfully once they got close the orbs they each had helped point the way by growing warmer when held in the right direction to their rooms. Weirdly enough they found that Shaun, Gabe and Eric were in the same area of rooms while the other person from their team, Mitchell, was in a different area. The group of 100 rooms in their area was then split again into groups of 10, and by some weird coincidence, they were in the same group of rooms. It made more sense when he sensed more people coming to where they were. Michael walked into the area not long after they did and he was standing with Jessica, the mage that he had worked with back in the old world and been brought to the tutorial with. As they started walking closer to them they quickly realised that they were all in the same set of rooms, and if they were all going to be here it was safe to assume that Trevor would be too. As soon as they had come right up to Shaun and the others the awkwardness of the entire situation was felt by everybody there. Shaun had not left them on good terms, in fact the entire time he had spent with Michael in the dungeon had gone from bad to worse very quickly. This was the first time they had seen each other in over a month and it was not a reunion that he was looking forward to. Michael just walked past him and smiled at him like he was happy to see him standing there. ¡°Congratulations on being first place on the leader board Shaun, I new you had it in you!¡± he said and simply kept walking until he found the door to his room and went inside. Jessica stopped for a moment, gave them all a smile and shrug. She told them they would catch up later and found her own room and went in. They both looked pretty rough, not in the best shape, so getting some rest and recovering was high on their list. ¡°Anyone else find that uncomfortable?¡± Gabe spoke up. Nods of agreement came from Eric and Shaun and then they all moved to their own rooms to freshen up before heading out. Book 2: Chapter 3 When Shaun entered his room he was surprised at what he found, it wasn¡¯t just a room with a bed, instead what he found was an entire apartment, it had a lounge area with a kitchen off to the side. It all looked very different to what he was used to, when he went up to what he assumed was a stove he could see that it was just stone, no gas or electricity to be seen. It had a dial made of crystal, where when he turned it around the entire plate started to heat up. Turning it off he continued in to the bedroom where he found a huge bed in the middle of the room, it had to be bigger than a king size bed from back on earth and looked so comfortable that he was tempted to throw himself onto it and go to sleep straight away, but he had other priorities. Walking through the bedroom he found that there was a closet already stocked with clothes that looked to be his size, there was no armour or anything of the such, just everyday clothing to spend time in when not training. He immediately picked out a pair of pants that looked comfortable but would still allow him to fight in as well as a short sleeve shirt, there was also boots that he would put on once he checked out the bathroom. And the bathroom was everything he could have dreamed of and more, there was a huge bath tub that could easily fit multiple people built into the ground and opposite it a shower that a king would kill for. He didn¡¯t hesitate to strip down and get in. It took a minute to turn the shower on and adjust everything to the perfect temperature, which ended up being nothing but the hottest water that he could get it to produce. That would be his fire affinity at play, making him practically immune to the effects of heat, but he could still feel the heat of the water, if only a little. He spent a good 15 minutes just standing under the water before using the soap that was already in the shower to clean himself until every ounce of dirt and blood had been removed from his body, it was a therapeutic experience, and when he was done he couldn¡¯t remember feeling so refreshed in ages. When he got out of the shower he found a towel and started to dry off, getting his first look at himself in the mirror that was in the bathroom. He had changed a lot since he had entered the tutorial, he had always been in good shape but now he could see every single one of his muscles showing, he could easily count each one of his abs and his chest and arms showed massive growth. He wasn¡¯t overly muscular, more of the slim toned build, but he couldn¡¯t help but be impressed with himself. He was littered with small scars, fully healed but marking parts of his skin with faint silver lines, when he looked closely at his face he saw where he had received the wound from the lion that he had encountered in his first dungeon. They were barely visible but still there, a reminder of what happened when you entered a fight unprepared and under levelled. He didn¡¯t linger for long and went back into the bedroom and got dressed, making sure to put on all of his weapons and gauntlet, although they weren¡¯t supposed to fight outside of their scheduled battles he did want to go to one of the dungeons sooner rather than later, testing the gauntlet was still something he had yet to do and he needed to make sure that it would work as well as he expected before his first fight. He left his apartment with one last longing look at the bed before stepping out and waiting for Gabe and Eric. He didn¡¯t have to wait long, they both came out a few minutes after him having done the same as he had. They looked clean and in new clothes, they had put their weapons and armour back on which was good as it would save time if they went directly to a dungeon, and looked ready to head out. ¡°We ready to do this? I was thinking we sell what we want to get coin, do a quick shop around, maybe grab some food if there is any and then we go to a dungeon to do some training.¡± Shaun said to the others. This elicited a groan from Gabe, seeming to be not as impressed with his plan as he would have thought. ¡°Do we have to? It¡¯s only the first day.¡± He just gave him an odd look, not quite getting it, they had agreed to do the shopping and exploring, why would he have changed his mind now? Eric just laughed at Gabe¡¯s response, clearly knowing exactly why he was grumbling. ¡°He is complaining about the dungeon part, he was hoping for a break before he ended up having to fight again.¡± Eric directed at him. ¡°Nope, not happening. No breaks. If you guys want to do well in this stage you need to get stronger, we all do. Others aren¡¯t going to just kick back and relax, and if they do they are going to lose their fights. If you want to do well we train as much as possible.¡± He told them both. ¡°Is it too late to go back inside and sleep?¡± Gabe mumbled to Eric, but it was loud enough for Shaun to hear which made him laugh. ¡°I will do you a deal, you train hard and dedicate yourself to growing stronger and winning and I will help upgrade any equipment we might buy, or I can craft something new for you if I have the materials.¡± This got both of them more excited. They still had everything that he had crafted for them in stage 2, and really it was better than what most of the people here had, but he knew he could do better now. To prove his point he held out his gauntlet at them ¡°Identify it.¡± They both did as he had asked, and the moment the identification skill brought up the description they both looked at it in shock. It was an impressive piece of equipment, better than anything he had ever seen, and he had crafted it. If that wasn¡¯t going to get the asses into gear he didn¡¯t know what would. ¡°But how? The orbs, the gem, its epic ranked! Where did you get all of this?¡± Eric asked, Gabe still just looked at it with his mouth open in complete disbelief. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°All of the orbs were rewards form the five dungeons in the last stage. The gem and metal I found in one of the dungeons, a story I will tell you about when we are sure no one else can hear. I crafted it yesterday, haven¡¯t had a chance to test it out yet but I am betting it packs one hell of a punch.¡± ¡°And you can craft us something like that? Just like that?¡± Gabe asked, finally re-entering the conversation. ¡°Not exactly like it, it will depend on what materials and items we can get, then we can come up with a plan on what you guys need. Hopefully we will find something good to buy that we can use as a base and just upgrade it for you.¡± ¡°Well what are we waiting for! Lets get moving! We have things to sell, stuff to buy and a dungeon to get into. Lets go now!¡± Gabe shouted at them both. Apparently the promise of better equipment was all that was needed to kick him into gear and get him moving, if not extremely excited for what was now planned for the day. It didn¡¯t take them long to get to the shopping district, and it did not disappoint. As they walked through the strip of shops they first encountered a number of restaurants, the smells coming from each of them was enough to make him stop right there and get something to eat, the only problem was they had yet to sell their loot so had no idea how much money they would end up with and if the food was going to be to expensive for what they could afford. They did see a few people inside eating so it was a good sign, but they could have just been splurging given that they hadn¡¯t had anything but cooked monster meat in months. Further down they found the stores that would sell them goods. There was stores dedicated to a lot of different things, some specialized in weapons, other armour, as well as one for precious gems, books and clothing. There were stores for raw materials like stones, herbs and metals, he had made note of the stores he wanted to go into and browse, mostly he wanted to check out gems, metals and the bookstore. There was even a store where you could pay for dedicated one on one training sessions on your class, profession and skills which was cool. When they finally came to the singular store where they could sell their loot there was a short line, only three people, so they wouldn¡¯t have to wait long. He started going through his inventory checking for things that he wanted to keep and sell. This started a conversation with Eric and Gabe on what they had and were planning on selling. It was agreed pretty quickly that they would be keeping all of the high tier metal they had left as well as anything that may be useful. That¡¯s when Shaun found out that they hadn¡¯t received any elemental orbs from the dungeons they had completed. They had only gotten a B as their top grade in a dungeon, and even then only once, they had received a seed from the nature dungeon as their reward that apparently if cared for and grown would turn into a bush that would provide berries that could be used to make health potions. It wasn¡¯t a bad reward but nothing that would be useful to them now. He did ask if they had been able to form any faction emblems, apparently between their whole team they had been able to combine all the pieces that had gotten to form two full blank emblems, which they both had. He didn¡¯t know what he was going to do with his four extra emblems but figured that if there was people here that didn¡¯t have one they would pay for them at a premium, and he wasn¡¯t opposed to getting extra coin off something he didn¡¯t need. When it was his turn to be served and hand over the things he didn¡¯t need he stepped up to a counter and was greeted by another being. They stood at only a metre high and looked mostly humanoid outside of having pointed ears and reptilian eyes. ¡°Welcome to the Exchange hub, I am Ulorid, a species of goblin that focus on trade. I assume you would like some information as to how currency works in the multiverse?¡± So it¡¯s a Goblin, not at all what I expected. ¡°Yes please, Ulorid, all three of us are together here so if it is easier you can tell us all at once?¡± He replied motioning to Gabe and Eric who were behind him. ¡°Oh splendid, that will save us much time. Now thankfully currency and trade are a straight forward process for the most part, especially on lower ranked goods. Currency is made up of coinage, it starts at bronze, and works up to platinum for the most part. 10 bronze get you 1 silver coin, 100 silver get you 1 gold, 1000 gold get you 1 platinum. It goes further but only B grades and above really trade in higher currency. You can also get part currency, so a quarter bronze is a real price, this works as they aren¡¯t really real coins, although you can get them as loot from dungeons. Instead they are kept in a separate part of your inventory or in one of the banks if you wish to do so. Any questions so far?¡± They all shook their heads, it was all pretty standard. ¡°Perfect, now when you sell, you will agree to a price and the good is exchanged for coins straight to you inventory, when you buy it is similar to pulling an item out of you inventory but instead of focusing on that item appearing, focus on sending the coins to the person or item you are needing. The currency is universal across the whole multiverse, so whatever currency you had back before integrating is now worthless. Now if you don¡¯t have any questions lets get to the fun part. If you will take out whatever you wish to sell I will price it for you now.¡± Looking around, he couldn¡¯t figure out where he should put it all, he had a lot of skins that he has planning to get rid of, as well as claws, teeth, bones, shells and all sorts of other things he just didn¡¯t need or want. There were hundreds of items he was planning on selling, no where near enough room for him to put it all. ¡°Ummmm, where should I put it all?¡± ¡°How much are you planning on selling?¡± The goblin asked him with a slightly sceptical look. ¡°Er, maybe a hundred skins, even more claws and fangs. Some other stuff too.¡± He was keeping a bit of everything but he planned to rid himself of 90% of the loot, only keeping what he thought might be useful. There was a moment of shock from the Goblin before he recovered, he then seemed to recover and spent a moment looking at him, assuming he was using identify to see who he was dealing with. ¡°Apologies Master Shaun, I should have looked to see who I was speaking with before I started. Of course, the number 1 ranked human in the tutorial would have much to sell. And might I add you are doing very well for yourself, many do not reach such a level so quickly. If you will follow me to a private room I will happily go through everything you have to offer. As the highest ranked human here you are also entitled to preferable rates on your first transaction with us. If you wish you may bring in your friends as well.¡± He was shocked at the change in manner from the Goblin, he had never been called master in his life and getting preferential treatment was not something he was used to. Regardless he agreed and all three of them were led into a side room to start the process of selling their loot. Book 2: Chapter 4 After being led into the room they were offered both something to drink and eat, which they all accepted without hesitation, another Goblin brought out enough for each of them to eat their fill and more, and all thoughts of selling their loot went out the window. They were given a variety of drinks to choose from, and he ended up grabbing a juice made of some fruit he had never heard of, it was the best thing he had ever drank in his life. The food was the same, although platters were brought out with bite sized portions there was so many of them that they tried everything that was on offer, sometimes going in for seconds if something was really good. They weren¡¯t rushed though, the Goblin was overjoyed at their expressions of delight at the things they were given, happy that he was making a good impression. He didn¡¯t know what the angle was here, but he would take advantage of it non the less. Once they were done they sat down at a large table that had many sorting containers along the edges where he was directed to put in everything he wished to sell. And he did, he filled one container after another, making sure that he was taking out duplicates of the same thing and putting them in the same containers to make the process easier. When he was done he had cleared out most of his inventory and filled dozens of the containers. None of what he had taken out was impressive or worth any great amount, but every little bit added up in the end. It didn¡¯t take long for the Goblin to go through everything and put a price on each of the items he had taken out, he assumed that there was a profession at play that had a skill for doing this that much easier. In the end he was offered 18 silver and 6.3 bronze coins for the lot. He really didn¡¯t know if that was a large amount, but from what he had seen in the stores as he walked through it would be enough to get his hands on a few useful items. The process was repeated with Gabe and Eric who were given less than a quarter of what he had been, but they also had significantly less to sell. Once they were all done and ready to leave, he thanked the Goblin and said that he may be back depending on what they found in the dungeons here. ¡°Before you go Master Shaun, if you would allow it, may I look at the gauntlet you have on? No need to take it off, I would just like a better look and I will happily tell you what it may be worth.¡± He thought about it for a moment but didn¡¯t see a reason to say no. Holding out his arm so the Goblin could get a better look, they quickly rushed up and started inspecting the different aspects of the gauntlet, spending time on the orbs, gem and especially the runes. ¡°Where did you find such an item in the tutorial if I may ask?¡± The Goblin didn¡¯t look at him, still engrossed in the gauntlet, but there was no mistaking the curiosity in his voice. ¡°The orbs I got as rewards from dungeons, the gem and metal was from a trident I got from one of the bosses. But I crafted it all into what it is now.¡± Shaun replied, curious now as to what the reaction to this revelation would be. ¡°You crafted this? This is an epic ranked item! Your saying you made the gauntlet, set in all of the orbs and gems and also did all of the rune work?¡± The Goblin had taken a step back now, looking at him less with curiosity and more now with a good dose of fear and respect. He knew the gauntlet was impressive but the Goblin in front of him was at least in the D grade, this shouldn¡¯t have been that impressive. Unless he had completely mis interpreted just how much work and power it took to create something like this. He knew his class and profession were heavily tied to the elements, and in turn, tied to his heritage, but were they really that overpowered? ¡°I have a crafting profession, it has a few skills that make creating new things easier, as well as upgrading already made items. The rune stuff was a skill I picked up when I first got my initial profession though.¡± ¡°You have upgraded your profession? You class as well?¡± Shaun nodded at this. ¡°And your profession is fully based around some sort of crafting? Not just rune crafting but something more?¡± Again he just nodded, not seeing where this was going. ¡°You do not realise how impressive this item is, do you? Or how rare it is to have such a wide-reaching profession?¡± Now it is just getting awkward. The Goblin seemed to pick up on the change, sensing that it was getting uncomfortable, as he composed himself once more and brushed off what had to be imaginary dust from his suit. ¡°I apologise, I lost myself for a moment. As promised, if I was to offer you an amount to buy the gauntlet it would be priced in gold, going from anywhere between 80 -100 coins. This should give you an idea of how much it would be worth in the multiverse. It is rare, very rare indeed, for someone of your level, no matter what profession they have, to be able to craft something of such power. D grades and even some C grades would pay a large amount for such an item. Keep it safe, and some advice if you will, do not advertise what you are capable of. Seek a clan to join sooner rather than later Master Shaun, you will find their ability to help you grow will have a large effect way into your future.¡± With that the meeting ended, they left the room and the store, walking a little further away before any of the decided to speak. ¡°It got weird at the end, right? That wasn¡¯t just me?¡± Gabe asked them. ¡°No it got weird, and rather serious. I agree with the Goblin though, we don¡¯t talk about what Shaun is capable of. I don¡¯t know anything about joining a clan but they seemed like it was something you should do, and quickly.¡± Eric directed the latter part at him, looking more serious than he had seen him in a while. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He just nodded, it was another thing he would need to keep under wraps for as long as he could, thankfully his affinity wont be hard to cover up now that he had the gauntlet, he could always push the blame onto it, although that would draw more attention to the item, it was still better than drawing attention to his heritage. They decided to look through the stores together, starting with the place that he hoped he would get to find some answers, the bookstore. As they walked in the only person in the store was the shopkeeper, this time a human much like them. ¡°Hello there, welcome to Agran¡¯s Books, I am Agran. You are the first people to come in here, and because of that, the smartest in my opinion.¡± Agran was a pretty standard looking guy, but seemed like he was happy with potential customers. ¡°Are you after anything particular?¡± ¡°Not us, we are here for him.¡± Gabe pointed at him. ¡°Oh and what would¡­.¡± Agran stopped talking for a moment, looking closer at Shaun and seeming to figure out who he was. This is going to get old fast. ¡°Very interesting¡­.. Are you after something particular?¡± The owner directed at him. ¡°Actually I am.¡± ¡°Hmmmm, it is odd that a new initiate knows what knowledge they seek. But tell me what questions you may want answered and I will try to point you in the right direction.¡± The owner, Agran, was now very interested in what he had to say, for better worse, ¡°I have a few questions, on different topics, so any guidance would be helpful. The first is about the major powers. Do you have a book that details what each of them are, what they are about, and even a bit of history on how they were formed?¡± This was going to be important information in this stage of the tutorial and he wanted to know who and what he was dealing with. ¡°I am surprised. That would be the first thing I would advise every single person here to read up on, and here you are, asking for it as the first thing you want to learn about.¡± He walked through the shop, past where they were standing, to a pile of books, all copies of the same one, before moving back to the counter. ¡°This will cover what you are after, a brief history of the Ancients, how the major powers were formed, and information on what each one focuses on and does in the multiverse.¡± ¡°Thank you. The second thing I want is a bit different. I want a book detailing the different races of the multiverse. It doesn¡¯t have to be too in-depth, but a general idea of what beings are out there and maybe even a general idea of what faction they may gravitate towards?¡± The purpose of this was simple, he wanted to see if he could find anything on lost races, and hopefully, find out more about his heritage. ¡°That¡­¡­ is a very interesting request. Tell me, are you wanting information on the most common races or information on as many of the races, no matter how old or young, including general power level and where they may be located?¡± The intrigue on Agran¡¯s face was plain to see, his question seeming more like a test. ¡°The second option. Please.¡± ¡°Hmmmm, you are an odd person Master Shaun.¡± He then moved through the shop and took a singular book of a shelf, on much larger than the first, and placed it on the counter. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°A book of runes and also a book on affinity and elements.¡± Rather than respond the owner of the shop went around and gathered two more books, one that was for runes and the other was a combination of affinities, elements and their powers. When he returned to the counter there was now a total of four books, all on different topics. It was an odd combination, even he knew that, but he needed information and this was the best place to start. ¡°I must say, you have me intrigued. If I thought you would answer my questions I would ask them, but I get the feeling that you are a private person so I will not try and pepper you with questions in the hope I will gain what I seek. These books will be a good starting point for whatever question you may wish to find the answer to, and if you find that you are willing to give me more information as to your questions I may be able to provide further books that may meet your needs.¡± He appreciated the approach that Agran was taking, he wouldn¡¯t answer many of the questions he would be asked, which in itself would provide information, so instead silence was the best outcome for him. ¡°For the four books, it will cost you 3 silver 1.4 bronze coin. If you are happy with this please pay to this stone.¡± Agran pointed to a plain looking stone on the counter, and as he concentrated on it felt that he could push the coins into it from his inventory, which he did without hesitation. Once he was done, Agran thanked him, Shaun put all the books in his inventory and they left the store. ¡°Spending time with you is not boring, I will give you that.¡± Eric was the first to break the silence after the exited the store. ¡°If its okay, can you tell us more about the major powers when you read through it? Or when you''re done is it okay if we borrow it? The same with the others, not the rune one though, that all yours.¡± ¡°Not a problem, I will let you know of anything interesting and give it to you guys when I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°The next time we are alone I have questions, so many questions!¡± Gabe said, his curiosity leaking into his voice. Some things he would be happy to answer, others he would need to keep to himself, not because he didn¡¯t trust them, but he didn¡¯t want to put them in a situation where they would need to keep more of his secrets. They went into the rest of the stores after that, he didn¡¯t buy anything more as he didn¡¯t have an immediate use for anything but he did find things he wanted. There were items in the gem store that he was wanting, ranging from attuned crystals to application gems. They were all expensive, he could only afford one or two at this point and even then not the most expensive ones in the store. The shop that contained metals was also interesting, there was materials he had never heard of, most at the basic level but there was some that went straight up to epic and when he asked the assistant in the store they explained to him some of the different uses of each of the metals and stones they had. The weapons and armour store was less interesting for him, there were a few swords that caught his eye as worthy to spend time on and upgrade but they cost more than all of the remaining coins he had. He decided that buying the metal and forming the sword would be much cheaper, and if he did do that it would give him more money for buying a gem to put into the sword. It would still end up costing less than the swords in the store that were made with the same materials. Eric found some armour that he wanted, but again it was out of his price range, and although there was some stuff that he could afford, it wasn¡¯t worth it. His shield was already better than most of what he could afford and although he could use another chest plate, which was still only basic ranked, it would do for now. As they had already eaten, there was only one thing left to do, that was head to the dungeons. Book 2: Chapter 5 It didn¡¯t take long to get to the dungeons, it was easy to follow the signs from the shops, down a hallway and after only a few minutes they had made it. The area around the stores had been decently busy, maybe a few hundred people were there, either browsing, eating or just walking around with people they knew. The dungeon area was different through, there were still a few hundred people around but it felt much higher given they were in a smaller space. Their entrance to the dungeon area did not go unnoticed, several groups of people caught sight of him and started turning his way, he paid them no notice though and walked up to the dungeon entrances. ¡°Hi there, it took you long enough to show up!¡± Turning around to the person who had just spoken, he saw a woman walk up to him, she was just shorter than he was, had blonde hair that had been dyed red on the ends and had a bow on her back. ¡°I¡¯m Louisa, number 5. And you are Shaun, the current number 1! I have been hoping to find you around.¡± ¡°Ummmm, hi?¡± How the hell does someone reply to that! Louisa had a lot of energy and came across as nice enough, although maybe a little pushy, but he wasn¡¯t going to be rude, she hadn¡¯t done anything to deserve a cold response, yet. ¡°Hehe, Your cute! I didn¡¯t expect that.¡± Shaun felt himself start to go red, he tried to stop it but there was no way to hold it back. Behind him both Gabe and Eric were giggling like schoolgirls, watching the train wreck of a situation that he had found himself in. ¡°Thanks? I think?¡± How do I get out of here? Dungeon! Run into a dungeon! ¡°I am going to check out the dungeons now.¡± ¡°What a great idea! Let me show you around!¡± Louisa wrapped her arm around his and started guiding him towards the three dungeons, he looked back at Eric and Gabe who were holding back their laughter, they would be pointless in helping him get out of this situation. As they walked closer, people seemed to clear the way for them, anyone who was in between them and the dungeons quickly found somewhere else to move to, creating an unimpeded path forward. When he looked closer at the people present he found that they had a tinge of fear in their eyes, that or they looked at him with open distaste. Quickly checking everyone¡¯s levels they varied from people being in the low twenties up into the high twenties, with Louisa being the only person at level 29. That meant that between first place, being him, and fifth place, being Louisa, there was a 3 level gap, and although that didn¡¯t sound like much, the gap between Louisa, and Gabe and Eric who were in the 300¡¯s, was only 5 levels. It didn¡¯t take long until they were standing in front of the first dungeon, and as expected he received the welcome message. *Welcome to the Peak F grade Wave Dungeon* The dungeon will send continuous waves of monsters, not stopping until the participants have declared ¡®I give up¡¯. The monsters will start at mid F grade with the strongest reaching to the E grade. Reward dependant on waves completed and adjusted according to number of participants within dungeon. Four participant located, would you like to enter the dungeon? ¡°You got the message?¡± Louisa asked him. He just nodded back after reading it, this dungeon would be near pointless for him, given that the monsters only went up to level 25, being the start of E grade. ¡°Good, but that¡¯s not really why I brought you to this dungeon first, you see over on that wall?¡± She pointed at the wall behind all of the dungeons, on it was three boards, the first two having names on them while the last was oddly blank. Beside each name was a number, starting at 1 and going down to 100, while next to that was another number, this time with the amount of waves cleared. ¡°Each of those boards show the ranking of the best performers in each dungeon, the higher you rank the better the reward.¡± The amount of waves cleared on the first board was pretty low in his opinion, it only reached about 30, if he was to do the dungeon he imagined that he would be able to complete more, but the idea of fighting weak monsters was rather unappealing, the higher levelled people probably thought the same thing. On the second board there was a lot less names and the waves cleared was also much smaller, the number one spot was held by Rodger Jacobs, the number three if he remembered correctly, and he had only completed 7 waves. The last board was blank, either no one had gone in or they hadn¡¯t managed to complete a wave before giving up. ¡°Now moving on to the second dungeon, is exactly the same as the first but instead of peak F grade it is Low E grade. We aren¡¯t sure how high the level goes but Rodger went in and said that they start at level 25 and by the 7th wave they were in the low 30¡¯s. He went in with his team as well, and they were all strong.¡± Louisa stopped then and looked at Eric and Gabe. ¡°Stronger than your team at least.¡± Gabe laughed at this, loud enough for everyone to hear, which caused a stir among those present, even causing Louisa to drop her usual joyful and happy expression and give him a bit of a dirty look. ¡°What¡¯s so funny? It wasn¡¯t a joke.¡± She directed at Gabe. ¡°Oh, we aren¡¯t part of his team!¡± Gabe replied, ¡°Haven¡¯t been for a while, but we are friends.¡± That caused Louisa to turn back to Shaun, ¡°Where is your team then?¡± This caused more laughter from Gabe, even Eric let out a little chuckle. ¡°No team.¡± He told her, and everyone listening for that matter. ¡°I fight alone.¡± That caused everyone to break out in whispers, some saying that he was lying and his team just didn¡¯t make it to this stage, others saying he had killed them. Louisa though just looked at him, dumbfounded at the statement he just made. ¡°That explains the high level. How did you manage to get all of this way alone though?¡± She has curious, and as she said this, she had also moved her hand onto his arm, rubbing it up and down, making him want to run into the dungeon at that very moment. ¡°You must have been so lonely, but not anymore, because I¡¯m here now.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Yeah, uh no.¡± He backed away a few steps. ¡°I like fighting alone. Sorry but it¡¯s just easier, I don¡¯t have to look after others when I fight and don¡¯t have to take into consideration protecting others.¡± ¡°So you think you too good for a team? You think you can do better than Rodger, who had 4 others helping him, in the dungeon?¡± She hadn¡¯t moved closer to him, in fact she was no longer giving him a lustful look at all, instead she seemed almost angry at him, like he had said something that had offended her. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Won¡¯t know until I try I guess.¡± Why is this turning into some weird competition between me and a guy who isn¡¯t even here? ¡°Well go on in, lets see if you can live up to all of the hype of being number 1. We are all dying to find out what the big bad Shaun was to offer.¡± This got the crowd going, many egging him on or cheering for him to go in. ¡°I will even do you a deal cutie.¡± God now we are back to the flirting. ¡°If you beat Rodger on the leader board for the dungeon you get to spend the entire night with me.¡± She said with a wink. ¡°Something to keep you motivated in there.¡± He gave one last look at Gabe and Eric, but they were not going to be any help, they just smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. I came here to do a dungeon anyway. May as well get it over with. Turning back to Louisa he asked ¡°How long did it take Rodger to get to the 7th wave?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the cool thing about these dungeons, it doesn¡¯t matter how long you spend inside, you will always appear back 30 minutes after you enter the dungeon, doesn¡¯t matter if you do 1 wave for 20, it will always be 30 minutes.¡± That would be very, very helpful. He expected that he would be spending hours, if not full days in the dungeons, but if it would only be 30 minutes, even if it felt like much longer, it would mean he could get a lot more done with both his crafting and research. Turning to Gabe and Eric he decided to give them an offer. ¡°If you guys are going to do a dungeon, want to go in first and I will wait a few minutes then enter? Means you will be out before me.¡± They exchanged a look with each other and agreed, deciding they would go into the peak F grade dungeon first so that they could get enough experience and hit level 25. They both entered the dungeon with little fan fair, which he couldn¡¯t deny he was jealous of, he hated the crowds and the attention, yet it seemed he wasn¡¯t able to avoid it. After a few minutes, where Louisa was thankfully silent, he stepped forward to the dungeon entrance. *Welcome to the Low E grade Wave Dungeon* The dungeon will send continuous waves of monsters, not stopping until the participants have declared ¡®I give up¡¯. The monsters will start at Level 25 with the strongest reaching to the middle of E grade. Reward dependant on waves completed and adjusted according to number of participants within dungeon. One participant located, would you like to enter the dungeon? Yes! Anything to get me out of here! As soon as he accepted he was immediately pulled through space and into the dungeon, appearing a an open barren field with nothing around him but dirt and sky. There was no trace of anything living in the area but he assumed that that would change pretty quickly. *Wave 1 Commencing* And with that he was ready to begin. Out of nowhere he felt five monsters appear, all in front of him, only about 50 metres from where he was standing. *Soldier Ant ¨C Level 25* As expected they were level 25, the monsters were the same height as him though but didn¡¯t seem overly threatening. There were three things he wanted to accomplish in this dungeon run, the first and most important was getting used to the gauntlet. The second, beating Rodger on the leader board, third was getting loot to sell. He had a number of spells that he wanted to try using through his gauntlet, the first being unleashing an elemental strike using each of the five elements. Then he wanted to test how the shield would work as well as the healing spell he had enchanted into it. Lastly, he wanted to use his normal elemental affinities through the gauntlet, standard things he would usually do without it, like a fireball. He hadn¡¯t been able to fill the gem up fully with mana, really he had only put about 1000 mana into it so far, so he didn¡¯t want to rely on it for the dungeon, instead he channelled his mana into the gauntlet through the gem, powering up a fire strike. He also extended out his claws, acting as blades for any attacks he wanted to use that needed to start from bladed weapons. When he had put enough mana into the fire strike he sliced the gauntlet through the air, letting the attack move through the air at the lead ant. This wasn¡¯t his first time fighting a level 25 monster, in fact he had done so a few times before, but if he was to base his strength against the last monster at this level he would say he was over powered in comparison, and that was reflected in the end result of his attack. When his fire strike hit the ant, the resulting blast was enough to not only fully engulf it in flames but also hit the two monsters closest to it. The attack had been stronger than expected, especially considering he hadn¡¯t put that much mana into the attack. The first attack with the gauntlet had been a success, the orb he had merged into it effectively reduced mana cost and increased the power of the attack to the point that it had the same effect as a normal elemental strike of twice the mana use. The ant he had hit was dead, there was no denying that, and the two others who had been close to the blast were also considerably hurt. The fire strike was a success, moving on to element number two, air. Shaun powered up his second attack for an air strike, using exactly the same amount of mana as he had with fire so he could get a good comparison. When he launched this attack the ants were considerably closer, choosing one that was unharmed for his next strike, when it hit the ant was completely ripped into pieces, as if the air had condensed down into a physical blade. Damn, that¡¯s two down, only three to go. As the ants were now close enough to attack him, he decided that he would take to the air, forming solid air platforms under his feet he ran up and out of reach, at the same time powering his third attack, an earthen strike. The results were as expected, the ant he had aimed at was completely crushed under the power of the strike, crushing its outer shell and flattening it into the ground. Not wanting to delay he followed up with a water strike which ended up splitting the ant in half due to the amount of pressure from the water, and finally finished the last monster with a nature strike. The nature strike did the least amount of damage of all the elements, but still it had killed the already weakened ant, although barely. *You have defeated a (Soldier Ant ¨C Lvl 25). Experience gained. 1000 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ *You have defeated a (Soldier Ant ¨C Lvl 25). Experience gained. 1000 TE awarded* He hadn¡¯t gotten any levels, but he hadn¡¯t expected to. He was level 32 and these ants were only level 25. He knew they would get stronger though, and he may be able to get a level or two out of this dungeon run. *Wave 1 Completed ¨C Wave 2 starting in 1 minute* He didn¡¯t waste any time running to all of the ants and looting them, he got ant chitin, which was really just the hard shell pieces, nothing exciting but better than nothing. He had used about 10% of his entire mana supply in the fight, not too bad but also kind of wasteful considering the strength of the monsters, but it was worth it to see just how strong the attacks with the gauntlet were. *Wave 2 Commencing* I really only need to do 7 more waves to beat Rodger, but what a waste of a dungeon run if I don¡¯t try aiming higher. With that he took the sword from its sheath and got ready to fight. Book 2: Chapter 6 When the monsters appeared for wave two, there were a few things that had changed. The monsters were the same, still soldier ants, but now they were level 26 and there was 6 of them. To him the changes would be minor, fighting one more ant wasn¡¯t going to have much of an impact on the fight and even with them being level 26, he didn¡¯t expect a boost in strength when compared to when one moved from F to E grade. The only difference with this fight was that he was going to attempt to rely less on magic and use his sword, purely so he could conserve mana for the later waves. This time, Shaun didn¡¯t wait for the ants to come to him, instead he rushed forward as soon as they came into view and went in for the attack. His fighting style was very different when he wasn¡¯t purely using his elements, he had to rely more on his blade mastery skill and his stats, which thankfully he had plenty of. As soon as he made it to the first ant he went straight for the kill shot, aiming straight for the head, however the ant was slightly smarter than expected and moved at the last minute so that the sword hit one of its pincers rather than its head full on. Although he sliced cleanly through the pincer, removing it with one swing, he had failed in hitting his target. Not that it mattered, his dexterity was nearly at 200 and he had been using a sword for nearly the full time he had been in the tutorial, he didn¡¯t have a master skill for nothing. He quickly changed his grip on the sword and swiped back, burying the sword into it head before quickly moving back to gain some distance. Really though, it was just a precaution, he had stabbed the ant right through its head on his reverse swing, killing it with the move, but that didn¡¯t mean he shouldn¡¯t be cautious, if he got too cocky he may find himself in a position where he would need to use his mana to heal himself rather than save it for stronger enemies. With one ant already down he was down to five more to go, he continued on the offensive for now, he knew that there was more risk involved in fighting in close combat but he really needed to work on his non elemental skills for a bit, he couldn¡¯t rely on his mana for the rest of his life. His class was focused around not only elemental attacks but also using a blade, so now he was going to train the aspect he hadn¡¯t been using properly for a while. Moving to the next ant he attacked it in a similar way to the first, but instead of going straight for the head he first cut through one of its legs, and when it went in to attack him with its pincers, he quickly dodged around the head and then brought his sword down cutting through its neck execution style. While this had occurred the remaining four ants had started to move to surround him, Shaun wasn¡¯t stressed about this though, worst case he would run over the top of them with his air element, but that was only if he had no other choice. Rather than try and stop them from circling him, he moved to the next ant, dodging an attack from another who had moved in close to him from the side. He was much quicker than the ants were, not to mention his echo skill allowed him to know where they were at any given time, he had felt the ant moving in on him, so dodging any attack was not a hard thing to accomplish. When he moved up to the ant he was targeting next he moved around to its side, cutting through first one, then two of its legs, before following up with stabbing it through its body. The ant fell to the ground quickly after that, hurt but not dead, and he immediately followed up with cutting through its body, practically cleaving it in two. This had allowed him to move past the ants turning around he now had all three of them in front of him again. Shaun had killed three of the ants in under a minute, they were not a challenge to him at his level and really needed to move up in waves before he got to a real fight, one where his life may actually be on the line. Finishing the fight as quickly as he could, Shaun moved straight into he last of the ants, disposing of them as efficiently as he could, the fourth went down from a beheading, the fifth by bisecting and the sixth he cut the head into two, right down the middle. *Wave 2 Completed ¨C Wave 3 starting in 1 minute* Afterwards, he looted all of the bodies and did something he should have done before he even came into the dungeon, apply his AP. He had 64 to apply and ended up deciding to add 15 to each of his physical stats and threw the last 4 into Intelligence, his lowest stat. When the multipliers from all of his affinity and titles came into play his stats had large increases. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (F) Level: 32 Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger - Level 34 Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator - Level 30 Health Points:2060/2060 Stamina:1912/2040 Mana:4005/4440 Stats: (Available Points: 0) Strength: 204 Dexterity: 219 Endurance: 204 Vitality: 206 Intelligence: 164 Perception: 171 Willpower: 171 Soul: 444 Affinity: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Heritage: Azreal''s Legacy (Hidden) Skills: Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 15), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 28), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 29), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 23), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 22) Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 3), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 2), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 3), [Basic] Meditation (Level 25 - Max), [Advanced] Mana Sight (Level 19), [Basic] Rune Knowledge (Level 21) His stats were looking good, the 15 AP he had point into each of his physical stats had boosted each of them by at least 20, his percentage multipliers coming into play. He had also gained one level in his Blade Mastery skill in the last fight, and with it being his current focus, he was hoping to gain a few more by the time he had finished with this dungeon run. *Wave 3 Commencing* The third wave was much like the last, almost predictably so. There were now 7 soldier ants at level 27. Not wanting to waste time, he just took care of them the same way he did the last, utilising his sword to cleave them into pieces. This was even easier than the last ones, the extra stats showing their worth, they had increased by nearly 10% across all of the physical attributes, which was a large jump at this point in his levelling, and with the increased speed and strength he slaughtered them all in nearly half the time it had taken to kill the last ones. His stamina was slowly dropping down but no where near enough to have any impact on him at least for another few waves at least. Once he got the notification that the third wave was done, he looted, and got ready for the next wave. The fourth wave followed the exact same pattern, now 8 ants at level 28. And again, he took care of them with no real issues. This time it did take a little longer, they had managed to surround him twice, and not wanting to risk getting hurt he ended up having to manoeuvre around many attacks, only picking key times to go on the offensive, he didn¡¯t use any mana though, which was the aim. When the fifth wave started thing finally changed. There were of course now 9 soldier ants at level 29 but now, as if number 5 was going to be special for the dungeon, there was also an extra monster, one that was slightly different from the others. *Ant Queen ¨C Level 30* Now things are starting to get interesting. The fact that there was an additional, stronger monster wasn¡¯t a bad thing, it was great news! Level 30 wasn¡¯t that much lower than him, meaning that he might actually get something out of the fight, not bonus experience, he would need to go a few more waves for that, but hopefully a level. The ant queen had what looked like a crown growing from its head, rather than being made from the same chitin as the rest of its body it was silver in colour, almost white. Rather than running straight into the fight, Shaun decided to wait a minute and see what the queen would do. He figured it was going to have some kind of special attack, the soldier ants were staying close to it as well rather than running straight at him. He didn¡¯t have to wait long before the queen decided to act, the crown started to glow, slowly at first but quickly gained momentum until it was almost blinding. When the queen lowered it head, the crown now pointed straight at him, he decided to test out a spell he had not yet used on the gauntlet. Holding his hand up with his palm towards the crown he started to channel mana straight into he gem and the runes, activating the Nature¡¯s Barrier spell. Almost instantly a shield of glowing green light appeared before him, it started off almost see through, but the more mana he channelled into it the more solid it became. When he thought that it was strong enough to hold against the attack he stopped pushing mana into it and just left a slight trickle continue so that it would keep its form. He was just in time as well, as soon as the barrier was done the queen released a beam of energy directly at him, when it hit his spell he felt the pressure against it, the energy nearly breaking it to pieces, but it held. The beam cut around the shield and flowed harmlessly to either side of him, he didn¡¯t stop concentrating on the shield though, making sure that if he needed to he would push more mana into it. There was no need to though, the beam from the queens crown stopped after about 10 seconds and once it did he also dropped the barrier. Shaun was impressed with the Nature¡¯s Barrier spell, it had taken a full frontal attack from a level 30 monster and had managed to completely shield him, it was a better result than expected, especially as he had only put in about 150 mana into the spell. Once the ants realised the queens attack had failed they all raised their heads in the air and starting clinking their pincers together before running at him at full speed. Rather than wait for them to come to him though, he made a run straight at them, he wanted to get close enough so that if the queen made another move to kill him with its beam of energy that he would be able to kill it quickly without using more mana. Once he made it to the first ant, he dispatched it with an efficient strike from his sword, what followed was a whirlwind of ant parts and sword swings. Shaun didn¡¯t slow down for a second, he went from one ant to the next, attacking with every bit of strength and speed he had, wanting to end the fight before the queen had more time to prepare another attack. As he killed the last of the soldier ants he walked directly to the queen, just in time too. The crown had started to glow again, not yet at full strength, but given another 10 seconds it would be fully prepared to launch another attack at him. He didn¡¯t let it though. He started to run right up to it and leapt straight at the ants head. Unfortunately for it, it had committed to its attack, it didn¡¯t move, practically immobile while powering up the crown, and with practiced ease he cut the head from its body. *You have defeated a (Soldier Ant ¨C Lvl 29). Experience gained. 1800 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ *You have defeated a (Soldier Ant ¨C Lvl 29). Experience gained. 1800 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Ant Queen ¨C Lvl 30). Experience gained. 2000 TE awarded* *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 35. +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul gained* *Wave 5 Completed ¨C Wave 6 starting in 1 minute* Finally, another level! Shaun had been waiting to get another level for a while, he had barely grown in class levels for the last week and he missed seeing the notifications. What¡¯s more, every level above 25 for a monster gave him 200 extra TE, and with all of the monsters he had killed he had nearly doubled his TE count on the first day of this stage. The loot from the monsters was all the same, except he got the crown from the queen, it was called the Crown of Power, an advanced ranked item, all it did though was act as an item to channel mana through to power up a beamed attack, no attunements either which was disappointing and not something he would use. Who wore crowns anyway. *Wave 6 Commencing* He didn¡¯t know what the pattern would be now, the last wave had broken the pattern which meant he couldn¡¯t predict what he would be facing in this fight. He didn¡¯t have to wait long to find out though. Around him ten monsters appeared, and his least favourite type as well. I hate fighting birds! *Spear Sparrow ¨C Level 30* Ten level 30 birds was going to be a pain to fight, he had not had good experiences with birds in the past, having encountered them in the air dungeon not that long ago. At least this time he had something he didn¡¯t have before, he would control the air. Book 2: Chapter 7 Shaun knew that staying on the ground and playing shoot the sparrow out of the sky was going to be more hassle than it was worth, joining them in the air was going to be a much better use of his time and energy. He didn¡¯t see anything particularly weird or interesting about the sparrow like he had with the Ant Queen, although that didn¡¯t mean that they didn¡¯t have attacks that could harm him. Compressing air into platforms he started to run up into the air at the closest sparrow, he didn¡¯t get far before he found out what the spear part in the sparrows name meant. Just as he had covered half the distance to the closest bird he felt an attack come at him from another, he quickly dropped down from his position, dodging the attack, but what he saw made him second guess how far he would be able to make it through the dungeon if level 30 monsters could form such powerful attacks. The sparrow were able to power up attacks from their beaks and then launch what looked like a spear through the air at their target. Shaun watched the spear hit the ground below him, the result was a compressed explosion, that, if it had hit him, would have caused some serious damage. Now not only did he have to work on catching the monsters but he also had to constantly be on the look out for their attacks. If he didn¡¯t have his affinity with air, there was no way that he could both attack and defend at the same time, it was only because of his increased stats and all of his affinities that he believed that with a bit of time he would be able to win against them. Moving back through the air, he targeted the same bird as he had before, this time making sure to constantly use his echo to make sure he could feel whenever one of the attacks were sent his way so he could dodge it well in advance. The sparrow were quick, especially when flying at full speed, and after a while he gave up on using his sword for this fight. He would waste more mana if he kept running around long term compared to using his elemental strikes in the fight. Manipulating the air so that he could get closer to the birds, giving them less time to dodge any of his attacks, as soon as he was close enough he sent a fire strike through his gauntlet straight out at one of the monsters. It hit the bird full on, but he had underestimated their durability and instead of killing it outright he had just knocked it from the sky with the blast. The flames still did their part though, the sparrows feathers were all on fire, and it was on the ground. He didn¡¯t expect it to be able to get back into the air, but he should have no issue with dealing with it on the ground when the time came. But that in itself caused a different issue, he could either increase the mana in his fire strike or he could just knock them all out of the air and kill them on the ground, it would save on mana but it would also mean that they could attack from the ground with their spear attacks. Deciding that mana was going to be more important long term he continued chasing the sparrow, only releasing the low levelled mana strikes, it was a tedious process, one that he wished he would end. However if he was right he was going to have five full waves of birds to deal with. Eventually, after way too long of playing chase in the sky with the monsters, he had managed to knock them all out of the air, and from what he could tell, three of them had died of either the after effect of being on fire or when they had hit the ground. All that was left to do was run around to each of them and kill them with his sword. He found that the sparrow could only release a spear shot once every 30 odd seconds, giving him plenty of time to wait for one to try and attack him and then run in and kill it while it was defenceless. When there was only one bird left, he considered whether he should just kill it now or wait a while to increase his mana. He still had half left, enough to deal with the next wave, but after that he would need to wait a while and let his mana naturally increase. He wouldn¡¯t have to if he had just bought some mana potions, they were sold in one of the stores back in the colosseum, he had decided against buying any at the time as soul was his highest stat and he had plenty of mana to spare in a fight. But fighting waves of opponents with no rest in between had taken its toll on him, and his mana. When he got out of the dungeon it would be one of the first things he bought next. Spending the coin to be able to fight for longer, get more loot and hopefully more levels was worth it. Especially if he wouldn¡¯t have to keep going through the easier waves first. Having made his decision, he finished off the last bird, he received the expected notification of having 1 minute before the next wave and proceeded to loot the birds, getting their claws and beaks. When the next wave started he was greeted by eleven level 31 sparrows this time, this was also the 7th wave, meaning Rodger and his group had completed this level but not the next. Rather than wasting energy trying to find another way to take down the birds he did the same thing that he did in the last wave and chased them around, knocking them down with fire strikes, this time though he needed to up the amount of mana he used, as the first time he had attacked one of the sparrow it hadn¡¯t done enough to fully make it hit the ground, it was still on fire and hurt, but not quite out of the air. This was cutting it close on how much mana he would have towards the end of the fight, he was continuously using it to stay in the air as well as in his fire strikes, even with the efficiency of the gauntlet he only had so much he could use, until I fill that gem up at least. None of the sparrow had managed to hit him yet, and he was able to kill them off as he had the last ones until he got to the very last bird alive, this one he was going to use to give him time to recover. Pulling out one of the skins he hadn¡¯t sold to the Goblin he created stripes of the skin and infused them with the earth affinity. He waited until the sparrow sent out its attack, dodging it easily, before moving in and tying it up like a Thanksgiving turkey, effectively it couldn¡¯t fly, couldn¡¯t use its claws and its beak was tied shut. He inspected his handy work for a while before moving away from the sparrow and dropping into mediation to help boost the process of regaining his mana. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. To boost the effects of the mediation he also tried something a little different, using his mana sight skill he found the mana motes around him, most of it completely unattuned, and started taking control of them with his mind, forcing them into his body and giving him an extra boost with each mote he brought into himself. He continued doing this for about 2 hours, and only stopped when he had fully regained his full supply of mana. This would have taken twice as long if not for draining all the mana in the environment around him, taking full advantage of his mana sight and heritage. It also came with an unexpected surprise. *Your skill [Basic] Meditation (Level 25 ¨C MAX) has evolved into [Advanced] Meditation (Level 1)* *[Advanced] Meditation: The Meditation skill allows the user to more easily fall into a trance like state where they are able to recover their Mana at an increased rate, the skill also allows the user to block out their surroundings and fully focus their attention. The advanced skill allows for a boost in Mana recovery by speeding up the absorption of the ambient Mana. Can also more easily meditate and stay aware of your surroundings.* The name of the skill hadn¡¯t changed, and for the most part it was the same, essentially the upgrade to advanced just integrated exactly what he had been doing with his mana sight skill and offered a little bit of understanding of his surroundings when he meditated. Having finished with what he needed, he went up to the bird he had tied up and killed it. He received the notifications for killing the sparrow as well as the one-minute countdown to the next wave. Rather than waiting on the ground he moved up into the air just before the timer hit 0, making it easier to chase all of the birds down from the beginning. Now on the 8th wave, the sparrow were level 32, now even to his own level, and 12 of them were flying around. He found these birds to be slightly quicker than the last, also their attacks seemed to have more power behind them, meaning that the risks of getting hit were much higher and the damage would be severe if he did manage to take an attack full on. The same process as before continued now, but the amount of mana he now had to put into his fire strikes as well as the usage of his air affinity to be able to move quick enough to not only avoid attacks but also get on the offensive had increased. With 12 monsters attacking him he had to concentrate almost fully on dodging them, some of the birds even came close to him to try and attack by claw, these ones he was able to kill very quickly, his sword, imbued with a powerful strike, was too much for them to handle at such short range. The monsters had become more coordinated as well, instead of just sending out their spears whenever they felt like, they teamed up on him and made him flee away from their barrage of spears several times. At one point he hadn¡¯t been able to get out of the way quick enough and had taken a spear to the shoulder, blasting him through the air and away from the birds until he hit the ground. He was quick enough to get back on the move but it had taken a good amount of mana channelled through his gauntlet and into the healing spell before he was back to full mobility in his arm. He had taken worse attacks before, and at a much lower level, so his pain tolerance had increased quite a lot in the last few months, it had hurt, a lot, but he had learnt how to manage his pain and keep his head in the fight. He continued fighting his way through the sparrow, slowly taking them out until there was only the one left. He had been hit by another spear during the fight, this time to his leg when he was just slightly too slow to get out of the way, he managed to heal it using just his nature affinity but it had taken a lot of mana, and now with only one sparrow left he was nearing empty. He tied the bird up again, just like the last, and went back to meditating. As he did he thought about how likely he was to be able to get to and finish 10 waves, wanting to see what the boss was at wave 10 and also the next monster type. His health and stamina were running low, even with the healing he couldn¡¯t bring his health back to full, not without more mana, and he had no way to replenish his stamina without resting. The next wave was going to be rough, but also the most rewarding, he would finally be getting the bonus experience again, as they would be level 33, just one level higher than he was. He tried to think of ways that he could push the fight into his favour but he came up empty, the arrow heads he used to use just wouldn¡¯t cut it against higher level monsters, and the poisons and toxins he had were from lower level monsters, much lower than the birds. His daggers might help, but unless he powered up the shots first they likely wouldn¡¯t do much, not to mention if he missed it would become a waste of mana. When his mana was back to full he ended the bird before moving back up into the air, he still hadn¡¯t come up with a better solution on how to kill them, but it was something he would trouble shoot before he came into the dungeon next. The 9th wave went the same as the last, but it took what had to be nearly an hour before he had killed all but one bird, he had been hit 4 times by the spears, and four times he needed to run away from the monsters to heal, the wounds causing him more damage than before and taking more mana to heal. He persisted though, he wasn¡¯t willing to give up, not when he was so close to the 10th wave, he needed to know what he would be fighting and if he had a chance on winning the fight. He repeated the same process until he had regained his mana and killed the bird. He hadn¡¯t been getting the notification of their deaths until after he killed the last one, apparently as one monster was left alive it counted that he was in a fight. Luckily the skins he was using had held when he was binding the birds, however he was needing to use more and more every time. *You have defeated a (Spear Sparrow ¨C Lvl 33). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 2600 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ *You have defeated a (Spear Sparrow ¨C Lvl 33). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 2600 TE awarded* *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 36. +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 33. +16 Ap gained* Shaun put all of his AP into Dexterity, needing the increase in his movability more than anything else in that moment. Too soon did the next wave of monsters appear and with it the boss that he had been both excited for and dreading. *Starling Sparrow ¨C Level 35* The boss was twice the size of the other sparrow, but that wasn¡¯t what made a touch of fear enter him, no the boss was not just any old sparrow, its feathers shimmered like stars on a dark night and he could feel the power coming from the monster. He didn¡¯t know how, or even what power it had, but he knew that this fight was going to be the hardest he had ever fought in his life based on the aura he felt coming off of it. Book 2: Chapter 8 Shaun didn¡¯t know how he was going to win this fight, but he wasn¡¯t going to give up without at least giving it his all. What he did know was that he wanted to find out more about the Starling Sparrow, at the very least so that when he came to fight it next he would have a better idea of what he was up against. Looking at the 15 sparrow gathered he knew he would have no hope of fighting the boss first, if he tried he would be attacked relentlessly by the other sparrows, giving him little chance to concentrate on the boss and only being able to focus on dodging attacks. The only real chance he had was to deal with the normal monsters first before trying to face the boss on its own at the end. He had doubts on being able to see this wave through to the end, he had barely been able to fight when there was 13 of the sparrow, now they were stronger and more of them, and still, he hadn¡¯t figured out a better way to fight them. Instead of standing in the air waiting for the sparrow to start attacking him, he went on the offensive from the very beginning, time was not on his side in this wave, if the starling was anything like the Ant Queen they would have a powerful attack that he would not be able to survive if he got hit and although it had taken the queen a while to power up and use, it would have been able to use the attack more than once if given the chance. He chased after the birds, keeping a close eye on their attacks as well as where the starling was, making sure he would be prepared for its attack, but it seemed to just be watching him for the moment, either waiting for the perfect time to attack or simply evaluating if it would be needed in the fight at all. For 5 minutes he tried and failed to land an attack on the sparrow, they had become too quick, and smarter than the ones beforehand, whether that was due to their level or the presence of the starling he didn¡¯t know, but it had made the entire situation much harder to get through. In his frustration he decided to do something that he hoped would help, in the very least annoy the sparrow. He started reducing the attacks he was sending out and instead focused on dodging their spears while connecting to the air through his affinity. He still stayed in the air, running around on his compressed platforms, but he no longer tried to go close to the birds. It took a while before he thought he had enough control over the air around him, tapping into the slight breeze in the air. He had never done anything on such a large scale with his air affinity before, so he wasn¡¯t sure if he was capable of what he planned to do. But when he was as ready as he was ever going to be he started controlling the winds, moving them in a circle all around him. It wasn¡¯t a huge circle, only a dozen or so metres across with Shaun being in the middle, but if he succeeded, it should have one hell of an impact on the birds. Slowly the winds fell under his control and started picking up speed around him, at first it was barely enough for him to feel the change in the winds direction, but as he continued applying his will to the winds it picked up speed, until finally, he started to feel a circuit of wind blowing around him, feeding on itself and growing stronger. The more power he pushed into the air, the faster the winds blew, the birds picked up on the change around him when one of them sent a spear directly at him but as soon as it got close to the gale forced winds it was blown off course. Holy shit its working! Seeing that the attack couldn¡¯t reach him, he decided to go all in on his crazy plan, pushing as much of his will and affinity into the air as he could, slowly his natural disaster started to truly take form. A tornado a dozen feet wide started spreading down until it not only hit the ground but also spread into the air above him. The sparrow all threw everything they could at him, but not one was able to pierce through the winds. The tornado changed once it was fully formed, no longer did it try and stretch to cover more space, instead it focused on power, forcing everything close to it into the circuit of wind of which the tornado had formed. Shaun felt like a god, he had brought disaster into this world, he was nothing but pure destruction made up of the element of air. The sparrow tried to flee from the winds, but it was for naught, as he moved closer to them, they did not have the power to resist being brought into the tornado, being sucked in by the apocalyptic winds. He moved himself and the tornado around until he had collected nearly all of the sparrow, only the starling having the power to avoid him. The birds were being battered around in the tornado, unable to gain control of their wings to steady them, feathers were being ripped from their bodies and when they collided with each other the results were broken wings and massive damage to their body. He wouldn¡¯t be able to hold this power for long, already he felt it slipping from his grasp, but before he could think of what to do next everything changed. The sun disappeared from the sky, everything started darkening, the only light left was that of the starling, now glowing in the dark night, surrounded by what looked like tiny stars. The power they were giving off was unlike anything he had ever felt, and he knew the attack would leave him and everything else that they hit, completely destroyed. He needed to make a decision and quickly. Either he gave up and ran, or he turtled up, throwing everything he had left into a barrier, hoping that it would be enough to protect him. Out running the attack would have been pointless, and with the strength of the attack that the starling was going to throw at him, they would tear through his tornado without much effort. Making his decision he dropped down through the centre of the tornado, hitting the ground hard before crouching down in a defensive position. Letting go of his control of the tornado, he quickly formed a Nature¡¯s barrier with his gauntlet, covering himself in a sphere, putting as much of his mana as he could into it, at the first sign of failing he would give up and get taken out of the dungeon, but he wanted to try and deflect it first. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Not a second after his barrier formed did he feel the stars that the starling had conjured into existence get sent his way, there was only 6 in total, but each one had more power behind it than any elemental strike that he had ever used. When the first star hit his barrier he felt the shield tremble, but thankfully hold, he couldn¡¯t say the same for the ground around him though. Pieces of the earth were sent flying into the air, quickly sucked up by the tornado. Even though it was no longer under his control, it hadn¡¯t dissipated yet, he had put enough power into it that it would hold for a time. This caused further damage to all of the birds stuck inside of its winds, getting hammered by rocks that had been torn from the ground by the starlings attack. When the second star hit, cracks started forming in his barrier, causing him to throw even more mana into it. Before he could fully repair the damage the third start hit, and this time he felt the attack wash over his body, causing him to be pushed into the ground, his bones nearly breaking from the force, but the barrier held, if barley. He hadn¡¯t let it completely drop yet, and instead continued to put as much mana as he could into it, making sure that it could continue holding out against the starlings attacks. When the fourth star hit, the force on his shield was almost too much, he felt blood leaking from his nose and ears, his body trembled from the overwhelming power, but he did not give up. The fifth star hit shortly after, nearly causing him to lower the gauntlet to stabilise himself rather than being flattened into the ground, but he stopped himself at the last moment, it was the only thing between him and death, or worse, giving up on the fight. By this point the tornado had completely dissipated, the starlings attack being too much for it to keep form without Shaun also sending his power into it, but it had done what he needed it too. When the sixth and last star came down on him, it was too much for his barrier spell and at the very end it broke, sending the remaining power of a star down onto him. He was crushed into the ground with enough force that he felt the rock beneath him crack. When the force bearing down on him stopped, he could barely breath, his body was in tatters, pain shot through nearly every part of him. But he was alive. He had only 10% of his mana left, not enough to do any more major attacks or barriers, but just enough to give himself a bit of healing. Concentrating the last of his mana into the gauntlet he held it against his chest and focused on the spell to heal him. It didn¡¯t do much, but just enough to take the edge of the pain. I really wish I had bought potions before coming in here. As he got to his hand and knees he couldn¡¯t help but vomit, blood gushed from his mouth, but this was more to do with healing the wounds in his chest than it was from being on the edge of death. He still had about 20% of his health left after the healing, so he wasn¡¯t completely out of the fight yet. Getting to his feet he looked around for the remaining birds, but all he saw was the Starling Sparrow, the rest it seemed were killed by the tornado, thanks to the starlings own attacks pulling up the earth. Looking at the starling it wasn¡¯t in the best condition either, it was barely staying air born, it seemed that it had put so much of itself into the attacks and resisting the tornado that it was beyond exhausted. As he continued to watch he saw it slowly get lower and lower to the ground, unable to keep itself in the air for much longer. He also had nothing left to get in the air to attack it from up close, but he could still walk closer to its position. As he walked, not having the energy to run, the starling tried to fly away quicker which just caused it to falter and drop lower to the ground. Whatever it had done to form those stars, it was meant as a last-ditch effort, if it didn¡¯t win it left itself completely exposed and weakened. When he got close enough, he pushed the rest of his energy into his tired broken body and with a leap that sent pain throughout his body, he brought his sword down on the starling, knocking it the rest of the way to the ground, and without delaying the inevitable, stabbed it through its body, ending the fight. *You have defeated a (Spear Sparrow ¨C Lvl 34). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 2800 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ *You have defeated a (Spear Sparrow ¨C Lvl 34). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 2800 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Starling Sparrow ¨C Lvl 35). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 3000 TE awarded* *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 37. +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul gained* *Wave 10 Completed ¨C Wave 11 starting in 1 minute* The level was nice, more than nice. He had gained three levels in just 10 waves, one of the benefits of fighting higher levelled monsters and not having to share experience. But he didn¡¯t know if he would win this fight again, he had given absolutely everything he had in that fight and still barely come out of it alive. He looted the starling, not having any energy to run to the bodies of the other birds, not that he would make it in 1 minute anyway, but the starling was the real treasure here anyway. He received starlight feathers from the boss, something that was a bit different to everything else he had gotten and hopefully something that would give him insight into how it had been able to form stars into existence and block out the sun, turning it to night. Before he had a chance to take them out of his inventory he got the notification that the 11th wave was starting. When the monsters appeared he identified one, wanting to know what he would need to fight the next time he came in the dungeon. *Dire Wolf ¨C Level 35* Not giving any of them a chance to fight him he quickly thought the words that would get him out of the dungeon. I give up! And with that everything went black. Book 2: Chapter 9 Shaun wasn¡¯t disappointed by his performance in the dungeon, if anything he was impressed with himself. Rodger, the 3rd highest ranked person from this tutorial, had gone into the dungeon with a party of five and had only managed to complete the 7th wave before retreating, not that he blamed him. The sparrow were a hard enemy to win against, their attacks were powerful and they were hard to catch. But when comparing that result to his own, he had managed to complete the first 10 waves, three more than Rodger and his team, and he had done it alone. He wasn¡¯t in the best shape, but he would be back to full health in a day or so if he used his nature affinity to heal himself, besides he had plans to spend the next two days reading and studying his books, hoping to gleam some insight into not just the multiverse but his heritage and affinities. It didn¡¯t take long for him to appear back in the dungeon room back in the colosseum, right back in front of the dungeon he had entered from. He didn¡¯t know what to expect, probably some more flirting from Louisa, some congratulations from others, questions definitely. When he looked around at the people gathered, he realised that there was more here now than there was when he had entered. Apparently, word had gotten out that he had entered the dungeon and that had driven a lot of people to be here when he exited, everyone wanting to see the results of his dungeon run. Shaun didn¡¯t say a word to anyone when he appeared, instead he turned around and looked at the leader board. Right in front of his eyes he watch name dropping down and in the number 1 place his name appeared, as well as the information that he had completed the 10th wave. *Calculating dungeon reward grade* Wave 10 cleared. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon entered alone. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon reward grade: D *Distributing reward at D level* *2 Silver coin* *Tranker Root* *[Advanced] Tranker Root: An ingredient used in alchemical creations, most commonly used in the production of elixir¡¯s relating to body enhancement.* The 2 silver were nice, especially now that he needed to stock up on potions, the root though was next to useless to him, he couldn¡¯t make potions or elixirs so it was probably something he would either trade or sell. He put it straight into his inventory, not bothering to do much else with it at the moment. Turning away from the leader board he looked back at the crowd, no one was speaking, everyone was just staring at him, making for a very uncomfortable situation, almost as bad as when he was being hit on by Louisa before he entered the dungeon. He caught Gabe and Eric having already finished their dungeon, standing towards the back of the crowd near one of the exits, not wanting to be up close to him when he exited the dungeon, probably to avoid being caught up in the drama, not that he blamed them for it. ¡°How?¡± This came from Louisa, who was standing right up front, the person closest to where he was now. ¡°I want to know the answer to that as well.¡± This was spoken by a man that was standing right next to Louisa, he was tall, taller than Shaun at least, had short brown hair and was rather muscular. He was a warrior build, having a sword on his hip, one that looked rather nice, as well as a shield strapped on his back. His chest plate was also better than the one that all warriors were given when they entered the tutorial. Overall he had a lot of good equipment and held himself with an air of authority. *Rodger Jacobs ¨C Level 30* So it seems he made his way back here when he found out that I was going to try and knock him from first place. He didn¡¯t look to be in bad condition, at the very least he looked a lot better than Shaun did in that moment. Looking down at himself he was pretty banged up. He had blood on his clothes, or what was left of them from being attacked by the birds and he was covered in dirt, apart from that though he wasn¡¯t too badly injured, externally at least. ¡°Are you going to tell us or not?¡± Louisa pushed him for an answer. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the best idea to go around telling everyone what our strengths are, not when we will all be fighting in the colosseum over the next few week.¡± It was a sound argument, one that no one would be able to argue against. They all knew they would end up fighting each other at some point, going around and yelling to the masses what you were capable of would be the stupidest thing you could do. ¡°That¡¯s¡­..more than fair. I even agree with you. If someone asked me to give details of what I was capable of I would say the same.¡± He didn¡¯t expect Rodger to be so agreeable to what he had said, but it seemed the man was more level headed than not. ¡°I¡¯m Rodger by the way, its nice to meet you Shaun.¡± Rodger extended his hand for a handshake, which he quickly met with his own, it was just common courtesy. ¡°Nice to meet you too Rodger. And sorry about bringing you into this mess. I was asked to prove I could do it, taking the top spot on the leader board I mean, it had nothing to do with you directly.¡± ¡°Hahaha, there is nothing wrong with some friendly competition. I imagine that over the next month there will be a lot of fighting for the top spots.¡± This guys isn¡¯t actually that bad. ¡°Do you mind me asking though, the boss on the 10th wave, what was it?¡± ¡°I hate birds!¡± Shaun exclaimed at this, needing to vent about how annoying the damn things were. This got laughs from a few of the people present, everyone in Rodger¡¯s team, including Rodger himself, laughed the hardest, along with agreeing with his statement. ¡°You and all of us as well. They were the most annoying things to fight! Pinning them down was near impossible. And the spears? The strongest attacks I have ever seen come from a monster.¡± ¡°Yeah same here, until the boss that is. It was a Starling Sparrow, level 35, and it could block out the sun, turning the dungeon to night while summoning these small stars that it could send at you. It was devastating, I nearly died multiple times from those attacks.¡± Shaun told them. ¡°But you could out run them? Or could you defend against the attack?¡± This time Louisa popped back into the conversation, trying to dig for information on what he could do. Rather than reply to her he just nodded at Rodger. ¡°It was nice to meet you, but I need to go heal up, do some shopping and get some rest. The dungeon takes a lot out of you.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Until next time, Shaun.¡± He walked through the crowd, parting for him as soon as they realised where he was walking, he was heading to the exit that Gabe and Eric were standing at, and as he reached it he just walked past them giving them a head nod when he passed. They followed along with him through the corridor, leading back to the shops. ¡°Sorry we weren¡¯t up there when you came out, it was pretty hectic. Everyone has been talking about you too, people have come up to us and asked us questions, which we haven¡¯t answered. I hope you don¡¯t mind that we kept some distance.¡± Gabe said, a bit nervous by the sound of his voice. ¡°You think I wouldn¡¯t do the same? If I could have I would have just run out of there when I exited the dungeon, but I am getting the feeling that blending into the background is no longer something I can do.¡± Shaun really thought that that bridge had been burned. Everyone knew he was in the top spot and now they knew what he looked like. Trying to hide would do nothing, if anything it would spark rumours that he would rather avoid. ¡°How did your dungeon run go?¡± ¡°Amazing! We both hit level 25 which was cool, although a bit risky to do in a dungeon. We made it to the 22nd wave before we gave up. He got what we needed and at that point the monsters were all level 25 too and just grew in numbers.¡± Gabe was pretty enthusiastic about hitting E grade, they both needed another shower, although so did he so he want going to complain. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°Selling loot, buying potions, showering, reading books. All in that order.¡± He replied. After they agreed to come along with him to the shops, deciding they would buy some potions as well, they walked in silence for the most part, knowing the questions they had were not something they should ask in public. As they walked through the shopping lane they got some looks, mostly due to the state they were in, but some identified him and looked at him much closer than the others. When they entered the exchange they saw the same Goblin as before. ¡°Welcome back Master Shaun, it is a pleasure to see you again so soon.¡± The Goblin looked them over, and came to the conclusion on where they had been. ¡°Selling loot from the dungeon I presume? All together or separate?¡± Shaun looked back at Gabe and Eric who indicated that they would do everything separately. ¡°We will do it individually please Ulorid.¡± With that he took out all of the loot from the ants and the sparrow, only keeping the feathers from the starling, not bothering with the crown he had received. It wasn¡¯t like he wouldn¡¯t be getting more anyway. ¡°This seems like it is all of the loot from the second dungeon, all the way to the 9th wave?¡± Ulorid raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh, uh, yeah. I completed the 10th wave but didn¡¯t get a chance to loot all of the sparrows.¡± It was common knowledge at this point so correcting the Goblin wasn¡¯t going to having any impact on him. ¡°And you have all of the loot? You didn¡¯t share with your team?¡± At this he looked at Gabe and Eric behind him, a slightly judgemental tone in his voice. ¡°He fights alone. We did the first dungeon.¡± Eric explained. ¡°My apologies, I should not have assumed.¡± The Ulorid looked over the loot, sorting it all out in seconds. ¡°For all of this I can give you 2 silver 6.4 bronze coins, with over half of that being from the crown itself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s perfect, and what about this?¡± Shaun took out the root and handed it over to the Goblin. ¡°Hmmm, I can give you 2 silver for the root. But if you would take some advice, go to the alchemist store, Alxeria, the owner, will be willing to sell it for more or come to a better agreement.¡± Once they had all finished getting more coins they headed out to the alchemist, it was convenient as she sold the potions they needed as well. When they entered the store it was more organised than they expected, there was a board detailing all of the potions and elixirs that one could buy from your standard recover potions to ones that cured diseases and poisons. The elixirs varied but he saw ones that would permanently increase specific stats and also some that would help with ones mana control. ¡°Browsing or Buying?¡± From behind a curtain at the back of the store a woman came out, she was tall and lithe, had long white hair and pointed ears. This was what he expected an elf to look like if he was picturing something from Earth myth. *Alxeria Silverfoot ¨C Level ???* ¡°We are buying and maybe selling.¡± Shaun replied for them. ¡°And what do you have that you think I may want to buy human?¡± Damn this elf does not seem happy to be here. Rather than reply he just pulled out the root and put it on the counter. Immediately the elf picked it up and gave it a look over before putting it back on the counter. ¡°You want to sell this? Or have it made into a Physical Enhancement Elixir?¡± ¡°What would the elixir do?¡± Curious as it if it may be worth it. ¡°Increase all physical attributes. Looking at the quality of the root I would say I could make it increase the attributes by at least 5 each, as many as 10. To make it will cost you 20 silver, or you can sell it for 5. Your choice, I do not negotiate.¡± At least she is to the point. ¡°I will think on it for now.¡± Picking it back up and putting it in his inventory, he wasn¡¯t sure whether it would be worth it in the future so keeping a hold of it until he had more coin might be worth it, but potions were more important at this point. ¡°I need potions, mana mostly, but maybe some stamina and health.¡± ¡°Check the board and then tell me what you want, I wont read it for you. Call me back when you are ready.¡± With that she turned around and went back through the curtain. ¡°Isn¡¯t she a ray of sunshine.¡± Gabe muttered. Shaun chuckled and then read through the list of potions. It was easy to understand, if not a bit disheartening. They sold the basic potions for 5 bronze each, giving 100 in their respective resource. There was three advanced grades, low, simple and high, recovering 300, 600 and then 1000 respectively. The cost also increased considerably, with low being 8 bronze, simple 1 silver and high being 1.2 silver. They then went into Epic grade, again at low, simple and high, recovering 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000, costing 5 silver, 8 silver and then 10 silver. He had 20 silver at the moment, and he didn¡¯t want to spend it all, but he needed to make some kind of investment into his dungeon runs, even if I was just going to be for emergency use until he could fill the gem in his gauntlet. That gave Shaun an idea, turning to Gabe and Eric he asked, ¡°What are your plans for the next 2 days? Any more dungeon runs?¡± Eric and Gabe shared a look before turning back to him. ¡°Maybe a quick one tomorrow, just to test out the E grade some more, but nothing too serious, we want to be prepared in case we have to fight the first day. Why?¡± ¡°How much mana do you guys have? And if I asked you to donate it do you think it is something you would be happy to do?¡± Eric gave him a weird look, understandably so, but didn¡¯t seem opposed to the idea. ¡°We don¡¯t use much mana in fights so I don¡¯t see why not. We don¡¯t have much of it though, neither of us have 1000. But why?¡± Their curiosity was peaked now, and he would answer their question, later. ¡°I will explain, just later.¡± He said. ¡°HA!¡± Shaun whirled around, looking at the elf who had just made the noise, as if he was caught in the act of doing something he shouldn¡¯t have been doing. ¡°What he wants your mana for, is to fill up that nice looking gem!¡± She pointed at his gauntlet. ¡°And how rare it is to see much a gem on someone so young and new to the multiverse. A story I would happily hear, hmmm?¡± He just looked at the elf, who was now grinning at him, like a cat that caught the canary. ¡°Sorry, not happening. But I know what potions I want. One low epic, three high advanced mana, and one each of the high advanced stamina and health.¡± ¡°You do realise, young human, that just because the epic potion recovers 5000 mana, doesn¡¯t mean it will let you go over your cap.¡± ¡°That wont be a problem.¡± I am almost there anyway. ¡°Jesus christ! What the hell Shaun!¡± Gabe exclaimed. ¡°Oh aren¡¯t you an interesting one.¡± The elf was really looking at him now, suddenly more intrigued by what he was capable of and how he had gotten so much mana. His mana would be less than half of what it was now if it wasn''t for his heritage and affinity, it meant he had a large lead on nearly any being at his level in terms of pure mana. ¡°I am very, very interested in your story, something think I would even pay to hear. But somehow I doubt you will tell it. Regardless that will be 11 silver. Pay up and I will get you your potions.¡± It didn¡¯t take long for him to pay and get what he needed, Gabe and Eric followed soon after and they quickly left the store, walking back to their apartments quickly. When they got back to their rooms they didn¡¯t go into theirs straight away instead they followed him to his door. ¡°We have questions, you have answers. Let¡¯s talk.¡± Gabe said. Book 2: Chapter 10 Shaun fell back on the bed, emotionally exhausted from having to answer the questions that Gabe and Eric had for him. They hadn¡¯t been in his apartment for that long, maybe an hour tops, but with every question they asked he had to come up with an answer that was as close to the truth as he could make it without revealing anything that could potentially expose his secret heritage. Because of that he ended up telling some lies, which ended up with him telling more lies, and in the end he really didn¡¯t know if they believed all of his responses but they didn¡¯t call him out on it. The easiest questions were on the gem and gauntlet, he was honest about where he got the gem and the metal, even going into detail about meeting the Merfolk and explaining what he knew about some the factions seeding some of the dungeons with copies of themselves throughout the tutorials. That ended up into a larger conversation as to the twelve powers but he hadn¡¯t had a chance to read the book yet so it was mostly a conversation about whether they would be looking to join clans. It wasn¡¯t until they started talking about Shaun and how he had completed so many dungeons alone and how he had defeated the 10th wave when even the 3rd most powerful person here couldn¡¯t manage it in a group. That was when the lies truly started, he confessed to having an affinity, choosing to tell them that it was for fire, leading to a wider conversation about affinity and how he had gotten one, what it did and exactly how much power it gave him. He was mostly honest about it, explaining the title you could get, the increase in some attributes and how helpful it was in battle. But that was when he ended up having to skirt around the truth and lie about having more than one affinity, the increase in titles, his heritage and also how exactly that all factored into his class and profession. When it came to his mana and how he had so much, he explained that he got Soul in both his class and profession, leading to a higher than normal amount of Soul stat but didn¡¯t explain that it was practically doubled from all of his affinity and titles. They became sceptical at this point, as even if every single stat increase went into his soul stat from his level ups it still wouldn¡¯t account for it being so high. In the end they agreed to put all of their mana into the gem, Shaun doing the same to show them how it worked, before they left, not entirely happy about the information they had received, but also knowing that if he didn¡¯t tell them the entire truth there was a reason behind doing so. As soon as they left he showered, changed into something comfortable and laid down on the bed, ready to start reading one of the books he had gotten from the store. He had the four books in front of him, A History of the Major Faction¡¯s, A Creatures Guide of the Multiverse, Affinity: Elements and the Multiverse, and finally, Rune¡¯s and Crafting: Book 1. He was currently debating which one to start with, but the most pressing issue was what was going to occur in the next few weeks, many clans were sending representatives to watch them fight, and to scout them out, because of that he needed to know which ones to avoid and which ones might be the safest for him. Because of that he started with the history book. The first few chapters were pretty straight forward, explaining that in the 1st era, they were currently in the 72nd era according to the timeline of the book, the 71st era had ended with the integration of his own universe, the twelve major factions were formed, each led by the most powerful beings in existence, the Ancients. From what the book described the 1st era was when order came to be in the multiverse and the Ancients became the ruling beings, bringing with it prosperity and what could only be described as a hierarchy across the integrated universe. Rules were put into place and everyone fell into line, although the book described this as being a peaceful time, Shaun highly doubted that, such wide scale change did not occur overnight and something had to be the trigger for it but the book didn¡¯t go into any details around how it all occurred. The book continued on, the next 24 chapters of the book detailing each of the twelve major factions, two chapters for each faction, one covering the major power itself and its focus, the next covering the types of clans under it. This is where it all got interesting, he only knew of one faction so learning about each of them was something that he was looking forward to. The first power that the book explored was The Empire, a faction that¡¯s main focus was on war and fighting, creating the best warrior¡¯s within the multiverse. It was led by the Ancient simply known as The Empress, who¡¯s main focus was to find and train the best creatures, regardless of race, in the art of war. The more he read about them, he found that the clans that made up The Empire would increase and decrease in rank based on the amount of power that they held, competitions would occur, mini wars really, where the winners would increase closer to the top of the faction while the loser would drop. It was a somewhat barbaric notion, but apparently it was one of the most powerful and popular powers to join into, the main reason for this being that they were provided with ample opportunities to grow in strength, and if you did manage to survive what was thrown at you, the rewards were apparently worth it. After The Empire, he read about the faction called The Pantheon, it was a faction made up of different groups of gods, reading he found that that the Ancient who ruled was simply referred to as The King of Gods, but when he kept reading he soon realised that he had heard about this Ancient power in Earth myth, It was Zeus, taken straight from Greek mythology. But what their ancient histories got wrong was that he didn¡¯t just rule over Greek gods, no, the most powerful clans that made up The Pantheon were so very similar to the Egyptian, Roman, Celtic, Norse and so many others that it gave him whiplash just reading about this faction. The purpose of The Pantheon, if one read between the lines, was to serve the gods, and in return you would be offered protection and chances to prove your worth and grow. It was one of the largest factions too, how? He had no idea. But they were strong, so many of the gods fell in under Zeus, and with them all the clans that made up of all the worshipers of these gods. It was mind blowing. And what was even more crazy was that many of the lesser gods aimed to be in The Pantheon, being ruled by their King. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. The next two major factions were the complete opposite of each other, Life¡¯s Union, ruled by The All Giver, and Death¡¯s Legion, who simply had the title of Death. Life¡¯s Union was pretty straight forward, they focused on all aspects of life, from nature to birth, not discriminating on race and simply allowing for all of those who wished to form a clan under them to come, the only rule was that you gave yourself to life and joined in the never ending battle against Death. And for Death¡¯s Legion, it was made up by any race or being attuned to death, Ghouls, Zombies, Vampires, not to mention beings he had never heard of. They allowed in other races, those who wished to join them in death if they proved themselves worthy. The entire thing was insane, and again joining them meant entering a war with Life. The next two factions again seemed like they were in a constant struggle, The Holy Light Faction, who¡¯s Ancient god was simply referred to as The Holy Mother, was in opposition to The Nine Circles Faction, led by The Morning Star. The entire thing was insane, what he read was literally two factions that resembled the fight against Heaven and Hell, down to an Ancient being named Morning Star, literally Lucifer himself, and the Holy Mother, who if he was to guess was where Earth got the God moniker from. The Holy Light Faction was made up of Angels, honest to god Angels forming the main faction, with many of the clans formed of any being who wished to unite the multiverse in the Holy Mothers embrace and bring peace to all citizens of the multiverse, joining the struggle against the demons. The Nine Circles, for their part was made up of many demonic beings and was very popular amounts those in the multiverse as the promise to be transformed into ones demonic form, which would provide a large increase in power, was an easy way to gain attributes and a Demonic Affinity. Reading on, the next few factions were a little less intense. The Dynasty was a faction focused on trade and wealth, led by the Ancient called The Master, whose main focus was expanding across the entire multiverse, being the main faction who controlled coin, trade and the overall wealth of each faction. They worked closely with The Creator¡¯s Guild, a faction completely dedicated to all types of crafting, from weapons to items, alchemy to complete body enhancement, it included rituals and rune smithing, all led by the god named The Creator. All those wishing to join either faction had to show some ability in their respective fields, as well as a desire to improve and grow in their respective fields. The next faction, The Unending Void, was a little different, apparently they started out with wanting to explore the depths of the nothingness between everything, whatever that meant, but soon found that they wished to find the answers to all things that were unknown. It was a research focused faction, one that wanted to uncover things that were not known, it was all about knowledge, and at the lead was the god known as Chaos. The Collective of Beastial Creatures was next, this one he already knew about, many unique and different beings lived within this faction, it was primarily focused on races outside of the norm, ruled by the Ancient Genisis. What he didn¡¯t know was that they formed a close tie to the next faction, The Elementals, a faction made up of the more elemental focused beings and creatures, even monsters that had evolved. As long as you were tied to one of the elements, any of them really, there was a place for you. Even if you were willing to completely give yourself over to any of the elements, they would let you join with an oath. The Symphonium, the power that controlled the faction, was always interested in those that showed unique connections to any element in the multiverse. The last faction in the book was different to the others, the chapters much shorter, the faction was known as The Alliance, the Ancient who ruled was just named The Betrayer. What he read sent his mind racing, it said that The Alliance was formed by the races left from the losing side of the Great War. They were the smallest faction, made up predominantly of the Fae and Dragon¡¯s and joining the faction was done on invite only. Shaun raced through the rest of the book, looking for any more mention of The Alliance, anything mentioning the Great War, but all that was left in the book was talk of what each of the powers, and their clans, looked for in recruits. Frustrated when he finished the book, finding no more information on The Alliance, he threw the book down and got up from his bed and started pacing. It said the races that were left after the Great War, that means that races didn¡¯t make it, that some were completely wiped out, extinct, and that only the Fae and Dragons were left afterwards! But what were the other races! Turning back to his bed he pulled the book on races open, opening it up he searched for the chapter on the Fae, what he found was limited, it described them as one of the most powerful races in the multiverse, but also one of the smallest, they were all part of The Alliance and were one of the first races to be integrated into the system. They were tall and great warriors, had pointed ears, larger than normal canine teeth and lived longer lives than normal. That was it. Frustrated he turned to the chapter on Dragons, again it spoke of them being one of the most powerful races in the multiverse but also one of the smallest, they also gained the ability to shift into a humanoid form upon reaching C grade. There was many types of Dragons and they ranged in size. All Dragons were part of The Alliance. That¡¯s it! What the actual hell! The chapters on the other races were much larger, but these two were so short, not even filling a page in the book. He flipped to the index looking through all the names of the races to see if anything would stand out, but nothing. Frustration built within him until he couldn¡¯t help but let out a scream, throwing the book back onto the bed and having an urge to take out his anger on something, anything, but he didn¡¯t. He took deep breaths trying to calm himself down. When he had brought himself back under control he decided that he would need to read the entire book on races and try and see if he could pick up anything more on this Great War, any clues as to what it was, who was involved and why it occurred. If he didn¡¯t find anything he might risk going back to the book shop and try and get another book, it would be risky, but potentially worth it. Sitting back on his bed he got to reading the book, from the very beginning to end, and hopefully something may come of it. Book 2: Chapter 11 Shaun was sitting in one of the restaurants with Gabe and Eric, they only had a few hours before they were due back at the arena for the first day of fighting, the real start to this stage of the tutorial, and he was barely able to keep his frustrations to himself. Eric was the first to pick up on his mood, Gabe quickly followed when he had asked where he wanted to eat and he just replied back with I don¡¯t care. He had spent over a full day reading the book on races, then rereading the book on factions. Had he learnt a lot, sure, but did he learn anything more on what he really wanted to know about? Not one bit. And that was the cause of his current mood. He had wasted so much time reading those books and he didn¡¯t learn anything more about the Great War or what race his heritage was tied to. They ordered food, which in all honesty was the best meal that he had ever eaten, it had been cooked by professional chefs that specialised in low tier meals. It was costing them about a silver coin each but it was definitely worth it, it even helped him cheer up a little. Shaun spent the time in the restaurant going over each of the major powers with them, giving them the rundown on what each did, what they focused on and who led them. They asked a few questions here and there, echoing the same shock as Shaun had when he started telling them about specific factions that were present within Earth¡¯s myths, and when there was less than an hour before they were meant to be in the arena they all decided to head there early, not wanting to miss getting a decent spot. They had all worn their battle gear to grab food, just in case they ended up being in the first few groups to fight. There would be 100 fights a day for the next 5 days, 200 people would be up to fight their opponents straight away while the rest had to wait for their turns in the coming week. He didn¡¯t really care when he would have to fight, his plan was always going to be to read the last of his books and run the dungeon a few times, whether he ended up fighting his opponent first up or on the 5th day it didn¡¯t make a difference. What he was more curious about was going to be how the faction representatives would interact with those of us who were competing, would it be done at the end of a fight or would there be some kind of mixer that they would all need to attend? Either way he had a general idea of the factions he wanted to avoid and those he really wanted to talk to, mostly whoever came from The Alliance. As they walked to the arena, they were not alone, it seemed most, if not all, of the people in this stage of the tutorial had the same idea, get there early and try and get a good spot, in the end it was a pointless endeavour. When they walked out of the corridor and into the arena area they saw that their were spots marked out on the ground where each person was going to need to stand. It was formed into a triangle, where one point was practically right in front of 12 more prominent seats. Looking at each of the spots, it soon became clear why, the places where each person was to stand was marked out by not only name but ranking on the leader board, which put him at the very tip of the triangle. Rather than go directly to his spot, Shaun stood around and spoke a bit with Eric and Gabe, nothing too interesting, just where they hoped they would fall in the fighting, whether they had a preference to fight first or last. They both wanted to fight towards the end of the week, each wanting to spend more time in the dungeons to keep levelling up. They had both taken another trip in the peak F grade dungeon, pushing as far as they could to help gain levels. They had both managed to gain 3 class levels, which was a good amount of experience considering they were only getting half of what Shaun would get as there was two of them. When there was only about 10 minutes left before they needed to be in positions, everyone made their way to where they should be standing. He walked around to his spot, skirting the edges of the arena rather than walk through everyone, and noticed that most of those who had already found their position were watching him move. It was eerie, the way they all seemed to stare at him, he wanted to ask them what was so interesting but thought better of it. When he got close to his spot he caught Rodger¡¯s eye and they nodded at each other, Louisa simply ignored him, while the others who were closest to where he was going to be standing eyed him up and down. *Li Al Sal ¨C Level 31* Li was standing right next to Rodger and when he identified her he was pretty impressed, at level 31 she was only two levels lower than him, only one level higher than Roger. *Vivenne Grace ¨C 30* Vivenne, being in the number 4 spot was the same level as Rodger was, but however the system had made the distinction between the ranking she must have just missed being in the 3rd spot. Neither of them spoke to him, or even gave him any acknowledgement, just stared for a minute, taking in everything he had on him, from his sword to the gauntlet as well as the lack of any other armour. Meanwhile he did the same, Li seemed to be a Magic type judging from the lack of weapons, although she did carry a staff, while Vivenne was definitely an archer type. With Shaun taking his spot the top 5 were now all accounted for and in position, they only had to wait a few minutes before the show started and he decided that, when it came to the factions, he wouldn¡¯t actively engage with them, if anything he would come across as polite, but not do anything to draw attention to himself any more than he had to. The time came with a flash of light and Dijaun appeared again surrounded by sparkles. ¡°Hello again my dear future champions and contestants in this battle royale! How lovely that each and every one of you made it here on time, and all in your correct places!¡± Everyone had gone silent as soon as Dijaun appeared, although Shaun now recognised what creature it was, a Jinn, and from what he had read they were a creature that could exist in human form but was mostly a spirit that was aligned with performative magic, however they were also known to be somewhat powerful in the way they could use illusions. ¡°Now, before we get started I am going to give you instructions as to what you will all need to do and what will occur. In a moment I will be signalling that all those who will be attending to watch the fighting that they may enter, after that you will see many different races appear within the seats, now this may be shocking at first but please, do be polite. Afterwards I will introduce some of our special guests to you all, those who will be seated in the main seating area behind me. These guests are from the major factions, however they may or may not wish to stay for all the fights, if any. Only then will I introduce the top 5 of you to the audience, giving them all an opportunity to see who is currently at the top of the food chain here, so to speak. After I shall show the line up of fights in the boards and we will start the good part of the tutorial. At that point everyone shall leave except those needing to fight straight away. For those of you with upcoming fights you will need to wait in the waiting area just through that corridor.¡± The Jinn pointed to one of the main exits to the arena, giving it a moment so that everyone could digest what he had said. Stolen story; please report. ¡°At the end of each day, after all the fights have concluded, you will hear me announce that a little get together is going to take place in one of the closed off areas where any of our guests and viewers may invite you too come and join. That¡¯s right, it will be invite only. But do not fret, you will be able to mingle with all those at the little soiree, and all will be given a chance to attend the feast at the end of the weak to celebrate the winners.¡± The Jinn paused then as everyone started to voice questions or exclamations on their feelings about these soiree and how unfair it was. ¡°Enough! I didn¡¯t ask for questions, thus I don¡¯t care to hear them. You understand what I have said so live with it, or don¡¯t live at all, your choice. Now I shall invite in our guests¡± With that Dijaun raised his hands into the air and like that people started to fill the seats, he saw so many different races present that it was overwhelming, he didn¡¯t try to identify them as a name would give him nothing and he doubted anyone here was going to be in the E grade. After a minute every single seat was filled within the colosseum except for the twelve directly in front of him. There was no noise coming from the guests, although he could make out some of them whispering to each other, too quiet for him to hear though. ¡°Welcome to all of our special guests to this showing of what could possibly be the elites of this new universe! Please let us give them a round of applause for making it this far!¡± This caused a very polite clapping to come from some of those present but for the most part all of the people were looking over everyone that was standing in the arena, assessing each and every one of them to see if any held any appeal to be recruited. ¡°Now may I introduce everyone to our major representatives, please let us welcome Polrias Iusrus from the Collective of Beastial Creatures, Wilaron Striden from the Creators Guild, Eurios from the Life''s Union, Friosh from the Death''s Legion, Quinter Light from The Holy Light, Drakunsher from The Nine Circles, Sleese from The Elementals, Octavius Dimentus from The Pantheon, Claude from The Unending Void, Alannah Druic from The Dynasty and finally Xavier Barshen from The Empire!¡± Every time Dijaun introduced one of the major faction representatives the crowd cheered, some more than others. When someone from their own factions appeared they went wild, the rest of the time it was polite cheering. About half of the representatives were human, the only ones that weren¡¯t was the demon from The Nine Circles who was purple in colour and had horns growing from his head, he was a huge, muscles grew on muscles, and he had talons growing from his hands. The Beast representative might have passed for human if it wasn¡¯t for the hair, and fangs, and ears, and honestly most of his features. He was a shifter, that was clear, and he looked likethis was his humanoid form when not a wolf, although he could have been a hybrid. The Life rep was an elf, Death¡¯s was a vampire, who smiled at them in a way that honestly looked down right predatory, Sleese, the elemental, was maybe a Ice elemental, water maybe? He had no idea what Claude was , he doubted that was his real name, probably just a weird translation from the system, he was more of a black blob in human shape, it was weird. When the crowd started to calm down Dijaun started speaking again. ¡°With our esteemed guests now seated let me introduce to you the top 5 ranked contestants! In first place we have Shaun Clermont! What we know of him so far is that he likes to fight alone and is rather good at it! Most recently he has taken the top spot in the Low E grade dungeon in this very colosseum!¡± What the fuck! How did they even know that! Are they spying on us? Shit! ¡°If only that was all folks! We can all see that shiny gauntlet on his hand and the impressive materials that went into making it right? It would be one hell of a find if he found such an item! Except did he find it? We don¡¯t think so! We believe he crafted an EPIC RANKED ITEM and he is only in the lowest levels of E grade!¡± No, no, no, no! He was stressing now, that wasn¡¯t something he wanted announced. And the stir it caused through not only the other people from Earth but the audience was insane, every single eye was on him, the Crafter Guild representative was also paying very close attention to him. It took every ounce of control not to outwardly react to what was being said or the looks he was getting. Every instinct in him was telling him to run which he had to completely suppress. If it wasn¡¯t for his enhanced mind skill working double time to control his expressions he would have had his every thought written on his face. ¡°Now moving on to the 2nd ranked contestant¡­¡­¡± At this point he was focused more on staying calm than listening, what Dijaun was saying was interesting but nothing that gave him much information. Like him, both Li fought alone but apart from that they had no further similarities. Vivenne was apparently an expert marksman which was interesting but not helpful. Finally when the introductions were done Dijaun focused back to the board and matching up people for the fights. When Shaun started paying more attention and he noticed that there was still quite a lot of looks on him, especially by a few of the major reps, which was not good at all. ¡°If everyone will shift their attention to the boards. There are five in total, each one will fill for one of the days we will be in the first round of fights. A reminder if you are not fighting today please remove yourselves from the arena completely, do not return until it is your day to fight. Remember to pay close attention to your orbs contestants, as they will glow when it is time to make your way to the arena. And with that I wish you all good luck!¡± At that moment the boards filled with names, he skimmed over them, only paying attention to the people he knew. Gabe was set to fight today, one of the first to fight in fact, Eric was also fighting this afternoon, he didn¡¯t recognise either of their opponents which was a good thing. The top 5 were spread out, each on separate days and fighting no one he recognised. He found his name on day 2 and he was the last fight of the day and when he saw who he was fighting he almost laughed. Trevor fucking Rule. There was no way that was random. Someone either told someone about their little fight when they first entered or, and much more likely, they were being watched. As he wasn¡¯t fighting today he immediately left the arena with everyone else, although not before he caught the eye of several of the major reps, the crafter even smiled at him, he didn¡¯t return the smile, too freaked out at that moment by the attention, and immediately walked with the others out of the arena. When they got to a room halfway down the corridor, he found Gabe and Eric and immediately wished them both luck. They had decided to wait there together until their fights, he just told them that when they were done, and when they had both won, they would celebrate. He didn¡¯t have much to worry about for his fight tomorrow, he was 8 levels above Trevor, and even if he spent his time non stop in a dungeon, there was no way for him to catch up. That meant there was now 2 things left he wanted to do. Read the affinity book and run the dungeon. Book 2: Chapter 12 Now knowing that the chances of being watched in this stage of the tutorial he decided that he would need to play it safe and not do anything that would bring any unwanted attention to him, because of that all training with his affinity would need to be done in a dungeon, including any crafting. On top of that he immediately ruled out going back to the book shop and asking for a book on the Great War. The one thing that stood out to him now that he had left the arena was that there was never a presentative of The Alliance present. Every other faction was there but not the one that he wanted. It was the smallest faction and the one that only operated on an invite only policy, with the others you could approach the clans, and if you were lucky the major factions, but The Alliance was different, they would approach you, period. Once he got back to his apartment he pulled out the book on elements and affinity and started reading, first though he emptied his mana into the gem which was now half way full. He decided that once his mana was back to full it would be time to do a dungeon run again, until then though he read. The introduction was something he already knew, most people in the multiverse had 1 affinity, only the truly elite had 2 and only the very best of the best, those who were high up in the major factions had 3. What he did find out though was that it was rumoured that the Ancients had more, some guessed anywhere from 5 to 8, but it had never been confirmed. What he also found out in the first few chapters was that just because someone had the same affinity as another person it didn¡¯t mean that they were equal in strength. Apparently one had to work to grow their affinity, really work with it and make it their own, it wasn¡¯t enough to just have it and not truly embrace it. People worked for millennia to truly control and wield their affinity, as when someone first unlocked it, it was relatively weak, and only through use and understanding could you grow the power inside of you. What he also found out was that not all affinity were equal, they were tiered in a way that was similar to a class or item. There was the basic affinity, or basic elements, these were the ones that he had, fire, water, earth, air and nature were all categorised as basic. Then came the advanced tier, these were things like magma, lightening and ice. Up from that was the Epic tier which included more broad things like storm, light, shadow, star and moon. The higher the tier the more complicated the affinity, for example some of the highest were time, space, life, death, creation and oblivion. The more he read the crazier it all seemed. He had struggled with bonding with the most basic of elements, but apparently this was normal. It was advised that if you were wishing to try and form an affinity with a higher element than you should be at a level that will allow your body to be able to sustain the impact of the bonding. That also explained why it had been easier for him to bond the basic elements when he was at the E grade compared to F. His body was more equipped to handle so many basic elements. Apparently E grade was when most people could bond a basic element, and only at the very peak of E grade should one ever attempt to bond an advanced element, it was advised to wait till D grade though. He continued reading through the book and surprisingly there was some well known places in the multiverse where one had the best chance of bonding certain elements, however these were generally controlled by a faction and you would need permission to go there. Towards the later half of the book things changed rather rapidly in what was being told, he had skimmed through a lot of the book as there was little to no chance of the higher elements having any impact on him at this point so it would be something he would go back and read when he had more time and opportunity. No, what had piqued his interest in the book was a section on creating your own affinity. Apparently the elite, those that had 2 or more affinity were able to create their own hybrid elements, or an advanced element. Some common examples of this were when someone had managed to bond 2 basic elements that corresponded with each other and using these two elements they were able to make a third. This was apparently a common practice for people who had the capability, and were lucky enough, to have 2 affinity. Sometimes people would purposely go for two basic affinity so they could create the third advanced one that they wanted. Examples of this were people who had the air and fire affinity, they were, with a lot of work, able to take parts of the 2 affinity and combine them, forming the lightening affinity. Another example was fire and earth into magma, air and water into ice and water and earth into mud. The examples kept going, even detailing some cases where advanced could form with other advanced and basic elements and form epic tier. The ideas that were now running through his head were insane, could he manage to form an advanced tier affinity now that he had 5 basic? The book said that it should never be attempted until the late E grade at the earliest but he was different, right? He kept reading but the book didn¡¯t go into any details on how exactly this was done, only that it could be, stating that it was something that most factions kept to themselves as for those that attempted to create higher elements the death toll was high. Before he could continue reading, or run off to the dungeon to do something stupid, someone knocked on his door. Checking how much time had passed it was nearly halfway through the day, his mana was back to full and he had been completely lost in reading. He got up and went to open the door finding Gabe standing there looking like crap. ¡°Holy shit, come in, are you okay?¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Yeah, sorry I didn¡¯t come earlier, I was waiting with Eric until they kicked me out of the waiting room saying that now that I was done with my fight I had to leave.¡± Gabe walked over and sat down on the couch, letting out a sigh of relief. ¡°Do you need a potion or anything? You don¡¯t look great.¡± And he really didn¡¯t. He was covered in blood and bruises, but alive thankfully. ¡°It¡¯s all good, I had a potion, I¡¯m not going to die or anything, just sore.¡± Then he smiled, ¡°I won though, it wasn¡¯t easy nearly lost a few times, but I won in the end.¡± ¡°Gabe that is the best news! But if you look like this what happened to the other guy?¡± ¡°He¡¯s going to live. When you are in the waiting room, everyone talks, you know? Most people agree right from then that they wont kill if the other person agrees the same. At least that¡¯s what happened when I was in there. Thankfully I was able to eventually knock the guy unconscious, so I won.¡± ¡°What are you going to do while you wait for Eric?¡± He should rest, sleep, recover a bit. Take another potion even. ¡°I¡¯m going to shower and then sleep for a while. Eric will wake me when he is back.¡± Gabe said. ¡°Ummm, you know he wont be able to go into you''re apartment if your asleep right?¡± That was one of the rules, the owner of the apartment needed to let you in otherwise no one could enter. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I gave him permission to come in whenever he wants. He sleeps with me most nights anyway.¡± As soon as he said it Gabe tensed up, like he said something he shouldn¡¯t have. Shaun didn¡¯t get the weird reaction, so what they slept together, he couldn¡¯t blame them not wanting to be alone after everything they went through the past few months. ¡°Shit! We agreed we would tell you together. You know Eric and I are close right?¡± He just nodded along, yes they were close, he was happy for them having someone they could rely on in such a stressful time. ¡°Well we aren¡¯t just friends, you know? We are, uh, together. Like together together. Like seeing each other. Shit this is awkward! He is my boyfriend Shaun!¡± Huh, never would have known. Although I¡¯m not the best at picking up on these things. So they like each other, cool. ¡°Do you guys¡­. You know?¡± Gabe just nodded at him. ¡°Good for you man!¡± He was happy for them, really he was. If someone could find love when the world went to shit he couldn¡¯t help but be excited for them. Love was something you should cherish. He hadn¡¯t loved anyone since he lost his father but he still remembered what it was like, to have someone you always felt safe around, someone who you knew would love you no matter what! ¡°Your happy that we have had sex?¡± Gabe was looking at him weirdly now, like he couldn¡¯t quite get why he was so happy for him. ¡°that¡¯s kind of weird¡­.¡± ¡°What?¡± Why is he talking about sex? I didn¡¯t¡­.oh. ¡°Man! I meant do you love each other! Get your mind out of the gutter, you are barely in one piece right now!¡± Gabe started laughing at that although quickly stopped and grabbed hold of his chest when the pain set in. He then looked at Shaun in the eye ¡°I think so, yeah. I couldn¡¯t imagine going through all of this without him you know? And after? I want to stay with him, for whatever comes.¡± ¡°Good, I really am happy for you.¡± Looking Gabe over there was one thing he could do to help, and he didn¡¯t think it would be an issue, he would use his gauntlet for it anyway. ¡°You trust me?¡± he asked Gabe. ¡°After everything we have gone through? I trust you with my life man.¡± With that Shaun moved closer to him and placed his hand onto Gabe¡¯ chest, the palm of his gauntlet now spread out on his barely there shirt. ¡°Ummmm Shaun? Uh, Eric and I haven¡¯t spoken about it but I don¡¯t think he would approve of, ummm, whatever your about to do.¡± ¡°What?¡± He pulled back his hand then, not getting what he was talking about, why wouldn¡¯t Eric approve of him healing Gabe? ¡°What are you talking about? Why wouldn¡¯t he want me to heal you?¡± ¡°Heal me? I thought you were¡­¡­ You know what never mind. Go ahead.¡± Gabe was barely holding back laughter at that point. Shaking his head, he put the gauntlet back on Gabe''s chest and started using the healing spell using the mana in the gem. As soon as he started Gabe closed his eyes and moaned, he couldn¡¯t blame him, being healed with the nature affinity was intoxicating at first, it was something you needed to get used to before you could block out the euphoric feeling that came with it. Once Shaun felt that he had healed as much as he could he pulled back his hand and cut off the healing. ¡°How you feel now?¡± Gabe was just laying with his head rolled back and barely conscious at that point. ¡°Like I need to take a cold shower. A very cold shower.¡± Shaun gave him a look and then spotted something he really shouldn¡¯t be seeing before cracking up into laughter. ¡°Yeah, why don¡¯t you go do that. Because this¡­¡­I don¡¯t think Eric would approve of.¡± Gabe lifted his head back up and looked down at himself, immediately going to cover himself. ¡°Yep, I¡¯m leaving. Thanks though, for healing me. However the hell you did it.¡± Once Gabe was at the door Shaun called after him. ¡°I am going for a dungeon run, once Eric is back let me know and I can fix him up too if he needs it, better than wasting potions.¡± Gabe just nodded and continued to leave. ¡°Oh and Gabe?¡± When Gabe stopped and turned back to look at him Shaun just gave him the biggest smile he could. ¡°Eric is one lucky guy!¡± He said with a wink. With that Gabe just laughed at him and yelled back ¡°You know it!¡± before closing the door and leaving. Shaun collected all of his things and headed to the dungeons. He now had a mission, and it wasn¡¯t to try and beat any more birds or fight wolves. No he was going to go into the weakest dungeon, not for experience, or loot, but purely for his affinity. He had decided to make another stupid decision, an advanced affinity was calling and he knew just where he was going to start. Book2: Chapter 13 When he got to the dungeons he was surprised by the amount of people there, a lot of whom were not in the best shape. When he thought about it for a moment he realised why, everyone now knew who they were fighting in this round, that meant that they knew if the person they were fighting was weaker or stronger than they were and by how much. That pushed a lot of people to go and gain the levels they needed to close the gap between them and their opponent. And those who were fighting someone on equal level? They needed to get an edge. ¡°So you have come to try and take back the first spot have you?¡± Shaun looked over at who had spoken, Vivenne was sitting on the ground with what looked like the rest of her group. Overall she looked okay, not great, but in a better condition than some of her team. ¡°What do you mean?¡± He asked her, honestly quite confused with the question. ¡°We took your spot. Well she did anyway.¡± One of her team said. When Shaun just looked at him still looking confused the guys just sighed and pointed at the leader board for the dungeon. And right there on the wall was Vivenne''s name and next to it in the number one position was the marking that she cleared the 11th wave. They think I¡¯m here to take back a ranking? I can¡¯t wait to see their faces when I go into the F grade dungeon. ¡°Well done guys! Beating those birds is a bitch! Hope you had fun though!¡± Walking closer to the dungeons he didn¡¯t make it obvious where he was going until he got closer and stood in front of the F ranked one, not at all where everyone thought he was going to go. ¡°What are you doing? Are you making fun of us?¡± Vivenne was off the floor now and walking over to him, and she was mad as hell. ¡°Ummm, no?¡± He hadn¡¯t said anything to suggest that so why would she be losing her mind over him going to a different dungeon. ¡°Then why are you going into a dungeon that you could probably do in your sleep?¡± She asked, ¡°You will get nothing from doing that dungeon, no where near enough experience to level up and the loot is no where near as good. So tell me, why would you go into that dungeon if it wasn¡¯t to make fun of me?¡± I guess that makes sense, in a twisted kind of way. ¡°I have my reasons, I want to try something new but don¡¯t want to have to deal with having to fight monsters that I will actually need to concentrate on, this dungeon is the perfect place to do it.¡± She looked at him now, like really looked at him. He was being completely honest with her, he may not have told her what he was going to try but he hadn¡¯t lied to her. ¡°If you want to try something new, why a dungeon? Why not go to a trainer or out here?¡± She was mostly speaking to herself trying to figure it out, not expecting him to actually answer her. ¡°Privacy. You want privacy.¡± She looked at him then, that was an actual question she expected an answer to. ¡°Yeah, I do. Would you want to be trying new things out, different techniques and skills, in front of all these people or against monsters that could actually hurt you if you failed?¡± She gave him a considering look then and then finally started nodding. ¡°You''re smarter than you look Shaun. And honestly, that scares me a little. But you are right. It¡¯s a good move, trying new things out in a safe environment where the monsters can¡¯t actually hurt you. Might have to do the same one of these days.¡± She turned back to her team then, ¡°We all should actually, there are skills we need to improve, not in the heat of battle but actually practice until we perfect them.¡± Turning back to Shaun she said ¡°Whatever you¡¯re trying out in there, good luck. And I really mean that.¡± After that she walked back and sat on the ground with her team, deep in thought. With nothing else to do he accepted the prompt on the dungeon and was instantly transported inside. What greeted him was a large circular room, easily over a few hundred metres across, it was perfect. *Wave 1 Commencing* When the monsters appeared, five in total, he inspected them and found them all to be level 20 monsters called Reflecting Centipede, not that he really cared what they were. He quickly killed 4 of the 5 of them, the reflective part of the monster just slightly, reflected the attack off them, but at his strength it did next to nothing. With the final centipede he ended up trapping it taking some metal he had and forming a rod that stuck into the ground, he then forced the centipede against it and created metal bindings to effectively trap it against the rod. He watched it for a minute and when he was confident that the little bug wasn¡¯t going anywhere, he went and sat down and thought about how he was going to accomplish his task of creating an advanced affinity. The good news was no matter how long he spent in the dungeon only 30 minutes would pass on the outside, so he wasn¡¯t on any kind of time limit. He knew what he wanted to start with, lightning, the formation of the element was based off of fire and air, two of his most used elements, so he thought that it was his best bet, that and it was just cool. He dropped into meditation and went to inspect his existing affinity, after he bonded with water a circuit was formed in his mana channels, earth bonded with nature, which then bonded with water on the other side, which moved into air, and followed fire which then bonded back into earth, creating the full circle of elements. He watched how they all interacted for a while before homing in on the bonds between fire and air. They were already connected inside of him but not in a way that created an affinity, so how was he to change that. In the past he had used mana motes that already held the element he wanted, this time he had no such thing, but supposedly he didn¡¯t need it if he was to trust the book. Lightning was supposed to be a combination of air and fire but when he had accidently hit the two together in the past it caused one hell of an explosion, the fire literally used the extra air to create a bigger explosion, so just pushing them together wasn¡¯t how he was going to form lightning. But maybe that was what happened when the balance wasn¡¯t right? Maybe it wasn¡¯t supposed to be just a straight up half air and half fire, what if it needed to be that it needed more air to fire, or maybe more fire to air? You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. He ruled out the second one straight away, if he had a majority of fire and only a small amount of air the air aspect would quickly get taken over by the fire. But if it was mostly air and only a little fire, just enough to cause the spark, would it work? But how to test it was the real question. He peered into the dungeon and used his mana sight to see what was around, for the most part it was all just unattuned mana, not helpful in this moment. With that he realised that what ever he was going to need to do would have to be an internal process, and with that would come a higher amount of risk. He had blown up parts of his body before when bonding elements, usually when things when wrong, and he had no reason to believe that this time would be any different. Thankfully he had enough mana in his gauntlet to allow him to heal himself a few times over, still he would like to avoid it at all costs. Turning back to his mana channels he decided the best place to test the mix of elements was going to be in his thigh, it had enough muscle on it that if he blew apart of it off he would be able to heal it decently easy, that and if he had to limp around for a while he would be fine, the fight against Trevor the next day shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. The first thing he started to do was pull one of the threads that connected from the air and fire affinity, moving it slightly away from the main streams, giving it enough space that hopefully it wouldn¡¯t cause damage to his existing affinity if he completely screwed up. Once he thought it was far enough away without breaking the connecting thread he decided to start on the most simple combination, 2 parts air and 1 part fire. He started with the air element and directed enough of his affinity into the thread, holding it in the middle, until he was comfortable with the amount he held, after that he pulled the fire element from its stream, only enough that it equalled half the power of air. When he had the two elements right next to each other but not yet touching he gave everything one last look, hesitating just a little, knowing that what he was doing was both risky and stupid, and then committing to his plan he slammed the two elements together. The moment the two touched he was immediately knocked out of his mediation, his thigh, where he had been working with the affinity, had been completely blown apart, covering him in blood and muscle. The pain was unbelievable, and when he looked down at his thigh he saw his bone. Not delaying he held his gauntlet on the wound and pumped the healing spell into it, doing everything he could not to lose consciousness. He didn¡¯t know how long it took but eventually the wound had sealed, and with it he had used a decent chunk of the mana in the gem, but he was alive. Shaun looked around and noticed he was sitting in a pool of his own blood, not to mention covered in part of his thigh. He didn¡¯t both moving or cleaning up as he knew that this wasn¡¯t going to be the last time this occurred. He knew what had gone wrong the moment the two elements connected, the balance wasn¡¯t right and the fire element completely fed on the air and the result was an explosion inside of his mana channels. Looking back inside of himself he looked to see if there was any lingering damage, but it all looked completely normal, as if the main elemental streams self-healed rather than turning into a scattered mess. Test one was a failure, but he wasn¡¯t about to give up, test two was now going to be three parts air and one part fire. The result was the same, he again blew up his leg, this time worst than last time, and he spent time healing the wound, draining his mana into the gem and then waiting for his mana to recover back to full. He repeated this process several more times with different results, when he hit 5 part air and 1 part fire it had become too much for the fire element and it was snuffed out immediately, thankfully the blow back from this was nowhere near as bad as having too much fire, the end result was just an ache in his leg rather than blowing it into pieces. What am I doing wrong? There has to be some missing link here. After twelve attempts and twelve failures he stopped, going back to the drawing board and thinking of what else he could do. He was mentally exhausted at this point and his whole body hurt, he had drained most of the mana from the gem and now needed to spend time refiling it as much as he could before trying again. He did nothing but meditate, fill them gem and recover for what had to have been days, all the while trying to figure out a new plan. He was over blowing up his body, he had changed to other leg half way through and now both of them, although looking mostly okay, felt like they wouldn¡¯t even hold his weight. Rather than continue trying to succeed inside of his body, he shifted attack and decided to try something outside of himself. He took a thread of each element and moved it outside of his body, still connected to the main streams but also separate from him. He didn¡¯t start this way as he was pretty confident that whatever needed to be done had to be done inside of him, not in the open environment, but he was over the pain of failure. Taking the two elements, he started trying to combine them in the air in front of him, the results were even more abysmal, but at least he wasn¡¯t hurting himself too much. He still got back lash from his affinity but nothing he couldn¡¯t handle, at least for a while. The unattuned mana in the air avoided his affinity, blowing away from each resulting explosion, but that gave him an idea. What if air and fire couldn¡¯t interact directly with each other, what if they needed a neutral environment to be able to properly combine? With a new idea firmly planted in his mind, he quickly gathered one of the unattuned mana motes from the dungeon and pulled it in close to where he was sitting. The plan was to try and link the two elements into the mana mote, pushing both of them in from either side, starting with air and then adding only a small bit of fire and seeing what happened to the mana mote. This is either going to go well or so much worse than before. Screw it, all or nothing. Like two striking snakes he had fire and air attach itself to the mana mote, wrestling it into submission, he hadn¡¯t started trying to infuse the mana yet, just trap it with both of the elements. The result was better than expected, the mana was efficiently trapped and there was no resulting back lash, a success, finally. When it came time to start trying to force his affinities into the mana he started with adding air, it was an odd experience as he could see and feel the unattuned mana slowly start to convert to air and be sucked into his own mana channel, but that wasn¡¯t what he wanted. Before it was too late and the mana could be attuned to air fully he sent in the smallest amount of fire mana. Immediately he felt the air within the mana, as well as his affinity try and take over the fire but he kept a steady stream of it going into the mote, just the smallest amount that possible to keep its presence in the mana. The mote now had both elements inside of it, no explosions had occurred but it didn¡¯t feel stable. Shaun didn¡¯t stop though, he continued applying pressure and infusion with both elements, it didn¡¯t take long until something changed. The mote started to glow, lighter and lighter until finally he saw what he was after, a spark ignited in the mote, but before he could look further the entire thing exploded into an uncontrollable blast of lightning that spread out throughout the dungeon, hitting him and the tied up centipede in the process. Book 2: Chapter 14 When Shaun woke up he had a splitting headache and his body felt like it was being eaten alive. When he finally opened his eyes and looked around he realised he was still in the dungeon which was good news, the bad news was that the feeling of being eaten was because the centipedes from the 2nd wave were currently attempting to eat him. When he sat up his body twitched uncontrollably, probably due to being hit by the explosion of lightning. I did it! Holy shit I actually made lightning! Elation at what he had achieved poured into him, he had finally had some success in making lightning, sure the result was being rendered unconscious but still, it was a success. Moving to kill all but one of the monsters, their attacks on him doing nothing, his body made its protests known but he just pushed through it. He killed all of the monsters but one and tied the last back up. He then sat back down and started healing his body to the best of his ability. He had succeeded in the first step of his plan, but rather than going straight back into it and repeating the same process he reviewed what went right and wrong. Using the unattuned mana as a base to mix the elements worked well, however when the two combined the power of the lightning was too much for the mote itself to be contained, meaning he would need to reinforce the mana itself, essentially trapping the lightning and stabilising the mana, but how? Hi first thought was to coat the mote in his air and fire affinity, but that would either feed the lightning or cause its own explosion, neither of the elements were the most stable. Thinking about what he knew about electricity and lightning, maybe, just maybe, he could ground it and contain it using earth? Test number two coming up! This time instead of just pulling out two of his affinity he pulled out earth as well, he repeated the process of trapping the mana with fire and air but before infusing them he also created a sphere of earth around the mote. He didn¡¯t know how much earth he should infuse into it, but decided that more was the safer option so decided to fully reinforce the sphere until he was comfortable that if there was any blow back it would be contained, at least a little. Shaun then started repeating the process of pushing the air element into the mote and then sending in the trickle of fire, everything followed the same pattern as last time. When the mote started to glow, reaching the point where it was about to explode last time, he applied as much pressure as he could with his earth affinity, entering into a war of power between him and the lightning. When it almost became too much and he felt his earth sphere start to crack he stopped infusing air and fire and fully focused on containing it with earth. The battle between earth and lightning raged in the dungeon, at times the lightning would slip through his sphere and cause the entire dungeon to become electrified, but he didn¡¯t stop trying to contain it. He continued to apply pressure to the lightning, forcing it to condense down into a stable mana mote, he was mentally exhausted, his full concentration on the task at hand. He could feel the sweat dripping down his face and his mind stretching to it limits, but still he refused to give up. Eventually, something changed and clicked into place and the lightning stopped fighting against him, the relief on his mind was overwhelming and his entire body sagged in relief, it had finally stabilised. He didn¡¯t let go of his control of the lightning mana, not knowing what it would do if he just let it go into the dungeon, but he did know what he would need to do next, this he had done multiple times before, he would now need to bring it inside of him, forming another stream of elements, this time of lightning. When he had done this with the basic elements it had been a painful process when he was in F grade but became a lot easier in E grade. The lightning mana though was an advanced element and the book warned that it shouldn¡¯t be done until the very end of E grade at the earliest, which was about 80 levels higher than what he was currently at. So to say that this was going to hurt was an understatement, but the reward if he didn¡¯t die was massive. He felt the power of lightning, how much stronger it was than his basic elements, it would make him so much more powerful, it would increase his fighting ability to completely new heights. So he would test it with just this one mote of mana and then figure out if he could continue the process or if he would need to give up and wait until he was stronger. Bringing the mana closer to him, he could feel the electricity on his skin before he had even pushed it into his mana channels, but slowly he brought it closer until the only thing left to do was pass it into his body and put it into place. You got this! Come on, what a little bit of pain compared to everything you have been through. Hyping himself up he passed it through his skin, but he was not prepared for what would occur. He was being completely electrocuted, his body completely tensed up, every nerve was on fire and he couldn¡¯t move. He was wrong, this wasn¡¯t a little bit of pain, this was death, plain and simple, it would kill him if he didn¡¯t change something soon. Forcing his mind to stay on task he continued moving the mana into his channels, and once it was in he now didn¡¯t know what to do with it, he felt his body starting to shut down, unable to take the electricity flowing through every inch of him, so in a last ditch effort he forced the lightning mana into one of the connecting threads of fire and air, and with that the feeling of being fried by the electricity stopped. He fell back to the ground, his body steaming from the damage he had inflicted upon it, barely able to move his gauntlet to his chest he pumped himself full of healing energy until he felt like he could move again. The pain had been more than he had expected, easily 10 times the pain from any of the other bonding¡¯s not to mention the amount of recovery he had to do after. If he didn¡¯t have the ability to heal there was no way, not in a million years, that he would survive repeating the process a second time, let alone enough to fill his mana channels. As it was if he was going to continue along this path he would be committing himself to day, if not weeks in the dungeon. The only reason why he could even consider doing it was due to the weird time differential, no matter what only 30 minutes would pass in the real world, so he had the time he needed. Turning to look inside of his channels he inspected the lightning mana he had placed there, it was solidly connected to the thread, almost looking like it was being fed by both the air and fire streams on each side, but it was stable. Doing a quick estimate of how many lightning motes he would need, he did some quick math and came to the conclusion it would be over 200 but less than 500. It was going to be utter torture, there was no mistaking that, but if he did it once he could do it again. He felt days pass into weeks as he continued creating and placing lightning mana, he kept an eye on the tutorial countdown just in case, but it never showed it moving. He had hoped that the pain would lesson the more he brought the lightning into his body but it didn¡¯t, if anything it was becoming worse, he had to spend time after every placement of the lightning motes healing himself, refilling his gauntlet and recovering mana, it was a long process and he hadn¡¯t slept at all throughout it. He had stopped to eat and drink but nothing else. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. He estimated that he had been in the dungeon for over 2 months by the time he placed the last of the mana he needed, and during that time he had needed to clear wave after wave in the dungeon and have monsters respawn so that there would be more unattuned mana in the area, but eventually he was done. When he placed the last mote and finished recovering he fully inspected the lightning inside of him, there was so much of it, glowing brighter than any of his other elements, its raw power eclipsing all of his affinity combined. He had been thinking on how to complete the last step, combining each of the motes into a stream and compressing it down, but because they were already connected to his air and fire affinity they were already moving along through his body, forming them up was the last thing he needed to do. His expectation was that once he connected two of the motes together it would either form a power line between the two or it would cause a chain reaction to go off in his body, causing each of the lightning motes to interconnect at once. His preference was to do one at a time, but knowing his luck that would be the case and it would instead start the chain reaction that would do untold harm to his body and mana channels. It wasn¡¯t like he got to choose though. Shaun waited until he was as recovered as he was ever going to get without sleeping for a few days, which was out of the picture, he didn¡¯t know what would happen if he didn¡¯t finish the process and soon. So with a final push, he connected the first two motes, and just as expected an immediate chain reaction went off inside of him connecting each of the lightning motes together. The feeling of being ripped to shred from the inside out overwhelmed all of his senses, he completely lost control of all of his affinity, his mind being filled with nothing but pain. He started convulsing on the ground but he couldn¡¯t even bring his gauntlet to his body, let alone focus enough to heal himself. Instead, the only thing he could focus on was the pain. It didn¡¯t stop, it just continued to rise in power until he swore he was about to die. He tried to stay conscious, he really did, but it was all too much. Please make it stop, please. I take it back! Please, I don¡¯t want this, I can¡¯t survive like this! I give up, please just take it back! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ A flash of light went off in front of the F grade dungeon, causing everyone to look at who had come out. 30 minutes had passed since Shaun had gone into the dungeon, and now it was time to see if he had accomplished what he set out to do. ¡°Finally, that was the longest 30 minutes ever.¡± Vivenne said to her team. A crowd had gathered again around the dungeons, everyone wanting to see what wave Shaun had gotten to in a dungeon he was way to overpowered for. When the light cleared rather than seeing Shaun standing in front of the dungeon they saw a man, covered in blood and gore, convulsing in the ground. ¡°Shaun!¡± Vivenne immediately got up form the ground and went straight up to him, but as soon as she came close she felt power unlike anything she had felt before radiating from his body, when it hit her she felt like she had been electrocuted. ¡°What the fuck! No one get close to him!¡± Most people listened to her, those that didn¡¯t and got too close immediately paid the price and were battered with an overwhelming surge of electricity. What have you done? ¡°Someone get his friends! What are their names? Eric and Gabriel! Someone find them and quickly! They might know what he was done to himself!¡± Vivenne yelled at the crowd. She saw someone she didn¡¯t recognise run out of the room immediately, no one else made a move though. ¡°Why try and help him? With him gone you have a better chance of winning this thing. If he survives whatever he has done to himself, he will be stronger than ever, there will be no chance for anyone to beat him! You feel that power don¡¯t you? Its not natural!¡± She didn¡¯t know the person who had spoken, but when she checked his level he had to have been a middle of the pack guy, he was definitely not in the top tier of fighters. Did she want to win, to come out in first place? Yeah, she really did. But there was more to this than just winning, they didn¡¯t know what was going to happen back on Earth, what they did know was that power meant everything in the multiverse, and Shaun had power. They needed the strongest people they could get if they had a hope of keeping Earth protected from whatever was going to come at them. It was a dark thought, but she knew, just as well as Shaun did, that they were all being watched, assessed, and she didn¡¯t like that feeling in the slightest. It didn¡¯t take longer than 5 minutes for the person that had run to fetch Shaun¡¯s friends arrived, with only one of them with him though. ¡°You''re Gabriel, right? You''re friends with Shaun? Do you know what he did? Any idea on how to help him?¡± Vivenne asked as she walked up to him. He tried to run past her and up to Shaun but she stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t get close, whatever he has done has charged the air around him. You don¡¯t want to get hit with that.¡± ¡°Damnit Shaun!¡± Gabriel yelled out at him, no longer pushing past her to get to him. He doesn¡¯t know what Shaun has done. ¡°How do we help him?¡± ¡°We wait, I guess. And once we can get close we get a healing potion down his throat as soon as possible.¡± Shaun looked a mess, he was covered in blood and what looked like pieces of flesh, it was a terrible sight, she had no idea how he was still alive at this point but she could tell he was, if barely. They waited, 5 minutes turned to 10 and then 20. A man name Trevor came out of the low E ranked dungeon and laughed at the sight of Shaun on the ground, spouting some nonsense about him doing anything to get out of fighting him. She had to hold Gabriel back from attacking the man, clearly there was history there, but it wasn¡¯t important at that moment. It was nearly an hour before something changed, the power that they had all felt seemed to disappear in an instant. Some expected the worst, thinking that he had died, but she saw him breathing, if only slightly. Without hesitating she ran to his body, the strongest potion they had in hand, and poured it into his mouth, making sure that he swallowed every drop. ¡°Come on Shaun, wake up! Don¡¯t you dare die on me!¡± Gabriel had run with her, both of them now kneeling beside his body. They waited until his breathing grew stronger and he seemed less pale, if only by a little. Vivenne watched Gabriel sigh in relief when Shaun got noticeably healthier. ¡°We need to move him to my apartment, there are too many people here. Will you help me? Please?¡± She agreed immediately, helping pull Shaun from the ground and hold one arm over her shoulder, the other side being held up by Gabriel, and they made their way to his apartment. They said nothing as they walked, both concentrating on not dropping Shaun, he was heavier than he looked, much heavier, and it was taking everything they had to just move him, half dragging him along the ground. A lot of people were following them, and when they passed others, they immediately caught sight of them and decided to follow, no one got close, but they didn¡¯t want to miss the show. When they finally got to Gabriel¡¯s apartment he let her in, needing the help to get Shaun inside. ¡°Help me get him in the shower, we need to see how hurt he is under all of the blood.¡± He wants me to help him clean Shaun? Strip him down and then what? Wash him? ¡°Please? He is too heavy for me to do this alone.¡± She agreed, barely, when they got Shaun into the shower they stripped him off of all of his equipment, outside of the gauntlet that neither of them could figure out how to get off. She tried not to look anywhere she shouldn¡¯t but it was impossible not to admire than man, even unconscious and covered in blood. As they washed him off, what they saw so unexpected that they couldn¡¯t help but stare. He isn¡¯t hurt? There are no wounds? But how? When they finally got him fully clean, they dried him off and managed to get him on the bed. Vivenne couldn¡¯t help but feel relief at not having to move the man again, he had no right to weigh as much as he did. ¡°Why?¡± Gabriel asked her. ¡°Why help him I mean?¡± It was a valid question, so many people wouldn¡¯t have, but she wasn¡¯t like that. She knew there was more at stake than just winning a tutorial. ¡°Because the world has changed. And I have a feeling that if we are going to survive what is going to come we will need people like him.¡± And with that she turned and left, giving one last look at Shaun unconscious body. ¡°Find me if you need anything. I will help as much as I can.¡± Book 2: Chapter 15 He could hear people talking, he was also surprisingly comfortable. When Shaun opened his eyes he could see he was in one of the apartments, when he turned to see who was talking he saw Gabe and Eric both on the couch through the door, snuggled up with each other, Eric in Gabe¡¯s arms. He couldn¡¯t help but smile at them, he was happy that they were so comfortable. ¡°Do you guys need the room?¡± Shaun said to them from where he was laying, clearly in their bed. ¡°Shaun! Your awake!¡± They both jumped up from the couch and raced across the apartment into the bedroom. ¡°Yeah. How did I get here?¡± He moved himself into a sitting position, not feeling anywhere as sore as he though he would, the last thing he remembered was laying in the dungeon, getting ripped apart by the lightning run through his body. The sheet he was covered with fell down and when he looked under it, he was even more confused. ¡°Why am I naked? Wait is this a dream? Did I die?¡± ¡°How are you feeling? Are you hurt? Sore? Tell me! Do you need another potion?¡± Gabe was firing questions at him rapidly, not even giving him a chance to answer. Rather than reply straight away he moved his body around, testing his arms, legs, chest and head. ¡°A little stiff, but not too bad. A lot better than I thought.¡± Wait did I do it? He immediately pulled up the notifications he had missed due to being unconscious. There was one for completing the dungeon and getting a reward, getting an F grade on the dungeon, which really made sense, he had been in there for months, but that wasn¡¯t what he cared about. *Affinity Detected: Lightning* *Lightning (Affinity): Through force of will, you have taken control of the destructive nature of lightning, and advanced element that few are capable of wielding. With it you are capable of conjuring the force of pure electricity, able to both call it forth from your body or send down a strike from the sky. +50 Dex, +50 Soul, +20% Dex, +50% Soul* ¡°Holy shit I did it! I fucking did it! Hahaha!¡± He couldn¡¯t help but laughing, an uncontrollable sense of relief and elation overcame him when he saw the notification. He had managed to form an advanced affinity! He nearly died in the process, so many times in fact, but he lived! But how did he get here? ¡°Why the fuck are you laughing! You nearly died! If it wasn¡¯t for Vivenne and I pouring health potions down your throat like it was water the past day you would be dead!¡± Vivenne? What did she have to do with this? And a day! Shit when am I due to fight? Have I missed it? ¡°When am I due to fight? Tell me I didn¡¯t miss it?¡± Shaun pleaded with them. ¡°No, you have about an hour before you have to be at the colosseum arena. But Shaun, are you even well enough to fight?¡± This came from Eric, who was giving him a worried look. Although Eric had his own fight yesterday he didn¡¯t look to bad off. ¡°Wait how did your fight go?¡± He asked him. ¡°It was fine, I was fighting one of the lowest ranked people here, it wasn¡¯t too bad.¡± Eric gave Gabe a look, considering whether to tell him something more, both looking worried. ¡°What is it? What aren¡¯t you saying?¡± He asked them, they both looked worried about what they had to say, nether wanting to be the one to break the news to him. ¡°Listen don¡¯t get angry. You missed the soiree yesterday, you got an invite, we all did actually, but you were unconscious. We didn¡¯t want to miss it, so we had to find someone to look after you, it was only for an hour! And Michael and Jess both volunteered to keep watch over you. We asked Viv but she also had an invite, even though she didn¡¯t fight.¡± Oh, is that it? Jeez I thought they were going to tell me something major had happened. ¡°That¡¯s cool, thanks for not leaving me alone. Michael and Jess huh? That must have been weird. What was the soiree like?¡± ¡°Later. We will talk later. And you will be telling us what the hell you did to yourself!¡± Gabe yelled at him. ¡°But you need to get ready and get to the arena, like now.¡± At that Shaun jumped up from the bed, not caring that he was naked, and looked around for clothes. ¡°Where are my clothes? My sword? Everything!¡± He started running around looking for all of his things. He found his sword and weapons on the table but no clothes. ¡°Everything was covered in blood Shaun, grab some of my clothes and lets get moving.¡± Gabe and Eric were both looking at the wall away from him, and that was when he realised that he had been running around, buck ass naked, with not a care in the world. ¡°Ummm, woops. Sorry about the nakedness!¡± That caused Eric to laugh, like really laugh, while Gabe just hit him in the ribs and told him to shut up, going bright red in the process. ¡°I am guessing there is something I have missed?¡± ¡°Later, now hurry up! Don¡¯t want to be late.¡± Gabe replied, rushing him along. It didn¡¯t take long for him to grab some clothes and get dressed, quickly followed by putting all of his weapons back on and all of them rushing out the door. Thankfully, he felt good, in a lot of ways better that normal. The increase in his Soul and Dexterity from the lightning affinity were huge, the biggest increases he had ever gotten, and he felt it in the way he moved. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. As soon as they got to the corridor leading to the waiting area they stopped, his orb had started to glow when they were moving so he was running out of time and quickly. He had gotten a lot of weird looks when he had been moving through the corridors, every time he came across someone they just openly stared at him in shock, as if they were surprised to see him. He asked Gabe and Eric what it was about but they just said they would talk about it later. The most shocking thing was, when they arrived at the entrance to the waiting area Vivenne was waiting there as well, but she wasn¡¯t due to fight today, so why was she here? ¡°You''re alive. That¡¯s good. Are you ready to fight?¡± She asked him. ¡°Ummm, yeah, why?¡± This is so weird, why is she here? ¡°Good. When you come back we are going to have a chat, I want to know what you did in that dungeon, how you almost died, and why you weren¡¯t even hurt when we washed you in that shower!¡± She washed me in a shower, what the hell happened yesterday! ¡°Don¡¯t talk just listen. You owe me. I used my best health potion on you, I helped carry you through this damn colosseum! And just so you are aware you weigh a ton! And I want to know why I had to do any of that in the first place! I felt the power you were giving off when you appeared out of that dungeon and I want to know why!¡± ¡°I¡­..¡± He tried to speak, ask questions, he was so confused in that moment and he wanted answers just as much as she did. ¡°No talking! Go, fight and win. Then we will all be having a chat. Understood?¡± ¡°Understood!¡± She is scary when she wants to be, and if half of what she said is true it seems I owe her. With that she made shoeing gestures for him to get on with it and move into the waiting area, Gabe and Eric smiled at him and gave him a nod. When he looked past them another crowd had formed, not close by, but it was obvious why they were there. It seemed they wanted to listen in on them and find out exactly what had happened to him. Not that he would be announcing it to the world. He moved into the waiting area where there was about 10 people present, including him. He was the last fight of the day so they would need to go through everyone else here before it has his turn. He saw Trevor sitting on one side of the room, giving him a look that, if it was possible, would kill him. He didn¡¯t talk to anyone present, and they all seemed to be in deep concentration, preparing for their fight. There wasn¡¯t much for him to prepare, physically anyway, what he did do was slip into mediation and inspect his new affinity. As soon as he got his first look he couldn¡¯t help but stare in wonder, the bright glow of the lightning affinity completely overshadowed the others, its power was just so much more impressive, it was everything he could have dreamed of. He tapped into it, only for a second, and he felt his whole body tingle with the power, it was almost overwhelming, but at the same time completely intoxicating. There was something he needed to consider though, in these fights he might be able to get away with just using his gauntlet and sword to fight, but there was also a chance that he might have to expose one of his affinity in battle and if he did that he should only ever use one of them in all the fights, giving the illusion he only had the one affinity. He could cover most of it up with the gauntlet but not lightning. With that he decided that he would go as long as he could with not using any of his affinity, hopefully he would make it through the first few fights without any, but if he did need to use one, he figured that fire was going to be his best bet. Sure, it would be impressive, having an affinity so early, but it was probably best to cover up having an advanced affinity, something that should not even be done until one was in the late E grade, more likely D grade, and just show a basic one. With that decided he returned his attention to the room, the only ones left were himself and Trevor. He didn¡¯t have to wait long until both their names were called up and they both moved through the last of the corridor and into the arena. When he looked around the entire colosseum was packed, just as busy as the first day, but some of the chairs for the major representatives were empty, or they were until he had made his way further into the arena where each and every one that was missing appeared. They had all decided that they wanted to be here to see him fight, not bothering with sitting and watching all day and only choosing who they would come and watch, apparently having better things to do. ¡°Shaun Clermont, Trevor Rule, welcome to your first fight in the arena!¡± With the introduction done by Dijaun, the crowd seemed to cheer, excited for the fight about to occur. ¡°You know the rules, you must fight and to win your opponent must concede before the fight starts, state they give up during the fight, be rendered unconscious or be killed. All weapons are allowed to be used, items and potions can also be utilised during the fight.¡± Dijaun let that all sink in before moving on. ¡°Now is your chance to either ask any questions or concede!¡± Shaun looked at Trevor, checking to see what his level was. He had made it to level 27, a good jump in the three days since he last identified him, but still nowhere near close enough to win the fight. ¡°Concede Trevor, you aren¡¯t going to be able to win this and you know it.¡± If he could avoid the fight he would, he had decided he would give all of his opponents the chance. Trevor just laughed at him, as if what he said was a joke, Shaun had tried to give him an out, that¡¯s what mattered. ¡°You think I can¡¯t win? We all saw you yesterday, covered in blood, practically dead on the ground! And from what? An F ranked dungeon! You can¡¯t even fight F rank monsters without getting hurt, your nothing but a fraud! A soon to be dead one at that.¡± ¡°Concede Trevor. This is your last chance.¡± He gave it one more try, he knew that it wouldn¡¯t matter, they were going to have to fight, but for his own sanity he had to try again. ¡°No.¡± As soon as the man spoke, the entire colosseum fell into silence. Shaun looked up at the man who had just spoke, it was Xavier Barshen, the representative from The Empire, the faction that focused on fighting and war. ¡°Your opponent has made his intention clear, he wishes to fight to the death. And I say we give him what he wants.¡± Turning to the other representatives beside him and then projecting his voice to the entire arena he continued. ¡°This fight is now to the death, that shall be the only way one will win. It has been stated by the contestant and I agree with it. There will be no conceding, only one person shall walk out of the arena from this fight!¡± The arena cheered for this, they wanted to see someone die. Shaun couldn¡¯t help the disgust that he felt in that moment, it was sick, cheering for someone¡¯s death. The only ones that looked like they didn¡¯t agree with this decision was the Life rep as well as the crafter and merchant, but none spoke up. ¡°See, now you have no choice but to die!¡± Trevor yelled at him. You idiot! You just signed your own death sentence! Book 2: Chapter 16 With a yell Trevor decided to run full steam ahead right towards where he was standing, he didn¡¯t lift his sword or even attempt to use his gauntlet, he simply waited until Trevor got close and swung out with his sword for his first attack and he simply used his increase Dexterity to move out of he way. Rather than stay close he moved himself further away from Trevor, who was currently following him around, rage clearly written on his face. He didn¡¯t actually think that a simple swing of the sword was going to get me right? As Trevor came in for his second attack he ended up moving much quicker than the first time, using some ability that helped him close the distance between him and his opponent, but it didn¡¯t matter, he was still nowhere near quick enough to land a blow on him. Shaun had just jumped over 20% in his Dexterity from bonding lightning, that plus the extra 50 points he got meant that he was so much quicker than he ever was before, easily matching someone dozens of levels above him in speed. They kept repeating the same process over and over again, Trevor would come at him, trying to attack with his sword and he would just move out of the way. He still had his sword in hand but had yet to use it. They continued like this for a few more goes around the arena until the crowd stated to boo him. You cant be serious? What the hell are they trying to accomplish by doing that. The next time that Trevor came into attack him he decided to return with his own attack, nothing too powerful, he simply dodged the sword strike that was aimed at him and then when Trevor was recovering from the swing moved in and hit him right in the chest with his gauntlet, sending him flying halfway across the arena. He hadn¡¯t used any skills or affinity in the attack, just a plain old punch, but that was enough to cause a decent amount of damage to Trevor. His breast plate was dented where Shaun had hit him, which would have hurt, but the resulting force from the blow did so much more. The crowd cheered for him now that he had finally attacked back, all the while Trevor was picking himself off of the ground, spitting blood from his mouth. Shaun didn¡¯t go in for a follow up attack, instead just waited for Trevor to approach him again. What did surprise him though was when Trevor took out a health potion and downed it before throwing the vial to the side. One punch and already he is needing to recover health. After a few moments Trevor yelled across the arena at him, ¡°That¡¯s all you got! A punch! You are nothing but a weak asshole that deserves to die!¡± and then started to run at him again. This guy doesn¡¯t learn. As soon as he came in for the attack Trevor seemed to use more of his skills, he moved quicker and his sword swings held much more power than before. He seemed stronger as well. Whatever skills he was using there was no way it wasn¡¯t going to take a toll on him. Shaun didn¡¯t attack again, he just dodged around the attacks, pushing himself to avoid getting hit while not retaliating. It wasn¡¯t until Trevor started to lag, getting slower and his swings less powerful did he move in and hit him again, right in the same spot as last time. Trevor was forced back nearly the full length of the arena this time, Shaun having put more strength into his punch. ¡°Do you see that strength! One hit and his opponent gets thrown all the way across the arena! Is it physical stats or is it the gauntlet? That¡¯s what we want to know!¡± Dijaun spoke to the crowd, and they ate it up. The cheers and shouts from the audience hit a fevered pitch. Some shouting that it was the gauntlet and others that it was just pure strength, he didn¡¯t care though, His eyes were on Trevor who was struggling to come to a stand. Walking up to Trevor, Shaun gave it one last go, hoping that he would take him up on the offer. ¡°Concede Trevor.¡± ¡°Do you hear the folks, esteemed guests! Shaun has just offered for his opponent to concede, even after being told that it would be a fight to the death!¡± Dijaun announced to the crowd, eliciting boos from those watching. Trevor looked up at him, finding the strength to get up from the ground. ¡°You heard him, the fight ends when someone dies.¡± Shaun nodded at that, he was right, Xavier had said that someone was going to have to die, but that was Xavier. ¡°Yeah he did say that. But the system didn¡¯t and that is what matters. The rules for this stage said that if you concede than the fight is over, that didn¡¯t change just because he said so. So concede!¡± For the first time since he had entered the arena everyone was silent. He had just announced that he didn¡¯t care about the ruling from a major faction representative, and truly he didn¡¯t give a shit. When he looked up and at Xavier the man was pissed, he didn¡¯t say anything but he looked like he was ready to get in the arena himself and kill him. ¡°You would go against what I have decreed? You? An E grade, still in a tutorial, factionless and barely having come into his power?¡± Xavier asked him. ¡°Yes I would.¡± Shaun replied directly to The Empires representative. Xavier just laughed, truly laughed, like he got some joy out of the statement. ¡°I like you, Shaun Clermont. Not many have the backbone to stand up to their betters, but you? You show strength, courage, to stand up for yourself and what you believe.¡± This caused muttering to occur throughout the arena, did he just complement me? ¡°Tell us Shaun, you didn¡¯t come to the meeting yesterday, you were invited, by many of the people present, yet you didn¡¯t show. If this Trevor is to be believed you were grievously harmed in an F rank dungeon. Is that true? Were you hurt so badly that you were unable to attend?¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. He was having a chat, in the middle of a fight. True Trevor was in no shape to do much of anything at the moment but he was drinking potions to recover, a few of them by the looks of it. But still, he was now being questioned on his absence and having to address rumours of what happened to him. ¡°Its true. I was hurt, badly, in an F grade dungeon. I was unconscious during the soiree last night.¡± More muttering from the audience, but this time many of the reps from the major factions were staring at him, they knew something wasn¡¯t adding up, they just didn¡¯t know what. ¡°And how exactly were you hurt in the dungeon, I cant imagine it was the monsters. Crafting something interesting maybe?¡± Wilaron spoke up this time, the rep from the Crafters Guild. ¡°No, not crafting.¡± He replied, this caused some disappointment from Wilaron, but before he could follow up with more questions another of the reps spoke. ¡°No, do you not taste the air, it is fresh, still new, but I sense a tinge of change, of power.¡± Sleese spoke in a garbled weird tone. That was the elemental, the one he was most hesitant to be around, he didn¡¯t for sure before but now he did, the elemental could feel the newly formed affinity in the air. ¡°And what power does the elemental speak of human?¡± Drakunsher spoke, the demon from the Nine Hells asked. ¡°Enough!¡± Trevor yelled at everyone, causing silence again to fall upon the arena. ¡°This isn¡¯t some get to know you party or a lets talk about how amazing Shaun is get together! He is here to die!¡± ¡°Well then, give it your all Trevor Rule.¡± Xavier said to him. Trevor¡¯s attention was now back on him, he was pissed, angry at being ignored, at so easily taken down. If it wasn¡¯t for all of the potions there was no way that he would be standing at this moment. Shaun had given him a chance to concede time and time again, and what did he get in return, nothing but arrogance and a self-inflated sense of self-worth. If he had just conceded he would have lost but at least he wouldn¡¯t have been beaten unconscious, which is exactly what he now needed to do. ¡°I will never concede to you!¡± Trevor yelled at him. ¡°Once I kill you today I will hunt and kill everyone you have ever loved or cared about! This doesn¡¯t end with your death, oh no. You have pushed me too far! I will kill you, make no mistake, and then I am going to kill your family once I am back on earth. But before that I will kill Gabe and I will kill Eric and I will kill that bitch Vivenne who helped you yesterday. Everyone who has ever cared for you is dead! You are¡­.¡± As Trevor was yelling at him he couldn¡¯t help but think back on his family, his mom was gone, dead before he ever got a chance to know her. His dad was gone, taken from him too early, leaving him alone in a hateful lonely world. Even now, the only people he truly cared about were Gabe and Eric. They cared for him, just as he cared for them. He remembered how happy they were together, sitting on that couch in each other¡¯s arms, the smiles on their faces. He wasn¡¯t going to lose that! He refused to lose anyone else! During all of this his anger grew, becoming an uncontrollable rage that filled him to his limit. Trevor hadn''t stopped yelling at him, hadn¡¯t stopped threatening to take away everything he cared about. Something inside of him cracked, he lost control of his emotions and all he wanted to do was end the threats, end the tiny little man who thought that they could harm him and the people he cared about. Without even realising what he was doing, he had tapped into the lightning within him, pure uncontrolled destruction. The air became static, his body was tingling all over and yet the power still built. Trevor was oblivious to the changes that were occurring, but everyone else knew, they felt it the moment he had snapped and started losing himself to the power within him. He didn¡¯t stop though, the power engulfed his very being until finally with a shout he threw down his sword and raised his hands in the air. A bolt of lightning burst from the sky hitting him, traveling into his hands and resting inside his body, absorbed into his very being, but it didn¡¯t hurt, he felt alive. It wasn¡¯t until then that Trevor stopped his threats, looking at him in horror, fear. Shaun didn¡¯t care though, it was too late, no one, and he meant no one, would threaten the people he cared about and live. Without a second thought he lowered his hand and directed them at Trevor and with a yell, pushing everything he had, every ounce of power he now controlled, directly at him. Lightning erupted from his hands, flying directly at Trevor, the power behind his attack releasing a thunderous cracking noise through the arena, when it struck Trevor was sent flying into the wall of the arena a whole missing from his chest, wide enough that he could see straight through his body. A blast of power, the remnants of his attack, washed over everyone present, they could all feel the strength behind his attack, something that no early E grade should have been able to use. There was only silence after the attack and slowly Shaun¡¯s rationale mind came back, the anger and rage clearing from him. What have I just done? He killed Trevor, he didn¡¯t have to, but he chose to do it. He could have just knocked him unconscious, but no, he went with total annihilation. The audience was in stunned silence, they knew what he had just done, he had wielded an advanced elemental affinity, something that should not have been possible, yet they had all witnessed it. The Major faction reps stared on, most of them now with a hungry look in their eyes like they had just found the best slice of meat at a butcher. This is bad, so very very bad. I can¡¯t talk myself out of this one, they know. They just saw me kill someone using lightning! ¡°It seems now we know what you were doing in that dungeon.¡± Xavier spoke, a smile on his face, a secret had been revealed, one that Shaun had wanted to keep to himself, and they knew it. ¡°So much power for one so young. I look forward to speaking with you privately at tonight get together. I will even invite your friends, Gabe and Eric was it?¡± ¡°Come now Xavier, do be so presumptuous.¡± Octavius said, ¡°You are not the only one who wishes to speak to the boy. Besides, you are the one who forced him to fight to the death, something he didn¡¯t want to do. Why would you think he would wish to speak to you?¡± *Round 1 Winner declared as Shaun Clermont* 48,908 TE awarded to winner for beating opponent in one on one battle. You may now leave the arena. *You have defeated (Trevor Rule ¨C Lvl 27). Experience gained. 9,782 TE awarded* The reps were arguing with each other, in a mostly polite way, getting in little digs as to why they should get to speak to him first. He just couldn¡¯t find it in himself to care though. He got the message that he could leave, that the fight was done, so he just started walking out of the arena, not bothering with any farewell. The audience was still silent, watching the drama unfold among the reps, no one was paying him any attention for the most part. Just as he got to the corridor that would lead him out he heard someone speak to him. ¡°We will be seeing you later this evening Shaun. I look forward to our chat.¡± Xavier said. Shaun didn¡¯t stop walking though and just left the arena. Book 2: Chapter 17 When Shaun got to the waiting room he sat down on one of the chairs and just took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down and stay logical. The effects from using the lightning was still lingering, the euphoric energy running through him had lessened considerably but it was still there. He ignored it though and focused on what had happened. He had killed Trevor, something he had tried to avoid the entire fight. He had given him multiple chances to concede but he didn¡¯t, he just kept pushing and pushing until he just snapped and ended it. It was his fault that Trevor was dead, yes, but he wasn¡¯t in the wrong here. Did he deserve to die? Maybe, maybe not. But what he did know was Trevor wasn¡¯t a good person, he had shown that multiple times over. He chose death, it just so happened it was by his hand. The more he sat the more the effect he was feeling in the fight seemed to lesson until it just disappeared. What the fuck. He didn¡¯t know what had been happening to him, he had felt like he was all over the place, not in complete control. Using lightning in that fight had been stupid, reckless. He needed to do better. He had a few things he needed to figure out now, the first being that he had shown his hand when it came to his power. This wouldn¡¯t stay a secret any longer so he needed to get a head of it. He needed to pull back his emotions and think more rationally about things. Bringing in Eric and Gabe on his lightning ability was fine. He had been trying to build a solid relationship with them for a while and he was confident that they would do what he asked of them. Vivenne was more of a wild card though. But she was strong, and in the future he figured she would have her uses if he brought her in as well. He would try to be her friend, but if that failed he still thought he would be able to use her in some way. He had fucked up here and he knew it. Still, there was opportunity here. As long as he didn¡¯t expose any more of his affinities he could spin this as just a lucky chance rather than something more. If he shifted perception to him being not just the highest level but also someone that was head and shoulders above the rest he may have a chance to really gain something more from this tutorial. After spending some time thinking over everything that had occurred, he felt better, much better than he had when he first took a human life. He didn¡¯t feel good about it but he also didn¡¯t feel guilty either. When he felt like he was fully back in control he stood up and finished walking out of the corridor, back to where Gabe and Eric would be waiting for him, and Vivenne as well he guessed. As he expected he saw them all waiting, none looking too surprised to see him without a scratch on him. ¡°You won then?¡± Vivenne asked. ¡°Yeah, its done.¡± ¡°Where is the other guy?¡± She asked him. ¡°Dead. It¡¯s a long story.¡± He didn¡¯t know how she was going to react to that one, but she took it better than he thought. ¡°Doesn¡¯t surprise me. That guy was spouting all sorts of shit when you were unconscious. I¡¯m assuming there is history there?¡± ¡°You have no idea Viv. We all worked together back on Earth, Trevor was a¡­.¡± Gabe told her the full story from beginning to end, they walked behind him as they spoke while Eric came up beside him. ¡°You okay? You know, after what happened in there?¡± There was real concern coming from Eric, he was more aware of the impact that it could have on him and was checking in which was nice. Although they didn¡¯t get off to the best start he was bonding with Eric. They had not shared much about their persona lives but that didn¡¯t mean that they didn¡¯t care about each other. ¡°I asked him to concede, multiple times during the fight, but he didn¡¯t. Xavier declared it would be to the death, I didn¡¯t care though, I still asked. In the end he chose to die.¡± He didn¡¯t even have to lie when he said it either, spending that time processing after the fight was worth it. ¡°You on a first name basis with The Empire rep huh? Bet there is a story there!¡± Gabe exclaimed from behind him, apparently both of them had been listening in on his conversation. ¡°Where are we going anyway?¡± He hadn¡¯t told them where he was walking yet, but it should have been clear. They wanted to talk and the only place he was comfortable doing that was a dungeon. Besides they didn¡¯t have much time before they would be called to the nightly soiree and they had a lot to cover. When they arrived at the dungeon¡¯s he led them straight to the low E grade one, figuring he would need to show them as well as tell them what had caught everyone¡¯s attention in the arena, they were getting dragged into this so they needed to be prepared. This was the first step in fixing his mistake. He would tell them what they needed to know to ensure that he could control the story. ¡°Why are we going into the dungeon? I thought you fought alone?¡± Vivenne asked him. ¡°We need to talk and we need privacy, now everyone accept.¡± He said to them all. When they appeared in the dungeon they quickly got the notification for the first wave, none of the others were fully prepared to fight, although they did have most of the gear on, no one left their apartments without their weapons and most their armour, not in the tutorial. Before they even had time to talk he went in and killed 4 of the 5 ants, but left the fifth alive, just missing its legs. ¡°Why bring us in this dungeon if you just wanted to talk? Why not the F grade?¡± Vivenne asked, and it was a valid question. But he would get to it in time. She was questioning him a lot lately, she needed to know that he was the one in charge here, not here. ¡°A lot has happened in the past day. You all wanted to talk and there are some things you guys need to know before tonight. This soiree is going to be, interesting? Dangerous? I don¡¯t know. But you can¡¯t go in blind, not after what happened in the arena.¡± ¡°Okay, where should we start?¡± Eric asked. ¡°I will!¡± Gabe volunteered, which was good because he really wanted to know what had happened when he was unconscious. Gabe told the story from the beginning, Vivenne chimed in to pick up the missing parts of the beginning of the story. When it came to them carrying him into a shower, stripping him down and cleaning him. It seemed like Gabe and Vivenne, or Viv, as she preferred to be called, got along, some form of trust had been established, which was good, he needed to count on that if he was going to bring her in. She was the type of person that could be helpful in certain situations, especially when it came to people. When they got to telling him about the soiree they attended it all seemed pretty mild, the major faction reps were there but didn¡¯t interact with anyone, and no one was willing to approach them, sensing that they wanted to be left alone. All three of them had been approached by some of the clans though, some extended further invitations to talk again and others just wished them luck. Overall, there was nothing too outrageous that occurred. When they were done Viv looked like she was going to start questioning him again but he just held up his hand and stopped her. ¡°What do you all know about affinities?¡± Shaun asked. Gabe and Eric knew what he had told them, Viv however knew very little. He then started an in depth talk on what an affinity was, what the elements were, their rankings, and the impact they had on one¡¯s growth. ¡°I appreciate you telling us all of this but what does it have to do with anything?¡± Viv asked. ¡°Swear to me, that no matter what, you will not repeat what I tell you. If you do and I find out, you wont like how it ends.¡± He directed this at Viv mostly but the warning was for everyone. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. They all agreed, Gabe and Eric immediately, but Viv spent a minute just looking at him, considering what he was going to say. ¡°I promise, but I won¡¯t give my life, or the life of my people to keep this secret. So, if that''s going to be a problem tell me now.¡± He thought about it for a second, but really he didn¡¯t expect any of them to give their lives for it, he wasn¡¯t going to tell them everything, just enough that they will understand the impact of what he had to say. That would help lay the ground work, showing trust to Viv now would pay off down the line. ¡°That¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t expect any of you to give up your lives or anyone else¡¯s to keep what I tell you a secret.¡± He decided to just come out with it. ¡°Gabe and Eric know this, but you don¡¯t. I have an affinity. For fire.¡± Viv just blinked at him, first once, then twice. She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it. ¡°How?¡± ¡°You know the dungeons in the last stage?¡± She nodded at him. ¡°You noticed how they were all attuned to an element right?¡± Again she nodded. ¡°I got lucky in the fire dungeon.¡± ¡°Prove it. Show me what you can do with fire.¡± She said. ¡°Okay. But remember, I am trusting you Viv, I expect you to do the same.¡± He gave her a hard look then and she gave him a nod. He walked over to the legless ant and quickly killed it with his sword. He then went around and looted all of the bodies. When the 1 minute countdown was over he had them all stand behind him and watch. He handed over his sword to Gabe and said that he would show them how he could fight with fire using just his affinity, and he did. He threw fireballs, one for each of the ants but one, where they hit the ants were blasted back and quickly died. He then took his sword back and made another legless ant. The fight was over before it really started, but that was the point, an affinity, even a basic one, was powerful in a fight. They all looked at him in shock. Even Eric and Gabe who had never seen him use an affinity before, only ever his gauntlet. ¡°That was incredible! You seriously just created fucking fireballs and threw them around like it was nothing! And they were so powerful! None of my attacks are anywhere near that strong!¡± Gabe was, in that moment, acting like an excited puppy, jumping around and practically cheering for him. He appreciated the sentiment. ¡°It makes sense. It all makes sense now! That¡¯s why you are so powerful! You have an affinity!¡± Viv said, starting softly in disbelief but quickly growing to shouting at him, not in anger but in excitement. ¡°Help me get one!¡± He ignored the last bit, although helping may have some benefit to him in the future. ¡°He isn¡¯t done.¡± Eric spoke, causing everyone to look at him. ¡°We knew about the fire affinity, you wouldn¡¯t have bought us in here just for that. What else do you want to tell us.¡± ¡°Okay, time for the third wave I guess.¡± This time with his sword in hand he killed the last ant and looted the bodies. This time he stayed between the group and the ants. Just as the countdown hit 0 he formed his platforms of air and ran up into the sky, overlooking where the ants were. Without hesitation he sent down air strikes, decimating all the ants. Damn it, forgot to let one live. He quickly ran back to the others, ¡°Let me kill this lot and I will remember to keep one alive this time.¡± The all just stared at him, no one replying to him at all. When the next wave appeared he quickly dispatched the ants, this time being careful to keep one alive but legless. Running back he stopped when he got close to them again. ¡°I don¡¯t just have fire, I have air too.¡± ¡°No. Just, no. This isn¡¯t fair!¡± Viv shouted at him. ¡°Two! You have two affinity while the rest of us have none!¡± She was starting to sound like a child, but he ignored it for now. ¡°I thought you said only the elite, like only the best of the best had two affinity?¡± Gabe said. He had calmed down now, more in shock than anything. ¡°And that¡¯s why you needed to talk to us? You showed both of your affinity in the arena and now everyone is going to know?¡± Eric nodded along as he spoke. ¡°But what has that got to do with us?¡± ¡°No! We are not just skipping over the fact that he has two damn affinity! When? How?¡± Viv was spitting mad, not at him, not really, but she had finally come to the conclusion that there was no way she could ever beat him in a fight, not only that but he was so far ahead of the power curve that it would be near impossible to catch up. At least she knew what she was dealing with now. Crossing him was not in her best interest. ¡°I got¡­.¡± ¡°I swear to god Shaun, if you say you got lucky in the air dungeon I will shoot you!¡± She is real mad. He held back his smile, although it wasn¡¯t easy. ¡°You have to have a strong pull, or tie to the element you¡¯re bonding. It just so happened I found that with two basic elements in the last stage. I have a book you can borrow, give it a read, I don¡¯t know if it will be able to help you bond any affinity but you can try. From what I read it can take people years, if not centuries to find and bond an affinity. I really was just lucky.¡± He said, he was pretty much done with the book so had no issues letting her give it a read. He doubted it would be much use outside of gaining knowledge. But at least it looked like he was being helpful. ¡°Okay, while Viv calms down a bit, tell us why this impacts us.¡± Eric tried to get back to a productive conversation but it was hard, Viv was annoyed and Gabe was still just staring at him like he had grown a second head. ¡°Its more complicated than that. I told you about how basic elements can be formed into advanced ones right?¡± He started. ¡°You have got to be kidding me. Seriously? I swear if you pull out another affinity I will shoot you!¡± Good luck with that. ¡°Okay then¡­.¡± I am going to need to keep an eye on her. ¡°I didn¡¯t use any of my affinity when I was in the arena, not until the end.¡± He proceeded to tell them everything that happened, Xavier changing the rules, Trevor talking about killing him, his conversation with the reps and finally about all the threats against them, how Trevor threatened to hunt and kill each and every one of them. He spoke about what he had been thinking and feeling as he listened to Trevor spouting on about taking away everything he cared about. Eric and Gabe were the closest thing he had to friends, and although it was still a work in progress it was the closest thing he had gotten to people he cared about since losing his family. They all just listened when he spoke about everything he had relived, losing his parents, the feeling of being alone, and finally, he cracked, he was pissed at Trevor, but pissed at the idea of someone that would dare threaten to take something form him, that caused him to kill Trevor. When he finished Gabe rushed up to him, hugged him with all of his strength. He was till getting used to being hugged by people but he let it occur. ¡°I didn¡¯t know. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Viv came up to him as well and gave him a pat on the shoulder, Eric doing the same. ¡°Right, so, advanced affinities.¡± He cleared his throat and continued on with his story. ¡°When you have two basic affinity, if they match up, you can form an advanced affinity. It isn¡¯t something that many can do and it nearly impossible to even have an advanced affinity in the E grade, most can only bond successfully in the D grade, if at all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you did in the dungeon, right? You created the advanced affinity and it nearly killed you? Would have killed you if it wasn¡¯t for the health potions.¡± Viv said, now much calmer than she had been. ¡°And that¡¯s what you used in the arena, an advanced affinity, which is why everyone is up in arms. Do they even know you have the two basic affinity?¡± Eric asked, to which he shook his head. ¡°Shit Shaun, what a mess. But again, why does it involve us?¡± ¡°Trevor. When he was threatening the people I cared about he called you out by name, both of you. He also mentioned Viv, and how she helped me after the dungeon. You¡¯re all in their sights now. For better or worse.¡± ¡°Is that a bad thing though? I would have thought it would be a good thing, not many people are invited directly into the major factions.¡± Gabe said to the group. ¡°Not bad, necessarily, but it means that the attention will be on us and we need to be careful with how we approach the clans and factions. If you want to join one, and they want you to, I don¡¯t see why you shouldn¡¯t accept. But read about them all first. Here.¡± He took out the book on factions from his inventory, handing it to Eric. ¡°Read it, think it all over. And for you.¡± He pulled to the book on affinity and handed it to Viv. ¡°I will be wanting it back when your done though.¡± Viv read the title and opened to the first few pages. ¡°You¡¯re actually letting me borrow this? Where did you even get it?¡± ¡°Bookstore.¡± Eric and Gabe said at once, causing them both to laugh. ¡°Now you know everything.¡± He concluded. ¡°Except for what this advanced affinity is.¡± Gabe replied, not letting him get away without a show and tell. ¡°That¡¯s why we are in this dungeon, I have a lot of testing to do with this affinity, you guys can leave if you want, or stay, sit and read for a while, watch me fight. Up to you. Just be careful, watch out for any stray attacks.¡± He didn¡¯t want to waste what mana he had so instead of killing the ants with lightning he finished off the 5th wave with his sword, getting boos from the others watching. When the sparrows appeared though he was ready to show them what his new affinity was, and he was more than excited to really test it out. Channelling the lightning through his body felt euphoric, not as much as before, but he was also using a lot less of it. Raising both of his hands, having put his sword back in its sheath, he aimed for the closest bird and with a push of mana he sent an arc of lightning cracking through the sky. Where the sparrow wasn¡¯t quick enough to avoid the lightning and was struck down with one hit. ¡°Lightning! You overpowered dick!¡± Viv yelled at him. He just smiled, these birds had just gotten a hell of a lot easier to take down. And he was glad he had looped them in, he was making the best of a bad situation and slowly Viv was becoming reliant on him. Book 2: Chapter 18 Fighting the sparrows had gone from incredibly frustrating and time consuming to being almost too easy. A few times he had to change tactics as a few of the sparrow had tried to attack the others but he caught this in time and was able to kill them before they had a chance to let their spear attacks go at them. After the third wave of sparrows though it had become too dangerous for the others to not be paying attention and instead had to focus on making sure they wouldn¡¯t be attacked, they had also started letting off their own attacks at any monster that got close, mostly Viv and Gabe, as they had ranged attacks. During the battles Shaun had figured out a few things, using lightning used a bit more mana than the other elements but in comparative power per mana used it was just so much stronger, the power behind each attack easily three times as strong if not more than the fire element. What he also found was that when he tried to use lightning through the gauntlet it was a complete and utter failure, he had got hit with backlash from trying to use the gauntlet, the lightning instead going completely haywire and causing some back lash. If he was to guess this was because the gauntlet had no corresponding lightning runes, as well as no direct lightning element in it, only the separate fire and air, something he would look to see if he could fix. When he was nearly done with the 9th wave, only leaving one of the sparrow alive, he went back to the group to talk about what they were going to do for the next wave, the starling was powerful, and its attack, if it had a chance to let it off, would be too much for them to avoid, let alone defend against. ¡°Hey guys, the boss will be coming up in the next wave and to be honest I don¡¯t think I will be able to protect you against its attack and fight at the same time.¡± At that moment the last sparrow decided to send a spear at them, he simply created a barrier, already prepared for the attack to block it. ¡°Its probably best if you all leave now.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we stay? Fighting these higher levelled monsters has already gotten me a level!¡± Gabe protested, and he got that, they had had to fight off a few of the sparrow over the last few waves, even with the experience split between them it was a lot of experience when they were over 5 levels under the sparrow. ¡°Shaun¡¯s right, my entire team fought the starling and we barely all made it out alive. If we stay we are all going to be at risk.¡± Viv directed at Gabe. ¡°But¡­..¡± She then looked back at him, ¡°If you focus on the starling we can fight against the other sparrows. If we need to, we can evacuate from the dungeon, but only if you can take the starling out in time. We will be careful, but we can do this.¡± Shaun looked at all of them, they all had the same look on their face, they were determined to stay, even if it meant putting themselves in more danger than it was probably worth. He was confident in being able to attack the starling before it got its star attack off, but there was a chance that he couldn¡¯t. He couldn¡¯t force them to leave though so he would just need to go all out on his attack. He still had about half of his mana left, he hadn¡¯t had to waste anywhere near as much as he had during his first run through the dungeon, that and the fact that he had just under twice as much as he did before from gaining the lightning affinity, meant he had a lot to spare. ¡°Fine, but at the first sign of trouble you get out. I will do what I can to kill as many of them as I can straight up, but I can¡¯t guarantee your safety. You will retreat out of the dungeon if you have to.¡± They all agreed without argument, that was all he could hope for really. He told them that when he killed the last sparrow that they should run and loot all of the bodies and then retreat back as fast as they can. Turning away from them he decided he would throw as much power as he could at the birds as soon as they appeared, using as much mana as necessary to cause as much damage as he could. He would use the 1 minute between waves to power up his attack, not having to worry about looting the birds during this time. It didn¡¯t take long to kill the last sparrow and when he got the notification that the wave ended he moved up into he air and started channelling as much lightning as he could, when he hit the point where he was at the same amount of mana that he had used during the arena fight with Trevor he didn¡¯t stop, only 30 seconds had passed and he still had more mana he could use. He raised his hands into the air and called down lightning from above, striking into him, instantly raising the amount of power he was holding onto by threefold. He didn¡¯t stop though, he kept calling down the lightning from the sky, getting used to the feeling of what it took to call forth the element externally to the channel it into himself. After the 3rd blast of lightning was called into him he felt that he had reached the limit of what his body could handle. At this point he was barely able to keep control of the power inside of him. Seconds passed until, until the notification appeared that the 10th wave had started. As soon as he saw the birds appear including the starling, he moved himself closer to them in the air. It seemed that the starling wasn¡¯t going to wait this time to start its attack, as soon as it felt his presence the world dungeon started to darken, the starling channelling its own power. He wasn¡¯t going to let it though. He released all the power inside of him, aiming directly at the starling, but there was too much power to control easily. Instead of the lightning going only at the starling strike after strike of power was released from him, draining everything that he had been holding inside. It was as if it had a mind of its own, each tendril of lightning that was released quickly found a monster to hit, but even then it didn¡¯t stop. It powered through the first sparrow it found and like a chain reaction found the next, and the next, until all around him every single sparrow that was in striking distance was connected by a chain of power, including the starling. The monster was still powering up its attack, but he would be having none or that. With a final push he went every bit of power he had left into he attack, cause a bright flash to light up the now dark dungeon. It ripped through him, causing some internal damage to his mana channels, but nowhere near as much as when he had first bonded the element. When he had no more power to give he cut of the lightning and watched to see what the result of his attack was. Every single bird that had been caught in his web dropped from the sky, completed toasted and streaming from his attack, they weren¡¯t moving, simply dropping form where they had been held in the sky with his power. Checking the starling, it too had not been able to survive the attack. In all it looked like he had successfully killed 10 of the monsters, leaving only 5 remaining. He had used most of his mana in the attack, leaving only 1000 remaining of his over 7000 total, it was a lot of mana to use in one attack but it had done exactly what he had needed it to. Lowering himself back to the ground, he saw that the others were currently fighting off 3 of the sparrow, Viv and Gabe using their arrow, which seemed to be powered by some mana infusion skills, while Eric was protecting them from the spears that would occasionally be sent their way. Deciding not to interfere, not wanting to take away the experience they would get, he just watched, only interfering if they needed him too. It took them much longer to kill the sparrow than it would have taken him to finish off but he didn¡¯t mind, instead he focused on regaining his mana, and thinking about how he was going to approach the wolves in the next wave, or if he even should. When they had taken out the last of the birds he quickly ran to loot the starling first and then the others he had killed, the others doing the same. He got all the notifications for the kills, happy to see that he had gained a level in the fight. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 38. +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 34. +16 Ap gained* By the time they reconvened they had only seconds to figure out their approach. ¡°You guys going to retreat or stay? I haven¡¯t fought the wolves yet so don¡¯t know what to expect.¡± He asked them. ¡°I have, they are quick, strong and fight as a pack. We barely managed to complete the first wave of them when I did it last. They are also more durable than you expect. Between Gabe, Eric and I we can probably handle one maybe two in a fight. You though¡­.with that lightning? I have no idea.¡± What Viv said made him consider how they should approach it, none of them had shown an inclination to leave, which left him as the one to decide if they should continue and if so how he would do it. ¡°Okay here is what we are going to do. You are all staying behind me until we find out how much damage I can do to these monsters, if I can deal with them effectively I will try and let some past one at a time, if I cant you run. If you get overwhelmed, you run. If I give the call to retreat, you run. Deal?¡± They all agreed, and just in time too, as they all got the message that the 11th wave was to begin. He didn¡¯t know when he had become de facto leader of the group, but he didn¡¯t really like it. This was the reason why he liked fighting alone, he didn¡¯t have to consider others in a fight, he just had to focus on himself and the monsters. He had put himself into this situation though, he brought them into this dungeon, so they were his responsibility. The monsters appeared, thankfully the others were already behind him and them. *Dire Wolf ¨C Level 35* The wolves were just as expected, 15 level 35 Dire Wolf. He had barely got a chance to more than identify them last time he got to this wave, they were bigger than the average wolf, all of them easily standing as tall as his chest, they had grey fur and their teeth and claws were sharp. As one they all lifted their head into the sky and howled, the result was intimidating, even for him. Rather than wait for them to attack first, Shaun did something he had yet to try, he powered up his sword with an elemental strike, this time using lightning. He didn¡¯t use a lot of mana in the strike, only 100. It wasn¡¯t about killing them but seeing what the impact would be. He had sent it at the closest group of wolves, and when it hit there was less of an explosion and more of a static blast that hit out at the surrounding wolves. The attack did some damage to the wolf he hit, sending it into a convulsing heap on the ground, the ones hit by the blast seemed to lock up and twitch, he didn¡¯t know how long that would last though. The wolves that his attack hadn¡¯t reached immediately started running directly towards him, overtaking the ones still unmoving from his attack. He ran at them head on, powering up another strike and just as he had reached them let it loose, hitting more of the wolves. He immediately followed up with his sword, attacking the wolf he had just shot with the strike, who was now convulsing on the ground. He drove his sword straight into its head, quickly removing it again and turning to the other wolves who had now circled around him. Sending out a pulse of his echo skill he found that the wolves he had initially hit were back on the move, all outside of the wolf he had directly hit. The others had three of the wolves focused on them, one more than they said they could handle, and the rest were now all focused on him. He wasn¡¯t stressed about the others, not too much at least, they had said they would retreat if they needed to. He was in a much more precarious situation, there was 10 wolves surrounding him now, including the ones that were recovering from his latest attack. They circled him as a group, not yet attacking, but they knew they had cornered their prey. Or so they thought anyway. Concentrating air beneath him he launched himself into the air, it was not graceful in any way, but it got him above the circle of wolves, he sent down the quick lightning blasts with his sword, having no other choice as he didn¡¯t have a hand free to actually cast a bolt of lightning, unable to use the hand with his gauntlet until he changed the runes around. His first two strikes managed to hit two of the wolves directly, while the third wolf managed to get out of the way, out of the 10 beasts though he had managed to get 8 of them in the radius of the static shock. As he started falling back to the ground he aimed for a group of the wolves who had been effected by the shock, and when he landed quickly dispatched two of them before they managed to recover. They left him with 6 wolves to deal with, considering the two who were hit directly were still a convulsing mess on the ground. With this the wolves changed tactics and all came at him as a pack. He sent a fire strike through the gauntlet at the same time he entered into a fight with another of the wolves, using just his sword. Viv had been right though, they were quick, focusing on speed and strength over any other of their attributes, and he was unable to do any meaningful damage to the wolf with his sword. I really need a better weapon for physical attacks, something with reach maybe, or even just an upgrade on the sword. Shaun now felt like he was dancing around with the wolves, every time one would come into attack he would dodge out of the way, sometimes straight towards another of the wolves who he would then attack with his sword, usually with a lightning strike channelled through his blade. One had managed to get a swipe in with their paw but he was able to turn it into more of a glancing swipe rather than a full blown mauling. He slowly whittled down their numbers, with each strike of his sword or fireball from his gauntlet he was doing damage. He was able to redirect his position a few times to kill the wolves that were seriously effected by the lightning, and as their numbers continued to drop he was able to make more direct attacks on them. He didn¡¯t know how long it had taken but eventually there were 11 dead wolves around him. Checking with his echo he found that the wolf he had hit right at the beginning of the wave had also died, not being able to recover from the strike that hit it. Checking in on the others, they had managed to kill two of their wolves, although not easily by the looks of it. Eric was bleeding from many wounds on his body, mostly from getting clawed by the wolves, Gabe and Viv also looked like they had taken a few hits, but none of them looked like they were in serious danger in that moment. He again watched them, ready to interfere if needed, and while he waited he healed up all of his own wounds. While they fought he watched how well they moved together, it was clear that over the course of their battle they had found a decent rhythm. Eventually they killed the wolf and with it the last of the monsters of the wave. *Wave 11 Completed ¨C Wave 12 starting in 1 minute* *You have defeated a (Dire Wolf ¨C Lvl 35). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 3000 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. *You have defeated a (Dire Wolf ¨C Lvl 35). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 3000 TE awarded* Shaun got 12 notifications for his kills, not enough to get another level though, he wasn¡¯t surprised as he had already gotten one in the last wave, he then quickly looted all of the wolves he had killed, getting pelts out of it, which didn¡¯t really hold much value to him but could be sold for coin. When he was back with the others he didn¡¯t delay in healing each of them with his gauntlet, just enough to take the edge off of their wounds, not having time to bring them back to 100%. ¡°Are you guys staying or going?¡± They all shared a look, clearly considering whether they should back out now or keep going. ¡°We stay, whether we can make it through the next wave though? I don¡¯t know, we took down three of the wolves and after you healed us we are not in too bad of a shape to fight. So we will see.¡± Eric said for all of them. ¡°Same rules as last time. Get ready they are coming.¡± And with that he got ready for the 12th wave. Book 2: Chapter 19 Shaun had just finished off the 14th wave, he was definitely more exhausted than he had been earlier and he had resorted to no longer using his own mana and instead relying on the gauntlet and physical attacks, needing to recover as much as he could before the 15th wave. He had tried to trap one of the wolves but it was an impossible task, he tried to stun one and even knock it unconscious so he could recover, but he either always killed it or it would continuously fight back. The others left, as expected, on the 12th wave, unable to continue to fight without real risk of dying involved but he stayed and kept fighting, wanting to really push himself forward. He wanted to see what the boss of the 15th wave would be like, that and he was so close to another level he could feel it. *Wave 15 Commencing* The moment the wolves appeared, now 20 in total, he knew he was in trouble, the standard wolves he thought he could handle, even at level 39 they could be killed with time and effort, but the boss was something else entirely. Standing just a bit taller than the others, it didn¡¯t look that much different, but when he identified it the differences became clear. *Shifting Alpha Wolf ¨C Level 40* It was an alpha wolf, but that wasn¡¯t what put him off, it was the shifting part that made him second guess the wolf, did it shift itself into something else or did it imply something different? The wolves didn¡¯t waste any time in coming for him, the alpha at the lead of the pack. Shaun had been powering up a lightning bolt from the very start, knowing that he needed to kill it before it showed its true power. He let his attack fly, directly at the boss, but where he expected it to get hit, or even to try and dodge, it just completely disappeared. What the hell! The bolt of lightning he had sent at the alpha wolf ended up hitting the middle of the pack, killing some of the wolves outright and hurting others quite severely, but that hadn¡¯t been what he wanted, he had wanted to kill the alpha. He kept sending bursts of his echo into the dungeon, trying to figure out where it had gone but it was as if the beast had completely disappeared. The wolves started closing the remaining distance to him and he had no choice but to fight them, just as he had powered a lightning strike through his sword he felt something shift behind him but before he could even turn around he was sent flying through the air. He hadn¡¯t been prepared for the attack, he wasn¡¯t even sure how he had been hit, but the alpha was standing right where he had been, blood now coating the paw it used to strike him. Shaun got himself off the ground, his ribs hurting from the attack, blood leaking from his side, but he didn¡¯t have time to heal them as the wolves had changed direction and were coming directly for him. He refused to waste another lightning strike on the alpha so decided to clear out the other wolves first. He had to be careful of his mana usage, but not enough that he couldn''t use a few lightning strikes to reduce the number of wolves that were after him. He quickly powered up another attack before the wolves were on him and sent it straight into the middle of the group, followed shortly by a fire strike from his gauntlet. Just as the wolves were upon him he went in with his sword at the ready for some powered up lightning strikes. He only managed to hit two wolves before he felt the same shift as last time, but was again too late to get out of the way. This time rather than be knocked across the dungeon he felt the alphas claws rip through his back, he couldn¡¯t avoid its attack but he didn¡¯t plan on letting it go without some payback. Whirling around his focused on striking it with his sword, imbued with another elemental strike, but when he turned the wolf was gone. This is getting fucking ridiculous! His attack still imbued in his sword he dodged another of the wolves, pain searing through his back where the alpha had attacked him, and then launched the strike at another of the wolves. Getting a look at how many were left he still saw 13 of the dire wolves alive, better than 19 but still too many to deal with as well as the alphas shifting attacks. With the alpha capable of disappearing and then appearing in another spot, he had come to the conclusion that this shifting alpha was actually shifting through space, he didn¡¯t know how but it was so overpowered that it just wasn¡¯t fair. He continued fighting against the wolves, his mana going down with each attack, he hadn¡¯t had much to begin with so what he was now wasting on fighting these dire wolves was mana wasted on what he should be using on the boss. After every few attacks the alpha would make an appearance and attack him, he had started to get a feel for when it would appear, the area around where it would strike next shifted just moments before it would arrive, and that had started to give him some notice so he would be able to move out of the way, not enough for an attack though, not yet, he was still fighting against all the other monsters which were taking a lot of his concentration. What had started as 19 of the wolves had now dropped down to 5, and with that he had accrued more wounds than he could heal without being left alone for a few minutes to purely concentrate on fixing himself. He had started to slow down as well, but thankfully so had the attacks from the alpha, it seemed that the wolf could only shift so often and so quickly which gave him time to continue to whittle down the number of other wolves. Before he was able to finish off the remaining wolves the alpha joined in the fight, this time though when it appeared attacking him from the side, Shaun had been able to use the moments notice to launch himself to the side and narrowly miss the attack. Rolling into the ground he quickly stood up and took in the alpha. It hadn¡¯t disappeared again, like every other attack, instead it turned around and came right back at him, giving him an opportunity to do some damage. He had enough mana for two more attacks, one from his own mana supply and one from the gauntlet, having practically drained the gem dry throughout the last few waves. As the alpha came at him again, he dodged to the side and at the same time swept out with his sword, clipping it on the leg. He had assumed that the alpha was going to shift again so didn¡¯t bother putting any mana into the attack, however it hadn¡¯t, and that led him to believe it either decided that it would attack like the rest of the wolves and strike him when he least expected it or it was out of its own supply of mana and could no longer shift until it recovered. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Not wanting to lose the slight chance that he was right, and that the wolf was now vulnerable, he sent a fire strike through his gauntlet into the centre of the dire wolves, depleting the remaining mana in the gem but accomplishing what he set out to do, distract them. At the same time he started powering up for one last lightning strike, ready to let it loose at the alpha, he started running directly at it, while at the same time it started running at him. When they met in the middle he didn¡¯t dodge the attack and let the beast land on him, at the same time sending out the lightning strike, driving his sword straight in its chest. The attack from the sword wasn¡¯t enough to kill it but the blast of lightning that hit it was enough to electrocute it to the point where it wasn¡¯t able to fully move, or get away from him. He pushed the alpha off of him, thankful that he hadn¡¯t been too injured from the attack, just a few scratches on his chest. Before any of the other wolves could get close to him he pulled his sword from the alphas chest and stabbed it right through its head, killing it in an instant. He was now out of mana, but he didn¡¯t care, he would kill the remaining wolves with his sword, again wishing for a weapon that had more length to it. As soon as the wolves were on him he pushed himself to his limit, dodging between all of their attacks and doing damage where he could, slowly inflicting wounds onto each and every one of the monsters. When he managed a kill shot on one of them he felt the battle shift, he had one less wolf to worry about and allowed him a bit of breathing room. One of the wolves made a mistake and attempted to rush at him at the same time as another and he was able to cleanly dodge both, letting them hit each other instead of him, which he took advantage of and killed of another of the monsters, leaving him with only three to handle. He knew that if it wasn¡¯t for the recent boost in Dexterity that he would have had to give up on this fight a long time ago, but he had gained over 100 points due to his affinity and he used every single one of them to win the fight. By the time he was done he was exhausted and hurt and honestly just wanted to shower and lay down. But he knew that as soon as he finished the dungeon he wouldn¡¯t have much time to clean up and get ready for the soiree, even though it was something he didn¡¯t want to do. It wasn¡¯t just going to be talking at the soiree, he was going to have to lie about his affinity, carefully navigate all of the factions that wanted to speak to him and try and not cause some political mess by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Because that¡¯s what this all was, politics. *Wave 15 Completed ¨C Wave 16 starting in 1 minute* *You have defeated a (Dire Wolf ¨C Lvl 39). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 3800 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. *You have defeated a (Dire Wolf ¨C Lvl 39). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 3800 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Shifting Alpha Wolf ¨C Lvl 40). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 4000 TE awarded* *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 39. +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul gained* He knew he was close to another level but seeing it always gave him a sense of achievement, that mixed in with all of the TE had gotten was worth the wounds. He estimated that from this dungeon run alone he had gotten over 400,000 TE, a huge amount, especially when he thought back to when he was working so hard just to get the 10,000 he needed in the first stage of the tutorial. He quickly looted the wolves, and the Alpha gave him something so odd that he wanted to take it straight out of his inventory to check it, it was called a Constricting Silver Heart and damn if it didn¡¯t make him curious as to what exactly it did. The next wave was about to begin and although he had no plans to fight through it he did want to know what he would be facing, just like last time, so he could prepare himself for what would be coming his way. *Wave 16 Commencing* He felt the 20 new monsters appear, but not with his sight, they were in the ground. That¡¯s not a good sign. He couldn¡¯t see them, but he could feel them with his echo, and they were coming right for him, directly up from the ground where he was standing. He quickly jumped out of the way just as the monster reached the surface. When he looked back at what had come up from the ground he saw a giant worm with rows of razor sharp teeth. Its body, from what he could see of it at least, was 3 metres long, and that was just from what had appeared before him, the entire thing had to have been much longer. *Burrowing Earth Worm ¨C Level 40* He had gotten what he wanted and now it was time to leave, he could feel all of the other worms coming for him. I give up! As soon as he thought it he disappeared, no longer at the mercy of the worms. He appeared back in front of the dungeon at the same time as the others, they didn¡¯t look great but he definitely looked worse. It seemed every time he exited one of the dungeons he came back with ruined clothing and covered in blood, but also stronger, always stronger. ¡°You look like shit. That bad huh?¡± Viv asked him. ¡°Yeah, that bad. The boss is a menace! I will tell you all about it later. I want to know what reward we got from the dungeon.¡± *Calculating dungeon reward grade* Wave 15 cleared. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon reward grade: D *Distributing reward at D level* *2 Silver coin* *Tiranium Ore* *[Advanced] Tiranium Ore: An ore that is commonly used to reinforce or create weapons and armour. It provides increased efficiency when inscribed with spells.* D grade again, how is that fair! I literally went 5 waves higher than last time! When he looked at the message closer he noticed that he didn¡¯t get the boost for going in alone. He also couldn¡¯t be too upset, the metal was good. Looking at the others they all got the same, even though they only went to the 12th wave. If he managed to get the ore from everyone though he should have enough to craft something pretty cool. Before any of them got a chance to do anything else they each felt their orbs start to light up and vibrate. He then felt a message appear in his mind, informing him that he had 30 minutes to get to the soiree, including directions on which signs to follow. He knew this was coming but he had hoped he had more time. ¡°We run, get ready and meet at the entrance to the soiree. No time to waste. Bye!¡± Viv ran as soon as she finished speaking, leaving the rest of them watching after her, it took only a second for them to share a look and do exactly the same. They couldn¡¯t show up looking like they did, it would be insulting to all of those at the soiree, and the last thing that he could afford was to insult the reps. Book 2: Chapter 20 Shaun had made it to the entrance to the room where the soiree was to be held 5 minutes early with Gabe and Eric, they had rushed through showering, changing and getting themselves as presentable as possible, for Shaun that meant he had used all the mana he had recuperated healing himself and throwing on a clean shirt and pants, not having anything nicer to wear. There was just over 100 people present, all waiting until they could enter, they had been some of the last to arrive and looking around they couldn¡¯t see that Viv had arrived yet so they decided to wait at the back of the group gathered so they could all decide what they wanted to do before going in. They would either all enter together or separately. They hadn¡¯t really discussed it, they knew they would all be attending but not what the plan was going to be for inside, not that they could really plan for it though. Just as the 30 minute mark finished a woman appeared at the door to the entrance of the room they would all need to go through and started requesting to inspect peoples orbs before she would admit them entry. Viv still hadn¡¯t appeared, causing some nervousness and worry to creep in. ¡°Come on Viv, where are you? It doesn¡¯t take this long to get ready.¡± Gabe muttered to himself, loud enough for all of them to hear, clearly worried about her. At this point over half of the gathered people had already been admitted and it was their turn to start lining up to go in, it was all happening quickly, the person allowing those to enter being very efficient at what she was doing. ¡°Both of you should go line up. Go in and mingle, I will wait for Viv.¡± Shaun said, he needed time to think anyway, he still hadn¡¯t come up with what he was going to say to anyone that asked about his lightning affinity, there was no reasonable explanation as to how he could obtain it outside of also exposing that he had fire and air affinity. His preference was not to expose that to anyone in any of the factions but if he couldn¡¯t come up with something better he wasn¡¯t going to have a choice. They already knew that he had only just gotten it the day prior and the dungeon offered no real way for him to bond it, unless he already had the two basic elements. These people had been around a while, they were in the major factions and knew more about the system and multiverse than he did so they probably already knew how he had done it. There was just no way that he was going to be able to hide how he had done it, he was going to have to put some truth into at least part of his story. ¡°What are you still doing out here!¡± That broke him out of his thoughts, he didn¡¯t know how long he had been standing there for but when he looked up he saw Viv coming up to him, she was in a dress that hung off her shoulders and cut down the front in a low V, she looked beautiful, also very dressed up compared to him. ¡°What are you wearing!¡± He quickly thought back to what everyone had been wearing before they entered and realised that most people had dressed up, even Gabe and Eric had been in nicer clothes. They didn¡¯t mention anything to him but he guessed that they thought he either did it for a reason or just didn¡¯t have anything else to wear, which was the truth. He groaned out loud when he realised that he had screwed this up, but it was too late. Everyone had already entered the soiree, he and Viv were now the only ones still standing outside. He had waited for her for a reason, If they all just left her she would be less likely to side with him in the future. It was all about laying the groundwork. ¡°You know what, it doesn¡¯t matter. I am glad you waited. You can escort me in like a proper gentleman, even if you are severely underdressed.¡± Viv said, quickly taking his arm and walking them forward. He wasn¡¯t exactly comfortable in that moment, there was just too many uncertainties around what was going to happen to him in there and Viv must have felt that radiating off of him. ¡°Be confident Shaun! You are literally the most powerful person in the tutorial, act like it!¡± At least she had some decent advice, he was the strongest person here, her acknowledging that was a step in the right direction. As soon as they reached the woman at the door she asked to see both their orbs, which they presented to her, where she then immediately let them pass. As they walked in the door, arm in arm, he tried to act as poised as he could, he didn¡¯t let any of his emotions show on his face and he stood as tall as he could, looking straight ahead and trying to give off an air of absolute confidence. When they fully entered the room it was much bigger than he had expected and clearly set up with some sort of hierarchy. Many of the clan attendees were gathered around the edges of the room, either standing around tables or settled into seats in groups. In most places they looked to be talking casually with the other people from Earth, although in some areas it looked like the conversations they were having were slightly more serious. Those that were not talking with those from the clans were either standing awkwardly off to the side or gathering food and drink that was prepared for them and being passed around. ¡°So, he finally decides to welcome us with his presence. Late, but better than not at all I suppose.¡± As soon as those words were spoken silence enveloped the room, every single person present had stopped whatever they had been doing and turned o look at who Xavier had spoken about. Every eye was now on him, and also Viv, who had made the decision to enter with him. She tensed as soon as Xavier spoke and came to a stop. He couldn¡¯t blame her, this was probably her first experience having an entire room, not to mention 11 very powerful beings, looking solely at where you were. ¡°Come and sit with us Shaun, bring your friend too if you so wish it. There is much to talk about and we haven¡¯t got all night.¡± The 11 reps were all sitting at the head of the room, each of them in a throne like chair, it was a position of power, a statement to everyone else gathered that they were above them, more powerful than them and would do as they wished. Shaun would need to walk past all of the people from Earth and all the clan members to reach the reps who had summoned him, like he was on display, everyone would get a chance to look on him as he walked past. It wasn¡¯t a long distance between them and the reps, but it felt like it was much further than it actually was, many of the gathered people from Earth were giving him curious looks, not sure why he was getting such attention, only his friends knew the real reason. Those from the clans smiled or nodded at him as he walked past, trying to leave a good impression. He knew why, if he did join one of them the power he would bring would boost them up, but none approached him as he walked, they knew that the reps would get their chance before any of the others, that was how this would always work, the strongest always got the first pick. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. As soon as he made it to the reps two chairs appeared out of nowhere, one right in front of the major powers and the other slightly behind his to the side. ¡°Sit, please. Take a drink, get settled. There is a lot to talk through.¡± Xavier said to him and instantly someone came up to him and offered him a drink from a tray before moving and offering the same to Viv. He sat down, preparing himself for the questions that would be coming his way. ¡°We have agreed, for this first meeting at least, that you will speak to all of us as a group, then in the coming days and weeks you will get the opportunity to speak to those of us that wish to speak to you privately. Understood?¡± Shaun just nodded, not answering with words as he didn¡¯t trust his voice not to crack if he did. Instead he took a sip of his drink, finding that he enjoyed the sweet taste of the liquid, he had another. ¡°We are each going to take turns asking a question, unfortunately, but I will start. What we all want to know is how did you get an affinity for lightning?¡± Xavier asked him. All of the others were watching, waiting for an answer as well, but it wasn¡¯t just them, everyone in the room was still silent, listening in on what he was being asked and his responses. When Xavier spoke some of the people from Earth started mumbling to each other, he couldn¡¯t make out their words but it was easy enough to hear in the silent room. ¡°Its complicated.¡± Shaun replied, trying to buy some time before he needed to go into a deeper response. ¡°Uncomplicate it for us then. Start at the beginning if you must.¡± Xaviers reply had a hint of impatience to it, just enough to give a warning to not waste time and get to the point. ¡°Of course... You are aware of what we have already gone through in the first and second stage of the tutorial right?¡± They nodded at him, apparently having been briefed in some way as to what they had encountered before coming to the colosseum. ¡°And you know that the dungeon in the last stage each focused on an element?¡± Again more nods. ¡°When I was in the fire dungeon, my first one of the last stage, I nearly died, multiple times, and at one point I was so close to death, having been hurt by the monsters. When I was laying there I wished that I had a way to live, to get stronger, to be better. I am not sure what happened but I felt something there, surrounded by so much fire, and I just lost myself to it. I passed out and when I woke up again I had the fire affinity.¡± It was such a load of shit but he tried to replicate what he had gone through when he had first received his earth affinity. He hoped they believed him but he couldn¡¯t tell, none of them showed any sign of interrupting him or asking questions, yet. ¡°When I woke up I was stronger, I had more power, and I was able to finish the dungeon. I went to every dungeon trying to replicate that feeling but I couldn¡¯t. Not until I got to the air dungeon. Something clicked in me when I was there, I spent days trying to feel the same way I had when I was in the fire dungeon. It didn¡¯t go well at first but the more I tried, the more I gave myself over to the air, it worked. I got an air affinity there.¡± This caused a bit more of a reaction, murmurs spread through the room until Xavier raised a hand to quiet them. ¡°Continue.¡± ¡°No matter how hard I tried I couldn¡¯t repeat the process again. It was like water, earth and nature were repelled from me. I did well in those dungeons though which is how I got the orbs in my gauntlet. It wasn¡¯t until I got here, I was curious, you know, about affinities, so I bought a book on them. When I read through it I found that it was possible, but really dangerous to be able to form basic elements in advanced ones. I had air and fire, so I thought, why not try for lightning, risk be damned. So I went in the dungeon, I spent months in there, alone, in pain and doing everything I could think of to get lightning. I succeeded, barely, nearly died so many times, would have died if it wasn¡¯t for my friends saving me when I got out of the dungeon. And that¡¯s how it all happened.¡± He had thought about this, making it clear that he had tried and failed to bond any of the other basic elements was key to covering up his heritage, but he gave just enough information so as to be able to explain that he had been successful in air and fire, even if it was just a fluke on his part. ¡°Interesting. You are aware that it is nearly impossible to bond an advanced affinity at such a low level, yes?¡± Xavier probed, ¡°Usually if someone tries it ends in death.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware, the book said as much. But power is everything, if you didn¡¯t try and get as much power as you can, you may as well give up now. I refuse to be weak.¡± He put as much confidence as he could in his word, they were true though, and that made it a hell of a lot easier to justify his actions. ¡°I must say, it is refreshing to see someone so young understand our ways so quickly, especially from someone that has come from a new universe.¡± This time it was Octavius, who spoke, he represented The Pantheon so the idea that power was everything was very much in line with what they believed. ¡°Now by my count Xavier has asked 2 questions, meaning he will be skipped the next go around.¡± Octavius chuckled at this with Xavier looking less than pleased but did not object. ¡°My question for you, young Shaun, is what is your class and profession?¡± He wasn¡¯t prepared for this question, he had assumed that everything would be aimed at his affinity not anything else. ¡°I was of the understanding that people didn¡¯t openly share such things? That it was private?¡± He was sure this was pushing some kind of boundary, he didn¡¯t even know why it mattered. Why are they interested in what my class and profession is anyway? ¡°It is something that those in power generally keep to themselves, however, in situations like this, where you have the most powerful factions all sizing you up, seeing if you are worth bringing into the fold? It is standard that you would answer such questions as you won¡¯t be considered without providing such information. Besides even with the system limitations forced on us here there are still ways around it. Take Xavier for example, he used a very rare item during your fight to bring out what he wanted from both you and the other one. Don¡¯t worry though, it was one time use. I¡¯m shocked that he was even given such an item and used it so quickly.¡± Octavius had just made it clear, not only to the other reps but also to everyone present, that there was multiple major powers interested in him. What was more he just reveled that what happened to him in that first fight was not completely his doing. An item was used to make him act the way he did? He was pissed, not that he let that show. At the moment, if he didn¡¯t answer the question he was asked he would be rejecting them, all of them, and that in itself would cause waves of chaos as everyone wanted to make it into a major faction, rejecting them would be an insult. He was still tempted to tell them no though. But instead he went for the safer option, just for now. ¡°Thank you for educating me on this Octavius, I didn¡¯t know.¡± He spent a second just thinking over his options, he could make up a random class and profession but he wouldn¡¯t know if they had some way to check if they existed, not answering wasn¡¯t an option, so he was left with the truth. ¡°My class started as a rogue, when it hit level 25 I chose the Elemental Blade Slinger as my advanced class. For my profession I unlocked the Mana Crafter, and again when I hit level 25 I chose the Elemental Creator.¡± He offered them more information than was needed but being forthcoming now would hopefully help more down the track. Upon answering, the room went into uproar, many of the clans shouting out, exclaiming that it was impossible, the reps were all sitting back in shock. He didn¡¯t know what he did, but apparently his class and/or profession was something he shouldn¡¯t have. Book 2: Chapter 21 ¡°Everyone be quiet!¡± Drakunsher, the demon, yelled into the room, being the first of the reps to snap back form their shock. ¡°You!¡± He directed at Shaun, after everyone had finally calmed down. ¡°You have no idea, what you just did, do you?¡± ¡°No, I really don¡¯t.¡± Shit, he looks pissed now. What the hell is happening! ¡°Then let me educate you, on your class at least. The Elemental Blade Slinger is a rare class to be offered, one of the most powerful classes at the advanced level. They are the perfect mix of mage and melee. In the eras, those that have managed to gain such a class have been born and bred into it, from the moment they are born they are given everything that they can be to cultivate the class, and still it is rare that it is offered. Many of those that had the class and still live are now some of the most powerful gods in the major factions. The Elemental Blade Slinger alone may turn the tide of a war, that is the power they bring. And always, when one is born, there is change across the multiverse. Do you now understand the impact of having such a class?¡± Drakunsher said to him. ¡°I didn¡¯t know.¡± And he really didn¡¯t, but even after everything the demon had said he felt relief, for a moment he thought he had exposed his heritage, thankfully it wasn¡¯t the case, instead they were talking about him causing change in the multiverse, which was only slightly less terrifying. ¡°Of course you didn¡¯t, but that doesn¡¯t make what you are any less true, human. Join the Nine Hells, pledge yourself to us now and we will give you everything you could possibly dream of!¡± ¡°Enough, we agreed that no offers would be made this day!¡± Polrias, the shifter from the Beast Collective yelled at the demon. ¡°Screw the agreement! This changes everything!¡± Darkunsher yelled back. ¡°The Symphonium shall extend an invite for the human to join.¡± Sleese said on behalf of the elemental faction. Soon over half of the major factions had extended offers, the only ones to not extend an invitation was The Dynasty, apparently his class having nothing to do with bringing them money, and The Unending Void. The arguments from the major faction representatives continued on for a while, he was seemingly ignored during all of this but continued to watch and listen. The clans were all speaking behind him, yelling out opinions on who he should join, he didn¡¯t speak up though, just sat silently. If he was anyone else in the room he would have thought the entire thing comical but because they were currently arguing about him, he just couldn¡¯t find the humour in the situation. At one point he turned around and looked at Viv who didn¡¯t even take here eyes off of the major faction reps, just looking on with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open. She was not going to be any help, not that anyone would be able to help him at the moment. ¡°SSSilenceee.¡± The room suddenly felt like it didn¡¯t exist, he had a moment where he didn¡¯t know what was real or even if anything truly existed. Claude, the being from the Unending Void had spoken, and everyone immediately stopped making any noise. It had been the first time it had made a noise, and apparently, when it spoke all would listen. ¡°Crafter ssspeak.¡± ¡°Thank you, Claude. Shaun.¡± Wilaron, the Creators Guild rep spoke. ¡°You have heard about your class but now your profession, which I may add, none of the others have shown an interest in.¡± That caused some protests from the others but the quickly stopped when Claude grumbled. ¡°Although I will admit, I am unfamiliar with the Elemental Creator, there is something you should know. Many have professions related to crafting, there is many avenues, many different sub sections of each of the basic crafts. But to get a profession which directly relates to creating, to being a creator? They are generally much more powerful than any crafter profession. They are as rare in the crafting world as your class is in the more battle orientated. Creators are able to bring to life many new items, create the most powerful of weapons, enchant the most complex of spells, and you, are able to do so with elements. That in itself makes you highly sought after in many factions, with the right training you will find that your ability to create unique items will come easier. Already you have created an epic rarity item, barely into the E grade. Imagine what you could accomplish with some help and guidance!¡± The more Wilaron spoke the more passionate he got, at the end it was a sales pitch, but he could see his point. ¡°Enough of that!¡± Octavius yelled at Wilaron, seeing where his speal was going. He then looked at all the other reps, communicating with them with no words, until it seemed they had come to an agreement. ¡°Shaun, you have been offered places within nearly all of our factions. You will get no better offers from the clans, so it is time. Choose who you wish to join, now!¡± Shaun didn¡¯t know what to do, he wasn¡¯t prepared for any of this, sure he knew that this was going to be intense but this was on a whole other level. He had read enough about each of the major powers to have a decent idea of what they were about, but he had not thought of which he would want to join, if any. This wasn¡¯t a decision he could make lightly, in fact it wasn¡¯t really a decision he wanted to make at all. It was just too much at that point to deal with. He hadn¡¯t even finished the tutorial, let alone explored the multiverse at all. If he chose a faction now there was no way of being free to do what he wanted to do. He would make enemies of the other factions, isolate himself from those he didn¡¯t choose. He made his decision though, hoping he didn¡¯t regret it, and prepared for the consequences. ¡°No.¡± ¡°What do you mean no? There isn¡¯t a choice here, you must choose a faction. Our faction!¡± Xavier yelled at him. He had thought about it, in the moments before, he couldn¡¯t be forced to choose a faction right at this moment, he had to willingly pick one. There was weeks left of the tutorial, that in itself meant he had time to make a decision. ¡°I mean, no, I wont choose right now. This is the first time I have met you, any of you really. I don¡¯t know enough about what I would be getting myself into if I chose one faction over another right now. So, I wont choose. Yet. I have read enough to know I can¡¯t be forced to pick a faction.¡± In some ways that made the reps happy, it would give them more time to convince him of the ¡®right¡¯ choice. Others were less so, annoyed at him not immediately picking their faction. The crowd was excited though, this was the first time they had witnessed someone not immediately jumping into a major faction, and essentially, he had turned down 9 of them at once, it was a scandal, but they were living for the drama. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The reps again did their nonspeaking communication thing, longer this time than the last, but eventually came to an agreement. ¡°If that is what you choose, then we have a proposal. For the next 11 soiree, you will meet with each of us, consider each of the factions, but you are not allowed to make a choice. Not until each of us have had the chance to speak to you individually. After you have met with each of us once, you will get the chance to choose to have further conversations with any and all of us, together or sperate. Further, you must agree not to join one of the clans, if you are to join a faction it must be one of the major powers. Agree to this, here and now. The alternative will not be pleasant.¡± The vampire, Friosh, spoke. ¡°I agree to the terms.¡± They didn¡¯t say that he would have to pick a faction, just that he couldn¡¯t join a clan, in that he was safe, for now at least. ¡°Than with that, this meeting is over.¡± As soon as those words were spoken, each of the reps disappeared. He had expected more grilling about his affinity, but apparently it had been overshadowed by his class, he didn¡¯t know whether that was a good thing or bad thing. What he did know was that he needed to find a way out of this mess, that and to find out more about his class. With no reason left to stay Shaun got up out of his chair and stopped in front of Viv, who was looking at him in a way that made him slightly uncomfortable, it wasn¡¯t fear or anger, it was almost reverence, which could be beneficial. She came to a stand and just waited for him to walk to the exit. When he did she followed just behind him, things had shifted in this relationship, as he passed Gabe and Eric they also fell into line behind him, making sure that he was in the lead, a clear showing that they knew him, that they were friends, but that they also knew they weren¡¯t his equal. He didn¡¯t want that with Eric and Gabe, but for now he would live with it. What made the entire thing more uncomfortable was that the clan members also bowed their heads at him as he walked pass, showing their respects, acknowledging him as someone that was more than them. He had never been more uncomfortable in his life, but he didn¡¯t acknowledge it, just kept walking until finally he was out of the room. He didn¡¯t stop walking until he was back at his apartment, Viv, Gabe and Eric had followed him all the way back, not saying a word. ¡°Everyone, inside, please.¡± He directed to them once he opened the door to his apartment. Once inside he collapsed on the couch, exhausted from everything that had happened the past day. Once everyone had sat down he decided he would talk first, none of the others having shown any inclination to start. ¡°That was weird, right? They were like rabid dogs fighting over a bone.¡± ¡°What are you going to do Shaun?¡± Eric asked him, concern easily recognisable in his voice. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Delay as long as I can I guess. It¡¯s all I can do right?¡± ¡°Delay? Don¡¯t you want to join one of the powers? You heard that guy on the first day, getting invited into the major factions is beyond rare and one of the hardest things to accomplish, its what everyone dreams of!¡± Viv shouted at him. ¡°Why are you hesitating?¡± ¡°It just doesn¡¯t feel right. I don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°If I was you I would have chosen, I would have picked one of those factions today! You know what that would do for not just you, but for Earth?¡± Viv was getting worked up but there was more hesitation in her voice than ever before. ¡°See that¡¯s the thing! There is more too this! What happens to Earth when we all finish the tutorial, when people join factions, what happens to the entire population of our planet? The factions wont divide it up and let everyone live happily ever after there. Someone at some point is going to have to take control and whichever faction or clan they belong to controls the planet.¡± Shaun got to his feet, trying to piece it all together. ¡°Its not just that though, we don¡¯t know what happens after this and what impact joining a faction has on not just our futures but everyone¡¯s! I need to know more before I make a choice.¡± He was getting worked up again and took a moment to pull his emotions back. He didn¡¯t like this situation one bit. ¡°Okay let¡¯s say you¡¯re right.¡± Gabe started, ¡°If eventually our planet is going to fall under a faction isn¡¯t it better that it falls under a major power? There will be no need to try and fight our way up some ladder to get to a major faction, we will already be there.¡± ¡°That assumes that it is all dependant on the person who will end up ruling our planet though.¡± ¡°But you are strong enough to rule Shaun! If we understood anything about what the factions just said, your class, your affinity, no one will be able to stand against you.¡± Viv spoke again, but was calm and wouldn¡¯t meet his eye, he didn¡¯t know why she was so invested in this but she was missing the point. ¡°I don¡¯t want to rule. I have never and will never want to rule! Not a group, not a city and definitely not a planet!¡± He yelled at her, he had had enough of this conversation, they didn¡¯t know each other that well, but he thought she had understood enough about him to know this at least, she needed to stop questioning him. ¡°I want to be free! To do whatever I want, whenever I want! There is an entire multiverse out there just waiting to be explored. I don¡¯t want to be stuck on Earth for the rest of my life, constantly dealing with politics and people and ruling! It¡¯s not who I am.¡± ¡°And what about Earth? Of every single person that lives there? Will you just let someone else control the planet and make the decisions, having no idea what they will do, what they are like? That¡¯s wrong and you know it!¡± The more Shaun spoke the more Viv was losing control, she was furious at him, everything he said went against everything she was working towards. Safety for the people of Earth. ¡°Then you do it. Get stronger, fight harder, be the best! Take control of Earth, join a faction you believe will be the best for Earth and rule!¡± This was something that could actually work. He didn¡¯t want to do it but having her do it would benefit him indirectly ¡°How can I do that with you being stronger than I am? No one has a chance with you alive!¡± ¡°Did you just ignore what I said? I am not standing in your way, I will support you! Help you get stronger if that¡¯s what you want. I am not an obstacle for you to face, I am your¡­¡­ friend who will support you, no matter what you choose.¡± The moment he finished she fell back in her chair, finally starting to comprehend what he had been saying. ¡°Your serious, aren¡¯t you?¡± Viv asked him, not looking at him though, instead staring down into her lap. ¡°Of course I am.¡± He knew that there would be benefits to keeping her around. This was just the first of them. They may be friends one day, they just needed to work towards it. But for now, what this was, it would work. ¡°Even after everything they said? About your class, about the impact you will have on the multiverse, everything?¡± ¡°Yes, Viv. I am serious.¡± ¡°Okay¡­..¡± ¡°Okay?¡± She wasn¡¯t even going to try and change his mind. She was just, okay? That works, I guess. ¡°That¡¯s what I will do. I will get stronger, so much so that no one will have a chance to win against me. I will do everything I can to make sure I join a good faction, that life on Earth will be peaceful. That people will be safe and happy.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but sigh in relief, they spoke very little after that, instead everyone made their exit and decided to get some sleep, get ready for the next day. He didn¡¯t have to fight again for at least 5 days, and he was going to do everything he could between now and then to improve, not so he could rule or any other such nonsense, but because he now had factions vying for him, and if he was going to create enemies, he would need to be strong enough to protect himself against them. Book 2: Chapter 22 Over the next five days, before the second round of fights would start, he had a plan on how he would spend his days. He decided he would start each day doing a dungeon run, pushing himself as far as he could in the low E grade dungeon. So far he had made it to the 16th wave, a decent start, considering he had only been here for a few days but he needed to push further, to both grow in level and also so he could gain more loot to sell so he could buy materials and item. That led into the second thing he would do with his day, crafting. The main objective here was to create better clothing that would double as armour and also weapons, this was primarily for himself but he decided he would also take commissions from his friends to help him boost his crafting level as well. He didn¡¯t want to rush into making his own gear, he wanted to put a lot of thought into it, so that whatever he created would see him through to the end of E grade at the least. He had decided, on the weapons front, that he would craft a sword, one better than what he had, and also a ranged weapon, something like a spear, but more like a glaive, he would need to research this though. To succeed in doing this he had decided that he would need to read up on runes more, but also decided he would also see if he could grab a book on rituals, maybe something that helped increase the strength or power of what he made outside of his own affinity. Following this would be another dungeon run, again for power and loot, as coin was going to have an impact on what he could achieve in his crafting as there was much to buy that would greatly increase the power of what he could craft. After this he would spend time with Viv, Gabe and Eric to try and help them all bond an affinity, although he wasn¡¯t sure how this would work just yet, but it was worth a try. He would then get ready for the nightly soiree or any other event that occurred at days end, then repeat the process. The only thing he considered, which might be the most dangerous thing of all, would be creating more advanced affinity. This would help in the dungeons and gaining power, doing so while he was in the tutorial was the smartest thing to do as he could utilise the time adjustments of the dungeons, but this also came with the risk of getting so badly hurt again that he would be out for days at a time, which was hard to hide from anyone, and that would cause suspicion to grow with not just the other people from Earth but also the clan and major faction reps. Still, he was considering it. His first day after the soiree went well, in the dungeon he had finished the 17th wave before he had to give up, finding that the worms that we was stuck fighting took a lot of effort to take down, they were hard to get to under the ground so he had to wait for them to rise up and attack, this coupled with the fact that after running the first 15 waves he was usually down in mana and didn¡¯t have much left to use was having an impact, the alpha wolf was still causing him trouble, as that was where he was still using a majority of his mana attacks, he needed to come up with a more efficient plan. The good news was that he had gained an additional level in his class from all of the fights which jumped him up to his next race level. He went and sold all of the loot he had, outside of the Constricting Silver Heart from the alpha and the starling feathers, and after identifying them earlier found that the hearts were the cause of the ability that the shifting wolf had. They allowed for it to constrict space from one point to another and through that move undetected and quickly. The heart still held some of that power and said it could be used either in crafting or alchemy, and as such had decided to keep onto them. He had also decided to keep the Starlight Feathers, as like the heart they seemed to have some tie to the stars, again the description was vague but noted the use in crafting. That and all of the good loot he had like the ore and the new reward he got from the dungeon, a branch of Elder Wood, which its description describing that it was able to channel and hold many spells through the veins running through the wood itself, were kept for crafting. The first thing he bought was a book on rituals, one specific to crafting in fact, as well as some paper and a pencil so he could right notes, sketch designs and start figuring out what his plans were for crafting. He also made a wish list of things he wanted to buy, this predominantly was different metal, wood, and gems, all for the purpose of making weapons. On top of that there was treated leathers that he wanted, one even made from the scales of a wyrm that, although not currently made into any type of clothing, or even enchanted, was worth just over 3 gold coins. The weapons that were sold were also expensive, even though he didn¡¯t actually want to buy any, an advanced ranked sword, that contained one spell that was enchanted into it, was nearly a gold coin in itself. Considering he could buy the material to forge a sword, shape it and enchant it with the same spell, and it would cost him less than 10 silver coins it was a complete rip off. But did give him an idea. If he got to a point where he was needing coins more than anything else, and he was done crafting for his friends, he could make the advanced weapons for cheap and sell them directly to his peers for cheaper than the shops and still make a good amount of coin off of it. He would just need someone to play middleman, or women, for the transactions as he had no desire to deal with that part of it. When it came to his research into runes and rituals, he was able to find a number of rituals that would pair well with certain runes and gems, essentially what was needed was items of certain powers that would be used to transfer that power into the runes and gems during the ritual and essentially powering up the item he wished in a very specific way that allowed for very specific spells. One example of this was the hearts and the space constricting magic they held. From what he read he would need a lot of hearts to make it work and an obsidian gem that would be used to hold that power and link to the runes, essentially granting the holder of the finished item with the same, if not similar power, as the alpha shifter. This was apparently a common practice in the multiverse as people wanted to use certain elements that they couldn¡¯t bond, and the only way to do so was with specifically crafted item, however it was an expensive process to have something like this crafted, you had to factor in time, materials and complexity, leading to huge mark ups that many people couldn¡¯t afford. That was unless you did most of it yourself. After a few hours of reading and note taking, even jotting down some ideas, it was time for his second dungeon run of the day, this time completing the 18th wave but not being able to go further, gaining one more level in his class and getting more loot in the process. The reward this time was a pouch of ash from the remains of a mountain that had been reduced to nothing by the breath of a dragon, weird but also kind of cool. After selling the loot again he had a balance of nearly 18 silver coin, having gained nearly 9 silver coins from his dungeon runs minus the cost of the rituals book. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. He spent time with the others after that, testing to see if they could connect to any of the basic elements, this was an odd process, they sat in Shaun¡¯s room and one by one he would bring forth an element using his gauntlet, at least that¡¯s what he told them, instead he tried to flood the area with an element using his affinity and had them meditate on it, having them focus on the surroundings and seeing if they could, in anyway, tap into it using their minds. It was a long process, and kind of boring for Shaun, but he stayed focus and continued to help guide them as he could. They stopped after a few hours with no success, but it was only day one, they had plenty of time left to try. They spent time going over anything they wanted him to craft for them, any upgrades they wanted to existing equipment and so on. Both Viv and Gabe both wanted some speciality arrows, ones that they could power with their own mana and when released would cause different effects, as well as some kind of reinforced clothing to help protect them and daggers for close combat. Eric asked if he could upgrade his own armour, sword and shield, he had done some of this in the past but that was a long time ago and Shaun was a lot better at crafting now than he was then. They had also informed him that they created a new team, it was now the three of them, and shockingly Li Al Sal, the number 2 on the leaderboard. Apparently, that had been an interesting experience, earlier that day they had been approached by her while they were eating at a restaurant, Li questioned them, a lot, both on Shaun himself as well as their plans for what happened after the tutorial. This turned into a long conversation on their fears for what was to happen to their world, questions on the factions and what their roles would be after, and how Shaun himself was going to factor into everything. Li was so shocked when she was informed that he wouldn¡¯t be aiming for any leadership role back on Earth, to the point that she questioned his sanity, but when Viv explained that he was to back her, and that their goals were aligned in doing what was best for not just themselves but for every person and creature on Earth, Li had decided to conditionally join them. Similar to Shaun, she had no desire to lead, but she did share their goals, meaning Viv was currently the perfect person to back. They asked him if he would agree to meet with them and Li to talk everything through and so that he would get a chance to get to know her, he agreed, if only so he could make sure that she wasn¡¯t going to betray them. They all proceeded to get ready for the soiree after that, and when they were called they all went to the room where they would again be thrown in with all of the reps, but this time it was a lot less intense. Shaun was met by only one of the reps, Eurios from Life¡¯s Union, what proceeded was one of the most boring talks of his life, the entire time he was told about the war with Death, how the undead were nothing but a disease that had to be wiped out. That turned into what he could do for them, how as a living creature in the multiverse it was his duty to stand against the undead, how if he didn¡¯t he put his own world at risk. The entire time he felt like he was being preached too, and very quickly decided against ever joining this major faction. They reminded him too much of the religions on Earth that looked down on those that didn¡¯t do what they said. He had never really met anyone from Death¡¯s Legion so had no bias against them at this point, if anything he liked them more than Life¡¯s Union after the meeting. When he was finally free from Eurios he couldn¡¯t have been more relieved, if each of the meetings with the reps were going to be like the one he had just experienced, his decision to not join any of them was going to be the easiest decision of his life. He had made sure he was polite during the entire thing, not wanting to offend the woman, but it took every ounce of control he had not to just get up and walk away. When he met back up with the others afterwards, all of them getting invites to this soiree as well, he found that they had decided that they would stick as a group, all of them joining the same factions or clan, a united front when it came time to head back to Earth. They had a debrief after where he explained his meeting with the Life rep, and the more he spoke the more each of them looked on in disgust. It seemed they were all in agreeance when it came to the war between life and death, they wanted none of it happening on Earth. Shaun wasn¡¯t tired when he got back from the soiree, his need to sleep having been greatly reduced with his rise in levels, so he got started on Eric''s equipment upgrades. He had some extra metals laying around from the last stage of the tutorial and also the metal that Eric had given him. He had told them if they wanted something new and more powerful they would need to explain what they wanted and provide the materials. In the end, after a couple of hours, he had made several new pieces of armour, he had reinforced much of the metal with the Tiranium Ore he was given, the end result was a chest plate that was so much stronger than anything that he had seen any of the other warriors wearing, he used some new runes in it as well, ones for reflection, the purpose being that attacks would have a portion of their power reflected away from the plate, as well as a spell for healing. He had also made vambraces and gauntlets for him as well, which covered the rest of his arms, meaning his entire upper body was protected. The spells in the gauntlets were decent as well, one arm had a force rune in it, when powered up with Eric¡¯s mana he could send a blast out of his arm and send his opponent flying, giving him either space to recover or a window of opportunity to attack. The other had a fire and explosion rune built into it, so if he ever needed to punch someone it would cause as much damage as being hit by an elemental strike, just less condensed. When he was done, the night had pretty much passed and he only had time for an hour or two of sleep, but it was worth it. Not only had his skill levels increased but he had gained 3 levels in his craft for creating 5 different pieces of advanced armour. That pushed him up a few levels in his race as well, the end result of his day of nonstop training had paid off more than he imagined and he couldn¡¯t help the joy he felt when reviewing his status sheet before finally going to sleep. Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (E) Level: 37 Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger - Level 41 Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator - Level 33 Health Points:2390/2390 Stamina:1853/2350 Mana:2658/7830 Stats: (Available Points: 64) Strength: 235 Dexterity: 384 Endurance: 235 Vitality: 239 Intelligence: 186 Perception: 184 Willpower: 180 Soul: 783 Affinity: Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water Advanced: Lightning Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer Heritage: Azreal''s Legacy (Hidden) Skills: Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 18), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 29), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 32), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 29), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 24) Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 6), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 5), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 3), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 3), [Advanced] Mana Sight (Level 24), [Basic] Rune Knowledge (Level 25 - MAX) Book 2: Chapter 23 The beginning of the next day went a bit differently, when he had gotten up and finished getting ready to go to his dungeon run he stopped by Eric¡¯s room and knocked on the door, at first it was a decently soft knock until eventually he was banging on it. When no one answered he gave up and went to Gabe¡¯s room, repeating the process until eventually Eric appeared in the doorway, having clearly spent the night at Gabe¡¯s. ¡°What is with the banging Shaun? Do you not know how to sleep in a bit?¡± He had clearly been woken up and just gotten out of bed, not happy about being interrupted. ¡°I have your new gear, figured you would want it now before you head out for the day. But you can just wait until I get back if you want. Sorry about waking you. You too Gabe!¡± He shouted into the room, receiving some inherent swearing from inside. ¡°Hold up a minute! Let me get dressed and I will head over.¡± The idea of new gear got Eric moving much quicker, now fully awake. ¡°Good everyone is awake, Eric get Gabe and get ready, we have training to do!¡± Viv had shown up behind him, looking ready to start the day like Shaun. She was also accompanied by Li, who stood lightly behind her. ¡°Shaun, perfect timing, meet Li.¡± Li nodded at him and he replied in turn. ¡°We are all going to meet tonight, after the soiree, if your free?¡± ¡°Sure, not a problem. It nice to meet you again Li.¡± He didn¡¯t have anything else to say so kept it short. ¡°Thank you, for allowing me to join you this evening.¡± She said bowing her head at him. Eric chose that moment to come back to the door, fully clothed this time. ¡°Eric, you can¡¯t go into a dungeon like that! Where is your armour, your weapons? We have work to do!¡± The exasperation coming from Viv in that moment was palpable, clearly getting frustrated that they weren¡¯t already up and ready to go. Better them dealing with her than him. ¡°Come on, lets get your stuff.¡± Shaun said to Eric before leading him back to his apartment. They all followed him, including Li, into his apartment. When they entered, he just motioned at all of the new armour pieces he had laid out on the table. ¡°All yours. There are two spells in the chest plate, one for reflecting damage and another for healing. You will need to channel for the healing spell but the reflecting one will work as long as the runes are intact. The gauntlets have one spell each, the left has a force spell, channel mana into it to power and it will blow back anyone or anything that is near you. The other has an explosive fire spell that can be used to direct combat, it will pack a mean punch so don¡¯t use it on someone you want to live. Haven¡¯t had time for the shield or sword yet, but all the armour is reinforced, even high level monsters will have a hard time getting through it.¡± Eric went straight up to the new armour pieces, inspecting each one and picking them up in utter awe of what he had been given. He cradled each piece he held like it was the most precious thing he had ever been given. Viv went up and inspected each piece, as she moved around the table she couldn¡¯t help the surprise she had written on her face. ¡°This armour that you made. I have seen similar pieces in the shops. The cost of them is too much for anyone to afford, but you just made them? And you are giving them all away? For nothing?¡± Li was staring at him, the shock clearly written on her face. ¡°They are my friends, why wouldn¡¯t I help them out?¡± He asked back, slightly confused at the question. He wasn¡¯t going to charge his friends for his work. Besides he hadn¡¯t spent any money on the materials and he had gotten quite a few levels out of the crafting. ¡°To buy these, it would cost over a gold coin, closer to 2. And you just made them in a night.¡± Li bowed again, this time much lower. ¡°The major factions were right. You are truly beyond any of us.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Shaun just stood there, not any more comfortable with being shown such respect and subservience from another person from Earth than he was from any of the clans. He got it, he really did, he was overpowered for his level and his class and profession were some of the most powerful you could get at this rank, but still, it was weird to be treated the way that Li was treating him. Still it was better than dealing with idiots like Trevor. ¡°You out did yourself Shaun. With that armour, Eric can fight way above his level now.¡± Viv looked like she was in deep thought. ¡°If we all get upgrades like that I expect we will be able to go to a much higher wave together, that will get us more experience and levels, allowing us to gain more traction with the reps.¡± She stopped her though process and looked directly at him. ¡°How long until you can get all our gear done?¡± He had agreed to help all of them, and now that he had a plan for Viv he was more than willing to continue helping her. Shaun thought about it, he needed to finish all of Erics gear, sword, shield and probably some greaves and boots. Leather armour for both Viv and Gabe, probably Li too. And then upgrades to arrows, maybe even bows. He needed more material for that though. ¡°I need more materials to finish everything. More metal, good quality ore especially for Eric. I need leathers for your own armour, you will need to supply what you want it made of and then spend time standing there while I craft it to you so it fits. Same for the arrows and bows, materials if you want me to make something powerful or I can do basic upgrades. For Li, if she wants to have a store of mana, I need a proper gem to engrave into something so she can draw on a reserve. Get me what I need and I will work on it as much as I can.¡± ¡°I do not have the coin to pay you to craft such incredible items, sir.¡± Li said. ¡°Don¡¯t call me sir, Li. Its Shaun. And I wont charge you anything, your part of their team, that means you need every advantage you can get to make yourselves stronger. If you can get the materials I can craft what you need.¡± At that moment Gabe decided to show up, perfect timing too as Eric had just finished putting on his armour and Viv was looking more ready to get to the dungeon with each passing second. ¡°Everyone, give Shaun everything you have that he could possibly use to craft with!¡± As soon as Viv spoke everyone started emptying their inventories of items and loot. He got some ore and various metals, Some other interesting items as well. There was some Treant roots from the nature dungeon, some rocks and other pieces. They even put down some feathers from the starling which was helpful for him. ¡°What can you do with this Shaun?¡± Looking it all over he started to shift the loot into piles. ¡°There is enough metal here to finish off Eric, as well as make some arrows using some of the more interesting materials. What is missing though are the more unique items I need. Gems and high grade leather mostly. But anything else you get that has any properties that might work for crafting will work too.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Okay.¡± Viv nodded. ¡°Here is what we do. We are going to do a dungeon run and figure out where our weakest points are. Boss loot all goes to Shaun and we sell the rest. Once we figure out where we need the biggest boost we pool our funds and buy what we need for Shaun to focus there first, then we continue down the line until everyone is completely geared. Agreed?¡± Viv asked the rest of her team. Receiving nods and agreements from all of them. ¡°Good then let¡¯s go, we have a lot of dungeon runs to do!¡± Walking to the dungeon was interesting, everyone they encountered quickly moved to the side or nodded down at them, showing them respect in some way. When they got to the dungeon he let the others go in first and then he quickly went in after. He cleared the first 14 waves pretty easily, and when he got to the alpha again he ended up having to spend way to much time dodging and fighting, still unable to fully get through the boss without sustaining damage. But he had fought the alpha a few times now that he was able to get through it without being completely ruined after. The worms though still gave him trouble, they were difficult to fight when they were in the ground, he attempted to kill them with the earth itself but they just ate through everything that was in there way, leaving him with no choice but to wait for them to rise from the ground and then kill them. *Wave 20 Commencing* He had finally made it to the 20th wave, not completely drained this time but also not any where near his peak health. As expected 15 monsters appeared, with one of them standing out a lot clearer within the earth. He didn¡¯t know what it was but he knew once it appeared that he was going to have to assess and then come up with a plan for the boss. In the meantime though he dealt with the other worms when they came. He had managed to kill only 3 of the Burrowing Earth Worm before the entire dungeon started to shake, he knew this was coming from the boss as he had never experienced anything like it before with the other monsters. With his echo he felt the large monster start to rise from the ground, but surprisingly it wasn¡¯t directly underneath him, instead a few metres in front of him. Regardless he backed away from where he thought it would rise, where he watched the ground started to collapse into itself, forming a giant sink hole where everything in a radius of 10 metres was being sucked into the ground. When the boss finally cleared the surface, he could barely describe the feeling that came with it. The worm was huge, but that was to expected, what was interesting about the boss though was it wasn¡¯t eating the earth like that of the other worms, its mouth was like a vacuum, sucking in anything in the surrounding area straight into its mouth. But what it didn¡¯t swallow it, no, the rows of teeth formed some kind of network of magic where anything that entered was reduced down to pure energy and sucked into its body. Shaun was decently far away at this point, but even from where he was standing he felt the pull from that vortex starting to drag him in, this was only amplified when the worm lowered its head and directed it straight at him. *All Consuming Worm ¨C Level 45* He had only a moment to identify it before his feet were swept out from beneath him and he was dragged closer to the worm¡¯s mouth. He didn¡¯t have time to let off his strongest attack, but he did channel all of the mana in his gauntlet into the flame orbs and let loose the strongest fire blast he could, releasing a stream of the hottest flames he could conjure straight at the monster¡¯s mouth. As soon as the flames got close though they were consumed by the vortex and reduced to nothing but thankfully forcing the creature to close its mouth to swallow the power he had thrown at it, apparently having some limit as to how much it could consumed before needing to start the process over. As soon as it closed it mouth, he readied himself for another attack but before he could go on the offensive the worm just launched itself back into the ground, disappearing back into the earth within seconds. Shaun didn¡¯t even get a moment to recover properly before the other worms started in on their own attacks, forcing him to divert his energy into killing off the worms one by one. While he did this he thought through what he had learnt about the boss, any attacks directed at its mouth were going to be pointless, it would just turn it into energy for its own attacks. That meant he needed to hit the body, something he would need to do while also dealing with not being sucked into its mouth. He figured out a rough plan and stopped attacking the worms, focusing instead on just dodging them and powering up an attack that he hoped would work. The good thing about the boss it seemed was when it attacked the other worms fled, not wanting to be caught in the vortex themselves, which meant that when the boss appeared he only had to deal with it and not all of the other worms, something he was planning to take advantage of. While he waited for the boss to appear again he channelled as much of his mana as he could into his lightning, the sky¡¯s streaked with power, awakening due to the massive surge of lightning that he was channelling in the dungeon, he didn¡¯t call it down though, he didn¡¯t want to have that power inside of him. It only took a few minutes before he felt the boss come back from round two, he felt the other worms run away when it rose to the surface. It immediately repeated the same process as it had last time, once free from the earth it focused purely on him. Thankfully this time he was prepared, he stabbed his sword into the ground to keep from being pulled towards the worms mouth, he then repeated the same attack he had from before using only the last bit of mana he had in the gem. It wasn¡¯t as powerful as the last attack but it was still enough for it to close it mouth, cutting off the vortex. Without delay, he pushed all of his willpower into calling down the lightning from the sky, forcing it not at him but directly at the worm before it had time to escape a second time. He was using the rest of his mana in this attack, so either he won, or he had to flee. The boss was just getting ready to dive underground again when the first bolt truck it in its exposed body, forcing it to lose its ability to move for only a moment, but it was enough. He threw both hands to the sky and called down all of the lightning he could, forcing it to strike the worm over and over, sending it into a convulsing mess on the ground. It tried to light its head to the sky at one point and open its mouth but before it could start the vortex a bolt of lightning shot down into its mouth, electrocuting it from the inside out. Seconds before he was going to be truly out of mana the boss gave a final twitch and stopped moving. The strike into its exposed mouth, without the safety of the vortex, had been the final hit needed to end the monster. He didn¡¯t even get a chance to celebrate the victory before the rest of the worms in the dungeon made their appearance known. With the boss gone they were all now free to continue their attack, and without having mana left to be able to kill the remaining monsters with magic, Shaun was left with no option but to revert back to melee. It took much longer to kill the worms with little to no mana, and I was a lot more dangerous than he would have liked, but he managed to get through it, thankful for having focused on his blade mastery skill in the last week. By the time he was done his stamina was running on empty, his mana was truly gone and only his health was still in any decent position. *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 42. +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul gained* *Wave 20 Completed ¨C Wave 21 starting in 1 minute* With that message he used the last of his stamina to loot the bodies, barely getting it done in the 1 minute he had between waves. Before the next wave started the dungeon shifted, with seconds he had gone from being in a plane, surrounded by nothing but packed dirt, to an icy wasteland. The moment the shift ended he was hit by a freezing cold wind, and fell to the packed snow beneath him. That was when he heard the roar, and when he looked around him he could see a group of giants approaching him, all with various weapons, all radiating a power. *Frost Giant ¨C Level 45* The moment he identified the giants, he saw one of them lower their spiked club and aim it at him, the weapon started to glow blue, but before the monster got its attack off Shaun quickly thought the words that would get him out, I give up! Book 2: Chapter 24 The moment he got out of the dungeon, he couldn¡¯t help the sigh of relief, he immediately started to warm up, and the safety he felt from escaping that last attack was nearly overwhelming. The others were standing at the dungeon entrance as well, having just been sent back after their 30 minutes, all looking blankly in the air, obviously reading the message from finishing the dungeon. *Calculating dungeon reward grade* Wave 20 cleared. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon entered alone. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon reward grade: B *Distributing reward at B level* *10 Silver coin* *Trisciolon Power Stone* *[Advanced] Trisciolon Power Stone: A stone formed from three symbiotic energies, bound together through their completed power circuit. The stone is capable of holding three separate stores of mana, able to be unleashed only once per differing power before needing to be recharged.* He had to admit, the loot was better than anything he expected, but he had broken through to getting a B grade so the reward should be better than anything else he had gotten before. The solo bonus really helped him in getting across the line. That and moving through to the 21st wave. ¡°You ready to go sell loot?¡± Gabe walked over and asked him. ¡°Yeah. How did you guys go?¡± curious as to what wave they had managed to get too. ¡°Have a look and see for yourself.¡± Gabe pointed to the dungeon leader board. His name was still at the top, showing he complete the 20th wave, just under him was Viv and the others, all having managed to complete the 15th wave, a great accomplishment, especially considering they didn¡¯t have his advantages when it came to affinities. They all went to sell their loot together, and as they arrived there was a small queue, not enough for them to turn around and come back later, but enough for them to have a moment to chat. ¡°What do you want us to keep?¡± Viv asked him, referring to the loot they got. ¡°All the boss loot. I have some ideas. What did you guys get as a reward from the dungeon?¡± ¡°We got C grade, which wasn¡¯t too bad. The reward was a vial of dust each, apparently ground up from a space rock. Not sure what you could do with it though. It didn¡¯t really have much of a description.¡± Shaun though it over, considering whether he could use it or not. In the end he told them to keep it for now so he could think on it further to see if he could apply it to something he could craft. When it was finally their turn Ulorid, the goblin was behind the counter and greeted him warmly. ¡°Master Shaun, it is always my pleasure to serve you. How may I help?¡± The goblin spoke to him. ¡°Just selling loot really, but I have some questions too if that okay? We can start with the loot first.¡± He sold everything he wanted to, getting another 8 silver coins. The others did the same but got less, Viv handling it for the entire team. When it was time where he could ask questions he started with the easiest. ¡°Ulorid, I have just recently crafted some armour pieces for Eric here.¡± He gestured at Eric to come forth. ¡°If it was going to be sold, how much would you pay for it.¡± Eric gave him a shocked look, obviously thinking he was going to have it sold. ¡°We aren¡¯t actually selling it, I just want to know the price in case I want to sell something similar in the future.¡± That calmed Eric down, realising what the point of the question was. If he had time and needed money he could craft more pieces and sell them, hopefully for more money that what it would cost to craft them. ¡°Let me see here.¡± Ulorid moved around the counter and came to inspect each piece of armour Eric wore. ¡°This is reinforced armour, not just with the metals used but also earth, correct?¡± the goblin asked him, which he nodded to. ¡°There are also a few spells enchanted into the pieces, very useful spells in fact. Good choices if I may say so.¡± The goblin did a second look at each of the pieces before standing back. ¡°They are expertly crafted, at the very edge of advanced, nearly moving into epic. If these were sold as a set I would be willing to pay 1.5 gold for them. You are truly gifted Master Shaun.¡± He considered it for a moment, if he bought all the material separately for armour, and spent maybe 2-3 days crafting in his spare time, it would cost him maybe half a gold coin to make it all, and in return he would receive 1 gold coin in profit. ¡°Thank you Ulorid. And what would this be worth?¡± He pulled out the stone he just got as a reward from the dungeon and handed it to the goblin. ¡°Oh my, that is a good dungeon reward. I would pay 1.1 gold coin just for the stone. If crafted into something and enhanced, just like your friend¡¯s armour, I would be willing to pay more than double depending on what was made and how it was incorporated.¡± Ulorid said, handing back the stone. ¡°Thank you, I think that¡¯s it from me. Its always a pleasure seeing you Ulorid.¡± They finished goodbyes and walked out of the shop. They had a bit of an audience, and many of the people gathered looked at Eric¡¯s armour, completely envious as to what he was wearing. They all knew he had crafted it, but what they now all realised was that being friends with him had more perks than just the attention from the clans, they would be kitted out with some of the finest equipment that could be bought in the tutorial. As they walked back they got more stares, but he ignored it all. When they made it to Shaun¡¯s apartment they all put everything they had from the dungeon onto his table. ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± ¡°Craft the rest of Eric¡¯s gear. So, I will be needing it back.¡± Shuan turned to Eric. ¡°Before you all go though, do you know who I will be working on next?¡± ¡°Yeah, Li. We need a way to keep her in the fight for longer, as soon as she runs out of mana she needs to wait a while for her to regain enough to rejoin the fight.¡± Viv answered for them. ¡°Okay, then I need a gem, something that can store mana. Its up to you Li to find one that feels right and you can afford. My advice, invest in a good gem now, it will help you way into the future rather than getting something second rate that will need to be upgraded before you even make it through the E grade.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Yeah, Li. What spells do you use, what¡¯s your focus? Short range, long range, area of attack or more one on one?¡± Li became uncomfortable at the questions, she was rather shy when it came to him, he had noticed it wasn¡¯t the same way with the others though. ¡°I have a few spells I use. The first is Mana Blast, an upgrade on Mana Bolt which causes a lot of destruction in a large area where it hits. I also have some other spells that allow me to boost the attributes of myself and other, although I have only just started really using them. I also have mana shift, which allows me to swap places with someone or something else. Redirection, which allows for an attack to be sent from me to another. Lastly Mana blade, I can create a blade of pure mana, which I can fire at a monster from a distance or wield like a katana.¡± ¡°She is positively lethal, when she has mana anyway.¡± Gabe said in a cheerful tone. ¡°Okay I can work with that. Go, find a gem you like, save for it, buy it, and then we will make sure you can stay in the battle much longer.¡± He gave everyone a look and realising that there was nothing further to say. ¡°Everyone out, I have crafting to do. Except Eric, he is stuck with me for a while.¡± Once everyone left, leaving just him and Eric, he asked Shaun what he was supposed to do, his reply was simple, he stands there and doesn¡¯t interrupt him. He spent the next several hours crafting the base of the boots and greaves before shooing him off so he could finish it all by himself. All he needed was to get the shape right and make sure everything fit, he even made a few adjustments to the rest of his armour to make sure it fit better. When he was finally alone he got to enchanting and reinforcing the last of Eric¡¯s armour. He had already thought about what he was going to do. In one boot he enchanted it with an earthen spell, meant to cause a mini earthquake when he channelled his mana into it and slammed his foot down. The other he enchanted with an air spell, one that let him create a platform of air, very similar to what Shaun himself could do, but would take more energy and focus for Eric. But being able to redirect yourself in mid air had its benefits for a warrior like Eric, so he figured it was worth it. When every last piece of the armour was done, he wanted to try one more thing, at the moment every piece was separate, only being held on by his body, but, if he could find a way to connect each piece of armour when they were all worn, like creating a circuit through the armour, than the power it would hold would be magnified. He spent the next hour sketching out his idea on paper, when he was happy with the final design he started enchanting connecting runes from one piece to the next, adding in runic lines that flowed throughout the interior of the armour, enchanting further protective and barrier runes into it. It would only work if Eric wore every piece, but he decided to just go with his design, making it so that the whole was better than just the separate parts. When the last rune was engraved he ended up spending more time that ne wanted to infusing it all with mana, but the end result was more than worth it. *Successful New Creation ¨C Bonus Experience provided* *[Epic] United Knights Armour ¨C A set of amour that is uniquely bound together by a runic system. When the United armour is worn as a whole, the suit has a sustained resistance to all attacks, greatly increasing the protection of the Knight. The armour offers a passive bonus to strength, dexterity, endurance and vitality when worn, ensuring the knights success in battle. The armour is enchanted with multiple spells to aid the knight in battle.* *Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by 2 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 35. +10 Int, +4 Wil, +6 Per, +10 Soul * *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 38. +16 Ap gained* The level gains were fantastic, 2 profession levels and a race level. But it was completely overshadowed by the fact that he had now made his second epic level item. The United Knights Armour was better than he had expected, the bonus to all of the physical attributes when worn was something he had never seen before. It didn¡¯t say by how much, it could be only a point or two in each, but still it was fantastic. Shaun couldn¡¯t wait to see Eric¡¯s reaction, to the point where he jumped up and ran to the door, as soon as he opened it though he realised he didn¡¯t need to bother hunting him down, the entire team was standing out the front, arguing about whether they should interrupt him. Shaun cleared his throat, and instantly they all stopped arguing about who was going to interrupt his crafting. ¡°You here for me?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t want to interrupt you. But we were hoping you could let Eric have some of the armour back? Only if you don¡¯t need it anymore though! We get that crafting takes a lot of time and focus. But we were wanting to go for another dungeon run and didn¡¯t want to go in without his protection.¡± Gabe stammered out the words, which was funny as out of everyone Gabe was usually the one to just come barging in. ¡°Actually, you guys are right on time. It¡¯s done.¡± Shaun moved out of the doorway and let them all in. They all walked over to the table where the full set of armour was. ¡°Hope you like it.¡± He couldn¡¯t help the smile that spread across his face. The armour was better than anything that could be sold in the tutorial, the stores had some epic equipment but nothing like this and it was so expensive that no one would be able to afford it even if they pulled together every coin they had available. Once they all got a good look at the armour, they didn¡¯t say a word, the just stared at it. It was captivating, but that wasn¡¯t what they were staring at. Just like his gauntlet the armour radiated power, it could be felt in the air. ¡°Shaun, this is¡­¡­.¡± Eric started. ¡°Epic, right?¡± He chuckled at his own joke, the others didn¡¯t seem to notice though. ¡°Put it on. I want to know what bonus you get in your stats.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t take this.¡± Eric said it him, sounding a bit sad. ¡°I literally made it for you.¡± What the hell is happening now? Put on the armour. ¡°Shaun, its epic ranked armour!¡± Eric yelled at him. ¡°You know I consider you my friend. We have had our ups and downs but I value everything you have done for me, I don¡¯t know if I would have made it here without your help in the last area. But this seems too much, even for a friend Shaun. He considered for a moment, it was nice to hear Eric say it. He also had no need for the armour so he was going to make Eric take it. ¡°Itt is yours Eric. Its only my second time making something epic, the boost in my profession levels was amazing! That was enough for me.¡± ¡°Shaun, I don¡¯t think you get it.¡± Viv started, ¡°If it was advanced level we could have dealt with that, it would have been impressive, and more than any of us could have ever afforded in the tutorial. But epic ranked? Shaun, it is more than anyone could afford for years, even if we did nothing but dungeons, selling our loot and saving every coin, we couldn¡¯t afford it.¡± ¡°But no one is asking you to pay for it. Its literally free! Imagine what you¡¯re going to be able to do with it! The monsters will have no chance! And the tournament? Good luck to anyone that tries to get through that!¡± Shaun couldn¡¯t hold back his sigh, ¡°Put it on Eric, its yours. Don¡¯t get caught up in the cost if you had to buy it because you don¡¯t. I made this for a friend. For you.¡± ¡°Your sure about this?¡± Eric asked, needing to make sure that this was actually happening. ¡°Yes! Now put it on, I want to know what the bonuses are!¡± What are the bonuses! It took a minute for Eric to move, but when he did he started attaching all of the pieces to himself. When he was finally done, and the last piece was put in place, the entire suit of armour started to glow and shift on him, covering every weak spot he had in a barrier of pure energy. Eventually the suit settled and the glow stopped, but it didn¡¯t make it look any less impressive. ¡°Well, how does it feel?¡± Shaun questioned him. ¡°Better than anything you could possibly imagine.¡± Eric had a dreamy look in his eye, completely taken over by the rush of power running through the suit. ¡°My stats have increased, it looks like by about 20%. It¡¯s incredible.¡± That would do it. He thought, percentage based increases always came with one hell of a sense of euphoria, and it seemed this would be the highest the Eric had ever experienced. ¡°Alright, to the dungeon then!¡± Viv yelled at everyone to get them moving, breaking the hypnotic trance that Eric had placed on them. He was curious as to what impact it would have on his fighting ability in the dungeon, but he wasn¡¯t going to join them. He was overdue for his second dungeon run of the day so would go in alone. He doubted he would be able to go further than last time as his mana was pretty low, but he could go in for the loot. Book 2: Chapter 25 The rest of Shaun¡¯s day went quickly, he only made it to the 17th wave in his dungeon run, getting some alchemical powder for the reward, the others made it to the 18th wave. From all accounts Eric¡¯s new armour had made him a beast when it came to tanking attacks and also helping to reduce the number of monsters quickly. They then spent time with affinity work, Li joining this time, where some progress was actually made by Gabe, finding some connection to the air element but not enough to actually bond, yet. The soiree was also much better than the meeting with Life¡¯s Union, this time he met with the vampire Friosh, who was a lot less intense than he thought he would be. They spoke a bit about Death¡¯s Legion, but it wasn¡¯t focused on their war with Life, rather it had more to do with how they lived and what they actually did. From Friosh¡¯s accounts those in their faction focused quite a lot on the development of their people, growing in strength and actually caring for those in the afterlife. They even had access to their own realm which produced a completely different sort of mana, one attuned fully to death. They spoke about Shaun¡¯s life a lot as well, how he had grown up, losing his parents, and Friosh even offered to see if they could perform a ritual to contact the spirit of his dead parent from the after, which Shaun couldn¡¯t help but get overwhelmed with the offer. He would have agreed immediately, but the caveat was clear, he had to join them, or at the very least, not join Life. They even spoke about vampires, how they were created, how Friosh had become one. It was actually a good meeting and if Shaun was being honest with himself, if the situation was different he could be friends with the man. Once the soiree ended, they all met up afterwards for a debrief, Shaun telling them all about his meeting and the others informing him of what they had experienced. They had made it clear to the clans that they would all be looking to join the same faction, which caused some waves through those present. It was uncommon for one clan to take on so many people at once, especially from the same tutorial, but the lure of having some of the most powerful participants, already formed into a team, all join to one clan, was a selling point that many of the clans apparently wanted in on. This led to a number of conversations with different recruiters, clans from The Pantheon, The Empire and The Dynasty were currently at the top of their list to join, but no decision would be made until later on. That night he finished off the rest of Eric¡¯s gear, the shield he completely remade, turning the old one to scrap and reforming it into something much more powerful. He had tested the Trisciolon Power Stone, and although it had a good amount of power to it, it just didn¡¯t suit his needs, his own affinity attacks being more powerful. What he did instead was embed it into the new shield, forming runic lines throughout it to increase the area of effect from the stone. When the power of the stone was released, it would send out a blast in the direction of the shield, which he managed to attune to three different spells, the first fire, the point to cause damage to any monster close to the shield essentially cooking them. The second was an unattuned power blast which would knock back anyone close with enough power to send them flying back, and lastly he managed a new lightning shock, using runes he had never used before but had unlocked when he got his new affinity. This shock could be activated by taking any physical attack to the shield and it would cause a huge amount of electricity to flow from the shield directly into the attacker. The result was perfect, with an unexpected surprise. *Your skill [Basic] Rune Knowledge (Level 25 - MAX) has evolved into [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 1)* *[Advanced] Runic Scribe: The Runic Scribe skill allows for increased understanding and knowledge on how to apply complex runic spells to items, also providing an innate understanding of how to increase efficiency of runic circuits. This also applies to ritualistic applications of runes.* *Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by 1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 36. +5 Int, +2 Wil, +3 Per, +5 Soul * *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 39. +16 Ap gained* The upgrade to his skill was not impressive in the way that the wording changed, but it was the last basic skill he had which had now upgraded to advance, something that had been annoying him for a while. The level was also nice, but the shield was a little disappointing. It had turned out at the advanced rank, but he felt that if he had something more he could do to it, it could easily push to epic. Still, it was a good shield. The sword was much easier to make, he had already planned on what he was going to do with it. He made us of half of the crown of power that were being looted by the any queen, the ones that let out a concentrated beam of unattuned power. He melted the materials down and formed it into the sword, reinforcing it with some of the best ore they had and inscribing it with spells that would take advantage of the crowns material. He also left a spot in the handle to put in a gem or stone later on if they had the coin to buy one so that the spells could be powered without using Eric¡¯s mana. There was only two spells, one that allowed for a beam of mana to be sent through the tip of the sword and another that would coat the edge of the sword in the same mana but could be used in physical attacks or sent out from the sword, like an elemental strike. The sword again only ended up at advanced grade but it was still an impressive weapon. He didn¡¯t get another level for crafting it, but he had finished everything that Eric would need to really make an impact in a fight. The sword and shield hadn¡¯t taken anywhere near as long as the armour set so he still had some time. He had some ideas, but he needed some more items first, that led him to going for a walk to the store that sold gems. When he arrived he was a little shocked that it was open at this weird hour, there was barely anyone around, everyone clearly asleep, yet the store was still open. When he went inside there was a human man behind the counter, working on his own project, but when he looked up at Shaun he was excited to see someone walk in. ¡°How unexpected to see someone here so late. We have not had many people visit here, not many able to use or afford our goods.¡± ¡°Yeah, I can imagine. I¡¯m Shaun by the way. I hope you can help me with something?¡± ¡°Oh, I know who you are Shaun, everyone here knows who you are! I am Jackson, but please just call me Jack.¡± Jack seemed like a nice guy, the bit about everyone knowing who he was was a bit unnerving but really kind of expected at this point. ¡°What are you looking for and I will see what I can do to help.¡± ¡°Thanks Jack. I am hoping you may have something that can hold mana and be used in crafting, preferably linked to runic spells.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°We have plenty of things that would work for that, but they vary a lot depending on how much mana you need held, whether it needs to be durable, reused and of course whether it needs any attunements. Can you tell me what you are wanting to craft and spells you wish to link them too?¡± This conversation was apparently everything Jack wanted and more, his excitement quickly bubbled up and he moved around to stand closer to Shaun. ¡°It will be for a few different spells. I am looking to create arrows, I have some materials that I will use for the attunements but the archers won¡¯t be able to power up each spell before sending them off, so they need to have their own power source. It won¡¯t need a lot of mana, and whatever is used needs to be small, very small, so as not to weigh down the arrow. No attunements will be needed either, as I want to make the arrows out of already attuned material.¡± ¡°Yes, I see the issue, generally people of your level, especially those to not walk a mages path, do not have the mana abilities to power such spells in short periods. How much are you looking to spend? I assume these arrows aren¡¯t being made for you, your friends maybe?¡± ¡°Yeah, I am no archer.¡± Shaun couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the thought. ¡°They are for some friends, there are 2 archer types, each needs, a dozen arrows each, at least. Cost wise, cheap is better but I need them to work, and for a while at least.¡± ¡°Hmmmm, I have a few options, but some will be much more difficult that others.¡± Jack walked around and grabbed some pouches from a few different places in the store, and then laid them out on the counter for him to look at. ¡°The first, and most expensive, are power stones, these are already reinforced and can take up to 10,000 mana each, the are small and pack a punch, they are also easy to craft with. The next is these slivers of xamium, it is a sort of metal but not quite, more of a gem structure. They are hard to use in crafting as they are prone to snapping, that means they need to be completely encased and protected in the final piece, as if they are broken they cause a backlash on the user which you will want to avoid at all costs. They are the cheapest though and will still hold around 7,00 mana per sliver. Lastly, is the gem shards, they are off cuts from larger gems and hold the least amount of mana, only around 2,000, again they need to be protected, but nowhere near as much as the Xamium slivers. Not many use them due to the small amount of mana that they can hold, but they may be just what you are after.¡± Shaun looked at each of the different materials, he immediately decided against the power stones, not needing that much mana for his spells and wanting to keep cost down. The Xamium and gem shards though would work. ¡°How much per Xamium sliver and gem shard?¡± ¡°I can do a bundled deal for you, but I would like something in return. I will sell the Xamium slivers for 3 silver coin per dozen slivers. For the gem shards I will sell those for 5 silver coin be dozen. And to make it better, if you spend over 10 silver coins I will give you 20% off the entire purchase, but only if you show me what you craft from them.¡± Jack said, ¡°I can¡¯t help but be curious at what you will create, given all that I have heard about you, my curiosity is peaked.¡± ¡°Do you mind if I do some testing first, I promise not to damage anything.¡± He needed to see what would work best for each of the materials he wanted to use, and the only way he could do that would be to do some tests between the items, slivers and gems. ¡°Of course, that is only normal, go ahead.¡± Jack¡¯s interest was piqued, and he watched him like a hawk. Shaun took out one of the remaining crowns, one of the hearts, a feather from a starling and then a tooth from the worm boss, laying them all out on the counter. Using his Mana Sight and Elemental Coercion skill he looked to see how bonds would form from the materials without actually bonding anything together. The teeth and heart formed much easier with the slivers while the feathers and crown seemed more attracted to them gem. That made his decision much easier. ¡°I will take 2 dozen of each.¡± Shaun said to Jack, taking back all of the items he had pulled out. ¡°I must say Shaun, I only sensed what you did there, but even I can see that what you did was impressive, you tested for bonding, that is clear. But how? That is the real question.¡± Jack gathered everything that Shaun wanted together into 2 different pouches. ¡°For letting me see such a thing, I will happily reduce the cost down to 10 silver for the lot. But I wonder. How would you like a further discount?¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± Saving more coin was high on his list of things to do. And an offer of more coin off couldn¡¯t be ignored, he wanted to see what Jack had in mind. ¡°I would like to watch you craft, just one of each arrow, using the items that you pulled out earlier. Let¡¯s say, for each arrow you let me watch you make I will take off 2 silver coin for the 10 coin you currently owe?¡± ¡°So, if I craft the 4 arrows for you, I will only be paying 2 silver coins?¡± ¡°Precisely. What do you say?¡± Jack seemed almost desperate to see him work, he didn¡¯t get why, but only paying 2 silver instead of 10? Totally worth it. ¡°You have a deal. Where do you want to do this?¡± Jack led him to the back of the store, into his own workroom. It wasn¡¯t the largest area but more than enough for him to work. He sat down in one of the two chairs and decided to start with the crown arrows. It was going to be the easiest, especially after using them in Eric¡¯s sword. He took out everything he needed as well as one of the gem shards from inside the pouch. Each of the crowns would make 2 or 3 arrows, and he figured that if he was going to do one he may as well do them all. He easily used his Creators Control skill to form the crown into three different arrow heads, then formed a long thin cylinder from each that would go through the centre of the arrow itself. He then took the small gem shard, fusing it into the base of the arrowhead and the cylinder, forming them metal around it. When the gem shard was secure, he got to work inscribing the runes, it was easy enough to do, the gem linked to the spell through connecting runes and a mana powered cycle. The spell itself was straight forward, the arrow itself would act as the beam, when powered and shot from a bow the arrow would be a condensed beam of mana that when it impacted would explode. He powered the gem and the runes, finalising the spell, before coating the cylinder with other metal he had on hand, ending it with a normal sparrow feather. Lastly he engraved air runes into it to ensure that it had a certain amount of wind resistance as well as a higher speed when flying through the air. When he was done the finished arrow was an advanced grade Power Arrow. ¡°That¡­¡­was impressive. I have not seen someone craft so efficiently. The rune work was extraordinary, the spells, if I am correct have two purposes. The attack itself, a concentrated mana blast, and then the runes that will allow it to travel nearly through the air with almost no resistance.¡± Jack observed. ¡°An arrow like this would be used by D grades not E. An E grade would have a very hard time buying such things.¡± ¡°Do you mind if I finish the other 2 from the leftover crown?¡± Shaun asked, not wanting to have to come back to it later. ¡°Please! I would love to watch the process again.¡± He finished the arrows quicker than the first and then moved on to the Starling feather, the one that held the power of a star. This was a bit different, the feather itself needed to be intertwined with the arrow for maximum efficiency. The feather was long enough to run the length of the arrow so he started with forming metal around it, and at the same time twisting the feather, condensing it down and having each of the strands run through the metal, the point of the feather was then fused into he gem shard, thankfully without issue, and then completely closed in and the tip of the arrow added. The runes were much more difficult this time, he had to pull out his notes and check over his designs. But in the end the spell that would cause the arrow to fly like a descending star, hitting its target with an explosion of power, was set and powered. The result was an arrow called Stars Decent, still advanced, but much closer to epic grade. He repeated the process 2 more times, Jack more than happy to just sit and observe the process again and again. The next 2 arrow types though, they were going to be the ones that were much more difficult. Book 2: Chapter 26 Shaun had never used anything like the Xamium slivers before, so he was slightly unsure on how to proceed, he got the feeling that the shard itself was going to need to be in contact with the material he used, at least when he used the Disintegrating Worm Teeth, so that was where he started. Taking at one of the teeth, he had to spend a decent amount of time shaping it into an arrowhead, the tooth was much more resistant to the change that anything he had used before, that meant that any mistake he made would need send him straight back to the beginning. He had completely forgotten about Jack who was sitting so silently that he was just another piece of furniture in Shaun¡¯s mind. He had to concentrate fully on his task, but eventually he got it into the desired shape without any issues, the tooth was still holding the same power it had originally which was a good sign. What came next he was more hesitant about, Jack had told him that breaking the slivers would lead to a blow back on the user that would be rather unpleasant, so he needed to work carefully. Fusing the tiny point of the sliver into the arrow head was nerve racking, and if it wasn¡¯t for all of his profession skills working in tandem he would have failed miserably. As it was he nearly broke the sliver three times, and each time he couldn¡¯t help but flinch, waiting for disaster to strike. When the sliver was set into he arrowhead he then worked on coating the sliver with metal and slowly working down until the full shaft of the arrow was formed, adding another sparrow feather to the end. With the hard part done he needed to add the spell, and he had very little experience with the runes he needed to work with. Pulling out his notes again, as well as the book on runes, he checked over everything he needed, spending a good 30 minutes making sure he was comfortable with the script. Adding this to the arrow was stressful, if he put to much power into it too quickly the sliver wouldn¡¯t form into the runes and would end up overloading, cracking in the process. He had to work with a certain amount of finesse rather than brute power to get the job done. The tooth, now arrowhead, seemed to consume some of the mana he put into the runes, disintegrating the work he had done, which then led him to have to add runes into the arrowhead itself to allow it to hold mana without consuming it and looping it back into the arrow itself, creating a circuit of power, the trigger being impact. Making the one arrow took longer than making the 6 he had already done, but when the runes all clicked and settled into the arrow, the result was fantastic. *Successful New Creation ¨C Bonus Experience provided* *[Epic] Devouring Arrow ¨C An arrow that unleashes a consuming force, devouring all within its range, reducing it into atoms which is then absorbed by the arrow, allowing it to gain power. Growth Item.* *Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by 2 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 38. +10 Int, +4 Wil, +6 Per, +10 Soul * *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 40. +16 Ap gained* ¡°Damn, another epic.¡± He didn¡¯t expect that, it was an impressive arrow, sure, but epic? He didn¡¯t think it was anywhere near as impressive as the armour he had made, or the gauntlet, so he didn¡¯t get why it was rated so highly. ¡°It is incredible!¡± Jack shouted at him. ¡°Do you have any idea what you have created boy?¡± ¡°Ummm, not really? Its an epic ranked arrow?¡± That was apparently the wrong thing to say as Jack just looked at him like he was completely a oblivious fool. ¡°Of course not.¡± Jack then let out a breath before composing himself. ¡°That arrow, it is not just a normal arrow. Yes it is epic, which in itself is impressive for one such as yourself. But what truly makes it special, more so than anything else, is that it will grow! Increase in power! And if used correctly, in rank!¡± Shaun read the description again, it had growth item on the end of it, something he had never seen before. And when he tied that into the arrow growing in power by consuming the atoms in which it creates from what it hits, it started to make sense. ¡°Shaun, any archer, from F grade to B would wish for such an arrow. To have something that grows as you do is rare, And when they are sold they sell for not just a few measly coins but 100¡¯s of gold, sometimes even platinum if it is the right item. Do you understand what you have done? You, an E grade, just created a growth item!¡± When he finally processed what Jack just told him, he was impressed, sure, but outside of its worth it was still just an arrow to him, useless unless he wanted to pick up a bow, which he really didn¡¯t. ¡°I guess I just made an archer really happy then, right?¡± ¡°You are still just going to give that to your friend? Knowing how much it is worth?¡± Jack looked at him as if he had grown a second head. ¡°Yeah, why not? I have no use for it. Better in their hands than someone else¡¯s.¡± ¡°You are not like most people, Shaun. Better, I would say.¡± Jack then sat back down, looking at the arrow with disbelief. He then looked up at Shaun again, a smile growing on his face. ¡°Can you do it again though? That is the real question.¡± Shaun accepted the challenge happily. He had 7 more teeth to use, and he was going to make the most out of them. He spent hours sitting in the room making more arrows, until finally he had 8 identical epic ranked growth arrows in front of him. By this point he was completely out of mana and exhausted, but he had repeated the process 7 more times, gaining another 2 levels in his profession in the process. He only planned to give three arrows to Gabe and Viv each, which left two more left over, which he was now planning on selling. He no longer had the concentration to make the final arrow out of the heart but that was fine. He would be happy with only paying 4 silver coins for the slivers and shards. He needed to get some sleep before he went and did his dungeon run, his mana was depleted and he just needed to rest. When he tried to pay for the slivers and shards Jack just laughed at him and told him that there was no need, he had gotten more out of watching him craft than he ever expected and he said they were even, saying that he looked forward to the next time Shaun came in and he was always happy to bargain for a good deal. When Shaun got back to his apartment he crashed immediately, when he woke a good few hours had passed and he was way later in his usual daily routine than he should have been, but considering he spent the night doing some pretty amazing crafting he wasn¡¯t upset about it. He managed to finish the 20th wave again, but he was still in no shape to continue afterwards, even after all of the levels he had gained. That put him in a bad mood, but he also couldn¡¯t help but kick himself when he realised he still hadn¡¯t applied any of his AP, which he immediately applied to his physical stats outside of Dexterity. He had also only gained one level in his class from the entire dungeon, and the reward wasn¡¯t that great, a potion that recovered his Health, Stamina and Mana all by 2000 points. Sure it could be helpful but nothing he could truly utilise in his crafting. This would usually be the time that he crafted but as he was running late for the day he decided to just make a few more arrows, just from the remaining crowns and feathers, enough so that Gabe and Viv would have 3 of each arrow, totalling 10 each when he got around to making the ones from the hearts, this left him with no more gem shards and only 4 slivers left for the hearts, as he had plans for two of the epic arrow. When he was done he tried to find the others, they weren¡¯t in their rooms but he did manage to find them in a restaurant. He quickly went in and pulled up a chair to join them. ¡°Sorry I missed you guys this morning, had a late night.¡± ¡°We know, we knocked, and you didn¡¯t answer. Figured we would leave you there. Our dungeon run was nowhere near as good without Eric¡¯s sword and shield though.¡± Viv gave him a glare at that. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Shit! Sorry, I forgot all about them!¡± When food came out they also took Shaun¡¯s order, they ate pretty causally, not rushing through it at all. When they were done Shaun told them he would meet them back at his apartment, he needed to go sell some stuff first. They decided to come with him, being in no rush to get back. When they got to the shop to sell, there was a lot of people waiting in line, annoying but he would wait. As soon as others noticed he was there though the entire atmosphere changed, the person in front of him stood out of the line and went behind him, he tried to tell the guy it wasn¡¯t needed but he refused to go back to his spot in front of Shaun. This occurred again and again until everyone moved out of the way for him to just walk straight up to the counter where Ulorid stood behind the counter. Rather than argue with anyone he just walked up to the counter. ¡°You will get used to it Master Shaun. This is a common occurrence in the multiverse, those in power are always treated as such.¡± The goblin told him, seeing how uncomfortable he was with the situation. He gave a short nod before getting on with the task at hand. ¡°I have a few things to sell today, and a question or two.¡± Shaun put down all of the loot he wanted to sell and then pulled out one of the epic ranked arrows. ¡°I have been told that this could fetch a lot of coin?¡± The moment the goblin took in the arrow, he took first a step back from the counter, then another. ¡°Impossible.¡± The goblin then looked at him with no small amount of fear. ¡°Do you know what that is?¡± ¡°I do.¡± Not wanting to go into detail with so many people around. ¡°Then you know what such a thing is worth? What it would mean that you crafted such a thing?¡± The goblin was still looking at him with fear in his eyes, although Shaun really didn¡¯t know why. ¡°I have some idea.¡± ¡°I am sorry, Master Shaun. But I can¡¯t buy it from you.¡± ¡°Seriously! But why? I though you could buy anything we wanted to sell?¡± He was confused now, he thought this would be a simple sell and get rich deal, apparently not though. He was border on annoyed at the situation. ¡°You misunderstand.¡± The moment the goblin said those words he turned ashen and dropped to his knees. ¡°No sorry, I misspoke. Please forgive me for my previous words.¡± What the hell! ¡°Ulorid please stand up, its fine. I just wanted to know why you couldn¡¯t buy it.¡± Please just get off the ground. People were talking about what was happening now, his own group looking at him weirdly, giving him questioning looks as to what the big deal was about the arrow. ¡°Apologies Master Shaun.¡± Ulorid finally stood from the ground. ¡°I am authorised to buy your loot and good, yes. But only up to a certain amount.¡± He looked nervously around at everyone before saying what he had dreaded. ¡°I only have 100 gold coin for this tutorial to buy the wares that everyone wishes to sell. The arrow is worth more, much more than what I have. And because of that I do not have the funds to buy it.¡± The entire store went into uproar at the goblin¡¯s words, people questioning why the hell an arrow is worth so much, how it was even possible that he could have created it. And lastly how unfair the entire thing was, why should Shaun get such an advantage over everyone in every way possible. ¡°Shaun, explain what the hell is happening!¡± Viv yelled at him, all sense of decorum gone. ¡°Miss, it is a growth item.¡± Ulorid said to her, loud enough for everyone to hear. ¡°The more you fight with it, the more power it takes in, the more powerful the arrow grows. It is epic now, yes, and if it was just an epic arrow I could buy it for 10 maybe even 15 gold coin. But as it is a growth and its potential is only limited by the user, it has the ability to grow to the highest rank, because of that its worth increases beyond anything that you could imagine.¡± ¡°And you were just going to sell it for coin?¡± Viv directed at him, angry would have been an understatement for the emotion radiating form her. ¡°What happened to doing everything you could to help us? What about the fight for Earth? You promised that you would support us, and as soon as you have a chance to get rich you just throw it away?¡± ¡°Viv, later.¡± Shaun tried to shut it down immediately but she kept going. ¡°No. There is no later. I don¡¯t care if you didn¡¯t want to give it to me, but Gabe? He is your friend! Does that mean nothing to you?¡± ¡°Of course it does. But if you will wait I will explain later¡­..¡± ¡°No. There is no later Shaun. I thought I knew you better than that.¡± Viv started to turn to leave, but he was angry, how dare she peak to him like that! How dare she turn her back on him! Had he not proven himself, done so much for her! And she treats him like that! ¡°Enough!¡± He yelled at the room. ¡°Gabe come here.¡± He gestured for him to walk over to where he was standing at the counter. ¡°Shaun you don¡¯t have to¡­¡± ¡°Oh no, I do.¡± Shaun looked directly at Viv when he spoke. ¡°You say that I don¡¯t care for my friends? That money is worth more? I spent all night, spending my own money to make things for you! For Gabe! And you can¡¯t trust me for 2 seconds so that I can explain?¡± He turned to Gabe again. ¡°These are for you.¡± He pulled out the three arrows made from the crowns first. ¡°Three arrows, spelled to unleash a devastating blast of mana at whatever they hit. Crafted with gem shards so you wont even have to use your mana in battle to use them.¡± ¡°Holy shit! Shaun, these are incredible!¡± Gabe exclaimed when he took the arrows. ¡°I am not done.¡± He then pulled out three more arrows, this time the ones from the starling feathers. ¡°These arrows are called Stars Decent, they hold the power of a star, unleash it at your target and don¡¯t expect them to get back up. Again no need to use mana in the fight, they all have gem shards that will be able to be powered before a fight. 2,000 mana all in one destructive arrow.¡± The crowd was dead silent, no longer angry or annoyed at the advantages he had, they just looked on with utter fear on their face at the priceless arrows he was handing over like it was nothing. ¡°Shaun, I don¡¯t know if I can take these, they¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your my friend Gabe, I will do everything I can to see you live, to grow.¡± Gabe nodded at him and accepted the arrows. He then turned back to Viv. ¡°You might be thinking, they are good arrows, but nothing like the growth one I gave Ulorid to sell?¡± Shaun turned back to Gabe, taking out the last three arrows. ¡°These are called The Devouring Arrow, they are identical to the one I just gave Ulorid to sell. All growth items, all epic. When they hit a target the will literally turn what they hit to atoms, the arrow will consume these atoms, gaining power, and rising in rank. All three, for you.¡± ¡°These are worth hundreds of gold Shaun! You can¡¯t just give them to me! Are you insane!¡± ¡°Selling one of these arrows would set the whole team up, with gold to spare. You are worth more than extra coin.¡± He said to him. The moment he finished talking Gabe wrapped him in a hug, he didn¡¯t hesitate to hug him back, being careful of the arrows in Gabe¡¯s hand. When he finally let go Gabe had tears in his eyes and Eric walked up and pulled him into a hug. Mouthing the words thank you at Shaun. He was doing a lot for Eric and Gabe, but they were the only two that he felt like he would be able to fully rely on here. Friendship meant something to him. He was so tired of being alone. ¡°Shaun, I didn¡¯t know.¡± Viv said to him, looking like someone had just kicked her dog. ¡°No, you didn¡¯t, but you wouldn¡¯t even give me a chance to tell you. You just assumed the worst.¡± He then pulled out 9 more arrows out of his inventory. ¡°These were for you, you know.¡± Viv was barely holding herself together at that point, she had tears running down her face, her eyes were red, and she looked ashamed of herself. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I am so sorry. I didn¡¯t know, I just lost it.¡± Shaun just walked up to her and handed her the arrows. ¡°I don¡¯t deserve these.¡± She said, not taking the arrows he had offered. ¡°No, you don¡¯t.¡± Shaun composed himself, wanting to lash out but held himself back. ¡°I am giving them to you though. For no other reason except that Gabe and Eric are part of your team. The stronger you all are the more protected they will be.¡± That and he still had plans for her. If he could get her in a position to rule it would only benefit him. He didn¡¯t want to find someone else, not with so little time remaining before heading to Earth again. This just put her further into debt with him. ¡°Shaun can we talk about this.¡± ¡°No. Just leave, I am not done talking to Ulorid about the arrow yet.¡± He turned around and went back to the goblin. ¡°Is there anything you can do with the arrow?¡± He directed at Ulorid. ¡°Master Shaun, sir. I may be able to submit them to an auction on your behalf. But I would need approval to do so. And I would need to keep the arrow. Even if they allowed it you would not get the coin until after the weeks end. But I can try for you, sir.¡± The goblin barely stumbled the words out, but he was fine with the outcome. ¡°Fine, take this one too.¡± He pulled out the last of the arrows and put it on the counter. ¡°I am trusting you, Ulorid. Don¡¯t let me down.¡± ¡°Never sir. I will do my best, I promise on my clans honour.¡± Ulorid picked up both arrows and walked out the back of the shop, another goblin coming out to take his place. With that done Shaun turned and left the store. He was angry still, both at the scene that happened with Viv and how little she had trusted him after everything he had done, and truly just wanted to be left alone. He wasn¡¯t in the best mindset and decided he was done with being around people for a while. He walked straight to the dungeons, Eric and Gabe followed him, Viv and Li further behind. ¡°Shaun what are you doing?¡± Eric asked him, concern plainly heard in his voice. ¡°Something stupid.¡± ¡°Do you want to talk about it first?¡± ¡°No, but in 30 minutes, I¡¯m either going to come out of the dungeon dead, or near it. So, wish me luck.¡± He accepted the prompt to enter the dungeon, choosing the E grade on this time as it was larger, had more mana in the air. Eric tried to stop him, but he was too late, Shaun disappeared from the room and reappeared in the dungeon. Book 2: Chapter 27 Shaun knew what he was planning to do was stupid, reckless even, but he just didn¡¯t care at that moment. What had occurred with Viv had pissed him off, more than he had let on, the things she had said had been ridiculous. Even after only knowing her for a few days he thought that she had understood him enough to know that he would put the people he cared about first, but apparently her opinion of him was lower than he even realised. It annoyed him and he had to do something productive to clear his mind. He needed time away from everybody, to process his emotions and also to let out some of his anger, the first thing that came to mind was raging through a dungeon, going on a killing spree that would reduce the pain he felt, but he knew, in his current state he wouldn¡¯t be able to get much further through the dungeon than he had previously, which would just annoy him further. What he needed was something more, something to make him stronger, that¡¯s why he had decided to take the next step in his heritage and bond another advanced element. This wasn¡¯t exactly a spur of the moment thing, he had been thinking about it for a while, around if he should do it and also what advanced element he would aim for. He had been putting it off though, not wanting to draw more attention to himself than he already had, but it was way to late for that, everyone, from those from Earth to the reps from the major factions knew who he was, and all had an opinion of what he would become. Shaun quickly dispatched the ants, leaving one of them alive but unable to truly attack or move, before settling down on the ground and working on calming his mind. He knew the process this time around, not that it would make it less painful, just slightly quicker. He would still be in here for a good few weeks, if not months, surviving off of the meat he had left in his inventory, which was a huge step down from what he had been eating in the restaurant, and the water he had gathered and kept for emergencies. It took him a long time to enter a stable mind set, but it was something he needed to do, he couldn¡¯t start the process of creating his next element until he had managed to take all of the pain and anger and put it in a box in his mind, sealing it shut to deal with later. Not exactly healthy, but it was needed. His next element was already decided, he was going to form together water and air to make ice. An element that would have a huge effect on his ability to fight, one that was considered both powerful when it came to fighters but also useful for dealing with larger enemies and crowd control situations. It was exactly what he needed in the dungeon to accelerate his process given the rising number of monsters he was needing to fight. The process was going to be simple, grab an unattuned mana mote, combine air and water into it, using earth again as the stabilising factor to keep it contained and condensed. Before staring he inspected his mana channels again, his lightning affinity still shining the brightest, releasing an overwhelming power compared to the others, but that wasn¡¯t what he needed to focus on. He looked closer at the bonds between air and water, seeing something that was very similar to what had been between air and fire before his last bonding experience. Not bothering to delay and further he reached out of his body with the three elements he needed, grabbing hold of a mote with a tendril of water, quickly adding air and then encasing it in earth. He needed to play around with the amount of water to air ratio, and decided he would start it with a majority of water, then adding air into it until the balance was formed, then continue adding until it was completed. The process this time around was much easier, when he started adding air to the water inside of the mote of mana he found that he only needed a small amount of air compared to water, enough that the water would freeze over, the combination of the two elements felt a lot less volatile than lightning, but equally as powerful. As soon as the mote started glowing an off white colour, only having a tinge of blue to it he felt the change, like last time if he didn¡¯t contain the mix of elements it would explode out into the dungeon, effectively freezing everything inside into cubes of ice, something that was not on his to do list for today. Instead, he compressed down with his earth element, needing to push more power into it as the glow increased, until what felt like hours later the ice element was formed and stabilised. It felt like it took a lot longer for the ice element to complete the process than it had the lightning, he wasn¡¯t sure if that was due to the different nature of the elements or just because he hadn¡¯t put enough power into it quickly enough, regardless, it had worked. All that was left to do now was bring it inside of him, which he knew was going to hurt, but nowhere near as much as when he got to the final step of pushing the entire stream through his body at the end. Shaun pulled the ice mote closer to him, dragging it into his body. The result was as expected, the thigh he wad pulled the ice through had frozen solid, the pain this time was different to last, at first he felt pain, a throbbing that turned into a stinging until all feeling just stopped. He didn¡¯t know whether to be thankful or scared of that, but he continued on placing the mote into a bond between his air and water streams, fixing it in place and ensuring that it wouldn¡¯t go anywhere. When he was comfortable that there would be no adverse reactions within his mana channel, he moved his focus to his frozen leg. He knew he would need to defrost it before continuing and that the only way to do that would be slowly heating it with fire. He took his time doing it though, not wanting to cause any further adverse effects on his leg, which took a while, and when his leg did start to defrost the pain returned 10 fold to what he had experienced when he brought the mote through his leg, causing him to clamp down on a scream, while blasting a healing wave of nature at the deadened leg. It took a while, switching between fire and nature to completely heal the wound, but in the end it was back to new, if a little raw. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. He couldn¡¯t help the smile that spread across his face at the success of his first mote, having done it with a lot less trouble than the lightning, although it did take longer than he would have liked. One down, a few hundred more to go. He didn¡¯t stop working, he repeated the process over and over again, no matter what he did the ice element took longer to stabilise than the lightning, but that was fine, at least it was working. The only breaks he took were to eat and drink, get some naps in, regain his mana and move to the next wave of the dungeon to saturate the air with mana again. Time passed in the dungeon, how much he wasn¡¯t sure, but when he was on his short breaks he would think over his interaction with Viv, pulling it apart and looking at it from every possible angle. By the time he had moved onto the 19th wave he was done with creating the ice motes, now fully saturated. Catching a worm and holding it captive had been beyond painful, taking him hours and lots of planning each time, but he couldn¡¯t stop the process. During this time he had also come to a few conclusions on the mess with Viv and the others. The first being that it wasn¡¯t entirely Viv¡¯s fault. She acted out of line and shouldn¡¯t have said what she did, that he knew, but he also could have given them all a heads up before going into that store, he could have spent an extra few minutes explaining the arrows, hell he could have even given them theirs first, and the situation would never have occurred. If he reversed the situation, put himself in Viv¡¯s shoes, he didn¡¯t know if he would have reacted much better. He had made promises to them, about making them equipment, helping them get stronger, and if he was looking at it from Viv¡¯s perspective what Shaun did in that shop did look like he was throwing away all of those promises for money. Still it wasn¡¯t her place to question him like that. By the time he had come to this conclusion, he realised what he was doing, throwing away all caution and bonding another advanced affinity, with no real preparation, was dangerous and stupid. If he appeared back in the dungeon room, in a state similar to what he had been in when he bonded lightning, the reps would know in an instant what he had done, exposing that he had even more affinity than he let on, exposing his heritage, and really causing his own death sentence. That led him to his final conclusion, he couldn¡¯t leave the dungeon until the process was done, finishing with either him living with a new affinity, or his death. With nothing left to think about he started the last step on moving the ice motes through his mana channels, forming another stream. As soon as he started he knew that it was going to suck, when he did this with lightning a chain reaction went off through his body, forming connections in an instant, with ice though, it was like trying to move an iceberg through the ocean, it was slow, and he needed to apply a lot of mental force to get it going. Connecting the first two motes was exhausting and it didn¡¯t get any easier as he continued the process. As he did he felt his entire body start to decrease in temperature, his breath had become tangible in the air, like when you breathed hot air on a freezing day. His body had become stiff, unable to fully move without feeling like he was having to crack his joints and skin with each little movement. He laid down on the grown when this started, wanting to get as comfortable and spread out as possible. Time continued to drift by as he continued forming the stream, he didn¡¯t take any breaks, not able to stop the process now that he had started, and just fully focused his mind on the task. When the stream was fully formed, the rush of power that started running through his body was too much to handle, he couldn¡¯t move though, only endure. As the seconds ticked by he felt himself fully freeze over, starting at his fingers and toes and moving up his arms and legs. When the ice fully encased him his last thought was of dying as an icicle, and if he could have he would have laughed at the thought. But quickly darkness fell over his vision, even with his eyes open he couldn¡¯t see, eventually his mind froze and his heart stopped beating. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°What do you think he meant, when he said that he would either be dying in there or getting close to it?¡± Gabe directed at Eric who was standing next to him, both waiting until the 30 minute timer hit zero and Shaun would reappear. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But this is Shaun we are talking about. Do you ever really know what crazy stunt he is going to pull? The last time he did something like this he came out practically dead with lightning running through his veins. This time? Who knows. But he will be fine. He always makes it through.¡± Eric had managed to deliver all of that with a confident smile, trying to relieve some of the stress that Gabe was feeling, but inside he was as messed up as he was. Shaun didn¡¯t deal with betrayal well, and what happened in that store was messed up. Viv had tried to talk to them, but he sent her away. Currently she was pacing back and forth at the edge of the room, continuously looking back at the dungeon and them, she looked terrible, her eyes were bloodshot from crying and she looked seconds from a full breakdown, but at that moment it wasn¡¯t his concern, Shaun was. ¡°Do you really believe that?¡± Gabe asked him. ¡°You saw him when he went into that dungeon, he was a mess! He looked like he was seconds away from cracking and rampaging through the tutorial. You know what happened when we turned our back on him before. We made a promise to each other to never do something like that again Eric! He is family, and we stick together. We brought Viv into this and what she did hurt him. That¡¯s on us.¡± Eric looked at Gabe, he knew that he was still punishing himself for what he did to Shaun all the way back in the first stage, he had tried to help him through it, but there was a part of Gabe that couldn¡¯t forgive himself for what they had done, even if Shaun had. ¡°I have faith that Shaun will make it through whatever is happening in there. We will be ready if he needs help. We have his back, just like he has ours.¡± Eric said trying to comfort Gabe. Don¡¯t make me a liar Shaun, come back to us. I don¡¯t care how, just don¡¯t leave us alone here. Book 2: Chapter 28 There was no movement, only the cold embrace of death. Life began through warmth and ended with the bitter cold, similar to the cycle of the sun and moon, light and dark. Shaun didn¡¯t know why these thought were running through his head, but they were the first things he thought of when he awoke. Hot and cold. Life and death. Creation and oblivion. In his death state he remembered dreams, not fully, but snippets from what could only be another life, someone else¡¯s life. The longer he was awake the more it became blurry, but there was one memory he could not forget, no matter how hard he tried. A being, surrounded by a group of elves? No that wasn¡¯t right, they didn¡¯t look quite like the elves he had seen, they were taller, more muscular. They had the pointed ears, but longer canines, and just seemed more. There entire being had felt more powerful, older. But in the memory he was looking at them, not one of them. He remembered having wings and being covered in armour. When he spoke his voice vibrated with the very universe. He spoke of a last hope, a desperate ploy that had nearly no chance at success, but one that he would attempt. The power of their people passed on. The last thing he remembered was a name, one of the others, Elivasia, a queen of these not elves. Shaun continued to lay on the ground, trying to commit every image, every word to his memory. Elivasia. He needed to find her, a queen who could help him make sense of what he saw, of who he was. Shaun didn¡¯t try and stand up, he could feel his body wrecked with pain, but at the same time feeling ethereal. What he did do was check his notifications. *Affinity Detected: Ice* *Ice (Affinity): Void of heat, thriving in the dark, ice conquers all in its path. Through the ability to harness the element of ice you are immune to all effects of the cold. Through the ability to manipulate the temperature of the world around you, you are able to control all forms of ice, including frost, chill, snow and sleet. May your enemies beware the coming of the eternal winter. +50 Vit, +50 Soul, +20% Vit, +50% Soul* He had done it, and all without dying. The bonding of his second advanced element, felt incredible, like his entire being had been infused with more power than he knew what to do with. He didn¡¯t know if it was due to the boost in Vitality or there was something more to it, but before he got a chance to look further into himself a message popped up. *Heritage: Azreal¡¯s Legacy has evolved* *Azreal¡¯s Legacy: The remnant¡¯s of a lost power, passed on from generation to generation never awakening, Azreal¡¯s Legacy is the hope of a long forgotten race that was hunted to extinction. The legacy provides the ability to more easily connect and harness all elements that make up the Multiverse, however the risk of doing so increases with each element bonded into an Affinity. The carrier of Azreal¡¯s Legacy has been unbound by the awakening of this heritage, transforming the body, mind and soul in the hope that what was once lost can be found again. Through creating a circuit of power within you through, mixing the elements into a united force, you are unlocking the Nephilim Legacy left to you, increasing the strength of the body, mind and soul, allowing for glimpses into the legacy left by the Nephilim. +50% all stats * Nephilim. That was the missing piece, as soon as he thought the word his body hummed with power. The description didn¡¯t change much, the first part of his heritage was the same. What did change was the bit on the end. Finally, he had a name for the being, the one that had left him this heritage, the one who he saw, no, who he was, in the memory. Nephilim. The information the heritage gave was invaluable, the 50% increase to everything was also something he could only dream of. He now had so much more information available to him than ever before and still, there was no one that could answer his questions. Except Elivasia. Looking over his new status sheet, the changes were plain to see, the increase in stats was off the charts. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (E) Level: 41 Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger - Level 43 Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator - Level 40 Health Points:2150/5760 Stamina:2895/4000 Mana:14270/14270 Stats: (Available Points: 0) Strength: 415 Dexterity: 506 Endurance: 400 Vitality: 576 Intelligence: 318 Perception: 289 Willpower: 267 Soul: 1427 Affinity: Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water Advanced: Lightning, Ice Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer Heritage: Azreal''s Legacy (Hidden) Skills: Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 19), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 29), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 34), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 29), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 24) Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 6), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 5), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 3), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 7), [Advanced] Mana Sight (Level 28), [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 1) Shaun did some quick math in his head, with his current boost of stats, he would now compare with someone who was in the peak of E grade based on pure stats alone. It would be his skills that would be letting him down though. If someone trained all their skills into the peak of E grade the levels would be much higher than his, something that he now needed to fully focus on. Shaun went to stand, his body still hurt a bit, he didn¡¯t know how long he had been out of it, but his mana, all 14,000 of it, was full. His health and stamina were a little drained, but he assumed that was due to his body continually enduring the harsh cold of ice while the new affinity settled. When he looked past the lingering pain though, he felt strong, like he had been completely reborn into a body that could crush mountains, that could wipe out cities with a wave of his hand. He wanted to continue on in the dungeon but he knew he needed the rest. At least this time he wasn¡¯t coated in blood and barely clinging to life though like he had been when bonding the lightning affinity. He gave himself a once over, checking both his body and his mana channels, happy with what he found, before he thought the words to leave the dungeon. The moment he reappeared outside of the dungeon he made sure to stand strong, confident and most of all powerful. He didn¡¯t know what he did but the moment he tried pushing out that power and confidence into the room he saw everyone present drop to their knees, some even fully collapsing, as if they were being forcibly pushed to the ground by some unseen force. Am I doing that? He had seen something like this before, when they first saw Dijaun at the arena, he let loose some kind of aura to push down on everyone, but what he was doing was more than what Dijaun had done. He quickly realised that Dijaun had been controlling how much power he let out, while what he was doing was like slamming a sledgehammer down on the people around him. Shuan quickly tried to pull back, trying to reverse what he was doing to everyone, it didn¡¯t happen immediately but with a few deep breaths he noticed that everyone around him sagged in relief. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Sorry everyone. I didn¡¯t mean to do that.¡± He said awkwardly into the room, he noticed Eric and Gabe on the ground in front of him and quickly moved to help them up. ¡°Sorry, I really didn¡¯t mean to.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Gabe said to him as he took the offered hand. ¡°Umm Shaun, what happened to your eyes?¡± ¡°What do you mean my eyes?¡± ¡°Shaun your eyes are glowing.¡± Eric added as he got to his feet. ¡°Like they are literally glowing. They aren¡¯t blue anymore they are almost completely white.¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Shit, how do I make it stop? Shaun closed his eyes and tried to will the glowing to stop, trying to reduce the power flowing through to his eyes. He didn¡¯t know if it worked but when he opened his eyes again and gave a questioning look to Eric and Gabe they gave him a relieved look, thankfully it had worked. ¡°I am going to go back to my apartment, get some rest before tonight.¡± He needed a quick exit, not having any idea on how he was supposed to explain what he did to everyone and the glowing eyes. ¡°Sure, we will walk with you.¡± Gabe said. As they walked back to his room, it was just Shaun, Gabe and Eric together, although he felt Viv and Li following from a distance. ¡°Why are they hanging back?¡± he asked them both. ¡°Because they don¡¯t know what to do, if they should come and talk to you or just hide to be honest. 30 minutes ago you pretty much told Viv you were done with her, for good.¡± Gabe explained. ¡°Oh right. Nearly forgot about that.¡± He really had pretty much forgotten about it, it had happened so long ago for him, and so much had happened since, that it was well in the past. ¡°How have you nearly forgotten about it! It happened just before you went into the dungeon!¡± Gabe yelled at him, coming to a stop. ¡°Aren¡¯t you angry? What she said, what she did wasn¡¯t okay!¡± ¡°It is in the past, Gabe. What she said wasn¡¯t right, but I could have handled it differently too.¡± Shaun said, loud enough for Viv and Li to hear, considering they would have also heard Gabe¡¯s outburst. ¡°Your serious?¡± Eric asked him, giving him a questioning look which he just returned with a nod. ¡°Shaun, how long were you in that dungeon, not our time, your time?¡± ¡°I have no idea, to be honest.¡± He really had no concept of how long he was in there, weeks at least, although he would guess at least 1-2 months. ¡°Long enough I guess.¡± They shared a weird look between them at that statement, he knew it was a vague answer but he didn¡¯t have anything more to say, not unless he was going to spill everything and expose them to the dangers of knowing about his heritage, which he wouldn¡¯t, for their own safety. ¡°If we go into your room with you, and ask you what happened in that dungeon, would you tell us or would you come up with a lie.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t lie to you Eric, but I wouldn¡¯t tell you either, for your own safety.¡± There was silence for the rest of the walk, Viv still hadn¡¯t approached him, but he figured that he would deal with it at a later time. The moment he got to his apartment he said goodbye to the others and went in alone, he showered, the first time in what felt like months, and then fell into bed and got a blissful nap in, not having to worry about losing control of wayward mana motes or the dangers of forming affinity, he slept like a baby. Being woken up by the orb, giving him the 30 minutes notice for the soiree, the last for 2 days at least, was annoying, he was getting over having to attend these meetings and he had only gone to two of them. He got ready and left, making sure that he would arrive just on time rather than having to stand around and wait. As soon as he left his apartment both Eric and Gabe were there, as was Viv and Li. He wasn¡¯t shocked to see everyone waiting for him so he just greeted them all and kept moving towards the soiree. As they walked Viv moved up to stand beside him, seeming nervous about the entire situation. ¡°Can we talk, about what happened?¡± He nodded at her to continue. ¡°What I said was out of line, I shouldn¡¯t have doubted you. But something came over me when I saw you try and sell that arrow, it was like all of the hopes I had, all of my dreams were being crushed. Its not an excuse, I know.¡± She let out a breath, gearing up to continue. ¡°I just want you to know how sorry I am. For all of it. It won¡¯t happen again. I promise.¡± ¡°Okay. I forgive you. Just, next time I say wait until later, just wait. Trust me a little, I have done a lot for you.¡± ¡°I swear it Shaun, I really am sorry.¡± Good. As they got to the door to enter they split up, the others entered first and Shaun after. As soon as he went in silence enveloped the area, again Shaun was the centre of attention. Apparently news travelled quickly, and his display outside of the dungeon was the hot topic for the clans. He ignored it all and went to the meeting room, where to his surprise Alannah and Wilaron were sitting, the rep from The Dynasty, dealing in all thing wealth and trade, beside the rep from The Creators Guild. ¡°Surprised to see us both here?¡± Alannah spoke, giving him a beaming smile. ¡°Yeah actually, I kind of am. I thought these were going to be done one on one. Also I thought The Dynasty wasn¡¯t interested in me?¡± ¡°Yes, well, with resent events it was agreed that we would be allowed a joint meeting, I gave up my own individual meeting with you in exchange to join this one with Wilaron so we could discuss these.¡± Alannah took out both of the arrows he had given to the goblin to sell at an auction, how they got given to Alannah was a mystery that he planned to get answers to. ¡°And how did you get those?¡± ¡°Did you think I wouldn¡¯t buy growth items that were crafted by an early E grade and handed over to sell like they were nothing. Especially after giving 6 more of them to his friends? I was informed of everything that happened the moment the submission to the auction was done. They have to list the crafter, and the surprise I had when I saw your name pop up. I must say, you exceed expectations, again.¡± ¡°Thanks, I guess.¡± Still don¡¯t know why they have decided to team up though. ¡°The reason why we are here together is simple Shaun.¡± Wilaron spoke now. ¡°I have had time to pull apart these arrows, which was no easy task, even for a C grade mind you. The runes were, unique, the way they were infused had traces of a powerful circuit of power, that and the way that they linked was impressive, the resulting growth item, although probably a fluke and not what you were aiming for, is impressive none the less.¡± ¡°And that leads us to why we are here.¡± Alannah piped up. ¡°Regardless of where you craft or what you do with your items. The moment you choose to sell something, which you will need to do to get coin, it will always go through us. There is no escaping that. But what you may not realise is the connections we have with the guild.¡± ¡°We provide crafters with material, with lessons, with knowledge to help them grow and create incredible things, which we then sell through The Dynasty.¡± Wilaron continued what was a well-rehearsed back and forth with Alannah. ¡°They then sell what we wish, at reduced cost to us, and in return they give us first take on many rare and powerful material, which is then fed back to our crafters to create even more amazing items.¡± ¡°And with your clear ability in the crafting field, as proven with these arrows, and your gauntlet, and apparently even a very impressive suit of armour, your skills would be wasted, your time wasted, if you do not at least, in some way, join the guild, and by extension work with us.¡± Alannah finished. Silence was all that followed after Alannah¡¯s final statement, Shaun had thought through this a lot, and at the moment, wanting to avoid getting involved in any preexisting wars, he was tempted by the guild, and he guessed by extension The Dynasty. But he had promised not to make any choices until after he had met with everyone, and he planned to stick with that. ¡°Thank you, both of you, for telling me more about the factions and how they worked with each other, as well as what benefits I might have with you. I will take it all into consideration, but as you know, I am not allowed to make a choice until I have at least spoken to everybody.¡± ¡°Understandable. Do you have any questions for us Shaun?¡± Alannah asked him. This was the first time he had been given the opportunity and he was coming up blank. ¡°No, I have read much about the factions, and at the moment I have no questions, but I will let you know if I do have any later.¡± Shaun replied. ¡°Actually, one question.¡± He reconsidered. ¡°Please go ahead. We will answer what we can.¡± ¡°How much did you pay for those arrows?¡± He was curious at just how much she forked out to acquire them, he was only human, and he wanted to know how much money he was going to have to spend. The question caused Alannah to give a full-bodied laugh, ecstatic at the question, where as Wilaron gave a more conservative chuckle. ¡°I may have been wrong about you, apparently wealth does have some lure in there after all.¡± Alannah said between her laughter, ¡°If you must know, I paid 845 gold coin for both arrows, which, if you go and see Ulorid after this meeting, you will find waiting for you. Minus the fee of course.¡± The shock at hearing the number of gold coin he would be getting was written all over his face, causing more laughter from the reps at his expression. ¡°Welcome to the life of a talented crafter. Coin, material, experience. It all available to you in the guild.¡± ¡°Thanks for letting me know, I have no other questions.¡± He barely got the words out, his mind still swimming with the amount of coins he was about to get from just 2 arrows. ¡°We have a question for you though. And its not about crafting, or coin, or wealth.¡± Alannah had become more serious now, loosing that joyous atmosphere she had shown since he entered the room. ¡°We were told, that you left a dungeon today. And when you did, you forced everyone to their knees with the aura you let out. That and glowing eyes. We are curious, what happened in that dungeon Shaun?¡± ¡°I finally accepted who I am.¡± Come on I can do this. ¡°I gave myself over to who I have become, the power, the lightning, everything. I let it consume me. And when I did, something changed. I didn¡¯t know what I was doing when I let out my, aura? But I just focused on bringing all of that power out of me, it made my eyes glow with electricity. It felt like I finally knew my place. On top.¡± ¡°That would do it.¡± Wilaron said with a chuckle. ¡°Rare, for someone so new to be able to accomplish such things, usually people only get the ability to project an aura at D grade, but still, advanced affinity are usually done at D grade as well. So you developing the ability isn¡¯t so shocking.¡± ¡°You have two side to you Shaun, The side of creation, of crafting. And then on the flip side, you are a warrior, a person that can wield their body, mind and soul, bringing death to those in their way.¡± Alannah said all of this with a considering look. ¡°It makes me wonder, which side will you chose to lead you. Or, do we need to reconsider how we look at you altogether, maybe you need to embrace both side of the coin.¡± ¡°Much to consider.¡± Wilaron finished. ¡°I think you need something that we may not have offered you, yet. But I don¡¯t think this will be the last time we speak, next time, I hope to have a better result.¡± Book 2: Chapter 29 The first thing he did after the meeting ended was gather the others around and head back to the store to pick up his coins from the sale of his arrows. On the way he explained to the others what happened during the meeting and everything that was spoken about, including the whole aura thing. When they got to the store Ulorid greeted him with a bow, it was weird, but he chose to ignore it. They did the quick transaction with the goblin sending him 760.5 gold coin, a huge sum that he could now spend on whatever his heart desired. He did some quick math and realised he lost 10% of the value from what Alannah had told him, which must be the fee, still he wasn¡¯t too upset about it considering that he had only spent a night working on the arrows and made out with a huge amount of money. He decided against a shopping spree in favour for getting some more rest, he still wasn¡¯t fully recovered from the bonding and tomorrow he had plans to push as far as he could into the dungeon, with all the increases he had in his stats as well as a new affinity, he planned on really pushing himself. He knew the others were curious as to what had happened to him, but Eric and Gabe both knew he wouldn¡¯t answer their questions and Viv and Li had obviously spoken and decided it wasn¡¯t worth pushing him on it, not after everything that had happened the last day. His dreams were odd, he felt that they weren¡¯t just dreams but some long repressed memory from another being, and when he woke, although he felt rested, he didn¡¯t feel like he had the best nights sleep. His only plans for the day were a morning dungeon run, after he would do some shopping and then some crafting, lastly they had the first feast, where everyone would be coming together after the first round of fights to all celebrate the victor¡¯s. Anyone could attend the feast, including the clans and major faction reps, but it was optional so he wasn¡¯t sure who would actually go. The moment he got to the dungeon he was nothing but excited, the people around him, not so much. The moment he entered the room people looked on with no small amount of fear, he couldn¡¯t even blame them either, the last time he came out of a dungeon he let loose an aura that drove everyone to the ground, they had no idea what would happen this time. As soon as he got into the dungeon, looking at the ants that appeared, he tested out his new ice affinity immediately. He channelled the power through his body and into his hand, and with a wave, aimed to freeze every ant in front of him. They didn¡¯t even have a chance, there was very little indication that he had done anything outside of a soft blue glow coming from his hand and coating the monsters. But it was enough, they died immediately, unable to resist the deathly cold that permeated every inch of their body. He pushed through the beginning of the dungeon quickly, using it to test out what he could do with ice, what he found was that he could conjure a wind that froze everything in its path, literally turn everything surrounding him to ice, not to mention that he could summon ice into any shape he wished, testing this out by creating spears and sending them flying at sparrows. He was an unstoppable force, wherever he moved only icy death followed. When he got to the wolves they didn¡¯t stand a chance, they couldn¡¯t even approach him without feeling the bite of death from his glowing hands. The whole experience was incredible. When the alpha tried to attack him on the 15th wave, it got within inches of his skin before it too joined the other wolves in death, unable to overcome the power the he wielded. What made the entire experience so much better was that he now had so much mana that he had no need to hold back, it had more than doubled in a day due to the new affinity and his heritage. But that wasn¡¯t the only changes he felt, his body, his mind, it was as if every monster moved in slow motion, he could process everything he saw in less than a second and his body moved so quickly, with so much force, that no monster could bare the attacks that he set on them. When he got to the worms he was able to weave his way through them when they rose, quicker than they could attack, and dispatch them with no issues, not even needing to use his magic to kill them. The boss, who he had struggled with before, was frozen from the body up to its head, incapable to denying the ice that spread through it. It was truly glorious. He hadn¡¯t managed to get any levels in the first 20 waves, but he also wasn¡¯t getting any bonus experience until the last few waves. He knew he was close to getting to the next level though, he felt it. *Wave 20 Completed ¨C Wave 21 starting in 1 minute* Finally. He thought, this was where he had to quit last time, but this time things were different. The cold from the Frost Giants was not going to hold him back, he could embrace the chill, the cold, and use it however he wished. The moment he appeared in the new landscape he felt the cold but it wasn¡¯t anything like last time, he felt comfortable and he found that connecting to all of the snow and ice around him was as easy as breathing to him. The Frost Giants appeared, standing tall and definitely looking like they could squash him if given the chance. Like last time one of them aimed a club at him, glowing a light blue which he now fully recognised as being an offshoot of the ice element. Rather than dodge the attack he simply stood there, waiting for it to hit him. The moment he did he had a brief second of panic, worrying that it had been a stupid thing to do and that he should have just dodged it, but it was all for nothing. The attack simply got absorbed into him, his own ice magic feeding on the lesser magic the giants used, definitely frost. Now knowing that the only harm that they could do to him was going to be physical damage he decided to really test out his new stats, going all in with a physical assault until he found his limit. The giants weren¡¯t quick, at least to him, dodging their physical attacks while unleashing his own was almost child¡¯s play. They were only 4 levels higher than him but it felt more like he was 40 above them. He cut through the giants one by one, none able to even land a hit on him, the only thing letting him down was his sword, he needed a better sword now more than ever. He had the strength to truly wield a blade with impressive force, but he felt resistance in his attacks that should be there. It was now his number one thing on his to do list after the dungeon, he was going to craft a sword to rival anything he had ever made before. The giants fell to his blade on after another, none were able to stand up to him in speed or strength, too quickly did he finish the wave, wanting to move through to the next immediately. *Wave 21 Completed ¨C Wave 22 starting in 1 minute* *You have defeated a (Frost Giant ¨C Lvl 45). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 5000 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ *You have defeated a (Frost Giant ¨C Lvl 45). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 5000 TE awarded* *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 44. +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 42. +16 Ap gained* He knew he had been close to a level, but seeing it was always nice. When he looted each of the Frost Giants, he obtained each of their weapons. More useless loot. Doing the quick math he would have over 150 weapons by the time he had cleared the next 4 waves. The next 3 waves went about the same way as the first one, he continued doing the entire thing with just his sword, enjoying the feeling of really pushing his body. Nothing had changed with the increase in both the levels of the giants or the number of them, they all fell by his blade. On the 25th wave things finally got a bit more interesting, the boss had made its appearance and it did not disappoint. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. * Frost Giant King ¨C Level 50* It was almost funny how predictable the dungeon was sometimes. The king was taller, beefier and stronger than the others, it also wore a pendant around it neck, within it a blue gem that looks nice and shiny. The 29 normal giants stood behind their king but didn¡¯t advance in front of it. It was only when the king lifted up its giant sword and the blue gem started to glow, did Shaun notice what was happening. The dungeon was getting colder, the snow was being whipped up into a frenzy and ice started to form in the air. If he didn¡¯t have an ice affinity he probably would have frozen, as it was he simply acknowledged the changes and stood waiting for something more to happen. He didn¡¯t have to wait long, when the temperature suddenly plummeted even further an explosion of snow and ice was blasted towards him from the king. It probably would have killed him if it had been only a day ago, as it was though he simply let the attack fly over him, even the sharp icicles that were sent his way did no damage, almost as if they recognised him as having full control over them, they simply were commanded to stop once they got to his skin, forming a wall of shrapnel made of ice. Once the attack stopped he parted the wall, manipulating the icicles to allow him to pass. He made eye contact with the king, simply acknowledging its useless attack with a nod before giving it a cruel smile. Let¡¯s see how you like it. With a thought he sent every single one of the shards of ice back at the giants, hundreds of them flew through the air, quicker than even the kings attack. The giants couldn¡¯t stop the barrage of tiny icicles, it pierced them over and over, ripping them to shreds. One by one they fell in pools of blood, until only the king remined, barely standing in front of its fallen kin. It had been fun, seeing the attack turned back on his enemy, but what he really wanted was a great finishing number. Shaun pointed his gauntlet at the king, using a comical amount of mana in the process to power an attack. Then with a thought he sent a fire strike directly at it. The king wasn¡¯t quick enough to dodge, too big and slow to truly move out of the way, and when the strike hit it in the chest the resulting blast of fire completely engulfed it. Steam blew into the air afterwards, blocking his vision, but that didn¡¯t stop the notifications. *Wave 25 Completed ¨C Wave 26 starting in 1 minute* *You have defeated a (Frost Giant ¨C Lvl 49). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 5800 TE awarded* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ *You have defeated a (Frost Giant King ¨C Lvl 49). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 5800 TE awarded* *You have defeated a (Frost Giant ¨C Lvl 50). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained. 6000 TE awarded* *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 45. +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul gained* He looted the king first, and obtained what was called The Amulet of Winters Fury, it was a fitting name considering what it did, but in all honesty useless to him now that he had the ice element. He could still have some fun dismantling it though and using the gem in crafting something. *Wave 26 Commencing* He was ready for what was to come, some part of him had expected the environment to change but it weirdly stayed the same. What did change though was the monsters, all around him he felt them appear, 30 of them, blending in with their surroundings. Not that it stopped him from knowing they were there. He quickly pinpointed one and identified it. *Snow Leopard ¨C Level 50* And here we go again. Shaun remembered what it was like to fight the lioness and lion back in the second stage, even the panthers in the forest. Cats were quick and lethal, but this time he was ready for it. When the first leopard made it move from behind him, he felt it. It wasn¡¯t just moving on top of the snow, it was moving within it, almost as if it could become one with its surroundings. As soon as it made the move to attack though Shaun turned so quickly that not only did he have time to move out of the way but he was able to cut through its neck before it even had a chance to hit the ground. He let out a huff of frustration, he had hoped that these leopards were going to prove more of a challenge but it seemed that the increase to his stats were still too much for even a monster nearly 10 levels above him. He killed them all as they came at him, he even got to the point where he was using both his sword and the claws in his gauntlet as they tried to overwhelm him with sheer numbers, but it was so pointless that he started to get even more annoyed at how slow they were actually attacking him. The 26th wave came and went without a level, getting nothing but pelts from the damn leopards. The 27th was the same, as was the 28th, but at least that time he got a level in both his class and race. The 29th was equally as boring. He had hopes for the 30th wave with he boss, a monster called a Cloning Snow Leopard, but the only exciting thing about it was that it was able to completely dematerialise into snow, which made it slightly harder to kill, especially when it seemed to be able to create multiple replicas of itself from the snow around it which meant he had to keep killing the damn things until it finally lost the energy to create clones and he could just kill it. The loot was even less exciting that what he had gotten previous, just the full pelt which had the power to replicate the wearer, but only for a moment and not very often, the only upside was that it looked cool. Just before the start of the 31st wave the environment finally shifted, assuming that it would do so every 10 waves now, but he was greeted by a desert, a sandy, barren dessert. The monsters were at least different, although he couldn¡¯t find any part of them that seemed like it would cause him any real issues when killing them. *Sandstorm Scorpion ¨C Level 55* The most annoying thing about the dungeon now was the sand that kept trying to blow in his eyes, which he resolved quickly with just parting the air in front of him with his element. He realised pretty quickly though that the sand wasn¡¯t the most annoying thing, when he made his first cut into a scorpion, taking off its stinger, he found that the entire appendage dissolved into sand and then quickly returned to the scorpion, the stinger reforming within seconds. After that he decided to just let loose, he had more mana than he knew what to do with, so he put his sword away and decided to just go crazy with his two most powerful elements. Anywhere that lightning struck glass would be left behind, the scorpions crystallising and shattering when struck, those that were unlucky enough to be frozen solid found were quickly dispatched by ordering the ice to simply explode. The wave ended and thankfully he was rewarded with another level. The loot was the poisonous stinger from the scorpions, something that he considered playing around with. Shaun rampaged his way through wave after wave, gaining another level on the 33rd and then another on the 35th. The boss was a Tri-tailed Sand Scorpion, and at level 60 it didn¡¯t go down easily. It had the ability to launch stingers from its tails, each one a deadly attack. It left him dodging almost nonstop until he decided enough was enough and simply froze it at the same time as calling down a bolt of lightning, its body blasted into hundred of pieces. That was when he learnt that you can¡¯t loot a body that no longer existed enough to count as a body. He was still pretty happy about reaching level 49 in his class though and getting to level 44 in his race. When he went into the 36th wave he was greeted by Dessert Vipers, vicious snakes that slithered through the sand and aimed to eat him whole. Killing them was easier than the scorpions, purely because they couldn¡¯t reform when cut to pieces. But when he got to the 37th wave he was pissed, there was still only 40 monster¡¯s and they were still only level 60. The entire thing was a joke. He completed the waves over and over but nothing changed. He had capped out, this was the best the dungeon could do. It wasn¡¯t until he completed the 40th wave, killing a Jewel headed Viper and gaining another level, putting him at level 50 in his class did he decide enough was enough. But thankfully he got a nice reward from it, apparently level 50 was the special number. *New Class Skill Available: Please choose from one of the following options:* Book 2: Chapter 30 When Shaun appeared outside of the dungeon he was giddy with joy, he had expected people to crowd around him to see if anything interesting would happen like the last time he left the dungeon but the complete opposite had occurred, there was practically no one in sight. Guess people didn¡¯t want to have another experience like last time. Rather than checking the reward from the dungeon he went straight into his skill selection, something he had been waiting for since getting his new class. *[Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade ¨C Using one of the elements to create a mirror image of a blade you hold, forming a copy of it made completely from one of your bonded elements. The blade will be independent from its physical copy, capable to attacking and defending using your mind as the controlling factor. The number of blades able to be formed is dependent on skill level, for each 10 levels one extra blade can be created.* The first skill was incredible, being able to literally form extra blades using his elements was a skill that would push his ability to fight even higher than it was now. Creating one extra blade was great, but being able to create even more when the skill levelled was just so overpowered. Regardless of if he was to fight a monster one on one or even a group, the skill would come in handy. His mind was flooded with ideas on how he could use it, and the more he thought about it the more he wanted it. *[Advanced] Elemental Shift ¨C The skill allows you to fully transform yourself into a bonded element, shifting yourself from your physical state into that of the element of choice. Depending on the element used effects of shifting into the element will change.* What the fuck! He had seen how great being able to shift yourself into an element was, in fighting it did wonders for getting up close to your enemy without any notice. The fact that he could shift into any of his bonded elements was also a huge advantage. If he wanted to move unseen, turn yourself into air. Move from on place to another in an instant, hello lightning bolt. Need to tank some attacks? Can just turn into earth. Everything about the skill was great. *[Advanced] Elemental Summons ¨C Through locking off a portion of your mana you can summon a creature to fight by your side, formed completely of one of your bonded elements. The overall strength of the summon creature is dependent on the amount of mana locked down on the initial summons. The amount of creatures able to be summoned is dependent on skill level, for each 10 levels 1 extra creature can be summoned.* He loved fighting alone, not having to worry about anyone else, but this skill changed that. He could summon a creature, eventually multiple of them, all using his most powerful elements. He could literally create his own team, using nothing but his mana, and tailor them to any situation. The downside of the skill was locking down mana during the summons, but he had so much of it at this point that it was a non-issue. He now had a choice to make, he had three skills to choose from and he wanted every single one of them. What was worse, he doubted he would get another choice of skills until he reached level 75. Once he hit level 25 he went into an advanced class and got a lot of new skills and upgrades, then at level 50 got the next choice. He knew D grade was level 125, so it made sense that it would be new skills at 50, 75, 100 and then a full upgrade at 125. Whatever skill he chose he needed to be certain of it. ¡°Earth to Shaun! You look like you are having a conniption there.¡± Shaun turned to who had spoken, someone he hadn¡¯t seen in a minute, Louisa. ¡°Oh, yeah. Just have an issue that I¡¯m trying to solve.¡± ¡°Anything I can help with? I can be all kinds of helpful you know.¡± He knew she was trying to be flirty, but to him it was just annoying. ¡°You know what, sure. I am picking a new skill for my class, kind of stuck on what to choose.¡± ¡°Wait, seriously? I haven¡¯t got a new skill since I got to level 25!¡± ¡°Yeah level 50 is the number you want.¡± Her eyes widened and she took a small step back. ¡°So, I can choose from literally creating weapons from nothing, being able to wield them with my mind, being able to completely dematerialise and shift into an element at will or summon powerful creatures tied to different elements who will obey by command and fight by my side. Which would you choose?¡± Louisa looked at him, her mouth opening and closing like she was trying, and failing, to get words out. ¡°You know what, fuck you Shaun.¡± She said and just walked away, stomping like a child. Rather than follow her, or even respond, he started to try a figure out his choices. The first to go was the summoning skill, he had made it this far alone he could keep going without it. The seconds was the mirror blade skill, he needed a new weapon, but he could craft one and it would suit his needs. What he didn¡¯t have and couldn¡¯t get was a skill that literally let him shift his entire body. *Skill Gained*: [Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 1) With that done he moved onto the next thing he needed to complete while still in the dungeon area, afterwards he would find the others and go shopping. *Calculating dungeon reward grade* Wave 40 cleared. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon entered alone. Adjusting reward grade. Dungeon reward grade: A *Distributing reward at A level* *10 Silver coin* *Scarinian Egg* *[Advanced] Scarinian Egg: An ingredient used in alchemical creations, most commonly used in the production of elixir¡¯s relating to enhancing the concentration of mana.* This was the first time he had ever heard of mana concentration, and his curiosity was peaked. The egg was no bigger than a chicken egg but it was gold in colour. He now had another stop on his shopping spree, to the alchemist. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! When he left the dungeon he set out to find his friends, Eric and Gabe he found recovering in their room and when he told them they were going shopping they jumped at the opportunity. Finding Viv and Li was much harder, but eventually found them both getting a drink in the only bar in the tutorial. Viv looked a little down and Li seemed to be consoling her on something, but he didn¡¯t hesitate to walk up to them. ¡°Up for a shopping trip?¡± He interrupted them, although they seemed like they were having a break in their conversation. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough money to buy anything, we are still all saving for Li¡¯s gem.¡± Viv said, not really making eye contact. ¡°That¡¯s fine, today¡¯s trip is on me. I don¡¯t know if you heard, but I am rich now.¡± Shaun couldn¡¯t stop the chuckle from escaping, he had never been rich, he had always saved every penny he could, but never enough to be considered wealthy in any regard. ¡°We cant just¡­¡± ¡°Nope, no arguing, we shop!¡± He interrupted Viv¡¯s protests, knowing where she was going to go with them. The first stop they went to was the gem store where he had previously made the arrows and gotten the shards and slivers previously. ¡°Hey Jack! How¡¯s it going?¡± Shaun greeted the man fondly, he had enjoyed his time with the man the other night so was happy to see him again. ¡°Shaun! My boy! So good to see you again! Tell me, have you made the final arrow yet?¡± Jack beamed when he saw Shaun, truly happy for him to have returned. ¡°Not yet, its on my list of things to do though, I will come back and craft them here with you when I am free next.¡± ¡°Wonderful, I look forward to it.¡± Jack then greeted the others who had followed him in the store. ¡°So I assume your back to buy then? From what I hear you have come into a tidy sum.¡± What followed was a rather enjoyable experience, Shaun purchased the gem for Li¡¯s bracelet, but also purchased a few things for himself, including a number of stones and gems that he planned to use in crafting a new weapon as well as into some of his own armour. They then went to the weapons store where he purchased 2 new bows, one for Gabe and one for Viv, they both needed the upgrades and they were relatively cheap when compared with the mountain of gold he had. The next stop on his shopping journey was for leather, when he walked into the store he immediately went up to the person running the shop. ¡°Hi, I would like to see the best leather you have, specifically materials that can be made into leather armour. Needs to be durable and very flexible, also very resistant to elemental damage.¡± ¡°What your budget?¡± the person who should have been serving him was barely paying any attention, he hadn¡¯t even looked up from whatever book he was reading. ¡°Depends on what you have.¡± The man looked up at him then and the moment he saw who he was speaking to his entire demeanour changed. ¡°Apologies, sir, I will bring you samples of the most suitable leathers we have in stock.¡± At least fame can be useful for something. When the man came back he had a dozen samples all on top of a chest. They were all laid out on the counter when Shaun was given the go ahead that he could pick them up and inspect them. Some were more in the traditional looking leather, all from different monsters, but none really sparked his interest, there was a sample of the Wyrm scale leather, but when he identified it he found that is was from a youngling and that reduced the durability and resistance a lot. Curious he asked what was in the chest. ¡°Well, sir, this is the best material I have, something that I won¡¯t part with easily as it took a lot for me to acquire it.¡± When the man opened the chest what he saw inside immediately caught his attention, it was Wyrm scale leather, but this stuff was much better than that from the young Wyrm. It was of the deepest black, the scales were easily an inch big each, and the leather radiated a power that spoke of age and experience. Whatever the Wyrm was, it had been powerful, ore powerful than anything Shaun had ever seen. ¡°May I¡± Shauna sked, indicating if he could pick up the leather. The man gave him a hesitant nod before Shaun picked it up. In his hands he felt an intense feeling of foreboding, of fear, something he hadn¡¯t felt in a while. It was hard to move past but when he did he really took in how exquisite the material was. If he had to guess, he would say that even his most powerful attacks would have a hard time cracking through these scales, but the scales remained flexible, soft even. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°It would depend on how much of the material you wanted, sir.¡± ¡°All of it.¡± There was no way he would be leaving here without it if he could afford it. ¡°All of it! Sir, I understand you are the most powerful person in this tutorial, but the cost of this leather is counted in gold, hundreds of it.¡± ¡°Okay, how many hundred?¡± This is getting tedious. ¡°I¡­.for all of the leather in this chest, I would part ways with it for 300, no, 350 gold coin.¡± ¡°Deal!¡± Shaun practically shouted at the man. ¡°350 for all of it. And we will need some other leather for the three of them.¡± Referring to Gabe, Viv and Li. ¡°No. You have bought us enough. We need to work for the rest. We cant have you do everything for us, we need something to work towards Shaun.¡± Viv responded, looking very adamant about it too. He had spent a decent amount of coin on them today but it wasn¡¯t like he couldn¡¯t afford more. Although she had a point, they needed to also do something for themselves, if only to make sure they weren¡¯t feeling like they only got to where they were because of him. Still she was now very much in his debt. He didn¡¯t bother arguing, he instead just bought his new leather and they left the store, the man left in stunned silence behind the counter. They quickly went to buy some different types of metal, enough for him to craft a new sword and some other bits and pieces. And lastly, they made a stop at the alchemist. When they entered Alxeria cackled at him. ¡°So the all powerful human has returned, and what does he want from dear old Alxeria today?¡± The woman seemed to find his presence there entertaining, he had no idea why though. ¡°I recently acquired this.¡± He took out the egg and placed it in front of her on the counter. ¡°Something to do with mana concentration. Got any thoughts?¡± Alxeria reached down and picked up the egg, inspecting every inch of it. ¡°It is a good reward, incredibly so. Mana concentration doesn¡¯t effect how much mana you have, but how powerful it is. Think of it as quality vs quantity. Yes, I can make a fine elixir with the egg, it won¡¯t be cheap though, not that you cant afford it.¡± She cackled at her own comment. ¡°But the elixir would be wasted, you want to take it when you are in the end of E grade at the earliest, later for most. You would want 10,000 mana to take full benefits from it.¡± ¡°Perfect, how much to make it?¡± ¡°Do you need to have your ears cleaned human? I said 10,000 mana.¡± The elf eyed him, she wasn¡¯t angry but focused on his reaction. ¡°It wont be a problem. So how much?¡± He was starting to hate the back and forward he was having to deal with when going into some of these stores. Thankfully this would be the last for a while. ¡°My, the secrets you must have. If others knew what you had, I think they would do anything to tear it from you and take it as their own.¡± The elf took the egg in her hands again. ¡°50 gold, and I will even make you that body elixir with the root for no cost.¡± He quickly handed over the root and paid, making for the exit immediately. ¡°Come back in 3 days, it will be ready by then. And be careful what you tell others human. People kill for the strength of others.¡± When everything was done he made his way back to his room, he had hours before the feast and he knew exactly what he was going to craft first. The moment he was alone he inspected the material again. **[Epic] Adult Death Wyrm Scale Leather: The leather from a fully grown Wyrm that focused on bringing fear and death to all of its foe. The leather holds the remnant power of the living Wyrm, inducing fear into those who look upon it and heralding their death.** The leather was already epic and the more he looked upon it the more he fell in love. He imagined himself wearing it, armour that clung to his skin, and all that looked upon him would know only death. The idea was captivating an allure he didn¡¯t even know existed within him, but the scales bought out that primal urge to conquer, to show everyone that he was at the top of the food chain, or would be at least. The only thing left was to create the masterpiece that he would wear proudly, and he had nothing to do but make sure he gave everything he had to making perfection. Book 2: Chapter 31 When it came time to head to the feast, Shaun couldn¡¯t hold back his excitement, not because he was going to have to attend another social event, but because over the hours he had worked nonstop on creating the perfect armour from the scales. He had utilised every single bit of the leather, effectively coasting his entire body in the material. When he looked into the mirror he didn¡¯t even recognise who he was looking at. He wore a full sleeves top that clung to his muscles, showing off the definition of his shoulders and torso, the pants similarly clung to him but were double lined in some areas, affording more room for movement, which lead down into his boots which he had made out of the leather, needing to utilise several different materials he had to get a shape and fit. If that had been all he had done it would have been an impressive piece set of armoured clothing, but he hadn¡¯t stopped there. Shaun had created full circuits of runes, linking in powerful shards throughout the material, which he ended up running and buying as soon as he had the idea. The result was a continuous system of powerful runes and spells aimed at boosting the material, both its durability and flexibility as well as resistance. Like the suit of armour he had made Eric, the armour he wore gave him a boost in stats, a flat 20% bonus to his physical attributes. But what was more was that the circuit of power he had created had taken on a death attunment, seemingly from the material itself, causing the entire outfit to radiate its own aura of death. He didn¡¯t feel the aura when he was wearing it but he knew if he pushed out with his own aura that it would amplify that feeling, causing others to be rooted with fear and expecting their own demise. Because he was going to a formal event he also decided to make something to put over the top of it. Hanging over his shoulders like a cape was the pelt from the snow leopard boss, which he had made into an impressive piece of clothing, he enhanced the feeling of frost and chilling cold that radiated from it, adding in his own ice element to really enhance the feeling. Where he moved all would feel not only the effects of the clothing but also the chill of death. When he heard the knock on his door he knew it was time to head out, when he opened the door he found Eric and Gabe both there, dressed in their best attire. The moment they saw him he wondered if maybe he had gone a bit too far with the outfit. Gabe started actually whimpering, looking like he was going to drop into the fetal position at any moment. For Eric it was different, he simply closed his eyes, tears started falling down his face, as if he had accepted that his death was here and there was nothing he could do to stop it. ¡°Both of you! Snap out of it!¡± When they didn¡¯t respond he pinched both of them, not gently either, and they both came back to reality, although barely. ¡°Its just the new armour I made, its fine, I¡¯m not going to hurt you.¡± They seemed to calm down a bit, still hesitant to look at him. ¡°I felt like I was going to d- die, like actually die just from looking at y-you. You feel like a grim reaper, like you have come for my s-soul.¡± Gabe got out eventually trembling as he spoke. ¡°You know this is supposed to be a party right?¡± Eric managed to get out. ¡°Not some gathering for you to slaughter everyone and everything you can?¡± Shaun couldn¡¯t hold back his laugh, his new armour was insane, he tried to pull it back in, dampening the effects which me managed to do quite a bit but no matter what, the effect was still present. ¡°Its cool though, right?¡± ¡°If by cool you mean completely and utterly terrifying, sure.¡± They both seemed to be adjusting now that he was focusing on pulling the aura back in, but it was a slow process. ¡°Are you guys ready to go?¡± He was even more excited now than he had been. ¡°You¡¯re not actually wearing that, right?¡± Gabe gave him a fearful look. ¡°You realise that no one is going to be able to stand being anywhere near you. But I guess that¡¯s the point?¡± He just smiled at him, as if Gabe had read his mind, he would be able to get through the night without having to deal with a majority of the people attending, it was perfect. They were officially running late, not by much, only 5 minutes or so, but apparently that was enough as most people had already found there way in, the tutorial was a ghost town, they saw maybe 2 people the entire walk there. When they did make it there was someone waiting at the door who approached him as soon as he came in sight. The woman, looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here, she couldn¡¯t make eye contact with him and he could have sworn he saw her hands trembling. ¡°M-m-master Shaun.¡± She stopped and took in a deep breath, trying to ground herself. He was still holding back the aura of death and still the woman, who was probably in D grade, could barely stand to be near him. ¡°Sir. I have been told to inform you that you will take the seat at the head of the feast. Once you enter all of those present will move to their own seats while you walk through to your own table at the peak of the room.¡± ¡°I get my own table? Away from everyone else?¡± This is perfect! ¡°Yes sir. All those who wish to approach you will need to approach you at your table. As the Master of Feast it is your decision whether to allow them up to your table or send them away. You will be the one in control tonight, all of those from the major powers have decided not to attend tonight, leaving you in control.¡± ¡°Right. Okay.¡± He didn¡¯t know why they had left this all to him, but there was something at play here with the reps that he couldn¡¯t figure out. ¡°When do I have to go in?¡± ¡°In 5 minutes Master.¡± The woman looked down then, seeming to decide whether she should speak further. ¡°If I may, Sir. Usually when the Master of Feast enters they show all of those present their power using their aura, to prove they are worthy of the title.¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°So you are saying that when I enter, I should unleash the strongest aura I can manage?¡± That seemed weird, the last time he released his aura people collapsed, and now it would be laced with fear and death, a combination that would have a huge effect on the other people present. ¡°Yes sir, but not enough to kill anyone.¡± With that she walked away, bowing deeply before leaving. He didn¡¯t understand why the aura thing was important but if it was something that was normal in the multiverse he figured that he should embrace it, even if it was going to go poorly. When the 5 minutes passed, Eric and Gabe having already gone in, he walked up to the double doors which were closed and as soon as he approached, they swung open from the inside, two people pulling them open. From inside he heard the announcement that the Master of the Feast would now grace them with his presence, and that he took as his queue to continue moving forward. When he entered he held his head high, the room was full of people, those form Earth and the clans, all mingling together. As soon as he appeared though, all the clan members lowered their head to him, while those from Earth simply stared. As he took a few step in he started to release first the aura that his armour gave off. The effect was instantaneous, all those who were unfortunate enough to be near him immediately paled, the overwhelming sense of fear to much for them. But when he unleashed his own aura into the mix, allowing his full power to be sent into the room, the effects amplified. Many people dropped to the ground, even some of those form the clans, he heard glasses smashing on the ground as people dropped what was in their hands, their only focus on staying standing and not giving into the effect of his aura of death. People started to cry, he even heard someone sobbing loudly. He felt bad for what he was causing everyone to go through, they didn¡¯t deserve it, so he quickly walked through the crowd and reached his table where he immediately clamped down on his aura fully and sat in his chair. He got his first good look around the room, seeing the aftermath of his entrance. Most of the people present were a mess, many of the clan members that had fared better than others helping those that needed it. People came out from hidden rooms to clean the mess that was made in places, but what was most noticeable to him was that no one, not even his friends, would look him in the eye. ¡°Once you are ready. Or when everyone else is ready, you can tell them all to sit and make a speech.¡± This was said by, who he assumed, was his personal attendant, who had faired better than anyone else in the room, which showed she wasn¡¯t just their to help him, she was there to watch him as well. What annoyed him was the fact he had to make some kind of speech, he hated speeches, he was much more for actions speaking louder than words. Although he had already done that using his aura. Once everyone looked to be standing, or in some cases clinging, to their chairs, he spoke. ¡°Please, everyone be seated.¡± Damn that¡¯s weird. Everyone moved when he spoke, pulling out their chairs and taking their seats. ¡°I have been told that I need to make a speech, although I really don¡¯t know about what.¡± They apparently thought he was joking, or maybe just being polite, as many of the people in the room gave him a laugh, although to him it sounded forced. ¡°So, what I am going to talk about is going to be what we have all been through. It¡¯s been over 2 months since we were all torn from our homes, our planet, and thrown into a kill or be killed situation where we have been forced to play along like in some video game. We all know someone that has died, hell a lot of people in this room have probably been forced to kill someone.¡± The more he spoke the more the people of Earth nodded along, starting to go deep in thought, reliving their time in the tutorial so far, those from the clans looked on more curious as to where he was going. ¡°The first message we got from the system told us that if we weren¡¯t strong than we were nothing. If we didn¡¯t fight, we would die. What it didn¡¯t tell us was that we didn¡¯t have to do it alone. I mean, sure, I prefer to fight alone, but what I am trying to say is that when each and every one of us goes into a dungeon, putting our life on the line to gain experience, to get levels, to be more powerful, we aren¡¯t doing it just for ourselves. Each one of us represents Earth, whatever that may look like when we go back there. And when everyone in the multiverse, every person in the clans and powers looks at us they aren¡¯t just seeing one person who is strong, who is fighting for their lives. They are seeing that each and every person from our home, our planet, will do whatever it takes to gain the power to protect ourselves. We have always fought for our people and our countries, the only difference is now, we fight for our entire planet! We are not weak! Every single person here is one of the strongest people to come through the tutorial, you may compare yourself to me or to any of the others that stand at the top, but what you seem to forget is that all of you are also standing at the peak.¡± He had gone off on some weird tangents so far, speeches were not his strong suit, but he was going to finish with a bang. ¡°Everyone here needs to realise their worth, do not look at the clans and the powers and give up everything we have gained, everything that we still stand to gain, by splitting ourselves up and joining whoever can throw the most money at you or offer you the best deal. We are all stronger together, fighting together, for Earth!¡± The reaction from his people, the people of Earth was overwhelming, they stood from their chairs and cheered, they yelled, some even started chanting ¡°Earth, Earth, Earth¡± over and over again. The reaction from the clans, was less pleasant, he had just said not to give up on Earth for the shiniest clan that walks by, which was probably the exact opposite of what the clans wanted to hear. But he had meant what he said. If the strongest people of Earth all split up and joined any clan that came their way, it would cause mayhem back on Earth, at the very least it would tear the strongest of them away and leave their planet defenceless. Eventually, once everyone had calmed back down, food and drinks were served and the mood at the feast was incredible. He didn¡¯t leave his table but it seemed that the people of Earth had found reason to celebrate, mostly with each other. At one point he made eye contact with Viv, who just smiled the biggest smile he had ever seen from her back at him, mouthing the words ¡®Thank you¡¯, before returning to her own conversation. ¡°Sir, your presence is requested in one of the private rooms.¡± His attendant said to him. He just nodded and followed her out, no one really paying much attention to him at this point. When he was led into a room, the woman closed the door behind them, he looked around but there was no one but the two of them there. ¡°Who am I meeting ex¡­..¡± When he turned around to look back at the attendant, the woman standing there was not the same person was the woman who had entered with him. She looked like the same beings that were in the memory, the ones where he had stood in the place of the Nephilim, looking at the queen called Elivasia. ¡°Your¡­¡± ¡°Fae. And we must speak Shaun Clermont, and we do not have long to do so.¡± Book 2: Chapter 32 Shaun¡¯s mind was going so quickly that it was hard to keep track of everything that was suddenly falling into place. Queen Elivasia was Fae, which meant she was part of The Alliance, if she was still alive he would put money on the fact that she was the one called The Betrayer, their ruler. The great war, the one he had found just a single reference too, it was the Nephilim, in alliance with the Dragon and the Fae. But they lost, the Nephilim were all killed, except maybe they weren¡¯t Azreal created and gifted the legacy, what was now his heritage, how he didn¡¯t know, but the why was becoming clearer, they had lost the war, but the Nephilim would not end, not if Azreal succeeded. The legacy was a way for them to continue living, if not in body, in spirit. The moment he realised this he felt himself pulled into another memory, he again stood in the place of the Nephilim, but this time he was privy to a private conversation between himself, Queen Elivasia and another, a being that looked like a man but their eyes looked reptilian. ¡°One day the legacy will awaken, and with it change will come. It will not be soon, eras will pass, but when the boy awakens you must find him, see him to safety, he will hold the key to everything we have fought for, but only if he lives.¡± ¡°How will we know it is time? How will we find the boy?¡± Queen Elivasia questioned him. ¡°Elivasia, Shrakein, you will feel the shift, you both, who have always stood by our side. Once the spark of the legacy ignites you will feel a connection to him, I have made the legacy to be tied to not just the Nephilim but the Fae and the Dragons too.¡± ¡°And what do we do with the boy?¡± Shrakein questioned. ¡°Train him, allow him to learn and grow. As he evolves it will become clear what his role will be, but telling you more will risk everything. He is the last chance we have. Queen Elivasia of the Fae, King Shrakein of the Dragon, do you both swear to me that you will do everything you can for the child?¡± ¡°It shall be so, mighty Nephilim.¡± King Shrakein answered, followed soon by the Queen Elivasia. In an instant Shaun was back in his own body, in had seemed that no time had passed in real life, but the memory was stuck in his mind, as clear as if he had lived it himself. ¡°Listen closely Shaun, I promise you I am here to help. I was sent by¡­¡± ¡°Queen Elivasia¡± He answered for her. ¡°Yes¡­ how do you know that.¡± The Fae was staring at him with wide eyes, a hand on the blade by her side. ¡°You are here to make sure I join The Alliance, to take me back to be trained, to learn, from the Fae and Dragons, just like they promised.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± She said, releasing her hand from the weapon. ¡°You know what I hold? Did they tell you?¡± He asked her. ¡°No, just that I was to watch, remain undetected, and look for any sign of a boy that showed signs of being more unique than he should be. When I found you it was confirmed that you were who we seek, that I should do all I can to keep you safe and bring you back.¡± ¡°But you can¡¯t yet, can you? The tutorial has to end first right?¡± there was no leaving a tutorial early, he knew that, it had been spoken about enough with the clans and reps that everyone had to go into and complete a tutorial, there was no leaving early. ¡°Yes, but I can give you this.¡± She pulled out a coin, on one side was the face of the Fae Queen and the other a dragon. ¡°When you go back to your planet you will be able to use it. It will bring you straight to the Palace, right to the Queen.¡± ¡°Does it have to be used straight away? Is there a timer on it?¡± He needed to know what kind of window he had, whether it was something he would need to use immediately or something that could wait, until he was ready. ¡°It can be used whenever you so wish it, either as soon as you are back on your planet or in 10 years time. But it will only work for you. But do not let anyone know that you have it, if you a found with that coin on you, the result would be less than pleasant.¡± One of her ears flicked back, almost so quickly he didn¡¯t even see it. ¡°We do not have much longer left. You must know that you have caught the attention of people that you really do not want focusing on you, yes? That these people will not be happy if you do not choose to join them?¡± He had already thought about this, no matter what major faction he chose to join he was going to end up making a lot of people angry. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°My advice, Shaun, is to use the coin the moment you can. But if you don¡¯t, know that your planet will be safe from any outside interference for 1 year, no more. During that time a leader must be chosen, and the planet declared to a clan or faction. Do not, by any means, take the position as ruler, no matter how tempting it may seem.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on it.¡± He reassured her. ¡°Good. If you chose not to come to us immediately, do so by the time the year is up, they will come for you, and I may not know why, but I have been informed that you will not survive once they have access to you again. Your death will be at the top of their priority list. They don¡¯t take kindly to being denied the things they want.¡± ¡°I guessed as much.¡± He knew that he wouldn¡¯t be safe if he rejected their offers, and although the coin gave him some level of protection, an escape method so to speak, there were people he cared about that didn¡¯t have the same. ¡°What will happen to my friends, to the people I care about?¡± Before she responded to him she looked at him with a mix of sorrow and pity, clear to him that he wasn¡¯t going to like what she had to say next. ¡°They will come for them, for anyone that you care about, to try and find a way to you. My advice, you need to cut ties with everyone from your planet, you need to do it soon and make it public. You need to make everyone believe that you have no one and nothing you care about. It won¡¯t be easy, on you or them. Tell them what you need to but the only way to keep them safe is to let them go.¡± ¡°Is there really no way I can bring them with me? To the Alliance I mean.¡± ¡°If I could help you I would, Shaun. But my instructions were clear, only you are able to make the journey to us, I was only provided one coin, meant only for you.¡± He wasn¡¯t happy about where this conversation had gone, having to not just leave his friends but also ensure that everyone believed they hated him, no longer had anything to do with him, it wasn¡¯t something he wanted to do. But the more he thought about it she was right. It would hurt in so many ways but if he was going to keep them safe he would need to do what she was saying. He trusted her, he didn¡¯t know why exactly but some part of him recognised that she was not just speaking the truth but that her advice was meant to help him, as much as she could anyway. ¡°I have a question though. What were they fighting for?¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The Great War, what was it about?¡± he pushed, he just didn¡¯t get why it had happened. ¡°I was not alive then, but what I do know was that it started because of hate, and greed. The other powers did not like that there was something out there that was stronger than them, would always be stronger than them. They wanted that power for themselves, so they could stand at the top and never have to see someone higher than them again. I heard your speech Shaun, you know what I speak of. The war was an annihilation, and all for power. I can not tell you more as there are those who could tell you first hand what occurred, the Queen would wish to tell you herself, I think.¡± Her ears did the flicking thing again. ¡°I must go now, before anyone knows that I have been here. Think on what I have said, make the right choice for you, Shaun.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± He yelled before she left. She stopped and looked at him with an arched brow. ¡°I never got your name.¡± ¡°It is Desrilla, but when next you see me, call me Des.¡± She said with a laugh and smile, before simply vanishing before his eyes. After Des disappeared he took a few moments to collect himself, the moment she had revealed himself he had felt almost like he was a different person, immediately there was some kind of kin ship between them. Now that she was gone though he felt like he was back to normal, mostly. Shaun left thro om and made his way back to the feast, acting as normal as he could, but not really able to stop his mind from going over everything that had been said and what he had felt during the quick meeting with the Fae. The first thing he decided on was that the legacy he had did a lot more than just make him more powerful, it was changing him, not just through affinity and stats but his mind. He had been hesitant, distrustful even, to all the other factions, from the very beginning he had a sense that the major powers were not his friends, could never be his friends, it was if they had already turned on him before ever meeting him and because of that there was already a barrier between them and him. But with the Fae? It was completely different, he felt at ease, comfortable and an overwhelming sense of belonging. If it wasn¡¯t for the memory that he had been apart of just moments ago he wouldn¡¯t have realised why, but the more he thought on it, the more it made sense. The legacy is making me more and more into a Nephilim. The more I embrace it the closer I bind myself to them. When he made it back to the feast he found that his leaving had been noticed, but no one made any motion to approach him about it, instead they went back to their own conversations. He sat back down at his table and a drink was quickly provided to him by his attendant, the same woman who had been serving him the entire time. He knew it wasn¡¯t Des, he thought he would be able to feel if it was her, so he decided continue as if nothing had ever occurred with the Fae, acting as he had been the entire time he had been there. As the feast continued on Shaun pondered what he was going to do. When it came to the major factions, he still had a number of one on one meetings to get through before being free from them, but they expected him to make a choice. He hadn¡¯t agreed to choose any of them, only agreed to not join and clan and not to make a decision on joining any of the factions until he had met with everybody, but no where did he say he would actually choose any of them to join. That meant he was safe for another week or two, but after that he would need to engage in every delaying tactic he could muster. When the tutorial was done and he was back on Earth, he would have a year, tops, before needing to leave, as Des was right, if he turned all of the reps down they would be out for blood as soon as they could get a hand on him, sooner if they managed to recruit those from Earth to do their bidding. This was where things got complicated though, this wasn¡¯t the only tutorial, there would still be millions, if not billions, returning to Earth and he was certain that many would have joined clans, even a chance some would have joined factions. He was going to piss off a lot of powerful people in the coming weeks, turning himself into a pariah, which in turn would reflect onto anyone who was closely aligned with him. The more he thought about the potential impacts of what he was going to do, the more he came to the same conclusion. He needed to cut ties with his friends, and he needed to do so publicly enough that word would get back to the major reps. He hated the idea of hurting the people he cared about, but he had very little choice in the matter. Only he would be able to escape, run to The Alliance, Des said the coin would only work for him, so leaving Eric, Gabe, Viv and even Li to deal with the mess he left behind wouldn¡¯t be fair. ¡°Hello everyone! I am here, have you missed me?¡± A voice filled the room, one everybody recognised, and when the person appeared in the air right beside Shaun¡¯s table everyone immediately stopped talking, it was Dijaun. ¡°I will not take up much of your time, I have simply come to give congratulations to our winners and provide some information that I am sure you will all find interesting.¡± Dijaun stopped talking for a moment and conjured up a drink in his hand, having an exaggerated sip so as to drag the moment out. ¡°Now to start, round two will start the day after tomorrow, and to give you all time to prepare some tactics against who you fight I have updated the boards in the arena to show who will be fighting who and when, kind of me, I know. But that isn¡¯t the interesting part, I have been given permission to tell you all a bit about what will happen if you make it back to your planet after the tutorial ends! But I don¡¯t have to tell you! You need to show me you want it first!¡± All of the crowd cheered for Dijaun, but apparently it wasn¡¯t enough as he continued trying to hype everyone up, when the first minute passed of this Shaun was starting to get annoyed, after the second minute the ridiculousness of the entire situation hit him, they were all being played. Shaun didn¡¯t appreciate what was happening, and the huge smile on Dijaun¡¯s face was enough for him to put a stop to the entire thing. Shaun released his entire aura, trying to make it as powerful as he could while focusing it on the annoying little Jinn. He didn¡¯t have that much control of his aura so everyone in the room got hit by at least a small amount of his power, the feeling of death quickly causing the entire room to go quiet. ¡°Get on with what you are here to say, or leave.¡± Shaun said to Dijaun who didn¡¯t seem to be effected by the aura, but when he looked closely he saw a bead of sweat drip down from his forehead. ¡°Yes, of course, I wouldn¡¯t want to upset the Master of the Feast now would I¡± The Jinn turned back to the crowd, with a lot less fan fair than before. ¡°I will make this quick, so as not to interrupt you further. When you are back on your planet you will find it completely changed, the world will be covered in dungeons, all the way from F to D grade, this was needed to flood your planet with mana. But it also serves a second purpose. When you complete a dungeon you will be given an opportunity to claim it, binding the area of the dungeon to a single person. You can either keep the dungeon as it is or transform the entire area, adding buildings, fields, arenas and so much more. This however doesn¡¯t come free. To claim a dungeon you need to spend the TE required to do so. To change the dungeon into something more, like a settlement, it costs even more TE. The cost of these things is dependant on what type of dungeon you are claiming and what you are wanting to do with the area. F grade dungeon are obviously going to be cheaper, but also much smaller. Whereas a D grade dungeon is going to be much more expensive but also provide much more land, and other benefits.¡± He stopped so everyone could let it sink in, giving Shaun a nervous look like he was going to force him to hurry up. ¡°Now generally the dungeons will be clustered so that a D grade dungeon will be in places of power, they will be surrounded by E grade and then further out F grade. Ownership of claimed dungeons can be exchanged or sold to others, as can TE once you leave the tutorial. But ownership of dungeons and land also has another impact, Your planet will need a leader, and to be eligible you need to be a majority holder of an area, this can be done by straight out owning the land and dungeons or by having people who do swear themselves to you. The more TE you have when leaving here the more you will be able to do on your planet. By the end of the first year outside of the tutorial, a leader must be chosen for your planet, and your planet declared to a clan, or major faction.¡± He spoke the last bit directly to Shaun as no one else had been offered a position in one of the major factions. ¡°Good luck everybody and remember, everyone here has a chance to make themselves something more than they were before. If you have lost and don¡¯t think you will be able to fight your way back in, it doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t form alliances under those with power, those that have the best chance of ruling your world. Gain TE, gain power, and rule!¡± Book 2: Chapter 33 The feast had turned into a frenzy, they now knew what the TE was for and also what would be happening after their return to Earth, the clans were being asked questions, some taking advantage and promoting what they would do for those that joined them if they became a person of power on Earth. Some, like Viv, were trying to get control of the situation, explaining to those that would listen that they needed to stick together and work as a united team, but many just ignored her at that point, with this new information they had found a way to carve out their own slice of Earth for themselves. Viv was getting nowhere and she was getting increasingly frustrated, so she did the only thing she had left to do to get control back in the room, she walked up to Shaun. ¡°Tell them Shaun! You told them before we had to work together, do it again, speak to them, please!¡± When she had walked up to his table, the first person to do so since the feast started, it drew enough attention to him that the room quieted down some. He knew what Viv wanted of him, what she was asking him to do, and he truly did want to help. But doing so in front of everyone here would not help with creating distance between them, it would do the opposite. If Shaun did what Viv wanted everyone would see that they were truly a team, that he would support her no matter what, and then she would be a target, an easy way to get at him when he left Earth and the factions descended. He hated himself for what he was about to do, but he had already come to the conclusion that he had to cut ties with everyone, for their own good. ¡°No.¡± As soon as the word left his mouth Viv stiffened. ¡°What do you mean no? We are working towards the same goal. You said you would support me with this, so help me.¡± She wasn¡¯t angry yet, but she was about to be. Shaun stood from his chair, letting just a touch of his aura out to get everyone¡¯s attention, it took a minute but everyone was soon waiting for him to speak. ¡°Earlier I said that we always fought, for our people, our countries and that we now needed to fight together for our planet.¡± The look of relief on Viv¡¯s face was clear to anyone that looked at her, and that broke him a little inside, as what he was about to say was going to hurt her more than he would have liked. ¡°But what I now realise is that what we truly need to do is fight for ourselves. You want power? Take it. You want to rule? Go ahead, try your best. No matter what anyone says or does, we will always fight to be the one that is on top. Its just human nature. We will fight and kill and the winner will reap the rewards. So go, do what you want, but remember something. None of you will ever stand on top, not unless you manage to get rid of me, and I do not like your chances. But please, fight your hearts out, I will enjoy the show.¡± He delivered the last of his speech with a cruel smile, releasing his aura bit by bit while he spoke to drive home his point, by the end his point had been made, do what you want but don¡¯t fuck with me. Instead of waiting around he walked around his table and through the crowd, passing Viv who looked devasted, hurt and broken due to what he had done. But he didn¡¯t stop or even acknowledge her, he just walked right out of the room, none moving to stop him. The moment he made it back to his room he let the guilt fill him, he shook with the amount of disgust he felt, all directed at himself. He was only left alone for a minute before there was banging at his door, he took a moment before going over to open it, trying to calm himself as much as possible. When he opened the door he had expected Viv but it seemed that everyone had joined her. They barged straight in, not bothering to wait for him to invite them inside, this was not going to be an easy or pleasant conversation. ¡°How could you do that Shaun? What changed? You need to explain this, and quickly!¡± Viv barely looked like she was holding herself together. ¡°It¡¯s complicated, but trust me when I say I am doing what¡¯s best, for all of you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe that! If you were doing what was best for us than you would have helped us when we tried to bring everyone together, not encouraged World War 3!¡± ¡°Stop! We are not going to argue about this. You don¡¯t have to believe me, but you do have to cut me out. No more talking, no more being friendly, you have to hate me. Do you understand, everyone has to believe that we all had a huge falling out, I don¡¯t care what you say to people, but make it believable. You all hate me now, can¡¯t stand me. Understood?¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t doing that Shaun! You are our friend, our family! We stick together no matter what!¡± Gabe was adamant about it too, getting distance from Viv and Li were going to be easy, but Gabe and Eric? That was going to take a lot more work. ¡°Wait! Everyone just take a breath, calm down for a moment.¡± Eric tried to rein everyone in, getting us all to bring our emotion under control. ¡°Shaun, I get you wont tell us everything, you are hiding things, we all know it. But what happened when you left the feast for you to change all of a sudden?¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. They all waited for him to reply, but he took a minute to figure out what he should share. ¡°Dijaun didn¡¯t tell us everything. Earth will be locked down for 1 year, that means no one from outside of Earth will be able to come in, and during that year a leader has to be picked, and whatever clan they belong to will then have ownership of the planet.¡± ¡°Then shouldn¡¯t you have fought for us all to fight together, we have a year without outside interference where we could have really pushed for a united planet, but you did the opposite. That doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± Eric continued, now taking the role as the interrogator. ¡°I know, but I needed to do something that would give all of you a reason to hate me, deciding to turn on everything we are fighting for? Deciding to put everyone in their place so that it looked like I was going to fight to become the ruler of Earth, that would be enough for the start of a story where you end up leaving me behind, going against me in the fight for power.¡± ¡°But that still doesn¡¯t explain why you need us to hate you in the first place?¡± ¡°Because I wont join any of the major factions, or any of the clans.¡± He informed them, when he did they looked at him like he had grown a extra head, they were no longer angry, just thoroughly confused. ¡°What do you think is going to happen when I turn down each and every one of the major reps?¡± ¡°They are going to be pissed.¡± Viv mumbled, ¡°No, they are going to be more than pissed, they won¡¯t let you stay unaffiliated. They will hunt you down, remove you before you can either join someone else or become strong enough to cause any issues.¡± She looked up at him, having come to the conclusion he needed her too. ¡°But why wont you join any of them. That¡¯s what I don¡¯t understand. They will give you anything you want, you have the ability to pick pretty much any of them, and yet you refuse to take a side. Why?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you. But know there is a reason, a good one. But if I told you, it would mean that you would be hunted down just as much as I will be. Trust me when I say you don¡¯t want to know my secrets.¡± No one said anything for a while, all of them processing the conversation in their own way. They all looked like they wanted to press for more answers but they also knew that he hadn¡¯t been joking when he spoke about the risks. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do it. I don¡¯t care about your secrets, keep them Shaun, but I won¡¯t leave you. Not now, not on Earth.¡± Shaun couldn¡¯t help but feel both happy about what Gabe had said but also a little sad, regardless he needed to get him on board with this. ¡°Gabe, I love you like a brother, but you have to go along with this. You might not ever leave me, but I have to leave you.¡± Shaun released a huge breath, hating that he would need to leave everyone he cared about behind, but he really didn¡¯t have a choice, not anymore. He had embraced the legacy, to the point that he had changed too much to be truly safe anywhere but with The Alliance. They were going to be the only ones that could teach him, allow him to grow and learn without the constant fear of the major powers coming down on him and the entire planet. ¡°Before the 1 year timer is up on Earth I will be gone. I can¡¯t tell you where or why, but I don¡¯t know if I will ever be back to Earth. I would rather leave knowing that you are safe than worrying about whether you are the next target just because you were my friends.¡± ¡°So this is it? After this we just don¡¯t speak again? Not even in private?¡± ¡°You need to publicly hate me, not just ignore me. Spread rumours, gossip, it doesn¡¯t matter. You have to make sure everyone knows that we are on bad terms. We can¡¯t risk meeting again either. You don¡¯t know who is watching. Take all of this.¡± He pulled out everything he had that they might be able to use, from gems, leathers, coin. He gave them as much as he could. ¡°If anyone asks you had it before we fought. Do everything you can to get stronger, be what our planet needs. I will always be rooting for you, remember that okay.¡± Finally, he turned to Viv. ¡°You will need to fight hard to rule. I expect that you will remember everything I have done for you and that you wont forget that when the time comes to make the hard decisions. Don¡¯t betray me. Not where it counts.¡± She gave him a nod. He had worked hard on making her what he needed. He expected that if she managed to become the ruler of Earth that it would pay off eventually. They said their goodbyes, hugging each of them before they left, and when the door closed after them a part of Shaun broke. He had lost so much in his life, but never by choice. Even now he had had to give up his friends unless he wanted to put them in harms way. This time it was a choice, if only barely. When he was alone again he couldn¡¯t find the energy to do anything productive, he showered and then got into his bed, allowing his emotions to consume him until sleep finally took him. When he slept he had dreams of horrific battles, watching people he cared about being killed in battle. He witnessed thousands fall and over and over again he wished he could do something to save them, but there was nothing he could do. He felt loss, seeing his brothers and sisters being wiped out, his entire race being butchered until he was the last one left. He was alone. When Shaun woke up he knew his dreams were not actually dreams, but more memories. He knew he had to get on with the day but he just couldn¡¯t find the energy. He decided to give himself the day to just do nothing, something he hadn¡¯t done in a long time. But when tomorrow came he had to pull it together, he needed to prepare for the year to come, if not for himself then for all those counting on him, he refused to let the Nephilim down. He was their hope, he was one of them, and he had a score to settle with the powers, he was going to revenge his people, or die trying. Book 2: Chapter 34 The first week was the hardest, he would see his friends around but they did what he had asked, they put on the show of hating him. He did the same, he would give them dismissive looks, or out right sneer at them, whatever felt like the right thing in the moment he would just go with. He took his first run at the peak E grade dungeon, it started off the same as all the others, with 5 monsters, but thankfully they also started out at level 60, and grew quickly. The format was slightly different though, instead of 5 waves of the same monster and then a boss, this dungeon added in different monsters to the mix, although all along a theme. For example, on the first 5 waves it was different types of golems, which was a great throw back to the earth dungeon. What happened was that on each wave more than one monster would be added and they would be different types, ranging from rock to steel to stone, all getting exponentially harder to fight. He had little issue getting through the waves, it was ridiculous how many levels he gained in the first run of the dungeon, it initially started off with maybe 1 level per 3 wave, but eventually it got to a point where he was gaining a level every 2 waves. When he had gained 10 levels he decided to leave the dungeon, he could have gone further but he had decided that he would need to pace himself. If he gained to may levels too quickly he would draw even more attention, questions would be asked, and he just couldn¡¯t deal with it. So rather than push himself to far in the dungeon he spent more time crafting during the day, he made his new sword, embedding so much power into it, both with runes, crystals, even the metal itself was enhanced. It was impressive, so much so that when he wielded it for the first time it was as if it was an extension of his very body. Perfect in every way. He didn¡¯t put to many spells into it, instead on focusing on pure physical power. As he was fighting monsters at a higher level he needed a sword that could be used to really slice through them. Because of that he sacrificed any magical attacks and instead focused on creating a cycle of power within the blade to increase its durability, sharpness and overall channelling ability. His next fight wasn¡¯t even a fight, the moment he got into the arena with his opponent they conceded the match. The crowd was not happy about this, apparently it was the first time someone had conceded, but he could really blame the guy, Shaun was at level 50 at that point whereas the other guy was at level 32. It was a smart decision though, as if he gave up now and continued to train hard there was a chance that they could replace one of the other top contenders later on. But if he decided to fight Shaun, and potentially not make it out of the arena at all, like what happened in his first fight, then there was no hope in coming back. He was now limiting himself to only gaining 3 class levels a day in the dungeon, even though he could really push himself to gain more, he had to restrain himself. Now that he had nothing else to craft for himself he started to make all sorts of different things, pushing his skills as much as he could. He created weapons, armour, arrows, leather goods, any thing he could think of. He wanted to try and make other growth items, but he had yet to replicate the success he had with the arrow. So he would sell what he crafted and then purchase more things from the stores to craft more. He was single handily keeping this tutorial economy alive, and it had even started joking with some of the owners around just selling everything they had to him to save them all the time. The only place he only went into once was the alchemy store. When he had went in there to collect his elixir¡¯s the elf had said something that had set him on edge. Alxeria had given him the elixir¡¯s, telling him to take both of them while she was there so she could make sure nothing went wrong. He took the body elixir first, gaining only 20 points in each of the 4 body stats, it was good but not great. The mana concentration one though was something completely different, he wouldn¡¯t say the experience hurt but when the elixir started taking effect he was unable to move, his entire mana channel constricted, it was as if the mana itself was becoming more compact. The process went on for over three hours, one by one his mana streams changed, he knew that they were getting stronger but it didn¡¯t stop him from worrying. The basic streams went the quickest and by the time they were done they shined just a bit brighter, the advanced ones though, they took so much time that he was wondering if they would ever end. Eventually though he was done and the look that he was given by the alchemist was terrifying. She told him, after the fact, that the stronger and more affinity one has in their mana channels the longer the elixir takes. She went on to tell him that even with 2 basic and one advanced that it should have only taken a little over an hour, then she questions him on why it took over 3. After that he made some excuse, saying she had obviously screwed up and he left, but her laughing as he did was still playing in his mind days later. His second fight went the same way as the first, apparently, he now had some reputation, if you went into the arena with him you weren¡¯t going to make it out, and people actually believed it. He thought about correcting it but then decided against it, he was growing in level, fast, and the gap between him and everyone else was not closing, only growing wider. There were questions as to how he was doing it, what exactly it meant to be an Elemental Blade Slinger, but no one would dare approach him to ask, and no one wanted to risk fighting him to find out. By the time the week was over he had met with 5 more of the major reps, the first was Collective of Beastial Creatures rep Polrias, It wasn¡¯t as bad as some of the others but it was definitely weird, they mostly spoke about why he wanted Shaun to join them, mostly so that he could father cross breeds with some of the more human like creatures that were part of the faction, in the hopes that his class and power could be passed into their faction, he was offered whatever he wanted in return. It was such an odd conversation that he had to try and not laugh when they asked him what he liked in a creature. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The Holy Light and The Nine circles went one after the other, and he honestly felt that it went the same way as when he spoke to the Life and Death faction. Quinter from The Holy Light went on about their war with hell, why he needed to fight the great fight and so on. It was hard to even make it through without just telling them to shut up about their beef with demons, he just didn¡¯t care. Drakunsher on the other hand was actually decently pleasant to talk to. He got to ask as many questions as he wanted about the hells, He asked about what it was like, and of course the question around if lucifer was in fact an angel. Drakunsher seemed to enjoy his questions, laughing at some of the more ridiculous ones but answering them non the less. He met with Sleese after that, and finding out more about The Elementals was interesting, apparently there were so many different types of elemental beings that they made up planets, some of them being completely terraformed to the elementals liking. It was one of the most interesting conversations he had had with the reps. They spoke around what happened when all beings, not just elementals, increased in grade. Just like when Shaun had gone from F grade to E grade and he became more powerful, as if his body was remade, this happened at each increase. There was some that were more important than others though as when one hit the C grade there was a chance that if a being had unlocked any important aspects of themselves, either through special items or even through there own deeds, than they could potentially upgrade not just their grade but also their race. This was a big deal in the multiverse as to upgrade one¡¯s entire race was a reflection on not just their past achievements but also their future potential. Shaun¡¯s last meeting of that week, marking the halfway point of the last stage, was with Claude from The Unending Void. It was the weirdest of all the meetings, they didn¡¯t speak the entire time, simply sitting and watching each other. He thought to break the silence but had decided it against it as Claude seemed content to just sit and watch him, seeming to try and gain some understanding into him by just staring. The end of the week saw another feast, this time he attended but made no attempt to show his power, or release an ounce of his aura, the only reason he actually attended was in the hope that he would see Des again. He didn¡¯t speak the entire time, instead he just ate and drank in silence, hoping that he would be called away to another room to talk to someone from The Alliance. As the feast went on though he gave up hope, he resorted to just drinking his way through the feast in the hope it would end. He refused to give any speeches and when he felt like he had been there long enough he just got up and left. It was disappointing but expected. Before he had left the feast Dijaun had appeared again and informed everyone that the fights had been posted on the board, with Shaun being exempt due to his ranking and win streak. Everyone was informed that due to two of his opponents forfeiting and him killing the other with no issues that it was clear that he was the highest placed person in the fights so far. He was also informed that on the second day he had already been ¡®randomly¡¯ selected to be one of the people in the three person fight, not that it made much of a difference to him. He now had the next two days completely free, only needing to attend his second to last meeting with one of the reps at the end of the second day. He had done a lot of training this week, using his elemental shift ability as much as possible, gaining a better understanding of how it worked and how much mana he needed to put into it. He found that shifting into his basic elements was easiest, all he had to do was concentrate on the element inside of him and allow it to fully take over his body. Moving as the wind had been more fun than he initially expected, but sustaining the shift was near impossible. He was able to hold it for a few seconds before his body couldn¡¯t handle the sustained use and he would need to cut it off. It was the same with his advanced elements, however he was able to use these in different ways. For example he found that he could turn his entire body in lightning and attacks from monsters would cause him no harm, the same couldn¡¯t be said for the monsters though. As soon as they touched him they were immediately electrocuted with the full force of a lightning strike. The other way he could use lightning was being able to fully allow himself to be formed into a bolt and strike out, instantly moving from one place to another so quickly that the first few times he had done it he was so disorientated that he got mauled by monsters. Using ice was much more straight forward, he could turn either his full body or even parts of his body into ice, the cool part being that if anything touched him in this form than they too would start to turn to ice, regardless if it was a weapon or monster, they could immediately start to be claimed like a virus spreading out from Shaun through to whatever touched him. When it came to his class, he was overpowered, his heritage mixed with his affinity made fighting anything his own level child¡¯s play and he was easily fighting monsters over 20 levels above him, sometimes more. If he wanted to, he could probably reach the peak of the E grade dungeon but doing so would get him so many levels that it would raise too many, so instead he focused on the 2 things that did take time, his profession, where he had now been stuck on level 49 for days, and bonding one last advanced affinity, magma. Gaining levels in his profession still took time, even with everything he had created the last week, so he wasn¡¯t scared to keep going at it. And with another affinity no one would be able to tell, it just took time and patience, and a lot of pain, on his behalf. Shaun decided to start with the bonding, knowing that it took time to get back to feeling 100%, but after that he would push as hard as he could to get to level 50 in his craft so that he could get a new skill, one that he hoped would push his crafting to the next level. Before he went into the dungeon to bond the affinity he did a quick shop for food, needing to restock his inventory before he secluded himself. He got some weird looks at the request for months worth of food but he didn¡¯t pay it any mind, instead he just took what they could give him and he made his way to the dungeon. This was probably going to be the last time he would utilise the time dilution in this way, having already gone over all the books he could on affinity and not finding any other ways to utilise the basic affinity he had. After this he was going to haver to find other ways to increase his power, that meant finding natural treasures or places that were completely attuned to an element which was both rare and time consuming, but something he may need to seriously look into in the future. When he was finally in the dungeon and ready to get to work he was more than ready to get to get another affinity. Book 2: Chapter 35 Throughout the entire process of bonding magma he was hoping for some further insight into the Nephilim but nothing ever came. He followed the exact same process as before, fire and earth combined and controlled with ice. The worst part was when his flesh would literally melt off of him when he bought the motes of magma into his body, having to spend time rebuilding himself was just gross and painful. He missed when all he had to worry about was being electrocuted to death or frozen solid. The biggest difference this time around was that when he finished bonding the element he didn¡¯t lose consciousness, although he really wished he had. His body went through a horrible cycle of going from a solid mass to melting down to then become solid again, the process repeating over and over until he finally completely reformed. The entire process was hell, and he was more exhausted this time than any before due to being awake for the entire thing. But when he got the notification he knew it had been worth it. *Affinity Detected: Magma* *Magma (Affinity): Nothing can stand against the devouring nature of this molten earth. With the connection to magma the ability to spread its consuming nature is granted and with it control of turning the earth to flame through force of will. +50 Wil, +50 Soul, +20% Wil, +50% Soul* The description was short and to the point, but also not what he had expected, the idea of turning the literal earth to flame made sense but the devouring and consuming parts were pretty intense. He wanted to try it out straight away but as soon as he tried to stand he felt how weak he was, he needed to rest for a bit and he would then make his way back to his apartment to recover. It took a while before he felt comfortable enough to attempt to stand again, having spent a few hours relaxing and eating, trying to recover his strength. When he found he could walk without looking drunk he left the dungeon and quickly made his way through the colosseum and to his room, hoping he wouldn¡¯t have to deal with anyone. As soon as Shaun made it into his bed he quickly looked over the gains he had over the past week, seeing a huge amount of progress across the board. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (E) Level: 60 Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger - Level 72 Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator - Level 49 Health Points:1685/9050 Stamina:2158/6280 Mana:18753/24520 Stats: (Available Points: 0) Strength: 683 Dexterity: 829 Endurance: 628 Vitality: 905 Intelligence: 593 Perception: 458 Willpower: 446 Soul: 2452 Affinity: Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water Advanced: Lightning, Ice, Magma Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer Heritage: Azreal''s Legacy (Hidden) Skills: Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 30), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 35), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 42), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 33), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 27), [Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 6) Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 21), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 22), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 21), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 29), [Advanced] Mana Sight (Level 48), [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 18) He was now nearly halfway through the E grade, an accomplishment considering it had been less than 3 months since getting integrated with the system, but that wasn¡¯t the most impressive part of his sheet. The affinities listed and the amount of pure stats he had was ridiculous, and he was confident that he was a true standout for someone his level. His skill levels were lacking in comparison to his actual level, but he knew this was because he wasn¡¯t getting much of an opportunity to really push his skills, which he hoped would change soon, especially once he got to Earth again and wouldn¡¯t have to pay attention to anyone looking over his shoulder and reporting everything he did to the clans and reps. When Shaun woke up the next day he knew that all he wanted to focus on was crafting, purely so he could get to level 50 and get a new skill, he also knew exactly how he planned to do it. He had 8 Constricting Silver Heart from the boss that was able to constrict space, allowing it to move instantly from one place to another, his plan was to concentrate the power in the hearts into a ring, one that he had made that contained a good quality obsidian gemstone in it. He had read a lot on rituals that allowed for the movement of power from one item to another, that combined with his profession skills and adding in his own design through manipulating runic cycles, he was confident that he would be able to perform a ritual that allowed for all of the power in the hearts to be moved into the gemstone. The one issue he had was that he needed much more space than his apartment offered. His first thought was to do it in a dungeon, the downside of that was that if he got part way through preparations and then found he needed something he would need to leave and then start thing process all over again, losing all progress he would have made with the ritual. Instead he walked around until he found a reasonably large area where there was some chairs and a training area, plenty of room to do what he needed. There was a few people around but he didn¡¯t mind, he wasn¡¯t doing anything that weird, and really all they would see is him doing a ritual which may or may not work. The first thing Shaun did was sketch out the circle, he started from the middle and worked his way out. There was a lot of interconnecting lines, mixed in with runes he had used before but majority of which he had not. He made sure to refer back to his own drawings before moving on to the more complicated aspects on the circle, he would need to place enough hearts around the outer edges in their own small circles which would then have runes leading into the centre along with some specific lines where the power of the hearts would travel into the ring. It took about an hour before he was happy with the outline, after which he moved to engraving them into the ground using a sharpened piece of metal, the whole process taking an additional 30 minutes. During this time he had gathered an audience, some tried to cover up their purpose of being there with training and others just chatting on the benches, he could have been wrong but having over 50 people in the area seemed a bit much. When it got time to place the ring in the centre and the hearts in the outer circles he encountered his next issue, as soon as he tried to power up the circle he realised that there was not enough energy in the hearts, even with 8 of them, to make a powerful enough ring. If he was right, the gem could take ten times more hearts than what he collected, and if he wanted to do this right and create the best item he could, he would need more hearts. He also didn¡¯t have the time or patience to collect them himself, which meant he was going to have to find a way to have others do it for him. Thankfully he had just the people to do it. ¡°I need some assistance, anyone willing to work for me?¡± Shaun called out to everyone that was in the area. When he spoke some people looked like they wanted to run, others though seemed much more curious. ¡°Come on, I don¡¯t bite. I will even pay you for the help.¡± Money was always a good motivator, and he had plenty of it, spending a little on this wasn¡¯t going to have much of an impact. Eventually he had 5 people come forward and volunteer to help him, better than no one, I guess. ¡°You all know that the boss on the 15th wave of the low E grade dungeon gives a heart as its loot?¡± They all nodded as he spoke, showing they were paying attention to him. ¡°I need as many as you can get, at least 50 but closer to 100. If people sold the heart in the store they would get 2 maybe 2.5 silver coins for it. I am willing to pay anyone who bring me one 5 silver coins. I need you all to spread the word and get me those hearts. For each one that you get me I will pay you a silver coin. All you have to do is get the person to tell me your name and I will make a tally. If you do well you could be earning yourself a lot of money. Now go.¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. All five of them went running, and a number of groups in the area who had heard him also seemed to run off, either to run the dungeon and collect a heart or to grab people to do it with them. At this point a lot of groups could successfully get too the 15th wave of the dungeon so as long as they put in the work they would get the money from him. It didn¡¯t take long, maybe 15 minutes for the first person to come to him with a heart, he happily paid them and took down the name of who told them to go to him instead of the shop. Apparently a guy named Aaron was standing in front of the store telling anyone who approached where to go, it was a smart move as the store where everyone sold their loot was generally the first stop after completing a dungeon. People slowly trickled over to him from all over the colosseum, but once about 40 minutes had passed the amount of people really hit a peak, to the point that a line had formed for him to purchase the hearts. Word had spread like wildfire, everyone knew what Shaun was after and they were more than happy to assist him, some even trying to make small talk when they came to him, trying to get on his good side for one reason or another. Some of the groups would immediately head right back to the dungeon as soon as they sold the heart while others would run the dungeon over and over again and then come to him when they were too tired to continue fighting and sell the hearts in bulk. Nearly 4 hours later he had the hearts he needed and he politely asked a few people to spread the word that he would no longer be purchasing hearts for new dungeon runs, he even went so far as to have someone go to the dungeon and inform anyone over the next 10 minutes who approached that he was finished. He did continue buying hearts for the next 30 minutes, just to make sure that anyone who was already in the dungeon and missed his message wouldn¡¯t be disadvantaged, he had the money to spare and more hearts were always better. He had gathered quite the crowd, everyone was interested in what he was planning to do, and he couldn¡¯t blame them. This was his first ritual and he was both excited and a little nervous as to how it would go, it would be embarrassing if he failed in front of so many people, but if he succeeded it would be a big deal not just for him but everyone who witnessed it. He spent some time placing all of the hearts in their place, needing to change up a few things within the circle to account for the increased amount he now had. But when he was done there was an even hundred hearts used, spread into 10 smaller circles and then divided by 10 again. Now that everything was in place and all he needed to do was activate and start taking control of the ritual he decided to give everyone an idea of what he was attempting, not for himself, but for them. ¡°I think everyone is pretty curious as to what I am doing, why I needed so many hearts and what the hell this giant circle is. I¡¯m not crazy I promise, there is a plan.¡± He got a few chuckles from the people present, he was impressed with how many people stuck around. He would guess that at least half of the people in the tutorial were here, crowded into the space as far away as they could get from the circle. ¡°I am going to talk you all through what this is. This is a ritual circle.¡± He gestured to the engravings on the ground. ¡°And how this should work, if I do it right anyway, is that the power in the hearts, that ability that let the Alpha boss move from one place to another in the blink of an eye, should be drained form the hearts and move into the ring in the centre where the power will be concentrated down and be even more effective than what the Alpha could do. But only if it works.¡± He had a reason behind addressing everyone, it wasn¡¯t to show he was a nice guy or to show off what he was doing. The point was to show that he no longer had people he could rely on to help him, instead he needed to resort to going to random people for help and that he had no one to talk to but crowds of people he had never actually interacted with in his life. Usually, if someone was going to do something new and exciting, like the ritual he was doing, you would invite people you trusted to help and watch, but what he was showing was that he didn¡¯t have those things. It was all just another to add to public perception, ensuring that he took Des¡¯ advice and continued to show that he didn¡¯t have any meaningful connections to anyone. Shaun had nothing left to say and all that he had to do was get started. He knew what the next step was, he needed to infuse the entire ritual with his mana, and when powered up start the process of focusing his mana into each of the smaller circles, draining the hearts and then feeding that into the ring. The moment he started the ritual started to glow very softly and he continued pouring in a steady stream of mana, if he did it too quickly he would overload the lines and they would break, too slowly and it wouldn¡¯t power up at all. It was a delicate balance but he adjusted quickly, getting a sense from the ritual itself as to if it needed more or less mana. It was a unique experience as he felt connected to the ritual in a way that he never had before when crafting, as if he was not only seeing the runes with his eyes but also through his mind. It took just over 20 minutes before he felt the circle full activate, in his mind he felt the full circuit of mana flowing through the lines and with his eyes the circle was glowing brightly, an impressive sight for any who were witnessing the ritual. What he needed to do now was focus the mana in the ritual into the first of the smaller circles containing the hearts to draw the power contained within into the ritual and through to the ring. Shaun started focusing on the first group of hearts, pushing the mana in the circle into each of the runes on which the hearts sat, continuing to power them further until he saw the first heart crumble to dust. He felt that the power contained in the heart didn¡¯t disappear but was held within the rune, the other 9 hearts in the circle followed quickly after the first and the mana in the circle was now fully powered by the magic that was inside of the hearts. The glow within had changed from a whiteish colour to a darker grey, and with no small amount of concentration on Shaun¡¯s behalf he started pushing that power from the circle through the ritual and into the ring. Everyone could see the dark grey mana moving through into the ring, and when it finally entered the centre of the circle the gem eagerly absorbed it. He had utilised his Elemental Coercion ability during the end of the process to ensure that all of that power stayed contained within the gem, fully binding them together. Now that he had done one of the smaller circles he knew what to expect from the remaining 9 and didn¡¯t waste any time in getting started. He was confident that what he was doing was working, but when he finished the 8th circle of hearts he felt the gem starting to push back on the amount of power he was forcing into it. When he started on the 9th circle he needed to spend a lot more time in condensing the power into the gem, not wanting to crack it due to brute forcing the power into it. The 10th circle was where everything started changing, now that he was on the last step of the ritual the mana that was throughout the circle started to all pull into he centre, leaving only the circuit around the ring glowing. This final step was delicate, he felt that all of the mana and the last of the power from the hearts needed to fully combine and settle into the ring, the only issue was that he was unsure whether the ring had the capacity to hold the remaining power. He took his time slowly pulling everything into the ring, the ring shaking on the ground as he went, literally buzzing with power. He used his ability as much as he could to complete the final binding of power, and he knew if he didn¡¯t use the ability than the entire ritual would have failed, the ring unable to bear everything he had put into the circle. When he was done the ring stopped shaking, but the power radiating from it was unmistakable, not just to him but everyone watching. *Successful New Creation ¨C Bonus Experience provided* *[Epic] Space Constricting Ring ¨C A ring created from an Elemental Creator, enhanced through the binding of the space element. The wearer can utilise the ring to instantaneously move through space, the cost of mana being dependant on the distance travelled.* *Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by 1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 50. +5 Int, +2 Wil, +3 Per, +5 Soul * *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 61. +16 Ap gained* Shaun couldn¡¯t help the joy from bubbling out from him, he had done it, his first ritual and he had not just done it successfully but he had created exactly what he had set out to do. He walked over to the ring and picked it up off of the ground. ¡°Who wants to see how it works?¡± He yelled into the room, getting cheers from so many people that he felt like he was on stage about to perform for a crowd. Shaun put the ring on and focused on the feeling he got from it, he knew if he concentrated on a spot he could see and willed mana into the ring that it would move him to that point instantly. He tested it out, focusing on standing in front of one of the people watching him, scaring the crap out of him and then moving back to the spot he was just standing, doing so in seconds. He was in love with his new ring, and when he checked how much mana it had cost him it barely made a dent in his overall mana total. He also got the message that he had wanted, the reason behind the entire ritual. *New Profession Skill Available: Please choose from one of the following options:* *[Advanced] Elemental Storage ¨C The skill allows you to drain elemental magic from both items and natural treasures and can be stored in an internal storage space to be used at a later time.* The skill was useful, especially because it seemed that it didn¡¯t have any limitations in terms of what the elemental magic could be used for after he stored it. It meant that he could use it in crafting or he could use it for potentially collecting enough of the same elemental magic to actually bond it into an affinity, although it would be a very slow and potentially weaker variant of the element, regardless it could be useful. *[Advanced] Creators Bond ¨C The skill allows you to place a bond on any item you create. This bond will tie any item to the person who bonds with it so that it can be recalled to the bonder no matter where the item may be.* If only I had this skill when I was throwing daggers around. The skill would be useful for any weapon really and he bet that it was a sort after skill for crafters and would increase the price of whatever was sold. But it wouldn¡¯t have a huge benefit to him personally, not at the moment. *[Advanced] Creators Domain ¨C The skill allows you to enter an internal domain where you can utilise your imagination, conjuring any items or material you have previously acquired to test different crafting methods and see what items can be crafted with materials, gaining an understanding of final creations before utilising materials in the real world.* This skill was different, and when he thought back he was probably offered the basic version a while ago when he was offered the skill to plan out what he was crafting. This was more than useful and would take away the guess work of what his end creations were. If he was going to go down the route of being a full time crafter he would have jumped on this skill but that wasn¡¯t the life he was choosing to live. All three of the skills were good, each had their own benefits, but he knew which one he would get the most use out of so didn¡¯t hesitate to pick the skill. *Skill Gained*: [Advanced] Elemental Storage (Level 1) Book 2: Chapter 36 The rest of the day proceeded as planned, Shaun had spent more time than he realised making the ring and now had to get ready to attend his second last meeting. When he walked into the meeting room at the soiree he was greeted by a smiling Xavier Barshen, The Empire representative that had been one of the most forceful reps in trying to get him to join them. ¡°Please, take a seat Shaun, we have much to discuss.¡± Xavier motioned for him to take the chair directly opposite him. ¡°You have been productive I see. Level 61 and still in the tutorial, an impressive accomplishment.¡± ¡°Thanks, I have been working hard, taking advantage of the dungeons as much as I can. Crafting when I need to recover.¡± ¡°You also made an impression at the feast, the first one anyway. I sense the fear and death radiating from your armour, Wyrm scale I believe, quite the find and an impressive piece indeed. If you wouldn¡¯t mind I would like to test how strong your aura is. If you would hit me as hard as you can with it¡± Shaun knew this was a test, what Xavier really wanted was to see how much power he could push into his aura, which in turn, would show how powerful he was, regardless of what his level said. Rather than going full out, he decided to just push only half of what he was capable of into his aura and push it across the table at Xavier. ¡°Come on Shaun, I have been around longer than you by centuries, I know when someone is holding back, show me more!¡± The moment Xavier yelled at him he started to push down on him with his own aura, leaving Shaun no choice but to fight back or be crushed by it. The more Shaun pushed against Xavier he was met with even more pressure by him, forcing him to continue to push back until he was using everything he had to bear down on Xavier. When Xavier continued to push him but Shaun couldn¡¯t summon any more power to put into his aura Xavier laughed at him. ¡°Enough, I have gotten what I wanted.¡± He felt the oppressive aura back away from him and he let his own fall back as well until neither of them were releasing their power. For a while they sat in silence, each of them staring down the other. Shaun was the first to break the silence. ¡°What level are you? You beat me back like it was nothing, none of the clans could do that and I felt them try.¡± ¡°Now we are getting somewhere. Here I thought it was going to be harder to get you to have an actual conversation with me.¡± Xavier summoned a drink, doing the same for Shaun before having a sip. ¡°The clans, or at least those that have come to find members, are either in D grade or very early C grade, but none are elites. I, however, am in the middle of C grade and would be counted as an elite member if I were in any of the clans, but in The Empire we expect everyone to be an elite. To give you context an elite is someone who is able to fight up many levels, sometimes even grades. And if I was to guess at your power, I would say that you could fight a very early, very average D grade at this point. That means you would also be an elite.¡± The conversation was tamer than Shaun expected after that, they discussed potential fighting styles, the rigorous training regime that everyone who entered The Empire had to not only be part of but also graduate. The way that Xavier spoke about it the more Shaun realised that it was more like a school, one where you focused on not just learning how to fight at the best of your ability but also on tactics, how to succeed in a war and even how to lead an army. ¡°There is one other thing to consider. Both the Creators Guild and The Dynasty have approached me with another offer, one that they think you will like. I don¡¯t see the harm in offering you a second option in joining us, although I would prefer you have no ties but to The Empire. The first option you have is to join us, fully. The second, and more unorthodox option, is that you join The Empire but also dedicate some time to the guild, learning your craft and further increasing your skills under their tutelage. They would have a representative stay with you in The Empire who would help you take advantage of your profession, which even I can admit, seems to be powerful in its own way. The things you create will then be sold through The Dynasty as if you were apart of the guild however, we would get first pick as to whether The Empire wished to purchase what you make.¡± He thought back to his conversation last week with Wilaron, he had said that he was going to find a more attractive offer, something that he would find more interesting than just crafting, and it seemed he had done just that. It was a good offer, they had taken into consideration everything that he could possibly want, but they had missed one crucial thing, he wasn¡¯t safe with any of them. Even now a part of him, that part that he was recognising to be the memories of the Nephilim, was giving him some guidance, a new experience that he was only just now being able to tune into. If he really listened to that feeling he got an understanding of how this would go. If he accepted the offer, which he wasn¡¯t going to, but if he did, he would be pulled from three separate sides and eventually the relationship between the powers would show signs of cracking and The Empire would simply go back on the deal and cut out the other two powers. The gained everything and lost nothing, holding all the power in the situation. ¡°Thank you, Xavier, for the offers. I will take them into consideration along with all the others.¡± He didn¡¯t want to antagonise him, so went with a respectful reply, not giving voice to the potential issues he saw with such an offer. ¡°I don¡¯t see what there is to consider, but I do look forward to hearing your answer in 2 days time. You can go now.¡± Xavier just waved him off, a complete dismissal. Shaun considered telling him that he had no plans to make a choice until the end of the tutorial but decided to put it off until he had to. He simply left the room and went back to his own room, he was holding off on going through the dungeon again and he had no current plans for crafting, for the first time in a while he felt a little lost as to what he should be doing. When he reached his room he decided on exploring the memories he knew he had from the Nephilim but could access, he knew they were suppressed somewhere inside of him and that they only really made themselves known in very specific circumstances, but with this new feeling he had been getting he wanted to see if he could delve deeper into his mind and find something more. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. He dropped into a mediation and started trying to explore deeper into his mind, he didn¡¯t know how long he tried but he kept getting pushed out the more he tried to probe, it was clear that whatever was trapped in his mind by the heritage wouldn¡¯t be coming out until it was ready. What he decided to do instead was think through the events of the past week, he had caught glimpses of the others every now and again but they had done what he had asked and stayed away from him, there had been talk about the fallout of their team and the main theory was that Shaun was planning to fight for power so had cut them out of his plans. It still sucked that he couldn¡¯t spend time with them but every time it got to hard he just remembered why he was doing it in the first place. The night passed quickly and when the next day came he was ready for his fight, he was already told he would be fighting in the group of three but he hadn¡¯t bothered to check who he was fighting or when. He didn¡¯t have much to prepare for though, the last he checked he was over 10 levels higher than pretty much everyone in the tutorial so they could have pretty much made it everyone against him and he would have still bet on himself. When the time came and his orb glowed to signal the 30 minute mark before his fight he stopped what he had been doing and went towards the arena. He had been practicing with his new skill, taking all of the elements out of whatever items he had and wasn¡¯t using, putting it in their own little inventories. What he learnt about the skill is that for each different element he absorbed with the skill another little sphere of power would be created where it would be stored. The same elements would always go to the same sphere but if there was even small differences than it would create another sphere to store the elements. He had attempted to combine elements into one sphere but no matter how hard he tried he wasn¡¯t able to mix them. When he finally arrived at the arena he took a seat to wait for his turn to enter, for the past few fights everyone just conceded beforehand, this time though he was approached by someone else who had been waiting for their own fight. *Nicholas Greer ¨C Level 37* ¡°Hi Shaun, I¡¯m Nick, or Nicholas, but just call me Nick. Everyone calls me Nick.¡± The guy seemed a little nervous, most people did when they approached him now though so he wasn¡¯t shocked. ¡°I am supposed to fight you in the next fight, as well as Jessica.¡± Nick motioned to Jess, who he was surprised to see, he hadn¡¯t really spoken to either her or Michael outside of the first meeting so seeing that he was going to be fighting someone he knew was a bit of a shock that he hadn¡¯t expected. ¡°I just wanted to ask, if we do decide to go through with the fight, are you going to kill us like people say you will?¡± He knew the rumours around anyone that decides to fight him will die in the arena, all because he had killed Trevor in the first fight. ¡°As long as you try not to kill me I wont try and kill you Nick.¡± ¡°Jessica said you wouldn¡¯t kill us but I just wanted to make sure, I don¡¯t really want to give up without a try. So let the best man, or woman, win right?¡± They didn¡¯t talk again after that but Nick seemed like a decent enough guy, he decided that he would let the fight go on for a bit before finishing it, just so that they could show some skills off at least. He would gain nothing by completely dominating them and in all honesty, he was actually curious as to what skills they may be able to throw at him. When it was time all three of them walked into the arena, there was some cheering by the crowd and everyone watching seemed to be in good spirit. ¡°It looks like we have our 3 person battle ready to go!¡± Dijaun spoke to the crowd. ¡°For the past 2 fights the opponents of Shaun Clermont have conceded, will it be the same today? Challengers Nicholas, Jessica, do either of you with to concede this fight?¡± Nether of them conceded which got the crowd truly excited, it had been a while since he actually fought and they hoped to see more of what he could do. ¡°Then let the fight begin!¡± The moment the fight started Jessica sent an attack his way, it looked like a decently powerful attack too if her mana usage was anything to go off. When she let the skill go a beam of mana was sent straight at him, he considered dodging but wanted to see what his armour would make of it. As soon as it hit him, square in the chest, he barely felt the attack, but then unexpectedly the attack changed and from the point of where he was hit a second explosion was released that made him take several steps back to keep his balance. Before he fully recovered Nick was on him with two blades, on in each hand, and an air of darkness surrounding him. For his level he seemed quick, probably focusing most of his stats on Dexterity, but compared to Shaun he was slow. He easily dodged the attacks and Nick used every skill he had available, one of which was rather impressive. When threw one of his blades it disappeared in mid air and then magically appeared behind Shaun, going straight for his back, he felt it as soon as it happened and decided to use his ring to teleport behind an unsuspecting Jessica. The moment he reappeared he placed his sword against he neck from behind, the moment she realised though she but up a barrier in front of the blade, which he could have easily broken through but instead decided to see what she would do next. She triggered some skill that sent a wave out of her which would have effectively blasted back anyone else but was nothing more than a gentle breeze for him. When he didn¡¯t move from his position, the sword still against her neck she yelled out that she conceded. The moment she did he teleported back to Nick and used his own sword to knock the blades from the man¡¯s hands. It took a bit longer than usual as he decided against going full on, but when he felt that the man had shown enough of his abilities to the crowd he put the smallest amount of lightning into his sword and the next time that it connected with Nick¡¯s blade he was shocked by the electricity and fell to the ground. He recovered quickly though but instead of continuing to fight conceded, he had done everything he could to land a blow and hadn¡¯t succeeded, continuing on would have been embarrassing and he knew it. ¡°And the winner is decided! Let¡¯s here it for our three fighters!¡± Dijaun yelled at the crowd when Nick had given up. Thankfully none of the reps were present so he was clear to just leave the arena. *Round 5 Winner declared as Shaun Clermont* 1,689,721 TE awarded to winner for beating opponent in two on one battle. You may now leave the arena. Book 2: Chapter 37 That night, after all the fights were completed, Shaun attended the last of the meetings, this one with Octavius from The Pantheon. The moment he sat down with him, Shaun got the feeling that this meeting was not going to go well, Octavius seemed overly pleased with himself, too confident in what was about to occur, which put him on edge from the start. ¡°This won¡¯t take long Shaun, I only have a few things to tell you before we can call an end to this little chat.¡± Octavius directed him to sit, smiling at him the whole time. ¡°I am going to tell you why, when you are forced to pick tomorrow, that you will join The Pantheon. I have spoken to leadership over the last week and I have been told that many of the leading clans have found other elites in other tutorials that have already decided to join and plans are already in place for when you go back to your planet to sweep through it and claim it for us. It has already been decided that when you join us, you will take up leadership and become the ruler of your planet. It has also been decided that you will be assigned a mentor, one chosen by Zeus himself, to help cultivate your power, to push you to become the best you can be, make no mistake that this is an honour that very few have ever been provided in the eras. Your planet will be yours to do with as you please, in time, if you become a god, it will be your seat of power and you will be allowed to form your own high tier clan, another honour that is being bestowed upon you, if you make it to godhood. What do you say to that Shaun? I imagine no one has given you such an offer.¡± Octavius was right, it was an incredible offer. If he was anyone else he would have jumped at the opportunity, but he had no interest in ruling, not a planet or a clan and especially had no interest in having someone keep tabs on him, reporting to Zeus himself. ¡°It is a generous offer, one I will take into consideration, along with all of the others.¡± ¡°You misunderstand Shaun, you will accept the offer. If you decide to make any other choice all those elites will be informed that you are enemy number 1 and the moment you are returned to your planet you will be hunted down and killed. You are strong, but even you will not be able to stand against the elites we have pulled together from your planet, you will die if you reject us. Sure, whichever Major Power you choose will surely do their best to protect you, but I have been assured that no others have the amount of elites secured that we do. A war would break out on your planet, one you will lose. We will claim your planet, whether you fight with us or against us. The only hope you have at surviving is to accept The Pantheon, do you understand?¡± The Pantheon was making a play for the planet, they hadn¡¯t just been working to secure Shaun, but had spread out and secured as many of the elites that came from Earth as they could, and he could see why so many would agree to join them. The Pantheon was probably one of the most well known factions from Earth, so many of our ancient religions and gods could be tied back to their factions, the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, the Nordic, all of these well known gods were all apart of The Pantheon and if our own histories taught us anything, these gods were powerful, who wouldn¡¯t want to join them. There would be others, those that wished to join The Holy Light, seeing their own religion in their faction as well as those that liked the idea of demons and wealth, but Shaun could see how The Pantheon took the majority of the powerful people from Earth. Shaun had to give it to them, they had done well in trying to back him into a corner, he either accepted and they worked together to unite Earth under The Pantheon or he rejected them and caused a war, one where he was to be killed at any costs. It was manipulative, cruel, but he couldn¡¯t deny that it was effective. ¡°I understand.¡± He didn¡¯t know what else to really say. Fuck you came to mind but he held his tongue, it wouldn¡¯t get him anywhere and he got the feeling that Octavius would enjoy the outburst. ¡°Good, then I look forward to a prosperous relationship. You can go now.¡± Shaun couldn¡¯t even express how pissed he was when leaving the meeting, he wanted to rage at Octavius, but he supressed it as much as he could, it wouldn¡¯t get him anywhere even if he did let out all of his anger. He had hoped that when he got back to Earth that he could pretty much fly under the radar for the most part, maybe push events in a certain direction if he was given the opportunity, but now he had been told that he would either need to give into The Pantheon or fight against them and everyone that they had already recruited. He needed a way to get word back to the others, but he couldn¡¯t do it directly. He needed to fin a way that it would spread through the tutorial without it seeming like he was trying to help anyone or build a resistance to The Pantheon. As he was walking back to his room he decided to stop in the bar, he hadn¡¯t been there in a long time and figured that he could use the drink, or several. The moment he entered he was somewhat shocked at how busy it was, there wasn¡¯t any free tables that he would be able to sit by himself but there was a few that had some spare seats. When he entered people took notice, instead of addressing anything he just walked up to the bar with the hopes of getting something to drink. ¡°Hello sir, is there anything I can get you? We have much we can offer.¡± The woman behind the bar served him the moment he walked up, even though there were others waiting. ¡°A drink would be good please, something strong.¡± He wasn¡¯t a big drinker but he wasn¡¯t in the mood to sit around a sip on a weak drink, this wasn¡¯t a social visit. ¡°I have just the thing, a mana infused draft that will do wonders for a mid E grade like yourself.¡± She immediately started pouring his drink and handed it across, at the same time she gestured for him to pay. Shaun drank down half the drink in one go, it tasted delicious and he could feel how much mana was imbued into it and it wouldn¡¯t be enough for him to get drunk, not even a buzz. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°You have anything stronger? Maybe for someone at peak E grade?¡± His stats were too high for the average mid E grade so if he continued drinking this draft he would need so many of them to feel a buzz that it would be inconvenient. ¡°Of course, sir, but I wouldn¡¯t advise it. It is much more potent than hat I just served you.¡± Shaun just motioned for her to get it anyway and he paid for it. He took a smaller sip this time and could immediately tell the difference, it would do the job, if barely. Now that he had a decent drink he looked around for somewhere to sit, in a corner he recognised a group of people that he hadn¡¯t seen in a while, ones he wasn¡¯t on the best of terms with, which would be perfect for his plan. He walked over to the table and immediately sat down, none of them greeted him, although one of them did have an amused look on her face. ¡°Jessica, a pleasure to see you again after our fight.¡± She was the one that was looking at him like she found the entire situation to be funny, the others were looking a little fearful. ¡°Shaun, thanks for not killing me, its always appreciated.¡± Jessica replied back, as if it was some kind of inside joke that they shared. The others at the table consisted of Michael, who was looking very uncomfortable at this point. Alan, the leader of Ruin, or ex leader, who had tried to have him killed, who looked like he wanted to run away as fast as he could from the table. And lastly Phil, the one who had led him to the Alpha back in stage 1, all for the purpose of killing him. ¡°Isn¡¯t it crazy, how we find ourselves all here tonight. Most of you at one point or another have wanted me dead, some of you even attempted it. Yet here we all sit.¡± He took a big sip of his drink, savouring the taste. The one drink wouldn¡¯t be enough to get him truly drunk, but no one else knew that. ¡°Any of you still in the running to win this thing? Or have you all been knocked out already?¡± ¡°Knocked out I¡¯m afraid, sorry to have robbed you of the chance of revenge. I apologise for my previous action, please forgive me.¡± Alan replied, attempting to use that weird willpower skill to force forgiveness, which was nowhere near strong enough to have any impact on him. ¡°Shame that you have been knocked out, would have been fun to see you against me in the arena. No matter, there is plenty of time to address that on Earth, especially depending on which side of the war you end up on.¡± Shaun had dropped a hint as to what would occur back on Earth, hoping they picked up on it. To make the show believable he downed the rest of his drink and motioned for the bartender to bring him another. ¡°Did you say war?¡± Michael had picked up on it and pushed for details. Thank you Michael. ¡°Yes, I did say that didn¡¯t I¡± At that moment his next drink was delivered and he proceeded to down half of it in one go. He was starting to feel buzzed, the drink taking effect rather quickly, but he was not drunk. ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid we haven¡¯t heard anything about a war, I thought everyone was in a tutorial, how is there a war going on?¡± Enough people in the bar were listening in to what they were talking about that he felt confident that word would spread around the tutorial, ensuring everyone would hear what he said next. They would assume he had too much to drink, his drinks meant for people above his level and thus making him drunk almost instantly. ¡°Oh, maybe it¡¯s a secret. Can you all keep a secret?¡± They all nodded along, now looking at him with amusement, assuming him to be wasted. ¡°You see, the major factions have plans, so many plans. But The Pantheon, they have already started creating their soldiers. They want Earth, all of it under their control. The have recruited elites across all of the tutorials, people just like me, to take over Earth and kill anyone who gets in their way. I doubt the other players in the game will like that so they will move their own people to fight against them, and so the fight for Earth will start, war will spread out, everyone vying for land, for dungeons. I can imagine that the fight for ruling the planet will be short but bloody, a ruler needs to be chosen in the year and The Pantheon wants control.¡± Shaun downed the rest of his drink, now actually feeling the effects of the drinks. ¡°Its going to be WW3 as soon as the tutorial is over.¡± ¡°How do you know this? Any of this?¡± Alan pressed him this time, looking terrified as he processed everything he had just told them. ¡°Octavius told me. We just had our meeting. But shhhh, I don¡¯t think I was supposed to say anything.¡± He chuckled at the end of his statement, just to push home the fact that he was drunk. ¡°Shaun, I am going to take you back to your room, your drunk and I don¡¯t think you want to say anything that you will regret tomorrow. Come on.¡± Michael stood up and helped him out of his own chair, Jessica doing the same and each of them took him by one side and led him out of the bar, walking straight to his room. The whole walk back they drew looks, everyone staring as a drunk Shaun was led through the colosseum and back to his room. The moment they got him to his door he opened it and they led him to his bed. ¡°You know what it means, right? This war? You know what has to be done?¡± Shaun asked them. ¡°Just go to sleep Shaun. I think you have done more than enough tonight, I hope you don¡¯t regret it in the morning. Everyone will know what you said in the bar, its going to cause chaos. But knowing what we will be going home to? What The Pantheon is planning. Its information that everyone will be able to use, for good or bad. I hope your ready for the fallout.¡± Both Michael and Jess left him on his bed as they left his apartment. As soon as they were gone he couldn¡¯t help smiling, he had done what he needed to do, everyone would know what was being planned by The Pantheon soon enough, that information would get to the clans and hopefully the reps quickly. He doubted that they would be happy to find out, if they didn¡¯t already know, what The Pantheon had planned. There wasn¡¯t much more he could do at this point, information was a form of power and he had just given everyone enough information to decide what to do. Hopefully Viv and the others would be able to use this in some way, but if not he knew he had done what he could. He had now finished all of his meetings and come the next day he would need to fight and then the reps were expecting him to choose. He was going to attempt to delay a choice but he had the feeling that they wouldn¡¯t let that slide. If he had to he would tell them he was going to stay independent, but only if he was pushed to it. If preference was to wait until the very end of the tutorial, especially now that Octavius had shown that they would communicate with other reps from other tutorials and spread word of what they planned to do on Earth. Book 2: Chapter 38 The colosseum was in chaos, there was no other word to describe it. Wherever Shaun went the next day he saw people on edge, many were in smaller groups talking about what they were going to do about the war, there were even people who started putting together full teams outside of who they usually trained with, forming up into larger groups to combat anyone who went against them on Earth. The biggest issue people were currently facing was where everyone would end up when they finished the tutorial. It was unclear whether everyone in the same tutorial would be deposited in the same place on Earth, if they would just appear in exactly the same place they had been prior to the integration or if it was going to be completely random. Finding each other once this was over was going to be a high priority but doing so was going to be one of their biggest challenges. As he walked through the shops he spotted a much larger group of people all huddled around one specific spot. When he got closer he heard a voice that he recognised, Viv was talking to the group, explaining her plan on needing to unite under a leader to push back any forces that wished harm on their planet and that only together could they stand a chance to beat back The Pantheons ruthless desire to control Earth. Everyone was listening in, cheering for her the more she spoke. It seems like she no had a way to bring everyone into her fold and help here with her goals. The others were standing with her, looking formidable with their weapons and what looked to be new armour. He made eye contact with Eric who raised his eyebrow at him in question, asking if this was part of Shaun¡¯s plan maybe? He just shrugged at kept walking, there was no need to interfere, they had all done well in creating distance, there was no need to ruin it all now. He had another fight today and then the soiree at the end of the day, one which would be more chaotic than probably any before it if he had to guess, apart from that his day was pretty free. He thought about running the dungeon again but his class was already quite high, it was his profession he needed to focus on, and he now had an idea of what to create next. Shaun went into the gem store and found Jack inside. ¡°Shaun, a pleasure to see you as always. What brings you in?¡± Jack was always happy to see him walk into his store, it usually meant he spent coin or would craft for him. ¡°I have a question. Is there any way to link gems or crystals or any material really and form a bond between them so a person can use it to track where a partnered or linked gem is?¡± ¡°There is, it is a rather common craft although one that can be someone complicated depending on how many links need to be formed. I assume the reason you have bought this up is due to your pending return to Earth?¡± ¡°Yes, although it won¡¯t be for me, there is no one I need to track down on Earth from the tutorial. But you would have heard what is happening out there, right?¡± Anger flashed across Jack¡¯s face, an emotion he had never seen from the man, but he gave a curt nod. ¡°Well, it would seem that there may be a market for a lot of people here to want to meet rather quickly when we are released from the tutorial, get together before the war really kicks off.¡± ¡°Yes, I would imagine so. Usually, I would not interfere in such things, however, what The Pantheon is doing crosses a line, they should not be interfering at such a large scale on a newly integrated planet. One moment.¡± Jack went into his back room and came back with a few books. ¡°There are a few ways to link items, creating a compass of sorts, that will point in the direction of the master link. It isn¡¯t very useful and only works if the master link and the compass link are on the same planet, but I think it would be very effective for what you need. Here read this one. The other books have some other, similar designs, but nowhere near as effective.¡± Shaun read over the design that Jack had provided him, appreciating just how much this would help everyone. It was an interesting item to craft, both basic in some ways and complicated in others. There was two parts as Jack had said, the master link and what the book called the minor link. The master link, depending on the material used, would be able to hold hundreds of minor links, where as long as the person holding the master link allowed it, those holding a minor link could track the master down, all it needed to activate was mana. What made the design more complex is that blood needed to be used, on both links. The person holding the master link would need to have a small ritual done on the item that bonded their life force, through blood, to the item. They would also need to provide a drop of blood on the minor links. The opposite was the same, the person holding the minor link needed to bond it through blood and provide a drop of blood to the master link. There was a decent amount of prep work that needed to be done but once the person owning the link was ready to bond it the process was quick and simple as long as they were willing. The actual item to link could take the form of nearly anything, as long as it provided a way to guide in a certain direction, meaning Shaun could make a rudimentary compass and then on one end place a small gem or crystal or even a tiny shard, anything that could take in the blood of the person who held the master link. The only thing the master link needed, if they themselves didn¡¯t need to track the minor links, was something large enough to take in the blood from each of those minor links. If they wanted the ability to track as well it got more complicated, but he could make it work if needed. ¡°Jack, how would you feel about me taking over your shop for a while? Just using it to craft and sell some of these links. I won¡¯t ask you to help, I know you probably can¡¯t, but is there anything stopping you from letting me work and sell out of here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see any reason to say no. You will need to pay for materials, apart from that I see no reason to give you the freedom to do as you need.¡± Jack smiled at him, almost like he had been hoping Shaun would ask him to use his shop. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Things moved quickly after that, he went and bought a large quantity of metal to work with, nothing to expensive as he wasn¡¯t crafting weapons or armour, but just common metals that would work well with the crafting of the compasses. When he got back to Jack¡¯s shop he didn¡¯t hesitate to go into his work room and get to work. His control and fusion skills made light work of creating all the different parts and attaching gem shards. He spent a few hours doing all of the minor links, including putting in the runes that would be needed to activate them when bonded. When his time came to fight he quickly went and ended the fight quickly, the woman he fought was rather strong for the tutorial, her level in the high 40¡¯s, but he ended it quickly by shifting into his lightning form when she went to attack him with her sword, causing her to get hit with a shock that left her on the ground, hurt but nowhere near dead. It was his first time showcasing the skill and the audience was ecstatic about it, the woman, whose name was Martha, recovered after a while but as she had been unconscious for a time she had lost. He helped her back to the waiting room where she just stared at him like he was a monster. He didn¡¯t blame her, humans just shouldn¡¯t be able to change into an element and seeing it would have been a shock. When he got back to Jack¡¯s shop he had a few hours until the soiree and he had the most of that time. When he had made nearly 500 minor links he moved to making a few dozen master links, some only big enough to hold a dozen minor links and others large enough to hold hundreds. The only thing left to do was spread the word on what was now being sold in Jack¡¯s shop. Shaun went and stood out the front of the s tore and as loud as he could called for everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Everyone listen up!¡± Shaun yelled, getting the attention of everyone that heard him, which was a majority of the people around. ¡°There is a new item for sale in this store, one that I think a lot of you will want to get your hands on. I have crafted items that will let you track each other. Not just now but back on Earth. If you want to be able to meet up quickly, without fear of where you end up when this tutorial is over, bring your coin and your team and I will gladly sell you these items. Spread the word, there is plenty for all.¡± No one moved for a moment, they just stared at him, but then as if it all finally settled in they went running around, gathering who they needed. Shaun just turned around and went back in the store, seeing Jack smiling. ¡°I will handle the payments if you do all the crafting. How much will you sell them for?¡± Shaun had thought about this, the cost of each minor link hadn¡¯t even been a silver coin each, the master links depended on which one the bought. ¡°Go for a 10% mark up on cost, that way it will seem I am doing this for coin rather than being helpful. They will still be affordable as well which won¡¯t scare people off.¡± Over the afternoon Shaun ended up selling nearly 400 of the minor links and a large amount of the master ones, the only reason he stopped was due to the fact he was due to go to the soiree. It seemed that a majority of people were invited to this one. They were down to the top 15 people in the arena and they now had 2 rest days before everyone got the chance to fight anyone they wished for one of the top spots, after it would be days of battle until only one person was left. When he walked into the soiree he could feel tension throughout the room, the clans were not as chatty as they had been in the past and the mood from the reps was clear for anyone to see, they were not happy, in fact they looked positively pissed. ¡°Now that everyone is here that needs to be, we will get started.¡± Claude, from The Unending Void spoke. ¡°I have been chosen as the neutral party to speak. There has been developments that we have all no doubt heard, regarding your planet.¡± Claude looked across at Octavius who looked cheerful, as if he already knew the outcome of this meeting and had won. ¡°No matter how¡­..distasteful, some of us may view what has come to light, that is not why we are here, not yet at least. Shaun Clermont, step forward and make you choice, this matter regarding your allegiance must be put to an end, now.¡± Shaun walked forward, going over what he had rehearsed in his head. ¡°Claude, I have not yet made a choice. I need time to think over my decision. I only had my last meeting yesterday and there is still much to think over.¡± No one was happy about what he said, some of the reps looked furious, Octavius especially. ¡°This is not acceptable. A choice must be made, here and now. All of the powers have to plan for what will occur after the tutorials end, especially now that a certain power has made their desires for your planet known. Your choice impacts how all move forward, so a decision must be made. Speak your choice.¡± He tried to argue against it but found when he tried to speak nothing came out. He knew he was under a skill, he had felt something similar, though much weaker, from Alan all those months ago. Claude was using a skill on him. ¡°Speak now Shaun, that is an order!¡± ¡°None! I choose none of you! I refuse!¡± He hated people with those type of skills, to force him to do something he didn¡¯t want to. He hadn¡¯t been given any choice, he was forced to speak, the skill Claude had used was too powerful to resist at his level. ¡°You dare refuse us? All of us? Who do you think you are?¡± Xavier shouted at him, the others also making their thoughts known. They were angry, at being rejected, at his blatant refusal to accept any of them. They were from the most powerful factions in the multiverse and he had dismissed them all. The clans were up in arms, never expecting such an outcome. ¡°Quiet everybody.¡± Claude didn¡¯t yell, but when he spoke he commanded silence. ¡°Shaun Clermont, you have made your choice. As agreed you can join no clans, through your own choice you have denied the factions. From now on you are to be an outcast from the factions, as are all who refuse the order of the multiverse.¡± ¡°No! That is not enough!¡± Xavier yelled. ¡°An outcast he shall be, but one that shall not live long. Anyone that kills Shaun Clermont will be offered a place within The Empire, whether it be in the tutorial or back on your planet. I want him dead!¡± ¡°Agreed. I make the same offer. Kill him and you will be given a chance to join The Holy Light!¡± Quinter spoke afterwards. One by one, each of the reps proclaimed the same. Anyone who managed to kill him would be invited into any of the major factions. ¡°Whether it be now, in a month, a year. You are going to die Shaun. The only person you can blame for that is yourself.¡± Octavius seemed to enjoy the turn of events, he hadn¡¯t gotten Shaun to join him but he also didn¡¯t lose him to another side either. He had just become public enemy No.1. He didn¡¯t stick around to see what happened next, he walked from the room, the clans sneering at him and those from Earth looking at him like he was their ticket to greatness. Thankfully no one here was strong enough to beat him, and they were being forced into one on ones from here on out. But back on Earth? He was going to need to be very careful, he would be hunted, everyone wanting an easy ticket to power would come for him. All they had to do was kill him. Book 2: Chapter 39 The next two days were some of the weirdest Shaun had experienced, he continued making links and binding them to people, even doing a huge order for Viv and everyone she had managed to recruit to her cause. When people came to him in the store he had gotten a varied amount of looks ranging from straight up hostility to wishing they could be anywhere but near him, it didn¡¯t stop any of them from coming to him to buy what they needed though. Jack had grown more hesitant letting him use his store the longer he was there and when the people coming in had dropped down he decided to call it quits on the links and leave him to his usual business. Even with only a 10% profit he had made out well in coin, he had also managed to gain 2 levels in his profession over the few days which was an added bonus. When the morning came where they would have to spend two days battling it out to keep their place in the top 15 Shaun made his way to the arena along with everyone else. This would be the only chance for the majority of people in the tutorial to take up the offer of trying to kill him to get an offer to get an invitation into one of the major factions and he was curious to see how many, if anybody, would decide to challenge him. When he got to the arena he found the names of all of those who were in the top 15 and he was both surprised and happy at what he saw. From the people he recognised he saw Viv, Li, Gabe, Eric, Rodger and himself. The 9 others he somewhat recognised their name but wouldn¡¯t be able to point them out in a crowd without identifying them first. He found his spot in the arena quickly, his name was on an individual board, like everyone else in the top 15, and he stood underneath it. When he did identify everyone that he didn¡¯t recognise he found that the levels were all pretty close together for the most part. The lowest level one of them was a woman named Tracy at level 49 and the highest was a man named Joseph at level 53. When compared to himself there was about a ten level gap, but if he thought about how many levels they would have gained in the last 3 weeks he was impressed with the speed at which they were levelling. ¡°Hello and welcome to all who have decided to test their strength against the current reigning winners.¡± Dijaun appeared as well as the audience who would be watching the battles, the reps from the major factions included. ¡°The way this shall work is simple, for the next 10 minutes you may go up to the person who you wish to challenge and put your name down as a challenger to their place. You may choose only 3 people to challenge and once everyone has had the opportunity to place their names as challengers the order shall be randomised and the fights shall begin immediately. Unlike previous fights you will all get to watch these fights, while you wait for your own you may sit in the seats over there.¡± He pointed to a number of rows off to the side in the stands that had been left empty for them to sit. ¡°I have been asked to give a reminder, anyone who manages to kill Shaun Clermont will be given an invitation to join any of the Major Factions, that includes if you kill him now in these fights. You have 30 minutes to make your choices, the time starts now! As soon as everyone was given the go ahead some people moved quickly to the people who they wanted to challenge, having already decided upon who they wanted to fight, others were more hesitant in their approach. The people that were lower levelled held back for the most part but there was a decent number who were about even with the people already in the top 15 with Tracy seeming to get the quickest influx of people walking up to her. It took about 5 minutes before the first person came up to Shaun, they didn¡¯t say anything to him but put their name down as a contestant, looking at his level he was at level 48. After they left it was almost as the go ahead was given for people to come up to him. The number increased pretty quickly from then on and by the time the 30 minutes had passed he had 148 people who had decided to fight him, the highest of anyone in the top 15. Shaun almost felt bad, people had signed up to fight him that had very little hope of winning, some not even at level 40 yet, they had no idea what they would be getting into, especially if they pressed him to fight to the death. Most of the other top 15 had between 15-50 challengers, and only from people that actually had a chance to win. ¡°And the 30 minutes is over! It seems like some of our current winners will have a rough few days fighting all of their challengers! All of our current winners will take turns fighting until they have no challengers left or until they are knocked out. If a challenger win¡¯s they take the spot in the top 15 and will then continue fighting the challengers that are left that would have fought the original contestant. The line up has been randomised, and the first fight will be Shaun Clermont vs Valerie Jenkins!¡± The moment they were both alone in the arena they were asked if they were ready, which both of them agreed they were, and the fight began. Valerie took 2 daggers and threw them both at him, each empowered with a skill. Shaun summoned a gust of wind which sent them flying off course to the side of the arena and followed up with an air strike through his sword which Valerie attempted to dodge but wasn¡¯t quick enough. She got hit with the attack in the shoulder and got blasted backwards so quickly that she didn¡¯t have time to stand up before Shaun used his ring and appeared standing above her, sword aimed straight down at her head. ¡°You can¡¯t kill me, concede now or I will show you what happens to people that try and kill me.¡± Valerie was still dazed by the air strike but she managed to come to her senses long enough to concede the fight and just like that it was over. Rather than the usual cheering he got from the crowd when he won a match they booed at him. All the reps wanted him dead which meant the clans wanted him dead, him still being alive was no what they wanted to see. One down, 147 left to go. The fights continued on the same way for most of the day, Eric was the first to finish his challengers, having the least out of anybody, followed shortly by Viv, then Viv and finally Gabe. They had won all of their matches which he was proud of. Some of the original top 15 lost though, especially as it got later in the day and they became more tired, but it was only those on the weaker side and they were unlucky enough to have to fight someone who had a decent counter to their skills. By the time his fights were done he had won 48 of his fights which left 100 for the next day. This it seemed was done on purpose as his turn had been skipped at the end to finish the fights for everyone else leaving the next day purely his. Unlike many of the others he hadn¡¯t used any potions to recover, not needing to with his higher stats. He also changed up the fights, going from purely magical based to straight up melee to always keep his opponents unaware of what he was going to do next. He hadn¡¯t killed anyone, even though some of the people fighting him looked like they really wanted to kill him, he just had no need to do so, he had shown them how easy it was for him to put them down if he wanted to and always gave them the chance to concede, which they took, not wanting to give up their lives for a lost cause. The next day he made his way back to the arena, and even though there was a lot less people needed there as most of the fights were over, it seemed that everyone wanted to attend to watch Shaun continue on with his fights. He had heard some talk around how he was not killing anyone even though there was plenty of people out to kill him, more talk around his fighting ability and what counters could be used against him. But from what he gathered people came up empty on how to actually beat him, which was funny as he hadn¡¯t even needed to go all out in using his more dangerous skills. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Today will be the last day before we enter into the final fights of the tutorial where we will crown the winner! Shaun has 100 fights that he will need to make it through, no breaks, just back to back fighting! Will he make it? Or will he die!¡± Shaun was getting over listening to Dijaun and his commentary, the guy was more annoying than a used car salesman and he really wished he would just shut up and get on with it. ¡°There has been a change however. The Factions have come together and offered up an alternative, which will be allowed, but only if all accept. Shaun,¡± Dijaun spoke directly to him, ¡°if you agree instead of 100 one on one fights you will only need to fight once, against all one hundred challengers.¡± Why would I even consider doing that? ¡°But what is in it for you? Why would you agree when you can simply go through them one at a time you may be asking yourself? Well a deal has been made, if you win you will get the choice of 11 platinum coin, 110,000,000 TE, or an assortment of natural treasures to choose from, all at least at Epic grade but a number have been put up by the factions which are higher. These natural treasures include items such as The Eye of the Storm, an orb that contains the living embodiment of a storm that could wreck destruction across a planet is unleashed. A sapling of Life, a small plant that contains the very essence of life itself. A Death Sphere, an item that has entombed the very nature of the afterlife, when used giving the user the ability to tap into the very nature of death, and that is just to name a few. If you win, you can pick and choose how your reward, lose, and you will die. What is your choice?¡± The offer was enticing, the rewards for winning would go a long way in helping him with his future development, the coins would be great, but it was the TE which he would be able to use on Earth and most of all the natural treasures that he could utilise in not only his crafting but potentially his advancement with affinity. There was very little risk in fighting one on one but to fight 100 all at once meant he would need to truly delve into his affinity and skills, push himself to the limit with all three of his known affinity, air, fire and lightning. There was a decent chance he could still win against 100 challengers at once, and gaining these treasures would be a huge boon, something that he could really use during his time back on Earth. Part of him also wanted to show them, all of the clans, the reps, just who they were screwing with, and in some ways it may even make them second guess their plans for Earth. If he showed just what power he could unleash here it may give them pause, especially The Pantheon, regarding the war for his planet. ¡°I accept, I will fight the 100 challengers at once. But the challengers should know, I won¡¯t hold back, if they choose to fight me as a group they risk more than loosing, they risk their lives.¡± When he finished speaking most everyone got excited, the reps were gambling that he wouldn¡¯t be able to face 100 people and win, the clans were excited for the fight, the challengers for the most part just saw their chance of succeeding go up, but some realised what he had just said. He had been holding back in his fights, he wouldn¡¯t any longer. That gave them pause, was all of this worth dying for? ¡°Wonderful! All those challengers willing to fight in the group battle against Shaun please move into the arena and prepare to start! Those who choose not to fight in the group will automatically concede their fight.¡± By the time all of his challengers had made it into the arena, he guessed that nearly all but maybe one or two had decided to participate, it seemed that for the most part they thought they really had a chance to take him out. ¡°Are all participants ready?¡± Everyone gave their acknowledgement, the cheers were near deafening for the fight to start. ¡°Let the match begin!¡± Shaun didn¡¯t hesitate to move, he shifted himself into a bolt of lightning and appeared in the centre of the arena, the blast sending anyone close by flying. He then shifted himself into the wind itself and flew up into the air where he reappeared on the platform of hardened air. Quickly, he started pushing mana into the air, replicating the cyclone he had created weeks earlier when he fought the sparrow. He was out of reach for the melee fighters but anyone with a ranged attack was sending them at him. He blocked what he could, either by using his gauntlet¡¯s barrier spell or his sword. Some made it through and hit him, generally doing little damage to him, his own armour doing its job of protecting him. It didn¡¯t take long for his natural disaster to form, the moment it did and it hit the ground his challengers struggled to fight against the winds, it didn¡¯t stop them from continuing their attacks though. The moment the gem in his gauntlet ran out of mana he shifted into the wind again, moving himself to a different position in the eye of the cyclone, avoiding a majority of the attacks on him. He also took that as his queue to step it up a notch. He started sending bolts of lightning out from him, he turned the arena into an electrical minefield, no one was safe, there was no cover, to be hit with one of those lightning bolts was to die. The attacks on him had lessened considerably, they were now all focusing on defence rather than attack. Shaun had turned himself into the embodiment of a natural disaster and no one was safe. He noticed a number of people concede and run from the arena, he let them go seeing no need to attack them. When he noticed no one else running though he decided to switch up his attack. He stopped drawing on lightning and switched to fire, he sent it into the winds, sustaining the flames with his mana. His cyclone had turned from a devastating wind to a deathly fire storm. It took only seconds before he was fully surrounded by his fire, people were getting burned, unable to survive the heat, even more made a run for it. For his finishing blow he controlled all of the power he had unleashed and started to pull it all towards him, condensing it down into the most powerful fire ball he had ever created. ¡°This is your last chance to concede, give up and run before I send this fire down into the arena, you won¡¯t be able to escape, you will die. This is your last chance!¡± He yelled throughout the arena, still up in the air looking down at everyone who had yet to run. He watched as nearly everyone ran, by the time they were done only 6 people were left in the arena, each holding their weapons and potions at the ready. Shaun couldn¡¯t hold back the power he was containing any longer, he couldn¡¯t even if he tried, so he sent the fire ball down into the centre of the arena. As soon as the ball hit the ground all of the power it contained was sent rolling out obliterating anything in its path. When it hit the edges of the arena it met a resistance, stopping it from moving into the stand, protecting all of those who were simply watching. For several seconds the heat and flames were all that could be seen or felt, but when they finally dissipated all that was left in the arena was 6 charred bodies. Shaun shifted back into air and reappeared back on the ground. There was only silence from the crowd, no booing, no cheering. He looked up at the reps who had mixed looks, most were absolutely furious, others just looked shocked that he had won. Surprisingly he got a nod of respect from Xavier, who probably appreciated the show he had put on, the devastating power he displayed. It would be in line with someone that respected war and fighting over all else. ¡°The winner is Shaun.¡± Dijaun spoke to the crowd, giving a nervous glance at where the reps all stood. ¡°You will be able to make your choice of rewards as agreed, you can select what you like immediately in the same room as your previous meeting were in. For everyone else, we now have our top 15 contestants finalised. Tomorrow the last of the battles begin in the fight to take the crown and become champion!¡± Shaun didn¡¯t bother sticking around, he had loot to pick and he needed time to recover, he had used a lot of mana in creating those attacks and he needed some time to recover. He had done it though, fought nearly 100 people and won, that meant something, and hopefully the reps would reconsider their war on both him and Earth. Book 2 Chapter 40 When it came to choosing his reward, the choice had been easier than he had expected. He was only able to get two of the natural treasure and he chose the Life Sapling and the Death Sphere, both of which emitted power that drew him in more than expected, when he held them close to each other they both repelled and drew in the opposing energies in a way that touched on some memory in his mind that he couldn¡¯t quite grasp. He also got 1 platinum coin and 10 million TE as the remainder of the reward. His time in the tutorial was coming to an end, he only had 4 fights left, and if he won each one of them he would win the tutorial. He did very little before the next fight, recovering his mana was important and he also created a list of things that he needed from the tutorial that he may not be able to find back on Earth easily, predominantly he wanted to stock up on food, metal, gems and books by the time he left, as well as any other materials that might be of some use. His walk through to the arena the next day was odd, previously people were looking at him like they were his ticket to getting in with the major factions, now they were terrified after his display of power. He had killed 6 people, but that wasn¡¯t what they were scared of, it was the sheer power, the wind, fire and lightning that he had used to completely terrify nearly 100 people into running from him. When he was at the arena he was forced to wait in the waiting room for a while before they would each be called in to fight. One of them would get to proceed through to the next round unimpeded and he doubted it would be him. He just hoped he could avoid fighting any of his friends for as long as he could. Viv was the first one called along with some guy that had gotten lucky the day before and beat one of the previous top 15. It was only 5 minutes later when they both walked back into the room, the guy looking like he could barely walk an arrow still sticking out of his shoulder and leg, while Viv looked almost untouched. Two people that he didn¡¯t know were called next, and after that Li was called in with Gabe. He didn¡¯t know who would win between those two, both had very different fighting styles, so it was hard to guess. The fight went on for a while though, it was nearly 20 minutes before they both came back looking exhausted and hurt. Eric thankfully asked who won and Gabe informed him Li did while getting a potion out and downing it. Rodger was called next along with a woman, both looking less than pleased with the match up. They both came back and were told the woman, Claire, winning. And then what he had been dreading happened, he was called up to fight Eric. This scenario was less than ideal, they were supposed to be hating each other, anything less than an aggressive fight would ruin everything they worked towards. They didn¡¯t speak as they walked into the arena, not even acknowledging each other¡¯s presence. They didn¡¯t have to speak to know that they wouldn¡¯t fight to the death, the fight would suck for both of them, but even with the armour that he had made Eric he wouldn¡¯t be able to win, he would try to though. ¡°The fight between Eric Chapman and Shaun Clermont will now commence!¡± There was no huge lead up to the fight, as soon as they were both in the arena the fight had been called to start. Eric came at him straight away, using the spells Shaun himself had crafted into his weapon on him. Shaun deflected it, teleporting directly behind Eric and kicking him in the back with all of his strength. Eric¡¯s armour took the brunt of hit but Shaun didn¡¯t give up his advantage, he teleported over and over, sending out attack after attack, slowly beating him down. Eric tried to get in a hit with his sword and at the last second Shaun shifted to his lightning form, letting the blade slice through his now non corporeal form, ending in Eric getting electrocuted by the failed attack. Eric used every one of the spells in his items, he attempted to blast him back with the shield and Shaun simply shifted into air and moved back in and launched another attack. To everyone watching it would have looked like Shaun was enjoying extending the fight and beating on Eric, but what he was really doing was trying to figure out a way to end the fight without doing too much damage to either Eric or his gear. ¡°You can¡¯t win this, you know it. Would you like to know what it feels like to get struck by lightning?¡± As Shaun spoke he channelled his lightning through his sword and pointed it at Eric. ¡°I will enjoy this.¡± Before Eric could move out of the way he sent a stream of lightning at him, giving him just enough time to move his shield in the way. It wasn¡¯t a strong bolt, even though it looked like it was. The shield took the brunt of the damage and rather than boost the power in the attack Shaun sent out several other bolts to land around where Eric stood, making it look like Eric had been struck multiple times when in reality he would only have been affected by the proximity of the strikes. While Eric was busy defending against the lightning, Shaun powered up an air strike in his gauntlet, one strong enough that it would send him flying and released the attack on Eric. The moment Eric hit the ground he teleported to stand above him, he kicked Eric¡¯s sword out of his hand and trapped his shield arm under his foot. Erics armour had next to no weak spots, but there was a few, and Shaun knew all of them. Without hesitating he lifted his sword and drove it through one of the gaps in the armour, puncturing through the shielding and into his shoulder, the only reason he could manage this was due to the angle Eric was laying and Shaun knowing where the gap underneath the plating was. The moment Eric let out a yell Shaun felt his heart tighten, he had made sure that it was a non-lethal attack but that didn¡¯t mean it wouldn¡¯t hurt. ¡°I concede!¡± *Round 7 Winner declared as Shaun Clermont* 2,102,856 TE awarded to winner for beating opponent in two on one battle. You may now leave the arena. The moment Shaun got the message he withdrew his sword from Eric¡¯s shoulder and left the arena. He did not enjoy that fight, especially taking the TE that Eric had worked hard for. The wound would heal easily enough with no lasting consequences, but hurting someone he called a friend made him feel like shit. It had to be done though, they both knew that. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. He spent a majority of the afternoon spending more coin than should have been possible, buying things he didn¡¯t need but bought just in case he found a use for it later. He was tempted to go back into the dungeon, but the idea of fighting again that day held no appeal, so instead he went back into his mediation work, this time with both of his natural treasures out in front of him, to see if he could pull any memories out of his mind from the Nephilim regarding why he found the connection between Life and Death so important. He didn¡¯t succeed, but he felt closer than he had before. The next day he thankfully didn¡¯t need to fight either Li or Viv, instead he was paired with Claire, the woman who had beat Rodger the previous day. Fighting her, her could see how she won. She was quick and strong, more so than Shaun expected, but in the end, after blasting her around the arena a few times, she was rendered unconscious and unable to continue, making Shaun the winner. He had asked her to concede twice through the fight but she refused both times, short of killing her, knocking her out was the best he could do. He now only had 2 fights left, both Li and Viv had made it into the top 4 with him, and the odds were that he would be fighting one of them in the next round. Before that though he had decided that he would go back into the dungeons and not leave until he got the three levels he needed in his class to get a new skill. It took him nearly 20 waves before he managed to get the levels he needed, fighting up till the monsters had reached level 80 before he got the last level he wanted. His focus was not just on levels though, he worked each of his skills until he saw growth across each of them, he had been lacking in this field, so although it took much longer to clear the dungeon than normal, it felt good to see the levels rise. *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +3 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 75. +9 Str, +6 Dex, +9 End, +9 Vit, +12 Soul gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 63. +16 Ap gained* *New Class Skill Available: Please choose from one of the following options:* Just like he had been hoping for the number 25 was the important one in the E grade, and although he had just gotten the chance to pick up a skill in his class, choosing the Elemental Shift ability, having another on now would not harm him, if anything, it would help him to build up his ability. *[Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade ¨C Using one of the elements to create a mirror image of a blade you hold, forming a copy of it made completely from one of your bonded elements. The blade will be independent from its physical copy, capable to attacking and defending using your mind as the controlling factor. The number of blades able to be formed is dependent on skill level, for each 10 levels one extra blade can be created.* He had been given the choice to pick this one last time, and although he had been tempted he had wanted other skills more, even now he hoped he would get another chance to pick up a different skill that he missed out on last time, just not this one. *[Advanced] Elemental Field ¨C The skill allows you to fully transform the area around you to temporarily terraform the surrounding area to an element of your choosing. Using the element in this field will exponentially increase the power of that element when used.* This was a new choice, one that he could see the benefit of, but right now wouldn¡¯t really do much. If he got to a point where he needed the boost in his elemental power he would take it, but right now it would be all but pointless. *[Advanced] Elemental Summons ¨C Through locking off a portion of your mana you can summon a creature to fight by your side, formed completely of one of your bonded elements. The overall strength of the summon creature is dependent on the amount of mana locked down on the initial summons. The amount of creatures able to be summoned is dependent on skill level, for each 10 levels 1 extra creature can be summoned.* This was the one he had been hoping for. He had been very tempted last time, but the ability to shift one¡¯s body into an element couldn¡¯t be turned down, and he didn¡¯t regret his decision. But now he made no hesitation in picking it. *Skill Gained*: [Advanced] Elemental Summons (Level 1) The moment he got the skill he could feel the knowledge of how to use it appear in his mind. The moment it did he locked down 1000 mana and summoned his first creature. What appeared was even better than what he had been expecting, standing at his hip was a hound bathed in flames, if he had to fight this creature even he would be hesitant. What came as a shock was that he felt a connection to it, like there was a link in his mind to its. He knew that all he had to do was ask it to do something and it would. Similarly, he felt that the creature, which he somehow knew to be called a Flame Hound, would do anything to protect him. Before he tested out its strength he gave it a pat on the head, stroking down its neck. The hound pushed its head into him like the attention and affection that Shaun gave was not only appreciated but that it enjoyed it. Let¡¯s go fight some monsters, together! Shaun let the hound fight, only really interfering when it was getting overwhelmed. It was a strong creature, more so than he would have assumed for only a 1000 mana put into it, but it was fast and could tear through the monsters one on one with enough time. When it got hurt Shaun felt the mana drain away from it. The more damage it sustained the more the mana was reduced. Before there was a chance for it to die Shaun decided to finish the fight. He didn¡¯t want to see it get be killed by a monster, even though it was more than happy to fight till the end, but instead he gave it another pat and with a smile dissipated the skill, the hound disappearing with a howl. He had gained a number of levels in the skill just from the one fight, he applied his AP and looked over his status sheet before leaving the dungeon, he was getting stronger, his skills starting to really balance out. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (E) Level: 63 Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger - Level 75 Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator - Level 52 Health Points: 8156/9250 Stamina:3985/6450 Mana:19265/25560 Stats: (Available Points: 0) Strength: 700 Dexterity: 843 Endurance: 645 Vitality: 925 Intelligence: 622 Perception: 554 Willpower: 477 Soul: 2556 Affinity: Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water Advanced: Lightning, Ice, Magma Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer Heritage: Azreal''s Legacy (Hidden) Skills: Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 46), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 48), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 53), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 39), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 27), [Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 11), [Advanced] Elemental Summons (Level 4) Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 51), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 43), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 39), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 50), [Advanced] Mana Sight (Level 49), [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 41), [Advanced] Elemental Storage (Level 6) Book 2: Chapter 41 The colosseum was buzzing with activity the next day, they were coming up on their last days in the tutorial and everyone was preparing as much as they could before their time was up. Like him others were pulling together what they needed from the shops to keep in their inventory, as well as pushing themselves in the dungeons to gain more levels and TE, both of which would be advantageous when they were sent back to earth. For Shaun, there was little more he could do to prepare, his levels were in a good position, he had so much TE that he didn¡¯t think he would be encountering any issues back on Earth when it came to claiming a place as his own and he had also bought so much from the stores that he had nearly maxed out his own inventory. The only thing he had left to do in the tutorial was to finish his fights and also research into crafting techniques, specifically into rituals, something he had done only once but could not discount just how impressive the results were. When it was time for Shaun to go to the arena and wait for his fight he was both excited and nervous. Excited because this was all nearly over, nervous as he was pretty confident he was going to have to fight another person that he considered a friend. When he arrived the others were already there waiting, apart from himself Viv and Li were sitting with each other and the fourth person, a man named Peter who was level 52. ¡°Shaun, we have all spoke and agreed that we won¡¯t be fighting to the death, are you in agreeance with this?¡± Peter directed at him before he even had a chance to sit down. The man was clearly nervous about being paired with him, and after killing those people back in the group fight wanted to make sure that if he did get stuck fighting him that he would still be able to walk out alive. ¡°No issue with it. As long as you don¡¯t try to kill me I wont kill you.¡± Peter tried to hide the relief he felt at Shaun¡¯s words but he could see the man relax slightly at hearing his words. While Shaun sat in silence, the other three started a conversation around the plan for what they would need to do once the tutorial ended. From what he gathered there was a rather large group from this tutorial that planned on grouping together and meeting up when they were back on Earth. Although they had no idea where they would end up when they got sent back, it apparently was in agreeance that they would need to form a strong hold quickly and start recruiting from other tutorials as soon as possible. The first fighters were called and it was announced that Viv would be fighting Peter, which left him alone with Li in the waiting area, once they were alone an uncomfortable silence settled over them. ¡°It was unexpected, just how far the major factions went when you rejected them. It was quite the talk, most expected them to be angry after you said what you did, but to sentence you to death, to encourage everyone to kill you, it was a shock.¡± Li said into the silent room. She wasn¡¯t looking at him and hadn¡¯t said it, but what she really meant was that they now fully understood why they had done what they did, splitting up and acting as if they hated each other. ¡°I knew they would be furious, I even expected them to go as far as pitting people against me, but to offer the person that killed me a spot in one of their factions? I didn¡¯t expect them to go that far. Still, all anyone can do is attack me, I am ready for it. They have no other way to hurt me except to come at me directly. No leverage they can use, no one to hold against me. People will come for me on Earth, but I will be ready for them, alone, but ready to fight.¡± ¡°I wont hold back in this fight, I am going to throw everything I have at you.¡± The change in topic threw him for a second, but they had both said what they needed to in their own say regarding what had occurred before this. ¡°I look forward to it. Although you may not like my new friends.¡± Shaun couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the confused look on Li¡¯s face when he said that he had a new friend, she had no idea what he was talking about, especially as these fights were one on one. Shortly after they had finished talking Viv and Peter both stumbled back into the waiting room, both looking like they had taken a beating. ¡°Looks like I will be fighting one of you tomorrow.¡± Viv said to both him and Li. ¡°Good luck Li, lets show everyone what us woman are capable of.¡± Both Shaun and Li moved into the arena after that, both ready to get the fight started. He had to admit that he was happy for Viv, he had been hoping she would win, not so that he could fight her but so that she would make it into the final round. ¡°This fight will decide who goes into the finals tomorrow, one of these two humans will get the chance to fight Vivenne Grace and see if they have what it takes to be crowned champion! But who will it be? Li Al Sal has proven herself a capable fighter, one not to be underestimated. Will she beat the rejecter Shaun? Will she be the one to take his life and be offered a position in one of the major factions? We are about to find out!¡± Dijuan¡¯s speech did what it was supposed to and got the crowd riled up. ¡°Let the fight begin!¡± Neither Shaun nor Li made a move for a moment, both staring each other down waiting for someone to make the first move. Shaun decided to do just that. ¡°So, you ready to meet one of my friends?¡± he yelled this loud enough that everyone could hear him, not just Li. The moment he spoke Li tried to take the advantage and three concussive blasts at him, each with enough power that he almost lost his footing. It was too late though, he had already sacrificed 5000 of his mana and summoned Spike, the name he had given his flame hound. No killing Spike, wear her down, cause some injuries, but no killing okay? As he communicated with his summoned creature he felt the agreement with it and gave it a head rub before he let it go. The moment the hound appeared the reaction from everyone watching was rather comical to him, he heard shouting that he was cheating for using a summoned creature and others yelling about how it shouldn¡¯t be possible at his grade. However he knew he wasn¡¯t cheating, it was a skill and the hound was apart of him so technically it was still allowed. He hadn¡¯t brought anyone in with him and the system had not given any notifications of him cheating. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. The best reaction though was from Li, she looked from Shaun to the approaching hound trying to figure out who she should be fighting, the hound, at 5000 mana was even more impressive than at 1000. It had grown horns that curved around its head, wherever it stood it burned the ground and it even emitted a heat that would be near unbearable for anyone that didn¡¯t have some resistance to fire. It may have been over kill to put so much mana into the summons but he wanted to show just how capable the summons was, another warning to those watching. ¡°Spike.¡± He said to the hound, who tilted its head back at him, ¡°Attack.¡± The moment he gave the order, making sure that it knew that it wasn¡¯t to kill, it pounced at Li who put up a shield of magic in front of it. It only took 2 swipes for the hound to break it and continue and during that time Li had sent several attacks at it that barely did any damage to the overall amount of mana he had used in the summons. The fight started to follow a routine of sorts, Li would throw up a shield and send out attacks and Spike would continue to destroy them and close the distance to Li. He knew that Li would start to run out of mana after a while and would need to change things up before she was left with nothing to attack with, and he had been right. When she put up her next shield, instead of attacking the hound she attempted to attack Shaun directly. He saw it coming and simply shifted into the air for a few seconds to dodge her attack, glad that he did as where Li¡¯s attack landed left a crater in the arena. It had been one of the strongest magical attacks he had seen from anyone in the tutorial and he was impressed by the output she was capable of. It had cost her though, she looked visibly drained after it, like she had used nearly all her remaining mana in the attack. It had also been her biggest mistake in the fight. The hadn¡¯t gained nay distance from the hound and when it broke through her shield it was on her in less than a second. Li didn¡¯t have time to summon a shield and she was taken to the ground by a swipe from the hound, inflicting both physical and magical damage. Spike stood over her on the ground and growled menacing right in her face. Shaun took this opportunity to slowly walk up to her, and when he reached Spike¡¯s side gave him a rub on the back. ¡°Who¡¯s a good boy? You are Spike.¡± The hound loved the affection, and the menacing growl changed instantly to a quite bark, its long pointed tail wagging behind it. He looked down at Li, who was looking between him and Spike like they were both insane. ¡°Do you concede? Or do you want to see Spike here go all out?¡± Spike timed his growl at Li perfectly, leaving no room for anything but a concession. ¡°I concede.¡± Li said, barely loud enough to be heard, not wanting to make any sudden loud noices with Spike still standing over her. *Round 9 Winner declared as Shaun Clermont* 5,486,012 TE awarded to winner for beating opponent in two on one battle. You may now leave the arena. He felt bad, having taken half of her TE like that, but he didn¡¯t really have much of a choice, it was done automatically as soon as he won the battle. He gave Spike a final pat on the head before finishing the ability and sending it away. He didn¡¯t wait in the arena any longer and just walked out, leaving Dijaun speaking to the crowd as he went. He had no interest in hearing the Jinn speak, and he also wanted to get out before he was forced into some conversation with the reps. Tomorrow he would fight Viv, the final fight he had left in the tutorial, and after it would be time to go home, back to Earth. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Viv, Eric and Gabe had all been waiting for Li to finish her fight, they knew that Shaun would be the one to win, but they also knew that losing a fight, even knowing it was going to happen before the fight even began, was a hard thing to go through. They first saw Shaun leave the arena, he didn¡¯t have a scratch on him and walked in the direction of his room without even looking their way, It still stung, seeing him around and not being able to speak to him, but after what had happened with the reps, the proclamation that he would be hunted down and killed, the hate that was sent his way, it finally sunk in just how much danger they would have been in if they were still close to him in the public eye. When Li finally appeared she looked as pale as a ghost, she didn¡¯t look to hurt, just a scratch from what looked like a monster, but the look on her face said that what happened in the arena was more than just a simple sword fight like Eric got. ¡°You don¡¯t look great Li, what happened in there?¡± Viv was the first to meet her and gave her a hug, trying to comfort the small woman who looked close to crying. ¡°God, he is terrifying to fight and I didn¡¯t even really fight him!¡± Li whispered into Viv¡¯s shoulder, hugging her back so hard that if Viv wasn¡¯t as strong as she was, she would have suffocated. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, what do you mean you didn¡¯t really fight him?¡± Viv pulled Li along walking back to her own room with the others following. Li didn¡¯t speak again until they were safely inside, and the moment they were Li pulled herself into a ball on the couch. ¡°I think he has a new skill, or some weird item. It felt more like a skill though. He summoned some creature, some kind of fire dog, or something. It was terrifying, I threw everything I had at it and it broke through my shield like they were paper! It stood above me and I swear it would kill me with a single bite!¡± Li was getting more worked up as she spoke, barely holding it together. ¡°And Shaun, he was patting it! He called it Spike! Like a pet! That dog was more powerful than any monster we have fought and it was his pet! It scratched me, once, but I knew that if Shuan wanted it to it would have torn me to pieces in seconds.¡± There was a few moments of silence while they all processed what Li had said, The more Li spoke the more Viv was coming to the same conclusion, she had no hope of winning tomorrow and there was no way that Shaun could throw the match to let her win without the reps setting their sights on her as a potential way to get to him. They had all witnessed how brutal they were, especially when it came to Shaun. When she had witnessed everything that went down at that meeting she had been scared for him, but she was even more relieved that he had seen it coming and forced them all to cut ties before it had gotten to the point where they would be included as targets of the reps. ¡°Nothing has changed, we need to continue to prepare for the tutorial to end, Viv will fight Shaun tomorrow but after that we have to keep focused 100% on gaining back our TE and getting stronger. We need to continue coordinating our plan for Earth as well.¡± Li took a deep breath and stood from the couch. ¡°Shaun could have killed me today, but he didn¡¯t, we knew he wouldn¡¯t. I was barely hurt in there and I think he did what he did with the creature on purpose. Not to scare me but to send a message to everyone else. He won¡¯t go down easily on Earth, no matter what the reps try, and with the new skill, he is no longer alone.¡± Book 2: Chapter 42 The lead up to the final fight was unlike any of the others, everyone was invited to witness the fight, all were welcome to attend. They were also informed that this fight would be recorded and shared throughout the multiverse for all to view at their leisure, which was apparently standard for new integrations so that information on the most powerful could be spread, it would also be announced, what clans had secured the fighters, if any had done so, to promote the alliance between a champion of their planet and a clan. After the fight there would be a ceremony where the winner would be crowned and rewards distributed to the highest ranking of the stage. Shaun couldn¡¯t wait for this entire thing to be over, he had been spending most of his time drafting up rituals that he could use in conjunction with the Life and Death treasures he had, but so far he had yet to come up with a successful design that truly utilised both treasures. He had also spent time coming up with his own plans for Earth, the first thing he wanted to do was explore and see the new world, find some dungeons that he could fight in and maybe, if he was lucky, find somewhere that he could settle down for a while and focus on ritualistic magics. The time that he needed to be at the arena had come quickly and right in the middle of another one of his ritual designs his orbs indicated he needed to make his way to the battle. As he walked his way to the waiting area he noticed that no one else was in the colosseum, he didn¡¯t see a single person until he got to the waiting room and found Viv sitting by herself. ¡°You going to set your pet dog on me like you did Li?¡± Viv questioned when he sat down. ¡°Or are you planning on fighting me properly?¡± ¡°Does it matter, I am going to win either way.¡± This was the first time he had spoken to Viv in a while, not including when she had purchased the links in the store. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I wont set Spike on you today.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you names hat monster Spike. You are seriously deranged.¡± Viv scowled at him, but he saw through it, she was trying not to smile at him, barely holding back a laugh. ¡°I will have you know, Spike is a Flame Hound and he isn¡¯t a monster, he is a creature. They are two different things.¡± He corrected her. ¡°Besides, Spike¡¯s a good boy.¡± Viv just shook her head at him and looked away. They ended up waiting longer than normal but eventually they were called into the arena. The crowd was cheering Viv¡¯s name as soon as they came into view, clearly something had been said before they came out that had everyone already riled up and shouting for Viv to kill him. ¡°Today we will crown a champion!¡± Dijaun yelled at the audience. ¡°Vivenne Grace is the most talented archer we have seen in the arena, her skill with the bow is impressive and her arrows are deadly! We are all hoping to see her bring down the rejector known as Shaun Clermont! But will he even give her a chance, will he cheat and use his summons again? Showing us all how much of a coward he is. Or will he man up and fight her with his sword? Vivenne has had multiple offers from several clans for her to join them, a decision on who she may join will be decided in the coming days, Shaun however, is an outcast, never to join a clan or power, forever alone.¡± That was just rude. The commentary from Dijaun had turned nasty, clearly the reps were not happy with how the fights had gone, they had done everything they could do have him killed in the arena and this was their last chance to see it done before he was released back to Earth. ¡°Are our fighters ready?¡± Both Shaun and Viv nodded, neither taking their eyes off each other. ¡°Then let the battle begin!¡± Viv didn¡¯t hesitate in making the first move, quicker than he had expected she had an arrow flying his way, one of the growth arrows that he had crafted for her. He had expected this though, and one of the downsides to archer archetypes when they were fighting him was that he controlled the air, because of that he was able to simply redirect it to fly past him. Surprisingly the arrow had resisted his attempts, and he ended up using more power than he had expected in succeeding in changing the course of the arrow. Viv didn¡¯t let up though, she fired two more arrows at him in quick succession, he swatted the first one out the air with his gauntlet covered hand, although barely being quick enough to do so. The second he decided to dodge using his ring, appearing behind Viv in the arena. Before she was able to fully turn he sent three fire balls headed straight at her, repaying her for the three arrows she had sent at him. She managed to move out of the way of the first two but the third was one more than she could successfully dodge and she ended up getting hit and sent flying across the arena. He had to admit though, she recovered quickly. She was back on her feet and sending more arrows his way, some were just normal arrows powered up by skills but one of them was the starling arrow that would hurt even him if he was hit. Rather than try and dodge them normally he instead shifted into the air and drifted out of the way, all of the arrows missing him but causing massive damage to the area he had been standing. She is not holding back. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. For a while they played cat and mouse around the arena, Viv continued to send her attacks at him and he would dodge and then send his own attacks back, although his wee nowhere near his most powerful. He admired just how much Viv had grown in the last few weeks, and he fully understood during their fight just how she had gotten to be the one who was fighting him now. Her attacks were all precise and strong and she never just stood in one place, she was constantly moving around the arena, refusing to be pinned down by him. When he had decided that he would end the fight he sent a bolt of lightning right at her, enough to do some damage but not enough to kill. Surprisingly she did something he did not expect. She took another of her devouring arrows and fired it right at his attack. The arrow was capable of absorbing power, but he had never expected it to do what it had done. Where the arrow met lightning his own attack was partially absorbed by the arrow, the rest of his attack being knocked off course and she was able to dodge it. Shaun just looked on in shock, no one had ever been able to redirect on of his lightning attacks before and to see that Viv had done it had left him stumped for a moment, a moment that Viv took full advantage of. Before he even realised it another of the starling arrows was sent his way, hitting him before he even registered what was happening. The attack hit him full force, his armour taking a large portion of the damage but he was still blasted back. The arrow hadn¡¯t managed to pierce his own Wyrm leather, but the actual magic behind it hit him at full power. The attack was enough to take a decent chunk out of his health, but not enough to put him out of the fight, nowhere close. He stood up from the ground and made a show of brushing off the dirt from his armour, showing everyone watching that he could simply take the attack and stand back up afterwards as if it had no effect on him, when in reality, it had hurt like a bitch. He had expected another follow up attack from Viv, she even had another arrow ready to go, but instead she was waiting to see what he did next. She had sent out one of her most powerful shots at him and he had treated it like it was nothing. Shaun had let her make a good showing of her ability, even getting complacent enough to get hit, but now he needed to end the fight. Shaun sent out strike after strike from his sword, mixing the element used so that she would need to deal with fire, air and lightning, each one being different enough that blocking would be impossible and the resulting explosions all varied to the point that knowing where to run was near impossible. Viv did a good job of getting out of the way of the first few but the more he sent her way the less room she had to move. Eventually she was hit by one of the air strikes which put her in the way of a lightning one which left her a convulsing mess. His attacks were a little more powerful than usual but still he had toned back the power so that there was no real risk of dying. Viv recovered from the attack but nowhere near as quickly as she could have at top health. She was slowing down and he decided to capitalise on that. Just as he looked like he was going to send out another attack he shifted into lightning and came down from the sky right beside her, the result sent Viv hurling away, the lingering effects of the electricity reducing her ability to fire her arrows further. Before she had a chance to recover he teleported to stand over her and placed his sword to her throat, he didn¡¯t attack further, simply gave her the chance to concede. ¡°I hate you, you know that?¡± in that moment even Shaun could believe that what she was saying was true. ¡°Feeling is mutual, I can assure you.¡± As he spoke he saw her shift slightly, she had an arrow in her hand, the last of her devouring ones, and just as she was about to stab him with it he stepped down on her arm, trapping both her hand and the arrow to the ground. He also pressed the sword further towards her neck, drawing a bead of blood from a small cut. ¡°I concede.¡± The moment her last gambit was thwarted she gave up. If he didn¡¯t have the stats that he did, he probably would have been stabbed by the arrow, but with his perception and dexterity it was a pointless endeavour. *Stage 3 Champion declared as Shaun Clermont* 6,962,753 TE awarded to winner for beating opponent in two on one battle. You may now leave the arena. The moment he got the message he stepped back from Viv who made her way to stand on shaky legs. The audience was not happy with the outcome and they were making their feelings well known. The reps had disappeared the moment the fight ended, not bothering to waste any further time now that the fighting was finished and Viv had lost. ¡°The champion has been decided, Shaun Clermont is crowned the winner of this tutorial. The ceremony will take place in an hour where all rewards will be provided by the system to the top 15.¡± Dijaun made an over exaggerated sigh. ¡°This was not the outcome that any of us hoped for, in our hearts Vivenne is the real winner, she showed more strength and courage than any others. Sadly the rejector has won, but let us celebrate Vivenne and the others who did so well against him, a cheat, a liar and most of all, an outcast! May he die a horrible death!¡± Shaun started leaving the moment that Dijaun started to speak, having no desire to listen to the crap he spouted. One day he may get the opportunity for some pay back, but that day was not today. He made his way back to his room, the moment he did he pulsed his healing nature element through his body to take the edge of the lingering pain from Viv¡¯s attack. He then decided to immerse himself in his study, he had an hour and he planned to use that time to delve into his profession and forget about everything else for a while. Book 2: Chapter 43 The hour passed by quicker than Shaun liked, he felt like he was on to something with his most recent design, the only reason he wasn¡¯t annoyed was because of the promise of rewards. When he got to the designated room where the ceremony was supposed to occur he found it packed with people already. When he did enter he found a pedestal that had a floating orb on it, he assumed that the ceremony would have something to do with it, what exactly he wasn¡¯t sure. It took a few more minutes of standing around before Dijaun appeared next to the pedestal. ¡°Quite all, this will be swift as there is much that needs to be done. After this there will only be a few more days left in the tutorial, after that you will be sent back to your planet. To start, Rejector, please come up to the pedestal.¡± For days now, he was being referred to by that title, Rejector. It was supposed to be some insult but really he didn¡¯t care about being called a Rejector, in truth he some what liked it. He had rejected them, all of them, and he was happy to carry that name, especially knowing that he was already part of something more, something bigger. When he reached the pedestal he stopped, looking at Dijaun. ¡°What are you waiting for, touch the orb and you will be declared champion by the system. There are people more worthy to go after you.¡± Shaun did as asked and touched his hand to the orb, at first nothing happened but like a switch had been hit the orb started to brighten. He didn¡¯t take his hand off the orb and eventually he was presented with his rewards for becoming champion. *Tutorial Stage 3 Champion ¨C Shaun Clermont* Rewards being calculated based off of achievements in the tutorial. Successfully completed tutorial battles undefeated ¨C Reward Increased Current holder of number 1 spot on E grade dungeon - Reward Increased Accumulated wealth above 1 platinum coin - Reward Increased Overall level above level 60 - Reward Increased Tutorial Experience (TE) above 40 million - Reward Increased One stat above 2,500 - Reward Increased Multiple Basic affinity detected - Reward Increased Multiple Advanced affinity detected - Reward Increased Reward being adjusted due to achievements. Stand by¡­.. Shaun assumed it would only take a few seconds for the reward to finish adjusting, but when 30 seconds passed and then a minute, things started to get awkward in the room. ¡°What is taking so long! It should have finished by now!¡± Dijaun hissed at him, the annoyance in his tone was not appreciated. ¡°I am super special, its needing to recalculate the reward because of how many great achievements I have.¡± He beamed his smile at Dijaun, speaking loud enough for everyone else to hear. The Jinn just huffed at him and looked away. Reward calculated, options available to be selected. What the hell does it mean I get options? Option 1: TE held as at the end of tutorial is doubled, location where you will be transported back to on your planet can be selected, one Natural treasure, one Epic grade elixir (body), one Epic grade elixir (mind), Unique Title Option 2: Leave the tutorial now and be sent back to your planet, providing you a head start before any others. Option 3: For the remainder of the tutorial you may be transported to anywhere or to anyone in the multiverse you choose. Note: Depending on place or chosen, time allowed to stay may be reduced. The three choices in front of him where all better than he could have dreamed of. Option one gave him power and also choice on where he would be back on Earth. The second gave him an edge against everyone else, getting back to Earth days before anyone else would be a huge advantage, especially if he was inclined to set out and hunt down dungeons before anyone could claim them, it also offered him protection, being on Earth first meant he could explore, find somewhere safe and start putting together fortification for when the people hunting him would eventually come. But the third option gave him something that he hadn¡¯t expected to get until he chose to leave Earth forever, he could go to The Alliance, he could talk to the Fae Queen Elivasia, but doing so meant he gave up more immediate advantages. Each of the options offered him something different, each a very good reward in their own right, for most people it would be a far easier choice, but for him he had to choose between power, protection or knowledge. Looking each option over again he went with his gut feeling, he would be able to gain power the same way he had been and he already had plenty of TE, that ruled out option 1. Similarly, although going back to Earth now would be nice, it wasn¡¯t exactly necessary, which ruled out the second option. He had his choice and picked the third option, knowledge would help him more now than anything else and getting to see the queen, someone he had only ever glimpsed in memories, was something he couldn¡¯t pass up. Option 3 selected, please choose the place or person you wish to be sent to. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Send me to the Fae Queen Elivasia. The moment Shaun directed this at the system the orb started glowing lighter until it was almost an unbearable sight. Soon after his whole body seemed to vibrate down to the smallest cell in his body, he refused to let go of the orb though, not wanting to mess up whatever was happening. When he felt like he wouldn¡¯t be able to stand the feeling much longer it stopped and everything went dark. Shaun didn¡¯t know how long passed, he couldn¡¯t feel or see anything, it was almost like he didn¡¯t have a physical body at all. Some part of him knew that this was part of the process of being moved by the system form one place to another, but I was still an unnerving experience. He knew he was getting close when he felt something shift, it was similar to what he imagined being pulled through a very tight space would feel like, like he was being squeezed through a tiny hole and was about to pop out the other side. When the feeling passed he found that he could see again and the light shining around him was almost too much for him to handle, that and he quickly fell to the ground barely holding in the urge to vomit. He couldn¡¯t focus on anything around him at that moment, his mind was catching up to his body which felt like it had been ringed out over and over again. The feeling slowly started to disappear and when he was able to take in more of his surroundings he felt something press into his back. ¡°Do not move human or I will end you. You will answer my questions quickly and honestly or you die now. Understood?¡± He couldn¡¯t see who spoke but he felt whatever was poking him in the back press through his armour like it wasn¡¯t even there, and a blade sunk into his back. Rather than speak he gave a small nod, not wanting to risk getting skewered through the back. ¡°How did you get onto Alesgracia and how did you make it into the palace?¡± The person, who sounded male, asked him. ¡°System reward. It gave me the option to go anywhere I wanted until my tutorial ended.¡± He was barely able to get the words out, he felt fear like he never had before. I asked to be taken to the Fae Queen, where the hell did I end up? He tried to lift his head to get a look around but the blade still sticking into his back twisted slightly, a warning not to move. ¡°And where exactly did you choose to go?¡± Shaun didn¡¯t know how he should answer the question, he couldn¡¯t see the person that was speaking to him and if he wasn¡¯t Fae, if he ended up somewhere else, revealing who he had asked to go to would have consequences which would be worse than death. ¡°I will answer your question, but please, I just want to see someone, anyone, to see what type of being I am talking to.¡± No one answered his request although he felt movement around him, he was tempted to use his echo skill to get a better idea of what was around him but he didn¡¯t want to risk using a skill and getting killed because of it. The blade never left his back but he did hear someone moving around to stand in front of him. ¡°If you look up you will see who it is that you are speaking, but do so at your own risk.¡± Shaun did as he was asked, he slowly raised his head and saw someone standing in front of him. They were tall, pointed ears, sharp canines and had angular features, it was a fae. They were dressed in armour with a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, the fae male was looking down at him like he was scum, but even that wasn¡¯t enough to hold in the relief he felt at seeing he had made it to the fae. ¡°Now speak human.¡± The Fae behind him, or who he assumed to be fae, dug in a little deeper with the spear. ¡°My name is Shaun Clermont, I asked to go to the Fae Queen Elivasia when I got the reward from the system. Tell her I am here and she will know who I am. Or get Des, I mean Desrilla, she knows who I am too.¡± *1 hour remaining before return to planet* What the hell! He was supposed to have days, how did it say he only had an hour left! ¡°Please be quick, I only have an hour before the system is going to take me back!¡± Neither of them spoke but obviously they communicated in some way as the fae in front of him left quickly. ¡°Why did you ask to be taken to Her Majesty? And how do you know of Desrilla? You agreed to answer my questions, remember that human.¡± ¡°I have met Desrilla, briefly, in my tutorial. And I asked to come to your queen because she knows more about me than I do at this point, I just wanted some answers.¡± He made sure not to lie, but he didn¡¯t give them all the information he had either. If they didn¡¯t know who or what he was it was best not to tell anyone. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a lie, but it was far from the truth. I should kill you now for such an insult.¡± Shaun felt the spear dig even deeper into his back, this time he was unable to help but groan in pain. ¡°You will do no such thing Jakobia! Remove that spear from his back now!¡± Shaun had never been so relieved to hear a person voice in his life. Before he even knew what to do he felt someone kneel down beside him. ¡°Someone get a healer for him now.¡± He looked at Des who placed her hand on his shoulder. ¡°I am sorry this has happened, everyone is on edge at the moment and seeing a human appear in the palace¡­.It doesn¡¯t matter, there is no excuse.¡± ¡°Its fine, trust me I get it. If you knew half of the things that have happened since I saw you. Lets just say that I get why they reacted why they did.¡± Shaun took Des in, really took her in. She was wearing a style of dress that he had never seen before but that didn¡¯t make her look any less powerful, if anything it made her look more so. The dress was intertwined with metal loops, almost making it look like some weird style of armour. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the healer though, I got it.¡± Without waiting for a reply he pulsed his nature affinity through his body, slowly healing the wound in his back. It took a lot more mana than usual but eventually the wound closed up and he was as good as new. When he went to stand Des motioned for him to stop, she moved around him looking at his back, seeing that he had not even a mark from the spear she helped him up. ¡°Jakobia will pay to have the armour fixed, if you can take it off he will ensure it is repaired and back with you before the hour is up.¡± She nodded at him to remove his top which he did quickly and gave it to her. ¡°Not a word of his presence here, understood? We don¡¯t know what the powers are up to but they are all on the move, we cant let them know we had any visitors. Also an apology Jakobia, would be fitting in this situation.¡± They both bowed to her when she gave the order and when they rose, Jakobia looked directly at him. ¡°I apologise for hurting you, if I had known you were an invited guest I never would have acted with such malice. I ask your forgiveness human.¡± ¡°Its fine, seriously. With the war happening and the major factions being who they are, I don¡¯t blame you at all.¡± He even meant every word, if the roles were reversed he would have acted the same way. ¡°Also please don¡¯t call me human. Shaun is fine, or if you want call me The Rejector.¡± He chuckled at the joke, even though they wouldn¡¯t get it he still thought it funny. ¡°What did you say?¡± Everyone, Des included had stiffened at his joke. ¡°Sorry it was a bad joke. That¡¯s what the factions are calling me, Rejector.¡± They all shared a look before Des, doing that weird communicating without speaking thing, before the two fae that were there with him and Des gave a small nod and left almost quicker than he could follow. When they were alone she turned to him and gave him an odd look. ¡°You said you only had an hour here before being sent back, by now Her Majesty should be ready to see you, when you broke the wards on the palace you caused quite the problem, but it doesn¡¯t matter. Are you ready to meet Queen Elivasia?¡± Book 2: Chapter 44 As they both walked through the palace, Shaun got more nervous by the second, he was about to meet one of the most powerful being in the multiverse, one of the twelve major powers. He hadn¡¯t really thought through the impact of this meeting, when he had chosen to come here all he was really thinking about was getting information, seeing what they expected from him when the time came for him to move here permanently, he hadn¡¯t for a moment considered the implications of suddenly appearing in the palace of a god. During their walk they encountered fae and other beings, all of whom gave him a questioning look, he had been the only human here from what he could see. What was more odd was that they would all give a respectful nod to Des as they passed. No one stopped them or questioned why Des was leading a human through what had to be the capital of The Alliance, although they did encounter some beings that seemed more put out than others, they looked more or less human outside of their eyes and scales on parts of their skin, he recognised these people as dragons in their more human forms. He felt that everyone around him was at a much higher level than he was, and a few times he encountered someone who had not fully restrained their aura, allowing him a glimpse into just how large that power gap was. He had questions, more now than ever, but he didn¡¯t ask them as Des had been silent their entire walk. Eventually after a few minutes of walking they got to a set of doors with 2 guards standing in front of it, ensuring no one that didn¡¯t have permission could enter. ¡°Are you ready?¡± Des didn¡¯t immediately have the doors opened, instead she made sure he was okay to proceed. ¡°Nervous, kind of terrified. But no point wasting the time I have here, so let¡¯s do it.¡± Des chuckled at his honesty and gave a nod to the guards who opened the doors and allowed them entry. He really was nervous and he felt unsteady on his feet for a moment before pulling himself together and entering the room with Des. He had expected this to be a throne room where the Queen Elivasia would sit on a throne and he would stand before her, he couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. Rather than a big room with a throne what he saw instead could only be described as a lounge area. There were couches that although looked more expensive than anything he could afford also looked to be very comfortable, there was also a small table in the middle that had food and drinks prepared. Standing in a corner of the room was a fae male who was staring at another set of closed doors that led into another room. When they entered the male turned to Des and him, giving a small bow of his head to Des and moved to staring him down. Shaun didn¡¯t feel threatened by the look, it was more assessing than anything, the male was clearly trying piecing together what kind of fighter he was. ¡°He is the one?¡± The male asked Des but didn¡¯t take his eyes of Shaun for a second. Des nodded back to him which was all the confirmation the male needed. ¡°Than it seems I will have a lot of work to do to get him to where he needs to be.¡± He was somewhat offended at that, for his level Shaun was more than capable, more powerful than he had any right to be. Yet this male believed that he needed a lot work to get to where this fae would approve of his ability? What have I gotten myself into? Before he could reply the closed doors leading into the other room opened and he felt the air shift as who he had been waiting for entered the room. Queen Elivasia came through the doors but she was not alone, beside her was King Shrakein of the dragon¡¯s. Shaun stiffened the moment he saw them, but not from fear, or nervousness. It was because some part of him recognised them, and not just through a memory, he felt kinship with these two, friendship even. The feelings were overwhelming and it seemed that the two royals were having a similar experience as they had both stopped and stared at him the moment they had locked eyes. ¡°Greetings Elivasia, Shrakein. It has been a long time.¡± The moment he spoke, he knew that it wasn¡¯t him, not exactly. It was that part of him that was hidden deep inside of him, that part of himself that he had been working to unlock, and just by seeing these two in person a part of him had been opened, if only for a moment. Shaun shook his head trying to come back to himself. ¡°Sorry, I¡­.. I mean It is nice to meet you, Your Majesties.¡± A silence spread through the room for only a moment before King Shrakein¡¯s laugh broke the silence. ¡°Finally, it is time.¡± A smile broke out on Queen Elivasia face as King Shrakein spoke. ¡°It seems that it is.¡± When Queen Elivasia turned that smile at him he felt weak a the knees. She hadn¡¯t aged a day when comparing the memory he had of her from Azreal to the fae who was standing in front of him now. She was beautiful, powerful. She had stark white hair and a smile that could light up a planet, behind that though he knew she was a warrior with almost no equal. ¡°Shaun, I can not express how happy I am to see you here, to make this trip, even with the systems help, you must have given up much.¡± ¡°But he shall gain so much more.¡± King Shrakein said after her. ¡°I have waited for this moment for longer than you can imagine, Shaun. Just looking at you I can feel it, the connection, the power. It has been too long since I last felt this, to be in the presence of a Nephilim. Or an almost Nephilim anyway.¡± Queen Elivasia motioned for everyone to take a seat, the smile never leaving her face as she did. ¡°We have much to discuss and not long to do it. I assume you have come for a reason, before using the token, tell us what you need and we will see it done. Ask whatever questions you have and we will answer what we can.¡± ¡°Before we do that.¡± Des interrupted. ¡°Shaun, you mentioned a war before and that much had happened since I saw you. You said that you have been named, that you are known to the factions as Rejector. We must know, what has happened? Speak your story quickly and precisely, we will not interrupt.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Shaun didn¡¯t particularly want to recap what had occurred, with time being so limited he wanted to talk more about the Nephilim, the Great War and the coming year. Seeing the looks that were pointed his way after Des spoke though, he knew that there was more going on. Rather than put it off he spoke through everything that had happened, the offers from the reps, the meetings, the war that was set to be waged for Earth and finally how he got his name, including the offer that anyone that killed him would be offered a place with one of the powers. He told them of cutting ties with his friends and what he had done in the tutorial to help form a resistance to The Pantheon through creating the links. It had taken no longer than 10 minutes and at the end he informed them of winning the tutorial and the choices he was provided, picking the one to come here. When he was done there was a few beats of silence before King Shrakein spoke. ¡°Now we know what is going on with the other powers. They have been unsettled since this integration, more so than any other. Even we have heard of the person known as The Rejector, but we did not know it was you. Shaun, are you confident that you can protect yourself on your planet? Or are you planning on coming back before the year is up?¡± ¡°The plan was to stay on Earth for a while. I am strong enough to fight monsters much higher level than me, at least to the peak of E grade. But I don¡¯t know what people in other tutorials are like. Until I do I¡¯m not sure how many of them I could take at once.¡± ¡°Shaun, I am Commander Alserio, I lead the fae when it comes to our warriors. I need to know what you are capable of to best prepare you. If you will, share with us your status screen?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t actually know how to do that? Do you want me to just read it out?¡± ¡°To share your status screen with someone you can simply will them the information. Just think about how you bring it up to view yourself but instead of you seeing it push it so that others can.¡± Des replied to him with a kind smile, although the others seemed to be holding back chuckles. He nodded at the explanation and closed his eyes, trying to do what Des had said. He imagined that everyone in the room could see his status screen and instantly he felt the information flow form him to the others. It hit a roadblock though, as it seemed that they had to accept the information as well. When he opened his eyes, he saw all of them looking into the air in front of them, presumably at his stats. ¡°I can work with this. Your stats are better than expected, much better if I am honest. Your actual skills are good but their level is low, too low. Your affinity is just¡­.. I forget sometimes, the power of a Nephilim.¡± Commander Alserio got to his feet after that. ¡°I must collect some items for his training, I will be back by the time is up. Your Majesties.¡± He bowed before disappearing from the room. ¡°Why do I get the feeling that what he was planned is going to hurt?¡± Shaun mumbled to the room before he could stop himself. Queen Elivasia¡¯s laugh echoed through the room at his comment, even eliciting chuckles from the others. ¡°He is the best at what he does, training under Commander Alserio is a dream of all fae. But make no mistake, he will train you until you collapse, and even then he will not stop. He will help to make you the best you could possibly be, as long as you listen to him and don¡¯t give up.¡± ¡°Enough of that for now, you came here with questions, let us answer them.¡± King Shrakein said. ¡°Tell me about the Nephilim, about the great war and if you know anything about what I can expect once I am back on Earth. Also any advise you may have, anything I can do to prepare for what is to come. And what the purpose, the true purpose of the heritage is.¡± The mood in the room got more serious as he asked his questions. Queen Elivasia let out a sigh and visibly slumped. ¡°These are not memories I enjoy reliving, but you are right to ask these questions. The Nephilim are, or were, a broken race. They had very few limits placed on them when it came to the power they could reach. For them it was always a matter of mind, if they wished to gain more power, they could, if only they were willing to accept the risks. As you are well aware, affinity was their greatest strength, with it they were always offered better classes and professions. The younger they started accumulating power, the stronger they would become in the future. Even with all of that power, they were a peaceful race. They always sort out to make the multiverse a better place, they created wonders to help everyone grow, used their power to help those in need, sometimes to increase the quality of entire planets to provide better futures for all those that lived there. They were strong, but they were few, which is where their relationship with the Fae and the Dragons came in. You may not be aware but like the Nephilim we are also few in numbers but stronger than most races in the multiverse. It is balance, we are not able to produce offspring as quickly or as often as others, but comparatively we are stronger. Our three races formed The Alliance, creating a pact that we would always support each other, our goal to create something better than what we had. But greed is a terrible thing, many looked at the Nephilim with envy, they hated to see a race stand so far above them in power. The war started when the powers, the ones leading the factions you know of now, banded together and trapped a lone Nephilim, her name was Sarshia. Together, 11 against one they killed her, and from her body they ripped out her heart, each of them taking a bite. With it they consumed a portion of her power and in the process got stronger. Sarshia was a dear friend, losing her hurts to this day.¡± King Shrakein took her hand as she spoke, giving her the comfort that she needed. ¡°Those monsters, the powers, had found their way to become the most powerful beings in the multiverse, all they needed was an excuse for war. They each took their own factions and spread rumours, all of them designed to seed the rebellion against the Nephilim. It was years in the making but eventually they launched their first attack on the Nephilim, with the support of the people. We were overwhelmed, we had the strength but they had overwhelming numbers. Slowly they started to wear us down, their goal to kill the Nephilim and consume their power.¡± King Shrakein continued on with the story. ¡°As the war continued they only grew in power while our numbers dwindled. By the end Azreal came to us, told us that there was no hope in winning this war, to pull back our forces and wait. He created the heritage, the embodiment of their people, each of the living Nephilim sacrificed a part of themselves to create it. And it was then given to a woman in an unknown world out of the system. The heritage would lay dormant until the time came, when the multiverse was ready for change and the opportunity to bring back what was lost was upon us. To bring back the Nephilim.¡± ¡°What do you mean, bring back the Nephilim? I though they were all dead?¡± Shaun¡¯s heart was beating so fast that he thought it would explode out of his chest. The story that he had just been told was tragic and he was so disgusted in the powers that we was ready to wage war against them this very moment. ¡°We do not know. We were told that if the person holding the heritage grew strong enough, fully embraced their destiny, then the answer to that questions would be revealed.¡± Book 2: Chapter 45 After everything that they had told him, about the Nephilim, the war, about bringing the Nephilim back, he was overwhelmed. There was a lot of pressure on him, if he failed that was the end. The purpose of the heritage would never be fulfilled and he would have failed not just the Fae and the Dragons, but the Nephilim as well. He was till processing everything they had said and in that moment he couldn¡¯t think of any follow up questions, it had been hard enough on them to say what they did of their past, he would not probe further, not yet. ¡°Is staying on Earth for the year worth it? There is a lot of risks in staying. I have the coin so I can come here whenever I want but the benefits of staying don¡¯t seem worth it anymore.¡± With all the pressure he was now feeling on staying alive he was starting to second guess some of the choices he was making. Earth was his planet, it was where he was born and raised, leaving it and not doing anything regarding the war that would decimate the planet though was not something he wanted to do. ¡°You are right there are risks, more so with the war that will be waged for the planet. But there is also opportunity.¡± King Shrakein seemed to have weighed up the risk and the rewards, clearly knowing more than he did when it came to an integration. ¡°You are aware of the dungeons, what their purpose is and claiming them, yes?¡± Shaun confirmed he did. ¡°How much TE do you have?¡± ¡°Just over 40 million.¡± ¡°Perfect, that is more than is needed. Much more in fact.¡± King Shrakein seemed overjoyed by this fact. ¡°To claim an F grade dungeon is 100,000 TE, more if you wish to terraform the area. The E grade dungeons are 2,000,000 TE and again more if terraformed. The D grade is 10,000,000 to claim. Every D grade is surrounded by 5 E grade and then surrounded 15 F grade. You need 21,500,000 to claim every single dungeon in an area, and I would put aside at least 5 million TE for terraforming. Your first goal will be to claim an entire area, reform it into a fortress that no one can breach. That will provide you the safety you need. It will not be easy, especially the D grade dungeon, but it will be worth it. Choose to para terraform the D grade dungeon into a fortress, you will also be given the option to keep an entrance to the dungeon available as well, it will cost you to do so but it will be worth it. Turn each of the surrounding dungeons into barriers that will keep out anyone that you don¡¯t want to enter. I would advise doing something physical for the F grades and for the E grades, if you can manage it, add magical protections. We will provide you with some books on how to do this, you can choose to change this to suit your needs, you are more aware of your ability than we are at this point.¡± ¡°But why go through all the trouble? Claiming land and building this fortress, is it worth it?¡± He was getting way more information than he could handle at the moment, all of the dungeon he would need to claim and what to do with each of them was a lot of work. ¡°If you can manage it, it will be worth it. You will receive titles for the dungeon claiming, experience in the real world and when you leave, you can give everything you have claimed to someone else, someone that can utilise it in the war. But for you, you will have some where that you can stay without risk, you can train and continue to grow. Doing this will be important as there will be 2 events within the first year that will be important. The challenge to become world leader, which you know about, but also a system event before this that is always provided to new initiates. The event differs from integration to integration, but for those that do well in this event, the rewards are almost unmatched by anything you could get elsewhere. That is why it is worth staying on your planet until after the event. But only if you can manage to secure an area to yourself.¡± Shaun thought it through, he should be able to power through the F grade dungeons quickly and if he managed that he could create the physical barrier, blocking anyone form getting to the E and F grade dungeons. It all depended on how quickly he could find an F grade dungeon. ¡°I will try, if I can¡¯t claim a full area quickly I will reevaluate the situation.¡± ¡°I like your spirit Shaun. Now, we don¡¯t have much time left and Commander Alserio will be back soon. We have a few things to give you that should help before you return.¡± Queen Elivasia pulled out an item from thin air and placed it on the table in front of him, along with some books. ¡°That item is something that you must take care never to loose. It is a Transcendent level item that will help you gain mastery over your elements. Place the box in the centre of a room in a ritual circle, the instructions are in the book, you will be able to truly push your affinity to the next level, but be careful not to over do it, do not break your mana channels, the recovery if you do so is extensive.¡± ¡°And from myself.¡± King Shrakein spoke next. ¡°This is a Dragon core, given freely by a elder dragon. Mediate on it, learn to form a connection to the dragon soul. It will be important in your future, I assure you.¡± He then took out some books and two stones and handed them to him. ¡°The books on magical protections. Read them well and form a plan before claiming the E grade dungeons. Do not terraform blindly. The stones are linked, you can communicate securely between the two and you can track the other stone, no one will be able to trace it but it must be linked with blood. Keep one and give the other to someone that you trust, someone you can give control of the dungeons too.¡± ¡°I see I am right on time.¡± Commander Alserio appeared just as King Shrakein finished speaking. ¡°Your armour has been fixed and so I give this back to you with an apology for what occurred with Jakobia.¡± He was handed his armour back as well as a wooden box. ¡°In that box is an instance orb, they are very rare and when placed can not be moved. You have been informed of the dungeon and the plan, do not place this unless you succeed as when you leave your planet you will leave it behind. If you manage to place it, ensure it is in a secure location. There is an orb inside the box, if you touch the orb you will be asked to pick a skill, pick the skill you want to train and a counter to your skill will be created, you don¡¯t stop until those skills are capped out, I expect to see a large improvement before you return. Otherwise your training here will be, unpleasant.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. *10 minutes remaining before return to planet* ¡°Thank you, all of you, for everything you have given me, I swear I will do everything I can to see this through to the end. In less than a year I will be back, that¡¯s like the blink of an eye for you guys, right?¡± He tried to make light of the situation even though he really wished he didn¡¯t have to leave. Even though the topics they have spoken about wasn¡¯t pleasant, he felt a connection to these people, one that he clung to with everything he could, not wanting to let the feeling go. ¡°Is there anything else you wish to ask us?¡± ¡°Some advice maybe?¡± Shaun took out the Life and Death treasures he had with him and placed them on the table. ¡°I have been trying to create a ritual with these, to release some of their energy slowly in a controlled environment in the hopes of bonding both Life and Death and affinity. I keep hitting roadblocks, but I think I might be close. I know they are Epic affinity, but do you think I should work on it or focus on other things?¡± King Shrakein burst into laughter, he didn¡¯t even bother trying to hold himself back. The commander looked exasperated at his question and Queen Elivasia focused more on the treasure. ¡°You are a true Nephilim, always looking for the next challenge, thinking about bonding an epic affinity at E grade, truly only a Nephilim would pursue such a thing. The more I speak with you Shaun the more I like you!¡± King Shrakein smiled at him, an unrestrained look of elation on his face. ¡°Did you not just listen to me when I spoke about your skills? I can make your training go from unpleasant to torture if you wish?¡± King Shrakein laughed even harder when the commander spoke. ¡°Enough, both of you.¡± Queen Elivasia shook her head at them. ¡°Thousands of years old and still, they act like children.¡± She then looked at him. ¡°What you are attempting is dangerous, and I would encourage caution. Epic affinity is nothing like basic or advanced. Proceed with caution if you choose to continue at all. This would be something I would suggest you wait to D grade or even C grade for, but, who am I to hold back a budding Nephilim. I will say this, those treasures hold pure Life and Death, using them in the way you are thinking, it would result in a very powerful, very pure affinity.¡± Shaun took back the two treasures and put them in his inventory along with everything else. ¡°That was my last question. I have to go in under 10 minutes now.¡± ¡°Then do this old fae a favour, tell us about you, whatever comes to mind. I would like to learn more about who you are, what you have been through.¡± For the last 10 minutes he told them about snippets of his life, about how he grew up, the family that he lost and the life he lived. They all listened, never interrupting him but acknowledging the things he said with either smiles or a pat on the hand. Des had sat next to him the whole time and when there was just 1 minute left he stood to say his goodbyes. ¡°King Shrakein, can I ask something that may be rude? I don¡¯t mean any offense by it.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°I have never seen a dragon, I mean I see you obviously, but not¡­..¡± ¡°You want to see me in all of my glory?¡± Shaun nodded, assuming all of his glory meant as a dragon. ¡°Look out that window then.¡± Shaun gave him a confused look but walked to the window. The moment he looked outside he saw space change and where there was once empty sky a black dragon, bigger than he could ever possibly imagine appeared flying up into the sky. Never in his life had he imagined he would see such a glorious sight. King Shrakein¡¯s scales shimmered in the sunlight, amplifying just how incredible he was. ¡°Well, what do you think?¡± Des nudged him as she came up to stand beside him at the window. ¡°Incredible. He is bigger than I ever imagined. And shiny.¡± He didn¡¯t take his eyes off of the dragon as he spoke. ¡°Until we see each other again Shaun. May the moon guide your way through the night.¡± ¡°And may the sun shine with the hope of our people.¡± Shaun finished the parting words as if he had said them a thousand times. And before he knew it the countdown had hit 0 and he was gone. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°The fight for Earth is about to start, you all know what we must do. Use your links, get together and recruit. If we are to ward of The Pantheon and make sure we are not subjugated into their faction we must band together and stay strong. Find dungeons if you can, claim them as outposts for our war efforts. Any we can take we do but don¡¯t risk your lives to do it. Only together will we succeed.¡± Viv made her speech in front of everyone that she had managed to get to join her side, a much easier effort once she accepted an invitation from one of the major factions. Xavier Barshen from The Empire had approached her after the complete mess that was the crowning ceremony, Shaun had disappeared and it took only minutes for confirmation to come from Dijaun that he had been taken from the tutorial, something that shouldn¡¯t have been possible. He had approached her with a deal, join him and his faction and claim Earth, if she succeeded she would be allowed to break from the faction and create her own clan under them. He had told her that Shaun was no longer a target for them, instead Earth was. If he could be recruited to her cause, even as an outcast, she should do so, but only in secret. Viv was shocked at this, but when he explained that things in the multiverse were shifting and that they couldn¡¯t loose a planet to The Pantheon things became slightly clearer. There was something about Earth that the factions wanted, they didn¡¯t say what but it was clear they had an agenda. Viv agreed, especially after she was provided with a gift that would help her succeed. An Elixir that was attuned to air, that when taken would help her bind the affinity to her. She agreed after speaking with her team, they agreed they needed someone with backing if they were to recruit wider, a draw card that would help boost their strength and also allow Earth some independence. Being able to become a clan did that. ¡°Are we all ready?¡± Viv asked her team, with only seconds before they would be taken from the tutorial. ¡°We know what we have to do. We will be together again soon. We will win this war.¡± Eric replied to her, getting agreement from Li and Gabe. ¡°Good, then let the war begin.¡± Book 2: Chapter 46 Shaun experienced the same feelings during the time he had travelled to the fae as he was on the way back. This time however he wasn¡¯t being deposited in the palace of one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, instead his end destination was Earth. That apparently made a big difference to his arrival. Unlike the feeling of being forced through a tiny hole and ending up a mess on the ground, when he arrived back on Earth he felt just like he had when he had left The Alliance. The moment he appeared back on Earth he barely recognised where he was, it was clear he was in a building, one that somewhat resembled a bar. But it wasn¡¯t till more people appeared around him did he figure out he was exactly where he was before he was taken into the tutorial. Around him he saw Eric and Gabe as well a Michael, Jessica, Danielle and Richard. It was the weirdest feeling being surrounded by all these people again, people who he had started his journey through the tutorial with. ¡°Shaun, nice to see you still alive. You caused quite the stir with your disappearance.¡± Shaun looked over at Michael who had spoke. ¡°Shaun we need to talk, privately.¡± Eric said before he could reply to Michael. ¡°I cant believe you are all here! It has been too long!¡± Richard said to them all. Shaun identified Richard and found he wasn¡¯t even at level 20, so far below him that he thought if he patted him on the shoulder too hard he would break. ¡°We need a group hug! The gang is all back together!¡± Danielle practically jumped towards them, although to him it was as if she was moving in slow motion, giving him ample time to step away. The others all spent time giving her a hug while he looked around at all the other people who had appeared. There were people there still in single digit levels, the highest was barely into level 40. It really showed the gap between what his tutorial had been capable of vs some of the others. ¡°Come on Shaun, its been so long don¡¯t I deserve a hug?¡± Danielle was walking up to him now, the only one who had yet to hug her. *Tutorial Completed** Congratulations on surviving Stage 3 of the tutorial and being crowned champion, citizen of Earth. In one year today a leader must be chosen to rule your planet. To be eligible to compete for this position you must hold at least a majority of a cluster of dungeons by the time the year is up, this can be either directly or through other holders declaring themselves under you. In 6 months time an event will be held for all citizens of your planet, this event will be chosen by all who hold a dungeon through a majority vote. Please claim a dungeon to find out more information. Note: Reward already chosen for completion of the tutorial. He didn¡¯t pay her much attention to Danielle while reading the message, although it didn¡¯t provide anything new information to him outside of the event being voted on by dungeon holders. He did send out his echo skill to its limit, testing to see if he could pick up on any aura¡¯s that showed anyone of a high level. Nothing stood out to him which was good but he also didn¡¯t feel any dungeons in the vicinity, which was both a good and bad thing. Even within the radius of his skill, which now covered over a kilometre, he could feel thousands of people around him which put him on edge. ¡°Leave him be Dani, Shaun is not someone you want to get close too if he doesn¡¯t want you to.¡± Michael gave her the warning and she stepped back, she tried to identify him, but she had yet to reach the E rank so he would have come up as question marks. ¡°Viv joined The Empire.¡± Shaun whipped his head around so fast, staring at Eric who had just dropped that bombshell. ¡°We are behind her, but what Xavier declared against you in the tutorial, the death sentence, it is put on hold, indefinitely for us. We have other priorities, our goal is still the same.¡± Quicker than anyone could react he was on Eric, easily overpowering him and forcing him to the ground. ¡°You choose to side with someone that put a hit out on me? I shouldn¡¯t be shocked, power before all else right?¡± As quickly as he could he took one of the stones out of his inventory, one of the ones that King Shrakein had given him and he slipped it into Eric¡¯s armour making sure that he stabbed into Eric skin enough to draw blood, disguising it as true attack. ¡°Speak to me again. And it may be something you regret. Or not, only time will tell.¡± He stood up letting Eric go. The commotion had drawn everyone in the area to look at him, seeing two people fight wasn¡¯t a rare occurrence in the tutorial yet some of the people present looked on with shock. ¡°Shaun, just calm down and we will explain.¡± Gabe started to come towards him, looking pained at what he had just seen. ¡°No, let him go. Shaun has made his opinion clear. Speaking now will not help our cause.¡± Eric said as he also came to stand, as he did he raised an eyebrow and tapped on his armour, right where Shaun had placed the stone. ¡°Listen to your boyfriend Gabe, he is a smart guy. This conversation is over.¡± He turned and made his way out of the bar, no one getting in his way as he left. When he made it outside he was shocked at what he saw. The city had gone form being a metal playground to being in complete disrepair. Much of the road had been swallowed up by the Earth, including some buildings and nature was growing uncontrolled through the city. The cars that would usually have been lining the streets were gone, in fact anything that had been technology based seemed to have been swallowed up during the terraforming. The air smelt cleaner, the sky brighter and there seemed to be more birds and animals around. As he took it all in he found a lot of people in what had once been the streets doing the same. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. There were reunions occurring as well, people who had not seen each other in months now reunited, but what shocked him most was just how low level everyone was. It was as if they had done nothing the last 3 months. He had assumed the average level to be much higher but it seemed that for the vast majority, F grade was where they chose to stay. Shaun shook the thoughts away, it was not what he should be focusing on. He needed to find dungeons and quickly if he planned to have any hope of succeeding here. Instead of walking through the city and encountering more people he chose to take to the sky. Shaun shifted into the air without a second thought and made his way a few hundred metres into the sky before changing back to his corporeal form and looking around. He barely recognised the city around him and he didn¡¯t see anything in the distance that stood out. With no real understanding of where a dungeon could be he decided to go to where he had been planning before the tutorial, the mountains. He had the general direction of where he wanted to go, the only downside to this plan was that the mountains were not that close. If he had been driving it would have taken him a good few hours, but even with running through the air or shifting into the air he wouldn¡¯t be able to match this speed. If he had to guess it would take the better part of a day, if not nearly two days to make it to where he wanted to go. The upside of this plan was that the mountain range was rather secluded, there was not really any towns nearby and it was never very popular with people visiting, so if there was a dungeon nearby he would hopefully be able to be the first one there. He continued to use his echo skill as he ran above the city, keeping an eye on everyone and everything to make sure if he picked up on anything suspicious or out of the ordinary he would know. Even at the pace he travelled through the air it took him nearly an hour before he made it to the edge of the city, the amount of people located on these outer edges had reduced but it was still more populated than he was used too. It didn¡¯t take long once he cleared the city for him to start noticing changes in the area from what he remembered. Where their used to be a small clearing with a few trees there was now a fully established forest, one where it looked like humans hadn¡¯t interfered or touched for hundreds of years. The trees grew tall and thick and instead of spreading out a few hundred metres like the clearing had before he now couldn¡¯t see an end to it. The mana density in the area also seemed to be higher than the city, when he switched to his mana sight he could see in the distance that the forest emanated the nature element more densely than the surrounding areas. Shaun decided to change course a little so he would travel along the edge of the forest to get a better idea of what had happened. The closer he got though the more he felt reluctant to enter. The tree didn¡¯t look like anything he had seen before, they had visible green veins running through them and seemed to pulse of their own accord. The entire area seemed foreign to his old planet, that led him to believe that this was part of the terraforming of the entire planet, a part of another planet that had been combined with his own. He was curious as to what he may find further into the forest but just because it had come from another planet didn¡¯t mean it had what he was looking for. Besides that the area was too close to the city, many people would eventually start to wonder and explore and this place was going to be found sooner rather than later. A big part of him wanted to explore but after a few moments of debating the benefits with himself he turned around and started to move back into the direction he had chosen towards the mountain range. He did stay closer to the edge of the forest though so he could still feel a few hundred metres in with his echo skill. He never picked up on anything but he did start to notice some connections that he hadn¡¯t before. It seemed, if he was right anyway, that all of the trees were in some way interconnected, either through their root system or something more magical, he didn¡¯t know for sure, but it was an interesting observation. When he finally moved past the forest he came to an area that he though used to be a suburban neighbourhood, only now there was nothing left but collapsed houses that had been reduced to rubble and overgrown by various plants. He felt a few people around the area but much less than had been in the city, so he moved on. For hours he continued to push himself, moving at a speed he could sustain without the need for long breaks. It wasn¡¯t the most exciting journey he had ever made and a apart of him was getting bored with nothing to do but look for a dungeon. The changes he observed on his planet were interesting but they didn¡¯t keep his attention for long, that was until the sun started to set and he got his first glimpses of the night sky. When he first caught a glimpse of the moon he thought it seemed larger than what he was used to before the integration, not to mention that he saw many more stars in the sky. What really caught his attention though was that he was able to clearly see what looked like other planets in the night, although they were not as prominent as the moon or stars. Shaun decided to stop for a while, dropping down to the ground to give his body the longer rest it needed. He ate until he was full and just took in the new night sky, as if he was seeing it for the first time, which in a way he was. There was an upside to this integration, one that he didn¡¯t think many people would agree with though. Through the terraforming and removing all humans from the planet, pollution was practically gone, the air clean and the world reset to new. This was a chance for the human race to start over and do right by their planet rather than slowly destroying it. He had always been an advocate for nature and respecting the world, many others were not of that mind though. He hoped that now that they had magic, skills and a system, that just maybe they could be something more than what they were, something better. Book 2: Chapter 47 It took three full days before he saw the mountain range in his sight, if barely. After the first day he ended up needing to travel at a slightly slower speed, feeling the continues push of his affinity and skills start to strain his body. By the end of the second day he had ended up needing to take for frequent breaks where he would walk instead of pushing himself through the air. It was a much slower pace of travel but thankfully he had gotten to a point where he was so far away from any known cities or towns that he didn¡¯t need to worry about encountering any people. The third day he could do nothing but concentrate on moving. He knew he was pushing himself to far, he hadn¡¯t really slept and if not for his stats he would have collapsed long ago. The only up side was that he had made it and he had a good feeling about his choice to come here. The distance he had travelled was definitely much further than what it had been originally but that was only a boon to him. What truly gave him hope was that the mountain range had completely changed in a way that he could practically feel the dungeons waiting for him. Before there was one taller peak that would slope down and have a few smaller peaks around it surrounded by a forest, rivers and wildlife. Now though he could clearly see one very large mountain, one that was easily twice as high as what it had been previously. Around it were five smaller peaks, more spread out form the main one with a few kilometres between them. There seemed to be some flat areas between these mountains, some with trees and others bare if what he could make out was accurate from this distance. If he was right, the largest mountain would be the D grade dungeon, the five smaller mountains the E grade, which just left him with figuring out what the F grade dungeons were. Outside of the mountains the forest tapered off, but until he got closer he couldn¡¯t see any indication of the smaller dungeons. Although he was ready for a sustained break, one that he knew he would need to take before claiming any dungeons, he pushed himself the last few hours of travel until he made it to the outer edge of the forest surrounding all of the mountains. As he got closer he truly took in the height of these massive mountains before him. Even for him it would take hours, if not days to full search the smaller peaks, the largest one though would take much longer. He was thankful that if he did manage to find dungeons here than he would only need to rush the F grades, forming up physical barriers connecting each of them up to secure the full area. He couldn¡¯t see to the other side of the forest, but his guess was that the entire area encompassed an area larger than the size of a major city. It would take a day to go from one side to the other, and that was if he was traveling in a straight line through the middle. What he would need to do was travel the entire circumference, finding the weakest dungeons. His first step though was hoping to find one in the first place to start off the process which given the area to cover was a daunting task given the shape he was in. Once he entered the forest he found a spot that was far enough in where he would be decently safe. He needed the rest and recovery time before starting his next task and the sun was starting to set now anyway, exploring in the dead of night didn¡¯t bother him but he would rather have a good line of sight when he started to fully cover the outer forest. After taking caf¨¦ of all his needs he rested against a tree and it didn¡¯t take much for his body to give into its desire to fall asleep. When he woke he couldn¡¯t remember dreaming but he felt more refreshed than he had in days. The moon still hung in the sky although it seemed to be early hours of the morning meaning he had gotten more sleep than he usually would, courtesy of pushing his body so hard. He had high hopes for the coming day, but he needed to do one thing before he got started. Shaun pulled out the stone from his inventory, the one that was paired to Eric, and blooded it. He hadn¡¯t done this before hand as he wanted to give both himself and them time to focus on the first few days back on Earth, they all had plans they needed to start on and neither of them needed the distraction until they were well on their way. The moment the stone took in his blood he felt the direction of its pair, it was in the general direction that he had come from but also off to the left more, giving him a good indication that they were not moving in the same direction. He hadn¡¯t been sure how the stone would work but this part was at least simple to use, communicating through it though, that he was unsure of. The description of the stone didn¡¯t offer him any insight, but it was an epic grade item, which he had expected but was still good to confirm. He closed his eyes and focused on the stone, trying to connect to its pair and in his mind spoke like he would if he was standing right in front of Eric. ¡®Hey Eric, you there? Its Shaun.¡¯ He felt the message go through the stone which was a relief and all he had to do now was wait and see if he got a reply. After the first few minutes he was ready to give up and try again later, just before he did though he felt the stone activate and could hear Eric. ¡®I nearly gave up on this thing, I have been trying to use it for two days but it wouldn¡¯t work. We really do need to talk.¡¯ ¡®I know, I only just bonded the stone. They are secure so we can speak freely, tell me what the hell happened to make Viv join The Empire.¡¯ Shaun had wanted to hear this story since he found out about Viv, but it hadn¡¯t been the right time until now. He had made a promise to do everything he could to secure a cluster of dungeons and it had to be the highest thing on his to do list. Eric proceeded to tell him about Xavier approaching her, the deal they had offered her around claiming the planet and forming a clan. He was even informed that The Empire¡¯s hunt for him had been put on hold until after the year was up, and even then, unless he did something truly outrageous to go against them, it would no be brought up again. Shaun had to admit that it was a good deal and it didn¡¯t really impact him in a negative way. He held no love or trust for the major powers, outside of The Alliance of course, but really it was The Pantheon that he really had to watch out for. ¡®Where did you go? After you touched the orb you just disappeared, it was crazy!¡¯ from the emption in Eric¡¯s voice Shaun could feel that he had been worried about him. ¡®I can¡¯t say specifically where I was, but I went to meet up with some allies of mine. They helped me form a plan for when I got back on Earth, gave me a few things that, if I succeed, will help me secure my own secure place here, one that no one will be able to breach without me giving permission. A place where I can grow much stronger.¡¯ Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡®You have allies? On a different planet? How? Will they help here with the war? What the plan anyway? Can we help?¡¯ Eric fired off question after question. All of them very valid. ¡®Yeah I have allies on another planet. Can¡¯t really say any more than that though. They can¡¯t get involved in the war, just like no outside parties can really. It has to be sorted by the citizens of Earth. The plan though, it¡¯s a good one if I succeed. If I do I will loop you in because if I don¡¯t there is no point getting anyone¡¯s hope up. You can¡¯t help at the moment either. But maybe, in a few months, I will be able to help you.¡¯ He had already decided that if he did manage to do what he had planned that Eric or Viv or Gabe would be the one to inherit his dungeons. But that would be after the event. ¡®Okay, I will drop it for now. I do appreciate that you are telling me all of this. We have missed you. A lot. Gabe and I are on our way to meet with Viv. We got delayed in the city for a bit, trying to spread the word of the war didn¡¯t go down well with a lot of people. It seems like the tutorials weren¡¯t all like ours, in fact, some of them were so much easier that it was ridiculous! Most people just coasted through, not really pushing themselves, scared to die if they made a mistake. That why most people are so low levelled. They had a choice. We were put into a harder tutorial where the choice was taken from us for the most part. That¡¯s why those of us that really pushed ourselves to get to the 3rd stage are so much stronger than everyone else.¡¯ Shaun spent a moment processing the info dump he just got around the tutorials, he had assumed that something like this happened, but to actually hear it confirmed was a whole other thing. ¡®Let me know once you find Viv, tell her I¡¯m not upset about joining The Empire, it was a smart move. Just, be safe, okay? If you find The Pantheon forces be careful, there is more to the claiming of this planet than we know about. They will kill anyone who gets in their way.¡¯ ¡®I will be safe, you look after yourself too. I know whatever you have planned is risky, it always is. Bye Shaun. Its nice to have my friend back.¡¯ After speaking with Eric Shaun felt a weight lifted from his chest. Distance was still needed between them, most of the factions were still out to kill him, but being able to communicate in this way was more than he had hoped for. Now that he felt rested and there was nothing else to do but explore he set out into the forest. He was thankful for his echo skill as without it he wouldn¡¯t be able to cover anywhere close to the distance he was able to. It took a number of hours moving through the trees at a quick pace before he started to feel a change in the distance, a more condensed area of mana that seemed to be emanating from a position not far outside of his skill range. The moment he felt it he made the move towards it, eventually feeling that familiar sensation when a dungeon appeared within his echo skill. He couldn¡¯t believe that he had actually done it, coming here had been a risk, it could have all been for nothing and a waste of time but for some reason, whether it be fate or destiny or something else entirely, he had found what had to be an F grade dungeon, which confirmed for him, that he had truly found a cluster. The closer he got to the dungeon the more things changed, the trees started to clear and when he finally entered the area of the dungeon he found a ripple in the centre of the clearing. It glowed green and the moment he got close enough he couldn¡¯t hold back the cheer at the message he found. *Welcome to The Burrow (F grade) Dungeon* This dungeon forms part of an unclaimed cluster. Current dungeons claimed in this cluster: F grade 0/15, E grade 0/5, D grade 0/1. Note: to claim this dungeon you need a minimum of 100,000 TE. No rewards will be provided if dungeon claimed. One participant located, do you wish to enter? The message detailed more than he expected, not about the dungeon itself but about how many dungeons in this cluster had been claimed, something that would help him as he travelled around and also provided confirmation that he was the first one here. Shaun immediately consented to enter, not fearing anything that may be in the dungeon. As an F grade everything would be under level 25 which made the dungeon a joke in terms of fighting but a necessity to complete his plan. When he appeared in the dungeon he found himself underground, similar to a cave but instead of rock walled it looked more like packed dirt. Blasting his echo he found a number of monsters in his vicinity, some alone, then groups of 3, then 5 and the back to 1. The process repeated 3 times with the dungeon being set out in a straight line with little rooms where the monsters were. It was straight forward at least and it wouldn¡¯t take long to finish. When he came up to his first monster he immediately saw it was a giant rat, not a mole rat like he had fought previously, but just a normal rat that was much larger than it would normally be. It had those beady eyes and sharp teeth and claws though, not that it had any hope of actually harming him. *Giant Rat ¨C Level 12* He didn¡¯t really need to identify it, but seeing such a low level monster was somewhat nostalgic for him, he hadn¡¯t dealt with such fodder in what felt like years, even though it had only been a few months. Shaun cut the rat through before it even realised he was there, he was to quick for it just didn¡¯t have the levels to really fight back. He got the notification for killing it and seeing that the TE portion of the notification was gone really hit him that the tutorial was truly over. He got the offer to loot the body but his inventory was already near full after accumulating so much stuff in the tutorial and being denied the ability to sell anything. Besides that he had no need for such low level loot. He raced through the next few rooms, quickly figuring out the pattern, the same giant rat appeared in a group of 3 then 5, which he dealt with in seconds. The next room held a soldier rat, one that had an armour which was interesting but not enough to stop him from powering through them all in less than a minute. He quickly realised that the point of the F grade dungeons weren¡¯t for people like him, but to help those that were low level. If the planet was going to continue to allow people to grow in strength they needed to invest TE into keeping dungeons, without them there was no way for anyone to gain levels at each of the different grades. If no one decided to keep the F grade dungeons, this generation and all that came after would be crippled in their growth. These thoughts filled his mind as he continued to slaughter rats, he had been in the dungeon for all of 5 minutes before he reached the end, finding a level 24 brood mother in a room with a dozen rat guards. He wasn¡¯t paying too much attention to them though, they held no threat to him and finishing them off was easy enough by freezing the entire room with ice, finishing the fight before they had a chance to move. As soon as he had killed them he got a 1 minute timer before he was kicked out and when he appeared outside of the dungeon he got the message he wanted. *The Burrow (F grade) Dungeon has been completed* Would you like to claim this dungeon for 100,000 TE? Book 2: Chapter 48 Shaun couldn¡¯t deny that excitement he felt about claiming his first dungeon, even if it was an F grade. He accepted the prompt and claimed the dungeon, when he did so even more options were provided. **Please choose one of the following options** Option 1: Terraform surrounding area covered by this dungeon. Note: this will cost further TE, amount dependant on Terraforming. Option 2: Terraform as per option 1 but also leave dungeon in place. Note: this will add an extra 25,000 TE to cost. Option 3: Claim area, leaving dungeon in place but do not terraform. The options he was provided were as expected, and looking at the cost of keeping the dungeon in place, something that he truly hoped many others would do, he went with option 2. **Please choose how you wish to terraform the area, this can be changed at a later date if you wish to spend further TE as long as you still hold control of the dungeon area.** The moment he finished reading the message a map of the entire area appeared in his mind. From what he could gather the area that this dungeon covered was about 10 kilometres from the tree line towards the mountains and about the same across. He could also make out where the boundaries met with the other dungeon areas as these were not curved at all but straight lines. The area was massive and he knew that terraforming the entire area would be a very expensive endeavour. Thankfully he had no plans to do that, all he needed was to form a physical boundary around the edge of the forest to stop anyone from entering the dungeon area. Technically it wouldn¡¯t stop anyone yet, he would need to claim every F grade dungeon for that to happen unless he chose to wall off every edge, which he considered, but would ultimately be pointless as it wouldn¡¯t stop anyone from reaching the other dungeons which was his true goal. On the map in his mind he was able to change what he was with mere thought so he immediately started to form a wall on the outer edge. The wall itself spread over 10 kilometres across and was over 30 metres into the air and about 5 metres thick. The cost of this was rather cheap, as he could see how much the cost was every time he made a change. Currently as just a normal wall it was only costing about 10,000 TE, which was a tiny amount in the scheme of things. He then decided to add more into the war, including watch towers and a path along the top of the wall. He even decided to add in rooms within these towers, not many but enough that a good amount of people could either sleep or relax. The purpose behind this wasn¡¯t for him, but for Eric, Viv, Gabe and Li, who he hoped to hand this entire place over to at some point in the future. They would need these things, and when he looked at the extra cost it had jumped from 10,000 TE to 50,000. That meant that to claim everything, keep the dungeon and have a killer wall it would cost all of 175,000 TE. He did some quick math and even with the additional expenses, factoring in that he spent about half of the TE to claim each dungeon area of the higher grade dungeons, he still had plenty of TE left over. Confident in his decision he accepted the changes he wanted to make to the area, even if he wanted to he could always come back and make further changes. **Terraforming confirmed, time to completion 18 hours. Would you like to name this area?** He didn¡¯t know why the changes would be instant, but seeing that he had 18 hours till the wall was complete meant that he had no reason to sit around and see it completed. He also denied naming the area, something he had no interest even thinking about. **Title earned: Mayor** **Mayor: Through the claiming of an area of a planet large enough for a city the title of Mayor has been acquired. While in an area that you rule you stats are increased by 10%. Title Upgradeable. Note: If the area under your control is taken from you or you freely give up this land you will lose the title.** Shaun groaned at seeing the title, he had no interest in such things and he would have much preferred to not get the title at all. The only upside was the increase in stats but even than he had to be in the dungeon area for them to apply which would only ever help in a short period and only if someone actually came to him. Rather than dwell on it he simply ignored it, waiting for the day he could get rid of any kind of title related to ruling others. He had other dungeons he needed to focus on and now that he had a general idea of where they would all be he was ready to move out. He would need to spend hours searching for each dungeon but when he found them completing the actual dungeon could be done quickly and then going through all of the terraforming business would be all he had to do before moving on. He had 18 hours before the wall was done and if he could he would prefer to claim the next dungeon before that timer was anywhere close to being up so that the next wall would already be underway before the previous was completed, hopefully even two sections of wall. He also had an awareness in the back of his mind of the area he had claimed and because of that he made his way into he air and moved at full speed towards the edge of his dungeon area. This didn¡¯t take that long, but that wasn¡¯t what he had been worried about, it was when he got into an unknown area again he would need to spend time cover a 100 kilometres of land to find the next dungeon. Over the course of the 18 hours he had managed to claim 2 more dungeons, the first being filled with wasp monsters and the second these ferocious green goblins. The dungeons weren¡¯t complicated in how they needed to be completed, it was a simple make your way through them and kill everything you see sort of deal. He made the same walls as he had on the first dungeon claim, and he was able to join them easily as when he chose to terraform, as he owned the dungeon next to it, he could see the full layout of both of them. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. With his progress he was able to do 3 of the F grade dungeons in a day, and if he continued on with the speed he was going he would claim each of them in 5 days. He knew that the E grade would take much longer, the D grade even longer still as he would probably need to train in the E grade dungeons before he even attempted the D grade. But before all of that he would need to study the books he had on magical wards, he had been warned that terraforming blindly would be a disaster, especially when it came to actually doing more than just creating a wall. It was on the third day, after claiming 8 of the dungeons, that he encountered a problem that he didn¡¯t know how to solve. While searching for the dungeon in the 9th area he came across a group of people in the forest at the edge of his echo. There was about 50 of them altogether, and although none of them felt like they were high level, he also wasn¡¯t sure on how to approach the situation. At nearly the same time he felt the dungeon, and it wasn¡¯t that far from this group. At full speed he would probably make it there before them, but even then he had the issue of people being in the area. He had a choice to make, deal with the dungeon first then the people, or deal with the people and then sort the dungeon. He made the choice quickly, he couldn¡¯t risk them or anyone else get to the dungeon, and afterwards he would deal with the mess of having to handle this group. At full speed he pushed himself through the air, making it to the dungeon before the others stumbled across it. The area was a small lake, beautiful and pristine and the dungeon was located in the centre on a small island. At the speed they were going though they would probably make it to him in about a minute, but even then they would need to travel to the centre of the lake, without some ability to do so it would cause them a delay. **Welcome to The Oasis (F grade) Dungeon** This dungeon forms part of an unclaimed cluster. Current dungeons claimed in this cluster: F grade 8/15, E grade 0/5, D grade 0/1. Note: to claim this dungeon you need a minimum of 100,000 TE. No rewards will be provided if dungeon claimed. One participant located, do you wish to enter? He accepted immediately and appeared in the dungeon. He appeared on an island surrounded by water which was different but he immediately realised what was going to happen. Like a wave dungeon this one would send monsters up form the water to attack, all one needed to do was kill them until the boss came and then win that fight and you would be done. Shaun didn¡¯t have the time to wait for the monsters to come to him though, he needed to get out of here as soon as possible. Tapping into his water element he dragged the monsters out of the water and immediately froze them before moving onto the next. It appeared though that the dungeon didn¡¯t create the monsters until all of the previous ones were killed. It slowed him down, not by much, but enough that he need dup having to wait between waves before killing off the next set of monsters. Humanoid octopus were the last of the monsters and it included a boss. They were hideous to look at but easy enough to kill. And finally, after what felt like forever, he got the warning of being ejected from the dungeon and appeared back outside. Sadly he had taken too long. Stupid dungeon! He felt the people gathered around the edge of the lake and he had appeared in full view of them. For a moment they did nothing but look at him all the while he just looked back. He still had to deal with the terraforming stuff but now that he claimed the dungeon he was out of danger of losing all progress he had made in this cluster. ¡°Hello, we don¡¯t mean any harm, we swear. You claimed the dungeon right, we are safe?¡± A man from the group yelled at him from across the lake, identifying him he saw that the guy¡¯s name was Jeff and he was only in the high 20¡¯s level wise. ¡°I claimed the dungeon, there is no point sticking around now. I am claiming all of the ones in this area.¡± He hoped that would be enough for them to leave but apparently it had the opposite effect. ¡°That is the best new we have heard in a long time! We have been walking nonstop, we are tired, hungry and honestly, we don¡¯t know what to do in this new world.¡± The group all nodded along. He took the opportunity to look them over. Unlike his tutorial, where everyone was in their prime, this group had a mix of elderly, and children. ¡°Do you mind if we talk, please?¡± These people were not fighters, not really. They may have had classes but they did not seem like the type to have any real fighting ability. They looked scared if he was being honest with himself. But more than that they looked about ready to collapse from exhaustion. Sending them away, it would be a death sentence. He didn¡¯t think there was anywhere even remotely close to here, but even if there was it would be days of travel. Without rest and supplied they would never make it. Shaun gave the guy a nod and so he didn¡¯t scare them he ran across the water, solidifying it under his feet so he didn¡¯t fall in, not being in the mood to go for a swim. ¡°What bring you here?¡± Shaun asked them without getting too close. He was holding back every ounce of his aura, including that of his armour, so that he didn¡¯t cause any of them harm. ¡°We have nowhere else to go. We were having a party, it was my sons birthday and we were all out in our campers when the system, this horrible destructive apocalyptic damn system came. We all went to a tutorial, some of us were together but for most we were separated. For months we were apart and then when we got back only those of us here appeared again. But everything was gone! We had no way to get home and we were in the middle of nowhere! You must know, how hard this has been. What it has done to our planet, it is unforgivable.¡± The more he spoke the more upset he became, some of the kids started to cry as they listened and many of the parent held their children close. ¡°We just want to be safe, to get home.¡± Shaun listened to the man speak, and the more he looked over the people present the more he felt for them. He never had to worry about anyone else when he was in the tutorial, not like the people that had been torn from their families. He had never considered some of the more harmful impacts of the integration. ¡°Where is your home?¡± ¡°A few hours from here, just outside of the city.¡± ¡°I am sorry, but your home is gone.¡± This wasn¡¯t what they wanted to here, their expression changed and many of them looked devastated. ¡°What I mean is, I came here from the city. If you tried to walk back it would take weeks, if not more at a normal pace. When I travelled through I saw places that used to be suburban neighbourhoods. All of them had been reclaimed during the planet being terraformed. There was nothing really left. Even the city was mostly reclaimed.¡± ¡°I¡­why? Why has this happened to us? Your saying we have nothing left? What about food? Shelter? Have we truly made it through the tutorial just to die anyway?¡± Although these were phrased at questions the man didn¡¯t really expect an answer, Shaun chose to anyway. ¡°You will need to hunt for food. Monster meat isn¡¯t so bad. You will need to rebuild your home though, find a place where you can settle down. It won¡¯t be easy, but you can do it if you focus on it with everything you have. The world has changed, but it doesn¡¯t mean you have to die because of it.¡± Book 2: Chapter 49 Shaun had never been one for inspiring others, especially not with words. But he these people seemed to listen to him and he saw just a small kernel of hope bloom in some of them. ¡°You really claimed that dungeon, didn¡¯t you?¡± Shaun just gave the man a nod. ¡°And your strong, I can¡¯t even see your level. I mean, sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have identified you. I am Jeff by the way.¡± ¡°Its fine, I identified every one of you. I am Shaun.¡± ¡°It is a blessing to meet you, I think. You¡¯re going to create something here, right? I have heard that with enough TE you can do almost anything with an area that is claimed.¡± Shaun saw where this was going and although he felt for these people it wasn¡¯t part of his plan. Besides letting them stay put them in danger they didn¡¯t even know about. ¡°I know where you are going with this Jeff, but trust me, staying here with me is probably more dangerous than going out alone and finding somewhere else.¡± ¡°Please, I will give you all the TE I have, all of us will, if you can make us somewhere to stay, even if just a while. Right everyone?¡± All the adults in the group pleaded with him, asking for his help. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works, even if I did create a home for you to stay for a while it would take time for it to complete, hours at least. And like I said it would¡­¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, we will wait! Will you do it, please?¡± ¡°¡­be dangerous for you stay near me.¡± Shaun let out a breath when he was done with his sentence. He looked over the group again seeing just how desperate they were for help. ¡°Fine, I will be gone for a few days anyway. But when I¡¯m back you will need to go. You seriously don¡¯t want to have any connection to me. I am a hunted man.¡± ¡°Hunted by who exactly?¡± This time one of the mothers spoke up, giving him a wary look. ¡°At this point? Pretty much everyone. All of the major factions, the clans. I pissed off a lot of people.¡± Shaun saw some of the kids eyes go wide. ¡°I mean, I annoyed a lot of people¡­¡± Now I have to watch my language. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­how exactly did you manage to get on the bad side of, uh, everyone really?¡± Jeff started to back away from him slowly. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, not really a secret though. Pretty much all the major factions offered me a spot with them. I turned them all down. They weren¡¯t happy about it so put out a kill order on me. That, as well as the war that¡¯s about to start, doesn¡¯t make this place the most safe one, not yet anyway.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you got offered a place with the factions, mind you all of us have heard of the factions, and you turned them down. Just because of that they all want you dead?¡± Shaun thought it through and although he had never really heard the situation described so simply before, it was true. ¡°Pretty much, yeah, that¡¯s the gist of it. I am, valuable, I guess? They also don¡¯t like being told no.¡± Jeff just stared at him, opening and closing his mouth until he finally shook himself out of the shock. ¡°That is the most ridiculous thing I have heard. You tell them no and their reaction is to have you killed? Are they children having a tantrum? My god, you¡¯re telling me this is how the most powerful groups in the multiverse behave? I¡­I just¡­.how ridiculous!¡± Shaun didn¡¯t even bother holding back his laugh, never, not in a million years, had he expected someone to say what Jeff had just said. He had assumed that the factions had spread the word about him through to each and every person in the tutorials, slandering him and ensuring that he was hated more than the devil himself. But right in front of him was a group of people that found the situation so absurd that they would outright call the factions children throwing a tantrum. ¡°Okay, I will do what you are asking, you know the risk in associating with me, even just like this. After I finish claiming the rest of the F grade dungeons though, you should seriously consider leaving. I wont make anything fancy, but enough that you will shelter.¡± ¡°Thank you Shaun! You have no idea what this means to us. Please take all the TE we have, we don¡¯t want to put you out.¡± Shaun received notifications, nearly 30 in total, asking him if he wanted to accept the TE that was being given to him by those that had any. Altogether it totalled less than 50,000, such a small amount that he wondered what any of them even did in their tutorial. Shaun accepted it, not because he needed it, but because he didn¡¯t want to argue with them around him not needing it. Instead he decided he would use it as they wanted it to be used. To make them a place to stay. He had a quick chat around how many houses they needed, whether they wanted on big one or separate. In the end they just said to do whatever he could with what they provided. When they were done he went back to the dungeon and finished off the terraforming. With the TE he was given he had enough to make houses for everyone, they weren¡¯t fancy, but they would suit their needs. He connected them all around one side of the lake, including a large kitchen in a central area, that was where the majority of the cost went as creating the mana powered appliances was more expensive than he realised. In the end it only added an hour onto the time it would take until completion, he even chose to have the houses done first over the wall. He then went back to the group and gave them a parting gift. ¡°The houses should be done in an hour or so over there.¡± Shaun pointed in the direction that he had chosen to build. ¡°Also here is enough meat and stuff to get you through the next few days.¡± He the pulled out enough to feed everyone there for a week, it looked like a huge amount but when split between 50 people it wasn¡¯t really that much. ¡°A communal kitchen will be built with mana appliances, they are easy enough to use so don¡¯t stress too much about it. I will be back in a few days depending on what else I encounter.¡± The goodbyes from the group were emotional, for them at least. He however felt mixed feelings. He had done something good for these people but at the same time may also be bringing them more danger in the future. He realised that there was going to have to be some kind of balance, leaving people to die outside the walls, especially when there were people out there that truly needed help with nowhere else to go was just something he didn¡¯t have the heart to do. He knew what it was like, having nothing and no one, being discarded by others. He couldn¡¯t do that, not to kids, not to their families. But that added a layer of complexity to his plans that he didn¡¯t have a solution for at this moment. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Rather than focus on it for now he decided to throw himself into claiming the remaining dungeons, if these people had made it here than there was a chance that others would too. There was no longer time for rest at the end of the day, he had to push, and push hard. He was so close to finishing off the first step of his plan and he refused to faulter now. It took 2 more days to finish his loop of the area, when he claimed the last of the F grade dungeons he finally felt like he could take a moment to relax and take a breath, he had done it. This had been the most stressful part of the process, in 18 hours he would have a completely walled in area, one that spanned an area larger than the biggest cities pre integration. If the area was completely urbanised he guessed he could easily fit millions, however that was not his plan. When he claimed the last of the F grade dungeons he received multiple notifications that he had not expected. The first was a title upgrade, moving from Mayor to High Mayor, gibing him an extra 5% boost in the area. The second notification was more obscure, one that he didn¡¯t quite understand. **For fully incorporating the entirety of F grade clusters in an area, please visit a claimed settlement crystal for further upgrades. Note: No settlement crystal placed, please place a settlement crystal by visiting a claimed dungeon that is no longer terraforming the area.** It seemed that there was more going on with claiming dungeons than just terraforming and being able to keep a dungeon. This was an added complexity that he did not have on his current to do list, but seeing as he had some time before all of the walls were finished he figured that he would visit the original dungeon he had claimed, deal with whatever this notification meant and then check out the wall before heading back to the people he had allowed to stay. Now that he had the ability to pinpoint everything in the areas he had claimed, getting to the dungeon was a decently quick journey, and when he finally arrived he walked up to the dungeon and instead of being provided with just one option, entering the dungeon, he was offered a second. **Welcome High Mayor Shaun Clermont, would you like to access F grade settlement screen?** Shaun didn¡¯t see the harm in looking through this, he needed to figure out more information on what exactly this screen did and what potential upgrades he could obtain. He also needed to figure out what this settlement stone situation was, so he confirmed that he wanted to access it. **Current options available for F grade settlement:** Current buildings available for placement. Fully merge all claimed F grade dungeons (Can not be undone) Place settlement crystal. (This can only be moved by the owner of the settled land) Manage settlement and resources. The screen had a number of options he wasn¡¯t certain about. The first thing he did was go through the buildings available and what he saw was a shock. There was options to build a city office, a store linked to some multiverse network where buying and selling good could be utilised, a stock warehouse and so many more buildings that all had descriptions that in some way described a higher level of complexity than would be available from just terraforming. The downside to all of this was that it didn¡¯t cost TE, but coin to build them. He quickly backed out of this screen, completely overwhelmed by all of the options. Thankfully the next two were straight forward, merge the areas, and place the crystal, both of which made more sense. When he tried to access the last one he got push back saying that the settlement crystal had to be placed first. He was way over his head with this stuff, all he wanted to do was claim his dungeons, place the items he had been given by The Alliance, and get to training. All of this needed to be dealt with though and he had no idea what to do. ¡®Eric, are you there? I need some advice.¡¯ He had taken out his stone and hoped that Eric would be available to help. He would have a much better idea of how to sort this stuff than he would. ¡®You¡¯re coming to me for advice? You really must be in trouble. I have an update for you as well. But first, what do you need?¡¯ It had taken a minute for Eric to reply but when he did he seemed in much lighter spirits than he had before. Shaun gave him a quick rundown of the issues he was having with the whole dungeon thing and then he also spoke about the people who had come to him and how he should be approaching that issue. When he was done there was silence for a moment and then he got a weird reply. ¡®Can you wait 30 minutes? A lot has happened since we last spoke and I don¡¯t think this is something I can answer until you are caught up.¡¯ Shaun agreed to wait, it wasn¡¯t like he now had to be anywhere immediately and he really did need some advice on this stuff. Fighting monsters, getting stronger? That was where he excelled. Managing this stuff? Nope, not in his skill set. He didn¡¯t just sit idly during the 30 minutes, instead he pulled out the book on wards and magical protections and got to reading, looking through all of the different options that were available and the different complexities of each. The one thing they all had in common was the need for a power source, which if he was right, could be supplied from the E grade dungeons. That was why King Shrakein had told him that he would need to plan before claiming nay of the E grade dungeons. The 30 minutes passed by quickly and he soon heard Eric through the stone again. ¡®You still there?¡¯ After Shaun confirmed Eric continued. ¡®I am here with Viv and Gabe, I have already given them a quick rundown of the situation you¡¯re in. Shaun, things are bad out here, really bad. People are hungry, lost and confused. To make things worse anyone with an ounce of power has let it go to their head and is proclaiming themselves rulers, and not in a good way. We have come across a few areas where some of these people have claimed some of the F grade dungeons but they are fractured and there is fighting on these areas, everyone is trying to take control of the clusters. That¡¯s not all though, the factions have all taken sides. The Pantheon has somehow recruited Death''s Legion, The Nine Circles, Collective of Beastial Creatures and The Unending Void. Everyone else has sided with The Empire is backing Viv. Everyone is trying to consolidate power and the best way to do that is to claim the dungeons and create a stronghold. The worst part is that this has made areas around the clusters hot spots for fighting, but they are also the only places that offer immediate protection and a place to stay through the terraforming. You might not like this next part though.¡¯ Eric was silent then, he didn¡¯t know if he was waiting for a reply from him or if he was talking to the others. ¡®Go on Eric, just say what you need to.¡¯ ¡®Viv has a way to communicate with Xavier. We don¡¯t know how but apparently all the major factions can monitor Earth¡¯s dungeons and see what is being claimed and which faction they are ultimately apart of. Currently there is only one cluster, on all of Earth, that of all dungeons claimed belongs to one person, which we now know is you. Apparently, that should be a near impossibility at this stage, it should take months to get to that point, sometimes much longer. Viv has spoken to Xavier and he has a proposition for you.¡¯ ¡®You guys told him everything I told you! Eric what the actual hell!¡¯ ¡®Just listen Shaun, please. The deal is, if you allow us to use your cluster and you agree to hand it over to Viv by the time the year is up, all of the factions that have sided with The Empire for this war have agreed to not just put the kill order on hold but they have agreed to completely stop all actions against you, both now and in the future, as long as you don¡¯t go against them. They have even agreed that they will put in a clause that they will never, either anyone from any of the factions or in their clans, do anything against anyone to try and get to you, either directly or indirectly, ever.¡¯ Eric spoke quickly, getting it all out before Shaun had an opportunity to interrupt. This was a complete 180 compared to what went on in the tutorial, and he needed to know why. Book 2: Chapter 50 Shaun was silent for a while after Eric spoke, he needed a moment to process everything that he had said. The first thing that he was curious about was how Viv could communicate with Xavier and he was never given anything to communicate with The Alliance. Although the more he though about that he guessed it had something to do with having joined the faction in an official capacity, something he couldn¡¯t do until he fully left Earth. If he had, everyone would know that these dungeons had been claimed by The Alliance. The other thing that made him wonder was why. This deal that he was being offered was almost desperate. He knew that the factions wanted Earth, badly, but to go so far as to completely reverse their previous decisions on him and literally put a deal in place to provide him protection against them? That was not something he ever expected. ¡®Shaun you still there?¡¯ Hearing Eric again broke him from his thoughts. ¡®Yeah, just thinking. Do you know why they are offering this? It seems pretty extreme on their part, like they are desperate.¡¯ ¡®Give me a sec.¡¯ there was silence again for a minute before Eric spoke again. ¡®Sorry, Viv is speaking to Xavier while I am speaking to you. Viv said tat Xavier said that Earth is more important than you are. Having a fully claimed cluster this early on would put them so far ahead of The Pantheon that they would struggle to catch up. He also said that if anyone had a hope of claiming a D grade dungeon before the year is up, it would be you. If you manage that and hand the rights over to Viv, it would put her so far in the lead for Planetary ruler that The Pantheon wouldn¡¯t be able to fight against her claim. So really what they want is for you to do all of the work in claiming the dungeons and then give it to Viv with a bow on top. You spend all of you TE on the dungeon and then we get to come in after and use ours to make it what we want after.¡¯ ¡®Give me a second to think about this. It a lot to take in.¡¯ This was not how he saw this conversation going and he needed to think it through. Protection from over half of the factions would be good, especially for the next year, but if he continued on with his plan he wouldn¡¯t exactly need it. However, having the others here meant he would no longer need to deal with the issues of managing the F grade areas, and eventually the E grade ones as well. What he only really needed was the D grade when the time came. If he did go through with it he would need agreement that the D grade dungeon as his area alone and only by his invitation could others enter the area. It would solve some of his issues, and he would no longer feel the need to help anyone that came across the cluster, he already knew in his hear that he wouldn¡¯t be able to turn away the vulnerable that came to him, and with this he wouldn¡¯t have to. The only thing that worried him was how all of this was going to be enforced. ¡®Eric, say I agree. I have conditions, but how would the deal be enforced? I wont just accept it if its just his word I am going off of.¡¯ ¡®Xavier assumed that already. He will form a binding system contract with you, along with the other factions. To break it would mean that a portion of their power would be sacrificed and go to you. As the contracts will be with the factions themselves and not just a single person, breaking them would practically cripple them in the war. It would also provide you with so much power that it would practically make you a god in an instant. Like you said Shaun, they are desperate here and truly want Earth more than anything.¡¯ Shaun really hoped he didn¡¯t regret this. But he had to put some faith in his friends here. ¡®Fine I will agree to the deal, however some further conditions. I wont fight in the war unless I choose to. I will still hold control of the area until the choosing of the ruler unless I chose to give it up earlier. The D grade area is mine and mine alone. No one can enter unless I give explicit permission from someone to do so. No one can claim any dungeon here but me.¡¯ Eric was quiet for a while, he assumed he was passing information to the others who were then passing it to Xavier. Eventually he got a response. ¡®That¡¯s acceptable. The only further conditions from their side is do not merge the areas until we arrive, do not place any settlement crystals or build anything outside of terraforming unless we agree. Also when it does come time to do these things you give Viv full access to the F grade areas immediately, and when you claim the D grade dungeons you will need to give her access to all the E grade areas. Is that okay?¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s fine, but she can¡¯t remove any protections I put in place.¡¯ Eric didn¡¯t reply immediately but when he did he was somewhat uncertain. ¡®Xavier is asking what type of protections.¡¯ ¡®Magical ones¡¯ There was silence again for a while before he got an answer. ¡®Xavier said that if you manage to put in those type of protections that he will put a clause in the contract to have you paid for it when you hand over the cluster. The amount will depend on what protections you manage to put in place.¡¯ Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡®Okay, agreed.¡¯ ¡®Alright, give it a second. You should get a notification soon. Let us know when you accept it.¡¯ **System contract initiated between The Empire, The Creators Guild, Life''s Union, The Holy Light, The Elementals, The Dynasty as well as all clans associated with these factions and Shaun Clermont** What followed was a full breakdown of everything they had spoken about, including the conditions that Shaun put in and the agreement that he wouldn¡¯t do anything before Viv arrived. At the end, as Eric had promised, was the punishment for breaking the contract. The only way for Shaun to break it was if he didn¡¯t hand over the cluster before the ruler event, if he did anything with the buildings and merging plus the settlement crystals before Viv got here as well as giving her full access at the agreed times. He read through it five times, not finding a single way that it could be misinterpreted. It was very clear with no wiggle room from either side. When he was comfortable he agreed to the contract and he felt the bindings settle on him immediately. ¡®It¡¯s done Eric, I agreed.¡¯ He really hoped he didn¡¯t regret this. ¡®Viv confirmed that everything is in place. We will start mobilising and heading your way. Anything we should look out for?¡¯ ¡®Just look for the giant walls, they will be hard to miss.¡¯ They didn¡¯t speak for much longer after that, they didn¡¯t know how long it would take to get to him but they would move as fast as they could. Now that he had no reason to stick around at this dungeon he decided he would head back to the people he had left near the other dungeon and give them an update, then all that he needed to do was study and plan out the best magical protections he could. He knew that would take time but it needed to be done before he could go into the E grade dungeons. It only took a few hours of travel before he found himself back at the lake, the moment he saw the group he knew he had made the right decision. He found kids swimming in the lake, being watched by their parents. Others seemed to be practicing with weapons, honing their class skills while some of the others were playing around with materials, clearly utilising their professions. Overall though, they looked happy, safe and nothing like they had when they first got here. When Shaun made is presence known by dropping down from the sky, the kids practically screamed in excitement at the display, probably having never seen a person fly before. ¡°Shaun, we can¡¯t thank you enough for these past few days. I can not explain to you just how much it means to us. I know you said that we would have to..¡± ¡°Relax, I am not going to make you leave Jeff.¡± He interrupted him before he could finish. ¡°There has been a change of plans. Some more people are on their way, I have made a deal with some of the powers. This place is going to get a lot busier when they get here, a lot is going to change, but I trust these people, you will be safe.¡± Shaun spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, some of the people present burst into tears at the relief they felt at not having to leave, the kids practically jumped in joy at not having to leave their new lake. ¡°You have saved our lives. We are truly in your debt.¡± Jeff put his hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. ¡°We need more people like you in this world Shaun, you are on of the good ones.¡± ¡°I figured I could stay around here for a while if that¡¯s okay? I have a lot of study to do and I don¡¯t know how long it will take. I need to get it all done before I can claim the E grade dungeons and then the D grade. If you rather I went elsewhere¡­.¡± ¡°Nonsense, this is your home as much as it is ours, if not more!¡± Jeff cut him off. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what are you studying?¡± ¡°Magical protections and wards. Probably some ritualistic magic thrown in. From what I have read some rune work too.¡± Shaun told him, not really thinking anything of it. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­impressive. Is it safe?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, don¡¯t worry about it, I will just be studying around here. Won¡¯t do anything to harm anyone.¡± He nearly smacked himself in the face. These people had never seen these sorts of things before, and here he was throwing these things around like it was his everyday, which it kind of was. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind me saying but¡­I assumed you were more of a fighter than a profession guy.¡± Jeff chuckled a little nervously as he said it. ¡°I guess? My class is way higher than my profession at the moment but hopefully I can change that soon.¡± ¡°I know I shouldn¡¯t ask this, we were told it was rude. But none of us can see your level, so I assume your in the E grade, if you want to, and in no way do you have to, what level are you?¡± Jeff started visibly sweating as he asked him about his level, he couldn¡¯t blame him either, it was an unknown to them just how strong he was and he had asked to live nearby. ¡°I¡¯m level 63, but a chunk of that is from my class.¡± Anyone at E grade could see it anyway, not really a secret. ¡°That¡¯s over halfway to D grade! That incredible! We were told that no one would make it to D grade for years!¡± Shaun chuckled and after a bit more small talk he went over to the dungeon and built himself his own house. He couldn¡¯t really call it that though, it was more like a bedroom, bathroom and a giant study, but it suited his needs. He settled in easily once everyone got used to his presence. They even made him dinner which turned out a lot better than he expected. He found out that a man and woman both had the Chef professions and afterwards he dumped a good amount of food and ingredients into the kitchen for them to sort through. They had agreed to do all the cooking which Shaun was more than happy to take them up on. After spending a little more time talking after dinner with the group he retired to his room and got started on fully focusing on the next step of his plan. This would be the hardest thing he ever did in terms of his profession, wards and magical protections were one of the hardest forms of magic due to the power needed to fuel them and the complexity of ensuring they were both hard to break through and stable. He also refused to go with anything basic, he wanted to put his own spin on it to fully incorporate his own skills. The more he put into it the better it should turn out, hopefully. Book 2: Chapter 51 Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye, Shaun did very little during this time outside of creating multiple different designs that he thought would work well for the protections he wanted to put in place for the area. He had created 4 different designs, all of varying levels of difficulty. He took some short breaks each day, he had been approached by 6 of the people present with him, all as a group, asking if he would train them a little bit to help them in their classes so that they would have the strength to run an F grade dungeon so that they would be able to support their families. He had agreed, spending 30 minutes each day pushing them to their limits over and over, they didn¡¯t complain once and listened to his every direction. He had also been getting updates from Eric every day on how they were traveling and what has happening outside of the walls. On the last update they had just made it back to the outskirts of the city they had arrived in, the reason behind it taking so much longer being that they were collecting people that needed help along the way. The current size of the group they were now traveling with was now over 100,000 and they estimated that that number would possibly be double by the time they got here. When he had first heard how many people they were collecting he nearly had a panic attack, he had no idea what they would do with so many people. Hey only reason he didn¡¯t dwell on it was because Eric had promised that Viv had a plan and that with all the area he had claimed with the F grade dungeons they would have no issues rehoming these people and plenty more who came to them. At the rate they were traveling they estimated that they would be here anywhere between 2 to 4 weeks, which gave him plenty of time to finalise his designs and get started on the E grade dungeons. The first thing he needed to do was ensure that his designs worked and test the effectiveness of each of them. He found himself an open area in the forest about 1 kilometre out from where they were staying and decided to make miniature models of the cluster, which really was just a circle of wall 10 metres across. He had utilised his Earth element to create the walls, replicating the walls he had built including the towers he had put in them. After that was where the real work started. The first design he tested was a simple warding that was engraved into the walls in equal spaces and powered by the E grade dungeons. He would need to individually connect whatever power source he managed to either buy or terraform from the E grade dungeons into a portion of the wall which would then reinforce the walls with magical protection. This was a similar process to a ritual but would be permanent, at least until it ran out of power or was broken. He spent an entire day engraving the walls with the runes and forming up the ritual, using 5 gems he had in his inventory to emulate the power source of an E grade dungeon area. When he powered up the final replica by feeding his own mana in the gems he was surprised to find success on the first go, even getting a level out of the success. **[Basic] Runic ward successfully placed.** **Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by 1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 53. +5 Int, +2 Wil, +3 Per, +5 Soul ** **Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 64. +16 Ap gained** It had been a while since he last got a level and after seeing the notification he realised how much he had missed it. Seeing that the ward was only basic, he immediately dismissed the idea of using it for the walls, it would be broken through way to easily by anyone of a higher level, but this was the easiest one of his designs so he didn¡¯t expect much. Leaving the ward and replica in place he moved on to his second design, this one being more difficult than the last. The next design was similar to the last but instead of just individually spaced runes he needed to create a full circuit throughout the wall. It was much more intricate and took much longer than the first design but it was still within his skill set. He did the same thing he had with the last, using 5 more gems to act as a power source and powered it up. He again gained one more level in his profession for this and the ward turned from basic to advanced. Testing the differences between the two designs he went up to the first and tapped the wall with his sword, feeling some resistance to his attack but he knew that if he put proper power behind it, it would break. The second one though was definitely more resistant, he could still break it, but it would take much more time and he would need to wear down all the mana he had put in the gems before he could actually physically attack the walls. Two days after starting his testing he moved on to the third design. This one didn¡¯t involve the walls, instead it was based purely on connecting each of the 5 gems and forming a purely magical ward that should, if it worked cover the entirety of the replica in a force field that repelled back anyone that tried to enter. For this one to work he needed to carve the ritual and runes into the ground around each of the gems and then a larger connection between those gems to each other. This one took a lot more power form the gems to the last two but when it did click into place, after a few minor changes, he got himself a true magical protection around the replica. He couldn¡¯t see it with his eyes but when he went up to push his hand into the replica he was met with a shimmer in the air that pushed him back, almost like hitting a solid wall. When he did the gems glowed, using some of the stored mana to power the field. It was called a force ward, still only advanced grade, but definitely on the higher end. He got another level for his work, considering that this one had taken nearly two days to complete he was happy with the results. His last design was much more complex. It was similar to a combination of the second and third design however the runes and rituals would encompass all of the E and F grade area as well as the walls. This one took nearly 3 days of work to get all the prep work down, he had to make changes along the way where he saw small things that didn¡¯t feel right when he looked at the design in real life rather than on paper. He then needed to spend time actually powering the gems up before placing them as to power all of this up he knew it would take much more mana than all of the others combined. When he was as confident as he could be he placed each of the gems, five larger ones and 15 smaller ones to represent the F grade dungeons, in their spots and activated the ward. Immediately the mana in the gems dropped first by 25% and then nearly half before steadying of. It took a few minutes for everything to finish obtaining the power it needed to activate but when it did he was truly happy with the results. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. **[Epic] Convergence ward successfully placed.** **Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by 3 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 58. +15 Int, +6 Wil, +9 Per, +15 Soul ** **Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 64. +16 Ap gained** Creating an epic level ward was an incredible feeling, the rush of levels also felt fantastic, but the real win was that the ward he had managed to create, even though significantly smaller than what he would need to do for the entire area, had enough power behind it to hold out pretty much anyone on Earth for a long while. It would take an army, and a powerful one, to break through the ward by wearing down all of the mana. He updated his designs where he changed things when actually creating the ward and then, after admiring his work for a while, he went to grab the people he had been training to test out the efficiency of each of the replicas. Jeff and his new team happily came with him when he asked and after walking through the forest for a bit they came to his replicas. ¡°This is what you have been working on? What is it?¡± He got a weird look from the 6 people present which he could understand, it did look a bit odd if you didn¡¯t know what you were looking at. ¡°Each of these is a replica of the cluster, I was seeing which of my protective wards worked best, or if I could do them at all. Each of these represent the area we are in and a different type of ward, all with varying degrees of power. I want you to try and break into each of them.¡± He explained to them. ¡°Wait, you are planning to create walls around the entire area, that¡¯s a big job!¡± ¡°The walls are already up¡­. Sorry should have told you. This entire area is surrounded by walls over 30 metres high and several metres deep. All I need now is to add the magical protections.¡± There were no more comments on the walls but he did get nods of approval, it seemed they had no idea that he had invested TE in creating protections around the area, something they were all happy about. Shaun pointed them to the weakest design and told them to break it all down. It took them a few minutes to break through but they had managed without too much difficulty. Scaled to size it would have been much harder, but at this level it wasn¡¯t that hard. They struggled a bit more with the second one, taking nearly 30 minutes to get through the wall. After an hour trying on the third they gave up and the fourth they couldn¡¯t even get close too. Sweating from the amount of work they put in trying to get through the ward Jeff spoke for his team. ¡°If you manage to put this around the entire area, I don¡¯t think there would be anywhere safer on Earth than here. People will flock here once they hear about this place. It will literally be a beacon of hope for everyone, especially if you truly build this place up into a city, one that stands for your friend is trying to do for our planet.¡± Shaun nodded back at Jeff, choosing not to really address the comments he made. They asked if they could use the last two replicas to train and he agreed, not seeing any issues with it. What Shaun wanted to do now was start re terraforming the F grade areas with his designs the issue with that was that he had a feeling that all the areas would need to be merged and the settlement crystals placed for it to work. Viv might also have some input on the walls and how to lay down the lines for the actual ward seeing as it would need to be placed throughout the F grade areas and not changed, if they were the protections would disappear. Rather than wasting time redoing things and wasting TE he decided that there was now nothing stopping him from at least locating the E grade dungeons, maybe even go in one or two. The best thing about the dungeons here was that you could retreat back and leave the dungeon and enter it again later without impacting anything. He wouldn¡¯t be stuck inside until he either finished or died. He still had a few weeks before Viv arrived and he had 5 mountains to explore to find the dungeon entrances. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°Viv we can¡¯t keep moving at this pace, remember most of the people here are only F grade, they aren¡¯t able to push as much as we can.¡± They were all in their nightly meeting where they reported on the day, including food stores, the amount of people that had joined them, conditions of everyone and also any threats they found. Gabe was the one in charge of looking after people wellbeing, and if he was being brutally honest, for the majority of people present, it wasn¡¯t looking good. People were losing hope, they were exhausted and with food being rationed most everyone was hungry. ¡°What do you think we should do then? The longer we take the worst it is going to get. Not to mention that we will still need to prepare everything once we get to Shaun.¡± Viv calmly replied, she refused to break under the pressure but she couldn¡¯t deny that all of the responsibility with moving hundreds of thousands of people was getting to her. ¡°We have spoken about it.¡± Eric started. ¡°You and I will take a small team, only those that can travel quickly without rest and go ahead. Gabe will stay behind and lead everyone after us. He can still follow you with the links so he wont get lost. That means we can prepare everything before the majority of people get there.¡± ¡°You think I should just leave everyone? I am supposed to be their leader.¡± ¡°And you still will be. This is what they need. I spoke to Shaun earlier too. He said¡­¡± ¡°You spoke to Shaun and you didn¡¯t get me?¡± Viv interrupted. ¡°Yes, he said that he can¡¯t move forward with his plans until you are there. He Had everything ready to go but without merging the F grade area and placing the settlement crystals he can¡¯t start to lay the foundation of the ward. That means he can¡¯t start on the E grade dungeons, otherwise nothing will work how he needs it too. You not being there is holding him back, which is holding us back. You can¡¯t get there without me and you have to be there.¡± Viv thought this all through, the benefits and the downsides. She agreed with one condition, outside of Viv and Eric, the strongest fighters had to stay to protect the people. After that it was decided that they would move out the next morning after some rest. Eric gathered three people he knew he could trust to go with them and he contacted Shaun again to give him an update. By his estimation it would be about a week before they got to him, then the real work would begin. Book 2: Chapter 52 As soon as Eric had said that they would be here in about a week he decided against going in to any of the dungeons, what he did do was search each mountain and find the dungeons, only managing to find two of them before he was contacted nearly a week to the day later. ¡®Hey Shaun, we see the walls. Where do we get in?¡¯ Shaun had been waiting for this message, practically counting down the days until they arrived. It had been a long time since he had seen them and he was excited to be able to drop all pretences and say hello. That and he was more than ready to get a move on with the dungeons. ¡®Keep moving to the wall, I will meet you there.¡¯ It was an easy enough job to follow the direction of the stone and get to the wall closest to where they would approach. It still took him some time to cover the distance from where he was to the wall but that also gave them time to actually get there. By the time he got to the wall, standing atop the walkway that looped around the entire area, he looked down and saw that they had beaten him there. He didn¡¯t delay in jumping off of the wall and landing on the ground next to them. They saw him coming so he didn¡¯t feel the need to announce his presence. Along with Viv and Eric there was three other people with them, all looking tired. ¡°Its good to see you guys. I guess I should say welcome.¡± Eric came up to him first and gave him a hug. The others gave him wary looks but each gave him a dip of their head to show their respect. ¡°This is Jas, Will and Izzy. We trust them with what we need to do here. They have all sworn themselves to me.¡± Viv said noticing the look that Shaun gave them. ¡°Good, we have lots to do. You ready to go? I can show you the plan first and then we can head to one of the dungeons and get started.¡± ¡°Shaun, how are we supposed to get over the wall? You didn¡¯t make a gate, did you?¡± Eric questioned him with a raised eyebrow, clearly already knowing the answer to the question and finding the entire situation comical. ¡°No¡­.I didn¡¯t. Wasn¡¯t exactly planning for company here when I built it.¡± He gave them all a look before coming up with a solution. ¡°Guess I will give you all a ride then.¡± Before they could object he tightened the air all around them, binding them all together with hardened air and took off into the air himself, dragging the others with him. It was a strain and thankfully he wouldn¡¯t need to do this often. Eric chuckled and Viv an indignant huff, the other three were not expecting to be suddenly lifted into he air and the noises they made were beyond entertaining to hear. When they landed on the other side of the wall none of them were too steady on their feet. ¡°A bit of warning next time, please.¡± ¡°Sure, or maybe learn to fly. Come on I will take you too where the others are and we can stop by the replica so you can see what needs to be done first.¡± With how tired the others were Shaun didn¡¯t push them to move that quickly. It took a good few hours until they arrived at the houses where he introduced everyone. As soon as they arrived they were offered food and water and a place to rest which they all agreed to. They asked a lot of questions on Viv, specifically around what changes they were going to bring and if they would have to move. Shaun didn¡¯t get involved with the conversation as he knew Viv would take care of them. Eventually he told Viv it was time to get moving, she agreed to follow him although she looked like she could sleep for a day before having the energy to do so. Eric followed them as well as the other three. When they made it to the replica they found Jeff and his team working hard at battling down the last ward, although failing miserably at it. They were all drenched in sweat but still giving it their all. They stopped training when Shaun approached with the others and after some quick introduction he got down to business. ¡°This is what I am going to put in place, the replica shows the walls and all the gems represent the settlement crystals. All those lines and runes are going to need to be terraformed into the areas and connected up. The issue is when they are placed they cant be moved otherwise the protections fail.¡± They all walked around it until out of nowhere Viv took out an arrow and powered up what looked to be one of her most powerful attacks and sent it flying at the ward. The arrow tried to pierce through but immediately the gems glowed and it came to a standstill in the air before dropping to the ground. ¡°So you plan to scale this but around the entire cluster?¡± After he told her that was the plan she started listing off changed. ¡°We will need to make some changes, people will need to be let in and out of the walls. I think we will need four gates equally spaced out, can you do that?¡± Shaun nodded at Viv and allowed himself through the ward and started to look at where the best place to make changes were. He found four places he could manage to change up without weakening the ward, but it did leave the gates mostly unprotected. He made some changes alterations to the doors so that when they were closed the ward would cover the area, but when opened it was mostly undefended. They watched him the entire time he made changes to the replica and when asked he pointed to where they had entered over the wall, making sure to put a gate very close to it. When he was done he saw Viv pull something out of her inventory and close her eyes and concentrate. ¡°She is contacting Xavier.¡± Eric said when he gave her a questioning look. ¡°Shaun,¡± Viv said, not moving or opening her eyes. ¡°What kind of ward is it?¡± ¡°An Epic grade Convergence Ward.¡± ¡°How long until it is operational?¡± ¡°When I complete the E grade dungeons it will be able to be activated.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°If you made all of the runes and lines that are on the ground into roads, will that work?¡± The question threw him for a second but what she was saying made sense. ¡°Only if we invest enough TE into it to make them conductive to mana and near indestructible. You won¡¯t be able to use whatever material we make the roads out of for anything else otherwise it would screw the whole thing up.¡± A few moment of silence followed before Viv spoke again. ¡°Xavier said as long as you are confident in this succeeding it is worth the TE to invest into it. These types of wards are apparently near impenetrable as long as there is mana to sustain them. He also said that getting this up and working is a priority, you okay with that?¡± ¡°It was the next thing on my to do list after you got here.¡± It took a little while longer before Viv opened her eyes and came back to herself, but when she did she smiled at him. ¡°Xavier said he is disappointed, that you didn¡¯t join us. Apparently, there is an open invitation to reconsider if you choose to. But for now, lets get started. Can we go to the dungeon closest to where everyone will be entering? We will start out there as once the rest of our people join we will want to get them settled pretty quickly.¡± Rather than drop off the other three to rest they all moved together to get to the dungeon they had requested. They moved even slower now than they had before but it gave them time to properly catch up. They didn¡¯t talk about anything too serious, just light conversation about their time since they last saw each other and what Shaun had been up to. They didn¡¯t try to press him for more information on where he had gone and he didn¡¯t offer any. When they finally arrived they approached the dungeon. ¡°I am only getting an option to enter the F grade dungeon, nothing else.¡± Viv looked at him. ¡°You will need to give me permissions when we are done.¡± ¡°I know, like we agreed, you get full permissions when I claim all the E grade and then again when I claim the D grade. Let me know when you are ready for this.¡± She gave him the go ahead so he pulled up the options again. **Current options available for F grade settlement:** Current buildings available for placement. Fully merge all claimed F grade dungeons (Can not be undone) Place settlement crystal. (This can only be moved by the owner of the settled land) Manage settlement and resources. He picked the option to fully merge the F grade dungeons, when he did he felt the areas start to change and fully flow from one to the other, as if before they had been blocked off. The change could also be felt through the air, a rush of mana rushing in and then dispersing, increasing the overall mana density of the F grade area. As soon as the changes were done the option disappeared from the screen. ¡°All done, now I need to place a settlement crystal. You happy for me to place it where it need to go for the wards?¡± ¡°Do it.¡± When he selected the option to place the crystal he got the option to place all 15. Now that the area had been combined he had access to everything across all of the dungeons, not just the one. He was given access to the map, like he had previously, and checking his designs he placed all twelve of the crystals where they needed to go and confirmed his choices. He felt each of them fully form in seconds and start to pull in mana from the area, powering them up. The moment he placed the crystals he lost the ability to do any more changes, instead getting a message. **Settlement crystals placed, please go to a crystal for more options** Once he told the others they all started moving to the closest crystal. When they arrived he was someone shocked at the size of the thing. The crystal hovered in the air and was the size of him. It glowed a soft blue hummed with power. The moment he got close he got the options back. **Current options available for F grade settlement:** Current buildings available for placement. Manage settlement and resources. He chose the manage settlement and resources option and he was overwhelmed with the choices. He skimmed through most of it only paying attention to the ones he needed. The first was an option on mana storage. When he clicked into it he found that the crystal stored mana up to 10 million. It was low at the moment, only a quarter full, but it was slowly climbing. It would work perfectly for his ward. The next option he went into was one called settlement structure. In it he found the ability to appoint people into positions and to even hand over the settlement to someone else. ¡°At the moment I can make you a Sub Mayor, it gives you pretty much all the permissions I have outside of being able to take control of the area. Is that okay with you?¡± He asked Viv. When she agreed he made the choice and he now had her name as his Sub Mayor. ¡°Can you access the screen now?¡± Viv stepped forward and started looking through all of the options. ¡°There is a lot more in here than I expected. Some of these buildings are expensive too.¡± He cleared his throat to get her back on track. ¡°Sorry. Terrafroming now, right?¡± Shaun went into the terraforming option, which he found would only work until the year is up, after that it all had to be done by hand. He asked Viv if he could see what he was doing on the map and when she confirmed he got to work. Making the adjustments to add the gates was easy, but putting in all of the engravings and rune work into the middle of the walls using a conductive material was much harder to manage. From there he put down the roads, needing to continuously upgrade the material used until he was happy with it. In the end, across the entire F grade area, including the changes to the wall. The cost was 1.8 million TE. ¡°That¡¯s expensive. Really expensive. And that doesn¡¯t even include the E grade areas.¡± Viv was hesitant when she saw the number, but for him he had more than enough and had already factored in needing to spend a lot of TE on getting this done. ¡°Its fine, I can cover this. Besides, if it all works out Xavier said I would be getting paid in coin for it. As long as you are happy and won¡¯t be making any changes to it I will confirm.¡± ¡°Okay, do it. I will be able to spend time while its being created to plan out what needs to be done for all of the people that are coming. We have a lot of space here, and we ae going to need to have a real plan on how we want the cities here to be structured.¡± She nodded as she spoke, already onto her next task. ¡°Glad its you and not me.¡± Shaun accepted the changes and was informed that it would take about a week for all of the changes he had requested to be implemented. Viv groaned at the message but he just shrugged. He still needed to complete 5 E grade dungeons, that would take longer than the week just in travel time so he wasn¡¯t to put out by it. Viv decided to stay for a few hours to look through the options on the crystal, planning out all of the buildings and costs. After they made their way back to the houses for the night, every one of them wanting to get a good sleep before they really started getting into their plans for the next day. For Shaun his admin work was now done, tomorrow he planned to go to one of the E grade dungeons he had already found and get to work. He didn¡¯t know what to expect from these dungeons, it could be a wave dungeon or something more complex. He had read that dungeon varied a lot and sometimes it could take days to complete one, even at E grade, especially if it involved traveling large distances. He was excited for it though, it had been too long since he really pushed his skills, and now that there was no one looking over his shoulder he could really take on higher level monsters and build up his levels. Book 2: Chapter 53 Before heading out to the first E grade dungeon, he made sure to confirm that there would be no issues with him terraforming as he went rather than having to go back and confirm with Viv every time he claimed one. Thankfully she had no issues, she had more than enough to deal with in the F grade space and having to travel back and forth would take time out of both of their days that neither wanted to waste walking through the forest or up a mountain. Shaun left as soon as he finished speaking with Viv, he already knew where two of the dungeons were so wasted no time before heading towards the one that was closest to him. It still took a while before he reached it seeing as he had to travel a fair distance towards to the mountain and even then scale his way up and around before he managed to find himself at the entrance of the first E grade dungeon he would enter on Earth. *Welcome to the Awake the Prime (E grade) Dungeon* This dungeon forms part of an unclaimed cluster. Current dungeons claimed in this cluster: F grade 15/15, E grade 0/5, D grade 0/1. Note: to claim this dungeon you need a minimum of 2,000,000 TE. No rewards will be provided if dungeon claimed. One participant located, would you like to enter the dungeon? He was more than ready to enter the dungeon, the only thing that made him slightly uncertain was how long it would take him to finish it and just how strong the monsters inside would be. Unlike the E grade dungeons in the tutorial there was no classification of low or peak E grade, it was simply E grade. *Objectives of Awake the Prime dungeon* Sentient robots have taken over the outpost of Trifel, work your way through the outpost, killing all of the robots and unlocking each lock placed on the central area. By unlocking all five locks you will be granted access to the Prime who will only awaken once all of its minions have been killed. Defeat the Prime to save the outpost. Note: You may leave the dungeon at any time by retreating back to the entry point. Dungeon difficulty set to max until dungeon is claimed. He was shocked to get another message the moment he arrived in the dungeon, that had never happened before but he welcomed the information. The note about the dungeon difficulty being pre set to max was interesting, he had never been able to set difficulty of a dungeon before but it seemed that due to the range of E grade it was an option, just not until it had been claimed. What also had him confused was the act that these monsters weren¡¯t actual living beings, but mechanical robots, even though the description said they were sentient. The objective was at least clear, kill the robots, unlock the locks and then kill the prime. Around him in the dungeon he found himself standing on a platform in a small room. There was nothing in the room and he saw only one way out through a set of doors. There was no other information to gain from inside the room, his only way forward was out. The moment he stepped off of the platform everything went to shit, a siren started going off that was loud enough to echo through the outpost and red lights flashed throughout the room. Guess they know I¡¯m here. Rather than delay going through the door he went straight up and opened it. He had no idea what to expect from robots, he didn¡¯t even think something like this would be possible, but if TV and movies had taught him anything there was going to be lasers, maybe some kind of gun? The chances were that most of their weapons would be ranged, that meant he would need to be prepared to dodge and defend. Looking through the door he saw that the red flashing lights continued down a long hallway lined with doors, the moment he took a few steps out from the doorway he found his first opponent. *Mech Blaster Sentinel ¨C Level 63* The moment he saw the robot, taking in its level and appearance, he was stumped at what it could actually do. For all intent and purpose, it had a very humanoid shape, it had a body, arms and legs and a rectangular head that was lit up with red lights. The moment it saw him in the hallway it lifted up one of its arms, pointed it directly at him and within a second it started to glow red before launching a shot of pure energy at him. Shaun didn¡¯t just stand their and let the attack hit him, he jumped to the side and sent out his own fire strike, hoping that it would melt through the metal and injure the thing. When the robots attack hit the wall behind him he felt the resulting blast on his back, when he looked to see what his attack did to the robot he found that it was a little charred but still standing. Okay fire didn¡¯t work, lets try the next element. Over the next minute he cycled through all of his basic and advanced affinity and found that out of all of them earth, lightning and surprisingly magma did the most damage. He had plenty of robots to test against as the longer he stayed in the hallway the more of the sentinels appeared from the rooms and from around the bend of the hallway. They were smarming him and he was having to block more attacks using his mana than he would have liked. Within the minute there was easily 20 robots firing at him and rather than stand in the hallway as an easy target he ducked into one of the side rooms, cutting through the robot inside and slamming the door shut. He needed a moment to figure out plan, these robots, even in the first area, would be able to harm him if they hit him with enough shots, that and their large numbers put him in a vulnerable position. There was a reason behind testing out all of his elements on the robots though, he wanted to test and see which element he should use before he used his summoning skill. The earth element would be the best use for protection, it would give him the chance to do more attacks without needing to defend as much while lightning and magma would aid him in attacking but would still leave him open to attacks and reduce his own fighting ability. He decided that using earth was his best bet, he needed the protection more than anything and he needed to figure out the most optimal way to fight these things before they got stronger. Putting in 8,000 of his mana he elemental summons using earth. It took a few moments but when it finished a golem that he felt was a mixture of rock and metal appeared in front of him. It was much bigger than he was, if he was standing behind it he would be fully covered by the golem. When the connection fell into place between them he found that it was a lot less sentient than Spike, his flame hound. It would take directions well enough but it didn¡¯t seem to have the personality that his other summons did. Shaun had a good understanding of the golem though, its main purpose was to protect, which was what he had hoped for, but it also had a innate desire to crush things under its giant fists. The biggest issue he now faced was that it was too big to get through the door. The moment he thought that though he immediately felt joy come from the golem, without even needing to direct it, it walked up to the closed door and rammed his body through it, leaving a hole much larger than the door in its wake. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The moment the golem was in sight of the robots they started shooting and he saw the mana reserves start to go down. At the current rate he guessed he had about 10 minutes before the mana was completely drained. Shaun rushed after the golem, communicating his plan as he did. He needed the golem to protect him while attacking any of the robots close to it and move through the hallway, as it did he would attack either form behind or he would quickly jump into the mix and retreat back when necessary. What followed was an intense battle, for the most part he would shift into either air or lightning, appear in the middle of the robots unexpectedly and cleave through them with his sword ensuring that it was continuously powered up with a magma strike as it allowed for him to bypass the resistance of whatever metal they were made of and his strikes cut through them like butter. The devouring nature of the magma element also came in handy here as the robots seemed to only be put down by crushing their heads but no matter where his mage element hit them it would slowly devour all of the metal it encountered, fuelling the destruction of the robots bodies. The number of robots in the hall dropped quickly, between him randomly appearing and unleashing his blade on the unprepared robots and his golem working its way down the hall crushing those it encountered, they made good time. When the last robot was taken care of he waited to see if nay more would arrive, he still hadn¡¯t received any notifications of the robots death and because of that received no experience and couldn¡¯t even loot the bodies. He searched for any robots that he may have missed but came up empty both through his echo skill and through actually looking. After he finished checking every room and up and down the hallway finding nothing he took his golem and they continued down to the end of the hallway and down the next corridor. It didn¡¯t take log to find the next battle ground, it was almost a complete replica of the first down to the same type of robot. His golem only lasted halfway through the fight but by that point he was able to clear the rest out with no issues. He was finding his groove with fighting these things and although his mana was slowly depleting, he was still in the fight and would be for a while. He spent hours traveling the hallways, fighting practically nonstop every time he went into a new area. The sirens never stopped and the flashing red lights were starting to drive him mad. After he finished in the 5th hallway he knew that he had finally found the first room where he should be able to unlock the first lock. His mana had taken a beating during the extended fighting, as had his stamina and health, but even if he stopped to recover he had no illusion of being able to get any real rest, not with the siren and lights going off. The robots level was only in the mid 60¡¯s throughout these hallways but it was still enough to cause him issue. The confined space plus their numbers and attacks were enough to put him at a disadvantage. He had taken a number of hits during the dungeon already and even with his armour they had hurt, taking a chunk out of his health. Taking a deep breath to centre himself he pushed open the doors to the final room of this area and immediately went on the attack, there was only 5 robots in here, all level 70 and all looked to be supped up versions of what he had already fought, the name didn¡¯t change but rather than only being able to send blasts with one arm they could so it with both. He pushed with every advantage he could muster, using everything he had to teleport around the room and cut the robots to pieces, sending blasts of air to knock some into walls while slicing through others. He was a whirlwind of destruction and he utilised his mind skill to focus fully on ending the fight as quickly as he could. Surprisingly the fight was easier here than in the hallways, although they were stronger there was less of them and he had more room to work. That was the downfall of these robots and he capitalised on the change in environment. As soon as he took the last one down he located a big red button, towards one side of the room, seeing nothing else of note he walked over and pushed it, hoping that he wasn¡¯t about to have to deal with another swarm of these things. The moment he pressed it the sirens stopped and the lights stopped flashing, he even heard the click of a different set of doors which he assumed was where the next area started. *Lock 1 has been unlocked ¨C Area 1 cleared* *Loot unable to be distributed until dungeon claimed* *You have defeated a (Mech Blaster Sentinel ¨C Level 63). Experience gained.* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ *You have defeated a (Mech Blaster Sentinel ¨C Level 70). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.* *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +2 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 77. +6 Str, +4 Dex, +6 End, +6 Vit, +8 Soul gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 67. +16 Ap gained* To say he was pissed would have been an understatement. This dungeon didn¡¯t let any experience loot until you cleared an area. He was happy that he gained 2 levels but not getting any of the loot from these robots was infuriating. He applied his, which he gotten in the habit of doing, and then reviewed his status. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (E) Level: 67 Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger - Level 77 Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator - Level 58 Health Points: 2596/9380 Stamina: 1025/6570 Mana: 2548/27030 Stats: (Available Points: 0) Strength: 712 Dexterity: 851 Endurance: 657 Vitality: 938 Intelligence: 681 Perception: 589 Willpower: 648 Soul: 2703 Affinity: Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water Advanced: Lightning, Ice, Magma Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer, High Mayor Heritage: Azreal''s Legacy (Hidden) Skills: Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 48), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 49), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 55), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 43), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 30), [Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 18), [Advanced] Elemental Summons (Level 10) Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 52), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 45), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 39), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 56), [Advanced] Mana Sight (Level 50), [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 48), [Advanced] Elemental Storage (Level 6) He had long since muted his notifications when it came to skill level ups, preferring to look at them on his status sheet, so when he noticed that he got to level 10 on his elemental summons skill he was more than pleased. That meant that now, instead of being able to summon 1 creature he could summon 2. The downside was that meant using more mana, which, given how much he had used in this first area would have a larger impact on his ability in the next. Rather than rushing into the next area, he decided that rest and recovery was in order. He needed to sort through everything he had learnt about the robots and come up with better methods to kill them. Then, once he had a plan, he would continue on. Book 2: Chapter 54 It was official, robots sucked. Fighting indoors sucked. This entire dungeon sucked. Even though he had found his groove when it came to fighting these things, utilising a mix of force through blasting air through a hallway, followed by sending out his summons. He now focused on using the magma element as its ability to consume the robots he knocked down with his air element was the most efficient method. His summoned creature when using Magma was almost a mix between a molten slime and rock, everywhere is moved it would absorb its prey. All of this mixed in with an aggressive attack strategy had let him move through the hallways and areas. The monsters didn¡¯t change but more were added, in the second hallway drones were thrown into the mix, in the third little bots that crawled along the walls that had miniature cannons attached to them. In the fourth the sentinels got shields made of energy that were a struggle to get through and finally in the fifth he was greeted by robotic snake like things that would crawl along the ground and could open themselves up and send barbed metal rope to trap him in place. The only upside was that the areas he was fighting in also got bigger giving him more room to work. That wasn¡¯t the only thing he was dealing with though, in every new area the average level went up by 10 levels, meaning, he was dealing with robots in the 70¡¯s in the second area and it went up till in the final hallway they were in the 100¡¯s. The last two areas had taken him days to complete, he needed to stop and rest before he even made it to the buttons to stop the alarm and lights. He was utilising every skill he could to make it through the dungeon and if it wasn¡¯t for his ability to heal himself he would not have made it through. Several times he almost left the dungeon, figuring that he would just got to one of the others, get stronger than come back and deal with this one at the end. But the idea of quitting annoyed him more than the dungeon. The only upside he found to this experience was the levels. He was now fighting robots that were continuously above his level, by a lot. He got another 2 levels in his class in the second hallway, 3 in each of the third and fourth and finally 4 in the last hallway. It felt like a lot of levels in a short time but he guessed that with all of the breaks he was now having to take just to make it through a hallway, he had been in the dungeon for over a week, maybe closer to two. He had no idea what was happening on the outside, the stone he used to communicate with Eric didn¡¯t work in the dungeon, but he guessed that the remainder of the people would be close to the area, if not here. All he had left to do in this dungeon was walk into the central area, confront the Prime and walk out of here alive. He had been waiting until he was back to being fully recovered, but even when he was he still didn¡¯t enter. He hoped that the only thing in there was going to be the Prime, if there was a whole group of robots his chances of making it out were not high. He had long ago come to the conclusion that these E grade dungeons, until they were claimed at least, were going to become mass graves for the people that entered. He had though back on the message when he entered the dungeon, realising that there was no limit on how many people could enter. That meant that it wasn¡¯t going to be teams of 5 walking to their death, instead once people realised just how hard they were, armies would enter with very few actually making it out alive. He realised that, what he was doing, claiming all of these dungeons for Viv and The Empire, he was helping them in more ways than was obvious. Where the factions on the other side of this war would lose people by the thousands trying to claim these dungeons, The Empire risked nobody. That was why they offered him the deal they did, on the off chance he managed to do what he said he was going to, their position in this war was practically guaranteed. If he failed and died, they got what they originally wanted. There was no way they came out of this deal having lost a thing. Part of him was annoyed when he realised this. They had agreed that the D grade area was to be his, but if it was going to go up all the way to the peak of D grade there was no chance that he would be claiming the area, not before the year was up. His only hope was that the D grade dungeon was capped, but even if it was he would need to train harder than he ever had before to make it to the point where he would be able to actually complete it. He knew he was now just stewing in his own thoughts, putting off finishing the dungeon as he was uncertain just what kind of robot this Prime would be. Having struggled his way through this dungeon, his confidence had been shot and he just wanted out of this entire situation. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that this event that he knew was coming up in a few months would actually benefit him long term, he probably would have just called it quits on Earth and made his way to The Alliance. At least there he wouldn¡¯t have to deal with robots there. Pulling himself together Shaun came to a stand and moved to stand in front of the final door which would take him to the Prime, if he didn¡¯t do this now he would admit defeat and be forced to come back to this hell hole again later on. The last thing he wanted to do was come back here which meant killing the Prime and never looking back. The moment he opened the door and went inside he nearly cursed out loud. The room had been pitch black before he entered, the moment he did step in though the room was flooded with lights. In the centre was a robot bigger than anything he had seen before. It stood over 5 times his height, it had two arms on each side of its body and what looked like blasters on its shoulders. The metal it was made of gleamed in the light and it looked tougher than what the other robots had been made of. **Sentinel Prime ¨C Level 124** He had expected this, it being at the peak of E grade, the only thing giving him some hope in this fight was that it was just the two of them, it had no lackeys to fight with it. Wasting no more time he summoned two creatures, the first being his magma slime friend who had helped him throughout the dungeon, the second he did something different and used lightning. He didn¡¯t think his earth golem would be able to do much against the Prime, not when it was so much bigger than the other robots and looked like it could crush the golem with one of its four hands. As soon as he started to use his skill the Prime lit up and he knew it was time to start the fight. Immediately two of its arms turned into blasters, the other two retracted back, forming into large swords made from pure energy. At the same time this happened he saw his creatures manifest, his slime on onside of him and a large bird that crackled with lightning with each flap of its winds on the other. He only had one order to give them, distract and kill the robot. As soon as the order was given the Prime attacked, using both of its arm blasters to attack directly at him, ignoring his summons. Shifting into the air he moved as quickly as he could around to the other side of the room, solidifying behind it and setting off two magma strikes before the Primes shoulder guns swivelled around and started firing at him, forcing him to go back on the run. The Prime didn¡¯t even turn around and instead made his way to his bird summons which he realised was called an Zapian Eagle. For a moment he though that his summons would fall to the Prime straight away but the eagle was too quick and moved out of the way from the descending sword. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. While he witnessed the attack on the eagle his magma summons made its way towards to the robot aiming for one of its legs. He assumed that the Prime would utilise its blasters on it but it seemed that they had a cooldown after use, how long though he didn¡¯t know. He continued to dodge the guns that were shooting at him while taking in all of the moves that the Prime made, getting int close this early on could end up with him being hit, waiting and planning before making a risky move was going to be how he got through this fight. After 10 seconds before the first attack with the blasters the Prime used them again, this time directly at his slime who was not quick enough to move out of the way, the attack from both blasters took out just over 90% of the mana he had used creating the summons, one more attack and he would be down to just his Eagle. He was annoyed at the situation, even with clearing all the hallways he had only managed to get his skill level up to 18, two more levels and he would have been able to summon three creatures, not that he could change that now. Considering the Prime had just used its blasters he figured that going in all the offensive was his best bet to wearing down the robot. Using his elemental shift he shifted into his lightning form and descended down onto one of the Primes shoulders, attacking at the gun immediately after appearing, using a magma strike at the same time as cutting through it with his descending sword. Even with putting all of his strength into the attack he only managed to destroy the gun, not being able to cut any deeper into the body of the Prime. The moment he had attacked he felt one of the Primes swords come straight at him and having no time to shift again or even use his teleportation ring he threw as much mana as he could into Stone Skin, a skill he had been neglecting for a long while. When the Primes sword hit him he was knocked across the room, the pain he felt was devastating and the only reason he knew he was still alive was because he was feeling that pain. His armour and skill had only done so much, checking his health he could see he had lost a quarter of his health in one hit, three more and he was done. His mana wasn¡¯t infinite and the summons paired with his skill usage had taken him to just half left. With the Primes attention now fully on him he had no choice but to push through the pain and get moving to avoid the incoming attacks. Just as the Primes remaining shoulder gun aimed at him, his Zapian Eagle came in from above and started tearing into it with all of the power it had. At the same time his magma slime made it to one of its legs and started crawling up it. Seeing the Prime¡¯s attention off of him, he refused to give up this opportunity to do some damage. Shifting into lightning form again he dropped down on the same shoulder he had last time, this time though he didn¡¯t attack out with his sword. After immediately appearing he shifted into his ice form, pushing all of the mana he had in this shape into freezing the two arms below him. He had yet to attempt something like this but in the form of pure ice he had a greater ability to affect the material the Prime was made of compared to using it in a strike or just on its own. He felt the influence of the ice slowly creep into the Primes side, the robot tried to bring his sword arm up but when it got halfway to him it jerked and came to a stop. When it realised that its entire left side was all but useless it turned its right sword arm on him. Before it managed to do any damage though, his Zapian Eagle, having finished destroying the other shoulder cannon intercepted the attack and sacrificed itself in a blast of lightning that threw the Prime¡¯s attack off course. He knew his time was up with this direction of attack, shifting from his ice form back to his normal one he lifted his sword high into the air and drive it straight into the Prime¡¯s shoulder, coating it with a lightning strike to blast straight through the robot¡¯s frozen side. Before he could see the destruction he had wrought on the Prime he was knocked off of it shoulder by its sword. The blade cut through his armour and into his chest before he even had time to react, he had been so distracted by causing it damage that he had not been paying enough attention to how quickly it had recovered from the attack from the Eagle. When he landed on the ground he felt the blood leaking out of the wound. He had no choice but to push as much of the healing element of nature as he could into the wound, both using his gauntlet and his own affinity. With the wound across his chest he wasn¡¯t able to do anything but focus on healing before he ran out of health altogether, he could see it dropping down at a rate quicker than what he was healing. He was able to keep an eye on the Prime though. His attack had cleaved off the left side of it body, now leaving it with only two arms. His magma slime was eating through its leg at a rate that left it unable to fully stand on it right leg, now being forced to use its sword as a crutch properly move or risk falling. It was attempting to shake off the summoned creature but his slime refused to let go. It wasn¡¯t until the arm blaster was back online that it aimed directly at its own leg and obliterated it along with his summons that it then paid attention to him again. He had 10 seconds left before the Prime would aim the blaster at him and there was no way he would survive the attack with his health where it was. The Prime hobbled to him using it one good leg and its sword, if he let it get close he wouldn¡¯t even last the 10 seconds before its blaster was ready to go again. In a list ditch effort to survive he switched form healing to another element, one that he hoped would be enough to stop the Prime from taking his life. Taking his hand from his chest he slapped it onto the ground and pushed all the remaining mana he had into forming a pool of magma underneath where the Prime would have to walk to get to him. Shaun counted down in his head until the 10 seconds were up, not breaking his focus on creating the magma pool just underneath the ground. When it got down to 5 seconds the Prime got to the edge of the pool, it couldn¡¯t see what was occurring under the ground as he was making sure that the surface was left intact until the lats possible moment. When there was only 4 seconds left the Prime crossed onto the area where Shaun had hoped it would be. And just as it got to only 3 seconds left the Prime had reached the centre of the magma pool. With his last remining mana he collapsed the surface area, at first it was just a crack, but even that jolted the Prime enough to give him the remaining time he needed to finish collapsing in the surface of the pool. Just as the 10 seconds were up and the Prime aimed its blaster at him it feel down to its waist into the magma. Because the Prime had been using the sword as a crutch the top half of its body dipped into the mage before it could right itself, but even when it managed to pull its arms out they were coated with magma that greedily ate through the sword and blaster both. No matter what it attempted it couldn¡¯t get its blaster to work, and it tried. His beat increased when it first pointed the magma coated blaster at him, but when it didn¡¯t power up he let himself calm down just enough to enjoy watching the Prime die. It was by no means a slow death, it sunk lower and lower into the magma until only its head remained, it didn¡¯t stop staring at him the entire time. The experience was unnerving, and he expected some new attack to come from it at every moment with the way it just stared at him. But when its head finally disappeared under the magma he let himself relax. **You have defeated a (Sentinel Prime ¨C Level 124). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +3 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 92. +9 Str, +6 Dex, +9 End, +9 Vit, +12 Soul gained** **Race: Human has levelled up by +2 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 75. +32 Ap gained** **Awake the Prime Dungeon Completed. Dungeon will automatically eject successful participants in 1 minutes.** Thank fucking god. Book 2: Chapter 55 When the minute was up he appeared outside of the dungeon with a groan. Being shifted outside when he was still in pain was not an enjoyable experience. Even with the level ups he had blown through the remaining mana to heal himself further. ** Awake the Prime (E grade) Dungeon has been completed** Would you like to claim this dungeon for 2,000,000 TE? He had no desire to do this right now, all he really wanted was to lie down for a few days and rest. Instead of doing what he actually wanted he accepted the message, claiming the area. **Please choose one of the following options** Option 1: Terraform surrounding area covered by this dungeon. Note: this will cost further TE, amount dependant on Terraforming. Option 2: Terraform as per option 1 but also leave dungeon in place. Note: this will add an extra 500,000 TE to cost. Option 3: Claim area, leaving dungeon in place but do not terraform. ¡°Oh come on! This is the worst dungeon imaginable and its 500,000 TE to keep it? What a load of crap!¡± Damn it, now I am talking to myself! Even though he really didn¡¯t want to, he chose the second option and kept the stupid dungeon. When that was done he did some large scale terraforming. The mountain being in the middle of the area was a pain as he couldn¡¯t just build the road he wanted in the area, he needed to literally change the shape of the mountain to accommodate what he needed. He needed to flatten out large parts of the mountain edges and then add more to extend other areas so that the crystal could be in an optimal position. He then ended up needing to cut tunnels through the mountain to make this thing work, and then had to spend even more time with reinforcing everything to make sure the mountain wouldn¡¯t come crashing down now that he had pretty much poked holes through it. When he was finally done he confirmed his choices, double checking all the designs several times. **Terraforming confirmed, time to completion 3 days. Would you like to name this area?** Hell no. **Title Upgrade: High Mayor to Duke** **Duke: Through the claiming of an area of a planet large enough for a Duchy the title of Duke has been acquired. While in an area that you rule you stats are increased by 25%. Title Upgradeable. Note: If the area under your control is taken from you or you freely give up this land you will lose the title.** Again, hell no. But now that he was done he made his way to the edge of the mountain and looked out over the area. ¡°Holy shit¡± The F grade area was nothing like he remembered. Even at this distance he could make out areas that had buildings instead of trees, but what he noticed more than anything was the roads he had built. Throughout the entire area he could make out the roads that were all built, standing out in the forest due to trees having been cleared to make way for them. He wanted to go down there as quickly as possible but without mana and being injured he was stuck waiting on the mountain until he recovered enough to make the trip. There was no way he was going to walk, not down a mountain and not through the forest. Resting for a few hours and flying was a much better plan. Shaun woke a few hours after he had fallen asleep, he wasn¡¯t even bothered about sleeping on the ground, as log as there was no sirens or flashing red lights, he was happy. He checked his mana and he had enough to fly himself to the F grade area where he would be able to recover comfortably, or he could heal himself further. He did have potions in his inventory but he was saving them for a real emergency, a true life or death moment that he knew he wouldn¡¯t make it out of. He had thought about using one when he had fought the Prime but by the time he was down, even if he did take one, he would have ended up with a sword through his body by the time it had taken effect. Thinking about the dungeon he moved back towards the entrance, he still hurt but it was manageable. **Welcome to the Awake the Prime (E grade) Dungeon** Objectives of Awake the Prime dungeon Sentient robots have taken over the outpost of Trifel, work your way through the outpost, killing all of the robots and unlocking each lock placed on the central area. By unlocking all five locks you will be granted access to the Prime who will only awaken once all of its minions have been killed. Defeat the Prime to save the outpost. Note: You may leave the dungeon at any time by retreating back to the entry point. One participant located, please choose from the below difficulty settings to enter. Low ¨C Highest level 50 Middle ¨C Highest level 75 Peak ¨C Highest level 100 Max ¨C Highest level 124 He had confirmed what he wanted to, now that the dungeon had been claimed whoever entered could choose a difficulty setting. It was information that he could pass along to the others in case they wanted to do a dungeon run, although he would advise against it, robots sucked. Heading back to the edge of the mountain he took off into the air and made his way towards where he assumed everyone would be. A few hours in when he was approaching the buildings that had sprouted up he used his echo and found that there was a lot of people in the area. He knew he had been in the dungeon for a while, but seeing that everyone had arrived put just how long he had wasted fighting robots into perspective. He took out the stone from his inventory and contacted Eric. ¡®You free? I am out of the dungeon.¡¯ Rather than stay in the air he dropped to the ground a little further out so that he wouldn¡¯t be noticeable by the people around. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡®We have been trying to get in contact with you! Did you seriously only just get out of a dungeon? It¡¯s been over 2 weeks!¡¯ Stupid robots. ¡®Yeah, I will tell you all about it some time. But I¡¯m pretty hurt and all I want to do is sleep and rest. Is there somewhere I should stay or should I head back to the lake?¡¯ ¡®The big house off of the town hall is where we are all staying, you have a room. I will gather everyone and meet you there.¡¯ ¡®Eric, I have never been here before! Where the hell is the town hall?¡¯ ¡®Sorry, forgot you hadn¡¯t been here yet. The settlement crystal is in the town hall so if you go there, you will see the house.¡¯ Rather than fly over he walked in the direction he felt the crystal was, he had no issues making his way through the forest but as soon as he hit the buildings he could have kicked himself for being an idiot. People stared at him when he appeared from between two houses and walked onto the road, he didn¡¯t recognise them but they looked at him with a good dose of fear. Looking down at himself he couldn¡¯t blame them. His armour was cut straight across his chest and he was covered in blood, he looked terrible. If he continued walking like he was he would draw more attention than if he just flew. Without saying a word to the people staring at him he took to the air and just made a straight line to the settlement crystal. He had barely made it halfway before someone tried to attack him by shooting an arrow at him while he was in the sky, he just ignored it and sped up. It didn¡¯t take too long for him to find the town hall and clearly see the big house next to it which he aimed for a dropped down near the front door. ¡°Do not move or we will attack!¡± Someone shouted at him the moment he was on the ground. He slowly turned around to face the person who had yelled at him, with him were nearly a dozen others, all with their weapons aimed at him. ¡°Everyone just relax, I was told to come here by Eric.¡± As soon as they heard Eric¡¯s name they became more hesitant to open fire on him. ¡°If what you are saying is true, you won¡¯t mind staying where you are until someone can confirm your story, keep your hands in the air and don¡¯t move or we will attack.¡± Looking over all of the people willing to fight him he was actually somewhat impressed by their level, all of them were in the E grade, all in their 40¡¯s. ¡°I have a better idea. What about I just lay on the ground with my hands out by my side?¡± They looked at him like he had lost his mind, but after a few minutes of consideration the guy that had been yelling at him gave him a small nod. As soon as he got the all clear he got on the ground and just laid there like he said he would. He even closed his eyes and started to drift off until he heard more yelling. ¡°What is happening here?¡± And there is Viv. ¡°Shaun? Why are you here? And why are you on the ground?¡± He didn¡¯t even bother lifting his head up to look at her he just gave her a little wave. ¡°That dungeon was hell. I am sore and tired. Robots suck.¡± He felt more than saw Viv walk up to him. ¡°Did you say ¡®robots suck¡¯?¡± ¡°Yep, for over two weeks I have been fighting robots. Two weeks of having to listen to a siren and having to fight by flashing red lights. It sucked.¡± There were a few beats of silence before Viv spoke again, but when she did she sounded more put together than she had when she had initially spotted him. ¡°Shaun, why don¡¯t you head inside, I¡¯m sure the others will be along shortly. Aaron, will you spread the word that Shaun is to be treated the same as anyone would treat myself, without him we wouldn¡¯t have this place at all.¡± Picking himself of the ground wasn¡¯t fun but he managed to do it without causing a scene. He moved into the house quickly and he found it to be much nicer than any of the ones he had built, definitely more opulent as it was fully furnished and much larger than it originally seemed from the outside. He spotted a couch that looked comfortable but then looked down at himself again and sighed, he was filthy, and he still had enough manners to know that making a mess of the couch wasn¡¯t okay. ¡°Come on, I will show you to your room, there is a bathroom where you can clean up and we have some clothes you can change into.¡± Viv thankfully led him up to the second floor and into a spacious room with a huge bed quickly. He didn¡¯t even wait for her to leave before stripping out of his armour and then his under clothes. He knew that she was watching him, but he just couldn¡¯t find the energy to care. He spent longer in the shower than he really needed to but he utilised this time to drain his remaining mana and continue to heal himself under the peaceful spray of water. By the time he had it out of the shower he eyed off the bed and figured that the others could wait a few hours while he rested, he didn¡¯t have anything urgent to go over, not to him anyway. He didn¡¯t know how long he slept before he was awoken by the bed shifting and the feeling of someone laying next to him. When he opened his eyes he looked across and found Gabe smiling at him. ¡°Morning. You sleep well?¡± ¡°How long was I asleep?¡± He felt fully refreshed, even his chest didn¡¯t hurt as much as it had before he went to sleep. ¡°Nearly 14 hours. Seemed you needed the rest. Was the dungeon that hard?¡± ¡°Yeah, I haven¡¯t been pushed that hard since, well ever.¡± Like a cat he did a full body stretch while laying in bed which helped to fully wake him up. ¡°Everyone is here waiting for you if your up to come down. We have food.¡± The moment he heard that there was food his stomach growled its protest at not being fed. He jumped out of bed and went to the closet, looking through it for clothes to throw on. ¡°Its great to see you again. And also great that we don¡¯t have to pretend to hate each other. I get it though, why we had to do it. That tutorial was brutal, especially after speaking to people who were in other tutorials. Ours was one of the worst I have heard about.¡± Shaun listened while he got dressed, he noticed his armour had been cleaned and was sitting on the dresser, he needed to repair that before wearing it again so he stelled for normal clothing. When he was dressed he turned to Gabe who immediately came up to him and gave him a hug. ¡°I have missed you too Gabe.¡± They made their way downstairs and the moment he spotted food he made for it immediately, stacking his plate full of everything he could before heading over to the table that everyone was sitting at. They didn¡¯t interrupt him while he ate which he was thankful for, one of them even got him a drink which he drained in one go at the end. By the time he had finished the others weren¡¯t even halfway done. ¡°So, you ready to tell us all about the dungeon? Don¡¯t leave out anything that you think could be important.¡± Viv got straight to business, which he didn¡¯t blame her for, this was the first time they had really seen him struggle in a dungeon, they were curious about what had made it so difficult to put him in such a terrible shape. He started from the beginning and walked them through every aspect of the dungeon, the levels he encountered and the difficulty of fighting robots. The more he spoke through his experience the more disheartened they got at ever being able to utilise the dungeon. When he finished telling them that now that the dungeon had been claimed, you had a choice to choose the difficulty before entering, they started to plan out how to best utilise the dungeon for others to train in at the lowest setting. He finished off by telling him about the terraforming and how long it would take, being clear that they should wait until it was done as he put a trail up to the dungeon from the ground that would help navigate the area once it was completed. They spoke more about the Prime and what his plans were next, which was to spend another day or two preparing for the next dungeon, making sure he fully recovered and then set out. Over those two days he was given tours of the area, heard the plans on expanding throughout the F grade area sooner rather than later in preparation of an influx of people moving to them over the course of the next year. They also went over preparations on how they were going to keep out The Pantheon allies. Apparently before anyone could enter through the gates they had to make a binding pledge that promised no fighting, to obey the rules and that they were in now way allied with The Pantheon. Overall it was a relaxing few days, but duty called and as soon as he felt overwhelmed with the amount of people around he decided to head out to the next dungeon, hoping that it would be better than the last one. Book 2: Chapter 56 When he left the bustling city behind and made his way to the next E grade dungeon, he felt his worries immediately start to dissipate. He had enjoyed catching up with his friends, but constantly being surrounded by people was still something he didn¡¯t particularly enjoy. The others had been worried for him when he told them he was leaving, but they knew what he was like and didn¡¯t ask him to take anyone with him or to hold off, all they asked was for him to come back alive, which he planned to do. It took longer to get to the next dungeon than it had the first, but no more than a few hours. When he did get to the dungeon entrance he felt a spike of fear run through him, he had barely made it through the last one, and yeah he was stronger now than he was before, but there was a part of him that worried that if the dungeon threw something worse than robots at him he might need to reconsider his approach to these E grade dungeons. **Welcome to the Save the Slaves (E grade) Dungeon** This dungeon forms part of an unclaimed cluster. Current dungeons claimed in this cluster: F grade 15/15, E grade 1/5, D grade 0/1. Note: to claim this dungeon you need a minimum of 2,000,000 TE. No rewards will be provided if dungeon claimed. One participant located, would you like to enter the dungeon? The moment he read the name of the dungeon he couldn¡¯t help but immediately dislike it. The last dungeon as about fighting, killing the Prime. This one though seemed, different, more quest like, based on the name. He had nothing more to gain form just looking at the name so he accepted the prompt to enter and like before was greeted with an objective. **Objectives of Save the Slaves dungeon** The Hobbits of Little Grove have been captured, forced into slavery by the Corrupted. Only a few remain in the village of Little Grove, they have no hope of saving their people, unable to fight back for fear of sentencing their own to death. To complete the dungeon you must travel to the outposts of the corrupted, save the Hobbits and bring them back to Little Grove alive. To complete dungeon 90% of Hobbits must be brought back to Little Grove alive, including the Elder. Note: You may leave the dungeon at any time by retreating back to the entry point. Dungeon difficulty set to max until dungeon is claimed. Shaun didn¡¯t have high hopes for this dungeon, he was right when he guessed that this was more quest based rather than kill everything you see. The objective was clear though, save the Hobbits from the Corrupted. In the dungeon he had appeared outside of a hillside village, it looked practically deserted but he felt that there was nearly a dozen beings huddled together in one of the buildings, who he guessed was all the Hobbits that remained in the village however he also felt 6 other beings coming closer to the village from the far side. From the feeling he got he guessed that these 6 were the Corrupted, having returned for the last of the Hobbits. Rather than wait around he made his way to the Hobbits, making sure to arrive before the Corrupted. As soon as he was outside the little house they were all huddled in he made his presence known. ¡°I¡¯m not one of the Corrupted, but there are a few of them on their way. Just stay inside, please, I will let you know when it is safe to come out.¡± He didn¡¯t get a reply but they also didn¡¯t leave the house either, he took that as a win. It didn¡¯t take long before the Corrupted came into sight, they were humanish looking but with longer limbs and claws on their hands. They also had red eyes set into pale skin that did them no favours in the looks department. He knew the moment they saw him as they stopped walking towards where the Hobbits were. ¡°Human, you do not belong here. Leave or you shall join the others as our slaves.¡± **Corrupted Ghoul ¨C Level 72** All 6 of the Corrupted were level 71 or 72, all below his level. He had no real information on where the outposts of these Corrupted were, otherwise he would have just killed them and been done with it. Now though, he needed to actually see if he could get them talking. ¡°Of course. I plan on leaving here shortly. But so I know where to avoid, do you mind pointing the way to your outposts?¡± Only an idiot would actually give him that information, but he figured it was worth a try. ¡°Smart Human, wishing to avoid us. We have 3 outposts, in those directions, avoid them or find yourself leashed. Over there in that direction is our leader and our village. To go there will be a fate worse than death. Now leave so we may take the slaves.¡± That was actually easier than I expected. ¡°Right, sure sure. I will be on my way.¡± Idiots. Rather than walk towards the Corrupted he chose to walk in the opposite direction. After a few steps he activated his ring and teleported behind them, he gave them no opportunity to prepare and used every bit of his speed to cut them down one after the other. He had to admit, they were quicker than he had expected, but not quick enough to avoid him. They did seem to have some defensive measure though, they were able to spread a red mist from their bodies and the moment it came in contact with him he felt his skin start to sting and his health start to drop. He found that it was easy enough to defend against, forming a layer of hardened air around him blocked it out and gave him the ability to get in close and finish them off. Much easier than robots. He tried to loot the bodies but every time he tried, he failed. It seemed like that was going to become a reoccurring theme with these dungeons, no loot until the dungeon is claimed. Moving back to the house that the Hobbits he decided to get as much information form them as he could as well. ¡°You can all come out, the Corrupted are dead.¡± He heard whispers from inside this time, soft enough that he couldn¡¯t make out what was said but thankfully he didn¡¯t need to wait long for the door to open and one of the Hobbits to step out. ¡°Your human. We do not see your kind around here often. Thank you for saving us from the Corrupted, we are all that is left of our village.¡± The Hobbit only stood to his hip but apart from that looked more or less how he expected. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°That¡¯s fine. So, from what the Corrupted told me there is three outposts and their village. Any idea how many Hobbits they have taken as slaves? I am here to bring them all back but time is of the essence. Any information you can give me would be helpful.¡± Shaun knew that this was just a dungeon and that this wasn¡¯t real exactly but he didn¡¯t like the idea of slaves so wanted to work fast to get this all finished up. The Hobbit didn¡¯t provide a name and when identifying it he only got back Hobbit and that it was level 10, solidifying his belief that the Hobbits truly were harmless. Apparently, there was 1000 Hobbits in the village before they were taken, they believed that 300 Hobbits each were taken to the outpost and the last 100, including their Elder, was in the village. For him to succeed he would need to go to every outpost, liberate 300 Hobbits in each and then safely return them here before he went to the village to collect the Elder as apparently the only thing keeping all the Hobbits alive was some deal the Elder made to sacrifice his own freedom to keep his people alive. He wasted no time moving towards the outpost that the Hobbit said to go to first. There was a dirt road that led him from Little Grove to the outpost, one that had been created when the Corrupted made their way to the Hobbits. He decided to run along the road rather than take to the air so that he would be familiar with the trail on his way back. There was trees on both sides of the road that stretched as far as his echo would go, what was odd though was that the forests were completely empty of anything living apart from the trees. At the pace he travelled he came across the outpost in what he estimated to be 3 hours, if he was going at a Hobbits pace, he guessed it would take the better part of an entire day. It would make for a long walk back and he would need to stay with them to ensure they didn¡¯t get themselves killed on the way to their village. The outpost itself wasn¡¯t overly large, from what he felt it was maybe a few hundred metres across which was convenient. Focusing on how many living beings were inside he was able to differentiate between the Corrupted and the Hobbits. From his count all 300 hundred Hobbits seemed to still be alive and there was about 100 Corrupted, most of them in groups in certain hotspots of the outpost. The Hobbits were being kept in groups as well and were spread out across the area, if he tried to get them out the Corrupted would know about it fairly quickly which would put the Hobbits in the middle of a fight, so he had no choice but to deal with the Corrupted first. His plan for going in was simple, although he was no longer a Rogue, he felt that he still had enough skill in that area to kill off a chunk of the Corrupted before they found out he was there, but he would need to be quiet about it. The entrance to the outpost was guarded by 2 Corrupted which he could easily see at the entrance. Wasting no time he teleported behind the first and cut off its head before launching himself at the second and stabbing him through the heart with a ice strike on his blade. He had killed them both before they even had time to figure out that he was there, leaving the entrance wide open for him to go through and no one being the wiser. His first focus was to take out all the Corrupted that weren¡¯t in groups, there was about 5 of them per cluster of Hobbit and a few more that seemed to be walking around. He took care to avoid the clusters at first, taking down each of the singular Corrupted first, they never saw him coming and he was able to dispose of them quickly and efficiently. Their levels were all in the 70¡¯s and one on one they had no hope in avoiding him when he appeared. When he felt no more stragglers he moved to the first group of Hobbits, what he found was about 100 Hobbits all chained up through metal collars around their necks, they didn¡¯t look hurt but neither did they look like they were anywhere close to having the energy to walk back to the village. Usually, he wouldn¡¯t have a chance to kill 5 Corrupted before they had an opportunity to shout for help or attack back, risking the lives of the Hobbits, but luck seemed to be on his side as they were all standing together, close enough that he would be able to deal with them all at once. He couldn¡¯t rely on any of his flashy moves to finish them as most of them usually ended with a bang, but he did have an element that would be able to do the job. Getting close enough to them was easy enough, he simply shifted into the air and drifted up behind them. When he turned back into solid form he immediately let loose a strong burst of ice, concentrated at the 5 Corrupted. Before they fully froze one of them attempted to let out a yell but he refused to give it a chance, moving as quickly as he could he beheaded the Corrupted before moving in to smash the others to pieces. His attack lasted all of a second but that was all he had needed to kill them. He didn¡¯t say a word to the Hobbits, he just put his finger to his lips, indicating silence. They understood, thankfully, and didn¡¯t make a sound. ¡°Stay here, stay silent. I will be back when all the Corrupted are dead.¡± He repeated this process two more times, repeating the same message to each of the clusters. He was surprised that none of the larger groups of Corrupted had left their positions inside three of the buildings, but it just made his job that much easier. He considered for a moment whether releasing the Hobbits now and getting them together and out of the way was the best option, but decided that leaving them where they were was the better option, this way they would get scared and make a run for it, leading to their own death. Making his way to the first group of Corrupted, he found them in a big hall that only had one point of entry, making his life easier for what he needed to do. He planned on hitting all three of the remaining groups at once, and considering the confined space of this group he decided on his first summons. Activating his skill he used his ice element and before him appeared a large white cat that immediately froze the area around it. The cat resembled a leopard but its fur was crystallized and it had two large fangs dropping down from its mouth. It immediately started rubbing its head on his leg, and he understood that it was am Arctic Tiger. Through their link he communicated his plan, informing it to wait until he gave it the go ahead to enter the hall and kill everything inside. He repeated this process a second time in what appeared to be a barrack of sleeping Corrupted, this time he used his lightning element, summoning his Zapian Eagle and giving it the same instruction. The third group however was more spread out in a separate building that had multiple rooms and levels. He had thankfully gotten his skill to level 20 after his fight with the Prime, and considering it had been a while he decided to summon Spike, his Flame Hound. The moment he did he gave him some head pats before he moved to a spot that was equal distant in the air to all three buildings. Once he was ready he gave the order to all three of his summons, it was time to kill. All at once his three summons went into their respective buildings and caused absolute mayhem. He had used over 5,000 mana in each of his summons, a good portion of his total, but it was the safest way to succeeding in this dungeon. Shaun didn¡¯t stay idle though, he alternated between each of the buildings, ensuring that none of the Corrupted had a chance to make it out and assisting his summons where needed. It took about 10 minutes before he was able to confirm that every last one of the Corrupted in the area was dead, he wasn¡¯t getting any notifications but he was able to confirm this through his echo. His summons had all done well, none dying in the process of killing the Corrupted but neither did they have enough mana left to make it back to the village. The red mist that the Corrupted utilised had continuously drained the mana from the summons, something he would need to take into consideration in the future. After bringing all of his summons together and saying goodbye to each of them, he then got to work on freeing the Hobbits and making his way back to the village. Book 2: Chapter 57 Rounding up all of the Hobbits had been easy enough, once he freed the first group they helped to free the second and third. They also ransacked the entire outpost, grabbing anything that may be of use during the trip back. The Hobbits didn¡¯t really have much of a personality, they took his orders without question and generally stayed huddled together in groups, even though they didn¡¯t have too. The walk back to the village was not as simple as he had hoped though, now that he had the Hobbits with him the forest would send out actual monsters to attack the group of 300. If it hadn¡¯t been for his echo skill he would have lost a lot of the Hobbits to these monsters, but as he was able to locate them the moment they spawned in the forest, it made it easy to protect the group. He had been right about one thing though, the Hobbits were slow. They ended up taking breaks nearly every hour so that they could recuperate, pushing them any harder would risk their health and lead to potentially losing some of them during the journey. For an entire day he was forced to go without sleep or rest, continually keeping lookout for monsters and ensuring none of the Hobbits wondered off. By the time they made it back to the village Shaun was beyond irritable, the fighting he could deal with, playing Shepard to Hobbits, not so much. When the Hobbits were safely deposited in the village he was approached by the original Hobbit that had spoken to him when he first arrived. He was told that all 300 of the Hobbits had made it back alive and apologised that he wished he could give Shaun something to thank him but there was nothing left to give. When the Hobbit finished talking and wished him luck at the next outpost he finally got the notifications from killing the Corrupted. **You have defeated a (Corrupted Ghoul ¨C Level 71). Experience gained.** ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ **You have defeated a (Corrupted Ghoul ¨C Level 80). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 93. +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul gained** He had killed 100 Corrupted and only gotten a single level. About half, if not a bit more than that had been lower level than him but still, only one level was a kick to the balls. He spent some time resting on the outskirt of the village, needing to not only get a rest but also to regain all of the mana he had used in summoning his creatures. It was a lot of mana, summoning three at once, but it had been worth it to be able to strike out at all three of the buildings at once. He repeated the process of infiltrating and clearing the outposts twice more with varying success. By the time he had gotten to the second outpost 15 Hobbits had already been killed. The Corrupted had all been stronger, their level being in the 80¡¯s and there was 150 of them rather than just the 100 from before. The walk back had also taken twice as long as the outpost was further away than the first. The third outpost jumped in difficulty again, this time he had lost 32 Hobbits most before he arrived but some were lost during the fighting and the walk back. All of the corrupted had been in the 90¡¯s in this outpost which meant his summons were not able to do the same amount of damage or hold back as many Corrupted as the first outpost. The only upside to the entire experience was that his level was growing at a good rate. He gained 3 full levels from the second outpost and now that the Hobbit had finished giving him the overview of how many of them he had managed to bring back from the third outpost he was ready to see how many levels he got from killing so many higher levelled monsters. **You have defeated a (Corrupted Ghoul ¨C Level 94). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ **You have defeated a (Corrupted Ghoul ¨C Level 100). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +4 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 100. +12 Str, +8 Dex, +12 End, +12 Vit, +16 Soul gained** **Race: Human has levelled up by +2 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 79. +32 Ap gained** By gaining these 4 levels in his class he had hit another milestone, this was his last chance to pick a new skill before he reached level 125 and he would get the chance to evolve his class. The downside to this was that none of his skills were anywhere near the level they needed to be for him to cap out their level. Compared to his class level his skill levels were abysmal, he had been told as much by the Commander Alserio. This was the downside of being overpowered with affinity, he relied on it more than a lot of his skills to fight, not that he had much of a choice when fighting monsters at the peak of E grade. His highest class skill as at level 59, Enhanced Mind, and that was because he used it pretty much all the time, but realistically his skills should all be sitting at around level 100 like his class. He had promised to train his skill while he was here on Earth, Commander Alserio and stressed the need to do so, and he had a feeling that upgrading his class with his skills so low would have an adverse effect on the options he would be given when upgrading it. He could delay the upgrade at level 125, but doing so would impact his ability to fight, especially in the D grade dungeon. He also couldn¡¯t place any of the training items he was given until he claimed the D grade dungeon. It was a situation he was going to have to deal with, just not right now. His priority was still on claiming the E grade dungeons and after that he would figure out what to do. **New Class Skill Available: Please choose from one of the following options:** This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. **[Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade ¨C Using one of the elements to create a mirror image of a blade you hold, forming a copy of it made completely from one of your bonded elements. The blade will be independent from its physical copy, capable to attacking and defending using your mind as the controlling factor. The number of blades able to be formed is dependent on skill level, for each 10 levels one extra blade can be created.** This was now the third time he had been offered this skill and each time before he had been temped to pick it. Depending on what other choices he got this may be the one this time around. **[Advanced] Elemental Field ¨C The skill allows you to fully transform the area around you to temporarily terraform the surrounding area to an element of your choosing. Using the element in this field will exponentially increase the power of that element when used.** Like last time, this was a good skill but just didn¡¯t have the same impact as other skills he had been given before. He still saw the benefit of it but compared to the Mirrored Elemental Blade skill it gave less information. How big would the field be? Was it a metre, a kilometre? If he was to guess it would start out small and grow as its level did. It was a risk to choose it without the ability to actually spend a lot of time training it, time he didn¡¯t have at the moment. **[Advanced] Blade Syphon ¨C When landing an attack with Blade Syphon skill active you are able to Syphon off a portion of the damage dealt into the blade used, converting the health taken from your opponent into an element and using this in your next attack.** The skill was unique and rather powerful. He could literally use the health of an opponent against them, the more damage he dealt the more powerful the follow up attack. This would help him fight continuously without the need to worry about mana, although that wasn¡¯t a huge issue most of the time. If he was in a fight that was drawn out it would help him a lot, especially against higher level opponents. The downside if he was right was that he would need to rely on using a physical blade, which although he did a good amount of the time, it wasn¡¯t something he always did. After looking over his options a few times he made his decision, hoping that he wouldn¡¯t end up regretting passing up on the other options, especially as it was his last chance to pick a skill before his upgrade. His only hope was that he would be able to create skills like he had before when he had the time. **Skill Gained**: [Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade (Level 1)** Shaun didn¡¯t delay at the village much longer, the only thing left for him to do in this dungeon was to travel to the Corrupted leader, save around 50 more Hobbits, including their elder, and then bring them back alive. Probably kill a lot of corrupted as well. As he travelled to the final area he trained up his new skill both to get used to how it worked and also test its current limits. At first using the mirrored blade, regardless of what element he used, was disorientating, he needed to portion of a part of his mind in controlling it while also focusing on his own sword. He tested putting some of his AP into Willpower, and after finding that it made using the skill easier, he dumped the rest of his AP into the stat. When the village came into view he travelled around the outer edge, looping around it to get a better idea of what he was going to need to deal with. To his surprise there were less Corrupted here than in any of the outposts, maybe 100 in total, but from what he saw they were all in the 110¡¯s and were much more active. He concluded pretty quickly that there was going to be no way for him to repeat his previous method, the Corrupted were just too spread out and alert. The Hobbits were also not as bunched together as previously, although still in groups ranging from 5 to 10. If he was right he also managed to locate the Elder in what he assumed to be the main residence of the Corrupted leader if the information from his echo was anything to go by. Even after spending some time trying to come up with a good plan, the thing he always came back to was to hit them from several directions all at once with as much power as he could manage. That meant using three summons, all going into the village form different directions with the focus of both distracting the Corrupted so that they didn¡¯t kill the Hobbits and killing as many as they could without sacrificing their own lives. He needed time as his job was going to be going straight to the leader and doing everything he could to make sure that the Elder didn¡¯t die. Moving further from the village he summoned his Golem with Earth, his Zapian Eagle with Lightning and his Arctic Tiger with ice. His directions were clear, on his call they would rush the village form different sides, protect the Hobbits, cause a distraction and buy him time. Kill Corrupted if they could. While his summons got into position he did the same, sneaking to the village wasn¡¯t the most difficult thing he had ever done, every time he nearly got caught he would either shift into the air or simply teleport to a different location. He moved as close as he could to the residence that held the Elder and when the only thing left for him to do was enter the building, he gave the order for his summons to attack. It took only a second before he witnessed the impact of his summons entering the village, blasts of lightning went off in one direction, cold first started spreading from another and finally the rumbling of the earth from his golem. He waited a few seconds while he felt the Corrupted all move in on his summons, leaving only two beings in the building, the leader of the Corrupted and the Elder. Entering through the door and into the building, he moved quickly through the different rooms until he found himself before another set of doors. Pushing them open he came face to face with the real boss of this dungeon, the leader was different to the other Corrupted. Taller, more muscular but still with long limbs and piercing red eyes. **Corrupted Fiend ¨C Level 124** As expected, the fiend was at the peak of E grade. He liked his odds of winning the fight but that wasn¡¯t his primary objective here, he needed to save the Elder, who, currently was on the ground by the fiend¡¯s feet. Step 1, get the Elder away from the Corrupted. You got this. ¡°Here I thought the others were ugly, but you really take the prize for that, don¡¯t you.¡± Taunting the boss was the only thing he could come up with to get its attention on him rather than the Elder, he just hoped I worked. ¡°You¡¯re so gangly looking, have you not heard of having limbs in proportion to your body? And the red eyes? Yikes!¡± The more he insulted the fiend the angrier it got. He felt power build from the boss he spoke and its eyes were solely on him. ¡°Your life is mine human!¡± The moment it spoke it lunged at him, completely leaving behind the Elder in the process. Having predicted the reaction Shaun shifted further away and when he solidified again he sent a blast of air, not at the fiend but at the Elder, pushing the Hobbit into the corner of the room near a door which he hoped it had enough sense to go through and hide. There was nothing else he could really do for the Elder without drawing the fiend¡¯s attention to it, his focus now had to be on finishing this fight and doing it as quickly as possible. His summons wouldn¡¯t last forever and the longer this took the higher the chance that too many Hobbits would die and he would need to do this dungeon all over again. Book 2: Chapter 58 Just like the Ghouls, the Fiend was quick, it had the same ability to emit that red mist that would sap away at the health of anyone that got to close just at a much quicker rate. Shaun was still able to block it form touching him for the most part, needing to concentrate on keeping a barrier of air around him that was constantly fighting against the force of the mist. The beginning of their fight was a lot like playing cat and mouse, the Fiend would come at him, boosting its speed and trying to tear him apart with its empowered claws while he would dodge out of the way and move to another part of the room while following up with an ice strike. He was cautious that any of his more explosive skills would hit the Elder, so he held back, that is until the Hobbit made the smart decision and actually left the room through the door. Finally. The moment the Hobbit left the room he stopped holding back, moving from defence to going on the attack, he sent a bolt of lightning straight at the Fiend followed quickly by an elemental shift into that same element, coming down right next to the disorientated Fiend then using his gauntlet sending a fire strike at the same time slicing into the arm of the monster before teleporting away to safety. When he looked over the damage he had done to the Fiend he could see blistering from his fire strike and a large cut through its arm leaking red blood. It was nowhere near out of the fight, what he had achieved though was pissing it off. With a screech the Fiend condensed the red mist around it into its hands and sent a blast of it straight at where he was standing. Shifting back into the air he moved quickly to a different part of the room, but as soon as he came back to himself the Fiend came at him almost instantly, as if it had been tracking him in some way. Rather than move again he met it head on with his sword, going into melee and imbuing each of his attacks with an ice strike. Every time his sword met the Fiend part of its arm would freeze up, reducing its capacity to fight him at full force. It seemed to ignore this though, if anything it mad eth Fiend more mad than it was and continued to attack him with more fervour. This pushed the fight into the next level, all he could do was focus on blocking and striking, only having time to use his elemental strike skill once every three attacks as all of his other focus was on no getting hit. Even then he had sustained a few scratches, none of them deadly, but they had been imbued with the red power the Fiend had and it continued to sap away at his health. Feeing his summons start to fade Shaun decided to do something stupid in the hopes that he could end this fight here and now. He still needed to kill more Corrupted after this and wearing himself down in this fight was going to make the rest of the area that much harder. Rather than using his ice strike skill in any of his attacks he focused on something else, it took only a few seconds to get his mirror blade skill ready and posed to attack. He didn¡¯t use it immediately, instead he let the Fiend attack him a few more times and then, he gave it an opening that it would use. The Fiend fell for it, and attacks exactly where Shaun had hoped. Immediately the Fiend dug its hand into his shoulder with its good arm, when it did it stilled to focus on its own attack on him. As soon as it had stopped moving so quickly he directed his mirrored blade, made of pure ice, straight into the back of its neck. Being so close to the Fiends face, he could see the shock hit felt from being attacked from behind. He could also see that as he had hoped, the ice blade did similar damage as every other time he had utilised the element, it froze the area around it, in this case, the Fiends entire neck, even moving up to its head. He gave it no time to recover, coating his sword with a magma strike he cut through the arm that was digging into his shoulder, cleanly removing it from its body. Then as quickly as he could he followed up with another strike and this time cleanly removed the head from it body. The Fiend had attempted to get out of the way, but with his mind focused on the mirrored sword in its neck, not allowing it to move, it had no hope in dodging his attack in time. When the Fiends head hit the ground he wanted to cheer in victory, but at that very moment he felt his first summons dissipate, his golem was down, leaving all the Hobbits it had been protecting vulnerable. Shifting into the air instantly he travelled as quickly as he could to the position the golem last was, what he saw did not give him much hope. It seemed the golem had gathered all the Hobbits in one area and put itself between them and the Corrupted. Now that the Golem was gone, the Corrupted would have free rein to slaughter the Hobbits, which would spell the doom for this dungeon and force him to do it all over. He couldn¡¯t have that. He pushed himself into the middle of the Corrupted, switching from air to lightning in an instant, something he hadn¡¯t done and he felt that he had gained several levels in the skill in that instant, pushing the skill in a way he never had before had always been a sure way to gain levels. The moment he blasted down he didn¡¯t let up his attack, he summoned a mirror sword of ice, and together slaughtered their way through the Corrupted, not giving them an ounce of reprieve from his attacks and fully focusing his mind to the task of killing. Shaun had no idea what has happening in that moment, his only focus was on killing, all emotion left him, his swords were no longer weapons to be used, it was as if they were part of him. The feeling didn¡¯t last though and he came to in a completely different area of the village, around him there was Corrupted cut into pieces, and using his echo he realised that not only had he killed just the monsters where the golem had been but that there was no more Corrupted left to kill at all. He felt himself absolutely drained, his stamina was dangerously low, as was his mana. He had no notifications around what had happened to him, but losing himself so fully, as if he had lost all control of his actions and only had one purpose, that to kill, was a terrifying prospect. Using his echo again he took count of the Hobbits he felt in the area. 63 Hobbits, thank fuck. He wanted out of this dungeon, and quickly. The first thing he did was gather the Elder, who was tilled holed up in the building he fought the Fiend, but in a different room. After he had a quick conversation, confirming that the Corrupted were all dead, that the outposts were all taken care off and that all that was left was getting them all back to their village, they gathered the remaining living Hobbits. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He was in no state to take them back to the village, not yet, so instead he sent them on errands to gather supplies and gather back to him when they were done, ensuring that they knew that none of them could leave the village. During that time he sank into a deep meditative state and recovered. At the same time he inspected his mind, his body and even his mana channels, trying to find some hint as to what had happened to him during that fight. Even after a few hours of meticulous searching, he found nothing. His hope though was that once he finished the dungeon and got all of his notifications for clearing this area, that something would be there waiting for him. It took a few hours before he felt ready to start the move back to the village, and similar to every other time he had the walk back he was constantly fighting monsters that came from the surrounding area, all aiming to kill of the Hobbits like they were some kind of delicacy. What made this trip back so much easier than all the others was that he had a much smaller group of Hobbits, meaning he was covering a much smaller area. By the time he had made it back to the village he was exhausted but excited. This dungeon was minutes away from being finished and he would be able to move onto the next without having to spend days healing. On the walk back he had managed to use his mana to heal himself of the wounds the Fiend had inflicted on him and outside of needing to rest a bit to bring all of his stamina and mana back up to full he would be ready to go into the next dungeon immediately. Once he found the Hobbit who acted as the keeper of the village while the Elder was away he got the confirmations he needed from the system after listening for a while of how thankful they were and that they only wished a reward could be given. Stupid dungeon, not getting any loot or rewards sucks. *You have defeated a (Corrupted Ghoul ¨C Level 111). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ *You have defeated a (Corrupted Ghoul ¨C Level 116). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.* *You have defeated a (Corrupted Fiend ¨C Level 124). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.* *Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +4 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 104. +12 Str, +8 Dex, +12 End, +12 Vit, +16 Soul gained* *Race: Human has levelled up by +2 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 81. +32 Ap gained* *Save the Slaves Dungeon Completed. Dungeon will automatically eject successful participants in 1 minutes.* What the actual fuck! He checked, and then checked again. He had no notifications giving him any indication of what had happened when he pretty much blacked out in that fight. No new skills, no upgrades, nothing. Checking over his stats in the hope of seeing something he missed he was stilled at what was reflected. Status: Name: Shaun Clermont Race Human (E) Level: 81 Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger - Level 104 Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator - Level 58 Health Points:9426/11210 Stamina:842/8150 Mana:2015/31190 Stats: (Available Points: 32) Strength: 870 Dexterity: 970 Endurance: 815 Vitality: 1121 Intelligence: 743 Perception: 722 Willpower: 855 Soul: 3119 Affinity: Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water Advanced: Lightning, Ice, Magma Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer, Duke Heritage: Azreal''s Legacy (Hidden) Skills: Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 69), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 55), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 71), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 56), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 33), [Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 41), [Advanced] Elemental Summons (Level 34), [Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade (Level 9) Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 52), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 45), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 39), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 56), [Advanced] Mana Sight (Level 50), [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 48), [Advanced] Elemental Storage (Level 6) None of his skills had changed, but some of their levels had grown in leaps and bounds. His Blade Mastery skill had jumped by over 10 levels, as had his enhanced mind and his elemental shift. He knew that his elemental shift had jumped from his instantaneous move from air to lightning, so the Blade Mastery and Enhanced Mind skill had to have something to do with what had happened. He had been using both skills when before he had gone into his killing blackout, potentially he used the skills in such a way that his mind focused fully on killing and his blades temporarily combined the two skills to such a degree that for a moment they created a temporary new skill? Or maybe both skills boosted to something else for a time which resulted in what happened? He didn¡¯t have the time to figure it out now, he was thankful for the levels, really thankful as it meant that the skills themselves were moving towards their max, but the not knowing was going to annoy him until he figured it out. The minute finished quickly and like every other time he finished a dungeon he appeared back out at the entrance. * Save the Slaves (E grade) Dungeon has been completed* Would you like to claim this dungeon for 2,000,000 TE? This was now the Second E grade dungeon and replicating what he did with the first was going to be easy enough. *Please choose one of the following options* Option 1: Terraform surrounding area covered by this dungeon. Note: this will cost further TE, amount dependant on Terraforming. Option 2: Terraform as per option 1 but also leave dungeon in place. Note: this will add an extra 500,000 TE to cost. Option 3: Claim area, leaving dungeon in place but do not terraform. He felt a lot less annoyed at keeping this dungeon as he had the last. It still wasn¡¯t his favourite dungeon he had ever been into but it was so much better than the robots. He chose option 2 and spent some time going over all the plans he had, ensuring that they matched up with all of the surrounding dungeon areas creating a seamless transition between one area to the next. Spending millions of TE was some what depressing, but with only 3 more E grade and the D grade left he was still confident he had more than enough. The plan for him was to invest all the remaining TE he had into the D grade area when the time came. It was up to Viv and everybody else to sort out the other areas the way they wanted. This was only a temporary place for him to stay and he had no desire to waste time making it a utopia for the human race, that was Viv¡¯s job, thankfully. He did walk back to the dungeon entrance and confirmed that you could now select tier levels before entering, he assumed this would be the case but confirming it before he left was the smart thing to do, just in case something changed with this one compared to the last. Now all that was left was some rest and searching for the next dungeon. Book 2: Chapter 59 One day, that¡¯s how long he gave himself to fully recover, mend his armour and get an update from Eric. He had chosen not to go back to the village that Viv was making, if it could even be called that now. Apparently, he had been gone for just shy of two weeks and in that time they had sent out scouts to scour the surrounding area, seeing if there was any threats around and also to bring back people in need. At the same time even more people from their tutorial had shown up, following the links back to Viv and increasing the population even further. What was surprising was that they had not heard or seen anyone from The Pantheon yet, but they were keeping a close eye out for anyone suspicious or anyone that showed up and was hesitant to pledge themselves to Viv. Eric also passed on an update from Xavier, so far a good amount of F grade dungeons had been claimed but no cluster was fully owned by anyone except theirs, for E grade dungeons none had been claimed except the one he had already taken. This news didn¡¯t shock him, he knew how rough the E grade dungeons were, it would take a long while yet for anyone else to claim them unless there were people like him on Earth, those with a Heritage and more powerful than they really had any right to be. He no longer knew where the dungeons were on the remaining three E grade mountains, so when he did set out to find the next one it took longer than he would have liked. At the rate he was working, by the time he had finished claiming all the E grade dungeons three months would have passed, leaving him only three more before the event and then 6 months after that until the year would be up. It took two full days of searching the mountain to find the dungeon, including the travel time to actually get from one mountain to the other. He didn¡¯t mind the downtime though, he trained his skills while he searched, focusing on his mirror sword skill mostly as it was only one level from level 10 which would mean he got another sword to use, but also his mind and mastery skill. **Welcome to Bow before the Queen (E grade) Dungeon** This dungeon forms part of an unclaimed cluster. Current dungeons claimed in this cluster: F grade 15/15, E grade 2/5, D grade 0/1. Note: to claim this dungeon you need a minimum of 2,000,000 TE. No rewards will be provided if dungeon claimed. One participant located, would you like to enter the dungeon? The name of this dungeon was interesting, like all the others it didn¡¯t give any hints as to what it would be about outside of there being bowing involved and a queen. Neither of hose things really appealed to him but the name of the dungeon could be misleading and involve something more interesting that what the name suggested. Seeing as he could stand outside forever and still not figure anything out he decided to just enter. **Objectives of Bow before the Queen dungeon** The Terminte Queen has burrowed deep into the ground, forming a colony that has taken over the planet, devouring all within their path and damaging the integrity of the planets core. All have bowed before the Queen, leaving no one to stop the destruction of the once fertile planet. To complete dungeon kill the Queen before the planet is destroyed in 7 days time. If participant is still in dungeon when the timer runs out and the Queen still lives everyone in dungeon is destroyed. Note: You may leave the dungeon at any time by retreating back to the entry point. Dungeon difficulty set to max until dungeon is claimed. Shit. Double shit. Fuck. This dungeon as not only timed but if you failed to kill the queen in the 7 days and hadn¡¯t evacuated the dungeon you died. The options you had in this dungeon were simple, you went all in for 3 days, hope to get past the halfway point in that time. If you didn¡¯t, the chances were you would fail the dungeon if you continued so you would have to turn back and escape. He was going to be fighting termites and if his experience with fighting insects in previous dungeons was anything to go by, if they didn¡¯t have any weird resistances, than fire was going to be the best way forward. He had yet to finish an E grade dungeon in less than a week, but this one was also more straight forward and all he needed to do was fight. Also, there was no robots to deal with. Having made his decision to go all out until he dropped, he decided to get moving, time was wasting. The dungeon was underground, the termites having burrowed so deep that it felt like he was in another cave system just like he had been in the start of the tutorial. This time there was very little light through the caves, but given his advanced echo skill and his higher than average Perception he adjusted to the darkness quickly. It didn¡¯t take long for him to encounter his first termite, or really group of termites. There were five in total and although they were huge compared to your average termite, standing knew height, they weren¡¯t overly large compared to some of the other monsters he fought. **Worker Termite ¨C Level 63** Testing his theory that fire was the way to go he sent a fire strike at the insects, who, as soon as they noticed his presence started moving towards him at an average speed, slower than any other monster in the E grade dungeons. The attack he sent was not that powerful, if anything he had used slightly less mana than usual in the attack, but the results spoke for themselves. The termite that the strike hit was killed instantly, the surrounding termites caught in the resulting blast didn¡¯t fair much better, dying in the proceeding seconds. When he though it over, there was two reasons for this, the first being that they were truly weak to fire. The second being he was now nearly 20 levels higher than these monsters. To test the theory he found several more groups of termites, killing each group with a different type of strike. Lightning did okay, but wasn¡¯t as effective as fire, ice he put at about the same level as lightning and magma was just as effective as fire, if not a little more so. His basic affinity, outside of fire, were all pretty average, they did do some damage but couldn¡¯t compete with his other elements. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Considering he had no issues killing these monsters, he decided to take this as an opportunity to train another of his skills. He used his Elemental Strike skill a decent amount, but usually didn¡¯t push it to its limits like some of his other skills. This was an opportunity to really focus on the skill, at least in the beginning where he knew he would move quickly even if he only used the one skill. When he started to slow down he would add in some other skills in the mix, but for now it wouldn¡¯t slow him down at all. For two straight days Shaun took only short breaks to recover his mana and stamina, eat, drink and recentre himself. Like every other dungeon he wasn¡¯t getting any notifications but he felt that he was gaining new insights into his skill. He was close to something, having tested using the strike skill in different ways, one in particular he felt he was close to succeeding at. He had killed hundreds of termites, not giving them even a moment to fight back against him. They did slowly rise in level to the point that they were now in the high 70¡¯s, but even then, they didn¡¯t prove much of an issue to kill. Eventually, at the end of the second day in the dungeon, he located a larger cavern in the cave that seemed to be a hub for these Worker Termites. The moment he found the cavern with his echo he made for the quickest route towards it. If he was right this would form the end of what would be the first area of the dungeon, and thankfully he wasn¡¯t wrong. In the middle of the huge cavern was what could only be described as a mass of termite vomit. The Worker Termites were all going up to the mass and regurgitating something from their mouths to add to the size. It didn¡¯t take long for all of the termites to notice his presence once he entered the cavern, but it was too late for them to do anything. He had already powered up a stronger than normal fire strike, but testing a theory, when he released it he tried to only send out a third of the mana he had accumulated in the attack. To his surprise it had worked, although it did strain him to succeed in doing so and he didn¡¯t have enough control to just send a third, it ended up being closer to 40% of the accumulated mana. He quickly tried again, aiming for half the mana he had left in the strike and shortly after released the rest of it. The results of his attack spoke for themselves. All three of the strikes hit, one after the other. When the first hit the resulting blast was normal, but when the second and third hit his target it was as if the resulting blasts formed a concussive effect where the blast of each proceeding strike nearly doubled the resulting blast, as if feeding on each other to cause more damage. Even from where he was standing at the edge of the cavern, he felt the heat and lick of flames on his skin. It did no harm to him, but the termites? All dead. The mass in the room? Reduced to cinders. **You have defeated a (Worker Termite ¨C Level 63). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ **You have defeated a (Worker Termite ¨C Level 79). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +1 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 105. +3 Str, +2 Dex, +3 End, +3 Vit, +4 Soul gained** The level was fine, killing hundred of monsters under your level didn¡¯t really ever get you much, but what he was more interested in was his Elemental Strike skill, which had gained 6 levels. He had been right though. Using skills in new ways, pushing them past the usual, was the best way to level them. He again got no loot, still unable to loot the bodies, but that was fine with him for now. Spending some time meditating to recover quicker, he reviewed his progress. If he was right the next area would be termites from level 80 to 100. After that it would be in the low hundred and a boss, the queen. It had taken him just under two days to finish the first part and if he could replicate that in the next area he should be ahead of schedule, after that he would have three days to clear the final are and the queen, unless there was something more that he hadn¡¯t accounted for. Still, he was confident at this point, as long as he could keep his speed up. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°Let me summarise, food is becoming an issue, even with the F grade dungeons being run continuously and the loot being provided to the kitchens and crafters guild we are dipping into our reserves. Those that are in the E grade that aren¡¯t gaining any levels want to run harder dungeons. Those that have Professions are asking for materials and places to work. The population is growing too quick for us to keep up and we need to start moving into other F grade areas quicker, which means we need to expend more TE. Does that about cover it?¡± Viv was trying to stay calm, but she had underestimated just how hard and stressful running an entire cluster would be. Everyday more problems arose which she needed to deal with, some being easier to handle than others. The issues she jus covered off were the major ones that all had solutions, but they were either expensive, dangerous or weren¡¯t currently part of her plan. Still, she needed to do something before there was active rebellion in her home base. To do that she needed to make concessions. ¡°We need to stretch the food for as long as we can, see if we can recruit more people to be power levelled in the F grade dungeon so that when we have access to a suitable E grade dungeon, hopefully we will be able to farm that for more food with the stronger fighters. We will need to buy stores from the system, we should be able to purchase different types of food through there but its expensive, and until we start generating enough goods to sell through the store we will be losing coin that we wont be able to get back. Or we make some kind of agreement with Shaun when he is back. He has enough coin to purchase every store in the settlement crystals in every area, including the E grade areas probably.¡± ¡°Okay, we should be able to last a few more weeks like that, I will keep you updated.¡± Gabe confirmed back to her. ¡°Good. Eric, gather the E grades that are making the most noise about wanting to get stronger, take them to the E grade dungeon that Shuan is letting us use already, the robot one. But only go in on the weakest setting for now. No big risks. Everyone comes back alive. You can lead them through that. We will need to set up some kind of loot system, some kind of tax. But for now we can provide an IOU for all loot that we want until we have a proper economy worked out.¡± ¡°Will do.¡± ¡°I also want a list of everyone that wants to work on their professions, what they can do, and what they will bring to the settlement if they are provided with space to work. From there we can start sorting out how we will organise the different groupings of Professions and see if we can get people working together. Once that is done we will expand further into another area, one focused on professions related to crafting which should free up space here. Does that work?¡± Once she got confirmation from everyone they all split up to get to work. She had a lot more planning to do, both in creating an economy, getting people stronger and keeping people happy. She missed the days where her biggest troubles were staying alive in a fight. Book 2: Chapter 60 This dungeon, by far, was Shaun¡¯s most favourite so far. There was no robots to deal with, no playing Shepard to Hobbits and his only focus was on fighting. He ended up clearing the second area of the dungeon in the 2 days as he had planned but had to then spend nearly half a day to fully recover his stamina and mana. The termites were stronger, being named Warrior Termite, and as expected had been between the 80 to 100 level. He had only received 2 levels in the area which was to be expected, his level having increased significantly since the first E grade dungeon had impacted on the amount of levels he was receiving. At first he thought it was going to annoy him, the reduced levels, but the more he pondered it the less he cared. His aim was to just claim the dungeons and then raise his skill levels, once he hit level 125 he wouldn¡¯t be choosing his next class upgrade until he had pushed his skills to the max anyway. The third area of the dungeon was where it got harder, the termites were harder to kill and he was slowed down considerably in his push to the end. Shaun knew that this was bound to happen, but the fact he made it probably two thirds of the way through using only one skill was an impressive feat. He had already committed to going to the end of the dungeon, not bothering to turn around and retreat. With three days left he was optimistic that he would be able to finish the dungeon, to ensure that was the case he used his summons skill to help him along. Shaun had never used his summons skill to summon the same type of creature more than once at a time, but given he needed speed and fire he attempted to give it a go. The first summon, his Flame Hound Spike, came into being quickly with the skill, he even spent a moment giving him a head rub. When he started the second summons, using the same fire element, it took much longer than the first and he felt his mana channels strain with the pressure it was under by being used by not just one but two summons. Although it took longer than his first summons, he was greeted by a second Flame Hound eventually, although this one looked slightly different and the feeling he got was that it was subservient to Spike. Having succeeded in two he moved on to his third. The process hurt this time, but he was able to push through. If he was to guess this was a combination of not just using the same element but also using it with such a high amount of mana compared to the actual skill level. Regardless of the pain and pressure he felt, he managed to summon a third Flame Hound, and similar to the second one he summoned, he felt that it would follow both his lead and Spikes. His plan for them was simple, kill everything and do it quickly. The excitement he felt after he relayed their objective was almost overwhelming, and that excitement seemed to seep into him as well. This is going to be fun. For an entire day the four of them pushed through the dungeon with nothing but joy in their hearts and a passion for the kill. The monsters in this final area were strong, but against the four of them they went down quickly. The termites were guards, and if the past had taught him anything than the only thing they could be guarding was the area where the queen was. To say that he was upset when his summons ran out of mana would be an understatement. He had not had so much fun in so long that he couldn¡¯t even remember the last time he let loose and just felt free. Soon, he would be coming back to this dungeon, just to do it all over again, soon he would get to run with his pups not just for a day but even longer. After he said goodbye, he spent a good amount of time resting. He felt like he was closer to the end of the dungeon than he had planned to get, he assumed that it would be close to three days but with the way that the guards had gotten as strong as any of the monsters near the final bosses in the previous dungeons, he knew that in less than a day, maybe even just a few hours, this dungeon would be done. When he had recovered his mana he kept moving forward, for twelve hours he killed more and more guards, and although it was at a slower pace than before he had little to no issues getting through them. They showed no sign of any higher-powered attacks, seeming to rely on physical attributes more than magical ones, which was their downfall. Without a ranged attack they were killed before they got close to him, or if he chose to let them come in range of melee attacks, he cut them through with his sword before they did any damage to him. When the Queen was located he started moving towards it, the entire area around the cavern it was in was empty of other termites, all of them had been called into the cavern with her to help protect against the invader. It was a smart move, against anyone else. For him, having all the remaining termites all in one place and packed together would just make this a slaughter of massive proportions. While he moved towards the queen he powered up his sword and gauntlet with as much mana as they could hold, even slowing his pace to give himself more time. His gauntlet reached capacity much quicker than the sword, but still held a good few thousand mana even after draining the gem in it. He started to feel resistance from his sword closer to ten thousand mana, nearly double that of the gauntlet. Still having that much mana ready to unleash at a moments notice was going to result in a massive blast of fire that he doubted even he would survive. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. By the time he reached the cavern he was straining against the amount of mana he was holding back, having to utilise his mind skill the entire time so as not to have it blow back in his face. When he did come to the cavern entrance he saw the entire room filled with termites, easily over a hundred with the queen standing at the back. **Termite Queen ¨C Level 124** He took one step into the cavern and the termites made their move, a second later he released his own attacks. Using both his sword and gauntlet at the same time he released strike after strike, waving his sword through the air and having released the claws from their place in the gauntlet he swiped his hand through the air into different directions than his sword. He attempted to pace the amount of mana he let out with each strike, the first few were much higher than he wanted but when he was able to lessen the strain of holding back so much mana he gained more control and precision with his attacks. He had lost sight of the termites after the first few strikes, all he could see was flames. By the time he was done the entire cavern was engulfed in nothing but fire. **You have defeated a (Termite Guard ¨C Level 113). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ **You have defeated a (Termite Guard ¨C Level 118). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **You have defeated a (Termite Queen ¨C Level 124). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +3 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 110. +9 Str, +6 Dex, +9 End, +9 Vit, +12 Soul gained** **Race: Human has levelled up by +2 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 84. +32 Ap gained** **Bow before the Queen Dungeon Completed. Dungeon will automatically eject successful participants in 1 minutes.** Well, that¡¯s one way to finish a dungeon. He still couldn¡¯t see through the flames, but clearly, he had finished them all off with the ridiculous amount of mana he had just used in his attacks. Was it over kill? Sure. But it was still fun. Seeing as he had gained multiple levels in his Elemental Strike skill, it was also worth it. In the minute he waited to be ejected he went over how complacent he had been at the end of the tutorial, not pushing his skills like he should have been. He didn¡¯t need stronger monsters to do that, he just needed to use his imagination a little and practice. That was why Commander Alserio had been so annoyed with him, he had been lazy, relying to much on just using skills at their most basic level rather than truly pushing his limits. That had changed though, he still had a lot of work to do but he would fix the problem. The minute passed quickly, appearing outside he got his first breath of fresh air since he started the dungeon and he welcomed the sun on his skin. Night would be coming soon but till it did he would bask in the sun and light. He hated caves. ** Bow before the Queen (E grade) Dungeon has been completed** Would you like to claim this dungeon for 2,000,000 TE? He had gotten into the routine of answering all of the prompts when he claimed a dungeon, he would be able to do it blind at this point. He still had to spend a few hours with the terraforming as making a mistake would be disastrous and he did not have the energy or patience to fix it just because he failed to do it correctly now. Like the first two, this one ended up being carved into and through the mountain, he was curious what the finished result actually looked like but he also had no reason to back track when he would get to see it all at the end anyway. Although he didn¡¯t really need to recover all the mana he had spent, already having enough to get moving, he did decide to rest. Removing his armour and laying in the sun was needed, more for his own wellbeing than anything else. It had been too long since he relaxed a little and seeing as he was ahead of schedule he indulged in this small thing. ¡®Shaun, you¡¯re out of the dungeon already? Are you okay?¡¯ He hadn¡¯t been expecting to be contacted by Eric so quickly after leaving the dungeon, he also sounded stressed. ¡®Yeah, I¡¯m good. That dungeon is great.¡¯ He gave a quick recap of the dungeon, as he had with every other one. When he finished he got some interesting news. ¡®I am taking a large team through Awaken the Prime, on the easiest setting though. Anything more you can give us to help with it?¡¯ God that dungeon sucked. ¡®Nothing more than what I have already told you. Good luck in there. Let me know what loot you get.¡¯ ¡®Also Viv said that if you can to meet her, she has some propositions for you that are kind of urgent.¡¯ ¡®What about?¡¯ Don¡¯t say help running this place. I did not sign up for that. ¡®Money mostly. She wouldn¡¯t say it outright but we need coin.¡¯ Thank fuck for that. ¡®That¡¯s fine. I have two more dungeon to do, then I will head over to her. Give me a few weeks?¡¯ Eric didn¡¯t seem happy about the timeline and just said whenever was possible. They ended the chat fairly quickly after that and he removed thoughts of heading back to help immediately form his mind. It wasn¡¯t a selfish decision, not exactly. But they had agreed that she would need to sort all of the people and settlement stuff herself. If he came running now it would give the wrong message, she needed to mind a solution that didn¡¯t involve him, at least for now. He didn¡¯t move until the sun set and it started to get cool, only then did he kick into gear and get a move on to the next mountain. He was over halfway done with these dungeons, then he would get to finish off the ward, something that he was actually looking forward to. He had never done anything on a scale this large, and he was excited to start pushing his profession again. Book 2: Chapter 61 Searching for the next dungeon was a somewhat enjoyable experience this time around. The sun was shining in a clear sky and Shaun was taking full advantage of the heat. Summer had always been his favourite season, soaking up the sunshine and being outdoors always paired well together for him, even more so now that he was practically immune to being sun burn. Rather than speed through finding the dungeon he took a few hours here and there to actually hike up the side, enjoying the feeling and making everything seem normal for a while. He knew that he was wasting time in taking these breaks, but he also knew that he couldn¡¯t keep going nonstop forever, burn out was still a real thing, no mater how much the world changed, taking a few short hours here and there would only help in the long run. He didn¡¯t know whether to be happy or disappointed when he found the dungeon, it was almost like something had pushed him into the area where it was located. It didn¡¯t take much longer to get to the entrance, even with walking at a slow pace, but he wasn¡¯t able to put off the inevitable. As long as it was a decent dungeon he wouldn¡¯t get too annoyed. **Welcome to Win the War (E grade) Dungeon** This dungeon forms part of an unclaimed cluster. Current dungeons claimed in this cluster: F grade 15/15, E grade 3/5, D grade 0/1. Note: to claim this dungeon you need a minimum of 2,000,000 TE. No rewards will be provided if dungeon claimed. One participant located, would you like to enter the dungeon? He didn¡¯t stop to try and decipher the name, every time he tried he got it wrong. This one, even more than the others, had literally no information to go off. Time to go on in. **Objectives of Win the War dungeon** The war has raged for centuries, neither side able to take the lead and conquer the world. Two elements have battled since the beginning, balance has been thrown off. You will need to lead your side to victory, Commander. To complete dungeon you must lead your side to victory against the opposition. As a commander in the war you will need to make decisions that will impact the outcome of the war. Only when the last of the opposing force is dead or they surrender will the dungeon be completed. Choose your war. Option 1: Water vs Fire Option 2: Air vs Earth Option 3: Randomised Note: You may leave the dungeon at any time by retreating back to the entry point. Dungeon difficulty set to max until dungeon is claimed. The more he read the objective and options the more excited he got. Not only was this a war that he got to play commander in but it was also an elemental war, one that he got to choose. The real question was, which option did he pick? A lot of his best attacks were fire based and it was one of his most used elements. If he picked option one he may learn even more from seeing what kind of attacks he witnessed from other fire users. On the flip side he hadn¡¯t used water that much so seeing what could be done with it could also be interesting. Air and Earth he used in more of a support capacity, so witnessing how these were used in a war could be very intriguing. Or he could just wing it and randomise the entire thing and see what he ended up with. After a full minute of indecision, he quit and just chose to randomise it. **The war has been decided. Water vs Earth** You have been assigned to fight for Water. The messages disappeared and he found himself in a room around a large table, he wasn¡¯t alone either, around the table he saw different beings, some looked relatively humanoid but with skin ranging from blue to green. There was even some that had scales and looked similar to the Mer Folk, if they had legs instead of tails. Checking the levels of everyone in the room, they ranged from level 80 to the low 100¡¯s, and every single one of them were looking to him as if he was expected to say something. ¡°So, how is the war going?¡± ¡°Commander, sir, we are at a stalemate, Earth has put up defences that are continuously being reinforced, making it impossible for us to break through. We have sent out our strongest warriors to attempt to break through but before they are able to do any lasting damage to their walls they are pushed back. We need new orders, sir.¡± The being that spoke seemed to be the strongest one in the room, one of the ones that had scales coating parts of their skin. The purpose of the dungeon was to probably find a way to break through the defences, storm through the opposing army, killing off as many beings on the opposing side as possible. If he was to guess, to finish the dungeon he would need to take out the commander on the other side as well, probably an earth related being at level 124. Shaun fully planned on doing that, just not yet. ¡°Show me to our strongest soldiers who are able to wield water. I want to see what they are capable of.¡± No one argued with him, they simply nodded at his order and led him out of the room. He was guided around the water stronghold where the majority of the army was currently located. There were easily a thousand beings in the area, all of various strengths and some more unique than others. As he would expect from a water army, they were positioned beside a stream where those that seemed to have been injured would swim into the water and after a while come back out looking healed. He stopped for a while to observe this, even moving closer to see what exactly was happening when they went into the water. It took a moment to understand the process, having to use his mana sight and water affinity to get a clearer picture. If he was right, they were pulling water from the river into their wounds, cycling it through the injured area which boosted their capacity to heal. He used his nature affinity in much the same way, but the idea of using water and nature in tandem was an interesting idea that he made a mental note to attempt later. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. When he was done observing they moved on to a training area where it seemed that different levelled groups were segregated and training skills in different ways. The weakest of groups seemed to be pretty average in terms of their ability to manipulate water and really only seemed to be on this side due to their race being aligned with water. The middle group showed much more promise as they had some ability to manipulate the water around them, from what he observed this was only possible in a small area around them and they tired quickly, still they were able to move quickly and use their strength to their advantage. They demonstrated their skills for him in a one on one fight and he could admit that they were formidable opponents. The last group though, the peak of the army, was where he really got to see what could be done when one wielded the power of water. They demonstrated the ability to pull water from the air, condense it down into a weapon and send it flying at a target, all in the span of a few seconds. On top of that, some were able to demonstrate empowering their bodies with the element for short periods, boosting their strength and dexterity with a high level of skill. This is what he had been looking for, new uses of the water element that he could learn and implement into is fighting style. He spent a good amount of time watching them, asking them to repeat certain moves over and over again till he was confident he was able to replicate them. Only then did he decide to join them and practice. Pulling water form the air was a lot harder than he expected, it took a lot of willpower and manipulation of the surrounding mana to pull enough together to form enough to be able to attack anyone with it, but he didn¡¯t give up. He continued practicing the skill, but when he asked for advice form the others they seemed unable to assist outside of showing their attacks again. It seemed like it was some limitation put on this dungeon, but even observing was helpful in its own way. Hours past with nothing but focusing on getting this ability to pull water together right. Shaun completely forgot about the war he was supposed to win and just trained until he got the basics down, but even then, continued to work on it until he was confident he would be able to continue practicing on his own without assistance. Using water to boost his own strength and dexterity was harder, being unable to directly see what was happening inside of their bodies made it more difficult to piece together what exactly they were doing. He guessed that it had something to do with manipulating the water inside of their bodies, but that would take a long while for him to apply to himself correctly, probably a lot of meditating and really focusing on his internal mana system would be needed. The one idea he had was to use a skill similar to his stone skin and imbue his body with the element he wanted to use and manipulating it to suit his desire. Again, it was something he would be able to do in his own time now that he had a decent idea on how to move forward. Turning back to the Mer being, he figured it was now time to get this fight stated. ¡°Show me to the wall, it¡¯s time to finish this war.¡± ¡°Shall I gather all of our forces?¡± Shaun thought about it for a moment, he was planning to just blitz his way through the enemy but having an army to back him up would be helpful. ¡°Sure, why not.¡± It didn¡¯t take long for all of his forces to gather and start moving towards the wall that the Earth forces had put up. It only took about an hour of travel before he saw what had to be the border between the two opposing armies. The wall was as expected, it spanned as far as he could see in both directions and was high enough that it would be difficult to climb, but not impossible. If he was to guess, this dungeon was supposed to be about tactics, using what you had to take the advantage and overcome your opponent while also finding ways to circumvent the strength of your enemies. His plan on how to deal with the wall and the opposing army was rather simple, first he was going to scout out behind the wall to see what he was dealing with, then he would choose a specific area, further behind enemy lines to cause some damage. Once their army was rushing to him, taken off guard by being attacked on their side of the wall he planned to move back as quickly as he could, blast through the wall and then let his own army through. It was a simple plan, but also one that he hoped was effective. He informed the scaled being, who he learned was just called a lieutenant on the walk to the wall, what he planned to do, and as always, they just agreed with what he said. Shifting into the air, he moved as high as he could go before becoming solid again and then running the rest of the way across the wall and into enemy space. Considering that the war was earth and water based no one had a reason to look up, as who would expect a lone man in the air. Shaun was impressed with what he saw on the earth side, there looked to be an equal number of creatures on the earth side as there was on water, but the earth side also had sturdy golem like beings that stood tall among their ranks, not to mention that there were strategically placed piles of rocks throughout their army that could be used as weapons at a moment¡¯s notice. Although most of the earth army was located at the wall, he could see the enemy outpost further in the distance. Further back from the wall was where he saw what had to be the higher levelled beings of the army, standing just as tall as the golems were giants wielding hammers that looked like they could crush anyone that was unlucky enough to be hit by one of them. What surprised him was that this army looked prepped and ready for an attack, as if they knew that he had gathered his own army for an attack. Although considering that his own location skill was earth based, he shouldn¡¯t be surprised that this army would have someone that could track people using earth as well. Having gathered enough information on the opposing army, he now had everything he needed to get started on his plan. He returned to his own army, coming down close to the wall where his lieutenant was, he updated them on his plan, ensuring that they fully understood what they needed to do and when. Before moving back to the other side of the wall he summoned his first creature of the battle, his magma summons. He had expected some reaction from his own side when he did this, using an element of earth and fire went directly against water, but they didn¡¯t show any reaction to it. His plan for his magma slime was simple, devour a section of the wall, weaken it enough that it could be blown apart by a strong enough attack. The joy he felt come from the slime was clear, it got to consume earth which would only make it stronger, even if it wasn¡¯t in battle. He sent it out to the wall immediately and at the same time went to cause his own chaos. Moving back into the air, far enough above the earth army was easy enough, and when he was comfortable with his position he summoned the remainder of his creatures. His first Zapian Eagle appeared, followed closely by his second, their attacks wouldn¡¯t be as effective against earthen creatures but they would sow the chaos he needed to distract the army and launch his own attacks. All the while the wall would be weakened, the army distracted, leaving them ripe for picking for his own army to come through and devastate the lower-level beings. When everyone was in position he gave the call to his summons to start the first round of attacks, his eagles acted immediately and as planned went for destroying all of the piles of rocks that had been gathered amongst the army, using their own lightning based attacks allowed them to blow them up from a distance, moving too quickly for any of the soldiers to land attacks on them. At the same time he went directly for the strongest beings he had found, the giants. Choosing to announce his presence in the most spectacular way he could, he landed in the middle of the group of around 50 giants in his lightning form, sending a blast of residual lightning out amongst them. **Earthen Giant ¨C Level 112** Wasting no time after identifying their levels, he summoned his mirror blade of ice at the same time as he enhanced his mind and powered a magma strike. This is going to be fun. Book 2: Chapter 62 The giants, although large, strong and durable were also slow. Shaun moved quickly between the attacking giants, none were able to pin him down or harm him with their hammers. Due to their size they couldn¡¯t even rush him at once which made it just that much easier to move between them. Even with it being a 50 against 1 fight he held the advantage against them, the only annoying thing about them was that they took a while to actually take down. His attacks, both with his mirrored ice blade and his own blade powered with elemental strikes were doing damage to the giants, but he wasn¡¯t blitzing through them like he had wanted to. He took that as a challenge rather than being disheartened though, he just needed to up the power he was using and truly push his advantage. Pushing his body to the limit in both strength and dexterity he moved even faster, pushing his attacks to do more damage by increasing the power behind both his swings and his strikes. Changing up his approach he also decided to use his mirrored blade on the same giants he himself was attacking rather than splitting his attention, while he would attack from the ground, forcing the giant¡¯s attention on him, he moved the other blade with his mind to attack at the head. Although he was taking the fight seriously, there was a large part of him that was truly enjoying this fight, he was under pressure of a time limit and he wasn¡¯t needing to focus on protecting anyone, he could just stay in the moment and just give himself over to the fight at hand. The giants had some ability over earth, they made the very ground that he was moving on move and rumble, some even attempted to create projectiles out of the earth and launch them at him. For the most part this had absolutely no impact on him, he had the element of earth, he could control it and use it in much the same way, just with more power than the giants could. When the first giant had fallen another took its place, and when the second fell so too did another move in. They did everything they could to kill him and as more fell to his swords the fever of the battle increased. It was only when he got halfway through slaughtering the giant¡¯s that he got the feeling from his magma slime that the wall was ready to be taken down. For a moment he considered going back and being the one to take down the wall himself, but leaving the giants to join the attack would have consequences on his own army if he didn¡¯t take care of them. Although he didn¡¯t really need his army to help him take down the earthen forces, he didn¡¯t see the harm in them killing off the lower levelled soldiers as they would offer next to no experience or challenge for him. Rather than waste time, he sent the order for his eagles to loop back to his army and then blast through the wall from the opposite side, allowing his army through. It would take a minute or so before they accomplished the task and he didn¡¯t let that distract him form his own fight against the giant¡¯s. The more he fought with his mirrored blade the easier it was to split is focus and the quicker he was able to move the blade. He was close to hitting level 10 in the skill, and as soon as he finished this dungeon he imagined that he would be able to add another blade into the mix. By the time he heard the wall explode he had taken out most of the remaining giants, only having 10 more to kill before he could move on. His eagles had rejoined the fight after destroying a very large portion of the wall and even his slime was now in on the fight. Shaun couldn¡¯t help the smile that spread across his face, he had not had this much fun in a dungeon, ever. It wasn¡¯t just the fighting that he enjoyed, but it was being able to come up with large scale plans in a war and seeing those plans carried out with precision. He was surprised at just how much he was enjoying it, and he knew, that when he had the time, he would be coming back and doing this dungeon at least a few times over. When the final giant fell to his sword he looked around him and saw the bodies of all of those he had slain, he took in the sight for a few moments, feeling proud of just how much he had grown in the last few weeks. His skill with the blade had grown by leaps and bounds which was reflected in what he had accomplished here. He wasn¡¯t relying on his affinity like he had been but instead utilising the skills that the system gave him in a way that he should have been doing the entire time. After he was done with reviewing his work, he moved up into the air to get a better look at the actual fight between the two armies. As he had expected, his own army had taken them unprepared, his eagles having done their job of causing mayhem and ruining their opponents¡¯ defences. He diligently looked to see if he could locate any higher levelled opponents in the mix but with the giants taken out of play, he had single handily removed the biggest threat to him winning the dungeon. All that was left was finding the level 124 commander and dealing with it along with any others who were with it. Sending his echo throughout the armies, he wasn¡¯t able to locate anything at the level he wanted, that meant that the only other place that the opposing commander could be was at their outpost. Taking one final look over the battlefield he knew his army would be fine without any further contribution from him. Just as he was about to make his exit to move towards the outpost he felt something enter his echo from that same direction. Not long after he felt several more living beings join it until he realised that rather than having to make his way to them, they would be coming to him, and by the feel of it, the commander included. He had about two minutes to prepare for the new incoming force, and he planned on using that time wisely. Still in the air he started pulling together the water from his surrounding and condensing it down like he had been practicing before. The biggest difference was that he didn¡¯t leave the water in its liquid form once he managed to condense it enough, instead he shaped it into a spear and froze it with his ice element. Shaun repeated the process again and again, working as quickly as he could to form up as many spears as possible. By the time the force was only seconds out from his own army he had managed to create just over 2 dozen of his frozen spears. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Then he waited. Each second that passed felt like an eternity but he was patient, he would get one shot at pulling off his attack and he needed to wait for the perfect moment, so he waited. When he got his first look at one of the creatures he was surprised by what he saw. They were not overly large, if anything they were slightly shorter than he was, they looked fairly human, if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that they looked like they were coated in a layer of stone mixed with metal. They also carried a double-bladed axe, one that looked sharp enough to cut through hardened metal and bone. After the first appeared another followed, and quickly about 40 of the creatures came into view, behind them was a being similar to the first just taller, more muscular and carrying two axes instead of one. Shaun didn¡¯t attack immediately, waiting for his moment when they came further towards the battle before joining the fight again. These new creatures stopped a moment and took in the fight, it only lasted a second or two but in that time they had assessed the situation and formed up their own plan of attack. As one they all took off to meet the water forces in battle, he knew that if he did nothing they would end up turning the tide of the war, but he wasn¡¯t having that. Using his willpower he sent down every single on of his spears in a shower of death, it took only a second for them to impale both the creatures and ground around them. If that had been all he had done then it would have been a devastating attack, but he didn¡¯t use half measures in this initial strike. He had powered each and every one of his spears with an ice strike, it had strained him to do so, and they weren¡¯t the most powerful strikes he could manage, but given the sheer number of spears he had managed to turn the entire area around these new creatures into a frozen wasteland. From what he could see and feel, he had managed to kill off half of the supports and those that were still alive were barely able to move. The only one that was left of the force that seemed to be in a semi okay state was the commander, but with ice now coating the ground, forming a barrier between it and the earth, it was severely disadvantaged. Not letting this opportunity pass him by, Shaun flew down to the group and as soon as he landed started cutting through the remaining supports as quickly as he could, they had no time to form any counter measures against him, having barely survived his initial attack and fighting back the ice that was freezing them to the spot they stood. **Earthen Maude Commander ¨C Level 124** He had no idea what an Earthen Maude was, but truly it didn¡¯t matter, the commander was going to go down with its brethren, he would make sure of it. While he moved closer to the commander, as did the commander come at him. The biggest difference between the two was that while Shaun was able to walk on the ice as if it was nothing but solid ground the commander was slipping all over the place and looked like a baby goat trying to stand for the first time. As soon as they got within striking distance of each other the commander empowered its axes and attempted to bisect him, but the attacks were clumsy and he was able to move out of the way with ease. Following up with his own attacks, he summoned his mirror blade, this time as a magma blade and met one of the commanders axes with his own. For a moment the two colliding weapons were in stalemate, earth and magma vying to win the fight. It took only that moment though before the magic that the commander was using in his axe waivered and the power of his own magma blade cut through the axe as if it was butter. There was no hesitation form the commander though, it seemed unbothered by one of its axes being destroyed, instead it tried to move out of the way of the blade and in the process slipped on the ice. Giving his opponent no mercy, Shaun moved in with his own blade and using a good amount of mana in his own attack, he slammed his sword down with a magma strike. The commander moved his remaining axe to intercede in his strike but the moment the 2 blades met his own sword cut through the axe and then through the commander. He waited a moment to see if the commander would be able to recover from the attack with some kind of earth skill but after a few seconds of just staring at its body he concluded that he had won. How disappointing. Even the giants fought harder than this. He had expected that once he killed the commander that the dungeon would finish, he waited for the message to appear, but nothing did. Great now I have to fight the fodder. Knowing that there was nothing left to challenge him in the dungeon he simply moved through the fighting of the lower levelled creatures and killed every remaining earth solider that he saw. It didn¡¯t take that long, his own army and summons having done most of the work, but he didn¡¯t gain anything form it either. Once the final soldier was slain a cheer of victory came from the water forces, and with it the message he had been waiting for. **You have defeated a (Earthen Soldier ¨C Level 84). Experience gained. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ **You have defeated a (Earthen Giant ¨C Level 112). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ **You have defeated a (Earthen Maude Guard ¨C Level 118). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **You have defeated a (Earthen Maude Commander ¨C Level 124). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +5 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 115. +15 Str, +10 Dex, +15 End, +15 Vit, +20 Soul gained** **Race: Human has levelled up by +2 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 86. +32 Ap gained** ** Win the War Dungeon Completed. Dungeon will automatically eject successful participants in 1 minutes.** 5 levels for the entire dungeon wasn¡¯t bad, especially considering he hadn¡¯t spent that long inside. He imagined that if he didn¡¯t have such an overwhelming advantage with this dungeon set up that it would have taken a lot longer. What didn¡¯t disappoint him though has his skill levels, both his summons skill and his blade mirror skill had made it over the next hurdle. Now he could summon 4 creatures and 2 blades, he would need to practice both but once he adjusted he would have even more of an advantage. He didn¡¯t converse with anyone while he waited for the minute to finish, he did say goodbye to his summons though, thanking them for their great work. When the timer hit 0 he appeared back outside of the dungeon, he followed all of the prompts for claiming the dungeon and terraforming the area with no issues and then immediately went back to the screen which would let him enter the dungeon again. As usual he could choose a difficulty but now instead of having a random option he could choose the elements for both sides. The elements were all basic but that may just be exactly what others need to start seeing if they could bond an affinity, something he would raise with Viv and the others. Book 2: Chapter 63 With one dungeon left Shaun wasted no time racing to get it done. Moving from one dungeon to the next was getting tiresome and he wanted to spend less time traveling and more time working on his craft which was seriously lacking behind his class. He also wanted to spend more time on skill training, the benefits that they brought could not be understated. Still, he knew he needed to get this dungeon finished so he could claim all of the E grade areas, combine them and then get his ward up and running. He had tried to contact Eric while he searched for the final dungeon but he wasn¡¯t able to connect to him. The only reason that would be the case would be if he was in a dungeon, which he probably was considering last they spoke he was going to fight robots. Or he was dead, which was highly unlikely unless he did something stupid and did the prime dungeon on max. Rather than waste time checking in on Viv, which would delay him for at least a few days, he continued on with his search. When he finished this dungeon it would take 3 days at least to finish the terraforming, that was if he didn¡¯t add anything extra. At this point he wasn¡¯t exactly confident in being able to do a D grade dungeon, not yet. It didn¡¯t take as long as he expected to find the last dungeon, he had become much better at being able to move through the air and his echo skill was covering more and more area as it levelled up. Un like last time the sun wasn¡¯t distracting him either, it had become overcast and looked like it may rain soon, not wanting to be caught outside when it happened, he pushed himself to get moving. Like every other time the dungeon was located in a cave on the side of the mountain, not as far up as the previous ones but still a good distance towards the peak. He had to admit, if there was monsters located outside of dungeons life on Earth would be a lot harder for everyone, the constant fear of being attacked by not only other people but also a being that could be at a higher level than you would be a terrifying thought. **Welcome to Claim the Throne (E grade) Dungeon** This dungeon forms part of an unclaimed cluster. Current dungeons claimed in this cluster: F grade 15/15, E grade 4/5, D grade 0/1. Note: to claim this dungeon you need a minimum of 2,000,000 TE. No rewards will be provided if dungeon claimed. One participant located, would you like to enter the dungeon? He was so close to being done that he could feel it in his bones. He had been going at this for over a month and he was ready to move on to other objectives. He enjoyed fighting, but he also enjoyed pushing himself in other ways too. There was also a war that would eventually start in full on Earth and an event that was going to be happening sooner rather than later. At this point he didn¡¯t doubt he was probably the strongest person on Earth, but he was weak compared to a lot of people in the multiverse. Still, Shaun knew he had accomplished a lot compared to most people who had gone through an integration, that was something to be proud of. Accepting the prompt he got ready to finish this dungeon. **Objectives of Claim the Throne dungeon** King William Dronas has ruled the Kingdom of Paralias for over a century. A time of peace and prosperity for many in Paralias where no matter your station, your strength or your upbringing the citizens of this kingdom were safe, until recently. The king and his loyal guards have been corrupted and now all fear their once respected King. To complete dungeon you must infiltrate the Kingdom of Paralias, make your way into the castle and claim the throne by any means necessary. Note: You may leave the dungeon at any time by retreating back to the entry point. Dungeon difficulty set to max until dungeon is claimed. Looking around at where he appeared, Shaun found that this dungeon started not that far outside of the kingdom, maybe an hour or so of walking. He was also next to what seemed to be the main road into the kingdom itself which had carts being pulled along by 6-legged horse like creatures. There were probably multiple ways that one could complete this dungeon, the first being that you won the hearts of the people, caused a rebellion and claimed yourself King, or Queen, when you took out the current ruler. The second, and probably the most straight forward, would be storming the castle, killing everyone you found, including the king, and then sitting down on the throne. He already knew which path he was going to take, he didn¡¯t want to waste time in here if he didn¡¯t have to. Taking to the air once again, it now being one of his go to moves for moving around quickly and unseen, he moved his way to the outer wall of the Kingdom. As he got closer he saw why the first step in this dungeon was infiltrating the kingdom, there was a gate that everyone was clearly moving through, each person and cart was being checked before either being let in or turned away. All along the walls there was soldiers with weapons drawn, continuously patrolling and looking for anything or anyone that tried to enter the Kingdom through any other means outside of the gate. If he was anyone else he would have had to make his way through the gate, figuring out how to do that either legitimately or by killing the guards and then starting the process of fighting your way to the castle and the King while everyone was on high alert. For him though, he just moved higher into the air, even shifting completely so no one could see him, and went straight over the wall. When he had moved far enough away from the guards Shaun found an alley and reformed himself from the air. He could have just made his way all the way to the castle but he was curious as to what state the Kingdom was in, also he wanted to see if he could find anything that would either help or hinder him in breaching the castle. Walking out of the Alley and into the streets, he was not impressed with what he saw. Sure, he was on the outer edge of the Kingdom, but the people here were living in complete poverty. They were mostly human, with a smattering of other beings, but the thing they all had in common was that they looked starved, dirty and like they had absolutely no hope left inside of them. The more he saw the more angry he got, to the point where he had to actively keep his aura under control, slipping up around these people would push them right over the edge. He had always hated seeing people like this, homeless and alone with no one to help or care for them. He always tried to give what he could to the people that needed it where he lived before the integration, not because it made him feel good about himself but because he could have easily found himself in that exact same situation. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. It had nearly happened a few times, when he first got moved into a group home he was nearly bullied out of it, to the point where he thought that running away and living on the streets would be better than what he was dealing with in the home. When he was desperate for money and didn¡¯t have a job straight out of university he again nearly ended up homeless. He was lucky that he found a decent paying job and an apartment that was cheap enough that he could avoid ending up begging on the side of the road. He knew that this dungeon wasn¡¯t real but that didn¡¯t make him any less furious at how any leader, especially a ruler of a Kingdom, could let this happen. As Shaun walked through the streets, continuing to take it all in, his mind shifted to what would happen with all of the people coming into his cluster. For the most part they had nothing, they couldn¡¯t just go to the shops and buy food, they had lost all of their homes and the only safety to be had immediately was in the cluster. But even then, they were reliant on Viv to provide them a home and everything they needed to live. So easily the cluster could end up just like this, with the outskirts of the F grade area being for those that couldn¡¯t be given homes or food, where only the wealthy or well connected would be able to get real homes and have a way to earn coin. That was not even taking into consideration hat would eventually become of the E grade areas, or even the D grade. Shaun¡¯s anger started turning to guilt, somewhere along the way he had forgotten his past, what made him who he was, and pushed all the responsibility on Viv, all so he could focus on himself and no one else. He decided right then that when he was done with this dungeon Viv and him would be having a serious chat about exactly what her plan was in this regard, and he would be making sure that everyone got the chance to make something of themselves. Regardless of the deal they made, he was still the owner of the cluster, and it was his responsibility to make sure that his cluster didn¡¯t turn into what this dungeon was showing him. He continued to walk through the streets until he couldn¡¯t take it anymore, he would finish this now and get the hell out of here, his priorities had just changed and he was in no mood to waste any more time. Shifting back into the air he moved through the kingdom as fast as he could, no one could see him or stop him. It took about an hour until he reached the castle and even then, he refused to stop, heading in straight through an open window. The room he came into was empty but he felt through his echo that the castle was packed full of a decent amount of guards, the strongest centred around one specific area that was higher up in the castle. Not bothered with taking his time and utilising stealth in this situation he left the room he was in and started walking through the hall without a care in the world. It didn¡¯t take long before the first person appeared, and he got his first look at what he was up against. **Royal Guard ¨C Level 112** As soon as the guard, who only had armour and a sword, got close Shaun unleashed his aura at full strength. The moment he did the guard collapsed into a heap on the ground, sobbing and begging for mercy. But there would be no mercy, not for the King or the guards. They were all in need of punishing. Without even stopping he cut through the guard with his sword and continued to move to the stairs that would take him up to where the king was. It didn¡¯t take long for more guards to appear, the moment he killed the first it was as if an alert went through the castle that an intruder was present. He didn¡¯t mind though, more guards just meant that he would get to kill more of them before he got to the King. He didn¡¯t use his summons, nor did he use his mirror skill, he wanted to kill them using his own sword, so he could feel it. His mind and sword joined with a singular purpose, and just like before in the second dungeon he went into he felt himself sink into that killing calm, he was one with his sword. What followed after this was nothing short of a bloody slaughter, the entire time he pushed his aura out around him and proceeded to kill everyone that came close to him as he moved, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. This was only the second time he had managed to slip into this state, although he was much more aware this time than he was the last. What he found most interesting was that not once did he faulter in his movement, his heart never speeding up, he felt calm, with only the purpose of killing filling his mind. It didn¡¯t take long for him to reach the doors of the throne room, when he did he kicked down the doors and entered to a room full of elite guards and the King. Still, he didn¡¯t use any affinity or elemental magic. His aura made them all hesitate to attack him, inducing fear at what was to come in all of those in the room, and he capitalised on that moment and went in for the attack. Fighting a group of elite guards who seemed to be well trained in how to use their weapons and work as a team was different that fighting the normal guards outside of the room, but even at a higher level than him they were no match for his own skill and speed. One by one he cut them down, he got cut a few times, but nothing enough for him to consider changing up his tactics. If anything it added determination to push himself even harder to take them down. After the last of the elite guards fell he looked around himself at the bodies and blood scattered around the throne room. The King had just sat on his throne and watched the entire fight, not bothering to get up and join in the battle, not until the last of his guards were dead. **King William Dronas ¨C Level 124** ¡°So you have come to steal my throne, after everything I have done for my Kingdom.¡± The King picked up his own sword and stood from the throne, taking slow steps towards him. ¡°I do this, not to be King, but for all the people you have left to rot. All those you have let starve, those who live and beg on the streets. You have failed as a King.¡± He did know that this wasn¡¯t real, but saying those words felt good. No more words were exchanged between the two, the moment he was done saying his piece Shaun launched himself at the King with all the speed he could muster and aimed to deliver a killing blow. To His surprise, the King was able to move quicker than he expected, easily blocking the first attack and the second. Shaun didn¡¯t let up though, pushing his skill to the limit of what he was capable of. If he was to guess, based purely off of sword skill the King was his equal, if barely, but when it came to strength and speed his own stats were higher. Not once was the King able to go on the offensive, the entire fight he was forced to do nothing but defend against his own attacks. It didn¡¯t take long for the King to slip up and Shaun took full advantage of the opening, cutting into his leg, causing him to faulter further. The moment that occurred the fight ended. With not one bit of hesitation Shaun cut through the Kings shoulder and removed both arm and sword form the failure of a King, leaving him hurt and defenceless on the ground. A small part of Shaun wanted to drag this out, make the King really hurt for what he had done, but a larger part of him knew that some lines should never be crossed, even in a dungeon. Taking a deep breath to keep control of himself he cut off the man¡¯s head. Shaun expected this to be the end of the dungeon, but when no messages appeared he realised there was still one thing left to do. Walking past the body of the old King he moved up to the throne and sat down on it, proclaiming himself King. **You have defeated a (Royal Guard ¨C Level 112). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ **You have defeated a (Elite Royal Guard ¨C Level 117). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **You have defeated a (King William Dronas ¨C Level 124). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +3 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 118. +9 Str, +6 Dex, +9 End, +3 Vit, +12 Soul gained** **Race: Human has levelled up by +2 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 88. +32 Ap gained** **Claim the Throne dungeon completed. Dungeon will automatically eject successful participants in 1 minutes.** Book 2: Chapter 64 When Shaun appeared outside of the dungeon, he didn¡¯t immediately go through the prompts to finish off the claiming, instead he spent some time in mediation, needing to recentre himself and think through everything that had occurred in that dungeon. He wasn¡¯t sure how long passed like this but by the time he left his meditative state he had come to the conclusion that he needed to work through some of his own mental issues that had been building over the course of his life which he had done nothing to address and instead pushed down and ignored. ** Claim the Throne (E grade) Dungeon has been completed** Would you like to claim this dungeon for 2,000,000 TE? He claimed the area as he had previously, and terraformed it to complete the final area that would be needed for the ward. After all of his spending so far in claiming and terraforming across the F and E grade areas he had used less than half of all his TE which was more than probably any single person would have. That left him with more than enough TE to claim the D grade dungeon when the time came as well as more left over. **For fully incorporating the entirety of E grade clusters in an area, please visit a claimed settlement crystal for further upgrades.** Like before, the terraforming would be complete in 3 days, during that time he would need to make it back to Viv and the others, have a number of serious conversations around what was happening with this settlement and then make their way to one of the E grade crystals to finish off merging the area and putting his final touches on the warding. **Title Upgrade: Duke to King** **High Duke: Through the claiming of an area of a planet large enough for a Kingdom the title of King has been acquired. While in an area that you rule your stats are increased by 40%. Title Upgradeable. Note: If the area under your control is taken from you or you freely give up this land you will lose the title.** And now I am a King. What the hell has this world come too. He only hoped that this title would come up when someone identified him. Being seen as King Shaun Clermont would be horrifying. He considered contacting Eric before setting out but decided against it at the last moment, he would rather speak to everyone in person rather than through the stone, he bet a lot had happened while he had been gone and last he heard from them, Viv wanted to propose some kind of deal. Making his way back to the F grade area that he had met everyone last time was an easy enough journey. The E grade area he had just claimed was one of the closest to where he originally started so the travel time was only a few hours at full speed. He felt the difference as soon as he crossed from the E grade to the F grade area, the mana density noticeably decreased and he could see that the settlement had extended much further than it had previously. Now rather than a large village or hub, it was much closer to a full blown city, multiple of them if he was seeing it right. From his vantage point in the sky he could make out that at least 3 of the F grade areas had been completely urbanised. I¡¯m an idiot! Shaking his head, he did something he should have just done from the start. Mentally pulling up the map of the F grade area he was able to see that around 5 areas had been completely turned into major cities with his ritual lines being turned into roads which had pockets of housing all along the way from one city to the next. Considering he was ahead of schedule he decided to check out one of the cities and scope out the state of it, including how it was being run and how the people were being treated. The moment he got to the edge of the first building he came down to the ground and ensured his aura was fully pulled in. He also did something that he should have done the first time he entered one of the areas full of people, change. The last time he showed up covered in blood and injured, this time he aimed to blend in. Putting on the clothes that he had been given the last time he saw Viv, he put away his armour as well as all of his weapons. To the average person he would look relatively normal, unless they chose to identify him, that would show him as question marks to anyone in F grade and for those in E grade he would be seen as someone way above the normal. The outskirts of the city were fairly empty when he entered, but from what he could see it was all in a decent state. Sending out a burst of his echo he found that a lot of people were congregating in a specific area, curious he started making his way over. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The closer he got the more people he saw. For the most part they didn¡¯t look too bad off, not starving or homeless at least but definitely not like they were loving their lives. The closer he got to the crowd of people he started to notice that nearly everyone had the same bowl in their hands, the fund inside looking like it was made to feed a very large number of people rather than something that was purchased from a store or made in one¡¯s home. When he made it into what looked like the city centre he found, as he expected, people queuing up for food at large stalls where food was being dished out to people who had lined up. The food, if he could really call it that, didn¡¯t look the most appetising, but at least it smelled half decent, probably thanks to the Chefs that he assumed were making it. Looking over the entire area he found that people were mostly standing together in groups, the people were rather mixed, groups of old and young, different ethnicity and some looking happier than others. It was an odd sight, but at least no one seemed to be ready to rebel or start a fight with each other. Off to one side he saw a group of kids that seemed to have finished eating and were playing a game on the ground. They ranged in age, looking like they were anywhere between 12 to 16 and about 20 of them in total. Looking around to see who was looking after them he found that no one was really paying any attention to them at all. Moving closer Shaun figured that it would be easier to speak to the kids first, if they didn¡¯t know anything than he would move on to the groups of adults to get a gauge of what the city was really like. As he approached, one of the kids caught sight of him and alerted the others. They quickly picked up what looked like small stones from the ground and seemed ready to leave. ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t need to go. I was just curious as to what you were doing.¡± He tried to come off as relaxed and non-threatening as possible, not an easy task considering that his go to these last months was to be closed off and dangerous to all that approached. The kids looked like they were ready to bolt the moment he spoke, the older kids even moved to stand in front of the younger ones who seemed more sad than before. ¡°Its okay, we will go somewhere else.¡± The one who spoke back to him looked to be the oldest of the group. The boy was eyeing him like he was a threat and ready to protect the other kids if Shaun decided to do something untoward to them. **Elijah Wright ¨C Level 2** ¡°Wait, hold on a sec!¡± He hadn¡¯t expected to see a level next to Elijah¡¯s name, not that he had any idea at what age kids got access to the system. But this was unexpected, he needed a moment to figure out what exactly was happening. He was sure that the kids he had seen with the group that had wondered in before everyone had arrived didn¡¯t have a level next to their name, although they were younger than everyone in front of him now. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want man, but you need to leave us alone.¡± Elijah was taking steps away from him, pushing the rest of the group back towards one of the road leading out of the town centre. ¡°Run!¡± The moment Elijah yelled for them to run they all took off as quickly as they could, the only one that delayed was Elijah who threw a stone that was in his hand at Shaun. Rather than dodge it he just let it him in the chest. What is wrong with these kids? He didn¡¯t give chase to the kids, not that he really needed to given he could track them with his echo with no issue. What made him hesitate to follow them at all was that they seemed scared, as if he was some bad guy. He didn¡¯t like it, not one bit. Something was happening with those kids that made them fear him and he had no idea what. Rather then directly follow them he went in the opposite direction and out of the way until he was confident that no one could see him, only then did he shift into the wind and trail after Elijah. It wasn¡¯t hard keeping up with him while he was in this form, and although all the kids went their separate ways at first it was clear that they were all heading in a single direction, towards the cities edge. He followed them for 30 minutes before they left the city and all started grouping back together right on the edge in a grove of trees. They were all exhausted and clearly in need of water and rest but he didn¡¯t show himself. Instead, he solidified behind one of the trees and decided to listen in on them to see if he could learn anything while they thought they were alone. ¡°Eli, why did you make us run away? Is he one of the bad ones?¡± For a moment there was silence, as if Elijah, who he was now certain led this group, came up with a response. ¡°I don¡¯t know Josh, but he had no reason to come up to us like that. You remember what happened last time don¡¯t you?¡± Elijahs voice was different to when he spoke to him, softer, kinder. ¡°Are we going to get into trouble for running again like last time?¡± The same kid as before asked the question, definitely one of the younger ones, and he felt a spike of fear come from the kid. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Josh, I will make sure that I am the only one that gets punished. I promise, no one is going to hurt you.¡± ¡°Do you think we should go back to the home? You know the rules, we are only allowed out for the daily meals or if we have permission. Astrid will not be happy if we stay out for long.¡± This was said by a girl in the group, definitely older, closer to Elijah¡¯s age. It was said in a whisper but with Shaun¡¯s perception he was able to make it out easy enough. ¡°Let everyone rest for a bit, then we will go back. If we ever see that guy again avoid him at all costs. I don¡¯t know what he wanted but it wasn¡¯t good.¡± Taking that as his que to make his appearance he stepped out from behind the tree and put a smile on his face. ¡°Hi everyone, I think we have had some misunderstanding here.¡± As soon as he spoke they all backed away from where he stood. The moment they realised who he was they older kids again moved in front of the younger ones. ¡°I am Shaun, and seriously, I don¡¯t mean any harm. I just have questions.¡± Book 2: Chapter 65 The silence in the grove lasted for a moment, then continued on. It seemed that Elijah had no idea what to do in this situation, they were all tired from running and the fact that Shaun appeared looking no worse for wear clearly showed that they had no hope of escaping him. ¡°Listen, I am going to sit down on the ground. If you want you can run or if you ask me to I will leave. I am being honest though, I really just want to ask you all some questions.¡± He did exactly what he said he was going to do. With his hand in the air he sat down on the ground with his legs out trying to look as non-threatening as possible. They still didn¡¯t say anything for a moment, still staring him down. ¡°Eli, identify him.¡± This was said as a whisper by the girl standing right next to Elijah. Shaun knew the moment the girl had identified him as she lost all colour in her face and looked more scared than she had before. Elijah did as the girl said, and Shaun saw the look on his face change the moment he did. First to fear, then disgust. ¡°What do you want from us, Your Majesty?¡± The amount of hate in the boys voice was unmistakeable, why though, he wasn¡¯t sure. Shaun was unable to hold back a groan when he was called Your Majesty. It confirmed that the title of King was in front of his name when identified. ¡°Please don¡¯t call me that. Just call me Shaun.¡± Elijah snorted at him. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer the question, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Okay. Honestly? I haven¡¯t been to one of the cities in a while, I wanted to see what was happening in them, get a better idea of the quality of life, how people were living. When I saw you all I figured I would ask you all, kids have a way of saying what they mean and not holding back. Not to mention I didn¡¯t want to end up in a situation where people would just say what I wanted to hear. I followed you because you ran, you were scared when you had no reason to be, not with me at least.¡± They all processed what he said for a moment, the results were mixed. Some of the younger ones now looked at him with curiosity, as well as a bit of fear. The older ones looked at him like he was insane, or an idiot. Maybe a bit of both. ¡°So, what your saying is that you chased after a group of kids that were clearly scared of you because you wanted to know why they were scared of you in the first place?¡± Elijah was looking at him like he was a lunatic. ¡°Fine, when you say it like that it sounds crazy.¡± ¡°I am pretty sure you are crazy. Who¡¯s first name is King, anyway.¡± The girl spoke this time, and after identifying her found her name to be Grace. ¡°King is not my name, Shaun is. The King bit is just the system being annoying.¡± ¡°Fine, whatever, Shaun then. What do we get from answering your questions? If you want something from us, you have to give us something in return.¡± Smart kid. ¡°What do you want?¡± They way they answered this would give him information anyway, besides unless they asked for something ridiculous, he could probably give them what they wanted. ¡°Food!¡± One of the younger ones yelled it before Elijah had the chance to respond. ¡°And water! You made us run!¡± ¡°Okay¡­..¡± Taking out a decent amount of food that he had saved up he put it on the ground in front of him along with one of his bags of water. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Where did you get all of that?¡± Elijah cautiously moved closer to the stack of food, some of it was raw monster meat but he made sure to take out some of the nicer stuff that he had bought in the tutorial as well. ¡°Its mostly E grade monster meat, but I threw in something special as well. Food cooked by D grades probably, got it from the tutorial.¡± There were exclamations of excitement from most of the kids present, a number of them looking like they wanted to rush the still fresh meals he had just pulled out of his inventory. Elijah though held up a hand, holding them back. He came closer and took all of the raw meat from the pile into his inventory. Then looking over the nicer meals he put half of that into his own inventory and told Grace to divvy it all up for everyone. ¡°Must have been a pretty nice tutorial, for you to be given food like that.¡± Elijah probed him for information. ¡°You had to pay for the food, for the most part anyway.¡± ¡°How do you expect us to cook the meat though, we would need to give it someone else before we could eat it. Chances are they would steal it from us before giving it back. We are in a food shortage you know.¡± Shaun assumed that there was an issue with food, but having it confirmed for him was nice to know. He would need to figure out a solution to that sooner rather than later. Instead of replying he took out the heating stone that he rarely ever used now, with his ability to use fire he really had no need for it. ¡°You can direct mana at the stone and it will heat up. You can cook on it. Works pretty well.¡± As he spoke, he placed it on the ground and Elijah immediately went to pick it up. He inspected it and tested it before he nodded at everyone else and then put it in his inventory as well. ¡°Thanks. But something like this is expensive, why give it to us?¡± Elijah was becoming suspicious again, closing off and eyeing him like Shaun had an agenda. ¡°Because you said you would answer my questions. Besides, you will get more use out of it than I will.¡± Most of the kids were now eating the food that Grace had handed out to them, saving some for Elijah and herself for last. The mood had changed over the last few minutes and now, for the most part, they were no longer scared of him. ¡°Okay, you can ask us questions, but we wont answer if we don¡¯t want to.¡± Elijah had finally caved and he sat on the ground opposite him while he ate, keeping an eye on him the entire time. ¡°I didn¡¯t realise that kids got the system, not fully. You have levels though, did you go through a tutorial?¡± ¡°Seriously? That¡¯s your first question? Doesn¡¯t everyone already know that?¡± Shaun just shook his head which made the boy roll his eyes. ¡°You get access to the system when you, you know, hit puberty.¡± He whispered the last bit at him like it wasn¡¯t something to say loudly. ¡°When you hit 16 years old you get to pick a Class, until then we don¡¯t get skills automatically. We were told in our tutorials that it is possible to get a Class and skills before that, but it is rare and you have to really train hard to get them. We still get all the other benefits of the system though.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Shaun nodded along while he spoke until it seemed that Elijah wasn¡¯t going to say anything more. ¡°So how did you get to level 2?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about. Ask another question.¡± Although he was curious, he wouldn¡¯t push the boy. Clearly it was something he didn¡¯t like to think about, and he got that. He hated being pushed into things as well. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t ask again. Why did you run when I approached?¡± Elijah looked at Grace for a moment and got a small, hesitant nod in return. ¡°We have had some run in¡¯s with people that haven¡¯t exactly been good people. Everyone knows that we don¡¯t have parents here, the only family we have is each other. We have had people think that they can take us and do anything they want with us. People that have lost their own kids have tried to take some of us as replacements and a few times people have tried to take one of us to do worse things.¡± When he finished speaking Grace grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed tight. As Elijah had spoken Shaun had to control his aura from slipping, he had gone form being calm to murderous in seconds. ¡°Did you report this to anyone?¡± ¡°Yeah, at first. But the people who are supposed to help just blew us off, said that there were more pressing things they needed to handle. After that we gave up on trying to get help. Even Astrid, our caretaker, didn¡¯t even care. She hates us, always finds a way to punish us when she can.¡± Shaun held is breath for a full minute, closing his eyes and trying to control his anger. When he figured he had control of himself he let out his breath and opened his eyes. ¡°Let me get this straight. The people that are supposed to protect you aren¡¯t. This woman, Astrid, who is meant to be looking after you is more of a sadistic jailer more than anything. And finally, there are people here who would do fuck knows what to you and no one would care?¡± ¡°You said a bad word!¡± One of the younger girls pointed at him when she shouted at him and then burst into giggles. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s pretty much it. But we have each other, always.¡± Elijah said the last bit with complete determination. He was shouldering the responsibility for this group when he shouldn¡¯t have to be. He had left this place in the care of Viv. And this is what is happening here? ¡°That all changes, starting now, you also have me.¡± Shaun stood up way too quickly for the kids to see, his rage at what was happening here was boiling over and he needed to do something now. ¡°Elijah, show me to Astrid.¡± Eli jumped up in shock at how quickly he had moved but quickly composed himself. ¡°Why? I won¡¯t take everyone back for you to cause issues with her. She will take it out on us as soon as you leave.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t going back to go back to her, never. I have been in enough group homes to know that the people who are supposed to look after us always end up failing.¡± Elijah¡¯s eyes widened as he listened to him. ¡°You¡¯re like us.¡± It was barely a whisper but he heard it, giving him a nod to confirm what Eli was thinking. ¡°Okay I will take you. But I will go with you alone. You can¡¯t bring the others into this.¡± ¡°Thank you, Elijah. I promise you won¡¯t regret it.¡± ¡°You have to swear on it though. No mater what happens you have to do right by us, all of us.¡± He said waving at the entire group. ¡°If anything goes wrong you have to fix it. I know you can, E grades get anything they want around here. So swear it.¡± The look Elijah was giving him was fierce, if he didn¡¯t swear to look out for them, like he was one of them, then he would break any trust he just formed with them all right here and now. ¡°I swear, to not just you Elijah, but to all of you. I will look after you and always do right by you. Even when I leave Earth, I will make sure that you have someone that will care for you like you are their own. I swear it.¡± It was a promise he fully intended to keep. Shaun, you there? Good, its connecting. Are you done with the dungeons? Viv seems to think you claimed the last one. Where are you? Are you on your way back? The moment he heard Eric¡¯s voice in his head he barely kept himself from yelling at him through the stone. He played a part in the failings of this settlement. Taking the stone into his hand he replied to Eric in as calm a way as he could manage. I am busy, fixing problems that should NEVER have occurred in the first place. ¡°Elijah, is it okay if I have someone come here and bring everyone back to somewhere safe? I promise, Eric will do nothing to hurt anyone. He is a good guy, even if he is partially at fault for everything that has happened.¡± ¡°If you trust this Eric, then I guess we have to too. Your one of us now.¡± It seemed like it almost pained Elijah to say it, giving up control like this was never easy but somehow, he had formed a bond with the boy, enough that he would offer him this small bit of trust anyway. Eric, come to where I am now. And be quick about it. After he got confirmation that he was on his way he put the stone away. ¡°Thanks Elijah, he is on his way.¡± Elijah gave him a small nod but had a questioning look on his face. While they waited they spoke more about the living situation within the cities. From what Elijah knew there was a survey sort of thing that went out asking for everyone¡¯s Professions, including a questions asking if they wanted to move and have a place to work. There was also a call for coin and TE, anyone that could provide any was asked to do so for the benefit of everyone and improving the settlement. There was also talk about establishing an economy, all Elijah really knew about that was their would be taxes at some point. Overall people were generally happy and thankful around being able to live here, the food shortage was worrying people but an announcement was made a week ago by the leader of the settlement, Vivienne, that a plan was in place to solve this and to just hold on. Only half an hour or so later he felt Eric appear within his echo, he knew it was him as they had spent enough time together for Shaun to be able to identify his signature. He was moving quickly and expected Eric to arrive in a minute or two. ¡°Eric is nearly here. I will have a quick chat with him and then we can go, okay?¡± Elijah just gave him a short nod and they waited the rest of the time in silence. When Eric did appear within the grove the kids started whispering excitedly, only the older ones gave him a hard look. Interesting, they seem to know who he is. Eric looked first at Shuan and then took in all of the kids that he was there with. ¡°Shaun its good to see you back.¡± Eric started to walk up to him looking to give him a hug but he put up his hand to stop him before he could get close. ¡°Okay¡­..Has something happened? And why are you in the woods with all these guys?¡± Eric looked more confused by the second which just added to how annoyed Shaun was. ¡°Eric, all these ¡®guys¡¯ as you call them are from one of the homes that are apparently used to house kids that have lost their families.¡± The confusion left Eric as soon as Shaun had spoken, now he just looked sad, as if he felt just as pained at the kids having lost their families as Shaun was. Eric stopped looking at Shaun and instead looked over all of the kids again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, for what you are all going through. I have 2 kids out there, somewhere. I hope they are with my wife, or errrr, ex-wife anyway. One of the first things I did when I found out that kids were coming here and didn¡¯t have any family with them was to make sure they had homes with someone to look after them, to help them. It what I hope someone would do for my kids. Truly, I am sorry that this has happened to you.¡± Shaun was still angry, still wanted to punch Eric in the face, but after hearing him speak it took the edge of his rage, if only a little. ¡°Eric, can you take all of the kids back to our house, or wherever I will be staying while I am here.¡± Eric looked like he was going to interrupt but he just held up his hand for him to stop. Turning around he looked at Grace. ¡°Grace, while Eric takes you all can you please inform him of everything that has happened to you all since you got here, please?¡± Grace nodded looked to Elijah who gave her a quick nod in return. Eric looked like he wanted to ask more questions but the look Shaun gave him shut him down quickly. It was better for him to hear this directly from one of the kids, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to hear but if Eric was going to feel what he did when he heard exactly what was going on he needed to hear it as a first hand account. ¡°Come on Elijah, lets go deal with this Astrid, then we will meet up with everyone after.¡± For the first time since he had found the kids Elijah actually smiled at him. Seeing it just reinforced the idea that what he was doing was the right thing to do, not just for him, but the kids. Book 2: Chapter 66 Both Shaun and Elijah moved back into the city at the pace Elijah set, although they could have moved quicker if Shaun just picked him up and flew, he held back and moved the normal way. They didn¡¯t speak much on the walk until they were a few minutes from the home, only then did Elijah speak up. ¡°What are you planning on doing to her?¡± Elijah didn¡¯t sound worried or scared at what was about to happen, if anything he was curious and excited to finally get to see his tormentor put in her place. Shaun had though about it since he found out what the woman had been doing, he wouldn¡¯t kill her, but he would definitely be ensuring that she felt fear beyond anything she had before, he would make certain of that. After though? He wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°What do you want me to do to her?¡± He was curious as to what Elijah hoped for, it would be telling as to just how angry and hurt he was at what occurred. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡­.If we aren¡¯t coming back I want to get everyone¡¯s stuff. We don¡¯t have much but it is ours.¡± He stopped talking for a moment and looked to be deep in thought. ¡°I want Astrid to pay for what she did to us. But I want her to live with the consequences too.¡± ¡°Works for me. I have the perfect idea, just hold on a minute.¡± He ducked into a side street that was slightly hidden and then shifted up onto the roof of a house unseen. There he changed back into his armour but kept his weapons in his Inventory. When he was done, he jumped off of the roof and walked back to Elijah who looked at him first with confusion and then with awe. ¡°Shaun, man, I knew you were in the E grade but what level are you exactly? I have never seen anything like this before! Its so cool! What is it?¡± As Elijah spoke he got closer to him and looked like he wanted to touch the Wyrm armour he now had on. He hesitated before actually touching him and Shuan just gave him a nod and held his arm out so the boy could feel the material. ¡°The material is from an Adult Death Wyrm, I bought it in the tutorial and then crafted the armour. Cool right?¡± Elijah¡¯s eyes went wide and the moment he felt the armour a full body shiver went through the boy and he took a step back. ¡°It is Epic grade and trust me when I say that it has some interesting features that I think will come in handy when dealing with Astrid. Just don¡¯t be scared, when I tell you to move behind me don¡¯t hesitate, I will shield you from the effect as much as possible. If you want you can leave the building when I approach Astrid, it may be better if you don¡¯t feel the fear that I can emit with it on.¡± He had purposefully left out saying anything about his level, that would be a much larger conversation they would need to have in the future. ¡°No! I want to be there. I have to be there. Please.¡± Hearing Elijah plead to him to let him stay, Shaun considered it for a moment and agreed to let him. It was only a minute or so later that they got to the house in question, it looked not that much different form the outside from those around it and he felt two people inside. Since he had put on his armour, he had been getting more looks from people in the streets but none had approached or bothered them, if anything they were curious. Stopping at the door Shuan turned to Elijah, giving him one last look before he gave him a small smile and opened the door. When they both walked in he got a good look of the house, it was very open plan on the ground floor with a few rooms including what looked like an office, where the two people were currently in. Upstairs was the bedrooms, and at current all were empty considering the kids were not here. ¡°You ready for this?¡± Elijah only hesitated a moment before a look of pure determination came over him. ¡°Yeah, I am ready.¡± Taking that as his queue Shaun walked up to the closed door to the office and knocked on it three times. Immediately one of the people in the room moved to open the door. The person that greeted him as the door opened was Astrid. She was a middle aged women on the slightly short side and when he identified her found here to be level 7, higher than he expected. Looking past her he saw that the other person in the room was much stronger at level 19 and from what he could see looked to be someone with influence, at least in this area going by the smug look on his face. ¡°Oh Elijah, what have you done now?¡± Astrid spoke directly to Elijah behind him before looking back at Shaun with an apologetic look on her face. ¡°I apologise for any trouble that he has caused you. He is a troubled boy, but I promise I will set him straight.¡± ¡°He has caused me no trouble, and don¡¯t apologise to me, I believe that you owe him the apology.¡± When he gestured at Elijah she started to look confused. ¡°I know about everything that is happening here, everything you have been doing to the kids.¡± ¡°I have no idea what you are talking about. I have done nothing to them except make sure that they are cared for! I was appointed to look after the kids and I have done so in the way they need!¡± Astrid was getting angry, furious even at the idea of someone asking her to apologize for what she had done. That just made him angry in turn. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are but that stupid armour doesn¡¯t scare me. You know who I am? I am one of the main guards here, I will happily have you thrown out of the settlement if you don¡¯t back off!¡± The other guy in the room was an idiot, had neither of these people identified him? Shaun chuckled to himself, people really were stupid. This was why he preferred to be alone. ¡°You should be scared. Why don¡¯t you identify me and try to piece it together. If you are a such an important person you should have no issue figuring out who I am.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It took a minute for them to identify him, when they did they started looking confused and then scared. Now lets see if this idiot can figure it out. ¡°You¡­.Your him¡­¡­¡± The guard stumbled out the words, but it seemed like he was in the know as to who he was to this settlement, or at least as much as Viv had decided to tell people. ¡°I am me.¡± He chuckled again at the ridiculous of the situation. ¡°Now why don¡¯t we see if we can do his again. I think Elijah here deserves an apology, not to mention the both of you are going to need to pay for what has occurred here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are! I will not apologize for putting these kids in their place. Without me they have no one! I will not have these delinquents ruining the only place that can keep us safe!¡± This woman is an idiot. ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can change that, shall we?¡± Leaving no room for more talking he started letting his aura out, specifically aimed at just the two people in the room, making sure that Elijah was protected from the effect. He had only let out the smallest amount of aura he could and still the effect was noticeable. Astrid started to get wobbly on her feet and he could see that she was beyond terrified. The guard though was holding up slightly better, if only barely. Seeing that they weren¡¯t about to faint he let out a little more of his aura, really focusing on inducing the fear of death on them. This time they both fell to the floor, Astrid even started sobbing. ¡°This is only a small amount of my power, I¡¯m afraid if I released all of it you would both die. But don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill you now. But if you ever harm another kid, I will ensure you will be begging for death.¡± When they were very near their breaking point, he sent out a final, more powerful wave of his aura which rendered them both unconscious. Turning around he looked at Elijah. He had protected him from the auras effect but he still witnessed what he had done. Rather than looking at him like he was a monster, Elijah was looking at him like he was some kind of god. ¡°You are incredible!¡± That was not what he had expected to here from the boy. ¡°You didn¡¯t even touch them and you were able to knock them out! They looked like they thought they were going to die! Was that a skill? Can you teach me?¡± He couldn¡¯t help chuckle at the enthusiasm that Elijah was showing. He couldn¡¯t blame him but he had expected more fear to come from him considering what he had done. ¡°Why don¡¯t you head upstairs and gather everything you need. We can talk more about me and what we can do when the time is right.¡± Elijah looked like he wanted to argue but held himself back, showing a good amount of restraint for a teenager. It only took a few minutes for Elijah to run upstairs, gather everything he needed and then rush back down. He was panting by the time he was done but he couldn¡¯t fault the boy¡¯s eagerness to get out of here. ¡°So where do we go now?¡± the excitement was clear in his tone, he was ready for what happened next. ¡°Last time I was here I was staying in the big house off of the town hall, although that wasn¡¯t in this city, but it isn¡¯t far from here. We will probably head there but I will check with Eric.¡± It took only a few seconds for him to contact Eric and confirm that was where he was headed with the other kids, he tried to talk to him more about what Grace had told him, but Shuan cut him off, wanting to have that conversation in person. Shaun brought up his mental map of the area and found that the house he wanted to go to was going to take at least a few hours walking at Elijah¡¯s pace, that meant that it would be a while yet for Eric to arrive. ¡°Hey Elijah, are you scared of heights?¡± ¡°No, not really, why?¡± The boy was looking somewhat suspicious of him now. ¡°How would you feel about riding piggy back so we can get where we need to go quicker?¡± Just say yes, please. ¡°You want me to ride on your back?¡± When Shaun nodded at him, Elijah considered it for a moment before replying. ¡°Only if you answer all my questions.¡± ¡°Deal, but only if you don¡¯t scream.¡± This is going to be fun. They both walked outside and onto the street. Rather than hide anywhere Shaun motioned for Elijah to climb onto his back. He only hesitated for a second before he did as he was asked. At first the Elijah didn¡¯t really hold on that tightly to him, so instead Shaun grabbed hold of his arms and held them tightly so that he wouldn¡¯t fall. People walking by had started to give them weird looks, but ignoring them was easy enough for him, for Elijah, not so much. ¡°I don¡¯t know about this anymore, people are staring. Maybe I should just walk.¡± Too late. ¡°Nah, this is way more fun.¡± Not giving Elijah any more time to back out he pulled the air around him in and building pressure under his feet he pushed himself 50 metres into the air in a matter of seconds. Elijah having been given no warning screamed into his ear and clung onto him for dear life. He couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the situation. Whey they reached optimal height Shaun started leaping through the air at a quick speed, aiming to not only get to the house as quickly as he could but also to have a little fun while doing it. It didn¡¯t take long for Elijah¡¯s screams to turn into shouts of joy, before the integration the idea of running through the air would have been ridiculous, now though, it was a reality. It didn¡¯t take long before they approached the house, cutting down hours of travel to minutes. Elijah made the most of every second, whooping into the air and laughing almost the entire time. When the house came insight Shaun started lowering to the ground slowly until he finally touched down right at the front door. Plenty of people had watched him do it but his air affinity was no secret, so he really didn¡¯t care. The moment he let Elijah off his back the boy nearly fell down, only Shaun grabbing his arm and steadying him saved him the embarrassment of falling. ¡°That was amazing! We are so doing that again!¡± He had only known Elijah a matter of hours, but if he was to guess this was the first time the boy had felt this amount of joy since before the integration. ¡°Come on Eli, let¡¯s get inside and away from the on lookers.¡± For the hell of it Shaun messed up the boys hair which was already sticking all over the place from the flight. When they got through the door and into the house Shaun knew there was a few people inside. The moment they heard him enter they came straight for him. The first person he saw was Gabe who didn¡¯t hesitate to run up and hug him. Quickly he saw Li and Viv come into the entrance area as well as a few people he didn¡¯t know. ¡°So, you finished all the E grade dungeons?¡± Vic was the first to speak to him and she looked a little annoyed. He let go of Gabe and gave everyone else a nod. ¡°They are. The terraforming will be another 3 days and then I can finish what I need for the ward.¡± His tone wasn¡¯t very friendly, he was still pretty pissed at the state of what was happening in the settlement to really be able to put on a happy face. ¡°Before that though, you have some explaining to do.¡± Book 2: Chapter 67 After they all moved into the living area, no one commenting on the boy who followed them, Shaun tore shreds off of Viv and everyone else. He let all of his pent-up anger out, he started with the food issues, then the guards who were failing at what they were supposed to be doing, then he finished off with the atrocities of what had occurred with the kids in the group home. He did have to give them credit though, they didn¡¯t try and defend themselves and instead just listened to everything he said. Some, like the food shortage, they already knew. When he started to go into everything else though the reactions were much different. Viv for her part looked to be as angry as he was which was a promising sign. The others had a mix of guilt, disgust and rage at what they were only now finding out. When he was done he took a seat on a couch and let them all process all these new problems while he calmed himself down. ¡°Elijah, isn¡¯t it?¡± Viv was the first to speak, and surprisingly it wasn¡¯t at Shaun. The boy in question stood shell shocked at what had just happened and only managed to nod at Viv when she spoke to him. ¡°I am sorry. For everything you and the other kids have had to go through. This is all on me. I made a promise to look after everyone here, and clearly, I have failed at my job. I will make this up to you, I promise.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not your fault, uh, Miss.¡± Elijah had turned bright red when trying to reply to Viv. Shaun had to hold himself back form poking fun at him. Viv was an attractive women, if they were basing her looks off of pre integration levels she looked like a super model. It was one of the benefits of increasing your race, with it came some cosmetic changes that some would say made you more attractive to the human eye. ¡°Please, call me Viv, and yes, it is my fault.¡± Viv turned to Shaun then and gave him a look he couldn¡¯t quite decipher. ¡°Shaun, how long until Eric arrives do you think?¡± ¡°A few hours maybe, why?¡± Viv didn¡¯t reply to him, instead she started to give orders to some of the people he didn¡¯t know that were present. They were tasked him gathering the heads of the cities and ensuring that they knew what was happening, this would be a first and final warning, if any were found to have knowledge of what was happening in the settlement and not actively reporting it and fixing it they would be banished. Others were tasked with going to all of the group homes and ensuring that what was happening in Elijah¡¯s was not happening in others. Listening to Viv she left no room for argument. She was taking this seriously, to the point where she looked ready to do start throwing people out at even the slightest hint of untoward behaviour. When the only people left were Viv, Gabe and Li as well as him and Elijah, Viv sank back into a couch and covered her face with her hands. ¡°Harder than you though it would be, isn¡¯t it?¡± Shaun could see just how much the running of the settlement was weighing on her, there was a lot to balance especially this early on. ¡°You have no idea. It is one problem after another and I can barely solve half of them.¡± She took a deep breath and composed herself. ¡°I am going to cut straight to it Shaun, the food shortage is a huge problem. We are trying to start an economy but without stores and coin flowing we are at a stand still. Materials for crafting is scarce and the F grade dungeon aren¡¯t cutting it for our strongest fighters to level up. If something doesn¡¯t change and soon, we are screwed.¡± ¡°Everyone was told that the food issue was going to be solved though? That¡¯s what they said in our city anyway¡± Elijah spoke up and Shaun couldn¡¯t have been prouder in that moment. ¡°We do have a solution, but only if the person we need agrees to it.¡± Viv turned to look at him after talking to Eli, the look on her face was one of desperation. ¡°Me? How am I supposed to fix the food shortage?¡± He was so confused, he didn¡¯t have that much food in his inventory, in fact more than anything he had materials and items that he had bought in the tutorial. ¡°You know we can buy specific stores from the settlement crystals. Some are specialised in that we can sell goods to the wider multiverse or even to other settlements. Others though will let us buy things like raw materials, gems, leathers and pretty much anything else, including food.¡± He remembered glancing over some of these stores when he was at a settlement crystal. But if he remembered correctly those would cost¡­.. ¡°You need coin.¡± Viv nodded back at him without saying a word. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°Just one of those buildings costs several gold coins. We have managed to buy one food store but they cap how much you can buy in a single day. We need several of them in every city if we are going to be able to completely eradicate any food issues. Even then it costs in coin to buy the food we need so without a way to earn coin, like through selling loot and items that are crafted, we won¡¯t be able to sustain the settlement.¡± Everything that Viv said made complete sense, with no incoming and outgoing coin there was no way for the settlement to truly form an economy. Without the initial coin being spent to kick start the process a settlement was almost guaranteed to fail. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Okay, I get it. So how much do you need to get everything started?¡± ¡°For the stores, enough money to provide crafters in the short term, enough for a good amount of food to last until the economy is up and running. All of this across 6 of the F grade areas? We would need about 100 gold coin.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of coin Viv.¡± He already knew he was going to give it to her. He had over a platinum coin so even though it was a lot it wouldn¡¯t break the bank. ¡°Do you think you will be able to bring in enough through selling stuff to be able to recoup enough of it back to buy stores in the other areas? Or will you end up needing more coin then too?¡± ¡°We have already agreed with the crafters that they will need a % of all of their profits back to us until the money we spend on them is fully returned. We are also able to take a cut from everything sold through the stores. Given rough estimates we should be able to spread through all of the F grade areas eventually with no more coin needed. It will be slower but we can make it work. Once that is done we can pay it all back. We don¡¯t know enough of the E grade settlement areas yet though. I haven¡¯t been to a crystal but I guess that will change in a few days. We aren¡¯t planning on moving into an E grade area anytime soon though.¡± ¡°No point in delaying it then.¡± He willed 100 gold coins to Viv and he got the notification when she accepted them. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to agree so quickly, but thank you. You have no idea how much this will help.¡± Viv started to stand up, but he waived her down, indicating for her to sit. ¡°Regarding the problem you are having with the E grades needing to get stronger. The last of the dungeons are more straight forward and honestly, so much better.¡± He spoke through each of the new dungeons and the best way to do them as well as what loot one might expect now that they were claimed. ¡°I would advise that the Win the War and the Bow before the Queen dungeon are the best for levelling. Also, they are fun.¡± ¡°They also aren¡¯t very close. For most people it would take days to travel that distance. Not everyone can fly Shaun. But I do appreciate the run down on all the dungeons, it will be helpful to plan around potential loot. Eric hated the Prime dungeon, but the loot was, interesting. He got pieces of tech that we have crafters looking at to see what can be done with it.¡± ¡°You really need to figure out a transport system.¡± She was right the distance was pretty far for most people. ¡°I am aware. Is there anything else? I have stores to buy and I have to travel a long way to get it all done.¡± She looked eager to get going, he couldn¡¯t blame her either. ¡°Yeah, I am going to set up a new home for the kids, probably spend some time around here with them for a while so I want an area close to an F grade dungeon with plenty of space. I will terraform it how I need and spend any coin I want on stores. I also want someone you trust to help look after them while I am gone doing what I need to do, send me a plenty of people so I can interview them. I am not ready to do a D grade dungeon, not yet, but we both know that the time will come eventually that I will have to leave and finish off this settlement. I need to focus on crafting and my skills for a bit though. That will take time.¡± Viv was deep in though for a while, trying to figure out the positives and negatives of this situation. Slowly she nodded and they came to an agreement. ¡°Okay, the goblin dungeon, you remember it? It¡¯s the next dungeon over from the furthest settlement to the east. You can have the dungeon and claim all the surrounding area until you are ready to move elsewhere. Agreed?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine with me. And the people to help look after everyone when I need to go?¡± ¡°I will have a dozen people I trust meet you in 2 days, that will free you up to finish up the E grade area. Does that work?¡± ¡°That works for me. Eli, what about you? Think everyone will be happy moving out of the city for a while and training with me?¡± He didn¡¯t mean to put Eli on the spot but considering he had listened to the entire conversation it wasn¡¯t like he had been left out. ¡°Yeah, I think everyone will be happy to come with you. We all want to stay together though. No splitting up.¡± ¡°Shaun, do you really think it is a good idea to train kids. No offense Elijah, but Shaun you are without a doubt the strongest person on the planet. If you are going to train people wouldn¡¯t it be worth focusing on those that will be able to help with the war?¡± The exasperation coming from Viv was next level. Clearly, she didn¡¯t approve of his plan. ¡°Listen Viv, I am not training people that are fully grown adults that need a push. If they wanted to be stronger they would be stronger. We all fought hard for where we are and we didn¡¯t do it by being complacent. I am going to train the kids, if they want it, because they don¡¯t have anyone else and I would much prefer to spend time with them then a group of lazy guards. Also I¡¯m pretty sure I have told you that I am not really interested in getting involved with this war, my end of the deal was to claim the settlement and hand it over by the end of the year, not fight the war for the planet for you.¡± ¡°Fine. We can discuss this at a later. Now that we are done I am going to get working. Tell Eric to come find me when he is back.¡± She left without saying a word, Gabe and Li followed after her although Gabe said that he would meet up with him tomorrow once he was situated in his new home, even giving him another hug and saying sorry for Viv. ¡°That went well, I guess.¡± he said it out loud without really directing it at anyone, Eli was the only one left anyway. ¡°She said you were the strongest person on the planet.¡± Eli wouldn¡¯t look at him and he was practically whispering. Damn it Viv. ¡°Don¡¯t stress about it man. Ignore what she said, I was never going to train any of her guards, especially not after what you have told me about some of them. Besides, this will be way more fun! Besides, we have to stick together, right?¡± ¡°Are you sure about this? I told you how rare it was to get a class or profession, or even a skill before 16.¡± So that¡¯s what it was about, he thought I would be wasting my time in training them just because they didn¡¯t have the full system yet. ¡°You do realise that if anyone can get you ahead of the curve, it will be me, right? Screw how rare it is. We can train and train even harder. The worst that will happen is that when you do get a class at 16 you will be so far ahead of everyone else that you will be a force to be reckoned with.¡± Eli didn¡¯t reply but that also meant he wasn¡¯t going to say no to being trained, he was going to do for these kids that no one ever did for him. He didn¡¯t have long on Earth but the time he did have he could spend helping the youngest generation. Book 2: Chapter 68 Rather than wait in the house for Eric to arrive, Shaun took Eli on his back again and they flew through the air to track him down. It only took a few minutes for Shaun to locate him and the rest of the kids, when he did they dropped down in front of them causing them all to stop and stare at him like he was a super hero, all except Eric of course. The look on Eric¡¯s face when he saw him was one of pain and self-loathing. Grace had clearly filled him in on everything that happened and he was taking it all personally. He couldn¡¯t blame him for it either, he was the one that put these homes together and to find out that what he had done had led to some of the kids being put into terrible situations would weigh on him. ¡°Okay everyone, gather around.¡± He motioned for the whole group of kids to come in closer, and they all did with excitement clear on their face. ¡°I am going to offer a choice and it is entirely up to you which one you go with. I am going to set up my own home out of the cities and further away. You are all invited to join me. I won¡¯t always be there, but I am going to get some help so that when I leave you will still have someone I approve of around to help. If you agree to come you will all get the chance to train with me, both in fighting and also in some crafting. You can come with me and not join the training as well. If you don¡¯t want to come with me then we can find you a new home, one that is safe and loving. Its up to you. Eric and I are going to give you some time to talk it all out alone, yell for us when you are ready to decide.¡± He gestured for Eric to follow up and they walked a good distance away to give the kids their privacy. ¡°I gave Viv all the coin she needed and she said for you to catch up with her as soon as possible.¡± He cut straight to the point with Eric, seeing no need for small talk. ¡°Are you really planning on taking the kids and moving further out of the city and looking after them?¡± Eric completely ignored what he said, acting like it was not important at this moment. ¡°Yeah, I am. I won¡¯t always be there, but the plan is to have someone else with them full time, maybe even two people. We will be going out to the goblin dungeon, I am going to set up a huge area there specifically for training the kids and giving them a place to grow and be safe. Why?¡± ¡°I want in. Let me help you.¡± The look on Eric¡¯s face showed how serious he was, he didn¡¯t even show a single bit of hesitation. ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you have more important things to do for Viv?¡± He tried to push him to see what his reaction would be to spending less time helping Viv, if he agreed for Eric to join him, even on a casual basis, he needed to make sure his heart was in the right place. ¡°I might have screwed up with some of the homes, and I fully plan to rectify that. But what you are doing is better for these kids than the homes. They may be young, but they will grow up in this new world where fighting and growing stronger is going to be an important part of life. Getting them used to that now will help them well into their adult lives.¡± Eric looked down at the ground before he continued. ¡°I fully plan to find my kids, and when I do, I would want them to have every advantage, including a place to grow stronger, to learn from the best. This provides that.¡± Shaun could understand the motivation behind Eric wanting to join, and in a way he respected it. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer the question, what about Viv?¡± ¡°I like Viv, I really do. And I will help her where I can. But ruling? Even in a small capacity, isn¡¯t what I want to do. I will support her and help her get her feet under her but I want freedom to do what I want to do, just as much as you do. I have spoken to Gabe and he agrees with me. All of this ruling stuff, it¡¯s not for us. We want to be able to run dungeons, to enjoy ourselves, to live our own lives the way we want to. At the moment, all of our time is spent doing what Viv needs us to. Its exhausting Shaun. The most fun I have had since getting here was the freedom I felt running the Prime dungeon, even if I hated fighting the robots. It still felt freeing.¡± He thought about everything that Eric had said and if he was being honest with himself, a lot of what Eric said he could completely understand. ¡°You can join me, so can Gabe. But you need to talk with Viv first. I don¡¯t need her blaming everything on me if things go to shit because you both take a step back from helping her rule.¡± Eric agreed to talk with Viv before fully joining him but said he would help move the kids to the dungeon if they all agreed to come so that he could rush ahead and start getting the area ready. It was then that he realised the biggest difference between his relationship with Eric and Gabe, who he truly did consider friends, versus his relationship with Viv, which if he was being completely honest was not friendship but a need to use one another to get what they each wanted. He thought he would feel more upset about the realisation but since the beginning it had seemed a little forced. He had tried to treat her like he would Eric and Gabe but it never felt right. Deep down he always knew that they were never going to be friends, they were just too different to be able to really connect like that. They finished talking at the perfect time as Eli waved them over. Both Eric and Gabe joined the kids again, all of whom had smile son their faces. ¡°We are all going to join you.¡± Eli spoke for everyone but even then, some of the kids let out exclamations of excitement, unable to hold back their emotions. ¡°But we also don¡¯t want to limit it to us. Can we also see if any of the other group homes want to join as well? We don¡¯t want them missing out on this just because you found us and not them.¡± Shaun was taken back for a moment at the ask. He hadn¡¯t expected it but the more he thought about it he didn¡¯t really see an issue with expanding, especially if some of the actual caretakers of the kids were good people. That would only help. ¡°Eric, how many homes are there? How many kids would move with us if every single one of them agreed?¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Eric thought for a moment, trying to remember just how many homes and kids were set up. ¡°From memory we set up homes in every city, with anywhere from 10 to 20 kids per home. I would say there is anywhere between 150 to 200 kids altogether that were in the homes, all from the ages of about 12 to 17.¡± ¡°I can work with that.¡± Shaun said it more to himself than anyone else. He then looked to Eli and smiled. ¡°Agreed. Anyone that wants to join can. Once we are set up we can have a tour of all the cities and visit every home and propose that they join us. You can do this while I finish off a task that may take a day or two. Does that work?¡± The kids all jumped with excitement, Eli and Grace more restrained but the beaming smiles on their faces could not be restrained. ¡°Eric is going to take you all to our new home. Eli you and I are going to go a head and get set up. We have a lot to do, it will take some time for all of the terraforming to complete. Sound good?¡± ¡°As if I am going to say no to flying again!¡± I have created a monster. It didn¡¯t take long for Shaun to iron out the final details with Eric. Traveling by foot with all the kids would take a day or so to get to where they needed to go. They had also agreed that they would stop in each home that was on the way and talk with all of the kids to see if they wanted to take them up on joining. Shaun also informed them that they would have their own crafting buildings, be supplied with materials, he would purchase all the stores they could possibly need, and they would have access to training grounds and a dungeon. All free of charge. It would be a selling point that they should know before they started talking to others. Shaun and Eli left shortly after, traveling at a quick pace through the air so that they could reach the settlement crystal and get stated as soon as possible. Eli was just as excited as every other time they flew, but also quieter. He took every moment in and just enjoyed the ride. They reached their destination without issue and when they landed they both went up to the settlement crystal. Shaun got the notifications as soon as he placed his hand on it, providing him with options. **Welcome King Shaun Clermont, please choose an option for F grade settlement.** **Current options available for F grade settlement:** Current buildings available for placement. Manage settlement and resources. Terraform F grade settlement He picked the terraforming option first, he knew the basics of what he needed to do but he hadn¡¯t really thought through exactly how he wanted everything to look. ¡°Eli, for housing everyone should have their own rooms right?¡± ¡°Yeah, if that¡¯s possible? Who doesn¡¯t want their own rooms.¡± ¡°Even for the younger kids? Or do you think they would prefer a roommate?¡± Eli looked deep in though on that one. Shaun was going to need to ask a lot of questions when it came to housing as he wanted to make sure that they were comfortable with the arrangement. After a lot of back and forth they agreed that single rooms should be for ages 14 and up, anyone younger should share a room with one other person. Boys and Girls should be separated but also not too far from each other so as not to feel isolated. Sharing bathrooms with too many people sucked, as did communal toilets so they factored in enough of each. Shaun also went all in and designed housing for about 500 people, not wanting to have to adjust it later. In the end he made what could only be called a mansion, there was three separate wings, the west wing for the younger boys, the east for the younger girls, all having multiple levels. The third wing, if it could be called that, was for the single rooms and was set towards the back of the mansion. It was a huge piece of work, spanning hundred of metres. There was bathrooms throughout, adjoining the rooms and had a large communal kitchen, dining hall as well as multiple rooms for relaxing. He also made sure there was rooms that were specific for caretakers, knowing that they would need adults mixed in if all of the kids decided to come and join. Separately he created smaller homes in a separate area, these would be for trainers like him, Eric, Gabe and anyone else that would eventually join. Along with all of this he added in training areas for everything from working out, running, archery, swords play and magic practice. Along with all of this he also built a large forge for blacksmithing, a building for enchanting, as well as one for leather work, alchemy and a general use building. All of this was in close distance to the dungeon so that they could easily move to and from it. All together his terraforming was going to cost close to a million TE, the biggest expenses coming from the mana facilities that he included in the training and crafting areas as well as the kitchens and bathrooms. Still he had plenty to spare so he didn¡¯t really care. He confirmed the terraforming, which indicated it would take nearly 12 hours to complete which was fine, then move don to purchasing stores. He purchased a great deal of them and placed them between the training and crafting areas. He got enough that they would have everything they could possibly imagine at their fingertips, all for a little bit of coin. The stores would be done around the same time as everything else, so now all they needed to do was wait. Shaun looked at Eli and smiled. ¡°We have 12 hours before everything is done. You ready to train?¡± ¡°There is something I need to tell you first, about how I got the level.¡± Eli looked uncomfortable even brining it up. Shuan had asked him about the level before and he was told that it was pretty much none of his business. ¡°You might hate me when you find out. I am not a bad person though, I swear!¡± ¡°I know your not a bad person Eli. I won¡¯t be mad, you can trust me.¡± He had some idea of what Eli was about to tell him, but he knew that if Eli was going to move past it, he needed to get it off of his chest. Eli took a big breath before starting, and before he even did he started to shake. ¡°Before I got here, I was traveling with 3 guys. We all appeared in the same place when the tutorial finished. I had finished school and was out to meet up with some friends and was on my bike going through a quiet part of town.¡± Eli shook is head slightly, getting caught up in the memory. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. One of the guys, Jeff, he was an asshole! He snapped on the second day and killed the other two guys, they hurt him though as well. He tried to come at me and I swear I was just protecting myself. I picked up a rock and hit him with it, over and over. I got the level when he died. I killed someone Shaun.¡± Eli had started to cry by the time he was done and Shaun took him into his arms and gave him a hug until he calmed down. When he thought enough time had passed he sat on the ground and had Eli join him. ¡°You are not a bad person for protecting yourself, Eli. And I don¡¯t hate you, not even a little.¡± He though for a moment and decided that the best way to make him feel better about what happened was sharing himself. ¡°Let me tell you about what happened to me in the tutorial.¡± Book 2: Chapter 69 The next day went by quickly, after their chat they did some light training, mostly cardio but also some strength training. The night passed with no issues and Shaun spent most of the time while Eli was sleeping going over his skills and what he needed to work on, both from a level¡¯s perspective and also from a versatility perspective. He also did a good look through of his inventory to see what he could potentially craft now that he had the time. When Eli woke the next morning they had a quick meal and then went straight back to training. This time it was a continuous jog through the woods all the way to the dungeon area. It was a decent workout, for Eli at least, but the boy needed to start building his endurance and strength and this was the best way to get started. By the time they had arrived at their destination the 12 hours had already passed. The sight that greeted them first was the huge mansion that he had built, even to his eye it was a lot. Eli though just stopped the moment he saw it and was in shock. Shaun really had gone all out in building the area up, it was everything he would want if he was in the situation Eli was in. They spent some time exploring every building and then all the training areas. The entire area spanned at least a kilometre including all of the training grounds and housing, and to Eli¡¯s surprise Shaun had even terraformed in a large lake for people to enjoy in the warmer months. The training area also had an obstacle course designed to aid in boosting dexterity and movement skills, another fun thing that he included when terraforming. When they had both finished exploring they got straight back into training, they had done their cardio for the day and now it was one to strength training in their new outdoor gym area. The hours passed quickly and not once did Eli complain about the rigorous routines that Shaun was putting him through, although considering the results Eli was happy to push himself. Over the course of the day Eli told him he had gained a point in both strength and endurance, something that had never happened to him before. Pushing yourself and getting the free stat points now was half of the point for the training, but also to get used to the feeling of draining your stamina over and over. When Eli physically couldn¡¯t do anything but lay on the ground he pivoted training and now had him focus on meditation work. Getting a teenager to calm down enough and stay still enough to fall into a meditative state was no easy feat and it would take a lot of time before he got the hang of it. Eric ended up contacting him at the end of the day with news that was both great yet unexpected. During their travels here they had stopped in at a few different homes, all of the kid sin them wanted to join him, and after having vetted a number of the caretakers and their families a number of them had decided to follow. Apparently word had spread around regarding what Shaun was doing and there was a number of families with kids in their teens that although weren¡¯t part of the group homes also wanted to join. Eric had made the choice to let them pack up their stuff and come, excluding kids just because they had families didn¡¯t sit right with him. Shaun, although hesitant at first agreed that it was the right decision. The only issue was that although the kids were more than happy to live with the other kids, the families wanted their own space. They had promised to contribute though, some of them actually having decent skills and professions that would help out long term. It was a few hours longer before Eric arrived and when he did he had over 100 kids with him and another 30 people from their families. What followed was absolute mayhem, getting the kids sorted and rooms assigned was handled well by the existing care takers, who after questioning, Shaun approved of. Half of the caretakers actually had their own kids with them, the other half also seemed like decent people. All though shared the same opinion as Shaun, this was a new world and they needed to make sure that no child was left behind. Training and focus was going to be what helped them make it through this new reality. While all of the kids got situated Shaun took aside all of the adults that came here with their families. After a lengthy conversation he had a good idea of what he had to work with. Of the 30 people he had a Chef and two cooks, a black smith and a weaponsmith, both focused on crafting over fighting. He also had a general crafter which was interesting as well. On the Class side he had several warriors, archers and mages, one rogue and one healer. They were all still F grade but that was to be expected. One of the warriors used to be a teacher which would be helpful as well considering that he had never taught anyone before. Rather than take everyone to their new homes he instead got straight to business. He started with the chef and cooks who all agreed to cook for everyone, only if food was supplied. He showed them to the massive dining hall and then to the giant kitchen he had created where they immediately fell in love. He told them that they had 20 minutes to explore the area and come up with a list of everything they needed and then to meet him outside. He did the same thing with the Blacksmith and weaponsmith, showing them to the forge, as well as the crafter to the other remaining buildings. Then he took the others who were planning to be more fighting focused through all of the training areas. Eric followed him the entire way, until finally they were alone and waiting for everyone to meet back up when they were done exploring. ¡°You have outdone yourself, you know that right? As soon as people hear what you have done here people will want to move out of the cities and to this place.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Not happening. This place is for the next generation only. I want it to be a place that kids can grow up around each other and not just some city like all the others.¡± He though for a moment before continuing. ¡°It¡¯s going to be like a school, I guess.¡± ¡°A school where you are trained in weaponry, crafting, killing monsters and the system. The multiverse as well eventually. I like it.¡± Eric got quiet for a moment before continuing. ¡°I spoke to Viv and Gabe. They were in one the cities we passed through. She agreed to let me take a step back, Gabe as well after you finish the ward. She wasn¡¯t happy about it but I think on some level she knew we weren¡¯t cut out for what she wanted us to do. If you will let me, I want to take on a bigger role here. But I need a way to find my kids.¡± It didn¡¯t take long for him to come to a decision, he could see how much Eric wanted this. ¡°Okay, you can take a bigger role in this place, you know I won¡¯t be around forever, I have a lot I still need to do. I can also see what I can do about finding your kids. I might be able to come up with something. Who knows, I have done crazier stuff before.¡± After everyone eventually met back up with him, having finished their own tours around. He felt the excitement from everyone present. Shaun assigned them all homes that he had built for trainers and then moved on to the stores. He purchased enough food that could feed everyone here for a month, the kitchens being able to store it all easily. He also bought materials for those wanting to focus on professions after getting agreements from all that they would either need to pay it back or they would need to take up roles here in training kids in specific professions if they wanted to learn. All agreed immediately to his relief. Once he was done with them, they all ran off to do their own thing, tonight there would be a feast to celebrate, in the meantime they had to put a plan in place on how the days would be run and how it would all work. His plan for 20 kids had grown exponentially and now he actually needed to do more than wing it as he went. Thankfully Eric had already come up wit some ideas while he been traveling and after seeing the training grounds, he had a good idea of how to start this thing off. What followed was hours of planning, not just Shaun and Eric, but anyone who was going to step in and help out. For once he actually enjoyed it, at the start Shaun would assist in every class, getting them up and running, training the trainer so to speak. His focus was on swords, daggers and magic. One of the archers agreed to teach basic archery lesson, and one of the warriors used to be a PT and was more than excited to lead classes on strength as well a dexterity and endurance. That night everyone was in high spirits, the food was better than anything they had been getting in the cities and it was great to see all of the kids making new friends and bonding. The caretakers gushed to him when they saw him about how much better this was and how grateful they were that someone was thinking of not just caring for the kids but truly helping them grow. During the feast he caught Eli¡¯s eye, the boy had found a group of people his own age once all of the younger kids had found new friends, as well as people they used to know. Eli smiled at him from across the room and gave him a thumbs up. Yeah, I did the right thing here. The next day started off well enough, everyone was gathered in the large dining hall and all of the kids were split into age groups for ease of seeing what the numbers were really like in each. Both Eric and Shaun stood at the front of the room and went through how everything would be run. ¡°For those who don¡¯t know me I am Shaun and this is Eric.¡± He gestured to Eric who stood next to him, dressed in full armour and looking ready for combat. ¡°I created this school¡± He got groans from the kids which made most of the adults gathered laugh. ¡°Yes, it is a school, but not one you have ever been to before. Everyone here knows the world has changed, magic is real, we have a system that lets us do incredible things. But if you a really going to take advantage of that, you need to dedicate yourself to it. There will be classes dedicated to weapons. Swords, daggers, bow and arrow, and magic. There will be classes dedicated to crafting. And there will be times where you will need to work on building up your body and mind.¡± He had everyone¡¯s attention now, the kids had gone form groaning about being in a school to looking eager the more he spoke. ¡°Eventually, you will find something that works for you and the chances are you will specialise in it. I started off as a rogue, stealth and daggers were my go to moves. Now I am an Elemental Blade Slinger, I focus equal parts magic and blade. Both are important to my build, and when combined lets me take out monsters that are a much higher level than me.¡± ¡°He can also fly!¡± One of the kids that he had met originally yelled out which got all of the kids talking. ¡°Okay, quiet down.¡± It took a moment to get control over the room again, damn kids. ¡°Yes, I can fly using my affinity. It¡¯s something you will learn about here, eventually. What I am trying to say is that your path is your own and as long as you dedicate yourself to getting better, to truly giving everything you have to improving, even when it gets so hard you want to quit! You can be anything you want to be. Any questions?¡± So many hands went up that he had trouble picking one, thankfully Eric stepped in and pointed at one of the kids to ask their question. ¡°What level are you sir?¡± He nearly let a sigh out at the question but managed to hold it back. ¡°I am in the mid to high E rank.¡± There was some muttering at that but Eric quickly moved on to the next question. ¡°Do you have a profession too?¡± ¡°I do, it¡¯s a full crafting profession that has a very broad scope of things that I can do from making weapons, enchanting and even rituals.¡± Eric picked one more kid and said for now it would be the last question. ¡°Can you show us one of your skills?¡± Eric gave him a questioning look at that one, but the kids just cheered for him. Looking through all of his skills he picked one that he thought would motivate the kids to work the most. ¡°Okay, everyone meet Spike.¡± He summoned his Flame Hound and he quickly appeared standing next to him. ¡°Hey boy, say hello to everyone.¡± He said to the hound while also giving him a head rub. Spike barked, in the cutest way possible. He was majestic in Shaun¡¯s eyes and after only a moment of shock the kids, and the adults present, went crazy. They shouted questions at him, even asking to pet him. He let it go for a moment and then raised his hand to calm everyone down. ¡°I have a skill that lets me summon a creature to help me. Spike here is a Flame Hound and is one the best creatures you will ever meet. This skill is one that comes from the magical side of my Class. Everyone say goodbye.¡± A few moments later he gave one more head rub to Spike and then dismissed him. ¡°Now who is ready for training?¡± Book 2: Chapter 70 The first day of training passed with no issue, for the most part it was a lot of getting to know you stuff and what to expect in the class. Shaun had purchased training weapons from one of the stores for cheap which really helped in the classes. He joined instructing the blade classes, going over a few basics like how to stand when holding a blade and also how important being aware of your body and your surroundings were. He ran a few meditation classes as well which were trying at times but overall was a good start. He was enjoying this break from non-stop fighting, it helped that he had no pressing issues he had to deal with until Viv arrived and they would need to go to the closest E grade settlement crystal to complete the process of combining all of the areas and also finishing the ward. Viv¡¯s arrival came quicker than Shuan would have liked. When she did appear at the school she didn¡¯t come alone. Gabe and Li were in attendance as well as a few others that he had seen before but didn¡¯t care enough to really get to know. ¡°Seems like you have really made yourself at home here Shaun. Eric said that he was brining in more people but this was more than I was expecting. Why don¡¯t you show us around before we head off?¡± Shaun didn¡¯t spend that long on the tour, he mostly just looped around and pointed out the specific areas and what they were for. There was groups of kids training everywhere, some even with the crafters who were watching them work. When he got to the archery range Gabe lit up and looked like he wanted to head over straight away, the only thing holding him back was Viv. After, they moved on to a class Eric was teaching on using a sword and shield, it was very basic but he had the attention of everyone on him. Shaun waved Eric over but he didn¡¯t leave the class straight away, instead made sure that they all had something to practice. ¡°Who knew you would look so good teaching kids how to fight.¡± Gabe went up greeted Eric having obviously missed each other in their time apart. ¡°Working with the kids is great Gabe! Even putting together schedules and training plans is fun. Can you imagine what its going to be like in a week? Or even a month!¡± Gabe was usually the more excitable one but seeing Eric light up when talking about the school, you would never have guessed. ¡°I am glad you¡¯re happy Eric, although I wish you didn¡¯t have to give up your work with me, I am glad you are finding something you enjoy.¡± Viv did sound happy for him, if barely. ¡°The kids are in good hands with you here. If you like I can put a word out so that any kids that wish to join are welcome to come, as well as any teachers you may need. I fully support what is happening here, starting this school was a good idea.¡± The way she was praising Eric for everything that was happening here annoyed him. The comment about the kids being in good hands because Eric was here annoyed him even more. He kept his mouth shut though, not wanting to cause a scene with so many people present. ¡°Eric I am ging to be gone for a day, maybe more, I am not sure. You need anything before I go?¡± Shaun was ready to get this over with. ¡°No, you are good to go. I will make sure everything continues to go as planned here.¡± ¡°I am going to stay too.¡± Gabe gave Viv a look before continuing. ¡°You don¡¯t need me for this, I will just be traveling with you for no reason. Besides, we agreed that when this was done I was coming here anyway, may as well stay now.¡± Shaun watched Viv closely as Gabe spoke, for a split second she looked annoyed but then covered it well. ¡°If you want to stay, stay Gabe. I wont force you to come.¡± Viv turned to Shaun and gave him a hard look. ¡°Let¡¯s no waste any time, show us to the Settlement Crystal.¡± For the first few hours of their travel they moved in silence, at the speed they were going it would take ages for them to get there. ¡°Viv, this is ridiculous. Can I just fly you there? It will cut down on all of the travel time and its not like the others can catch up.¡± ¡°No, we travel on foot. Its important to know where we are going.¡± That this kind of bullshit, we are following the damn road up the mountain! ¡°Do you want to say what¡¯s got you all standoffish? It can¡¯t just be the school thing. You are acting like I am the bad guy here when I have done nothing but give you what you need to succeed.¡± She had been acting like he was some villain in her story since the moment she showed up and he wanted to know why. She waved him forward and they started walking a good distance in front of the others. ¡°Shaun, I am annoyed. You are playing school teacher when you should be doing more. I get it, okay, you don¡¯t have to work for me or do anything you don¡¯t want to. But seriously? A school Shaun? You could be training any number of our own people to get better, stronger. You could be helping me get a damn affinity! But instead you are teaching kids how to play with wooden swords!¡± Shaun thought over what she said, and really the only conclusion he came to was that she was thinking about herself. Why even bring up affinity in the first place? ¡°I am going to repeat what I told you last time Viv. If your soldiers want to get stronger then they can do it themselves. I am also not here to help you get stronger. You want an affinity, figure it out yourself. I have already given you the basics of how it all works. You need to do you job and leave me out of it. We had a deal and I will stick to it as promised. You need to do the same.¡± They went the rest of the way in silence. As they got to the mountain they needed to climb he simply told them to head on up and he would meet them there. Hiking a mountain was not on his to do list at the moment and doing so with people who simply walked in silence was not going to be enjoyable. He flew to the settlement crystal and once there made himself comfortable. He pulled out his mark ups of the ward and made sure he was completely across the final steps of what needed to happen. The joining should be the last of it with some minor touch ups, if any. But until it was done, he wouldn¡¯t know. By the time the others had joined him hours later he was as ready as he was going to be in finishing the ward. They all looked tired from the climb but they didn¡¯t complain. ¡°Let¡¯s get this done. Do you have everything you need?¡± ¡°Yes, but remember, you don¡¯t get access to the E grade areas until I finish the D grade dungeon. That was written into the agreement. I will agree to you using the E grade dungeon whenever you want though.¡± Viv just gave him a short nod, not bothering to actually reply. Time to do this. **Welcome High Mayor Shaun Clermont, would you like to access E grade settlement screen?** Yes. **Current options available for E grade settlement:** Current buildings available for placement. Fully merge all claimed E grade dungeons (Can not be undone) Manage settlement and resources. Terraform E grade area. He picked the option to fully merge the E grade dungeons and like last time he felt the invisible lines dividing the area disappear and the mana flow directly through the area. ¡°It is done.¡± **F grade and E grade dungeon areas are currently all claimed, do you wish to Fully merge F and E grade area?** ¡°I am going to combine the F and E grade areas. They should all be interconnected for the ward to work.¡± Again, Viv didn¡¯t reply but simply gave him a nod. When he agreed to combine the areas, he felt the mana in the area rush out and down to the F grade area. Now that they were combined there was nothing stopping the higher mana density here to flow through to where it was less abundant. Now that it was done he waited for the ward to power up, but after waiting for a minute there was nothing. ¡°It didn¡¯t work.¡± He said to no one in particular, more himself really. He went back and checked all of the terraforming, finding not one thing in place. Taking a closer look, he found that each of the crystals, which were supposed to power the ward, were not actually connecting to the ward ritual. Shit. Activating nearly every single one of his Profession skills he tried to coax out the stored mana and push it into the ritual for the Convergence Ward. Everything he tried got rebounded, the mana stored was not able to be taken out of the crystal like he was trying. He didn¡¯t give up though and kept pushing, after a while he got a weird notification. **Mana usage detected on Settlement Crystal. Access to stored mana provided to King Shaun Clermont for use outside of designated parameters.** After the message appeared he fond drawing the mana out of the crystal to be much easier. Forming a link from the crystal into the surrounding area of the ward was much harder. The moment he stopped forcing it the mana dissipated into the air. That¡¯s when it all clicked in his mind. Like every other ritual he had ever done, he was going to need to power it through his willpower and mana, or in this case the mana from every crystal. He was going to need to take manual control until it all fell into place and became a self-sustaining ritual. This is why wards like this are so rare for lower grade areas. The sheer control you need over mana to complete the ward over such a large area is huge. ¡°I have an idea, but I might be here for a while. Stay if you want but you might want to get comfortable.¡± Shaun got down on the ground and started to meditate, sinking into a deep calm and connecting back to the crystal. He refused to give up now, this was a challenge and one he was more than ready to face. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°How much longer do you think he will be?¡± Viv listened to Josh complain for what had to be the 3rd time in the last hour. When the road started glowing they were all on edge, but now that nothing was changing they were growing restless. ¡°I don¡¯t know. He will be done when he is done. Could be days or weeks. I don¡¯t know even know what he is doing right now so I can¡¯t give you any idea how long it will take.¡± Viv was not happy with how long it was taking either, she had better things to do then sit and wait for Shaun. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. She had tried to access the E grade crystal, but Shaun hadn¡¯t given her access. Not that he needed to, but it would have been nice. Xavier had been in contact with her more often since Shuan had finished claiming all of the E grade areas, pushing her to push him to go straight for the D grade area. She hadn¡¯t mentioned it to Shaun but 2 other E grade dungeons had been claimed since last they spoke, although they were by two separate factions, it was still way before schedule for what a newly integrated planet was expected to have completed at this point. What made it worse was that one of them belonged to The Pantheon directly and was now being used as the base of their operations, at least according to Xavier. Technically, because Viv didn¡¯t have control over any of these clusters, not until Shaun handed them off to her, it looked like they were behind the others. That was having a perceived impact on The Empire¡¯s ability to win the war, which was putting pressure on her. The even that was coming up was going to be the first true fight between the two sides. And if Viv was going to crush The Pantheon she needed her teams to be stronger then they were. That was what was really affecting her. Shaun was not going to fight for her, Eric and Gabe were taking a step back from being directly on her team and without constant access to E grade dungeons people weren¡¯t growing stronger. The issue was they the E grade dungeons were so far away from them, not to mention all the way in the mountains, that the travel back and forth was a ridiculous amount of time. She had no way of currently reducing that, she had hoped that the E grade options would have something but Shaun wasn¡¯t going to give her access. Her only choice was to wait and ask him when he was done with this, which was just a waste of time for her, but he doubted he would do it for anyone but her. So, she sat there on the ground waiting for him to finish. She just hoped that nothing would happen that would make her leave. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Shaun knew he was on the right track to completing the ward, through his skills he could feel the mana he was pulling from the crystal spreading through what was now considered roads in this settlement but was really an epic graded ward, or would be when he was done. Unlike when he was practicing making these on a smaller level using his own mana, he was now having to use mana that was not his own, and a lot more of it. When he first started moving the mana from the crystal into the ward it had been different but he soon got used to how to do it. Now, the more mana he took and had to control the harder it got, to the point he was constantly using his enhanced mind along with nearly every skill in his Profession just to make sure he didn¡¯t slip up and ruin the entire process. Even sitting down with his eyes closed in meditation he had an awareness of how much of the ward he had completed. He wasn¡¯t sure how much time had passed but what he knew was that this was going to be a slow process. One of the things he needed to keep checking on was how much mana was left in the crystal, if he drained it before he connected to another he was going to be in trouble. If his estimates were right there was enough mana in each crystal to cover the original E grade area that they controlled plus some left over. If he focused on just covering that area though he wouldn¡¯t have enough to move through to the next settlement crystal and link them all up though. That was why his current plan was to take the most direct route to each E grade crystal and then spread down to the F grade ones before spreading out to cover the entire area. If he didn¡¯t have the ability to look at the layout of the entire settlement, outside of the D grade area, the ward would have failed, he was sure of that. But even with the perk of being a settlement owner the job was difficult. When he had finally made his way through the ward and to the second crystal, his control nearly slipped. He had a good understanding that if he lost control over the mana he was now using, the backlash on both himself and the actual settlement would be extreme. He took a good amount of time when connecting to each of the crystals mana sources just regaining as much control as he could. Shaun had a lot of mana, especially for his level, but the comparison between the thousands he had the millions he was currently controlling was insane. The pressure of wielding so much mana was wrecking both his mind and body. In the back of his mind he felt that he was in pain, and if it wasn¡¯t for his skills being able to ignore that pain, he would not have even made it as far as he had. To him, time was currently non-existent, only the ward mattered. When he connected to the third crystal he became numb, almost as if he was no longer connected to his body and its earthly needs, he was the mana. The fourth crystal boosted that feeling and he felt like if he simply shifted his mind to another part of the ward he could appear there in seconds. But when he connected to the fifth and final E grade crystal all he felt was an insane amount of pressure wanting to crush his mind. Still though he pushed on. Rather than feeling weightless he now felt like he was pushing through mud. Imbuing even a metre of the ward left him with the feeling that his mind had been beaten black and blue. He ended up having to stop and rest continuously, slow and steady would be the only way he made it through this. Failure though was not an option. Bit by bit he chipped away at imbuing the ward. At time it got easier and then he would need to pull even more mana to continue his progress and his mind would start to fracture again. When it came time to bring in the F grade crystals, he though that it would be easier than the E grade, he couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. Each F grade crystal brought even more mana under his control which pushed his mind and willpower to their limits. When finally he connected each of them he had to spend who knows how much time just holding his mind together. For a moment he was tempted to pull back his mind and check on the state of his body, but doing so would not be worth the risk, he knew he didn¡¯t have willpower to hold not only the mana in place but also assess his own state. So he ignored his bodily needs and just kept pushing. After having claimed every crystal in the settlement to his ward, imbuing the lines was his only focus. All he had to do was spread the mana, which although was still difficult he no longer had to go through the process of claiming large amounts of mana at a time. His control continued to improve the longer he worked, until the only thing left was imbuing the walls. He chose one spot on the wall and used that as a focal point to move around from. It was a slower process but it was also safer for not just him but everyone in the settlement. When he finished moving around the wall at a snails pace he had a full awareness that every line in his ward was now fully powered with mana, but still it was not done. It needed more mana. More and more he pulled mana from the crystals and pulsed his skills. Elemental Fusion, Creators Control, Element Coercion, Meditation, Mana Sight and his Enhanced Mind all worked overtime in ways he had never used them before to get the job done. Although his skills were more suited to elements, he used them on the unattuned mana from the crystals. He didn¡¯t know what that would do to the skills, but he hoped that nothing bad would come from it in his next upgrade. It took some time and he had drained nearly every single crystal of mana before he felt that the ward had hit its limit of the amount of mana it could take. Knowing it was nearing completion he forced himself to keep control of the ward until the final moment. As soon as he felt the ward fall into place Shaun felt his mind being pulled through the entire settlement. Where he had an awareness of every line and rune when he had been connected to the mana he had been wielding he now felt his mind being forcibly pulled back to his body so quickly that he wasn¡¯t able to fully take in what has happening. The moment his mind fully pulled back to his body, he felt unbelievable pain enter his thoughts. He was not okay, he felt fractured and drained, on the edge of simply fading from existence altogether. Not since he started the tutorial had he ever felt so vulnerable, like a gentle breeze could literally undo the cells holding his body together. For on a moment he was able to open his eyes, it almost felt like a foreign thing, seeing with your eyes. For so long his only sight had been mana and the pattern of the ward and seeing the world again felt strange. He felt himself losing consciousness, he knew it would only be seconds before he was gone from the world. **[Epic] Settlement Convergence ward successfully placed.** There was so many notifications after that one but he didn¡¯t have the strength to look at them. As darkness took over he didn¡¯t know if he was hallucinating or if his mind had cracked in some way that he would never recover, but for the briefest of moment he felt a connection to someone else¡¯s mind, someone that he swore he knew but had never actually met. Right before he fully lost consciousness, he heard two words in his mind through that connection. Find us. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ For over a month Josh had been stuck camping out here with Shuan. It had been the longest, most boring month of his life. His job was to watch over him. If anything happened he was to send word back through a messenger that would come to him every 2 days. Vivenne had left shortly after Shaun had started doing whatever the hell he was doing. The glowing in the roads had continued to spread out and that had caused mass panic for everyone in the settlement. It was a weird sight, even after everything they had all been through since the integration. The only thing that made being here for Josh interesting was when Shaun¡¯s body would start fading out of existence or when a huge burst of mana could be felt leaving his body. For over a month he had waited for something more to happen and he was nearly at his wits ends when something finally changed. The entire settlement, seemed to brighten, he was woken in the middle of the night by a light that was emitted not just from the road but also from the walls and even into the air, forming a dome around the entire settlement. The settlement had turned into a beacon of light that people would be able to see from thousands of kilometres away. It was as if a sun had decided to shine its light form the very settlement. It got so bright that Josh had to close and shield his eyes. It lasted only a few seconds but that was more than long enough to send a signal out to anyone even remotely close to them of their very location. As soon as the light faded he looked over at Shaun. All he saw was the man¡¯s eyes open for just a second before he fell completely limp to the ground. ¡°Shit! Please don¡¯t be dead! Viv will kill me!¡± Josh ran the distance to Shaun¡¯s body and checked for any trace of life. It took a few seconds, but he found a heartbeat, a weak one, but it was there. ¡°Thank the gods.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Viv was sitting in her office going over reports and her to do list when the light from Shaun¡¯s ward started getting brighter and brighter. For the past month she had tried to put Shaun out of her mind, there was nothing anyone could do to help him and no one wanted to risk moving or waking him for fear of what might happen if he was suddenly pulled out of his trance mid-way through the creation of the ward. She was getting updates every few days about any changes which she passed on to Xavier, who was becoming increasingly short with her as the weeks passed. More E grade dungeons were being claimed across the world, her enemy was getting stronger while her own people were stagnating at the higher levels. Many of the F grades had grown considerably the past month, their training going very well. The E Grades though had barely grown, even with a number of trips to the closest E grade dungeons. When the light around the settlement became blinding she had to shield herself away from it. It didn¡¯t last long but this would cause chaos thought the cities which she would need to get a head of. **As the sub Mayor of the Settlement please note an [Epic] Settlement Convergence ward has been successfully placed.** The moment she got the message she contacted Xavier. Hopefully this will put him in a good mood. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The Empress sat with all the other Powers that had been gathered. These meetings used to be rare, happening every few thousand years, but since this most recent integration that had changed. ¡°Through all of our searching we have found no interference in the integration, no foul play has been detected, we are unsure why this Earth has appeared now.¡± Chaos spoke to all over the Powers, he spoke calmly but even to her she could feel how annoyed he was at not knowing the answers. ¡°A nexus planet has not been integrated in the last 40 expansions of the system. And compared to the last this nexus is much more powerful than the last. The most powerful since the 1st. I suggest¡­¡± The Empress stopped listening to Chaos, she had just received word from Xavier. She had doubted his ability at first, not seeing the importance of that girl, especially after she cut ties with the one she truly wanted. But it seemed that Xavier had made some good investments in this one. She had been hesitant to allow the system contact to be put in place, it was a long shot that this Shaun could accomplish what he said he could. But now it was paying off better than she could have hoped, letting the boy live and bringing him over to her side, even temporarily, had been the best decision that Xavier had made. ¡°Would you like to share what has you in such a good move, Empress?¡± The King of the Gods, Zeus, questioned her. She was in active war against him for the Nexus. Although many of the other Powers would have liked to claim the planet they did not hold the sway with the humans that they did, causing the factions to all choose sides. ¡°If you must know, an investment has paid off.¡± She smiled directly at Zeus, giving her best cat at the canary smile. ¡°The fight for the Nexus just tilted heavily in my favour.¡± Zeus laughed at her comment, looking down at her like he was so much better than her. He had done that since the Great War, always thinking he was better than everyone else because of the amount of Nephilim he had claimed. ¡°We shall see about that.¡± Book 3: Chapter 1 It had been nearly 6 months to the day since the world changed. No longer could the human race rely on technology to live but instead, they had to adapt to a world that had new rules. Strength and Power were now what governed the world. Without it you were just another sheep in the flock, with it though, you were the shepherd. If there was one thing that could be said about the people of Earth, it was that they knew how to adapt. In the months since the tutorial people had started to find their place in the new order. Some worked hard and took every advantage they could to grow in strength. Others resigned themselves to living out their lives in what peaceful existence they could find. If there was one thing that everyone agreed on though, it was that life was uncertain. It could be taken away in the blink of an eye. Shaun was one of the people that pushed himself to the breaking point again and again, not just for personal power but also for freedom. When he came to, he had no idea where he was. The moment he opened his eyes he saw a roof over his head and he felt like he was on a bed. The moment he attempted to move unbelievable pain wrecked his body, causing him to groan in pain. What the hell happened? Thinking back he remembered working on putting the ward in place, he recounted all the time he had spent working with the mana in the crystals and then he remembered his mind fracturing and being pulled back to his body. He remembered the system message, about the ward being successful and then a voice. Find us. That was all he could remember. Without moving he assessed the state of his body. He was starving, thirsty and sore. His mind ached as well, a headache that he couldn¡¯t block out was constantly thumping in his head. Closing his eyes he tried to block out the pain but the moment he tried to activate his mind skill it was as if someone had taken a knife and plunged it into his head. Instead of trying to figure out what had happened he just looked at the notifications that he had yet to see, starting from the very beginning. **[Epic] Settlement Convergence ward successfully placed.** He remembered that one, it was the last thing he saw before blacking out. **Title earned: Impossible Feat** **Impossible Feat: After being faced with a challenge that should have been impossible, you have overcome all odds staked against you and survived. By making the impossible, possible, you have empowered your mind, body and soul. +10% to all stats** It was a nice title, although he didn¡¯t like the idea that what he had done should have been impossible, although feeling the way he did now he couldn¡¯t imagine many people, if any, at his grade would have survived doing what he did. **Title earned: Mana Body** **Mana Body: Through channelling and controlling more mana than should have been possible, your body has adapted through being pulled apart and put back together due to the strain of melding with a large amount of mana. This allows you to be able to more easily wield and control large amounts of mana with precision. +10% to Soul and Body stats** The title was interesting, yet also terrifying. At some point in the process of creating the ward his body had literally been torn apart and put back together purely by using so much mana. He had been using millions of mana compared to his thousands, but still, it was horrifying to think about. **Title earned: Mana Mind** **Mana Mind: Through separating your mind from your body and melding it with mana, you can now easily see the workings of mana in both the world around you as well as within skills, items, sentient beings and monsters. +10% to Soul and Mind stats** In some ways this was like his Mana Sight skill, but just so much more powerful. It also explained why his head hurt so much, he had separated his mind and literally melded it with pure mana. No matter that he had increased his stats across the board with the titles, the pain would linger for a good amount of time yet. **Synergy Detected between Title Mana Mind and Skill [Advanced] Mana Sight** **Your skill [Advanced] Mana Sight (Level 94) has evolved into [Epic] Mana Mastery (Level 1)** **[Epic] Mana Mastery: The Mana Mastery skill allows the user to more easily pierce the makings and patterns of mana. The skill also allows for the ability to change mana constructs, also known as skills, and unravel the making of them.** The skill upgrade was incredible. It was a straight upgrade to Mana Sight and more. The idea that he could now unravel a skill used by someone else or even adapt it to his own need was so overpowered. He wished he could try it out now but with the way he felt he doubted that was going to end well. Wait, when did my Mana Sight level get to 94? He needed to get trough the rest of these notifications. **Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by 28 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 86. +140 Int, +56 Wil, +84 Per, +140 Soul ** **Race: Human has levelled up by +14 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 102. +224 Ap gained** That was a lot of levels, more than he had ever received at any one time. He had made a much smaller ward exactly like this and only gotten a level or two. This though was insane. The only thing that made it make any sense was the fact that even the system itself had said it was an impossible feat to accomplish at his level, that would have factored in to the levels he had earnt from doing it. It did directly link into his class as well. He had created something, even if it wasn¡¯t really elemental, it still counted. **New Profession Skill Available: Please choose from one of the following options:** He had completely forgotten about hitting the next level where he got to pick a new skill. It wasn¡¯t something he had been expecting to hit any time soon so it hadn¡¯t been on his mind. Now though he had another decision to make on where he wanted to take his Profession. **[Advanced] Creators Domain ¨C The skill allows you to enter an internal domain where you can utilise your imagination, conjuring any items or material you have previously acquired to test different crafting methods and see what items can be crafted with materials, gaining an understanding of final creations before utilising materials in the real world.** He had been given this choice before and although he had been curious about it he didn¡¯t know how helpful it would be to him now or in the future. **[Advanced] Creators Plan ¨C The skill allows you to store a plan of a creation into a secure orb created from solid mana. This plan can then be projected and adapted using the creators will** A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. He knew why he had bene given this skill. He had been planning all of his layouts on paper and it was an annoying and tedious process. This was something he would use now and way into the future. **[Epic] Ward Master ¨C The skill allows you to create and store wards in orbs created by mana that can then be used at a moment¡¯s notice by the user. Grade and Power of the ward is dependent on time and energy spent creating the stored ward.** He was shocked at seeing an option for an epic grade skill given it was still an advanced profession. The skill was a good one too. Creating wards and being able to use them whenever someone wanted could really help others out, but not him. He had a feeling that if he picked this skill it would really change his options when he got his profession to level 125. He had made the ward here out of necessity, not as he wanted to pursue a full profession in ward making. If he didn¡¯t have to make a ward again in the future he just wouldn¡¯t. There were other things he would prefer doing with his time, especially because he nearly died doing it this time. His choice was easy this time round. **Skill Gained**: [Advanced] Creators Plan (Level 1)** That was the end of the notifications, he knew he had gotten some skill levels as well but after having turned off the notifications form those he needed to bring up his status sheet to really see them.
Status:
Name: Shaun Clermont
Race Human (E)
Level: 102
Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger - Level 118
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator - Level 86
Health Points:13230/13230
Stamina:9890/9890
Mana:41750/41750
Stats: (Available Points: 368)
Strength: 1049
Dexterity: 1126
Endurance: 989
Vitality: 1323
Intelligence: 1120
Perception: 976
Willpower: 1068
Soul: 4175
Affinity: Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water
Advanced: Lightning, Ice, Magma
Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer, King, Impossible Feat. Mana Body, Mana Mind
Heritage: Azreal''s Legacy (Hidden)
Skills:
Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 72), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 59), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 118), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 76), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 33), [Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 44), [Advanced] Elemental Summons (Level 43), [Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade (Level 17)
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 97), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 95), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 78), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 125 - MAX), [Epic] Mana Mastery (Level 1), [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 99), [Advanced] Elemental Storage (Level 6), [Advanced] Creators Plan (Level 1)
Holy shit! He had a lot of AP to use, but that was not what caught his eye. His skills had grown, ridiculously so. He had maxed out his mediation skill which was insane, his mind skill had also increased to the point that it was nearly at max as well. All of his profession skills had also grown, specifically his fusion, control and rune skills. He knew skills levelled when really pushing them in a way that you hadn¡¯t before, and with every one of those skills he had pushed them to their limits and beyond over and over again. He had used everything he had when making that ward and it seems that nearly dying had paid off. The one thing that made him question things was just how long had he been working on that ward to have pushed his skills that much? Before he had a chance to dwell on it someone opened the door to the room he was in. Shaun vaguely recognised the man but before he had a chance to speak the man went running out of the room yelling that he was awake. Shaun attempted to get out of the bed but the moment he attempted to move he felt the pain run through his body again. He was at full health which meant that the pain was something he was going to need to work through on his own, without the aid of potions or healers. This was a consequence of his mind and body being torn to shred by mana. When the man returned he didn¡¯t do so alone, Viv was with him. She looked him over, assessing the state he was in before she looked him in the eyes. ¡°Its good to see you awake. We were losing hope that you would ever wake up again.¡± The way she spoke sounded like she meant it too. ¡°Do you need anything?¡± ¡°Food, water.¡± Even speaking hurt at this point but he was starving and needed fuel to help him recover. ¡°I imagine. You haven¡¯t eaten anything, or even drank anything but the potions we poured down your throat in over a month. You don¡¯t look great to be honest.¡± A month! How the hell had he been unconscious for a month? He opened his mouth about to ask when Viv held up her hand. ¡°I will tell you everything that¡¯s happened. Just conserve your energy and listen.¡± The same guy as before pulled out food and water for him. Not a huge amount, but enough to start. ¡°Go slowly, you don¡¯t know how you will react to eating after such a long time.¡± He didn¡¯t reply to her instead he pushed through the pain and started eating what looked like some kind of soup. ¡°You have only been unconscious for 2 days, but you were in a trance working on the ward for about a month. We didn¡¯t want to wake you or move you during that time. We didn¡¯t know what that would do to you.¡± He was thankful for that. If they had disturbed him during that time he would have died. ¡°During that time though your body was¡­..going through something. Every now and again you would shift in and out of a physical form. We assume you have some idea about why, but it was rather scary for Josh, he was the one that kept watch over you.¡± What she said matched up pretty well with the titles he had received around his mana body. He could imagine witnessing it occurring would have been a hell of a sight. He didn¡¯t confirm it though, instead he just kept eating the soup. ¡°Eric and Gabe have been coming to visit you, you just missed them. They will be back soon though, unless you feel like you will be able to move around any time in the next few days. The school is going well. Very well actually, in case you were wondering. The settlement in general has really started to take form. We have a good system up and running and the stores that we purchased have really helped with growing an economy as well as helping with the overall quality of life here.¡± He listened to Viv speak but again didn¡¯t comment. He finished his soup and gestured for another which Josh handed him. ¡°The ward, as I am sure you know, is fully in place. Xavier as well as The Empress, are more than pleased with what you accomplished. They have said that once the year is up they will pay you whatever you want, really. What you have done was beyond their expectations.¡± ¡°Have all payment given to Eric and Gabe when the year is up.¡± He wouldn¡¯t be here then and there was no way that he would be going near Xavier once he left the planet. He was already starting to feel a bit better, his body at least anyway, he really did need the food. ¡°I will let him know.¡± Viv considered for a moment before continuing. ¡°How long until you think you can move?¡± Shaun considered it for a moment, if he kept eating, drinking and doing nothing but focusing on recovery he expected it to be a few days. ¡°A day or two. It depends really.¡± ¡°Okay, we will talk more than. I will have someone let Eric and Gabe know your awake.¡± She left the room as soon as she was done talking, not waiting for a reply. Their relationship was complicated, he knew that, but he was now more than ever sure that it was not friendship, but a relationship of necessity. She looked after the people and settlement, he claimed the dungeons and acted as a bank for her. Without working with the other, neither of them really got what they wanted. Book 3: Chapter 2 For the rest of the day all Shaun did was eat and sleep. Slowly he felt himself start to recover and by the time he woke the next morning he was ready to get up and start moving. He was nowhere near fully recovered but he could at least move around. Fighting would take some time, and until then, he was vulnerable. When he moved out of the room he was in and into the main room he found that this place was pretty hastily put together and nothing like the terraforming. His guess was that this had been put together manually as no one but him was currently able to actually terraform here. They had gone through a lot of work to make sure that he was comfortable, or they did this because someone was staying up here while he was in the trance and after a while they decided on comfort over camping. Not trusting his ability to use any of his skills at the moment he had to actually look around for the others. He found them outside, both Viv and the other guy from before along with Li. They stopped talking when he approached and he gave them all a short nod before speaking to them. ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan now? I am assuming you will all leave here now that I am awake. I am probably going to spend a day or two recovering before making the trek down the mountain.¡± He got a questioning look from Viv which he just waved off. ¡°Don¡¯t ask.¡± ¡°The reason I am here was not only to check on you but to also talk through the options we have for the E grade settlement crystals. We never spoke about it before and now would be a good time considering it shouldn¡¯t take much out of you.¡± He thought it over and didn¡¯t see any real problem with doing as she asked. He was just as curious as she was to see if there was anything interesting in there. He started walking over to the crystal which thankfully was no to far from where they were. As soon as he got close enough he got the notification he expected. **Current options available for F and E grade settlement:** Current buildings available for placement. Manage settlement and resources. Terraform E grade area. Settlement Communication Manage Settlement Crystal Link The top three options were what he had expected to see, the last two though were completely different. Curious he clicked into the last one and the options were rather interesting. **Current options available for F and E grade settlement link: Teleportation from one Settlement Crystal to any other claimed Settlement Crystal ** Settlement Owner ¨C Set Manual Delegation All Custom Note: Each teleportation through the Settlement Crystal will drain a portion of its stored mana. ¡°Hey Viv, I think I just solved the issue of having to travel to the dungeons.¡± He explained to her the options he had, also that there was a cost involved. It took her a while before she replied but when she did she sounded confident in what she had decided. ¡°Hold off on any major changes for now. If you can just add Josh, Li and I to the list of being able to use it. I will need to think about how this will work. If everyone just used it constantly the mana would drain from the crystal and the ward would end up failing, right?¡± He thought about it, and yeah she was right. The ward run on the mana in the crystals. It wasn¡¯t being drained though unless the ward was active, so unless they were attacked they were all good. ¡°I would suggest, depending on how much mana the teleport is maybe each person that uses is has to donate their own mana to the crystal to be able to use it? That might balance things out.¡± While he spoke he adjusted the permissions to include himself, Viv, Li, this Josh guy and also Eric and Gabe. ¡°Okay, we can figure it out when we get to that point. What other options does the crystal have?¡± He explained that there was an option for Settlement communication, and after exploring it he found that he could communicate with other settlements not just his own. He explained this to Viv and she suggested they hold off on outer settlement communication until she could talk to Xavier, he had no issue with this as he didn¡¯t want to start any political talks with other people anyway. Shaun looked through the other options and didn¡¯t find too much different. They were more expensive than the other stores, so he guessed that they would have higher ranked stuff for sale or potentially something more unique, but unless he wanted to spend coin for no reason they wouldn¡¯t be finding out any time soon. Once he went through all of the options with her, they quickly made the decision to leave. Shaun decided to go first and when he accepted the prompt to teleport he chose the Settlement Crystal closest to the school. The move was instantaneous and thankfully didn¡¯t harm his body at all. The settlement crystal wasn¡¯t too far from the school but at the pace he could currently move at it would take a while. He didn¡¯t see a need to delay and just got started, taking it one step at a time. Time passed slowly, although his focus never really strayed from just keeping his body going. He had started to regret coming here so soon, it would have been smarter to wait a day. When the school finally came into view he nearly dropped to the ground in relief. His body hurt, his head ached and he just wanted to lay down. As soon as he made it to the edge of the school he noticed just how busy it had gotten. There was kids everywhere, adults who seemed to be teaching and looking after them too. He continued walking through the main area and when he spotted a lone adult he waved them over. ¡°Hey, do you know where Eric and Gabe are?¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The woman gave him an assessing look before she replied, unsure whether she should answer him. ¡°I do, can I ask what you need them for? They are very busy people.¡± ¡°Just tell them Shaun is back and that I am going to my house to sleep. When they are free they can come over but tell them to wait at least a few hours.¡± He started to walk away before he turned back. ¡°Tell them to bring food.¡± He continued making his way to his house after that. He got some weird looks and even a few kids waving at him. He smiled back at them and tried to hide the pain on his face. When he finally did make it home he promptly went to his room and fell asleep. Not even bothering to change or shower. He just needed rest. Hours later he woke up to the smell of food and it was now dark outside, he had slept the day away. He was much less sore than he had been before going to sleep but his body was also shouting for food. He practically rushed out of his room, following the smell of food to a table that was filled with plates of all different types of meat and vegetables. He didn¡¯t recognise some of it but he also didn¡¯t care. He couldn¡¯t see anyone else in the room so he just sat himself down and started loading up an empty plate and went to town. ¡°You didn¡¯t want to wait for us?¡± Gabe came in with a bottle of something to drink which he handed directly to Shaun. He didn¡¯t hesitate to try it and found it to be both refreshing and sweet. ¡°I am not going to make you talk, clearly food is at the top of your priority list right now. But either nod or shake your head. Are you okay?¡± He considered the question for a second and then shook I head. He wasn¡¯t okay, not really. He was a long way from fighting form. Eric chose that moment to come into the house, he gave Shaun a worried look before taking a seat at the table and getting his own food. ¡°We have been worried about you. You said a few days, it¡¯s been over a month.¡± Eric took a deep breath to calm himself down. ¡°Eli has been asking about you every day. Telling people that you are creating a ward that would protect everyone wasn¡¯t exactly a believable excuse for you prolonged absence. At least it wasn¡¯t until the entire place lit up like a Christmas tree.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. For disappearing like that. The ward must more complicated than I expected. I couldn¡¯t really feel time passing when I was doing it. I know a month has passed but to me it feels like only days.¡± He felt guilty about making a promise to Eli that he would be there for him and the others and then only days later just disappear with no word. ¡°I will talk to him in the morning. It will still take a bit for me to fully recover before I can really start teaching any classes or even fighting at all really, but I will make sure that I am here for a while.¡± ¡°A lot of people were worried about you. I know that seeing you up and about will really bring peoples spirits up.¡± Gabe smiled at him before he got to eating some of the food he had bought himself. For a while they just ate in comfortable silence. When they had finished off the food, most of it eaten by Shaun, they moved to a lounge area to get comfortable and really catch up. ¡°So, anything big change here while I was gone? I noticed that the school has grown significantly.¡± And it really had, from his estimates it looked to have doubled in both the amount of students but also in some of the housing. ¡°A few things you should know. Word was put out across the entire settlement a few weeks back that a school had opened and what we were doing here. All of the orphanages were moved here and a lot of parents have sent their own kids here as well. We were able to secure a good amount of people who wanted to join as trainers, both for combat classes as well as profession related stuff. It has changed a lot since we started and it now really is a full blown school.¡± Eric update was short and to the point, just like how Shaun liked it. ¡°When Eric and I took over running the school full time, we were both given an option from the system to change our professions. Eric was offered the profession Head Master and I was offered the profession Head Teacher. We both took them, even though we ended up having to start our professions again from level 1. We both want to do this long term, so it was the best move for us. But that¡¯s not the best part.¡± Gabe was getting excitable the more he spoke, barely able to sit still. Shaun had never heard of changing a profession like that but he guessed that when you made a huge life change and were willing to start from the beginning again why shouldn¡¯t you get the chance? Still, it seemed odd and something that was probably very rare. ¡°I found my kids Shaun. Or I guess they found me.¡± Shaun looked at Eric in shock, he knew that this was something that had been weighing on him for a while and now he looked almost carefree as he spoke. Truly happy. ¡°How? Don¡¯t get me wrong, I am happy for you! But¡­ wow.¡± ¡°It was about 2 weeks ago. Fiona, my ex-wife, made it to the settlement with Jace and Nicola. They had been traveling with a big group and one of the scouts found them and brought them here. When Fiona found out there was a school she bought them straight here. The moment I saw them I thought I was dreaming, but they are here.¡± Shaun had no idea what the odds of that happening were, although if they lived close enough to the city the chances of them ending up at the closest settlement was pretty high. ¡°How did it go? Reuniting with everyone after so many changes and such a long amount of time?¡± He was curious as to how reunited families would go, people had changed, and quickly, since the integration. He could imagine that it wouldn¡¯t always be for the better. ¡°It was¡­.hard at first. We spent hours talking and going over everything that had happened. But in the end we were all just happy to be together again. Fiona is seeing someone new and seems happy. Jace and Nicola were a bit hesitant at the start, not sure how they should react to the new world and dynamic, but over the last few weeks they have really settled in and are doing well. I will introduce you to everybody tomorrow if you are up for it.¡± Shaun agreed immediately, he was curious as to what Eric¡¯s kids and ex were like. They never really spoke about their old lives, at least to Shaun. Not that he could blame anyone he wasn¡¯t the most social person and even though both Gabe and Eric were his friends, they weren¡¯t ones for heart felt conversations and pillow fights. They spoke of a few more things after, Shaun told them that they would be able to use the crystals to teleport around in case they ever wanted to do some of the E rank dungeons. They also touched on what they would need from Shaun once he had recovered. Apparently, a lot of the basic combat classes were going smoothly but the more advanced stuff was harder to fill. Being one of the only E ranks around, he could probably start to help out in that area when it came to it. Magic classes were much harder to teach, especially without the kids having skills, Shaun had some ideas for that but would need to do some testing before he committed to anything. He also some things that he needed to work on. The first was his skills, he had the gift from Commander Alserio that would help him train his skills to the max. The Box from Queen Elivasia that would help train his affinity to a new level and also the dragon core which he had promised to mediate on which King Shrakein had given him. He also had the Life and Death natural treasures that he could use. The box and core he could take with him wherever he went, but the skill instance that was given to him by Commander Alserio could be placed only once. He had planned to only use it when he claimed the D grade dungeon, but now he was hesitating. A lot had changed since he had been to see the King and Queen, would they be angry if he placed it near the school? It was going to be left here regardless so he didn¡¯t think so, but he would need to think on it before he bought it up with Eric and Gabe. When they finished talking he sent to bed again, sleep and food were helping him recover quickly and for now that was what he needed to focus on. Everything else could wait for now. Book 3: Chapter 3 Shaun spent the full next day either catching up with people or making his presence known. He spent a good amount of time with Eli after having a good talk about where Shaun had been and what he had been doing. Curious to see what the day of a student was like he also attended a number of Eli¡¯s classes, seeing what was being taught and even jumping in a few times to give his own verbal instruction. He was impressed with the progress of the kids in general, a good number of them were fully committed to learning and improving. Even the instructors spent time running the dungeon during a set time to help them improve their own skills and level. He met with Eric¡¯s kids and even Fiona at lunch. It was an awkward meeting as they really didn¡¯t know much about each other outside of what Eric had told them. Mostly Fiona thanked him for looking out for Eric and helping to get the school started. The kids even took some time to express how much fun they were having learning all the different things that they offered here. He explored the crafting areas, finding that there were several teachers in the forge, all teaching kids the basics of smithing. They were smaller classes and the kids that were present were the ones that chose metal work as a profession they wanted to gain the profession as soon as they could. When he went through the rest of the crafting areas he notices that leather work and alchemy were also very popular with the kids. He spent a decent amount of time watching everyone work, even going so far as to drop off any old loot he still had so that they could work on new materials. He didn¡¯t have much, having gotten rid of most of it, but to them it was a trove of treasure that they wouldn¡¯t stop thanking him for. When he did everything he needed to do at the school he retreated to his own home and sat at the table and thought about different things he could contribute to help others grow in the areas they needed. The biggest advantage he had over others was his magical ability, specifically his affinity. He couldn¡¯t just give others an affinity though, it was a very personal thing that one had to really focus on. That was the case for most people though, not him. He had attempted to help others gain a basic affinity before using the gems in his gauntlet and he was making some progress in this until he was forced to stop because of what happened in the tutorial. This got him thinking about his gauntlet. It had helped him a lot in the past but as he grew he used it less and less. Most of his skill now weren¡¯t being channelled through the gauntlet, he did use it every now and again but his main weapon was the sword. Outside of fire and air, which everyone knew he had as affinity, nature was used to heal himself which no one could really see anyway, he rarely used water or earth through the gauntlet either. It was a great weapon, one that anyone would like to have, but the more he thought about it the more he realised that in his hands it was really not adding much, if anything, to his fighting ability. The elemental orbs that were in it were good, they reduced the amount of mana he needed to use when using his affinity, but not to the point that it made much of a difference considering his mana pool. His sword and armour had the runes and gems in it that made the gauntlet almost obsolete to him. But it was also the first epic item he ever created, did he really want to disassemble it for parts? He didn¡¯t need to make the decision now, but that didn¡¯t stop him from exploring options around what he could potentially create using the parts of the gauntlet separately. He didn¡¯t attempt to use his new planning skill, not yet. He would give it another day before he attempted to channel mana or any skill through his body, but he still had old fashioned paper to use. He had already started the process of creating a ritual circle to help draw out and then contain the attuned energy from the natural treasures he had. Using this as a base he got started creating a new ritual that would work with the orbs in his gauntlet. He had been pretty close to perfecting his old design so he already had a near finished plan to go off of, all he needed to do was make some amendments. This was how he spent the rest of his day, he took breaks to eat and stretch out his body, slowly testing out his recovery and how close he was to being fully healed. Like the night before, Eric and Gabe bought him food and they dined together. It was a more relaxed meal, not having to really go over anything that had happened while he had been gone and instead just spoke about the day. The next day Shaun felt well enough to start testing out his new planning skill, his body and mind felt like they were nearly recovered but he would still take things slow for now, not wanting to do something that would push his recovery out further. As soon as he activated his planning skill he felt just a small twinge of pain in his mind that he was able to ignore easily. The moment he activated the skill his mana drained instantly to create an orb of mana in his hand and he got the knowledge of how to use it. It was based off of willpower, he simply willed the orb to project the design he wanted and light would shine from the orb, projecting his thoughts. He took his time playing around with the skill before he was comfortable enough to move the ritual he had finished designing the day before into the orb. As he mapped it out he felt that the orb was connected to him but as soon as he finished he felt that connection sever. Curious, he accessed the orb again and the connection reappeared. It was an interesting skill, one that he was happy to have chosen. He could see the perks of having such a versatile planning skill, not just for crafting either, but for planning out anything he wanted and didn¡¯t want to forget. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. He had just left his home to find someone who could help test out the orb, to see if they could access it and if so how they did t and if they could amend the design, when he got an unexpected message from the system. **Hello to all surviving beings of the integration, you have now survived 3 months on your new planet after the conclusion of the tutorial. In another 3 months¡¯ time a planet wide event will begin, one that will offer great rewards for those who participate and do well. The type of event that will be held will be voted on by those who own settlements. F grade settlements will count as 1 vote, E grade will count as 10 and D grade as 100 votes. Regardless of which event is chosen, you will be unable to truly die in the event. If you are killed within the event you will simply be ejected. The event will pass in an instant on your planet time but may go on for months inside the actual event. The event, regardless of what form it will take, will have two major reward categories. The first is based on individual performance and the second is based off of settlement performance. Settlement owners will have the following options to choose from for the event: The Arena¨C Battle off in the arena to claim the number 1 spot. The Hunt ¨C Search and claim as much as you can. The War ¨C Two sides fight, only one will win. Good luck.** The message just detailed much of what he already knew, although the settlements having a different amount of votes depending on grade was interesting. Looking around it seemed that everyone had gotten the message, even the kids. The three options were all combat based, at least that is what it appeared at first glance. With every single on of these you would need some support classes as well as people with professions to help boost your settlement. One thing was clear from each event though, you had to be strong to do well, both at an individual level and a settlement level. 3 months was also not that long, he had already been on Earth that long since the tutorial and he had felt it pass in the blink of an eye. Sure, he hadn¡¯t exactly been present for a month of that, but even then, the first 2 months went quick. He expected Viv to show up pretty soon, probably with her own opinion and how she wanted to plan for it. This event was going to set the stage for the actual war, if she didn¡¯t have this settlement finish in first place then it would have a big impact on her reputation as well as that of The Empires. This was not something he really wanted to deal with at current but this event was also one of the biggest reasons he was here on Earth and not with The Alliance. The rewards you got from winning this event were apparently good enough to have a big impact on your progress for a long time to come. At least in this he would work with Viv, he needed to win on an individual level as well as make sure that the Settlement won as well. He owned the settlement so he assumed he would also get some reward from that too. Rather than continue to find someone to help figure out his orb plan he just turned around and went back inside. Those that wanted to find him would come to him here so there was no point walking around. Instead as he waited he looked over the 3 options. The first being an arena fight he immediately ruled out, he had done that in the tutorial and didn¡¯t want to do it again. The second one, The Hunt, was definitely more interesting. He didn¡¯t know what he would end up looking for but it sounded fun. The last one though, The War. If he was to guess this was probably the best option for Earth. Seeing as you couldn¡¯t die in the event like you could here, this war they were in the middle of could be fought and finished without the need of so many people dying. It didn¡¯t sound as interesting as The Hunt but it would benefit more people. If he was right, winning the war would win you the settlement reward, or something close to it anyway. Maybe on the individual level it would be about how much you did to contribute to your side? He didn¡¯t know for sure, but it sounded plausible. Eric was the first to show up at his house, followed minutes later by Eric. They started to talk about the message but he just said to wait for the others who he assumed would also show up at some point. Instead, he had them test out his orb plan. Interestingly they could project the plan out with a little bit of mana usage but they could amend the plan. That gave him so many ideas, not just to help himself but to help a lot of people at the school. He was about to start talking about his plan when someone started knocking on the door. He already had a good feeling about who it was and when he opened the door he was that Viv, Li and Josh had showed up along with a few other people. He invited them all in and he got comfortable on a couch to listen to what they had to say. ¡°Shaun, you own the settlement so it is your choice. But I am asking you, pick The War event. I have already communicated with Xavier on the way here and he is going to propose that if we go with this event that the losing side concedes the fight for Earth and any claim they have to ruling. You know this is the right thing to do.¡± Viv spoke quickly, not letting him interrupt, not that he was planning to. It was as he had expected anyway. So long as there was an agreement with the factions then he didn¡¯t see an issue with picking the event as they wanted. As long as he got the rewards he didn¡¯t care too much anyway. ¡°Agreed, as long as the factions have an air tight agreement in place, and that I still hold ownership of the settlement and whatever rewards will come with it when we win, I will agree to choose The War event. Understand though, we have to win. I will be fighting to take the top spot in both reward categories. You need to push everyone that is going to join the event to be at their peak power. No more holding back. We must win.¡± Viv was taken aback at how easily he agreed with her and by just how forceful he was in that they needed to win. It was more for selfish reasons and she likely knew that, but she wasn¡¯t going to pass up how easily Shaun gave in to what she wanted. ¡°Good, that¡¯s¡­ great actually. Let¡¯s get planning.¡± After that everyone got comfortable and they stated hashing out some broad plans regarding what they needed. Viv was to take care of building an actual army and managing people. What they also needed was better quality weapons to be made, a full focus on growing in levels and power as well as allies. The war would only have two sides, and how that was done was as of yet unknown. But there was a lot of people on Earth that would be joining this event that would need to pick a side and although quality was better than quantity, if they didn¡¯t manage to gain enough people to their side they would could be taken out by sheer numbers if they were unlucky. It was going to be a busy 3 months. But at least he could palm off people management to Viv, this was why she was here and why he agreed to the contract with The Empire. He wished her luck as for this event her success just added to his own. Book 3: Chapter 4 After he finished with the planning meeting with the others he had a to do list of his own that he now had to work through in the next few months before the event. In terms of prep for the event he wanted to get production of good quality weapons going. He didn¡¯t want to personally create every weapon, it would take too long and he didn¡¯t want to waste his own time churning out advanced grade weapons that would give him little to no experience. What he could do though was act as a guiding hand. The first trip he made was to the forges, he wanted to spend some time to see the quality of work they would be able to make and what materials they were working with in more detail. When he did arrive at the forges they were in the middle of a class. Rather than interrupt he looked around and found a number of finished weapons in one area and in another finished parts of metal armour. When he identified every piece he found they were all simple grade but of a decent make. The weapons were mostly different types of swords and daggers but there was also some spears and other bladed weapons. He picked each one up and tested it physically, then he pushed the smallest amount of mana through it to test its mana conductivity. He concluded that both were average but usable for someone in the F grade or early E grade. As he was making his way through the row of blades he saw someone coming up to him, by the looks of it they were someone that worked in the forge. ¡°Are you here to buy? You should know that although we produce decent weapons, we are predominately a teaching facility.¡± Shaun identified the man and found that his name was Jai and he was surprisingly at level 15. ¡°I am not here to buy. Actually, I was here to check what weapons you make and to see if they could be improved on.¡± Shaun considered for a moment before continuing. ¡°Who runs the forges?¡± ¡°Have you got a profession related to metal work? Jane runs the forge, she doesn¡¯t teach but she does a lot of the planning and mark ups on what we create here. She would be in her personal forge back there if you want to talk with her. But she doesn¡¯t really like being interrupted.¡± Shaun put down the dagger he was still holding back in its place and moved towards where Jai had indicated this Jane would be. Shaun knocked on the door that separated the main forge from Jane¡¯s and didn¡¯t wait for an answer before he went in. Inside he saw a woman hammering away at a piece of metal, the heat in the room was high but to him he barely felt it. ¡°Hello, Jane is it?¡± He spoke loud enough that the women could hear him, the moment he had spoken she whirled around with hammer still in hand and stared at him. ¡°Go away I am busy. Speak to Jai outside if you want something.¡± She didn¡¯t even bother to wait for him to reply before she turned back to her work. Rather than leave he looked around at the weapons in this room. Perfect. The weapons in here were all advanced grade and much better than what was outside. Every blade was sharp and crafted to an excellent quality. Using his own skill he tested out the conductivity and structure of each blade, he was impressed with what he found. He saw a few things which he might be able to improve to better be able to place runes on the blade but overall he could easily upgrade the weapons. ¡°Why are the weapons in here better than the ones outside?¡± The hammering had gone quiet while he had been looking over each weapon, he knew he was being watched so didn¡¯t bother trying to get her attention again. ¡°The quality of metal is better, the designs more advanced and they take longer to forge. For the most part a lot of the smiths outside do not have the skills or ability that I do. I also don¡¯t have the time or patience to spend every waking moment guiding them. If they want to improve they need to do so themselves, just like I did.¡± Jane¡¯s tone had changed considerably since she told him to leave, she was much more willing to talk to him now. ¡°If I supplied the with the materials, and a plan of how to create the advanced grade weapons. Do you think they could do it?¡± He needed to know if it would be a waste of his time or whether there was a chance that he could push this forge to a higher quality. ¡°Theoretically sure. But creating a plan that someone could follow would take time and effort. I have no desire to do it. Like I said I don¡¯t think that holding their hand every step of the way would be valuable to me or them.¡± He agreed with her, at least if he didn¡¯t have a different goal in mind. ¡°Would you mind if I created plans of the weapons, and adapted them a bit? I wouldn¡¯t mind your input to ensure I don¡¯t change them beyond anyone¡¯s ability to craft. You know what they can do better than I do.¡± ¡°I am willing to look over your plans, if you really want to waste your time doing it. But only because of who you are. I doubt you would take no as an answer anyway.¡± He chuckled at that. If she had said no, he wouldn¡¯t have pushed, but he wasn¡¯t going to tell her that now that she had agreed. Picking up the sword he liked the most he placed it on a free table away from anything else and activated his planning skill. The pain he had been feeling was practically gone now so he activated his other skills one by one until he was able to fully pull apart the sword in his mind. The first thing he did was replicate each part of the sword on the plan and continued to add extra information on how he saw it created from his skills. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°The metal needs to be heated more here before being shaped.¡± She pointed out a flaw in his replication. And when he fixed it, she continued pointing out different things he hadn¡¯t considered when actually forging weapons. His own skills let him bypass a lot of this. His process relied purely on mana not manual labour, so without Jane¡¯s assistance he would have failed miserably. When he had finished the plan as an exact replica of the sword Jane had created he started to make his own adjustments to it. A little thicker in some places and with a place for a gem to be placed in another. She questioned him on every change and he explained his reasoning each time. Once the plan was done it had only taken 10 minutes and he gave Jane a questioning look, asking if it was achievable for others to use. ¡°If you provided the material and that plan to the blacksmith and weapon forges out there then I would say they have an 80% chance of success. It will only grow when their skills increase.¡± He was happy with that. Finished with that plan he created a second and created the replica of the completed sword from his other plan. Then he simply marked it up with runes that allowed for a basic strike attack. This took only a minute or so to do. He could have done this in his sleep with how basic the rune work was but his plan wasn¡¯t to do it himself but have others do it for him. ¡°What have you done to the sword? All I see is squiggly lines covering the blade.¡± It was a valid question, the art of rune work was not something that would be common this early in the integration. ¡°It¡¯s a runic spell. Once put on the sword and activated, all that a person wielding the blade would have to do would be to push some mana into it and the spell would activate. This spell would be for a power strike skill. It could either coat the blade in a magical attack that would cause further damage on physical contact or could be launched from the blade for a ranged attack, although that would need more mana to achieve.¡± She looked at him in shock, she opened and closed her mouth a few times looking like she wanted to say something but could find the words. Instead, she just picked up the sword he had originally based his plans off and held it out to him. ¡°Show me.¡± Doing the runes took no effort from him, it was very basic compared to what he had done before and it was a good test to see how it would affect him after his injuries. It took only a few minutes to engrave the runes with his skills and then power them up with mana. He had chosen an unattuned power strike for this one and as soon as he was done he got the notification around earning experience. ¡°Done.¡± He handed the sword back to her and she clearly identified it, the shock of how easily he had upgraded the sword was plain on her face. ¡°You can do this to any blade?¡± ¡°Blade, armour, arrows, anything really with enough effort and if made well enough.¡± ¡°What is the plan here Shaun. Why now? What is the end game?¡± She put down the sword and stared at him. ¡°You got the message around the event?¡± She nodded at him. ¡°We will be fighting a war it seems. To help us win we need better weapons than what people are currently using.¡± ¡°Okay, but why come here rather than one of the forges in the crating sector of the city?¡± ¡°Simple, I would rather people here grow and gain the experience. The more people learn and level here the more the kids learn and the better off the school is in the future.¡± Jane searched his face to see if he was lying, after nearly a full minute of silence she seemed to be happy with his response. ¡°Okay then, are you creating plans for the rest of these weapons or not?¡± He smiled at her response, they got to work straight away, the first thing they did was copy every weapon and then they started making adaption to each of them. Different types of swords, short and long, some curved others straight, daggers of varying length and make. Spears and even battle axes joined the mix as well. By the time they were done they had nearly 2 dozen plans. What he did then was create copies, 10 of each type to be distributed and stored for use. When he was done he pocketed two of each and then left the remaining 8 of each plan to Jane. ¡°You want to get this production started in the forge or o you want me to?¡± ¡°This is still my forge, I will do the rest. The issue is material though, we have a budget and getting this started is going to cost us some coin up front. If we sell them after we should recoup the cost and more. Although that depends if you are planning to even charge for this.¡± He thought about it for a moment and then came up with a plan. ¡°Those from the school who can choose one weapon each, student need approval from their combat teachers though. Anyone outside of the school will need to pay. I will organise that with Viv. It would be smart to have a display of each weapon so that you wont have to get them out if someone wants to look at them.¡± ¡°You know, I think I might actually like you.¡± He chuckled at that. He also gave her enough coin that she could kick start the forging, to him it was nothing but Jane nearly lost her mind at the gold coins he gave her. After some final words and plans they parted ways so he could continue on with his plans. The next place he went to was the general crafting facility, these were set up more like class rooms and he quickly found the person in charge of the building, her name was Jo and she warmly greeted him as he approached. Their conversation was less intense than with Jane. He simply proposed a new class, one that focused around rune work that should be open to student that wanted to learn and adults that wished to pick up the profession. She had loved the idea the moment he started talking about it. Jo proposed announcing it a dinner that night, to start the next day and he just said to talk to Eric about it. What he did do though was create plans of every basic rune he knew, creating dozens of copies of each. Then he started creating harder patterns that incorporated multiple runes and then finally full spells. He handed all of them to Jo and explained what each of them were and instructions on how the process worked. She was a cheerful person and her energy practically bounced off of the room they were in. It had taken a few hours to supply everything they needed. He even went so far as to create a dozen tools that would be able to have mana channelled into them and used to engrave runes on both metal and leather. The last place he visited that day was the leather working facility, he repeated the same process he had in the forge although to much less success. They would need to do custom orders for the most part due to the size of everything needing to be fit for the person. Although they were able to make some stock standard pieces that could be easily changed to a specific person. The day had passed quickly and he finished it off with informing Eric of everything he had done that day and left the last bit of pulling it all together to him. He probably should have stated with Eric but he didn¡¯t seem too annoyed at his meddling in process. If anything he was impressed with what he had accomplished in a day. He was only just getting started though. Book 3: Chapter 5 When the new day started he decided to take it slow, he had agreed to teach a class later on in the day but outside of that he was going to let his plans from the previous day start to take form before moving onto the next thing he planned to do. Rather than leave his home he made himself comfortable in the living area and pulled out the Dragon Core from his inventory. He had yet to do anything with it, the instructions given to him by King Shrakein was to sit and meditate on it. It was apparently going to be important in his future, how exactly, he wasn¡¯t sure, but the King wouldn¡¯t have told him to do something if there wasn¡¯t an important reason behind it. The core radiated power, one that was similar to King Shrakein¡¯s but not as strong. Placing the core directly in front of him on the ground he slipped into meditation and focused only on the core. It was an odd feeling, the core seemed to constantly project an essence of some kind, one that seemed to want to connect with him but at the same time would retreat from his own presence. The feeling he got was that the core wanted a connection, a bond, even if only temporary. However it didn¡¯t want it with just anybody, there was something it needed form him to be able to form that connection. Shaun lost himself in that feeling, trying to find a way to connect and share himself with the core but no mater what he tried he couldn¡¯t force it. Still he kept focusing on the core and the essence it emitted and tried to grab hold of it and bring it under his control. Every time he thought he was making progress he was pushed back and had to start again. He tried every skill he had and even flexed his willpower on the core but to no success. What do you want from me? He changed tactics and tried to push his mind into the core but was met with a solid barrier, one that was so strong that he didn¡¯t have even the slightest hope in making it through. Even physically he doubted he would be able to even scratch the thing. What exactly am I supposed to learn from this? He was broken out of his meditation when he heard a knock on his door, annoyed at being interrupted so quickly he put the core back into his inventory and went to see who it was. He had considered ignoring it but he didn¡¯t know if it would be something important. The person who had knocked on his door was a women he had never met before, looking almost scared to be there. ¡°Can I help you?¡± ¡°Sorry to interrupt you sir. But Jo asked me to come and find you, she said that you were going to teach the first class on runes?¡± She wouldn¡¯t meet his eye when she spoke but she got her words out easy enough. ¡°That¡¯s right. Has something changed?¡± That class wasn¡¯t until after lunch, unless it changed he had plenty of time. ¡°The class started 10 minutes ago sir.¡± Damn it! This is the second time that I have lost track of the flow of time in mediation. ¡°Right¡­. Then we should hurry over.¡± When they managed to get to the room where the class would take place he was somewhat shocked to see that nearly 25 people filled the room, Jo included. He hadn¡¯t really come up with a plan on how this class would be run so he just decided that he would do a demonstration and then have them work on copying the basic runes to paper. ¡°Alright so runes. They are the best.¡± He got some laughs at that, even though he was being completely serious. ¡°To be honest, they really are. They are versatile and once you know enough of them the only thing that is stopping you from doing something is your own power and imagination. Take the ward for example, you all know what that big light was right?¡± He got nods from everyone in the room, everyone was informed of what it was so keep them from worrying. ¡°That was all done by powering a full circuit of runes into a ritual. There is also other uses though, and what we will be focusing on is learning the basic to eventually apply them to weapons and armour. Like this.¡± He pulled out a dagger that had no runes currently carved into it, it was a blank canvas on which he could show everyone what he was talking about. ¡°This is an advanced grade dagger, but currently there is nothing special about it outside of the metal it is made of. Everyone some up and identify it please.¡± Once everyone came in close he asked them all to stay so they could all see what he was doing. ¡°Now I have a skill that lets me put the runes on without having to physically carve them, so its kind of cheating. You will need to actually use an engraver to do it. But watch how I put the runes on it.¡± He took his time slowly putting on each rune, when he was done he then started to connect them up to form the spell. When he was done he let everyone have a look while he explained what each rune was and the use of them. ¡°That is only the first step though, now you have to power the entire spell up with mana until it is fully active. Depending on how powerful the runes are will depend on how much mana is needed.¡± He moved on to channelling his mana into the runes, letting the students all see it slowly power up until he felt like it was nearly complete. ¡°You should feel when it is nearly done, it lights up and feels full. You need to do this in one go so you may need to meditate and take it slow so you don¡¯t run out of mana. But when you reach the final part it will fall into place.¡± He pushed the last amount of mana needed into the runes and then with a final burst of light it fell into place. ¡°Now identify the dagger. Tell me what has changed.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°It has a spell on it now. An electrocuting pulse? That¡¯s incredible!¡± All of his student spoke over each other, some asking questions and others just voicing their own exclamations of excitement. He answered all of the questions before having everyone go back to their desks. ¡°You are all a long way off doing this, first you need to learn the runes and practice writing them. Only when you carve the runes on metal to perfection will you start on actual weapons. But first, I guess you all need to start with old fashioned pen and paper.¡± Jo took the orbs with the plans he put with basic runes and started placing them on desks with pens and books. She took over for this part where Shaun only needed to walk around and give advice and point out areas of improvement. The class only went for two hours and then the students had to go to their next class while the adults that had joined chose to stay and keep working. He stayed with them for a while longer, pushing them harder than the kids but also attempting some positive reinforcement. Jo seemed to have picked it up much quicker than the others though. ¡°You seem to be familiar with some of this already?¡± He questioned her. She blushed at his comment and looked sheepish before replying to him. ¡°I may have stayed up late last night and got a head start.¡± ¡°I like the dedication. What¡¯s your profession? If you don¡¯t mind me asking.¡± ¡°I sadly do not have one, but I do have hope.¡± He gave her a nod and continued helping some of the others. He only stayed for another hour before he moved on to check on the forge. Between yesterday and today things had changed rapidly. Students were still there but now Jane was in the driving seat, she was dividing up different stations and they were being worked hard on building their skills by forging basic weapons of the same designs as they had come up with the day before. She only acknowledged him with a dip of her head, not willing to let up on the work that she was doing. He left the forge in her capable hands and moved on to check on those who worked on metal armour. He had neglected them the day before but now spent some time helping build up their plans and where they needed to focus. They even spent time creating plans for different types of shields that could be utilised by different builds. The days passed with him focusing on meditating on the Dragon Core in the morning and night, although he was failing to make progress. During the middle part of the day he helped in the rune class as well as taking up some other projects he wanted to work on. The thing that had shocked him on the second day was that he had gotten a notification while he was meditating. *[Advanced] Short Sword has been created based off of your Creators Plan Skill ¨C Profession Experience Rewarded.* The fact he was getting experience because other people were utilising his plans was a boon that he was more than happy to accept. He doubted it was a lot of experience, but even a little per creation would add up over time. The only downside was that it wouldn¡¯t help with his skill levels, although it probably would for his planning skill. It wasn¡¯t until the third day after he had finally formed a routine that things changed. He was in the middle of mediating on the core when someone knocked on his door again. Unlike last time though this was accompanied by yelling. ¡°Shaun, I know you are in there! This is urgent, we need you now!¡± He didn¡¯t recognise the voice at first, but he did recognise the feeling of the man with his echo skill. Putting the core away he answered acknowledge the man at the door. ¡°Come in Josh. This better be as urgent as you think it is.¡± When Josh entered the room he had a wild look in his eyes and was red from what he assumed was running here from the Settlement Crystal. ¡°You are needed at the gate, now!¡± ¡°Why would I be needed at the gate, that is for Viv to sort out.¡± He turned away from Josh and started to sit back on the ground when the man shouted at him. ¡°No! There are Elves at the gate. They refuse to speak to anyone but the owner of the Settlement. Viv tried to explain everything but they wont budge. They will only speak to you.¡± Interesting. He knew that there was a chance of something like this happening. The system had been very clear that multiple worlds were being terraformed into forming this one. The odds of humans being the only ones on all of those planets was slim, at least he thought so. But to have Elves on Earth, and for them to show up now of all times, was an interesting development. ¡°Which gate are they at?¡± ¡°The main one, the one that everyone uses to get into the settlement. Are you going to go?¡± Josh looked almost worried he was going to say no. That gate wasn¡¯t that far away from here. Using the Settlement Crystal would take longer than simply shifting into the air. Although he hadn¡¯t done that since he had been hurt in the making of the ward. Still why not give it a try now, he was pretty confident he was back to near peak health after having rested for so long. He moved past Josh and outside of his home. After only hesitating for a moment he activated his elemental shift skill and disappeared into the wind. Thankfully there was no pain, in fact he found the process to be even easier than before. He pushed himself to go as fast as he could towards the gate and he was even able to move at a higher speed than before. His Mana Body Title had to be at play here, it was the only reason he could come up with as to why it was so much easier to push his body with the mana skill than before. It didn¡¯t take long moving at this speed to reach the gate, but when he arrived he didn¡¯t shift back into his solid form straight away. His conscious took in what was happening. Outside of the gate was 3 Elves, one female and standing at the front facing towards Viv and two males behind the female. They didn¡¯t move or speak, simply stood there facing forward. Viv on the other hand had a number of people with her and looked to be in conversation, trying to figure out what to do if he didn¡¯t come he imagined. Deciding to put everyone out of their misery he decided to appear back in solid form between Viv and the Elves. For a minute they just took in each other, neither speaking nor moving. He took the first opportunity he could to identify them. *Yarila Zercoven ¨C Level 72* *Parciner Rolander ¨C Level 68* *Parcina Rolander ¨C Level 68* They were decently strong, and if he was to guess the two males were brothers, maybe twins. None of them held weapons in hand, although neither did he. One of them was going to have to make the first move, and after a moment of consideration he decided to get started. ¡°Do you belong to any factions or clans? If so, which. Your answer will decide what happens next.¡± Yarila¡¯s eyes went wide when he finished. Although that was the only change in her expression. He couldn¡¯t read whether it was out of fear, annoyance or some other emotion. ¡°My name is Yarila, I have been sent by my people to start conversation with your settlement. We belong to no Clan, nor Faction. The same as you, Shaun Clermont.¡± Book 3: Chapter 6 There was silence after the elf finished speaking. She had said that she belonged to no faction, although whether that was true or not could not yet be confirmed. But what was most interesting was that she already knew he was also independent, at least for the most part. His working with The Empire, even if just for the moment, did put him on their side for the time being, but only until he left Earth. ¡°Yarila, why have you come here now and not earlier?¡± Shaun wanted to take the lead in questioning here. He wanted as much information as he could get from here and only then would he make a decision as to what to do. If it had to do with the settlement then he would leave most of the decisions to Viv, it was why she was here after all. But if it had to do with something else, that would mean he would need to get more involved, probably. ¡°The reason we have come is simple, yet not. We did not know there was a human settlement here, not until very recently. Days ago we saw the night light up in the distance. It was close enough to our woods that we could not ignore what it was in case there was a threat to us. We sent our scouts to check what had caused this event. To our shock it was your settlement. It was decided that I would come to see what kind of people you are. Depending on what I find will decide how we move forward. For good or ill.¡± The elf had remained calm throughout her reply, everything she said was logical and made sense. For them this was a get to know you and see if you are the kind of people that would kill the elves just because they were different. Or if they would accept them and try and form some alliance maybe? ¡°You have heard of me, considering your first statement of knowing I was not part of any faction. Care to tell me how? I am curious about what was said about me.¡± He hadn¡¯t really had an opportunity to question someone on this yet and he was definitely interested to know. Yarila gave him a small nod as if she had been expecting such a question, like she had purposely set him up for it. ¡°We were sent to tutorials, just like humans. And like yours not all the tutorials were created equal. Our leader was from one of the more, difficult tutorials, as was I. At the end, before we were sent back here, we were informed of a man named Shaun Clermont who had a kill order placed on him by all of the factions. If one of us managed to kill him, we would be granted admission to join one of the factions of our choosing.¡± She stopped then and looked at Viv. ¡°That seems to have changed though. She is from The Empire.¡± Viv moved in closer then, taking that as her que to join the conversation. ¡°I am part of The Empire. I do not hide that fact, I have no reason to. But if you must know a deal was struck, the kill order was lifted by The Empire and all factions allied with us in the war. If you have come here to attempt to kill Shaun, you would be working against half of the factions.¡± Yarila turned back to Shaun, not bothering to directly reply to Viv. ¡°We do not wish to kill you. I do not believe we even could.¡± ¡°Good to know.¡± There was silence again for a few moments as they stared at each other. ¡°I believe this is the point where you tell us what you really want here.¡± ¡°I will be honest and to the point, it seems that is your preferred method of communication. I would like to see your settlement. I wish to know the reaction of your people to seeing elves walk through your home and to see how everyone is treated and what kind of ruler you are. We will report back to our people and deliberate on what I have found. Only then will we decide if we wish to move forward with communicating or working with you and your people.¡± Shaun considered her for a while, he did appreciate the honesty, it was clear that she wouldn¡¯t have final say on what their people did but her opinion of them would be a deciding factor. Still, this was all becoming more political, and politics wasn¡¯t his thing. ¡°I may currently own the settlement, but I don¡¯t deal with the day to day running of this place. The decision is Viv¡¯s. If she agrees to show you around, I will come with you for the tour, but she gets to make the final decisions when it comes to this stuff.¡± It why he had spent so much effort in building her up to where she was. Yarila continued to stare at him without saying anything for a moment, she finally broke the silence after fully taking in what he had said. ¡°You are an odd person, Shaun. Among my people, the strongest rule, it was the case even before the integration. Yet, even though you are clearly the strongest you have given that power to this Viv.¡± He didn¡¯t answer her, didn¡¯t see any need to. ¡°Yarila, I will allow a tour, but like everyone that enters the settlement you will need to make an oath before you enter. It will be in force while you are within the settlement. That is non-negotiable.¡± Viv took over the conversation after that. Yarila and the twins had no issues with taking the oath as long as it didn¡¯t cause them or their people any harm. What followed after was the longest day of his life. It had some interesting moments, as he got to see just how much had changed in the last month, but for the most part it was just seeing people get along with their day. The reaction from most people when they saw the elves was curiosity more than anything. Although some looked on in fear and others with looks that went beyond mere interest. He didn¡¯t blame them, the elves were super human attractive. They were also powerful and different, why wouldn¡¯t people be interested. When they came to the crafting city that had been created specifically for those wanting to focus on their professions Shaun was actually just as curious as the elves. He had never bothered to come here, he had no need. Although seeing the standard of what they were producing compared to his own school was insightful. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. The large city forge was similar to the one at his school just much bigger. When they entered, he found that there was nearly 2 dozen people working in their own spaces, each working independently on their own projects. Not bothering to ask he looked around at some of the projects people were both currently working on and some that had finished. The people working looked annoyed at first until they saw Viv and they immediately became much more welcoming, even with the elves present. The weapons that were being created were, average, at best. They were all basic and not worth the time it would take to apply runes to them. Yarila seemed to share his opinion as she didn¡¯t look like she was impressed with the work either. ¡°This is the city forge, some of our best metal workers are working overtime to create weapons and armour for the event that is coming up.¡± Viv spoke to the elves and he almost cringed at the idea that she was showing them her best. The forge at the school was making weapons much better than what was being worked on here and most of that was being done with kids helping! ¡°The are basic weapons.¡± That was all the elf said and that one sentence said a hell of a lot more than what the words actually meant. It was embarrassing, even for him. ¡°The grade will increase as their levels increase. Making an advanced weapon is not an easy feat.¡± She then gave him a look and mumbled. ¡°For most people anyway.¡± All three elves heard her mumble the last bit which made them look to him. He held back a sigh and instead did what he would have done if they were not present. ¡°Everyone stop what they are doing.¡± He didn¡¯t shout in the forge, but he infused just enough power into his voice so that he would capture everyone attention. ¡°Gather around. There has been a change of operation here.¡± Everyone stared at him and then looked at Viv for direction. She looked to be holding back her anger but it was slipping through if you knew what to look for. In the end she simply nodded at the and they all did what he asked and came to stand in front of him. Once he had everyone¡¯s undivided attention he continued. ¡°Basic weapons are going to do nothing for us in the event. From now on you will be crafting advanced weapons based off of these plans.¡± He pulled out one of each plan he had, leaving him with only a single copy of each. ¡°You will need to share them, or specialise in one, I don¡¯t care. Push a little mana into the orbs and the plan will be projected like this.¡± He gave a demonstration and projected one of the plans for the short sword. All of the crafters gathered around excitedly, these plans were above anything they had created to date and having it all mapped out for them would be a boon for their progress. ¡°Shaun, do every single one of those orbs have a different design?¡± Viv questioned him, almost as excited as the rest of the crafters. ¡°Yes. There are plans for weapons and armour in there. You might need better material but the base of how to do everything is all there including instructions.¡± He thought for a moment before deciding to continue. ¡°I have also started training people on runes. Once they are fully trained, they will be able to engrave spells into weapons and armour as well. But it is a work in progress and won¡¯t be free. Their time will be valuable, you will need to make it worth their while to upgrade anything that is crafted. Our forges have already started work on these designs and have been successful in crafting a number of them. You will have competition.¡± He had just lit a fire under all of these crafters and they all looked ready to get started. He gave them the all clear to take the orbs and he turned and left the forge without a goodbye. Viv and the elves followed suit and when they were outside he saw Viv¡¯s barely controlled annoyance. In contrast to that he saw Yarila actually smiling. ¡°It seems that you have your own place here that is doing the advanced work of the settlement. If what you say is true, producing advanced weaponry and working on runes, I am now impressed. Is this included in the tour?¡± ¡°No. My place, as you call it, is in fact a school for kids to learn and grow. We have some great trainers and teachers but the focus is on helping kids adjust to the new world and making sure they have everything they need to explore and choose their own paths. It won¡¯t be part of the tour.¡± For the first time he saw her look at him with not just happiness but something akin to respect. ¡°You may not know this, but us elves value children more than most races. We are unable to birth as often as most races and that makes us cherish our young all the more. To hear that you have dedicated time and resources so quickly to your youth¡­¡­. If our people were willing to join with your own, would our own kids be welcomed to your school like they are your own? Would you willingly take those of us hat wished to teach and be surrounded by all children into your school?¡± Now this was a decision he could actually make. ¡°I would need to confirm with my partners who help run the school for the most part, but if you were to join this settlement, and that is a decision that is up to Viv, then yes, I would support the elven children and those that had something to teach in joining the school.¡± There was no real downside to letting them join. If they joined the settlement then they should fully join, not be excluded from things just because they were a different species. ¡°I was hesitant, when I found that you owned this settlement. Having a kill order put on you by the factions coloured my view on you, at first anyway. But I see you are a good male, at heart.¡± She turned to Viv. ¡°I have seen and learnt all I need here. We will take our leave and someone will be sent once a decision has been made on behalf of the elves in our colony. I thank you for opening your settlement to us.¡± The walk back to the gate was done in silence. He wanted to leave after Yarila had said her piece, but he decided to stay until the end. Once they got to the gate there was no farewell, they simply gave a short bow to Shaun and a nod to Viv and left. Once they were out of listening distance he spoke before Viv could. ¡°I think that went well.¡± Viv let out a breath of pent up emotion before she replied to him. Her emotions were still in check but she did let some frustration creep into her voice. ¡°I would have preferred you not make a scene at the forges, but yes, it went well. I have some idea of what they want as well, especially when you spoke about the school.¡± She turned to look at him then. ¡°How long has the school been making advanced items and training on rune work?¡± He shrugged at her. ¡°A few days.¡± ¡°I would like to send a few people to start learning runes. It will be good to have that skill in the crafting sector.¡± ¡°Not yet, I am already training over 2 dozen people. When they are good enough to start training others it will be up to them if they wish to pass on their knowledge. Until then, it stays within the school.¡± He wasn¡¯t going to take a golden opportunity away from the school or his students. What happened in the school was still ultimately up to him. And if it came to a point they needed more people to learn rune work then he would reconsider, until then though, he wasn¡¯t going to budge. ¡°I am heading back now. I expect the training for the event is going well. I will check in on progress in a few weeks.¡± He left without saying another word, he simply shifted into the air and left. He still had a lot to do and entering into pointless conversation was not one of them. Book 3: Chapter 7 When Shaun finally got back to the school he stopped in and spoke to Jo, he had missed the class but they continued without him and focused on getting practice in on their rune work. He was impressed with the dedication of everyone in the class, they were making good progress and he hoped that when it came time to actually power their first rune fully that they were offered a profession around it. Rather than go back to meditating on the Dragon Core he moved to the next phase of his plan. He had been thinking on what he wanted to do with his gauntlet for a while now and had made the decision to disassemble it. There was two reasons for this. The first being that he had decided that he was going to forge another sword, one that would rival if not exceed the one he already had. He wanted to move to a dual wielding sword fighter. So many of his skills revolved around the blade and his gauntlet just wasn¡¯t making the cut. The second reason was that the orbs in the gauntlet would be better used elsewhere. This school would be his legacy here on Earth. When he left he wanted to leave behind his mark. The chances of him ever returning were slim and it may be egotistical of him but he wanted to leave the world better than how he had entered it. Rather than get distracted at the school he moved to the Settlement Crystal straight away. When he got there, he pulled up the terraforming screen and got to work. He needed 5 areas, one each for the basic elements and he needed the area to reflect the element. The nature element was easiest, he picked an area and simply moved around some trees to form a barrier in a large circle. He wanted these areas to be closed off for the most part as he knew that when they were used you would need full concentration and a peaceful environment. For the Earth element he created a tunnel that went underground and ended in a large cavern. For Air he created a spiral tower that went up way into the sky and ended on a large circular platform. For water he created a dome of earth and inside of it was a large lake full of water. And finally for Fire he made a temple like structure that had plenty of areas for him to imbue the fire element into. Overall, the TE usage was minimal and it would only take a few hours for most of them to be fully completed. Some like the nature one would be done by the time he got to the area. He had put each of these area in a line bordering between the school and the E grade area, preferring it to be away from the wall and closer to the internal of the settlement. Moving his way to the area he had chosen to place the nature orb he considered the best way to go about making the area as potent as he could with the nature element. He already had the ritual mapped out and planned but he wanted to push it further than just relying on the orb. It took only minutes for him to fly to the area, and from his view in the air he could see a clear circle of large trees blocking entry into the area, all except for a small opening that was only large enough for two people to walk through. He landed in the middle of the area and immediately dropped to the ground in a meditative position. He could easily form the ritual circle using the earth or any other number of things, but that would be doing this half assed and not truly giving it his all. He though about it for a while, sending out his senses and trying to think of the best way he could do this. Nature was all about life and growth. So using something that was living for the ritual was likely to be the best option, but what? Using bushes would be cumbersome, moving through the area would become painful, the same idea applied to trees. He sent his mind at the closest tree and with both his enhanced mind and echo skill he fully mapped he area both above ground and below. The roots of the trees! He tested out if his idea would work, he tapped into his nature element like he never had before and started trying to coax the trees into moving their roots into a position that he wanted. It was slow progress but it worked. Fully sinking into a trance he connected with every tree in the area and embraced his nature affinity to the limit. He had his plan for the ritual and now he just needed to join with the trees and help them move their roots until they were all formed together and in the shape he desired. He gave himself fully to the project, he felt calm when he fully let the nature element take over. It was intoxicating, but he still kept his mind on the task at hand. He didn¡¯t know how long he spent sitting there but when he finally finished he felt completely refreshed. He had finished his work with the roots, going so far as to turn them from sperate living trees to one combined organism. He had yet to power the ritual but he wasn¡¯t quite ready for that yet. He stood up and took the first orb out of his gauntlet, he didn¡¯t feel sad about it, not exactly, it was just a weapon that he had out grown. But he did acknowledge the amount of work he had put into making it, gathering the orbs, doing his first dungeons. Almost dying multiple times. Those were the easy days. Moving into the centre of the ritual he had the roots move up from out of the ground and take hold of the orb. It was to be the centre of the ritual were all the power flowed through. All that was left was to now power up the ritual, usually he would use unattuned mana for this, but again, he wanted to really push it further. The first thing he did was flex his nature affinity while pushing mana into the orb but that didn¡¯t work the way he wanted, it wasn¡¯t as potent in nature as he knew it could be. So instead he pulled the nature mana out of the orb using his elemental storage skill and repeated the process. He hadn¡¯t use the elemental storage ability much but in times like these it really came in handy. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Once he had stored enough nature mana he pulled out the Life natural treasure he had and pulled some of the attunment from it. Not a lot, as he didn¡¯t want to use much of what it had, but enough that he hoped it would simply boost the nature affinity a bit. Now that all of his preparations were ready he started pulling the attunement from his storage and moving it with the mana through the orbs and down into the ritual. Every few minutes he pushed through a tiny bit of life and the ritual blazed with power. The nature affinity was more prominent though and absorbed the life element to boost its own power. It was a decent sized ritual and took some time to complete, but when he felt the ritual come to its peak after hours of work he knew he had done something incredible. The whole area emitted the power of nature, it was even more dense than that of the dungeons. **Successful New Creation ¨C Bonus Experience provided** **[Epic] Pseudo Nature Attuned Natural Treasure ¨C A Pseudo Natural Treasure that has been created through a complex ritual using nothing but the Nature element, boosted by the presence of life.** **Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by 5 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 91. +25 Int, +10 Wil, +15 Per, +25 Soul** **Race: Human has levelled up by +2 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 104. +32 Ap gained** He just looked at the message dumbstruck for a minute. He did not mean to create a Pseudo anything, especially not some kind of natural treasure. It was just supposed to be a ritual, nothing more. The description wasn¡¯t a lot to go on, although he had noticed that with most natural treasures. You had to figure out what to do with them on your own. **World Alert** A Pseudo Natural treasure has been created on your planet. Natural Treasures are a rare and powerful resource that can boost the power of both an empire and an individual. Whenever a Natural treasure is created on a planet a world alert will be sent to encourage all who seek power to claim it. Note: This Pseudo Natural Treasure has already been claimed. That¡¯s not good. He could get over the fact he made this thing, but to have it broadcasted to the world? It was just an annoyance that he could have done without. The only good thing here was that it didn¡¯t say who created it or who had claimed it. That would have made this situation just so much worse. He didn¡¯t bother sticking around after that, he took to the air and moved on to his next element. He wasn¡¯t going to stop what he was doing just because of some stupid message. He had committed to his course of action, and he was planning on seeing it through. Besides the levels were good and this was a good way to train his elements. He quickly moved to the earth tunnel and went right in without bothering to shift back into his physical form until he was in the large cavern. It was exactly how he had expected it to look, at the moment it was an empty cavern, but that would change soon. This one was going to be much easier than the last, moving earth around and into shape was much easier than living roots. He didn¡¯t have anything special to really add it to though outside replicating much of what he had done previously, outside of the added addition of life. The thing with these rituals was that he added in an extra step where the ritual would pull ambient mana from the area and pull it through the orb to attune it and then push it back through the ritual to increase the efficiency of feeling the earth element. It added complexity to it and wouldn¡¯t have been possible without the orbs, potentially why the last ritual was called a Pseudo natural treasure, as with everything he did combined it would have the ability to endlessly create earth attuned mana. He spent several hours moving the stone of the cavern around until he was happy with everything, he had included some extras in this one as he could utilise the walls to add in and expand the ritual. It wasn¡¯t much to look at at first, but when he started to power the ritual with pure earth mana the rocks started to let out a faint glow that lit the cavern up and made it much more impressive to look at. He spent many hours focusing on his task until he felt everything click into place. Shaun smiled when he felt the amount of earth in the area, again it was much denser than the dungeon and it felt as if the earth itself was baring down on you, it was oppressive and strong, unyielding. **Successful New Creation ¨C Bonus Experience provided** **[Epic] Pseudo Earth Attuned Natural Treasure ¨C A Pseudo Natural Treasure that has been created through a complex ritual using nothing but the earth.** **Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by 3 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 94. +15 Int, +6 Wil, +9 Per, +15 Soul** **Race: Human has levelled up by +2 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 106. +32 Ap gained** He was disappointed that he only got 3 levels instead of the original 5 but even than 3 levels was nothing to scoff at. Just like last time a world alert went out and he knew he was going to have to deal with some kind of fallout from this eventually, or he could just push it on Viv and tell her to deal with it. He was going to put some rule sin place for using these areas, predominantly his school and those that worked there got first dibs on usage, Viv would get a set amount of time for others and she could figure it out from there. With two down he only had three to go. The next three were also going to be more difficult to get right but he was determined to make them just as incredible as these two. But first he chose to rest and recover, these rituals were taking a lot out of him and he needed to be at his peak for the rest of them. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°Where is he Eric.¡± This was the third time Viv had asked him where Shaun was and his answer was the same every time, he didn¡¯t know, but when he was ready he would reappear, as usual. Shaun had been missing for several days, which wasn¡¯t that shocking given that he was the kind of person to just get lost in something and lose track of time. When the world alert appeared He had a strong suspicion as to what Shaun had been doing. Viv had shown up then as well but left as soon as she realised Shaun wasn¡¯t there. As soon as the second alert appeared though Viv came back with a vengeance. She had been questioning him for a while and he had had enough. His relationship with Viv had changed recently, he respected her and what she was doing but she should know by now that she couldn¡¯t control Shaun, nor him. ¡°Listen Viv, when he shows up, I will let him know you are looking for him. But you know as well as I do, he will only come back when he is ready. Don¡¯t look for him, that will only annoy him. If you want any part of what he is doing then its best you keep him happy.¡± Although dealing with the fallout of Shaun¡¯s plans was never enjoyable he did know that what he did always helped. He only had to look at the school, the way he had willingly taught others what only he knew, the ward and so much more. That was why he was more than happy to do the work he did, he would have preferred to spend more time with his friend but he was meant for bigger things. He refused to hold him back. Book 3: Chapter 8 Time had become an illusion to Shaun, his only focus was on completing his project to the best of his ability. The air ritual was complex, he wanted to form the ritual out of nothing but air and to do that he needed to figure out if it was even possible. He had tried and tested so many different methods until he was close to just giving up. Eventually he was able to create wind tunnels out of hardened air, just like he did when he would run through the sky. The issue he encountered was that he needed to hold complete control over the air to keep it contained in the shape of the ritual at the same time he infused it with air attuned mana. He failed multiple times but when he finally had the ritual finished the structure became self-sustaining. He encountered a similar issue with fire but managed to overcome it through pure willpower. The water one was the easiest of the lot, he utilised the walls of the dome to create waterfalls that helped him to guide the water where he needed it. When he had finished he felt proud of himself, he had accomplished a lot in doing these Pseudo Natural Treasures, his skill had all increased as had his levels. He had managed to get 8 more levels in his profession from the final three rituals plus 4 in his race. The only thing he hadn¡¯t done was apply his AP. He hadn¡¯t done this in a long while as he usually forgot about it until he looked at his status sheet, and even then, he usually kept putting it off as he never knew where to put them.
Status:
Name: Shaun Clermont
Race Human (E)
Level: 110
Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger - Level 118
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator - Level 102
Health Points:13230/13230
Stamina:9890/9890
Mana: 8659/45070
Stats: (Available Points: 496)
Strength: 1049
Dexterity: 1126
Endurance: 989
Vitality: 1323
Intelligence: 1292
Perception: 1079
Willpower: 1147
Soul: 4507
Affinity: Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water
Advanced: Lightning, Ice, Magma
Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer, King, Impossible Feat. Mana Body, Mana Mind
Heritage: Azreal''s Legacy (Hidden)
Skills:
Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 72), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 59), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 121), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 76), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 33), [Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 44), [Advanced] Elemental Summons (Level 43), [Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade (Level 17)
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 99), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 98), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 82), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 125 - MAX), [Epic] Mana Mastery (Level 6), [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 112), [Advanced] Elemental Storage (Level 36), [Advanced] Creators Plan (Level 37), [Advanced] Creators Domain (Level 1)
All of his stats were over a thousand outside of endurance. That was the first thing he changed, putting in 100 of his AP. He didn¡¯t consider putting anything in his soul stat, he got plenty of that from his % bonuses as well as both his class and profession. He rarely had issues with his health, outside of doing crazy things like the ward, but even then that was less about his vitality and more about ripping his body apart with mana. Instead, he decided to invest 100 AP into strength, dexterity, perception and the remaining into willpower. The other thing that had happened during all of his work was hitting level 100 in his profession, after getting creators plan he was offered the same skills as last time along with a skill that centred around teaching others his skills. He turned that down immediately as not in a million years was that something he wanted to do long term, if anything it would muddy his own path to the next evolution of his profession. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. He chose the Creators Domain skill as he thought that it would go well with his planning skill, the two, if he was lucky, could be combined into something greater than the two separate skills. Now that he was done with his project he made his way back to the school in good spirit. There would be a lot to go over with Eric around what he had created and how it would work but the organisation of it all he was confident he could leave with Eric and he would figure it out. When he made it back to the school he decided to walk though instead of fly so that he could figure out where Eric was. It didn¡¯t take him long to figure out that more time had passed than he realised. The first thing that clued him in was that there were elves in the school. Not many, but there was enough that he knew that the elves had moved into the settlement. The second thing that clued him in was that the building he had been teaching rune work in had become much busier, there was even a sign out front staying that it was now an enchantment hall. Clearly progress had been made there, even without his presence they had pushed forward and were now clearly able to do basic rune work on items. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± Shaun turned to see who had spoken to him and to his surprise he found Eli approaching him with 4 other kids his age, two of them were elves and one he recognised as Grace. ¡°People have been looking for you for a while you know.¡± Shaun had expected Eli to be angry at him, disappointed maybe, but he was all smiles. ¡°How long exactly have I been gone?¡± Rather than reply straight away Eli just laughed. ¡°You really don¡¯t know?¡± Shaun just shook his head. ¡°About 3 weeks. It¡¯s been about 4 weeks since the message around the event.¡± And he had lost a chunk of time while in a trance again. He didn¡¯t know where most of that time was spent, could have been any one of the rituals. He needed to figure out a better way to manage his meditation skill. Although this was really why he didn¡¯t want people relying on him for anything. He wanted to do what he wanted without having to worry about what was happening with others. ¡°Right. Good to know. So who are you friends?¡± He wanted to change the subject and the people standing behind Eli looked nervous that he had just walked up to him without a care in the world, outside of Grace who smiled and waved at him. ¡°They are my team. You know Grace, the other human is Joey and the two elves are Ilia and Patch. We are going into the event together.¡± Good for him to create a team¡­Wait. Go into the event? ¡°We all have our classes now.¡± The shit eating grin on Eli¡¯s face was telling. He had gotten something good. He identified him and saw that he was now level 8. ¡°Level 8 and you have a class, well done.¡± He meant it too, he was proud of how far he had come since he found Eli that day in the city. ¡°Don¡¯t neglect your skill levels though. They are maybe even more important than your actual level.¡± ¡°I know. Maybe you can spend some time with us? We aren¡¯t aloud in the dungeons alone, we have to go with a trainer and we are pretty limited with how often we can go. It would be cool if you took us though. I doubt anyone would complain if the all powerful Shaun kidnapped a bunch of kids.¡± ¡°Okay first off I didn¡¯t kidnap you.¡± ¡°Right, you only chased us through a city like a crazy person.¡± ¡°And secondly, this isn¡¯t the best way to go about getting my help.¡± ¡°But your going to help anyway aren¡¯t you.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± He had already decided to take Eli and his team through a dungeon run. If they wanted to join the event he wanted to make sure they were ready. ¡°Any idea where Eric is?¡± ¡°Probably in his office.¡± Right and that was? ¡°That building, the door has his name on it. You can¡¯t miss it.¡± ¡°Perfect, I have some things that I will probably need to deal with for the rest of the day but maybe tomorrow we can do that dungeon run. You better be ready for it. I won¡¯t be as easy on you as the teachers.¡± He left them with that and the moment he turned to walk to the building that Eric should be in, which he confirmed with a burst of his echo, he felt them all huddle together and start planning on how they could prepare for tomorrow. No one stopped him when he entered the building and he didn¡¯t even hesitate to open the door to Eric¡¯s office and walk on in. As soon as Eric saw him he saw the relief wash over his face. ¡°Damn is it good to see you.¡± ¡°That bad huh?¡± He took a seat across from Eric and got comfortable. ¡°You have no idea. Viv has been a menace.¡± Shaun laughed at that. ¡°If she wasn¡¯t so good at running this place I would say get rid of her, but even I have to admit she has managed everything well, all things considered.¡± Shaun had had the same thought. She was useful though. She had helped get the factions, or most of them anyway, off of his back and also helped manage this place. She was doing a lot of good here, even if she tended to annoy him. ¡°Sorry about disappearing for a few weeks. The good news though is that we have some more resources to use for the school.¡± Eric laughed at him now, which he didn¡¯t quite get. ¡°5 Pseudo Natural Treasures. And if I was to guess I think I know exactly what they are now.¡± Eric gestured at his hand. ¡°You got rid of your gauntlet.¡± ¡°I did. I outgrew it.¡± ¡°And I imagine that those 5 treasures have something to do with 5 basic elements.¡± ¡°They do.¡± ¡°And I am guessing that others should be able to use those areas the same way you did in the air and fire dungeons? To see if they can bond the elements to affinity?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t get anything past you, can I?¡± He was enjoying this just as much as Eric was. It was good to be able to chill out with someone like this. ¡°How are you going to manage who gets to use them and who doesn¡¯t?¡± Eric had pushed this on to him and he fully planned to push it back. ¡°Up to you. I did my part in making them, you get to manage the rest.¡± Eric laughed at him again, it wasn¡¯t in the way he expected though. ¡°Yeah I figured you would say that. I have already put a plan together. We will split time 50/50 between the school and Viv. We get most of the day and they can use them at night. Seeing as we have a school with a schedule and she doesn¡¯t I figured she could work around our schedule.¡± This time it was Shaun laughing. He couldn¡¯t agree more with what Eric had proposed. ¡°Let me contact Viv and you can show us what you have made. Saves you from having to do it twice.¡± They spoke about the changes that had occurred over the last 3 weeks, the integration of the elves had been seamless and a number of people that he had taught runes to had managed to get a profession, even a number of the kids had managed to do it. When Viv finally arrived she wasn¡¯t alone. Now rather than just having Li and Josh with her she also had Yarila, the elf, with her. ¡°It is nice to see you back Shaun, much has happened in your absence.¡± Viv was acting way too nice and way too happy for his liking. If he was going to bet on it, she wanted something from him and it wasn¡¯t hard to guess what. ¡°Great to be back. Let¡¯s get going.¡± He didn¡¯t say anything else, just got up and headed past everyone and out the door. They caught up to him quickly and Viv walked up to his side. ¡°The option to join The Empire is still on the table you know.¡± Why the fuck is she brining that up? He didn¡¯t even bother replying to her. He had made his stance perfectly clear and it wasn¡¯t open for discussion. ¡°The elves, as you should already know, have moved into the settlement. I provided them with 2 full F grade areas, in turn they are going to fight for us in the event as well as recruit any other Elven groups into the fold.¡± That was good at least. ¡°The training and weapon production is going well. Although your runesmiths charge a lot for their work and have declined having anyone brought in from the outside to be taught.¡± Good, they deserved to capitalise the market. ¡°What grade are these treasures? The notification didn¡¯t say.¡± He again didn¡¯t bother answering and instead they just walked in silence. It took about 30 minutes before they reached the nature treasure and when he guided them in no one said a word. It took a good 10 minutes of them looking around and even meditating for a while before he called them back to move on. ¡°We still have 4 more stops, questions can wait until the end. For now, we run.¡± He pushed them hard from then on, stopping at each one for 10 minutes before moving on. When they made it back to the school, just in time for food, they all gathered around one of the tables in the food hall before he allowed them to speak. ¡°What you have made will benefit a lot of people here. It is no small thing to create something so saturated in an element that people may have the chance to bond an affinity.¡± Yarila was the first to speak and he appreciated what she said. ¡°Yes, I agree. But will he let anyone outside of those at the school use them?¡± Viv had asked the question that he knew she would. She didn¡¯t know if he would let her utilise them, especially after what he had done with the rune class. ¡°Shaun and I have already discussed it. From sunrise to sunset the school will be the only ones that have access, outside of that we may still use them but you will also have access. How many people at a time should be able to go in Shaun?¡± He hadn¡¯t thought about that and it was really dependant. ¡°I would say between 5 and 10. But if someone starts bonding an element I would suggest everyone leave except for them. You will feel it if it happens. You also need to keep a feel on the saturation level. If it drops, cut back on the amount of people or stop letting anyone in entirely.¡± ¡°That works. Any issues Viv?¡± Eric had taken control of the management just like he had asked. Viv looked like she wanted to argue but held back. ¡°I will make it work.¡± She didn¡¯t sound overly happy about it but if she argued she knew that it could easily end up worse for her. ¡°Shaun, I communicated with Xavier on the way back. He wanted to pass on his congratulations for what you achieved. He did not expect anything as large or powerful as what you created. He has agreed to add a bonus on top of what you will already be paid for the ward. I assume you want that provided to Eric and Gabe as well?¡± ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± Eric looked shocked at what Viv said but didn¡¯t ask questions. Clearly, he had forgotten to communicate that last bit to Eric. ¡°Eric, I am taking Eli and his team out of classes tomorrow. He now has a class and he asked if he could go on a dungeon run with me.¡± ¡°Well, I wish them luck.¡± Book 3: Chapter 9 Shaun started his next day with checking in on his pet projects. He started at the forge and even in the early hours of the morning there was activity within. He found Jane already at work and when she noticed him she immediately stopped what she was doing. She provided him an update without any pleasantries, just how he liked it, and the overall feeling he got was that she was happy with the progress of production. Many of those working under her had grown considerably in their levels and ability and even a number of the younger students had received apprentice professions. This also boosted production as for the most part students no longer attended any other profession related classes, although some had decided to join in on the rune classes as they hoped to be able to pick up the skill and eventually be able to incorporate that into the profession at some point. He moved on after that and went to check on what was now the rune hall. There was more people there already working than in the forge, and a good number of them were actively working on actually engraving spells onto weapons. He didn¡¯t interrupt them and just watched for a while, he would need to spend some time working on more runes for them, they were progressing much quicker than he had expected and soon would need more complex work if they were going to progress further. When Jo spotted him watching she came over and gushed to him about the work they were doing and how they never would have been able to accomplish so much without him. When he asked her about her skill levels she proudly told him that she had reached level 20 in a number of her skills. He was impressed with how quickly she had grown, soon she would be ready to upgrade her profession and seeing as she was fully focused on rune¡¯s he was curious as to what she might be offered. When he was done, he waited outside of the dorm rooms, he pushed his echo throughout the building and could pinpoint where Eli was. Thankfully he was awake and moving around, it wouldn¡¯t be long before they would be ready to leave. While he waited, he came up with a plan on how he was going to run today. The first thing he needed to know was their classes, he would also check to see what professions they had if any. Next he needed to know what skills they had and their levels. Then he would go to a dungeon where he would push them to improve. If they were planning on entering the event then he fully expected them to be able to hold their own as much as possible. When Eli and his team left the dorms they saw him waiting for them and immediately approached. ¡°I wasn¡¯t actually certain if you would show, figured you would get side tracked with something and forget.¡± Although he said it in a joking manner he picked up that it was a real fear of Eli¡¯s. ¡°You may regret me showing up by the time today is over.¡± He watched the elves eyes go wide at that comment, even the human Joey looked spooked. ¡°No time to waste, everything you tell me will be kept between us, but I need to know everyone classes, professions, skills and their levels.¡± ¡°Can we eat first? We haven¡¯t had breakfast yet.¡± Shaun pulled out some jerky he had taken form the kitchens and handed some to everyone to chew on. ¡°Be better prepared next time. All of you should have a stock of food and water in your inventories, you never know how long you will be in a dungeon for or what situation you will find yourself in. Be prepared for anything.¡± It was something he had learnt long ago, life wasn¡¯t easy and you didn¡¯t always have the benefit of food being prepared for you every day. Eli looked at his team and then looked back at him and nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. We will better prepare moving forward. My class is the basic blade dancer class. Its at level 10 and I have 3 skills, Dual Blade at level 7, Dancers Grace at level 8, Critical Strike at level 4 and my new skill is Sweeping Strike at level 1. My profession is called Team Leader at level 6, and the skills are Team Boost at level 3, Stand Together at level 2 and Focal Point at level 4.¡± Shaun could gather most of what his skills did by the name, his class skills were pretty straight forward but he would learn more when he saw them used. His profession was interesting, he guessed it was given as he led the kids and now was leading a team. It was a profession that would work in and out of combat which was good as well. They went through the rest of the team, Grace was level 4 due to not having a profession, but her class was surprisingly a Mage. Her skills he was all familiar with, Mana Bolt, Meditation and Mana Shield. Joey was a level 6 Hoplite, which he had never heard of, but he pieced it together from the skills. He had skills relating to the shield and spear, two for each, Shield control, Shield bash, Spear Control and Empowered stab. The two elves were complete opposites, one was a Rogue which really took him back to his early days and the other an archer. Both were level 6 and had professions, one was an apprentice alchemist and the other an apprentice herbologist. The team as a whole was made up of 2 ranged, the mage and archer, and 3 close combat, only one also having defence. He could work with that. As they walked to the dungeon he formulated a plan for what he was going to do. From memory the F grade dungeon started out with monsters at level 12 and worked up to level 24. He didn¡¯t know how this was usually done but he was going to see how they worked together and go from there. They should have no issues taking out a level 12 monster considering its 5 against one. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. When they arrived at the he had them all accept the prompt and into the Goblin dungeon they went. It was in a cave system and if memory served it would start out with one goblin, then three, then five. All the weakest variant, and only hitting about level 15 tops at the end. ¡°Eli, first goblin is yours. Show me what you can do.¡± They all looked at him confused. ¡°That¡¯s not really how we do it, um, sir?¡± This was only the second time Joey had spoken to him and he was scared to call him out on doing the dungeon wrong. ¡°Everyone call me Shaun, no sirs or anything like that. And I don¡¯t know how your usual trainers do it but at the moment I am your trainer, so you do as I say.¡± He looked at Eli. ¡°Go.¡± Eli gave him a nod, although he looked a little hesitant. What the hell did the trainers do with these kids? It is only one goblin for fucks sake. They all walked up as a group to the area with the first goblin and when it was in sight, he stopped everyone but Eli. The goblin had no armour and only one basic crappy dagger. Eli looked back at him once more before controlling his nerves and moving towards the Goblin. Eli had 2 short swords in his hands and had on basic leather armour, he should have no problems with dealing with this goblin. When Eli moved in close he did so quickly, going in for the attack straight away but wasn¡¯t able to do more than a scratch. The goblin went to attack with its dagger but Eli was able to counter with his second sword and then follow up with another attack. This continued on for a while, Eli would use his Dancers Grace skill to move quickly and get in an attack, but for some reason didn¡¯t use his strike skills at the same time. The goblin got lucky twice and managed to scratch Eli with its dagger, but at least Eli had the ability to ignore it for the most part. The rest of his team who were standing behind him only grew more and more stressed. Eventually, after several minutes of this back and forth, Eli was able to land a critical strike and then took full advantage of that to follow up with another until the goblin was finally dead. Eli looked exhausted and was currently bleeding from his wounds, but at least he did it. Eli stood over the body heaving for breath. ¡°Are you going to loot it?¡± Shaun didn¡¯t get why he hadn¡¯t done it already. ¡°The trainer usually loots the bodies.¡± Eli said between breaths. ¡°I am not looting it, its your kill, your loot.¡± Their eyes went wide at this. Seriously, what are these trainers doing? When Eli finished looting the body he walked back to Shaun looking tired but also incredibly proud of himself. ¡°I earned a level in my class form that fight, also my skills went up too.¡± Time for some tough love. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use your strike kills while using you dancer skill?¡± ¡°They all use mana and we were taught to save mana until you know you can make it count. I am drained of mana now, my stamina is also really low. I lost some health too.¡± Shaun had to hold back a sigh. ¡°You should have been able to finish that fight sooner if you utilised all your skills at once, your stamina would be better than it is now and you would have probably saved on mana because the fight ended sooner. Does it usually take that long to kill one of these things?¡± ¡°That¡¯s was the first time I have ever fought one of them by myself. Usually the trainer does a lot of damage first and then we get to fight it or we all fight at once.¡± ¡°Not anymore. You need to learn to fight by yourself, your class has you fighting on the front lines and you have to be able to take down monsters on your own, especially to protect your ranged attackers. You can¡¯t all focus on one monster, especially when there will usually be in groups.¡± He waited for that to sink in for a moment. They all had a lot of learning to do. ¡°Good job though, on your first solo kill. You don¡¯t even need healing. Let¡¯s move on.¡± When they all walked to the next room they stopped just before the entrance. He turned back to the group and looked them all over. ¡°Joey, your up next, then Patch and then Grace.¡± ¡°Wait! There are three goblins in there! You want us to fight them alone?¡± Joey was not taking this news well. ¡°I will contain 2 of them, then you will fight the last. Once you finish I will let one go and so on.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for a reply and just walked into the room and using his air element he contained all three goblins and moved two of them to the side of the room. They tried to fight against him but given he was nearly 100 levels above them there was no hope. ¡°Joey your up. Don¡¯t die.¡± He pushed the boy forward and released the first goblin. What followed was an embarrassing mess of a fight, if it wasn¡¯t for the boys shield and being able to keep distance with the spear he would have failed miserably. After a minute of watching Shaun couldn¡¯t take it anymore and started yelling out directions and advise. Eventually Joey ended up winning the fight, barely. The moment he was done he practically collapsed to the ground. ¡°Loot the body, get up and get behind me.¡± The boy struggled to do even that, but he pushed through his exhaustion. ¡°Patch your up.¡± This is going to be a long day. When they had all managed to kill a goblin once they left the dungeon and then re-entered, they did this over and over again for hours. They had all gained levels from the fights and they were slowly getting better. Their fear disappeared after the 4th time through and their confidence increased the more they fought. When each of them was able to kill a gobin in seconds rather than minutes he called it a day, at least in terms of fighting. The kids were all tired but in good spirit, they had grown more today then they had in weeks of training. Still he wasn¡¯t done. He walked them to the closest ritual, none of them complaining with having to walk after fighting all day. And when they reached the trees he guided them all through into the nature area. ¡°Each of you will spend the next hour sitting in here and meditating. No talking, no moving, just meditate and see if you feel anything. We will discuss after.¡± With that he left them and moved outside to do his own thing. Sitting on the ground he pulled out the death attuned natural treasure he had gotten in the tutorial and started using his elemental storge skill to take some of it and store it for future use. Soon, he would be ready to craft his new sword. Book 3: Chapter 10 For an entire week he pushed the team harder and harder, only when he was confident that they could hold their own individually did he let them start fighting as a team. He was actually impressed with how well they worked together, Eli was a natural leader in this regard but even than Shaun spent time pointing out weaknesses and flaws in the way they operated. They had visited each of the pseudo treasures and he instructed them to keep doing so until they found one that they felt more connected to than any other and then focus on that one each afternoon. After the week was over he was happy with the overall progress and he gave them permission to run the dungeon themselves, it would be up to them how far they went, they needed to figure out their limits. He did give them a number of health potions in case of emergencies as well as a few metal balls that he had made that could be thrown out as a last resort and would unleash a burst of static that would incapacitate, but not kill, anything in the radius of the blast. It was a last resort in case they got in over their heads. He also had them all promise that they were not to upgrade their classes until every single one of their skills were at max. He also pushed them all to work on their profession in their downtime as the stats and levels would contribute to their overall ability to fight. During that week he had also given permission for Viv to access the E grade Settlement Crystal in a limited capacity that allowed her to communicate with other settlements. He had also casted the votes on the event, all of which went to The War. In his view, all his responsibilities in regards to preparing for the event were finished, he now only needed to focus on himself. He had been testing out his Creators Domain skill over the pats week and he was loving it, for the most part. As it was such a low level at the moment it wouldn¡¯t fully allow him to see the outcome of some creations as they were too either too advanced for the skill to fully see what was created or something else was interfering with the final creations. His current project was making a new sword. After getting rid of his gauntlet he needed to replace it with a blade that was more powerful and more related to his class. The sword he had planned out was made using the best metals he had purchased from the tutorial. The metal in question was jet black and called Stygian Steel. The reasoning behind using it was after a lot of testing it bonded with the death element he had taken from the natural treasure the most. The design of the sword was more interesting. He had tested out a few basic design but none seemed to feel right. What he ended up with was a slightly curved blade that ended in a wickedly sharp point and was of medium to short length. But rather than an average handle he also had another, shorted blade come out the other side which also curved in the opposite angle to the larger blade. He had made test blades in this design and after a lot of changes had come to really enjoy the versatility it offered. In the middle of the two blades he also planned to add a large black gem that would link both blades together through the runes he planned on putting in the blade. The rune work he had planned was not linked to any of the spells he usually used. His plan for this one was that when he killed with the blade that the runes would suction out some of his opponents mana and then store that in the gem for him to then use to empower the sword and use his own skills. When he had attempted to see the outcome of all of this in his domain he got the feeling that it would work but it failed to provide him with an exact outcome. Still, he committed the design to an orb using his plan skill after much consideration and tweaking. Sitting alone in his house he started to physically make his new sword. The metal was resistant to him the entire time and he felt like he was battling it with his skills throughout the process. What he thought would only took an hour ended up taking the better part of a day just to get the shape right. Inserting the gem took almost just as long, the metal didn¡¯t wish to combine with any other material and he ended up having to spend a lot of his mana and time just forcing the connection. He had never used this steel before but he had not expected it to be so difficult. He was warned when he bought it that it was rarely, if ever, used by anyone outside of those from the Death faction, and even then, it was rare they would waste the time or effort to use it. He ended up taking a break after this, mostly to get some fresh air and something to eat, but he also needed time to consider his next steps. Originally, he planned to put the runes on the blade and power it all up with the death element that he had taken from the treasure, but now he considered whether it was better to first imbue the metal and gem with the death energy and then carve in the runes. After hours of walking around trying to convince himself one way or the other he decided to just get on with it and figured there was no harm in really pushing the death energy into the sword before he engraved it. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. After an hour of pushing the death attunement into the sword he ended up slipping into a trance and having to pull more of the death element out of the treasure just to feed it into the sword. It was taking on more than he had expected and he was feeling the attunement being drained from the treasure and into the sword at a rate that shocked him. By the time he finished he felt as if he had drained half of the energy from the treasure, at this point he didn¡¯t know if there would even be enough to power his runes with it. Still he would do what he could, he wasn¡¯t about to give up now. Placing the runes on the sword was a tedious process, it was even harder to do now after he had imbued the sword than when he was shaping it. He was also much more cautious, fixing I mistake would be difficult as the metal did not like to be controlled, he doubted he would be able to perfectly fix a mistake without a lot of time and energy. It took over a day to get the runes right, and the complexity of the design just added to the pressure of getting it right. He had to check the design over and over to make sure he didn¡¯t make any mistakes and he still hadn¡¯t powered up the runic system yet. He had put a lot of work into the sword, and now that he was at the last step he really hoped he hadn¡¯t wasted his time and valuable resources into making it. The treasure was not something he could replace, either was the gem or metal. Going all in he started draining the death energy from the treasure and started pushing it into the gem and then into the runes. The gem took it in hungrily but pushing it out into the runes took much more effort. His mind strained with the effort and using so many skills at the same time would eventually wear him down, but he didn¡¯t stop. Time passed quickly and he was thankfully not interrupted during the process. If someone had come to his door and looked for him he wouldn¡¯t have known anyway. His full focus was on the sword. When the natural treasure was fully drained it crumbled to dust in his hand, the gem was full of the energy but the runes were not yet saturated. Now that he was able to forget one thing and move his mind to just pushing the death mana from the gem and into the runes the process sped up, but not by much. Just as the gem was nearing empty he felt the runes fully power, it had been close, but there was just enough energy left to push it over the edge and fully activate the sword. With the sword finally complete he became much more aware of his surroundings. He felt the feeling of death in the air, similar to how his armour felt when he wasn¡¯t holding it back from emitting its aura but on a whole new level. **Successful New Creation ¨C Bonus Experience provided** **[Epic] Death¡¯s Kiss ¨C A sword made and imbued with nothing but death. Death¡¯s Kiss has the ability to absorb the life force off any living being it kills to further enhance its own power. A cut from this blade will infect a being with deaths curse. Death¡¯s Curse: A curse that will slowly sap away the life of a living being. Bonded to Shaun Clermont. Growth Item.** **Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by 5 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 107. +25 Int, +10 Wil, +15 Per, +25 Soul** **Race: Human has levelled up by +2 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 106. +32 Ap gained** A bonded sword and a growth item. This was now the second time he had created a growth item, and this time it was something he could actually use. Death¡¯s Kiss. You are one scary sword. The moment he picked up the blade he felt the connection between them. It was an extension of him, linked to him in a way that he couldn¡¯t even describe. It was a sword that would grow with him, the more he used it the more powerful it would become. If this is what it can do now, he had no idea what it would evolve into. Before he had a chance to really take in his new creation he heard banging on the door and using his echo he felt Eric there. He stood up and decided to meet him outside where the feeling of death wouldn¡¯t effect him as much. Although when he opened the door Eric looked no less effected. He was deathly pale and looked furious. ¡°Do you have any idea what you have done? For days we have had to deal with the feeling like we are all going to die! For days we have had people running scared. No one could even get close to this house without passing out! This is a school Shaun!¡± ¡°Sorry, really I am. I had no idea that would happen. I was just crafting a sword. Its over now. Wont happen again.¡± He really had no idea that using so much death energy would make it spread out. He had assumed he had it fully contained, but clearly not. ¡°A sword. Jesus Shaun, what kind of sword did you make that I would cause that kind of feeling?¡± Shaun lifted up his new weapon and showed it to Eric. It took some time for him to be able to even look at it, but when he finally pushed through and managed to identify it he just looked confused. ¡°It just says that it¡¯s bonded to you. No description.¡± Isn¡¯t that interesting. ¡°It is called Death¡¯s Kiss.¡± He couldn¡¯t help the smile from spreading across his face. He wanted to use it, now. ¡°Just, put it away, please. Its worse than your armour. Try not to scare everyone you come across, please?¡± Rather than argue he put the sword in his inventory. He was starving and wanted to get some food before he went to a dungeon to get some work in with his new sword. ¡°How long was I in there?¡± ¡°Over a week. The feeling of dying only started 2 days ago though.¡± Eric walked with him as he moved to the kitchens. ¡°I am going to leave you, I need to let everyone know its over and its safe to come back.¡± Eric walked off to do what he needed to do while he went to the kitchens and grabbed as much food as he could eat. As he ate as he used his echo and found people moving back in to the area. He did feel bad about the whole people feeling like they were dying thing and if he had known what was going to happen he would have went somewhere secluded. But still, he couldn¡¯t help the joy he felt at what he had created. Soon he would see what it did in a fight. Soon he could unleash Death¡¯s Kiss. Book 3: Chapter 11 Even when he finished eating Shaun sat at the table just thinking about which dungeon he wanted to go to. There was about 6 weeks or so until the start of the event by his counting and there wasn¡¯t much left on his checklist to finish off while on Earth. He had skill levels to increase, the D grade dungeon to claim, the dragon core to meditate with and his affinity to work on. When he looked at each one individually the amount of time spent on each of these was a lot. All of them though had one thing in common, he would be doing them alone. If he stayed at the school he was likely to get interrupted and distracted a lot so eventually he would need to move away and the only place he would really go would be the D grade area. Even if he moved he would still spend some time here though, at the very least to visit people, but for the most part he would be in seclusion. The best place to do this would be the D grade area, no one would travel that far and he could easily ensure no one could use the crystals to teleport there. He was also curious about the D grade dungeon, especially just how strong the monsters would be and what kind. He didn¡¯t think he was ready to complete the dungeon, not yet at least, but at the very least he could find out just how strong a D grade was compared to an E grade. Having made his decision, he went to find someone to inform them he was leaving for a while. Before that though he raided the kitchen again and stocked up on food and water. He had no idea how long he would be gone and figured the more food the better. When he left he was surprised that the first people he ran into was Eli and his team. They looked like they had just gotten back form the dungeon and looked exhausted. When he identified them he found that Eli had increased his level up to 17, a huge jump compared to where he had been at before. The others were not that far behind him. ¡°You look like crap.¡± They hadn¡¯t even noticed him until he spoke. The moment Eli saw who had spoken he looked pissed. ¡°Yeah, most people do. Its hard to sleep when you wake up every few minutes thinking your about to die.¡± It seemed they all shared that sentiment by the looks on their faces. ¡°Sorry about that. The good news is I am done. So you can get back to getting your beauty sleep.¡± ¡°What were you even doing? It was intense for us, but you were in the middle of it.¡± Eli had gone from annoyed to just tired in a split second. Probably too tired to stay angry at him. ¡°Just making a sword. How have the dungeon runs been?¡± He changed the subject as quickly as he could. ¡°Good, but we are thinking about traveling to the other dungeons, we need more experience fighting different monsters, not just goblins.¡± Shaun thought about it for a moment before deciding to just do what he wanted. ¡°I will do you a deal. I am going away for a bit, not sure how long. If you pass on a message to Eric and Gabe that I am heading to the D grade dungeon and will be gone for a while I will give you access to the teleport function on the Settlement Crystal. All you will need to do is touch it and choose which other area you wanted to go to. Deal?¡± They all just stared at him for a while before they actually replied. ¡°Deal. But are you serious? The D grade dungeon?¡± ¡°Yeah, I figure its time to see what its like. I don¡¯t know where it is though, or even how long it will take me to do. But why not give it a go right.¡± ¡°What level are you? If I was E grade I would be able to see, but I¡¯m still F grade so can you tell me?¡± Eli was practically pleading with him, and he was right, anyone in E grade could see it anyway. ¡°112, split pretty even between class and profession. By the time I¡¯m back, who knows, you might be able to see my level instead of having to ask.¡± He gave Eli a wink and walked away to looks of shock. He had now sorted out telling someone where he was going and if Eric really wanted to talk to him about it he could contact him through the stones. He moved quickly to the Settlement Crystal and when he got there made the changes he promised to allow Eli and his team to use it to get to the other F grade areas. Then he teleported himself to the closest E grade area before taking to the sky and moving towards the centre of the settlement. When he finally moved from the E grade area into the D grade he felt just how different it was. This was his first time in the D grade area and the ambient mana was much higher than that of the E grade. It was also a good indication of the jump from E to D. If the move from F to E was a drop of water then the move from E to D felt more like a lake, and that was just basing it off of the mana in the areas. He guessed that killing a D grade monster was going to be much harder than an E grade, but he wanted to experience that for himself. He didn¡¯t waiver in his choice to find the D grade dungeon, if anything it pushed him to keep going. He knew the E grade dungeons wouldn¡¯t do much for him anymore. Sure, he could run them a few dozen times and level up further, but the bonus experience from them was pretty much gone now. After levelling his profession up so much it would take a long time to hit level 124 in the E grade dungeons. As Shaun moved through the D grade area, the mountain that took up the centre of the area started to tower over him, even while he was in the sky. The E grade mountains had been large, and hiking up them would be a challenge for any human pre integration, but the mountain now in front of him was several times bigger. Even post integration, if you were unlucky enough not to be able to fly, the journey up the side of the mountain would take days, if not weeks, to do. Add to that needing to locate a dungeon which would be somewhere on it would multiply that time unless you got seriously lucky. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Thankfully, he had no need to hike the mountain, nor search the entire thing by eyesight alone. His plan was simple, he would start at the top, circle his way down using his echo skill and hopefully find the dungeon quickly. Even with this though, it would still take hours to even reach the top by flying, and even more to circle his way down. As he travelled up the mountain he stayed close and used his echo skill all the way up. Although it didn¡¯t take long for him to get distracted by what he found within the mountain itself. Through his echo he found the mountain wasn¡¯t just made of rock, as far as he could feel there was different types of metal ore throughout it and even some gems that lit up in his skill. He pushed his skill further down into the base of the mountain and found that there was pockets of resources as far as his skill went. He came to the conclusion pretty quickly that the D grade area wasn¡¯t just about claiming a dungeon and finishing off ownership of an entire area, there was natural resources that could be mined that, if used correctly, could make a settlement rich. It was an interesting find, but also one that he didn¡¯t want to deal with, so he left everything as it was for now. Maybe in the future he would explore the mountain further and see exactly what treasures it held, but it was a distraction for another time. Pushing himself further into the air, traveling at his top speed, he used his echo skill continuously, pushing it to take in as much as he could while he moved. Nothing more of interest stood out to him so he didn¡¯t slow his ascent to the peak. The higher he went the colder it got, when night fell the temperature this high up also dropped considerably. Eventually snow and ice started to coat the mountain peak and he was way above the clouds at this point but thankfully, given his ice and air affinity, he had no issues continuing on. When he finally felt the peak come into the radius of his echo he started searching around for the dungeon. He had hoped it would be close to the top, but to his disappointment he wasn¡¯t able to locate it immediately. What he did find was an opening on the side of the mountain though, the first he had found since starting his search. As this was the only thing he found his whole way up the mountain that was different he made a beeline for the opening and once inside moved back into his physical form. It had been a long time since he had been on his own 2 feet, and it took him a moment to adjust before getting a good look around. The cave went for as far as he could feel, and even to his eyes it was pitch black inside with no source of light. Not that he minded as he could see just as well with his skill as he could with his eyes in the middle of the day. Rather than run through the cave he went at a steady walk, there didn¡¯t seem to be any changes in the cave, no offshoots, just one tunnel that led down into the centre of the mountain. After an hour of walking he finally felt a change in the cave, it opened up into a small cavern that contained the dungeon. It was as if this dungeon was supposed to be hard to reach. Climbing a mountain into the freezing cold where everything was covered in ice, to then have to find the cave and traverse through the dark to the centre of the mountain would be painful for any E grade, probably even D grade unless they had the proper skills. Considering that most wouldn¡¯t be traveling alone would add further complications to the entire endeavour. And this is why fighting alone is the best. It didn¡¯t take him much longer to reach the dungeon after that, when he did he felt both relieved at finally making it here after days of nonstop travel, but also a small amount of fear. If the D grade dungeon was set to peak, there was no way he was going to be able to survive in there, he was strong, really strong for his level, but he doubted that he could fight that gap. He slowly walked forward towards the dungeon, waiting for the notification to pop up which would give him the information he needed. **Welcome to Ascend the Peak (D grade) Dungeon** This dungeon forms part of an unclaimed cluster. Current dungeons claimed in this cluster: F grade 15/15, E grade 5/5, D grade 0/1. Note: to claim this dungeon you need a minimum of 10,000,000 TE. No rewards will be provided if dungeon claimed. Objectives of Ascend the Peak dungeon A beast of unrivalled power had claimed the valley as its home. At the top of the highest peak it watches over its land, controlling all those who live there, forcing them to do its bidding. To attack the beast before killing its subjects will lead to only death. Only by killing all three leaders of the three subjugated monster tribes and then killing the best will you finish the dungeon. Note: You may leave the dungeon at any time by retreating back to the entry point. Dungeon difficulty set to middle difficulty until dungeon is claimed. One participant located, would you like to enter the dungeon? Shaun was both relieved and thankful, not only was he given the information before he entered the dungeon but the dungeon itself was only set to middle difficulty. That meant the boss, this beast, would be level 190 give or take a few levels. It was still high, but better than level 249. The three mini bosses, or the leader of the tribes, would be in the 160 to 180 range. He couldn¡¯t really narrow it down from there as it would vary. But considering the beast had the power to control all three tribes he assumed there had to be at least a 10 level gap but probably a bit more. His last guess was that the weakest monsters would be level 125 through to 160. They couldn¡¯t be as strong as their leaders and it made sense for them to scale up from the weakest D grade to the beginning of middle. He stepped back from the dungeon and made himself comfortable on the other side of the cavern. He wanted to be at his peak before entering, so he would eat and sleep and only then would he enter to test the waters and see how he would go against D grades. Before he went to sleep he considered checking in on Eric but decided against it. Everyone needed to get used to him not being there, not long from now he would be leaving Earth for good and even before that he would be going into seclusion for a time. Whatever happened they needed to figure it out without him. He didn¡¯t know how long he slept but when he woke up he felt excitement. This was a new challenge, he might fail, and he was prepared for that. This was more so a test, worst case scenario he fled and ran out of the dungeon. Best case he managed to not only kill all of the leaders but managed to kill the beast as well. He doubted this would happen on his first go at the dungeon, but this was still a good opportunity for him to gain the last few levels of his class and level up his skills. With nothing holding him back he walked up to the dungeon again, with one final read through of the objective he confirmed he wanted to enter. Like every other time he had gone into a dungeon he felt the world shift around him until he appeared in a completely new area. Looking around the dungeon he saw that he was in a completely open valley, it was so large that he couldn¡¯t see the end of it in any direction. Pushing his echo skill he didn¡¯t find any monsters within his vicinity so he continued to look around into the distance. Far in the distance he saw a mountain, it towered over everything in the valley. If he was right that would be were the beast lives, so for now he was planning to steer clear of that area. He took a moment to take in where he was and what he was about to do. He was ready to kill his first D grade monster. Book 3: Chapter 12 The first thing Shaun noticed as he walked through the dungeon as that it was much larger than any of the dungeons he had been in before. He had been walking around for 30 minutes and yet he still had yet to find a monster. The area he was currently in was more forest like, the trees were tall but rather spread out, it offered some shade and room to move but nothing to fight as of yet. Before he entered the area with trees, which only really covered less than a third of the area around the mountain, he had looked around in the opposite direction. In the distance he saw an area that was more flat and sandy which stretched out around to the other side of the mountain. He chose not to go that way as it didn¡¯t offer any protection, he didn¡¯t want to fight a D grade for the first time out in the open where he could get swarmed, he would prefer to be able to use the trees of a forest to help him slow down anything that would chase him. After walking through the outskirt of the forest for a while he finally felt something living enter the vicinity of his echo, but not where he expected it to be. A singular monster was moving up in the trees, not on the ground. Like with all thing in his echo, everything had a unique vibration, usually the stronger something was or the higher grade, the more intense the echo. This monster was no exception. The power coming off of the monster was beyond anything he thought it would be, and for a moment he wondered if this was the boss. Shaun had stopped moving and pressed himself against a tree, just so he could focus fully on the monster and to see if he could gain any insight into its movements or ability. The more he focused on it the weirder things got, it seemed that this monster, whatever it was, was walking on thin air. It moved with no issues between the trees and from what he felt it didn¡¯t seem like it had any issues doing so. After a few minutes of not learning anything new he moved out from against the tree and made his way to where the monster was. He continued to let out his echo, hoping that no other monsters would be in the area, and he didn¡¯t know if it was just luck or if these monsters preferred to be alone, but he managed to get as close as he could on the ground to the monster without anything going wrong. When he looked up to where the monster was his view was mostly blocked by a white substance which looked very similar to a web of a spider, if that spider could make a web that looked larger and thicker than anything he could possibly imagine. He still couldn¡¯t get eyes on the monster, but at least now he had more information than what he had originally. He had fought spiders before, he never enjoyed fighting them but it was at least something he was used to. But without getting visual confirmation of what it was he wasn¡¯t prepared to just attack. Seeing as his view from below was blocked he decided that he would just look from above. Moving away from where he was and going on the retreat he made sure to put some distance between himself and the monster before he Shifted and moved up into the air above the treeline. From there he moved like a soft breeze rather than the tornado strength wind he usually moved at in this form, but even at the reduced pace it only took minutes to get back to where the monster was. His awareness in this form was still good, but he needed to get eyes on the monster, he located a tree which would provide him a good vantage point that wasn¡¯t too close and landed softly on one of the branches. He waited a moment to make sure the monster didn¡¯t catch him and he made sure not to touch the web at all, he guessed that the monster would feel anything touching its web. Only when he was confident that he was safe did he move around the tree and finally lay eyes on the monster. **Arachne - Level ???** He hadn¡¯t seen the question marks in a while, but he knew that he wasn¡¯t going to know real levels of monsters until he killed them here, an annoyance, but not one that deterred him from eventually fighting the Arachne. The Arachne was grotesque, the bottom half of it was in the shape of a spider, 8 legs and abdomen included. But where its head would usually be it shifted into a human like torso, equipped with 2 arms and a head. Unlike a human head though, this monster had 8 eyes covering its face. Shaun kept watching it to see what it was doing and he learnt more as he watched on. It had no issues moving along its web, its long legs made it graceful in its movements. Its hands also ended in talons, which it expertly used to manipulate and cut its webbing. It didn¡¯t seem to have any other weapons save for its own body. He didn¡¯t know if that was a good thing or a bad sign. From his experience monsters that didn¡¯t wield weapons were usually much more durable and strong, where as those that utilised made weapons were usually better skilled in their chosen field but had less surprises. He had already decided to go all out on this monster, but he was till planning on how he planned to do that. His preference would be to fight it on the ground, but getting it down from the web was going to be a challenge in itself. Or maybe it wasn¡¯t. A plan started to form in his mind and the more he though about it the more he liked it. Shifting back into the air he moved straight down to the ground, and moved behind one of the trees just a little bit away from the monster, then he started his work. Using his summons skill he started off with Spike, his Flame hound. With his skill level he was able to now summon 5 creatures, so after using fire he used ice, summoning his Artcic Tiger, Lightning for his Zapian Eagle, earth for his Golem and finally magma for his Slime. Using 5 different elements for 5 different creatures, didn¡¯t push the skill or his mind that much, although he didn¡¯t know if that was due to his new mana titles or if it was because of how much he had progressed his mind skill, either way he was thankful for it. The plan was simple, his Golem was going to act as bait, drawing the attention of the Arachne, while the rest of his summons hid and got ready for an ambush. The golem, given it durability, should hopefully be able to take a hit or two before succumbing to the monster, giving them just enough time to launch their attack. If that failed he would send up a magma strike up into the web and see just how much the Arachne liked having its web destroyed. His own attack would be strong but simple. He had both of his blades out, and he would be utilising his sword mirror skill to add two more to the mix. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. All of this could either be overkill or not enough to kill the D grade, but until he was sure of its strength he didn¡¯t want to give it anything but his all. Depending on how this went he would be better prepared for next time. When he was in position, as well as all of his summons, he gave the command to his golem to start making some noise, attacking the ground, the trees and just overall causing a ruckus. During this he pushed his echo skill and focused on the Arachne, seeing what it did once it realised something was in its proximity. He knew the moment it noticed the Golem, it stopped moving for a moment and then moved to the edge of its web and peered down. It watched for a while and then seemed to lose interest and went back to what it was doing before, for whatever reason the Golem did not bother the Arachne, which was annoying. Time for plan b then. He powered up a magma strike and sent it up into the web, at the same time he instructed the Golem to roar and point at the web where he shot his attack. As soon as his attack hit the webbing it ate through it and started spreading out throughout the entire structure, although slowly. That was enough to get its attention. Shaun heard the screech from the ground and he felt the monster jump from its web to a tree and start moving its way down at an incredible speed for its size. It took mere second for it to make its way form where it was to close enough to the Golem for it to launch itself from the tree it was on and land directly on top of the Golem. That was the queue for his summons to attack. His Zapian Eagle was the first to enter the fight, flying in quickly and sending out a shot of lightning at the monster. The Arachne shift its upper body around to follow the movement of his Eagle, not even bothering to stop its attack on the Golem. The Arachne held out its hand and Shaun felt mana gathering, then out of no where the monster sent out an attack made of dark webbing right at his Eagle. At the speed of which the monster attacked it would have hit his summons straight on if it wasn¡¯t attacked at the last second by his Arctic Tiger who had attacked the monster from behind and managed to leap on its back with its claws out, ready to do some damage of its own. A split second later Spike joined the fight and was attacking one of its legs. His slime was still making its way into the fight, but Shaun really only wanted the slime there to remove any webbing that was used in the fight against his summons. Shaun didn¡¯t enter the fight immediately, wanting to see how the Arachne fought. Using its legs it was able to not only hold off his Hound but also go on the offensive. His Tiger was also easily removed from its back with another few of its legs and held at bay. The Golem was getting trampled by its remaining legs and it was focusing on his Eagle with its ranged attacks. This all happened in seconds, and even with five of his summon¡¯s against one monster he knew if he didn¡¯t enter the fight that the Arachne would win sooner rather than later. The strength of a D grade was too much for an Advanced level skill that wasn¡¯t even halfway to its max. But it was distracted enough that Shaun would be able to take advantage of the situation. Teleporting straight into the fight using his ring he appeared right next to the monster and immediately attacked with both his blades physical blades at the same time his two mirror blades appeared, both using his magma element. The Arachne was caught off guard for all of a split second but it was enough for him to cut into one of its legs with both of his blades. As expected, the monster was durable and he didn¡¯t manage to cut it off completely, but what he did notice was that the cut he had made with Death¡¯s Kiss left a lingering effect that he could feel spreading through its leg like an infection. The Arachne immediately lost interest in his Eagle and now turned its full attention on him. It let out a screech and with both hands sent out the same attack as it had at his Eagle. Having expected the follow up he moved himself out of the way and at the same time moved both of his mirror blades to intercept the attacks. The moment his skill intercepted the Arachne¡¯s he felt his mirror blades start to drain of mana but they had done their job. Pushing more mana into the skill he also went back in for another attack, this time aiming at the legs holding back his Tiger. The Arachne was quick though and used its legs to its full advantage, keeping him back but also giving him another chance to inflict more wound with his blades. This time both had been powered up with elemental strikes, Death¡¯s Kiss with magma, to be able to penetrate its legs further and the other with lightning. At the same time he sent his two mirror blades directly at the monsters torso, splitting its focus even further. Like last time it used its web skill to push the mirror blades back and he was able to fully focus on dealing damage to the two legs he had in front of him. He danced around the monster, using the same attacks over and over, he was inflicting it with the swords curse wherever he went, slowly sapping it off strength. His Golem was the first to fall, unable to take the full weight of the Arachne for long, shortly after Spike fell to a brutal skewering of one of the monster¡¯s legs. The fight was turning in the monsters favour an out of nowhere it spun around and using a number of its legs battered both him and his tiger away. He hadn¡¯t been expecting the sudden change of attack and he was hit hard by one of its legs, only having time to put both blades up in front of him to shield him from the brunt of the attack, it still sent him flying though. While he was getting himself off the ground, it managed to hit his Eagle full on with its attack and used 3 of its legs to pummel his slime, who had only now managed to get close. It damaged itself just as much as his slime though, using its legs to harm the magma slime was not the smartest move and it burned off the end of three of its legs in the process. Taking this moment as his chance to attack again, he pushed both of his mirror blades, which were draining his mana at an incredible rate, straight at the Arachne and followed up with magma strikes from his own blades. This caused enough of a distraction for him to teleport once again, this time onto its back. Imbuing his blades with magma he moved both of them into its back down to the hilt before he felt the Arachne take hold of him with one of its hands and throw him off of its back with a pained screech. ¡°You will die weak little human!¡± Shaun didn¡¯t let the shock of hearing it speak get to him, instead he focused on what he could do next. Both of his blades were still in the monsters back and his mirror blades had dissipated now that he wasn¡¯t holding his blades. With all of his summons now gone, it was a one on one fight, and although the monster has hurt and clearly in pain, he was also unarmed. He could still feel Death¡¯s Kiss though. It was bonded to him and he felt it in the monsters back, calling to him. As the Arachne approached him, he focused on pulling the blade back to him, following the connection between him and it. At the same time he started to channel lightning through his body. The Arachne¡¯s movements had slowed and it was unstable on a majority of its legs. This was the only thing that gave him the time he needed to ready his attacks. As soon as the monster was readying its attack on him he pushed his mind to the limit to call back his sword, at the same time he released a bolt of lightning from his other hand straight at the monsters chest. Now that it was weakened, the lightning attack blasted it a few metres back, at the same time he felt Death¡¯s Kiss appear back in his hand. Not giving up this moment he pulled as much air as he could beneath his feet and sent him self flying at the monster, sword out, and aimed straight for its heart. The moment they collided he felt his sword pierce through its chest and they both went flying through the air until they hit a tree. Not for a moment did he let go of his blade, instead he sent lightning strike after lightning strike through it until he got the message he had been hoping for. **You have defeated a (Arachne¨C Lvl 132). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +4 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 122. +12 Str, +8 Dex, +12 End, +12 Vit, +16 Soul gained** **Race: Human has levelled up by +2 levels. Human E has reached Level 114. +16 Ap gained** Book 3: Chapter 13 Standing over the body of the Arachne, he felt both strained as well as incredibly excited. He had just killed his first D grade monster. He had used a lot of mana to do it, his stamina had also taken a beating, but his health was in decent shape. Level 132 was slightly higher than he had expected but it was still within his estimations for what this dungeon would throw at him. The fight had been hard, the monster had been able to tank a good amount of his skills during the beginning and if it wasn¡¯t for it having been weakened by his sword and distracted by his summons, fighting it one on one would have been much more difficult.
Status:
Name: Shaun Clermont
Race Human I
Level: 114
Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger ¨C Level 122
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator ¨C Level 107
Health Points: 8159/13524
Stamina: 3215/12298
Mana: 4268/46770.5
Stats: (Available Points: 32)
Strength: 1290
Dexterity: 1385
Endurance: 1230
Vitality: 1352
Intelligence: 1346
Perception: 1327
Willpower: 1406
Soul: 4677
Affinity: Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water
Advanced: Lightning, Ice, Magma
Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer, King, Impossible Feat. Mana Body, Mana Mind
Heritage: Azreal¡¯s Legacy (Hidden)
Skills:
Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 79), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 63), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 122), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 81), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 33), [Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 48), [Advanced] Elemental Summons (Level 52), [Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade (Level 28)
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 111), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 115), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 98), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Epic] Mana Mastery (Level 10), [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Elemental Storage (Level 53), [Advanced] Creators Plan (Level 56), [Advanced] Creators Domain (Level 22)
His skills had jumped up quite a bit, and now he could summon an extra creature and a third blade. His blade mastery skill also went up a good amount of levels, and considering that he had used his swords to fight for a majority of the battle, he felt good about the gains. The 4 levels for the kill weren¡¯t bad either, it was about 20 levels higher than him and a full grade higher. It wasn¡¯t the most he had ever received in one go but now that his level had increased so much from his profession, getting 4 levels from one kill was a good amount. Removing his swords from the body, he retreated away from the area to somewhere far enough away that if anything came looking it wouldn¡¯t find him. Along the way he examined Death¡¯s Kiss. On the surface it hadn¡¯t changed, but in the gem, he felt the life force of the monster he had killed filling it, if only a little. The blade had done great things for him in that fight, he was able to wield it like it was an extension of him, fully connected and like it just knew exactly what he needed from it. It was the first time he had fought with it, yet it felt like it had been with him his entire life. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Shaun did a final search of the area around him before settling down into a comfortable position on the ground. It would be a good few hours before he was back up to full in his mana and stamina, and during that time he decided to be productive. He wouldn¡¯t be bothered in the dungeon and he was in no rush, taking out the Dragon Core he placed it in front of him and got back to work on connecting to it. He had already spent many hours attempting to link with the core but had as of yet had no success. As always he could feel the core emitting an essence that seemed to want to connect with something and he had already exhausted his brute force method. Here, in the dungeon, where no one would come knocking on his door asking him to do something, he chose to just meditate without trying anything with the core, they could just sit together in peace for a while. The longer he sat the more he noticed something odd with the core, if he wasn¡¯t interacting with it, trying to force anything to change or bond, the essence it emitted actually expanded out. To test a theory he tried to grab a hold of it with his mind and all the essence retracted back in around the core like some kind of defensive measure. Shaun pondered on that for a while, not interacting with the core again while he put together everything he knew about the core. The first thing was that it obviously wanted to connect, how or with what he was unsure. The second thing was that forcing a connection wasn¡¯t possible, their had to be a choice and it had to be two sided. He couldn¡¯t force it into submission but rather he needed it to willingly open itself up to him. The third thing he know knew was that it would continue to expand its reach, even going so far to surround him with essence, but even then it wouldn¡¯t physically connect, it needed something more. Testing a new theory, he tried to replicate what the core was doing, he let out his own aura, holding back the aura of the armour and sword, just using the aura that was purely his with no outside interference. The moment his aura hit the essence it was if there was a solid wall between the two, but the essence of the core didn¡¯t retract back immediately. Finally, a breakthrough. Having finally found an avenue to interact with the core without having it fight back, Shaun just sat there and allowed his aura to fill the air around him, the core doing the same. For a long time aura and essence just sat next to each other, neither pushing the other in any way, until out of nowhere the essence actually touched his aura and both pulsed for a split second before pulling back. For that split second he felt a fleeting connection that almost overwhelmed his mind. It was as if there was a consciousness inside of the core, one of massive power that could overwhelm his own mind if he let it. But that wasn¡¯t the feeling he got. That fleeting moment of connection was a test, one he wasn¡¯t sure he passed or not. Rather than do anything rash, he continued to do as he had been and let his aura and the essence just sit beside each other. He allowed himself to be open to whatever the core wanted, he was an open book ready to be read, it was up to the core to make the next move. He wasn¡¯t sure how long he had been sitting with the core, but twice more the essence connected to his aura and both times it was for only a brief moment before disconnecting again. He would have been happy to sit like this until he finally won over the core but he was broken out of his trance by two monsters coming into the perimeter of his echo, both of them were close to each other and coming from the direction of where he had killed the Arachne. It seemed that the time for meditating had come to an end. Putting the core back into his inventory he came to a stand and came up with a plan on how he would approach the two monsters. He would need to split his attacks with this fight. Somehow, they had tracked him down, and fighting two of them at once would take more out of him then the first fight, which he had used a lot of mana to win. It didn¡¯t matter though, he was more than ready to get back into the fight. By his estimations of how quickly the monsters were moving he only had a minute or so before they would arrive. Using that time he used his summons skill and summoned two Flame Hounds, two Artic Tigers and two Zapian Eagles. His plan was simple, they would fight one of them off as long as they could and he would take the other one on one. There would be no ambush for these two monsters either, he planned on taking them head on. After communicating his plans to his summons, they got moving at a quick pace through the trees and directly towards the monsters. The moment they saw the two monsters, both Arachne, just like the first, he and his summons split, each taking one of the Arachne. At the same time Shaun summoned three mirror blades, two powered with magma and one with lightning, then he pushed even further and powered all five of his blades with elemental strikes, each of his mirror blades had the element they were made of used, his own blades were both powered with magma. The moment the Arachne saw them they let out a screech, one even going so far as to yell out about him killing their sister. This was no time for conversation though, they were here to kill him, but he sure as hell had come to kill them first. The Arachne both sent out attacks at him, ignoring his summons, he deflected all four attacks using the elemental strikes he had pre powered and then at once both he and his summons went in to attack. Five blades attacked the Arachne at once, and even with eight legs the Arachne was not able to fully defend against him. Relying on his mirror swords he pushed his mind to enter into battle against its legs while he focused on cutting with his physical blades, the curse of his sword leaving its mark where it touched. When he saw the Arachne about to send out more of its webbed attacks he shifted into a bolt of lightning and slammed down onto its back, its attacks flying harmlessly through the spot he had just been standing. He used that moment to cut through its back with one blade and aim to cut off its head with the other. At the last moment it moved out of the way and it narrowly avoided being beheaded, but it still got another curse put on it through the wound on its back. Shifting again he moved to stand in front of it, while it was looking behind it and followed up with stabbing through its chest with his blade while fighting off a leg with the other. He moved so quickly that the monster was unable to keep track of him, all the while each wound was slowing it down, and making it easier to hurt. As the Arachne was getting ready to attempt to fire on him again he did something different and pulled all of his mirror blades into one, each overlapping with each other and sent it straight at the Arachne¡¯s abdomen. With the monster full focus on him it didn¡¯t have time to dodge his attack and just as it let off its webbed blast he shifted into the air for a split second to let the attacks pass while his mirror blades punctured its abdomen. The pained screech it let out was painful to his ears but he didn¡¯t lose his concentration. Replicating his first finishing strike, he pulled air under his feet and blasted just to the side of the monsters head. Using the momentum he spun at the last moment and cut through its neck, separating it from its body. Not giving himself a moment to enjoy killing the monster on his own, he turned to the second monster who was successfully fighting off his summons. One of his Zapian eagles were gone and both of his Flame hounds hadn¡¯t made it through the fight, but his remaining summons were still giving it their all in holding off the monster. Forming three for elemental blades, all of which were made with ice, he powered up 5 ice strikes in his blades and from a distance sent each and every one at different parts of the remaining Arachne. Four of five of his attacks hit with one of them being dodged, but even getting it full on with four ice strikes was enough to slow down the monster for enough time for each of his remaining summons to go in for the attack. Shaun didn¡¯t stand idly though, he pushed all three of his mirror blades at the Arachne and just like he had done before, he launched himself at the monster at an incredible speed and with both of his swords stabbed them right through the monster¡¯s chest. The Arachne staggered for only a moment before his Arctic tigers both jumped onto it and started shredding it with tooth and claw. It only took second after that for the monster to die and for him to get the kill notifications. **You have defeated a (Arachne¨C Lvl 129). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **You have defeated a (Arachne¨C Lvl 130). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **Class: Elemental Blade Slinger has levelled up by +2 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger has reached Level 124. +6 Str, +4 Dex, +6 End, +6 Vit, +8 Soul gained** **Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human I has reached Level 115. +16 Ap gained** He only gained two levels from the two Arachne but they were both lower level than the last and as this was the last level before hitting Level 125 he figured there would be a need to gather much more experience than usual to level it up, but that wasn¡¯t even something he was working to at this point, skill levels were more important. Having a look over his stats he dropped everything into endurance, as it was his lowest stat and his stamina was getting more important in these fights. He dismissed his summons with a loving pat to each. He didn¡¯t stick around the area for long, deciding to move back out and recover again and go back to meditating on the core until he was fully recovered. Only then would he move back out and fight some more. Book 3: Chapter 14 Several weeks passed with Shaun repeating the same process over and over. He would fight the Arachne, usually he would have to find them over them finding him, and then he would recover while meditating on the core. He had long since found the leader of the Arachne in the centre of the forest, but rather fighting it straight away he focused on clearing out the entire area first. He had also gotten to the point where the system had offered for him to choose a new class, which he had refused. Every time he killed another monster he got the same message and every time he had to say no. It was providing a constant reminder that his skills were holding back his evolution. He had made good strides with all of his skills as well as the core. He felt he was close to fully connecting with it, but if he was right it would take days if not weeks of just meditating with to finally bond with the core. He didn¡¯t know what that would entail exactly, but it was on the top of his list of things to do after the event. After weeks of training against the Arachne, he now felt ready to take on the leader. He had cleared out every Arachne he found and now all that was left was the leader and 3 others who rarely left its immediate vicinity. He had been trying to watch them for a while, but the leader had some skill that allowed it to pinpoint his location the moment he got to close. Every time that happened it had sent Arachne after him, which had been a boon to him as it allowed him to reduce their numbers even further. The Arachne was in a web that spread out among many trees, but that was no longer an issue for him or his summons, they had practiced coating their feet with their elements which allowed them to bypass being caught in the web. Now that there was only the four left though it no longer sent any of its remaining Arachne after him, instead it just waited for him to approach. He had fought four against one before with these things, but none of them had been the leader and at the end of those fights he had been left pretty exhausted and banged up. He had attempted to move in close in his air form but even then, the leader had been able to track him. He didn¡¯t know what skill it had but it was strong and seemed to counter his own movement skills. That was why he had also been spending time working on something new. The leader¡¯s skill didn¡¯t extend quite as far as his own echo skill, there was about 100m difference from what he had worked out, and he wanted to use that to his advantage. Usually, his elemental shift skill with the lightning only worked when he could physically see a location, but what he had been trying to achieve was using it with his echo instead. He had gotten to a point where he was able to use it with his echo in a smaller radius but not yet at the edges of his awareness with the skill. Time though was counting down on when he needed to get back to the settlement so that he would have some time to make sure he was up to date with everything before they all entered the event. He also didn¡¯t know if it would be possible to enter the event from a dungeon and he didn¡¯t want to risk missing out. That was why he was now, ready to fight the leader of the Arachne. He summoned 8 creatures with his skill, it had grown in level over the last few weeks to the point that they could now to take out two Arachne on their own. As the skill level had grown, he wasn¡¯t just able to summon more creatures forth, but they also became much stronger as well. He hadn¡¯t noticed it at first but the more he had used the skill the more he was able to see their strength increase. He was as prepared as he was going to be, and with his two blades in hand he gave the signal for his summons to move in. Their job was to try and sperate the three other Arachne from the leader, if that wasn¡¯t possible, weaken them as much as possible. While his summons moved in, he pushed his full mind out through his echo, focusing on the spot directly next to the leader. He needed to fully visualise every detail, of that spot, imagine it as if he could see it with his own eyes. When he thought he was ready he waited until his summons made their own appearance before the Arachne and then, flexing his mind skill to the limit, he used his shifting skill to turn into lightning and strike down, right next to the leader. Halfway through the skill he nearly lost his orientation on where he wanted to go, but thankfully at the last moment he was able to recentre his mind and continue on to where he wanted to go. As soon as he appeared next to the leader of the Arachne, he swept both of his swords out sending out two powerful ice strikes, both hit the unsuspecting leader who had not been able to track him until the very last moment he appeared. A split second after he summoned six mirror swords, two of each of his advanced elements and went in for the fight of his life. The ice strikes had done what they needed to do, they froze the leader for a second, which had been all he needed to bring forth his extra blades. He pushed the blades out around the Arachne leader, each of them taking care of a different leg while he used his own blades to attack the main body. As Shaun had gotten close to the leaders body it used its hands to form a skill that formed a web in front of it that he would need to break through to get in an attack. He had been expecting something different from the leader and mastery of its web skills was something he had already accounted for. His blades were already powered up with magma strikes, enough mana was in each of them for him to send out several blasts and allow him to reserve some to infuse his blade. He cut through the webbing in moments, and although the leader tried to back away his mirror blades had it trapped. Using his two swords he started cutting into the monster wherever he could, with each cut he left a gift in the shape of his curse. Shaun had fought a lot of these monsters, they were quick fighters if you gave them the chance to move, he had learnt quickly that if you attacked them from multiple angles, like he was doing now, they were severally limited in what they could do in a fight. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The Arachne started to send another attack his way and he moved one of his mirror swords to cut through its arm, it hadn¡¯t been expecting the attack and Shaun followed up with another ice strike with one sword and a magma imbued strike with the other. Even with all of his attacks, the Arachne was not going down easy. It was much more durable than its kin but he knew if this came down to a fight of endurance he would win, he had no plans to let it get to that though. Splitting his mind, he started gathering the water in the air around the Arachne, when he had gathered enough water he pulled it all together into one large body of water and had it start coating the body of the monster. The Arachne, attempted to dispel the water, but every time it pushed through he pulled even more water around it to keep it at bay. The Arachne attempted to talk and he took that as an opening to direct the water into its mouth and started to drown it by flooding its internals with water. It attempted to close its mouth but it was too late. Shaun had not been idle these long weeks, he had practiced with his elements, both the advanced and basic ones. And although it hadn¡¯t gained him any skill levels, it was still practice that he needed to get in to ensure he wasn¡¯t neglecting every tool in his arsenal. When the Arachne started to flail on the web, he put it out of its misery by having all the water he had forced into its body to freeze. In one moment to the next, the leader of the Arachne went from drowning on its own webbing to shattering into multiple pieces, unable to recover form being frozen from the inside out. Shaun turned to his summons and saw them fighting all three of the remaining Arachne, they were holding their own but the longer they fought the more mana was being drained from them. Now that the leader was dead he didn¡¯t hesitate to finish off the remaining three. Pushing himself forward, adding to his momentum with a burst of air, he quickly cut through the several legs of the first, then left it to his summons to finish off. The second he shifted and appeared on its back, he had caught it by surprise and was easily able to cut through its spine with his sword, then follow up with a clean strike through its heart. For the third he simply pushed his mirror blades to all fly through the air and penetrate as deep as they could into its body. It only took a minute after that for his summons to finish the off, being so close to death he wanted them to have the kills to help his skill level up further. With these last Arachne dead he had managed to clear out an entire third of the monsters of the dungeon, and in the process level his skills up a ridiculous amount in the process. **You have defeated a (Arachne ¨C Lvl 153). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ **You have defeated a (Arachne Queen ¨C Lvl 160). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **Class upgrade available on [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger. Would you like to upgrade class? Note all experience is forfeit until class is upgraded.** As always he said no to the upgrade. He was getting closer to getting his skill levels up but until he maxed them out he had no desire to pick a new class. At the rate he was going he wouldn¡¯t need to use the training treasure that he had been given, although he was still debating on whether he should upgrade to a new class while on Earth or to wait until he left and went to The Alliance. Now that the Arachne had been dealt with, he said goodbye to his summons and then shifted straight up into the air. Having taken out a third of the monster tribes he was confident in being able to kill off the next two. His progress these last weeks in the dungeon had boosted his fighting ability to a new level, and he was more confident in being able to move through the last two tribes much quicker than he had the Arachne, especially after having boosted his skills. Although he had originally planned on leaving the dungeon and going back to the school before the event started he decided that spending more time in the dungeon was a better use of his time. After having beaten the Arachne Queen, Shaun felt empowered to continue on to the end of the dungeon, at least until he received a notification around the event drawing closer. He knew the forest was now cleared of monsters, meaning that his next destination was one of the other areas around the mountain. He had already seen the sandy area that was off to one side of the forest but he had yet to see what was on the other. Already in the air, Shaun made his decision to move towards the unknown, moving around in a circle from the entrance of the dungeon in the hope that if he needed to leave the dungeon he would end up back where he started and be able to leave quickly if need be. He moved above the forest at a quick pace, one that he was able to consistently maintain for days, as that was how long it would take to not only leave the forest but make his way through to the next area in this dungeon. The more he moved through the dungeon with nothing to interrupt his thoughts, the more he became aware of a pull in his mind to something hidden deep inside of him. Focussing on this pull he followed it towards the same place he knew the memories of the Nephilim were locked and his heritage was located. The stronger he became the more aware he was of it. No matter how much he tried to get into that space inside of him though, he felt the barrier around his heritage to be impenetrable. Something in there wanted to come out, to give him something, it could be some power that he was not yet aware of or even a memory that would help him take the next step forward on his path, but something was holding it back, stopping him from accessing it. The days passed in quiet reflection, he thought over all of the times he had been given something from his heritage and he was able to conclude that the only things that each of these events had in common was when he did something, or met someone, that was connected with the Nephilim that made the legacy. It wasn¡¯t until he cleared the forest completely and continued moving around the central mountain that he started paying more attention to his surroundings. The trees had given way to a desert like area with sporadic shrubbery and in the distance he was able to pinpoint what looked like large rock platforms that were raised from the ground that spread for hundreds of meters along the top. Although the platforms of rock were still far out in the distance, his eyesight was still able to pick up monsters flying around them. Shaun couldn¡¯t help but smile at his luck, his ability to move through the air was something that would help him through this next set of monsters, and although many others would have been ground bound in their attacks, he felt just as home in the air as he did with his feet on the ground. Fighting these flying monsters was going to be much more fun than fighting the Arachne, he didn¡¯t slow his pace towards the closest rock platform, he was ready to go straight on the offensive. Book 3: Chapter 15 As Shaun drew closer to the monsters, he was able to make out just how many there were surrounding the platform. While the Arachne were more solitary, choosing to spread throughout the forest and keep to small groups, these flying monsters were more packed together. From what his echo told him there was around two dozen of the monsters in the area he was flying towards, most of them however felt on the weaker side of the D grade, probably in the 130¡¯s if he was to guess at a level. Within the mix there were a few that felt slightly stronger, but none gave off the feeling of being the leader of the tribe of monsters. He wasn¡¯t yet in range to identify them but he was close enough to start preparing his attack. He had no desire to have him or any of his summons stay land locked during this fight so Shaun started to prepare the max amount of summons he could, all Zapian Eagles. Rather than make everyone one of his summons equal though he purposely went with a tiered approach. His first three summons used 3,000 mana each, a huge amount to most people, to him though it wasn¡¯t even 10% of his total. These three eagles would make up the point of attack, the remaining six of his eagles were at half that strength, only using 1,500 mana each, and they were split so that each of his most powerful summons had two of the weaker eagles as support for their attacks. Even after all of the mana used in his summoning he still had over half left, plenty to use for his own attacks in the upcoming battle. The monsters had taken notice of his approach now, although hadn¡¯t approached him. Instead, they had all grouped together in the air and waited for him to arrive. He had finally gotten into range for his identify skill to work and what it told him lined up pretty well with what he had already assumed. Each of the monsters had the bodies of women, although they were covered in feathers in some areas that gave them some modesty and had clawed legs like a bird and talons to match. They had wings on their back in the same feathers that covered their bodies, but their faces looked mostly human, outside of a nose that looked slightly beak like. **Harpy ¨C Level ???** This was the second monster in the dungeon, a Harpy. Like with the Arachne they were taken straight out of myth and matched perfectly to what he remembered from stories out of Greek Mythology. Inspecting them further, they al looked ready to attack, like the Arachne there would be no pleasant conversation occurring, only death. Seconds before he collided with the Harpy he shifted into air and went straight through their front line, appearing behind them in a split second, his swords were already at the ready and several mirror blades appearing with them. Just as his Zapian Eagles made to attack from the front, he made his own attack from behind them. His unexpected shift of location took the Harpy by surprise, one even letting out a squawk before he sliced through it with Death¡¯s Kiss. The squawk from his first kill alerted the others of his presence, half of the Harpy immediately turned to him while the other half were busy fighting off his summons. Before Shaun was able to get his second attack off the Harpy, through some method of silent communication, spread out through the air, using their wings to move at an incredible speed around him. What the Harpy didn¡¯t realise was that although they could move fast, he was quicker. Before they even got into a position to take advantage of him being surrounded, he let loose Ice Strikes from every one of his swords, all aimed in different directions around him. Although not every one of his strikes hit a Harpy it was enough for them to retreat away from him, cautious of what else he may throw their way. Shaun didn¡¯t hesitate to drive his sword through the closest Harpy that had bene caught by one of his strikes, his mirror blades taking care of the others. When a sword through the chest didn¡¯t immediately kill them, he moved more of his blades around to start beheading them which did the trick. As He had been killing off the Harpy he felt the air around him still and build with power, one he was somewhat familiar with. He felt the use of air and what he thought was a tinge of electricity start pressing down on him. When he started to observe the growing power he was able to use his Mana Mastery skill and like seeing invisible threads in the air was able to trace the power back to the 8 Harpy that had avoided his attacks, each staring down at him in concentration. Rather than launch another attack on the Harpy, he continued to stare at the intricate weave growing around him, it was beautiful if he was being honest with himself. The power of all 8 of the Harpy was combining into one larger work of magic. He had been correct before as well, he could see strands of mana that matched with his air affinity as well as what seemed to be a weaker version of his lightning affinity. Following the feeling he had he grabbed hold of one of the lines he saw building from one of the Harpy and plucked it in a way one would pluck a guitar string. The moment he did he saw the Harpy it was connected to flinch, its eyes growing wide and a look of fear grow on its face. Shaun was now even more curious as to what he could do with these mana threads, if a single flick of one was enough to cause distress to the monster, what would happen if he cut it? Bringing over one of his Mirror blades, he reinforced it with mana, making sure the edge was glowing with power before making his move. Before anything could change he cut through the thread, reinforcing the blade with his Mana Mastery skill. The blade passed right through the thread, and for a moment he didn¡¯t think anything happened. A second passed as he stared on in confusion, not understanding how he could have plucked the thread with no issue but when he cut through it nothing would happen. Just as he was about to try again he saw the thread fall apart where he had cut it, disintegrating in both directions. The one leading towards the weaving around him caused mayhem on the remainder of the spell, the other Harpy letting out desperate squarks, trying to recover from the hit the skill took on losing a part of its power and stability. In the other direction, once the thread disintegrated and hit the Harpy who had been using its skill, it started to convulse and dropped unconscious to the ground within the next second. To say he was confused by what had just occurred would be an understatement. Pulling up the skill description again he tried to figure out what exactly had just happened. The Mana Mastery skill allows the user to more easily pierce the makings and patterns of mana. The skill also allows for the ability to change mana constructs, also known as skills, and unravel the making of them. That was all the skill said, but he quickly realised what had happened. He had unravelled the skill and in doing so had caused one hell of a back lash to the Harpy who had been using it. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Suddenly he felt his mana reserves drop, checking his status sheet he found that by simply touching and then cutting the thread he had lost several thousand mana, which in a fight would make a big difference in how long he would be able to fight for. It was a powerful skill, being able to undo someone else¡¯s skill, but it seemed that it also took a lot from him in doing so. During all of his experimenting the Harpy had gotten their skill back under control and they were now ready to unleash their attack. He had gotten distracted, but seeing as he saw what this skills was made of, he didn¡¯t feel very threatened by the Harpy. Air and electricity? He wished them luck in being able to do him any harm with using these two elements. Keeping his Mana Mastery skill active, but not interfering with the skill that the Harpy were using, he watched on, wanting to see if he could learn anything from the way that their skill was weaving with both the elements and each other. He both saw and felt when the skill completed, mana flashed through the threads around him and he felt electricity course through his body as well as a deepening pressure in the air around him. Although it hurt at first, he quickly activated his own elements and pushed back with much more force than what the Harpy was able to use with their inferior elements. He still felt the pressure from the air, although significantly less, the electrical element though? It had been consumed by his own lightning affinity in an instant. Rather than mess around with the Harpy any longer Shaun pushed out around him with his aura and using it to throw off the Harpy immediately followed up with his blades and started attacking with all of the skill he had accumulated over the past few months. He turned into a whirlwind of blade and element. Each of his attacks was coated in an elemental strike, all but Death¡¯s Kiss, who he used to great effect to not only kill the Harpy but removed wings from their backs and throw them off for his summons to finish off. The more he used his new blade the more he grew accustomed to the varying uses it had with it unique design. The smaller, second blade on the opposite side of the handle was more useful than he had originally thought. He was able to feint using the larger edge and then quickly slam down with the smaller hooked side and cut through flesh and bone like butter. He was able to kill one Harpy after another, no matter what the Harpies tried they could not out run or out manoeuvre him or his blades. Their bodies fell to the ground one after another in quick succession after he cleared his mind from his earlier discovery. His Eagles, although slower than him, were also making an impact on the Harpy. Unlike the Arachne, Shaun found fighting the Harpy to also be easy, they still took a bit to kill, but fighting in the air had become almost easier than fighting on the ground, especially when the opponent he was fighting could not use the skills they had to do any true damage to him. Their clawed bird feet would have caused some serious damage if they had managed to land a hit on him, but his speed outmatched theirs, not to mention that that needed to make their way through his elemental blades to even get close. When the last Harpy fell to an onslaught of attacks by his summons he looked around him at the now completely empty platform. Not one Harpy remained in sight, and although he was covered in blood, not his own but the Harpies, slightly panting from the fight and now rather thirsty and in need of rest, he was impressed at how he was able to kill off two dozen D grade monsters at once. **You have defeated a (Harpy ¨C Lvl 133). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ **You have defeated a (Harpy ¨C Lvl 142). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **Class upgrade available on [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger. Would you like to upgrade class? Note all experience is forfeit until class is upgraded.** As he had previously he denied upgrading his class, his level may be at the peak of E grade but his skills were not. Until he had made sure that every skill he had was either maxed out or in Epic he would not upgrade his class or profession.
Status:
Name: Shaun Clermont
Race Human I
Level: 115
Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger ¨C Level 124
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator ¨C Level 107
Health Points: 10259/13671
Stamina:4257/14147
Mana:3156/47102.5
Stats: (Available Points: 0)
Strength: 1303
Dexterity: 1394
Endurance: 1415
Vitality: 1367
Intelligence: 1346
Perception: 1327
Willpower: 1406
Soul: 4710
Affinity: Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water
Advanced: Lightning, Ice, Magma
Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer, King, Impossible Feat. Mana Body, Mana Mind
Heritage: Azreal¡¯s Legacy (Hidden)
Skills:
Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 101), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 98), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 102), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 33), [Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 85), [Advanced] Elemental Summons (Level 89), [Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade (Level 65)
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 111), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 115), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 98), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Epic] Mana Mastery (Level 14), [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Elemental Storage (Level 53), [Advanced] Creators Plan (Level 76), [Advanced] Creators Domain (Level 22)
After reviewing his status sheet he had made some great strides in his skill levels, although he wondered if he would be better off picking one skill and training it fully then moving onto the next or doing what he was doing now and split his attention across all of them. He was getting closer to getting each of his skills to the peak of advanced, if he was lucky, by the time he finished this dungeon he would have gotten at least another two to max. He still had the rest of the Harpy to finish off, as well as the next tribe to take out. By the time that was done he hoped that he would be ready to skill the boss of the dungeon and be done with having to run dungeons for a while. For now though, he would rest and then continue to hunt. Book 3: Chapter 16 Hunting down and fighting the Harpy was a much easier task than when he had tasked himself with killing every Arachne in the forest. The Harpy were easier to find which cut down on the time he needed to spend moving from one monster to the next and the fights themselves had become somewhat boring. They were still D grade so Shaun needed to be careful during the fights so as not to be hit by their talons but their magical attacks were practically useless against him. Shaun travelled from one platform to the next with only a few hours of rest in between each, he had decided to change the way he fought, focusing on two skills on each platform and no more. He alternated between his skills, always using Blade Mastery with another of his skills as his class was orientated with always having a blade in his hand. He had spent what he assumed to be just a little over a week fighting through the Harpy and had found the leader on the third day. He was tempted to just kill it and move on but the monsters had been a gold mine of skill levels so he decided to clear out everyone he could find first. There had been 10 platforms in total, and he had already cleared 9 of them out, which is why he found himself just out of range of the leader, watching and waiting for his time to strike. This final platform was different than all of the others, it was larger and as expected the Harpy were stronger. The reason he waited wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t think he could kill all of the Harpy, but rather because he was curious to see if he could pick up anything further from them using his mana skill. Over his time hunting these monsters he had been using the skill to learn as much as he could about how their skills formed and the threads that bound a being to a skill. He hadn¡¯t cut a thread like he had in that first fight again, instead he focused more on the intricate way threads formed into a weave and how that was then powered into a skill. Looking at the platform with the leader he was able to see a very large weaving connecting one Harpy to another, as if they were expecting him to show at any time and had prepared an attack that would be unleashed the moment he arrived. He didn¡¯t know how, but the Harpy were monsters that could share their power with each other, boosting the strength of a skill through these connected threads. He didn¡¯t think this was something normal that just any person on monster could do, it was something special to this type of monster and he wanted to learn as much as he could about how it worked before he moved on. The reason why was simple, if they could do it, why couldn¡¯t he? He had been thinking about this since he first saw the Harpy weaving their skill to kill him on the first platform. If he could somehow replicate this with his summons, he would be able to either give more mana to them when needed or even take it back to power a skill to greater hights. It was something he planned on testing soon, but as this was his last chance to get a look at how they did it, at least for a while, he wanted to take advantage of these last moments of study before he attacked. It wasn¡¯t until he had not found anything new for an hour, simply retracing the threads over and over again until he had it memorised and save down in an orb from Creators Plan that he decided that it was time to finish off these monsters and move on. He had already summoned his Zapian Eagles, all of whom were just sitting around him waiting for him to give the order to fly by his side and attack. He sent a silent command that the time had come to go to battle and as one, his summons flew into the air with him and made for the Harpy at full speed. He didn¡¯t spend long making a plan of attack, he was going to go straight for the leader and his summons would attack the other Harpy and cause whatever damage they could. The moment they had risen into the air and started flying closer to the platform, the Harpy took notice, as always though they didn¡¯t approach him but waited for him to enter their domain. When the distance closed between the two groups he saw the threads binding the Harpy light up with power, mana travelled along these threads towards the leader and an attack was powered up, ready to be sent towards him. He had learnt pretty quickly that the Harpy always started out with their strongest attacks, hoping to end the fight before it even started, which never worked well for them. Just before the leader let its attack go, Shaun shifted into lightning and sent himself directly towards the centre of the platform, right beside the leader. He had gotten much better at controlling how quickly he moved in this form and his accuracy had improved exponentially, to the point it took only a split second for him to move from one place to another and attack as soon as he reformed. He lashed out with both of his blades, each powered with a magma strike, making the leader of the Harpy abruptly stop its attack to move out of the way or be struck down by his swords before the fight truly started. As expected the Harpy chose to live and immediately shifted out of range of his attacks. It still took the hit, but instead of being bisected it received a cut through clawed leg. Shaun didn¡¯t let up on his attacks, instead he summoned mirror blades of all his advanced elements and began to spin them around him and the Harpy leader, effectively trapping them in a whirlwind of blades. The Harpy flapped its wings once, then twice, creating a sound like thunder with each flap. The vibrations sent through the air nearly knocked both himself and his blades off course, his control kept his blades spinning and he was able to push through the skill by sending his own burst of air through the area around him, bringing his surrounding under his control. With another flap of its wings the Harpy leader tried to blow everything around it away, entering into an elemental fight of control against him. Shaun nearly laughed at the change in tactics form this Harpy. His elemental power was so far above the Harpy that if he chose he could lock down the entire area by tapping into his affinity and pushing down on every Harpy here using a combination of his air and lightning affinity, but instead he surrounded each of his blades in a bubble of air and sent them directly towards the Harpy. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Just before his blades were going to skewer the leader he made each blade explode in an explosion of mana and elemental magic. This was something new he found he could do while fighting the Harpy, the blades were made of mana and elemental power, although the skill kept them in a physical form, with a bit of effort Shaun had found that he could also unmake them, causing all of the power stored within them to act as a magical bomb which was both hard to avoid and defend against. When he had first discovered this he had gained so many skill levels in the mirror blade skill that he cackled in glee at the discovery. Being inventive with skills was the best way to level them, and turning magical swords into magical bombs by unravelling part of the skill was definitely inventive. The Harpy leader, not prepared for the sudden explosions, was sent crashing towards the ground by the explosions, parts of it had been vaporised by the explosions and other parts of it were frozen solid or on fire. Not letting up on his attack he shifted himself through the air and when he appeared he was standing directly under where it would land on the ground. Unable to right itself from the damage he had inflicted on it, Shaun launched himself upwards towards the Harpy and with a blow that impressed even him, used the opposing momentum of both himself and the Harpy to cut it in half with Death¡¯s Kiss. His momentum still took him further into the air as he felt the Harpy, now in two pieces, fall to the ground with his echo, ending the second leader of the dungeon. Without bothering to circle back down, he changed his course to now dispatch the remaining Harpy that were still around the platform. One after the other he used his skills to kill them, with the death of their leader the weaving of their skill was falling apart and killing them was a simple task of attacking with blade and element, until there was nothing left except for himself and his remaining summons who flew around the platform letting out their own squarks of victory. His eagles had done this after every fight they had been in recently, the higher his level in his summons skill got the more his summons showed a deeper personality and thirst for victory. He continued to let them fly around in their victory loop, announcing to the world that they had won. Shaun enjoyed watching them preen and squark like this, he felt their joy and pride and had he often joined them by sending his own feelings their way through the bond. **You have defeated a (Harpy ¨C Lvl 149). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ **You have defeated a (Apex Harpy ¨C Lvl 160). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **Class upgrade available on [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger. Would you like to upgrade class? Note all experience is forfeit until class is upgraded.** Quickly reviewing the notifications, he dismissed them and the class upgrade. He wished he could be able to loot the D grade monsters, purely for crafting materials. Working with D grade materials would be a sure way to boost his skills in his profession and make some high levelled equipment, but like with every other dungeon, until he claimed it, he would get nothing but experience he couldn¡¯t actually use. When the Eagles were finished he dismissed them and after a moments consideration decided he would rest later when he was closer to the area that held the remaining tribe of monsters. Killing the Harpy had taken a fraction of the time it had taken to kill the Arachne and his hope was that the next monsters would be equally quick to kill. Without wasting any further time he sent himself soaring through the air towards where he knew the final monsters would be, excited that he was closing in on the completion of the dungeon. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°What is it now?¡± These lasts few weeks had been nothing but trouble for Eric, with the event closing in on them the schools resources were being looked at more closely by Viv and every few days she would show up with demands that he would usually deny and send her away. The relationship between the two of them had gone from strained to icy, especially since the first person to gain an affinity from one of Shaun¡¯s natural treasures was a promising student, who, in their excitement, told everyone around them that they had bonded with the air element. The news travelled quickly and not hours later Viv showed up on his door and demanded to see the child. ¡°The rune crafters are refusing to craft spells into weapons for our soldiers unless payment is received up front. Complaints are coming in in waves and the impact this will have to us winning the event is huge. Why are they still denying their services to our soldiers?¡± This was a conversation they had had more times than he wanted to recount, it always ended the same way. ¡°They are at capacity already, crafting runes sun up to sun down for the school and all those here who are entering the event. If you want to cut the line pay them. They don¡¯t belong to your army and are part of the school, if you want their services pay them like you would any crafter.¡± Why shouldn¡¯t they be paid? It was a service provided, like crafting a sword or bow and should be treated the same way. ¡°They refuse to train our own crafters even though it would alleviate the pressure they are under! They cannot hoard their knowledge forever!¡± And now we are back to this argument. ¡°As we have gone over before, you can¡¯t force them to part with their knowledge and skills just because you say so. It is their own department within this school, they choose who to accept into their classes, not you.¡± He had already spoken to Jo about this and they were in agreeance, they wouldn¡¯t let in random crafters that Viv wanted to learn the craft of using runes, it would harm them now and in the future when it came to the schools prestige and reputation. ¡°And what about the Natural Treasures? We need our soldiers in their more than your students. At least until the event is over.¡± Again, another argument they had had before. ¡°You have full use from sundown to sunup, just as we agreed. Many of the staff and students here are planning to go into the event, why shouldn¡¯t they have equal opportunity to succeed as your soldiers. I wont disadvantage those at the school.¡± He tried not to let his irritation show but he was having time holding it back. ¡°Anything else you want to go over again?¡± ¡°I run this settlement¡­..¡± ¡°Shaun owns this settlement.¡± ¡°For now.¡± Eric was well aware that when the year was up Viv would take full control, but he knew well enough that Shaun had more pull with The Empire, they owed him a great deal and he was going to get a reward, which Shaun had already passed on to Eric. When the time came Eric fully planned to have the school put fully in Eric¡¯s hands, allowing it to be a separate entity within the settlement under his control, not Viv¡¯s. It was something that he would push for before Shaun handed everything over. He expected that, with everything owed to Shaun, there would be no argument from Xavier. Viv would hate it, but she wouldn¡¯t have much choice. As Viv stormed out of the room he went back to looking at the updates from his faculty, it only took 5 minutes before he couldn¡¯t stand sitting still any longer before he made to gather his team and head for a dungeon, growing his level and skills was still high on his list of things to do and at times like these, working his frustrations out by killing monsters was the best type of therapy. Book 3: Chapter 17 Sand Naga, that was the monster that Shaun was currently tracking and killing in the last area of the dungeon before the boss. They were half human and half snake. The upper body of the monsters were mostly human, much like the previous two monsters, although they had two fangs, a scaled body and piercing yellow eyes. The lower half was all snake and stretched behind them for nearly 10 metres. Unlike the Harpy they were solitary monsters, always alone, generally camouflaged within the sand, annoying as all hell to find. The Naga had the ability to not only control the sand but move through it at incredible speeds. They could dive down into the sand for protection and when they did it became beyond frustrating to bring them back up and kill them. Shaun had disliked moving on the sand almost instantly and instead had taken to spending most of his time in the air, only moving towards the ground when he located another of the slippery beasts. They had no long ranged attacks, which meant he was safe in the air, but as soon as he got close enough to attack them they would generally bury themselves and wait till he got close to the ground so he could use his earth affinity to pull them up like weeds before they would attack. When they were out of the sand they were easy enough to kill, taking seconds to dispatch them, but between finding them, exposing them from their domains and then killing them, this area of the dungeon was beyond frustrating to him. Having been hunting for over a week, he knew that he wasn¡¯t even halfway through killing the Naga, he had been thinking of ways to draw them out, and so far he had come to no sure way to do so, but after losing his temper after several hours of finding no more monsters to kill he had had enough of wasting his time. Shaun dropped to the ground in what felt like the centre of the Naga¡¯s area, his patience run out and wanting nothing more than to be gone from this desert. The sun was constantly baring down on him, there was no shade and the only thing for kilometres around him was sand. He was done with it. Standing on the sand, he pushed out with his earth affinity as far as he could, stretching his perception and power as far as possible until he felt his mind starting to ache. When he figured he had covered enough area he let his power loose, using his affinity to send waves of sand blasting out from where he stood. It was his version of an earthquake, however rather than solid earth the sand all around him was sent rolling in a blast of barely controlled power. Again and again he pushed his power through the sand, disrupting the calm desert as far as he could sense. Shaun didn¡¯t stop until he figured that the disturbance he was causing would alert everything in the entire area to his presence, only then did he stop. Sitting on the ground, right at the centre of what was now a giant dune, he meditated. He had used a great deal of his power in wrecking havoc through these sands, and if his plan worked, hopefully every Naga in the dungeon would have felt it and would come to see what had caused the disruption to their home. It took some time before he finally felt a Naga enter his area of perception, but he didn¡¯t move a muscle. One Naga was not enough, he wanted all of them here before he made his move. The Naga he felt stopped some distance away from him and seemed to just wait, if only one of these monsters came to him he was going to be pissed, at this point he just wanted to the leader to show up. If it didn¡¯t, he didn¡¯t know if he was going to be able to finish the dungeon before the time was up and the event would start, which should be any day now. It took some time, but eventually more Naga appeared, surrounding him from all directions but not approaching. When the count hit a dozen and the leader still didn¡¯t show he felt defeated. Still, he waited. Soon the number hit two dozen, then three, all waited in the sands around him. What felt like hours passed in silence, but in reality could have only been 30 minutes, eventually he felt a Naga enter his echo, one that was more powerful than the rest. He almost jumped up and went to greet it but stayed still and continued to watch through his skill as all of the Naga started to close in on his location. Shaun continued to hold onto his control and awareness of the sands, though only very faintly so as not to alert the Naga that they had entered into his domain of control. Slowly, they had come in close enough that they would be able to attack him in seconds, although the same could be said for his own attacks if he so chose. All at once the Nagas heads appeared from the sands around him, followed by their torsos and then their tails. The leader of the Naga, a monster twice the size of its kin was closest to him and stared him down after rising 10 metres into the air. Neither of them said anything, they just looked at each other, both parties refusing to look away. Slowly Shaun smiled at the Naga, ¡°Gotcha.¡±. The moment he uttered the word he took full control of the entire area and with half of his remaining mana he went wave after wave of magma through the sand. The Naga had fallen into his trap like fools. Sand was earth, magma was but earth and fire. All he needed to do was add heat and his own affinity and mana and he turned the entire area into a lava pit. The only reason his plan worked was because they all came to him, doing this for a single Naga would have been a waste of power, but killing dozens of them at once? Worth it. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Screams of pain echoed around him as the Naga were all burned alive. They couldn¡¯t escape as there was now no sand, just magma. They would not swim through it without being consumed by the inferno, yet they couldn¡¯t escape as their tails had already been consumed by his element. Wanting to speed up the process he summoned as many Magma slimes as he could, they travelled through the magma easy enough and spread themselves over the Naga that were already being consumed. The leader of the Naga attempted to attack him, being the largest and closest to him it might have been able to do some damage if he let it. Instead, he summoned his blades and went on the attack, carving large gashed through the large monster until it was unable to stand the onslaught of attacks both from his blades and then magma consuming it from below. Killing the Naga like this had been easy enough, but the downside was that he wouldn¡¯t get one skill level from it. That was the downside to having so many affinity, it would be so easy, to just ignore ones skills and kill everything with the elements. Doing that though would lead to subpar class upgrades, which in turn would reduce one¡¯s strength in the long run considerably. When it came to monsters like the Naga though, he had to weigh up the pros and cons, time was not on his side and hunting Naga with his skills would not help him in finishing the dungeon on time. As the last of the screams died out and the only living things left around him was his slimes he called them back and stopped pushing his mana into the magma. Drawing the heat back in from the area around him he turned the area from molten earth to a solid platform, allowing him to sit and relax comfortably so he could recover all of the mana he had used. He received the notifications from the kills and dismissed them without looking through them, nothing of interest cam with these kills and with no way to improve his current stats or skills before facing the beast that ruled this dungeon he looked at his status to see just how far he had grown by killing all of the Harpy and Arachne.
Status:
Name: Shaun Clermont
Race Human I
Level: 115
Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger ¨C Level 124
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator ¨C Level 107
Health Points:13671/13671
Stamina:14147/14147
Mana:6124/47103
Stats: (Available Points: 0)
Strength: 1303
Dexterity: 1394
Endurance: 1415
Vitality: 1367
Intelligence: 1346
Perception: 1327
Willpower: 1406
Soul: 4710
Affinity: Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water
Advanced: Lightning, Ice, Magma
Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer, King, Impossible Feat. Mana Body, Mana Mind
Heritage: Azreal¡¯s Legacy (Hidden)
Skills:
Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 124), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 111), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 121), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 33), [Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 103), [Advanced] Elemental Summons (Level 116), [Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade (Level 104)
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 111), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 115), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 98), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Epic] Mana Mastery (Level 28), [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Elemental Storage (Level 53), [Advanced] Creators Plan (Level 101), [Advanced] Creators Domain (Level 22)
Outside of Stone skin, a skill he never used anymore, his class skills were all past 100, many very close to reaching max. His creators plan skill had also increased a lot, mostly due to how many he had created and how many were being used in the settlement. It was an easy skill to raise, and a useful one in many ways. He wouldn¡¯t be hitting max level in all of his skills before the event but he was more than confident in being able to do so before the year was up. With the ease he had killed the D grade monsters now he felt ready to be able to take on the beast and claim his prize. He was curious though as to what the beast was. Ever monster in the dungeon had been half animal half humanoid, he didn¡¯t know if that was a theme in this dungeon and if the boss would follow that or if there was something else at play. He would find out soon enough though. All he needed to do now was recover all of his mana, rest so he was at peak performance and then travel to the centre mountain which stood tall and proud within the dungeon, homing the beast that managed to subdue all three of these tribes. Book 3: Chapter 18 Upon awaking from his rest there was now only one thing left to do before the dungeon was done, that was to see what the beast was and kill it. The instructions had been clear for the dungeon, you needed to deal with all 3 leaders before killing the beast, which he had not only done but he had also killed off every single other monster in the dungeon he could find. By his reckoning it would take a day or two to get close enough to the mountain to be able to get a sense of the beast and then a few more days to get to the exit once he had finished fighting, then adding on to that the extra days it would take to get himself to the E grade Settlement Crystal to teleport to the school, he would be cutting it pretty close to the event. Still, it was worth it in his eyes, he would have finished off every dungeon in the settlement with 6 months before the year was up. The days passed quickly as he moved to the centre of the mountain, he was able to move uninterrupted and with nothing holding him back. When he did reach the mountain he moved slower, not wanting to disturb the beast if he could help it, not until he was ready. At the top of the mountain he found a cave, which was easy enough to spot with his skill, inside of it he felt the beast through his echo. Creeping up slowly, not wanting to make a sound, he peered into the cave to try and get his eyes on the beast. The beast seemed to be resting, but he recognised what it was immediately. The scales matched that of his armour, although almost white in colour. He identified it to make sure he was right. **Adolescent Luna Wyrm ¨C Level ???** Holy shit, it¡¯s an actual Wyrm. ¡°I can feel you staring, human.¡± The moment Shaun heard the monster speak he shifted and moved as quickly as he could out from in front of the cave and back to the exit. As he moved he felt pressure build behind him and a beam of pale light followed him as he ran. He heard laughter follow him from the cave but he didn¡¯t dare slow down. He did not want to fight a Wyrm in a cave, he needed room to be able to move around and fight, not be stuck surrounded by walls, reduced down to minimal room to fight. The Wyrm seemed to have the same idea, as it too followed him out of the cave, although at a more leisurely pace than what Shaun went at. He didn¡¯t stop moving until he has a few hundred metres away from the cave entrance, only then did he turn and look back at the cave. The Wyrm had only just reached the edge of the mountain and only when it spread its wings and move into the air with one huge flap was he able to take in the full size of the beast. The Wyrm¡¯s body was the size of a bus, its wingspan was equal across as it was in length, if not slightly longer. Even though it had been labelled as an adolescent it was still much larger than he had expected. He felt the power emanating off of it, although he couldn¡¯t see its level he knew, like himself, that in comparison to other monsters its level it would be labelled an elite monster. Shaun had only a second before he would either need to flee or fight, this would be the strongest monster he had ever fought and he knew it would be no easy fight. Still, he wasn¡¯t prepared to run in defeat, not yet at least. He summoned as many mirror blades as he could at the same time he summoned six Zapian Eagles. His eagles wouldn¡¯t be able to do much damage to the Wyrm, but the would be able to cause an annoyance, if not a distraction when he needed them to. Just as the Wyrm covered half the distance to him in what felt like a blink of the eye he sent half of his swords directly towards the Wyrm at the same time he gave the order to his eagles to spread out and do what they could to the beast. At the same time the Wyrm released another breath of what felt like pure luna energy directly at the blades and him. Not wanting to test the strength of such an attack, he shifted into the air and moved as quickly as he could to the right. The luna beam that the Wyrm had sent his way vaporised his blades and if he had been a split second slower would have taken him out as well. Shaun resummoned the blades that had bene destroyed by the attack and sent them, as well as the others around him in a circle around the Wyrm at a speed that made it look like there was a physical circle around the Wyrm. Shaun saw the Wyrm look at his swords with curiosity for just a moment before it let out a laugh and with another great flap of its wings released a wave of energy from its body that knocked the swords of course and nearly broke through Shaun¡¯s connection to them. It nearly fractured his mind to do so, but he was able to keep all the blades under his control, which to the Wyrms annoyance, allowed him to pull them all back into position, slowly tightening the circle of blades around it. The distraction allowed three of his eagles to close in and let loose lightning attacks on the Wyrm. The beast looked at them with little more than a dismissive stare but that was all Shaun needed to send one of his blades from the circle and have it explode moments before it would hit the Wyrms body in a giant blast of fire. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The explosion wouldn¡¯t harm the Wyrm, but it did provide him cover to shift again and appear within the middle of the explosion, unseen by the Wyrm. From the centre of the explosion he launched himself at the Wyrm and with Death¡¯s Kiss he sent out his strongest attack against the beasts chest, hoping that the attack would be strong enough to not only hurt it, but cut through its scales and inflict his first curse upon the great beast. The moment his sword made contact with the Wyrm he felt the resistance of the scales, even with a magma strike lasing the blade he barely felt the attack doing anything against the scales. Letting out a grunt of frustration, knowing the Wyrm would retaliate at any second, he pushed more mana into the blade and with all the strength he could muster he sliced down with Death¡¯s Kiss, using the blades curve to allow his momentum to put further pressure on the scales. Just as he thought his attack would fail he felt the scales under the blade crack but yet his sword didn¡¯t puncture through to flesh. Taking advantage of his position, even though he knew that he would be leaving himself open to attack, he reversed his grip on his sword and with the smaller edge of the blade stabbed directly towards the cracked scales and felt the blade puncture through to the hilt of his sword. Before he could retreat away from the Wyrm he felt the beats tail hit him from the side, sending him flying out of range of the Wyrm. A second later he felt the Wyrm release a luna beam in his direction and without thinking he dissolved into a blast of lightning, moving him further away from the beast and safely behind it. Taking stock of his injury, the Wyrms tail had not managed to break through his own Wyrm armour, but the force of the blow had done more damage to his ribs and internals than any other monster before. Rather than heal himself, not wanting to risk using mana to heal himself on an injury that wouldn¡¯t kill him, he instead used his mind skill to block out the pain. The Wyrm turned to look at him and even though this was the first time fighting a Wyrm he knew that the beast was pissed, he could see it written on its face and from the aura leaking from its body. Shaun knew that this fight was going to be one of attrition, each of them was able to fight the other on a mostly equal footing, but Shaun was able to dodge the attacks of the Wyrm and to attack the Wyrm he was needing to use a lot of his mana. Yet if he needed to Shaun had plenty of potions stashed away, and so far the Wyrm had shown no ability to heal itself, let alone remove the curse that Shaun had left behind with his sword. Shaun let the Wyrm attack him twice more with its luna beam, each time he moved out of the way by shifting into either the air or lightning. After the second attack, Shaun sent three of his mirror blades at the Wyrm, exploding each one as he had the first. Rather than appear from within the explosions, as the Wyrm expected, he shifted into a bolt of lightning, landing on its back, and like the first time used Death¡¯s Kiss to crack through the scales and then leave another curse on the beast. The roar that the Wyrm let out this time would have been heard throughout the dungeon, and if he was to guess, this would have been a call to every other monster in the dungeon to enter the fight, probably having already gathered when he crossed into the mountain range. But there was no other monsters left, the dungeon had been clear that the leaders had to be killed for any chance of success, and fighting all of the monsters as well as the Wyrm would have been impossible for anyone unless they outranked the dungeon by at least a grade. The fight continued like this for three more attacks, he had to summon more mirror blades, so many that he had lost count. He also ended up summoning more eagles. During this Shaun had done something he hadn¡¯t done in so long that he was almost disappointed in himself, he had drunk not one but two mana potions to help him recover the ridiculous amount of mana he was using in this fight. This battle was slowly falling in Shaun¡¯s favour, the Wyrm was getting slower, its attacks not as strong and it was getting sloppy. His curse¡¯s were doing their thing and sapping the life from the beast. The longer they fought the worse it got from the Wyrm and the easier it was for Shaun to land his attack and get away. Twice more he had been hit by the Wyrm, once more by tail and another by claw. He had a large gash down his abdomen, his armour having been cut through with almost surgical precision by the Wyrm, but he was still a long way from succumbing to his injuries. Just as he was about to go in for another attack, the dungeon shifted, the sun disappeared in its entirety and in its place a large moon appeared. The shift had happened in a second and he didn¡¯t even feel it occur. Whatever the Wyrm did wasn¡¯t some skill that needed to be built up over time but something more instinctual, as if the dungeon was reacting to the Wyrms need for more power. Just as he adjusted to the change he saw the Wyrm drawing power form the moon and powering up an attack that was so much more powerful than the luna beam that it made the Wyrms former skill look like child¡¯s play. The amount of mana that the Wyrm was drawing in was beyond what he thought he could avoid, he could see what the skill did but with the amount of mana drawing in he knew it would be widespread and catastrophic. Not wanting to see what the end result would be of such a skill he decided to move in closer, drawing all of his mana back from both his swords and summons for his own counter attack on the Wyrm. He didn¡¯t have much practice with his Mana Mastery skill or cutting the threads that weaved together when a skill formed, but he hadn¡¯t gotten this far in his path to power by playing it safe. As Shaun drew in closer he activated his mana skill and started taking in all of the threads that were glowing with power around the Wyrm, each on was thicker and much more powerful than those of the Harpy, but even to his untrained eye he could see three threads that stood out more than the others. The first was connecting the Wyrm to the moon, the second connected the wyrm to a massive weaving of threads that spread out throughout the dungeon and the final one connected the Wyrm to Shaun. He hadn¡¯t even noticed this thread until now, he had no idea how it had been placed or what the skill did, but he did know that this attack had a way to connect them, and if he failed he would not be making it out of this dungeon alive. Book 3: Chapter 19 Looking over the three main threads of the skill, Shaun figured that severing one would hurt the Wyrm but not stop the skill, to get this right and truly sever the skill the Wyrm was using he needed to sever at least two but preferably all three of the threads at once. To do this he needed to move to a position that allowed him to sever all three with one attack. As he looked again he found a spot just above the Wyrm, that would put the thread that bound him and the one that bound the moon directly next to each other. The third thread would be close, but it would mean that his attack would need to travel some distance to be able to cut the final thread. Time was running short though as he saw the power starting to reach its crescendo, he had seconds to get this right. As he got into position he summoned 11 of his mirror blades before having them all form into his own blade, boosting the power of skill and blade alike. It was the first time he had summoned and combined so many mirror blades, the first time he had made them for with his own blade as well. He felt some push back from Death¡¯s Kiss, but using every ounce of his mind skill he forced the combination. Out of nowhere he felt blood drip from his nose which he ignored once he realised it was just a side effect of pushing his already split mind even further. That combined with the injury he sustained, he knew this was his only shot of winning this fight. Afterwards he would be weakened, making any follow up attacks near useless. Closing his eyes he pulled on the power stored in Death¡¯s Kiss, forcing death energy from the blade and into the gathered attack along with the rest of his mana. The attack he was about to unleash, even though it wasn¡¯t aimed at the Wyr, would be the most powerful attack he had ever used, also the most dangerous to not only anything and anyone around him, but also to himself. Shaun continued to condense all the mana and power he had drawn into the sword until he saw the Wyrms skill reach its peak, any moment it would unleash its luna skill on the dungeon. Moments before this happened Shaun closed his eyes and yelled with pure determination, sending his sword out at the three threads that bound the Wyrms skill along with every ounce of power he had drawn in. The second he let Is attack go he felt his body drain of life, he knew If he looked his mana would be depleted, his health and stamina likely having dropped to dangerous levels as well. Opening his eyes to view the outcome of his attack, he saw his sword flying to the ground, in its wake was the darkest black he had ever seen, looking like the world itself had been cut exposing an abyss of nothing but death. The threads that he had aimed for split, giving him some relief, but unlike previously, when the threads had started to dissolve when he had cut them, this time they turned black. He saw all of the three threads, each now cut in two, racing towards their end points, three of which were the Wyrm, the other three being Shaun, the moon and the dungeon. The power that had been gathered for the Wyrms skill was still present but it had stalled, unable to continue to the final part of the skill. The Wyrm, just hung suspended in the air, its huge mouth open but no noise came from it. A wide eyed look of shock was plastered on its face and he could see the whites of its eyes. That was until the black power that was consuming the threads hit the Wyrm, then things changed. Shaun looked on, seeing the once majestic Wyrms white colour slowly turn black, its once powerful build started to look shrivelled up as if all of its insides were being consumed leaving nothing inside of it to fill out its body. From one second to the next the Wyrm went from looking like a powerful beast to a decrepit husk and then as if time resumed it started to fall like a rock from the sky. Shaun was in a precarious position himself, he felt like he was moments from passing out, so like the Wyrm he started to drop from the sky as well, although he did so in a more controlled fashion. As he followed the Wyrm down, he pulled out more potions from his inventory, downing a health, stamina and mana potion in quick succession. He was only halfway to the ground when the Wyrm crashed into the earth, and although it was now mostly scale and bones, it still left a crater due to its size. As Shaun felt his feet hit the earth he felt slightly better, the potions had done what he needed them to, and although he was far from being at full strength he was in a much better state than he was before. He still had yet to receive the notification for the Wyrms death, but he felt no threat coming from its body, it was barely clinging to life and in moments it would end. Not wanting to waste an opportunity when it presented itself, he summoned Death¡¯s Kiss back into his hand. Taking a few steps towards the Wyrm he didn¡¯t say any words or even acknowledge that it still had life in its body. Instead, he slashed down with his blade and removed the Wyrms head from its body, his sword no longer having any issues cutting through its scales. **You have defeated a (Adolescent Luna Wyrm ¨C Level 190). Bonus experience for killing an opponent above your level gained.** **Class upgrade available on [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger. Would you like to upgrade class? Note all experience is forfeit until class is upgraded.** The Wyrm had been 65 levels higher than him and yet he had won. With the Wyrms death he had finished the D grade dungeon, and with it, he was finally done with needing to claim dungeons for the settlement. **Ascend the Peak dungeon completed. Dungeon will automatically eject successful participants in 1 minutes.** Shaun read the message with a smile, and in the last minute he looked over the Wyrms body, wishing that he was able to loot the damn thing. Wyrm scales made for excellent armour, and who knew what else its body would have given him, even it this weakened state. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. He wasn¡¯t too annoyed though, if he really wanted to, he could come back after the event, speed run the dungeon and fight the Wyrm over and over again. By then he would have maxed out all his skills and completing the dungeon would be easier. The minute passed quickly, appearing outside of the dungeon left him feeling a sense of accomplishment that made him want to shout from the mountain. He had done it, a seemingly impossible task when he first entered the D grade dungeon, yet over these weeks he had grown so much that he felt like a new man. ** Ascend the Peak (D grade) Dungeon has been completed** Would you like to claim this dungeon for 10,000,000 TE? Without hesitation he accepted the prompt, with it he also ensured that he kept the D grade dungeon for another 5 million TE. That left him less than 5 million TE left to terraform the area, which he planned to do, using every last TE he had. He had no more use for TE after this, so saving any for later would just be a waste. He placed the settlement crystal in the centre of the mountain, around it he started designing a massive castle, not on the mountain though, he decided to turn the mountain peak into an integrated fortress of massive proportions. Shaun spent hours putting together room after room, starting form the peak and working his way down as far as he could until he had no TE left to use. It was the height of indulgence, fit for a king and all those who were under his protection. But he wasn¡¯t completely selfish, although the building looked like a castle it was fully equipped with training areas, dorms, kitchens and mess halls. There was large platforms jutting off of the side of the mountain fit with gardens and benches. Although his plan was to live here until he left Earth, he also decided to ensure that it would be fit for more than just a residence. When he finished designing the castle and reviewed it several times, he accepted the prompt that asked him if he was sure of the terraforming and with it his job here was nearly complete. It would take over a week for it to be finished, which, by the time he travelled back for the event and it concluded it would be about done. **For fully incorporating the entirety of the D grade cluster into the settlement, all Settlement Crystals have now been linked, all areas have been combined to form an Empire** **Title Upgrade: King to Emperor** **Emperor: Through the claiming of an area of a planet large enough for a Empire the title of Emperor has been acquired. While in an area that you rule your stats are increased by 50%. Title Upgradeable. Note: If the area under your control is taken from you or you freely give up this land you will lose the title.** He had expected something like this to occur, the upgrade to Emperor was still an upgradeable title, and if he was to guess he assumed the next upgrade to it would be World Leader, a title he would never want or get. Still seeing the upgrade was the systems way of showing what he had accomplished. He would have been the first in the world to receive the title, but not the last. Checking over his status sheet he was more than happy with what he saw, the increase in his skill reflected the fight he had with the Wyrm, his Epic mana skill showing just how much stronger Epic was from Advanced in that fight.
Status:
Name: Shaun Clermont
Race Human I
Level: 115
Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger ¨C Level 124
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator ¨C Level 107
Health Points:1425/13671
Stamina:2014/14147
Mana:3015/47103
Stats: (Available Points: 0)
Strength: 1303
Dexterity: 1394
Endurance: 1415
Vitality: 1367
Intelligence: 1346
Perception: 1327
Willpower: 1406
Soul: 4710
Affinity: Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water
Advanced: Lightning, Ice, Magma
Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer, Emperor, Impossible Feat. Mana Body, Mana Mind
Heritage: Azreal¡¯s Legacy (Hidden)
Skills:
Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 116), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 124), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 33), [Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 109), [Advanced] Elemental Summons (Level 121), [Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade (Level 119)
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 111), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 115), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 98), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Epic] Mana Mastery (Level 43), [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Elemental Storage (Level 53), [Advanced] Creators Plan (Level 108), [Advanced] Creators Domain (Level 22)
His Blade Mastery skill had finally hit max, every other one of his class skills had grown now to the point where his lowest skill that he wanted to get to max was his shifting skill which sat at 109. Soon, he would have maxed them all out. As he had expected, his health, stamina and mana were all very low, the potions he took were the only reason they weren¡¯t closer to 0 now. Even with the potions though, he felt exhausted. He knew he would need to sleep sooner rather than later, the only question was whether he should sleep before going back to the school or whether it was better to have uninterrupted sleep here and go back when he was back to being at full strength. His decision was made for him when he let loose a yawn, not bothering to move away from the dungeon entrance he laid straight down on the ground and moments later he felt sleep overtake him. Book 3: Chapter 20 Upon waking up, he moved his way to the D grade settlement Crystal, its size much larger than that of the E grade ones and teleported to the school. When he did finally make it back to the school it was the middle of the night, but even then, there was still people out rushing around looking to be doing last minute things. Sending out his echo he found Eric still in his office with a few people. That wasn¡¯t strange though, at this point in their advancement through E grade sleep wasn¡¯t needed as much, if you pushed it you could go days without rest, unless you had pushed yourself to the limit in a fight and needed to recuperate. Shaun moved his way through the school and when he came to the office he went in without alerting anyone that was inside. Eric was sitting at his desk and Gabe, Viv, Li and a number of others were in the room. He identified each of them and was impressed that everyone in the room was about halfway through the E grade at this point, whether their skill levels reflected that he didn¡¯t know. ¡°We are glad you are back, we had some doubts that you would make it here before the event started.¡± He had no idea when the event actually was, he had lost track of time in the dungeon but he assumed it was soon. ¡°The event should be soon, right?¡± Shaun asked no one in particular and just assumed someone would answer. ¡°Two days actually. Or closer to one now if you consider this a new day, it is the middle of the morning.¡± Shaun thought about it and figured that nearly 6 weeks in the dungeon was about right, considering his initial time with the Arachne was slow going. He had spent several days in trances and didn¡¯t notice time passing when working with the core. ¡°So, we are ready for the event then? I assume The War was chosen and all the deals are in place with the factions?¡± When he finished there was an awkward silence that he didn¡¯t like. ¡°Yes and no.¡± Viv broke the silence but she also wasn¡¯t confident in what she said. ¡°The deal was struck, that¡¯s the good part. But whether we are ready? We are in a good position for the most part. We are well equipped, mostly, everyone has been levelling and for the most part we are ready to go. The issue is, even after trying to recruit people to our side there has been more siding with The Pantheon than The Empire when it comes to settlements. The independents we don¡¯t know about. Until tomorrow we won¡¯t know if we are on equal footing in terms of numbers or whether we will be outnumbered.¡± Shaun processed the news over a long few seconds. The fact that most settlements sided with The Pantheon was troubling as they would be the more powerful people on Earth for the most part. If they were outnumbered it would mean they needed to be more powerful on average, and by a decent amount. Viv said they were as ready as they could be and with him in the mix they still had a good chance of winning even if everything went to shit. ¡°Anything that needs doing right now? Or is the plan to just wait until the event starts?¡± ¡°There is some last minute things but nothing for you to do. Until the event itself starts we don¡¯t know how it is going to fully work. We may be split up or grouped together, so just in case everyone will gather before sunup tomorrow just before the event. We have plans in place for as many outcomes as we could think of, but until then we just wait.¡± Viv waited a moment before continuing. ¡°Will you be fighting with the main army or will you be doing your own thing?¡± He had already considered this and the answer shouldn¡¯t be shocking to any of them. ¡°I will go at it alone for the most part. I will join the army only if needed or if we are getting slaughtered. Until we know more though I wont commit to anything. For all we know there will be rules around having to fight together.¡± Not much more came out of the conversation and when they started talking about preparations for the army he just left. He returned to his home and after having something to eat decided to rest for a few hours more. He had no plans now that the event was in a day, it was not enough time to do much of anything. He was surprised no one mentioned him claiming the D grade area, but with the event about to start he couldn¡¯t blame them. The first thing he did when he woke up was gather more food and water to store in his inventory. He didn¡¯t know how exactly the event would work but he didn¡¯t want to be caught unprepared. After that he looked around to see what had changed in his absence, finding that for the most part things were the same as before. The only thing he really wanted to do was check up on Eli, more so out of curiosity, but also so that the boy knew that he was back. When he found the group, he saw all of them moving out towards the pseudo treasures, he identified them before they could see him and he was impressed to see that they had all levelled up into the E grade. They all looked determined to get in some last minute prep work so rather than interrupt them he let them be. They would catch up later, he knew for them these final hours could make or break their performance. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. With everyone off doing their own thing, he had nothing to do. This had been the aim though, get everyone used to him not being here and make his part in the settlement obsolete. Now having some time on his hands he spent the day using his Mana Mastery skill and his Stone Skin skill to see if he could piece together how the skill worked within him and maybe change it up a bit. He hadn¡¯t used his mana skill like this and he really wanted to test out how it worked on his own skills and whether he could dissect a skill that he didn¡¯t care for and make it something better. Hours passed in silence as he simply watched as he turned the Stone skin skill on and off and traced out the full pattern of the skill into a planning orb. He didn¡¯t want to rush ahead and do something to hurt himself right before the event but that didn¡¯t stop him from planning out all the little details of the skill. What he found was that the skill, when used, no longer relied on his affinity at all, instead it used his mana. The skill also formed a complex network throughout his body when activated that pulled mana into his skin and then formed the stone skin. The more he looked at the skill the less he liked it. But seeing how it worked was the first step in being able to change it into something better. His current plan for the skill was to have it reinforce his body with pure mana rather than changing his skin to stone. On top of that he would want it to boost not just durability but also his speed and strength, potentially tapping into his Mana Body title. When night fell he only stopped to grab food and then got back to work, it wasn¡¯t until he felt like the morning was coming that he put a pause on his work and went to the area that everyone was supposed to be gathering to enter the event. Shaun was one of the last to arrive, they had chosen to use one of the F grade areas that had yet to be incorporated with people and by the look of it, people had been staying here for a good few days, needing to travel here by foot. There was a mix of humans and elves, some intermingling and others clearly staying with their own kind. He only had to wait around for 30 or so minutes before Viv got up and started making a speech which he immediately blocked out. Instead, he found Eli and made his way over to him. When he got to his side Eli didn¡¯t say anything, he did give him a smile but apart from that he listened to Viv talk on about what they were fighting for etc. etc. As the sun started to rise Viv finished her speech and only seconds later they all got what they had been waiting for. **World Announcement** The event has been decided, The War has been chosen as the event in which all those who wish can participate. The War will be a battle fought between two opposing sides. The sides have been chosen based on the two strongest individuals and their settlements at this point in time. The first side will be led by Shaun Clermont (Factionless) ¨C System contract in place with The Empire. The second side will be led by Jason Charlo (The Pantheon). If you currently own a settlement then you will need to choose a side which all those under you will automatically join. If you do not currently belong to a settlement you may choose either side but will be unable to work towards earning points for a settlement unless one is chosen to join within the event. The War will have several stages. The first part of the event will be consolidation. All participants will start at their sides main compound, but between the two compounds many strategic positions can be held to push the other side back throughout the war. To claim one of these positions a side must claim and hold that position for 24 hours. The second stage of the war will be claiming as many of these positions as possible from the opposing side, before launching a main attack on their opponents main compound. This can also be done during the first stage. The last stage is claiming the opposing sides compound. Once one side holds both compounds that side is declared the winner and the event shall conclude. Throughout the event points are earned on an individual level through killing soldiers from the opposing side, being apart of claiming strategic positions or being involved in taking over area from the opposing army. Points gained at an individual level will also be replicated to that person¡¯s settlement score. Bonus points are rewarded depending on how you accomplish a task and who it is that you kill. If you wish to join the event please pick a side in the next minute otherwise you forfeit entering the event. Option 1: Shaun Clermont Option 2: Jason Charlo As a leader you have no choice. Reading through the alert he gained more information that he could use. First he should be able palm off all the work to Viv and just focus on winning the war. Second, the first thing he needed to do was claim some areas while killing any idiot that joined Jason and The Pantheon. This is going to be fun. Shaun felt the world shift the moment the finished reading and processing the message, moments later he found himself standing in a huge compound that should be able to fit millions of people. It spread out in every direction but right in front of him was a huge open area. It was slightly below him, but he was also standing on top of a stage. He was alone for all of a few seconds before the first people started appearing in bursts of light. The amount of people appearing increased quickly, the first people he noticed was those from his own settlement, the choice having been taken from them as they were technically apart of his settlement. It didn¡¯t take long after that for more and more people to start appearing in the area, he had no idea who these people were but if he was to guess these would be the people who were either independent and had chosen to fight for him or the few settlements that had decided to join their side. It took a few minute for people to stop appearing, there was yelling and a lot of movement with people trying to find others that they should know or just looking around. Wanting to get everything here over with Shaun unleashed a small part of his aura over the crowd. The results were instant, those that were caught in his aura immediately stopped moving and looked to him, the source of the power. Like a chain reaction everyone standing before him looked up at where he stood. He made a conscious choice to just look over everyone gathered before he decided to speak. ¡°You made the right choice.¡± Book 3: Chapter 21 It may have been an odd statement to make, but most of the people here were not actually part of his settlement so they either had no idea who he was or they only knew what rumours had been spread about him. Regardless, the fact they had chosen to join his side meant that they had made the right choice in this war. He fully planned to win so they had chosen the winning side. ¡°Rather than waste any time I am going to cut right to the chase. I am Shaun Clermont, I am at the peak of E grade and we will be winning this event.¡± Excitement started to build in the crowd and a good amount even cheered at his statement. ¡°Vivenne.¡± He gestured to Viv to come up to stand next to him. As she moved he kept talking to the crowd. ¡°Viv runs my settlement, she had organised our war effort, she will be in charge of running the event from our side. I will be out claiming these strategic positions and slaughtering our enemy. The only thing I want everyone here to do is their best, and that better include showing The Pantheon and everyone who chose to follow them that they chose the losing side.¡± He left Viv up on the stage with many of those gathered cheering for him as he moved off to the side. Before he ran out to do what he wanted to do he knew he had to plan out his approach a bit. If he ran off now and went to claim a position he would have to stay there until these people eventually found him or risk leaving the position undefended. He refused to give up a position though, so he needed someone to follow after him. He made his way through the crowd as Viv started speaking, focusing specifically on finding Eric. He was the only person here that could track him through the stones so he would have to be the one to follow behind him. ¡°Let me guess, you are going to run off and you expect me to follow?¡± Shaun didn¡¯t even need to communicate his plan to Eric as he already knew. That was how well Eric knew how Shaun worked now. ¡°Yeah, any problems with that?¡± He was itching to get going but held off only till he go confirmation from Eric. ¡°No, it¡¯s a good plan. I will tell Viv what we are doing as I will need to travel with a decent group of people who I can leave at the position to then follow on after you. I am guessing it will be a few hours dealing with all these people but I will keep you updated. Go have fun.¡± He did not need to be told twice. There were benefits in having a few friends that knew you well enough to know what you wanted to do and that they would support you in your endeavours. He didn¡¯t reply to Eric in words but the smile on his face said plenty. Not bothering to move out of the crowd he shifted and pushed himself into the air. He didn¡¯t have a direction that he wanted to go, not yet, but he knew once he found the first position that he would be on his way toward the other compound. When he was high enough in the air he looked down on the compound and was surprised at just how large it was. From this view he could see large buildings that looked like barracks and even many different types of buildings that resembled those that would be utilised by crafters. Looking past the compound limit the terrain was pretty average, it was flat all around them with few trees. It was like the area had been magically cleared for the very purpose of having a compound here. He saw some changes on the horizon but not enough to know what it was or if it would help them in any way. There was no indication of which way to go so he chose at random and started speeding out of the compound limit until he hit the outer edge. He gave himself an hour of heading in this direction before he would swing around if he didn¡¯t find anything. At the speed he travelled it would take even a middle E grade 4 hours to travel that same distance give or take an hour or so. He didn¡¯t know how far out these positions would be placed but he didn¡¯t imagine that they would be longer than a full days walk from the compound. He could be wrong, but this event was catered to everyone, not just the strongest of Earth. That meant they couldn¡¯t have thing too far apart, otherwise the only thing that the lower levels would ever be doing would be walking. As Shaun continued to move out from the compound he didn¡¯t see anything until about 30 minutes into his travels, what he found was not what he had been expecting. The flat ground that seemed to spread out around the compound ended suddenly. It wasn¡¯t like a cliff that dropped down to a lower area, instead there was just a never ending nothingness that went for as far as both his perception and echo could go. The edge continued on in both directions as far as he could see, swearing to himself he realised that he had gone the wrong way, this was the edge of the event area, the compound being located at the very limit, and if he was to guess, the enemies would be too. Although finding out that he had gone in the wrong direction was annoying it was better he find this out than have a whole group from his side travel here on foot just to have to turn around and go in the opposite direction. Taking out the stone to contact Eric he waited patiently for a reply. You have found a resource already? I didn¡¯t expect it to happen so quickly. We are still organising everything here, there was more people than we expected. Eric sounded slightly flustered when he spoke to him, clearly wrangling so many people into a cohesive group was hard work. That¡¯s not why I am contacting you. The event area ends where I am, the compound backs onto nothingness. When people are sent out avoid this direction, it¡¯s the wrong way. He tried not to sound bitter about it but when he heard Eric start to laugh he just stored the stone and continued to move back the way he came in a slight curve to avoid traveling back to the compound directly. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. As he had seen when traveling behind the compound, the side he curved around showed much of the same, a flat expanse of land that had no unique features to it. He wasn¡¯t sure what he was looking for exactly, these resources could be anything from a source of water or food to a position that would allow for outer defences of the compound. Until he found one he would have no idea what exactly he was supposed to be looking for. For what seemed like forever but in reality was only an hour or two, he just flew through the air, the only thing that he had to distract him was his own thoughts. He shouldn¡¯t have been shocked that the beginning of the event was going to be boring, the fighting wasn¡¯t going to start immediately, both sides had a lot of admin work to do with the amount of people joining each side who had never worked together before. He had hoped that it would be slightly more interesting than this though. It wasn¡¯t until he came across a river running through the area off in the distance that Shaun became slightly less bored. It was the first thing he had found that changed up the area in all the time he had been traveling. Finally having a destination in sight he moved to the edge of the river and made a mental note of the direction the water was coming from and where it was flowing. From what he could see the water was flowing back the way he had come, more from the direction of the compound, and it flowed at a steady speed off towards the direction he had been traveling. Water was usually a key resource in any war, and a river could indicate a number of things, including something that could be utilised as a barrier that any army would need to cross to make progress towards an enemy encampment. With those thoughts going through his mind he made the decision to follow the river to see where it ended up. The river itself would be an inconvenience to cross, the water moved at a decent pace, which would be fine if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that it was nearly 100 metres across. Swimming across it would be annoying and slow, making anyone that did so easy pickings if there was an enemy on the other side. Having a whole army cross through the water would be ill advised, even for a bunch of E grades, that led him to believe that somewhere along the river, if it did surround the compound, would have to be a position where people could cross on foot. As he followed the river it became pretty clear that it curved around, encompassing the entirety of the compound. It didn¡¯t take too long for him to find something that was out of the norm. Through his echo he felt a weird distortion, something he had never felt before. The only way he could describe it was that there was something there yet also not. Like something as waiting to come forward into the area but almost stuck in some in between place. Knowing he found something, potentially one of these resources, he rushed forward until he was standing right in front of where the distortion was. Just as he was about to examine it further he got a notification that made him second guess what he was doing. Strategic position (Fortified Bridge) located. To claim the position for Shaun Clermont you must hold this position for 24 hours without leaving. Do you wish to claim the position? Waiting for 24 hours was a huge waste of time, but no one else had claimed a position yet, at least not on his side. Being the first one should come with some kind of bonus, if not, he could at least say he claimed the first position. Accepting the prompt to claim the position, he now had 24 hours where he couldn¡¯t leave. The only up side to this was that he could use this time to continue working on the stone skin skill in relative peace. When he was closer to finishing the process of claiming the bridge he would contact Eric and let him know, if he did it now the chancers were he would then be stuck here with other people which would lead to him wanting to leave and potentially losing out on whatever reward he got for doing it. Sitting down on the ground Shaun entered into his meditative state and continued to dissect the skill, until he fully mapped out every inch of it he wouldn¡¯t be able to continue on any further in the process. It was the first skill he had ever created and was made out of pure desperation, not with any true thought for how it would help him in future grades. It took several hours longer until he had stored a replica of his body and the full mapping of the skill in a orb. He checked it several times before he was confident he hadn¡¯t missed a thing. With that done he moved onto the next thing he needed, trying to change it. Using his creators domain skill he entered his sub space and using his creators plan at the same time started to see what would happen to the skill when making changes to it. The first thing he wanted to do was remove the earth aspect of the skill and replace it with pure mana. The only way he could do this was with trial and error. Methodically, he started changing each part of the skill to see what the end result would be, in this place there would be no backlash to him as he wasn¡¯t really using his own body, but crafting in a duplicate. Sor several more hours he documented what every part of the skill did. He found the parts of the skill where mana was drawn into the skill to power it, the moment he removed these parts of the skill everything collapsed into a mess. Finding where the skill entered his skin to form the stone was also easy enough. Removing these parts of the skill was easy but once removed the skill did nothing. Through further exploration of the skill he came to the conclusion that the forming of stone came from these threads, the ones that spread throughout his skin, the way the formed when active was linked to creating the stone but also where the mana went to activate the skill. This was where he needed to make the first change. Instead of removing these threads altogether he started to adapt them so that they not only spread through his skin but also his organs, his bones and his mind. This was much harder than he realised and when he tested the changes he found that instead of the desired outcome of just reinforcing his entire body with mana he just simply turned into a stone statue. Even after his adaptions he had failed to remove the earth aspect of the skill, the only up side was that he had managed to have the skill spread through every inch of his body. He continued his work on the skill until there was only 6 hours left before the bridge would be claimed, in that time he still hadn¡¯t managed to figure out why the skill kept turning him to stone but he knew he was making good progress. Changing a skill was no easy process, but one that, if he did right, would remove a skill that was useless to him and instead provide him with a skill that he hoped could follow him throughout the higher grades. Book 3: Chapter 22 After a quick talk with Eric, who had given him a update on the progress of getting everyone sorted at the compound, Shaun returned to amending his skill. The update had been interesting though. From what he was told many people had joined his side in smaller groups or as individuals, many of them having had dealings with the Pantheon and deciding that they would rather go with an unknown than side with what many were calling classist, elitest and crazy. Those who were strong or in larger organised groups were welcomed into the Pantheon as it did a lot to boost their strength. Those that were smaller or independent were shunned and either turned away from settlements or straight out attacked. This wasn¡¯t a good sign for anyone as if the Pantheon won it would mean the entire planet would turn out this way. It was bad news for Shaun as it meant that the people that were fighting for him were unorganised and generally weaker. The exception to this was the Elves, his own settlement and only a small handful of smaller F grade settlements. The thing with this event was that to gain any progress you would need to form up several armies that worked well together and had a good chain of command and people willing to put their lives on the line, or at least their time in the event, to work for the greater good of your side. Convincing people of this was easy enough, but actually forming this chain of command and putting people into positions of power was no easy feat and Viv was till having a rough time of it. This just reinforced that leaving was the right thing, dealing with so many people and actually getting people to work together was a waste of his time, he had better things to do, like claiming these resources and maybe hunting down some of the opposing armies. The remaining hours passed quickly with some progress being made on the skill but mostly he was getting impatient and wanting to just move on. There was still an hour left for the claiming when Eric appeared, he had brought a large group with him, all E grades and a mix of human and Elf. Gabe was with him, as was a few others he vaguely recognised but didn¡¯t know well. There was nearly 1000 people that had followed along with Eric and they all looked excited as clearly they hadn¡¯t been sitting for nearly a full day doing nothing. When Eric finally got close he left everyone but Gabe behind so that they would be able to talk privately. ¡°I owe you for getting me out of that compound so quickly, its chaos back there.¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t been that fun sitting here either.¡± Shaun looked back at the gathered group of people who all looked like they wanted to move forward to be part of the conversation but held back, probably due to being warned not to interfere with what he was doing. ¡°This is from Viv.¡± Eric handed him a bracelet with a stone in it and gestured for him to put it on. ¡°It¡¯s apparently some control item that lets you set different things back at the compound. It also allows for a map to be updated with everywhere you have travelled back in the command centre so that people can plan strategies and track locations. Everything is shut down until you put it on and give other people permission though, Viv was not happy when she found out.¡± Shaun had to bite back his laugh at imagining Viv standing in a command room and not being able to do anything because he had run off. After inspecting the bracelet he was confident it was what Eric had said it was and put it on. The moment he did he got a flood of options appear in front of his eyes that he would need to take some time to go through. Leader Command Options: Set Delegating Authority Communications Compound Resources Claimed Positions Personnel Breakdown Leaderboard The first thing he did was go in and set authority for Viv and a few others. He gave her as much power as he could so he wouldn¡¯t need to deal with most of these options ever again and then shut it off. He had no interest checking anything else this early on. Things would change a lot in the coming weeks, if not days, going through all of the options now would be painstakingly boring. ¡°Now what?¡± He looked at Eric expectantly knowing there was going to be more that needed to be said, and he was right. ¡°We have a plan from here. Once you finish claiming this area we will hold it with minimal people and then start spreading out so that we can get a good idea of the area. We will wait for you to contact us again and then head to your location when you need us. We have been set as the front line for now, like the message said, the purpose of this first stage is to just claim as much as we can.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. This was pretty much in line with what he expected so he nodded along as Eric spoke. ¡°Depending on what I get for claiming this, if it¡¯s worth it I will claim a few other places, if not I will just locate them and send a message letting you know where to go before moving on.¡± Afte the agreed on the way forward Eric asked him if the others could approach and get comfortable which he agreed to, not seeing why they shouldn¡¯t get front row seats to how he claiming worked. After that the topic of conversation changed. ¡°I never asked, how was the D grade dungeon?¡± Shaun spoke through every aspect of the dungeon, including what the aim was and all the different monsters. When he got to speaking about the Wyrm everyone dropped any pretence of eves dropping and looked on in awe. ¡°You killed a Wyrm and you didn¡¯t get any loot?¡± Gabe looked distraught at the prospect of fighting in a dungeon and not getting any loot from any of the monsters, especially when you were killing beasts like a Wyrm. ¡°But the dungeon is cleared so it was worth it. It¡¯s not like he can¡¯t just go back in and fight it again.¡± Eric replied to Gabe with pure logic and it was true, if he wanted to go back in he could. ¡°What¡¯s the plan for after the event then?¡± ¡°Finish raising my skill levels, profession levels and then¡­.I¡¯m not sure. I have a few things I can do and now that the dungeons are finished I can just focus on tying up loose ends.¡± There were other things he wanted to do, like move the school if he could, but he didn¡¯t vocalise this until he had bartered an agreement with The Empire. ¡°I probably won¡¯t be back at the school much, I built a castle out of the mountain in the D grade area.¡± After some exclamations of shock from some of the people around him and a questioning look from Eric the conversation were much more casual and they didn¡¯t speak of anything of importance. When the hour finally came to an end and the claiming finished the bridge materialised out of thin air and with it massive guard houses on each side of the river. Strategic position (Fortified Bridge) claimed by Shaun Clermont for Shaun Clermont. 1,000 Event points awarded. When everything appeared there was a lot of yelling and sounds of shock throughout the crowd, all of which he ignored. Instead, what drew his attention was the points. The event points were for the personal leaderboard, but he had no idea if 1,000 was a lot or shit. These would be duplicated as compound points which is what contributed to his side winning the points board for his side, but again he had no idea if it was a lot or little. Now that the position had been claimed he no longer needed to wait around, the others could inspect it while he moved further towards the enemy line and see what else awaited him. ¡°Eric, split some people along the river and see if there is any other bridges or weak spots. We need to know on the off chance that we are pushed back this far in the future where we are most vulnerable. I am going to head further in.¡± He didn¡¯t bother waiting for confirmation from Eric, he would do what he asked as it was the smart thing to do. He didn¡¯t even bother crossing the bridge, but just shot up into the air and made his way further into the event, away from his compound. His newly acquired bracelet had also sent him a copy of the notification he got, although without the personal points he acquired. This meant he could track any progress made by his side without needing to rely on communicating with them. The further he moved from the bridge there was some small changes in the area, although for the most part it just stayed clear and flat. This was ideal for waging a war where both side would be on equal footing. Boredom quickly settled in as he moved and instead of turning to training he thought of the best way to prepare his side for when the fighting truly started. Ideally, they would want to push into the enemies side rather than fight on their own turf. The aim was to claim the opposing sides compound and if you needed to retreat further into your own side you would be giving the enemy a foothold that would be hard to get back. The easiest way was to get your side further quicker. But moving millions of people was slow work and couldn¡¯t be rushed. Having a strike team like they were doing would help in getting the lead but only if they could hold their positions. With this in mind Shaun moved just a little bit quicker, wanting to find where the positions to claim turned from bridges or other utility based areas to proper positions that would house armies. If he could find and claim these positions then the bulk of the army could start moving forward and settling closer to the enemy. After traveling for several more hours he hadn¡¯t found anything though. He kept close watch on the time he was traveling as it would give a good indication of just how long it would take to get from the main compound to the next position. It wasn¡¯t until 6 hours had passed since he left the bridge that he found his next destination. Frustrated at the distance, it would take a day at least to get from the main compound to this new position, getting reinforcements here on short notice would be impossible, meaning that you had to be smart with your people or you could easily get overrun and be pushed all the way back and lose the event if you weren¡¯t careful. As he dropped to the ground near the new position he found he let out a huff of annoyance at the message. Strategic position (Inner Fortress) located. To claim the position for Shaun Clermont you must hold this position for 24 hours without leaving. Do you wish to claim the position? Reluctantly he accepted, the sooner this place was claimed the sooner his army could move. This event was turning out to be more annoying than he had expected. Why couldn¡¯t they have just been thrown on two sides of a valley and told to fight it out? He wasn¡¯t even fighting or getting to improve the remainder of his skills. Just traveling, searching and then waiting. The only upside was he got to continue working on his skill upgrade, but even then, if he did the actual upgrade in the event he could be injured to the point he needed to sit out a while. The upside though was if he died he wouldn¡¯t actually be dead. Book 3: Chapter 23 Over the next week Shaun did little more than travel, claim positions and continue to finish building out the changes he wanted to make to his skill. By this point he had mapped out what he was told was a majority of their side of the event. They had found 12 fortress on their side, claiming 4 of them himself and leaving the rest for others to claim. The lay out was simple in terms of how the positions were structured. The compound lay at the very back, then the river separated the compound from the fortresses. The fortresses were set in a pyramid shape, 5 of the inner fortress circled around closest to the river, the first one he found was the only one he claimed. Further out there was 4 more central fortress of which he had claimed another one before moving on. Lastly there were the 3 outer fortress, he had claimed two of these so far, the third he had left for Eric and his own team to claim as he was happy with taking a third of these fortress and leaving the rest. This is where he was now, sitting in the now completed outer fortress, the most central of the three and preparing to move on as soon as others arrived to take over its protection. After finding the first few inner fortress things moved very quickly. The compound had been practically emptied of people, all but those who had volunteered to stay behind and act as a central control unit. Everyone who wanted to take a more active role in the fighting though all moved out towards the inner fortress, most of those were now actively moving towards the central fortress. Once the central fortress were locked down they would then move on to the outer fortress and begin preparing to move further again. It was agreed that no one would move further out then the outer fortress until they knew where they needed to go and what was beyond, he had taken it upon himself to map out the area ahead and see what exactly they were up against. This was the easy part of the planning though. Over the last week he had been forced into planning meetings around what to do with the compound points, as these could be spent to upgrade fortress defences. Those who were in any kind of leadership position were at odds with what to do. Some wanted to focus a majority of the points on making their compound impenetrable, the others wanted to focus on the outer fortresses in the hopes that the Pantheon wouldn¡¯t be able to push through to even get to the compound if it ever came to it. In these meetings he contributed very little, when he was first asked he made his opinion known, defend the compound. The worst case scenario was that they were fully pushed back, that meant that the Pantheon would be bunched up around the compound and he would let loose everything he had to kill as many as he could. The more time they had before the compound was taken the better. If they invested everything they had in the outer fortress they would need to split it by across three places, he would only be able to defend one of them and then they would have a clear shot at claiming everything else with little stopping them. Even at his speed there was no way he could easily move between the fortresses in time to save them and until they accumulated enough points to actually spread it around he was of the opinion of defending against a worst possible scenario. When the meeting ended with no clear decision he was over the conversation and now attended for the least amount of time possible. There was still time to make any upgrades to the fortresses that they wanted and now that every strategic position was claimed they had a good idea of how many points they had to spend, until the fighting truly started and points were being gained from killing the opposing side and claiming their fortresses, what they had was all they could spend. Over the past week he had also gotten to a point where there was nothing more he could do with changing the stone skin skill, he had tested and retested it and it now worked exactly how he wanted it to. He had fixed the issue with being turned to a statue by completely changing the threads that wound through his body, a task that took many hours even in the domain. Doing this in person would similarly take a lot of time and patience where no one could disturb him. After he had finished the skill changes he stored it for when he was ready and moved on to training with the Dragon Core again, although as he wasn¡¯t fully alone like he had been in the dungeon he had to be careful to also keep his senses out to ensure he would pick up on anyone that got close to him. After meditating on the Dragon Core for several hours he felt a large group of people enter the outer edge of the fortress he had been sitting in. He put away the dragon core immediately, and went to meet them so he could hand off his own responsibility of the place and move on. The group was made up of about 400 people, half were human and half were elf. He didn¡¯t bother with any real greeting and just announced he was off and that it was there problem now. He flew out of the fortress quickly, moving further out and away from his own side at a decent speed, keeping his eyes and skill open and assessing everything around him. Much sooner than he thought, he saw the terrain change from the cleared brown ground to a dark black that spread out in a line across the event. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The black ground wasn¡¯t wide, by his estimates it was only a few hundred metres, but to anyone that saw it, it was clear that this was the line in the sand that split the two opposing sides. He had reached this point quickly after leaving the fortress, no more than 30 minutes of flying. At a quick walk it would take maybe 2 hours tops. He didn¡¯t immediately cross the line, instead he pushed his senses out across it to see if there was anything that would trigger if he did decide to cross. After spending an extra 30 minutes testing the area with everything he could think of, he found nothing but a change in colour. It was as simple as it looked, just simply a physical line showing the halfway point between the two compounds. What made him continue to hesitate was that just because he couldn¡¯t see or feel anything that didn¡¯t mean a notification wouldn¡¯t be sent to everyone that he had crossed into enemy territory. The Pantheon may be notified if he did move across it, or maybe only his side would. Nothing may happen at all, but if it did he needed to make sure that everyone was ready. Using his bracelet he went through the communication option and went into the group chat that contained all the leaders of his side so that he could pop in a message informing everyone what he was about to do. Shaun Clermont: Have found the point that separates our side from theirs. About to cross, may send notifications. Be ready. The moment he sent the message he got a flood of replies which he just didn¡¯t bother checking, he got a few call attempts which he also ignored. He wasn¡¯t asking for permission, just giving them a heads up. Now that he had done the right thing and given them the update he slowly started to walk along the ground, wanting to emulate what others would as they couldn¡¯t fly. He stopped for a moment when he had taken his first step into the black ground but when nothing happened he continued on at a casual pace. It took all of a minute for him to cross the distance, and when the only thing left to do was take his first steps into enemy territory he gave him self a second to prepare himself and then took the step forward. For entering enemy territory 200 Event points awarded. For being the first person to cross into enemy territory 2,000 Event points awarded. For entering into enemy territory alone 1,000 Event points awarded. The points were pretty decent, so far he had earnt 1,000 from the bridge, 2,000 form the inner fortress, then 3,000 from the central and two lots of 4,000 from the outer. Just being the first person to cross into enemy lines alone gained him the equivalent of claiming a position. Wanting to make sure that no one else got a notification he messaged back in the group chat and when everyone confirmed that there was no notification he closed it down and made his way back up into the air. He went high enough that he could still use his echo skill to scope out the surrounding area but didn¡¯t stay too low as he didn¡¯t want anyone to catch him here. Now that he had crossed the border with no issues he wanted to test a theory. He suspected, but couldn¡¯t be sure, that the Pantheon¡¯s side was identical to their own. It made sense that it was as it would put them on equal footing, outside of the people that chose each side. The only way to confirm this was to go around and check if the fortresses on this side were the same as the ones on his side. Moving towards where he suspected the closest fortress would be was easy enough, it didn¡¯t take long for him to find the tell tale sign of the distortion that signified that there was a position that could be claimed. He was tempted to claim it, as no one from the Pantheon had yet to do so, but if he did it wasn¡¯t like he would be able to keep it and that would just hand them the opportunity to be the first to take over an already claimed position. His best bet was to scout out and see how much they had claimed, find where ethe closest fortress was that they had claimed and then take it out from underneath if possible. Considering that this fortress was unclaimed, his best bet was to move in closer to one of their central fortress and see what was happening there. If he was lucky he would find some people to fight along the way, if not he had no issues with causing as much destruction as he could when he found a fortress to attack. He was only about halfway to the closest central fortress when he came to a stop, in the distance he found a group of people moving off in the distance. The group had to have been made up of around over 2,000 people, all moving somewhat quickly and in a decently tight group. From what he could see they were all human, but until he got in closer he wouldn¡¯t be able to see how strong they were. Rather than move directly towards them he decided to swing around form the back. He now moved much higher in the air, having completely shifted so as not to be seen, and didn¡¯t solidify again until he was directly behind the group. No one noticed him appear although he suspected that some of them felt something off when he appeared, they looked back but failed to spot him as an intruder in their midst. Now that he was here he could get a good feel for everyone¡¯s strength. For the most part they were all in the low range of E grade with only a handful reaching the middle. Even with over 2,000 of them vs only him he felt pretty good about his odds. He just wasn¡¯t sure how he wanted to approach it yet, part of him wanted to just start killing, but they had information that could prove useful. For that though he didn¡¯t need all of them, a handful at most. With a smile he started summoning, 13 of his creatures at once. He used a combination of fire, and lightning, wanting to focus on attack rather than defence. He held back the final step of his skill until he had every single one of his summons at the point where it would take only a thought and they would appear. He pulled out both of his blades and when he was ready to attack he finished his summons and all around him his team appeared. ¡°Who would like to live?¡± He didn¡¯t need to yell to make sure everyone heard him, he used the air to magnify his voice. His one line had the desired effect and every single one of the people he had been following turned to him with weapons drawn. He was finally going to be able to fight. This would be the first battle of many and it was going to be a slaughter. Book 3: Chapter 24 Many of the people in the group, especially those closest to him, just stared on in shock and fear. He couldn¡¯t blame them, he had a dozen powerful and scary looking creatures at his back. With a thought he sent them out to surround the group, the moment people saw this a few tried to run. ¡°Dumb move.¡± He didn¡¯t even move, but one of his hounds sprinted to the people fleeing at the same time one of his eagles flew after them. Within seconds all those from the small group who had run were either torn into flaming pieces or blasted with lightning. Just like that 10 people died and he hadn¡¯t done a thing. For killing your first enemy 500 Event points awarded. For being the first person to kill an enemy 5,000 Event points awarded. For being the first person to kill an enemy in their own territory 5,000 Event points awarded. There was a few more after this which he ignored, needing to concentrate on the here and now. He liked that he was getting all these firsts though, it showed that in this war he was the one making the first move. ¡°I have some questions if you would be so kind to answer them. The first is¡­¡± ¡°No.¡± He was interrupted mid sentence which he was not impressed with. Looking at who spoke he saw six people walking towards him through the crowd. They were the ones at middle E grade and if he was to make a wild guess, the ones leading this group. He also got the feeling that they knew more than anyone else here and that they would happily die in the event before telling him anything. ¡°Fine, others will talk when you are dead.¡± He had planned to kill them all anyway, this just sped up the process a little. From one second to the next his summons went from standing guard to attacking everyone closest to them. Although everyone here was E grade, there was a big difference from being early E grade compared to peak E grade. His summons had enough power to kill a D grade and these people could do nothing when faced with their strength, even if they all fought back they would have a lot of difficulty taking out all of his summons. Shaun did not stand idle while his summons attacks, at the same moment they had went for the kill, so did he. He closed the distance between where he stood and six people that had interrupted him in a moment. He had both swords out and killed two of them before they had a chance to react. One of them used a spell to produce a barrier between him and those still standing but it was nothing. Smashing through the shield was like tearing a piece of paper, once he was through he slashed with his sword, letting out a fire strike that incinerated two more of the six as well as a large amount of the group behind them. He hadn¡¯t meant to kill so many with his attack though, being so used to fighting stronger enemies had changed his perception of how powerful his attacks were. If he ever wanted to keep people alive to question, he needed to pull back a little on his attacks. With only two people left of the main group of six he summoned a dozen of his elemental blades, all made with lightning, and had them surround these last two people, all of them were a mere inch from their skin, three spun around each of their neck and three more aimed at disposable limbs. ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t want to talk?¡± While he spoke he gave the command to his summons to pull back and go back to guarding the large group. He had several notifications waiting for him and through his echo he felt that there was less than 1000 people now left alive, all others had been killed and their bodies gone. ¡°You really are a monster.¡± He had left the man who had said no earlier alive, but now instead of confidence and arrogance he looked broken and defeated. ¡°I am strong, much stronger than you, anyway. That doesn¡¯t make me a monster, it just makes you weak.¡± Shaun was aiming to break the man so that he would speak to him and give up whatever information he knew. ¡°Want to answer my questions now?¡± There was now only silence from the group. Once he called off his summons the fighting stopped. In seconds he had killed more than half of this group, everyone knew that there was no way they would win the fight, he hadn¡¯t even gone all out. ¡°We know we outnumber your side by 5 to 1, nearly every settlement joined us and on average our people are stronger than yours. You can¡¯t win this war. It doesn¡¯t matter how strong you are, you won¡¯t be able to kill everyone before we wear you down and kill you. Is that what you wanted to know?¡± If this guy was telling the truth then he now knew numbers and he already knew that they hadn¡¯t claimed the outer fortress yet. He could torture the guy to make sure he wasn¡¯t lying but that wasn¡¯t really his style. ¡°Thank you for cooperating.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. With a thought he sent 10 of his mirror blades rushing through the crowd and when he had covered as much area as he could he blew them all up turning the area into a storm of lightning. From one moment to the next he had killed nearly all the remaining people from this army, with a final thought his eagles finished off the rest. For killing over 2,000 enemy in their own territory 3,000 Event points awarded. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ For killing an opposing teams army 2,000 Event points awarded. For killing an opposing teams army single handedly 10,000 Event points awarded. For winning the first fight within the event 12,000 Event points awarded. There was a few more notifications in there but he mostly skimmed them. They mostly just said what he already knew, he killed lots of people and won the fight on his own. It had been a ridiculously easy fight and it bode well for what was to come. He did like that the bodies of those he killed didn¡¯t stay around, they simply disappeared the moment they died. There were signs that a fight had occurred, mostly from his own skills, but he didn¡¯t particularly care that there were traces of him being here left behind. Shaun Clermont: The Patheon has not yet claimed the outer fortress, have killed one of their armies and you should see more points available to spend. Move our army quicker to get to the outer fortress so we can push into their side. Was told they outnumber us around 5 to 1. Not confirmed but sounds reasonable. While he waited for replies, which he was actually going to read through, he pulled back all of his summons and drew the mana back into his body. It didn¡¯t take long for replies to come through, with them he had several people voice their opinions. Vivenne Grace: Agreed, we need to push while we have the advantage. How big was the army and what was their strength like? We hold off upgrading any of our positions until we know when and where we will be fighting The Pantheon with our own armies. Joshua Philps: If we push our own armies we should make it to the outer fortresses within the next few days. They will need rest before we push further, we can send our strongest strike teams ahead now. If we don¡¯t expect The Pantheon to hit us in our own territory we can spread ourselves further. Li Al Sal: Shaun, what is your next move? He read through the messages and considered what he should do next. He could either guard the area between the central and outer fortress, stopping them from gaining ground or he could cause some chaos at one of their central fortress and see who came running, effectively killing off more of The Pantheons team while hopefully stopping their approach. Shaun Clermont: Over 2,000 in the army, most at early E grade. All dead in seconds. I will move in to one of their central fortresses, see what trouble I can cause. After a bit more back and forth it was agreed that they would push forward quickly. There was some hesitation with letting him move further into enemy territory without any back up but in the end they let him do what he wanted. They only asked that he not die, which he scoffed at, he had no plans on dying in this event. Continuing on in his travels, he didn¡¯t head directly to the central fortress, instead he scouted out the area that separated the outer and central fortresses to see if he could find any more armies to kill off. Like with his own side, sending groups ahead and gaining control of the positions was a top priority, the biggest difference being that on his side they could rely on him to move quickly, find everything they needed and report positions back for others to control. This removed a lot of the time needed to search for what they needed. Without him they would have had to spend a lot more time searching, probably more time than The Pantheon as there was significantly less of them. The only reason they were so far ahead of the Pantheon was because of him, but even if they managed to take the lead this early, keeping it would be much harder. They couldn¡¯t half commit to a plan, every body counted as with such an imbalance in sides they would need to have a majority of their people used if they had any chance of success in the event. Over the next 6 hours he managed to find two more armies, both were roughly the same size as the first and none were particularly strong. He didn¡¯t bother with questioning anyone though, they were just sent out to search for positions, using the weak with a few people in power to hopefully come across the fortresses they needed. With the amount of people out searching, he concluded that the central fortress on this side were claimed and that a good amount of their people had made it to the middle of their side. At this point all these people were just giving him points, they proved to be no challenge and all it was doing was increasing the gap between him and everyone else on the leaderboard. It was also giving his side more points to use early on, another thing that would help to bridge the gap caused by having less people fighting for him. The closer he got to the first central fortress the more people he came across. Rather than armies though they were small groups that were keeping look out for something as they weren¡¯t moving much but scanning the surroundings. After killing three of their small armies they now knew that he was here and killing them off. These groups of people were probably meant to report back anything they saw, even if it meant losing their lives in the event. He did consider killing them all off before he got to the fortress, rather than do this though he just shifted higher into the air and blended into the wind so that no one would see his approach. He would rather surprise the unsuspecting people in the fortress than give them time to prepare. If he had any hope of claiming a fortress out from under them, even if for a moment, surprise had to be on his side. When he finally made it to the central fortress he was pleased with what he saw. There was a lot of people inside of it, easily over 100,000, but most seemed to be exhausted and outside of a few key pockets of people, most were in the early to mid E grade. Some though were stronger, reaching just above the middle E grade, this was rare though. From the general feel of the people within, they had no idea he was here. Even floating directly above the fortress they had no idea that an enemy was in their midst. The only thing he had left to do was decide how he wanted to make his entrance. Book 3: Chapter 25 Shaun didn¡¯t attack immediately, rather he spent some time accessing the fortress and the people within. It was clear, after a while of watching, that there were a few separate groups in the area. Some were more alert than others and seemed to group together in separate areas. Not everyone had arrived here at the same time, just like his side, these people seemed to be part of a few groups that moved ahead of the main body of the army. By the feel of it another group should be arriving within the next day given how rooms were being kept prepared in another section of the fortress and general feel of recovery from the long march from the inner to central fortress that an early E grade would need. He had decided that there was two different ways he could approach the attack, the first was with his skills, which would involve a longer and more risky attack. The upside to this was that he would get to continue pushing his skills and gain a few levels. The other method was mass elemental devastation. He could use his air and fire elements like he had in the past to create a huge cyclone that was mixed with fire and unleash it down onto the fortress, not giving anyone a chance to fight back for the most part. The downside is no skill levels, he would get to flex his affinity a bit more though, something he hadn¡¯t done in a while. The more he pondered on which avenue to go he nearly hit himself in the face with how stupide he was being. Why did he have to choose one or the other when he could do both? He could easily use about half of his mana for the opening elemental attack and then follow it up with some old fashioned skills. The moment he had his choice he moved right to the centre of the fortress, still far enough up in the air that he wouldn¡¯t be easily seen. Closing his eyes he tapped into his air element, letting in fully encompass both himself and his surrounding. Spreading his mind all around him, connecting to the element, he let out a breath and started guiding the air into a stiff breeze before bringing more under his control and spinning it around him in a gale. Quicker and quicker he spun the air around him until he felt people starting to take notice of the growing cyclone below. He was to far away for any attacks to successfully hit him, with the strong winds around him, any attack that did make it would be pushed aside completely. More and more people below started to look towards him, but unless they had focused on perception completely the chances of them making him out were low. It took a full minute before he had gathered enough air around him for him to make the next step of pushing the cyclone down to the fortress. When the cyclone started to descend upon them he felt multiple shields come up to meet the natural disaster, but all of them were blown to pieces in moments by the wind under his control. Moments before the cyclone touched down he added fire to the mix. It started slow at first, just a growing heat to the air, but one second to the next flames started to appear within the cyclone, turning it from a formidable wind to a deadly force. He pushed more flame and wind into his attack, he felt arrows try and make it to him with no success and even skills used to try and push the fiery cyclone back. People started to run away in panic when nothing worked against him, as soon as they did he unleashed all of the gathered power into wiping out anyone foolish enough to have not run far enough away. Condensing the power down he pushed flames, carried on the winds, out from the main attack towards the groups of people throughout the fortress, there was so much power within the attacks that no matter what defences were used against him, the people that were caught were immediately killed, no bodies were left behind, the event had simply removed them. No person or building was safe from his attack, he was drunk on the power he was using, having become one with the elemental power he was consumed with the thought of spreading out and consuming everything around him with his fiery winds. In his wake, building were turned to ash and people were screaming out and running over each other to get away but he didn¡¯t allow anyone to escape him. Notifications were appearing quicker than he could count, he dismissed them all though, enjoying the destruction he was causing too much to care. He didn¡¯t know how long eh had rampaged throughout the fortress, but he knew that a good portion of it was no longer standing, it wasn¡¯t until he encountered a group of people standing in his way, all stronger than the low E grades he had been chasing around, that he snapped out of his trance and realised he had used a lot more mana than he had originally planned. Instead of half he was now down to a quarter. He had let himself get taken over by the feeling of connecting so fully to the elements and now he had a lot less mana to work with for his skill. That still left him with over 10,000 mana though so he wasn¡¯t particularly stressed about running out given everyone here was E grade, not even the peak of E grade, just middle. There was over a dozen of these middle E grades in front of him now, all forming together to stop him from wrecking any more destruction on the fortress. Using a bit more of his mana he disconnected himself from the cyclone and sent it off in a different direction to continue on its destruction until it burned out the remaining mana it had. Rather than follow it or run he floated out of the cyclone and came to a stop directly in front of the group. He pulled both of his blades out and floated in the air just above them, waiting for them to make the first move. Some of them looked like they wanted to go running after the cyclone but they stopped themselves after a quick look ta the woman who was standing at the front of their group. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. **Persephone Charlo ¨C Level 86** It took him a moment to figure out why he recognised the name Charlo, he hadn¡¯t ever met anyone with that name, either before or after the integration, but he did realise he had seen it, next to the name Jason, the person who was leading the war on behalf of The Pantheon. He was also pretty impressed with her level, she was the strongest person he had met outside of himself, that said a lot about her abilities and dedication to getting stronger. ¡°Is this really how you want to play it? You rush forward and attack us with no back up and before either of us have even finished the first part of this event stage? I have heard you were unstable, but this is more than even I expected.¡± Of all the things he thought that she would say, this was not one of them. Attack him without talking? Sure. Curse at him? Definitely. But calling him unstable was not where he thought she would go. ¡°I got bored, sitting around and waiting isn¡¯t really my strong suit.¡± He smiled at her just as an idea came to him to sow some seeds of chaos. ¡°If you want, I will let you leave, just you though. You can run back to Jason and tell him how mean I am while I have some fun here.¡± Persephone actually laughed at him when he had finished talking, like she thought he was joking, when he didn¡¯t laugh back and just started at her with a serious expression she stopped. ¡°You are serious aren¡¯t you? You actually think you can kill everyone here?¡± He didn¡¯t reply, instead he used more of his mana to summon three flame hounds and 3 Zapian eagles. Once they all appeared he was down to only 6,000 mana but it was worth it to see her face when the creatures appeared. ¡°Go have some fun guys.¡± The moment he finished speaking to them all six of his summons spread out in different directions and started hunting down people to kill. They would be able to do a lot of damage on their own, especially with the strongest people in the fortress all standing here with him. It didn¡¯t take long for screams to be heard not far from them, bursts of flame and lightning could be seen when his summons attacked which just made Persephone angry. ¡°You really are unhinged if you think I am going to let you get away with that.¡± He didn¡¯t have any time to reply before a spear emitting a powerful feeling of nature combined with something else he didn¡¯t recognize was sent his way. Rather than dodge the attack he conjured five mirror blades and used one of them to knock the spear of course while sending the other four straight at the people behind Persephone. Moving quickly he entered into close range combat, before he knew it she had another spear in her hand which she used to block one of his blades and moved swiftly to avoid the other. While she was moving he blew up all five of his mirror blades and teleported into the middle of the group that was still standing behind her. The explosions killed 3 people and hurt many of the others. Many of them had very good quality armour or some other means to protect themselves against the attacks but it had cost them to protect themselves. That left him with an opening he took advantage of, using only his blades he cut down six more before Persephone even had a chance to rejoin the fight with him. When she did come to attack him again he felt her spear reinforced with a connection to her, the power boosted and glowing a soft green. He recognised the power she used, it was a nature affinity quite like his own but augmented in a way that was much more dangerous. Coating his sword is a fire strike he met her spear head on, blocking the attack with his own and using his own fire affinity to fight back against her own affinity. This was the first time he fought someone with an affinity and without knowing exactly how she could use it he needed to keep his guard up. As they fought, neither gaining ground as he was fighting a dozen people at once with most of his focus on Persephone, he knew that extending the fight was not in his best interest. He had already used a lot of mana, and now he was at the disadvantage because of it. He silently called out to his summons, all six of them still alive and killing. They rushed back to him so that he could take back the mana and boost his strength. Persephone, like him, was stronger than their level would indicate. He silently berated himself for using so much mana in his initial attack on the fortress. He was no where close to losing this fight, but as he was unable to go all out without risking draining all of his mana he was now relying on pure sword skills to attack and defend. Persephone threw her spear at him again, coating it in some kind of skill that he saw was more than just a physical boost, his Mana Sight, which he had been using since the beginning of the fight showed him clearly that if he touched the spear he would get some kind of infection, not dissimilar to his cured sword. He shifted into the air and blew right past her, appearing again at a distance and a split second later used a majority of his mana to throw a bolt of lightning directly at her from behind. The attack was unleashed with a thunderous shock, reaching her in a split second. A metre before it was set to hit her she disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the lightning to instead hit several people that she left behind. Focusing on his echo he couldn¡¯t find her anywhere, it was as if she had simply vanished. He knew she wasn¡¯t dead, he had seen how the event pulled the dead out, this was something different, an escape skill or item that sent her away if she was going to die. Just as this happened his summons made it back to him, instead of taking back his mana he had them fight the remaining people from Persephone¡¯s group while he continue to scour the area for clues, making sure that she wasn¡¯t going to reappear or was hiding close by. Seconds turned into a minute and the last of the middle E grades died, still there was no sign of Persephone. He was annoyed at letting her get away, if he had been more in control of his elements he would have had more mana to use in that fight. He knew that he had the Elemental cube from Queen Elivasia and that she had told him to train his elements, but not once in the last 6 months had he done so. If he had he would have probably just killed off a key person in The Pantheons army. Instead he had let her go, that was on him and his lack of training. Refocusing his echo he found that there was still plenty of people in the fortress to kill. Many were dead or had run away but he still had more work to do before he decided his next steps. Rather than take a potion to bring his mana back up he sent his summons back out to kill and he drifted up into the air a safe distance up and slipped into meditation with one thought on his mind, what affinity did Persephone have or did she have more than one? Book 3: Chapter 26 It took several hours before he left his position, every time he had enough mana he summoned another eagle and sent it on its way to continue clearing the fortress. It wasn¡¯t until he had capped out on how many he could summon did he start restoring his mana to continue to fight himself. His eagles were doing well enough on their own and were now just killing off those that were hiding away with the help of the remaining hounds. Once he re-entered the fight, killing off the remaining people was quick and easy. During this entire time no one had tried to enter the fortress to take it back, they, for some reason, were leaving him to do what he wanted. He had spoken to Viv and Eric during this period and they had all agreed that for now he would stay where he was and try and claim the fortress out from under the pantheon before leaving. They had no plans on staying here for long, it was more to prove to The Pantheon that he could do it, to distract them and push them back rather than fully hold this position. A message appeared to him the moment that the last person was killed that explained how to take over the fortress. Strategic position (Central Fortress) has been cleared of Jason Charlo¡¯s team. To claim the position for Shaun Clermont you must hold this position for 24 hours without leaving or allowing the opposing team into the fortress. If someone enters the fortress with the intent of stopping you from claiming the position the timer will be stopped, restarting again once the fortress has been cleared again. If you leave the position you forfeit claiming the Fortress. Do you wish to claim the position from Jason Charlo? He accepted immediately, it would in all probably take longer than 24 hours but he was more than prepared to battle it out. Rather than sitting idle he figured he would turn the fortress into a booby trap. He knew he would leave here as soon as he could and others would come in to reclaim it, so why not leave them a few gifts before he left. He had a good amount of his mana left and moving up into the sky he started to map out the fortress as if he was going to turn it into a ritual. He didn¡¯t have the vast amount of mana he had when he did the ward but he did have enough to cause mass casualties in this fortress when the time was right. The first thing he did was create a plan of the fortress, and although it wasn¡¯t very detailed, it was enough for what he needed, then he started to think of what he could do to cause the most damage, he was limited to fire, air and lightning but with the three elements he could still cause more than enough damage to an area. He reverted back to some of his previous plans, utilising the walls of the fortress as a key concept in the ritual he was planning on using. As he wouldn¡¯t be able to supply the mana he needed to get creative with how he set the ritual up. He had the ability to use a siphon rune, which if he set it up right could be used to siphon off the mana from everyone in the fortress until it hit a critical point and then it could be set off to power the destructive aspect of the ritual. The destructive aspect was the easiest aspect, forming fire and lightning attuned rituals were second nature to him, putting a dozen or so of these around the fortress in key areas was easy enough. Linking them to the siphon runes embedded into the fortress walls would take time and a good a lot of energy but he was confident in being able to do it in the time he had. It was hiding all of this, especially when the gathered mana was nearing its peak was where he needed to think. The fortress was pretty damaged as it was and they would need to spend points to fix it up. He assumed they would do it as a priority so he could use that to his advantage. Hiding the ritual within stone was going to be his best way forward. Now with a plan and a mock up of what he was going to do he got to work. He kept checking his surroundings the entire time as no one could see him work the earth the way he did with his affinity, but given how very little of what he was doing could be seen through the naked eye he felt pretty safe. He spent 6 hours working on the walls of the fortress before he was done with the first part of his plan. It had all gone smoothly and he was happy with the results. He still needed to do the rest of the rituals and then activate it all but he wouldn¡¯t dwell on that part till he came to it. He spent another 6 hours working tirelessly and in that time he had formed not one but two dozen rituals throughout the fortress. Although they were small they would pack one hell of a punch. Linking them all up as much harder as he needed to form interlocking runes throughout the entirety of the fortress and by the time he was halfway through he got a notification that put everything at risk. Claiming of Strategic position (Central Fortress) has been put on hold due to entry of enemy team. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. He was actually shocked it had taken this long, he knew it was coming but now that there was only activating the ritual left he was beyond annoyed. He flew up into the air, bringing his eagles with him who he never sent away after clearing the fortress. He found where his enemy was in seconds, this wasn¡¯t a full blown army but by the looks of hit a mere 10,000 or so soldiers that looked to have grouped together. They looked similar to the ones he had killed before he got to the fortress and as expected they were all in the low to middle E grade. Wanting to save his mana he just sent all of his summons to deal with them. They had killed more when they invaded the fortress and these 10,000 people had done nothing but sign their own death warrant. He watched as his eagles crossed the distance and without any sign of slowing they used claw and lightning to beat the people who had come here into nothingness. A minute, that was all it took for 10 eagles to slaughter 1000 times their numbers. It was embarrassing, for them. Claiming of Strategic position (Central Fortress) has resumed 7 hours 53 minutes remaining. He had plenty of time to finish off his plans so he got back to work as he sent his summons to patrol the perimeter. He went back to the centre of the fortress and went into meditation as he pushed his mana into the fortress wide ritual. He didn¡¯t have to fully power it as it was fully dependant on taking the mana from people that were here, that said he still needed to activate it. It took long hours, and by the time he was done he had already come to the conclusion that for the ritual to fully power up there would need to be a minimum of 1,000,000 people in the fortress for at least a full day. The ritual would constantly sap the mana from anyone inside, not enough for anyone to notice, but enough to slowly take the mana it needed. That was the reason why the number of people was so high, if he had made the siphon any quicker people would have noticed and he would have put the entire plan into jeopardy. **Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by 3 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 110. +15 Int, +6 Wil, +9 Per, +15 Soul** **Race: Human has levelled up by +2 levels. Human I has reached Level 117. +32 Ap gained** Happy to have finally got some levels he just sat and enjoyed the moment for a bit. As he assessed his handy work he got a feeling from one of his eagles that had requested his presence. It was not with words but a sense of urgency that he immediately moved towards its position. As he got to the wall he saw what the trouble was. In the distance he saw hundred of thousands of people headed his way. No sooner did he take this in than he got another, similar feel form another of his eagles in the opposite direction. He was being attacked by both sides just before the timer hit 0 and he could claim the fortress. This had all been planned out from the beginning, they had consolidated as many people as they could, probably from the nearby fortresses and then sent them his way to stop him taking over at the last moment. He had a decision to make, he could fight or he could run away. The timer to claiming had less than an hour left but both armies would make it here by then and there was no way he would be able to kill so many before his mana ran dry and he would have to run anyway. He had no choice but to give up on claiming the fortress, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t make sure that as many people as possible made their way into the fortress. Rather than meet either army he moved back to the centre of the fortress with all of his summons and waited. As he sat there he couldn¡¯t help but feel the glee of what would happen here without anyone being the wiser. As long as he did just enough damage to make everyone stay here and rest for a while he was going to make a huge dent in their numbers and the points they had with the repairs they would need to do if they ever wanted to use this fortress again. He had to admit, their plan was a good one. Rather than just send everyone at him in small groups they came all at once and ensured that they won. He got the notification that the timer was paused when there was only 20 minutes left. He still didn¡¯t move though. It was another 15 minutes before he felt himself being surrounded and at that point he sent out his summons to start killing as many as they could until their time was up, ensuring they spread out the damage. Before his summons got far in one direction though he felt one then two and then a third of his eagles die in quick succession. Curious as to who it was that could kill his summons so quickly he shifted his echo to encompass that area. His summons were not the most powerful he had ever summoned, but they should have been more than enough for early E grades, even those towards the middle. When he found three figures in the direction that his summons died he immediately knew the answer as to who had come. One of the people he recognised immediately, Persephone had come back. Of the other two, one was of equal strength to her and the other was even stronger than them. It seems like he was going to get to meet Jason. Rather than run or hide or even attack he just kept sitting where he was, waiting for them to approach him. All three of them approached at a steady pace, none of them gave off a truly threatening aura but they were definitely here for business. When they finally came into view he gave them a smile and waved at them to come join him. **Jason Charlo ¨C Level 92** **Percy Charlo ¨C Level 84** He had been right that Jason had come, although finding a third member of the Charlo family here was interesting. All three of the Charlo were of high level and from what he could feel each of the them had at least one affinity. To say he wasn¡¯t very curious as to how three people of the same family were all bonded to an affinity and at such a high level would have been an understatement. He was itching to know how this had happened and if there was any intervention from The Pantheon in this. ¡°I was hoping you would still be here when I arrived. Its nice to finally meet the infamous Shaun Clermont.¡± He was a bit weirded out by the smile on Jason¡¯s face as he spoke, the guy actually looked like he meant what he said. ¡°If you wouldn¡¯t mind calling back your creatures. I would much rather have a conversation without my people being slaughtered while we do.¡± Book 3: Chapter 27 He considered just ignoring Jason and letting his summons continue to kill but he thoughts better of it and called them all back. He gave a small nod at Jason when he did. He was much more curious as to what this conversation would be like over killing people who didn¡¯t really matter. He sat there in silence for a bit watching them while they stood not far from him watching back. It took all of a few seconds for his summons to arrive and when they did they all settled around him joining him in a staring competition. Jason broke the silence with a laugh, one that sounded all too real. ¡°I wish I had that skill! Your own personal team of elemental creatures that can fight for you! Amazing!¡± ¡°I killed three of them in seconds, they aren¡¯t that impressive. If they are any indication of his strength he wasn¡¯t that impressive either.¡± Percy was a big guy but the moment he opened his mouth he sounded like an idiot. His summons, understanding what he said, immediately started to power up attacks but didn¡¯t let them go, but their eyes were now solely focused on Percy. ¡°I think you pissed them off. Pretty standard for you.¡± Persephone chimed in now, a smirk on her face. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t underestimate him either. He sent a bolt of lightning at me that would have killed me if it hit.¡± ¡°Good to know.¡± She had given him a piece of information that she probably shouldn¡¯t have. That was the risk of talking with your enemy. She groaned as soon as he said it and Percy just laughed at her. Jason came a few steps closer and joined him on the ground. He didn¡¯t look threatened or scared by him or his summons. If anything he looked like he was trying to get closer to Spike. ¡°You know you wont be able to claim this fortress now, not with so many of us here, yet you have stayed. That means your open to talking, so let¡¯s talk. You can go first.¡± ¡°You were all born with your power, or at least given something when you were young for you to have the affinity you have now, right?¡± He didn¡¯t ask what their affinity were or how they got them as that would be asking for too much information that they wouldn¡¯t provide. This was a nice middle ground of getting information without pushing too far. Jason knew it too by the annoying smile on his face. ¡°Correct. It¡¯s a family thing. I am not surprised you recognised that we all had affinity, I am curious if you could figure out which ones though. My question now!¡± As he finished he leant to the side, getting closer to Spike who lifted his head, gave Jason a look and then placed his head down across Shaun¡¯s own legs and into his lap. Jason frowned at the Flame Hound and then looked at Shaun then back to Spike. ¡°His name is Spike, he is a good boy.¡± He started to rub Spike behind the ear and his tail started to wag across the ground, clearly enjoying the attention. ¡°My question, why after rejecting all of the factions, did you then turn around and fight for The Empire?¡± Shaun couldn¡¯t hold back his laughter at the question, the idea that he was fighting for The Empire was ridiculous! He was working with them, for now, but he had not joined them in any long term capacity and wasn¡¯t even fighting for them really. His own participation in the event was purely selfish. ¡°What a waste of a question, I am not fighting this event for The Empire, not really. We have a mutually beneficial relationship. This War has nothing to do with me really outside of me wanting to come first. It was you and Viv who wanted this War and I agreed so that people don¡¯t actually die for no reason back on Earth.¡± ¡°So your saying that if we fought this war on Earth you wouldn¡¯t have joined?¡± Jason looked like he had been slapped. ¡°Exactly, I made it clear I wasn¡¯t fighting this war for them. The only reason I am now is so I win the event.¡± ¡°You really have no loyalty toward The Empire, do you?¡± Jason looked like he was in shock, so did the other two which made this whole conversation worth it. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°None at all. You kind of fucked up by agreeing to this whole event deciding the world leader thing. You have also asked two extra questions so now I get a few myself.¡± Jason, still shocked and starting to get angry just nodded at him. ¡°Do you know why Earth is so important to the factions?¡± That question snapped Jason back to the present. ¡°I¡­..No, I don¡¯t. I was hoping you did. The way everyone is fighting over our planet makes me wonder but when I asked I was shut down quickly.¡± That wasn¡¯t the answer he had hoped for but it made him feel better that he also didn¡¯t know. ¡°Last one from me. If I asked you that if we get to the end of the event and we both still live if we could fight it out one on one to see who wins, would you say yes? Obviously neither of us would technically die but I bet the points would be worth it.¡± ¡°I would say no.¡± He was disappointed in that answer, but that doesn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t get to fight him. ¡°If we fought one on one I wouldn¡¯t win. That has been made perfectly clear to me by Octavius. If we do fight, which I imagine we will, I will use everyone and everything I have to win, even if I have to bring an entire army against you to do it.¡± ¡°So why not kill me now?¡± He was curious why they chose to talk rather than fight. ¡°Because you would flee rather than die. You wont fight to the death until the very end, when you have nothing else to lose in the event.¡± He was right, but it annoyed him that Jason could read him so well. ¡°I am guessing that if we offered you a place in The Pantheon you would turn it down?¡± Shaun nodded at him. ¡°Thought so.¡± Jason let out a sigh before standing back up. ¡°Before you go, can I pat Spike?¡± At hearing his name Spike lifted his head again, interrupting his ear rub, and looked at Jason. The feelings he got from Spike were hell no. No one got to pat him like he was a tamed dog. ¡°He isn¡¯t a fan of that idea.¡± ¡°I really am jealous of that skill.¡± Jason started to walk away before turning back. ¡°You can go now, but next time we meet it will end in a fight.¡± ¡°Seriously! We are going to let him go? Cant we at least try and kill him now?¡± Percy really was an idiot. ¡°If you think you can get to him, go ahead.¡± Before Percy had a chance he pulled all the mana back form his summons and shifted into lightning. Within a split second he had gone from lazing around with his summons to being kilometres in the air. Even then he immediately took to his air form and was gone on the wind. They had been right, he wasn¡¯t going to try and fight them all now, there was no fun in it seeing as the event had only just started. Besides that he wasn¡¯t confident in killing all three of them plus and army and making it out of their alive. Jason had bought a lot of his people to the fortress in case it came to that and he had no back up and no idea what the guy was capable of. If all went to plan though he would be getting the last laugh on that interaction, if only he could have stuck around to see all the chaos unfold if his rituals all went the way he wanted. He moved back to the outer fortress and didn¡¯t see anyone or anything along the way. Jason really had pulled everyone that he could to come to that fortress in case they needed to fight him. He had admitted that he wouldn¡¯t win if they fought one on one which put him right at the top of the power rankings of Earth, but that didn¡¯t matter if it was a million against one. Shaun Clermont: I met Jason and his family, all are powerful and all have affinity. If you come across one of them throw everything and everyone you have at them, it will be the only way to win. Vivenne Grace: Any idea of what Affinity they have? Shaun Clermont: No, not with any certainty. But they are all above level 80, Jason near 100. Do not underestimate them. They all spoke a bit more and he found that a majority of his team had moved past the central fortress, some closing in on the outer fortresses. This was better than Jason¡¯s team which put him in good spirits. After seeing just how many people Jason could get together in a short amount of time though made him wonder what their best course of action was. Meeting in the open would squarely put Jason on the winning side of a fight. Too many people to fight with no protection, they would be overwhelmed by pure numbers. Going to them would also put them in a bad spot. They would need to invade a fortress and fight which would stretch them even thinner. The best bet of winning a fight was to have The Pantheon come to them and be ready for them when they arrived. As he travelled he also couldn¡¯t help but smile, just because he hadn¡¯t been able to claim one of the central fortresses didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t win this fight. He had killed so many of their people and would only kill more. They had earnt a lot of points and could use them to reinforce their own fortresses. There was also nothing stopping him from claiming one of the outer fortress and holding it, but not until he knew if the gift he left behind would work out or not, he didn¡¯t want to risk them all running to him too soon, he needed them to stay put for a while. When he made it to the outer fortress he sent a message to Eric for him and as many as he could spare to come join him at his location. When he was done with that he moved on to another idea he had, one that involved crafting explosive bombs of fire that could be used when the time came to defend a fortress. With his plans all in motion he centred his mind and got to crafting, he would win this event, he would make sure of it. Book 3: Chapter 28 The crafting of his bombs was pretty straight forward, the only thing that made it slightly difficult was ensuring that he didn¡¯t waste his supply of materials. He had bought out most of the stores in his tutorial before he left but that didn¡¯t mean he wanted to use them in disposable items. He knew he could replace some of what he was using through the stores in the settlement but what was available there was expensive and he still had six months left on Earth, if he even decided to stay that long. He chose the cheapest materials he had that would work for his bombs, mostly they were small shards or crystals that could hold attuned mana and could be coated in a decent amount of metal to form a ball roughly the size of his palm. Forming the metal around the shards was easier as they bonded to the metal and allowed them mana to flow much easier. After making the first few he was able to pretty much do it in his sleep. This wasn¡¯t pushing his skills at all as he was making them to be used by people much lower and less skilled than he was. After making nearly 50 bombs he got bored and started to experiment, now adding in air and fire to see if he could widen the radius of the blast, even if it was sacrificing some of the power of the attack. Still, 50 bombs later, with now 100 of them sitting in piles around him he moved on to something more difficult, this time he aimed for something completely different. Building layers into the bomb he started with lightning, condensing and packing more attuned mana into it than he had with all the other bombs combined. Then after he had stabilised it he added in a second layer covering the first, this one similar to the air and fir bombs he had been making. Finally with that layer done he moved onto the last layer, this one unattuned but much more complex. The aim was, that when it was activated, that it would pull everyone and everything around it in a large radius right towards the bomb. He had to manipulate siphon runes as well as adding in a rather difficult set of runes that would allow for the bomb to spread out and then pull everything in. Testing out a few methods he found that using air was the best way, it would simply spread then pull back in with as much force as he could pack into it. Eric and a full 2,000 others had arrived while he was crafting but he had ignored them and they left him alone. They had gotten here much quicker than he had expected, obviously they had been at the closest fortress and had pushed their way to him as quickly as they could. When he finally finished his new tri bomb he placed it on the ground and looked around at all the bombs he had made. It had bene a while since he had crafted anything like this and he was enjoying finally seeing himself get some levels again that weren¡¯t related to Rune work. **Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by 2 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 112. +10 Int, +4 Wil, +6 Per, +10 Soul** **Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human I has reached Level 118. +16 Ap gained** He now only had 12 levels left until he had maxed out his profession and was ready to upgrade it, but only once he had capped out his skill levels. He was at least getting close to doing so for the most part.
Status:
Name: Shaun Clermont
Race Human I
Level: 118
Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger ¨C Level 124
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator ¨C Level 112
Health Points:13671/13671
Stamina:14147/14147
Mana:1589/48140
Stats: (Available Points: 48)
Strength: 1303
Dexterity: 1394
Endurance: 1415
Vitality: 1367
Intelligence: 1400
Perception: 1359
Willpower: 1431
Soul: If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. 4814
Affinity: Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water
Advanced: Lightning, Ice, Magma
Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Elementalist, Expert Solo Dungeoneer, King, Impossible Feat. Mana Body, Mana Mind
Heritage: Azreal¡¯s Legacy (Hidden)
Skills:
Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 122), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 33), [Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 112), [Advanced] Elemental Summons (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade (Level 125 ¨C MAX)
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 121), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 119), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 102), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Epic] Mana Mastery (Level 53), [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Elemental Storage (Level 53), [Advanced] Creators Plan (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Creators Domain (Level 72)
The only skills left for his class was Earthen Echo and elemental shift, but with only a few levels left in he had no doubt that he would successfully hit that in no time. He wanted to change the skill for Stoen Skin before he even thought about upgrading his class though. On the profession side most of his skills were past the 100 mark with only a few still needing to be worked on. He wasn¡¯t overly stressed about these as he could work on his profession skills as much as he wanted in his own time as long as he had materials and ideas to work on. His Creators Plan skill had shot up so quickly due to how many people had used his plans to create weapons and runes. It was the easiest skill he had ever had to level. Checking how long he had been sitting here crafting it had been just over a full day. Disappointed that he hadn¡¯t yet got any notifications for people dying from his ritual at the central fortress he rechecked the time and then checked to see if he had missed anything while he had bene crafting. Unable to locate anything he stood up and waved Eric over. ¡°Thanks for coming so quickly, but we aren¡¯t ready to claim this fortress yet.¡± He got straight down to business, not happy with how this situation was going in the slightest. ¡°Why not? I figured that was why you called us here? That or because you wanted us to actually fight, but seeing how no one is around I am guessing you wanted back up for claiming this position.¡± Eric was confused at what was happening, not that he could blame him. ¡°I left a parting present for The Pantheon at their central fortress, but it hasn¡¯t gone off yet. It should have unless they found it or they all left.¡± Shaun thought at what his next steps should be, mostly he just wanted to fly back to the fortress and see what was happening but that would also leave all the people he had called here standard. ¡°Fuck it, I am going to¡­¡± For killing over 100,000 enemy in their own territory 50,000 Event points awarded. For killing over 250,000 enemy in their own territory 75,000 Event points awarded. For killing over 500,000 enemy in their own territory 100,000 Event points awarded. For causing mass damage to the enemies fortress 50,000 Event points awarded For killing multiple key personnel of the enemy team 142,000 Event points awarded. As he saw the messages he couldn¡¯t help but let out one of the most evil laughs he had ever heard in his life. This was mass destruction on a whole new level. Not only had he killed over half a million people but he had practically destroyed the fortress and with it multiple people that were higher up in the reporting chain. Jason was going to be pissed. No, he was going to be beyond pissed at what had happened. He doubted that he killed any of the Charlo with his attack, they were too strong to die from it, but if they were there they would have been hurt. His guess was that he had taken out some commanders in that attack, people that were put into positions to help run the armies and lead from the front lines. This was a massive blow to their numbers and structure. Event Announcement Jason Charlo¡¯s Strategic position (Central Fortress) has been damaged beyond 90% stability by Shaun Clermont. This includes the death of over 70% of its occupants and significant losses to key figures. Due to the significance of the attack, over 80% of all strategic positions having been claimed and Shaun Clermont¡¯s side having hit the first stage cap on event points, Stage 2 of the event has now commenced with Shaun Clermont¡¯s side in the lead to win The War. ¡°Let¡¯s claim this fortress now. The present I left has done its job.¡± He pulled back up the message to claim the fortress and accepted with glee. ¡°Do I even want to ask how you killed so many people, wrecked an entire fortress and did it all while sitting her crafting¡­.. Are those bombs?¡± Eric wasn¡¯t the only one who looked confused. Everyone that had joined him also looked towards were he stood with shock written on their face, as well as a good dose of fear. Vivenne Grace: A heads up would have been nice. I don¡¯t know how you did it when you weren¡¯t even there, and yes I know you weren¡¯t there as unlike you people keep me updated. We are upgrading our defences on the outer fortresses and the compound. With the points you have gotten us we can now do both. We are also increasing the attack capabilities on the fortresses, we aren¡¯t all like you. He didn¡¯t bother replying to Viv, ¡±here¡¯was no need to. Instead he focused back on Eric and also now Yarila how had approached with a group of elves. Along with them he spotted Eli and his own team approaching. Eric did not hold back on bringing him people he could rely on to follow orders. ¡°You exceed expectations again and again. You should know that my people, especially those who doubted siding with you, have now fully pledged their support of your settlement beyond just this event.¡± Yarila was more put together than the humans that were gathered. Now that their shock had passed they looked ready to celebrate. ¡°Good to know.¡± Dealing with Elven Human relations was not on his job description so he didn¡¯t bother delving into her comments any further than needed. ¡°The plan here is simple. We wait for them to come to us. Hopefully they send some people this way for us to kill, if not its going to be a chill 24 hours.¡± ¡°I cant believe your our teacher, your bad ass! Can we train while we wait?¡± Eli treated him like he always did, more like an older brother than the leader of an entire war effort, but that was how he liked it. ¡°Also what¡¯s with those?¡± He gestured to the bombs on the ground. ¡°The bombs are to defend the fortress from the inside. Just push a bit of mana into it and throw. Mostly for people who don¡¯t have ranged attacks. Doubt we will need them now but I was bored. They will be useful later on though.¡± Eli went to pick up a bomb, as did Eric and Yarila. They all inspected them for a while before putting them back down. ¡°We will set up camps on the other side of where the fortress will be, I assume if anyone is going to come here it will be from the direction of their own compound.¡± Eric gave the order to the group, as did Yarila with a subtle nod to the elf to her left. ¡°You waited to claim the fortress until your attack went off. It is smart, although unlike your usual attack first plan later approach.¡± ¡°I know, but after being kicked out of their central fortress before I could claim it I figured that it was better to play it smart. Once we claim this fortress and the rest of our armies catch up the real war will begin. They still out number us and the Charlo are strong enough that by themselves they would be able to push back or wipe out one of our armies if we aren¡¯t careful. We aren¡¯t losing this event, understood?¡± He got acknowledgements from every body and with that they split up to get settled. He agreed to train with Eli and his team for a bit but mostly it would be more crafting and waiting. Book 3: Chapter 29 ¡°You need to condense the air more, pull it together tighter and push your mind more to keep control.¡± He had been training with the kid that had gotten an air affinity, but damn was he getting frustrated at her lack of control. He knew that it wasn¡¯t an easy thing to do at first but he willpower was just so low that she couldn¡¯t hold the air like she needed to. These past 24 hours had been a mix of training skills with Eli and his team, training Tris, the girl with the air affinity and then meeting with everyone so they could form a plan of attack once everyone was in position. It was going to be another two days before they could launch their assault on The Pantheon, having decided that they would push most of their people into four different places. The first being the three outer fortress on their side and then the last being the outer fortress they were currently in. When everyone was in position most people would head towards one of The Pantheon¡¯s outer fortress and he with a smaller group would head to the other, leaving behind only a small defensive team in each of the fortress they had claimed. It was a solid plan, but before they could enact it they needed more information on their opponents numbers and where they were. No one had come to attack them in the 24 hours it took to claim this fortress out from The Pantheon which did not sit well with him. Either they had no idea what was happening here, which he doubted considering that when they claimed it a notification went out to everyone that they had claimed the first fortress on an opponents side. Rather he figured that they were consolidating their people to launch an attack on them when they knew they had the upper hand and could win the fight. This is why they needed more information, sitting and doing nothing was not going to help them win the event. That¡¯s why as soon as the fortress shad been claimed he had decided to set out again and gather information. He wasn¡¯t planning on attacking, not unless the opportunity presented itself and he knew he would be able to win quickly. The event was moving into the stage where large scale fights were going to occur and knowledge in these situations was power. When he left the fortress he did so knowing that while he was gone there was a chance that The Pantheon would show up and push them out, but it was a risk that they agreed was needed in this situation. They couldn¡¯t have him curl up in the fortress just in case someone showed up. The first place he went to was the two outer fortress that he was confident that The Pantheon would have claimed by now, or at least be in the process of doing so. He had been correct, although not in the way he thought. The first fortress he showed up was in the process of being claimed by an army that, although large, was definitely not the bulk of their people. What was interesting though was that he found two of the Charlo there, not Jason though. The number of people they had present was just enough that he couldn¡¯t risk the fight without putting himself at risk of being overwhelmed but also not quite large enough that he didn¡¯t consider fighting. He didn¡¯t know if this had been planned or if it was just coincidence. No one had picked up on his presence yet and he planned to keep it that way as he retreated. He explored the area towards their central fortress and found a much larger army heading towards the outer fortress. At the pace they were traveling it would take at least a day for them to get there, if not just a little longer. Their own army wouldn¡¯t make it there before they arrived so if they proceeded with their own plan they would be outnumbers and have to break into the fortress. Having gathered the information he needed from this side he moved over to the next. What he found was the same situation here, but this time Jason was in attendance and the Fortress had been claimed completely. None of what he saw gave him hope of his armies winning in a fight, there was too many of them and if they approached the fortress they would be picked off before they even approached the wall of the fortress. He had to give it to Jason, he was smart and knew how to use numbers and positions to his advantage. Rather than waste any more time he made the decision to fall back to his own fortress and think up a new game plan. From the numbers he saw he guessed that a majority of Jason¡¯s people were at or heading towards those two fortress, from there they would be able to move out and retake the central fortress easily enough. From there they would have no issues moving like a wave through his own side and they would have no choice but to fall back. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. His attack on the central fortress had made a dint in the numbers but no where near enough to make an impact on their overwhelming numbers. So now he needed to figure out a way to play this smart and use tactics to overcome their loss or just give up. When he made it back to the fortress the number of people there had grown considerably, his people were getting into position to follow through on their original plan. He had been gone for a little more than a day while he scouted and he found that all the people who played an important role in this event were sitting in a room within the fortress, making final preparations for their own attacks. As he entered the room all heads turned to him. Spirits were high and they looked excited to finally be getting closer to actually fighting rather than just walking around. ¡°What have you found out? Are we going to be able to claim the two fortress or not?¡± Viv asked him as soon as he walked in. He knew her well enough to know that past the fa?ade she was wearing she was stressed. He hadn¡¯t updated anyone on what he had found, not wanting to risk everything going to hell before he even arrived back. Seeing everyone looking to him with hope made what he was about to say just that much harder. ¡°We wont win, not with the plan we have.¡± The moment he broke the news he got mixed reactions. Some people yelled at him while others looked so dejected that all hope had left them in a moment. ¡°I have another plan, but its risky and I doubt you are going to like it.¡± He had been thinking a lot about what he would be able to do to win the event, even if it meant making sacrifices to get there. Still he was hesitant to voice it as there was a good chance that it meant that a lot of people who had put faith in him may decide to break off from his side and rebel against him. ¡°Are you certain that we will lose if we stick to our plan?¡± Viv was looking more and more defeated as she sat there and everyone could tell. She had a lot riding on this, more so than others. ¡°There is too many of them and they have moved into position quickly. If we go all in on this plan they will win. But they have also committed to their own plan, going all in knowing they can overwhelm us with numbers alone. That could be how we win.¡± ¡°How?¡± He saw some hope return to the people in the room, and again he was going to crush it. ¡°We make them think they are winning. We follow through on the plan, mostly. We throw ourselves at them to slow them down but we utilise a controlled retreat. That will give us time.¡± ¡°You want us to sacrifice ourselves, knowing we wont win any of the fights, just to buy us time? Time to do what Shaun?¡± Viv, like everyone else here did not like the idea of sending people out to die in the event fully knowing they would die with no chance of victory. ¡°They have left themselves open. I take a team that can move quickly right through the centre of their zone. We go from here and move through their already destroyed central fortress right to one of their inner fortress, across the bridge and we take their compound. It will need to be the strongest and fastest team we can put together and quickly. Best case scenario is that we move through with minimal delay. It may even force some of their own power players to come running to catch us giving you even more chance of hitting back hard during the retreat.¡± He stopped for a moment to let that all sink in. ¡°They have moved most of their people here, to the outer fortress. They expect us to try and attack them, why wouldn¡¯t they when I have already launched an attack. So let them think we are fighting to our last while retreating. All the while we will be making a straight line right to their compound. If we claim I first, we win.¡± He let them all think It over for a while, no one spoke while they did as they were all trying to process what he planned and try and come up with a better solution, there was none though. ¡°You are right, its risky. Its also smart though. I approve.¡± Li was the first one to verbalise her agreement. ¡°We can¡¯t send all of our strongest people though, it would be too obvious. If we do it we send the strike team who have been leading the charge after you. That would give you 2,000 people to back you up. Can you manage with that?¡± Viv was coming around to his idea. A lot of the people in the room didn¡¯t like it but no one straight up opposed it. ¡°We can do it. We wont be claiming anything as we go and we will avoid fights unless you need us to cause a distraction to try and pull some of their people back to us. You need to put all the points into defending the compound though. If we lose sight of any of the Charlo tell everyone what we are doing, they will come running back to their compound. We have more points than they do so if we boost our defences of the compound as high as we can than it will at least delay them if they go for our own compound.¡± That was the worst case scenario, that Jason and his family head straight for his compound. If that happened he would need to unleash everything he had to beat them to it and he couldn¡¯t do that without exposing more of his affinity which wasn¡¯t worth the risk of winning the event. ¡°So we agree? That this is the best way forward? Unless anyone has a better plan to get us to win the event I don¡¯t see any other option.¡± He pushed for a decision to be made here and now. Time was of the essence and he wanted to move out immediately. ¡°Do it. I don¡¯t care what you have to do but get to their compound as quickly as you can and claim it. You have as much riding on this as I do Shaun. Don¡¯t let them win.¡± Viv had agreed and with her everyone fell in line. ¡°Eric, Yarila, get your people ready now. We leave in 10 minutes.¡± He had already left the stash of bombs at the fortress and he had nothing left to give them. The event was not going the way any of them planned and now they had to throw caution to the wind just for a chance of winning. Book 3: Chapter 30 He left the meeting room with all those who would be joining him on his fight to the compound, everyone else stayed behind and worked out a revised plan on how they would now attack and retreat, planning out a timeframe of how long they would be able to hold The Pantheon back until they were forced back into the compound. Eric and Yarila gathered their people quickly and as he expected, not 10 minutes had passed when everyone was together and they were moving out of the fortress. They had not been informed of what was happening, only that they were needed again for a fight. Little did they know that this group was either going to win the event or be the reason why they failed. As they moved out towards the central fortress that he had previously decimated he stayed with the group. He had made the decision to stay with them for most of the journey as leaving them for any extended period of time would leave them open to attack by any smaller units of enemies and he couldn¡¯t afford to lose them before the time came to take the compound. He didn¡¯t really expect to come across anyone outside of those within the fortresses which he planned to mostly avoid. It wasn¡¯t worth the risk though and with him with the larger group he could push them to move quicker. While they moved, consistently alternating between running and jogging, he pushed his echo out and started manipulating the skill to get a better idea of how hard he was pushing the people he was with. There was a mix of physical stat focused and magical stat focused people and because of that they wouldn¡¯t be able to push as quickly as he would have liked. The had to rest when he found that the mage focused classes were nearing exhaustion, not wanting to run them into the ground completely. He gave them all an hour and was clear that if it was needed that they should be doing everything they could to recover stamina as quickly as possible. It was only when they stopped did he inform everyone what the real plan was, and as he expected it made everyone push themselves that much harder. He didn¡¯t have the ability to move everyone at a quicker pace and the fact that they were needing breaks was frustrating. Rather than let it show he sat with Eric and Gabe so that they could distract him. ¡°So what¡¯s the plan for you guys? After this event is over what are you going to do?¡± He wanted to know their future plans as it would impact on what he planned to do when he returned. ¡°Weird question, but sure, I will bite.¡± Gabe was giving him a weird look when he spoke but seemed happy to go along with it. ¡°Assuming we win I am going to split my time between the school and training in dungeons. I want to hit D grade sooner rather than later but after that I guess I will mostly train the next generation and make the school a place that every parent wants to send their kid.¡± He nodded along with what Gabe said, it was what he had expected him to say. He looked at Eric waiting for him to answer. ¡°The same as Gabe really. I never thought I would run a school but honestly I enjoy it more than I do fighting sometimes. It will be easier once this event is done, Viv will hopefully get off my back a bit. But yeah, my plan is about the same as Gabe¡¯s.¡± ¡°How would you feel about moving the school to the D grade area? The chances are you would need to give up all the rewards that The Empire was going to give you but it would mean you had more privacy and a larger area. We would ask for it to be made an independent entity, even though its in the settlement, that way Viv would have no control over it and you would be free to do what you want.¡± He hadn¡¯t planned on bringing this up so soon but he needed their opinions and the more he had thought about spending the next 6 months on Earth the less he liked the idea. Eric and Gabe sat for a bit thinking it over. It would be a big change and they would have to give up some of their control over the natural treasures, but the benefit would be worth it in his eyes. ¡°You think they would go for it? It¡¯s the only D grade area unlocked on Earth, giving us control over it seems like something The Empire wouldn¡¯t want to do, even if we join them, it would still mean that we take control away from Viv, at least in this regard.¡± Shaun had thought about this as well. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°True, but only short term. If we win Viv becomes world leader without The Pantheon there to fight against her. She will be stuck ruling a planet so its not like she will have time to do much of anything else anyway. Eventually the other D grade areas will be claimed so one area isn¡¯t that big of a deal.¡± ¡°But if we lose the event, what then?¡± Shaun didn¡¯t even want to think about that. It would impact him only as far as the fact that it would impact his friends. For him though he wouldn¡¯t be on Earth and probably wouldn¡¯t ever come back so even if they lost, the future didn¡¯t change for him. He would be pissed that he lost the event though, missing out on all of the rewards that came with it. ¡°If we lose the event who knows what Jason will do. Honestly he didn¡¯t seem that bad when we spoke so its not him that I am worried about. Its just the factions that makes me question what exactly they want with Earth and why they are fighting so hard to win it. I don¡¯t know how it will impact the school or settlement but my guess is that once the year is up that if we lose The Empire will allow those that want to join them into one of their minor factions.¡± ¡°What about you? What are your plans? Are you going to go to another cluster and start claiming more dungeons?¡± He laughed at the idea, it was so far from what he had planned that it was ridiculous to even consider. ¡°No, I will stay at the settlement for a while, in the D grade area. There is a few things I want to work on in seclusion. I don¡¯t know how long I will stay though, maybe a few weeks or a few months. I will be gone before the year is up and the factions come to Earth though.¡± ¡°Gone where?¡± Eric stared at him intently, hoping he would answer. Instead he just gave him a shrug and changed the conversation. ¡°Have either of you come close to an affinity yet? Kind of sad that a child got one before you.¡± The hour passed quickly and he forced everyone back on the move. It took them the better part of a full day and night to reach the fortress they had been aiming for. When it came into view he was even more impressed with just how well his ritual had worked. The Fortress was little more than rubble, nearly all the buildings had collapsed and what was still standing was so badly damaged by fire that it didn¡¯t look safe to be anywhere near it. ¡°Hold back here for a bit and I will check and see if anyone is around.¡± He took off into the air and made his way into the fortress quickly. From above the destruction looked even worse. It was clear where his rituals detonated as there was the blast had incinerated everything close to them to ash. The Pantheon hadn¡¯t even made an attempt to restore the fortress, there was no one around, not even a look out. He searched the entire area twice with his eyes and echo and found nothing. It had been completely abandoned. This outcome was even better than he had wished for. He told the others to move around the fortress to the opposite side while he stayed in the air and kept look out. When he rejoined them he communicated his plan for this place. ¡°I want to leave behind a small group. If we get a message from Viv that we are needing to cause a distraction they can claim this place and an alert should be sent out to The Pantheon, they will know we are here and hopefully come running. No more than 10 people should stay, but those that do should be ready for anything at all times. For all we know they plan on sending people back here.¡± Everyone agreed with him and 5 elves and 5 humans were chosen to stay behind. He agreed that they would rest here for a while and then continue to move out. He had pushed the team hard to get here quickly and now they were right in the middle of enemy territory. Soon they would get to the inner fortress area and after that they would need to cross a bridge and head straight to the compound. An hour into their break they got the message that they had been waiting for. Vivenne Grace: We are about to attack as planned before leading the retreat. We have sent back a portion of our forces to the compound to ensure we have adequate coverage there. He gave every another hour after that to rest just in case there was a need for him to go running back. Thankfully that didn¡¯t occur. Viv confirmed that they had eyes on all three Charlo¡¯s and that they had caused as much damage as they could right from the start, using every bomb he had made and sacrificing a pre-determined chunk of their people in the assault. The reasoning was that if they could weaken them more now it would be easier on them in the future. Everything had gone to plan and they were now retreating back to their own fortresses to prepare for the retaliating assault. When he was happy that everyone had had the rest they needed he had everyone move out and start their trek forward. His hope was that they would make it to the inner fortress before The Pantheon made their move. He would access the fortress and how many people The Pantheon had left behind, determining if it was best to leave some of his own group behind to attack if needed or if it wouldn¡¯t be worth the risk. He could use an attack on the inner fortress as a way to send a message to Jason that they were closing in on his compound. Depending on where he was at that point he would risk running towards Shaun¡¯s compound or run back to his. This event, which should have probably taken months longer, would now probably be over within the next week or two. They had cut through all of the large battles and claiming every position, it was now all about the compounds, Jason just didn¡¯t know that yet. Book 3: Chapter 31 As they all approached the inner fortress the group got more tense, if they were spotted now he would have no choice but to rush forward in the hope that he still made it to the compound, took it over and held it for 24 hours without everyone close by rushing in to make sure he couldn¡¯t keep hold of it. They all knew the stakes of successfully moving through the area undiscovered but they also couldn¡¯t keep moving forward with at least some idea of how many people they would have close by that would have the chance to join them at the compound. Shaun took up the role of scout again, he left the entire group far enough away, ensuring that there was no secret army waiting for them in the area, and he headed to the inner fortress to check numbers. He did so as the wind, not wanting to be seen in his physical body in case they had people watching the skies specifically for him. The inner fortress looked exactly like his own, they hadn¡¯t done any upgrades to the place using their points but he did clearly feel people within, but thankfully, as he had expected, there wasn¡¯t many of them. As he blew around the fortress he counted the numbers and checked the power of the people he saw. His final count was at around 50,000 people and all were early E grade at the strongest. If he wanted to he could kill them all right here and now without issue, but doing so would go against their plan. When he was comfortable that they were no threat to him he took off and headed back to his team, relieved that things were going his way. When he made it back the entire group was on edge and looked ready to run or fight, he calmed them by raising a hand and giving a nod. When he hit the ground next effective leaders of this group he gave them the update they had been hoping for. ¡°Minimal numbers, around 50k and weak. They will be no issue for us if they ever need to be delt with. I want to leave 20 people here though so that they can launch a pseudo attack if we need the distraction.¡± He had thought about the best way to cause distractions without wasting large numbers of his group, leaving very small numbers behind wouldn¡¯t have a huge impact but it would cause enough distractions and annoyance to slow them down or lure people here instead of towards him in the future. ¡°We already spoke it over, although we picked 50 people instead of 20. We think that leaving a stronger presence would be better, more damage. And 50 middle E grades against 50,000 low, they should be able to do some decent damage before they perish.¡± Yarila made a good point and she seemed confident in her decision. He didn¡¯t argue as 30 people wouldn¡¯t make a big difference in the final fight so he agreed to her decision. ¡°The moment we attack the compound I want them to attack too. The more distractions we have the better. Are they up for that?¡± He was building layers to his plan and attacking on multiple fronts was now one of them. ¡°They will do it. In fact I would say they are looking forward to it.¡± Yarila smiled when she spoke, they all clearly wanted to be in on the fighting. The updates they had gotten from Viv were not great. They were being pushed back quicker than they wanted to be and they were being slaughtered while it happened. From the report all three Charlo were on the front lines and were not holding back. They had managed to get in some attacks that helped reduce their opponents numbers but not enough to change the tide of the fighting. Already they were closing in on the central fortress. In days The Pantheon would be pushing them out towards the inner fortresses which was not what he wanted to hear. At the rate they were traveling they should have made it to the compound just as The Pantheon were finishing up the fight or already taken their fortresses. ¡°Let¡¯s continue moving, and quickly.¡± They all successfully made it past the inner fortress without being spotted and the distance between the fortress and the bridges wasn¡¯t too lengthy, in fact at the speed they were moving it would be within the day. The issue which he couldn¡¯t solve was how to cross the river without alerting The Pantheon. He had no answer for this that didn¡¯t involve using his other affinity, specifically water or ice, which was a no go. He couldn¡¯t risk exposing himself to 2,000 people and just hoping they wouldn¡¯t spread it around. That left him with only one choice, they would need to clear a bridge of whoever was left there and then rush as fast as they could to the compound. Until he saw how many people were at the bridge though he wouldn¡¯t know how he would deal with it. As they all moved he couldn¡¯t help but run through the worst case scenario. He had checked the leader boards and as of now he was still in first place on the individual one but they had dropped down to second place on the overall. The points didn¡¯t determine who won, the system message had been clear that it was the team that held both compounds that did, but to lose out on the team win for points would be beyond annoying.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. The Charlo were also closing the gap on individual points, each of them was on the front line and they were killing people quickly and efficiently. They still had a good way to go before they came close to him but with the direction they were headed, if he didn¡¯t start gaining more points soon, he would eventually drop below them. When they got close enough that he felt that the bridge wouldn¡¯t be far off in the distance he had everyone stop while he again scouted the area to confirm there was no one around before giving the order to rest. He didn¡¯t want to approach the bridge and then start the mad dash forward to the compound without everyone at full strength. Like he had done previously he then went forward to check the bridge. Just like his own bridges there was four guard towers, two on each side of the river, as well as plenty of places for people to stand and keep look out. He was in his air form again, and he was easily able to take stock of what they were up against. Each tower was full but they were all lazing around without a care in the world. The total number of people was even lower than he had expected, no more than 10,000 people spread around. They weren¡¯t here to defend the bridge, not really, they were more here as look out and to slow anyone down that came towards the compound. What surprised him was that the bridge had been upgraded compared to the standard. Now it looked like the bridge could be raised or lowered, effectively cutting off entrance across the river. At the moment the bridge was lowered but that could change in seconds. He watched for a while before leaving, coming up with a plan of attack. It didn¡¯t take long to decide that he would attack from behind, as he could easily make his way across the river without anyone knowing and then the rest of his group would attack from the other. By the time he was happy that there was no other surprises for him to find he made his way back to the group and waited for them to hit peak condition. It took several hours of waiting, but it was worth it knowing that this would be the last time they would get the opportunity. He had made it clear that if they had potions they should use them right before the fight at the compound. To use them now would have been a waste. He didn¡¯t sit idly while everyone rested, rather he went back to his crafting, creating as many bombs as he could as well as a few arrows that could be used as one time explosive projectiles and spread them out to the archers. He had made it clear that they weren¡¯t to be used until the final fight, but once that time came they were to use everything they had to win the fight at the compound. It was the middle of the night before it was decided that they would move towards the bridge for the fight. They had direction and knew what they needed to do. He didn¡¯t travel with them now, instead he went ahead and crossed the river until he was in his own position behind the enemy. They had all agreed that he wouldn¡¯t attack until the people at the bridge had confirmed sighting on their group, only then would he start his own attacks. 10,000 people were not a lot, they did need to finish the fight as quickly as possible though. Usually with so few he would have just killed them all with his swords but even with this small amount he decided to also summon forth a few of his eagles to aid in the fight. They were not the strongest he had ever summoned, in fact they were on the weak side. Considering that the people ta the bridge weren¡¯t very strong though he didn¡¯t feel the need to go at 100% in case he needed to use his mana for something more important after the attack. He waited in the dark, listening for any sounds from the bridge. He was far enough away that he wouldn¡¯t easily be seen as they weren¡¯t looking behind them but also close enough that at his speed he could be on them in seconds. The waiting was excruciatingly painful, he hated waiting for others or going at a slow pace. This experience solidified why he liked to fight alone, but this situation had forced his hand and he had no choice but to wait. When 5 minutes turned to 10 he almost got over the wait and attacked without the group, thankfully it only took a few more minutes before he heard shouting come from the bridge and he knew that the time had finally come for the attack to begin. He didn¡¯t hesitate for a second to move from where he was hiding and launch forward towards the towers with his eagles around him. He gave them the order to kill everyone that weren¡¯t on their side as quickly as they could. He moved to one of the towers on his side while his eagles went for the other. People started rushing out of the towers, now fully awake and alert due to the disturbance caused by his group arriving, but that just had them bunch up even further, allowing for him to attack large groups quickly. He moved through the tower with cold efficiency, he had summoned several mirror blades in the process and had sent them into rooms before blowing them up in bursts of flame, quickly killing off everyone that was inside. Anyone stupid enough to approach him was cut down before they could even attack, boosting his movement speed with his air affinity he moved almost quicker than the eye could see. This combined with his stats and overwhelming strength meant that clearing one of these towers took him no more than a minute. He was using his echo to constantly keep track of everything around the bridge, splitting his mind to ensure he could process what was happening all around him at the same time he was killing everyone in the tower. Just as he cleared the tower he felt a group of people rush towards what looked like a leaver of some kind, one that if he was to guess would lift the bridge, instantly he changed the direction he was traveling and moved out to stop them. Book 3: Chapter 32 Shaun appeared like a blur behind the people who were working at bringing the bridge up and with one clean swipe of his word he released a fire strike that instantly incinerated them. His eagles were doing there job in their own tower, already that head cleared out a majority of the people within and were now just working on killing of the remainders that had chosen to hide rather than fight. Although things had gone quickly on his side the rest of his group was still working on entering and clearing the towers. He had nothing left to do on his side so he made his way across the bridge and methodically took out those who were using ranged attacks on his people, effectively clearing the way for them to enter the towers without having to worry about getting attack from range. He usually would have let them fight this battle alone but considering the time constraints he joined in the fight and worked his way through another tower. Once his eagles had finished their own he had them fly around and pick off anyone that was stupid enough to go out into the open. This was the first time he was fighting side by side with his group and although he could acknowledge that they were all strong in their own ways they did not compare to his own battle efficiency. As he worked his way top down in the tower he encountered several people that pleaded to be spared, but killing them here was not a true death so he ignored their pleas and focused on finishing the fight as soon as possible. When he got to a point in the tower where his team had everything under control and were dispatching the remaining people he left the tower and did a quick check of the last one before concluding that everything was under control and it would be only minutes before they would be moving out. He surveyed the bridge to see how it could be lifted and noticed that there was a mechanism on only the one side of the bridge, the one closest to the compound. ¡°Everyone that is done fighting move across the bridge immediately.¡± He yelled out across the bridge, using the air to magnify his voice so all could hear him. Like ants swarming everyone that was done with the fight moved across quickly, not wanting to be the one to hold up the rest of the group. He kept a watch with his echo and when the final person from the enemy side was dead he shouted again for everyone to get a move on and report to their leader so we could get numbers of who had fallen in the fight. When the last person was across the bridge he used the handle and brought it up, cutting off anyone who tried to cross here from the fortresses. When he was done he waited all of a minute before he got final numbers. ¡°We lost 58 altogether, an even split between elf and human. A few a hurt and would need to drink potions to continue on at a decent speed. I have instructed them all to do what they can as quickly as they can so we can move out.¡± Yarila skipped right to what he needed to know and he appreciated it. ¡°Anyone who can¡¯t keep up stays behind and can claim the bridge. We can¡¯t have them slowing us down while we move. 5 minutes and then we leave as quickly as we can.¡± He was being generous about giving them 5 minutes but after seeing the state of his team he gave them the time to get organised and recentre themselves. The upside of this battle was that they finally got the chance to actually fight in this event and it was clear that now that they had gotten to taste the joy of battle they were more then excited to get moving. After the 5 minutes were up they were already ready to move, only another 6 decided to stay behind and claim the bridge due to injuries that would slow them down. ¡°We move as quickly as we can, there is no point hiding anymore. If anyone approaches us as we run forward we kill them quickly and efficiently. The main target is the compound and we have to get there as soon as possible.¡± As they moved towards the compound they got an update from Viv. The Pantheon had upped their game and the Charlo, as well as all their elites, were now powering forward. They had broken from the main armies and were now making a straight shot towards their compound at top speed. He had expected this and the race was now on. There would be no way to slow down their approach, that applied to both sides now. The only silver lining was that Shaun was closer, much closer. They had also invested everything they had into the protection of their compound so the Charlo should be able to break through immediately. Regardless it was decided to go on the full retreat back to the compound and do what they could to delay the inevitable. There was nothing he could do on his side anymore and he trusted that Viv would do what she could to help buy them more time. The only thing the update did was make him push everyone quicker.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Three times they came across smaller armies that were sent out to meet them in battle. The first time it happened he summoned all 13 eagles and had them meet the army ahead of anyone else. He had used a lot of his mana to make them all strong enough that they could easily wipe out most of the army before they even met them. By the time his group managed to catch up there was only minimal amount of delay before they continued on. The same thing occurred with the next two armies, they were relatively small, no more than 100k people, but they still cost him time that he didn¡¯t have. Outside of his summoning his eagles after the first army he refused to use any more mana, wanting to ensure that when they arrived at the compound he would have every drop of mana available to him to claim it as quickly as he could. What surprised him was that every time they saw an army appear his team sped up and raced each other so that they could join the fight and kill as many as they could. They lost minimal numbers during these attacks and knowing that they were closing in on the compound just made them hungrier for the fight. The final stretch between them and the compound passed quickly, when the compound came into view they didn¡¯t stop approaching. It wasn¡¯t until they could see that just outside of the compound a much larger army had gathered in preparation for their approach that they slowed down. ¡°How do they still have so many people here? I though that they had everyone out with the main army not sitting here! There has to be over a million people in that army Shaun!¡± Eric¡¯s stress came clear in his tone, he was losing hope, as would everyone else in the group. They didn¡¯t even know the worst of it though, through his Mana Sight skill he saw a forcefield like barrier around the compound. This barrier would stop any of them from entering until it was brought down. That in itself was going to take a hell of a lot of power or a long time to get through. The issue was that he probably had enough mana to either clear the army or partially destroy the barrier but not both. The barrier would probably require a full army to take down unless it was infused with something like his advanced affinity. But no one here had an advanced affinity but him which meant that even altogether they wouldn¡¯t be able to break the barrier anytime soon. He took stock of his mana potions but they wouldn¡¯t be enough to bring him back up to the amount that he needed which meant he would need to spend time meditating and restoring his mana over and over again. ¡°We fight to the death, we will lose, but at least we go out trying.¡± The moment Yarila spoke those words he refused to just throw himself at this issue and die. ¡°No, if we are going to die we do it with at least some hope of winning.¡± He thought over every stupid idea, every future plan he had planned on looking at until he formed the riskiest and probably stupidest plan he had ever come up with. He looked at Eric, Yarila, Gabe and everyone standing behind them waiting for him to decide on a course of action. ¡°Do you guys trust me enough to do something that will probably get us all killed before we even enter into the fight? It will only work if every person here trusts me enough to go along with it.¡± ¡°I hate it when you talk like that. The last time you did you end up having a kill order put on your head by every faction in the multiverse.¡± Eric was losing it and looked like he just wanted to run away from him and his ideas. With a sigh he looked at him and then at the group behind them. ¡°I will do whatever you want, I trust you, but I am going to need more to go on here before I ask everyone to do something unknown and potentially so catastrophic that everyone in the multiverse will want them dead.¡± Shaun looked at Eric and then at Yarila who just nodded at him and waited for him to respond. ¡°I want to form a link between me and everyone else here so I can drain them of mana and use it all to unleash a lightning attack on the compound.¡± ¡°Is that even possible? Have you ever done something like that before?¡± Yarila was the first to respond while Eric just looked at him like he had grown a second head. ¡°I have seen it done before by Harpies in the D grade dungeon. I haven¡¯t really tried it but I don¡¯t see why it shouldn¡¯t work as long as everyone lets me form the link and pushes their mana at me. But we could all end up dying instead. Its risky but it might work.¡± ¡°Can you test it out first on maybe one person before you decide to kill everyone on some unknown and dangerous experiment?¡± Eric was more hesitant than Yarila, but he seemed to be coming around. ¡°No, it will take to long and we don¡¯t really have the time. Worst case scenario is we all die, at least in the event. But really if we don¡¯t do something we are going to lose the event anyway. SO may as well go out with a chance of winning, right?¡± ¡°You can kill that army though, it may take time but with you we can do it. Why risk it?¡± ¡°Its not just the army, there is a barrier around the compound which would take us weeks to get through without a full army to help. By the time we do reinforcement would have arrived and our own compound will be breached. I wont force you or anyone else to do this. The choice is up to you guys and the team.¡± The moment he told them about the barrier they looked completely defeated. He let them think it over for as long as they needed. Yarila was the first to agree and without waiting for him or Eric went to talk to their people. Eric after seeing her walk away just stared at him. ¡°I hope you know what you are doing.¡± With that he also went to talk to his people. Gabe stayed behind grinning at him like a made man. ¡°Have I ever told you how much fun I have when you do these crazy things?¡± With that he also went to join Eric. It was now up to him to not die before he managed to do the impossible. Update - New book! Hi Everyone, Not a new chapter but some exciting news! I have just started uploading the first 12 chapter of a new book that I have written. I have been uploading this one to my Patreon for a while and just recently finished the upload as i will be on break until the beginning of next year. (The scheduled chapters for TFL will continue to go up until the end of book three so don''t worry).Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. I really enjoyed writing this second series and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it. It is called The Trials of Another World and I have put the link and details above and below. Please give it a read and let me know your thoughts. Rate and comment and please give me your opinions! All the best, ShanDeRad Book 3: Chapter 33 While Yarila and Eric spoke to everyone he kept an eye on the compound and the army that stood waiting. They didn¡¯t approach, they just waited. He figured that they were told that their only job was to protect the compound and seeing as he wasn¡¯t attacking them or coming closer that they would instigate the fight. It took longer than he would have liked before he got an update on whether the group would agree to his plan. Yarila was the first to come back to him with a half dozen other elves, all of who looked ta him with respect and no small amount of curiosity. ¡°It has been agreed that your plan is worth the risk. Every elf will open themselves up to you and trust that you are making the right choice.¡± He let out a breath of relief at hearing those words. The elves had put a lot of trust in him, not just with the event but also with allowing them to live in his settlement. ¡°Thank you. I will do everything I can to make sure we succeed where we should fail.¡± He gave each elf a nod of respect to ensure that they knew he appreciated everything they were doing. ¡°What do you need of us now?¡± He had already though of how he wanted to do this so he could answer immediately. ¡°Sort into 6 groups by mana capacity. Those with the most mana should be in group 1 and be closest to me with the next 2 groups slightly behind them and then the final 3 groups in the back. I don¡¯t know how many people I will be able to connect to so I want to make sure that I have as much mana as I can get in case I cant connect to everyone.¡± All of the elves that Yarila brought went rushing to do as he had asked and in minutes the groups were formed and ready. Eric still hadn¡¯t come back and there was a lot of heated discussions occurring which didn¡¯t look promising. ¡°They are wasting time.¡± Yarila was watching them just as he was. ¡°I know, but I can force them to do something they don¡¯t want to do. I am not that kind of person.¡± ¡°We know, that is why we trust you so much. With your power you could rule over everyone with an iron fist yet you do not. You help those in need and think of the young and those who are different. You have given us much when you could have given us nothing. You are a good human yet we consider you one of us.¡± They both stood waiting for a few more minutes until he couldn¡¯t put it off any longer. ¡°Eric.¡± He called out so everyone could hear him. ¡°It is time to get this started. Everyone who has agreed should split into groups, those with the most mana come forward and those with the least should be at the back. Anyone hat doesn¡¯t want to be apart of this should stand far away.¡± Eric looked like he wanted to argue for more time but thought better of doing so. He gave the same order to the humans and he was disappointed to see that nearly half of them decided to move back away from the rest, clearly not having agreed to join them. It took a few more minutes for everyone to get into position and then it all fell on him to get started. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Eric looked disappointed with how many had decided to not join, especially considering that every elf had stayed to fight with them. ¡°Everyone needs to just open themselves and not fight me when I try to form a link with them. When I give the order they should push their mana towards me, but only when I do. The groups are numbers 1 through 9 and I will call on them when I need their mana.¡± It took a moment for that to be communicated to everyone and when he got confirmation from both Yarila and Eric it was time to start. Turning around to face everyone he looked at Yarila first then Eric. ¡°I am going to start with you two, let me know if you feel anything go wrong.¡± He had thought about how he was going to do this but he wasn¡¯t certain that it would even work. Ensuring his mana sight was on and working he first looked to Eric and found where all of his mana channels passed through his body. Just like he did when he was bonding an affinity he reached out to him with his own mana and when he was hovering just above Eric¡¯s heart he gave a small nod and pushed his own mana tendril inside of his body. Eric flinched the moment Shaun¡¯s foreign mana entered his body, he looked like he wanted throw up or pass out but he pushed through it. He used the tendril to leave a tether into Eric¡¯s mana channel and when he felt like he could suck the mana straight out of his body he stopped. ¡°Try pushing some mana to me, only a little bit though.¡± Eric gave a nod and as he had been instructed he pushed just a tiny bit of mana along the tendril connecting them until he felt that mana in his own body. The moment there was a full connection between Shaun¡¯s mana and Eric¡¯s he moved on to Yarila.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Your turn.¡± She just nodded in return. He repeated the same process again, however he found that when Yarila¡¯s mana entered his body it had a completely different feel than Eric¡¯s. Where Eric¡¯s screamed of stability and strength, Yarila¡¯s had a more wispy and calm feel. ¡°It¡¯s done, you can both stop pushing mana into me for now. How does it feel?¡± He watched as they both stopped pushing mana and they relaxed slightly. ¡°Weird. Its like there is something in me that doesn¡¯t belong. Like it could tear me to pieces with a though.¡± Eric said it with his eyes closed. ¡°Power. That is what it feels like, absolute power.¡± Confused at her statement he accessed the tether between them and found that his mana was now drawing into her own body, but not just any type of mana, it was attuned to his nature affinity. ¡°Yarila, you need to stop pulling power from me. Quickly!¡± He gave her a few seconds to get herself under control but when she did she felt different, his affinity had done something to her that he could quite see. ¡°So many secrets.¡± She whispered at him, a knowing look in here eyes. ¡°Incredible.¡± ¡°Oh¡­..I¡­¡± Shit! ¡°Eric stop it now! You need to keep control of yourself. Do not take from me, that is the opposite of what we want to do!¡± Eric had started pulling mana with his earth attunement from his mana channels and just like Yarila his mana had changed. ¡°Shit! Shit! Shit!¡± He had done something wrong, he had connected to them fine but he had done it with a two way channel where his power flowed into them as their went into his. He had done something to them and he didn¡¯t know what the impacts were going to be. At least they were still alive. Before he even moved to others he needed to figure out what he had done wrong. Some part of him connected to some part of them on an elemental level and he couldn¡¯t take that back. At least with others he had a chance to not make that mistake. He needed to keep more control over his own power when he tethered to others or he would end up really fucking up on a scale that there was no hope of fixing. He came to the conclusion that everyone he connected to would constantly need to push a small amount of mana into him or he would end up giving them something they shouldn¡¯t have. He might have to be more forceful about it too, which he hoped he wouldn¡¯t have to do, but that should be all he needed to do to stop the two way flow. ¡°When I connect with you, all of you, you have to continue to push a small amount of mana across the connection. If you don¡¯t I will have to force it and it will be unpleasant. This is non-negotiable. If you want do that step away now!¡± He made sure everyone could hear him and the urgency in his voice. More people from the human side stepped away, but not one elf did. He didn¡¯t fault them for it but he did lose some respect for humans when compared to the loyalty the elves showed. ¡°Group 1 you are up.¡± One by one he repeated the process with the first group of elves, there was just under 150 of them and after doing the process for the 20th time he was confident in being able to do multiple at once. He would have been draining mana if it wasn¡¯t for the fact he was getting a slow stream of mana from everyone he was linking too. Even then though it was not the easiest process. He had to make sure that no one started pulling from him at the same time as connecting to others. By the time he finished with the first group he was feeling like he was over stuffed, too many connections and not enough output. ¡°Group 2 and 3 are up at the same time!¡± He need to expend more mana and quickly lest he overdose on it and die. He sent out as many tethers as he could in a rush to expend some mana. He was feeling drunk on the amount of mana that he was getting and he just wanted more. It took only minutes for him to finish with the 2 groups and he was only a third of the way through. ¡°4, 5 and 6 get ready!¡± He barely finished speaking before he went in and started linking to them, hungry for more of what they had to offer. Some part of him wasn¡¯t in complete control of what he was doing but he had just enough awareness to know that what he was doing had gone from being stupid to outright insane. ¡°7, 8 and 9!¡± He couldn¡¯t hold back on forming the last of the connection, he was thankful that he had made everyone that didn¡¯t want to be part of this go far enough away that he wouldn¡¯t risk pulling them into his frenzied state. By the time he was done he was glowing, and not in a good way. He was so overstuffed with mana that it was leaking from his body. If it wasn¡¯t for his mana body and mana mind he would be dead, he was sure of it. As it was he could barely concentrate on anything outside of the feeling of the amount of power surging through his body. Notification were coming and going at a rate he couldn¡¯t even see and he just ignored them all. The feeling was beyond anything he could imagine in his wildest dreams. Mana was empowering his entire body, just like he wanted his stone skin skill to do. Smiling like a drunk he dived into his stone skin skill like he had planned and started tearing it to shreds until nothing was left but a mess of ruined threads. He used the mana in his body to start reforming all of it, using the mana flowing into him as the base of the skill and reinforced it with all of the power that people were giving him until the old skill stretched out to every inch of his body. It was nothing like he had planned, he couldn¡¯t even remember the outline of the design he made, this was the work of a drunk man playing around with power he shouldn¡¯t have. It was messy and required too much power to ever sustain. He started laughing like a lunatic, causing everyone to look at him with worry and panic. ¡°I am a god!¡± The moment he yelled it out he solidified the skill, not even realising what he was doing. ¡°Shaun, control yourself, we are relying on you! We are at war Shaun! If you fuck this up you fuck it up for everyone!¡± Eric yelled at him but couldn¡¯t get any closer to where he stood. ¡°Everyone stop feeding him mana now! Stop!¡± He had blocked out Eric¡¯s yelling and continued to push mana into his new skill. In the back of his mind he felt the mana start to drain out of his body quickly and from one second to the next his mind snapped back, instantly sobering up. ¡°Fuck! Fuck! What just happened!¡± He looked at Eric and Yarila in a panic but both of them looked at him with fear. ¡°Shit!¡± Book 3: Chapter 34 He had fucked up on a huge scale and he was so scattered after coming down from a high that he couldn¡¯t possibly describe that he wasn¡¯t able to even think straight. ¡°Shaun what the fuck just happened?¡± Eric still looked freaked out but also seemed to be fighting against his own high. Shit! He checked all of the tethers and found that just like it had with Eric and Yarila his mana was now flowing into everyone else which was not a good sign. His affinities were being drained quickly and almost everyone present seemed to be enjoying the power they were getting. ¡°Everyone needs to start pushing mana into me again! They have to do it now!¡± Everything was going wrong. He had gotten so drunk of the amount of mana that had infused his body that he hadn¡¯t even noticed that when he came down from his high that the worst possible thing that could have happened was now happening. ¡°You can¡¯t control it! You literally just yelled out that you were a god Shaun! A damn god!¡± ¡°I know what to expect now, I can do this! Everyone just needs to start pushing like last time and now!¡± Seconds passed while neither Eric or Yarila did anything, they just stared at him, considering whether it was the right choice to do what he was asking. Yarila was again the first to agree and she gave the silent order and then shouted to the elves. When Eric heard he looked furious but did the same. Rather than wait he started channelling all of the mana into Deaths Kiss using a lightning strike, wanting to use a skill so he would have more control of the attack. He checked each and every tether while he kept pushing mana into the skill, even with the order only about 70% of the people in the group had started pushing mana back to him while all the rest were still sucking mana from him. He could blame them, he knew what it was like to feel that high. Rather than yell at them he gave a pull on each of those links until the mana was flowing to him again. He checked on a few of those people who he had to be forceful with but outside of being dazed and maybe a little sore they seemed to be fine and back on to the task they were meant to be doing. Some looked ashamed that they hadn¡¯t listened to orders, mostly this was from the elves, the humans for their part looked like they were annoyed and angry at what he had done. This time with all the mana being sent to him he felt slightly more in control but not completely. He pushed as much of the mana flowing to him into his lightning strike but it wasn¡¯t an immediate process, he needed to control how much he was pushing into the skill at once. He was getting tens of thousands of mana every second and it was too much to put into the skill all at once so it was building in his body. Adjusting his stance he started up a fire strike on his other blade and started pushing mana into that skill too. The skills for their part, even with all the mana he was pushing into them, stayed stable for now and splitting the mana he was getting into the two skills was enough to use the mana that had built in his body, bringing it down to normalish levels. The two strikes though were building at an incredible rate and he felt the absurd amount of mana that was accumulating in the skills. ¡°I am good, I have it under control.¡± He spoke out loud wanting both Yarila and Eric to hear him. At the rate that mana was flowing to him it would take hours before the lightning strike was powerful enough to blow apart the barrier, but even if he got it to the point where it could destroy it he now had a fire strike that he could use to kill off the army, or so he hoped. 10 minutes passed with a slow and steady feed of mana to him. He did some quick math and estimated that if every person here drained their mana into him and he pushed all of it into his skills than these two attacks would have over a million mana combined. That mixed with the affinity aspects should be enough to do what was needed. It wasn¡¯t until they had been going at it for just over 30 minutes that things changed for the worst. At this point there was so much mana accumulated into his skills that it could be felt by not just his own group but everyone at the compound should feel the building power, potentially those even further out would be able to feel the mass amount of power accumulating around him. He kept an eye on the compound as he worked as the gathered army had grown restless and were moving around. It wasn¡¯t until they parted ways that he got a look as to why. Walking through the army he saw two people that he hadn¡¯t thought would be here, that shouldn¡¯t have been able to be here. Percy and Persephone Charlo had both appeared from within the compound and were now at the head of the army. Neither of the two strikes were ready to do the damage they needed but time was now not on his side. He no longer had hours to slowly build the skills, instead he had minutes if they decided to come meet them in battle. He had already fucked up massively at this point so waying up his options for a split second he decided to go all in. ¡°Everyone start pushing more mana! At least 5 times what you already are! We have minutes before they start coming at us and we need to be done before they get here!¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. At 5 times the rate he could cut down the time he needed and hopefully it would be enough, he didn¡¯t know if he could handle any more than that. He probably wouldn¡¯t be able to handle that amount but he didn¡¯t care anymore. He was going all in. As soon as his team started pushing more mana it was like a tidal wave of mana slammed into his body and for a moment he was overwhelmed by the feeling. He was feeling his mind fall back into that drunken haze of absolute power again, but now that he had already established the two strikes he found it much easier to push the mana out of his body, but just not enough of it. He pushed himself, utilising his mind skill to the absolute limit, and kept forcing mana into his two blades, hoping that neither the skill or the blade would break under the pressure. With the increase in mana he was using the pressure in the air around them increased nearly 10 fold, he knew that the army and the Charlo at the compound would have felt this massive increase, their reaction to it was almost comical. They seemed to yell for the attack yet their army for the most part hesitated, some even moving back into the boundary of the compound to safety, others made a run for it. Those who started to run forward stopped when they realised that nearly no one was following them to their death. The Charlo, Percy specifically looked like he was threatening and yelling at his people but it wasn¡¯t helping, they were scared of what he was doing. While he watched all of this happening he could feel excess mana building in his body, he couldn¡¯t push it all into the skill quick enough and he was losing control. Needing another outlet he started activating other skills at random to get rid of the excess. He summoned giant Zapian Eagles one after the other using every ounce of excess mana that he had. When summoned they eclipsed the sun in the sky with their size, he couldn¡¯t get an accurate picture of just how big they were but with all the mana he was pushing into the skill they had to be huge. It only helped for seconds before the mana built again and he was forced to summon more until the sky around them was full the full 13 eagles that looked terrifying. When he need to continue to drain the mana he started summoning mirror blades of lightning until 13 swords joined his 13 eagles in the sky. He didn¡¯t send any of them out to attack, he wouldn¡¯t do it until the very end. Having run out of ideas of what to do with the excess mana he started shifting his own body using his elemental shift skill, he stayed where he was but his body was engulfed in lightning, turning him into a weird mix of human and elemental. His size grew and shrunk as the shifting skill tried to use all the mana, he himself could feel his body changing to the point that a tail made of lightning appeared and then disappeared. Horns grew on his head and then dissolved back into sparks of lightning. All the while his two strikes grew in power to the point that if he guessed not even a C grade would be able to survive the attacks unscathed. Still he pushed more, and more, and more until he had no choice but to close his eyes and focus on nothing but using the mana. ¡°Shaun, they are coming for us. The army is coming right for us. Do it! Do it now!¡± Eric started shouting at him with urgency in his voice. ¡°Give me everything you have left!¡± Everyone listened, after hearing Eric yell and then his order they pushed everything they had left at him and not caring about the outcome any more, just wanting the mana, he pushed as much as he could in to his skills and yelled into the air as his body started to break from the mana that slammed into his body. He continued to push as much of it as he could into his skills and only when he couldn¡¯t push any more did he lift the first blade. ¡°Now!¡± He yelled it with his mind and out towards his summons. He sent every eagle and every blade at the compound and army, at the same time he pushed the lightning strike out from his blade. The backlash from releasing the strike nearly sent him and everybody behind him flying. The only thing that kept them in place was the tethers that couldn¡¯t be broken so easily. He waited all of a second before he released the fire strike, causing another backlash to him and everyone connected to him. It didn¡¯t kill them but he noticed many fall to the ground, he was close to collapsing himself. Releasing all that mana nearly tore his body into particles but he held on, just to see the outcome of his attacks. His mirror blades hit first, 13 giant explosions of lightning that severely weakened the barrier but didn¡¯t take it down fully. His eagles sacrificed themselves with 13 more massive explosions of lightning that were aimed in one spot to cause a gap in the barriers defences. When his lightning strike hit he had to shield his eyes. The blast of so much mana and lightning was too much to take in. Even at peak E grade, watching the explosion would have destroyed his eyes, but he felt the result. He felt his attack pass right through the hole in the barrier and detonate inside the compound. He could feel with his echo that nearly half of the enemies army was killed in an instant, the barrier was completely ruined and the compound was mostly destroyed. He opened his eyes at the last moment to see his fire strike go off just so he could take in the result. The moment his fire strike hit white flames were sent rolling from the compound. He couldn¡¯t see what was left in their wake but he did feel it through his echo. Ash. That was all that was left. Not one building survived where the blast rolled through. Everything was incinerated in seconds. The blast didn¡¯t stop though, it continued to spread until the entire compound was gone and still it continued. The army was running for them, not to attack though, but to get to safety. He saw the Charlo in the lead, but they weren¡¯t going to be quick enough to escape. He didn¡¯t know how they came back here but it was the biggest mistake they could have made. The blast engulfed the army and the Charlo, the last thing he saw on their faces was pure fear. The blast still didn¡¯t stop though and was coming right for him and his own team, which he couldn¡¯t let happen. He still had so much mana in his body and more was till coming. His group hadn¡¯t stopped pushing it into him, even after he sent the attacks they couldn¡¯t stop sending him his mana. He didn¡¯t know if it was because they had started a process they couldn¡¯t stop or if it was just because they didn¡¯t know they could. Using the mana inside of him he parted the wall of flames around him and his team, letting it flow to either side of his group, saving them all, at least for now. But still he had too much mana inside of him. He needed an output if he was going to live through it but he didn¡¯t have the willpower left to do any more. Instead he just let the mana build in his body as he fell to his knees and waited for the flames to clear so he could get one last look at what he accomplished. Thump. Book 3: Chapter 35 Thump. Shaun¡¯s whole body tensed as he both felt and heard the thump run through his body. He locked up and when he tried to move he had no control over his body. Thump. ¡°I¡­¡­¡± He tried to speak but found he wasn¡¯t able to form words properly. Thump. Thump. He felt the mana starting to drain from his body, a little with each thump but he couldn¡¯t figure out where it was going, he couldn¡¯t even understand what was happening to him in that moment. He was sure he was going to die from mana overload but now, he hasn¡¯t so sure. Thump. Thump. Thump. He scoured his body, every inch of his mana channels and checked every single one of his skills, still he couldn¡¯t find what was happening to him. He tried to activate his mana sight but pain wrecked his body the moment he tried to activate a skill. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. The thumping was nearly continuous now, he searched and searched and although he could feel the mana draining away he still couldn¡¯t find where it was going. He checked his heart, his body and finally his mind but still there was nothing in the usual places. Only when he was starting give up on figuring it out did he check on the one thing that was a complete mystery to him, his heri¡­. ¡°Ahhhhhhh¡± He screamed as he felt his body being torn apart from the inside out. ¡°Shaun¡­¡­ need¡­¡­ stop¡­mana¡­..¡± He barely heard the words, missing most of them. He couldn¡¯t even pinpoint who spoke. It was just the pain, the mana and the thumping. His heritage was sucking up all of the mana and it was doing something to his body. The pain was beyond anything he knew he could experience. His body was already wrecked and now, with his heritage sucking him dry, he was being forced to endure even more pain. ¡°People¡­¡­passing¡­.¡± Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. ¡°Arghh¡± He let out a chocked scream as he felt his back torn to pieces, extra weight had him falling onto his back. As he landed everything felt off, it felt wrong, yet it also felt like something he had been missing was now found. He still couldn¡¯t move, he couldn¡¯t use any skills, all he wanted to do was feel his back but he couldn¡¯t. ¡°What¡­.white¡­.¡± He tried to listen to what was being said but he couldn¡¯t make out the words. More thumping made another wave of pain come over him and he felt his face start to burn. He tried to scream but he felt his mouth start to change and all he could do was open his mouth in a silent plea for help. He felt someone collapse next to him unmoving joined quickly by a second body falling. He couldn¡¯t see who they were but the only people close enough to him to land so close were Eric and Yarila. They had passed out, they weren¡¯t dead. If they were dead their bodies would have disappeared. He had no idea what was happening but he wanted it to stop, he needed it to stop. He laid their awake and unmoving, not being able to do anything but feel the pain and listen to the continuous thumping from his heritage. Bit by bit the mana drained from his body, no more was coming into him by his group anymore, now it was just sucking him dry. It felt like hours had passed as he lay there waiting for the last of his mana to drain away. Bit by bit the thumping slowed until he felt the last bit of power drain from his body and finally everything went dark.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Ma¡¯am we just got a flood of points come through and The Pantheon has halted their attack.¡± Viv stood in the compound control room waiting for updates on the retreat. Leaders had the ability to instantly teleport back to the compound three times during the event and no more. That was three times across every leader for the entire event. She had used one and she had messaged Shaun to use one if needed but she had never gotten any reply. She had no idea what was happening at the other compound. She had been alerted when two of the Charlo siblings disappeared and when Jason started heading straight for their compound. She pulled up the points score and she was surprised at just how many had actually come through. Not hesitating she dropped all of them into increasing the compounds defences, buying them as much time as she could. ¡°Do we know why they have halted their attack? Last reports said they were marching to the compound as quickly as they could.¡± She didn¡¯t know what they were up to but she didn¡¯t like it. ¡°No ma¡¯am, however reports say that they look defeated and their spirits have dropped considerably.¡± She tried to message Shaun, Eric, Gabe, Yarila and anybody else she could think of to get an update from them but no one replied. She didn¡¯t know if that was good news or bad, but someone should have been able to contact her. Just as she was about to give the order to get in contact from anyone from their strike team one of her attendants rushed into the room looking flustered. ¡°What is it?¡± She had no time for gentle words, she needed information and now. ¡°Update came in from some of the people under Eric. They did it, they think.¡± ¡°What do you mean they think?¡± It was either a yes they managed to do it or they didn¡¯t. It was the worst update she could imagine. ¡°Shaun, er, Mr Clermont? I mean, the Emperor¡­.¡± ¡°Just spit it out!¡± Dealing with people stumbling over what to call Shaun had become an annoyance, one she had no time to deal with. ¡°He did something that drained the mana from everyone that was willing to give it to him. Some of Eric¡¯s team didn¡¯t want to do it so they are still awake but everyone else is out cold.¡± ¡°Go on¡­.¡± She didn¡¯t like that people rebelled against Eric but she let it go for now as at least she was getting an update. ¡°He killed them, all of them. The compound doesn¡¯t exist anymore, its just ash¡­..¡± ¡°Ash¡­¡­. Have they started claiming the compound. Or the area, or even the ash?¡± She didn¡¯t know how to process this, how could Shaun manage to turn an entire compound into ash. He was powerful yes, but that shouldn¡¯t have been possible. ¡°They can¡¯t ma¡¯am. They sent some people in but there was no message and there is just nothing left. Also they said¡­.¡± ¡°How can they not claim it? That is the point of the event! If there is no compound to claim than that means the only compound left is ours?¡± Shaun was supposed to claim the compound not wipe it off the face of the event! He always made her job more difficult, but this? What the hell were they even supposed to do now? ¡°There is more ma¡¯am. The report communicated to us says that umm, the Emperor has grown wings¡­..¡± ¡°I am sorry, what do you mean he has¡­..¡± Event Notification To win The War one side needed to claim both compounds. Due to the impossibility of now being able to claim two compounds as Shaun Clermont side is the only side to hold a compound they have been declared winner of the event. However, due to the change in how the event was won the event has now been extended to allow for individuals to continue to gain points. If you so wish to stay in the event the war will continue even though the event has already been won. The event will now end in 30 days or until no one is left alive. Just like that they won the event. Viv could hardly believe what she was reading but he had actually done it. They won. She didn¡¯t particularly care about the individual leader board, the whole point of this for her was to win the event so that she would win the war between them and The Pantheon. With that decided she was now guaranteed to become world leader. They actually did it. ¡°We shall stay in the event. No point leaving when we will all be returned to Earth at the same time. Give the command to fight back and do as much damage to their army as possible. And ensure you give the order to celebrate. We won!¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Jason read the message once then twice, getting angrier the more he read the damn thing. How did he do it? That what he wanted to know. The last update he got from his siblings was that Shaun was working with more mana than one person should have been capable of wielding and that they were planning on running out to stop him from finishing whatever attack that was building. After that he got notification of his siblings deaths and that his compound was obliterated, then nothing. He had hoped that Shaun had killed himself after the attack but from what he gathered he was still alive, somehow. He had lost the event and according to the agreements between all the factions he had lost the right to be world leader. He was done. Octavius was going to be pissed, everyone was going to be annoyed at what had happened here. There was no reason why they should have lost. They had the numbers, they were more powerful and they were on their way to wiping out The Empire. Shaun. One person had changed everything. One person who wouldn¡¯t have even been apart of the war if it had occurred outside of the event. Shaun. He wanted revenge, he wanted to kill him. He lost everything because of him and he wanted to squeeze the life out of him here and now. Book 3: Chapter 36 Shaun felt awareness come back to him slowly and when he tried to move he couldn¡¯t feel any pain or discomfort. He looked around him and found himself in a large open room. He was on the ground which he had expected but he had no clue where he was. When he tried to get up he felt weight on his back that made it difficult to get into a position to get up and when he looked behind him he saw white wings laying on the ground, one on each side of him and each were connected to his back. ¡°What the actually fuck!¡± He recognised these wings, it was hard not to when he had seen similar ones in his memories of the Nephilim. He though back to some of the things he had heard before he passed out and he knew instantly that either Eric or Yarila had seen them to. He needed to talk to them, but he had no idea where he was let alone where they were. Feeling like a baby elephant that was trying to get on their feet he managed to get to his knees and by using his hand he was able to push up from the ground while the wings laid like dead things on his back, trying to pull him back down. Looking around he saw no way out of the room, he was alone and couldn¡¯t see much of anything that would help him with his current situation. The moment he tried to use his echo he was overwhelmed with darkness and death. He woke again on the floor, almost in the exact same position he had been when he had first woken up. He didn¡¯t try and get up this time and instead tried to use his echo skill again and just like last time he swore he died. He was about to use his echo skill for the third time when he froze. ¡°Are you really going to kill yourself again? Seems rather idiotic to me, but please, do go ahead.¡± Looking up he saw someone standing over him, looking down at him like a parent would to a child who was acting foolish. The man, or he assumed he was a man, gave off no feeling of power and no aura that he could perceive. He looked closer at the man and noticed a few things straight away. Pointed ears, canines and finally two black wings on his back. Nephilim. ¡°Good, now that you haven¡¯t killed yourself again why don¡¯t you get off the floor and take a seat.¡± He was about to question the Nephilim about what the hell was happening before he was cut off. ¡°No questions from you. Seat. Now.¡± A seat appeared in which the Nephilim gracefully sat down in, how he did it with wings on his back he had no clue. Not wanting to annoy him he repeated the process he had earlier and practically crawled to the seat. Sitting in it with his wings was an entirely different task and he ended up pulling them up with him onto the chair and, not so gracefully, falling into what resembled a sitting position. ¡°That was beyond embarrassing.¡± They both sat for a moment looking at each other. Shaun was in awe at the being in front of him, an actual Nephilim was here with him. The Nephilim though was accessing every inch of Shaun and looked more and more frustrated and annoyed at what he saw. ¡°I will ask the questions and you will answer them. Understood?¡± He just nodded, not wanting to disappoint the Nephilim further. ¡°What grade are you?¡± ¡°E grade, sir.¡± The moment he replied the Nephilim looked like his worst nightmare had come to pass. ¡°What were you doing right before you appeared here?¡± ¡°I¡­.. I was in the event, we were attacking The Pantheon¡¯s compound. I formed links to my group so that they could give me their mana and I could destroy the barrier and the army. But after, when I had used all my skills there was too much mana left. I passed out I guess. I don¡¯t know how I got here.¡± ¡°How much mana did you pass through your body?¡± Shaun did the math again to make sure and when he figured it out he felt himself go cold. ¡°Over a million easily, probably closer to two or even more.¡± ¡°Beyond foolish, truly an idiotic thing to do. I am guessing that the event was for your newly integrated world. That would explain your grade and how you ended up here way before schedule. Also would explain your lack of training and why you did something so reckless.¡± ¡°We integr¡­¡± ¡°Those were statements, not questions.¡± He shut his mouth and waited for the Nephilim to ask his next question. He considered using identify but thought better of it. ¡°Nothing we can do about it now. What is done is done. Terrible decision making skills. No care for consequences. Its as if you have no idea what rests upon your shoulders.¡± The Nephilim stared him down, shaking his head at him in disappointment. ¡°Well, what is your name?¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Shaun, sir.¡± ¡°As you may have already guessed, I am Azreal.¡± ¡°How is that even possible? You should be dead!¡± The look he got from Azreal, the Azreal from his heritage, was as cold as death. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Mmmm. Now if you can stay quiet I will explain. We don¡¯t have much time here before you will wake up so we must make use of the time we have. Are you aware of the fall of the Nephilim and the Great War?¡± He was so lost, he had no idea what the hell was happening but he nodded anyway. ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°Good than we can skip ahead a little. During the last years of the war we knew we were losing. We were being killed off and we knew that if things continued as they were we would become an extinct race. The remaining Nephilim gathered and we came up with a plan, one that we bet everything we had on. One that we hoped would allow us to live. Over the last years it was my task to find those who had been killed in the beyond. The beyond is a place where the dead go for a time, what little remains of ones spirit floats through this place until the last of their energy, the soul, dissolves into nothing and is fed back into the cycle of life. My job was to collect the remains of my people in the beyond, to bring them all together to form what you know as my legacy. The legacy, the heritage, is more than just me, it is the remains of all of our dead, formed together in death in the hope that one day a boy would be born and your planet would be integrated and you would live long enough for the heritage to awaken and for you to grow strong enough to fulfil its purpose. To bring back the Nephilim. The reason why this terrible task was left to me is because I focused my affinities into Death, this is important later on, so don¡¯t forget it. Now, while I had my task my people had another. Their job was to come together and find a way to leave not just this multiverse but this plane of existence. They succeeded but at a cost. They were able to move into a mirror universe by ripping a rent through space and time using the combined power of nearly all the Nephilim left. But it was a one way trip. Until you. The legacy is more than just power, it is connection. There is a reason why we chose your planet, why I had to give my life for the legacy. The legacy connects you to the Nephilim, through the souls gathered and through my own life, it makes you Nephilim. But you also have a connection to your planet, a Nexus planet. With these connections you can bridge the gap between this universe using the Nexus planet and the connection to our people in the mirror universe. It is impossible to do this until you reach A grade. Only then will you fully unlock the full Nephilim heritage and become one of us. But when you do you can bring our people back, if you choose to. But you have gone and truly changed that course. This, our meeting, the unlocking of this part of the heritage was not supposed to occur until you moved from C grade into B grade. I built it like this so that you would be strong enough to defend yourself and also old enough to understand the severity of the situation, yet you pushed so much mana into your body that the legacy thought you were breaking through to B grade and used that power to skip what should have been decades if not centuries of development, putting yourself and everything we sacrificed at risk. So now, we move the timeframe up and I am talking to an E grade child rather than a B grade power house. One who hasn¡¯t even left their world and has no connections or ability to make their way to Alesgracia without dying in the process. Such a mess. Not to mention that we now have to spend all our time here working on your control rather than working on your development. This was a one time working, you have been given power you can¡¯t wield and unlocked things you can not understand.¡± Neither of them spoke after that, Azreal had just given him so much information, so much understanding that he was struggling to even process it all fully. One thing he didn¡¯t understand though was why him. ¡°Can you tell me how I ended up with the heritage?¡± Azreal let out a breath but didn¡¯t tell him to be silent. ¡°When I came to your planet, all that time ago, I found a primitive society, one that could barely survive against the wilderness around them. But it was a nexus planet and that was what we needed. I found a women, one that was kind and cared for those around her. I approached her with a choice. I could bestow upon her family line a legacy, one that when the time came would make all the worlds better. However it came at a cost, no male would be born into the family until the time was right, only when a male was born would they know that the legacy was born. She accepted, as she liked the idea of helping not just those around her but helping planets full of people. And so only women were born into your family until you.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain why my mother died when I was born though. Did you tell my ancestor that bit of sacrifice?¡± He was trying to control his anger but it was hard, especially sitting across from the person who caused his mothers death. For his part, Azreal looked shocked at the news, then saddened quickly at hearing him talk of his mothers death. ¡°I never thought that your birth would cause your mothers death. I never would have foreseen that occurring. The legacy was born with you but it was also dormant, it shouldn¡¯t have effected your mother, but I cant be sure. Truly I am sorry, if this was the cause of her death.¡± They both sat in quiet contemplation for a while. Azreal claimed that this power should not have harmed his mother, but he wasn¡¯t certain. He didn¡¯t know whether to believe him but as he had said, the past was in the past and he couldn¡¯t change it. It still hurt though, it always would. ¡°I have a way to get to Alesgracia, I have already been there once and can be teleported back in an instant. Queen Elivasia and King Shrakein both live and are ready to train me.¡± Azreal instantly became more alert when he finished, excitement now appeared on his face. ¡°Then let us not disappoint them by you appearing as a child with powers he can¡¯t control. We shall spend out time turning you into the Nephilim you were born to be.¡± Book 3: Chapter 37 The first thing Azreal had made him do was be able to stand up and move without constantly falling around due to his wings. The extra weight had made his ability to move properly much harder and Azreal explained to him that his wings were like limbs that he needed to learn to use while also strengthening muscles that he never realised he had. He was forced to stand in place and do wing exercises that were usually reserved for kids who needed to learn how to walk for the first time. It would have been embarrassing, getting instructions on how to move around, but he truly felt like a child in front of Azreal so he just took the instructions and applied his willpower to it. Wings kept high and off the ground, spread out then back in with them never touching the ground. It was easier said than done and most of the time he failed miserably but he felt that if he just continued practicing he would get the hang of it in time. He was also told in time that he would be able to put the wings away and shift back into a human form, including losing the long canines, pointed ears and the overall adjustment to his physique. ¡°As you continue your exercises tell me everything about your status sheet that you remember without looking at it. Then once we know what you had before your last battle we will review the changes that have occurred from then to now before we continue to the next steps.¡± Azreal had been very clear that he was to use no mana until he said it was okay to. He had no idea why but he assumed it was because the last time he tried to use a skill he died, or kind of died? He knew exactly what his status sh¡±et l¡¯oked like, down to every skill and their level, so it wasn¡¯t a hard task to repeat all of this out loud. Azreal made no comments as he spoke and waited until the end before he made comments. ¡°Both your class and profession are well suited to you which is good. Not upgrading either of them and moving into the D grade was a smart choice. Although us Nephilim make great use of our affinity and that can carry us a long way, not underestimating what our skills are capable of and how they can boost our strength and ability is key. Only the laziest of Nephilim ever ignored their class and profession and it severely impacted their growth.¡± ¡°I was told that I shouldn¡¯t upgrade my class or profession until they were all maxed out, I was even provided an instance orb when I was in Alesgracia so that I could train my skills up to max. I never used it though, I haven¡¯t had a need too as doing all the dungeon and focusing on maxing out my skills has done the trick. I had planned on leaving it in a school I started to help the younger generation get stronger without needing to risk their lives so much in a dungeon.¡± ¡°You made the right choice. An instance orb can be useful but it takes away from real fighting experience and can stunt your growth and critical thinking skills in battle. Putting it into a school though, that I approve of. It will help reduce the fatality rate of the young and not cause any harm at such a low level.¡± Azreal gave him a considering look as he continued his exercises. ¡°Tell me, why did you start a school?¡± As he continued practicing opening and closing his wings he explained his childhood and how he group up. He then moved onto what he found in his settlement with the orphanages and the reasoning behind giving them a place that was safe and how it grew into a full blown school. ¡°I am sorry you were forced to grow up the way you did. I applaud that you have taken that experience and made it into something that will help so many though. We Nephilim value our young over everything, we can not conceive easily, we cherish our children greatly. That seems to be reflected in you as well. Now I want you to pull up your notifications, start at the beginning so we can see exactly what has happened since your fight started and we shall finish with what changed when you came here.¡± Azreal explained earlier that this place was not dissimilar to an instance. When he broke through the heritage with all the mana, he was drawn into it as part of the legacy. He took a breath before he brought up the first notification, knowing that these first few would be centred around when he got high on mana and changed his Stone Skin skill. **Warning: Mana saturation has increased beyond body¡¯s Mana Capacity. Remove excess Mana Immediately.** **Warning: Due to exceeding the body¡¯s natural capacity of Mana saturation Mana intoxication is inflicted.** **Skill: [Advanced] Stone Skin (Level 33) has been sundered.** **New Class Skill Creation: [Transcendent] Titan¡¯s Body (Level 1) has been acquired.** **[Transcendent] Titan¡¯s Body: This skill allows the user to infuse their body with mana, resulting in a temporary transformation that increase strength, resistance and speed, turning the users body into that of a titan. Growth and period of activation is dependant on the amount of mana fed into the skill. Physical stats are increased depending on amount of mana used in skill.** He was reading these aloud until he got to the skill name and rank. When he read these he stopped speaking and just reread the new skill several times. He had hoped that when he created the new skill he hadn¡¯t ruined his class forever, at best he hoped for an Epic ranked skill, but Transcendent? This hadn¡¯t even crossed his mind. ¡°Well? What is the new skill you created?¡± Azreal pushed him to keep speaking after a minute of silence. ¡°It¡¯s a Transcendent skill. Titan¡¯s Body. The description is¡­¡± ¡°No need to tell me the description, I know of the skill.¡± Azreal looked to be in dep thought for a moment before continuing. ¡°You are lucky you didn¡¯t experience a true death by creating it. It is a rare skill, very powerful for melee fighters. But be careful in how you use it, at your level you will experience backlash when the skill ends if you are not careful, especially while still E rank. We will need to do some testing. Now, continue on.¡± **[Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 112) has evolved into [Epic] Elemental Metamorphosis (Level 1)** **[Epic] Elemental Metamorphosis: Through infusing your body with elemental power the user may morph their bodies either fully or partially into different forms, taking on powerful elemental forms that greatly increase stats depending on the element used.** He had expected this one, sort of at least. He knew when he pushed mana into this skill that something had changed with it. He remembers growing a tail and horns at some point because of the change but he didn¡¯t know what to think of it yet.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Perfect! This is a fantastic upgrade, one that will help you keep your cover as a Nephilim for a long while. You should be able to use your elements to change forms and that will confuse many people and throw off the scent of you being Nephilim. It was a personal favourite of a good friend of mine and with it combined with Titan¡¯s Body you will be a formidable opponent as you continue to grow.¡± **Heritage: Azreal¡¯s Legacy has evolved** **Azreal¡¯s Legacy: The remnant¡¯s of a lost power, passed on from generation to generation never awakening, Azreal¡¯s Legacy is the hope of a long forgotten race that was hunted to extinction. The legacy provides the ability to more easily connect and harness all elements that make up the Multiverse, however the risk of doing so increases with each element bonded into an Affinity. The carrier of Azreal¡¯s Legacy has been unbound by the awakening of this heritage, transforming the body, mind and soul in the hope that what was once lost can be found again. Through creating a circuit of power within you through, mixing the elements into a united force, you are unlocking the Nephilim Legacy left to you, increasing the strength of the body, mind and soul. Through unlocking the Legacy further your connection to the Nephilim has grown stronger, forming an unbreakable bond to your kin and starting the two way bond between you and the remnant power of all Nephilim who had fallen and been combined to form Azreal¡¯s Legacy. The power of the Nephilim before you has infused your body, starting the change of your race until you fully become one of the Nephilim. Through breaking into a higher level of power further restraints on your body have been removed. Affinity are no longer set at preconceived levels and through embodying an affinity completely, connection between an affinity can increase as well as its grading. Through sacrificing their life and power, Azreal has gifted his own power to the holder of his Legacy. As the Nephilim once known as Death, he leaves behind his strongest affinity to help guide you too a greater level of power in the hope that you will one day bring back his brethren from their self-imposed exile. Strengthen the connection between the Nephilim and your world, with it you may fulfil the hope of the Nephilim. +100% all stats, Race change, Affinity: Death** As he read the change Azreal just nodded along. He had heard most of this from Azreal himself but it was still crazy to read it. What he hadn¡¯t heard mention of though was the part where he gained the affinity of death. ¡°How¡­¡± ¡°Keep going through your notifications.¡± **Race Changed: Human I has evolved into Hybrid Nephilim/Human I** Actually, seeing the notification of his race changing made all of this feel much more real. He was no longer human. He couldn¡¯t dwell on that right now, he would need to process that in due time as he never though of himself as anything more than a human with a heritage. This changed everything though. **Affinity Detected: Death** **Death (Affinity): Death is more than the absence of life, it is the connection to all that has passed into the Beyond. Through Death you may reap the souls of the lost, bring forth beings that lurk in the abyss and command the bodies of the fallen. The reaper of Death is feared across universes, but to one that holds command over Death you do not fear the end, as it is just a beginning. +500 Vit, +500 Soul, +50% Vit, +100% Soul** He nearly vomited when he saw the stat increases from the Death affinity. They were so much higher than any affinity he bonded before that he was feeling faint just looking at them. How were they so much higher than his advanced affinity? **Title upgraded: Elementalist to Divine Elemental** ** Divine Elemental: Having successfully bound a Divine level Affinity you have taken up the mantal of having Divine power over an element. Title upgradable. +100 to all stats, +50% to all stats** And just by reading the upgrade to his title he knew the reason behind why the increases from the Death affinity were so high. Divine. ¡°And now you know why this was meant to be for when you got to B grade.¡± He barely heard Azreal speak. He was till just staring at the word. Divine. ¡°The amount of stat increases alone will take a long time for you to adjust to, more than that you have been given as much of my Death affinity as I could. It took centuries for me to cultivate Death to the Devine level. Even longer afterwards to get to Ancient. You have no way to control such a high level affinity, not at E grade. We are lucky you aren¡¯t truly dead outside of here. Our main focus is getting you to control Death so you don¡¯t instantly die when you awake. Now, bring up your status screen and see the changes. Read them all out again.¡± He really had fucked up, it all now made sense. The moment he used any mana, no mater how small, he ended up flooding his body with Death energy and killed himself. That¡¯s what happened when he tried to use his echo, even a skill that didn¡¯t use his affinity ended up with his death. He needed to take several deep breaths to calm himself before he brought up his status sheet, knowing that the changes would be ridiculous. When he calmed down as much as he could he did what Azreal asked and brought up his status screen, nearly passing out when he did.
Status:
Name: Shaun Clermont
Race: Hybrid Nephilim/Human I
Level: 118
Class: [Advanced] Elemental Blade Slinger ¨C Level 124
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Creator ¨C Level 112
Health Points:42675/42675
Stamina:21771/21771
Mana:103530/103530
Stats: (Available Points: 48)
Strength: 2024
Dexterity: 2115
Endurance: 2177
Vitality: 4268
Intelligence: 2156
Perception: 2100
Willpower: 2158
Soul: 10353
Affinity: Divine: Death
Basic: Earth, Fire, Nature, Air, Water
Advanced: Lightning, Ice, Magma
Titles: New Initiate, Apex Predator, Planetary Forerunner, Divine Elemental, Expert Solo Dungeoneer, Emperor, Impossible Feat. Mana Body, Mana Mind
Heritage: Azreal¡¯s Legacy (Hidden)
Skills:
Class: [Advanced] Blade Mastery (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Earthen Echo (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Enhanced Mind (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Elemental Strike (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Transcendent] Titan¡¯s Body (Level 1), [Epic] Elemental Metamorphosis (Level 1), [Advanced] Elemental Summons (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade (Level 125 ¨C MAX)
Profession: [Advanced] Elemental Fusion (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Creators Control (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Element Coercion (Level 110), [Advanced] Meditation (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Epic] Mana Mastery (Level 93), [Advanced] Runic Scribe (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Elemental Storage (Level 53), [Advanced] Creators Plan (Level 125 ¨C MAX), [Advanced] Creators Domain (Level 72)
Book 3: Chapter 38 ¡°Dead, again.¡± Azreal had wasted no time after they had gone through all of the changes and notifications. He was now sitting cross legged on the ground trying to activate his mediation skill without flooding his body with his newly acquired Death affinity and dying. Azreal had explained that he couldn¡¯t die here, he also explained that in here, this weird place, that they would have what felt like a year or so but in reality should only be a day in the real world. If he had reached the B grade like he was supposed to he would have had much longer, but because he was till E grade that time was severely reduced and instead of training other aspects of his body and skills they just hoped that they could get him some control over Death and his Nephilim body. At this point he had tried to activate his meditation skill and dies as a result over a hundred times. The feeling of dying never got more pleasant but Azreal was certain that if he could manage to slip into a trance he could then explore his mana channels better and start gaining control over Death. So far he had made no progress and every time he started to get frustrated they Azreal made him swap tasks to gaining proper control over his wings. He was no where close to succeeding in that either. He couldn¡¯t even walk in a straight line yet without falling, let alone get to the point of being able to fly or fight with his wings. The entire thing had become a disaster of epic proportions. ¡°You need to enter into meditation slower, the moment you use your mana you lose control over Death and it floods your body. You need to control the output better.¡± He had heard this now for the 100th time and it wasn¡¯t helping. This was another issue he was having, his mana had increased with all of the changes he had gone through by unlocking his heritage and gaining the affinity, as well as the title upgrade. Because of the huge increase in mana he had also lost a lot of the control he had over his own output. The increase to all of his other stats wasn¡¯t helping, his movements were too quick and his strength was higher than he was used too. He was needing to adapt to too many changes at once and he was failing at it. His thoughts and mind processing was also going to fast for him to properly take anything in. He still didn¡¯t give up though, but his frustration was building very, very quickly. ¡°Keep going, we don¡¯t have time to waste.¡± The days passed with nothing changing to the routine. He had no need to sleep or eat in this place and so he got no breaks. He made small steps of progress, but not quick enough for him to gain mastery of the changes in the year they had here. It took an entire month before he could successfully enter mediation without dying, the moment he tried to look into his mana channels though he died. Still it was some progress. He was now able to walk properly with his wings, he could now open and close them on command and even move around without tripping over himself. He was now onto lifting himself in the air, which was disastrous every time. He attempted to use his air affinity to help but the moment he did he was flooded with Death energy again and died. He had no choice but to do it the hard way. Azreal was patient with him for the most part but he pushed him hard, never giving him a moment to relax, always training. He had gotten information from him though, mostly around how the Nephilim had lived before the great war, their customs and beliefs as well as some of their history with the other races. He wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that for the most part, the Nephilim were a very peaceful people. They travelled a lot during their youth so that they could get a better understanding of their place in the multiverse and how they should treat others. They also did most of their training in dungeons and were very competitive with each other in the lower grades. Cross race couples were also common. Apparently, Nephilim had a hard time conceiving with their own and tended to mate with races like the Dragons and Fae. No mater what though, the child always turned out to be Nephilim rather than a Hybrid. This was due to the strength of the Nephilim blood lines and that when the baby grew in the womb the Nephilim DNA overpowered all others. This was news to him, it was never mentioned with his time with the Dragons or Fae. Probably because, as Azreal explained, if a male Nephilim got another race pregnant, if that female was not of adequate strength than they would die before ever bringing the baby to term. It was a sad thing to hear, but these relationships never occurred without full consent from both parties, both knew the risks and it was never done without much consideration from every party involved. It also explained a great deal about the relationship between the Nephilim and the Fae and Dragons. It also explained why the relationship between the Nephilim grew to be fractured with the other races. They couldn¡¯t intermingle, not in the same way as they could with The Alliance, that made tensions high and cut off one avenue of forming long lasting connections.Stolen novel; please report. When Shaun did finally manage to enter his mana channels through dropping into a trance without dying, what he found was horrific. It wasn¡¯t just his mana channels that were flooded with death, but most of his body was infused with the energy. His Basic and advanced affinity were barely visible and what he could see of them they were tinged with Death as well. ¡°How do I fix it? I can¡¯t go back with all my affinity having been changed into having Death imbued into them. I couldn¡¯t explain that away even if I wanted to.¡± The stress he was feeling about what would happen when he awoke was building with the passing off time, without Azreal¡¯s calm instruction he would have cracked like an egg long ago. ¡°Ignore your other affinity for now. You need to bring the Death energy under control first. You need to pull it all back out from the rest of your body and create order among the chaos first. Like with your other affinity you need to bind all the energy together and form it into your mana channels in a complete vein of Death. Once you have done that you can start cleaning your other affinity.¡± The process of pulling the Death affinity form his body was difficult and painful. More times than he could count he ended up losing control and dying. At the moment he was just taking all the energy from his body and shoving it into his mana channels. Once it was all there, he could start trying to organise it. Azreal informed him that doing it this way was longer but when tried to organise as he went, he always ended up making a mess of everything and dying. More time passed like this and before he knew it he only had two thirds of his time here left. He had managed to separate the Death affinity from his body and force it all into his mana channels but now when it came time to organising it and condensing it down he felt like he was fighting a losing battle. Before this, his basic affinity were the size of string compared to his advanced affinity which could be described as the thickness of a decent sized rope. But the size of his advanced affinity compared to a Divine level affinity was like comparing a drop of water to a lake. It wasn¡¯t until over half of his time here had passed that he had managed to condense the Death affinity down enough that it was passable in Azreal¡¯s eyes for him to be able to add in another layer of training into their regime. ¡°As you would have read in the upgrade of the Legacy, affinity are not set at a certain level. Although this is generally the case until you reach the B grade, for Nephilim we are born with the ability to train our affinity to higher levels. This isn¡¯t an easy process and takes patience and time to do. As you are aware though, the higher level of the affinity, the more space it takes up in your mana channels. There are set minimum grades for some affinity, usually this is Epic but can be higher. However, you can train a basic affinity, like fire, up to ancient with enough time, resources and talent.¡± ¡°If the Nephilim can train up their affinity to higher levels from birth, how did we lose the war? Someone with multiple Ancient affinity would win any fight.¡± Even the powers from the factions wouldn¡¯t be able to take down a Nephilim if that was the case, so how did they lose? ¡°If you waited and listened you would already know the answer. The body has a maximum capacity for elemental magic, or you may better understand that there is only so much room in your mana channels and when they are full you can add any more. It was discovered by Nephilim older than I that there are maximum amounts of each level you could possess if you wanted to max out the highest levels first. Your body can only handle one Ancient rarity Affinity, two Divine level, 3 Transcendent, five Mythic, 10 Epic but when it comes to advanced and basic you can squeeze in as many as you wish, although they are limited in quantity.¡± He thought about this for a while ¡±efor¡¯ asking the questions he had. ¡°So, I now have one Divine already, so I only have room for one more? Can you decrease the level if you wanted to?¡± ¡°You do already have one and yes you can downgrade the rarity. It is done easy enough. You just need to pull the affinity out from your body and place that power into an appropriate vessel. You can do this when you reach a point that you want to downgrade the rarity of Death, but I would advise not doing it until you are ready to move another affinity up to that level.¡± This was all thousands of years down the track, if ever, but it was nice to know he had the option if he ever did reach that point. ¡°Now what we will train now if your basic affinity. Pick one that you feel closest too and we shall start with that.¡± He knew which one he wanted to train immediately, fire was the one he used the most in a fight and he enjoyed using it in most of his skills. It was also an element that he was able to use without suspicion as everyone already knew he had it. ¡°Fire, I want to train fire.¡± ¡°Summon a ball of fire then, but be caref¡­¡± He hadn¡¯t finished listening and pulled fire from his mana channels, the moment he did he felt something go wrong and he died. Again. He awoke on the ground again, this time though he was able to get up using his wings. He had done a lot of training with them over his time condensing the Death affinity and had grown used to using them. ¡°As I was going to say, be carful of pulling too much too quickly, the Death affinity had corrupted your other affinity, until you clean it all up you will be pulling Death along with fire.¡± If he had stopped and thought about it for a moment he would have come to that conclusion himself. This time around, when he summoned the fire ball, he used the smallest amount of mana he could possibly use, using the same method he did when he was training to be able to use meditation. He had hoped it would work the second time around, it didn¡¯t though. It didn¡¯t work the time after that either, or the time after that. ¡°This may take a while.¡± Azreal sat down in his chair as he tried again and again to get it right. He thought he had been making progress but now he felt like he was right back at the beginning. Azreal was right, this was going to take a while. Book 3: Chapter 39 It took time, a long time before he managed to successfully use his fire affinity without killing himself in the process. He now split his time equally between working on containing his Death affinity, being able to use his fire affinity and also being able to adjust and fight with his new Nephilim form. He was well aware of time bearing down on him, the longer it took for him to get control of all the things that changed the higher the chance he would end up exposing himself when he got back. Although he was now able to use his fire affinity that didn¡¯t mean that there wasn¡¯t issues. When he summoned his affinity it was nothing like it should be. It was so heavily tainted with death affinity that the fire was grey and see through and was now a Ghost Flame, at least according to Azreal. Until he got the Death affinity sorted all of his other affinity would be changed, once he got adequate control over Death though he would be able to turn this effect on and off. Until then he was stuck with it. What he was learning was how to control his other affinity while also tinged with Death. Once he was able to use his fire affinity without any issues he moved on to his other affinity until he could use each and every one with no issues. This also helped him a lot in cleaning up his mana channels, this was still the thing that was taking up most of his time though and he would be lucky if he would be done before his time was up. When he obtained an adequate ability to move and fight, with Azreal as his opponent he never got in a hit but he did learn a lot of new techniques and manoeuvres with his blade, he was then instructed in how to shift from his Nephilim form to his human one, something that again took time and was not an instinctual process. He didn¡¯t rest for a moment though and pushed himself as hard as he could in the time he had left. His fire affinity was the first affinity that he successfully cleansed off the death affinity, a tedious process that brought him insights into both elements and how they interacted with each other. High on his success he moved onto his other basic affinity, cleaning every single one till they shone like tiny little lights in his otherwise pitch black mana channels. His advanced affinity took a great deal longer but the process didn¡¯t change, time passed in the blink of an eye and before he knew it his mana channels were mostly cleaned up, he was able to shift his form on command and he could use all of his affinity without issue. He had even started testing and using his skills in different ways. His Titan¡¯s Body skill was insane. He first tested the skill out in increments of 10,000 mana and the more he used the crazier the skill got. At 10,000 mana there was not much of a visible difference, but his stats increased by 5% and he grew a few inches. He moved quicker and he felt stronger and that only increased the more mana he used. At 50,000 mana he grew to three times his height and his stats increased by 25%. When he fought like this he felt incredible, his speed was off the charts and he started to really understand how overpowered the skill was. At half of his mana usage he had some backlash from the skill, about 10 minutes of feeling warn out and sore, he would be able to fight through it but not with any where his normal physical power. He tested out using it with 75% of his mana only once, growing to nearly 20 metres tall and having so much extra strength imbued into him that he thought he would be able to destroy a fortress with his bare hands with no issue. It only lasted a minute and when it ended he was practically comatose for 30 minutes. He was left completely exposed and if he did this in a fight he would need to ensure that it was a finishing move and that he was safe afterwards. He didn¡¯t test the skill with 100% mana, it would kill him and he knew it. After a lot of testing they found that the sweet spot of the skill was using around 35% of his mana and keeping up a consistent feed of mana to the skill, he didn¡¯t experience too much back lash and it boosted his abilities by enough that it would be able to turn the tide of any battle. When they started testing Elemental Metamorphosis things became very interesting. Azreal knew what to expect but didn¡¯t spoil anything for him and let him figure out all the different forms on his own. Using lightning gave him a tail and horns, on top of that, if he also brought out his wings they changed shade and texture and coursed with electricity with each flap. Ice was similar except he turned the palest blue, with his wings turning to ice, his hair became frosted and he grew spikes from his arms and along his spine. Magma turned him into a molten golem like thing, he became more bulky and with every step he shook the earth while melting anything he came near. His basic affinity were also interesting, like magma, his earth affinity turned him into a rock golem, his Nature affinity turned his skin to bark and he ended up looking like a treant, water literally turned him into a scaled mer like creature. When he did this he fell to the ground, legs turned into a tail and he flopped around like an idiot for a while until he remembered to turn the skill off. When he used air his body became partially covered in feathers and his wing span grew, he also formed talons on his hands and his feet became clamed. When using fire his form was somewhat similar to lightning, he grew thorns and a tail but his hair turned to fire and his body turned red. The most terrifying of them all though was when he used the skill with death. His wings turned black, his body became hollow and his skin turned ashen. He was at first confused why he appeared weaker but when he waved his hand in this form he immediately felt that if anything living was near him he would easily be able to suck the life from it and kill it in an instant. That would only be true though if they were weak enough, otherwise they would just feel like they were being drained. In this form he felt like a reaper of souls and didn¡¯t care for it all that such, even though he knew it would have a lot of benefits in large scale fights.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He didn¡¯t yet have enough control ¡±ver ¡¯Ither of his two new skills to be able to use them together, but Azreal assured him that when he managed to level them both up to significant enough levels that he would be able to. He looked forward to that day, until then though he would just need to train each of them individually. After all of the training had come to an end they had only days, if not hours, left, he knew that time was coming to an end as Azreal¡¯s form had become so transparent that he could no longer effect anything around him. They had come to a point where all he could do was speak, even then it was like a faint whisper. ¡°When did you intend to leave your planet and move to The Alliance?¡± They hadn¡¯t spoken much about life after this but he guessed now that it was coming to an end it would be important to do so. ¡°Mostly I will sort out a few things with the settlement, after that I will leave. So within a month or two.¡± ¡°Good, smart choice. I agree with your plans for the school, I also think it is wise to leave what you can behind and cut communications for the time being. Have you considered whether you will see the legacy through? Will you seek our people at A grade or will you choose not to?¡± ¡°I plan on seeing it through, reaching A grade and bringing our people back is the priority. But I have to ask, you have mentioned several times that Earth is a Nexus planet, what does that mean?¡± Azreal had said it a few times but hadn¡¯t explained further, he also didn¡¯t push until now as Azreal had been clear that training must come first and answers would happen later. ¡°A nexus planet is very rare, when one appears it is fought over by all factions. A nexus planet is unlike other planets as at its core it holds a great amount of power that bleeds out and empowers everything that lives there. Tell me, what is the average grade of people on Earth?¡± He though about it for a moment before answering, wanting to provide an accurate figure. ¡°I would say early E grade. A decent amount of people would have hit mid E grade too.¡± ¡°The standard for newly integrated planets is that only the elite would have hit anywhere nearly low to mid E grade by the time the year is up. Over the course of your life on Earth you would never have noticed it but the Nexus would have bled into everyone and everything, so that once you were integrated, if you applied yourself, you would have grown much quicker. Even those that came after the integration through the planet wide terraforming would have received some benefits due to just being there for a short period. For those that grew up on a nexus planet they form a connection to the nexus and get the most benefit. But anyone that comes later will still reap rewards from it. These nexus planet are usually coveted as capital planets for factions. Those that grew up there also find themselves reaching higher grades before they peak out. So if you were wondering why the factions seem to want the planet so much, that is why. The faction who has the world leader will have many benefits by having another Nexus planet under their control. And, if what you said is correct, the winner of this event will grow that much stronger. When you reach A grade, you will need to do so on your planet as the nexus will boost your progression that much further and help you succeed in going to our kin. When you bring them back though, you will also appear on back on your planet. Keep that all in mind, the location of your planet and who is on it will play a great role in what occurs afterwards.¡± With all that information now in hand he wondered if he had made a mistake of not claiming the planet rather than Viv. When he voiced his concern he was assured that his choice was the right one. He would need to travel far to reach the A grade and he could not be bound to any one place without the help of The Alliance. It would stunt his growth and leave him open to further scrutiny by the other factions. ¡°As you are still young there are a few things I would advise. The first, cultivate a good party, a small one, but a strong one. Form bonds with people you can trust with everything. I would advise at least having a Fae and Dragon by your side. Doing everything alone can lead to consequences you don¡¯t want to face. You will go through a lot before the time comes to get our people and having people you can confide in is important. Second, take advantage of every situation you can. There are trials across the multiverse that will help you grow, one that I must stress is the Trial of Succession. Almost everyone will do it at some stage, but doing so while in the C grade is the best time, you will reap the most rewards at this level and if you make it to the end you will find that the rewards are better than anything you can imagine. I advise brining this up when you reach The Alliance again, they will be able to guide you better than I as much would have changed in regards to the requirements to enter. And finally, stop doing things that you don¡¯t understand! You were lucky that you didn¡¯t die because of the foolishness you did at the event, the consequences of that will be far reaching and you will need to uncover what they are and deal with them as they rise. In the future use your head and weigh up the risks of doing such foolish things. You are no use to anyone if your dead or locked up in one of the factions dungeons. Understood?¡± He took down mental notes of every¡±hing¡¯Azreal said, even though his linking to his group had worked out in the end he knew that it could have gone much, much worse. ¡°I understand all of it, I will do my best.¡± ¡°Good, that is all I ask. Now are you ready? Is there any other questions you may have or anything you want to do before you go?¡± He spent a moment thinking if there was anything further, clearly Azreal didn¡¯t think so, not if he was asking him if he was ready to go. There was something he wanted to ask, but he knew it may push boundaries. ¡°Is there anything you want me to tell our kin when I get to them, or even any message you want me to pass along to anyone in The Alliance?¡± ¡°No, there is no need for messages. You being there to see our people will be message enough. You may repeat what you have learnt here to only the King and Queen and those that can be trusted. Do not going spreading information that doesn¡¯t need to be known. If there is nothing else, our time is up and I pray that you make it, Shaun. My hope will be with you, always.¡± He tried to reply, to say something. But the last thing he saw was Azreal smile at him and then darkness. Azreal had ended his time here, he would never get to see or speak to him again. Book 3: Chapter 40 Shaun knew the moment he woke up in his body again, he was lying on the ground, wings out in his Nephilim form surrounded by people. They were moving around him but very few were actually that close to him. He found that the people who were close were those he knew, Eric, Gabe and Yarila as well as Eli. They didn¡¯t know he was awake yet, but they would soon enough. Wanting to cover up his form he slowly activated his metamorphosis skill with lightning and grew his tail and horns. It would hopefully be just enough for him to be able to pass off everything as him passing out with the skill on rather than him actually no longer being fully human. ¡°Hey guys, something his happening with Shaun.¡± Eli was the one paying the most attention and it took only moments for him to see the changes he had made with his skill. Opening his eyes he used his wings to not only push himself off the ground but also into the air, high enough that everyone would be able to see him in this lightning form and take note of his changes. When he was high enough he looked around and saw that they were in the same place as where they had been when they attacks the compound. Looking at the epicentre of where he had attacked, as he had expected nothing was left. Not only that but everywhere around where they were based was blackened by his attack. In full view for everyone to see he deactivated his skills and shifted back to being fully human. He waited for a few moments for everyone to see and then drifted back to the ground, right in the same place he had been laying on the ground. When he was back on the ground no one spoke for a while, they just stared at him for a bit. Mostly they looked relieved that he was awake but there was also fear there too. ¡°How long was I out?¡± He knew it should have been a day but he wanted that confirmed. ¡°What has happened since the attack?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only been a day. You have not responded to anything we did when trying to wake you. Everyone else woke much sooner. Mana drain was the cause but no one died in the fight. We have been here resting since the attack. A message was sent out, we won the event but it shall continue.¡± Yarila was the only one to speak and clearly answered his questions. At the mention of winning the event and it continuing he pulled up his notifications seeing exactly what she had spoken about. It seemed that even though they won the event had decided to continue so that people could earn points. He assumed he got this message after passing out and going to Azreal which is why he couldn¡¯t see it before. ¡°How many people on our side decided to leave after we won? Any retaliation for The Pantheon?¡± He asked in a daze mostly. He couldn¡¯t really believe that they had won the event just like that. It made some sense, considering there was no compound left, but still, he had expected to have to do something more to win. ¡°Very few left, Vivenne rallied our armies and decided to throw everything we have at The Pantheon. For many, the fact we won meant they no longer cared if they died in the event, they are going out with a bang.¡± Eric joined in the conversation now, although he was more hesitant than Yarila. ¡°Many people are cheering your name. Those that joined you in that attack got over you pulling out all their mana quickly, especially after seeing what you did to the compound and winning the war. There has been people come forward though saying they feel changed from the experience, as yet though they can¡¯t put their finger on how. Those that didn¡¯t join, are not happy, although that is mostly due to them now being looked down on by everyone else.¡± ¡°The humans may have mixed feelings but my people were more than happy with everything you did. They would have happily died to help you, the fact they didn¡¯t and that you managed to do what you did. They view you as a future god.¡± Hearing Yarila and Eric lay out the overall feelings of the group was good, it helped him understand the general atmosphere he would need to deal with. The fact that some people felt changed was not so good. ¡°It would be good if you explained exactly what happened. Especially when you yelled out that you were a god. It has caused people to start to question, well you.¡± Eirc went right into wanting answers and he couldn¡¯t blame him.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Too much mana, it causes an effect that makes you feel god like, although really your just high on mana. When it happened the first time I lost control and changed a skill. I fucked up there, I know I did. I shouldn¡¯t have used everyone mana for selfish gain. I can¡¯t change that now though. You saw what the effect of the skill can do to how I look.¡± He dropped the information he wanted to and now set up the explanation as to why he looked different. ¡°The wings, the tail, the ears, the teeth, not to mention the horns. It was soooo cool! Can you change into anything else?¡± Eli cut straight to his changed form and clearly found the entire thing to be a good thing. ¡°Can only use it with my elements, so not really. Just the standard air, fire and lightning. Its weird though, changing shape like that. Thankfully it¡¯s a skill I can turn on and off.¡± ¡°Any other changes we should know about? You seem, different? More powerful I guess. I don¡¯t know, but something changed.¡± Eric went back to questioning, wanting to fully understand what happened. ¡°Not really. Although having that much mana flow through me was bound to leave its mark.¡± It was a fair explanation, he did just push millions of mana through his body. ¡°So even though we won we are still fighting. How long until everyone is ready to move out? I figure we attack from this side and clear out everything between us and the bulk of the enemy. By the time we make it back to our side I am guessing we will be the only ones left. Unless you know something I don¡¯t?¡± ¡°That is accurate. At the rate our side is dying I would give it a week or two before they have claimed everything on our side and wiped everyone out. There was talk of everyone retreating to our compound to launch a final attack but that would jus delay the inevitable. Everyone wanted to go out with as many points as they could. You do need to talk to Viv though before we do anything else. She wanted to speak to you the moment you woke up.¡± He knew he would need to talk with Viv, he had hoped it wouldn¡¯t be so soon but at least it would be a pleasant conversation. Shaun Clermont: I am awake. Heard we won the event. Looks like you will be the world leader after all. He didn¡¯t need to wait long before he got a reply back. As he had expected it was a mix between questioning him and thanking him. Vivenne Grace: There is much to celebrate and a lot I need to thank you for. Once the event is over we shall hold a celebration at the settlement to truly relish the victory. There are questions though. Reports say you have wings and no longer look human? You will also need to explain exactly what you did to connect and drain people of their mana. For what I have been told the Elves are beyond happy with what you did, our own people are having mixed reactions. Is there anything I need to know? He ended up needing to repeat the same excuse he gave the others around his change of appearance which he also ensured was temporary and he got stuck between forms when he passed out. She was curious around the skill but he didn¡¯t really go into much more detail. When he finished talking to Viv he then had to make the same explanation to the entire group he was with. He wanted to make sure that everyone had an explanation as to his transformation and that he could nip any weird rumours in the butt before they began. To really push his point forward he transformed for everyone, showing them his human form, what they saw when he was unconscious with some amendments and then the full transformation. Overall he thought he did a good job of convincing everyone. When it came time to fight next he would also make sure that everyone saw his changed form just in case anything made its way back to The Pantheon. It didn¡¯t take too long after that for everyone to start packing up and getting into order for them to move out. They planned on making their way back to their own side, but this time there would be avoiding fights, everyone wanted more points and killing was the best way to do it. It was clear that those who sat out the attack were sectioned off from everyone else, he heard that another reason for this was that the people who had joined him in the attack also gained more points than they though possible. They gained points for not only killing the enemy army but also for killing some key individuals, mainly the two Charlo siblings. On top of that everyone got a ridiculous amount of bonus points in the aid of destroying the compound. It was a group effort and he was happy that they received points for that as well. Without them he never would have been able to do what he did and the chances were that they would have lost the event. Now though, everyone was more than happy to get their weapons ready and start really entering into some fights against their enemy. He considered going it alone, but a nagging feeling made him stay with everyone. The changes everyone was feeling was something that he wanted to keep an eye on. If he went forward alone he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep tabs on them. He also wasn¡¯t in any hurry. He checked the leader board and his name was still number one. Jason however was sitting at number two but there was still a large margin between them. As it was his attack on the compound he got the majority of points for its destruction, but many others had made their way onto the top 10 as well. Book 3: Chapter 41 Unlike when they pushed their way through to the compound, making their way back was done at a slower pace. This wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing as it made for a more relaxed atmosphere amount the group. The pressure on everyone¡¯s shoulders had lifted and now that there was nothing to truly lose, they were mostly hungry for a proper fight. It didn¡¯t take too long for them to get one either. They passed the same bridge they had claimed previously, not bothering with moving to any of the others as the amount of people there wouldn¡¯t be worth the extra time it took to divert their course. Eventually they reached the inner fortress and met back with the small group that had been left there in case they needed a distraction. This was when they learnt that The Pantheon had not been sitting idle over the last few days. All of the people from the remaining inner fortresses had been moved together into this single one. It had happened gradually but now, rather than a small group inhabiting the fortress there was over 5 times the amount they expected which numbered over a million people compared to their own few thousand. Although this was more than they had expected to face so early on in the trek back they were not disappointed. All that they had left to do was fight each other, the fact they had been so kind enough to group together was only a boon in his eyes. The only thing that was slightly annoying was that he only had two skills in which he could level up in the fight, his new metamorphosis skill and his Titan¡¯s Body. Seeing as how he didn¡¯t want to expose his Titan¡¯s body skill just yet and he needed to make an impression using his metamorphosis skill the decision on how he would fight was made for him. Given how many people had gathered for him as well he would also help the others out by thinning the numbers with his summons skill, but even then he expected to have casualties in this fight, especially given that every single person in the group wanted to join the fighting rather than sit out. When they got close enough to the fortress he laid out his plan which was rather simple and to the point. He would go in first, cause utter mayhem, clear a way into the fortress for everyone else to be able to enter unimpeded, then it was up to them not to die. No one argued with him or came up with a different plan. There was a small amount of grumbling that he caught from a group of humans about him just wanting to show off and kill everyone before they got a chance. He didn¡¯t react to hearing it though as these were the same people that didn¡¯t join them in the attack on the compound and they were still very much bitter about how everything went down. He didn¡¯t waste any time after tha¡±, he¡¯summoned his eagles and hounds and then he himself transformed. Using the metamorphosis skill was still a weird feeling, one he would have to get used to. Growing a tail and horns as well as bringing out his wings made him feel even less human than he was. The strength he gained in this form though was epic though. He left the group not long after this, flying off with his eagles as his hounds rushed forth on the ground, leaving the rest of the group chasing after them. It took less than a minute for him to bridge the gap between where he had been and the fortress and he made sure that he made enough of a spectacle of himself that everyone in the fortress knew he had arrived. He had approached in a way that lightning cracked through the air with every flap of his wings, and the moment that he was seen, shouts had echoed through the compound. He started high enough in the air that he could be seen by all who looked his way, but as he drew closer he dived down straight at the entrance of the fortress, planning on clearing a line through the soldiers gathered there and guarding this particular entrance. As he drew closer he was attacked by everyone that had a ranged weapon or skill, but none made it close enough to him to even graze his skin. He gathered lightning around him, powering up for a devastating attack. It was even easier to control lightning in this form but he also had to be very careful to not let any death energy bleed into it which was something he had spent many months training to do. Diving down towards the fortress, he didn¡¯t slow his decent until the last moment, spreading his wings he pushed through the opening of the fortress walls and with a large amount of his mana he sent down all of the gathered lightning in a continuous blast of power that devastated anyone who happened to be close to him.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. He didn¡¯t stop releasing his attacks until he had made a line of destruction from the fortress wall all the way into the centre of the fortress. He had left nothing but destruction in his wake and no one had survived his initial sweep into the fortress. When he had reached the centre of the fortress he pulled up, using his wings to push him back into the air, each flap causing more destruction to the area around him. It was a powerful attack, when he looked at his mana usage though he had barely used 10% of his total. He hadn¡¯t killed everyone in the compound, but if he was to guess he did manage to kill off at least 5 to 10% of the occupants in one go. Rather than go around for another sweep he perched himself on the roof of the tallest building in the fortress and had his eagles, who had followed him during his attack, go our and kill the occupants. From his own perch atop the building he utilised his echo to track down any large groups in the fortress, when he managed to find people gathered together he didn¡¯t hesitate to send out bolts of lightning and kill off large groups at a time. Most of his focus was towards the opposite side of the fortress that his own group would enter. He had already caused enough destruction closest to them that they should have no issue moving in and attacking. If he didn¡¯t thin the numbers on the opposite side though they would eventually be overwhelmed by pure numbers. When his own group entered the fortress he kept his echo on them to make sure that if he was needed that he would be able to assist. He would only do this though if he was truly needed, knowing that they needed to be able to fight and die on their own to a certain extent. He did however become bored quickly. Sitting on top of a building and just launching lightning bolts at people was not his idea of enjoyable. It was effective at thinning out the numbers but he felt like he was just abusing his power on those weaker than him than actually fighting anyone. He didn¡¯t stop though until he was certain that the numbers had been thinned enough that his own group would be relatively safe from being overwhelmed any time soon, and with that done he set off from the roof in search of his own fight. It didn¡¯t take long for him to find a group of a few thousand Pantheon members running towards the fighting. Rather than attack from above he made sure to dive down to the ground and land right in front of them, cutting them off from the direction they had bene running and causing them to stop dead in their tracks. He took both of his swords out and stared them down, challenging them to fight him here and now. He was disappointed when some of them tried to run away, he didn¡¯t let them though. Using a flame strike he killed everyone who dared not face him in combat. That message came across loud and clear, and although they looked terrified of him, they did eventually charge. He was, disappointed. Even before all of the upgrades he had received due to his heritage he had been overpowered compared to the average human. Now though, it was as if they were moving in slow motion. With a sigh, he did what he wanted to do, he got no joy from it though. He cut through them all, using nothing but his swords. There was no challenge in doing it though, he killed them all before any one of them had managed to even release their own attack. It took seconds for him to move through them and kill every single one of them, they died before they realised what was even happening to them. When he was done he tried to find a bigger group, when he did the same ending occurred. It wasn¡¯t until he had cleared out several groups and easily over 200,000 people were dead did he just give up on finding any worthy fight here. He had hopes that when he met Jason in a fight he would get some enjoyment from it, but he doubted it. He was now way to overpowered for anything in the E grade. He doubted that the D grade dungeon would be a challenge for him, but he planned to test that theory when this was done. Hopefully at its highest difficulty he would be able to truly test out his new skills and stats. He didn¡¯t bother joining In the fight after that unless he found his own team In any danger of being killed, even then though he didn¡¯t act as some god and save everyone, rather he just controlled the flow of people coming at them. This meant that it took much longer for them to clear the fortress and when it got to a point that his group had hit their limit of being able to fight any longer he cleared the rest of the fortress quickly. This was good experience for them, knowing their limits and skills and learning to pace themselves in drawn out fights. They weren¡¯t gaining experience but they were gaining skill levels which was even more valuable in the long run. When the last of The Pantheon numbers died he started to claim the fortress. They would need to rest for a while before moving on and repeating the same process all over again and he had no desire to leave the fortress unclaimed. His group found somewhere relatively stable to stay for the night so that they could eat and celebrate their victory. It was when he joined back up with the group and heard excited exclamations from more than one of the group that he froze. They were talking about affinity, more specifically, there were a number of people that had acquired one during the fight. Book 3: Chapter 42 When Shaun heard that people had obtained affinities during the fight he stuck around and listened into the conversations he could hear. He was still a decent distance away that not many people had noticed him and he made a conscious effort to stay shielded from view. ¡°How did you do it Lisa? I thought it was really hard to get an affinity and you had to do it in specific places if you wanted one?¡± The girl, Lisa, was the one who had gotten an affinity, he didn¡¯t hear what one but it wasn¡¯t hard for him to focus his echo and perception on her and figure it out. Fire. He knew it the moment he concentrated. By the look of the girl she was also a fighter that used swords and although the affinity he felt was on the weaker side he imagined that with some time and effort she could grow the power inside of her easily enough, especially if she used the treasure back at the settlement. ¡°It just happened during the fight! I was getting angry and frustrated with how many people were coming at us and something just cracked open inside of me. But honestly, I have been feeling kind of weird ever since we did that thing at the compound. When he linked to us, something changed in me. I think he was the one that helped me get fire!¡± After hearing that she had somehow linked her affinity to him and what he did he started to move away but stopped when he heard someone else join the conversation. ¡°You got fire? That¡¯s so cool! I got earth somehow! It happened the same way to me too though, I was fighting and blocking with my shield and I just kept pushing and holding strong and then, Bam! I have an affinity. It feels incredible though right?¡± He was going to have to take count of just how many people he had unknowingly given an affinity too. Thankfully it sounded as though people only got one and that they were basic, but still, not a good outcome if even more pop up and there is a full spread of people with affinity running around connecting it all with him and what he did. He spread his awareness around and quickly found Eric and Yarila together, Gabe was off elsewhere but thankfully the two people he needed to gather information were close by. He made his way in the most roundabout fashion to get to them, avoiding being seen as much as possible. When he got around the corner of a building he made sure to grab their attention. Yarila was the first to notice him and when he pointed at Eric and then waved them over she did what he needed and grabbed Eric, whispered in his ear and they both walked away from the crowd. He followed them for a minute until they were at a fairly secure area just off from the main building where everyone had congregated. ¡°You have heard then?¡± He nodded at Yarila and Eric groaned, wiping his hands down his face as Shaun seemed to confirm everything he feared in a nod. ¡°Are they right, our affinity is due to what you did?¡± He hadn¡¯t really been paying much attention to the two of them, but at Yarila¡¯s words he looked deeper into he and found that each of them now had an affinity, Eric earth and Yarila some kind of off shoot of nature. ¡°Fuck sake! How many people have affinity? What kinds as well?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about the elves, but of the people that joined in the link and that are still here I would say around 10% have an affinity now. So somewhere between 50 to 100. That¡¯s just a guess though.¡± ¡°We are similar, although it is a higher amount of people, closer to double from my estimates.¡± Yarila actually looked ecstatic about this which he could get. It would boost the overall ability and power of every one of them. ¡°What about types of affinity? Are they all basic or is there some different ones out there?¡± From what they had heard, most of them were the standard five basic affinity, some were different though, like Yarila, although she didn¡¯t confirm what exactly the off shoot of Nature was. He used his echo to the max and tried to locate anyone that felt more powerful than others. If anyone had an advanced affinity he should be able to feel it. He searched hard but outside of finding people boosted by basic affinity he couldn¡¯t locate anyone with a higher graded element. ¡°Do you know how it happened? Why did linking to you unlock peoples affinity? It cant just be mana, right?¡± Eric looked very interested in hearing the answer, as did Yarila. But what could he say? When people took mana from him they also took a small part of his affinities, probably the one most aligned to them? Nope that wouldn¡¯t work, he would be asked how people got earth and water and nature.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°I think it is my weird class.¡± Blame the class, that¡¯s all he had. It was an elemental class anyway so maybe he could pass off this explanation. ¡°Elemental blade slinger, it works with all the elements. So maybe, when people took mana from me, even though I said not to, maybe my mana did something as it is tied to my class. Even my profession is elemental based too. Maybe the creation aspect mixed with the element aspect and mana helped people unlock affinity they were close too?¡± ¡°Right, that makes sense. If people only had fire air or even lightning than it would probably be because of the affinity you have. But I have earth, people also have some kind of nature affinity and people even spoke about water too. So that rules out your affinity being involved, right?¡± The look Eric gave him said a lot more than his words did. Not for a moment did he believe that it wasn¡¯t tied to his affinity, but for his sake, vocally anyway, he was going to agree with the explanation. ¡°We probably don¡¯t even need to mention you in an explanation, the link did weird things to everyone, maybe being connected to so many people unlocked something inside those lucky enough. Its very possible, no one has any idea what that linking was anyway, not even you.¡± ¡°I agree. All of this is very unknown, I think that it was all luck that there was an effect on us from the linking, its not like you can steal affinity from someone else so that rules out Shaun being involved in this affinity aspect.¡± Although Yarila was agreeing with what he and Eric said, the look on her face said she didn¡¯t believe a word of it. ¡°Great, now that we all agree, you should tell everyone that it had nothing to do with me and only a result of some weird effect of linking to everyone.¡± Both of them left and did as he asked. He didn¡¯t rejoin the group though, instead he stayed by himself a while and just reflected on everything that had happened in such a short amount of time. He was happy that people were getting affinity, he just wished that it didn¡¯t involve him. ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡± He had felt Eli tracking him down for a while so he wasn¡¯t shocked when he spoke from behind him. He gave a nod and Eli came to stand next to him as he stared up at the now dark sky. ¡°Do you think enjoy killing?¡± The question threw him, he had expected a lot of other questions but asking him if he enjoyed killing was not even close to what he imagined. It was also a rather complex question. During that last fight he didn¡¯t enjoy it at all, he loved a challenge and he enjoyed improving himself but he didn¡¯t actually enjoy killing people. ¡°Eli, I like to fight, but I like a challenge more. Killing a monster that is stronger than me and puts up a fight is something I enjoy. Killing people? No, I don¡¯t enjoy that. I do it because I have to sometimes, or at least that¡¯s what I tell myself. But today? Fighting all those people? There was no joy in that.¡± Eli processed that for a while before he spoke again. He was being serious as well, not the fun and light-hearted boy he knew. ¡°I like fighting in dungeons. But I don¡¯t like fighting other people. Not just humans either, but any other race. I will protect myself if I have to but fighting in a war like this isn¡¯t for me.¡± ¡°Yeah, I understand that. Its not really for me either. The only reason we are doing this event is so that the war didn¡¯t occur back on earth where people would actually die. But if I had a choice I would have done a treasure hunt for an event, or even some kind of competition. If I could I would probably leave now, there is now way anyone is going to beat me in points anymore so its pretty much done. But I don¡¯t get a choice. You do though.¡± He gave Eli a small smile and put his hand on his shoulder and gave it the lightest squeeze. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be ashamed of me? Or my team? If we left?¡± Eli barely whispered the questions, scared of what his answer would be. ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t be ashamed. It takes strength to know when you are done and to be able to walk away. If you and your team want to leave, I say go for it.¡± ¡°We will think about it, but I think we will go.¡± Eli started to walk away before he stopped and turned back to him. His cheeky smile and laid-back attitude returning. ¡°Everyone wanted to say thanks as well, for helping them get an affinity. You can probably tell but I got a weird one, frost.¡± He knew he had a weird offshoot of water, but he didn¡¯t expect frost. It was still a basic affinity, a level down from ice, but knowing that he had a frost affinity made him want to scream. Now he had to worry about weaker offshoots of his advanced affinity getting out there. After Eli left he took a while to calm himself down. Still being so close to everyone put him on edge though so instead he decided to go for a fly through the night sky and perch up above. When he was truly alone he started to think about the next few months and a large part of him wanted to throw in the towel and leave Earth straight away, preferring to be around people like the Dragon and Elves where he wouldn¡¯t have to hide his secrets or pretend to be so obtuse every time he did something beyond what a human was capable of. The night passed quickly with him losing himself In his thoughts and plans. He made a decision quickly though. He wanted this event over as soon as possible, he was done with it. He couldn¡¯t leave yet though, as a leader he had to be here till the end. So he still had weeks of traveling and fighting with no real benefit or he could go out and finish it now. Book 3: Chapter 43 As the 24 hours of claiming the fortress passed he gathered as much information as he could. The first thing he did was check in with Viv and see what the situation was at the compound and if they knew where Jason was. The news as dire. The Pantheon had decimated everyone on their side outside of the people in the compound. Currently they were working on breaking through their own barrier, which, because they had put so much points into upgrading it was taking a long time. When he mentioned coming to join them ahead of the group Viv explained to him that he could use one of the two remaining teleports to come back to the compound immediately, which, upon hearing, cut out a lot of his travel time. He agreed to come back as soon as the fortress he was in was claimed, then he would split away from this group and come to wreck as much damage against the army at their door as he could. He was hoping that once Jason was dead he also could leave and the event would wind up. There was no certainty of that happening though. Worst case scenario he would just lock himself up in the compound until the timer runs out and just craft. There was still hours left of the claiming, even after everyone woke up and started moving around, fully rested form a night of celebrating after the fight. There was no need for any of them to stay here though and he planned to have the on their way as soon as possible. When he found Eric and Yarila after they woke he told them he was going back to the compound via teleport after this claiming was done and that they could all continue on to wherever they wished to go. There was some discussion around whether someone should join him but he shit it down quickly. There was no point in anyone joining him and leaving the rest of the group. Anyone that could join him in teleporting back to the compound was a leader of this group and if people saw them just leave them to go fight elsewhere it could cause an imbalance amongst the different races. They both agreed that they would move out as a group, leaving Shaun behind to finish off the claiming and then join the main battle. Eric did stay behind for a moment and explained that Eli and his entire team left the event, claiming that they were done with fighting other people. He had expected this and he was glad that they had done what was right for them. To say he was a bit envious was an understatement. He was forced into the leader position and now forced to stay. Still, he hoped there was only one more fight before he too could leave. He watched the entire group walk out of the compound, he stood on one of the buildings they passed so that they could see him as they left. There was no big speech or heart to heart with anyone. He simply gave them a dip of his head as they passed to mark his thanks. He watched as they all left and travelled out towards the central fortresses, now that he was alone he started to go back to things that had fallen on the way side over the last few months. Most importantly, he went back to his Dragon Core. It had been a long while since he took it out and a lot had changed since then. He was curious as to how those changes would effect his bonding of the core and whether it would even recognise him now that his race had changed. To his surprise, when he took out the core and placed it in front of him it acted very differently than it ever had before. Rather than slowly emit the essence it usually did, it immediately latched onto him and seemed to almost dance with joy. Curious, he let out his own aura for the first time since fully awakening his heritage and found it to be changed. It no longer had the feel it used to, now it practically vibrated in the air emitting a soft glow. The core joined him in pushing its presence into his and he felt as if there was so much to the core that he had never even seen before. There was more than just connection, there was feeling and history within the core. He still didn¡¯t know what a dragon¡±core¡¯was exactly but what he did get was that their was personality to it, one that seemed to recognise what he was instantly. The only thing he could confidently conclude was that the core was once part of a dragon, not something that was created by dragons. The core couldn¡¯t communicate in words but it could in feeling and, what he started to understand, also memory. He received flashed that passed him in the blink of an eye. He got sapphire scales and green tinged wings. He got the feeling of flying next to a loved one and even the joy of swimming?If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. It was all confusing and he didn¡¯t quite get it all but he did feel happiness and joy in being connected to him. He didn¡¯t think there was anything further to learn outside of forming this connection and being able to somewhat communicate. He didn¡¯t put the core away though, not wanting to take away the feeling from the core of being connected to him. He did though ponder on why the king had given him this. Why would the King of Dragons want him to learn how to connect to the memory of a dragon? He understood him wanting to feel closer to the dragons but he felt there was more than that. Potentially it was to actually prepare for him to bond with a dragon? When he thought about bonding a dragon the core vibrated even faster, going into a frenzy. Was it answering his question? Do you know why the king gave you to me? The core vibrated quicker. Was it just to learn more about dragons? The core slowed. Was it to learn how to bond with a dragon? Quicker vibrations. Did you know any Nephilim? Even quicker vibrations. Were you ever bonded to a Nephilim? As soon as he asked the questions the cores vibrations and manner went off the charts. He had figured out why he had the core, specifically why he had this core. After working that out he didn¡¯t really ask anymore questions, the core didn¡¯t really push him on anything either. Rather they both just enjoyed the feeling of being connected. He thought about taking out the cube that would help him train his affinity but decided that doing so could lead him to lose track of time or just stay at the fortress. When the timer finally did he sit zero and he claimed the fortress he apologised to the core and explained that he had to move again. It may have sounded like a weird thing to do but he knew that the core was once connected to a dragon that had a very close relationship with the Nephilim. By putting it away he was severing his own connection to it and he thought that apologising for taking that away was needed. When he was ready to get going again he activated the bracelet and looked through it till he got to the place where Viv said the teleportation choice was. He clicked on it immediately and as expected he got a confirmation screen. Two uses left for leadership to teleport to home compound. Do you wish to use one of these remaining uses? He accepted the use and in the blink of an eye he disappeared into darkness and a split second later found himself standing in a room in a building he had never been in before. He wasn¡¯t alone either. In the room was a decent group of people although only one of them he really knew. ¡°Viv.¡± That was all he said at seeing her again. It had been a while since they had seen each other face to face but they really didn¡¯t have much to say to each other since they were messaging every now and again with updates. ¡°You look healthy and human Shaun. To be honest I was expecting more¡­.¡± ¡°Wing?¡± In an instant he used his metamorphosis skill and grew his tail horns and brought out his wings. He spread them out behind them leaving a very impressionable view. ¡°¡­..yeah, that was more what I expected.¡± He transformed back into his human form after the show and tell, leaving everyone a stare at him like he had grown a second head¡­..or horns and tail and wings more likely. ¡°So, I want to wrap this up as quickly as possible. Point me to the enemy, preferably Jason, so we can get out of here and back to real life.¡± Viv walked with him out of the building, a number of the people that were inside of the room he appeared followed behind him as well. ¡°Do you have a plan for us?¡± Viv asked him without slowing down so he didn¡¯t mind the question. ¡°Nope. I go out, kill as many as I can, if not all of them, and you do what you want.¡± One of the people behind him started laughing at what he said. ¡°There are millions of people out there, hammering away at the barrier at all hours. And you are going to what? Go out and kill them all while we sit and watch¡± ¡°Well there you go, now I have a plan for you. Sit and watch.¡± After that no one said anything further to him. None of them had actually seen him fight though so he didn¡¯t think that they had any idea what they were going to be watching. When they finally got clear of the building and made their way along a road he stopped them. He would preferred to come out form the sky, not walk out. ¡°Bye for now.¡± Shifting back into his lightning form he flew into the sky, as high up as he could while still being able to get a good view of the layout of the compound and where most of the enemy army was. He was relieved that they hadn¡¯t completely surrounded the compound, instead having chosen to focus on just on area of the barrier where everyone was gathered and being rotated around. From his view he could see group after group of people being walked up, they would attack with everything they had and then get sent away, while the next group came up. The process repeated again and again. They weren¡¯t doing much, but a quick check of the barrier told him that if they continued like this for another few days they would get through. Too bad for them though, they didn¡¯t have a few days left. He was going to end it all right now. Book 3: Chapter 44 It didn¡¯t take Shaun long to get a good idea of how best to strike at the army right outside the compound. With them gathered so close and his own side not really doing much about it as they didn¡¯t have the people to make any impact in the war any longer, it wasn¡¯t an overly difficult job to use some large scale attacks to start clearing out the numbers. Rather than try and sneak up on them he flew straight out to the army, low enough that they could all see him approach and yet just far enough away that they wouldn¡¯t be able to do much of anything against him. Amplifying his voice with air he gave them one chance to escape from the event before dying. ¡°Leave the event now or die. You have 10 seconds to act before I start attacking.¡± His lightning form along with the cackling of power around him made an impact on the gathered army, his hope was that Jason would make an appearance and he would be able to cut straight to the end of this fight. Sadly, very few accepted his offer of escaping, what was worse was that even after the 10 seconds were up Jason made no appearance. Although this wasn¡¯t the desired outcome he still had no issue with killing off the army until he either ran out of mana or Jason appeared. Summoning all of his Zapian Eagles, he set them loose on the army, at the same time he started sending lightning and ire strikes at the army from above. He saw many of the people in the army attempt to put up barriers and shields to defend themselves from the attacks but with the amount of power he put into each strike, mixed with his eagles causing pandemonium throughout the ranks, there was nothing they could do to survive his attacks. He also didn¡¯t bother stopping, one after the other he rained hell down on the army, he was draining his mana quickly but he also didn¡¯t care. Even if Jason showed up and he had barely any mana left he truly doubted that he would be able to do any damage against him. It took no more than 5 minutes for him to have reduced the amount of people gathered at his compound by a third. Millions dead yet still plenty more to go. He had used most of his mana in the attack but he still had plenty of stamina left to use his swords. Swooping down from the air he hacked through the retreating force with little to no regard of his own safety. He was too quick for them to put up much of a fight and with his strength he was easily able to smash through their defences like they were wet paper. Thousands more died by his swords as his mana increased yet he got no joy from the fight, if it would even be called that. As the army continued to run he followed. He planned on chasing them to the very end or at least until Jason made his appearance. Between him and his eagles the number of people on The Pantheon¡¯s side dropped quickly, he ignored every notification he got as it was all much of the same. More points for killing people, points for killing a majority of the enemy¡¯s side, points for killing this person and that person. It was all just pointless at this point. Every time his mana got back up to over half he reverted to using his skills to wreck more destruction on the retreating force. The mages were the first to go, they didn¡¯t have the stamina to keep up and when they tried to attack him in force it just gave him an easier opportunity to kill them in bulk. He kept at it for hours, following them as they ran, yet still no sign of Jason. This entire thing had become ridiculously tedious and boring yet it also accomplished something that he hadn¡¯t expected. They all knew they didn¡¯t stand a chance and because of this they also left the event in droves rather than be hunted down and killed by him or his eagles. He was disappointed that Jason hadn¡¯t joined in the battle, he had no idea where this guy was but to let his entire army get decimated without at least joining in the attack was beyond disappointing. It wasn¡¯t until there was less than a quarter of his people left that he saw another, smaller army approach in the direction that the army he had been killing off had been running. When he saw the second army he cut off his attacks and waited for them all to join up. He needed to lure Jason out, and he hoped that giving him time to organise his people would do just that. The last time he spoke to Jason he got confirmation that he wouldn¡¯t attack him one on one, knowing he would lose. Little did he know that that even with all of the people he had gathered, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to win. ¡°If Jason is here, please can he come out already. This needs to end so we can get on with our lives. You have lost, so lets just finish this damn event.¡± He made his voice loud enough that everyone would be able to hear him and then he just sat on the ground and waited.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. He watched as the two armies merged into one and started to form some semblance of a proper fighting force. He didn¡¯t attack them at all during this time and just waited. It took over 10 minutes before he finally saw Jason step forward to the front of the gathered army and even from this distance he could tell the guy was pissed. Another guy took a step up just behind him and started waving a piece of clothing. It took him a minute to figure out what was happening but eventually he gathered that waving the white shirt was them waving the white flag. They wanted to talk. He waved them over but didn¡¯t make any motion to get off the ground. Jason came walking to him alone which he found somewhat amusing. He walked slow enough that it appeared he was calm but Shaun knew better. This conversation was not going to be like the last one where they exchanged questions and answers in a relaxed manner. It took 5 minutes for Jason to make his way to him at his slow pace and he tried not to let his irritation show. ¡°Do you have any idea what you have cost me? What the consequences of this will be?¡± Jason didn¡¯t join him on the ground. He stood above him and looked down at him. ¡°You lost, Viv will be world leader. The Pantheon will be pissed, probably do something stupid like start an actual war against The Empire that spans more than just our planet. Sound about right?¡± He had already deduced this based off what he had learnt about Earth being a nexus planet so it was easy enough to guess that they wouldn¡¯t roll over and just let The Empire have it without a fight. ¡°The¡­¡­ yeah. How did you know?¡± Jason now looked more confused than angry at how he knew. ¡°Not hard to figure out. Our planet is worth more than you know. I imagine that regardless of who won this event that a larger war would have broken out. The world leader thing just gives the winning side an advantage but it doesn¡¯t win the true war that will occur.¡± ¡°You know what makes our planet so special to them, don¡¯t you? You said you didn¡¯t before. You lied.¡± He was back to being angry now. ¡°I didn¡¯t lie, I honestly didn¡¯t know when we spoke last. Now I do. But that really doesn¡¯t matter. Can we just finish this event so we can get a move on with what actually matters outside of the event. Even if you manage to kill me, which you won¡¯t. And even if you personally killed every single person left on our side you still won¡¯t get enough points to make number one. Just give up. Tell all of your people to exit the event and I will kill you now and we can all get on with our lives.¡± ¡°You want me to just give up? Tell all my people to give up without a fight?¡± ¡°Yeah. Aren¡¯t you over this event already? Nothing will change, I will still be number one and you will be number two. We are just moving up the timeline of this finishing.¡± Jason thought about it for a minute, trying to find some way to come out winning. It also seemed like he had an idea if his slow smile was anything to go off. ¡°I will agree, but first you have to agree to something. If you think that you can defeat me and all of my people gathered than you have to assume you can take my strongest attack and live. Right?¡± He had no doubt that even the strongest of Jason¡¯s attacks wouldn¡¯t kill him anymore. He also got where Jason was going with this as well so he just cut to the chase. ¡°You can hit me with your strongest attack, you can prep as much as you want. If I can take it you have all of your people leave and I kill you. If I die you can do what you want with the remainder of the event.¡± The look of shock on Jason¡¯s face was worth it. He didn¡¯t know if it was because he agreed to it so quickly or that he was so confident that he would survive. Regardless, if it got this thing over with he didn¡¯t care. ¡°I also want to know what makes Earth so special. Then I will attack you with everything I have, you can¡¯t defend yourself. Then if you live I will give the order and concede the event. Do we have a deal?¡± Telling Jason everything about Earth being a Nexus planet wasn¡¯t in his plan, but he didn¡¯t have to explain everything, he just had to say why Earth was so special. ¡°Agreed. We have a deal.¡± ¡°So tell me, why is Earth so special?¡± Jason looked hungry for the information and he had to stop himself from smiling at the pure desire on his face. ¡°It¡¯s a Nexus planet. No attack me and let¡¯s get this over with.¡± ¡°Hold up, what the hell is a Nexus planet?¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t part of our deal, you wanted to know why Earth was special and now you do. The fact you don¡¯t know what a Nexus planet is, is not my problem. I fulfilled that part of the deal so unless you want to go back on it, which I will take as an end to our little truce which means I will just kill you now, you will hurry up and attack me.¡± Jason went from being annoyed to outright furious in a second. He started growing red in the face and looked like he was seconds away from losing his mind and doing something stupid. It took several long seconds for him to pull himself together and calm down enough to understand that if he didn¡¯t follow through on his part of the deal that he would have no chance at actually attacking him. ¡°Maybe not now, but at some point in the future, I will get stronger than you and when I do I will make it my mission in life to kill you.¡± Jason took out a spear and stood above him aiming it right at his own heart. ¡°I truly hate you for what you have done.¡± He didn¡¯t say anything back, didn¡¯t even move. He just waited as he felt the mana start to grow within Jason and decided to see what he could find out about the guys affinity and power. If he was being honest, the more he saw, the more intrigued he got. How interesting.