《From Player To Npc》


 Chapter 1: The Old Life

    Chapter 1: The Old Life


    In a massive hall with stone walls seemingly older than time itself, there were mountains of coins of different shapes and materials. Still, in its majority, there seem to be gold ones.


    There were great value items like paintings, statues, different gems and furniture, a few swords and shields that were bejeweled or had carvings, or painted symbols of different shapes and colors.


    Among this treasure sleeping while covered by the biggest of the mountain of coins was a giant red-scaled lizard. The hill had a 10-12 meter diameter, but it was barely covering this colossal creature. A pair of wings attached to its back was scarcely visible. Every coin around it had got reddened like a great heat was touching them but not significant enough to melt them.


    As this Dragon was sleeping, its slumber got disrupted by some noise. They came from the corridor across the waysounds of battle, sword shes, and voices speaking words in a mysteriousnguage and explosions following.


    A group of 3 people, two men, and one woman, were fighting creatures made of fire andva. They still had some distance to cover to reach the treasure hall.


    The woman was calling herself Light and was a person of magic dressed in white robes with golden and purple runes. She held a ck wooden staff with a red gem at its top. The carvings wouldn''t be noticeable were being lit up with reddish light every so often. Simultaneously, balls of fire got created just a few centimeters over the ruby. As the ball gotpleted and aiming towards the desired target and using a word, the fireball was heading with great speed towards it.


    Of course, she wasn''t aiming with her fireballs at the creatures as they were of the same element so that it wouldn''t affect them. She aimed for the floor under them. She was trying to unbnce them, so the rest of the party had time to deal with them more manageable.


    One of the male ones, the one named Dark, also dressed in white clothing and had simr runes to the female ones. On top of the clothes, he had leather armor created by a tough-looking and flexible material. Holding a de with each hand, a longsword with the right, and a shortsword with the left, he released swiftly one sh after the other. A rune on the des'' handles emitting dim light of blueish color with each swing.


    And as for thest person of the 3-people party, unlike his other two fellows, his equipment was wearing a full te metal armor and red color instead of white. No painted runes were on his armor, but there were some carved to his shoulder''s pieces and its chest piece.


    He was going by the name Ameanum, and on his left hand, he had a longsword of simr design as the other fellow and with his right hand held a shield.


    The shield''s design was of a typical rectangr design, being around 1.5 meters in height and a little less than 1-meter in width. It had simr-looking metal and color as the armor and looked as if it had added to the user''s look when both got equipped. The sword had simr runes as the other male''s des, emitting the same blueish light with each sessful sh.


    Even though the creatures'' magical nature seemed made of fire andva, their weapons were effective against them. Ameanum, with his shield, drew their attention in the majority to protect his twopanions. The tremendous heat these creatures produced did not affect his armor and shield.


    After a while, thest creature fell, and they started catching their breath before continuing towards the treasure.


    A roar sounded from the mountain of coins.


    The Dragon, who was unseen by the three people until that point, stood up and opened its mouth. A massive ball of fire, which was 20 times the size of Light''s, was heading toward the three of them.


    Surprised by this mighty creature''s unexpected appearance, Light and Dark froze in ce out of fear. Still, Ameanum, seemingly unaffected by it, got in front of them; fortunately, they were next to each other.


    He brought the shield in front of him and crouched. He tried to get himself covered with it as much as possible.


    As the ball of fire came close to an impact with the shield, he closed his eyes and prepared himself for it.


    "<strong>IRON WALL</strong> Activate." [Ameanum]


    And with those words, the shield of his light up for a second, and then the Dragon''s ball of fire came in impact with it, and the ball lost its shape as the fire got released outwards, producing an explosion.


    The fire would typically go past the shield from the space at its side, but it didn''t do it. It was like an invisible wall was there and not just a man holding a shield as the fire spread wide.


    After a few seconds, the fire disappeared.


    With no dy, Ameanum had started his charge towards the Dragon as he also, for a second, turned towards his other two fellow party members.


    "Are you going to stand there watching it, or you going to fight? "[Ameanum]


    The shout snapped them out of their sudden fear, and they started closing the distance with the Dragon.


    Light knew her fire magic would be useless against this Dragon. The tactic they used for the minions they just dealt with would also be ineffective against that colossal creature. All she could do was grant protection from the fire element as the scales of this Dragon produced heat which, now that it was awake, was bing higher and higher as time passed.


    Ameanum and Dark were closing the distance, one from the left and the other from the right. This made it a hard task for the Dragon to target both of them with a fireball.


    Instead, the Dragon just shook its body for the few coins still on it to fall and took just a few steps forward to be in front and entirely outside the mountain of treasures. Yet, even this creature wasn''t able to cover all of it.


    And so 2 two males almost simultaneously made it to the Dragon and started their shes. Ameanum, besides his equipment, seemed not tock much on speed and, with the small start, began his attack simultaneously with Dark.


    Hitting a huge target like this one wasn''t difficult, but each sh''s technique should be 100% plus power or couldn''t pass the scales'' natural hardness.


    They were also close enough to feel the creature''s heat being of great height and getting higher as time passed. Fortunately, Light''s fire protection made it easier to handle the heat, but it was only temporary.


    At first, it took them just a few seconds to find the right amount of bnce of technique and force to pass its defense, and fortunately, the Dragon seemed to stand there. But then it started its counterattack with a horizontal swing with its tail toward Ameanum.


    In any other case, he would try to deflect it with his shield, but against a creature of that size and strength, it was a suicide. The only thing he could do to avoid it to its best of his ability. So he fell prone to the floor but got barely hit by the tail on the way down. He rolled a few times, but he got his bnce back and started moving around as he barely noticed the vast mouth of the Dragon getting towards him, ready to devour him.


    At thest moment, he brought the shield in front of him.


    "<strong>RECHARGE</strong>... <strong>IRON WALL.</strong>" [Ameanum]


    Again an invisible wall seems to be produced like an extension of the shield, seemingly as wide as the Dragon''s mouth. After a second and as he got his bnce back to normal, he jumped to the left as the invisible extension seemed to vanish, letting the Dragon''s mouth close and biting just air.


    Instead of stopping right there, he continued moving across the body of the Dragon, making a few shes here and there and making his way behind him.


    After sniffing the air, the Dragon made another tail attack, but this time a vertical one. He was ready this time and rolled under the Dragon as had his sword hand extended to sh the beast as he quickly got up and crouched on the rest of the way. The creature''s moves were fast for a beast of its size but not too fast, and after a while, he could see the motive behind them. So he continued drawing its attention by avoiding one attack after the other and attacking with his sword a few times to keep its attention to him. Sometimes, avoiding the attacks wasn''t an option, so he tried to use his defensive abilities.


    Dark damage-wise was more effective cause the Dragon''s attention was mainly on Ameanum. So the two of them were making progress. Now it was just a race of who will go down first, the Dragon or Ameanum?!?


    After an hour, there was finally a result as the Dragon left itsst roar and fell to the ground. The temperature, which got high enough to give Ameanum and Dark burn marks, was getting cooler and getting back to normal.


    After making sure no enemy was getting ready to jump on them, they moved away from the source of heat. They brought out a vial containing a red liquid and started drinking it. Their burns and wounds began healing at a visible rate.


    They waited some time for the temperature to be of a standard value. Dark and Light started looking around the treasure. In contrast, Ameanum began getting out his armor parts, which seemed to be damaged the most, and got out a small hammer from his backpack. As he got the parts needing repair, he started mming them with the hammer with no unique technique. The cracks on the one he hit the hammer with seemed to be repaired somewhat and were getting shaped slowly back to their standard form. And so, having a smirk on his face, he continued mming the hammer to his armor and repairing it as after eight hits; the hammer turned into light and disappeared.


    "I need to level up my crafting abilities, or else I will spend all my money for the repair hammers I am using."[Ameanum]


    He muttered this to himself as he brought another hammer of the same design and look and continued his repairs. After 5 minutes, he had used six more of those hammers but had finished repairing all his armor parts and shield. He then felt a hand over his shoulder.


    And so he started turning, waiting to see his fellow members.


    "Found anythi..." [Ameanum]


    As he was ready to ask if the treasure piles contained anything useful, his phrase got stopped as he got stabbed right in the middle of his forehead by a ck dagger. Usually, an attack like this one wouldn''t be much for him since this isn''t the actual world but a <em>VRMMO</em> game called <em>ENERIAS TOWER</em>. Even if it were a sneak attack by a high-level rogue, it wouldn''t kill him right away. But this was different. Ameanum froze in ce, having a simr feeling like when stunned by skill.


    There was normally a countdown for how much time he would remain stunned in these cases, but nothing was avable on the game''s UI. Also, he started feeling pain.


    One could only y the game through a V-Capsule. The user could fully rest in it, like in a bed, and use it in many functions, and that mostmon one was to y VR games like ENERIAS TOWER. The Capsule was keeping the vitals of the users, making sure they stayed at average values. It could also read the user''s brainwaves, which enabled the user to control his in-game character without using a controller. The controller was the brain of the user.


    The user, instead of intense pain, was feeling small pinches. You could lose a hand in the game and be like nothing.


    But the pain Ameanum was feeling now wasn''t like it. It was 100% genuine pain, and it was getting more and more intense as time passed, and his body got frozen in ce as he couldn''t even let out a scream. And all he could see was Dark smiling towards him while still holding the dagger.


    "I want you to know, it isn''t personal; just pure business."[Dark]


    And then he turned the dagger, releasing a fresh wave of pain to Ameanum and one Red-Lettered System window after the other being appearing one after the other. His heart rate was getting at dangerously low levels. Typically, in this case, the system would automatically call the emergency numbers assigned to it and log out the user. Still, a warning of the system''s failure to do these actions appeared one after the other. Shocks of electricity he felt across his body were one of Capsule''s tools to use in these cases, but not so frequently or of such substantial power.


    And so Ameanum fell prone to the ground. Thest thing he saw was his surroundings going from the stone room he was to a white room, the Capsule''s lobby mode, and another Red Warning Mode Window.


    <strong> ACCOUNT FOR THE GAME OF TOWER OF ENERIAS GOT BANNED BY THE SYSTEM FOR VIOLATION OF THE TERMS OF THE GAME. YOU CAN CONTACT...</strong>


    Before he could finish reading the rest of his warning, another shock of electricity hit him harder than before. He felt releasing all the air he had in his lungs.

 Chapter 2: The Old Life (2)

    Chapter 2: The Old Life (2)


    Everything turned dark. Ameanum didn''t know even if he was alive as he couldn''t feel anything but only him moving. It wasn''t a feeling he had with his body or any of his normal senses, but just a feeling he had but couldn''t describe. And the time passed as seconds became minutes, and minutes became hours, and so on.


    As time passed, he started thinking over everything that happened and lead him to this point. He wasn''t an average child when young since they considered him a tranquil one. So quiet that his parents forgetting him at ces was a typical asion. Everything he started working on, even if he didn''t get to be an expert, was losing interest after a few days, and for some even after a few hours.


    Until then, even if everybody else considered him not normal, he wasn''t paying attention. His parents, after they had another child, seemed to not pay attention to him even more. Still, he didn''t care anyway as they were at least covering his living expenses. And then he came across a VR headset. The VR technology was around for a few years, but the VR headset he tested was at a different level.


    Before, every other headset was just a camera you could move around. This one was using your brainwaves to move your character around. Even if the system wasn''t perfect then, it drew his attention more than anything else he had started. He bought one device, but he also started his research on it and the possibilities. Even if he wasn''t an expert engineer or programmer, his writing ideas at few forums drew the headset''s creators'' attention. He got offered a job working in the marketing and testing department. And for the first time, he found something exciting to focus upon.


    He helped design the headset''s designing functions andter of the capsule to help frequently. The user could use it to see all files and documents in a 3d environment, copy them, and organize them with great freedom. For more casual users like students, they could use it for their homework as also the mostmon use was for gaming. ENERIAS TOWER was not the first game released in the VR environment. But was the one with the most significant impact in the gamingmunity and the work Ameanum was most proud of. Even if he was primarily working in the testing department, he had many ideas that helped in its development.


    So when it got released, even the quests he had tried had changed on the released product, but he was more than happy to y it, and finally found what he was looking for all those years. The VR opened him the way to a world different from the one he considered as not normal. The NPCs were an essential factor. He wasn''t much with interacting with people in actual life, but in-game, maybe because of the quest system and the potential rewards, he was more open. Even if both in-game and in actual life had the name Ameanum, their personalities were opposite. And the biggest thing that piqued his interest was the main quest of the game, the Tower.


    The main quest of everyone in the game was reaching the top floor of this Tower. However, each floor was different in the way to progress it. Fighting monsters, solving puzzles, encountering traps, or even diplomacy with a few NPCs or fighting and other types of events.


    The fighting with the Dragon was one such event and thest one on the 94th floor of the Tower. Although it wasn''t known what the top floor was, some assumed that 95 or 100 would be the top. Some were considering not existing on a top floor.


    As he was considering and remembering more things like that, a light appeared some distance from him. Still, if it was moving closer to him or he was moving closer to it, he couldn''t tell. And as he got at the light, he felt his heart beating once more, his lungs full of air and his eyes being heavy and impossible to open like he hasn''t slept for weeks.


    Other than that, he didn''t feel tired, although he noticed that his body was impossible to move. Not like something kept him in ce, but like he couldn''t master the power to move even a muscle.


    And so for the time, all he could do is wait and gather the energy he needed and started using his other senses in his surroundings. Maybe because he was in aa kind of state and his sight wasn''t avable for the moment, his other senses improved a little, so he learned a few things.


    He was lying on a bed, but the mattress wasn''t his own, either in-game or real life. It was too firm, like barely have any mattress and almost feel the bed''s wooden nks under it.


    Also, the smells he was getting by the room were of an unknown environment. Most smells were familiar, but theirbination wasn''t of any ce he would usually be.


    ''This isn''t a hospital.'' [Ameanum]


    He kept thinking about where he could be, and then he noticed something. He remembered that he got banned by the system, so he shouldn''t have ess to it, but he could feel him using it but only barely. He thought they might put him into a capsule to keep him alive if the electric shocks put him in such a terrible state as he was considering. Still, the feeling he had was like being in the game, not just being in the capsule. He has spent a lot of time in the game and the capsule''s lobby and could tell that they felt somewhat simr and different.


    And after a while, he heard some footsteps. He then felt someone pulling his body up and taking out whatever clothes he was wearing and felt a wet towel or simr across his body. As his little bath finished, he felt getting dressed again and then heard an unknown female voice.


    "All will go well, little brother. I know you will be awake soon, so I will keep your body clean and healthy."[Young female]

 Chapter 3: The New Life

    Chapter 3: The New Life


    ''<em>Little brother?!?</em>'' [Ameanum]


    Ameanum had a little brother, not a sister, and he didn''t have any siblings in the game.


    ''If only could see my status maybe i....'' [Ameanum]


    As he thought of it, a white window, same as the ones in the game, appeared in front of him. Even if he was currently with eyes closed and everything was dark; this window was clear as day to see.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Half-Human Half ????


    <strong>HP</strong>: 5/5


    <strong>SP</strong>: 2/2


    <strong>STR</strong>: 1


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 1


    <strong>END</strong>: 1


    <strong>INT</strong>: 10


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 2


    <strong>CONDITIONS</strong>: Incapacitated


    ================================


    ''<em>What the heck?!?</em>'' [Shingi]


    Everything in the status was not making sense. The <strong>NAME</strong> wasn''t either of his character or his actual name, and it set his CLASS to none. His stat''s values were less than even when he started the game. Even a level 0 NPC would have most of his stats at 8-10 value, but all except <strong>INT</strong> were lower than that. Also, he encountered no one having a <strong>CHA</strong> stat in all the years he yed the game. <strong>STR</strong> (Strength), <strong>AGI</strong> (Agility), <strong>END</strong> (Endurance), and <strong>INT</strong> (Intelligence) were the main stats. They could never have ess to any other except those. Some hidden stats existed, but the system never mentioned them or showed their value.


    His <strong>RACE</strong> was strange. There were different races in the game, and there were Half-Elves or Half-Orcs, but that was a rare case. His one half being unknown to him or the system was something he had never heard of happening in the past.


    More strangely, his <strong>HP</strong> (Hit Points) and <strong>SP</strong> (Stamina Points) were too low even for his stats. Both increased by the <strong>END</strong> stat. Each point gave at least 10 <strong>HP</strong> and 5 <strong>SP</strong>.


    After a little time thinking of why his current situation was like that, Incapacitated active condition caught his attention. He focused on it to check if more information would show. As he thought about it, a new window of simr design as the other but little smaller and yellow color appeared in front of the status window.


    ================================


    <strong>CONDITION EFFECT (<em>INCAPACITATED</em>)</strong>


    <strong>Description</strong>: While under this effect, you have no ess to control your body, and you can''t use any Skills, Items, and Active Abilities. Passive abilities are still in effect, but some may have a lesser effect.


    <strong>Source</strong>: Curse (Never-ending Sleep)


    <strong>Duration</strong>: Until cured


    ================================


    ''<em>Never-ending Sleep?!? Why it has to be that?</em>'' [Shingi]


    <em>Never-ending Sleep</em> was something that yers could never learn. He hasn''t encountered or heard about any monster or even NPC that could use it, but he knew about it since there were quests that were mentioning it, as also there were a few quests you had to gather materials to make a cure for it. Even if the curse was a Basic Grade, its treatment was hard to make. Other than that, there was no other way to stop its effects. Some people said that it should be of Master Grade curse.


    Under the curse''s effects, one was in aa kind of state. The body affected by the curse was growing in slower than the average state but, after ten years, no matter what, the user would die if not cured.


    At that point, he heard more steps that were a little heavier than the previous ones of the ''sister'' of his. He could tell the cause of his heightened senses and experience of all those years in the game that two people just entered the room he was in. He could hear something else hitting the floor together with one of the two steps. That person was using a walking stick or something simr, so most likely an older person.


    As the two of them seemed to go, one at his left and one at his right side. He heard some lighter steps from a little distance away, probably from the girl from before. This time she stayed where he estimated the door of the room would be.


    And so, as the two people''s steps stopped, he started hearing some wordsing from the person at his left. From the voice, he could understand that it was an olddy. The words she was saying were of the Edhergo''s Kingdom''s ancient dialect, the North Kingdom of Enerias. This dialect wasmon among the magic users.


    ''<em>She seems to say some prayer to Mother Nature</em>'' [Shingi]


    Even if he wasn''t a magic-user, he had studied the game''s story and the mechanics of mages in the degree to be considered a high-level mage. At least in theory.


    He could understand enough to get the general structure of the spell she was casting. It was a ritual that has a beneficial effect on the target.


    All he could think that it would be was the cure for his <em>Never-ending Sleep</em>, but he couldn''t be entirely sure.


    As time passed, after a few minutes, he felt a liquid of different tastes, some bitter, some sweet, administered to him by the person at his right. The person at the left started repeating the prayer again and again, which seemed to be of 4 phrases repeatedly and each time increasing her voice volume a little.


    Shingi could feel his body being slowly surrounded by an energy that made him feel warm andfortable.


    And so after a little less than 10 minutes, the voice stopped speaking, the energy started disappearing, and then a white System window appeared for Shingi.


    ================================


    Conditions for the <strong>MAIN QUEST: ROAD TO LIFE</strong> were fulfilled. Will you ept this quest?


    YES / NO


    ================================


    ''<em>MAIN QUEST?!? Am I this lucky this time?</em>'' [Ameanum]


    While ying the game, the yers could gain various quests, each having its rewards. Most of them were avable to all users. Some could be obtained at specific times per user or had a cooldown until it is avable again. But the rarest ones among them were the <strong>MAIN QUESTS</strong>. Those are quests that would appear at any point. Still, the reason was unknown. Once epted by one, it''s impossible for anyone else ever to receive it, even if the one failed toplete it. But the <strong>MAIN QUESTS</strong> difficulty was of a high degree, but the rewards were worthy of it. The few people who had to seed on one had all be a great power in the game, as they had brought significant changes in the game.


    Even knowing the dangers of this decision, he was never one to be a coward in the game, and without a second thought, he picked to ept the quest. Fortunately, just thinking themands were enough for the system to work.


    And so all the tiredness suddenly left his body, and his eyebrows weren''t as heavy anymore. And so he slowly opened his eyes. There was some natural lighting into the room by an open window nearby. His eyes, being closed all that time, had to take some time to adjust.


    "Little brother!" [Young-girl]


    As he was waiting for his sight to get more precise, he felt someone hugging out of nowhere. And then his view became clear enough to see his surroundings better. He was in a small bedroom and was resting on a two-person bed, but the mattress seemed to be parts of bedrolls more than an actual mattress. He noticed the girl who was hugging him and could tell that she was a teenager, maybe around 15. An older woman of a short statue kept herself up using a quarterstaff at his left side. At his right, there was a well-built man who looked to be around his thirties and could tell being of a low-ss civilian by his clothing alone.


    What caught his attention was a big mirror over a desk a little more at the left of the man at his right. The mirror had nothing weird, but what he found strange was his reflection in the mirror. It was the same look he had when he was a young teenager in real life. The only difference was his eyes, which from the ck color he had, they were instead dark red.


    And as time passed, the girl who seemed to cry a little didn''t seem to get to the end of the hug, making things a little awkward.


    "Annoue, that is enough. Your brother just woke up and needs some time to adjust. Prepare some food for him. He will need it. I will stay here with your father, and the three of us will join you soon." [Old Lady]


    And so, with some hesitation, the girl known as Annoue stopped hugging Shingi, cleared her tears, and hurried outside.


    After seeing her leaving, the Old Lady turned towards Shingi with a joyful smile.


    "Hello there, my name is a Greentea, and I am the Mayor of this small vige. I just helped you to wake after a long time. I am sure you have many questions; that is why I am here." [a]


    Speaking with Mayor, Shingi learned a few things as he could ask about what has happened while he was away, and she seemed to answer his question like reading an open book. Although there were limits to her knowledge, he could put a few things together himself.


    First, he was in the game''s world. His current body was under the effects of the <em>Never-ending Sleep</em> for the past nine years. His father came across an adventurer, who most likely was a yer that helped him to gather the materials for the cure. In return, his father, the local cksmith, gave him a craft of his at the adventurer. Fortunately, the mayor was a capable Alchemist who had developed in her research a ritual that would have a chance to cure the curse.


    Also, he learned that expeditions at the tower were umon events for thest ten years for the public without permission. The only people allowed to pass its entrance were people of the Dark Guild, and only they could permit others to enter.


    Shingi has encountered them in the past. The Dark Guild was a group of yers trying anything to profit over others, and most ways were involving hacking. Although their power in the <strong>ENERIAS TOWER</strong> game seemed to be very little, he knew these people over many other games. The system''s security was of another level than usual games, so hacking it was nearly impossible.


    ''<em>Could it be that Light and Dark were part of them?</em>'' [Shingi]


    The way they killed him wasn''t following the system''s rules, so the Dark Guild being behind it sounded logical, but then why he couldn''t think the reason. But they stopped yers from entering the tower that only should have drawn the developers'' attention long ago. Still, if even they did nothing, that is something quite frightening.


    The worst piece of information that he learned was that his in-game character hadn''t appeared in thest ten years. His name was quite famous in the game, so his disappearance affected others, and many discussed it. Of course, that was because his reputation was over the charge in most towns in Edhergos so that most NPC would have heard about him.


    ''<em>Ten years in the game means two years have passed in real life. What happened to my body in that time?</em>'' [Shingi]


    He was aware of the capsule''s capabilities; after the shocks, he felt sure that his heart stopped. Before he learned of being gone for two years, he thought maybe people found him on time and got him to a hospital, but he was confident that nothing could hold him for that long. He even thought themand to the system to see if he can log out, but there was no answer in thatmand. He still had ess to his status window. Now that he woke up, other than that the Incapacitated Condition got removed, nothing changed.


    ''<em>So I somehow got trapped into the game?!?</em>'' [Shingi]


    It seemed to be the case, but he remembered that he got banned by the game. However, it should be impossible since his ount was of high ess, a little under a moderator. Even a ban of a serious matter that would be permanent for others would be temporary for him to some degree.


    ''<em>Now that I think about that, the worst my ount could get other than a permanent ban in the game would be up to two years. So could it be I have been trapped two years ago but didn''t have ess to the system until today?</em>'' [Shingi]


    Thinking like that made sense, but why he was now controlling an NPC''s son was unknown. But he didn''t care about it. He had a fresh start and something important to look over.


    His <strong>MAIN QUEST</strong>.


    And so he gave themand for his quest window to open, and he opened the info window of his <strong>MAIN QUEST</strong>.


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST - ROAD TO LIFE</strong>


    <strong>Task 1</strong>: Earn an NPC ss


    ???


    ???


    .


    .


    .


    .


    ======================================================


    The quest had a long list of tasks, but only the first one was avable to see what it was.


    Every yer started with a ss, and it wasn''t rare for NPCs to have a ss, although there were NPCs with no ss but no yers with no ss. And that was the case cause for both to earn their ss; they needed a tutor. Still, in the yer''s case, the system was doing most of the work, at least for the first ss of the yers, making it a matter of minutes or at worse few hours for one to earn his ss. Meanwhile, that wasn''t the case for NPCs. If the System did not design an NPC with a ss, earning one wasn''t easy.


    A few yers who desired NPC bodyguards were helping some NPCs with the potential to earn suitable sses for their needs. Still, all of them needed many resources and time of weeks or even months. And that to learn the basics of their sses, further development needed more resources and time. It was close, as it would be to train one in actual life. Hence, few yers preferred it cause as they didn''t seem to be much stronger than other yers. Most times seemed to be weaker unless they had crazy potential, and that was a rare case.


    ''<em>So I guess I am considered an NPC now. I guess this will make things more interesting.</em>'' [Shingi]


    A me of excitement was burning in him. He felt a little bored over the gametely cause of the limits of his character. He was a Warrior-type character so that he couldn''t use any magic other than the ones being part of Artifact or trinkets. They didn''t seem that fun or had to be saved from being used in case of emergency. That is why he spent that much time in the towertely to find these emergencies.


    ''<em>This time, I am going to follow the road of Magic and be a figure stronger and more amazing than before.</em>'' [Shingi]


    With his stats having INT being the highest, it was more suitable for him to be a Mage. Still, his stats were so low that even an apprentice Mage would destroy him even without using magic. But as he thought of that, he remembered something, and he reopened his status window and looked over it once more.


    ''<em>My level isn''t there.</em>''


    Typically, yers had a level. Even when beginning the game and had no ss, you started at Level 0. But NPCs don''t have levels if no ss. Some said that they don''t have a limit of growth either that''s why a few people started training them but seeing the slow rate of growth of them, they thought that even if it was the case; it wasn''t worth the costs.


    After he stopped gathering the information he needed, he started heading over to where his sister went., his father got him there, as his body was weak. So weak that he couldn''t even walk by himself. Even if he looked to be a young teenager, his power was close to a newborn, maybe even weaker. But he could tell that this won''t stay like that.


    For now, even eating by himself was impossible. Fortunately, he could muster enough power at his mouth to eat but still needed some help to cut the food, which Annoue seemed to be more than happy to help. She even tried to feed him like a baby and a young mother, which made things even more awkward for Shingi. After seeing Shingi sitting at the table, a left, saying her goodbyes as it seemed she had other businesses to take care of.


    And so the first day of Shingi''s new life begun.

 Chapter 4: Mental Training

    Chapter 4: Mental Training


    With the help of his new sister, Shingi had finally finished his lunch, which was a very bizarre one. Firstly he was fed by someone, which hasn''t happened ever again. Even when he was a baby, his parents never treated him like that. Also, the food had a good taste. It wasn''t the tastiest he ever had as there were limits in the food in-game tastes. Most had almost no taste, and only high quality and expensive ones had a taste. But now, he was tasting something that tastes close to what he would be in real life, although it wasn''t one of the expensive high-quality foods.


    After finishing, he was brought back to his bed; this time, his sister was the one who got him there.


    He noticed that Annoue ''princess carried'' him, which was another awkward moment of the day, without any effort. His body was small and probably didn''t have a lot of weight, but it was an impressive feat for a young girl like that.


    After he was back to his bed, Annoue sat at the chair on the desk that the mirror he had noticed before was and started brushing her hair.


    Even though he wasn''t left alone as he hoped, Shingi started his n. First of all, he had to see what his current situation was with his new body.


    He couldn''t do any physical training for now, so his only option was a mental one. He had decided to go the road of magic this time, so his mental power was a must.


    Magic users'' weapon was, of course, their spells, and to use spells, you had to fulfill some requirements.


    First of all, you have to use the correctponents. Spells have three types ofponents, and a spell can have anybination of those types.


    The firstponent is chanting some words. Depending on the spell''s Grade, the chant would be longer, so it would take more time, but there were ways to get around it. Chant or Arcane words weren''t always needed for the spell to be cast, but they were bringing the spell to its real power.


    The secondponent is moving your body, most times just your hands, and making certain gestures. Same as with the chant, the higher-graded spells having moreplicating motions, but here there were also some shortcuts in some cases.


    The thirdponent needed from some spells was specific materials, which would turn into energy that the spell required to power itself.


    No matter the spell, it always needed mana. Mana is referred to as the Mages'' stamina since if one depleted his; it was the same as losing all of his stamina. He would be tired enough that moving would be hard or even impossible and being in an Incapacitated-like condition.


    So the first thing he needed to do is to create his Mana Pool. But to do that, he needed to increase his INT stat. Even the worst magic practitioner had at least 12 INT, and as far as he understood, it was one of the requirements to unlock his Mana Pool.


    Even if he had passed that amount of INT in the past, he had never tried to unlock one; it was impossible since he was a Warrior back then. But even though he hasn''t experienced himself opening a Mana Pool, he has heard about it by other NPCs.


    yers don''t need to unlock their Mana Pool since they start with it by choosing to y as a Mage, so the system takes care of it and gives them a basic one to start with, but for the NPCs, that wasn''t the case. There are NPC guilds like the Adventurer guild, where yers and NPCs are recruited and sometimes trained depending on their potential. The majority of NPCs that aren''t ordinary people are part of at least a guild.


    As far as Shingi remembered depending on their potential as an NPC, the time needed to unlock their Mana Pool varied. A normal Potential one required a month, one with great potential two weeks, and the rare ones were a matter of hours.


    Even though he couldn''t see his potential, he had more knowledge than any of those beginners. He was part of the team that created the game, even if he was just a tester. He spent even days discussing this kind of information with the game NPCs to understand the mechanics from both views. So he should be considered at least like one with great potential.


    And so he started focusing his mind on that information and tried to picture the NPC magic practitioner, with whom he was mostly discussing this kind of stuff, exining him all.


    A ball of mist appeared and started getting shaped in a face in the middle of the room, hovering in the air. The mist seemed to be visible by Shingi only as there was no reaction from Annoue as the room wasn''t that big, not to notice something like a mist ball getting shaped at the middle of it. When the head finished taking a rough form of a head, two notification windows appeared in front of Shingi.


    ================================


    <strong>SKILL LEARNED</strong>


    The skill <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> has been unlocked at Low Rank.


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>INT</strong> increased by 1


    ================================


    ''<em>Ok, I didn''t think this would be that easy. I knew that <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> is one of the easiest and basic skills, but this was fast. Also, the INT reward was a pleasant surprise.</em>'' [Shingi]


    Since his new skill had a Rank Low, that meant his system worked the same as any NPC. If it worked the same as a yer, his Rank would be represented by a number as it would be more of a skill level than a Rank.


    Shingi knew that there are ways to raise your stats. He was aware of some of them but he didn''t think he would fulfill one so soon and most of all for <strong>INT</strong>, a stat he had the least amount of knowledge on how to increase other than the new unknown stat of CHA.


    But never the less this kind of surprise is more than weed since he needed his <strong>INT</strong> to increase either way.


    So after closing the notification windows, he went back, focusing on his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> floating head. Since this was only a visual illusion, he couldn''t make the head talk to say the information he needed, or most specifically, he couldn''t yet. His <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> was of Low Rank so that it could be only a visual thing. Still, as far as he was increasing his Rank and proficiency on it, he could change to make multiple objects simultaneously. Also, he could make sounds and be able to make others see and hear his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>. But that would need him to supply mana to the Illusion, which he currently couldn''t do. The current <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> was close to what would be considered a spell. Still, it didn''t need any mana as it was more like an illusion created by the imagination of Shingi than an actual spell-created Illusion.


    ''<em>Ok, it will take some time to increase the Rank of <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> to what we need, so let''s start grinding it.</em>'' [Shingi]


    Shingi focused once more on the head as it started expanding as the rest of the body started being created little by little. In the next half an hour or so, it took the form of a humanoid creature and, most specifically, of an Elf.


    Although the general shape was eptable to understand what it was, there were many details in the clothes and body far from the original. Something expected because of the Low Rank and proficiency of the <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>.


    As he finished the shaping and taking a break for a minute or so, he focused back and made the Elfnding on the floor and walking around the room.


    At first, its movements were many mechanics like of a broken robot. Sometimes he wasn''t even moving forward or hovering little in the air. Still, as time passed, its movements became more lifelike. Some correction on his general appearance started happening. So he continued for the next few hours until it was dinner time. Once more, he was at the table to eat with his sister''s help, who feeds him once more.


    This time only the two of them were at the table. Their father was nowhere to be seen. Although he was curious about it, Shingi didn''t ask as he wanted to end with his dinner to go back focusing on his training. Even while eating, he gave mentalmands on his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> Elf. Still, he was getting distracted by his sister, so he couldn''t entirely focus on his training at dinner time.


    But even if he couldn''t raise the Rank of his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>, he got some notifications from the system.


    ================================


    Restored 1 <strong>STR</strong>


    ================================


    ================================


    Restored 1 <strong>AGI</strong>


    ================================


    ================================


    Restored 1 <strong>END</strong>


    ================================


    He could feel his stats changing slowly even when he was taking breaks, but it was at such a slow rate that the system wasn''t even considered them as a full point until now. But there were two of his stats that he wasn''t feeling any change like that, and of course, that was his highest stat <strong>INT</strong> and the unknown stat <strong>CHA</strong>.


    He has passed many years in the VR headsets, andter in the capsule, he got his senses to notice the slightest change on his avatar, which was a great way of finding possible bugs, so feeling those subtle changes on his stats were clear as day to him.


    After the system gave him those points, he could feel those three stats continued increasing but at a slightly slower rate now. But this didn''t discourage him since he couldn''t do something about it now. He continued his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> training up as he was brought back to his bed. When he was ready to take a break to clear his mind, he got another increase to his <strong>INT</strong>, bringing him to the number he needed of 12 <strong>INT</strong>.


    He was surprised when he got 1 point on <strong>INT</strong> by learning <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>. Getting one for training on it was also unexpected.


    ''Could it because of my currently low stats, so requirements to increase them are way low?'' [Shingi]


    He knew that any training methods weren''t able to be used more than once and required the stat you trained on to be on a specific range.


    An example would be lifting stones, or small boulders would increase its <strong>STR</strong> of someone with low <strong>STR</strong>, but someone who has a high <strong>STR</strong> would be a waste of time. Some are other requirements, like being exclusive to a specific ss and useless to others. That way, there were restrictions to make a max at all stats, but there were ways to pass them, but not everyone had the resources, time, or even talent to pass that.


    Even Shingi, with all his knowledge of the game, couldn''t max all his stats, but he never put his hard on it as he would have to take some unnecessary risks.


    He put all that at the back of his mind as he reached one of his goals to finish the first step for increasing his power.


    Now that he has 12 <strong>INT</strong>, he had fulfilled the minimum requirement to unlock his Mana Pool.


    Of course, that was easier said than done. As his Mana Pool wasn''t something that he didn''t have ess to and had to open the way, so much as he had to create it.


    There are different types of mana, depending on their source. Some spells can be used only by specific types of mana or, more specifically, certain Elements of mana.


    Creating a Mana Pool, he would store mana that leads and also starting producing some.


    Even if one could typically have only one Mana Pool, that didn''t mean that he couldn''t change the one he started with but once changed, then changing again would be even more challenging. Each time one decided to change his Mana Pool was dangerous; it could lead to death, a light punishment of failure.


    One of the worst punishments for failing to change a Mana Pool that Shingi was aware of was opening a portal for a High-Level Demon Lord. This lead to the destruction of a few viges and towns. Of course, that was something rare to happen. It only urred to that yer because he tried to get a Blood Mana pool using Dragon blood. This action would lead to creating the top of the top Mana Pool. Still, not even high Grand Masters Arcane users NPCs would consider themselves capable of controlling a Mana Pool like that.


    But in his current state, Shingi didn''t have ess to something that crazy. He wouldn''t even consider trying something like that as he was aware of his limits somewhat. So while thinking of mana''s possible sources, he could have ess to a voice was heard.


    "Look, little bro. It is full moon today" [Annoue]


    As he turned his head toward his sister, who had opened the only window of the room, he could see in the sky the moon clear and bright at its full glory.


    At that point, a smile appeared on his face as he kept looking outside the window.


    ''<em>Ohdy luck, you haven''t forgotten me</em>'' [Shingi]

 Chapter 5: Preparing the Fountation

    Chapter 5: Preparing the Fountation


    The creation of a Mana Pools needs a source that contains part of the mana of some entity. The mostmon use was using herbs to restore mana and was the easiest to be controlled to create a Mana Pool as their mana was meant to be one with the least resistance.


    Other sources would be the blood of creatures, as their mana would be more potent in their blood.


    One example would be Dragons. As different kinds have different benefits and difficulties to use. The blood from a red one would be easier to be used since they aren''t much on the use of magic. In contrast, the Blue Ones, famous for tinkering with Magic, would be harder for their blood to be used. Of course, since the blood''s power came from a being of immense power, it would be a formidable challenge in both cases.


    Lastly, of course, there are more Natural, or for some, Divine sources. There are multiple gods, one for pretty much everything, and some share their power through something representing them.


    Some say that every fire of great forges has the power of the God Of Crafting, for example, and some of them were having the ability to produce items considered divine. But this kind of power was hard-earned but easily taken away if you were considered losing your way or wasting the power the God or Goddess who gave it could take it back.


    And now Shingi was ready to encounter something like that.


    The moon was a typical full moon, but Shingi noticed a detail that few would pay attention to. There was a very slight blue sheen to the moon.


    ''<em>So we are at that ce, and the festival seems to get close.</em>''[Shingi]


    The ce he was talking about was called Carda, and it was more like a rtivelyrge vige. Even if did have one of the King''s castles, the castle belonged to the previous King. The current one, who was his son, had moved to another one a little time after bing the King.


    Carda wasn''t a famous ce for yers cause it was far from the tower and was surrounded by low-level monsters, and was far from any of the beginner''s towns. It had an open market that yers could use to make a temporary store, but since it wasn''t such a busy ce, not many decided to use it.


    But one of the stories of Carda that made it different than other ces was an event that happened every 20 years. And that was the blue moon festival.


    The blue moon festival was an event unique to Carda. Still, it wasn''t an event that yers were crazy waiting for because they weren''t taking any benefit out of it. During the festival, whichsted for three days, the moon, as long as you were in Carda or its forest area around it, would be blue. There were rumors that it had something to do with the Moon Goddess giving her blessing to thend. Still, there was no quest for it, nor was any benefit given to any yerst time the festival happened.


    The event has happened a few times for people to be able to be sure that this was most likely just a lore thing and not having an actual blessing that they could use.


    But Shingi knew that the case wasn''t entirely like that. Indeed, this event wasn''t actually to help the yers by giving them new tools or powers. It was a way to show Gods'' interaction with the world, but the way done could benefit Shingi.


    The Moon Goddess was putting her blessing to thend through the light that the moon was producing. That meant that the moon was containing part of her power or, more specifically, her mana. Still, it was in such a small amount that it was considered useless but not for Shingi.


    He could use even that small amount to at least finish his Mana Pool.


    The description given to him by Varan, the elven gentleman that he was focusing on creating with his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>, was to consider the Mana Pool as an inner tree and the fruits of its parts of the mana that he could use.


    So he could use some other source to prepare the ground for the ''tree'' to grow and finish the growth with the moon''s energy. That way, he would possibly create a special Mana Pool one with a Goddess''s power even if it was a small part of it, which hopefully would make things easy to handle. But even if that n didn''t seed, he could try something else. As long as the Mana Pool wasn''t past a point, changing the source was a possibility.


    ''<em>Seeing as the moon started getting slightly blue already, I probably have a day or two at most until the festival. That will be close.</em>'' [Shingi]


    Estimating by how fast his stats restored, he could move at two days or more barely.


    Even if creating a Mana Pool is also a mental kind of training and no movement would be needed in any other case, he wouldn''t have a problem. But since he needed to have ess to the moon''s blessed light, his body has to be in an open space for the light to reach him. And he probably has to be naked to absorb as much of the moonlight as possible, and asking his sister to help him do something like that was out of the question.


    Before that happens, he should have finished the Mana Pool''s foundations before the festival begins. He wasn''t sure if three nights would be enough to finish his special Mana Pool.


    But instead of focusing on the foundation, he did something else. He focused on restoring his body.


    After increasing his <strong>INT</strong> to 12, his mind was easier to notice changes in his body and start feeling the energy that seemed to be one restoring his stats.


    Even if he wasn''t sure what kind of energy it was or how it got there, he was confident that, at least for now, its existence was benefiting him, but it wasn''t enough. So he focused on that energy.


    In the beginning, it felt alien to him. Still, the more he was examining it, the more familiar he became with it but not be entirely sure what it was, but he found a way to help it.


    He tried a few experiments to see if he could interact with it. He found that it was something empowered by mana but not his since it was pretty much non-existent. It seemed that it already contained an amount of mana of which was empowering it and making it able to consume the negative energy that was weakening Shingi.


    ''<em>This should be created by the cure that they used on me. Probably that is what wakes me after it ate enough to restore my first points. But in the way it goes, it is way too slow, and it will only get slower as it is losing mana and can''t recharge itself. So I should help it at that."</em> [Shingi]


    If he found about it when he first woke up, he couldn''t do anything to make things faster. Still, since then, even if it wasn''t a very long time, just a few hours, a significant difference exists.


    His <strong>INT</strong> stat.


    Now that his <strong>INT</strong> stat was 12, he could create a Mana Pool cause his mind was only with that much <strong>INT</strong> able to manipte mana of external sources. Most people used it to create their Mana Pool, as casting a spell without one would be impossible. With that low <strong>INT</strong>, it wouldn''t be possible to control enough mana without storing it, even for the weakest spells. Storing mana at the body other than in a Mana Pool was close to poisoning yourself.


    Shingi wasn''t going to store the mana in himself but ''feed'' the strange energy with it. Of course, this could be dangerous for him if the energy doesn''t ''eat'' the mana or be too slow to do it, as this would possibly lead to poisoning Shingi. Still, he was willing to take the chance.


    And so, with a n in his mind, he made sure to understand how much mana had the energy lost as it most likely wouldn''t be able to pass that or the limit most likely wasn''t far away from that. It took two hours to understand its mana''s current consumption and make a quite good estimation of the limit.


    Of course, at that time, it waste at night, and his sister was sleeping next to him. Still, as a side effect of his curse, he didn''t need any sleep for now.


    So he started focusing on the mana in his surroundings and tried to attract it to him. Fortunately, he seemed to be close to a river, so water mana existed and some of the moonlight and few trees and flowers and emitted some mana that he could use for this. Of course, since there were multiple sources, he couldn''t use them to create the Mana Pool. But feeding his ''hungry helper'' was most likely fine unless it had a taste for specific mana. Still, Shingi didn''t think it would be the case as something of that low power would most likely not being picky.


    Mana traveled in his body, and as it arrived next to the strange energy as it was consumed right away.


    ''<em>That was faster than I thought it would be, but the benefit is lower than I thought.</em>''[Shingi]


    Even if it consumed the mana that got on it, the restored mana was way less than the one it consumed.


    But that wasn''t so bad for Shingi. He could use the practice of manipting mana, and since he had a fast eater and one hard to fill, he could be less careful of the quantity.


    And so he continued drawing mana on him and letting the strange energy progressing on restoring his body at a faster pace but not a crazy fast one.


    After an hour or so, Shingi estimated that his current progress was probably close to 5% faster than before. It would most likely go slower as time passes. That is because the mana around him wasn''t without an end. Mana wasn''t like the life of something, so consuming the mana of the nature around him wouldn''t kill it as the mana after some time would be restored. Still, the rate of something thatmon recharging its low mana was even lower. So had to find another source.


    As he kept using his mind to search his surroundings, he came across a source of mana not far from him. It was one sleeping right next to himhis big sister.


    But taking the mana from something not living like the river and a human being was a task as different as day and night. Various sources of mana had different amounts of resistance against creatures that try to take their mana. Still, in the case of what she was currently at, the opposition was close to nothing. But in the case of an actual being, the resistance could be many ways bigger and harder to pass.


    Of course, it isn''t something impossible to do, but different people had different resistances, either passive or active.


    ''<em>I doubt she would have more than a novice in the arcane arts, so it should be possible.</em>'' [Shingi]


    Suppose someone isn''t on guard not to let his or her mana being consumed by others. In that case, you have only to pass their passive resistance. Of course, the greater and purer and stronger Mana Pool someone has, the greater its resistance.


    Shingi was surprised that she had any mana, which meant that she had a mana pool since she didn''t show any signs of the Mana Poisoning, or at least he hasn''t noticed any. But she didn''t seem much of a practitioner of Arcane Arts, so the reason behind its existence should be something else, but Shingi decided to investigate itter.


    So he started focusing on the mana residing in Annoue. Firstly starting testing the ground putting a little focus on it, making sure that this wasn''t affecting his sister so that it may wake her up. He knew that it shouldn''t be the case unless he took all her mana, but since this was his first time doing something like that, he couldn''t stop himself from being careful.


    And with the little test he did, he could tell that the passive resistance of Annoue was greater than he thought. But not impossible to pass, so he only has to be careful.


    He was like a burr. He could break the door to open the way to make an easy entrance and exit and take as much as he could and run. He would draw attention or use a small window and take careful steps and slowly take portions of what he needs and keep repeating until he reached the goal or the limit of what he could take.


    Of course, he went with the second option as the target was supposed to be his sister, and he was quite selfish in either case, but at least that way wouldn''t disrupt her sleep.


    Of course, the first time took some time, as even if the resistance wasn''t too great, Shingi was still a beginner but at least a fast learner and adaptive one. And so, for the next 6 hours, he continued this until he noticed something new.


    The strange energy inside him was working faster than before. Its consumption of man was way less than it used to be, almost close to nothing.


    At that point, Shingi has restored his <strong>STR</strong>, <strong>AGI</strong>, and <strong>END</strong> to 5 and should be close to 6.


    Annoue didn''t seem to notice anything while sleeping and didn''t seem like anything strange was happening to her after that much mana been taken from her.


    At that point, Shingi decided that it was ok to go back, focusing on his Mana Pool''s foundation. He could now move, to at least take some steps closer to the window, sitting there and take a meditate sitting stance.


    He tried to focus on just the moonlight and the small amount of mana it contained to start the foundations of his Mana Pool.


    He focused in his mind on an empty field of uneven ground full of wild roots and stones. He then used the moon''s mana to start moving and rocks and roots away from a spot of thend he picked.


    Sometimes the mana took just the form of a hand and picked the stones or roots and threw them away. Other times it was taking the shape of tools like pickaxes or axes.


    Of course, that wasn''t necessary to do that way, but he wanted to see the uses of his newest skill that he unlocked while working on Annoue''s Mana.


    ================================


    <strong>SKILL LEARNED</strong>


    The skill <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> has been unlocked at Low Rank.


    ================================


    It seemed like his Skills were working like and he could upgrade them as any NPC would


    This was both good and bad information at the same time. Good because the NPC skill ranks and the yer''s skill level worked differently as a Rank of NPC skill was multiple levels of the same yer''s skill. Some NPC skills had benefits that yers didn''t have. But at the same time, increasing the Rank of an NPC skill was way more challenging than taking the number of levels a yer needed to be close to being considered of the same Rank. It was of a better quality was but to get it, the road was more challenging, but this was more than Shingi could ask since an easy way is boring.


    As far as the Ranks of a skill, they go as Low, Basic, Master, Grandmaster, Divine.


    The higher the Rank, the harder it to get to the next one. More requirements are needed, like having other skills to certain Ranks orpleting specific action and challenges. Getting a skill to Master Rank was the goal of most as anything more was considered impossible by most. Still, even Master Rank wasn''t easy to reach


    An easy way to consider a Craftsman having his skills at the Basic level would be the typical one with its store and making your standard weapons and possible simple enchantments. Though, the Master one wouldn''t now only create the weapons faster and at better quality but could also work in rarer materials and have ess to more advanced enchantments that any yer would fight for.


    But a Grand Master one is where it gets exciting because that is someone, even the NPC Kings, would fight for. A weapon created by a Grand Master was rumored to be strong enough for allowing a low-level adventure to kill a Dragon. That is why when a Grand Master would appear, he or she would disappear just as much as the Kingdoms. Men of power were getting crazy over either getting him or her at their side or destroy him or her otherwise.


    None else was rumored to have ever existed as far as Divine one other than the God Of Crafting. None has ever attempted to enve the god, or if someone has tried, most likely none have heard about him or her.


    So since now, his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> was at the low Rank, he had to be more familiar with its limits and try to pass them as that was the way to go from Low to Basic for most skills.


    Close to 3 hours passed that way as he had made quite good progress but got interrupted at that moment by a voice right next to his right ear.


    "Lil bro, what are you doing there?" [Annoue]


    After being surprised as he had forgotten entirely about her cause he was fully focused on his training, he turned towards her. After letting a smile, he spoke to her for the first time with his currently weak voice since his body was still getting restored.


    "Good.... morn- morning sis" [Shingi]

 Chapter 6: Spending time with sister

    Chapter 6: Spending time with sister


    He was still restoring his stats, but it was faster than when it started because of his night hard work. After using the mana of Annoue, it seemed to be more likable by the energy inside him as it was empowering it and increasing the pace quite a few times of any of the other types of mana. This was probably of the mana being more closely to the mana. It was usually empowering it as it was human-made.


    His current stats were restored to 8 and were enough for him to move around without help. He made his way over to the kitchen table with his sister next to him. She seemed upset for some reason.


    On his way there, he noticed another door that was slightly opened but not enough to look inside. When they passed from it, a slight smell was noticed by Shingi.


    That was the smell of booze.


    Also, he could hear some snoring, so he was sure that this was his father''s bedroom.


    His sister brought some bread, fruits, and milk as they started their first family breakfast.


    She was trying to feed him now and then, but Shingi didn''t seem to like getting through that experience again.


    Their father passed and took some of the breakfast with him and got ready to head out.


    "You seem to get on your feet faster than the Old Lady said. That is good cause we have lot''s of work in the future" [Father]


    After he left, Annoue sighed and continued her breakfast with her little brother.


    None of them seemed to want to talk as Annnoue wasn''t sure with what to begin. Shingi was more focused grinding his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> as the old elven gentleman, who now was more detailed both on his face and his arcane robes, was walking around the kitchen and doing movements with his arms and mouth as being part of a y.


    Still, no sound wasing from his movements or his mouth as all was pretty much an illusion of Shingi''s mind. He tried to use some mana around to surround this illusion and empower it, leading to bing close to how a spell would work as.


    ''<em>With my current <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>, it is almost enough to control the mana for something like that but not enough at the same time without a Mana Pool</em>.'' [Shingi]


    Even if he could control the mana and use it without storing it and making it his own, it was like a wild beast that would run when left free. His skill was enough to control it for some time, but not to control enough to create a spell as the moment he was leaving free some, it would return to where it came from.


    Of course, storing it and making it his own without a Mana Pool was out of the question, but the whole progress made him more and more familiar with what he should be expecting.


    "Brother, do you want toe with me to my secret hideout?"[Annoue]


    This snapped him out of his training. Most NPCs were rarely suggesting actions except if it was part of a quest. But now that he thought about it, that was mostly the case of NPCs interacting with yers. He wasn''t considered one by the System, so things should be different.


    With that thought in mind, this secret hideout wasn''t that interesting, but he had to go out of the house to look around to see a good ce for him to make his Mana Pool.


    "Sounds good"[Shingi]


    His serious face changed with a smile once again while looking at her.


    They finished their breakfast their started their way out.


    After getting out the house''s front door, Annoue stopped and told Shingi to wait for a moment as she started running around the house at its backside. After a bit of time, she returned with a small staff and gave it to Shingi.


    ''<em>Well, I can move around without it, but maybe would draw too much attention if I am too healthy that fast.</em>'' [Shingi]


    The two siblings started moving and started getting closer to a gate of a wooden wall around the whole vige. The wall didn''t seem to be too old, and Shingi was sure that none existedst time he was around, so it was created when he was missing, which brought on the surface some questions.


    If a ce needed a wall, this meant that it wasn''t that safe anymore. So either the monsters around became more dangerous, or a new threat appeared.


    ''<em>I should carefully learn about the reasons behind those changes. It isn''t umon for a change like that to be part of the game but things, but I can''t think why that big of a crowd.</em>''[Shingi]


    Looking around, he could see a dozen yers moving around the vige. Typically no yers were around here, but he kept noticing more and more as they moved towards the gate.


    Even if he wasn''t a yer and could see the UI indication of a yer that generally would see in town, the NPCs and yers had a significant difference, and that was what they were wearing.


    Most NPCs were merchants or farmers wearing simple clothes fitting their jobs, but the yers varied in their looks. Different armor, weapons, and colors separated them from each other as they had their style. Also, Shingi could feel an aura surrounding them that he wasn''t sure what it was about and couldn''t describe it. Still, even if the feeling seemed to be the same for each of them, there were differences between them.


    ================================


    <strong>SKILL LEARNED</strong>


    The skill <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> has been learned at Low Rank.


    ================================


    ''<em>Interesting, so this is the mana of theirs. No wonder I never noticed it with my old body since I never focused on any mana training. But I wonder why I get this only from yers.</em>'' [Shingi]


    After having that thought, he turned his gaze toward Annoue. He was certain that she had a mana pool his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> wasn''t receiving anything like the aura he got from the yers, but he could see her mana just seemed different from the yers.


    He kept his new Skill as active as long as he could to increase its proficiency. They soon reached the gate that was like a 20-minute walk from their house if they were going at a normal rate. Shingi both showed that he wasn''t fully able to walk without help. To gather possible information from his surroundings was getting slower, so they reached the gate in 30 minutes instead.


    He kept pondering on different things as they moved away from the gate, moving across the wall, making a right turn from the gate. It seems like their destination wasn''t out of the town, or they couldn''t freely exit as the gate was closed and guards were on it. But they weren''t military guards, but they seemed like some of the town people with simple leather armors and spears with no simrity in their equipment other than not being the best.


    ''<em>Well, at least the security isn''t too tight, which means things aren''t too bad yet.</em>''[Shingi]


    And so, after a few more mins of walking, Annoue stopped and started looking left and right. After making sure none was watching them, she walked towards some crates on the wall and started pushing one of them.


    Even if Shingi wasn''t sure how heavy that crate was, he was impressed how a child was having that kind of <strong>STR</strong>.


    And after she moved the crate, a small hole was visible at the of the wall. And so she crouched and made her way to the other side as made indications with her hand towards Shingi to follow.


    Being invested and curious about the situation out of the town, Shingi followed without a second thought.


    After getting out, Annoue moved the crate back to cover the hole as it had some empty spaces at its backside to be able to be moved.


    They moved through the forest but not too far as they got in front of a tree; a massive tree.


    Annoue used her hand and grappled part of the tree and moved it a little to the right as it seemed like there was a hole in the tree, and the wooden surface that looked the same as the tree was perfectly covering it.


    The inside of the tree was a little bigger than their room back at their house. In there, there was a corner full of leaves looking like a makeshift bed. There was also a little tree stump in the middle that seemed to be used as a table.


    He could see that most of the tree seemed to be hollow, but the tree''s remaining bark still had some depth, but even with that, there was enough space left for 2-3 adults to be in. But since both Shingi and Annoue were children, they were even morefortable and had more room.


    Other than these things, nothing else was around.


    The moment they got in, Annoue sat on the leaves pile and looked towards Shingi.


    "It is a cool ce, isn''t it, little Brother?" [Annoue]


    For a few seconds, he kept looking around, making sure that the ce was sturdy and wouldn''t fell over them. Still, it seemed like it was something created quite some time ago, so it should be able tost for some time.


    After nodding at her, he sat down in the same meditate stance he was at his house. He started continuing his foundation creations of his Mana Pool. Or so he wanted to do.


    "What you doing there? This is a weird stance to sleep." [Annoue]


    After hearing this question usually, Shingi would ignore it and continue his training, but he had a different idea.


    "I meditate. Make me strong."[Shingi]


    Since his body wasn''t still at full power, he couldn''t speak long sentences without stopping in the middle of it, so he tried to keep small sentences.


    Annoue seemed interested in what Shingi said, but before she could say something, he spoke again.


    "You want to be strong too?"[Shingi]


    Annoue got even more surprised by it, but then she stood up and rolled up the sleeves and showed her arms muscles.


    "I am strong already" [Annoue]


    She started doing poses to show her muscles, which seemed well built for one of her young age. Still, her actions seemed ridiculous, especially since she was doing this with a wide smile.


    ''She seems to have low <strong>INT</strong> but high <strong>STR</strong>. And somehow, she already has a Mana Pool. She should be perfect for that special ss.''


    All yers, when they started, had three choices of starting ss. Warrior, Rogue, or Mage. As they progressed and levered up, they could earn a new ss that would increase their power. Most sses were a better version of the main ones following specific paths. Still, some special sses werebinations of two or more simple sses.


    One of them was Arcane de, abination of Warrior and Mage. This ss had the Warrior''sbat abilities to fight with different weapons but mostly with swords but weren''t limited to them. It also could cast various enchantment spells, not as strong as full Enchanter Mage, but using them with his Warriorbat abilities was a dangerousbination. Some of this enchantment could also be used at allies, increasing theirbat capabilities too.


    Of course, each ss had requirements to learn them, and also, there were some particr triggers like quests or needing an NPC to tutor them.


    This sounds easy in theory but, in reality, was way difficult to do, especially for NPCs. Special sses needed stats at least on specific value and other factors, such as having a Mana Pool or Rank of Skills.


    Shingi remembered Arcane de''s requirement was high <strong>STR</strong> and having Mana Pool and Base Rank <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>. Some <strong>INT</strong> was a requirement, but that was the case to increase <strong>the MANA MANIPULATION</strong><strong>''s</strong> effect and create Mana Pool.


    Since Annoue already had great <strong>STR</strong> and a Mana Pool, they had to work on her <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>. Then they would be able to work on some of the Arcane de''s Skills.


    "Can get stronger. Use Magic and sword." [Shingi]


    "M..mm...magic?!?"[Annoue]


    She got frozen in ce, hearing thest sentence spoken from her little brother.


    She always heard stories about magic, andtely, some adventures came in town and saw some magic deployments here and there. Even if it wasn''t something too powerful in reality, she was fully amazed by it.


    And now she may be able to use magic herself?


    She snapped her out of her frozen state and run and sat in front of Shingi.


    "So what do I do?" [Annoue]


    And so, with a slight smile on his face tried to exin to his sister what mana was. Also, how to draw it on her, store it, and then release it. Since she had a Mana Pool, this was an excellent way to increase her skill''s rank. After trying it on, Shingi learned that she didn''t seem to have the Skill at Low Rank, but her Mana Pool seemed to be entirely constructed. This was a rare case since most were unlocking the skill while creating their Mana Pool.


    But that wasn''t always the case and was for a specific amount of people. Those that were born with a Mana Pool.


    But if she was, which made sense, why wasn''t the case for Shingi himself. Most time, people that were born with a Mana Pool were because of their race. As far as Shingi could tell, both of them were humans, but then he remembered something.


    His race was Half human and half something unknown.


    Could it be that his sister was full of that unknown race or took different benefits from it?


    But what could that be that unknown race? Most people who were abination of different races had something that made it easy to separate them from other races.


    The only thing that was weird for him was his eyes'' color, but for Annoue, as far as he could tell, other than having high <strong>STR</strong> and Mana Pool, she looked like an average human child.


    With all that in mind, he couldn''t think of any race that they could be part of to give them these benefits.


    This question joined the rest at the back of his mind to be answeredter when he knew more.


    After 2 hours of trying to help Annoue fully understand how the training she was supposed to do worked, he continued his own.


    His preparation was going quite well as he had cleared enough space for what he needed for his <em>Mana Tree</em> to grow. Now he needed to dig to make space for the seed that heter would create with the mana to get in. He had to use the special moonlight to create the seed, but he could prepare the hole for now.


    And so started imagining the mana he was manipting to take the shovel''s shape and started digging. Fortunately, since they were in the forest, there were more trees to take mana from, but even the tree they were into, for some reason, also seemed still to produce mana and quiet a bit.


    And so hours passed, and as he was mostly done with the hole, Shingi thought he was ready to call it a day. To be sure, he wanted to finish it with the special mana if the system considered this part as important for the Mana Pool''s quality. Different discussions were going over this, but experimenting on it wasn''t something easy as once one finished creating a Mana Pool, it was harder to create another one, as not everyone could create one, and also, you couldn''t say a Mana Pool''s quality until it is fully constructed.


    And so as he stood up, he checked his status as the inner energy that was fully restoring seemed to have finished its work and has been disappeared from his body now that it had nothing to do.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Half-Human Half ????


    <strong>HP</strong>: 50/50


    <strong>SP</strong>: 20/20


    <strong>STR</strong>: 10


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 10


    <strong>END</strong>: 10


    <strong>INT</strong>: 12


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 2


    ================================

 Chapter 7: Unexpected Progress

    Chapter 7: Unexpected Progress


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Half-Human Half ????


    <strong>HP</strong>: 50/50


    <strong>SP</strong>: 20/20


    <strong>STR</strong>: 10


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 10


    <strong>END</strong>: 10


    <strong>INT</strong>: 12


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 2


    ================================


    After checking his status window, he closed his eyes. He focused on his body to make sure that the curse''s energy waspletely removed from his body, and to his surprise, it really seemed that none of it has remained.


    ''<em>If the curse''s energy wasn''t the cause, then why are my HP and SP still that low with my current END?</em>'' [Shingi]


    He started thinking it over, but then he got snapped out of it as some notification windows appeared in front of him, one after the other.


    ================================


    <strong>PROFESSION LEARNED: MENTOR</strong>


    <strong>Description</strong>: By investing your time, you can assist others in increasing their growth and development by sharing your knowledge with them


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>PROFESSION UPGRADE</strong>


    Cause of the special circumstances of your body, the attention of ?????? was drawn to you, and decided to give her blessing and upgraded your <strong>MENTOR</strong> profession into <strong>SCHOLAR MASTER</strong>.


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>BLESSING EARNED: Blessing of ??????</strong>


    <strong>Passive</strong>: Requirements of items or skills for mental stats are decreased by 50%


    <strong>Active</strong>: 1/day, you can use the energy of the blessing to increase the INT of a creature you touch by the same amount as your INT for the next hour or if you stop touching the target. During the time this effect is active, the passive effect of the blessing is decreased to 25%


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST UPDATED: ROAD TO LIFE</strong>


    <strong>Task Completed</strong>: Earn a Profession


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST UPDATED: ROAD TO LIFE</strong>


    <strong>Task Completed</strong>: Earn a higher power''s BLESSING


    ================================


    ================================


    The system is deciding because the <strong>MAIN QUEST: ROAD TO LIFE''s</strong> tasks waspleted before bing avable special rewards.


    CALCULATING. . .


    REWARD DECIDED


    <strong>Reward</strong>: + 4 <strong>INT</strong> , +2 <strong>CHA</strong>


    ================================


    And as he finished reading all of these notifications, and before he gets his excitement out, he noticed that his sister was looking a little weird. Specifically, her stance was weird. She had lowered her head and seemed in a quiet, rxed state, unlike before when she was mediating, and her whole body seemed tense.


    And as he got closer to her, he understood what was really the reason behind this weirdness.


    Annoue has fallen asleep while still in her meditating stance.


    Or so he thought at first, but then Shingi used his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> and noticed the surrounding Mana still being manipted and entering and exiting her body. The speed was pretty slow ifparing it to the speed of Shingi''s maniption. Still, it was way faster than it was when Annoue started.


    ''<em>Could she be in a trance?</em>''[Shingi]


    Trance was asleep almost state during which its user was bing one of the environment and putting his or her whole concentration on a specific task. This is getting you to the perfect training mode as you know the environment enough to know if something possible harmful or another reason to go out of it happens but not enough to be distracted by the task in mind.


    This sounds easy to do, but most people were never able to get in this state, but now a child is in front of him.


    As he kept thinking of this new fact in front of him, Annoue opened her eyes and looked at her brother with a big smile on her face.


    "Brother, I did it. I moved the surrounding Light around. Am I not amazing?" [Annoue]


    Shingi sighed as Annoue kept calling mana as Light even after he kept exining it over and over again. Still, she kept referring to it as Light as it seemed to be bright for her, at least not bright on her eyes, but she could "see" it light when focusing on it. This was how the <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> skill of Annoue was working as the mana for her was like lights of different colors, while on Shingi''s <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, it was like colorful mist.


    Then Shingi put his hand over the head of Annoue as she was still sitting so he was easily being able to reach it and gave her a small pat on it as a sign of ''Good job.''


    "Let''s go home. We did well today." [Shingi]


    They got out of the tree as Annoue closed its entrance with the bark part, and they start making their way back to the wall, moved the box, entered into the town once more, and started their way back to their house.


    It waste in the afternoon, and most of the stores were closed or getting closed, so not a lot of people were around, especially no yers.


    But instead of going to the house, they seemed to take a different way as they stopped in front of a store. There was an anvil outside it, and there was a sign over the entrance of it that had a hammer and tongs making an X-like shape.


    This was clearly a cksmith shop, and then Shingi remembered that their father is supposed to be a local cksmith. And so they entered the shop and Shingi was surprised at what he saw.


    The ce looked almost abandoned as the dust was almost everywhere except in the desk that their father was behind. He was sitting on a chair behind it, currently sleeping as one could clearly hear his snoring when entering the shop.


    Shingi also noticed a few empty bottles here and there and a slight smell of booze in the air, but as they got closer to the desk, it was getting stronger. It seemed this shop was doing a different type of hammering than usual cksmith shops.


    "Dad, it is gettingte. You shoulde to get some dinner and rest." [Annoue]


    And after a few seconds of silence and no response, Annoue kept now shouting at her father to wake up ande home.


    "Ok ... ok, I heard you."[Father]


    And after grunting some more, he stood up and looked over his children.


    "Oh, you are standing up that soon without any help. Good, then you can start working tomorrow." [Father]


    "DAD. Brother woke up not too long ago. He needs to stay home more to get better." [Annoue]


    And so after he sighed, he said under his breath in a low voice something that none could hear.


    And so they started going back home, and in the surprise of Shingi, his Father wasn''t as hungovered as he presumed he would be as he was walking normally, just yawning a little here and then. But he could clearly smell the booze on his smell by standing next to him even if he was shorter than his father.


    They made it at their house that wasn''t too far from the shop and got in the kitchen where there was a big metal pot with a lid over it on the table. Annoue got some of the bowls they had, raised the lid, and scooped with the bowl some of the soup in it, and in the end, they had three bowls with soup.


    The three of them started having their dinner, but Shingi was curious where the food came from. He waspletely sure that there wasn''t anyone else at the house, and he doubts they had any servants.


    But then he noticed something on the lid. A symbol carved on it that he recognized as he saw it not too long ago. The symbol was one of the symbols used to represent Mother Nature. He remembered seeing the same symbol on mayor a''s clothes.


    The first one to finish his meal was the Father, and he gave his bowl to Annoue and asked for a second one, which she gave him. And so after a while, he finished his second too and stood up and started his way towards his room with a bottle at his arm that Shingi wasn''t sure where it appeared from.


    And so the two children finished their dinner and shared the remained soup,


    "Annoue.... where did this foode from?" [Shingi]


    "Well... the old mayordy is sending us food now and then in the past years after ...." [Annoue]


    And in the middle of her sentence, Annoue got quiet and lowered her face and continued speaking in a low voice for only Shingi sitting next to her to hear.


    "... after mom disappeared"[Annoue]


    Shingi was interested to learn more details of this disappearance. Still, he was aware that in this kind of case, approaches of learning information shouldn''t be that forward as it would lead to a decrease or reputation with the NPC.


    ''But I am an NPC now. Would the reputation system still work like that for me?'' [Shingi]


    Even thinking of it like that, he didn''t press on the matter. His ways of approaching NPCs to learn information over the years on the game worked quite well, so he decided to stick with them for now. So he decided to bring the questions when the situation seemed right slowly.


    And so he decided to change the subject.


    "So, how did your training go? What Rank did you get your <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>?" [Shingi]


    Hearing that, Annoue raised her head right away, and her usual happy one reced her sad face.


    "Hehe... my <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> is at Low rank, and my <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> is at Base Rank." [Annoue]


    Shingi wasn''t surprised hearing about <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>''s rank since it was pretty much the starting point, but why was her <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> that high that fast. He was still at Low Rank, but he shouldn''t be too far from ranking up.


    "I also got a title, hehe." [Annoue]


    Hearing that, Shingi froze up. Thesest two days kept getting one surprise after the other from the little girl. She had a Mana Pool; her <strong>STR</strong> was way high for someone at her age; she learned <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> and <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> after a few hours of training and got one of them at base rank. He was willing to ept them, but her earning a title was something that he was unwilling to believe.


    Titles were difficult to earn. Even if he learned one, it was a happy effect cause of his actions, which should be impossible for any other NPC child, but now that was disproved.


    "What is the title''s name?" [Shingi]


    He said and was ready to hear one of the special titles given to ancient heroes at that point.


    "First student. It is apparently making it easier for me to learn things from my Master." [Annoue]


    And hearing that, Shingi''s wide eyes went back to normal, and he left a sigh as he rxed his nerves.


    The title given to her wasn''t a full title but a sub-title. Sub-titles were working pretty much the same as titles. Still, the only difference was that they were rted to another title or another source like a skill or profession. Their creation was probably because of that source.


    ''<em>She should have earned it when I got my profession. This should make things faster, especially with my current upation and my blessing''s active effect.</em>'' [Shingi]


    Also, now that he thought about it, he earned his profession a little before Annoue finished her training, so it was probably triggered by her <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> reaching base rank since he was the one who exined everything to her.


    "Well, that is good; this should help you bing stronger faster." [Shingi]


    "Yeah, I will be the stronger Light user there is." [Annoue]


    Hearing that, Shingi let another sigh remembering who was really in front of him, which began considering a genius among geniuses.


    "Well, learning how to control ma... *sigh* Light is the first step. You also need to learn some Enchantments and some weapon skills, and then you can start really learn your ss. You won''t be a full ''Light'' user, but it will fit you better." [Shingi]


    "C ... ss?!?" [Annoue]


    The young girl was surprised to hear that and could see in her eyes that she was currently daydreaming.


    "*cough* well before that happens, we have ways to go, but first we have other things to do first." [Shingi]


    But it seemed like Annoue was too focused on her imagination and didn''t hear him or noticed him going back to their room. As he got there, he looked outside by slightly opening the room window and noticed something he was waiting for and brought a smile on his face.


    The moon was slightly more blue than yesterday, and he was sure that tomorrow was really the day.


    The first day of the Blue Moon Festival.

 Chapter 8: Spectator Mode

    Chapter 8: Spectator Mode


    Shingi went toy down to bed. He could continue training his skills and probably make them reach base rank through the night, but he decided it wasn''t wise.


    Even if he didn''t need sleep for now as a side effect of the <em>Never-ending Sleep</em>, he wasn''t getting tired physically or mentally. If he strained himself too much, it would affect his future progress, and that was something he wanted to avoid.


    He was aware of people who overworked themselves and increased their Skill Levels or Ranks fast enough initially. Still,ter the bottlenecks were harder than normal and impossible to pass. So even if he were going at a faster pace than a normal person, he would still be careful not to take any unnecessary risks that would bite him in the future.


    As he started thinking about his next moves, a notification window appeared.


    ================================


    <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> is <strong>ONLINE</strong>. Save file A06 is avable to be used.


    ================================


    After reading it once more today, Shingi was frozen in ce.


    He knew what spectator mode would normally mean for the game. Someone would connect a capsule-supported headset at the capsule and join the yer at the game. Still, the yer using the headset was somewhat limited in the controls and experience, so that was used either in demonstrating to a crowd since multiple headsets could be connected in one capsule or if someone needed help on something right away.


    Also, the save file code was his or, more specifically, his past yer character Ameanum.


    But this character should have been deleted 2 years ago as a ban like that would surely follow by deleting the character even if his ess was that high.


    Shingi was always quite curious about this kind of thing, and he didn''t waste any time.


    "Enable Spectator Mode" [Shingi]


    At that point, everything around him became dark. His body started bing lighter and lighter and then started getting heavier and heavier as it stopped and was heavier than his child NPC body but then noticed the feeling of falling and soon enough ofnding on the ground and something else. Or, more specifically, someone else.


    "<strong>WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING AT MY FRIEND THERE YOU PERVERT?!?</strong>" [Angry female voice]


    The voice wasing from behind him, and at the same time, Shingi barely felt the air hitting the back of his neck as if someone tried to grip him from there by was stopped.


    That was really the case; a fully ted armor girl behind Shingi tried to grip him, but an invisible force wasn''t letting her touching him.


    That force, of course, was the System itself. Anyone who logged in had a 30 second of being in a state of not be able to be harmed or touched by other yers, but that was only in case if they logged in in a safe zone. Since they seemed to be in the middle of a small town, this was a ce like that. And the no harm state was working against yers only. NPCs and Monsters would still be able to harm them.


    Shingi noticed that under him was a young girl, most likely not older than 15. He could see a name over her head, so he knew that she was a yer.


    And with that, he got himself up and away from the young girl and started checking himself and his status.


    He really was in his old yer character, but there were some great differences.


    Firstly his inventory was empty except for the set of clothing he was currently wearing.


    Secondly, even if all his stats and skills seemed to be there, his race was currently as Spectating Spirit.


    This was the race that anyone using Spectator Mode was having; it was considered as Spectator Mode was a supportive mechanic to be used and was disallowing the yer to use any racial features or skills or items that could be used by living beings making the Spectator Mode even more unwanted and unnecessary by many yers. But of course, being a spirit had its positives as you wouldn''t lose any experiences if you died.


    "<strong>HEY, YOU. STOP IGNORING US.</strong>" [Angry female voice]


    Shingi now noticed the source of the voice, who shouts at him both times. It was another young girl but seemed a little older than the girl hended on. This one was wearing a heavy ted armor covering her whole body and seemed too heavy for someone that young to be able to wear.


    The other girl was wearing simple ropes that any Mage yer was staring with.


    Ameanum could see their in-game names because of a special skill he had were Little Phoenix and Wild Tycoon. Of course, Little Phoenix was the young Mage, and Wild Tycoon was the Warrior one.


    Shingi could easily read the situation. The warrior girl was overprotective of the young girl and seemed to be the brute kind of girl who wouldn''t be afraid of fighting, especially in a game. From here equipment, he could understand that she wasn''t s beginner but not a very high level either. If he had to guess, she was probably around 10-13 level. As far as the girl, she seemed to be of the shy type as she was hiding behind her friend. And from her equipment was sure that she was a beginner that most likely just started ying and got the Mage ss.


    He sighed cause he knew he wasn''t at fault; the System was for deciding to spawn him there. Since he never wanted to get into an unnecessary fight, he bowed towards them.


    "I am sorry for the inconvenience I caused you as it wasn''t my intention. There was an ident on my transportation between ces, which unfortunately led to the troubling situation we are currently at. I hope you find in your heart to consider of forgiving me" [Ameanum]


    The once angry girl was surprised by the response of Shingi. She was ready to beat him up in the first wording from him, but now it didn''t feel right to do any harm to him.


    "I see. Since you understand your situation and it really seems like it was an ident, I will leave it to pass for now. But only this time" [Wild Tycoon]


    "Thank you for your understanding" [Ameanum]


    And with that, the ident came to an end.


    Shingi, at that point, started looking around, and he actually recognized the ce. This should be Picton, a tiny town and actually one of the yers'' starting towns. Even if 10 years have been passed in-game, some things didn''t change much for Shingi to recognize. Sure there were quite a few buildings around that weren''t there before, but the za they were currently in the middle of was something he would recognize right away. And that was because, in the middle of it, there was a unique white tree of which the ends of its branches were of the blue like the sky, and its leaves, no matter the season, were golden yellow.


    This was a special tree that was only existed in this town. It is rumored to be a gift of Mother Nature to the town''s founder and was granting protection to the town from monsters. Of course, the protection was limited, and strong ones could overpower it. Still, it helped keep the peace of the town as all the monsters in the area weren''t strong enough to overpower the tree''s protection unless they worked all together. Still, monsters weren''t known with working with each other, especially different kinds of monsters.


    "Hey, pervy boy, you still with us?" [Wild Tycoon]


    Ameanum ignored the way he addressed him and turned towards her.


    "Is there anything I can help you with?" [Ameanum]


    This time he was back to his in way of speaking. Before, he was sweetening how he spoke to show his sincerity, but now it didn''t seem necessary to him.


    Tycoon was somewhat surprised by this change, but she continued with what she wanted to say.


    "You seem like a beginner, so I decided to be the big person and help you around. Name is Wild Tycoon by the way" [Wild Tycoon]


    "Shingi." [Ameanum]


    Even if he was annoyed to be considered a beginner, he could understand since he was currently not wearing any equipment even if he was in a safe zone. So he decided not to be angry at her but gave his NPC name cause it may not be wise to let people know about him. Especially people of the Dark Guild, but even if he doubts that the girls in front of him would be part of it, you could never be too careful.


    "Well, nice to meet you, Shingi. We were heading outside to help Little Phoenix level up since she just joined the game, but we could always use more help. So what do you say? It is a good deal, isn''t it?" [Wild Tycoon]


    Ameanum started considering this option. Even if he thought he would be fine by himself, he thought it would be interesting to check and notice if anything changed in the game and its mechanics during the time he was gone. And what better way by seeing a beginner level up.


    "Sure. It sounds like a good idea." [Ameanum]


    He got a notification from the system of Tycoon inviting him to join her party, but he rejected it right away.


    "Huh?!? Why did you reject my party invite? I thought you said you wanted to join us" [Wild Tycoon]


    "You said you wanted to help her level up. If I join the party, the system would have to share the exp between the three of us for each monster we kill, but if I weren''t part of your party, the exp would be shared between just the two of you as long as one of you deal the final blow." [Ameanum]


    "I see... that makes sense, but you are a beginner too, aren''t you? Wouldn''t it be safer to be in a party to at least be aware of what each other''s health is currently at?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "You don''t have to worry about this. I am gonna take my equipment and be sure that I will be as safe out there as being next to the za''s tree." [Ameanum]


    Ameanum spoke full of confidence as he turned and started his way through the market.


    He said it was somewhat true, but mostly he didn''t want to join the party because they would see his real identity. Of course, to invite someone to a party, you didn''t need to know his in-game name. You could send an invite to a person near you without knowing their in-game id, and rejecting the invitation wouldn''t let you know their identity.


    Even if Tycoon and Phoenix were surprised by what Shingi said, they were curious, so they followed him.


    And so, no long after that, they stopped in front of the town''s cksmith shop. Picton wasn''t a big town, and it had only one cksmith. Still, a Master cksmith was making the separation from the other towns of the same size that were most have like a dozen Base cksmiths and no Master ones. But even a dozen Base cksmith weren''t as valuable as a Master one.


    The cksmith''s name was Varric, a member of the Dwarf Race who was proficient in the Crafting Professions.


    And so Ameanum made his way into the shop, which as usual was busy since everyone wanted to use the services of the Master Craftsman even if few could afford them. Even fewer were epted by the craftsman himself to work for them.


    Tycoon got next to Ameanum and curiously asked him.


    "What do we do here? This shop is too expensive for us." [Wild Tycoon]


    Ameanum just looked at her with a smirk on his face, and without saying anything, he started his way towards the counter of the shop.


    Behind the counter, a male, well-dressed human seemed to be the front of the shop as he talked with all the customers, and if someone stayed in the shop all day, he would hear him mostly say one phrase.


    "The master won''t see you." [Young human]


    But even after Ameanum hearing that been said to pretty much everyone who made his way to the young human, he didn''t stop himself for even a moment. And so as he got himself at the counter and had the attention of the young human, he spoke.


    "The hammer is heavy for the one who can''t handle his drink" [Ameanum]


    After hearing that, the young human''s eyes got wide open as he responded.


    "The master will see you right away. This way." [Young human]


    And with quick steps, he leads Ameanum towards a door leading at the shop''s backspace and even opened the door for him and bowed as Ameanum was walking in, leaving everyone in the shop frozen. None has ever had this kind of interactioning from the young human, not even famous, powerful guild leaders. Still, now a guy got to meet Varic by just saying a phrase.


    After Ameanum passed the door, the young human didn''t follow him but closed the door and returned to his counter.


    And so people went and said the same phrase that Shingi said, but they had the same response given to them as before


    "The master won''t see you" [Young human]


    Everyone became more interested in the yer''s identity who made this happen, especially the two young girls that followed him in the shop.


    "Nat. Didn''t you say that no yer would be able to see the owner of this shop?" [Little Phoenix]


    "Yeah, that should be the case."[Wild Tycoon]


    ''Just who are you, Shingi?'' [Wild Tycoon]

 Chapter 9: Master Blacksmith

    Chapter 9: Master cksmith


    Ameanum kept walking in a corridor, and not too much timeter, and he was at the entrance of a room. There wasn''t a door so that he could see the inside of the room right away. It was a forge and a quite big one as it could fit 7 artisans, although there was only one currently.


    The man was a dwarf with a well-kept beard, and like most of the dwarves, he was quite wide, but it wasn''t fat but pure muscles. He wore simple pants and an apron and was currently fully focused on carving with a chisel on a shield. He was currently putting some enchantment on it.


    The dwarf was so focused that he didn''t notice Ameanum getting into the room who didn''t get too close as he didn''t want to throw off his work,


    And so, after a few minutes passed, the dwarf using a towel, started clearing the shield from any of its material that has remained on the shield.


    "It seems your hands have be more delicate after all those years." [Ameanum]


    Hearing a voice out of nowhere, the Dwarf turned towards it with an angry expression initially but was changed by one of surprise right away.


    "Who are you to dare... <strong>MASTER</strong>, is that really you?"[Dwarf]


    The Dwarf stood up right away and reached Ameanum and hugged him. Ameanum could almost feel his bones breaking by the strength of the dwarf.


    "That is enough Varic, or you will make me a disabled man."[Ameanum]


    Hearing that, Varic let him go right away.


    "Master, where were you all those years? I heard that you were killed, but a blessed one shouldn''t be killed, although I have heard of some disappearing over the years." [Varic]


    Of course, Varic referred to yers that they were called blessed ones since they had the ability to respawn. And it was true that some were gone over the years cause they moved to other games or didn''t have enough time to y anymore.


    "Well, it is a long story that we may talk about it some other time. But what I can tell you for now is that the Dark Guild has to do with it." [Ameanum]


    Hearing mention of the Dark Guild, Varic''s expression changed to one of anger.


    "Those little children tried to mess with my Master? I will show them what..."[Varic]


    But before hepletes his sentence, Ameanum stopped him.


    "<strong>THAT IS ENOUGH</strong>. You aren''t to do anything against them for now unless they get after you. They currently think I am out of the picture, so I am gonna use this to my advantage." [Ameanum]


    Varic understood this way of thinking and his expression changed of that of a pity for the ones who tried to mess with his Master.


    "Well, either way, I am here for two reasons."[Ameanum]


    "Whatever it is, you just have to ask, and I will do everything in my power to help you with"[Varic]


    Ameanum smiled at that response. Right in front of him, there was a Master cksmith, a man that most yers would pay anything to talk with, and that person was currently calling him a Master.


    But it made sense. Ameanum, over the years, has researched the game and has shared his research with both yers and NPCs. And, of course, one of the NPCs was Varic himself.


    When they first met, Varic was someone exiled from his n, and since he was quite young, he didn''t have his crafting abilities quite high yet as they were at the low Rank back then.


    But Ameanum helped him, and at some point, Varic''s skills passed his own.


    The skills that worked for yers were that they had level instead of rank, and each level up was giving and increasing a benefit of the skill.


    The first 10 levels were unlocking the same benefits as the Low-Rank skill of an NPC would. Then up to level 40, it was the same as the Base Rank, and from 41 to 100, which was the max level, it was of the Master Rank. Of course, the higher the level, the harder it to get to the next one.


    As far as getting to the point, the same as Grandmaster Rank, it was considered not avable to the yers. Still, Ameanum knew that it wasn''tpletely the case.


    It was true that when you reached 100, you couldn''t level up the skill anymore as it was the cap. Still, after fulfilling some requirements depending on the skill, you would break the skill limits and evolve it into a more powerful one. This kind of info wasn''t known by many, and Ameanum didn''t know of anyone who had seeded in breaking the limits of a skill.


    That is other than him.


    Most of his skills were Master Rank, being over level 70, with the majority being at level 90. Most of the others left were of 35 to 40 level, so considered the same as Base Rank.


    But he had one skill that was level 100 and evolved, and that was his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> that has evolved into <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong>.


    By evolving the skill allowed him to know the information of yers, NPCs, or items just by looking at them. Of course, the more powerful the one he was using the skill on was, the less info he was getting.


    As far as his <strong>SMITHING</strong> Skill, it was currently at level 90. Thest 10 levels were the moreplicated to pass as each needed a different set of requirements, which of course, the System wasn''t sharing with the yers.


    But at that level, he could create some repair hammers that could repair pretty much anything. Those were the same kind of hammers he was using after the fight with the Dragon. Of course, by being a special type of hammers, they contained the knowledge of their creator. The greater the creator''s skill, the greater their benefit, so they didn''t need to be used in a special way. He was using it into a Legendary Armor back then, so the repair they could do was limited with each hammering; that is why it took him several to repair it fully.


    "Well, as I said, I am here for two reasons. Firstly to check on you, my friend, and the progress of your skills. And secondly, I need a set of equipment but nothing too fancy. We don''t want to draw too much attention" [Ameanum]


    Of course, he had already drawn attention just by getting in here that easily in front of that many yers. Still, none would connect with his real identity as it never was a known fact of his rtionship with Varic.


    "Well, the equipment is something that can be taken care of easily enough. As for my skill''s progress, you will be surprised." [Varic]


    Saying that Varic started moving towards a corner of the room. A cloth-covered something. As Varic removed it, there was a safe, and Ameanum was surprised as he recognized the material it was made of. It was of Mana ss.


    Mana ss was a material madepletely by mana. Different mana was giving different benefits. From the color of the one in front of it, which was dark brown, it seemed to be of Earth elementbined with Dark Element, abination that made it indestructible. Not even a full-grown dragon would be able to make even a scratch on it.


    But creating Mana ss was something that very few people knew of how to do, and it was something that would cost a fortune and that to make a small box. To make a safe that was one meter in each dimension, it was something that not even the treasury of a kingdom would be able to cover.


    But to tell the truth, Ameanum wasn''t too surprised as he knew even if Master cksmith weren''t considered powerful as Grandmaster ones, that didn''t make them weak. And that was because not all Master Rank ones were considered the same. There were some whose work was better than others.


    Still, even those considered to be at the top of the Master Rankparing them with Grandmaster ones were the same asparing the strength of a human baby and an Elephant.


    And so Varic opened the safe, not even trying to hide thebination from Ameanum, and inside there was just one thing. A longsword.


    But its appearance wasn''t something too crazy, and it seemed simple enough until Ameanum used his Eagle Eyes on it.


    ================================


    Unnamed Longsword(Growth type)


    Description: A longsword created by Semi-Grandmaster cksmith Varic. Its abilities are of Low Rank currently but can be grown up by the user.


    ================================


    "A ... a growth type weapon?!?" [Ameanum]


    Ameanum was surprised by the weapon''s type, and as he turned towards Varic, he noticed a smirk over his face.


    Growth type equipment was lost through history on how to create and was more precious than Divine equipment. And that is cause at some point, even Divine equipment may be too weak for the user, especially if they are low level. But a Growth Type could keep growing in power and was limited only by its user.


    But that wasn''t the only thing that surprised him but also Varic''s title.


    Semi-Grandmaster.


    Of course, that didn''t mean that he was as good as a full Grandmaster cksmith, but he has pretty much considered having broken the way to reach that Rank.


    "Hehe, I knew Master''s eyes would recognize it right away. Well, what do you think? Is this a good start for your new equipment?" [Varic]


    Hearing that, Ameanum was surprised for a second, but knowing Varic it wasn''t something unexpected. He didn''t want to keep his best work locked away but he wanted to see it used, but only by someone worthy.


    "Well, who am I to say no to a future Grandmaster" [Ameanum]


    As he said that, he gave a bow towards Varic, but soon enough, he felt a hand at his shoulders that pushed him to get back straight.


    "You know that I wouldn''t be here if it weren''t for you, Master. So you are someone who never has to bow to me."[Varic]


    Hearing that, a smile appeared on the face of Ameanum as he understood that his old friend''s personality hadn''t changed even now.


    "Well, it is weird of you calling me a Master, especially since your skills are way higher than mine, so why don''t we change that?"[Ameanum]


    "And how would you like to call you Master?"[Varic]


    "Well, let''s go with ''friend'' for now. But suppose we are in front of others, specially blessed ones. In that case, you can call me Shingi if it is needed. Still, we probably shouldn''t be seen talking to its other a lot, or we will draw unnecessary attention." [Ameanu]


    "I understand Mast... I mean my friend. As far as armor, I don''t have something as fancy as the sword, and since we don''t want to draw too much attention, I can give you one of my simple works." [Varic]


    "That won''t be necessary."[Ameanum]


    "But why?!?" [Varic]


    "Because if I am seen getting out with a full set of equipment made by you, we gonna draw too much attention and also your simple works aren''t really that simple if youpare it with what a normal blessed one would have. But this sword will be more than enough for now."[Ameanum]


    "Well, at least let me give you some money to buy armor from someone else. That wouldn''t be that risky."[Varic]


    And before Ameanum even answers, Varic had run in an unexpected speed for someone of his size towards a drawer nearby. Unlocking with a key that he had in his pockets, he brought out a pouch about the size of a fist and brought it over to Ameanum.


    Taking the pouch and checking it, he noticed that it was full of gold coins. He normally wouldn''t like to borrow money from others. Still knowing Varics'' personality he didn''t have many choices. Especially since this was an amount he could probably easily earn back.


    And so the pouch disappeared, and if someone were to pay careful attention would see a tattoo on his neck, of a pile of coins, that wasn''t there before.


    That was part of a blessing he had taken by the God of Wealth, which allowed him to put any amount of coins into a special pocket dimension that only he had ess to. Afterpleting a Chain Quest, he earned this that led to having an audition with the gods themselves and being rewarded by them.


    But that wasn''t the only blessing he had. There was one that Varic himself was jealous of Ameanum having, and that was the Blessing of the God of Alcohol. That blessing was giving him high resistance against poisons and toxins. It made it nearly impossible for him to get drunk, which was something that every dwarf would be jealous of.


    With his newfound weapon and wealth and having some small talk with Varic, Ameanum was ready to go.


    "Is there a different exit? Cause I think it would be too troublesome to use the way I got here." [Ameanum]


    As it turned out there was actually a false wall that was leading outside on an alley. So Ameanum made his way out through the alley wearing a simple cloak with a hood that Varic gave him to be sure not to be further noticed.


    And so he made his way outside and around, and as he got at the front of the shop, he found the two people he was looking for: Wild Tycoon and Little Phoenix.


    They were fortunately out of the shop as the shop seemed to be more full than normal as people were waiting for something to happen.


    And so he slowly made his way towards them, trying to be as quiet as possible, and when he got next to them, he spoke towards Tycoon.


    "We shouldn''t spend more time here if we want to help Phoenix level up" [Ameanum]


    The two girls were surprised by him appearing out of nowhere as they were too focused at the shop. And so as Ameanum turned around and started making his way towards the nearby gate, they run after him.


    "WAIT... are we just gonna let the fact of what happened without saying anything?"[Wild Tycoon]


    Turning towards her, Ameanum''s face was as serious as ever.


    "What is to talk about? I went to take some equipment" [Ameanum]


    "<strong>TAKE SOME EQUIPMENT?!?</strong> This is a Master cksmith we are talking about. Not anyone is taking some equipment from him" [Wild Tycoon]


    Ameanum didn''t give any further response after that, which made Tycoon even angrier.


    But then the person who said the least amount of things spoke, and that was Little Phoenix.


    "Ehm... excuse me. But we have.... to change our ns"[Little Phoenix]


    At that point, both Tycoon and Ameanum stopped and turned towards Phoenix.


    "Eeeehm, I need to log out as I need to take care of some things" [Little Phoenix]


    Hearing that Tycoon was clearly disappointed like her day turned to the worse.


    And so Phoenix gave towards them a bow and started running further into the town.


    A yer could pretty much log out from anywhere in a safe zone, but it was suggested to first get a room at one of the inns as it would give some extra benefits for the next time to log in.


    Of course, Tycoon followed her friend, forgetting fully of Ameanum, who had just stayed where he was for a minute, and that continued his way towards the gate. Even if his n changed and he couldn''t join the two girls at their leveling up, that didn''t mean he couldn''t continue with his n.


    Since this was a beginner''s town out in the fields, there should be a few people who he could check on their progress.


    But after a few minutes, a notification window appeared.


    ================================


    <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> is <strong>OFFLINE</strong>. Logging character out


    ================================


    And so everything turned ck once more, and the weird feeling of bing lighter and then heavier again has returned.


    And so he was back to his NPC body currently being at his bed where he was on when he enabled the Spectator Mode and having Annoue next to him who was currently asleep.


    ''<em>What the hell just happened?</em>'' [Shingi]

 Chapter 10: Blue Moon Festival Part 1

    Chapter 10: Blue Moon Festival Part 1


    Shingi was confused about the whole situation. He checked his system and found that really Spectator mode was avable to him as an option but was currently <strong>OFFLINE</strong>.


    He stood up and went towards the window to get some free air to clear his mind, and then he noticed something as he passed from the mirrora specific tattoo over his neck.


    Right away, he opened his status window, and he actually noticed some changes.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>PROFESSION</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Half-Human Half ????


    <strong>HP</strong>: 50/50


    <strong>SP</strong>: 20/20


    <strong>STR</strong>: 10


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 10


    <strong>END</strong>: 10


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 4


    <strong>Skills</strong>: VISUALIZATION (Low rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Low Rank), MANA SENSE (Low Rank), PERCEPTION (Master Rank)


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of ??????, Blessing of Dlog


    ================================


    His <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> skill that hadn''t been unlocked yet by the system was avable now, and it was at the Master Rank nheless.


    He now had the Blessing of Dlog, the God Of Wealth, the one he used when he was with Varic to store the coins given to him. He then focused on it, and on his hand appeared a familiar fist-size pouch full of coins.


    He then stored them back and raised his cor to hide the tattoo. Fortunately, it wasn''t that hard to hide.


    At that point, he kept repeating in his mind everything that happened, and he came to some conclusions.


    It seemed that his yer ount and NPC were somehow connected, and skills that he used at his yer ount during spectator mode seemed to be unlocked at the NPC. For example, his perception was now at Master Rank but didn''t have ess to Eagle Eyes. Also, he didn''t seem to have unlocked all the skills he used as he had used his Stealth skill while reaching the two girls he met but not too much. So it seemed he had to use the skill to some extent to unlock them, and since he used his Eagle Eyes, which was using his Perception at 100%, it made sense.


    That connection wasn''t limited to skills since even a thing like a Blessing was transferable like that.


    But he wasn''t sure what allowed him to enable the <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> and what was changing it from <strong>OFFLINE</strong> to <strong>ONLINE</strong>, but he thought of one possibility.


    ''It should have to do with those two girls.'' [Shingi]


    Him spawning right at them and his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> changing to <strong>OFFLINE</strong> when it seemed that they had logged out wasn''t something he could ignore but couldn''t think what the connection was.


    But even so, that was something he could work with. Now he had a possible way to get himself stronger even faster. If he could go back to being his yer character even for a limited time, it could help him gather the workforce he needed for his future ns and unlock some useful skills way faster.


    Now that everything made some sense, he started back to his training. After discussing with Varic, he remembered a type of training, which was useful in increasing the skill at its early levels.


    He started meditating once more. He was back to the inner space himself, where he was preparing his Mana Pool foundation. Still, he focused on a ce not too far from, where there were four buildings, one being a big manor and the other three being small huts.


    Each of those buildings was representing one of his skills. Of course, the hut ones were his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>, <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>, and <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, while the big Manor was his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>.


    As he focused on one of the huts, he noticed a sign at its entrance written on it <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>. He focused on the door, and it opened. In there, he noticed a blue figure seemingly created by a mist that was sitting in the middle of the room in a stance simr to one he was at when meditating to increase his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>.


    This figure was his inner self using the skill representing by the building. At each of the buildings, there was a simr figure doing different actions depending on the skill represented by the building.


    But there were some key differences between the figure and how they were using the skill and how the real him was using those skills and noticing there was a way to learn the core of the skills and Rank them up faster. But this was mostly usable on the earlier level as atter the differences were getting even harder to notice, and after a while, there weren''t any as the user was left on his own. In most cases, the inner self of someone they were proficient up to Base Rank, but there were exceptions.


    For example, a professional Martial Artist in real life using that way could notice differences for the first 70 levels for his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> Combat Skill. Simultaneously, a normal person would be lucky if he was noticing differences for up to level 30.


    And so Shingi focused on those differences, and after some unknown time, he moved to his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> hut. After being happy with finding what he was looking for, he stopped his focus. He wasn''t very interested in raising this <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> because he thought his Mana Skills were more important for now.


    He looked around, and even if it seemed that he was doing this for possible hours, not a lot of time has actually passed, one of the benefits of this kind of training.


    And so he changed his stance and started focusing on his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> training.


    Fortunately, his ''trip'' seemed to have taken care of any mental strain we had, and he didn''t have to be afraid of affecting his future progress.


    And so, after almost an hour, the System showed him a notification.


    ================================


    <strong>SKILL RANKED UP</strong>


    The skill <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> has been ranked up to Base Rank.


    ================================


    Reading this, a smile appeared on the face of Shingi. His way of manipting mana after it reached base rank was way faster, and he could manipte even more at the same time. Still, there was also something new that he noticed that he was able to do now.


    Before, he could feel the Mana around him and draw at him. Still, he couldn''t pick what type of mana he could draw and whatnot, but now not only could he make that choice, but he could also slightly feel if it was multiple types of mana at one source.


    Even if he could tell most of the time the mana source, that didn''t mean that it was just the mana of it. For example, he could feel that he was drawing the nearby river''s mana, but he couldn''t feel that part of the fish''s mana was part of it as it was at a way small amount.


    That could affect him in the future, especially now that he wanted to create his Mana Pool as the mana he had to use should be pure of one source or as much as pure as possible.


    But now, with his Ranked up <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>, he could separate the different types of mana.


    But him feeling those different types of mana was taking too much focus, and that was because his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> was still at Low Rank. And that is why he next focused on Ranking it up.


    While looking at his inner self using the <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, he found that instead of drawing the Mana towards him and examining it, he should let out part of his Mana almost like sonar. The interaction with the mana around it would give him the information he needed.


    And trying that way was truly less mentally heavy but not that easy at the start, but he was slowly getting used to it. After a while and using the only big mana source on the room, his sister, as a target, had actually made it work, and the System responded to it.


    ================================


    <strong>SKILL RANKED UP</strong>


    The skill <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> has been ranked up to Base Rank.


    ================================


    When the notification appeared, his senses towards the mana around him increased, and the task was way easier to handle.


    After doing some experiments with both his Mana skills, he waspletely sure that he had what needed for now for the creation of his Mana Pool as he was able to feel the different Mana that he was drawing and even separate them and manipte only specific ones in a fast enough pace for now.


    And so he decided to rx for the rest of the night as he went back to his bed next to his sister.


    He still couldn''t sleep, but he could rx his mind and n the tasks for tomorrow.


    Shingi wasn''t someone who could rx doing nothingpletely as he always needed a task at hand. Even his dreams in real life were about him working on one of the projects he was currently part of or the different scenarios, a quest he was ready to take, and more things like that.


    And so the hours passed until it was finally morning and came the time that Annoue woke up.


    As they went their way back to the kitchen, Shingi noticed that he was in a deep sleep as they passed their father''s room. With his new Perception, he could hear his snoring, which was heavier than the ones when they found him sleeping at the shop.


    Annoue asked if Shingi wanted to continue their training after having breakfast, but Shingi had another idea.


    "Why don''t we go around the town today. On our way back yesterday, I noticed that they seem to prepare for something." [Shingi]


    Hearing that Annoue seemed to remember something like it hadpletely slipped her mind.


    "Oh yeah. Today is the first day of the festival. No wonder Father is still sleeping. He never opens the store during these kinds of events." [Annoue]


    After giving it some thought Annoue continue speaking.


    "Well, then we should make our way to check things out, but we should be back before he wakes up, or we will get into trouble" [Annoue]


    And that was more than enough for Shingi. Even if he had nned on going to their hideout for his Mana Pool creation, it was quite some distance away. So he had to make sure that there wasn''t any ce nearby suitable for what he needed.


    And so they made their ways out and towards the market area, which wasn''t too far from their house.


    A big river separated the town, and one part was called High Town, where the nobles of the town were living, and the fancy shops were also the Old Castle of the king. And the other part was called Low Town that most of the town''s poption was living at, and the market area was.


    The two parts were connected by two bridges, one at the South of the High Town and the other at the East. Surrounding the high town was a tall stone wall that seemed older than the one surrounding the Low Town.


    And as they reached pretty much the Low Town center, which was also the center of the market area, they noticed quite a few of the townspeople working around preparing stands and the different event areas.


    Shingi noticed something else that he considered strange as they reached the market area. There was a group of children between his and Annoue''s age. The moment one of them noticed them, he said something to the rest, and after the rest looked towards them, they stopped what they were doing, and they moved away.


    After seeing that, he focused his senses, and he noticed something hidden to the face of the rest of the NPCs when they noticed them.


    A sign of fear and pity in the way they looked towards them.


    Shingi was confused about it and started thinking of the reason behind it but didn''t want to ask Annoue, who didn''t seem to notice anything at all as she was looking left and right with amazement at her eyes.


    ''<em>Could the reason behind it being part of the reason our Mother disappeared?</em>'' [Shingi]


    After he heard about their Mother''s disappearance, he was certain that this was the reason behind their father''s drinking problem.


    Him having a shop wasn''t something that anyone could do and most likely wasn''t always as it was currently. Even if he had visited this town in the past, he hadn''t visited all the shops, so he didn''t remember if the specific shop was there or what state it was.


    But her disappearance shouldn''t be something that happened too long ago; otherwise, no matter who he was, their Father wouldn''t be able to keep his store open unless he was a Master cksmith or better for which Shingi, for some reason, was unsure of it being the case.


    But he didn''t pay further attention to this as he couldn''t do anything and had more things on his mind. And so as they looked around and as he pretty much dragged Annoue around or tried to as he wasn''t strong enough to actually doing it, but she followed his requests none the less he found what he looked for.


    At a ce just a little outside of the market area, there seemed to be an old storehouse that seemed to be abandoned. It also seemed to be damaged as it had a big hole in its ceiling, perfect for the moonlight to pass through it.


    It wasn''t too far from their house, like a twenty-minute walk, and it was far away from the festival area, so he shouldn''t draw any unnecessary attention.


    After checking this ce, they made their way back, and to their luck, their Father was still sleeping.


    So they went back to their room, and Shingi shared with Annoue the improvements he had used on his meditate stance.


    "Should we continue on that kind of training. Seeing the Lights make me sleepy." [Annoue]


    Shingi wanted to p Annoue since everything seemed to go so smooth for her, but he kept himself from doing that.


    "Well, we can''t work on anything else yet. You should increase your proficiency on the skills we learned yesterday as far as you can, and I promise you that after the festival we gonna change the type of training" [Shingi]


    Annoue didn''t seem to like the answer of her brother but didn''t say anything. Even if, in reality, they didn''t know each other for long, but since he was born, she was always taking care of him, and she always dreaded the day he would wake up, and they spend time together. Even if she had to do these dull things, she was happy to do them since it was something that she was doing with her little brother.


    Not too much time passed, and Shingi noticed that Annoue was at her trance state again.


    ''I am guessing this is what she was referring to as making her sleepy'' [Shingi]


    And so Shingi went to do his own thing. Since he already took care of his Mana Skills Rank to be high enough, he started making sure that all parts of the n were ready. He started mentally preparing his path toward the storehouse as also started training his body for it.


    He didn''t have any problem moving around, but that didn''t mean that he could easily move around stealthily, and this was something that he needed.


    He also kept checking his Spectator Mode option if it was getting back to be ONLINE, but there wasn''t any change on it for now.


    And after quite some hours of training, he had actually unlocked the STEALTH skill and had even reached it to Base Rank.


    At that point, it was close to dinner time, and it wasn''t too long from when the moon would change to Blue.


    Fortunately, his sister seemed to get tired from her training and had ended her trance not too much time after he finished his training, and she went her way to prepare some dinner. It seemed this time her skills weren''t changed too much as she got her <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> at Base Rank and her <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> was still at Base Rank.


    At his point, Shingi wouldn''t be surprised if she told him that he reached Master Rank at one of her skills, but fortunately, that didn''t happen.


    After having another type of soup but this type not as tasteful as they had yesterday, they decided to go to bed.


    What surprised Shingi was that their father didn''t seem to have left his room during the whole day.


    And so after they made their way to their bed and after waiting some time and made sure that Annoue was really sleeping, Shingi, with the help of his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill, started making his way toward the old storehouse.

 Chapter 11: Blue Moon Festival Part 2

    Chapter 11: Blue Moon Festival Part 2


    Using his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> and <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> at their full extent to detect anyone who could be in his path and using his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill, he made his way at the storehouse at a slower pace than normal as it took him 30 minutes to get there.


    But he was sure that no one noticed him, and not a single person was nearby. Especially with his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, he would be surprised if he missed someone. But he noticed something interesting on his way there.


    There were quite an amount of yers taking part in the festival. All of them seemed to be new yers since almost none was wearing anything else but the starting equipment of their ss.


    This would make sense if they were in a beginner''s town, but this wasn''t the case. Even if there was a chance of a town to change at bing a starting town, Carda didn''t fit the requirements of one as far as Shingi has noticed. A starting town needed to have a market area, which Carda did have but of things yers could use like new equipment or potions. In contrast, Carda''s market mostly had general items people could use in town.


    Even if the local cksmith shop was running, it wouldn''t be enough. In his walk with Annoue, he didn''t find any other shop that yers would normally be interested in. He was sure that no yer would be interested in getting in a shop to pick between four different types of cheese?


    But he didn''t pay too much attention to it and focused on the task at hand. After reaching the storehouse and made his way around it to make sure no one else was around, he got inside.


    As he thought, the hole in the ceiling was at an almost perfect angle for his needs. He just needed to be in a height cause it wasn''t reaching the ground perfectly cause of its angle, but there were some boxes around that he could use.


    After 5 minutes of moving boxes, he put a cloth over them and then undressed and sat on the boxes. He got himself asfortable as possible and then sat on his meditate stance and manipted the Mana around him.


    And he could really feel the moonlight mana and inside it, barely feeling something else, but it took more of his focus than he thought to notice it. But instead of just having a feeling getting of it, this was different than the rest of the mana he had felt. He could almost get a smell out of it.


    It was a familiar smell, but he wasn''t sure where he had smelled it before.


    And so as he manipted more and more of it and cleaned it of any other type of mana that was with it. He had a good amount of mana for the first step of his Mana Pool creation.


    When someone created his Mana Pool, the first step was to create a Mana Seed through the mana that he was gathering itself and nt it in the ce he prepared in his inner ce. They had to use the same type of mana to strengthen the Mana Seed to be a nt, and at a point, it would turn to a tree.


    Creating the seed and ''feeding'' it to be at least a nt was needed to be done by the same kind of mana as the seed wouldn''t ept an unfamiliar type of mana and would damage it instead. But after that point, other types of mana would help strengthen it unless their type is the opposite of the one that created the Mana Seed.


    For example, one seed created by manaing from a Volcano area wouldn''t be strengthened by the sea orkes'' mana. Still, it would benefit from anything of the earth element just of lesser effect. Any from fire or magma itself would have the best of all effect.


    He wasn''t afraid because he was trying to create his Mana Pool from a somehow special type of mana since t was pretty close to nature''s mana, so anything like that should work.


    And so he focused on his mind in the creation of the seed. In the past one of the project he had started and stopped before he found out of the VR gaming, it was botany. It had researched different nts and their seeds, so he thought what could fit his needs, although he wasn''t sure how much difference it would make.


    He had yesterday gave it some thought over it. He knew that the tree needed to have many seeds on their branches as they were representing an amount of his mana that he could pick up and use right away for his casting. Of course, the tree itself would store mana in itself, but drawing mana from it would be slower than using the seeds or fruits that had grown on the branches on his Mana Pool tree. Of course, fruits contained more mana than the seed ones, but restoring them wasn''t fast progress, so they were used in special times.


    And so he focused on creating his Mana Seed in shape he had decided and after an unknown amount of time, which for Shingi would feel like days passed but it most certainly not the case he finally finished his seed and put it into the hole he prepared after finishing it with some of the Blue Moon''s mana he had left aside for this. After that, he filled the hole using more mana he manipted, and he decided to take a break.


    And as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw something unexpected. There was an unfamiliar person just a meter away from him, currently frozen and starting towards him.


    It was a young boy dressed in simple clothes and simple leather armor over it and a big bowpared to his size. Instead, it had an empty of arrows quiver but instead had some sticks in there that would be most suitable for a campfire.


    Also, Shingi noticed the aura of a yering from him, which wasn''t so unexpected since he was dressed.


    The boy saw that Shingi opened his eyes; he slowly took steps back while he kept looking towards his way.


    But Shingi didn''t stay still as he made his move and threw a small piece of wood over at the entrance of the storehouse that seemed to make one of its nks loose enough as it fell andnded right behind the young boy, barely missing his head. With his Master Rank <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> and his great knowledge, this kind of throw was a piece of cake that even the System had to say something for it.


    ================================


    <strong>SKILL LEARNED</strong>


    The skill <strong>IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON</strong> has been learned at Low Rank.


    ================================


    This was a new skill he hadn''t had ess to in the past or even had heard about, which was quite weird as it definitely was fitting the style of few people he knew, but they never mentioned this skill. But he decided to get back at the task at hand.


    "You shouldn''t make any other unnecessary movements, or next one wouldnd on your head and not just close to it" [Shingi]


    Hearing that the young boy just froze in ce. Even if he was a beginner and low level, he understood that in front of him was someone of skill as he could tell that the shot happened without much effort from the person in front of him.


    So Shingi stood up and wore his underpants, at least as it seemed weird to bepletely naked in front of a person. Then he started his way toward the boy without letting his gaze get away from him for even a second.


    During that short time, the young boy didn''t even dare to move a single muscle and could easily see the fear in his eyes like he was facing some monster in front of him.


    ''I can see why some consider it easy to mess with beginners'' [Shingi]


    But Shingi didn''t know that the yer wasn''t just afraid because of his shot but because of his eyes. They were currently their typical red, which was unusual for a normal NPC. Still, they have currently had a blueish color circle around his iris. Also, there seemed like an unknown type of tattoo of what seemed like a letter of an unknownnguage, which faded away when he opened his eyes. He didn''t notice it.


    And so he stood in front of the young boy and looked up at him since it was a little taller than him and spoke in his mostmanding voice.


    "<strong>SIT</strong>." [Shingi]


    The young boy didn''t give it a second thought and maybe not even a first one as he sat down right when Shingi told him to.


    "Who are you, and what do you do here?"[Shingi]


    The person swallowed some of his salivae and started exining what happened.


    As expected, he was one of the Blessed Ones, meaning a yer, and he got in the town just today. His party had to get away to take care of some business of their own at thest moment. He was left by himself, but since he was never much of a people person, especially unfamiliar people, and without one of his friends at his side, he decided to look around before he gets away himself. Of course, he meant logging out by getting away, but the yer, whose in-game name was Hineko, seemed to know that it was easier to use this kind of term when talking to NPCs.


    But he wasn''t talking to a normal NPC but one that used to be a yer himself, so even if he was hiding some stuff by using other terms, he knew what he really meant and was the real meaning.


    After looking around, he came across the storehouse. He decided to check it out, and that is when he noticed Shingi, and not too much time after that, he opened his eyes.


    Shingi also found the perfect chance to found out about a thing that was on his mind.


    "So why is it that you and those friends of yours were here if you aren''t that much interested in the festival?" [Shingi]


    The young Hineko was unsure how to respond to this question, and after giving it, some thought he spoke.


    "We are here to explore the dungeon and increase our strength." [Hineko]


    If he had heard that yesterday he would be sure of what he meant as the game never had anything referred to as Dungeon outside the Tower. After talking with Varic, it seemed that it wasn''t the case anymore.


    It seemed some time ago, entrances to dungeons started randomly appearing and disappearing around in different ces, having different challenges and monsters simr to what you would face into the tower. None was sure the reason behind that phenomenon, but some thought it had something to do with the Dark Guild and them, not people letting in the tower.


    ''<em>Maybe that is how the developers decided to handle it, but I still don''t understand how they haven''t solved the problem called Dark Guild after that much time.</em>'' [Shingi]


    He kept thinking it over but then noticed the boy in front of him looking at him like he was expecting something. And so as he put a smirk at his face and took his most menacing look, he spoke.


    "Well, little boy tell me what exactly will you say if anyone asks what you did today?" [Shingi]


    Hearing that, Hineko knew what he meant and responded right away.


    "I checked the stands of the festival and then went to my room at the local inn and spent the rest of the night there." [Hineko]


    Shingi widened his smile and then put his hand over Hineko''s shoulder and then focused on a specific skill.


    His <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>.


    He normally would encounter resistance by a human being on manipting its mana. Still, the one in front of him seemed to be too afraid to put some resistance actively, and his passive resistance he could tell that wouldn''t be too much since he was low level.


    And so he drew out some of his mana and released it to the environment, which didn''t have a visual effect but had an effect on Hineko himself of having that getting a somewhat getting weaker feeling.


    "And I hope you understand what happens if you say something else. And believe me, I have my mark on you now." [Shingi]


    Hineko seemed too afraid of what he heard. He didn''t think of checking his System for any debuffs or indication of a mark from someone. He didn''t even notice the notification that appeared for a second know that some outside source was manipting his mana.


    Even if his ss didn''t have a Mana Pool, the special aura unique to yers, as far as Shingi could tell, seemed to contain some Mana that he could use for that purpose.


    "Yes... yes, of course."[Hineko]


    And so Shingi, he pulled his hand and got a little less menacing and spoke again.


    "So now stand up and go. And return in five days or otherwise..." [Shingi]


    He didn''t continue his phrase, but the boy''s imagination in front of him got crazy thinking what he meant. And so he right away stood up and ran away.


    And so Shingi, after making sure that he really got away, went back, focusing on feeding his Mana Seed with mana. Still, this time, he kept using his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> and <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, just making sure that nothing like that repeats itself.


    Fortunately, the rest of the night was without any further idents like that. Still, since he wasn''t fully just focused on manipting mana to feed his Mana Seed, his progress was slower. Still, by his estimation, he would be able to make it in time.


    He still had two more days, and most likely next days, the quantity of the mana in the moonlight should be more so he could help bnce things out.


    And so, at some point, that should be around dawn as Shingi spend some time meditating and made sure everything was ok with his body and mana seed, he made his way back at home and then to his bed next to his sister, who was still sleeping.


    He noticed that their Father was awake in the kitchen, focusing on something on the table. Shingi was curious about what he was focusing on. Still, he seemed like a man wanting his own space. He respected that, so he made his way around easy enough cause of his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill and cause his father wasn''t paying much attention to his surroundings.


    And so, as he startedying down on the bed, he started progressing on everything that happened today and started making some adjustments for his future ns.


    If someone was looking at the face of Shingi currently, he would notice that in his most of the times serious face, there was now a smile of satisfaction.


    And so the first day of the festival ended for Shingi.

 Chapter 12: Stories of the past

    Chapter 12: Stories of the past


    So Shingi pretty much repeated the same as yesterday with both him and Annoue training their Mana Skills. Shingi let Annoue know how to visit her inner space and the secret of how watching her inner figure could help her training. It seemed like she actually noticed some variations to help her even if her skill were already at base rank, which Shingi, at that point, wasn''t surprised of.


    Shingi tried to increase his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> since he had to use it during his night activities to make sure no one else was reaching him and repeat yesterday''s events.


    The rest of the day passed without any change in the Rank of any of their Skills, but Shingi could feel some improvements in his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>.


    And so he went his way at the storehouse, and the night was spent without any idents.


    Also, he had made big progress with his Mana Seed as he could feel some roots have taken form. Just a little more, and it should be finished taking at least its early nt form he at least needs it to take.


    Returning this time, he didn''t find his father in the kitchen as today he also didn''t seem to have left his room at all.


    During the day, he kept looking if there were any changes in his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>. He kept his senses open at night if he saw Hineko around, but both had negative results.


    For at least Hineko''s case, he was sure that he would hear news from him, and he wouldn''t tell about him to anyone else. That was cause most yers, after having a clear mind after an encounter like that with an NPC who mentioned he wanted to meet them again they would assume some special reward woulde after it. Most would like to keep it for themselves.


    Of course, there was the case of him not showing up, but that was almost close to zero and wouldn''t much affect him, as also maybe he actually woulde with somepany. Still, even in that case, it should be limited.


    And so the third day andst of the festival started, and today it was rather different. Annoue seemed to be down today and not in the mood to train and just wanted to stay in bed, which seemed quite surprising to Shingi after spending these days with Annoue.


    His father remained in his room, but this time, Shingi knew that he wasn''t sleeping as he didn''t hear any of the typical snoring.


    Well, he tried to cheer Annoue up, but she didn''t seem to be in any mood to talk, and so Shingi decided to let her alone for now.


    And since he didn''t have much to do as his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> trained enough for his needs, he decided to take a walk around town and further investigate.


    He had made a makeshift cloak with some of the storehouse''s cloth with a hood to help him boost his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill, so he wore it and went out. And so he went to visit the rest of the Low Town other than the market area that he had mostly had seen with Annoue the other day.


    And so he kept founding a few yers and actually seemed like a ship was transporting them sometimes with some products for the town.


    After a while, he found out from the yers'' discussion that the dungeon near the town was one of the rare ones that seemed to be permanent. There were quite a few months since it appeared, but that it was a Low Level one.


    As for Hineko, he didn''t find him anywhere.


    Then he moved to a specific building he wanted to visit for some time.


    The Mayor''s office.


    Fortunately, even if she was a high power person in the town, her office was in the Low Town and not in the High Town, which not everyone had ess to.


    After he found the ce, it seemed full of yers, and he found the reason behind it.


    The quest board outside the building.


    This was amon thing that most of the towns had, especially one with monster problems. There wasn''t anything big, mostly things like delivery tasks or gathering herbs, taking a look at some of the remaining tasks. Most yers would find them quite dull. He assumed that the more interesting ones were already taken, and most likely, the ones here were to report their progress.


    Most of the time, there was a certain building and a big group of people helping organize everything. Still here, the Mayor and a helper of hers seemed to be the only ones behind organizing the quests, and so things were going at a slow rate.


    After hours of waiting and was getting quite close to dinner time, thest yer left the building, so Shingi made his way towards the mayor''s office. Of course, he took down his hood just before he entered the building.


    When he entered, both of the people had noticed him. The Old Lady seemed to be surprised seeing him as at her helper''s eye he could see that small amount of pity that he was seeing at everyone else.


    "Young one. I see you have recovered quite well, but howe you came here." [a]


    Shingi looked around the ce, and he went to a corner that there was a chair, and he brought it in front of them and sat on it.


    "I am here to learn the truth about my Mother." [Shingi]


    Hearing that, the Mayor was clearly surprised.


    "What do you want to know?" [a]


    "I want to know about her disappearance and what it has to do with the way Father is now and how he used to be." [Shingi]


    He had heard of missing a loved one would change people, but he wasn''tpletely sure how big a change could be.


    After a sighed and nodded towards her helper, he went to close the door after making sure that no one was outside.


    "Well, first, you have to understand that your mother was a special womana woman of courage and kindness. One who was willing to help the people at-need and at the same time punish the ones who were at the side of evil no matter their backgrounds. But this is a typical thing for a lot but not all of the Blessed Ones" [a]


    After hearing this, Shingi seemed that he was temporarily going deaf.


    ''<em>My mother is a Blessed One? But how is that possible?</em>'' [Shingi]


    And so a started mentioning a few of the things she had done for the town and things she had heard of her doing at other ces. There were some impressive things among them, to tell the truth, and he wondered if he actually knew that yer.


    After some years of adventuring and hering and returning to the town, she seemed toe into a rtionship with a certain passionate young man.


    Of course, that man was his father who he learned that his name was Garry.


    His mother''s blessed name or in-game name was Angel''s Feather, one he wasn''t familiar with. After just a few months of dating, she got married to Garry, and not too much after that; they started making their shop in town.


    She seemed like she wasn''t so focused on her adventures anymore as her leaving and returning were getting less and less frequent.


    And someday, she got pregnant with their first child, which of course it was a healthy girl none other than Annoue.


    And after a few years, they had another child, but during her pregnancy, she seemed like she was found by one of her old enemies, a powerful Arcane User that cursed her in <em>Never-Ending sleep</em>.


    Back then, they weren''t aware of any cure, but it seemed it wasn''t a permanent one when its target was a High-Level Blessed One like her, but her child wasn''t that lucky.


    After giving birth and seeing her child''s state, she became a being of pure madness and having only one purpose. Finding a cure for her child.


    But even if they were some quests saying about possible cures, nothing seemed to work on the boy.


    And so she kept looking on new leads and her being away statingsting longer and longer, but she was always sending a message back now and then. But almost two years or so ago a message was sent saying that it was thest and she decided to put an end and never return.


    Hearing this, Shingi knew that she most likely decided to stop ying the game.


    But after hearing the full story, he had other questions reced than the ones answered.


    A yer got pregnant in the game and, more specifically, by an NPC and not once but twice?


    ''I have heard the developers bragging now and then that they created a world that everything was possible, but this is simply unheard of'' [Shingi]


    He had heard of people that got romantically interested with NPCs, even some marrying one. Still, a yer getting pregnant from an NPC that he waspletely sure would be something that everyone would have heard of it if it happened.


    Firstly he thought that maybe the Mayor was referring to her as a blessed one for another reason, and she wasn''t a yer, but she had an ability that only the yers had.


    The ability to respawn.


    That was something not even the most powerful NPC could replicate except if it was under the effect of some rare curses, but that would show some clear signs that should have been noticed at some point by someone if it was the case.


    He also learned the reason why people were looking at him and his sister that way.


    It seemed the person that cursed him and his mother on Never-Ending sleep had also that he cursed his whole family with bad luck and painful death with hisst words. There were, unfortunately, quite a few witnesses who heard of those words as his Mother fought him in the town, so the rumors of it were spread everywhere. And it was true that things didn''t work that well after that point, so people thought they weren''t just words of a dying man but an actual curse. Most people decided to keep their distance from the family.


    After he heard of the full story, he stood up, and without saying anything else, he started his way toward his house. But before he left, the helper of a showed him a metal pot simr to the one he found at their kitchen the other day, and he could smell the same soup in it.


    Since it was quite heavy, the helper joined Shingi on his way to his house since he didn''t seem to be strong enough to lift it all the way there, and it was really the case.


    And so on their way there, they didn''t say anything to each other, but Shingi did only one thing, and that was opening his Status Window.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>PROFESSION</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>HP</strong>: 50/50


    <strong>SP</strong>: 20/20


    <strong>STR</strong>: 10


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 10


    <strong>END</strong>: 10


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 4


    <strong>Skills</strong>: VISUALIZATION (Low rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Base Rank), MANA SENSE (Base Rank), PERCEPTION (Master Rank), STEALTH (Base Rank), IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON (Low Rank)


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of ??????, Blessing of Dlog


    ================================


    His race was actually changed by how the System referred it to Blessed Human, which he had never heard of.


    And so he and the helper made it to the kitchen where unexpectedly both Garry and Annoue, his father and sister, were.


    They both turned and looked towards Shingi when he entered, but only Annoue reacted as she went to hug him and whispered to his ear.


    "Never leave me again alone." [Annoue]


    Shingi would normally tell her that she wasn''t alone since their father was here. Still, after hearing the story of his mother, he understood that he was pretty much a ghost of himself. He wasn''t considered like being around even if he was in the room.


    The family had their dinner, or at least Annoue and Shingi had, as Garry didn''t seem hungry. After having some drinks of some tea this time, he went outside instead to his room this time. Annoue sighed, seeing this, but it didn''t seem to be something new. Shingi was certain that he shouldn''t ask as he could imagine a few possibilities on where he could have gone.


    And so, as they finished their dinner and went to bed at that point, Shingi encountered a problem he had never considered of.


    Annoue grappling his arm and not letting go even when she fell asleep.

 Chapter 13: Blue Moon Festival Final Part

    Chapter 13: Blue Moon Festival Final Part


    Shingi always had on his mind the unnatural for her age <strong>STR</strong> of Annoue, but he never thought it to be used against him like that. Her grip didn''t seem to get any weaker as time passed, and Shingi was too weak to get out with his current skill set. Even his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> was useless now.


    And so he tried a different approach, which was to try to open the window to let some of the moonlight get in. His mana maniption was too low, and he couldn''t draw it to him with the window closed.


    But the window was normally out of his reach, but since he didn''t have much choice, he decided to take a risk and try something he hadn''t tried yet or even had done in the past.


    And so he manipted as much mana as he could and moved it around his free arm. And after that, he made a certain move of raising his arm with a closed fist moving just his hand back and then moving it forward while at the same time opening his fist almost like giving a high-five in the air. As hepleted it, some multicolored mist barely appeared for a second at some ces around his arm and dismissed right away.


    And so he kept repeating the move again and again as the mist was getting thicker and thicker and was covering more and more of his arm. After 20 or so minutes of doing that with some small breaks to replenish mana that was getting released from his control now and then, a misty hand was created when hepleted the move and seemed almost solid. Still, it was barely keeping the shape of the arm.


    Shingi used all his focus to keep it up as the mana since it didn''te from his Mana Pool; it tried to release itself, so he keeps having to manipte it. After he got somewhat used to keeping the hand''s shape, he started tomand it to hover towards the window mentally. It slowly started doing it. He focused on making it mimicking his hand movements, which was easier than making it move, which was good news.


    It took him a while to open the window since he couldn''t feel with his mana-created hand, but with his use of <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> skill, which fortunately since it was that high ranked it didn''t take much focus out of him, he finally opened it.


    The whole casting the spell and opening the window took it a little less than an hour, but he was strained almost as much as the whole night training of his.


    But he couldn''t stop now as he had gotten too close to his goal to stop now.


    After taking a 5-minute break to clear his mind as much as possible, he returned his mind to focus on his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> skill, using it on the mana around him and, more specifically, the special mana of the moonlight.


    His pace was slower than normal since he couldn''t get into his meditate stance, making things faster for himself at his current skill rank. He was also mentally strained from casting the spell.


    But little did Shingi know that he was lucky that he could even cast even a simple spell like that in his current situation. And the reason behind his luck was one.


    His unknown Blessing and its Passive ability seemed to work on tasks like casting a spell he normally wouldn''t be able to. However, the System didn''t mention it since even if he had Mana Skills, he was still not considered an Arcane User. Normally, a man without a Mana Pool needs at least 20 INT to cast a spell, even the simplest one. Still, for the System, Shingi was considered like having more INT cause of the blessing and had more than enough, but that didn''t mean it would be a walk in the park.


    Time passed, and Shingi could feel the Mana Seed of his growing and spreading its root but no indication other than that.


    And so hours passed, and normally they would feel like days at Shingi, but now they felt like weeks, but as time passed, instead of things bing more difficult and harder to handle, they actually be easier. He thought that probably his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> was ranking up the cause of the strain, but he was too focused to notice any System Notifications that would appear in front of him, letting him know of something like that.


    If someone were looking at the room, he would notice something strange happening, and the source wasn''t Shingi but the person next to him.


    A tattoo appeared on the forehead of Annoue, which one would recognize right away even if it was smaller in size and is green in color. The same tattoo that Hineko saw on Shingi''s chest during the first night of the Festival.


    And from the forehead of her greenish energy like mist was released and was getting towards Shingi and into his nose. But even his high <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> didn''t seem to notice all that, especially since his mind focused on the task at hand.


    And finally, what Shingi waited for happened as a small sprout appeared on his ground. And it kept growing and growing in size as it stopped at the height of close to 25 or so centimeters from the ground and was like a small shrub.


    Of course, this wasn''t the final form of his Mana Pool, or he had in his mind when creating the Mana Seed, but some Mana Pools had different stages. Of course, the higher stages have more benefits, but of course, unlocking them isn''t an easy thing to do but depends on the Mana Seed used, and even if Shingi knew that, he wouldn''t be one of the easy ones he was up for the challenge as always.


    But at least for now, he wanted to rx as he reached his goal and barely in time as he seemed to have reached his limit as he even seemed to have consumed a little of more than half his SP during the whole progress, which has never happened in the previous two days or during training but that showed that even his body got tired of the whole progress and not just his mind.


    For the first time since he got into this body, he felt a specific feeling. He felt that he needed some sleep.


    And that was actually what he did without even checking his status window as he was too tired mentally to process any new information.


    And so, for the first time in his new body, he fell asleep, and the feeling was unfamiliar.


    He felt a warmth surrounding him, but it wasn''t hurting him but instead making him morefortable and rxed. Even if everything around him were dark and looked like the same as the ce he was trapped in those two years because of that warmth, he wasn''t afraid.


    And then he was starting to hear a voice. It was a shallow volume voice that was barely able to hear, but as time passed, it was getting louder and louder.


    It seemed to be a female voice but not of someone too old or too young. He couldn''t see or feel any other indication of her other than her voice. It seemed that it didn''te from somewhere specific but from all over the ce, but it gave him a peaceful feeling.


    And the voice seemed to sing but in anguage that Shingi didn''t know but seemed to have heard of. And he remembered that it was anguage he had heard in the past but not in-game but in the real world. It was probably on television or somewhere else, and the words in that song seemed simr to those of that, but he didn''t know their meaning behind them, but he understood at least one word.


    Angel.


    Normally he would think more about it and try to make more sense of everything, but the more clear the voice was bing, the more rxed he was and let those thoughts behind for now.


    And the song went on and on as it didn''t seem to be too long. The voice was starting it from the beginning when reaching the end without any breaks, but Shingi never got tired of hearing either the song or the voice.


    And so, after who knows how much time passed, the voice said something that Shingi had fully understood.


    "Sleep well, my child" [Angelic voice]


    And the voice dissipated suddenly after those words, and Shingi remained in the dark by himself.


    This time no warmth existed, and it was like he was back there having this weird feeling of having nobody. And so Shingi started panicking, and even if he couldn''t, he swear that he started heavy breathing.


    He didn''t have a mouth, but he was almost hearing his screams filling the room.


    He didn''t have legs, but he was feeling like he was running in panic.


    He had spent too much time in the darkness, and he had grown a fear to spend time in a ce like that by his own powerless that. Even at the somewhat dark storehouse, he wasn''t afraid cause he had his skills, and he could fight or run away.


    But in this room, these weren''t options.


    And then a strange green-shaped light of a letter appeared that at least Shingi was unfamiliar with. Then, as the light was getting brighter and brighter, he saw at the center of it a familiar face having a big smile on her face while looking towards himthe face of his sister Annoue.


    And then he opened his eyes, and he saw the same face in front of him, but she was currently sleeping and smiling but not with a big smile as what he saw just a moment ago.


    And so he woke up and he could feel that his bed was full of sweat, but he didn''t know if the reason was the creation of his Mana Pool or his strange dream.


    Fortunately, it seemed that Annoue''s grip became more rxed at some point, and his arm was released as he got to be able to move once again.


    Looking outside the still open window, he noticed that it was close to sunrise, so he still have some time until Annoue wakes up.


    And so he started focusing and putting everything together of what happened as they were fresh in his mind.


    ''<em>Could that voice actually be our Mother?</em>'' [Shingi]


    The song seemed like a luby that one would sing to their child. Since a real-worldnguage was used, a yer most suddenly sang it as mostly developers wanted to usenguage created by themselves. But it could be Shingi could be wrong, and there was actually anguage like that in the game since he wasn''t an expert on them and wasn''t really familiar with all the gamenguages. Still, his instinct was saying otherwise, and in this kind of situation, he knew to follow it.


    But even if he wanted, he didn''t have any way to find out whatnguage it was as his only option was to ask a yer, which would draw too much attention.


    But then he remembered some specific individuals. Hineko, the young yer that he terrified, also met the two girls while he was in Spectator Mode.


    He didn''t have any news of Hineko the past two days. Still, he had told him to meet him in 5 days, so 3 more have remained, and the two girls were too far away from him, and no change had happened at his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> during these days. But time was passing differently for them. For him, 5 days was 1 day in the real world unless the developers have changed that.


    And so, since he couldn''t do anything by himself, he let it go until he met with one of them or even someone else he could use.


    And so he finally did what he wanted to do and check since he woke up.


    He opened his status window.

 Chapter 14: Spells and Mana Pool

    Chapter 14: Spells and Mana Pool


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>PROFESSION</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>HP</strong>: 50/50


    <strong>SP</strong>: 10/20


    <strong>MP</strong>: 32/32


    <strong>STR</strong>: 10


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 10


    <strong>END</strong>: 10


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 4


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Earth and Light Element


    <strong>Skills</strong>: VISUALIZATION (Low Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Base Rank), MANA SENSE (Base Rank), PERCEPTION (Master Rank), STEALTH (Base Rank), IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON (Unranked)


    <strong>Spells</strong>: MANA HAND (Low Grade)


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of ??????, Blessing of Dlog


    ================================


    ''<em>A double element Mana Pool? It seems like I lucked out.</em>'' [Shingi]


    Every Mana Pool belongs to one of the six elements of Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Dark, Light, or in some cases, abination of them like Shingi''s.


    Of course, having a Mana Pool of two elements means that you have more possible fitting sources to strengthen it as long as it is not an unfitbination. But, since the user has to strengthen two elements, it is gonna need more mana at the same time to do it ifparing to a single element one. But of course, the power of someone with double elements is greater cause he has ess to cast two elements of magic.


    Some spells don''t need a specific element of mana. Still, some and most likely the most powerful ones aremon to be limited with a certain element. For example, a water element Mana Pool owner is impossible for him to cast the Fireball spell unless he can manipte outside Fire Mana, which isn''t something a lot can do, especially for a Base Grade spell like that.


    Of course, Mana Pools can only store mana of their own element.


    Seeing the <strong>MANA HAND</strong> spell, he remembered their difference between Skills and Spells. Even if skill were using the same names of Low, Base, Master, and Grandmaster for their rank, a spell''s grade couldn''t be upgraded like a skill''s rank. Still, lower graded spells can be used as a foundation for creating higher graded ones. Also, there existed Divine Graded spells, which is a grade over Grandmaster. Still, only high-level NPCs have been seen using them, and yers didn''t know how to get ess to them.


    Shingi was almost sure that this was still the case; otherwise, Varic would most likely have told him.


    So now he could store and have ess to Earth element and Light Element mana.


    Earth element is rumored for its spells to increase someone''s defense and had some heavy hitters spells but with slow casting or easy to avoid by one with good reflexes. In contrast, the Light element is rumored for its different healing and buff spells.


    Of course, even if he now had ess to this type of mana didn''t mean he would cast the spells of those elements right away cause first he had to learn them. To do that, he had to research its differentponents or find a tutor.


    He was lucky that he knew the somatic one for <strong>MANA HAND</strong>. One of the spells that don''t need anything other than a free arm and some mana since he had seen many people, or more specifically NPCs, practicing on it.


    And so now he hadpleted a big part of the first step of his goal. Of course, toplete the first step, he had toplete the same task his <strong>MAIN QUEST</strong> asked him.


    To earn an NPC ss.


    He had decided to follow the way of magic. Even if he could get most of his offensive skills from his yer ount through the <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>, like he got his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> skill, that was something he wasn''t sure it would definitely work or how soon. He wasn''t someone to repeat the same path again and again.


    But even if he had discussed with many of the theory of Mana and Magic and Arcane theories, Shingi''s didn''t know how to learn Mage''s different type of sub-sses and the details of their abilities even if he was known as an intellectual individual; it wasn''t like everyone would share their secrets.


    And so he sat and thought hard of every detail he knew of any ss he has heard about and starting narrowing them out, and maybe he can start asking around or something.


    But then he felt a presence getting closer to him and in a great speed have jumped towards him.


    But his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> warned him fast enough, and he went out of the way before he noticed who was the one behind that action.


    Of course, it was the only other person in the room, Annoue.


    Afternding on her face, after Shingi avoided her try to jump on him and hug him, she turned and looked at him with her big puppy-like eyes showing that she was sad that her n failed.


    Seeing that, Shingi sighed and stood up, walked on her, and pat her head.


    "Good girl" [Shingi]


    Hearing that Annoue''s head was filled little by red, Shingi wasn''t sure if it was because she was angry or embarrassed as he couldn''t see her eyes as she lowered her head.


    But then she raised it, and the usual smile was on her face one more, and as she was about to say something, they heard some footsteps just outside their doorsome familiar footsteps.


    And just a few secondster, the door opened, and in the room came Garry. It seemed like he woke up early today, and as he shows both his children awake, he pointed towards Shingi.


    "<strong>YOU</strong>. Come. We go to work." [Garry]


    Hearing that Annoue was ready to speak up but waiting for it, Garry spoke again.


    "I will hear no excuses from <strong>EITHER</strong> of you. <strong>I AM</strong> the parent here, and I say what happens and what not. So now get ready and be out our house''s front door in 5 minutes" [Garry]


    For the first time, Shingi noticed his father in a sober state and paid attention to him and his expression, and he noticed clear signs of anger. And specifically when he was looking towards him.


    He was lucky that this happened after he finished creating his Mana Pool; otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to make it as everything he has done in the day''s training on his skills has helped him and would be impossible to seed without them.


    He noticed that Annoue wasn''t happy about what her father told them. She seemed powerless to do anything about it.


    And so Shingi tried to chill her up, and he knew just the way. Another pat on her head but this time, he didn''t use his hand.


    But his <strong>MANA HAND</strong>.


    Seeing a weird hand-shaped thing appearing over her head scared her, and she ran behind her brother to rescue her.


    "You don''t have to worry. I created this. It is my spell, and it isn''t harmful." [Shingi]


    For Annoue hearing that wasn''t very clear, but Shingi proved his point by waving towards the hand, and the <strong>MANA HAND</strong> mimicked the movement perfectly and waved too. Since he had this time used his own Mana controlling, it was way easier now. And since he used Light Mana specifically and not Earth Mana, he could choose a small quantity of mana that hand looked like it has created by a yellow-colored ss and was somewhat transparent.


    Annoue made her way towards the hand, and Shingi gave it themand to get closer to her slowly and patted her. It was feeling a little weird for Annoue as it wasn''t asfortable as when Shingi did it just moments ago with his real hand. Still, she was amazed at what her little brother was able to do now.


    She wanted to ask him to teach her how to do it, but Shingi was already expecting this spoke first.


    "In good time, you will be able to do things more amazing than that. But we should keep this a secret between just the two of us." [Shingi]


    Shingi knew he couldn''t hide everything from Annoue since he was teaching her, and he had no benefit of doing so. Still, he should keep a low profile for now until he got stronger.


    And so they went their way towards the kitchen for Shingi to have a quick bite before he joined his father at the front door, and they started heading towards the shop.

 Chapter 15: Spending time with father

    Chapter 15: Spending time with father


    Two figures, one adult and one child, were walking one next to the other. Those two were Shingi and Garry, and they were heading at the local cksmith''s shop who is supposed to be Garry''s.


    During his free time, Shingi remembered any information for the local cksmith, especially after hearing his mother''s story.


    Still, other than the Blue Moon Festival, he didn''t know much about the town other than few stories of it and quests of some of its people and nothing about its cksmith and not even heard of his mother''s in-game name.


    But he was mostly focused on information on the tower and people with rare or unique skills and things like that, so even if she wasn''t one, he knew of being like that. Still, millions of yers in the game from all over the world, so not hearing about one with these requirements as possible. But through the few stories he heard of her and facts about her, he learned an interesting one.


    She seemed like her ss was the same one that he tries to make Annoue earn. She fitted the description of an Arcane de as she was used to putting her equipment at many temporary enchantments. She seemed to have 5 active on her simultaneously, which is an impressive thing that not many can do. The more enchantments active, the more focus needed to keep them active and even more if they are at the same person. Even if they are of the same source, one may mess with the other, so the caster should keep them from not interacting with each other if not needed.


    On their way, he kept checking Garry and tried to understand how skillful he was from his body type possibly. Shingi was someone who had taught an NPC who is currently almost a Grandmaster. Hence, his eyes were able to understand things differently than others. Even if he didn''t have his Eagle Eyes, which would help a lot here, he could make urate assumptions.


    ''It seems like he hasn''t stopped his work on crafting things for more than a year; probably it was helping to keep his mind clear for some time. His hand seems rough enough, and he has worked many years holding heavy tools, so he probably isn''t much on the small details. Even if his muscle after not working and drinking has changed, the years of hard work are still there. He definitely doesn''t seem to be more than a Base cksmith but a medium graded one at least.'' [Shingi]


    He was impressed over those facts to tell the truth, but they made some sense. Even if he had the support of a yer who can make a fortune if they are good ones, if one didn''t have the skills to support the shop, the town wouldn''t just let it go.


    He was also surprised that the mayor or someone hadn''t done anything for the shop, like using it to be something else. Still, from the way a spoke of his mother, she seemed to respect her too much and wanted to help her family as much as she could.


    And so they made it to the shop and got inside. This time since he had his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> skill, which he was always keeping active with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> to be safe, he noticed how bad the shop''s situation was. Even the sign was barely held over the door, and if someone closed the door with force, it would likely make it fall. The rest of the ce was in a bad state or just the front wall, as the rest was in a terrible state. If it were left like that, it would soon be in a state that a heavy wind could bring the whole thing down.


    He noticed that Garry was moving in the shop without worries like he wasn''t aware of his shop''s state. Even if Shingi had a powerful skill, Garry should know the shop like the back of his hand, so he should be aware of its state more than anyone, so there was only one case.


    ''He doesn''t care anymore. But then why did he bring me here, and why does he keep it?'' [Shingi]


    The town had so many yersing and go, even if low-level ones; they were good customers, and the cksmith shop would make a good amount of money.


    "Now we have to turn on the forge. There is some charcoal at the back. I will go get them while you clean it up a little." [Garry]


    He pointed at a corner of the store, which had a simple-looking forge full of dust and empty bottles.


    Shingi didn''t ask anything as he looked around the room, and he found a clean, or at least as clean as he could find in here, and was able to use some of his Light mana to clean it up a little, which lead to learning a new spell.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>FILTH EATER</strong> (ungraded) has been learned.


    ================================


    An ungraded spell wasn''t one too powerful to have a rank, but the opposite, it was too weak, and one that could barely use mana close do not be considered a spell.


    And so with his now clean cloth, he covered his mouth so do be able to breathe without worry and went his way over to clean the forge, moving the bottles with his MANA HAND and making some dust disappear with FILTH EATER as he was keeping an eye on his Father cause he didn''t want to see him casting spells yet.


    And so the forge was clean of dust, and the bottles were put aside in less than two minutes. Since Garry wasn''t back yet, he started gathering with his hand the rest of the bottles around and even cleaned the space around the forge, and so he noticed that this wasn''t a simple forge as he thought.


    ''<em>A mana blower at a base one''s cksmith shop? It seems like she really was making some money if she could get one.</em>'' [Shingi]


    Of course, by she, he meant his mother. The mana blower was a device suited under the forge that could produce air to feed the fire. It was using the mana around it to produce that air or could even use the user''s mana so it could be used by both people able to use mana and people who couldn''t. But creating one was expensive that not many, at least NPCs to be able to afford unless they were like Master Rank crafters or people of power or wealth.


    And then he noticed that actually, there seemed to be two blowers connected to the forge. Still, one seemed to be of the normal kind connected to a pipe that wasn''t too long and had a small opening left at the end of it. There were some bellows around that should be fit in that hole so that you could use to blow air in the forge in a more traditional way, probably in the case of the mana blower, one stops working, which was a tough thing to do or for someone who isn''t familiar with how to use it.


    In a matter of almost 10 minutes, he had cleaned the whole forge and around it, gathered all the bottles in an empty big sack he found and investigated the state of the forge, especially the mana blower he was familiar with.


    And then, Garry returned with a big sack over his charcoal over his left shoulder. He seemed surprised to see the forge clean as new and his son sitting in front of it, rxing like he had done nothing.


    "It seems we found a talent of yours." [Garry]


    Garry chuckled over it, but Shingi didn''t put it in mind. He kept his senses on him during his cleaning up, so he knew that Garry didn''t take him that long to get the charcoal. It seemed like he met a figure at the back of the shop and talked for a few minutes, and then this unknown person left through the back door.


    He could barely hear the steps of this figure. With his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, he could tell that was one of a somewhat Arcane background but not too big, or it would react to his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> since he was using a small amount of his mana on this figure in theory so someone of skills could notice it and maybe track it back.


    He tried to hear what they were talking about, but he couldn''t hear anything. The reason behind it seemed to be a device on the neck of this unknown figure that seemed not to allow their voice to get too far.


    Shingi was familiar with those types of magic items and knew that even the simplest one was worth quite a few coins that even messengers of nobles could barely afford, but most decided to have.


    He was tempted to try using his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill to possibly get closer to maybe get them in his sight and maybe read their lips, which he was able to do. Still, these kinds of people covered their mouths most times, and he didn''t want to risk it either way. But he tried to keep in his mind everything he learned of this person, like how his mana felt since different people''s mana was giving a different feeling cause of its owner element, mana skills rank, etc.; as also he kept in his mind his smell that he barely was able to take and even the sound of his steps and heartbeat.


    After getting his <strong>INT</strong> to 16, things were easier to organize. He was also wondering if his unknown blessing was helping at all on that. After his sleep and weird dream, his mind was clearer than ever, and his way of multitasking was better than ever.


    But now, since his father was back and didn''t even take even a moment of mentioning the reason it took him that long as he reached the forge and started filling it with charcoal.


    Shingi could tell from the way Garry was putting them in and spreading them that his skill was still here and not too rusty. And after finishing that, he pulled out some old papers and, using a flint and steel one by one, put them on fire and ced them in some spots in the forge. The forge was in a circr shape of almost 2 meters in diameter. There was even like a chimney over it, having a free space of a little less than a meter, covering a little more than half of the forge to lead the smoke out.


    And then Garry went over to the side where the mana blower was and put his hand on a panel that had the drawing in the shape of an open hand.


    Seeing that Shingi thought that Garry was ready to use his mana, which was weird since Shingi could tell that he didn''t have a Mana Pool, but Garry did that seemingly to check its state and then pulled slightly a lever that was next to the panel, which was to let the blower to start gathering the mana from its surroundings and produce air from that mana. The more you pulled the lever, the more mana would be used, and the air would be stronger, so you could control it better than using the bellows.


    Garry definitely seemed like one who has done that many many times as the fire kept getting stronger and stronger at a fast pace.


    Shingi could even tell in Garry''s eyes while working on the fire signs of bringing him back memories of great importance for him but at the same time, remembering them brought him pain.


    "Look around for any metal and bring them here." [Garry]


    He normally would be able to do that in less than a minute as he had seen most of the shop already and had noticed where some metal was. Still, he didn''t want to draw too much attention. He knew that he had some time until the fire was ready to be used, even for the simplest forging, so he took his time and made it look like he was actually looking for them around.


    And he brought some iron that had been in a good enough state.


    Garry then was ready to ask for something else but then looked towards Shingi and checking him from toes to the top of his head with his eyes and instead, he disabled the blower since the fire seemed to not needing any further air and went over to the desk, the same one he was sleeping the other day. He picked up something that was under it.


    A hammer.


    It seemed like a typical cksmith hammer except for a few details of having some carving all over its handle and its size, which was the size of a war hammer. Garry seemed to pick the hammer without any problem. And then something interesting happened.


    The hammer became smaller, getting in the size of a normal light hammer. Even its head seemed to change its shape slightly but barely noticeable for anyone other than Shingi.


    ''<em>A Spirit Hammer? Just what background does this family have?</em>'' [Shingi]


    A Spirit Hammer was something that even High Graded Master ranked cksmiths were dreaming of having. It is a hammer with a spark of L''liw the God of Smiths. It can allow the user to use his skills like they are a Rank higher than normal. This meant a Base Rank one would be considered a Master Rank and a Master Rank one a Grandmaster one, or at least in theory. There were limits even to a hammer-like that.


    But this type of hammers was unknown where to be found or even create, and when one was found, people would even die or kill in the progress of trying to get it first. But there was something that could keep others from trying to steal it or even do anything harmful to its owner.


    The first one that used the hammer with a suitable it crafting skill would create a bond with it that would break only in death. When that individual dies, the hammer will turn into a normal one, and a new one will be created somewhere hidden. All one could do was try to persuade the person to let it to them after they die or work for them. After the mysterious figure''s appearance, Shingi started thinking if Garry had made a deal like that actually.


    The hammer changed its shape to different kinds of hammers suitable for different types of work as its user was willing to make it the perfect and only hammer needed by him. Unfortunately, it could be only a hammer; otherwise, it would be the only tool they would need, but even so, it was something that even Varic would go crazy over.


    And so Garry threw some of the iron into the forge to heat it to prepare it, but then he did something unexpected.


    He brought the hammer in front of Shingi.


    "Let''s see what''s your talent in this kind of work, boy."[Garry]

 Chapter 16: A day at the shop

    Chapter 16: A day at the shop


    He knew exactly what was Garry''s n. He wanted to test Shingi to see if he had any inherited skills. NPCs children had a chance to have some of their parent''s skills considered inherited. Those would be easier and faster to get unlocked and reach the rank of which it was when they inherited it. In most cases, those were skills in Base Rank, but there were some rare Master Rank ones.


    ''<em>I wonder if he did the same with Annoue, although I doubt it would work either way.</em>'' [Shingi]


    It wasn''t like women weren''t able to be a cksmith as there were some famous ones. Still, even if <strong>STR</strong> of Annoue could help her, she didn''t seem to have any suitable skills or natural talent on it.


    Garry brought him a tong and pointed at the nearby anvil with a water bucket next to it. However, Shingi wasn''tpletely sure if what was in there was water. It seemed like it got muddy, which made him think that the whole ce was dirtier than it should be.


    "Let the iron heat up, and then use the tong to pick it up and hammer it on the anvil. Follow your instincts and when you are done, wake me up." [Garry]


    Garry went and sat behind the desk and started taking his nap, the same as the other day.


    Shingi made sure that he really was sleeping and then went to work. He cast his <strong>MANA HAND</strong>, but this time he used Earth mana instead, which made it look like it was made of dirt but kept its shape perfectly. It was also hovering slower than the Light base one. Shingi knew it could handle the heat; otherwise, he would have to feed it with more mana or keep getting weaker and then get dispelled.


    And with it, he picked the heated piece of iron, and then with his free hand, he started testing the panel of the mana blower. He had used one in the past, but since he didn''t have mana then, he controlled it with the lever.


    He used the air and even put some of his Light mana in the produced air and steam and used to clean some of the iron''s impurities and even tried to embed his mana in it. Still, he didn''t have enough to do something like that.


    In the end, this left him with almost no mana, but he was happy with how much he cleaned that piece of iron. He used the <strong>MANA HAND</strong> to put it over the anvil and start hammering it.


    And so he dispelled his <strong>MANA HAND</strong>,pletely disabled the mana blower, and used the tong to keep the metal still as he was ready to use the hammer, which had changed its size to better suit his size and <strong>STR</strong>. He could see why people were crazy over it as it was feeling like an extension of his hand at this point, a tough thing to feel with even a hammer that one had personally created or used for years.


    And so he started his hammering, and his movements were a little sloppy at the start but got quickly adjusted. Ha hadn''t done much physical activity with this body, so he was still getting used to it, and the hammer also seemed to fix some of his mistakes. And so he started shaping what he wanted, and since he didn''t have a lot of material as Garry threw the smaller one, he decided to make a small trinket.


    It would be an amulet with the same symbol as the shop''s sign. He focused and found how to change the hammer''s shape to make it a pick hammer and use it almost like a chisel when needed to carve the symbol.


    He also used his <strong>FILTH EATER</strong> to clear the water in the bucket. When he was finished, he put his final product in there while holding it with a newly casted <strong>MANA HAND</strong>, this time a Light mana one so that he can use its transparency to see his resulted product.


    He kept using his <strong>MANA HAND</strong> to get more used to it. It would also be possible to hold it in a less ''dangerous'' way of changing the heated metal''s shape as he could control the force easier. Still, it wasn''t that the ''damage'' would be that much.


    And so as it got in a cool temperature to be held by his hand, he let it a little more in the water and then got it in his hand and put it on the desk and then coughed loudly to get the attention of Garry and started pointing at his trinket.


    Garry didn''t seem to be heavy sleeping as he woke up easily enough. He looked at Shingi and then at the thing he was pointing.


    It seemed like he waspletely awake at that point as he quickly picked it up and started investigating it.


    "You really made this?!?" [Garry]


    Anyone could see the surprise in his eyes.


    "That was what you asked, right? Something for me to create from the iron using the hammer. And here is the result." [Shingi]


    The hammer was now shaped like when Garry first gave it to him, and Shingi put it on the table and left it there.


    Garry hearing that response seemed to make him somewhat happy for a second but then went back to be his usual strict-not caring face.


    "Well, I guess you have some talent. Crafting something like that would have unlocked you the <strong>SMITHING</strong> skill. Am I right?" [Garry]


    "Yes. It is at Base Rank currently." [Shingi]


    Garry didn''t seem surprised to hear that as it made sense from the result and to tell the truth, even Shingi was somewhat expecting it to happen. Unlocking a skill at not Low Rank wasn''t something unheard of. He was the son of a cksmith, and the knowledge cause of his time as a yer put him at an advantage that none without the skill would have. Also, he had used a Spirit Hammer during all that, which helped even more.


    "It seems like you really are our child." [Garry]


    Shingi found this phrase a little weird but didn''t put much thought into it.


    "Well, you better not let it make you cocky cause you have much to learn. So are you ready for your next task?" [Garry]


    Shingi nodded right away without a second thought as he was looking forward to crafting some more as he hadn''t done it for some time and have somewhat missed the feeling.


    "Clean the rest of the ce while I will go to speak with a few people. I will meet you back home, but you better make a good work or no dinner for a week." [Garry]


    And at that point, Garry''s face was stricter than ever. He was giving amanding aura that would work on someone other than Shingi, who was someone who had fought a Dragon and didn''t get afraid for even a moment. But he made himself looked like he got somewhat affected and agreed on the task.


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST: CLEANING BLACKSMITH SHOP</strong>


    <strong>Description</strong>: Garry the cksmith has given you the task to clean his shop. He should check it tomorrow.


    <strong>Reward</strong>: Increase of Local cksmith Garry''s reputation


    ================================


    Seeing that Shingi was confused. He hadn''t heard of normal NPCs taking quests, but could he be considered a normal NPC? Also, even if the reward wasn''t something big, that was for now. Even if Garry isn''t at his best now, things could change, and Shingi could tell that he was hiding something.


    And so Garry left the building heading to who knows where and Shingi for a moment was tempted to follow him but kept himself from doing it.


    And so Shingi, instead of starting cleaning up, went into his meditate state after sitting somewhere at the area around the forge that he had already cleaned. That way, he could focus on making his Mana Pool gather mana quicker and replenish his mana faster, and at the same time, starting slowly strengthening his Mana Pool. It took him less than 2 minutes to fill his Mana Pool since he didn''t have much mana.


    And so he went back to use hisbination of <strong>MANA HAND</strong> to pick up small objects and move them around. His <strong>FILTH EATER</strong> to destroy dust and such and at the same time decided to grind his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>. And this made him notice something that he wouldn''t notice otherwise. Some of the dust had some amount of mana in it.


    Even if gathered in a big amount, things like dust wouldn''t have any mana unless of one situation. It wasn''t normal created dust, but mana created one.


    And then he noticed that this dust there was around only one ce and one ce only. Around the chair behind the desk, the same one that Garry was sleeping on.


    ''Could he somehow create it? But I am sure he doesn''t have a Mana Pool, and even with the mana blower, he used the lever instead of the panel.'' [Shingi]


    He thought it over, and it wasn''t making any sense to him. His senses may not be perfect, but he was confident to notice if someone is supposed to have a Mana Pool or not, and no matter how he thought of it, Garry shouldn''t. Also didn''t seem like the type to have the skills to manipte mana without having a Mana Pool, but you should never judge a book from its cover.


    ''Maybe he used the lever to demonstrate how it works since I shouldn''t know how and he couldn''t know I could use mana. If that is the case, he may be hiding more secrets than I thought.'' [Shingi]


    Shingi starting thinking that things were getting interesting, although others would consider them troublesome or confusing. But he liked these kinds of mysteries.


    But for now, he went back on focusing on cleaning up the ce, filling his mana, and repeat. He had to do it a few times as even if the <strong>FILTH EATER</strong> were using close to no mana if one keeps casting it again and again, it would be like casting a Low-Grade spell.


    He also tried to cast two <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> and control one with each hand. Still, it took him a little time as some slip on his focus now and then led to one of them getting dispelled, and it was hard at the start to send differentmands at each.


    But after hours of testing and as it got close to dinner time, he finally finished his task. Of course, the Quest wasn''tpleted since Garry had to look at the shop''s current state for this to happen.


    Shingi was happy with today''s result as his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, and <strong>MANA HAND</strong>''s proficiency has definitely increased but not enough for the system to consider them enough to Rank Up or create an evolved spell. But he found the time to Rank Up to base one of his Skills finally.


    His <strong>IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON</strong> skill. He actually used some of the bottles to hit some spiders and rats as targets and also made some throws with one of his <strong>MANA HANDS</strong>, which made the skill Rank Up to Base Rank quite fast.


    His <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> skill was the only one at Low Rank, but he didn''t mind it to keep it like that for now.


    And so after making sure that everything was fine and put everything that was garbage, like bottles and the corpses of rats he targeted, at big sacks and put them at the back of the shop then he started making his way back home to get some dinner and rest for the night which he was sure to have earned them today.

 Chapter 17: Enchantments and Spells

    Chapter 17: Enchantments and Spells


    Getting in the house, he was ambushed, or would normally be if he didn''t have his PERCEPTION skills active all the time. Still, he decided no to react, as Annoue went to hug him right as he opened the door. She seemed like she was waiting for him.


    He noticed that Garry didn''t seem to be back yet and that he barely could move his arms cause Annoue was bear-hugging him but fortunately wasn''t putting all of her STR in it.


    ''<em>This seems to happen too often these days.</em>'' [Shingi]


    "You can let go now." [Shingi]


    But she didn''t react at all as she didn''t hear him. So since she didn''t want to let go, he once more cast his <strong>MANA HAND</strong> who he was proficient enough with it now to cast even without the movement but took longer to cast it that way. But this was possible for Low-Grade spells whose somaticponents are more straightforward and can be ignored by imagining them doing them with your mind. The higher the grade of a spell, the moreplicated the movements and the more challenging it is to use this casting mental way.


    This time he used abination of some Earth and Light mana. His tests in the shop in the rightbination resulted in a hand feeling closer to a real one but still far from it. Earth element mana helped keep things more solid, and Light element gave it some ''life'' as some had described it as in past experiments that Shingi had heard.


    He used the hand to pat her head once more. She seemed to snap out and let go of Shingi and looked upon the hand, which she could tell that it was different than the other one, but she understood that it seemed to be of her brother''s again.


    "Are you ok? Did you get bored waiting for Garry and me?" [Shingi]


    "Well, I tried to train as you taught me, but the Lights were moving too much and were annoying. But I made them move as you told me and make shapes and feed my tree. It even has one fruit now." [Annoue]


    "Full-grown fruit? Not just seed?" [Shingi]


    Annoue closed her eyes and focused, and after a few seconds, she opened them again.


    "Yes, full-grown one. It was one of the seeds I had before." [Annoue]


    "Before? How many seeds do you have?" [Shingi]


    Annoue once more closed her mind, and Shingi could see even her lips counting as she counted.


    "32 but 5 of them seem the same as the one who was fruit before thest time I saw it as a seed." [Shingi]


    Usually, Shingi would get amazed at the high number, but he got numb against these kinds of things whening from Annoue. Arcane Practitioners were ranking the Mana Trees depending on how many seeds it was able to bear maximum. Up to 10, they were considered of the Low Rank, and a Base one was up to 20. A Master one was up to 60. For more than 60, none was rumored to have reached that many even people who were able to cast Divine Spells and had spent a hundred years developing their Mana Trees.


    The more seeds or fruits the Mana Tree of someone can bear doesn''t make his life easier cause he can cast more spells faster. Still, it also shows that the tree''s mana is morefortable to control as it can separate it into so many parts simultaneously and make them bloom with time without affecting itself. But of course, it didn''t mean that all of your seeds at a time would be fruits as there seemed like there was a limit of fruits and seeds one could also have. It seemed one would be lucky if had one-third of his seeds bing fruits, and there was only one in the history as far as Shingi knew who had 54 seeds, and 23 of them could be fruits at the same time.


    Many have researched the reason behind the different number of seeds on each person''s Mana Trees. One hundred practitioners made their Mana Tree from the same source. Even between them, there were differences in the maximum amount of seeds. For some, the difference wasn''t just one or two but even a dozen. The user''s talent for growing the tree was decided, and their affinity with the mana was also ying an important role.


    "Well, good to know, but keep this a secret. For any reason, if you have to tell how many seeds and fruits your Mana Tree has, keep them lower than fifteen. Also, please don''t use them unless you have no other choice, especially the fruit one. Ok?" [Shingi]


    Annoue nodded in agreement without saying anything. She was trusting her brother, who seemed for some reason to know better about these types of things.


    "Well, since you have done that good, I have a little present for you." [Shingi]


    And so he brought out of his pocket a t piece of metal with something carved on it. During the cleaning and cause, he seemed to be still able to use Spirit Hammer but probably not for long; he had decided to make this simple present for Annoue. The symbol was a circle containing a smaller circle, both having centered on the t surface. There were eight different shapes between the two circles'' space, each one on its own shape.


    The first one was just a vertical line, then a V-shaped one, then a triangle, and so on, as the next one was a shape with one more line than the previous one.


    This was a small trinket used for Enchantment training.


    It could be used to make some temporary enchantments, but they can''t be more than a Low-Grade one.


    Enchanting can work in two ways. Either there is a carving of the symbol or Enchantment Circle, as most call them, or create them with your mana. In either case, mana needs to be used to activate them, but in the Enchantment Circle''s case, since it was created by mana, it doesn''t need more mana but uses itself to feed the enchantment.


    The trinket he made was made of iron thoroughly purified with his Light Mana and also embed in it to make it work for the reason he wanted to.


    He exined that all she should do is manipte some mana in the lines she decided to use. They would slowly absolve by it, and at some point, will start emitting some dim light showing that they were active. When all the lines she wanted to use were lighted up, she had to feed some more mana at the rest of the trinket away from the lines, and that would enable the enchantment.


    But she had to be fast, for when a shape lighted up, it would start slowly rejecting the mana.


    "For now, you will train in activating only one enchantment. It is one of the simplest ones as it uses just the first one and second symbol." [Shingi]


    By the first one and the second one, he meant the ones with one line and two lines. They were easier to fill mana with, and since there wasn''t an enchantment withoutbining at least two of the shapes, he decided to make Annoue start with this.


    "So what is gonna happen when it is activated?" [Annoue]


    "It is a simple color change spell. It will change the color of the trinket in random color for a time depending on how much mana you feed it with." [Shingi]


    Her eyes got wide with excitement that she would be able to do something so cool. And so she got ready to work on it right away but got stopped by Shingi.


    "Now it isn''t the time. Garry should be back soon, and also, it is dinner time. You should work on it tomorrow when you are by yourself cause I think most likely I will spend more time in the shop. And try to keep it away from other''s eyes." [Shingi]


    Hearing that, Annoue got a little upset, and she even squeezed her fist, the one she was holding the trinket with, making it bent a little, which made her scared of possibly breaking it. Shingi told her that it was fine as she didn''t seem to bend it too much, but she should be more careful even if he would rece it with another one in the future but didn''t mention that.


    The young brother and sister went into the kitchen to have their dinner. They were also waiting for Garry, and Shingi gave Annoue some more tips over the trinket and her skills. Annoue, even if she found training somewhat dull as she repeatedly did the same thing, she was happy that it was a task given by her brother. After watching the amazing thing, Shingi was able to do, she was more determined to get better.


    After finishing their dinner, which this time, it was something prepared by Annoue as one could tell by the taste. Not that it was horrible, just very nd taste-wise.


    There was no news from Garry even after it got thiste that Annoue seemed to notice, and Shingi could tell that she wasn''t expecting it. Shingi told her a few things about what happened and that Garry left to take care of few things but not sure what those were.


    "Has he ever been away for that long?" [Shingi]


    "Very rarely. Thest time was months ago, but most time, he seemed to have returned at some point while I was sleeping." [Annoue]


    Even if Shingi was curious about what Garry was doing and wanted to search for him in secret, he decided against it.


    He was too tired since he was casting spell pretty much non-stop and kept emptying and filling his mana pool and strengthening his Mana Tree. So both of them went to bed, but Shingi seemed to be back in the state of not being able to sleep.


    ''It seems I have to overwork myself too much to need sleep. Well, I can work with it'' [Shingi]


    Since he did not have the time to rx, he slowly strengthened his Mana Tree. As his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> skill after using that much casting has also been increased and morefortable to be used but was still in Base Rank, he didn''t need to focus on it.


    And since everything else progressed quite well, he decided to work something he had left for some time.


    Ranking up his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>.


    And so he visualized one again, this old elven gentleman. At the same time, he started visualizing another person he recently visited.


    Varic, his friendly cksmith Dwarf.


    His appearance being fresher in his mind, was more detailed than the Elf, but there were some details here and there needing work like some lines in his muscles since he imagined him in his working clothing.


    And so he focused on them doing actions fitting them. The Elf gave some kind speech, and Varic was hammering an anvil that Shingi had also visualized.


    And not a lot of time passed as the System let him know that his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> was now at Base Rank. After that, the two figures became more detailed, and movements became more lifelike. After a few minutes, Shingi decided to move to his next part of his n.


    He dismissed both of the figures and focused on a new form, this time of something simpler. Just a simple small wooden box that made it hovering over his head.


    He started using some of his mana to surround it and make the same shape just with his mana, but it didn''t seem to have any effect. He tried to focus more on the result of his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> but not to make it more detailed but this time to check its nature. Some would consider it just a product of his imagination. Still, it was an illusion created by him but not using mana but some other source.


    Shingi have heard of others calling that these type of skills were using the Soul Energy of someone. Still, none was sure for anything as no matter how much they were using, it didn''t seem to affect them other than straining their mind, but this was happening with all mental skills.


    And Shingi could barely feel that his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> was created by something but not sure what it was. And so he tried tobine this strange energy with this mana, and after some testing, he had a result.


    There was now a hovering wooden box over his head that anyone could see


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>MINOR ILLUSION</strong> (Ungraded) has been learned.


    ================================


    He worked on his new spell and made differentbinations between using just Earth Mana or Light or a different amount of both. That had some results.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>LIGHT</strong> (Ungraded) has been learned.


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> (Low Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    He now had his first offensive spell, but it was a Low Grade one, so he wasn''t expecting much out of it against serious fights. Using mostly Earth mana, he could create a piece of rock and give it some force with his mana to be thrown towards a direction like if he had thrown it. The bigger the rock, the more mana it needed to be thrown, and he also found out that using Light Mana for throwing it made them go faster.


    Of course, he was careful on his tests not to wake up Annoue as the rocks would make some noise when it hits something, but fortunately, she remained asleep, and nothing broke. Also, since the rocks were made from his mana, he could make them disappear, and at some point, he did it before it got the chance to hit something.


    The Light spell made sense he could use since he had Light element mana, but it was a spell that anyone could use at some point. His could get brighter than one of someone with no Light mana used on the spell, though.


    He worked on his new Spells carefully, keeping his senses up not to wake up Annoue. He also looked out if Garry came home, which didn''t happen yet, even if it was after midnight.


    After he got pretty happy with using his new spells, he focused on a different task that he thought of working on after creating the present of Annoue.


    To create an Enchantment Circle with just his mana.

 Chapter 18: Enchantment training and Picton

    Chapter 18: Enchantment training and Picton


    Creating Enchantment Circles is something that almost all Arcane Practitioners were training at, even if they weren''t focusing on enchanting magic. That was cause they could make some Spell Storing enchantments. That would allow them to store a spell of theirs in an item and being able to cast themter immediately without the need for extra mana.


    Of course, these kinds of enchantments didn''t alwaysst forever. The higher the spell''s grade, the harder the magic and the use of unique material to handle it.


    He currently didn''t have any high-ranked spell, so working on that kind of enchantment wasn''t something he needed to do. He worked in a circle of an enchantment that could also create with the trinket he gave at Annoue. It would be a triangle with a V-shaped in it, separating the triangle into two smaller triangles and a rhombus.


    He focused on some of his Light mana that was faster to manipte and move around and started making a ball of mana at the tip of his right hand''s index finger. Then he started drawing with it in the air the shape he wanted.


    It took him a while to release the mana from his finger and keep it in ce, so he had to draw the shape a couple of times.


    After he finished, he called his mana back to his finger and reced any that was released to the environment and started again and so on.


    And so then he started bing faster and faster in making the circles. The first one took him 5 minutes toplete it, and now it took him almost 5 secs, but at that point, he had used nearly all of his Light Mana. He had noticed that nearly 70 percent of his Mana Pool was of Light element. It should be the case cause his source was, in theory, also of Light element since it came from the moonlight.


    And so he went in his meditating stance and entirely focused on restoring his Light mana and feeding his Mana Tree and growing it.


    Currently, he noticed that he still had not even a seed on it, but it has grown to almost half a meter double of the size it used to be. But this didn''t change any of his stats or increased his maximum mana. Still, he could feel his mana bing morefortable to handle and somewhat felt purer.


    After his mana was full, he then drew the Enchantment Circle he was training with on the mirror they had in the room. When he finished and made sure that it was ok he focused on enabling the enchantment by making the mana move clockwise.


    So the circle produced some very dim light, and then it disappeared. Shingi then summoned a gold coin out of the unique dimension of his Blessing. He pressed its surface on the mirror and let go, and the coin stayed there like it was glued on it. And this was the case as the enchantment was turning a surface to be sticky like that.


    After 10 secs the coin fell but was caught by Shingi before it hits the surface of the desk the mirror was on. After more testing, it seemed his enchantment couldst for 20 secs at most. That was with the mana amount he currently could spare and couldn''t handle too much weight, maybe around half a kilogram. He knew that this enchantment''s limit was tost an hour at most and handle almost 1 ton, so he still had a long way to go.


    Enchantments didn''t seem something that the System counted them like spells as there wasn''t any unlocked notification. Still, he knew that this was the case for yers too, so he wasn''t surprised. Enchantments were one of the few things that the System wasn''t helping keeping track of one has learned, and also, it wasn''t assisting yers in casting them. That is why few focused on them, but the few who were true masters on them were powerhouses.


    Of course, spells had the same effects, but the Enchantment Circle ones were in greater power.


    After he used this enchantment close to a dozen times, he decided to take a break truly.


    He also focused his senses once more, and he found out that Garry still didn''t seem to have returned, and it was maybe around three to four hours after midnight.


    He also decided to possibly take a break from casting any spells until next dinner time. He had overdone it today, and he should use his magic to make his life morefortable but not depend on them only.


    And he closed his eyes even if he couldn''t sleep and tried to rx his mind at the best of his abilities. Tomorrow he had to keep his eyes and ears open for Hineko as tomorrow night was when he told him to meet him again at the storehouse. Also, the System lets him know of another change.


    ================================


    <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> is <strong>ONLINE</strong>


    ================================


    ''Finally.'' [Shingi]


    This time stood up as he noticed that he spawned the same way that his NPC body was, so since he was lying down, he appeared that way too. Also, he assumed that probably his NPC body would fall asleep during it, so he stood up in a way to fall on the bed when losing control of his body. And so he enabled his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> once more.


    After the expected feeling of the transition of losing his body and moving to his yer character, he was back in Picton. In the same ce a little further than one of the gates of it that he was when his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> changed to <strong>OFFLINE</strong>. Instead of continuing his way toward the gate, he moved towards the course of the inn that was closer to the point he had left the two girls.


    His speed was great as he also activated a particr Skill of his called <strong>ACCELERATION</strong>, which gave him a movement speed boost by consuming his SP. Still, at the same time, he used his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill and <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> to move without drawing too much attention. He made his way towards the inn in just a few seconds that would typically take him maybe 10 minutes.


    And it was just in time as he noticed the two yers he was looking to get out one of the Inns.


    He disabled his skills and walked towards them without trying to hide, and they noticed him.


    "It is you from the other day. Don''t tell me that you are stalking us." [Wild Tycoon]


    "Like I would need to do something like that. I am sure at some point you will start a fight and draw the attention of the whole town and not just me." [Ameanum]


    Tycoon seemed surprised by Ameanum''s returning aeback like that. She was ready to say something, but Phoenix spoke first.


    "It is good that we meet again, Mister Shingi." [Little Phoenix]


    "Well, it is my pleasure, Miss Phoenix. I presume from yourck of changing on your equipment that you still need help on leveling up." [Ameanum]


    "Well, she isn''t the only one who hasn''t done something for her equipment as far as I see. But at least you have a sword now." [Wild Tycoon]


    Hearing that Ameanum wanted to make anothereback, he had a better way to deal with this situation.


    "Well, then why don''t we go buy some equipment. It will be my treat." [Ameanum]


    He didn''t wait for any response as he moved towards the market area. The two girls followed him, but when Tycoon noticed they weren''t heading in Varic''s ce, she got curious.


    "Won''t we get equipment from your friend?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "Did I say anything like that? We are heading to the auction house. Who knows, we may find something good. So stop presuming things and keep moving."[Ameanum]


    Tycoon seemed to be ready to sh him with the big axe that she had hanging at her back, but Phoenix like reading her thoughts, kept her calm. Ameanum, of course, noticed it but didn''t pay any attention to it.


    "A06. Isn''t it a curiousbination of letter and number?" [Ameanum]


    "Where did thate from?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "Nowhere specific. Pay no mind on it." [Ameanum]


    Ameanum, of course, did it for a specific reason to see the girls'' response. Tycoon was the one who talked, but he paid more attention to Phoenix''s reaction and, more specifically, her heartbeat. It got a little faster for a few seconds when heard him saying that.


    They made it in a big building, which was the most significant building in the town, which was the auction house. In the building, yers were putting almost anything avable for others to buy. There were two ways to put their items to the auction house, either with a specific price or for a while, and others would bid what they were willing to pay. The one with the highest bid would acquire it when that time passes.


    There were multiple tables with a big crystal in the middle of it and smaller ones around them. One could touch one of the small ones to enable an interface of the auction house and check the list and put bids or buy what they wanted. Even if the interface was like a standard game UI, the crystals were spell-powered, allowing things to happen faster.


    And so they went over there and started checking, or more specifically, Ameanum was checking. Of course, he was checking the ones that he could buy right away. Even if he didn''t find anything very rare, he found a piece of decent equipment for each of them that he wouldn''t be able to buy at the NPCs shop. So they were a little more expensive than what they would pay there, but since it was low-level equipment, it cost like nothing for him.


    Even if he was a high-level character, he also got a low-level armor to not draw attention and a new Mage''s Rope and staff for Phoenix as a new greataxe for Tycoon.


    Seeing him buying them like it was nothing and even giving them the same, even a beginner like Phoenix, was amazed by it. Mostly since the weapons he gave them were ones with abilities, which was making them even rarer as it would be a drop of a boss or reward of a big quest. Still, they were low-level ones, and probably the ones who sold them were too high level to use them anymore, but for them, they were quite powerful for their level.


    The fact that Ameanum didn''t buy a new sword but kept his standard-looking sword made them more curious but didn''t bring it up.


    "Well, then what is the n?" [Ameanum]


    "Well, there is a monster area at the west area that we should be able to handle with ease now" [Wild Tycoon]


    Ameanum was heading to that area Tycoon was talking aboutst time. There was a cave that goblins seemed to have amunity of theirs deeper in, and a lot were leaving their cave out to hunt or steal from others, but yers killed most. Of course, many have thought of attacking theirmunity. Still, the deeper in the cave you were getting, there seemed to be defensive mechanics that were bing harder and harder to avoid and were getting also deadlier. But those seemed to ignore the goblins and not affect them. Someone powerful was protecting them, but none knew their identity.


    In the past, a big guild worked their way and made it out of the goblin''s town but then fought an army of Goblins and big wolves that could quickly destroy a big town them think why they haven''t attacked the Picton. Most were sure that this was because of the tree and its power to keep monsters away.


    After they got out of the city through the west gate, they headed more towards the west. After a few minutes of Shingi mostly leading the way since he was quite familiar with the area, they made it to a cave entrance.


    At that point, the spirit of Ameanum felt of getting lifted a little as he finally got to do something he hasn''t done for a while.


    "Let''s go monster hunting." [Ameanum]

 Chapter 19: The Ambush

    Chapter 19: The Ambush


    Ameanum, Tycoon, and Phoenix were ready to get in the cave since no goblins were outside. As long as they didn''t go too far in, they wouldn''t encounter any of the traps.


    "Shingi, you seem to be familiar with the ce." [Wild Tycoon]


    Tycoon had noticed that Ameanum led them to quiet quickly through the forest and got in the cave way morefortable and faster than usual. They didn''t encounter even one wild beast like a wolf or bear that sometimes you could face in the forest.


    But how could she know that Ameanum knows the whole forest like the back of his hand. He had spent a lot of time as there were some secret quests in this forest and he had some friends in the town, so he visited it quite a few times.


    "I have been here a few times. We should be careful not to go too far as things get trickier and one wrong move can lead to our death." [Ameanum]


    Tycoon seemed to be in serious mode and ready for a fight, not with Ameanum.


    "But first, I have to ask. What kind of y-style you are going with Phoenix?" [Ameanum]


    Phoenix looked at him with a face full of confusion.


    "Well... I am a Mage, so I guess ... casting spells?" [Little Phoenix]


    "What I mean is what kind of magic you are more interested in. More offensive, one to help others or something in between?"[Ameanum]


    Phoenix seemed to start thinking it through quite seriously.


    "She is still level 1, and it is her first game like that. She still has time to think it over." [Wild Tycoon]


    Ameanum looked at her and sighed at what she said. I was like she said the stupidest thing she could say, which made her ready to sh him up but kept herself calm.


    "The future development of someone''s ss starts from early one. If you aren''t careful, you are going to miss important ways that would help at her Mana Tree development." [Ameanum]


    "Well, what does that have to do with what we are doing now? Shouldn''t that be something to think about after getting a couple of levels and go to the library to learn the appropriate for her style spells?"[Wild Tycoon]


    Some towns had libraries containing mostly Low Graded Spells for yers to learn for the right price. They had other requirements, like specific level, skill ranks, or mana element type.


    "That would be what most would do, but all of them would get the real power of their ss. If you don''t start the right development from early on, some secret skill of the ss won''t be avable." [Ameanum]


    "Secret skills?!? How early we are talking about?" [Wild Tycoon]


    Ameanum smiled at it as he knew what Tycoon was going on. She could tell that he too was a Warrior, and if he did have that knowledge for another ss, wouldn''t he had for theirs also?


    "What level are you?" [Ameanum]


    Ameanum didn''t have to ask cause he already knew, cause of his Eagle Eyes. Tycoon didn''t know about it, and he wasn''t going to reveal this skill to anyone any time soon.


    "Level 12. Is that toote?!?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "Not really. If you were higher than 15, it would be pretty much impossible, but after level 10, it is harder but not impossible." [Ameanum]


    Tycoon seemed to be happy to hear about it, and even if Ameanum hadn''t shown any proofs in her eyes, he was an all known man for some reason. Even if he was a little rude and maybe somewhat arrogant here and there, he seemed to know more than an average yer.


    "I am guessing you want to focus more on power? Damage dealing and possible defense boosting without the need for a shield. Am I right?" [Ameanum]


    Tycoon nodded to approve on it right away.


    "Well, at that point, you probably can get one skill only that would fit you. To unlock it, you have to repeat a specific action over and over again, so you should be ready for it." [Ameanum]


    Tycoon got closer and had her ears open, not to miss a single word of Ameanum on the way to unlock the specific skill.


    "Every monster that you kill from now on has to hit you more times than you hit it, and no one else has to damage it even once. Duringbat, you should use no type of healing like potions or even healed by magic. Getting 100 kills or so should do it, but the monsters have not to be lower than yours or are not more than two levels of difference. Fortunately, here we should easily find level 10 and higher goblins."[Ameanum]


    Hearing how to unlock the skill made her think he was messing with her, but she thought it was supposed to be hard.


    "If you were lower level, you would need to kill fewer monsters. Of course, their level could be lower than yours, but not many know about this, and you should keep it a secret cause the few who know this want it to keep it secret and don''t like for their secrets to getting out." [Ameanum]


    "Then how do you know it? Also, won''t you get in trouble for revealing it?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "Who said I wouldn''t? But why would I be afraid? Being afraid of others before theye would lead to you just having nightmares?" [Ameanum]


    At this point, Phoenix seemed to have finished her thinking and was ready to speak but was interrupted by Ameanum. He pushed her away as an arrow passed through the location where her head was.


    Seeing that Tycoon drew her great axe and looked toward the general direction the arrow came from, which wasn''t from the cave but the forest where they came from, but there was no one there.


    Ameanum, at that point, focused all his senses on the forest and then picked a small stone and threw it.


    He noticed that his <strong>IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON</strong> was avable at his yer character now. It was currently at level 12 since he had not too long ago had passed Base Rank in his NPC. But none of his Mana Skills or Spells were avable, probably cause his ss restricted them.


    He hit someone as a shout of pain was heard as the stone was lost in the trees. Ameanum threw five more rocks like that, each in a different direction, and each one hit someone with astonishing speed.


    "Will you get out at some point, or do you want me to continue this all day?" [Ameanum]


    And after few seconds, six yers walked out of the trees. Their equipment didn''t seem any better than the ones Ameanum and the girls were wearing, and most was worse even if most of the yers were a little higher level than Tycoon. His Eagle Eyes had noticed them all and knew their names and level and even most of their equipment as the rest he knew what they were without using the skill. Also, he noticed another detail that made his skill even more important to use when meeting someone he was unfamiliar with.


    Their names were red-colored.


    A red-colored name meant that they had killed either yer or innocent NPCs like townspeople or guards and such. These kinds of people weren''t rare and weren''t weed to towns, and if they killed one important person or too many, a bounty quest would be created by the system for them.


    Ameanum was familiar with that kind of people and have encountered quite a few and knew few of the tactics they were using when they were in a group like that.


    All 6 were male characters, and there seemed to be 2 of each of the main sses. One of the Warriors used a big sword, while the second seemed to be using a sword and a shield. From the Rogues, one was using a crossbow while the other used a longbow, and he seemed to be the one who shot Phoenix. As for the Mage ones, he couldn''t tell much through their equipment, and since he didn''t have ess to his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> with his yer Character, he couldn''t feel anything about their mana.


    Also, all of them had their hand over to their right eye, which was where Ameanum had hit them. With his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, they were like they were in front of him, and this even increased his <strong>IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON</strong> skill by two levels.


    At that point, he motioned to the two girls to stay some distance behind him. The sword and Shield Warrior moved forward with his arms up without drawing his weapon to show that he wasing peacefully.


    "Well, hello there. I want to apologize for my friend''s arrow. He was mistaken that there were some goblins out and not some yers." [Shield Warrior]


    "Oh... I see." [Ameanum]


    Of course, Ameanum knew that this wasn''t the case. If he was able to aim that well to someone''s head, one would be able to tell that their target was a monster or a yer.


    "Well, if this is the case, maybe I should ask for an apology." [Ameanum]


    "You don''t need to apologize for anything, my friend. I get why you did what you did, so no hard feeling needs to be between us." [Shield Warrior]


    This response brought a smile to Ameanum''s face.


    "Then you won''t mind my next action since you seem to be a man of logic." [Ameanum]


    Then, without letting the man say anything, Ameanum turned and drew his sword with unnatural speed and made a horizontal swing in the air.


    After a few seconds, a person''s figure appeared being frozen. He had a dagger at his right hand and was heading towards the two girls behind Ameanum.


    He was under the effect of an invisibility spell that even Ameanum''s Eagle Eyes wasn''t able to see. But this didn''t mean he couldn''t hear him or see how the ground and grass were reacting to his steps. And then the head of the figure fell from its body, and the body fell forward and started turning into particles, which was what happened when a yer died.


    The third rogue was at a higher level than the other six yers. But he was too Low lever to withstand a hit of Ameanum, who was way more powerful even with the lower than what he usually had equipment. He noticed that some of the yer''s blood that stayed on the de as it passed through its neck had disappeared. It was like the de itself consumed it.


    ''Could this be a way to make it grow? Well, I guess this is a good way to find out.'' [Ameanum]


    He turned and kicked two stones that he had secretly moved in front of him without saying anything more. They hit the two mages, interrupting them from casting a spell they were secretly working on.


    Ameanum enabled his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill and charged at them as they could be the greatest threat. Since they weren''t too far, he made it there before they were able to blink and made two more shes, and two more heads were separated from their body.


    Then he moved toward the ranged characters and dealt them the same way without any problems and so with the dual-wielding one. And so he was left with only one target, the Shield Warrior. He didn''t attack him but instead moved back to the same space he talked with each other.


    All these happened in less than 5 seconds, and no one could keep up with his speed. Their mind started reacting to what happened when Ameanum finished all his attacks and returned to his starting point.


    The Shield Warrior would usually draw his shield against a monster kind of yer like that; he knew that he couldn''t do much. He also knew that he should also be dead but wasn''t and wasn''t entirely sure why.


    "Before you say anything, I must warn you that I pay much attention to the words that leave someone''s mouth, especially someone who had ill intentions against me and has lied to me." [Ameanum]


    The yer in front of him kneeled and bowed on the ground toward Ameanum.


    "Master, I am too unworthy to take another look towards you and will ept any punishment and do anything to help." [Shield Warrior]


    Ameanum then turned towards his twopanions, who were still trying to understand what happened in front of them.


    "What do you think we should do with him?" [Ameanum]


    The girls seem to be surprised by asking their opinions on handling the situation since they didn''t do anything to help.


    "I guess we can let him go. It isn''t that we will earn anything with killing him." [W.T.]


    "You know that they almost shot your friend''s head, and the first one I killed was probably trying to grapple her." [Ameanum]


    "Well then we should kill the pervert to join the others" [W.T.]


    Ameanum smiled at how easy Tycoon was changing her opinion, especially when it had something to do with Phoenix.


    "What about you?"[Ameanum]


    Phoenix seemed to be a little scared after Ameanum mentioned the two dangers he helped her to avoid.


    "We should just let him go. This is a game, right?" [Little Phoenix]


    Ameanum smiled on it and then vanished and reappeared next to the still bowing yer who had Ameanum''s sword through his neck and started turning in particles too.


    Then Ameanum shed the air a few times to remove any blood that was still on his sword. So he noticed that his de was a little sharper now and a little lighter. Still, it would be barely noticeable for someone of less skill and being less perceptive than Ameanum. After that, he sheathed his sword and walked toward the two girls.


    "Even if this is a game, some shouldn''t just let anyone think that you are weak. An eye for an eye, or you will count your remaining with just one hand." [Ameanum]


    The two girls were amazed at his skills and somewhat afraid of being his next target, but he seemed to like them otherwise; why was he helping them?


    "Mister Shingi, can I ask you something?" [L.P.]


    Ameanum kept walking towards the cave entrance for a few seconds and then turned his head towards Phoenix.


    "What is it?" [Ameanum]


    Phoenix seemed somewhat reluctant to say what she wanted to say, but she asked what she wanted after a few seconds.


    "What is your level?" [Little Phoenix]


    Tycoon was amazed at Phoenix''s question and afraid of how Ameanum would react. He was clearly way higher level than them, but she didn''t know why he was willing to help them or why he didn''t have any equipment other than the sword and what they saw him buy at the auction house.


    Ameanum''s face didn''t react at all at this question as he was expecting it.


    "This is a secret I can''t share, but I am far to be at the top." [Ameanum]


    And that wasn''t too far from the truth as even if he was one of the highest level characters, that was a long time ago, and others could have reached that point and even passed it.


    And so, after noticing that Phoenix didn''t want to ask anything more, he moved, and they finally entered the Goblin Cave.

 Chapter 20: Goblin Cave

    Chapter 20: Goblin Cave


    The small party of Ameanum started moving with Tycoon at the front and Ameanum no too far and Phoenix next to him. He would normally be in front since he knew the ce better, but since the challenge he gave to Tycoon, she decided to be in front to be the first to be attacked.


    Of course, Ameanum was fully aware of what they were waiting for them ahead and kept his senses up for any change.


    "So what was your choice Phoenix?" [Ameanum]


    "Hmm... about what?"[Little Phoenix]


    "About your choice of how you want your ss and magic to progress." [Ameanum]


    Phoenix felt awkward about hearing this and forgetting about it, but it wasn''t her fault since she was ready to say itst time they were ambushed.


    "I want to be strong enough not to be in the way of others like you or Nat." [Little Phoenix]


    Hearing that, Tycoon froze in ce and turned towards Phoenix, who then understood what she just said.


    "I am guessing from both of your reactions; this is Tycoon''s real name?" [Ameanum]


    At that point, Phoenix seemed to be a little down and nodded in agreement but also disappointed in her actions.


    "Well, you shouldn''t worry about it, Phoenix. It isn''t like Shingi knowing my name changes anything. It isn''t like I am a demon. Hahaha" [Wild Tycoon]


    "I am sorry" [Little Phoenix]


    Phoenix spoke in a lower than a normal voice, but Tycoon, who now stood next to her, would be the only one to hear. But Ameanum, with his great hearing, wouldn''t miss what she said.


    There was a moment of awkward silence and then broke by Ameanum.


    "You have to learn to control the right elements early on so that you can increase your chance to get ess to a multi-element Mana Tree with the rightbination. Fire had explosive power, but there are many monsters that fire isn''t affecting them or have a lesser effect. Lighting also is a powerful one but can have the same disadvantages as fire. Earth is more for close up spells or increasing your defense. Water, while strong t is one with the least having advantage over most monsters over the rest of the elements and is mostly used to weaken or slow the others than damage them. What I suggest for you instead is trying to go for Darkness as one of your elements, which is one of the Arcane Elements with the least amount of monsters being fully based on this element it is the most effective but harder to learn. Also, go for Air that can increase your speed of dodging attacks and moving around in general and even aiming your spells." [Ameanum]


    "A dual-element type Mana Pool of Dark and Air? Isn''t Dark supposed to be a high-level element only? I thought you were suggesting her for an option to take early on." [Wild Tycoon]


    Ameanum once more sighed on it, and Tycoon at that point had gotten used to it and didn''t react at all.


    "It is normally avable for High-Level yers cause they don''t do their preparations early on. If they did, their power would be even greater and would be easier to get." [Ameanum]


    Tycoon had heard of few yers that had a Dark Element type Mana Tree. All of them were powerhouses as Dark Based mana wasn''t avable in great quantity in the environment, so the Dark based mana element Mana Pool users were rarer than the others.


    "Getting used to Air element is easy, so you can take care of it at any pointter and can found ways at the town''s library. As for the Dark element, this is not thatmon, but I am aware of one exercise. Do you have your <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> and <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> skill?" [Ameanum]


    Phoenix nodded in agreement as she made sure to learn all avable skills, even if some were considered unnecessary. For example, most yers were considering worthless the skill MAKE CAMPFIRE as it was one skill that you couldn''t level it more than level 10 and wasn''t granting any advantage of using it or not but not all were aware that a level 10 campfire would be used to cook stuff that with a high enough <strong>COOKING</strong> skill would grant extra benefits. A weaker campfire wasn''t having that kind of effect for some reason as they weren''t granting any extra benefit.


    "What is their Level?" [Ameanum]


    "Both are still level 1. I haven''t tried to use them yet. Although... I am not sure how to." [Little Phoenix]


    Ameanum was surprised since most yers were doing some testing with their skill to grant them a couple of Levels, as it wasn''t too hard to get at Level 10 for most. But he understood that all this was new for her, and she probably wasn''t much of a gamer and probably was ying cause of Tycoon.


    He started exining how the skill was working and gave her some exercises that she could do while moving. She had the System''s advantage, helping her at early levels, unlike him at his NPC body and Annoue.


    For now, she had to get them at Level 15, which would allow her to start the real exercise, so she let her at that as they kept moving on.


    And not too far into the cave, they came across their first encounter. 5 goblins were humanoid creatures of small, childlike size, and had yellow-green color skin, somewhat long pointy ears, and were dressed with a loincloth and wearing some parts of leather armor that seemed to be of bigger size than them and had been cut to fit them a little and didn''t seem to grant much extra defense cause of their current state.


    Ameanum could tell their level, and four of them were level 5, while the fifth, who was better equipped than the rest, was Level 10. Unlike the others who seemed to have two daggers, the Level 10 had two shortswords instead and a longbow at its back.


    Fortunately, when a yer noticed a monster, they could see their levels unless it was under some special effect or was a much higher level than the yer.


    Ameanum stopped the two girls before they noticed. Tycoon was surprised that Ameanum was first to notice the goblins but then remembered him detecting the ambush party and hitting them with in stones while they were hidden.


    "Tycoon, I will draw the attention of the four with the daggers while you work in the other one. It should fit the requirements for your challenge. Phoenix, you should stay over here and bring the Goblins nearby, and you should hit them with Mana Bolt. I will keep them distracted until Tycoon you are finished with the others ande to finish them so that you both take the exp." [Ameanum]


    Both girls agreed and didn''t say anything of Ameanum not getting anything out of it as since he wasn''t in the same party as them; he would take almost no exp. They pretty much knew that he was a higher level than them. This monster was most likely giving him nothing either way.


    And so Ameanum progressed his n as he took another small stone. As he moved towards the goblins, he threw the stone towards the main goblin and hit him in the head, and got him somewhat dizzy. The rest of the goblins noticed him and charged at him since he was all alone, but he disappeared in front of their eyes and appeared in front of each of them one by one and kicked them between their legs.


    The goblins were male ones, so this attack was quite effective in keeping their attention towards him and not noticing Tycoon heading towards their not anymore dizzy leader.


    Of course, Ameanum controlled his STR do no damage as he could kill them with his kicks cause of the difference in their level and stats. That was possible cause he had the <strong>MARTIAL SKILL</strong> of his, which was Level 41, just barely being considered Master Rank.


    Now and then, he also threw or kicked some stones toward the goblin that Tycoon was fighting, making him dizzy and allowing Tycoon to catch her breath somewhat. This action wasn''t doing any damage so that it wouldn''t affect her progress.


    It took Tycoon almost 5 minutes to kill that one goblin as she was making sure to let it hit her enough times. She had to be careful not to get hit too many times and die in progress.


    Phoenix kept using her <strong>MANA BOLT</strong> spell, which was simr to the <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> spell, but it was just a sphere of mana thrown and not a piece of rock. Her casting time wasn''t the faster, and her aim wasn''t the best, but she never missed as Shingi moved the targets to get hit when she would normally miss


    And after 4 minutes since the battle began, it was finally over as killing the other goblins took her way less time since Ameanum kept them upied, and she just had to deal damage.


    The battle was over, and they had their first benefits after entering the cave.


    Phoenix''s level was raised from Level 1 to Level 3 and wasn''t far from Level 4.


    Of course, since Tycoon did most of the damage, she would take most of the exp, but they tried to let her take at least thest hit, which would grant to the one who did it also a big amount of the exp. She would earn more exp if she took part in Tycoon''s fight with the Level 10 goblin, but she couldn''t do it since Tycoon had to face it her own.


    So they started resting for Tycoon to restore her health and Phoenix training on her Mana Skills. At the same time, Ameanum was on guard duty in case any goblinse towards them.


    And so an hour passed, and Tycoon was finally at full health. Her health was slowly getting restored cause she was in an unsafe environment and didn''t use any potions or magic to help her. She stood up and was ready to move on as Phoenix jumped in the air in happiness.


    "<em><strong>I DID IT</strong></em>" [Little Phoenix]


    Tycoon looked towards her friend, confused, but Ameanum spoke before she could ask why.


    "I am guessing this means your Mana skills are both Level 15. You are a fast learner. Good job." [Ameanum]


    Hearing that, Phoenix''s face became a little red, and she was back to her normal shy self.


    "Well, now you can work on the real training." [Ameanum]


    Hearing that Phoenix had the same reaction as Tycoon when Ameanum was ready to tell her how to train herself as she was ready and focused on Ameanum''s mouth.


    "You have to manipte the shadows or, more specifically, the mana in them. But not every shadow contains mana, and some are harder to detect or manipte. But with your current skill level, if you focus, you should feel the one at yours, so try to manipte it and move it around. You should know that they will be minimal and have greater resistance, but you should get used to it as time passes. If you make a ball of mana big enough to fill your palm, then you should fulfill the requirements. You should do that before level 10, or you would have to make a bigger ball, so we probably stop grinding your level at 9 unless you progress it that fast, but we don''t have that much time." [Ameanum]


    "What do you mean we don''t have that much time?" [W.T.]


    "I have to take care of some business in a few hours and have to log out, so we should do as much as we can before then." [Ameanum]


    "Oh, I see. Then we should organize our next hunt." [Wild Tycoon]


    Phoenix nodded on that suggestions, but the girls were surprised by Ameanum''s response.


    "I won''t be able to join you as I have other things to take care of." [Ameanum]


    "I see..." [Wild Tycoon]


    Tycoon was sad to hear that and missing that great chance as she knew that without Ameanum''s help, it was most likely close to impossible for her to earn the special skill.


    "No worries, I know someone that can help you, but he is a little far but can help you get easily." [Ameanum]


    "Oh really?!? Who is that, and where is that ce?"


    Ameanum smiled as, after spending some time with those girls, he had decided that they were worth his time to help them and they could be helpful in the future.


    "It is a young boy at a ce called Carda." [Ameanum]

 Chapter 21: Back to the forge

    Chapter 21: Back to the forge


    Ameanum told them how to get ess to a teleportation station that would allow them to teleport to the North Kingdom that Carda was. They were currently in the East Kingdom, which was very far. Even the timezone between each was different, and that is why it waste at night at Carda but evening at Picton.


    It would take some time to get there, but they would be there in a week in-game time with his tips.


    They continued going through the cave and encountered more parties of goblins simr to those faced with a slight difference at their level here and there. They were between three to seven in number. Still, there was always only one with the shortswords who were always the highest in level while the rest had daggers or wooden clubs.


    After repeating that for the next two hours, Ameanum decided that enough time passed, and it was time for him to end his<strong> SPECTATOR MODE</strong> and return to be an NPC.


    They returned to town. After giving some more tips on both of them for their training and how to level up some skills, he went to an alley that no one was and decided to exit <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>.


    After the familiar feeling of changing body, he was this timeying on the bed, and his sister seemed to have woken up and brushed her hair in front of the mirror.


    "Good morning, little brother. Father came just a few minutes ago and said that he would wait for you at the shop. He left early to make some preparations and check what you did, he said." [Annoue]


    Shingi was surprised about this since it seemed quite early in the morning. He wasn''t expecting Garry to be awake at that point, mostly since he wasn''t back when he had entered his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>.


    He stood up, and after making sure that Annoue remembered how to use her Enchantment trinket, he started his way toward the shop but not before having a simple breakfast.


    On his way there, he opened his Status to see if anything had changed since he enabled <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>PROFESSION</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>HP</strong>: 50/50


    <strong>SP</strong>: 20/20


    <strong>MP</strong>: 32/32


    <strong>STR</strong>: 10


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 10


    <strong>END</strong>: 10


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 4


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Earth and Light Category


    <strong>Skills</strong>: VISUALIZATION (Base Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Base Rank), MANA SENSE (Base Rank), PERCEPTION (Master Rank), STEALTH (Base Rank), IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON (Master Rank), SMITHING (Base Rank), ACCELERATION (Base Rank), MARTIAL ART (Base Rank)


    <strong>Spells</strong>: MANA HAND (Low Grade), FILTH EATER (Ungraded), MINOR ILLUSION (Ungraded), LIGHT (Ungraded), ROCK THROW (Low Grade)


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of ??????, Blessing of Dlog


    ================================


    It seemed like his repetitive use of his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill and throwing rocks with the help of <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> to control his damage have made them avable to him. His <strong>IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON</strong> skill ranked up I too. His STEALTH didn''t seem to change at all, but he didn''t use it as much. No change at his PERCEPTION that he had active pretty much all the time.


    He could feel the effect of his new skills, and he should train with them cause even if they were avable to him, he was used to using them in a different body, so he had to adjust some moves.


    He made it in the shop, and getting in it seemed to be pretty much as he left it just Garry was here organizing some different materials on the desk.


    "You are finally here. Good work with the shop it looks better than it was for quite some time. Now let''s work on your SMITHING skill." [Garry]


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST COMPLETED: CLEANING BLACKSMITH SHOP</strong>


    <strong>Reward</strong>: Local cksmith Garry''s reputation was greatly increased


    ================================


    Following that notification, he saw Garry having a metal piece that looked almost like silver on his hand. Shingi knew that it wasn''t one.


    ''<em>How did he find some Mithril?</em>'' [Shingi]


    Mithril was an expensive piece of metal cause it is found deep on earth near natural sources of natural mana. That would turn the nearby metals in Mithril as they were consuming parts of the mana considered unpure using it to evolve itself. It took decades for the metal exposed to mana to be the lowest quality of Mithril. Those that were for hundreds of years were of high quality. As for those exposed to mana for thousands of years, not many could work with it as their natural durability made them that hard that even some Master cksmiths couldn''t make even a simple item with it as they couldn''t meet it.


    The one in front of him didn''t seem to be of high quality as his appearance was almost the same as silver, and if one didn''t know, he wouldn''t be able to tell the difference.


    "As a man of crafts, you have to be able to be familiar working with different materials and know which one is for more fitting for what. Today we will work with silver, which isn''t suitable for weapons by itself. Since it is easier to handle enchantments, it is a usual thing to use in those types of crafts." [Garry]


    Shingi was surprised by Garry telling him that the ore he was holding was silver. Even if he didn''t have his Eagle Eyes skill, he was sure that Mithril was not silver. Garry even gave it to him to better look at it and saw up and close; he was more and more convinced of it being Mithril.


    "So you should read this blueprint of a dagger. You should have more than enough to make the de, so don''t waste it. There is some more iron so try to mix them. I suggest an 80/20 or iron/silver." [Garry]


    Without saying anything else and giving him a piece of paper with a simple dagger blueprint, he went to his desk to take another nap. This time he didn''t allow Shingi to use his Master Hammer. This time though, Shingi could tell that he didn''t was asleep, but it seems like he was secretly watching him.


    Well, Shingi didn''t care much as he had decided to either way not to use any spells today. So he wasn''t worried about him learning his arcane abilities. He was happy that he got lucky today cause even if the Mithril was of low quality, it could still create a high-quality item with it.


    But he wasn''t going to use any iron as it wasn''t needed for this type of material as purely Mithril made items were of higher quality. He could use it not only as a weapon but also as a focus for his spell casting. Since Mithril''s nature, he would move his or environment''s mana in it and cast his spell through it. The Mithril would purify the mana since it was tending to absorb any ''bad mana,'' and he could use the ''good mana,'' which would make the spell stronger. Also, he could manipte the mana in the rod instead of himself right away. After it purified it, he could absorb it, which would give him more benefits.


    Of course, he was nning to make the dagger with some adjustments to the blueprint. He would change its de by making the left side look like a saw while keeping the top part as usual and making the right side tter. That way, he could focus shing with the left part, piercing with the front part, and mostly bludgeoning with the handle and right part.


    Of course, this weapon would be weird looking and be unusable on that small size for someone else, but Shingi could use it at full effect with enough training and his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> skill.


    He used the forge, and this time he used the lever to handle the fire, but he was quite proficient with it already. He heated it up, and it took more time than it was for the iron he worked with the other day. He could see Garry''s smile of looking down at him on making the mistake of letting it in the forge for too long, but he wanted to speak with his actions and ignore him.


    He used the tongs to pull it out and used one of the hammers that Garry had left near him started shaping the de firstly as a normal one and then starting ttening the right side. He used a chisel that Garry had left out to start shaping the saw side. Fortunately, some files were to pick and sharpened the saw and the de in general.


    He secretly used some Earth mana to manipte the metal to make it easier to handle. However, it wasn''t that easy since the nature of Mithril, but it was still making things faster.


    And so close to 4 hours of nonstop work, his dagger was finally ready. Even if it didn''t seem quiet, bnced cause of its de shape, he wasn''t nning on throwing it, and cause of Mithril, it was light as a feather but also way more durable than if made by iron. He just had to make a handle, and his weapon would be ready, but at this point, Garry ''woke up'' and came to check what he had done.


    Shingi could tell that Garry was ready to say to him everything that he did wrong. Still, after picking the de and investigating once more, his eyes went wide with the wonder of what he was currently holding.


    "How did you do that? This isn''t what it was in the blueprint." [Garry]


    "How can someone be a true craftsman if he just follows a blueprint?" [Shingi]


    Garry turned towards Shingi, and for a second, he thought he was talking with a Master of the craft and not his young son. And so he startedughing hard on it and stopped after a minute of continuousughing as he has heard the greatest joke ever.


    "Well, you seem to have better talent than I thought, but you still have to learn a few things." [Garry]


    After saying that, Garry took the de and started heating up a little and started hammering it and made its front point a little longer and then sharpened the saw de some more. Then he opened a box and brought out a wooden handle that seemed to have prepared beforehand and connected it with the dagger, and after some adjustments, it was finished and ready to be used.


    He even made some attacks trying to attack with each of its three different parts to test it out. After making sure that everything was ok, he brought the dagger at Ameanum.


    ''His skills in the craft seemed to be closer to Master than I presumed, but he is still in Base Rank. I wonder how good he truly used to be'' [Shingi]


    Garry had made some small improvements in the de. Since it was something that Shingi personally had designed, making improvements to it wasn''t easy for someone else without skill or familiarity with the design.


    "You seemed that you are better at noticing things than I presumed. You understood the true nature of the material in front of you and used it at its full potentials." [Garry]


    Someone would assume that this was his n all along after hearing that. Still, Shingi could tell that Garry didn''t know the material''s true nature, and he truly thought it was silver. But at least Shingi knew that he seemed to have understood his mistake but didn''t want to say anything to reveal it.


    "You seemed like you are familiar at working with the forge, so we should be ok to open the shop once again and start the orders." [Garry]


    Then Garry brought out a pack of paper as each seemed to be orders of different crafts. None seemed to be weapons but things like nails, chains, buckets, and other general metal items.


    "Start working on them and put them aside. In the afternoon you should deliver them to the address that is written behind its order. You have a week to finish them all."


    Noticing that there were almost 100 orders, Shingi was mostly mad at Garry, who once more headed to get his nap, and this time he seemed to get one.

 Chapter 22: The brothers

    Chapter 22: The brothers


    Shingi started focusing on the orders. Since he had decided not to use any magic or mana, not even to help shape the metal as he did with Mithril, things would be slower. He organized the orders and started working on a few nails and chains and quite a few metallic kitchen cookware. Those seemed to be a fair amount of the orders but no knives for a reason.


    Garry had left with the materials to use some more blueprints for those general items. This time, Shingi had used them cause he was most familiar with creating weapons and not this type of thing, but it wasn''t so hard to learn how with those.


    He worked on multiple ones simultaneously, which wasn''t an easy thing to do since there were numerous orders of the same thing.


    As time passed and got a few hours before the shops would start closing, Shingi ended hisst creation that he had decided to craft for today. He put it at the side with the rest of the same order''s items. He already organized them in different bags to be given to the customer right away without looking through other orders. He had almost a dozen of bags that, even if they weren''t toorge most of them putting them would be impossible to handle for one of his size.


    He could use his stick enchantment to stick the smaller and lighter bags with the others to handle multiple ones. As long he was feeding the enchantment with mana as if wouldn''t, it would end. This would take a lot of mana, and he had decided not to use any unless having no other choice.


    So he had to take leave and return multiple times to deliver them all. And so he did, and this was an excellent time to train his new <strong>ACCELERATION</strong>, <strong>STEALTH</strong>, and <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> skills. Combining them gave him better control of his body and increased his speed like a parkour master. However, he was still much slower than he was in his yer''s body. He needed time to adjust to this body, and also, his stats being much lower weren''t allowing him to use these skills at their full power even if they have a high rank.


    As he worked on deliveries, unexpected notifications that he hadn''t seen for a while appeared cause he was of pushing his body that much with using those skills.


    ================================


    <strong>AGI</strong> increased by 1


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>END</strong> increased by 1


    ================================


    He spent almost an hour going around the town, delivering orders and getting the payments for them. He even had to ''persuade'' a few as they learned on that day not to mess with this young man.


    After delivering thest thing, he started his look around for a specific yer.


    ''Hineko probably will be around the storehouse'' [Shingi]


    He made his way over there, but this time, he focused even more on <strong>STEALTH</strong> than before this time.


    It didn''t take him long, and he came across the one he was looking over, and as he expected, he wasn''t alone. There was with him one more yer, and it was a young man looking just like Hineko. He was wearing arcane ropes and had a long dark brown wooden staff at hand with a blue gem attached at the top part of it.


    Shingi looked over them for some time, and he understood that they were looking around, most likely waiting for him. And so, after making sure there wasn''t anyone else around, he appeared right behind them and coughed twice.


    Both of them were jumped, scared like their life was in danger, and they turned to see the source of the noise.


    "Oh.... you are here. I came as I promised, but I brought my little brother with me. Hope you don''t mind." [Hineko]


    "Nice meeting you. My name is Mizuneko" [Mizuneko]


    The new guy bowed towards Shingi after introducing himself. It seems he was aware of what happened when he met with his brother, and they both seemed to pay attention to the way they acted.


    ''Good. This will make things way easier'' [Shingi]


    "Stand up and follow me both of you"[Shingi]


    He started his way and led both of them at the storehouse he used for his Mana Tree creation, and he sat over at the box he was using then.


    "So the two of you. What is your level and skills, and don''t try to hide anything, or I will know." [Shingi]


    He looked at them and used some of his <strong>MINOR ILLUSION</strong> spell to make a pair of horns appearing on his head and disappearing right away. And it looked like it worked on intimidating them, or at least Hineko.


    Both of them told him all their skills and the details of their characters are speaking. Hineko even said their weight and height, which was unnecessary, but he didn''t want to see what happened if they didn''t share everything. Even Mizuneko, who wasn''t as scared, followed the example of his brother.


    Hineko was of Rogue ss and was currently Level 14. His highest skill was his <strong>SLEIGHT OF HAND</strong>, followed by his ACROBATICS, as he wanted to be a performer like a juggler or magician of a sort. Hisbat skills weren''t worth to be mentioned, but this was something that could be adjusted. He also had his trusty quiver with woods for the juggling tricks he was working on and not cause he used a bow.


    Mizuneko was a Mage and was level 20 and had upgraded his ss to be an Aqua Mage. Aqua Mages were Arcane users specializing in Water Magic, which had the weaker damage-wise spells. Still, they had many de-buff spells and even some buff spells but not specializing in them as Light element-based spells were the most powerful buff spells. As for de-buff, some were either not a specific element or of Dark-element, especially for the strong curses. But Aqua Mages had the chance to evolve their ss, which was a rare thing for a ss. They could be Ice Mages, which unlocked a unique element for that ss only and unique spellsing with that.


    There were only some NPCs Ice Mages, and none was taking apprentices back in the day. So the way to be an Ice Mage isn''t known for the yers, and it was probably too hard for anyone to do it, but Shingi had a few theories on how one could be one.


    He also asked for some more details about the tower and the Dark Guild since he didn''t find the chance to ask Phoenix and Tycoon.


    It seemed that the tower was closed entirely, and only specific people could enter them. Still, it didn''t seem that much progress has happened over the years as they had just a few weeks ago had cleared floor 95.


    That was only one floor higher than the one in which he was killed.


    Usually, it shouldn''t be that slow, but if only specific people entered and if they were of the Dark Guild. He understood that they probably were trying the same thing over and over again. They probably tried to conquer things using their brawn and not their brains, which was impossible to work on the tower, especially the higher you were getting.


    He researched and paid attention to each part of the floor as there were most times clues of how to progress here and there other than killing everything there is.


    Since the dungeons appeared, it made things a little easier. However, some big Guilds were trying to take over the high-level dungeons. They weren''t letting anyone else get it so that they keep the limited resources for themselves.


    As for why those Guilds didn''t try to force their way in the tower, it seemed like there were some. But they werepletely eradicated. Some even decided to stop ying the game or decided to retire, as the brothers said.


    Things still didn''t understand how the Dark Guild had this much power and why the developers haven''t done anything. He couldn''t ask the two yers what happens in the real world supposed to be an NPC.


    And after he finished with his question and organized everything he had heard, he smiled and looked towards the two brothers. Seeing him smiling, almost felt like a slight amount of electricity passing their bodies.


    "Well then, now that we have finished talking, we should start acting." [Shingi]


    Hineko swallowed some of his salivae and reluctantly asked.


    "What would you have us do, mister?" [Hineko]


    Even if Shingi was a child, he kept getting this weird aura from him that seemed unnatural to him, and to tell the truth, it was scaring him.


    Mizuneko, though, could tell that all was an Illusion. Still, an exceptionally good one as the Mana Maniption was looking wless for him. If he didn''t enable his Mana Sense to check his surroundings, he wouldn''t notice Shingi using his mana. But because Shingi doing something like that so effortlessly impressed him and wanted to follow him and learn for him.


    Of course, everything was an act. Shingi''s ''aura'' was him manipting his shadow to surround him and look almost like darknessing from him. He was also deflecting light by controlling its mana to make his surrounding even darker, giving his literally a darker look. Of course, this was taking everything he had, especially since he had to keep looking as calm as ever while focusing on all that.


    "Well, since you seem to be more interested in working with your hands, we will make you a Thief, and I don''t mean you will go around stealing things... well, you will, but we won''t keep the items. Also, I will make you a list of books you should acquire that should be found at any town library." [Shingi]


    Hineko was surprised to hear that. He had heard of the Rogues possible ss of Thief. Even if it wasn''t one of the rare ones, it was a handy one to have. It focused on multitasking and agile movements of hands that he fit what he wanted to y as.


    "As for you Mizuneko, we will do some testing, and if we are lucky and you work hard, we may made you a true Ice Mage" [Shingi]


    Hearing that Mizuneko''s staff fell from his hand, he even fell to his knees and kept staring at Shingi''s face. Even if his magic was surrounded by shadow and darkness, it looked very bright in his eyes.


    And then both the brothers spoke at the same time.


    "<em><strong>WE WILL FOLLOW THE MASTER''S ORDERS.</strong></em>" [Hineko & Mizuneko]

 Chapter 23: The Scholar Master

    Chapter 23: The Schr Master


    As Shingi got ready to exin a few stuff the System ''spoke'' first


    ================================


    yer Hineko has shown interest in bing a student of yours.


    Will you ept him as your student?


    <strong>YES / NO</strong>


    ================================


    ================================


    yer Mizuneko has shown interest in bing a student of yours.


    Will you ept him as your student?


    <strong>YES / NO</strong>


    ================================


    It was the first time he got this type of notification either as NPC or yer. He knew that Annoue was his First student since she got her title. Still, he didn''t get a notification back then to ept her through the System. It may be because she taught her before he unlocked his profession or cause she taught her he got the profession.


    He wasn''t sure how much it would help them, but anything that could make things faster could he use.


    "From this point on, you, Hineko, and Mizuneko are my fourth and fifth students ordingly. You better not disappoint me." [Shingi]


    As he said that, he epted them as his student through the System. By their reaction, it seemed like the System gave them also a notification.


    As for why they were fourth and fifth, it was cause he considered Tycoon as his second student and Phoenix as his third. Of course, Annoue was the first one.


    "Excuse me, Master Shingi... but if were are the fourth and fifth, who are the other three?" [Mizuneko]


    ''<em>Hmm... a man of curiosity and paying attention to the details. That is good.</em>'' [Shingi]


    Shingi, at that point, stopped all of his illusions, and he looked like an average child. Except for his serious face that was separating him from any other of the children of his age.


    "You will all meet each other in good time. But it seems that Gods have given you an info of mine that I didn''t share with you yet. My name. But it is ok since I would share it with you either way." [Shingi]


    Of course, by Gods he meant the System, which was how the NPCs referred to it. NPCs were also getting notifications and checking their status. Still, there were limits to how much info they could seepared to the yers.


    Continuing speaking, he gave a tip to Mizuneko and Hineko of some ''rumors'' he heard, which were in reality tips for some quests he knew existed nearby. Some information on leveling up the Mana Skills of Mizuneko also increases his Water Element Maniption to help get the special ss. Also, he taught a few moves to Hineko. Even if he currently didn''t have the <strong>SLEIGHT OF HAND</strong> skill, his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill gave him great speed. Hebined it with the almostplete control over his body that his<strong> MARTIAL ART</strong> skill allowed him and showed Hineko some new ways and moves with his hands.


    He also gave him a few challenges that would help him in his way of the Thief ss and told both of them that they would meet in two weeks again in this ce.


    He didn''t let them know about who he was as either a yer or as NPC. Still, since they now knew his name, it wouldn''t be too hard to find out info about his NPC identity, but he didn''t mind it too much.


    So after that, he made his way back home to check on Annoue and get some dinner.


    It seemed like Garry returned before him and was already in his room sleeping. He found Annoue in the kitchen working on her enchantment trinket, and it seemed like she had problems with it.


    "Hey. What is wrong?" [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed too focused on her training and didn''t notice him returning and got surprised by him speaking.


    "The light is frustrating to stay in ce. I fill one line, but before I finish the other shape, the first one is empty." [Annoue]


    Shingi was surprised to see Annoue being stacked as, until now, everything seemed to go smooth for her, but it looks like she indeed wasn''t just good at everything she trained at.


    "Because you don''t multitask. When you finish the first one, you focus on the second one and forgetting the first one, which you shouldn''t do. You should keep some of your focus on the first one to keep your mana in check there, as it won''t just stay there forever, and start working on the second one with the rest of your focus. It will slow your speed, but this is something you need to learn aster you will have to work on many more shapes and sometimes at the same time and not separately. But we will work with one thing on time." [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed very confused about what Shingi said. She understood the words of what he was saying as he had already mentioned them before on the tips he gave her, but she couldn''t put them into action. And Shingi could read from her bodynguage of that confusion and decided to use unique means to help her, but first, he had to try something.


    "Annoue, can you open your status window?" [Shingi]


    She nodded, but she wasn''t sure why since Shingi wouldn''t be able to see it, but she guessed she could tell him what he wanted to learn.


    But Shingi instead looked at her and, more specifically, where her Status window should be. He focused on the idea of an actual Status Window, and the System responded as expected.


    ================================


    <strong>PROFESSION SKILL LEARNED</strong>


    The profession skill <strong>STUDENT APPRAISAL</strong> has been unlocked.


    Description: You have ess to the status window of your students and can check their stats, skills, and spells. If the students are higher level than yours, less info is avable the biggest the difference.


    *This skills is unranked and can''t rank up


    ================================


    At that point, the status window of Annoue was clear to him to see like his own, and since both didn''t have a ss or levels, all info seemed to be avable.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Annoue Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>TITLE</strong>: First Student


    <strong>HP</strong>: 96/96


    <strong>SP</strong>: 36/36


    <strong>MP</strong>: 13/13


    <strong>STR</strong>: 15


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 8


    <strong>END</strong>: 12


    <strong>INT</strong>: 10


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Air Element


    <strong>Skills</strong>: COOKING (Low Rank), LIFT (Master Rank), PUSH (Master Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Base Rank), MANA SENSE (Base Rank)


    ================================


    Going through the window, he noticed a few interesting things. First of all, her <strong>HP</strong>, <strong>SP</strong>, and <strong>MP</strong> values seemed to have different modifiers to her stats than his as she seemed to take 8 <strong>HP</strong> and 3 <strong>SP</strong> for each value on her END while his was 5 <strong>HP</strong> and 2 <strong>SP</strong>. Also, while he had 2 <strong>MP</strong> for each of his INT, her modifier seemed between 1 and 2.


    Also, he expected her <strong>STR</strong> to be high, but 15 was higher than what he was expecting as it was higher than a Warrior yer would start with. Also, her <strong>INT</strong> didn''t make sense as he thought at least 12 was needed for someone to have a Mana Pool but probably not the case for her since she seemed to have her already since she was born.


    He was expecting her to have other skills but not expecting her to have Master Rank ones. Still, he wasn''t sure if she had <strong>LIFT</strong> and <strong>PUSH</strong> were at Master Rank cause of her high <strong>STR</strong>. Or she had this high <strong>STR</strong> cause she has those two in Master Rank. To get them that high Rank isn''t impossible to have given her some points in <strong>STR</strong>.


    He was also expecting her to have a rarer or a double element Mana Pool. Still, Air was one he didn''t have ess to currently on his team. It can be useful, especially since some Air specifically element enchantments that she will be able to use in the future will have a positive and significant impact on their encounters in the future.


    "You seem like we have ways to go, but you are progressing very well. But I have a way to help you make your current training easier." [Shingi]


    Annoue was happy to hear the small praise from her brothers. Also, cause she would work with him once more as these two days that he was working at the shop, she had missed him and was bored working on her own, which was affecting her on having almost no progress.


    Firstly, Shingi had some dinner, some cooked meat with few potatoes, and was the first meal he had other than soup for some time. Then they headed to their room, and Shingi, after exining again every move on what Annoue should do, then he put his hand over her shoulder. He enabled something he hadn''t done ever since he got it.


    He enabled the active effect of his Blessing of ?????? and had Annoue as its target. That way, she had an <strong>INT</strong> of 26. That would make her <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> way easier and allow her to multitask somewhat better. He was using his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> to check what she was doing, but she wasn''t helping her any other way other than giving her tips and his Blessing effect.


    And through the one hour that the effect could be active, there were some close calls of her seeding. Still, unfortunately, she kept losing her focus here and there a little or being slower than she should be or making other mistakes like that. Many improvements happened, and even now, without the Blessing, she was a lot better than before, but she still had a few things to cover. She needed to increase her proficiency, which just an increase at <strong>INT</strong> wouldn''t change it but help her acquiring more proficiency faster


    "You should keep working on your <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>. Meditate and see if you can see any more pointers at your inner self and work on it. We will repeat working like that for an hour each night with the Enchantment trinket but try not to overwork yourself." [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed sad at first, seeing that she still seemed to be missing something, but she was happy noticing her brother being next to her and helping her. Also, she now will have one hour of his hand over her shoulder, giving her a warm feeling on her head, which she liked as it made the ''Lights'' much clearer during that.


    After the two siblings spoke a little more or more specifically, Annoue talked mostly they went to sleep as Shingi had to wake up early as he had a busy week with the orders and the delivery at the shop. He was sure that there would be moreing; a few didn''t scare seemed to be impressed with the work. Even if they were simple things but since it seemed to be the only one in the town to make them, they would order more since it would cheaper than import them from somewhere else.


    But he didn''t care much of it for the money as he still had some from what Varic gave him. He could keep raising his <strong>SMITHING</strong> skill rank and may find a way to unlock more crafting Skills in the future since it seemed like there were tools for them at the shops. Garry seemed to want him to focus on <strong>SMITHING</strong>. At least for now.


    And so, for one more time, Shingi rxed his mind and started thinking of the ns for the next days toe.

 Chapter 24: Stats upgrades

    Chapter 24: Stats upgrades


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>HP</strong>: 55/55


    <strong>SP</strong>: 12/12


    <strong>MP</strong>: 32/32


    <strong>STR</strong>: 10


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 11


    <strong>END</strong>: 11


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 4


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Earth and Light Element


    <strong>Skills</strong>: VISUALIZATION (Base Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Base Rank), MANA SENSE (Base Rank), PERCEPTION (Master Rank), STEALTH (Base Rank), IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON (Master Rank), SMITHING (Base Rank), ACCELERATION (Base Rank), MARTIAL ART (Base Rank)


    <strong>Spells</strong>: MANA HAND (Low Grade), FILTH EATER (Ungraded), MINOR ILLUSION (Ungraded), LIGHT (Ungraded), ROCK THROW (Low Grade)


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of ??????, Blessing of Dlog


    ================================


    Shingi checked his status and decided that his Skills were in a good enough state for now, but if he wanted to improve them, he wouldn''t be able to with his current stats. His Mana Skills were easy to use cause he had a high <strong>INT</strong> already. Cause of his blessings passive effect, in many cases, he could do things way more manageable.


    Also, suppose he wanted to unlock more skills. In that case, he could use <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> and ''transfer'' some of his skills into his NPC body, but he still had to adjust to his current ones, so he wasn''t in a hurry to do that.


    So since he wouldn''t work on any other skills other than his <strong>SMITHING</strong> since he will work on the shop''s orders, he decided to work on something else.


    Increasing his Stats.


    Hit INT was quite high for now, so he didn''t have to worry about it, but he could always use more mana that came with it getting increased, but for now, he was okay with how it was. He was sure that if he upgraded his Mana Tree, it would also affect his Mana Modifier. That was deciding how much mana each of his <strong>INT</strong> is giving him. So he had to mainly on his other Stats.


    His <strong>STR</strong> was the same since his curse was fully lifted. Even if he wanted to focus on the path of Magic, that didn''t mean that he would leave his body being weak and not get some physical fight. He had his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> skill, which would give him some excellent hand-to-handbat moves if he is out of mana or his spells don''t work. No matter his skill''s Rank, if he doesn''t have the <strong>STR</strong> to back it up, he could damage himself instead. Same for <strong>AGI</strong> as some attacks were using the user''s speed more than his pure strength.


    His <strong>END</strong> was beneficial, especially since he didn''t have second chances like yers. Reaching 0 <strong>HP</strong> had a more significant risk than he is used with. His low <strong>SP</strong> isn''t allowing him to use his Physical skills for long. Today he had to take a few breaks between his crafting sessions, and his deliveries cause his skill had consumed almost all his <strong>SP</strong>. Of course, he stopped using them when he had consumed 80-90% of his SP cause if he had spent it all, it would take more time to restore it, and he wouldn''t be able to move for an hour or so.


    And then there was the <strong>CHA</strong> stat, the one he waspletely unfamiliar with. He had heard of the stat existing in other games, but he had never heard of it in this one, and none of the developers he knew had ever mentioned it. Although he can''t be entirely sure about it, he also seemed to be the only one to have it. At some point, he thought it might be a secret NPC stat or something of his Race, but after checking Annoue''s status and seeing that there wasn''t <strong>CHA</strong> written there, he wasn''t sure about it.


    He decided that he would focus on his <strong>AGI</strong> mostly, which would greatly increase the power of his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> skill, following by <strong>END</strong>, which would increase the chances of his survival. Then <strong>STR</strong>, which would also increase hisbat abilities but not as much as <strong>AGI</strong> and will. He would focus more on taking care of his Mana Tree to increase his mana instead of possibly increasing his <strong>INT</strong>. As for <strong>CHA</strong>, he would leave it in fate to find ways to improve it since he wasn''t aware of what it was affecting and had no clue how to increase it.


    And so he started making his training schedule, and it was quite simple. He would use his work on the shop to grind his <strong>SMITHING</strong> skill and increase his stats. That morning, he raised his <strong>AGI</strong> and <strong>END</strong> by overusing <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> and running around at a speed that his body wouldn''t usually be able to handle. So he had to do the same to increase them all. Of course, using the <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> way again wasn''t possible. Once a method worked, it wouldn''t work a second time, so he had to try something else.


    But since he had so much work and all he had to do was overwork himself in different ways, he had the perfect chance in his hands. And that is what he had done.


    Garry seemed to pay less and less attention to the shop or putting more trust in Shingi. Even Shingi couldn''t tell which was indeed the case. Garry was getting at the shop sometimes in the middle of the day and most times not all. But even when he was there, he took his usual naps until Shingi waked him up to check his crafts for the day before delivering them. There were a few cases that Garry made him make some adjustments on them, but Garry never made them himself.


    But if Garry were spending more time in the shop, he would be amazed at what was happening. Shingi, every day he was thinking of different challenges to put his body to the limits. He was using the hammers that were too heavy for him, and even Annoue would may some difficulty using them, which would help increase his <strong>STR</strong>. He was working right next to the forge while having its temperature as high as possible to help raise his <strong>END</strong>, work on multiple crafts and running around them, hammering them, and shaping them to the final product help with his <strong>AGI</strong>. And when one training didn''t have any results for two days straight, he moved to the next one, which was even crazier than thest as it added to the difficulty.


    Of course, he didn''t forget about Annoue as he helped her with her Enchantment training, using on her the active effect of his Blessing for an hour each night. He then helped her with ranking up <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>, which stillcks what was needed.


    And so a week passed, and even if more orders came during it, he had finally finished them all, and he was on his way back in the shop to get thest ones to deliver.


    During that week, his training methods had worked somewhat as his END had increased by four and his <strong>AGI</strong> had by three. His <strong>STR</strong> had only increased by 1.


    It seemed weird that his <strong>STR</strong> was so hard to raise, but he didn''t mind since his <strong>AGI</strong> was getting high and would cover hisck of <strong>STR</strong> somewhat atbat. Also, seeing his <strong>END</strong> increasing that much was a good surprise. Probably it happened since those days that Garry wasn''t around, which were the most, and since no customers wereing at the shop most of the times, he had the forge being at full power and even not drinking much water and some times skipping breakfast to push his body at its limits.


    He noticed two figures outside the shop on his way back, and actually, he was familiar with them.


    They were Little Phoenix and Wild Tycoon, the two female yers he had met during his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> ytime.


    He told them toe to this town and look for him, specifically his NPC self, although he didn''t say that it was him but just a boy with the same name as the one he was using.


    They had asked him why he had the same name as an NPC, but he told them they would know when the timees, and they seemed to respect that.


    Even if he was expecting them a few dayster, he had made enough preparations. So he brought out a cloth and put it around his mouth topletely cover the lower half of his face.


    He was pretty simr to a young self of his yer character, so for now, he didn''t want to exin it; that is why he decided to hide somewhat his face. After doing that, he made his way towards the two girls who seemed to discuss something outside the shop.


    Of course, even if they were talking in low voices, almost whispering, Shingi could hear their talk, which seemed to be if this was the right ce and if they should get in or not.


    "*cough* *cough* Can I help you with something?" [Shingi]


    The two female yers turned their heads towards the one who spoke and seeing that it was a young NPC boy, they then turned to look at each other with wonder in their eyes and then turned back to him.


    "Eeeehm.... excuse me, young man. But could you be named Shingi?" [Little Phoenix]


    Phoenix, even being shy, had been the first one to talk and ask what both were wondering.


    "Hmmm.... two girls... one with a big axe and angry face and one with a big staff and low voice. Yeah, it seems like you are the two that Master had mentioned." [Shingi]


    Once more, the two girls looked at each other, and this time Tycoon spoke.


    "What do you mean, master?" [Wild Tycoon]


    If they could see under the cloth, they would see a smirk appearing on Shingi''s face.


    "Well, let''s go inside, and I will exin everything." [Shingi]


    He then opened the main door of the shop and led them inside. Since they didn''t have many seats, they used a box and a bucket as seats as also the seat Garry was usually taking his nap on.


    "Let me introduce myself first. I am Shingi Maki, and I am the son of Garry, the local cksmith. My mother was cursed during her pregnancy, and so was I since she was pregnant with me. The curse was the Never-ending sleep. It had affected me for most of my life until not long ago; a brave adventurer helped gather ingredients for a ritual to break that curse. Of course, that ritual was sessful, and the brave adventurer is someone who, from that point on, had helped me a lot but not only me as he had decided to help others. His name is unknown to me, but he told me that he found two individuals, and he used my name as his and told them toe here to continue their training. He let me with some of his knowledge to share with you when needed to make your training progress as he also let me with the task to gather others too." [Shingi]


    Shingi stopped talking at that point to let them process everything. He wasn''t going to tell them the full truth cause even he wouldn''t believe it. A yer who was killed in the game and became an NPC isn''t something that one would believe. Even if he showed them theplete truth, he didn''t want to reveal this knowledge yet. Even if he trusted them, secrets could always be leaked identally.


    "So you want to tell me that he saved you and now are in charge ofpleting our training? And even so, why is he doing what he is doing?" [Wild Tycoon]


    Shingi was expecting this kind of reaction and had thought about possible answers. Still, he felt that only one was appropriate.


    "He said, and I quote his exact wording, ''<em>It is time to take the tower back.</em>''"[Shingi]

 Chapter 25: Showing off

    Chapter 25: Showing off


    The two female yers were familiar with the tower since it was supposed to be the main quest of all the yers to clear it even if they couldn''t use it currently.


    "He wants us to get in the tower?" [Wild Tycoon]


    Tycoon ying the game more time than Phoenix was aware of the tower being under the control of someone powerful. No yer could ess it without their permission. She had heard of influential yers and Guilds not even considering fighting this mysterious, powerful entity. So she was amazed that the one she knew as Shingi wanted to fight for the tower.


    "Well, isn''t one of the reasons of the Blessed ones that came to this world to clear the tower? As Master told me, and I understand thest few years, the expeditions were slower than ever." [Shingi]


    He was fully aware of the past speed of the expeditions since a lot of it happened because of his actions, but after hearing that after all that time, they cleared only one-floor from where he was left, he wouldn''t be surprised if the previous floors are currently back to full power.


    In the past, he kept going through each floor that he had explored and made sure of cleaning them again and again so that they don''t grow back to the power they used to be. If they had, it would increase the higher floors'' difficulty, as all seemed to be connected. He wasn''t able to do it by himself, but many yers were willing to help, and with his tips, they were perfect for the job. But as he understood now, the Dark Guild wasn''t letting anyone else in. They focused on cleaning the top floors, allowing the lower ones to get stronger and making the top ones even more difficult.


    Phoenix and Tycoon, even if they were new yers and haven''t ever been to the tower, they understood that it wasn''t fair that there seemed to be someone to keep it for themselves. But this was how sometimes games worked, and since the dungeons appeared, the game somewhat started reaching new yers to join as they did.


    "Is he certain that it is possible? Guilds of higher power than possible, even him tried to get in the tower and have failed. I admit that he is a monster yer, but against them, he may not be able to do much." [Wild Tycoon]


    Shingi looked towards her and could see in her eyes the worry over what will happen to him or, more specifically, to his yer self if he followed his n.


    "It is true that he won''t be able to do much himself. It seems that even the Gods haven''t done much against them even if they rarely act, but as you probably understand, he isn''t a man acting without a n." [Shingi]


    Tycoon nodded as even if she didn''t spend much time with him, he gave her the impression that every action of his happened for a reason.


    "And what is his n?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "Well, as I already somewhat said, it is to help others to get stronger and make a team to take the tower back and return to the glorious days of the past." [Shingi]


    Tycoon seemed to be a little confused over the answer and somewhat angry, but the second was a usual response.


    "I get that you think that a team probably won''t be able to do much, but it won''t be just a normal team, but a team of blessed ones and not that will be at as you said ''monster level''" [Shingi]


    "Both Blessed Ones and not?!?"[Little Phoenix]


    Phoenix had heard of NPCs referring to her or other yers as Blessed ones. It was somewhat cooler than just out of nowhere knowing her name or calling her adventurer or things like that. She was confused about the idea of creating a party of NPCs and yers, which seemed to be what the boy was talking about.


    "Yes. As I said, Master was helping with the ritual to break my curse, as well as helping me get stronger not just to live my life but to help him at the task he gave himself. There will be others like me or you to join us in the future, but for now, we have to gather our strength and develop them to the best of our abilities." [Shingi]


    The two girls seemed to have a look of concern after hearing that, and Tycoon seemed to ask what was bothering them.


    "And what exactly can you do?" [Wild Tycoon]


    Shingi smiled once more, but the cloth piece still covered his mouth, so he wanted to show the answer to their question with action instead of worlds.


    He first cast a <strong>MANA HAND</strong> right at the mana blower''s control te and used it to move parts of its mana to enable the forge. He cast another <strong>MANA HAND</strong> to bring a light hammer and another one to bring a small piece of iron that threw it in the forge, which the fires were getting heated more and more as time passed.


    He then made the two <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> of his that weren''t used to power the forge to be fully Earth ones and hold one of them the heated piece of metal. With the other one, have his light hammer to hammer the metal. He wasn''t using the force of the hammer to shape the metal but using the force to open the way for his mana to get in. That way, the mana enabled him to push out any impurities of it. After finishing with that, he brought the piece of metal which wasn''t overheated over his anvil. He used his <strong>MANA HAND</strong> that brought the metal to open a trap door that he had made on the ceiling. It was afternoon but not toote, so there was some sunlight out, and so Shingi raised his right arm and closed his eyes to focus on only one thing entirely.


    To use <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> to control the sunlight''s mana and not remove it but drag all of it towards him, not just the mana.


    That was not something impossible to do as it was quite a simple thing to do. It was having fewer steps than what it would typically have to do, which was to ''cut'' the sunlight''s ties and its mana. But now he was using those ties to manipte the mana, leading to manipte the whole thing. But of course, the resistance was great as it was like he was trying to use mas to stop a moving car, but he was up to it.


    The room was getting brighter as he gathered the light right over the palm of his raised arm. And then, a small ball of light in the size of a ping pong ball was created. He mmed it by lowering his arm with an incredible speed to the piece of metal in the anvil. Even the surface of the anvil reddened somewhat on the impact.


    The Shingi used his Earth Mana hand and the light hammer he held with his normal hand and started working on the metal. He focused on the remains of the sunlight mana and kept it in the metal.


    He had his eyes mostly closed cause everything was too bright when being that close but using his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> and the rest of his senses, he was able to work without much problem.


    The two girls kept staring at that young man working in those mysterious ways and wondered what he was crafting.


    And so seconds became minutes and minutes became an hour and then two and when it went close to the third to be finished Shingi let the what sunlight was left off his control. And there on top of the anvil st not one but two items, almost identical in appearance.


    They were circr in diameter of little more than 8 centimeters. They had the same two circles and shapes of the Enchantment trinket he had prepared for Annoue. But these were of higher quality, meaning that they could handle stronger Enchantments but not in their current state as they weren''t yetplete. They were the top and bottom base of an hourss. All he needed was to create the ss body and fill it with sand created by Earth mana


    The user would use the mana in the dust to fill the space of the shapes he wanted to use instead of filling them with his or her mana, but he still needed to use mana to keep the dust in ce. Also, since there were two bases, the user couldbine even the same shapes to make other enchantments bringing a wider variety of possible enchantments.


    The material was purified with mana and took some of the sunlight''s power, which wasn''t the case with hisst time creating the trinket. Creating an enchantment with this would be much easier and faster. Mostly if someone used Light or Earth element mana, the two types he used to purify it.


    The two girls came to check what he created and were confused about what they saw as they were expecting to see some weapon.


    "As you see, I am a craftsman as well as an Arcane Practitioner. I will in the future try to keep our equipment in the top shape, and if we are lucky, we may find some materials to make unique equipment for all of us." [Shingi]


    Even if they weren''t impressed with his creations since they weren''t sure of their use, they were impressed by how he created them and his skills in magic. Especially Phoenix who understood how difficult it actually was to manipte an Element of Nature as she tried to control different shadows through the past day. She wasn''t able to reach the size of the light ball of Shingi. But she didn''t know that the Light was easier to control for Shingi since he had a Light element Mana Pool. Also, cause of the passive effect of his unknown Blessing. Of course, this wasn''t the first time he had done this kind of action as it was part of one of the crazy training methods he had used these past days.


    "Either way, since you now know what I can do, there is only one thing I expect from you. An answer. Are you willing to help my Master?" [Shingi]


    The two girls nodded in agreement without a second thought. They had talked about it while he was crafting, and they knew it was best for them to join him as it sounded like it would make the game more interesting.


    "Good. With the power given to me by the Gods and the tutorship of my Master, I give you his Blessing. Are you willing to ept it?" [Shingi]


    Saying that a notification appeared in front of each of the two female yers, which even if Shingi couldn''t see, he expected them and had guessed what was their content.


    It asked them if they wanted to be his students or, more specifically, Shingi''s students. He hoped the System would say without a title or mentioning that it was the NPC Shingi and not the yer Shingi.


    But soon enough, Shingi got two notifications from the System.


    ================================


    Wild Tycoon has epted to be your student.


    ================================


    ================================


    Little Phoenix has epted to be your student.


    ================================


    And now he had his five students recognized by the System, which would make things morefortable since they would most likely grant them more benefits in his teachings.


    "Well, you better take some good rest and prepare yourselves as in a week from now we are gonna meet with the rest and do our first mission" [Shingi]


    "M..m...mission? What kind of mission?!?" [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi looked at her, and one could read the excitement in his eyes and even hear it somewhat at his usually serious voice as he spoke.


    "But of course, clearing the nearby Dungeon." [Shingi]

 Chapter 26: Moving on training

    Chapter 26: Moving on training


    Shingi talked with the two female yers about their progress at their special training given to them as his yer character.


    Tycoon mentioned that she had killed close to 30 monsters that should fit the requirements of her challenge. Phoenix was able to manipte enough Shadow Mana to make a sphere of 2 centimeters diameter. Hence, she still had a long way to go to make one to fill her whole hand. She also was Level 7 while Tycoon was still Level 12. They both tried not to level up too much since it would make their training harder, and there was a specific mechanic that helped them on that.


    yers could decide the exp that they received to be added instead to one or more of their skills, but they have to be lower than Level 10. That way, their level wasn''t increasing, and their skills were getting stronger, and they were mostly left using this method on their basic skills.


    Shingi had investigated about the Dungeon, and its monster would be at around level 10. Still, some should be over level 12 or more, which was what Tycoon needed.


    Even if Annoue was too low level if he counted Hineko and Mizuneko, even if theirbat abilities didn''t seem too good, they should be able to handle the Dungeon. He had, of course, some more preparations to do to help them.


    After saying goodbye to them, he closed the shop and run to make hisst delivery for today as it was getting quitete. After that, he returned home and saw Garry having dinner in the kitchen by himself. He could detect Annoue with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> being at their room practicing.


    "Oh, you are finally back? I expected you''d be back sooner. What took you so long?" [Garry]


    Shingi just took out a pouch and dropped it on the table, and it opened enough for someone to be able to see what it contained. It was full of coins, mostly copper with some silver coins mixed in.


    "These are today''s final payments plus tips. You better use them wisely." [Shingi]


    After saying that he then proceeded to take a bowl and fill it with the soup that seemed to be dinner. He noticed that, unlike usual, the soup wasn''t meat but a vegetable. Whoever made it knew what they were doing considering how the taste of the vegetable all mixed well without any overpowering the others.


    Shingi knew that the Mayor was the one who was sending them this food but wondered if she was cooking it herself or if the cook was actually someone else.


    ''Well, Annoue has the cooking skill maybe I can ask the Mayor to help her raise its rank. It will be useful to have it.'' [Shingi]


    <strong>COOKING</strong> skill didn''t just focus on the food''s taste but granting on those who ate it temporary benefits and other kinds of buffs. But of course, special ingredients were needed for those dishes.


    After finishing his meal while being watched by Garry he was ready to get to his room, but Garry stopped him.


    "It seems that you have learned to handle the shop and your <strong>SMITHING</strong> skill quite well. I have heard quite a lot of praises for our shop''s crafts these past days." [Garry]


    Shingi was a little angry about mentioning his work as ''their'' crafts. Even if he rarely gave him some tips, he had done nothing to help or taught him something new, but he didn''t say anything or acted.


    "Since you did such a great job with SMITHING, we gonna move at your training at another skill. I wonder how good you are going to be in that one." [Garry]


    Shingi was kinda expecting of him saying that as he understood from the equipment at the shop that Garry didn''t just have the SMITHING skill but probably had other crafting-rted skills.


    "What kind of skill we gonna work next?" [Shingi]


    Garry seemed to think on that for a second before he gave his answer.


    "Since you got familiar with working with fire by using the forge, let''s move on GLASSBLOWING. We can use the Mana Blower with some adjustments to it that have been removed. But don''t worry, I will work on that, so have a day off for tomorrow, and after that, we will work on your new skills. Expect a simr amount or more of orders that would use that skill, so you better not disappoint me." [Garry]


    ''<em>Just the skill I needed.</em>'' [Shingi]


    Shingi needed to make the Enchantment Hourss body of his, so he needed the <strong>GLASSBLOWING</strong> skill. Since Garry would teach him, it was perfectly timed. Of course, he could buy an hourss and rece his bases as they weren''t much different in size than what would usually be used, but it wouldn''t fit perfectly if he didn''t make it himself.


    And so he made it to his room ready to help Annoue at her training by using his Blessing''s active effect. He had his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> active and noticed her mana maniption being better and faster than normal. She seemed to have gotten the hang of it.


    As he got in and Annoue noticed him, she smiled at him, but he caught a look of surprise and somewhat hiding something.


    "How was today''s training. Any progress?" [Shingi]


    Annoue looked down on the floor, having a sad look.


    "No progress. The lights are still tough to control." [Annoue]


    Shingi, hearing that he got closer to her, put his hand on her chin and raised her face as he had moved his face in front of her at breathing distance and looked into her eyes.


    "You don''t hide anything from your little brother, do you, big sister?" [Annoue]


    After all that time, Shingi was familiar with her personality, and he seemed to understand what was going on.


    Annoue probably was too bored of the training and assumed that it would get more boring, so she decided to make it look that there was no progress. And she didn''t want to say anything cause she was afraid of hurting his feelings.


    But of course, this wasn''t the case since Annoue didn''t want to stop this kind of training cause she liked it when he was using his Blessing on her. But seeing the eyes of her brother and hearing his words, she felt like she had betrayed the trust he had in her.


    "I... i... was sessful on the enchantment five days ago..." [Annoue]


    Shingi was amazed that she kept hidden this fact for that long and that he didn''t notice it. He could tell that her skill should be at the right rank, but he assumed she wasn''t sessful, because of her being inexperienced and just needed more time to find how everything worked for her.


    He put his hand over her head to pat it as he usually did to let her know that she did good or to calm her.


    "You don''t have to worry over anything as I am here, so all will go well. But promise me that you won''t hide something like that from me again." [Shingi]


    Annoue, who was almost ready to cry, nodded in agreement right away.


    "Good. We have a few things to discuss then." [Shingi]


    After making sure that Annoue was able to do the enchantment and was able to change the color of the trinket, he told her about the yers and the team he was creating. He used the same story of the yer who gave the materials for his ritual that he was behind everything. He told her that hemunicated with him through magic and was the reason that he had be that strong that fast.


    Of course, he was nning to let Annoue be part of the team but wasn''t nning on taking her to the Dungeon as she didn''t have her ss yet. It was too dangerous since, unlike the others who could respawn, she didn''t have that luxury. Or so he thought since he didn''t know if a Blessed Human could respawn as a yer could, but he didn''t want to test it.


    "So you have taken your first step in the way of Enchantments. We will leave it on that for now, but you can mess with it some more if you have some free time. I have made some notes with the possible enchantments so you can try them in the future." [Shingi]


    He gave her a small notebook of very few pages that had drawings of each shape that had to be used for the enchantment and what the result one would be.


    "So now we can move to our next part of your training. To learn how to use a de." [Shingi]


    He brought out the Mithril dagger that he always had with him and a wooden dagger of the same size but having a standard de.


    He gave the wooden one to Annoue, who was disappointed with not taking the cool-looking one.


    "Your ss would normally use bigger weapons, but for now, you need to learn some basics moves. The way of the sword isn''t just to swing the de left and right. There are many techniques and moves, but a swordmaster doesn''t need to know all of them but know when to use what. You need to be perceptive and use the right move at the right time." [Shingi]


    Annoue''s eyes got wide with excitement as they moved on a kind of training that seemed to be having more action than just focusing on lights.


    But then the disappointment returned to her face.


    "To do that, you need to learn Breathing Techniques and focus on your de. Be so familiar with it that it feels like an extension of your body. Then we will work on some moves." [Shingi]


    And so once more, they were in their usual meditate stance, but this time they didn''t have to focus on mana, but it was still a mental task. He used his Blessing, which seemed to help somewhat in this case as well as he also gave as many tips as he could to Annoue.


    This type of training was slower than the one with the Enchantment cause there was no indication of how far she had gone. Annoue could describe if she felt any different with handling the weapon, which was the only indication he could use. Still, he knew it would probably take some days until they have seeded.


    Or so he thought as close to the end of the hour of his blessing Annoue seemed to have seeded.


    Shingi made her do some easy movements with the dagger while having her eyes closed, and it seemed like she was sessful. At least to a suitable level for their needs.


    "You did quite well. You will train yourself in two moves from now on, but it iste, and we need some space, so I will demonstrate them to you and start training on them tomorrow at our hideout. I have a day off, and Garry will be busy, so we should be ok." [Shingi]


    Annoue nodded, and Shingi told her to study a few of the pages with the different Enchantments before she sleeps.


    He had decided toy down to rx his brain a little and checked his Status window. He noticed a change that probably happened during his crafting time of the hourss'' bases. He didn''t see a notification window appearing since he had his eyes closed most of the time and was focused on crafting.


    ''<em>My <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> is finally Master Rank.</em>'' [Shingi]

 Chapter 27: Master Rank Skills

    Chapter 27: Master Rank Skills


    During the week, he hadn''t just pushed his body to its limits but also his Mana Skills. One of these limit-pushing exercises was manipting the Elements around him with <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> as he did with the sunlight today. Manipting elements like that was something that took him a while to seed. Still, he was far from his technique to be perfect as he knew that these actions would be impossible without his Blessing''s passive effect. Even with that, he seemed to be barely capable of doing it.


    But it wasn''t just his <strong>INT</strong> being too low but also his limitations of the Rank of his skill but because of his Blessing; he was using the advantage of his high <strong>INT</strong> to push through the other requirements.


    At some point during his craft of the hourss, he felt the sunlight bing morefortable to control, but he didn''t know at that point that it was because he broke the limit of the Base Rank of his skill.


    He could also feel that his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> has been increased cause he used it a lot during that to rece his sight, but it didn''t seem to be enough to reach the Master Rank yet.


    After he waited and made sure that Annoue was asleep, he started his tests with the new limits of his skill, and this time he did the same exercise that he gave to Little Phoenix. He manipted and gathered the mana of his and Annoue''s shadows.


    Also, as he did with the sunlight, he didn''t cut the mana''s ties with its shadow, so he started manipting the shadow entirely and not just its mana.


    Cause this was supposed to be of Dark Element, it wasn''t as easy as controlling Light Element. However, it was still way more manageable than when he managed the Light Element with his Base Rank skill. The difference was quite evident as he had tried it in the past, like during his second meeting with Hineko at the storehouse where he gave himself that darker look. Still, it took everything he had, but now he barely needed to put some focus on it, and the speed was multiple times faster than then and more precise.


    After making a ball of shadow filling his hand, he spread the shadow to cover his whole body with the shadows, and it happened in a matter of seconds.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> (Low Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    ''Oh, that is interesting. Then with some adjustments, I should be able to cast that spell.'' [Shingi]


    Shingi kept the shadows to cover his body. He tried to mix some of his Light Mana with the shadows, which wasn''t easy as the two elements were repelling each other as it was in their nature.


    That wasn''t much for Shingi now as he focused a little more and had everything under his control. Before he was sure that he might have a 30% chance of seeding if he tried to do something like that, he used all his focus. Now he wasn''t even using 20% of his focus, and he had everything under control. This was the true difference in the power of a Base Rank and a Master Rank skill.


    And so part of the shadowsbined with his Light became somewhat transparent and then invisible to the eye. Still, it wasn''t like you saw through it as the body part of his cover was hidden too. With the Light Mana''s help, the shadow was like mas for light, and it was manipting the light and gave the deception of not being there. But if one was quite perceptive, he could see his figure, especially if he was moving, but it seemed the System thought of it as eptable.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    ''If someone heard that I learned a Base Rank spell and have no ss, they would just think I am crazy.'' [Shingi]


    Ungraded spells were considered simple tricks that anyone who could use mana could learn no matter how untalented or talented they were. Low-Grade spells weren''t thought that much different really than ungraded ones. Their difficulty to learn wasn''t that different except for the ones whose specific type of Element of Mana was needed, like <strong>ROCK THROW</strong>. As for Base Grade, that is when one is considered a real Arcane User.


    A Base Grade Spell was way more powerful than a Low-Grade spell, and not just because it needed more mana, but their difficulty on casting was in another level.


    Shingi had seen the <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> been cast before, and he knew that his own was far from the same quality as it, but that is cause it was the first time he cast the spell. He could train on it, and the spell would increase in power when he would be truly invisible to the naked eye that not even his yer Character will be able to see him. But same as that unlucky Rogue he facedst week, his spell will allow others not to be able to see him. Still, they will hear him or see his interaction with his surroundings, so he had to be careful when using this against perceptive foes.


    He recast the spell, and it took him around 10 seconds to cast it, which wasn''t too fast but not too slow either. He noticed that his figure was less noticeable when moving but still needed work. He was able to hold the spell for one minute, which was caused by his mana to be almost over. He needed to use his mana after casting the spell to keep the shadows around him and feeding them with Light Mana, so it was quite expensive for him. He calcted that he could probably stay invisible for two minutes in total if he had his mana full, and that is with one casting of the spell. If he had to cast other spells or recast it, the time would be less.


    So then he focused on his Mana Tree. Since his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> was higher Rank, he could now manipte more mana, feed it, and make its growing progress faster. With his work and helping Annoue, he didn''t make much of a breakthrough during the week at growing his Mana Tree, as it had barely grown a few centimeters in height.


    But after he restored some of his mana, he stood up. He cast his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> spell, which wasn''t as good as his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> spell. Still, since it was dark outside andbining it with his STEALTH, he was sure that no one would notice. And so he made his way out and to the old storehouse, which he considered to be a remarkable open space to develop his Mana Tree.


    Of course, he knew that he didn''t need to use a spell since his <strong>STEALTH</strong> should be more than enough. Still, it was an excellent way to consider it as a practice round of how it would be when using his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>.


    And so he made it at the storehouse. Even if he was, in theory, should be slower as he was the more careful cause of the change of his stats, he made it a few minutes earlier than usual.


    He sat over the box that he always used, but this time he didn''t need to take his clothes off, and while keeping his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> and <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> on to make sure he doesn''t have any guests, out of nowhere, he focused on feeding mana on his Mana Tree.


    He tried to focus on attracting at the moonlight, but it was a cloudy night, and it wasn''t a full moon either, so he wasn''t able to get much, but there was quite few Earth mana that he could work with. He needed to strengthen the Earth side of his Mana Tree, which was lesser than his Light one, which could easily seed by feeding Earth-based mana, which was the easiest one to find. But he didn''t want to change the bnce of his tree too much. Some of his spells needed the Light Mana of his, so it was good that his Mana Tree could make a lot of it.


    Right now, he had calcted that his Light/Earth Mana ratio was 70/30, with Light being the higher number. He considered trying to make it 50/50, but after getting a spell-like <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, he aimed for 60/40. It wasn''t like 30 percent wasn''t enough, but he was seeking to learn more offensive spells in the future, and they would mostly use Earth Mana.


    Also, he was using quite a bit of his Earth Mana during his crafting especially using Earth <strong>MANA HAND</strong>. It could withstand heated metals better than his Light <strong>MANA HAND</strong>. Light <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> needed to keep feeding them with mana or get dispelled after a while as the heat damaged them. Of course, it wasn''t like he couldn''t work without it, but it was a way to improve the final craft''s quality.


    So for the rest of the night, he kept manipting mana, and this time it wasn''t just strengthening the tree itself but the ground of it too.


    And so, after hours, a change finally happened. A cocoon was created around the tree and looked like an oversized seed. Still, the left part of it seemed to be bright as it was created out of many lights, and the right part of it was made of Earth. But the two parts weren''t the same size as the Light part seems to cover more than the Earth one.


    After a few minutes of nothing happening and it rejecting letting any mana that Shingi tried to feed it vanished into the ground. A small tree started to grow and grow as it stopped when it reached almost a meter and a half in height, which was way bigger than when it was a shrub. And it grew some seeds on its branches. Shingi counted them, and they were 12 at number, which was less than what Annoue had, but it was still counted of him being at the Base Rank. As for fruits, he didn''t have any, but it made sense since the fruit was a grown seed, and he just grew some seeds.


    He made some careful tests to understand the nature and power of the seeds. After almost an hour of careful research, he was certain that each of those was close to the mana needed to cast a <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> spell of his.


    That wasn''t much, but they were just grown, and in time he could possibly even be able to use them as a recement to cast an <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> spell. But if they be a fruit, he should be able to cast his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> and keep it active for a minute without using any of his mana.


    But growing fruit on a Mana Tree wasn''t an easy task as far as he understood, and it took time. He wasn''t sure how many he could grow, so even if he had one wouldn''t dare to use it unless he had no other choice.


    He still had a couple of hours before he needed to return, so he kept feeding his Mana Tree and his Mana Seed.

 Chapter 28: The way to the hideout

    Chapter 28: The way to the hideout


    After Annoue woke up and she and Shingi took their breakfast more rxed than usual, Shingi didn''t have to hurry to get to the shop today. After that, they started their way towards the hideout.


    They made their way through the gate, which wasn''t as guarded as before, making their trip shorter. But before they reach the hideout, Shingi motioned for Annoue to stop and keep quiet as he focused his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> and <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> entirely towards the hideout area and detected something.


    There were three individuals, and he could get through his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> that they were yers. They seemed like they found the tree and the secret room in it, and they were investigating for possible treasures or leads to a quest.


    "Stay here and be quiet. I need to take care of something ahead. I will call you when all is clear." [Shingi]


    Annoue''s face turned to full worry after hearing that.


    "Are you sure you don''t want me to help? I am strong." [Annoue]


    Even if Shingi didn''t know that the yer''s level was his knew that none of them were Mages since he detected no sign of mana by any of them. Also, their movements seemed somewhat sloppy and unprofessional. Since the most likely reason they would be here in the first ce would be the Dungeon, since it wasn''t a high-level one, they wouldn''t be ones either.


    No matter their level at the current ssless, Shingi knew they would have him at a disadvantage, but he had a few tricks up his sleeves that would work better if he was alone.


    "No worries. Remember that I am strong too, and this is something I need to do myself. Just wait patiently." [Shingi]


    As he said that Shingi cast his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> spell. Hebined it with his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill and made his way towards the yers. Unlike his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> spell, the <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> was mimicking the surroundings instead of manipting the light to make him like he wasn''t there in the first ce. Of course, the rate his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> was changing to fit his surroundings while he was moving wasn''t that great cause of the limits of the spell. Still, with his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill, he was lowering this disadvantage.


    And so he made it at a bush, and the yers were now at his sight.


    All of them seemed to be Warriors, and they had the same choice of weapon. They were all having a whip at their side and no other weapon.


    Warriors were able to use any weapon without restrictions, pretty much. Simultaneously, other sses were restricted to a specific one unless they earned a skill or other ability that enabled them to use a weapon they were restricted to use normally. For example, Mages could only use staves as physical weapons. Still, there were many that took Dagger or Crossbow Mastery that was suitable for them and the most easier for the ss to get.


    The whip was one of the few melee weapons that had a greater reach than others, but its damage was very low, especially against armored enemies. Also, the attack techniques with these weapons were among the mostplicated. They were considered the most useful for yers who wanted to control the battle and help others instead of win it by their power only.


    But there was one more specific reason that some were interested to learn the use of the whip.


    ''Hmmm, three possible tamers at the same party? Could it be they are part of some Guild? That should be the case, but they shouldn''t have earned the ss yet. Maybe that is why they are here.'' [Shingi]


    The Tamer ss was one ss that was allowing its user to take under his control some beasts, and as they go higher in level, they would be able to control monsters too. Of course, the stronger the monster, the stronger the Tamer needed to control it. If the monster is high <strong>INT</strong> one, it may not be Tamedalso, some very high-END ones were nearly impossible to be Tamed.


    Of course, some yers mostly wanted to tame a creature cause they wanted a pet, so they were aiming for cute or cool-looking creatures.


    Shingi remembered that there were some Guilds back in the day who were using the Tamers'' abilities to help explore the tower. Each floor had a limit on how many yers can be in the party trying to clear the floor but didn''t limit the other creatures that came with them like possible tamed ones.


    He kept looking over them to get as much information. Even if they didn''t speak to each other but just kept investigating the space around them, he was now confident of one thing.


    ''These arepletely beginner ones.'' [Shingi]


    Even if he didn''t know their exact level, he could estimate from their aura, and they seemed to be 5-7 Level as they were a little less tense than Phoenix''s. He always kept his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, especially at his encounter with Tycoon and the rest. He noticed that the tenser the aura was, the higher lever they were.


    He also noticed that they were looking left and right, just using their eyes to investigate their surroundings. It was a clear sign of not knowing how to use their <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> fully. They should pick up things and feel the changes in their surroundings with all their senses, not just their sight.


    And so he put the cloth he had used yesterday to hide his face during his discussion with Tycoon and Phoenix, and he made his way out of the bush. He also dispelled his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> and stopped using his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill.


    The moment he came out, the yers noticed him and drew their whip, but after seeing that it seemed to be just a child, they seemed to be less hostile but still cautious.


    "Who are you? What do you do here?" [Whip Guy 1]


    Shingi continued walking, and he stopped just a step outside the reach of the whip of the one who spoke, who was also the one closest to him. He seemed to be the leader among the three of them as the other two moved behind him.


    "I am the one who is supposed to do the questions and not to be questioned. Intruders aren''t wee to the forest, especially ones they have ill intentions." [Shingi]


    The yers seemed surprised by the response, and even if the voice sounded like one of a child, its tone seemed very serious. They even got some goosebumps for a second, but they ignored them.


    "Ill intentions? What do you mean? We just found this ce, and we were curious about it, nothing more."


    After hearing that, Shingi left out a short chuckle. He made it sound as he didn''t believe what he heard.


    "You may havee across this ce by chance, but you didn''te here without any reason. The Gods may have blessed you, but I can see the evil in your hearts and how you are here to damage and enve the innocent citizens of this sacred ce. Or you deny of this being the reason you came here?"


    Of course, by sacred ce innocent and citizens Shingi wasn''t referring to the town and its people but the forest itself and the beasts residing in it. He was aware of what was needed to be a Tamer. One of the requirements was to capture ten beasts alive by using only a whip as a means to damage it if needed.


    Beasts weren''t monsters and were pretty much the usual animal you could find in the real world. Most yers who wanted to be Tamers were visiting any forests near low-level areas, which were the most significant sources of beasts.


    The yer leader seemed surprised by Shingi''s response, especially since he seemed to know why they were here. They still hadn''t captured or even tried to capture a single beast yet.


    He was ready to say something but got stopped by the boy in front of him.


    "Before you say anything, I must warn you that I pay much attention to the words that leave someone''s mouth, especially someone who had ill intentions against me and has lied to me." [Shingi]


    He used the usual phrase that he used to use in this case. Still, this time things were different. Instead of doing that after intimidating them with showing the difference in their power by using his Skills and beat around some of them, this time, he used a different approach.


    He threw a dagger towards the man and cast a <strong>MANA HAND</strong>, which caught the dagger and held it at the man''s neck, having the saw de toward his neck. He also used his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> as his shadow to expand around him but not cover him. He also repelled any Light froming toward him, giving him his Darker Look. At the same time, he cast hid <strong>MINOR ILLUSIONS</strong> giving himself tattoos all over his face of a greenish color, and they looked like vines were drawn on his face and even made his eyes emitting some green colored light.


    All this happened in less than a second, and it affected the yers just the way Shingi wanted to. They were utterly terrified of the boy.


    "Now speak in the name of the Nature Goddess, or you will face the punishment I choose for you." [Shingi]


    The yer was snapped out of his fear after hearing that just enough to reply.


    "We don''t mean to bring any harm to you or anyone of this sacred ce. We were just here to fulfill a mission given to us by our higher ones of our Guild. We didn''t mean to disrespect you, the Goddess, or anyone in here, and we understand the wrongs of our actions that we have done and wanted to do."


    He seemed to be in a hurry to say everything as he was afraid of Shingi losing his patient.


    "Hmm, I see. Well then, since you understand your wrongs, your punishment will be lighter." [Shingi]


    Shingi had used more of his focus and used almost all of his mana for one and one only thing. He took control of his and the yers'' shadows and some of the surrounding''s shadows to make a dome of pure darkness to surround both the yers and him.


    And after that, there was silence.


    And then, after almost a minute, the dome started disappearing, and there was Shingi surrounded by some bright particles which slowly disappeared but no sign of the yers.


    ''That was a good exercise'' [Shingi]

 Chapter 29: Sword training

    Chapter 29: Sword training


    Shingi got ready to go back to call Annoue but noticed that there was something in the ground. It was a ring.


    It wasn''t there before, and he remembered noticing that ring at the fingers of the yer he was talking with just a few moments ago.


    ''<em>It seems my luck is high today</em>.'' [Shingi]


    When a yer dies, he would typically lose some exp, but there was a tiny chance for one of his items on him, either if they are equipped or not, to drop. This chance would increase if the yer who died were a Red yer, but if the killer''s level were way higher than that of the yer, it would decrease. That was so that high-level yers wouldn''t bully low lever ones. That is why when he killed the yers outside the Goblin cave, they didn''t drop a single of their items even if they were Red yers.


    One of these yers'' chances to drop something should be less than 1%, but it actually happened.


    Shingi picked up the ring, and he didn''t have to investigate it for long as, with one look, he knew what it was.


    "Either their Guild is one whose funds are unlimited, or this guy was an important character to his Guild. Maybe a prodigy or something." [Shingi]


    The ring was a Spatial Ring. Those rings had ess to a pocket dimension that he could use to store different items. Still, unlike the storage of his Blessing of Dlog, which is limited to coins and precious gems, this could store anything that isn''t living.


    There are three different types of those rings depending on how many things they can store.


    There is the small one which can store close to 100kg or items. Then there was the medium size one, which could handle up to 200kg, and therge one could handle a ton. The ring he found was a medium-sized one.


    The small and medium ones could be found or bought by yers if they had the funds. Still, therge ones were avable only through special quests, and they were the only one of the three that they were bond to their user so that only he or she can use it. After the user died, the ring would disappear and hide for others to earn it.


    Through his research, Shingi had found out back when he was a yer that there were 5 Large rings. They were created before the Great Pact, which was hundreds of years before the game started.


    He was familiar with how the ring worked cause he used to have one himself, but he wasn''t lucky enough to get one of therge ones, so he had a medium one then.


    Others could use the small and medium rings, but they had to be unlocked first, which was impossible for the Large ones. To unlock the ring, he had to overpower its defense with his mana, which if one wasn''t a Mage himself could hire someone to do it for him.


    But he currently had used almost all his mana, so he had to do it after he was back at full power.


    He then made his way back to Annoue. He didn''t have to go far enough as it seemed like she had made her way here, and she was actually at the same shrub he was when he got here.


    "I thought I told you to stay back and wait for me to call you." [Shingi]


    Annoue took a deep breath and spoke or, more precisely, shouted with her eyes closed.


    "<strong>I AM THE BIG SISTER, AND I WANT TO STAY WITH YOU. YOU SAID YOU WON''T LEAVE ME ALONE AGAIN.</strong>" [Annoue]


    Shingi was surprised and understood that Annoue seemed to depend on him more than he thought. He wondered if she didn''t have her training while he was away, what would happen?


    He just sighed at the thought.


    But it didn''t seem like Annoue was here for long, and she hadn''t seen the yers. She probably got here while Shingi was at his DOME OF SILENCE, which seemed to be what the System decided to call his new Spell.


    While in there, no sound could be heard in the dome, and everything was pitch ck. The shadows were consuming light and sound, so even his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> was useless in there but not his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>.


    "Let''s start your training. As I said yesterday, I will have you train in two moves which are quite basic for your ss."[Shingi]


    He brought out of his bag that he had bought a few days ago to keep his stuff, the two daggers. His Mithril one and his wooden one and gave the wooden one to Annoue.


    She still seemed to be kind of upset about Shingi leaving her behind, but she took the dagger and heard him out.


    "So since you have Air Element Mana this moves, I am gonna show you they are gonna be used differently from you than normal." [Shingi]


    He made a vertical swing while turned himself to have Annoue at his right.


    The swing happened with an incredible speed as he had used his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill. It produced a wave of air that moved towards that direction with great speed and force, but it didn''t hit anything, so none could be entirely sure how strong it was.


    "As you see, this is a simple move but needs great speed or great force at your swing, but there is a way to make things easier and strengthen this." [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed to understand where this was going, but Shingi exined further step by step what she needed to do.


    And it was quite simple. Instead of using her speed and force of her swing to make the <strong>AIR SLASH</strong> he could instead create with her mana a ball of air around the tip of her de, do the swing to form the sh like she was painting in the air using the de as a blush and the air she manipted as paint. Then she had to use the swing force and empower it with more of her Air Mana.


    This would give the same effect. It would be stronger than a regr <strong>AIR SLASH</strong> as it would actually use mana so that it would turn from an ordinary Weapon Skill to a Mana Weapon Skill way more potent than their standard versions.


    But this was more suitable by one of Air Element as their main mana as their maniption of the air was at a different level of the others. Since they were using their mana and not the environment''s mana, it would be morefortable and faster to control.


    "This is one of the moves you need to master to move on with your training. As for the other one, it is one focusing on defense instead of offense." [Shingi]


    One more, he demonstrated the move, but to do it, he asked Annoue to punch him. Of course, she argued that she didn''t want to hurt him, but he persuaded her at the end that it was just a demonstration and he wouldn''t be hurt.


    Annoue punched him, but before her fist connects with him, he brought his dagger and, more specifically, its blunt surface in the way of her fist. When they touched, he turned the de down with great speed to move the force of the impact down, making Annoue losing her bnce.


    "This is <strong>DEFLECT</strong>, and it is a move that you can also empower with your Air Mana. Create some air around the source of the attack, in this case, it would be your fist, and push it towards the direction you want to deflect. Of course, in the middle of the battle, your control of mana has to be perfect to use it in that small amount of time, but we take small steps for now." [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed to be impressed by her brother and the power he demonstrated by using these moves.


    But she didn''t know that those moves weren''t even at half of their usual power. Not even the System was thinking them close to the Skills they were normally supposed to because they didn''t be avable to Shingi after demonstrating them. His stats were too low.


    Of course, <strong>AGI</strong> was necessary for the <strong>AIR SLASH</strong>, but <strong>STR</strong> was just as important, and his was quite low to what was needed.


    The same with his <strong>DEFLECT</strong> as his <strong>STR</strong> was lower than Annoue''s, but his high <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> helped him use the move and adjust as needed.


    He suggested that she try to master the AIR SLASH first and keep bing familiar with the dagger and then move on to <strong>DEFLECT</strong> training. She needed to have someone attacking her to train on that.


    Shingi, while keeping some of his attention on her, went into his meditate stance to feed his Mana Tree, restore his mana and work on unlocking the ring.


    But as he started focusing, he noticed something he didn''tst time he was here.


    The hollow tree and, more specifically, his roots were emitting some mana. But that wasn''t strange as even if it was somewhat hollow, it wasn''t dead, so it still could produce mana, but the peculiar thing was the mana''s color.


    Mana was colored depending on their element, so there were red for Fire, blue for Water, green for Earth, etc. But this one had multiple colors blending like a rainbow.


    This unique mana was very small in quantity, and he was sure that without his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> being close to rank up to Master Rank, he would never have noticed.


    Different element type mana has a different interaction with each other. Some were repelling each other, some had no interaction, and some were consuming the other. But here, Shingi noticed all Basic Element of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth being close to each other and blended in peace like they meant to be together. There was no sign of Dark or Light Mana, which kept things less crazy.


    He had never heard of anyone else encountering something like that. Still, there was an instance of yers engaging with stuff that wasn''t making sense, but almost all of the time, this meant one thing.


    ''This should be the trigger of a Quest.'' [Shingi]

 Chapter 30: Actions and reactions

    Chapter 30: Actions and reactions


    Shingi kept feeding his Mana Tree and Seed and restoring his while keeping his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> on the unique mana of their hideout tree roots.


    If one brought that info to the right NPC, it would unlock a type of a Chain Quest. It could be that it is the remains of an old entity that was slowly grown back or a new kind of mana created by events that have happened around here through time or a million other things.


    Of course, he could use that mana as usual to strengthen his Mana Tree or his seeds. It probably would have a unique effect on them, but it could have undesired results since it had all the elements in one.


    He kept restoring his mana, and as he had more than half restored, he started putting it at use to destroy the Spatial Ring''s lock.


    With his current <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, he could ''see'' the weak point of this lock and attack them with his mana. Mostly with his Earth, which was more suitable to do damage, and as there seemed to be some ''cracks'' on it, he used his Light Mana to move it faster to get in and deal damage from the inside.


    He kept doing that, and after half an hour or so, he was finally sessful.


    It took him a while cause his mana was too low, and he had to keep pf his usage and keep it lower than the amount he was using.


    He then brought out everything that the ring had in it, and it didn''t seem to have muchjust three items.


    One of them was a pouch pretty simr to the one that Varic gave him, and it was actually another money pouch but was maybe a third of Varic''s size. He checked, and it had coins in there, so he just put them in the special storage of his Dlog Blessing, which was letting him know if he focused how many coins were in there, so he didn''t need to count them.


    The second item was a scroll with a wax seal on it, and the seal had on it a symbol of the head of a wolf looking at the left.


    Thest item was a whip or, more specifically, just the handle of a whip. At the end of the handle, where the rest should be, there was a tiny gem of white color.


    ''<em>Oh, an energy weapon they seem to have funds.</em>'' [Shingi]


    Energy weapons were weapons made out of Energy. More specifically, they had a Mana Stone on them that was enchanted to use the environment''s mana and turn it into a weapon. Even if they were using mana, the weapon wasn''t purely made out of mana, as the mana stone seemed to change its nature to be easier to control even by a no-Arcane user.


    This one was designed to make the rest of the whip when its user enabled it.


    But energy weapons were tricky to use as amand needed to be given to them to enable them, and only its creator knew what thismand was. It could be a particr move or a specific word. It could also be, in some cases, even just a thought about it, but since the gem used was white, which was the sign of it being of low quality, it couldn''t be the case.


    But even if the gem was of low quality, it was still worth a hundred or so gold coins. Cause of the weapon''s nature, its damage could pass the defenses of many monsters. This would make the fight rtively more straightforward, especially if you don''t have an Arcane user with you.


    Shingi considered himself lucky that he didn''t give them a chance to fight him or if the yer used the whip to be in serious trouble.


    But even with their standard weapons, the fight wouldn''t be easy as they had a ss and the System''s help at using their skills, which is why he had to make sure that they couldn''t fight. As letting them go without killing them, he would never think about it. This kind of people would return if he didn''t teach them their lesson that this was his ce.


    It was his sister''s hideout, but especially since of the mystery of the multi Element''s mana, he considered it his own.


    He brought out of his bag a string, and he tied the ring with it and put it around his neck like a ne. He didn''t need to wear it in his finger to use it just had to touch it to pull out or store any items, and since he wanted to hide it, he kept it under his clothes.


    He stored in it his Mithril dagger and the two pieces of the hourss. He went back to his meditate and making his Mana Tree and Seeds stronger, but his PERCEPTION noticed something.


    Some birds appeared flying up from the trees from a ce not too far from them. It seemed like something scared them, and they flew away.


    He used his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> and <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> at their full power towards that direction, and there seemed to be some movement not too far from them.


    Almost a dozen yers seem to be heading towards their direction, and they seemed to be mostly low level. Still, there were two at the front that had tenser auras than the rest, meaning they were Higher-Level.


    He stood up right away and moved at Annoue and drew her attention as she seemed to focus on her training in Air sh entirely.


    "Annoue, we need to go. Dangerous people get near us, and we need to get back in town." [Shingi]


    Annoue was confused over what he was talking about, but he trusted him more than anything, so she got ready to move on.


    But it seemed to be toote as Shingi had to enable his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill and stepped back just in time as an arrow passed through the ce he was, and it seemed to be aimed near his heart.


    Then a wolf and a bear appeared out of the woods and behind them the yers he felt of them getting near them. Of course, among them were the three that he had dealt with less than an hour ago.


    The one he was talking with seemed to recognize him since even if he had his face covered, his clothing was the same, and his haircut and the rest of his looks.


    Shingi could tell now that there were ten yers. Eight of them, including the three he had dealt with already, seemed to be less than Level 10, while the other two, who seemed to have tamed the wolf, and the bear, were around level 20.


    The two of them were wearing a cloak covering their left arm, and it had on it the same symbol that the wax seal of the scroll in the ring hadthe wolf''s head.


    "So this is the boy who killed you? He doesn''t look like the monster you described it to be." [High-Level Tamer #1]


    "Well, you know newbies, they always think of someone that looks different than they expect a monster." [High-Level Tamer #2]


    The first one that spoken nodded at what the second said, and they seemed quite rxed, almost like they were ignoring Shingi. Still, he could tell that they kept their eyes on him, meaning they appeared to have high PERCEPTION.


    Shingi knew that he was at a disadvantage as there was no escape as even if he were faster than the yers, he wouldn''t be able to outpace the tamed wolf. But even then, he wouldn''t leave without a fight.


    He turned his head towards Annoue and spoke to her.


    "Return to town by yourself. I will join you soon. I have to talk with them." [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed worried and wasn''t willing to let her brother alone with those strangers cause she could tell that they didn''t mean to do anything nice.


    But as she was ready to say something, Shingi stopped her as he looked at her with a look she had never seen him have before.


    He was always serious and rarely saw him smiling, but she was used to having no response from him since all the years she knew him, he was asleep. But now, his serious look was at a different level, and it wasn''t like she was looking at her little brother but a Hero, a powerful Hero.


    "I will wait for you at home... so be careful." [Annoue]


    She didn''t know why she said that, but something in her told her that he would be ok and had to do what he said. It worked until now, so why it wouldn''t work again?


    She started making her way, and one of the Low-Level yers was equipped with a longbow aimed at her and was ready to shoot her.


    He was stopped as a rock hit him in the face but didn''t deal much damage.


    Of course, Shingi was the one who threw the rock.


    "She has nothing to do with you. If you have a problem, I will hear it." [Shingi]


    While standing, Shingi focused on restoring as much mana as he could as he knew he would need it.


    "Hmm, it seems you have some skills as mentioned." [High-Level Tamer #1]


    He saw him throwing the rock, and he was barely able to keep up, and he wasn''t sure if he would be able to avoid it if he was the target. But even if the boy''s speed was impressive and its aim, the attack seemed tock power. If it were that weak against a lower-level yer than him, it would be utterly useless against him.


    "Well, things aren''t tooplicated as my men here had a meeting with you, and it didn''t go that well. One of them seems to miss something that was given to him by our Guild. I am pretty sure you know where it is, so why don''t you hand it over, and then we can discuss further on how to solve the ident that happened between you and my men." [High-Level Tamer #1]


    Shingi wasn''t surprised that they were here for the ring cause it wasn''t something cheap, but he could tell that most likely they were here for what it was in the ring.


    ''The Energy weapon is something rare, but they probably can acquire more, especially since it was a low quality that a base rank Enchanter could make. Most of the time, Guilds have hired yera with those kinds of skills or at least some NPCs. So they most likely are here for the scroll.'' [Shingi]


    "Oh, I am sorry for your assumptions, but I am not sure what exactly you are talking about. Something about looking for a specific thing and me having a meeting with some of your men? Nothing like thates to my mind." [Shingi]


    As he said that, he noticed that the second one had whispered something to the other one. Even if someone usually wouldn''t hear what he said, but with his PERCEPTION, it was a piece of cake.


    "He seems to tell the truth." [High-Level Tamer #2]


    Shingi was curious about that phrase, but then he understood why he said it.


    ''<em>His <strong>INSIGHT</strong> skill should be quite high.</em>'' [Shingi]


    The <strong>INSIGHT</strong> skill allowed one to read someone''s bodynguage, and its most famous use was to tell if someone was lying.


    From their expression, he could tell that his <strong>INSIGHT</strong> should be rtively high for him to consider that it couldn''t be wrong. Still, he wasn''t aware that the boy in front of him was a yer who had High-Level yer knowledge. He had even had arguments with Gods themselves so hiding the truth from a yer wasn''t that impossible for him.


    Of course, it wasn''t like he had the perfect poker face as every fort had its weaknesses.


    "Hmmm..... then why are you here? And what were you and the girl doing outside the town?" [High-Level Tamer #1]


    "We were ying around. This is our hideout, and we are used to ying around here as it is quiet. We are morefortable in the forest than in town as the kids of the town are just annoying." [Shingi]


    "I see. So you are an outcast? You don''t seem to like the people of the town that much." [High-Level Tamer #1]


    ''<em>Is he trying to trigger a quest through me?</em>''[Shingi]


    It wasn''t a strange thing for a talk with an NPC who had a stranger than normal behavior to lead on a Quest, and this was a popr way a lot of people were using to trigger ones.


    "I am not an outcast; they are just bullies who think they are better because my family is poor. Like they are princes of the town or something." [Shingi]


    The two High-Level yers seemed to keep all their focus on him. The one who appeared to have the high INSIGHT was whispering on the other one telling him mostly that he didn''t get any lies from Shingi, but he thought that maybe there was something more. And by something more, Shingi was sure he meant a Quest.


    "I noticed that the two of you have the wolf''s head on your cloaks, but one of you seems to control a bear instead. How so?"


    "Oh, you seem to be a perceptive one. This is the symbol of our Guild, and it is a Wolf cause that was the first tamed creature our founder had, and he is very fond of it." [High-Level Tamer #2]


    After saying that, the yers seemed to be a little confused for a split second, but then his face returned to normal.


    At that point, one of the other yers stepped next to them. It was the one who seemed to be the leader among the three he had dealt with before.


    "Boss. Why are we keep talking with him? He is hiding something, and the scroll should be with him. Let''s take him down." [low-level Tamer]


    The two High-Level yers looked towards him, and one could almost see daggers leaving their eyes and piercing him.


    "You may be considered of one with a great future at our Guild, but I can end your future at any point, so you shouldn''t talk when you aren''t allowed, little puppy." [High-Level Tamer #1]


    Hearing how he referred to him seemed to piss him off, but he kept his anger down.


    "Boss, you know that my name is Cerberus and not little puppy." [Cerberus]


    He chuckled a little on what the yer, who seemed to be known as Cerberus, said but kept a serious face.


    "Until you be stronger to deserve a name like that, you are just a little puppy."[High-Level Tamer #1]


    He then ignored Cerberus and turned his attention once more towards Shingi, and he seemed to scan his body to make sure he wasn''t hiding something.


    Of course, Shingi knew what he was looking for. He was sure only if he had a <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> at Master Rank or close to it would be able to see the ring under his clothes. Mostly cause he used some of his mana to cover it with a small <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> spell. Since there was no Mage among them, he wasn''t afraid of noticing using mana as long as he wasn''t too noticeable.


    "Well, it seems that there was a misunderstanding, but it isn''t like something bad happened. I am sure the young girl awaits you so you can be on your way." [High-Level Tamer #1]


    Shingi turned around to start making his way, but right away, he turned toward the yers and threw a rock that he had made with his mana while they were talking, and hit the arrow that was heading towards him.


    "Oooooh.... you seem to be an interesting one. I wonder how much time it will take to train you?"


    At that point, he summoned through his Spatial Ring a whip, which was three connected to a handle, and each one had a different color. There was a white one, a ck one and a grey one.


    ''Is that a ve Whip?!?'' [Shingi]

 Chapter 31: First real fight

    Chapter 31: First real fight


    A ve Whip is a weapon created and used by a subss of the Tamer with the name ver. Instead of bonding with the creature, the ver tried to tame it; he breaks its spirit with his whip and makes it 100% loyal.


    There are different types of ve Whips, and when someone bes a ver, one of the first things he can choose is which type he wants to create and is given free by the System. Still, only specific ones are avable that way. After that, he needs to craft others, and their recipes aren''t easy to find and are consumable.


    This is one of those choices, and the different whips were for the type of target he wanted to Tame or, more specifically, to Enve.


    If the target was a good-hearted one, he had to use the white while the ck was for the evil-hearted ones. The grey was for ones who weren''t belonging fully at either. If he tried to use one on a target who doesn''t belong to the right category, it would just pass through it without damaging him. They were simrly made as Energy Weapons but were enchanted differently to affect specific targets and have unique effects on them.


    Shingi took a quick nce at his status and checked his SP, which he had used a little when he used <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> and his Mana, which was at 80%. He couldn''t dy the battle as the yer didn''t seem to care anymore, and he was ready for action.


    But at least there was some good news.


    He wanted to fight Shingi by himself and even made a signal to his Tamed creatures and other yers to stay put.


    But this didn''t mean that this was going to be an easy fight. Shingi''s attack abilities were pretty much nonexistent against a yer like that. Even casting the <strong>DOME OF SILENCE</strong> likest time wasn''t an option cause of two reasons.


    Firstly it took too much time to cast and too much mana, and even if he won the fight with this, he wouldn''t be able to fight the other yers after that.


    The second reason is that even if he did that, it didn''t mean that he would be able to damage him even if he surprised him. His spell won''tst for long for him to lower his health to 0.


    He could tell that his equipment wasn''t as simple as the one the other yers were wearing and was granting him more defense. He seemed more perceptive, so he may escape the DOME since it stays in ce, and one can get in and out of it or even counter some of his attacks if he was too wise as Shingi thought of him to be.


    As for running away, it still wasn''t an option as he probably was a high AGI character. The yer couldmand his wolf to capture him if he tried to escape either way.


    Shingi tried to make a n, but the yer in front of him didn''t let him think much as he made his move and attacked with all his whips at the same time. Of course, it was a waste of energy to use all of them as theshes took some of its user''s SP. The more you used at the same time, the more the cost, but he wanted to see what whip would affect him.


    Shingi enabled his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong>, avoided the attack, and tried to keep the skill active only when needed, not to waste any SP.


    He focused on his enemy and his surroundings to see if something could be used for his benefit.


    Shingi threw some Earth Mana stones he created at his target. Since he didn''t do it with casting ROCK THROW, it was using his IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON skill. It made it pretty much impossible for his target to avoid it since the stone waspleted quickly; it turned in dust in impact. Shingi was aiming his face; it blinded him for few seconds and gave Shingi some time to breathe here and there.


    He wanted to use his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> with his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> to throw him off possibly and may cause some damage. Still, even with his speed, he didn''t have enough time to do that, especially since he could maybe hit him with his whip while he was down, and Shingi couldn''t allow it.


    He wasn''t afraid of the possible damage but of the effect, it would have on him.


    The fight continued like that, with the yer throwing some taunts on Shingi to make an opening. He was mostly saying that he would find his sister and deal with her after dealing with him. Still, Shingi was used on those strategies, and they couldn''t affect him, or at least not as his opponent wanted to affect him.


    Shingi never had a good rtionship with his family. It wasn''t like he had considered Annoue fully like his big sister, but she was someone who seemed to mean a lot to her, which was something new for him. Even if he didn''t consider her as a brother would normally consider his sister, it was the closest to that than what he had felt with his real-world family.


    So those words made him somewhat angry, but he knew to control this anger and made it a weapon and not a weakness.


    During the week he passed, he pushed his body to its limit every day, and other than the increase of his stats, he had also unlocked something else. Suppose he reached a simr state of being near his limit. In that case, he could get his body in a state even stronger than it would be past his limits, For a short time. After that, every action of his would use double the SP it would typically use and more frequently, so it was something he couldn''t use whenever. He could stay in that state for 5 secs, and no matter what action he did, he wouldn''t spend a single SP, and he could also use his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> and <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> at their real limit.


    This way would be the only way to win this fight. If he defeated him since no one couldmand the wolf but its Tamer, he would have a great chance to escape.


    And so he enabled his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill and threw an Earth mana stone at the yer. Even if he couldn''t avoid it in time, he put his hand in the way to not let the dust get in his eyes.


    Shingi expected, as he appeared in front of him and cast a Spell right in the face of the yer.


    That spell was LIGHT, and he made it to be as bright as he could make it and kept his eyes closed.


    The yer was too slow to do something against that, and this let him get blind, but instead of holding his face, he made an attack in front of him in the ce Shingi was.


    But Shingi had already moved behind him and was moving at a speed, way faster than before. If one could follow his moves and see him clearly and not the afterimages he was leaving, they would notice some differences.


    Firstly his neck was full of veins, and they were like spreading and appearing on his face too as time passed, some blood had started getting out his nose, andstly, his eyes have be pure ck. They were usually red, which wasn''t normal, but he didn''t mind it since no one said anything about it, but it was dark red but not too dark. But this time, it waspletely dark without any red left in them.


    And so Shingi started his counter by hitting the yer''s legs first to make him fall to be easier to reach his face since the yer was taller than his child-size body. Then he attacked his main hand, which he held the whip to make it harder for him to fight if he failed, and disarmed him. And it didn''t take too much to make the whip be released from his hand as he kicked it away by kicking the handle and avoiding making contact with any of theshes. Then he focused on the head, which didn''t have any protection by the armor since he wasn''t wearing a helmet, and punched him with as many attacks as he could.


    The System was telling him how much damage he dealt, but he didn''t know how much health the ver was supposed to have, but he had an estimation on his mind.


    Cause he was entirely focused on dealing damage to the target, he didn''t notice that someone else had tried to attack him until the attack happened. Still, fortunately, he wasn''t hit since he kept moving around and didn''t stay in ce; otherwise, his target may have made a counter against him.


    The one who made the attack was the other High-Level yer, and he attacked with his whip, which wasn''t a ve whip or an Energy one but still seemed to have some enchantments on it.


    Shingi tried to keep his attacks, but with the other yer helping his teammate, his hits became less. His Breaking-Limit state time ended without him dealing enough to kill his target.


    But noticing the yer''s state, he seemed to be close to death, and at least he didn''t have his ve Whip.


    But then the ver raised his hand and opened his hand as a crack appeared in the air, and out of it came his ve Whip.


    ''<em>It also has a Return Enchantment? How rich is this Guild?</em>'' [Shingi]


    The Return Enchantment was creating a bond between an item and a person. The person could summon the item at him, but it had to be in a specific range; otherwise, it couldn''t be summoned. But still, the least that this range could be was tens of meters. The enchantment wasn''t an easy one to make, and few Base Rank enchantments were able to do it, so its price was rtively high, but it could save your life more than once. Putting an enchantment on a weapon that is already enchanted like the ve Whip, no matter what type of enchantment, was even more challenging to do sessfully.


    Shingi didn''t know what else he could do other than charge with what he had left as he kept using his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> and hoped to deal enough damage to the yer.


    But unfortunately, he was slower than just a few seconds ago. The two yers in front of him had adjusted somewhat as the second one used his whip and hit him in the leg and made Shingi trip while the ver used his ve Whip to attack Shingi.


    Shingi was weakened after using the Breaking-Limit state of his and couldn''t move out of the whips'' way in time to only pray. And his prays seemed to be heard.


    All three of the whips that were aimed at him reached him, and the white and ck one passed through him while the grey, instead of damaging him, seemed like it just stopped after making contact with him and froze in ce.


    ================================


    AN ENCHANTMENT TRIES TO AFFECT YOUR MIND


    ================================


    ================================


    THE USER OF THE ENCHANTMENT HAS LOWER CHA THAN YOU, SO THE ENCHANTMENT FAILED


    CAUSE OF THE DIFFERENCE OF INT BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU A RANDOM SIDE EFFECT WILL BE DECIDED FOR THE USER OF THE ENCHANTMENT


    ================================


    At that point, Shingi heard the wolf, who up at that point had made no noise to start growling but not towards him. He was growling towards the low-level yers and the bear. At the same time, the ver yer started making his attacks against the other High-Level yer.


    ''Did he got charmed as a side effect and considered me an ally?'' [Shingi]


    Even if things like the ''Mind control'' of the ve Whip didn''t work on yers, there were effects to work on their minds. The most famous ones were spells or charms. Most would call them to lose control of their character as the System would take control and make the yer act appropriately. Of course, the yer could break the charm, but a skill or spell was needed for that.


    As for the wolf, one of the ver''s advantages was that he couldmunicate and givemands to their tamed creatures by thought. But only if they were near and only pass simple shortmands.


    Shingi didn''t have to think much about it as this was a chance he couldn''t pass as he kept using his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill but not to fight this time but to run away.


    ''I will remember your faces, and I will make you pay for today, Wolfheads'' [Shingi]


    Other than Cerberus, he didn''t know any of the others in-game names, and since their Guild had the head of a Wolf as its symbol, he called them Wolfheads for now.


    And so Shingi, with the help of an unexpected ally, made it out and had barely any SP left when he reached the gate of the town. Fortunately, no one seemed to have followed him, but he saw two girls talking with each other in front of the gate.


    One of the girls was his sister, while the other was someone he didn''t expect his sister to meet.


    It was Little Phoenix.

 Chapter 32: Strange signs

    Chapter 32: Strange signs


    He looked around and didn''t find any signs of Tycoon, which he considered to be weird as Phoenix didn''t seem like one to y the game by herself.


    He would typically try to keep his distance from her, but he had to go home to rest; otherwise, he could be in big problems and didn''t have enough <strong>SP</strong> to go in the town any other way.


    He could also try to pass them by making himself invisible, but Annoue was waiting for him, and he didn''t want to let her behind. So he moved while doing his best to act that he wasn''t tired or in a bad state, which fortunately helped that he didn''t have any damage dealt with him that one could see. He had lost some of his HP cause of using his Breaking-Limits state, but he nothing life-threatening. He just was exhausted.


    He walked towards the two young girls, and Annoue noticed him faster than he had expected as she ran towards him and hugged him. Shingi was using his all to walk, so he wasn''t able to move away. The hug of the <strong>STR</strong> high Annoue wasn''t what he needed right now. He felt his consciousness leaving him, but he kept himself up using just his will.


    Fortunately, Annoue let him go without him saying anything like she understood that her hug affected him negatively.


    "Oh... so you are the little brother of An? It''s good that you are ok." [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi was surprised not by what Phoenix said but by how she said it. She usually was quiet, shy, and seemed to talk normally when talking to Tycoon, but now there wasn''t any of that shyness on her. She spoke full of confidence without being afraid of someone as she was quitefortable with the people around her, which were just him and Annoue.


    "And you are?" [Shingi]


    "Oh yes, sorry. My name is Little Phoenix, and I just met your sister as she seemed anxious awaiting you. Well, I recognized the look cause I am quite familiar with it with my big sister when I gette." [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi kept looking at her and trying to read all her expressions. She seemed like she didn''t recognize him and the way she was speaking was different than usual. Almost like she was another person.


    But everything else was the same, the equipment that he bought on her as his yer character, the aura of hers and her mana feeling everything were the same. Still, there was just something different on her but not something he could see; just her personality seemed to be somewhat different.


    "I see. Thank you for keepingpany to Annoue. We have to go back home to clean it up somewhat if you excuse us." [Shingi]


    Phoenix didn''t seem to mind and waved goodbye to Annoue as she headed into the forest. Still, Shingi didn''t know why she would do it as her training would be morefortable to do in the town.


    But either case, they made their way to their house, and Shingi was feeling like his body was weighing twice as heavy and was aching everywhere. His overuse of the <strong>ACCELERATION</strong>, especially after using his Breaking-Limit State, had more significant side effects on his body than he wanted. But he tried to put a brave face in front of Annoue as he told her that he wanted to meditate in their room.


    She said she had to do some shopping for lunch, but before she left, Shingi mentioned something.


    "You know, maybe the Mayor can help you increase your <strong>COOKING</strong> skill. She seemed like a nice person, and the soup she brings to us seems to have been made by a professional." [Shingi]


    "I ... will think about it."[Annoue]


    She left to do her shopping, but Shingi noticed something in her eyes when he mentioned to her to go learn to cook by the Mayor''s cook, and that was some fear in there.


    Back when he first met the Mayor, he didn''t remember Annoue to seem afraid of the Mayor. His <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> wasn''t that high at that time, so he didn''t notice, but most likely, Annoue was aware who the cook was and was afraid of that one, but Shingi didn''t know why.


    ''Well, I can ask the Mayor herself at some point. But one thing at the time, as I should see if there are any changes.''


    During the battle and his escape, there were some System''s notifications, but he didn''t have time to read them as his focus had to be fully on what he was doing. So he opened his Status.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>PROFESSION</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>HP</strong>: 62/80


    <strong>SP</strong>: 2/32


    <strong>MP</strong>: 10/38


    <strong>STR</strong>: 12


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 14


    <strong>END</strong>: 16


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 4


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Earth and Light Category


    <strong>Skills</strong>: VISUALIZATION (Base Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Master Rank), MANA SENSE (Base Rank), PERCEPTION (Master Rank), STEALTH (Base Rank), IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON (Master Rank), SMITHING (Base Rank), ACCELERATION (Master Rank), MARTIAL ART (Base Rank)


    <strong>Spells</strong>: MANA HAND (Low Grade), FILTH EATER (Ungraded), MINOR ILLUSION (Ungraded), LIGHT (Ungraded), ROCK THROW (Low Grade), CAMOUFLAGE (Low Grade), INVISIBILITY (Base Grade), DOME OF SILENCE (Base Grade)


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of ??????, Blessing of Dlog


    ================================


    His END was increased by one point, probably caused by the overuse of the <strong>ACCELERATION</strong>. He was using it during his training week but not so much, especially during his Breaking-Limit state. This perhaps was also why his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> was finally Master Rank. He felt that his body became more familiar with the skill after all his overuse, especially during his Breaking-Limit state.


    He was surprised that his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> skill didn''t Rank up too. Still, he didn''t use it as heavy as <strong>IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON</strong> and <strong>ACCELERATION</strong>, so it made sense, but he could feel that it grew on strength somewhat.


    With <strong>ACCELERATION</strong>, he now had 4 of his skills at Master Rank, and each one was affected by a different stat. His <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> and <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> were affected by his <strong>INT</strong>, <strong>IMPROVISED WEAPON</strong> by his <strong>AGI</strong>, and his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> by his <strong>END</strong>.


    Also, something that had happened only once had happened, and that was that his <strong>STR</strong> was increased. That probably because he used his fists to keep punching the yer, and even if he didn''t have a helmet hitting the head of someone again and again for someone with his <strong>STR</strong> wasn''t easy. But the incredible speed of his at that moment was helping somewhat.


    Also, cause of his Mana Tree growth, his <strong>MP</strong> modifier has been increased, and each <strong>INT</strong> of his increased his maximum mana.


    He went to his bed but didn''ty down but went to his normal meditate state. This time he didn''t focus his mana on his Mana Tree entirely but turned it to fill his Light Mana and use that mana to spread all over his body.


    The Light Mana was the main element of buff magic and healing magic. Even at its raw form, it helped boost someone''s healing factor but at a lower rate than what an actual spell would. But that is what Shingi could do for now, as healing magic wasn''t something he knew how worked. He had tried some experiments during the past week but had no sess in making an actual spell.


    But spreading the mana like that to cover his body with not much mana to make himself bright helped lessen the pain faster than usual. He could feel his <strong>SP</strong> being restored more quickly than it should be during his weakened state after using his Breaking-Limit state. It was almost at the same rate as usual, maybe a little lower.


    He would be in this weakened state for an hour or so but using the Light mana of his that way would also lessen that time but not for many, just 10 minutes, but the less time he was in that state, the better.


    He kept focusing on just gathering mana from his surroundings, turning it to Light Mana by using his Mana Tree and spreading that mana all over his body over and over again. Mana seemed to be consumed like it was eating the pain and the damage in his body but a lot of mana was used for little pain to go away, so he gathered and spread it nonstop. With his Master Rank <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>, even in his current state, it wasn''t too hard.


    And so 4 hours passed, and most of the pain was gone, but he still wasn''t entirely there, and the Light Mana didn''t seem to be able to help anymore. Shingi could feel that his body wasn''t at its full power and was maybe at 70%. Still, he didn''t have much problem moving, and it wasn''t affecting his mana skills or spell-casting, and it would get better as time passes. But for now, he should keep himself away from reaching his limits or even thinking to use his Breaking-Limit state.


    ''<em>Well, hopefully, the order at the shop won''t be too many as even a week maybe not enough to get back to 100%.</em>'' [Shingi]


    He made his way to the kitchen and met Annoue in the way as she was heading to the room to see if he was ready to eat.


    The food was ready some hours ago, but he seemed to be too focused on his training and didn''t want to disrupt him.


    They had their lunch, some eggs with sausage that seemed to be a gift from the adventure they met this morning, meaning Little Phoenix as Annoue met her during her shopping.


    "She is so great and seems so powerful. She is a mage, but she said that she still learns her way in spell-casting, so she wasn''t able to show me any of her spells, unfortunately." [Annoue]


    ''<em>That doesn''t make sense.</em>'' [Shingi]


    Shingi knew for sure that Phoenix could cast some spells as he has seen her casting some during the exploration of the Goblins'' Cave. Other than the <strong>MANA BOLT</strong>, she used to attack the Goblins, and she also had used the LIGHT spell, which they used since the cave was quite dark. This seemed quite strange on Shingi, and he didn''t like it at all.


    "You should be careful of strangers, especially those that seem powerful as they may not use their power for the right reasons." [Shingi]


    "Yeah, I get that but wasn''t one of them the person who helped to break your curse one like that? She was also looking quite powerful." [Annoue]


    "Yeah, there are... wait, you said <strong><em>SHE</em></strong>?!?" [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed to be confused about Shingi''s reaction.


    "Yeah, the one who helped gather the material that the Mayor needed was a woman, and she was wearing a beautiful dress but wasn''t covering much of her back for some reason. I only saw her once, but she looked quite impressive, powerful, and beautiful. Didn''t you say that you spoke with her?" [Annoue]


    Shingi was thinking over the yer''s description and their equipment. Still, he didn''t seem to remember any armor like that or a yer he knew dressed like that, but he didn''t have many details. Maybe it was a custom-made one.


    "Well, she talked to me using magic as I said, so I wasn''t really listening to her voice, just getting the info she wanted to pass; that''s why I didn''t know she was female." [Shingi]


    He tried to cover his story hoping Annoue would believe it since she didn''t know much about how magic worked.


    And it seemed to work since Annoue didn''t seem to suspect anything.


    "Well, either way, since we got interrupted from our training I didn''t found the time to ask you how is your training with Air sh going. Any breakthroughs?" [Shingi]


    Shingi wasn''t expecting much as they didn''t train for even an hour. Still, he saw Annoue smiling at him, giving her a proud smile she usually had when she was ready to tell him something unexpected.


    "I unlocked it just sometime before you told me about the bad guys. But it is at Low Rank." [Annoue]


    Shingi just sighed as he was sure that at some point, he wouldn''t get surprised by what she told him, but her progress was mind-blowing, almost like Gods were guiding her.


    ''Could it be, cause our mother was supposed to be of the same ss?'' [Shingi]


    Shingi didn''t know if that could affect a child as it wasn''t the case for NPCs as children of influential Arcane Users had children who couldn''t use magic and the other way. But these were unknown waters, so everything was possible.


    "Well, then try to train to raise your Rank on it for now. We will work on your <strong>DEFLECT</strong> next week. In the meantime, don''t forget to study on the Enchantment notes I gave you. If you want to work on any of them, though, wait for me to be with you to be safe." [Shingi]


    He then cast his Light/Earth <strong>MANA HAND</strong> and patted her head as usual as he continued talking.


    "If you reach Base Rank at <strong>AIR SLASH</strong> and master at least ten enchantments a week from now, I will have a special gift for you." [Shingi]


    Hearing that, Annoue''s eyes got wide with excitement. She rarely got any gifts, and she liked one from her brother, fortunately, not one that had to do with more training.


    Shingi did not doubt her reaching those goals with her current progress.


    So he gave her some tips on what enhancements she could choose and the Air sh. He also used his only <strong>PROFESSION</strong>''s skill to see her Status and make sure nothing else was different from unlocking <strong>AIR SLASH</strong> at Low Rank.


    After that, he headed back to his room, and this time he did something that he rarely had done while being NPC.


    He went to sleep.

 Chapter 33: The strange room

    Chapter 33: The strange room


    During the week that he was making the <strong>SMITHING</strong> orders, he had pushed his bodies enough to want some sleep only twice, but he didn''t have the strange dream of going to the Dark Room or hear the mysterious voice. Today it was the same, and during it, he waspletely out.


    Even his great <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> didn''t work. He had noticed that, and he considered it to be a side effect of lifting the curse, and he should do something for it in the future. He was always on guard even when sleeping, so he decided to sleep only whenpletely necessary until he deals with it.


    He didn''t have a dream during his sleep, but he was in an empty white space, but hecked a body, and his senses were limited like a mist had filled the whole space. He didn''t have ess to any of his Skills or his Mana or Spells. He just had to wait for time to pass as if he concentrated hard enough; he could feel if he had enough sleep or not. But no matter how hard he concentrated, he couldn''t notice if anything was happening in the area around his sleeping body.


    This was another reason he didn''t want to sleep cause he was in this space not being able to do anything but wander around, but there wasn''t anything at all. No matter how much he moved in one direction, he didn''t find anything, just more t ground, and he sometimes even wondered if he was really walking or just staying still.


    He kept concentrating on his different Skills of his or using some of his Mana, but nothing worked in there. But then one thing worked.


    His <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> skill.


    His Mana Skills couldn''t work cause he couldn''t use any mana, his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> waspletely blocked by the mist, which was quite weird, and most others were depending on him having an actual body, which he didn''t in here.


    But his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> was a mental Skill that didn''t need anything like mana or having a body.


    So since he didn''t have anything better to do, he decided to work on this as it could be quite useful at higher Rank as he could visualize his crafts at their final form or each part separately, or even help him on his spellcasting as he could visualize a Mana Circle and draw it increasing its quality and possible decreasing his casting time.


    He decided to visualize something big and not the usual, just having people doing something. Hence, he started by visualizing his room, which he was currently sleeping in.


    He firstly made nks to make the floor and then did the walls. He then put the window and the desk with the mirror and the door to the corridor leading to the kitchen, but it was close. Then he worked on a chest where there was most likely supposed to have toys or clothes, but it was empty. He created the closet of theirs and then their beds.


    He kept working on adding every detail he could work even possible cracks in walls he had noticed or make the beds not be tidy to add some difficulty on all and make it more believable as it was most of the times like that, especially Annoue''s who seemed to forget of tidying hers sometimes but always did of Shingi if he didn''t do for some reason.


    After working on it for not knowing how long it was like he really was in the room and wanted to get in his meditate stance to train, he wasn''t able to.


    ================================


    You created a <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>. Want to use it?


    <strong>YES/NO</strong>


    ================================


    Shingi was surprised by the notification as it was the first time one appeared while he was in here and the name of the room.


    He had heard many theories and stories on reaching a trance state, but one couldn''t know what was true and what was false as some were just ridiculous and some were considered impossible for one to do.


    One using his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> as he did he never heard of leading to something like that, but he didn''t know if anyone would really create a full room that detailed with this skill. Even Architects, if they used this skill, didn''t put that much detail just through the generalyout and draw the rest on paper or something or used illusion magic instead.


    Shingi was quite curious as always, and it didn''t seem that there was any harm in trying either way, so he epted on using the room.


    The notification became a ball of light and kept increasing in brightness. At the point Shingi saw just white, and then the light disappeared, and he was back to the room he visualized, but there was one difference.


    ''The mist is gone, and I can feel something different... is that mana?'' [Shingi]


    He could feel some mana even if he could not use his mana skills, and the mana felt strangely very simr to his own. He tried to manipted it and seemed to follow his mentalmands even if he felt like he wasn''t using his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> skill.


    He concentrated more as with the mist gone, his mind seemed to be somewhat clearer, and his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> seemed to be there for him to be used, but there seemed to be restricted for some reason. Same for all his other Master Rank skills, he could feel like he could use them but seemed to be restricted like they were Low Rank. As for the rest of his Skill, it felt nothing of them.


    He tried casting a Spell with the mana he could control, and he tried the one he used the most, his <strong>MANA HAND</strong>, and it was actually cast with no problem. Also, the mana he used was reced at an unthinkable speed.


    He kept using all his Spells, and he didn''t have a problem casting any of them, and the mana he used was kept getting refilled as fast as he used it like there was an unlimited source producing it.


    ''<em>This is greater than I thought it would be.</em>'' [Shingi]


    Shingi wanted to train his Spells and especially his Base Grade ones to be more familiar with them, but he couldn''t do it cause his mana limited him. But here, it was like he had unlimited mana. He still could feel the limits of what he could handle, but the mana surrounding him and feeling like the manaing from his own Mana Tree wasing without an end, making him just using one spell after the other without breaks. Also, he didn''t seem to strain his mind in here and not even losing any <strong>SP</strong>, but he couldn''t be sure cause he wasn''t able to open his Status in here, apparently.


    So he trained himself on both his Skills and Spells by doing different training activities.


    He used his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> to create his own body, and it really seeded. He had a body in the ce, but it took him some time to focus on making the movements he wanted to do. He trained on his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> too, which didn''t seem to need to be used to keep the room in ce anymore and wasn''t restricted but instead seemed to be empowered somewhat.


    He kept casting <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> on himself to be familiar with it and moving on it as quietly as possible. He had some difficulty as he didn''t have ess to his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill but using his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, and he could notice the problems and fix them. Then he kept casting ROCK THROW instead of creating rocks and throwing them using his <strong>IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON</strong> skill and kept using his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> to increase his speed and get in the way of his spell and stop it by using <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> to keep the mana created stone in ce.


    He noticed that he couldn''t use his Breaking-Limit stage here, but he thought it makes sense as it wasn''t really a skill, and the Trance was rumored to help you in your Skills and stuff like that.


    And so the time passed until a System Notification appeared in front of him.


    ================================


    The <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> has reached its Limits.


    It is gonna be unavable to use for 24 hours now.


    ================================


    When he finished reading that, the whole room disappeared, and he was back to the white misty space.


    He tried to use his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>, but this time it seemed like he couldn''t use that either, so this time he really had nothing to do.


    ''Well, at least I can do this once per day, and maybe the cooldown will decrease the more I use it'' [Shingi]


    He focused on seeing what state his body was in, and it seemed like he had enough rest not to need more sleep, at least so he woke up right away.


    As he woke up, he noticed the sleeping Annoue being next to him and noticing by a crack in the window outside that it was dark as it was nighttime.


    ''<em>Did I sleep for that long?</em>'' [Shingi]


    He should be asleep for more than 8 hours, but he could know specifically how long he was asleep since he didn''t have a clock or something, so he had to estimate the time somewhat.


    His body was in a better state than before his sleep, but he still needed more time to be back to 100%.


    He noticed a bowl of soup next to their bed at his side, and it seemed like it got cold as it was there for some time. He was hungry, and it wasn''t like it was inedible when cold.


    He would normally go to the storehouse to meditate there to feed his Mana Tree and Mana Seeds, but he didn''t want to do it in his current state just in case. It wasn''t like he couldn''t do it here as it wouldn''t wake Annoue up as he didn''t make any noise, but the mana around the storehouse seemed to be better than the one here case he had a better view on the moon as its light seemed to have the greatest effect at his tree.


    So he focused on feeding his Mana Tree and his Mana Seed and focusing on their progress and if his Tree had changed at all.


    The Seeds seemed somewhat bigger than they used to be, meaning that they had more mana, so they could be more helpful but could feel that they still had a way to reach their limit and possibly be a Mana Fruit.


    His Mana Tree seemed like there were some changes in the distribution of his Light and Earth mana as it went from 70/30 to almost 65/35. Those, of course, were estimations as he didn''t know the exact numbers, just going through how much he was feeling the amount of each to be. It was like he could feel how much each weighted and change that to the amount of mana, but he had to keep in mind that the Earth Mana was weighing more than Light mana, so even if it was ''heavier'', it was still less in quantity than Light.


    But it wasn''t so hard to make the calctions as the Manaing from the Mana Tree was like a part of him, and after the time he passed in the <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>, he became even more familiar with it.


    At that point, he also tried to grind his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, and this time he barely used his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, trying to get all the details with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> only. He could feel it making some progress, but he could also feel that wall that he couldn''t pass.


    This was what was separating the Base Rank and the Master Rank of one Skill, and even if he had a few Master Rank skills, it didn''t mean that he could raise all his skill at that Rank as each one had its own way to be raised and had to pass different obstacles to reach the Master Rank.


    But he knew that he shouldn''tin as he was an NPC who was able to transfer high-Rank skills from his yer character and use them even with his child body even if they were limited, but in time, they would grow. Even his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong>, which had reached Master Rank, which would be close to the level at his yer Character, still had a long way to go for him to go as fast as he could when he used it as his yer. But this also somewhat caused the limits of his current stats, but he is slowly getting there.


    After reaching 16 in his <strong>END</strong>, his body would handle even more as, after 15, one was considered Proficient on that Stat. The difference between someone having a stat at 16 and having it at 15 was often more than the difference between 15 and 14.


    It seemed like some Passive effects were granted to the ones who passed the limit of 15, which was the limit that an NPC would normally reach without having a ss of help from an outside force.


    Of course, Shingi was a special case, and he had both his <strong>INT</strong> and <strong>END</strong> at 16 cause of his vast knowledge that a normal NPC wouldn''t have and some luck.


    He had his <strong>INT</strong> at 16 for quite some time, but he still didn''t know what benefits were getting out of it as the benefits seemed to vary per character. But either way, his goal was to reach at least his INT at 20, where he would have no problem casting Base or Master Rank spells so that he would be a powerhouse at that point.


    If he were lucky, he would be able to cast some Grand Master spells too, but they were quite rare to find and learn.


    But either way, that wasn''t something he could do shortly as increasing one''s stats wasn''t easy, especially after reaching 16.


    Even yers had a problem as leveling up wasn''t granting you Stats points as at other games, but only some Rare Quests could possibly do something like that. There were also some potions, but they needed quite rare ingredients, and one could use them only once for each stat, and if try to consume another one, even if it were a different potion, it would have no effect.


    One yer in the past had found the recipe, which was granting +2 <strong>END</strong>. One of the main materials needed for it was the heart of an Ancient or older ck Dragon killed at least a week before creating the potion.


    A dragon to be considered ancient has to be at least 1000 years old, and ck Dragons are known for their acidic nature and their body dissolving their innards when dying, making gathering his heart even harder even if you could find one and kill it. The rest of the materials weren''t as ridiculous but not the least rare or hard to get.


    The yer who found the recipe had posted it in the forum of the game saying how ridiculous the materials were for one to gather, and not even one of the big Guild would be able to make it. For some time, many Guilds tried to gather the materials since they got the recipe for free as he posted even how to make the potion, not just what materials needed.


    But none came close to gather them all, even if some worked together and they stopped trying after a while.


    Even the Dragon that Shingi fought was a little too young to reach the Ancient stage, and Shingi, or more specifically Ameanum, was barely able to defeat it back then.


    ''To increase my power and of the rest, my knowledge won''t be enough. I also need money. Their equipment will cost a lot, especially if we go to train to some of the special ces I know.'' [Shingi]


    At that point, he had an idea and checked if something was avable in his System.


    Without any dy, after making sure he was ready, he activated his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>, which was <strong>ONLINE</strong> currently.

 Chapter 34: Planning for future

    Chapter 34: nning for future


    After the usual transition, Ameanum was back in control of his yer''s body. He spawned on the alley he was thest time he exited his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> and made his way towards the market area.


    More specifically, he headed for Varic''s shop, but he headed on the back door he used to exitst time.


    He knew that he couldn''t open it from outside, but he had a way that may make it work. It didn''t take him long to get there, even if he wanted not to draw attention. There weren''t any high-level yers around since it was a beginner''s town, so there wasn''t anyone who would have high enough <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> to detect him under <strong>STEALTH</strong>.


    As he made it in the alley and remembered the secret door, he knocked on it in a specific pattern. It was a code between him and Varic to use in this kind of situation.


    And after not even, 10 seconds passed as the secret door opened and of course as expected Varic was the one who opened it.


    "You are back. Did anything happen?" [Varic]


    "All is good for now, but I could use some help on a few things. But let''s head inside." [Ameanum]


    Varic makes way and lets Ameanum inside, and they were back to his workshop. This time it didn''t seem like he was working on something likest time, but Ameanum knew that Varic most likely was nning his next project. He knew that he was like him and worked on one project after the other and never stopped working unless necessary.


    Ameanum headed in the area where it had some chairs and a table where Varic most likely used to eat his lunch or dinner.


    "Well, first, how is the business going around in this town? You are here for quite a few years, right?" [Ameanum]


    "Well, it is always the same as always... blessed ones demanding or begging for a unique type of equipment to make a craft for them. Also, the usual nobles now and then are trying to make me their private smith. But we know that what these high nose guys will not appreciate the art of our craft as they want to make them look cool even if they never nned to use them." [Varic]


    Ameanum nodded on that as he knew that it was usual that every Master Craftsman was dealing with. If these people, especially the nobles, knew that Varic was almost a Grandmaster, they would fight over him instead of just making offers. Master artisans were rare but not so rare for them to do everything in their power to have one, but a Grandmaster one was a different case.


    "I assume that you haven''t made any deals with any nobles of the town or even the country. Right?" [Ameanum]


    Varic was confused about that question.


    "Of course not. I know that most nobles try to control everyone, even with the simplest contract with them. Of course, I made orders for a few, but nothing big to consider on having a rtionship with them or anything. Is there a reason for asking that?" [Varic]


    Ameanum smiled at that and started telling Varic what his situation was currently.


    He said everything without mentioning any game terms. Trying to exin to an NPC that all was just a game was pretty much impossible either way. Even the <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> described it as being a Blessing of the Gods, which wasn''t hard to believe since he had a few. He mentioned Annoue and Garry''s NPC''s situation and his n of making a party to help fight the Dark Guild.


    "So, as you understand, we going to need quite some help to raise our power to be able to fight them. So what do you think? Carda seems like a nice town, and our shop could use some help." [Ameanum]


    Varic seemed to give it some thought, which surprised Ameanum since he expected him to ept right away.


    "Is there a problem?" [Ameanum]


    Varic sighed and responded to the question.


    "It isn''t a problem for me to leave but moving to another town and especially one to another kingdom? Don''t you think it will draw too much attention? I mean, it isn''t rare for people to know Master craftsmen of other kingdoms, so if I appear, there will be words of it at some point, and won''t that be problematic if the Dark Guild hears about it?" [Varic]


    Ameanum, after he listened to his worries, he left a chuckle on it.


    "You think I didn''t think about it? Of course, I have a solution for it." [Ameanum]


    Varic left a sigh of relief, and he looked at Ameanum, waiting to tell him that solution.


    "We just need to change your appearance." [Ameanum]


    Varic''s eyes widened on that answer, and he seemed like he was expecting more after that, but Ameanum didn''t seem to have anything more to say.


    "But aren''t the blessed ones able to see my name even if I change my way I look? Even here, I am not able topletely keep myself hidden from everyone."[Varic]


    It was true that you usually weren''t able to see the name of a yer or an NPC except if you have a particr skill like Ameanum''s <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong>. Still, there were some exceptions, like you could see some NPCs'' names, especially those known to give quests. Most of the craftsmen were like that as they could provide quests of gathering unique materials.


    For people like Garry, whose business was out for some time, wouldn''t have their name visible or Shingi''s since he wasn''t nning on giving a quest like that. But for Varic wasn''t unusual to do something like that as he was programmed to act like that. Even if he would follow Ameanum and follow his teachings and tips, there were limits on what he could make him do and not do. Still, he wasn''t nning on not letting him giving material-gathering quests either way, as that would help them make their progress faster.


    "Well, that is why we are going to use a <strong>REINCARNATION</strong> <strong>POTION</strong>. And since you are going to be a new person, we can give you a new name which even the Gods would ept in that situation." [Ameanum]


    "But this is a potion that is super rare that even I wouldn''t be able to find all its materials, and didn''t you say that they took all your equipment and items?" [Varic]


    "Yeah, it is true, but you aren''t the only ''friend'' I have, do I?" [Ameanum]


    Varic seemed to be thinking over something, but his face changed over to one of realization and surprise quite soon.


    "You don''t mean to ask <strong><em>HER</em> </strong>help?" [Varic]


    "She does own me a favor, doesn''t she? Her kind doesn''t like to own people favors especially Blessed ones so she will probably be happy to get this over with." [Ameanum]


    "But are you sure it will be wise? Dealing with her kind is always risky, and most had paid it on doing those deals." [Varic]


    Ameanum turned his attention to his usual serious one as he understood what Varic was talking about.


    "I understand over that, but this is the best way we have now. Of course, you don''t have to take the risk as this isn''t something I order you to do but something I ask you to do. You are to make your own choice, and even if you disagree, there are other ways to move on my ns and maybe help." [Ameanum]


    This time Varic didn''t seem to think about it anymore.


    "Of course, I will follow you, and there is nothing to think it over. If you mention that n, this is after giving it much thought of the possible other ways, and you would mention any other. I owe you my life, and I swore to give even my life for you, didn''t I?" [Varic]


    Ameanum smiled at that response as this was his old friend and once more understood how much he hasn''t changed.


    "So when do you think you will be ready to move on?" [Ameanum]


    "Give me 5 minutes, and we will be out of here." [Varic]


    Ameanum was surprised by how fast he said he would be ready to leave, but he expected it.


    "Well, I am going to head over to make a deal with <strong><em>HER</em></strong>. You don''t need to be there for it. But let me make sure of how it will work, and I will let you know when you should get ready to move. Also, make preparations for the travel. I won''t be able to join you on that as my time in that body is limited, but I am sure you shouldn''t have a problem with it." [Ameanum]


    "Yes, I understand. Even if I haven''t made the travel to the East, I know of a few people who can help me get there for the right price and keep things quiet." [Varic]


    They discussed little more the details. Then, Ameanum once more exited the shop using the secret exit leading to the alley.


    Then he exited the town through the south gate and kept following the main road at top speed, and after a few minutes, there was a massiveke at the horizon. The middle of theke was a small ind but wasn''t visible as it was surrounded by heavy mist. Still, it wasn''t heavy enough for Ameanum''s eyes not to be able to pierce it.


    He kept moving, and because he left his heavy armor back at Varic''s ce. He just kept his sword; he could be fast enough to keep moving even over the water, seeming like he was walking over it. Of course, it wasn''t just his speed and <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill that let him do that but also a unique enchantment that he asked Varic to draw at his shoes quickly. It was allowing him to be like he was almost weightless.


    The enchantment was drawn by a paint containing some Mana Stone after it got grounded, allowing it to power the enchantment for a limited time.


    And so he made his way in the ind, but he didn''t make his way by running in a straight line, but he made a few turns like avoiding some spaces. The mist hid some traps, but Ameanum was aware of them and could notice them if he focused his skill on checking for them. Hence, after a few minutes, he finally stepped on the small ind, which was almost circr of less than 5 meters in diameter.


    In the middle of the ind, a female humanoid was sitting on a stone and was checking herself with a hand mirror.


    The female one was an Elf and was a great beauty, but if one could see the mirror''s reflection, he could see that the reflection was different. Her skin was red, a pair of horns were over her head, but one of them seemed to be cut in half of it wasn''t there, and the end of the one that had remained was utterly t like it was perfectly cut or something. Also, the left part of her face seemed to be filled with burn marks. Even her eyes were different colors as her left one was yellow and looked like a cast while her right one waspletely white like a nk canvas. There were also a pair of ck feather wings at her back but only in the reflection as there wasn''t anything like that in her back that one could see.


    The mirror''s appearance was her real form, as her elf appearance was an illusion to hide her true nature.


    The nature of a Demon, and more specifically, one of the Generals of one of the Lords Of Nine Hells.

 Chapter 35: Dealing with a Demon

    Chapter 35: Dealing with a Demon


    Ameanum could see the Demon''s true form with his eyes as he was aware of her true nature. Also, the Illusion wasn''t strong enough to work against his <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong>.


    The female Demon noticed him and then disappeared and reappeared right in front of him as she moved at a speed that even Ameanum''s eyes weren''t able to keep up.


    The Demon was stopped at breath distance from Ameanum.


    Chains appeared at an even greater speed than her movements and went around her legs, arms, and neck.


    "It is nice seeing you, Lucy. It''s been some time since west spoke." [Ameanum]


    The Demon tried to move, but the chains were stronger than her, and so have no other option; she just spat on him. Ameanum didn''t even try to avoid it as there seemed like there was an invisible field around him that the spit hit it, not making contact with him.


    Her spit was somewhat acidic, and there was a special seal on her that didn''t allow her to do any damage to Ameanum.


    She was Lucy, one of the General of Mephistopheles, the Lord of 8th Layer of Hell. She was the final boss of a special event that had happened some years ago, and thest part of it was for the yers to defeat her and seal her. As a reward, each one which survived till the end had ess to ask her to fulfill one wish.


    There were some limits on what she could do. Still, there were many game-breaking things she could allow them to do, but they had to be careful on what to ask as if they weren''t clear enough, there may be some problems with the results.


    An example was a yer asking for a Divine Weapon for him, which the Demon gave him. Still, it was a weapon that his ss wasn''t able to use as it had requirements that were impossible for him to get, and also, the weapon was bonded to him so no one else could use it. He couldn''t even sell it as the weapon would teleport to him if it went more than 10 meters from him, and it would also deal no damage at all if he didn''t meet all the requirements.


    All the yers looked forward to using this wish to their advantage but didn''t notice that their action made the seal they created weaker. It was a trap of the System to make the yers understand that things aren''t as they look, and the Demon would get free if one yer didn''t take notice of it and decided not to make his wish.


    And, of course, that yer was Ameanum.


    "Let''s save the pleasantries, and let''s get to work. I am here to do something you were looking forward to. I am here for my wish. " [Ameanum]


    The Demon was surprised at what Ameanum said, as she wasn''t expecting it. She then sniffed the air Ameanum and seemed to notice something.


    "Oh, I see. You aren''t alive anymore. So do you want me to put a good word for you in the afterlife? Cause you should know I am not able to bring you back." [Lucy]


    Ameanum smiled at that.


    "Of course not, and to tell the truth, I wasn''t expecting you to notice my situation that quickly, but I am not here for that. I am here to request a specific item to be brought to mea <strong>REINCARNATION</strong> <strong>POTION</strong>. One with no side effects and you should promise in your name that it will bring no harm to the one who consumes it or anyone else. Simple right?" [Ameanum]


    The Demon called Lucy smiled on that and was ready to say something but got stopped by Ameanum.


    "And when I mean your name, I don''t mean your Demon Name but your real name <em>[??????]</em>." [Ameanum]


    Ameanum said a name, but no sound seemed to get out of his mouth like a mysterious force didn''t want the name to be heard, but it seemed at least it took the attention of the Demon.


    "How do you know of it? This is something that no one in the realm should know." [Lucy]


    What she said was correct as there was no way for the yers to know her name. Still, Ameanum had some inside information, and one of the developers had identally mentioned the Demon''s name. This was because the yers had the chance to learn it during the event but didn''t, and he was upset about it. He promised that he wouldn''t use this at any point as knowing the real name hers was granting him power on her even more than the seal on her.


    But it wasn''t like he used the name to get anything game-breaking, so it shouldn''t be much on breaking his promise.


    "So what do you say? Do we have a deal? I am sure you are missed after all those years. Your ''Father'' probably has a lot of work for you. Isn''t the time passing differently in Hell and the Mortal Realm? It should be thousand of years. Right? And yeah, I do know of your true background of yours as you probably have guessed." [Ameanum]


    The Demon seemed quite surprised by the revtions of what the mortal in front of her seemed to know. Not only he knew her real name, but he knew that she was the daughter of Lord of Mephistopheles himself.


    Well, she was an Angel that Mephistopheles had corrupted, using his blood on her and taking her as one of his Generals and daughter.


    Mephistopheles gave her the name Lucy, but her real name, her Angel name, which was kept a secret and was erased from history by Mephistopheles himself, was granting someone control over her if one knew the real name of other demons of simr rank.


    "So you want the potion. And this is your wish. The <strong>ONE</strong> and only wish you can take from me as the Gods have made me grant one for each of you bastards." [Lucy]


    Ameanum nodded.


    Lucy then focused on making steps backward, and this made the chains around her disappear as she kept some distance from Ameanum. Then she started speaking some words and making some movements with her hand as different materials like herbs and parts of animals starting appearing one after the other. A cauldron appeared, and all the materials got in it, and a fire started under the cauldron to heat it up. She moved her hands, making the materials move around and getting mixed. After a few minutes, a vial appeared on her hand and filled it with the liquid created in the cauldron.


    Ameanum kept watching everything as he had seen in the past the potion to be made but not that fast. Still, he was sure that the materials used were the correct ones and nothing seemed to be wrong during the whole process. She didn''t seem to hide something, but even Ameanum couldn''tpletely read her if she tried to hide something.


    "Well, here you go. The potion is ready, and your wish is fulfilled." [Lucy]


    "Not yet. I still don''t have the potion so bring it over." [Ameanum]


    Lucy walked towards him, and since this time she wasn''t making an aggressive move, the chains didn''t appear and brought the potion for Ameanum to get, and he did.


    After Ameanum got the potion, he started looking at the vial and turned the other way. Lucy smiled on that as she raised her hand and the Illusion of her Elf appearance disappeared. Her fingers turned into ws, and she got ready to use them on Ameanum, but he disappeared in front of her eyes, and he reappeared behind her with his sword on her neck.


    "Well, I would expect nothing else from a Demon and especially a Fallen One, but let''s not get too unpleasant to each other." [Ameanum]


    She couldn''t do anything as he could attack him only when he wasn''t aware of her intentions cause he knew her name. Only surprise attacks could work. She was currently frozen cause of the power of her name and cause he tried to hurt him, and he was still alive.


    "Well, it was nice seeing you, but we know that even I can''t kill you and you can''t either. So I guess this is a goodbye and send my regards to your Father. Say also my apologies for all the minions of his I have killed. It wasn''t personal, just the usual trying to protect the realm and all."


    At that point, a red portal made out of fire appeared under their feet. Ameanum, just in time, was fast enough to move away from it while Lucy was still frozen, so she fell in, and the portal closed.


    The portal was leading to the Realm of Mephistopheles. Since the seal was gone, she was summoned back to where she belonged. She had used a particr way to get in the Mortal Realm, but it didn''tst forever, and it had expired a few years ago.


    Of course, Ameanum had thought of it being the case. If the way she got into the realm were a permanent one, she would be more secretive on her mission and possibly try to allow more Demons to join her. Instead, she tried to weaken the seal of the realm that was keeping the Layers of Hells and the Mortal Realm separated.


    So Ameanum started making his way back, but this time he had to swim through theke as his shoe''s Enchantment was fully used. The Mist, since the seal was gone, had started dissipating. The traps were also deactivated as they were part of the seal. Theke''s monsters were too weak, and most of them avoided Ameanum as their instincts could detect that he was more powerful than them.


    It didn''t take him too long as he was back in the town and Varic''s shop using the secret way once more.


    Once more, they made sure of all the details. After Varic assured him that he had already prepared everything for him to go, Ameanum gave him the potion, and Varic drank it without giving it a second thought.


    And so Varic passed out as his body started changing to his new form.

 Chapter 36: The Family business

    Chapter 36: The Family business


    Shingi ended his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE,</strong> and he was back to his NPC form. He was gone for a couple of hours, so there was still some time until morning, and everyone woke up. He noticed that Annoue was still asleep and having a smiley peaceful face as ever. Shingi got used to having her next to him being that peacefully; even when he was getting out to train at the storehouse, he tried to visualize her sleeping next to him. This action somewhat gave him peace in his mind.


    ''<em>Things are moving on, and her face may not be that peaceful at the future, but change is part of life</em>'' [Shingi]


    He knew that the Dungeons appearing was just the signs of sickness and that sickness was called Dark Guild. Suppose the Dungeons were what he thought of them to be. In that case, they will increase in quantity and especially the permanent ones. They will get stronger and stronger, and at some point, the yers won''t handle them.


    It was somewhat like the Demon Lucy''s event. Even if it seemed to help the yers, there may be something behind the scenes that would harm them in the end if one didn''t do anything about it. If that happens, not just the yers but the whole Mortal Realm may be affected to reach this town too at some point.


    He checked his Status to see if there was any change, but there were no new Skills. But one of his Skills had Ranked Up, and that was cause he spend some time practicing with Varic and the Skill was his <strong>SMITHING</strong> at Master Rank.


    He focused on his inner self, not to notice the inner selves for each Skill to find ways to improve them as they had passed the point for this way to work. He did it to see how much <strong>SMITHING</strong> has increased in power. He had spent much time among Varic and could somewhat understand NPCs and yers'' skills. Even if they were mostly the same, there were some keen differences.


    One of their main differences was that the yers all had the same path as certain levels would unlock different skills mechanics. Still, it was the same for every yer. While NPCs, when they increased their Rank, they had ess to everything the yers could learn and more, but they had to be proficient in using them. Still, they could do it with whatever order they wanted, which could make things faster.


    So checking his inner self, he could see him doing different techniques that he was familiar with, either cause he was able to do them or had seen Varic doing them. That meant that he could use them, and with that, he knew what progress his Skill was at, and it had made some progress, but he would still be considered to be at the lower levels of the Master Rank cksmith from what he could tell.


    Also, even if his Rank was at Master, he knew that he couldn''t make the work a Master Rank Smith would do as he was the limited cause of his stats. His <strong>END</strong> and <strong>AGI</strong> were good for now, but his <strong>STR</strong> was too low to use the Skill at his full power.


    He estimated that he needed to at least be at <strong>STR</strong> 14 to use his current Skill at full power, but even that would barely enough. Until now, this was the stat he had the least luck increasing. Even the unknown <strong>CHA</strong> has increased it more points, but that cause he got lucky and probably cause it was too low.


    He never heard of anyone having a CHA, and he even checked the Status of his students and the yers while he was using<strong> SPECTATOR MODE</strong>. Still, none had a <strong>CHA</strong> stat and no NPC he had checked. He even checked Lucy when she was weakened by the seal but no mention of it then either.


    Either way, he understood now that it wasn''t a useless stat as it saved his life, but he wasn''t sure of its nature or even how to increase it, so he just had to do some tests in the future.


    He continued working on his Mana Tree and Mana Seeds. Even if he didn''t make tremendous progress on them, he had grown two more Mana Seeds, so he now had 14 in number and was able to increase them to be at the same power as the rest. It was easy to grow them at that point since he got familiar with it. However, they were still ways to go, but he could feel that their progress was slowed too much like he was in a moving car that was out of fuel, and he could move it by only pushing.


    He also continued his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> training but had no breakthrough on it but could feel it increased in power very slowly.


    As the sun started getting up, he went back,ying on his bed and working on his MANA SENSE there while making himself look like he was sleeping. After a few minutes, he heard a knock on the door of his room.


    The voice of Garry then followed the knock.


    "Wake up both of you. We have things to do today." [Garry]


    The knocking continued after that as Annoue seemed to notice them and woke up.


    She didn''t seem happy for one to wake her up that early in the morning as she stood up and went to the door and opened it.


    Shingi kept making himself look asleep, but with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> and <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, it was like his eyes were open.


    Garry seemed to say good morning on Annoue as he noticed her was stopped by speaking and followed by a groan.


    At that point, Shingi made his way towards them, looking like he was somewhat sleepy still.


    He noticed that Garry was holding his chest while Annoue was heading towards the kitchen.


    Shingi followed her, and as he passed Garry, he gave him a look of some pity for his situation. Still, he noticed right away that he was fine and that it was just an act. It was impressive considering the <strong>STR</strong> of Annoue.


    After they had their breakfast, Garry joined them, and after coughing once to draw their attention, he spoke.


    "Well, I hope you are ready now, so let''s move both of you. It is going to be a big day." [Garry]


    Annoue seemed to be confused about what he said.


    "What do you mean, both of us. I wille to the shop too?" [Annoue]


    "Well, it is a family business, but even if you don''t have a talent in the way of Crafts, you can still help around. Your brother seems to be able to do a few things, so he will need a helper." [Garry]


    Annoue''s eyes were widened with excitement, and Shingi was slightly annoyed by Garry saying that he could do just a ''few things.'' But having Annoue around would help as even if she couldn''t help at his crafts, he could help at her training.


    For the first time, they all made it together outside their house and headed towards the family''s shop.


    Annoue noticed how clean the shop was and how organized everything was. She was impressed on learning that this all was her brother''s doing.


    Garry then exined somewhat of the modifications he made in the Mana Blower, which added a pipe near the main control panel. Next to it, another panel and lever controlled to opening or closing the pipe''s top to change how much would get out. Of course, the main control panel was still managing the forge''s air and heating the air that that pipe would release.


    There were some molds of some vases and some cups that Shingi could use to make them and different materials he could use. Among the materials was the dust of metals. Still, none seemed to be anything extraordinary like the Mithril on his first day at <strong>SMITHING</strong> training.


    Garry gave him some tips, and then instead of heading to his desk to take his nap, he pointed at some papers over it and then left.


    The papers were orders, and most of them needed mostly the <strong>GLASSBLOWING</strong> skill, but some were <strong>SMITHING</strong> rted, and some both.


    He was expecting Garry to have that response as he seemed like he was in a hurry to leave Shingi entirely in control of the shop. He didn''t mind it as Varic would get here in a week or two, but he was still curious of the reason.


    He also noticed that Garry didn''t help him craft anything or even showed him any techniques, only described them. The only time he saw him work on something was with his dagger.


    "Well, let''s begin. Annoue, you can take the corner over there and work on your <strong>AIR SLASH</strong> but be aware of where you throw them. Try to work mostly on your speed to gather the air and creating the sh. I will do some work here, and we will work on your <strong>DEFLECT</strong>ter." [Shingi]


    "Are you sure you don''t want me to help you? Father said to get here to give you a hand. I may not have any crating skill, but there should be something I can help you with." [Annoue]


    "No worries, I am going to work on some basics today mostly. I will let you know when I will need your help." [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed happy that he didn''t entirely not want her help, so she started working on her training.


    Shingi started working with the molds first and got the smaller ones and the simplest of the designs with the least details to unlock the Skill. He used the forge to heat the material he wanted to use, had it in a crucible, and heated it until it was in liquid form. He even used some sunlight as he opened the ceiling trapdoor to make the heat process faster.


    Used the Light mana to purify the material simultaneously by removing any unwanted part and left it in the forge to get destroyed by its fire.


    Then he did some tests controlling the new pipe of the Mana Blower. After getting the handle of it, he started working with the mold, and after not too long, he hadpleted a bronze cup. He earned his <strong>GLASSBLOWING</strong> skill by that, but it was at Low Rank this time since he wasn''t as familiar with it as <strong>SMITHING</strong>, but he knew a few things.


    He focused on his Inner self to take pointers from there and then continued working on different molds and materials.


    After hepleted five of each of the eight molds he had each time using a different material, his <strong>GLASSBLOWING</strong> skills were finally at Base Rank. This took him a couple of hours, but he used his <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> to melt multiple materials simultaneously. He even used his Earth mana to create a crucible for some before moving them to it; he emptied after working on it.


    He had be very familiar with using the <strong>MANA HAND</strong>. At this point, he didn''t even need to look towards it to give itmands, and he was aware of it through his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> mostly and his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>. He could use multiple ones also, and each one could do its own thing to multitask. Still, he was limited to having three like that, but that was impressive for the small amount of time he knew the spell and considered it wasn''tplete yet.


    Even if he had two Base Grade Spells and after his time at the <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>, he was more familiar with them, but they weren''t authentic spells yet cause they missed a criticalponent.


    That was the verbalponent that was to empower the spells and bring them to another level. The level he had them now, and he could reach without a verbalponent, was not even half of what he could reach with it.


    The first Arcane Users cast their spells the same way as Shingi using their mana and control over them. After hundreds of years, the verbalponents were introduced, which brought the spells'' power to another level. With the use of those unique words, they allowed them to increase the casting time and their capabilities. It was somewhat allowing the power of the World to be fused with those spells making them stronger.


    It was said that the Goddess of Magic herself introduced the verbalponent to let the mortals get stronger to keep the Realm safer so that they can deal with anyone who wanted to harm it. Of course, some didn''t use that knowledge for the good of the Realm. Every time, someone appeared to stop them at some point. Of course, almost all the time that someone was a yer.


    Unranked ones didn''t need a verbalponent, and Low Rank didn''t have a big difference in power. It was still noticeable, but Base Rank and higher were more than just noticeable, but close to consider them two different spells. To learn to use the verbalponent, he needed to ess a ss of the Mage. Only then could he learn and use any of them as those that tried to use ones without a ss would be punished by the power of the World instead of using it to empower his spell.


    He could continue working more with the molds or start making some of the orders, but he was ready to work on something he wanted to work on for some time.


    To make the body of the Enchantment Hourss.

 Chapter 37: Siblings teamwork

    Chapter 37: Sibling''s teamwork


    Since he knew what the final design was and to make sure it was as good quality as possible, he first needed to mold the design. He also needed to prepare the materials to use. Since it was a unique project, he needed to use unique materials. He wanted to create it with dust made by his mana, which in theory it sounded simple, but it wasn''t that simple.


    He could create rocks and dust and different Earth pieces, but if he doesn''t keep feeding them mana now and then, it will lose its consistency. Even if he created sand out of it, it would take a lot of mana to keep enough of the dust active until turning it into the ss. But even then, after turning it into ss, any mana that was left in it will be spent, and the ss will be like a simple one or even more fragile than one.


    He had to create some permanent sand with his mana, something quite different and needed lots of mana, like casting a few Base Grade Spells. He calcted that it would take him some days to create enough for his needs. At the same time, he should finish the mold and work on some of the orders and move on to Annoue''s training.


    The mold didn''t need much of his focus, so he let his <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> working on that as he moved towards Annoue. She noticed him and stopped on her training. Shingi saw her a few times and could tell that her <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> on Air mana has gotten better but still could be improved.


    "Are you ready for working on <strong>DEFLECT</strong>?" [Shingi]


    Annoue nodded, and Shingi exined the skill once more as he got a simple stick to use as a weapon since using his Mithril dagger would be too much.


    Of course, he didn''t use any of his skills. He even made his movements as slow as possible but not too slow to start easy on Annoue, and he was getting faster when the thought she got used to his current speed. Of course, there were a few problems as Annoue not controlling her STR correctly sometimes and would almost damage him by missing his weapon and nearly hitting him. Still, Shingi was always on guard and avoided this danger.


    As she got more used to the increase in the speed, he tried to add other elements of distractions. Like casting the LIGHT spell to blind her or faking an attack and doing a different one at another ce and other tactics, Annoue also has more experience fighting.


    Of course, most of those attacks hit Annoue, but Shingi didn''t want to damage her, so no damage was dealt at her, but they had to take a few breaks a few times. Both of them had limited SP to use, and even if Shingi had more <strong>END</strong> than Annoue, as his was 16 and hers was 12. Even if he had the extra benefits of passing 15, which seemed to cause his <strong>SP</strong>''s cost to be lower than before, even though his <strong>SP</strong> was slightly lower than Annoue''s. So both of theirs <strong>SP</strong> were getting at low levels to need break pretty much at the same time.


    He wanted to do something else by using this type of training, which was to increase Annoue''s stats and possibly his <strong>STR</strong>.


    Her <strong>AGI</strong> was too low at 8 currently, so her reflexes weren''t the best, but this training type could help her increase it. Same with her <strong>END</strong> as they keep ''fighting'' till the limits of her body cause an increase on it. There was also the chance of <strong>INT</strong> getting increased since this type of training was to make her learn to read her opponent''s moves, which was a mental type of skill one needed to understand. Still, it wasn''t a System''s Skill, but something one was earning through pure experience.


    Also, if they could increase her <strong>STR</strong>, it would be great as it was currently at 15, and that would bring an even more significant increase on the power of hers but the wall to pass the limit of 15 wasn''t always an easy one. Sometimes it needed luck as with Shingi.


    They trained the whole day, and Annoue learned <strong>DEFLECT</strong>, but it was still at Low Rank and seemed to need some more time to get to Base. Her stats were also increased by this training adding 2 points at <strong>AGI</strong> and 1 at <strong>INT</strong>, bringing them at 10 and 11, respectively. It was rare for a type of exercise to increase multiple stats and increase one of them by more than one point. Still, since her <strong>AGI</strong> was that low, it wasn''t so hard to happen as 10 was considered the base value.


    She got somewhat used to Shingi''s moves, but he still wasn''t using his full AGI and not even had used once his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill. Annoue seemed to handle the speed of someone with an <strong>AGI</strong> of 12 by the end of the day, but barely. In the real fight against one like that, she probably had almost a 30% time chance to win.


    Shingi had finished his Hourss body''s mold and started creating some special sand but not much. To create enough at this rate, he would need the full week or even more. That was also counting of him continuing helping Annoue''s training and working on the orders Garry left him.


    As they got ready to move out, Shingi stopped at the door of the shop as he noticed something and, more precisely, two individuals being outside across the shop in one of the alleys. They probably were trying to hide, but Shingi was able to detect them with just his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, which he always kept active to increase its power. He had recognized their auras and used his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> to make sure they were the two individuals he thought to be. They were the two High-Level Tamers he met the other day.


    He had stopped Annoue from getting outside, and they started getting their way to get out from the back door. Still, they stopped when Shingi noticed that there seemed to be some people hidden there and the Wolf of the ver he fought.


    "What is wrong, brother? Why did we stop?" [Annoue]


    "It seems like the bad people from the other day found us and are outside. The one with that had the Wolf and the Bear one area in the front while others were in the back with the Wolf. Not sure where the Bear is, but if I had to guess, it probably was left out of this mission cause of the slow speed of it." [Shingi]


    Annoue was surprised, but not even for a moment; she didn''t believe what Shingi told her. Even if she wasn''t sure how he could tell that much, but he had done many amazing things these past days.


    "So what do we do. We going to fight them?" [Annoue]


    Annoue got her fighting stance ready to show that she was prepared for battle, and there was some excitement in her eyes.


    "We can''t fight them. They are too strong to handle. Last time, I was lucky to face one by himself and could barely get out, but I don''t think they will let us out like that. It seems that there are no guards around probably; they bribed them. There is only one thing we can do, and that is to call the cavalry." [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed somewhat confused and sad about what he said.


    "But who can we call and how... wait, do you mean the Hero?" [Annoue]


    She knew that Shingi was supposed to talk with her through magical means, and since she seemed to want to help them that much, it made sense to call her for help.


    "Not her, but some other people like her but somewhat weaker. Also, they are a little like me of being helped by the Hero. I can send them a message, but I have to close my eyes and get in a sleep-like state to do it." [Shingi]


    Shingi wanted to enter his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>, which fortunately was avable, and sent his students a message. He could send notes to them as he knew their in-game names, and he could also set it to be anonymous as they weren''t friends through the System. Of course, there was the chance of them to ignore the message, but he was confident of one of them not to ignore it. That was Little Phoenix as she seemed the type to care about people she knew too much, and she appeared to be somewhat worried for him, so if she learned he was in danger, she woulde to the rescue. But he mostly counted on her bringing Tycoon with her as Phoenix was too low level to be of help.


    So he sat down and went with this n, which took just a few minutes, and he was back to his NPC body. So now they have to make his move.


    "I send the message, but we need to make a move of our own. Since both ways aren''t able to be used, we need to cause a distraction to make one of them avable to use and went to the Mayor''s office, which would be safe and is closer than our house." [Shingi]


    Annoue understood how serious the situation. It could be seen on her face, which was more serious than usual.


    "But what distraction can we cause? Shouldn''t we wait for the help to arrive?" [Annoue]


    "We need to draw the attention of the enemy cause if all the help I calledes, it isn''t certain that they will be able to handle them all, so you should go to call for help by the Mayor while I distract them." [Shingi]


    Annoue''s face seemed to get even more severe after hearing that.


    "<em><strong>NO</strong></em>. I won''t leave you this time. I saw how tired you gotst time as you slept for that long. I won''t let you put yourself in that type of danger again." [Annoue]


    Shingi wanted to say something, but his guts were telling him that if he tried to persuade her, he would face a side of hers he didn''t want to meet.


    So he sighed, and after giving it, some thought he had made a new n.


    "Ok, so here is what we will do, so listen carefully." [Shingi]


    ____________________________


    Outside at the alley across the front of the shop, the two yers talked to each other. The ver one''s in-game name was <em>Shadow Whip</em>, while the other one was <em>Fire Whip</em>.


    Even if they were High-Level ones for a beginner''s town, they were far from true High-Level ones. Their level was 21 and 19 respectively. They were the newer of the Guild''s Generals. They also had the lowest level among them, but they weren''t less powerful than the rest.


    They had spent much time researching and working on increasing their skills and learning their special ss, so their leveling progress was slower than those at level 40+.


    Of course, Shadow Whip''s ss was a ver while Fire Whip was an Elemental Tamer. This was one ss that was granting him some spellcasting abilities, which was to control the main Elemental Mana to cause Elemental damage or other effects on their attacks. Most were to help in their Taming, but some were for fighting too.


    But he got this ss not too long ago, and so he still hadn''t unlocked any of his specials move as he still had to get familiar with manipting mana. It was the first game he yed a Warrior type as he used to y as a Mage. But since his friend wanted to join him in his Guild and allowed just Rogues and Warriors who could be Tamers, he had to find some way to make things to be more in his field. But the System here was different than other games since it was his first game using a Capsule, so it took him longer than usual to get used to it, but it wasn''t letting him out.


    "So why again don''t we get in by force? Didn''t we pay the guards to look away either way?" [Shadow Whip]


    Fire Whip sighed as it seemed like this wasn''t the first time he had to exin things to his friend.


    "Even if no guards are around, we shouldn''t damage NPC property as it may draw too much attention. So be patient. Even if he is fast, he won''t be able to get far away this time." [Fire Whip]


    Shadow seemed to be not that patient this time or as calm asst time. He was the type to be patient in most things unless it had gotten personal. Almost getting killed by an NPC child and even manipted to fight his allies made it personal.


    "Remember, we are here to capture him, not to kill him. What he used on you could help increase the power of our Guild, so be careful of your actions or the Leader will get angry at you" [F.W.]


    Shadow seemed to get scared on their Guild Leader''s mention and seemed to put him in a state to consider his next moves carefully.


    After a few minutes, the front door opened, and out came Shingi with his dagger at his hand but not trying to hide. He also had one of the strongest Light Hammers at his other hand, which he had used mostly in the past week.


    "Well, well, well. Aren''t some dogs back for some more treats?" [Shingi]


    Shadow seemed to be ready to get ready to charge at him but was stopped by Fire Whip.


    "You should be aware that this time you won''t be able to escape asst time, so you should join us peacefully, and I promise you no harm will happen to you or your family. Either your father or sister." [Fire Whip]


    Shingi acted surprised at what he said as he knew that it wasn''t that hard to learn about his family, especially for a yer.


    "So you want me to join you and go somewhere. But where is it going to be that somewhere?" [Shingi]


    Shadow seemed to get annoyed by Shingi asking them questions. But seeing Fire being calm as ever and knowing that he was handling things better, he kept himself back in this type of situation.


    "We are going to go to our Guild''s headquarter, which we can''t share with you where they are, but you will learn when we get there, and I promise you it is a safe ce. Safer than this ce even." [Fire Whip]


    Shingi seemed to make himself look like he was thinking as he kept letting a stone fall, kick it up, caught it, and repeat the action. The action seemed quite weird and drew their attention, especially after seeing the urate throws of his. It seemed like this meant to rx Shingi and help him think, which made Shadow mad since he didn''t know why they had to let him think about it.


    "Well, I have decided on my answer." [Shingi]


    Both of the yers were focused on him, waiting for him to continue what he wanted to say.


    "It seems like dogs are meant to remain dogs." [Shingi]


    The eyes of Fire Whip got wide and full of confusion of that answer. At the same time, Shadow had enough and was ready to charge, but something unexpected happened. He was hit at the back of his neck and took a decent amount of damage. He was also stunned for 10 seconds.


    Fire noticed it and jumped back but not fast enough to avoid a punch that caused almost no damage but hit his leg and broke his bone a little. This made his movements somewhat slower than normal and threw his bnce off a little.


    Out of nowhere, Annoue appeared behind Shadow Whip as Shingi dispelled the <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> Spell that he had cast on her.


    Everything he did up until now was to keep their attention to him. Even the weirdest action of his was making some noise and drawing their attention even more towards him as Annoue. Even if she was invisible, she wasn''t too used to being stealthy.


    As for the hits she did, it was some of the moves Shingi showed her during their training. Fortunately, they were simple enough. Since she had enough time to prepare herself, the difficulty was lowered, especially since she had the element of surprise.


    She turned her attention to keep punching the stunned ver, who wasn''t able to do anything and was surprised by the high amount of damage the little girl was doing to him. He started remembering the fight with Shingi as she was too focused on punching his still unprotected head and breaking some of his bones of his legs and arms.


    As for Fire Whip, he was ready to stop her, but he got stopped by a <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> of Shingi, which wasn''t as fast as his throws with <strong>IMPROVISE THROW WEAPON</strong> skill of his but not the least precise.


    "This is something between the two of us, Mr. Tamer #2; as the fight over there is between them." [Shingi]


    Fire Whip was still calm as he knew he had to be careful of the boy''s actions, especially if he started moving as fast as at the fight with Shadow.


    Of course, he couldn''t know that Shingi was still affected by that battle. Using his Breaking-Limit state was mostly useless at that point as it was having a lesser effect now. But it wasn''t like he didn''t have any other aces up his sleeves.


    And so he raised his dagger towards the sky and filled it with mana and, more specifically, Light Mana. He made it form a specific enchantment using the eighth and the third symbol of Enchantment Trinket.


    The <em>Mana Attract Enchantment</em>.


    Since the Enchantment was used on Mithril, it was strengthened, and since he used Light Mana, it would attract Light Mana, and so he attracted the more prominent source of this type of mana around his dagger.


    The dagger started being surrounded by sunlight and would make a full de when it was finished.


    Of course, even if his Enchantment was increased in power, it needed some time for the de to beplete. But Fire noticed the weird event, and understanding a little of what was happening; he charged to stop it. Fortunately, Shingi didn''t need to focus on the Enchantment fully. He could focus on the fight while waiting for the de to beplete.


    He calcted that the de needed 30 seconds to be at full power, and only then could we have a chance to help him. That was if his focus wouldn''t need to focus more on something else.


    He used his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill and used the Light Hammer and some movements simr to <strong>DEFLECT</strong> while his enemy used his whip.


    But after a few seconds, Fire Whip stopped and brought out his Spatial Ring, a red gem. He threw it in front of him and hit it with his whip as it broke it, and mes appeared and surrounded the whip.


    ''So it seems like he takes things seriously now.'' [Shingi]


    He still needed 23 seconds till his de wasplete.

 Chapter 38: Light versus Fire

    Chapter 38: Light versus Fire


    Shingi had recognized what Fire Whip used. It was a Fire Gem, which wasn''t hard to find as it was avable at shops in big cities. Still, not everyone could get it as it was avable only for people with some reputation in those cities. It also cost a lot of coins for at least a simple yer.


    Raising someone''s reputation in those towns wasn''t too hard by few points. But to get ess to these special offers, you had to get either too lucky or spend too much time finding enough special missions to increase your reputation high enough. Of course, this didn''t mean that Fire Whip himself was the one who had done all this as it could just be a gift from his Guild or bought it from someone else as the items weren''t bond to the yers after acquiring them.


    The Fire Gem didn''t just make the whip able to deal Fire Damage. It also changed it to be lighter by eating part of it, making the attacks faster, which caused some damage to the weapon. This was a side effect of the Elemental Gems that they may damage the weapon they were used to. Their temporary benefits were still worth it and could be prevented if the weapon was of high enough quality.


    This situation wasn''t good for Shingi as he had the advantage of dodging speed cause of his Skill, but barely and now his timing became even hard to make. But the reason for Annoue''s breaking Fire''s bone was that he was a little faster than him, so he could move before he made the attack. Still, the opponent was an experienced yer. He could change the trajectory of his attack, sometimes making quite some close calls.


    Shingi used whatever ways he could, like trying to blind him with <strong>LIGHT</strong> spells or his Mana created dust. Still, Fire was aware of this trick from Shingi''sst battle with Shadow and avoided them. Nevertheless, since he had to get away from Shingi to avoid them most of the time, it helped Shingi just a bit. But he couldn''t continue like that as his Mana was getting low as the enchantment took a lot of Mana to keep active. Even casting Low-Grade spells or using any mana for anything else increased the time he needed for the de to be ready.


    Then he thought of an idea which maybe would work.


    He stopped moving and raised his arms, making a surrender-like pose. He even let his dagger and light hammer fall to the ground.


    "You know this won''t lead to anything. Even if you get me to your headquarters, you aren''t seeing who the true enemy is. You are avoiding facing the truth." [Shingi]


    Fire Whip was ready to continue his attacks, but after hearing what Shingi said, he reconsidered it. The way that he just spoke and his moves didn''t make sense to be that sudden unless of a particr thing.


    He had to have triggered a Quest.


    Most of the time, NPCs were actively looking for adventurers to give them some quests. A few times, these quests were given if you had passed some specific requirements. But the best quests were the one that was given by an NPC who was looking for someone''s help in secret or triggered out of special or strange circumstances. The boy in front of him wasn''t a normal NPC after seeing him fight, so the possibility of him giving a Special Quest was very high.


    Shingi knew that he would think like being a yer himself in the past he was aware of this logic and was counting on it.


    "What is this enemy and the truth you are talking about?" [Fire Whip]


    He was still on guard against Shingi, but at least he wasn''t attacking him anymore.


    Shingi acted like he was somewhat unwilling to answer but had changed his mind under this situation.


    "The Great General Demon Lucy was released not long ago after she was sealed by the great heroes some years ago. The Demons will return, and this time they won''t just send one person." [Shingi]


    Shingi knew that the event of fighting Demon Lucy was a big highlight of the game as it was the biggest fight and one of the rare cases that many yers worked together for a mission no matter their background. Some parts of the battle were uploaded on the official site of the game.


    The event had happened close to 6 years ago. However, there were still some yers back when Ameanum was still a yer who joined the game aftering across that event''s footage. So he didn''t consider it impossible for the story to be known by even newer yers.


    And it seemed like Fire Whip was aware of it, especially since he liked to research past events and known Quests as they could have future clues.


    "Also, the Dungeons appearance isn''t just a random event but the sign of a great Evil that awaits to be awakened." [Shingi]


    Shingi remembered that the yer in front of him seemed to have high Insight, but even if he appeared not to tell that he was telling liesst time, he tried not to make things too hard and mixed some truth in it.


    Fire Whip seemed intrigued by what he said. Many yers wanted to know why the dungeons appeared story-wise other than recing the Tower that most yers didn''t have ess to anymore.


    Shingi, still having his arms raised he started slowly approaching Fire Whip, who had his whip at the ready at the sign of any strange movement of his. Shingi stopped moving at the point as he was just in reach of Fire''s whip.


    "We may have met under strange circumstances, but you seem to be a man of skill and character. Thends could use this kind." [Shingi]


    After hearing that, Fire was waiting for the notification of a quest to appear.


    But none appeared but then felt his back of his neck getting a little warmer, but it was toote for him to do anything.


    When Shingi left his dagger, he made a Light Element <strong>MANA HAND</strong>, which he couldbine with his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> spell and make it hard to be noticed. He kept feeding Mana to the enchantment through the <strong>MANA HAND</strong> and covering the de for Fire Whip to not notice the light bing brighter and not dimmer.


    This way needed more time for the de to be ready, but with his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> being at Master Rank and the distraction of talking with him over triggering the ''Special Quest,'' he had just enough time. At the same time, he was moving the dagger closer to Fire after making sure that he wasn''t looking low; that is why he raised his hands as Fire knew he was good at throwing stuff with them so he would be focused on them.


    When the de was ready and in ce, he raised it with his mana hand and stabbed him through the neck with it.


    This led to a rare event in this kind of fight.


    One hit kill.


    Shingi knew that this attack would be powerful but didn''t expect that much. He counted the benefits of breaking his <strong>INT</strong> to pass 15, using his Mithril dagger, which would boost Mana-based attacks, using Light-Based attack, one of the Elements of his Mana Tree. Also, hitting a defenseless vital area seemed to result in this unexpected rare event.


    At this point, he turned his attention towards Annoue and the other yer, who wasn''t stunned anymore and tried to fight the young girl. Annoue seemed to be hurt a little, but the yer was in a worse state as it seemed like Annoue did quite some damage during his stun state but not as much as Shingi had done to him.


    But Annoue was smart and didn''t just deal damage on him but even broke some of his leg and arms'' bones, making his movements slower and his attack easier to predict. However, he still was more than she could handle.


    Shingi cast a <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> at him, which hit him right in the face. Shingi had made it weak to turn in the dust on impact and make the dust getting into the eyes of his making his harder to see needed to spend few seconds to take it out.


    But few seconds was more than enough as he charged with his still active Light de and shed at the weak yer and turning him into particles. But at that point, the light de was dispelled as it couldn''tst anymore as he was out of Mana. He holds it for 5 seconds afterpleting it and it creating it and keeping it active used little more than 90% of his Mana.


    Annoue was ready to say something she heard some noise from the direction of the back of the shop and then started hearing some fight over there and some growls followed by some sounds of pain from humans and an animal and after that silence.


    After few seconds, four figures came from the back of the shop, and of course, they were the four students of Shingi.


    Shingi was surprised not by the fact that they came and fought the other yers since he was the one who told them to do it. But cause one of them was dragging what seemed to be the unconscious body of the wolf of the ver yer. And the one who was dragging it was unexpectedly Little Phoenix, who appeared to be able to carry that much weight but barely.


    The yers noticed Shingi and headed towards his way, and the first one to speak was Hineko as he made a slight bow towards him.


    "I came rescue Master as fast as I could after I heard of these bastards trying to harm you." [Hineko]


    He seemed to be less scared of Shingi than before, and that feeling being reced by little respect as the tips he gave him has helped a lot in his development these past days.


    Mizuneko followed his brother by doing a slight bow himself, letting Tycoon and Phoenix somewhat confused but not too much. They had seen what this little boy was capable of and knew the yer behind him and what he was capable of also. Of course, it didn''t take them long to put together that the boy was the same one they had met, or at least that was the case for Tycoon.


    "Hey, you are that young brother and sister I met the other day. So you are the ones this strange message was talking about? What a coincidence." [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi seemed to notice something strange as he turned towards Tycoon to ask a question.


    "You seem to be a little distant from Phoenix, and she seems a little different than normal. Is there a reason for this?" [Shingi]


    Tycoon''s eyes got widened, not expecting Shingi to tell something like that, and it seemed like she was thinking something. Shingi could know that she was looking for something over one of the System''s menu, but he couldn''t see it. He could only see her status window through his PROFESSION''s Skill and nothing else.


    "Ehm..... she is just a rare case of a Double Soul Blessed one... so her personality changes now and then." [Wild Tycoon]


    What Tycoon used was a term that the developers have made for a specific rare case. The capsule and the game were developed to use the brainwaves of someone. Each individual''s brainwaves had a unique signature that was impossible for another to have. But as with every rule, there were some exceptions, as in the case of identical twins. Although rare, their brainwaves were simr even if their personalities could be slight to very different, making it impossible for the System to know the difference between them. Since every person could have only one active ount, these people had to share one. In this type of situation, if they took turns in the case, one got to meet someone the one currently ying didn''t know. Still, the other one knew he could exin it by using this term.


    ''So this is why she acts that differently. I wonder though why Tycoon doesn''t like this one but is fond of the other one.'' [Shingi]


    He knew that he couldn''t ask as it would be weird for an NPC to make a question like that, so he let it for the future possible ask when he was at yer body.


    "Well, it is good that you guys got here, and even if it was earlier than the time it was meant to be, I guess it is time for everyone to meet each other." [Shingi]


    He introduced himself and his sister as also everyone to each other. He exined the n of the team''s existence as well as how the unknown yer broke his curse and was the one behind everything. He mentioned his mother but didn''t say of her being a yer or, more specifically, a blessed one as there were NPCs heroes.


    Hineko and Mizuneko seemed after that a little. They were even more respectful after hearing the tragic story of Shingi''s past.


    "So what now? Are we going to have a party over the first sessful rescue mission of our team" [Little Phoenix]


    Everyone got excited about the mention of a party, but things changed as Shingi spoke.


    "It is toote for a party as we have to head back, and you should hide for some time as the people we just fought seemed to have some power and were able to keep the guards away, so we shouldn''t consider them dealt with. For now, keep a low profile and be on guard. Also, be ready at the end of the week. I should have finished the preparations for the first official Dungeon exploration of the team. So you better be ready for it and try to finish all your training tasks." [Shingi]


    The yers nodded on this, and everyone headed their way. Shingi kept his PERCEPTION and <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> fully active to be certain no one follows them and that no enemy is nearby. But everything seemed clear all the way.


    And so this day came to an end as they got their dinner and headed to bed.


    But as Shingi was ready to enter his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> to train, he first opened his Status window and checked Annoue''s to see if anything changed after the battle.

 Chapter 39: Rest of the week

    Chapter 39: Rest of the week


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>PROFESSION</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>HP</strong>: 80/80


    <strong>SP</strong>: 40/40


    <strong>MP</strong>: 38/38


    <strong>STR</strong>: 12


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 14


    <strong>END</strong>: 16


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 4


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Earth and Light Element


    <strong>Skills</strong>: VISUALIZATION (Base Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Master Rank), MANA SENSE (Base Rank), PERCEPTION (Master Rank), STEALTH (Base Rank), IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON (Master Rank), SMITHING (Master Rank), ACCELERATION (Master Rank), MARTIAL ART (Base Rank), GLASSBLOWING (Base Rank)


    <strong>Spells</strong>: MANA HAND (Low Grade), FILTH EATER (Ungraded), MINOR ILLUSION (Ungraded), LIGHT (Ungraded), ROCK THROW (Low Grade), CAMOUFLAGE (Low Grade), INVISIBILITY(Base Grade), DOME OF SILENCE (Base Grade)


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of ??????, Blessing of Dlog


    ================================


    It didn''t seem like there was any ranking up to any of his skills or stats. Still, his <strong>SP</strong> had increased since hest checked it, but he wasn''t sure if it was cause some time passed. He was less affected by the time he used his Breaking Limit state or cause he got more used in his body after fighting stronger opponents like that. During the battle, he noticed that the cost of his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong>, which was the most <strong>SP</strong> costly skill of his, was a little less than before but was barely noticeable.


    Also, even if the System didn''t count it, he could feel his spells have increased quite a bit in how much proficient he was using them. Many people had said that you could make more progress during a battle of few minutes than the training of few days, and it was true in this case. But the progress he had made during the fight wasn''t as significant as the one he did while training in the <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>, but it wasn''t too far apart.


    Then he turned his attention to the Status Window of Annoue to see her progress, and it seemed like the battle has helped her quite a bit.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Annoue Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: Arcane de (Apprenticeship State)


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>TITLE</strong>: First Student


    <strong>HP</strong>: 108/108


    <strong>SP</strong>: 42/42


    <strong>MP</strong>: 23/23


    <strong>STR</strong>: 15


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 10


    <strong>END</strong>: 12


    <strong>INT</strong>: 12


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Air Element


    <strong>Skills</strong>: COOKING (Low Rank), LIFT (Master Rank), PUSH (Master Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Base Rank), MANA SENSE (Base Rank), AIR SLASH (Base Rank), DEFLECT (Low Rank), ENCHANTMENT (Low Rank), MARTIAL ART (Low Rank), COMBAT INSIGHT (Low Rank)


    ================================


    Her <strong>INT</strong> was raised by 1, which should boost her Mana skills as this was supposed to be the base requirement for them. She also got two new skills, <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> and <strong>COMBAT INSIGHT</strong>.


    <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> should have unlocked cause she fought using just her hands but didn''t only deal damage but hit in specific ces to have different effects, like the neck chop that she did at the start of the battle. As for <strong>COMBAT INSIGHT</strong>, since her training with Shingi and fighting this opponent of more incredible speed and skills, she had to adapt. She seemed to be a quick learner. If only she had more AGI, she would be able to beat Shingi too. Of course, that would be in theory only as Shingi has some tricks up his sleeves and has learned to adapt to all situations quickly.


    Even her <strong>HP</strong>, <strong>SP</strong>, and <strong>MP</strong> values changed somewhat, with HP having the most significant change, but this may have been the cause of the craziest change in her status.


    Her ss.


    As with Shingi, Annoue didn''t have a ss, and now after one battle, she was an Arcane de but not entirely since she was at Apprenticeship State. A ss had some states before it was considered unlocked for NPCs. yers had toplete some quests most of the time and get the ss of their choice as the System did the rest, but that wasn''t the case for the NPCs.


    When one NPC had met the lower requirements of a ss, he would start at Apprenticeship State. Next, he needs to work on more standards, which could be to learn more skills or spells of the ss or reach a few specific skills to a certain Rank or find a master to teach you the ss''s ways. Fortunately, the Arcane de was a ss that didn''t need to have a master, even if it could speed things up if one had one. To go to the next stage of the ss, which would be Base State, she had to reach her <strong>ENCHANTMENT</strong> skill to Base Rank. The easier way to do that was to learn more enchantments, which wouldn''t be too hard with the Enchantment Trinket and the notes he gave her.


    She also had to learn 4 Weapon Skills that needed the de and have them all at least at Base Rank. She already had 2 Weapon Skills, <strong>AIR SLASH</strong> and <strong>DEFLECT</strong>, so she had to learn two more and Ranking them and <strong>DEFLECT</strong> to Base Rank.


    After she reached the Base State of the ss, she needed to pass some more requirements, and she would be a fully-fledged Arcane de.


    They were simr requirements like knowing and using more Enchantments and more Weapon Skills. But you had to have at least one Master Enchantment and one Master Rank Weapon Skill, making this ss impossible for simple people to earn.


    But Shingi was confident that Annoue would handle it until now; things worked out quite well. Her spirit seemed to be always high and not giving up, which was an important characteristic one should have in these situations.


    ''She is progressing even faster than I thought she would, and at this rate, she will surpass me if I don''t try to keep up'' [Shingi]


    Shingi has done and learned a lot since he became an NPC, but he still kept his mind on one important task.


    His <strong>MAIN QUEST</strong>.


    He hadpleted two tasks back when he trained with Annoue by getting a title and a blessing, but after that, no matter what he did, he had made no progress on the quest. He knew that he should fulfill the only task to earn a ss, but he still made some progress in acquiring one.


    He was aiming for one to have an Arcane Nature, but he knew that with his current skill set, he wouldn''t just count on his spells only. Of course, he didn''t aim to be also an Arcane de as even if he could use quite a few Enchantments, it wasn''t much of his style to focus on that type of magic.


    But he didn''t overthink it and just went with the flow and made progress with his Skills'' ranks and Spells'' proficiency as he considered then to fit his style.


    And so he focused on his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> and making the <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>. This time changed it to be their Tree Hideout instead of their room, and after a few minutes, he got the notification if he wanted to use it as a <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>.


    He worked simrly asst time to raise his Master Rank skills proficiency and all his Spells. He seemed like he could barely use his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, which appeared to have gone very near to be raised to Master Rank.


    Of course, in the room, he could sense the mana around him without the skill. Still, it was quite different as with the skill. He could tell more details like estimating the amount of mana its element and where exactly it was. While without using it, he could tell that there were some mana and its general position.


    He even visualized his dagger and made his Light de as it seemed like quite a good attack, but even here, it seemed quite hard to handle for a lot of time. The best he did was 7 seconds after that; even here, he wasn''t able to keep the mana together like it was exploding and released. It seemed like he was lucky that itsted 5 seconds for the first time he used it, and probably it helped that he used the Mithril dagger, which he couldn''t replicate here.


    None the less he had made much progress on his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> and <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> spell and his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill most of all as they were ones he worked on the most. When <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> was used now, he was confident to hide from anyone with no Master Rank <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> while he was staying still even if he was next to him. Even if one had Master Rank <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, he could use it to make his attack less predictable and cause confusion, but only if the target''s <strong>PERCEPTION </strong>were on the early levels of Master Rank. But that didn''t consider if hebined it with his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill or if one knew to use the <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> skill at its limits.


    As for his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, he was confident that he was at the limit of the spell that one could reach without the appropriate Arcane Words that he wanted to research at some point. He improved his spells to be used to others and was almost working the same at others as at him. Last time when he used his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> at Annoue if he didn''t cause a distraction. They were lucky that the yers were on guard against Shingi, so they were extra focused on him; she wouldn''t be too hard to be detected.


    Even items he didn''t touch, he could turn them near invisible using the same technique he used at thest battle. He let the mana be transferred to them through his <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> to surround them with the <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> field. His range was around 5 meters, which significantly improved from the little more than a meter he had during thest battle. After that range, he needed to use more mana to be considered in the safe zone, so unless having no other option, that was his range for now.


    His <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill didn''t have many improvements in how fast he could go and how quickly he could react. The <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill boosted you using the adrenaline, but that wasn''t causing your senses to increase as much as your body capabilities. So he had to find a bnce between them to control his moves better. Cause no matter how fast he was, if his brain didn''t register that an attackes right at him, it wouldn''t be beneficial.


    The <strong>TRANCE</strong> <strong>ROOM</strong>''s time ended, and once more, it went in 24 hours cooldown, so nothing changed fromst time. But Shingi wasn''t upset as most people never even got the chance to get ess to something like that even once in their lifetime.


    It was another morning, and Garry had left them a note at the kitchen that he would be away for a couple of weeks and they should continue their work at the shop in the meantime. Of course, he didn''t mention why he had to live, and even Annoue found it strange as even if sometimes he left the house, he never really have left a note like that in the past.


    The young brother and sister went their way to the shop with Shingi being on guard all the way, but fortunately, nothing happened.


    He continued using his mana to create some of the superior dust he wanted to use; he also used <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> to work on some of the orders as also helped Annoue with her training. This time he did it specially.


    He cast one <strong>MANA HAND</strong> and had it touching the shoulder of Annoue, which seemed to be weirdly considered like him touching her for his Blessing''s active effect to be able to work.


    The <strong>DEFLECT</strong> skill itself was considered a Weapon Skill, so it was affected mostly by <strong>STR</strong> and <strong>AGI</strong>. Still, <strong>COMBAT INSIGHT</strong> was mainly influenced by a user''s <strong>INT</strong>.


    So with the effect of the Blessing, he boosted the <strong>INT</strong> of Annoue. All he had to do was increase the difficulty of his attacks making Annoue use her <strong>COMBAT INSIGHT</strong> skill. This would make his moves way morefortable to read and so, at the same time, helping at her <strong>DEFLECT</strong> training.


    Also, he didn''t forget the title of Annoue as his First Student, which made it easier to learn skills from him. So with everything, that one hour that his Blessing was active had the most significant effect.


    At the time, he wasn''t using the Blessing''s effect; he either worked on some of the orders that his <strong>MANA HAND</strong> couldn''t handle. He was also using his <strong>MANA HAND</strong> to fight Annoue to gain experience fighting against different opponents of strange nature. Getting used to fight only a specific opponent wasn''t granting you real strength.


    And like that, the week passed with no idents or hearing about those Guild yers, but he knew it was most likely the calm before the storm, but he could only prepare and wait for now.


    The week came to its end, and it was finally the time that he and his student yers were waiting for.


    The day to explore the nearby Dungeon.

 Chapter 40: First Dungeon - Part 1

    Chapter 40: First Dungeon - Part 1


    Shingi, during the week, had worked on Ranking up his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> as he knew it could make a significant difference in the Dungeon. There were things that even his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> wasn''t able to detect. No matter what he tried, he couldn''t pass the wall that was separating the Base Rank and Master Rank of <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, though.


    His <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> was upgraded to Master Rank since he was overusing it every night to enable his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>. This led to lower the cooldown of it by 1 hour.


    As for the rest of his skills, there weren''t any changes on their Ranks, but he had be more proficient in using them, especially his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong>.


    Before, he could use it for almost 10 seconds without any breaks and would use all his SP, but now his limit was 30 seconds.


    Same with his spells.


    There weren''t any new spells added to the list other than making the Earth version of his Light de, but both weren''t considered spells from the System, just an effect of Enchantments. His casting time on it was lowered to 15 seconds, but he could hold them at most 7 seconds, and that is if his mind wasn''t too strained.


    As for his Mana Tree is grew a little but not enough to change his maximum mana. Still, his Mana Seeds, even if there weren''t any new addition to them, they grew in power, and he could tell that they had almost enough for the cast of one of his Base Grade spell which should be their limit. He could also use one of them to ''feed'' the Ma Enchantment of his and make a Light or Earth de right away. The cost of Mana of his Spells has been decreased as he got more familiar with them. However, his Base Grade one was still quite expensive, so having 14 Seeds to cover most or all of the cost could help when things go very wrong. Mana Fruits yet didn''t have any, but since his Seeds didn''tpletely reach their limit, it made sense.


    He worked on his Mithril Dagger by ''feeding'' his mana at it the same way he was doing to purify a piece of metal. Still, in the Mithril, it had the effect of slowly bing more familiar with the specific kind of mana and having more significant effects on the particr elements. It was also gradually increasing its quality. Of course, advancing its quality was very slow as there wasn''t any noticeable change during the week. To make a piece of Mithril, it was needed to be exposed for years in mana and even more years to increase its quality. Still, at least it was making his mana move through the dagger easier, leading to a decrease in his casting speed on his spells as long as he used his dagger as a conductor.


    And so he made it to the shop but this time without Annoue as he told her that she should train at home and work on her cooking skill and prepare dinner. He gave her a few gold coins to buy ingredients saying that it was the payment of one of the big orders. Still, in reality, it was a few of the coins he had taken from Varic and the Spatial Ring of the yers.


    Outside the shop, there were the four students he spoke with them yesterday to make sure to meet.


    During the week that passed, each of them had made some progress, but only one of them had finished its task.


    Hineko''s ss had changed from Rogue to Thief Doctor.


    To do that, he had to pickpocket quite a few individuals and use the earnings of those to get herbs and make medicines to help cure people who needed them without payment. With that ss, his speed has been improved quite a lot as also he got the <strong>ALCHEMIST</strong> profession. He also got the <strong>POTION MAKING</strong> skill to create potions as long as he had the herbs needed and knew their recipe.


    But for now, he knew how to create three potions, which were basic ones, and one usually wouldn''t be able to learn all together as even if they were considered basic, they were somewhat expensive for a normal yer to buy them all but Shingi covered the cost.


    The potions were <em>HP, MP, </em>and <em>SP regeneration</em> potions. Each one would give a regeneration of the specific stat during a battle and increase it during less stressful times. Of course, some potions could restore a quantity of them right away as you drank them, but they were harder to find as they also needed at least Base Rank of Alchemy. Hineko''s was still at Low Rank but was close to Base Rank as it was at level 9.


    As for Mizuneko and Little Phoenix, who had a simr type of training but for different elements, they had improved quite a bit to be considered to have passed that test barely. Still, they had to do more, but at least from now on, they could raise their levels without worry as they took the first step they needed to take early on.


    Wild Tycoon still needed to fulfill the requirements since the only enemies that had the requirements were the monsters of the dungeons. However, with the fight with the yers the other day, she had taken two kills from there, but she still had a long way to get enough kills, but hopefully, in the Dungeon, she would find enough opponents.


    After they were ready, they made their way towards the Dungeon but not before they make a party through the System, but it seemed they weren''t able to add Shingi on it, most likely since he still didn''t have a ss cause it wasn''t unheard of for an NPC to be at a party with yers.


    The Party System could be enabled only by the yers, and it was considered one of the gifts to them from the Gods. It allowed them to share exp between them for each kill of the party and watched the <strong>HP</strong> and <strong>SP</strong> or <strong>MP</strong> bar of each other, which was useful for the healer of the group but didn''t have any way of healing other than Hineko''s potions and resting.


    But even so, Shingi didn''t consider it a problem as with his vast knowledge only by their current state and visual he could understand if one was in a good or bad state and also since the Dungeon was of a Low Level of 5-20 with over 15 being way deep in it there wouldn''t be any high <strong>INT</strong> monsters so they could talk to each other without any worries.


    Shingi exined what the n was and the formation they would go with.


    He and Hineko being the two with the higher <strong>STEALTH</strong> and simr abilities would scout ahead for monsters and any other encounters. One one is found they would follow a simr n as he did in the Goblin Cave with Tycoon and Phoenix of letting Tycoon face some suitable opponents for her challenge, and they would be dealing with the rest. Also, Shingi and Mizuneko would keep any extra monsters for Tycoon''s challenge that she couldn''t fight if there were too many until she could fight them. Still, they had to use ways that wouldn''t damage them. Still, both of them have a few ways as Mizuneko had a few Water spells that weren''t dealing damage like <strong>WATER SPHERE</strong> that would surround the whole body of the target and normally drown them, but he could choose to let air getting in there so as not to cause damage but trap the target.


    Mizuneko also shared what information gathered over the Dungeon and its monsters which weren''t that hard to gather since most of the yers that were in the town hade for the Dungeon and most likely had visited it a few times.


    It seemed the theme of the Dungeon was of Ooze monsters.


    There were a few troublesome ones to deal with, but as long as you found its main core and destroyed it, you would kill it unless it had multiple cores, but that was a scarce thing for that range of level.


    Early on, they would mostly face in Slimes around 5 to 8 level, so they should handle them quite easily, especially by having that many Arcane users but even Hineko and Tycoon won''t have much trouble as long as they find their cores.


    After them, there would be some Acid Slimes that would be of a little higher level, and their body would be simr to acid but not that strong but still wouldn''t be much of a problem.


    But after that, they should face Oozes of high enough level to fit their need, and the deeper in the Dungeon they got, the more dangerous it would get. As for the Dungeon boss, no one had seen it, and no one was looking for it.


    Every Dungeon had a Boss that fitted its theme.


    If one were defeated, it would get a possible great reward out of it. A lot were trying to find them but only in the non-permanent ones. The case was because even when you killed the boss at a Dungeon, the Dungeon would disappear after an hour. It wasn''t known why there were some permanent ones and some non-permanent ones even though both had Bosses and would both disappear when their Boss was killed while the non-permanent ones would also disappear after some time even if the Boss is still alive.


    So since the permanents ones had many resources and a way to level up that was stable yers had made the rule among them not to kill the Boss of a non-permanent Dungeon since everyone, in the long run, would benefit more than the possible reward they would get from the Boss since either way those dungeons weren''t very high level either way so the possible reward wouldn''t be that good.


    And so they made their way and, as expected, didn''t have much trouble passing the in Slimes and Acid Slimes as they adapted on them quite fast, especially after following the orders of Shingi. These monsters were too easy to learn how to deal with for him, so it didn''t take him long to form ns for his team.


    Then the first real group of opponents appeared.


    They were 5 ck Oozes and two Yellow Oozes. Shingi and the party knew what they were as Mizuneko had mentioned them.


    The ck Oozes could split themselves into many pieces, and each one would act as its entity. They could also drain the energy of mana-made attacks like spells and lessen their effects. This energy would cause them to heal, and most of the time, the heal would be more than the leftover damage.


    The Yellow Oozes had a simr split power to the ck Oozes. They also strengthened their body and were as heavy and tough as being made of metal, making physical attacks almost useless.


    The Yellow Oozes were lower level than the ck ones as both of them were at Level 11, and the ck Oozes were 12-14 and was decided to let all 5 of them be killed by Tycoon as even if their split ability would be hard to deal with it wouldn''t be impossible to do. She had to deal a certain amount of damage quickly for it to split, so as long as she was careful, she would be ok. Also, this Oozes didn''t have a lot of health and could deal with them in 3-5 hits from what they have gathered, so she didn''t have to get a lot of damage from them, but they were somewhat slow but could deal some damage but not too much to possible put her in danger. She probably could handle 20 or so hits from them; that would be enough to deal with all of them without any healing.


    So Shingi made his move first to get their attention and tried to separate the group by grabbing with his <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> and pushing three of the ck Oozes away from the rest, letting Tycoon deal with them as he and the rest of the party kept distracted the other two ck Oozes and decided to kill the Yellow Oozes. They could also let Wild Tycoon deal with the Yellow Oozes since they were at the right level, but it would take them too long cause of their nature to resist attacks from physical weapons.


    The Yellow Oozes were dealt by Mizuneko and Phoenix, while Shingi helped a little by throwing a few <strong>ROCK THROWS</strong> here and there. At the same time, Hineko kept the two ck Oozes distracted by pushing them and getting away and kept avoiding them by jumping around and doing unnecessary flips now and then, mostly to increase his <strong>ACROBATIC</strong> skill and cause it was fun for him. Shingi also helped on it mostly with his <strong>MANA HAND</strong>, which wasn''t getting affected by the Oozes special ability as it would only work on cases of spells that would try to damage them, and the <strong>MANA HAND</strong> didn''t have that effect.


    After close to five minutes, they were able to deal with all of them, and Tycoon, who had less than half her health cause she had to be hit quite a few times, had 5 more kills at what she needed for her challenge. Of course, she still kept using the exp she earned to her skills instead of her level. Still, fortunately, since this time there were three people instead of one at the party she was earning less exp than before but was getting the bigger part, at least for killing the ck Oozes since she was the only one who dealt damage on them.


    As for Shingi, he didn''t earn any exp cause he didn''t have a ss. He didn''t have a level to raise and couldn''t use the give exp to his Skill since that was something only yers could do. Still, he was getting more used and familiar with his Skills and use of his Spells during the battle, which had some great effects, as shown in the past, so it wasn''t like he didn''t earn anything out of it.


    So after taking a short break and Tycoon drinking some of the HP Potions Hineko had prepared just for her, they continued. Shingi gave him money to prepare to quiet a few of those potions and had them on his Spatial Ring so they wouldn''t be hard to have them.


    Of course, he had to exin how he came to have a Spatial Ring to the party since they would at some point notice him using it. They understood why the yers were after him, but they didn''t know that it wasn''t really the ring they were after all, but Shingi himself and his strange power, and he let it like that.


    So they made their way and carefully finishing one encounter after the other with a needed break between each depending mostly on the situation of Tycoon''s HP.

 Chapter 41: First Dungeon - Part 2

    Chapter 41: First Dungeon - Part 2


    Shingi and the yers'' party continued and kept facing more Slimes, ck and Yellow Ooze but no new type of monsters yet, but it helped them make them stronger either way. Phoenix wasn''t using the exp she earned to her Skills, so her Level was raised somewhat fast as the Oozes were higher level than her, so she was currently level 11. WIld Tycoon had made some progress as she should have at least 70 or so kill, including her past ones, so 30 more, and she should be good to go.


    As for the two brothers, Mizuneko wasn''t training on something specific. Shingi told him they continue his training some other day. Hineko became faster with each battle and became more helpful in keeping opponents distracted, which were easy to learn when fighting the slow Oozes.


    Shingi had some progress using his <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> during the battle and got a few ideas to use them to distract an opponent and his <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> spell. As for the rest of the spells, he didn''t use them, especially his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> and <strong>DOME OF SILENCE</strong>, which would not affect those monsters since they couldn''t see or hear; either way so would be a waste of mana. But he used his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> on him and Hineko now and then when they were scouting ahead to train it and raise their <strong>STEALTH</strong> to be safe.


    As they have made a few circles as the Oozes after some time seemed to reappear, but in different numbers, they decided to get deeper in the Dungeon since they got quite familiar with the opponent here and now with Phoenix being of Higher Level than when they entered they could face stronger monsters. Her stats didn''t change, but her <strong>MP</strong> modifier had increased slightly, so she had more <strong>MP</strong>. She had gotten some proficiency at her Spells, especially her <strong>MANA BOLT</strong> that she was mostly using, decreasing its casting time and MP consumption but just slightly.


    She had learned one more spell, and this time, not one from an NPC but one she created herself. She called it <strong>SHADOW BOLT</strong>, but Shingi considered it more like a <strong>MINI DARK HOLE BOLT</strong>. Using the Darkness element mana of her Shadow and surroundings to create a Bolt of energy simr to <strong>MANA BOLT</strong>. Its effect wasn''t of damaging an opponent cause of the impact but ''consuming'' what it was touching.


    Of course, that could affect them too. It seemed like it impacted something or someone; it started pulling towards its center everything around it. Still, the force wasn''t that strong as it was barely enough to affect a in Slime. That was if it was less than a quarter of a meter from it.


    But that was causing the spell was Low Grade. She wasn''t too proficient with it, but who knew what other simr Spells she could create the more familiar she became with it and if her Mana Tree gets to produce Dark Element type of Mana.


    As they had progressed deeper in the Dungeon and Shingi and Hineko, as usual, have gone ahead to scout; after a while, they encountered something or, more specifically, someone.


    It wasn''t a yer that they haven''t encountered yet, but a female Viger who seemed to have passed out as three Red Oozes surrounded her.


    Those were Blood Oozes.


    They were normal Oozes that merely mutated to their current form after consuming arge amount of blood. The frustrating thing was that they kept the abilities they used to have in their old form and the new abilities of a Blood Ooze.


    A Blood Ooze had the ability to detect any creatures at a range from him as long some blood was on them (not in them) or were bleeding and so. They could also attract blood as Ma but only if it was exposed or through a wound and such, but they had to be close to doing that. One had to be careful when they fought them as they were known to make their bodies sharp and de-like to open possible wounds on their targets to make them bleed and drain their blood.


    Because two of them were a little darker red than the others, Shingi considered that they could have mutated from ck Oozes, but he couldn''t be certain. He told Hineko to go back to the rest of the party and inform them of the situation and make sure they didn''t have any open wounds, and he would stay behind to keep looking.


    Hineko went his way in a hurry without worrying about being heard as they were too far from the Oozes, and they weren''t able to hear either way.


    Shingi focused his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> on them. He saw that around the two slightly darker ck Oozes was the same type of aura he had noticed surrounding the ck Oozes, which should be their Special Defense ability against offensive spells but no such thing existed on the third one.


    The Oozes seemed to move around the female body, who seemed to have started waking up and soon noticing the monsters around her.


    As a reaction, she started moving away from the creatures but notpletely standing up but not taking her eyes away from them. With that movement, she was alsoing closer to Shingi. Still, he was currently hidden, so it should be just a coincidence. Still, it was also the only exit as the other way was ''blocked'' for her since it was in the direction of the Blood Oozes.


    The Oozes started slowly moving towards her, but the female seemed to be scared of the creatures as she shouted for help as loudly as she could.


    Cause of the echo that the cave produced of her voice, some quick steps were heard by the direction Shingi came, and two figures came charging into the room towards the Blood Oozes.


    These two figures were Wild Tycoon and Hineko, who made their charge towards the enemy without waiting for the rest of the party.


    Interestingly, Tycoon, who was normally the group''s slowest, had arrived as fast as Hineko. Still, Shingi knew she had learned the <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill that he gave her some tips on how to unlock during the past week. She had the most SP in the group, so it was a skill that she could use at almost its full power. It was a skill meant for Warriors, either way, and just not everyone could reach the ability to use it as Shingi as his yer Character.


    Using that skill, she was slower than Shingi at his NPC body, but that was cause she was wearing heavy armor; otherwise, she could be faster than him, but he still wasn''t able to use it at its full power cause of the limits of his Body. His stats should be enough, but it seems to cause his body was one of a child, the requirements were different. He had made some tests on that with a few exercises he was most familiar with beforeing to this oue.


    Shingi came out of his hiding ce without any choice but didn''t help in the fight. Even if they weren''t following their normal n, they shouldn''t have much problem, even Hineko, who wasn''t much helping in dealing damage in the past battles. He instead headed toward the viger.


    Tycoon seemed to be somewhat angrier than normal. However, she still seemed focused enough not to over damage the Oozes just if they could split. In contrast, Hineko, even if he did some damage to one of them, kept helping to distract others.


    It didn''t take much to kill the Oozes, even if they got some wounds from them and lost some blood but not enough to be in danger levels.


    At that point, Mizuneko and Little Phoenix arrived and saw that they werete to join the battle, but no one had died at least.


    Shingi, who just kept standing next to the viger after seeing thest Blood Ooze killed by Tycoon, turned towards the rescued one.


    "Well, they are dealt with. So are you fine?" [Shingi]


    Everyone else starting gathering and checking the one their team rescued, which seemed to be quite young but not as young as Shingi, maybe around Annoue''s age.


    "Yes. I am fine now. Just scared of monsters like that." [Young Female Vige]


    Shingi had left a chuckle hearing that unexpected but then continued with his normally serious face and voice.


    "Well, they are now gone, so you can stand up now as they won''t be able to do anything else. So what is your n now?" [Shingi]


    Before the girl said anything, Hineko came next to Shingi and put his hand over Shingi or tried to as Shingi noticed him and moved his shoulder away. Hineko seemed a bit embarrassed. He almost lost his bnce and fall as; he didn''t expect this kind of reaction but spoke, trying not to let the embarrassment show on his face or voice.


    "Don''t you think we should be nicer to her and let her breathe and calm a little? She was almost killed, so we should make things move slower." [Hineko]


    Shingi, after hearing before he said anything he turned to look towards the rest of the party.


    "I see.... anyone else has anything else to say or add for the current situation we are currently in?" [Shingi]


    The yers looked towards each other in the confusion of the answer and seemed to give it a thought, but no answer was given for some time. But then Mizuneko spoke.


    "Well, I understand what my brother''s feelings are, so could we maybe just stop our exploration and get the girl back? I mean, she seems to be defenseless, and she would encounter other monsters on her way out, and getting deeper in it would affect our progress if we had to protect her." [Mizuneko]


    Mizuneko was sure that this was a test of Shingi to see if they could make the right choice in situations like that. e was certain that this was the best and safest way they could go with it.


    "I see. Anyone else has anything more to say, or do you all agree with Mizuneko?" [Shingi]


    The rest gave it some thought but not for long as they agreed with Mizuneko, especially Hineko.


    "I see... I must say I am kinda disappointed." [Shingi]


    He then didn''t say anything else as he got his dagger from his ring, and with great speed, which none of the yers could follow, he put it at the forehead of the female Viger.


    The yers were surprised by this, and Tycoon was ready to attack him, thinking that he went crazy but was stopped by Phoenix.


    "What is the meaning of this? Why did you kill her?" [Hineko]


    Shingi didn''t say anything, just looked at him and pulled out his Dagger, and then something unexpected happened.


    The viger''s whole body started turning red and losing its shape as it turned into a small pool of red blood-like liquid. A crystal sphere, which had a hole in it that a de could fit it and, more specifically, a dagger. Shingi''s dagger.


    It was an Ooze''s core.


    The female Viger was actually an Ooze and actually one with the ability to transform itself at humanoid creatures'' shape. These were quite rare to find, especially a low-level one like that as it seemed to be level 12. But since Shingi hit it at its core, it was killed right away. He had detected it using his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> during the battle.


    "You should always be on guard. I have told you that many times. Especially the two of you." [Shingi]


    Shingi pointed at Phoenix and Mizuneko.


    He had noticed with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> that there was some aura surrounding the whole body of the Viger. He was there even after she woke up, so he was certain that it was an ability of hers and not of the others. He knew of Oozes'' existence with that kind of ability even if Mizuneko didn''t mention any existing in the dungeon. Still, it could because the yers couldn''t mention it in the game.


    One of the Oozes'' powers like that was consuming the memories of their targets if they left them alive. Of course, that was hard to do on yers as the developers couldn''t make them forget something that happened to them. Still, they could make it that they couldn''t mention to anyone about their encounter as they had that much control.


    But that was in-game as they could mention it at forums or in other ways in real life, and none could do anything to them.


    So if Mizuneko had checked the forums, he would have found possible mentions, but he had researched only by asking the yers around town, so even if they knew something, they couldn''t let him know.


    The two mages understood what Shingi meant by pointing at the two of them and felt bad for not thinking of doing something simple like that. They weren''t keeping <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> active almost all the time as Shingi did, but just when they considered it to be necessary.


    Shingi left a small sigh seeing the yers in front of him being unhappy about making the wrong choice, especially Phoenix, who was currently her shy self, which affected her more.


    "Well, either way, at least you learned something new this time, and none was harmed but remembered the lesson you learned at this moment. Whether you think you are on the good or bad side, always expect and look for the unexpected no matter how easy or hard things look. The Gods can always y their tricks to us." [Shingi]


    It was true that the developers had designed many ''traps'' for the yers in many forms and wanted the yers to be smart or pay it if they took the wrong choice. Still, most of the time, paying a wrong choice was not taking the really good reward and not actually punishing the yer. Still, something like that was uneptable by people like Shingi to de done by them.


    He then summoned an empty vial from his Spatial ring, which used to be one HP regeneration potion used by Tycoon. He had cleaned with his <strong>FILTH EATER</strong> spell of any leftovers and filled it with some of the substance used to be the Transformation Ooze he just killed.


    This was part of a rare creature, even if it was a low-level one. Still, it could be used by Hineko in the future with his Skill to make some useful potions, or they could sell them if needed. He was able to fill five vials and stored them at his Spatial Ring. The good thing was that the ring could keep things like blood and parts of monsters fresh for more time than normal like the time was passing slower for them while in the Spatial Ring''s space.


    "We probably won''t meet more like that, but we should be careful of any more Blood Oozes. They should have been created by that one, probably by letting other Oozes consume her victims'' blood. So keep your guard up, and if you get any open wounds, ask for a Regeneration potion just to be safe." [Shingi]


    He also cleaned any blood on Tycoon and Hineko with his <strong>FILTH EATER</strong> spell just to be safe. The rest of the party haven''t taken any damage or blood on them as they didn''t get in melee with any of the monsters but kept their distance.


    As for Shingi, even if he was at melee, in some cases, he hasn''t been hit, not even once, as the Oozes were too slow for him even without using his ACCELERATION skill.


    So the party continued once more. It seemed that thisst encounter raised their focus somewhat, and they were almost ready for anything to be thrown at them at any point.

 Chapter 42: First Dungeon - Part 3

    Chapter 42: First Dungeon - Part 3


    It didn''t take them long to stop moving as Hineko noticed something and stopped the group. There was a slight opening on the wall that they would normally miss, but he trained his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> with tips from Shingi. His skill wasn''t as good as of Shingi as he also had noticed it but didn''t say anything as he kept testing them and knew it wasn''t a trap.


    "This seems too small for any of us to pass as it isn''t bigger than Ms. Phoenix''s hand. Also, I don''t see any way to open it; what about you, Master?" [Hineko]


    Hineko had spent some time with Tycoon and Phoenix and seemed to bond with them even if Tycoon seemed annoyed with him, especially when he was near Phoenix or talking to her. Also, he always called Shingi a Master, even when he said it wasn''t necessary. Still, at least he didn''t say when anyone other than them was around.


    "Hmm... it doesn''t seem like it was made to block the way or cover something, but just that someone dug that small tunnel through the wall. Most likely was created for the Oozes as they will be easily able to use it. But making something like that, I can think only one to had been behind it." [Shingi]


    This wasn''t something a simple Ooze would do. This was clearly the work of one with some INT, and they had met only one like that.


    The Ooze with the transformation ability.


    These types of Oozes were more <strong>INT</strong> than the typical Oozes and were getting more <strong>INT</strong> the more they got fed with their victims'' memories. Since it was able to speak while transformed, it definitely was fed quite a few times and had high enough <strong>INT</strong>.


    "It is too dark to see the other side, and opening the way will take too much time. Unless any of you have any ideas." [Shingi]


    Shingi knew that an individual wasn''t able to solve all the problems all the time. Some could consider solutions faster than him or consider a way he hasn''t, and he was ok with that. As long as it wasn''t something crazy, he was willing to try it.


    "How about we put Phoenix through the hole?" [Mizuneko]


    Everyone turned towards him, and Tycoon was ready to punch him, but he raised his hands to defend himself and spoke before she harmed him.


    "I mean, let her use her Shadow Abilities to move through the hole. She may be able to make a Spell, like that." [Mizuneko]


    Wild Tycoon continued staring at him as Mizuneko could swear that he felt like des were getting out of her eyes and stab him, but that was just in his mind.


    "Hmmm... interesting approach. It may actually work." [Shingi]


    All of them were surprised, especially Mizuneko, as he really didn''t expect Shingi to consider what he said. He himself wasn''t sure why he suggested it. Still, he understood that Shingi liked for them to share any ideas no matter how silly or crazy they sounded.


    "But my ability to control Shadows isn''t that good. I can handle a Low-Grade Spell, like <strong>SHADOW BOLT</strong>, but barely and what you suggest should be not less than a Base Grade one. Creating one would take too long even if I could do it." [Little Phoenix]


    Everyone got silent, and Mizuneko knew what she said was true. He was a Mage too and had more experience than her as he had yed the game more, so he knew that this was really a thing that wasn''t possible for her to do for now.


    "What is your current <strong>INT</strong>, Phoenix?" [Shingi]


    She was somewhat surprised by him asking something like that but answered either way.


    "I have 13 <strong>INT</strong>." [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi seemed to start thinking something after hearing this piece of information. Still, it was just an act as he already knew about her stats since he could see her Status whenever he wanted since she was his student, but only if she could see her. But he hasn''t shared that he had a skill like that, so he had to act ordingly.


    As for Phoenix''s INT, it wasn''t a surprise of being that much lower than his as Mages started with INT 12, and hers was increased by 1 cause of the Shadow Training he put her through.


    To tell the truth, Mizuneko was surprised that her <strong>INT</strong> was 13 as it took him quite a while to raise his and knew that she wasn''t ying the game for long. Still, after thinking of who was the one who helped her training, he put that thought aside.


    "Hmmm... it may be close, but it could work." [Shingi]


    "Don''t tell me you can do what the wet cat mentioned." [Wild Tycoon]


    Mizuneko was angry about how Tycoon talked for him and how she used his in-game name, but he knew not to get on her bad side, so he didn''t say anything.


    "No, I can''t, but I can allow Phoenix to be possible sessful. It could be an interesting experience for her, and if she seeds, we will have a great tool for the future." [Shingi]


    Then they made a temporary camp just a little further than the hole but hidden enough so if any Ooze came at it or from it wouldn''t notice them.


    Shingi started training with Phoenix. It was quite simr to the training she had done until now to gather the Darkness element type. Still, this time, instead of gathering in one ce, she had to put it all around her body. It was simr to how his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> worked. Instead of making ayer surrounding her, she had to merge with it and be one with it.


    Of course, they didn''t focus on the whole body right away but trained to cover her hand first.


    As time passed and a few Oozes have started passing, Shingi let the rest of the party fight them while the two of them kept their training. Fortunately, no strong one appeared that needed Shingi''s attention but mostly ck Oozes and a few Yellow ones so they could handle them without any problem.


    And so close to six hours passed. They finally had sess as Phoenix''s whole hand was turned to shadow by merging with the darkness element she manipted. Her <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> was close to 36, so not too far to be considered Master Rank. Of course, without doing something that difficult and without the help and tips of Shingi, she wouldn''t be able to level up her skill that much.


    But even if she was now able to turn her hand to Shadow, her current limit. It wasn''t considered a Spell from the System.


    "I don''t think we can move further than that. We have already spent too much time on this." [Little Phoenix]


    She felt a little sad about keeping the rest of the party, but she was happy to hear that it seemed like Tycoon could pass her challenge as there seemed like quite a few Oozes passed and wanted to use the tunnel.


    Shingi smiled towards her and had a look at everything was alright and under control.


    "Well, now it is where the true test of your skills gonna start. And you want to turn back?" [Shingi]


    Phoenix didn''t know what to say and didn''t understand why Shingi was continuing with this n. No matter how useful that spell would be, could it worth the time they lost. They could always train on it some other time.


    But for some reason, her spirit was raised, and she had a feeling that she was able to move on and seed even if she couldn''t understand why she felt like that.


    "I am gonna use a special technique that Master passed on me that is gonna help you, but to work, one of my <strong>MANA HAND</strong> have to always be in touch with you. If it gets away from you even for a second, the blessing will be gone, and I can do it only once, so be careful of not getting separated by it." [Shingi]


    He had spent some time gathering some Dark Element mana from the surrounding and used it to create a Dark element <strong>MANA HAND</strong>, which looked like it was made out of shadows. Hemanded it to touch Phoenix''s shoulder, but she barely felt it touching her, just having this weird feeling of something around that space but not the same as getting touched. It felt almost like something was breathing on her shoulder over and over again by multiple angles.


    Then after Shingi was certain that everything was under control, he enabled his unknown Blessing''s active effect raising the <strong>INT</strong> of Phoenix from 12 to 29.


    This wasn''t a low number at all, as the maximum a yer has ever reached one of his stats was 30, meaning she wasn''t too far from it. Of course, some tried to pass the limit of 30, but it seemed like the System was restricting them from seeding, but there was no exnation of why that was the case.


    Shingi had tried the Blessing on himself, and it seemed like he really wasn''t able to reach 32 but was limited to 25 instead but didn''t know why his limit was 25 and not 30. Even Annoue''s was reaching an <strong>INT</strong> of 28 when he used the Blessing on her, so she didn''t seem to be having the same problem as him.


    The Highest Level Arcane Practitioner Shingi knew had an <strong>INT</strong> of 27. He was an NPC that actually was one of the most important figures in the Circles of Magic. He was the reason for the creation of many new spells and enchantments. Now that Phoenix was having more <strong>INT</strong> than even that individual, if she couldn''t make a Base Grade Spell, there was no hope for her as a Mage.


    Phoenix was surprised by the feeling and, after checking the System''s notification letting her know of the Blessing''s effects. She may have been a beginner, but even she understood how game-breaking this blessing was.


    So she focused on feeling and manipting the mana around her and, more specifically, the Dark Element in the shadows, and she was surprised at how easy it was.


    <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> was a mental skill, so it was mainly affected by the <strong>INT</strong> of its user. Her INT was that high her control of the skill was like the difference between Hell and Heaven.


    Mana gathered her and started surrounding her at a great speed like it was putting no resistance. In a matter of few seconds, she was surrounded by a sphere of darkness. She started manipting it and making it take her shape and first be like a second skin.


    This didn''t take too long either, and she started focusing on slowly merging herself with it and turning herself in Shadow.


    At the same time, Shingi was concentrating on connecting his <strong>MANA HAND</strong> with Phoenix''s mana to keep a connection with her so that his blessing will be kept active.


    And so, in the matter of almost a minute, Phoenix was standing as her form was losing its shape.


    At that point, Tycoon came and tried to grab her but instead, she passed through her like she was a ghost.


    Phoenix turned towards her fallen friend to check if she was ok, but Shingi drew her attention.


    "You should hurry. I can''t keep my spell too long for your current form, and without it, things won''t be good." [Shingi]


    Phoenix nodded and focused as her body lost its shape, became like a living shadow, and started making its way through the small tunnel.


    For a few seconds, everyone was just starring the hole and waiting for something to happen or to hear something, but nothing happened.


    And then some grinding happened like stones moving. A secret door opened that no one, not even Shingi, had noticed.


    It seemed like it was perfectly part of the wall, being very well hidden.


    At the other side of it was Phoenix, who was at her normal form with the Shadow <strong>MANA HAND</strong> of Shingi still touching her shoulder.


    "I found a switch, everyone." [Little Phoenix]


    She said that with a rare smile on her face, her smile disappeared when Tycoon came to her and hugged her.


    "Don''t ever do that again." [Wild Tycoon]


    She whispered it so none but Phoenix would be able to hear, but for Shingi, it was like she was shouting it.


    Shingi went through the secret door and saw that it led to a small room, and in there that there was a corridor that was continuing further in the Dungeon. He focused his senses to check if any creatures or any traps were around, but it seemed like none existed.


    He paid extra attention to the walls if there were more secret doors he missed, but he couldn''t notice any for now.


    "Should we follow that way? Quite a few Oozes seems to uses it, so maybe something worthy to investigate is in there." [Mizuneko]


    They all nodded on that, but Tycoon stopped everyone before they start moving.


    "We should take some rest. This tired a lot Phoenix and so should have Shingi." [Wild Tycoon]


    Since they were at the same party, she was able to see the current MP of Phoenix, which was almost empty. Her SP seemed to have gone low also, and even if she wasn''t able to do the same with Shingi, she considered his situation shouldn''t be much better.


    It was true that he had lost quite some <strong>MP</strong> out of it cause controlling the <strong>MANA HAND</strong> that was madepletely out of Mana noting from his Mana Tree wasn''t that easy. He even used some of his <strong>SP</strong> but not at the same dangerous level as Phoenix.


    "We will take an hour of break. It should be more than enough. No need to use any potions as overusing them would lessen the effects considerably ." [Shingi]


    They had used a few <strong>MP</strong> and <strong>SP</strong> <strong>REGENERATIONS</strong> potions during their training since it was using both of those, so it was better to rest naturally for now.


    He used the switch that Phoenix had found to close the secret door while they were in and went into a corner and took out of his ring a pillow and started taking a nap.


    The party was surprised by his action, especially of him having prepared something like having a pillow with him, which they had never considered. Still, they didn''t have the luxury of having a Spatial Ring as Shingi did.


    Phoenix sat in a meditate-like stance, which was quite different than Shingi''s and Annoue''s. Still, she wasfortable with it and had simr effects and especially increasing slightly her <strong>MP</strong> regeneration.


    After a few minutes of awkward silence, the one who broke it was actually Hineko.


    "I know it isn''t really my ce to ask something like that, but how did the two of you meet. I mean before... our adventures in this word begin." [Hineko]


    Tycoon was surprised by that question and seemed like she was ready to answer in her normal way of minding his own business, but Phoenix raised her hand to stop her from doing it.


    "We can share our story but only if you share yours? Isn''t that fair?" [Little Phoenix]


    Hineko seemed surprised by the response, especially Phoenix being who gave it, especially since she was her shy self, but he didn''t mind.


    A long discussion and sharing of stories began as they kept their voices low, not to be heard by Shingi.


    But little did they know that he wasn''t really sleeping, just pretending, and he was able to hear everything clear like he was next to them.

 Chapter 43: The story of the Players

    Chapter 43: The story of the yers


    Hineko and Mizuneko agreed to talk about themselves first, and there seemed like they had an interesting story to tell. They were raised in an orphanage and were never adopted while in there until they were old enough to leave that ce.


    There were times that they had to work many hours for a little amount of money, but at least they had each other. They weren''t sure if they were biological brothers, and they never wanted to know.


    One of the orphanage nuns who raised them found them in a basket, each at the front door after someone had knocked on it, but the nun didn''t notice anyone when she got there, just the two babies who seemed to be a few weeks old. No note was left and no indication of the one who left them or their biological parents.


    They were curious some days about the possibility of looking for their biological family and such, but they never got to do it.


    Phoenix''s eyes were full of tears while hearing their tragic story, and even Tycoon seemed to feel bad for them.


    But the ''sleeping'' Shingi wasn''t affected cause he was able to hear something that the girls could hear as he focused his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> at the max.


    The heartbeat of Hineko, who was the one who was telling the whole story, and by hearing it, Shingi could understand an important fact.


    Hineko''s story was just full of b******ts.


    Nothing was true, and to tell the truth, Shingi was impressed on how natural he was telling the story and was sure it wasn''t the first time he had to tell it. And he understood why as he had noticed the interest he has shown against a certain female Mage.


    Mizuneko didn''t speak at all during his brother telling their ''story.'' Still, he acted to be somewhat sad of hearing their story while considering which time was this time. They should have reached in the hundreds already.


    "... and then after meeting this kind man even if we were so old, he adopted us and since he was a man with some money we were able to stop working. We didn''t go to a normal school, but he got us some tutors to help us, and we had already learned quite a few things back in the orphanage. So we were lucky that he was also to get in acquiring these capsules and the game, so that''s how we got here as before meeting Master, nothing fancy happened." [Hineko]


    Of course, he didn''t want to tell the story of how he met Shingi and how scared of him he was back then, as it would possibly ruin his own image even if the girls knew that the boy wasn''t so simple.


    After Hineko finished telling how they got adopted by a rich guy who found it in his heart to raise them, he ended his story.


    Phoenix used some cloth to clear her eyes of tears as she took some time to calm herself.


    "Well, I guess you aren''t as bad as I thought you to be Kitty boys" [Wild Tycoon]


    Tycoon was affected somewhat by their story but not as bad as Phoenix, but she thought that since now they are in a good environment, why would she be sad for their past.


    Hineko ignored thement of Tycoon as if he reacted to it; it would probably ruin the moment he built with the story, and Mizuneko just followed him on that since he wasn''t liking going against Tycoon either way.


    Now it was the girls'' chance to share their story as this was the reason this discussion started.


    Tycoon seemed to be the one telling the story mainly as Phoenix was correcting her on few details.


    Their story wasn''t asplicated as the two boys, and actually, it was quite a normal one at the beginning.


    Three girls growing together and being best friends. Of course, the two were the shy and not shy Little Phoenix and the third one was the Wild Tycoon.


    They didn''t go into much detail about their background. Still, their two families were quite close. That had started since their great grandparents became friends, and the friendship continued with each generation. It seemed like they weren''t part of a low-ie family but didn''t detail what their family was doing. Still, it seemed like their families had some business orpany. They were cooperating as part of the family''s friendship.


    Hineko was interested to learn about the Phoenix''s sisters and why they acted that differently. After quite some persuasion, he got Tycoon to speak about it, with Phoenix allowing it.


    It seemed like the two girls used to act pretty much the same. None could tell the difference between them. That''s why they decided to have a difference in their hairstyle as both had long hairs; one had a ponytail to rest at her left shoulder while the other one at her right.


    But things changed two years ago as something tragic happened to one of the two girls and made her not want to speak to others and stay in her room doing nothing.


    Tycoon didn''t speak of this event as even she didn''t know and didn''t want to go too far on details either way. It may have some effect on Phoenix as the current one was the one who got into whatever that tragic event was.


    That was why Tycoon didn''t like to be around the other Phoenix, as the event seemed to the happened cause of her. Still, no matter what she said, she never learned anything from her about what happened. Also, the not shy sister seemed not to care much about her sister as much as she used to be, considering that it will pass in time. It wasn''t, though, that she waspletely ignoring her; just their bond as sisters seemed to be less strong.


    The current Phoenix was normally in her room 24/7. Still, after some persuasion from Tycoon, she started ying the game with her.


    Of course, after learning about it, the other sister wanted to y too. Since she was able to y only by using her sister''s ount, they agreed to use it now and then, but the shy one would use it most of the time as she didn''t have much else to do.


    Tycoon sent them through messages as she didn''t want to remind her friend a lot in case she got affected, but Shingi was able to guess most of the things he couldn''t hear.


    "So the two of you are rich girls, huh?" [Mizuneko]


    He wasn''t interested in them like his brother, so he wasn''t that worried about how he said things or what he asked unless it waspletely inappropriate to ask.


    "Well, our family has some money, but I wouldn''t call us rich. It isn''t like we own the business or something." [Wild Tycoon]


    It was clear to the two brothers that she seemed to be hiding something, but none could be certain of what it was so their imagination could go wild.


    "Well, at least now things are better now. Right? I mean, you met Master and us, so things got more interesting." [Hineko]


    Tycoon nodded on that but mostly because things were interesting with Shingi being around and less about them. And of course, she didn''t forget that unknown yer who seemed to be behind the boy.


    After they had some more small talk, Shingi decided to stop his act and ''woke up.''


    He walked towards the party.


    "So how is everyone? Ready to move on?"[Shingi]


    Everyone nodded as they had fully restored their <strong>HP</strong>, <strong>MP</strong>, and <strong>SP</strong> for some time now.


    And as they were ready to move on, Phoenix seemed like she wanted to ask something from Shingi.


    "Excuse me. But shouldn''t we get back at some point? Won''t your sister get worried of that much time passed that you are away?" [Little Phoenix]


    Phoenix learned from Tycoon about Annoue since she wasn''t the one who actually was in control of their character when they met her and didn''t have the chance to meet her during the past days.


    It was true that they were here for quite a few hours, and even if they got here early in the morning, it was getting close to few hours from dinner time.


    "We gonna investigate this way and after that depending what we find we may continue or return. But we have to take a look at it after everything we went through. By the way, did the spell got recognized by the Gods?" [Shingi]


    Phoenix seemed confused for a second as she forgot that by the Gods, he meant the System as she then gave him a nod.


    "Yes, I did, but it says that it is an unfinished spell of Base Grade." [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi''s eyes got wide from hearing that he hadn''t checked her status, which was the first time he learned about the actual spell.


    "What is an unfinished spell? Isn''t the Sys... the Gods just letting us know when the Spell is fully able to be used from us?" [Mizuneko]


    Shingi nodded on that as he began exining.


    "It is true of it being the case on most cases. But there are times of unique spells that only specific people can learn that are being allowed to be used in a lesser version of theirs and upgraded to their true power without creating a new spell. But the unfinished ones are always at least a grade lower than the final Grade of the spell when it is considered as finished." [Shingi]


    Hearing that, silence fell in the room as everyone understood what was just said.


    A Master Grade Spell. Little Phoenix had ess to a Master Grade Spell.


    Even if it was considered a Base Grade one now, it would be a Master Grade one when shepleted it. Master Grade one wasn''t as rare to reach a skill to be considered Master Rank, but that didn''t mean they were easy to learn either way. Even if one found one, it would take them to quite a few resources to learn itnothing a normal yer could afford.


    But Phoenix already knew the spell just in its unfinished form. As long as she became familiar with it, it would get at its real Grade. That didn''t mean that it was easy, but it didn''t need as many resources as it normally would need.


    "Do you think you can use it at its current grade?" [Shingi]


    A spell not fully recognized by the System has beenpletely different, with thetter being much easier for the user to use.


    Phoenix closed her eyes to focus on the Dark Mana around her, and after almost half a minute, she opened them but no signs of her shadow form.


    "It doesn''t seem like I can with my current skill. I got a few levels in my MANA MANIPULATION skill, so maybe I could do it if I raise it more. I feel like this is the problem and not my stats, but not sure why I just feel like that."


    Shingi was interested in hearing that and opened her status and saw that her MANA MANIPULATION was actually raised to 39. It was very close to being considered Master Rank, just two more levels.


    ''It seems to learn a special spell-like that while having this much INT greatly affects your skills. Good to know for future training.''[Shingi]


    So since they didn''t have anything more to discuss, they continued their way deeper into the dungeon and the secret corridor.

 Chapter 44: Secret Room

    Chapter 44: Secret Room


    The corridor seemed to have an angle after a while as they seemed to get underground, while up until now, it seemed to be quiet even.


    Mizuneko''s research didn''t mention anything like that, so this brought their hopes up of the possibility that this was really a special ce they found.


    After a while, it seemed like the room was opening ahead. As usual, Shingi and Hineko went ahead to scout while under the effect of the <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> spell of Shingi.


    When they reached the entrance, they stayed motionless and close to the wall and left the spell and their <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill to do their work as they looked inside.


    There seemed like some abandonedb as there were a few tables with different vials and tools for mostly alchemist work. There were also three big ss spheres, with one beingpletely broken while the other two having some cracks but noplete openings. Inside they seemed to be filled up to the middle with a red substance.


    After Shingi made sure that there weren''t any creatures around, he lowered his spells'' effect to make a motion at Hineko. Shingi entered the room as he enables his spell at full effect while Hineko stayed behind just in case something went wrong.


    He looked at the equipment, tools, and some of the desks'' papers, but they seemed to be in a code and quiet old that they would turn to dust on touch, so he left them for now. Then he moved on the spheres and first on the broken one which, other than dust and some webs, didn''t have any remains of that red substance the others had.


    He noticed a slight movement from the others and the strange substance when he got closer, but it was barely noticeable. He didn''t go too close just to be safe, but from that distance, he could tell that this substance was simr if not the same as of the Ooze with the transformation ability.


    He motioned Hineko to call the others as he dropped his spellspletely as he was certain that none was around.


    Again, there was a slight movement when hepletely dropped the spell by the substance in the sphere near him, which was the middle one but nothing else.


    He kept looking around, especially on the notes, to see if there was anything useful until he actually noticed a strange barrel.


    The barrel itself wasn''t strange, to be precise, but the space at the bottom of it was as it seemed like some at the left and right of it was clearer of dust than the rest.


    He waited for the others and told them about to be aware of any movements from the spheres as it may be another Ooze and told Hineko to check the strange barrel and its surroundings.


    And quite quickly, he found something strange with it as he couldn''t move it like it weighed a ton. He checked for any mechanics, but he didn''t find any, and neither did Shingi.


    Tycoon being the one with the higher <strong>STR</strong> in the group, tried to move it. Still, she couldn''t move it an inch, not even making a scratch on it after attacking with her axe cause of frustration.


    Shingi used his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, but there wasn''t any mana around it or anything else. His <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> didn''t help him either, which was a strange thing to happen but not the first time as he hadn''t noticed the secret door that lead them here.


    ''This ce is well hidden. Even high-level ones would have a hard time finding it. It may have something to do with the boss of the Dungeon.'' [Shingi]


    Even if yers weren''t looking for it, that didn''t mean they wouldn''t encounter the Boss by chance. As far as Mizuneko knew, it didn''t seem like anyone knew the boss''s nature other than most likely be a type of Ooze also. This was quite strange, but none minded it, but it made sense if the boss was in a secret ce.


    "This may lead to the Boss Room or gives clues about it. Either way, we aren''t ready yet for it. We should return then." [Shingi]


    Everyone nodded, and Tycoon seemed excited about the mention of a boss, but that was ruined when she understood that they wouldn''t even try to fight it yet.


    Shingi, of course, noticed that.


    "This is a secret ce, and I don''t think any normal adventurer would find it any time soon. Also, even if they find it, this barrel seems to be quite tricky, that I doubt one would solve it anytime soon. So we have the advantage in either case. The boss will be ours." [Shingi]


    He didn''t care that the dungeon would disappear. It was able to give him some resources, but nothing he couldn''t find elsewhere, and his party wouldn''t be able to hunt these low-level monsters forever.


    Of course, even if he could fight the Boss right now, he wouldn''t, as he still could use the Dungeon to earn himself some level when he gets his ss.


    They started making their way back and faced fewer monsters on the way back, so it didn''t take them too long to reach the Dungeon''s entrance/exit.


    Shingi motioned for the party to stop as he quickly cast ROCK THROW towards a tree nearby when they reached it. It turned into dust before it reached the tree as it hit something not visible to normal eyes.


    And the figure dropped whatever way was keeping him invisible, and actually, a familiar figure appeared.


    The figure was none else than Fire Whip, the Elemental Tamer.


    "God damn it, you and your damn aim. Do you always have to aim that thing at my eyes?" [F.W.]


    He started removing the dust from his eyes as Tycoon was ready to charge but got stopped by Shingi, who walked towards Fire Whip while telling the others to stay behind.


    When Fire Whip was able to see again, Shingi was standing right in front of him, staring at him with his arms behind his back.


    "So to what do I owe that visit? You were waiting for us for quite a long time and even used your special ring charges. It seems you have something important to tell." [Shingi]


    Fire Whip was surprised that he seemed that he had noticed that he had actually followed them when they got here and waited for them outside all the time as also that he knew about his Ring Of Invisibility, which allowed him to be under the effect of the INVISIBILITY spell for an hour. Still, he could use it only 3 times, and then the ring would turn to dust. So this was something important that he didn''t want to use for something unimportant. Still, after the two encounters he had with the boy, he had to be extra careful.


    He even used an rm scroll, which allowed him to know if anyone passed the position he used the scroll at and had actually used it on not to fat from the Dungeon''s entrance to be sure to know when they were exiting it.


    Of course, Shingi, with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, which he always had active and was almost Master Rank, was able to detect the rm spell, which made him wary that something was wrong.


    It made sense why they didn''t meet any other yers, as most likely Fire Whip "persuaded" them toe another time.


    "It seems once more I have underestimated you." [Fire Whip]


    "One would think like a dog would learn tricks faster if they keep making the same mistake and getting punished for it." [Shingi]


    Shingi wasn''t afraid of him at all. He was certain that there weren''t any other yers around, and after the training, he had this past week, he could face him even without his students'' help.


    Fire Whip kept his face as serious as he could and didn''t respond to what was said.


    "Well...we gave started our rtionship on the wrong foot, so I think we..." [Fire Whip]


    But before he continued to say what he wanted to say, he was interrupted by Shingi.


    "There isn''t any rtionship between us to at some even consider it to be at either a good or bad foot." [Shingi]


    Fire Whip was surprised by this child''s confidence, but he knew that he had the power to back it up.


    "Well then. I guess the reason I am here is to start a good rtionship." [Fire Whip]


    At that point, he brought forward his open hand with his palm facing up as he summoned a quiet sizable pouch. It was close to 3 times the size of the one Varic had given to Shingi the first time he used <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>.


    "I know that you are the son of the local cksmith and have started being his apprentice, so I am sure you and your father can use those." [Fire Whip]


    Shingi got the pouch and checked its contents. It seemed to be pieces of different metals, some being quite rare but nothing as rare as the Mithril part Garry had given him, and he used for his dagger. But even so, the back contents would be worth a couple of hundreds of gold coins, which wasn''t a small amount, and to tell the truth, Shingi wasn''t expecting a gift like that. He understood that the Guild this yer could afford it but decided to give something like that wouldn''t be an easy choice.


    ''<em>They must think my Quest is quite important.</em>'' [Shingi]


    Shingi wasn''t interested in having a rtionship with a Guild. It would possibly hold him back, and possible people who should know learn his n. Still, he wasn''t one to appreciate a gift, especially one that he could use.


    "Hmm, there seems that there are some interesting ones in here but nothing too fancy, but I guess it will do. I ept your gift for the damage you have caused." [Shingi]


    At that point, Fire Whip was full of confusion about what he was talking about as during their battle, he wasn''t able to touch him even once, and they didn''t even get close to his shop, not to mention damage it.


    "My sister''s fists still hurt because of the tough skull of your friend and his attacks. This small gift is the least to pay for something like that." [Shingi]


    Fire Whip wanted just to struggle with Shingi at that point. How was he responsible for the damage his friend caused and had to pay for it? They were part of the same guild but would this NPC consider them like one just cause of that?


    "Well, if you have nothing more to say, this is the end of our conversation. Also, you can tell your friend that he is forgiven for now, but he isn''t wee to my shop." [Shingi]


    Fire Whip didn''t know what to say as it didn''t seem that things got any better as most times in these situations, the System would let him know if his reputation with an NPC would be raised. However, there wasn''t something like that, and also, he still couldn''t see the name of Shingi, which would also be a sign that he could take missions out of him.


    ''<em>Could it be that there isn''t a Quest after all?</em>'' [Fire Whip]


    He had put much thought into it in the past days. After learning by one of the scouts, the Guild had at the gates of the town that Shingi was heading out of the town together with a party of yers, he was certain that it was because of a Quest.


    I mean, why would they kill his Guildmates if not cause of a Quest?


    He was also sad cause the pouch of metal he gave at Shingi was something that he had acquired by his own and not the Guild and was nning to use them in the future for his equipment but considered that the Quest would be more important. As for his Guild, they didn''t know his n fully, just that he had told them to keep an eye for Shingi''s movement and report to him if anything strange happens.


    Shingi motioned the others, and they started making their way towards the town in a hurry as it was quitete and left Fire Whip behind being motionless by himself.


    Shingi said his goodbyes to the party, and with his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill activated, he moved like the wind and made it in the town and reached his house.


    He noticed that the house''s door was opened, which was strange, so he activated his senses at their limit. After detecting something, he made his way in a hurry in the kitchen, seeing something unexpected.


    There were 3 figures in the kitchen, 1 at the table and the other two being in the middle of cooking.


    The one sitting was actually Mayor a, while one of the two cooking was Annoue. Or, more specifically, the one who seemed to be in the middle to learn how to cook as the other person seemed to show her how to cut some vegetables.


    Annoue seemed to be a little scared and mostly focusing on the hands of this master. Still, she turned her head towards a specific characteristic of the Chef''s head.


    His horns.

 Chapter 45: New knowledge

    Chapter 45: New knowledge


    The Chef had a pair of short horns, which curving a little towards each other. But this wasn''t the only weird thing about him.


    His skin was red, and his eyes were one yellow and one blue, and both had a slit-like in the middle of them like the eyes of a cat.


    He also had a very devil-like tail but had it around his waist like a belt, so it wouldn''t normally draw attention.


    His teeth and nails were a little sharper than of a human, but other than that, he had the characteristics of a human.


    Shingi recognized him as a Half-Demon, a very rare race in the game, that most people considered them not even to exist.


    Of course, they weren''t always born the normal way as other half races, but most were the result of deals demon had with mortals or souls that were cursed and returned to the mortal world but not as undead.


    But even if they had demonic blood in them, that didn''t make them evil by default or have to follow other demons'' orders. They had their own will as other races and were more resistant against demon''s control but weren''t immune to it.


    a, who was enjoying some tea, noticed Shingi, who was just standing at the kitchen entrance.


    "Oh, you are finally back. Annoue mentioned that you were working on some special project and you would bete, so I decided to help around." [a]


    ''<em>Help around? Isn''t she just drinking tea, and that guy and Annoue are doing everything?</em>'' [Shingi]


    Of course, Shingi wasn''t nning to say it out loud as he didn''t want to risk having a bad rtionship with her. He joined a at the table as he waved to say hello to Annoue as she was currently busy with her lessons.


    "So this is the mysterious chef that made our dinner in the past?" [Shingi]


    "Oh yes, that is him. I had considered asking him to teach Annoue for some time, but she seemed too scared of him in the past." [a]


    "In the past? And why do you think it isn''t the case now?" [Shingi]


    It was clear that Annoue wasn''t feelingpletely fine being next to her teacher, but it was true she wasn''t petrified.


    "Well, she asked for the lessons. She said she had to make a special one, and she needed help, and she was willing to learn by Karemon." [a]


    Shingi nodded as he understood what the situation was. He was happy about it as he was nning to ask the Mayor for her help to raise the <strong>COOKING</strong> Skill of Annoue in the future.


    At that point, a moved her chair closer to Shingi and lowered her head and body to get closer to him, and whispered so that he was the only one that could hear her.


    "So how your ''project'' went. Have that group of blessed ones proved to be useful?" [Shingi]


    He wasn''t surprised by her knowledge about him and his group as they passed from the gates who had guards of the town, so there was the chance of one who noticed them have reported to the Mayor especially since a child was the one leaving with a group of Blessed Ones.


    "Well, there was some progress. But all I can say is you have to expect some surprises toe soon." [Shingi]


    a looked at him in a look Shingi was quite familiar with as he had used that a few times.


    She tried to read his bodynguage to tell what he may hide. Still, something unexpected happened as some notifications appeared.


    ================================


    AN ENCHANTMENT TRIES TO AFFECT YOUR MIND


    ================================


    ================================


    THE USER OF THE ENCHANTMENT HAS LOWER <strong>CHA</strong> THAN YOU, SO THE ENCHANTMENT FAILED


    CAUSE OF HAVING LOWER INT THAN USER OF ENCHANTMENT NO SIDE EFFECT WILL BE DECIDED FOR THE USER OF THE ENCHANTMENT


    CAUSE OF THE DIFFERENCE OF <strong>CHA</strong> A WIPE WAS TRIGGERED


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>CHA</strong> WAS DECREASED BY 1


    ================================


    Annoue went back to drink her tea, and she didn''t seem to have noticed something strange. Shingi kept himself not to show the surprise of the System''s notifications.


    ''<em>She had used a silent spell storing Enchantment and even have more than 16 <strong>INT</strong>? I guess the Mayor wasn''t as simple as I thought.</em>'' [Shingi]


    An enchantment, even if you had the enchantment circle ready and carved, you normally spend some time feeding it with mana and enable it. Still, there was a way to make some of the feedings beforehand but keep it deactivated. You have used enough mana so that it isn''t rejected but not enough to activate the Enchantment. This way, it was undetectable even by <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> of the use of enchantment except if it had a visual indication.


    This wasn''t easy for someone to do, even for Shingi with his 16 INT and Master Rank <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>.


    He had tried a few times, but he hadn''t evene close to seed even if he used his Blessing''s active effect on him. It seemed it wasn''t a problem that just Stats and High Skill Rank would solve but talent and experience.


    Also, his <strong>CHA</strong>, the one stats that hadn''t changed other than the time he finished some of his <strong>MAIN QUEST</strong>''s task, but now it went down and not up as he wanted.


    But he got some info out of it, especially since there was this mechanic of <strong>WIPE</strong> that System mentioned, which seemed to cause the one who tried to affect him to forget of trying from what he understood. It was a useful thing to have but did that mean he had 3 more uses of that? And would happen only to ones with higher INT than him, or is it random. He still had a lot of questions for the unknown stat.


    ''<em>Could it be the same as the resistance of Half-Demons against mind control of Demons?</em>''


    He was half Blessed One, and he had considered it wasing with some benefits, but up until now, he hadn''t noticed any.


    "May I ask you something, Mayor?" [Shingi]


    She nodded to agree as she stopped drinking her tea to listen to the boy.


    "I am most appreciative of your help towards my sister and me, but there were some troublemakers around my family''s shop these past days, and some even seem to follow me around. I am notpletely sure of their intention, but they have acted quite weird." [Shingi]


    He went over the event that happened at his shop, leaving details of the battle out and emphasizing theck of guards being around, not mentioning the possibility of bribing but leading to it carefully with his words.


    a seemed to understand the situation quite fast and especially after hearing that Blessed Ones were behind it. They have helped the town quite a bit, but there were, of course, the ones who were causing troubles, and she was the one who had to deal with them.


    She assured Shingi that he would keep an eye on them as they haven''t caused any damage this time.


    "Also, if I may, I would like to ask a favor from you." [Shingi]


    "Of course, if it is something in my power, you can only ask and see what I can do. I have heard of your family''s shop being open again and what you and Garry have crafted up until now being of an excellent quality, which has helped quite a lot in lowering the costs of importing stuff like that from other towns for no reason. It''s good that Garry is back at it once more. It seems having an apprentice helped to awaken his focus once more." [a]


    ''<em>If only you knew the truth</em>.'' [Shingi]


    Of course, he wasn''t telling clients that everything they ordered was made by him only and that Garry hasn''t even tried to lift his hammer for any of them.


    "I have recentlye in contact with some Blessed Ones, and they have helped me unlock some skills and techniques on the Arcane Art, but they aren''t able to help me to earn a ss. Is this something you can help me with?" [Shingi]


    The Mayor seemed to get serious after hearing that and got in deep thought.


    "Well, if you were heading for a non Arcane User, I could offer you assistance, but for one like that, in your current situation, you won''t be able to do something, and I can''t help you either on covering the cost."


    "Cost? What are you trying to suggest?" [Shingi]


    She seemed somewhat reluctant to say, but after thinking for a few seconds, she spoke.


    "Well, it is a recent discovery it has been made on those Dungeons that have started appearing These past years. These strange crystals are found in them, enabling one with no ss to earn one. However, it is still unknown what the ss will be other than it is suitable for using it as it seemed as it is decided based on his Skills. But those crystals are quite expensive, and you won''t be able to afford them even with my help." [a]


    Shingi seemed surprised by the revtion of something that he hadn''t even considered being possible. He was expecting her to maybe know a Tutor for him, but a crystal that could give him a ss just by using it and it would be suiting him was more than he could ask.


    "How much are we talking about?" [Shingi]


    a seems to be thinking once more, this time to remember something not because she didn''t want to say.


    "The most basic one which can only give you one of the basic ssed should cost around 100. Then the cost would be raised to a couple hundreds even thousands as they would have more chance to have a rarer ss the higher the quality of the crystal." [a]


    Shingi wasn''t surprised by the cost. This definitely wasn''t something that anyone could easily afford, but he wasn''t just anyone.


    So he summoned out of his Spatial Ring the gift pouch that Fire Whip gave him not too long ago.


    He had some leftover money but not too much, and even if he could use those metals for possible projects getting a ss was more important.


    "These should cover the cost if sold and get a good one. Do you think you can make a deal with those?" [Shingi]


    a wasn''t a professional at knowing a different kind of metals; still, she recognized some of them. They were quite rare, and it was possible to be around a few hundreds of gold in that pouch.


    "Where.... where did you find all those?" [a]


    He gave a wide smile as he gave his answer.


    "It was a gift from someone not that important." [Shingi]

 Chapter 46: A New Friend and an Old One

    Chapter 46: A New Friend and an Old One


    After Shingi and a finished discussing acquiring the ss Crystal, which would take some time. She had to find one interesting to buy the ores to obtain the funds needed and found one the crystal from as mostly Blessed Ones were selling them.


    The best scenario was to find one yer with a rare ss Crystal who would trade it with the ores, which wasn''t impossible.


    "So may I ask why is your helper at his normal form this time?" [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed surprised that he recognized that Karemon was her helper since he was now in his standard form.


    Half-Demons could transform into a human form, and only a few people with rare Skills or Spells could tell that it was a disguise.


    But the two forms weren''tpletely different as their general structure was the same, so for Shingi, it wasn''t hard to put two and two together.


    "Well, he is actually someone saved by your mother. He was hunted by a few Demons that wanted to get him when he was young. Fortunately, it seems now that he has grown, they aren''t interested anymore." [a]


    Shingi knew that Demon''s were considering the blood of young Half-Demon''s very precious for some reason. It seemed like they can use it for some ritual but not sure what kind of ritual.


    "I have raised him at the best of my abilities and tried to keep his secret from outsiders. But he and your family are quite close since he pretty much owns his life to your mother. But Annoue doesn''t seem to get used to his real appearance, and I must say I was expecting something like that from you too. " [a]


    "Well, all my life, I was sleeping, so nothing can be considered too weird since myck of knowledge for the world." [Shingi]


    Even if he said it in his usual serious voice, a didn''t seem to believe him. He just woke up a few weeks ago, and not only was he back to health quite fast, but he didn''t act like a child who hadn''t learn anything but like an adult who was quite knowledgeable.


    But she couldn''t even imagine that he used to be one of the Blessed Ones and one of the top explorers of the Tower.


    They made some more small talk, and not much timeter, food started being served by the Chef and his young helper.


    They prepared some sd and this time had a fish dish instead of meat or soup as usual. Some potatoes, carrots, and cheese with the fish add to the taste andplete the dish.


    They quietly took their dinner initially, but Shingi decided to start some small talk with Karemon. Half-Demons were useful people to know and have an ally as they could use their Demonic blood for a few interesting things.


    He also tried to bring Annoue into those discussions to make her morefortable with Karemon.


    But after they finished their dinner and had some tea and cake that Karemon had prepared beforehand, Shingi''s <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> detected something.


    "Excuse me; I will be right back." [Shingi]


    He stood up and was ready to get out, but Annoue stood on his way.


    "Where do you think you are going? It is quitete. You can''t go out now." [Annoue]


    "It is true. It is quitete, and I think it is also time for us to leave. Thanks for dinner." [a]


    a stood up and left with Karemon, who said his goodbyes, and even Annoue answered back. It seemed that Shingi was somewhat sessful in making her less afraid of him.


    "Well, I guess then we should head to bed." [Shingi]


    Annoue wanted to say something, but before she said something, Shingi moved his hand a few times and pointed towards the table.


    Annoue turned and saw the dirty bowls that they used for their dinner to bepletely dirty to bepletely clean.


    "This time, you didn''t have to tell anything." [Shingi]


    He had used his <strong>FILTH EATER</strong> like these past days to help keep things clean and make some chores like that more manageable.


    Every time Annoue saw him doing thought it was amazing. She was also jealous cause up until now, he didn''t teach her something that cool.


    So they headed to bed, and for the second time, they slept while Annoue was gripping Shingi''s hand, but this time seemed to be on purpose.


    ''<em>She seems to know me well now.</em>'' [Shingi]


    He was nning to get out when Annoue slept, and it seemed Annoue thought about it. Shingi once more was trapped by Annoue''s <strong>STR</strong>, but things were different this time.


    He had prepared for this kind of situation, but he had to wait for now, so he started feeding his Mana Tree and Seeds as usual while keeping his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> of what he detected before.


    After a few hours, the time finally came as it was past midnight and was considered a new day, so something he had used was once more avable.


    He used the active effect of his Blessing on him and got his <strong>INT</strong> at 25.


    Then he started focusing his Light-element mana on surrounding his trapped arm. But unlike when he was casting his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, he didn''t just cover his arm with the mana but tried to merge the mana with his arm, simr to what he taught Phoenix to do with the Dark Element mana.


    He had the advantage of using his mana. He also made the Mana pass through his Mirthtil dagger to empower it more and make things morefortable.


    Fortunately, it didn''t get too bright to possibly awake Annoue, as he could control the brightness of it like with his LIGHT spell.


    And so, after less than a minute, part of his hand turned into Light and passed through the hands of Annoue, making Shingi a free man once more.


    He stayed for a few minutes, making sure that Annoue wouldn''t notice him getting free, but it seemed like he was safe.


    So he enabled his usualbo of <strong>STEALTH</strong> and <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> even if he was tempted to cast INVISIBILITY or use one of his Mana Seeds. Still, he didn''t want to waste any resources without a crucial reason.


    So he made his way outside towards what his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> detected, which at this point seemed to move. It seemed almost like it wanted him to follow him, and Shingi didn''t decline.


    Using his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> a little, he could get in visual distance of it, and it seemed to be a dog.


    Not a very rare breed as far as he could tell and had long, but not too long, ck hairs and no sign of any cor or anything that would show that it belonged to someone.


    Well, nothing that eyes could see.


    The <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> of Shingi was able to detect some mana on the dog that wasn''t its own. It looked like a mark but not like one that was there to tame it and keep it in control. It seemed to be one to show, who was the owner of this dog, and Shingi had an idea of who may be.


    And so they headed past the walls that Shingi had no problem to pass the low-level guards that were in guard duty there.


    It seemed like they were heading toward his and Annoue''s hideout, which he thought to be pretty suspicious.


    They arrived in front of the Hollow Tree, where a young adult female human was sitting while at herbs was what looked like a very young small dragon. The dragon was small enough to fit on herps.


    Her hair was of turquoise color. If one were staring at them, they would notice a movement like the moving water but not very fast to be easily noticeable. Her eyes were of different colors, with her left being yellow and the right being green. Her clothing was of simple designs but had patterns of strange runes around her neck and sleeves.


    One her back, there was a pair of longswords that even if Shingi could only see their handles, but by them only he knew how they looked as a whole.


    Those were Elvish des that had somewhat carved des but not as a scimitar would have. This was granting them to be easier to swing around with more agile moves.


    Shingi knew this person although she was looking different from thest time they met.


    She was looking younger, but that wasn''t something hard for the daughter of a Goddess.


    She was Ae, Goddess of Storm, and daughter of the Goddess of Nature.


    Shingi had met her in the past in the same Quest that he got his Blessing from Dolg as he had the chance to meet with a few Gods then.


    Ha hadn''t met the Goddess of Nature herself and didn''t even know her name, but her daughter seemed to show some interest in him.


    She had a ''stormy'' personality as she could seem calm and then turn into a monster that wanted to tear you up.


    She didn''t give him any present back to them, but they had a few talks and even fought each other, but of course, Shingi was beaten each time. He may be able to defeat a Dragon, but a Demi Goddess wasn''t one he could handle.


    Ad for her Father, it was unknown who he was. Most likely, even she didn''t know anything about him. If one would ask her to talk about him, she gave a different story about his identity each time.


    She noticed him when he got close, even if he was using his STEALTH and CAMOUFLAGEbo, but he couldn''t hide from her godly eyes.


    "Oh, you are finally here." [Ae]


    She seemed calm at this point as she was petting her little Dragon pet.


    "Who are you?" [Shingi]


    He didn''t know why he was an NPC, so he wasn''t just acting as his yer self among everyone.


    "Oh, drop the act. I know who you are. Even if you are now in this young body, you can''t be hidden by my Nalrin''s nose." [Ae]


    Shingi didn''t try to keep his act anymore as he knew that her eyes could hide almost nothing at this point.


    "Well then, it is nice to see you again, Ae. It''s been a while." [Shingi]


    "Well, you could visit more. But you have been low for that long, and now you even turn into a young boy?" [Ae]


    Shingi went through the story of his death and how he woke on this body, which was under the Never-Ending Sleep curse.


    "Oh, I see. These people seem to be more annoying than I thought. But even I can''t do something for them." [Ae]


    Shingi was surprised by what she just said. Even she wasn''t able to handle them? What kind of power they have?


    "Well, it isn''t really that I can''t do anything, but I am not allowed. But I can''t tell you why." [Ae]


    Shingi''s confusion was raised even more. It wasn''t umon for Gods not to have anything to do with the Mortal Realm affairs except in exceptional cases, but it wasn''t like they were frown upon helping.


    "So then why are you here? You didn''t just want to say hi, were you?" [Shingi]


    Ae''s smiley face changed to one of business as she was ready to tell the reason she was here.


    "Well, it seemed like someone discovered something I had lost some time ago. I must say I was surprised that this person was you?" [Ae]


    "Found something that you lost? What are you talking about?" [Shingi]


    Ae didn''t say anything but instead pointed towards the roots of the Hollow Tree. It was the ce where the Special Mana he had found was at.

 Chapter 47: A favor for a friend

    Chapter 47: A favor for a friend


    Shingi was amazed, but it wasn''t unexpected/ He knew that this wasn''t normal mana and probably had to do with something special. But I didn''t expect it to have to do with someone like that.


    "What is this mana? What does it have for you? And how did you lose it?" [Shingi]


    At that point, he felt something he has forgotten as he didn''t have the chance to do for quite some time. That was to take part on a Quest and learn new stories. Even when he learned about his mother didn''t feel something like that; it didn''t have to do with him. Although it was an interesting story and he was curious about it, taking part in a Quest was very different.


    "<em>*sigh*</em> You are always getting to the point, huh? Well, I can''t say much, but the only thing I can say is it may be a clue left from my father." [Ae]


    As he heard that, Shingi stared at her with a look with clear doubt in his eyes.


    "I know, I know, in the past, I may have followed some wrong clues but believe me, this time, it is the real thing." [Ae]


    "You always say that."[Shingi]


    Shingi had taken a few Quests from Ae based on her father''s rumors and clues, but nothing seemed to have sessfully led to somewhere. He did get some rewards out of them, but he had to spend too much time on them.


    "So then if you can''t'' tell me about this strange mana, then tell me why are you here? You said you are here because I found it, but what does that have to do with you?" [Shingi]


    "Well, you forget that I have my eyes on you always? Or do you think I believed that you died all those years ago? I knew that you would somehow return, so I was waiting. One day, Nalrin smelt you, and we got to start watching you, and I guess I was lucky as it was when you were training here. It took me some time to get my mother to agree to let me get here but in the promise that ''i don''t cause any problems.'' I mean, what does that mean?" [Allea]


    This moment was one of the rare ones that Shingi rolled his eyes as he knew that Ae and trouble weren''t too far apart if one wasn''t careful.


    "As for how I lost it and what it has to do with me, I can tell you that it was a gift and can''t tell you exactly how it was lost." [Ae]


    Even if she was a Goddess and had lived thousands of years, it didn''t mean that she was a great liar, and in reality, Shingi could read her quite easily. He could tell that she is embarrassed to tell him how she lost it.


    "Ok, then what kind of help you want from me. You found it, so why not take it and leave?" [Shingi]


    It wasn''t like he wasn''t happy to help, but he wanted to waste time for nothing as he was quite busy either way.


    "Well, even if it is there, I can''t get it. Whoever put it there have made a seal that I can''t pass. But you should be able to find a way to pass it. Right?!?"


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST: THE MYSTERY OF AELLA #7421882</strong>


    <strong>Description</strong>: Ae, the Goddess of Storm, has been looking for clues for her father. Now her 7421882nd clue is a mysterious Mana, and it was tasked to you to help her break the Seal that keeps it from taking it.


    <strong>Reward</strong>: ????


    ================================


    ''<em>The number has increased quite a bit sincest time.</em>'' [Shingi]


    He had taken the same Quest with different numbers of clues each time; each time, the reward was unknown, but it wasn''t always a good one. It depended on where the clue led.


    "Hmm ... I can try, but this isn''t something that I will be able to do in one day most likely. But let me check this Seal you talk about." [Shingi]


    When he noticed the unique mana, he didn''t notice anything like a Seal but most likely cause he didn''t try to manipte it.


    At least it wasn''t a Seal that waspletely hiding its presence but could tell it was at some point, so not everyone could notice it.


    He focused and used his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, and fortunately, he was still under the effects of his Blessing''s influence, so his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> was more potent than usual.


    He focused on that strange mana, and he felt this other energy surrounding it and rebelling the mana he was using for his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>. He tried to focus to see if there were any openings, but it seemed like it waspletely surrounding it.


    The energy didn''t seem to be mana, though, and Shingi, for a second, didn''t know what it was until he had an idea.


    He closed his eyes and focused on <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>, which now that it was at Master Rank, he could visualize almost anything in a matter of seconds and even interact with them, which helped with his craft. He could visualize the different parts, put them together, and see if they needed any adjustments without actually crafting them.


    He didn''t create anything quiteplicated this time, just something that looked like an egg. But it was and s big enough to fill his whole hand and some more.


    This was the shape of the energy, and he focused his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> on his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> creation, and he noticed that he was getting a simr feeling with the Seal of the unique mana.


    They weren''t entirely the same, but the two energies had more simrities than any mana.


    ''A seal created out of <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> energy? How can something like that, which isn''t supposed to interact with anything but its user, is a Seal that interacts and, more specifically, blocks mana?'' [Shingi]


    He had done some tests, but he still didn''t know what the <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> was using to power itself.


    "This is a fascinating one. You have no idea about it or why it feels like what energy is used for <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>?" [Shingi]


    Ae seemed to be confused about what Shingi just told her.


    "Energy of <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>? Do you say this strange Seal has to do with <strong>SOUL ENERGY</strong>? Then it may be harder than I thought." [Ae]


    "<strong>SOUL ENERGY</strong>? I have heard of few people saying that this was what it was using, but none seemed certain. So what is it?" [Shingi]


    Ae seemed to be embarrassed like she said something she shouldn''t.


    "<em>*sigh*</em> well, I can''t tell you much cause it isn''t something you mortals should know. But what I can tell you is that it isn''t something just anyone can use to create something like that, and everyone who can are very, very dangerous people even for mother and me." [Ae]


    Shingi didn''t expect to learn something like that, and he wasn''t nning to ask for anything more. Something that was a danger for Gods wasn''t something to treat light and could handle even if he was his past yer self.


    "Well then, do you think you can find a way now that you know this type of info to break this Seal?" [Shingi]


    Ae seemed to be reluctant to answer, but her trust in Shingi''s character seemed to be enough.


    "Well, there aren''t many people who can help and aren''t one of the ''bad'' guys. There are only four, but one has retired, one is sealed to a Realm to keep a great evil with himself, and the other two want to keep themselves hidden." [Ae]


    "Who are these people?" [Shingi]


    Ae petted her little dragon sleeping on herps all this time, which seemed to calm her a little.


    "Have you heard of the Protectors?" [Ae]


    Shingi had spent a lot of time on the mechanics of the game, but also and its History as some Quests may need that kind of knowledge.


    He knew the Protectors as Champions of Magic. Each one was an expert in a different type of magic and their source of power.


    He knew about the identity of the three of them.


    The first one he had heard about seemed to use his magic as a usual Mage, but he was the one behind the creation of many Spells and the teacher of many create Arcane practitioners, among them the one with the highest INT recorded ever. His name seemed to be Angin but hasn''t appeared for quite a few decades.


    The second Protector he had heard about was using magic to create things like magic items or even constructs to help her fight for her. This was the only female Protector as far as he knew and was called Beliss. She was rumored that she be one Grandmaster craftsman and one even thought of her to maybe a Divine one and or the kingdoms wanted to have something created from her, but she didn''t seem interested in them. Now and then, she appeared and helped sometimes or caused destruction; it seemed random of what intention she would have.


    The third one he knew about was an interesting one, History wise. His magic seemed to be empowered by his own blood, but it wasn''t like he was using Blood Magic. It was rumored that his Mana Tree had all the Elements on it. None had seeded, yer or NPC, to have a Mana Tree or more than three Elements, so this was thought of as a mere rumor by most. But this wasn''t what one mostly knew him for but for his full title. He was Dormon, the Father of Dragons.


    Ae told him that Angin was the one that retired. Beliss and Dormon were the other two in the Mortal Realm, at least most of the time, but they kept their distance from the public.


    "Well, I can try to see if I can find any clues for them, but I doubt even Nalrin would be able to find them." [Ae]


    Nalrin, of course, was the dog he followed here, and it was her dog as the mana he detected was Ae''s.


    "But this will take some time to check. In the meantime, try to keep your eyes on it or find who was the one behind it. Will leave Egroeg to keep a lookout in case anything happens." [Ae]


    She poked a few times her little dragon to wake it up.


    It woke and even yawned a little as it looked around and then turned towards Ae.


    It seemed like she was able to talk with him telepathically as they were staring at each other.


    After almost an hour of just staying like that, it seemed like Ae had finally exined everything to her little pet. It used its short wings, which didn''t seem to be strong enough to allow it to fly, at least not for long. He used them and flew up a little and used its ws to start digging them into the tree and start climbing it.


    It was soon out of the visual range of Shingi, but he could still tell its location if he focused on that task.


    They said their goodbyes, and Shingi hurried to make his way back home one more using his <strong>STEALTH</strong> and <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong>bo but this time without the Blessing''s active effect as it was over some time ago.


    But even without them, he had an easy time making his way back in the town and in his room, where Annoue, fortunately, was still asleep.


    Hey next to her as usual but didn''t ''trap'' his hand.


    So, he went back to focus on his development of his Mana Tree and Mana Seeds for the rest of the night but not before checking his status, which he was always doing before he started developing his Mana Tree to keep track of his progress.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>PROFESSION</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>HP</strong>: 80/80


    <strong>SP</strong>: 40/40


    <strong>MP</strong>: 38/38


    <strong>STR</strong>: 12


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 14


    <strong>END</strong>: 16


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 3


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Earth and Light Element


    <strong>Skills</strong>: VISUALIZATION (Master Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Master Rank), MANA SENSE (Base Rank), PERCEPTION (Master Rank), STEALTH (Base Rank), IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON (Master Rank), SMITHING (Master Rank), ACCELERATION (Master Rank), MARTIAL ART (Base Rank), GLASSBLOWING (Base Rank)


    <strong>Spells</strong>: MANA HAND (Low Grade), FILTH EATER (Ungraded), MINOR ILLUSION (Ungraded), LIGHT (Ungraded), ROCK THROW (Low Grade), CAMOUFLAGE (Low Grade), INVISIBILITY(Base Grade), DOME OF SILENCE (Base Grade)


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of Beliss, Blessing of Dlog


    ================================


    As he finished reading his Status window, he noticed that something had changed. His unknown Blessing wasn''t unknown anymore, and actually, the one behind it was one he talked about just a few moments ago.


    The female Protector, Beliss.

 Chapter 48: System Quest

    Chapter 48: System Quest


    As time passed, just a couple of hours before Annoue would wake up, a notification appeared.


    ================================


    <strong>SYSTEM QUEST: BIRTHDAY GIRL</strong>


    <strong>Description</strong>: Annoue Maki''s birthday is today. It would be best if you made a special party for her.


    <strong>Reward</strong>: ????


    <strong>Comment</strong>: You are wee


    ================================


    This was something very unexpected.


    Shingi never had ever encountered or heard the term <strong>SYSTEM QUEST</strong>. Also, to get a Quest, there had to be some trigger, but this appeared out of nowhere.


    Also, he never had a Quest with ament section. It probably was unique to these <strong>SYSTEM QUESTS</strong>.


    But a quest with an unknown reward is always a special one. It meant that there were many possibilities of rewards, and depending on his approach, he will be rewarded differently.


    Even if he thought this a weird quest, he wasn''t one who didn''t like challenges like that. But he knew that he needed help cause he had no idea how to make a birthday party, especially one that would be considered a special one even for him, not just a young girl NPC.


    He wrote a message in Annoue letting her know that he was going to buy a few things and she should stay home and take a day off. He had done most of the orders, and there wasn''t anything significant left other than to finish his hourss, but he was still creating some permanent Mana Dust. If only he hadn''t cleaned all the Mana Dust in his first day at cleaning the shop as it would be perfect for that use.


    He headed outside and started looking for any of his students. They probably had a better idea of making a special party, and it wasn''t like the Quest told him to do everything alone.


    It was early in the morning, so not many people were outside, but that was for NPC as the yer''s schedule was different, so there were quite a few ones in the streets.


    He headed towards the Inn that he knew they were staying, and he found one of them outside the Inn talking with a yer.


    Or, more specifically, Hineko seemed to be flirting with a female yer who seemed to ignore him while walking away. But Hineko was following her and keep trying.


    Shingi decided to let him be for now as he most likely would return when he understood that she wasn''t interested in him. Shingi headed into the Inn and saw sitting at one of the tables Mizuneko eating breakfast.


    He joined at his table, which seemed to surprise him as he wasn''t expecting to see Shingi that soon.


    "Good morning. Is everything ok? Or are you here for the training you were talking about?" [Mizuneko]


    Shing told him that would help him be an Ice Mage, but he still needed to make some preparations for it.


    "It isn''t the time yet. But it may be sooner than I thought. But I am here because I need your help." [Shingi]


    Mizuneko was surprised by this request. Thest time he was asked for help was to help face those Guild yers that seemed to want to capture him or something the other week.


    "Well, you remember my sister from the other day. Right? It is her birthday today, and I need to make something special for it." [Shingi]


    "Oh, I see." [Mizuneko]


    Mizuneko understood somehow how he felt since he was too a brother and knew how important are birthdays. But he didn''t know that Shingi was mostly doing it cause of the Quest since he didn''t mention it.


    "Well, I would be d to help you, but I think Phoenix or Tycoon would be more suited for this. As being girls themselves, they probably will know best how to organize a good party for her." [Mizuneko]


    Mizuneko sent a message to them to meet him in the Inn, and it didn''t take them long for all, even a beaten Hineko, to gather at the Inn.


    Shingi exined the situation to them, and Pheonix, who this time was the not shy sister, was excited to help.


    "We need a good ce for the party to happen. What about your house or the shop?" [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi gave it some thought.


    "Well, I told her that she could have the day off so she won''t go to the shop, so I guess we could do it there. There is some space." [Shingi]


    They went more on the details, and Shingi even gave them a few coins to spend on what was needed and even gave them the key to the shop.


    He went back to his house to keep Annoue busy and bring her to the shop in a few hours.


    He found her in the kitchen as she seemed to y with some wooden ball with her fingers. She appeared to be quite bored for some reason.


    "Hey, sis. What are you doing there?" [Shingi]


    She didn''t seem to change when noticing that Shingi was here but responded nheless.


    "I am just a little bored today. I don''t think I can train today." [Annoue]


    "I see. That is a shame cause I thought you would be interested to learn your first Spell. But I guess we can do it some other day if you don''t feel to do it today." [Shingi]


    At that point, Annoue''s usual excitement was once again on her face.


    "<em><strong>A SPELL?</strong></em> What is it? Is it your helpers'' hands, or is it like the cleaning one?" [Annoue]


    <strong>MANA HAND</strong> and <strong>FILTH EATER</strong> were the two Spells Annoue had seen Shingi using mostly, so she thought she would most likely learn one like that too.


    "Nothing like that. It is a basic one that is going to use your Mana Element." [Shingi]


    They headed outside and at the back of the house. It was an open space, and it wasn''t a ce that people were usually passing through so they could use it for some training.


    What he was going to teach her was her Elemental version of <strong>MANA Bolt</strong>. It would be the <strong>AIR BOLT</strong> since she had Air Element Mana Pool.


    It was quite simr to how the <strong>AIR SLASH</strong> was working, or more specifically, it was even easier than that. She had to gather the Air Mana in a sphere at her hand and then pushed it forward, but this time had to keep it as a sphere, unlike with the <strong>AIR SLASH</strong>.


    This didn''t mean she could use it right away, as she had to learn how to aim appropriately. She had to find the bnce of how much mana she needed to use between making the bolt and how much to push it. Too much in the bolt could make it explode; too little it would have no effect when it hit the target. Also, for the speed, if she used too much, the bolt could mess with her aim, and too little it would make it to be easy to be avoided.


    This time he didn''t use his Blessing for this training because it was still in cooldown for the day. But he gave tips as he also showed her how his <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> worked. It may have been a different Element, but the basics were simr for this Spell.


    "Brother. Can I ask you something? Why is your Spell called <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> and not <strong>EARTH BOLT</strong>?" [Annoue]


    Shingi thought about it, and even he wasn''t sure why it was the case. The Spell didn''t seem to be any different from what <strong>EARTH BOLT</strong> would be and not even a different Grade than it or being any weaker.


    He thought in the past that he hadn''t heard some of his Spells, but he didn''t know every Spell existed.


    ''<em>Could it be a different Spell?</em>'' [Shingi]


    Creating a new Spell and recognized by the System wasn''t that easy, even a Low Grade one. Many Arcane Practitioners had spent decades of research to do something like that, and a lot of times, they weren''t sessful.


    But most people were trying to make at least new Base Grade ones.


    Even his <strong>DOME OF SILENCE</strong>, which could be a new one, even if it is a Base Grade one, wouldn''t count as a finished one yet. He understood that the Spell was most likely at the bottom of the Base Grade, but it could be increased in power with the appropriate arcane words but shouldn''t be enough to make it Master Grade one.


    He kept it in his mind and would know more when he had his ss. Now he focused on helping Annoue.


    He took a look at her status to see how things were going.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Annoue Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: Arcane de (Apprentice)


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>TITLE</strong>: First Student


    <strong>HP</strong>: 108/108


    <strong>SP</strong>: 42/42


    <strong>MP</strong>: 23/23


    <strong>STR</strong>: 15


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 11


    <strong>END</strong>: 12


    <strong>INT</strong>: 12


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Air Element


    <strong>Skills</strong>: COOKING (Base Rank), LIFT (Master Rank), PUSH (Master Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Base Rank), MANA SENSE (Base Rank), AIR SLASH (Base Rank), DEFLECT (Low Rank), MARTIAL ART (Low Rank), COMBAT INSIGHT (Low Rank)


    <strong>Spells</strong>: AIR BOLT (Low Grade)


    ================================


    The System recognized the Spell since she could cast it; she just had to make it more manageable.


    Also, it seems the time with Karemon worked as they raised her <strong>COOKING</strong> skill to Base Grade.


    Also, her <strong>AGI</strong> increased once more, which could have happened because of Karemon''s training. He taught her how to use the knife, and her moves seemed clumsy at the start but got adjustedter.


    Unfortunately, during the week, neither <strong>DEFLECT</strong>, <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong>, or <strong>COMBAT INSIGHT</strong> Ranked Up to Base Rank, but Annoue told him that she could feel that they were close to doing so, especially <strong>COMBAT INSIGHT</strong>.


    Shingi made a few rocks and held them with his camouged Light <strong>MANA HAND</strong>, which was close to invisible if one wasn''t paying attention, to create targets for Annoue. Since his <strong>MANA HAND</strong> could hover, he moved around at different speeds to give some challenge while trained at his Spells.


    She was slowly adjusting to it, but it was way slower than her usual training. She seemed to be a quick learner and was sometimes limited because of her stats, but that wasn''t the case now.


    ''<em>Could it be because this isn''t something an Arcane de is using?</em>'' [Shingi]


    Up until now, everything he trained her only on things that one with the Arcane de user would do, and she was learning them in record time even if her stats were low. She finished her first Enchantment training with an <strong>INT</strong> of 10 in less than a week, which should have taken her a few weeks, and that if she had <strong>INT</strong> of 12.


    She had ess to training for one hour under Shingi''s Blessing''s effect, but she trained with just her stats most of the time. It almost seemed like she had these skills known from the beginning.


    But now that she was training at a Low-Grade Spell, it was like any other person, but she had the advantage of having a tutor like Shingi, so it still sped up the progress.


    After a few hours of training with a few breaks to recharge mana, she seemed to have gotten the handle of it. Of course, she had been ready some time ago, but Shingi wanted firstly to dy so that the preparations to have finished and secondly since she was learning a Spell to know it at the best of its abilities.


    There was no way he would leave something half-finished if he could finish it today.


    So Shingi told her that they had to head over to the shop as he had to pick up something he forgot and needed her help to carry it, which of course, she was more than happy to help. It wasn''t a secret that she had more STR than her little brother.


    And so they made their way to the special surprise party.

 Chapter 49: The Special Party

    Chapter 49: The Special Party


    Shingi and Annoue went their way towards the shop while Shingi kept his sense up for any Wolfhead Guild yers. He understood that they seem to watch him since thest meeting with Fire Whip, so he kept his eyes open for them. He didn''t like to be under watch, but he couldn''t do something for now.


    They made their way to the shop, and Shingi''s senses told him that the four students of his were inside and waiting. So preparations should have finished, and they waited for them.


    At that point, Shingi thought something he had seen on TV in the real world but never understood why one was doing it.


    "Annoue, could you close your eyes."[Shingi]


    Annoue seemed confused with the suggestion of her brother.


    "What? Why?!?" [Annoue]


    "Just do it. Trust me." [Shingi]


    She did it even if she thought it weird, but she liked the idea of her brother helping her walk as he felt holding her hand to lead the way inside.


    They went in, and Shingi made her stop a little distance from the entrance and let go.


    A few seconds passed without Shingi saying anything to her, so she got worried, but then she heard his voice.


    "Open your eyes now." [Shingi]


    She did, and what she saw was somethingpletely unexpected.


    In front of her, the four individuals that helped them a few days ago against those annoying people. They were holding a banner which had written on it with big letters <em>HAPPY BIRTHDAY</em>.


    Shingi was in the middle of them while holding a rectangr case box with both hands. It seemed to be a gift.


    Annoue didn''t know what to say. She hadn''t had a birthday party for many years and couldn''t remember thest one she had. After her brother was born, her mother was busy looking for a cure for him, while her father was busy with work or too drunk to do anything. Same with having a gift given to her.


    Shingi moved towards her with the box in his hands as she didn''t seem to walk anytime soon.


    "This is part of your gift. How about you give it a test for now?" [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed to snap out and opened the gift and saw something that she didn''t expect to have any time soon but hoped to acquire one day.


    It was an iron sword.


    It didn''t seem like a fancy one, and it was, in reality, a basic one that Shingi had given to his student money to buy for him. They had to get to another town as it didn''t have an auction house or any other cksmith Shop, but the town had a Teleportation Circle but was expensive to use but not too expensive for Shingi, at least for one trip.


    Annoue got the sword, which wasn''t too heavy for her, even if it was heavier than the wooden dagger she usually used.


    She took a few breaths and felt the sword''s de, and after a few seconds, she started making a few swings with it. It seemed like she was used to using it, but Shingi noticed quite a few improvements that she needed to work on.


    "I love this gift, brother. Thank you so much. I will use it wisely and keep it safe forever." [Annoue]


    Shingi smiled at it.


    "Well, first is meant to protect <strong><em>YOU</em></strong>, not you protect <strong><em>IT</em></strong>. Also, as I said, this is part of your gift. I have to ask you to give it to me to finish it to the final gift of yours." [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed to blush a little cause of her words as she reluctantly gave the sword to Shingi.


    Shingi had already cast a <strong>MANA HAND</strong> to the mana blower main panel to feed the forge''s fire.


    He put his hand on Annoue, and after telling her to rx, he drew some of her mana and made a ping-pong size ball with it. He opened the ceiling door to leave any light left, but it was quitete, so there wasn''t any sunlight. But there was moonlight but not too much as it was a cloudy day and wasn''t toote. But it was enough for Shingi as he merged it with his Light Element mana and Annoue''s mana.


    He kept manipting the moonlight as a whole and not just the mana of it, and his mana kept feeding it as a ball of light appeared in front of him and increasing its size until it was as big as his head.


    The forge''s fires were hot enough now as with his <strong>MANA HAND</strong> that used to open the ceiling''s door, he used it to bring the sword on the fire but not entirely in there. He used some more of his Light Element mana to purify the sword of any impurities left in it, which weren''t too many since it was a crafted weapon by the System, but there were quite enough since it wasn''t a great quality one.


    After almost a minute, one could see something rare. Shingi was sweating, something that didn''t happen many times when he worked. He had adjusted his body at high temperatures during the past days, and the forge wasn''t even at its highest temperature it could. The sweat was cause Shingi was pushing himself to his limits, and this time not his body but his mind.


    He was using a Light Element <strong>MANA HAND</strong> to hold the sword, so he had to keep feeding it with mana cause of the damage it was getting because of the fire. But he had to do it because he wanted to pass Light Element mana to it, and it was quicker with doing it that way than using an Earth <strong>MANA HAND</strong>. It also seemed the mana was somewhat purer that way and had a more significant effect.


    He also had to keep the moonlight ball in shape, which he was able to do it using some of his Earth Element mana and made a shell around it. After bringing his <strong>GLASSBLOWING</strong> skill at Base Rank, he could use his Earth Mana to make some ss whenbining with a little Light Mana, and that special ss was what he used for the shell.


    After almost two minutes since he started his progress at purifying the sword, he pulled it out of the forge and left it on the anvil.


    He took a deep breath as he turned his attention to the moonlight ball, and after releasing it from its shell, he focused on it to change its form.


    He used his right hand, having his finger closed except his index and middle ones, and started moving his arm and drawing lines in the air.


    It seemed to be aplicated design of many shapes, and he kept repeating drawing it again and again as he slowly used the moonlight to this shape.


    It took him almost an hour of repeating the same movement again and again as the shape which had the same height as him, was finally ready.


    But it was too big to be used on the sword, so Shingi raised his hand one a high as he could and the other as low as he could and tried to make them meet each other as with that movement was shrinking his creation in front of him.


    Sweat was released by Shingi''s head in a significant amount like never before as this was the most difficult and most crucial part of his project. He had to keep the shape while focusing on decreasing its size, which took everything his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> skill had to offer, even if it was at Master Rank.


    He finished it in less than five minutes, but it felt like it took him hours to finish it.


    The final size was smaller than one would expect as it was a little bigger than his palm.


    He slowly brought it towards the anvil where the sword was residing, which was still heated up a little but not too much. He put his free hand over the de''s base but didn''t touch it and focused any remaining Light Element mana he had to feed the heat that was in the de at that part. Since the fire made by air made from his mana, it was having some mana of its own so that he could do something like that.


    After the de turned redder because it was heated up enough, Shingi brought the Enchantment Circle he had created to that position and merged it with the sword.


    Shingi felt some resistance because the fire''s mana still in the de and of the moonlight was rejecting each other, but with pure mental force, he was keeping everything in ce.


    He had a few moments that he seemed like he would pass out, but he found a way to help on it. He closed his eyes to lessen the burden of his normal senses and used his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> only.


    It proved to be better this way since what he had to keep in ce was mana, so <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> was proved more useful than his eyes.


    Then, when he thought that he was ready to pass outpletely, he felt that there wasn''t any more resistance as the merge wasplete.


    He stopped using all his Skills as he fell to the floor.


    Everyone ran towards him, seeing him fall, but he was slowly standing up.


    "I am fine. It just took a little more by me than I thought, but nothing a little break won''t fix." [Shingi]


    He hadn''t used all his mana, but he had used all the Light Element mana he had and was close even to use one of his Mana Seeds, but he didn''t have to in the end.


    "So why don''t you give it a test now? It should be morefortable to use now." [Shingi]


    Of course, he was looking towards Annoue while saying that, who didn''t know what to say. She understood now that he did all that for her, and he pushed himself more than usual, which she didn''t like one bit. She knew that her brother wasn''t going to stop do things like that. She had noticed how she didn''t have his arm ''trapped'' when she woke up, so she was sure that he got free somehow but didn''t say anything about it.


    She picked up the sword, which wasn''t heated up now, and gave it some more swings.


    There were some improvements at her moves, and they seemed to have little more speed and force on them, and the bnce between them to have improved. It seemed like a great de can improve one''s skills, but even the most exceptional item can''t be used the same by everyone.


    "Since I made the enchantment by using some of your mana too so will be more beneficial when used by you. I used some of your mana for the most crucial parts of it, so it will also be harder for anyone else to use it. Your Mana Weapon Skills like AIR SLASH will be much easier to use with this as you can store some of your mana in it to useter for them. There are many other interesting things, but we going to take a look at them some other time." [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed amazed by it, but Shingi didn''t seem to have finished with what he wanted to say.


    "There is one more thing, but I will need some of your blood for this." [Shingi]


    The yers seemed surprised by what he just said. Something that uses someone''s blood seemed to be of some evil source to them or part of a weird ritual and such.


    But Annoue didn''t give it much thought, as she cut one of her fingers a little and brought it in front of Shingi.


    He got some of the blood as he asked the sword and Annoue to sit down in front of him.


    He put some of the blood over the sword''s enchantment, which looked like it was carved on it now. He then used some more blood to draw something on Annoue''s backside of her neck.


    It was a circle and had a weird rune on it in a strangenguage that didn''t look to be from the real world. It was one of the few magical runes that he knew and was confident he could use.


    He used some of his mana to make the blood dry by manipting its mana and fuel it. Some light appeared, and some heard a voice saying something in a strangenguage as a tattoo of the same shape reced the dry blood.


    "What was that voice?" [Mizuneko]


    Shingi, Mizuneko, Little Phoenix, and Annoue were the only ones who heard the voice cause it could be heard only by one who could use mana. When one was doing a ritual like what Shingi has done, they would hear this voice, and it was rumored that it was the Goddess of Magic herself giving her blessing.


    But Shingi knew that it was some of the Angels of the Goddess and not her. He learned that at one of his talks with Ae. She had told him a few of the other Gods'' ''secrets'' during the Quest they had over the years.


    After exining that, he turned towards Annoue.


    "Try to focus some of your mana at what I drew at your neck while holding your sword." [Shingi]


    She did that, and then her sword disappeared.


    "What happened? Where did it go?!?" [Annoue]


    "Focus some more mana on the same ce, and it will be summoned at a free hand of yours. You can focus your mana on the left side more if you want it at your left hand or on the right for your right hand. Otherwise will be random if both your hand are free." [Shingi]


    She focused, and the sword appeared once more held by her right hand.


    She kept looking at the de and having her other hand on the backside of her neck to feel her tattoo, but it was pretty much a part of her body, and she didn''t feel any pain when she got it.


    At that point, a notification appeared letting him know that his Quest waspleted and was sessful, and when he checked the Reward, he saw something unexpected.

 Chapter 50: Unexpected rewards

    Chapter 50: Unexpected rewards


    ================================


    <strong>SYSTEM QUEST COMPLETED: BIRTHDAY GIRL</strong>


    The system is deciding a possible reward.


    CALCULATING. . .


    REWARD DECIDED


    <strong>Reward</strong>: Angel''s Boon


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>BLESSING EARNED: Angel''s Boon</strong>


    <strong>Passive</strong>: When a blood rtive of yours is within two meters of you duringbat, you gain an <strong>HP</strong> or <strong>MP</strong> or <strong>SP</strong> regeneration depending on their stats. Each person can give you only one kind of regeneration. If multiple people are within range, the regenerations of the same stat are stacked.


    <strong>Active</strong>: 1/day, you can use the Blessing''s energy if the passive is enabled to fully restore your <strong>HP</strong>, <strong>MP</strong>, or <strong>SP</strong> depending on what regeneration(s) you have by the passive effect. After that, the Blessing is in cooldown for a month, during which the passive effect and active effects aren''t essible.


    ================================


    Shingi just stayed there staring at the two notifications making sure what he read was entirely urate with what he understood it to be.


    He had to do a test to see the results.


    "Hey Tycoon, can you attack me once?" [Shingi]


    Everyone looked at him, confused about what he just told them.


    "A... attack you? WHY?!?"[Tycoon]


    He has restored some of his <strong>SP</strong> enough to stand up and avoid a few attacks. He told Annoue to stay close to be within range but didn''t exin why.


    Even if she was confused about the request, Tycoon went for it since she knew that she could control herself, and they had a few health regen potions just in case.


    The fight didn''tst long, just a few swings from Tycoon, and Shingi was able to avoid them all, even in his current state. He wasn''t as tired as after his battle that he used his Breaking-Limit state, so his speed against the slow Tycoon who didn''t use <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> was more than enough.


    After the first swing, Shingi felt this strange power enveloping his body, and after a few seconds, he understood that it was his <strong>SP</strong> that was getting restored cause of the Passive effect of his new Blessing.


    It was more than what he was spending during the battle, and he used his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> to test, and the regeneration seemed to be of a little less from that.


    This meant that he could use his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> more time while he was within two meters of Annoue.


    He took a break of a few minutes and asked for another short battle like that. This time he didn''t get an <strong>SP</strong> but an <strong>HP</strong> regeneration.


    He stopped and started more battels, and it seemed like each time, he either had an HP or SP regeneration, but he never got an MP one. He noticed that the HP one seemed to be more effective than the SP one.


    ''Could it be because her STR is her highest main stat?'' [Shingi]


    <strong>STR</strong> is a physical stat, so it made sense that it would affect those two. He thought that if her <strong>AGI</strong> were her highest stat would probably affect them, and <strong>SP</strong> would most likely be more significant than HP. <strong>END</strong> would most likely be bnced for both, and INT would give him MP regeneration.


    He had heard of simr Blessings, although most worked differently, he was confident that this was the case of how it worked.


    If his passive effect could be triggered by anyone being within range, he could have ess to all the regenerations, but since the person had to be a blood rtive, only two people fit that role.


    These were Garry and Annoue.


    But even the active effect can be beneficial and life-saving as it was a full refill of his <strong>SP</strong> or <strong>HP</strong>. But the one-month cooldown meant that he had to use it carefully.


    They spend the rest of the day having some food that the others bought and rxing and sharing some stories. Especially Hineko was telling about some of the Quests he hadpleted, but Shingi could tell that most that he said were a lie, but it worked to keep the party up.


    Annoue seemed to have a great time and was hugging her sword, almost cutting herself a few times. Shingi covered it with a ss sheath he created with his mana as he would tomorrow make a real one.


    After he rxed enough, he secretly started producing some of the Earth Mana dust as he wasn''t far from the needed amount.


    He made it in an open pouch not too far from the forge and was storing all the special dust there. After a while, he used his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> to check the progress, and he noticed his Skill to feel somewhat different.


    Before, he was sending his mana out like sonar, and it was repelled by other mana, and depending on the element of mana, it would return at different speed giving him the info he needed.


    But this time, it wasn''t anything like that.


    Instead, when he activated the Skill, his mana enveloped his eyes, and he was able to see what previously his brain was creating when using the Skill.


    Looking around, he could see everything that had some mana surrounded in the corresponding color, depending on its element.


    His Skill was quicker than ever, and he could see everything clearly. Before, there was a dy cause of the time the mana he used had to travel ande back, but this time it seemed like everything was happening instant. Before, things were a little blurry, especially if a source had a different type of mana. One example was the barrel of water he had next to the anvil.


    It contained some Water-element mana and some Earth-element mana in its wooden surface and some Fire-element mana for sometime after he cooled down something from the forge. But the Earth-element mana was almost none and the same with the Fire-element Mana, and he couldn''t notice them unless entirely focusing on it with his Skill.


    But now he could see the Earth-element mana clearly as the Water-element mana but couldn''t see any Fire-element mana since he didn''t cool down anything there today.


    He also noticed something strange that he hadn''t seen before.


    There was an aura around Little Phoenix, but it was different than the usual aura that the rest of the yers had. It seemed to be over her yer aura and had this reddish color but not the same as Fire-element mana, just somewhat darker.


    It didn''t seem to be anything mana-rted as he checked her status and didn''t have anything Fire Based rted, but he noticed something he hadn''t before.


    She seemed to have a Blessing, which wasn''t therest time he checked.


    The Blessing was called Boon of the Strength, and even if Shingi couldn''t see its description but just its name, he knew its effect.


    It allowed her to push, carry, or lift items that she usually wouldn''t be able to do with her current STR. But this one didn''t help inbat, so not many yers find it useful.


    But this Blessing wasn''t something anyone could get and especially a mage.


    To get this Blessing, one had to follow a unique physical training even harder than what Shingi was doing during the other week.


    But there was another way as there were some special cases of few people that started with this Blessing. But those were people who were having significant control of their body and strength in real life, and most were martial artists or something simr.


    He wasn''t certain as he didn''t know much about her in the real world other than the short story he heard the other day, but the confident sister seemed to be one with many activities, so it wouldn''t be strange for a martial art to be one.


    The Blessing could be given even after creating the character as long as the body passed the requirements. This was why he didn''t notice it before, as this was the first time he checked Phoenix''s status while the confident sister was in control.


    After that, he opened his status and noticed that there were some changes.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>PROFESSION</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>HP</strong>: 80/80


    <strong>SP</strong>: 40/40


    <strong>MP</strong>: 23/38


    <strong>STR</strong>: 12


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 14


    <strong>END</strong>: 16


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 3


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Earth and Light Element


    <strong>Skills</strong>: VISUALIZATION (Master Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Master Rank), MANA SENSE (Semi-Master Rank), PERCEPTION (Master Rank), STEALTH (Base Rank), IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON (Master Rank), SMITHING (Master Rank), ACCELERATION (Master Rank), MARTIAL ART (Base Rank), GLASSBLOWING (Base Rank)


    <strong>Spells</strong>: MANA HAND (Low Grade), FILTH EATER (Ungraded), MINOR ILLUSION (Ungraded), LIGHT (Ungraded), ROCK THROW (Low Grade), CAMOUFLAGE (Low Grade), INVISIBILITY(Base Grade), DOME OF SILENCE (Base Grade)


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of Beliss, Blessing of Dlog, Angel''s Boon


    ================================


    Shingi''s new Blessing was added to the list as also his <strong>MANA SENSE''</strong>s Rank had changed to the unheard for him Semi-Master Rank.


    It was true that his Skill had changed in a way to be considered a different Skill, which was unheard of when changing Rank, but still not be regarded as a full Master Rank made him think what it would be like then.


    He was happy about that development as his senses were quite crucial at his arsenal, and an improvement like that was more than wee.


    He looked around a little more to test his Skill and be more familiar with it as he continued his word creating the special dust.


    Annoue mentioned how she had a ss of her own during the storytelling, even if it wasn''t aplete ss still.


    Everyone seemed impressed by that as they had heard stories of how difficult it was for an NPC to get a ss.


    "Does that mean you gonna join us at our next Dungeon exploration, Lady Annoue?" [Hineko]


    Annoue seemed to blush a little from how he addressed her, but she turned towards the person who was able to give this answer. Her little brother.


    Shingi felt some annoyance against Hineko from the way he addressed Annoue, and one would swear for a moment that there was a murderous look on his eyes for a second, but it disappeared as fast as it appeared.


    "Well, you have a weapon, and you are capable of using it, so some monster hunting may help you getting some fighting experience. Also, the Slimes are a perfect training target, so they may help speed up to earn your ss." [Shingi]


    Annoue seemed excited about that, but Shingi said they had to wait for a few days as there were a few preparations he had to make. He told them that they could go by themselves in the Dungeon without Annoue as he wanted to be there with her just in case.


    So the party came at the end after some time, and they headed towards their house and inn''s room ordingly. Before they each went their way, though, Shingi said to Phoenix and Mizuneko the different way his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> was working to possibly her them leveling up theirs faster.


    Phoenix didn''t find it interesting, so Shingi said to Mizuneko to exin it to the other Phoenix''s ''personality'' when he next got in touch with her.


    Shingi kept his new <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> active during the whole walk towards their house and noticed quite a few things.


    There was some mana, which he recognized as the Special Mana of the Blue moon, in a few ces in the town. Also, he recognized a different type of mana by the description from a few of his Arcane Practioner friends.


    It was almostpleted dark but had some red and yellow in it.


    This was the Mana of a Half-Demon.


    It was said that all Half-Demons had a separate Mana Pool that wasn''t part of their Mana Tree if they made one. This Mana Pool had a specific Type of Mana that looked like the one Shingi was currently detecting.


    This mana was more potent than normal mana and had many uses, and the most useful one, which seemed to be for what it was used in this case, was to create a type of Repellents.


    More specifically, Demon Repellents.


    But creating one wasn''t easy and would take years for one to master the way to create one, but know Shingi could detect dozen around the town, especially when getting closer to the mayor''s office.


    ''<em>It seemed Karemon had been busy over the years</em>.'' [Shingi]


    He wasn''t surprised that he could do something like that as he was friends with a yer who saved him and most likely helped him with his training. He understood that his mother seemed to be a woman of many resources, so she wasn''t just an ordinary yer.


    So Shingi and Annoue, after taking a little walk around they returned to their house to rest, but they found a surprise in the kitchen.


    There was a small box with a handle on its right side.


    Shingi knew that this was a music box, and it seemed to be a gift of a to Annoue for her birthday. She had passed, but she left a note and the gift since she didn''t find them.


    Shingi was curious about how she got in as he had the door locked, and it was still locked when they returned, but he knew that a wasn''t the usual older woman, so he didn''t put too much thought into it.


    Annoue turned the handle a few times, and a melody started to y as also a voice singing a song when she let go of the handle.


    It was the same voice singing the same song he had heard that one time at his weird dream some weeks ago.


    He noticed a few seconds in that Annoue seemed to be affected form the song.


    Her eyes were filled with tears.

 Chapter 51: Finishing some projects

    Chapter 51: Finishing some projects


    Shingi waited for the song to end, and it was exactly the same as he remembered it to be. He has an idea, but he had to be sure.


    "Do you know that song and voice, Annoue?" [Shingi]


    Annoue started clearing tears from her eyes. She took some time to clear her mind of her sadness.


    "This was mother''s voice. She used to sing this song to make me sleep." [Annoue]


    Shingi expected that answer, but he was curious about how the mayor came to own something like that. He examined the box and noticed that some parts seemed to be old, but most were new. It seemed like someone repaired it, and it was damaged quite a lot as most of it seemed to have new parts.


    The music box wasn''t something expensive to make, but not a lot knew how to create it. The blueprint was something that Gnomes had created and kept it to themselves the techniques needed to create one.


    He put the box away in his Spatial Ring as Annoue seemed sad while watching it, and he brought her to bed to sleep for the night. After making sure she was calm and asleep, he started meditating and restoring all his mana.


    When he had his mana fully restored, he enabled his <strong>STEALTH</strong> and <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong>bo and started his way out to the tree hideout.


    With his new MANA SENSE, he was able to detect people more effortlessly. Before, he wasn''t taking any feedback from MANA SENSE by normal NPCs, but now it seemed like he was taking something white aura from them.


    He made his way much morefortable and faster than ever and was at the hideout in less than an hour.


    He looked around and detected the young Dragon in one of the branches and looked around, but it didn''t seem to have noticed him.


    When he got close enough, he started focusing his new <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> over the Seal of the mysterious energy under the tree. He tried to see if he could notice something more now, but even if he seemed to notice more details didn''t notice anything new. But that was at the start as, after a few more tries, he saw something weird.


    It seemed now and then, a thin line of the Seal''s energy was created and piercing the ground under it but not actually opening space in the ground.


    After focusing on it, he understood that this was happening every five minutes. Also, this thin line seemed to be energy being shot in that direction at that speed as he only saw a thin line at the start of the energy leaving.


    He wasn''t sure where that energy went, but he could guess the reason for it. It was most likely sending a report of the Seal state, which was curious of how quick one was following the other. It seemed like if he wanted to do something, his time was limited before whoever took these reports knew about it.


    But even so, he didn''t have a way to deal with the Seal yet.


    He did some more tests, but nothing seemed to work, so he went his way back but not at his house but the shop.


    He wasn''t too far from finishing creating as much Earth mana Dust he needed, so he wanted to finish it that night. He also wanted to make a sheath for Annoue''s sword, even if she most likely would have it in her Spatial space most of the time.


    The sheath could also be used for a few moves or Weapon Skills he knew, and since she had to learn a few more for getting her ss, anything could help.


    The sheath wouldn''t be as impressive as the sword but wouldn''t be a normal one either.


    But first, he entirely focused on creating Earth Mana Dust while purifying some iron that would use for the sheath. Most people had the sheath from leather, but for the Skills he had in mind, it needed to be in something more solid.


    He finished creating the needed Mana Dust after a few hours, and he put it at the finished Enchantment Hourss he hadpleted some days ago.


    After filling it with dust, a little less than half of the body was filled with the unique Mana Dust. He kept it horizontally so that no dust would be at the bases. He focused his mana on it and started focusing on moving the dust to fill two shapes from each base. The shapes were the third one and the fourth one.


    After filling them with dust, he focused more mana on the used dust and tried to push with it. This lead to his mana passing through the dust and making it to the other side, which had carved the same symbols in the same order. As the mana passed the thinyer of the base and reached the other side and pushed them enough to be just a little outside of the bases, he pulled down the hourss while at the same time he pped the four enchantment symbols he had created.


    He had surrounded his hand with some mana and made the symbols stuck on his hand without losing their shape while they were getting feed by his mana. He also was able to move them, and he brought the two rectangles next to each other and then put the triangles over them and looked like two houses next to each other.


    After that, he pulled the one over the other and started merging them. This way, the enchantment effect would be more potent than usual but not precisely twice as strong.


    He then kept focusing on keeping this Enchantment in shape while, with his free hand and <strong>MANA HANDS</strong>, started working on the sheath.


    One usually would first create what he wanted to enchant and then make the Enchantment, but this was a good exercise, and it wasn''t that strainful for Shingi.


    He could finish the sheath and p the Enchantment Circle the same way he did for the sword. Even if he didn''t have the sword cause of his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>, he was confident that he had the right measurements.


    The Enchantment he created was to strengthen the durability of the sheath. It didn''t make it indestructible, but it would still handle more hits than a normal one.


    Since he didn''t have any more personal projects in mind to work on, he decided to finish any orders left and deliver them tomorrow to have the rest of the day free.


    It didn''t take him too long, and he returned to his room a few hours before Annoue woke up.


    When both were up, he showed her the Enchantment Hourss and exined how to use it. He told her to work today on different Enchantments using the notes he had given him the other day.


    He headed out to get and deliver the orders he made and then went to find his students. More precisely, Tycoon and Mizuneko.


    He wanted to continue with their training, and he would work with Phoenix too, but most likely, the other sister would still be in control.


    He found them quite quickly, and they made their way towards the tree hideout, which Shingi considered an excellent ce to train.


    "So what kind of training we gonna do this time?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "Well, this time, we gonna try to unlock an important Skill for your future ss and work on Ice Element creation for Mizuneko." [Shingi]


    Both seemed excited about hearing that, especially Tycoon after he mentioned the possibility of earning a different ss and not just some Skills.


    Before he started exining what they had to do, he turned towards the Hollow Tree branches and spoke.


    "Do you mind helping us? I am sure your owner will appreciate it." [Shingi]


    After a few seconds of silence, a small head appeared between some of the branches and leaves.


    This was, of course, Egroeg the young Dragon.


    It looked towards Shingi''s direction like trying to read him with his eyes. After a minute or two, it jumped and used his small wings to glide andnd in front of him. This surprised the rest and was ready to attack the little ''monster'', but Shingi told them it was here to help.


    He wasn''t too big, maybe a cat''s size, which was rtively small for a dragon, even a baby one. But even if it was that young, it seemed to be intelligent enough to understand what Shingi was telling him as long he kept it simple.


    He tried to exin his n, and it was quite simple.


    He noticed that he had mana simr to Ae, who had a particr mana type called Storm Mana. It was abination of Air, Water, Earth, and Fire Mana, which a mortal wasn''t able to create. People thought it nearly impossible to develop Dual Element Mana Pools, so one wouldn''t even consider making a four Element one.


    He wasn''t sure why it was the case, but he had never seen a Dragon like Egroeg.


    He told Egroeg to st some air mana towards Mizuneko. It wasn''t shaped enough to cause damage or affect Mizuneko. Mizuneko had to try to manipte as much as this mana sted towards him and shape a mana ball with it in front of him.


    But since this mana was part of someone else, it had more fight in it than the one found in the environment. Also, since it was a dragon''s mana, it would increase the difficulty even more, even if it was a baby one.


    That way, he would increase his proficiency in manipting Air Element Mana and making it easier to make his Mana Pool be partly Air Element. He was confident that thebination of Water and Air Element would result in the Ice Element.


    He moved his focus over to Tycoon''s training then.


    He had her remove all her armor, wearing only her regr clothes and just having her axe as part of her equipment.


    Then Shingi activated his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> and <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> skill at the top of their abilities and started hitting her but only using his index and middle finger and each time at a different position.


    It wasn''t doing any damage but caused some inconvenience at her movements. She couldn''t keep up with Shingi''s actions, and she was restricted from using the <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill too.


    Shingi wasn''t using the <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill all the time, as he wanted the battle tost for some time, and he also had drunk an <strong>SP</strong> <strong>REGENERATION </strong>potion to make him fight for more time.


    The battle continued, and since no damage was dealt at either side, it didn''t seem like there would be any winner. But as time passed, Tycoon was bing impatient and somewhat angry.


    Shingi seemed to make the same actions repeatedly, but she didn''t seem to be able to avoid them all the time, but even when she did, he countered right away.


    As time passed, her movements became somewhat more reckless, and at this point, Shingi, who was silent during all this time, spoke.


    "Do you really think those weak moves of yours can protect someone? Even Phoenix could do better." [Shingi]


    This seemed to be enough to break any restrictions she had, and she just started attacking without thinking much of how to attack but only on the strength of the attack.


    Her attack speed was decreased, but the power of her attacks was increased to another level. Some aura of red energy surrounded her eyes, making them like they were full red, and everything turned red for her.


    At that point, Shingi finished casting his <strong>DOME OF SILENCE</strong> that he had slowly working on during the battle and kept Annoue and him in there.


    After a few seconds, the Dome disappeared and in the middle of it was Shingi standing and in front of him, Tycoon being unconscious to the ground.


    He checked her status and smiled, seeing a new Skill of hers.


    She was now able to use the <strong>RAGE</strong> skill.

 Chapter 52: New tricks

    Chapter 52: New tricks


    Shingi gave some <strong>HP</strong> and <strong>SP</strong> <strong>REGENERATION </strong>potion to Wild Tycoon to help her wake up as he didn''t bring her <strong>HP</strong> to 0. He had kept hitting some of her pressure points with his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> skill and kept some mana at those spots. This way, when they were in the <strong>DOME OF SILENCE</strong>, he knew where those spots were and were able to hit them all at the same time, bringing her to an unconscious state.


    This move was typically a Master Rank move of the <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> Skill, but with that much preparation and against a Warrior with no armor, it was easy to use to an extend.


    Tycoon was back awake soon enough, and after Shingi exining what happened and seeing her new Skill, she was happy enough to forget the beating she just had given to her.


    The <strong>RAGE</strong> Skill was an improvement at her damage output, and even if it was reducing her attack speed, she had a way to solve it already.


    The <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill she learned from Shingi.


    This was one of the reasons she told her how to unlock the Skill andbining it with <strong>RAGE</strong> was a mustbination.


    "Well, now you have to get used to that Skill. Keep in mind the more you use it without breaks, the more <strong>SP</strong> it is going to consume, so try to get used to it and raise it to lessen the burden." [Shingi]


    He didn''t n to fight with her as she didn''t need it to get adjusted, but he used a <strong>MANA HAND</strong> to help fight the same way as he did with Annoue. At this point, he could have one <strong>MANA HAND</strong> and program it to make certain moves at certain times, making it close to look like acting on its own. He could stillmand it and control it manually, but it was following its ''programming'' if he didn''t.


    Now he focused on something he hadn''t done for a while now.


    Learning a new Spell.


    He gave it a thought, and he was confident the more Spells he had, the better the ss he could take by the crystal. But he wasn''t nning to learn just any spell but only ones useful to him.


    And he had one in his mind.


    He started with something he had done many times and got used to it, surrounding his body with Light Mana. This time he didn''t use it to manipte the light around him or to merge it with his body but to envelope him and make a shell at his rough shape.


    As more mana was used, he started glowing a little but not too much for the moment. After a few seconds, there was a visible shell that had entirely enveloped him, and it was making him look shiny.


    He kept focusing on keeping the shape as he started making some steps back while keeping it still.


    So there was a somewhat transparent shiny-shaped Shingi shell right in front of him. He focused on fixing some of the details of its body anatomy that he created by his movement.


    When he finished with that, he focused on its left hand as he raised his left hand. He tried to make the shape to mimic that move, but even if its hand moved a little, it was just a few centimeters and not the entire movement he wanted it to do.


    He kept repeating it, and when he was able to make one move, he started another and so on.


    He had to keep feeding the shape with some mana to keep it active, so he wasn''t going to be able to train on it for a long time without a break to recharge.


    He continued on that, and every five or so minutes, he had to take a break to recharge his mana. Even if his <strong>INT</strong> was high and his Mana Tres was developing quite good there were limits that he couldn''t pass since he wasn''t a Mage or had a ss of that path. If he had, his <strong>MP</strong> consumption would be lower for some of his Spells, as also he would possibly have double the <strong>MP</strong> he currently had.


    He was confident that if Annoue finished her training and had earned her full ss, she would have more MP than him even if he had more <strong>INT</strong> than her. But if both of them have their ss, even if they had the same <strong>INT</strong>, he would have more <strong>MP</strong> since he most likely would have a full Mage ss and not a partial one like Annoue.


    After three hours, hemanded the shape to make simple moves and move around in a rtively natural way.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>MANA DOUBLE - LIGHT ELEMENT</strong> (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    After the System''s notification, he felt like a Seal broke, and his control over his <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> became a little better, and he didn''t have to feed it with mana, at least not continuously. He also was now to create the <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> without making mana surrounding his body but just using enough mana, and it would get shaped in front of him.


    He dispelled this <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong>, and he started making another one but this time with Eath-Element mana instead of Light-Element. Since the Spell he learned was of specific Light-Element, he had to follow the same training to form the shape.


    This time it didn''t take him too long as there were some simrities between the two spells, and after two more hours, another notification appeared.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>MANA DOUBLE - EARTH ELEMENT</strong> (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    He took a little break to recharge some of his Earth-Element mana and checked how the rest were doing their training.


    Both seemed to be tired and ready to pass out.


    Tycoon was cause she kept using her <strong>RAGE</strong> skill and swinging her heavy axe.


    At the same time, Mizuneko, even if the Air sted on him, wasn''t meant to damage him; the repeated use of it was affecting him. The little Dragon didn''t have perfect control over his mana and sometimes even st Mizuneko back but didn''t deal any fatal damage.


    But both of them made some progress as Tycoon''s <strong>RAGE</strong> Skill level was 16, meaning it had reached the Base Rank, while Mizuneko seemed to had been able to stop almost a third of the air mana sted on him.


    After he had a few minutes of breathing time himself, Shingi cast both his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> in front of him, one next to the other.


    They looked like twin brothers, but one was so transparent and white-yellow while the other was mostly brown, and its details were rougher. Hemanded them both at the same time to do the same movements as he wanted to test what was better for what.


    As expected, the Light <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> was faster while the Earth one was stronger and had more defense, but neither seemed to be battle-ready yet. But he didn''t n to use them in battle but as helpers at the shop when he crafted things.


    His <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> were quite useful, but with a <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong>, he could do more precise work as it was a Base Grade spell. Even if they were using more mana to cast it in the long run of the hours he was spending on the forge, he would probably use less mana at his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> for the same work that he would do with his <strong>MANA HANDS</strong>.


    He tried to do the same thing he did with his <strong>MANA HAND</strong> to program them to do certain things, but it didn''t seem to work. He probably would be able to learn itter as with <strong>MANA HAND</strong> as long as he got more familiar with it.


    After some more testing with his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong>, he decided to call it a day for now, and after checking his students and his little Dragon friend, he returned to the house.


    To his surprise, Karemon was again there but no sign of a. As for Annoue, she was at her room training.


    When Karemon noticed Shingi, he weed him home and started chit-chatting while he was cooking something.


    Karemon, this time was at his human form, and he seemed quite rxed, especially after seeing that Shingi didn''t have any problems with him after seeing his authentic look.


    "You know it came to my knowledge that you had made some preparations in case the not so friendly rtives of yours visit. Do you expect some?" [Shinig]


    Karemon was surprised hearing that as he knew that not just anyone would be able to detect his repellents, but how could he know that Shingi wasn''t just anyone.


    "I had spent some time with a few adventurers, and they have helped me with a few things." [Shingi]


    Of course, one would assume that would mean that these adventurers helped him find these repellents. But Shingi was master of keeping a lie between the truth to serve his purpose for the time.


    "Well, I have some weird dreamstely. Every time this happened, it had to do something with some demons. In the past, Angel''s Feather was here to help, but since this isn''t the case and no powerful Blessed one is around, I made some preparations just in case." [Karemon]


    Shingi didn''t like hearing that since demons'' attack wasn''t a good thing, especially now. He had many ns to finish or start, and dealing with possible Demon''s attack was the least he needed now.


    But for now, he could sit and hope it was nothing, which he doubted cause he knew the System wouldn''t throw this kind of warnings if it were nothing.


    Karemon finished his cooking, and after had some himself, he said his goodbyes. He had even prepared some of the usual vegetable soup for dinner.


    Shingi went to get Annoue to eat together, and she told him about her progress.


    She now was able to use four Enchantments, but only two of them she had utterly master. All four of them were using just two different shapes, so they were of Low Grade, but her progress was quite good.


    If she learned 20 Low Graded Enchantments, it would be enough for her ss to rise to Base state. But if she mastered some Base Grade ones, it would decrease that number. As for Master Grade one, she needed only one to earn her ss fully.


    A Low-Grade Enchantment was using at most three of the shapes and some rare cases of using four. Base Grade ones were using 4-8 shapes while Master was up to 15.


    No Enchantment was seen having more than 15 shapes or even had rumored of existing or created even by the Gods themselves. But this didn''t seem the Gods weren''t able to do it, but they probably kept it a secret if they were.


    The one he used for the sword had seven shapes, so it was close to the limits of a Base Graded one, while the one he used at the sheath since he merged them; was considered as a Low Graded one but had the power of a Base Grade one. At that point, he didn''t need tobine them as notbining them may have made a more potent enchantment at the end, but a Base Grade Enchantment like that wouldn''t best long on a sheath made by simple iron.


    The sword wasn''t made of simple iron and had some minor adjustments to handle the Enchantment with no problem.


    After eating and checking her progress with the enchantments, Shingi stood up and left this time with Annoue.


    They headed towards their hideout, and when they got there before Shingi says anything, some movement happened at the branches of the Hollow Tree.


    The next thing he knew, the gliding Egroeg appeared in the air and headed towards Annoue.


    He didn''t seem to try to attack her, so he didn''t do anything as Egroeg tackled Annoue and wanted to throw her off, it seemed, but Annoue was stronger and stayed in ce.


    Annoue was surprised as she didn''t notice Egroeg gliding towards her, and after seeing him, one thing left her mouth.


    "Aaaw.How cute." [Annoue]

 Chapter 53: Annoues training and new info

    Chapter 53: Annoue''s training and new info


    Seeing the young Dragon acting like a dog happy to see his owner return was quite a weird sight for Shingi. Mainly because this was the first time Egroeg met Annoue.


    The two seemed to start ying with each other as Annoue kneeled and started patting his head while Egroeg was trying to lick her face.


    Shingi wanted to say something but wasn''t sure what until he heard a familiar voice from behind him.


    "That is a rare sight." [????]


    Shingi turned, and he turned his gaze down and saw a familiar dog. The same dog that was with Ae and had led him to her not so long ago.


    He knew his name was Nalrin and was apanion of Ae for a very long time and could transform as wasn''t a dog thest time he saw him when he was still a yer.


    "Been a while since we havest spoken, isn''t it, Dr. Nalrin?" [Shingi]


    The dog looked towards him, and Shingi could tell that he didn''t like to address him like that.


    Back in where the Gods were staying, Nalrin had a job other than being one of thepanions of Ae. He had to take care of the Pets'' health of every other God and Goddess and any of their children. But even if this sounded important, it wasn''t as every pet had part of their owners'' energy, making them impossible to get sick. That''s why he never mentioned it to anyone and didn''t like when others did either.


    "You know that my teeth can pierce quite easily your current body, right?" [Nalrin]


    Shingi smiled and nodded as he knew that he wouldn''t do it. If he continued teasing him, Nalrin may reach that point that he would attack him, but Shingi wasn''t nning to try it.


    "Howe you are here? I thought you and Ae left to research and left the little lizard behind only." [Shingi]


    "Well, Ae may trust this youngster, but I sure don''t. It hasn''t even finished his first decade of age." [Nalrin]


    It was true that Dragons were an intelligent species, but that was the case because they could live for a very long time. But even so, they had somewhat high intelligence when they were born, close to a young adult human, and maybe even more.


    The scales of Egroeg were purple, which showed that he wasn''t one of Dragon''smon species. Shingi didn''t know of any of that color, but Dragons'' info wasn''t that easy to find, especially for umon species.


    "So then why did you show up at this moment? Also, do you know why he acts like that with Annoue?" [Shingi]


    Nalrin looked at Shingi and seemed to sniff him a few times and the same towards the direction of Annoue.


    "Well, you both have this strange aura, and it seems the boy there likes it on the girl. I noticed it in you when we first found you, but I thought it was because of your soul. But now even that girl has this strange aura but not as strong as yours." [Nalrin]


    "It may have to do with our Mother." [Shingi]


    He exined and told what he knew without using any game terms and referencing his mother as a Blessed One and not a yer.


    After he finished his exnation, Nalrin seemed to start to make some sense of all of them in his brain.


    It was unheard of a Blessed One to get pregnant as they kept appearing out of nowhere and were of at least some specific age. Of course, some had a rtionship with other Blesses Ones or not, but pregnancy was something that Nalrin hadn''t heard of until this point.


    But it wasn''t like he knew everything, but he thought he would have heard of it as there were a few Gods interested in the Blessed Ones and discussing anything new they were able to do.


    Shingi left him, and his thought as himself headed toward his sister.


    "You two stop ying around; we have work to do." [Shingi]


    Annoue stood up, but in the middle of that movement, she turned her head from Shingi back to Egroeg.


    "What did you say?.... oh no, he is my little brother." [Annoue]


    She seemed to blush a little at the middle of her sentence. But what caught Shingi''s attention was that she seemed to speak to Egroeg, and he seemed to have spoken to her.


    He saw Ae speaking telepathically with Egroeg, but he thought it was cause she was his owner, but it seemed like it may have been an ability of Egroeg all along.


    "What did he ask you?" [Shingi]


    "NOTHING!... let''s start our training." [Annoue]


    Even if he found it weird of her not telling him, Shingi didn''t pay much attention to it.


    He cast his <strong>MANA DOUBLE-EARTH ELEMENT</strong> andmand it to take a defensive stance. He would be a training partner of Annoue to get more fighting experience, and Shingi would gain more proficiency on the spell. He also changed the <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong>''s face to make it look different from him to make it easier for Annoue to fight without restrictions.


    He had to keepmanding his <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> for now cause he wasn''t too used to it, but this was also the reason for the training. He had to use quite a bit of mana as the attacks damaged it and used some mana to restore it. But he could use mana of the environment and not necessarily one produced from his own Mana Pool. It was slow progress, but this way, he could hold the spell active for a longer time without emptying his own Mana Pool.


    For now, they trained on the two Weapon Skills she knew and mostly <strong>DEFLECT</strong> to bring it as Base Rank. They had worked on it during the past week, but she couldn''t reach Base Rank but seemed to be close.


    So he started making some attacks with the <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong>, firstly with its fist, and as time passed, tried to change the arms to be de-like. He couldn''t turn it to seem like it was holding a sword but turning the whole arm as one seemed to work for now.


    The <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong>''s movements were slower than Shingi''s, but its power was more significant, giving a new fighting experience for Annoue.


    As time passed, Shingi gave her some tips on new Weapon Skills to try to unlock.


    One was to keep the mana of hers surrounding the de and move in great speed and making it act like a chainsaw. Another was to use the surrounded mana used in the de to absorb the attack''s force and repel it back to its source. It worked like <strong>DEFLECT</strong> did but had an extra step of empowering the force and directing it in the same direction it came from to cause damage. The Skills were called <strong>CHAIN BLADE</strong> and <strong>REPEL</strong>.


    He decided on working on those for now as she needed 4 Weapon Skills to go to the Base State of her ss. He had more but better working slowly and improving quality than quantity.


    As usual, her progress was impressive in unlocking the skills within an hour and increasing them close to Base Rank within another hour. But to get to Base Rank and beyond seemed to take her more time.


    They didn''t train for long as they had to take a few breaks, mainly for Annoue to restore her SP and sometimes for Shingi to restore his MP.


    In the end, her status had some changes.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Annoue Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: Arcane de (Apprentice)


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>TITLE</strong>: First Student


    <strong>HP</strong>: 108/108


    <strong>SP</strong>: 42/42


    <strong>MP</strong>: 23/23


    <strong>STR</strong>: 15


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 11


    <strong>END</strong>: 12


    <strong>INT</strong>: 12


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Air Element


    <strong>Skills</strong>: COOKING (Base Rank), LIFT (Master Rank), PUSH (Master Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Base Rank), MANA SENSE (Base Rank), AIR SLASH (Base Rank), DEFLECT (Base Rank), MARTIAL ART (Low Rank), COMBAT INSIGHT (Low Rank), CHAIN BLADE (Low Rank), REPEL (Low Rank)


    <strong>Spells</strong>: AIR BOLT (Low Grade)


    ================================


    Her stats didn''t improve, but her skills Rank had. She wasn''t far from progressing more with her ss, improving her Stats when fully earned.


    During the whole training, both Egroeg and Nalrin were watching them.


    During their breaks, Egroeg ran toward Annoue to y with her, but Nalrin kept his distance and just watched them for now.


    But now that they seemed to have finished, Nalrin moved towards Shingi.


    "It seems like you are working hard as always and use peculiar ways of training." [Nalrin]


    "Some things can''t change. But I am guessing there is more you want to ask." [Shingi]


    Nalrin looked at him and then toward Annoue, ying with Egroeg, and then back at Shingi.


    "I have, but won''t for now. Maybe when you get your crystal. I am curious about the result." [Nalrin]


    "I see you are eavesdropping. Do you know anything about these crystals or why they started appearing?" [Shingi]


    "I have no idea. These dungeons and their resources aren''t part of any Gods I talk with."[Nalrin]


    "So they may be created by some of the other Gods." [Shingi]


    Nalrin didn''t respond and just walked away.


    Shingi didn''t stop him, but he was curious about the possible God''s identity behind the dungeons'' creation. If he learned that, he could understand more of their nature.


    He moved towards Annoue and told her that they should be on their way and to say goodbye to Egroeg for now. The two seemed sad to leave each other, but Annoue told Egroeg that she would keeping as this was her Secret Hideout.


    They started their way back home, and this time they went through the wall''s hole and not the Gate itself. Shingi had noticed a few yer''s who seemed to look towards him when they passed the Gate, and he was confident that they were part of that annoying Wolfhead Guild.


    They made it home without any problem, but after having dinner and heading towards the bed, Shingi noticed someone else in the house.


    More precisely, one sleeping in Garry''s room, but it wasn''t Garry.


    Shingi told Annoue to stay back and wait to call her as he was going to investigate.


    Getting in the room, he found on Garry''s bed a man currently being asleep. He was old, maybe around his fifties, but Shingi could tell that his body seemed to be well built so that he could be older than that. He was wearing regr clothes as a viger would wear but seemed different from others. They appeared to handle more cold-weathered regions, and here it was mostly cold in winter but not too much. His hair waspletely white as he had a thick beard of white color also.


    Shingi used his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, but it seemed like something was blocking it, making it seem like the man didn''t exist for his Skill.


    This troubled Shingi as his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> was almost Master Rank, so something to stop it from working had to be a rtively rare item and powerful.


    Since his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> wasn''t working, he used his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> to notice anything weird on him, but when he focused on him for a few seconds, his senses stopped working.


    He was blind, deaf, couldn''t feel anything, not even the air around him, and even his taste disappeared as he couldn''t even taste his saliva.


    He tried to make his head turn away, and after a few seconds, his SENSES were back, and he noticed a notification in front of him.


    ================================


    THE USER OF THE ENCHANTMENT HAS HIGHER <strong>CHA</strong> THAN YOU, SO THE STATS PROTECTION FAILED


    ================================

 Chapter 54: The Old Man

    Chapter 54: The Old Man


    Shingi was in a rare situation of not knowing how to progress. Both his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> and <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> were useless against this foe, and without them, he couldn''t learn the nature of him.


    yers would not be afraid in this case cause even if they died, they could respawn, but for an NPC, it would be Game Over if something like that happened.


    But Shingi wasn''t afraid. Or more precisely, he was scared but didn''t let the fear get the best of him. Even as a yer, he took everything as his life was depended on it, even if he was able to respawn.


    Even if he wasn''t sure of the nature of the man in front of him, he knew that it wasn''t here to harm him.


    Which Assassin would sleep in the job even if he has some protection against detection skills?


    He looked towards him without using his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> skill, which didn''t trigger the enchantment that made him lose his sensest time.


    He didn''t notice any symbols on his clothes or any tattoo or anything to show his background.


    So Shingi went a little closer to be just a few steps away from him and starting coughing to make him aware of his presence and wake him up.


    But after he coughed once, no sound came out of Shingi. His hearing seemed to have been disabled again, but he could still see and taste and feel things.


    He noticed the Old Man''s right arm raised, but he didn''t see when he raised it and having a closed fist except with his index finger with which he pointed towards him.


    Even without <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, active Shingi could feel mana leaving the Old Man''s finger and surrounding Shingi''s neck and ears. The power had reached a level he had never seen a human have with a simple move like that.


    He was frozen in ce but not by fear, but the Old Man also pointed his middle finger toward Shingi, and more mana came and surrounded him and kept him in ce.


    The Old Man opened his eyes and stood up, and Shingi could feel this feeling like an ancient beast has just awakened. Even when he fought the Red Dragon, he didn''t have this powerful feelinging towards him.


    The Old Man was starring at him, trying to understand something or decipher some problem.


    Shingi, even if he knew that things got terrible, he didn''t show fear in his eyes. He knew that the System wouldn''t do something without reason or wouldn''t have a solution avable for a situation like that. He just had to find it.


    The Old Man closed his index finger a little, allowing Shingi to hear, but he still couldn''t speak.


    "I must say I was expecting someone older, but it is a pleasant surprise to find two interesting individuals like that." [Old Man]


    At that moment, a sound was heard from outside of something fall and hit the floor or, more specifically, someone.


    "It seems like one had a few interesting experimentations in these past years. But I can''t tell who? Well, it is always the fun part to find out by your ways and not to be told?" [Old Man]


    Shingi couldn''t read the man cause he couldn''t use his Skill on him, but he got the vibes of a crazy researcher from him.


    At this point, Shingi noticed a change in the eyes of the Old Man that one would think was just the light making them shine for less than a second, but he knew its true nature of that Skill.


    It was the same thing that happens to his eyes when he was using his <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong> Skill.


    "Oh... you sure have interesting stats for one that young and without a ss. An INT of 16 and these many Master Rank skills, included <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>? No wonder you didn''t go permanently blind. Now I am excited to see what the girl''s stats are." [Old Man]


    Shingi noticed that he said nothing over his <strong>CHA</strong> stats, but he was aware through the System''s message that he had higher <strong>CHA</strong> than him, so he should know more about it. But he still wasn''t able to ask anything.


    The Old Man stood up and walked past him and out the room.


    Even if Shingi couldn''t see him cause he couldn''t even turn his head, he knew where he was heading. To get Annoue and see her stats.


    He had to use this time to free himself.


    Even if the mana held him in ce was stronger than him, it was like a chain, and a chain is a strong as its weakest link. He just had to find it and focused everything there.


    He activated his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, used it at its limits, and kept hitting the mana that held him in various ces to find this weak spot.


    The time was passing slower for him as he entirely focused on this task, and he found the spot in a matter of 3 seconds.


    But this didn''t mean that he freed himself as even the weakest spot was more powerful than he could imagine.


    Without a second thought, he closed his fist, which he could, since the mana held him in ce, not wholly paralyzed him. He used the active effect of Blessing of Beliss, bringing his INT to 25 and even activated at the same time his Breaking-Limit State. He felt the passive effect of his Angel''s Boon was active, meaning that he was considered being inbat and Annoue was within 2 meters.


    He used his mana to keep hitting the weak spot he found as he also activated his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> Skill and wanted to move his body like vibrating. Cause of him being fully focused and being in his Breaking-Limit state and <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> Skill, everything was slower, but with his INT, he was aware of everything, and his moves were more precise than ever.


    His body started slowly moving very slightly left and right at a breakneck speed. At first, it happened less than five times, and then was a break, but as time passed, there were more and more frequent.


    In a matter of fewer than 10 seconds, cracks started appearing around Shingi but weren''t on his body but on the mana of the Old Man, which started appearing like ss surrounding Shingi''s body and was close to breaking.


    And with a final push, Shingi left out a scream as even the mana surrounding his mouth and keeping him mute seemed to be affected and have no effect on him now.


    Without even thinking of taking a break, Shingi turned and was ready to go outside to face the Old Man. But as he turned, he saw something he didn''t expect.


    The Old Man right at the door with Annoue over his left shoulder who seemed to be unconscious.


    The Old Man looked toward him and showed his right open palm towards Shingi as more mana was released at an even more incredible speed and power than before.


    Even Shingi, at his current state, wasn''t able to avoid it as he was held in ce once more, and this time his ''chains'' were more substantial than before. But this time, he had all his sense.


    "It seems I underestimated your powers. How fascinating. You really have my attention at this point." [Old Man]


    The Old Man looked towards Shingi like thinking what should be his next move and not much time passed as he seemed to have decided.


    "Well, even I think you can get far under my tutorage, I wonder what your limit is. So I will have the girl for now. You better reach or even ovee my expectations for the next time we meet." [Old Man]


    Shingi tried to free himself like before, but the weak spot was harder to find if one existed, and he wasn''t able to move at all this time, not even one finger.


    The Old Man smiled, seeing Shingi''s struggles.


    "Well, I have to go... Oh, I almost forgot. Please give my regards to Ae. Name is Mikhail, by the way." [Mikhail]


    At that point, he just tapped his left foot twice, and one portal appeared in front of him, and he stepped in, and it closed right away.


    As the portal closed, the mana that held Shingi in ce lost its power, and he was free once more, but he didn''t move an inch.


    He was still trying to understand what just happened.


    After a few seconds of doing nothing, he just ran outside at his top speed, not trying to stealth his way or anything. But even those who saw him weren''t able to take a good look at him or even understood what this was except for a few specific yers.


    Shingi made it to his destination in a short time as he was still in his Breaking-Limit state.


    Standing in front of the Hollow Tree, he shouted with everything he had.


    "<strong>AELLA... NALRIN. GET HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT.</strong>" [Shingi]


    There was no answer.


    He kept shouting for them to appear and got only Egroeging out andnding next to him, but Shingi paid no attention towards him.


    Seconds passed and became minutes. Minutes passed and became an hourno answer at his shoutings.


    At that point, his Breaking-Limit state and Blessing''s active effect were both over, and his body was in a worse state than even the time when he fought Shadow Whip. But he didn''t care; he didn''t have the time to care.


    Then he heard some movement from behind him.


    Multiple people appeared and weren''t any other, but his four students were unsure what they were seeing.


    Shingi didn''t know it, but at the eyes of the others, his eyes weren''t of Dark Red color but ck; that is why none said anything about it.


    But at this point, all could see his eyes'' actual color and could see the dire state the body of his was.


    He had broken some of his bones on the first try of break free, but he wasn''t feeling the pain because of his Breaking-Limit state.


    Shingi turned towards them, and for the first time, they saw something they didn''t expect to see Shingi doing.


    They saw tears on his face as he said one sentence when he noticed them.


    "<em>I was too weak...</em>"[Shingi]


    With that, all the pain seemed to had finally hit him as he fell to the ground, losing his consciousness.


    As the four yers ran to see his condition at a ce of unknown distance from where Shingi was, there was the Old Man who had teleported to a Manor.


    He brought Annoue at one of the ground floor bedrooms, which seemed to be for the servants, although none other than those two seemed to be in this Manor.


    After writing a note and leaving it at the room''s desk, he headed outside, locked the room''s door, and made the key disappear in thin air.


    He smiled at that point as he spoke at himself.


    "Today was a good day." [Mikhail]

 Chapter 55: Special Training

    Chapter 55: Special Training


    He was back in the misty room where he was getting if he slept, but this time he didn''t have his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> active.


    He had gotten used to this ce these past days as he had his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> body right when he entered the area without the need to create it.


    He was sitting on the ground and just staring in one direction and staying still. He was ying in his mind what happened again and again. He focused that much as his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> was enabled without him noticing. It was ying the scene of his meeting with the Old Man repeatedly.


    He noticed every move of his, mainly when he used his mana. He could see things more apparent, and even actions he couldn''t see before as they were too fast, he could now as he could y them in slow motion. But he could do it only for things that were in his visual range and some actions he could reconstruct by the sounds he had heard.


    He kept looking as like out of instinct, and his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> started being created. It was like something inside him knew he needed as much help as possible.


    His <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> of the events became more evident as time passed, and even some empty instances were getting filled.


    But even if the moves of the one named Mikhail were straightforward for him to see, he couldn''t decipher them. They were simple moves, but the result of theirs didn''t make sense for them to be that simple.


    He seemed tock some knowledge toprehend thempletely, as even when he tried to copy those moves, he wasn''t able to have any result even close to 0.01% of what Mikhail''s had.


    But even if he couldn''tprehend these moves, it wasn''t like it didn''t give him any benefits. Noticing an actual Arcane Practitioner''s movements like that helped improve his Spells and improve the somaticponents, especially those he hadn''t heard before.


    He started training on using those improved movements and noticed a significant change in the casting speed and even at their power.


    Before, it took him at best ten seconds to cast his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, but now he could at eight seconds, which wasn''t his best time yet as he could feel that he could decrease it at six seconds.


    As for improvement in power, he could feel his <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> to be made of denser stones with less mana making it cause more damage.


    His <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong>, <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, and <strong>DOME OF SILENCE</strong> had the most remarkable changes of all as his ungraded spells weren''t able to be improved with those movements and his <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> had just a minimal improvementparing the rest.


    As for his MANA DOUBLES, it decreased the casting time a little but nothing else. He started focusing on his MANA DOUBLES, having one element andmanding to battle each other.


    The Light-Element one seemed to have the advantage cause it was faster but didn''t seem to have the power to pass the natural defense of the Earth-Element one to cause any damage.


    But this way, he was able to see the limits of each of his <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> and improved his control over them, and unlocked new uses.


    Before, hemanded them and only sent them mana to repair any damage that happened to them, but now he could send mana to strengthen them. He was able to enhance the defense or attack power of the Earth-Element one and the Light-One speed but nothing else.


    After more training, he could cast his Spells through the <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> but only of the same element. He was throwing <strong>ROCK THROWS</strong> with his Earth one, and the Light one could use <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> and <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> or even <strong>LIGHT</strong> to itself.


    But their casting time was slower than his own and not having the same power as if he cast them himself, at least for now.


    He kept training and training without any break, thinking of nothing else than improving himself.


    Even when he faced yers of somewhat high level for beginners, he didn''t get scared or considered not being able to have a chance of winning. But against Mikhail, he knew he didn''t have a single chance of winning, and even if he broke free once from his Spell, it was cause Mikhail underestimated him.


    After finishing testing them in battle and didn''t see any further improvements happening, he changed his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> from the tree hideout to look like the cksmith shop and, more specifically, the forge.


    He started working on various crafts of orders he had already done and trying to use other techniques, but his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong>, not him, did everything.


    His Earth one seemed to be best to work with the forge and hammering, while the Light one was better for more detailed works like carving or his <strong>GLASSBLOWING</strong> skill that needed quick reactions.


    He kept working and making vases, bowls, knives, spoons, and more things he had made the past weeks. Of course, it wasn''t the same experience as crafting them in reality, as it was a simtion that he was creating using his memories as a reference. But it still helped him testing his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> at the best of their abilities and his Skills.


    Shingi was too focused that he didn''t notice that he had ess to all of his Skills while in <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> without being at Master Rank.


    So like he was someone possessed, he kept crafting one thing after the other, but after finishing them and inspecting them, they disappeared as he moved to the next.


    Time passed, and even if his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> seemed to have lost its effects, he kept the <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> of the room, but his abilities were slower for some time, but this didn''t stop him from continuing. The <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> was getting reenabled when its cooldown was done, which happened repeatedly.


    After he had crafted enough items that would make a mountain if they didn''t disappear, the moment he finished examining them and even worked on crafting some weapons or armors had known their blueprints in the past; he kneeled to the ground.


    He wasn''t precisely tired as he didn''t have a body here but felt like he had passed his limits many times and now felt the strain it had on him.


    Now that he wasn''t training anymore, the memory of Annoue being taken by Mikhail, and he didn''t like it as he reminded him of his weakness. There was a long time since he felt like that, and even then, it wasn''t anything close like now.


    He had a few friends in the game, and some decided to stop ying the game and never heard from them again, but he was used to it as people moved to a more recent game. Even with his real-life family, he never felt like that cause they never interact much with each other or cared much for each other.


    With Annoue, even if he spent the most time training with her, she was considering him like her real brother, which was a new thing for Shingi. He may not have acted like a brother would at his sister, but it wasn''t like he didn''t care for her.


    He began to clear his thoughts, and so after that, he focused on waking himself up.


    The moment he was back to his body, he felt the state of his whole body. It wasn''t in pain but instead was somewhat numb. His movement was slightly slower as he noticed bandages everywhere, especially his legs.


    He smelled that some familiar herbs under the bandages and some elixirs were meant to speed natural healing progress.


    He recognized the ce he was as it was at Garry''s bedroom as his bed''s mattress was more suitable for one to rest.


    He noticed next to him a sleeping Karemon that probably was here to take care of him but seemed to be quite tired and took a nap.


    Not much time passed as the bedroom''s door opened, and in came Garry, who noticed that Shingi woke up the moment he entered.


    "Took you a while. For a moment, I thought you were cursed once more." [Garry]


    Shingi sit up but didn''t say anything.


    After a moment of silence, Garry broke it.


    "Maybe now you can exin what happened. Although your adventure friends have told me a few things."[Garry]


    Shingi didn''t care what Garry knew as he exined everything using the same story of the Blessed One who helped awakening him to have trained him and help the reset. He even told him the n for the tower. When he got to speak for Mikhail, he said everything except his name.


    "I see. I guess it is part of the family to be affected by Blessed Ones." [Garry]


    Karemon had woken up while Shingi was exining everything and left to leave them in their privacy. Garry didn''t show his emotions, but Shingi could see some sadness in his eyes, especially after listening to his story.


    Garry told him that he was out for two weeks and that he had a few visitors that wanted to talk to him.


    "So what do you n to do now?" [Garry]


    Shingi looked him in his eyes and said nothing, but Garry seemed to have taken his answer.


    "<em>*sigh*</em> I guess some things are fated to happen."[Garry]


    At that point, Garry brought out of a pouch that was hanging on his belt a crystal. Shingi hadn''t seen a crystal looking like that but knew what it was by his talks with a.


    It was the ss crystal he had asked her to buy for him.


    It wasn''t massive, just enough to fill his palm. It had this ck color, and in the middle of it, there seemed to have some purple light trapped in it.


    Annoue told him that the color of the light meant different things, and purple meant that it had a greater chance to give a more Mage-like ss.


    The crystal was determining a ss depending on someone''s skills, but after some testing, they found out that they could control the result by its characteristics, like the light color.


    Garry left the crystal in front of Shingi and left the room without saying anything else.


    As Shingi was left by himself, he decided to check his Status Window.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>PROFESSION</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>HP</strong>: 88/88


    <strong>SP</strong>: 45/45


    <strong>MP</strong>: 42/42


    <strong>STR</strong>: 12


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 14


    <strong>END</strong>: 16


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 3


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Earth and Light Element


    <strong>Skills</strong>: VISUALIZATION (Master Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Master Rank), MANA SENSE (Master Rank), PERCEPTION (Master Rank), STEALTH (Base Rank), IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON (Master Rank), SMITHING (Master Rank), ACCELERATION (Master Rank), MARTIAL ART (Base Rank), GLASSBLOWING (Master Rank)


    <strong>Spells</strong>: MANA HAND (Low Grade), FILTH EATER (Ungraded), MINOR ILLUSION (Ungraded), LIGHT (Ungraded), ROCK THROW (Low Grade), CAMOUFLAGE (Low Grade), INVISIBILITY(Base Grade), DOME OF SILENCE (Base Grade), MANA DOUBLE - LIGHT ELEMENT (Base Grade), MANA DOUBLE - EARTH ELEMENT (Base Grade)


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of Beliss, Blessing of Dlog, Angel''s Boon


    ================================

 Chapter 56: Arrival of an old friend

    Chapter 56: Arrival of an old friend


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>PROFESSION</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>HP</strong>: 88/88


    <strong>SP</strong>: 45/45


    <strong>MP</strong>: 42/42


    <strong>STR</strong>: 12


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 14


    <strong>END</strong>: 16


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 3


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Earth and Light Element


    <strong>Skills</strong>: VISUALIZATION (Master Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Master Rank), MANA SENSE (Master Rank), PERCEPTION (Master Rank), STEALTH (Base Rank), IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON (Master Rank), SMITHING (Master Rank), ACCELERATION (Master Rank), MARTIAL ART (Base Rank), GLASSBLOWING (Master Rank)


    <strong>Spells</strong>: MANA HAND (Low Grade), FILTH EATER (Ungraded), MINOR ILLUSION (Ungraded), LIGHT (Ungraded), ROCK THROW (Low Grade), CAMOUFLAGE (Low Grade), INVISIBILITY(Base Grade), DOME OF SILENCE (Base Grade), MANA DOUBLE - LIGHT ELEMENT (Base Grade), MANA DOUBLE - EARTH ELEMENT (Base Grade)


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of Beliss, Blessing of Dlog, Angel''s Boon


    ================================


    It seemed his <strong>HP</strong>, <strong>SP</strong> and <strong>MP</strong> had improved even if his stats didn''t change. His crafting abilities have reached another level as his <strong>GLASSBLOWING</strong> was now at Master Rank, but he could feel that even his <strong>SMITHING</strong> had improved, even if it was already at Master Rank.


    But the most significant change on him was his mana control.


    Before, he felt some restriction when he was manipting mana, but it wasn''t that great to restrict him, or so he thought.


    His maniption was four times faster than before, but this didn''t mean his casting time was four times faster as there were other factors. He felt the mana of his without using his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> circling in him and could tell how much he had without the System''s help.


    When he used, his now officially counted as Master Rank, <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> at first, he didn''t notice much difference until he saw some writing on each type of mana source.


    It had written the element(s) of each one source he could find with his Skill and gave him a percent number. He did some tests, and it didn''t take him long to discover what that number was about. It seemed to be howpatible the mana was with his Mana Tree, so the ones with the highest tree would help grow his Mana Tree faster and safer as if one kept feeding ipatible mana to his Mana Tree would cause damage to it at some point.


    Even his <strong>STEALTH</strong> and <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong>, he could feel them getting strengthened somewhat. It was like something clicked in his mind, and he started using his skills in a different way, a better and more potent form.


    He even felt like he could handle his Breaking-Limit state better now than before but wouldn''t know the difference until he gave it a try.


    But for now, he left it to test itter as he stored his ss Crystal to his Spatial Ring that fortunately still had with him. He wasn''t going to use it yet as he wanted to learn more Spells. Of course, if he used it now and got a Mage ss, it would make learning new Spells easier, but he wanted to get the best ss he could with using the crystal, so he had to improve himself as much as he could before using it. That way, the possible ss being a rare one should be better.


    He stood up and stretched a little to get his body ready to move on. He felt little pain by moving, but he noticed the herbs and elixirs had decreased it to almost nothing.


    He headed towards the kitchen, where he found three individuals drinking tea.


    Of course, two of them were a and Keremon, while the other figure was a big fellow.


    He was close to two and a half meters tall if he stood, but he was currently sitting to fit in the house and not hit the ceiling as the ceiling wasn''t that high. He was wearing that had a hood that would cover his face, but he didn''t have it up nowno facial hairs or even hair on his face, which was somewhat white-grey. His eyes were of an utterly dark color.


    This was a Half-Giant, more specifically, a Half-Stone Giant.


    When Shingi entered the room, all three turned towards him, weed him, and offered to sit with them for some tea, which Shingi epted.


    There was some silence as they seemed to enjoy the tea, but then the first one to speak was Karemon. But he didn''t speak towards Shingi but towards the Half-Giant.


    "So now that he is awake, are you gonna introduce yourself?" [Karemon]


    The Half-Giant turned towards Karemon and then towards Shingi like waiting for something.


    Shingi sighed as he put his tea ss down.


    "Well, I guess it is time to give you a name. Let''s go with Volig. Not so different than before, but enough to be considered as a new one." [Shingi]


    The Half-Giant, who was now known as Volig, was nobody else but the reincarnated Varic. It was a surprise for both of them when he turned into a Half-Giant but didn''t ruin their ns. It was a suitable one as the Half-Giant one had control of Earth Mana by default and had ess to a mana pool producing Earth Element mana like Half Demons had ess to demon-like mana. Earth one was useful during crafting as it could be used to strengthen metals and other materialsing from mining and such.


    He hadn''t given him back then a name as he wanted to consider it and wasn''t needed to be decided right at that point.


    Volig had traveled in a somewhat simr fashion as Wild Tycoon and Little Phoenix but had to use more Teleportation stations to be safer so that none was following him and keep his tracks clear from others. Of course, this took more time and resources to spend, but he had quite a bit of saving as a Master cksmith. Of course, he had everything in Spatial Rings and simr trinkets.


    Volig ran his hand through his beard but then realized he didn''t have one; some habits are hard to forget. He tended to do this movement when thinking or approved something, and in this case, he seemed to like his new name.


    Shingi then got a notification from the System that Volig was now one of his students.


    "Well, I guess it is nice meeting you... Volig. But can you say what you are doing here?" [Karemon]


    Volig exined as he had gone through the story they were going to use, which wasn''t far from the truth. He didn''t mention being a reincarnated Dwarf but had met the Blessed One who helped Shingi and suggested getting in this town to help around. He said that this Blessed One had helped him a lot in the past, and it was the least he could do.


    Shingi gathered that he came in town almost a week ago, and these past days he had helped manage the shop and its order, which was easy for him even at his new body as nothing big was ordered.


    His skills were reset, but it wouldn''t be too long to rank them up as they used to and even higher possible with his experience.


    a seems impressed as she knew that Half-Giants were a rare sight, but not a rare as Half-Demons but close. Giants are considered monsters from the System, but there were cases where they were simr to NPCs, but they kept a distance from the outside world. A Giant like that to have a child with one of another race wasn''t an ordinary event.


    At that point, some more people joined them at the kitchen and were none other than the yer students of Shingi. They joined them at having some tea as a and Karemon left as there wasn''t much space for everyone, and they had things to take care of. They wished though to Shingi to be back in full health soon.


    So in the house were only Shingi and his students as Garry seemed to have left.


    Silence returned to the room as none seemed to know what to ask. But Shingi was the one to speak first.


    "I am sure you all are curious about what happened, but what you need to know is we have a new enemy. He is stronger than what we can face now, but we will beat him and get back Annoue."[Shingi]


    As he said that, he cast a <strong>MINOR ILLUSION</strong> to create a small figure of Mikhail for everyone to see. The spell could work with his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> Skill, so it was a quite detailed one.


    "He had used magic more powerful than what I have heard about, and I don''t think even Master will be able to face him and have a chance to win or even survive. I was lucky that he underestimated me and had shown some interest in me. Although I am still not sure why he came here, it seems to have something to do with Ae." [Shingi]


    Volig seemed to be surprised by the mention of the Goddess''s name, but the yers didn''t seem to respond to it, which was typical since they probably weren''t interested in the different Gods of the Game.


    Shingi exined who Ae was and the task she gave him without mentioning that it was part of a Quest. He then went into more descriptions of the meeting he had with Mikhail and everything he learned over his time researching his memories.


    He asked them how their training went while he was away. All of them were close to level 20. Mizuneko, even if he didn''t have the help of the Egroeg cause he wasn''t listening to him, had progressed to Air Mana maniption quite well but wasn''t yet at the point to make it one of his Elements. Wild Tycoon had raised her Rage Skill to 41, making it considered barely being Master Rank.


    Hineko had mostly raised his level and <strong>POTION MAKING</strong> skill as he was the one who made the elixirs that used on Shingi. a had helped on it as she was an Alchemist herself.


    But Little Phoenix had the most significant progress of them all, as not only was she level 19, but she also had earned the first element of her Mana Tree.


    Now her Mana Tree was of Dark Element and even had ten Mana Seeds but no Mana Fruits.


    Shingi was impressed as he hadn''t given her all the steps on how to do it, so her making by herself, especially since she was a beginner in these games, was impressive.


    Shingi was happy with their progress, but he was ready to speed things up.


    "Well, then I think at four days, we are gonna be ready for our next operation." [Shingi]


    Everyone turned towards him, waiting to hear what he was referring to.


    "It is time to deal with our Dungeon Boss." [Shingi]

 Chapter 57: Working with student on the forge

    Chapter 57: Working with student on the forge


    After Shingi talked with his yer students and told them what he wanted them to do to prepare for their Boss hunting, he went out with Volig.


    Cause of his size, he couldn''t hide, but they didn''t care much about others watching them and made their way to the shop.


    When they got in, Shingi checked for Garry''s signs, but there wasn''t any until he checked his desk.


    Up there, there was a note and his Spirit Hammer. Garry had taken his Spirit Hammerst time he went away, so Shingi was curious why it was here this time.


    Reading the note, it seemed like Garry wanted to take care of some of his businesses, but he shouldn''t wait for him to return any time soon. His Spirit Hammer gave him limited ess per day to use and should pay attention to it.


    Shingi knew that he wanted to pay attention to the hammer cause if it showed signs of vanishing or vanished entirely, it meant that its owner was in a life-threatening situation or died.


    As for the limited ess, he wasn''t aware that this was possible, but Volig told him it was most likely an option for only him since Garry was his father. Either way, these were great news for Shingi as this would raise his projects'' sess rates, although he would prefer Volig to be allowed to use it and not him.


    But it seemed it was an excellent way to test it out once again and his improved skills. But he wouldn''t make his usual orders but work on something more beneficial for themsome equipment for the student yers of him.


    He was an official Master Smith, although most likely haven''t even reached the middle of it even after his special training. He had Volig, who may have his Skills reset but still had all his knowledge, which reached almost a Grandmaster Rank. The two of them together would be capable of creating equipment that any yer would only dream of having.


    So they started by preparing the materials, which Varic brought out. He had brought with him quite a few metals of various quality for them to use in their future projects.


    He brought out some Special Iron that was strengthened with Earth mana to increase its toughness and was not far from turning in the same quality of a Low-Quality Mithril. Of course, this didn''t mean it was easy to find or create, as it took years of infusing it with Earth Mana without breaks, or the procedure wouldn''t work, but in the end, it was worth it.


    He had enough to create either a full suit of heavy armor or a couple of weapons. Even if the armor could be useful, the only Tycoon would generally be able to use it, but she wouldn''t need it soon. So they moved on, creating few weapons and, more specifically, a new axe for Tycoon and some daggers for Hineko.


    As for the rest, their weapons, if they had to use one, weren''t made of metal, mostly wood, as they could use mostly staves. But Volig had some special wood that they could use, but first, Shingi had to learn his <strong>WOODCARVING</strong> skill and raise it before working on them. Also, they needed unique mana gems that Volig didn''t have since one can''t store them in Spatial Rings, but they could find them in the future.


    Also, there were some trinkets he wanted to make that had the shape of Enchantment Circles designed on them to use them fast without spending much time creating one and cast them as soon as possible. But he had to make multiple ones as even the materials that Varic had at his disposal wouldn''t handle the Enchantment too many times, at least twice at best four times.


    These kinds of preparations were costly but necessary if he wanted to raise their power as fast as possible. He had to speed up his ns as much as he could to get the chance to meet Mikhail again. He knew that a guy like that probably had ways to check on Shingi from time to time without Shingi noticing and would return when he thought he made considerable progress but most likely wouldn''t try to stop him because of his curiosity.


    Shingi was confident that he would act, and he was sure that Mikhail had a simr line of thought like him, or at least as he used to. Before, he was moving to one project after the other for his ego and curiosity, but now he had a different purpose; saving his sister.


    Both his and Volig put everything they had as they turned the forge on and worked on the materials. Shingi used his Light Mana to purify them even further, as every bit counted, as Volig used his Half-Stone Giant''s


    Earth Mana to further strengthen it. It is more suited for the work than Shingi''s Earth mana because of his race and his being pure Earth and noting from a source of multiple-element Mana Tree. This was one of the disadvantages of having a multiple-element Mana Tree, as there were some cases that your mana wouldn''t be able to be used as if it came from a single element Mana Tree, but these cases were rare.


    Shingi also, for the first time, not only used the airing off the Mana Blower to feed the fires with mana but feed them with his Light Mana personally, too. He had noticed that when he tried to keep the heat up of the de the other day when he made the unique Enchantment of Annoue''s sword that the heat was benefited a lot by his Light Mana, so he wanted to put to the test the possible benefits they could gain that way.


    His mana consumption had been lowered after his special training, but he pushed himself more than ever, so his mana kept getting spent quite fast, but he used some Mana Regen Potions that helped a bit.


    They worked on the axe first, but it wasn''t going to be a simple axe. They would make two battle axes that they could be connected to and extend their new handle to make a great axe. That way, the user could use different tactics depending on the opponent, depending on if speed was better than power or the other way.


    Of course, this needed a few enchantments for the battleaxes to work as a great axe when put together and separated easily and fast, but Volig had worked on simr projects and had a few ideas.


    Of course, the battleaxes would be single-ded one, and one would be a mirror of the other, so precision was essential. Shingi used his MINOR ILLUSION with his VISUALIZATION to share his ns with Volig and make any adjustments before they move in the actual crafting to lower the possibility of any mistakes.


    But with their skills, knowledge, and the Spirit Hammer''s help, even if limited, the chance of failure was almost nonexistent. They worked on the various parts and kept adjusting as it took them the whole day, but they could finish it at the end.


    Of course, since Shingi woke up in the middle of the day, they weren''t fully working a whole day.


    Volig having greater strength from the two of them, made some testing to the final product and passed every test with flying color. It was considered Base Grade Equipment, but Volig and Shingi could tell that its power was closer to Master Rank, but it was limited because of its ingredients.


    They took a breather as they moved to the next project. They didn''t n to sleep until they finished everything as both were quite used not to sleep much either way.


    Next, Shingi worked on the daggers of Hineko, which was a more straightforward project, so he didn''t need the help of Volig, so he told him to get to work on the Enchantment trinkets they discussed making.


    Even if it wasn''t that of aplicated project, it didn''t mean he was nning to make simple daggers. He nned to make them with a slot for a mana gem at their handle to allow the user to use some of the gem''s mana at the de. This way, if it had a Fire mana gem, it would heat the de, or an Earth gem would strengthen the de, etc.


    Of course, this could happen only on a small weapon like a dagger as they didn''t need much mana from the gem; otherwise, it would require very high-quality mana gems to empower them.


    Of course, even low-quality mana gems weren''t cheap, but the cost wasn''t that great as a dungeon''s resources would be able to cover them. But if they weren''t of low level like the Slime one, Shingi was nning to move on to another soon enough, and he considered that the boss most likely would give them some resources or something to cover them for some time.


    He also had Volig, who should soon be able to return on making equipment for yers. That will bring them quite a bit of coin.


    He made two daggers for each element and put an appropriate enchantment to strengthen the effect that the mana gem would have on them. The Enchantment Circle''s design was done mostly by Volig, who had more experience on it, but putting it in the daggers was done by Shingi as he did with Annoue''s sword.


    He tried to use appropriate mana for each Enchantment and had no problem except with the Dark Element one, but he got the help of Little Phoenix''s service on that.


    It took one day and a half to finish them all and adjust them to be perfect and even made preparations to make a simr thing as with Annoue to bond them with Hineko. The only difference was he couldn''t do a tattoo at Hineko as he did with Annoue as Hineko couldn''t use any mana so that way would be useless.


    So with Volig, they made a unique ring that was bonded with all the daggers and could store them in there but only them. That was he could summon them like Annoue could her sword and store them back the same.


    The only problem was this ring could be used a certain amount of times, and after that, it had to be recharged with mana, which of course, Hineko wouldn''t be able to do himself. But since his brother was always with him, he could do it for him.


    The ring was what took the most time to create it and, more specifically, its Enchantment, which would be impossible to finish if they didn''t have the Spirit Hammer. Even if it wasn''t meant to be used for Enchantment creations, Shingi discovered that it helped when in the form of a pick hammer.


    He made two rings, and each one had one of each element daggers so he can change between them at both hands, as the dagger would be summoned on the hand he was wearing the ring.


    So for the rest of the third day, they decided to rest as they had finished all the Enchantment Trinket they needed for now.


    Shingi had one more day until they revisited the dungeon, and he already had ns for that day.


    He was going to see if a specific individual was back and ready to talk.

 Chapter 58: The Special Seal

    Chapter 58: The Special Seal


    Volig and Shingi rested at the shop instead of going home as there was more space for Volig to sleep. They were used to not sleep on actual beds, so they hadn''t any problems.


    Shingi, this time, didn''t enable his<strong> TRANCE ROOM</strong> by just sat and fed his Mana Tree with any mana that had highpatibility he could find. He found that some of the mana of Volig that was still remaining in the environment was verypatible. Still, he wasn''t going to dry Volig of his mana as his mana regeneration was slower than his, and the potions did not affect him. The mana wasn''ting from an actual Mana Tree, and the brew was giving a boost to the Mana Tree to increase its mana production for some time.


    But since that mana was already used and was waiting to vanish, it would be a waste if he didn''t use it.


    He decided to use it all at the tree roots on the side that his Earth-Element mana seemed to be produced and stored. It seemed like it was a good decision as there was an unexpected gift after using all of the mana of Volig he could find in the environment.


    His Tree had a Mana Fruit.


    He had been trying to feed his Mana Seeds to grow them into Mana Fruits, but after a point, they seemed not to ept any more mana no matter how hard he tried.


    ''<em>Could it be that only highpatible mana can turn Mana Seeds to Mana Fruit?</em>'' [Shingi]


    Shingi has heard of some mana being morepatible than others depending on your element but didn''t think that they would be possible the reason to create a Mana Fruit, but he thought only of a way to make things faster.


    But the more he thought of it; it made even more sense to him. So he started testing what effects had different mana with the percentpatibilities he had.


    It seemed anything over fifty percent was helpful, while anything under fifty did not affect and could most likely cause damage. Any between fifty to seventy appeared to need a significant amount to do some change, while seventy to ny were somewhat better.


    Volig''s mana had ny-fourpatibility and seemed to had the best influence with not too much amount needed.


    Most of the mana around him that he could use was between fifty and sixty percent and had a minimal amount of more than that, but they seemed to be results of their crafting work, just like Volig''s.


    Using all the mana with over fifty percent strengthened his Mana Tree and was feeling two of his Mana Seeds had grown a little but didn''t turn into Mana Fruits.


    His mana pool didn''t increase in size, but it seemed to grow at the speed of refilling itself, which was quite helpful also.


    He kept working on it all night, and in the morning, after having some breakfast with Volig, he headed outside. Volig decided to go to the Mayor''s office to discuss their ns to make their shop open for Blessed Ones since it would impact the town''s traffic and economy.


    He headed through the secret way outside the town and at the Hollow Tree. He reached it soon enough without anyone noticing him.


    He saw Ae being in front of the Tree, sitting with Egroeg on herp, same as thest time they met here.


    When she noticed him, she smiled, and Shingi saw some relief in her eyes.


    "I left you for a few days, and you hurt yourself that badly. Why am I not surprised? So what happened?"[Ae]


    Shingi was surprised cause he expected her to know, but it made sense as even if she could watch him from almost everywhere, she probably didn''t.


    "Who is Mikhail?" [Shingi]


    Shingi decided to go straight at the point, and he noticed a look of surprise from her in the name''s mention as she stopped petting Egroeg.


    "Where did you hear that name?"[Ae]


    Shingi went through their whole meeting with Mikhail and kept paying attention to her reactions. The more he talked, he could tell the more he described him, the more excited she was bing, although she seemed not to like the description of an Old Man.


    When he finished his story and mentioned that he was sending his regards to her, one tear left her right eye.


    This was rare cause Ae was an emotional individual but mostly to show her anger to the ones who pissed her off or being happy and yful and rarely of being sad.


    He waited for her to say anything, but she kept staying silent, like thinking of what she just heard. A couple of minutes passed in silence as she seemed ready to speak.


    "I am not sure if it is the same person as his description you gave me isn''t the same as my mother gave me, but there is a chance of him to be my father. That was the name she knew him of, and I haven''t heard of anyone to have used it in my search." [Ae]


    Shingi had considered this to be the case but had to make sure. A man that had a daughter with a Goddess wasn''t a simple man, and having that much power made sensebut being alive after that long and even being that powerful and looking like a human, made things even more troublesome.


    It could be a disguise, of course, as if he could live that long he should have abilities like that, and Shingi already knew he had something to disguise his presence, no to be detected by Skills.


    He also understood why he visited him. He probably noticed him messing with the unique mana under the Tree and came to check it out.


    But the question was why he had hidden it there?


    "I know what you think, and yes, he is probably the one behind the Seal of my gift. He doesn''t want to be found out for some reason, so he seems to keep everything under his control so that they aren''t. In my research didn''t find anything close to what we have here, but a few telling that it was possible in theory." [Ae]


    This didn''t surprise Shingi as someone that powerful was sensitive for the people knowing their research and would do anything to keep them a secret.


    "I think we won''t be able to do anything do it. It seems only himself would be able to disable it or know ho to." [Ae]


    Generally, at his point, the System would show him notification of the Quest be considered as failed, but it didn''t.


    That was cause he had a n in his mind.


    He told Ae to stand aside as he moved right in front of the Tree and stood there with his eyes closed.


    He brought in his mind the memories of Mikhail and how he moved his body the moment he was casting his spells. He also used his Blessing of Beliss''s active effect, which surprisingly increased his <strong>INT</strong>, not to 25 but 26.


    After half an hour of just staying there, he started changing his stand, and one could see an Illusion of an Old Man moving at the same way next to Shingi.


    The Old Man was none other than Mikhail, and Shingi moved the Illusion to surround him and the two of them to be merged.


    He started moving his hands and replicate the closed fist with only the index, and middle finger pointed towards the target.


    He kept repeating it and getting closer to it but still being quite far from the original. This didn''t bother Shingi and continued with each move increasing his focus even more.


    Time passed slowly, as seconds felt like hours and minutes like days, but Shingi wasn''t showing signs of stop trying.


    There were only five minutes left as his Blessing''s effect as at this point; he enabled two things.


    He used his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill and Breaking-Limit state.


    It seemed like speed was a critical factor in his casting, and he didn''t just do it for others not to copy his spells.


    With those skills, his speed became significantly faster, but it stillcked a bit.


    He kept trying and pushing his limits repeatedly as, once again, as the first time he used this state inbat, cracks started appearing at his body, but he still seemed tock in speed.


    Then some yellow light and what seemed of lighting started surrounding his body as his speed was earning a further boost all of a sudden.


    This was a Buff Spell, and more specifically, a unique Buff Spell that only one person could cast, Ae.


    This meant to increase the speed of someone while also toughening his body to handle the new speed. Ae understood what Shingi was trying, and she wanted to help after seeing the risks he was taking.


    With that, Shingi kept moving faster and faster while having his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> to notice and change to the Seal.


    As they were at thest minute of his Blessing''s effect, he noticed the Seal ball to show signs of reacting as it moved slightly left and right.


    Shingi, with his spirit raised even more after seeing that continued his movement. Making them even faster to the point even his buffed body was getting cracked.


    At a point, the Illusion of Mikhail that was surrounding Shingi started changing color. Usually, all his Illusion had either yellow-greenish kind of color cause of his mana, but now they were adjusting to the actual colors of the one they were replicating.


    When it got to the point that the Illusion was life-like and couldn''t even see Shingi inside it, he finished once more his movement, and a crack sound was heard. But it wasn''t one heard by one''s ears but in their mind right away like someone sent it telepathically.


    At the same point, a pir of red light raised and covered the Tree, then a Blue one, then a White one, and final a Green one. One appeared after the other, with a dy of almost a second each. When they stopped forming, they started blending, making a rainbow-like pir of light.


    At that moment, Shingi and his Illusion raised their left arm, and the lights started gathering in a sphere over his open arm.


    At the same time, he finished forming the mana sphere, the effect of his Blessing was over, and he was barely capable of keeping the sphere''s shape. But as Ae saw that, she took over and controlled the sphere herself, which was easier for her since it was now free of the Seal.


    The Illusion of Mikhail lost its color and got dispelled by Shingi, who seemed like a wreck and was ready to pass out at any moment.


    But then yellow energy surrounded him as his stamina was getting restored, and any damage he had done to himself was getting fixed at an incredible rate.


    He turned towards the one who was using the spells to heal him and wasn''t anyone else but Nalrin, who was still in his dog form.


    He may be a doctor with no patients, but this didn''t mean that he wasn''t capable of healing, as he was an expert in this kind of magic.


    With that, his Quest should bepleted, so he was waiting for its reward as it was the first time one of Ae''s Quest was a sessful one like that.

 Chapter 59: Unexpected reward

    Chapter 59: Unexpected reward


    With Nalrin''s spells'' help, Shingi was back to top shape, even better than when he got there, as some of his wounds hadn''t healed yet.


    Now that his mind wasn''t just focused on the task at hand, he noticed a few notifications in front of him.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>CHA</strong> increased by 2


    ================================


    ================================


    Cause the stat <strong>CHA</strong> was raised to 5, the Passive Skill Minor Mana Regeneration has been unlocked.


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST COMPLETED: THE MYSTERY OF AELLA #7421882</strong>


    <strong>Reward</strong>: Ae''s reputation was massively increased


    ================================


    Singi was surprised by his <strong>CHA</strong> to be increased and be higher than ever and even gave him a Passive Skill.


    He had heard of Minor Mana Regeneration, but it was something that some rare Quests were able to have as a reward. Usually, one needed potions or to meditate to restore their MP, but with the Skill, the MP would be restored without him doing anything but somewhat slower. But in the middle ofbat with no potions, every bit counted.


    He wasn''t surprised by the new Spell or the System''s reward for the Quest as it didn''t mean it was the only reward.


    Ae walked toward him, with Egroeg walking beside her. Nalrin stayed where he was,


    "You have surprised me once more. I was expecting that with your new body, you would do less crazy things." [Ae]


    As she stopped in front of him, she raised her hand to show a particr scale for a young purple dragon.


    "I think this is something you can use in the future." [Ae]


    Shingi took the scale, and the moment he touched it, he felt this strange feeling like air surrounding his hand and changing between high and low temperatures but not too high or too low.


    When he used his<strong> MANA SENSE</strong>, he could see Storm-Element mana surrounding it, but it didn''t seem to get weaker as time passed. It seemed to keep producing to keep it at a specific level.


    One would typically use the scale as a crafting resource, but it was able to produce mana, and if he used it to craft something, it probably would mess with that ability.


    But having ess to that rare kind of mana was more critical and beneficial for him as he could separate the various elements that were merged to create it and use them, which could help even strengthen his Mana Tree.


    He could see with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> thepatibility of the Storm Element mana as a whole, as well as thepatibility of each element that was part of it. The Earth and Air had the highestpatibility with 85% for Earth and 62% for Air, while Water had 53% and Fire 12%.


    This meant that Earth and Air would significantly affect him, while Water with the tiny amount the single could make was mostly useless to use for his Mana Tree. As for the Fire mana, he wasn''t going to use it for his Mana Tree''s strengthening but could use it for possible Spellcasting or during his crafting.


    This was by far the greatest reward that he could ask for, as it would help him in many different ways.


    He stored it in his Spatial Ring and bowed a little to Ae to show how thankful he was. She seemed happy that he liked her gift as he had earned it today, especially considering how many times he also had helped her in the past, even if they hadn''t ever seeded like this time.


    "Well, then what now? He probably knows what we did, but he probably won''t show up since he isn''t here yet. What you n to do?" [Shingi]


    Ae seemed to start thinking it over as she hadn''t considered it as she was just happy to get back what she lost.


    "Better think it over and let me know if you have any news of his whereabouts. I may not be able to do anything to him yet, but one day I will find him and get my sister back." [Shingi]


    "Are you sure you want her back?"[Nalrin]


    Shingi turned around to look towards the dog who had walked towards them and joined the discussion.


    "What do you mean?"[Shingi]


    "I mean, from what I remember, you aren''t the best at considering someone like your family, and you work better alone. I mean, you just destroyed a Seal of who knows what made of that even Gods aren''t aware how to deal with. Why the interest to get her back?" [Nalrin]


    Shingi considered what to say cause he wasn''t sure of why himself.


    "I can''t allow anyone to take someone who has helped me that much." [Shingi]


    His response wasn''t entirely untrue, but there seemed to be more to it.


    "Well, Nalrin, it isn''t nice to mess with others that way. Shingi, the moment I know something, I willmunicate with you right away. We are going to take her back." [Ae]


    ================================


    Amunication channel for Ae, the Goddess of Storm, was created.


    ================================


    Amunication channel was like the chat mechanic, but it was only avable for NPCs to talk with each other or Blessed Ones. Of course, not just anyone could create amunication channel, but for someone like Ae was something simple as breathing.


    Since they didn''t have anything more to share, Shingi went his way back to town, again using the hole in the wall to enter. Fortunately, the boxes weren''t too heavy for him with his current skills and stats, so he could enter and exit the town quite stealthy and easily.


    He made his way towards the inn to meet his yer students to give the ones he had prepared items and let them adjusted to them for the rest of the day.


    Once more, he found Hineko ''talking'' with a female one, but this time he didn''t ignore him as he kicked a stone at his head to draw his attention.


    Hineko turned pissed to see the one who dared to do that to him but froze and calmed when he saw Shingi was the one who did it.


    Shingi told him to follow him as they went inside and fortunately found Wild Tycoon and Little Phoenix, but Mizuneko didn''t seem to around. Hineko said he had some business and research to finish to make sure they werepletely prepared this time. He probably wouldn''t find any info for the boss itself, but any information for the rest of the monsters would be helpful.


    Either way, Shingi didn''t have anything to give him, so he didn''t mind him not being around. He went to the room of Hineko with everyone to have some privacy and brought out firstly the two rings and gave them to Hineko.


    He exined how it worked, and Hineko summoned two daggers, but since, for now, none of them had any mana gems, all were pretty much the same. He tested summoning specific daggers, and it wasn''t that hard, but Shingi had to recharge the rings at the end as he went in a sprint of changing between them.


    After recharging the rings and bashing the head of Hineko of messing that much with the rings, he brought out the new great axe of Tycoon.


    She was impressed by it when she got it in her hand until Shingi gave her instructions on separating it into two battleaxes.


    She went speechless at that point.


    She liked her great axe and was fitting her ss quite a bit, but she wanted to try a different style, but it would be too expensive to have various weapons on her. But now, she had two different kinds of weapons for different styles in one. Her ss was allowing her to use them both, so the System didn''t restrict her.


    Little Phoenix seemed somewhat sad about not getting a new weapon, but she understood that she didn''t need one. Shingi, though, showed her the enchantment trinkets he and Volig had prepared and gave her some simple ones to test and be familiar with how they worked as Shingi wasn''t going to keep them all for himself.


    Shingi checked Little Phoenix''s progress with any Dark-Element spells. But other than the <strong>SHADOW BOLT</strong> and <strong>SHADOW FORM</strong> she was able to use back in the dungeon; she hadn''t unlocked anything else yet. She still hadn''t fully mastered<strong> SHADOW FORM</strong> and was still considered an unfinished spell, but she could use it at least now.


    "You all should be ready as we are going to head towards the Dungeon same time asst time. Also, make sure to wear those."[Shingi]


    He brought out of his Spatial Ring a few cloaks, but they weren''t typical cloaks. They were special made to change the appearance of the one who wore them, not only of their clothes but also their face.


    They had to make sure that people didn''t know they headed to the dungeon since they wanted to kill the boss, bringing an end to the dungeon. A lot of yers would get furious if they knew about it.


    Volig brought the cloaks as he was confident that Shingi would need something like that at some point.


    Shingi left and went back to the shop but didn''t find Volig there, but he assumed that he was still talking with a.


    Since he didn''t have any specific project in mind, he decided to test his new belonging to craft thing.


    The dragon scale.


    He enabled the mana blower with the scale''s Air mana and fed the forge with some of the scale''s Fire mana. He used some of the Earth Mana to cast an Earth <strong>MANA HAND</strong>. He decided to use some silver for material this time as he would make a jewel, and more specifically, a ne.


    He made sure the Air element used in the forge''s air he manipted into the heating material. It wasn''t necessary since it wasn''t going to be enchanted, but he never did anything half-assed.


    It didn''t take him long to heat it, and he picked it with his <strong>MANA HAND</strong>, put it in the anvil, and started working on it with the Spirit Hammer. During the whole progress, he kept feeding it with some of the scale''s Fire mana to keep the heat up, and when he finished, he put it in the barrel that he had also used some of the scale''s Water mana.


    The final result was what looked like a feather. He called it Angel''s Feather after his mother and was a gift he wanted to give Annoue the next time he finds her. It was also a reminder of who he was, the son of a Blessed One.


    It may all be a Video Game, but this now was his reality, and he was ready to do everything to keep the family and friends of his safe.


    At this point, some pping was heard by the shop''s door, and Shingi turned towards it, surprised by him not noticing.


    The tall blonde man immediately grabbed the room''s attention as he swaggered in. His torso was covered by a ck leather jacket that lent him the air of a ruffian. His hands and feet were covered by bandages, though there was no indication of the wounds that may have caused them. A ck cloth mask hid his mouth and nose, but his golden eyes were all that was needed to showcase his stunning visage. A secondter, a ck vortex seemed to erupt within.


    Shingi was frozen in ce, looking toward him as the gentleman''s eyes were also at him. From his bodynguage, he could understand that he admired him or, more specifically, seeing him working.


    "Night...Night Wind?!?!" [Shingi]

 Chapter 60: New Gods

    Chapter 60: New Gods


    Shingi was very familiar with the person in front of him as he was a man he had worked with for many years.


    Night Wind was another God of the Game, but unlike Ae, he was a New God.


    All the Gods and Goddesses that existed before creating the Tower and the start of the Game are considered Old Gods. With the Tower''s creation and after it, a few more individuals with God-like abilities have started appearing and are referred to as the New Gods.


    These individuals, in reality, are hired individuals from the Company that made the Game to make sure everything ran smoothly in the Game and would stop anyone who tried any funny business. But there were rare cases that they made an appearance, and when they worked, it wasn''t known to the public.


    The Company had offered Ameanum to be one of the New Gods, but he refused as it would just ruin the game for him.


    Night Wind was also one working at the Company and had many discussions with Ameanum, as Night Wind was also one of the Game''s main programmers.


    He started walking towards Shingi while slowly pping, and with each p, time seemed to get slower for Shingi for everything except Night Wind''s movement. He got to the point that he felt like he was frozen in time as everything was going too fast for his brain to decipher everything.


    He was frozen in ce once more, but this time it wasn''t a Spell or Skill holding him in ce, but the System itself was working against him.


    Night Wind stopped in front of him and looked at Shingi from his toes to the top of his head, and Shingi could tell from his eyes that he was using some Appraising Skill like the Eagle Eyes.


    He tried to move, but nothing seemed to work as his mind seemed to be in a state not to focus on using even the Simplest of his Skills or Spells. His brain was in a state of just being able to understand what was happening around him barely.


    But even in this state, he wasn''t ready to give up as he had one idea that he had to try.


    Night Wind finished appraising him, and Shinge couldn''t tell his reaction cause of his covered mouth and knew that he was good at hiding his emotions.


    "This is truly fascinating. It''s been so long since we have encountered a bug, and it has to do with one of the listed NPCs.Well, I guess we have to fix this, although I am curious about the cause. Do you have any ideas?" [Night Wind]


    Shingi couldn''t respond, and Night Wind knew it, but he always acted like that when doing his job. Of course, he wouldn''t talk it out with the NPC as he wouldn''t get anything. He had to capture him for his people to check his code and find the reason.


    At this point, Night Wind turned towards the nearby barrel with water next to the Anvil as he noticed something. After checking the barrel, his eyes got widened a little, and he put his hand over his chin as he started thinking.


    After what felt like hours for Shingi cause of the slow effect still being in effect, Night Wind pped one more as a chair appeared behind Shingi, and a chain appeared and chained him sitting on the chair. Then the time started moving naturally, but he could feel the chains putting a seal on him, lowering his stats and disallowing him to use any mana or rted Skills.


    "So you have my attention. Where did you learn this code?" [Night Wind]


    What Shingi had done was entirely focusing on everything he had at his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> skill to move some of the dirty water in the barrel and make it form three characters.


    A06, his yer''s save id.


    He knew the Night Wind knew the save file and would draw his attention no matter what.


    Shingi had thought of this day toe at some point but not so early, but he couldn''t do anything but act ordingly on the moment.


    "I can tell you, but you won''t believe me at the beginning. But trust me, I have proofs of what I am going to say." [Shingi]


    This seemed to have taken Night Wind''s attention. He found it interesting how calm this boy was, so he was curious to listen to what he wanted to say.


    "I am Ameanum, and I am not Ameanum. I have been killed by what I think are people of the Dark Guild and was trapped for two years in real life and just almost a month ago was awoke on this body."[Shingi]


    Night Wind put his hand under his chin once more and started thinking once more for a few seconds before he decided to speak.


    "What about this proof you are talking about then?" [Night Wind]


    As he seemed to wait for it, Shingi started telling a series of 1s and 0s as it appeared to be a binary code.


    When finished, Night Wind''s eyes got wider than ever as he made a small p, and Shingi''s chain disappeared, leaving him free.


    "So it actually works?" [Nigh Wind]


    Shingi was surprised by this response, but then he remembered the Night Wind referred to him just a few moments ago as a "listed NPC." He had never heard this title given to any NPC.


    Night Wind seemed to understand the confusion of Shingi as he decided to exin.


    "Well, this is something that not a lot of people knows, but I guess you should know." [Night Wind]


    "Does it have to do with how a yer got to give birth in the Game?" [Shingi]


    Night Wind looked towards Shingi, and Shingi could understand that he wasn''t expecting him to had known that.


    "Well, kinda. I can''t exin everything yet, but I can tell you something. As you said, you aren''t really Ameanum, but you also are." [Night Wind]


    Shingi didn''t understand why he said that, as it was something easy to see as he wasn''t on his regr body, so he wasn''t Ameanum anymore.


    "I don''t mean the change of body but the why the change of body was able to happen. This NPC body is a body made using code of your DNA that is why you can control it." [Night Wind]


    Shingi''s mind, at this moment, went to search and decipher mode of everything he knew and have heard. Tranting the DNA to code was something he had heard of working on. They were trying to make possible clones or even teleportations as one machine would read and deconstruct your DNA and send it to another device to reconstruct it.


    But that was something that was still only possible in sci-fi movies only as far as Ameanum knew. But there was some progress in tranting part of DNA in the form of code.


    But using that code in the Game to create an NPC was the first time he had heard about it.


    "I know you think this doesn''t make sense, but it was part of your contract." [Night Wind]


    Shingi would typically want to say something, but he hadn''t read the contract thoroughly back then, so it was possible to contain something like that. He was more interested in working on the project, so the paperwork he had to do wasn''t something he was paying much attention to it.


    "But all the NPCs created are like yours. Some that aren''t able to act normally. Even you weren''t supposed ever to wake up from your curse." [Night Wind]


    Of course, Night Wind knew the background of the ''corrupted'' NPC he was going after as he had to know everything about his target to not have any surprises.


    "But I can''t be sure why you woke up in that body, but it probably has to do with the way they used to hack you and the security of your ount." [Night Wind]


    Night Wind was fully aware of the Dark Guild and what they could do. They were causing problems in the Game, and usually, he and the rest of the New Gods would act, but they were ordered against taking any action against the Dark Guild by the Company.


    Shingi told him more about his time as an NPC and even told him about the SPECTATOR MODE, but didn''t mention that Little Phoenix seemed to have something to do with it.


    Night Wind was impressed by the story and exined more about Angel''s Feather situation.


    She seemed to be simr to Ameanum.


    She worked with the Company that made the game but in a different studio than the one Ameanum used to be, so the two never met each other.


    She also decided not to be one of the New Gods and was used as a prototype to create the listed NPCs.


    Annoue seemed to be just a prototype without any DNA code, only for them to make sure the process was possible to seed. After that, they stated it with Ameanum''s DNA code, and the result was Shingi.


    But there was a problem.


    They hadn''t counted on Angel''s Feather to love those children as being real, and after some point, they had to ask her to leave the Game. They could allow her to find the real cure of the Never-Ending Sleep as it seemed that all the Quests given to yers were for fakes cures.


    Also, his waking up seemed to be a bug to the System, but Night Wind could understand the cause as the curse''s cure shouldn''t be avable for no yer to help with.


    Shingi didn''t mention the song of hers as even if he trusted Night Wind, he knew that he would report at some point what he knew, and he couldn''t trust everyone in the Company. Especially after learning that they ordered the New Gods not to mess with the Dark Guild.


    But Night Wind told him he wasn''t nning to say anything and try to cover Shingi''s tracks, so no one else like him came. But he had to keep his guard up and be careful not to let many people know of his existence.


    Night Wind appraised him one more and then put his hand over Shingi''s head. Shingi could avoid it, but he understood that he wanted to help him somehow, and he wasn''t going to say no to it.


    A notification appeared, and Shingi didn''t know what to think of it after reading it.


    ================================


    <strong>SKILL FORGOTTEN</strong>


    The skill <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> has been forgotten and can''t be relearned.


    ================================


    He wasn''t sure why Night Wind did that and didn''t like it since <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> had saved his life multiple times. But then another System''s notification appeared.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>HASTE</strong> (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    He knew the Haste spell as it was working as his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill, but it was using <strong>MP</strong> instead of <strong>SP</strong> to activate it and keep it active, and it wasn''t just boosting his speed but also his reflexes and reaction time, which <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> didn''t.


    It was a timely update for him and would increase his chance to get a better Mage ss by knowing another Base Grade Spell.


    He had to spend some time to get used to its effect, but he was confident he could reach a more than good enough proficiency with it after a night at his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>.


    Night Wind made his way trusting that everything would be ok, but he didn''t know the ns of Shingi. Tomorrow, he was going to hunt the Dungeon''s Boss.

 Chapter 61: Back to the dungeon

    Chapter 61: Back to the dungeon


    Shingi spent the rest of the day working on different items using the Dragon scale''s various element mana.


    It seemed like the mana were purer than expected and had a better effect, but nothing like giving the user a bonus. But even so, they appeared somewhat lighter and more detailed as also his crafting speed got increased a bit.


    Volig returned after a few hours, and Shingi gave him the scale to test it out.


    There was some difference as Shingi was more used to manipting mana. However, in the end, Volig''s final work still seemed to be benefited more: as expected from one who had almost be a Grandmaster Craftsman.


    Volig had once again earned the profession of <strong>SMITH</strong> in the days he worked in the forge, but he was currently a Base Rank one.


    Shingi also had the requirements to earn that profession, but one can only have one profession recognized by the System. But there are some exceptions.


    For example, one can earn the <strong>BLACKSMITH</strong>, but this won''t give him enough crafting benefits, like working with leather and such. But if you had the requirements to gain the majority of the crafting profession, he could evolve his <strong>BLACKSMITH</strong> profession to <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong>, which would give him all the benefits and some more.


    You could still do actions of a profession you don''t have, but the final result would be the difference would be of heaven and earth. But earning the <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong> profession had other requirements too, which even Volig hadn''t fulfilled before he reincarnated and was still just a <strong>BLACKSMITH</strong> back then.


    For now, Shingi decided to leave the scale with Volig to test things out further as he started training his Skills and Spells for tomorrow.


    His body seemed to be improved a bit, and after Nalrin''s healing, he was at 100% even after using his Breaking-Limit state.


    He tested <strong>HASTE</strong>, which even if he didn''t learn it himself, he had the knowledge on how to do it by the System.


    The feeling was simr to his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> but also different at the same time. His mind seemed to be more precise on seeing things without using his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, making things easier for him.


    Of course, since it was a Base Grade Spell, it cost quite a bit of mana but not at much as his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, but it wasn''t too far.


    He also adjusted all of them with some ideas he got while trying to replicating Mikhail''s moves on his spells, but this time didn''t seem to have a significant benefit as before. But he could feel his Spells somewhat different than before, but he couldn''t exactly describe the difference.


    He was able to keep <strong>HASTE</strong> for one minute, but after it was dispelled, he needed a few seconds of a break for his body to readjust to his normal state. He was also able to cast it at most four times, and that was if he didn''t cast any other Base Rank Spells or many Low-Rank ones.


    Night came, and he stayed at the shop once more as he enabled his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>.


    His training went as usual, and he was able to adjust to using HASTE better, reaching the speed he could with his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> and a little more.


    Early in the morning, he woke up and summoned from his Spatial Ring his special cloak.


    He made himself a little taller but not too much as the cloak could not add much on height, but he was not looking like a child, at least. He changed his face and clothes just to be sure.


    He had shown this appearance to his students when he gave them their cloaks so that they recognize him.


    They have decided each head to the Dungeon, each by themselves, not to draw too much attention.


    Shingi using his <strong>STEALTH</strong> and <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong>bo, once again was confident that none could detect him, but he had his detection Skills active the whole time. Especially in case, Mikhail decided to show up, which Shingi doubt to be the case for now.


    He reached the Dungeon soon enough and headed in it and towards the secret room.


    He avoided the Ooze monster quite easily as his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> skill seemed to deflect the Skill they used to detect nearby enemies. At least it worked for lower-level Oozes, but Shingi knew for ones over 20 levels or so it wouldn''t work.


    Though that high-level Oozes were rare, and some had evolved to be able to have human senses.


    He made his way to the ce in less than 20 minutes, but the secret door was currently closed, and none else was in sight.


    Shingi had encountered a few yers on his way here but none of his Students.


    He looked around and then headed toward where he remembered the secret door to be and knocked thrice. He stills wasn''t able to detect it with his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> skill even if he knew of it to be there, and his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> also didn''t show anything.


    After a few seconds of his knocks, the secret door opened, and he headed inside as it closed behind him.


    The one who opened it was Little Phoenix, who was the only one who could get in by using her <strong>SHADOW FORM</strong>.


    None else has arrived, not even Tycoon, as they said for each to get here by their own and not as a group. Of course, Tycoon didn''t like to leave Phoenix on her own, but after some persuasion, she understood that she would be ok.


    Little Phoenix''s level was 19, more than enough to handle the monsters by herself, even those with the Spell Resistance Damage. She also could use her version of the <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> spell, which was using Dark-Element and not light as Shingi''s, but the result was the same at the end.


    This was one rare instance for Shingi to find Phoenix on her own, and luckily it was her shy self.


    He had a few things he wanted to ask her but never had the right moment.


    "What do you know about A06, Phoenix?" [Shingi]


    Little Phoenix was surprised by that questioning out of nowhere and why the NPC boy asked her.


    Shingi knew what she was thinking and had prepared for it.


    "Master had asked me to learn about it. He said you seem to know something about it. Something about being a code of a Mythical Realm or something like that?" [Shingi]


    Phoenix seemed to get a little calmer after hearing the exnation, but Shingi could still read some fear in her eyes.


    Phoenix took a few breaths and seemed to have prepared herself to tell what she knew.


    "Can''t get in many details... but back in my home town, I had found an... ancient artifact of the sort. It was able to move people between realms, as you said, and one to use it had a code. The one I found abandoned was a used one and was locked. After some tinkering, I was able to open it, but there was something inside it... a corpse." [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi understood now the situation. This should be what had caused her change of personality, as finding a corpse isn''t something easy for someone''s mentality.


    As for how she knew of his save file code, it was shown on a small screen in the capsule with the message for his ban, but Phoenix didn''t describe it that way. Shingi knew how the capsule worked, so he understood it to be the case.


    Cause of the shock, every detail, even the text of this message, was imprinted in her brain, and she couldn''t forget. She even had a few nightmares of it, but she was bing better.


    After meeting Shingi and training to be stronger, her fears in real life seemed to get less as time passed, but still, she had a long way to get back to her old self.


    Sheter took the same artifact and started using it, but only a few people knew how he found it, with Tycoon not being one of them.


    Shingi didn''t ask anything else, and he secretly used some of his Light mana on the head of Phoenix that seemed to have the effect of calming one down.


    He wanted her focused and probably should have asked about it, but this was a rare chance.


    When everyone arrived, Phoenix seemed to be ok.


    They headed down into the strangeb, and nothing seemed to have changed sincest they were here.


    Shingi focused his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> once more, and this time he was able to detect something.


    It seemed to be some barrier around the unmovable and indestructible barrel that seemed to block their way.


    The barrier was surrounding it and seemed to be just a smaller hole smaller than the one leading in the secret room.


    Not even Phoenix''s <strong>SHADOW FORM</strong> seemed to be able to get in there, but Oozes probably didn''t have that problem. In her <strong>SHADOW FORM</strong>, Phoenix appeared to have some limits on how wide she could be, and the hole of the Secret Room was barely near the boundary. But Oozes didn''t have that kind of limitations.


    If it were a few weeks earlier, Shingi wouldn''t have any idea on what to do, but he did now.


    The barrier and one of its energy seemed simr to Mikhail''s barrier under the tree, while the other one seemed to be some mana that Shingi guessed was supposed to keep it undetected by Skills like <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>.


    His <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> was now stronger than then, and also, he had already destroyed a more substantial barrier like that.


    Of course, he couldn''t replicate Mikhail''s movepletely like then, but now he had a better chance with <strong>HASTE</strong>. Also, since the barrier was more straightforward, he didn''t have topletely replicate the move as even if he partially did, it seemed to have some effect, but it was too weak for Mikhai''s barrier.


    He told everyone to stand behind just in case, as he enabled his <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> and <strong>HASTE</strong> and started testing.


    But it didn''t take him much as on his first try, the barrier cracked, and at the second one, it waspletely broken.


    The difference in difficulty was too much that even surprised Shingi as he thought of it to be too easy to be true.


    The moment that the barrier broke, Shingi heard a sound from some distance behind it.


    It seemed to be sounds of a cast meowing.


    Shingi told Wild Tycoon to move the barrel carefully, and she could move it without any problem.


    Behind it, there was a hole in the wall leading deeper into the Dungeon. Shingi could tell it wasn''t leading towards a different direction than the one it would typically would if you followed the usual way.


    After a few seconds, they detected some movement in the dark of a small creature heading their way.


    It didn''t take much for that creature to reach the hole, and right in front of them was a blue cat.


    Shingi had his detection senses on it, and he was able to detect some mana in it but not like an Ooze''s aura but like the imprint Nalrin had from Ae.


    This was a typical thing for the magical pet of someone or familiar as the Arcane Users are calling them.


    Shingi could tell that this wasn''t an average cat, especially since her color, but it didn''t seem to want to harm them.


    It headed towards Phoenix, who dropped her guard the moment she saw the cute animal getting to her and started petting it.


    The cat seemed to be pleased with being pet.


    Mizuneko got closer to inspect the cat, even kneeled to get a closer look. The moment his face got close to the cat, it hissed and scratched his face with its ws.


    Mizuneko didn''t expect it and got hit, and he didn''t take much damage, but he stood up and took a few steps behind.


    The cat turned towards Phoenix and acted cute towards her once more, and she started petting it once more.


    Shingi was currently staring at the tunnel from where the cat came as he had barely heard some sound from deeper in it.


    He had heard some chuckle.

 Chapter 62: The Dungeons Boss

    Chapter 62: The Dungeon''s Boss


    Shingi focused his detection Skills towards where he heard the chuckle, and he was able to detect a figure a few meters further into the tunnel.


    It seemed like the tunnel was leading to an open space, probably a room, and there was a humanoid figure in it.


    Shingi was surprised as he wasn''t detecting an Ooze aura of it as expected, but he was confident this was the Boss of the Dungeon.


    He could see that it had a Mana Pool, but the Boss seemed to have something not to allow detection skills to work on it like in the barrier but didn''t entirely work on his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>. It was still hiding the Element of his mana, so Shingi could only tell its existence.


    He was confident that the figure cast some spell, but he couldn''t be certain what kind.


    He checked the cat once more and noticed something that wasn''t there before.


    There was some mana in its eyes, but it was only there when it was watching toward Phoenix and, more specifically, at her chest.


    Shingi grasped what the current situation was, and he acted out by kicking a stone into the tunnel towards the figure. He made this attack when there was mana in the eyes of the cat.


    The figure got hit in its face, and at the same time, the cat ran back into the tunnel.


    The tunnel was small for them to walk standing up, and they would have to crawl to get there.


    But Shingi knew that the figure knew of them being here, so he wasn''t going to use that kind of dangerous means to get to it.


    Shingi could see the figure using some of his mana, and he was confident for the reason as he told everyone to get ready.


    Some blue smoke appeared in front of the tunnel''s hole, and then a human figure appeared out of it.


    The figure seemed male and wasn''t too tall or too young. He had blue sky hair with the sides of them to be white as also one eye of his was white, and the other was sky blue. His skin was quite pale like it has never seen the sun. He was wearing a red scarf around its neck, and at the one end of it, it seemed to have a golden symbol of a bell. He was wearing a simple sky blue colored vest and was wearing some white shorts, and had no shoes.


    Even if he wasn''t too tall and quite pale, his face was of one of an attractive individual, and each characteristic of his seemed to add to it.


    Another poof of smoke was created after that, but this time over the figure''s shoulder. Out the smoke came the cat and stayed on the figure''s shoulder.


    One could see a scratch on the left cheek on the figure''s face, which was where Shingi''s stone hit him.


    "Who do you think you are toe here and throw stuff to my face? <em><strong>DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH</strong></em>?!?"[Boss???]


    Everyone waited for Shingi''s order for them to attack, but it didn''te.


    Shingi was curious to see how clever the Boss was as it seemed to have a personality, which was rare.


    Most times, from what he gathered, the bosses at Low-Level Dungeons were mindless monsters, and at higher, of 50+ level, some could exist with some personality.


    "Well, are you deaf or just stupid?" [Boss???]


    Shingi didn''t take those words at heart and stayed as calm as ever.


    "Well, we are here investigating this ce, and we came across the weak seal over there and after dealing with it.... well, you know the rest." [Shingi]


    The moment he finished talking, he noticed the figure getting frustrated from what he said.


    "<strong><em>WHAT... WHAT DO YOU MEAN WEAK SEAL?!?</em></strong>" [Boss???]


    Shingi was testing the waters to see what the Boss was about, and he now knew.


    He was a weakling.


    An individual of power wouldn''t just sit and talk and attack them or restrain them when they showed defiance towards him. But this one seemed only to be a dog that barks but doesn''t bit.


    At that point, Shingi focused his Light Mana at his hand and made a ball of Light to bright the whole room.


    The moment the light appeared, the figure tried to step away from it, but there was a wall behind him, and he didn''t seem to be able to teleport away.


    "You better lower your voice, or things will get brighter." [Shingi]


    He made the light less bright so that it wouldn''t affect the figure but enough to be there still and remind him of its existence.


    "So, are you the one behind the Oozes of this ce?"[Shingi]


    "I have developed most of them, but some were by the one who made the ce." [Boss???]


    "Then who is the one who made this ce?"[Shingi]


    He seemed unable to answer this question as something kept him from speaking, and he didn''t say anything at the end.


    Shingi used some of the light to make him tell, but it didn''t work. It seemed like some unique means were used not to allow him to speak about specific things.


    Shingi asked more questions and found out that it seemed that this individual was the Boss of the Dungeon or the closest to what one could be.


    The name of the figure was Zhen, and he was creating Oozes and experimenting on them and on things they brought him. He had made the Oozes with the transformation abilities and used the memories they gathered for his ''personal'' experiments, mainly the female ones.


    Shingi told Hineko and Little Phoenix to get through the tunnel to check things out while speaking with him.


    They found some crystals that they learned of being Memory Crystals used to store the memories his Oozes gathered. There were also a few alchemical materials and also quite a few Mana Gems.


    The Mana Gems were different from the ones Shingi knew, but Zhen told him that he was the one who created and rechargeable Mana Gems.


    Typically a Mana Gem had a specific amount of mana, and once it was entirely used, it turned to dust. There were ways to recharge them but only for high-quality ones, but these seemed to be the same as low-quality ones.


    But their value wasn''t less than high quality since they couldst pretty much forever unless you use all the mana entirely and not let it recharge.


    It seemed like you could either use your mana if you had the same Element as the one it was producing, or it was gathering mana from the environment if any of that type of Element was around.


    It had mostly Earth Element ones and Fire Element ones, and a few Water Element ones. There weren''t any Air or Light Element ones, but Phoenix found a single hidden Dark Element One, but she was more sensitive to detect Dark Element mana than others.


    Those were perfect for Hineko''s dagger as they weren''t too big, but Shingi had to make some adjustments to the Gems still to use them when they got back to the shop.


    When they gathered everything, all that was left was to deal with Zhen.


    Shingi wasn''t sure what to do with him, though.


    He could kill him, but it would be a waste since it seemed it was someone he could use and make a deal with.


    Since no yer was hunting him or would assume that he was the Boss of the Dungeon, he could use his ability to craft things like these special Mana Gems to his benefit.


    Of course, there were some problems with that n.


    Firstly, even if he could leave the Dungeon, he had to stay to make Oozes here, and then or at some point, the Dungeon would have no monsters.


    Secondly, he couldn''t handle light, and sunlight could harm him, so getting outside would be hard for him during daylight.


    Lastly, he didn''t want to leave the Dungeon but couldn''t say why but Shingi could tell that it was because of his programming and probably of the true owner of the Dungeon.


    But Shingi had still able to make a deal with him.


    He could bring him resources from outside of different materials, and he would produce more of his unique Mana Gems and possibly other future products.


    Zhen seemed to have a way to get outside the Dungeon, but he was using it only at night. There was a tiny tunnel the same size as the one leading to the secret room as he seemed to have a simr ability to Little Phoenix''s SHADOW FORM Spell.


    Shingi told him that he would deliver some stuff by leaving them on that ce outside as Zhen could have some Oozes there to let him know and get them. Zhen was able to turn items into blue smoke so he could quickly get them at hisb.


    So it seemed things worked better than what he thought as he earned new way of resources to help in future projects. It was better that way as even if he killed Zhen, he wouldn''t gain any exp as he still didn''t have any ss, and his students were close to level 20, so they had to be careful on their level-ups. Or at least some of them had to.


    Level 20 was an important one as you could earn Special taught sses at that level.


    These were sses that unique NPCs were able to teach to the yers but under specific circumstances. One of them was for the yer to be level 20. He would be considered too weak and higher if he was lower, not suitable as he progressed too far.


    But the other requirements were quite tricky to handle, especially since one had only one chance to interact with that NPC, and if they failed, they wouldn''t be able to try again.


    Some ssed also seemed not to have a specific list of requirements but different for each person.


    Shingi was nning to have Little Phoenix and Wild Tycoon learn these kinds of sses as Hineko had his special ss already, and Mizuneko was working on evolving his.


    Tycoon''s ss was an easy one as he knew a lot for Special based Warrior sses since he was a Warrior as a yer, but Phoenix''s wasn''t that easy but had a few ideas.


    So since they couldn''t do anything else after Phoenix learning a few tips for her <strong>SHADOW FORM</strong> from Zhen, who was happy to help her, they headed back to the town.


    They put their Illusion cloaks in use once more to be safe, even if they didn''t cause the Dungeon to disappear, and they each went back on their own.


    Shingi noticed when he reached the town that he had considered some yers at the Lionhead Guild gate and also among them being Fire Whip.


    Shingi could tell by his yer aura that he had leveled up quite a bit and probably would be challenging to fight him now.


    But he was able to pass without being detected by him, but he was still wondering why he was around and why none was near the store but only at the gates.


    He got to the shop and found Volig talking with one of the townspeople who probably came here to order things out.


    Volig seemed to be ready to fight this individual, and Shingi considered that he came just in time.


    Volig, even before he reincarnated, wasn''t ever good with customers; that''s why he always had one hired to talk to them. In the past, many of his customers left the shop with broken bones if they were dying to give their orders and wasted his time.


    Shingi took over to handle the customer, who seemed to have a problem deciding the exact number of things he needed, but Shingi solved this problem quite fast and took the final order.


    The customer left happy as Shingi turned towards Volig.


    "I guess we need to hire someone to be the front of the shop." [Shingi]


    He then brought out one of the rechargeable Mana Gems and exined to Volig what happened to the Dungeon.

 Chapter 63: Proffesions

    Chapter 63: Proffesions


    With the rechargeable Mana Gems, they could make some improvements to the shop''s equipment.


    The Fire Mana Gems would be added to the forge to have better control its fire temperature and reach higher ones.


    The Earth Mana Gems would be used to empower some gloves to help them pick up heated-up materials without the need for tools like how Shingi is with his <strong>MANA HAND</strong>.


    Water Mana Gems would be used in the barrels that they used to cool down the heated metals so that the barrel can be filled by itself when the water that got evaporated pass a limit.


    Of course, some Enchantments needed to be created to enable the Mana Gems manually or triggered by something else.


    Those types of Enchantments were a little different than the usual ones as they weren''t using the typical Shape System but specific runes of different meaning each.


    These Enchantments were called Programming Enchantments from the yers as it was pretty simr to how you wrote a program to solve your problem. Just the programmingnguages were different runes.


    But to make these runes work, one had to have the <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> profession recognized by the System. If one designed these runes, his enchantment wouldn''t work no matter what.


    This was one of the cases where if you had a specific profession or not made a difference.


    Of course, Shingi and Volig weren''t <strong>ENCHANTERS</strong>, but they could handle creating everything else needed and enable them with their Skills for now.


    This also reminded Shingi to ask his students if they had any profession. He knew Hineko was an <strong>ALCHEMIST</strong>, but if Mizuneko or Phoenix didn''t have a profession, they could be an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong>. As for Tycoon, she couldn''t be one as it was exclusive for people with some mana.


    He couldn''t see if they had any profession using his Profession''s skill as it showed him only their stats, skills, spells, and blessings but nothing else, so he had to ask them to learn.


    After finishing talking with Volig about everything, he left him working on it as he was more experienced in it, and he made his way to the Inn.


    It was still midday, as the Dungeon''s exploration didn''t take that long, and his discussions and ideas sharing with Volig just took a few hours.


    He found the two girls in the Inn as Tycoon seemed to be at the bar talking with one of the NPCs working there, probably giving her order. Phoenix was at one table on her own until a yer headed towards her. He then sat next to her without asking and even wrapped his arm around her shoulder.


    Phoenix seemed to panic and froze while Tycoon was still busy talking with the NPC and hadn''t noticed yet.


    The yer seemed to be rtively older than Phoenix, given his character''s appearance, which in most cases was pretty close to the real thing with some possible adjustments here and there.


    He was maybe in his thirties, as far as Shingi could tell, which was quite a difference from the young teenager Phoenix.


    He didn''t seem to be someone who knew her in real life or have met in the past in-game as he had started flirting with her but got stopped as a young boy started poking his shoulder.


    Of course, that boy was none else than Shingi.


    "What do you want?" [Male yer]


    Shingi motioned him to get closer as he wanted to whisper something to him.


    The man got his face closer and turned his head so that Shingi could whisper in his ear.


    After telling him something, the yer looked at Shingi and then at Phoenix and repeat it as he was in the middle of deciding.


    But soon enough, he seemed to have taken his decision as he stood and headed outside, and three more people who were at the table he was sitting before joined him as they ran behind him.


    Phoenix was curious about what Shingi told the yer, and he exined the whole situation.


    Shingi told him that the new Local cksmith needed some help from brave adventurers and he was his helper send to find some.


    It was true that they were looking for people to help, especially for material gathering.


    But what he used to draw his attention, as just some material-gathering wasn''t that attractive offer for a yer, was that Volig was a Master <strong>SMITH</strong>.


    He may be considered by the System a Basic Rank, but his experience and knowledge were over any Basic Rank <strong>SMITH</strong>, and with the help of Shingi, he could do most things a Master SMITH could do.


    But it wouldn''t be too long until he will be considered a Master <strong>SMITH</strong> once again and maybe even reach Grandmaster Rank.


    The yer knew thatpleting Quests of NPC''s like that could increase the reputation with the said NPC, and having an excellent reputation with a Master <strong>SMITH</strong> was the dream of many of the yers.


    Shingi knew that Volig wouldn''t consider it much to change the reputations towards one unless in extraordinary circumstances. Low-level yers like the ones around this town wouldn''t be able to seed on something like that.


    As for keeping a low profile, he knew it was just a matter of time for people to find out about Volig''s Skills, so what better time than to start now.


    He needed materials for Zhen''s experiments, so hiring yers to do the work for him was a good option. This would affect their budget a bit as they had to reward them, but they could handle it for some time.


    This was also an excellent way to advertise the shop as rumors will be spread among the yers, and more wille, especially when they start making equipment for them. But the equipment that they would make wouldn''t be as crazy as the ones he made for his students but still better quality than what they would typically have.


    He had already given Volig a list of what they needed for Zhen, so he was confident he would ask something appropriate for the yers to gather.


    Tycoon joined them soon enough and seemed like she hadn''t noticed what just happened just a few moments ago.


    Shingi asked them if they had any professions, and both of them said that they still didn''t have any.


    They told him that Mizuneko seemed to be a <strong>SCRIBE MASTER</strong>, which was one not just to write books but also spell scrolls. Spell Scrolls were like Storing Spell Enchantments, but anyone could use them without the need of any mana.


    They just had to read what the Arcane Worlds of the scroll and the spells would be cast by them depending on the spell.


    Shingi suggested to Phoenix to be an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong>, and she was happy to do so as it sounded interesting. She remembered when she saw Shingi making the enchantment of Annoue''s sword, and she had considered looking on it but didn''t know where to start.


    Shingi gave her some tips and advised her to visit a as she may know someone to teach her to earn the Profession.


    As for Tycoon, he didn''t have a profession for her but told her how she could find an individual for her Special ss who wasn''t too far from here.


    She still had to travel a bit and had to go alone as the person didn''t like crowds.


    He gave her a few tips for her approach and told her to make sure she was level 20 when interacted with him: not a single level lower or higher.


    Tycoon seemed reluctant to leave Phoenix in the game alone, but Phoenix assured her that she would be fine and around Shingi and the rest the whole time.


    Tycoon nodded and decided to start her trip now. The sooner she left, the sooner she would return.


    Shingi headed with Phoenix towards a''s office.


    Things didn''t seem to be busy as there weren''t any new Quests on the board for some time.


    They found a and Karemon in his human form as they seemed to do some paperwork.


    Shingi told them that they would start making equipment for the Blessed Ones and selling them in a few days so the town would get even busier. Also, Volig would have some material-gathering Quests that they could also put on the Quest board.


    He asked if they could hire someone to be the front of the store and a tutor <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> for Phoenix.


    And it seemed that there was a person suitable for both cases.


    Karemon himself.


    He had been taught some Enchantments from Angel''s Feather back when she was around, and at some point, he became an ENCHANTER although he never really worked on it but had used it to help in a few tasks here and there. He kept researching over the years, especially for ones that would help defend the town in case of emergency.


    He also was happy to help with the shop, but Shingi declined his offer to do so as things would get busy at the Mayor Office possibly too, and a would need his help.


    Karemon told him that a few townspeople could be suitable then for it and didn''t have a job. Shingi told him to pick one he considered the most practical and trustworthy for the job, as Karemon knew them better, and to sent him to the shop.


    Karemon assured him that he should have finished everything today and tomorrow the person would be at the shop.


    As for Phoenix, Karemon gave her a small notebook with his early notes for her to study. He told her toe and ask him if she had any questions.


    a asked Shingi if he used his ss Crystal yet, but he told her that he still wanted to finish some preparations.


    a was curious about the result, and Shingi assured her that she would let her know when he used it.


    He wanted to learn some more spells and reach the limit to grow his Mana Tree without having a ss. This would increase his chance to get something good as a result, or so he assumed.


    Phoenix stayed to exchange some more tips with Karemon while Shingi headed back to the shop.


    Volig was alone as the yers seemed to have alreadye and taken some Quests from him.


    Shingi let him know about the person they would hire to be the front of the shop, and they started working on some equipment for their future customers.


    Volig had already finished putting the Mana Gems where they were needed, as he had done something like that in the past, so he just needed a few minutes to spend with them.


    They put a closed sign in front of the shop to make sure none would disrupt them, but Shingi had his detection Skills on all the time to be safe. Volig had brought some regr crafting material that they could use, so they started making different weapons and set of armors to showcase to their customer. After that, they could take orders and even make a stock of some if it seems to be something popr, but they didn''t have the materials to make a stock for now.


    They made different des, some light and some heavy, bows, crossbows, and sets of Armors, some metal ones, some of the leather, and some of both. They even made some staves but weren''t considered a mage''s staff yet as they didn''t have any enchantments or mana gems on them, but they would take care of that when Zhen''s made some that they could spare. Same with some wands they made.


    They worked on those for three days straight and took a break only when the yers Volig gave Quests returned to bring the materials and when the person Karemon suggested came to introduce himself.


    Shingi exined what he wanted him to do, and that person took over on speaking on customers for possible orders and Blessed Ones for gathering materials. He told him not to take any Blessed Ones orders though until said otherwise by him or Volig.


    Shingi learned two more crafting skills during that time and ranked them to Base Rank: <strong>WOODCARVING</strong> and <strong>LEATHERWORKING</strong>.

 Chapter 64: Opening of the new shop

    Chapter 64: Opening of the new shop


    During their crafting spree, Shingi, as usual, tried to improve himself, but not by training what he already had, but to learn new Spells.


    Most of his spells helped him defend or avoid a fight, but he knew sooner orter close confrontation will need with his enemies, and he may not have the luxury of his students to be with him to help him.


    He could learn some Weapon Skills from his yer ount, but this would affect his ss Selection, and he wanted to keep it at the Mage path as much as possible.


    He had to learn some Earth-based Spells as they are more suited forbat than his Light mana.


    Firstly he used his Earth-Element mana to cover his body when he trained in creating his <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> but tried to make it thin enough not to restrict his movement but not too thin to be too fragile.


    It took him some tries, and he had to start working covering part of his body to make things easier after some point and move on to cover more.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>STONE SKIN</strong> (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    He could feel his defense to be increased while under the effects of the Spell, and physical attacks would be lessened in the impact that they would have on him. Of course, he had to feed it with mana if it absorbed too much damage, and it wasn''t absolving everything, just lessening what would pass.


    Following the same training, he tried to surround Earth-Element mana with his fists to make gloves that would help deflect or defend and increase his attacks with his fists.


    He had noticed that the mana of the Dragon Scale was easier for him to handle than other mana, almost like it was his mana.


    He used some of the Dragon Scale''s fire mana and merged it with his Earth Mana, and strengthened its defensive abilities, making it harder close to iron.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>METAL FISTS</strong> (Unfinished Low Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    The two Spells, especially the <strong>METAL FISTS</strong>, have helped him with crafting as he could use them instead of <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> or the special gloves with rechargeable Earth Mana Gems they created with Volig.


    He was surprised of his <strong>METAL FISTS</strong> to be of Unfinished Grade, but it made sense since he still seemed tock on merging his Eart and Fire mana. The Dragon''s scale felt like his, but it was still putting some resistance on being manipted but was minorpared to other manas.


    He trained with both of those new Spell even at his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> when they had to call it a night, even if they took only a couple of hours of rest as they wanted to start opening the shop to yers the sooner possible.


    As for material gathering, Greg, who was the one that Karemon introduced them, had organized it well and wasn''t giving all the Quests right away. He also wasn''t allowing one to take more than one as if they needed a lot of yers had starteding.


    The stock of materials was getting increased slowly, and he even made some deals for more normal materials brought by a few people he knew.


    It seemed to Shingi that their new helper wasn''t as simple as he thought as he seemed to have quite a bit of charisma and good at organizing and preparing for possible oues, which he liked in people he worked with.


    He asked him how he met Karemon, and Greg told him that he was just an Old Friend of him and used to be the helper of his father, who was a traveling Merchant, so he had learned a few tricks.


    During those three days, the Crafting Skills of Volig got better too. They weren''t Ranked Up to Master yet but seemed to get close to it.


    On the noon of the fourth day, they had finished reorganizing the shop by not just being an open space but separating the forge and the rest of the crafting area. When you entered the shop in the first room, there was a desk and counter for Greg to get interrupted by the customers.


    Then there was a door at the left leading to the crafting area for <strong>SMITHING</strong>, while a door at the right led to more clean space for <strong>LEATHERWORKING</strong> and <strong>WOODCARVING</strong> needed crafts.


    In the first room, there were also some ss cases with Weapons, wooden figures wearing armors, and every finished product they had decided to show for now. Staves and wands weren''t included in the showcases as they weren''t ready yet, but there were a few Quartestaves.


    In the showcases, some rm Programming Enchantments prevented them from being moved unless the Enchantment was disabled. Karemon made those with the help of Phoenix to help with her training.


    Karemon and Phoenix also helped to create the Programming Encahntements they needed for what they had designed for their Mana Gems, who Karemon didn''t ask how they found them.


    Of course, Shingi wasn''t nning to stop taking any orders from the townspeople, but since those were way less profitable, he had to focus on the shop to draw the attention more of the yers who hadrger pockets than them.


    Greg had made some preparations and advertised that their shop would be open for browsing and take orders, but there were some requirements.


    Either they had to have finished ten material-gathering Guests, which was impossible for one to have done, for now, cause of the restriction of taking multiple Quests withoutpleting them or on the same day.


    They could also take orders by paying and earning a spot, but the spots were limited, and the cost wasn''t just coins but also some materials.


    That was a suggestion of Greg, which Shingi was impressed and wondered why he hadn''t thought of it.


    As expected, when the doors were open, many yers got in the shop and headed towards the desk with pouches of coins and different materials as Greg had announced the way to get a spot yesterday.


    But it wasn''t a case of firste, first served, as Greg would take all the offerings and at noon would decide who takes a spot and return to the ones who didn''t take one of their offerings.


    There were some requirements on how many coins and type of materials were to give, but Greg told them that if one had made a better offering, they would be a valid offering for the spot too. Greg said to them that there was a limit of the gold part of the offering but no limitation of the materials.


    It was a couple of hours before noon, and the offerings had reached three-digit, and they were getting close to reaching a thousand. This was a significant number but not as big as counting the billions of yers that y the game. But not everyone could make it in town fast enough for the opening, but it wasn''t like it was their only chance. The spot was for up to three orders and wouldst for a month; otherwise, it would expire even if not enough orders were given.


    Since Greg was busy taking all the offerings Shingi and his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong>, who drew a bit of yer''s attention, were the ones to take them in a room at the back of the shop, which was for storing.


    With Volig''s help, they organized them to see which would be the most likely to pass and earn a spot.


    A few offerings had a few mana enchanted materials, but not as rare as Mirthil, but close to the Iron Volig had brought but little less quality.


    One hour before noon and half an hour before stopping the gathering of offerings for the spots, there seemed to be somemotion outside the shop.


    Greg called Shingi as he noticed a few Blessed Ones talking with each other, leaving the shop, and seemed to be scared of hearing something.


    When Shingi got in the front room, he noticed an individual getting in with three figures following him, and most of the people who were in the shop to have left.


    The three figures were two men he recognized, Fire Whip and Shadow Whip, while the third one was a wolf but not the one he had met the other time as his Students killed it.


    The individual in front of them looked to be a Half-Elf blessed one, which was difficult for a yer to get as they had toplete some special Quests for some important Elf figures and get their blessings to turn into a Half-Elf.


    He seemed to be also a Tamer, as the Wolf appeared to follow him and stay by his side.


    By his aura that Shingi could see with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, he could tell that he was a much higher level than any of the yers he had met while being an NPC.


    He didn''t detect any manaing from him as with Fire Whip, so his ss was either full Rogue base or full Warrior based as this was the only option for Tamer''s Special ss.


    From his clothing, he could tell he was an essential member of the Guild as he didn''t just have a side cloak with the symbols of the Guild as Fire Whip and Shadow Whip but also at his armor.


    Then he remembered something Fire Whip had mentioned in the past as he approached them.


    The Wolf seemed to be suspicious of the little boy, but its Master seemed to signal it to stay still for now.


    "Excuse me, but I was informed that someone started amotion. May I learn the reason?" [Shingi]


    The Individual looked towards Shingi and then towards Fire Whip, who nodded like he was asked a question and agreed to it.


    "Hmm... so you are the young individual that I heard about. How interesting. My name is Master Whip, and I am the Guildmaster of the Whip Masters." [Master Whip]


    Shingi was surprised by the Guild''s name not cause he had heard of it but cause of how simr it was to his in-game name.


    "I came here in order of making a deal with the owner of the store. We had heard of the new cksmith, but we know that this is something that belongs to your family. Am I wrong, Mister Shingi Maki?"


    Shingi didn''t even brink of him telling his full name as he knew it wasn''t that hard to find, especially for one with resources as a Guild Master.


    He could tell by the look of his equipment that he was a man who didn''t have ack of coins, and he knew the reason behind it.


    He was taming beasts and selling them as pets to other yers. That was something a higher Level Tamer could only as most Tamers could only control themselves their teamed creature and not give control to someone else.


    Of course, if the tamed creature were a powerful monster or a quick-mount, it would cost a significant amount of coins, but there were always customers in this kind of market.


    "What kind of deal we are talking about?"[Shingi]


    Shingi knew this king of people and usually wouldn''t even talk with them, but he was curious to hear what he was going to offer.


    The Guildmaster looked left and right and stared at every yer other than his Guild Members who were still at the shop.


    They got the message as they ran outside.


    It seemed like the Whip Masters had a reputation, and yers were wary of them, especially the Guildmaster.


    After making sure, they were on their own as the left of his group kept watch, Master Whip spoke once again.


    "For all the spots of your shop and changing the limit of orders from three to ten for each. I am willing to give you the location of an old mine as also the human resources to mine it." [Master Whip]


    He gave a pause as waiting for something to happen.


    Shingi knew that he was waiting for him to ask why that would interest him, but he wouldn''t y by his rules.


    Seeing that it didn''t work, Master Whip continued.


    "<em>*cough**cough*</em>.... well, as I was about to say. This isn''t a simple mine, but it has some Mithril. High-quality Mithril." [Master Whip]

 Chapter 65: The Mine

    Chapter 65: The Mine


    Shingi tried to read the facial movement of the yer in front of him to get what he was hiding.


    If he actually knew the whereabouts of a Mirthil mine and especially one of High Quality, telling it to him wouldn''t make sense even if he could get some equipment from a Master Craftsman.


    His Guild seemed to have sources and people, so he doubted they couldn''t get equipment close to a Master one with the money the mine would earn them.


    "You seem to hide something from this deal, though. What is it?"[Shingi]


    Master Whip seemed impressed with Shingi not just taking the deal as he got informed that he was someone with knowledge of crafting and various minerals, so he should know how important was what he was offering.


    But Shingi was one how had earned and spend fortunes that even kings would be jealous of, so tempting him wasn''t that easy.


    "There is one problem that you could help us. Or, most specifically, your new cksmith would be able to. The mine seems sealed, and only a Master <strong>SMITH</strong> can break it from what our research has revealed." [Master Whip]


    Shingi seemed to be thinking for a moment as he murmured some words that Master Whip barely heard.


    "A Craft Seal?" [Shingi]


    Craft Seals were special Enchantments that were avable only to the <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong> profession. With the use of one, they could block ess to a ce or use one of their creation.


    They were different from the Enchantment in the showcases as the ones on the cases were making them too heavy to move, but one with great <strong>STR</strong> could do it.


    The Craft Seal made them impossible to be touched directly, as if one tried to touch them, either their hand would go through it or stop by an unbreakable field.


    The only way to have a chance to pass the Seal other than getting ess from its creator was one with an NPC Master Rank Crafting Skill. No matter what level they had their crafting skills, yers never could get the ability to do something like that, so they had to persuade an NPC to work with them.


    But even if an NPC had a Master Crafting Skill, it wasn''t always the case that he could pass or break the Seal.


    Some Seals needed specific crafting Skills, and some were harder than others, so one had to be more proficient with it.


    Shingi thought over the offer as a mine like that could contain more than just Mirthil if it was sealed like that.


    "If the mine is sealed, how do you know that it contains Mithril and of its quality?" [Shingi]


    The Seal would be at the entrance, and if there were any Mirthil, it would be deep in it so one wouldn''t be able to see it without getting in.


    Master Whip seemed to barely keep his surprised look as he didn''t expect that NPC boy to be this knowledgeable and good in negotiations.


    But this showed to him that his Guild Commanders were right.


    Shingi wasn''t just a simple NPC.


    "We have found some reliables sources, but I can''t let you know their identity. They want it to stay a secret." [Master Whip]


    Shingi considered his options carefully.


    It could be a trap of the System leading the yers to do something they regret using their greed for the possible reward.


    "I will have to check the mine first and then make a decision." [Shingi]


    Master Whip nodded in agreement right away like he was expecting this response.


    "The mine is quite far by foot, but we have made a temporary Teleportation Circle that we can use. If you want, we can even head there right away." [Master Whip]


    Shingi gave it a thought and told Greg to move with the slots as was nned.


    He told Master Whip that if the deal got approved, they would prioritize, but the amount of equipment was still in a negotiation state.


    Shingi also informed Volig what he was nning, and he followed the Tamers'' yers.


    They went into one alley, and Fire Whip and Shadow Whip stay as guards at the alley''s entrance together with the wolf of Master Whip, who got ordered to do so by his owner.


    The alley was a normal one; they just wanted a ce that had their privacy.


    Master Whip brought out a scroll and two crystals and gave one of the crystals to Shingi, and started exining what it was.


    The scroll was a Spell Scroll of <strong>TELEPORTATION</strong>, and the crystals were like transmitters connected to their Teleportation Circle near the mine area.


    So when he used the scroll, the crystals would be used and would get them precisely at that point without any chance of failing or getting somewhere else, as was sometimes the case when casting <strong>TELEPORTATION</strong>.


    Of course, some Spells could still disrupt this process, but they were not easy to use and needed a lot of preparation.


    Shingi was, of course, familiar with the crystals and the scroll, but he let him exin it nheless to make sure that nothing has changed these past years.


    The Guildmaster held with one hand the unrolled scroll and with the other the crystal of his.


    He started reading some Arcane Words written in the scroll as mana started to be emitted by the scroll and make a circle and different runes in the ground around them.


    After almost a minute, Master Whip finished reading the scroll, and the circle wasplete and started lighting up purplish light.


    A purple portal opened at the center of the circle, and both Shingi and Master Whip jumped in as it wasn''t going to stay there for long.


    Shingi had closed his eyes when he jumped in as the light was very bright to the point of blinding him, and when he opened them, he saw the difference in his surroundings.


    He seemed to be on a mountainside, and he could see a cave not too far from him that he assumed to be the mine''s entrance.


    A few Tamers with their tamed creatures seemed to be on guard when Shingi appeared but calmed down when they show their Guildmaster.


    Master Whip and Shingi moved into the cave and didn''t go too far as an invisible field stopped them.


    Shingi started investigating the area with his detection skills, and it didn''t take him long to find its source.


    There seemed to be a Seal, but it didn''t seem to be a Craft Seal or at least what Shingi would expect a Craft Seal to look like.


    He had encountered Craft Seals in the past but didn''t have <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> then, so he couldn''t detect them then like now.


    It seemed simr to the strange seals of Mikahail''s and Zhen''s, but it seemed to be empowered by the environment''s mana while theirs seem to be self-empowered or were empowered by something he couldn''t detect.


    He did some tests on damaging the Seal and noticed its regenerative ability to be off the charge, making it unbreakable.


    He wasn''t sure if a simr approach as with the other Seals would work in this case as it seemed to damage this strange energy which was their source but here, there wasn''t much of that energy.


    He tried to see if he could manipte any mana, but it seemed that something was restricting him from doing it.


    "Hmmm... it seems to be different from what I thought it to be. There is something I want to test, but I have to ask you to leave me alone in the mine."[Shingi]


    Master Whip, who was the only one in the mine with Shingi, was surprised but seemed to understand as he nodded and made his way out.


    Shingi made sure that he was alone as he would use something he wanted to stay a secret.


    His Spirit Hammer.


    He hadn''t used it today, so he still had his daily use of it.


    He brought it out from his Spatial Ring, and he enabled the active effect of his Blessing of Beliss to boost his detection Skills.


    He turned the hammer into a pick hammer and used the pick to hit a few areas of the field and notice and reactions.


    At first, there didn''t see anything different but then noticed that the regeneration seemed to get slower for a little time if he hit some specific order spots. But if he hit any other area, everything got reset.


    He started working to find the pattern, but it seemed with each reset that the order he had to hit the areas was changing.


    He wanted to cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on himself to speed things up, but he could keep it active for one minute only, and if he used it multiple times each time, the effect would be weaker and wouldst less time. So he had to keep it when he was certain he had found them all.


    He had found ten spots at ten minutes, while on thirty minutes, he had found fifty. Now that he was fifty minutes since he started, he had a little over one hundred, but he still seemed tock some.


    He stopped for a few seconds, and he enabled one of his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> Skills to point all these areas.


    He put in his mind all the patterns he had encountered until now and started "drawing" then with his <strong>VIZUALZASTION</strong> one over the other.


    After ten seconds, which felt like hours for him in his current state, he had found a master pattern.


    It seemed to be one strange rune of an unknownnguage but seemed familiar to Shingi but couldn''t remember where he had seen it.


    Without any dy, he cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on himself, and with inhuman speed, he hit all the areas of the Master Pattern in what seemed like at the same time.


    He understood now that he didn''t have to hit them in a specific order as this was just a ruse but only hit the few of the Master Pattern at the same time.


    In front of him for the first time, the invisible field appeared and looked like ss covering the tunnel.


    After a few seconds, it started cracking in the areas he hit, and the cracks began spreading and looked like the web of a spider.


    When the cracks covered it all, it fell apart, and its pieces started disappearing one after the other.


    As this happened, Shingi jumped to the side and put his hand over his left cheek as blood started running as something cut him.


    Then in front of him, out of the Shadows, appeared a figure was holding some needles at hand.


    She started throwing those needles at Shingi at an incredible speed that even he at his current state was barely able to avoid.


    But Shingi wasn''t nning just on ying defense this time.


    He used two of his Mana Seeds, which was the first time he had done this, to cast <strong>METAL HANDS</strong> and <strong>STONE SKIN</strong>.


    Since he didn''t have to gather the mana or move it from his Mana Pool, the spells were active almost immediately.


    He started deflecting a few of the needles, and it seemed his defense was more substantial, and no damage was dealt at him.


    He went into offense, and the figure adapted to it by dodging his attacks. The figure was almost as fast as he was under the effect of <strong>HASTE</strong>, so he had to finish this before the Spell ended.


    He enabled his Breaking Limit state, which was boosting his speed a little so he could use that to surprise her and finish this.


    He didn''t use all his speed to attack her chest, and the moment she sidestepped, he moved in full speed and appeared behind her.


    He then hit the back of his neck with an open arm and used some of his Light Mana, and made it to get in her.


    The neck area is one of the weak spots with the least resistance against mana, so Shingi used his Light Mana to affect the figure from the inside.


    He used Light Mana, so instead of dealing damage, it started acting line anesthetic and started bringing the figure in a stun-like state.


    He brought out some rope from his Ring and started tying the figure to keep in ce and restrict any further movements.


    That way, the battle ended as fast as it began, and he heard sounds of peopleing from the direction of the entrance of the mine. They were Master Whip and his Guild members who heard the sounds of battle but weren''t fast enough to get there before it ended.


    Shingi took a better look at the figure he just had a battle with as he couldn''t with the speed they were moving.


    It was a female figure.

 Chapter 66: The Secret of the Mine

    Chapter 66: The Secret of the Mine


    Shingi noticed a System Notification appearing that he didn''t know its true meaning yet.


    ================================


    Because of overuse, <strong>CHA</strong> has been set to 0 temporary for 24 hours.


    ================================


    Master Whip and his Guild members reached the point where Shingi was, and even if noticing the individual he fought, they ignored her and went towards where the field was.


    When they didn''t feel any field being there, everyone ran, with everything as fast as possible, back outside the mine to get some mining equipment they had at the ready.


    Master Whip wasn''t among those as he headed towards Shingi.


    "What happened here? Who is she?"[Master Whip]


    Shingi looked towards him as he noticed his voice slightly different from before when he talked to him. It sounded a little colder and demanding like Shingi was one of his employees.


    Shingi ignored this for now but gave him an answer.


    "She looks to be a guardian. You better be on guard in case there are more. I will take care of her."[Shingi]


    Master Whip seems to think of something while looking at the seemingly frozen figure of the guardian of the ce, but as his men were back with the pickaxes and other mining equipment they had prepared just in case, he made his way deeper into the mine.


    Shingi looked towards the figure, who was still awake but seemed to be unable to move. He used a bit more of his Light mana to be safe that her stun wouldst enough time.


    She was wearing studded leather armor, which had even studded leather sleeves and pants.


    Her body type didn''t have too many curves but not too little either it was pretty bnced, fitting someone that fast.


    She also had a currently up hood and a leather mask covering her mouth and nose, letting only her eyes be exposed.


    Her eyes were dark yellow, and their pupil wasn''t a circle but a vertical line like a slit.


    Shingi took her mask down to make sure if his assumptions were correct.


    Now that he could see her whole face.


    There was a fine fur on her face, which was also around the exposed area when her mask covered her mouth and nose, but it looked like skin then. It seemed like the mask was producing some illusion while she was wearing it.


    Shingi knew that she was a Catfolk, one of the game''s Races, and he was almost certain he knew who she was.


    "Anna, I am not here to hurt you. I am a friend of your father." [Shingi]


    He then tried to move this clothing cor to expose his tattoo from Dolg''s Blessing.


    After seeing that, Anna''s eyes got wide from surprise, letting Shingi know that his assumption was correct.


    During his talk with Dlog, he heard about one of his children at the Mortal Realm.


    She was a Catfolk and seemed to be more agile than any of the Catfolks and had taken from her father the love for shiny things like gold and gems. This affection led her to be around some strange people. Dolg had lost connection with her for a few years.


    Dolg had asked Ameanum to keep his attention about her and help her, but he didn''t pay much attention since he didn''t take an actual Quest out of it.


    The reason he was confident that she was Anna was also because of her weapons; the needles.


    Dolg spoke about Anna''s mother a little also, and she seemed to have been an acupuncture practitioner, and Anna had decided to use needles to help others and protect herself.


    She looked to be maybe around 20 or younger years old.


    Catfolks usually live as much as a human, but since Anna was the daughter of a God, she stayed at her adult state for a longer time.


    Shingi released some of his mana that was keeping her head stunned to let her speak.


    "You should leave. This isn''t a ce you should stay for long." [Anna]


    Shingi was curious what she meant by that, but he heard some footstepsing from deeper into the mine towards them.


    He turned and saw Master Whip moving towards him as he was throwing up and catching a piece of mineral while moving. He seemed to be happy as there was a broad smile on his face.


    Shingi made a sign to Anna to let her know to stay still.


    The Guildmaster got in front of the young boy but still had some distance from him but not much.


    "See? I told you there was Mithril here." [Master Whip]


    He kept the silver-colored mineral towards Shingi to get a better look, but he still retained some distance from him.


    But even from that distance, with his detection Skills, Shingi could tell what this was.


    "It seems like our partnership has ended earlier than I thought. Now we don''t need your little shop; we can buy everything we need with the small fortune in there." [Master Whip]


    Then chuckle was heard but wasn''t the Master Whip the oneughing.


    It was Shingi himself.


    "Huh? Why are youughing? Did you lose your mind or something?" [Master Whip]


    Shingi didn''t say something and just snapped his fingers.


    Then from behind Master Whip, he felt something moved and turned as he felt once more the invisible field being there blocking his way back.


    At that point, coughs were heard deeper into the mine and screams.


    The Guildmaster turned towards Shingi, who was already in front of him and had punched him in the stomach.


    This gave him some more time as he brought out his Dagger as he had created his Light de enchantment.


    But Master Whip was high in level, so a hit like that didn''t have as much effect on him; just two seconds.


    Once he was back, he summoned his whip, which seemed to be a better quality Enchanted Whip than what Shingi had seen up until now from the other members of his Guild.


    He started attacking Shingi, who had cast to himself <strong>HASTE</strong> and <strong>STONESKIN</strong> once more, using two more of his Mana Seeds to cast them right away.


    Shingi was affected by his Breaking Limit state and his previous use of Haster, so he didn''t have the inhuman speed he usually had, but he seemed fast enough to dodge most of his opponent''s attacks.


    Some his him and seemed to pass enough as they passed the defenses of his <strong>STONESKIN</strong> and decreased his HP, but not at a threatening level.


    He had to keep feeding his <strong>STONESKIN</strong> with mana to repair it after each hit; otherwise, the next one could be his death.


    He tried to focus on his Enchantment, and he would use another Mana Seed to speed things up, but he couldn''t. When one used a Mana Seed to cast a Spell or Enchantment, the result one wasn''t at full power as a drawback of its fast creation, and he needed his Light de to be at full strength.


    Cause he was getting hit, his casting time for finishing the de was getting increased as he was losing his focus for a few seconds.


    He was close to the minute, and his <strong>HASTE</strong> was over as he finished his de.


    At that point, Master Whip had started coughing some blood creating more openings to his fighting stance.


    Shingi appeared behind him as he jumped a bit to hit him at the same position he had hit Fire Whip back when they fought.


    Master Whip seemed to be a little faster and turned, but he still got hit by the de.


    This time though, it wasn''t a fatal hit as Shingi just missed the vital point he was aiming for.


    But Master Whip had a hand at his neck was blood was running from it, and he started coughing more blood.


    It seemed like he had lost a lot of his stamina and wasn''t able to move anymore.


    Shingi knew that it wasn''t his attack that had this effect, but the mineral Master Whip was holding.


    Shingi moved at him and gave him a few more hits as he turned into particles and disappeared.


    But the particles that were generally white seemed to be greyish this time.


    Shingi cast a <strong>MANA HAND</strong> and moved the mineral away from him.


    This wasn''t Mirthil, but Mana Infected Silver.


    The difference between the two was the way they were created.


    Mirthil was infused with mana at a steady rate for an extended period, while Infected was forced to be infused with mana.


    This led the created minerals to give a specific debuff to anyone in their proximity for some time.


    The Debuff was called <strong>MANA INFECTION</strong>, and it was a nightmare for people, especially yers.


    If one had the Debuff for an extended period, it would lead to getting sick and finally to death.


    But this death was different than normal death for yers.


    Typically when dying, they would lose some experience point. Still, when dying with having <strong>MANA INFECTION</strong>, they would lose a couple of levels and even not be able to respawn for a certain period.


    How many levels and how long it depended on how severe the Debuff was.


    Shingi checked himself and noticed some strange energy in him, but he could exterminate it using some Light Mana.


    Fortunately, he wasn''t overexposed to it.


    At that point, Anna waspletely free as Shingi wasn''t focusing on keeping her in ce.


    She was standing confused, looking at Shingi and in the direction that was leading deeper in the mine.


    "How... how did you do that?" [Anna]


    Shingi turned towards her, and he knew she wasn''t referring to how he beat the high-level yer but how the field was recreated.


    "It is pretty easy. I never allowed it to get fully destroyed." [Shingi]


    Anna seemed confused, and Shingi exined to her what had happened.


    He still thought that this could be a trap of the System, so when the field was breaking, he cast a few of his light <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> which he had <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> on them to keep them nearly invisible to keep parts of the field in ce.


    This way, the field wasn''tpletely broken, but since he kept those parts at an angle, it couldn''t regenerate before they are put back in ce.


    When he snapped his fingers, he had dispelled the <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> leaving everything to get back in ce and let the field regenerate itself.


    Anna was surprised that he could do something like that and even keep his focus during their fight.


    She was even more surprised when she learned that he had no ss either.


    "So now that you are free, what are your ns?"[Shingi]


    Anna didn''t know how to answer.


    She had been imprisoned in that ce for so long, and the reason she tried to fight Shingi was not to allow something that dangerous to get out.


    But now she was at the other side of the field and free, and the field was back in power.


    She wasn''t affected by the <strong>MANA INFECTION</strong> cause of her Godly blood, so she didn''t have to worry about spreading it.


    After a few minutes of hard thinking, she seemed to have made a decision.


    "Can I follow you?" [Anna]


    Shingi nodded and headed outside the mine.


    As for the mineral that Master Whip had brought outside, Shingi put it in his Spatial Ring.


    It wasn''t useful for crafting, but he had to destroy it to make sure there wasn''t a spread.


    Fortunately, while in the Spatial Ring, it wouldn''t affect anything else he had in there.


    When he headed outside, Shingi checked around the Teleportation Circle to see if he could find anything useful.


    He found some crystals, and some seemed to be not assigned to a position. He could use them in the future if he created a Teleportation Circle of his.


    But he didn''t find any scrolls, so he didn''t have a way to Teleport back in Town. The Teleportation Circle was acting as an anchor point and not a form of transportation.


    So the only way back home was by walking, but Shingi wasn''t certain where they were.


    But when asked, Anna seemed to know the way to the nearest Town or at least where it was when she was free.


    So after making sure that there wasn''t anything else he could take from the stuff of the yers that they left behind, they went their way towards where Anna remembered the nearest was.

 Chapter 67: In the way to nearby town

    Chapter 67: In the way to nearby town


    There wasn''t an absolute path leading down the mountain, so Shingi and Anna had to climb down a few ces.


    Fortunately, among the things they found outside the mine, there was also some climbing equipment.


    As they progressed, they weren''t interacting much with each other and focused on advancing down the mountain.


    Shingi didn''t have anything to discuss with her, but Anna seemed to want to say a lot but keeping herself from doing so. He was the first one she met after so long and could interact with, but she didn''t want to be the first one to act.


    Since both of them were quite agile, even if Shingi was in a weakened state for using his Breaking-Limit state, as also <strong>HASTE</strong>, so they reached a standard path leading down after a few minutes.


    It seemed the path was to travel through the mountain. Fortunately, it was going the opposite direction from where the mine was.


    They followed this path going down.


    Anna wasn''t wearing her hood, so her short brown hair that fit her also brown and white fur was out.


    She was wearing her mouth mask, and she was able to focus on it and give her face a different appearance to look like a human. She didn''t want to draw too much attention as Catfolk aren''t typical around towns.


    In less than an hour since they left the mine, they were at the bottom of the mountain. They then headed towards the west after checking the sun to give them the direction they needed.


    Anna told Shingi that the town was just a few hours from here, but they could make it in half the time if they pushed it with their speed.


    Shingi had decided to take it slow, even if that meant they had to make a camp outside.


    It could be dangerous outside, but he wasn''t optimistic about the town they were heading at, so he wanted to get there while there is light to investigate it and not in the middle of the night.


    He was keeping look for any familiarndmarks, but nothing caught his eyes.


    It seemed like they were somewhat far from Carda, but from the climate, it didn''t seem like they were too far, but not within walking distance.


    When it got dark, they started looking for a suitable ce to make a camp.


    Shingi had some tents, bedrolls, and such ready at his Spatial Ring. He was always trying to keep himself prepared for the future, so he kept his Ring almost full with many items that some would consider useless, but they showed their use at some point.


    "So what can you tell me who was the one who made the Seal of the mine?"[Shingi]


    Since they left the mine, this was the first time that Shingi spoke to her, and that surprised Anna.


    She was thinking about what to say, and Shingi detected something familiar.


    Her reluctance was simr to Zhen''s, and he was getting this feeling from her as when he tried to take information from Zhen.


    "I can''t say much as I am not allowed. The individual is a mighty one that even my Father would be wary of. That is the only thing I can share." [Anna]


    If it were in the past, Shingi would be surprised about hearing about an individual like that, but after meeting Mikhail and learning from Ae and Zhen, more individuals like him could create Seal like his; he wasn''t that startled.


    "Then what about going to visit your Father. I am sure he would be happy to see you after that long. He probably will even give you something from his collection." [Shingi]


    Anna seemed to be amused by the idea of a gift from her Father but soon put the thought away.


    "I doubt he will get at this point. He most likely will ask me why I didn''t bring any fancy mineral from the mine andugh at me be trapped there for so long." [Anna]


    Shingi nodded on this as he was confident that this could be the case with the personality of Dlog. He was a greedy fellow but open-hearted as far as he didn''t have to give any of his shinies. But in the rare case, someone has done a big thing for him, he was open to reward him but rarely was from something materialistic.


    Even Ameanum, the only thing he has taken from him was his Blessing, and he even had lost some of his gems or equipment by getting outsmart by Dlog. He was a crafty fellow when it came to get something that drew his interest andze for anything else, except when it came to his children.


    He wasn''t a model Father, but when he was with there, he was a different man, full of energy and letting them y with his collection, while if anyone else tried even to breathe near it, would be lucky to feel the release of death.


    They went over some small talk until Shingi made a sign for her to get quiet, and he put out the fire they had made.


    He enabled his detection Skills at full power, as he and Anna started hiding behind some nearby trees.


    Not much time after that, two humanoid figures came towards their camp.


    They didn''t look human at all but were more lizard-like but very short, almost at the height of Shingi. Their face was following a simr design as a dragon, while their body was more human-like and had a dragon-like tail.


    Shingi recognized them as Kobolds, and they were Monsters met at the low floors of the Tower.


    They were a little more powerful than Goblins as their natural defense was a little higher as they had some scales on their body resisting some of the force of the weapons hitting them.


    The two were only wearing a simple loincloth and had a simple dagger drawn and ready at hand.


    One of them was sniffing the air like he was following a scent.


    Shingi knew that their smell was a little better than humans, but not by far.


    They could also see better in the dark, so he had to be careful not to be caught.


    The first one who hade to the camp turned toward the one who was sniffing the air using their strangenguage.


    *<em>Smell here?</em>*[Kobold #1]


    *<em>Yes... smell close. Very close.</em>*[Kobold #2]


    Shingi had heard theirnguage in the past and knew the basics and understood it. Fortunately, their vocabry wasn''t thatrge as they weren''t monsters with a lot of INT.


    *<em>Should go talk...Chief?</em>* [Kobold #1]


    *<em>NO. This I... and you... Chief no talk.</em>* [Kobld #2]


    The second Kobold had brought his dagger toward the first to show it as a sign of warning to keep acting as ordered to.


    As Shingi was currently thinking of the best approach, he barely noticed something as the two Kobolds fell to the ground unconscious.


    Of course, the one behind this was Anna.


    She had thrown some of her needles at the Kobolds and hit some specific areas of their forehead, which led them to pass out with the needles'' pressure.


    Anna was familiar with the anatomy of many creatures, especially humanoid ones, so she could make simr attacks and have simr effects on many. But she had to be quick and surprise them so that they don''t defend against it.


    Shingi extended his detection Skills to make sure that no other Kobold was around, even if he was confident of it being the case after hearing their discussion. But the rest of their people wouldn''t be too far, but at least for now, they weren''t heading towards them.


    Shingi brought out his robe and started tying up the two Kobolds by having one back facing the other''s back.


    After making confident it was tight enough, Anna took her needles from them, releasing the pressure on those points and letting them wake up.


    When they were back conscious, and the first Kobold seeing Shingi, who was standing in front of him, tried to stand and charge him. But because he was tied to the other Kobold, he couldn''t move.


    *Me talk. You listen* [Shingi]


    ================================


    LANGUAGE LEARNED


    Thenguage <strong>DRAGONIC</strong> has been learned at Low Rank.


    ================================


    Languages were simr to skills on their ranking system but were more convenient to rank up, and their max was at Master Rank.


    The Kobold seemed confused about hearing the boy speaking theirnguage, while the other one hadn''t seen Shingi yet, so it was still fighting to get itself free but had no luck on that.


    Anna appeared in front of the Kobold, who was still trying to get free and holding some of her longer needles, which were around ten centimeters in height each, brought them near the Kobold''s neck.


    She seemed to pierce a little an area there, and even if it didn''t seem to be something big, the Kobold appeared to be in pain but couldn''t scream as Anna was keeping his mouth shut with her free hand.


    After a few seconds, Anna brought out the needles and starred at the Kobold for a few more seconds before leaving his mouth.


    The Kobold didn''t move a muscle or said anything after that, as he seemed to have understood the situation it was currently in.


    Shingi was impressed with Anna''s skills, but he returned his focus toward the other Kobold.


    *<em>You n? Size?</em>* [Shingi]


    The Kobold, even if it didn''t see what happened to the other Kobold or heard any screams, could understand of it be tortured from the movements of its back.


    Kobolds aren''t courageous creatures unless they have the advantage of the numbers, but it isn''t rare to see them run away even then.


    *<em>n small. Big man attack. Big man make n leave home. Stupid Chief say no return... no attack flesh ones. We hungry.</em>* [Kobold #1]


    Shingi seemed to grasp a little the situation.


    Their leader seemed to be smart enough not to attack the nearby town as most likely they would be annihted, especially if they are as few as Shingi assumed them to be.


    He wondered who that Big Man was, but he couldn''t get a good description from the Kobolds after interrogating them more, but he was confident that he wasn''t a human.


    He seemed to be like five-time his height which was a size no human could reach with ordinary means, so it seemed to be some giant humanoid monster.


    But their home ce seemed to be quite far from here, so Shingi just put it as a note of it in his mind for the future.


    He freed the Kobolds and even gave them some simple rations that he had with him that were enough for two dozens of people typically. He took them from the mine as yers have to get feed as in reality or get debuffs, and also some foods were giving extra benefits, but those he gave were normal ones.


    He wasn''t just going to kill any monster he found with no reason as they were out to survive too and would help them if he could.


    Anna seemed impressed with his approach but didn''t say anything.


    She was curious to learn more about this strange boy.


    After the Kobolds left, they decided to move their camp to be safe.


    Shingi said to keep watches as they rest, but Anna pressured him to let her take the full watch while he got some rest.


    Shingi, this time didn''t go to his TRANCE ROOM but instead tried to use his Light Mana to speed up his restoration of being at full power after using the Breaking-Limit State.


    After seeing and feeling the effects of Narlin''s Spells, he had a few ideas of using his Light-Element mana better to heal himself.


    Early in the morning, he seemed to have seeded in restoring himself to 100% saving him some time as if he waited, he would be back to normal at some time after noon.


    He stood up and saw that Anna seemed to have fallen asleep during her watch.


    Shingi smiled at the view and didn''t wake her but instead went to his meditate stance.<ol><li>Using * when someone speaks a differentnguage than the Common Language</li></ol>

 Chapter 68: Outside the town

    Chapter 68: Outside the town


    Shingi had detected some mana with good earthpatibility to use at his tree. It was using it in its roots and its ce that his Earth Element mana was produced and stored to strengthen it but not to extend it, not to disrupt the bnce it currently had with the Light Mana.


    He didn''t find any mana with over 70%patibility, but there was quite a good amount of mana ranging from 60 to 65 % that was helpful to him.


    When he finished gathering and feeding all this mana to his tree, he ended his meditation as he noticed that Anna was awake.


    Anna noticed that he had woken up and was almost certain that he caught her sleeping while on watch, but she didn''t want to ask to be entirely certain.


    They had some of the rations left that they hadn''t given to the Kobolds and started their way towards the town.


    Shingi had asked Anna to tell him what he had known of the town, but she didn''t know much as she hadn''t been in and had just passed near it without getting in.


    They reached it within hours, and it seemed not a small town like Carda.


    There was a stone wall surrounding it, and even if Shingi couldn''t see the total size of the extension of the wall at the left and right, he knew that this was arge city but not a metropolis.


    As they got nearer and noticed more details on the wall, his eyes saw a banner with the shape of a flying white Eagle on it.


    Seeing that Shingi had an idea where they may be, and told Anna to be careful.


    They got in front of the gate as there were two guards there, one sitting on a wooden bench, while the other was standing up still as a statue.


    Both seemed human, but the one standing was young, close to his second decade, while the one sitting was quite old, maybe in his fifties.


    As Shingi and Anna reached the two of them, Shingi decided to stop by the older man, which he could tell by his armor, that had a little different design from the younger man, that he was of higher rank.


    "Halt, there. What business do you have here?" [Older Guard]


    "A few evil men enved my mother and me, but we were able to escape. There was a Blessed One that had helped us but said he had other business to take care of and suggest to takee here." [Shingi]


    The Old Guard, even if he looked a rtively simple man, Shingi could tell that he was looking at his every move and trying to read if there was anything strange.


    "I see. Well, the town isn''t open to taking refugees as we are rebuilding ourselves. Even if I could let you in, you wouldn''t be able to find any ce to stay." [Old Guard]


    At that point, the younger Guard have also joined them and seemed concerned and was ready to suggest something, but the more senior Guard just gave him a simple look and, in the end, stayed silent.


    "What if we don''t want to be refugees in the town?"[Shingi]


    The Old Guard seemed to get confused about the young boy and looked towards the adult woman staying silent besides Shingi.


    It seemed suspicious that the young boy was doing the talking while the adult was staying silent.


    "The Blessed One who saved also gave us some money. We are from Carda, and we want to use the Teleportation Circle of the city to get there." [Shingi]


    The Old Guard seemed to get more suspicious of it as he turned towards Anna.


    "What do you have to say?"[Olg Guard]


    Anna didn''t say anything a first but then started making some motion with her hands. It was signnguage, which fortunately the Old Guard didn''t know how to read but knew what it was.


    He understood then why the woman wasn''t speaking because she was mute.


    "Oh, I am sorry, but even an old man like me can''t read this signnguage. I will continue speaking with your boy then. My name is William, by the way." [William]


    He seemed to be somewhat embarrassed by his assumptions but tried not to show it.


    "Indeed, the Teleportation Circle is still working, but I don''t think you will be able to use it anytime soon. Unless you know any important figure in the town."[William]


    Shingi acted like he was trying to remember something as after a few seconds, he seemed to have remembered it.


    "The blessed one mentioned something. A tower of water or something, and someone named Ben?" [Shingi]


    The Old Guards eyes went wide when he heard the name.


    "Master Benjamin of the Water Spire?" [William]


    Shingi nodded to show that this was probably the one the "Blessed One" was talking about. The Water Spire was part of an organization called the Four Spires.


    There were four spires, each representing a different of the essential elements, and the Water Spire was in this city called Zephron.


    "Well, if that is true, he may be able to help you, but I can''t bring you to him or even ask for him to see you without actual proof that this Blessed One knows him. Do you have anything like that or know when he is going to return?" [William]


    Shingi went back on acting that he tried to remember something, as he already had a n in mind when they reached the gate.


    "Ehm.... he said that we could use some kind of code if asked?." [Shingi]


    He cleared his throat and said in a somewhat more resounding voice.


    "When the ice melts, those are its tears.


    When the water boils, those are the fumes of anger.


    To calm it, you need the right bnce.


    When you reach the bnce, you will find the calm." [Shingi]


    This didn''t make sense to any of the Guards, but they decided to give it a go, as it didn''t appear to be something a young man would say out of nowhere.


    The younger man got in the town to deliver the message while Anna and Shingi stayed with William waiting.


    There was space on the bench for them to sit, and William gave them some soup he had that his wife had prepared for him and the other Guard this morning.


    "Can I ask what happened in the town? You mentioned something about it getting rebuild, but the walls seem to be fine." [Shingi]


    "Well, it is a big story, so I won''t bother you with all the details. Just a few weeks months, the town was under the control of a Half-Demon, but he seemed more than a full Demon to me if you ask me. He had under his control an undead army, as he was a practitioner of the Dark Arcane Arts and had cut anymunication of the town with the outside world. A few Blessed Ones, like the one who saved you, have tried to get rid of them, but none seemed to be able to pass its traps and army. Until the Dragons came." [William]


    The Old Man cleared his throat with drinking some water, as Shingi''s eyes were wide with confusion.


    The Old Mana mentioned Dragons and not a Dragon. But even if he said of one Dragon, how did that helped the city and didn''t eradicate it.


    "It was the craziest thing I have ever seen in my life, and I have seen many crazy things. But the moment I saw almost a dozen different colored Dragons flying towards the city and then starting fighting the undead army is something that this Old Man will never forget. The Half-Demon was reported to have been able to get away, and the Dragons didn''t stay long. Of course, they had caused quite a bit of damage in the city, but at least we are free now, and we can rebuild whatever was lost." [William]


    Shingi was confused about the story. Not only multiple Dragons showed up, but they were of a different color and have fought together against an Evil Army to save a city of flesh-ones as they would call it.


    This was more than unheard of; it was something that not even the crazier man could imagine happening.


    Dragons have fight side by side in the past, but most of the time, it was less than four different colored ones, but now William told him that was almost a dozen different ones.


    There was only one person he could think of that would be able to make something like that.


    The Father of All Dragons, Dormon.


    He asked William, and it seemed that a few had noticed a figure over one of the Dragons, but since none could get close enough, they couldn''t be entirely certain about it.


    After discussing some more, both Shingi''s and William''s attention was drawn by Anna, who started pointing at the top of the wall.


    They saw a figure jumping from the wall and making some gestures with its hand as she released the water from a waterskin from its side.


    The water was moved under the figure and started extended and getting frozen and was creating a slider down the wall ending just less than a meter from them.


    With great agility for its size, the figure seemed somewhat short and wide, slid down, andnded perfectly.


    She was a female Dwarf and was an Arcane Practitioner, which was rare for Dwarves as they were more in research on the ways of crafting and not of the arcane.


    Her ropes were of a typical arcane practitioner, but she had removed the sleeves. Her hair waspletely blue, with some white at its side, but because of her eyebrows color being dark brown, one could tell that her hair was painted that way.


    "Who of you is the one who wants to speak to little Ben?" [Dwarf Woman]


    Shingi stepped forward without a second thought.


    "You?!? I was waiting for someone who had passed puberty. Well, then I guess you will do."[Dwarf Woman]


    Without any warning, the female Dwarf made a move with her right hand, which looked like pping the air with the back of her hand. An attack simr to the AIR SLASH of Annoue, but made out of the water she controlled, made its way towards Shingi.


    It wasn''t that fast that Shingi wouldn''t be able to avoid it, but he couldn''t show his skills in front of everyone. Fortunately, he didn''t have to.


    Just a second before the attack reached Shingi; it was cut in half as a figure appeared in front of him.


    This figure was, of course, Anna.


    She had in her hand the Dagger of Shingi that he had lent her just in case for this kind of situation.


    The Old Man''s eyes were wide with confusion about what was happening and now knowing what to do since he knew of the female Dwarf and her personality.


    All he could do was that none would get seriously hurt.


    The female Dwarf made more WATER SLASH attacks and even some who were in the form of ICE SPIKES.


    But Anna was quicker than her and could dodge each of the attacks and even deflect those who had a chance to hit Shingi, who just stayed where he was.


    The battle didn''t continue for long as the direction heard a voice of the gate.


    "THAT''S ENOUGH! This isn''t the way to wee possible friends." [Unknown man]


    Everyone turned to watch the person who talked.


    It was a young human boy wearing simr robes with the Dwarf and simr colored hair, although his hair was making a ponytail, while the Dwarf''s hair was cut short.


    The boy was looking to be too young, maybe around the age of Shingi, but he had an air around him of someone of experience and age.


    This was the one Shingi talked about, Master Benjamin of the Water Spire.

 Chapter 69: Master Benjamin

    Chapter 69: Master Benjamin


    Shingi knew Benjamin, or Ben as he allowed his friends to call him, as he had gotten to know many NPCs. He waspleting Quests for them and discussing their possible research if they had any.


    Ben was part of a race so ancient that it has been erased from History. They were beings that look like humans, but they age at a prolonged rate, even slower than elves.


    The actual age of Ben wasn''t known, but there are recordings of him and his work for thest couple of hundreds of years. But even so, his appearance hasn''t changed at all during that time.


    The female Dwarf and Anna stopped their fight, the former seemingly out of respect and thetter cause of curiosity for the new individual.


    Shingi moved to stand in front of Anna and bowed towards Ben while making his right hand touch his left shoulder while he had only his thumb, index, and middle finger open.


    Ben seemed somewhat surprised by that movement.


    "How fascinating. We may actually have a lot to discuss, young man. Well, follow me." [Ben]


    Everyone was confused.


    Shingi just did a simple bow and got the attention of Master Ben? Even the female Dwarf didn''t know what was going on, but she didn''t seem to want to say against a decision made by him.


    Shingi get his body straight, told Anna to follow as he started following Ben.


    What he did may have seemed like a simple bow, but the action with his fingers at the shoulder was a signal they had decided to use. But it wasn''t the only one as there were many depending on the time of day or the ce and other factors to know the one who used it was a trustworthy one.


    But of course, Shingi knew them all as he was the one who gave him the idea and how it would work.


    They headed in the town through a smaller door, as the actual gate was massive and would take time for it to open.


    After going through some corridors, and turns they finally were in the city.


    Ben continued towards the center of the city, and more specifically, a tall tower that every corner could see of the city.


    The town was mostly ck in color, but there were some blue details here and there.


    When they reached it, they could see the front entrance being three meters tall and two meters wide, and at each side were two guards.


    But those were town guards as they didn''t wear any armor or had any weapons on them; those were Martial Monks of the Water Spire.


    Each of them was wearing a sky-blue bandana covering their mouths and noses, and their hairstyle was a white mohawk.


    Their clothing followed the style of Ben''s and the female Dawrf''s ropes, but the were adjustments to make their movements easier to fight.


    The Monks of the Water Spire weren''t just using Martial Arts but could also control the Water Element to a degree to help them, and in some cases, they have even developed the Ice Element.


    Those guards were very powerful that maybe even Ameanum would have some trouble dealing with them.


    This made him realize how powerful that Half-Demon was if even the Water Spire couldn''t do anything.


    Ben continued and walked into the Tower, and the guards stayed still without asking any questions.


    Shingi followed without caring, and Anna also followed as she wasn''t afraid but mostly cause she didn''t know how powerful those guards were. The guards let them pass as they seemed to be with Master Benjamin.


    They started getting up a rounded staircase, and in the way, they encountered many people who bowed towards Benjamin and showed signs of respect.


    After they went over a couple of floors, they reached a corridor with some doors at left and right and one at the end.


    Ben opened the one at the end, it was leading to a room with bookcases full with room left and right and at the end a desk with a big open book, a throne-like chair behind the desk, and a few chairs in front of it.


    There were some constructions on the walls, like mechanical clocks, music boxes, and many other trinkets one could have tinkered with.


    Ben sat on the throne-like chair as he pointed to the rest of the chairs for them to sit.


    Anna went to get a seat but stopped when she noticed Shingi staying where he was and starring at one of the chairs.


    "Is something wrong?"[Anna]


    He turned towards Ben, and a smirk appeared on Shingi''s face.


    "Could we get some chairs that don''t bit?"[Shingi]


    Anna seemed confused as those chairs looked like ordinary chairs.


    Until a crack appeared in the seat, and as it opened, teeth appeared too and a tongue.


    These chairs were mimic, nasty creatures that can transform into objects and try to bite you when you came in contact with them, and their bite can be quite nasty.


    Some pping started to be heard in the room, and it was Ben, the one who was pping.


    "Hahaha.... truly impressive. You seem like you really are a trustworthy one."[Ben]


    This was one more of Ben''s tests as he never knew if one had randomly used one of their signals.


    Ben snapped his fingers, and some chairs that were in the corner took the ce of the mimic ones. The mimics had walked away in the meantime. These were regr chairs, so Shingi took a seat, and Anna followed him after a few seconds.


    "So may I know the names of my new friends?" [Ben]


    Shingi took a deep breath as he gave his answer.


    "I am Shingi Maki, or that''s how I am known now, but you know me as a different person with a different name. I am Ameanum." [Shingi]


    He went over his story, letting out any game-rted parts, and during all that, Ben''s expression didn''t change a bit.


    But that wasn''t the case for Anna.


    She now understood why that young boy knew that much and was that powerful without having a ss. She was feeling a little better about being beaten by him now, but just a bit.


    When Shingi finished exining everything, he waited for Ben to say something.


    "So you are one of THEM, you say." [Ben]


    Shingi was confused as he didn''t expect this response.


    "I have found indication of some individuals that are emitting a special aura, but every time I got close to one, they mysteriously vanished. Maybe your friends, the New Gods, want them to be a secret; what a waste." [Ben]


    Shingi remembered Night Wind telling him that he wasn''t the only NPC created this way, but he never thought about the other ones.


    He doubted he had met any of them.


    "So you want to go back to Carda, you say? Well, I can help with that, but I may need to use some help with my research."[Ben]


    Shingi, at this point, had regretted his decision of telling him everything.


    He knew that Ben''s research methods were somewhat peculiar, especially for the one he was testing on.


    "What do you want?"[Shingi]


    Ben asked Anna to leave the room as he snapped his finger, and the furnitures started moving to make some space.


    Shingi noticed that some were moving cause of Ben''s Spell, and some were mimics, including Ben''s desk.


    What followed were various tests, some easy as taking a blood sample, and some not so simple as Shingi being hanged upside down while punched by an animated glove while in a burble of Healing.


    This progressed for one hour or at least an hour for people outside the room. Inside passed ten days as Master Benjamin was able to control the room''s time as it wasn''t a room in the Tower, but a pocket dimension created by him, and the room''s door was a portal to it.


    When all was over, Shingi was at full power physically, but mentally he had a few scars. But he progressed as something like that couldn''t destroy his will to continue.


    As they went outside the room to get Anna, she seemed to have been surrounded by a few individuals; most of them female.


    Since this was a research tower, even if it was mostly based around the Element of Water, many here were powerful Arcane Practioner. So some could see behind Anna''s Illusion and see her proper form, and she decided to drop it altogether.


    She came to regret this decision.


    As a Catfolk, she had a charisma that many people would be jealous of, and as the daughter of a God, she was one to cherish with your eyes.


    Since the rarity of Catfolks, most here haven''t seen one but heard of them. Especially since it seems they seem to be of the race who cannot use Water Based Element Mana or Spells.


    Some were interested in making tests on her, others wanted to pet her, others wanted some advice, and the list was going on.


    A cough was heard as everyone turned towards the source and noticed Master Benjamin with Shingi at his side.


    Everyone froze for a few seconds and then turned and left.


    Anna sighed with relief as she was almost at her limit of using her needles on them.


    "I must say it was nice to see you, my friend. But as always, I guess we need to say our goodbyes. Good luck." [Ben]


    Without saying anything else, he waved as a portal like of a teleportation circle appeared under Anna and Shingi, and they fall in them.


    Unlike before, where the teleportation was instant, this time they were in a purple-like area, and they kept falling. After a few seconds, they saw another pair of portals opening just a little distance under them, and since they were falling, they went through them.


    Theynded on the ground where it seemed to be in the middle of a forest, but Shingi recognized the ce. It was between the town and his tree hideout.


    Shingi and Anna stood up and checked if they broke anything in the unusual way of getting here. Everything seemed to be ok.


    As Shingi was going closer to the town, he noticed a few yers hidden, but not hidden enough for him not to see them.


    They were yers of the Whip Masters Guild.


    Shingi understood the situation, so he used the secret entrance through the wall to get into the town.


    Anna followed him and hadn''t any problem being stealthy as she was a master do it and even better than Shingi or even Ameanum.


    They made their way to the shop, where they noticed, on their way there, more yers, and when getting there, the shop seemed to be no busy at all but empty of customers.


    ''So they want to y this game?''[Shingi]


    Shingi knew that Master Whip and his Guild did this as even if he probably hasn''t spawned yet, but he could givemands through people in real life who could.


    Even if a few yers were watching the shop for anyone entering it, Shingi, with his INVISIBILITY, could get him and Anna in with no problem.


    Inside there was only Greg and Volig, who seemed to discuss what to do.


    Shingi made himself visible at this point.


    "Oh, Mr. Shingi, you are back. We thought those people had kept you as a hostage." [Greg]


    Both of them seemed relieved when they saw Shingi and him being well.


    "Things went somewhat different than expected and had to improvise. I see they keep a grudge for it, though."[Shingi]


    "Yes, not only we had nobody entering the store today, but even the one who had any slots gave them back and demanded their offerings to be returned. Since the number was that great, we weren''t able to do anything as nobody seemed to want to help. Even the Mayor seems to have her hands tied."[Greg]


    Shingi put his hand on his chin, and after a while, he turned towards Anna, who the other two just noticed.


    "What do you think?"[Shingi]


    Anna looked towards him and gave him a smirk.


    "Well. If they want war, let''s give it to them." [Anna]

 Chapter 70: Annas past

    Chapter 70: Anna''s past


    Anna''s main ss was Rogue and had the Special ss of True Assassin.


    The Assassin ss is a typical one for yers to earn if they want to focus on stealth and to hit from the shadows, but it is considered a cheap imitationpared to Anna''s True Assassin ss.


    Not only were there new skills learned with this ss but also some were strengthened. For example, her <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill was more effective when in the shadows as she could be one with them and no detection skills lower than Master would be able to see a thing, and even Master ones would just have a chance.


    She could move through shadows and teleport from one shadow to another but within a specific range. The good thing about this ability was it wasn''t considered a Spell, so it didn''t need Mana to be used, but it was putting a strain on her body the more she used it without a break.


    Her perception was even better than Shingi''s, as her ss needed to earn information for the target before acting.


    The reason she had this ss was because of her mother. Her mother was a mortal, and no matter what, even as a <em>Catfolk</em>, it woulde the time that she had to say the final goodbye to her child.


    She was a caring woman of loving her daughter more than anything and had taught her everything she knew.


    She taught her how to use the needles for healing, as she was a practitioner of acupuncture and how to use them to protect herself.


    She was happy seeing her child growing, even when Anna''s body didn''t seem to grow old as much as hers was, but was happy for her child to keep her good looks for more time and live and experience more things.


    But in the end, she didn''t get the chance to say goodbye as one day that Anna was gone to buy some supplies they needed. When Anna returned, she found their house destroyed and her mother dead.


    She had demanded from <em>Dolg</em> for an exnation, and he sawed her a vision of who did it, but he wasn''t able to do anything else as Gods were prohibited from acting in the Mortal Realm for something like that.


    But Anna didn''t have to follow this rule.


    She started looking and earning any information about the people who did it and nned her revenge.


    It seemed that it was a young gentleman, son of a rich guy, who was too spoiled and acted as the world belonged to him. He had heard about the beauty of the Catfolks as also about the whereabouts of two.


    When he saw Anna''s mother, he was disappointed with the younger one not being around, but as a man of no patience, he decided to get her and maybe return in the future for the other one.


    But Anna''s mother wasn''t someone simple and wouldn''t just live without a fight. She used her Catfolk ws and injured the spoiled young man and some of his people.


    The young man got angry cause the injury was on his face and even damaged his right eye, but nothing that magic healing couldn''t deal with.


    At that point, he didn''t care about the beauty of her and just wanted her dead. Unfortunately, his men were quite powerful and were able to kill her, and they destroyed the house to leave a message.


    The young nobleman had taken the tail of hers as a trophy.


    Anna was earning information as she didn''t want to kill him but to make him miserable enough to wish for himself to die. He had to lose everything as she lost everything.


    His family had an Alchemy Company creating a massive number of potions and pills used all over the country. Their power and sources were a little less than of the King himself.


    It took her years to earn the information of how the target''s family business was working, and with careful moves, she was making the changes needed.


    She was assassinating people responsible for specific tasks, making sure people she could manipte took their ce. She sabotaged some shipments or stores or even spread rumors about theirpany and some side effects of their products.


    She worked on that pan for 50 years until the not so young noble who was now the one owning thepany was desperate. Nothing he did was working, and they weren''t making any profit but instead were in massive debt.


    He was losing one store after the other.


    Many of his prominent Alchemists had either vanished or decided to quit.


    Even the King, who was a supporter of his family in the past, didn''t help him by giving him a loan. Same for each of the others <em>''friends''</em> of his family. Anna had made sure to cut their ties.


    Thepany, in the end, was utterly devoured by others or sold for a low price.


    His family exiled the noble one as responsible for what happened to them, and he couldn''t say anything, as his father, who was mostly caring for him, had mysteriously died a few years ago.


    He barely got some money to get a ce of his own, but it could hardly be called a house.


    Then one day, between his usually crying of his bad luck, a figure appeared in front of him.


    He didn''t have time to say anything as he felt a slight pinch on his forehead. At that point, everything turned dark as he lost the ability to see.


    Then he felt another one on his neck and wasn''t able to speak.


    Two more he felt at his shoulders, and he lost his ability to move his arms.


    Another two at his knees, and he couldn''t feel or use his legs.


    After a few seconds of silence, he heard a female voice at his ears whispering.


    "Your debt is considered paid now." [Anna]


    And with that, she left him alone even if she could kill him.


    Having only the ability to hear what happens around him and can only guess but cannot act.


    Even if someone found him, it would be toote to fix him and would take too many coins to do so if tried either way.


    Anna had her revenge after that long, and that was when she had officially earned her ss of True Assassin.


    After all those years, she had forgotten details like the name of her target, but not the lessons she learned during her first mission.


    From that point, she wasn''t trustworthy of people she didn''t know, but there were exceptions. Mainly people owing shiny things as this affection of hers was hard to control even at her current age.


    The person who was responsible for her being trapped in the mine was one like that.


    Anna never got the chance to see his face no matter what he tried, but he had given her many tasks and rewarded her with many things for her collection.


    He was the one who gave her the special mask.


    She considered him to be her first friend, but things changed when they found the mine.


    He was a man of many resources, but he never was a greedy one.


    They havee across the mine by ident after searching for the whereabouts of an individual who had vanished in the nearby area.


    One of the rare cases was that he wasing with Anna on a mission as he said that this was an important one.


    When they found the silver, Anna wasn''t aware of what it really was.


    But her friend was.


    He was a craftsman of great skill, but Anna wasn''t sure of his Rank but was confident that he was at least Master Rank if not more.


    He made the Seal, entrapping both of them with the silver.


    He knew that they would spread the disease if they went outside, and he wasn''t willing to let it happen. He wasn''t aware of Anna''s godly background as it wasn''t something she was saying to anyone, so she was trapped with him.


    Until Anna asked him what he had done and exined everything, it was toote to bring down the Seal to let her out.


    Anna could not destroy the Seal herself, so the only thing she could do was to wait.


    She had tried to see if she could dig her way out, but the silver was more solid than a normal one and surrounding every wall, leaving her unable to do anything without a tool.


    Also, the Seal didn''t only trap her physically but didn''t let any means ofmunication work with the outside work; that''s why Dolg couldn''t find her.


    One would have gone crazy after being alone and trapped in there, but Anna''s patience and will were unbroken.


    She had spent 50 years to get her revenge, so she was ready to wait for even more for the chance to get out.


    After who knows how much time had passed, she saw the first crack on the field who wasn''t invisible anymore.


    At that point of happiness came the worry of the spread that her friend had tried to stop.


    She had to act, and when the field was down, she charged on the one behind it.


    That''s how she came to meet Shingi.

 Chapter 71: The beginning of a trip

    Chapter 71: The beginning of a trip


    Shingi had decided to let Anna make ns to deal with their current situation, as she had more experience in the possible tactics for one to use.


    She had given a few ideas for the possible tactics to use, but Shingi told her they had to keep things as quiet as possible and not draw too much attention. Especially from more Blessed Ones and the Dark Guild.


    After giving some orders for Volig and Greg to prepare some things, Anna was left with Shingi to discuss the final details.


    "We going to need more help to pull this off." [Anna]


    Shingi nodded as he was nning to ask his students for help, although he was confident that Tycoon wouldn''t be back yet from her training.


    "You should bring your other self here. He is going to be an important factor on the n."[Anna]


    Anna was there when he exined everything to Ben and had mentioned how he had ess to his Blessed One body.


    He had thought of bringing him here, but he was busy with his NPC body training to focus on making this trip.


    But he had to agree that this was something that would make things easier.


    After discussing some final details, Shingi cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> once more on him and went his way towards the Mayor''s office.


    Fortunately, after unlocking <strong>MINOR MANA REGENERATION</strong>, his time using Spells like invisibility increased slightly.


    He noticed that the Mayor''s office seemed to also be under watch. The number of yers of the Guild in the town seemed to had significantly increased sincest time.


    Shingi made it in the office without any problem, as most of them seemed to be low level.


    Inside, a, Karemon, and Little Phoenix seemed to be here to learn more on Enchantments. She was getting close but still had some way to go.


    "Oh, wee, Shingi. I see you are well. I expected you to show up sooner orter. What can we help you with?"[a]


    "I am sure that you are aware of the situation with the Blessed Ones'' Guild. I have an individual who has a n to deal with them, but we will need help." [Shingi]


    He exined the n and told Phoenix to go to the shop to meet Anna but to use her <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> to make sure not to be seen.


    As expected, Tycoon wasn''t back, and Shingi told Phoenix not to ask her toe after she said she couldmunicate with her. It was better for Tycoon to finish her training and not disrupt her unless they had no option.


    After Phoenix left, Shingi asked the Mayor and her helper if they had a room he could use for a few days and not be disturbed.


    Even if they found it a little weird of a request, they gave him a small room in the office building, which was pretty much unused for now and had a few things stored there but had a lot of empty space for his needs.


    He needed just a ce for his body toy asleep as he was trying to get in town as Ameanum.


    He told them that he would be away for some time and if they needed anything they should talk with Anna.


    And with that, after a lot of time, he enabled his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>.


    This time he could feel the transition and notice a few details better than before.


    He had noticed strange energy that seemed to be separating from his NPC body, and it didn''t seem to transfer him to his yer''s body but to construct one.


    When it was finished, he noticed the difference between the two bodies. Since Ameanum was a Warrior, he didn''t have any mana and couldn''t use <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, so he had to adjust a little as he used to have that Skill enabled pretty much active all the time.


    But his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> was still better, so it wasn''t like he was clueless about his surroundings.


    He was still in Picton, and the trip to Carda was quite big. Fortunately, he had a few coins since he could use the coins stored in the unique dimension Dolg''s Blessing was giving him.


    He didn''t have too much in there, as they used quite a bit of coin to reconstruct the shop.


    He also had to be careful about what Skills he would use as he didn''t want to overuse something and transfer it to his NPC self, which could ruin his ss selection.


    ================================


    Do you want to disable the <strong>SHARE EXPERIENCE</strong> function?


    <strong>YES / NO</strong>


    ================================


    Ameanum was surprised by the sudden System''s notification and its content.


    He had never heard of the SHARE EXPERIENCE function, but it could be something the System itself had created.


    People programmed not everything as the System was a unique AI responsible for calcting, learning, and adjusting monsters and NPCs behaviors for a better experience for the yers.


    It was mostly doing reports, and an actual person of the Company was doing the update, but there were some rare cases that the System was creating something new by itself.


    Ameanum was confident that Night Wind would tell him about this kind of function if it was something they created while he was away, as he had mentioned his ability to get to his yer''s body.


    Ameanum enabled the function, as even if he could transfer some practical Skills, it would ruin his bnce on what he had.


    Now he had to find a way to get in Carda.


    The faster way was through Teleportation, but it was quite expensive, and since he had to move between Kingdoms, it was something that would use either known routes, and his trip would be possible to find out or use secret ones but need a lot of sources and coins to do so.


    He wanted to keep himself a secret, so he had to do things the hard way.


    Anna told him that he should have at most five days, so he had to hurry.


    Picton had a Teleportation Circle that he could use and move within the Kingdom without drawing attention.


    He had enough coins to use the Teleportation Circle three times, so he had to be careful with where to go.


    Picton was a beginner''s town, and after the disappearance of their Master SMITH, it was quieter than usual.


    Ameanum started his way towards the building with the Teleportation Circle.


    On the way, he noticed a few yers, but all were under level 10 as the nearby monsters, and Goblin Cave was most suitable for them.


    He reached the building quickly and noticed outside was a crowd of yers. There was also an NPC in front of the main door of the building blocking anyone from entering.


    The NPC was simrly dressed as the Martial Monks of the Water Spire Shingi met just some time ago, but the colors instead of blue and white were white and yellow.


    We didn''t have a mohawk, but he was bald but didn''t look too old, maybe in his twenties. Ameanum could tell that he had shaved his head and not naturally bald.


    He seemed to be human, and Ameanum could tell by using his Eagle Eyes that he was a powerful NPC but not as powerful as Ware Spire''s Monks. But still, the yer''s of the town had no chance of dealing with him.


    He seemed not to allow anyone to get it, and anyone who came too close seemed to be pushed back without the monk moving, or more specifically, without them being able to see him move.


    But Ameanum could see all his movements, and they were pretty decent.


    yers grew restless, but none was brave enough to do anything about it.


    "Please stand aside."[Ameanum]


    Everyone turned to see who spoke to see Ameanum on his impressive for beginner equipment but nothing too fancy.


    Most made way for him to pass, but some went back to talk with each other to find a way to pass this strange NPC.


    Ameanum had enough space to move in front of the monk.


    "Hello there. Can you let me pass? I have ces to go." [Ameanum]


    The monk looked at him, showing he wasn''t too impressed with what he was seeing.


    "Only the strong can get what they want."[Monk]


    At that moment, without further warning, the monk wanted to push Ameanum back by punching him and use the force of his punch to push him back and used one of his Skills to increase that force.


    As expected, he hit Ameanum, but Ameanum didn''t get pushed even slightly.


    Ameanum was expecting this as he saw him doing it and had prepared, and with his current stats, and skills he was able to withstand something like that without much problem.


    "So am I strong enough to pass?"[Ameanum]


    The monk seemed impressed when he gave him a bow as he pulled his hands together in front of his face, with one being an open palm and the other a closed fist.


    "May I ask a favor of the master then?"[Monk]


    "Then follow me." [Ameanum]


    We went towards a counter where a person who was responsible for the circle was sitting. He gave both him and the monk the coins to use the circle towards the destination he had chosen.


    They used it, and the teleportation happened without any problems. The building they arrived at was somewhat simr to Picton''s but was a bit bigger.


    The ce they got at was a city closer to the borders with the North Kingdom.


    They moved and got in a tavern and didn''t speak with each other until they got a table.


    Usually, Ameanum wouldn''t ept this request since he was in a hurry, but this was a particr case.


    "So what does a monk of the Air Spire wants help with? I heard you people do not show up a lot." [Ameanum]


    Air Spire was another of the spires like Water Spire, but its location was unknown. Some were thinking it didn''t even exist.


    Ameanum hadn''t found a clue for the Spire''s people or its location even after ying the game for so long.


    Since the design of his clothes fit the other Spires, except for the colors, he was confident of this assumption.


    "I see the master is a wise one as expected...My name is Soryn, and you are correct; I am from the Air Spire, and I am thest one to my knowledge." [Soryn]


    Shingi was surprised about this revtion.


    Even if it was hiding, the Air Spire wasn''t because it was weak but quite the opposite.


    The Arcana Users of the Air Spire were experts in Seals, and they were responsible for keeping imprisoned many dangerous creatures that could cause chaos in the Mortal Realm. That was why they kept themselves hidden so that nobody would also find those Sealed creatures'' locations.


    "Does that mean the prisoners of yours are out?"[Ameanum]


    Soryn shook his head as a response.


    "As long as one of us is alive, the Seals will stay in ce unless some find their location. But to my knowledge, it is still a secret, and I n to keep it like that." [Soryn]


    Shingi''s curiosity had made him forgot for a moment his reason for getting into this city as Soryn''s possible request drew him.


    "So, what do you want my help for? Dealing with the ones who destroyed the rest of the Air Spire''s people? If so, who are they"[Ameanum]


    Soryn looked towards Ameanum as he seemed a bit reluctant but progressed with his decision to trust the individual in front of him.


    "Have you heard of the Dark Guild?" [Soryn]

 Chapter 72: Bamboo field

    Chapter 72: Bamboo field


    Ameanum didn''t expect Soryn to speak of the Dark Guild. He knew they had taken over the Tower and had messed up with the game, but other than that haven''t heard of them causing problems anywhere else.


    If they had found the Air Spire and even had tried to destroy it, that was something big.


    "I have encountered them in the past and had seen the results of their tricks, even among Blessed Ones." [Ameanum]


    Soryn seemed to have taken some courage from that response to continue speaking.


    "Yes, as you say, they use many tricks that define logic. It is almost like they have special control over the world a few times. Many of my people disappeared without leaving behind anything, not even a corpse, almost like they never existed, but it didn''t seem to be some type of teleportation spell. They even seemed to be able to make simple items more potent than the highest equipment I have evere across, and I have seen my share of powerful artifacts."[Soryn]


    Ameanum understood what he was saying, and he was surprised at the hacking and control they seemed to have. The AI System was supposed to adapt under any hacking attempts and fight back made it impossible for one to take control, but from Soryn''s description, it seemed they had found some way to bypass it.


    That exined how they had taken care of the Guilds who tried to fight them and possible why the Company wasn''t able to do anything.


    The whole game was under their control somehow.


    Even if they had found some way like that after two years, the Company should have found a way to deal with them, but it didn''t seem to be the case.


    "I cannot help you yet, but I am working towards taking back the control and ending the chaos they had made. But promise you much, but what I can is that I and everyone else who help me will do everything in our power to bring things as they supposed to be." [Ameanum]


    That wasn''t the best hero approach one was supposed to take, but Ameanum knew that NPCs like Soryn preferred someone offering actual facts and not someone who promises vague things.


    His assumption was correct as Soryn nodded, stood up, and made another bow towards him.


    Ameanum told him to sit as they had more things to discuss.


    "I can''t tell you a lot of things, but I am in a hurry."[Ameanum]


    Ameanum checked his surroundings to make sure nobody watched them as he went closer to Soryn and continued their talk by whispering.


    "We need to pass the borders to the North Kingdom. There are a few people who can help us there and needs our help. We don''t have a lot of time, just a few days."[Ameanum]


    Ameanum exined the situation with the Guild back in Carda, and Soryn seems happy to help to deal with a few Blessed Ones who didn''t know their ce.


    Ameanum told him to stay here and get some rooms as they would spend their night here.


    Ameanum left as he had to make some preparations but gave Soryn coins for the rooms. He trusted him as he knew a person of the Spires was one following their words and were kind on the ones who promised to help them, but ruthless to the ones who wronged them.


    He also told him to get new clothes as his outfit was like a glowing arrow putting a target on him. He was reluctant about it, but he understood that it was important for their quest, so he epted it.


    Ameanum made his way out of the city.


    A tall bamboo field surrounded the city, and the architect style of it was more Asian than typical medieval.


    This was one of the few yer''s created cities in the game. It needed many resources to make one, but yers had quite a bit of freedom on its design, as far it wasn''t something inappropriate. Also, if one sessfully developed one, the owner would make quite a bit of coin depending on its cement.


    Especially now that dungeons existed, some cities'' poprity grew cause there was a dungeon nearby.


    There weren''t many monsters around, and even if the ones who were around were among levels 40 to 50, Ameanum was able to avoid them with no problem.


    He made it further into the field as he found an open space where the bamboos seemed to have been cut.


    There was a hut made of bamboos in the middle of that open space.


    A few bamboos in the edge of that open field had a weird white stone on them, which was letting a thin white smoke, and they were ced to make a rectangle if seen from above.


    Ameanum knew that those were monster repellents and quite powerful ones to work on most monsters in the area.


    He also knew that the rm like Spell surrounding the area would warn the owner of the hut the moment he stepped close but not because he could see it but cause he knew the owner.


    He stepped in, and from one of the windows of the hut, something appeared to be thrown towards Ameanum, but he caught it without any problem.


    It was a piece of bamboo that had been cut to be sharp enough, especially if thrown with sufficient force.


    More bamboos like that were thrown through the window towards Ameanum.


    He could easily avoid them, but instead, he caught each of them and even got hit by some, but none passed him.


    This continued for a minute. A little more than one hundred pieces of bamboo were thrown and had made a pile in front of Ameanum.


    Ameanum removed any of the bamboos which had pierced his body and threw them to the pile.


    "Did you have your fun? You know I prefer the times we just have a cup of tea and discuss things." [Ameanum]


    There was silence for a moment, and then a female''s chuckle was heard from inside the hut.


    The door of the hut opened, and a young teenage female appeared.


    At first, one would think she was tired cause there were ck circles around her eyes, but as she moved full of energy, one could understand these circles were painted there. The circles weren''t only under her eyes but making one full circle at each eye with her eye at the center.


    She was wearing white fury shoulder pads, and a medieval ck bikini at the top, and a ck pair of pants with a grey belt that seemed to be white but hasn''t been cleaned for a while, so had turned to grey.


    Since she wasn''t wearing much at the top, one could see her body''s shape, and she was physically fit. She seemed like she could break one with just her hands even if she wasn''t too big but wasn''t too short either.


    At her belt hanging were some pouches and a tea pan.


    Her eyes and hair were ck except for a hair stride, It was painted white and was a line along the side of the left side of her face.


    "Hey Pan, a long time since Ist saw you." [Ameanum]


    She came towards him without saying anything and starting sniffing him.


    "Yes, I know. I am a little different since thest time we saw each other. What do you say we speak inside while having some of your tea?"[Ameanum]


    She nodded, and Ameanum followed inside her hut.


    Pan wasn''t speaking, not because she couldn''t but because she considered words should be said only in a critical situation, or so she let others think; in reality, she was just toozy to speak.


    Once inside, she opened one of her pouch that had some tea herps inside and produced some heat using some mana gems she had. This way, they didn''t have to worry about the hut getting filled with smoke.


    She pulled some water by using her magic and started creating the tea, while in the meantime, Ameanum told her his story.


    They had some of the tea when it was ready, and Ameanum was over when she had finished her fifth cup, even if he was at his first.


    Pan really liked tea, so she was drinking it very fast and had many cups per day. She was able to grow herbs using her magic, so she was rarely out of them.


    "So that''s why I am here. What do you think? Can you help us?" [Ameanum]


    It was difficult to leave the kingdom because the borders were surrounded by a magic field and weren''t allowing one to pass it without authorization. Even teleportation couldn''t pass it, but there were a few who have found ways to bypass it.


    Pan was one of them. Mother Nature pressed her, and she could move freely around by using unique nts she could grow.


    They were acting like the Teleportation Circles, but she didn''t have to pay any material cost to use them, just use her mana.


    Pan seemed to consider this for quite a bit of time, and Ameanum knew it would take a while for her to decide.


    What she was asking her needed to do was to use some effort, and she wasn''t up to it most of the time.


    "You know the mayor of the town we want to go to is a tea fan also. I think she also is growing her special tea, and it seemed quite different than yours." [Ameanum]


    This seems to have the effect he wanted and drew her attention.


    "I will take you there."[Pan]


    After that, she seemed t have been lost in thoughts, and from her drooling, Ameanum could tell what she was thinking about.


    "How long till you are ready then? We need to be there soon."[Ameanum]


    Pan was snapped out from what she was imagining.


    "Hmmm....e tomorrow with the friend you mentioned. We leave before noon." [Pan]


    She went outside the hut searching for something, and Ameanum also went his way back to the city as he couldn''t help her here.


    He would typically try to ask how close to what they would get, but he knew that Pan''s direction was almost non-existent, but he knew that he had a few ways to get in soon if they were in the North Kingdom.


    He didn''t head back to the city right away but instead nned to do some monster hunting.


    It''s been a long time since he used his Growth-type sword, and it was still rtively weak as it was still considered of Low Rank.


    But even with at Low-Rank, it seemed to reach the power of a simple Base Grade one, and with the help of the Skills of Ameanum, it was even more powerful but wouldn''t be considered a Master Rank equipment.


    He moved as lighting around hunting for monsters and dealing them just as fast.


    Screams of theirs could be heard, and cause of the bamboo field, none could see anything.


    yers were confused about what was happening and why so many monsters seemed to be screaming.


    A few went to investigate, but none found the reason but only the corpses of some before they disappear by the System.


    Ameanum noticed that his weapon was progressing, but its progress wasn''t as much as when he killed the yers the first time he used the sword.


    Either it was because a Blessed One was the first kill, or this was the true nature of the Growth-type weapons. Ameanum was confident that it was the second case.


    The Growth type weapons needed human sacrifices to get stronger.

 Chapter 73: Growth Type Sword

    Chapter 73: Growth Type Sword


    Ameanum had killed two dozen monsters he had found in the field, but even if his sword seemed to have improved a bit, it still didn''t change to Base Rank. After the first five, the improvement seemed to get less and less, and after the first dozen, it was close to nothing.


    He tried to find other types of monsters, but the variety wasn''t wide here, and it seemed the more of the same kind he killed, the more negligible effect they had on the sword.


    He had also noticed at the Goblin Cave back at Picton that they weren''t helping his sword at all, but he assumed cause they were rtively low-level monsters.


    So he had to change his n, and the yers that came to investigate were the perfect target.


    Since this was a high-level monster field, the yers in the town were around those levels too.


    But the 40-50 level characters were simple prey for one as Ameanum, even if his equipment was considered low quality at that level. His Skills were making all the difference needed.


    He also noticed that he had ess to his Breaking Limit state, and this body was able to handle it way better than his NPC child body.


    He continued hunting monsters, but this time he prolonged the fight as long as he could and made them scream as much to draw the attention of his actual victims.


    Each time it was either a solo yer or at most a party of three, none were ready to face Ameanum.


    He had taken a few bamboos and covered himself with mud and leaves to make himself look like a kind of monster as it would draw too much attention of a yer going around killing monsters and yers.


    He was attacking them fast enough for them not to take a good look at him, but they were getting some general details of his.


    After an hour of hunting, he noticed that his sword was filled with strange runes on its de. They seemed to be written by the blook of the yers he killed.


    He also noticed the sword moving on its own as trying to leave his grasp.


    This was a good time for him to stop as more parties wereing to find this strange monster who was causing that chaos.


    He cleared himself and returned to town.


    He investigated his sword and its runes on the way back, and they were like nothing he had seen up until now. They didn''t look to be some Enchantment as they didn''t follow the shape system or any Programming Enchantment he knew.


    As time passed, the sword seemed on bing more restless to be freed from his grasp, but Ameanum didn''t let it.


    He stopped just a little outside the town in an opening where there was ake, and a jetty existed for fishing.


    Nobody was currently around, as most yers were in the Bamboo field looking for the one behind the chaotic situation.


    Ameanum stapped his sword in the ground to keep it in ce without having to hold it as he investigated the rest of the de, not piercing the earth.


    The runes seemed to be getting carved on the de by the blood as time passed. The carving didn''t seem to be continuous, but every few seconds and every time the carving was happening, the sword was moving like a person who got hit.


    ''Did it grow a consciousness?''[Ameanum]


    Ameanum had read many stories about Growth-type equipment, but since there wasn''t anyone in the current era of the game, none could be sure what was true and what was not.


    One of them said that there were two categories of Growth-type equipment the ones with active consciousness and the ones without one.


    Growth-type equipment was said to be able to grow because they had a consciousness of their own, but some seemed to want tomunicate with their user while others didn''t. The ones with an active consciousness seemed to be more potent as they could be developed to fit the tactics of their use in how they evolved, while the rest seemed to grow more generically. Bu both were powerful tools no matter the case.


    Ameanum wasn''t sure what he should do as this story seemed to contain some truth.


    If he were at his NPC body, he would try to use some of his mana, but as Ameanum, he had zero mana and no man skills.


    Even if he tried to learn mana skills, the System wouldn''t allow it.


    He didn''t want to let anyone else check his sword, not even Pan, so he had to find a solution on his own.


    Then an idea came to him, and he closed his eye and raised his hand while he focused.


    Over his hand, after a few seconds, a few cracks seemed to appear in the air, and as time passed, they were extending as the piece of air there broke, and a small portal opened.


    From it, a single item got out, and Ameanum caught it.


    It was Garry''s, Spirit Hammer.


    He had noticed that the Hammer seemed to recognize him more over the past days but still not considering him as a master, but he could use it more times.


    He also seemed to make it teleport to him, but it was straining his mind and body too much, so he just kept it in his ring.


    But now he was in his yer body, and he also didn''t have to worry about his body getting strained by it as in theory couldn''t.


    The Spirit Hammer was to strain the summoning of any mortal person''s body, but Ameanum wasn''t a mortal as he was considered a Spirit from the System.


    Of course, he was still a living being and could be affected by most things as expected, but some loopholes existed like that.


    But he lost some SP from it but nothing he couldn''t handle.


    He felt that his Hammer wasn''t going to stay too long here, so he had to hurry.


    He focused on changing it in a pick hammer and went to help to finish the carvings on the de.


    He held the de still and in the ground with one hand while using his hammer with the other. As the time progressed, and since he wasn''t stopping, the de seemed to fight with more power and to be more restless, but Ameanum kept it under control for now.


    He was over with almost half of the carving as the sword started being more restless than he could handle.


    Without a second thought, he enabled his Breaking Limit state.


    The sword was still once more like a powerless child held by a giant.


    He even used Beliss''s Blessings, which seemed to be avable for Ameanum, which seemed to help with his carving techniques.


    Of course, since his INT as Ameanum wasn''t as high as in his NPC body, the boost wasn''t as significant as usual but still helpful.


    After an hour and a half since he began carving, he was finally finished as his de was entirely out of the earth and kept still by him only since the carving was going all along the edge.


    The moment he was finished, the blood on the de dropped on the floor as gravity seemed actually to start working on it.


    Ameanum swung the de to get the rest of it away from the de.


    Then he had noticed that the carving he had worked on had disappeared, and there was just a slight painting of it that one could see under the right angle and light only.


    He noticed his word to be somewhat lighter, and from the swings, he did with it, he could see miles of difference in its quality than before.


    He checked, and it was finally considered Base Grade weapon.


    Its power was stillckingpared to a Master Grade one, but it was an improvement.


    Ameanum focused on remembering the number of yers and Monsters he had to kill for Rank up.


    Counting the yers outside to Goblin Cave and today, he had killed a little less than 50 yers.


    Calcting the monsters, he had to kill, and how much they seemed to help the de, he was confident that they would count as killing enough yers to reach number 50.


    This meant that he needed to kill another 50 and more to evolve it at Master Rank, and most likely, there would be a limit at their level at some point.


    But he wasn''t nning to go around massacring yers without reason, as he had noticed something on thest few of his victims.


    Their death particles were somewhat grey.


    This meant they wouldn''t be able to spawn for some time, and the death penalty would be heavier, but it wasn''t as grey as Master Whip in the mine.


    His weapon wasn''t fighting anymore, so he put it back to its sheath and continued his way to the town.


    "Name."[???]


    Ameanum stopped as he had heard this strange voice whispering at him.


    "My name."[????]


    The voice didn''t seem toe from a specific direction but from all over the ce. Or so it felt sometimes when one was telepathically speaking at you.


    Ameanum pulled his sword and brought it at a small distance from his face.


    "Need my name." [Sword]


    Ameanum was excited at that moment as he seemed to have an active consciousness weapon, but he stayed focused and thought of a name.


    "Sinhunter."[Ameanum]


    As he told the name, he decided to the sword, the painting of the carving lighted up for a split second, and then there was silence.


    Ameanum waited for the sword to say something more, but as a couple of minutes of silence passed, he decided to be the one to speak.


    "Hello there. Can you hear me?" [Ameanum]


    It seemed like a stupid question to first ask someone, but in these types of situations of encountering something unknown, Ameanum''s mind was too excited to think as usual.


    "Me sleepy. Talk when time pass."[Sinhunter]


    Ameanum was disappointed by the response, but he didn''t ask anything more.


    He put the Sinhunterback to its sheath and finally got back in town to find Soryn.


    Soryn had taken a new outfit, and this time his clothes were close to what a Chinese monk would wear, which fit with his bold head.


    Since the architecture of the town was very real-world Asian-like, there were stores selling clothing fitting the theme.


    Soryn didn''t seem to be a fan of this style, but he said it was a gift from the store owner since she thought it would fit him.


    He had bought an outfit simr to his old one but not of a fancy design.


    It was looking like an outfit one martial artist would wear at the movies, although its primary color seemed to be green with some yellow details.


    It was rare for Shingi to see an NPC going to buy new clothing for himself, but since some had programmed to act as realistic as possible, it wasn''t unheard of one to do so.


    He informed him that he had found a way out and that they would leave sometime before noon.


    Soryn let him know that a strange beast was rumored to have appeared outside the town, but Shingi told him that they shouldn''t worry about it.


    So they decided to head and rx for the rest of the day.

 Chapter 74: The lady with the bow

    Chapter 74: Thedy with the bow


    The day and night passed without any problems as they went around to check the city''s sights. Thest time he was here, the city was built, so a lot had changed since then.


    There were quite a few stores preparing food in the way you would expect it in a themed city like that.


    They had somehow created even sake, which wasn''t avable in the game, but since you could get the materials to make one, it wasn''t an impossible task.


    Soryn seemed to be excited to taste these different kinds of food that he wasn''t familiar with.


    He seemed to like pork for some reason, Ameanum noticed.


    Fortunately, food wasn''t too expensive, at least for Ameanum''s budget, so they got to taste quite a bit of food.


    They even had a few drinks, especially Ameanum, since a lot had happenedtely, and this was one of the rare instances he just wanted to rx.


    But it seems fate didn''t like to let him.


    He raised his left hand next to the left side of his head and caught an arrow heading towards him.


    They were next to a window, and the arrow came through it from outside.


    He looked outside as there seemed to be a battle between some yers.


    It seemed to be two against one, as the party of two were two male rogues that Amenum''s eyes told him that they were level 51 and 53 as well they were an Assassin and a Thief as their ss.


    The third one was a female human, quite tall, and had a bow drawn and shooting the dagger-wielding rogues.


    When Ameanum used his Eagle Eyes on her, he couldn''t see any of her information, not even her name.


    That was something that never happened to him in the past. Even when he used it on Divine Equipment, he was getting at least their name.


    The arrow seemed she wasn''t aimed at him but was one of the arrows she shot towards the Rogues, but they avoided it.


    He could tell that she had good aim, but her speed was too slow, giving her target enough time to avoid before making the shot.


    Some yers have gathered around to watch the fight, but nothing else.


    This was an official duel that the three yers have decided to start, even if it was two against one.


    The female kept trying to hit them with her bow even though she had a de at her side.


    "It seems those Blessed Ones have tricked her in a fight of no possible way of winning."[Soryn]


    He had noticed Ameanum''s attention be drawn to the fight outside and the strange behavior of the female one.


    "Indeed. But she seems not one to give up easily." [Ameanum]


    Ameanum was confident of reading someone''s bodynguage, and he hadn''t seen the female bow user seem to have thoughts of drawing her de; she seemed focused on the battle with what she could use.


    He knew that they probably had set the duel for each to use specific weapons, which was one of the options, but in these kinds of situations, most people would show at most minor signs of using something else if they were in a bad case.


    He could respect that, but he could tell that this was an unfair fight.


    Those two were having some quite rare equipment, while the bow of hers was a little more potent than a normal one. Even if she got the chance to hit them, she would deal no damage.


    They were just ying with her, as one would y with their food before devouring it.


    The female was physically fit and didn''t seem tired of running to keep her distance from them, but she was near that point.


    The two rogues seemed to have grown tired of ying as they charged one front the front of her and one from behind her.


    She was ready to sidestep, but she was stopped by a trap she hadn''t noticed they had put. It was a sticky substance that clued her food on the ground, but she was able to force it to get unstuck, but they were already at her.


    As their daggers had almost reached her to hit four stones, one for each of the arms of those two individuals, throwing off their attack enough to miss their target.


    The female seemed quick to react as she punched those two and threw them down to the ground.


    She jumped back and shoot at them with arrows as fast as she could, and they turned into particles.


    Little did she know that she didn''t deal any damage to them, but the stones that hit them weren''t regr ones.


    It was a secret skill of Soryn that he learned back to the Air Spire.


    He had helped her after Ameanum said that they should.


    As for the System''s duel, it was just letting the winner be known but didn''t really care if the winner was the one taking the kill. But most yers were against disrupting a duel.


    Ameanum got outside and headed towards the female while the crowd gathered was going back to their business.


    She seemed to catch her breath. She didn''t notice Ameanum until he threw in front of her the arrow of hers, which almost hit him.


    "This belongs to you. Isn''t it?" [Ameanum]


    She looked towards him and picked up her arrow.


    It looked like hers, but she was using typical arrows, so she couldn''t be certain.


    "It almost hit my head. You better watch where you aim and where they will go if they get dodged." [Ameanum]


    "Ooooh... I see. My bad."[Female bow user]


    She just smiled at it as nothing wrong had happened in the end.


    She looked down on Ameanum as she was a little taller than him.


    "Anything else I can help you with? Just letting you know I already have a boyfriend."[Female bow user]


    Ameanum didn''t know how to respond to that.


    Did he actually look like one that was trying to flirt at this time?


    "*cough**cough*.... well, I just saw your battle and was wondering..." [Ameanum]


    He stopped at that point as he noticed something.


    She seemed to have a symbol in one of her pockets that he just noticed.


    The head of a wolf, the same symbol of the Whip Masters Guild.


    But she didn''t seem to be a Tamer to Ameanum, and they were in a different kingdom.


    Most of the time, Guilds were focused on one Kingdom, but it wasn''t rare to have members or branches to others.


    The pause of him speaking and staring at her didn''t help the female''s opinion for Ameanum''s reason to talk with her.


    So she just turned and started walking away.


    "You are one of the Whip Masters?"[Ameanum]


    When she heard that, she seemed to have frozen in ce.


    "I have seen that symbol and know it is theirs. So you are one of them?" [Ameanum]


    She said something that one usually wouldn''t be able to hear, but Ameanum''s PERCEPTION could.


    "You aren''t one of them anymore."[Female bow user]


    She seemed to have said that to herself.


    After she took a big breath, she turned towards Ameanum.


    "Who are you?"[Female bow user]


    "You can call me Shingi. I get you aren''t on friendly terms with them. I am not either, so why don''t we help each other?"[Ameanum]


    She seemed surprised by what she heard.


    "If you knew their power, you wouldn''t suggest something like that."[Female bow user]


    It seemed to Ameanum that she had quite some past with them, so she was someone he could use at his benefit.


    "Well, Master Whip is dead for a while. Don''t you think it is a good time to mess with them?"[Ameanum]


    "What do you mean?!?"[Female bow user]


    Ameanum just told her to follow the inn to speak privately and to meet his friend.


    She seemed somewhat reluctant, but after Shingi described Master Whip and his wolf, she seemed to trust him a little more.


    They got a private room for him, Soryn, and Marcy, the female bow user''s in-game name, to discuss.


    Shingi went over how in Carda, one of his students encounters the Master Whip''s Guild and all the encounters he had with them. Then he described the deal for the Mine and what happened there. He didn''t tell who Anna was but just described her as one good at nning ns to get rid of people like that.


    Marcy seemed to be impressed by his story. She was also surprised that the Guildmaster of that Guild to have a fate like that.


    "So what do you say. Are you going to join us? I can tell you don''t like them."[Ameanum]


    Marcy chuckled at that.


    "Not liking them is an understatement. I just want them to be put down. But it isn''t as easy as you think. They have many sources and know many dangerous people." [Marcy]


    "You seem to know them a bit more than just heard rumors for them. Care to share that knowledge with us?"[Soryn]


    Even if this didn''t have to do with him, he promised to help Ameanum as he promised to help him.


    "Well, they are providing tames beast and monsters on many people at the West and the North Kingdom and have heard the n to expand at rest too. They also provide for the ones exploring the Tower, and those alone seem to bring quite a bit of protection and sources to them."[Marcy]


    Soryn looked towards Ameanum as they had some talk for the Drak Guild, and he had mentioned that they seemed to control the expedition of the Tower.


    "Are those people of the Tower consider them important asset?" [Ameanum]


    Marcy seemed to be confused about the question.


    "I... i don''t know much, like most people, about those people. But they are dangerous men, and they probably don''t like for one to mess with their business. Not sure if they are going to grant them any protection or something, though."[Marcy]


    ''It seems like things are moreplicated than we thought.''[Ameanum]


    He still didn''t know the extent of the power of the dark Guild or what its source was, so he wasn''t nning on facing them or drawing them towards him.


    But he had to deal with that annoying Guild somehow.


    He had to get back and report to Anna as soon as possible.


    After some persuasion, Marcy agreed to follow them and at least hear the n theirs, but she wasn''t promising to be part of it yet.


    He told her where to meet them tomorrow in the Bamboo Field and even gave her some tips about her bow techniques. He wasn''t an expert with the bow but had done some research for most of the game''s weapons.


    After that, he headed to his room that Soryn had paid for.


    He disabled his SPECTATOR MODE, and he was back to his NPC body.


    Getting outside the room, he found only Karemon.


    He told him that he would head out and be back soon but first asked if anything happened while he was away.


    It seemed that all was the same as before.


    He cast INVISIBILITY and headed toward the shop.


    It took him a little more time as he noticed a few yers of the Guild that were on watch to have mana of their own and not just of their yer aura, so he decided to avoid them just in case they had a way to detect him.


    He made it in the shop and found Anna and Volig.


    They told him that no yers had made any orders, and not even the townspeople had many any either.


    Shingi told them about the individuals he had found and was bringing with him and thetest information he learned.


    Anna seemed to share its disturbing thoughts, but she didn''t n on giving up. She assured Shingi that she would have finished the n by the time he was in town as Ameanum.


    Shingi said his goodbyes as he returned to the mayor''s office and the room they gave him there.


    He once more was Ameanum, and this time he tried to rest for the rest of the night.

 Chapter 75: Strange village

    Chapter 75: Strange vige


    Ameanum was up in the morning as he got some sleep, but this time it didn''t seem to make a <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> or be at the weird misty room. It was like usually sleeping, which was strange for in-game.


    As he spent more time in this body, he started seeing some minor differences between a few things felt before and how some felt now.


    The game was like a second reality, but there was always the feeling of some things not feeling real.


    But now, Ameanum was getting this feeling fewer times than before.


    He didn''t pay it a lot in mind as it didn''t seem to harm him but instead helped him a bit in a few things.


    Heading downstairs on the inns ground floor as his room was on the first floor, he noticed Soryn and March at a table having breakfast.


    Soryn was used to wake up early as part of his everyday routine, and Marcy, as a yer, didn''t need much sleep.


    Ameanum ordered some breakfast for himself also as he joined their table.


    There was silence at the table as none of them seem to have any subject to discuss.


    Marcy, from the three of them, seemed to be the most annoyed of nobody talking.


    "You mentioned something yesterday, and I was wondering about it but forgot to ask you." [Ameanum]


    "Hmm? What did I say?"[Marcy]


    The waitress brought Ameanum''s breakfast at this point, and he continued talking after she left the table.


    "Something about a boyfriend?"[Ameanum]


    Marcy wasn''t ready for this kind of question. She didn''t have a boyfriend, but she thought it was a good excuse not to talk with annoying people who just wanted to ask her out.


    "Eeeh...what about him?" [Marcy]


    Ameanum kept his usual serious face, which wasn''t helping Marcy calm down as she couldn''t read him.


    "Well, I just want to make sure he isn''t someone who can mess with our n. Like he isn''t part of them or something like that, huh?"[Ameanum]


    He had read stories like that, and he wanted to be prepared if they faced a future obstacle like that.


    Marcy shook her head to deny it. She seemed to have blushed a little, but Ameanum didn''t saw signs of noticing.


    "Good. We should prepare for the trip. We aren''tpletely certain where our friend will get us, so we should be prepared. I have already taken what I need, did you, Marcy?"[Ameanum]


    She nodded as she already took care of that in the time he spent resting.


    Soryn was also ready, and this time he was wearing the green outfit he had bought yesterday as it would be easier to fight in it if they got in trouble.


    So they headed toward the Bamboo field and towards Pan''s ce.


    Marcy told them to be careful as there was some unknown beast yesterday, and its identity was still unknown, but Ameanum assured her they didn''t have to be afraid of the beast. But they were on guard either way as the fields weren''tpletely safe.


    But with Ameanum''s <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, they were able to get to Pan''s hut without any problem.


    Ameanum told them to stay behind as he charged at the door.


    No bamboos were thrown towards him this time, and when he opened the door''s hut, he saw an asleep Pan and a tea pan on fire brewing some of her tea.


    He woke her up and took the pan from the fire as the tea seemed to be ready.


    "Hey, are you alright?"[Ameanum]


    Pan looked at him and slightly nodded. She noticed that he had put out the pan from the fire, and it would be ruined if it stayed any more, so she threw him a thumbs up.


    "You ready to make the trip?"[Ameanum]


    She nodded once again, stood up, and looked around for something as Shingi called the others.


    Pan found what she was looking for, which was the staff of hers. It was made of some ck wood and had a thin white line going vertically, splitting it at two. The staff wasn''t a straight one, so it was impressive how the line was appearing at thepletely center of it all the way.


    It seemed to have tiny branches extended upward to make a bowl-like shape at the top of the staff.


    She pulled some ground in there and then put a seed she had in one of her pouches in it.


    She whispered some words as a flower grew, with each petal have a different color, one for each element.


    She extended her hand with which she wasn''t holding the staff, and all of them held it.


    At that moment, they felt something pulling them, and they were pulled toward the flower as their body seemed to be turned into particles.


    They seemed to go through a strange tunnel of different colors as they saw some light on the other side.


    Their particles came out of a simr flower like the one Pan grew on her staff and started reconstructing their bodies.


    When this finished, everyone took some time sitting down as their stomach didn''t seem to handle the way of transportation.


    Marcy, who was the one with the least <strong>END</strong> of them all, almost threw up but was able to keep it in the end.


    They seemed to be in the middle of a forest, but Ameanum didn''t recognize it. The trees seemed simr to the ones in the woods outside Carda, but this didn''t mean it was the same one.


    "Do you have any idea where we are, Pan?"[Ameanum]


    She was having some of her tea while waiting for them to get better as she was used to this was of moving around.


    She looked left and right a few times and then shrugged towards Ameanum and went to continue her tea.


    He wasn''t expecting much of that question, but he had to try.


    "Soryn, you are probably the most agile of us all. Why don''t you climb one of the trees to see if you can see anything from up there? Maybe a sign for a nearby town."[Ameanum]


    Soryn nodded as he jumped from the trunk of one tree to the trunk of another, using them as a way to continue getting higher to reach the top of one of the taller ones nearby.


    "Do you see anything from up there?"[Ameanum]


    He barely could see Soryn through the branches.


    "There seems to be some settlement not far from us. But it doesn''t look like the ce you told me. It looks like a small vige."[Soryn]


    "Anything else?"[Ameanum]


    Soryn was quiet for a bit as he looked around but didn''t seem to notice anything else noteworthy.


    He got back with them shortly after a few minutes after climbing up.


    "This seems to be the only sign of civilization. But I doubt they would have a Teleportation Circle."[Soryn]


    Ameanum went deep in thought on what they should do.


    "Without visiting the vige, we can''t progress. Even if it can''t help us find a way to get at Carda quickly, we at least can possibly learn where exactly we are. This is just as important. Let''s move." [Ameanum]


    Everyone except Pan seemed ready to move.


    She had created a seat for herself with wood made out of her mana.


    After some persuasion, she agreed to follow them.


    The vige was like an hour away, and the woods seemed to have mostly beasts and almost no monsters.


    Few monsters that existed avoided them since Pan had a repellent on her like the ones used around her hut, so weak monsters like that didn''t want to be near her.


    They get out of the woods within 40 minutes and could see the small vige in the distance.


    It really was a small one, just less than a dozen of buildings and no walls surrounding it.


    Ameanum didn''t recognize it, but it seemed not to be a rtively old one.


    One person was dressed as a guard but was currently asleep with his helmet down to block the sun.


    They passed him and started looking for someone to speak with.


    Looking around, they didn''t notice a lot of people.


    There seemed to be only a few children ying around and an older woman who seemed to watch over them but seemed to be too weak to stand up from her wooden chair without help.


    They got at the older woman, who didn''t seem to have noticed them yet as she was half asleep.


    "Excuse me, madam? Can we ask you some questions?"[Marcy]


    The older woman opened her eyes and turned towards them.


    After taking a look at each of them, she raised her head to let them see a scar going through her neck.


    It seemed old and had closed a bit, but they could tell that it had caused her not to be able to speak anymore.


    A young girl seemed to have noticed them and went next to the older woman. The woman put one of her hands over the girl, and her eyes lost their light like she wasn''t living anymore.


    "What is your business here?"[Young Girl]


    The voice of the child seemed to be almost like containing no life in it.


    Ameanum recognized it as mind-controlling magic, which for some it was an evil kind of magic, but it depended on how one used it as every type of magic.


    It was clear that this woman was using this magic tomunicate, but she wasn''t the one casting it. She was wearing a leather glove, and on it, it seemed like one had sewed aplicated enchantment that most likely was producing this effect.


    "We were just wondering where we are. We are passing by and looking for the nearest town, and we came across this little settlement of yours."[Ameanum]


    "You are not wee here. You should leave."[Young Girl]


    This time Marcy was ready to say something, but Ameanum motioned her to stay quiet.


    He gave her a slight bow to show respect and turned to leave.


    Marcy was surprised but followed and wanted to ask something, but Ameanum told her to stay silent for now.


    Soryn followed without asking anything and pretty much dragged Pan with them.


    After they were some distance from the vige, Ameanum stopped moving and turned towards the rest.


    "So, where do you guys think we should go next?"[Ameanum]


    "What do you talking about? Aren''t we going to investigate this? This woman literally manipted the girl to speak. This isn''t a normal vige."[Marcy]


    Ameanum starred at her and then shook his head left and right as to show his disappointment.


    "What she used was because of an Enchantment at her glove. Do you know how difficult it is to create something like that? Only a Master <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> can do that. And even if you make one, it won''tst forever, and they will have to recreate it. Meaning that they are close by. We don''t have the time to mess with one like that."[Ameanum]


    He would usually investigate this kind of situation as it would probably lead to a Quest, but he was on the clock.


    He sighed as he turned towards Pan.


    "Can you turn and ask around for directions?"[Ameanum]


    Pan was starring at him as she was expecting something to happen.


    "I am going to make some special cookies with the tea in the ce we are heading. With chocte."[Ameanum]


    Pan once more seemed to droll and got lost in thought, but Ameanum snapped her out of it.


    She nodded to agree and made a sign for everyone to stay back.


    Her hair started growing, and most bing white, but some stayed ck as her whole body became hairy and bigger.


    She was now arge panda that didn''t fit with the surrounding forest.


    She could transform into any beast she wanted, but she had chosen to transform into a panda only. That''s why she kept painting the ck circles in her eyes.


    Now she could try to speak with the rest of the animals in case they knew something useful.

 Chapter 76: Nature of the sword

    Chapter 76: Nature of the sword


    They left Pan going by herself in the forest as they might scare any beasts that would see them.


    Soryn climbed once more over the trees to check everything from a higher ground while Ameanum and Marcy watched their surroundings.


    Ameanum wished he had his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> now as it would help him detecting if anyone were watching them with magical means, which his <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong> were unable to see.


    Marcy seemed to be somewhat ufortable little left alone with Ameanum, a male and the only other yer in their group.


    "Maybe you were right."[Ameanum]


    Marcy looked at him with a confused look.


    "If there is a Master <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> in the town, he may have ess to ways of fast transportation. Someone like that would be able to make even Teleportation Circles of his if skilled enough." [Ameanum]


    Marcy agreed on that, but she also understood that influential individuals like that wanted their privacy.


    "So what do you think we should act then? You said that we don''t have time to look for him, and even if we find him, we will need quite some time to persuade him to help us."[Marcy]


    Ameanum was deep in thoughts, as he didn''t speak for a couple of minutes.


    "We need more information... hopefully, Pan will find something."[Ameanum]


    After a few minutes, Soryn joined them as he didn''t see anything new from up there, except for some vigers entering the vige from the other side. It seemed like there were some farms back then, and they returned from a day of work.


    They waited for Pan''s return.


    It''s been two hours, and they had no signs of her.


    Ameanum told Soryn to got back on the trees to check for signs of her and keep watching if anything changes in the vige people''s movements.


    He wasn''t scared of Pan being hurt as even if she actedzily, she was too powerful when she was getting serious. Even when she was throwing the bamboos at him, she wasn''t even close to when she was getting serious; otherwise, he would have died then.


    It was close to six hours since she left, and it was getting quitete, and at that point, they saw therge form of panda Pan getting out from the woods.


    As she moved towards them, she started to shrunk and turning back to her human form.


    Fortunately, her magic was merging her clothes with her new form, so she didn''t have to worry about being naked when turning back to normal.


    "So, did you find anything?"[Marcy]


    Pan ignored her as she got the staff of hers that she left behind and hit with its butt the ground a few times.


    Pieces of the ground started to move and formed small, roughly humanoid-like figures.


    When they finished getting formed, they started gathering stones and branches to make a small campfire, as Pan prepared her tea herbs.


    Marcy wanted to say something, but Ameanum stopped her as he helped on finishing creating the campfire.


    Pan put on the fire with some mana gems of hers.


    Next, put the pan to heat up with some water she created and waited.


    After a few minutes, she threw a single leaf of her herbs in the heated water, but it didn''t seem to be one of her usual tea herbs.


    As the leaf touched the water, it started releasing some greenish smoke which began taking on a screen-like shape.


    This was a trick of Pan.


    She could create an illusion to show events that she had or show a story by creating misty figures of the objects and creatures in the story.


    Of course, some details about each creature''s appearance weren''t perfect, but they could get a general idea.


    They saw her trying to speak with some beasts and most running away from them. She seemed like a strong predator to them, so they didn''t want to sit and talk with her.


    After some hunting, she was able to stop some and ''talk'' with them, but since the illusion was producing no sound, they couldn''t hear what they said, but they wouldn''t understand either way.


    The illusion didn''t show every creature encounter, but just a few of her struggles to find one and some of the ones she had to hunt.


    Next, the illusion had shown her to be in an open space and in front of a cave''s entrance.


    That''s when her illusion ended, and the mist was gone.


    After that, she threw more herbs in the water, but this time it was to make tea.


    "So you say we should investigate this cave?"[Marcy]


    Pan nodded.


    "Did you see any signs of people in there?"[Marcy]


    Pan shrugged.


    Marcy would continue to ask more questions but understood that Pan''s answers would continue like that, so she turned towards Ameanum, who seemed to be in deep thought.


    "What will we do?"[Marcy]


    "Hmmm... Pan was drawn to the cave for some reason, or she wouldn''t show it to us. This is the best clue we have. But I will go by myself tomorrow morning."[Ameanum]


    It was gettingte, so they made a camp with some tents they had bought from the city they were before.


    Ameanum talked with Pan as she used her illusion to show him the way to the cave.


    It didn''t seem to be too far from the vige, just a bit East of it, maybe twenty minutes by foot.


    Ameanum had imprinted the directions and tried to visualize his route with what was shown to him.


    He could check it out right away, but he decided to visit it in the morning not to make it look like he was trespassing.


    They had some food they had bought and some of the tea of Pan.


    They noticed that her pan seemed to contain more tea than it should as it seemed like barely able to have maybe four cups at max, but Pan had five cups herself only. There was an Enchantment on it, but it was scarcely visible.


    Her tea seemed to help them rx more than more tea, and it seemed to give them a boost at <strong>SP</strong> regeneration and even some <strong>HP</strong> regeneration.


    She was growing those herbs herself and was feeding them with her mana giving them these special effects.


    They didn''t need those effects as they didn''t get tired as they didn''t do anything significant yet, but Pan had a lot of those herbs at the ready.


    Since they didn''t have to get rest, Ameanum decided to look at his sword and see if its consciousness could talk.


    He didn''t speak with it out in the open but tried to sent mental messages.


    After a few minutes of continuous tries, he seemed to have gotten some response.


    "Stop shouting. What you want?"[Sinhunter]


    "Well, I was just wondering if you wanted something specific. I noticed you didn''t like how you ranked upst time, as it seemed painful."[Ameanum]


    "Pain? Me no pain. Only annoying feeling." [Sinhunter]


    There was some pause, but he felt the sword slightly moving but not trying to break free from his grasp.


    "Give food. Fill my hunger and thirst."[Sinhunter]


    "You want more Blessed Ones then? Is there a certain number or limitations?"[Ameanum]


    "Food needs to be strong. Strength is tasty."[Sinhunter]


    Ameanum was in deep thought on his following questions as he didn''t know when would be his next chance.


    "Do I have to kill the foodpletely? Would some part of his, like blood, help with your thirst? [Ameanum]


    He felt some more movement from the de that he gathered that it was a sign of it thinking.


    "Blood may do. But same work once."[Sinhunter]


    He would try to feed it his blood, but his Spirit body didn''t actually have blood.


    "Soryn, can you join me on a walk to check if everything is clear?"[Ameanum]


    Soryn didn''t have any problem with it and stood to follow him.


    They went a bit further outside the sight of the rest as Ameanum stopped.


    "I need to ask you a favor, Soryn. I need some of your blood for my sword."[Ameanum]


    "Is it to make it stronger?"[Soryn]


    Shingi was surprised by that response.


    "I noticed its true nature yesterday when you returned. We had some documents describing weapons like that. Also, they were describing that sacrifices were needed to raise their power quickly."[Soryn]


    He wasn''t surprised by the Air Spire having something like that. The Four Spire was a quite Ancient Organization, and Air Spire was rumored to have the most significant knowledge of them all.


    Soryn brought forward his left arm and raised his sleeve. He used a small knife to cut himself a bit and draw some blood out.


    Ameanum kept his de under Soryn''s arm so that the blood would fall to it.


    He felt with each drop some reaction from the sword and even got some mental notes of satisfaction.


    It seemed to help the de a little, but they didn''t use much blood as they just wanted to see if it worked.


    Soryn put some bandages to keep the small wound closed and put his sleeve back to normal.


    They returned to their camp, and Ameanum tried to talk more with his sword but couldn''t learn anything more.


    He discussed with Soryn what else he had read but didn''t remember anything else.


    They kept watches, and each got some sleep. Only Pan didn''t take any watch as people didn''t think she would really pay attention.


    Ameanum took the first watch, and he climbed a tree but not as smoothly as Soryn did.


    He kept watching at the vige and the direction of the cave.


    He didn''t notice any movements in the vige, mainly cause it had gotten dark, and they didn''t have any torches or any other sources of light.


    He thought he noticed some movements in the darkness at some points, but he wasn''t too confident about it as they were rtively short ones.


    His watch came at the end and changed with Soryn, and Marcy would gost.


    During his ''rest'' time, since he didn''t need much sleep, he went into a meditate stance like the one he had shown Annoue in the past so that he can bond with his sword.


    This was more useful to be done for at least a Base Rank weapon, so that''s why he didn''t do it at the point he got the sword.


    It wouldn''t give him a significant boost at his Skills, but every bit in the hands of a professional yer was the difference between life and death.


    He could also feel this strange energy in his sword, which should be its consciousness.


    He could feel the energy be in the rough shape of a humanoid baby, which seemed quite weird to him.


    He wanted to investigate more with his NPC''s Mana Skills as he couldn''t get much info on this energy''s nature with his current senses.


    The night passed without anything going wrong, except for Soryn reporting of noticing some people trying to sneak their way closer to them, but returned to the vige after understanding he saw them.


    After it was some hours before noon, Ameanum started his way towards the cave.

 Chapter 77: The Cave

    Chapter 77: The Cave


    Ameanum told Soryn and Marcy to keep paying attention to the movement of the people of the vige.


    Marcy advised making a partymunicate through the party chat, but Ameanum was against that.


    He said that if he met the <strong>ENCHANTER</strong>, he would tell that he would be at a party as yers had an aura on them that people with those kinds of Skills could detect.


    In reality, he didn''t want Marcy to know his in-game name or other info that would be shown on like his level, ss, etc. She still hasn''t fully agreed to help them, and he didn''t know her whole story and past she had with the Whip Masters Guild.


    If needed, he could send her messages as an unknown individual as long she had her messages in public.


    He enabled his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill, and out of habit, he tried to cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, which of course, he couldn''t do in his current body.


    His <strong>STEALTH</strong> was better than on his NPC self and was moving silently, like the wind in a calm day.


    He took the long route not to get close to the vige and try to stay as hidden as possible if there were any watches they hadn''t noticed.


    He made it near the cave in a little less than an hour, and he kept checking his surroundings for a few minutes to make sure nobody else was around.


    While heading in, he kept his senses for anything noteworthy, like traps or runes of warning.


    He didn''t notice anything but that didn''t mean much as most times those were invisible, so even his <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong> were useless. He had already missed the benefits of his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>.


    But as he headed deeper into the cave, he could tell that most of the cave, after a little bit from the entrance, was recently excavated.


    His <strong>MINING</strong> skill was high enough to enable him to recognize stuff like that, and he could tell that it was extended the past few weeks at top two months.


    Bits of the seemed to have happened throughbor and some through magic.


    He was able to detect some footprints after a while, which seemed to be of someone with light steps as they barely seemed to leave any.


    As he progressed, everything became dark, so he had to use a torch of his. He wasn''t trying to let his presence hidden as he wasn''t using his STEALTH Skill after entering the cave.


    As he progressed for a few minutes, he stopped and pulled his torch nearer the ground as he kneeled.


    He pulled a pouch that contained some silver dust he had bought and removed some on his hand, and then he blew it on the ground in front of him.


    The silver got stacked in some ces and seemed to form part of an invisible Enchantment Circle in the ground.


    Ameanum used some more of the dust to see the space the Circle was covering, and it seemed it had barely enough room for one to move if hugged the walls.


    Ameanum checked the walls the same way as also with his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> but didn''t detect anything.


    He was lucky to notice that part of the wall at the side of where the Enchantment Circle began seemed to be somewhat blown up and not dug like the res, but one wouldn''t be able to tell the difference usually. But Ameanum''s <strong>MINING</strong> and <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> Skill could.


    He moved carefully and continue checking the walls in case there were any further traps.


    After passing this trap, he continued stepping slower and kept checking his surroundings more for any change that could signal the existence of a trap like that.


    He encountered some more Enchantment Circles, some he recognized and some he didn''t. From the ones he recognized, some were designed to cause damage to the one who triggered them, and others were to stun them, freeze them, or other kinds of simr effects.


    He had bought five pouches of silver dust just in case. It was helpful in these types of situations, but it wasn''t cheap, so he had to be careful how much to use.


    He had finished three pouched and had used almost half of the fourth one as he noticed some light in the distance.


    He carefully progressed as it could be one more of the traps of the owner of this cave.


    As he got closer to that light source, he noticed that it led into a room and saw a figure in there with his back toward him.


    Ameanum focused his senses on the figure as, after a few seconds, a smile appeared on his face.


    He raised his hand as a sign ofing in peace as he walked towards the figure.


    The figure seemed to be a tall slim one, and he could barely see his pointy ears as he was one of the Elven race. Their ears weren''t short, indifference, they were quite pointy, but of this individual, they were mostly covered by his long white hair, who seemed to be chaotic as he never brushed them in his life.


    He was wearing Arcane Robes of grey color and many pockets stitched on it. Some of the pockets had gems, some herbs, some a vial with some strange liquid, and other simr things.


    When Ameanum came close, the individual turned towards him with a wand pointing at Ameanum, and he seemed he was ready to say something until he saw Ameanum''s face.


    "It''s been a long time, old man. I see you keep not taking care of yourself."[Ameanum]


    The Elf''s face seemed to be rtively middle-aged-looking if youpared it if one would ignore his hair.


    That was the exact same figure Shingi created with his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> when he first was training on it, Varan.


    Varan seemed surprised to see Ameanum and somewhat not believing what he was seeing.


    "It is me, Varan. I am Ameanum. I am not sure what you have heard about what happened to me, but I am sure you can tell I am not as I used to be."[Ameanum]


    He noticed that slight instance of light in the eyes of Varan, which he knew was a sign of using an appraising type of Skill like his <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong>.


    "You are a <em>Spectating Spirit</em>? But your aura is a bit different than normal <em>Spectating Spirits</em>.... how could that be?"[Varan]


    He seemed to trust Ameanum being who he is as he lowered his wand.


    "It''s been a long story, my friend, and I am going to exin everything, but first, I want to answer one question of mine."[Ameanum]


    Varan spoke before Ameanum was able ta say anything more.


    "If it is because of the Tower and why I am not there anymore, it is because its new ''owners'' don''t like people like me around their feet."[Varan]


    "Are you speaking of the Dark Guild? How can they made somebody like you leave the Tower? Are they that powerful?"[Ameanum]


    "They didn''t use the way of force on me, but by other means, I can''t discuss."[Varan]


    Ameanum thought for a second as his eyes got wide as he thought of a possibility.


    "Did they find her identity?"[Ameanum]


    Varan nodded but didn''t say anything.


    Ameanum was referring to the daughter of Varan, who was the most important person in his life.


    Varan was one of the NPCs that were most of the time near the Tower and asked the adventurers to bring him materials only found in the Tower.


    If one increased the reputation with him, he would learn that he was gathering materials to create a cure for his sick daughter, but none ever had seen any signs of said daughter.


    Many tried to follow him when he seemed to return home, but most were killed, while the rest were left unconscious.


    Even Ameanum didn''t have any clues about the true identity of his daughter or her whereabouts.


    Varan was quite old and one of the most powerful NPCs of the game, but the Gods limited him not to take parts of any events that would change the fate of the Realm either in a good way or a bad way.


    That''s why he gave Quests to others to gather materials for him and didn''t do it himself, as the Tower''s exploration was included as one such event that he was forbidden to take part in.


    There was some rare case that he was allowed to act, and each time the ce he fought was left to be unable to grow any life.


    He was able to draw the mana of the environment and all its energy, leading it to make his surroundings permanent death.


    Of course, he was able to fight using other types of abilities and attacks, but since the reason for him to act was for the Gods to decide to let him act, something that powerful was suiting the case.


    Ameanum didn''t doubt that if he wanted to kill some of the Dark Guild people, he could do without the Gods much caring about it, but if they had found out about his daughter, it made sense why he wasn''t able to act.


    Ameanum started exining what happened to him and his situation of being able to move between two bodies. He told what he had learned about the Dark Guild, the Air Spire, and the Whip Masters Guild and his current situation of needed to reach as soon as possible.


    "What a fascinating story. If it were someone else, I probably wouldn''t believe them,. Buting from you and the current situation of your body, it''s not hard to believe it."[Varan]


    Ameanum was d to hear it and d to see that the <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> of the vige was an old friend of his.


    Varan was blessed to have two Professions instead of one as he was both an <strong>ALCHEMIST</strong> and an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong>.


    When he seeded in this impossible deed, he was given a choice to be a God or be under surveince of his actions. Since bing a God would also affect what research he could do, he decided to stay mortal, having limitations.


    Of course, as he became that knowledgeable and influential and cause of his Elven blood, he could live longer than any elf would typically without starting showing signs of old age other than his hair going white.


    "I can help you with getting you in Carda, but the preparations are going to take some time if I work by myself and I need some more materials. Fortunately, we can find them in some nearby areas, but it won''t be that simple to take them. But I am sure you will find some solution."[Varan]


    Ameanum looked towards his Elven friend as he knew the current look of his. A glimpse of hiding the actual difficulty of his request.


    "You know that I know you better than that, Varan. What is it that you want?"[Ameanum]


    Varan smirked towards Ameanum, which Ameanum didn''t like, as it was a sign of a ridiculous request.


    "Nothing big. Just a tooth of a young Earth Dragon."[Varan]

 Chapter 78: Dragons puzzle

    Chapter 78: Dragon''s puzzle


    "You expect me not only to find a <strong>YOUNG EARTH</strong> Dragon but to get one of its teeth?"[Ameanum]


    Dragons were considered young when they were between their first decade and before their first hundred years of living. Before that, they were considered <em>Wyrmlings</em>, and after that, they were <em>Adults</em>. When they reached their first thousand years of life, they were <em>Ancient</em>.


    Each time they transitioned between those categories, there were massive boosts on their stats and powers.


    An Earth Dragon was one of the artificially created Dragons, as researchers want to reproduce the Dragons'' power, so they tried to make some using the Elements.


    The Earth ones are one with the highest defense, even among real Dragons, but were the most difficult to create. Because the Earth Element mana is the biggest in quantity in the Mortal Realm, the resistance to creating something unnatural like that of such a degree was hundreds, maybe even thousands of ways moreplex than with the rest of the Elements.


    But even the rest of the elements were difficult to use for something like that as a massive amount of mana was needed, and the more mana, the more challenging it was to control it.


    Varan nodded on the question of Ameanum like he gave him a simple request.


    "You can see that my equipment isn''t what it used to be, right? Also, even if I had it, you want me to find an Earth Dragon, the rarest one among them all, and a Young One nheless?"[Ameanum]


    Varan was one of the few people who could make Ameanum lose his serious face. He had taken so many unreasonable Quests from him, and even sometimes, the reward wasn''t worth it, but he took them nheless.


    But this didn''t mean he didn''t say anything about them.


    "Oh, you don''t have to worry about finding one. I have the whereabouts of one. Also, I am sure you can persuade him to help you without a fight. It is of the ones who still have some control yet."[Varan]


    One of the problems with the Elemental Dragons was that even if you seeded in creating one as time passed, it was getting harder to control them.


    If one lost control of their Dragon, there were many possibilities of what may happen next. The two mostmon ones were for the Dragon to explode into the mana that created it or losing its mind and kill everything as a brainless beast, starting with its creator most of the time.


    The rarest one was for the Dragon to keep some intelligence and act ordingly.


    "<em>*sigh*</em> and where is this Dragon?"[Ameanum]


    He would generally have asked how he came across that information, but he knew Varan was secretive on those types of things, so he didn''t bother.


    Varan''s smirk appeared once more on his face.


    "He had created air of his in another Realm, but I can get you there or close enough."[Varan]


    "What Realm? Is it one of the time passes at different rate cause as I said, I am in a hurry."[Ameanum]


    "No need to worry. Yes, time passes at a different rate, but it is slower, meaning the more time you spend there, the less time will have passed here. One hour here should be a week there. But I doubt it will take you that long... most likely."[Varan]


    Ameanum ignored thestment as he sent an anonymous message to Marcy.


    He told them toe into the cave, but they should first gather some of the other materials Varan needed.


    He let Varan know about them getting here, and Varan told him that he would disable the traps to get here faster.


    Then Varan brought out a crystal that looked the same as the ones he used for the <strong>TELEPORTATION</strong>, but four times its size.


    It didn''t have a smooth surface but had on them what looked simr designs as a <strong>TELEPORTATION</strong> <strong>CIRCLE</strong>, just smaller to fit the space it had.


    There were three circles carved on the crystal''s surface, and each seemed to have slight differences from the others.


    It seemed like the destination he would have to go he couldn''t get there with one <strong>TELEPORTATION</strong> and had to make multiple ones by using this crystal to make all of them at once.


    To make a crystal to act also as the <strong>TELEPORTATION CIRCLE</strong> wasn''t something easy, and only a few Master or even Grandmaster Enchanters would have the chance of making something like that. As of making one acting as multiple circles, the list was even shorter.


    But someone like Varan could create it using one finger only.


    After describing hispanions to him and sending some more messages to Marcy exining the situation a bit, he activated the crystal.


    Since he didn''t have any mana, he used a Mana Gem given by Varan.


    A portal opened in front of him, and he jumped in.


    He was in a simr situation as when he got teleported by Ben back at Carda as he was falling and everything around him seemed to be purple.


    He saw another portal in the distance down from him, and as he went through it, he was in another simr space falling, but this time everything was dark ck instead of purple.


    Another portal appeared under him after a while, and this time everything around him was green.


    As he passed through another portal, it seemed like he reached his final destination as he hit solid ground.


    He took some damage caused by the fall but not at a dangerous level.


    He seemed to be underground at another cave system, but the tunnel was massive.


    Its width seemed to be over twenty meters, and its height was unknown to Ameanum as it was too dark, and even with a torch, he wasn''t able to see the ceiling, but he estimated it not to be more than twenty meters.


    This was huge for a young dragon''sir and would mostly fit for an Adult or Ancient one.


    ''<em>Maybe he is close to bing an Adult?</em>''[Ameanum]


    Going from one age category to the other was boosting their size also as even if it was one year difference, their size could have a massive difference. It was close to evolving than natural growing, some would say.


    But it wasn''t like they were staying the same size the whole time while in one age category.


    If he was close to bing an adult, it made sense to extend hisir, and Ameanum noticed that a lot seemed to be something that happened in thest months.


    ''<em>Hopefully, he is still a young one.</em>''[Ameanum]


    From what he knew, when a part of a specific species was needed, which could evolve like Dragons, the importance of what evolution was under was a matter of if what you needed it for would work or not.


    So if it had be an adult already, that meant he couldn''t use his tooth as it would be useless even if it is the same species.


    He kept quiet and didn''t even speak out loud as he knew that those Dragons could use Earth-based Magic and quickly detect any nearby people with them.


    He hoped that he was sleeping or wasn''t using something like that yet as he enabled his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill and started making his way deeper into the cave.


    He was able to tell by somerge footprints of the Dragon which side seemed to be where he most likely was, and the prints seemed not to have reached the size of an adult one yet.


    As the prints were getting fresher, he decided to pull out his torch, which would make his moving slower but somewhat safer.


    Even if we couldn''t see entirely in the dark, his <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong> were giving him some better sight than usual to be able to see things a little better even in the pitch darkness.


    He sometimes found multiple tunnels splitting the way to continue, and sometimes, he had to turn back after finding a dead end, but he wasn''t giving up that easily.


    He had to take a break sometimes as he was overusing his <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong> by keeping them active all the time, which wasn''t the same as using <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> only, and it was giving him some headache at some point.


    He had some rations on him, so he could eat and not get hungry, which would make his <strong>SP</strong> getting restored slowly and, at some point losing <strong>SP</strong> without doing anything.


    Since he was underground after a while, he couldn''t tell how much time had passed.


    But he wasn''t going to give up yet.


    He continued looking for footprints, and after a while, he understood that some were fakes to lead him astray.


    He encountered some traps, like pitfalls with earth pikes or Enhancement Circles like the ones in Varan''s cave, but all were of Earth-rted results like creating a cocoon of stone to trap the one triggering or creating a massive rock on some height to fall and crush him, etc.


    He had used the rest of his Silver Dust pouches, but after a while, he seemed to be able to notice them without the need of the dust as they weren''t as well hidden as Varan''s but were using the darkness mostly to stay hidden.


    His movement seemed to be slightly faster, finding these traps and pass them without triggering them.


    He was also confident of finding the actual footprints and follow them.


    He understood that there seemed that some ces had portals which he couldn''t see and was moving him to another site without him noticing or being able to tell the difference cause of the darkness.


    He started making a map of the ce and started putting on it all the traps and the areas where the portals seemed to be. He was able to detect them by throwing a stone in front of him. If there were a portal, the stone would disappear.


    He tried to see where each portal was leading, but it seemed to be random as he tested the same ones multiple times, and each time was at another ce, but there didn''t seem to be a pattern of which one they would go next.


    He noticed that there wasn''t any way he could go that wasn''t leading to a portal and was confident there wasn''t any secret way.


    It was a puzzle, but he still didn''t have a clue of what the solution may be.


    After some more tries, he noticed something.


    Every time he was going through a portal, it led him to another random portal, except for the tenth one.


    No matter which it was, the tenth one seemed to be leading him to a ce with no portal there.


    The number of portals was also ten, so this wasn''t a coincidence.


    After testing somebinations, he noticed that if he went through the portals in a specific order, it teleported him in the same area each time and not a random one.


    Now that he had a way to tell if he was going the right way, he just had to keep testing.


    He was able to find the first five quite fast, but he seemed to have a problem with the rest, and sometimes the fifth one didn''t seem to work.


    As he was getting used to moving around without using the map and moving faster, he understood another of the variables of this puzzle.


    It seemed after he went through the first one, there was a countdown in which when it ended, no matter what portal he went through, it would be considered as the wrong one.


    He seemed to have five minutes which wasn''t a long time as the portals were some distance from each other, but with Ameanum speed using <strong>ACCELERATION</strong>, he could make it.


    Still, cause he had to test and find the rightbination so had to take some breaks for overusing this Skill.


    But after many tries, which he lost count of, and his feet felt like pierced by a million needles on fire, he was in an area he hadn''t seen yet.


    It was a vast hall, and he could see it all as there were lit torches to lighten it up entirely.


    There was a raised base in the middle of the hall, and over it was what at first look seemed like a statue of arge Dragon sleeping.


    But then the Dragon started moving, revealing that it wasn''t a statue after all.


    The Dragon stood up on its four feet and looked towards Ameanum.


    *<em>Who daresing into my home uninvited? <strong>SPEAK YOUR NAME INTRUDER</strong>.</em>*[Earth Dragon]


    Ameanum, fortunately, knew Dragonic, so he raised his arms as a sign of peace and thought carefully about his following actions.<ol><li>This is in Dragonic, samenguage the Kobolds were speaking</li></ol>

 Chapter 79: The Dragon

    Chapter 79: The Dragon


    The Earth Dragon was quiterge but wasn''t still <em>Adult</em> size. Standing on its feet was a little less than 3 meters in height and 5 meters in width. If was an Adult would be three to four times that size.


    Ameanum, while keeping his arm and kept a calm face but not one to seem cocky, he responded to the Dragon''s question.


    *<em>I am here to ask for your help, Master Dragon. There are events of great dangers in the Mortal Realm, and we need as much help as possible. I know you want your privacy, but a single tooth of yours would be all that we need.</em>*[Ameanum]


    The Dragon chuckled a bit as some dust fell from his body like he was filled with it. It seemed somewhat impressed of the one in front of him being able to speak hisnguage, as he was ready to eat him alive.


    *<em>Oh.... how interesting. Not only you intrude at my ce, but you also want a tooth of mine? Why would I care for your pitiful Realm? It has nothing to do with me.</em>*[Earth Dragon]


    Ameanum was in deep thought for a bit as he understood the point of the Dragon. He didn''t want to fight it as his chances weren''t the best with his current equipment, especially since they were at the Dragon''s Lair, where he most likely have prepared ways of helping fighting others.


    *<em>I know that I ask too much, but people of power have disturbed the bnce, and even the New Gods cannot do anything about them. If they continue acting like that, not only the Mortal Realm will be in danger, but the Tower''s locked creatures may get fully unleashed, bringing in trouble to all the Realms. The kind of trouble that wille here too may be too much for anyone to handle.</em>* [Ameanum]


    Ameanum could feel the stare of the Dragon scanning him and trying to read him, but he was keeping his calm face. Even if this time, he had more to lose as he was almost sure he wasn''t able to respawn, he was facing everything with his usual behavior no matter what.


    "Hmmm... I see. You seem like of the few brave ones I have heard about to fight for justice, or maybe some of the stupid ones."[Earth Dragon]


    The Dragon seemed to decide to continue their talk in themonnguage of the game. Ameanum wasn''t surprised that he knew to speak it as it was one of the first things their creators made sure they could do to understand their orders.


    "I will help you, possible stupid little man. But you need to prove yourself first worthy of my help."[Earth Dragon]


    Ameanum was a little nervous about that possible test of a Dragon, but he didn''t let it be shown on his face.


    The Dragon raised his wings like he was stretching them after being still for a long time, and more dust was falling from them also.


    He pped his wings a few times with enough force to release waves of air around him that were going outwards but weren''t too strong to push Ameanum back.


    As he finished his ''stretching,'' he walked closer to Ameanum and lowered his face to be in front of him.


    He sniffed Ameanum a bit and then opened his mouth.


    An Enchantment Circle started appearing at the middle of his mouth, hovering in the air and drawing more and more lines as the final Enchantment Circle was as big as its mouth.


    The Enchantment Circle seemed to be made of 13 Enchantment Shapes, making it almost a peek Master Enchantment, which was quite impressive for even a Dragon.


    Ameanum had no idea what this Enchantment was for as it was more than we ever have encountered or have researched.


    But even if he didn''t know what this is about, he didn''t blink even for a second.


    As the Enchantment Circle was finished and started to lighten up a little as it was empowered by more mana, it starts getting rotated clockwise.


    The rotation speed was getting faster and faster as soon enough; you couldn''t see any of the shapes, and it seemed just a t circle.


    The circle beingpleted took a little less than two seconds, and it to rotate that fast another three seconds.


    Then a horizontal whirlwind started being produced and was sted at Ameanum, but he kept his ground.


    The whirlwind force became more powerful with each passing second, but he gave everything he had to stay in ce.


    After three seconds, he enabled his <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong> to locate where it may be weaker for him to stand, and after three more, he had to enable his <em>Breaking-Limit</em> state.


    He used his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill to use his speed against the wind''s force and even his <strong>MARTIAL </strong><strong>ART</strong> skill to move his body or ''punch'' some of the pressure away.


    Half a minute have passed, and he was at his limit as his <strong>SP</strong> consumption was over than even what his <em>Breaking-Limit</em> could handle, and he was losing it at a fast rate.


    He even brought his sword out to try to do some <strong>AIR SLASHES</strong>, which weren''t as powerful as Annoue''s could be, since he wasn''t using any Mana but powerful enough since his <strong>STR</strong> was more than hers and his technique was better.


    Close to forty seconds since the whirlwind started, and he was pushed to the nearby wall and had the possibility of getting crushed if he couldn''t do anything to fight it.


    At this point, he felt his de moving by itself and was getting some vibes of anger from it through their bond.


    Its swings were more powerful, cutting the whirlwind, giving some time for Ameanum to move forward and rx slightly and prepare.


    His burden got lighter a bit, but he couldn''t move too close to the Dragon. The best he could do was keep a two-meter distance; after that, the force was too strong.


    But the Dragon started slowly moving closer to Ameanum, making him going back again and bringing him at the wall once more.


    Shingi used every Weapon Skill he had to fight the pressure of the whirlwind, but it seemed he was at a point that nothing worked as his sword was still a Base Rank one, so it couldn''t use all of them at full power.


    He could feel the consciousness of the sword getting tired, and after four minutes of actual fighting, it seemed to have turned to normal again.


    At that point, he was mmed by the whirlwind''s force on the wall and was unable to move.


    He felt each of his bones breaking by his armor and the pressure of the wind. But he wasn''t letting any screams of his leaving his mouth.


    Five minutes since the whirlwind started, his body seemed to have every bone of his being broken at the fifth minute. His armor was in multiple pieces, and some have pierced his skin, while blood was covering him and the wall he got mmed on.


    He could barely see the System''s UI, and he was focusing on one thing only; his HP bar.


    At the sixth minute, his bar had been empty.


    But instead of everything turning ck, there was just a bright light, and when it disappeared, he was back at normal.


    He was standing where he was when the test began, and the Dragon was in front of him with his mouth closed.


    It seemed the Enchantment put him in some Illusion; a pretty realistic one.


    He hadn''t lost a single of his HP or SP, but he could feel that his sword''s consciousness was tired. It may all be an Illusion on his mind, but the mental task was real, and it seemed to have affected Sinhunter too.


    The Dragonughed a bit loudly as the cave started being shake, even if it wasn''t supposed to since it wasn''t that loud.


    "You definitely are a brave one, little one. Or crazier than I thought you could be. Well, you have passed my test. Here is your reward."[Earth Dragon]


    The Dragon made a Large Earth <strong>MANA HAND</strong> of his and broke with hi one of his teeth and brought it to Ameanum.


    It wasrge enough for Ameanum to be barely able to keep it with one arm.


    Ameanum bowed towards the Dragon to show respect towards him. Even if it was a monster, he wasn''t belittled in Ameanum''s eyes or considered just someone to be used. He was the same as any NPC he had interacted with in the past during his Quests.


    He brought out the crystal that brought him here, seeing that there were cracks on each of its circle of it. It didn''t seem to be usable anymore.


    "Oh. An interesting trinket you got there. So that''s how you got here? No wonder I hadn''t felt your arrival at my maze." [Earth Dragon]


    "Yes, this was created by an important fellow of our Realm, but it seems no to be usable anymore. I am sorry to ask for another favor from you but do you have a way for me to get back to where I came from?"[Ameanum]


    The Dragon stayed silent for a couple of minutes as he carefully thought about what to do.


    "I can restore your trinket for a single-use to get you back. But you have to pay the price for it." [Earth Dragon]


    Ameanum nodded in agreement without asking what the price was.


    The Dragon chuckled once more as the cave gave one more shake.


    The Dragon slightly opened his mouth as brownish smoke came out of it and started surrounding Ameanum.


    He breathed some of it and felt some getting through his skin as he felt it piercing his skin.


    He felt burns all over his body after a bit, like a design was burned on it.


    It didn''tst long as the pain and burning feeling was gone, and everything seemed to be back to normal.


    Ameanum was surprised that no System notification appeared when it finished.


    "In time, it wille when the price is going to bepletely considered paid. For now, go back to your Realm."[Earth Dragon]


    Some of this smoke had also surrounded the crystal and seemed to have fixed it.


    He brought out a Mana Gem that he had borrowed from Varan to use the crystal once more.


    The portal opened that led to the green area, then another that led to the ck one, and finally to the purple one. After he went through the one in the purple one, he was back to the ce he left.


    Varan''sb in the cave.

 Chapter 80: End of the trip

    Chapter 80: End of the trip


    Pan was in a corner taking a nap, while other than her and Varan, Ameanum couldn''t see anyone else in the room.


    "Oh, you are back sooner than I thought. It''s been a little less than three hours."[Varan]


    "Thre...three hours? Didn''t you say one hour is a week there?"[Ameanum]


    Varan nodded with his usual smirk on his face.


    Ameanum had lost time in that ce, but he would have never thought of almost three weeks have been of him being there.


    After sighing, he left the tooth on one of the empty tables.


    Varan took a look at it, examining and bringing out of his Spatial Ring an ink pen and a small vial of ink.


    He started painting over the tooth, some <em>Programming Enchantments</em>.


    Ameanum didn''t disrupt him as he knew that even if he spoke to him, Varan wouldn''t hear him either way.


    He brought out of its sheath his sword and noticed some cracks on the de but were getting closed.


    He could barely feel the consciousness of the sword, and it was getting the feeling of it sleeping.


    Even if he didn''t actually use it, it seemed it got also affected in the Illusion, which appeared to be shown on the de itself.


    He could maybe help it recover faster if he summoned the <em>Spirit Hammer</em>, but he didn''t want to use it in front of Varan, who would possibly get crazy over it even if he wasn''t a craftsman.


    Varan was a collector of artifacts, so something as rare as a <em>Spirit Hammer</em> would draw his interest, as he had never found one either.


    He put his sword back to its sheath, so Varan wouldn''t notice its true nature either, as a <em>Growth Type </em>weapon is rarer than a <em>Spirit Hammer</em>.


    He started getting his armor out to check if something changed on his body after what happened with the Dragon, and he had found a change.


    His whole chest seemed to have writing on what seemed on <em>Dragonic</em> but seemed somewhat different, somewhat ancient.


    He couldn''t decipher most of it, but he could one thing that seemed to be a name; Choma.


    When he said that name, he felt some reaction from the tattoo as a whole but stopped as quickly as it appeared. He felt this unknown power going through him like electricity, but it didn''t damage him, but quite the opposite, it seemed to had strengthened him.


    But the effect didn''tst for long, just a split second, and it felt like something made it stop its effect.


    He felt the stare of Varan for a split second, but when Ameanum turned towards him, Varan seemed to still work on the tooth.


    But Ameanum could see a smile on Varan''s face.


    After a little less than half an hour, he heard some movement from the tunnel leading to the room as Marcy and Soryn came into the room.


    They have brought some more materials that Varan needed and joined Ameanum and the recently awoken Pan on drinking some of her tea.


    Varan was grinding some gems, squeezing some fruits, crashing some seed, and making a substance to paint over his finished <em>Programming Enchantment</em> with his ink pen.


    It didn''t take him long to finish it as they hadn''t finished their tea, except Pan, who was already at her third.


    Varan joined them to get some tea, and he seemed pleasantly surprised by its quality.


    He was silent and enjoying his tea while everyone was staring at him to tell them how his project went.


    He finished his tea, and he raised his hand, which seemed like he wanted to draw the attention of everyone.


    But in reality, it was to summon some biscuits from his Spatial Ring to have after the tea.


    "Oh,e on? You are doing it on purp..."[Marcy]


    She stopped mid-sentence as no other sound wasing out of her mouth.


    Ameanum knew Varan''s character, and he knew that he wanted things to happen on his own time, so one had to be patient with him.


    He finished a few of his biscuits but didn''t offer any, even if Pan was drooling for them. But her instincts were telling her not to mess with this person.


    "So. Are you guys ready to go home?"[Varan]


    Everyone nodded as they stood and watched one of Varan''s <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> starting carving on the ground a Teleportation Circle with the Dragon''s tooth.


    He put his hand over the head of Ameanum as Ameanum could feel Varan looking into his mind.


    He didn''t put any resistance as it would be useless either way against someone that powerful.


    Varan had been in many ces, but he didn''t remember all, and the best idea he had for a destination the more precise would be their Teleportation there.


    Ameanum felt that he went through his encounter with the Dragon too, but it was over in a few seconds.


    The <strong>MANA HAND</strong> had finished the Circle quickly too, and everyone stepped on it.


    "It was nice seeing you again, Varan."[Ameanum]


    Varan smiled towards Ameanum, but this time was a genuine one and not so much a smirk.


    "We are going to meet again, for that I am sure. Good luck with those people you want to deal with. Also, you better keep your promise.... otherwise I know where you live."[Varan]


    Ameanum didn''t count the ''threat'' as a serious one, but he never knew what to expect with Varan and when he lost his temper.


    The portal was active soon as Varan used some of his mana, and everyone fell in it since it appeared on the ground where they were stepping.


    They weren''t falling as almost instantly they appeared to the other side of it and appeared in front of the Tree Hideout.


    Ameanum gave them directions at the town''s Inn that the rest of his students were staying.


    His group, primarily because of Pan, was drawing some attention and a few from Marcy since her equipment was better than the low-level people around here, even if it wasn''t the rarest.


    Only a few Guild members of the Whip Masters were having better equipment than her, as not many of their high-level members were around.


    Marcy had her hood up, hiding her face at the best of her abilities since she had some past with the Guild.


    They reached the Inn in no time as it wasn''t too far from the Low Town''s main gate.


    Hineko was outside looking around as this time he didn''t seem to have found his target until he saw Pan.


    He moved towards their group, and Ameanum passed next to him and whispered for Hineko only to hear him.


    "I wouldn''t try it if I were you, young man."[Ameanum]


    Hineko looked towards him confused and then towards Pan.


    In the end, he stood in front of Pan, stopping her from moving.


    "Hey, babe. I haven''t seen you around in the past. Do you want to show you the sights?"[Hineko]


    Pan scanned him from his toes to the top of his head.


    Then she hit the ground with the butt of her staff as vines grew out of nowhere and surrounded Hineko, especially his face.


    The vines had some thorns too and didn''t so much damage Hineko but bringing him pain instead.


    People looked towards Hineko, and most seemed tough at his fate, and a few thought of him to deserve this as he had made a bit of name for himself on ''talking'' with girls.


    Ameanum and the rest got in the Inn, and he found at a table Phoenix and Mizuneko having some food in silence.


    He joined them by sitting in one free chair, which was most likely used by Hineko not too long ago, as there was a te with some food at that side of the table.


    Mizuneko was ready to shout at the unknown person sitting at their table, but Little Phoenix spoke first.


    "Mister Shingi.... when did you get here?"[Little Phoenix]


    Mizuneko was surprised by the name Phoenix used for this unknown yer as it was the same as their Master.


    "Yes, it''s been a while. I heard you guys had some misadventures here and brought some further help."[Ameanum]


    He pointed towards the bar, where Soryn and the rest had gone to get some rooms.


    "You must be Mizuneko. I heard about the ns my student had for you, but I didn''t know you have seeded already."[Ameanum]


    He used his <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong> when he saw them and noticed that Mizuneko''s ss has changed to Ice Mage.


    Mizuneko had one of Zhen''s Air Mana Gem for him to train on his Air Mana Maniption.


    After that, he had to evolve his Mana Pool by merging it with the Air Mana, which was the hypothesis that he was told how to be an <em>Ice Mage.</em>


    Fortunately, in the end, it worked.


    But it wasn''t going to be that easy if he didn''t have the rechargeable Mana Gem. Its mana was purer to be used and had better benefits, and since it was recharging itself, it was perfect for this type of training.


    If he didn''t have that, he would need to use dozens of normal Mana Gems, which would be too much for most people to pay.


    He also had some tips from Shingi for manipting the mana and helping at the merge, although Shingi himself wasn''t sure for anything. Most were some hypothesis of his or of NPC researchers he had met in the past.


    Mizuneko was surprised for him knowing this as he hadn''t revealed this kind of information to anyone, not even his brother.


    "I heard you, Ms. Phoenix, were working on your <em>Profession</em>. But it seems you are still working on it. How is it going? I head a suitable tutor was found for you."[Ameanum]


    "It is going well. Master Karemon says in a day or two, and I should have earned at least <em>Apprentice</em> <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> profession."


    Not all professions were unlocked fully, as most of the times were following the same states as a ss for an NPC; <em>Apprentice</em>, <em>Base</em>, and final the full Profession.


    "Good... you should be informed of the individuals who are messing with the shop. Right?"[Ameanum]


    They nodded and informed him that they also were affected.


    It was a known fact their rtionship with Shingi since they had killed Guild members in the past. They were also seen with him a few times, so they were targeted by them when they went outside the town.


    Even if they were able to bribe a few guards, they weren''t able to keep them away forever, so they weren''t free to do whatever they wanted.


    Especially when the Mayor made it clear to them of being unwilling to work with them.


    Ameanum had some more talk with them, and Hineko joined them after a few minutes, full of wounds and some thorns still on him.


    He asked Little Phoenix if he had any news from Wild Tycoon, but it seemed like she still hadn''t sent any message.


    Ameanum told her to wait for her tomunicate with them for now.


    Ameanum said his goodbyes for now.


    He left and arrived at an alley close to the shop but free of watchers.


    After making sure nobody was watching him, he went <strong>OFFLINE</strong> from his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>.


    After the few days of the trip''s duration, he was back in control of his NPC body.

 Chapter 81: Special meeting

    Chapter 81: Special meeting


    Shingi stood up and stretches as his body was still for some time.


    He opened his Status to check if anything changed.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>Name:</strong> Shingi Maki


    <strong>ss</strong>: None


    <strong>Profession</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>Race</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>HP</strong>: 88/88


    <strong>SP</strong>: 47/47


    <strong>MP</strong>: 46/46


    <strong>STR</strong>: 12


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 14


    <strong>END</strong>: 16


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 5


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Earth and Light Element


    <strong>Skills</strong>: VISUALIZATION (Master Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Master Rank), MANA SENSE (Master Rank), PERCEPTION (Master Rank), STEALTH (Base Rank), IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON (Master Rank), SMITHING (Master Rank), MARTIAL ART (Base Rank), GLASSBLOWING (Master Rank), WOODCARVING (Base Rank), LEATHERWORKING(Base Rank)


    <strong>Passive Skills</strong>: MINOR MANA REGENERATION


    <strong>Spells</strong>: MANA HAND (Low Grade), FILTH EATER (Ungraded), MINOR ILLUSION (Ungraded), LIGHT (Ungraded), ROCK THROW (Low Grade), CAMOUFLAGE (Low Grade), INVISIBILITY(Base Grade), DOME OF SILENCE (Base Grade), MANA DOUBLE - LIGHT ELEMENT (Base Grade), MANA DOUBLE - EARTH ELEMENT (Base Grade), MAJOR ILLUSION (Base Grade), HASTE (Base Grade), STONESKIN (Base Grade), METAL HANDS (Unfinished Low Grade)


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of Beliss, Blessing of Dlog, Angel''s Boon, Blessing of Choma


    ================================


    He could feel the tattoos finishing getting imprinted on him, but their passive effects seemed to be more significant at his weak NPC body than at his yer''s body.


    The new Blessing seemed to have increased his <strong>HP</strong>, <strong>MP</strong>, and <strong>SP</strong> modifiers as a result.


    He meditated a little to go into his Inner Space to check his skills, and he noticed some improvements, mostly at his <strong>MARTIAL ARTS</strong> skill.


    He could also feel his Earth Mana be somewhat ''lighter,'' making it easier to control and faster to cast Earth mana-based Spells.


    His <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> seemed to have updated slightly, but mostly his hearing and <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> had some slight improvements.


    He could detect underground movement if he focused on it, which he couldn''t before. It was like the ground was a field he couldn''t pass.


    Combining his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> and <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, which was almost second nature to him, he was able to detect nearly everything around him within a range of five meters, even if they were covered by a wall or being underground.


    Of course, the further something was from him, the least detailed, and after three meters, he couldn''t be confident for small things or what they were, but big things like Karemon in the office outside he was able to detect him quite well.


    He could do something like that in the past with his skills, as when he detected Shadow Whip and Fire Whip outside the store, but back then, he could detect just their presence. But now, he would be able to see precisely where they were and doing if within range.


    He tested a few things to get used a bit on everything and headed outside to meet a and Karemon after making sure some yers who seemed to havee here to finish some Quests have left.


    "Here you are. I was afraid you were starving yourself over there."[a]


    Shingi was somewhat hungry as he didn''t spend the time feeding this body of his.


    Fortunately, Karemon seemed to have some deer meat and potatoes ready for him to eat.


    After seeing him being in there and not getting out, Karemon decided to have some food ready when Shingi would wake up again.


    "So what happened with that Blessed One you mentioned? Is he going to get here?"[a]


    "She sent some more people to help."[Shingi]


    Shingi had told them that the person they had met couldn''t get here but told him about some people who would help them and have helped the two Blessed One''s girls he was hanging with these past days.


    He was still keeping the story that the one behind everything was the one who helped to cure him even though he wasn''t able to find her identity.


    He tried to ask for any info Karemon had for her, but she seemed to have just passed by and came across Garry and helped him and left.


    "Well, those past few days, those annoying brats seem to try to take over the town. Hopefully, with the help of Lady Anna, we were able to get some of their n to slow down. She seems like one I don''t want to be against."[a]


    "Me neither."[Shingi]


    He may have beaten her in battle, but it wasn''t on her terms. If Anna was serious, she wouldn''t charge at him but took her time and surprised him, which was her expertise.


    But Anna wanted to act fast to stop the person who unleashed this danger and didn''t have a clear mind then.


    But now that she was free and had some clear air, she was one to fear by many.


    After having a few bites, Shingi said his goodbyes, cast his <strong>INVISIBILITY </strong>and headed to the shop.


    It was still as quiet as he left it, and there seemed like there were more watchers with Mana Pools around it, making it harder for him to get in there, but not impossible.


    Inside there was the trio he expected; Anna, Volig, and Greg.


    "You are here so soon? Did something happened?"[Anna]


    She wasn''t expecting him toe to report for his arrival, and the rest he mentioned for a couple more days.


    "Master found an old friend of his and arrived in town not too long ago. Phoenix and the rest met them already. What about here? a told me you had done a few things to sabotage them, but I see their numbers to be quite high still."[Shingi]


    Anna nodded at this, and she seemed to be frustrated a bit.


    "It seemed I underestimated them and their ability to respawn, making them harder to be scared. But I was nning to meet the creator of those special gems of yours. His skills may be useful for my n."[Anna]


    "May I join you then? Zhen hadn''t met you in the past, but something tells that he will like you."[Shingi]


    After Shingi discussed a few things he wanted Volig to prepare, Anna moved towards the Dungeon.


    After leaving the town, their progress was faster as they didn''t have to take detours to avoid the ones with possible Mana Detect skills, or at least Shingi didn''t have to anymore as Anna didn''t have to worry about something like that.


    They got to the Dungeon within two hours and at the secret door within a few minutes after that.


    With her Shadow Teleport ability, Anna moved into the secret room to open the way for them; that''s why they didn''t call Little Phoenix to join them.


    They found Zhen working on what used to be the destroyedb, but in the time that past he seemed to have clear it up. Zhen removed the broken crystal sphere while inside the other spheres were some female vigers simr to the one the Ooze has transformed to, but one was blonde and the other was brte.


    The one he had already dealt with had ck hair.


    "Zhen, I brought someone to meet. Here is..."[Shingi]


    But before he finished his sentence, Zhen already had teleported in front of Anna, grabbed her hand, and kissed the top part of it.


    "Mydy, I am considering more than blessed to have the chance toy my eyes upon one like you that would put even the Goddes of Love to melt from jealousy."[Zhen]


    Anna seemed to have been caught off guard and had frozen in ce.


    For most of her life, she lived with her mother or on her own, so she wasn''t good with people, especially whenplimenting her.


    "My name is Zhen, your highness, and I consider my honor to have you at my ce. Maybe you would like to rx from your travel? May I suggest a bath or my special massage?"[Zhen]


    At that point, Anna snapped out and punched him in the face, but he seemed faster than she thought as he turned his body into his purple mist and teleported back to the ce he was when they got here.


    Anna stopped herself from continuing this fight.


    "We are here because we need your help. Anna will exin but try to act seriously."[Shingi]


    Anna exined the situation, and Zhen seemed to have followed what Shingi told him and listened with a serious face.


    "...and that''s where youe for. We need your special Gems but for different types of Elements; special types of Elements."[Anna]


    Zhen thought about it a bit before he responded.


    "Well, it is possible, but I will have to work with one or more people with the said element to make the Gems have them produced fast. Of course, female ones are most suited for this kind, especially ones with curves. As my research proves it, their mana seemed to be purer to be used on creating my Gems."[Zhen]


    Anna nodded on this for Zhen to smile as everything seemed to go ording to his n.


    But things changed when Anna hit him in the head since he dropped his guard.


    "Just be serious. We have a person with Ice Element, and I believe you have met the one with the Dark Element. Also, there seems to be one with Nature element that I can see if we can persuade her."[Anna]


    "She is called Pan. She is with us already and probably will help us if it isn''t something too exhausted."[Shingi]


    "Well, if she gets tired, I..."[Zhen]


    "She can turn into arge panda and probably eat you if you try anything on her."[Shingi]


    Zhen didn''t finish his sentence.


    "I can help with some Light Mana produced if that is the case. But how long do you think this would take?"[Shingi]


    Zhen seemed to go back to thinking and made some calctions in his head.


    "Well, some of the mentioned ones I have worked with, as you are aware of, in the past, so can improve current design which wouldn''t take more than a few hours or less. The Ice Element shouldn''t be too hard, so maybe a day or two. As for the rest, probably not less than a week for each. That is for the designs, but the production of each shouldst a day for a dozen at best."[Zhen]


    Shingi turned towards Anna, who seemed to be troubled by this.


    "What do you think?"[Shingi]


    "That is too long. I can''t dy them for so long. If we could lower their numbers, maybe, but they keep reappearing because of their blessed respawn ability, so this can''t happen."[Anna]


    Shingi had a smirk on his face as a particr thought came to his mind.


    "I may have something to help us with that problem."


    Anna looked towards him, confused.


    Then her eyes got wide as she thought of something.


    "You don''t think of using that thing from the mine, are you? This is going to harm us more than will help us."[Anna]


    Shingi chuckled at that a bit, leaving Anna confused.


    "Of course, I don''t n to use this. What do you think of me to be a crazy person?"[Shingi]


    Anna sighed from relief at that response.


    "Then what is your n to deal with their respawn ability?"[Anna]


    Shingi''s smirk became a little wider at this point.


    "One of our new allies has a weapon that can deal with it and give us some time."[Shingi]


    Then he exined the situation with Sinhunter and how it seemed to have a simr effect but weaker effect of <strong>INFECTED SILVER''s</strong> death effect.


    They discussed a few details on what to do and what Zhen needed for making his Gems.


    Then they returned into the town, and Ameanum worked with Volig on a few things for the rest of the day, as he had a specific task now for the night.


    He was going to hunt some yers.

 Chapter 82: Plan in action

    Chapter 82: n in action


    Ameanum was still in the alley where he was when he disabled his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>.


    He drew <em>Sinhunter</em>, which still seemed to be recovering a bit, but he could feel waves of excitement from it like it had read its mind and knew what wasing.


    He checked a corner of the alley that he hid something as his NPC self, which was an outfit made with the help of Volig.


    It was a cloak with a hood with a few enchantments to help him blend with the environment and move stealthily more uplicated.


    It was also able to make a minor illusion making his face darker and some horns appearing, and other demonic features.


    He also made some gloves to make his hands looking demon-like.


    After making sure that everything worked fine, he focused his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> on the nearest target.


    He didn''t have to look for much as he already had seen from this morning their hiding spots.


    He went for the ones at the Mayor''s office first.


    There were three groups of two, each being a group of two.


    They were at a fair distance from each other not to view one of the other groups, but each had a view of the Mayor''s office from different angles.


    This morning, he noticed that one of each group seemed to have either a Mana Pool or some item emitting mana, which probably was to have a simr effect to <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> most likely.


    The other person probably had better <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> or simr detection skills or maybe a way ofmunicating.


    He could kill them all without them noticing, but this wasn''t the n.


    He had climbed over the roof of one of the nearby buildings and checked them from above.


    He threw a stone but not on them but close to each group to draw their attention.


    They turned towards him, seeing his figure jumping andnding near the Mayor''s door building.


    He had his Illusion active and his sword drawn.


    He threw some needles he had borrowed from Anna, but his techniques weren''t as precise as her but more than enough to hit them.


    Of course, those didn''t deal any special effect or massive damage as he wasn''t proficient with them through the System, but his <strong>IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON</strong> seemed to help on his aim with it a bit.


    The reason he used them was cause they had encountered those needles because of Anna''s sabotage ns so that they could use this as a way of something big was after them.


    After that, he activated his <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> skill and Breaking-Limit state and started the massacre.


    He had left his armor behind, so he was even faster than usual, and he had killed seven of the eight people, with some of them barely having time to move.


    Thest one wasn''t that he was faster than the rest, but Ameanum just had him kicked down to the ground while stepping on his chest and keeping him down there.


    <em></em><em>**Just stay still, child**</em>[Ameanum]


    He had Volig create a mask hot so much to hide his face and change his voice to make it more profound and demonic.


    Those were simple enchantments, so even if he wasn''t an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> in his profession, he was able to make them.


    He talked in anothernguage he had studied that few had time to learn because of its difficulty; the Demon''snguage <em>Demoniac</em>.


    He was confident that the yer in front of him didn''t understand him and added it to the whole act.


    The person seemed to have gotten terrified, as expected.


    He then hit him to make him unconscious and not to kill him. He then cut his neck with a tool he made with Volig.


    It was shaped like a jaw with sharp teeth and used to made it look like something had bitten the yer''s neck.


    Then he moved to one group after the other, and this time he didn''t let anyone alive.


    It seemed that they didn''t have many of their high-level members at night, so the resistance was almost none for Ameanum.


    He didn''t encounter any of the members he had met in the past, like Fire Whip, Shadow Whip, or even Cerberus.


    He felt that his sword enjoyed the action but wasn''t progressing much as the yers were too weak, but because of their quantity, there was little progress.


    In total, he killed fifty yers, and the first ones seemed not to be affected by not being able to respawn, but the more he killed, the greyer their particles became, showing that they had the heavier death penalty.


    It seemed the effect was getting reset if some time passed, and the more kills he was getting, the heavier the penalty that would be dealt at the next one.


    From what he gathered, the effect would be activated sooner the more progress he was making and most likely would reach a point that it being constantly active.


    He had found again the first seven yers who were able to respawn and killed them too, giving them the penalty.


    He killed all the Guild Members that seemed to be currently active except the one at the first group, who at this point was awake and tried to find someone to report, but Ameanum dealt with everyone who was supposed to be online.


    He found another alley and ended his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>, returning to controlling his NPC body.


    He was this time at the shop, so Anna and Volig were next to him when he woke up.


    "Everything went ording to the n?"[Anna]


    "We will know in a few minutes."[Ameanum]


    They waited, and after some time, someone broke into the shop.


    Arge bear, the same one Ameanum had seen in the past with Fire Whip and Shadow Whip when he first met them.


    The bear had charged at the door and took it down. Behind it was Shadow Whip with Fire Whip next to him with their weapons at the ready, jumping in ready to cause chaos.


    But the moment they jumped in, some <em>Enchantment Circles</em> started Lighting up under where the bear was standing as chains appeared out of nowhere and tied it up.


    Anna teleported behind them using their shadow as a point of Teleportation and put some needles at the back of their head.


    This made them lose their consciousness as the bear seemed unable to get free from the chains.


    Volig and Karemon prepared that trap as they knew that there was a great chance of them attacking their shop after getting reports of an unknown entity attacking them.


    Shingi turned towards Anna, who was in the middle of tying the two unconscious Blessed Ones.


    "Time to prepare for the second part then."[Ameanum]


    It wouldn''t be long until more people getting informed about the situation. Still, the Guild would be weaker a bit now, so they would act carefully, giving them some time, especially after losing two of their generals.


    Shingi was confident that Fire Whip was of high rank in the Guild cause he seemed to have the ability to order guild members around to keep and report on him, as he did back when he first went to the Dungeon.


    Volig had moved on the forge continue working on something while Anna and Shingi stayed with the two yers moving them on the empty still storeroom of theirs.


    They made sure they were tied tight enough, and Anna put some needles on the bear, bringing it into aatose state.


    They woke them up after Anna wore simr equipment that Ameanum was wearing and had a longsword to pass as close to him, or how he was reported to look.


    They woke the two yers after they made sure everything was in ce.


    After they were awakened and saw Shingi, they wanted to charge at him, but their ties were too strong for them.


    "<em>*sigh*</em> Some dogs never learn, it seems. Do we need to go through this every time?"[Shingi]


    "<strong>LET US GO, YOU IGNORANT FOOL!!!</strong>"[Shadow Whip]


    Shingi chuckled at this.


    He noticed that Fire Whip once again kept being silent and was starring at the figure next to him.


    Shadow Whip kept trying to break his ties, but his efforts didn''t bring any results.


    "Listen here. I am clearly not the one considered <strong>IGNORANT FOOL</strong> between you and me. I was minding my business and tried to work with you, but you tried to break the deal. After breaking a deal, one should pay the consequences like a man, but I guess that is too much for your coward leader and his dogs."[Shingi]


    Shadow Whip seemed to got even angrier after hearing what he said for his leader.


    But then the still figure next to Shingi acted by bringing its de''s tip under the jaw of Shadow Whip and barely touched his neck.


    "My friend doesn''t like people acting as you do, and I think you have heard of the consequences one is paying after being dealt by my friend." [Shingi]


    Shadow Whip seemed to stop after understanding the situation.


    He heard the reports of all their members killed by this unknown figure of having the inability to respawn for some time.


    Unfortunately, the System didn''t let them know how long they couldn''t respawn and just had to wait.


    "What do you want from us then?"[Fire Whip]


    "I don''t want anything from you. But if I have to, I would ask you to stop being the dogs you are and being as what Blessed Ones are supposed to be."[Shingi]


    Both yers seemed to be confused about what Shingi told them.


    "It seems you really are ignorant. You don''t even know with whom your Guild works, or I guess you don''t care as long you get the benefits."[Shingi]


    Fire Whip and Shadow Whip looked at each other as they seemed not sure what to say.


    "<em>*sigh*</em> I guess you aren''t to be fully med for your ignorance, but you have to ask yourself where your Guild''s power came from. You are free to go, but if I even see one of you or your people acting against my people and me, it will be a war. And you won''t like me when I am acting while being at war."[Shingi]


    He then freed them as their tied were substantial cause an Enchantment powered them, and he could disable it.


    Fire Whip stood, and Shadow Whip followed him without saying anything, which seemed unusual for him.


    "What about my bear?"[Fire Whip]


    "It is considered a hostage for now. But nothing will happen to it unless you guys do something against us."[Shingi]


    "Not<strong> IT!!!SHE.</strong>"[Fire Whip]


    This seemed to be one of the few moments he saw Fire Whip acting on emotion. Even when he got his pouch of gems as a gift, he deserved it without giving anything back, but he didn''t say anything or act.


    "She will be fine then."[Shingi]


    Fire Whip nodded, and he and Shadow Whip left the ce.


    After making sure they were alone, Anna removed her hood.


    "That went different than we said. Why did you let them go? I thought we ned to use them as hostages, not just their bear."[Anna]


    Shingi was in deep thought for a bit before turning at her.


    "It is true what you say, but now we have started a new n. One of the oldest tactics."[Shingi]


    Anna thought of it a bit and seemed to understand what he was talking about and smiled.<ol><li>** means a differentnguage than Dragonic who is with one *</li></ol>

 Chapter 83: Mana Gems

    Chapter 83: Mana Gems


    Things seemed to have gone quiet the next day as either Shingi or Anna detected no watchers at either the shop or a''s ce or Shingi''s house.


    Shingi was confident that this wouldn''tst for long, and they were getting prepared, but it would take some time for them to do so.


    He had many things to prepare until then, but now his shop was back in business as the rumor of the Guild leaving the town spread quickly, and they started bidding for slots for items to be crafted for them.


    Volig had prepared more blueprints in the meantime, and some Illusion shows Enchantment to make some drawings on it appear as a 3D Illusion for one to take a better look at it but won''t be able to touch it.


    He had Karemon''s and Little Phoenix''s help, mainly for the Blessed One to take some more experience.


    This way, some could order some of the simple design ones, while the ones with the slots would take some of the moreplex ones and higher quality and make adjustments for the person ordering them.


    Greg seemed to have found some ess to some materials for them to work through some old pals of his father, and that way, Volig had some materials to make a few more weapons ready.


    The materials bids were better than the first time as people had more time to be prepared, as many of the yers were hoping for this situation of being forbidden on the shop to end soon.


    Volig had started on the designs of the special orders while Shingi was working or producing more of the simple design ones that were getting ordered.


    They were trying to keep a stock so that they sell the simple ones right away, but the number of yers was more significant than expected, and some seemed to buy more than one to share with others who weren''t here at this moment.


    They had to limit the number of items one could order; otherwise, it would be too much even for the two of them.


    He had HASTE active as much as he could and using MP Regenerations potions and even used some of his Mana Seeds; he had four left unused in the end.


    They were able to make each of the simple orders for today even if there were some dys. As for the rest of the orders, they had it that it would be ready at most in a week, which would be more than enough time for Volig to craft them.


    With the money, they made today, Greg''s sources, and Volig''s almost Master skills, they didn''t have to worry much.


    Shingi needed to help only today as Volig would continue as the organized things and most people came in the first day, but most likely, more wille soon.


    After resting for a bit, he went to the Dungeon to meet Zhen and start making the rechargeable Light Mana Gem design as some updates on Earth Mana Gem design. The one Zhen had made could be improved using the mana produced from one''s Mana Pool and not just the environment.


    He also let Little Phoenix and Mizuneko join the production of Mana Gems for their Element.


    Zhen didn''t need sleep, but he wasn''t working on this research all the time as he had some more personal research to do.


    Zhen has left some Oozes in the secret room, so when they detected one knocking on the secret door in a specific way, they would use the lever to open the secret door.


    That way, Shingi didn''t need to have Phoenix of Anna to get in there every time.


    He was nning, though, to make a Spell simr to SHADOW FORM, but its Light Mana Version.


    Although it didn''t count as a spell by the System, he had partially seeded in the past when he did something simr to get free of Annoue''s grasp.


    Shingi noticed that the Oozes in the ss spheres were at their Ooze form this time and seemed that their color to be a little darker than thest time he saw them.


    "Oh, you are here. Should I assume that your ns worked?"[Zhen]


    "Something went differently than we discussed, but it is probably something we can use to our advantage. So ready to work on my Element Mana Gems?"[Shingi]


    Zhen nodded but seemed to look behind Shingi like expecting someone to join him.


    "Is it you alone this time? What about the rest? You know it is proven through my research the more people around, the faster a job is being done, especially if the majority are beauties."[Zhen]


    Shingi just ignored him.


    "So, what do you want me to do?"[Shingi]


    Zhen decided to start with the Earth Gems since that should be the shorter and then move on to the Light Mana Gems design.


    Shingi had to release his mana as a ball at his hand but only of the selected Element.


    Zhen then had to manipte this mana with some of his Special Mana which Shingi still didn''t know what elements were using.


    He probably had air since it was taking the form of mist and possible water or fire.


    He doubted having Earth even if his majority of Mana Gems he created was of that Element; otherwise, he wouldn''t ask to check for making improvements on its design.


    Zhen didn''t tell him what Elements his mana was part of and didn''t exin why he wouldn''t say.


    With his mana, he could somehow turn the mana of others into a liquid form and have it pretty simr to ink, just different color depending on the Element.


    Shingi''s Earth Mana was green while his Light was bright yellow.


    He started designing different Enchantment Runes on pieces of rocks the Oozes have brought him with that ink.


    The rocks didn''t seem to be any different than a regr one, and it didn''t need to be for this part of the production.


    He wanted only to see if the design was correct. He didn''t care that the stone would break a few seconds after it got enabled. Those few seconds were enough for Zhen to understand if it was a sess a failure.


    He had to use the mana ink as soon as he created it, as it seemed to be drying up at a rapid rate and bing unusable at that point.


    So he wasn''t turning more than he needed each time, but since he was creating multiple designs simultaneously to test them and his drawing speed was inhuman, it was using up Shingi''s Mana at a rapid rate.


    But it wasn''t something he couldn''t handle.


    They were finished with the Earth one quite fast, not taking them more than 30 minutes, but they were working on Light one for over two hours, with some breaks, but it still didn''t seem like Zhen had found a way to make it work.


    Each Element had its nature and was working in different ways, so even if he had done simr work with some of the other ones, it didn''t mean he was confident on how this one would work.


    He also was drawing somewhat slower as he was worried for any ink falling on his body as the Light one seemed to burn his skin in touch while the Earth one didn''t affect him like that.


    Shingi touched the ink, and he wasn''t affected like that, but it could be because it was his mana.


    Shingi had to take some breaks to recharge his Light Mana, and as they reached their third hour, Zhen seemed to make a breakthrough.


    To tell which one was a failure and which one wasn''t it, he had to check how the stone broke.


    If it cracked and fallen apart, it meant that his design was holding the mana in ce, just the body wasn''t able to keep them for long and broke.


    But if they explode, making the pieces fly away with some force, this meant that the design wasn''t working as it supposed to, and the mana was getting crazy, resulting in that way of destruction.


    The stones started cracking a bit before exploding, meaning he was on the right track but still not there.


    After four hours of work for the first time, Zhen had to take a break to replenish his mana as even if he wasn''t using much for each design, after the massive number of tries, his MP was getting low too.


    While waiting, someone else joined them.


    Little Phoenix came to help with what she could and let Shingi know some news.


    She had earned her profession as Apprentice <strong>ENCHANTER</strong>.


    She tried to understand the work of Zhen, but her knowledge and Skills weren''t there yet.


    But she tried to learn, and Zhen was more than happy to exin to her or even having some private lesson in the future, which Phoenix rejected by saying she had a tutor already.


    Shingi noticed that the room temperature started been increasing slowly but didn''t understand the reason at first.


    Then he noticed Zhen''s cat familiar, which seemed to control some kind o small lever.


    With his MANA SENSE, Ameanum found that this lever controlled a massive Enhancement covering the whole room, which seemed to be managing its temperature.


    "<em>*phew*</em> things are getting hotter. I think there is some magma underground us that seems to get randomly active. How about you, Shingi go bring some drinks and take a break while I work with Miss Phoenix''s Mana Gem design for a change?"[Zhen]


    Zhen didn''t have much trouble with the temperature as he wasn''t wearing much either way, but Shingi and Little Phoenix started sweating a bit.


    "Oh well, if you need drinks, I have some."[Shingi]


    He summoned from his Spatial Ring three water-skins and gave one at Zhen and one at Phoenix.


    Zhen seemed to try to keep his annoyance to himself, but it was clear as day to Shingi''s eyes.


    The temperature after a while went back to normal, and Zhen worked on some more Light Mana Gem designs while Phoenix was watching and tried to learn.


    After a few hundred more tries, Zhen was closer but still far from a functional design.


    They decided to finish with improving the Dark Element one with Phoenix''s help.


    Phoenix''s and Mizuneko''s Elements were the ones with the highest priority as Shingi could use them to craft for them wands or staves that would empower the spells that were of their Element based.


    But he wanted to improve the Earth ones to help on the training of Phoenix to earn it and strengthen his Earth-Based spells.


    Light Mana Gems was also to help his casting as likewise could be used on the shop. The Light Mana was the best mana to purify materials and make them easier to be worked with, more substantial, and able to handle Enchantments better.


    He was doing this with his mana, but he couldn''t do it with all the orders or wouldn''t be able to finish them all.


    It would improve their quality and crafting speed, as also they could buy cheaper materials and ''purify'' them to make them of higher quality or do it for what they already had. Although that would take some time and mana, it should be possible with enough rechargeable Mana Gems.


    Of course, they should be careful so that they don''t force too much mana to create Mana Infected Minerals.


    Also, they could infuse other Elements of mana to give unique properties to it, but this needed some further testing.


    For now, he focused on finishing the designs and prepare for the dangers they were expecting.

 Chapter 84: Runemaster

    Chapter 84: Runemaster


    That Dark Mana Gems design wasn''t as good as the Earth One, so it needed more improvements, and so it took more time than what with the Earth One. At least that was what excuse Zhen gave them.


    It''s been two hours as he held the hand of Phoenix where she was creating her mana ball to keep it still, or so he said.


    He didn''t do something like that for Shingi.


    Shingi used his Dragon Scale to bring forward some Earth Mana, which didn''t have highpatibility. Still, it was a little better than the one of his environment as he, after separating it from the rest that made the Storm Element was purer and a little easier to use.


    He didn''t use this mana for his Mana Tree but to test some new spells.


    He tried to create something not surrounding him or part of his body but create something in the environment.


    He started with something simple.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>EARTH SPIKE</strong> (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    It took him a few tries to get to the proper form of the resulted spikes of his Spell.


    At first, they were more like small pirs, and then with each try, the top of it started losing width and bing more pointy after a while.


    The <strong>EARTH SPIKE</strong> wasn''t the strongest of the spells and was barely considered Base Grade, but that was because Shingi didn''t have it fully develop yet.


    As with his <strong>METAL FISTS</strong>, which were still considered unfinished,


    they were still mostly rocky and not metal-like, the same as his <strong>EARTH SPIKE</strong>. The final one would always be fully made of earth, but its strength would as made from metal.


    He still had to find how to turn his Earth Mana into Metal which should be possible for anyone with Earth Based Mana Pool, except for a few rare exceptions. He was confident that he could do it just had to find the way.


    But at least the Spell was recognized by the System, and it wasn''t unfinished even if he couldn''t use it in his final form.


    It made sense since he knew that this was a Base Grade Spell to just its power would change, not its grade, so no need to be considered unfinished.


    After that, he focused on another idea of his that he had some days ago from watching Pan.


    He put his hand on the ground and starting using his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> to create a tiny humanoid statue in front of him.


    He focused his mana on the ground and started manipting it, not to draw its mana or draw it by its mana but to take control of it.


    Up until now, he either was using force to do things or using his mana, but now he had to take control of the mana of what he needed to use to control it.


    The reason was if he were manipting it by ''dragging'' its mana and using its bond, he would have to use his mana all the time to keep control over the result. But if he could ''change'' its nature to be considered simr to his mana and be controller by him in a simr fashion, things would be faster and less mana would be used.


    Of course, it sounded simple in theory, but he wasn''t entirely confident about how it was supposed to work.


    Each mana source is its entity, so even two sources of the same element of mana can be considered different on the way of how easy or hard it is to be manipted, and other approaches may be needed to be used.


    He tried to mix his Earth Mana with parts of the ground mana to see if that would make a difference, but it didn''t seem to be that easy.


    He felt a general resistance as even if they were of the same element, theirpatibility was low.


    He was confident that she should be possible with any piece of earth and not just some he would have highpatibility as he had to see Pan making golems of hers in many ces; she couldn''t be highlypatible with all of them.


    He let the golem creation for now after having some talk with Pan, who could help him on that.


    He then focused on moving his mana and spreading it through the earth in a simr fashion as he was using his <strong>MAN SENS</strong>E in the past.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> (Low Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    It may be considered Low Grade by the System, but its importance was more than that as its range was better than his Master Rank <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>bined with his Master Rank <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>.


    This would help to detect underground creatures or even help detect movement in other rooms that may have some extra protections making his usual approaches more difficult.


    Of course, since it was a Low Grade Spell, it was easy to counter it, but it was one of the rare ''weak'' spells that, with enough mana, they could get past those obstacles.


    He kept using <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> while having his eyes covered by a piece of cloth and moving around theb without using any other detection Skills.


    He also used his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> Skill with which he didn''t need to use his sight to see the result to help with his training by visualizing what informations he was getting from <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong>.


    He moved to the room the Zhen was sealed before as he was less familiar with that space, making it a better ce to train.


    Even with his VISUALIZATION, he had some idents and tripped a few times as he missed some small items on the floor, which were almost like they appeared out of nowhere.


    When he felt that he had gotten the handle of it, he removed the cloth to take a break and noticed a System notification that shouldn''t have appeared too long ago, or it would already be gone.


    ================================


    A student of yours earned their profession while under your tutorage.


    As a reward, restrictions of that profession aren''t affecting you.


    <strong>Profession</strong>: Enchanter


    <em>*This reward is unique and won''t be earned again</em>


    ================================


    Shingi was amazed by this notification as he made his way back to the room where Zhen and Phoenix were to congratte her.


    Zhen''s work was highly advanced and should have helped her understand a few things better as she saw them in action, and most likely, Zhen exined a few things and Karemon''s help.


    He was amazed, though, that there was a reward like that, especially without him being the one who taught them how to earn her profession. He only helped find the person who could, but he was her teacher or Schr Master by the System.


    When he got out of the small tunnel leading from the sealed room to theb, he saw something unexpected.


    Zhen and Phoenix were kissing, or so it seemed at first.


    Their lips were barely not touching each other as some of the purple mist of Zhen was getting out of his mouth and entering Phoenix''s.


    Phoenix''s eyes were utterly purple, as also her lips.


    Zhen had his left hand behind her head, keeping her still, but she seemed like she wasn''t able to move.


    Shingi was ready to tackle Zhen, but then everything was over.


    Zhen, for the first time, was sweating.


    Phoenix''s eyes and lips turned back to normal, and she started moving away from Zhen.


    Zhen startedughing and then started drinking from the waterskin Shingi gave him before, emptying it entirely.


    "Thanks for the meal. But I must say you handled more than I thought you would."[Zhen]


    Shingi tried to grab him from his scarf, but he saw him in time and teleported away, leaving his scarf behind.


    For the first time, his neck waspletely exposed, and they could see some burn marks on it in the shape of fingers like a heated hand had grabbed his neck and left him this mark.


    It didn''t seem to be a recent one, but with no further inspection couldn''t tell how old it could be.


    Zhen seemed not to like his neck to be out in the open for others to see like that as he summoned his cat, who then turned into a snake and surrounded his neck.


    "We don''t need to get violent. I know things may look suspicious, but I acted in order of goodwill and to help. Nothing else."[Zhen]


    Shingi could tell that he was lying for the ''nothing else'' part, but the rest seemed to contain some truth.


    "What exactly did you do to her?"[Shingi]


    Zhen had a silly smile on his face as he seemed to remember the memories of what just happened, but he quickly snapped out of it.


    "<em>*cough**cough*</em> As our young friend over there is of a somewhat simr profession as mine, but on its Apprentice level, I decided to transfer some of my knowledge to her. Just a few of the unneeded ones for me, or few I could spare some power from them, that could be useful for her." [Zhen]


    Shingi checked Phoenix''s status, but he still couldn''t see her profession with it but could see her skills, and he noticed a few new ones all at around 20 something level.


    The ''unneeded'' ones Zhen mentioned were all the Skills an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> would need to get to be a <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong>.


    What Zhen was doing of making an Enchantment on simple items like rocks even if it seemed simple, it actually wasn''t.


    If a regr <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> were trying this, it would have no effect, or the rocks would explode each time, and that''s because of Zhen''s real profession of <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong>.


    <strong>RUNEMASTERS</strong> were able not only to turn simple objects into enchanted ones even for a limited time but were having a wider variety of Enchantment Runes, not following the Shape System or Programming Runes.


    They also could use both Shape-based Enchantments and Programming to work with each other, which gave them the title of <strong>TRUE ENCHANTERS</strong> by a few.


    Varan was a <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong> and was actually the first one; that is why he was given special treatment. The first one to unlock a profession never existing in the past had benefits that others would never have the ability to earn.


    Shingi had a few suspicions of Zhen''s profession <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong> being that while seeing him work, he wasn''t sure, mostly because he was supposed to be the Boss of a Low-Level Dungeon, so he shouldn''t be too strong.


    Until now, other than his ability to Teleport, he hadn''t seen any fighting kind of abilities from Zhen.


    It seemed the Dungeons weren''t working as simple as he thought of the levels of the monsters representing the limits of the Dungeon''s Boss.


    "I really am an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> now."[Little Phoenix]


    After hearing that from Phoenix, who seemed to have rxed a bit but still being on her toes, he decided to let it go since nobody was actually harmed.


    "What did you earn out of it then, Zhen?"[Shingi]


    Shingi threw the scarf of Zhen''s towards him as it seemed important to him not to have his neck exposed, and the snake around his neck was a weird look.


    After he put his scarf back as it used to be, he responded with the silly smile of his returning on his face.


    "Earn, huh? Well, I guess being close to a beauty like that was my earning. I definitely wouldn''t do something like that to an unworthy one."[Zhen]


    Shingi didn''t want to ask what would make one worthy as his guts told him that he didn''t want to know.


    They heard the sound of the secret door opening as it was echoing to theb, and after not much time, Mizuneko entered the room they were.


    He had arge leather bag that he dropped in front of Shingi, and it opened for one to see what was inside.


    It was full of scrolls, and more specifically, Spell Storing Scrolls.

 Chapter 85: Spell scrolls

    Chapter 85: Spell scrolls


    Spell Storing Scrolls were the second more essential tools after potions a yer was trying to have with him.


    Depending on the quality of the scroll, different Grades and the number of Spells could be stored in it.


    But the highest the Grade of a Spell, the more space it took.


    Since Mizuneko was a <strong>SCRIBE MASTER</strong>, he started on researching the way of making Spell Storing Scrolls, which was the most usual action a <strong>SCRIBE MASTER</strong> would spend his time to do.


    His current ones were the results of his hard work. A few barely could handle a Base Grade Spell stored in them, and most up to four Low Grade Spells, either the same or different.


    This wasn''t going to affect much their future battles as the Mana Cost of Low-Grade Spells was minimalpared to Base Grade, but it was a start.


    He would continue his research, but the Special Ice Mana Gems'' creation was more important for now, as it would help with his training on this particr ss and developing his Mana Pool.


    The difference between his Mana Pool and Shingi''s, even if both, in theory, had two Elements, was that Mizuneko''s was considered one as the Air and Water part of his trees have been merged into one.


    He still could develop only Water Mana or only Air Mana, but it took more time than using Ice Mana right away.


    So since this was a different Element, itspatibility with normal Element Mana was less, so its development would be slower than if they were two separate Elements.


    But if he had a Mana Gem producing Ice Element mana, this would progress of his Mana Tree much faster but cause the uniqueness of the mana, and the Mana Gem would make less mana in a specific time still would be faster than usual.


    Zhen worked with Mizuneko, and even if Zhen didn''t seem interested much in the person, he was interested in this unique mana of his.


    Shingi looked over the Spell Storing Scrolls, which were empty, and tried some to check how they were workings.


    To store a spell was as simple as casting it, so storing them in the scroll was a little slower than the usual time it took you to cast it.


    When stored, writing would be created on the scroll in anguage selected by the creator of the scroll.


    A few knowledgeable <strong>SCHOLAR MASTERS</strong> could use codingnguages for their scroll so that not just anyone could use them. Thenguage had to be one they were considered proficient by the Gods, the System.


    Mizuneko knew only themonnguage currently, so this was what the writing was at, but Mizuneko tried to study some othernguages; it just took time.


    He used his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> spell as a test one as it was the one he was the most familiar with, so the chance of it failing cause of the low quality of the Scrolls was limited.


    He used five of them, and only two were sessfully made and were holding three uses each. The other three were destroyed either on his try to put the fourth one.


    His Spell was well developed, and it more than a normal Low Grade Spell, but far from what a Base Grade one would be.


    Six free uses of his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> spell were going to be helpful, especially since others were able to use them without the use of mana.


    Of course, the Spell, if not fed with additional mana, wouldst for a limited time by itself, and different Element of Mana than light may not work, but even the one minute it couldst by itself could prove life-saving.


    He didn''t want to use the one who could handle Bade Grade Spell yet as they weren''t easy to reproduce them for now.


    "Mister Shingi, may I speak with you for a second?"[Little Phoenix]


    Shingi turned towards the young but still older than his NPC self, Blessed One.


    "Is there something you need my help with?"[Shingi]


    He was used to him calling him Mister even if he was younger than her. She was also used to talk with him without much problem as with the rest, not including Wild Tycoon.


    "Well, I was wondering... is the Master Shingi still around? Haven''t seen him in the Inn with the rest of the people he came in, and they didn''t know where he went."[Little Phoenix]


    It was confused that she was calling his NPC self Mister Shingi and his yer self Master Shingi. He was still keeping a secret from them that the two were the same person as after hearing the reason that this may have happened from Night Wind, he decided not to let any yers know.


    He trusted Benjamin, Anna, and Varan to keep this secret, but others, not so much.


    "He had to take care of a few things by himself. Not sure when he is going to be back. Why do you need some help?"[Shingi]


    She seemed to blush a bit after she thought something and turned around, not facing Shingi anymore.


    "No, everything is fine."[Little Phoenix]


    She then ran to the corner that Zhen''s cat was and started hugging it and ying with it.


    Shingi was confused about this reaction but didn''t pay it further mind.


    He put the scrolls he was able to put his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> Spell at his Spatial Ring, and after said his goodbyes for now to Zhen and the rest, he headed out.


    He went to the same alley he has ended his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> asst time.


    He made sure that nobody was around using his detection Skills and even his new <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> spell to be sure of it.


    He then enabled his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>.


    The whole transition seemed to be shorter than ever. There was some dy until his yer body started being constructed, but now it was almost instant.


    ''Maybe the distance of the two ces affects how long it will take''[Ameanum]


    He saw his NPC body still being in there, but it was currently unconscious but still breathing.


    It was in aatose state.


    He didn''t ponder on this for long as he brought out his sword and left it in the alley as he quickly ended his<strong> SPECTATOR MODE</strong>.


    When he was back to his NPC body, he picked up the sword, and he got attacked right away.


    But the attack wasn''t towards his body, but his mind as the consciousness of the sword wanted to devour this unknown person who dared to touch him.


    But Shingi''s will wasn''t something one could mess with easily.


    He had an INT of 16, which would put him at the same level as a Professor Mage of many years of training.


    He had the experience of a yer who had encounters with Dragons, Demons, and even Gods.


    Most of all, he had the Blessing of Beliss, which was lessening the requirements of any mental tasks he had to deal with.


    So with all that, fighting against the Consciousness of Base Grade Equipment could be troublesome but not too hard for him. If it were a Master one, he would be in a dangerous situation.


    <em>"''You better calm down Sinhunter. I am your owner.''"</em>[Shingi]


    The mental attacks stopped.


    <em>"''You no owner. You small and weak. Owner big and strong.''"</em>[Sinhunter]


    Before the mental attacks continue, Shingi started sending mental images to Sinhunter through their mental connection used tomunicate.


    It was simple images to exin his situation of showing yer Shingi dying, turning into a child, and getting back his body but bot fully and others.


    There was silence for a few seconds.


    <em>"''You owner.You no owner. Me no fight with small owner. When big owner you can wake me.''"</em>[Sinhunter]


    After that, the sword stayed quiet no matter what Shingi tried to do.


    He considered it to be more beneficial to have the sword with his NPC self, but he didn''t wait for it to act like that.


    There wasn''t much he could do for it now, but it didn''t mean he couldn''t use the sword at all or it was useless.


    It would be the same as using a standard Base Grade weapon, as the consciousness was working on boosting his performance with it; that is why it was considered better than normal Base Grade ones.


    He had a few skills he could learn that would help it, but he kept the sword at his Spatial Ring for now.


    He went over to the Inn to find Pan to ask for help on making Golems with his Earth mana as he had seen her doing something like that with her mana even if hers wasn''t only Earth-Based.


    Outside the Inn, he found Hineko, who once again was surrounded by thorny vines.


    A crowd had gathered, primarily females, who seemed tough at him.


    He had a reputation build these past days being around, and it wasn''t the best among the female audience.


    There were some males also who wereughing at him too.


    Shingi, while wearing his Special Cloak, making him seem like an Older teenager and with his Dagger at hand, went over and cut some of the vines and free him up.


    The crowd seemed disappointed, and some even booed Shingi, but they left as there wasn''t anything further to see.


    "Oh, thank you, Mister. I don''t know how much longer I could... Master, is that you?"[Hineko]


    "What did you do again, Hineko? I thought I heard you learned your lesson not to mess with the people that came with Master."[Shingi]


    Hineko removed some of the thorns that were still on his face.


    Those vines seemed to focus there and at a lower part of his body.


    "Well, Master, I tried to be helpful, and I swear to my honor I didn''t try anything. But Lady Pan was identally pushed by a person, and as a gentleman, I had to fight for her honor. I got pushed a few times, but I was able to best him in the end.... until we noticed something."[Hineko]


    Hineko swallowed his salivae as he remembered what happened that lead to his misfortune.


    "When she was pushed, one of Lady Pan''s pouches fell without her noticing. During my fight, I didn''t notice it, and I... I stepped on it."[Hineko]


    Shingi didn''t have to hear the rest of the story.


    He was amazed that Pan didn''t just kill him on the spot for it.


    "You have any idea where she went then?"[Shingi]


    Hineko finished pulling out of his body thest thorn. Fortunately, he could adjust the pain level; otherwise, he would be screaming each time he removed one.


    "She mentioned the Mayor and wanting some of her tea. I tried to get her there before this happened. She left with Lady Marcy, as the bald dude stayed meditating at his room."[Hineko]


    Shingi moved towards the Mayor''s office, and Hineko followed him until on the way there, he noticed one pretty female yer and tried to start a talk with her.


    Shingi didn''t wait for him and got to the Mayor''s office quite soon. He saw Marcy outside the office, staring at the board with the Quests.


    The Quests that were there were the type that was considered useless by most yers.


    There were gathering Quests but not from NPCs like Volig, who was of great importance and could reward them greatly, but simple townspeople and wanting simple things like meat or skins of beasts, or some herbs, etc.


    "Is there anything wrong, Miss?"[Shingi]


    He noticed her not looking at them to find something good but looking through them again and again like she couldn''t decide what to get.


    He wasn''t using his cloak anymore, and he was back to his usual look.


    "Oh, what a sweet little boy. Are you lost? Do you want me to help you find your parents?"[Marcy]


    Shingi didn''t expect this reaction as not many people acted towards him as him being a child.


    "I am here to visit aunt a. Do you know if she is in?"[Shingi]


    He tried to act as a child would, but his acting wasn''t the best as he said it in a more serious tone than any child would.


    Marcy, though didn''t seem to notice.


    "Yes, she is in with a friend of mine. I should get with you because my friend can be a little scary to people she doesn''t know."[Marcy]


    Shingi sighed as he was aware of Pan''s personality more than Marcy as he headed in with her.

 Chapter 86: Golems Training

    Chapter 86: Golems Training


    Heading inside the office, he found a and Pan having some tea. Pan was drinking hers slower than usual.


    She seemed to enjoy it more than her usual one.


    "Excuse me, Mayor a. Your nephew came looking for you. Also, I wanted to take some of the remaining Quests."[Marcy]


    a seemed confused about how Marcy referred to Shingi but didn''t say anything.


    She checked with Marcy the Quests Marcy wanted, and Marcy left to work on them.


    Shingi stand next to Pan.


    "Hey, Pan. I am Shingi Maki. Was sent here by Master to ask some help on one of my Spells."[Shingi]


    He had exined Pan his situation, so she knew that he actually was, but he had to keep the story straight for a and Karemon.


    "Huh? Oh, you are the small self of him."[Pan]


    a and Karemon were staring at Pan and then at Shingi after hearing that.


    Shingi put his palm over his face.


    He knew Pan was forgetful most times, but he didn''t expect her to reveal this that soon.


    "What is she talking about? Small self of who?"[Karemon]


    Shingi thought about what to say when a notification appeared in front of him.


    ================================


    Conditions for the <strong>WIPE(S)</strong> are met. Will you use them?


    <strong>YES / NO</strong>


    *Costs 1 <strong>CHA</strong> per <strong>WIPE</strong>


    ================================


    This was the first time he got this notification but not the first time he had seen this.


    Back when a seemed to have cast something on him, she triggered a WIPE on her and seemed to make her stop being suspicious of him.


    Shingi still didn''t know what else he could use <strong>CHA</strong> for or if it affected him in any way other than the random effects he got till now.


    But he would have to use 2 <strong>CHA</strong> which would bring his <strong>CHA</strong> to 3.


    He wouldn''t care about it if he didn''t have the Minor Mana Regeneration Passive Skill. He didn''t know if it got weaker when his <strong>CHA</strong> went to 4, and it wouldn''t be beneficial for him to make it weaker, especially since he still didn''t have a sure way to increase it.


    He decided not to use the <strong>WIPE</strong> on them.


    "<em>*sigh*</em> It is a big story, but I can''t share it with you, at least not yet. People of great power are after Pan and the other of the Blessed Ones, and I have to help them is all I can share with you for now."[Shingi]


    He saw some reluctance on them, but then he had this strange feeling of some peculiar energy being released from him, and they seemed to stop overthinking it.


    ================================


    Because of overuse, <strong>CHA</strong> has been set to 0 temporary for 36 hours.


    ================================


    That was the second time his <strong>CHA</strong> was set to 0, which was for longer this time.


    ''<em>Could it be when I persuade others to do something, it is because of CHA? If so, overusing it could have this kind of effect.</em>''[Shingi]


    He had considered that sometimes people seemed to follow things he said way more effortless than usual but didn''t mind it much.


    When he talked with Sinhunter, he felt some strange sensation when speaking with him but thought it was because of their telepathic bond, but it could be his <strong>CHA</strong> overworking on persuading the sword''s consciousness.


    He could tell that they didn''t just forget everything but seemed to believe in him to say to them everythingter.


    "So, Pan, can you help me? I heard you could make some Golems help you, and I tried to do something like that with my Earth Element Mana. But it doesn''t seem to work as easy as I thought."[Shingi]


    Pan looked at him and then back to her cup of tea and went back and forward between them a few times.


    "<em>*sigh*</em> You can finish your tea first."[Shingi]


    She seemed happy and went back on slowly, drinking her tea.


    "You try on making Golems now? Is that even possible without a ss?"[Karemon]


    That was a peculiar Spell that not many could use, but his chance should be pretty high since he could create <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong>.


    Creating Golems worked differently than <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> as Golems acted on their own by him giving them orders.


    Pan created some of her Golems for him to examine while she was finishing her tea. They weren''t expecting the ground to break the wooden floor, but Pan fixed it right away with a Spell of hers.


    Shingi had his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> active through the Spell cast and the creation of the Golems and continued examining them with it.


    He hadn''t noticed anything new as the casting didn''tst long to see anything working differently to take control of the piece of earth used to make the Golems.


    He noticed that the mana used by Pan after a while disappeared, but the Golem was still working.


    He noticed that the Earth''s mana had changed shape to look like the skeleton of this small Golem.


    After some time, the Golem turned back to a small pile of earth, as Pan had released the Spell on it. Pan wanted him to try to make a Golem out of this.


    He tried to repeat what he saw Pan do with her mana, but he still seemed to miss something.


    He tried to shape a skeleton like the one the other Golems had, but there was still resistance even when he finished and when he let it go, it was going back to its standard shape.


    He made some more tests, but not much progress was made until Pan finished her tea and joined him.


    "Hmmm... you don''t feel the Earth, so you can''t control it. You need to feel the Earth so that you can use its power."[Pan]


    Shingi didn''t understand exactly what she meant with feeling the Earth, and Pan seemed to have read his mind on it. She moved with unnatural speed and his head with her staff.


    Shingi lost any power he had on his body and fell to the ground.


    His senses seemed to have extended, and he heard a strange sound simr but at the same not simr of breathing.


    It seemed toe from the Golems of Pan.


    He focused more on it, and this strange sound seemed to be clearer as time passed.


    He focused on the rest of the environment around him and could barely hear the same sound with some difference from everything.


    The piece of ground he was trying to use to make a Golem seemed to have simr <em>''breathing''</em> as the Golems but was way weaker.


    That is when he understood what he had to do.


    He wasn''t supposed to control the earth but boost it to give it life.


    He felt the <em>''breathing''</em> of Pan''s seemed to be simr to the empowered one of the Golems mixed with the <em>''breathing''</em> of the ground.


    Pan created another Golem, and Shingi was able to notice more details while in this state.


    He felt Pan''s mana have a <em>''breathing''</em> of its own and changing a bit while interacting with the piece of Earth it was using for the Golem''s creation.


    This extraordinary state of hissted for less than a minute but seemed to be enough for him.


    He stood and closed his eyes and focused on some leftover piece of Earth left from Pan.


    He tried to remember the feeling he had while in the state Pan put him in. It took him a while, but he started ''hearing'' this special breathing from the piece of Earth he was focusing on.


    He started using some of his Earth mana and focusing on <em>''hearing''</em> its <em>''breathing''</em> which was easier than the Earth''s.


    He felt that he could speed the way mana moved, which would change the ''<em>breathing</em>'' too.


    He tried to find the sync the two <em>''breathing''</em> up at the best of his ability, and this strained his brain as it was taking a lot on keeping this unique sense active.


    He had to take a few breaks as he couldn''t keep it active for more than five seconds in the beginning.


    The time increased with each time he used it until it reached ten seconds, and the progress slowed a lot.


    But that was enough time for now, and he focused on what ''<em>adjustments''</em> he needed to sync these two breathings.


    He coulde close enough and tested what would be affected if his syncing wasn''t perfect.


    It seemed like he didn''t have to make it perfect to start making the Golem, but the more perfect it was, the faster the skeleton formed.


    His first finished Golem had a massive torso that was throwing its bnce off, and it wasn''t able to stand.


    Every Golem of his had problems with the shape of its arms, legs, torso, or head. These seemed to be enough for the System to consider the Spell as being learned.


    He had to take quite a few breaks to rx his mind or recharge his mana as he had to use a lot as he had to speed up his mana to change the breathing as needed.


    He was lowering the amount of mana he was using as time passed, but he still had a long way to go.


    He had moved his training to the room he was using to <em>''sleep''</em> while making the town trip as Ameanum.


    A few yers wereing to take Quests, and it would be weird for him to train his Spell casting in the room.


    Pan remained and was eating some biscuits that Karemon had made for them.


    He had spent four hours on this training as he finally created a Golem in a bnced shape to be able to move. But still, the Spell wasn''t considered as learned.


    His Golem was standing there still and wasn''t moving no matter what he did or said.


    He tried to make a simr connection with them as he felt that it was made when he spoke with Sinhunter, but it didn''t seem to work.


    It seemed he had to find a way tomunicate with them as he never heard Pan giving them orders and seemed to do things on their own.


    But he knew they were acting under her orders but were mostly deciding themselves how to fulfill this order.


    He took a break and decided to nap and use his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> to train his new Spells.


    When he finished creating his <strong>TRANCE ROOM,</strong> he focused right away on his Golem Creation.


    He couldn''t ''hear'' the same ''breathing'' sound of the ground as it wasn''t real, but he felt something simr.


    He made the Golems almost half the time he did when awake and couldst in this particr sense state almost twice as much time.


    After a few dozen times of creating Golems and trying to order them, one slightly moved one of its legs.


    He continues testing, and he finally understood what he was missing.


    He thought Pan''s Mana was leaving the Golem''s body when it finished shaping the skeleton, but this wasn''t the case. It was moving to create a final thing; the brain of the Golem.


    He hadn''t noticed it as the skeleton covered it, but he found it logical for a brain to be needed and be created by his mana to keep a way ofmunication.


    This worked, but he had just to find the specific shape fitting the final Golem.


    In his testing, he found out that he could create different ''brains'' for different types of Golems.


    One focused on battle, one focused on defense, and one mainly acting on fulfilling tasks.


    All could follow orders of his but only ones ording to the brain they had.


    If he gave to a Battle one to attack someone, it would do and adapt on its own, but if it ordered it to do some chores, he had to exin what to do step by step.


    He messed with the rest of his new Spells too, but he wanted to make as much progress as he could as his Golem-Creation Spell.


    When his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> ended, and he woke up, he noticed a System notification.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong>(Unfinished Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================

 Chapter 87: When past knocks at your door

    Chapter 87: When past knocks at your door


    Shingi was surprised by the notification as he didn''t expect to get <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong>, but the simpler version <strong>CREATING GOLEM</strong>.


    <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> was a Master Grade Spell, so he didn''t aim for it yet, maybe when he unlocked his ss.


    But it made sense as probably Pan was using <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> too, and since he copied her, it made sense to learn the same spell and not its weaker version.


    He was ready to cast it to test it, but there was a knock on the door, and Karemon entered the room.


    "Excuse me, sir, but <em>Mistress</em> asks for your presence."[Karemon]


    Shingi noticed right away not only a difference in the tone of Karemon''s voice but also his eyes being having less light.


    These were signs that he was under mind control.


    Hearing the title Mistress and Karemon, who was resistant to mind maniption as a Half-Demon, he was confident he knew who he was referring to.


    A person he considered he would meet but didn''t want to.


    He didn''t have much choice as he headed out to see that Pan and a were sleeping in a corner, and in the middle of the room, the was a female figure.


    Her clothing had some simrities with Night Wind''s as they had some modern touches, which seemed strange but not weird in this fantasy-like world.


    She was wearing a long ck dress with golden lines at its end and her sleeves. The dress was open at the back, revealing most of her back as also the front part was adding to her chest area but not revealing too much.


    She had pink lips and nails, and her hair was brown with some ck at the end of it.


    She had arge scythe at the back of hers as she also seemed to have a remarkable base that maized the Scythe to keep it in ce. The base was tied with leather ropes that were going around her stomach.


    When Shingi stepped in, the ck eyes of her were drawn to him.


    At the same time, Karemon fell to the ground after he punched himself unconscious.


    This was Ardent Scythe, another of the New Gods like Night Wind.


    Shingi had worked with her a few times, and every time he regretted it because of her extraordinary power.


    She had the ability to Mind Control everyone except other New Gods.


    Of course, she had some restrictions from the higher-ups, but the line was easy for her to cross. That was because of her background as the only child of thepany''s Founder behind the Game.


    She smiled seeing Shingi and started walking towards him, but she stepped over a part of her long dress and fell over her face.


    Besides doing what she wanted, one of the worst things Shingi had to deal with when working with her was how clumsy she was.


    She had revealed their location when they were trying to stealth or ruined negotiations many times, even if at thetter she should be an expert with because of her power.


    She stood up and moved her nose with her fingers as she seemed to have hurt it a bit.


    Some light was released from her sleeves as an Enchantment was enabled, healing her a bit.


    Her Father gave this something as he knew his daughter and didn''t want harm to her if he could help it, even if it were in the Game.


    "I see Night Wind wasn''t able to keep a secret from you. Did you threaten him that you would fire him"[Shingi]


    She smiled towards Shingi as her eyes turned on what of affection.


    "I think you should be a good boy to massage, big sister."[Ardent Scythe]


    She turned around and removed her Scythe, letting it on the ground as Shingi''s body moved on its own to follow the order given to him.


    He wasn''t utterly mind-controlled as he knew what he was doing but couldn''t stop himself. One usually wouldn''t even see what he was doing while under mind control and not even remember them when the control was over.


    "I was surprised by what little Wind told me, but it made me happy that you weren''t gone. But also sad that you didn''t try tomunicate with me. But I am here now, so no worries." [Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi was full of worries as he couldn''t just let her control him, but there wasn''t anyone here to help him as even Pan seemed unable to fight her power and was put to sleep.


    "You know I heard that this form of yours is supposed to have a sister; that can''t be. Will tell daddy to delete her as you need only one big sister."[Ardent Scythe]


    At that point, Shingi was frozen in ce as he felt familiar energy freezing him, but not affecting Ardent Scythe, who seemed confused on why he stopped her massage.


    The door opened, and in came Night Wind.


    "That is enough, Scythe. You can''t just do what you want and even control him like that. That is against wh...."[Night Wind]


    In the middle of his sentence, no sound wasing out of Night Wind''s mouth like he became mute.


    This was a special privilege Ardent Scythe''s character had other than Mind Control.


    Night Wind silently sighed as he pulled out a stone with a rune on it and pointed it at Ardent Scythe.


    The Rune released some purple light as the same symbol appeared at the back of Ardent Scythe.


    Then she seemed to be in pain as the symbol on her back was burning her.


    This was a particr way to deal with here designed by the mother of her as she knew how hard she was able to deal with sometimes.


    Her mother was the lead programmer of the Game to do things like that behind her husband''s back. He wouldn''t let something like that done to his precious daughter.


    Shingi felt the mind control stopping affecting him.


    "You ok?"[Night Wind]


    "Could be better. I see you still can''t hide things from her."[Shingi]


    Shingi was heavy breathing as the energy of Ardent Scythe that was controlling him tried to takeplete control, and he was barely keeping it from seeding.


    If Night Wind werete a few more seconds, he probably would not be able to stop it anymore.


    "Notpletely my fault. People startedining about that Guild in the town bullying everyone from visiting the local cksmith shop, and I may identally tell that this should be over soon since it was there. Of course, one wouldn''t mind it much, but you know how curious and persuasive she can be when she wants to learn something."[Night Wind]


    Shingi sighed as he understood very well what Night Wind was talking about.


    Ardent Scythe wanted to hang out with him almost all the time, and he had to talk with her mother quite a few times to speak to her.


    Ardent Scythe was interested in him because he didn''t care much about her background, and he wasn''t epting any of her gifts either in real life or in-game.


    In the beginning tried to help her in-game since she was, in theory, his Boss''s daughter, but she didn''t have the patience most of the time, and things were getting chaotic quite soon.


    The worst ident was when she had an entire town deleted from the Game after telling her Father to do it because one merchant there didn''t give her a discount on a cute dress it had.


    She couldn''t use her power on simple merchant NPCs to get better deals, but NPCs like a were affected by it.


    "You should talk with her, or she won''t let you go, you know." [Night Wind]


    Shingi sighed as he turned towards the silent Ardent Scythe, who wasn''t in pain anymore as Night Wind had disabled the Rune''s effect.


    She stayed quiet as she understood the situation she was in.


    "They may awake soon. Come follow me; we are going somewhere more private to talk."[Shingi]


    He left the office as Night Wind and Ardent Scythe followed him.


    He got to his house, which he hasn''t been at for a while since he woke up after meeting Mikhail.


    The ce was somewhat of a mess as nobody was cleaning it but had just some dust here and there.


    He cleaned the kitchen with his <strong>FILTH EATER</strong> spell for them to sit and talk.


    Shingi exined his situation and had to calm down Ardent Scythe a few times when he referred to Annnoue or the Guild, making his life harder. She also didn''t like it when he mentioned any other female figure like Little Phoenix, Wild Tycoon, or Anna.


    "So, as you understand, this has to do with the Dark Guild, which even your father doesn''t seem to be able to deal with."[Shingi]


    Ardent Scythe didn''t like it, but she knew it was true. She was repeatedly told by both her parents not to mess with them, which was rare for them to do something like that, especially her Father.


    "I may not be able to deal with the be I can still help you. I can give you resources to mess with their n easier."[Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi was deep in thought as it was true that he required resources for his ns, and he didn''t know how much time hisst n had given him.


    "I can get some resources but have to happen in secrecy and not in major amount or will draw too much attention. Night Wind should be in charge of it as he can be stealthy enough for even me not being able to detect him."[Shingi]


    Night Wind seemed to get ready to argue for why should he be the one to deal with it but stopped himself as Ardent Scythe stared at him with eyes that one would swear were throwing daggers at him.


    "I...i am happy to help you, my friend."[Night Wind]


    "I probably don''t have to say this, but my existence has to remain a secret. This goes extra for you, Scythe. Your parents can''t know about me, or they probably will experiment with me, and most likely, you will never see me again."[Shingi]


    Ardent Scythe seemed terrified on the thought of what Shingi told her and nodded in agreement, and she seemed more serious than ever.


    Shingi cast an Earth-Light <strong>MANA HAND</strong> of his and pat her head as he used to do with Annoue.


    She seemed to like this.


    "Now I have a question for you, Scythe."[Shingi]


    She snapped out of her feeling offort as he was ready to hear what Shingi wanted to ask her.


    "Your dress. You didn''t have itst time we met. Annoue have described the yer who took the Quest for my cure as wearing a simr dress to yours. Was it you?"[Shingi]


    She started recalling what she had done around that time Shingi was talking about.


    "Well, the dress isn''t unique, as there are five others like that but without the special enhancements. I have acquired three of them, but not sure who has the rest. As for the Quest, I wasn''t in this Kingdom untilst week for at least a year."[Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi summoned a piece of paper and pen from his Ring and started making a list of items Zhen and Volig could use and some for himself and his Students.


    He organized them in batches and when and where they should be delivered.


    Now Ardent Scythe just wanted Shingi to fulfill a favor of hers since she was a ''good girl.''


    To sleep with her.

 Chapter 88: Time with Scythe

    Chapter 88: Time with Scythe


    Ardent Scythe wanted to sleep with him while hugging his arm. She wasn''t going to try anything, at least for now, as she said.


    She was jealous of hearing of Annoue sleeping next to him, especially when he mentioned the night that he was trapped with his arm held in ce by her.


    She wanted to live the same experience.


    It was gettingte, and Shingi couldn''t find a way out as Night Wind didn''t consider this severe reason to use the rune.


    If he had the <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> avable, he wouldn''t mind, but it was still in cooldown.


    They went to the bedroom of Garry as Ardent Scythe didn''t like the ''mattress'' of Shingi''s bed as it was too hard for her.


    Garry''s bed was a single bed, so they didn''t have as much space, so they had to be closer than Annoue was with Shingi.


    Ardent Scythe changed to a pajama attire of her, and she hugged Shingi''s whole body and not just his arm.


    Shingi was notfortable with it, even if any other guy would kill to be at his ce.


    Night Wind left to take care of gathering the first batch of materials.


    He was able at the end to free most of his body from her grasp but left his arm since he promised to do it.


    Ardent Scythe didn''t seem to be able to sleep but watching Shingis''s face, and he was trying to focus on feeding his Mana Tree and make some progress there.


    He had also cast <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> to create two golems to handle tasks and not a battle, and he told them to clean the ce up.


    He was also able to ''see'' them with his detection skills and give them further orders if needed.


    He kept drawing at him any goodpatibility mana around to feed the roots of his tree and regrow the Mana Seeds he had used these past days. They were pretty useful ones, and it was taking too long to grow if he let them by their own.


    He used any mana he found with over 65%patibility for his Mana Seeds, and anything above 50% left he was using to strengthen the roots of his Mana Tree.


    He tried to keep the Mana Pool''s current bnce between the two elements and not increase the volume of onepared to the other.


    He also tried to make some openings at his Mana Tree that no Mana was residing there.


    He was nning to get the third Element for his tree, one that they were missing up until now; Fire.


    It would help him greatly, especially when using it with his Earth Mana, as it would strengthen it and create closer to metal substances for things like his <strong>METAL HAND</strong> Spell.


    It would also help with his crafting.


    Other than purifying, he used his Light Mana to extra heat up what he was working on. If he were using Fire Mana, things would use less Mana and would be faster too.


    But getting the third Element wasn''t easy as most had difficulty getting the second.


    He had to make sure he had enough space in his tress to keep three elements bnced and handle their power and reaction to each other.


    Light, Earth, and Fire had good to no reaction, but he still had to prepare his tree.


    His Mana Tree had grown in size, especially after getting Blessing of Choma, and he was confident he would have enough space for three elements.


    After his training on creating Golems, he realized that he could change the consistency of his Mana Pool to make each Element of Mana with specific ''breathing,'' making <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> even faster to cast.


    But making these kinds of changes wasn''t something that he could do fast, and he needed to work on it carefully as it could damage his Mana Pool instead of increasing its efficiency.


    He needed at least three days by his calction to had his Mana Pool ready to start evolving it to have a third element.


    Fortunately, because of the particr source he had chosen to create the Mana Tree''s seed, it and his preparation of that seed itself made his tree have the chance to handle three Elements.


    His meditation was stopped now and then from Ardent Scythe moving around while still holding his arm, which made him lose his concentration.


    He made less progress than he wanted on his Mana Tree, but at least he made some progress with his <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> Spell.


    He could give them simplemands to follow them, and they could take decisions by themselves if something went wrong for some, but at most, they were waiting for further orders.


    He developed the shapes of the ''brains'' of the task handlers Golems toplete their work more efficiently, be somewhat more innovative, and need fewer instructions.


    Hours passed until Ardent Scythe finally woke up.


    Shingi found it interesting that she actually slept in the game as most would just logged out or spend time in the lobby or y another game while their character was asleep.


    He could tell that she was really sleeping cause she was talking in her sleep, which wouldn''t do if she did log out.


    He didn''t pay attention much to what she was talking about, but there were moments that she was dreaming of food.


    He knew it was about food from the drool of hers that her mouth was leaving and her calling the name of somebody that Shingi assumed was the cook.


    When she finally woke and saw Shingi, she gave him a broad smile and wink.


    "So how did it feel to sleep with a real woman? Life-changing, huh? You don''t have to say anything Big Sister knows."[Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi didn''t even try to reply as he stood up and was ready to leave.


    "Why are you leaving so soon? Won''t we have dinner together? Pretty pleeeeeeeaase."[Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi felt some of her Mind Contol ability tried to control him but stopped as she seemed to remember what happened before, even if Night Wind wasn''t nearby.


    Shingi sighed as he led her out to the nearby inn since he didn''t have anything to cook at home.


    It was a smaller inn than the one Phoenix, and the rest were staying and seemed to be primarily a tavern rather than providing rooms.


    There wasn''t any fancy meal there, but it was famous for its cheese pie.


    The business owner also had a farm and a shop selling cheese, so most of his inn/tavern dishes were using products from his farm, including his cow milk and cheese he made.


    After they made their order, they waited in silence for the food until Ardent Scythe couldn''t handle it more.


    "You know people use to talk when out together for dinner, especially when a man and a woman."[Ardent Scythe]


    "Well, in theory, I am a child, not a grown man yet. But I see your point."[Shingi]


    She was happy that he persuaded him to talk as most times they were out doing boring things or avoiding her.


    "So what do you suggest to talk about?"[Shingi]


    "How about you tell me what you really of these two girls ''students'' of yours. You seem to have shared with them more pieces of information than what you used to give on beginners like that."[Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi has helped and gave yers tips in the past but never had one as a student of his like Phoenix and the rest.


    His tips helped them make the right decision for themselves and not tell them what was the best decision, although most people just wanted op abilities.


    "I thought you understood how serious things are with the Dark Guild. Even I in my yer form wouldn''t be able to deal with them even if I had all my past equipment. Being a lone wolf isn''t always an option."[Shingi]


    "I understand that, but why did you pick them? You found them just because of pure coincidence, and you decided they were worthy just like that? Are they that beautiful?"[Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi just put his thumb and index finger on his nose bridge as he didn''t know how to respond to this.


    Seeing him like that she mouth opened wide after a few seconds.


    "Oooo. Did I just hit a bingo? The man who has spoken with Goddesses of unimaginable beauty ut didn''t bat an eye finally hit puberty?" [Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi didn''t say anything as he knew that she was telling the truth, partially.


    He didn''t have any romantic feelings towards Tycoon or Phoenix or any other person he had met. But he hase closer to them than with anyone else he met in the past.


    He had friends, but almost all of them were either NPCs or people of the Company, and they weren''t close as they were discussing only game-rted stuff and nothing personal.


    He never was a man of romance, either in-game or real life, and he wasn''t caring much for it as he was living a happy life with what he had.


    After the time with Annoue, who cared for him from within her heart, this had changed him.


    It was true that he wanted to use them as tools in the beginning, but after learning more about each of them and spending time with them, he had grown attached to each of them.


    He wanted them to grow in power and serve his purpose and have fun together in the game.


    He didn''t have a way to return to the real world, and the game was all he had, so this was indeed a second life for him, and he wasn''t nning to waste it.


    Then he remembered something as he used his System to check something.


    The title of his Main Guest, ROAD TO LIFE.


    ''Could this be a way for me to return to the real world?''[Shingi]


    Most times, the Quest''s title also contained clues for the Quest itself, especially when talking for one Main Quest.


    He wasn''t sure how he could return to the real world as his natural body was wormfood at this point, but the whole situation didn''t make sense to him.


    In either case, he put this at the back of his mind as he noticed a person having dinner at another table.


    This person was Soryn, who seemed to enjoy some of the specialty cheese pie of the establishment.


    Shingi stood up and started his way towards Soryn but was stopped by Ardent Scythe, who grabbed his hand.


    "Where do you think you are going? Food didn''t even get here."[Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi realized that this action seemed rude as he bowed a bit as a sign of being sorry.


    "The person there is the person from the Air Spire I talked about. I have some things to talk about with him but will be back by the time food gets here."[Shingi]


    She seemed annoyed of him leaving her at the table alone but let him go.


    Shingi headed at the table of Soryn, who noticed him and seemed to get prepared just in case but tried to hide his intentions.


    But in the eyes of Shingi, it was the same as if he didn''t try to hide them.


    "Hello, there traveler. I am a student of Master Ameanum. He gave me the task of asking your help to train some of the people that will help on the n."[Shingi]


    He bowed while putting his hand together, one with an open palm and the other with a close fist, as Soryn had done the day when he first met Ameanum.


    Soryn stared at the boy in front of him, trying to read his intentions or if he was hiding something.


    "He also has trusted me with his sword. It doesn''t seem to want to be fully cooperative, but at least it isn''tpletely against me using it."[Shingi]


    At that point, Shingi summoned Sinhunter but tried to cover it with his body for only Soryn to be able to see it.


    There weren''t many people in the ce, and they were at a corner table, so it was somewhat easier to do this.


    Soryn''s eyes went wide as he recognized the sword and saw that the boy was holding it without any problem.


    He had read that Growth Type was creating a bond with their user and wouldn''t let just anyone using them unless approved by either the weapon or its user.


    Shingi put Sinhunter back to the Spatial Ring as it would draw attention for a child like him to have a sword like that. Especially since his clothing was still straightforward and not like an adventurer''s would be.


    "And what is your name, boy?"[Soryn]


    Shingi smiled as he gave his answer.


    "My name is Shingi Maki, the Blessed Human."[Shingi]

 Chapter 89: Light training

    Chapter 89: Light training


    Soryn seemed surprised at what Shingi just told him.


    Mentioning being Blessed Human as this wasn''t something the public was aware of, even Shingi himself didn''t know everything.


    Benjamin and Varan seemed to be aware of them, but they were exceptional people who had sources that could learn things like that.


    Soryn was part of the Air Spire who had sources at the same power as people like Benjamin and Varan, or so were the rumors.


    Shingi expected it, which is why he mentioned this and possibly learn about the existence of others like him as Benjamin, and even Varan didn''t know of any.


    The Air Spire was older than Varan himself, so their knowledge could be even more remarkable as they were an organization of many people and not just a single person.


    "What do you need me to do? I heard what our friend has done with the Guild we came here to help with."[Soryn]


    "Juste to the cksmith shop in the morning. But I see that you have heard about people like me. I would appreciate it if you could tell me what you can."[Shingi]


    Soryn was in deep thought on what to say, and after a few seconds, he came to a decision.


    "This isn''t the ce to discuss but will tell you tomorrow what I know. But I have to tell you that I don''t know as much as you may hope."[Soryn]


    Shingi bowed once more at him and went back to his table as the food was just brought there.


    "So did you have fun talking with him? I have heard those Spire people aren''t the best talkers, especially the Air Spire ones."[Ardent Scythe]


    "He is a man who wants his quiet, and I respect that. Sometimes silence can be a blessing."[Shingi]


    They ate an inferior mealpared to what Ardent Scythe usually ate and was dreaming of eating just a few moments ago, but she was eating it with no arguments.


    After they finished and Ardent Scythe paid for it, even if Shingi wanted to be the one to pay, they went for a walk.


    Shingi wanted to go back on training but promised to show her around even if he didn''t know the town sights that well.


    Since he didn''t have any exciting sights in the town, he decided to show what was outside the town and headed towards his Tree hideout.


    On the way there, he noticed more beasts seemed to be near the area of the tree as before it seemed to avoid it.


    Maybe the strange Seal kept them away or something else, but they seem to spread in that area since he dealt with it.


    Before Egroeg was around, and beast probably could sense him and kept their distance, but Egroeg had left with Ae.


    The beasts were easy to avoid, and even if they had to fight them, Ardent Scythe could deal with them, and even Shingi could probably fight most of them.


    When they got at the Tree and Shingi opened its entrance, she seemed impressed as she examined the trunk of the tree.


    "This seems a bizarre one. I wonder if mom hid something in here. Maybe clues for a Quest?"[Ardent Scythe]


    He didn''t mention his Quest with Ae or the strange energy used to be under it.


    He wanted to ask Mikhail if she knew anything about him, but he knew he wasn''t ready, even if he knew where to find him.


    Also, even the creators of the game didn''t know where every NPC was at any point. Only the AI System of the Game could do something like that but not for everyone.


    "I have searched for any indication, but if there was anything, it seems that isn''t here anymore."[Shingi]


    Ardent Scythe then lost interest as she hoped to take a Quest together, but she knew that if there were a Quest, Shingi would have found it.


    She didn''t consider him lying as he wasn''t in theory as since he hadpleted the Quest''s task here, there isn''t anymore, and had searched for an indication but didn''t say he didn''t find one, just that there isn''t one currently.


    "Scythe, if I may ask, what are your current Elements?"[Shingi]


    Ardent Scythe''s ss was a Warrior/Mage ss called the Reaper, which allowed her to have up to dual Element Mana Pool of any Element of her choice.


    She could change her Elements by killing one with the Element she wanted to use with her Scythe and absorb part of its Mana Pool and changing with part of hers.


    This ss could handle only up to three Elements depending on thebination, but Ardent Scythe could handle at most two.


    She was able to only do that with the main elements of Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light, and Dark and not of any of the unique mana that could be created by theirbinations or create thosebinations herself.


    She was wearing some artifacts herself that were making it impossible for his Mana Sense to see what kind of mana her Mana Pool had.


    "Well, I currently have Light and Water. Why do you want my help with something?"[Ardent Scythe]


    "I have a few things to test out and could use your Light Mana."[Shingi]


    She started walking closer to him as her face became serious and she was looking towards him.


    She almost tripped again but avoided it happening at thest moment.


    Her face was in front of the Shingi''s face. She was staring at him with a smirk on her face.


    "If you want my mana, I will happily give it as much as you want."[Ardent Scythe]


    She winked at him as she sat on the leaves in the Hollow Tree, which was the onlyfortable ce to sit.


    Shingi wanted to test once more to learn a spell simr to the <strong>SHADOW FORM</strong> of Little Phoenix.


    Before, he thought it impossible to learn without a ss, but after learning <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> and the improvements he could make to his Mana and Mana Pool, he thought maybe it wasn''t the case.


    But it still would most likely be a Master Grade Spell, like <strong>SHADOW FORM</strong>, so it wouldn''t be easy to learn.


    He was lucky to learn <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> because he had a Tutor showing him how it worked, but he didn''t know anyone who could show him something like that.


    He exined what he wanted for her to do, which was pretty much to release her Light Mana to the environment for him to Manipte and use it on its Mana Tree to increase his mana regeneration of the specific Element.


    He started working on turning parts of his body and increasing the space of his body, turning into Light form as time passed.


    He started with his legs and arms and then moved and his body and nned to leave his head forst.


    With the help of Ardent Scythe, he was able to keep his mana in a suitable amount all the time with almost no breaks.


    He also used his Blessing of Beliss''s active effect, which this time brought his INT to 26 instead of 25 as usual. It would be avable again after dawn, where a reset of this kind of abilities happened, and he was confident he wouldn''t need it before then.


    With all that, he achieved changing everything but his head into the Light within 30 minutes.


    He started testing changing his head which was the most challenging part of doing, but with his INT, it seemed to be a piece of cake, at least in theory.


    When he was close to finishing turning his head, he lost control of his mana, and some System Notifications appeared.


    ================================


    UNAUTHORIZED ACTION WAS DETECTED AND PREVENTED FROM BE COMPLETED


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>CHALLENGE COMPLETED</strong>


    The challenge <strong>FIGHT AGAINST TIME</strong> waspleted.


    <strong>Description</strong>: Getting two Master Grade Spells at a young age (unfinished count too)


    <strong>Reward</strong>: 1 Main Stat Point


    <em>*Unique to humans</em>


    ================================


    He was surprised of the System not allowing to learn something as he didn''t have any restriction like that until now.


    Also, he was aware of the Challenges, but he thought the human ones wouldn''t work on him as he wasn''t considered one but only partially one.


    He now had one point to increase his <strong>STR</strong>, <strong>AGI</strong>, <strong>END</strong>, <strong>INT</strong>, or <strong>CHA</strong>.


    <strong>STR</strong> would help him with some of his closebat abilities and crafting skills, while <strong>INT</strong> would increase his <strong>MP</strong> and some of his skills and increase the boost he would give with his Blessing''s active effect.


    His <strong>END</strong> was going to increase his <strong>HP</strong> and <strong>SP</strong>.


    He didn''t know what his <strong>CHA</strong> would change, but with only one point, he didn''t think it would get something big but only if he got it at 10.


    But the most beneficial one would be <strong>AGI</strong> as it would reach 15, which was the limit of a normal NPC, and with one more point after that, he would get the unique benefit of passing that limit.


    He didn''t know what to do and decided to keep it for now unused.


    The System prevented his n to learn the <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> spell, but at least he got a suitable reward for it even if he wasn''t going to use it yet.


    "What happened? You seemed close to make it, but you stopped. Everything ok?!?"[Ardent Scythe]


    He exined what happened to her.


    "So then what you are going to try next? Or was this the only one you needed help with?"[Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi thought about it for a bit.


    "How about a spar? I want to test some moves and my new weapon."[Shingi]


    Ardent Scythe nodded as Shingi summoned his sword from his Spatial Ring.


    He jumped back to make some distance from her.


    He felt the sword''s consciousness to be almost in a numbed state, but he could still use it as a standard weapon.


    Ardent Scythe drew her scythe, and the carvings on its de started lighting up a little with a yellowish light.


    She made two swings in front of her, as her scythe was leaving yellow lines and made two diagonal lines making an x.


    The lines had some Light mana, and when finished being formed, they moved forward at an incredible speed.


    Shingi was on guard and knew the fighting style of hers, which he doubted that would have changed after all that time.


    He barely avoided this attack without using his <strong>HASTE</strong> spell to increase his speed.


    The attack speed of Ardent Scythe was quite fast since she was mainly using the Light Mana of his to attack in simr shes attack either a single one or multiple ones.


    Shingi could deflect some with his sword as he continued ying defensively and not trying to attack her yet.


    He worked on casting some of his Spells while inbat, but she wasn''t letting him have that much time except for his Low Grade spells like <strong>ROCK THROW</strong>.


    Tricks like blinding her with <strong>LIGHT</strong> or <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> wouldn''t work on her as she was more experienced than the rest yers that he fought for these tricks to work on her.


    Shingi noticed the improvements in his body after getting the Dragon''s Blessing as he didn''t have time to test his limits as one would do inbat.


    Even if his <strong>END</strong> and <strong>AGI</strong> didn''t change, their benefits were higher. Not in a very noticeable amount unless getting at his limits.


    His speed increased by ten percent of what it was, and his stamina consumption lowered by five percent at least.


    He was still under the effect of his Blessing and had the boosted INT, which boosted his detection skills and made his decision-making faster.


    A few minutes into the battle, he changed into offensive as his Blessing''s active effect was near its end.


    He cast an <strong>EARTH MANA DOUBL</strong>E of his to move in front of him and get some of the hits as he moved closer.


    When the <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> got destroyed, he was within one meter of her.


    This distance was too close for both of them.


    She was ready to make another attack at him, but she froze in ce.


    She was too focused on what Shingi was doing and overlooked the Golems he created some distance behind her.


    He created four Golems whom he ordered to jump and grapple her hands.


    Two of them did like the other two missed, but the weight of the two was enough to disturb her movements.


    Shingi had his sword at the neck of hers but didn''t cut her.


    He had surrounded his sword with Light Mana, making it simr to his Light de, and it would cause some severe damage to her if he continued his attack.


    But even if she would respawn, he wasn''t just going to kill her while sparring.


    She seemed to understand the power of the attack. She surrendered, even if there was a chance for her to survive if she took that attack.


    Shingi seemed to learn his new limits and said his goodbyes to Ardent Scythe as he headed back to Zhen''sb.

 Chapter 90: Enchanter training

    Chapter 90: Enchanter training


    Getting back to Zhen''s ce, only Mizuneko worked on the Mana Gems as he finished working on the Dark Gem''s design.


    He created a simple gem for Little Phoenix to use. It wasn''t ready and could store less mana, and its recharge was very slow and had a chance to be destroyed if overused, but it was still helpful for training.


    The Ice Element Mana Gem''s design was a little moreplicated than Zhen expected as he hadn''t ever worked on any of the unique mana that was abination of other mana.


    He had worked with Water and Air, so he had tobine them by creating a new design with parts of both designs.


    Little Phoenix, other than working on her Mana Tree, examined the design for the Dark Mana Gems Zhen had drawn on a piece of paper.


    Since she learned Zhen''s skills, she would have a chance to replicate this design and create one herself.


    "Do you need some help on that?"[Shingi]


    "Eeeh? I thought you couldn''t work on Enhancements that well since you had another profession."[Little Phoenix]


    Shingi didn''t inform her of the notification, allowing him to count as an ENCHANTER not restricted by the System.


    He still didn''t have any of these skills, but he had some knowledge, so he could use them and unlock them soon.


    Shingi started examining the design.


    ================================


    <strong>SKILL LEARNED</strong>


    The skill <strong>ENCHANTMENT APPRAISAL</strong> has been unlocked at Low Rank.


    ================================


    It didn''t take long to get his first <strong>ENCHANTER</strong>-rted Skill which was also easier to get but most challenging to raise.


    He had to study and understand <strong>ENCHANTMENTS</strong> or at least one Grade higher than his Rank to raise it.


    Meaning to raise it at Base Rank, he had to study Base Grade <strong>ENCHANTMENTS</strong>, which wouldn''t be that hard. But to reach Master Rank, he had to research Master Grade Enchantments that were hard to understand and find.


    The design he was currently looking at was near the top of Base Grade.


    If he studied the rest of Zhen''s designs and understood them, he should reach Base Rank on this Skill.


    But he wasn''t going to stay here that long as he had to meet Soryn back at the shop in a few hours, but he was able to grind a bit.


    He and Phoenix worked on making a Mana Gem design at the test rocks that Shingi created with his mana.


    He could make rocks at this point but wouldn''t stay forever but for a minute at most which were more than enough for their test.


    After the minute passed, he had to make a new one or use more mana on the existing one.


    They took turns on who made the design, but each time, Shingi was holding the rock and was looking for the signs of sess or failure as he had the most extraordinary detection Skills from the two of them.


    Not only they had to make the design as perfect as possible, but they also had to make it fast. If it took too long, the test stone would explode no matter how good the design was at that point.


    They mainly had failures, but Shingi was fast and perceptive enough to avoid any idents.


    After almost two hours, their sess rate was at four out of ten for Shingi and six out of ten for Little Phoenix.


    The Skills that she took from Zhen helped her and covered a bit of herck of knowledge that Shingi had the advantage at. But no matter the ability of one, sometimes pure skill is the final winner.


    Zhen, in the meantime, had made some progress with the Ice Mana Gem design and made some designs on paper instead of testing them in rock right away as he was trying topare them to find a solution visually.


    Shingi tried to help, but this design was moreplicated for his current skills, and he had never seen one like that before.


    Shingi opened his Status, trying to decide on what to work at next.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>NAME</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>CLASS</strong>: None


    <strong>PROFESSION</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>RACE</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>HP</strong>: 88/88


    <strong>SP</strong>: 47/47


    <strong>MP</strong>: 46/46


    <strong>STR</strong>: 12


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 14


    <strong>END</strong>: 16


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 5


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Earth and Light Element


    <strong>Skills</strong>: VISUALIZATION (Master Rank), MANA MANIPULATION (Master Rank), MANA SENSE (Master Rank), PERCEPTION (Master Rank), STEALTH (Base Rank), IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON (Master Rank), SMITHING (Master Rank), MARTIAL ART (Base Rank), GLASSBLOWING (Master Rank), WOODCARVING (Base Rank), LEATHERWORKING(Base Rank), ENCHANTMENT APPRAISAL (Low Rank)


    <strong>Passive Skills</strong>: MINOR MANA REGENERATION


    <strong>Spells</strong>: MANA HAND (Low Grade), FILTH EATER (Ungraded), MINOR ILLUSION (Ungraded), LIGHT (Ungraded), ROCK THROW (Low Grade), CAMOUFLAGE (Low Grade), INVISIBILITY(Base Grade), DOME OF SILENCE (Base Grade), MANA DOUBLE - LIGHT ELEMENT (Base Grade), MANA DOUBLE - EARTH ELEMENT (Base Grade), MAJOR ILLUSION (Base Grade), HASTE (Base Grade), STONESKIN (Base Grade), METAL HANDS (Unfinished Low Grade), EARTH SPIKE (Base Grade), ECHOLOCATION (Low Grade), GOLEMANCY (Unfinished Base Grade)


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of Beliss, Blessing of Dlog, Angel''s Boon, Blessing of Choma


    ================================


    He had 3 Ungraded Spells, 5 Low Grade, which one of them was an unfinished one, and 9 Base Grade with one being unfinished.


    If hepleted the unfinished spells, he would have one more Base Grade and his first Master Grade Spell.


    But he wasn''t confident of seeding that any time soon. He was sure that he needed the Fire Mana to finish his <strong>METAL HANDS</strong> Spell, and the <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> would need to develop his Mana Pool and new ''sense'' further.


    He could also learn more <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> Skills or increase the non-Master Rank crafting skills of his as he didn''t work much in <strong>WOODCARVING</strong> and <strong>LEATHERWORKING</strong>, but now that new Mana Gems were almost ready, he could start producing Wands and Staves. Of course, he would need a massive amount of each, but with the materials, he ordered through Ardent Scythe, it was possible, and Zhen told him his Oozes could help him in the massive productions after he had made the final designs.


    Still, it would take some days or even a week to get to that point as Zhen still hadn''t finished with all the designs. He almost finished the Dark Element one and Earth one changes and was getting close to the Ice.


    He also made some improvements on Air and Water with the help of Mizuneko.


    Zhen still had to finish a design for Light Mana Gem, and only Fire would remain to get improved, but they didn''t have anyone with that Element yet.


    Shingi made a fire with one of the Fire Mana Gems, which wasn''t producing any smoke; otherwise, it would fill the room with it as there were no windows.


    He tried to control the mes by controlling its mana as this fire was richer in Fire Mana than a normal one because of the way it was created.


    He wanted to raise his Proficiency in manipting Fire Mana as it would be necessary when he would try to mana part of his Mana Pool producing this Element, simr to why Mizuneko was doing simr training with Air Mana.


    Although Shingi wasn''t nning to Merge his Elements to make a unique Element, Mizuneko did some advantages and disadvantages.


    Since he would have three elements, but his Mana Tree could contain just a certain amount of mana depending on the size of his Mana Pool, he had to ''split'' his Mana Pool in as many ces as his Elements.


    That way, he would have a certain amount of each Element each time and develop his Mana Pool depending on his needs, which took time.


    If he merged all in one, he could ''split'' his unique Element to the Main Mana, making him have the same amount of all his Elements.


    But when one split the Element like that, it wasn''t as pure as if it was from a Mana Pool who had it separated, but most times, the benefits of the unique mana and the spells that one could learn with having one were over this limitation.


    Shingi decided to keep them separated for now as he needed them as pure as possible, each of them as he was using them for different things.


    He wasn''t able to see how good his Proficiency was with each Element, so he was trying to improve it as much as possible, even if his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> was at Master Rank.


    He tried to make the fire take different shapes, like a sphere, cubes, and pyramids.


    He made the sphere one quick enough, but the cube took him more to make the sides t.


    As he was almost there, Anna had arrived at theb and stopped behind him.


    Shingi turned towards her as she seemed that she was in a hurry to get there.


    "Did something happen?"[Shingi]


    "You need toe to the shop. The two individuals have returned and want to talk with you."[Anna]


    Shingi nodded as he said his goodbyes at the rest of the people and followed Anna outside the Dungeon and back to the shop.


    It didn''t take them too long to get there with their speed, even if Anna wasn''t going at full speed for Shingi to keep up with her as he also didn''t cast his <strong>HASTE</strong>.


    It was early in the morning, and the shops were about ready to open.


    There were Fire Whip and Shadow Whip outside the shop, while in front of its door was Soryn staring at them like he was ready to react if they did any funny business.


    Seeing Shingi, they were ready to say something, but Shingi just pointed to them to follow him inside.


    They got in and went to the room for <strong>LEATHERWORKING</strong> and <strong>WOODCARVING</strong> as the storeroom wasn''t empty anymore with the yers'' materials. That room was quieter than the rest and had open space for people to sit.


    There were a few chairs, so everyone took a seat.


    In the room, there were Shingi, Soryn, Fire Whip, and Shadow Whip. Anna stayed outside, making sure everything was okay and that nobody disturbed them.


    The two yers showed some interest in the new individual they hadn''t seen before but didn''t ask any questions for Soryn.


    "So why the visit? I hope you people are not looking for more trouble."[Shingi]


    Shingi noticed that their clothing was different than before, which wasn''t that rare as adventurer tent to find better equipment now and then, but their current one was worse than before.


    "First, I want to see how Chubby is."[Fire Whip]


    Shingi pointed at a corner of the room where an asleep female bear was covered with a nket. There was an empty bowl in front of her.


    Shingi had said he would take care of the bear and had told Greg and Volig to make sure it had some food here and there as also had its corner to rest.


    Fortunately, it was a Tamed one and not as wild as an average bear but still wasn''t like it was following their orders, but at least she wasn''t attacking them for no reason.


    Fire Whip seemed d to see her in a good state, while Shadow Whip seemed to get a little annoyed for a moment but also d.


    "Now that you checked her state do what I owe your visit?"[Shingi]


    Fire Whip and Shadow Whip looked at each other as they nodded towards each other and turned towards Shingi again.


    "We are here to help you take down Whip Masters."[Fire Whip]

 Chapter 91: New allies

    Chapter 91: New allies


    Shingi expected them to reach him for help as this was his n thest time they met.


    He nned some doubts on them to grow and understand that they were on the wrong side.


    Also, since he was an NPC so part of the System, he could be viewed as a way for the System to let them know they were in the wrong and could be rewarded if they helped to pull everything back in order.


    Either way, it would be helpful for Shingi''s way of progressing things smoother.


    "I am guessing this dude is to be trusted, right?"[Shadow Whip]


    Shingi just smiled at least, and Soryn didn''t seem annoyed at the person pointing at him.


    "He is here to help, yes. So I see your equipment has taken a downgrade. Does this mean you left the Guild?"[Shingi]


    "We are still members. We thought of possibly be your Spies in there. But your friend''sst attack had affected us as we were the ones in charge, and so we got punished for it."[Fire Whip]


    Most Guilds were giving their high-rank members equipment and mainly was a loan and not belonging at them.


    So it made sense to lose these pieces of equipment as punishment for their failure.


    "Sounds interesting, but how do we know you just don''t try to spy on us by pretending you work with us to report at your people?"[Soryn]


    Shadow Whip seemed to get angry at that usation, but Fire Whip signaled him to calm down.


    "We understand if you people don''t trust us, and we don''t ask to share any information with us. We just want to be part of the good side and do what is right."[Fire Whip]


    Shingi could tell that it wasn''t entirely true what he was saying but didn''t seem of him lying of wanting to help them but the reason for trying to help them. It wasn''t just because of their good heart as he considered it to be.


    "Your help is wee, and you will be rewarded if you are actually going to help us. But if you have any ill thoughts or work against us, you should know your punishment. I hope we are understood with each other."[Shingi]


    Both the yers nodded as they were aware of the situation and had thought it very well.


    "Then I guess you can start working on your first task. We will still keep your bear, but it is in a good state, as you can see. You better stay away from the shop, but our friend outside will have a way tomunicate with you. Won''t you?"[Shingi]


    They felt a hand each at their shoulder as they turned and saw Anna behind them, as she appeared out of nowhere without them noticing her.


    They turned towards Shingi, who coughed, and when they returned their gaze to where Anna was, she was gone once more.


    "So what are you going to have us do then?"[Fire Whip]


    Shingi knew how Guilds tend to work and that most likely they were under investigation and people were watching every move of theirs. He was confident that nobody followed their movement currently, but this didn''t mean one wouldn''t soon.


    He told them to report at Anna with everything they knew about the Guild and try to keep their eyes and ears open for any people from the Dark Guild.


    He told them not to actively search for this type of information for now as it could draw too much attention.


    He let Anna decide how to progress as she was an expert at these types of dealings.


    Shingi and Soryn were left alone in the room as the two yers were left out by getting Teleported with Anna just if anyone was outside that they have missed.


    "So what are you going to have me do? You said something about helping others training?"[Soryn]


    "I need to help with my<strong> MARTIAL ART</strong> Skill not asking to teach me your Spire''s way of fighting, but I am sure you can help improve what I know. Also, there is one more person who could use some teaching of yours to move around silently. I have heard that your Spire are an expert on these."[Shingi]


    He was talking about Hineko for the lessons to get stealthier. He could have asked Anna to teach him, but she would be busy with the ns for dealing with the Guild.


    Hineko''s special ss wasn''tbat-focused, but being stealthy was the way to go as a Rogue-based ss.


    Soryn didn''t have any problem teaching them, but as Shingi said, he wasn''t going to give them and of the unique techniques of his Spire, but others would help them that not many people would know.


    Soryn was one of the apprentices of the keepers of the Library of the Spire, meaning he could research almost every bit of knowledge the Spire had with a few exceptions of knowledge that no mortal should know, but they couldn''t destroy.


    There were many rumors about how extensive the Library of the Air Spire was. Some people other than the Spire people have been there but only as visitors. They arrived utilizing Teleportation to keep the Spire''s location a secret.


    They went out towards the Inn to find Hineko to start the training of everyone together.


    He was once more outside the Inn talking with Pan, but this time it didn''t seem like she would use the thorns on him, at least not yet.


    Hineko noticed Shingi as he learned to keep his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> active, even when in a safe ce, from Shingi.


    "Hey, Shingi. Have you seen my brother? He told me he was going to help you with something."[Hineko]


    "Yeah, he is going to be busy for some time. But I have things for you to do also. We are going to train. I see Pan you have grown attached to this student of mine."[Shingi]


    Hineko seemed surprised and somewhat awkward from thest part that Shingi mentioned, but Pan''s expressions didn''t change.


    She just yawned once.


    "I see... well,e on, Hineko. We need to start as soon as possible. Pan, you can follow us if you want. We are going to train in the forest."[Shingi]


    Pan agreed and joined them as they went outside the Tree Hideout.


    Pan seemed interested in the tree as she started examining it.


    "So what are we going to learn? New recipes or alchemy techniques?"[Hineko]


    Shingi smiled as he responded.


    "Your lesson has already begun; you need to find Soryn. After finding him, you need to stay hidden from him for at least one minute."[Shingi]


    Hineko was confused as he turned his gaze behind him where Soryn was supposed to be.


    "When did he moved? I had <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> active all the time, and I am confident he was here just a few seconds ago."[Hineko]


    Shingi just smiled as he started training on some moves Soryn had described him on the way to the Inn.


    He told him to focus on Hineko''s training first as he had other things to train by himself also.


    He cast an <strong>EARTH MANA DOUBLE</strong> and <strong>METAL HAND</strong> which was still an unfinished Spell.


    He also created three Golems, two with brain shapes for Defense and one for Attack. He wanted to make two of each, but three were his limit of Golems he could have active at the same time.


    He ordered his Attack Golem to attack him and the Defense one to protect the Golem.


    He wasn''t able to give the <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> orders to act by itself, but that was why it gave them some guards.


    He had to destroy the <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> by just using <strong>METAL HAND</strong>bined with <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong>.


    He also had to avoid getting hit, but either of his Golems would stop that battle round and restore the <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> at itsplete state and his Golems if he damaged them at all.


    The attack Golem was going to do everything in its power to try to hit him while the Defense ones would only try to hit him to keep him away from what they protected.


    This training increased his proficiency with the <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> and remarked some possible changes in their brain shapes and his <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> as he was going to have to test firsthand what its weak points were and cover them.


    His first turn ended with him destroying the <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> without facing any of his Golems but made many adjustments to them.


    He recast the <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> and his Golems with their adjustments and started round two.


    This time the battlested a little longer but had the same result of the <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> get destroyed.


    He made some more adjustments and continued.


    Each turnsted longer, and after each one, he made some adjustments until at the tenth one, the Attack Golem hit him.


    He wasn''t using his <strong>HASTE</strong>, just his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> to help him in the battle and his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> but only to keep track of the Golems way of acting to make more adjustments.


    After the twelfth round, he had to take a break after each turn and not start right away after recasting everything.


    His <strong>MP</strong> wasn''t in a severe state with his <strong>MINOR MANA REGENERATION</strong> working, which seemed to work faster while inbatpared to when not in one. After the tenth round, his <strong>SP</strong> was suffering, and he had to use almost his full speed to avoid his Golems moves, but he wasn''t going to use <strong>HASTE</strong>.


    He defensively used his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> Skill to dodge attacks taking more time to finish the round.


    At the fifteenth round, he decided to stop as he had made significant progress even if his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> hadn''t Ranked up or his <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> considered as finished.


    His <strong>METAL HAND</strong> also had some improvement but nothing too much and was far to be considered finished.


    His <strong>EARTH MANA DOUBLE''</strong>s defense was vastly improved, as it could handle close to double the damage it could before without him giving any extra mana.


    He turned his attention to Hineko, who still was looking for Soryn.


    It''s been almost an hour since they started, and Hineko hadn''t found Soryn even once. He got close a few times, but when he was sure he had discovered the hiding spot of Soryn when he got there, it was empty.


    Soryn was using his Air Spire techniques to control air without using mana to make distractions and fake signs of him hiding in a ce away from where he was.


    Hineko seemed frustrated after all these failures and seemed to just running around after a point.


    Shingi seeing the current state of mind of his student, just called him to get to him.


    "What do you think you are doing?"[Shingi]


    Hineko was still frustrated but tried to calm himself down while speaking with Shingi.


    "I try to find the <strong>BALD MAN</strong>."[Hineko]


    He shouted thest part and looked around in case there was any reaction, but nothing happened.


    "*sigh* That dude is pretty good. I feel like I haven''t even gotten close to finding him."[Hineko]


    Shingi walked forward towards the direction Hineko was looking for Soryn.


    He looked around and then turned towards Hineko.


    "What direction you think he is currently hiding in?"[Shingi]


    Hineko tried to use his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> at its full power. It was currently at level 39, bringing it almost to be the same as the bottom of Master Rank.


    After a moment, he pointed towards the west cause he thought he heard something close to breathing from there.


    "<strong>WRONG</strong>. Try again."[Shingi]


    Hineko made five more guesses, and each one was said to be wrong by Shingi.


    "I don''t know where he is. Can''t you give me a clue?"[Hineko]


    Shingi sighed as he looked at his student in a look of disappointment.


    Hineko noticed the look and seemed to have gotten a bit sad for it.


    "Do you know why the spot I am standing is a special spot?"[Shingi]


    Hineko was confused about the questions as he looked where Shingi was standing and didn''t notice anything weird about it.


    "*sigh* This is the position Soryn was at before the training started. You were standing over there."[Shingi]


    Shingi pointed at a space just a few steps in front of him.


    Hineko seemed embarrassed on not remembering that, as Shingi had told him and the rest of his students, to always keep in mind every detail no matter how unimportant it seems.


    "Do you know now why this spot is important?"[Shingi]


    Hineko gave it some thought and looked around if he missed any signs, but he came empty-handed.


    He then shook his head to show that he didn''t know the answer to the question.


    "You have to remember Hineko. Things sometimes end where they have begun."[Shingi]


    Then Shingi punched the ground with his <strong>METAL HAND</strong> that he recast, breaking a not too thin surface of the ground and revealing a hole where Soryn was currently at.


    This was a technique of the Earth Spire, but Air Spire had recordings and scrolls of styles of each Spire. At least their basic moves.

 Chapter 92: Enchantment Update

    Chapter 92: Enchantment Update


    Soryn jumped out of his hole and then used another technique he learned that belonged to the Earth Spire to repair the ground.


    "How did you know he was there? I kept hearing signs of him all over the ce. But none was leading him being underground or that near where he started."[Hineko]


    Shingi crated a rock with his Earth Mana and then destroyed it with his bare hand as he didn''t make it too strong.


    "Did you hear this sound of the stone getting crashed?"[Shingi]


    Hineko nodded as he was pretty close and heard it pretty clear.


    "What about this one?"[Shingi]


    Hineko waited for Shingi to do something, but he remained still.


    "Focus on your senses. Control them, not just use them. They are part of you, and they are part of them."[Shingi]


    Hineko closed his eyes to focus his hearing on his surrounding.


    After some time, he started hearing a sound simr to the crashing he had heard from the stone, but it wasing from underground.


    "But how? I didn''t see you cast any Spells."[Hineko]


    Shingi raised his arm, and from inside the Earth came a Light <strong>MANA HAND</strong> of his.


    He could silence-cast them at this point, even while talking or working on other tasks unless it needed hisplete focus.


    "I used the hand to make way for me to get in. Soryn, of course, didn''t use this method as his is a lot faster as even if I dug the way down, I wouldn''t able to cover it as quick or as good as his. But even if he used a different method, the result is the same, and he also left clues behind."[Shingi]


    Shingi pulled his hand behind his back as he started walking around where the hole used to be.


    "As you can hear, my steps are making a particr sound cause of the surface they are hitting, which in this case is the ground. But Soryn''sst steps seemed to have hit a less solid ground than the earth as his technique had softened the ground and was able to push it aside to get in while closing the part that was covering the hole. Then he had to make more space for him to befortable and dig the soft he created, which had lowered the volume of his digging but not making it anything. If you focused your senses everywhere and not just in the forest, you would have noticed."[Shingi]


    Hineko seemed sad, but then his eyes went wide as he appeared to be reading notification and then starred at Shingi with eyes of gratitude.


    His <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> skill leveled up twice, bringing it to 41, making it count as an early Master Rank skill of NPC.


    The lecture of Shingi and Soryn seemed to have given him a big boost and understanding in the Skill and allowed it to pass its Base Limit.


    But he still had many ways to be as perceptive as Shingi and most likely wouldn''t ever reach that as NPCs Skills were most times more potent than yers in higher than Base Ranks.


    Soryn seemed surprised how the young boy exined what he did in that much detail as he started doubting this was a young boy but an older man in disguise.


    Since it wasn''t Hineko who found Soryn, he had to hide but had used a different method of hiding this time.


    Hineko focused on his freshly upgraded Skill like Shingi suggested to him and could find Soryn after close half an hour.


    After Shingi saw that Hineko seemed to progress, he turned his attention towards Pan, who had decided to take another nap after examining the tree.


    He created two Golems with the task handle brain and gave them a tea pan that he had in his Spatial Ring to make some tea of his own.


    Pan seemed to notice as a Golem of his appeared with some of her tea helped while she still seemed like she was sleeping.


    Shingi used them as he prepared the tea while his Golems made the campfire utilized to heat his tea pan.


    He hadn''t made much tea in the past, but he was aware of some things that one should be careful of.


    When he finished the tea and drank some, it seemed tock tastepared to Pan''s, or even a''s tea tasted but was drinkable.


    Pan''s Golem took a cup for her and brought it to her, and she started drinking it without opening her eyes.


    She didn''t drink it too fast, which probably meant she didn''t like it but wasn''t too bad either.


    He gave some more tasks on the Golems to do, like gathering nearby stones or branches or leaves as he tested them and tried to develop them as he did with the other two types.


    He had made some improvements on his time back at the house, but he was <em>''looking''</em> them from a distance with just his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> as they were in a different room, but now he was using some of his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> too.


    He used his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> skill to see their way of thinking ofpleting tasks by what movements and actions they decided to do.


    These were easier to develop, as in the case of thebat ones, he had to consider many different factors that could happen in one battle.


    He took the time to strengthen his Mana Tree and a bit and his Mana Pool as he noticed the Earth mana of the ground around the roots of the Hollow Tree had highpatibility reaching over 80%.


    It should be a side-effect of the sealed unique mana when released, even if it were for a few seconds.


    He used that mana to strengthen the roots of his Mana Tree, which seemed to reinforce its Mana Pool even if it didn''t increase the amount of mana it could store.


    He kept changing his Mana Pool to make the two Elements of his Mana as close as o the one he needed to this Golems, which also seemed to strengthen the rest of his Spells if he used the mana in that state.


    After two more hours of training like that, he had to take a break as he felt he had reached the limit of his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> being overused, which would affect him if he overdid it.


    He kept his Golems which had increased in size as they were close to a half-meter tall, while they were less than 20 centimeters before.


    The bigger their size, the moreplicated their <em>''brain''</em> design had to be, as he had to make sub designs and connect them all to strengthen each other to keep in control of every piece of mana and earth it wasposed of.


    He felt that he had almost reached a bottleneck in <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> as he had felt in some of the others early created Spells.


    It may have been the higher Grade Spell, but with his detect Skills and knowledge of the Game, he could notice the possible improvements he could make to it, but he didn''t seem that he would be able to finish the Spell just like that.


    He wanted to ask Pan, but she was still asleep and didn''t want to disturb her.


    He said his goodbyes for now at Soryn and shouted one at Hineko, whose was the turn to hide at that moment.


    He went back to the shop.


    On the way there, he noticed that some people were watching him entering, but they seemed to be better at hiding than the previous ones.


    <em>''I guess the higher level yers got here.''</em>[Shingi]


    He expected that the Whip Masters would send some higher-level yers after hisst attack, but their number wasn''t over half a dozen currently.


    They probably waited for more as they haven''t go back on stopping other yers from visiting his shop yet.


    Things were calm like before a big storm, and Shingi was confident that one wasing.


    Hopefully, his ns would progress as fast as he hoped.


    As he entered the shop, he noticed that Greg was in the middle of writing down an order of a yer, who decided to use his slot for one particr piece of equipment to be made.


    Shingi went to the forge room to find Volig, who was in the middle of making some of the orders.


    "How is it going, Volig? How are the orders going?"[Shingi]


    Volig seemed d to see him as he pulled a de he was working on the anvil in the barrel of water to cool it down.


    "Greg gave me some of the special ones but still waiting for some of the materials to work on them. I have given some Quests for them and should have them soon enough before the deadline. There wasn''t any problem these days from the annoying people, but I am confident they are probably just waiting for the right moment."[Volig]


    Shingi nodded as things seemed to go well in the shop.


    "Also have Ranked up my <strong>SMITHING</strong> to Master Rank but have some more improvements on it. Karemon''s Enchantments also have helped a lot to it but have to speak with him or hist little student to make some improvements I had in mind."[Volig]


    "We don''t need to speak with them anymore. I can take care of it."[Shingi]


    Volig seemed confused, and Shingi exined what happened and how he counted as an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> by the System and could upgrade the Programming Enchantments.


    Shingi had studied their logic even if he didn''t have the <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> profession in the past either.


    He wanted to create some ideas of his, but the rules of the Game couldn''t break just like that.


    Volig also had studied Enchantments and have worked with some to make on his shop as they had here. He was also as curious as Shingi at that kind of thing.


    Volig had taken some notes of what he wanted Karemon to worked on, and Shingi studied them.


    He worked on some of them on some pieces of papers and not the surface it was needed to be


    After a few tries, a System notification appeared.


    ================================


    <strong>SKILL LEARNED</strong>


    The skill <strong>PROGRAMMING ENCHANTMENT</strong> has been unlocked at Low Rank.


    ================================


    He didn''t need to increase it at Base Rank to make the Enchantments he needed as Base Rank would just lesser the time he needed to make them.


    With his <strong>INT</strong>, his Skills effect would be enough for what they needed, and creating them would also help raise his Skill''s Rank quickly.


    He had to delete the current Enchantment and create it from the beginning as he needed to have Master Rank at this Skill to change Programming Enchantments he didn''t make.


    He first copied in a paper the current design to be sure to redesign it if something went wrong.


    It started on some of the simple ones and least used ones since Volig still had to craft some orders. That gave him an excellent chance to train and raise his new Skill.


    He quickly had raised it to Base Rank and started working on some of the moreplicated designs.


    He worked on them for the rest of the day, and close to dinner time, he had finished upgrading all of them at the smith room, which had the most Programming Enchantments in the shop as it was the one primarily used.


    He was also able to create some of his own that he had thought of in the past, but he never had the time to ask someone to test them.


    The majority of them didn''t work as he hoped, and he had to erase them, which was part of the Skill.


    Since he appraised all these different Enchantments, his ENCHANTMENT APPRAISAL skill ranked up to Base Rank.


    He decided to stop for the day since the Enchantments at the other rooms wouldn''t take him that long and weren''t used as much.


    He went at a corner with two in beds, one for him and one for Volig, for them to rest without leaving the shop.


    He activated his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> to train his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong>, which seemed close enough to Master Rank to use it there.

 Chapter 93: The return of the Tycoon

    Chapter 93: The return of the Tycoon


    Since his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> skill wasn''t officially Master Grade and not even semi-Master like his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> used to be, he couldn''t fully use it at his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>, but it wasn''tpletely restricted from being used.


    He tried the moves Soryn described, and he tried to adjust to his fighting style during the training exercise with the Golems.


    He created a Golem with the Defense shape, but since there wasn''t any earth there, it was made purely by mana, almost like his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> but different as it wasn''t entirely made by his mana but the mana of the room.


    He noticed that he could feel some of his mana if he focused enough and use it in there, but it wasn''t recharging as fast as the room''s mana.


    He still didn''t know where this mana wasing from, but not many knew how Trance worked, and the ones who knew were keeping it a secret.


    He trained his<strong> MARTIAL ART</strong> skill by sparring with his Golem.


    As time passed, he felt the restrictions on the Skill to get weaker and weaker as, after a point, they were gone entirely.


    His <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> was finally Master Rank.


    Other than some of his crafting and enchanting skills, only his <strong>STEALTH</strong> skill was at Base Rank.


    He wasbining it with the <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> spell, so it wasn''t getting increases as much as if he used it by itself.


    He couldn''t train it here as it was fast from Master Rank and waspletely restricted in there.


    Since he could use his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong>pletely know he changed his training to the same he was before having Golems protecting his <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong>, which he made with his mana and not the rooms.


    The room''s mana didn''t seem to belong to a specific Element. Still, he could use it for spells needing a particr Element of mana, and it seemed to adjust itself but not ideally or at least not as good as his actual mana of that Element.


    But for his <strong>DOME OF SILENCE</strong>, which was using Dark Element Mana in theory as the shadows powered it, it seemed to work better in here than out of the room.


    He wasn''t nning to get his Mana Pool to produce Dark Element as it wasn''t a goodbination to have since he had Light, but he was nning to have one of Zhen''s Dark Mana Gem with him to help him cast it when needed.


    Time passed, and when he had to end his <strong>TRANCE</strong>, he had made some significant progress at his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> and <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong>, which he felt of reaching a bottleneck at that couldn''t pass even in there.


    He woke up and started hearing the hammering of Volig as the bed was in the forge room. Both he and Volig were used to that type of noise, and it was like music to them, and they were able to sleep with no problem if one was working like that.


    He stood up from his bed and noticed that other than him and Volig, there was one more person in the room.


    This person was Wild Tycoon, but her equipment was different than before.


    She had heavy metal armor covering her whole body and made it hard to understand she was a girl, especially if she wore her helmet.


    But now, she had no armor on, just regr clothes close to what Annoue was wearing. She also wore a sleeveless vest with a pair of eagle eyesone eye at each side at the front part of the vest and the height of her heart.


    This was a reward for her to sessfully earning her special ss, the Spirit Barbarian.


    She had to find an old Shaman who would teach her to call the spirits to strengthen her body or senses or give her inhuman abilities.


    The ss was also strengthening her natural defense and reflexes making her fighting better without the need for armor.


    Some spirits would try to take control of her through her emotions. That is why she needed the Rage skills, as this Skill gave her some control of her emotion, especially the negative ones, which the Spirits would try to use against her.


    Without having that Skill, the NPC wouldn''t even consider epting her as to teach her.


    The vest was like a channel for the Spirit to reside while Tycoon was using their power.


    Most spirits were taking forms of beasts, and higher ones took the form of other creatures, among them human forms or demon forms.


    She was currently seemed to have one Eagle Spirit, which helped to strengthen her speed and sight.


    She noticed Shingi getting up right away as her eyes have changed to look like one of an Eagle.


    She mode towards him and bowed, which was rare for her.


    "Thank you for this gift."[Wild Tycoon]


    Shingi was d that she appreciated it as some considered the ss not so good as it was easy to summon a powerful Spirit.


    But even the best ones were quite useful if used correctly.


    "It''s good to have you back. I am sure Phoenix will be d to see you, but I have to inform you about a few things first."[Shingi]


    He was confident that Phoenix didn''t know that she was back or she would also be around.


    So Shingi started telling Tycoon what happened with the Guild while she was away.


    She was in the capsule during all that time and didn''t even talk through chat with Phoenix. So she wasn''t aware of any of the events that happened while she was gone.


    The Tycoon of the past would be ready to charge out and sh everyone, but now she had learned to control these kinds of impulses and not let them control her.


    Shingi was d to see this change in her personality.


    This was a great thing about the game as it helped develop some yers'' personalities even in real life. But it wasn''t always towards the best.


    "So what should I do? Speak with that Anna person, or do you have something else for me?"[Wild Tycoon]


    "For now, keep your ears and new eyes open for any strange urrence. I will let Anna know about you, and she will let you know if she has any ns for you. But try to stay low profile and possibly raise your level since you took your ss. The Dungeon is low level, but if you go by yourself, you should get a good amount of exps. Even the ck Oozes shouldn''t be a problem for you now."


    The ss, other than the ability to use the Spirit''s power, had also raised her <strong>STR</strong>, <strong>AGI</strong>, and <strong>END</strong> effects and were boosting them further depending on the type of Spirit she was using.


    Her current one was mainly boosting her <strong>AGI</strong>.


    She nodded as she went her way out while sending a message to Phoenix that she was back.


    Shingi, after making sure with Volig if the upgrades on the Enchantments were all good he went to the room for the <strong>WOODCARVING</strong> and <strong>LEATHERWORKING</strong> to work on them.


    There were some at the storehouse and the disys, but he didn''t consider them needing an upgrade.


    There weren''t many Enchantments here, so he was over within the hour, especially since both <strong>ENCHANTMENT APPRAISAL</strong> and <strong>PROGRAMMING ENCHANTMENT</strong> were Base Rank and his high <strong>INT</strong> even without using his Blessing.


    After finishing them, he wanted to start creating some wand and staves and had some space for the mana gems to be inserted.


    Of course, he wasn''t going to make these avable for everyone to buy as simr equipment existed and were using some rare High-Quality Mana Gems that could recharge but at a slower rate than Zhen''s.


    He, of course, would make some for his students with different elements so that they can use more variety of spells if needed.


    He would have to make rings, as he did for Hineko, for multiple wands or staves to be stored in it and them to equip them at will.


    It would be easier than Hineko''s as the user would have mana to empower the ring when summoning an item.


    But first, he had to make some designs on the wand to empower the Element of the mana that the Gem had.


    He tried it for Dark Element as he remembered the Dark Mana Gem''s design and thought he could use some part of it for his needs.


    The design of the Mana Gem was supposed to draw the mana of the needed Element and boosting it to produce more in the Mana Gem like a mini Mana Pool.


    He needed to adjust the trigger to be manual and not automatic and increase the boosting of the mana and let out more mana.


    The new design would be on the wand or staff as it would draw the mana it needed from the Mana Gem attached to it, and the Mana Gemm would take care by itself of recharging the used mana.


    This sounded easy in theory, but adjustments like that weren''t something anyone could do.


    But Shingi never backed away from a challenge like that if there was a chance he would take it.


    He made different designs and tried to test them on the stones that he had the Task Handlers Golems of his gathering while working on developing them.


    He wasn''t going to waste the wood for his experimentation as most weren''t standard wood, and they didn''t have much for experiments.


    He still had one of Zhen''s Dark Mana Gems as they didn''t need them other than helping developing Phoenix''s Mana Tree.


    He wanted the explosion to happen only when it was in touch with the Mana Gem and only after to be triggered with some mana of his to start drawing mana otherwise to be inactive.


    The explosions weren''t that loud, and because the rooms were made to be silent proof as crafting wasn''t a quiet process, so nothing could be heard from outside the room.


    He seemed to have found a way to adjust it to draw the mana from the Mana Gem and not the environment but creating a trigger for enabling or disabling the process seemed to be moreplex than expected.


    It took him the whole day of experimenting with almost all his rock as even after controlling the process by getting the rock away from the Mana Gem, each rock could handle it just a few times, but in the end, he found a way.


    It wasn''t perfect as it took a few seconds to open or close, and that dy could be vital for the Spell that would be cast.


    But at least now, he could make some prototypes and adjust them while testing it, which would save some time than if he continued trying new designs like that.


    He ate some food brought by Greg for dinner and ate more than usual since he had also skipped lunch.


    He made a staff first as it had more space for his design, and when he had the final one, he would make it at a wand.


    The wood he used was special wood infused with some mana like Mirtril but wasn''t taking that long to be created as Mirthril did.


    He didn''t give it any particr design and looked like a quarterstaff with the only difference of having space on one of its ends for the mana gem to be inserted.


    He summoned his Spirt Hammer and made it a pick hammer and used it strangely even if the unorthodox method had better results than if he used standard carving tools.


    He could feel from the hammer a simr feeling as he did from the consciousness of his sword, which he hadn''t felt until now.


    He wondered if the hammer more epting him more now after all it has done with it.


    He had used it to break what was said to be a Crafting Seal and help upgrade a Growth Type weapon.


    Not a lot of people could tell they have done even one of those things.


    He finished carving the design quickly enough, and the Hammer even had made some adjustments to it.


    He used it and saw the trigger mechanic was working a lot better than expected.


    It seemed like the Spirt Hammer was indeed a precious gift for a <strong>CRAFTSMEN</strong> and not just <strong>SMITHS</strong>.

 Chapter 94: Preparations

    Chapter 94: Preparations


    He gave the staff some tries to see how well he could enable the design to draw mana and disable progress.


    With the help of the Spirit Hammer''s adjustments, he also changes the design to let out the boosted mana in a spherical shape at the top of the staff.


    He gathered enough mana and cast his <strong>DOME OF SILENCE</strong>.


    Shadows started being created by the tip of the staff and surrounding Shingi and started forming the Spell''s usual spherical form.


    The Spell finished forming in 10 seconds, which was better than the usual time that it was taking Shingi.


    This was because he had to manipte Dark Mana of the shadows surrounding him, which gave some resistance, so it was increasing the time to finish the Spell. But now, using the mana of the Mana Gem didn''t have this kind of resistance and was almost like he used his mana if he could produce that Element with his Mana Pool.


    He used his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> to check the Mana Gem, and it seemed like this Spell alone had used almost half of the mana it had.


    It would need more than one or two hours to rece that much mana, meaning he wouldn''t be able to spam the Spell in a battle.


    But the design worked better than he thought for the first try.


    The boost mechanic was using a lot of mana, and that''s why it consumed so much mana. He had to make some adjustments to it, but it wouldn''t decrease the consumption by a crazy amount.


    He could erase parts of the design by using his Earth Element mana to close the carving. This was only possible with this special mana-infused wood and needed to happen not a long time after the carving happened as the more time passed, the harder it would be to close the carve.


    This was also possible since he had the <strong>PROGRAMMING ENCHANTMENT</strong> Skill, which enabled him to erase Enchantments as he did on Karemon''s at the shop.


    He erased as much as he could and started reworking on it with the Spirit Hammer once again.


    He redid this a couple of times but didn''t use the Mana Gem as it couldpletely get empty and break.


    He tried to get some of the Mana Gem''s Dark Mana and hold it in the ce where the Mana Gem would typically be.


    It wasn''t enough mana to cast a Spell but enough for his test.


    In the end, he seemed to have decreased significantly to almost a quarter of what the Mana Gem could have.


    It was a sufficient number as the Mana Gem he was using wasn''t one of the final designs, so the staff wasn''t in full power yet.


    He then made a wand version of it with space for the gem at the bottom on it instead.


    He may not have as much space as with the staff, but his design wasn''t that big, and with the help of the Spirit Hammer, he made it work.


    He also noticed that more than an hour was spent using the Spirit Hammer and wasn''t feeling any resistance as usual at that point, but some started slowly being build up after a while.


    It seemed like he could use it for more time now, which would help to craft special equipment faster in the future.


    He made the same tests in the wand, and since he already made it work on the staff, he didn''t have to spend as much time but had to make some adjustments to make it more fit on a wand and do not be in touch with the hand of the users as it could cause some disturbance to it.


    He Should work on their appearance as they were pretty in and should make some protection around where the mana gems were residing but make it possible to change with a new Mana Gem is needed.


    He also had to make designs for the rest of the Mana Gems, but he needed them to do that and work with Zhen on it.


    He may have to bring him here someday or make simr Enchantments in the room at Zhen''sb to make the wands or staves they needed for personal use while working at this room for the shop''s customers.


    He took his wand and staff to show it at Volig, who was at a break as he had finished most of the orders.


    Volig seemed impressed by them, and even he seemed to be able to use it.


    When he was a Dwarf, he couldn''t use any Mana, so he had to use other tools if needed to test equipment that needed mana.


    But now that he had Earth Mana as part of his new race, he had learned the mana skills as they were beneficial for his crafting but no Spells.


    He could strengthen the metals he was using by infusing them with some of his Earth Mana and making them stronger than expected.


    "We should work on more wands and staves as Zhen shouldn''t take too long to start producing some of them. I will go check him and Phoenix. Continue working on the orders, but when you have some time, try to make some for personal use for our people, and I will take care of the Enchantment."[Shingi]


    Volig agreed and started his was at the other crafting room to work on those as he didn''t have many things to work on in the forge that he needed to hurry with.


    Shingi found Anna in an alley they had discussed to meet if needed.


    She had given him a special bell that she was the only one to hear it, and he should ring it if they needed to meet.


    He let her know about Wild Tycoon and how Zhen''s and the new creations of his were going.


    "Sounds good. But we should hurry. As you noticed, they started gathering, and our new friends informed me that more of them would be here in three days and n something big. But they don''t know what this may be. We should be ready for a fight by then."[Anna]


    Shingi didn''t like this at all as they seemed to move quicker than he thought.


    <em>''Maybe I hit them harder than I thought.''</em>[Shingi]


    He made his way back to Zhen''s ce to check his progress.


    He noticed theb to have changed a little.


    There was a new desk where Mizuneko was working on some of his Spell Scrolls. There was another one that Little Phoenix was working on creating a design on a body of Mana Gem while being instructed by Zhen and at the same time Wild Tycoon watching them and especially Zhen''s moves.


    Zhen seemed like he was in a fight not too long ago as there were bruises all over his body, especially his face.


    "I see you have started the production. Does this mean you have finished with the designs?"[Shingi]


    Zhen nodded to agree as he seemed he didn''t want to speak while his face was in his current state.


    He pointed at some pieces of paper which Shingi understood were the new designs.


    For Air, Dark, Earth, Ice, and Water Elements, Light didn''t seem to be finished yet. There was also the old design of the Fire one, which hadn''t got any updates since they didn''t have somebody with that Element within their Mana Pool.


    Phoenix seemed to had taken the handle of making the Mana Gems and was helping at their production.


    They had to make some prototypes, and then some of the Oozes of Zhen could produce more.


    "I have brought a new project that we will need to work with it then."[Shingi]


    He summoned from his Spatial Ring, the staff he made and then enabled the design for the small sphere of mana to form at the tip of it.


    Zhen''s eyes got wide, seeing this as he noticed the design of the staff to contain part of his design.


    He noticed the smile on the face of Shingi as he knew that Zhen would most likely have this reaction.


    "I have created staff and wand to work with the Dark Mana Gem, but it is the old version meaning it may need some adjustments but nothing you shouldn''t be able to handle. We need to make at least one of each Element, especially of Phoenix''s and Mizuneko''s. I will provide the wands and staves, which will be of higher quality than this but need your help for the final Enchantments and possible design. How does that sound to you? Interesting, right?"[Shingi]


    Zhen nodded as he was a researcher at heart, but since he wasn''t able to craft things like that by being limited from the System, he never thought of using his research in that way.


    But seeing a tool empowered by his creation and for something as powerful as that and not just to warm up the room or clear the water, he was excited to work on that project.


    "We also need to hurry. It seems we have three days as they seem to be on the move for something."


    The three yers turned towards him and looked at him with worry. They had made a lot of progress these days, but they needed more time to prepare.


    "Focus on the task of yours at hand. Tycoon, try to level up as much as you can and train on your new skills and fighting style. Mizuneko, keep working on the scrolls but don''t forget to use some of the Ice Mana Gems, when they are ready, to raise your Mana Tree. Same for you, Phoenix. Help as much as you can on the production of the Mana Gems but don''t forget to focus on your Mana Tree also. Also, try to use some of the Air Mana Gems to increase your proficiency to add it to your Mana Pool; Mizuneko can help you but don''t merge it and keep it separate. Me and Zhen will work on the wands and staves for you and the daggers of Hineko since we will have some of the Mana Gems. You should call him to join us, Mizuneko."[Shingi]


    It wasn''t a secret that yers couldmunicate with each other, although NPCs couldn''t use this function.


    "But first, I think it is time to take care of something else."[Shingi]


    Everyone looked at him, confused and waiting for him to tell what this something was.


    But he didn''t say anything but showed them as he summoned from his Spatial Ring a crystal which he had for a while.


    The ss Crystal that a had bought for him some time ago.


    He still could progress some of his Skills a bit more, but with most of his Spells, he had reached his limit.


    He would need some time to adjust with his ss as it could give him some new abilities, so three days were necessary simply to be safe.


    He wasn''t going to use his yer Character as it could reveal his identity and wanted to keep it a secret for as long as he could.


    He focused on the crystal, and a panel appeared in front of him.


    ================================


    Are you sure you want to use <em>Medium Quality ss Crystal</em>?


    <strong>YES / NO</strong>


    ================================


    Shingi took a deep breath as he picked the <strong>YES</strong> option.


    The crystal started turning into dust, making a mini whirlwind with Shingi as its center and then getting attached to its body before disappearing.


    A System notification appeared, but Shingi wasn''t able to read it as he had passed out.

 Chapter 95: Darkroom

    Chapter 95: Darkroom


    Shingi started getting back his senses, and then he noticed that he wasn''t in Zhen''sb anymore.


    He was in the darkroom, the same as before he wakes up to his NPC body for the first time.


    For a second, he thought that maybe everything was a dream that his mind yed from being stuck in that ce for too long, but a System notification appeared.


    ================================


    Because of the upgrade, sNPC#12 has been set to sleep mode for 24 hours.


    During that period, every ability, passive or active, is inessible.


    ================================


    Shingi tried to open his Status window, but it seemed he couldn''t ess that either.


    He could only open a System window showing him the remaining time on his sleep mode.


    As time passed, his ordinarily calm and serious attitude got reced with one of fear.


    He had spent a lot of time in this Dark Room and didn''t like the quiet, not anymore.


    He had made new friends and got used to being around them, so not having the option to see them seemed to have hurt him more than it would in the past.


    He wasn''t able to use his <strong>VISUALISATION</strong> skill or a minor illusion, but he tried to focus on the memories of everyone to keep his mind sane.


    He started thinking about how he met his students and the rest of his allies and the small adventures he had with them.


    Then when he started thinking about his NPC sister, a System notification appeared.


    ================================


    <strong>SCRY OPTION ENABLED</strong>


    Do you want to use <strong>SCRY</strong> at sNPC#1?


    YES / NO


    ================================


    Shingi was aware of what <strong>SCRY</strong> was as it was a Master Grade Spell and actually one of the most difficult to learn.


    The Spell would allow the user to focus on a target and see what it was doing at that moment, but the user had to be somewhat familiar with the target, or the Spell would have a chance not to work.


    Shingi was interested in it and to make sure if his suspicion for the identity of sNPC#1 was correct.


    He knew from Night Wind that sNPC were the Special NPCs made like him.


    After he picked to ept, a bigger window appeared in front of him like a screen, and he could see himself, or more specifically his NPC body, on the bed in his room at his NPC house.


    a seemed to examine his current situation with Wild Tycoon, and Hineko seemed to be anxious to hear her findings.


    But Shingi didn''t stay for long as his point of view was turned away, and he started being raised in the air. He passed through the ceiling but without causing any damage.


    Then after went quite some distance in the air, his sight started flying in a specific direction. He wasn''t controlling where he was going but just seeing like through a drone recording its trip.


    The speed started being increased as he couldn''t take the details of what they were passing, but he soon Understood where his <strong>SCRY</strong> was leading him to.


    There at the center of Enerias, into the territory of the Neutral Zone, the ce belonging to no kingdom, was the <em>Tower</em>.


    The enormous structure in all the Realms that even the Gods, Old or New, didn''t know how tall it was.


    His speed got slower a bit, and he noticed some tents outside the <em>Tower</em>, which was expected as many yers were making settlements, but the number was way lower than what it used to be.


    He quickly went through the massive entrance of the <em>Tower</em>. His speed got increased once more and was even faster than before.


    He was barely able to get some details of each floor he was passing as the image was also somewhat blurry before it reaches its target, but he was able to understand one thing.


    The Tower''s low floor not only seemed to have been restored in power but also new creatures of higher floors were in lower ones.


    This wasn''t good as if stronger creatures appeared on the lower floor, stronger ones reced them.


    As he passed one floor after the other, the speed his sight was moving was increasing, making them more and more everything a blur and making him Shingi losing count on what floor they were supposed to be on, but it may have been higher than what he had reached.


    Then the sight of his stopped, and he could see a great open hall.


    It seemed to be a training ground as there were many wooden training dolls and targets.


    Just a few meters from him, he could see two figures sparring each other, one of an Old Man and one of a young teenage girl.


    These were Mikhail and Annooue, of course.


    Mikhail seemed to train Annoue, who appeared to be focused on her training.


    Her clothing had changed from the poor clothes of her town to more morous ones. Those were showing the beauty of her body but without revealing much.


    The clothes were also designed to bebat friendly and not restrict her movements.


    She seemed somewhat more mature, or at least her eyes looked like that as she was carefully fighting Mikhail.


    Shingi notice that she had a burn mark over at her left side of her neck, which looked like the letter M.


    Even if Shingi didn''t have his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, he could tell that this was part of a Special Spell to keep Annoue under surveince and possibly punish her if he willed it.


    He had encountered other people with a simr type of magic, and they were hard to fight, especially when one of their people was someone you knew.


    He couldn''t hear anything, but it didn''t seem like they were speaking, just fighting.


    As time passed, his hearing seemed to be enabled as he started hearing the sound of their swords hitting each other.


    "Too slow swings. It would be best if you put focus more on your speed than the power. If you don''t hit your target, what chance do you have to beat him?"[Mikhail]


    Annoue seemed to be adapting to the tips he was telling him and was noticeable being improving quickly.


    "<strong>ENOUGH</strong>. Go to get something to eat, and we will continue your trainingtely."[Mikhail]


    Annoue seemed confused, but one Mikhail red at her; she ran towards a door while having one of her arms over her burn mark as it appeared to have started hurting her a bit.


    After Mikhail show her leaving the room, he turned and starred toward Shingi.


    "How interesting you can use <strong>SCRY</strong> and even have passed the <em>Tower</em>''s special fields. It seems my expectations for you weren''t wrong."[Mikhail]


    Shingi was surprised that he could see him quickly as his scry self was supposed to be invisible even to Gods.


    "But those tricks aren''t wee here, but you <strong>ARE</strong>. If, of course, you have the power to handle the trip here. Well then, bye."[Mikhail]


    Mikail then just pointed one of his fingers towards Shingi, and the screen of his cracked, and as Mikhail used his second finger, it gotpletely destroyed.


    ================================


    An <em>Unknown Force</em> destroyed <strong>SCRY</strong>.


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>SCRY </strong>to NPC#1 has be unusable.


    ================================


    Shingi wasn''t expecting things to turn like that, but at least he learned something new.


    Mikhail was at the Tower, and Annoue was in good health but under his control.


    He was nning on going to the Tower as he knew he had to start cleaning up the mistakes of the Dark Guild, but now he had another reason to go there.


    He focused his mind on every detail he saw of the camp and the floors


    for any clues or information that could help him in the future.


    He was mad at seeing Annoue being controlled like that, but he tried to calm his mind. He had to work on his ns to get to her as soon as possible.


    He had to be more powerful and strengthen the rest of his party as if Mikhail was indeed on a higher floor than what he had reached that made it a foe more powerful than even his yer self would handle, even with his old equipment.


    He tried each of his Skills once more, either of his NPC or yer, but none of them worked.


    There were more than 20 hours left at his countdown, and there wasn''t an option to <strong>SCRY</strong> anyone else.


    The darkness surrounding him started affecting him once more as he remembered one thing; the song of his NPC mother.


    He wasn''t able to speak to sing it, but he started imagining the memory of the sone as when he heard it from that music box gift of a.


    The memory of the voice wasn''t that clear at the beginning, but as time passed, it was like he could hear it, which he was.


    A small sphere of light appeared in front of him as a tiny humanoid form was at the center of it. The figure was in a sitting position on a chair, and he heard the songing by this figure.


    The song continued repeating itself, and with each loop, each light became brighter.


    Shingi had lost the counts of how many times he heard the song, but each time it seemed slightly different, as more life got added to the voice each time.


    Then the voice became the same as the recording at the music box, and when it finished the song, it stopped speaking, but the light remained.


    "For one to climb a tower, he must first enter it. For one to enter a tower, one must make the first step. For one to make the first step, he had to find his light. For one to find his light, it is like finding his bnce."[???]


    A voice seemed toe from all over the room as multiple people with the same voice were speaking at the same time from different directions.


    Then the light moved closer to Shingi, and from having no body in this room, it was like he had an imitation of his NPC body and the light staying where his heart was.


    "The light is part of you, and you are part of it. Remember this, my little Angel."[???]


    And then the light was starting to get less bright until it had disappeared.


    He was back with having no body, but he felt some warmth in him nheless.


    He was calmer now and could handle being in the darkroom much better.


    He checked how much time was left, and it seemed like just a few minutes were remaining.


    He was excited to see the result of using the crystal, although he was mad that he lost 24 hours like that.


    a didn''t mention anything like that happening, but it could be that his case was rare; that''s why this happened.


    But with a cooldown like that, it should be something pretty good.


    The minutes became seconds until the time was up, and Shingi had the option to get back to his NPC body which he used right away.


    But it seemed things changed more than he thought.

 Chapter 96: The Class

    Chapter 96: The ss


    Shingi was back at his sense quick enough.


    He could feel the changes that happened to him as there was a pain in his whole body but not a heavy one.


    It was feeling like a day after overexercising himself.


    His sight was blurry initially, but it quickly was back to normal, so he noticed the reason behind his current pain.


    His body had grown.


    He looked at a mirror in the room over the desk.


    He noticed that he didn''t have the body of an eight-year-old anymore but of around fifteen years old.


    He was currently alone in the room, but he could tell there were three figures in the kitchen.


    What got him off guard was that he detected them without using either of his detection skills.


    It was almost like thebined sense of <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> and <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> was enabled but to a lesser degree.


    But he was confident that no Skills were enabled, at least no active ones.


    He stood up and moved around to test his body.


    His moves were more essible and smooth than before like a restriction had been removed from him.


    There were limits to his young body, and he had passed them many times. If he didn''t have that high of <strong>END</strong>, he probably would have caused himself significant muscle damage.


    This body was a long way from his yer body, but it was a significant improvement.


    He was confident that he could fight Fire Whip and Shadow whip without using any Magic, or at least the ones when he first met them.


    He started focusing on his Mana Tree and could feel that it was more extensive and more potent than before.


    He opened his Status Window to check what had changed.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>Name</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>ss</strong>: True Sorcerer (Apprentice)


    <strong>Profession</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>Race</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>HP</strong>: 92/92


    <strong>SP</strong>: 51/51


    <strong>MP</strong>: 56/56


    <strong>STR</strong>: 12


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 14


    <strong>END</strong>: 16


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 5


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Earth and Light Element


    <strong>PASSIVE SKILLS</strong>


    Minor Mana Regeneration, Mana Detection


    <strong>SKILLS</strong>


    <strong>Base Rank</strong>: STEALTH, WOODCARVING, LEATHERWORKING, ENCHANTMENT APPRAISAL, PROGRAMMING ENCHANTMENT


    <strong>Master Rank</strong>: VISUALIZATION, MANA MANIPULATION, MANA SENSE, PERCEPTION, IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON, SMITHING, MARTIAL ART, GLASSBLOWING


    <strong>SPELLS</strong>


    <strong>Ungraded</strong>: FILTH EATER, MINOR ILLUSION, LIGHT


    <strong>Low Grade</strong>: MANA HAND, ROCK THROW, CAMOUFLAGE, ECHOLOCATION


    <strong>Unfinished Low Grade</strong>: METAL HANDS


    <strong>Base Grade</strong>: INVISIBILITY, DOME OF SILENCE, MANA DOUBLE - LIGHT ELEMENT, MANA DOUBLE - EARTH ELEMENT, MAJOR ILLUSION, HASTE, STONESKIN, EARTH SPIKE


    Unfinished Base Grade: GOLEMANCY


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of Beliss, Blessing of Dlog, Angel''s Boon, Blessing of Choma


    ================================


    His Skills and Spells didn''t change on their ranks or grades.


    He could feel the Spells to have gotten strengthened a bit and the bottlenecks to had been lifted.


    His <strong>HP</strong>, <strong>SP</strong>, and <strong>MP</strong> have been raised with his <strong>MP</strong> to have the most extensive change than before.


    He noticed his new Passive Skill, which seemed to be that feeling he had, and detected the ones in the kitchen.


    It was simr to his <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> Spell, but instead of bouncing on physical surfaces, it did on mana.


    As his <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> reached a specific frequency to pass through anything except mana, as the Spell was ignoring the ground.


    Of course, the biggest surprise was his ss, <em>True Sorcerer (Apprentice)</em>.


    He thought he would take the ss right away and not go through Apprenticeship, but it may be the case because he got a True ss.


    sses with the True at their beginning were uniques sses, of which only one person at every Realm could have the possibility to earn them.


    Once a lucky one gets one, this ss isn''t avable until he or she dies.


    There were rumors that the spirits of the ones having the one before were merging with the ss''s newest person. With each soul, the ss was bing more powerful.


    Shingi hasn''t heard or read of any True Sorcerers, but he was confident that there should be stories about them.


    He also knew that Anna''s ss was a True ss, which Dlog had mentioned as one of the things he was proud of his daughter to be.


    True ss holders were people that could earn the respect of the Gods, so Dlog had the right to be proud.


    Shingi suspected that Varan also was a True ss holder, but he never found out if so or of which.


    His clothes were smaller for him and were barely fitting him since he grew in size, but the pants and sleeves were short for his new body.


    He headed out to meet the ones in the kitchen.


    He was still getting used to this sense yet, so he wasn''t sure of one of the three''s identity.


    One was a, and the second was Karemon, but the third one he couldn''t recognize.


    He could tell that it was a yer but not one who had a Mana Pool.


    As he got in the kitchen, he saw the identity of the third person was Marcy.


    When he entered the room, everyone was on guard at this unknown person entering the room.


    "I guess you guys weren''t there when I changed. It is me, Shingi, so Karemon, you can stop working on your Enchantment and a, no need for any Spells."[Shingi]


    He had met both of them working with their mana but doing different things.


    "It seems those crystals work differently than I was informed. But at least you seemed to have gotten stronger. You have, right?"[a]


    Shingi smiled at the question and snapped his finger as ten <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> appeared behind him.


    He then brought his hand forward with the palm open and facing down and started raising it as Golems started getting formed through the cracks of the floor.


    He created one of each; one <em>Attacker</em>, one <em>Defender</em>, and one <em>Task-Handler</em>.


    Then he brought his other hand at his chest as the left half of his body was covered by Earth Mana of his and the right half by Light Mana, and as he closed his fist, the <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> of his got created.


    They made a step forward as they fully formed in a couple of seconds.


    Everything wasplete in a few seconds, sawing the improvements he had.


    Even if <strong>MANA HAND</strong> was a Low Grade one, casting multiple ones at the same time was making it harder to cast in that short of time and keep them active.


    Before he could, at max, cast four and keep them active.


    Also, his casting speed was like the difference between night and day.


    a seemed frozen in ce of seeing the young adult in front of her, quickly casting so many spells in such a short time.


    He had heard about Shingi''s abilities before but never saw them with her own eyes, but she was sure they wouldn''t be as crazy as that.


    Karemon had seen him working on the shop and casting some of his Spells. But it wasn''t as easy and smooth as at this point.


    Marcy seemed impressed but not as much as the other two. She hadn''t met Shingi himself before but knew he was supposed to be a student of the one she came with at the town.


    Shingi was also impressed by himself as he didn''t expect everything to work that smoothly but was trying to test his limits.


    He released all his Spells except his <em>Task-Handler</em> Golem. He ordered it to clean the ce up a bit as some areas were left unfinished fromst time as he wasn''t that good with the Spell.


    "So you are that young boy I head about? I was expecting you younger from everyone''s description. I am Marcy, and I got here with your Master some days ago to help with your problem with some annoying people."[Marcy]


    Shingi hadn''t seen Marcy for some time, as he had given her a task while he was still in his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>, on which she was working until now.


    The task was to find any yers interested in fighting against the <em>Master Whips</em> Guild when they try to forbid entrance into the shop again.


    Since it''s been some time that they could use its service, and there would be some who would be willing to fight them.


    "Yeah, I know about this. It is good seeing you. I guess from what you just said that you had met the rest of our allies? May I learn where the rest are?"[Shingi]


    Marcy seemed to be thinking as to recall a few things told to her.


    "Well, the two Mages told me that they were going back to continue their crafts. The naughty little cat said he would work on some recipes he found, and Soryn said he would go back meditating. Pan... I have no idea where she is. Wild Tycoon said she was going to keep training"[Marcy]


    Of course, by two Mages, she meant Little Phoenix and Mizuneko while ''naughty little cat'' referred to Hineko.


    She seemed no to have met Anna or went to the shop to know what was happening with them.


    "I see. Well, I have to check on them but first can one of you bring me some clothes? The ones I have are barely holding in ce. Also would probably draw attention if I go shopping for some."[Shingi]


    "I can take care of that. It shouldn''t take too long. Will you wait here?"[Karemon]


    Shingi shook his head.


    "No. I will see you at the shop."[Shingi]


    He then vanished as he cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, and none of the other three in the room seemed able to detect them.


    The mana needed for the Spell had been less and the same for keeping it active, showing the difference between having a ss and not having one.


    Even after cast all those Spells before he could cast that Spell and keep it active for at least an hour.


    He quickly made it at the shop, and even the watchers nearby were easier to go around.


    He made it in the forge and dropped his Spell.


    "It is me, Volig, Shingi, so no need to use the hammer on me."[Shingi]


    Volig was surprised, but he could see the simrities and understand that it indeed was who he said he was.


    Shingi informed him about what he learned about Mikail''s whereabouts as also about his ss.


    He wasn''t going to let everyone know of his ss, but he trusted Volig with this information.


    "So you think you can wreck them by yourself now?"[Volig]


    "Maybe, but this isn''t our n as it will draw too much attention. But we are going to let them know that dogs should know where to bark and make them run with their tail between their legs."[Shingi]


    He had lost a day and had at least two left to finish his preparations, but the rest seemed to have continued working on their task at hand.


    Volig told him that he gave them some wand and staves he had prepared yesterday.


    He had to see if Zhen made some progress with the design for them without him and how the production of the Mana Gems was going.


    He also had to prepare some Spell Scrolls for his Spells with Mizuneko.


    He waited for Karemon to bring his new clothes, which were better than his old ones.


    The pants weren''t anything special, but the top seemed like a mage''s robe but was going over a little higher his knees.


    The colors of it were primarily leather brown and some ck lines, and it definitely didn''t seem to be something cheap bought.


    Shingi wore them in a hurry, recast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, and started making his way to Zhen''sb.<ol><li>No level because he is still Apprentice on that ss</li></ol>

 Chapter 97: Back to the lab

    Chapter 97: Back to theb


    Shingi cast <strong>HASTE</strong> to test it also, and as a result, he made it to the Dungeon in less than half the time than usual, even if he was going as stealthy as possible.


    His new clothes weren''t restricting his movements at all and seemed to be made by an adaptive material to fit him perfectly after a few seconds of wearing them.


    Just this ability would cost a fortune for an average person, which made him more curious about where Karemon had acquired it.


    But Karemon seemed to no want to tell him, for now at least, and Shingi didn''t pressure him more as he didn''t have the time for it.


    He was sure he would know sooner orter.


    As he stopped in front of where the secret door was, he didn''t knock for the Oozes to open it but instead closed his eyes and started focusing.


    Light Mana started surrounding his body like when creating his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> as he began to speak some words in a strangenguage.


    ================================


    Requirements met, the Passive Skill Minor Arcane Words focus has


    been unlocked


    ================================


    This was the first time he had used Arcane Words on his spellcasting as if one who didn''t have a spellcasting-rted ss either would have no effect by trying or may be punished, and he didn''t want to risk it.


    But now he had a ss like that, even if at the Apprentice state.


    This would make his Spellplete and bring them to a new power, but he had to use the appropriate Arcane Words.


    For the yers, the System helped them pronounce those words as some were quiteplicated, but no such thing was in the case of Shingi since he was an NPC.


    But he had studied them back when he was still a yer himself, even if they were useless to him back then.


    The Spell he was trying to cast now was one he had failed in the past as he got stopped by the System; <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong>.


    His legs turned first, then his arm, followed by his chest, and finally his head.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> (Master Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    ================================


    Cause of <em>ss</em> being in Apprentice State, usage of Spells over Base Grade is limited to 10 seconds max and cooldown of 1 hour.


    ================================


    Shingi read them and, in a hurry, used his new form to pass through the small hole to get in the room.


    But he didn''t have perfect control over his light body as he made it to the right side but miscalcted on how fast to go and was sted through the hole like an arrow and went through the tunnel leading to Zhen''sb.


    He crashed at one of the walls.


    He fell to the ground at his standard form since the Spell was over. Everyone in the room turned towards him with their weapons at the ready.


    "It is me, Shingi. My ss update just made my body grow up a bit."[Shingi]


    He then summoned his dagger from his Spatial Ring since its unique design was a characteristic of his.


    They got tense of seeing a weapon at the hand of the possible enemy, but after recognizing it, they saw that the one in front of him genuinely looked like an older version of Shingi.


    "You are closer to be a true man, Master. I am happy for you. Maybe we should go for a walk together sometime to meet some people."[Hineko]


    Mizuneko hit his brother''s head with his staff.


    The staff of his wasn''t the one he had before as this one looked like it was one made of ice, but it clearly was by some mane infused wood, and its ice appearance was an effect on its Enchantment design.


    It seemed Zhen had made an Ice Design for the staff and the Mana Gem of his.


    "May I have a look at it?"[Shingi]


    Mizuneko seemed a bit reluctant to give it as he just got it, and it seemed so cool at him to leave it in someone''s else hands.


    But he gave it to Shingi as he knew he wasn''t going to steal it.


    Shingi inspected the design and found some simrities in its logic with the one he made for Dark design since Zhen still had them as a reference.


    He gave it some test tries on the triggering of the Mana Gem, and it seemed to work fine but could be improved.


    He turned towards Zhen, who seemed to be instructing some of his Oozes.


    "How is the progress with the Mana Gems prototypes. It seems the Ice one was ready since you made the staff."[Shingi]


    "Design-wise other than the Light and Fire, we have started production of them and have a couple. I got to work on the staff and finished the Ice one just a few hours ago but haven''t designed for anymore. But since you are back and you seem like you got somewhat stronger, you could prove how useful you are."[Zhen]


    Zhen chuckled a bit as his chuckle was interrupted by the hand of Shingi on his shoulder.


    He looked at the face of Shingi, where a smirk appeared.


    "I am sure we can make some demonstrations on that."[Shingi]


    He used his <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> for a split second to surround his face.


    The illusion was close to that of a rat''s face but added some sharper teeth and made his eyes redder.


    He had noticed quite a bit of rat traps here and there, and Zhen to be on guard when one of his Oozes came through one of the holes that existed throughout the Dungeon.


    He wasn''t sure why, but Zhen did not like rats and was even afraid of them somewhat.


    ================================


    <strong>TRUE SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The True spell <strong>FEAR</strong> (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    Shingi wasn''t expecting to get a Spell and a True Spell nheless out of something like that. He just wanted to scare Zhen and remind him who is the real boss here.


    A <em>True Spell</em> was something unique to True Spellcasting sses, and sometimes they were improved versions of existing Spells, or those versions were mediocre versions of the True Spell.


    Sometimes they were Spells that not even a lesser version existed or could exist, but this one wasn''t one of them.


    The <strong>FEAR</strong> spell would create an Illusion that only the target would see, and it would be one of his deeper fears.


    Usually, the caster would select the illusion, but the True version didn''t need this kind of action from its caster.


    Since this one triggered him to learn the Spell and not the actual Spell, it scared Zhen but didn''t terrify him as it may would if he casted Fear.


    Zhen took some steps back or tried to but couldn''t move as Shingi held him in ce.


    The illusion was gone, and Shingi''s was back to normal.


    "Let''s go to work since we seem to understand each other now."[Shingi]


    Shingi let go of his shoulder and went over to a desk with a few staves and papers with different designs drawn on them and Mana Gems.


    He studied the prototype design Zhen made started working on them.


    At the same time, he cast a Light <strong>MANA HAND</strong> to transport some mana to Zhen''s test rock for the Light Mana Gem''s design.


    He saw that the rings of Hineko for the daggers were on the table, and he decided to work on them as most of the Mana Gems for them were ready.


    The Enchantment for them was ready, but before their effect would be active all the time, but the consumption would be lower than what the Mana Gem would be restoring.


    But now Shingi was better at it than back then and could use actual Programming Enhancement and not just the shaped one, which had a downgraded effect.


    He summoned the Spatial Hammer and started working on them at a more incredible speed than before.


    His movements seemed to be more precise even without using his PERCEPTION skill.


    He erased the Enchantments as they were created by a fine dust of mana-infused silver metal. They weren''t easily removed, but a craftsman with the knowledge like Shingi knew the way behind it.


    He then progressed, this time carving the Enchantments on the des.


    He was confident in the idea for the design he had in mind and his Spirit Hammer and was able to add the trigger function on all of them. He even carved the rest of the Enchantment and strengthened the effect.


    They were simpler designs than the ones for the staves as they didn''t need to boost the mana, just keep in ce and at a certain amount.


    He then cast another <strong>MANA HAND</strong> and had it touch his shoulder as he used the active effect of his Blessing on him.


    He checked his status quickly and saw that for the first time, his <strong>INT</strong> reached 28.


    It still was less than what it should be, and he knew that it could make him reach 29 since it had when he used it on Phoenix back when they first explored Zhen''s Dungeon.


    Enchanter skills were <strong>INT</strong>-based, so a boost like that had affected them greatly.


    Of course, since this was a temporary boost, it wasn''t the same as having 29 <strong>INT</strong> naturally since he didn''t have the extra benefits of passing 20 and 25 at <strong>INT</strong>.


    Nheless, it was more than he needed and brought his speed ofing up with appropriate adjustments for each design to a new level.


    When the hour ended, he had made all the designs for every Element except Fire and Light since he didn''t have a final design for them.


    He even improved the Ice Element one.


    He asked Mizuneko, the staff, to make the necessary adjustment so that he didn''t have to make one from scratch.


    Mizuneko gave the staff to Shingi, but Shingi could feel him watching him anxiously through the whole progress.


    He finished it in less than half an hour, and Mizuneko seemed to be pretty amazed by the adjustments than before.


    Shingi then worked on adjusting his Dark Element staff since he had some new ideas for it too.


    He wasn''t going to use it himself but would give it to Little Phoenix since it was her Element.


    He could use it to quickly cast his <strong>DOME OF SILENCE</strong>, but it would be more useful on her hands instead of his.


    He would make an Earth one for him since that Element was mostly meant for Battle and since his Light Mana was already pretty fast.


    But he was nning on making a staff with both Elements in the future, but this would need more time to research.


    The adjustments for the Dark Element got less as it was one he had made and was closer to the one the adjusted one.


    So he moved on making an Earth one for him, which would take longer since he had to make it from scratch.


    After that, he nned on working at some Spell Scrolls with Mizuneko and ask Hineko if he needed any help.


    Time was ticking, and he was going to use it to the best of his abilities.

 Chapter 98: The day had arrived

    Chapter 98: The day had arrived


    The next day passed with more work as he learned some new things for his body.


    Firstly, his never-ending sleep side effects were gone entirely, making him need longer breaks when pushed too much.


    But his SP consumption got shortened, and the limits of his bodies got increased, making him work faster, but he had to be careful not to overdo it, or he would be in a weakening state until having some hours of rest.


    He was able to finish the Earth Staff of his in the night of the first day and progressed on helping Mizuneko with his Spell Scrolls and Hineko with his Potion Making.


    Hineko found the recipe for stronger <strong>MP</strong> regeneration potions. They usually needed to ground Water Mana Gems into dust to create them, but Hineko could use Zhen''s Water Mana Gems as a recement, although it would decrease the effects a bit but not too much.


    He tried to find the same for <strong>HP</strong> and <strong>SP</strong> but no luck in that short of time.


    He still made a few of his standard versions, but he focused on his new recipe for <strong>MP</strong> ones.


    Shingi helped him by giving some tips he had read or talked with others about the progress of processing the materials needed.


    He then focused with Mizuneko on creating Spell Scrolls and storing some useful spells in there.


    From his side, he decided to make Scrolls with <strong>DOME OF SILENCE</strong>, <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, <strong>EARTH SPIKES</strong>, and his new Spell <strong>FEAR</strong>.


    Mizuneko has one called <strong>ICE SPHERE</strong>, which trapped a target in a sphere of ice and <strong>TIDAL WAVE</strong>, creating a wave of water to push multiple targets as it was an <em>Area Of Effect</em> Spell.


    Also had <strong>ICE SPIKE</strong>, which was working simr to <strong>EARTH SPIKES</strong>.


    They decided to have both in case there was an opponent with special defense against one of the Elements.


    Phoenix didn''t have any Special Spells and still hadn''t finished her <strong>SHADOW FORM</strong>, so that they couldn''t make a Spell Scroll with it.


    They made some with Shingi''s <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong>, though, since this one wasplete. But because it was a Master Grade Spell, they could make just four of them as it took them many tries to seed for each.


    On the night of the second day, Anna joined them to let them know that she had reports that a ship with the final batch of Blessed Ones was arriving, and they seemed like they were nning to get at the shop.


    She wasn''t sure of the Guild''s n, but they seemed to be ready for a battle as some of their topbat-rted ones would be arriving.


    Anna left to go back on keeping watch in case something changed.


    Shingi and the rest had continued working like before, but they had to end close to midnight.


    They had to rest; otherwise, they would be too tired tomorrow.


    They had done enough preparations, and Zhen''s Oozes could continue some.


    But for now, Shingi gave each part of the potions and Spell Scrolls as he considered them to fit, and everyone returned to town.


    The yers went to the Inn they were staying while Shingi went to the shop.


    He also needed to rest as he overworked himself more than the rest, but he was confident of the final results.


    He tried to create his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>, but he got a notification from the System that it was in cooldown for five days.


    He hadn''t tried to use it since he woke up to his new body, and since it was a mental type of training, his body change shouldn''t affect it.


    ''I guess since I got my ss, my brain has changed a bit''[Shingi]


    He had noticed the different feelings on his <strong>INT</strong>-based Skills, like his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, to make some deductions more straightforward and faster than before.


    He couldn''t do much, so he slept like normal, but there were no dreams of him being either in the misty white room or the dark room.


    He woke up and was still early in the morning, but that didn''t mean that they had much time as they could be here at any moment.


    He told Greg yesterday not toe to work today, just in case.


    So it was just him and Volig in the shop currently.


    Volig had some breakfast of some berries and bread. Of course, he had some for Shingi too, which he shared.


    "You shouldn''t be around. Your crafting skills have improved, but yourbat ones are almost nonexistent."[Shingi]


    Shingi had epted Volig as one of his students as a Schr Master some time ago to see the Skills and the Ranks of them that Volig had.


    "That never stopped me in the past. I told you that I would be by your side even if it is the death of me."[Volig]


    "Well, you have died for me once already technically *chuckles*. But I am d to have you by my side, my friend, but you should not put yourself in harm for no reason. You got a new life to live even if you took it for my sake; you need to live it for yours too."[Shingi]


    Volig seemed surprised by the words of Shingi. It wasn''t like he didn''t care about him as he had helped him in some tough times, but it seemed like he was doing it mostly when involving a Quest of some short.


    But now, his friend wasn''t after a Quest. He was genuinely trying to change the world and destroy its parasites.


    Volig had built new respect for him, not one of the people who have helped him to be what he is in the craftingmunity but as one he honestly considered to be his faithful friend.


    After some hours passed, Shingi''s senses detected something as he stood and headed towards the door.


    He signaled Volig to stay behind until further notice.


    He summoned his cloak, put on the special mask, and created the demon-like look he had before hunting the yer''s some days ago.


    He summoned his sword, which seemed to recognize him this time and seemed more receptive to work with him.


    "''You mist user. Me no like mist. But strong one you are so will help a little.''"[Sinhunter]


    He understood that he was talking about his new ss and was interested in calling it as mist as this was how the mana Looked for him when detecting it.


    For others, it had different forms, as Annoue saw it like different colored lights.


    He also made some more illusions with his <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> Spell of his to further help his disguise.


    He opened the doors and got outside the door as he saw almost four dozens of yers, with Master Whip in front of them leading them.


    When they saw the figure exiting the shop, they all stopped as they recognized him from the descriptions of the ones that he killed.


    Only a few have been able to respawn since then, as the rest were still waiting for the penalty to end.


    "Oh, so you are here. As expected, you work this little filth."[Master Whip]


    Master Whip turned towards one of the yers at his left, whose aura wasn''t as tense as the rest, meaning he wasn''t high level.


    The rest seemed to have tenser auras from the Master Whip himself, meaning they were higher level, which wasn''t unheard of as Guild Leader didn''t always have time to level up quickly as they had to take care of Guild businesses.


    The yer made some steps forward, and it was clear that he was terrified of being here at that moment but had no choice in the matter.


    <em>**We here to discuss a deal. We give double of what the young one have given you**</em>[Low-Level Guild member]


    Shingi was surprised that one of the speaking Demonic was aplexnguage to learn, and not many yers were interested in learning what a demon had to say. They were going to kill them no matter what they said.


    <em>**This is a price you can not afford.**</em>[Shingi]


    Since they considered him a demon, he was going to keep the act.


    The yer tranted what Shingi said to his Guild Leader, who seemed frustrated when hearing it.


    "Tell him that we have ess to more sources than the little brat. We can get into the Tower while the brat would only dream of being able to do so."[Master Whip]


    Before he got the chance to trante any of that, a rock hit Master Whip directly in the left eye of his.


    <em>**No deal, mortals.**</em>[Shingi]


    He raised his hand as fifteen Golems appeared surrounding him and being reading to fight.


    Only six of them were his as the rest were of Pan, who was hiding in the corner waiting for his signal to act.


    He had a long way to go to get at her level of proficiency with the Spell.


    He also enabled his Fear Spell as they were in range, and all the Golems charged toward them.


    Whip Master and the low-level yer were affected by the Fear Spell as they fell to their feet, but the rest of the yers seemed unaffected.


    It seemed like the difference of level yed an essential role in the Spell''s sess rate, and he probably was lucky it worked on Master Whip.


    The yers outnumbered the Golems, but that didn''t mean they were at a disadvantage.


    Shingi''s Golems were all Defenders to keep the ones of Pan alive for as long as possible. Pan''s Golems were all Attackers, of course.


    Shingi was using his <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> to disturb any of the attacks he could.


    But some of the yers have passed the Golems and started their charge at Shingi.


    But a few were stopped on their way.


    A few were frozen in ce as some Spheres of Ice surrounded each of them, making them unable to move.


    A dark hole appeared next to a few others, which was pulling them at its center.


    Finally, some seemed to have shes on them as blood started flowing from some wounds that appeared.


    Then five figures appeared out of nowhere.


    Two were just a step from Shingi and were Little Phoenix and Mizuneko with their new staves at the ready and still some mana leaking from their mana gems after theirst cast.


    In front of the yers who got shed, Hineko, Wild Tycoon, and Anna, each with their weapons at the ready.


    Hineko had his Fire Dagger at his left hand, for offense, and his Earth Dagger at his right, for defense.


    Wild Tycoon had her two battleaxes separated, and her vest had changed as it had the image of a lion. She had raised her ss a bit and was able to call new types of Spirits, and a lion among them was more suited forbat.


    Anna had her longer needles at her hand, which she was using on any exposed area of her targets.


    They had used the Invisibility Spell Scrolls to keep themselves unseen until now.


    There were six that weren''t affected by any of the attacks and continued their charge towards him as they were confident that everything would fall if they got him down.


    Shingi walked between his two Mage students as he got his de at the ready and fed it with Earth Mana of his, which would make it even sharper.


    The range of his sword was shorter than their whip if he used it usually.


    When Shingi was within their range and got ready to start their attack, they failed to detect the movements of Shingi''s.


    He shed the air towards them, making <strong>AIR SLASH</strong> attack towards them, but without the use of any mana, just his speed as he cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on him too at that point.


    Five of the yers were pushed back by this attack as one could barely handle it and continue.


    Mizuneko was ready to cast another of his <strong>ICE SPHERE</strong> to stop that individual but stopped when he noticed Shingi charging towards him.


    Shingi recognized that individual; he was the yer called Cerberus.

 Chapter 99: The rest of the battle

    Chapter 99: The rest of the battle


    Cerberus had grown in power quite a lot since Shingist saw him.


    His aura was tenser than even Fire Whip or Shadow Whip''s, even Master Whip''s when Shingi first met him.


    The speed of his growth was remarkable, but with a Guild giving him resources like that wasn''t unheard of growing in power that fast.


    He didn''t seem to be the stronger among the six who made it, but he seemed to be more motivated than the rest to keep fighting.


    Cerberus had his whip at the ready, while Shingi had his sword.


    The whip was heading toward Shingi, but he could avoid it pretty easy with his current speed.


    Cerberus didn''t seem frustrated as he made another attack before Shingi made it within range of his sword.


    The whip was almost above him, but Shingi continued his attack and not sidestepping this time.


    The whip continued through Shingi like it wasn''t solid, and it was really just an illusion.


    Two more invisible whips were to hit the left and right of Shingi in case he sidestepped in either side.


    But with his detection skills, Shingi was able to see behind that illusion, and even if he could see the invisible ones, he could estimate where they were heading at.


    Shingi got a hit with his sword, but it wasn''t enough to kill Cerberus, who jumped back right away.


    He made his way away from the rest of the battle and tried to get Shingi to follow him.


    Shingi charged at him as Cerberus focused on defending and not attacking.


    When they were far enough from the others, Cerberus changed his tactic as he charged with a speed greater than before.


    He got behind Shingi and got a free hit, or so he thought.


    All his whips passed through Shingi like he wasn''t there.


    Then a de appeared as it pierced Cerberus''s chest from his back.


    Shingi was behind him but also in front of him at the same time.


    Then the one in front of him started getting transparent as at a point it vanished.


    This was a <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> of Shingi.


    During their battle, he got some hits with his <strong>LIGHT</strong> Spells to blind him for a split second which with his current speed was enough to make a switch with his illusion.


    Cerberus avoided his attack and not deflected them so he wouldn''t notice him not being solid and just an illusion.


    At the same time, he used a spell scroll to make himself invisible and find the right time to attack.


    This second hit was enough to finish the job as he used his <strong>LIGHT BLADE</strong> Enchantment on it.


    Golems and his students have dealt with a few of the other Guild members, but there were quite a few, and the ones who were dying would soon be back in action since they would respawn.


    His sword didn''t seem to feed on Cerberus when he was using it at his yer form.


    <em>"''Would appreciate if you would help with your appetite at least. You know we won''t have many chances to have a fest like that.''"</em>[Shingi]


    He tried to persuade the sword because if the yers saw that the ''demon'' had no penalty would ruin his n when killed by him.


    <em>"''Me will eat. But no help, just hungry.''"</em>[Sinhunter]


    Shingi smiled at that as he started his hunting.


    He couldn''t know exactly how much health the enemies had or their stats, but even if they were wearing some rare pieces of equipment, he could estimate them.


    He tried to get the final hit of everyone ready to die and saw that their particles were grey, meaning they got the penalty.


    It started more gray thanst time, meaning the minimum penalty got raised, possibly cause the sword was stronger now or more hungry.


    Chaos started appearing among the yers as they noticed the gray particles, as they were experienced yers and knew what this meant.


    A few decided to run away but most continued fighting or had no choice as they were surrounded or didn''t have a chance to escape.


    It looked like a massacre as Shingi''s side was looking of having the upper hand with no real damage dealt at them, but this was because they had the potions, Spell Scroll, and Mana Gems to save their MP.


    The ce was filled with ice from Mizuneko''s Spells, or the ground being ripped by the SHADOW BOLT of Little Phoenix, who had raised the Spell to almost be at Base Grade power.


    Anna was teleporting behind enemies who left their guard down. She paralyzed them or killing them on the spot, depending on their situation.


    Wild Tycoon, like a madwoman, was shooting and charging to fight and overpowering her targets even if they had better equipment from her. She was wearing no armor, but because of her ss increasing her natural defense, the attack that hit her was eitherpletely nullified or dealing very little damage.


    Even Hineko, whose ss wasn''t to focus onbat, seemed to have the upper hand, as with Soryn''s training, he could move around and use his environment and find suitable weak spots of his target.


    He and Soryn were ying hide and seek, but the lessons weren''t only to find someone but also to detect everything around you and act ordingly.


    Some more yers starteding and joining the battle after a while but weren''t against Shingi but the Master Whip Guild members.


    Those were the ones Marcy had talked with, and after hearing that the Guild was back to cause trouble, they came to help.


    The battle seemed not to be far from over as not many members were left, including their Guild Leader.


    "I guess i have no choice but to use this. You are going to pay so much for making me use it now."[Master Whip]


    He pulled out a vial from his Spatial Ring, which had a red gem attached at the bottom of it.


    Shingi noticed it and tried to get to him to stop him from drinking what was inside the vial, but the rest of the members got in his way, preventing him from seeding.


    Master Whip drunk the dark liquid that was inside the vial in one swing.


    He didn''t seem to like the taste and then fell to his knees as he held his chest like he had a heart attack.


    "Get away from him."[Shingi]


    His students nodded as they moved right away, as well Marcy and Anna but the rest didn''t as they didn''t know why they should listen to him.


    Then screams came from Master Whip as he raised his hand, and an explosion of dark energy happened.


    Everyone touched by this energy fell to the ground as ck mes had surrounded them, burning them no matter what they did to put it out.


    The mes appeared only at anything living that got touched by the explosion, so the Golems weren''t affected.


    Shingi and the others who listened at his warning were out of range.


    Then as the dark energy cleared up where Whip Master was standing, there was another figure.


    It was wearing broken pieces of the armor of Whip Master that it ripped apart what was left and threw it at the ground.


    It had a humanoid form, but its skin was dark red and was a little more than two meters high.


    A pair of horns were residing at its head. That, its ws and tail were signs of its true nature.


    This was a Hell Spawn, a spirit from one of the Nine Hells that was summoned in the mortal realm and used the body of a willing individual to stay and use its power.


    The vial that Master Whip had was part of a rare Quest that Shingi knew was giving the chance to grant you a vial with the blood of a Demon, which was needed to call a Hell Spawn.


    Depending on the Demon''s blood, different Hell Spawn would appear, but none of them were easy to deal with.


    <em>**Hahahahaha... atst I am here to have some fun. And all I need to do is to kill a fake one? Oh, this will be over sooner than I assumed, meaning real fun will begin shortly.**</em>[Hell Spawn]


    Shingi ran right away as he knew that even he couldn''t handle a Hell Spawn at this rate.


    <em>**Oh, we are going to y chase? I will y with you then. I like some exercise before eating.**</em>[Hell Spawn]


    The Hell Spawn made a pair of bat wings grow at his back as he flew towards Shingi with incredible speed.


    Shingi was giving everything he had, even enabling his Breaking-Limit state, but still, the Demon was keeping up with him.


    It was almost ready to grapple him, but a pair of chains appeared from the ground, surrounded him, and pulled him down to the ground.


    More chains started appearing and tying the Hell Spawn, giving it no chance to free itself.


    The chains seemed to be made of Light Mana and had an Enchantment to emit Holy Energy, making it burn the Demon''s skins in contact and weaken it.


    These were the Enchantments Karemon had made to protect against Demon''s attacking the ce.


    Shingi didn''t run to escape but to lead it to them as he knew that he would want to end the reason it got summoned as it waspelled to do so.


    They were outside the Mayor''s office where the most substantial Enchantment was, and Karemon came outside as he got warned by the System that his Enchantment got activated.


    "What happened? How did that creaturee here?"[Karemon]


    Shingi didn''t say anything as he made his sword into a light de and, this time, he used one of the Light Mana Gems to empower it further.


    The Hell Spawn was unprotected and unable to avoid the attack as, after four of them, it burned and turned into dust.


    The dust then turned into ck particles, as this was a sign that the yer who turned into the Hell Spawn was permanently banned.


    Usually, one would get a penalty as if killed by the sword of Shingi, but since the two gotbined seemed to pass the upper limit and lead to a permanent ban.


    The chains also disappeared as their target was dealt with. The Enchantment got weaker from being used on a target like that.


    At this point, Shingi pulled out his mask as nobody was around but him and Karemon.


    He pulled his cloak at his Ring also and dropped his whole disguise.


    "Well, I guess we earned ourselves some drinks don''t you think so, Karemon?"


    Karemon was confused about what happened, but he nodded as he noticed the rest of Shingi''s group running towards them.


    When they noticed Shingi being with only Karemon and no sign of the Demon, they were confused, but Shingi exined what happened.


    "It seems this battle ended with us victorious, as expected. Do you think they will return?" [Anna]


    Shingi smiled towards her and the rest.


    "They lost their leader and will take a while for a new one to be decided as I get the feeling that he wasn''t the kind of letting others being on high rank other than serving him. But even if they do get a new leader, I think they got the message."[Shingi]


    Even if they return with more people, Shingi would be ready to produce tools like the ones he used today would be in greater quantity and quality.


    "Everyone did great today. Let''s go get something to eat; all this battle consumed a lot from me."[Shingi]


    Everyone headed towards the nearest inn as Karemon, a, Volig, and Greg also joined them.


    They left their worries for the rest of the day as even Shingi wanted just to have some good time of partying with friends.


    This was a new thing for him, but he was happy of getting the chance of living a moment like that.

 Chapter 100: Day after the battle

    Chapter 100: Day after the battle


    Shingi returned to the shop to sleep after they finished their celebration.


    He didn''t like being at the house since it was empty, and he could start working on something if he couldn''t sleep.


    He couldn''t create his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> yet, so he meditated normally and focused on his Skills.


    A few of his Crafting Skills, all of his <strong>ENCHANTER</strong>-based skills, and <strong>STEALTH</strong> Skill were still in Base Rank.


    Now that he wasn''t pressured by time, he could focus on them as well his Spells.


    He still had to find Arcane Words for all his Spells and finish his <strong>METAL HAND</strong> and <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> Spells.


    He firstly focused on his Mana Tree and made space for the Fire Element he wanted to add to it.


    He had the Enchanted Forge active, which had a good amount of pure fire mana to help in his training, but he also used his Dragon Scale to use the Fire part of its mana.


    His maniption of every Element had increased after getting his ss, but Light and Earth Elements were more manageable than the rest. Fire Element was third but had a long way from reaching the level of his Mana Tree Elements.


    He had made enough space for starting creating a part for a third Element to begin residing in his Mana Tree and could slowly increase it.


    From what he understood from his talk with Mizuneko and other Mages he had talked with in the past, what he needed to do is bring the mana of the Element on his Mana Tree, ''liquify'' it, and store it in there.


    For Water, this was easy to do as its base form was liquified, but for every other Element, it wasn''t so easy to do.


    He needed to make it into magma that was the closest to liquified fire he could think of but wasn''t going to reach that high temperature or damage his Mana Tree.


    He had created a Sphere with his Earth mana in his Mana Tree where this ''magma'' mana would be ced and would start removing the Sphere slowly as the mana seemed to be safe and under control.


    It took him a few tries to find the right way of manipting the mana to turn it as wanted and neededbination of both Forge''s and Scale''s mana as they had different ''breathings'' and had tobine them to make a third one.


    After he inserted the mana, he had to keep it moving and starting turning it back to its standard form partially, while some should stay in liquified form and thenbine them, giving it a more solid structure.


    He had to duplicate o one of his Mana Pool ''structures'' inside his Mana Tree, which were responsible for creating each of his Elements mana in his Mana Pool. So he had to create a third one made from the Fire Mana.


    It was almost like he was creating a new organ for his Mana Pool.


    The hardest part was to control the mana and change it to the different forms needed but with his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> being that high, his <strong>INT</strong>, as well his particr ss, he had no problem with it.


    To be safe, he enabled the active ability of his Blessing to boost his <strong>INT</strong>, increasing his sess rate over the roof.


    It took him a little less than the hour the effectsted, but he finished creating the new Fire Mana creation structure of his Mana Pool but just its general structure.


    He had to develop its prime source and strengthen it so that it began producing mana by itself.


    It was something that would take more time but wasn''t as difficult as what he just did.


    It was simr to feeding his Mana Tree to grow, but he had to feed it only Fire Element mana, and the purest, the better.


    His scale and forge didn''t have much mana left as he was using it faster than they were recing it, so he left this task forter as he didn''t need to do it right away.


    He could store some Fire Mana in the structure to useter, and it would be purifying the mana to make it closer to his the more time it got stored.


    He stored a bit from the scale, which was the purest Fire Element mana he had ess to, even if it was part of unique merged mana.


    To find the suitable Arcane Words for all his Spells, he needed either a tutor or some books.


    Fortunately, he had a and Greg, who seemed to have ess to sources for possible things like the books, but he knew they would be expensive. But his shop was going well, and it should soon go even more after people learn what happened to the Whip Masters Guild.


    As for the Dark Guild attacking them for damaging one of their partners, he doubted it of being the case.


    Firstly they seemed to be focusing on the Tower, which was too far from here, so sending someone here would take resources and time.


    Secondly, they most likely had more partners like the Whip Masters Guild, so one of them getting damaged wouldn''t affect them. If Shingipletely eradicated the Whip Masters Guild, it would maybe give them a reason to go after him.


    Lastly, since Master Whip got banned from the game, he would have lostmunication with them. He doubted he was letting anyone else from his Guild talking with them, and he wouldn''t know how to reach them in real life.


    Of course, all those were spections, but he was pretty confident with some of them after hearing some reports Anna had from Fire Whip and Shadow Whip from their research in their Guild.


    He had told them not to actively looking for info, but until now, they didn''t get caught, at least. They probably tried to earn some reputation points from him and Anna, but this was pretty much impossible.


    His <strong>METAL HAND</strong> Spell would need to finish his Fire Mana man structure at his mana pool, and for <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> would need some tips from Pan.


    So his Skills were all he could work on for now.


    His <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> Skills needed him to study and work on Master Grade Enchantments that he didn''t have ess to, so he left his <strong>WOODCARVING</strong>, <strong>LEATHERWORKING</strong>, and <strong>STEALTH</strong> Skill.


    He has his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> and <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> Spells, so he didn''t have to worry much about being stealthy, so he decided to focus on his crafting Skills.


    He went to the other room and started working on some bows, wooden parts for crossbows, as well as some arrows.


    He followed some designs that he and Volig had worked on creating together and were parts of the weapons they were to be sold.


    ording to Greg''s report, there were a few orders for them, and the stock they made with them was almost empty.


    They weren''t nning on producing and staves or wands yet until the Mana Gems production was stable and the designs wereplete for each of the Basic Elements. They weren''t nning to sell ones with Ice Mana Gems or Dark Element as both were rtively rare, even if it would be profitable for them.


    For his <strong>LEATHERWORKING</strong>, he didn''t have as many materials as good skins for armors were harder to get for the town''s yers.


    He couldn''t use the Spirit Hammer for any crafts with those Skills, but this didn''t make his final products mediocre.


    He worked until the morning that Greg came to open the shop, and he had finally made his <strong>WOODCARVING</strong> Skill reach Master Rank and increased his <strong>LEATHERWORKING</strong> a bit but didn''t pass beyond Base Rank.


    He had them all in Master Rank on his yer character, so he knew some secrets about them, which helped their progress.


    He couldn''t change his yer character as his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> wasn''t avable even if Phoenix was online.


    He wasn''t sure why but it could be the exact reason why his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> was in cooldown, so he hoped that at that point, it would also be avable again.


    Even if he had be stronger himself, he still could use the strength of his yer character and some of his Special Skills.


    He informed Greg about the stock he created of primarily bows and arrows, some special ones with Enchantments on them, and wrote them down.


    Shingi then left the shop and headed back to Zhen''s ce to finish the Light Mana Gem and work on the Light Mana staff and possibly at one with both Light and Earth.


    They were close to finishing on a design for the Light Mana Gem and shouldn''t take them long to make the design for it after that, at least for the single Element.


    As for making a single Mana Gem producing both manas, Zhen said he couldn''t do it no matter how many times he had tried in the past.


    Getting in theb, Shingi saw that the two Oozes that were generally in the ss spheres were out and in their human forms.


    One of them was massaging Zhen''s shoulders while the other was feeding him some grapes.


    Shingi wasn''t sure where the grapes came from. He wasn''t surprised by the whole picture.


    He had a good understanding of Zhen''s personality and had noticed that he had the Oozes on their human forms only when no other girls were around.


    "So I see you decided to take a break."[Shingi]


    Zhen opened one of his eyes and closed it again when he saw that it was Shingi.


    "Well, the Ooozes have started their part of the production, and without my beautiful little helper, there is no point working on anything. Not that we have anything left to research for now."[Zhen]


    "<em>*cough**cough*</em> You still haven''t finished the Light Mana Gem''s designst I remember. Or did something change while I was gone?"[Shingi]


    Zhen snapped his fingers, and the one who was feeding him grapes extended her hand, picked a piece of paper from the desk with the designs and brought it to Shingi.


    He picked it up and noticed that the Light Mana Gem design they were working on, which was on the paper, was a bit different.


    "Did you finish it without my help?"[Shingi]


    Zhen chuckled a bit in response before speaking.


    "Of course, since I am Master Zhen. With all the info I had from your mana after this many tries, I could simte it in my mind without the real Element."[Zhen]


    "And you have actually tried it?"[Shingi]


    Zhen pointed at the table where they were making the prototype Mana Gems and Shingi noticed one that seemed to had been created maybe a couple of hours ago.


    It had the same design as the one in the paper that Zhen had created, and as Shingi used the Mana Gem, he found it to work as well as the other Mana Gems.


    <em>''It seems like he really doesn''t just talk.''</em>[Shingi]


    Shingi left Zhen on his break as he could work on the design for the staff by himself.


    He looked forward to his new staff, especially since he would try to make one having both Earth and Light Mana gems.


    This way, he could use both of them separately, or so he hoped.


    He had a few staves left that he could use that Volig had made but wasn''t going to waste them all if he could help it.


    He had a few ideas, but it would take him the whole day to test them all. He was ready for the challenge.

 Chapter 101: New staves

    Chapter 101: New staves


    The day passed with him testing every idea of his and even used his one hour of boosted INT with his Blessing since he had used it before midnightst time.


    He had three staves where he was trying three different designs.


    The first one was having just the Light design as they would create more of those and sell them in the future.


    The other two had both Light and Earth Mana Gems, but one had them both next to each other at the top, while the second one was having one at the top side and one at the bottom.


    The staff with both next to each other was made that way to quickly change between the different Elements but was decreasing the amount of mana he could manipte. The reason was that the design had to be split to keep track of both of them at the same time.


    The other staff would allow him to use only the Element of the Mana Gem at the top, depending on how he held it. The staff''s appearance changed a bit to be the same no matter how he held it.


    He wondered if he had to design one with a Fire Mana Gem too, but he already had a problem making one supporting two.


    They hadn''t worked on updating the Fire Mana Gem since he didn''t actually have this Element in his Mana Pool yet.


    He didn''t use his Spirit Hammer on the first tries but let itter as he wasn''t able it without limit.


    When Garry first let it to him, he could use it for at most one hour, butst time he could use it for three. He wasn''t sure why the Spirit seemed to like him that much other than the crazy things he had done with it, as in the stories he knew about the Spirit Hammers, they never seemed to like one other than the Masters.


    But he also hadn''t heard of one to give special permission to one to use it each day for a limited time, but not a lot of was known about them as their owners kept everything a secret.


    He wondered where Garry had gone as there was no news from him, and a didn''t seem to know either.


    Shingi remembered that strange messenger he had detected on the first day working at the shop. He had been keeping his senses for that person, but he couldn''t find him until now.


    One would typically not be able to tell how much time had passed as they were underground, but Shingi knew that it should be early in the morning of the next day as he finished his staves.


    He used the Spirit Hammer this time, and the final products were better than he expected once more.


    The designs even changed the appearance of the staves as it happened with Mizuneko''s.


    The one with just the Light Mana Gem was just a little lighter color than the standard brown color of the wood that it got made of, but the design lines were lighting up golden when enabled.


    The Earth-Light one with each at different sides was split, with the one side with the Ligh Mana Gem being golden yellow and the other with the Earth Mana Gem being green.


    Thest one had the same golden yellow and green colors as the second, but instead of splitting the staff, it seemed like tapes going from top to bottom diagonally and making turns, making this strange look to the staff, and showing the weird bnce of it.


    When he used the first one, the designs were lighting up yellow or green if he used the Light Element one or the Earth one, respectively.


    The design was emitting the opposite color from the one he was using for the third one. The design was having a more challenging time keeping in track the mana not used in this case than the one used.


    He even made a handle of them made of ss where he would hold the staff and make it to give him a better grip of it.


    He had reinforced the tips, primarily where his Mana Gems were residing, and he tried to keep it bnced to also work as a Quarterstaff. If hebined it with his MARTIAL ART Skill, he could do some severe physical damage too.


    All three had their advantage, and Shingi was happy for the two with both his Elements.


    He mostly would use the one with the Mana Gems not next to each other, as was the one strengthening the Spells the most while the other was for speed and Spells that may need parts of both his Elements cast different Element based Spells simultaneously.


    He cast some of his Spells to test them out and then stored them at his Spatial Ring.


    Zhen had started producing the mana gems and had finished the first batch, which Shingi would personally deliver them back at the shop.


    Night Wind had broughtst night some items, primarily tools, for Zhen''s Lab and had delivered them at the Lab as he was aware of the Boss''s whereabouts as one of the New Gods.


    Of course, he knew it because Zhen was one of the low levels Boss ones and of a permanent Dungeon. The ones of the permanent ones'' identities or information were unknown even to him as the game''s primary AI was creating them.


    The next batch of tools he had ordered was for Volig and some materials to make some more improvements at the shop.


    The shop had improved tremendously after the Enchantments made by Karemon and Shingi upgrading them, but there were a few things that even Enchantments, Programming or not, couldn''t do. Or at least Base Grade ones.


    Creating Master Grade ones would take him some time to research as Karemon or even Volig have no idea how to make one.


    Even Zhen, being a <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong>, hadn''t been able to make a Master Grade One yet.


    His designs on the staves were still considered Base Grade, but most were at the top but not passing it to be Master Grade ones.


    He left the designs on Zhen to work on them for the Wands as it wouldn''t be hard for him to do so.


    Shingi left the Dungeon''s room and headed to a''s office.


    After trouncing with the Whip Masters Guild, they''vepletely left town. Since they are no longer blocking yers from getting Quests, our business has picked up considerably.


    He waited, and a few seemed to think that he was a yer and asked him if he wanted to join their party.


    His current clothing was closer to a robe, making him look more like an adventurer than a town resident.


    He, of course, didn''t ept telling that he was mostly ying solo.


    The perceptive ones who noticed his attire not be normal and his Spatial Ring that he was wearing at his finger and wasn''t trying to hide it anymore asked if he could add them as his friends, but he refused.


    Some females said they wanted to ''y'' with him even if he was looking so young. But Shingi could see the faces of hyenas who wanted to eat him, so he passed those offers too.


    "Oh, you are here? Didn''t expect to see you waiting here."[Marcy]


    Shingi smiled towards the familiar face, which seemed to be disliked by a few of the people who tried to speak with him and failed, especially the female ones.


    "What are you doing here? Don''t you have work at your shop?"[Marcy]


    "Volig takes care of the orders, and Greg should have everything else under control. Here to see the mayor for some personal business."[Shingi]


    The ones around were surprised by what they heard, and a few keywords drew some. Shop, Volig, and Greg.


    Greg was in the front of the shop, so its identity wasn''t a secret, and Volig had to give some Quests which had his name on them.


    They had heard that there was an unknown owner of the shop other than Volig, but most were saying he was an NPC, but the actions of Shingi and the way he interacted made it clear that he wasn''t one.


    The interest of everyone to make a rtionship with Shingi got raised, but he showed no interest in talking with them.


    "Oh, it seems it is my turn. Talk to youter, Marcy."[Shing]


    The moment he got in the office, the crowd surrounded Marcy trying to persuade her to be friends so that they be friends with Shingi.


    Marcy didn''t expect this as it was the first time females tried to get close to her, but she had experience dealing with males.


    Shingi expected that situation, and he threw those keywords on purpose.


    If Marcy became famous and more people wanted to socialize with her, they would have more people to use in future assignments that his small group of students couldn''tplete by himself.


    Of course, he hadn''t discussed this with Marcy beforehand, but she told him she wanted to help the other day after seeing the sess in dealing with the Whip Master Guild, so he gave her a task.


    "Oh, Shingi, you are here. I wasn''t expecting you today. Had something happened?"[a]


    "Well, I came to inform you that I am going to leave in a few days for some time."[Shingi]


    a''s and Karemon''s eyes got wide with confusion.


    "Leave? Why? Is that Guild going to retaliate, and you have to hide?"[Karemon]


    Shingi shook his hand to deny his assumption.


    "I just need to train myself, and the resources I need are impossible to get here. Also, have to meet some friends of my Master''s that will help with that task. I will have to ask you to keep your eyes over at the shop, but I am sure Volig and Greg will have everything under control. Volig, even if he wouldn''t ept it, also would need a helper as the orders will start being more than what even he can handle at this rate. I am sure you, with the help of Greg, can find a suitable one. I would suggest, though not a Dwarf one as in the past he didn''t have the best cooperation with them *chuckle*."[Shingi]


    Because Varic had been exiled from his n when he was young, he still didn''t like working with Dwarves and avoided it if he had the chance.


    "I will see what I can do. But how soon are you going to leave?"[Karemon]


    Shingi gave it some thought as he was making some calctions.


    "I should be ready to leave in two days."[Shingi]


    He wanted to at least finish with his Fire Element at his Mana Pool as he wasn''t going to focus much on it on his trip.


    He also asked a if she had any books on Arcane Words, and she had a few that she was using for her research. They were beginner ones and more introductory to them, but it was a start even if Shingi probably already knew most in there. He could use them to refresh his memory if he forgot any critical details.


    a didn''t need them, so he let them have them for as long as he wanted.


    He told his goodbyes and left but this time using his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> as he could detect the crowd of yers still being outside.


    Marcy seemed to have them under control a bit, so he didn''t want to disturb the progress with his appearance.


    He made it back to the shop, where he informed Greg and Volig of his departure in a few days.


    After that, he used the Dragon Scale''s Fire Mana, and the forge''s toplete his fire ''structure.''


    He didn''t use a lot of the forge''s not to affect the work of Volig.

 Chapter 102: Trip to old hideout

    Chapter 102: Trip to old hideout


    The two days passed, with Shingi working on his Mana Pool almost nonstop.


    On the morning of the third, he finally finished it, and he could feel that his Mana Pool being 50% Light Element, 40% Earth, and 10% Fire.


    His Mana Tree had grown in size, and in extent also his Mana Pool making his total MPrger from 56 to 64.


    Also, he had new Mana Seed and Mana Fruits.


    He used to have 14 Mana Seeds and only 1 Mana Fruit, but now they were to 18 Mana Seeds and 3 Mana Fruits.


    His Mana Seeds were strong enough to power up to all his Base Grade Spells except <strong>FEAR</strong> and <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong>.


    His Mana Fruit seemed to empower even his Light Form, but he didn''t put it to the test.


    He felt that the first Mana Fruit of his had more mana than the other two, while all his Mana Seeds seemed to have the same amount.


    The Mana Fruits'' growth in mana stored in them was at least ten times slower than that of the Mana Seeds.


    With that number, it meant that his Mana Tree was of Master Rank but barely.


    Now that he officially had his third Element, he was ready to leave.


    Zhen had produced a few more batches of Mana Gems during that time and started working on making staves and wands.


    With some help from Volig, Little Phoenix took care of making them following the designs of Shingi for the staves and Zhen''s for the wands.


    On the second day, some people came as they had shown interest in working in the shop, even some yers.


    It seemed people heard that Karemon was looking for someone to introduce to the shop, as people found out that he was the one that introduced Greg, so they kept their ears open.


    Greg was an NPC, but that didn''t mean that the shop wouldn''t hire Blessed Ones since it had happened in the past.


    He wasn''t going to let any yers he didn''t know work in the shop, so they were out of the contest.


    Most of the rest were beginners, and he had to stop his training to change to Ameanum to use his <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong> to check their skills and if they were hiding something.


    He wanted to transfer his <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong> Skill to his NPC self. Still, he was sure that the System wouldn''t allow it, or it would have happened some time ago since he was overusing it even before he disabled the <strong>SHARE EXPERIENCE</strong> option.


    He hoped that he would be able to unlock it by passing the limits of his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> with his NPC body, although he wasn''t sure how soon he would be able to pull it off.


    As a yer, he got his Eagle Eyes during a Quest with Ae, who had boosted temporary his sight in search of one of the clues, but it was enough to increase his proficiency of the Skill at the next level and evolve.


    Even if he could send a message to Ae, he wasn''t going to ask her for something like that. He knew how busy she could be, and there was a chance of punishing him instead of helping him.


    Her temper was quite wild, even if she was fine the few times she met her at his NPC form.


    But she was the Goddess of Storm, and the storm could start at any point without warning.


    In the end, they hired a female human who looked to be more like a bodybuilder.


    She was experienced in working on Forges as her Father used to be a cksmith, but she decided to travel after he died and came across the town and heard of the shop with Master Smith in it.


    Her name was Hetha, and she got hired as she was one with the most experience.


    She was handling some simple orders and mainly the regr weapons they were making in bulks to be sold.


    She was in a test period. Depending on her progress, more tasks would be given to her.


    Shingi had bought some supplies and had them in his ring and a regr bag with some so that he looked like an average traveler as not everyone had Spatial Rings.


    He had informed everyone else of his n of leaving and given some tasks to a few.


    Pan gave him a single paper with some tips on <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong>.


    Hineko and Mizuneko would continue making some Potions and Spell Scrolls and were nning to sell them through his shop, but only when they had made an extensive stock of them.


    Little Phoenix was busy making the Staves and Wands, while Wild Tycoon was going out with Marcy to try to level up. Those two seemed to start


    creating a friendship, especially when they were handling the ''annoying.'' people disturbing them, trying to get closer to Shingi through them.


    Marcy asked him if she should make a Guild, and he said he wasn''t against it, but he wasn''t going to be a member himself but would help if needed.


    He knew that Guilds had some benefits that typically yers couldn''t get, but he wasn''t interested in getting tied to a group like that, and he wasn''t so much of a leader to make one himself.


    As he said his goodbyes to everyone, he pulled up his hood but didn''t enable its illusion ability and started running at top speed.


    He had a long way to cover and wanted to finish it the sooner as possible.


    He was nning to visit some old hideouts of his, hoping nobody has found them.


    There were some valuable items there that he could use.


    Also, there were a few more people and ces in the kingdom he wanted to visit.


    He, fortunately, was at the North Kingdom, where he mostly had his activities as a yers before dying, even if he had started from the West Kingdom.


    He had bought a few maps with the help of a and Greg, so he could make a mental route of where to go first.


    There was a hideout of his two days away with his current speed of travel. It was a small one and was a house he had bought in a small vige in the area, so he wasn''t sure if someone messed with his things while he was gone.


    He kept traveling all day with some breaks when his SP was getting dangerously low, but with the SP Regeneration potions he had from Hineko, he restored them sooner than typically would.


    At night he made a camp with a tent and typical campfire to rest, but mostly train.


    He wanted to cross out of his list two things; finish his two Unfinished Spells.


    He read the paper that Pan gave him that even if it didn''t have a lot written, it gave him a few inspirations.


    He created a single Golem, and since he focused on making only one, it was taller than the others he had made till now, bringing it close to 1 meter.


    He made it a Defense one and improved the Shape of its brain from the inspiration he had.


    Then for the first time, he cast a Spell but used two of his Elements instead of one.


    The Spell was, of course, <strong>METAL HANDS</strong> and used both Earth and Fire.


    The fists of his became partially grey and martially brown like there was a mix of dirt and metal.


    Both Spells improved a bit, but still, neither were considered finished yet.


    He dispelled them and recast them until he finally got the notifications he expected.


    ================================


    SPELL FINISHED


    The spell METAL HANDS had been finished and raised to Base Rank


    ================================


    ================================


    SPELL FINISHED


    The spell <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> had been finished and raised to Grand Master Rank


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST UPDATED: ROAD TO LIFE</strong>


    <strong>Task Completed</strong>: Learn one Grandmaster Spell


    <strong>Reward</strong>: Full MP Recharge x1


    ================================


    He was expecting <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> to be Master Rank and not Grandmaster as that was that he had heard it to be, but not many knew it, so it was a bit of a mystery.


    He could feel his Golem being at a different level than before but could feel some restrictions like the System wasn''t letting him use it at full power yet.


    The reward of his Main Quest was unexpected, but he was amazed that there wasn''t one for learning a Master Grade Spell or reaching a Skill at Master Rank.


    His <strong>METAL HANDS</strong> power had increased close to 5 times than before, increasing his closebat ability.


    He could damage the Hell Spawn with that Spell but not defeating it yet.


    This took him a few hours, and he decided to focus on reading the books of a for Arcane Words.


    He had the Passive Skill Minor Arcane Words, but this gave him some help in deciding the words to use, but he had to learn them first.


    He was lucky to remember a few, like the <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> and <strong>MANA HAND.</strong>


    The rest were moreplicated, so he couldn''t exactly remember their exact wording. Some of his Spells hadn''t heard about, and he had to find words of simr Spells for them.


    There were a few examples of the word for different Spells, but all were of Low Grade, and none were of one Shingi knew or was interested to learn.


    He wasn''t going to learn any Spell he could as he wanted quality over quantity.


    There were a few to help on some tasks but nothing that he couldn''t do with his Skills or Enchantments.


    Using them for his higher than Low Grade Spell wasn''t possible as the words made for a Spell of one Grade wouldn''t work on a Spell of a different Grade, no matter how simr the two Spell were.


    As for Ungraded Spells, they didn''t need the use of them as they wouldn''t be affected.


    This helped him remember a few words he had studied in the past and wrote them down to try themter if needed.


    As the sun was out again, he stored his tent and spread the remains campfire of his so that one couldn''t tell that somebody took a rest there.


    He had continued traveling a bit more even after the sun wasn''t out as he wasn''t too far from his destination.


    On the horizon, he saw the lights of arge vige on the edge of being considered a small town.


    It was grown in size since thest time he was here.


    As he reached the gate, he got stopped by a well-armed guard, which was unexpected of one ce like that to have.


    He looked to be in his early twenties, which was impressive as he was a high rank one from his armor.


    "State your identity and business and why you are alone thiste at night."[Guard???]


    Shingi saw that behind the man who spoke were a few more guards who had standard pieces of Equipment as expected for ones in a small ce like that.


    "Name is Shingi, sir. I am a traveler and came to visit the ce of my Master. He hasn''t been here for a long time and asked me to see if his things are in ce."[Shingi]


    He could feel the man trying to read him, but Shingi was too experienced for him to be read by a person like that, even if he seemed to be an experienced soldier, even if he looked rtively young.


    "And who is the Master of yours? And why he sent you by yourself?"[Guard???]


    "His name is Ameanum. He is a Blessed One and is currently busy with a Quest of his."[Shingi]


    He said thest thing in a quiet tone so that only the man in front of him to hear it.


    He wouldn''t share this information usually, but he noticed a branding in the person''s armor in front of him.


    It was the brand of the King''s personal guards.

 Chapter 103: First hideout

    Chapter 103: First hideout


    The man starred towards Shingi while continue trying to get a read of him.


    "Do you have any proof that you know the one you are talking about or that he had sent you?"[King''s Guard]


    "I have, but I can''t share it here. Some eyes and ears shouldn''t know this information."[Shingi]


    He motioned for Shingi to follow him as he gave some orders to the guards left behind. It seemed he was here to do an inspection, and he noticed Shingi by luck as he was ready to go.


    They got in a nearby inn, and the man paid the innkeeper for a private room to have their discussion.


    "So the proof of yours should be worth my time and coins spent."[King''s Guard]


    The five cold coinsnded in front of the guard.


    "This isn''t the proof, but I am not one to owe people. That should be more than what you spend on the room here. Not that a King''s Guard would really miss those few coins."[Shingi]


    The mana''s eyes were wide of surprise at hearing the young boy knowing his rank. His brand was hidden for only certain people to see, and he doubted a young man like that was one of those people.


    But in the eyes of Shingi, it was like it was out in the open.


    The man had his hand at the sword at his side, ready to draw it at any moment.


    "My Master had shown me your brand and how to look for it. I can show you the face of my Master if you want to by some Illusion magic. But I doubt this will be enough, so I guess the person you are here guarding should be able to help. I doubt it is the King, right?"[Shingi]


    The man seemed to get ready to attack, but Shingi continued speaking.


    "I don''t ask to see whoever it is you guard. Just pass a message, and if they answer as I tell you, then you will know that I mean no harm. Of course, it is not going to be a bullshit question of a certain answer by default. What do you say?"[Shingi]


    The man gave it a thought before giving his answer.


    "First, show me that Illusion of the face of your Master. Then I will deliver the message of yours, but if anything wrong happens, I will not stop for a second from getting your head away from your body."[King''s Guard]


    Shingi made a <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> of Ameanum''s face.


    "The question is ''With poweres responsibility but whates with responsibility?''"[Shingi]


    He just opened his arm like showing everything around him.


    "That is the supposed to be the answer? This movement?"[King''s Guard]


    Shingi nodded, and the man kept staring at him.


    "Then let''s see if you are telling the truth."[King''s Guard]


    He didn''t stand but summoned from his Spatial Ring a gem with some Enchantments circles on it.


    He put it on the table and then used a Mana Gem attached to one of his other rings to power it up.


    An illusion started being created of a man, but his face wasn''t clear, so one couldn''t really understand who he was other than being a human and male.


    "What is it, General Roth? Why are you calling me at this hour?"[???]


    "Excuse me for thete of hour, Sir, but there is a strange young man that arrived just a few minutes ago and said that he said that he represents one of the people on the list you have given me to pay attention for any news."[Roth]


    The Illusion turned to see the one that Roth had pointed out.


    "Who had sent you, boy?"[???]


    "My Master is Ameanum, even if he doesn''t like to be called like that."[Shingi]


    He snapped his fingers as he recreated the Illusion once more for one of the crystals to see it.


    "Sir, the person here has said there is a question to prove that this Ameanum fellow sent him.''With poweres responsibility, but whates with responsibility?"[Roth]


    The man responded right away with the same move that Shingi had shown to Roth before.


    "How interesting. It seems like you really were sent by that man. I was certain that he was dead at this point as it never was his style to be gone for this long. General Roth, you can trust the boy and help him. Consider him as a quest of mine."[???]


    Then the Illusion of the man disappeared, and the Enchantment got disabled.


    "I will get a room for you here to stay. I will personally help you tomorrow to see the situation of the ce of your Master. As you heard, by the way, my name is Roth."[Roth]


    Shingi shook his hand, and he was secretly shocked by two things.


    First, Roth was a General at this young age, usually for those who served the King for many years and only them himself, not their parents or someone else.


    Secondly, he was surprised by the identity of the person Roth was here protecting.


    The Illusion was clear enough, and his voice changed a bit by the crystal, but he could easily recognize it with his senses.


    It was one of the oldest counselors of the King, and he was called Master Jax.


    He had met him a few times in the past and had discussed a bit as he was the main person representing the council and the King to the public.


    Shingi headed to the room right away when Roth gave him the keys that he got from the innkeeper, and Roth told him that he would be here for breakfast tomorrow.


    Shingi, this time didn''t train and fell asleep. He had pushed the limits of his body and Mana Pool too muchtely and had to take extended breaks or would damage his progress.


    His <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> was on cooldown for a few hours more and could use it from tomorrow.


    He was curious if its cooldown would have gotten down or the benefits increased for it to be unavable for that long.


    He didn''t have any dreams once again and didn''t get to either the misty white room or the dark one.


    As he woke up and started heading down, he saw Roth without wearing his armor but close suited to one with a high rank but not fancy noble-like.


    "I see you are awake. Do you want to get some breakfast, or will we head outside right away?"[Roth]


    "I will have some breakfast. Same as you will do."[Shingi]


    Roth signaled at the waitress to bring one more of what he had for Shingi.


    His meal was some jam on bread and a few berries.


    They didn''t speak during this, and when Shingi was over, they went their way out.


    Roth led the way as he learned from his research yesterday night where the house of the one named Ameanum was.


    Shingi, on the way there, paid attention to his surroundings for anybody acting weird.


    No matter how careful he was, there was always a chance of learning why he was here. Even if it wasn''t public knowledge that the house was of Ameanum other than a few of the higher up of the vige, he was confident that one could acquire this info if wanted.


    The house was a single apartment suited for a small family to live in it.


    There were some defense Enhancements to stop people from getting in, but nothing couldst forever or keep out professionals.


    When they reached the front door, Roth waited for Shingi to open it.


    Shingi didn''t have a key since none of his items were left to his yer self, but there were other ways to get in.


    He put his hand on the door and started knocking on a spot, waiting a bit, and then knocked in a different spot of the door. It appeared like he was looking for a specific one.


    On the fourth try, he founded the one he was looking for and then started pouring some mana there.


    Four runes appeared then hovering in the air; each one was the Arcane symbol of the Basic Elements of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water.


    Shingi then moved the order of the runes, from left to right, to be Fire, Water, Air, Earth.


    He had to put thebination at the first try and in less than 10 seconds, or it would create a st towards the one who inputted the wrongbination.


    Thebination was changing each time, but he could tell the solution depending on the time of the day. Also, the starting order when enabling the Enchantment was a factor.


    He was using a simr one across all his hideout.


    The Enchantment got created with the help of Benjamin. The two of them were the only ones who knew the way to find the solution.


    The sound of the door getting unlocked and then slightly opening.


    "It seems your Master is taking a few interesting precautions."[Roth]


    He didn''t let it show on his face if he was impressed or not, but Shingi wasn''t here for this.


    He got in the ce, followed by Roth, and he looked. Everything looked to be as he remembered.


    The first room they entered was a living room and a small kitchen, and there were two more rooms; a bedroom and an officeb area.


    He headed for the officeb as that was the ce he had his safe with the things he was after to get here.


    He didn''t mind Roth looking at all his moves as he trusted a man of his rank to be trustworthy.


    The ce was somewhat dusty since nobody was here for a long time.


    He used his <strong>FILTH EATER</strong> to clear the air and space.


    There was a closet in the office, and opening it, inside there was a small safe.


    It was a simple one with abination locket and opened right away.


    Inside there were some papers, a few small vials, and one ring.


    The papers were records of some of the floors and Quests outside the Tower. He was keeping records both in-game and in the real world.


    The vials didn''t contain any special potions but some strong alcohol.


    They were considered great gifts for a few people, so he was keeping some just in case.


    Finally, the ring wasn''t a Spatial Ring but one with a helpful Enchantment.


    It was a Ring of Servant.


    It wasn''t to make someone a servant but to create a Servant with the power of the ring.


    The servant wasn''t capable ofbat, but it was inheriting all the nonbat abilities of the ring''s user.


    This meant he had another him during his crafting sessions.


    The servant, though, would be out for one hour and would need to use an amount of mana to keep him for another one hour, and the cost would increase with each one until the servant wasn''t summoned for at least 24 hours.


    He could use Mana Gems, as he had in the past, but now that he had his mana, he was confident he could keep it summon for at least 8 hours.


    The ring and the papers were what he wanted as the Quest weren''t unique ones, and he would need some to get some experiences to level up when he fully earned his ss.


    He usually would need to find a tutor with the same ss, but since he had a True ss, this was impossible, so he had to improve the abilities his ss was supposed to be good at.


    In his case, this meant his Spells and mana-rted Skills.


    He looked around if there was anything else he may have forgotten and then started his way out.


    "So, are you ready for our next stops?"[Roth]


    Shingi looked confused as he hadn''t mentioned going anywhere else.


    "Master Jax had summoned you to join him for lunch."[Roth]


    Shingi followed him as he knew he didn''t have an option not to do so.


    But he looked forward to seeing that old fox again.

 Chapter 104: Master Jax

    Chapter 104: Master Jax


    They headed to the same inn that Shingi had stayed then night.


    On the main door, there were two guards, and Shingi could see others around the block keep looking for anything weird.


    Of course, this kind of security was unusual to be seen in a ce like that, but for someone as high ranked as Master Jax, anything less would be uneptable.


    The guards on the entrance spoke briefly with Roth and then let him and Shingi in the establishment.


    Inside, a single person was sitting on one of the chairs of the middle table, which was the biggest the inn had.


    At the bar''s counter, the waiters, cook, and barman, who was also the owner of the establishment. They were standing up like soldiers in front of their general.


    "Oh, you are finally here. Come, take a seat."[Jax]


    The older man turned then towards the rest of the people waiting at the bar.


    "You can begin bringing the food now that everyone is here."[Jax]


    Shingi sat in the seat to the left of Jax, even if Roth didn''t seem to like it


    Roth sat at the seat to the right of Jax.


    "Well, I must say you look younger than through the crystal or from what I expected. Tell me how your Master is? It''s been so long since there was any news of his."[Jax]


    Shingi looked towards the bar towards the employees who were still there, the cook and the owner. The cook probably has finished what needed to be done, so they just had to serve it, and the owner was responsible for the bar.


    "Oh, you don''t have to worry about anything said here getting out. Each of these people is trustworthy, or I wouldn''t allow them to stay. So you can speak without worries."[Jax]


    Even after hearing that, Shingi had some worries. It wasn''t that he didn''t believe what Jax said, but he knew that the Dark Guild''s power wasn''t to be underestimated even by one of the Kings.


    They found the Air Spire''s location, something not even Jax or the King knew, and they even destroyed it.


    "He is working on a few things as always. But he is somewhat different because of what made him disappear for all these years."[Shingi]


    "What difference are we talking about? You speak as you know him for a lot of time, but I hadn''t heard of him having anyone so young in his inner circles."[Jax]


    Shingi didn''t try to hide much from him cause he knew that it was pretty much impossible to do so.


    Jax had a Special Skill, simr to his <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong>, being an evolution of a Skill. In Jax''s case, the Skill was <strong>INSIGHT</strong>.


    This Skill made him a human lie detector.


    "Well, he was dead for some time and not the typical death that a Blessed One was able to return from. We are talking for a permanent one, or at least it was supposed to be one."[Shingi]


    Jax''s eyes widened a bit as even he didn''t expect this response. He was confident that the boy spoke the truth even if he could understand that he was hiding some details but not too much to hide the truth.


    "Could it be those people who took over the Tower be behind it?"[Jax]


    Shingi nodded.


    He wasn''t entirely sure that Light and Dark were part of the Dark Guild, but most facts pointed toward it.


    "And you say that he somehow got out of what they had done to him? I am guessing he had to pay something, and that is why the change."[Jax]


    "In a way."[Shingi]


    Then Shingi whispered something that only Jax could get by reading his lips.


    For the first time, for possibly a long time, Jax''s eyes got full wide of confusion.


    Roth noticed this and was curious about what happened, but soon he saw Jax''s face be back to normal.


    "Do you mind me asking for proof of what you just said?"[Jax]


    "I would expect nothing else. I guess you have something specific in mind. Right?"[Shingi]


    Jax gave it some thought before continuing speaking.


    "Allow me to read your mind."[Jax]


    Usually, something like that would be impossible as mortal NPCs couldn''t read the minds of Blessed Ones, but Shingi wasn''t a Blessed One, or at least not aplete one.


    "I have no problem with this. Although I warn you that some things may be unexpected even for you."[Shingi]


    Jax chuckled at this. He had been alive for a long time as he was the counselor for thest three kings.


    He was a Half-Elf, but he didn''t have any characteristics of his Elven side other than being able to live longer than a human. His ears were rounded ar normal human ears, and he even had facial hair, which was hard for Elves to grow.


    It was rare for one who was half-human to get mostly the body characteristics of his human side, but it wasn''t unheard of.


    Jax put his hand at the head of Shingi, and he started speaking some Arcane Words.


    ================================


    A SPELL TRIES TO AFFECT YOUR MIND


    ================================


    ================================


    THE USER OF THE SPELL HAS LOWER CHA THAN YOU SO YOU CAN CHOOSE TO NOW ALLOW THE SPELL TO AFFECT YOU.


    DO YOU WISH TO MAKE THE SPELL FAIL?


    <strong>YES / NO</strong>


    ================================


    He expected this message to show up since he was aware that a Spell would be cast on him and was willing.


    He felt Jax going through his memories, but he seemed to have only ess to the ones he had as his NPC self and not his yer.


    Their minds were considered separate by the System, even if he had ess to the memories of both minds.


    But even so, there were a few instances that he had done things that only Ameanum should be able to do, like having Varic reincarnate to Volig.


    Of course, he didn''t have the memory of Varic taking the potion, but Jax could put the pieces together by the discussions he had.


    In a couple of minutes, Jax went through everything Shingi had done the past weeks as an NPC since he woke up.


    When he finished the reading and got his hand back, he looked at Shingi with awe, which was something rare for him to do.


    "Master Jax, what happened? Is what he said all along just wrong?"[Roth]


    Roth thought that his Master had found about a dark deed that Shingi had done.


    "Roth, go with the rest of the employees in the kitchen and make sure we aren''t to be disturbed."[Jax]


    Roth followed the orders even if he was confused about why.


    He knew Master Jax had his reason for giving an order like that, and he wasn''t going to go against his orders.


    When he was sure they were on their own, he stood from his chair and then kneeled in front of Shingi as a sign of respect.


    Shingi was surprised but was expecting this action from Jax.


    It was because of his ss.


    Having a True ss was a sign of being acknowledged by a power greater than Gods, so the holders of those sses were considered more significant than even the King.


    He may haven''t fully earned his ss, but even if he had it as an Apprentice, it was a sign of being acknowledged.


    "You know that I never liked people kneeling for me, and this feeling remains the same."[Shingi]


    Jax stood up and sat back on his chair.


    He cleared his throat before started speaking again.


    "I see that you have done a lot in such a short time. Your meeting with the man named Mikhail is troubling, as well everything you learned about that Dark Guild."[Jax]


    Shingi was aware that Jax most likely didn''t know of the Dark Guild being called like that. They were working in secrecy, and he was aware of them because of their ''work'' on other games.


    Soryn knew of their identity cause the Air Spire didn''t know few things, and the name of the Dark Guild wasn''t one of them, but their true power was.


    "So what do you think of my n then?"[Shingi]


    Jax started putting some serious thought into everything he learned and what Shingi wanted to do with making his party of yers and NPCs.


    "Well, it is the best and most reasonable approach. Even if I suggested the King take actions, we can''t since the Tower is in the Neutral Territory. We would need to work with all the other Kingdoms, which is close to impossible and would take a long time. But even if we seed on that using on armies would be useless if they are a powerful as you gathered."[Jax]


    "Exactly. We need a small group for us to get into the Tower and work our way up. I am sure I was close to where Mikhail was, and he probably hides something that we could use."[Shingi]


    "But even if you seed on getting in, it took you years to get as far as you did, and now if your assumptions are correct, things not only going to be different but also more difficult. Do you think the ones you chose can do it? None seemed like they had any extraordinary abilities."[Jax]


    Shingi nodded as he agreed on that statement.


    "You know that diamonds are made out of coal? They just have to go through a specific process."[Shingi]


    Of course, Jax was aware of what he was talking about but making coal into diamonds needed extraordinary pressure and heat that even some great Arcane Practitioners couldn''t produce with their power.


    But using that logic of turning someone who seemed not to have any exceptional talent into a monster to be feared wasn''t unheard of but wasn''t something that just anyone could do.


    But if one could do this, then Shingi was the one with the biggest chance.


    His knowledge of the game, both as the Blessed Ones and the NPCs, was something that even the game developers wouldn''t have at that degree.


    "If someone else said those words, I would just consider them crazy, but I do believe that you have a chance. I can''t help you much as it would draw attention, but I can provide some help to your people back to your ce."[Jax]


    Jax''s sources were better than even Ardent Scythe''s.


    She was just rich because of her real-life background, but some people wouldn''t sell to her. Some were having a closed circle, and Jax had a big chance to be in there.


    "I can make a list of things that we can use, and I am sure you can add to it. But there is something more other than this kind of help that you could provide."[Shingi]


    Jax raised one of his eyebrows as he was curious about what Shingi referred to.


    "We need to find Beliss."[Shingi]

 Chapter 105: Protector Beliss

    Chapter 105: Protector Beliss


    "And why do you think I can help you find her?"[Jax]


    "We both know the answer to that. She was your Master even if you try to keep it a secret. I mean no offense to your skills, but I don''t really think you made Chef by yourself."[Shingi]


    Chef was a construct serving Jax, and unlike the rest of its kind, which mainly was mindless beings, this one had a mind of its own.


    Of course, Chef was bound to follow themands of Jax but had most times freedom what it wanted.


    It wasn''t just meant for cooking as its name was saying, but also capable of ying any musical instrument in existence, singing, telling jokes, and using magic, mostly Illusions for entertainment purposes.


    "How long did you know?"[Jax]


    Shingi had read about Protectors in the past, but he came across Chef''s real background through pure chance during a Quest for the King.


    "So you are one of her students. I doubt she gave you that gift because of your position in the council."[Shingi]


    He knew that Protectors and especially Beliss, who was the best inventor in all the Realms, was someone even the King wanted to see but didn''t have the chance.


    She rarely made appearances, but she significantly impacted history with her creations when she did.


    Even Varan once said to Ameanum that he didn''t want to mess with her.


    Her background and the rest of the protectors seemed not to be gods but not having the same background as Varan. They were many tales of how they came to be, but everything was considered rumors and not facts.


    Not even the Lucky one who became students of one of them knew the background of their teacher.


    "Yes, she was indeed my Master, but I haven''t had news from her for a few decades. I don''t have a way tomunicate with her or even a clue how to find her."[Jax]


    "Did she gave you her Blessing?"[Shingi]


    Jax seemed a bit reluctant to say, but he soon gave his response.


    "Yes, she had. But mine has a different set of effects than the one you have. I wouldn''t go into details about it, but I am confident even if it has the same name, it is made to suit its user. Although I must admit, yours seem quite groundbreaking."[Jax]


    Shingi was curious to see the difference between their Blessings, but he wasn''t going to make Jax say something he didn''t want to share. Not that he could do it if he wanted.


    "Then she should be aware that we have met."[Shingi]


    One could see the realization of what Shingi said on Jax''s face.


    "But, of course. We both have the Blessing that is part of her power inside us, so she should notice if we use them next so close to each other."[Jax]


    A slow p started being heard, but it wasn''ting from Shingi or Jax.


    They both turned their gaze towards the main entrance, and there was the source of the pping.


    It was a short female person with white hair and golden eyes.


    Her skin was greyish, and seeing her slightly pointy ears, one could tell that she was a Dark Gnome.


    Gnomes were famous for their inventions, but Dark Gnomes were part of their race who were exiled and were leaving underground, which after the generation passing, their skin turned into this greyish color.


    Dark Gnomes also had a better ability to see in the dark than regr Gnomes, and there were rumors that they were born with an innate Mana Pool of Dark Element.


    It wasn''t known why the first Dark Gnomes were exiled as Gnomes weren''t interested in sharing their history or how to create their inventions with others.


    The female figure was wearing what looked to be, at some point, an extraordinary robe, but with many patches that it had on it, it had lost its style. But the patches seemed to be there for another purpose than the usual one, as its one had a different Enchantment Circle drawn on it.


    "I was curious when one would find out about this way. I didn''t think the new one would be the first one, but I guess young minds think clearer."[Beliss]


    Shingi had used the active effect of his Blessing when Jax told him he had the Blessing too, and it seemed that with thebination of their Passive Effects of their Blessing truly worked on calling her to them.


    "Well, it is nice to see you face to face, I guess,d. I must say you showed a little more talent than I thought with the small help I gave you."[Beliss]


    Jax had kneeled once more as he saw the figure of his Master after that long.


    Beliss didn''t tell him to stand as she didn''t seem to mind others kneel for her as Shingi was.


    "Well then, what do you want to ask of me? Be aware my schedule is too busy these days."[Beliss]


    She vanished for a second and then appeared sitting at one of the chairs.


    Shingi was amazed as his Detection Skills hadn''t seen her how she moved from one point to the other. She didn''t seem to move normally or use any Spells; she just vanished and appeared to a new spot.


    He had encountered in the past mages or creatures capable of short teleportation. Still, there was always some indication for his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> or <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> of one of the mages, but here there was none.


    "Come one, both of you sit. I don''t have all day."[Beliss]


    Jax stood up and sat once more at his chair, and Shingi turned his chair to face Beliss better.


    "It''s a pleasure meeting you atst, and I am thankful for your gifts. I have to ask you a few questions and a request if you don''t mind."[Shingi]


    She made a gesture for him to keep talking.


    "First, is Mikhail a Protector''s Student?"[Shingi]


    Beliss raised one of her eyebrows.


    "Not exactly, but I can understand why you would think so. He is just one of the fools who tried to make himself a Protector. Some would say he seeded, but he is a fake onepared to my Brothers and me."[Beliss]


    Shingi didn''t expect this to be the answer. He wasn''t sure how one could be a Protector but had heard of attempts of people trying to be one and failed miserable.


    "Is he someone you can''t deal with?"[Shingi]


    Belissughed loudly at this. Shingi was worried about the people in the kitchen or the guards outside when hearing this unknown femaleugh would burst in the room.


    But nothing like that happened.


    "That boy is too ambitious if he thinks he will be able to fight against us. But we have ignored him for now as he hadn''t made any strange moves. And before you ask, no, I won''t help you fight him. It would be best if you left him be for now. I am sure he will doom himself sooner orter." [Beliss]


    Shingi doubted her words as Mikhail was around was ten thousand years since he was the father of Ae.


    "Then how about sharing any information you have for him or his power?"[Shingi]


    She smiled at him.


    "Is that your request? Because I must warn you I will fulfill only one request of yours."[Beliss]


    Shingi shook his head as he didn''t consider it worthy.


    "Then can you tell me what you know about these?"[Shingi]


    He then summoned from his Sptails Ring the two things that many people would kill to have.


    The Spirit Hammer and his Growth Type sword.


    Jax was aware of Shingi having them, but he still was impressed of seeing them with his eyes and not just from the memories of Shingi.


    "Some impressive toys indeed. I have worked with simr in the past, although these haven''t fully awakened yet."[Beliss]


    "Can you tell me how to awaken them then?"[Shingi]


    She chuckled at this.


    "Of course I can and even more than you think. <strong>BUT</strong>, as I said, I can fulfill one request of yours, and these are two items."[Beliss]


    Both of those items were important for him and the progress of his ns.


    "If I may ask. Will the Spirit Hammer being able to be used at full power even if I am not its real owner if I chose it?"[Shingi]


    "It has started considering you its owner, but making itplete wouldn''t be hard and could make it part of the request."[Beliss]


    Shingi was d to hear it but also sad at the same time.


    If it weren''t possible to fully be considered its owner, he would choose to go with his sword.


    "If I may interrupt for a bit."[Jax]


    Both Shingi and Beliss turned their gaze toward Jax, who was silent during the whole conversation.


    "I know you have given me a gift in the past, but would you be able to fulfill his second request as part of my request? With all due respect, Master."[Jax]


    Shingi didn''t expect Jax to ask of something like that for his sake, but it was true that he nned to bring bnce back to the Kingdoms and the Realm.


    "How interesting. It seems after all this time that passed, you have started having feelings of attachments to others other than signs of loyalty. Then I suppose I will fulfill both of your requests. Is that ok with you?"[Beliss]


    Shingi nodded, and Beliss brought the two items closer to her.


    "Oh, just shut up. You are just a baby, and you try to fight me? I could turn you into a toothpick for that."[Beliss]


    Shingi felt the sword fighting her as it did with him when he first picked it as his NPC self, but it was too weakpared to Beliss'' will.


    The Spirit Hammer didn''t show any signs of minding to be picked, but its runes lighten up a bit when she did pick it up.


    He had noticed them acting like that when Garry used the Hammer in the past back when he made his dagger.


    Beliss examined the runes of both of them and then left them back at the table.


    She then made a close sphere with her hand and brought them in front of her mouth.


    She seemed to be saying something, but not even Shingi could hear what it was.


    She raised her right hand, which was the top part of the sphere, to reveal two little spherical pills.


    "Eat those, and you will know what you need to do. But beware that there are going to be prices which you will need to pay. Some you are aware of and some that you aren''t yet."[Beliis]


    Shingi nodded as he consumed one of the pills.


    It was the one about the Spirit Hammer, and the information wasn''t only about how to use it better but also about the background of the Spirits residing in the Hammer.


    It seemed that there were different types of Spirit Hammers depending on how many Spirits were residing in it. Each Spirit was one of the past owners, but some Spirits decided to leave the Hammer and go to the afterlife.


    The one he currently had had 4 Spirits in it, but it seemed that Garry was its tenth owner.


    The other five have left like it''s been a long time that someone didn''t discover the Hammer, and they left for the afterlife, hoping to fulfill their passion to craft things there.


    He also learned that his mother was the one who found the Spirit Hammer, but because she didn''t have a suitable Profession or Skills, she couldn''t bond with it.


    Shingi started organizing all the new information that appeared in his mind, which took him a couple of minutes to do so thanks to his Blessing''s active effect still boosting his INT.


    As his mind was clear once more, he took the second pill for his sword, which he thought wouldn''t be this bad as with the Hammer as it wouldn''t have the history of it.


    He was clearly wrong as he passed out within a few seconds of consuming the pill.

 Chapter 106: On the way to second hideout

    Chapter 106: On the way to second hideout


    Shingi woke up at the room of the Inn he had spent the other night. Roth was sitting in a corner by himself.


    Jax or Beliss didn''t seem to be nearby as he couldn''t detect them anywhere.


    "So you are finally awake. You were out for a whole day."[Roth]


    Shingi could still feel a headache of the overcharge to his brain for pieces of information about the sword.


    It contained over a thousand different ways to make it grow in power, leading to a different effect.


    The approach he was doing up until now of feeding it Blessed Ones was the simplest and one that would raise its damage power, but it was also the hardest to keep its power at its peak as it involved ''feeding'' it constantly.


    He still was early on it to change his approach to increase its power in the best way.


    He spent two hours going through as much as he could do and organizing everything in his mind, and he was confident he had a suitable path to work with.


    He would need to gather some materials for it, and many were parts of creatures.


    As for killing Blessed Ones with it, he could now control letting it eat their parts of the in-game soul, which took time to replenish; that''s why the penalty.


    Roth didn''t say anything else during this as he understood that Shingi seemed to try to meditate on something.


    When Shingi had everything in ce, he stood up and started heading outside after getting his bag of things.


    "Where do you think you are going?"[Roth]


    "I have stayed in this ce for more than nned and have ces to be. Did Jax let a message?"[Shingi]


    "Firstly, it is <strong>MASTER</strong> Jax. And yes he left you a letter. He had to leave early in the morning, and I will go back to my duties now that you are awake."[Roth]


    Roth brought out an envelope with a waxed seal on top of it.


    Shingi took it and opened it right away, and read it quickly before storing it at his ring.


    He then got out a piece of paper and a pencil as he started writing a list.


    "You can pass this to Master Jax. I have no seal, but I am sure you can keep it unseen by unwanted people."[Shingi]


    It was a list of items that could get delivered for Volig and the rest back to Carda.


    Roth stored it into his Spatial Ring, said his goodbyes, and left.


    Shingi found the ce''s owner to let him know that he was living but first to get some dinner forter.


    He could store it in his ring to keep it fresh until then, at least.


    The room was already paid for the time he stayed, so he didn''t have to worry about it.


    A few people stared at him, but he tried to make it look like he didn''t notice them.


    While heading for the gate, he got stopped by a young boy, maybe around his age.


    "Excuse me. But may you help me? My and my family needs help, and I have heard adventurers like you are capable of helping."[Young Boy]


    Shingi sighed as he signaled the boy to lead the way.


    The boy was happy as he ran towards where his home was supposed to be.


    At some point, he made a sudden turn into an alley, getting lost by Shingi''s sight.


    Shingi headed at that alley as a man appeared in front of him, ready to stab him, and two more that were hiding at the entrance of it started their attack.


    But then, before they finish their attack, they froze in ce and then fell to the ground unconscious.


    Sinhunter was at the hand of Shingi, and he could feel that he was able to use it at full power even if the Sword''s Spirit didn''t entirely like it.


    He had used the dull side of the de to make them fall unconscious and not kill them.


    The young boy stood motionless as he saw these three adults get entirely defeated in a split second.


    Shingi moved with his incredible speed, grabbed the boy by its neck, and raised him in the air.


    The boy was rtively thin and light that didn''t need a lot of <strong>STR</strong> to raise him with just one hand.


    "So there are two ways things can go. Either you tell me who you work with, or you join the rest. But trust me, you will feel more pain than them."[Shingi]


    He used his <strong>MINOR ILLUSION</strong> to make his eyes look golden for a split second. He could use <strong>FEAR</strong>, but this would terrify him a lot to and make him pass out or getting mute at him.


    "We... we are just trying to get by. We saw you be the only one who got in the Inn with that high-ss soldier the other day, so we were certain you would have some coins."[Young Boy]


    Shingi squeezed the young boy''s neck.


    "You know I can hear your heartbeat to be closer to one of a liar than one of being afraid for his life and telling just the truth. So try again as next time it won''t be just some pressure."[Shingi]


    "Ok, ok. We had reported your situation, and we got orders to try to capture you."[Young Boy]


    "Order by whom?"[Shingi]


    The boy seemed like he wanted to say something, but when he started, he stopped.


    Shingi noticed that the boy was in pain but not because of him.


    He brought him down and ripped the boy''s shirt.


    There was a tattoo of the bottom of a talon, and more specifically, an owl talon.


    The tattoo seemed to produce a dark red light that was barely visible, which appeared to be the cause of pain for the boy.


    This was a particr tattoo of an Underground Criminal Organization, which was going by the name of <em>Owl Talon</em>.


    The tattoo meant to hurt and possibly kill the one it was on if it tried to reveal any vital pieces of information. It was just warning the boy as it just thought of telling something and not actually tried to.


    Shingi didn''t have a way to deal with it as it wasn''t exactly working as an Enchantment, and if one tried to remove it without being careful, it would result in the death of the one who had the tattoo.


    He hit the boy in the head to make him fall unconscious.


    He didn''t have the time to think over Owl Talons and why they wanted him other than possibly making a profit as he continued his trip.


    He knew the Owl Talon was supposed to have bases in many ces, so he was confident that it wouldn''t be thest time he heard from them.


    He reached the gate soon enough and didn''t even have to report his leaving.


    At first, he casually walked away from the town, but when he was in a reasonable distance to be out of sight, he started moving at full speed once more.


    His next stop was another hideout of his, but it was about a week''s way from where he was.


    He had enough provisions for the trip but would have to resupply at the next town, which would be near his next stop.


    This time his hideout wasn''t in a house but at a cave, and there didn''t use to be a town nearby, but it seemed to be one of the new ones created by Blessed Ones while he was gone.


    The ce was a Swamp, and the town of it was named Delta City even if the maps were categorizing it not to be big enough to be considered a city yet.


    He kept his eyes open for anyone following him, but there was no indication of one having attempt to do so.


    Night came, and he prepared his simple camp and heated up a little of the dinner he took from the Inn with just some of his Fire Mana.


    He then brought out the Dragon Scale of his and started using its Fire Mana to strengthen his Fire mana side of his Mana Pool.


    He decided to lessen the size of his Light Element to give more space for his Fire Element.


    His Mana Pool was currently separated to 50% Light Element, 40% Earth, and 10% Fire, so he decided to give 10% of Light Element to Fire.


    The percentage didn''t truly reflect the amount of mana each Element had in his Mana Pool as each Element used more or less space depending on its nature.


    From the three, Earth Element need more space while Light required the least.


    He didn''t want to decrease his Earth one as it was important for his <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> Spell. He had to use some Light Mana too on the brains, but most of it used Earth mana.


    He continued changing his Mana Pool to produce his mana in with the proper ''breathing,'' especially for his new Element.


    He was d to have those three Elements getting bnced as most yers considered themselves lucky to get two Elements.


    He continued working on his Mana Seeds and Mana Fruits, but he couldn''t do much without some highpatible Mana.


    He could use his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>, but he wasn''t nning to use it in the middle of nowhere.


    The next few days progressed with some stops of fighting some beasts or monsters but nothing too hard.


    Those were having some of the parts he needed for his sword, so when he found something, he made a stop for it.


    For the first step, he didn''t need anything too fancy. He probably could buy things at an auction house, but he never said no to saving some coins when he could.


    On his third day, he reached the start of the swamp, which made his speed slow down a bit.


    On the fourth day since leaving the previous vige, he stopped at the entrance of a cave.


    He looked around for any signs of people being around but didn''t notice any.


    But there were some of what looked to be somerge animal footprints leading into the cave.


    He could tell that some were rtively recent ones and assumed that one decided to move in while he was gone.


    It seemed that its beast repellent wasn''t working anymore.


    He carefully made his way inside.


    He soon heard someughter and a voice speaking.


    It was a deep male voice but not one of an older man.


    Shingi cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> on him as he progressed carefully.


    As he reached a part of the cave that was opening up, he saw three figures.


    One was of a full-grown bear whose footprints seemed to be all over the ce.


    Then there was a smaller bear but not precisely a cub but neither full-grown. It was somewhere in between.


    The third figure was the source ofughter and voice Shingi heard and was actually a dwarf.


    The dwarf was wearing some simple pants and had a pair of battleaxes by his side.


    One of them had a blue de, while the other one had a red de.


    A long chain connected the bottom of their handles.


    "Hey Winestone, do you think you can give me a ride at the inn this time?"[Dwarf]


    Shingi thought that the small bear that the dwarf was talking to was like a pet or tamed creature of his. But he wasn''t getting the same aura from it as with the other ones.


    "I told you already I am not a horse, and I won''t get used as one." [Winestone]


    Shingi was amazed as the bear actually spoke.

 Chapter 107: The Dwarf and the Bear

    Chapter 107: The Dwarf and the Bear


    Shingi checked the bear more with his detection skills, and it seemed like an ordinary bear, except there were two sources of mana in its body.


    One was near its heart and was mostly red, showing that it was of Fire Element, but its shape wasn''t that of a Mana Pool.


    The other one had purplish color, which wasn''t fitting any of the base Elements'' colors.


    It reminded him of the Zhen''s mist when he teleported as it had a simr color.


    He wasn''t aware whatbination of Elements was of Zhen, but by the color, he assumed it to be Dark and Water.


    He wasn''t sure about it as he wouldn''t need help designing the Dark Mana Gem design from Little Phoenix then as he could use his mana. But then he remembered what happened with the two of them when Zhen ''transferred'' his Skills and thought that it was probably just part of his n.


    Shingi decided to have some talk with Zhen when he returned to Carda.


    He paid attention to the Dwarf and the two bears and noticed that the older bear couldn''t speak the Commonnguage.


    He learned that the name of the Dwarf was Ragnarock, which was a strange one for a Dwarf.


    The Dwarf was having some drinks and cooked meat, and thetter also shared with the two beasts.


    "Yeah, I know, mom. Fire ruins the meat, especially when he is putting it there."[Winestone]


    Ragnarock punched the young bear but didn''t use too much force.


    "What did you say? I will find something else for you to eatter."[Ragnarock]


    Ragnarock didn''t seem to speak towards any of the bears. Instead, he looked towards one of his battleaxes and, more specifically, the one with the red de.


    "Yeah, I know we didn''t have any good fight recently, but we will soon find one. Have I ever let you down?"[Ragnarock]


    Shingi noticed the de release some barely noticeable light, and Shingi had seen something simr in the past.


    Sinhunter did the same thing when sending him a message.


    <em>''Another Growth Type weapon? But this one seems to be a set. Beliss'' info wasn''t mentioning of it being possible.''</em>[Shingi]


    The two axes looked identical other than the color of their de, but soon Shingi noticed that there were some barely visible carving to the red one that there weren''t at the blue one.


    It could mean either that only the red one was a Growth Type weapon or only the red one was used enough by its owner to reach the Base Grade and get its runes.


    Shingi thought it to be the first case, although he wasn''t sure why the second axe existed as he doubted that it got crafted at a different time.


    He could tell from the moreplicated runes than his sword that its progress was way higher than his, and it could have reached the Master Grade.


    He was still putting together the exnation of the runes as it was part of the knowledge Beliss gave him, but he could tell that those were advance of the ones his sword was currently developing.


    It had followed the path of absorbing the souls of others, not necessarily Blessed Ones, but they had the most significant effect on it. Since it had more advanced runes, it meant that the weapon''s personality also had been developed towards more the path of its growth.


    The path of absorbing souls was granting some benefits and had some drawbacks, which Shingi thought weren''t worth it.


    The Dwarf didn''t seem to be one with evil intentions as one wouldn''t spend time with a bear and share food with him and his mother.


    He knew that there was a chance for the sword to get control of its user if it is overdeveloped, which wouldn''t be good as its current basis of growth is from feeding on the souls of others.


    His hideout was deeper into the cave that the bear hasn''t explored yet as he didn''t see any footsteps in that direction.


    Shingi got himself ready for things to go wrong as he got out of his stealth mode and coughed to draw their attention.


    "Who the heck are you?"[Ragnarock]


    The mama bear looked at Shingi suspiciously but stayed where she was.


    "I would like to ask the same question to you too. But since you asked first, my name is Vangel, and I am here on a mission from my Master. Deeper in the cave used to be his ce, and I came to investigate it. How about you?"[Shingi]


    He used a fake name as he didn''t know what to expect from that individual.


    "Name is Ragnarock Gunnolf. Son of Chief Holt and undefeated champion of Zephron. Here is my buddy Winestone and his mother. And this ce belongs to them cause they stay here, so you and your Master can piss off."[Ragnarock]


    Shingi was surprised but not by him telling him to piss off, but by his real name.


    <em>*"You really a child of the Gunnolf n?"*</em>[Shingi]


    Ragnarock''s eyes widened from the surprise of hearing Shingi speaking this strangenguage, but he responded right away.


    <em>*"Firstborn too"*</em>[Ragnarock]


    ================================


    <strong>LANGUAGE LEARNED</strong>


    Thenguage <strong>ORCISH</strong> has been learned at Base Rank.


    ================================


    Gunnolf was one of the main Orc ns that existed and also the only one which wasn''t a public enemy.


    The Orcs had dealt with the King during the war before the Great Pact and helped him fight his enemies. In exchange, they gotnd for themselves and were considered part of the kingdom.


    Of course, many people still considered them evil Orcs who wanted to pige their homes and kill everyone, but the n didn''t give them a reason to fight them.


    He had met the one name Holt in the past and remembered that he had two sons, and one was named Ragnarock.


    But he was confident that he was a Half-Orc and not a Dwarf back them.


    <em>''Could he be reincarnated?''</em>[Shingi]


    He could see some scars and bruises on its body, but none seemed to be more than a year old. He appeared to be an adult, and he doubted he wasn''t in a fight before one year.


    "So friend, I see you are a friend of my people if you know ournguage and you speak it that well."[Ragnarock]


    Well, <strong>ORCISH</strong> wasn''t so hard to learn as their dictionary wasn''t that big. That''s why he unlocked it at Base Rank right away.


    "My Master had some deals with your n in the past and had taught me thenguage. But I must say I wasn''t expecting the son of their Chief to look like that."[Shingi]


    Ragnarock was confused at what Shingi said.


    "Yeah, he used to be greener in the past. But he had to fight a horn guy, which made him die and return like that."[Winestone]


    Orc skin was grey, while Half-Orc''s was green.


    "I see. I am sure it was a fascinating story, but I need to check the ce. It won''t take me long and won''t mess with the cave."[Shingi]


    Ragnarock seemed to be in thought, and Shingi noticed that the red de of his slightly lightened up a few times, meaning it was telling him something.


    Shingi was ready to summon his sword to fight at any point.


    "Ok, you can look, but I will join you and keep my eyes. It is my friend''s mother''s ce, so I won''t let you mess it with."[Ragnarock]


    Shingi could tell that Ragnarock didn''t have the brightest mind, and from his way of dressing, he was a Barbarian like Wild Tycoon, just unsure what his exact ss was.


    Shingi didn''t mind him looking over him, but he kept his guard up. The axe of his seemed to keep sending him messages now and then.


    He continued deeper into the cave, and soon enough, they reached a dead end.


    "Is this it? I thought it would be a room or something. There is nothing here."[Ragnarock]


    Shingi didn''t respond as he used some of his mana at a specific spot.


    Simr runes like those at his other hideout appeared, but this time, it was of Earth, Fire, and Dark Element.


    He used differentbinations and amounts of runes for each hideout, but he had an algorithm in his brain to remember which one had which runes and how to find the solution.


    He put the correctbination as part of the dead end''s wall started sliding to the left, making an opening that led into a medium-sized room.


    It looked to be a storeroom as it had some boxes, barrels, and a desk with some papers on it.


    He got everything stored in his Spatial Ring, which was starting to get closer to be packed and can''t hold more things. But he wouldn''t stop at any other hideouts of his as this one was his best one. Now with the help of Jax, he could cover some of the others he had to the rest of his hideouts, saving him time from needing to travel there.


    But this didn''t mean that his trip was over as he wanted to visit some people before going back to Carda.


    He lifted a level that there was fin the room and got out as the wall was slowly sliding out again, making it a dead end once more.


    "As you see, everything is as before."[Shingi]


    He started his way out but got stopped by an axe getting thrown towards him.


    Shingi was on guard, so he easily avoided it.


    He noticed the eyes of Ragnarock beingpletely ck and dark smoke getting released by them.


    Ragnarock used the chain to pull back his axe, and at the same time, charged Shingi.


    Shingi summoned his sword right away and started avoiding the swings of his opponent.


    Ranarock''s fighting style was easy to read, so he didn''t have to focus much to avoid them, but he could feel that it would be pretty nasty if one connected.


    Some of the dark smoke surrounded the red-ded axe making its de being pure ck.


    Shingi tried to make some attacks, but it seemed the natural defense of Ragnarock was more significant than expected as even his sword wasn''t making a single scratch on him.


    He focused his mana on his de to strengthen it while keeping his distance. Ragnarock seemed to speed up as time passed but was still far from reaching Shingi''s current speed.


    After a few moments and as Shingi was almost halfway to finish his preparations, Ragnarock raised both his battleaxes and pped them together.


    Some partially red and partially blue light was emitted by the weapon surrounding it and disappeared after a split second.


    The battxes were gone, and in their ce was a big double-ded greataxe with one part of his de being ck and the other being blue.


    He noticed the chain to be attached to the right arm of Ragknarock.


    This waspletely different from what he made for Wild Tycoon as firstly, this one was a growth type weapon, and secondly, the change from one form to the other was way shorter in duration than what Tycoon''s was.


    The speed of Ragnarock got also increased further and started causing some problems to Shingi, who used one of his Mana Seeds to cast <strong>HASTE</strong> right away.


    He felt angering from his sword, but not towards him but the weapon of his opponent.


    "''Me will help win. We no food, we are the ones who get food.''"[Sinhunter]


    Shingi could feel the sword being somewhat lighter and more potent than when he used it as Ameanum.


    There was some green energy surrounding his sword, which mainly seemed to be the Earth Mana he used.


    The mana was strengthened, and it was ready for what he needed it to do without giving more mana.


    Without any further dy, he changed from defense to offense as he charged towards Ragnarock.


    Ragnarock swung down his axe with unnatural speed, and it seemed like it made a clean cut through Shingi; to clean.


    Shingi started disappearing like it was a mirage, and he soon reappeared behind Ragnarock.


    His sword was full of blood, and one drop of it fell, and when it reached the ground, a big sh appeared on the chest of Ragnarock, who fell to the ground unconscious.


    Shingi didn''t make a vital wound at him but seemed to have caused enough damage by inserting some of his Light Mana into his body to push the dark energy controlling him to lose control and force him to pass out by the shock.


    He used Earth Mana to strengthen his sword to open the way for the Light Mana.


    He brought out an HP Regeneration potion of his, but before he used it at Ragnarock, he stored his axes at his Spatial Ring.


    It was too dangerous for it to remain at the hand of its current owner.<ol><li>Yes i know it is normally written Ragnarok but he isn''t name from that</li><li>I try to use different symbols depending thenguage. Working with what I have</li></ol>

 Chapter 108: Delta City

    Chapter 108: Delta City


    He administered one HP Regeneration potion to Ragnarock as he didn''t consider him to be evil and had to know more about he came to own this weapon.


    He examined to see if there were any remains of the weapon''s energy on his body, and he found some but destroyed it quickly by using a bit of Light Element Mana.


    Ragnarock awoke, and the wound he had gotten from Shingi''s attack was almostpletely closed healed.


    "What... what happened? Where is Zarn?"[Ragnarock]


    "You should stay calm. Your weapon took control over you and I had to render you unconscious. It is a dangerous one, and you shouldn''t use it anymore, or next time it may control you forever."[Shingi]


    Ragnarock starred him a bit and then seemed toe to a realization.


    "You saw how cool it is, and you want it for yourself, don''t you? I am sorry, but this belongs to my n, and I like Zarn. So give it back <strong>NOW</strong>."[Ragnarock]


    Shingi could quickly run away, but he considered Ragnarock to be helpful to train Wild Tycoon.


    "Listen to me, Ragnarock, I know that this weapon is a strong one, but it isn''t worth the risk of keep using it. I can help you, though, to get rid of the danger without destroying the weapon; you just have to trust me."[Shingi]


    ================================


    Because of overuse, <strong>CHA</strong> has been set to 0 temporary for 36 hours.


    ================================


    Ragnarock calmed down as the notification appeared and nodded to show his agreement.


    Shingi didn''t expect it to happen, but he was d it did, although his <strong>CHA</strong> at 0 had its disadvantages. The biggest one was his <strong>MINOR MANA REGENERATION</strong> being weaker, almost nonexistent.


    "I need to meet some people first before I deal with it. But you can meet me in Carda. It is a vige of a little than two weeks from here."[Shingi]


    "I know where it is. Was its champion there too in the past. But why can''t I juste with you?"[Ragnarock]


    Shingi was in a hurry, and even if Ragnarock seemed to be somewhat agile during theirbat, Shingi could tell that it was a temporary boost.


    "Where I am heading is to meet people who need their privacy, so won''t like a crowd toe at them. You can help me deliver a few things there to a friend of mine in the town. I am guessing you have some space at your back."[Shingi]


    "More than a bit of space."[Ragnarock]


    His bag was simr to Shingi''s Spatial Ring and was easier to make, so it was moremon for one to have it.


    Shingi brought out a few of the materials he had stored in his Ring but didn''t let Ragnarock know that it was the ones that were the least useful.


    He may put some trust in him a bit, but he wasn''t blindly trusting him yet.


    Ragnarock agreed to help, especially after Shingi also gave him one special bottle with spirit in it.


    Ragnarock wasn''t a specialist at alcohol, even if he was a fan of it, but he could understand just by the smell of it that this was a pretty good one.


    They went back to the part of the cave where the two bears were, and Ragnarock exined the situation.


    "Finally, someone put some sense in your thick head."[Winestone]


    "What are you talking about?"[Ragnarock]


    "I told you since day one that this axe was smelling funny. But no, ''Zarn is cool.'' Dude was sucking others to make you stronger."[Winestone]


    Ragnarock wasn''t sure what to say about this.


    The weapon could absorb part of the <strong>STR</strong> of an opponent he hit with it and increase the <strong>STR</strong> of its user.


    "May I ask you something, Winestone? How did you get the ability to speak? I see your mother can''t do so, but I can see two types of mana in you but at different ces."[Shingi]


    Winestone looked at him with an obviously confused bear face.


    "I don''t know what this mana that you are talking about is, but I was able to talk thanks to a dude called Philemon. He seemed like a great dude at the time, but now I just think he is ok."[Winestone]


    Shingi didn''t expect this name to be mentioned.


    "Yeah, me and some other past pals saved the world for like the millionth time by helping him keeping sealed some evil guys at his ce. Heard he is a Defender."[Ragnarock]


    Winestone sighed at the exnation of Ragnarock and was ready to correct him but decided no to at the end.


    Philemon was the name of one of the Protectors. He was the one for whom there were rumors to have suddenly vanished, even if all of them weren''t making many public appearances.


    He used to be around a lot as he used to be a type of entertainer andpose many songs and use the music as part of his magic, but he suddenly one day disappeared.


    Shingi could tell that Ragnarock was overselling himself about his past and probably that calling Philemon with the wrong title was why Winestone sighed.


    "So I guess we are going back home. Do you think your mother is still there?"[Winestone]


    "Oh yeah, I forgot that you used to live there. It''s been so long since I found you, and we started our crazy adventures."[Ragnarock]


    He seemed to have gotten somewhat nostalgic at that moment.


    "I doubt mom is still around. She probably moved with Scarlet."[Ragnarock]


    Shingi was interested to learn more, but he didn''t have much time to spend, even if he had saved some by getting the help of Jax and having Ragnarock deliver some for him.


    He told his goodbyes for now as he would meet them in a few days again back to Carda.


    He was heading actually to the nearby town as he was interested in investigating it.


    Delta City wasn''t too far from the cave as he had reached it within the hour.


    It didn''t have a wall around it, but he detected some rm runes and a particr field surrounding the whole town that he knew was to act as a repent for some monsters.


    He slowed down when in reach of the rm runes as there didn''t seem to be a space to pass without enabling one.


    He detected a few hidden guards watching him a little time after enabling some, but he acted like he didn''t notice them.


    They kept an eye on him as a stranger in the town but wouldn''t act unless he gave them a reason.


    As he moved deeper into the town, he noticed the air getting clearer and less swamp-like. It was part of the field''s effect, and Shingi knew that this wasn''t a cheap thing to do.


    Fields like that would spend even high-quality Mana Gems in a matter of days, making it rare for people to choose to have or add more functions to it as it would increase its cost. Most were going for just the repent effect as having the town attacked by monsters wasn''t good for business.


    He noticed a few stands and shops around, and most seemed to be Scroll or regr book-rted.


    There even was a shop with thetest copies of novels, mangas, and other types of literature from the real world for people to buy. The shop mainly was selling to Blessed Ones, but a few nobles were interested in those crazy stories.


    Many otherpanies tried to bring their business or products into the game, so it wasn''t that unusual to find things from the real world in the game, but there were some limitations to mess with the game''s theme or its bnce.


    Shingi looked around and found some high-quality Spell Scrolls that he bought, mainly for Mizuneko to study them.


    He had quite a bit of coin with him but not enough to buy every high-quality Spell Scroll there, so he chose ones of different Spell types.


    He also searched books for Arcane Words and found one more advanced than what ta gave him and seemed to have things he didn''t know.


    He bought it even if he had to spend most of his coins.


    There were more than he could buy, and the coins he had weren''t limitless.


    He bought a few more advanced recipes for Hineko and stopped spending more as he had now just enough for replenishing some of his supplies.


    He couldn''t keep fresh food on his Ring for an extended period and eating simple rations didn''t help maintain a bnced diet. It would affect his body in the long run, especially since he usually was skipping meals.


    He found a simple Inn also to get a meal for the day and a room as he nned to look around the town more for the next time he came.


    The innkeeper and owner were a yer and one who seemed excited to met new people and travelers.


    Especially seeing a young man like Shingi drew his attention and was bombarding him with questions.


    Shingi answered a few but ignored most of them.


    "You should not make any n for the night,d. We are going to have special entertainment today so you wouldn''t want to miss it. I am sure especially a young one as you will enjoy it."[Innkeeper]


    Shingi doubted that it would be as exciting as he was telling, but he didn''t have any ns for the rest of the day.


    He decided to take a break from training as overworking wasn''t always good for his body.


    Looking around, Shingi noticed that there weren''t any NPCs other than a few that worked at the inn. Even on the way there, he saw that most were yer''s businesses, and only some stands were of NPCs.


    Since the town was in the middle of a swamp and was also near a permanent Dungeon of a little higher level than the one of Carda, NPCs didn''t seem interested to travel here.


    He had some simple meal as he waited for the night toe, and the unique entertainment mentioned to start.


    More people started to gather as it was gettingter, as most seemed to hade here for this special event.


    There was a raised tform at one of the corners of the establishment. The tables were ced in a way so that each to have the tform at its sight.


    At a point, the music yed by a few people working for the inn stopped as the light of the inn was turned off.


    A lone candle appeared at the tform hovering in the air just less than a meter high from the tform.


    Then a second candle appeared as some music started ying.


    A figure appeared like a mirage and was holding the two candles.


    The figure was of a female figure and seemed to barely be dressed with what looked like a real-world nurse outfit.


    Another figure appeared wearing a simr outfit, and more started appearing as at the end there were six female figures.


    The music was quite sexy, and some yers were whistling to the entertainers.


    Shingi sighed as he understood what the innkeeper referred to as special entertainment and was ready to head to his room as he was interested in it.


    But then he noticed among the crowd of people, who went under the tform to admire the sights closer, that drew his attention.


    The figure wasn''t joining the crowd as an admirer of the entertainers but to pick the pockets of the ones who were too busy to notice.


    Shingi recognized him even if he tried to hide his moves.


    His in-game name was Price, and he was one of the Blessed One he had started helping before dying.


    He let him continue his work and followed him when Price made his way out.

 Chapter 109: Old acquaintant

    Chapter 109: Old acquaintant


    Shingi could tell from Price''s aura that he had grown in power, but not as much one would expect after all those years.


    Shingi studied the aura of his students and the rest of the yer''s that he could learn what level they were. He was pretty confident in his Skill to tell what level a Blessed One was with a small margin error.


    Price was a beginner when hest met and had just started helping him, so he hadn''t reached level 20 back then.


    Now he seemed to be at level 55 to 60, which was among the highest level yer he had seen up until now, but that was the case because he was in small towns most of the time.


    Even the Guild Members who attacked them the other day seemed to be around 50-54 while Master Whip was 40 to 42.


    But level 60pared to what Ameanum had reached, and the ones at the top of the game were a pretty insignificant number.


    But level 60 was critical as a lot of sses were upgraded to that level.


    To pass level 60, you need to have one of these sses and fulfill the requirement to upgrade it, which involved a Quest; most of the time.


    Shingi could tell that Price hadn''t upgraded his, and he wasn''t sure if he had taken one that was upgradeable as he had just reached level 20 back then and had given him some tips for earning some of those sses as most needed you to be level 20, like in Wild Tycoon''s case.


    Price continued his way away from the Inn and was going through some alleys to make sure if anyone were following him, he would lose him.


    But Shingi had locked on him with all his Detection Skills. He even used <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> to track him by the impact his feet were making with the ground.


    Soon Price reached a storehouse that seemed to be abandoned but in a good state.


    There were chains on the door keeping it locked, but Price pulled out a key and unlocked the padlock that kept the chains together.


    Shingi had cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> on himself and entered the room with him before he had turned to unlock it.


    Price sighed of relief as he started pulling out of his Bag, which seemed to be simr to the one of Ragnarock, everything that he could take.


    Most were pouches with coins, but he also had some dagger, scrolls, and even arrows which seemed to have some Enchantments at their arrowheads.


    It seemed like he wasn''t just picking random things but only ones that could have some value.


    He started organizing the coins, but it didn''t go as well as expected. Most coins were copper, some silver, and rarely there were some gold ones.


    "Just my luck. I knew I should move faster before they started throwing their coins."[Price]


    "You should already know that. But it is better to be safe than to be caught."[Shingi]


    "Yeah, very true... wait, who said that?!?"[Price]


    Price started looking towards where the voice was heard, but he couldn''t see anyone there.


    He looked left and right and all around the room, but there was no indication of anyone else being here but him only.


    He drew a pair of daggers and was ready forbat.


    "Come one, show up, you coward."[Price]


    Shingi smiled but didn''t let any sounde out or let his presence be known.


    He was confident that even if Price had his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> as Master Rank after all that time, he wouldn''t have the ability to detect him unless he had reached it at its peak. But he was more than aware of what was needed to reach the peak of the Skill, and he doubted Price had, but he could tell that his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> was rtively high.


    He slowly moved to the other side from where hest spoke, but with his current speed as he also cast <strong>HASTE</strong> at himself, he was able to make it there in a few seconds without making his presence be known.


    "It seems your abilities are stronger, but the way you use them is weaker. Master would be very disappointed."[Shingi]


    Shingi cast <strong>ROCK TROW</strong> aiming at Price''s legs, arms, or head but wasn''t nning to damage him, so set his Spell to deal the lowest damage possible.


    Price was looking frustrated by all this but took some deep breaths to calm down and focus again.


    <em>''It seems he hadn''t forgotten everything.''</em>[Shingi]


    Shingi continued moving around, hitting him with his Spell and throwing some taunts now and then.


    Price tried to hit him, but every time he seemed to miss the spot after finishing his attack and hitting nothing, the voice spoke by the other side from where he attacked.


    As time passed, there were some close calls of Price hitting Shingi, and the time between each was bing shorter.


    "That is enough for today."[Shingi]


    Shingi dispelled his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> and appeared in front of Price.


    He had at his right hand one of his staves, the one with both Mana Gems being away from each other, and was holding it too had the Light Mana Gem''s design active.


    He touched the top of his staff at Price''s forehead as he called out an immense amount of Light Element Mana, both his and of the Mana Gem, to invade the body of Price.


    Price didn''t expect this, and his resistance to Spells, even if it was more significant than a beginner, wasn''t that much against Shingi.


    He felt his muscles getting tenser to the point he couldn''t move any of them. Shingi focused only on his arms, legs, neck, and head and not to stun everything; otherwise, he wouldn''t even be able to breathe.


    Price looked at the face of the young adult, and for a moment, it looked a bit familiar but unfamiliar at the same time. It was like he knew him, but something was different since hest saw this one.


    "Firstly, I want to apologize for the little test, but I needed to see how good you are. I will not harm you from now on and not here to steal from you either, but I am here to give you a deal. To work with an old friend."[Shingi]


    Shingi released his mana from the body of Price after a few seconds.


    Price didn''t attack as he knew that he had no chance against this one.


    "What old friend you are talking about?"[Price]


    "I am referring to the one who if he didn''t take you under his wings even after trying to pickpocket him, you probably would spend your time in prison more often."[Shingi]


    Price''s eyes widened as he realized why the face of the person looked familiar.


    He was pretty simr to Ameanum but a lot younger from what he was when he had met him.


    Ameanum was near his thirties, and his NPC body had reached the appearance of a 15-year-old or so.


    "M..master?!? But how could that be? I read an article saying you were found dead."[Price]


    "I am not Ameanum. I have a rtionship with him, you could say, but we aren''t the same person. As for his death, a lot of things happened since then, but the article or whatever that you are referring to is probably true."[Shingi]


    He had decided long ago not to let just anyone know that he was really Ameanum. It was also true that he had died and that he was now different from before.


    "Oh...I...see. Then who sent you to find me? Also, how did you?"[Price]


    "There are forces in y greater than what you know or can imagine. I have my ways, as you probably understand as for who sent me, I can''t tell you, but you should soon meet him."[Shingi]


    Price seemed to understand the situation a bit, even if most of his questions seemed not to get answered.


    "Then what do you want from me. Also, what is it for me? Especially if it has to do with Ameanum, I would like to know what it is for me? Last time he disappeared unexpectedly, and it took me a long time to progress without him. Especially since entry at the Tower was forbidden."[Price]


    Shingi didn''t expect him to follow him for no reason as most yers, even those who were currently helping him, wanted some benefits.


    "You can have this for now, but we have people to make something better."[Shingi]


    He brought out his dagger.


    It had a weird design, but this added to its use, and Shingi made some adjustments to it over the past weeks.


    He had Sinhunter and his staves, so he didn''t have any use of it.


    Also, it was made of Mithril, and Shingi was feeding it his mana to increase its quality when he had free time or was working at his Mana Pool. Even Price could have a use of it even if he didn''t have any mana to get a boost by going through the Mithril.


    This dagger was worth more than what Price had gathered today from his time at the Inn. Even the special arrows or scrolls weren''t of anything too rare.


    "Then we have a deal. So what do you want me to do?"[Price]


    Shingi gave him directions to Carda and told him to speak with the local cksmith there and help with gathering Quests until he is back.


    He also told him to look for Marcy and help her as she had started working on creating a Guild a little before he left.


    Shingi also asked a few questions about the Tower as he yed the game before, unlike his students or Marcy.


    Price was checking the situation of the Tower now and then and knew a bit more.


    A few more Guilds like the Whip Master one worked to have some ess to the Tower or get a share of its resources.


    Price knew the identity of a few of the Guilds as they were the most significant targets to steal from, even if they were also the most dangerous to do so.


    After their talk, Price left right away. He wasn''t nning to stick around for long as people would start to look around for their missing things.


    Shingi returned to the Inn and went for his room.


    The special event was over by the time he returned, and he took some sleep, and after a long time, he entered his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> to train while taking a rest.

 Chapter 110: The researchers sister

    Chapter 110: The researcher''s ''sister''


    Shingi made some further testing with the same move he pulled on Price to make an actual Spell out of it and not do everything manually.


    He still had to study the books he had taken for the Arcane Words, but since he would soon be traveling again and wouldn''t be as safe to use his <strong>TRANCE</strong> while on the road, he decided to use it now.


    His Spell has improved much since he got his ss as some resistance was lifted, and he could feel it even help him in a few instances.


    People were saying this was made by the Gods to restrict people from using powers they shouldn''t and help people who deserved help.


    He was still an apprentice at his ss, but it was a fully mage-based Tue ss, so the restrictions were pretty minimal.


    He tested all his Spells to check their improvements, even if he had used most of them in action already.


    Finally, he worked on his <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> and control of his movements while in it.


    The night passed peacefully, and after waking up, he went down to get some breakfast.


    He said his goodbyes at the innkeeper and gave him the rest of the payment for the room and food.


    He was nning to stay more, but since more people would be waiting for him back at Carda, even if it would take them at least a week to get there, he decided not to let them wait for him long.


    He wanted to make thee more stops at least, and all of them was to meet someone. A few hideouts left that didn''t have many materials but had some of his notes, but he decided it wasn''t worth it as a lot of this either would have changed or would exist at the forum by him someone else, meaning Mizuneko could find it.


    He also wanted to hurry to deal with the strange growth-type axe, but he wasn''t going to do it himself.


    He moved out of the town with an average pace until he was out of the field, the rm runes, and the sight of the ''hidden'' guards.


    He started heading north with all the speed he could spare as he didn''t know how long he would have to spend at each of his stops.


    His next destination was only two days away.


    But that was only to reach the ce where the person he was looking for was supposed to be, but its exact location wasn''t a known fact.


    During the nights he was camping, he studied the book about the Arcane Words and started making a few for his Spell, bringing them closer to their true power.


    On the morning of the third day, he started looking around as he had reached yesterday night the general ce where the one he was looking for was supposed to be.


    He looked around for any clues or tracks, but other than some beasts, nothing else seemed to be around.


    Everything seemed to be quiet, too quiet.


    Since he wasn''t able to detect where his target was, he started a different approach.


    He knew that the beasts would stay away, so he started looking at ces that the beasts seemed to avoid.


    He soon came across a tree, which looked like a typical one, but Shingi noticed a slight engravement of a circle on it, which was barely visible, and most would have missed it.


    Looking more on the tree, he noticed some more engraving to form a box and having the little circle inside it.


    The box looked like the frame of a door and the little circle to be its little knob.


    Shingi examined it, and with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, he could barely see some mana residing in the space of the carvings and making some runes.


    It seemed to be an Enchantment of some short, but it was more advanced than what Shingi''s skill or knowledge could handle.


    This meant that either it was near or at the peak of Master Grade or being Grandmaster Grade. As for Divine one, he doubted it as even Gods themselves wouldn''t use them as they wanted, not because they couldn''t but the sources needed were very big for even them.


    Or at least that is what Shingi had heard.


    He couldn''t decrypt it, but that didn''t mean he couldn''t use it.


    The trigger of it seemed clear to be the little circle.


    He put some mana to it, and soon enough, there was a response.


    From the knob, an illusion got created of a Moon and, more specifically, a Blue Moon.


    It had the same color as the one during the Blue Moon Festival, and other than its size, the two looked identical.


    Shingi thought about his next move, but some green mist got released from the ''frame'' carvings before he could do anything else.


    He jumped back even if the mist wasn''t too much as he saw the ''door'' in front of him to get open.


    There was no person at the other side, and he could see some steps leading down and deeper underground.


    He waited a bit before starting to head down the steps.


    As he got in, the door closed behind him, blocking the sun, which was the only light source he had.


    He summoned his staff, the one with the separate Mana Gems, and hold it at Light side and cast <strong>LIGHT</strong> at the tip of it.


    He knew that the person staying here knew of him getting in the moment he touched the circle, so he wasn''t trying to be sneaky.


    He examined the steps, wall, and the rest of his surroundings. He could safely say that all of it was too precise not to be made by magic.


    He used his detection Skills and cast his <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> spell, but there seemed to be something blocking all of them from working.


    He kept his Skills active just if he found a spot to use them in full power.


    After a few minutes of going down the stairs in pure darkness, he saw the end of the stairs as there was some light near it.


    After the chairs, there was a corridor with lit torches on its walls on both sides.


    There was a slightly open door at the end of the corridor not too far from the stairs.


    Shingi went to the door and opened it.


    It led to a familiar office.


    It was the office of Benjamin or one pretty simr to it.


    There were fewer things on the wall, as also all the furniture was regr and not secretly mimics.


    A desk and a female figure were sitting at the desk''s chair/throne.


    She looked like a female version of Benjamin, and if her clothes weren''t bringing forth her small chest, one would think that she was Benjamin.


    She seemed to be too focused on a book she was reading as she didn''t turn toward Shingi.


    Shingi moved towards her as he coughed on the way there to draw her attention, but she seemed to ignore him.


    He sat on a chair in front of the desk and waited for her to notice him.


    A couple of minutes as she raised her head a bit and noticed Shingi.


    "Where did youe from? Who are you, why are you here, and how did you enter? This is a private area."[???]


    "I was given permission. It is nice seeing you again, Belly."[Shingi]


    She was confused for a second, and then her face changed to one of revtion.


    "He wasn''t messing with me then? You really are one of those. Oh, we need to do some tests."[Belly]


    Shingi was afraid of this happening.


    Belly was the twin sister of Benjamin, or that was what most people knew.


    In reality, Benjamin created a clone of himself. Still, since he wanted the clone to see things differently to find solutions from different approaches, he decided to make a female clone.


    She had simr habits as the original and especially when she was making her tests. Some said that she was even more ruthless.


    "Maybe some other time. I am still recovering from thest encounter with Ben. But I am here to ask some help."[Shingi]


    Shingi covered everything that happened since he became an NPC until today.


    He let out unimportant events, like his training or working at the store, etc. "So, as you understand, we are going to need as much help as possible.


    I know that Ben restricted you to help others like that, so not going to ask you to do anything more than you are allowed to do."[Shingi]


    Shingi brought on the desk the growth-type axe without touching it for long.


    "As you understand, this thing needs to be dealt with."[Shingi]


    Belly used her <strong>MANA HAND</strong> to pick it up and examine it as she was warned that physical contact was troublesome with it.


    "Hm, this seemed that it would be a challenge. I love it. But I need to make some tests first."[Belly]


    Shingi felt pity for the axe''s consciousness as he knew what it was to be tested by one like her.


    He wasn''t worried about the axe controlling her as she may not be as old as Benjamin, but she wasn''t any less wise or powerful.


    "It will take me some time and most likely have to do some in other ces. You mentioned that you want the consciousness only to be dealt with and the rest of the weapon to stay intact. Right?"[Belly]


    After Shingi nodded in agreement, she started making some calctions in her head.


    "I will say it should take close to a month. I can bring it to that ce, Carda since you can''t stay here for a month."[Belly]


    Shingi was happy that he could take let someone take care of it, and he was confident that she could seed.


    "Thank you for your time. Also, I have a question for you. Are you aware who was the one being True Sorcerer before me?"[Shingi]


    Belly closed her eyes and focused.


    Shingi knew that she and Benjamin could store everything they had studied in a special dimension that only mentally you can go and only they had ess to it. It was like their personal library.


    Time there passed at a different rate, as she could spend weeks in there, and a few minutes had passed in the real world.


    But while there, they weren''t aware of what was happening in their body, so they had to be somewhere safe.


    It''s been close to an hour before Belly opened her eyes again.


    Shingi was surprised that it took her that long.


    "I triple-checked every research and recording about the people with True sses. There is only one person that was said to have this ss possibly but was never confirmed. But if he really had it, then it is disturbing news."[Belly]


    Shingi was amazed that there was only one person recorded to have his ss in the past. Even in Anna''s case, he had heard stories of three more people being True Assassins before her, and that was a very long time ago.


    "Why is the news disturbing? Who was that person?"[Shingi]


    Belly looked him in the eyes, and for the first time, Shingi could see a sign of worry in her eyes.


    "Dormon, the Father of Dragons."[Belly]

 Chapter 111: Gate inspection

    Chapter 111: Gate inspection


    Shingi was shocked by what Belly told him.


    If Dormon was indeed a <em>True Sorcerer</em>, then that news was more than just disturbing.


    Dormon was one of the Protectors who are rumored to be immortal.


    As his title says, he was the one who conceived the Dragons, which are Ancient beings.


    So if Shingi was able to take his ss, that meant that the one before him didn''t have it anymore which there were only two ways to do so.


    Firstly to earn a new ss, but that was impossible for one with True ss, and secondly for the person to die.


    If Dormon was dead, since he couldn''t die from natural causes, that meant that someone killed him.


    One name came to the mind of Shingi; Mikhail.


    He learned from Beliss that he wanted to be as powerful as a Protector, so killing one made sense.


    "I know what you think, and I too think that most likely that powerful person you mentioned may be behind it. But I am confident Dormon isn''t dead, at least not yet."[Belly]


    "What do you mean? How can you be certain?"[Shingi]


    Shingi knew that Belly wouldn''t just assume things but only say something that had a high chance to be true.


    "When one gets a True ss doesn''t pass from Apprentice State. Being an apprentice means you need a tutor, and how can you have a tutor of something that only one person can have?"[Belly]


    This was true for most cases, but there were some rare cases that you could pass Apprentice State without the need of a tutor.


    But that being the case for one as powerful ss like True wouldn''t make sense indeed.


    "So you mean he is close to death that''s why I am an Apprentice?"[Shingi]


    "That is my theory, yes. There aren''t any recordings of anyone who had a True ss to have it at an Apprentice State, but there were a few recordings of people passing part of their ss to people who they wanted to get it after their demise. You have drawn the attention of Beliss and Dormon, it seems. That is quite rare."[Belly]


    Shingi wished he knew that earlier to ask Beliss if she knew anything about it possibly.


    Thest sight of Dormon seemed to be at Zephron since Shingi was confident that the figure on top of the Dragons was him.


    "Any ideas what to do then?"[Shingi]


    "Without information, we can''t make any ns, and learning the whereabouts of Dormon was always an impossible task. But if the one you mentioned is indeed behind it, he most likely has captured Dormon and experimenting on the way to get his power. Locating that person is all we can do."[Belly]


    Shingi mentioned that he knew that Mikhail seemed to stay somewhere in the Tower, but he wasn''t sure which floor.


    "Then we need to hurry on our exploration to the Tower. Thanks for your time, Belly. I want to stay and discuss more, but I need to move quickly."[Shingi]


    Belly nodded as she understood the situation, even if she wanted to do some experiments herself on Shingi. Shingi was aware of her intentions, so he decided to leave before it was toote.


    It was afternoon as he spent some time looking for the entrance and speaking with Belly.


    His next stop was to find another person of importance that would be of help.


    This time it was to gain knowledge on how to acquire some items.


    In the lists, he gave at Ardent Scythe and Jax, there were mainly items or materials to improve the shop or create items and equipment.


    There was some equipment that Volig, even with the help of Shingi and the Spirit Hammer, couldn''t craft.


    Those were considered artifacts, unique items that most were created long ago.


    Ameanum had a few and knew a person who was researching them and kept track of information of possible whereabouts of those items.


    He wasn''t sure what happened to the ones he had as they weren''t on him when he entered <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> for the first time after bing an NPC.


    He doubted they got deleted and didn''t think that the Dark Guild could have them, at least not a lot of them.


    Most were working as the Spirit Hammer, of being with their owner until he or she dies. This made the yers careful when to have some artifacts on them because if they died, then the artifacts would disappear even if the person would respawn.


    A lot of his equipment back then was artifacts, like his armor and shield.


    He knew first hand the difference those items could make, and he could use any help.


    Fortunately, the person tented a shop in a nearby town, and it wasn''t public knowledge of his secret research.


    The town was quiterge and at the edge of being a city. It was an NPC-made one, but a few establishments were belonging to yers.


    Shingi reached the gate, where there was a queue of people waiting to get in.


    It seems that a caravan of what looked to be some entertainment group, as Shingi could see most of them have a musical instrument by their side.


    There were some guards by the gate who were inspecting their wagons and asking them questions.


    The youngest of the guards, who didn''t seem to be more than twenty years old, was the one who was talking with the one who probably was the leader of the traveling group.


    One could clearly see that the young guard was out of hisfort zone because of the person he had to talk to.


    The leader of the group was a female elf wearing clothing that exotic dancers would wear, which probably was her part of the show.


    The climate around was quite cold at they were north, but she didn''t seem to mind it.


    Some small tattoos on her body of different runes were barely noticeable, which seemed slightly changing if one continued paying attention to them.


    She was a great beauty, and the fact of her wearing clothes showing her curves hadn''t helped the young guard ask what needed to ask while the other guards were doing the inspection.


    "Do you mind continuing with your questions? I like the weather, but the rest would prefer to get inside. Also, we have a performance in a few hours, so we have to get ready."[Female Elf]


    "Oh, yes, certainly. Sorry miss...."[Young guard]


    He was looking at a notebook he was holding, which he had to fill with information about the people they inspected.


    "Meyana and we are the Strings of Four Seasons."[Meyana]


    The guard wrote it down.


    "So you are here for business?"[Young guard]


    A man from the group behind Meyana had lost his patience from waiting and shouted at the young man.


    "No, we are here to pay a visit to your mother. <strong>OF COURSE, WE ARE HERE FOR WORK. SHE JUST SAID IT.</strong>"[Male Entertainer]


    Some of the guards, which inspected the wagons, turned towards the man and seemed to get ready to draw their weapon, but Meyana stepped in, motioning that everything was alright.


    She quickly pped the back of the man''s head, who after that was looking at the ground, ashamed of his behavior.


    "Sorry about his attitude. He had a long travel, and we are tired, so we would appreciate it if we could finish this as soon as possible. What is your name, young man?"[Meyana]


    The young guard didn''t expect this question, but he gave his answer swiftly, afraid of angering the group once again.


    "The name is Hem, my Lady."[Hem]


    Meyanaughed at his response. Herugh was sweet in the ears, like a great melody yed to rx the audience.


    "I wouldn''t call me a Lady as I am not one with a title. So are there any more questions you need to ask me, Hem?"


    Hem seemed to be charmed by her speaking to him by using his name.


    An older guard who stayed by the gate and watched everything, most likely the one in charge of this post, coughed loudly to make Hem snap out of it.


    "Oh, eh.... oh yes, well, if you can tell me the number and names of your group. Nicknames are epted for your case since you are entertainers."


    Meyana told him what he asked for, and he wrote everything down.


    "Hmm... that is weird."[Hem]


    "What do you mean, Hem?"[Meyana]


    Hem looked at each of the people in front of him one after the other.


    "There seems to be one extra person."[Hem]


    Meyana turned and, for the first time, noticed Shingi. She seemed surprised at him being there, but Shingi could tell it wasn''t because she recognized him.


    Shingi waited near them for their inspection to be over, so probably the guard who also didn''t notice him getting here thought he was with them.


    "I am by myself and not traveling with them."[Shingi]


    Even if the guard wasn''t shouting when talking to Meyana to Shingi, it was like he did.


    "Oh, I see. Could you then move a little more to the side for their inspection to end?"[Hem]


    Shingi didn''t mind, and he found a big rock he could use to sit on while waiting.


    He noticed that Meyana talked with the man who shouted at the young guard before, and he seemed to try to keep track of Shingi secretly, but it was clear as day for Shingi of what he was doing.


    Shingi didn''t mind it as they hadn''t shown any ill intentions toward him.


    He had heard of their group in the past and their leader, who he recognized as a Seasonal Elf.


    Elves tend to be an Innate Magical race, and there were different types of Elves depending on their source of that Innate Magic.


    Seasonal Elves'' source of magic was nature itself, and their power seemed to change depending o the season. This change of power could also change their appearance and even their personality in some rare cases.


    Meyana tattoo runes were part of these possible changes, and there were stories of her dancing style, which she was famous for changing depending on the season.


    Ameanum had seen her in the past but never interacted with her or any of her group, and he doubted that she would remember him as she had danced for thousands of thousands of people over the years, and he wasn''t the only person watching her dance back then.


    Their inspection was over after a few minutes, and one of the guards left with them, presumably to lead them to their destination.


    Shingi stood and made his way in front of the young guard looking in the direction of the wagons and, more specifically, where Meyana was.


    "<em>*cough**cough*</em> Can my inspection start then?"[Shingi]


    Hem turned towards Shingi, angry at first for someone interrupting him but then ashamed of his behavior while on duty.


    "Name."[Hem]


    "Vangel."[Shingi]


    He wasn''t going to let his true identity known, and he knew that they wanted the names just to check they weren''t in any of the dangerous people lists. But ut wasn''t like a dangerous person would use his real name ore through the gate either way.


    He continued answering some more questions, and the young guard was writing everything down.


    As the inspection was over and Shingi was ready to get through the gate, the person who seemed to be in charge made him a signal to stop.


    "Is there a problem?"[Shingi]


    The older guard looked Shingi in the eyes, as Shingi could hear the young guard Hem behind him to be anxious as he thought he did something wrong.


    "You are Garry''s boy, aren''t you?"[Older Guard]


    Shingi was surprised by the question.


    He wasn''t looking much like Garry even now that he had grown, so he doubted one would assume he was rted to him just by looking at him.


    Shingi nodded as he wasn''t reading any ill intentions by the man in front of him.


    "I was told you mighte here someday, but I didn''t think it would be that soon. You look older than I thought you would be, but the eyes are just as they were said to be. Red is quite unique."[Old guard]


    Shingi was surprised once more as he had found some time ago by asking others that they couldn''t see the actual color of his eyes and looked to be ck at them.


    He was amazed that the older man in front of him could see while people like a, Benjamin, or Belly were unable to.


    "Follow me. I have something important to show you. Name is Harbin by the way."[Harbin]


    Shingi followed him in the town leaving behind a confused young guard who also seemed to be a bit relieved.

 Chapter 112: Captain Harbin

    Chapter 112: Captain Harbin


    Shingi kept following Harbin through the town, and they seemed to head towards the market area.


    "How is little Garry? It has been a long time since Ist saw him. Still having his shop?"[Harbin]


    "He had left some time ago but didn''t say where he was heading. I take care of the shop with the help of some friends. Business is better."[Shingi]


    Harbin didn''t at any point turned towards Shingi and kept leading the way while randomly making questions.


    Shingi kept following him and answering.


    They reached soon enough the market area, and their destination seemed actually to be a bank.


    As they got in, Shingi noticed yers checking crystals simr to those on the auction house or talking to people behind counters working here.


    This wasn''t just a ce to store your in-game money but also worked as a storehouse where someone could rent or buy a private space for his items.


    Those spaces were unique dimensions and not physical ces, so other banks could ess them in different areas if the yer weren''t near the bank he stored the item.


    Of course, buying or even renting one space like that wasn''t cheap, and some said it would be cheaper to get a Spatial Ring, but those were hard to get, and even the Bag version of them didn''t have as much space as some yers wanted.


    Most people here were to store their money which was cheaper to do, and they didn''t need to buy or rent one of their special storage units for this.


    Harbin got to one of the counters to speak at one of the people working here.


    It was a male gnome, but his skin wasn''t greyish as Beliss since he wasn''t a Dark Gnome, who seemed to doze off reading something, but he put what he was reading away, as he noticed the client and who it was.


    "Oh, Captain Harbin. A pleasure seeing you today. How may I be of assistance?"[Gnome Banker]


    "I am here to get ess to a storage unit of yours, Jorhim. Here is its id."[Harbin]


    He summoned a small piece of paper from his Spatial Ring and gave it to the Gnome.


    The Gnome took it and read it while turning to a crystal he had at his side and opened a panel. He inputted some codes and went through different menus.


    "Everything seems to be in order. Would you like a specific item or items from there or everything to be brought to you?"[Jorhim]


    Harbin was considering for a moment before he gave his response.


    "I believe it was under the id of A06, but I would appreciate if I could check the list to make sure."[Harbin]


    Jorhim went through some more menus before making the panel turn toward Harbin.


    Shingi was surprised to hear the id of the item they were here to get.


    It was the same as his yer ount.


    Ids were selected by the ones who owned the storage unit, so he doubted that it was a coincidence.


    "Yes, it is as I remembered. I need only this item today."[Harbin]


    The panel turned toward the Gnome once more, who seemed to be reading something after pressing the option of the item Harbin wanted to get.


    "Cause of its nature, you will need to wait for it a bit. Our VIP waiting room is open for you, or we can deliver it to you."[Jorhim]


    Shingi knew that the only time that something would take time to be taken by a bank''s storage unit was of things that were considered of great importance, and there had to be an agreement from the higher-ups, which took some time.


    "I understand. We are going to be at The Imperfect Lily. You can deliver this there."[Harbin]


    Harbin then turned and left the bank, followed by Shingi, who stayed silent during the whole process. He was curious what would get delivered to them, but he wasn''t impatient as he knew that he would learn soon; otherwise, why would Harbin tell him to follow him.


    They walked a few minutes until they reached an Inn with a sign with the drawing of a lily with some of its petals being cut and have next to it written with big letters <em>''The Imperfect Lily.''</em>


    This was one of the best inns in the town, and Ameanum rarely came here when in town as he wasn''t much on spending his money in that high ce except if they had some special food or something.


    Getting in the ce was full of people, and Shingi noticed some having a particr poster with them.


    On the posters, there was witting that said that today was going to be a special event at the Imperfect Lily, of a group of entertainers going by the name of Strings of Four Seasons would make an appearance today.


    There was even a drawing of Meyana in her dancing outfit, mainly why many people kept those posters.


    Harbin spoke with one of the people working here and got a private room for him and Shingi to have their drinks, food, and discuss.


    Of course, they wouldn''t be able to see the special even from there, but they could get out to enter the public area if they wanted to check it out.


    He ordered a few drinks and some food as a young female waitress took his order and informed the ones in charge of them and brought them.


    "So mind to tell me why you used a different name. I am confident that your name isn''t Vangel."[Harbin]


    "You remember correctly. The name is Shingi, Shingi Maki. Have to use an alias as there are a few people who would be best not to know I am around here."[Shingi]


    Harbin seemed to be calm for a captain guard that had just heard someone telling him that he lied his way in. This could be a simple thing, but it was against thews and would be punishable by a few days of jails.


    But Shingi didn''t find any reason to hide the fact that Harbin already knew he was lying, so hiding the face wouldn''t help him as he didn''t have to admit it to get in jail.


    "You seem to be bold for someone at your age. It reminds me a bit of your mother; even among the Blessed Ones, she was one of the boldest out there. I still wait for her to show up out of nowhere, but they rarely do after being missing for that long."[Harbin]


    "How do you know my family?"[Shingi]


    "Oh, I guess Garry didn''t speak of his older brother. Well, we haven''t spoken since you were born, and that was through letters. As a Captain of the town, it is rare for me to leave the town except for special cases, so I wasn''t able to visit Carda. How is Annoue, by the way? She must have grown to a beautiful youngdy at this point if you have grown that much."[Harbin]


    Shingi kept his sadness and anger away from showing on his face by the mention of his missing sister.


    "She is currently away from home, but she will return soon. So how did you know about my eyes, and why can you see their true color?"[Shingi]


    At this point, the female waitress returned with some drinks and some simple food toe with them. After letting them and making sure everything was ok, she left the room.


    "This is something you got from our side of the family, but you seem not to have full control of it yet."[Harbin]


    Then the eyes of Harbin changed from ck to golden.


    Shingi didn''t know what that meant as he didn''t know of humans having the ability to do that without the use of magic.


    "I see that Garry hasn''t informed you. As expected of him, after Angel left, he seemed not to care for many things. We are still humans, but as there are some sub-races of other races, so is it for us. We may be considered humans by the Gods, but we have some unique abilities that normal humans don''t have. Although I assume because of your mother, you and Annoue may have more innate abilities than the rest of us."[Harbin]


    Shingi never heard of humans having any sub-race in the game, but since the System didn''t seem to refer to them differently, it made sense.


    "So what abilities other than turning our eyes different color do we have?"[Shingi]


    "Right to the point, I see. Changing our eyes'' color is mostly a sign for us to recognize each other, and each color represents a different specialization we belong to. People who don''t belong to our race see our eyes as being ck all the time. My eyes help me to be a better leader and helped me in my tasks as a Captain. Garry''s green eyes have helped him to recognize different materials; that''s why he chose to be a craftsman. As for your red eyes, I am not sure what they are supposed to do. I haven''t met anyone of that color, but some people may know. We try to keep a secret our existence and power, so you should also keep it like that."[Harbin]


    Shingi didn''t expect that there was a reason like that behind the color of his eyes.


    He thought back to Annoue eyes being ck all the time, and he thought if she knew of that all along.


    "Do you know what color Annoue''s eyes were? I have only seen them being ck."[Shingi]


    "Hm... if my memory is correct, her eyes were white. It is a rare one and was supposed to give her the ability to fight better by increasing her awareness, speed, and reaction. This is one of the rare cases of having the eye active can easily put a great strain on its user''s body if overused. I doubt Garry taught her how to use it."[Harbin]


    This sounded like his <strong>HASTE</strong> Spell, but he understood that it would have some differences since it was an innate ability.


    "Does what we wait for have to do with learning about my eye then? And is there a danger for me to have it active all the time?"[Shingi]


    Harbin considered his answer for a few seconds.


    "Well, if there was any danger, it would show up soon enough as if it was to put a strain on you as it wouldn''t need much time. So unless you get tired pretty easily, then you are fine. Just having eyes at their true color doesn''t always mean that it is active, as most of the time, you need to focus on it too to get activated. We also prefer to keep our eyes on the ck color if we encounter a few people who can notice it and trust me, and you don''t want to meet them. Just focus on your eyes, and you will feel some power on them, and you could turn it off and on."[Harbin]


    Shingi focused, and he really felt something in his eyes that he hadn''t detected before as he never focused on that area only.


    He was able to switch it off pretty easily.


    "I see you are a fast learner. As for your other question, no, it doesn''t have to do with the eyes. It is a gift left from your mother."[Harbin]

 Chapter 113: Womans past

    Chapter 113: Woman''s past


    Harbin started sharing with Shingi some of the stories of him and Garry when they were younger.


    The two of them used to travel around to experience the world and what it could offer them.


    They helped and met many people in their adventures, including Shingi''s and Annoue''s mother, Angel''s Feather.


    Fate had the paths of the three crossing many a time from which a bond of friendship was born. Later that bond was developed further for Garry and Angel, but Harbin wasn''t aware of the exact moment when friendship turned to love for those two.


    He then was offered a job as the Captain of a town, which they have helped many times.


    Garry was also offered a simr offer to open a shop, but he decided to continue traveling with Angel until one day, he had sent a letter to Harbin that Angel was pregnant.


    Harbin was happy for his brother even if it was unheard of a Blessed One giving birth up until this point.


    He offered for his new family to move here, but Garry seemed happy with this new home and even with his new shop, even if it wasn''t as advanced as the one offered to him in the past.


    Shingi learned that Garry was a Base Rank Smith, but he could advance his Crafting Skills to Master Rank for a limited time with his special eyes abilities. But in exchange, he could never get his Skills to be at Master Rank no matter how much he tried.


    But Garry had told Harbin that he was happy even with that drawback, as he hadn''t ever expected to reach Master Rank on his own.


    Now and then, he was able to speak with them through magical means or uses of items like what Shingi saw Roth used to talk with Jax the other day.


    The talks stopped when Shingi was born, andter Harbin learned what had happened. He sent one of his trustworthy people to learn as his brother or Angel weren''t answering any of his messages.


    When he learned what happened and that his nephew was born cursed, he was ready to leave his duty to join his brother, but he was stopped. Over the years, the town became more dependent on him, and he was considered its unofficial mayor.


    Some parties didn''t like him having that much power, and some were worried about what would happen if he left the town at any point.


    He tried to help to the best of his abilities to search for a cure, but nothing seemed to work.


    Then one day, almost two years ago, near the time Shingi had heard from a that his motherpletely disappeared, Angel came to visit Harbin.


    As Harbin was ready to speak of his meeting with her, the door of their private room was knocked.


    The food and drinks had arrived some time ago, so they weren''t expecting anything else, and it was too early for the delivery from the bank.


    "Who is it?"[Harbin]


    The door opened, and the female waitress who had brought them their drinks and food entered the room.


    "I am sorry for the interruption, but I''ve got a message for Mr. Vangel."[Female waitress]


    Shingi looked at her, confused about how she knew this name. He hadn''t used it while in town, and Harbin didn''t use it to call him.


    "Ms. Meyana of the Strings of Four Seasons said she would like your presence or she won''t progress with her dance. She told me that you are supposed to be here and described you."[Female waitress]


    A whistle was heard by Harbin when she finished her sentence.


    "I see that a beauty has noticed someone. And Ms. Meyana, nheless, I guess you were actually born under a lucky star."[Harbin]


    Shingi ignored thement of his new uncle as he considered why she would want him to attend her show.


    "We are going to be out soon."[Shingi]


    "Oh, thank you. Boss is ready to have a heart attack as many people started shouting and getting angry for the dy."[Female waitress]


    She bowed out of respect and left the room, closing the door behind her.


    Shingi then turned towards Harbin.


    "Do you think that she is one of them?"[Shingi]


    "Hm, what do you mean?"[Harbin]


    "Meyana. Do you think she can see the true color of our eyes when we have them activated?"[Shingi]


    Harbin''s face became serious, suddenly realizing what Shingi was referring to.


    "It is a possibility. Meyana is indeed rumored not to show interest to others no matter what she got offered. But here be one of them? If it is true, then it will be troublesome."[Harbin]


    "So should I just leave, or should we encounter her to see how she reacts when I have my eyes deactivated?"[Shingi]


    Harbin gave it some thought before responding.


    "Thetter one, I think, is our best option. Even if she is one of them, she won''t act out in the open, especially if I am nearby."[Harbin]


    Shingi nodded at the stood up, and left the room.


    They found the female waitress not too far, who lead them to special seats reserved for them.


    Typically, they were reserved for the owner and a friend of his. But under those particr circumstances and Meyana demands, they were given to them.


    Some people learned the reason behind the dy and were watching towards the direction towards Shingi with piercing stares which stopped the moment Harbin noticed them.


    Smoke appeared in the middle of the scene. Smoke started moving and creating a mini whirlwind that started bing green.


    Part of the whirlwind wind became leaves, and it exploded, making the leaves move outwards of it and a figure appearing where the whirlwind was.


    After a few seconds, music started ying, and people started whistling and pping as they noticed that the figure was that of Meyana.


    She held a scimitar at each of her hands and started her special dance, which seemed to be part of different shing techniquesbined with artistic touches.


    Her des created different color lines, with each of her swings which stayed in ce and disappeared after a few seconds.


    At some point, everyone went quiet as only the music could be heard in the room.


    Her moves were beautiful and quiet, and people thought it would ruin the experience to be interrupted by any noise. Some even heard their breath.


    Shingi knew that this wasn''t the typical dance of her, and she rarely was using the de dancing routine.


    He had to admit that her moves were exceptional, and he also had some hard time keeping up with some of them.


    The dancested a couple of minutes, but it felt like hours passed, admiring this beautiful scene for some.


    In the end, she ended her performance by throwing one of her scimitars right at Shingi.


    It was turning in the air, and Shingi could tell that the hilt would hit him only as it was meant to, but he wasn''t nning to let it happen either way.


    It was clear that she wanted to make a scene, and he was happy to oblige.


    He used one of his Mana Seeds to cast <strong>HASTE</strong> as the de reached him.


    He grabbed it by the hilt and vanished.


    Everyone had followed the scimitar and was confused about what happened.


    They turned towards where Meyana was standing was an exnation and were surprised by what they saw.


    Shingi was in front of her, kneeling, holding the scimitar to her like an offering.


    "I think this belongs to you, Miss Meyana."[Shingi]


    There was silence for a second before a person started slowly pping and was joined by another. More started joining them at pping, and in the end, everyone started pping.


    They thought that all this was part of the show as Meyana had dyed the start until his arrival.


    Meyana picked up her scimitar and bowed at the audience, and Shingi stood up and did a simr bow.


    "Next time, if you want to draw my attention, you can just ask."[Shingi]


    He said this sentence so that only Meyana would hear it.


    He moved back to his seat next to Harbin, who seemed happy to see that he was fine.


    "Is everything good?"[Harbin]


    "Yes, it is. By the way, she isn''t one of them."[Shingi]


    Harbin was confused as her actions showed the opposite, but he couldn''t discuss it out here.


    They remained for the rest of the show, but Meyana didn''t appear again.


    It seemed that this was her only appearance for today.


    When thest part of the show happened, people started leaving, and Shingi and Harbin returned to their private room but not before ordering some dinner.


    A messenger hade from the bank during the show and gave Harbin a small package, which he stored in his Spatial Ring.


    Before they entered the room, Shingi stopped Harbin.


    "Just let me do the talking."[Shingi]


    Before Harbin had a chance to ask what he meant, Shingi opened the door, and they saw Meyana being in the room sitting by herself.


    "You sure took your time. I didn''t think you would like our show that much. Or did you do it on purpose?"[Meyana]


    Shingi and Harbin entered the room and sat across from her.


    "So your eyes can really see them."[Shingi]


    Harbin was confused as Shingi told him before that she wasn''t one of the people who could see the true nature of their eyes.


    "How do you know this? And who are you? Or should I say who you used to be?"[Meyana]


    Shingi hade across a special ability that a few Seasonal Elves were born with. The ability to see the soul of someone.


    He was confident that his soul would be looking weird in her eyes as he was an old adult in the body of a young teenager.


    That was the reason why she attacked him or made it look like she was attacking him as people with strange souls were most time people possessed by Demons


    "Who I used to be isn''t important. As for how I know that you can see my soul... well, I had helped a few of your race and they trusted me with this knowledge. And by help, I mean real help, and nothing bad happened to them before youe to wrong assumptions."[Shingi]


    He mentioned the ability of Harbin to understand why she wasn''t one of the people he referred to, but Harbin was still confused.


    "Who told you this information."[Meyana]


    "Hylrastra the Protector of the Dark Woods."[Shingi]


    She mmed her hand at the table when she heard that name.


    "That is impossible. She would never trust a human with that type of information."[Meyana]


    "And how would you be sure about this. She told me that you hadn''t visited her for thest 200 plus years. A ruthless move for a daughter to pull on her mother."[Shingi]


    Her eyes widened, hearing thest sentence of his.


    "How do you know this. I never mentioned it to anyone."[Meyana]


    "I know a lot of things exiled Princess. I haven''t visited her for a long time, but I am sure she waits for your return. Past deeds can be forgotten even by Elves."[Shingi]


    Her eyes changed, and her always happy face showed to be sad as a tear started moving down her left cheek.


    "I... I can go back?"[Meyana]


    Shingi stayed calm. After a few minutes of soft crying, she stood and moved towards the exit of the room.


    Before shepletely left the room, though, she turned towards Shingi.


    "Thank you."[Meyana]


    When she left, Shingi turned towards Harbin, who waspletely confused.


    "What just happened? Who are you?"[Harbin]


    Shingi sighed as he started exining everything to him. He had decided that he could trust him.


    He was family, after all.

 Chapter 114: The gift

    Chapter 114: The gift


    Harbin didn''t know what to say.


    The story that Shingi that just told him was unbelievable, but Shingi told him details about the world that an average person wouldn''t know.


    There were some details that Shingi didn''t exin as he would have to exin that this world was part of a game, something that was forbidden to do.


    Although he was part NPC himself, he didn''t know if the System would punish him, but he didn''t want to find out.


    "So you aren''t really my nephew. Or more specifically, my nephew isn''t a new entity but a clone of someone else?"[Harbin]


    "Partially, you are correct. Part of my previous self was used to create my current self but mostly as a mold but not a perfect one. I am not precisely the same person as my Blessed One, but there is a connection between the two. I guess you could say our souls are connected, meaning this body has its soul making it a different entity than my Blessed One body."[Shingi]


    Harbin stayed quiet for a few minutes before he seemed to have calmed down a bit.


    "I am not sure if you were born under a lucky star or an unlucky one, but you are a good guy on my list. I still don''t get it fully how it works, but you are family, either way, no matter if the Old Gods or the New Gods created your soul."[Harbin]


    Shingi felt a warm feeling inside him that he had felt in the past sometimes when he was spending time with Annoue.


    ''A family, huh? I guess Shingi is luckier than Ameanum in this part.''[Shingi]


    He didn''t care much about Garry, but after hearing his story about how he met his mother, and everything they had gone through, he could somewhat understand how much she really meant for him and how much it destroyed him when she was gone.


    Ameanum was never interested in romance or had fallen in love, so he didn''t know the possible pain it could cause from the loss of a loved one.


    But he had felt something like that when Annoue got kidnapped, but he was sure that it was nothing like what Garry felt when Angel disappeared.


    "Let''s change the subject. How about I show you Angel''s gift. I am sure she would want you to have this even if she knew that crazy story of yours."[Harbin]


    Shingi didn''t mention that she was part of the whole process and was aware of how everything worked, or at least most of them.


    Harbin brought out a small jewelry box and let it in front of Shingi.


    There wasn''t a lock, but there was a purple gem in the ce that one would exist.


    "What is there in it?"[Shingi]


    Harbin shrugged.


    "I have no idea. She gave it to me and told me to give it to you if you ever came to town. She also left one for Annoue, but she told me to give each of you only the one meant for you. I have been curious about what is inside them but haven''t found a way to open them."[Harbin]


    Shingi used his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> and <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> at full power on the box and the gem, but he got nothing.


    The gem looked like a mana gem, but its color wasn''t of one of the Basic Elements, and no mana was emitting or residing in it.


    He tried to put some of his mana in it, but the gem was putting a great resistance that even he couldn''t pass with his Skills.


    He tried to see if there was a secret mechanic or a rune but came empty at this search.


    He kept starring at the box until he noticed something.


    Each of its corners had some metal panel covering them. He noticed that one of them at the corner of the panel was a little sharper than the rest, but not enough to cut him by touching it by mistake.


    ''Maybe it is a clue?''[Shingi]


    He doubted that this was a design w that happened by mistake as the crafting was professional, and one wouldn''t make a mistake like that.


    He used this sharp corner to lightly cut one of his fingers.


    Nothing happened, so he moved onto the second idea he had for this.


    He dripped a drop from his finger onto the gem.


    The blood got sucked into the gem. Shingi could see that the blood was actually inside the gem, like if the gem was a ss case.


    The box was still locked, but Shingi felt like the lock became a little rxed.


    He made a cut at his palm to let more bloode out faster and touched the gem, and felt the blood being sucked by it.


    It didn''t take too much as the sucking stopped, and taking his hand away, Shingi could see the gem to bepletely ck.


    A click sound was heard as the gem fell on the table and the box opened by itself.


    In the box, there was a scroll and a ne.


    Shingi''s eyes got wide from surprise.


    The ne was in the shape of a feather. It was identical to the one he had made as a gift for Annoue.


    He summoned it from his Spatial Ring andpared the two.


    They were the same except for one thing; this one waspletely ck while the one he made had its natural silver color.


    He could feel, though, that it was painted ck and the material to craft it was also silver but was mana-embedded silver, but no Enchantments were on it.


    "It''s been years since thest time I have seen this. This was one of the tokens of your mother. Angel was gifting them to people that she helped to remember her. I asked her many times why she was painting them ck, but she gave me a different answer each time. Where did you find the non-painted one?"[Harbin]


    Shingi looked at him with evident confusion at his eyes which was something rare for him. He was getting confused in the past, but he rarely showed it.


    "I made it. But I wasn''t aware of this story of her using something like that."[Shingi]


    Harbin brought his hand forward to ask for the one Shingi made so that he can examine it.


    "Oh, good craft. I see you got something from my little brother. Or did you know how to do that before? Well, either way, they look pretty simr to me, and I have seen the ones of Angel a thousand times. You certain you didn''t encounter them before?"[Harbin]


    Shingi thought about it, but he was confident if she knew someone who had a habit like that.


    Making those at such quantity would worth a fortune since it was a custom item that only she would want to use.


    Shingi took the scroll that there was in the box and unrolled it.


    It was nk.


    He used his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> and <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, but nothing showed up.


    "You should enable your red eyes. This is a special message that only people like us can see."[Harbin]


    Shingi noticed that Harbin had his eyes at their gold color and had turned them back to ck again after checking the scroll.


    He focused on turning on the power of his eyes once again and noticed clear writing on the paper.


    It looked like ink, but since it was visible in those particr circumstances, Shingi knew it wasn''t regr ink.


    It seemed to be a map that Shingi recognized to be of the Neutral Zone, where the Tower was, and it was pointing at an area not far from where the Tower was.


    At the bottom, some writing was saying, ''For the weak light of my life.''


    This seemed to be a treasure map, but what the treasure was, he had no idea at all, but he was excited to find out.


    "Don''t tell me you are really going to go there? I know that ce and Neutral Zone isn''t a walk in the park. Even with your speed, you may have a problem dealing with things there. You aren''t a Blessed One that can return after you die anymore, so you should be careful."[Harbin]


    "I may not be the man I was, but I am a man still, so will act like one. But you don''t have to worry about me. I know the dangers pretty well and have ns to deal with them."[Shingi]


    Harbin sighed as he understood that he couldn''t change his decision. He was too familiar with the look of determination that Shingi had. He himself had this look many times, especially in his younger days.


    "Fine. Then how about you stay with my family and me for some time. I am sure it will be better than staying at an inn, and you can meet your aunt and cousins."[Harbin]


    Shingi would typically prefer to stay by himself to train, but it was true that he also wanted to meet the rest of his family. He liked it more than his real-life one, which he didn''t keep up with how they were doing, and they also didn''t seem to care.


    He didn''t have the best rtionship with Garry, but it wasn''t like either of them tried to bond with each other.


    They waited for their dinner, and after having it, they left to go towards the house of Harbin.


    In the way, a few guards came to Harbin with reports or messages, to which he responded and took care of them pretty fast.


    Shingi was surprised that Harbin had spent that much time with him as it truly seemed that he was taking care of many things for the town, even some that have nothing to do with what a Guard Captain should do.


    They reached their destination finally, and it was a big house but not among the biggest or the more expensive looking ones.


    It looked pretty typical and way simple for someone of Harbin''s status to live at.


    As they ent in, Harbin, who was the first to enter, was surprised hugged by a pretty young girl.


    "Dada, youte. Mam is angry for not letting her know. Me too because you promised we are going to go shopping today."[Young girl]


    "Oh, right. I knew I forgot something important to do today. Sorry sweetie, but I met someone today who I haven''t seen for a long time."[Harbin]


    He pointed towards Shingi, and the young girl was starring at him.


    "Who is that boy? He doesn''t look like one of your young recruits. And I hope you weren''t out drinking."[???]


    The voice came from the first room after the entry''s space.


    A middle-aged woman appeared and seemed to be the one who spoke.


    There were some simrities between the young girl and the woman, so Shingi was sure that she was the wife of Harbin.


    Harbin put his right hand over the left of Shingi.


    "Well, my love, here is someone I have mentioned in the past. Shingi, the young son of Little Garry."[Harbin]


    She raised one of her eyebrows as she moved closer to Harbin.


    She went right at his face and smelled him a few times.


    "You had some drinks but not too much. I thought that he was cursed."[Harbin''s wife]


    "It is a long story."[Shingi]


    The young girl stopped hugging her father as she started pping.


    "Oh, did you say story? I love stories. Can I hear it? Can I, can I?"[Harbin''s daughter]


    Shingi sighed as he looked at Harbin, who gave him a look of telling him that he didn''t have a choice.


    <em>''It is going to be a long night.''</em>[Shingi]

 Chapter 115: Harbins daughter

    Chapter 115: Harbin''s daughter


    It''s been definitely a long night as Shingi went through his story after waking up.


    He told the story of him being rescued and following the n of his Blessed One Master. He trusted Harbin to keep a secret, but his family and especially his daughter probably weren''t that good to keep secrets.


    He used his <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> to show the different people he met, although he changed their faces and their equipment a bit to be safe.


    He used the Illusion so that he wouldn''t mention the name of the one he was referring to but instead have the Illusion of him or her.


    Harbin''s daughter''s name was Himon, and his wife''s name was Orsina.


    Both Himon and Orsina seemed interested in the stories of Shingi, although thetter tried not to show it much on her face.


    "So where is sis Annoue? Is she going to visit us too?"[Himon]


    Shingi sadness appeared on his face for a split second before returning to his normal state.


    "She is currently busy training. But in the future, we wille to visit altogether."[Shingi]


    Himon seemed to think for a second before raising her hand in front of Shingi with a closed fist, and just her pinky finger extended.


    "Pinky promise?"[Himon]


    "Where did you learn that?"[Shingi]


    It wasn''t something that was programmed in the game for NPCs to suggest.


    "A friend told me about it. She heard that some of the Heroes were doing it as a ritual to promise that they will do something, and the New Gods were watching over the deal."[Himon]


    Shingi smiled over the crazy story and how rumors spread over something simple to workpletely different from usual.


    He raised his hand, extended his pinky finger, andpleted the <em>''ritual''</em> called Pinky Promise.


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST: PROMISE TO HIMON</strong>


    <strong>Description:</strong> You promised Himon to meet again and bring more people with you, including NPC Annoue.


    <strong>Completion Requirements:</strong> NPC Annoue to be present


    <strong>Reward</strong>: Increase Himon''s reputation, ????


    ================================


    Shingi wasn''t surprised that a Quest got created by it, but for the reward, including a mysterious one.


    It meant that depending on how hepleted that Quest, and he would get rewarded differently. Like what happened with the <strong>SYSTEM QUEST</strong> he had for organizing Annoue''s Birthday Party.


    Last time the reward was quite good, which reminded him that the people in front of him would enable the passive effect of his Angel''s Boon, but he couldn''t test it out as he had to be inbat for it to work.


    He wasn''t going to test it out, no matter how curious he was, though.


    It would be helpful, though, to have Harbin with him to have the passive effect of the Blessing''s active, but Shingi knew that Harbin couldn''t leave the town, and Himon was too young.


    It got prettyte, and even if Himon was asking for more stories, her mother told her to go to sleep.


    Shingi was led to the guest room to get some rest himself.


    "Tomorrow will be away to have to take care of some business but try to spend time and y with Himon. I am sure you both need it."[Harbin]


    Shingi nodded as he would typically prefer to spend time training or looking for the merchant he came to town for, but he agreed with Harbin''s suggestion.


    He wanted to learn what his eyes were helping him with, so he opened his Status Window if there was a difference now that they weren''t active.


    And he noticed a difference right away.


    There was no <strong>CHA</strong> stat.


    It wasn''t 0 as in the past when he seemed to have overused it, but it wasn''t even written at his Status Window.


    He focused on enabling his eyes again, and the <strong>CHA</strong> stat appeared once again in his Status Window.


    So this meant that his Eyes Special power was behind his protection against magic that would mess his mind, the Mind Wipes and all the mention of his <strong>CHA</strong> Stat.


    He still wasn''t sure when his <strong>CHA</strong> was used, but now that he knew the source was his eyes, he could make some tests.


    But that was something that he would do tomorrow.


    He brought out the ck feather left as a gift from his mother and tried to see if he missed anything.


    It was suspicious that it was made of mana-embedded silver and not regr silver. It would be cheaper to use a normal one, especially since it was supposed to be a simple gift.


    It would most likely help him when he arrived at the ce that the map pointed to, but he had to be sure that there wasn''t any other use of it.


    He spent a couple of hours testing it with different approaches, but nothing indicated that it had any particr use.


    But since it was crafted out of mana-embedded silver, it could help improve the mana used for Spells like Shingi was doing with the Mithril dagger in the past. But the difference between the two was significant, with Mirthil being the best of the two.


    Shingi was able to do something simr work with his staves; that was why he didn''t mind that he didn''t have his dagger anymore.


    But he could use this instead of summoning one of his staves if he didn''t consider having a staff to be necessary or wanted to do it in secret without drawing attention while others could watch him.


    The feather also had a small chain to use as a ne that Shingi did, but he kept it under his clothes.


    He could use its effect without having to touch it with his hand since it was touching his skin, but that was only possible because of his Master Rank <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>.


    He made tome tests, and the difference of the Spells was noticeable but not bringing them to a new level.


    He opened his book of Arcane Words, started studying it more, and continued trying to find suitable ones for all his Spells.


    Low-Grade ones were easy toplete since the book had them, even <strong>ROCK THROW</strong>, which wasn''t a recorded one, but Shingi understood from the others what was suited for it.


    He also found ones for most of his Base Grade ones, except the <strong>FEAR</strong> one and the <strong>HASTE</strong> one, the two most potent Spells he had. His <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> and <strong>DOME OF SILENCE</strong> were also at a rtive level to the two mentioned above. Still, he was able to find mentions of Arcane Words for them, or in the case of <strong>DOME OF SILENCE</strong>, found a few spells that had part of the effect andbined them.


    As for his Master Grade <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> or Grandmaster Grade <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong>, a simple book like that wouldn''t help him.


    Those needed unique Arcane Words that were rare for one to find records of, and if they were anywhere, it would cost a fortune for one to get ess to them. He was lucky that in the past a yer he was helping with a Quest came across an ancient ruin that had a book containing this kind of info and Shingi spend time helping him learn the Arcane Words for <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> as the yer was mostly interested in that Spell.


    That was the case for Master Grade Spells as Shingi never heard of anyone, NPC or yer, to have found any way to learn Arcane Words of Grandmaster Grade Spells.


    Even Pan didn''t know the ones for <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> when Shingi had asked her, but this didn''t make her Spell being weak.


    He still had to master his <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong>pletely, but he could move better while in it as he spent some training time with it while at his<strong> TRANCE ROOM</strong>.


    He decided to take some sleep and continue everythingter.


    It was one of the rare times that he let his mind rx and tried not to think of anything.


    In the morning, he got awaken by a few knocks at the door of his room.


    "Brother Shin, are you awake? Papa said that we are going to take me for a walk and shopping. Are you up yet?"[Himon]


    Shingi sighed as he got up from the bed.


    He opened the door seeing an excited Himon behind it.


    "Oh, you are awake. So are we going out?"[Himon]


    "Let''s eat something first."[Shingi]


    Shingi headed towards the kitchen, which was near the living room, where they were discussing yesterday.


    He noticed Orsina being there preparing some breakfast.


    "I see that Himon woke you up. I hope you had some good sleep. Sit both of you and will bring breakfast."[Orsina]


    "But, Mom, We were going to head out to ..."[Himon]


    "No excuses, youngdy. Sit to get something to eat first."[Orsina]


    Himon turned and sat at one of the kitchen chairs ced around a simple table for a few people to eat. She was angry about having to sit but didn''t say anything.


    Shingi also sat at one of the chairs.


    Orsina had boiled some eggs, removed their shell, and brought some slices of bread with some jam on them.


    There were different jams of different fruits, but all seemed to be of excellent quality.


    Himon quickly ended her meal and waited for Shingi to finish his.


    There were a few instances that Himon wanted to say something, most likely for him to hurry up, but each time before she said something, her mother''s look stopped her from continuing.


    Shingi enjoyed the meal as it''s been a while since he had such a good breakfast and the first time he had one like that as an NPC.


    "Thank you for the meal, Lady Orsina."[Shingi]


    "You don''t need to be that formal. We are family, so call me Orsina. Well, you should be on your way, but be careful out there. Also, don''t bete for lunch, you two."[Orsina]


    Shingi nodded and followed Himon outside.


    She was ready to run forward, but Shingi quickly moved in front of her to stop her.


    "You need to stay next to me. It is still early, and the shops are just getting open, so we have time to go around."[Shingi]


    Himon nodded in agreement after she snapped out of he surprise seeing Shingi moving that fast.


    She moved near him, and Shingi could easily keep track of her with his detection Skills.


    His first stop would be the shop of the man he was looking for as he remembered that he was one of the rare ones to stay open all day.


    "Where do we go? Toymaker is the other way."[Himon]


    "Have to visit an old friend of my Master first. But we may even find something more interesting there from what we can get at Toymaker."[Shingi]


    Himon''s eyes were full of excitement until she seemed to remember something.


    "Papa gave me some money, but they are enough for only one thing from the Toymaker. Do you really think we will find something that good?"[Himon]


    "No worries about the cost of it. I am sure we will be able to find a solution for it. The owner of the shop isn''t much interested in coins either way."[Shingi]


    Excitement returned to Himon''s eyes.


    "So can''t we get there faster? You moved that fast before, and I can move fast for someone of my age."[Himon]


    "You need to be patient, Himon. Just because you can go somewhere fast doesn''t mean you should as it could be unsafe to do so."[Shingi]


    "But nobody would hurt us. Papa wouldn''t..."[Himon]


    Before she finished her sentence, she stopped as she saw Shingi disappearing and barely heard him appearing behind her.


    Shingi had his left arm at the height of her head and had caught a small dart heading towards her.


    He looked toward the direction that it came and saw at the roof of a hooded person with a blowgun at hand.


    The man raised his hand and made a signal as almost a dozen people jumped from the nearby room with weapons at hand, heading to attack Shingi.


    Shingi felt his Angel''s Boon passive effect being active, which he couldn''t do so in the past.


    The effect was an <strong>SP</strong> Regeneration aura.

 Chapter 116: Battle at the alley

    Chapter 116: Battle at the alley


    There were ten people, not including the one who gave them the signal, and they had surrounded Shingi and Himon.


    Shingi didn''t detect any guards nearby, and nobody else was either.


    He noticed that all of his assants wore the same outfits, designed to hide their characteristics.


    There wasn''t any symbol on them, but Shingi could tell that they were people from <em>Owl Talon</em>.


    He encountered many Criminal Organizations in the past and knew the designs they used for their outfits which they rarely changed.


    Shingi cast with the help of four of his Mana Seeds as many Golems as he could, which was eight at that point.


    He made them all be <em>Defenders</em> and ordered them to guard Himon and didn''t make them appear yet but have them part of the ground until needed. That was a trick he found out he could do during his training at the <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>.


    "Stay still, Himon. I will take care of them."[Shingi]


    He didn''t summon either his sword or any of his staves, just charged to them with his fists.


    He used one of his Mana Seed to cast <strong>HASTE</strong> quickly.


    He had time to cast it without using one, but he didn''t want them to know that he cast something.


    They were pretty agile, but even without <strong>HASTE</strong>''s effect, Shingi was faster than them.


    He vanished for a second as he appeared in front person who was nearest to him and punched him towards another person.


    Then he vanished once more and appeared in front of another one doing the same action and continue until everyone got either punched or had someone thrown at them.


    "What are you doing? Are you that useless that a boy beat you up that easily?"[Man in the roof]


    Shingi could tell that the man wasn''t as calm as he tried to make it look and could see signs of worry in his voice, but they were well hidden there.


    The men got up as the punch of Shingi didn''t damage them that badly, mainly because his <strong>STR</strong> wasn''t that high, and he didn''t use his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> Skill at them.


    Shingi had his right hand behind his arm and left entended towards them with an open arm facing the sky.


    He gave them a signal to try to attack him.


    The men once more charged him, trying this time to reach him at the same time.


    Their teamwork seemed impressive, but their fighting skills not so much.


    Shingi used his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> Skill and moved at such an incredible speed that it looked like he grew four extra pairs of arms and punching each of them in the face.


    But he didn''t stop there as they were thrown back by that attack Shingi attacked each of them multiple times at different ces of their body.


    He moved at such speed that afterimages of his stayed behind him make it look like he was making clones of himself to attack.


    He used the same technique he used in the past to Wild Tycoon with abination of what he used to stun Price to strengthen the effects as their outfits were granting them some protection.


    He returned to the ce he was standing before and had both his arms behind his back.


    He barely heard a sighing from the man still on the roof as he noticed his men not getting up.


    The man jumped down the roof a few meters away from Shingi.


    "You sure are problematic one, aren''t you? I hate your kind, but I don''t have time to deal with you. So <strong>KNEEL</strong>."[Leader of attackers]


    Shingi kneeled down like something took control of his body, and he could do nothing about it.


    His face was facing the ground, but he could hear the light steps of the person heading towards him.


    He heard some disturbance in the air near where his hand was as with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> Shingi could tell that the person summoned a weapon from a Spatial Ring.


    "It''s been fun meeting you, but nobody messes with us and lives to..."[Leader of attackers]


    The figure got interrupted as a Golem of Shingi appeared and punched him in the face.


    The person didn''t seem to pay attention to his surroundings, so he didn''t notice it being formed behind him.


    Fortunately, Shingi still could control them and give them orders through his bond with them.


    But since it was a <em>Defender</em> one, its attack power wasn''t as high as an Attacker one.


    Shingi focused on his eyes to enable them once more, and when they got active, he could feel the energy that was keeping him in ce weakening at a fast pace as he took control of his body once more.


    But he didn''t move from where he was.


    He kept only one of his Golems attacking him, and now that the figure was aware of its existence was able to deal with it.


    "I see you have tricks upon your sleeves, kid. But these weak tricks don''t work on me."[Leader of attackers]


    Shingi detected the person moving at an incredible speed behind his Golem, putting its de at the Golem''s head and destroying it.


    This was one of the best ways to deal with the Golems, destroy where their ''brain'' was residing, which in most cases was their head.


    Still, a golem''s head wasn''t that easy to be destroyed, especially of a Defender one meaning this person was of great offensive power or his weapon was of high Grade.


    The man turned and moved towards Himon, and when he got closer, the rest of the Golems formed and charged him.


    The person dealt with them with ease by shing their head at an incredible speed.


    Shingi noticed that before he started his attacks, some mana was getting out of the figure''s boots and spread through the body. This seemed to give it a temporary boost at speed.


    "Impressive of being able to cast that many in secret. You sure are an interesting one. You will make a nice ve. But businesses first; let me get the other brat first."[Leader of attackers]


    Shingi then understood that the main target wasn''t him but Himon.


    It''s been some days since hisst encounter with the Owl Talon, but this didn''t mean that they had informed everyone to look for him.


    But the daughter of the <em>''Second Mayor'' </em>of the town being out without any protection, but a young boy was a target they couldn''t let it pass and probably was looking for a chance to kidnap her for some time.


    Himon was frozen in ce as she didn''t know what to do.


    She couldn''t even speak like something was stopping her from doing so.


    "You two going to make me a rich one."[Leader of attackers]


    The figure was ready to grab Himon as a hand appeared out of nowhere, stopping her arm from moving.


    The figure turned to see the owner of the hand and was nobody else than Shingi himself.


    "How did you..."[Leader of attackers]


    "<strong>KNEEL.</strong>"[Shingi]


    At that moment, Shingi released his <strong>FEAR</strong> Spell, which he was preparing for some time and was strengthening it with using the ck Feather of his.


    The person in front of him seemed to want to smile, but the terror appeared in the figure''s eyes.


    Shingi wasn''t aware of what the figure saw as he could leave the Spell itself to decide what to show.


    The figure fell at its feet, grasping its chest like it had trouble breathing and made sounds of showing to be the case. There were barely some screams on those sounds, but only Shingi''s senses could detect them.


    Shingi used the same technique used to the other to make this figure be unconscious and ending its suffering.


    He then removed the mask to see the face of the figure.


    To his surprise, it was a female one, even if the voice sounded to be male. This was because of an Enchantment at the mask to help to keep their identity secret.


    He kept the mask stored at his Spatial Ring as the Enchantment seemed interesting and a little better than the one he had on his.


    "Are... are they dead?"[Himon]


    Shingi turned to her and had a smile on his face to show her that everything was ok.


    "They are unconscious. Killing them would bring us down to be at their level. We are better than them."[Shingi]


    Himon''s eye was once more showing how amazed she was of her cousin.


    Shingi recast his eight Golems, a Light <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong>, and an Earth <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong>.


    They picked the ten figures that first attacked him while he picked up their Leader. Fortunately, she wasn''t that heavy.


    "We should first bring them before your father or one of his guards. Are you aware of any nearby barrack of the guards?"[Shingi]


    "I...i don''t know. I am sorry."[Himon]


    Shingi used a <strong>MANA HAND</strong> to pat her on the head as he used to do with Annoue, which helped her calm down a bit.


    "No worries. It shouldn''t be hard to find one."


    They started moving, and they soon drew the attention of people, among them some guards.


    It wasn''t every day that Earth Golems were moving in the streets holding bodies of unconscious people dressed like assassins.


    "Who are you, and what do you think you are doing?"[Guard]


    "Bringing the attackers of Harbin''s daughter to her father to deal with them as a guard captain. Would you like me to deal with this in some other way?"[Shingi]


    The guard noticed the young girl then, and everyone knew what the daughter of Captain Harpin looked like.


    The guard signaled to some others to help Shingi move the unconscious bodies as it was clear that it wasn''t so easy for him.


    "Follow us we will lead the way to Captain Harbin. Name is Mogan."[Mogan]


    The rest of the guards also introduced themselves even if nobody asked them to do so.


    Shingi knew that they did so since they knew that he would report at Harbin to mention their names as people who helped him. Since this had to do with his daughter, it may earn them some points with their strict Captain.


    Shingi followed the guards and soon reached a building with a few guards stationed outside.


    "I will go call the Captain. You stay here; the rest take them to the cells."[Mogan]


    Some of the guards just starred at Mogan with a clear look that said ''who put you in charge,'' but in the end, nobody said anything, and a few just sighed before following the order given to them.


    "You should remove their boots and check them for any Enchanted items. The unmasked one has a few on her."[Shingi]


    He couldn''t find her weapon as she probably stored it back at her Spatial Ring after taking care of his Golems.


    He saw her Spatial Ring, but he decided not to take it as it was better to leave it for the town as it could contain essential items or leads for the <em>Owl Talon</em>.


    Soon some noise was heard from someone running to get outside, as Harbin came out in a hurry.


    When he noticed Shingi and Himon and that no damage was done to them, he seemed to calm a bit.


    Himon seeing her father ran towards him with arms open and some tears leaving her eyes.


    As she reached her father and hugged him, she left her sadness to get out.


    Shingi and Harbin waited for her to calm down before Harbin asking Shingi to exin what happened.


    "They seem to be after her as they thought she was pretty much unguarded. Most likely, one of your enemies has put a bounty on her as they can''t touch you."[Shingi]


    Harbin''s eyes were filled with pure anger at that moment.


    "Interrogate them and learn for who they work for. <strong>I want this report YESTERDAY.</strong>"[Harbin]


    The guards who were around were scared as they had never seen their Captain be that angry.


    "It will be a waste of time. They are professionals. They won''t speak, and even if they wanted, they wouldn''t know who the client is."[Shingi]


    "You speak as you know them well. Then what do you suggest that we should we do?"[Harbin]


    Shingi smiled at him as he looked towards a nearby alley.


    "We be the hunters."[Shingi]


    Then he started running towards that alley, as there was a figure dressed in a simr outfit to the people he just encountered wore.


    The figure started running away when it understood that it got noticed.


    It''s been a while since Shingi was out for a chase.

 Chapter 117: The Owls hideout

    Chapter 117: The Owl''s hideout


    Shingi followed the figure but didn''t catch up to it.


    The figure wasn''t that fast, but Shingi''s n wasn''t to capture him.


    After some time of going around the town, Shingi made it look like he lost the target, while in reality, he was easily tracking the figure with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> since it had boots simr to the one he fought earlier today.


    The boots'' Enchantment let out a small amount of mana which he could detect, but it would be impossible if he didn''t have his Skill at the current Rank.


    The figure seemed to be still careful, not believing that Shingi was gone, but he used his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> as he didn''t notice any Mana Pooling from him and no Enchantment at the mask on where the eyes were.


    The chasested for close to half an hour and then an hour of following the figure.


    In the end, they arrived at the town''s graveyard, and the figure entered one mausoleum, which was for members of a family called Darksky.


    Shingi remained outside for a few minutes even if he couldn''t keep track of the figure when it entered that ce, as there seems like Enchantments were preventing him from doing so.


    After five minutes passed, he entered the mausoleum himself.


    Since his detection Skills were suppressed in there and even his <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> Spell didn''t work, he summoned a spare de he had.


    He wouldn''t use Sinhunter here in case someone could identify what it really was.


    He had to go down a few stairs until he arrived at the main room.


    There were four stone coffins in the room, one at each corner. The rest of the members were kept in coffins that were getting inserted into the walls.


    There wasn''t any other visible entry or exit other than the one Shingi used to get here.


    Shingi started looking around for signs of movement or a ce where the dust was less thick, but with his detection Skills being suppressed, he had no luck finding anything.


    He was surprised that nobody noticed those Enchantments, but he soon understood why as they got disabled.


    It seemed like they were enabled for a specific time when one was getting in here to prevent people from finding a way to enter. He was sure that some other Enchantment was resetting everything in the environment to show no signs of anyone being here.


    He used his detection skills and noticed that it really was the case as there were no signs of anyone being here other than him for a long time.


    But since the Enchantments were disabled and he was unable to use both his detection Skills and <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong>.


    With this Spell, he tried to find any hidden empty spaces or mechanics in the room. He soon found one at the coffin at the furthest far and left corner of the room.


    The name on it was Baldur Darksky, who was referred to as the founder of the Darkskys.


    There was a pressure te on one of the coffin sides, but Shingi could detect Enchantments of sending a message purpose, which would be to let the people down there that someone used it.


    Fortunately, cause the coffin was quite old, the lit had a few tiny openings, not big enough to see in it. But Shingi could try using it to enter.


    He cast <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> on himself and tried to go through one of thergest ones.


    It was a little smaller than the one at Zhen''s ce but enough to go through, although it still was a little strange the feeling of losing the shape of your body even for a few seconds.


    As he entered the coffin, a hole and a ropedder that was there to go down.


    He moved down the hole by ''flying'' while in his light form as he had detected some detection Enchantments through the way down, which he could easily avoid in this form.


    As he reached the bottom of the hole, he was in an empty room with only a closed door.


    He ended his <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong>, as he couldn''t detect any other Enchantments nearby.


    He waited to recharge his mana as his <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> had used a lot, even if he only used it for close to 2 minutes.


    He noticed that his Minor Mana Regeneration was weaker when he had his eyes disabled, probably cause his <strong>CHA</strong> stat wasn''t avable.


    He enabled his eyes and put the female''s mask, which had some one-way ss on the eyeholes to keep the eyes hidden and let him see.


    He had to be careful with his eyes after what Harbin told him as he wasn''t aware what those people he referred to were, but he knew they would be dangerous ones.


    He kept his detection Skills up and his <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> Spell if there existed any hidden traps or Enchantments.


    He checked the door and tried to check if anyone was on the other side, but it seemed like it wasn''t the case. It wasn''t locked or had any traps or Enchantments on it or near it, so he slowly opened it.


    It led to a corridor, and not far, some spiral stairs leading deeper down in the ground.


    He carefully progressed while he had his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> active, which in this case was as good as his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> while in a dark environment with no source of light.


    Shingi moved through the darkness by using a simple Light mana-based Spell he was experimenting with, which helped him to see in the dark, but everything was in grey color since if he was inplete darkness.


    He still hadn''t brought it to a state to be considered even as semifinished by the System. He had tobine it with ECHOLOCATION and his detection skills to be sure that he didn''t miss seeing something that he should easily be able to see.


    His progress was slow but careful, but after a few minutes, he stopped after a notification appeared.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>DARKVISION</strong> (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    He cast the finished version on him, and everything was clearer to see without entirely using his detection skills, but still, everything was in different shades of grey color.


    He continued moving at a somewhat faster pace, and he reached the ends of the stairs soon enough.


    There was a doorless entry leading to a vast hall.


    There were two people at the entry but were facing the other way than the one Shingi was. They seemed to guard the way and see whoes and goes.


    Fortunately, they hadn''t detected Shingi yet, but he didn''t know if he could pass them undetected.


    Fighting them wasn''t an option as it could make noise and draw the attention of others.


    "What do you think happened to the group? The scout seemed like he was in a great hurry, and they should be back by now."[Guard #1]


    "I wouldn''t be surprised if they got captured. No. 16 was always quite arrogant and careless. She thinks just because she gets gifts from the boss, that she is a big deal. Like we don''t know where she spends her nights or with whom."[Guard #2]


    "One had heard screamsing from boss rooms one day and wasn''t sounding much of pleasure. Do you think he is in that kind of stuff?"[Guard #1]


    "You are new here, aren''t you? She is lucky that she gets out of that room with all her fingers, mostly because the boss finds her interesting cause she is a Half-breed. He always liked Elves, but they are hard to capture."[Guard #2]


    Shingi found it interesting not because if they said but when they said it.


    This was a ssic mechanic of the game for the guards talking when someone, most times a yer, reached a spot for people at that spot to start discussing something. But this meant that there was a Quest rted to what they talked about, and that info could be helpful to either earn this Quest or helpplete it.


    He didn''t get a Quest yet, so most likely, he could use somethingter to earn one. He doubted it was a coincidence that they start their discussion with such perfect timing.


    The guards stopped speaking after that, and Shingi started thinking of a way to pass them unnoticed.


    He soon had thought of a n.


    He summoned one of his Golems as far from him as possible into the room behind a pir.


    He ordered it to make some noise to draw their attention while keeping itself hidden on the ground.


    "What was that? Did you hear this?"[Guard #1]


    "Hmm... weird. Anyone there? If it is you, Will, I swear I am going to beat your ass."[Guard #2]


    The Second guard started heading towards the source of the noise as the other one stayed in ce.


    As he reached the location and found nothing, he turned towards his friend, who was unconscious with Shingi slowly putting his body down to the ground.


    "Who are..."[Guard #2]


    Before he could finish his sentence, he also lost his consciousness at the Golem of Shingi formed behind him and attacked the back of his neck.


    They weren''t heavily armored or had special outfits with defense mechanics, so Shingi and the Golem, with some use of his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> Skill, could also allow his Golems to use to an extent, were able to take care of them quickly.


    He could have tried to attack them both usually, but the surprise was an Element that he needed, and even with his speed, there was a chance of failure.


    He moved them to the ce they were guarding, and with some use of Earth mana, he was able to make some stands to keep them standing in front of the wall.


    He put them in a natural pose, so one wouldn''t notice anything weird if just passed.


    He progressed further in with his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> active and tried to stay in the shadows as there was some torches light at a few ces.


    He soon found another exit leading to a balcony and had some stairs at its left and right leading to the down level, which you could see from the balcony.


    It looked like an inn with many tables and people eating or drinking and some music ying in the background.


    Everyone was wearing simr outfits as the guards he just dealt with, but some wore one simr to the kidnappers he dealt with.


    There were also a couple who had simr cloaks to the female leader. It had a nd dark texture for everyone else, but it seemed to have some unique texture like feathers for those specific few.


    Soon a man with a simr cloak but most of the feathers on the design were cloaks entered that room by a door at the side of it.


    The music stopped suddenly when he entered, as everyone noticed him since he kicked the door open.


    The man wasn''t wearing any mask, so Shingi could clearly see the anger in his eyes.


    Behind him was the one that Shingi had followed here, and Shingi assumed that this was the boss that the guards were talking about.


    "Listen here, you worthless Owlets. Someone pissed me off, so we are going to war. <strong>So stop ying around AND GET READY.</strong> We have a city to burn."[Owl''s Boss]


    Everyone looked at each other and back to their boss with eyes full of confusion.


    "Sorry, did I stutter? Get your asses ready for battle. We let them be for enough time."[Owl''s Boss]


    Shingi didn''t know what to do. There were many people in the room that even he couldn''t take care of them at the same time, and he was sure there were more at some rooms nearby.


    So he took the only option he had. To return, report at Harbin and prepare for battle.

 Chapter 118: The big fight

    Chapter 118: The big fight


    Shingi exited their secret hideout the same way he entered.


    As for the guards that he knocked out, he couldn''t really do anything about them.


    Even if they reported that he got here, he doubted it would change much at this point. Also, both of them didn''t have a good look at him since he was wearing his mask and had his special cloak to cover this clothing, and also he made them fall unconscious quickly.


    He progressed carefully, not to enable any of the rms, since the more time it would take them to discover that he was there, the better.


    When he was out, he used all his speed to return to the barracks where hest saw Harbin.


    It took him a couple of minutes to get there with his current speed since he was taking the shortest route this time.


    There were some guards stationed outside but no signs of Harbin or Himon.


    He stored his mask and cloak before being at sight distance of the guards.


    One of them was the one who helped him before, the one named Mogan.


    "Oh, you are back. The captain said that I should bring you to him when you return. Follow me."[Mogan]


    Shingi didn''t like that Mogan thought that he could order him around but didn''t say anything as there were more serious issues.


    Getting in the barracks and went up some chairs and some walking on a corridor, they reached an office area.


    "Captain. I brought the person you were waiting for."[Mogan]


    Shingi saw Harbin and an older-looking gentleman who didn''t seem to be a guard or any type of soldier. Himon was in the corner ying with a simple wooden doll.


    The man from his attirement Shingi could tell that he was a high rank in the town.


    "Oh, so this is the boy you talked about, Harbin? Interesting."[Noble Man]


    "Yes, that''s him. Mogan, you can be on your way and be sure that nobody interrupts us."[Harbin]


    Mogan bowed to Harbin and the other man as he left the room, closing the door behind him.


    Harbin pointed at a chair in front of his desk and next to the other man''s chair. It was a sign for Shingi to take his seat, which he did.


    "So did you catch that person you were hunting?"[Harbin]


    Shingi told them what happened and what his ''Master'' had told him about the Owl Talon Organization.


    It was a famous one, but not many details were known to the public as they tried not to have any leaks. But Ameanum had his ways back then.


    "So they n to attack us? How soon do you think they will start their attack?"[Harbin]


    "They would probably attack at night, but after finding the state of the guards within the hour, I say."[Shingi]


    "How many men they have?"[Noble Man]


    Shingi still didn''t know who that person was, but he understood that it was one that Harbin trusted.


    "My estimation is at least 100 people. Half of them in the room that I saw, but the size of their base and general state showed signs much more people to be there. Maybe some are out for missions, but they rarely move too far from base."[Shingi]


    Harbin and the other man seemed to be in deep thinking as only Himon ying in the background could be heard.


    "Captain Harbin, what do you think?"[Noble Man]


    "With my men, I don''t think we will be able to deal with that many if they are as well equipped as the ones we captured. We have sent our strongest men with the mayor at the expedition, and new men training is far from beingplete. An attack like that from in the town is something we can''t handle."[Harbin]


    "Then what about you, young man? You don''t look like one of the average boys. Do you have a n?"[Noble Man]


    Shingi nodded as he gave his response.


    "There is a way. There are some risks for it, but it better than what we have."[Shingi]


    "What is it that you need?"[Noble Man]


    "First of all, only me and Harbin will be part of the execution of the n. Not that we can''t trust anyone else, but anyone else being there will harm himself. The guards will have to keep the people leaving or have business away from the cemetery, our battle zone. Andstly and most importantly, will need one of your finest wine and cheese."[Shingi]


    The man seemed confused from what was asked of him as he turned towards Harbin, who nodded towards him.


    "I see. I can provide the items, and I am certain Harbin can take care of the rest. But how low is the chance of us winning."[Noble Man]


    "Sorry, there is a misunderstanding. The chance of us winning is 100%. The chance of survival for us two is that is low."[Shingi]


    The two older adults looked confusingly to each other and back to Shingi, but he didn''t seem to tell anything more.


    "We should head at the cemetery as soon as possible, Harbin. As for the items they are needed for after the battle. Let me know when you have finished giving orders, and we can be on our way."[Shingi]


    Both men stood up and left the room in a hurry to take care of what they needed to do.


    "Cousin Shingi, what happened? Why papa was in such a hurry?"[Himon]


    Shingi looked at her with a calm smile on his face.


    "We need to take care of some details to deal with the bad people like the ones before. Nothing to worry about, though, will deal with them."[Shingi]


    Himon went back to y with her doll while Shingi prepared himself for what was toe.


    Soon Harbin returned with some guards, and after speaking with Himon, exining that he had to leave for some time, he and Shingi left, leaving the guards to protect her.


    They got to the cemetery entrance as some guards were trying to move the people nearby to get away and keep from anyone to get nearby.


    "Care to borate on your n, or you want me to just die from the curiosity?"[Harbin]


    "Well, it is one of the things that are better exined by seeing them in action. Also, we don''t have time for exnations."[Shingi]


    Shingi summoned his staff, the one with the separate stones, as at the same time, he cast multiple <strong>EARTH SPIKES</strong> to cover as much space in front of him as possible.


    People started appearing out of thin air as they got damaged by the spikes, but none was killed.


    Among them, there was the one Shingi was confident that he was the boss of the base.


    "Who are you? <strong>WAIT</strong><strong>... is that you, Harbin?</strong> Oh, you saved me some time toe to you and find you. Come on, bring your fingers; you had them for a long time on your hands."[Owl Talon''s Boss]


    Harbin was ready to charge at him, but Shingi stopped him and then pointed at the air.


    There was a dot in the sky getting bigger and bigger until it was clear that it was a person covered with fire.


    The Owl Talon''s Boss noticed Shingi pointing up, and after seeing what he was pointing up, he ordered his people to retreat.


    The figure reached them andnded on top of some of those men. Some were also hit by the explosion as the mes covering that figure left her outwards.


    Shingi and Harbin were just out of the reach of the explosion.


    Two dozens of the enemies were dealt just by that.


    The smoke and the mes disappeared soon enough as the figure was clear to be seen, holding her special des, one at its hand; Ae, the Goddess of Storm.


    Her eyes were releasing sparks of electricity as well as her des too.


    She pointed one of her des towards the boss person.


    "<strong>KNEEL, mortal.</strong>"[Ae]


    Every man was scared of her, except the man that her de was pointing at. He was calm as everything was under control.


    A few seconds of silence passed as only the sparksing from Ae could be heard.


    Augh stopped the silence, and the source was the boss person.


    "You think just because you brought her, you can stop me? Did you think I would just run away like a scared little girl? <strong>I AM NOT AFRAID OF A B...</strong>"[Owl Talon''s Boss]


    Before he finished his sentence, he sidestepped to avoid a lighting sh of Ae.


    Not even Shingi noticed when she started the attack, so he was impressed that the man not only saw it but sessfully avoided it.


    "If you want to y, I will y then."[Owl Talon''s Boss]


    He quickly brought out a pair of daggers of his as he went into a fighting stance.


    Ae made more shes of her aimed at him, but he avoided them all. That wasn''t the same for the rest of the people around him, but he didn''t seem to care.


    Shingi could tell that the man was wearing multiple artifacts bringing his power to an inhuman level.


    The men tried to move away from their boss so that they won''t be victims of the attacks he was avoiding, but they couldn''t tell where he would move next, so most decided to go back to the hideout.


    But Shingi didn''t let them as he had summoned his Golems and made them guard the entry.


    The Golems would notst for long, especially since some seemed to be even better equipped than the one he fought this morning, but he wanted them just for a bit of time.


    He used his <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> to pass through everyone quickly and with no danger and stopped the spell when he was at the entrance of the hideout of theirs.


    He then brought out his spare de while he stored his staff once more.


    As he was now inbat, he could feel the passive effect of his Ange;''s boon blessing since Harbin was in range.


    It was an MP Regeneration aura, which he could really use it.


    Whenbined with his Passive Minor Regeneration Skill, he was close to having unlimited MP as it was close to impossible to use more MP than it got restored.


    He could now keep feeding MP to his Golem, which would heal them if they got any damage and strengthen them more.


    He had six of them being attackers and two of them being Defenders to make sure nobody passed him.


    He kept using all his Spells to damage them and keep them away and tried not to go for the kill if he could. They were criminals, but they could be more valuable alive than dead.


    As for Ae, she and the boss moved deeper into the cemetery some distance from them.


    Ae seemed to have fun battling someonesting that long against her, but her feelings soon changed to anger.


    Dark clouds started to quickly gather over the cemetery as the sparks of lighting of Ae were changing from their natural color not be more dark ck.


    Lighting came out and hit the ground in front of the boss near miss him, as at that spot there was a de piercing the earth.


    The de was in the shape of a lightning bolt, and its color was utterly dark, and if one was starring at it, he or she would swear to see some stars showing up like staring at the night sky.


    The man was curious about that weapon, but he quickly moved away to avoid another of Ae''s attacks.


    Herst attack was to make him move away from the de as she reached that spot, and after putting both her sword to hang and unique handles at her belt, she pulled the de out of the ground.


    "You should feel proud of yourself. It''s been a very long time since I had to get serious, mortal. What is your name?"[Ae]


    "I will tell you. After I bring you to your knees and finish some tasks, I have in mind for you."[Owl Talon''s Boss]


    Ae smiled at thisment.


    "I guess your men will tell me what name I need to erase from history."[Ae]


    Before the man got the chance to throw another of hisments, he got frozen in ce.


    Ae was in front of him with her new de already piercing his heart.


    It took him a few seconds for the pain to reach him while the ck lighting started to eat his body.

 Chapter 119: Demon

    Chapter 119: Demon


    The man coughed some blood which got vaporized by the lighting, not reaching Ae who was in front of him.


    "You you think this is enough? You are just a"[Owl Talon''s Leader]


    Ae turned a little, her sword making him stop mid-sentence.


    He said nothing else, just smiled as a ck dot appeared on his forehead. From that dot like snakes in movement, runes started spreading all over his body at a great speed.


    When Ae noticed those runes, she jumped back, leaving her sword as she didn''t have time to pull it out of him. But she wasn''t fast enough as the man shed her with his hand as dark energy surrounded his hands, creating ws.


    The same dark energy surrounded the rest of his body as it became solid, and he wasn''t looking like a human anymore.


    Shingi was afraid that this would happen as he could detect the true nature of that person.


    He looked like a human, but his mana was ''tainted'' almost like a demon. It wasn''t like that of a Half Demon like Karemon, as it seemed to be more ''corrupted''.


    This meant that this person had made a deal with a Demon for power, but the mana''s corruption level Shingi could tell that it was a powerful one. Shingi was afraid that he would get to a demon form, and if his calctions were correct, he would be stronger than a Hell Spawn.


    This was why Shingi needed Ae otherwise Harbin and the guards, even if they were less experienced, could win with his help.


    "So you decided on using your dark gift? Then I guess the gloves are off."[Ae]


    She raised her hand towards him, or more specifically towards her de, which was still in him.


    The dark lightning wasn''ting out of it anymore after she let it go, but then some white lighting appeared and formed a hand that gripped the sword by its handle and pulled it out of him.


    The Demon man didn''t flinch or let out a single scream as the sword was getting out of him, and when it was out the wound was getting close at a fast rate.


    Ae had her lightning hand still holding the special sword as she drew again her two swords.


    The hand turned to beposed of dark lightning, as dark lightning also covered all three des.


    She charged towards the Demon with great speed, but all three of her de got stopped when she reached him.


    The ones she was actually holding, he stopped them with his hands by grabbing her wrists while the third one he held in ce with his teeth by bitting the tip of the de. The lighting was hitting him, but the effect was so small, and it healed in no time.


    Ae tried to struggle to get her hands free, but he seemed to overpower her.


    She was a Demi Goddess so her power was greater than a human but not as big as a full God even if she has experiences of thousands of years.


    **You going to be a splendid meal. Don''t worry though, I will make sure you have some fun too.** [Demon Boss]


    It seemed he didn''t just borrow some power, but he did one of the riskiest but with the most benefits deals. He let a demon live in him.


    This differed from summoning a Hell Spawn as the body of the one who summoned it would get destroyed after some time, while in this case, the demon could just go to ''sleep'' so that it won''t lose its body. With some training, one could increase the time that could have a demon control his body this way and the Demon hadplete control at this point and had a simr personality with the human, probably why the deal happened in the first ce.


    He then sidestepped moving Ae with him as he avoided a Light sh that came from Shingi.


    He had summoned Sinhunter as he had little a choice, as his magic wouldn''t work on that guy.


    He ignored the rest people as he had damaged them enough for his boosted Golems with the help of Harbin, who he gave them the ability to order them, were having the situation under control.


    <em></em><em>''**I am sorry, kid, but this is a grown-up game. Go away.**''</em> [Demon Boss]


    His voice came right in the mind of Shingi but was still in the Demonguage.


    He could feel some power in those words that wanted to affect his mind, but because he had his special eyes activated, it didn''t affect him. But it didn''t have the usual response from the System, probably because it was a Spell or something simr this time, but an innate ability.


    The Demon seemed surprised seeing Shingi not moving. Even if he gave the order in anguage that normal people wouldn''t understand, they didn''t need to follow itsmand.


    Shingi had his ck Feather at the one hand and Sinhunter at the other as he was preparing his next attack by preparing mana into the feather before moving it to the sword.


    The Demon threw aside Ae as it got pissed off from a mortal boy not following hismand. His sense was a little different from the rest, but not like one of those Blessed Ones.


    It charged at Shingi with its ws at the ready.


    Shingi without a second thought enabled his Breaking Limit State and cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on him using one of his Mana Seeds, while he used his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> and <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> Skill to make some defensive maneuvers that he learned with Soryn''s help.


    He tried to avoid them all but the ones he couldn''t he deflected them with his sword.


    Sinhunter seemed not to like it when it got hit, but the creature even Shingi tried to move as much as the force away but he didn''t have the <strong>DEFLECT</strong> Skill and because he didn''t have a Warrior type ss, he couldn''t earn it even if fulfilled the requirements.


    Shingi kept preparing his mana into the ck Feather until he had enough for his needs.


    He used not only Light Mana but also some Fire Mana to cover the de of his sword, making it covered by a yellowish me. He also used some Earth Mana to strengthen the sword a bit, but he didn''t have to pass that from the Feather as its effect was enough as it was.


    The Demon noticed the mes and showed signs of caution for the first time.


    Shingi then fed his sword with almost all his mana, which was a way to help it get stronger for a short time; one thing he learned from Beliss.


    This made the mes also brighter as they were one with the sword, so if one became stronger, then both grew in power.


    Shingi changed to the offense as he had almost 20 seconds left from his Breaking Limit state left.


    The Demon was close to speed with him and avoided most of his attacks, but these did some permanent damage as the burns of the mes weren''t getting healed.


    Light Enemy was the bane of the Demons, but Light Mana by itself is harmless. But ifbined with other elements, like the Fire Element, it could be pretty severe. Butbining and keepingbined two Elements wasn''t easy even for ones with Dual or more Element Mana Pools unless they were using it in a special merged form.


    But Shingi had tested that during his crafting sessions to purify and shape materials, even if back then he wasn''t using his Fire Element mana since he didn''t have it, so it was much easier now.


    As he seemed to have weakened enough, the Demon and was ready to get a good sh on him, it vanished from sight.


    Shingi''s detection skills havepletely lost him until it was toote.


    The Demon appeared behind him and used his ws on Shingi''s back.


    Shingi''s <strong>HP</strong> went to a critical level, and anyone else would just die at the spot from an attack like that.


    He fell on his knees as he felt a strange energy in his body the took all his <strong>SP</strong> and brought him to an incapacitated state.


    The Demon stood over him and just his face changed to his human self, while its body stayed in demon form.


    "Thanks for helping me, but I don''t like when people stop me or my partner from having fun. This time stay still and let the grown-ups do their work." [Owl Talon''s Boss]


    He turned towards Ae, who seemed to be just looking down to the ground.


    There was her lightning sword broken as the Demon seemed to damage it enough by just using its teeth.


    "So babe, what you say we have a private party before destroying the city."[Owl Talon''s Boss]


    Ae didn''t even move or say anything as she seemed to be lost by seeing the state of her de.


    The man raised his hand, ready to grab her by the head.


    "<strong>I SAID HOW ABOUT</strong>"[Owl Talon''s Boss]


    Once again he didn''t get to finish his sentence as he felt a bit of cold air hitting his neck for a split second.


    Then he noticed in front of him and Ae a figure that wasn''t supposed to be there; that of Shingi standing with his sword drawn and Shingi''s back facing him.


    Then a line started appearing on his neck, which opened to a wound, and finally, his entire head fell to the ground as it gotpletely separated by the body.


    Shingi had one of his Golem''s giving him an SP Regeneration potion and then he did something he didn''t have the chance to do in the past.


    He used his Angel''s Boon active effect, making his <strong>MP</strong> to be full once more and bringing all of it to his sword, which was still somewhat boosted from before.


    He barely had some time left on his Breaking Limit State as he pulled hisst attack at the greatest speed he could muster and more.


    The man wasn''t observing him as he considered him to cannot move, giving him the perfect chance to strike, and since the head was back to its human form, its defense was weaker.


    As the body of the man fell down, ck hands started appearing from the ground as they were pushing it into the ground, which turned ck. The body was getting in like being in a quicksand and not actual ground until it gotpletely disappeared and everything turned to normal.


    Ae snapped out of her daze as she noticed the state of Shingi.


    Other than the wound at his back, he seemed to have cracks all over his body, like his body wasposed of ss.


    "Help the others."[Shingi]


    And with that Shingi let himself pass out, as the biggest threat got taken care of.


    "Always being the hero. I hate that I love this."[Ae]


    She picked up the pieces of her broken sword as she joined Harbin, who was alone as the Golems vanished after Shingi passed out.


    But the rest surrendered after seeing that their boss was dead and they were afraid of Ae after seeing how she entered and how she killed a lot of them with ease.


    Soon guards appeared as they were to keep looking from a distance at what was happening with the use of binocrs and such.


    The older man that Shingi had talked to before also came and went towards Harbin and Ae right away.


    "Captain Harbin, mydy. Congrattions on your victory. The city owes you, but may we know who are you, miss? " [Older Noble]


    "Name is Ae. A friend of Shingi."[Ae]


    Both Harbin''s and the Older Noble''s eyes got wide of surprise as they were familiar with the Goddess Ae, but even if there were stories of how she looked it wasn''t public knowledge; at least not among the NPCs.


    "So then this wine and cheese must be for you. I know it won''t fit your royalness, but I will be sure that we will prepare a feast within the hour in your name."[Older Noble]


    "No need. This will do. I have things to take care of, but better go to take care of our young friend. Tell him I had fun, but he owes me a sword."[Ae]


    She then jumped so high that she vanished from their sight.


    The two men looked at each other and then at the unconscious Shingi, who was a few meters away from them. A few of Harbin''s men were already checking him and providing some first aid on his wounds at the back.


    "That nephew of yours seems to be more interesting than what you told me."[Older Noble]


    Harbin didn''t answer as he didn''t want to reveal anything, so he ordered his men to get Shingi back to his home for him to rest and bring a doctor to him.<ol><li>Have put '' cause it is a telepathic message</li></ol>

 Chapter 120: Recovery

    Chapter 120: Recovery


    Shingi woke up after a couple of hours, and he was at the guest room of Harbin''s house.


    Bandages were covering his entire chest, and he could still feel the pain from the wounds.


    Because the one who attacked him was an almost full-fledged Demon and had used his ws made his wound unable to be used by normal healing magic. But it could still get healed normally, but it would take more time than normal, and he had to use some elixirs or potions now and then.


    It would take him weeks or even a couple of months topletely heal a wound of that size, but it hadn''t made him incapable of moving. But still, his moves got limited, as he might bring pain to his entire body and damage himself by opening the wounds.


    He didn''t test what the limits of his body were, as he knew it would be better to let himself healed uninterrupted at the beginning.


    The room''s door opened as Himon entered with a basin at hand, which was full of water.


    "Cousin, you are awake. It would be best if you stayedy down on the bed and rest. I came to help change your bandages and clean you up."[Himon]


    Shingi cast one MANA HAND of his and made it pick up a towel that Himon had on her shoulder, and after putting it in the water, he made it brought the towel to him.


    "I got this, and a small girl like you shouldn''t take care of the wounds of a boy even if we are blood-rted."[Shingi]


    Himon went speechless for a second as her face turned red, and she ran away, dropping the basin, but Shingi caught it with two of his MANA HANDS.


    He took out the bandages of his and noticed that there were some remains of an ointment.


    He cleared himself up, mostly with the help of his MANA HAND, as he had to clear his back.


    He heard some familiar steps heading towards his way as Harbin entered the room.


    "You are awake, I see. I was expecting you to be out for a few days, to tell the truth. Those wounds you have are troublesome to deal with, so how are you? And don''t lie on me this time."[Harbin]


    After seeing Harbin fighting and giving orders to the Golems in such an excellent way without seeing them in action before, he understood the power of his eyes that were active then and now.


    His PERCEPTION and INSIGHT to decide what the next move should be or the best possible way to deal with what he had was at a level greater than Ameanum''s Eagle Eyes.


    Of course, Harbin had more experience on those Eyes than Ameanum as he was born with them.


    "It could be better, and it could be worse. At least we won''t have to deal with that Demon again. Once one had a body through a deal, they forbid him to have another one even if he lost connection with his first. But get ready because him being here may be something more than just being the local leader of the Owl Talons."[Shingi]


    "The do you have any bright ideas? My men won''t be back for a few weeks. Do you think we will be fine till then?"[Harbin]


    Shingi gave it some thought as he tried to remember everything he knew about demons.


    "It may be toote until they return, or they will be back just in time. You can''t tell how demons would act, and we don''t know why the person made a deal or why he was here. Also, I couldn''t tell which one this Demon was following, but he was a powerful one. But I have a n."[Shingi]


    Shingi told him about Karemon and the protection Enchantments of his.


    They probably wouldn''t be strong enough to hold a Demon like the one he fought for long, but with the town''s help, Shingi was certain that Karemon could make some stronger versions.


    He didn''t mention that he was a Half-Demon, and Harbin didn''t seem to know him as Angel met Karemon after bing a captain.


    "You really seem to know some useful people. Also, Lady Ae told us to let you know you owe her a sword. I would try to take care of this task as I wouldn''t like to see her angry if I was in your shoes."[Harbin]


    Shingi knew how bad Ae could be as he had died in the past by her hand after making some wrong decisions. Fortunately, he could respawn back then.


    "I will see what I can do when I get back home. But I need your help for a task of mine that may even help on this task of Ae."[Shingi]


    He told him about the shop and the man he was looking for as he couldn''t go there at his state, or more specifically, they wouldn''t let him go.


    "I am aware of who you are speaking of, but I need to inform you he is a nut job."[Harbin]


    Shingi expected people to say something like that when he mentioned who he was looking for, and it wasn''t far from the truth.


    The man was crazy, but mostly cause he had spent a minute at one circle of Hell.


    It doesn''t sound much, but it was a minute in the Mortal Realm, but hundreds of years passed for him.


    But it was only his soul that got stuck in Hell back then; otherwise, his body would have turned to dust long ago.


    His name, or at least one he was currently using, was Vardan.


    He was human and was a researcher, and he wanted since he was young to be a strong Arcane User, but he could not make a Mana Pool. There were a few people who couldn''t do it no matter how hard they tried, and some were considering them to be cursed by the Goddess of Magic or something.


    Vardan had researched ways to ovee this obstacle, and one of his searches brought him to a Library into one Circle of Hell.


    But a miscalction of his made his protection charm notst as long as he needed, and he got captured by a few demons.


    Fortunately, Ameanum was the one who had helped him to make the ritual to bring his soul to hell, and when he noticed something was wrong, he brought him back by ending the ritual.


    The Demons didn''t put him in a sealed cage as they thought he was one soul trapped in Hell.


    Still, the side effects of being tortured for that long wasn''t something that a normal mind could handle, but Vardan never had a normal mind, or he would not have thought to go into one of the Hells for some book.


    But his social skills became worse, and very few people could understand what he was talking about as he was talking in riddles or using some words in differentnguages in the same sentence.


    Shingi, though had spent enough time with him tomunicate with him to a degree.


    "So what do you want him to do for you? I hope you don''t want him toe here cause I don''t want him anywhere near Himon. There were reports of missing kids near his ce, but we have no proof of him being behind it. We were ready to investigate his ce as the missing kids appeared with no memory of what happened or where they were all that time."[Harbin]


    "I understand, and I respect your decision. I want you just to deliver him a letter. Also, you will need to have a Golem of mine with you."[Shingi]


    Harbin was ready to say something as Shingi stopped him.


    "Casting one wouldn''t get a lot out of me. I know how to be careful, but this is a needed act, or you will be possible in danger. Since I can''t go, I will act through the Golem. I promise I won''t do anything to be myself in strain."[Shingi]


    Harbin sighed as he understood he couldn''t change Shingi''s mind, and it really was the best way to do things.


    "Ok then. Let me know when you have the letter, and I will deliver it myself tomorrow morning. In the meantime, REST."[Harbin]


    He helped Shingi putting a new set of bandages before leaving the room.


    Shingi followed his advice and went to sleep, but he didn''t just rx as he entered his TRANCE ROOM.


    Thest battle showed how weak he still was against the truly powerful people, so he tried to improve what he had.


    Since he was full Mage ss, he has to focus on his Spells, and since he had found the words needed for the ones he could with what he had, he tried to reach their true limit.


    He also kept trying to improve his Golems with the tips given to him by Pan and a few ideas he got after noticing how Harbin had ordered them around.


    All the Spells that he had found the suitable Arcane Words for had improved tremendously, and he came to a better understanding of each spell and of spell casting through that.


    Eight hours passed quickly, but he had improved slightly, but he was far from having the power to deal with the Demon man by himself.


    He then moved to feed mana to his Mana Seeds and Mana Tree to replenish the ones he had used.


    The Mana Seeds had saved him multiple times as if he didn''t have them, he wouldn''t be able almost instantaneously to cast some of his Spell when in dire need. He had used none of his Mana Fruits as they were too hard to grow and too precious.


    His Mana Tree had grown and could have 20 Mana Seeds and 3 Mana Fruits, but it was currently missing a few Mana Seeds.


    Still, restoring Mana Seeds was easy enough. It just took some time, and with the mana from his Dragon Scale, he could restore them.


    As for the Mana Fruits, the scale''s mana wasn''t useful.


    At some point, Orsina came and brought him some food for dinner as it got prettyte.


    She wanted to feed him, but after showing her he couldmand his <strong>MANA HAND</strong> without straining himself or even moving, she let him go.


    Shingi enjoyed his dinner, and because it was soup, it reminded him of the one Karemon was making for him and Annoue.


    He got sad at remembering Annoue, but he tried to focus on other tasks to free his mind from these kinds of thoughts.


    He then noticed some movement from outside as a figure was climbing towards the window of his room. He was on the first floor of the house, so one had to climb its way up.


    A hand appeared as it pushed the shutter to open, which wasn''t locked, so it opened with no resistance.


    In came the figure, one Shingi didn''t expect to see this soon again; Meyana, the elf dancer.


    "What do you think you are doing here?" [Shingi]


    She said nothing as she moved at her incredible speed that Shingi in his current state couldn''t do anything.


    So she brought her lips onto his as she hugged him to keep him in ce.


    Shingi didn''t know what to do as he was too weak to escape, and he activated his eyes to make sure she did nothing to control his mind.


    But no notification like that appeared. But Shingi noticed the pain on his back getting less and less, and he could feel his wound closing at a noticeable rate.


    He felt strange energy entering his body through her lips, which was the source of his unnaturally fast healing rate.


    After close to five minutes, she let go of Shingi, whose wounds weren''tpletely closed but were much better than before.


    Meyana''s skin was full of wrinkles as she seemed to have gotten quite old, but she was slowly getting back to normal.


    One of the side effects of fighting against the dark energy of the Demon, who was still in Shingi''s wounds and making them harder to heal.


    Shingi didn''t know what to say and froze in ce, which was a rare sight.


    But he soon woke up with the p Meyana gave him.


    "This was a token of appreciation for what you told me. You better not say what happened to anyone, or I will make you wish to fight that Demon again instead of me. Do you understand? "[Meyana]


    He nodded as he was certain that she could make this promise a reality if she wanted.


    "<strong>GOOD.</strong> I can''t help you anymore, but this should have saved you some recovery time. Now I have to say my goodbyes, but I hope we see each other again. Next time I won''t be so close to you, though."[Meyana]


    And so she left through the window like a burr, and Shingi was left alone once more.


    <em>''Maybe I really was born under a lucky star.''</em>[Shingi]

 Chapter 121: Vardan and the Sword

    Chapter 121: Vardan and the Sword


    Shing cleared his mind of what just happened and went to write the letter for Harbin.


    He was much better, but he doubted Harbin would let him go, and he would have to exin how his wounds healed at that degree that fast. But he could move much easier, putting no strain on his body.


    He needed to get what he could from Vardan and return to Carda. The trip would normally take him a little less than a week, but since he couldn''t move at top speed, he had to find a way of transportation.


    But he was certain that Harbin could help him on that.


    He used all of Earth and Fire mana that the Scale of his could make for the day to feed his Mana Tree and Mana Seeds. He regrew the ones missing but weren''t still in full power.


    He had to find a superb source of Light Mana to strengthen his Mana Tress side of that Element; otherwise, it will grow weaker as the rest raised in power.


    As for unlocking more Elements, he didn''t want to push his luck.


    With the scale''s help, he probably could do it for the rest of the Basic Elements, but his Mana Tree had a big chance not to be able to handle all of them. He was happy he had three of them, but he was nning to have tools, like special wands and staves, to allow him to use the other Elements, but that needed time to make them and many resources.


    Morning came as Harbin entered the room with some breakfast for Shingi, as Harbin advised him to stay in bed today.


    Shingi gave him the letter he wrote.


    "Before giving him that, make sure you introduce yourself as Mr. 42. Also, try not to look him into his eyes; he doesn''t like it, but don''t ignore him either."[Shingi]


    "Ok, I will deliver it right away. Anything else I need to know?" [Harbin]


    Shingi thought for a second before responding.


    "Don''t have tea with him. Also, if he gives you anything but a letter or something simr, don''t take it. Say that ''the spirits won''t like this transaction'' if he seems to insist. I will have my Golem in your pocket, and it will give you a pinch if you don''t need to do something."[Shingi]


    "What if I need to do something? Also, how would the Golem fit in my pocket? Can you make them whatever size you want?" [Harbin]


    "Well, the ones you saw who are close to my size are the biggest I can make, but that is if I make multiple ones. If I concentrate on one only, I can make it maybe a little bigger than you. It would be stronger and have more defense, but his speed would be lower. The smaller I can make them would be to the size of your fist. Still working on improving those limits."[Shingi]


    Harbin seemed impressed as he had heard people using that kind of Magic, but they were a rare sight.


    "Also, do you have a way of transportation? I need to get back to Carda as soon as possible, especially to let Karemon know he should make his way here."[Shingi]


    Harbin started thinking as they heard a female voice from the door.


    "I can get him there."[Orsina]


    They both turned their gaze towards her.


    "You don''t mean to use that way. You haven''t practiced for a long time, and what about Himon?" [Harbin]


    "She cane with us. I may haven''t used it for some time, but it isn''t like I forgot how to do it. It is like riding a bicycle, as those people keep telling me, whatever a bicycle is."[Orsina]


    "Excuse me, but do you mind sharing with me what you are talking about?" [Shingi]


    "Well, you aren''t the only Arcane User in the family."[Orsina]


    Shingi''s eyes widened a bit of surprise.


    "Do you know <strong>TELEPORT</strong>?" [Shingi]


    Orsina nodded as a response.


    "I have been to Carda sometimes in the past visiting your Father and Mother, but that was before you were born. But I can get us there, and I am sure Himon will be happy to see a new ce."[Orsina]


    "What about me?" [Harbin]


    "You can take care of yourself for a few days, sweety."[Orsina]


    Harbin sighed once more than he seemed not to have a say in what would happen.


    "Are you sure you want to use this? There are chances of things go wrong no matter how familiar you are with the Spell, especially if you haven''t used it for some time." [Shingi]


    There was a chance for them to get Teleported to a different destination than what Orsina meant to get them at.


    "Don''t worry, I will prepare myself, and we should be fine. I am sure you can protect us if something goes wrong since you seem to be better afterst night''s visit."[Orsina]


    Shingi''s eyes gotpletely wide as she said that, as he didn''t expect anyone to notice.


    "Night visit? Did someonee here? "[Harbin]


    Shingi was thinking about what to say, as Orsina was the first to speak.


    "Private matters, sweetheart. But we should let him rest a bit more. I still need to take care of a few things so we won''t try for at least three days." [Orsina]


    Harbin didn''t insist on learning as he knew his wife wouldn''t let him know, and he had to deliver Shingi''s message before going back to work.


    "Oh, I almost forgot Shingi, don''t make my daughter get embarrassed, or you will wish to have to fight this Demon again."[Orsina]


    Shingi nodded as he felt that she, as Meyana, could also make this into a reality.


    <em>''Mothers can be pretty scary.''</em>[Shingi]


    He had his breakfast as he then turned to focus on the Golem that Harbin had with him.


    The store was quite some distance from him, so he had to put almost all his focus to keep a connection with the Golem to use its senses to a degree, but mostly hearing.


    He could listen in very short proximity to Harbin as he heard him knocking on a door.


    There was no answer from inside.


    "Open up, I am Mr. 42."[Harbin]


    The silence dropped as from inside, many locks got heard to getting unlocked one after the other.


    The number of locks seemed to unthinkable high, which showed how ''crazy'' Vardan was.


    The door got slightly open.


    "A man on a trip is a man with a purpose. But your purpose seems to be unknown."[Vardan]


    Some words he said were in differentnguages, like Elvish, Dwarfish, and even a few Demonic, making Harbin not fully understanding what he said.


    He brought out the message that Shingi gave him and brought it towards Vardan, or so Shingi guessed.


    "This is for you."[Harbin]


    Shingi heard the letter being taken by Harbin''s hand as the door closed.


    A little less than a minute passed as the door got slightly open again.


    It seemed like Vardan brought something to give at Harbin, but he denied it by using the phrase that Shingi gave him.


    This happened a few more times, as Harbin seemed to take something from him eventually.


    Vardan then closed the door, and he didn''t seem like he would return as Harbin waited for some time, and nothing happened.


    "Should I stay?" [Harbin]


    Shingi ordered the Golem to pinch him as he seeded at the task at hand. After making sure he was at some distance from the store with nothing happening, Shingi released his Golem.


    He had to wait for Harbin to return to give him what he got, but that probably would beter in the afternoon or night as he should be busy dealing with the people they had captured from the Owl Talon.


    Fortunately, the town didn''t get damaged, just a few graves that could easily restore to how they were or recreate.


    Shingi brought out Sinhunter as he had to have a talk with him.


    "''It''s been a while since we had a discussion. Hope you like the battle the other day.''"[Shingi]


    "''Battle good. Me not fed bad.''"[Sinhunter]


    Shingi prevented him from consuming the souls of the ones he dealt with as it would help grow the power like consuming the part of ''souls'' from Blessed Ones, to a smaller degree, but he didn''t want to follow that route.


    "''We need to change your diet. You don''t want to be like the axe we encountered the other day, right?''" [Shingi]


    There was no response until he got a mental sigh.


    "''But don''t worry, you will get much stronger, but first we need to develop you instead of your ''body.''''"[Shingi]


    Since the Growth-Type weapon had a mind for themselves, their power also depended on how ''smart'' this conscience was.


    Shingi couldn''t check the stats of his sword''s conscience, but he was certain he could help it be smarter and stronger while at it.


    "''Me no punny Mist user. Me just need food. Me getting stronger.''"[Sinhunter]


    "''This isn''t the way we are going with. You need to admit that the move we pulled off at the Demon was a powerful one. Don''t you want to make moves like that more often?''" [Shingi]


    Shingi could feel that it was giving it some thought.


    "''Me give one chance.''"[Sinhunter]


    "''Ok then. I hope you are ready for some training then.''"[Shingi]


    He got a mental nod, and he sat at his meditation state.


    He held the sword with both hands horizontally, with one hand close to the tip of the de and the other at the handle.


    Both his fists were open as the sword was staying on them.


    He closed his eyes as he focused his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> on the sword, and he found what he was looking for.


    There was a sphere of energy moving around through the runes at the carved runes on the de, seemingly at random directions each time.


    This was the conscience of the sword.


    He kept track of it as he used some of his mana toe in contact with it.


    It took him a while as the sphere moved at a significant speed and tried to avoid him even after Shingi told it this was him.


    He made it at the end, and after making sure that he had a good ''grip'' at it, he enabled something that he wasn''t certain would work.


    The active effect of his Beliss'' blessing.


    He could feel the effects actually take ce.


    "''What did you do to me? Why everything so clear? ''"[Sinhunter]


    Shingi noticed his messages were more clear and fluent than before, but they still could get improved.


    He wasn''t certain what its <strong>INT</strong> was before, but that much improvement was expected.


    Also, if the consciousness got used to that higher <strong>INT</strong>, it would increase its normal value up to a certain number.


    Shingi couldn''t make Sinhunter his student, but some of his Schr Master''s benefits still affected it as he started tutoring him in solving simple problems.


    They had only one hour, and he was nning to keep using the effect while in town.


    Still, if his sword became smarter, it would be like he had two brains while inbat, helping him to endbat faster.


    Also, the higher its <strong>INT</strong> would be, the less resistance the sword would have against his mana and possibly it could even do it by itself by using the surrounding mana, but this would take a lot of time to learn how to do.


    He tried training with it a little after the effect ended to see the progress he had made and then stored it at his Spatial Ring.

 Chapter 122: Teleportation

    Chapter 122: Teleportation


    Shingi continued training on what he could until Harbin camete at night after dinner.


    Harbin brought him what Vardan gave him, which was a rolled map.


    It was a map of the North Kingdom, where they were, with some nodes all over the ce.


    Things were chaotic, and using differentnguages in his writing, making it almost impossible to understand all of them.


    Shingi was familiar with most of those words, but it still was a coded message he needed to decode even if he tranted. It would take him some time, but he knew that this was what he looked forthe location of some artifacts.


    He needed to decode the messages to find what each location could have, and he was certain that a few could be a deadend but worth the time to investigate if needed.


    Since he couldn''t leave the room other than having a walk with Himon, under the security of some guards, they have the shopping promised and take a few things for that day''s lunch or dinner.


    He worked with Sinhunter and decoded what he could from the map as four days passed, and Orsina had told them the day before that she was ready to leave tomorrow morning.


    Harbin wasn''t happy since he couldn''t go with them, but he had a lot to do while they were away so he could dive deep into work.


    That night Shingi told them that Annoue wasn''t back home, since they would find about it fast enough.


    He exined to Himon that she was away training with his Master but told the truth to Orsina. He had told the truth to Harbin before when he exined his past.


    In the morning, he had a few light bags with some toys of Himon and had a few Golems to hold some other stuff of theirs. He needed 6 Golems, which were a little bigger than the usual ones, to strengthen them but less agile to have all their luggage.


    They gathered in the backyard of their house and made a circle, except for Harbin, who watched them from the door of the house leading to the backyard.


    "So as you said the other day, I know <strong>TELEPORT</strong>, which fortunately doesn''t need those special crystals like the <strong>TELEPORTATION</strong>, but things may go wrong if my focus throws off. So try to stay still and quiet."[Orsina]


    Shingi was aware of the way <strong>TELEPORT</strong> worked, at least its fundamental concept, and many ways of how it could go wrong, but most would happen if used by someone inexperienced.


    He wasn''t certain how experienced she was, but from some talks he had with Harbin, it seemed she had many tricks up her sleeves.


    She also was quite perceptive since she had noticed that Meyana was in his room that night.


    All of them, including the Golems, held hands as she started saying a few Arcane words while holding the ck Feather amulet that Shingi lent her to decrease the chance of something going wrong.


    From the way she was casting the Spell, he could tell that she was very experienced in the ways of Magic.


    A teleportation-like circle got formed under their feet with a diameter a little over the circle they made as they fell in it.


    They weren''t falling and falling in a one-color ce, as the other times Shingi had Teleported away butnded right away.


    They weren''t in a forest or a city or town, but they seemed to be inside a dungeon.


    The ce seemed to be abandoned, and a lot of parts that seemed man-made got damaged.


    "Where are we, mama?" [Himon]


    Orsina looked around as she tried to keep her face to look calm, but Shingi could read on her face that this shouldn''t happen.


    "This is a brief stop we are doing. Why don''t you sit over there, and we should be on our way soon."[Orsina]


    Himon nodded as she sat in a corner and started ying with a doll she had with her.


    "Do you know where we are?" [Shingi]


    Orsina shook her head left and right.


    "Can you get us out of here? Maybe trying again?" [Shingi]


    "I would, but something restrains me from doing so. I could try to overpower it, but I don''t have enough mana after using <strong>TELEPORT</strong>."[Orsina]


    Shingi was ready to give her an <em>MP Regeneration Potion</em> as he noticed some movement from a corridor ahead towards their way.


    He signaled to Orsina to go at Himon as he summoned his Earth/Light staff, which had both Mana Gems together.


    He could say that whatever this creature was, it had noticed them and was heading their way, so he cast a few <strong>LIGHTS</strong> as the ce didn''t have any sources of light, natural or not, so they may not like it.


    The bet paid off as the creature stopped to stay away from the lights, which kept it from moving any closer.


    Shingi threw an <em>MP Regeneration Potion</em> to Orsina so she could restore her <strong>MP</strong> as fast as possible as he noticed more creatures moving towards their way.


    There were four entries to the ce they were, and he started hearing movement from each of them.


    He cast <strong>LIGHT</strong> enough times to lighten up the entire room and each entry, to prevent those creatures from getting closer.


    He hadn''t gotten an unobstructed view of them yet, but he could tell that they moved on four, and they were as big as horses. But their total mass wasn''t like that of a horse.


    Those creatures seemed to get used to the LIGHT fast enough, and some were getting into it, giving Shingi a better view of them. They were ape-like but skinny like they hadn''t eaten for many months, and there was no fat on them. He could see the bones of their chest cause their skin was on its shape as it was lucking any fat or muscles in between.


    Their eyes were easier,pletely ck, and he could see that they each had a pair of tusks like that of an Orc.


    Those were actually some Orcs who were cursed to be undead after doing something unforgiven by their n. They got cursed to have infinite hunger and never to die unless the n''s shaman who cursed them released them from their curse as each n had their own way of ritual and how to end it.


    They seemed to be too weak to move using just their feet, and their general structure seemed to differ from the Orcs Shingi was familiar with while he was a yer. They looked like their structure was less evolved, like a cavemanpared to the modern man.


    Maybe those were Orcs of thousands of years ago, which made it troublesome on where they could be like most times, those undead Orcs got destroyed by someone or got released from their curse at some point.


    Shingi cast as many <strong>EARTH SPIKES</strong> as he could to cover the way between him and those creatures.


    Because they were undead, their <strong>INT</strong> was almost nonexistent, as they kept moving forward and getting themselves pierced by the Spikes. But cause their number kept getting increased, the Spikes were getting broken or covered as bodies of Undead were falling over them, and the ones behind them were climbing over those bodies.


    The amount of that undead was ridiculous, and some seemed to have their body more evolved and closer to the one Shingi had fought in the past.


    "How long till you can get us out of here?" [Shingi]


    "At most a minute."[Orsina]


    She had Himon close to her, and they have moved at the center of the room as every side had an opening for the undead toe towards them.


    Shingi had the Golems surrounding them in case the undead reached them.


    He tried to make more <strong>EARTH SPIKES</strong> and make them taller to keep them away for as long as he could.


    He even summoned Sinhunter and threw some <strong>AIR SLASHES</strong> towards them, but since he didn''t have the skill, so it wasn''t strong enough to damage them a lot.


    Ten seconds passed, and the ones at the wider way were almost at the end of the corridor leading to the room they were.


    He ordered his Golems to go at them to stop them for as long as they could as they left the things they were carrying.


    The Golems could handle those foes if their numbers weren''t that big and seem like there was no end to them.


    He kept the one way under control. The rest got close to reach them and had to split his Golems and keep using his MP to strengthen them and heal them.


    But his <strong>MP</strong> was getting low at a rapid rate, and there was at least half a minute left until Orsina was ready.


    So he cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on him and started charging at each group to lessen the burden on the ones needed the most.


    Since he was inbat and Himon was around, he was under the effect of one of the regeneration auras, which was <strong>SP</strong>.


    Since those were undead and didn''t seem to have anything to eat for a long time, they were quite slow, and with his current speed, he could easily avoid them even at their current amount.


    He had strengthened his de with some EARTH Mana, which was easier to do after the training he had with it the past few days, and cut them in pieces with one swing.


    This didn''t mean that he was killing them with one hit as cutting an arm of one undead wasn''t a lethal hit but was helping the Golems to deal with them easier.


    If only he had his full ss, he would earn quite a few exps out of it, but since he was still an Apprentice at it, he didn''t have a level to earn exps for.


    Some said that an apprentice was actually taking part of the exps and would get used when he fully earned his ss, but it was quite a small part and wasn''t anywhere in the System that one could have ess to.


    He and his Golem had killed quite a few of them butpared to their number, it was a drop in the sea.


    "<strong>I AM READY.</strong>"[Orsina]


    Shingi quickly got next to her, and she started casting her spell as quickly as she could.


    Shingi stayed still not to ruin the Spell, so the Golems were the only ones fighting the undead.


    His MP had gotten low as healing the Golems took a lot, and he had to stop it so some Golems got destroyed.


    Orsina finished her Spell barely in time as a few Orcs almost entered the area of her circle, which could ruin her Spell.


    This time they appeared in the usual purple area falling and reached a hole and went got through theynded at the edge of a forest and seeing the walls of a familiar ce.


    They actually reached Carda this time.

 Chapter 123: Reports

    Chapter 123: Reports


    Shingi and Orsina were happy to see the sight of the familiar ce, even if the outside wall didn''t existst time she was here.


    They were at a suitable distance not to be noticed by the few guards at the town''s main gate.


    They started walking towards the gate with far less luggage on them from what they left with since Shingi couldn''t hold them all, and his Golems were fighting the undead.


    Himon was sad that she lost some that contained a few of her favorite dresses, but at least her favorite toys were with her or in the bag Shingi had with him all the time.


    Shingi, though, had stored a few of them at his Ring, but since it was quite full, he couldn''t store much.


    At that point, he thought, why didn''t Harbin gave them a Spatial Ring to keep their stuff stored as he seemed to have at least one, and he probably could get ess to a few.


    Shingi waved at a few of the guards he had seen in the past, even though they didn''t recognize him since he mostly met them when he still had an 8-year-old body.


    They didn''t stop them from asking while they were in town, as they weren''t as big or had as many problems, except in some rare cases as what happened with that Guild.


    They headed for his family''s house so that Orsina and Himon leave whatever luggage they had left and rest from the trip.


    Himon wasn''t too tired as she did little, but Orsina got tired from using such a powerful Spell twice in such a short time.


    They reached the ce, and it needed a bit of cleaning as nobody was using it for some time.


    Garry still seemed not to have returned yet.


    "Rest here. I need to take care of a few things. Will be back for lunch."[Shingi]


    Before he got the chance to leave the room, Himon grasped one of his sleeves.


    "Are you going to meet your friends you mentioned? Can Ie?" [Himon]


    Shingi patted her head, which seemed to make her brush a bit.


    "I will see if they are free to join us for lunch."[Shingi]


    Himon seemed to be happy and excited to meet those people she heard stories of.


    Most of them were Blessed Ones, so they should be powerful, have cool abilities and stories to share.


    Shing headed to a''s office to find Karemon and ask him the favor he needed for Harbin''s town.


    He reached the ce quickly enough, and it was busy with people taking or reporting the process of Quests they took from here.


    He patiently waited for his turn and tried this time to keep a low profile so that he wouldn''t repeat what happenedst time.


    It was easier this time, as it seemed some higher level yers were in town and seemed to be among the ones here to report for a Quest of theirs.


    Noticing that, Shingi tried to hear the conversation of the ones around him and had gathered a few things.


    Volig had drawn the attention of higher-level yers as some of his material-gathering Quests was of creatures that a beginner couldn''t deal with.


    Also, a new Guild had made their base in his town and seemed to have the support of a and Volig with their development, which made people more than willing to join it, but the requirements to be a member seemed to be very strict.


    The Guild, of course, was the one that he let Marcy organizing, and from what he heard, Hineko and Mizuneko were helping her.


    As for the rest, none of the discussions mentioned them, meaning they did nothing that the other yers would notice but didn''t mean they were doing nothing.


    He also heard of few people talking about a Dwarf and his bear that got here recently.


    No mention of Price, but he, of course, would also keep a low profile.


    His turn came, and a was happy to see him.


    He quickly exined to her what he needed Karemon for.


    "He is currently away doing a task for the day, but I will let him know when he is back. Do you think that friend of yours could get him in town since we are in a hurry?" [a]


    "I will have to discuss this with her, but most likely yes. Tell him to meet me at the shop tomorrow."[Shingi]


    He said his goodbyes and gave her a book of alchemical research that she bought for her from Delta City as a gift since she had helped him that much.


    He had made some notes of it for Hineko to study.


    She was thankful and surprised after looking at it as she understood it wasn''t a cheap one.


    Shingi then went to the shop to see how things were progressing there.


    Next to it, there was a new building that seemed to be still under construction.


    There was a sign for it that had on it written <em>''The __________ Guild. ''</em>


    This seemed to be the Guild''s headquarters that Marcy was making, but she still hadn''t named it.


    There were some people in line to get in, like waiting for an audition.


    There were also some heading to the shop which opened for the day a few hours ago.


    As Shingi entered, he noticed the yers in the shop to be in an organized fashion, either looking around or waiting their turn to speak with Greg, who was behind his counter.


    Even the ones looking around on the disy equipment were trying not to touch anything or stop others from looking.


    Shingi started heading towards the door leading to the forge area but got stopped by a guy.


    The guy was a Blessed One and a quite high-level one.


    He probably was more powerful than Master Whip, but not at the level of Price yet.


    "This is a closed area. Customers not allowed there as they would disturb the master."[Security Man]


    It seemed like he was working here as part of security as Shingi noticed a badge he had with the shop''s symbol on it.


    "Do you know who I am?" [Shingi]


    "Listen, man. I don''t care who you are, how rich you are, or if you are a big deal. You aren''t allowed in there, and this is final. So turn around and PISS OFF."[Security Man]


    Shingi smirked at him as he shouted at Greg, who didn''t seem to have noticed him yet.


    "Oh, boss, you are back. Do you want to speak with Volig? He is in the forge."[Greg]


    Greg noticed the person in front of Shingi blocking his way.


    "What do you think you are doing there? This person is the owner of the ce so let him pass."[Greg]


    The man got out of the way right away and fell to his knees.


    "I am sorry for my behavior, but I was not aware. Please forgive me."[Security Man]


    Everyone in the shop got shocked by the current situation.


    A person appeared that was said by Greg himself, who was the front of the shop, that he was the owner of this establishment. Also, that person looked to be one like them from his not usual clothing.


    "It is ok. You were doing your job. There is nothing to forgive, but try to be less aggressive to the next person."[Shingi]


    So he entered the room, seeing Volig working at some orders.


    "You are back. Did everything go ok? There were some deliveries recently, and two weird people looked for you. A sneaky fellow and a Dwarf."[Volig]


    Shingi told him everything that happened while helping him with some orders since there wasn''t anything tooplicated for both of them.


    "The trip was worthwhile then. Just having the Hammer''s help, even if you can only use it, can help to make some prototypes I have in mind, and then we can work on mass producing them."[Volig]


    "Yes, but we have an order to take care of first of all. Ae needs a new de. Thest one broke in battle." [Shingi]


    Volig thought for a while before speaking again.


    I would need that Scale of yours to use her mana, but I have an idea that would work for her. It will take a while, though, as I still wait for a few of the materials, but some of the Blessed ones that had taken quite a few in the past days andpleted them had taken those requests.


    Shingi gave him the Scale as this project was of utmost importance since he didn''t want to face an angry Demi-Goddess, especially since he couldn''t respawn anymore.


    "Also, this Scythe friend of yours appeared. She seemed to spend some time with your other students, especially Phoenix and Tycoon. I heard they were helping Zhentely with a project of his. We had made some stock of wands and staves, so we should soon start selling some with the Basic Elements. Greg already started advertising them."[Volig]


    Shingi made a note to check what else Zhen worked on.


    "What about the Guild next to us? I am surprised hearing that you are helping them."[Shingi]


    Volig chuckled a bit at this.


    "I just let her building the ce as that spot is technically part of the shop here but was never used. I haven''t given them any free equipment, but we give them a discount depending on their rank in the Guild and have some of the special Quests avable for them only. But everything else is the same as the rest of the customers."[Volig]


    But those small things were more than enough for people to go crazy about being a member of the Guild.


    "I see. Sounds good for now, but we could probably keep some slots for them for the custom crafts, but let''s let them get organized a few more days first."[Shingi]


    Shingi helped him with a few more of the orders before heading out and towards Zhen''s ce. He cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> on himself so that the yers who learned of his identity as the shop''s owner wouldn''t see him leaving.


    He made it to the Dungeon quickly enough, and since he was more familiar with <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong>, he went through the small hole with no trouble.


    As he went down the stairs, he started hearing some noise, like a few small things falling down the floor.


    He soon reached theb, and he saw the source of that noise.


    Zhen was on the floor while Little Phoenix was over him, kissing him.


    It seemed almost like she tackled down Zhen, and Shingi noticed that this could be the case as he saw at her status the special blessing the ''other'' Little Phoenix had.


    Wild Tycoon was at the side, seemingly not caring of what was happening.


    As Shingi entered the room, he heavily coughed to get the attention of everyone.


    "Oh, another cutie appeared. Has my sister kissed him too?" [Little Phoenix]


    "<strong>NO</strong>. And I don''t think you should go around kissing anyone. Especially someone like, Zhen."[Wild Tycoon]


    "Come on. Have some fun. Isn''t that the reason you are here? And you didn''t seem to stop me earlier."[Little Phoenix]


    "Like there is any way to stop you."[Wild Tycoon]


    Thest sentence Wild Tycoon said it under her breath, but Shingi heard her clear like if he was next to her.


    Little Phoenix stood up, leaving Zhen frozen in ce as he seemed to have gotten surprised by her sudden behavior.


    "So I see you are the not so shy Little Phoenix. Been a while since we saw each other. Since Annoue''s birthday if I remember correctly."[Shingi]


    She seemed confused for some time, but then she seemed to realize something.


    "You are that young boy? WOW, you have grown up really fast. Can you add a few more years? We could have some real fun then."[Little Phoenix]


    Shingi ignored her as he moved in front of Wild Tycoon.


    "I heard you met with Scythe. Do you know where she is?" [Shingi]


    "She is in there. But I wouldn''t advise you to disturb her. She is helping with Zhen''s <em>''research''</em>."[Wild Tycoon]


    Shingi didn''t know what she meant until he barely heard something from the other room.


    The sound of moaning.

 Chapter 124: Ragnarock and Price

    Chapter 124: Ragnarock and Price


    Shingi didn''t know what was happening there, and he didn''t want to show, so he kept his detection skills to ignore that direction.


    Zhen was back to his feet as he snapped out of his surprise, while Little Phoenix seemed to y with a few Mana Gems and poking some Oozes workers who were producing them. They didn''t seem to mind as they continued their work with no dy.


    Shingi stood next to him, which made Zhen somewhat worried because of what happened thest time he had a simr experience with Little Phoenix.


    "So I see you had some fun while I was away. Care to exin why Scythe helps with your <em>''research''</em>?" [Shingi]


    "She she insisted. After seeing my special Oozes, she wanted to test their transformation abilities. I told them they needed samples from the one she wanted to take the form for, and after that, she stayed in that room with them. No idea what she is doing, and she is too scary to disturb her. Hot but scary."[Zhen]


    Shingi got worried about what Scythe could do in there, but he wasn''t nning to see himself.


    "Master? Do we have some lemonade? Lady Ardent is thirsty."[????]


    Everyone in the room turned towards the source of that voice, and it was someone that few recognized.


    It was Ameanum or someone who looked exactly like him but wasn''t having any of his equipment. He wore just a loincloth and nothing else.


    "Oh my, it seems like she is having a lot of fun in there."[Little Phoenix]


    Shingi froze in ce from that sight, and then he disappeared.


    He reappeared in front of the Ameanum look-alike as he had Sinhunter through its forehead.


    The look-alike, like the Ooze they had met in the past, started losing its form until it was a smallke of a reddish liquid.


    Shingi moved into the next room, finding Ardent Scythe,ying down on a bed, dressed, fortunately, with another Ameanum look-alike next to her who was holding a bowl of grapes and was feeding them to her.


    Scythe noticed him entering, but before she could say anything, he moved, making his usual attack to destroy the core of the Ooze.


    "What? Who do you think you are to kill my special subjects like that?" [Ardent Scythe]


    She was ready to enable her mind control ability, which could affect him even if he had his special eyes activated, but got stopped by Shingi having his sword over her neck.


    "Before you finish your next sentence, I would have cut your neck and ruin your armor with your blood. So don''t create other lookalikes of my old self. <strong>UNDERSTOOD?!?</strong>."[Shingi]


    He got tempted to use <strong>FEAR</strong> on her, but he was certain that it wouldn''t work on her.


    "Ame? Is that really you? They told me you have grown after getting your ss but didn''t expect that much change. We should find a bigger bed for our next sleep date or thest one would make it we just need to get closer."[Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi stored his sword back as he felt it wanted to sh such a powerful foe and ''consume'' part of her power.


    "There will not be another sleep date. The deal was to be only one time, and we have done it. But I heard that Night Wind had made some deliveries already, so thank you for that."[Shingi]


    Seeing around, he didn''t notice any signs in the room or Scythe of anything weird happening, but he knew her enough to know that the moan-like sounds could be just for her getting fed those grapes.


    Shingi left the room, leaving behind a sad Ardent Scythe who, after a few seconds, stood up and joined everyone to the other room.


    "Did you really had to destroy their core? It took me a long time to make them."[Zhen]


    Shingi ignored thatment.


    "I came to inform you that will soon need a sizeable amount of Light Mana Gems, so try to produce as much without messing without normal production line. Also brought you some gifts."[Shingi]


    He gave Zhen some notes from the books he got from a to keep for Hineko for the next time he started working on a few potions and the recipes he bought. Also left some materials and scroll he found, which Mizuneko could study and try to reproduce.


    Zhen''s ce was theirb for now, but he was nning to talk with Marcy to make a ce at the Guild''s headquarter for those two to work and possibly some other members if they were trustworthy and skillful.


    He learned that all his students were part of the unnamed Guild since Marcy was aware of them, but she hadn''t met Zhen yet.


    He also wanted to move Zhen too possibly, but he was sensitive to sunlight, so it would be troublesome to get out even if he would work just at night. He could try to expand the currentb, though, if it would be just him and his Oozes.


    He said his goodbyes as he made his way back to town to meet the three individuals who came to Carda for him.


    He headed to the usual Inn that most peopleing into town were passing their time, and he soon found Ragnarock with Winestone.


    There was a crowd of Blessed Ones around Ragnarock, all males, as he told a story of his adventures.


    " and so me and my buddy, Gazu, we turn towards that Boar God Demon as he is using one of his weird keys on him chainse out of theva and get around him. Being the weak person demon, he couldn''t fight against those, and after I spat at its face, I cut its head and left its body to be dragged into theva by those chains. And that is how we saved the entire realm by helping that Defender dude."[Ragnarock]


    "Protector."[Winestone]


    "Defender, protector, same thing. He just sat back while we showed him how real men deal with problems."[Ragnarock]


    Shingi could tell that some part of the story was fake, but there was some truth.


    But the group of yers around was buying it all, which was impressive as Ragnarock didn''t seem like the most persuasive individual.


    Shingi looked around for any signs of Price, but he first felt an individual poking him to the shoulder.


    It was Price, and Shingi was impressed as he hadn''t noticed him getting at him.


    "You seem to be here earlier than you said. Everything went ok?" [Price]


    "All good. How about you get a private room, and I will bring two more I want to talk with."[Shingi]


    "Please don''t tell me it is that Dwarf and the bear. They don''t even try to keep a low profile."[Price]


    "Sometimes, being part of the crowd is the best way to hide." [Shingi]


    Shingi tried to move through the crowd to reach Winestone as Ragnarock was surrounded by people trying to ask him for Quests or tips for Skills and things like that.


    "It''s been a while. How was the trip? I see you made it sooner than normal." [Shingi]


    "He has a few friends that helped us get here early, although I never like this way of moving. Makes my stomach feeling weird each time. So learned that you took that weird axe from him. Did you destroy it yet?" [Winestone]


    "I left it with a special person who can deal with it. We should have new in a few weeks. Tell Ragnarock to speak with the innkeeper to meet me in one of the private rooms. Join us as soon as possible." [Shingi]


    Shingi left to speak with the innkeeper to let them know where they were as he joined Price.


    "So how do you like the new dagger? Had the chance to test it out?" [Shingi]


    "It is unusual and difficult to use it in full power, but the different tactics you can do with it makes it worthwile. Maybe we can have some sparringter to show you what I am working on."[Price]


    They had some small talk until Ragnarock and Winestone joined them after a couple of minutes.


    "So boy, where is my axe? I need to remind you it belongs to my Tribe, and I just let you borrow it for some time."[Ragnarock]


    "I left it to a trustworthy person of mine to deal with the troublesome entity in it. I made sure that we understand that we don''t want the weapon to be damaged, so it will take some time. But at most would take a month and deliver it here. Meanwhile, how about we discuss a future partnership we can have."[Shingi]


    "What kind of partnership. If it is more errands like the one I did for you, I will have to pass."[Ragnarock]


    "We are nning to get in Neutral Territory soon, and as I assume you have heard, that is a dangerous ce, so we need manpower. So how about you join us and work on training a few of our people? Of course, there will be payment."[Shingi]


    "What kind of payment you have in mind?" [Ragnarock]


    "The one you actually desire. Gold could be provided, but you can go around beating people up and earn some in tournaments and such, or even steal from anyone who has been too annoying and rich. Ale can be bought, and the gold can draw women. But the actual reward you desire more than anything is something that not just anyone can give you, or you can buy. A way to have your actual body once more." [Shingi]


    Ragnarock''s eyes got wide of surprise as he didn''t expect him to say something like that.


    He had gotten used to being a Dwarf, but he always wanted to be back to be a Half-Orc once more, but it seemed like this was impossible.


    Once someone other than Blessed Ones died, he could return to his body or a different one only once. There were only second chances for NPCs.


    Ragnarock didn''t fully understand why this was the case, but he trusted the ones who told him as they knew better how magic worked.


    "There is only one person who can help to get your body back to how it used to be. But to get in touch with that person, you need to help me. Of course,you will get paid and some bonuses, and I promise to help you on that task. So what does this sound like? Do we have a deal?" [Shingi]


    "DEAL."[Ragnarock]


    Ragnarock, as he saw it, had nothing to lose and a lot to win out of this deal.


    As for Shingi, he really had thought of a person being able to do what he promised for Ragnarock, but he wasn''t entirely sure.


    For one to break the rule of reincarnation has to be at the power of a God or more, and there were only 5 individuals in history who had done something like that.


    Varan and the four Protectors.


    Shingi wasn''t certain how much was the difference in power between Varan and the Protectors, as he didn''t count as being one of them, but he still was a powerful entity.


    As for the rest of the Protectors, from what he understood, none had the magic that would normally have Reincarnation purposes since they were immortals themselves.


    So what he needed to do was to get in touch with a Protector, or a person of close power as them, and he knew the only person who knew how he could do that; Mikhail.


    Of course, he wasn''t nning to make himself or anyone else an artificial Protector like what Mikhail was nning to do. There should be a way to give that much power temporary to someone for one spell.


    This was just an assumption, as he didn''t know how Mikhail has used to get his power, but he was nning on facing him in the future, which gave him another reason to do so.


    "Then what about me? Do you also want me to train people? Because I am not that much of a teacher myself."[Price]


    Shingi shook his head as he wasn''t nning to have Price teach people around like he told Ragnarock to do.


    "You are going to do what you are doing best. Organize a heist."[Shingi]

 Chapter 125: The Heist plan and the Guild

    Chapter 125: The Heist n and the Guild


    Shingi had decoded some locations and notes on Vardan''s map and had found an interesting one nearby, but it was part of the collection of a troublesome individual.


    There was a mansion just a few hours away from the town but was big enough to be self-autonomous.


    The owner was a great collector of different things and was paranoid about people wanting to steal from him, which was true since he had some precious things, but the preparations he had done were on another level.


    Many have tried to get in, yers and NPCs, but all of them had a bad ending.


    Ameanum hadn''t tried to get in there in the past because he wasn''t ever interested in stealing, but he could really use that item.


    "This sounds like a suicide. Wasn''t expecting anything less from that guy. So did <em>''Master''</em> give you a n? If even half the tales are true, even he couldn''t get in there without being detected. If they find us, we are good as dead."[Price]


    "This is the case if we try to get into without having permission. But if we get in with permission, it is going to be much simpler."[Shingi]


    Price thought for a second until he realized something.


    "You want to trade with him?" [Price]


    Shingi nodded, as he knew that the only way to get in there with permission was for the owner to call someone to make a deal for trade.


    A few people have tried this n in the past, but the first estimation was bing outside the mansion, and the requirement to pass it was pretty high.


    But Shingi had two things that any collector would dream of having; his Spirit Hammer and growth-type sword.


    Of course, he wouldn''t make the trade but just use them to enter the ce and distract him while Price took what they needed.


    The defenses to enter the ce were the hardest to pass, but this didn''t mean that it would be easy to get what they needed. The mansion was enormous, and they didn''t know where the man was keeping his collection, as also what kind of protection it would be under. But this was the best they could do.


    "So what do you want me to do, then? I am guessing you will be the distraction while I look around?" [Price]


    "Yes. But you won''t work alone. Most likely he will have magical defenses and your skills will be useless to them unless you have changed your style that much."[Shingi]


    Price was still a beginner when was still training with Ameanum, but it was clear back then what Price''s style was.


    He could detect any traps, including some magical ones, but without being able to use mana himself, he wouldn''t be able to disarm those tricky ones. Of course, there were tools that could help him, but they were crazy expensive to get.


    "Do you want me to get with the boy? This person sounds like someone who just asks to lose things."[Ragnarock]


    Both Shingi and Price looked towards him with a look of clear unbelief.


    "I don''t think you can help us with that n. But I will let you know if we need your help. But Winestone could be of help. We need a special messenger to draw attention, and a talking bear should be more than enough."[Shingi]


    "But how are we going to send a message? Nobody is allowed in and he rarely gets out, and when he does he is heavily guarded."[Price]


    "He will get out if he heard that there was a Grandmaster <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong> in town."[Shingi]


    "Gran grandmaster?!? Is Volig really one?" [Price]


    Shingi shook his hand. Volig hadn''tpletely reached the Grandmaster Rank, but from when he asked about his progress Volig told him that he could pass that limit in less than a month.


    Of course, just a rumor wouldn''t draw the man they wanted out, so they had to prove it.


    They also had to make sure that it wouldn''t be public knowledge or the Dark Guild could learn about it, and Volig wouldn''t be safe then.


    Shingi told him some preparations he wanted him to do until Volig reached that point.


    They had not only to prepare for the heist but also for making sure that the message reached the man''s ears and only him.


    Shingi didn''t like to use Volig like that, but this was actually a suggestion of Volig when Shingi told him about the item and its current location.


    They asked Ragnarock and Winestone to leave the room while discussing the n, as it was better for them to know as little as possible. Shingi would exin to Winestone what he needed him for when it was the right time.


    Since they had to wait for Volig to Rank Up his crafting Skills, their discussion wasn''t too long, but Shingi gave him some instructions on what to prepare.


    Then they both headed towards Marcy''s Guild building.


    Shingi needed to learn more about the current situation, and Price would join it, which would make things easier, especially for working with Shingi.


    Creating a Guild wasn''t easy because the founder of it needed to spend some costly resources to make the Guild officially epted by the System. When a Guild got officially epted by the System, its members could have a variety of benefits depending on the size and prosperity of the Guild.


    But one function that was getting unlocked for every Guild and its members was NPC Recruitment.


    Without this function, one couldn''t have an NPC be part of his or her party, except if it is part of a Quest. But Guild members could ask NPCs to join their party, but still, each NPC decided by itself if wanted to join or not.


    This way Shingi could be part of their Party and be able to get the benefits of sharing exp, and checking the current situation of everyone in the party as far as their <strong>HP</strong>, <strong>SP</strong>, <strong>MP</strong>, <strong>conditions</strong>, etc.


    Shingi couldn''t officially join the Guild as a member yet to enjoy some of the other benefits the members had, but it grew in power enough NPCs could join the Guild officially.


    Even if they seemed to have drawn many people, making a strong Guild wasn''t just to have quantity but also quality. They also needed to increase their reputation at their base town, which in this case was Carda, as well do some Quests which would allow them to be recognized worthy by the Gods and get their Guild to level up and unlock more functions and benefits.


    Shingi was aware of a few basic things some could do to improve their Guild, but since he never was part of one or never was interested to create one, his knowledge on the subject was a little better than most. He knew some Quests that weren''t publicly known that were meant as Guild Quests and they were the kind that different Guilds could repeat, but their difficulty wasn''t that low and each Guild had only one chance.


    They made it at the building and even if the queue was smaller than before, there were still a few people waiting to get auditioned to be part of the Guild.


    They waited patiently for their turn as they didn''t want to draw any unneeded attention and Shingi had his cloak''s hood up so people who knew him as the owner of the shop wouldn''t see him.


    The line was moving quite fast, and soon Shingi understood why.


    They already rejected a few of the yers who were in the line and they tried to bribe their way into membership but it just led to getting themselves kicked out of the building, for some literally.


    Most yers seemed to belong in that category so Shingi and Price''s turn to get in didn''t take too long.


    The one at the door was Soryn, and he was the one who kicked people out as he could easily remember the face of each yer that was already rejected. He was the apprentice of the one in charge of the Library of the Air Spire, so having a photographic memory was a must.


    Soryn slightly bowed to Shingi, as he recognized him even if he was trying to hide his face, as he got in first leaving Price behind waiting as the auditions were one per person.


    Get in the building he got into a hall with a long table that three people were sitting at the other side from the one closer to Shingi.


    The one in the middle was Marcy, while the other two were people that Shingi didn''t recognize.


    They were probably friends of Marcy that she told them toe and help her.


    They were both females, and from their equipment, one could tell that they were a Mage and a Rogue.


    They weren''t too high level as Marcy, as from their aura Shingi could tell that they should be close to level 20 while Marcy was a little over 40.


    As he took off his hood, it surprised the three girls, but each for a different reason.


    "You are finally back. Took you some time. We are progressing at a steady rate here if you ignore the ones who aren''t taking no as an answer."[Marcy]


    The two girls looked at Marcy with confused eyes. They couldn''t understand why she was giving a report to this young man.


    Marcy noticed the look of her friends soon enough.


    "Oh, sorry, introductions need to be made first. This is the person I was talking about, the one who dealt with ''those'' guys."[Marcy]


    Marcy then turned towards Shingi after giving the brief exnation.


    "These are my friends and our Guild Generals. She is Yawning Bird, and she is going to be an instructor of our Mage units, while this one is Nice Cookie and will help our Rogue unit. They aren''t too long around this realm but they have a lot of experience from their past lives."[Marcy]


    Marcy still thought of him as an NPC, so she couldn''t say that they were just new to the Game.


    But Shingi got surprised by the two females'' identities. He had heard of them as they were part of the Beta State of the game but they had made enormous progress in it, but they never joined the game when officially released.


    Some thought it was because they had to start from 0 again, but Shingi was certain that with their knowledge they could reach a high level easily enough, even if there were some major changes from the Beta State of the game.


    In the Beta State, you could only get in the tower and explore it as you were starting from within it; when the game got officially released everyone started from one of the beginner town.


    People were amazed at the world back then and the life-like NPCs and interactions with them even if many focused mostly on Quests and the Tower, including Ameanum.


    "It is a pleasure meeting you. I came to give you some messages from my Master to help with the Guild progress, as well as I brought in a candidate to join. He was a student of Master and he can help Ms. Nice Cookie as his proficiency is in the way of Rogues."[Shingi]


    Shingi brought out from his Spatial Ring some papers that he had written with what he knew about those Guild Quests.


    "Your master seems to know his stuff. Marcy mentioned his name was Shingi, but also that your name is one? So what is his actual name?" [Nice Cookie]


    It did not surprise Shingi that someone made this question as he expected it to happen a long time ago.


    "My name is Shingi, as for my master his name is Ameanum."[Shingi]


    All three girls had their eyes having a look of shock when heard this name.


    Shingi could tell that they knew who Ameanum was.

 Chapter 126: The month of preparations

    Chapter 126: The month of preparations


    The girls looked at each other to see how each reacted and when they noticed that the rest had the same reaction, then they turned towards Shingi.


    "Are you certain that this is his name?" [Nice Cookie]


    Shingi knew he couldn''t keep it a secret for long, so he took the chance to trust these individuals as he thought the possibility of them working for Dark Guild to be pretty small.


    "Yes, this is his true identity. He had told me that people might think that he is dead, but it isn''t the case. The details of his <em>''death''</em> or why he is around aren''t something that I know, though."[Shingi]


    He had enabled his Special Eyes as even if, with Harbin''s help, they weren''t able to find out the full extension of their power. They found out that it was helping him persuade others, both yers and NPCs.


    He remembered a few instances at which people cooperated with him quickly, like the first time he met Fire Whip, and he told him about their Guild Leader and his wolf.


    Also, it seemed to help him make it harder to understand if he was lying.


    Since he was aware of those now, he could feel that when he was talking and trying to persuade someone, he was using some of the eyes'' energy, and he could stop it from being used so that it won''t get empty and set his CHA at 0 for a day.


    He could also feel that when someone was using some detection skill on him or Spell or Enchantment to affect his mind, he could spend some of the energy, not allowing the effect to activate.


    He spent some of the eyes'' energy not to allow them to tell if he was telling a lie, even if he doubted their skill would be too high.


    "So where is he? Marcy mentioned she came to town with him but haven''t seen him since then."[Nice Cookie]


    "He is taking care, a few details to help with our explorations. Making it to the Neutral Territory isn''t as easy as used to be from what I hear."[Shingi]


    The Tower was at the Neutral Territory, and usually, people could use Teleportation Circles to get there. Still, the Dark Guild has taken them over and forbidden ess from anyone without permission.


    As for going there by other means, like walking or some vehicle, it wasn''t easy. There were many dangers outside the tower, throughout the Neutral Territory.


    Some were high-level monsters, like Dragons having theirirs there, while others were natural or magical created environments unable to allow life to exist in them for long.


    Some said that the dangers outside the Tower were more challenging than the one in, at least on the early levels, but the rewards from Tower''s floor were more appealing to yers.


    As for getting themselves teleported there in a way simr to what Orsina used to get them to Carda, it was impossible. A Special Field that didn''t let anyone get teleported except through its Teleportation Circles surrounded the Neutral territory.


    Usually, Shingi wouldn''t be afraid of making the trip by foot or another way, but since he could not respawn anymore, and if they reached the Tower, they still had to sneak their way in.


    Shingi wasn''t nning to fight them head-on, as he understood from what Soryn and the rest told him they had crazy power by their side.


    "So you really n to go to the Tower? Seem like a crazy n, but if he is the one behind it, it may actually work." [Nice Cookie]


    "How do you know Master?" [Shingi]


    Shingi had heard of the two of them, but he never met them either in real life or in the game.


    "You could say that we are rted, although he probably doesn''t know it. Not that long ago, Yawning married his brother, and I am her sister. I heard that he never was in touch with his brother."[Nice Cookie]


    Shingi knew his brother in the actual world would be around 20 years old, and it surprised him to hear that he got married. The two brothers never spoke with each other, mainly because Shingi wasn''t interested in having any rtionship with his family.


    "Could you tell him next time he is around to meet me? He sounds like an interesting fellow to have around."[Nice Cookie]


    Shingi, for a second, could see at the eyes of the expression of the hunter waiting for her prey, but itsted for a split second. He also noticed the other two roll their eyes when she said herst sentence.


    "I see what I can do. But for now, I will have to leave. I will let Price in, who is the person I mentioned, and let me know if you start any of the Quests written on those papers. I want to be of help to those."[Shingi]


    They waved goodbye to each other as Shingi exited the building, letting Price getting in.


    He went to the back to the shop, and this time he didn''t go to the forge room but the other crafting room as he wanted to check some staves and wands and see if they needed any final adjustments.


    He also wanted to make des using Mana Gems simr to what he had made for Hineko.


    He had to make as many new projects as he could do so that when Volig officially reach his Grandmaster Rank at his crafting Skills and being considered a Grandmaster <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong>, Volig could make them to a different extent than what Shingi could do by himself with his current Skills and would help draw the attention of the noble guy.


    Shingi also needed to make his <strong>LEATHERWORKING</strong> Skill reach Master Rank, as he hadn''t worked with leather a lot.


    He also needed to improve his <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> Rted Skills and make sure that his students'' progress was also to keep moving.


    He didn''t have any ns except to improve his or other skills and helping with the Guild''s progress.


    When the shy one was in control, Little Phoenix was working on the designs of the staves, wands, andter even de weapons, like swords and daggers, to make them work with Mana Gems.


    Hineko kept making potions and had some sold through Shingi''s shop, some given to the Guild, and saved some for the use of their party only. Hineko''s skills got improved by the notes Shingi brought him and some new recipes.


    Mizuneko worked on making new scrolls or improving existing ones and learning spells he could inscribe into a scroll by what Shingi had brought him from Delta City.


    Ragnarock worked on helping training the Warrior unit of their Guild, and soon enough, Wild Tycoon became a helper of his since their ss was pretty simr, although Ragnarock''s was stronger.


    Price investigated the mansion and the owner of any detail he could learn for both as he also started spreading subtle rumors of Volig''s skills.


    Marcy and her General had officially finished creating the Guild with the name <em>The Blue Moon Guild</em> since <em>Carda</em> was to be their base, and the town was most famous for the Blue Moon Festival, even if it wasn''t happening often.


    Shingi helped them by giving tips for some Quests, and sometimes he joined them if he considered them not seeding even with his tips. These were also an excellent way to test some projects he was working on with Volig, as most of these Quests wanted them to fight some tricky or powerful beings.


    As for Winestone, since he couldn''t help Ragnarock train the Guild members, he had some free time of his own, which he had soon filled.


    He was going out with the female bear, Chubby.


    Fire Whip was furious when he learned that someone was dating his bear, but after finding out that she was ok with it, he calmed down a bit. Also, Winestone scared him when he used a Special Ability of his that Shingi learned was another gift of Philemon to him, other than the ability to speak.


    That Special Ability was to make himself turn into a Magma Bear.


    When he found out about that, Shingi understood why he detected some Fire Element mana in Winestone.


    Close to the end of the month, Belly came briefly to the town to deliver the axe whose both des were blue now.


    Its enchantments didn''t get affected, but it wasn''t a growth-type weapon anymore.


    Ragnarock seemed to be a little sad about losing his <em>''friend''</em> in the axe, but after Shingi told him that at some point, it would start getting fed by his soul, then he was happy to get rid of it.


    Orsina and Himon stayed for a couple of days before going back with Karemon.


    Himon wasn''t happy as Shingi was barely spending some time at home, but the night before they were supposed to leave, he organized a party and invited everyone he knew that was in town.


    Himon was excited to meet all these people, some that he had heard about from Shingi''s stories.


    That night was enough to make her happy for the trip.


    As for Volig during that month, other than the orders and helping Shingi with some of his ideas, he spent most of his time creating Ae''s de.


    It was aplicated one to suit its owner, and there were many instances that he had to start all over as something didn''t work as expected.


    But since he was working on something that big, especially since he wanted the de to function with Storm Element Mana, it put his Skills to their Limit even if they were close to Grandmaster.


    Shingi had to help him with the actual design of the Enchantment needed on it and called Little Phoenix to help a few times, mostly to let her Skill improve.


    They had to make a sword bigpared to the normal scimitars that Ae used, as the Enchantment was soplicated that they couldn''t fit it in a de of that size.


    It was a little smaller than a greatsword, but its weight was close to that of a longsword, as they used many Light Mana Gems to embed the mana with the material they used to make it lighter.


    They had carved the Enchantment on the de, but the carving wasn''t too deep to weaken the sword, and they used as much as the mana of the scale they could spend each day to embed it at the edges of the carvings, which would strengthen the Enchantment even more since it was based to work on that Special Element.


    It took them a few tries and made some notifications, but they finished the de ording to their final blueprint after almost a month.


    It was of Grandmaster Rank since that also brought all Volig''s crafting skills to Grandmaster Rank. Since he had the <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong> profession, he didn''t have separate skills for each type of crafting, but they were all considered as one and improved at the same time.


    Volig was finally a Grandmaster <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong>.

 Chapter 127: Aellas new blade

    Chapter 127: Ae''s new de


    Volig has a full day inspecting the sword while Shingi crafted the orders needed. His crafting skills were now all at Master Rank, but since he didn''t have a crafting-rted profession they weren''t as effective as Volig''s, but still, he was doing a top-notch job.


    They had to make sure that the sword was more than perfect since this was part of their n.


    These past weeks Price was trying to find a suitable way to let Volig''s skills reach the ears of the noble guy without drawing too much attention, but this was pretty much impossible.


    But then one day Price had an idea that would help them reveal Volig''s skills and keep himself safe.


    Shingi kept the store closed for the day after Volig was certain that the sword wasplete.


    He and Volig went to the center of the market area where there was a small za with some benches and open space for kids to y.


    Everyone noticed Volig because of his size and he wasn''t trying to hide, but the opposite. People may haven''t seen him since he was spending the most time in one of the crafting rooms, but they knew he was a Half-Stone Giant.


    People also noticed Shingi next to him that rumors of his identity got spread, mostly with the help of Price.


    They both reached a few meters before the center of the za and stopped there.


    "Can you people clear the space a bit? Thank you for your cooperation."[Shingi]


    Shingi pointed to the area in front of him, as some people were having a pic in that open space.


    "Why should we move? Who do you think you are to order us around?" [Annoying yer]


    Shingi ignored that yer.


    "I would appreciate it if people move in the next minute. Thank you for your cooperation."[Shingi]


    Most people moved except for the group that was with the one who spoke to Shingi just a moment ago.


    That yer was looking angrily towards Shingi while the rest of his group were looking towards him waiting to see what they should do.


    "Wait, what is that up there?" [yer in the crowd]


    Everyone looked above as they noticed a small do in the sky which was getting bigger and was heading their way, and more precisely at the center of the za.


    The group of yers still there started running away, but they were a little toote as the explosion from Ae''snding killed them.


    Fortunately, everyone else who moved was out of the st''s area, but it amazed them the entrance of this unknown person.


    Volig walked forward with a wooden case at hand, which he opened in front of Ae, and everyone could see a sword be in there on top of a velvet pillow.


    "My Lady Ae, Goddess of the Storms, I present you your new de. I hope you are happy with it."[Volig]


    Ae seemed to be a little annoyed by its size, but when she picked it up, her expression changed.


    ck and white bolts of lightning surrounded the de at a perfect bnce between them.


    She gave it a few swings and even if she was holding it with one hand, her swings were pretty fast.


    Her <strong>STR</strong>, of course, was great, but she preferred speed over raw power. But this de wasn''t interrupting her style much.


    The de was also allowing her to use her mana easier than her previous de and even was creating white lighting bolts that were of simr power to her ck.


    She raised her arm, pointing at the sky with the sword as dark clouds started gathering.


    The wind started bing wilder and soon lightning hit the ground.


    One lightning hit her de, making it form a bigger de made from the energy of the lightning, but she had to use the de with two hands.


    Wind gathered around her and helping slowly hovering up as everyone froze in ce from the spectacle in front of their eyes.


    She stopped 5 meters above everyone as she used both hands to heave the sword through a mighty horizontal swing, creating a <strong>LIGHTING SLASH</strong> that traveled forward.


    Everyone followed the sh as it hit a mountain, and on impact, the mountain exploded, but the rocks seemed to be eaten by the lighting instead of going all over the ce.


    Then everything turned to normal as the dark clouds disappeared, the wind went back to normal, and Aended in front of Volig.


    "This is an excellent sword. You have done an outstanding job. I think L''liw could learn a few things from you as hisst creation broke that easily."[Ae]


    Some of the yer who knew more about the Gods of the Game was amazed by her saying that a mortal Smith has done a better job than the God of Smiths.


    "I am d you like it my Lady, but my Skills have reached this state with the blessings of L''liw and I am still far from considering even close to him."[L''liw]


    "This was a fine answer."[????]


    Everyone turned towards the voice as they saw this figure of a dark-skinned individual.


    He seemed to wear an attire near Volig''s, mostly an apron with different tools on its pocket as well a belt with more tools.


    He was holding a big hammer in his hand that he had it settling on his shoulder while standing and in his other hand he heard a broken sword.


    Shingi recognized both the person and the sword.


    This was L''liw the God of Smiths, and the broken sword he was holding was then one of Ae''s.


    "You know, Ae, you aren''t allowed to go around blowing up mountains, or your mother will get angry."[L''liw]


    "Then why don''t you fix it? You always say there is nothing you can''t fix. Except for my weapons, that is."[Ae]


    Some anger appeared on the face of his as he turned around toward the direction of the mountain and mmed the ground in front of him with his hammer.


    The entire town started shaking as an earthquake was happening, but itsted a few seconds.


    People noticed that the mountain that was partially blown up started regrowing at a visible rate in its missing parts.


    This was a level of power that no mortal, no matter how hard they tried, could reach. People like Varan and the Protectors may get close to that kind of show of power though, but they weren''t mortals anymore.


    "Can I have look at the new toy of yours before you break it?" [L''liw]


    Ae didn''t move an inch and kept the sword on her.


    "You know a daughter should listen to their father."[L''liw]


    "You aren''t my real Father just because you married her."[Ae]


    Shingi had heard that L''liw was married to the Goddess of Nature, so he was Ae''s stepfather.


    Ae threw the sword at him, but in a way of attacking him and not for him to catch it.


    But he was a full god himself and his reflexes were on a different level than hers, so he caught the de with no problem.


    He started inspecting the de and its Enchantment. Everyone held their breath, as they were afraid of disturbing his focus with any noise.


    "This is really a good job. It could use some adjustments but it would be a waste for her as she probably will break it soon. I will give it 200 years of staying in one piece."[L''liw]


    200 years sounded a lot to a mortal, but to a God, it was a blink of an eye.


    Ae walked in front of him and took the sword from his hands, and he let her take it.


    Ae left simrly as she did before at Harbin''s town.


    L''liw moved towards Volig, but as he walked he started increasing his size.


    Volig was taller than his size when he first appeared and he couldn''t let it happen so he made himself be almost twice in size from what Volig was.


    "You have done some impressive deeds in a small time. You still have a lot to learn, but I can see in you the fire of the passion of a true <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong>. From here on may everyone know that I, L''liw, have given you, Volig the Grandmaster <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong>, my blessing. May it guide your hands to reach perfection, my child." [L''liw]


    Everyone got amazed by the small speech and those who were more knowledgeable about the game were interested in why L''liw called him his child. Some thought it was because Volig was a Smith, but some thought that Volig was actually a son of his.


    Dwarves were a Race created by L''liw as helpers of his at first, but afterward, as they developed their intelligence they became part of the Mortal Realm. Most of the Dwarves were dreaming to join L''liw as one helper of his, which would be the ultimate honor for them.


    L''liw of course could see that the soul of Volig was originally that of a Dwarf even if it has moved to the body of a Half-Stone Giant, that''s why he called him like that. He still considered each Dwarf his child, even if he wasn''t the one creating them anymore.


    Volig froze in ce as he was reading the notification in front of him, which told him he had L''liw''s Blessing.


    He fell on his knees as he bowed in front of the God.


    L''liw seemed happy over his reaction, but then he turned his attention towards the small boy who was standing next to Volig all along.


    He starred carefully at Shingi as he seemed to have noticed something.


    Shingi didn''t expect him to make an appearance, as he had just called out Ae to make everyone know she recognized that Volig''s skills, making even the Dark Guild reluctant to make a move. The New Gods couldn''t do anything because thepany didn''t let them, but the Old Gods could if they wanted and Ae was easy to get at her dark side.


    But now he had L''liw also recognizing Volig''s skills, but he knew that L''liw''s eyes could see his soul and would know who he really was.


    L''liw said nothing as he brought his hand forward.


    "Bring your hammer out, my boy."[L''liw]


    Shingi brought out his Spirit Hammer, as he knew he had little of a choice.


    L''liw picked it up and inspected it, and cause of his increased size it was almost like handling a toothpick but he didn''t use it like that.


    "I see that Lady had messed with it. Since the ones in it don''t seem to mind it, I will allow you to keep having it even if you shouldn''t. But let me help you a bit with it."[L''liw]


    He then brought it a little distance from his mouth as he blew some air on it. Some white smoke also left his mouth with the air as it surrounded the Hammer.


    He then brought the Spirit Hammer back to Shingi.


    "They will be more awake now. You better keep using it wisely or I will personallye and take it from you."[L''liw]


    Then L''liw turned around and make a swing with his hammer, hitting the space in front of him as cracks appeared in the air like pieces of the space there fell down like pieces of a broken mirror.


    L''liw moved through the portal he created as it disappeared after he got through it.


    This was an event that people would discuss for a long time and some have already started posting at the game''s forum videos of recordings they could do through the System.


    Shingi considered today''s mission a total sess.

 Chapter 128: Day off

    Chapter 128: Day off


    On the way back to the shop a lot of the yers tried to speak with Volig and Shingi to make a starting rtionship with them, especially with Shingi who looked to be more like a yer to most than an actual NPC because of his robes.


    He had done some adjustments to them in the past weeks with the help of Zhen, by cing some Enchantment Runes on them that could help some of his detection Skills and way to stealth.


    He had also some more equipment on him which he gained with the help of the Blue Moon''s Guild or he had created them himself.


    He had one more ring other than his Spatial Ring, which was working as a store of Spells instead of things. The Spell would be a little weaker than if he actually cast it, but it still could save him time, as it was faster than using a scroll and almost as fast as casting it with using one Mana Seed.


    He could store up to three Base Grade Spells on it.


    He also had a ck leather gauntlet in his right hand only, which had some enchantments on the inside. This had the effect of increasing his uracy with attacks he made with that hand, either if he threw something or cast a Spell with that hand.


    He also changed his boot from the typical brown ones to onespletely white, which didn''t seem to get dirty, and kept their color, which had a yellow stripe on their side. They were one of the special items which the Guild found in one Quest he was with them. They could make him fly for a limited time as wings would appear from the stipes and allow him to fly, but not as fast as he could normally get with his feet on the ground, but still faster than one could go.


    The bootssted for a few minutes and took an entire day to recharge if fully used, so he had to use them wisely.


    He also had made a sword for him and had it on a scabbard hanging at his left side, as he was going to use Sinhunter only if it was necessary.


    He kept training with Sinhunter to increase its <strong>INT</strong> and had made quite some improvements on that.


    He still couldn''t see its actual value, but he calcted it to be a little less than 10, maybe at 8. He wanted to reach it at 12 since it was normally the minimum needed by a mage so it would make it using mana-based attacks a lot easier.


    Last, he had on his back one of his staves, which was having just an Earth Mana Gem, as he didn''t want others to know that they could produce staves with Light or Dark Mana Gem, since they were quite rare normally.


    Still, his staff was at a different level than the one they were selling, as he had made some personal adjustments to fit his needs best.


    He had made a base of it that was a leather strap going around his left side and right shoulder and had a t area with a special enchantment to work almost like a ma for the staff and keep it in ce. It was working simrly to what Ardent had for her scythe.


    His attirement of having different equipment not fitting the style of each other was one that yers mostly had as NPCs most times had their equipment made or gained by other means as a set.


    Shingi didn''t mind them thinking he was a yer since it could make some things easier sometimes.


    As they made it to the shop, they kept it close for the rest of the day.


    Both of them were working no stop for the past month and especially making Ae''s sword was something that took a lot out of them. They took a break from crafting but still they worked on discussing a few more ideas for future projects.


    After Shingi gained the item from the mansion he could start his trip with the others for the Neutral territory.


    He had sent his students to find some mentioned on the map that they could use.


    Price and Anna were working on spreading the rumors of the events to reach the ears of their target. Still, it would take a day or two at least before that person acted.


    "So what exactly does the blessing give you. I never had the chance to have it myself."[Shingi]


    Shingi could check it with his profession skill since Volig was one of his students but he wanted to respect the privacy of his students and use it only when training or necessary. He also wanted to have a normal discussion with Volig other than for one of their project.


    "It has improved my crafting skill as well my fire resistance, especially at my hands. It also gave me a special ability that fits my race."[Volig]


    As Volig said that he put his hands together by having one fist closed and the other one surrounding it with an open palm.


    As he did that, his size increased, and he had to kneel to not hit the ceiling. He was close to twice his normal size, which was already big enough for the room.


    He did the same move, and he started going back to his normal size, but even when he reached size he kept getting smaller.


    In the end, he was as tall as Shingi used to be as his younger NPC self before he got his ss.


    Volig then redid the move and went back to normal size.


    "I could getrger and seems like this isn''t its limit yet but have to work on it. I may reach the size he had at the za at some point."[Volig]


    This was definitely an ability suiting Volig as it could make him be as big as an actual Giant and not just a half one.


    They could use it in the future as Giants tend to like to talk more torge people like them.


    "Should we put the Hammer on the test to see how much it changed?" [Volig]


    "Sure you can use it since we will make nothing big today. Try not to go overboard though."[Shingi]


    Since it considered Shingi as its official owner of the Hammer, he could allow others to use it for a limited time, as Garry had done in the past.


    This helped them a lot these past weeks, especially in creating Ae''s sword.


    They have updated their crafting room these past weeks with the resources of what Night Wind and Jax''s men were delivering to them.


    The ce was better than what Varic used to have back at Picton, as he had made it all with resources he had gathered using his own abilities and not making deals with others other than giving Quests to some Blessed Ones.


    Jax also helped them to gather some items on Vardan''s map that were too far for them, as well as some items that were avable to closed circle markets.


    Volig decided not to work on a weapon this time or a new piece of equipment.


    Cause of the size of his hands, his work wasn''t as delicate as he wanted or used to be but now that he could change his size it would bring his work to another level.


    He took one ingot they had at the ready that was imbued with Earth Mana to strengthen itself and threw it in the forge to hit it up.


    When it seemed to be ready to work with it, he picked it up but not using a tong as usual or a <strong>MANA HAND</strong>, but his own hand.


    This new fire resistance truly helped, as he was barely feeling the heat and was taking no damage by it.


    He then increased his size as much as he could to fit in the room, and the Spirit Hammer increased with him.


    He then started hammering the ingot with all his strength. If it was a normal one, and not one imbued with Earth mana, would probably break into pieces. His STR was getting a boost when he was increasing his size that much.


    As he had shaped it a bit, he changed his size to almost the size he had when he was a Dwarf.


    It felt good to work like that and he soon noticed that he could grow just part of his body, like just his arms, instead of his entire body at once.


    The hour ended and Volig couldn''t use the Spirit Hammer anymore, but he had finished the heavy work with it.


    He had made a new sign for their shop, as they still had the old one.


    They didn''t mind using the old one, but it probably was best to have one to suit the one working in it.


    The sign was still of a hammer and a pair of tongs at an x like shape. A metal circle surrounded them and had some hanging holes for a rod to go through it and stay hanged.


    They reced the old sign with the new one, and they shooed away any yers expecting the shop to open for the day. They had announced yesterday that it was going to be closed for the entire day.


    "It definitely has improved as I felt it helping to guide and fixing my moves and even the force of each of my impacts. I would say it may be close to twice as effective from what it used to be, but it should have a bigger effect for you."[Volig]


    Shingi was happy to hear that as he took the Hammer back and was ready to store it back to his Spatial Ring when he heard a mental voice in his head.


    "''Have fun. Large man fun.''"[????]


    Shingi didn''t recognize the voice as it sounded nothing like Sinhunter''s.


    This voice seemed almost like many people speaking simultaneously, but in perfect sync so that you could understand what they say.


    "''Can you hear me?''" [Shingi]


    Shingi tried tomunicate back as he was with Sinhunter, but it seemed like the connection wasn''t that strong.


    He was certain that it was the Spirits of the Spirit Hammer, but he didn''t think he would get the chance to speak with them.


    From what he learned from Beliss, the spirits rarely spoke with their user, but it wasn''t something unheard of.


    "Everything ok?" [Volig]


    He noticed Shingi froze in ce for a second and was starring at the Hammer.


    "Oh, yeah. I just think the Spirits'' Hammer sent me a message. Apparently, they like working with you."[Shingi]


    This impressed Volig, as he had researched in the past about Spirit Hammers, and Shingi shared with him some of his new knowledge he got from Beliss.


    "Do you think they will speak more from now on? L''liw said they are more awake now."[Volig]


    "We shall see how it goes." [Shingi]


    They prepared some lunch as they had some supplies of food and had made a simple kitchen corner to prepare their meals.


    They cooked nothing impressive, but Shingi had those past weeks unlocked the COOKING Skill and had it at Base Grade currently.


    He stills had to improve his STEALTH and ENCHANTER-rted Skills to Master Rank. He still didn''t have ess to enough Master Rank Enchantment to increase his skills, and since he was using his Spells to hide his presence most of the time, his skill wasn''t increasing in power that much.


    They had their lunch and even had some drinks, even if Shingi couldn''t handle as much as used to be since he wascking the Blessing of the God of Alcohol on his NPC self.


    He hadn''t tried to move anything else from his yer self to his NPC as he felt he had to make it by what he could earn by himself.


    So the two friends partied just the two of them as they went to sleep and rest, as the next day could bring many changes.

 Chapter 129: The Messenger

    Chapter 129: The Messenger


    In the morning of the next day, Shingi woke up with a headache and a knock at the shop''s door. He had a drinking contest with Volig, which lost even if his END was high, but his body was still not used to alcohol.


    Volig was a newborn, but his race had a higher toxin tolerance than humans but not as much as he had as a Dwarf.


    The knocking continued, and it was like the person out there was knocking at Shingi''s head.


    "Be right there. <strong>SO STOP KNOCKING</strong>."[Shingi]


    He cleared his mind a little, and as he walked towards the door, he noticed something.


    He used the detection skills as usual towards the person outside, and he found a familiar mana aura that he hadn''t seen for a while.


    It was that mysterious figure that Garry had met the first time Shingi worked at the shop.


    His detection skills back then weren''t as good as now, so he wasn''t sure if it was the same person, but there were some simrities.


    He used some Light Mana to <em>''kill''</em> some of the alcohol in him, which helped a little but still had some effects fromst night''s drinking. As for Volig, he was out cold as he was a heavy sleeper, especially after drinking.


    Shingi opened the door, and he saw a man that had a mouth mask on and had a hoodie cloak but had his hood down.


    "Are you the one called Shingi?" [Strange Messenger]


    "I am. And who are you supposed to be?" [Shingi]


    "I came here to deliver an invitation from my master for you and the Grandmaster Volig. You have ten minutes to prepare. I will wait across the street." [Strange Messenger]


    The man didn''t wait for Shingi to say anything as he moved away.


    Shingi didn''t like that this man said he was here to give an invitation but didn''t even wait for him to ept it.


    He couldn''t be sure who sent him, as he had no bearings on him to show his master''s identity.


    Shingi woke Volig up and exined the situation.


    They had little choice as they prepared to head out. Shingi went to the crafting room for woodworking and leatherworking to wake up Winestone, who was sleeping there next to Chubby.


    "What do you want me to do?" [Winestone]


    "Follow me and try not to let others know you can speak until I tell you." [Shingi]


    So the three of them went across the street to see the strange messenger, who had his hood up now.


    When he saw the bear, he turned toward Volig.


    "What is that beast doing here? I came to get just the two of you."[Messenger]


    "I am confident your master will be interested in him."[Volig]


    They couldn''t see his face with his hood up, but Shingi could read his bodynguage and tell that Volig''s response surprised him.


    "Then follow me."[Messenger]


    They moved to the gate, where a carriage waited for them. Fortunately, Winestone wasn''t a full-grown bear and could barely fit in it. Volig also had to decrease his size for all of them to fit in therefortably. It surprised the messenger, but he said nothing.


    During the entire trip, the messenger stayed silent and didn''t answer any of their questions.


    They were heading in the direction that Shingi knew the mansion was.


    Price had recruited him the other day so he could send him a message to let him know they were out and inform him in case they had to advance the n.


    Butter, they took a turn that was taking them further away from where the mansion was supposed to be.


    Shingi tried to find any clues in the carriage or the messenger for where they were heading, and he finally found one.


    He detected little mana from the driver of the carriage forming a shape on his left hand, which was a sign that he had recently had a particr tattoo made on him.


    He used his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> to form the tattoo in front of him, and the result was a Tower hit by lightning and broke in half.


    He heard of this symbol from Marcy, being the Guild logo simr to Whip Masters, a Guild working for the Dark Guild.


    Shingi didn''t know how to act, and he didn''t expect them to act this fast. He thought that the appearance of Ae would keep them away for some time.


    They stopped at a camp as the messenger got outside and signaled them to follow him.


    The camp wasn''t too big as Shingi detected ten yers, but all of them well equipped and of a higher level than Price''s, but he estimated that none was over level 70.


    They headed to therger tent where Shingi had detected the one with the densest aura of the entire camp.


    Going inside, they found, on top of what looked like a wooden throne, a female figure having a mouth mask like the messenger and was currently cleaning an apple with a small knife.


    Next to her, there was what at first looked like a dog but would notice that its spine bones were extending outside like curved horns if one looked at its back. It was also currently asleep, and with each heavy exhale of it, ck smoke was leaving its nose.


    It was wearing a cor with multiple runes on it and a chain that the other end was at a pole behind it.


    "My Lady. I brought them, and they also brought a pet of theirs."[Messenger]


    She looked towards each of them and then made a motion towards the messenger to leave them alone.


    "So you are the ones who made some ruckus yesterday. I heard it was a sight to behold. But where are my manners? Let me introduce myself. I am called Snow Rogue, and I am the one in charge over here."[Snow Rogue]


    Her whole attire was white, which she probably did on purpose to fit her name.


    "I would like us to make a deal. We have resources at our disposal that even the King would be jealous of, and I am sure you can use our help. I mean, this ce doesn''t have much to offer, so we can move you to a much bigger town and better shop than the little one you have."[Snow Rogue]


    "What if we don''t want to agree to the deal?" [Shingi]


    She was still wearing her mouth mask, but Shingi was sure from the bodynguage that she smirked at that point.


    "We aren''t as weak as Whip Master disgrace of a Guild." [Snow Rogue]


    She then threw the piece of apple as itnded on the head of the sleepy, monstrous dog.


    The dog woke up, and when it saw Shingi and Volig, it ran towards him, but the chain stopped it from reaching them.


    Shingi and Volig didn''t flinch for a moment. Just Winestone took a few steps back.


    Shingi moved forward towards the dog that was growling towards him, but suddenly the growls stopped, and the dog tried to get away from Shingi but could get outside, as the chain didn''t let it go.


    "I will tell you then the same thing I told them. Dogs should stay obedient and don''t act like they are lions."[Shingi]


    She pped him a few times and then threw her knife at the neck of the dog.


    She hit a vital point of it, and it already had some wounds as it fell to the ground, motionless.


    "Look what you made me do. Do you know how hard it is to find those? You owe me big, little boy." [Snow Rogue]


    Shingi noticed the men outside starting to move to surround their tent, as she probably sent them a message.


    He didn''t notice her move to write something through the System''s chat, so she probably had some other way ofmunication.


    He couldn''t send a message to Price, as she was paying careful attention to his moves.


    "Now, why don''t you be a sweet boy and sit to discuss our deal."[Snow Rogue]


    There was a tone of her ordering them around, which both Shingi and Volig didn''t like.


    "There is nothing to discuss, as you have nothing we are interested in. So if you don''t want to follow the fate of those annoying friends of yours just let us go." [Shingi]


    She startedughing as Shingi told her the funniest joke there was.


    "You sure are something. You don''t know what genuine power is, boy, if you think dealing with those weaklings makes you strong. So I will say it once more. SIT. DOWN."[Snow Rogue]


    Volig sat down, and Shingi felt some power trying to affect him, but he had his unique eyes active to he didn''t allow it to affect him.


    "Oh, how interesting? You are an impressive one if you can handle this Enchantment. Maybe we can have some funter. I am sure this big sister can make your day."[Snow Rogue]


    At that point, screams were heard from outside, as also sounds of battle.


    Snow Rogue seemed to be surprised by it, and she seemed to have taken a message from the people outside as she looked with wide eyes towards Shingi.


    "What did you do? Who are you?" [Snow Rogue]


    Shingi had used for the first time one of his Mana Fruits to silent cast <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong>.


    Also, because he used a Mana Fruit instead of Mana Seeds, his Spell got strengthened a bit, which benefited from using a Mana Fruit other than it having more mana.


    He had made 8 <em>Attacker Golems</em>, which were bigger and stronger than those back when he was at Harbin''s town.


    He then summoned Sinhunter and cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on him as he charged towards her.


    She was pretty agile as she avoided his attack and drew a pair of daggers she had sheathed at her belt.


    They were Mana Gem daggers that Shingi and Volig had made avable through their shop, but he could tell that they made some modifications to it.


    Shingi was afraid that he would face someone using the weapon they created one day, but he was ready for this.


    He stored his staff in his ring as he brought out from the ring a peculiar stone with different runes on it, each of a different color.


    He attacked her a few times and paid attention to her dagger, and more specifically, what elements they had.


    One was Earth, and the other was Air. The Earth was strengthening its de, increasing both its defensive abilities and its attacking power a bit. The Air made it lighter to use and made more attacks in a shorter time while keeping its regr stats.


    When Shingi was sure of what those daggers'' element was, then focused some mana at two of the runes of the stone, the green one and the white one.


    As he did that, it released a wave of energy that broke the Mana Gems and damaged the des when it came in touch with them.


    This was a creation of Zhen as a failsafe if their product fell into the wrong hands.


    This got her off guard, as Shingi appeared behind her and shed her with Sinhunter. He had his sword surrounded with a Fire and Light mana de.


    But this time, it wasn''t enough to kill her in one hit as she was a much higher level than any of the people Shingi had faced till now.


    But he could tell that it took a significant chunk of her HP.


    At this point, Volig wasn''t anymore affected by whatever she did to him, and he summoned from his Spatial Ring his Warhammer as he was ready to help Shingi fight. He wasn''t much of a fighter, but nobody would consider him a weakling.


    Snow Rogue didn''t like the situation she was currently in.

 Chapter 130: The search for the artifact

    Chapter 130: The search for the artifact


    It seemed like Shingi and Volig had the upper hand, which would be the case if Snow Rogue weren''t over Level 60.


    To pass level 60, one needed to pass some tests for his or her ss that not everyone could, but the rewards worth it.


    She summoned another pair of daggers, but this time they were typical Enchanted ones but still were of substantial power.


    The Golems out there were very busy fighting everyone and barely keeping up, and Shingi had to drink an MP Regeneration potion after hisst attack to keep boosting them and healing them. If the people outside dealt with his Golems before he defeated Snow Rogue, he didn''t think he had a chance of winning.


    He also sent a quick message to Price, but he couldn''t tell him everything in that short of time.


    Shingi looked towards Volig to check how he was and then charged towards Snow Rogue.


    He barely heard a chuckle from her as he readied her daggers.


    As he got on her and started his attack, he noticed she was faster than before, and he was getting close to keep up with her barely.


    He didn''t detect her enabling any Enchantments or her daggers to affect her like that.


    She kept dodging his attacks but never countered, even if she had a few chances.


    Shingi jumped to the side as another figure appeared behind him and almost cut him with a dagger, but just cut off part of his clothes.


    The figure was identical to Snow Rogue on everything like they were the same person.


    Shingi''s senses didn''t detect it as an Illusion, and he couldn''t see any difference between them. They even had the same wound he did to her just a few moments ago.


    This meant only one thing; she was using an Artifact.


    His detection Skills were at Master Rank, so only a few things that a mortal could do could escape them, but she didn''t show signs of doing any of those. So the only exnation he coulde out with was her having an Artifact allowing her to either create an Illusion of herself or an actual clone.


    Both were possible, but since he could see that both could physically affect their surroundings, he was confident that this was an actual clone of her from the moment she enabled it; that''s why it had the same wound.


    Shingi had heard of items like that. He knew that they increased some stats of its user when activated, which in this case, seemed to be her <strong>AGI</strong>.


    He had to find what this artifact was, and the obvious answer was one or both of her daggers, but he quickly erased that thought.


    He was familiar with those daggers, as they weren''t too rare but difficult to get to, mainly because NPC shops at big towns sold them for many coins. But if one had the coins, he or she could have them.


    The two figures started attacking Shingi andpletely ignoring Volig, even when he attacked one of them, but he was too slow for them.


    Shingi had to change to a defensive stance as he kept searching for that artifact, and he soon didn''t know who was the real one as their speed kept increasing.


    Her wound was also closing and became fast enough to hit with some of her attacks.


    Fortunately, Shingi had increased the defense of his clothes, and they were absolving part of the attack, but not all of it as he was losing chunks of his <strong>HP</strong>.


    If he didn''t deal with her speed or the artifact, he was as good as dead. He could tell that she didn''t try to keep him alive and was going for lethal blows.


    His MP was low because of his Golems, so that he couldn''t cast his <strong>FEAR</strong> Spell, and escaping was not an option this time.


    He had to enable his Breaking Limit State, or he wouldn''t be able to keep up with those two, but it would give him just a few seconds if her speed kept increasing at this rate.


    But then a roar was heard, and everyone remembered one person theypletely forgot; the bear named Winestone.


    Fire mana started surrounding his entire body as they turned into mes and the mes into magma.


    He grew in size, being a little bigger than what a full-grown bear was supposed to be.


    As this transformation was over in a few seconds, Winestone opened his mouth, and it released mes towards the two Snow Rogues.


    They both easily avoided this attack, but Winestone piqued their interest. It wasn''t every day one could see a magma bear.


    Winestone charged towards them, and one could feel the incredible heat emitting from his body.


    Shingi, for a moment, remembered his battle with the Dragon in one of thest battles he had in the Tower but soon snapped out of it as he continued fighting.


    Winestone wasn''t too fast, especially in his newrge form, but his tactics were masterful enough to keep busy at least one of the Snow Rogues giving Shingi some chances to deal some damage.


    But her regeneration and increase of her speed was still something that they couldn''t stop and would turn the battle against them, but soon finally found what he looked for.


    He thought the artifact was on her and that she enabled it after hitting her, but it wasn''t the case.


    Something of that power would take time to enable its effect, and she probably used it before he finished his attack, but it took effect after it.


    That meant it was something she was in contact with but didn''t need to be anymore but stay in a range of it.


    Shing charged towards them as he did something he had never done before. He recast <strong>HASTE</strong> on himself while he was still under its effect. This time he used one charge of the spell he had stored at his new ring.


    He had to focus more on keeping them both enabled; that''s why he also enabled Blessing of Beliss''s active effect as a boosted <strong>INT</strong> would help.


    So with his current speed momentarily being again more than them, he moved as fast as lightning, leaving afterimages behind him and moving to interrupt them from going forward.


    They soon noticed why as Winestone got in front of their throne and was ready to breathe fire on it.


    This was her artifact, and she enabled its effect when she stood up from it but took some time till it took effect.


    If it got destroyed, that would cause her clone to disappear. Also, a bacsh would hit her depending on how long she was using its effect.


    They tried to pass Shingi, but he used everything he used to stop her, even if he lost some big chunks of HP in the process.


    He had used another message he had stored in the Ring, which was of Mizuneko, and it was an Air based Spell called <strong>SILENT MESSAGE</strong>, which allowed him to tell Winestone to burn the throne.


    Shingi knew that the mes of Winestone were magical in nature, so they could damage it enough to at least disrupt its effect if not destroying it. And fortunately, he was right.


    She was close to cut his neck as both figures fell to their knees.


    One figure turned ck and disappeared as it became a shadow on the ground, and then the shadow also moved into the other''s shadow.


    The real Snow Rogue looked towards Shingi with pure hatred in her eyes before she passed out as the backsh fully hit her.


    Shingi and Volig helped Winestone destroy the throne, as they didn''t want it for themselves, and they couldn''t store it at their Spatial Rings. Specially crafted Rings were needed for that to happen.


    Shingi had bought some of those rings, but he had given them to his students for the artifacts they had, and he waited for Jax''s men to bring one more for him. But they were difficult and took time to be made.


    Volig couldn''t make one as he couldn''t make spatial-rted Enchantments, and even Zhen didn''t know how to make one. Only a few people in all the Kingdoms knew how to make some, and they weren''t taking orders from just anyone.


    Shingi concentrated on his Golems and strengthened them as much as possible as he gave some <em>HP Regeneration potion</em> to him and Winestone before they got outside to finish this battle.


    Fortunately, the rest weren''t as high level as Snow Rogue, but they weren''t too far from her. But Shingi and his group took care of them before his double <strong>HASTE</strong> was over.


    When the duration of his first one was over, his body got weakened enough to throw his focus on the second one, and this caused a bacsh to him that made him almost passed out. But he used everything he had to keep himself up, even if they had dealt with every enemy.


    He didn''t know where they would respawn, but he could tell this wasn''t their respawn point, but just a temporary camp of theirs.


    They found the cart that brought them here, and its driver was in the carriage trying to hide.


    He was an NPC and didn''t seem to have a ss of his, but Shingi could tell that the tattoo he detected was an enving one, which made him follow their orders.


    But since nobody with authority to control him was around, he was free to act as he wanted, but he seemed too scared to run away, even if he had a carriage at his disposal.


    "You better get us back to our ce and hurry because I am hungry, and you don''t have enough meat."[Winestone]


    Winestone, at this point, was at his standard form, but the driver saw his magma form while Winestone was fighting.


    His entire body was shaking as he quickly sat in the driver''s seat and waited for them to get in the carriage, which they did in a hurry as first they helped Winestone get in.


    The driver then started making their way back to town by making the horses go as fast as possible.


    He was afraid of Snow Rogue and the rest of her Guild, but he now was more fearful of the three individuals who had dealt with them.


    Quickly the fear got reced by a less dark feeling.


    Hope.

 Chapter 131: Start of the trip

    Chapter 131: Start of the trip


    They made it back in town in less than half the time it took them to go to the camp since the driver pushed them to run.


    They made it to the gate, and Shingi told the driver to stop the carriage there.


    Price was there as he Shingi had sent him a message to meet them there. Anna was also there.


    Shing signaled them both to follow him, and he noticed that even the driver followed him. He didn''t stop him as he understood he had no ill intentions.


    They made it to the shop, where yers were waiting for it to open.


    Greg was there and had the keys to open it, but he always waited for them before opening it.


    They opened it, and Volig and Greg worked on orders and the customers. At the same time, Price, Anna, Shingi, and the driver went to the leatherworking and woodcarving room which Shingi was also using it as a meeting room in the shop if not meeting at the Guild''s room made for that purpose.


    "What is he doing here?" [Anna]


    Anna pointed at the driver since she had never seen him in the past.


    "I am sorry. for intruding, but I couldn''t stay back there. They have a"[Driver]


    He stopped speaking mid-sentence, which looked strange.


    "Take off your glove and show me that tattoo."[Shingi]


    The man got surprised by what he said, but he followed what Shingi told him.


    Shingi checked it and showed that it was yellow, indicating that its quality was pretty high.


    The most inferior quality of it would be ck. Then its quality got improved to purple, then blue, green, yellow, orange, red and finally white.


    Making yellow quality enving rune was quite hard to make and was also challenging to dispel.


    Shingi grasped the driver''s hand, and with a Dark Mana Gem at hand, he used its mana to erase the rune.


    Dark mana was the only Element that could erase Runes, but one needs to know how the Enchantments or the Runes worked. He also required an almost perfect control and understanding of the Dark Element, and Shingi had experimented with it a lot these past weeks.


    He would like to use the active effect of his Blessing of Beliss, but it was on cooldown since he used it during the battle. As for working on itter, it wasn''t an option, as they would control him during that time.


    Shingi wanted to help that man, as he never liked envement.


    Still, his skills were high enough to deal with it in a couple of minutes.


    The rune disappeared but left a burn mark behind in the shame shape, but at least he wasn''t under the control of someone.


    It relieved the driver when he saw his envement rune disappearing.


    "Tha. thank you. I don''t know what I can do to pay this favor, but I swear to serve you at the best of my abilities."[Driver]


    "You know I didn''t free you to be my ve. You are wee to work for me, though. Greg and Volig could use a helper."[Shingi]


    Karemon and a still haven''t found a helper for Volig, and even if he didn''t know if that man had any proficiency in crafting, he could help Greg around for simple errands.


    His name was Herdan, and Shingi told him to help Greg.


    The Shingi exined to Price and Anna what happened at his meeting with Snow Rogue.


    "So what is our next move, then? Do you think they will attack like the ones in the past?" [Anna]


    "They probably will, especially after taking one of their ves. If they used a yellow grade enved rune on him, it means that it''s someone crucial for them. We should keep close attention to him." [Price]


    "I agree about monitoring him. As for how they will act, I doubt they will make an attack. They know now what we can do, and we will be ready for them. Also, knowing that we have a failsafe for our weapons not to get used against us should disrupt their ns. But we should prepare some defense ns of ours, especially since the main party will leave soon."[Shingi]


    "What about the heist? The news of the events should have reached him, but I don''t think they would let himmunicate with us. He probably also won''t get out if they are around."[Price]


    This was true, as the man was too careful to be considered at a paranoic level and wasn''t making any deals if a strange group was around.


    The Broken Tower Guild, which was Snow Rogues Guild, was famous for causing trouble, and they were confident that their appearance in the area wouldn''t be secret for long.


    "We don''t have the time to progress with the n. But Price, you, and Anna will stay to monitor the situation for some time, and if a messenger shows up, progress with the n. Me, Little Phoenix, Wild Tycoon, and the brothers will leave in a few days. Soryn and Marcy will stay to help with the Guild. I had informed her of some ns I want for them to work on. I also had talked with Harbin a few days ago, and he said he will send me some of his men, as it was only a matter until another Guild showed up. They should be here soon." [Shingi]


    Even if he considered that most would be afraid that Ae had her eyes on him and Volig, and probably L''liw too, but there was always the chance of some not caring about that possibility.


    They discussed some more ns for scenarios that coulde and how to respond to them.


    Shingi was nning to leave by the end of the week, and the trip to the Tower would take them a couple of weeks.


    He also had to stop at the ce on the map that was left for him, which was in the Neutral Territory.


    The trip would be dangerous, but the student of his had passed Level 40 and should handle its dangers, especially with their new pieces of equipment, Skills, and Spells.


    The artifact he wanted to get from the mansion was a unique staff that could handle four elements, air, earth, fire, and water, which he couldn''t make even with Zhen''s help.


    Their limit was three Elements, and if one Element was the Light or Dark Element, the limit was two.


    He had made a staff with Fire and Earth Mana Gem, but they couldn''t make an Earth, Fire, Light one, but if they took that artifact, they could find a way.


    He also wanted to start the trip earlier than nned, as he was confident that people would learn of his leave and get distracted while looking for him and the rest.


    Shingi then went to inform the rest of his students and Marcy about the change of ns.


    As for Ardent Scythe, he didn''t have many meetings with her, but he had let her know of his n to go to the Tower. But he didn''t expect her to help him in there, as she couldn''t help him against the Dark Guild. They had taken over most of the Neutral Territory.


    He spoke with a and Karemon, who had returned from Harbin''s ce some days ago and informed them about the Guild and his n to leave.


    He worked hard the next two days to finish anything he could craft that could be useful on the trip.


    Hineko and Mizuneko also prepared as many potions and scrolls since it would be hard to make them away from theirbs. They had made some moveable tools that they could use to create some, but the quality was lower.


    They had no news of the Broken Tower Guild making a move in the vige, but Price and Anna had detected them having some groups gather outside, but they weren''t making a move yet.


    Harbin''s guards got in town, and they weren''t like the ones still in training, like the ones around when Shingi was in town.


    They could handle a sizeable group of people strong as Snow Rogue with the help of Price and Anna with their help, so Shingi was confident about leaving.


    They left in secret to not leave tracks behind, but Anna and Price would spread rumors for their departure in the following days.


    They were traveling by foot, and since not everyone was as fast as him or could continue to travel for as long as him, their trip wouldst a lot longer if he traveled by himself only.


    His estimation to reach the ce on his mother''s map was two weeks, and he didn''t know how long he would spend there.


    After that, they would go straight for the Tower, and it should take them a little less than a week.


    The first two days were pretty quiet, but they had passed the borders into the Neutral Territory in the middle of the third.


    Monsters started being more aggressive, as they ignored even their instinct not to attack them even if they were stronger than them level-wise. Fortunately, with their preparations, they dealt with them quickly enough.


    They also had some repellents for the night for their camp, but they kept watch just in case. The repellents were the same as Pan used at her ce, so they were pretty effective.


    That night, Shingi noticed that a new option was avable at his System.


    He could use the SCRY option once more, and this time he had to targets; sNPC#1 and Protector#2.


    He knew sNPC#1 was Annoue, but he wasn''t who exactly was Protector#2.


    The obvious answer was Beliss since he had her blessing. But he didn''t have that optionst time, butst time he was trapped in that darkroom while waiting to earn his ss.


    He didn''t know why the choice appeared now, but it most likely was because he had passed the field covering the Neutral Territory.


    Since thest time since he selected to use it at Annoue didn''t go that well, he checked that new option this time.


    He felt his consciousness leaving his body and travel simr to thest time he used that option.


    The trip didn''tst as long since he was nearer the destination, which was the same asst time, the Tower.


    Again, he couldn''t tell at which floor they were, but he was confident it wasn''t far from the one fromst time, if not the same one.


    The room he stopped at was dark, but he could see a cage and a figure in it.


    The figure seemed humanoid but then noticed that it had a pair of wings, which had some holes and damaged them. It also had a lizard-like tail.


    Everything started bing brighter as time passed, which seemed to be part of the SCRY, not of the room bing brighter.


    The figure was a humanoid dragon, or a Dragonborn as they were known, and he could see that he was alive but badly damaged.


    Typically, one didn''t have wings or a tail, but this one was a special case.


    Shingi was confident this one was the Protector Dormon, the Father of All Dragons.

 Chapter 132: Trip to the maps place

    Chapter 132: Trip to the map''s ce


    The state of Dormon''s body wasn''t too severe, even if there were some holes in his wings.


    He had a pair of shackles on both his hands and feet, making it hard to move around. Shingi noticed some runes on the restraints, which he understood were designed to keep him sealed and weaken him.


    Dormon was unconscious, and Shingi could barely notice his chest moving when breathing.


    He never thought that Mikhail had taken him a prisoner, but it made sense considering how strong he was when he met him.


    It surprised Shingi that Beliss didn''t know, but the Protectors didn''t seem to speak with each other a lot.


    Shingi noticed Dormon seemed to say something but couldn''t muster the power to say it out loud, and his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> wasn''t working at maximum capacity when on <strong>SCRY</strong> mode.


    He could get closer to him, though, to hear better, and that''s what he did until he could hear him clear enough.


    *Thepower.girlkey.* [Dormon]


    He spoke those four words repeatedly in Dragonic.


    Shingi couldn''t speak, but he understood that Dormon, like Mikhail back then, knew Shingi was here even in his current state.


    He started feeling the effects of SCRY get weaker, and after taking another look around the room for any clues but found nothing, Shingi ended it.


    The return to his body was a lot faster, as it didn''t have to travel back to his body.


    He still had some time in SCRY mode, so he took a quick look at Annoue. If Mikhail was around, he would end it as fast as he could.


    He saw making the trip once more, and this time tried to pay more attention since this was the way they traveled.


    This time he wasn''t at the training hall as thest time, but at what seemed to be ab.


    There were tables full of papers, books, vials, herbs, and many other things.


    Annoue was sitting on a chair, and she was alone in the room.


    She was ying with a rock that had some runes on it, which seemed familiar to Shingi. It was pretty simr to the one Varan gave him to go at the Dragon''s ce, but there were some differences at the Circles, probably cause they were leading at a different destination.


    She seemed to be well and healthy, but he noticed her face to have changed. Her usual smile wasn''t there, and her mouth seemed to be just a straight line.


    She let go of the stone at the desk as she started walking around the room, checking things around.


    "You sssshouldn''t toussh anything. Masssterrrr prrohibitssss it."[????]


    Shingi then noticed a figure entering the room. It was a Snake Tribe male.


    People of Snake Tribe were humanoids, but one or more of their parts were snake-like. This one had his entire head be like one of a cobra, which was quite rare.


    Shingi saw that his mouth and tongue were utterly like a snake, which seemed to be why he spoke like that.


    The rest of his body seemed to be of an average human, and he was wearing simr clothes to what Shingi had seen Mikhail wearing back when Mikhail ''visit'' them at Shingi''s house.


    This individual didn''t note Shingi''s existence, which meant that he wasn''t of power at the level of Mikhail or Dormon, which was good news.


    "What about this thing? He seems to work a lot on ittely and gets him frustrated." [Annoue]


    She pointed at an extensive structure that looked like the arc of a door, with many runes and circles on it. It seemed like a moreplicated andrger version of the stone Annoue help just a few moments ago.


    "Masssterrrr''s work iss masterrssss. Little girl ssssshouldn''t y with it. Read your book or masssterrrr will get angrrry."[Snake Tribe Man]


    "You are no fun, Netsu. You always want me to study those books. Can''t we just go back to fighting those training golems?" [Annoue]


    Netsu took a seat next to her as he gave her a book that was on the nearby desk.


    "They sssstil repairrrr fromsst ssssession. But you need to get your head, mana foundationssss improved. Yourrr sssword can wait. Keep sssstudying the rrrrunessss and let me know what you don''t underrrssssstand."[Netsu]


    Shingi saw what was on the pages of the book and saw different runes and designs like the one he and Zhen made.


    These should be notes of a <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong> and they seemed to be of a different level from what he had seen Zhen doing.


    He tried to see any titles or pages of other books and noticed a lot of them being of some very rare subjects for one to find in written form. This was a paradise for any Arcane User as the books covered many magic-rted subjects.


    Annoue, even if she got frustrated, she started studying the book.


    She seemed more focused on it than what Shingi got used to seeing her while they were training back in the day. It wasn''t like she was cking off back then, but she wasn''t giving her all either.


    His time at the SCRY MODE didn''tst long, as after a couple of minutes he was back, controlling his body.


    SCRY Mode went in cooldown for 24 hours this time.


    At least this meant he could monitor Annoue and Dormon''s situation, now and then.


    He wanted to send a message to Beliss to let her know about Dormon, but he still didn''t have a certain way to do so. Maybe next time he should go meet Jax, but he was very far and a hard man to meet in normal circumstances.


    He worked on his Mana Tree as he noticed that the Earth Mana here morepatible but the difference wasn''t too big. But every little could make a difference. It also made it easier to replenish his used Mana Seeds but wasn''t enough to grow a Mana Fruit.


    He was confident that in some of the Tower''s floors the mana there would be enough to help him make some Mana Fruits.


    He had noticed some things on his ''trips'' while using SCRY mode as its speed at the beginning wasn''t too fast, and so noticed a few camps of others that they probably should avoid.


    He still didn''t know how to get in the Tower, as it seemed to bepletely surrounded by people of the Dark Guild. But he could investigate further when they got there. He had some ns in mind, but he needed more pieces of information to form a final one.


    But now with the help of <strong>SCRY</strong>, he could get some more information before they got there.


    The rest of the night passed with him restoring all his Mana Seeds, but not all of them were in full power yet.


    Shingi noticed some monsters were not running away, but neither was getting closer. They got affected by the repellents so that they don''t make it to their camp but didn''t affect them that much to scare them away.


    Shingi kept his guard up just in case they were preparing something, but from their moves, it didn''t seem to be the case. They just waited for their prey to be free of any obstacles.


    Shingi recognized the creatures and knew that they were night predators, which couldn''t handle sunlight, so would get away in the morning. They were more intelligent creatures than normal beasts, but still far from having human-like intelligence.


    Morning came and before they move they had to fight a few of those creatures that stayed behind but were too weak because of the sunlight.


    Shingi noticed they were too thin from how normal they would be, meaning they didn''t have any decent meal for a while. He considered it the reason they stayed behind even when the sun was out, as the potential meal worth much by the burning pain that the sun was doing at their skin.


    Those were high-level creatures for the students of his, so after a while, they actually were taking some decent chunk at their exp bars.


    Shingi was also part of their Party as he got recruited by Little Phoenix, who was chosen to be the unofficial leader of their party. Shingi was the official Leader, but the System wouldn''t let him be considered one.


    The Leader of a party had some function to choose for the progress of the party.


    Since they were part of the same Guild, more functions were unlocked and one of the most important ones was <em>Exp Distribution</em>.


    Normally everyone took the same amount of exp. There were the extra exps for the ones who did the most damage, took thest hit, etc. Of course, the amount would get reduced if the monster was of quite a lower level than the member. But the Little Phoenix could change the percent of what each one would take for her party members.


    Shingi took the least since for now, exps weren''t of much of a help, and they were changing the settings with each battle.


    They had unlocked some new ss Skills when they reached level 40, so they used the exps to raise their levels to level 10 fast, and then they could focus on raising their actual ss level.


    Phoenix had also raised her <strong>COOKING</strong> Skill to be considered early Master Rank, which enabled her to make some special dishes with extra benefits for the ones who ate them. Shingi helped her, but mostly to raise his Skill also, which was slower than Phoenix''s since the System wasn''t helping them both the same way.


    The dishes she could make for now helped them replenish their <strong><em>SP</em></strong> faster and also to need less time to rest and to travel once again.


    This way they were covering a bit more ground than usual without needing to use any of their potions.


    As for ingredients for their meals, the beast monsters they fought now and then were perfect meat sources for those dishes.


    The two female yers had some problem eating it, considering where it came from, and Little Phoenix had some trouble cooking it in the beginning. But soon, with Shingi''s help, they left this problem behind.


    They had met some of those camps he saw during his use of <strong>SCRY</strong>, but none seemed to be too prepared and they could go around them.


    Shingi kept monitoring Dormon''s and Annoue''s situation each night, but he learned nothing other than getting some improvements in reading parts of the books Annoue studied. It improved not only his understanding of Enchantments on designing them but also using them.


    He also started understanding a little more about the Runes, which was what Zhen''s design made of


    He could learn skills of an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> and not of a <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong>, which was its evolved version, so he couldn''t design functional Runes, but could help Little Phoenix to learn how since she was an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong>, so could evolve to a <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong>.


    They made it to the ce on the map a couple of days sooner than he calcted because of the benefits of the special food.


    The ce was at the foot of the mountain and the map gave no clue of what they were looking for.


    An idea came to Shingi''s head as he brought out from his Spatial Ring the ck Silver Feather his mother had left with the map.


    He then focused some mana on it, and there was a reaction that there wasn''t before.


    The feather got a little warmer.

 Chapter 133: The secret place of the map

    Chapter 133: The secret ce of the map


    Shingi, for the first time, noticed an Enchantment Rune at the bottom part of the feather. He had checked it many times, and he never saw this Rune be there.


    He noticed the Rune wasn''t carved on the feather as he focused on it, but it manipted the mana he used to take this shape. He wasn''t sure how his mana got manipted, but he was confident that it had to do with something in this location, as it didn''t happen in the past when he tried the same thing.


    He started moving closer to the mountain and noticed the Feather get warmer, but slightly. He started moving away, and as expected, the Feather''s temperature was getting cooler.


    It seemed like he was in a hot, cold game, and the Feather was the one letting him know how close he was at what he was searching for.


    There weren''t any paths leading up the mountain, and it was a challenging climb, so he hoped that what he was looking for was just hidden down there.


    He followed the ''indications'' he was getting by the Feather, but it took him a while to notice the changes after a point.


    After half an hour of search, he still had found no secret doors, but he was now sure that he had to climb the mountain.


    They had prepared some climbing equipment for just in case, but none other than Shingi had used them in the past.


    Shingi started exining to them and sharing some tips. Since he had spent all that time with them and had personally trained them to some degree, Shingi was familiar with approaching them and teaching each of them in the best possible way.


    Even if the System wasn''t letting him know everything, he finally understood how his SCHOLAR MASTER worked.


    It was actually sharing some of his experience with them for NPCs, not actually Exps, and making them easier to unlock or rank up the skill up to the limit he had it at. From the testing he did with Volig, since he was his only NPC student, he could make an NPC an almost 50% boost at their ranking up if it was for a Master Rank Skill of his and a 20% boost if it was a Base Rank Skill. Of course, that was a boost to the chance to Rank the Skill up, and not making it a certain event to happen.


    Also, when he helped Volig with a task that required a Skill that Volig had of lower Rank than Shingi, Shingi could give that Skill an extra boost to be close to his Rank. No benefit there was if they had the same Rank.


    As for yers, since he had more to test it with, he was more familiar with the effects of his profession on them and how to use them.


    He could have the same effects as he did at NPCs, but the boost he gave them was the same for each but changed depending on their Skill level. The Lower their Skill level and the higher his Skill Rank, the higher the boost.


    He could also teach them Skills that he hadn''t avable through the System and give them a boost, as far as he was familiar with them. The boost was less than what he gave for Skills he had unlocked, but it was still beneficial.


    He also benefited from raising his Skill when training others, but at Master Rank, the change was barely noticeable.


    They all unlocked the <strong>CLIMBING</strong> Skill, and they reached it to Base Rank, or level 10 for his Students, in less than an hour.


    Since they had the equipment to help them out, having it at that level was more than enough.


    Out of the students, Wild Tycoon had the more <strong>STR</strong> in the party, which gave the least trouble in climbing. Then Hineko kept up with her as he was using his <strong>AGI''s</strong> effects instead of his <strong>STR</strong>.


    As for Mizuneko and Little Phoenix, both had trouble since both the <strong>STR</strong> and <strong>AGI</strong> were low, but since they got tied with Tycoon to help them move and the equipment they had, they could keep up with the rest.


    Hineko was in the lead to make sure there weren''t any enemies, as Shingi had to focus on the Feather and any changes to its temperature.


    It kept getting warmer, as, at some point, it was burning his skin and would damage him if he kept it on his hand for long. He kept it with an Earth <strong>MANA HAND</strong> of his and touched its tip here and then to check any changes.


    After a point, the temperature of Feather starting falling, meaning they were getting away from their destination.


    They climbed for 4 hours to get to the height of what the feather led them at was.


    Shingi cast <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> to detect any secret rooms in the surrounding mountain, and he soon had made a discovery.


    There was some hole space, but it started at almost the edge of his Spell''s Range, close to 4 meters.


    He tried to detect a Secret Entrance, but he found none.


    They rested at a ledge of the mountainside that was big enough to fit them all.


    Shingi used his Detection Skills and <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> at their limit, but he had no results.


    He doubted that there wasn''t an entrance nearby; otherwise, why would the Feather lead them here.


    His detection Skills weren''t perfect as they had missed the secret door at Zhen''s dungeon, so he considered that this could be a simr situation.


    He exined to his students the situation in case they had any ideas.


    "What if the feather is a key?" [Mizuneko]


    "What do you mean? He just told us he detected nothing resembling a door."[Wild Tycoon]


    "We looking for a lock, not a door. Locks are smaller and easier to miss and blend than a whole door."[Mizuneko]


    Shingi considered it a valid point, as he was looking for an opening or a door and not just a lock.


    As he was ready to look around once more, he got interrupted.


    "Maybe that thing over there then."[Hineko]


    Everybody turned towards where Hineko pointed.


    Everyone except Shingi noticed nothing, and that was because those two were the only ones that had their <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> at Master Rank. Hineko''s <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> Skill was at level 82, while Shingi calcted his if it had a level to be at 90.


    The benefits of thest ten levels were something unique to yers, but the NPCs had some simr ones but to lesser degrees.


    Shingi noticed at the wall of another ledge that it had a small slot, a perfect size for his feather to fit.


    Shingi used his <strong>MANA HAND</strong> to take his Feather over there and put it in the slid.


    He wanted to keep a distance in case someone trapped it.


    The feather got in, and then a sound of stone moving on stone got heard. An entrance to the left of the lock for the Feather started forming.


    After waiting for a bit and using his Detection Skills at the max for any trap signs, they started making their way towards it.


    The slot for the feather, had disappeared, and when he got in, the door started closing.


    It closed at a low pace, so quickly everyone got in, even if they didn''t know how to get out afterward.


    They could hear the earth moving as their path ahead was still getting open, like something was manipting the Earth and pushing it aside to make a tunnel for them.


    Shingi used his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> and noticed that the mana of the Rune at the feather spread through the ground and took ''control'' of the mana of the Earth, manipting it in the way they saw.


    He wasn''t sure how this was possible to do, as he had seen nothing simr to this or even heard or read about anything like that.


    But he had learned that the Runes were more powerful than what he expected but were harder to master, too, especially with the restrictions that only <strong>RUNEMASTERS</strong> could use them.


    Shingi and Phoenix cast Light, with Shingi''s being a little brighter since he used his Light Element Mana, while Little Phoenix used some from a Light Mana Gem she had with her.


    Shingi with Wild Tycoon was at the front since it was wide enough for two people to move side by side.


    Mizuneko was in the middle, and Hineko with Little Phoenix was in the back.


    Shingi paid attention to signs of anything unusual.


    After a few minutes of careful walk, they reached the open space Shingi had detected from outside.


    This seemed to be a tomb as there was arge stone coffin in the middle of it, surrounded by different jars and a few chests at the side.


    The furthest side of the coffin was attached to the wall, and over it, there was a statue of an angel on the wall.


    The angel''s feathers were ck, while the rest of it was silver.


    The coffin, even if it was dusty, it got preserved pretty well.


    Shingi moved closer as he signaled his students to stay behind and be on guard if something happened.


    He reached the coffin, and there was no reaction from anything from his movements.


    He saw a writing on the coffin but wasn''t in themonnguage but a rarenguage to see the writing of.


    It was thenguage used by the Angels that worked for the Gods, and its writing was umon but not too rare for one to see, and many researchers or religious people had learned it. But to have one at a coffin wasn''t thatmon.


    Shingi was familiar with thenguage and could trante it, but it took him a while as he hadn''t done it for some time.


    Fortunately, it wasn''t too long, and the final trantion was ''Angel''s Feather final resting ce.''


    This made little sense to Shingi as he knew Angel''s Feather was a yer, so she couldn''t die to have a ''final'' resting ce.


    He made sure he didn''t trante it wrong, but this was really the trantion.


    ''Maybe she was here thest time she yed the game.''[Shingi]


    This was the only thought he could have to make some sense of it.


    Something restricted him from seeing that it was inside. He checked it for any traps or anything strange about it.


    Everything was normal, so he opened it.


    As he opened it, the air in it came out, and since the coffin was so well preserved that it wasn''t letting even the air escape, it had a ''dark'' smell on it.


    Shingi covered his mouth, but fortunately, the little air he breathed didn''t affect him.


    Seeing inside the coffin, there was a body, but not one Shingi thought he could find in there.


    It was a young teenage girl whose body was dusty, but it did not dpose.


    Shingi soon noticed that the girl was still and then started breathing a little time after opening the coffin. Like something brought her body''s functions back to life.


    Shingi noticed that there was a Rune design that was moreplicated than any that he had encountered until now at the lid''s side that was inside the coffin. There were lines drawn on the other sides of the coffin on the inside, which were ending at the body, when he opened the lid, he ''cut'' the connection of those lines with the Rune design.


    The Rune was there to preserve the body, or that is what Shingi assumed it was doing as he couldn''t decipher it with what he currently knew.


    As he checked the body for any characteristics, she opened her eyes, and Shingi noticed their color as Dark Red like his special eyes.


    As she turned her sight towards Shingi and noticed him, she moved at an incredible speed and caught himpletely off guard as she brought him to the ground.


    She raised one of her hands like a beast with ws would do to attack its prey, but her nails weren''t that sharp.


    Before she could start her attack, a <strong>WATER SPHERE</strong> surrounded her, cast by Mizuneko. The girl fought to get free, but soon she passed out from being underwater for too long. Mizuneko let her free as Shingi signaled him to keep her alive.


    The water had cleaned her face of the dust so Shingi could see it clearer.


    It was identical to Annoue''s face.

 Chapter 134: The mysterious girl

    Chapter 134: The mysterious girl


    Shingi used <strong>FILTH EATER</strong> to clean the girl up and some Fire Mana of his to dry her up, as not all water on her got filthy to be affected by his spell.


    She was wearing some magic robes like his, just adjusted a little to fit her body better.


    She seemed to be younger than Annoue a few years ago because Annoue seemed to look older than one of her age. After all, she had some harsh years since her mother left.


    Shingi tried to check her eyes to feel if they contained the same energy as his, and he found out that they had some power but felt somewhat different from his, but sometimes felt the same. It was like it kept changing.


    He had tried the same thing at Harbin in the past and noticed that his energy felt different but had a stable feeling same as his.


    He knew little about the eyes and the powers one could have with them, as Harbin considered him too young, even if he knew that he technically wasn''t that young.


    "Should we search the chests and the rest of the room?" [Mizuneko]


    "Yes. But we should be careful. Tycoon pay attention to her while Phoenix and I check the jars. Mizuneko and Hineko search the chests. Check for both magical and physical traps first."[Shingi]


    He and Hineko needed to separate since they were the two with the highest <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, so they could detect physical traps, while Mizuneko and Little Phoenix could check for magical ones.


    Of course, Shingi could check for both by himself, but it was safer to have two people work in two tasks than one person work in two.


    Checking the jars, they weren''t trapped, and they contained some old burned herbs used in many rituals, not necessarily magical ones, and one of them was for funerals, which fit the current scenario.


    The herbs were useless since they mainly got burned, and it''s been years since they were used, but the vases themselves could probably earn them some coins. But since they were part of the ritual, even if there wasn''t a diseased, Shingi left them be as it could make some Gods angry.


    There seemed to be the girl''s belongings on the chests, primarily clothes, armor, and a double-ded scimitar.


    This was a rare weapon to find, as non-elves forbid its design from outsiders.


    As for them to sell this weapon or even gift, it was an infrequent event.


    It wasn''t the most powerful weapon, and to use it, one needed special training to use both des.


    Its design was simple, two des simr to those used for a scimitar connected with a handle between them. When the user held the weapon vertically, one de was pointing up, and one was pointing down, while his hand was in between.


    It was a light weapon, fitting the style of people aiming for speed than pure force.


    One reason that nobody outside of Elves produced those weapons was that the ones who tried found a tragic end.


    It wasn''t known why or who could be behind those tragic ends, but no weapon smith was ready to take the risk for something that small.


    There were some coins around, some healing potions, and potions with effects that Hineko wasn''t familiar with yet.


    But Shingi recognized them, and he was excited for a few of them.


    "Wild Tycoon, you should have this one. Hopefully, we won''t need this."[Shingi]


    Shingi gave her a potion with this weird stone in it and was surrounded by some blueish liquid.


    "What is that? When would it be the best time to use it?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "They made this potion to strengthen the users STR to that of a giant, and more specifically a Stone Giant. It will increase your size a bit, probably at the size of Volig, so not fully giant, and will toughen your skin to increase your natural defense. With your RAGE benefits, especially if you keep increasing it, it will be a deadlybination. But making this potion is hard to do, so don''t count on finding more of those and use it only if necessary as its effectsst for at most an hour. Also, I would advise closing your nose and drinking it as fast as possible when that timees. Its smell and taste aren''t the best." [Shingi]


    He looked over the rest of the potions, which were of a specific effect to fit someone else, and he brought one to Mizuneko.


    "This is up to your elements. If you drink this, it will allow you to breathe out an ice breath. It won''t use your mana but will still count like your mana, so you can boost it a bit once you are using it, just the time is a lot shorter. We will train on a simr effect with purely using mana, and if you reach decent progress with that, then the potion will be too easy to use in full power. It will ice trap the foes in front of you, and if you are careful about using its power, you can use it multiple times."[Shingi]


    The rest of the potions were simple enough, like potions to heal HP, which they separated them to make sure everyone had some at all times.


    Shingi kept the rest of the potions at his Spatial Ring until they needed them.


    He didn''t mind taking those things as he knew they weren''t part of the ritual so that he wouldn''t anger anyone. Also, this was a typical adventurer routine.


    As they were over with looking around the ce, Shingi went to the room''s door while he told Wild Tycoon to wake up the girl.


    The girl woke up, and this time it didn''t attack the first person she saw.


    She looked around with a confused look, and Shingi noticed that her eyes were ck this time, even from that distance.


    "Hello. Are you ok now? Sorry for our behavior before, but we didn''t like you attacking our leader. So who are you, and why were you in a freaking coffin?" [Wild Coffin]


    The girl looked at Wild Tycoon while keeping her confused look all the time.


    "<strong>HEY</strong>. I asked you a question. <strong>WHO. ARE YOU</strong>?" [Wild Tycoon]


    The girl started looking left and right to the other people in the room, and she seemed fascinated by them.


    Wild Tycoon stood up, turned around, kicked the air, and started walking away from her.


    "<strong>I GIVE UP</strong>. Phoenix, you try." [Wild Tycoon]


    Tycoon was never rarely the best with patience, especially after meeting Ragnarock. She got stronger from their meeting, but her personality changed a bit. She became a little more reckless at her fighting style but learned to focus more on her <strong>RAGE</strong> to increase the force of her hits.


    Little Phoenix sighed as she kneeled in front of the little girl and looked her in her eyes. She resembled Annoue, who she hadn''t met many times, but she understood how much she meant to Shingi.


    "Can you understand me? Blink once if yes."[Little Phoenix]


    The young girl looked towards her, blinked once, and then continued looking around over every different thing in the room.


    "Please, if you can focus here, I would appreciate it."[Little Phoenix]


    The girl looked at her and blinked once. This time she kept looking towards Phoenix.


    "Can you not speak?" [Little Phoenix]


    The girl blinked once.


    "From now on, blink once for yes and twice for no. If it is neither, do nothing."[Little Phoenix]


    Shingi got impressed with the simple idea that Phoenix had and how fast she came up with it.


    "Are you Annoue?" [Little Phoenix]


    No blinks.


    "Oh. eeeehh. Do you have a name then?" [Little Phoenix]


    Two blinks this time.


    "Do you know who that person over there is?" [Little Phoenix]


    She pointed towards Shingi, and after the girl looked at him and back at Phoenix, she blinked twice.


    "OKhmmm. Do you know why you are were in the coffin?" [Little Phoenix]


    Two blinks.


    "How about.? Do you remember anything from before we wake you up?" [Little Phoenix]


    Two blinks once again.


    Little Phoenix turned towards the rest.


    "Can you guys think of any questions?" [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi had slowly started making his way towards the girl, paying attention to any changes in her eyes.


    Fortunately, none came.


    "Does Angel''s Feather mean anything to you?" [Shingi]


    The girl turned towards Shingi, and after some silent moment, she blinked once.


    But Shingi could read some further confusion after she responded like she didn''t know why she gave this answer.


    She seemed to be confused and excited about everything around her like it was the first time she saw them.


    "Do you know how to fight?" [Shingi]


    This time she answered quickly with one blink.


    "Do you want to join us?" [Annoue]


    One more blink came fast, as she didn''t seem to spend time to think about her answer.


    "Then I guess you should get ready for the trip. Phoenix and Tycoon help her put her equipment from the chest since it is something meant for her. We will wait outside. Come, you two, let''s move on."[Shingi]


    He gave the girls some privacy, and he was sure that he could trust this girl. He wasn''t sure why his mother kept her here, but he was confident that she would have some special abilities.


    It took some time for the girls to help her get ready.


    She wore leather armor with some simr design to Shingi''s robes but was also far apart. They most likely got designed by the same person.


    She had the double scimitar with her, but this one could be split into two normal scimitars that she had one at each side. This wasn''t typically part of the design but wasn''t unheard of but rarer.


    Fortunately, one couldn''t tell that they were part of a double-ded scimitar when they were separated, as some Elves were too fanatic against the idea for non-elves to have this weapon.


    Shingi noticed she had a Mana Pool and could tell her Element was Air, just like Annoue''s.


    Shingi offered her to be his student, which she epted right away, but she didn''t ept anyone''s recruit invites.


    She seemed to follow Shingi''smands, but she didn''t follow hismand to ept the recruitment from someone else, and he couldn''t recruit her himself since he wasn''t a Blessed One, and only Blessed Ones could recruit NPCs.


    At least he could check her status, which enabled him to check her HP, SP, or MP, just not as fast as with the Party''s standard UI.


    He noticed her stats to be like Annoue''s, with only her INT as 10.


    But she had more Skills than Annoue used to have, and many of them were Weapon Skills.


    Her ss was a fully earned Arcane de, but she still was level 1.


    Though, her Skills Ranks were high, with most being at Master Rank and only a few being at Base.


    They needed to level her up a bit, which would be more challenging since she wasn''t joining their party, so they couldn''t just share their exp.


    But still, they could let her have thest hit, which provided a decent percent of the final rewarded exps.


    Also, since the monsters around were of a lot higher level than her, they would give her even more exp for defeating them.


    So they climbed down the mountain, and fortunately, they had an extra pair of climbing equipment for their new team member.


    "Shouldn''t we give her a name? I doubt using your sister''s name is something we want to try. "[Mizuneko]


    Shingi gave it some thought before he turned toward her.


    "Let''s go with just An."[Shingi]


    She nodded like agreeing on the proposal, even if it seemed a pretty simple choice.<ol><li>Lazy name I know. But it is the same way his mother''s and sister''s names start.</li></ol>

 Chapter 135: The way to the tower

    Chapter 135: The way to the tower


    The way down didn''t take as long as the way up, but they still were careful, as falling from that great height was certain death.


    An learned the <strong>CLIMBING</strong> skill even if she didn''t practice as the others, but she was a quick learner, and with Shingi''s help, she ranked it up to Base Rank in under an hour on the way down.


    It took them a little less than two hours to get down, as the climbing down was easier than going up since not much time passed since they had climbed it up.


    As they reached the bottom, they made a simple camp and ced the repellents. Pan had made for them enough tost for a month, and Hineko got familiar with how to create some, but they weren''t as strong.


    Shingi decided to test An''s abilities inbat.


    She didn''t have the <strong>COMBAT INSIGHT</strong> that Annoue had unlocked with his help, but he was confident that she could unlock it as she had many more Skills than what Annoue used to have.


    He told her to show him how she used the double-ded scimitar after attaching both des.


    Her techniques weren''t perfect, but they were much better than any beginner could do with this particr weapon.


    She showed him some different Enchantments that she could activate by making Mana Enchantment Circles.


    Her Experience inbat was more than what would be for a beginner, and she was getting better at a visible rate like she was adjusting herself.


    Shingi was confident of her reaching the rest in less than two days of grinding because she could fight.


    She had to deal at least a minimum percentage of damage to the enemies and not just deal thest hit. Otherwise, the System would give her a reduced amount of exps. It still would be a sizeable amount since they would face enemies ten of levels more than hers, but it would be a waste of time if they didn''t try for her to go for the normal amount.


    Her techniques were quick and precise enough for her to be careful and deal some damage to their vital areas, but only there.


    The monsters out through the day weren''t many, as most were night predators and the ones they faced most mornings after ending their camp.


    Before they have to rest for the night, they had found a few monsters for An to face, and she got to level 17, which was fast for a couple of hours of grinding. They could have passed level 20, but it was hard to find any monsters out.


    They went back to their camp and ate dinner while waiting to see if any night predator monsters would get to them.


    Unfortunately, it was a quiet night with no monsters trying to get close to them.


    Shingi noticed during their trip here and their hunt that the closer they got to the mountain, the fewer signs of monsters going that way there were. It seemed like they were avoiding this ce, but he wasn''t sure why.


    One possibility could be the Gods had granted this ce some protection since it was the resting ce of someone, but this was too rare to happen but wasn''t the craziest thing in this scenario.


    Maybe there were some repellents he hadn''t detected, which was also not out of the question.


    He didn''t have to investigate why they had to make their way and train An by facing monsters they found on the way to the Tower or the morning if some predators waited them out.


    They needed a week to reach the tower, but they still didn''t have a n.


    As for Price and the rest back home, it seemed like the Broken Tower had made a move, but the guards of Harbin and Anna and Price''s sabotages kept them in ce.


    Also, Marcy''s Blue Moon Guild had some powerful members that helped secure the ce with the help of Winestone and Ragnarock, who hadn''t had some proper action for some time. Soryn also helped Anna and Marcy with their tactics for battle, earning himself the right tomand some of the dominant parties during most operations.


    It slowed some of their ns and made Price and the rest not leave the town for the Tower, but it was essential to keep Carda up.


    Not only because of his shop, but this was the town that his NPC self and Annoue were born and raised, even if he was asleep for most of this time. He had decided long ago that Carda was under his protection and wouldn''t let anyone take control of it.


    The shop''s business was affected a bit as some yers that took some of the gathering missions got killed by the Broken Tower''s members while they were outside. Still, the effect wasn''t significant, and it just made more people angry towards that annoying Guild.


    But in the second week, King Guards came into town and were assigned to protect the shop.


    Max Jax sent them. Shingi did not inform him about the situation, but he had eyes and ears in many ces.


    Of course, he wanted to make a deal with Volig to work under their King, but he knew of Shingi''s background and heard of what happened with the Gods, so he didn''t rush things out and tried to build a rtionship.


    More people got informed of the existence of the Grandmaster Volig like a gue, but Master Jax kept them away as he knew how much of jackals they were.


    There weren''t many people who were ready to go to war with him, as he rified that action against Grandmaster Volig meant that exact thing.


    Volig didn''t n to make a deal with Jax for exclusive work, but he didn''t mind making some things for him, as he knew of his reputation and fairness. Of course, Volig knew Jax would share what he created with the King, so he didn''t n to make anything too crazy.


    Shingi didn''t learn, though, what Volig made for him, and he was both calm and worried about it.


    Shingi knew Volig was aware of the situation and wouldn''t make any rush movements. But that was if the client was a simple one, and Jax was far from a simple one.


    His resources were close to unlimited and had the King''s support, so there were a few things that would tempt even Volig to work with.


    But he was confident that Jax was too wise to make Volig craft something too dangerous, especially if it fell into the wrong hands.


    The Broken Tower Guild members didn''t show themselves much after those special guards showed up, as they were too powerful for them.


    But Price and Anna found out that they waited for someone to arrive, but couldn''t find out who.


    Still, there was no news on the situation, but Shingi told them to be ready for anything and keep trying to learn their n.


    It took them close to ten days to reach the tower, which was more time than nned, as they had spent time to raise the level of An and train their teamwork.


    Everybody, except Shingi, who couldn''t level up yet, was over level 50, with Will Tycoon almost reach level 60, which would enable her to evolve her ss.


    Fortunately, she didn''t need a tutor to evolve her ss, but it still had some unknown triggers or unknown for most who didn''t know someone as knowledgeable as Shingi.


    Through this week, Little Phoenix finally did something she had worked on for the past months.


    To make her Mana Pool a Dual Element one.


    Since her first Element was Dark Element, that made it harder to raise her Mana Tree, especially to earn a new Element, but its power was at a different level than the rest of the basic Mana Trees of the other Elements.


    She nned to go with Air, as Shingi had suggested to her when first met, but she changed her mind and went for Earth instead.


    She had noticed how Volig''s innate Earth mana enabled him to strengthen his creations, and she wanted to increase her defense not to have to make Wild Tycoon worry. Of course, Air Element could provide her ways to avoid the danger instead of trying to make it not affect her, but she didn''t want to be one hiding from her problems or risks anymore.


    Dark Element was giving her some very offensive Spells, and Earth would act for Defensive purposes.


    Shingi didn''t mind that decision as she was the one who would decide what to do with their characters. He only tried to give each of them some suggestions.


    After she finished developing her Mana Pool to produce Earth Mana, Shingi taught her how to develop their ''breathing. '' He didn''t have to do this for Mizuneko, as it was only effective if you had your Elements separate.


    He also taught her <strong>MANA DOUBLE - EARTH ELEMENT</strong>, with which she also made the <strong>MANA DOUBLE - DARK ELEMENT</strong> too.


    Shingi had also learned <strong>MANA DOUBLE - FIRE ELEMENT</strong> and Mizuneko had <strong>MANA DOUBLE - AIR ELEMENT</strong> and <strong>MANA DOUBLE - WATER ELEMENT</strong>, but couldn''t make one out of Ice Element. So they had the Spell for all the basic Elements.


    Each one had their benefits and would be helpful to have some extra hands sometimes.


    Of course, Shingi could use his Golems, but it seemed like he couldn''t teach <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> to anyone of his students.


    He wasn''t sure why, but he thought it was because it was a Grandmaster Spell, so for the yers to get ess to it would be impossible except through some special events.


    During their trip, he also found out something strange about An.


    He guided her through how to enable and disable her eyes, and it seemed like each time he enabled them, their color was a different one than thest time, but there was no order.


    While she had them enabled, she was more aggressive than usual, but she wasn''t attacking them for no reason.


    Also, everyone could see the changed color of her eyes, which wasn''t the case for Shingi or Harbin.


    Shingi exined to them what this power was.


    "That reminds me. We had seen your eyes being red the day Annoue was taken, but we thought it was the light or something." [Wild Tycoon]


    Shingi didn''t know of that, as they never considered mentioning it.


    He enabled his eyes, and they were still ck for them.


    "An, are my eyes ck?" [Shingi]


    She blinked twice.


    Even after all this time, she couldn''t speak. It was like no sound could leave her mouth as she never even made sounds of pain when she was clearly into one. Shingi had examined her and found no reason behind why this was the case.


    He didn''t know why An''s eyes worked differently than others, but they tried to see if they could control what eyes she would use, and she could at least make it be the Red Eyes Shingi, or the Golden Eyes Harbin had.


    He didn''t know what the rest could do, and she could use her eyes for one hour per day so they couldn''t waste them to test things out.


    She mainly used Harbin''s golden eyes, who helped her see the monsters'' weaknesses and let others know how to act.


    But since she couldn''t speak, she had learned signnguage tomunicate with Shingi or Hineko, who was familiar with it, and they would let the others know what to do.


    With that, their teamwork had reached a different level than before, and they had formed other tactics for different situations.


    As they were almost half an hour away from the Tower, Shingi and Hineko detected some people, who fortunately hadn''t noticed them yet.


    They noticed the tents around the tower that they were more than Shingi thought they would be, as he couldn''t see them all while using his <strong>SCRY</strong> mode.


    Luckily, he had thought of a n to get themselves in.

 Chapter 136: Arriving at the Tower

    Chapter 136: Arriving at the Tower


    They had the choice of sneaking in a while under the effect of <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, as they had some scrolls prepared. Still, Shingi was confident that the watches had tools or some ability to watch invisible creatures.


    Only he, Hineko, and Litle Phoenix had a high chance to make it through undetectable. Hineko''s Skill was rtively high after training with Soryn, that even Shingi could have a problem finding him sometimes. Little Phoenix could cast <strong>SHADOW FORM</strong> and carefully go through, and so could Shingi with his <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong>, since his <strong>STEALTH</strong> was still at Base Rank.


    But they couldn''t leave the rest of the party behind.


    What they needed was a distraction and a pretty big one for this situation.


    Shingi told the rest of the party that they should move to the other side of the camp from where he would be and see an opening to use it. He only told An to stay behind.


    After his students were far away from them not to see him, he brought out Sinhunter.


    In the past weeks, he raised the <strong>INT</strong> of Sinhunter pretty high to use mana through the de with no resistance. Sinhunter could also boost a bit of the mana and its effects, but only the impact at the de. So Shingi couldn''t use it as a Staff to cast all his Spells through it.


    He still couldn''t see a Status window of Sinhunter, but he was sure that Sinhunter had learned the <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> Skill to an extend.


    He had also improved it to be at the limit of the Base Grade and wasn''t too far from passing to Master Grade, but he had to face stronger Monsters to do so.


    Shingi didn''t allow it to consume part of their souls, but he used some parts of monsters he killed to make special oils to use on his de. It had more negligible effect than consuming their soul, but it was the safest way.


    Sinhunter personality and way of talking changed a bit, from being one that only cared for food and power to a more regr character.


    "''So you are ready to test a new move?''" [Shingi]


    "''When was I not ready? So are you sure your calctions are correct? It will turn nasty if they aren''t.''"[Sinhunter]


    They have developed their bond so Shingi could share his n in a split second, even if it were aplicated one.


    Still, there were limits to what Sinhunter could understand by getting a single exnation, but Shingi had been discussing with him different tactics he had in mind every night at their camp.


    Sinhunter currently had a bond with both him and Ameanum, even if the bond with his other self wasn''t as much developed, but it still existed. In different with the Spirit Hammer, which could have only one person bonded with a Growth Type weapon could with multiple people, but it was harder to do so as you had to be approved by its consciousness.


    Of course, if you were someone like Beliss, you could make the bond by other means for other people as she did for Shingi.


    This bond was something he wanted to use, as he found a safe ce to hide and sat down while An was next to him.


    He enabled his <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>, which he hadn''t done for a long time.


    His Spirit yer Self was still back in Carda and appeared in an alley.


    He stretched his body as he had forgotten how it felt to be in a full-grown body after all that time.


    He then closed his eyes and started focusing on his bond with Sinhunter. It took him almost half an hour to begin barely feeling and start making a connection.


    He could feel that there was some resistance, and he knew that the reason was the field surrounding the <em>Neutral Territory.</em> It was close to impossible to pass it, at least back in the days Ameanum was still alive.


    Shingi noticed the field was weaker than before, probably cause the Tower''s power was getting stronger and more uncontroble.


    He kept focusing on finishing the connection.


    "''Finally. It''s been a long time since Ist saw you, Big Master. Although I guess I don''t see you currently either.''" [Sinhunter]


    "''Let''s focus on getting me there first, I say.''" [Shingi]


    Ameanum raised his right arm and had his hand in a way like he was holding a sword horizontally. Then he started doing a horizontal swing like he had Sinhunter at his hand. He kept doing the same swing with a few seconds between each of them as he kept focusing on the connection with his sword.


    After a while, a thin ck line started forming in front of him, where his de would pass if he held it.


    The line was getting wider until it was as big as his swing.


    At that point, it started opening as a thin portal appeared, and Sinhunter got out from it and towards Ameanum like someone threw it at him.


    Ameanum caught the de and jumped through the portal, as it wouldn''t stay open for long.


    He appeared in front of Shingi after going through the portal.


    He saw An, confused about what happened, as Shingi exined nothing of what he would do. But she didn''t attack this person who appeared out of nowhere.


    "I am here to help. I am an ally of the rest of your party. Shingi helped me to get at you, but that tires him, so you will have to carry him where the rest are. I will deal with the people in your way." [Ameanum]


    An nodded and picked up Shingi and went towards where the rest of her part was at.


    The reason he told them to leave before he summoned his yer self that way was to keep them from asking how this was possible. An couldn''t tell them what happened, so he was safe for now.


    Not that he didn''t trust them, but still some secrets he wasn''t willing to let just anyone know.


    After waiting enough time that Annoue should have reached them, he made his way towards the front of the camps.


    The posted guards noticed him right away, and bows and staves pointed at him.


    A figure that seemed to be of high rank around came quickly to check out the situation.


    Ameanum recognized the individual; it was Dark, the one who killed him.


    Ameanum had his cloak and hood on, trying to hide his face to the best of his abilities, which was enough for most guards yers in front of him.


    Using his <strong>EAGLE EYES</strong>, he could see that none were higher than him, except for Dark.


    "Who are you? Only people with permission are allowed here. If you don''t have, then go away, or we will make you." [Dark]


    Ameanum used all his will not to go berserk and charge towards Dark.


    He liked his new life, but that didn''t mean that he had forgiven him for his actions. He would make him pay one day, but today wasn''t that day.


    "Are you deaf or just stupid? Didn''t you hear what I just said?" [Dark]


    Since Ameanum didn''t show any document of him having permission to be here, Dark was confident that he was just a random one.


    "You shouldn''t call people stupid before you know who they are." [Ameanum]


    Dark''s eyes got widened for a second as he recognized the voice. But his eyes got normal, as the person in front of him couldn''t be that guy. That person had died long ago.


    "Just kill him."[Dark]


    As everyone was ready to open fire and Dark was ready to go away, Shingi disappeared.


    Screams were heard from the left as five yers already fell victims to his de. They were all mages, so their physical defense and health weren''t that high for his attacks.


    He moved like a Speed Demon, shing everything around him and awakening terrible memories to Dark.


    He only had met one person to move like that and using a sword like that.


    He froze in ce while seeing his men got massacred like chickens in a ughterhouse.


    One of his men made it to snap him out, but not a lot of his men were alive, but more wereing as the rm rang.


    Dark got his des out and charged towards Ameanum.


    "Oh, you want to y with me. Bold move." [Shingi]


    Dark had higher level than Ameanum, but he was a master of facing stronger enemies than him, both as his yer self and his NPC self.


    Even if he did not have as much developed bond with Sinhunter as it had with this NPC self, since he was the main one as he was the first to make one with him, he could use it at almost full power.


    He noticed that the weapons of Dark and the rest of his Equipment got improved fromst time but not to a considerable degree.


    He could deal with it, as he didn''t have to beat him, to keep him and the rest distracted while his party headed in the tower.


    More yers started gathering, but there were still more that he needed to distract. It was time to use a scroll he took from Shingi before An took him.


    It was one item he had asked Master Jax to send him.


    It was a Divine Summon Scroll.


    This was something that yers couldn''t get ess to generally as its power was at the top of Master Grade, almost reaching Grandmaster Grade power.


    The scroll was very hard to be made and was meant to get used only in particr circumstances. Even Master Jax had only two at his disposal and could give only one at Shingi.


    He couldn''t use it inside the Tower, as the Gods and their servants weren''t allowed ess in there.


    He unrolled the scroll and started reading it as yers were trying to hit him. He had enabled his breaking limit state, making himself even faster and impossible for others to hit him.


    As he read thest word of the scroll, a beam of light from the sky hit the ground in front of him.


    As the light beam disappeared, a figure appeared with her three pairs of wings stretched and a longsword at hand.


    She had a familiar face.


    She was the exact image of Lucy''s illusion self, which was supposed to be her angel self, but Shingi was sure that Lucy couldn''t be an angel again after all that time.


    She didn''t have the burn marks, and her skin looked to be smooth as silk.


    She knew why and who summoned her, and she seemed happy to oblige. It was a pure massacre, even if her summoningsted for a minute.


    It was enough as Shingi and the rest of his party slipped through the camp, and finally, they were into the tower.


    When Shingi woke up, Sinhunter appeared and dropped next to him as he could teleport it near him as far as they weren''t too long from each other.


    They moved up some stairs of the tower so that they wouldn''t be at the entrance but stopped before going through the first floor gate.


    They had to be extra careful from now on.

 Chapter 137: Beginning floors

    Chapter 137: Beginning floors


    Shingi knew that the first ten floors of the Tower had Goblins as the primary enemies. Each floor was enormous, and somewhere there was the base of the Goblins. The Tower''s energy, which seemed unlimited, created the monsters here as they never stopped spawning.


    There was a limit on how much energy each floor could sustain, and it still counted each monster as that energy until it got killed.


    When one monster got killed, there was some time until a new one took its ce, but if the boss of the floor got killed, this time would increase for all as the boss would prioritize and it had the most energy of all the monsters in the floor.


    yers had to find the stairs leading up and unlock the door to go to the next floor, but if one yer unlocked the door, it stayed unlocked for every yer of the game. Most of the time, the boss of the floor had the key to the door, but since someone had unlocked it a long time ago, they didn''t have to face it.


    Goblins were too low level for them, so they could just look for the stairs. Each time a new Boss got created, the entire floor would readjust, the monsters'' position would have their base, if any, and where the stairs would be.


    Still, Shingi knew ways to find clues for the stairs, for the early floors, as he had helped quite a few beginner yers to clear them.


    They faced some groups of Goblins on the way there and dealt with them with no problem.


    Fighting them reminded Wild Tycoon and Little Phoenix of their time at the Dungeon outside Picton, with Ameanum. Those Goblins seemed to be a little better equipped, though, by the ones back then, as some wore actual leather armor and not just different pieces of equipment put together.


    They also seemed to be a bit smarter and more tactful, but not at the level to make it hard for Shingi and the rest to deal with them.


    They found the first stairs and progressed to the next floor.


    The first floor was just like a vast wooden hall, big enough to fit a few stadiums there, while the second was a forest.


    There was even a Sky, which Shingi knew was just a mixture of special paint and Illusion magic. It even had a day and night circle, although the transition between was not so smooth. The Sun or Moon was always in the same ce, as the one was just taking the ce of the other when the current circle ended.


    On higher floors, the environments will be more realistic and increasing as more energy is used.


    Shingi, for the first time, while ying the game, could see the energy of the Tower, bringing him more understanding on how things worked, as before he was a Warrior so that he couldn''t use <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> or simr Skills.


    But still, he couldn''t tell what this energy was, as it didn''t look like any mana he had seen, but it seemed familiar. It was like the weird energy he had seen at Mikhail''s seal. It had some simrities with mana and looked more natural, while the one he had seen until now seemed like it was an artificial copy of this one.


    He talked about it with Little Phoenix and Mizuneko when they took a break before looking for the stairs to the third floor, and he found out that they couldn''t detect this energy. It seemed <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> had to be in close to the top of Master Rank to detect it, or so he guessed since none of his students had reached it at near 70, which was still some way from the top.


    He didn''t know if he was at the top with his Skill, but he was confident it was more than what his students had.


    He also noticed that he could see it more evident when he had his special eyes active, which was weird, as they hadn''t helped his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> with anything else.


    They reached the stairs on the third floor within two hours of entering the Tower, another forest but was thicker than the one on the second floor. The ones here would be more tactful, as beasts spawned in the woods that the goblins hunted.


    This made them harder to deal with as they also used bows, traps, and other hunter tactics to protect their base. There were traps all over the forest, and some hid in trees, bushes, and different spots. Those Goblins were experts at hiding, but in the eyes of Shingi and Hineko, it was like they weren''t trying at all.


    Fortunately, those Goblins knew they were underpowered to fight them, and even their traps wouldn''t work, so they left them alone.


    But still, Shingi and the rest had to deal with those traps and disarm a few, as it would take them more time to go around them. They faced a few groups who shot them with some special arrows that released poisonous gas, but Shingi was familiar with them and prepared some ways to deal with them.


    He dispersed the cloud using his sword and using his unfinished form of <strong>AIR SLASH</strong> and had the help of Wild Tycoon doing the same, or Mizuneko using his Air Element part of his Ice mana to have a simr effect.


    Up to floor five, they would face Golbin''s in the forest, but the goblins would have developed some new tactics and even had some types of Goblins on each floor.


    Typically the Goblins had yellow-green color skin, but the ones focusing more on stealth and ranged fighting style had their skin turn greener. In contrast, the ones that were more proficient at meleebat, that was the minority, had developed some reddish skin after a point.


    Those red-skinned were an evolved version of Goblins, called Hobgoblins. They could use heavier weapons than the daggers or shortswords, but they used longswords or sometimes even heavier des.


    After reaching floor five, Shingi decided to actively look for the monsters to help the party develop their tactics against different types of scenarios.


    After floor five, Goblin Shamans would appear, and their skin would be more yellow and, after a while, their skin would turn orange.


    Goblin Shaman had this strange, unique magic that allowed them to summon spirits of beasts to fight with them. The beasts were immune to physical attacks and some elemental attacks, depending on the spirits, but specially enchanted made weapons like what Shingi and his party were using could affect them no problem.


    But still, fighting with them helped develop their teamwork further, which would be necessary the furthest they went in the tower or die.


    They couldn''t die in the tower since it would be the end for Shingi or An. If the rest of the party died, they would respawn outside the Tower, and getting back in the Tower would be close to impossible a second time.


    It took them a few hours to find the Goblin''s base as the Shamans could also use Illusion magic to hide it, and their hunters were experts at hiding their tracks.


    They found the base and started dealing with the guards. The base''s defense wasn''t too challenging, as the Goblins were more focused on hiding the base''s location.


    There were some Hobgoblins, but the Boss was a Shaman who could also use some healing magic and some curses to cause de-buffs at them or give them special conditions that would either lower their stats, speed, or deal continuous damage for a short time.


    All the Goblins, especially the Hobgoblins, protected the Boss, making the battlest longer. But counting the Golems of Shingi, they quickly overpowered them.


    After clearing floor five, they took a break making a camp where the base was. After they killed the boss and most of the base monsters, it started disappearing, and the floor was being reformed and gathering its energy to make a new one.


    It would take a few hours before the base, the boss, and the Tower spawned once more the rest of the monsters.


    "So are we going to face all the bases from now on? Shouldn''t we just start facing the ones near our level? " [Wild Tycoon]


    "We need to work on our teamwork. If we don''t work perfectly against those weaklings, do you expect us to survive against serious foes? Isn''t that right, Master?" [Hineko]


    Shingi shook his hand, as this wasn''t wholly the case.


    "Working on our teamwork is essential, but you guys need to understand one thing. This is the Tower and everything in her works different from the outside. Tycoon and Phoenix, you should have noticed the differences."[Shingi]


    Wild Tycoon seemed confused and looked towards Phoenix, who sighed when she saw her friend''s state.


    "They are more intelligent following their instincts less than the ones we had faced in the past. Also, their blood is more ckish and thick. They also have this weird aura, and you have noticed how their body just disappear after we kill them." [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi nodded in approval, as what she said was correct.


    "These all are true. Also, the monsters here have a chance of having a ss of their own, even if the same ones outside can''t. The Boss had one, and the higher we go at the Tower, the minions will also have a ss, but it depends on their type as some aren''t able to. With those sses, new Skills be avable to them or even Spells if they are of Mage Type, and there can be some dangerousbinations between their ordinary skills and their ss ones. That''s why we should start facing them slowly and creating being able to see the difference between ones with a ss and ones without."[Shingi]


    Mizuneko and Little Phoenix could tell with their <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> if one mage-type monster had a special type of mana, which would be a sign of a ss as being a Shaman alone wasn''t a ss.


    He would keep training on the floor five to ten before continuing further as the goblins helped introduce people in the Tower and how things worked, at least for most of the early levels.


    Some floors had food sources, like beasts to hunt or fruits, so they didn''t have to worry about their supplies getting too low.


    With their current level, they could quickly clear the first 50 floors in a matter of two weeks, unless the monsters got stronger than Shingi expected.


    He wanted to kill as many monsters and mostly the Bosses to weaken the power the Tower got released outside and affected the field of the Neutral Territory.


    As for meeting other groups in the Towers, he didn''t have to worry about it.


    Each time a group entered a floor, they teleported at a random position on the floor, so as long as they were careful, they could keep their existence a secret.


    He doubted they would notice that the bosses got killed in the early levels, as from his understanding, they spent the most time on higher floors. As yers could leave some personal Teleportation points but they could break my monsters if found.


    He didn''t know how much it would take them to reach the floor he had reached with his yer ount, as after floor 50, the difficulty got raised manifolds.

 Chapter 138: History Lesson and Floor 11

    Chapter 138: History Lesson and Floor 11


    They continued practicing at the first ten levels for two days straight with a few breaks to replenish their <strong>SP</strong> or <strong>MP</strong> without the use of potions, as it would be a waste to use them that early.


    Wild Tycoon had the highest level of them at 58, two levels from evolving her ss. Shingi didn''t know how long it would take her to evolve her ss, but he was sure that everything she needed there could be found on one of Tower''s floors.


    He couldn''t be sure what she would have to do as the System would give her a unique Quest that its task would get designed depending on how she used her ss until now.


    The others also were getting closer to that point, but their leveling up was slow because of the difference of level between them and the monsters. Even the Boss of the tenth floor wasn''t over level 25.


    Shingi also learned some new tricks with his sword and staff.


    He could make four different mana des with his swords. Light Mana de could do some massive damage, but only if he hit a vital area as he had in the past. Fire Mana de could also do substantial damage and pass through the defense of the target that the Light Mana de couldn''t. Earth Mana de increased the damage of the de a bit, but it primarily increased its defensive abilities.


    Lastly, he could make a Light Fire Mana de. He had used somebination of mana on his Light Mana de in the past, but its merge wasn''t wholly bnced tost for more than a few seconds.


    As forbining Light with Earth, or Fire and Earth, it wasn''t an effectivebination.


    Light Firebination strengthened the effects of both Elements, making it deal more damage and ignore stronger defenses.


    As for his staff, he started using the new one he got from Price.


    He had bought a special scroll that came into a pair. The one scroll he could use to store an item as a pocket dimension, and with the other, you could summon this item.


    So Price had seeded in taking the Special Staff, which allowed Zhen to make a staff for Shingi with all of his three Elements.


    It still was a prototype one, but Shingi could work on it himself with the help of Little Phoenix. Even if it was a prototype, it was still stronger than his other staves.


    His Spell before would get boosted by 30%, and that was only for up to Base Grade, as anything of higher Frade would get boosted at max 10%.


    But with his new staff boosted all his Spells by at least 25% and most of his Base Grade Spells by almost 40%.


    But he had to be careful not to overuse it as the mana gems could explode from overworking and ruin the design, which he couldn''t fix with what he had, and he only had one pair of those particr scrolls he used to get the staff.


    They had cleared floors 5 to 10 at least twice, and they had gotten used to how things worked around and recognized if monsters were not just their typical type.


    Shingi considered they were ready to move on.


    Floor 11 didn''t contain any monsters, but it was an abandoned city in the Tower.


    Every 11 floors, it was like that, and there were rumors that those cities contained secrets for the Tower''s history. yers have searched for any NPCs or any way to enable a Quest at those floors, but nobody found anything.


    Ameanum also had tried to look for any clues as the people from the <em>Company</em> didn''t let him know anything. He had learned a few things from those people about the game, like Lucy''s actual name, but they were careful about everything Tower-rted, as it was the fundamental concept of the game.


    He thought he was close to finding some clues, but he got no Quest. Though, he was confident that each City had a piece of clues, if put together, might give him a Special Quest or at least learn more about how the tower came to be.


    Both the Tower and the Blessed ones'' appearance were two events that seemed to have changed all the Realms, although Shingi found no recordings about that much back then, and not even the Gods wanted to speak about the events back then.


    The tower existed for thest 293 years, but the Blessed ones started appearing a little over 50 years ago. During the time between the two events, there was a great disaster between the Kingdoms, as an entity recorded only as the Dark One had exited the tower with an army of his and tried to take over all the kingdoms.


    The Dark One''s n almost seeded, but all the kingdoms worked together to fight this evil entity and Seal it back to the Tower.


    From that day on, the Neutral Territory got created by people having ties with none of the kingdoms, and everybody agreed no kingdom had or will try to have any power over that ce.


    There were rumors that some people were nning in the background to take over the Neutral Territory for themselves, but it didn''t seem to be worth it as it was a dangerous deadnd.


    Not long after that, Blessed Ones started appearing, and some considered them to be side effects of the Sealed entity, but since most were quite helpful, they didn''t mind it.


    As for the Dark Ones, there were clues on some Quests about followers of him trying to release him and ''release the world from its chains, ''or that was the motto they used.


    They believed that the Dark One was trying to unite them all under his leadership and free them from their differences and make them one. Of course, many people would die in progress, but you can''t make an omelet without breaking some eggs.


    Lucy''s event had also to do with the Dark One as the Seal that wasn''t allowing the Demon''s staying in the Mortal Realm for long without a fit body was in the Neutral Territory. But she couldn''t get in there as the field didn''t allow her to pass through because of her Demonic Nature, so she had to destroy it.


    Fortunately, she got stopped before she could finish this task.


    If the field got destroyed, the Tower''s power would spread all over the Kingdoms and consume the energy of the environment. That''s why the closer you were getting to the Tower, the less nt life existed. The field weakened the energy''s spread and didn''t allow it to escape outside of it.


    Shingi and the rest reached the abandoned city of floor 11 and were extra careful with each step of theirs.


    The Dark Guild probably had men stationed in those cities looking for clues all the time or waiting to see if there would be any change.


    They encountered a few, but they were too low level, just enough to reach this floor, most likely because they let their strong ones continue their search further up.


    Even Wild Tycoon, who had the lowest <strong>STEALTH</strong> than all, even An, who had just trained her <strong>STEALTH</strong> a few days ago, had no problem avoiding them. They had their special cloaks, which Shingi gave his cloak to An as he could cast <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> to himself, which was just and maybe even more effective.


    Fortunately, this level wasn''t changing, so Shingi knew precisely where the stairs to the next floor were.


    Unfortunately, they were guarded, unlike the ones on the others floors.


    Shingi didn''t want them to know that someone else was here, as even if they killed them, they would let others know when they respawned. Even if he used Sinhunter to eat part of their Soul, there was the chance of one of themmunicate with a person from the Dark Guild in real life.


    There were two guards stationed at the stairs who sat on the first step and yed card games.


    Stealth their way around or through them wasn''t an option, as the stairs weren''t that wide.


    Shingi knew they had to cause some distraction but wasn''t sure of the way to go.


    "Hahaha, Beat you once again. How much is it? Two hundred golds that you owe me now?" [yer Guard #1]


    "You must be cheating. Those cards are marked, aren''t they?" [yer Guard #2]


    The first one chuckled before giving his response.


    "You have checked it a dozen times, and we even have changed it that many times. Just admit that your luck such, man. Also, you better pay me up. Papa needs to get a new ded I had seen in the store the other day." [yer Guard #1]


    The second yer sighed as he brought out a few small pouches of coins.


    "Here you go. You know I thought this game would be fun, but those few days we started ying it, I only lose money from you and stay at ces doing nothing. I like we get paid handsomely, but does it have to be SOOOOoooooooo dull?" [yer Guard #2]


    "Dude, be happy I found us this work, or else we would have to go around getting our asses beaten for nothing."[yer Guard #1]


    They continued discussing like that and started another game with the cards after the second yer raised the stakes.


    But their conversation gave Shingi an idea.


    He cast <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> and made one of his Golems slowly appearing next to them.


    Of course, they noticed it getting formed and drew their weapon but didn''t attack. Shingi could understand from their stance that they were total beginners.


    As the golem finished forming, Shingi gave it themand to stay still and stare at them.


    The yers got confused about why this creature stayed still, and after a few moments of silence, one decided to say something.


    "Do you think we should report it? It may be one of those clues they are looking about."[yer Guard #2]


    "Don''t be stupid. Why would a clue just appear like that out of nowhere?" [yer Guard #1]


    "I don''t know. Maybe it wait, where does it go?" [yer Guard #2]


    Shingi ordered the Golem to move away from both his group and those two yers.


    "Don''t let him out of your sight."[yer Guard #1]


    Both ran after the Golem, leaving the stairs unguarded.


    Shingi knew that since those were new yers, the chance of them learning about what a Golem looked like and what a Special''s Quest clue looked like wasn''t significant.


    He gave an order to the Golem to lead them to a part of the city with an old tablet with some ancient writing. It wasn''t something that wasn''t discovered, and its trantion was avable on the game''s forums, but the word there made no sense.


    But this could make them believe that there was a secret meaning behind it and try to find it.


    As for telling that a Golem lead them there, he doubted. Those guys clearly would want the glory for themselves, so they either would most likely try to solve it by themselves and report to get rewarded.


    Fortunately, no group of yers got stationed at the other side of the stairs, so they went through the gate as soon as they could, but not before Shingi made sure that his Golem finished its task. Its Golem would get dispelled at he would get teleported too far away from it.


    The 12th floor wasn''t another forest, but the opposite.


    It was a vast desert.

 Chapter 139: The 12th floor

    Chapter 139: The 12th floor


    Shingi had prepared some special cloaks for the party, with the help of Little Phoenix, to deal with the heat of the desert.


    They used some mana dust embedded with Ice Man from Mizuneko and made some special Enchantment design on those cloaks that would produce some cool air to keep the user''s temperature at an eptable level.


    The user should use his or her Mana or Mana Gems to power up the cloak, but it wasn''t using too much mana, and some of their mana gems were recharging slightly faster in the Tower than outside of it. This depended on the theme of the floor.


    For example, in the forest areas, the Earth and Air were faster to recharge, as also Light were slightly faster at day circle and Dark Mana Gems slightly shorter during night circle. But the recharge rate boost at neither of those was over five percent.


    Fire and Light Mana Gems would recharge faster at the dessert, and since this one got designed to be always daytime, the Dark Mana Gems weren''t getting a boost.


    Earth wasn''t getting boosted because of the severe challenges of nt life to grow, as Earth was one with nature, and even if the dust of the desert got made of Earth Mana, some considered it as ''dead'' mana as its power was way lower than expected.


    There was some slight boost on Air Mana Gems too, but not to a high degree.


    This helped to strengthen his staff as two of the Elemental Mana Gems of his staff got strengthened. There were three separate Mana Gems, but they were smaller than normal ones to fit and stay bnced.


    They had to face the natural obstacles, like sudden whirlwinds, sandpits, and of course, the heat. Some monsters were gigantic mutant moles, centipedes, or swarms of beetles. There are also some human Spirits creating golem sand-like bodies for themselves; they were called Sand Bandits.


    They could deal with the heat with the cloaks, and the monsters weren''t too hard to deal with, but most escaped by getting underground or flying away.


    They focused on looking for clues for the stairs, which were underground. The Boss would guard it, so finding the Boss was the same as finding the door.


    Shingi''s <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> Spell was working better in this environment, as it boosted his Earth Spells a bit, and he had taught it to Little Phoenix so they could cover more ground. This allowed them not to get ambushed by most monsters and also looking clues for the stairs.


    The Boss was a Sand Bandit, but this one could control some monsters as a Tamer could and use some Air Magic to affect the weather and cause whirlwinds to make the battle harder.


    It would typically take days to find the Boss, but with Shingi''s experience, Skills, and Spells, they discovered its secret underground base within a couple of hours.


    Instead of getting right in, Shingi and the rest started drawing out monsters around the base as the Boss would summon them during the battle and would even strengthen them so it would make things harder.


    The moles were easy to deal with as their natural defense was too low, and their ws were easy to avoid, as their attacks weren''t too precise. The swarm of beetles was annoying, as they would try to surround them and bite them, and some would deal some fire damage. Mizuneko''s Ice dealt them some severe injury even if his Element was getting weakened a bit, but it was enough to deal with them.


    The centipedes had developed an exoskeleton to strengthen their defense, and their mandibles were further boosted with Earth mana that they gathered with their antennas. Some could also use Earth-based magic, mainly to manipte the surrounding ground to help in digging or in battle by creating pits, spikes. Some rare ones developed a special type of mana; Gravity Mana.


    Shingi knew of the existence of Gravity Mana, but monsters of higher floors unlocked it.


    This was probably one change of letting the monsters alive for so long.


    This reminded him of a way that Little Phoenix could develop as Earth, and Dark elementbination could lead to Gravity Mana. Butbining two Elements, with one of them being either Light or Dark Element, was ten times harder than any otherbination.


    He exined to Little Phoenix what he knew, but it would take some time to merge the two and make the new special mana. It was one of the topbinations of a Dual Element Mana Pool and was as strong as having a base Triple Element Mana Pool.


    She knew that unlocking the third Element wasn''t possible for her as she wasn''t as skilled as Shingi. That''s why she felt it was the only way to go.


    They dealt with thest creature outside the base and waited for a bit outside to restore their <strong>MP</strong> and <strong>SP</strong>. Fortunately, their <strong>HP</strong> didn''t get affected as much.


    Shingi summoned some of his Golems, made them open the way, and got attacked by Sand Bandits but couldn''t pass their natural defense.


    He noticed deeper in the room the Sand Bandits'' leader and the stairs, which this time they were going down instead of up. The Boss started creating more Sand Bandits. Since he couldn''t summon any of the other monsters since they killed them, he created artificial earth-made creatures of simr appearance and abilities but somewhat weaker.


    Of course, he couldn''t make them have Gravity Mana as it hadn''t developed it.


    Wild Tycoon and An were in the front, dealing with the summoned monsters, while the rest supported Shingi to fight the Boss.


    Mizuneko could control the Air mana of the boss, created whirlwinds to weaken them enough for Shingi to destroy them with his sword or Little Phoenix with her Spells.


    Despite that, the Boss was strong in closebat, using double scimitars as its choice of weapons.


    The boss was unnaturally fast for one of its level, be close to the speed of Shingi''s natural speed. Shingi could beat it easily by using <strong>HASTE</strong>, but it was another excellent chance to train himself and the party.


    The Boss had a substantial amount of mana itself and could use the ''dead'' mana of the dust of the desert to replenish its mana, making it have almost unlimited mana. Also, since it has a Spirit in a Golem-like form, it didn''t have any <strong>SP</strong>, although its body was slowly deteriorating from fighting for a long time.


    He kept summoning new minions, but Wild Tycoon had gotten familiar enough with them and kept their amount to a manageable rate.


    The battlested for a few minutes until Shingi finally put an end to it.


    Or that was the n.


    Shingi was almost ready to deal the final blow when the Boss got surrounded by an Earth Cocoon.


    This was a rare urrence that Shingi never thought they would encounter that early. The boss was evolving.


    Evolving happened when a monster had earned enough proficiency with its abilities and would allow it to reach a higher state.


    He had to stop the Evolution as an Evolved monster was a troublesome one to deal with even if it was lower level than them.


    He right away enabled his <em>Breaking Limit State</em> and cast <strong>HASTE</strong> to get as many attacks on the cocoon as he could. He also used his <em>Light Fire Mana de</em>, as it was the more vigorous attack he had.


    Still, its attacks were just doing minor scratches at the cocoon, and they were even healing at a fast rate as it got fed by the Tower''s strange energy.


    The Evolution varied in duration, as the longer itsted, the stronger it would be.


    Since the Boss didn''t use its power while in the cocoon, no new monsters appeared, so Wild Tycoon and An joined him in dealing damage to the cocoon.


    Hineko''s attack wasn''t strong enough to affect it, and Mizuneko''s Ice Element also wasn''t affecting it. Little Phoenix''s Earth mana was useless, but her Dark mana-based attack had some effect, but the effect got weaker as time passed.


    Shingi noticed the cocoon was absolving part of the Dark Mana Little Phoenix used, which wasn''t a good sign, so she tried to manipte any Dark Mana away from the cocoon.


    Thirty minutes passed, and they had only made some cracks to it, but none had gone all the way in.


    <strong>HASTE</strong> had ended some time ago, which lessened their damage output a bit, but fortunately, since An was around.


    She was considered blood-rted to Shingi, so the passive aura of his Angel''s Boon was active and gave him <em>SP Regeneration Aura</em> helping to fight the side effects of <strong>HASTE</strong> faster.


    An''s golden eyes couldn''t find any weak points to the cocoon, so they just tried to go out with everything they had, but it wasn''t affecting them to arge degree.


    He even used the active effect of his Beliss'' Blessing to strengthen his Mana de as much as possible.


    They tried to focus on a specific spot as if they broke through, it would end the evolution, and the monster would be in a weakened state.


    Wild Tycoon significantly impacted it with her greataxe, as he had her weapon in thebined form to deal more damage, and the crack she hit started spreading like the cocoon was from ss, and she hit a weak point.


    Or so it seemed, as in reality, she hadn''t destroyed the cocoon, but the evolution was over.


    An explosion of dark and green energy happened and pushed everyone back. It also made their bodies feel heavier, which was a sign of something Shingi was afraid of.


    The boss had Gravity Mana now.


    Its body got developed, being thinner than before, but Shingi''s senses and experience told him that its mana skills and speed increased.


    It didn''t have its scimitar anymore, but it raised its hand as a dozen Earth scimitars formed behind it.


    It pointed forward as a pair of scimitars headed to each of its enemies. Shingi, Hineko, An, and Wild Tycoon could handle them, but Little Pheonix and Mizuneko couldn''t.


    The Boss raised its other arm, and everyone started feeling the gravity changing but was affecting only them.


    Shingi helped Little Phoenix dealing with the des, while An helped to deal with the ones of Mizuneko and Wild Tycoon''s.


    Wild Tycoon could deal with the des, but she was more suited to fighting the boss, so they had to free her.


    Fortunately, the Boss didn''t summon more des than twelve but replenished the ones they destroyed. It was typical of monsters to use an ability depending on the enemies they faced, so they created two des for each of them.


    This time Shingi cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on Wild Tycoon, and she also used her <strong>ACCELERATION</strong> to keep up with the Boss'' speed.


    Still, the Boss was a little faster, but its defense wasn''t that high, so a few hits Wild Tycoon dealt significant damage, but it healed itself as the cocoon did by using the Tower''s strange energy.


    At this rate, they would lose.

 Chapter 140: Rest of boss fight and rewards

    Chapter 140: Rest of boss fight and rewards


    Wild Tycoon was getting used to dealing with the Boss and getting more hits as time passed, but <strong>HASTE''s</strong> effect was near its end.


    They couldn''t escape, as the Boss would cause too much chaos now. An evolved monster could go through floors and could even escape the tower.


    Tower monsters couldn''t usually get out, as the moment they got out, their power got strengthened even more. It seemed like while in the Tower, it weakened every monster, but they earned more of their genuine power with each evolution. When they got out, it allowed them to reach their true potential.


    It had happened once in the past, and it took many yers to work together to defeat it.


    He couldn''t let this monster evolve more, or escape from the tower, even if there was a significant chance that the Dark Guild could deal with it.


    Those creatures were of significant power and danger, but great danger meant great reward.


    Parts of these creatures would bring the products that could be made with the same parts of their non evolved selves at a higher power than usual to consider at least one Grade Higher than expected.


    Since his Breaking Limit State and his Blessing''s active effect would also end soon, he had to act fast.


    He quickly cast <strong>HASTE</strong> using one of his Mana Seeds, and at the same time, he used another one to cast <strong>HASTE</strong> at An.


    That way, An could join Wild Tycoon while he could deal with the des An dealt with.


    Since he didn''t have a level, his damage would get reduced, especially at an Evolved one, but An didn''t have that problem, as she was at a higher level than it. Still, because it was an Evolved one, even if it evolved only once, its power was like twice its level.


    An''s golden eyes worked on the boss and worked with Wild Tycoon, but it took some time for their teamwork to work as Shingi had to pay attention to An and give the orders she wanted to Wild Tycoon since An couldn''t speak, and Wild Tycoon didn''t know signnguage. Shingi, with his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> and <strong>HASTE</strong>, could keep up with the des and this task, but barely.


    The monster couldn''t keep up with both of them, and Little Phoenix found some way to weaken its Gravity Magic effect, which it seemed like it was still getting used to.


    When a monster evolved, it didn''t have all its new skills or spells at the same power as its rest, but this depended on its Evolution.


    They finished the battle before Tycoon''s <strong>HASTE</strong> ended, or he lost his focus on any of those Spells, as focusing on three targets even with his boosted <strong>INT</strong> was aplex task as he hadn''t done it in the past.


    He let go of the focus of the Spells when he was sure that the Boss was dead and no other monsters were around.


    He fell to the ground, as he had used everything he had in this battle. The rest of the party also fell to the ground as they got exhausted by this battle.


    This was an excellent example of them not underestimating the Tower''s monsters, as even on the early floors, they could face situations they didn''t have the upper hand.


    Shingi hoped he had his ss to unlock any of its unique abilities; otherwise, he couldn''t strengthen himself unless he had new equipment or learn new Spells.


    Upgrading his current equipment wasn''t impossible to do in the Tower, but he probably would find materials or finished equipment like that on higher floors.


    After taking a few seconds to gather some energy, he moved at the small pile of dust that was the Boss''s body. He cleared some dust away and found an imperfect spherical stone in it.


    This was like the core of the Oozes, as it contained part of the energy of the spirit, but its destruction didn''t bring the end of it but would weaken it.


    But the Spirit had extra protection around it so that they couldn''t destroy it.


    But it was a great material Shingi could use to strengthen one of their staves.


    Since the Spirit used Gravity Magic, it was better to use it on Little Phoenix''s staff, an Earth Dark Mana Gem, since before they started their trip, even if she didn''t have her second Element back then.


    Since the Boss they killed was an Evolved one, it would take more time for the floor to rest itself as first it had to replenish the energy used for the Evolution.


    Also, the boss used a lot of the floor''s strange energy to heal itself, which also should get replenished before it started respawning the monsters.


    It would also take them a couple of hours to replenish to 100%, but they should have enough time to do so.


    The next floor was also a tricky one, and they had to do some further preparations as also Shingi wanted to spend that time to upgrade Little Phoenix''s staff.


    The way it worked was simple.


    He had to use <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> to push out some of the stone''s mana out and change it into liquid form, simr to how he created his Earth Mana Dust in the past.


    This liquid he would fix them with some mana-embedded silver that he had prepared before leaving town.


    He had specks of dust of each element, and for this, he would use some Earth and some Dark Element one. He would have to use more Dark Element Dust instead of Earth Element Dust, but he could replenish it with the help of Little''s Phoenix. It would take time, especially for the Dark element one.


    He had some silver stored on his Spatial Ring, and his students had gotten some Spatial Bags and had stored more silver in them as well as other materials they could use.


    When they had some free time resting, they were embedding mana at those pieces of silver and grinding them if they reached a suitable grade.


    Shingi mixed the dust and the liquified spirit''s mana and started spreading it at the carving of the design of the staff.


    He could detect that the staff epted the spirit''s mana, but he also got a strange call from something else.


    He called out his Spatial Ring the Spirit Hammer.


    He held the Hammer with his left hand, as with his right hand''s index and middle finger we spread the liquid around.


    A yellow ball of Light Mana formed at his fingers as he started making new cavings with it on the staff.


    The eyes of Shingi went entirely white, and white mist spread from them.


    The Spirits of the Hammer were in control of his body, as they wanted to work on the staff and its upgrade.


    Thissted for less than a minute, and when it was over, Shingi was even more tired than before, as he had a massive headache.


    But he and the Hammer''s Spirits sessfully upgraded the staff using the Spirit''s Core, and the final result was better than he thought he could do.


    His Spirit Hammers had upgraded the staff to produce Gravity Mana even if they did not design the Mana Gems to produce it, and the user didn''t have that type of Mana.


    This would help Little Phoenix understand the nature of the mana and merge her two Elements to create it at her Mana Pool.


    Its boost of Dark and Earth Element mana increased to twice what it was before.


    This was a significant boost to their party as Little Phoenix''s Dark-based attack spells were among the top damage-wise in the party.


    After that, Shingi slept after making sure that they could keep watch, as even if they got tired, it wasn''t like something some potions could solve.


    Hineko could also create some potions, as they would stay here for some time and make a simpleb.


    Shingi entered his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> as using it wasn''t affecting its rest.


    He didn''t have many things to improve while in there, but he had found out that his thoughts were clearer in there, making it a great ce to make some ns.


    He didn''t use all the time in there as it would be a waste, and he found out that if he didn''t use all at once for each hour, he wouldn''t use he would replenish 30 minutes.


    When he returned to being conscious, he decided to use his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> for the day and check if anything changed with Dormon and Annoue.


    He checked Dormon first.


    He found him at his cell most of the time, but sometimes he got moved in ab area and was in a tank with purplish liquid.


    He was lucky that Netsu was there and not Mikhail.


    He found Dormon back in the cell this time, and most of his wound got healed, but Shingi could feel that Dormon was weaker.


    He noticed Dormon couldn''t detect him anymore, meaning that Mikhail''s experiments affected him significantly.


    Shingi wasn''t sure if Mikhail was stealing the energy to use it for his experiments or somehow was transferring it to himself.


    He was alive for a long time, and the reason behind maybe was because he was stealing the energy of others.


    Shingi knew creatures with power like that, but not one that couldst for that long, as there were limits to all. Mikhail most likely reached his limit, and only the power of someone as strong as a Protector could help him.


    He couldn''t learn anything else by checking Dormon, so he decided to switch to Annoue.


    ================================


    <strong>SCRY MODE FAILED</strong>


    sNPC#1 is outside the reach of the <strong>SCRY MODE</strong>


    ================================


    Shingi never encountered this error message in the past.


    Hepletely exited <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> and noticed that this time, when he tried to activate it and showed it the possible options, Annoue''s was in red letters.


    He wondered what happened, so he went back to check on Dormon.


    Maybe Netsu would visit him and get some clues, but unfortunately, nothing like that happened as nobody came to see or get Dormon while Shingi used his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong>.


    Shingi had to hurry, but they were still a long way to go.

 Chapter 141: Tricky floor

    Chapter 141: Tricky floor


    After they finished their rest and were ready to move on to the next floor, before going down the stairs, Shingi started drawing a special Enchantment on the footwear of everyone.


    The same Enchantment that Varic had drawn to Ameanum''s boots when he went to have a meeting with Lucy.


    The next level would not follow the desert theme but instead was a water level.


    The entire floor would be a vast ocean with inds of different sizes, but none would berge enough to hold over fifty people on it, while the smallest ones could barely hold two.


    When a group got to that level, they could start at any point on the floor, including at a ce with nond.


    He made the Enchantment with the help of Little Phoenix, being more potent than the one Varic had done back then since he wasn''t an official <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> by the System. It would allow them to walk on water as long as they didn''t stay still. Its duration would be almost an hour, which hopefully would be enough to find a way down to the next floor, or at least a ce to rest.


    They couldn''t use this Enchantment many times as they did not make their boots to handle Enchantments multiple times. An also helped them as she had some  Skills but still had no profession.


    He thought it would be great if she also became an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong>, as he and Little Phoenix could use some extra hands as they had prepared materials for some special Enchantments for future floors. Her ss also was Enchantments rted so that it could strengthen her fighting abilities too.


    Little Phoenix was still a <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong> at Apprentice State and could update some Shaped-based Enchantments to their better version of Runes, but nothing fancy yet.


    Shingi shared with her everything he read from the books he saw during <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> while checking on Annoue, as he couldn''t use them.


    Her Enchanting Skills were faster than his, but she stillcked at a few ces but was better at others than him.


    He couldn''t anymore learn this way since Annoue wasn''t avable as a target of his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong>, but maybe it was a temporary thing.


    They moved to the next floor, and they appeared onnd, fortunately.


    Looking around, there was just water and no sign of any othernd for as far as they could see.


    This floor was tricky as there were no clues of where the stair would be, and one needed luck.


    Shingi, Hineko, Mizuneko, and Little Phoenix used their detection skills for any signs of creatures, as the stairs would have monsters around them most likely.


    Other than blindly looking for it, they could look around the inds for pieces of a magicalpass that, ifpleted, would point towards the whereabouts of the stairs.


    In the ocean lived mutated sea creatures as merefolks, partial fish people, who also had a chance to drop materials to create a magicalpass.


    Fortunately, there were multiple versions of the same piece making it easier to gather them all, but still, it took a long time as most creatures wanted to fight underwater, and not a lot of yers could fight there.


    Of course, one could luck out and find the stairs while looking around, but the chances were rtively small.


    They started moving around looking for any merefolks, as only they could have a piece of thepass of all the monsters.


    They found a few that even tried to ambush them, but Shingi and the rest had enough time to prepare.


    It was tricky to fight them as they kept diving into the water to avoid some of their attacks or ran away, which a few had seeded at, but they sessfully killed a few. But no pieces ofpass to the ones they killed.


    The merefolks even had tamed some of the mutated sea creatures, one of them being huge as a whale but having blue scaled all over its body, and had the general structure of a whale''s body except its mouth, which was closer to a crocodile''s mouth.


    There were some smaller versions of those creatures and some seahorses who had air and water mana but hadn''t developed it to Ice like Mizuneko. They were throwing Water Bullets that contained Air Element Mana to increase their speed, making them cause more damage if hit and harder to avoid.


    There were some sharks that could shoot them towards their target and regrow them at a visible rate. Their bite was severe as if they hit one of their limbs, it would be as good as gone and would be nothing a potion could fix.


    They would need Healing Magic for this, which they unfortunatelycked, but regrowing a limb or fixing one that damaged would need a pretty powerful one.


    Only Shingi could learn any healing magic, as it got based on Light mana, which only he had in their Party.


    But fortunately, they were careful enough, and even if they got damaged a few times, it wasn''t something potions or rest couldn''t heal.


    Shingi wanted to learn Healing Magic, but those spells were specific sses Restricted, and not just any Mage could learn them. He still didn''t have his ss, so he couldn''t even try to unlock them, but he could use some of his Light Mana to help others naturally heal faster.


    As they got close to the hour that their special Enchantment woulde at an end, they found an ind big enough for them to rest.


    They had more boots stored on their Spatial Rings or Spatial Bags that they could do the Enchantment on. But they rested for a few hours.


    Until now, they had found only one of the four parts of thepass they needed. They could have more if they stopped all merefolks from escaping, but they had got used to how they fought and to prevent them from running away.


    This ce was great for Mizuneko''s development of his Mana Tree, as the Air and Water mana here got strengthened.


    The forest area''s strengthened Earth mana didn''t have highpatibility with Shingi''s Mana Pool, and it didn''t seem to be the case for Little Phoenix either. As for the Earth mana in the desert, this was also useless for developing one''s Mana Tree.


    But the Air and Water mana seemed to be of somewhat highpatibility with Mizuneko. However, they were getting that information by how Mizuneko felt it, as his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> didn''t showpatibility level. This was avable for NPCs when reaching Master Rank and for after level 90 from what Shingi had learned during one of his research.


    Since they would spend some time here, either way, they should benefit as much as they let Mizuneko work on his Mana Tree and use the mana to create some Water and Air mana-embedded silver since the mana was of excellent quality.


    Some merefolks seemed to keep a watch on them, while others left in a hurry, probably to report on their higher-ups.


    Shingi knew that there was an entire city of merefolks underwater.


    Fortunately, merefolks were one of the few creatures in the Tower that couldn''t evolve but could earn sses in the usual way, but their power wouldn''t be the same as of evolved ones.


    Some yers had made raids to the city if they found it, but the sources needed to fight there were costly.


    It was deep in the Sea, so a special potion would allow the yers to be like a merefolk entity themselves to fight almost at full power.


    Finding the recipe for the potion wasn''t hard, but it had some rare and costly materials to make it. If lucky, one would profit from that raid, as not always the treasury of the underwater city was full or contained that many treasures.


    The mereforks had a more challenging time fighting onnd, so they kept their distance while watching Shingi and the rest.


    Shingi didn''t mind them calling for backup, as that way, it would increase their chance of facing one with the rest of thepass pieces. But he reminded everyone, including himself, to be on guard, not to repeat another ident like what happened on thest floor, by underestimating their enemies.


    They send some mutated creatures on them that had the body of an alligator but the head of a shark, making their bite nastier and also could move onnd.


    Those creatures weren''t too strong, but Shingi knew that they just wanted to test them and see what they could do.


    Shingi let others know, and they acted like they had a problem dealing with them, and they barely did.


    Merefolks couldn''t understand theirnguages to speak duringbat without a worry, but still, Shingi was careful of how loud he spoke and what he said.


    Even if they usually couldn''t understand them, there was always the chance of one trying to learn theirnguage over time, and the Tower had created most of them some time ago; the chance wasn''t too low. They couldn''t Evolve, but still, they could develop themselves.


    He had noticed a few tactics of theirs to be more advanced versions of what usually used, meaning they had developed some more intelligence than usual.


    There was some silence after a few more battles.


    Then Shingi detected a gigantic figure getting closer to them.


    Shingi let everyone know and be on guard as giant tentacles started appearing one after the other from into the water.


    A gigantic octopus appeared, and on top of its head, there was a merefolk, sitting on a throne that had been tied to be held in ce on the octopus head.


    The merefolk was physicallyrger than the rest they had faced, as most of them were almost the same height as Shingi, while he was closer to Volig''s average height. It heard a trident with both hands but changed to keep it with only his left, as he pointed towards Shingi and his Party with it.


    Huges tentacles got raised and came down towards them, but everyone was ready and avoided them even if its speed was faster from one of this size.


    They couldn''t see it all, but Shingi could tell that it was probably a little smaller or the same size as the Fire Dragon he had faced as his yer self.


    Merefolks started getting out the water with bows at hand, which was weird for them to have them as they were unusable underwater.


    They started shooting arrows towards them, but they made them out of the water, which seemed to be part of an Enchantment on the bow to form these special arrows. Shingi could clearly see the Enchantments on them.


    This was a new tactic of theirs, as they weren''t using weapons in the past.

 Chapter 142: Running from storm

    Chapter 142: Running from storm


    The merefolks stayed back in the water, shooting their Water Arrows, while the humongous Octopus tried to hie Shingi and the rest with its tentacles.


    The Merefolk Leader sitting on the Octopus head had started saying something in a weirdnguage which sounded like sounds toads would make.


    Slowly water around the octopus started hovering up in different points around it, creating six water spheres.


    The spheres moved over thend as they dropped but didn''t form small pebbles. Each one took an almost humanoid-like shape, but it had no feet, just everything from the waist down was one piece.


    Those were water Elementals that the Merefork formed using some of the strange energy of the tower.


    Usually, only the Boss of the floor could use the Tower''s energy, and that wasn''t always the case.


    Shingi was confident that this merefolk wasn''t the Boss of the floor, or at least he shouldn''t be.


    The Octopus, or more specifically the Kraken it was riding, was to be the Boss.


    Taming a Boss was something that many yers had tried, but nobody seeded. But no matter how he thought about it, Shingi was sure that this Merefolk had done precisely this. If it seeded in something like that, it made sense of it bing the Boss of the floor and having the ability to use its energy.


    Bosses that could use the strange energy of the Tower were powerful, as there were many uses of it, and the more troublesome one was if being used to heal.


    Whatever this energy was, it was better at healing than Light Mana, but unfortunately, only those extraordinary Bosses of Tower could use it.


    Shingi noticed a piece of thepass hanging on the belt of the Merefolk Boss, and it was thepass''s base, which was the hardest to find.


    The Kraken had one of its tentacles almost impacting Shingi, but it got cut into two pieces in a split second.


    Shingi was the one who cut it even if its defense was high, it was like cutting butterpared to the Evolved one they faced.


    Shingi could tell that since the Kraken wasn''t the Boss anymore, it was a bit weaker than it should be.


    It also could heal itself and replenish its tentacles when they got cut, but the rate was slower since it couldn''t use the Tower''s energy.


    Still, Shingi and the rest were stronger than it, mainly since theirst Boss fight taught them many things.


    Wild Tycoon focused on the Kraken, while Mizuneko, An, and Hineko dealt with the Elementals.


    Mizuneko partially was freezing part of them while An and Hineko broke those parts, which were considered dead after separated by the main body like that.


    Shingi was attacking using its unfinished <strong>AIR SLASH</strong> Weapon Skill but merged it with some Fire Mana.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>FIRE SLASH</strong> (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    Shingi and Little Phoenix focused on the mereforks with the bows. Shingi also threw some of his <strong>FIRE SLASHES</strong> at the Merefolk Boss, or cast <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> when he noticed it tried to cast something, to interrupt it.


    It didn''t take long for it to jump from its throne and try to attack with its trident the person who pissed it off the most; Shingi himself.


    The <strong>FIRE SLASH</strong> was effective against the mereforks, but Shingi was sure if he used <strong>LIGHT SLASH</strong>, it would be more effective, but it was harder to cast, as he still worked on it.


    The Boss Merefork seemed to be more annoyed by this attack than damaged.


    But Little Phoenix was with him cast her <strong>SHADOW BOLT</strong>, which was strong enough to damage him but not to a considerable degree. It was healing itself, like the Evolved Boss they faced, by using the Tower''s energy.


    Its healing rate was a lot slower than the damage output of the two of them, but still, it would take some time at the current rate.


    Shingi used just his Light Mana de, as the Fire seemed to annoy it more than damage it.


    It wasn''t wearing any armor, and even if its natural skin was tougher than expected since its basic form was humanoid-like, Shingi knew some possible weak points.


    He cast <strong>HASTE</strong>, as this time he wanted to end the battle as fast as possible.


    The Boss seemed confused by the difference in power that these enemies showed, as the reports said they were weaker. It even brought its pet with him to show how much he overpowered them and capture them as ves.


    During its rulership, the merefolks were a lot stronger than ever and even be the true rulers of the ocean. But that was because those strange, powerfulnd people stopped hunting them.


    Thest report ofnd people was months ago, which was good as it could develop freely. But the Merefolk Boss got sad about not having a decent challenge, especially after taming the Kraken.


    Nownd people had appeared, and even if they were more challenging to face them than expected, it wasn''t afraid but excited of the challenge ahead.


    Shingi recognized the look as he had the same one many times in the past, but he wasn''t here to y around.


    He used as much Light and Earth Mana on his de as he could and went for the fastest swing he could do.


    The Merefolk read his movements and brought its trident in the way to deflect the attack.


    When the de almost impacted with the trident, Shingi disappeared into thin air.


    He reappeared behind the Merefolk Boss, which froze in space.


    After a few seconds, a horizontal cut started being formed at Merefolk Boss'' neck, and when it went all the way around, the head fell forward, followed by the body a few secondster.


    Shingi had used a Special Move he had been working on, which used different spells of his.


    First, he would use the desired Mana de at this sword. Then he cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> to hide and <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> to create a copy of himself in ce. He then made the Illusion self of his make a front attack as he moved to the back to make the actual attack.


    His <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> wasn''t a perfect copy. Still, since he usually moved at great speed during that battle, even his authentic self wasn''t perfectly formed, more like an afterimage and blurry.


    He had to use almost all his MP for the Spells and mostly on the de all it wouldn''t be enough to kill it.


    Of course, an experienced foe could read behind this trick and detect his real self and avoid the attack, but this Merefolk didn''t seem to be of that type to Shingi.


    When the Merefolks and the Kraken saw the Merefolk Boss die like that, they tried to escape.


    It was toote for the Kraken, though, as the Wild Tycoon had damaged it enough to kill it before it could escape, and the rest dealt with most of the Merefolks. The Water Elementals got destroyed when their creator died, so An, Hineko, and Mizuneko were free to help to deal with them.


    Shingi searched the Boss after making sure that his Students had everything under control.


    Other than the piece of thepass and the Trident, which had some Runes carved on it, it also had a strange seashell that Shingi didn''t see any Enchantment or Runes on it but could feel some peculiar energy from it.


    The energy wasn''t simr to the Tower''s, and it didn''t feel like it be of significant power.


    Shingi tried to examine the Trident''s Runes, but they were more advanced than what he could understand with his Skills. Maybe Little Phoenix would make some sense of them.


    It amazed him that the trident wasn''t just an Enchanted Weapon but had Runes instead of regr Enchantments, meaning a <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong> was behind its creation.


    Shingi had never heard of a Boss to have Rune Enchanted pieces of equipment, especially that early in the Tower.


    He stored it at his Spatial Ring for Little Phoenix to examine itter.


    They had to move soon as things would quickly be more troublesome. When the Boss died on this floor, instead of things bing quiet, it actually went the other way.


    The Ocean was always calm, as the Boss got fed by the mana in the air that would cause a storm all over the ce.


    When someone killed the boss since nobody consumed that mana, it affected the environment, bringing a terrifying storm until a new Boss spawn.


    They had a couple of hours before the storm reached a state dangerous for them.


    Fortunately, the Merefolk boss and some of his Soldiers they killed had the remaining pieces they needed. Shingi had noticed those pieces and had killed those Merefolks before dealing the final blow to the Boss.


    He put the pieces together, and thepass needle started turning until it stopped at a specific position.


    Shingi, An, and Little Phoenix worked fast to do the special Enchantment to walk on water for everyone''s second pair of shows. An had only one pair, but her clothes were specially made and could be enchanted multiple times quickly.


    It took them a little less than five minutes to do the special Enchantment for everyone as they followed thepass.


    Shingi could tell only the direction and not how far they still needed to go.


    They would have a little less than three hours before the storm would start causing them trouble by his calctions.


    They moved for the hour towards where thepass pointed them towards but still didn''t reach it to the stairs.


    They made a stop to make another pair of theirs with the special Enchantment.


    The second hour passed, and still, they didn''t reach it, bringing them to theirst pair before getting to a dangerous point with the storm''s development.


    Finally, close to half of the third hour, Shingi noticed thepass turning, meaning that the stairs were nearby. Shingi quickly detected a trapdoor covered with enough dust to blend with the rest of the ground at a small ind nearby.


    They opened it and went in as clouds formed and the wind was getting stronger.


    They made it to the stairs, safe and sound.

 Chapter 143: Plain floor

    Chapter 143: in floor


    After getting down the trapdoor and a few stairs steps, they stopped to take a break. They ran almost nonstop, other than stopping to replenish the Enchantment.


    The next floor would be a in field, which simrly they had to search for the stairs and face creatures that had pieces of a map for their location.


    The monsters there would be just a bit more powerful than the Sea Creatures of the Merefolks they just faced, but still manageable.


    As they were in the middle of their rest, Shingi read an unexpected System Notification.


    ================================


    Conditions to earn ss <strong>TRUE SORCERER</strong> were fulfilled. Will you start the ss update?


    <strong>YES / NO</strong>


    ================================


    Shingi didn''t expect to get this message that soon, as this meant that the current <strong>TRUE SORCERER</strong> didn''t exist anymore.


    Dormon was way weakerst time he checked on him but still was a <strong>TRUE SORCERER</strong>. So there was a significant chance that Dormon was dead.


    Shingi had to wait for his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> to be active again to see if he could use it at him and, if so, to find out what happened.


    Shingi didn''t ept to unlock his ss fully yet, as he should do it somewhere open space. He didn''t know what changes would happen, if any, at his body this time, so he had to make some preparation first. But he needed some space to work.


    He needed to improve everything mage-rted to the max he could, as this could give him some extra benefits when finishing earning his ss.


    Most of his Spell had reached their limit, but he still needed to master <strong>FIRE SLASH</strong> and earn and master <strong>LIGHT SLASH</strong>. The rest of his Spells and Mana Skills had reached their bottleneck.


    He knew that this ss would increase his power manifolds, especially his Spells, and finally, he could level up once more. He got restricted in thest few battles from the System, reducing his damage output, making him use all his big moves, but if he could level up, those restrictions would vanish at a point.


    Since he didn''t know how long it would take him for the System to give him his ss, he had to do it in a safe ce that they could camp for some time. The only ce like that would be one of the Ruin Cities floors, and since going back wasn''t suitable for them, he had to wait until they reached the next one on floor 22.


    When an NPC not designed with a ss took a ss was like a Tower Monster evolving, but only if the ss was a special one. NPCs could earn regr sses without going through that type of change, but Shingi''s ss was far from ordinary.


    "That''s weird." [Mizuneko]


    Everyone turned towards theirpanion, who was checking one wall on the sides of the stairs.


    "Did you notice something?" [Little Phoenix]


    "For a moment, there was a weird movement on the wall but wasn''t part of the wall that it moved. It seemed to be some Water Mana mixed with what I assume is this special Energy Shingi mentioned. It is the first time I could detect it, but itsted for a second. I think because it was mixed with Water mana, I could notice it, though." [Mizuneko]


    Shingi had noticed nothing like that, but even if his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> Skill was more potent than Mizuneko''s, in reality, Mizuneko''s was better to detect his Elements, water, and air.


    He tried checking his surroundings once more with Mizuneko, but nothing out of the ordinary.


    "If you see something like that again, let me know. The same goes for you. Things have changed in the Tower, and there are a lot who don''t want us here so they could have ways of monitoring us." [Shingi]


    "Wait do you think this was something the Dark Guild made?" [Hineko]


    "Their resources are extensive, but I don''t think they can control the Tower''s energy like that. It should be someone else." [Mizuneko]


    "They have done things we didn''t expect, so everything is possible. But to tell the truth, I don''t think it was them. If really someone was behind it and wasn''t just a random event of the Tower, there is only one individual I can assume that would be behind it." [Shingi]


    Everyone knew who he referred to; Mikhail, his sister''s kidnapper.


    Shingi had shared with them what he knew about Mikhail and what he learned he nned. He didn''t share with them his ability to <strong>SCRY</strong> on Annoue or Dormon or that his ss was Dormon''s ss. It was safer for them to assume that he had a special ss but not a unique ss.


    "We need to hurry to the second Ruin City. We will make a camp there as I have to focus on my ss as Ipleted the requirements." [Shingi]


    Everyone was excited hearing of this splendid news.


    "Why don''t we make a camp earlier on. Why should we do it there? Won''t more Dark Guild members be stationed as guards there?" [Hineko]


    Everyone nodded, as it made sense. The higher to the Tower they got, the greater the chance to meet them as they would have more people stationed there for gathering resources or looking for clues of unique quests.


    "You will understand when we get there. But for now, let''s focus on getting there. We still have a few floors to clear." [Shingi]


    They continued resting when, after a few seconds, Little Phoenix noticed something.


    "Wait a second. You said we are going to clear the floors? As we are going to look for the boss actively?" [Little Phoenix]


    They looked back towards Shingi as everyone wanted to know if that was the n.


    "We aren''t still at the point where the monsters will be close to your level, and thest boss fights had benefited our teamwork. But we need to level up forter, and also, from now on, we mighte across some interesting materials from the monsters. Could use the exp too for my ss." [Shingi]


    He didn''t have a level to use the exps he received, but part of those exps remained in him for when he earned his ss and could level up when he fully earn the ss just by this amount of exps finally put in use. He had killed two Bosses, one of them being an Evolved one, as also a lot of minion monsters, but those wouldn''t be enough for him to get at the level of his Students right away.


    Through his studies, he found out that if an NPC started as an Apprentice, the more levels he got when fully earning his ss, the more benefits he would get.


    There was even a Special Title he wanted to unlock, but he needed to get at level 20 or more when fully earn his ss just from the stored exp.


    Each ss needed a different amount of exps for each level, and since he had a <strong>TRUE</strong> ss, the amount for each was manifolds up from the others. So he had to kill many monsters to have enough exps to get level 20, and he was getting only part of the exps since he was a recruited member of a party, and only part of that exp got stored.


    Clearing the rest of the floors, including the bosses, till floor 22 had a chance of giving him enough exps, including what he had. He couldn''t see how much he had stored or how much he needed to go at level 20 if he had his ss fully earned.


    He had to hope for the best.


    After a few more minutes, they ended their rest and continued the way down the stairs.


    Going through the portal that existed at the end, they got teleported into the in field floor. The grass was tall, to be a little over the knees of the party.


    Looking around, they detected no creatures nearby.


    Some of the creatures here were experts to hide in the grass, but many of the creatures here were aggressive against strangers and attack on sight.


    As Merefolks existed on the previous floor, here there was a different Race; the Centaurs.


    There were different varieties of Centaurs, with the main one to be the one Half Human Half Horse, with the human being the upper part. The variety was in the lower part, as the upper remained human-like.


    Other than the horse''s lower part, there were also tiger, wolf, lion, and different beasts'' bodies. There were even some with cows as their lower part, but those weren''t fighting.


    The Centaurs also had a town like the Merefolks, but magic hid their vige.


    Most of them were Warriors and could unlock Warrior-based ss or Rogue-based ss. But a few were trying to go for a Mage-based ss but was more difficult as Centaurs weren''t one of the race that had innate Mana Pool, so they had to start from zero.


    They mostly tried to learn different buffs to help their allies or even know some curses to weaken their enemies. There also existed those who could call the spirits to help them, simrly as the Boss Spirit Bandit had done.


    Centaurs moved in groups of five at least, so Shingi and the rest should be careful, even if they had the advantage of numbers.


    They had to find their base, where the boss would be, and where most of the Centaurs would also be.


    There were some mutated monsters other than the Centaurs that they had to be on guard against


    Soon Shingi and the rest heard some noise close to them that came behind a big rock. It sounded like a battle, with one side being a pack of wolves.


    They carefully approached to check the situation, and they didn''t expect to see what they saw.


    There was a small young girl with a pair of butterfly wings attached to her back and wearing a one-piece dress that seemed to be a significant white flower upside down. Her skin was blue, and her hair was red, while her eyes were green.


    This was a Nature Fairy, which wasn''t rare to find in an environment like that, but Shingi didn''t know how it got here as the Tower couldn''t create it.


    On both sides of hers, there were somerge bald humanoid creatures. Their face wasn''t somewhat primitive, and their stomach was signs of eating a lot. There weren''t wearing any clothes other than a simple leather loincloth to hide their private part, at least if one wasn''t too close or didn''t focus his or her sight there.


    Their size was even more significant than Volig''s average size, being almost twice as big. One was thin and fit, while the other one was obese.


    They both had their back on the Fairy, like they were protecting her, as the wolves had surrounded them.


    They didn''t have any weapons, but it was clear that their strength wasn''t normal.


    Some of the wolves made a coordinated attack on both and bit them, as they weren''t too fast. But since the wolves bit them, they were close enough to attack them, so they punched and smashed them up.


    The battle didn''tst long, as the wolves ran away when they lost a few more members of their pack.


    The giant creatures, which Shingi knew were Ogres, had gotten injured a bit, but nothing serious. They went towards the Fairy, who seemed terrified during the battle but now that the danger ended, she had calmed down.


    "Druk, are you ok? Let me heal your wounds. Krud, you also sit nearby and rest. Will hear your injuries too." [Fairy]


    She headed towards the fat one, who they wounded the most as he seemed to be the stronger of the two and the slowest.


    A bright ball of energy started gathering in her hand, as Shing could see with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, that she put together a part of the Tower''s energy and used it to heal the Ogre in front of her.


    <em>''How is that possible?''</em> [Shingi]

 Chapter 144: The Ogres and the Fairy

    Chapter 144: The Ogres and the Fairy


    Shingi and the rest of the party hid and waited to see what would happen next with that strange group.


    A Nature Fairy was a creature of pure goodness, trying to help nature and its friend, as also willing to protect hernd.


    On the other hand, Ogres weren''t that good. A typical Ogre was a dump creature who picked fights and did not care about anything. They were simple-minded and easy to control, so it wasn''t rare for evil guys to take them as minions as they were physically sturdy creatures.


    Usually, an Ogre was fat, unless it lived at a ce well protected and hard to find food, but not as fat as one of the two Ogres here, and definitely, none was to be as fit as the other one.


    So a Fairy helping those types of creatures was unheard of.


    Also, that Fairy didn''t use ssic healing magic but used the unique energy of the Tower that until now Shingi had seen it used by the Boss of the floor only.


    The Fairy, being the Boss of the floor, wasn''t possible. She couldn''t beat or tame the floor''s Boss as it would go against the Fairy beliefs.


    Centaurs respected nature, so there was no way they would anger a Fairy.


    Then Shingi noticed something.


    The Fairy wore a ck leather cor around her neck with a dark red stone at the front. This was a ve Cor.


    Like Shadow Whip, one with the special ver ss could make those, which was another way to keep their creatures tamed.


    He didn''t detect any yers around, but her owner shouldn''t have left her alone others unless the owner didn''t have a choice.


    An enved creature had to stay near their owner and follow their order unless their owner suddenly moved too far away and couldn''tmunicate with their ved creatures.


    The Ogres didn''t have a cor, but someone could have enved them the usual way as their <strong>INT</strong> wasn''t that high.


    "Durg fine. Little one no fear. Durg strong. Durg protect little one." [Durg]


    "You know, little brother, sometimes I forget how foolish you are. Did you ever think to avoid even one of those bites? Because it doesn''t seem so. Not that you are hard to miss." [Grud]


    Durg was ready to stand up, but the Fairy coughed to draw her attention and looked at him with a pair of eyes of determination and telling him he should behave.


    Durg stopped himself from standing up. Grud chuckled at that, making Durg want to stand again, but another look at the Fairy stopped him again.


    "<em>*sigh*</em> You know, for brothers, you two fight a lot. You should worry and protect each other, not antagonize or fight with each other." [Fairy]


    "This is who we are, Azalea. It is how we, Ogres, behave. Even if we got changed a bit, because of that person, we are still who we are by nature." [Grud]


    "<strong>PERSON?!?</strong> Me no like person. No speak person." [Durg]


    "I didn''t even say his name, you braindead fat man." [Grud]


    At this point, Shingi decided to show himself but told the rest to stay hidden until he signaled them.


    The Fairy, whose name seemed to be Azalea, was the first to notice him, followed by the Ogre called Grud. The other Ogre named Durg didn''t seem to see him, even if he didn''t try to hide.


    He raised his arms in the air to show that he held nothing.


    "Ie in peace. I want to talk with you." [Shingi]


    Durg heard the voice and turned to see its source.


    "Oh, food." [Durg]


    Durg got a p on his head by the Fairy, who flew up a little to reach its head.


    She was a weak creature, so this p wasn''t enough to damage him. Maybe not enough to feel more than a pinch would.


    "Why little one angry? Want first bite? Durg share with little one." [Durg]


    "We won''t eat him. At least not yet. Let him speak to see what he wants first, my stupid little brother." [Grud]


    Grud walked in front of his group, looked down toward Shingi, and tried to size him.


    "You really are small, with not enough meat to tell the truth. What do you want?" [Grud]


    Shingi wasn''t afraid for a moment, as after seeing them fight, he knew he could easily escape them if wanted.


    "I was looking around until I heard sounds of your battle with those wolves. I came to check, but the battle was over, and I barely saw some of those wolves ran away. So I wondered if I could help this strange group of yours." [Shingi]


    Grud, who seemed to be the representative of his group, brought his hand on his chin, and he thought about something before speaking once more.


    "I have a few questions for you. I would like it if you answer them truthfully." [Grud]


    Shingi nodded to show his agreement.


    "Are you a Blessed One?" [Grud]


    Shingi didn''t expect this question, but he quickly understood why the Ogre asked him that. They were enved monsters, and their master most likely was a Blessed One. Most times, people with enving monsters weren''t kind to them.


    "No, I am not a Blessed One." [Shingi]


    He was telling the truth, partially at least, as he was and wasn''t a Blessed One, at least not entirely. Just part of him was.


    The Ogre looked at him carefully, and Shingi could tell by how the Ogre looked at him he was good at noticing things.


    "Ok. Next question. What are you doing here?" [Grud]


    "I have a few reasons, but the main one is to get my sister. A man in the Tower has kidnapped her, so I am going at him to get her back." [Shingi]


    "Your sister? Did that man hurt her? I can help you"[Azalea]


    "<strong>STAY QUIET, AZALEA.</strong> I am the one speaking, so no interruptions." [Grud]


    Azalea seemed a little sad and angry by the way Grud spoke to her.


    "So, are you here alone? The tower isn''t that easy for a boy like you to go through. Especially these days." [Grud]


    "I prefer to work alone." [Shingi]


    Once more, Grud tried to read him, but Shingi had his special eyes open to help persuade him he was telling the truth, which used a little more power than he thought it would. It seemed like Grud wasn''t your average Ogre, brain-wise.


    Also, he didn''t lie entirely, as he genuinely preferred working alone, but he knew his limits and the importance of teamwork in some situations, especially in the Tower.


    "Then you must be strong. You don''t have any weapons on you, so you should be one of those magic people. Am I right?" [Grud]


    Shingi nodded as he cast <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong>, but instead of making multiple ones, he made a single one but was way bigger than usual. It was almost as big as the Ogres.


    "You can say I have some tricks up my sleeve. This isn''t a threat, by the way, just a demonstration." [Shingi]


    Grud chuckled at that as he went closer to the Golem to get a closer look.


    "If it is a demonstration, then you wouldn''t mind me doing this."[Gurd]


    Saying nothing else, Grud punched the Golem at its head, trying to smash it, but didn''t do even a scratch at it. Shingi could feel that Grud put a lot in this punch, but his Golem''s defense was on another level, mainly since he used everything in a single Golem.


    "Impressive. But let''s see if it can handle my brother. Durg, be useful for once." [Grud]


    Durg stood up and got his fist ready as he was ready to attack, but he got knocked out instead by the Golem punching him right on his chest.


    "I guess this also is a way to prove a point. An excellent way too. I am truly impressed."[Grud]


    "So, have any more questions for me?" [Shingi]


    Grudughed as he kicked his brother to turn him around for Azalea to heal his recent wound.


    "You know I like people like you. I am impressed by the way you talk. So fearless, a sign of foolishness or of genuine power."[Grud]


    Theugh stopped as his face changed to one show of how serious he was. But it also had some anger too.


    "I don''t appreciate be lying on my face, though. You are a good liar, but my ears can hear your friends hiding, probably waiting for your signal. So call them out." [Grud]


    Shingi signaled for them to get out but not to attack.


    "Hmmm interesting group you got there. Don''t tell me that none of those are Blessed Ones. Just a look at them and call it for sure." [Grud]


    "We aren''t like them. We aren''t like the ones who enved you." [Shingi]


    Grud looked towards Shingi with eyes full of anger.


    "Then how do you know we are enved? You can only work for that one. You are here to take us back, aren''t you? Well, we won''t get back to him, so you better kill us instead." [Grud]


    It seemed like he knew he was underpowered, especially after the demonstration of Shingi, so he didn''t try to fight.


    "We really don''t work for the one you speak of. I don''t even know who you speak of. But I noticed the cor of your friend and you three being together like that makes sense only if you had been through a lot. So you three being enved together for some time was the only likely scenario." [Shingi]


    Grud didn''t know what to believe, as his senses were telling him that Shingi was telling the truth, but he knew he was a good liar.


    "Then what do you want from us?" [Grud]


    "As I already said want to see if I can help you. You guys don''t belong here, but you can''t leave either. The people out there will kill the moment you leave the Tower if you are lucky, that is. If you are unlucky, they will enve you once again." [Shingi]


    "Then what should we do? We have been in the Tower long enough. There may be some close calls, but here it is peaceful enough. Except for those annoying wolves, but at least we get some meat out of it." [Grud]


    "It may be safe for now. But maybe staying here is the best n for you currently. But still there is one thing I can help you with before we go our separate ways." [Shingi]


    He turned toward the little Fairy, who had just finished healing her friend.


    "I can end her envement contract." [Shingi]

 Chapter 145: The cabin

    Chapter 145: The cabin


    "End her envement contract? I hope you don''t mean by killing her because I can''t allow that." [Grud]


    "Of course not. There are ways to end it without endangering the one under its effects."[Shingi]


    Grud turned to look towards his little Fairy friend. He waited for a response from her.


    "Are are you sure you can do it?" [Azalea]


    "I don''t tend to give empty suggestions. But I need to examine your cor to see its grade." [Shingi]


    Their quality worked simrly to how the envement runes, so the color of the gem used on the cor showed its grade. He had noticed it having a dark red gemstone, a sign of a top grade ve cor, with only one with white gem being above them.


    But that didn''t mean it was impossible to stop its effects.


    He had to examine it up and close as its creator of these cors could make some personal adjustments to possibly benefit their design. If this was the case, this could be used as a w of the typical design, giving him a way to break it.


    He had encountered many vers in the past, or people having monsters enved by others, and could tell that the color of this cor was darker than usual, meaning its design got tempered from the original the System gave them.


    Grud kept looking towards Azalea with a look that let her know that the decision was here. She had her left hand over to the cor, and she seemed to recall some memories that brought sadness to her face.


    "I ept." [Azalea]


    Shingi walked towards her but stopped as the now conscious Durg put his massive arm in front of Shingi to stop him from moving further.


    "Little boy, help little one. No help, little boy be eat meat." [Durg]


    Shingi nodded as Durg let him move closer to Azalea.


    "Let''s sit and try to stay still. I am just going to take a look for now." [Shingi]


    They both sat down as Shingi tried to examine some small carvings that there were on the gem. They were almost like runes, but not asplicated, but not as simple as usual Enchantments. He started using <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> to make a bigger version of it next to him, and he noticed that this skill worked better than ever.


    It was faster and more detailed than ever, and he soon could tell why.


    It drew the Tower''s energy and using it to help itself, and even bettering itself without Shingi thinking about it.


    In a matter of a couple of minutes, he had a perfect copy of the gems ''enchantment'' that was increased to the size of a basketball. He then cast <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> to make an illusion of that so that everyone else could see it, especially Little Phoenix.


    "What is this? Why do you show us this?" [Grud]


    "This is what makes the cor work. Every function of it is because of that, but trying to temper with it can cause an explosion that would kill the one wearing it. That is if one doesn''t know what he does. And this" [Shingi]


    He snapped his finger as a simr illusion appeared next to the one he already had, but a perceptive one could notice a couple of differences between the two.


    " is the original one. The people creating them tend to change them, increasing their power but giving them some unwanted openings. We can use this to bring it all down without triggering the explosion." [Shingi]


    The reason he showed the two illusions wasn''t just to exin the situation to his party but also to earn some of the trust of Grud by showing he knew what he was doing.


    "We will have to work on some simtions first, but this will take some time, so we should find a safer ce first." [Shingi]


    "We can help with that. Can''t we, Grud?" [Azalea]


    Grud seemed to be deep thought as he still didn''t fully trust Shingi, especially his party.


    "Follow me. But you better follow the end of your deal and don''t make me regret it." [Grud]


    Both Ogres stood as Azalea flew and sat on the right shoulder of Durg. The three of them had an evident close bond. Durg also picked up the bodies of the wolves they killed, as it would be a waste to let them here.


    They were ordinary wolves, designed for their bodies to remain after being killed as a possible food source, among other beasts.


    They moved in a particr direction, which Shingi couldn''t tell which one was in, as the sky wasn''t that detailed yet at those low floors.


    After almost half an hour of walking, the Ogres brothers stopped, but there wasn''t any house, cave, or anything close to a safe ce nearby, just a more open field.


    But it was then that Shingi noticed it.


    There was an illusion field surrounding a small part of the area in front of him.


    Whatever was in the field was invisible, and if one stepped in the field''s area, he would be under the effect of the illusion, not seeing what was there, but they designed the illusion for him or her to see.


    This was the same one as the one hiding in the vige of the Centaurs, but the one in front of them was on a smaller scale.


    Usually, one couldn''t detect this, but with Shingi''s Master Rank <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, few things could hide from it if he focused enough.


    Azalea put her hand over the field, closed her eyes, said under her breath a few words, and the field disappeared. There was a small cabin that Shingi was sure it wasn''t supposed to be here and got recently built.


    "Let''s go inside. Touch nothing unless you are told to." [Grud]


    The Cabin was designed to be used for some of the sizes of Ogres, so Shingi and the rest had enough space in there.


    There was some small furniture, probably designed for Azalea. Shingi could tell that this wasn''t a professional job but wasn''t one of a beginner.


    "Did you may make all of that?" [Shingi]


    "We found ways to better our lives." [Grud]


    Shingi didn''t press on for him to give him a more straightforward answer. Azalea muttered a few words as the particr field was up once more and didn''t affect them since they didn''t pass through it, just were in it.


    Shingi and Little Phoenix started studying the two ''enchantments'' they had and found their differences and a way to break the one of Azalea''s cors.


    Since it was an illusion created by Shingi himself, they couldn''t simte with it what would really happen unless Shingi was aware of the possible result of their actions. In the past, he was just a Warrior, so he never could destroy one himself, but he has seen many others do it on people he saved and wanted to free.


    It would not be easy, as this was at the top of the grades, but Shingi was confident they could pull it off.


    Little Phoenix helped more than expected, but this was the case because she had evolved her <strong>ENCHANTMENT APPRAISAL</strong> into <strong>RUNE APPRAISAL</strong> a little after her profession changed to <strong>RUNEMASTER (Apprentice State).</strong> If she was a full <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong>, this could be a lot easier, but she still was getting used to the way runes worked.


    She couldn''t design a Rune from scratch but could create one out of a design of others and also decrypt runes and how they worked.


    They found out that the changes that happened from the original design were having only a special extra effect; to seal the mana of the Fairy.


    The Seal could get activated and deactivated, but currently, it was enabled, meaning that Azalea couldn''t use any Mana or Mana-rted skills.


    Shingi and the rest saw them use Healing Magic on the Ogres, but Shingi knew it wasn''t a normal healing spell. She had used the Tower''s Energy instead of her.


    Shingi had tried to control the Tower''s energy, but his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> did not affect it, even if it was at Master Rank. There were some simrities to mana, but also some significant differences to what Shingi knew about mana. It was almost like something else was in it, something ''living.''


    He couldn''t pinpoint the differences, but she probably knew more about it if this Fairy could use it.


    "Have you guys encountered the guardian of the floor?" [Shingi]


    "You mean Ferash? Yes, we had some time ago. She is annoying, but at least she doesn''t hunt us."[Grud]


    Shingi didn''t expect to learn that the Boss of the floor was a female one. But in the Centaur race, gender wasn''t a factor for potential strength or status one could have.


    "I notice you use a simr field like their vige." [Shingi]


    "Are you just going to do what you are here for or chat?" [Grud]


    Grud didn''t enjoy answering questions, especially to one he didn''t trust, and he didn''t hide it.


    "We have a way. It can be risky, but Azalea can increase the chance for it to work."[Shingi]


    He brought the illusion of Azalea''s ''enchantment'' in front of Grud to see it better.


    He could change the color of part of it to indicate that part, which was what he had done while he exined how this got changed.


    " so what we are going to do is try to get some of Phoenix''s Dark Element mana inside using one of the openings the changes had created. But if her manaes in touch with the ''enchantment, '' it will trigger the self-destruction. This is where our mutual friendes to y. She can use the Tower''s energy, and if I am correct, it will slow down the explosion, and once we destroy it from inside, the st will get stopped either way." [Shingi]


    "So you want us to trust a Blessed One to do the job?" [Grud]


    Shingi shook his head since this wasn''t the case.


    "We are doing to use her mana since Dark Element is the best-suited one, but I''m the one who will control it." [Shingi]


    Little Phoenix''s control over Dark Element would be better than Shingi usually since it was one of her Elements. But she didn''t train as much as Shingi or Mizuneko had, as she was busy bing a better <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> andter <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong>. She still wasn''t as good as Shingi, even if someone would consider her <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> to be Master Rank, since it passed level 40, but not by much.


    "So, what do you think? Do you agree with my n?" [Shingi]


    He turned to look both at Azalea and Grud. Durg had taken a nap at a corner.


    "She is the one to decide. But if she agrees and something goes wrong, your head will get far away from your body." [Grud]


    Azalea seemed to be deep in thought about what to do. Little Phoenix went next to her and wanted to put her hand over Azalea''s shoulder, but she could feel the piercing stare of Grud and didn''t do it in the end.


    "You can trust us. He knows what he is doing better than anyone. He has done some pretty amazing things the time I know him that one would consider impossible." [Little Phoenix]


    Azalea looked towards her and then towards Shingi, and finally towards Grud.


    "I will do it." [Azalea]

 Chapter 146: The gem and Ogres story

    Chapter 146: The gem and Ogre''s story


    Little Phoenix made a simple ball of mana with her Dark Element Mana, and when she finished, Shingi started manipting it and moving it around. Little Phoenix made a ball as big as a ping-pong ball, but Shingi used only half of it.


    He quickly took the hand of it as the source of the mana, Little Phoenix, wasn''t putting and resistance against him. Since it wasn''t one Element of his Mana Tree, so he couldn''t manipte as well as those, but still, it was better than average.


    He focused his detection skills entirely on the gem of the cor and at the space that the opening they decided to use was.


    Azalea focused on some of the Tower''s energy on the gem, and Shingi could see its energy that permanently moved had slowed down by a little more than half. Still, it wouldn''t give him a lot of time to react if something went wrong, but it would increase his chance to do so if needed.


    He told Azalea to stay as still as possible; otherwise, it could cause an unwanted trigger.


    The mana was close to the opening, but he waited a bit before moving to the next part of the n. He needed to use an amount of the mana to create a hole in the gem''s surface to get the mana inside, as the changes made an opening to the enchantment, not the gem itself.


    The Dark element was slowly eating part of the gem to make the way in for the rest. After a few seconds, the gem reacted as part of the energy changed its regr route and headed towards Shingi''s mana. It was like someone detected something strange happened and ordered some guards to check it out.


    Azalea''s action had slowed the energy, so it took it more time to reach the position where Shingi made his ''attack.'' Shingi knew that something like that would happen. They chose one that its positions would be the furthest than where the energy would be when he started the operation.


    Still, the gem''s surface was pretty hard to break through because of its top quality.


    The energy of the gem had made it halfway to reach the mana, and Shingi was still far from finishing his way of digging in.


    Shingi sighed as he did something he didn''t want to use that early on. Beliss Blessing''s active effect to boost his INT.


    With the boost, his control over the mana increased, and also his detection skill became a little more precise that also made his ''attacks'' more precise.


    The energy was getting closer at a snail-like speed while he worked with the Dark Element mana as fast as he could do, and it finally made it sometime before the energy reached its destination.


    But he couldn''t rx because it would be the same as seeing the mana when it detects the hole, so he started his attack from inside.


    The n was pretty simple. There was a core in it that empowered the whole enchantment, so he had just to destroy it. The hard part was getting in without getting detected, and if he got noticed to destroy the core before the explosion happens.


    He started his ruthless attacks, and fortunately, the core wasn''t as hard as the surface, destroying it just in time before the energy would reach the hole.


    At the next moment, the gem started cracking and turned into dark red gem dust, and the cor fell as the gem worked as a button to keep it close.


    The room was into deepplete silence.


    Then heavy footsteps were heard as Grud ran and picked up Azalea to check how she was.


    Tears fell on his face from Azalea''s eyes, but they weren''t tears of sadness, but the opposite. She was finally free once more after all this time.


    Grud hugged her as she cried a bit and then passed out.


    She used too much of the Tower''s energy for more time than usual, putting a strain on her. Nothing that a good sleep couldn''t heal, though.


    "You did it. You <strong>ACTUALLY</strong> did it." [Grud]


    Shingi heard a loud noise from behind Shingi like a heavy object hit the floor. He even listened to the ground cracking a bit, as the cabin had no floor.


    Turning around, he saw Durd on his knees and his head down on the floor. The same sound got heard again and turning, Shingi saw Gurd did the same thing but first had left Azalea on the side.


    It was a clear sign of them to show how thankful they were for his action.


    "Just stand up, both of you. Just saying a thank you is enough. You don''t need to bash your heads to the ground." [Shingi]


    They both raised their head to look towards him, and after a few seconds, straightened their bodies.


    "My brother and I are thankful for this act of yours. Azalea is too kind and had faced too many hardships because of that stupid cor. If there is anything you want help with, you can just ask." [Grud]


    "Grud truth. Ask Drug help, Drug give help. Drug no eat little meat." [Durg]


    "Of course you won''t eat him. *sigh* Like I would let you do this after what he did." [Grud]


    Shingi was happy that he seeded, not only because he helped someone who could provide the knowledge he needed but also because those three have been through many tough times.


    "If you don''t mind, could you share with me how you guys got here? I get that your owner lost you, but how did it happen, and how long are you here? Where you on this floor all along?" [Shingi]


    Grud sat down in front of Shingi and turned towards his Students.


    "I trust you, but still, I don''t trust them, even if that little girl helped in what you did. I will tell you our story, but I will have to ask for them to leave the cabin for that time." [Grud]


    "<strong>WHAT?!?</strong> You expect us just to leave? Who do" [Wild Tycoon]


    "<strong>THAT IS ENOUGH.</strong> Everyone goes outside for the time. I will join you when we finish our conversation." [Shingi]


    Shingi didn''t want to let Wild Tycoon go raging around, so he used some of his eyes energy to ''persuade'' her.


    Wild Tycoon started walking out, followed by Little Phoenix and the two brothers a little after. This just left An behind, who didn''t move an inch from where she decided to take a rest.


    Shingi couldn''t use his eyes as it seemed they didn''t work on her, so if she didn''t want to follow what he told her to do, she wouldn''t.


    "An, can you please, join the others outside? I will join you soon; just have to talk a bit with the people here." [Shingi]


    She looked at him and then closed her eyes as she started taking a nap.


    Shingi sighed at how useless he was in telling her what to do.


    "It is ok. She can stay. Her smell is better than the rest. So you wanted to hear our story." [Grud]


    Grud started exining how the three of them met.


    He and Durg weren''t biological siblings, but they got raised together and traveled worldwide, looking for new exciting things. Both of them back then were average Ogres, unlike their current selves.


    During one of their trips to a forest, they heard sounds of battle, something they never ran from. When they reached the ce that the battle was, they found a group of Blessed Ones attacking and trying to capture a group of Nature Fairies.


    The Blessed Ones tried to capture them alive, but there were some bodies of dead Fairies around. They mainly used whips to attack them and capture them.


    They cared little for the Fairies back then, but they never ran for a battle, so they charged at them. But the Blessed Ones were more powerful than them, but they got captured alive and wounded instead of being killed.


    After being captured and tamed, experiments got performed on them. Those experiments changed them to their current selves. The Fairies we also part of some experiments, but few survived as they were more fragile creatures than the two of them. Grud didn''t know what the experiments done to Azalea were for, as her appearance didn''t change as theirs did.


    Those experiments didn''t change them only physically and mentally by making Grud brighter, at least a little brighter than an average human, whichpared to an average Ogre was a genius. But Durg was instead even dumber than an average Ogre.


    They were given new owners now and then for different quests or when heading to the Tower.


    They had reached a higher floor than the current one, which was impressive that they returned, as going on a lower floor was more challenging than going on a higher one. Typically, yers either died and spawned outside or had used a Spell or Tool to teleport out.


    At thest encounter, their owner underestimated the boss, who fortunately didn''t target them after killing all the Blessed Ones. It was one with high INT and understood that those three were under control and not there to harm it when their master died.


    Since their master was that far away, they were out of his control and didn''t need to follow thest order anymore.


    They hid and started their way out of the floor they currently were, but since they were too weak to go up, they went down.


    To go to the next floor, one needed to find the stairs, but there weren''t any stairs leading to the previous floor.


    The only ones who could go to previous floors were Evolved Monsters. After spending weeks on the Tower''s floor without getting out, they noticed they could use abilities they couldn''t before. It seemed like the Tower considered them as Evolved Monsters and let them go down some floors.


    After reaching the Centaur''s floor, they stopped, as Azalea liked this one, and they knew they couldn''t leave the Tower. They had encountered a few Blessed Ones, and some were after them, but they could deal with them or escape if they couldn''t.


    Azalea, at first, couldn''t do anything as the cor didn''t allow her to use her innate healing abilities as a Fairy, but as time passed, she could cast simr spells by using the Tower''s energy instead.


    They had made a new life here, and after meeting the current boss of the floor, or Guardian as the Centaurs called it, they were more than safe enough as Ferash helped them make the cabin and hid it.


    They didn''t know exactly how long they were here, but from their story he could tell that it wasn''t before he died, so within thest ten years. Most likely at least 5 years was his guess.

 Chapter 147: The 7th Element

    Chapter 147: The 7th Element


    Grud''s story took some time to finish, but even when he did, Azalea was still sleeping. This put a significant strain on her.


    "So you n to stay here? You don''t want to go outside the Tower once again?" [Shingi]


    "Out there is certain death. At least here we had made friends, and those annoying Blessed people don''t spend as much time." [Grud]


    The floor was low enough not to have any rare resources for the Dark Guild, so it made sense that they passed it, leaving no people behind.


    "It is true, for now at least. But I am working on getting rid of those people. It will take a while, but I could use some help on the way outside. You don''t need to help now and will take some time until we head back there, but if you will help us, then I would be more than thankful." [Shingi]


    He then went over to Azalea and tried to use some of his Light Mana to help her rest. He was still barely under the effect of his Blessing''s active effect, which made what he tried to do easier.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>MINOR RESTORATION</strong> (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    This was a helpful spell he didn''t expect to get.


    It was a Healing Spell but wasn''t restoring one''s HP, but his or her SP. Usually, he shouldn''t get this Spell, but he thought since he almost had his ss, more spells became avable to him, even if he still was in the Apprentice State. It would be a valuable Spell to use, especially in the middle of a battle, to help Wild Tycoon if she got dangerously tired and was far from ending the fight.


    Azalea woke up soon enough after he cast a spell on her.


    "What what happened? Is is it gone? Am I free?" [Azalea]


    She touched her neck and felt no cor there. She started jumping around to show how happy she was.


    "Thank you. Thank you so much. I don''t know how to repay your kind act." [Azalea]


    "I have talked with your friends for something you may help me in the future if you are willing then. But I want to ask you something. How are you able to use the Tower''s Energy? Do you know what it really is?" [Shingi]


    "Hmm the Tower''s Energy? I don''t know. We always could use that." [Azalea]


    "Always? You mean you could do it even when you were out of the Tower?" [Shingi]


    "Well, yes. What you call Tower''s Energy exists outside the Tower, but it is harder to detect or use. At least for others. We could always use it, but they forbid us to do so. It is said that using it is disrespectful to the deceased, but I am not so sure anymore." [Azalea]


    Shingi got confused, as he never knew of Fairies being able to use any mysterious power that others couldn''t. But if it was a forbidden thing among them, it probably was too rare for them to use it outside.


    "What does it have to do with the deceased?" [Shingi]


    Azalea seemed reluctant to speak, and Shingi had to ask again using some of his eyes energy.


    "This is the power of the deceased, or so it is said. Every living being dies, joins, and bes part of it, so using it destroys part of those who died. But here, the Tower has more energy than outside that makes no sense to be of the ones who died."[Azalea]


    Shingi didn''t expect to learn something like that.


    "Does that mean that this is another Mana Element?" [Shingi]


    Azalea nodded as a response.


    "Then why can''t everyone use it. Why only your people can and some of the monsters in the Tower?" [Shingi]


    "I am uncertain about it. But our Elders told me we weren''t always the only ones to use it. Not sure where or how others be unable to use it." [Azalea]


    "I noticed you could use it for healing. Is there any advantages to it from normal healing?" [Shingi]


    "Its healing is more natural and beneficial. But too much use of this can lead to madness, which is another reason they forbid us to use it. In here, the limits seem to be higher, but I still try to be careful." [Azalea]


    She didn''t seem to be mad at Shingi, but he wasn''t about what kind of madness she talked about, so he couldn''t be entirely sure.


    "Thank you for everything you told me. I am d that I met you, but I need to go. Are you aware, though, where the stairs to the next floor is? Since the guardian is a friend of yours, I don''t want to fight her." [Shingi]


    "We can help you to get there." [Grud]


    Shing stood up and was ready to walk outside when Azalea got in front of him to stop him.


    "WAIT. Let me give you my gift first. Consider it as a thank you for helping me." [Azalea]


    She had brought her hand up and in front of her, in a way asking for Shingi to give her his.


    Shingi gave his hand, and everything turned green, as power more potent and more ancient than he had ever felt while in his NPC body moved through his hand towards the rest of his body.


    ================================


    <strong>BLESSING EARNED: Blessing of Nyhm</strong>


    <strong>Passive 1</strong>: Holder of the Blessing to have ess to Spirit Element Mana, like being an Element of his Mana Tree


    <strong>Passive 2</strong>: Increases Mana Pool''s size by 100%


    ================================


    The increase to his MP was massive, as he now had double what he had before in an instant.


    Also, he now had his Mana Tree being of four elements technically instead of three, even if he wasn''t sure how to use this Spirit Mana.


    But if it was that much better than Light Mana Healing Magic, it was a magnificent gift.


    "Thank you for this gift. But who is Nyhm? And how can I use this Spirit Mana differently than the others?" [Shingi]


    "I am uncertain about both of your questions. Elders spoke of that Name but not from where or who it was, but seemed to be someone of substantial power. As for how to use it, you are using it differently than us. To us, it is as natural as breathing, while you have to use other ways. Sorry that I can''t help you." [Azalea]


    "You don''t have to worry about it. Just giving me ess to it is more than I can ask. I will make sense of it eventually." [Shingi]


    Her eyes changed to one of worry as she spoke once more.


    "You should be careful. Overusing it can make you mad, having some of the not-so-good deceased take control of your mind. You should be careful how often you use it." [Azalea]


    Shingi nodded. He didn''t n to let anyone control him, and he knew that even if his eyes didn''t allow others from doing so, there were limits on what they could handle. They didn''t work against Ardent Scythe''s ability, who was at the top of mind control, so if the side effects were as harmful, he had to worry. But he didn''t n to find out how dangerous the side effects were.


    "I need to leave now. Once again, thanks for this gift, and I hope we meet again soon. AN, WAKE UP. We leave." [Shingi]


    He and the awake now An left the cabin and soon exited the field and saw his students, who noticed him when he appeared out of nowhere.


    "Is everything ok?" [Little Phoenix]


    "All good. We may meet them again in the future, but they are allies, so no need to worry." [Shingi]


    Another figure came outside, and it was Grud.


    "I think you forgot something." [Grud]


    Shingi couldn''t think of letting something in there but then noticed Grud having a small piece of paper in his hand that he brought in front of Shingi.


    It was a rolled parchment, and Shingi knew exactly what it was. Theplete map towards the stairs.


    "You can have this, as we don''t n to use this. It has marked the base of the Centaurs, which you better avoid, and where the stairs are." [Grud]


    "Thank you for this gift." [Shingi]


    Grud went back into the cabin. The field wouldn''t affect him as they designed it not to affect him.


    Shingi and his party left for the stairs, as even if Shingi could use some more exps by attacking the base, he considered it a sign of disrespect towards Azalea to attack the Centaurs.


    But he probably got some exps from helping Azalea be free once more even if the System didn''t give him a Quest. Quests appeared if the System designed it and rarely by the choices of a yer or an NPC. Still, the rewarded exp wouldn''t be as much as he would get from a simr quest, but earning his new Blessing was more than enough for a reward.


    Everyone noticed the enormous increase of his MP through the System''s party UI, and when they learned how it happened, Little Phoenix and Mizuneko were ready to die from the jealousy.


    They had more MP than Shingi, even if their INT wasn''t as high, but that was because they had fully earned their ss. When Shingi fully earns his ss, his MP will get boosted even more and with the Blessing''s effect would have an enormous Mana Pool. Maybe more than he could use in a battle, even if he used all his Spells multiple times.


    Shing was confident that he could face the Evolved Boss easier now, as he had to worry less about his MP reaching 0. But his spells didn''t get stronger. He could just use them more times.


    They soon reached the side where the stairs were and started their way to the next floor.

 Chapter 148: Back to the darkroom

    Chapter 148: Back to the darkroom


    The next few floors didn''t cause them any unexpected trouble.


    At some of them, they had to assemble pieces to create a particr item to pinpoint the position of the stairs, while at others, it was as simple as finding the Boss as itsir was nearby.


    As Shingi nned, they went around facing every monster they could, especially the Boss of each floor.


    During that time, Shingi had learned a little better to use his new Mana Type. He couldn''t do anything crazy with it, but he could heal some minor wounds, which was better than nothing. This decreased the time they needed to rest to restore their HP.


    He found out that using it without his eyes was affecting his mind a bit, but itpletely erased whatever damage was done when he enabled his eyes. But he didn''t mess too much to see what his limit was, as he couldn''t handle the possible cost.


    In a couple of days, they reached the 22nd floor and the second ruin city floor of the Tower.


    The city was massive, and there wasn''t only the city but also a ck dead forest surrounding it. A dark mist that enveloped the first city stopped people from leaving it, but the fog started at a more considerable distance from the city''s walls in the second one.


    Shingi led them through the forest, and they noticed some yers Guards, like the one they saw to the other city on floor 11, but these were of higher level and better equipment.


    They easily avoided them since they were getting away from the city and the stairs, which were in the middle of the city.


    They almost reached the edge where the ck mist started as Shingi turned and entered a cave. It seemed like it had a multiple tunnel system as they kept moving and encounter numerous paths, but Shingi led the way.


    Soon they reached a wooden door, simr to the ones Shingi used at his hideouts.


    This was how he got the design for the doors of his hideouts, as it worked simrly, but the answer was different.


    He used some of his mana to enable it, and it opened right away.


    The answer was to use mana in a particr spot, which wasn''t so hard to find. That''s why he considered this an inferior version to what he made.


    Inside, there was a sizeable room with multiple bunkers.


    Shingi had made this one a resting point for him and ones he trusted and had some in other floors too, but this one was the first one they could reach.


    "It is safe here, as nobody will get here other than us. We will rest, and after I finish earning my ss, we will check our equipment. Hineko, try to set your equipment and see if you can use any of the materials we gathered. Little Phoenix and Mizuneko, you should also check what you can make. We are still far from where all the monsters will be a challenge, but we should stay prepared." [Shingi]


    They nodded as they went to work.


    "What about me? Should I wait and watch you guys work?" [Wild Tycoon]


    Wild Tycoon still had no profession, as nothing attracted her attention. She had helped Volig in the past but didn''t decide on getting a crafting-rted profession out of it as yers could decide if they wanted to earn a profession when fulfilling the requirements.


    "There is another room that you can use for sparing with An. You two can learn from each other since the way you fight so different." [Shingi]


    "Oh, I can have some action with her? Sounds good to me." [Wild Tycoon]


    Shingi''s eyes got wide with evident confusion from that statement. Wild Tycoon realized how what she said sounded.


    "I didn''t mean it that way. We are just going to fight nothing else. I don''t swing that way." [Wild Tycoon]


    "You don''t? But you two would make such a cute couple." [Hineko]


    Wild Tycoon started hunting him around the room, but he was too quick for her. Unless she would use her <strong>ACCELERATION</strong>, which she didn''t.


    "An, spar with Wild Tycoon if you want when she can. I will be out for some time."[Shingi]


    An nodded to show that she understood what he told her.


    Since everyone had something to do for some time, Shingi got in one bunker before selecting to earn his ss fully.


    These past days he kept using <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> when he could, and it was avable, and he found out a few things.


    First, at a cell next to Dormon, there was a new prisoner, which he soon recognized as the one name Netsu, the male of the Snake Tribe that helped Annoue study Runes in the past. He didn''t know why he was in the cell, but he was confident that it had probably something to do with what happened to Annoue.


    Second, Dormon was in aatose state but still alive. Shingi considered that Mikhail somehow consumed all of its power as a <strong>TRUE SORCERER</strong>, but it didn''t make him one, as he could be only one <strong>TRUE SORCERER</strong>. Shingi wasn''t sure how or why he needed that much power, but it wouldn''t be for anything good.


    Last, he found he could partially use <strong>SCRY</strong> on Annoue but had a chance of failing and could only hear what happened and not see.


    Since Dormon''s side didn''t seem to offer him much additional information, he focused more on Annoue even if he was limited with what he could learn there too.


    He didn''t use his SCRY, as he wanted to finish with his ss as soon as possible now that he had the chance. He probably could use the SCRY MODE while waiting for the System to finish assigning his ss, likest time.


    He let the System know that he was ready as a notification, asking him if he was sure about it, which of course, he said yes to.


    He was back in the darkroom once again.


    ================================


    Because of the upgrade, sNPC#12 has been set to sleep mode for 720 hours.


    During that period, every ability, passive or active, is inessible.


    ================================


    Shingi didn''t wait for that amount of time. This meant that he would be like that for a month.


    He knew that the more extraordinary a ss was, the more time it would take, but he never considered that it would take that long.


    ================================


    SPECIAL VARIABLE(S) DETECTED


    .


    .


    .SYSTEM RECALCULATING.


    ================================


    ================================


    Sleep mode of sNPC#12 was changed to 72 hours.


    ================================


    Shingi was even more confused now. What could it be that reduced the time to one-tenth of what it was?


    He had learned many things since he earned his ss at Apprentice State, but he was almost sure that the Special Variable mentioned had to do with having ess to Spirit Mana.


    He never heard of an NPC or anyone mentioning something as Special Variable, and this was the only thing he could think that would have that massive effect.


    Not anyone could use Spirit Mana, especially outside the Tower, from what he understood by his talk with Azalea.


    In the end, three days was a long time, but he was ready to wait for a week, so it wasn''t as bad. Staying that long in the room wasn''t something he liked, but at least he could use the SCRY MODE to change the scenery and keep him from losing his mind.


    He could use SCRY time in parts and not all together, meaning he could use it more than once per day.


    Still, he could try only once at Annoue since he failed to make a connection there, and he couldn''t try until the next day. He tried his luck on her, but it seemeddy luck wasn''t with his side today, as it didn''tplete a connection.


    He still didn''t need to make his mind check on something else, so he didn''t use his SCRY on Dormon yet.


    He couldn''t use any of his Skills or Spells in there. His mind was still as clear as usual and more precise than thest time he was there.


    After a few hours of this deadly silence, he used his SCRY to check on Dormon for a few minutes.


    He was still unconscious asst time. He looked at him for a couple of minutes, and as he was ready to end the connection, he noticed that Netsu started moving for the first time.


    Netsu was covered with wounds, and it was a miracle that he still was alive.


    Netsu stood and sat on a wooden bench that his cell had. He muttered something that Shingi barely could hear it.


    "That damn girl. I hope sssshe isss dead." [Netsu]


    Shingi''s assumption of Netsu being here because of something that happened with Annoue was correct. But he still didn''t know what happened.


    He waited to see if Netsu would say anything else, but when heid down to take a nap. Shingi decided to end the SCRY for now.


    He was curious about what happened, but the chances of learning something that way was too low.


    Hopefully, he would learn something more if he sessfully learns something from Annoue''s side if he ever seeds in connecting.


    He started rethinking about the Tower and what he knew and make ns, and when the darkness and silence were affecting him, he used <strong>SCRY</strong> for a moment.


    He kept trying to connect to Annoue when 24 hours passed as the System gave him a counter of the remaining time, but no luck the other two times he tried it.


    No news from Dormon''s side either.


    But the countdown reached 0 and he finally could get awake once again.


    He finally had his ss.

 Chapter 149: New tricks

    Chapter 149: New tricks


    Shingi stood up from his bunker and could feel his body numb from being still for so long. He didn''t want to imagine how it would be if he had to spend the standard time in there.


    His body didn''t change, and looking at himself through a mirror surface, he was precisely the same as before.


    He opened his status window to see if things really changed.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>Name</strong>: Shingi Maki


    <strong>ss</strong>: True Sorcerer (LVL 22)


    <strong>Profession</strong>: Schr Master


    <strong>Race</strong>: Blessed Human


    <strong>Title</strong>: Master of the Arcane I


    <strong>HP</strong>: 96/96


    <strong>SP</strong>: 64/64


    <strong>MP</strong>: 192/192


    STR: 12


    <strong>AGI</strong>: 14


    <strong>END</strong>: 16


    <strong>INT</strong>: 16


    <strong>CHA</strong>: 5


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Earth, Light, Fire, and Spirit Element


    <strong>PASSIVE SKILLS</strong>


    Minor Mana Regeneration, Mana Detection, Minor Arcane Words


    <strong>SKILLS</strong>


    <strong>Base Rank</strong>: STEALTH, COOKING, CLIMBING


    <strong>Master Rank</strong>: VISUALIZATION, MANA MANIPULATION, MANA SENSE, PERCEPTION, IMPROVISED THROW WEAPON, SMITHING, MARTIAL ART, GLASSBLOWING, WOODCARVING, LEATHERWORKING, ENCHANTMENT APPRAISAL, PROGRAMMING ENCHANTMENT


    <strong>SPELLS</strong>


    <strong>Ungraded</strong>: FILTH EATER, MINOR ILLUSION, LIGHT


    <strong>Low Grade</strong>: MANA HAND, ROCK THROW, CAMOUFLAGE, ECHOLOCATION


    <strong>Base Grade</strong>: INVISIBILITY, DOME OF SILENCE, MANA DOUBLE - LIGHT ELEMENT, MANA DOUBLE - EARTH ELEMENT, MAJOR ILLUSION, HASTE, STONESKIN, EARTH SPIKE, FEAR, METAL HANDS, DARKVISION, MANA DOUBLE - FIRE ELEMENT, FIRE SLASH, MINOR RESTORATION, LIGHT SLASH, CURE MINOR WOUNDS


    <strong>Master Grade</strong>: LIGHT FORM


    <strong>Grandmaster Grade</strong>: GOLEMANCY


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of Beliss, Blessing of Dlog, Angel''s Boon, Blessing of Choma, Blessing of Nyphm


    ================================


    His HP, SP, and MP had been improved, with his MP to have the most remarkable change as expected. Especially with the effect of the Blessing of Nyphm, his MP had reached a new level. He had more MP currently than Little Phoenix, Mizuneko, and An''s put together.


    He could feel his Mana Tree also grew in power, not just in size, as his mana became even easier to use. Before, it was like he was breathing the thick air high in a mountain, but now it was better like normal breathing.


    He finally had a level, and since he got to level 20 from the exps he gathered from clearing the floors, and the rest of the things he had done since he earned his ss at Apprentice State, so he got the title he wanted; <em>Master of the Arcane I</em>.


    This title was exclusive to NPCs, and many people wanted to recruit one with this title.


    The benefit that one with this title had was changing one Element he controlled into another. This meant he could take the environment''s Earth Mana and change it to Light Mana, although the quantity would be less since part of the mana will be used for the swap.


    This could help them in environments thatcked one element they needed.


    But since he had Master of the Arcane I, he could only change any Element to one Element of his Mana Tree, and not just anything. But if he evolved his title to Master of the Arcane II, he could choose to produce two Elements instead of one at once.


    So currently, he could change his mana into Light, Earth, or Fire mana, as it didn''t seem to work on producing Spirit Mana. He could manipte the Tower''s Spirit Mana, but his swap didn''t work on it even if it was part of his Mana Tree.


    Still, just being able to make more Light, Earth, or Fire mana was more than enough.


    He wanted to test the limits of the swap as a few notifications started to appear.


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST UPDATED: ROAD TO LIFE</strong>


    <strong>Task Completed</strong>: Earn an NPC ss


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST UPDATED: ROAD TO LIFE</strong>


    <strong>New Task</strong>: Reach LVL 20


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST UPDATED: ROAD TO LIFE</strong>


    <strong>Task Completed</strong>: Reach LVL 20


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST UPDATED: ROAD TO LIFE</strong>


    <strong>New Task</strong>: Evolve your ss


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST UPDATED: ROAD TO LIFE</strong>


    <strong>New Task</strong>: Learn a Base Grade Spell or higher of each Basic Element


    ================================


    He expected his Quest to get updated since he finished earning his ss, but he didn''t expect to acquire two new tasks and had alreadypleted one.


    But even if hepleted two tasks this time, he didn''t take any reward, maybe because they were the first two on the list. He found it troublesome of the new tasks, but learning a Spell of Each Element wasn''t so hard at this point. He already had Earth, Fire, Light, Dark, and Spirit, so he had to earn one of Air and Water.


    He could learn them from Mizuneko and be done with it, as also use some Mana Gems for each element he was missing.


    But as for evolving his ss, he didn''t know how to do it.


    Like Warrior, Rogue, Mage, etc., the standard sses could evolve at LVL 20, like Wild Tycoon had done, with the help of a tutor. For Special sses, the evolution then happened at level 60 like Price had done with his ss when he worked with Shingi back in town as he had reached level 60.


    Shingi was confident that he had to reach level 60, but just reaching that level wasn''t enough as special requirements depended on the ss. The System didn''t let them know what the conditions were, but some yers had researched and recorded about the ones of many of the sses, but that was useless for Shingi as no yer ever had the chance to be a <strong>TRUE SORCERER</strong>.


    He couldn''t be sure, but the requirements may be like the less unique ss Sorcerer, an imperfect copy of his current ss. He knew some steps for that one to get evolved, so his only choice was to try them out.


    "Are you ok? You seem the same as before. Sid something went wrong" [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi looked toward his young female student and noticed other than her, only An was around. Wild Tycoon, Hineko, and Mizuneko were nowhere to be seen.


    "It went fine. I may haven''t changed physically, but I got some massive updates. But where is everyone? Did they go outside?" [Shingi]


    There were only two rooms, and Shingi could quickly check both of them without moving, using his detections Skills, and found no indications of those three to be in either room.


    "They needed to take a break and returned to the Blessed Realm. They may not be back for a few days, though. It hasn''t been long since they left."[Little Phoenix]


    Shingi understood that they probably had to take care of things in the actual world and log off the game. But since the time outside passed differently than in the game, if they were away for a day, almost a week would pass here.


    "I understand now. At least they put together theb. Don''t you need to leave also? You don''t need to stay. I can keep myself busy for a few days." [Shingi]


    Overusing the capsule for weeks in real-world time wasn''t good for the user''s body even if the capsule could ''feed'' the user with some nutrients that anyone in the actual world could insert into the machine, but it was checking those nutrients before administrating them in case of someone trying to poison the user.


    Little Phoenix was always in the game, unless of the time her sister wanted to y, which was rare, but she had to take a break now and then.


    Fortunately, they could log off as long as they were in a safe position, like their current hideout.


    Shingi noticed that An was currently reading some of Little Phoenix''s notes about Enchantments and Runes. An had be like an actual apprentice of Little Phoenix, as she learned a lot from her and helped Little Phoenix with anything she could when Little Phoenix worked on an Enchantment.


    An was an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> at profession still, but Shingi was confident that she would be a <strong>RUNEMANSTER</strong> too and surpass Little Phoenix and possibly Zhen.


    He let her continue studying as he went to the other room, which was a training kind of open area, but it wasn''t too vast. It was as big as a basketball court, so more than enough space, especially since it only was himself training currently.


    He summoned his sword and got ready to talk with it.


    "''Been a while since we had time to talk freely. Are you ready for some training action? I have some new things in mind to test.''" [Shingi]


    "''I look forward to it. But first, answer me this. When do you n to make me reach the next level? You should have what you need, no?''" [Sinhunter]


    Shingi was lucky to find some special materials he needed, one of them being that strange seashell he took from Merefolk Boss of the Water Floor.


    He still didn''t know what its energy was, but he noticed that when he used some of his Spirit Mana on his sword, a simr type of energy got created.


    Spirit Mana on his de had a peculiar effect that could be useful only in certain situations. It didn''t increase its attack power or defense abilities, but the wounds created by the de''s attacks surrounded by the strange energy were more challenging to be healed, even by the Tower''s Spirit mana.


    This meant that the Bosses with healing magic or regeneration capabilities like the Evolved Moster they had faced would lose those benefits as long as Shingi hit them. This was game-changing, and he couldn''t replicate the result with any other weapon, only with Sinhunter.


    He didn''t have time to look at it much, but since he had to wait for a few days, he could test things around.


    "''We need to be sure that we have reached the limits of your current form before going to the next. This is the urate way of getting stronger.''" [Shingi]


    "''Understood. Then what do you want to try?''" [Sinhunter]


    Shingi worked with his Spirit de, as even if he could use it and its effects were impressive, it still felt unfinished to him.


    He learned SPIRIT SLASH, which gave him another way of attacking from range, and even if its effect seemed to be weaker, it still was better than nothing.


    He used his Golems as targets to spar with and try his ideas, and after a few hits, he had to recast them as he couldn''t heal them by using mana because of the attack''s effects.


    He could feel that the energy of the seashell felt more natural than the one his sword made, but he didn''t know why. He tried to manipte some of the seashell''s energy to use it on his sword, but it didn''t work.


    So he just let the seashell over his de to let it be in ''touch'' with the energy to see if anything new would happen but was ready to pull his sword away at any time.


    Sinhunter''s <strong>INT</strong> had improved enough that it had his version of <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> and tried to use it to attract that energy, which seemed to be more effective than when Shingi tried.


    The energy started surrounding the de, and Shingi paid close attention to any change that could show that everything was going wrong.


    But just when the sword had almostpletely covered by the energy, the energy returned to the seashell.


    "''What happened? Is everything ok?''" [Shingi]


    Shingi noticed nothing weird, but these were unknown waters he was sailing at.


    "''The child is shyer than I thought. We should let it be for now?''" [Sinhunter]


    "''Child? What do you mean child?''" [Shingi]

 Chapter 150: Spirit Child

    Chapter 150: Spirit Child


    "''Child? What do you mean child?''" [Shingi]


    Usually, Sinhunter answered him right away, sometimes even before finishing his question, but this time there was a pause.


    "''There is a <em>Spirit Child</em> in the seashell.''" [Sinhunter]


    "''<em>Spirit Child</em>? I have never heard of something like that. How do you know what it is?''" [Shingi]


    Unlike with his Spirit Hammer that had the spirits of past users of it, Sinhunter was a new entity with no prior knowledge, so there was no way of him knowing something that Shingi didn''t teach him or coulde up with what he taught him.


    "''It told me. I saw its entire form for a second before it ran away. Our conversationsted for a split second, but I learned more about it than what I would if talking with someone for hours.''" [Sinhunter]


    So Sinhunter started exining what he learned.


    The seashell got infused with Spirit Mana for the Merefolk Leader when it became the floor''s Boss. The seashell had some Water Mana on it, as the underwater City of the Merefolk was rich with it. When the Spirit Mana interacted with the Air, it didn''t just live in a bnced way with the Water Mana, but it consumed it and changed its structure.


    It turned into something different, into something ''living, ''almost like the Water Elementals the Boss summoned but a lot smaller and weaker. But even if it was more fragile, what was equal to its soul was closer to the real thing.


    It didn''t create life but gave the body to the one already gone, or in fact, on thebination of several. The Spirit Mana was the power of the deceased, but Shingi didn''t know what exactly is referred to as their power, and the only thing he could think of was their Soul.


    If the seashell gathered all that mana made of different souls, then interacting with the Water Mana gave it a way to create a body, but since it could make only one body, the souls became one, creating a brand new one.


    But still, by itself, the Seashell couldn''t make the body as it needed the help of someone to help it manipte its unique energy and make the body what it could control.


    The Boss back then seemed to have used part of the Spirit Child to create the Water Elementals, which would be weaker, but he could make more than one. He wanted to try messing with itter but first wanted tomunicate with that <em>''Spirit Child''</em> even if it was through Sinhunter only.


    This reminded Shingi to check on the trident of the Merefolk Leader, which he had forgotten after all this time.


    He knew it had some special runes but didn''t find time to see what they could do. He wanted to look to it with Little Phoenix, as she still was better than him at reading Runes, but he took a chance by himself since she wouldn''t be here for some time.


    It wasn''t like he couldn''t understand any Runes, but he couldn''t learn any information about them through the system since he didn''t have the right skill. Still, while helping Zhen and monitoring Annoue''s training through <strong>SCRY MODE</strong>, he had learned a few things to be an apprentice <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong> theoretically. Still, since he already had a profession, he couldn''t be one.


    A Blessed One had the option to forget his profession and earn a new one, but would also forget any profession-rted skills and wouldn''t be able to relearn them even if they belonged to his new profession too. The only time that this didn''t happen was when one was getting an evolved version of his profession. That was why one had to be careful with choosing a profession, either if he or she was a Blessed One or an NPC.


    He started looking at the Runes to find anyone that was simr to what he knew.


    This didn''t work, so he took a fresh approach. He used <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> to make a copy of just the runes of the trident and have them hovering in front of him like a painting. Then he used <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> to make every Rune he knew, at some distance from the visualized trident''s runes.


    He had learned close to 100 different Runes, although most of them were very simple and weak; nheless, he visualized them all.


    He had made the Trident''s runes to be white, while every other Rune was red.


    So he started moving each of the non-weapon runes, at one of them choosing one each time to examine like that. He had to use his Blessing to boost his <strong>INT</strong>, as focusing on so many things to keep the visualized at the same time wasn''t easy.


    Only Shingi could see those runes since he only used <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> and none of his Illusion spells, so to others, it was just him standing still, staring at the air in front of him. But in reality, he moved the runes at an incredible speed one over the other, and when he noticed them not be the same or close to each other, he moved to the nextbination to check.


    Thissted for only a couple of minutes, but it could take him hours if someone else tried it this way.


    ================================


    <strong>SKILL EVOLUTION</strong>


    The skill <strong>ENCHANTMENT APPRAISAL</strong> (Master Rank) has been evolved into <strong>RUNE APPRAISAL</strong> (Base Rank).


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>SKILL RANKED UP</strong>


    The skill <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> (Master Rank) has been evolved into <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> (Grandmaster Rank).


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST UPDATED: ROAD TO LIFE</strong>


    <strong>Task Completed</strong>: Rank a Skill to Grandmaster


    <strong>Reward</strong>: Spirit Madness Cure x1


    ================================


    He didn''t expect this <em>''experiment''</em> to lead not only on one of his Skills to evolve into a new Skill. Even if it was a Rank lower than before, that didn''t mean it was less potent. <strong>RUNE APPRAISAL</strong> at Base Rank was at least five times more precious than <strong>ENCHANTMENT APPRAISAL</strong> at Master Rank, as not only now he could learn info about Runes through the System and his when used on Enchantments, he could read them faster and take even more information.


    He also had his first ever Skill he learned as an NPC, be his first Grandmaster Skill. He never expected to bring one of his Skills to Grandmaster Rank, but it was a wee surprise.


    He wasn''t sure what changes came with it, but he had time to test things around.


    Then as he read the final notification of the unexpectedpletion of a task of his Quest, he was curious about the reward.


    The first time hepleted some random tasks, the System told him that a reward was being calcted, but this didn''t happen when hepleted the task for learning a Grandmaster Spell and ranking up a Skill to Grandmaster. This meant that those tasks had those rewards predetermined.


    He got a <em>Full MP Recovery</em> from learning a Grandmaster Spell, which made sense as Spells needed MP.


    But if the System predetermined the reward like that, why did he take the cure for Spirit Madness this way? The only connection he could think of is that VISUALIZATION seemed to be connected with Spirit Mana. He noticed he could empower the Skill by using his Spirit Mana, which was strange, as no other Element had a simr effect.


    Still, he couldn''t be sure about anything, as it could just be him overthinking it.


    So he focused back on the task at hand as he looked over the two runes that had found matching with two of the Trident''s Runes. He summoned a piece of paper and a pencil as he drew the two runes and then went back to the other room.


    He told An to let him borrow Little Phoenix''s notes for a second to check, and she let him with no dy. Some notes were of his or Karemon''s or even Zhen''s teachings and exnations of every Rune they had learned. Since he still had his boosted <strong>INT</strong>, his reading speed was inhuman.


    He found those two runes in no time and studied their description, as he also took another look at any rune that he maybe had forgotten and didn''t visualize and check for. He had forgotten a few, but they weren''t in the trident, only the two he had already found.


    Just those two runes weren''t enough to make sense of all of it, as thebination of the two effects was too many.


    But now, he could just use his new Skill to appraise the unknown Runes, and possibly make some sense of it all, and record them for future reference, and to help. When one appraised a strange rune depending on the Rune''s Grade and the user''s Appraisal Skill''s Rank, there were chances of sess and failure. The more significant the difference between the Rune''s Grade and the Skill Rank, the stronger the possibility of failure.


    If any of them were Master Grade Runes, even if they were one Grade/Rank difference, the chance of sess wasn''t big, especially if it was a top Master Grade, since his Skill was Base Rank but still low in power on Base Rank.


    So firstly, he used his new Skill to appraise the drawings of the runes there were in the notes, to raise the power of his skill, but since he already knew them, each helped little and could do this only once for each since he couldn''t use his appraisal skill at them before, and this was the first time.


    Still, since they had gathered a variety of runes, most from the books of Mikhail''s ce, it helped him improve his Skill quite a lot but not enough to reach Master Rank.


    So he moved on, trying to use his <strong>RUNE APPRAISAL</strong> Skill at the Trident''s unknown rune.


    He took it slowly to make no mistake, but with his boosted <strong>INT</strong>, he finished examining them all before it was over.


    The Trident had a few functions that would be useful on a few of the floors. They enchanted it to be lighter and sharper than usual, which Shingi already assumed and could tell. It also could control nearby Sea Water without spending the user''s mana.


    There was some more function that had to do with the sea and Water Mana, but Shingi didn''t need them for now.


    He stored it at his Spatial Ring for now as he went back to the training room.


    He had to train his Spirit de, now that he knew a bit more about its energy after his conversation with Sinhunter about the <em>''Spirit Child.'' He</em> also wanted to see if he couldbine Spirit Mana with any of his Elements and see the result.


    He needed to train the function of his new Title to change one Element into another also.


    He could feel Sinhunter''s excitement for those thoughts.

 Chapter 151: Final preparations in the cave

    Chapter 151: Final preparations in the cave


    He spent hours trying to perfect the Spirit de andbine it with the other Element. But no matter the approach he took, the merge was never adequate.


    He could feel the resistance of the Spirit Mana to merge with other elements, that even his Master Rank <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> didn''t have a chance to force it to happen, which was a first.


    Nheless, he had made some progress by studying the energy of the seashell, which seemed to be the mana of the spirit child that it let got to the environment. It was abination of Spirit and Water Mana, but its structure waspletely different; that''s why Shingi didn''t recognize what it was. He could use it to make some water elemental of his own, but if he used just the energy and no part of the <strong>Spirit Child</strong>, he had to control them manually since they had no <em>''soul.''</em>


    But this gave him an idea, and he tried tobine this energy with his <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> spell.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>CREATE WATER ELEMENTAL</strong> (Master Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    He expected of making a spell, and it wasn''t weird that it was a Master Grade one since <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> was a Grandmaster Grade.


    He had to use the seashell''s unique mana to fuel the spell to cast it, but he thought that if he created some other tools like the seashell with other Elements, he could have different Elementals. So he had to find something naturally the Element he wanted and infuse it with both Spirit and the selected Elemen. But he would need more pure mana than the one he created on his Mana Tree.


    The next floor would be perfect for it.


    Floor no. 23 was a Fire/Lava Level. Multiple active volcanoes,va rivers, heavy dark smoke were making it hard to breathe or see, as well ash on the air and many other rted issues.


    The Fire Element there would be purer than anywhere in the Realms, especially in the volcanoes.


    He had ways to increase their time of surviving and be morefortable at this level as the environment there was just or even more dangerous than its monsters.


    Fortunately, they just had to head for the stairs on this floor, which were visible from anywhere, as long as ash wasn''t making you blind, since it wasn''t as big as others, but the Boss on this floor always guarded the stairs and didn''t let anyone use them while it was alive.


    There were some changes in the behaviors and tactics of the monsters, as most of them had spent more time in the Tower than ever in the history of the Tower, so they had gotten developed more. Still, when Shingi and the rest dealt with them, they got rewarded with bonus exp because of this, but the bonus wasn''t too much if you counted by itself. But putting them all together, it was a sizable chunk at their exp bars and had helped Shingi to gather enough exps for being level 20+ when he received his ss.


    He had to make some Enchanted cloaks that would help them deal with the temperature of next''s floor and a mouth mask to help them breathe clear earth instead of some with ash or dark smoke in it.


    Those were ordinary Enchantments that he had discussed and designed with Volig and Zhen before he left Carda, so he was confident of the effects and quality.


    During his training, he noticed that his sword also produced some mana of its own, and more specifically, Spirit Mana.


    "''Is everything ok. Do you feel any different?''" [Shingi]


    "''I am fine. Just my encounter with the <em>Spirit Child</em> enlightened me a bit.''" [Sinhunter]


    Shingi couldn''t sense where the mana came from, as it wasn''t manipting, but it created it like it had its Mana Pool.


    "''Wait. Sinhunter, do you have a Mana Tree?''" [Shingi]


    "''Of course not.''" [Sinhunter]


    Shingi sighed and was a little disappointed. It would be confusing for his sword to have a Mana Treen and an exciting thing to see how it would work.


    "''I have a <em>Spirit Tree</em>, not a Mana Tree.''" [Sinhunter]


    And in a split second, the disappointment became a merge of confusion and excitement.


    "''You can say that it is like a Mana Tree, but it only had produce Spirit Mana and has no seeds or fruits. I think the <em>Spirit Child</em> may somehow pass me the knowledge on how to do it.''" [Sinhunter]


    "''Do you think you can show me that <em>Spirit Tree</em>.''" [Shingi]


    He got a mental nod as Shingi closed his eyes and started focusing on his de. He felt something to draw his focus, and he followed it into the de.


    He went through the firstyer of the de, and it was like he entered an original word. It was like how his inner world, where his Mana Tree and Skill houses and mansions existed.


    He there was just an open field with a small, leafless tree. But, even if it didn''t have any leaves, when getting near it, one didn''t get the feeling of it to be ill or dead but had a mysterious aura of life, unlike average trees.


    Its structure was way different from his Mana Tree, especially its Mana Pool, or Spirit Pool, which looked more natural, as the one at his Mana Tree looked like someone designed and produced them.


    He paid some attention to all its details as it could help him improve his Mana Tree as a whole, or even just his part that produced Spirit Mana.


    After being confident of learning everything he could, he left his focus and ''woke up'' outside the de.


    He right away focused on his Mana Tree and made any changes he could do it. He saw the Spirit Mana structure that was created by itself because of hisst Blessing. Still, it had some significant differences but also substantial simrities with the one of the Spirit Tree.


    So he went to work, which took him more than he would have thought as he still wasn''t as familiar working with Spirit Mana as with the rest of the Elements.


    There had to be more than a day passed since he woke up, but he couldn''t say exactly as he didn''t have any sign of how much time had passed. But still, he came close to doing all the changes needed and was 80% done with what he wanted to change on it, but that was his limit for now. After that, he had to be better at manipting Spirit Mana to make more changes.


    So since he finished that task, he decided to prepare for theb, for when his students were back, to get to work right away. They had set up everything they needed and could bring with them, including a small stone forge that wasn''t too big to make anything bigger than a dagger. But with enough patience and talent, everything was possible.


    Shingi could boost its mes with his Fire Element mana or use some Air Mana Gems to feed them and strengthen them. Both approaches were viable and had their advantages and disadvantages, depending on what he wanted to make.


    He didn''t n to make anything significant on them, just a few rings or bracelets, that they could put some Enchantments on with Little Phoenixter.


    But there was one that he could make it by himself, maybe with some help from An, and he started working on it.


    He used some silver that he was embedding with his Earth Element Mana, and what he wanted it to do was to have the Mana Gather Enchantment he was using in the past to make his Light Mana de. So now hepleted used his mana for them as it was faster that way, but he didn''t want it to help for his Mana de.


    He wanted to make this to help gather the environment''s selected Element so that he could change it to one of his Elements.


    He would make it to attract Earth Mana, and since it would draw only Earth Mana, he didn''t need to make sure that no other Element was among them, which would lead to failure on the swap. That way, he wouldn''t need to focus on manipting mana to gather it, giving him the freedom to worry about other things.


    He would make the same Enchantment effect for other Elements, each made by silver embedded with the Enchantment Element.


    He would make Air, Earth, Fire, and Water designs into rings, as he could fit them at such a small surface, while Light and Dark he had to make them the at bracelets. But, unfortunately, he didn''t have a design for Spirit Mana and wasn''t sure if one could be made.


    He started by making the rings and bracelets needed and then started painting the design and carving it by removing the bits drawn. Earth was the easiest to make, while Dark took him the most. Light was also pretty easy to finish as he was pretty familiar with that Element after using it for so long, while Air and Water took more than expected but not as much as Dark Element.


    The problem with creating enchantments items like that was that you had to keep the mana of the bits you removed and infuse it back to the item as part of the carving, or the item would lose the bnce of its mana and get weaker in the end. So one had to have a good grasp and control of the Element of the material he worked on or have tools that helped in this task, which most craftsmen did, including Volig.


    But Shingi didn''t have these tools with him, not because he couldn''t have them with him, but because he could do it without them even if it was more challenging, but when did he run away from a challenge like that.


    After testing them and seeing if they needed any adjustments, he also made some for his students with a Mana Pool. He would make them the ones of their Elements since it would also help gather mana for improving their Mana Tree.


    An helped him a bit on the carving of the Enactments as it was in the field of her profession, and they had them ready before the students starting getting back.


    Thest one to be back was Wild Tycoon, who waste by a daypared to the rest.


    During that day, Shingi and the rest had prepared some needed consumables items they would need, especially for the next floor.


    So after almost a week in that cave room, Shingi and his students were ready to head to the next floor.


    The only problem was they had to pass through the yers'' guards without letting them know they were here. As always, Shingi had a n.

 Chapter 152: Annoues start of adventure

    Chapter 152: Annoue''s start of adventure


    ==============================


    Author here


    Thanks, everyone for reading up until now and I am d to announce that this chapter is the beginning of a crossover of two novels, this one, and The Omni Mage written by Soryn Studios.


    Hope you guys enjoy it and give them both a read. Links at thements


    ==============================


    Annoue had spent most of her days at Mikhail''s library studying the books brought to her by Netsu.


    She missed the days she trained with her little brother.


    She was missing him and his teachings. She wanted to see and hear him once more working on the forge of their shop, for him to cast his <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> as a helper and multitask.


    She even missed the time they spent eating together and the other people she met because of him.


    She had taken care of him since he was born and was in aatose state cause of his curse, but he was the only one she had after their mother left, and her father seemed to be like a lost man.


    She remembered the birthday party Shingi organized for her, the friends she made that day of those Blessed Ones, and the gift she took from Shingi.


    The Enchantment to summon her sword didn''t work, as Mikhail did something to it so that she couldn''t practice her sword skills by herself only.


    They forced her to study hundreds of different Enchantment Circles and their moreplicated version; the Runes.


    She found out through the books something interesting, though; the existence of a seventh Element.


    ording to some of the research she read, some skills were using some unique energy that wasn''t like the essential Mana Elements, but it couldn''t get defined.


    An example was the <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> Skill.


    Many skills consumed the <strong>SP</strong> of their user, but the <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> seemed to use something else that nobody found the source.


    Some said it was the power of the user''s soul. Others noted that they tapped into the energy of the universe or the spirits of the deceased.


    Some who had researched the time before the Tower appeared and the Blessed Ones'' appearance said that those two events had brought changes to the Realms.


    There weren''t many recordings from that long ago, but some considered that those two events had forbidden people from tapping into the seventh Element almostpletely.


    Those almost spell-like Skills used the limited essible Element, or so some researchers concluded. They said that the seventh Element got used partially on some Spells, and some Spells were iplete versions because of theck of the Element.


    Most healing magic was using the Light Element, but those researchers said that the seventh Element was the one to be used, and people had to use the next closer for the job.


    She found out that some Runes could tap into energy more, but still not in full power.


    She understood Mikhail was also researching this seventh Element, as she found many personal notes on that subject.


    Netsu was not always there for her, and a lot of times, he barely paid attention to her unless she tried to leave or touch something she wasn''t supposed to. When she did something like that, even if Netsu wasn''t in the room, he seemed to know and send her a mental warning if she couldn''t physically hear him.


    She was confident that the M mark Mikhail burned on her neck wasn''t just a sign of her being his property but also allowed him and Netsu to monitor her to a certain degree.


    She tested around and was sure they couldn''t see or hear what she was doing, just feel where she was, and if she was close to some items, she got warned about not to touch.


    She noticed that they especially didn''t like when she was near this weird door in the middle of the room.


    She had studied enough to understand that it was to act as a teleportation method, but she wasn''t sure of the destination, as many Runes were working with each other, making it tooplicated for her.


    Annoue also earned her profession but hadn''t fully unlocked it yet; she just had it in Apprentice state. She was a <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong> since she had studied all those Runes.


    She didn''t have any materials to make Runes, and her Mana Skills seemed to get disturbed by something in the room and couldn''t create a mana-made Rune or Enchantment Circle. She couldn''t even manipte even the slightest amount of mana or even move her own.


    It was almost like she had no mana or Mana Skills.


    She also seeded in controlling another power of her she had never shown to anyone but her parents, maintaining her special eyes. She hadn''t shown it to her brother, as she was getting too tired of using them.


    Mikhail seemed interested in that power of hers initially and seemed to have adjusted the M mark to help her control them by sealing part of their power.


    Her eyes were getting somewhat gray instead of pure white when she enabled their special power, and everyone could see the change when usually others should see them as ck.


    While using those eyes, time slowed out a bit, and her thoughts were more precise. In addition, it helped her with the sword practices to keep up with Mikhail''s moves and even helped her to study for longer, as her brain was receiving additional pieces of information easier.


    But still, she couldn''t keep them active all day as her brother was doing it but could for most of it. She wondered what Shingi''s red eyes could do and why he never disabled them.


    She wanted to escape that ce, but there was no escape from the room until she noticed something.


    For a split second, when Netsu or Mikhail sent her a mental note, her Mana Skills worked perfectly before being disturbed once again. This meant that the reason for the distortion was the mark on her neck.


    She couldn''t do anything for it as removing it could bleed her to death, but she had an idea.


    She went around studying like normal and waited for a moment that Netsu wasn''t in the room.


    He left after exining to her a few things, and he would return after some time that would be enough for her to finish the study he gave her. After that, it was a usual thing for him to do.


    Annoue continued studying even after Netsu left to make sure he really was away.


    After she was sure of that fact, she started moving closer to the weird door.


    Mental warnings starteding to her, but she didn''t stop.


    She was confident that Netsu was far away to take him some time to get back, so he kept sending her warnings.


    But she needed little as she reached the door and touched it with the particr rock, with different runes that she almost enabled with her mana that she used on it as those small moments the mental note gave her.


    The runes of the stone interacted with the runes of the door. Finally, the door opened by itself, and Annoue got sucked into it, and a mysteriously transparent humanoid shape got shot out the door and vanished into the wall leaving no marks of damage on it


    After that, the door closed, and the runes that produced a bit of light returned to normal. Cracks started to spread at the door like the web of a spider as it fell to the ground in pieces.


    Netsu had just arrived in the room to see what his Master had worked all these years getting destroyed by the one he was in charge of, who had also escaped.


    He panicked for a moment, but he soon knew what he needed to do.


    He entered a smaller room that was acting as a storeroom and closed the door behind him. He took a big breath before doing the only thing he could do.


    Netsu knew Mikhail wasn''t the forgiving guy, and he would punish him with something worse than death. He knew it because he had seen him do it to others.


    He drew a dagger he had and was ready to stab himself in the heart, but his body froze in ce.


    An M was burned at his neck but was barely visible after all that time. It produced some dark smoke, but his skin wasn''t burning. Instead, it was like it released darkness.


    In his mind, Netsu heard a voice he didn''t want to hear at this point.


    "I don''t think I have permitted you to have thoughts of leaving your post like that."[Mikhail]


    It was as he was afraid. The use and destruction of the Special Project send a warning to Mikhail, and he checked on the situation.


    Netsu wished he were just a bit faster.


    Annoue passed out on her way through the door, and when she was back in consciousness, she was in the middle of a forest.


    She stood up and noticed after a long time. Her sword being next to her down in the ground.


    She couldn''t summon it before because of what Mikhail had done to her tattoo, so it was supposed to still be on the unique store dimension.


    She tried to store it back, but it didn''t work, so something else seemed to have summoned it.


    She tried to open her Status, but there was no reaction.


    She could still use her Mana and Skills, just couldn''t ess her Status, and felt like shecked something but couldn''t point out what it was.


    She also felt this energy she could use that was and wasn''t familiar with at the same time.


    She looked around for any signs of civilization, and she noticed some smoke from some distance away. She wasn''t sure where she was, as the trees looked nothing like the ones back home.


    She hoped she would find a safe ce and a way to go back home.


    She tried to hide the M burn with her clothes and hair as if it was something people knew of and of the one who gave it to her.


    So with her sword at hand and after taking a deep breath, she started moving to find a way back home, but little did she know that her adventure just begun.

 Chapter 153: Plan to go to the next floor

    Chapter 153: n to go to the next floor


    The n wasn''t very different from what they did to the other Ruin City floor; they needed to draw the yer Guards away. But there were some two problems with this n.


    First, these yers had no chance to be beginners like the ones he encountered on floor 11, so they could be more knowledgeable and read his deception. So he couldn''t use his Golem this time.


    The second problem was that the guards weren''t one or two but close to a dozen, and all were very near the stairs. Most were sitting on the steps, but some moved around the city, investigating if something changed.


    At all times, there were at least six guards on the stairs, and different groups were investigating the city each time. Shingi had spent some hours the other day checking the way they worked, so he had a good understanding of them.


    He usually would spend days monitoring their actions and make a perfect n, but he didn''t have that much time.


    His n to draw them away was to beat the group that was doing the examination, but he had to do it so fast that they wouldn''t have a chance even to notice they got attacked. Since it wasn''t a sizeable group, and now that he had a level, he could deal with them quickly enough, since he could deal with yers of a simr level even when he didn''t have a ss.


    Those yers varied to level 20-30, so he could quickly deal with them, especially since his restriction from the System wasn''t as heavy. His speed had saved him many times and made him have the upper hand until now, and he had faced more vigorous opponents than those, so he worried a little but didn''t underestimate them either. But, of course, the biggest mistake one could make was underestimating his opponent.


    He wouldn''t kill them, though, as they would respawn and message their friends but would bring them unconscious, which was harder to do as he had to be more precise with his hits, as one mistake could cost him and fail. So instead, he would use his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> Skill, as he wasn''t going for the kill.


    After dealing with them, his students would move to the next part of the n, which would be away from him. Their task would be more straightforward, but it would be impossible to work if he didn''t deal with the investigation groups first.


    Hineko would be the only one of his students who would be suitable to help him. Still, Shingi decided it was better for him to stay with the party after he had the most extraordinary <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, and it was better to be safe than sorry.


    Shingi went his way as the others waited for him to send them a message through the party''s chat that he had ess since they had recruited him. Of course, it was rare for an NPC to use the chat, and most times, it was to receivemands, but when did Shingi do what NPCs normally do?


    He got cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, as he could easily afford it now. However, he also had used his STEALTH, making it almost impossible for non-professional yers to detect him. If he had his <strong>STEALTH</strong> at Master Rank, maybe even those professional yers would have a hard time.


    He made it to an alley near the stairs, where he had an excellent view of them, and waited for the groups to start their way.


    He didn''t have to wait for long, as two groups of four yers each left, but each was going opposite directions. Of course, this would make things harder, but Shingi was always up for a challenge.


    One headed to the North part of the City and the other one at the South. Later one would go for the East part and the other to the West part.


    Shingi followed the North group, while he had a Golem of his to follow the South one. He currently could keep his Golem active even if he were on the other side of the City, which was times more than the distance back when he was at Harbin''s town. His Spells and their limits had increased a lot when he earned his ss fully, and he kept using his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> when he had the chance.


    He followed the group and waited until they were at a safe distance away from the stairs so that there wouldn''t be any chance of the people remained behind hearing them being dealt with, even if he would try not to make any noise. Of course, this meant that the other group would also be further away, but he trusted his Golem on keeping track of them and stay hidden.


    They had been quite a far distance that even if they screamed, they wouldn''t be heard, so Shingi was ready.


    Other than his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, he used one more spell of his when he was ready to start his attack; he cast <strong>METAL HANDS</strong>.


    Those yers wore some quite rare and expensive equipment that his standard punches'' force would pass to have the desired effect. With <strong>METAL HANDS</strong>, he would increase the force, also increasing the potential damage, but he still could control it with his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong> Skill.


    He cast <strong>HASTE</strong> just to be safe and started his attack. Everything went as nned, as the first groupid down to the ground unconscious for a couple of minutes, possibly half an hour.


    Since he didn''t much time to spare, he ran toward the other group but still tried to keep his presence low.


    In less than two minutes, he had reached the other group, who had stopped looking over an old statue that was broken, but still, they thought it might contain some secrets. It was one of the sights they investigated each time.


    Shingi started his attack, and as he was ready to punch the final one of the group, that yer vanished.


    Shingi sidestepped right away as he felt a disturbance on the air behind him, and he had moved just in time as the vanished yer appeared with a de out and stabbing the ce where Shingi was just a moment ago.


    The yer seemed to be stronger than Shingi thought him to be, even if his aura wasn''t any tensest than the rest. But the aura depended on their level and not on how good they were in the game. Some low-level yers yed professionally, and high-level yers were as talentless in the game as a lifeguard who didn''t know how to swim.


    Shingi was ready to start his attack before the yer got the chance to send a message to the others, but it seemed he wasn''t fast enough.


    The yer fell unconscious on the ground without Shingi doing anything.


    A ball of bright blue energy was hovering behind where the yer stood, and it started expanding and taking shape. Its shape was that of a human, and more precisely of a female human.


    She was still made of energy, having this semi-transparent blue color, and when Shingi used his MANA SENSE, he could tell that it was a mix of Spirit Mana and Water Mana, but not like the one of the seashell.


    The two mana had merged at the seashell and became a new type itself, while here, both Elements existed just in harmony with each other, even though the Spirit Mana seemed to be in arger quantity than Water Mana. Her face had enough details to understand that she was an older female, maybe around her sixties.


    "Who are you?" [Shingi]


    "You know it wouldn''t kill you to say ''thank you'' to the one who just helped you." [???]


    Shingi didn''t expect this response, but he didn''t get mad as he knew she was right.


    "Thank you, mydy. May I learn your identity?" [Shingi]


    "That is most likely. You learn fast, kid. If only we had more fast learners like you back home." [???]


    She then sat over a stone piece that seemed decent enough as a ce to sit for some time.


    "As for who I am I am just someone who is passing by. You can call me as just a Spirit, for all I care. I noticed you and wanted to ask you something, but since you were in the middle of something, I decided to help." [Spirit]


    Shingi suspected that Spirit, and he had little time to spare as he sent a message to his party.


    "What were those weird moves you just did?" [Spirit]


    "For someone who doesn''t answer the question someone asked him, you seem quite curious, Spirit." [Shingi]


    The strange moves were him typing the message since she couldn''t see his System UI.


    "What a clever boy I know a few people back home that would be interested in talking with you. Then I guess I should be on my way." [Spirit]


    The spirit turned around and started walking away.


    "<strong>WAIT</strong>." [Shingi]


    The spirit stopped and turned back towards Shingi.


    "I thought you said you wanted to ask me something. That''s why you helped me. What is it you wanted to ask me?" [Shingi]


    "It is nothing. You seem like a busy person, and one to be on the clock, as it was clear on why you tried to deal with them in such a hurry." [Spirit]


    Shingi was ready to leave to join the others, but then he remembered something important. The yer had seen his face, so it would let the others know when it would wake up. He didn''t mind letting them know that someone may be in the Tower, but he couldn''t let them know he is the one. At least not yet.


    Then an idea came to the mind of Shingi, to use something he hadn''t tried to use on purpose before; a <strong>WIPE</strong>.


    He knew it was one of the safety measures that his eyes could give him, but since it cost a <strong>CHA</strong> point, and he couldn''t easily rece them, he hadn''t tried to trigger it willingly. But now it was different, as he needed it to cover his tracks.


    He moved over the unconscious body of the yer and noticed that he was a little pale and full of sweat. His MANA SENSE detected a sizeable amount of Spirit Mana living his body, meaning that the spirit had used her Spirit Mana to make him unconscious. Shingi made a mental note of it.


    He enabled his special eyed and focused on the yer while thinking of wanting to affect it with WIPE.


    ================================


    Conditions for the <strong>WIPE(S)</strong> are met. Will you use them?


    <strong>YES / NO</strong>


    *Costs 1 CHA per WIPE


    ================================


    He picked yes, and as he did it, he felt his Minor Mana Regeneration getting weaker. Also felt a lot of the energy in his eyes to instantly get spent.


    He then opened his Status and used something he had earned a lot of time ago but never used it. His 1 Main Stat Point he got frompleting the challenge <strong>FIGHT AGAINST TIME</strong>. He had thought many times to use it on AGI to bring it at 15, but he was happy he didn''t now. Having his CHA at 5 to keep his Minor Mana Regeneration as robust as possible was more important.


    As he was ready to meet the others where they nned, he was stopped as the Spirit stepped in front of him.


    "What did you just do with your eyes?" [Spirit]

 Chapter 154: The Spirit and the Fire Floor

    Chapter 154: The Spirit and the Fire Floor


    Shingi didn''t expect the Spirit to notice what he did and that his eyes were the source.


    "Wait, a second. Why are they red now?" [Spirit]


    Not only could she tell that he did something with his eyes, but she also could see their proper color. Harbin told him that a few could, that wasn''t of the same special Human Race as them, and he doubted the Spirit was one of them.


    "The kinda reminds me of a friend of mine. She has an unusual color of eyes, but they aren''t red." [Spirit]


    "What color were they?" [Shingi]


    If she knew someone when she was alive, it might prove helpful.


    "Purple. But you haven''t answered my question. What did you just do to that person? You used a massive amount of Spirit Mana on its head wait, don''t tell me. Did you try to erase his memories?" [Spirit]


    This was the first time Shingi heard of his energy from his eyes called Spirit Mana. He had used Spirit Mana through his Mana Tree, and even if he still had a lot to learn about it, he was sure it felt or looked nothing like the energy of his eyes. But now that he thought about it, there were some simrities.


    He also didn''t know what purple eyes could do, as he only knew about his and Harbin''s, as also of Garry''s and Annoue''s. None of them had purple eyes, but it could be one possibility.


    "I did. It is one of their ability. I have little time, but how about you join me? I am sure we can keep helping each other." [Shingi]


    She knew more about Spirit Mana, and if she knew of people of his race, he may learn something more about his eyes, as Harbin couldn''t help him much on that.


    "Sounds tempting. Ok, I will join you, but you better make it worth my time, or I won''t be the only Spirit walking around the ce." [Spirit]


    Shingi nodded as a thank you and started running, but soon stopped as he noticed the Spirit couldn''t keep up with his speed.


    "Can you make yourself smaller and solid?" [Shingi]


    "In a degree. Don''t tell me you want to carry me around, like a package." [Spirit]


    "If you have any better ideas, I will listen." [Shingi]


    The Spirit clearly wanted to say something but had said nothing in the end. She made herself into a small blue ball that Shingi picked up. It felt like a sphere of water, but it wasn''t losing its shape unless he would put some force. He wasn''t nning to do so as he continued his way towards the stairs.


    Soon after, an explosion was heard from the East side of the town. This was their distraction. Since the investigation groups were out, and the ones at the stairs weren''t receiving any messages about what happened, they would send more people to investigate, either for the missing groups or the explosion.


    Even if some yers stayed behind, their number would be that high for Shingi not to handle them, especially with the help of his new ''friend.'' He exined in the way what was his n, and that he needed help, which the Spirit was willing to help.


    Shingi didn''t use his eyes on her, as he didn''t know if they would work and probably would suspect something since she could see their energy.


    When they got to the stairs, there were only three yers, which the Spirit took care of by herself in a simr fashion as the other yer.


    The students of Shingi showed up not too long after that and were confused about the fresh addition to their team, but Shingi told them they should move.


    They made up the stairs and through the gate into the next floor, making them in the middle of scorching earth.


    Everyone already had their special cloaks and enabled them to keep themselves at afortable level. The Spirit, though, didn''t seem that pleased, most likely because part of her was Water Mana, and this was rtively weak at this floor.


    "No wonder I had a bad feeling about this ce. Everything is so damn hot." [Spirit]


    "Excuse me. But who are you?" [Mizuneko]


    The Spirit turned towards him and gave him a look of inspection.


    "Wait, a minutethis energy. You are the one I felt some floors before. You were spying on us, weren''t you?" [Mizuneko]


    Shingi had thought of that possibility. But, despite that, it wasn''t sure that she worked for Mikhail.


    "Oh, that is why you seem familiar. Sorry was still getting used to traveling back then. This ce keeps changing its routes all the time, so I do not know where I may get next until I finish going there." [Spirit]


    "What do you mean by traveling? What are you? Why are you here? What do you want?" [Mizuneko]


    "I would like to answer, but somewhere that is morefortable. I melt over here." [Spirit]


    Shing could see part of her Water Mana being consumed by the environment''s Fire Mana. If all her Water Mana were gone, her body would stop and possibly herplete entity.


    "We need to kill the Boss of the Floor as fast as possible either way. We won''t be able to handle the forever either, so let''s move. But you owe us those answers, Spirit." [Shingi]


    Fortunately, they didn''t teleport too far from the stairs and where the stairs were, but Shingi was still on guard as the Boss would have some surprises for them.


    This floor had no other monsters other than the Boss, so all the floor''s energy was in that one monster, making it harder to kill. There were ways to pass the Boss without killing it, but Shingi needed to kill it to get a particr part of his; its Elemental Core.


    The Boss was a Lava Elemental, and more precisely a Lave Elemental in the form of a Dragon, but not as powerful. Still, no typical yers'' party could kill it, and most times, only Guilds or professional parties took the challenge of these types of floors.


    The first time, which was supposed to be the hardest, the Floor got cleared over ten thousand yers in total had died trying to kill that boss. Even Ameanum had died a few times, as it was in his early days in the game.


    But he had fought the Boss more times after that, and it never was as strong as back then since it would take it time to fully restore its power after dying. He didn''t know how much time passed since the Boss wasst killed, but he could detect Spirit Mana drawn in the Boss''s direction, meaning it was still collecting it to restore its power.


    Still, this wouldn''t be an easy fight.


    "Spirit, can you create any water without messing with your body? I don''t mind if it boils itself into steam." [Shingi]


    "I could make some gallons if we don''t n to take too long fighting, whatever is where we head. But I won''t be able tost over twenty minutes." [Spirit]


    "Mizuneko, work with her on your task. Also, if you can use some of your Spirit Magic to heal a few of us if needed, I would appreciate it."[Shingi]


    The Spirit nodded without an argument, and Shingi could read her determination. She seemed like a woman who had been through more than just a few things and had to deal with all of them in one way or another. Shingi, for a second, wondered if that was the reason she died, but he didn''t keep that thought for long.


    Shingi assumed she knew how to heal people since, from his understanding, that was where the Spirit Magic was perfect for, and she seemed pretty proficient in using Spirit Magic to him. Since she didn''t say to correct him, it appeared his assumption was correct, meaning he had to learn a few things from her.


    They soon reached the stairs, which were on an ind in the middle of argeke ofva.


    When they were within tens of meters from theke, bubbles started appearing in theke asva started raising and forming a shape. That shape was, of course, that of the boss, the body of a Dragon.


    It took only a few seconds to finish its formations as it charged towards them.


    Shingi cast <strong>CREATE WATER ELEMENTAL</strong> and summoned only four, as he still hadn''t mastered it.


    The environment kept them in a weakened state, and Shingi had to keep feeding them Mana to keep them alive, but with his new Mana Pool, that was more than possible as far as they didn''t take significant amount of damage.


    Of course, the Elementals weren''t as good at fighting as his Golems would be, but his Golems wouldn''t be more effective even if they didn''t get weakened like the Elementals. So Wild Tycoon and An joined the battle, attacking the Boss up and close, while its attention was at the Elementals, while Little Phoenix threw her Spells at it.


    They tried to keep their damage from stopping the monster from considering the more significant threat than the Elementals, but that wouldn''tst for long. After the Boss had less than half its health, it would change its target randomly, among those who attacked him or the healers. But the target had to be a living one; otherwise, he would be ignored. Fortunately, the Spirit wasn''t a living one, so even when she healed with Spirit Magic, she didn''t go into the list of the potential targets.


    An, Wild Tycoon and Shingi didn''t have trouble avoiding its attacks, but Little Phoenix would have; that''s why Shingi cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on her. He also cast it at Mizuneko to help with his casting, but he wasn''t targeting the Dragon with his Spells, but some of theva in front of him as he had gotten closer to theke, but still far from the battlefield.


    He was producing both Water and Ice, in as much quantity as he could and let it turn into mist when thrown into theva and started gathering that steam. The female Spirit also threw as much water as she could in theve, letting Mizuneko gather the steam. She also went into the battlefield now and then to cast some healing spells to Wild Tycoon or An, who mainly were getting hit by a few of the attacks or were hurt by the heat.


    Her Healing Magic had a short-range, so she was entering and leaving the battlefield now and then, as near the Boss wasn''t good for her, as it was the hottest ce on the floor.


    The battle was going well until the Boss that was still half in theke started getting itself fully out.


    This was thest phase of the Boss and the most difficult.


    They retreated, as it would be useless attacking it at this point as it had boosted its defense, as its body that was still liquid mana seemed to get a bit more solid, increasing its protection.


    As it finished, and Shingi saw it being out entirely, he noticed something he wished it wouldn''t be true.


    Its tail was a bit over 8 meters long, meaning it almost was at full power, as its tail was thest thing it developed.

 Chapter 155: Last Phase

    Chapter 155: Last Phase


    Thest phase of the boss was the one that was the most problematic, as it actually started using all its power. Before, it was using less than half its strength, and still, some people had a problem with it.


    If it was so close to its genuine power, defeating it had a low chance of sess, but escaping was impossible when getting at that phase. Still, Shingi progressed with the n without letting others know, as it would cause only problems.


    "An, and Tycoon focus on its left side, but when it raises its wings, move away. Please pay attention to its tail. Phoenix, focus on its eyes. Now that they are more solid, your blind effect may work, even it has a low chance. Mizuneko, how long do you need?" [Shingi]


    "Two minutes." [Mizuneko]


    That was a long time, and his Elementals were getting damaged more than before and making his mana consumption reaching dangerous levels.


    "Hineko. Try to help An and Wild Tycoon. But don''t stay long near it." [Shingi]


    The Lava Dragon would keep changing its targets and would also use its wings to create an AOE wave of hot air to hit everyone near it. An and Wild Tycoon could take some of its hit, but Hineko or Little Phoenix couldn''t. That''s why Shingi enabled his Blessing''s active effect to boost his <strong>INT</strong> and cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on Hineko too. He was already way faster than Little Phoenix, but he would be in melee range while Phoenix kept her distance.


    Phoenix had to worry about its tail and its wing, as she could quickly get out of their range. Of course, she had to stay close to the Dragon even if it was of an impressive size, a little smaller than an actual Adult Dragon, but still, it was pretty agile for its size.


    The Dragon''s attack brought An and Wild Tycoon to a dangerously low level a few times, but fortunately, the Spirit healed them and left the battlefield. Fortunately, the Boss released less heat, giving her more time to stay around and help.


    Their damage got decreased many times since its defense was a bit weaker than actual dragon scales. But An, Tycoon, and Hineko kept hitting the same spot repeatedly.


    Shingi, at this rate, had a glimpse of his <strong>MP</strong> left, and even hisbined with the effects of their best <em>Mana Regeneration Potion</em> they had couldn''t restore more MP than he used to keep his Elementals active.


    Until the spot Tycoon and the rest were hitting had finally cracked. Shingi waited a few seconds as he shouted his next order.


    "Mizuneko, use it now." [Shingi]


    "But there isn''t enough yet."[Mizuneko]


    "<strong>JUST DO IT.</strong>"[Shingi]


    Mizuneko followed the order and manipted the sphere of steam towards that crack to enter the Dragon.


    He had some Ice Mana of his in the steam, ready to enable its effect and freeze the steam and expand, which would cause significant damage to the Dragon, especially since it would hit it from inside, where its defense was minimal.


    Shingi stopped healing his Elementals, who started turning into steam themselves the moment he stopped. He controlled the steam to join Mizuneko''s. His control wasn''t as good as Mizuneko''s since Water or Air wasn''t one of his elements, but since there was some Spirit Mana of his in it, his control was better than usual. His steam didn''t have Ice Element in it, but since it would join Mizuneko''s steam, it would also be affected by his Ice Mana.


    The Dragon didn''t pay attention, as Little Phoenix had used one of her few curses she knew; Blindness. Its chance against this creature was low and wouldn''t have the full effect orst for long, but this little time was all they needed.


    Shingi knew when the effects were active as the spell surrounded the Dragon''s eyes with ayer of shadows, so he ordered the attack when the effect was active.


    Shingi still had some Spirit mana in the steam, so he tried to see if he could use it to mess with the Dragon''s mind. Unfortunately, his control over the mana wasn''t there yet, but at least it seemed like it made it not notice their attack.


    He summoned all the Golems he could to take the ce of the Elementals to keep the Dragon distracted; otherwise, Wild Tycoon and An would die if hit multiple times without being healed.


    The female Spirit seemed to notice what Shingi did and actually used some of her Spirit Mana at the Dragon, but it only slowed its movements slightly, which was helpful.


    The Ice Expanding from inside also produced cracks to more of its scales, making more openings for the rest and increasing their damage.


    But then the Dragon extended its wings and used them for what they meant for; to fly away.


    "Oh, no, you won''t." [Shingi]


    He released all his Spells as he summoned his sword at one hand and sword at the other.


    He concentrated on gathering as much Light Mana as possible with his staff and his Light bracelet to form the most prominent Light de he had ever made. It was more close to two meters long, a lot bigger than himself.


    He cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on himself and enabled the Enchantment on his boots, which was the same one they used at the water floor. This Enchantment also worked on Lava, but he had to keep moving to let the boots and the Enchantment get damaged.


    The Dragon flew over the Lake, and Shingi knew it would soon dive into it, as its escape was part of its programming, which was a sign that it was nearly dead. Once the Dragon dived into the Lake, there was no way to fight it again, as it would get out only when healed fully.


    He kept moving and could feel his boots getting damage a bit but at a manageable rate. He used everything he had as he jumped as high as he could, and when he reached the top of its jump, he made the most vital <strong>LIGHT SLASH</strong>, using all the mana he had on his de. There were some cracks on the de, but he knew he could fix them.


    The <strong>LIGHT SLASH</strong> hit its target but didn''t seem to be enough to get it down. But this attack wasn''t finished yet.


    Within the <strong>LIGHT</strong> <strong>SLASH</strong>, Shingi had more Spirit Mana, hoping that it would be now weak enough for him to control it.


    He focused on his Spirit Mana the same way as he focused on the yer that he used <strong>WIPE</strong> when he first met the Spirit.


    And it affected as the Dragon''s wings stopped moving, and after a while, it started falling. Wild Tycoon and An joined him, as Mizuneko was too slow, and Hineko and Little Phoenix faced the side effects of <strong>HASTE</strong> ending on them.


    An threw <strong>AIR SLASHES</strong> at its body, while Wild Tycoon jumped to reach it and attack it. Her jumping abilities were way better than Shingi''s because of her <strong>STR</strong> and the Spirit she was currently using, making her jump more than twice, maybe even triple to what she could.


    The Dragon was dead before it reached the Lava.


    Since it was dead, the power that held its body together was gone, and its core got exposed and ready to sink in thevake, but Shingi wouldn''t let it. He made it just in time, as he touched it and stored it in his Ring as it was too hot to hold it.


    He then started moving towards the stairs, which were closer than where the rest of his party was. An and Wild Tycoon joined him.


    They made it just in time before their boots got damaged enough for the Enchantment not to work anymore.


    Now they had to wait for the other to get here.


    Since the Boss was dead, a lot of the Tower''s Energy, which wasn''t only Spirit Mana but also had something more into it, would be used to make the Boss respawn, leading to the heat to drop in the level at the degree that theke would get cooled down to be solid as a rock.


    Hineko would typically make it to them being fast enough, but with the side effects of <strong>HASTE</strong>, even if they didn''tst for long, it was too risky.


    Theke cooled down in less than half an hour, which was quite fast. Fortunately, the Spirit could make it at the other side no problem, as she could hover a bit, and Mizuneko could ''feed'' her some Water mana to keep her from disappearing.


    When everyone was at the stairs, they started their way up to go to the next level. It wasn''t another Fire Floor, but a dark dead forest that always was night there.


    As they made it to the floor, Shingi noticed the Spirit be amazed at how they got there and the gate at the end of the stairs, even if she tried to hide it. They searched for a good ce with enough space to make a camp, and they started putting on the repellents they had. The monsters here that would be out for hunting would be undead of low <strong>INT</strong>, as the hazardous ones were with the Boss and stayed by its side. The repellents would be more than enough to keep that simple-minded undead away from them.


    They finished making a camp for them, but they made no campfire as it would draw too much attention. Instead, they used Fire Mana Gems for warmth since it was somewhat chilly on this floor.


    "So how about those answers, missy?" [Mizuneko]


    A blue-colored hand appeared and pped Mizuneko with enough force to make him turn into the air a few times before falling. This was not a <strong>MANA HAND</strong>, as it was way above what a <strong>MANA HAND</strong> could do.


    "You should show respect to your elders, kid." [Spirit]


    She then took a seat, and Shingi could see she was drawing some Water Mana that existed in the Air, possibly to restore herself.


    "My name is Syra. I was the Academy''s headmistress until someone, who I hope will get what he deserves soon, killed me. A door drew me into this ce, and I was wandering around it since then, though not sure how long ago it was as it is hard to keep track of time here; it should be a couple of weeks ago, though. I think a girl seems to be behind that door who looked a bit like you." [Syra]


    She was pointing at Shingi, who understood that she referred to Annoue. They had some simrities, especially now that he was closer at her age, enough for one to understand they were rtives.


    "Do you know what happened to her?" [Shingi]


    "No idea. The whole thingsted just a few seconds, and she went the opposite direction from me. But if my assumptions are correct, she should be near the Academy, and a friend of mine will find her and take care of her." [Syra]


    "What is that Academy you speaking of?" [Shingi]


    "The Mage Academy, of course wait a second. We are in Avir, aren''t we?" [Syra]

 Chapter 156: Secrets are out

    Chapter 156: Secrets are out


    "We are currently in Eneria''s Tower, which exists in the Neutral Territory of Enerias. I am not familiar with either Avir or a Mage Academy." [Shingi]


    "Eneria''s Tower? Neutral Territory? How could that be?" [Syra]


    Shingi knew other Realms, but none of them were named Avir. And he hadn''t ever heard of the Mage Academy, not even a mention of it.


    Shingi started exining to her about their world, giving her a brief exnation about the four kingdoms, the Tower. He impressed his students once again on how much he knew for one supposed to be a ''normal'' NPC, but they had epted that he had passed the being average long ago.


    Finally, he mentioned that people here could only control six Elements and that Spirit Mana is somehow sealed from others to use it.


    "But you can use Spirit Mana fine. Your control iscking, but I didn''t notice any restrictions."[Syra]


    "I have a Blessing from one we helped that allows me to use it. Before that, I couldn''t even try to manipte even the tiniest speck of it." [Shingi]


    "What is that Blessing you speaking of? How does it work?" [Syra]


    "Well, beings who have reached the power above the mortal realm can share their power as a Blessing, giving benefits to individuals they choose. Most times Gods are the ones, but there are people like probably the Nyhm, whose blessing allows me to use Spirit Mana, that have somehow passed the Mortal Realm without being a God." [Shingi]


    Syra''s eye got wider in hisst sentence.


    "Did you say Nyhm? As the previous Omni Mage Nyhm?" [Syra]


    "Omni Mage? I am not sure if we are speaking for the same person as all I know is his name. The one who gave me the Blessing knew nothing about him." [Shingi]


    "So the one who gave you that Blessing wasn''t him? How does that work if the Blessing is part of his power."[Syra]


    Shingi didn''t know the answer to that. It wasn''t normal to get a Blessing from someone else than its creator. There were ways to transfer it from one person to another, but the first one would lose ess to it, which didn''t seem the case as he was confident that Azalea still could control Spirit Mana, possibly by having the Blessing since birth.


    But now that he thought about it, he had taken his Blessing of Dlog through his SHARE EXPERIENCE function, and still, both he and his yer self had it, so maybe not that impossible.


    "I can''t answer all your questions, but there may be clues in the Tower. Nobody, to my knowledge, has even heard of Spirit Element Mana, and in the Tower, its quantity is much more than outside. Maybe your Status contains some more information since you can use the Spirit Mana too." [Shingi]


    "Status? What are you talking about?" [Syra]


    "Just focus on that word, and you shall see."[Shingi]


    Syra seemed to have eyes full of doubt, which soon changed to a look of confusion and amazement.


    "What are all these numbers? <strong>STR</strong>, <strong>AGI</strong>, <strong>INT</strong>? What do all those mean?" [Syra]


    Shingi could see her status window since she wasn''t one of his students, and he doubted he would ept being one.


    "How about telling me what it says, and I will write it down." [Shingi]


    Her body wasn''t solid enough to hold things, so she couldn''t hold a pencil to write it herself


    "Do you have ink?" [Syra]


    "I have some." [Shingi]


    Shingi summoned a little ink bottle he had and a few papers. It surprised Syra to see those things appear out of nowhere.


    "Is that ring of yours the one you just used to make them appear?" [Syra]


    "I guess you don''t have this type of item back home. Yes, this is a Spatial Ring. It is connected to a pocket dimension that allows me to store items without worrying about their weight. There is limited space, but still over one could handle to hold alone. So what do you need the ink for." [Shingi]


    Syra said nothing as she used some of her Mana to control the ink and start writing on the paper. The writing speed was above one could typically write. Maybe Shingi could write that fast under <strong>HASTE''s</strong> effect, but only if he had also boosted his <strong>INT</strong> with his Blessing. Writing what someone tells you isn''t just a reflex, but your mind decoding the sounds of the words into actually writing, so there is some dy.


    Her final status was quite more extensive than what Shingi expected.


    Her Spell list was hugepared to his, even if she had only two Elements, Water and Spirit. Many of the Spells were unknown to him, and from their names, most seemed to be Water-based than Spirit-based.


    Looking through her status, though noticed that she didn''t have any Blessing or even a Passive Skill that would allow her to use Spirit Mana, but her Mana Pool had the Spirit Element in it. Furthermore, her <strong>INT</strong> was at 23, which was impressive, as few mages reached above 20.


    Her Race was <em>Spirit</em>, different from the Spectating Spirit he had as his yer character and anyone who yed as at <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>, so maybe that was the reason she had no restriction.


    "Well, can''t be sure, but other than that you be familiar with using the Mana from your world, the only possibility would be because you are a spirit yourself. Some Spirits have innate abilities that allow them to possess or charm someone, so maybe this is them using Spirit Mana. The System never mentions the sources for things like that." [Shingi]


    Then Shingi noticed not only Syra but also Little Phoenix and Mizuneko to look at him confusingly. He found it strange until he understood the reason.


    He mentioned the existence of the System.


    NPCs considered the status to be a gift of the Gods to them. Of course, there were cases of people not having ess to it, but this was quite rare, and most of the time, if they did something unforgiven by the Gods and were weak enough to be affected by their powers.


    "An, do you mind going to keep a watch that way?" [Shingi]


    She followed his suggestion, even if she found it weird. NPCs weren''t allowed to know the truth about the Game. As for Syra, he doubted she would move if asked.


    "<em>*sigh*</em> Firstly, I want to say that I would tell you the truth at some point, but I had to be careful." [Shingi]


    "Careful? Careful with what? You worry we couldn''t keep your secret?" [Mizuneko]


    "What secret?" [Hineko]


    Hineko and Wild Tycoon seemed to be confused about what they were talking about.


    "It isn''t a matter of trust. Pieces of information are revealed even if you don''t actively share them, so the fewer people know this, the better. But since we are in the Tower, having something like that happening would have lower chances, but keep in mind not mentioning this to anyone. Especially outside the game." [Shingi]


    Now everyone''s eyes widenedpletely while looking at him.


    He started telling his story about how who he was, the Dark Guild killing him, and how he woke up to the body of an NPC. He said nothing about the Company''s experiments with his DNA, though, as this was confidential.


    Syra, though, was still confused, as she did not know that most of the terms he used were. What was a video game, a capsule, or even virtual reality, she wondered as those were unknown to her.


    Everyone else also seemed confused, and it was hard to understand it, but Shingi shared a good deal of information about the actual world that an NPC wouldn''t know.


    "So that''s why you try to take back the Tower from them? It''s part of your revenge?" [Hineko]


    "I am not looking to get revenge. I am happy with my new situation, but I was never one to sit around doing nothing. The Tower is changing and will get out of control if this continues, so we need to stop it, or the ce outside won''t be safe. My home won''t be safe." [Shingi]


    "But, if you die, that''s it, you die. Erased forever. Right?" [Little Phoenix]


    "Most likely. I don''t think I can respawn as everything else works simr to other NPCs, but you guys knew that was the case since we started this trip. Nothing changed since then." [Shingi]


    "Nothing changed? <strong>NOTHING CHANGED?!!?</strong> You just told us you were an actual person and not just a piece of code." [Wild Tycoon]


    "And why would this make a difference? Did your opinion of me change that much after knowing who I am? Because it shouldn''t. This is a game, but everyone here, and I mean <strong>EVERYONE</strong>, is more ''actual'' people than those out there. So it would be best if you didn''t think of my situation differently from before. I know that this has a high risk, but I was and am still willing to take it." [Shingi]


    "I am sorry for stopping your sentimental discussion, but could someone exin what you are talking about? Are you guys living in different ces or something?" [Syra]


    "They are part of a different Realm than the one that the Tower exists. I used to be one like them until I got killed. At their Realm Magic, monsters and such don''t exist. That''s the simplest exnation I can give you." [Shingi]


    "Well, still notpletely certain what you were talking about, but this exnation helped a bit. What about this ''respawn'' thing?" [Syra]


    "Well, they can''t stay dead. Their spirit will create a new body after a few moments of their death, but they will be weaker and maybe other side effects depending on how they died. But people of this realm can''t do that, and I shouldn''t either." [Shingi]


    "That is a handy ability. Do you guys get older, or you stay young forever? Don''t tell me you all are hundreds of years old "[Syra]


    Shingiughed at this question. It was logical for someone to think that if one could not die, he or she would also age slower or not at all.


    "No such thing we all age at a standard rate. In the other realm, though if they die, they stay dead." [Shingi]


    Shingi started wondering about Syra''s existence and who she knew nothing about the System or the Status, as creatures of high <strong>INT</strong> should know how to ess it. But it seemed at her ce things didn''t work like that.


    Syra exined a bit about her world, which magic was also widespread, although powerful mages started bing rarer. Also, everyone who could use Magic could by default use Spirit Mana and unlock more of the other Elements, with most reaching up to three or four, including Spirit.


    But nobody could have all the seven Elements, but people could use the ones theycked using runes.


    Throughout the history of her world, some people could use all seven Elements.


    Those people had the title of Omni Mage.

 Chapter 157: Syras story

    Chapter 157: Syra''s story


    Syra exined a bit about her world and some stories about the past Omni Mages and that there hadn''t been one alive for about 2000 years.


    She and Shingi discussed the differences in how magic worked, and there were a few fundamental differences.


    First, they didn''t have a Mana Tree. Syra and the rest of the people from her world had a Mana Pool of different sizes for each person but no Mana Tree, Mana Seeds, or Mana Fruits. Shingi guided her to ess her Mana Tree, but she was unsessful, like not having it, even if she had a Mana Pool.


    Shingi, in all his years ying the game, never encountered something like that. Of course, there were instances of opening on even different dimensions, but they followed the same principle, maybe with a few slight differences. But in Syra''s case, there were more than subtle differences.


    She finally told them that while she talked with a friend of hers, a door appeared and sucked her in while she noticed Annoue getting towards the way she came from.


    "So, do you have any idea what that was? And more important, how can I get back?" [Syra]


    Shingi gave it some thought, and a couple of minutes passed as everyone waited for his answer. Since the beginning, he yed the game and even was part of the team who created it. So if someone knew what happened to Syra, he should be the one. Or so his yer students thought.


    "This is above my knowledge." [Shingi]


    It surprised his students, as until now, he knew everything they had encountered.


    "I am sure I have seen the Door you are speaking about, but I am uncertain of its exact whereabouts, other than it is higher in the Tower. We aren''t even halfway to it, for that, I am sure. I can check on Annoue, but it seems since she isn''t in this dimension anymore, I can only hear what happens around her, and there is a chance of not connecting at all. I can try this once per day and can''tmunicate with her or others, but we may learn something." [Shingi]


    "What about the door? Do you know how to use it?" [Syra]


    "This probably is the easiest part as its owner won''t be so cooperative to use it. And we aren''t anywhere near strong enough to face him." [Shingi]


    Shingi exined to her how he met Mikhail and what he knew about her and what Protectors were.


    "Wait, a minute. You said before you were navigating through the tower, but I noticed you were surprised and curious about the Gate. How did you get down here if you were up to where the door was?" [Shingi]


    "I I traveled through the Tower." [Syra]


    Everyone got confused by that response.


    "When I got out of the door, it threw me into one of the walls of the room it was in, which was a wall of the Tower. It was like I was underwater, but I wasn''t drowning, and instead of water, there was Spirit Mana and something else all over the ce. Some routes could follow, but no sign of where they led. When I reached its end, I was in a unique environment, which means it was a different floor. It hasn''t been that long, maybe a few days, since I first saw you, probably the event that the boy there mentioned of me spying on you." [Syra]


    "I have a name, you know." [Mizuneko]


    "I name that I have heard by Shingi shoutingmands at you, not by you introducing yourself." [Syra]


    It was true that nobody but Shingi had introduced himself or herself to Syra. Finally, everyone officially introduced themselves, and Shingi called An to join them again since they ended the conversation she wasn''t supposed to hear.


    "I meant to ask who that girl is. She looks exactly like the girl I saw but feels somewhat different." [Syra]


    "My name is An. Nice meeting you." [An]


    She gave a slight bow of respect while everyone, except Syra, looked towards her with eyes full of confusion.


    "You you can speak? Why didn''t to do it sooner?" [Wil Tycoon]


    "Didn''t have something to say." [An]


    "What about when we were asking you questions back when we first met?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "I couldn''t speak then." [An]


    Tycoon was ready to charge at her, but Little Phoenix held her back and took her in a corner for her to calm down.


    "You said your name is An. Is it your actual name or because I gave it to you." [Shingi]


    "Master gave me a name. An have only that name." [An]


    This response confused him even more.


    "Do you now remember anything about the time before we had found you?" [Shingi]


    "An only remember things after you woke her, nothing more." [An]


    "Then why couldn''t you speak before? And how long can you speak?" [Shingi]


    "A few days after we got in the Tower was when I could speak, and about why I couldn''t before, I do not know of the reason." [An]


    A few days after they got in the Tower fit the time of when Annoue disappeared, and Syra gave into this world.


    <em>''Could it be just a coincidence? Or could she not speak because Annoue was in this dimension?''</em> [Shingi]


    Shingi had encountered many mysteries through his time as an NPC, and some he had found their answer and some he hadn''t.


    He knew Mikhail could use Spirit Mana, and the move Shingi used to break his Seal actually made him manipting surrounded Spirit Mana, which back then couldn''t notice.


    When he destroyed the Craft Seal of the Mine where he met Anna, he also used the power of the Spirit Hammer, which was Spirit Mana.


    This meant that they made the Craft Seal with Spirit Mana, and that was why they got weaker after they used it and maybe even die. They were using their Spirit''s Energy to turn it into Mana since they didn''t have ess to normal Spirit Mana.


    But the mystery of Syra''s appearance and her world was the biggest mystery he had encountered until now. He wished he couldmunicate with Night Wind or Ardent Scythe to ask if they knew anything, but he couldmunicate only with the person who had recruited him and his or her party through the System.


    He could send a message to Ae, but she knew nothing about her father, so he doubted she would know what he worked on, and her knowledge about other dimensions didn''t have a high chance. She didn''t even try to remember the different realms of this dimension.


    He told Hineko to send a message to Price to ask Night Wind at the next delivery if he knew something about Syra''s world. Unfortunately, there weren''t many things left from what Shingi had asked him to find, even if Volig was adding a few items now and then, and he was sure Night Wind wouldn''t stay around. As for asking Ardent Scythe, the chances of knowing something were also too low, as she was interested inpleting guests for the thrill of them and not for the lore.


    "Let''s rest a bit and then progress. Syra, I do not know about the door, but I know someone who has a significant chance to know what it is. You are wee to join us, which will be something I am sure everyone would appreciate. There were some close callsst battle, and we may not be here without you." [Shingi]


    There were some close calls, mainly because they were willing to take some risks, as they had a healer. Wild Tycoon, who was the one who most needed healing, could fight more carefully, but it would affect her damage output, making the battlest even longer. But, of course, they didn''t know the limits of Syra''s healing abilities, so there were changes in the risks that could take as they were testing the water.


    "It isn''t like I have many choices. You seem to know what you are doing, so following you is the best choice. But don''t expect me to work for you like that. I am not your nurse. I will heal you but only if necessary." [Syra]


    "Understandable." [Shingi]


    Well, they had started this with no healer at all, and even if now they had one with conditions, it was better than nothing. Shingi could learn from her and already had some understanding after seeing her casting Spirit Healing Spells during thest battle.


    "So this is another floor we need to defeat the boss. It has at its disposal an item that we need to use with the Lava Dragon''s Core. But we should be ready as this battle going to be trickier than thest one." [Shingi]


    "Is the Boss here that much stronger?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "Power-wise, it would be considered weaker, but this one had high INT minion to protect it, unlike the Lava Dragon, which was alone. But its abilities are the tricky part, but I have a n for them. It would be best if you guys only focused on the minions. I and An will take the Boss down." [Shingi]


    "Just the two of you? Are you sure about that?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "The boss is around our Level, normally meaning a party of five of that level would be needed to face it. It is weaker physically than a typical Boss would be, but its <strong>INT</strong> grows its danger. But that''s if you don''t know what you deal with. It could have evolved, but since it has such high <strong>INT</strong> already, so if it had evolved, it would typically start its way down instead of staying in this deadnd." [Shingi]


    The Boss of the Floor was a Necromancer who was responsible for creating the undead of this floor. This was one of the few floors that the boss was producing the minion and not the floor itself. This made it difficult, as the Necromancer has his memories for each of his battles and learned from its mistakes, making each fight harder, but he had some weak points he couldn''t fix.


    Each time the floor reset, the amount of the different types of undead were different, as the Necromancer tried a new tactic each time. Shingi knew that because the Necromancer was closer to what a human created by the Tower existed, his chance to Evolve like the rest of the monster bosses was smaller to possibly nonexistent, since he kept his memories from each time he died.


    As for the item Shingi needed, it was actually a ck crystal that the Boss was creating and had it on its staff to help him focus his powers and control his undead.

 Chapter 158: Successful Scry

    Chapter 158: Sessful Scry


    Before they finish their rest and start looking for the Boss, Shingi had to try two things.


    First, he had Little Phoenix, who was still their Party Leader, to recruit Syra, which was sessful. It amazed Syra, being able to see how much damage and map the others had. She thought that this would be handy quite a few times.


    The second thing Shingi need to try was to try his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> on Annoue. They needed to learn more than anything about her current situation and if the friend of Syra had found her. He had made a connection only once, and that time he heard nothing except Annoue''s sleeping breath. He was familiar with those sounds, as he had spent many nights training and listening to them.


    He focused on his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong>, and this time it felt different like he had a better understanding of the Spell. Finally, he left his body, which was a sign that it established the connection, and noticed that everything was much clearer than before.


    Then things started getting dark the furthest he got from his body until he couldn''t see anything but ck. Then the sound came.


    He could hear the sounds of a fight, and Shingi could understand that there were two people in that fight, one of them being Annoue, as he could recognize her just from her breathing.


    The other individual was a male. He was shoutingments at Annoue to show his impressions of her moves or correct them.


    It seemed like they had a training spar, and from the sounds of the battle, Shingi understood they used wooden swords. However, it seemed like the sparring wasing to an end.


    "You seem to be learning faster than expected. Can''t say I''m not a little jealous. When I was your age, getting to this point was much more of a struggle. Although, if I didn''t know any better, I would say you''ve already received some sword training." [???]


    "My little brother taught me some moves but not so much of a style like yours." [Annoue]


    "Did he teach you that what did you call it? AIR SLASH? That was an impressive one, I must admit, especially when using two of them in quick session. Remarkable for someone who is supposed to be younger than you. You should introduce him to me one day." [???]


    There was some awkward silence before the man spoke again.


    "Sorry about that, spoke without thinking. But I am certain Alora eventually will find a way to get you back. If one can do it, she is the one." [???]


    "Thank you, Master Zax." [Annoue]


    "I told you to drop the ''Master'' bit. I may be the one teaching you a few things, but we learn from each other as we spar. Let''s take a breather, and then we''ll go through some more of the forms." [Zax]


    Shingi kept paying for any sound, and he could understand that they were outdoors as he could hear the wind blowing, but not too much. Zax seemed to have prepared some food for him and Annoue, which they enjoyed in silence.


    But the silence didn''tst for long as Zax spoke in a confused voice.


    "What happened to your eyes? Why are they ck? Are you okay?" [Zax]


    There was also some genuine concern in his voice.


    "Hmm? Oh, I just disabled them. I can keep them for most of the time now, but I remember my uncle telling me not to overuse them." [Annoue]


    "What do you mean by disabling them?" [Zax]


    "Oh, you can''t do it with yours. I thought yours and Alora''s might be the same even if the color was different. Everyone in my family on my father''s side have this power in our eyes, although we each have different colors, representing a unique ability. Mine was supposed to be white, but I could never use it as it took a lot out of me. But now there''s a seal on the power; that''s why they''re grey and why anyone can see it. Typically, only people like me can see the difference of our eye color." [Annoue]


    It surprised Shingi how much Annoue knew, as he remembered Harbin telling him he hadn''t seen Annoue for a long time, and with Annoue''s INT when he first awoke, he didn''t think she would remember something like that. But some things remain unforgettable no matter the case.


    "Interesting. So your brother also has" [Zax]


    Zax stopped mid-sentence as he realized that he once again mentioned a touchy subject. It was clear that Annoue wanted to return to her brother, so saying him wasn''t the smartest thing to do.


    "It''s okay. I enjoy talking about my little brother. He actually has red eyes like you, but somewhat darker. I''ve never seen him disable them, but they weren''t making him tired as mine do. No idea what they are supposed to do. Maybe they helped him with his crafting skills as he could run our father''s shop by himself." [Annoue]


    "Shop? What kind of shop?" [Zax]


    Annoue went over telling stories about Shingi working on the shop, describing how he was using his <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> or <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong>, collecting the sunlight to purify the metal he worked on, and all the fancy moves he was doing while crafting.


    "Are you sure this brother of yours is only eight years old? He doesn''t sound that young to me." [Zax]


    "Well, after waking up, it seemed like he got the help of one of the Blessed Ones and was a quick learner too." [Annoue]


    "Blessed One? Is that a title or something?" [Zax]


    "They are heroes from back home. Most of them are strong, and there are a few among them that people tell tales about. One had helped to wake up my brother, and she was the person teaching him things." [Annoue]


    "What do you mean helped to wake him up?" [Zax]


    Before she could start exining the story of her mother and how she and Shingi, who still was on her mother''s belly as she was still pregnant with him, got cursed, the effects of the <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> started fading away. It was unexpected as not that much time had passed.


    ================================


    <strong>BECAUSE OF THE OVERUSE OF SPIRIT MANA, ALL SPIRIT-BASED ABILITIES OR SPELL HAVE BEEN RESTRICTED FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS</strong>


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>BLESSING OF NYHM HAS BEEN DISABLED FOR 24 HOURS</strong>


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>SPIRIT MADNESS FAILED TO AFFECT sNPC#12</strong>


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>SPIRIT MADNESS CHANCE INCREASED</strong>


    ================================


    Shingi didn''t expect something like that to happen. It seemed like his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> was Spirit-based without him noticing until now. However, after seeing Syra in action, his understanding of how Spirit Mana worked had changed, which seemed to have affected and improved his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong>, and possibly every Spirit-based Spell of his.


    He could also feel he couldn''t use his special eyes, which meant that they were Spirit-based, as he assumed after what Syra had mentioned in the past when they first met.


    Fortunately, Spirit Madness didn''t affect him, even if he had the cure for it, but it was for only one time, so he wanted to keep it from using it as long as possible.


    "Guys, we will stay here longer than nned, so make sure the repellents ate in a fit state and also keep watch." [Shingi]


    "Did you find something with that ability of yours you mentioned?" [Syra]


    "Annoue is currently with a person named Zax. Is that another friend of yours?" [Shingi]


    Syra sighed as a burden left her.


    "Yes, so she has met Alora. She and Zax are pretty close. They may even be married at this point, but you never know with Alora. She always gets herself busy and dys it." [Syra]


    "He mentioned Alora researches on the way to sent her back here. Zax seemed to be teaching Annoue the way of the sword. I thought most of you were focusing on magic. Can he not use magic?" [Shingi]


    Aloraughed at thisment.


    "Well, his Spellcasting abilities aren''t among the best, but he is an expert in using the de. If your sister drew his attention, she must have some talent. Did you hear any details about what Alora is searching for?" [Syra]


    Shingi shook his head as what they discussed wasn''t something that she needs to know or would help.


    "I have some questions for you, though. Do you know what Spirit Madness is?" [Shingi]


    Syra''s eyes got wide of surprise at hearing this from Shingi, as she knew he was still new at it.


    "Did Zax mentioned someone being affected by it? Don''t tell me it was Nix." [Syra]


    "Oh, no. No mention of it there. But I almost got affected, but I am fine. I am not aware of what it is supposed to be, though. The Fairy who gave me the Blessing of Nyhm mentioned that overusing mana could negatively affect me, but not exactly how." [Shingi]


    "I can''t exin to you exactly how it works, but you should never risk yourself getting affected by it. Some Spirits don''t care about the good side of the world, and if they take the chance, dark things will follow." [Syra]


    "Then do you think you can help me learn to use it better? You know to keep me safe." [Shingi]


    Syra looked at him with a look to show that she knew what he meant.


    "I will teach you the basics so that you don''t turn against us in the middle of a battle, but you should keep the use of it to the minimum. Since I am a Spirt, it is harder for me to be affected, and also, I am more experienced and know my limits. But you have a lot to learn." [Syra]


    Syra exined how she used her Spirit Element from within her and how she manipted it.


    It was different from how it worked for Shingi, as Alora focused on other thoughts or feelings depending on the element she wanted to use. For example, with Spirit Element, she had to consider her safe ce or ce to rx and focus on the feeling she had there.


    Of course, Shingi didn''t need to use that way as it was just how to draw the mana out of the Mana Pool, but it fascinated him with the difference between how their magic worked.


    So next, he saw how she manipted the Spirit to heal someone, even without needing to make it as a Spell, and how she manipted it to cast Spells.


    They trained for a couple of hours before Syra reached her limit, and since Shingi couldn''t use his Spirit Mana to train on what he learned, he decided to use his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> before getting a watch himself.


    But he didn''t expect that his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> also wasn''t avable.

 Chapter 159: New Spell

    Chapter 159: New Spell


    He had to be at full power for the next battle, so they had to wait for the 24 hours to pass for him to get back everything. Since he couldn''t use his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>, which meant that this also was a Spirit-Based ability, he trained the old fashion way.


    The floor''s main mana was Dark Element, but it was too ''unpure'' for one to use so that he couldn''t train his Mana Tree. Even the Earth Element Mana was ''corrupted.''


    So he decided to fulfill a task he had taken not too long ago; to learn a Base Grade Spell of each Basic Element.


    He had Earth, Fire, Light, Water, and Dark cover and Spirit, but he wasn''t sure if it was considered a Basic Element. So that left him with Air only, and luckily enough, one of his students had their Mana Pool being partial of Air Element. That was Mizuneko, of course.


    He technically had only one Element, and that was Ice, but he could separate it to Air and Water, which were the ones who he merged to create it, just the mana wasn''t as strong. Still, Mizuneko had some water-based Spells at his disposal, as also some Air-Based Ones.


    Shingi went over to Mizuneko and exined to him his current situation.


    "So you want me to teach you an Air Element Base Grade Spell. Don''t you already know any?" [Mizuneko]


    "There are a few, but none that I am confident to learn by myself in a short time. So how about you be the teacher for one?" [Shingi]


    Mizuneko smiled as he liked what Shingi told him. It was awkward to learn how to get stronger by someone who, when he first met him, seemed to be half his age, but now that he knew the truth, he didn''t think this to be as awkward.


    "Hmm. how about I help you learn <strong>MANA DOUBLE - AIR ELEMENT</strong>? You have three elements of it; maybe it would be beneficial to add one more in the list." [Mizuneko]


    "That that is actually a great idea." [Shingi]


    Just because they were those spells had the same name, just changing the Element part, it didn''t mean that casting them was the same. Their Arcane Words were different to fit their Element and its nature. Likewise, each element''s nature was different, so giving it the form of the <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> was also different. Almost to how Syra exined to Shingi how she and others in her work were wielding their mana from within them.


    They had to understand the nature of the Element to control it, and one way to do that, as also the easiest way, was to have a feeling suited to the nature of the Element.


    Since Shingi didn''t have the Air Element being part of his Mana Pool, he had to use an Air Mana Gem instead as a source. With the help of Mizuneko, he understood the nature of the Air Element and used a specific thought and feeling to help at his cast; the feeling to be light as a leaf and fly through the wind.


    The Air was somewhat chilly, and the Air Mana he released to surround his body to form the body of the <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong>, as he had done when learning the others. He felt his body getting cold a bit as the ''corrupted'' air merged and affecting his Air Mana, but not in a dire state.


    He entirely surrounded himself with Air, and it was like he was in the middle of a small whirlwind as the Air kept moving around him.


    He slowly tried to control the wind and remove the unwanted elements, but the more he tried, the more there was, and the speed of the wind became faster with time. It also became darker.


    At a point, the whirlwind was as dark as it can be, and one couldn''t see Shingi within it. Mizuneko was ready to act, but An stopped him.


    Shingi didn''t notice how dark his surroundings had be as he had closed his eyes and entirely focused on his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> Skill. Even if he had it at Master Rank, there were limits he could do with it, and he was still at the human level. He hadn''t reached the top on that Skill; even if it has one Skill, he seldom stopped using it.


    He couldn''t use his Blessing to boost his INT as it was still in cooldown from thest Boss Battle, but he didn''t even think of doing it. Some things he had to do by himself or he would never be powerful. But, he wouldn''t give up, as he never had in the past.


    The whirlwind became bigger since more of the ''corrupted'' air merged with it.


    "We can''t let him continue like that. He could die." [Mizuneko]


    "Master can do it." [An]


    "How can you be sure about that?" [Mizuneko]


    "Because he is the Master. There is nothing Master can''t do." [An]


    "<strong>IS THAT YOUR EXCUSE?!?</strong> I''m getting him out of there." [Wild Tycoon]


    As ever Tycoon never expected permission and charged towards the Whirlwind.


    But as she tried to sh it, there was a bacsh that threw her back. The power of the whirlwind was stronger than they thought.


    "Are you certain that the kid will be ok? He tries to control something that isn''t one of his Elements, and also the energy in the air seems to ''ill''" [Syra]


    An didn''t say anything as she kept watching towards the ce where Shingi was, the middle of the whirlwind.


    Then the whirlwind started moving slower until it was frozen in ce. It was like a dark statue of a whirlwind, almost five meters in diameter and tens of meters in height. Cracks started appearing as pieces of the dark ''statue'' fell, revealing a little more minor pure white whirlwind inside it. The perceptive ones could notice that this whirlwind was moving in the opposite direction from the dark whirlwind.


    The whirlwind kept getting smaller and smaller until it took the shape of Shingi. Then the shape moved forward, leaving the real Shingi behind.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>MANA DOUBLE - AIR ELEMENT</strong> (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST UPDATED: ROAD TO LIFE</strong>


    <strong>Task Completed:</strong> Learn a Base Grade or higher Spell of each Basic Element


    <strong>Reward</strong>: Air Element added to Mana Pool


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>BECAUSE OF THE TYPE OF THE MANA TREES NO SUPPORTING OVE 3 BASIC ELEMENTS. ONE ELEMENT WILL BE DEACTIVE AT ANY POINT.</strong>


    <strong>WARNING: IF MORE THAN 3 BASIC ELEMENTS ARE ACTIVE AT THE SAME TIME, IT CAN LEAD TO PERMANENT DAMAGE TO THE MANA TREE AND USER''S INNER SPACE</strong>


    ================================


    Shingi didn''t expect the reward to be that great. He, in theory, had a four Element Mana Tree, which few people had ever seeded in doing so. He didn''t count Shingi as one of his Elements, as from thest notification, he understood that it was considered a Basic Element, which made sense.


    He couldn''t have all his Elements active simultaneously, but still having thebination of three was more than enough. He wanted to use four someday together and maybe add more to the list but had to take small steps, as the punishment wasn''t a child y. Also, permanent damage to his Mana Tree and his Inner ce would lower his spellcasting abilities by more levels than he would earn, so he wouldn''t act rashly.


    "You did it. And as always, you had to show off while doing so." [Mizuneko]


    "Next time will try to keep things more uplicated. But need some rest time, but be on guard. This could have drawn the attention of the Boss or his scouts, so we should be ready just in case he tries to act. Our repellents aren''t strong enough to affect every one of his monsters." [Shingi]


    He said he wanted to rx, but he actually went back to training.


    This time he tried to see if he actually could change his active Elements. He was sessful, but the progress took longer than he expected, making it impossible to be used in the middle ofbat. But he just learned about it so he could get faster in the future, but for now, he needed close to half an hour to enable or disable his Air, Earth and Fire Elements, while he needed one hour for his Light Element.


    He decided to have his Earth not avable for now. Air and Fire worked well together, and Light was helpful against the undead.


    He used his Air Mana Gem to strengthen the Air Mana Structure of his Mana Tree, but it was slow progress as he had to clean the mana from the environment''s corruption first.


    He felt a few of the undead getting closer to them but keeping their distance. They didn''t seem to be scared but instead spying on them.


    Shingi didn''t have something to hide, but he let Hineko, An, and Syra, who were the most Perceptive in the group, through the Party''s chat, as he could send personal messages for only them to see. He told them to act like they had noticed nothing, which was rtively easy for all three of them.


    Syra, at a point, sat next to Shingi.


    "You seem to have been well prepared for the trips ahead. That ring of yours seems to help a lot on that. Do you have any wine in it?" [Syra]


    "Wine? You are a spirit, so you don''t need food or drinks and probably can''t even drink. What do you want wine for?" [Shingi]


    "The smell is just as rxing sometimes. It can bring back some happy memories, and everything is so dark over here that I could use some of those. So do you have some?" [Syra]


    Shingi summoned actually one drink he had gotten from one of his hideouts. He had sent some to Master Jax as a thank you, even if he could find them by himself. But the majority were still with him.


    He opened the lid and left the aroma of it to leave the bottle, and brought it closer to Syra''s nose.


    "Oh, you brought out the good stuff right away? I am impressed." [Syra]


    Shingi was happy to help her deal with her unhappiness, as being dead and alone for that long didn''t seem to work well for her.

 Chapter 160: The Necromancer

    Chapter 160: The Necromancer


    The rest of their time passed peacefully, even if they were under watch for most of it. Then, Hineko suggested, taking them by surprise and attack to weaken the enemy, but just killing the scouts would deal any big blow to the Boss''s force. They wouldn''t attack either, as it did not create them for that.


    Twenty-four hours passed, and Shingi once more could use his Spirit Mana, which fortunately didn''t count as one of the Basic Elements of his Mana Pool. He tested things a bit to see if everything was ok, and they started their way towards the Boss.


    Finding it wasn''t so hard for them. They just had to follow the corruption in the air at its source. Usually, it would be hard to detect, but to Shingi, it was clear, especially after hisst taskpletion.


    "You all remember what I told you, and we have discussed. We all need to get the Boss down first, or we have no chance to survive." [Shingi]


    This, of course, wasn''t the n, as the Boss could manipte his students and possibly Syra. But he and An would be safe, as they had their special eyes active. They monitored them during their trip to the Boss''s ce, so they discussed the actual n through the Party''s Chat. This was just to throw the enemy off even a bit.


    They soon reached an abandoned building, looked to be an old hospital.


    Hineko and Little Phoenix were in front, looking for Physical Traps and the other looking for Magical Ones. Most of the time, the traps of the Necromancer were Dark-Based, meaning Little Phoenix had the most significant chance to detect them. There were some traps, but nothing they couldn''t disarm or go around.


    They finally reached a big room, which probably was where they had the beds for multiple ill people to be treated, most likely if there was a big spread.


    The room was empty, and instead, there was a throne made of bones and skulls, another creation of the Necromancer. It didn''t have any unique properties, but for some reason, this was the second thing he created after the ck crystal for his staff.


    There was a humanoid figure on the throne, but instead of the old human Necromancer, there was a young human, but she was dressed exactly as the Boss would wear. Shingi didn''t detect any Illusion magic on her and could tell that she was strong, as strong as the Boss would be. She even emitted the corrupted aura that corrupted the entire floor, which should be the Boss.


    There weren''t any other creatures in the room that could be seen, but Shingi detected many of them hidden.


    "You are finally here. You took your sweet time." [Female Necromancer]


    "Who are you? Where is Kelvin?" [Shingi]


    "That old dude? He was in charge and failed too many times, so we ended the circle. I am in charge now. You can call me Nivlek if you want, but I would prefer you don''t speak to me much." [Nivlek]


    Shingi focused his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> Skillfully on her for any clues, and he finally found something. A familiar M-shaped burn mark on her neck, almost entirely hidden by her hair.


    "So you work for Mikhail." [Shingi]


    Her eyes went wide, and she soon noticed that her hair had moved a little, showing part of the burn mark, but to the eyes of Shingi, it was like all of it was out in the open.


    "You are more perceptive than the rumors said. How interesting. No wonder the Boss showed such interest to you." [Nivlek]


    "Why were you sent that low in the Tower? Why does he care about this floor to send one of his minions?" [Shingi]


    Nivlek released as much of her energy to make the air thinner and harder to breathe.


    "I..amno<strong>MINION</strong>. <strong>UNDERSTOOD</strong>?!?" [Nivlek]


    Everyone but Syra, who didn''t need to breathe, and Shingi, who had encountered this kind of trick in the past, had fallen on their knees. He couldn''t speak, though, as he had to give what air he had in him.


    Shingi started using hisst gained Element in action. He started controlling the surrounding Air, which was more corrupted than the one that made the whirlwind, but he actually had an easier time managing it than back then.


    He reached the state of controlling just his air around him, to allow him to breathe with no problem, but just for him.


    He started walking towards her, and she tried to focus more of her power on him. Still, he vigorously fought back, having to stop sometimes to adjust before continue walking. When he started, he was close to ten meters away, and he seemed to have reached his limit halfway there.


    So he used his Blessing to boost his <strong>INT</strong> and started slowly walking towards her, but this time with no breaks.


    "What are you?" [Nivlek]


    She seemed to be surprised by his progress. Her power was at the same level as what Mikhail showed him when they first met. But there was a fundamental difference between the two. Mikhail back then used only part of his power, while Nivlek used almost all she had. She still held a little back, but Shingi could tell that she wasn''t far from her limits.


    He was less than a meter from her as she took the staff that was just lying next to her, and for the first time since they entered the room, she had it on her hands.


    The ck Crystal was to be used by Kelvin only, but others could use it with enough power. But it was helpful for other things.


    The crystal had part of the Spirit of Kelvin, which Shingi could detect, meaning that she did notplete the Boss dead, and that''s why the floor didn''t reset. As for her bing the Boss, even if everything looked like it was the case, Shingi knew it was impossible. The floor was connected with the soul of Kelvin, not his power, so taking his ce was impossible. You could only control his power, making you seem like being the Boss.


    Generally, after the death of Kelvin, the crystal would slowly start losing its properties, but since it wasn''t the case, this meant that Kelvin wasn''t dead yet.


    Nivlek pointed the staff at Shingi as her power increased a bit, but enough to stop him.


    "Finally. Look what you made me do. I don''t particrly like using those tools. Boss doesn''t want you dead, but he said nothing about having some fun with you." [Nivlek]


    She started moving towards Shingi, as when they were half a meter apart, she made a sword out of her energy. Then, she turned a bit to the left to move beside Shingi.


    "Let''s first deal with the unwanted guests." [Nivlek]


    She made a few steps but then turned to deflect the de of Shingi, who was acting as he got affected by her power.


    "You are good at acting. But you need to work on your speed." [Nivlek]


    She started her swings towards her, but Shingi deflected them all.


    He still was slower than usual because of the surrounding air, but he could keep up for now. She kept attacking with no break, pushing him back, as he kept deflecting or dodging her attacks when possible. Finally, he reached the throne, but he had moved a bit to the left to avoid it, but he wasn''t far from getting the wall behind it.


    ''I guess we should get serious now. What do you think?'' [Shingi]


    He sent a mental message to the only one he couldmunicate this way; his sword, Sinhunter. He got a mental nod as his answer.


    His de becamepletely white, as a thinyer of Spirit Mana had surrounded it. He cast his Spirit de and had actually used a Mana Fruit for it, making it the stronger one he had made until now. It was much smaller than the Light de he used at the Lava Dragon, but the Spirit de effect didn''t need space, just precision to control the mana.


    His understanding improved after the lessons with Syra, forming the Light de and its effect reaching a new level. When the Spirit de finished getting formed, he changed from defense to offense.


    Nivlek tried to deflect one attack, but Shingi''s de passed through hers, and she reacted toote as she got slightly touched by the edge, but didn''t leave a sh like it just passed through her too. However, it affected her, making her control over the energy harder to maintain. Usually, this corrupted energy would hurt its user, and even though she had natural defenses against it, the Spirit de weakened those defenses.


    Shingi cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on himself using a Mana Seed this time and charged towards her. One swing after another, leaving her no time to breathe, and the more hits connected, the weaker she got, making Shingi get faster as the surrounding Air became less effective against him.


    It didn''t take much time until she fell to her knees, unable to move. The pressure of her power affected her. How ironic was that?


    But the Air returned to normal for everyone else. Just the power she was naturally emitting around her affected her and her very near environment.


    She hadn''t taken a single point of damage as the Spirit ded didn''t have that purpose, and the pressure wasn''t damaging her, just restricting her and consuming her SP.


    Shingi brought out a robe and started tying her up, as he also stored the staff with the crystal in his Ring.


    They had a lot to discuss.

 Chapter 161: Start of interogation

    Chapter 161: Start of interogation


    Shingi tied Nivlek tight enough that she couldn''t move, and since she didn''t seem to have high <strong>INT</strong>, since she was a Mage Type, he was confident that would stay in ce. Still, he was in the ready. As for the hidden undead, they wouldn''t act unless ordered to, and only she could order them through the ck Crystal only.


    Still, he didn''t n to stay in this room, so after making sure that the knobs were tight enough, he told Wild Tycoon to pick her up, and they moved. The stairs were in the Hospital''s basement, and actually, its door was under the throne. Of course, the location of the trapdoor leading down the basement wasn''t the same as the hospital was getting rebuilt each time the Boss got respawned and got randomized a bit.


    They would go to the next floor, where it would be another typical forest, so Shingi and his party could rest. Shingi was the only one who did something in that battle, but everyone except Syra got exhausted by getting affected by Nivlek''s ''corruption.''


    They didn''t have any problem getting Nivlek through the portal, as she clearly wasn''t a creation of the Tower.


    After going through the Portal at the end of the stairs, they appeared in the middle of the forest. The trees'' bark was darker than average, and the leaves were less like somebody corrupted the woods like the previous floor but not entirely yet.


    They made a camp like thest floor and ced their repellents.


    Shingi was ready to speak with Nivlek while the others took care of making the camp. Syra was by his side since she couldn''t help settings things up.


    Nivlek tried to free himself, but this was an Enchanted rope, and the knobs of Shingi with his <strong>AGI</strong> and boosted <strong>INT</strong> was impossible to untie by somebody this physically weak. Since the forest wasn''tpletely corrupted, her power here was weaker, giving Shingi an advantage.


    "So, what do you think we start over introductions? My name is Shingi. What is yours?" [Shingi]


    Shingi knew Nivlek wasn''t her actual name. It was Kelvin backward, probably to show that she was the opposite of him, making her the best for the position of recing him. But to be her actual name, he doubted it to be the case.


    "I told you. You can call me Nivlek." [Nivlek]


    "Even now, you don''t drop the act? It is clear that this isn''t your real name. How about youe clean? Or are you scared of your Master?" [Shingi]


    It was clear that she wanted to keep her Master''s ns.


    "Scared? You don''t know what you speak of. You think because you are one of them, you are unique, but in reality, you are at the bottom of the power chain." [Nivlek]


    "Who is them?" [Shingi]


    She didn''t respond, and she even avoided looking towards him. He had enabled his special eyes, and at that exact moment, she stopped looking at him. The target had to look towards him to work, except with the <strong>WIPE</strong> since he had seeded in doing that on an unconscious yer.


    "So you guys know about my people. Is Mikhail one of us?" [Shingi]


    Nivlek kept her eyes closed, as also her mouth, except for a chuckle that exited it.


    "<em>*sigh*</em> I guess you are giving me no choice." [Shingi]


    Shingi summoned his sword and started making his Spirit de once more. Nivlek couldn''t see what he was doing, but she could understand the noises he made as he didn''t try to be subtle. He could tell by some slight movement of her body that she understood what he was doing.


    This time he made the de the usual way without using a Mana Fruit or even a Mana Seed. His Blessing''s boost at his <strong>INT</strong> was almost over, so he had to take advantage of it as long as he could.


    He formed the de in less than a minute, but it wasn''t as smooth or at the same power as before. Still, it was more than enough for his n.


    "You know I am still getting used to all this new energy, but I have understood enough about it. It messed with your powers by weakening your natural resistances, but that only because I aimed at your body. I wonder what will happen if I attack your brain. Maybe we can see what Spirit Madness has to offer." [Shingi]


    Nivlek showed signs of worry, but she still didn''t open her eyes or looked towards him.


    Shingi moved closer to her with his sword at the ready as he kneeled in front of her since she was sitting on the ground. He raised the de and brought it closer to her forehead like he was ready to split her head horizontally in two pieces.


    It was clear that she could sense the Spirit Element, meaning that she probably could also use it to an extent which could be what her strange Power was. Shingi was almost sure that she somehow sessfully merged Spirit Mana with something else, a possible Dark Element, leading to her current <em>''corrupted''</em> mana.


    If she knew about Spirit Mana, she would know its drawbacks too, which was at what Shingi counted on.


    He slowly brought his de closer to her forehead.


    "OK, ok, I will speak." [Nivlek]


    She opened her eyes and looked at him. Now that Shingi was closer to her, he thought he had seen this face before, but he couldn''t remember where. Something else on her also seemed familiar, but he just couldn''t ce what it was.


    "So, who are you? How do you know about my people? What are Mikhail''s ns? Why he gathers all this power?" [Shingi]


    Nivlek seemed to be still somewhat reluctant, and Shingi could guess why; the burn mark on her neck.


    He doubted it was just something Mikhail used to show that someone worked or belonged to him. It most likely had other properties, but Shingi couldn''t detect anything other than some Spirit Mana being emitted by it.


    "Syra, can you take a look at it?" [Shingi]


    Syra looked at the burn mark for a short time before turning back to Shingi.


    "It looks so simple, but it is actually somethingplicated. He seemed to havebined many into one. Not many people can do something like that at least back home. It probably will take some time before fully understanding its use, but I can block themunication it has with its creator." [Syra]


    "Just do that then. Need any help?" [Shingi]


    Syra shook her head as she took a deep breath, and Shingi detected a massive amount of Spirit Mana gathering at her hand, forming a small sphere. She hadpressed a lot of Spirit Mana, maybe even more than what Shingi could handle, in the small ball, which wasn''trger than a ping-pong ball.


    She brought the Spirit Mana closer to the burn mark but stopped as Nivlek moved a bit.


    "Stay still, or that much will drive you mad." [Syra]


    Nivlek stayed still as she got frozen in ce as Syra made her Spirit Balle in touch with the unknown Rune.


    Shingi could barely detect the fight of the two energies, and he could tell that one of the Rune was more potent than the one of Syra''s. She knew she couldn''t surpass it in power and quality, so she used quantity.


    As Syra''s remaining Spirit Mana was less than half of what she started with, Rune''s energy began showing signs of weakening.


    Shingi wanted to help, but he didn''t know how to do so. Then he got an idea to try something he had never tried before.


    He put his hand over the shoulder Syra, trying not to pass through her, and closed his eyes while he focused.


    ================================


    Attempt to transfer the remaining active effect of <em>Blessing of Beliss</em> was detected.


    Do you want to proceed with the transfer?


    <strong>YES / NO</strong>


    The cooldown of the Blessing will get double the usual amount.


    ================================


    Shingi selected yes, and Syra''s <strong>INT</strong> got boosted. Her INT was already high, but since she was dealing with something unknown, any boost would help. He wasn''t sure what her limit you be and if she could go over 30 since she wasn''t from their world, but he doubted a rule like that would not take effect.


    The fight changed, as even if Syra still was losing some of her Spirit Mana, the amount was multiple times less than before. She didn''t know what Shingi did to her, but she had a task to focus on.


    Finally, as almost one-tenth of the starting Spirit Mana, she had gathered remained, she sessfully made ayer with the remaining mana to surround the burn mark. The burn mark was now white, showing the field that was keeping any energy from getting out.


    Syra seemed exhausted after that, but she would be way worse if she didn''t have the help of Shingi.


    "What was that? What did you do to me?" [Syra]


    "I will exinter. But you should rest for now." [Shingi]


    She agreed as she didn''t want to see what would happen if she over-exhausted herself.


    "So, how about those questions? Now you have nothing to be afraid of." [Shingi]


    There was the chance of Mikhail noticing that they blocked hismunication with that Seal, but Shingi was confident he would have more in his mind. Annoue had somehow used one of his creations and got herself in Syra''s ce, and since Netsu was in prison, Shingi was sure that things went quiteplicated, and Mikhail wanted to punish him for whatever happened.


    "Fine. But what I am going to tell you is for your ears only." [Nivlek]


    Shingi signaled everyone to leave them alone. He waited a bit and after making sure that everyone was far enough; he continued their talk.


    "So how about you tell me your real name?" [Shingi]


    "I don''t have a name anymore, but they used to call me by many things. Used to be called a hero, a Blessed One, a wife, a mother." [Nivlek]


    Shingi had a bad feeling about this.


    "I used to be known as Angel''s Feather." [Nivlek]

 Chapter 162: Revelations

    Chapter 162: Revtions


    Shingi froze in ce after hearing what she said.


    "This can''t be. You can''t be her." [Shingi]


    It didn''t make sense. How could she be his mother? She was supposed to be an Arcane de, meaning partially a Warrior, partially Mage, but she seemed to have a fully Mage ss from what he could see. Could Mikhail have found a way to change her ss?


    But even so, she didn''t seem to recognize either him or An, who looked the same as Annoue. She seemed like the type to care too much about her children, so she should recognize them even after that long. Also, her voice was the same as the one in his dreams and the recording he had heard from a''s gift. But he did not know how she was supposed to look, as nobody gave him a description of her.


    "I am uncertain about it myself. I have part of my memory from back then, but there is a lot that is missing. But there is something that I am certain about; Mikhail isn''t the real bad guy." [Nivlek]


    "What do you mean? You know what he has done, don''t you? He seeks power that doesn''t belong to him or any human." [Shingi]


    "But he isn''t human. At least not for a long time. But still, his purpose is to prevent the real enemy from getting here." [Nivlek]


    Shingi tried to read every movement of her, to understand if she was lying or hiding anything, but it seemed like she told the truth.


    "What is he then? And who is the real enemy?" [Shingi]


    "I can''t tell you. They can''t know anything." [Nivlek]


    "They? Who are they? I thought you said you were going to speak. So speak." [Shingi]


    "I can''t tell you much because you are being watched. All I can tell you is Mikhail isn''t the person you think he is and his reason isn''t an evil one, either. He took things to the extreme, but he has no option about it." [Nivlek]


    Shingi could feel a headache building up, just for him trying to think of all the usible scenarios of what she told him to make sense.


    "Do you know what happened to Annoue?" [Shingi]


    He paid attention to see her reaction to that name, and he actually saw some sadness in her eyes for a split second.


    "I am uncertain what happened. She seemed like they put her to training, but the reports of Netsu, her teacher, stopped a couple of weeks ago. But Mikail doesn''t want to harm her. You need to understand it." [Nivlek]


    "You said you were a Blessed One. And that you don''t remember everything about your time then. What do you remember?" [Shingi]


    They talked about her memories, which weren''t as much as Shingi hoped.


    She remembered a bit about meeting Garry and Harbin and learning about their eyes and a bit about her pregnancy, but not of giving birth or of the kids. As for her ss, she really had changed to a full mage one, one Shingi never heard of, The Dark Spirit Master. It seemed to be because of her special mana, abination of Air, Dark, and Spirit Element, but she hasn''t given it a name yet since she was the first to have it.


    She seemed to have simr abilities with a Necromancer. Still, her undead was more powerful, and their bodies actually adjusted to its soul, making it easier for the main Spirit she selected to act as the ''soul'' to use its foul power, at least to an extend. In addition, her undeads'' bodies got formed of shadows instead of flesh.


    Shingi wondered why she had summoned none of them back on the previous floor, and the reason seemed to be that the undead of the floor would attack them even if she ordered them not to. The undead would eat them, which would increase their power, but temporarily as it would also weaken Nivlek. That''s why she didn''t do it unless she had no other choice.


    As for how she met Mikhail, this was actually the first clear memory she had, as everything before that was kinda blurry or unfinished. He found her, wounded and ready to die, and actually healed her to full health. She didn''t remember how she got to this state, but she knew she was supposed to fight a great evil, but she didn''t remember what it was.


    Shingi tried to find a way to give him more pieces of information about that unknown enemy, but she seemed to be careful with what she said.


    He also tried to ask her why she didn''t go back to the realm that the Blessed One was supposed to be from, aka the real world, but it seemed like she had lost the ability to do so. The System also considered her an NPC, as it changed all her abilities to fit its rules. As for her ability to respawn, she wasn''t certain if she had it or not, but she wasn''t willing to try.


    He tried to ask what she knew about Annoue, but she had just met her a few times before sending her to this floor, but Annoue never saw her. She didn''t talk a lot about Annoue, but Shingi could tell that Nivlek cared about Annoue, even if she tried to hide it. He wasn''t certain if she tried to hide it from him or herself.


    He tested using his eye''s power to persuade her to speak, but they didn''t work. He wondered why then he avoided looking at him. Could she actually remember or subconsciously recognize who he is?


    "So, what do you want to do now? You want to go back to be a pawn in the ns of Mikhail?" [Shingi]


    "I am no pawn. And even if I was, his n will help us all more than you think. He is doing it for the good of all the Realms." [Nivlek]


    "He and the Dark Guild are messing with powers over their head. They both help release the Tower''s monsters, and you tell me he is doing for the greater good? Do you know how many people are going to die if those monsters get out?" [Shingi]


    This seemed to have faced Nivlek, as she didn''t seem to have thought about it that way. She had all the pieces of information, but she never put them together.


    "I. I don''t know what to believe. Mikhail isn''t evil I can swear on that. His ns and methods may look unorthodox, but he really means well." [Nivlek]


    Shingi didn''t know what to say. She clearly wouldn''t change her mind about Mikhail, no matter what he said. To tell the truth, he even doubted himself a bit.


    ''Could there be an actual bigger threat? But what could it be for him to gather that much power?'' [Shingi]


    The more he thought about it, the crazier it seemed to be, but also somewhat logical at the same time. He didn''t have enough information but had many potential scenarios of what could be the truth.


    He didn''t know what to do with her now. He couldn''t kill her, as she could somehow be his and Annoue''s mother. Still, keeping her around wouldn''t be safe, as maybe Mikhail could have other ways to monitor her and monitor them too if they were around her.


    "What will you do if we let you go? Will you just return to your duties?" [Shingi]


    "I can''t. Mikhail should know by now that I have failed, and he doesn''t like when people fail him. Also, I can''t go back even if I wanted. I don''t know how to go down." [Nivlek]


    Shingi didn''t know what to do. If he kept her around, it would be as having a spy among them, either if she nned on spying on them or not. But he couldn''t just let her be herself, even if she was strong enough to protect herself.


    "*sigh* You will stay with us. But if you try anything or find out you are talking with him you are going to be by yourself." [Shingi]


    She nodded to show that she agreed, and Shingi notice signs of happiness in her eyes for a split second. After that, she kept not showing signs of different emotions when he mentioned something, but it would be gone as soon as it appeared.


    ''What did he do to her?'' [Shingi]


    As for why he decided to let her join them because he was certain that Mikhail was aware of their movement and could monitor them already. Now and then, he had that strange feeling of being watched, but he never detected anyone around. So maybe Mikhail could use some kind of <strong>SCRY</strong> himself too.


    "There is something else I can tell you, or to be more precise, to show you." [Nivlek]


    Shingi studied her a bit before untying her. The effects of his Spirit de were getting weaker as they weren''t permanent, so it wouldn''t be long since she would get herself free unless he kept using his Spirit de on her. But if he kept using it, it could cause him to get Spirit Madness and possibly build up her resistance.


    After he untied her, she put her hand in a pocket of hers and pulled out a piece of leather. It seemed to be part of some armor, and on it, there was a symbol sewed on it, with a golden threat.


    The symbol was two swords ced to make an X and a helmet in front of the swords. There was one word above the swords and one down, and the entire name was ''Enerias World.'' This was the logo of thepany that created the game they were currently in.


    It was a new studio that worked with the Company behind the capsule, and they actually had made many improvements to the design of the capsule, even if they weren''t the first ones to make a game at it.


    "Where did you find that?" [Shingi]


    "Mikhail gave it to me. He said that it belonged to the enemy." [Nivlek]


    ''What is going on here?'' [Shingi]

 Chapter 163: Enerias World

    Chapter 163: Enerias World


    The only people who could have this symbol on their armor would be the New Gods. They all belonged under a Guild named Enerias World, but it never took part in any Guild activities, as it wouldn''t be fair. No yer could join this Guild, and only people that were part of the Development team were members.


    Ameanum had the chance to be part of it, but since he would get limited on ying the game, he decided against joining.


    "How are they the enemy? They are here to help and keep the peace." [Shingi]


    "No, Master has been clear that they n something nasty. They aren''t as good as you thought." [Nivlek]


    Shingi didn''t notice any signs of her lying, which meant either that she was telling the truth or she believed she was telling the truth. He had worked on that game for many years, but even if he hadn''t worked with the Eneria''s World team for that long, he knew that the mainpany behind the capsule were good people. He also knew many people belonging to the Enerias World Guild, like Night Wind, and they were good guys.


    But there was a tiny chance of them hiding something as he never monitored their actions, but why would they do something bad in the game?


    "How can you be certain about this? Have you seen any proofs other than this piece? He could just lie to you to control you." [Shingi]


    "He had shown me what is toe. They are going to invade us in time, but first, they need to prepare." [Nivlek]


    This sounded like crazy talk, so Shingi wanted to put a stop to it. But before he did, Nivlek added something.


    "This isn''t a game, Shingi." [Nivlek]


    Shingi looked at her curiously and noticed some fear in her eyes, which this time remained. It was like she remembered some terrifying memory and was reliving it.


    "What do you mean? What is it then?" [Shingi]


    She was ready to say something, but a hole opened under her feet and sucked her in. Shingi tried to catch her, but some chains appeared out of nowhere at an inhuman speed and kept him in ce.


    This was a familiar feeling of power but was stronger; it was Mikhail.


    "''I think you learned a lot for today, kid. You should meet me face to face if you want to learn more.''" [Mikhail]


    The portal that got Nivlek disappeared, and so did the chain, letting Shingi move once more. It seemed like truly Mikhail could monitor them and even could open a portal like that. Shingi doubted he left his ce, which meant that he monitored them from his headquarter, which was many floors above them.


    The rest of the party noticed what happened, as he was still within sight of them, but they were d to see that he was fine.


    "What happened? How did she escape." [Wild Tycoon]


    "It was Mikhail. It seemed like we underestimated him. We should be extra careful from now on." [Shingi]


    Everyone nodded as they understood how serious this was.


    "Did you get any information out of her?" [Mizuneko]


    "She knew a few things." [Shingi]


    He told about who she said she was and everything she told him, except for the revtion about the Enerias World. Shingi didn''t believe that story yet, and he had to be careful. If they really had some other n that they were hiding all along, then they were facing something over their head.


    The more he thought about it; the more things made sense about the Dark Guild. He always wondered why the Company did nothing about them, but if they worked with the Enerias World Guild, this would give them the power not to fear anyone like the one he had heard from Soryn.


    As for thest mention of this not being a game, he thought little about it. Even if this game was more realistic than anything else created, at least while Shingi was still part of the real world, it was still a world made by a program. Or could it not be the case?


    He was part of the team to test the game mostly and not so much to develop it, even if he had given some feedback on how things could be done. He stillcked information, so he just put it at the back of his head.


    "Should we move our camp, since he knows where we are?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "No. It would be a waste of time and energy. He won''t go after us yet, as he had invited me to get to him as soon as possible. He probably will monitor us or learn about us if we face other people like Nivlek. I doubt she was the only one." [Shingi]


    He didn''t get the chance to ask her if there were more like her, and at floors, they would be, but he would recognize them easily, as they would have the burn mark most likely.


    "Let''s rest. This forest has some mutated beasts, but their <strong>INT</strong> is low, so the Repellents would keep them away. As for the Boss, we should face it to weaken the Tower''s energy and be certain it won''t evolve in the future. It is a Beast-Type Monster itself, so its <strong>INT</strong> is Low, and its chance to evolve is also low, but these types are dangerous if they evolve. We won''t have any problem with it as long as we clear someirs of the other beasts, as it can call them as reinforcement. Each one will not be an enormous challenge, but facing them together it will be." [Shingi]


    This was one of the few floors that the Boss was a random one. There were different types ofirs, each one with only one type of beasts. One representative from eachir would take part in a battle to the death of all the representatives. Thest survivor would be the Boss of the floor, and its kind would get further mutated during his leadership.


    The other beasts normally followed the Boss''s orders, but it wasn''t umon for some to attack it to take over the ''throne,'' but only if they found the chance. Their <strong>INT</strong> was still low but was over normal beasts.


    The beasts not killed after the Boss died kept those further mutations; that''s why Ameanum tried to kill all of them back then. If the mutations stacked, they would be problematic for next time, especially if one of them became the Boss.


    Since they were in a forest, he enabled his Earth Element and disabled Light this time. He would need Light Element to use his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> or his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, but most of the beasts here had a pretty good nose, so those Spells would be useless against them.


    "So she was supposed to be your mother? That''s a crazy family you have here." [Syra]


    "To tell the truth, nothing about my family makes sense. I think I have more questions than answers at this point, and the only one who seems to have those answers is Mikhail. It seems like he wants to speak with me, but I don''t know why. He has an agenda, but I am not sure what part I take to it." [Shingi]


    "I have met many families, and I can tell you something that all of them had inmon. They were problematic. Some may hide it, some it was open for everyone to see and didn''t care, and others don''t even know that they had one. But this is what families are for, getting together to face those problems. Or at least that is my opinion." [Syra]


    Shingi seemed to be in deep thoughts after hearing those words.


    His family from his father''s side was part of an unknown sub-race of humans, his mother used to be a Blessed One, his sister was born with a Mana Pool, and they may be rted to a crazy Old Man who thinks there is a great conspiracy that may or may not be true. Mikhail''s eyes were gray when Shingi had met him, but those could be his special eyes if he were actually like him.


    He didn''t know about the eyes or could detect their energy back then, so there was no way to know. But with the discussion he had with Nivlek, he got the feeling that this assumption was correct.


    Shingi had some small talk with Syra and trained a bit on his Spirit Mana control since now he could use it.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>MINOR HEAL</strong> (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    This was the first healing spell his party had ess to, as none of his students were interested in the healing arts, and they had Hineko''s potions in case they needed any. But duringbat, the regeneration potions wouldn''t be as useful. Especially if facing a mighty enemy.


    Still, if this was had the word MINOR, it was almost as potent as any of the top Base Grade Healing Spells Shingi had encountered in the game. This was the power of the true Element of healing. He couldn''t overuse it, but his limit was quite high because of his eyes, but still, he needed to be careful. If he kept reaching that limit, even if he was lucky enough not to get Spirit Madness, his resistance would get lower, which probably would also decrease his limit.


    But the strain of using the Spirit mana didn''t take too long to pass, as long as he didn''t reach very close to his limit.


    Syra exined many of those to him since he didn''t have time to do so many tests. The symptoms of overusing Spirit Mana were the same as in her world, which helped with his training, even if drawing their mana from their Mana Pool was different.


    He didn''t learn any other spells and rested before they started their way around theirs.


    They nned to take them all out, as it would be a superb source of exp for all of them, as the monsters were getting closer to their level.

 Chapter 164: Bird hunting

    Chapter 164: Bird hunting


    The first beast they nned to face was the one that was the trickiest for a few, the Eagles. They were the only ones that could fly, making them hard to catch unless you could fly or have some urate high-range attack. However, their abilities to maneuver were top-notch.


    They could also use Air Element mana from the moment they got created, which was rare for Beast-rted monsters. They mostly used it to boost their speed and maneuver abilities, but there were cases of some casting actual Spells like a <strong>TORNADO</strong> towards their victims.


    Theirir was actually in a mountain since this floor was ten timesrger than any of the previous ones. So the energy used on each floor would just increase from now on, making either the monsters stronger or the floorrger, or both sometimes.


    The Eagles were also the ones with the highest <strong>INT</strong> among the beasts, and most times didn''t take part in the battle of who will be the next Boss or answering the summoning of the current one.


    Ameanum always dealt with them when he was around, as many had survived through floors reset, had multiple modifications, and increased their chance of evolving. Of course, since they actually didn''t work for the Boss, their earnings were limited, but it was the slow, safe way.


    On the way to the mountain, they encountered a few groups of beasts, mostly wolves, that seemed to be out for hunting.


    "Do you think the current Boss is a wolf? They all seem to have simr modifications." [Mizuneko]


    "I don''t think so. The groups seem to be well made." [Shingi]


    The Boss had to spend his energy on those modifications, and he used it per beast and not type of beast. In most cases, you would encounter groups with one or two having modifications, and most times would be of the kind of the Boss.


    But now, all the groups of wolves they had encountered seemed to have simr modifications. Every group member got modified, but not all had the same, but each group had the same variety. It was like someone had actually decided what each one would take to make the groups, which was a sign of higher <strong>INT</strong> than expected.


    That was another reason Shingi wanted to go to the mountains to investigate if one of the Eagles was the Boss. However, if it were the case, he would have to leave for the rest of theirs first; otherwise, he would continue their attack.


    The Eagles may not answer to the Boss most of the time, but they would still report any strange activities, and they were among the best scouts one could wish for. Shingi needed his enemies to be blind to what he was doing for as long as possible.


    As for the Eagles asking for help, he doubted to be the case, as they seemed too proud to do that. Instead, they were too proud of their ability to escape.


    Shingi cast <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> on his party when they almost reached the mountain. It wasn''t to hide from the Eagle but the scouts of the other beasts. He knew that possibly even his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> would be useless against the Eagle''s eyes, but the other beasts wouldn''t be that good. He knew that there always were scouts for the Eagles since they were <em>''rebellious.''</em> Killing those scouts would draw too much attention, so they went for the sneaky way.


    Fortunately, everyone picked up a few things over <strong>STEALTH</strong> the past weeks, even if at most times they weren''t trying to hide, so they reached the mountain path easily enough.


    The path was rough but not as rough to climb as the one they found An at.


    Syra had no problem, as she could just make herself smaller to be carried by An, as she didn''t seem to want anyone else to carry her. She seemed to have be closer to everyone, but Shingi understood she looked forward to returning home.


    He wished he could find a way to get her at home, which would mean he could get Annoue, too, without facing Mikhail. He was curious about his mother, if that was actually her and not a trick of Mikhail, but his focus was mostly on the tasks at hand, and she wasn''t one.


    He hoped more SCRY tries would work in the future, and he actually decided not to overuse it since it seemed to use his Spirit Mana without him noticing.


    Going up the mountain, everything was normal and quiet until they started finding empty nests with broken shells of eggs. There were different sizes of eggs, and the highest on the mountain, they got the biggest the shells until they reached a little over half the size of Shingi.


    Shingi had seen nothing like that, as even if Eagles in the past made nests, there were never eggs in them.


    <em>''Could it be because nobody killed them all this time?''</em> [Shingi]


    He never encountered multiple generations of beast monsters on a floor that was already cleared once. Even if, in theory, for the monsters to get reproduced was possible, but most times, they just didn''t have enough time. But even if they got reproduced, the floor could have a certain amount of monsters in it, meaning the oldest and weakest ones would die to give space to the newest and strongest.


    But inspecting the eggs, Shingi soon understood that they weren''t broken because what was inside it was ready to get out, but somebody destroyed them before that happened. There were remains of the unborn at a few, now dead and unfinished eagle babies.


    There were no tracks or signs of battle, which was quite weird. No signs of Eagles being around either, but they still hadn''t reached the top of the mountain.


    "Is this a normal sign?" [Syra]


    The path up the mountain was more walkable, so she didn''t need to be carried.


    "No, it isn''t. Which brings the questions of who is behind this?" [Shingi]


    "Could it be that Old Dude behind it again?" [Hineko]


    Shingi started thinking about what Mikhail could earn from something like that, and the more he thought about it, the less he thought he could be the one behind it. The Eagles were fascinating creatures, but he was confident that they weren''t that great for someone like Mikhail. The possible samples of them weren''t that great.


    "Let''s focus on our way ahead and our surroundings for now. We may find some clues." [Shingi]


    They moved and encountered more nests and broken eggs, and the higher they got there seemed the fewer eggs they encountered. But Shingi could find signs of some being here. It seemed someone was moving them, but Shingi couldn''t find any tracks suggesting that.


    This could mean two things. Either the ones behind it were good at hiding their tracks or weren''t leaving any tracks. Shingi doubted there was only one person behind it unless Mikhail actually was the one behind it.


    At a point, they reached a huge nest, as big as a football stadium. In the middle of it, there was an enormous egg covering at least half the nest. This was like nothing that Shingi had ever seen.


    The egg was unharmed, with now even a single crack on it, at least from what Shingi and the rest could tell, as they couldn''t see it all without having to walk around it.


    "Don''t tell me that this is supposed to be an Eagle egg." [Wild Tycoon]


    "It looks like the rest." [Mizuneko]


    Other than the size difference, it was identical to the other eggs. So Shingi focused his detection skills on it and found that the egg drew Tower''s Energy in the middle of it like it tried to feed itself.


    "We should destroy it. If that creature actually gets born, it has to be stronger than anything here." [Wild Tycoon]


    She had her axe at hand and was ready to take a swing, but Shingi stopped her by putting his hand in front of her.


    "We can''t kill an unborn baby. Monster or not, it has done no wrong." [Shingi]


    "Then what? We should just wait for it to start causing havoc before we deal with it?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "Of course not. But there are other ways to deal with a situation. Killing and violence isn''t always the solution." [Shingi]


    He walked closer to the egg and put his hand over its shell. He closed his eyes, and as he activated their special ability, he started focusing on <em>''feeding''</em> his Spirit Mana to the egg. The Tower was the owner of each monster because its energy created them, but what would happen if it wasn''t the case.


    He was going to let it be born by using his Spirt Mana to strengthen it to the point of getting out of its egg. This would create a bond with it to recognize him as his master, or so he hoped. He didn''t know how much energy he needed to give or how much energy the Tower had given, but if things went wrong, dealing with that monster while it still was newborn wouldn''t be a challenge. Every monster needed time to adjust to its body.


    As he kept feeding the egg his Spirit Mana, he tried to see what would happen if he tried to feed it any of his other Elements. It only epted his Air Element, which was expected, so he started feeding it with both Spirit and Air Mana.


    As time passed, the egg was getting smaller, and as it reached half its size, it started cracking. After that, it continued to get smaller until it was a little over two meters in height and stopped over there, as it only continued producing more cracks on its surface.


    As the cracks became a little wider, some blueish mist started getting out of it.


    Then the eggshell started producing bright blue light, whichsted for a few seconds but was bright enough to make everyone close their eyes and look away, or they could get blind.


    When the light was gone, and everyone opened their eyes again, they noticed a creature in front of Shingi, where the egg was.


    This creature was a ck feather chicken.

 Chapter 165: Strange chicken

    Chapter 165: Strange chicken


    At first, Shingi thought he just saw things, that this was just a ck Eagle, but his eyes might get affected by the light somehow. But as time passed, nothing changed. There was still a normal size ck feather chicken in front of him.


    The chicken was asleep, and Shingi could see it breathing normally. His <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> detected that it had a Mana Pool of Air Element, as expected. However, he couldn''t tell if it also had Spirit Mana.


    ================================


    An unknown creature tries to create a bond with you. Do you ept?


    <strong>YES / NO</strong>


    ================================


    It seemed to feed it his Spirit Mana actually made a connection, and actually a bond through the System. Creating a Bond was pretty simr to what Tamers used to the creatures they tamed, but it had some extra benefits. But not every creature could be bonded with, and only a few among them even gave that option. But every one of those creatures was among the top of the power chain, or at least could reach that power.


    Shingi, of course, epted without thinking further about it, but he then fell to his knees.


    ================================


    <strong>MP REACHED 0. INCAPACITATED CONDITION ACTIVATED FOR 2 HOURS.</strong>


    ================================


    He knew little about how bonds worked since the ones lucky enough to have a bonded creature kept it a well-kept secret, but now he understood why all of them were mages. Unfortunately, the bond needed a massive amount of mana toplete itself, and even his massive Mana Pool seemed not to be enough. So he probably needed to feed it in doses until reaching the final amount.


    An helped him drink a Mana Regeneration potion, which with his Minor Mana Regeneration had decreased the time his <strong>INCAPACITATED</strong> Condition wouldst at one hour instead.


    Still, his <strong>MP</strong> was almost empty and would take some time to restore it at full. He didn''t know how much mana he needed to use to finish the bond. He detected that the sleeping chicken was slowly drawing to itself Tower''s Spirit Mana, meaning it was a race of who would end it first.


    He could feel that the Bond wasn''tplete and was too weak, almost nonexistent, meaning if he let the Tower feeding, it could miss his chance. But, of course, people outside the Tower wouldn''t have that problem since the Spirit Mana out there was more limited.


    With his current rate regenerating MP, he couldn''t possibly make it, but then he had an idea.


    "Syra, fight me." [Shingi]


    "Why? Did you hit your head or using that much energy had messed with your head?" [Syra]


    "Just do it. You don''t need to get serious." [Shingi]


    She seemed skeptical, but she trusted Shingi, formed a water ball, and threw it towards him. After he avoided it, he felt a familiar sensation; an aura got activated from his Angel''s Boon since An was nearby.


    But it was an SP Regeneration aura, which wasn''t what he aimed for. During their fights, he felt all three of the auras while fighting nearby An, but the one restoring MP was the one that appeared the least. But it was possible, so he told Syra to stop thebat.


    He ended his recruitment as he told Hineko to attack him. The aura wouldn''t enable if he was finding someone he had recruited him or if he was at the same party as the one who recruited him. Also, if he stopped fighting someone and started fighting again within the hour, the aura would always be the same, so he had to have a different target.


    Hineko also enabled the SP Regeneration aura, so he moved to Wild Tycoon, enabling the HP Regeneration aura. Mizuneko followed, who also enabled the SP Regeneration aura, and finally, it came Little Phoenix''s turn, which gave him the MP Regeneration aura.


    After making sure that he had the right aura, as the System didn''t tell him, but he had to tell by feeling, he enabled the active effect of Angel''s Boon.


    And so, his <strong>MP</strong> was full once again.


    He went over the chicken once more and started pouring his Mana on it once more. He used only Spirit Mana, as this time it rejected Air Manapletely.


    He was pouring his man at a slow rate to notice the differences, and as time passed, he became faster at it. Finally, his <strong>MP</strong> reached half-point, and he still didn''t seem to have reached the amount needed. He had consumed another MP Regeneration potion, as the effects of the previous one were over, but since he consumed one so fast, his effects got weakened a bit.


    Since he wasn''t inbat, his MP Regeneration aura was over, but it would be deactivated either way since he used the active ability of the Boon.


    He was close to reaching his <strong>MP</strong> at 0 once more until he saw the still sleeping chicken moving.


    ================================


    <strong>CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING THE BOND.</strong>


    <strong>BOND RATE</strong>: 65%


    ================================


    He had used almost all his Mana twice on the egg and the chicken to finish the bond, and his rate was lower than one would expect. If he hadn''t used his Angel''s Boon or didn''t have the Minor Mana Regeneration or their MP Regeneration or even his massive Mana Pool, he probably would have less than 50%, which would be as good as failing.


    Still, the Tower having that big Bond Rate wouldn''t be good news, but at least he had the majority.


    The chicken stood up and looked towards Shingi with eyes like a puppy seeing its owner returning home.


    "Oh, it is so cute. Are you going to give it a name?" [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi wasn''t good with names, especially for animals. He had named Volig and An, but they had to do with people they were rted to, and his choice wasn''t the best.


    "Well, I guess first we need to know if it is male or female before picking a name." [Shingi]


    It looked like a chicken and not a rooster, but there were some differences from a normal chicken. For example, its peak and toenails seemed sharper and longer, as also seemed to be a bit less round, and its wings being longer by a little.


    Shingi normally wouldn''t like to try finding its gender, as he would need to examine its body while still alive, which was quite weird even for him. But since he was bonded with it, he could check its status.


    ================================


    <strong>STATUS</strong>


    <strong>Name</strong>: Unnamed


    <strong>ss</strong>: None


    <strong>Race</strong>: Male ???????? ???????


    <strong>HP</strong>: ???/???


    <strong>SP</strong>: ???/???


    <strong>MP</strong>: ???/???


    <strong>STR</strong>: ??


    <strong>AGI</strong>: ??


    <strong>END</strong>: ??


    <strong>INT</strong>: ??


    <strong>Mana Pool</strong>: Air and Spirit Element


    <strong>PASSIVE SKILLS</strong>


    ?????? ?????, Minor Mana Regeneration (Inherited), Mana Detection (Inherited)


    <strong>SKILLS</strong>


    None


    <strong>SPELLS</strong>


    None


    <strong>Blessings</strong>: Blessing of Nyhm (Inherited)


    ================================


    Shingi was surprised at how little info he could actually see. But those ''?'' weren''t random ones, especially in the stats. The number of ''?'' meant that there was an actual number being hidden. So its HP, MP, and SP were over 99 and under 1000. Those numbers were incredible, especially considering the fact that it had no ss.


    But that didn''t mean that its current power was great as it still wouldn''t know how to use it. Normally it would take months, or maybe weeks, if it was on its own, but with Shingi on his side would be a lot faster.


    "So it is a he. I am open to suggestions for names, but first, let''s make sure the ce is as abandoned as it looks. Could use some rest." [Shingi]


    Looking around, they didn''t find any signs suggesting anyone being around recently but noticed that at the huge nest, there were pieces of eggshells and some gooey substances simr to the ones that there were on some of the broken eggs they met. So it seemed they found where the missing unborn eagle babies went and their missing shells but still didn''t know what use they served.


    <em>''Could it be that they also got consumed by the egg?''</em> [Shingi]


    It wasn''t abnormal for monsters eating their kind to get stronger, but doing something like that for an egg sounded absurd. Maybe it was a part of the ritual to create the egg. But then, where is the one who made the ritual?


    They actually found a nearby cave that had no track of being used recently and rested there. They didn''t use the repellents this time, as their power could draw unwanted attention.


    The chicken kept following Shingi, and at first, it had some problem walking, but with some help from Little Phoenix, who seemed to be captured by its cuteness, it adjusted quickly enough to move by itself.


    They made a campfire, but instead of an actual fire, they used a Fire Mana Gem to heat some water as they made something to eat.


    In the meantime, Shingi tried to see what the new member of their team could do. Unfortunately, it had no Skills or Spells, but he probably could teach him a few. As for its ss, he didn''t know how to help it, as monsters earned their sses differently than how NPCs did.


    He started teaching it <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> and <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> since it had mana of its own. This reminded him of when he first started training with Annoue, who was in a simr situation. Both of them even had the Air Element, but of course, Annoue couldn''t use Spirt Mana.


    It learned both skills in less than half an hour and actually reached them in Master Rank at that time. Its speed was more than incredible; it was inhuman.


    Then he started seeing teaching it his few Air and Spirit-based spells he knew, except his Spirit h, as in would be difficult to cast this without a weapon and wanted to keep it for himself, even if nobody else could use it either way.


    He also discussed with the others and decided on a name for it after noticing it blend perfectly in the darkness because of its natural color.


    The name they gave it was Dark Shadow.

 Chapter 166: Training the Shadow

    Chapter 166: Training the Shadow


    Through their training, Shingi came to a few conclusions. Dark Shadow learned its Skills fast enough that Shingi knew that his <strong>INT</strong> was over 15 but less than 20. His <em>Schr Master</em> Profession also affected him because of their bond.


    He also noticed something more about the body of Dark Shadow, something that Syra noticed before him. A thinyer of Spirit Mana surrounded its body, and also most of his feathers made by Spirt Mana, mixed somehow with Dark Mana.


    Shingi couldn''t understand why the Dark Mana mixed in it, but it could be because of the way the egg got created. That egg wasn''t naturally made, as somebody sacrificed all those eggs for it.


    Shingi wondered if that meant that it could at least use Dark Mana better than normal, as it couldn''t create any from its Mana Pool. He tested this theory, which seemed to be why it could hide that well in the Darkness. It worked a little better than his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> but not as good as his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>.


    That was without it knowing the <strong>STEALTH</strong> Skill, which was in Shingi''s ns to teach to his new ''pet.'' He tested how fast or strong it was and found out that its <strong>AGI</strong> was also quite high, while his <strong>STR</strong> seemed to focus more on its feet. Its wings were quite weak, but with its toenails, it could sh rocks and possibly metals. But Shingi couldn''t test this theory.


    Its END wasn''t as high as the rest, as it got tired quite fast, meaning that it was using its SP at a fast rate. Even if its SP seemed to be quite high, possibly because of its Race, its END was low, meaning its consumption was high. Still, Dark Shadow was also not very familiar with the limits of his body, so its situation could change it.


    Shingi tried tomunicate with it, and it was just one-waymunication for now. Dark Shadow understood him, at least to a degree, as showed signs of confusion on someplicated tips on using the Skills that Shingi gave him. But other than some bird noises, close to what a raven would do, with a little deeper voice, no other sign of Dark Shadow trying tomunicate with Shingi.


    He taught it the <strong>STEALTH</strong> Skill, but it just reached it at Base Rank. It seemed like the Skills that Shingi already had unlocked were easier for Dark Shadow to learn and reach the same Rank as him other than the help his profession offered.


    Shingi also taught him the <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> Skill, as it seemed a great tool to help use Spirit Mana since it was one of its Elements. But it reached the Master Rank in a little less than an hour and didn''t seem to make more progress on it. It seemed not everyone could pass Grandmaster Rank. At least Dark Shadow couldn''t yet. Shingi was certain that at some point would reach it; he just needed to be more familiar with his limits.


    Their trainingsted a couple of hours, but Dark Shadow learned so much in such a short time. It would take months, maybe even years, for others to do the same, and only if they were truly talented.


    Shing brought out Sinhunter, scaring Dark Shadow for a moment since it didn''t expect a pointy piece of metal to appear out of nowhere at the hand of someone he didn''t really know, even though his instincts told him he could trust Shingi.


    <em>"''You really seem to start to add weird individuals to your group.''"</em> [Sinhunter]


    <em>"''Do you think you canmunicate with it like with the Spirit Child? Maybe teach it a few things?''"</em> [Shingi]


    <em>"''I can try.''"</em> [Sinhunter]


    He held Sinhunter by the de and brought the handle in front of Dark Shadow.


    "Can you touch the sword?" [Shingi]


    Dark Shadow was a little reluctant, but in the end, pursued what Shingi told him to do. Some minutes passed that there was silence, but Shingi could feel some exchange between them through their Spirit Mana. Sinhunter could produce some itself, as its Spirit Tree was almost ready, but it was still far from finished. Shingi needed to help it with that but needed to gather a few things first.


    <em>"''This one at least is more open to speaking than thest one.''"</em> [Sinhunter]


    <em>"''So you couldmunicate with it. Did you learn anything? Do you think you can make it also speak the same way we speak with each other?''"</em> [Shingi]


    <em>"''The way I speak is unique for me and others like me; it isn''t something taught. Also, I learned that its mentality is quite low. He may be even more simple-minded than I used to be when we first met. But he is a fast learner as his speech was quite slow, and kept getting faster as time passed.''"</em> [Sinhunter]


    Even if Dark Shadow''s <strong>INT</strong> was quite high, that didn''t mean it could use it. Still, it needed the experience to do so, but his high <strong>INT</strong> allowed it to learn faster than normal.


    "''Do you think you can teach it a few things then? You probably can be a better teacher with your way ofmunication. Maybe teach it about what the Spirit Child shared with you.''" [Shingi]


    "''You certain about sharing that knowledge? He seems to like you, for now at least. But this feeling can change at any point.''" [Sinhunter]


    "''Just do it. I am sure it will learn them one way or another, but we need to speed things up. If you notice any weird conversation with it, let me know.''" [Shingi]


    He let got his sword with Dark Shadow since tomunicate with each other, Dark Shadow should touch the de, but it did not limit Shingi because of the bond he had with Sinhunter. Still, he couldn''t move too far away, or their telepathic bond would work, but he could move around their camp no problem without that happening.


    "That sword of yours seems quite weird. It emits some Spirit Element by itself. Is that part of a Rune? Don''t recognize the writing on it." [Syra]


    "It is a long story, but I guess I have some time." [Shingi]


    Shingi decided to take some long, well-earned rest and have a decent meal, as most times, they didn''t even cook any of the meat they had prepared.


    Shingi shared with Syra a brief description of what a growth-type weapon was, butpared to how much he learned from Beliss, it was just the tip of the iceberg.


    "How interesting. So it isn''t an actual Spirit in it but something created by the Rune?" [Syra]


    "That is one way to exin it. But this isn''t a rune, but something more ancient. I am not sure what it is called, but its logic seems to be abination of all the Elements. I think it possible that includes the Spirit Element too, but not sure how Varic could make it if that is the case." [Shingi]


    Making a rune didn''t just involve carving the right design but had to feed it with some Element. The morebinations used in a Rune, the harder it was to produce it. They could also create runes withbinations of different Elements, making the possibilities almost endless.


    Varic couldn''t use any mana himself, and he wasn''t an official <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong>, but some tools could pass these restrictions. Unfortunately, these worked like the Artifacts, meaning when Varic ''died,'' they disappeared. But still, he had to use Mana Gems as sources of the Element, meaning he could have a Spirit Mana Gem, as that was impossible to make.


    <em>''Could it be that he used just enough to seed back then?''</em> [Shingi]


    Shingi understood people weren''tpletely unable to use the Spirit Element since there were things like <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>, which seemed to be Spirit-Based even if it wasn''t a spell. It seemed people were just limited to how much they could do, and possibly Varic either passed that limit during his crafting or had used could use just enough with his Skills. Shingi had to do some tests in the future if he could make another ce to craft things.


    "Syra, do you remember the burn mark''s design to draw it and study it? I have some memory of it to help." [Shingi]


    "I could do it? Why do you want to help her? If Mikhail is as bad as you guys make him appear to be, she probably won''t have a good time currently. He kinda reminds me of a person I knew. He is quite old too, but not thousands of years old, although he looks like it." [Syra]


    "Well, we will try to help her if we can, but the real reason is I need it to be done for Annoue. She also has the same, or at least a simr, burn mark. We need to find a way to deal with it, especially if we meet more of his people. If it is used to monitor them, then freeing them from it might get them at our side, or at least weakening his forces." [Shingi]


    Mikhail was strong enough by himself, so Shingi would be happy if he had no people backing him up.


    "I will work on it. I will try to keep it a secret when he monitors us." [Syra]


    Shingi nodded on that but then noticed something that confused him.


    "Wait a minute. Can you tell if he monitors us?" [Shingi]


    "Yea, can''t you? Those glowing eyes appear now and then, but I thought you just ignored them." [Syra]


    "Are those eyes here now?" [Shingi]


    "No. They were though during your talk with that woman." [Syra]


    Shingi had noticed nothing like that, so either he couldn''t detect them, or he wasn''t careful enough. But he was confident that the case was that Syra could see them because she was a spirit.


    "Just send us a message next time they appear." [Shingi]


    Syra agreed, even if she still was getting used to using the chat. She was certain that it would be pretty useful to have something like that back home.


    At least now they had an extra advantage against Mikhail''s trying to monitor them.

 Chapter 167: Resting at the cave

    Chapter 167: Resting at the cave


    After getting something to eat, Shingi decided to rx a bit, as he hadn''t done for a while. He still had to go through everything he knew about the Growth Type equipment, as rarely he had free timetely. He wouldn''t train on anything, but doing nothingpletely was impossible for him, so he decided to organize his thoughts.


    Fortunately, all this info was avable to him like he was aputer, and that info was on an external hard drive. He had ess to them and could go through them, but he needed to organize them to find what he wanted easier in the future. He had researched the possible ways to strengthen Sinhunter, but he needed to get higher in the Tower to start this process. Shingi needed to gather different materials from monsters and some minerals that existed in ces on some of the Tower''s floors.


    He started looking for information about the rune''s nature, as also their meaning. Syra seemed to be knowledgeable on the runes, so it surprised Shingi when she said the one on his sword''s rune seemed unfamiliar to her.


    But he didn''t know exactly the limits of her knowledge or how simr the runes worked between their dimensions, but it seemed to be one simrity until now.


    He found some mentions of the people who handled creating the first Growth Type Equipment, which seemed to be a shield. It wasn''t a team that worked together over this task, but actually, it seemed like some people of simr interest sharing information, leading to one of them having a breakthrough.


    Reading around these stories, which seemed somewhat vague at a few points, but more detailed at others, Shingi found some names of the people that worked on that. The name of the one with the breakthrough was actually L''liw himself, which seemed to be what turned him from Mortal to God. Many of the Gods used to be mortals until they proved themselves worthy, and they were offered to join the Old Gods.


    But the name that drew mostly Shingi''s attention was of one who got mentioned as having affected L''liw''s sess the most. His name was Nyhm. The same as the Omni Mage from Syra''s world, and the same name as the one that Shingi had the Blessing of that allowed him to use the Spirit Element.


    He wasn''t certain if all three of them were the same, but those were too coincidental not to be. But if that was the truth, that meant that somehow the Nyhm from Syra''s world could get to his world.


    Researching more about mentions of Nyhm, he found a few more details, but not enough to understand if he had an ability like that. There were mentions of himmunicating and not meeting with L''liw, meaning maybe they never met face to face and just could talk with each other.


    Shingi thought for a second to send a message to Ae to ask her stepfather, but he decided against that, as it probably would make her go mad. Ae and L''liw were never on good terms unless when Ae wanted a new weapon.


    After spending an hour searching, Shingi found no simple answer to his question. As for the rune''s nature seemed like his hunch was correct; it was abination of all seven elements.


    It seemed different from usual runes because it used a unique system made and used by L''liw only. No details existed about how it worked, just the mention of its existence.


    The base element that connected everything else was the Spirit Element, which was the reason that made it have a mind of its own, at least at a degree.


    Shingi stopped as he started having a headache from going through so much information.


    He kept getting reports from Sinhunter for the progress of their newpanion. Sinhunter tried mostly to increase its mentality and not new skills. His progress seemed to be at a more than average rate, meaning that he would join them inbat after having a big rest here.


    He took a nap without using his TRANCE ROOM this time, as he wanted to rxpletely for a few moments. It was better for his mentality to take some time off and not be in action all the time. Since he found out TRANCE ROOM, he apparently was Spirit Based, and he decided not to overuse it, even if it didn''t have any side effect. He had noticed though its benefits were greatest in the Tower than out od it. At first, he thought that it was just him getting used to it, bus it most likely was because the Spirit Element is in greater quality and quantity in here.


    Before starting his nap, he made certain that everyone was on guards and watches were organized and scheduled. He decided to spend a full rest here, to allow Dark Shadow and Sinhunter to train with no disturbances.


    During his nap, Syra started copying on a piece of paper the burn mark rune of Nivlek and started studying it with Little Pheonix. Wild Tycoon and An had some sparring matches, with Hineko joining them now and then. Mizuneko decided to work on some new scrolls, as they had to use a few of them during the battle with the Lava Dragon.


    Fortunately, they had prepared many resources to make things like scrolls and a few herbs for making potions, but those were harder to make. Hineko didn''t have enough space to make hisb or enough time to replenish their used potions, but they were still far from running out.


    As his nap ended, he received a message from Sinhunter toe to take a look at them.


    "''How did things go?''" [Shingi]


    "''He is a fast learner, but no progress on making it over one-waymunication for you. But still, he should understand you better now. Also gave it some tips for when in battle.''" [Sinhunter]


    Shingi wanted to see Dark Shadow in action, but it still had many things to learn. It didn''t have any attack other than using its toenails like ws.


    Shingi started teaching it <strong>AIR SLASH</strong>, who normally would need a sword, but it was possible in other ways. Shingi remembered a yer using it with just his pointer finger.


    He would use his entire wing in Dark Shadow''s case, meaning he could use it no matter where.


    It was tricky to do the right movement at the right speed, but Dark Shadow adapted to the new situation in the end. Since Dark Shadow had the Air Element in his Mana Pool, he could make <strong>AIR SLASH</strong> into a Mana Weapon Skill and reached Base Rank soon enough.


    This one was the only one that could be learned as both Skill and Spell and be recognized by the System like that. The Spell version didn''t need one to have a high <strong>AGI</strong> or <strong>STR</strong>, but the Spell was weaker than the Skill in ''some cases depending on the user''s stats.


    He actually learned the Spell version of it to help demonstrate it easier, and even if it was weaker at the end than Dark Shadow''s, it was stronger than what Annoue''s was back at when training on it. That was because of both his AGI and INT being quite high, as also since he was using his Air Element to cast it.


    He had brought out his staff, a wand with an Air Mana Gem, and his sword. He wanted to work on changing between them, depending on the situation. Shingi hadn''t used his staff much because he was more used to using a sword, but he would soon need the boost that he took by the staff.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t make a staff with four Elements, but having just a wand was helping for now. He had stored some staves and wands on his Spatial Ring, just in case, which once more was a wise move. He never nned on unlocking more Elements, although he really would like to test it now. Maybe if he unlocked all the elements, he could be like Nyhm and get himself to where Annoue is or speak with her.


    Earning the Air Element was a pure ident, but still wasn''t certain what triggered this change. He had five of the seven Elements, missing Dark and Water, but he didn''t know how to learn them. But for now, he let it so that he could first be proficient using the Air Element as good as he could the others before learning the remaining ones.


    He kept working on Dark Shadows, Skills, and Spells and having Mizuneko helping on learning some new Air Element Based Spells. Both Dark Shadow now knew <strong>MANA DOUBLE - AIR ELEMENT</strong>, <strong>AIR BOLT</strong>, and <strong>AIR SLASH</strong>, although Dark Shadow had both the Skills and the Spell version, while Shingi had only the Spell version.


    But with the help of Mizuneko, Dark Shadow learned <strong>WIND SURGE</strong>, which would boost the speed of the target, and <strong>LEVITATE</strong>, which would help him hover a bit, but not as precise as flying.


    Shingi didn''t learn them as he had <strong>HASTE</strong> which was, in the end, more powerful than <strong>WIND SURGE</strong>; even if <strong>HASTE</strong> had side effects when ending, that <strong>WIND SURGE</strong> didn''t have. As for <strong>LEVITATE</strong>, it was easier for Dark Shadow to learn and use it at himself since he was lighter, as even Mizuneko didn''t have unlocked it to a finished version, unlike Dark Shadow. Shing would first help Mizuneko perfect it and then learn it himself. He had his boots nheless that had a better effect than <strong>LEVITATE</strong>.


    It was funny seeing Dark Shadow using levitate, as it was pping his wings to fly away, but the spell mostly allowed him to hover and possibly move sideways and not freely fly around. Dark Shadow apparently desired to fly since he was a bird, but his body structure didn''t make it look like he could normally fly. His wings were almost as big as an Eagle of its size would be, maybe a little smaller, but its body was rounder and heavier. Even so, with the use of magic, this was possible, and he had the right Element for it; he just had to keep training.


    There have been almost 12 hours since they arrived at that cave. Shing and Dark Shadow weren''t training on any new Skills or Spells but focusing on strengthening their Air Element side of their Mana Tree, as the Air Element had a highpatibility rate up here.


    Shingi''s current Elements were Air, Fire, Earth, and of course, Spirit, and he had his <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> and his other detection Skills active just in case. Everything was quiet until Shingi detected some movement from outside the cave.


    Someone was heading their way.

 Chapter 168: Strange gift

    Chapter 168: Strange gift


    Shingi sent a message to everyone, letting them know of the creature heading towards them. They had recruited An into their party the other day tomunicate with her through the chat function.


    Shingi and Little Phoenix cast their <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> Spell at everyone to hide, except Syra, who could hide by herself. Casting <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> was expensive, and keeping it active was for a long time also added to the amount of mana needed, especially when using it on so many people. But Shingi, who had most of the party targeted with his Spell, had enough mana to keep the Spell active for quite some time.


    They all used their <strong>STEALTH</strong> Skill even if at some wouldn''t make much of a difference, but any help would be helpful.


    After a couple of minutes, the creature Shingi detected entered the part of the cave, reaching their camp. They had stored their tents and the rest of the things in their Spatial Rings and Spatial Bags, but there were signs of someone being around if a person paid attention.


    The creature was a male humanoid but wasn''t a human. His head was that of a white eagle and had a pair of wings attached to its back. His whole body had feathers, but he wore a rope very simr to the ones Shingi had seen Netsu wore when he had activated <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> on Annoue before her disappearance. Another of Mikhail''s people.


    Shingi quickly detected the same burn mark at its neck, even if some feathers were in the way. But with a quick inspection and having Nivlek''s mark fresh in his mind, he could detect some slight differences between the two.


    "I know you are here. So just show yourself, I am not here to fight you." [Eagle Man]


    Shingi could detect that this person had no Mana Pool, but no weapons were out in the open. He also could tell that the man hadn''t detected their location.


    Shingi showed himself but first sent a message to everyone to stay hidden and wait for a signal. He had his staff out on his hand, as he didn''t know how strong the enemy was. He was also morefortable if a report reached Mikhail about his equipment to be about his staff and not his sword.


    "Who are you? What do you want?" [Shingi]


    The birdman turned towards Shingi and raised his hand as a sign of himing in peace.


    "Name is Gua. I am part of the Eagle Tribe, but if what Master told me about you is true, you should know this already. I am here to pass a message." [Gua]


    Shingi had heard of the Eagle Tribe and other bird kinds, like the Owl Tribe, who were humanoids with bird characteristics, but it was rare for one to have as many characteristics as the Gua. Most could have talons, or a pair of winds, or just a bird-like head, etc.


    It seemed like Mikhail was taking under his wings people or rare cases of their races, as Netsu''s appearance was also rare for his kind.


    "What does Mikhail want to tell me? I am certain he could just send a telepathic message whenever he wanted." [Shing]


    "I never said that message was from Master." [Gua]


    This response confused Shingi. Then he thought of a possibility.


    "Nivlek sent you?" [Shingi]


    "She actually went with that name? She had mentioned it, but I thought of being stupid. But yes, she sent me to deliver you something." [Gua]


    He checked one of the inside pockets of his robes and brought out a box. It was identical to the one Harbin gave him as a gift from his mother.


    "She said you might find more about how to open it. By the way, don''t think of this as me helping you or being at your side. Master had said we aren''t to fight you unless you try to sabotage his n, but that doesn''t make us friends. She also said ''good luck''" [Gua]


    He let the box down and then brought out another stone that Shingi recognized, having some Teleportation circles on it. It seemed to be self-powered, as he didn''t have any mana of his to use. He had just pressed an area of the stone to enable it and open a portal that he went through and closed behind him in an instant.


    Shingi didn''t feel like being monitored, but he asked Syra to check just to be certain. Everything was clear.


    Shingi examined the box and was identical to the other one, so he thought it was something his mother used to make for many of her things. He cut his palm and ''fed'' the lock''s seal to get it open.


    After the seal got disabled, he reexamined the box to make sure that he had missed nothing. Nothing seemed to be different from what was expected, so he opened the box.


    Inside, there was nothing. He checked in case it had a fake bottom or something, by there really was nothing in the box. He used all his detections Skills and found nothing.


    As he closed the box and was ready to store it at his Spatial Ring, he noticed a slight movement of Spirit Element mana from the lock heading into the box. He opened the box, and nothing had changed.


    He brought out a nk piece of paper and put it in the box. After noticing the energy doing the same, he waited for it to finish and then opened the box. The box was empty once more, as the paper was nowhere to be seen with any of his senses.


    He felt around the box to be certain that the paper didn''t just be invisible, but it wasn''t the case. He closed the box once more, but this time the lock didn''t interact at all. Shingi waited a bit, and after close to five minutes, he noticed some spirit mana going in the opposite direction from before. It headed from in the box to the lock.


    When it finished, Shingi opened the box, and he saw his piece of paper being in it but wasn''t nk anymore. It had written on it.


    ================================


    Hello


    - Nivlek


    ================================


    It seemed this was used to teleport things he put in this box to Nivlek, and she could send them back. Of course, Shingi couldn''t be certain that Nivlek was really the one behind it and wasn''t just a trick of Mikhail. But either way, he wasn''t trusting Nivlek yet, even if she somehow was his Mother, or at least the mother of his NPC self.


    He found it suspicious that Gua came here without Mikhail knowing about it, so he didn''t let his guard down. He stored the box in his Ring because in the case it worked to monitor them, it wouldn''t work since it was in a pocket dimension.


    Before they start his travel, he tried using his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> at Annoue, which unfortunately failed and checked on Dormon. No changed on Dormon, who seemed to be in aa-like state. And Shingi noticed that at the nearby cells, there was only Netsu and no sign of Nivlek. Maybe she didn''t get punished the same way as Netsu if she got punished at all.


    After being certain they forgot nothing at their camp, Shingi and his party started their way down the mountain. The only Eagle left seemed to be Dark Shadow unless some had moved in a different ce on the floor. But this mountain was their home by instinct, so if there were still some alive and had moved elsewhere, this meant that something drew them away. Something quite strong.


    If they all were gone by sacrificing themselves for creating the egg from which Dark Shadow came from, one question was born from that action. For what reason, they progressed with the creation of something like that?


    They started their way down the mountain, still careful and trying to detect any living creature or scouts of the rest of the Floor creatures.


    The next would have to go to theke of the forest where they would face many of the beasts gathering there to have some water to deal with their thirst, or some even took a bath in there.


    There may be a big number of beasts there, but they wouldn''t be on guard, or at least not as much as usual, since they considered it a safe area.


    Theke was on the opposite side of the floor than where the mountain was, so they had to travel for some time. The n was to investigate what each type of creature''s state currently was since it seemed whichever way the current Boss was bncing things. But if that was the truth, even if the Boss wasn''t killed even one time in those 10 years, Ameanum was gone; if the Boss was sharing all the energy equally, that meant its own development would be much slower. Even so, if it had that long to develop, it would have grownpelling.


    They tried to avoid any scouts they detected, but some cases killing them was the only option, so Shingi, with the help of Dark Shadow, for it to earn some experience inbat.


    Everything went smoothly, as they reached theke.

 Chapter 169: The heart of the forest

    Chapter 169: The heart of the forest


    Trees surrounded theke, giving Shingi and the others the perfect cover. There currently weren''t too many beasts on theke, just a few bears and wolves. Shingi found it weird that they had encountered no beasts other than bears and wolves until now.


    Shingi noticed they had the same modifications as those they encountered, at least those with a visual change in their bodies. Some modifications were in their stats, skills, or spell if they could use mana, but those he couldn''t tell just by looking at them.


    He noticed buckets nearby, with some being filled with water from theke. Not and then some bears were taking some of the empty buckets using their mouth to hold its handle, and after filling them, they brought them together with the others filled with water.


    Shingi had never seen them gathering water like that in the past. It was clear that they followed orders, most likely of the Boss, meaning that it had an above-average beast level <strong>INT</strong>. There were other sources of water, but the water of theke was unique. It could heal the wounds of the floor''s monsters, but only of them. Some yers tried in the past to take some samples to investigate the water, but as soon as they left the floor, the water would evaporate.


    Some tried to investigate it while on the floor, but the Beasts kept attacking them, and the water lost its potency after a few minutes of leaving theke. But since it worked only at the Floor monsters and had no effect on even Tamed monsters, yers ignored it.


    There were many mysteries like that in the Tower, and Ameanum had tried to find some answers when he could.


    Checking the buckets, Shingi noticed that there were some runes at their bottom. Only the ones with water in them had the rune activated, and that was why Shingi detected the runes since it seemed to draw a small amount of Environment''s Spirit Mana. Shingi, if he had to guess, assumed that this rune could preserve the water''s special effect.


    Maybe another person of Mikhail was behind this, exining how everything seemed to be so different and somewhat more organized. Shingi didn''t want to fight more of them, as they probably would be stronger and stronger the higher they got in the Tower. But if there really was someone here, he had to take care of him or her one way or another. He had to make sure Mikhail had fewer people to count on in the future, especially when Shingi faces him.


    He knew that meeting Mikhail was inevitable, so not only he had to get way stronger, but he also had to weaken his enemy. At least to weaken his defenses and take out of the equation people that would help him.


    They waited a bit more to see if any other creatures would appear or how the ones at theke would keep acting. The monster kept filling the buckets, and when finished, both bears and wolves took one bucket each and made their way deeper into the forest.


    Shingi and the rest followed them while keeping their distance. With Shingi''s detection Skills and creating a Golem to follow them just in case, so losing them was impossible. They didn''t move too fast since they held the buckets and didn''t want to spill the water.


    It seemed that they were heading to the heart of the forest.


    As they moved deeper into the forest, Shingi noticed the forest''s trees to get even lesser alive, reaching almost the look of the trees from the previous floor. He detected the air to have some ''corruption,'' but it wasn''t as bad as before.


    Shingi let the others know, as it seemed, that Mizuneko and Little Phoenix couldn''t detect this energy, probably because it was a merge of Spirit and something else. Little Phoenix seemed to notice something if she focusedpletely but couldn''t move while focusing that much.


    Syra tough could feel what Shingi talked about, but she couldn''t detect it either. An also was in a simr situation as Syra. She could detect Spirit Mana but not manipting it.


    Dark Shadow was walking next to Shingi, and it seemed to be somewhat scared the closer they got to the center, to the degree of Shingi having to persuade it using his eyes. Fortunately, they worked on him, but Shingi had to use quite some of their energy, meaning he should use it repeatedly.


    He didn''t like that idea. He had to build his bond with Dark Shadow and strengthen it so that he keeps helping them.


    After a point, Shingi picked him up and carried him, as it actually started slowing them down. It didn''t fight back while he was at the hand of Shingi. Maybe the reason was their bond, soing in contact with him had a calming event.


    They encountered more groups of wolves and bears on the way there, and they dealt with the ones they couldn''t avoid without making much noise. Dark Shadow took some kills in those fights, but all with the help of Shingi, as he still had to get used to his fighting capabilities fully. He was a newborn, after all.


    Shingi noticed the monsters got stronger the deeper they got in the forest, but not because they got modified more. The ''corrupted'' energy was strengthening them. It also seemed to decrease their pain or their fear and run almost like they were brainless minion undead, but without actually being undead. More signs that probably Mikhail was behind it.


    Shingi could detect the source of the corruption, which was bigger than the one from the previous floor, but its power seemed to be weaker. The energy didn''t spread all over the floor, as at the previous one, but stayed focused, forming a sphere with the forest''s heart to be its center.


    The deeper they got in, the tenser the power, and the more its effect on the monsters. Shingi checked Dark Shadow to see if he got affected, but other than being a bit scared, it didn''t affect him in any other way.


    They reached the heart of the forest and the ce most likely the one behind the source of the corruption was. There was actually a small tower there, with a white enough door, that even the biggest of the bears they encountered to fit no problem. Some stairs headed underground. They didn''t look like the stairs leading to the next floor.


    The source of the corruption seemed to be down there, meaning most likely the Boss or Mikhail''s man or woman were down there.


    No beasts or monsters were outside, but there were tracks of many wolves and bears outside the Tower. Some just a few minutes old, some maybe even weeks. Still no sign of any type of beast monsters other than those two.


    "So, what''s the n?" [Hineko]


    "Why the need for a n? Let''s just go down there and deal with them all. I mean, we can handle multiple groups of those beasts." [Wild Tycoon]


    "The beasts aren''t the problem. Don''t you see the tree and the air being the same as the floor before? Maybe that guy has another person here. If that is the case, the person may be stronger than the one we faced before, and only Master Shingi could deal with her. But back then, she didn''t have anyone to help her, while in this case, it is different. If it uses a simr tactic as the previous person, we are as good as dead." [Mizuneko]


    Wild Tycoon seemed annoyed at being lectured for why they couldn''t charge at the enemy. She turned towards Shingi, hoping that he felt that what Mizuneko described wasn''t really the case.


    "What Mizuneko said is true. Charging inside there is like falling from a tall building. We may not live after it." [Shingi]


    "So then, do we have a n? Or we should move to the next floor and ignore those people for now?" [Hineko]


    Shingi gave it some thought before responding. They stayed hidden behind some of therger trees so that if any beasts came, they wouldn''t notice them.


    "The chance of Mikhail being behind this is quite high, meaning one who works for him has taken the ce of the monster. Meaning there is no possibility of him Evolving and leave the tower. As for the rest of the monsters, they can''t evolve even if they grow stronger, so they are only dangerous while on this floor. I think, for now, we can let them be until we know more about Mikhail''s n or what this corruption is about." [Shingi]


    He would not lead them to a suicide mission just for the chance of ruining the ns of Mikhail. They didn''t know if or what those ns were, so they had to tread carefully. Hopefully, they hadn''t taken over all the floors above.


    The stairs weren''t too far, and when they got there, Shingi detected some rming Runes that anyone else wouldn''t notice. They were able to pass them without activating them and used the stairs to the next floor.

 Chapter 170: Gathering Special Materials

    Chapter 170: Gathering Special Materials


    Shingi and his party kept moving from floor to floor and dealing with the bosses over there. Fortunately, they didn''t meet and Mikhail''s men or signs of that corruption.


    They currently were at Floor 32, meaning the next one would be another Ruin City Floor. Shingi had a simr hideout as on the 22nd floor, and he nned on spending some time there training and making some adjustments to everyone''s pieces of equipment.


    He had gathered some precious materials. Most of them came from dealing with the bosses, like the core of the Lava Dragon or the Dark Crystal of Kelvin. He had one for each Basic Element, excluding Spirit.


    Air Element was on a mountain floor, where the main foes to deal with were Harpies. Those creatures were humanoid, and only female, and had vulture-like wings at their back. Their legs and arms were humanoid except for the fingers being more like bird toenails and ws.


    These creatures were great beauties and had the ability to charm the weak-minded and use the amazing look to drop the mental defense of males and even some females. But their tricks didn''t work on Shingi.


    He could deal with them even as a yer, as he knew better than letting them control him. Also, his eyes protection worked against them, no problem as they were trying to affect his mind.


    The Boss of that level was a female Sphinx. Sphinx had a lion or lioness body, depending on their gender, and a pair of Eagle-like wings in their bags. Their face also bore humanoid elements. This one actually was one Boss that you could pass without having to fight her. One just had to solve her riddle. But answering a riddle granted entrance for the individual who answered the riddle, and each one had to answer it by themselves. Each one had three chances, or the Sphinx would attack them.


    Fortunately, Shingi knew many of her Riddles since she kept using the same ones now and then, as many yers had passed. She had a splendid memory and could tell if she had told a riddle to someone. Even if Shingi looked like his yer character and got a new riddle, he found the answer.


    As for the rest, they got one of the riddles that Shingi had answered already. Syra was the only one that didn''t answer a riddle because the Sphinx didn''t give her one. She was there to stop the living ones from passing her, not the undead. Also, Dark Shadow didn''t need to, fortunately, but the Sphinx didn''t say why. She just had taken a look at him and said that he could pass.


    As for the item that Shingi needed, it was a stride of Sphinx''s hair. One could ask for a favor or a gift from the Sphinx if they paid the price. Giving her a riddle she didn''t know. If one seeded, she would answer a question of theirs or grant a favor as far as it was something she could do. For example, she couldn''t join the party of someone or fight for him as she couldn''t leave the current room. Also, even if she was fierce at fighting, but her actual strength was her unimaginable knowledge.


    Shingi wanted to ask her many things, but each group visiting could only try once and get one question, and that counted for everyone. If one visited again, he or she couldn''t try again. Fortunately, she didn''t seem to count Shingi as revisiting her. Even if he looked like his old self, he was literally a different person.


    Shingi had thought many times what riddle to give her, and he had finally decided on one.


    "What am I?" [Shingi]


    "Excuse me? Did you say something that I missed?" [Sphinx]


    "No, this is my riddle. ''What am I?''" [Shingi]


    The Sphinx stared at him, confused, as then a look of revtion appeared.


    "A question. This is the answer, isn''t it?" [Sphinx]


    Shingi nodded, as this was really the answer.


    "How simple, but at the same time so hard to think on using it. Remarkable. Name your reward, young man." [Spinx]


    She found the answer by herself, but the reason behind this test was to tell her something she didn''t know or never thought to use. It would be close to impossible to make a riddle she couldn''t solve, giving her some time.


    So Shingi got the hair, and they moved on.


    The item for Earth Element was at a Desert, and it was the heart of the Mother Earthworm, which was the Boss of the Level. Earthworms lived underground and varied in size, from the size of a normal worm to the size of a truck. That was what normal Earthworms'' size could reach, as the Mother Earthworm was easily twice that size.


    They could manipte the sand to make sand traps and suck them in it and ''drown'' them, but Shingi had prepared some counters against them. They had a special Rune made on their boots that allowed them to hover for a limited time, and with Dark Shadows and Mizuneko''s <strong>LEVITATE</strong>, they had better control of the fight and avoided those traps.


    Shingi hadn''t learned <strong>LEVITATE</strong> back then as he focused on helping Mizuneko to finish perfecting his Spell. This was also a great opportunity to train Dark Shadow to work with the team. There were some close calls, but in the end, they dealt with enough of the Earthworms to draw the mother out.


    She was a tough foe, as she had scales surrounding her as tough as one of a young Earth Dragon, bringing it to the top one monster of that level could have. But against Shingi''s de, while using his File/Light Mana de, it was like cutting butter.


    After killing it, he had to work quickly and carefully to cut and remove the heart and put it in a special box he had prepared from their time in Carda. It was meant to preserve things from losing their potency as time passed.


    The Water Element was a pearl they found in the city of another Water Level, and they had to sneak their way in, as they would face an entire army otherwise. Of course, only Shingi and Hineko took part in that operation, as they were the sneakiest among them all. That was when Shingi''s <strong>STEALTH</strong> finally reached Master Rank andbining it with his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> Spell, even for himself, would be impossible to detect.


    Little Phoenix also could cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, but her <strong>STEALTH</strong> was quite low, increasing the chance of being detected as <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> took care of not getting seen and not of being making no noise.


    They faced a few guards on the way, but Shingi acted quickly to deal with them before sounding an rm and hid the bodies, at least for enough time to get what they looked for and leave.


    The peal was at the treasury of King Poseidon, who was the Boss of this ce. He didn''t fit any description of the god from Greek Mythology, as it acted more like a title than a name among the floor creatures. Still, he was mighty and actually had a trident as his principal weapon.


    Fortunately, they didn''t face him but had triggered an rm on the way out, as one body got found.


    But with the speed of both of them, even if they were underwater, they left without the need of a battle. Hineko and Shingi had prepared some potions that allowed them to breathe and move morefortably underwater.


    Finally, at the current floor that they were, they would gather the one for the Light Element.


    The current environment was actually a cloud city. They were thousands of feet above the ground, and the ground was clouds that were solid enough for them not to pass through them.


    The only creature here was Angels, but they only attacked the wicked. Or if they tried to trespass on a ce, they didn''t belong. But to get the item Shingi needed, he had to go to one of those ces.


    The item was a harp of an Angel. Not just any angel, but of the Arcangel Lah. This was one of the personal guards and favorite students of The Goddess of Music Odara.


    Shingi knew Lah used to be a mortal bard, but through years of proving her perfecting her skills and love for music, she drew the attention of Odara. After many tests, she became a normal Angel and quickly raised her rank into the strongest Archangel of Odara. Still,pared to Archangels of morebat-oriented Gods, she was pretty weak.


    As for why this floor contained something like that, the answer was quite simple. The Old Gods couldn''t get in the Tower as they would lose their power and me almost mortals, but some of their subjects didn''t get affected that way.


    So some of the Gods took over a floor for themselves and had special items stored in there.


    After learning about that, many yers tried to find what those items were and tried to steal them, but even if the minions got weakened a bit, they were impossible to deal with. But if everything went ording to the n Shingi didn''t have to worry about fighting.

 Chapter 171: The Archangel

    Chapter 171: The Archangel


    They stored the harp in a storehouse, surrounded by a dozen Angler Soldiers and four Archangels. The security was tough that even Ameanum would probably die if he tried fighting them. Gut fighting wasn''t in the n.


    Sneaking their way in as they used to was also not an option since the Archangels could see invisible creatures. Also, their <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> was even higher than Ameanum''s Eagle Eyes. There always were foes that couldn''t deal with his skills, but there were other ways.


    Shingi started testing the waters as he started controlling the Spirit Element of the Tower, closer to the Archangel, but not in a way to affect them. He wanted to see their reaction, and there was none.


    His suspicion that even Angels couldn''t detect the Spirit Element was correct. They could see the spirits of the dead, but the energy produced by them was a unique thing that seemed to be invisible to their eyes. Whatever Seal affected the mortals was strong enough to affect the non-mortals, too, as he had seen none God showing signs of power or an Element close simr to what Spirit Element could do.


    After making certain his assumption was correct, he turned towards Syra.


    "Are you ready?" [Shingi]


    "You ask me if I am ready to get inside to a storehouse surrounded by those creatures that you had told me they are powerful enough to eradicate us without even being serious about it? As also to draw no attention?" [Syra]


    Shingi nodded as this was indeed what he asked her to do.


    "*sigh* You know you could at least show some worry in your eyes now and then." [Syra]


    "Worry would be a sign of me believing you can''t do it." [Shingi]


    She seemed to say something back but stopped herself. Those past days they had some talks like that and had some debates, but overall they had created a bond of ''friendship.'' She had no new friends for some time as she was too busy being a headmistress of the Mage Academy back home. But she enjoyed her time here as she finally got some action and didn''t have to do more paperwork.


    She missed being alive, and most of all, the ability to taste a good drink, especially after smelling what Shingi had. She had found out that she could interact with items and take a spirit form of those drinks, and she could consume them like normal, but their taste was many times less of what supposed to be. Having this ''spirit food'' and ''spirit drinks'' didn''t affect her positively or negatively, as she didn''t need to eat or drink, but at least it helped her remember the good old days.


    The wine was so good that it was maybe even better than what she had when she was alive and at her ce, even at its <em>''weakened''</em> quality.


    Fortunately, this didn''t consume the wine in reality, but they had to wait some time to reform its Spirit before she could consume more.


    "So, anyst tips? Or anything you forgot to tell me?" [Syra]


    "Nothing I haven''t already told you. Wait for the right time and make your move. Everyone else should start moving too. When the n isplete, we won''t have too much time, so you guys head to the stairs. Be sure that no Archangels are there" [Shingi]


    The rest of his Party nodded as they made their way towards the stairs. They couldn''t help with the n, and they couldn''t move to the next floor by themselves, as they most likely would teleport to a different position, and they had to stick together, especially in the Ruin City floors, as the Dark Guild people would be there.


    They almost encountered some of their group who seemed to go their way up, and fortunately, they didn''t notice them. But it wouldn''t take a long time for them to know that someone was clearing the floors.


    After everyone left, Shingi made his way towards the Archangel that was guarding the front entrance of the storehouse.


    "Hold there, mortal. This isn''t a ce you can be. This is a restricted area, so turn around, or you will get punished for trespassing." [Archangel]


    This one had four pairs of wings, which showed how much higher-ranked he was for the rest, who had three pairs. One extra pair seemed little, but the power and rank of them made a big difference between the two. And Archangel with four wings could easily defeat ten Archangels with three wings, using just one arm. In a fight between Gods, this was something that had happened in the past that Ameanum was lucky to be present for. Lucky to see the difference of power of Archangels, but not lucky enough to survive, but he could respawn back then.


    An Archangel with three pairs of wings could defeat a legion of well-trained King''s Guards, just using a single finger. This was another event that shook the Mortal Realm and tried not to anger the Divine. Fortunately, doing so wasn''t easy, but there were always exceptions.


    "I am here to report something of importance." [Shingi]


    "You? A mortal? What is it then? You better have something worthy, or you will get away with at least one limbless." [Archangel]


    Archangels were warriors and war aggressive. But it surprised Shingi that an Archangel of Odara would be like that, as she was a peaceful woman, liking her music, and her subjects followed that example. He could see on the armor of the Archangel the Symbol of Odara, meaning that this Archangel really worked for her. If it was a borrowed Archangel, it would have the symbol of the God it really served.


    For an Angel to turn into an Archangel, it had to grow its second pair of wings, as most Angels had only one pair, and the weak ones had none.


    It was impressive, though, that Odara had an Archange with four pairs of wings, as they were difficult to raise one at that power, especially for the notbat-orientated ones.


    "It is about a Demon that had gotten free from her prison; Lucy the Fallen." [Shingi]


    Shingi couldn''t see the Archangel''s face as it was wearing a helmet thatpleted covered the head. Even its voice changed a bit because of the helmet, making it sound neither male nor female.


    "Hm? Is that it? Do you think we wouldn''t have noticed something like that?" [Archangel]


    As it was ready to draw her sword, Shing continues speaking, keeping his voice in the normal serious tone.


    "But you don''t know who did it. And you also don''t know that you can make her go back to her prison." [Shingi]


    The Archangel stopped her move or drawing the sword as it started inspecting Shingi with its eyes. It made a signal to two of the Angels nearby toe near it.


    "Inspect him. Don''t resist, as we just are looking for anything suspicious on you." [Archangel]


    Shingi didn''t resist at all, as he knew it would be his death either way if he tried to do so. He expected something like that to happen, so he gave his Spatial Ring to An to keep for now. He had some health Potions and a few wands on him, as it would be suspicious if he was here with nothing like that.


    The Angels reported everything was safe, and the Archangel turned and made a signal to Shingi to follow it. He had no option, so he did.


    They entered the storehouse, and in it, there were a few crates and boxes, as well as a few doors leading to smaller rooms.


    The Archangel opened the next nearest door other than the entrance, and they entered a small room with a simple table and benches to sit.


    The Archangel sat, and Shingi joined it by sitting across it.


    As the Archangel sat, it removed its helmet, revealing that it was a female Archangel and her smooth, long ck hair. Shingi froze for a moment, but not because of her beauty, which was massive, as expected, but because her face was familiar.


    She looked identical to Lucy''s Illusion self looked, which Shingi was certain that it was how she looked before she became Fallen.


    "I see that you really know about her. This is a look of surprise and not of lust that most people have. It seems you had passed the first test. So what do you have to share?" [Archangel]


    "You are Avea, aren''t you? You are [??????]''s sister." [Shingi]


    The second name was once again like he never said it as no sound he could hear was heard, at least not from him. But The Archangel in front of him heard it, and anger appeared in her eyes.


    "How do you know that name? Are you a spy of him? Don''t even think of lying, or you will wish you were never born." [Avea]


    Shingi didn''t doubt that she had the power to do something like that, so he didn''t n on pressing his luck.


    "I know it may sound like a lie, but I was there when she got sealed. I was there also when she got free and a portal to her new Master''s Realm. But her Seal would have broken, but it wasn''t destroyed. It is still somewhat active to be connected with her, but not enough to restrict her." [Shingi]


    "Hmm. it seems to be true what you say. Or at least you believe it to be true. So then you know how to recreate the Seal? And even if that happens, would it work even if she is in a different Realm?" [Avea]


    "No, it won''t. But it will keep calling her until she gets to the Realm, and then she will get Sealed. Or at least a part of her will if we adjust it correctly." [Shingi]


    "So it will be a weaker one? Thest one was just strong enough to hold her, and you now suggest making a weaker version of it?" [Avea]


    Shingi''s smirk appeared as he got to the awaited time of revealing his n for that situation.


    "As I said, we will seal part of her. Her Demon part. So she won''t be Fallen after that." [Shingi]

 Chapter 172: The meeting

    Chapter 172: The meeting


    What Shingi suggested was impossible, at least in theory. Lucy was still partially an Archangel, but Mephistopheles has corrupted it all with his demonic power. Sealing the power of Mephistopheles would lead either to the death of Lucy or of her Archangel''s self to get restored. It depended on how much it had damaged her normal self after all these centuries.


    "And you want to tell me you know how to do that? You, a mortal? Even Soren hadn''t even attempted as it is impossible to even for her."[Avea]


    "I see it is a she now. Well, it was indeed impossible, as everything was until they became possible." [Shingi]


    Okeyar was the God or Goddess of Magic and was one of the few of the Old Gods who kept changing their looks. Although Okeyar was even changing his or her gender. That was why some people considered that there was a God of Magic, while others to be a Goddess, and a few considered that it was a couple. Even some fanatics went to the extreme to others that their opinion about the gender of Okeyar was the correct one.


    Ameanum knew the truth cause he had met Soren a few times, and each time had a fresh look, and most times was the opposite gender thanst time.


    "I see some things never changed. You always dealt with impossible problems and somehow found a solution." [?????]


    Shingi turned his sight behind to see the source of that female voice. This, of course, was Soren, and it seemed like she had grown bored with her female form and changed to a fresh male one. But it wasn''t a female, or actually was one in the middle of changing her form into a male.


    Her new form was actually of a young boy, maybe around the age that Shingi was or looked to be. He had somewhat pointed ears, but not as pointy as an Elf''s, but simr to one being half one. His hair was multicolored, and some kept changing color as time passed, like a moving rainbow, but there was a perfect bnce between them.


    Soren was another of the Gods who was mortal and became Godster, as he was the first one, and only one, to pass the Grandmaster Rank in the <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> Skill and reach the Divine Rank. When he was mortal, he was actually a Half-Elf. That''s why no matter his body, he always kept his ears the same.


    Shingi knew little about his background from being a mortal, other than being a Half-Elf. He didn''t even his true gender back then, as Soren never spoke about the time then.


    But Shingi understood that the reason behind that was because Soren didn''t have a good life. He had gathered that by the time that Soren was still a mortal that the Elves and Humans, even if they weren''t in an actual war, they weren''t on friendly terms either. So a child between them would have a hard time living.


    But this showed how much of a talent Soren had to reach this state with no help.


    "I must say it amazed me when I found out that Ae kept a secret from all of us. I mean, she doesn''t share everything with us, but she rarely can keep her mouth shut when pressured. Most times, she either speaks the truth or tries to sh her way through. Now that I think about it, most times, it is the second." [Soren]


    Avea stood from her seat and kneeled in front of Soren. He wasn''t her master, but still, he was of the same power to her master or truthful, more powerful.


    "No need to kneel. I came here unannounced, so I should be the one in trouble. But it isn''t every day that I have the chance to meet an old friend like that." [Soren]


    It did not surprise Shingi that he could tell who he really was, as Ae could tell, and she was a Demi-Goddess. Soren could be a mortal who became a God, but he got deemed a full God as he cast aside his mortality. Ae, on the other hand, hadn''t as she had in her blood the Mortal blood of Mikhail, which seemed to be not so easy to get rid of, which always bothered Ameanum before he found out the truth about his identity. He still didn''t know how he could live that long or how, but it seemed like he was a man of significant power, even all those thousand of years back.


    "You know this mortal, Master Soren?" [Avea]


    "This is actually someone deemed worthier among the worthies of the Mortals, or more specifically the Blessed Ones. It''s good seeing you once again, Ameanum. Or should I call you Shingi?" [Soren]


    Shingi smirked as he gave his response.


    "Shingi is fine, Soren. Or should I call you Nagi?" [Shingi]


    "How dare you be disr."[Avea]


    Before she could finish her sentence, no further sound got out of her mouth. It wasn''t like the spell that Mikhail had used on Shingi in the past, as the reason no sound came out of her mouth was that she had no mouth anymore. No lips sealed, just skin covering where the mouth was.


    "I would prefer of keeping things civilized. As I said, this is a friend of mine, so I won''t have anyone show signs of disrespect towards him. As for your questions, I think we should just keep with Soren for now." [Soren]


    Soren used even to change his name now and then and had even made a special spell that could change the memories of everyone that they knew them to know him by that name, or so he had said. Millions of people knew about him since this counted people who knew of him as a God, meaning that he could change the memory of that many, even if it was for a simple detail like that. This was a level of power that few Gods had reached.


    Soren took a seat as he snapped his fingers, making the mouth of Avea to be formed once more. Avea was clearly more cautiously now, as she knew he was powerful, but to affect her that easily without her noticing was something she had never thought. She thought she could at least resist a bit, but in the end, there was nothing she could do, even for a split second against him.


    "So, from what I gather, you seemed to be busy in your new situation. Not unexpected, I guess for you. But why are you here?" [Soren]


    "You know why. You and the New Gods can''t do anything against the Dark Guild or whoever is truly behind them. If things continue like that, all the Realms will be in danger." [Shingi]


    Soren kept his eyes towards Shingi, seemingly trying to get a read of him.


    "You keep being as persuasive as ever. Although, I must admit I would prefer it if you used your eyes. I had met a few of your people, but never one with Red Eyes. It amazed me when Ae mentioned them, even if she didn''t know what they were, but it seems like you know a bit, don''t you?" [Soren]


    Shingi had his eyes disabled since he was certain that they wouldn''t work on him. He didn''t know that Ae could see their actual color, as he never really asked her, but he wasn''t surprised.


    As for Soren knowing about his special race, it wasn''t that surprising that someone like him could not know something like that. All those years he had spent researching everything around magic and the Elements, and their Eyes seemed to have something to do with them. Especially since his eyes seemed to have to do with the Spirit Element, showing how rare they truly were.


    "But I must say even if I liked your answer; the question wasn''t for you." [Soren]


    Soren snapped his fingers as a figure appeared, passing through the wall leading to the major part of the storehouse but didn''t damage the wall. The figurended on the table and was kept in ce by chains.


    The figure was none else than Syra, who had found an opportunity to sneak in since one of the Archangels was busy. The Angels had a chance to notice her, but for the Avea, there wasn''t a chance but only a certainty that she would.


    "So, little miss. Why are you here?" [Soren]


    It looked weird of a young teenager to say something like that to someone who looked to be around her sixties, even if she was a Spirt. But considering that Soren was thousands of years old, Syra was more like a baby inparison.


    "She is with me. We are here for the harp of Lah." [Shingi]


    Avea got angry after hearing that, as she forgot what happened just a few moments ago.


    "You daree here and try to steal from us. I will have your head for this." [Avea]


    She tried to get her sword out of her scabbard, but it didn''t budge, not even a bit. It seemed like it was stuck in there.


    "No need of violence. Just give him the harp. I will talk with your Mistress." [Soren]


    She was ready to say something, but one piercing look of Soren made her stop as she gave a slight bow and left the room.


    "So you try to make that thing, I gather. It took you some time. I thought you would never try it." [Soren]


    "It would be me denying your gift if I didn''t someday try to make it. Just had to wait for the right time." [Shingi]


    Soren''s face became severe at that point, as he normally always had a smile on his face. This was one of the few times that he was worried.


    "Is he that strong of a foe then?" [Soren]

 Chapter 173: Goodbyes and revealations

    Chapter 173: Goodbyes and revetions


    Shingi told Soren everything he knew about Mikhail. He also told him about Annoue''s kidnapping and that Syra and Annoue have moved one to the world of the other.


    Finally, he told him about the Spirit Element, about which Soren knew nothing about, and that surprised Shingi. Soren was a God before the Tower appeared, and from what he understood, the Tower was why almost no one could use that Element freely. But Soren didn''t have any recollection or experience with this Element, other than using it without his knowledge on things like <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>.


    "How could I have not noticed? It all makes sense now. As always, my friend, you are bringing fresh discoveries with you. That''s why I always enjoy meeting you." [Soren]


    Avea had returned with the harp and left the room after Soren, telling her to do so. She followed his orders, as she knew that she was powerless to do otherwise.


    "I would enjoy keep or talk for days, maybe even weeks, but you have important things to do. But first, how about you tell me the idea you have for Lucy''s Seal. I really have tried to do something like that in the past, but the corruption seemed to have merged with the soul. As you know, magic can''t be used to" [Soren]


    He stopped mid-sentence as he just had a revtion.


    "The soul, but of course. The normal Elements can''t affect the soul in that way, but the Spirit Element should be. Making the seal with this as a source should weaken the bonds of her corrupted side and free her. <strong>GENIUS</strong>." [Soren]


    Shingi nodded and admired how quickly Soren came to understand his n without revealing too much. This was the true talent of Soren, as he probably had more experience in the Arcane Artspared to all the living Arcane practitionersbined.


    "Then all you need to do is train using the Spirit Element, but I am confident you will do it in no time." [Shingi]


    Soren''s eyes showed his excitement, as it was a long time since he had to train in something new like that.


    "But I thought you said that no one could use the Spirit Element. Not even those said to be Gods." [Syra]


    Shingi turned towards Syra, and it surprised him for her to notice something like that. At her word, everyone who could use magic could use the Spirit Element, so it should be hard for her to understand why here wasn''t the case. But since there were some other major differences between their two worlds, she probably adapted even some simrities.


    "Very true, but that was if one didn''t have the Blessing of Nyhm." [Shingi]


    "But I thought you said you couldn''t give it to others. That''s why you hadn''t done so for the others." [Syra]


    "That is also true. I can''t give it to others, but others can take it. As I said, the Blessing is part of the power of the individual that the Blessing belongs to, at least most of the times. In theory, one can get part of the power from me and make it his or hers. But no one but Soren can do that as it needs Mana Maniption to be at Divine Rank." [Shingi]


    Soren revealed this information in the past as even if one knew about it, they couldn''t do anything for two reasons.


    First, only one person could exist with a Skill at Divine Rank, so nobody else can reach Divine Rank unless that person dies. So as long as Soren was alive, nobody could reach <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> to Divine Rank, and he was immortal.


    The second reason is that nobody could demand from Soren to do something like that since nobody was confident in overpowering him.


    "But wouldn''t that weaken your Blessing?" [Syra]


    "Just for some time. It will be back to full power after some time, and he doesn''t need to take a lot, as his will grow too." [Shingi]


    "I must say that this sounds interesting. Mind if I am watching you while you do so?" [Syra]


    Shingi looked towards Soren and Soren towards Shingi as they both turned towards Syra.


    "He already did it before you asked." [Shingi]


    That response amazed Syra, as she knew it wasn''t a joke, as Shingi rarely joked.


    "I will work on it. I will let you know how it goes, and you let me know if you find anything special. When you reach another of our floors, we should meet again." [Soren]


    ================================


    Amunication channel for Soren, the Goddess of Magic, was created.


    ================================


    Shingi was confused about the notification calling Soren a Goddess, but as he looked towards Soren, he saw that he had changed his appearance once more to female, but different from the one when he arrived. This actually wasn''t the shortest time he had spent in one form.


    "You should be on your way. I would like to offer more help, but you know the rules. But I am certain you will find a way, as always." [Soren]


    Soren snapped his fingers as a bright purple light surrounded Shingi and Syra. Itsted for a few seconds, and when it disappeared, they weren''t in the storehouse''s room. They actually were in front of the stairs leading to the next floor.


    Shingi''s rest of the party noticed him and Syra appearing out of nowhere and moved towards them.


    "Did everything went as nned?" [Mizuneko]


    "Not as nned, but even better than that. We got what we came for, and we didn''t piss off anyone." [Shingi]


    He gave a brief exnation about what happened. It didn''t surprise them that Shingi knew Soren after learning about who he was, especially since Mizuneko had researched Ameanum and shared it with the rest.


    "Mister Shingi, why did you tell them about this demon Lady? Do you think she is still a danger to the Realm as she used to?" [Little Phoenix]


    "Maybe. She had tried to destroy the seal of the Tower, which also keeps her Master from getting here, so there is no saying she won''t try again. But preparations for retrying something like that take time. Hopefully, enough time for Soren to do what needs to be done. I don''t think at this point the yers can deal with another Lucy, like in the past." [Shingi]


    Back then, many of the yers had stopped ying since they couldn''t progress because of the Dark Guild or because they found a new game.


    After making sure that he hadn''t forgotten something, Shingi and the rest went this time up the stairs.


    They got Teleported in the middle of the square, which was unfortunate for them as that was where some of the yer Guards were taking a break. Shingi and the rest attacked and dealt with them easily, but they had already seen them and probably reported their existence.


    Shingi was annoyed at being found like that, as it was just of them being unlucky on the ce to appear, but eventually, they would be found out. The Dark Guild should already know that an unknown party was in the Tower, but now that they had a description, they probably would find their identity soon enough. Especially of Shingi, at least of his NPC self, as he doubted they would make a connection of him being Ameanum.


    They move outside the town, but this time they didn''t go into a cave but instead stopped in front a gigantic tree. The tree had a big enough cavity for someone''s arm to enter, which was precisely what Shingi did.


    He seemed to start feeling around as he closed his eyes and focused. After a couple of minutes, part of the tree trunk slid up, revealing a pair of stairs leading underground. They went in as the tree door closed by itself after a while.


    This was one of the few hideouts that Shingi hadn''t found himself, but a past mage at his at one of his party back then had. He always looked for these hideouts, as each Ruin City floor seemed to have at least one. Some had multiple ones, but that wasn''t the case for the early ones, at least as far as he knew, as he hadn''t found over one.


    There was an entrance in a room identical to the one from thest hideout at the end of the stairs and even lead to a training room.


    Shingi had worked on their designs a bit and had brought the furniture, keeping the same style for every one of them.


    They would stay here for some time training before moving on, as they all had reached a bottleneck they had to pass.


    Everybody, except Shingi, was level 60 after clearing most of the floors. Little Phoenix had adjusted so that Shingi took most of it through the Party System since all of them were much higher level than him back then. But in the end, he had just reached level 58, but everyone else reached level 60.


    Since they were level 60, they could Evolve their ss, but this took time, preferably a safe environment.


    The one who would have more trouble Evolving her ss other than Shingi would be Little Phoenix''s, as she was still just a Mage. She had seeded in merging her two mana, making a new Element called Gravity Element, but that didn''t give her a new ss as expected.


    But the Mage ss, even if it was one of the basic sses, could evolve; it just was way harder to do so than if you had a Special ss already.


    But first, all the yers had to log out of the game, as they needed to get more breaks, as the higher they got in the Tower, the more they pushed themselves.


    This gave Shingi time to make the preparations for their training.

 Chapter 174: Training at Hideout part 1

    Chapter 174: Training at Hideout part 1


    After discussing a bit with his students, they logged out, while Shingi would focus on preparing a few things for their training when return. It was only An, Syra, Dark Shadow, and him in the hideout.


    Shingi moved into the bigger room since it was more like a training area, as it had a bigger space. He took the Spatial Rings and Spatial Bags that his Students had and contained the different tools for their professions.


    He started making a forging area, although the forget was a pretty small one, a potion-making corner with different beakers and different tools to process herbs, gems, and a variety of materials used to make potions.


    He had a desk with different brushes for Mizuneko to make Spell Scrolls and had some carving tools for Little Phoenix to make some Rune Stones.


    Someone could consider the Mana Gems they were using a type of Rune Stones, but the real application of Rune Stones was more than that. One floor they passed was an underground one, where they found many stones suitable to make Rune Stones. Still, they couldn''t make anything too fancy yet, but mostly because Little Phoenix was inexperienced in making them. So they would go in grinding using those stones while keeping the really good ones that Shingi had prepared beforehand when her Skills get higher.


    It was important to increase her <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong> profession, as many Runes would make their journey through future floors even faster.


    Normally Shingi wouldn''t have to worry about this until floor 56 and after. But after seeing the changes that happened to the Tower and some of its floors, he had to make those preparations earlier. Especially since now, the Dark Guild knew about them.


    He still hadn''t found the real reason behind their ns, and if they had to do something with Enerias World. If those two really worked together, it would lead to many disasters, but Shingi couldn''t think why would it be the case of those two working together.


    Also, if that was the case, what does it have to do with Mikhail?


    He has been alive for thousands of years, and even if he looked to be old, his power wasparable to a God but not as powerful as Soren. At least, Shingi hoped to be the case.


    Preparing everything took him less than an hour, and most of it was testing the forge and making certain that the small mana blower he and Volig had produced. It still wasn''t effective as the one in the shop, as he couldn''t store it as it was bigger than the size he could store through his ring.


    When Shingi used his Spatial Ring, he wasn''t just limited to how much he could store and how big each item would be. Even if there would be enough space to fit one item at the Ring, if it was over a specific size, he couldn''t store it. That''s why he had to make a portable forge and mana blower.


    He couldn''t make new swords or armors with it but could rework and improve on what they had. Weapon wise he had to work only at An''s and Tycoon''s and help Sinhunter possibly Rank Up. Sinhunter''s power was at the Top of Base Grade and had even reached Master Grade after Sinhunter had his Spirit Tree. But still, the Spirit Tree wasn''t perfect and could be improved, which was something Shingi wanted to work on.


    When they took a break these past days, he had tried to talk with the Spirit Child, or specifically, Sinhunter tried, but they had no reply.


    But even so, Sinhunter''s Spirit Tree helped improve his Mana Tree part that produced Spirit Mana. He even thought if he could make a Spirit Tree of his own.


    Normally nobody, not even Soren, could have over one Mana Tree, but the Spirit Tree seemed to be significantly different in how it worked. But he had no clue how to grow one, and Sinhunter didn''t either. Sinhunter only knew a few ways to increase its power, some of which were like those used to grow a Mana Tree, but some seemed to work only at the growth of a Spirit Tree.


    Having Sinhunter''s Spirit Tree had increased the efficiency of the Spirit de manifolds since they used the Mana of the Spirit Tree, meaning the Sinhunter had better control over it. After getting the Spirit Tree, and it grew in power, so did all the Mana des, as Sinhunter seemed to manipte the mana to perfect them, but the major effect was at the Spirit de.


    Maybe if Sinhunter had somehow a Mana Tree, the Mana des with Elements in that Mana Tree would have the same increase in power. But Shingi wasn''t certain if this was possible, but he hadn''t gone through all the information about Growth Type weapons.


    As for armors to upgrade, only An was wearing one, as Tycoon didn''t need one after getting her special ss. Hineko was wearing Leather Armor, which Shingi could upgrade, but mostly with Runes and Enchantments, so he would need Little Phoenix''s help.


    His students wouldn''t be out for a full week this time, except for Mizuneko, because Shingi had asked him to research a few things in the real world. They didn''t require many Spell scrolls yet, and Mizuneko was more suitable for handling these kinds of tasks.


    Still, the rest would be away for two to three days, enough time to train himself and finish a few preparations.


    First, he tried to use <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> to check Annoue. He hadn''t tried using <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> these past days as he didn''t want to use any Spirt Based abilities a lot, especially since he learned a few spells and different ways to use it in battle.


    Since they would stay here for some time, he could keep trying to connect and see maybe if he can try tomunicate with Annoue. He hadn''t tried until now since he thought it worked the same way as the spell <strong>SCRY</strong>, but if it was Spirit Based, maybe adjustments could be made, and he could talk with Annoue.


    He enabled <strong>SCRY MODE</strong>, anddy luck seemed to be with him once more since a connection was made.


    He tried to concentrate on using some Spirit Mana and found that he could use some, but none of his other Element of mana. He started concentrating on some Element where his eyes were supposed to be, and the darkness started dissipating. But not too much, and everything was quite blurry, that even with his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> couldn''t make anything clear.


    He had given everything he had to reach this point, which seemed not to be much, but it was some progress.


    He could see two figures who seemed to fight, but he couldn''t understand if they were male or female because of how blurry things were. He noticed that his view was turning in a different direction without him wanting, and even when he thought he was turning his head, what he was seeing stayed the same. It was like he watched what happened through someone else''s eyes and had no control of that body.


    Soon he understood that the two figures weren''t really fighting each other but were doing some training, as only one of the two were attacking, while the other seemed to handle those attacks. He could see the one attacking using different Spells of different Elements, one after the other.


    Even if he couldn''t see things clearly, Shingi understood that this person was still somewhat of a beginner but was having a big Mana Pool since it kept using so many Spells.


    At least the sound was clear as always, so Shingi could add some more details that his eyes couldn''t catch.


    Then a whistle in the air was sound, and a not so loud boom, as Shingi recognized it as the sound of a bullet traveling towards their way. Soon the person attacking fell to the ground after the force of the bullet pushed him or her back.


    He started moving closer to him as Annoue, who he presumed was seeing things through, ran towards the fallen person. He could see more details near that person to understand that it was a male person, maybe a little older than Annoue.


    They quickly picked him up, as a woman told them to get him to the infirmary while she would go check on the one who made the shot.


    They ran, and Shingi saw them passing some buildings and different structures, meaning they were in some sort of town, but some designs, even if blurry, didn''t seem like anything Shingi had seen. Syra had told him that people even used Magic to make buildings but didn''t know to what degree.


    It didn''t take them too long to reach the ce they wanted to go, and there they met ady who probably was the nurse. But as that person was ready to speak, Shingi noticed a purse of energy leaving the body of the wounded person, and nobody seemed to notice it.


    But as the released energy passed through Annoue and him, then the <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> ended by itself. It felt somewhat simr to when Mikhail had forced ended the <strong>SCRY MODE</strong>, but at the same time different. It was almost like itcked somewhat in control.


    He checked, and he still had some time left, but he couldn''t retry to connect with Annoue today.


    So he started wondering who that boy could be.

 Chapter 175: Training at Hideout part 2

    Chapter 175: Training at Hideout part 2


    "Is everything ok? Did you learn anything?" [Syra]


    He hadn''t used <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> while being with Syra many times, but it was easy to understand that he would use it.


    He exined what he heard and saw and noticed that Syra showed signs of worry when he described the person who got shot. When he got to the part about how his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> ended, she seemed a bit confused.


    "Who was that boy? Do you know why he emitted that strange energy?" [Shingi]


    "He is the son of my friend I mentioned. He is a special case, as you had noticed. His name is Nix, and he is an Omni Mage, but he is still in training. When I was still alive, he had just started learning to use his Elements. I guess his training is going well if he started battling with them or found a good sparring partner. I am sure Alora will make sure of his progress." [Syra]


    "Wait, an Omni Mage? Like Nyhm? I thought you said he was thest one, and there had been no one for a couple of thousand years." [Shingi]


    "He is the first one, and his appearance is an extraordinary case. He is a Spirit Child, one could say." [Syra]


    Shingi didn''t expect her to describe him like that. Syra told him about how Syra got pregnant with Nix, and the story seemed to him as crazy as his Blessed One mother staying pregnant by an NPC. At least in his mother''s case, he knew that the gamepany was behind it, but that didn''t make it any less crazy.


    He told Syra what he knew about Nyhm through the pieces of information about Growth-Type weapons.


    "So you think that an Omni Mage can open a way between our worlds? Hmm. maybe he has some mentions in the book. If so, Alora will find it eventually." [Syra]


    "Is there anything else other than being able to use all the Elements that make one an Omni Mage?" [Shingi]


    "Well, with the help of Runes, others can use them all. You need to see Alora in action. But Omni Mages can use them with no help andbine them. Although I am uncertain whatbining all the Elements could lead to, there were some catastrophes from past Omni Mages, possible by tinkering with merging Elements in the way not even them could handle." [Syra]


    Shingi thought he had to either trust this Nix person to help Annoue or maybe be an Omni Mage himself. He had five out of seven Elements, but he could have active only four at a time, but maybe that restriction would get lifted if he evolved his ss.


    He hadn''t seen Dormon in action or knew if what Elements he had. Dormon was the Father of All Dragon, and there were Dragons of each Element, and if the first ones got created by Dormon possible, he used his Mana with the suitable Element for each one. But this was just an assumption, and the chance was pretty low.


    Not even Soren had all the Elements unlocked in his Mana Pool, but he had all except Dark Element. No Elves could ever earn the Dark Element, same for Half-Elves. Even when he became the God of Magic, this restriction wasn''t lifted. Otherwise, he would be the first person in this Realm with all the Element, except Spirit Element, of course.


    Many others had tried to unlock all the Elements, but having four was the maximum a mortal had ever reached, and one could count them in one hand. Of course, there were Gods with over four Elements, like Ae and Soren, but not all of them, as not everyone was powerful in Arcane Arts.


    "Do you think you can speak if you focus your Spirit Element at your mouth next time?" [Syra]


    "Will be the next thing I will try, but if the effects are simr, maybe she won''t understand me. We need to work more on my Spirit proficiency in using it. But let me check if something changed with Dormon." [Shingi]


    Shingi enabled his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> once more. Things changed little at his side, but he may have got clues about Netsu''s or Nivlek''s situation.


    He once again was in the cell area, and everything was the same. Dormon at his cell sleeping, but most of them got healed. Netsu also had some wounds, but most were close too. No signs of Nivlek, but there was a cage that showed signs of someone supposed to be there recently.


    Shingi waited to see if something changed and didn''t have to wait for long as Nivlek appeared. They tied her hands behind her back, as there was a figure in front of her and one behind her. The figures were hooded robes that showed no sign of an actual person being in them. Their face seemed very dark like Shadows made it.


    Shingi knew of these creatures, as they were called Shadow Golems. Those were Mage Shadow Golems since their prefer of attirement was robes, which were actually made by their mana, and weren''t actual clothes. They could also use Dark Element based Spells, and they were masters in hiding in the shadows.


    They put her in her cage, and after locking it, they left. She wasn''t wounded at all, but she showed signs of being depressed.


    Shingi tried to use some Spirit Element, but this time he couldn''t use even used the tiniest amount like he had none. It seemed he could use it only when scrying Annoue, maybe because he was in the realm with no restriction on using Spirit Element.


    So he ended his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> and worked on continuing his training. He started training with Syra to increase his proficiency in Spirit Element.


    He hoped Syra had her Mana Tree or even a Spirit Tree, but it didn''t seem the case no matter how they tried to ess her inner self to check it. She has to focus inside her to draw out the Element she wanted and focus on distinct memories or feelings depending on the Element, but no mention of a Tree.


    But she still had provided him a few tips on using the Spirit Element and how it should feel, which gave him a few ideas on what changed he could do. They started working on merging different Elements and started with Spirit and Water Element since Syra could use those two.


    He couldn''t use Water Element himself, but he already knew <strong>CREATE WATER ELEMENTAL</strong> Spell, which seemed to be abination of both. He hadn''t cast that Spell, as even if it didn''t count as unfinished, that didn''t mean he could use it in full power.


    If he could use it in full power, even without having Water Element himself, he could easily recreate the same Spells with his Elements. He also thought that training on this Spell could help him unlock the Water Element, although he would try not to unlock it until he became totally familiar with all his Elements.


    He was going to train in all his Elements, except Earth, since it was the easiest to raise. He wanted to increase his proficiency in using Air Element, and of course, Spirit Element.


    He pulled out of his Spatial Ring a Water Mana Gem to use its mana to cast the Spell. He made a few tests and found that he could cast the Spell just by using the Water Element. Suppose he did that this way; he had to givemands for the Elementals to know what to do. If he used Spirit Element, they could act more autonomously and follow moreplicatingmands.


    He didn''t learn any new Spells that were Spirit Based, as he still had to perfect the ones he already knew. His Spirit sh got improved as Sinhunter had helped on it since he cast it through him. <strong>MINOR HEAL</strong>, ording to Syra, also could improve much more, although her world it wasn''t called like that.


    His Water Elementals were nothing like his Golems, but they had a Grade difference in their spells. There were no different types of Elementals or shaping their ''brains.'' He tried to see if he could use what he knew and used in <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong>, but the two Spells didn''t work the same.


    Still, he had made some improvements with the help of Syra, even if she wasn''t able to do something simr. She could do many things with Water Element, butbining it with Spirit to make Elemental wasn''t one. However, she had heard of others doing something simr.


    There was apparently a race called Shikai, who was born in being able to use Water Element, and a lot of them could also create Ice as Mizuneko did. There were rumors of some possibly do something like that, and if someone could do, Syra was certain that one of these people could.


    They spent two days on Spirit and Water Element training and had improved both of them massively but hadn''te close to feeling that he could unlock the Water Element.


    His student would start returning soon, so he started working on the forge on a few tinkers to help them possibly Evolve their ss.


    The first one that returned was Hineko, and Shingi already knew what he needed to do. Hineko had the Thief ss, and the Evolution Shingi nned for him to learn was Trickster.

 Chapter 176: Training at Hideout part 3

    Chapter 176: Training at Hideout part 3


    It wouldn''t take long for the rest of his students to return, except for Mizuneko, who would be out for a few more days. Or at least that''s what Hineko told him.


    For Hineko to be a Trickster, he had to learn a few moves that were abination of <strong>MARTIAL ARTS</strong> and <strong>ACROBATIC</strong> and to reach her <strong>SLEIGHT OF HAND</strong> and <strong>STEALTH</strong> over level 90. To pass level 90 for any skill wasn''t easy, but Shingi was familiar with them and how to pass the limit of level 90.


    Combining Skills was sometimes challenging, especially for Skills like <strong>MARTIAL ARTS</strong> and <strong>ACROBATIC</strong>, even if they had some simrities and some major differences. One had to know those simrities and differences to learn how tobine them.


    Shingi could help him by casting <strong>HASTE</strong> to pass his limits and fulfill the requirements to pass level 90. Those skills were <strong>AGI</strong>-based, and Hineko had increased to 14 through some special training that Shing gave him and some special Quests. The Quests were avable only on Blessed Ones; that''s why Shingi didn''t try to get them.


    If Hineko reached 15 would have an easier time passing the limit of 90 for those Skills, and if he reached 16, it would be a certain thing. But increasing it by 2 points wasn''t that easy, but Shingi was confident of increasing it by 1 at least.


    Shingi didn''t use <strong>HASTE</strong> just once but actually three times at Hineko. As a result, the effects didn''t stackpletely as one had a lesser effect than the next. However, it still made Hineko reaching the speed that Shingi had normally with one <strong>HASTE</strong> cast on himself.


    Shingi was sparing with Hineko, although Hineko worked mostly on defending and avoiding the attacks instead of doing any attacks himself. Unfortunately, Shingi couldn''t cast another <strong>HASTE,</strong> and that was with boosting his <strong>INT</strong>. Without the boost, he could keep two active, but still, with his experience in fighting, he could cover the difference in speed he needed.


    Close to the end of the hour of Shingi''s blessing''s effect to boost his <strong>INT</strong>, Hineko''s <strong>AGI</strong> increased by 1. After that, using the same training wouldn''t increase his <strong>AGI</strong> anymore. There was a chance of getting 2 points from it at once, but as his <strong>AGI</strong> was that high, that chance was pretty low.


    Shingi stopped focusing on his <strong>HASTE</strong> Spells, but not altogether, but one after the other, so that the side effects did not affect Hineko too much. Finally, Hineko took a break to let the side-effects pass.


    In the meantime, Shingi decided to take a look at Hineko''s daggers and see if he could make and update its enchantments using the mana gems. He wanted to work with Little Phoenix to make Rune designs for them instead of the Enchantment designs.


    He had no time to ask Zhen about looking at them as he had to take care of many others, and he didn''t want to trust everything on him. But soon, Little Phoenix would reach his proficiency and even pass him.


    Shingi wrote a few notes he thought would be the Runes to be used, but he could only design ones without using the System since he didn''t have the necessary skill to design one just to appraise them.


    Shingi told Hineko to work on some potions, as the side effects would affect his potion-making. Other than the HP, SP, and MP regeneration ones, he could finally make some special ones that Shingi had bought recipes for as they had gathered the materials and some they had bought beforehand.


    There were two potions he would work on. Actually, one wasn''t a potion, but actually an oil, and was to be used to their weapons. It would help surpass the natural or magical resistance in a weapon that some creatures had, to an even bigger degree, since they all had Enchanted weapons.


    The second was a drinking potion that was allowing them to breathe underwater. They had bought a few before, and Hineko had made a few in the past, but they weren''t as effective as those bought or could make now. On the other hand, Hineko''s potion-making skills were increased, as every time they took a break, he kept making new regeneration potions.


    Their supplies for materials on regenerations potions were getting low, but they will replenish some soon in the next floors toe. The enemies would be more dangerous, especially starting after floor 40, but also the resources there would be more valuable.


    But if all of them evolved their ss, their speed going up would increase. And they could pass a few without fighting the Boss. Unfortunately, Shingi hadn''t reached level 60 to evolve his ss, but he would have reached that level before reaching the next Ruin City. But still, he could improve a lot of things before that.


    A few hours passed before Shingi''s next student logged in. Wild Tycoon was a Spirit Barbarian, and there were a few choices for Evolutions for this ss. Each one would increase her proficiency in using a Spirit naturally, giving her the ability to use another one.


    She had learned to use different Spirit Beasts, but she had to choose wisely since some non-beast options of Spirits would be avable to summon and use depending on her choice.


    Fortunately, Shingi was aware of the viable options and benefits, and he had informed Wild Tycoon, who had decided already. So she was between choosing to be an Eagle Spirit Barbarian or a Bear Spirit Barbarian.


    To evolve her ss, she had to summon a Spirit Beast and stay on her special vest; she would have it stay on her. This was dangerous, as the spirit would affect her, maybe even take control over her. But Shingi was certain that she could help her with his Spirit Element maniption.


    She had to take full control of it, even under the effect of <strong>RAGE</strong>, but with the help of Shingi and Syra''s expertise, they had enough safety measurements. Moreover, Syra could see the spirits since she should have something to do with using them when Mikhail monitored them.


    Shingi noticed Mikhail seemed to monitor them once per day at the same time. But Shingi still told Syra to keep an eye in case he monitored them some other time. He needed to find a way for himself to detect them by himself. It would be useful to have more people having this ability as also he couldn''t know if the people with Annoue would find a way to bring her back or take Syra back.


    He still wanted to get Annoue the sooner possible, as he had thought of trying rebuilding the door he had noticed, as it seemed to be what used to connect the two. But making something like that was out of his expertise, and also, he had just taken a few looks on it. He could ask Soren if he had any ideas about how it would work, but he preferred to let him focus on Lucy''s situation.


    He hadn''t tried using <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> these days, as he knew he could improve his Spirit Element proficiency more and see how much difference it would make there.


    Wild Tycoon started summoning the Spirit and slowly letting it merge with her while Syra and Shingi were paying attention to anything weird happening. Sometimes, they had to stop and Wild Tycoon to get the Spirit out and summon another one after a few minutes.


    The Spirits seemed to be more aggressive in the Tower than outside, so it would harder to pass this challenge, but not impossible. But, of course, it would be if Shingi or Syra weren''t around, and most likely, Shingi by himself was going to be useless.


    Little Phoenix had also appeared after a few hours, but Shingi told her to work on her Rune Training, as he wanted to finish Wild Tycoon''s training. As for Hineko''s training, he just had to cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on him to improve his chances even more but only once this time.


    The <strong>HASTE</strong> couldst at most an hour, but after 30 minutes, the effects started weakening. After the <strong>HASTE</strong> was over or weakened enough, Hineko worked on potion-making. He couldn''t make many oils and potions, but it would take him a couple of days to use all the materials they had.


    Shingi wanted to let Little Phoenixst since she would be the mostplicating case, but with her special Gravity Element, there should be at least some possible Evolutions. Shingi wasn''t certain as he had heard about Gravity Element but was one of the few he hadn''t studied or known as much as others. Even he couldn''t know about every single ss as the list was pretty much unlimited.


    Wild Tycoon kept trying and failing, which started making her angry. Finally, Shingi had to calm her down, as she needed a clearer mind than usual, even more than what RAGE offered her.


    But in the end, Wild Tycoon got a Spirit to merge with her and started working on keeping it using its effect at the same level as if it was in the vest and even surpassing that level.


    This could take some time, but they had all the time they needed. So finally, he could help Little Phoenix evolve her ss since Mizuneko wouldn''t be back for some time.


    As for An, she said she had it covered by herself, but he gave her some tips. She seemed though, like she knew what she was doing.

 Chapter 177: Training at Hideout part 4

    Chapter 177: Training at Hideout part 4


    He finished giving some more tips to Hineko and Wild Tycoon for their training, as he had to focuspletely on Little Phoenix''s training. Since she hadn''t unlocked a special ss when she was level 20, she couldn''t change her ss at this point unless she encountered some God-level power willing to help her. But still, there were ways to Evolve her ss, and if she was lucky, she would get something special.


    Since she already had her Special Mana by merging two Elements, she needed to increase her Mana Skills to over level 90 and increase her Spell number with her new Spell Element. She needed to learn 2 Master Grade Spells, 5 Base Grade, and 20 Low-Grade Spells. They could be Gravity-based or Dark-based since it was the primary Element she used in the merging.


    At least she knew one Master Grade Spell already; <strong>SHADOW FORM.</strong> So learning enough Low Grade and Base Grade Spell wouldn''t be a challenge, as she almost was at the right number. But this extra Master Grade one would be a challenge.


    Shingi knew no Master Grade Dark-Based Spells or Gravity-Based Spells but had a few ideas for some.


    She still was getting used to her new Element, so most of her Spells were Dark-Based, but Shingi knew she had to have her second Master Grade be Gravity-based to have a chance on an excellent ss to get unlocked. And then he had another of his crazy ideas.


    He knew only two Master Grader Spells himself. <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> was the Light Element version of <strong>SHADOW DORM</strong>, so what if he taught her a version of his second Master Grade Spell; <strong>CREATE WATER ELEMENTAL</strong>. But there were some problems with that n.


    First, since the spell had to be Gravity-Based, he didn''t know what the resulting Elemental would be like, or if possible, but he knew little about this kind of magic.


    Second, <strong>CREATE WATER ELEMENTAL</strong> wasn''t fully a Water Element Spell, but also a Spirit-Based one. He couldn''t pass his Blessing to her as he wasn''t as powerful as Soren, but this didn''t mean he couldn''t help her use some Spirit Mana. It wasn''t impossible for her to use some, but the restrictions were so heavy that even if he boosted her INT with his Blessing wouldn''t help.


    But if he released some of his Spirit Element and let her manipte it, the resistance would still be great, but not impossible. He also hoped to increase her proficiency with Spirit Element, as having another person with that Element would be really helpful. But the chances to seed he was certain that would be pretty low.


    He still had his Blessing in cooldown from using it during Hineko''s training, but with the help of Syra, they were as doing just as fine when they worked together. Syra didn''t know how to manipte the Mana of others, as they weren''t doing anything like that in her world. But Shingi could manipte her mana after she released it.


    Syra released her mana, and Shingi changed its ''breathing'' simrly as he had done during his Golem''s training, which would help others to control it. Then, little Phoenix tried to use <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> on it, which was currently at level 89.


    Her skill still did not affect the Element, but she could feel being close to doing so. She also could feel her skill finally getting close to getting at level 90, as she had stacked at level 89 for a long time. <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> was very helpful for her profession, so she had raised it at this level pretty soon, especially when she started making runes.


    But reaching level 90 was hard, and passing it was even harder for each level after that. Shingi''s <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> Skill, if it was counted in levels, it definitely would be over 90, possibly close to 95. His profession allowed him to help his student reach their skill closer to the power of his skills, but the closer they got, the benefits of her profession seemed to get weaker.


    "Are you certain that I can do this? We have made nothing close to progress." [Little Phoenix]


    "Are you ok? You seem somewhat distracted." [Shingi]


    Shingi noticed that Little Phoenix seemed to have her mind somewhere else. She was more impatient than normal, and she kept losing her focus all the time, especially when a sound was heard.


    Shingi checked her Status and noticed the reason she acted that weird.


    "Why are you here? Where is your sister?" [Shingi]


    This was the not shy twin, but this time she seemed to act like her sister, while most times, it was clear which one was in control. He could tell them apart for certain as the not-shy Little Phoenix sister had that special Blessing of hers. Shingi learned her sister was actually studying Martial Arts in real life since she was nine.


    She was also part of the track team and had won first ce for her school twice in a row.


    "How do you know about my sister?" [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi didn''t trust her that much as she didn''t show signs of earning any trust the few times she saw her.


    "I knew it. You are close to her, aren''t you? That''s why she spends that much time here. So what about we spend some private time together too?" [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi didn''t like her and kept his distance.


    "What happened to her? Did that disappearance act have some side effects on her? It doesn''t seem like any effects of Spirit Madness, though." [Syra]


    "No, it isn''t any why did you think of Spirit Madness to be the reason?" [Shingi]


    "A lot of Spirits appeared when they came back to their ce they were before disappearing and reappeared. I didn''t notice it with Hineko and Tycoon but did with her. Didn''t you notice it?" [Syra]


    Syra still wasn''t certain what Shingi could see and what he couldn''t, as his senses seemed to differ from the rest. He could see the Spirit Element and some of the Spirits, but only if they had a lot of Spirit Element on their body.


    "So, who is thatdy? Is she really a ghost?" [Little Phoenix]


    Syra was pretty much how one would imagine a ghost to be, but not the scary kind. Her body was partially transparent but not fully and was slightly blueish, as she had some from her Water Element Mana.


    "Just go away and let your sister get here. I don''t have time for you." [Shingi]


    She was ready to say something, but she turned into particles, simr to how she was when she logged out, but it took less time. Shingi knew that this was a sign of a forceful log-out.


    Doing a forceful log out had its disadvantages, as she could lose any progress she had during herst session, but she had done little during that session.


    A few minutester, Little Phoenix appeared, and this time, he paid attention and noticed some Spirit movement, but barely. Itsted for less than a second, as far as he could tell, but Syra told him itsted for at most two seconds. Shingi did not know why that would happen. Maybe the System had to make their appearance make sense, and using Spirit Element was the only way, but why would be the case he was clueless about.


    "Syra, have you guys used Spirit magic for teleportation?" [Shingi]


    "Teleportation? Not really? Moving through shadows is possible with Dark Element, but using Spirit Element, I don''t think so. Unless if you somehow get yourself in the Spirit Realm, but don''t know if you would call that teleportation, as don''t know if one could return if he did something like that." [Syra]


    Syra had mentioned the Spirit Realm in the past. It was a mirror realm of her living world, both existing in the same space, but only Spirits had ess to it. So Syra was actually there when the door opened, as it actually drew her in the real Realm and then at Shingi''s world. Fortunately, it got Annoue in the actual Realm and not the Spirit Realm, or she would get trapped there and doom her to perish.


    "Everything is ok? Did she do anything? I left for a second, and she decided to use my capsule without asking." [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi exined to her what happened and what their training was. So they started the training once again, and this time things were different. This Little Pheonix knew how to use her <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> effect fully and was enough to affect the Spirit Element Mana.


    She started making a ball with it as they started training in the same way she learned how to earn her Dark Element Mana. Of course, she didn''t need to make a ball as big as she needed back then, but even half of the size should be enough.


    They kept working for the rest of the day, but they took a break mostly for Syra and Shingi to not pass their limit in using Spirit. Shingi would normally use his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> to do some training himself, but since it seemed to be Spirit-based too, it wasn''t wise at this moment.


    So he instead worked on Wild Tycoon''s axe. He brought out a notebook, which he opened and had some notes and sketches of enchantments and runes.


    These were notes of Belly for Ragnarok''s axe. She was confident that it would be useful to him, so she had delivered it with the axe. He wouldn''t replicate the axe, not that he could, but he could use some elements of its designs.


    Especially its ability to change its form two battleaxes to a greataxe and back.

 Chapter 178: Training at Hideout part 5

    Chapter 178: Training at Hideout part 5


    He had to work on this project with Little Phoenix, but first, she had to decide on the Runes to use. Belly had drawn the possible Runes and exined them, so he just had to find the rightbination. He had studied them already, but most were difficult to reproduce without help.


    He studied them with his <strong>RUNE APPRAISAL</strong> Skill and added some personal notes as he started carving them on two test battleaxes he had bought beforehand. He had many weapons stored for testing and in case they needed to fight while keeping their proper equipment a secret. They didn''t have the best pieces of equipment, but they were way above average, and many would try to get them from them if they saw them.


    Dark Guild knew they were there, but they didn''t have enough time to see their equipment''s full power to know how rare they were.


    But if they got their ss to evolve, their power would increase enough not to be scared from most of them, at least not the normal members. Still, there would be some special cases, and they would need to level up quite a bit not to have any worries, but Shingi was confident they could do it.


    He worked on the right Runes and had made some prototypes without the help of Little Phoenix, but he couldn''t finish thest step. Other than carving them, he had to pull a part of his selected Element or Elements on the Rune, but it didn''t work for whatever reason he did it himself.


    He spoke with Little Phoenix and Syra, and it seemed like when they used the mana, it took the form of a string instead of the usual shapeless form. Shingi couldn''t give his mana that form for whatever reason, but he got close sometimes to seed. If he continued, maybe he could actually get the necessary Skill to make Runes by himself.


    Other than upgrading his students'' equipment, he would create a special trinket for himself. This was the special project Soren had mentioned. That was also the reason he got all these special parts of the Bosses.


    Except for the 6 items gathered, he would use the second ring of his, which had some of his Spells stored. It wouldn''t be another staff, or a de, or any type of weapon, but a trinket used as a focus for his spell casting. It was a useful one as it saved him from using his Mana Seeds unless he wanted to have them strengthened, as the speed was simr.


    He would make another ring that wouldn''t be able to store Spells in it, but the materials used on the ring would be helpful to the mix of the special materials at his disposal. It would help keep the Element of each item perfectly bnced and increase his proficiency in using <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> Skills on the different Elements. He would choose what Elements the ring would affect, but the more Elements, the weaker the effect.


    Shingi pulled out the pearl, the Sphinx''s stride of hair, the heart of the Mother Earthworm, the Harp, Kelvin''s dark crystal, and Lava Dragon''s core. He tied the Dragon Core and the pearl together using the hair stride and the harp strings. He trimmed the dark crystal and the hearth of the Mother Earthworm, which was pretty much a rock itself that a piece of flesh.


    He mixed those two and spread them around the connected core and pearl. Then he had his forge to be at full power and even more since he used Light, Fire, and Air Element to strengthen them and purify them simultaneously.


    When the mes reached their limit, he pulled in the weird result ofbining all the items, and after a bit, he put the ring too but was holding it with a pair of tongs. He wouldn''t melt the ring, at least notpletely. He had to move the ring with the tongs to spread the mix all over the ring, as long as it was still liquified.


    He used some of his Air Element remaining in the fire to hold the materials in ce, and when he had all of it used, he started pulling the ring away from the forge slowly. He unleashed more of his Air Mana to cool it off.


    He let the ring be less warm as he pulled it in a special box, made of enchanted silver, embedded with Ice Mana, so it had a cooling effect.


    He needed to let it in there, but not to cool off but to embed the element on itself; the water and air element of the box. He would then have to put it in a simr box with Fire Mana, Earth the Light, and finally Dark. He had prepared the boxes before they got into the Tower but embedding them with the right Element during their breaks with the help of his students.


    Shingi wanted to make one for Spirit too, but making the right Enchantment on the box was something he didn''t know how to do, and Syra wasn''t certain either. But he could try to do it by feeding it with his Spirit Mana, which hopefully wouldn''t make him reach his limit, as he had to finish the entire process at once with no breaks.


    Since he used the boxes, he didn''t need to use his mana for any other elements, meaning he could use everything on his try for Spirit Element. He hadn''t put material for Spirit Element, but he thought the ring itself would count as one. Syra had recognized part of the runes to be spirit-based, which had him thought of how could that be possible since nobody could use Spirit Element at this level.


    But it was a secret that he had never found out how to create those types of Equipment, and even if they could be bought, it wasn''t cheap, and not just anyone could get them. But with the help of his past friends, getting one was possible.


    Soren seemed to genuinely hadn''t heard of the existence of the Spirit Element, so if anybody existed who could use it, they should be on the level of Mikhail to keep it a secret from him. Even if it sounded impossible, Shingi thought otherwise.


    Mikhail seemed to be a special case, but that didn''t mean he was the only one. Shingi knew that there were other people like him and Harbin, having special eyes, and some people who were their nemesis, as Harbin called them. He still didn''t know who those people were or what exactly they did or could do to be considered their nemesis, but Harbin seemed unwilling to tell him.


    Shingi had thought about the possibility of Mikhail being one of them, but since he didn''t know who they were, he couldn''t be certain.


    Shingi wanted to learn more about one more group of people, which had something inmon with him. The ones created by thepany by other employees'' DNA like him and Annoue. He still didn''t know why Annoue was so different from him, even if she was supposed to also got made by a part of his DNA, but since she was a girl, maybe she turned to be different in more than just her gender.


    She was the first one since the System referred to her as sNPC#1, and he remembered that it also called him sNPC#12 when he first tried to get his ss. That meant that there were at least ten more like him. He also remembered Benjamin mentioning them, but when he got close to one, they disappeared.


    He let Marcy, Price, and Anna keep looking for any information about any NPCs that could fit those requirements, but he didn''t know if any of them could not act like he was when under the effect of Never-Ending Sleep.


    There were many mysteries still to solve, but the more he thought about it, the more certain he was that Mikhail held the answers to all of them.


    Mikhail had his ex-Blessed mother somehow working for him, or at least one that looked and sounded like her, as also had her memories. But it wasn''t necessarily a Spell, but it could be some special power of his race, as he definitely wasn''t just a human. He also had power that even Soren didn''t know the limits of, as he could hide from him, which was something that even the Protectors couldn''t do.


    Even if he had reached a level of power as Varan had, Soren and others could detect him, but it was like he didn''t even exist to their eyes. That was why Ae had such a hard time finding clues of his whereabouts. Especially when he was in the tower, it was even hard to monitor even a simple mortal the higher they were on the Tower, and Mikhail seemed to have his headquarters pretty high.


    Shingi rxed his mind as he continued checking his new ring, making sure it didn''t stay in the box more than needed and moving it to the next one. He also kept working a bit on the spirit part of his Mana Tree to improve it as much as he could.


    He had calcted that it would take them at least 4 days of training for all of them to finish their training, maybe two, if they were lucky. But if he made this trinket of his to work with Spirit Element, it would also increase the help he could provide in the training of Little Phoenix on increasing her proficiency in controlling the Spirit Element.


    The ring should be over in a little less than an hour, as after that, any more alteration would be impossible. He had to make it work with one try.

 Chapter 179: Training at Hideout part 6

    Chapter 179: Training at Hideout part 6


    He had Little Phoenix help speed up the embedding of mana of the Earth and Dark Element by using hers. He did the same for Fire and Light, using his mana. Fortunately, Dark Element wasst, so it gave him time to restore his MP to full using MP Regeneration Potions and Minor Mana Regeneration.


    He had used little Light Element Mana since it was before to be used before Dark Element, but still, he had saved enough time for having a try to make his try with Spirit Element. The process had to end in less than half an hour, as he wouldn''t stay heated for long, and he couldn''t feed it with fire mana as it would just be absolved by the ring instead.


    For him to know when it was ready to change Element, it was the time when the liquified special substance changed color to the one of the current Element. It was white and blue for Air and Water, which it was getting them both with the Ice Element box. Then followed red for Fire, green for Earth, yellow for Light, and finally ck for Dark Element.


    He had finished with Dark Element, and almost 25 minutes passed since he started the entire process. It got a little cooled off by the Ice mana, but the fire mana had heated once more. Light also helped a bit increase its heat, while Earth and Dark had almost no effect, except for the Dark Element that had lowered it a bit.


    Unless the Spirit Element would cool it down, he had maybe five minutes or a little less.


    So he pulled the ring out using a Light-based <strong>MANA HAND</strong> since that <strong>MANA HAND</strong> was best suited to do delicate work without affecting his craft. Then he took a deep breath and starting pulling his Spirit Element in the ring.


    Shingi felt some significant resistance, but he had prepared for that. He had let enough time pass for his Blessing''s active effect to work, so he boosted his INT. He was starting feeling all the elements acting as walls to keep his Spirit Element away.


    He could try to break them to pass them, but that would ruin everything he made, so instead, he had to open a way without ruining what he had. This wasn''t easy, but with his current <strong>INT</strong> and his current proficiency using each of the Elements, he started manipting all of them. He had to be careful and work slowly, but with his boosted <strong>INT</strong>, Master Rank <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> Skill, and his experience, then the speed wasn''t as slow as one would expect, but still not as fast as needed.


    The head wasn''t getting cooled down any faster than normal, but still, Shingi didn''t know if it would be done in time. He tried to focus on the task at hand and not on the chance of failure.


    He closed his eyes to focus on his Spirit Element fully, and he reached the point of feeling like he was where his mana was. It was like he was in a vast hall himself and could see and feel everything. He had to pass each Element in order, starting with Air. When he reached the Air Element wall and started shaping it to make way to pass.


    As he worked on it, he started noticing something, and he had an idea. Instead of making a hole in the wall, he started changing the shape of the wall. While shaping it, he felt a significant resistance, but it got weaker the closer he got to the final shape. He made it into a sphere, and then it started expanding to make a familiar creature; the Sphinx Boss.


    When he was over with it, he felt its power to have increased significantly. So he moved to the next wall, which was Water.


    He started focusing on forming the pearl that was the Element source, but it seemed to becking something. Then he had another idea as he started making another shape surrounding the pearl. It was arge oyster, as that was where the pearl was in the treasury. Once more, when finished, he felt its power boost.


    Moving on, he faced the Fire Wall and started shaping the Lava Dragon. Of course, its size wouldn''t be as humongous as the real one since there wasn''t that much energy. He made it stand on its feet, and its head was thest thing to form. Fortunately, Shingi could use his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> Skill but was using some of his Spirit Mana. But he needed to push himself as much as possible and take risks.


    He had enabled his special eyes before starting theplete process to be safe.


    As he finished with the Dragon and was ready to move on, he noticed it move, and actually, itid down to get a sleeping stance. The Spinx or the oyster did nothing like that, but he didn''t have time to find the reason behind it.


    Next was the Earth wall, and he had to Shape another immense creature; the Mother Earthworm. He used <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> once more and worked on it. The Lava Dragon wasrger than the Mother Earthworm, but the worm''s design was moreplicated, especially because of the multiple spikes at its side.


    When he was finished once more, the final resulted creature moved, and actually, it dug its way down, but it didn''t leave a hole or any signs of digging.


    He moved on to the Light Element Wall and started shaping the harp. But even then, it seemed tock something.


    <em>''Could it be that it needs me to form Lah too?''</em> [Shingi]


    A harp by itself was iplete without the musician, and until now, it seemed like he needed to have aplete set. This was proved by the fact that the pearl needed the oyster. But he had never met Lah, but he had heard a few stories for her, so he started using what he knew.


    He started shaping her, and the closer she got to it, he started feeling some adjustments to be done by themselves. It was like someone was guiding him, and he focused on those guides as they seemed to bring results. When he wasplete, and it seemed like itcked nothing, nothing happened, and he knew that something wascking.


    He focused on the figure and what could be missing, but everything seemed to be in ce. Then he had an idea to try.


    He started shaping wings for her, two pairs of wings. Lah was an archangel when she got the harp, or so the story he had heard said, so it made sense that he needed to make them. An archangel had at least two pairs of wings, and he doubted Lah had more than that many.


    He visualized the wings of Avea and starting reproducing them, but only two pairs of them, not all three. When he finished with thest feather, he noticed no movement, and he was ready to just try to move on since the way wasn''t blocked.


    But then her hands started moving, and she started ying the harp, but no music was produced. She also seemed to be singing, but no voice was heard either.


    So he moved to thest wall, which was the Dark Element One. He started forming the dark crystal and the staff, as also Kelvin the Necromancer. He expected that all this would be needed this time, so he worked on them together.


    He had faced Kelvin many times, and his appearance was always the same, so he had no problem shaping him. He finished it in record timepared to the rest and saw Kelvin hitting the floor with the butt of the staff as undead start being formed. The undead was then disappearing, and he was doing the same move and same effect like an endless loop.


    Shing was ready to move to the next step, but he wasn''t certain what that would be. He looked around and noticed that everything he created was ced to form a circle.


    So he moved to the center of the circle and noticed a small white stone. He started focusing his Spirit Mana on it and notice the stone reacting. It was starting to get bigger but barely noticeable.


    He started pouring as much Spirit Mana as he could, and the stone started changing shape to form a pir and then started getting taller. After a point, he noticed thin lines of mana connecting each creature he made with the pir. Each of these thin lines had the same color as the element they were connecting the pir with.


    Therger the pir got, the wider the lines, and Shingi could feel them all be strengthened. He could also see on the pir a certain carving that he had recognized from some talks he had with Syra for the old runguage. It was a rhombus that his bottom lines continued spreading a bit, making it look like there was a triangle with no base under it.


    This was the old runguage symbol for Spirit.

 Chapter 180: New ring and final return

    Chapter 180: New ring and final return


    The pir wasplete, and it was taller than the Lava Dragon and the Mother Earthworm. As the pir stopped growing, Shingi started hearing noises, although it should be impossible since he wasn''t really there. First, he started hearing the Sphinx murmuring, then the oyster making bubble sounds, the snore of the dragon, followed by the digging sound of the Mother Earthworm. Soon he could hear Lah ying the harp and her singing voice.


    Finally, he heard Kelvin''s old voice saying the arcane words needed to raise his undead, as also the sound his staff made by hitting the floor with its butt.


    Everything seemed and sounded so real, as also some adjustments had happened to their appearance, making them even closer to what the real ones were like.


    He started releasing his focus as he was back in his body and had the ring on his palm, as it hadpletely cooled down. All the liquified material that had surrounded it had been moved in one ce, making a single gem at the top of the ring. Its current color was white.


    ================================


    <strong>BECAUSE OF THE OVERUSE OF SPIRIT MANA, ALL SPIRIT-BASED ABILITIES OR SPELLS HAVE BEEN RESTRICTED FOR THE NEXT 36 HOURS</strong>


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>BLESSING OF NYHM HAS BEEN DISABLED FOR 36 HOURS</strong>


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>SPIRIT MADNESS FAILED TO AFFECT sNPC#12</strong>


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>SPIRIT MADNESS CHANCE INCREASED</strong>


    ================================


    This was the second time he got these notifications, but the time the disadvantagested had increased by half the time they were before. Also, the chance of Spirit Madness was increased once more, but he could tell that the limit he could use Spirit Element had increased as well.


    He couldn''t use anything Spirit Element rted, not even his <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> Skill, which wasn''t fully Spirit-Based since almost anyone could learn it. But anyone could use Spirit Element, just to a minimal degree. So now he couldn''t use it that much either.


    Still, he didn''t regret taking the risk, as the final product was more than he expected. He put on the ring, and he focused his Light Element int it. The Gem started turning yellow, and he could feel the flow of his mana in the ring bing more natural and with no resistance.


    He started pouring Fire Mana in it while trying to keep the Light Element Mana in it, which wasn''t as hard as expected. The gem was orange when he pulled as much mana as he could spare at the moment. Finishing the ring almost dried him of mana by using it as Spirit Element, and this time he used it way faster than when he used it at Dark Shadow''s egg. That''s why he had reached and passed his limit.


    He also had his Air Element currently, but he didn''t use it as it wouldpletely dry his entire Mana Pool.


    He waited and noticed that the no mana leaked from the ring no matter how much he waited, and he could also feel that the mana in there had even improved and was ready to be used. So that was the reason he made the ring and what Soren, since he was the one who gifted Ameanum the design, made it for. Shingi could store in the ring mana of any Elements, and not only would it stay stored to be usedter on, but it could even be improved to be easier to use.


    He could even store mana for others, and the ring would also improve and adjust them for him to use them easier like they were his. The ring was bonded with him now, so he was the only one to use it unless this bond got transferred, but not just anyone could do that.


    Shingi walked towards Syra and showed histest creation as he exined what it was. He told her also about how he worked on all the Elements and about the pir.


    "You keep surprising me even after that much time we travel together. I must admit that you have done some fascinating things, but this ring is amazing even if it was half as good as you describe it to be. So since it can store Elements of others, it can also store Spirit Element?" [Syra]


    "Normally not, but I think because of what I did, and from his pir''s appearance, it should be able to. Why don''t you try storing some in? Just trying to pour it in." [Shingi]


    Syra was curious enough, so she followed his instructions.


    She pulled some of her Spirit Element mana in it, and it actually was stored. But Shingi noticed the Gem was turning back to white. Also, the Fire and Light Element mana already in it started being released into the environment. He told Syra to stop, but the leak didn''t stop until only the Spirit Element mana of Syra was in it.


    "Try pouring some Water Element instead into it." [Shing]


    Syra once again followed what she was told to do, and they noticed the gem started turning blue. This time, the Spirit Element was released into the environment until only Syra''s Water Element was stored.


    Shingi called his students and had Little Phoenix pulling Earth and Dark Element while An was using Air. Mizuneko still hadn''t returned, so he had to ask An to try air. Then, he started pouring some Fire and Light since he had some MP restored during that time because of his Minor Mana Regeneration.


    The gem started turning to fit the color of thebination of all the colors of each element, depending on the amount of element they poured in it. No leaks this time, and he had all six based elements, just the bnce was all over that ce.


    So it seemed the moment he would insert Spirit, it would release any Elements already in it. If he had Spirit Element in it, pouring any other Element made the Spirit Element get released. So he could either store the basic elements or spirit element, but not both. It was a restriction, but he didn''t mind, as he didn''t know that it could make it store Spirit Element either way before hepleted the project.


    Still, he couldn''t store all Elements as if he split them evenly, as he would just have enough mana to cast a Base grade Spell of each Element once at tops.


    He stored Dark and Water Element mana since he didn''t have them in his Mana Pool. He also had Air since it was the one he had the least proficiency with.


    He had stored An''s Air Element mana instead of his, as after enough time passes in it, itspatibility level would increase enough to help develop his Air Element side of Air Element. Air and Spirit were the two most undeveloped, but he couldn''t do anything for Spirit''s side for now. He couldn''t even manipte any amount of Spirit mana to help improve his Mana Tree.


    If he had stored his mana, it wouldn''t change itspatibility because it was his mana, which was a safety measurement to make it more difficult to increase the power of your Mana Tree. So you had to find those highpatible sources or make them.


    So he had to rest to restore his MPpletely and wait for his restriction of using Spirit-based abilities to be over. But even if he couldn''t use Spirit Element, he still had many things to do.


    He returned to his students and checked how their training to Evolve their sses was going. Hineko had increased his Skills a bit and was ready to pass the level 90 at the needed ones with a couple of training days. Little Phoenix was close to creating her first Gravity Elemental, and Wild Tycoon''s control of the Spirit increased as time passed. Thest one had Syra looking over her just in case something went wrong with the spirit.


    The one that surprised Shingi was An, who had already evolved her ss.


    She was an Arcane de, but now she was a War de. She also had her second Element of her Mana Pool, which was the Fire Element. Unfortunately, her proficiency in it seemed to be slightly lower than what Shingi''s currently was, which was purely crazy since she didn''t have this element for more than a day.


    It reminded him of the times he taught something to Annoue, and she made progress into it in monster times too. It seemed that they shared more than a face, skills, and their ss. He still wondered why they looked that simr and why she had simr skills as Annoue, but An had no idea, as she remembered nothing before he woke her up.


    Maybe when he gets Annoue back, he would learn more, or maybe Nivlek would know more. He still hadn''t used her box, but he had noticed at thest <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> he had seen her that there was a simr box in her cell, among other things.


    He still didn''t know if she could trust her, but even if she could, how did he know that his messages wouldn''t reach Mikhail. It was weird of her to have the box kept hidden from him.


    He rested his body while considering his next move, as he also kept giving instructions to his students to help at their task at hand.


    Two days passed, and then Mizuneko logged in. Still, nobody but An had their ss evolved, but they were all close in doing so.


    Mizuneko seemed to find some interesting information in his search in the real world and was ready to share it with Shingi and the rest.


    Shingi had asked him to find out anything about Eneria''s World, thepany that was the main creator of the game, and if they had any secret ns for the game. Of course, that would be impossible for Mizuneko to find out by himself, but Shingi told Ardent to help him in secrecy.

 Chapter 181: Job offer and new party member

    Chapter 181: Job offer and new party member


    "So, what did you find out?" [Shingi]


    Shingi had all his yer students have a meeting, while An trained to get used to her new ss, while Syra enjoyed some of the wine of Shingi.


    "Not a lot yet. But I will learn more in the future; that''s why I am here. I got a job offer in Enerias World." [Mizuneko]


    "A job? I thought you were sent to learn what they were hiding not to join them." [Wild Tycoon]


    Shingi had shared with them that the Guild seemed to hide something, and that''s why he had told Mizuneko to search about it in the real world.


    "Do you think if they are hiding something, it will be easy to find out about it? They are among the biggestpanies globally and had revolutionized the capsule and used it to the degree that others haven''t. Their security is impossible to break even with Ardent''s help. Joining them is the only safe route to learn what they hide but will take some time. So I won''t be in the game for a long time. I will send messages to my brother though if I know something, but not too much to not draw attention." [Mizuneko]


    Shingi considered that something like that would happen, as Mizuneko learning something in that short of time was an impossible task.


    "Did you get the scroll from Ardent then?" [Shingi]


    Mizuneko nodded as he brought out a scroll. It was like the one Shingi, and Price used to transfer his new staff with three Mana Gems. But this one was a bit different, as it wasn''t to transfer an item into another but to change the positions of the one using this scroll and the one using its pair. Ardent Scythe transferred one scroll to Mizuneko''s ount, but she could do it only for something she owned and not too many times or would draw the attention of the System''s AI.


    Mizuneko would be out for weeks in the real world, which would be months in the game. So if they lost a party member, it would decrease their efficiency.


    "Anything else you need to tell us?" [Shingi]


    "Wait, wait. That''s it? Won''t we have a goodbye party or something? We just let him got work with the people who god knows what they are hiding? Shouldn''t we discuss some safety measurements or way to let us know if things go astray?" [Wild Tycoon]


    "This isn''t a spy movie. We have discussed a few situations with Master, but I am not going there to steal their secrets about the game and leaked them to the public, so we should be ok." [Mizuneko]


    Little Phoenix seemed to be a bit worried as she moved forward a bit to draw the attention of everyone.


    "May I ask. even if miss Scythe helped you, what job you were offered? Aren''t you still a minor?" [Little Phoenix]


    "My brother and I are older than we look but not as old as you think. Still in our early twenties. As for what I am going to do was offered to be a programmer, but more in the debugging area. I won''t have ess to the released code, just part of new content, but I don''t think they will learn anything through there as they don''t update this game as much. Still, maybe they have ns on one of their other''s games too." [Mizuneko]


    Enerias Tower was Enerias World''s first title they had released. After all those years, it is still one of their biggest titles, even if they had released more since then, but none had as much of an impact. Still, they kept doing an excellent job organizing new events now and then and giving new content when needed, like the Dungeons, since the Tower expeditions weren''t avable for everyone.


    Shingi still was curious why they hadn''t tried to fight the Dark Guild, although he assumed that they somehow worked together. It was the only potential situation that would make sense of everything, but what could be the reason?


    The five of them had some more small talk, and when finished, Mizuneko unwrapped his scroll, but not before sending a message to the one with its pair. Then, he started reading the scroll as some of the words he read left the scroll and started moving around him.


    More and more letters appeared and started moving faster, leaving a trail of light behind them and at the end making a light cocoon around Mizuneko. Then, after a few seconds, the letters started moving slower, and in the ce of Mizuneko was another person.


    That person was Price, who seemed to be excited to be part of the action once more. He had stayed in Carda all this time, making sure the Broken Bridge or any other Guild didn''t do any nasty business. He also helped Marcy raise her Guild since he was the highest in level among everyone in the Guild, being the only one with an Evolved ss, which he had seeded with the help of Shingi and Anna while Shingi was still in town.


    He was a Shadowstalker, which had some abilities that Anna''s True Assassin ss had. The biggest one was the ability to make himself one with the shadows and teleport from one shadow to the other, although the range and speed weren''t as good as Anna''s. Also, his ability to pinpoint weak spots of enemies and deal massive damage on them with his attacks had increased, especially after getting a few tips from Anna.


    "Finally, back in the Tower. It''s been too long. Man, I missed this ce." [Price]


    Price looked around, seeing everyone, and noticed Syra in the background. An was training in the training room, while they were in the main room, so he couldn''t see her.


    "So I see you guys have a newpanion. Care to fill me up?" [Price]


    Shingimunicated with Price through his students, but mostly to learn what the situation was in Carda. He didn''t want to send any important details through the System''s chat.


    "You better sit down as this may take a while." [Shingi]


    Shingi told him about everything. About the way he died when he was a yer, his days as an NPC, his ns and everything he had learned about Mikhail, and the possibility of Enerias World is working with the Dark Guild.


    The exnationsted longer thanst time since he had new pieces of information since then, but he still had many unanswered ones.


    Shingi also informed him of the changes he had detected in the Tower and how Mikhail had some of his people on some of the Tower''s floors. Unfortunately, Shingi still couldn''t see a pattern to which floors Mikhail had his people or why they were there, but he kept looking for one.


    Price''s eyes seemed to stay the same through the entire story, having no signs of confusion or anything else expected in this kind of situation. In addition, he was wearing a mouth mask, simr to what Night Wind had, which helped him hide and harder for someone to get a read on him.


    "So, questions?" [Shingi]


    Shingi didn''t expect him to be this calm throughout the entire story. When he exined his background to the others, they kept asking him questions while he was talking, but Price was silent the whole time.


    "It was about time." [Price]


    Dangerous thoughts starting appearing in Shingi''s mind. Could Price know everything this whole time? And if he did, how? Could it be that he worked for their enemy?


    "I knew you were hiding something all this time, and an NPC looking like the young self of your yer self couldn''t be a coincidence. I had thought of different scenarios, but what makes the least sense sometimes is the truth. After thinking like that, putting things together was easier but still had some holes in my story. Although, I never thought of the possibility of a conspiracy." [Price]


    Shingi knew Price was pretty good at filling the nks of a story and finding clues about one, but he didn''t expect him to do it at this level for this case sessfully.


    "So, are we ready to move on? I need some action." [Price]


    "We aren''t leaving yet. We still need to finish evolving everyone''s ss, and even after that, we will need at least a day to get used to everything. But I need you to do a few things during that time." [Shingi]


    "Let me guess. Monitor the people outside and find a way for all of us to sneak our way to the next floor?" [Price]


    Shingi shook his head. Sneaking was useless now since they knew who they were at this point.


    But he wanted Price to monitor them to know what they are dealing with. Few people knew about the existence of the hideouts, and Shingi doubted the Dark Guild knew, as they had shown no signs of being used, at least the ones he had visited until now.


    So after discussing thest details with what he wanted Price to do, he went back to finish another project that had An, Syra, and Little Phoenix help him with the Runes design.


    To make a new staff.

 Chapter 182: Evolved classes

    Chapter 182: Evolved sses


    His current staff could handle three Mana Gems, but they were specific ones of Earth, Fire, and Light Element. He could rece the mana gem with one of the other Elements, but the design worked with those three. Changing the design to fit the fourth Element was impossible as the only reason they handled three was because of the staff Price<em> ''acquired.''</em>


    So the only option he had was to make different staves, with all thebinations, but would be a waste of materials, or make an Adjustable Rune Design.


    And Adjustable Rune Design is pretty much as it sounds, a Rune design that could get adjusted in the fly. But this would lower the quality than if he had a stable design, and he had to have a perfect understanding of all the designs he could adjust it to, or it wouldn''t work.


    Those past days he worked on understanding all the designs of each element separately, as he needed that knowledge to design multiple ones. He didn''t study only the ones he had in his Mana Pool but the ones hecked too. He had the design for every Element except Spirit, as he couldn''t make one even with Syra''s help.


    He hade in a great understanding of all of them at these days that passed, as he had also increased his <strong>RUNE APPRAISAL</strong> Skill to Master Rank. He still couldn''t make those Runes himself, or at least he couldn''t make thest step. But he could design them, carve them, and let Little Phoenix or Syraplete them.


    He had trained with Little Phoenix mostly to allow her to control part of his Mana, as she would turn it in the right form to be used at the Rune. Little Phoenix could also use Mana Gems, but using Element from a Mana Pool was increasing the final quality, especially if it was from the Mana Pool of the one finishing the Rune. But Little Phoenix had only Dark and Earth Element, so Shingi provided Air, Fire, and Light Element. Syra provided Water Element, as it still was better than if they used a Water Mana Gem.


    They had to use all the Elements for the adjustable design since it would change on all the possiblebinations of those six but could be up to three Elements at the time. He could change it into a single one or abination of just two, which would be more effective than having three simultaneously.


    He had to carve on staff all the single designs, the one over the other, and then have a mix of silver dust of each of the Elements. After finishing the carving, he had to imbed the Elements, but that was something that Little Phoenix had to take care of. He could help her, though, by manipting his mana and help change its <em>''breathing''</em> so that she can use it like it was hers.


    She had to control all the Element needed to be used before inserting them in the Rune, which after three was her limit, and with her <strong>INT</strong> boosted by Shingi''s blessing, the Limit increased to 5. After that, she needed to control one more Element, but passing that limit even with the help of Shingi seemed to be far, but she was steadily getting there.


    It wasn''t a problem of her <strong>INT</strong> not being high enough, but her <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> wasn''t high enough level. She still had to pass level 90 at it, which Shingi was certain that she needed in this case. So they worked on increasing her <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> Skill.


    Shingi didn''t know of any yer who had passed level 90 in <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>, but he could tell that he should be higher than that but not too high. He had seen others using it at the limit of that level, and he was certain he had passed it.


    She had to learn more Earth-based or Dark-based Spell, or even think some Gravity-base ones since Shingi didn''t know any. Still, he had her try to cast Spells of other Elements to increase her proficiency on those Elements and would increase her <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> Skill. She had finished learning <strong>CREATE GRAVITY ELEMENTAL</strong>, as also she learned <strong>CREATE SHADOW ELEMENTAL</strong>, which was its dark-based version. Both were considered unfinished because she couldn''t use enough Spirit Mana to use them in a suitable level of power to count as finished ones.


    Even if they were unfinished Base Grade Spells, they counted as Master Grade Spells for the count of Spell she knew for things like her ss to evolve. She had studied all the spells Shingi, and Syra knew and kept trying to finish casting them, but not in a degree to consider as learned, but only enough to get the benefits of bing more familiar with how to use the Spell''s Element.


    He also continued her training to manipte Spirit Element, and she had some improvement on it but was barely noticeable. Still, improving even a little was more than they could ask for, and if there was even the slightest improvement, it meant that she wasn''t at her true limit when they started.


    They couldn''t be sure if she could use the Spirit Element, same as Shingi could at any point, but even using it at ten percent would be more than enough for now. Currently, she was less than one percent on the control Shingi had.


    But even that one percent had improved her <strong>MANA MANIPUlATION</strong>, but she still had a long way to reach the target. They didn''t focus only on Spirit Element, even if their benefits seemed to be the greatest. She needed to increase her proficiency for each Element maniption to have the final Rune being of the highest quality possible.


    She kept working on learning new Spells, as after two days since Price got in the Tower, she reached the Spell amount she needed to evolve her ss. Her <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> was at level 90, and she could feel it; she was close to reaching level 91, just wascking at something.


    As for Wild Tycoon, she had seeded in taking full control of the spirit while it was in her body. In the end, she went with the bear to keep focusing on her <strong>STR</strong> as she was the one with the highest one in the group. Hineko and Price were already <strong>AGI</strong>-Based, while An''s fighting style was both STR and <strong>AGI</strong>-based. So Tycoon based her focus on a more STR-Based fighting style so that they would have variety.


    Her natural defense also increased a bit, as well as her <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> as far as it involved her nose instead of sight. So she used the bear spirit, and her ss changed to Bear Spirit Barbarian. At level 90, she can evolve her ss once more and choose another Spirit, but it wouldn''t have the same benefits or unlock the usible options of Spirits if it was her first option.


    Hineko had also be a Trickster, which increased his <strong>AGI</strong> too in progress, making his <strong>AGI</strong> 16. This brought most of his ss-rted abilities upgraded to at least twice the power they had before. Some even increased four times.


    Hineko''sbat abilities also increased, as he had to increase his <strong>MARTIAL ART</strong>, meaning he could also fight hand to hand and not just with his daggers. He had actually trained a few MARTIAL ARTS moves with Soryn and gotten some notes back when they were still in Carda.


    As for his ss'' expertise, even if it wasn''t so much in the battle but the maniption of it. He could ''trick'' his opponents by using some Illusion tricks to distract them or make them scared if ying his cards right. These Illusions weren''t using mana but a concept of energy that Soryn had introduced to Hineko with<strong> MARTIAL ARTS</strong>; it was called the ki.


    Somebody could consider Ki the mana of the martial art practitioners, as it allowed the user to do inhuman acts. Its mostmon ways were to affect certain functions of the target''s body, like making it unable to move, or get blind, or couldn''t even tell a lie as it could even affect the brain with the right use. This was what Hineko was doing, as he used his ki to pull as an illusion to his target''s mind.


    Still, his opponent had to be low <strong>INT</strong>, or it could see that this was fake, but in time he could make them harder to tell what was real and whatnot. But they could act as distractions for most normal enemies, even for a few seconds.


    So another week passed since Price joined the party, and then Little Phoenix had her breakthrough.


    She had reached her <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> to level 91.


    After having a few hours so that she could be in full power, they made another attempt to control all the Elements one after the other.


    She seeded in controlling five, but that was without Shingi boosting her <strong>INT</strong>. This meant that she definitely could do it with it.


    They did some more tests until they actually moved to pull the Elements on the staff they had prepared with all the designs and the mana silver dust. Shingi tried to help her, other than with his Blessing, but other than providing the mana and changing their ''breathing,'' he couldn''t do much.


    Still, after 20 minutes of struggle, they finished, and the staff wasplete.


    So Shingi decided to put it to the test. And he had the perfect sparring partners for that testing, all his students, including Price.

 Chapter 183: Sparring match

    Chapter 183: Sparring match


    Shingi would have to go against Price, Hineko, Wild Tycoon, An, and Little Phoenix at this sparring, while Syra stayed out of it. Shingi wanted to test his new staff and his students to test their new sses.


    Pirce was a Shadowstalker, Hineko a Trickster, Wild Tycoon was a Bear Spirit Barbarian, an Arcane Warde, and Little Phoenix''s ss evolved to Gravitymancer. Only Mizuneko hadn''t evolved from his ss, but he wouldn''t join them for some time.


    Shingi also hadn''t evolved his ss, but he hadn''t reached level 60 yet, but he was at level 58. He couldn''t level up with no enemies to fight. He got some exps for upgrading the equipment of everyone and making new ones, but for what he needed to level up, they were a single drop of water in the sea.


    Price had the highest level among them all, level 63, and everyone else except Shingi was level 60.


    Shingi should be at a disadvantage normally since everyone was a higher level than him and had their sses evolved, but he had a True ss and could fix the difference of numbers with <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong>.


    His current Mana Pool had Earth, Fire and Air Element, and of course Spirit. Light wouldn''t help him in the fight unless he wanted to escape or use his Mana des. He wouldn''t use Sinhunter, just his new staff, and his Spells. The reason was to train on using it, and since he had a mage ss when he would need to Evolve it, he would need to have mage-rted requirements like Little Phoenix.


    He created 5 Golems, one for each of his students, and had used some Spirit Mana on the spell that had offered benefits to them. He made them all Attack Golems and had each one targeting just one of his students.


    Shingi kept his Spells, trying to keep them busy and away from him, which was unusual of his usual charging with his sword unless he had to keep his focus on <strong>HASTE</strong> for others. He didn''t use <strong>HASTE</strong> on himself, as he could keep up even with Price''s speed as he could have his Golem to slow him down enough. He couldn''t cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on his Golems either as they didn''t have an actual body that an adrenaline boost would boost them.


    He kept creating <strong>EARTH SPIKES</strong> when they got close enough, and for the first time, he had all his the <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> he knew how to cast. However, his Light Element MANA DOUBLE was harder to cast since he couldn''t use his Mana as it was locked.


    His new staff had three sockets, one for each of the active Element Mana Gems to use, and he crafted it to keep them in ce and easily exchange them inbat. After he inserted one to three Mana Gems, he focused on adjusting the Rune Design to the one needed for selected Elements. He could also change the design to focus on only one Element, even if he had three Mana Gems or a design for two of the Elements.


    He could also put multiple Mana Gems of the same Element to increase the effects of the designs, but it wasn''t working like having two Mana Gems of the same Element to work double as fast.


    It took him thirty seconds to change the design into a three Element One, but the time would increase to a full minute if one of the Elements was Light or Dark. It took him close to two minutes if it was a three-design one with both Light and Dark Element.


    If he had to make a double Element design, it took him 20 seconds, 50 seconds, and 1 and a half minutes. As for a single Element design, it took him 10 seconds for any Elements except Light and Dark and 25 for those two.


    That was the time he had at the beginning of the sparring and without having his <strong>INT</strong> boosted by his Blessing. Changing mana gems didn''t take over two seconds with his current speed, as he had already started training on it the past few days since he had finished making the staff before finishing the rune.


    Using the staff and the Mana Gems had allowed him to use Spells using just the mana of the Staff, but nothing over Base Grade. He also had made the butt of the staff sharper and shaped almost like a de, allowing him to use <strong>AIR SLASH</strong> with it but not any of his Mana des. Unfortunately, the Mana Gems regeneration rate wasn''t as fast as his, so after casting a couple of seconds, he had to change the Mana Gem, or it would getpletely empty and break.


    He had an incredible amount of Mana Gems, but he couldn''t waste them like they costed nothing, as they couldn''t make new ones forever. So he would cast only Spells with the Element he couldn''t use currently, and only if needed and had no option.


    That was how he cast all his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong>, and he used them forbat while most times he just had them for helping in training, acting like targets. His Earth one was the slowest of them all but had the greatest defense, so he had it fight against Wild Tycoon.


    His Light Element Mana Double had the biggest magical of them all, especially against Dark Element, so he targeted Little Phoenix with it. The Air Element Mana Double was the one with the greatest speed, so its target was Price, the fastest among Shingi''s students. The second fastest student would normally be Hineko, but it was actually An as she could use AIR-based spells to boost her speed and Enhancements to her boots.


    Fire Element Mana Double targeted An as her Air-based Spell would just strengthen it. He had no more Mana Doubles to use against Hineko, so Shingi had to target him himself if needed. He couldn''t cast more Mana Doubles as with all the Golems and all of them being active; he was at his limit.


    During the fight, he got the chance to train more at using his Master of the Arcane I. He had to keep using mana to keep his Golems and Mana Doubles active and fix any damage they had. So he used his special bracelets and rings to draw mana towards him and turn it at Air, Fire, or Earth Element. But, unfortunately, he couldn''t turn any of that mana into Light Element, as he had it disabled.


    Still, his Mana Pool wasrger than all his students Mana Pool added together, and even Syra had less <strong>MP</strong> than him even if her <strong>INT</strong> was over 20. So his <strong>INT</strong> hadn''t increased, but his <strong>MP</strong> had increased these past days, and with Nyhm''s Blessing that was doubling his Mana Pool, the effects were even greater.


    His <strong>SP</strong> or <strong>HP</strong> had improved littletely, but he could heal himself and restore some of his <strong>SP</strong> or <strong>HP</strong> or use some of their potions with his <strong>MP</strong>.


    Shingi even got the chance of using his new ring by using the mana stored in the, and even store some mana while inbat and wait for it to benefit enough to be used.


    Even Price seemed to go all out during that fight, and there were some noticeable improvements to all of them. They also started working on their teamwork, but Shingi tried to keep them separate to help each other.


    Their sparing ended after an hour.


    Shingi had lost close to half his <strong>HP</strong>, but his students except Price had less than ten percent. Price also had close to half his <strong>HP</strong> left.


    Their power had increased these past few days massively, and their confidence they could deal with anything following. If they faced the Lava Dragon with their current strength, they could face its second form without using the trick that Mizuneko and Syra worked at back then.


    Shingi had lost almost as much <strong>HP</strong> as all his students together but healed himself using <strong>MINOR HEAL</strong>, and he restored his <strong>SP</strong> with <strong>MINOR RESTORATION</strong>. However, he had reached his limit in using Spirit, which was double what it used to be since they arrived on this floor.


    His ss hadn''t evolved, but he felt he was closer in doing so, maybe even seeding to evolve it earlier. It wasn''t impossible to evolve your ss before level 60, but the chance of sess was pretty low. The more levels he was away than level 60, the smaller the chance. He was just 2 levels away, but still, his chance of sess was almost 0.5%. If he was level 59, it would be close to 1.0%.


    The chance was getting smaller because some requirements were removed from the list, as they were considered unnecessary. For example, if Wild Tycoon would need to have an <strong>INT</strong> of at least 15 if she wanted to evolve her ss at level 58 or less. Those requirements weren''t avable for one to see them through the System as a notification.


    Some said you could tell what Skills may be requirements for your ss to evolve if you paid attention at their house or manor in your inner space. Shingi had checked his skills, and he was certain that he had noticed his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong>, and <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> to fit this assumption. His inner self in those houses differed from the rest, as they had a slight tattoo on their neck, and it wasn''t the one from Dlog''s Blessing.


    Each tattoo was different, but if put all together, it was like getting part of an iplete image. But he still had enough to tell he was missing two more parts as each of them was the same size and could also tell what the final image would be.


    It was a familiar face, the face of Dormon.

 Chapter 184: The bird learning new tricks

    Chapter 184: The bird learning new tricks


    Shingi looked at all the Skill houses and Manors of his Inner Space for any clues about the remaining two requirements. Unfortunately, he found none in the Skills, so he decided to check the inner buildings of the Spells.


    The Spell Buildings worked differently than the Skill ones. There weren''t any clues on how to raise a Spells Grade, only how toplete it if it was unfinished, but the clues were very hard to detect even then. So Shingi was checking his Spell buildings only if he had no ideas left to try.


    There were still no clues in the spells, either meaning that the two final requirements weren''t a skill or a spell, or he had to learn something he hadn''t.


    There was another case. The tattoo could be a sign of seeding on the requirement instead of telling him it was a requirement. His <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> and <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> Skill were both at Master Rank, so if they were still unfinished requirements, that meant he had to rank them up to Grandmaster.


    It could also be because he wasn''t level 60 that it could be like that, and when he reached that level, he could either see the other requirements or be consideredplete. For now, all he could do was to work his way on leveling up.


    Almost everything was ready except for one of theirpanion; Dark Shadow.


    Shingi hadn''t forgotten about him and his training, and he continued his training and tried to get him a ss. But even after all these days, he had no ss, no matter what Skills he learned or the Spells.


    It currently knew all the Skills and Spells of the entire party, except for ss-specific Skills and Air-Based Spells the party had ess to. It even made the <strong>CREATE AIR ELEMENTAL</strong> Spell since it could use both Air and Spirit Elements.


    He even learned the Master Grade Spell <strong>FLY</strong>, which he did so by trying to pass the limits of the <strong>LEVITATE</strong> Spell. Shingi made some armor for him and some special case for its peak and extensions for its toenails to work more like a w.


    Shingi found out what the unknown Passive Skill of Dar Shadow was; the Spirt Armor. It added to his natural defense as also gave him an HP Regeneration ability. Unfortunately, it was only to a degree only by damage that wounded his body, and the heal was partial. Still, it helped to increase its survival ability.


    Its stats were still unknown to Shingi, and even after asking Dark Shadow, he wouldn''t tell him. Butter, he found out that Dark Shadow couldn''t see its status window for some reason.


    Sinhunter had worked to teach him what he could that made Dark Shadow follow moreplexmands and develop tactics of his while in battle. But still, it couldn''tmunicate with Shingi, other than trying to be a mime.


    Dark Shadow wasn''t part of the spar because it worked on one of thest tasks Shingi gave him. To unlock the third Element.


    Shingi was certain that it could do it as it didn''t make sense of someone created that way to have only 2 Elements, or only 1 if somebody didn''t count Spirit. Since his feathers seemed to contain part of a Dark Element, he had it to work on unlocking Dark Element. Its control over all the Elements was better than when Little Phoenix worked on it, and since it had no ss, it wasn''t restricted by being high leveled. Dark Element was the only one with that kind of restriction.


    Still, since Dark Shadow had no Mage-based ss, it would be harder to do so, but his stats were nothing like that of a newbie, so he could force his way. He had made a shadow ball even bigger than a ping pong in the first two days of training, and now it had to create its Dark Mana Structure in his Mana Tree. This seemed to be moreplicated than expected as it still worked on it even now and still didn''t seem near ending it.


    Taking that long could mean two things. Either it was an impossible task, or the Mana Structure it designed was soplicated and powerful that it took that long. Shingi hoped for the second, but he couldn''t check as nobody could ess the Innes Space of others without causing some damage at least.


    Shingi and the others could just wait for him to be over, and they would move after that no matter the result. They had stayed on this floor for too long.


    Price had been monitoring the yers on the floor and if there was any weird movement, and he actually detected a few things.


    Almost two dozens of yers on this floor were better equipped than the ones they faced when first got here. There were always two groups of eight going around the town, searching for clues while the rest guarded the stairs.


    This meant that going through the stairs would be easier, but Price found out not to the case. Shingi joined him one day to check that everything was as it seemed, but as expected, it wasn''t.


    There were some magical traps on the bottom of the stairs and at a few of the staircases. They were well hidden, but not so well to hide from Shingi''s MANA SENSEbined with his Passive Mana Detection.


    He recognized the traps, with some being silent rms that would send a mental note to some yers bonded with it, and some were summoning circles or traps that could cause some problems to them. Of course, with their current power, they could force their way through, but still, Shingi didn''t want them to know how strong they were. It was better to be underestimated by them for now.


    Shingi told Price to keep track of movements to see if there was a pattern that they could use. He knew that leaving the stairs almost unprotected with so few people was a setup, but since he knows where they had their traps, he could just go around them, as he first dealt quietly with the yers. Then, of course, he would have to make them unconscious so that they don''t have a chance to alert the others.


    There seemed like there actually had a scheduled pattern after monitoring them for a couple of days, so Price and Shingi found the perfect time.


    A week passed since Price arrived, and it was almost two weeks since they were on the floor. And finally, Dark Shadow opened his eyes.


    Shingi opened its status and saw that its Mana Pool included Dark Element but also Light Element. So it actually was working on two Elements instead of one and was the two moreplicated for one to make. It was a miracle that it took it only that long to seed for both of them together.


    But the biggest change was that he finally had a ss; Skymage. He was level 15 from all the enemies he helped fighting in the past floors as part of the exps were stored in him simr to how it did on Shingi. If it was a few more levels, it could also have the Master of the Arcane I, but he was strong enough even without it.


    He also could see its Race, which was Primeval Kech. He had never heard of a race named like that in the game or anywhere else. The primeval showed that its creation was ancient, more ancient than the elves or the dragons. He had met and heard of primeval races, and most were extinct, or they had one or a couple of survivors.


    But all of them were powerhouses.


    Dark Shadow was clearly a result of a ritual, which could mean only two things. Either somebody created a Primeval race, which was unimaginable, or someone restored one that was dead to life. The second one was almost like the case and would exin why Dark Shadow''s stats were that high, as it probably had them in his previous life.


    Still, Shingi didn''t know who was behind it, although he thought it might be Mikhail or that Eagle Tribe individual working for him. But that guy didn''t bring up that the egg was missing, so Shingi didn''t think of it at that moment. But if he really was the one behind it, it probably had something to do with Mikhail''s n.


    Then Shingi realized that often that Mikhail was monitoring them; Mikhail''s sight seemed to focus on Dark Shadow, but Shingi thought it was because he was an unknown being to him. But, on the other hand, maybe he wasn''t that unknown and was just monitoring his progress.


    If that was the case, there was a significant chance that Mikhail would have a way to control Dark Shadow in the future. But Shingi couldn''t stop growing Dark Shadow''s power or abandon him or even kill him. If he abandoned him, Mikhail would get to him at some point, and killing him would deal more damage to his n.


    So he decided to work on Dark Shadow''s Spirit Element more and more to be used against charm or mind control abilities and hoped for the best.


    Hopefully, this n would work and not blow on his face.

 Chapter 185: Breathing new air

    Chapter 185: Breathing new air


    With Dark Shadow earning its ss, they were ready to move on. Shingi made sure that Dark Shadow and everyone else was in full power.


    The n was quite simple and simr to the one he had on thest floor. He wouldn''t go after the group away from the stairs, but he and Syra would use Spirit Element to make them fall unconscious. Shingi worked with her and got the <strong>SLEEP</strong> Spell from that training, a Base Grade AOE Spell.


    He had noticed that his control of the Spirit Element was better when he had his eyes active, so he had them active this time. The chance of anybody among those yers being able to see them was minimal to nonexistent. Still, he wouldn''t give them a chance to look.


    They made their way to the stairs while under the effect of <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> from Little Phoenix or Shingi. Dark Shadow also knew <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, but for some reason, it didn''t want to use any of its Spells to anyone else but himself. Of course, not even Shingi wouldn''t be the target for these kinds of spells. Maybe his natural instincts told him to look after himself, but inbat, he was helpful and protective sometimes.


    ording to the schedule, they made it in ce, and as expected, the two groups had left and been far away not to hear them. So Syra would go from the left while Shingi would go from the right, trying to affect all of them simultaneously. But unfortunately, some of the yers were walking around, so Shingi and Syra had to wait for the perfect timing to affect them all.


    There were five yers, two near Syra, another two near Shingi, and one between them. They could get the four of them simultaneously, but thatst one could have enough time to react by sending a message if it was fast enough. Unfortunately, that yer was sitting right at the stairs, and even for Shingi, it would take him some seconds to get to him.


    This tactic was new, and he hadn''t noticed it when he checked them before, and Price didn''t mention their positions as they seemed to be near to each other still, but the range of the Sleep Spell wasn''t that wide.


    Shingi could tell by their auras that all of those weren''t just well-equipped yers, but they were close to level 60, meaning that they knew what they were doing. Of course, they could just be that high level because of Dark Guild''s help, but reaching that level and have learned nothing of how the game worked was impossible.


    ''Could it be that they understood that we have two people that can use this tactic?'' [Shingi]


    He used a simr tactic on thest floor, but only Syra made them unconscious with magic while he used his skills. But they couldn''t know their numbers back then, as even when he fought that one individual, he was by himself.


    But then Shingi remembered. Syra made that yers fall unconscious while he fought him, meaning that the yer would know that he wasn''t the one who made him unconscious. He had used WIPE on him, but that didn''t mean that it erased everything about the battle, but any details to recognize Shingi like details of his face.


    Shing still didn''t know how <strong>WIPE</strong> worked, but he had heard of simr abilities that could work like that. He could test that theory as it would cost him <strong>CHA,</strong> and he had to keep it at 5 to keep his Minor Mana Regeneration Passive Skill to its current power. He still had to find a way to upgrade that stat, and earning Stat Points was pretty hard, especially for NPCs.


    Shingi thought about what they could do, and a new n formed in his mind soon.


    He sent a message to Syra, and after waiting for a few seconds, they made their moves.


    Spirit Element started gathering on the head of the two yers of Syra, turning their eyespletely white and making them fall asleep. The two that were for Shingi to take care of were seeing feathers surrounding them as their eyes also turned white, like Syra''s targets did.


    As for the final yer, he fell unconscious before the other four, and the reason was the only other member of their party who could use Spirit Element; Dark Shadow.


    Dark Shadow also learned how to cast the <strong>SLEEP</strong> Spell from Shingi, but it was hard for Shingi to persuade to use any Spells. During training, it was quite obedient, but in actualbat, Dark Shadow was just doing what he wanted.


    Shingi found a way to persuade him, though. By bribing him, of course.


    He found out that it could eat Mana Gems, especially Air Mana Gems. But, of course, it wasn''t actually eating them but consuming all its Mana, and even if he didn''t break it for some reason, the design didn''t work anymore. Those designs worked simr to Runes, meaning they needed Element to embed in them, but it wasn''t a Rune. So it was easier to do so; that''s why even Zhen''s slimes could make them.


    Shingi promised to give him a few to eat if he helped them in this situation. Shingi didn''t want to waste them like that but had no other option. They also seemed to increase his Mana Control of the element that the Mana Gem he consumed was. So Shingi nned to restock on materials he needed soon to make more Mana Gems.


    One floor they would soon visit had a mine with this kind of mineral needed, but the Dark Guild would most likely cover yers, as those minerals were precious. But he needed them either way, as Mana Gems was a precious resource for many of their projects and items. Furthermore, he had started a war with them already, so he wasn''t afraid of fighting them; he just was going to be smart about it.


    Since the yers were out of the picture, he started their way up the stairs but had to dispel some of the traps as they were ced in a way so that they couldn''t go around them. His understanding of Enchantments and Runes helped him on dealing with them at a quick rate.


    They reached the end of the stairs and went through the portal at the end.


    The next floor was actually another floor in the clouds like the one with the Angels, but this one wasn''t under control by any of the Gods. All the monsters in here could fly, and most could use Air-based Spells. Again, no signs of yers, but they kept their guard up just in case, as they kept their <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> on when teleported to the next floor so that they didn''t have another fight like on the previous floor.


    This was a good floor for Dark Shadow to study how creatures with Air Mana fought, especially those that could fly. He could also use the experiences.


    Shingi and Dark Shadow would be the only ones getting experiences from these monsters, as after one had their ss evolved, they had to fight monsters of power simr to level 60 or more. They would find those after floor 40, but Shingi and Dark Shadow still needed some levels to reach their Evolved state.


    Shingi didn''t know how many exps Dark Shadow''s ss needed for each level, but it couldn''t be as much as Shingi needed since Dark Shadow''s ss wasn''t a True ss. Since he never heard of the Skymage ss, he couldn''t be certain, though. Shingi had to see how quickly Dark Shadow leveled up, and that way would make an estimation of his exp bar since there wasn''t anything like that in the status window.


    There were some Harpies like the ones on the floor with the Sphinx but stronger. There were also some Air Elementals, Giant Eagles, and some Sky Giants. Sky Giants were almost the top in strength among the Giants. Not only because of their physical strength but also because of their natural ability to control the weather to a degree.


    Some of them had developed their mana to have Storm Mana, simr to Ae''s, but only the Boss of this floor seemed to have itpleted at the same degree or at least close enough.


    Sky Giants were as huge as all the giants and as heavy, which even if they could use Air Element to cast spells, they couldn''t cast <strong>FLY</strong> or even <strong>LEVITATE</strong> on themselves but could make themselves jump pretty high.


    Shingi normally wouldn''t fight the Boss, but Dark Shadow and he needed as much exps as possible, and that Giant was an enormous source of it.


    As usual, they cleared monsters before heading towards the boss, as they didn''t want it to have any help to get to the boss when the battle started.


    They didn''t fight any giants, as all of them were at the fortress in the middle of the floor, where the Boss was.


    So after making certain that all the monsters outside it, they made their way in the fortress, and to the throne room where the Sky Giant Boss would be. They faced more monsters on the way there, among them some Sky Giants, giving the chance for the group to be familiar with them.

 Chapter 186: Gatekeepers challenge

    Chapter 186: Gatekeeper''s challenge


    They had found less than a dozen of Sky Giants, as also some Stone Giants, which shouldn''t be here. Those were full Giants, not like Volig, who was half-giant. Their size where a little bigger than thergest size Shingi had seen Volig being able to take with its size-changing ability he got from L''liw.


    Stone Giants had a greater defense but were slower than the Sky Giants; even if there was a Sky Giant at the fight with the Stone Giants, he would try to increase the speed using Air-Based Spells.


    After each fight, Shingi tried to gather materials from the corpses of the Giants and keep them in the Ice Mana box to keep them fresh. He and Hineko could try to make Giant Strength Potions like the one they found in the past, and Wild Tycoon still had.


    They didn''t have the recipe for creating one, and Shingi didn''t know how to create them, but they could experiment a bit with all the materials they just collected. They already had one potion, made by a Stone Giant, so they could try to reverse engineer it to make more. Unfortunately, the reason hadn''t tried this tactic in the past since they didn''t have the materials so that it would be a waste then.


    Shingi noticed that Dark Shadow seemed interested in consuming parts of the Sky Giants, mostly their hearts. The reason seemed to be because of their mana. They had an innate Mana Pool that was actually residing in their heart, which could be why Dark Shadow showed that preference. On the other hand, he never even tried to touch the hearts of the Stone Giants, most likely because they had Earth Mana.


    Shingi couldn''t allow him to eat all the hearts as they were important for their potions but let him have a few since they showed signs of benefiting him greatly. He even got some exps for the first one that raised his level once.


    Shingi had kept track of its leveling up and had an idea how much exp he would need for each level, and it seemed not to be as bad as he thought. The number was close to three-quarters of what he would need, which was an extensive amount but could be worse. However, he had leveled up close to level 60, and they had faced weaker monsters, so Dark Shadow would reach them soon enough.


    Dark Shadow wasn''t part of their party, as it was considered as a Pet of Shingi. The exps it took were from its battles, or Shingi could give it a share of the exps he would earn. Shingi could change how much that share would be, though, but it should be over eighty percent because of the difference in their levels. The share would decrease the closer their levels got.


    They made it through many corridors and finally reached a huge golden door, with a little goblin sleeping at the side, and next to it to be a bell hanging from a short wooden pir.


    The goblin was actually a female one, which was rare to see, and she was pretty well dressed, at least for a goblin. She seemed to be like the servant of the king that made the announcements when some noble arrived. She actually had a simr instrument like what they used to y for the announcement, but this ones wasn''t metallic but made of bones.


    The door was close, and its weight was fitting its size, making it impossible for even Wild Tycoon even to try to push it open. If she drank the Giant Potion, maybe she would make it, but they had other options for now.


    Shingi signaled to keep their distance while he got closer to the sleeping goblin. They could hear her snoring, which was unwoman-like but not ungoblin-like.


    "Come on, Valyra. Stop acting like you sleep." [Shingi]


    The snoring stopped, and the goblin opened one of her eyes to check on Shingi.


    "This name, you shouldn''t know it. State your business and the reason you have this knowledge." [Valyra]


    Valyra was actually an elven name, but it was the only name that this goblin had ever given when she introduced herself. Her looks weren''t as ugly as a goblin, and if she was taller and her skin wouldn''t be yellow-greenish, she could pass for an Elf or at least a half-elf as her eyes were pointy but not as much as of Elves.


    She actually worked for the floor''s Boss, but she never was against helping adventurers fight the same Boss. She was the only one to provide entrance to the Boss''s throne room unless people that the STR to open the door themselves.


    "People spread rumours. So why don''t we save some time and let us in? Of course, I don''t expect you to do it for nothing." [Shingi]


    Shingi summoned one of the expensive wine bottles from his Spatial Ring and presented it to her. She grabbed it right away, opened it, and smelled it. Her eyes widened as she looked towards Shingi and then back to his group.


    "That guy there was here in the past but never brought gifts. You seem to know your stuff, but you seem both unfamiliar and familiar. Why is that?" [Valyra]


    Valyra was a survivor, and since she never tried to fight the yers, she rarely was among the deceased of the floor. She had some abilities to run and hide, though, in case things went wrong.


    "Because I was here in the past but not like how I am no. It used to be someone else, but you can see the simrities. And yes, my friend over there had been here in the past, but the others never had the chance. So there goes your one question. Open the door now." [Shingi]


    Valyra looked towards him, and she started hitting herself on her head.


    "Stupid, stupid, stupid. How could you fall into a trap like that so soon?" [Valyra]


    The way to gain entrance was quite simple. One had to make Valyra ask a question that she had never asked before and for the person needing entry to answer it. You could also ask her a question that she had never heard before. Normally it would be hard to do so, but she seemed not to had seen anyone for a long time, so she was out of practice. She looked quite young, but Shingi knew she was over 20 years old, which for a goblin it was like being a middle-aged human. But she wasn''t aging normally as she wasn''t a normal Goblin, but one created by the Tower.


    Her mind worked the same as Kelvin''s, meaning she kept her memories after respawning, which many people wondered why this was the case. Maybe because she was a gatekeeper, so she should remember everyone that passed and the questions asked.


    "Ok. It seems like you know what you are doing, but your friends need to pass the test. We don''t allow groups like that anymore." [Valyra]


    In the past, a party only needed to make her ask one question and would count for all of them. Shingi knew she was doing it on purpose, but for now, he would y along.


    The rest of the party joined them, and Shingi exined what needed to be done for them to get ess but didn''t tell them what to ask. Instead, he wanted to see what kind of questions they woulde up with by themselves and if they would work.


    Valyra had been asked millions of questions, and Shingi was lucky that she hadn''t encountered a situation like his. Her face showed how serious she was, and she paid attention to what she would say from now on.


    Price was the first one to move forward in front of her to take a chance.


    "So it''s been a while since Ist show you. Is the boss alright in there?" [Price]


    "They probably drink, eat, and doing other activities. The current Boss seemed to like the flying chicks. Also, this question had been asked 125483 times." [Valyra]


    Price wasn''t disappointed as this wasn''t his nned question.


    "Flying chicks? Oh yeah, you mean the harpies. I remember now. Weren''t you eating some of them with some special sauce? Or was it eating with them?" [Price]


    "Yes, to both. Also, 25717 times and 157 times. You are getting better." [Valyra]


    "Then I guess Teresa is still around. Probably eating with the Boss or filling other needs?" [Price]


    "Who is Teresa?.. shit. That was a new one." [Valyra]


    This was the n of Price from the beginning as he did some random questions to make her think like he didn''t know what he was doing, but in reality, he just was building up for his real question.


    "So that''s two. You still need six more." [Valyra]


    "Wait, five? But our group has only six members, not seven" [Price]


    Valyra pointed towards Dark Shadow and then towards Syra. Normally they didn''t count as part of their group since one was a spirit and the other was a pet monster, but it seemed Valyra wasn''t following those rules. Syra asking a question wouldn''t be difficult as she was pretty smart, but how would Dark Shadow do something like that when the only one that couldmunicate with him was Shingi''s sword.


    The others progressed and followed a simr tactic like Price''s but took them more time as Valyra became more careful.


    Everyone except Dark Shadow had made her ask them a question or asked her a question she had never had heard before.


    "An interesting pet you have there. You know you can just leave it with me, and I will let the rest of you progress. Hadn''t had chicken for a long time." [Valyra]


    "But he isn''t a chicken. He is a Kech." [Shingi]


    "What is a Kech?" [Valyra]


    A mana hand appeared out of nowhere, but it wasn''t in the shape of a human hand, but of a wing, simr to Dark Shadow''s wings. This was him casting <strong>MANA HAND</strong>, although it should be called <strong>MANA WING</strong> in this case. The <strong>MANA HAND</strong> was clearly pointing towards Dark Shadow.


    "Damn, this was a trap. <em>*sigh* </em>You got me." [Valyra]


    In the rules, it didn''t state who would ask the question, as far as the one who answered it was the one needed to pass the trial or Valyra. Also, the answer didn''t have to be words but should be understandable. Dark Shadow answered that ''he was a Kech, ''which was true, even if Valyra didn''t want to know just that. Therefore, the answer was valid enough for the trial.

 Chapter 187: The Boss Giant

    Chapter 187: The Boss Giant


    Valyra stood up as she was sitting all this time. Then, she reached for the cord of the bell and started using it to ring the bell. After that, she picked her bone instrument and used her Air Mana to make some air pass through its holes to make a sound.


    "By the power given to me by mistress Sisver, I grant you entrance. May your deaths be swift." [Valyra]


    What she just said surprised Shingi. Not about granting them entrance and their death, but the one that gave her that power was a mistress and not a master. There were female Giants, but Shingi never had ever heard of one bing their leader. But it was a possibility that would happen at some point.


    Without Valyra even touching them or using any mana or secret switch, the doors opened on their own.


    They could see the room behind those immense doors, which was a vast throne room. There were gigantic pirs of at least 5 meters in diameter that kept the ceiling, as next to each pir there were some armored Sky Giants. On the other side of the room from the entrance, there were some steps, and over them, there was a huge throne and a female Sky Giant sitting on it.


    She was actually smaller than most of the giants they had met, and her muscles seemed smaller. But Shingi could tell that her power wasn''t on her muscles but her magic as he could tell that she had the Storm Mana and probably had perfected it; that''s why she is the Boss.


    There were some statues in the room at the sidewalls, most of them being of other giants, with their names written at the statue''s base, but in thenguage of Giants. But there was one statue that wasn''t of a giant, and it was actually in the middle of the room and was currently surrounded by a few, not armored giants, who were kneeled in front of it.


    The statue was of Ae''s, as Sky Giants worshiped her, especially those who had unlocked the Storm Mana. Some said that Ae was actually the mother of the Sky Giants, but if asked, she denied being the mother of anyone saying she was too young to be a mother, even if she was tens of thousands of years old.


    Though stories were saying that Ae actually had discovered the first Sky Giants or even helped in their creations somehow, and together with them, she created her Storm Mana.


    When the door opened, the guards turned towards Shingi and the rest and drew their spears but didn''t move from their spot. As for the giants who seemed to be praying on the statue showed no sign of noticing Shingi and the rest.


    Finally, the Boss seemed bored as she rested her face on her right hand, which had its elbow resting on the throne''s armchair. She had clearly noticed them but didn''t think they were worthy of her attention.


    Shingi didn''t expect the room to look like that. The size and the pirs were the same as he remembered, but it never had statues of other Giants or Ae, and it was the first time this floor had armored Giants. They had met none like that outside the throne room.


    There were armored Giants like that in the Tower, but at higher floors normally. It seemed like they had developed more than expected.


    As they fully entered the room, the door behind them disappeared, leaving just a wall in its ce. There was no escape unless they defeated the boss or the boss allowed them to leave.


    The guards seemed to wait for amand from their leader, and their leader seemed to be too bored to give any orders, so there was silence in the room, except for the prayers of the Giants to Ae.


    Shingi and the rest walked slowly but soon stopped as the Boss shot a lightning bolt right in front of them, using just a finger.


    Her power wasn''t even close to Ae''s, but it was stronger than any Sky Giant that Shingi had ever encountered. Yet, she continued speaking in an unknownnguage or unknown to everyone but Shingi.


    ***Intruders aren''t wee here. Drop your weapon, and will give you a painless death.*** [Sisver]


    Shingi could understand her since he knew Giant, but he ignored her. Instead, he signaled the others to stay behind as he continued walking forward.


    Another lightning headed towards him, and this time it was aimed at him and not at the ce in front of him. Shingi summoned his staff and used the bottom part of it to split the lightning in half.


    He had made a Light de, which would be way weaker since he didn''t do it in an actual de, but with the benefits of his staff, it was close in power to what would be with his sword. So he used the Light de to start the split of the lightning, but at the same time, he used his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> to get a hold of those split parts and keep them in ce and pull to split them even more and break the lightning.


    He had enabled his Blessing''s effect to boost his <strong>INT</strong> the moment they entered the room; otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to do something like that without the lightning reaching him.


    ***I had heard of the Sky Giants, not like guests, but maybe ask a name first before trying to fry someone.*** [Shingi]


    A smile appeared on the face of the female Giant, as Shingi had intrigued her. Guards were ready to charge at him, but they stopped when they saw a ball of lightning appearing a few meters from Shingi.


    The sphere expanded as it formed Sisver, but not a lightning version of herself but the actual Sisver. She had developed her Arcane Arts to the degree that she could cast a simr spell to Shingi''s <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong>, but turned her body into lightning, instead of just light.


    She released a wave of lightning when her form finished, which took just a few seconds. After that, Shingi dealt with the wave heading towards him the same way as with the previous attacks.


    "Little fork interesting. Name?" [Sisver]


    It surprised Shingi that she spoke the universalnguage, but it wasn''t unheard of since Sky Giants were very intelligent. Still, it was clear that she hadn''t used thisnguage a lot in the past, it could even be her first time using it.


    "Name is Shingi, mistress Sisver." [Shingi]


    He gave a little bow. Even if he wasn''t one of her followers, she was the leader around here, and he had to show her at least some respect.


    "Little folk have manners. Very good. Why are you here, one called Shingi?" [Sisver]


    "We are here looking for the mistress. We would like your help." [Shingi]


    Before entering the room, Shingi''s n for the boss was to kill it to get the exps for him and Dark Shadow, but after seeing the changes, a new n got formed in his brain.


    It was clear that Sisver had outside help as Sky Guards couldn''t have made the equipment that the guard ones wore. The existence of the Earth Giants on the floor could mean that there were a few Earth Giant artisans. Earth Giants weren''t supposed to be on this floor, so Shingi was certain that something brought them here. Or someone.


    Mikhail or one of his men could be behind it, but Shingi didn''t know or could understand why.


    "Help? Why Sisver help little folk?" [Sisver]


    "To get yourself free from Mikhail." [Shingi]


    Sisver''s eyes widened at the mention of that name as his right hand went over her right side of their neck, where she had a familiar burnmark. Mikhail had left his mark on her. Shingi wanted to bet that she didn''t like to work for Mikhail. Sky Giants were all about freedom and were never enved like that without trying to get themselves free.


    "You know of the old man? You can deal with him?" [Sisver]


    "It is on my ns to deal with him, but for now, I can weaken his mark. If you allow me." [Shingi]


    Shingi used most of the power of his eyes to persuade her, as allying with her would be a gigantic step.


    Sisver wouldn''t join him on his trip towards Mikhail''s ce, but she could know a few things. Even if she knew nothing, freeing her would mess with the ns of Mikhail.


    He and Syra had spent some time studying the burnmark rune, and even if they hadn''t fully understood it, they had some theories on how to block it. It was simr and also different from what they triedst time.


    Instead of just making a field around the burnmark, they would also try to mess with the element of the rune itself. It seemed to be Spirit Based and actually was feeding by the Tower''s Spirit Energy, meaning that while in the Tower, this Rune worked all the time.


    He had gotten that idea from Dark Shadow after understanding what it was doing in the Mana Gems it fed itself with.


    Sisver trusted them and picked up Shingi and put him on her shoulder so that he could see and be closer to the burnmark. Syra hovered the way there, and Shingi had to tell Sisver that she was a helpful Spirit.


    He needed the expertise of Syra, as this would be the first time he would try to mess with that Rune.


    His Blessing to boost his <strong>INT</strong> was already active, so he closed his eyes and started focusing.<ol><li>**** is for thenguage of the Giants</li></ol>

 Chapter 188: Passing some limits

    Chapter 188: Passing some limits


    He used a simr way to deal with the Rune as Syra had done before with Nivlek''s, but instead of using just Spirit Mana, he used all the Elements. So he had Spirit, Light, Air, and Fire using through his Mana Pool, and Dark, Water, and Earth through Mana Gems of his staff, who had the design to focus on the Dark and Water only.


    He already had his <strong>INT</strong> boosted, and he used all the Mana he had stored on his new ring, which was actually Dark and Water Element since those two were the hardest to grow and control for him for now. He tried to bnce the different Elements, but not by amount, but by ''weight, ''which he had understood more since he grew, and continued checking his Mana Tree.


    The Spirit Mana was still the primary Element, as it was the only one that could affect the Rune''s Element, but the others were also helpful. Air Element increased its Speed, the Earth its ''<em>toughness.''</em> The Fire was warming up the opponent''s mana, which weakened it a bit but only with the Water Elementbination cooling down. The changes in the temperature seemed to affect it.


    As for Light Mana, it helped regenerate part of the Spirit Mana, while Dark tried to eat up part of the enemy''s, both with a barely noticeable effect. Still better than nothing.


    Shingi kept his attack and spread his mana. When he had taken the enemy''s mana weak enough to bring no fight, he separated all his mana Elements. He made a Hexagon, with each corner having one Element, except for the Spirit Mana, which was in its middle.


    He then used more Spirit mana to connect these corners with the Spirit Element in the middle. And so it started be forming,


    On the burnmark, writing started to appear, which was the Old Language Rune for Spirit, the same one that Shingi noticed on the Pir of his new ring.


    Shingi started hearing voices, telling him things, and the amount started increasing.


    It seemed like he had passed his limit of using Spirit Element and started having side effects, but no messages for Spirit Madness yet from the System. He didn''t even stop to think that maybe there wouldn''t be a message, as if he got affected, then it would be toote.


    He continued feeding more mana toplete the mark, and the clearer it became, some parts of the burnmark actually started disappearing as it left normal skin behind.


    The Spirits'' voices were getting louder and louder, and most seemed to be aggressive, wanting for Shingi to go into a killing spree. But he focused on the task at hand.


    The whole ritualsted a little less than a minute, but for Shingi, it was like he worked for hours. Controlling all the Elements at the same time was something that even he had a problem with. It wasn''t the same with Phoenix''s case when she tried to make the special rune, since back then, she needed just a bit of each Element.


    Shingi controlled an amount for each Element that each would be suitable for a top Base Grade Spell. Meaning it was like he was controlling seven different Spells simultaneously, each of a different Element. Even his ss wouldn''t allow him to do something like that, with no drawbacks.


    ================================


    <strong>YOU ENTERED MANA WEAKENED STATE</strong>


    <strong>ALL MANA RELATED ABILITIES ARE DECREASED BY 50%</strong>


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>YOU ARE AFFECTED BY MINOR SPIRIT MADNESS</strong>


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>MINOR SPIRIT MADNESS EFFECTS GOT RESTRAINED</strong>


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>CHALLENGE COMPLETED</strong>


    The challenge <strong>FIRST STEP TO THE OMNI WAY</strong> waspleted.


    <strong>Description</strong>: Combine all seven basic Elements (including Spirit)


    <strong>Reward</strong>: Master of the Arcane II


    ================================


    ================================


    <strong>QUEST UPDATED: ROAD TO LIFE</strong>


    <strong>Task Completed</strong>: Upgrade a Title


    <strong>Reward</strong>: Master of the Arcane III


    ================================


    Once more, an extensive amount of unexpected notifications appeared after doing something crazy. They weren''tpleted unexpected, to tell the truth, as Shingi expected that there would be some reaction from the System, but mostly for him to enter a weakened state. This time he kept his ability to use Spirit Mana, though.


    He got his Master of the Arcane I title to increase twice at once, which was unbelievably lucky. He didn''t think that he would reach Master of the Arcane III in a normal situation even if he tried for decades. Now he could turn any amount of Mana into any of his active Elements since he could now make three Elements simultaneously.


    The turned mana would be the same as if it came from his Mana Pool, meaning that his Mana Pool had increased even more in theory. However, turning mana from one Element into another or making it different parts of that amount each into different Elements took timeenough time to be too long to use inbat.


    Still, it would be useful to drag the battle to gather enough Mana or through his training if hecked any type of mana. Meaning that he would need to use some of the Mana Gems less frequently.


    He felt a headache like never, which made sense, as what he just did was even more challenging than breaking Mikhail''s Seal.


    Sisver looked towards Shingi with awe in her eyes.


    "You really did something about it."[Sisver]


    Shingi had detected mistrust from her before, as she probably was testing the waters, and she wasn''t afraid of him trying to hurt her while messing with Mikhail''s Rune. But, to tell the truth, Shingi wasn''t certain if he could hurt her if he wanted to.


    He was on her shoulder, so he touched her skin, which was tougher than a normal''s Sky Giant. It was even tougher from Earth Giants, who were rumored about their natural defense.


    Shingi was certain that even Wild Tycoon would have a tough time to make a good hit, even if she used all her strength, but could possibly do a scratch.


    Shingi could also feel her mana''s intensity and aura as she didn''t try to hide it, but the opposite. She let it out for others to see how strong she was, and Shingi could tell that she mana wise she could be as strong as Ae. She was lucking the experience that Ae had built through her long life, so Sisver was still an antpared to the Demi-goddess.


    "This is your symbol? What are your rules?" [Sisver]


    Shingi didn''t expect her to be that calm or giving those responses.


    "No, this symbol has nothing to do with me. Mikhail''s Rune is still on you, but I have suppressed it for now. My Seal needs Spirit Mana to keep itself working, which you should be able to give it some, right?" [Shingi]


    "Spirit Mana?" [Sisver]


    Shingi exined to her what Spirit Mana was, and she truly could use some since she was the Floor''s Boss. Normally one would use it to heal itself, though, or sometimes to strengthen itself. However, Shingi didn''t mind revealing to her this secret, as he had decided to ally with her.


    "Come, new friends. Let''s feast. Maybe you will actually grow a bit." [Sisver]


    She started sounding orders in theirnguages as people starting running around. Some started assembling a vast table, some brought chairs, all giant sizes, and some started bringing food.


    Finally, some people with cages came, and in the cages, some Harpies were more beautiful than the ones they fought outside. The Harpies sang, but it was a normal song this time.


    Valyra appeared out of nowhere and was next to one of those cages, enjoying the harpy''s song in it.


    Shingi went closer to her, and she noticed him soon enough.


    "You know, I never thought of giving her a name, even if she is my favorite. Maybe I should give her that name your friend mentioned. What was it again?" [Valyra]


    "Teresa." [Shingi]


    Valyra nodded and smiled, first towards Shingi and then towards the harpy.


    "It''s decided then. She is Teresa now. Probably should let Mistress know. She will have a new name to shout now. Can''t wait to hear her." [Valyra]


    Valyra had a pretty dark smile for a few seconds before her face was back to normal. Shingi had seen her acting like that in the past, but he never got the chance to really connect with her or know much about who or what she really was.


    He tried to have some small talk, but she either ignored him or gave him a quick answer. She was even more difficult to deal with than when they were under her trials. Shingi was certain now that she wasn''t earnest back then, as if she was, they probably would never gain entrance that easily.


    The food was ready, and soon enough, Shingi and his party sat on the table since the chairs were huge for them. Their food was also huge, as they actually had a turkey that had a house sizepared to Shingi and the rest.


    Still, the meat wasn''t tougher than normal meat, and there was wine and some simple pastries.


    Combined with the songs, it was quite a wild party.

 Chapter 189: Some new thoughts

    Chapter 189: Some new thoughts


    They had more than a decent meal and drinks, that other than Price hadn''t had one for a while. But, no matter the Skills of Shingi, what he cooked had limits, and even if they had some extra benefits, a few of them, taste-wise, wasn''t as good as in this meal.


    Syra also had her fill, eating and mostly drinking the ''Spirit'' of different types of food and lots of the drinks. She couldn''t get drunk since she was a Spirit, but she started showing signs simr to one. Maybe it was just like <em>''muscle memory.''</em> Even if she didn''t have a body, she remembered what it was to have one.


    She had been dead for a few months, but she was actually in this world most of the time than on her original one.


    Shingi didn''t have as much fun as the others, but he enjoyed some of the food and drinks and seen the others having fun. Even the normally shy Little Phoenix loosened up but probably were the drinks talking after a point.


    Hineko even tried to flirt with some of the female Giant Guards, which didn''t end with him being a pulp to the ground, mostly because they didn''t understand him. Only Sisver was speaking and understanding theirnguage. When Shingi asked for a reason, Sisver told him it was one of the <em>''gifts''</em> of Mikhail.


    He asked her what other <em>''gifts''</em> there were, but she wasn''t willing to share this information. He could try to use his eyes more, but they should be weaker now, meaning he probably would need to use more or maybe even not seed.


    He heard some voices speaking to him, but they weren''t as loud as before when he worked on Sisver''s rune. So this should be the Minor Spirit Madness, even if its effects got restrained.


    He hadn''t mentioned it to anyone since the side effects weren''t as intense, and he didn''t disable his special eyes, as he knew they were the ones that kept it restrained. He didn''t want to know what would happen if it let it free.


    There was no notification for how long it wouldst, meaning there was no time limit, so it would affect him until he cured it. He had the cure but could use it only once, and he had just Minor Spirit Madness, meaning it can get even worse.


    He nned to focus entirely on increasing his Spirit Element proficiency, as he could feel that it helped him fight the ''voices.'' But he couldn''t just stay here for a few days, as he was certain that Mikhail would notice soon and won''t like what he did to Sisver''s Rune.


    It''s been quite some time, and there was no response likest time, meaning most likely that he hadn''t been informed about this situation yet. So most likely triggered some rmst time that they didn''t notice, or they were unlucky of him watching over them or Nivlek at that exact time.


    Either way, they had to move as soon as possible, but Shingi had to talk with her. She didn''t want to talk about Mikhail, and she didn''t know what his ns could be. He didn''t ask her to do anything after making her the Floor''s Boss and just asking to keep their people training to get stronger.


    He also was the one that provided them with the Stone Giants, who crafted all their equipment, as also the one who brought the statue of Ae.


    Shingi didn''t mention that he was the Father of Ae, as that could work against him, and it seemed Mikhail hadn''t revealed that detail either. But making a statue of hers, even if Sky Giants tend to worship her, was a weird move, and Shingi didn''t know if it was the Mikhail who knew that made it or the father Mikhail.


    He had abandoned his daughter thousands of years ago, but nobody, not even Ae, knew why. Shingi didn''t know why Mikhail did anything other than the story of preparing for a war with the true enemy, which could be Enerias World.


    Even if it was somehow true, Mikhail abandoned Ae a little after she was born, meaning it was way before the first Blessed Ones appeared in this world, or so it should be.


    The Early version of the game had the yers ying in the Tower and had no ess to the outside world. ording to the lore, the Tower appeared just a few decades before the appearance of the Blessed Ones. Shingi thought it represented the time that the testssted, which on paper made sense since the time in the game passed quicker than outside of it. But what if that wasn''t the case?


    The Tower appeared out of nowhere. So where was it before?


    Shingi thought it got created, but what if it actually was something that existed for a long time and it had just changed location? The Spirit Element, and the reason that most couldn''t use it, seemed to be rted to the Tower, but even if records before the Tower were hard to find, some people knew how it was back then. Most of them being the Old Gods.


    But even Soren didn''t know about the existence of the Spirit Element, meaning that even before the Tower existed, people didn''t know about it, as Soren was God of Magic for a long time back then.


    This could mean two things. Either the Spirit Element was always sealed, and the Tower has nothing to do with it, or the Spirit Element was never an Element of this world.


    Ameanum had heard from NPC researchers saying that new Skills and Spells were created when the Blessed Ones appeared. Still, he assumed it was because of their creativity from the actual world and because thepany wanted to show that not everything was predetermined.


    But what if that wasn''t the reason entirely, but the existence of a new Element, even of a restrained one, was?


    He still didn''t know why the Tower used that much Spirit Element, but the more he thought about it, the more crazy thoughts started appearing, and the spirit voices shouting at him didn''t help. He could ignore them enough to focus on other tasks, but still, they were annoying.


    No matter how much time passed, other than his headache passing, he didn''t feel his weakened state to change for him to get full power again.


    He should normally use the cure for Spirit Madness right away, but this could be something he could use to his benefit. If he could get himself stronger to the same or close to the power he was before, then after using the cure, he would be even stronger and could make his chance to Evolve even better. It wouldn''t double his power but could let him pass his normal limits.


    He was used to testing his limits and trying to surpass them, which wasn''t any different.


    He had some small talk with Sisver and actually learned something new; at what floor Mikhail''s headquarters was. She learned it from one of hisckeys that she gave him some extra ''care, ''or so she ''said. Shingi didn''t ask for any details about what she did to theckey.


    Mikhail''s headquarters actually was on the next one from the floor what Ameanum faced the Dragon and got betrayed by Dark and Light when he was still a Blessed One. Shingi didn''t know if it was a coincidence, but he didn''t believe in them, especially in cases like that.


    He didn''t know if it was always its Headquarters or he made them recently, maybe something to do with the Dark Guild.


    Either way, now he knew how many floors they needed to pass, and fortunately, he had dealt with all of them at least once. The top ones probably haven''t changed as much as the lower ones, as the Dark Guild probably kept clearing them to get the resources from them.


    But that also meant that most likely, he would face more members of the Dark Guild, and they would be stronger. But so was he and his party, even if he was in a weakened state.


    He couldn''t cast <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> or even <strong>CREATE WATER ELEMENTAL in his current state</strong>, but his <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> wasn''t restricted, at least not fully.


    After taking some food from the Giants and some drinks, they made their way to another room in the fortress that the stairs were leading to the next floor. So you didn''t need to fight the boss to go to the next floor, except for the first time, to enable the portal.


    They went through it, and they were in a deadnd. It wasn''t a dessert, but just like a forest that everything had died. Even at Kelvin''s floor, there was at least some life, just as most of it was corrupted. But here, everything was dead, and the trees would break in touch.


    Rotten undead was moving all over the ce and turned towards Shingi and his party, as an unknown food source appeared.


    Still, they seemed not to have a meal for a long time, and those were the usual mindless undead that was too slow that even Little Phoenix could avoid them.


    Although there was a chance of them being raised again after some time unless their head was destroyed, those were weaklings. Their brain turned into their core, and they had to destroy it or it would just regenerate them given enough time.


    The boss here was a Lich, one that was famous to control the mind of others, even better than what Kelvin could.


    They actually got a chance to use the n they didn''t back then.

 Chapter 190: Reaching Lichs place

    Chapter 190: Reaching Lich''s ce


    The Lich''s undead was more troublesome than Kelvin''s since Kelvin wasn''t an undead himself. Kelvin''s weren''t exactly cheap copies, but people could notice the difference even to the simple ''mindless'' ones.


    Still, they were stronger than when they had to fight Kelvin, and even if they hadn''t since Nivlek took his pace, their chance of sess was quite high. Shingi and An would fight the Lich while having their special eyes active so that its mind control abilities wouldn''t work on them, while the others would keep the rest of the undead busy.


    Finding the Lich was like finding Kelvin; they just had to find the primary source of the corruption.


    His <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> Skill was weaker because of his weakened state, but with the effects of his passive <strong>MANA DETECTION</strong> Skill had it to be at the right level he needed.


    The Lich didn''t have a ck Crystal as Kelvin''s staff, and Shingi couldn''t gather anything from its body as on death it would turn into dust. But still, he needed a lot of exps to reach level 60, and also using his Spells and Skills inbat was the more beneficial form of training.


    He already knew how to use them; he just had to find a way to pass the restrictions of his weakened state. It was like he started wearing weights and had to get used to them to run once more.


    Dark Shadow had barely level 20, meaning he had a long way to level 60 to Evolve his ss, but they didn''t kill the boss on the previous floor. They would earn some extra exps if theypletely cleared the Floor, meaning killing the boss and all the monsters.


    They would aim for those extra exps, as everyone could continue to level up now, or at least Shingi could until he reached level 60, and so he couldn''t level until he Evolves his ss. Of course, one could choose to continue leveling up without evolving their ss at level 60, but it was impossible to evolve your ss if one did so.


    Fortunately, there were ways to keep yourself from getting exps and not level up, but those were for the Blessed Ones, like that they could give exps to their Skills to level up. Unfortunately, Shingi and Dark Shadow didn''t have that option, so they had to find another way not to earn exps when they reached level 60.


    For Shingi, it would be easy, as he could get unrecruited so that the System wouldn''t automatically give him experience for every monster they killed. However, he had not give the killing blow to any enemies, as there was no getting assist exp if you aren''t in the same party as the one who got the kill.


    That meant that Dark Shadow would only get exps by his kills as it couldn''t join the Party, and if Shingi weren''t taking any exps, he wouldn''t get his share from that. Dark Shadow couldn''t ''bond'' with others the same way he had with Shingi, no matter how many times they tried. But Dark Shadow''s power had increased a lot, and he could fight monsters of even double his level with ease.


    Shingi had his new staff outside and had his Mana Pool to have Air, Fire, and Light Mana Active.


    He learned <strong>AIR BOLT</strong>, <strong>FIRE BOLT</strong>, and <strong>LIGHT BOLT</strong>, which were easy to learn since they were like <strong>ROCK THROW</strong>, just different Element, and they were also Low-Grade Spells. However, Shingi still wondered the difference between <strong>ROCK THROW</strong> and <strong>EARTH BOLT</strong>, as Little Phoenix had learned <strong>EARTH BOLT</strong> but couldn''t learn <strong>ROCK THROW</strong>. So he also tried to learn <strong>EARTH BOLT</strong>, but no matter what he tried, he could only use <strong>ROCK THROW</strong>.


    He also tried to do a simr Spell with Spirit Element, but he hadn''t seeded. It was impossible or not as easy as with the other Elements.


    He also learned a Base Grade Spell called <strong>EMPOWERED FIRE BOLT</strong>, which was abination of <strong>AIR BOLT</strong> and <strong>FIRE BOLT</strong>. Air and Fire were always allied Elements, so using them both into a Spell was easier than for other Spells. He hadbined two Elements in the past, but never as a Spell, except if one counted Spirit Element.


    He couldn''t summon any of his Golems or create Water Elementals unless he would use the Spirit Child''s energy, which he didn''t want to, so instead, he just summoned his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> for extra hands. He didn''t have them all active simultaneously, as it wasn''t possible in his current state, but he could have at least two.


    He had cast the Earth <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong>, which he had active using his store mana ring''s mana, and his Light <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> with which he used his Mana. He kept gathering Earth Mana and storing it in the ring. The mana was corrupted, but the ring was purifying it, making it useable for Shingi. Even if everything was dead, even ''dead'' ground had Earth Mana in it, just was not that ''pure.''


    Shingi used this two because Earth Element <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> had the best defense among all his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong>. The Light Element <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> didn''t typically have the greatest attack power, but it had against the undead.


    Shingi had his staff design to be Earth and Light, only to empower his MANA DOUBLES, while he kept using Fire and Air Elements spells with as much change as he could by himself.


    He kept using <strong>LIGHT BOLT</strong> and <strong>EMPOWERED FIRE BOLT</strong>, which seemed to have the most effect on those monsters and helped Shingi a little to get used to his new state. His speed changing the design had also affected, but he didn''t n to change the design inbat, as he knew his one was the bestbination he could need for this floor.


    He nned to make a staff like that for Little Phoenix at the next Ruin City Hideout too, but he needed to test run it more for himself. Little Phoenix''s staff wouldn''t be asplicated but will change only to the Elements she had, meaning Dark, Earth, and Gravity.


    It could be easier to go the other way and first make a staff for her first, but this never was how Shingi did things. It wasn''t because he would use the staff, but because of the challenge to create it and use it. Of course, he still couldn''t use it at its full power as he couldn''t use all the elements at simr power, but he was certain that he could do it, especially after a recent notification from the System.


    Thest Challenge hepleted was called <strong>FIRST STEP TO THE OMNI WAY</strong>, which made him think of the Omni Mage Nyhm. If there was a first step that meant there was a second one, and Omni Way could refer to bing an Omni Mage.


    Nihm had a way tomunicate with people in this world, maybe even move between the words, which could be a secret of the power of Omni Mages. If he fulfilled all the steps, he might have ess to that power and find a way to get Annoue back. Of course, he could also wait for that Omni Mage boy he saw at hisst Scry to do something simr, but who knows how long it would take him.


    Shingi tried to learn more about the Omni Mages from Syra, but other than being monstrously powerful, and in most cases, somewhat crazy, there wasn''t much to learn about them.


    They kept their guard up for Dark Guild members or signs of Mikhail''s people, but there were none for either.


    Finally, they reached the cave entrance, where the corruptions of energy seemed to be mostly emitted out. The Lich wasn''t the only source of corruption, but it was the greatest one. There existed some Semi-Liches it had created, but Shingi and his party had already taken care of them by tracking them and killing them.


    Of course, the Lich knew about them, as it was connected with all of them, and would feel their absence the moment they died. But Shingi knew they couldn''t surprise the Lich either way, and they would clear the floor for the extra exps either way.


    Not killing the Semi-Liches would also make the battle with the Lich as it could teleport them to it, but they couldn''t do the same for any of the other Semi-Liches or the Lich itself.


    They started walking in, and Shingi had to dispel a few magical traps and needed Little Phoenix''s with a few. He normally could take care of all of them, but the Spirits were getting louder the deeper they went into the gave, throwing off his focus a bit. Combined with his weakened <strong>MANA</strong> <strong>MANIPULATION</strong> Skill, his chance of failure had increased, so he asked for help to be safe.


    He told the others about his Weakened State, as it was a matter of time for them to notice, but he didn''t tell them about the Minor Spirit Madness. He wanted to ask Syra more about it, but not yet, as it would draw too much attention.


    Even with the Spirit voices, he could still fight, but they just made his training more challenging, which he enjoyed. He never backed away from a challenge.

 Chapter 191: Dealing with the Lich part 1

    Chapter 191: Dealing with the Lich part 1


    It didn''t take them long to reach the end of the corridor of the cave, where a vast room existed. A lone throne existed in the otherwise empty ce except for some stone humanoid statues at the side.


    There wasn''t somebody sitting on the throne, but instead, there was a weird jar on it. Around the jar, there was weird writing that even Shingi didn''t know how to read, but he recognized it. This was a specially writtennguage used by Liches and other high intelligent undead.


    This strange jar was the lich''s phctery, where its soul would reside in case its undead body would get destroyed. It was something that Liches kept well-hidden as if it got destroyed, they wouldn''t have any way to return after death.


    The phctery shouldn''t be out in the open like that, and there were no signs of the Lich of any other undead.


    Shingi kept looking for what the source of the corruption was, but everything led to the phctery. This could mean only one thing; the Lich was dead. Of course, just killing the Lich wouldn''t make the corruption end, but no new Semi-Liches or non-mindless Undead would get created.


    The corruption by itself created mindless undead, but the Lich had to make everything else. So when the Lich was in its phctery focused on making a new body, it still released corrupted energy, which kept making new mindless undead. As for the Semi-Liches, they couldn''t tell when the Lich died, only get a message by it in case of danger.


    This meant that somebody had killed the Lich without destroying the phctery and fast enough for it not to call for backup. So the real question that Shingi wondered for was who was behind it? The Dark Guild or Mikhail?


    Shingi used his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> Skill, which wasn''t affected by his weakened state, to check for any signs of anyone being here recently. There were no signs, which made him think that Mikhail was most likely behind it and not the Dark Guild. The member of the Dark Guild he had encountered until now wasn''t showing signs of dominant power, but Shingi knew that the group had some aces up their sleeves.


    Shingi started moving closer to the throne while he kept examining the room. He told others to keep their guards up and keep looking, as there was always the chance of him missing something. Also, the closer he got to the phctery, the voices of the spirits were getting louder and seemed to increase in number.


    Shingi also noticed that Syra remained at the entrance of the room while looking around. He didn''t order her what to do, as she was experienced enough by herself, and he didn''t think she would follow his orders either way. She was willing to teach him and help him with some projects, but that didn''t mean she would just follow him blindly.


    He signaled the others to keep their distance while he and Dark Shadow got closer to the Throne. He wanted to have Dark Shadow with him to use his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> Skill to open the phctery. Just breaking it wasn''t the best way to deal with it, when the Lich''s soul was in it, as it had a chance of the Lich getting out with a body, even if it would be imperfect. The body''s quality depended on how much time it was in the phctery, which Shingi couldn''t know.


    When they open the phctery, sealed with Dark Element Mana, they must keep the soul into it by making an artificial cover with their Dark Element Mana. Then they would fill it with Light Element, which was weak against, and it would getpletely destroyed.


    Dark Shadow would destroy the Seal and make the Dark Element cover, while Shingi would make the Light Element attack. Dark Shadow had nothing to boost his mana, as he couldn''t use a staff or a wand, but still, its <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> Skill was closer to Shingi''s skill when he wasn''t weakened.


    When the Seal broke, a wave of corrupted energy was released before Dark Shadow finished making its cover. The soul was still in the phctery, but the energy enabled some defense mechanics in the room. The statues weren''t really statues, but petrified Semi-Liches, that got petrified, so they didn''t count on the limit of Semi-Liches that could exist on the floor.


    There were ten Semi-Liches, and they acted differently than the others they faced. They were faster, stronger, and had a high HP regeneration skill because of the Lich''s soul being in the same room as them.


    Shingi''s students drew their weapons and tried to keep them away from Shingi and tried to keep them away from Shingi and Dark Shadow. Dark Shadow had to keep focusing on covering the top of the phctery that they opened while making an opening for a short time for Shingi''s Light Element mana to get in. Their timing had to be as perfect as possible, as each time there was an opening, some energy could leak or the soul getting out.


    Shingi was using Light Mana that he had stored in his store for mana ring, but it hadn''t benefited as much as he wanted as it wasn''t in the ring for a long time. It was powerful enough to affect the Soul but would take some time and needed to use a lot. It was more than what he had in his ring currently, but not as much as he could make.


    At his current rate, he would need 30 minutes to destroy the soul. His students were strong, but they couldn''t kill all those Semi Liches or keep them busy for that long. Also, he couldn''t ask Dark Shadow to use its Light Element to attack the Soul, as he wasn''t able to use both Dark and Light Element at the same time currently.


    He could boost his <strong>INT</strong> since he had spent enough time on the previous floor and going around this one for it to get restored, but even then, it would reduce the time to maybe a little over 10 minutes. His students couldst for maybe 5 to 8 minutes max.


    As for joining the battle and destroying the Soul after dealing with the Semi Liches wasn''t an option, as even with his help, he wasn''t certain if it would make a change. So he had his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> to help while he enabled his blessing and had his Fire Element <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> join the fight.


    Before he started focusing on just feeding mana to his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> and attacking the Lich''s Soul, he noticed something weird. Syra was standing at the entrance, almost frozen, with a clear look of pain and fear. Shingi had never seen her look like that, mostly because few things could affect her spirit form, and she was a brave woman.


    He didn''t have time to think about it and couldn''t do anything as he focused on the task at hand. Instead, he tried to increase the amount of Light Element mana passed with each time Dark Shadow opened its way. The more mana, the more damage, but the opening time was just a split second, and even the Light Element wasn''t fast enough to get in the phctery a sizeable amount at such a short time.


    His speed got increased a bit, but still, it seemed not to be enough. He might have to use his cure for the Minor Spirit Madness. He didn''t think he would use it that soon after getting affected, but they couldn''t leave and try againter. Leaving now would free the Lich, and even if it will be at an imperfect body, but would empower even more the Semi-Liches.


    As he was ready to use the cure, he felt something pushing his body down, like he suddenly got an extra weight on him. He wasn''t the only one affected like that, as everyone, including the Semi-Liches, started falling to the ground like their bodies got heaviereveryone except Little Phoenix and Syra.


    Syra was too far away to be affected, and Little Phoenix was the source of this phenomenon. It was actually a Spell that he was working on but hadn''t sessfully cast it until now. The Spell was called <strong>GRAVITY AURA</strong>, and it enabled its user to make a sphere with them as its center and increase the Gravity in the Sphere.


    Semi Liches had above average human <strong>STR</strong>, but not too much, so they got affected by the Spell. Wild Tycoon and An were the only ones of his students who could move as their <strong>STR</strong> was quite high.


    Dark Shadow seemed unaffected, and even if Shingi couldn''t see his <strong>STR</strong>, he knew that it was pretty high. So the Spell would only ignore the user as a target; that''s why everyone in range got affected.


    Shingi, even in this situation, didn''t lose his focus and continued his task, as he didn''t need to be standing to do so.


    Little Phoenix held the Spell for a little under half a minute, and it used almost all her MP to do so. Still, even those few seconds would make a difference.

 Chapter 192: Dealing with the Lich part 2

    Chapter 192: Dealing with the Lich part 2


    The fight started once again, with the only difference Little Phoenix was out of it until her MP Regeneration Potions restored enough of her <strong>MP</strong>. An and Wild Tycoon covered her until then.


    As for reusing the same tactic, it was impossible. The Spell was like Shingi''s<strong> LIGHT FORM</strong>; it had a cooldown of itself. The cooldown for Shingi''s <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> had been decreased with this ss and was significantly less than it used to be, but it still existed. This was a mechanic used in few Spells that the System deemed necessary until the user reached a certain state or understanding of the Spell.


    But they still had some other way to stall for time.


    Little Phoenix pulled out a Spell Scroll, unrolled it, and started reading its contents; ice started appearing on the feet of the Semi-Liches and started spreading upwards.


    Some moved fast to free themselves, but when their feet touched the ground once more, Ice captured their feet until all of them got affected. This time the Spell affected only the Semi-Liches.


    This was a Spell Scroll of <strong>ICE PRISON</strong>, a Master Grade Spell of Mizuneko''s Ice Mage ss. This was a medium power Master Grade Spell, and Little Phoenix had to use Ice Mana Gems to keep it active, as the Spell Scroll had only the mana for casting it.


    The Ice Mana Gem was an imperfect one, especially in this corrupted environment; its mana was weak, which weakened the spell. She kept them still for less than half a minute, and even if they tried to get at least one of them down since it was stuck in ce, they failed. Their <em>HP Regeneration Ability</em> was stronger than their damage output.


    It also seemed to increase as time passed and their speed, but not at a quick rate. The reason was that when Dark Shadow made an opening for Shingi, some energy got released sometimes, which boosted the Semi-Liches. But, unfortunately, he had to replenish his Light Element Mana, as arge amount of it got destroyed in the fight against the Lich''s soul.


    Little Phoenix used more Spell Scrolls with <strong>ICE PRISON</strong> and simr spells, which even if she could keep active by using Mana Gems, the spells had a minimum time they could stay active by themselves.


    They normally couldn''t rece those scrolls since Mizuneko wouldn''t be with them for some time. But this wasn''t a problem anymore.


    After Shingi found out about what the gift of Nivlek''s could do, he thought, what if the other box could also do something like that? But if that was the case with what box was it connected? Maybe all of them were connected with each other, or there were crafted in pairs. Then he remembered.


    Harbin mentioned that Annoue also had a gift, but he never showed it to Shingi. If the gift was in another box like that, there was a good chance that the boxes had the same enchantment as the one he currently had stored in his Ring. So he had it stored just in case it proved that the feather wasn''t the only gift, which he was happy he did so.


    He had sent a message to Price to get the other box from Harbin, which took some persuasion, but in the end, he gave it to them. They had tested it, and it seemed like they really could move things through it, but they could use it five times per week. Still, this was more than helpful, as the box could have in it up to six normal potion vials or four scrolls.


    So they had Marcy''s Guild focusing on providing them with scrolls and potions when needed and providing them with some materials avable to the outside world that could fit in the box. Of course, he would send them a message if they needed anything, but he always tried to have at least one use avable if they needed something they can''t get in the Tower fast enough.


    There weren''t any other Ice Mage in the Guild other than Mizuneko, but others could make scrolls with his Spells with Ice Mana Gems. But they gave only the ones who truly trusted those tasks. Shingi left the Guild''s management to Marcy, but he gave her some tips as he knew they would eventually draw attention, and spies would try to infiltrate them.


    Probably some Guilds had already made their moves, but Shingi hadn''t talked with Marcy recently, and Price didn''t care enough about the Guild other than keeping their business profitable. He was getting part of the profits of selling the potions and scrolls made from the guild since he provided some special services himself with some of his sources.


    So Little Phoenix kept using what she could to help, which gave them two extra minutes. She had used a little over two dozen of scrolls, with some affecting them close to half a minute to a full minute max, while others had almost no effect. Especially if she used the same type of Spell Scroll, then the effect was weaker thanst time.


    Wild Tycoon wanted to use her potion to increase her <strong>STR</strong> to that of a Stone Giant. But Hineko actually hadn''t studied it yet, even after all this time. So if she used it, they wouldn''t have any temte from possibly creating one with the giants'' parts they gathered on the previous floor.


    They had stalled any extra time they could, but it still wasn''t enough.


    But then the phctery light up. The Semi-Liches turned towards it, and clear fear appeared in their otherwise emotionless face. Then, cracks started appearing on it, like some yellow light and gray mist started leaking from them.


    Soon enough, the phctery exploded with a wave, grayish energy spreading and hitting everyone in the room. It did not affect Shingi and his Party or Dark Shadow, but it had on the Semi-Liches. It had weakened them to be even weaker than the other semi liches they faced before.


    Shingi and Dark Shadow joined the fight, which ended soon enough with the Semi-Liches regeneration not being as effective.


    What had happened was that Shingi had an idea, or to be more precise, he followed one suggestion. The suggestion came from the voices of the spirits, which most of them were telling them to do different things, in the majority to harm someone, but there was one that suggested using Spirit Mana in the fight against the Lich.


    It was an ident that Shingi heard that voice''s suggestion or at least part of the suggestion. He heard the mention of Lich and paid more attention in case it really was something worthwhile, which in the end, it seemed like it truly was. It seemed like not everything was bad with the voices, but this didn''t mean he would trust the voices.


    He used some Spirit Mana, which actually seemed to have some extra effect on the battle against the Lich''s soul. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The Spirit Element until now, the way he used it, was to either heal himself and others or stop others from getting healed, as well, for mind maniption purposes.


    The Lich''s soul was regenerating itself, but his Light Element dealt more damage than it got healed. But still, the healing created a dy.


    When using Spirit Element, he weakened the healing, making that dy shorter and his attack more effective, even if he provided less Light Element, since he had to pass Spirit Element instead. But the weaker the healing, the weaker the attacks of the souls, so he was losing less mana, meaning he had less to rece.


    Finally, he destroyed the soul in a little less than four minutes since the battle started, which was less than half the time he would normally need. He hadn''t used his Spirit Madness Cure yet, and he was happy for that as he learned something new about the voices.


    After they dealt with all the Semi-Liches, the voices went almostpletely mute, and he could just barely hear them, like whispers.


    He then saw Syra walking towards them.


    "What happened to you?" [Shingi]


    During the entire time since they reached the room, Syra stood at its entrance, not taking a step inside until now.


    "The air was suffocating me. I couldn''t even take a step closer to that thing you destroyed." [Syra]


    The response surprised Shingi. Syra didn''t seem to get affected by the corruption, so Shingi found it weird why the phctery had this effect on her.


    "Have you ever had any simr feeling even in a weaker form?" [Shingi]


    Syra gave it some thought, and soon she seemed to have remembered something.


    "That ck crystal you worked with. I remember feeling weird around him, but not that much." [Syra]


    The ck Crystal had part of the soul of Kevlin, same as the Lich''s phctery had the soul of the lich, but they didn''t work the same way. So maybe the reason wasn''t that they had a soul stored, but the soul that they had stored.


    One had a part of the soul of a Necromancer, and the other the soul of a Lich, both being a Dark Arcane arts and able to raise the dead. The phctery had the full soul, so it made sense that it had a bigger effect, if that was the case.

 Chapter 193: New Floor Type

    Chapter 193: New Floor Type


    Shingi stored the remains of the phctery to researchter. Then, they went outside the cave and toward the stairs to the next floor. The stairs weren''t too far from the cave, and they actually had passed them since they wanted to clear the entire floor. They were certain they had seeded, as they had searched everywhere at the best of their abilities and had found no other undead.


    The next floor was going to be a change from the usual monster-filled ones. Instead, it would be a Maze Floor.


    Those were tricky, as the maze didn''t have any monsters but only traps that could dy or harm anyone activating them. Moreover, there was a time limit of one hour that somebody could stay in the maze. If one stayed over that limit, they would teleport to the center of the maze that they would be put at the center of the maze where they would have to pass a special test.


    If they seeded on the test, they would teleport at the start of the maze and have an hour again or will have toplete a tougher test. There were various tests. Some were simple as having to win a fight, or others moreplicated than solving a challenging puzzle.


    To get out of the maze, they had to fight chests spread through the maze. Those chests could either contain a stone enabling them to Teleport at the exit of the maze, or they would be trapped or even mimics ready to take a bite of them when Shingi and the others would try to open them.


    The Maze kept changing every day, and only with the stones in the chest could one reach the exit, as no path of the maze lead to it.


    Another detail that made this maze annoying was that one couldn''t choose to use the stone, but the first one to touch would automatically get teleported. So even if he picked it using gloves or even a <strong>MANA</strong> <strong>HAND</strong>, it still would teleport them, as the glove was in touch with him, and the <strong>MANA HAND</strong> was connected with the user so that they could control it.


    Before they started moving, Shingi spoke with Sinhunter to pass a message to Dark Shadow. He could speak himself to Dark Shadow, and he understood most of the things said to him, but it was safer to do it that way.


    Dark Shadow cast <strong>FLY</strong> so that he can go up and take a look from above, as the ceiling for tens of meters above the ground. It was like the max was into a vast dome.


    After taking a good look from above, Dark Shadownded in front of Shingi and cast another Spell. This time it was <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong>, and he made a top view of the maze. It also added and pointed the chests it detected by making them a different color.


    They started moving with Price and Hineko at the front, with Shingi and Little Phoenix behind them, looking for traps on their way for the nearest chest.


    After reaching it, Shingi told them to move onto the next one. This was a mimic chest, and he had enough experience with them, with his time with Benjamin while he still was a yer, that he could detect one even when it was at its item appearance. The mimic didn''t attack them, as they wanted to get a surprise attack when they were closer.


    The next one was just around the corner and wasn''t a mimic this time, but it could be a trapped one. This was where Hineko took the lead. Even if both he and Price had Rogue-Based sses, Hineko''s supported disarming more than Price''s, but neither was focusing on that Skill too much.


    Still, Price was more knowledgeable since he was ying the game longer, so he helped Hineko, but still, Hineko was the one in charge of the attempt. The chest was locked and seemed not to be trapped.


    Shingi and Little Phoenix and Syra, to be safe, checked for any magical traps, but it was clear. Hineko carefully picked the lock and opened the chest, revealing a stone in it. The first one to go would be Wild Tycoon, as she would be useless in the Maze, and it was safer for her not to take part in the tests, in case it was a puzzle-solving one.


    The order would then be Little Phoenix, An, Syra, Dark Shadow, Price, Hineko, and Shingi. It could be wiser for Hineko to be thest to go since he picked the locks, but Shingi insisted on being thest one when they discussed of what was the n for this floor.


    They continued searching, and the next two chests were mimics, so they passed them, while the two after them were empty and four had a trap. The trap was mostly an explosion or poison cloud that would either stun the one it breathes or poison and weaken them.


    Finally, they found another one, and Little Phoenix was outside the maze. Fortunately, people could wait as long as they wanted at the exit without worrying about any time limit.


    They found the chest for An faster, as it took them only three tries. Moreover, their speed going around increased as everyone in the party had high <strong>AGI</strong>, except for Syra, but Shingi could carry her while at her sphere form. As for traps, they became quickly familiar with finding them, which increased the way they could move through the maze.


    Soon, they found the one for Syra, which Shingi was surprised that she could use it, as he wasn''t certain of what her Spirit Form allowed her to do and what not.


    Dark Shadow was next, and he seemed reluctant to leave Shingi. But after promising to give him some Mana Gems to eat, he changed his mind right away and touched the stone, getting himself at the exit.


    Almost fifty minutes had passed since they got into the maze, meaning they had close to ten minutes left. Shingi was certain that the three of them each could sessfullyplete their tests, as they were individual tests. But even so, afterpleting the test and the time reset, the maze would change.


    It could be smarter to keep Dark Shadow so that they can reexamine the maze from above if they failed, but still, Shingi wasn''t certain if Dark Shadow would seed in the test, same as Wild Tycoon. Dark Shadow was a lot smarter than before, but he still had significant progress to make.


    It took them five minutes to find another stone with a teleportation stone for Price. There weren''t a lot of chests left. It probably would be wiser for them to separate, as they had almost five minutes left. But only Shingi could tell the mimics apart from normal chests, and if they had to fight one, they would lose some precious time.


    Shingi had also helped Hineko with picking the locks of the chest to open them. The locks weren''t tooplicated, as the key concept of the maze was mostly to test your luck to find the right ones and some abilities like detecting the mimics and not wasting time fighting them.


    It took them two minutes to find another stone, leaving the only Shingi in the maze and less than three minutes left.


    The Maze was huge as still he barely had covered half of it.


    He moved with everything he got and worked on unlocking a chest that wasn''t a mimic or found any trap. It didn''t take him long to open the chest, and it seemed like it was his lucky day as a stone was inside it.


    He grabbed the stone, and he got teleported, but when the Teleportation finished, there were no signs of anyone else from his party.


    Shingi then looked at the stone in his hand. There was a rune on it that was slightly different than the one that the others had. This was a trap stone.


    A trap stone looked almost the same as the teleportation stones the others used, but instead of teleporting to the exit, it got you to the failure room to take your test.


    Finding a trapped stone in the maze was a sign of bad luck, as this maze had only one trap crystal. Others above the current floor had more.


    In front of Shingi, there was a desk, and on top of the desk, there were pieces of a puzzle. There had to be at least one hundred pieces.


    He had to finish the test in ten minutes, or else he would get teleported into the maze. But the time he would have toplete the goal set would be half the one from before. If the time decreased to less than a minute, he would die.


    Shingi wasn''t disappointed but instead excited, as he hadn''t had the chance to have this type of test for some time. It would be harder for him to find a stone by himself, but he was confident that he could do it.

 Chapter 194: The Maze challenge

    Chapter 194: The Maze challenge


    Shingi was familiar with those kinds of puzzles, and even without boosting his <strong>INT</strong>, he could solve them in time.


    But he didn''t.


    He had put all put thest piece together and then left the time pass.


    The reason was simple. The number of stones increased the less time he had, as also the maze was changing size depending on the time and people in it. So more people meant a bigger maze, and less time meant a smaller maze.


    Of course, having less time had its drawbacks, but since he was by himself, finding a teleportation stone was possible, especially since the maze would be quite smaller. He could fly using his special boots to take a better look and find nearby chests from above.


    When the duration of the test ended, he teleported back to the maze, and Shingi enabled his boots right away. Theyout and size of the maze had some changes, as size-wise was close to eighty percent to what it was before.


    Shingi started his way but didn''t use <strong>HASTE</strong>, as it was still too early. Since his first test was a puzzle, this meant that all his tests would be a puzzle, but the difficulty would increase.


    Most of the chests he found were either mimic or trapped. He actually found two with teleportation stones in them, but he didn''t use them. They weren''t trapped ones, as he got a closer look at them, but the reason he didn''t use them was that he nned to fail.


    Since the maze didn''t have a Boss, this meant that there wasn''t a real ''clear'' the floor like the rest to earn extra exps for. But there was a condition that could allow you to get some extra exps.


    The condition was for one toplete the maze at thest possible run. The first trysted one hour. If he failed the test, the second try would be thirty minutes, then fifty minutes, then seven, three, and finally one minute. This meant that he had to fail five tests.


    It was also a good chance to train the limits of his <strong>AGI</strong> and his new <strong>PICK LOCKET</strong> Skill, which he unlocked with the help of Hineko. It was currently at Base Rank and was increasing slowly since he had a Mage-based ss, as this skill was mostly for Rogue-based sses. But nothing prevented him from learning it; just it was slower to increase its Rank.


    Some skills were ss-Based that he couldn''t learn, so one couldn''t do everything. However, Shingi was heading in that direction, if not counting theck of <strong>STR</strong>. His <strong>STR</strong> was still 12, which was the same as most beginners Warriors had, but he covered it with his high <strong>AGI</strong> and his Spells.


    Increasing his <strong>STR</strong> after unlocking his ss was even harder than before, as Mage didn''t need to have a high <strong>STR</strong>, so the inner potential for that one to increase through training was less than before.


    Shingi continued grinding his new Skill and his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> Skill by making balls of Fire with his Fire Element Mana and having them following him.


    ================================


    <strong>SPELL LEARNED</strong>


    The spell <strong>TORCH LIGHT</strong>(ungraded) has been learned.


    ================================


    Even after learning the spell, he didn''t use it but kept manipting the mana to keep forming those moving fire torches. He also kept using ECHOLOCATION but not using his Earth Mana since he had it disabled on purpose this time.


    He had noticed that his control of the Element he disabled from his Mana Pool was quite lower than it should be, which meant that it provided him with another hardship to surpass. Another tool for him to use for training himself.


    If he increased his control using each Element to be at the same level, he had them now when they weren''t part of his Mana Pool with when they were, he might even get closer to have over three non-Spirit Elements active.


    Thirty minutes passed, and he teleported to the same room with the desk and the puzzle, only this time there were close to 150 pieces.


    He worked on solving the puzzle but used his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> and his <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> to move the pieces. He once more left thest piece on the desk and waited for the time to end.


    This time he had 15 minutes, and the maze wasn''t too significantly smaller than the previous round. It was close to seventy-five percent of the size of the first maze.


    He once more started looking for the chests, and before the time was over, he had found no stones this time.


    This time seemed not to have more pieces, but each one had a different color, as they were made of different materials. There were gold, silver, and copper puzzle pieces. Instead of one puzzle, he had to solve three, one for each of the materials.


    For the test to count as a sess, he had to finish them all in time, which meant he could finish two of them and left thest one unfinished. He didn''t like letting the puzzles unfinished, but at least he had solved them. He just didn''t put thest piece in ce even if he knew where he should ce it, meaning he had solved it, which helped a bit.


    But only a bit.


    He solved the golden and silver one, which had the most pieces, and was the most challenging, while he left the copper one unfinished with one piece unced.


    Time started once more, even if there wasn''t a countdown. But Shingi knew he had seven minutes. He was unlucky once more, and no chests that he opened had any Teleportation Rocks in them.


    The test was once more three puzzles of the same materials, but the number of pieces and challenges had increased.


    Shingi kept using his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> and <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> to train on them, and actually, this time, he didn''t make it to solve even one of them. However, he didn''t mind it as he would fail either way and if he tried to solve them using his hands, he was confident he could do it in time.


    This was the one before thest one and thest chance for Shingi to stop what others would call a suicidal goal.


    He could use the extra exp for both him and Dark Shadow, who still would get some even if he wasn''t with Shingi the whole time in the maze. But if he failed, that would literally cost his life.


    He didn''t know if he got the ability to respawn from his yer Side, but there was only one way to find out, and he didn''t n to try it. The way was for him to die, which meant that if he couldn''t respawn, then he would be gone forever.


    He probably could use his Spirit <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong> body, but that one had limitations, like the inability to level up and get stronger. He was one of the highest level yers with that body, but that was a long time ago, and more people should have reached that level now, especially in the Dark Guild. So being Ameanum was useless against them.


    He also didn''t want to go back to his old self''s body unless needed. It technically wasn''t his old body, as his actual body had turned worm food some years ago, but it was closer to his past body and self. He had changed from what he used to be, and even if sometimes he didn''t realize it for the first time in his life, he enjoyed being around people.


    He wasn''t shy like Little Phoenix, but he spent no unnecessary time or had small talk with other yers. He had these kinds of talks with NPCs, but mostly for him to learn their research, Skills, or other types of knowledge they had.


    A little before the three minutes were over, he opened a chest and found a teleportation stone. This was thest chance he had to stop from taking the enormous risk of the next round.


    But he didn''t take it and let the three minutes pass.


    He didn''t even try to solve the puzzles this time, but he started making <strong>MAJOR ILLUSIONS</strong> of the maze he went through. The mazes were generated randomly, but every generator had a key to make them, so if one found it, he could design the possible next maze.


    He focused on making Illusions of all the mazes and finding their simrities and differences. But, unfortunately, he couldn''t boost his <strong>INT</strong> as the effect was still in the cool down, so he had to do it all by himself.


    When they were close to the tenth minute of the test, Shingi cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on himself. He had made an Illusion of a maze that he had designed with his research of the previous maze. Unfortunately, he didn''t have time to fly up, so this was his only chance.


    He had even found a pattern about cing the mimic chests and the trapped ones, leaving him with the positions of the chests that were either empty or had a teleportation rock.


    He also found the pattern of choosing where he would start with, meaning he knew the potential routes he could take, and there were two chests that he could make and unlock in time.


    The tenth minute was over, and he was back to the maze.


    He started moving right away, and the route seemed to be like the one he had designed. Finally, he reached the chest at the exact point he had calcted it to be, and he started picking the lock.


    His <strong>PICK LOCKET</strong> Skill had increased in power, but it was till Base Rank, unfortunately. He opened the chest in the twentieth second, and it proved to be an empty one, so he started his way to the next one.


    He started going around avoiding traps without dispelling them, as he could pass through most of them fast enough not to hit him with his current speed.


    He made thest turn and found the chest, and so he started using his Skill to unlock it.


    He had 5 seconds left when he opened the chest.


    The chest was empty.

 Chapter 195: The price of failure

    Chapter 195: The price of failure


    Shingi knew he could make it to another chest, but he didn''t have enough time to unlock it. So he had made a poor decision, took a risk, and he had paid the price.


    Although the price, in this case, was his life.


    For the first time, after a long time, he felt regret for a decision of his. He hade near death many times, as both Ameanum and Shingi, but there was always a way out, but he could do nothing this time. This time, unlike the past, he had things to lose, people that would miss him and would be truly sad for his death.


    Time passed slower because he was still under the effect of <strong>HASTE</strong>, but the remaining time passed quickly.


    Spiked chains appeared and moved faster than even he couldn''t react to and started surrounding him. The spikes pierced even his bones, bringing an unthinkable amount of pain. Screams could be heard through the whole maze as the chains were getting tighter and tighter.


    His END was higher than a normal individual but far from handling this amount of pain. But the chains had a certain enchantment on them that healed him enough not to pass out. They were designed to torture their targets and keep the torture for a long time before taking his life.


    The torture time wouldst for as long as the first round of the maze, one hour.


    yers could reduce the amount of pain they could feel, making the torture be just a waste of time, but Shingi didn''t have that option. He lost his focus on <strong>HASTE</strong>, which made things worse since his body would be in a weakened state for some time.


    He tried to use some Spirit Element to help maybe handle the pain, but he couldn''t focus enough to manipte any amount of mana.


    Seconds, felled minutes, minutes felt hours, and the entire hour would feel like days to him. Then at the end of the torture, all would end as the spikes would pierce his heart. Many people had tried the same thing as Shingi and failed, but since they were yers, the price to pay wasn''t the same.


    Still, some seeded, meaning it wasn''t impossible.


    Shingi focused all his will to pass the pain and try to find a way out. Just because he hadn''t heard of others finding a way, it didn''t mean there wasn''t. The System could kill him right on the spot and not toying with him, so there had to be a way out.


    But the pain was like nothing he had ever felt, as even he was reducing the pain sensitivity when he was a yer, but never brought it to feel no pain. Even so, he continued trying and trying as it wasn''t the first time he was in an impossible situation and found a way out.


    He couldn''t focus enough to cast a spell or manipte any amount of mana, but he had an option. Just to release all his mana.


    No maniption, no arcane words, no nothing, just getting it out and letting it explode. This could cause an explosion, that with the amount of mana in his Mana Pool, would be close to an atomic bomb level.


    But the chains were enchanted to absorb this kind of damage, but there had to be a limit they could handle.


    There were four scenarios that this n could get him.


    The first scenario would be the explosion wouldn''t be enough, and his torture will continue. The second scenario was the explosion to be just enough to set him free and possibly damage him a bit but not enough to kill him. The third scenario would be the chain breaking, but the explosion would also kill him by being too powerful. Finally, the explosion would have no effect on the chains and just kill himself or waste his time.


    There was only one situation of keeping his life, but this was all he needed.


    So he left everything out, as a sphere of light of three colors, red, yellow, and white, started extending from his chest until it covered himpletely but didn''t stop and continued growing.


    It kept growing until it was as big as more than half the maze, and then it vanished in a split second.


    Shingi stood at the same ce he was, still having the chains on him, but he wasn''t screaming anymore. It was like time froze, and no sound was heard until a single crack sounded.


    More and more cracks sounded, and soon the cracks started appearing on the chain. Then, finally, the chain seemed to have lost its <em>''life'',</em> which made it move to keep its target still, and so it fell to the ground like a corpse of its old self.


    Shingi was still standing, and his body was full of holes, some still having a spike in them.


    His pupils were harder to see than normal, a sign that he lost consciousness or he was dead. His body was locked to stay standing up, but soon enough, after the chain was away from his body, his body rxed, and he started falling forwards.


    Before his body hit the ground, a purple mist appeared and surrounded his body, making it disappear.


    ___________________________


    Dark Shadow had spent all his current life with those weird, fleshly creatures. He liked a few of them, mostly those who seemed to have those small mountains on their upper body.


    He also enjoyed thepany of them, sometimes Red Eyes person, and also his talking sword.


    He had learned a lot from them, including flying using what they called a Spell. He enjoyed flying, although he couldn''t do it for as long as he wanted, which was all the time.


    He liked the <em>''snacks''</em> he got from the other creatures they fought or those special ones that he let him have from time to time. They were hard to crack, but they were so tasty. He wanted to eat them all the time, but the others were stingy with letting him have them.


    He knew little about the world, as the sword voice had told him a few stories. But he knew nothing but what they had encountered in the Tower, meaning a lot was left in the imagination.


    He wanted one day to see how it was in the outside world and see those towns and other ces that the voice told him about.


    He was currently not with the man who had helped him grow in power, and he enjoyed hispany, which made him a bit nervous. But it wasn''t something that the pats of the other people he liked would fix.


    The one with the big stick or staff and the one with the weird swords seemed to get ''persuaded'' easier on his ''plead'' for these special touches.


    A long time passed before he started feeling something unknown to him.


    He started feeling pain, but no pain in his body, but mental pain.


    It was like mental pins were piercing his brain repeatedly. Then screams followed but not ones heard by his ears, but it was the same as when he spoke with the sword voice. They were on his head right away.


    The pain increased, and so the screams, and soon he recognized to whom the screams belonged.


    He wanted to do something, but he didn''t know where the screams came from, and they were in a closed room with no exit and just the stairs going up the next floor.


    He started hitting one of the walls to open a way outside, but he didn''t even make a single sh to it.


    The others noticed that behavior, and it didn''t take them long to get why this happened. Actually, the transparentdy was the one who first understood that something happened to the ''boy.''


    Something inside him told Dark Shadow that he had to do something, that he had to be with him and help him, but no matter what he used, no matter what he tried, he could open a way.


    There wasn''t even a single opening for him to use his <strong>SHADOW FORM</strong>, which he had perfected, unlike the <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong>, and go outside. It seemed that this room was designed not to let them get back to the maze but just forward.


    Soon the other individuals focused their attacks to a single point, and soon cracks started appearing, although they were getting healed almost as fast as they got created.


    Seeing that their attacks had some actual effect, everyone started going all out, not letting anything that would increase their damage output.


    Soon the cracks started spreading like the web of a spider, and in a matter of a few minutes, they had opened a hole outside. But then everyone froze as they saw how the outside looked.


    The exit actually existed over the maze, on the ceiling, but it was perfectly camouged. Looking down, the maze was different, with most of it to be just ground, and even adding what was left was smaller than what Dark Shadow remembered it to be.


    Dark Shadow flew down, searching for signs of that person, but there was nothing, not even a glimpse of his light.


    It was like he vanished into thin air.<ol><li>This means is put to show that we are changing perspecive</li></ol>

 Chapter 196: Unknown place

    Chapter 196: Unknown ce


    Shingi was conscious once more, but he wasn''t certain where he was. He could feel the ground, which felt nothing like the maze floor, as the maze''s floor was stone and this one was wooden.


    He heard nothing, and he couldn''t hear anything, but not because everything was dark or because there was no sound. The chains had wrapped around his head, damaging his eyes and ears but not reaching his brain.


    He could feel pain and feel some spikes still on him, meaning he was not dead since he shouldn''t feel pain if he was dead.


    His mana pool was empty, and he just had some Light Element Mana in his mana store ring to heal some of his wounds. Unfortunately, he couldn''t move, so he started focusing on healing his hands so that he could pull out the spikes.


    He was in an extra weakened state, but unexpectedly, the spirit voices weren''t speaking at all. Shingi was certain that they would try something in this situation, but it was almost like none of them tried to speak to him.


    Even if his eyes didn''t work, he could <em>''see''</em> his Status window and knew what his current HP was, which was critically low. So he was in a worse situation than his fight back in Harbin''s town.


    He slowly healed his right hand, at least enough to use it. He had his Spatial Ring on that hand, which he used to get one of his <em>MP Regeneration Potions </em>out, right when he could use his arm so that he could drink it.


    He also got an <em>HP Regeneration Potion</em>, but he drank them in that order as when the regeneration effects were together, thest that took effect was less beneficial. However, he wasn''t losing <strong>HP</strong>, and if he got his mana back, he could restore it faster.


    He focused on his environment to collect mana and convert it to Light Mana, as his ring was almost empty, but there was no mana in the environment. No Spirit Element either, which Shingi had never noticed to be the case at any parts of the tower. Floors could luck some Elements, but there always were at least one of the Basic Elements, and always there was Spirit Element.


    <em>''Could it be that I am not in the Tower anymore?''</em> [Shingi]


    This was the only exnation he could think of. But where could he be? How did he get here? Those questions were born in his mind, among others, but he had to heal himself first into the safe area.


    His Mana Pool restored Mana slower than normal, as it was in a weakened state frompletely emptying it. He also was still in his Weakened State that made his Minor Mana Regeneration Passive Skill also slower.


    As time passed and he was getting closer to a safer area to his <strong>HP</strong>, he started focusing on his environment but only using his hearing. He had fixed his eyes a bit, but still not fully, and as far as for his eyes, Light Element couldn''t heal it, but Spirit should but would take time.


    He heard some drop of water falling on a liquid surface not too far from him.


    He continued fixing everything but his eyes since those would be the hardest to heal, and he would need everything he had to do so.


    He didn''t know how much time it has passed since he started healing himself. It could be minutes or even hours, but he finally had removed thest spike. He had to burn his wounds using Fire Mana, as he would need to use Spirit Magic to heal most of thempletely, and he could get sick in the meantime by an infection or simr effects.


    He stored the spikes in his Spatial Ring to examine themter and possibly use them in the future.


    He had to let his Mana Pool get restored to full power before healing all his wounds and his eyes, but he could at least move. He still felt significant pain from moving, but nothing close to the one during the torture of the chains.


    He couldn''t see, but his hearing, even if still damaged, was still pretty good and was boosted from hisck of sight. His other body senses also increased.


    He went into his meditation state and started focusing on the environment more, looking for any mana, as it would greatly decrease the time his recovery would take.


    But no matter how much he focused, there was nothing.


    He had heard about ces like that, whichcked any form of mana, but they were supposed to be impossible for one to get in them or even survive there. But Shingi didn''t feel the environment damaging him or affecting him negatively otherwise, but only his wounds.


    He kept hearing the drops of the unknown liquid, which actually calmed him a bit, as it kept him sane of hearing something else but himself.


    He summoned Sinhunter to see if he could use his Spirit Mana to heal himself, but he felt no connection when he summoned it and tried to speak to it. So he continued trying to <em>''speak''</em> with it as usual, but nothing happened.


    He couldn''t use the chat System to send a message to others, as he could only ''see'' his status window with his damaged eyes and no others. However, he had told them what he nned to do during his first test, and they probably now knew that he had failed.


    He had moved too far away from them for too long, which made the System remove him from the party. The only one who may know that he was still alive could be Dark Shadow, as the two of them were bonded. But Shingi didn''t know how strong this bond was.


    Since he could get any mana from his environment, staying where he was of no use, so he had to move, to hopefully somewhere that thisck of mana wasn''t a thing.


    He changed his Mana Pool to use the Earth Element in ce of Air Element so that he could cast <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> to rece hisck of sight. He also summoned his staff to use it for supporting himself, as his legs hadn''t healedpletely to have a perfect bnce.


    He had his sword still out, as it could be a way to notice a change if he could ''speak'' with Sinhunter.


    He started moving closer to the liquid drop to examine it. It didn''t take him too long, and through his <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong>, he could tell that there was a small pool, but there was an underground tunnel in it going down and forward.


    He examined the liquid, and it seemed to be just water and actually seawater. His <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> allowed him to see the limits of the space he was currently into a small room, even smaller than his room, back to Carda. There didn''t seem to be any entrances or exits other than the underwater tunnel.


    He started feeling the walls to make certain he didn''t miss a switch or something, but after a couple of hours of slow investigation, he was certain there was none. It wouldn''t be safe to swim in his current state as he couldn''t be certain how clean the water was, and his <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> wouldn''t work as well underwater, meaning he would bepletely blind.


    He didn''t have any Water Breathing potions on him, as Hineko was the one who had them, so he couldn''t spend a lot of time underwater.


    He was to heal himself more, so he had to wait. He couldn''t keep using Mana Regeneration potions, as with each use, the effects would get weaker until every portion of the potion gets out of his system, but this would take hours.


    His control of Spirit Element also seemed to had gotten weaker, but not for the rest of his Elements. It could be because of the unnaturalck of Spirit Element since that Element worked differently than the rest.


    Since all he could do was wait, he decided to take a nap, as the ce seemed to be safe enough.


    He wanted to use his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> to train, but he could not do so. He couldn''t also use <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> or even <strong>SPECTATOR MODE</strong>. It seemed like this was one of those rare times he would have a normal rest of doing nothing.


    More hours passed, even though it was hard to tell time with no sign of how much passed other than him counting the seconds that passed, which he couldn''t continue doing as he had other things to think of.


    He woke up and summoned some simple rations since he needed food, or he would start losing <strong>SP</strong> and <strong>HP</strong> by starving. He had some normal bread and meat that they got from the Giant''s, which was eatable at its current state as it wasn''tpletely raw.


    Shingi used some Fire Mana to cook it a bit, so it would add some more at the benefits against starvation.


    His Mana Pool was almost back to full power, meaning he was closer to heal himself to full power.


    But then he started hearing some movement in the water of the small pool. Something was getting out of the water.

 Chapter 197: An unexpected encounter

    Chapter 197: An unexpected encounter


    Shingi focused his hearing and <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> Spell towards the movement in the pool to understand what the source was. There didn''t seem to be anywhere to hide behind, but he used his <strong>CAMOUFLAGE</strong> Spell, hoping it would be enough. Unfortunately, <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> used too much mana, and he couldn''t afford to spend it recklessly this time.


    With <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong>, he didn''t get as many details as he would with his eyes, but general distances and distances. But even though his Spell didn''t allow him to have the best look at what was getting out of the poll, he concluded pretty fast.


    It wasn''t a humanoid creature.


    He was getting input of a mass of not a stable shape slowly getting out of the water and putting itself together. This was definitely some kind of slime, and since it could move underwater, it was an advanced one.


    Slimes like the one back to Zhen''s ce didn''t like water. Even those with magical resistance had their resistance against Water Magic to be the lowest among them all. Still, Water Magic didn''t focus on damage, so Mizuneko didn''t have that much advantage back when they went through Zhen''s dungeon.


    Shingi waited as the slime seemed to had separated itself, and slowly each part was getting outside the water and merging with each other. Soon the slime started shaping something different from the usual form slimes had. It started forming legs and continued shaping the rest of the body with every new slime that joined it.


    It took a couple of minutes for the whole body to form, and Shingi soon recognized who that was.


    It was Zhen.


    He even had formed his long scarf and the rest of his simple attirement with the slimes. Shingi thought that Zhen was human or some humanoid race and not another type of slime or swarf of slimes.


    But if he was a slime himself, it made sense why he was the dungeon''s boss, or more specifically, how he was put in charge to be the Boss. Shingi remembered Zhen telling him that he wasn''t the true Boss of the Dungeon and someone left him in his ce, but he never said who.


    But if that was truly Zhen, what was he doing here, and where was he here?


    <em>''Could it be that I am back to his Dungeon?''</em> [Shingi]


    Shingi hadn''t fully explored the dungeon, so he didn''t know every ce of it. He hadn''t heard of mentioning a room like that, but most likely, Zhen would keep it hidden if that was truly the case.


    "I know you are here. Hiding is useless against me. No intruders are allowed. Not sure why you are awake, bute out to meet your new master." [Zhen]


    Shingi recognized the voice and the arroganceing with it. This was definitely him.


    Shingi dropped his Spell and worked forward. He had put on a pair of sunsses to cover his wounded eyes.


    He could hear the beats of Zhen''s heart, which was weird since he turned out to be a Slime, getting faster when he saw him.


    "You you. What how?" [Zhen]


    His voice showed his confusion and signs of fear. He wasn''t an enemy of Shingi, but they weren''t friends either. They mostly could be described as business partners since Zhen had helped design all the Mana Gems and helped in the staves and wands designs and productions after Shingi and Little Phoenix left.


    "Where is this ce? Are we in the dungeon?" [Shingi]


    Zhen snapped out of his previous state as he started his exnation.


    "This is a special room made by Master. Some people appear from time to time, and I get notified toe and take care of them. They are always unconscious, though." [Zhen]


    "If you got notified when I arrived, why it took you that long to get here? Is it that deep in the Dungeon?" [Shingi]


    Zhen shook his head.


    "I was busy." [Zhen]


    Shingi could tell by how his heart beat and his voice that he was hiding something, but he didn''t have time to investigate this.


    "Those people before me, were everyone Blessed Ones?" [Shingi]


    "Yes." [Zhen]


    "Did they have anything else inmon? And what do you mean by taking care of them?" [Shingi]


    Shingi could tell that Zhen thought about it intensely before giving his response.


    "I think all of them had a weird symbol on themtely. It looked like that." [Zhen]


    Zhen used some of the mist he could produce to form a weird symbol. Since he made it with mana, Shingi used his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, and even if it was weaker, he could get enough details. It was a mask that half of it had a in design, while the other half was demonic-like.


    This was the symbol the Dark Guild used, and few people knew of it, as they rarely made appearances or wanted to let their existence be known. But Ameanum had seen that symbol through reports on somepanies he had helped to develop their games.


    "How long ago did people other than them stopped appearing?" [Shingi]


    Zhen once more didn''t speak for a while as he thought about his answer.


    "Long time before the entrance was built. Close to a decade, maybe?" [Zhen]


    "The entrance? You mean the dungeon was always here?" [Shingi]


    The dungeons were rumored to appear out of nowhere, and Shingi didn''t have time in the past to discuss it with Zhen, as both of them were quite busy.


    They had some talk, and Shingi learned some interesting facts.


    Zhen had memories for a long time, but he didn''t know how much as he could tell how much had passed since he was living underground. His Master, the true owner of the Dungeon, had unexpectedly left one day, giving no reason, or Zhen didn''t want to share that reason.


    Shingi could tell that Zhen had great respect for that Master of his, although he didn''t know how that respect was earned. He still remembered those burns on his neck.


    When asked if he was a slime, Zhen said that he used to be. His Master had evolved him to be a human, but not just taking a form like the slimes Zhen had made with transformation ability. He could turn into an actual human of flesh and blood, but he could also turn himself into a swarm of slimes or his purple mist.


    Shingi wanted to meet that Master of his, and he had thought in the past that it could be Mikhail, but Zhen had denied being the case, and Shing believed him. Zhen was charming and good with words most of the time, but Shingi had a good reading of him.


    Shingi asked him if he knew anything about the maze he was just in, and actually, Zhen had some memories of a ce like that. But they were from a time before his Evolution, so they weren''t as detailed.


    He seemed to have gone into different ces with that Master of his, and some Shingi had recognized as ces that would exist in the Tower''s floors only.


    Zhen didn''t remember exactly how they went there, but he had no memories of getting into the outside world. So either the Dungeon was so big that it connected with the Tower, which Shingi didn''t know if it was possible. The other case was that this Master of his could Teleport them into the Tower.


    Shingi asked Zhen if there were any teleportation circles or something close to it anywhere in the Dungeons, but Zhen confidently told me that there weren''t any. He knew every bit of the Dungeon as the back of his hand, and he could connect with some of his specially selected Slimes to check things if needed.


    As for the Blessed Ones that kept appearing here seemed that it wasn''t really their actual bodies that got here but part of their spirit. More specifically, it was a manifestation of their lost experience when they died, taking the form of their bodies.


    Shingi had heard of something like that happening in the past, of lost experience used like that, but the ones behind that were true monster-like powerful.


    Zhen didn''t know how it worked, just that his monsters telling him of feeding them to the slimes to help them grow. There existed a few other rooms like that one but the numbers of people appearing were too few. Sometimes there could be none for weeks.


    Shingi was confident that each room connected with at least one floor of the Tower, meaning there was a connection. And if there was a connection that got him here, he could use it to get himself back, as going the normal way was a suicide.


    But he didn''t know if he could use that connection in his current state, and since he was really outside the Tower, this meant that Spirit Element was weaker and in less quantity in the environment.


    He went outside the room with Zhen''s help, who teleported both of them back to theb. Shingi felt everything going back to how they were supposed to be, except his control of Spirit Mana. He still felt some resistance, even the mana he produced from his mana pool, almost like it was heavier.


    It seemed like theck of Spirit Element outside the Tower world was affecting the use of the Element in general.


    He had to get himself ready and heal all his wounds. But, since he was here, he didn''t need to do everything by himself.


    He could go back home.

 Chapter 198: Kings Guards

    Chapter 198: King''s Guards


    Shingi could move by himself fine, using his remaining senses and <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong>. He didn''t have to worry about fighting any slimes as Zhen send them orders to ignore him. He noticed a few yers being around the area, mostly hanging around.


    Some were curious about him, mostly because he was wearing sunsses while the weather was quite cloudy. But Shingi kept walking back to town.


    He could make it back in a couple of minutes by running, but his echolocation didn''t work well if he moved that fast. This situation of his was problematic, but he could use it to his advantage. He had tried to keep all his senses as boosted as he could, but his sight was always the most beneficial one. It was easier to train his other senses now that he lost it.


    His <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> also helped him a bit as he could detect the mana of the environment, but it was very subtle for most things unless he focused on one specifically. But with him just walking at a normal speed and all of his Detections Skills, and <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong>, he moved almost the same as if he could see.


    He had missed some rocks or fallen branches and almost tripped a few times, but his reflexes were still good enough to rebnce himself.


    He reached the Carda''s gate in a little over two hours, but he could feel improvement in his Skills.


    As he got closer to the gates, he felt that there was a pair of well-equipped soldiers since he could detect the energy of the enchantments of their equipment, probably the King''s Guards Master Jax had sent.


    "You, stay where you are. State your business." [King''s Guard #1]


    Shingi stopped and didn''t n on causing any trouble. He had faced those guards in the past, and even the lowest rank among them was hard to deal with if they got into a battle.


    It wasn''t just their equipment, but their training wasn''t something that anyone could handle. Even the weaker among them could face a dozen of normal guards with just his hands. Shingi could also do something like that, but with their equipment, they could overpower him easily.


    "Name is Shingi Maki. I was out for personal business and returned to take care of a few things. This is my hometown, as Mayor a can confirm." [Shingi]


    Shingi didn''t detect any change in them as they heard his response. He waited for some from hearing his name, as he assumed Master Jax would have let them know it. But he always found a hard time getting a read on them.


    "So you are that person. I would have to ask to wait until we get someone to approve that you are who you say you are." [King''s Guard #1]


    The Guard called orders to some of the normal ones who were still around, and that one started running towards the mayor''s office.


    "I heard you are an Arcane Practitioner. Any tricks you want to share?" [King''s Guard #2]


    The second guard seemed to be younger, and from the way he spoke, Shingi could tell that he was a young recruit.


    The reason was that the first guard''s voice was rigorous and nd, while the second also had these characteristics but had some <em>''feelings''</em> in it, too. But, of course, they never asked questions like that, either.


    The first guard didn''t seem to mind his subordinate asking questions, which was out of the usual.


    Shingi raised his right hand to show them his Spatial Ring so that they would be aware he was going to use it.


    He then called out his old staff, the two Mana Gems of Earth and Light Element, with one at the top of the staff and one at its bottom.


    He used it to cast at the same time both an Earth and Light Element <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong>. He had the Light Element <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> make different hand-on-hand fighting moves, while his Earth Element <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> was its target and was handling them well.


    This wasn''t something unusual for them to see, but Shingi wasn''t finished yet.


    He made a ring of fire using his Fire Element to surround the area of his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> and started producing the biggest <strong>EARTH SPIKES</strong> he could produce in four corners to make a rectangle in the fire circle.


    He got some Air Element of the environment and used it to empower his fires, making his ring taller, and at the same time, he used Light Element on them that changed its color to more yellow than fire red. It also allowed him to control the fire''s temperature, but not only to increase it but also decrease it.


    He had created a tall wall of fire and started manipting the file to leave some openings, making the people outside still see his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> fight.


    When the rounded wall of fire was over, it had reached a height of a little over 2 meters.


    He then worked on manipting the <strong>EARTH SPIKES</strong> he had created to shape them more like pirs, and he had created the windows on the wall to ces for one to notice those changes as they were happening.


    When the pirs were over, Shingi used a <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> of a sign over an opening he made as an entrance, and on the sign, it had a carving of two humanoid creatures, one across the other, with their hand raised and ready to fight.


    This was over what he could normally do, but he pushed himself to and over his limits as always. It wasn''t because he wanted to show off, at least not entirely, but because he knew that it would be a great ally for the future if he got even the smallest of admiration from one of those people.


    They followed orders of Master Jax, but they could always deny doing what he ordered them as only the King himself was the one they couldn''t deny. They had helped keep Carda safe and quiet, but that wouldn''tst forever, so befriending them to ask for help in the future was beneficial for him.


    After letting the guards, and some of the crowd of yers noticing what was happening, he dismissed all his Spells.


    He noticed that both the guards'' heartbeats didn''t change, not even the second one who seemed less experienced. But he probably had seen many Arcane Practitioners doing tricks like so it was difficult to impress them.


    "I expected something more, but I guess this was impressive too." [King''s Guard #2]


    It seems Shingi failed to impress them. He couldn''t use his blessing as it was still in cooldown, and his remaining wounds still affected him, even if he had covered them all pretty well.


    "Take off your sses." [King''s Guard 1]


    Shingi didn''t have an option, so he took them out, letting everyone seeing his damaged eyes.


    He then heard a familiar sound, the slight sound when a System notification appeared, but he couldn''t see it as it wasn''t his Status window. He didn''t know why they had made it work like that, and it annoyed many people, but the developers said they would never change it.


    He heard some gasps from the crowd when they saw pretty much his almostpletely empty eyeholes, which had just some smashed remaining of his eyes, and some burnings as Shingi had to do it to prevent infection.


    "You you are blind? But how? You walked like a normal individual, and your work was too detailed for a blind man." [King''s Guard #2]


    "You should remember your lessons, young recruit. Never underestimate someone. Always pay attention to the details. He almost had tripped at that stone over there on his way to the gate while walking towards us." [King''s Guard #1]


    It impressed Shingi that the Guard noticed it as thest stone that almost made him fall was quite far from the gate and should be barely visible from there. Also, his response to rebnce himself was quick enough that one normally couldn''t tell what just happened.


    But the senses of an experienced guard like that were even better than Shingi''s and maybe even better than Ameanum''s <strong>EAGLE EYE</strong>''s.


    Shingi put on his sses once more since having them exposed, even if it didn''t bring him pain, it resulted in some annoyance.


    Soon the guard sen to the mayor''s office returned and brought Karemon, who let them know that Shingi was actually the one he said he was.


    Some yers in the crowd overheard the reason Karemon was here and him mentioning Shingi''s name and that this boy was that person. Shingi could feel the attention of those yersattention be drawnpletely to him. It seemed his reputation had increased while he was away.


    The guards gave him a pass that he could use to go through the gate with no need for inspection like that. But this was a special pass that was given only to a few individuals that wouldn''t give it to others or lose it.


    There were records of the individuals who had those passed, and the two Guards had all of them memorized. Those two were in charge of the gate all day, apparently.


    He walked with Karemon towards the shop and had some small talk with him on the way there.


    They reached the shop, which was as busy as ever, and Karemon had to leave to return to the Mayor''s office as things there had also gotten busy. yers started wanting to build their personal house into the town, and they had to expand to fit everyone who could afford it.


    It seemed like Carda was developing in turning into arge town itself.

 Chapter 199: Catching up

    Chapter 199: Catching up


    Fortunately for Shingi, his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> was detecting an aura that only the Blessed Ones had, that allowed him to not stumble upon them. Unfortunately, this wasn''t the case for NPCs, and unless they had a mana pool or wore some enchanted equipment, he couldn''t detect them with that Skill.


    But his <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> and his other senses covered that disadvantage, but he still moved slower than normal and more carefully. But still, one wouldn''t notice unless paid too much attention to him.


    Shingi headed to the door of the forge room, and he noticed in front of it to be someone with Enchanted equipment, but definitely not a King''s Guard. It should be the same person asst time, only this time he had better equipment to make sure no disruption happened.


    Shingi could tell that those items were the works of Volig, even if he couldn''t see them, but he had examined them many times, and even without using his eyes, he could tell. This was the authentic experience a craftsman had to have to be one of true skill, and even if he didn''t have a craft rte profession, his mindset and proficiency on those subjects were up there.


    The guard noticed Shingi and made way for him to pass, and even opened the door for him, which Shingi was thankful for as it would be awkward having a problem opening a door because of his current situation.


    Getting in the room, he detected Volig since he had his innate Earth Mana Pool as a Half Stone Giant, working hard as ever. But, as always, Volig didn''t seem to have noticed Shingi entering since he was too focused on the tasks at hand.


    "Who are you? Why were you left in?" [???]


    It was a female''s voice that Shingi didn''t recognize, and she seemed to be close to the forge next to Volig. Shingi couldn''t detect her with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, meaning she wasn''t a Blessed One or had any mana of her own.


    "Hmm why did you stop hammering Ketnas?. oh, Shingi. You are back?" [Volig]


    It seemed that the Volig had a new assistant, which was something that Shingi hadn''t heard about. He had told Karemon and Garry to find one, but Volig didn''t want to work with just anyone.


    There were a few auditions that none actually worked with Volig, and he just let them show him what they could do.


    What surprised him was the Ketnas was a Dwarvish name, and he heard a bit of ent in her voice that one would have. But Volig never worked or agreed to work with a Dwarf because of his history of being exiled by his n. He didn''t hate all Dwarves, but he never trusted them with his work.


    "It is good seeing you once more, my friend. With you here, we can end everything in no time and catch up. Ready for showing the newbie how things are done?" [Volig]


    Shingi could tell that there was more to the story of how Ketnas came to be a helper here, and Volig''sst sentence added to it.


    Shingi would be d to help around in any other situation, as it would put out some of his stress too, but he would be more of a burden now.


    "I would be d to, but can''t help you currently, my friend." [Shingi]


    He removed his sses, and he had heard gasps from both individuals in the room other than him. He didn''t know how bad it looked, but he was certain that his almost empty eyeholes weren''t a pretty sight.


    He wanted to fix himself as soon as possible, but to tell the truth, he wasn''tpletely confident that he could do it even with Spirit Magic. He hadn''t had time to test the limit of its healing effects, and he wasn''t certain if it could be used to regrow parts of him like that.


    As for normal healing magic, but it needed multiple people to work together and many precious materials to be used. Even with Master Jax''s help, he didn''t know if he could make it, as Master Jax couldn''t just use all his resources for one man without drawing the attention of others.


    Shingi put his sses back, and he told Volig to continue his work and help with simple things. Or at least simple for Shingi.


    He kept using one of his <strong>MANA HANDS</strong> to use the Mana Blower while using others to keep different materials and using his Light Mana to purify them. All he didn''t help with was actually helping to shape the materials, but he saved them lots of time even with his help to prepare them. Of course, one couldn''t purify the materials and use themter, as some of the Light Element was still in it and helped in its final shaping, but it didn''t stay there forever.


    He could sense these actions impressed the helper, as he could feel her eyes on him multiple times. But he didn''t mind or said anything as far as she didn''t mess with their work.


    She actually seemed to know what she was doing but her movement to a degree, but she was still far from reaching Volig''s level. Shingi could tell that she probably was a Base Rank SMITH, but if she continued working with Volig, she had a significant chance to reach Master Rank.


    As for her bing a <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong>, that was another story. Shingi was certain that she wasn''t a <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong> already, as she didn''t seem to be that experienced yet. However, he recognized that many of her techniques were like Volig''s, meaning that she was more under his tutorage than anyone else. That or she understood how skills worked quickly by just watching others using them. Either way, it seemed like Volig had truly approved of her, and Shingi couldn''t wait to hear the reason.


    They had quite a few orders to finish, either some of the special ones or just making some stock for some that they were getting low with.


    When they were finished, it was a few hours before dinnertime, and after they got everything to where they needed to be, they went out of the shop. Then, they headed for the nearest tavern to have some drinks, as nobody was in the mood of cooking.


    Greg also joined them as he was happy seeing Shingi once more, but not so happy after Shingi showed him his current situation.


    Shingi was currently wearing a mask that almost covered his entire face, except his mouth and chin, and had simr dark lenses on the opening for the eyes. It normally would be weird for one to wear a mask like that, but many yers used to wear something like that, and Shingi''s rest of attirement looked more of a yer than of an NPC.


    Getting to the tavern, Volig paid for a private room for them to have their food and drinks and so the four of them could have their privacy and discuss things better.


    "So, do you mind introducing your new apprentice, Volig?" [Shingi]


    At that moment, Shingi could hear the heartbeat of Volig changing as he seemed to be embarrassed about the reason things were like that.


    "I am his daughter." [Ketnas]


    Shingi never expected this answer. Of course, Volig was never married, but it wasn''t like he never was in a romantic rtionship with others, but it rarelysted for long.


    As for having children, he never had heard him mentioning one staying pregnant, at least as far as he knew.


    But then a realization came into his mind. She knew Volig was Varric since he couldn''t have a daughter that old at his current form.


    "It is true what she says. I have made certain to find out the truth, and she is who she says she is." [Volig]


    Shingi didn''t know what exactly he had done to find out the truth, but he trusted Volig.


    "How did you get here? And how do you know who he was?" [Shingi]


    Shing heard her leaving something on the table, which didn''t seem to be too heavy, and he felt could sense some mana getting out of runes carved on it.


    "My mother gave this to me a little before she died. She said it would lead to my father. I didn''t expect to lead me to a Half-Giant, and I thought this thing was broken. Fortunately, dad could tell how it worked and exined to me that he was the one I looked for." [Ketnas]


    Shingi had heard of items like that, but for them to work, they needed something that belonged to the one they tried to locate, and he had to have a special connection with that item.


    Volig didn''t have the skill to appraise runes, but he had knowledge over many of them and could examine them like he had the skill.


    "It is good meeting you then, Ketnas. I know your father isn''t like how you pictured him, but he will teach you many things. Wee to the team." [Shingi]


    They had some more small talk, and then Shingi started telling his story and his adventures on the Tower.


    He didn''t go over everything in detail and didn''t tell about anything about the Spirit Element, as he thought it would be better few people know about it yet.


    He mentioned Syra, though, and what had happened to Annoue. He also mentioned what he learned about Mikhail''s ns and him considering Enerias World an enemy.


    He finished his story with the maze and how he woke up to Zhen''s dungeon.


    They had a lot of drinks before he could finish telling everything.

 Chapter 200: Family reunion

    Chapter 200: Family reunion


    The stories about the Tower impressed Ketnas and Greg, as they never had the chance of meeting one who had recently gone there or anyone who would tell how being in the Tower was like. So instead, Shingi used his <strong>MINOR ILLUSION</strong> or sometimes his <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> to present the different creatures they faced, and since he made them with mana, he could shape them in great detail.


    But the stories ended, and awkward silence, except for some background noise outside, existed in the room.


    Everyone felt bad about Shingi''s situation, and especially Volig, as he knew what the cost would be to have a chance to heal these wounds. But he was also confident that if a person could do it, that was Shingi.


    "Come on, let''s not let the mood go downhills. I am still alive and able to fight. You don''t need to worry, and I have a n as always." [Shingi]


    He had a few ideas to try, but there was no certainty of any to work.


    He had thought of calling Ae to send Nalrin, but even he wouldn''t be able to heal those wounds. Soren wasn''t much on using healing magic so that he wouldn''t be helpful, either.


    The only other people that could have a chance to help him would be Varan or Beliss. But, unfortunately, both of them were hard to find andmunicate with.


    He could try to use Spirit Magic to heal his eyes slowly, but he didn''t know how long and if that would work. He really needed tomunicate with Syra, but he couldn''t use the chat System as he wasn''t part of their party anymore.


    The only way to speak with them would be through the Blue Moon Guild, as most of his students were part of it, and they could at any time get a message from their Leader, meaning Marcy.


    He had to tell them to keep going until the next ruin city and wait for him there, and they should try to help Dark Shadow level up but not get any risks. He had already discussed a few of the floors toe with them, but he needed to give them more tips, and also, he was making adjustments to his n, depending on how much the floor had changed.


    They shouldn''t have any problem reaching the next city unless they encountered a powerful Evolved monster or many high-level Dark Guild Members. He had told Karemon to speak with Marcy about his arrival and let his party know about it, so he didn''t have to worry about it for now.


    As for talking with Syra, that was the hard part, as he didn''t want others to know about the Spirit Element. But he couldn''t speak with her in person, but only through someone else.


    He had to try what he could on his own, and if he didn''t have any other option, he would try to get in touch with her.


    After having some more small talk and catching up and getting to know a little more about Ketna, Shingi left for his house, which he hadn''t visited for a long time. Volig wanted to get with him to help him, but Shingi told him that he would be fine and he should get some rest himself.


    He reached the door, and he was ready to open it, it actually opened by a person who was in the house.


    "You are finally back, son." [Garry]


    Shingi recognized the voice, but for the first time, he noticed something he hadn''t before. Garry had a Mana Pool, and it seemed to be of Earth, Fire, and Water Element.


    Shingi had checked Garry multiple times in the past, and he had no sign of producing any mana or having a Mana Pool. However, he remembered the mysterious Earth Mana dust he had encountered in the shop and always wondered how it came to be.


    "Come, let''s talk. I am certain we both have tales to share." [Garry]


    Shingi was curious about what Garry was doing all this time, but he had no time to research it.


    They went to the kitchen and sat at the table. Shingi could detect an empty bowl on the table, still somewhat warm, and could smell some of its soup remains on it. It seemed Garry had his dinner recently.


    Shingi took a seat, as also Garry.


    "What''s with the mask? If Karemon didn''t tell me you got the clothes left by your mother, I wouldn''t know it was you." [Garry]


    ''<em>So she left them. I should have expected that.''</em> [Shingi]


    Shingi always wondered how Karemon came to possess those and why he gave them to him, but it seemed that it was another gift from his mother.


    "I have my reasons for the mask. I will exin, but it should remain where it is." [Shingi]


    "I guess it is fine. I heard you visited my big brother. How is he holding?" [Garry]


    "Harbin was pretty wellst time we met. He and his family seem to have a happy life there. He told me about us and our eyes, by the way." [Shingi]


    Shingi held a little chuckleing from Garry as he finished his sentence.


    "I guess he told you more than just our abilities. He told you about Angel, didn''t he?" [Garry]


    Shingi told him about his meeting with Harbin and what he learned about his eyes.


    "How interesting. I was never much about that ability of ours. It helped me in the past, but I haven''t used them for a long time."[Garry]


    "Do you know of someone named Mikhail?" [Shingi]


    Shingi thought of trying his luck, and he noticed a change in Garry''s heartbeat, showing that the name wasn''t unfamiliar to him.


    "I where did you learn this name?" [Garry]


    "It is a long story. But he has to do with the kidnapping of Annoue." [Shingi]


    "That can''t be true. He promised he wouldn''t mess with us." [Garry]


    This confused Shingi, but he actually was close to a breakthrough.


    "Who is he? Is he one of us?" [Shingi]


    Shingi could feel Garry''s reluctance and him thinking of his next words.


    "<em>*sigh*</em> I guess there is no other way but to tell you everything." [Garry]


    Garry took a bottle he had nearby that Shingi could smell having booze in it and not one of high quality.


    "If you want to clear your mind, this should help more." [Shingi]


    He brought out some of his special wine that wasn''t too strong but was perfect for calming the nerves.


    Garry inspected it and took a sip. His surprise was clear even for blind Shingi.


    "How did you get that? This costs a fortune. Does the shop go that well?" [Garry]


    Shingi just smiled at him. It seemed that Garry hadn''t been here for long to investigate all the changes.


    "Well, there is only one person who I know going by the name of Mikhail, and I doubt he would allow anyone else to use it. He isn''t one of us, but his origin is ancient and is connected with our people. I have never met him in person, but I have heard stories about him, and my father warned me that if I ever met him to either do everything I could to help him or stay out of his way. There are stories that he had lived longer than any human is supposed to live, longer than ever the oldest Elf, but nobody knows how he keeps himself alive." [Garry]


    He took another sip of Shingi''s drink before continuing his story.


    "Even if I have never met him, in my travels, I had heard rumors of a man fitting his description. Each story had one simrity, it involved many people dying. Sometimes it was an entire vige, but never anything bigger, probably because it would draw too much attention. Although I don''t know if he would have any problem even facing the King''s Guards, it probably would just be a waste of time for him. He seems to be some kind of researcher, but I never learned what he tried to find the answer for. But my father told me something while on his deathbed. ''War ising. Mikhail is our only hope or our doom. We need to lead him to the right way.''" [Garry]


    Garry got a bigger sip this time, and Shingi could understand that he had almost gotten into a drunken state with the few drinks he already had.


    "I I hadn''t found a way to speak with him before but I had some years ago. I had talked through a messenger only, but It was clear that the messenger had someone powerful as his master. I had tried to help him, as he had asked me to craft a few things for him, but nothing tooplicated or powerful. But they seemed to be just parts of something bigger. After you were born, though, I cut any ties with him until not long after you woke up, the messenger returned. So I had to got visit one of his masterckeys. I can''t say much about what I created for them, as I am uncertain of that myself. Followed a blueprint of theirs, and afterward, they erased any memories of it from my mind." [Garry]


    <em>''Mind erasing abilities? That is rare.''</em> [Shingi]


    Mind control wasn''t too rare as an ability, but notmon either, but one to erase memories wasn''t something many had. Even the memory eater Slimes'' ability wasn''tpletely mine erasing, as the memories were still there, just it was harder for one to ess them. Truly mind erasing abilities just made those memories disappear, like his<strong> MIND WIPE</strong>.


    Shingi shared with Garry what he knew about Annoue and Mikhail. He even mentioned An and finished talking about Nivlek and their encounter.


    "She she is alive?" [Garry]

 Chapter 201: Real talk

    Chapter 201: Real talk


    "I am still uncertain if she is who she says to be. Her ss is different from what it should be, but her voice is the same." [Shingi]


    Garry nodded but then looked towards Shingi with a surprised look. Finally, Shingi got used enough to use his senses to read the state someone was in.


    "How could you know what her voice sounds like?" [Garry]


    Shingi brought out of his Spatial Ring the music box that a had gifted them with the recording of their mother singing. He could tell that Garry recognized it.


    "I didn''t think I would ever see it again? Where did you find it?" [Garry]


    "a gifted it to Annoue on her birthday." [Shingi]


    Garry got another big sip, and it was clear that he was trying to make himself so drunk to pass out.


    "You sold it, didn''t you?" [Shingi]


    "It is none of your business, boy." [Garry]


    Shingi stood up and hit the table with both of his hands. He used <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> to make himself look like Mikhail. He even used some Dark ELement from a Mana Gem, which he stealthily summoned from his Spatial Ring, to make it sound more like Mikhail''s.


    His result wasn''tpletely urate, but for someone who hadn''t ever met Mikhail or had only known him through descriptions, it was close enough.


    "I am nor the boy in this situation. I have more power and knowledge than you have gathered in your entire life. I have faced dangers, of whom you have heard tales of only. I am not one to mess with and will never be. <strong>DO YOU UNDERSTAND</strong>?" [Shingi]


    For the first time, after a long time, Shingi cast his FEAR Spell.


    It was useful if they wanted to weaken powerful enemies with a weak mind, as the Spell would make them run away or be less effective in fighting.


    He got frustrated and used it because he could tell that even if Garry told him many things, he was hiding even more. Shingi knew that the best way to hide the truth was telling only part of it. He couldn''t use his eyes, so this was the only way he could think to get the full truth out of him.


    He didn''t use the Spell in full power as it could make him pass out or run away, and he wasn''t physically strong enough to hold him in ce. Shingi could hear Garry''s heartbeat going faster as fear spread and took over him.


    "Now, you better tell me the whole truth <strong>BOY</strong>." [Shingi]


    Shingi heard him swallowing some of his salivae, as it seemed that his attempt had worked.


    Garry told him everything he knew, and his story seemed tost longer than he thought. The part about having never met Mikhail was true, but he hadmunicated with him a few times through magical means, and not only one of his messengers.


    But still, the voice through those means didn''t help get a grasp of the person''s image the voice belonged to.


    He had worked for him for a long time and had even been to his headquarters a few times. One of his minions had teleported him in there and out of there, so he didn''t know where exactly it was. He had actually helped to make that door Shingi had seen, and he was certain that it had something to do with Annoue''s disappearance since Syra had mentioned a simr one brought her here.


    He tried to find Mikhail when he was at his Headquarters, but it seemed like the man didn''t want to show up.


    He had helped him with other projects, but only partially and not enough to know what the final result could be.


    He could tell that he worked on different things, and he really was preparing for something big. Garry thought his father told him the truth was near, and only Mikhail could do something about it. He had to make sure that Mikhail would help them and not doomed them; that''s why he helped him as much as he could.


    Even his wife, Angel Feather, didn''t know about Mikhail, as he wanted to keep a distance between the two if something went wrong. His wife was a Blessed One, meaning she couldn''t stay dead. But he didn''t want to see if Mikhail would find a way around it.


    After Shingi was born and his wife started bing more distant, his alcohol-seeking way starting appearing, and after his wife sent the note that she wouldn''t return, he was at the point of selling things.


    The only thing that he couldn''t sell was the shop, and that was because a didn''t let him do it. She preferred for it to stay close forever than to be sold to someone else. She had tried to help him stand on his feet many times, but he was never willing to.


    Then, after Mikhail''s messenger started appearing once more, he denied working for him again. But then, one day, Mikhail himselfmunicated with him, but this time it wasn''t a mental message of his voice.


    It was actually an Illusion of an event that could happenthe death of his children and everyone in the vige.


    He wasn''t the best father, especially after his wife left him, but that didn''t mean he didn''t love them. As for the vige, he was close mostly with a and Karemon, who had a close rtionship with his wife, even if he had stayed far from them all those years.


    He couldn''t let them get hurt, and he remembered thest words of his father. He had to make certain Mikhail wouldn''t be their doom.


    They never got him at his Headquarters and just kept moving in different forges and making more things about him, but this time after ending each of them, his crafting memories got erased. He remembered being asked to craft something, but the moment they gave the blueprint to him and crafting it was something he couldn''t remember anymore no matter how much he focused.


    He didn''t know that Mikhail was the one behind the kidnapping as Shingi didn''t give that good description of him or mentioned the name back then. But deep inside him, Garry knew he was the one behind it; that''s why he left once more.


    He tried tomunicate with him, but everything led to a dead-end no matter where he went or what he tried.


    He started hearing rumors about what was happening back to Carda, about his son, and how a new Grandmaster cksmith appeared to be part of it. One that L''liw himself approved, and he also made a de for Ae.


    Garry didn''t know if he should return, as it seemed his son was doing fine without him around.


    But then, one day, he found something. There was an old document, written in anguage he didn''t recognize, but he recognized one symbol it had on the cover. It was an M, and he had seen the same one as a burnmark at the necks of the ones that worked for Mikhail, even if some tried to hide it.


    The document was actually for sale in an antique shop and was quite expensive as nobody could read it and so was rumored to have secrets from the Ancient Times.


    Garry didn''t have any money to buy it, so he had acquired it through other means.


    One would expect him to have a Warrior ss, but he actually was a Rogue. Even after all those years of doing nothing but drinking, he had a well-trained body, but some things were hard to forget.


    He finally found out that this was the Old Runic Language, which a <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong> would use to make a Rune, but he didn''t have the skill to read them. So he returned to find the only person he knew that might have a chance to read it; Karemon.


    Garry knew Karemon was mainly focusing on Enchantments, but he didn''t have any other options or anyone else he could trust. Even if Enchantments and Runes worked differently, an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> always tried to study Runes that could help them improve his Enchantments if they never became a <strong>RUNEMASTER</strong>.


    He had arrived just a few days ago, and he had only met Karemon and gave him the book, while the rest of his days, he stayed home putting his thoughts together. He had Karemon telling him what happened to Shingi but didn''t ask for the shop as he didn''t care about it anymore.


    Garry had decided that the shop was in the right hands and didn''t want to have anything to do with it anymore.


    Then it was when Shingi arrived.


    Shingi also asked him why he had a Mana Pool now, and Garry told him he always had one, but he had it sealed a long time ago until recently had it unsealed. So there were some leaks of mana now and then, which was why the Earth mana dust Shingi had found in the past.


    Garry had calmed down, as the <strong>FEAR</strong> Spell didn''tst forever, and he didn''t seem to be angry with his son but felt relieved instead.


    "Since you have revealed everything, I should too." [Shingi]


    Shingi removed his mask and heard the bottle Garry still held, leaving his grasp and hitting the floor. Fortunately, the bottle didn''t break as it wasn''t made of ss, so the drink in it wasn''tpletely wasted.


    Shingi told him about the maze and how he came to be in this state. However, he didn''t tell him anything about the Tower or what he had found about Mikhail. He still didn''t trust him fully, even if he understood he didn''t want to harm him but to protect him and Annoue.


    But if he was here when Mikhail got Annoue, things could be different. Or maybe it was part of the n of Mikhail for Garry not to be around back then.


    "What what are you going to do now? You can''t get back Annoue from him, especially now." [Garry]


    "Will take a nap." [Shingi]


    Shingi smiled at him, stood up, and went towards his room, saying nothing else. And taking a nap was really what he was going to do for now. He had been through a lot in such a short time and needed time to rest in somewhere decent, even if his bed wasn''t the best.


    He had to get a more confortable one at some point.

 Chapter 202: Heading to the Guild

    Chapter 202: Heading to the Guild


    His <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> and <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> were still not avable. Same with his Spectator Mode, which he doubted the reason would be for Little Phoenix to be offline.


    Since he could use all of those in the past, that meant that his damaged eyes were the reason they weren''t avable. So he wondered what else could be the reason for damaging his eyes.


    He focused on forcing on entering the <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> or starting his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong>, but he was unsessful for both. But he felled resistance that prevented him from using them, and not that they weren''t avable at all. This meant that he could reess them; he just had to find the right way and pull the right amount of <em>''force.''</em>


    He got a few hours of normal rest but first cleaned his wounds and changed some bandages he had used. He always had medical supplies, even simple ones, for these kinds of situations. He also drank another <em>HP Regeneration Potion</em>, even if his HP was full, as it would help to close some of his wounds fully.


    He didn''t have any dreams and was back in the darkroom, which normally would terrify him, but he weed this change. He started mentally training himself, simr to how he would be in the <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong>, but the effects were nowhere close. It was mostly to test himself.


    The difference between his <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> and the darkroom was that he could use no skills or spells in the darkroom, but he could do mental training that wouldn''t cause an actual change unless he spent days in the darkroom there. Even then, the change would be just barely noticeable.


    Also, since it was fully mental training, the limits were the ones on his mind which could differ from the actual ones, making the training even less beneficial unless he had a perfect understanding of his current limits.


    He woke up after a few hours, and when he got out of his room, he noticed Garry was still in the kitchen.


    "Morning." [Shingi]


    "morning. Did you have a pleasant sleep?" [Garry]


    Shingi summoned some bread and meat he had gotten from the giants, and he had stored in his ring and threw some at Garry. He didn''t know exactly what time it was, but from the noices, he could hear from outside, it seemed like it was not too early in the morning. He had slept for more than he wanted, but his body felt better. His eyes hadn''t improved at all, though.


    "Son as for yesterday I I want to say that I understand your reasons for doing what you did. I just hope you can trust me and understand that we can''t face him with just us or even those friends of yours. Even everyone in the town currently may not be able to go against him. We need to" [Garry]


    "We will decode the book first." [Shingi]


    Shingi knew what Garry thought, and even if he hadn''t seen the book for himself, it would be worth the time spent investigating it if it really had something to do with Mikhail.


    "You said that it should be written in the Old Runic Language. Right?" [Shingi]


    ". Yes" [Garry]


    As Garry nodded to show that he was right, there was a dy, but then he remembered that Shingi couldn''t see.


    "I know a person who can help us. But first, I want your help with something." [Shingi]


    "Of course I will help you. What is it?" [Garry]


    Shingi had given a thought about his situation and how he could improve his situation, and he hade up with a n.


    "I need one of your eyes." [Shingi]


    The surprise of Garry was clear to Shingi to detect, but it wasn''t as bad as he thought it would be.


    "Ok. Do you think you can use it to rece one of your lost ones? I can use you both if so." [Garry]


    The response surprised Shingi, as he had felt no signs of fatherly affection from Garry until now. Then, of course, there were the moments back in the forge that he could see the pride at his eyes, for his son''s talent in the ways of crafting, but nothing else.


    "Just one will be enough. But we will need to prepare and test some things first. Also, it won''t be helpful for you to go fully blind. There are still things you can help with." [Shingi]


    Shingi told him to get the book, and gave him directions to Zhen''sb, and taught him the secret knock for one of the Oozes to open the secret door for him.


    As for him, he headed for the Blue Moon Guild''s Headquarters, as he wanted to learn firsthand how far they had progressed. He also wanted Marcy to send some messages to his students, as she was their Guild Leader, and she could message him from almost anywhere. The exceptions were too few, and the Tower wasn''t one of them, fortunately.


    He changed his equipment to have normal clothes, and he had a hood up to keep his face and mask hidden and not draw too much attention.


    The least that he wanted to deal with now were Blessed Ones that wanted to befriend him. The demonstration of his magic at the King''s Guards had drawn some attention, and he was certain that they would soon understand who he really was since he entered the forge, and he was seen getting in the tavern with Volig and everyone else.


    He reached the Guild, which was near the Shop but was at the other side from the one leading towards the gates. He heard people shouting all together as they were training a set of moves, step by step.


    Shingi heard the familiar voice of Ragnarock shouting, and most of the time, insulting someone.


    It seemed like Ragnarock wasn''t the main tutor, as his style of fighting didn''t use any set of moves, just purely charging and shing. Instead, his reason for being there was to distract the students or try to, as they had to learn not to let anyone distract them and focus on the task at hand.


    Shingi detected Soryn being nearby, and the only reason he detected him was that he was meditating. When Soryn meditated, he was manipting some Air mana to spin around him.


    Shingi headed in as he showed a Guild pass to the Blessed Ones that were acting as guards. They let him pass, asking no questions because his pass was golden, meaning he was one of the high-ranked members, even if he didn''t look like that with his current equipment.


    As he got in, he focused on trying to find the aura of Marcy. He had memorized the Blessed Aura of every yer he worked with. He had noticed some differences between them but didn''t know the reason behind those changes.


    His <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> had regained some power after his rest, but it still was some way to reach the power it had before, even during the weakened state of his. However, since his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> had reced his missing sense of sight, he had noticed a few details he hadn''t noticed before and lead to his skill to regain some of its power and even learn more from it.


    If he kept progressing like that, his Skill could be at the top of the Master Rank if he healed his Minor Spirit Madness and exited his Weakened State. He may even reach the Grandmaster Rank with it, although he considered the chance for that to be a quite slight one.


    He still had heard none of the Spirit voices, but all the other effects seemed to be still active.


    He detected Marcy, and she was actually where the board with Quests assigned from the Guild for his members should be. Marcy was there to keep a record of what quests they took and who took each quest.


    Shingi walked towards her but didn''t try to draw her attention yet, as she was busy. But she noticed him and actually ran towards him.


    She opened her arms and hugged him while Shingi could do nothing about it. His reading of the movement of others stillcked, especially if they moved too fast so he could avoid her.


    Shingi could feel the awkwardness in the environment as nobody was speaking, and he could tell that everyone was looking towards him and Marcy.


    "You stupid, stupid boy. Have you lost your mind?" [Marcy]


    Shingi didn''t expect a response like that, as he wasn''t that close with Marcy. He had helped her a lot and yed arge part in the Guild''s sess, but this didn''t create any bond justifying this reaction.


    <em>''Could it be that she''</em> [Shingi]


    Shingi could think of only one reason that someone would react like that. Marcy wanted to be closer to him than he thought.


    "Do you know in how much trouble I would be if you died? You still haven''t reported to us about the way of reaching the next Guild Level. We reached the maximum capacity a week ago, and you have ignored all my messages on how we should move. So where is the Quest?" [Marcy]


    And it seemed like the case wasn''t like he thought it would be. It seemed like she just was worried about her Guild not growing in power.


    He had noticed in the past that Marcy enjoyed more than normal being the Guild Leader, but Shingi didn''t realize how much she liked it till now.


    Could that be a bad choice or the greatest choice he had ever made? He was still uncertain about that.

 Chapter 203: Guild Levels

    Chapter 203: Guild Levels


    Shingi and Marcy moved to her office to continue their discussion, but not before she shouted to everyone staring at them to go back to work.


    Her office was still simple, and it didn''t seem like she used any of the resources of the Guild for personal reasons.


    "What''s with the mask and the clothes? I wouldn''t know it was you if the recruitment wasn''t still active." [Marcy]


    The Guild recruited Shingi, as it was one requirement for it to grow to have at least a certain amount of NPCs recruited. He got some benefits when he was recruited to join the party by others of the Guild, which had helped at his level up quite a lot. The higher the level of the Guild, the biggest the benefits, and it was currently at level 10.


    But other than the benefits, there were some ''disadvantages,'' like he couldn''t hide from the Guild Leader, meaning Marcy, as his name would show up over his head for her only to see.


    Guilds also had Grades, and passing level 10 was important as it would raise its Grade from Low to Base. But it also made gaining that level trickier than the rest before it.


    Shingi was aware of how to raise the level of the Guild, as all the top Guilds were Base Grade, and none had reached Master Grade, at least to his knowledge. To reach level 10, the Guild Leader needed to use a special crystal found only in the Tower and do a special ritual at the altar of their Headquarters.


    There were many unique Headquarters designs to be used, and the Guild Leader could adjust them to their styles, but there were a few things that couldn''t be removed, like the altar.


    The altar was for worshiping Matriach of Heaven, who was actually one of the New Gods, meaning one of the game''s admins. His identity outside Enerias Tower was actually the owner of the Enerias World gamepany. Many protested against him having such a significant role in the game, but in the end, they stepped aside.


    He was the only one who had a role that affected the game''s progress, as all the other New Gods were just there to make sure nobody crossed any lines.


    For a Guild to level up, they needed to make some sacrifices to the Altar, but most of the time were using precious materials or rare beats.


    This time, they had to sacrifice people.


    Of course, in the case of Blessed Ones, it wasn''t a total sacrifice, as all they gave, in the end, was just experience. Although, of course, they would need quite an enormous sum of experience, and some of it could be NPCs, but they would need to die, and they wouldn''t return even with the use of revival magic.


    If a Guild used NPCs as sacrifices, its Guild would be considered corrupted. This would give some extra benefits and some disadvantages as the not being weed in any town of humans. Depending on how corrupted it would get, the Kingdom may even put a bounty on everyone in the Guild and keep hunting them even after leaving the Guild.


    Shingi just removed the mask and let his current appearance exin the reason he wore one.


    As with the others, the usual gasp left the mouth of Marcy, and before she could ask, Shingi started telling her what had happened. Shingi''s students had informed her about his disappearance and the maze. Or at least the part they knew for as long as they were with him.


    Marcy scolded him for putting himself in such danger without thinking about the consequences, which Shingi now knew that she meant that the Guild would have trouble level up.


    He exined what the Guild needed to do to level up, and Marcy seemed disturbed about it. It was another information that those ''powerful'' Guilds kept for themselves.


    She didn''t like what they needed to do, and she never thought of using NPCs. Even if she was strict with her Guild members, she considered none of them disposable pawns for her needs or the Guilds.


    "There is another way so that we get at Base Grade, but it will have its dangers." [Shingi]


    Marcy was curious about what Shingi considered a dangerous path, as he had made so many enemies in the not-so-far past and didn''t seem to have thought anything about it.


    "When a Guild reaches the number of sacrifices, it formed a crystal that gives a Blessing to the Guild, as long as it remains nearby the altar. But the crystals aren''t bonded with the altars that they got created at, meaning we can steal one." [Shingi]


    Marcy now understood why he said there would be dangeous, as this meant stealing from one of the powerful Guilds. They would normally go for Broken Tower as their rtionship was bad already, but even if they were powerful, they hadn''t reached Base Grade yet.


    Marcy was familiar with some Base Grade Guilds with their Headquarters, but they have monster powerful yers. They had Shingi back, but she didn''t think that it would make that much of a difference in his current state.


    "So, how much experience are we going to need?" [Marcy]


    Shingi put his right hand at his chin as he started making some calctions. He had spent much time examining the auras of his students and especially the difference when they leveled up, so he was confident that he could tell the level of anyone under level 60 with a small margin for error.


    "From what I had seen, unless you hide someone that had Evolved his ss that I am not aware of, all our members would need to give 40 levels each. Even then, it may not be enough." [Shingi]


    The amount was enormous. It was even more than what he had to gather for himself to reach level 60 from level 1. If one was of an Evolved ss, his exps would have counted as ten times of the ones with a non-Evolved ss. Price and the rest of his students were actually the only ones with an Evolved ss in the Guild. But he couldn''t tell them to get back for that.


    Many Guild members weren''t even above level 40, so they couldn''t reach the requirement at once and had to make periodic sacrifices. But if a period passed without a certain amount of experiences to be sacrificed, the amount would reset. Also, there was a time limit of a week since the first sacrifice to finish the ritual or again it would reset.


    Without having an enormous amount of people with Evolved sses, reaching the Base Grade was impossible, as the yer sacrifices had to be of a member of the Guild, and a Guild could have a specific amount of members depending on its level.


    "So what do we do? We can''t fight any of those monsters. It is a suicide. Even using Volig''s reputation of being protected by Ae wouldn''t help us." [Marcy]


    Shingi just smiled at her.


    "I never said that we would fight them. We just need one of their crystal." [Shingi]


    "What do you mean by one?" [Marcy]


    "Haven''t you noticed those Guilds take a long time to make a new Headquarters at alternative ces? They are considering very carefully where to make their next base. Why do you think that is?" [Shingi]


    Marcy thought about it, and she had reached a realization soon enough.


    "The benefits of the crystal are only for the area at a certain range around it. That''s it, right?" [Marcy]


    Shingi nodded.


    "Exactly. Earning one crystal is to make the whole Guild considered Base Grade, but its benefits are effective only in an area of two kilometers from it. It also is active only when on an altar, and an altar can have one crystal only. If there is another, then the one with the best quality stays active. The crystal works more like a battery as the owner of the altar decides who earns the benefits and who doesn''t, even if the crystal isn''t theirs. This means that those Base Grade Guilds with multiple Headquarters should have multiple crystals, one at each headquarter. The amount of exps needed for the next crystal is lower each time but not by much, that''s why they take some time to make a new Headquarters. They just want to get the crystal up and ready as soon as the building is ready." [Shingi]


    Marcy now understood more how those big Guilds thought, and the knowledge of Shingi impressed her once more. She always wondered how he knew so many things, but she never got a straightforward answer.


    "So you want us to make a deal with one of them? But do you think that any of them would want to cooperate with us? After our <em>''disagreement''</em> with the Broken Tower, I don''t think any would like to do so, in fear for the one behind them." [Marcy]


    It was true that the big Guilds were afraid of the Dark Guild, as Shingi had heard that itpletely obliterated some for trying to go against them.


    Shingi would have to promise them some specially made equipment made from Volig, and even then, they may not ept.


    "All in good time. As always, there is a n. For now, I was hoping you could send some messages to my party. I will take care of the preparations needed for persuading those Guilds." [Shingi]


    "Guilds? But we only need one crystal, don''t we?" [Marcy]


    A smirk appeared on the face of Shingi. The only time this happened was when he was ready to exin a ridiculous n of his.


    "The crystal is just a bonus. We are aiming to form an Alliance." [Shingi]

 Chapter 204: Dealing with a woman

    Chapter 204: Dealing with a woman


    Shingi told Marcy everything he wanted to tell his students and also gave her a list of items to prepare as soon as possible. Some had to do for his n to persuade the other Guild people to join his Alliance, while others would help him in his n to heal his eyes.


    Recing one of his eyes with Garry''s had a significant chance of sess since they were blood-rted, but that didn''t mean he would get back his power of the special eyes. Most likely, he would have the same one that Garry had, but he couldn''t be certain, as he didn''t know if somethingpletely stored the power in his eyes. He had tried to look for anything close to that power in him, but he found nothing.


    Still, he couldn''t give up. Even if the benefits of his red eyes were great, especially the <strong>CHA</strong> stat, which was currently disabled, he was still powerful without it.


    He left the Headquarters and headed towards the Dungeon to meet Zhen, and Garry, who should have gotten there some time ago.


    He met the two King''s Guards on the way out, who recognized him even with the mask and his different clothes, but didn''t do it in a way to draw attention to him. It seemed that he really had made a good impression on them.


    His time to reach the dungeon got shorter than what it took him to go from the dungeon to the town, as he had gotten used to moving faster. Of course, he still couldn''t run at full speed, but he was almostfortable moving at half speed.


    He encountered some yers in the Dungeon trying to level up, but since they were quite low, he could avoid them easily, even in his current state.


    The entrance to Zhen''s Lab was void of any monsters, so not many yers were around that ce.


    Shingi did the secret knock, and the Oozes opened the door for him to enter, and when he did, they closed it again. He went down the stairs and reached theb of Zhen, where he detected three humanoid figures.


    Two of them were, of course, Zhen and Garry, while the third one Shingi recognized to be Ardent Scythe. He hadn''t spent a lot of time studying and memorizing her aura, but he could easily recognize the Runes on her Scythe. They were bright while examining them with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, and actually, their color fit the elements she currently had at her Mana Pool.


    She currently seemed to have Air and Fire, as some runes were red and some were white. The color was just visible through <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> and simr Skills as it was him detecting the mana that was the core of these runes.


    The Scythe''s runes worked a bit like the design of thetest staff of Shingi, meaning that Ardent could change them to fit her needs. Normally that would be challenging to do and impossible for someone like Ardent, who paid little attention to the details, but the Scythe was made to be adjusted to her by itself. Another special gift she got because of her background outside Enerias Tower.


    Ardent Scythe was the first to notice Shingi, and she ran, trying to hug him, but this time Shingi was on guard and ready. He sidestepped and moved quickly behind Garry, putting him as an obstacle between him and Ardent.


    "It seems that you have learned your ways of dealing with women in those past months, son. I guess your body wasn''t the only thing that grew when used that crystal of yours." [Garry]


    Garry still didn''t know that he wasn''t actually a 9-year-old or a 14-year-old as he looked, and Shingi kept it like that for now.


    "There isn''t much to learn for dealing with Ardent. What are you doing here, though? I thought Mizuneko told you it was best for you not to get back in Carda." [Shingi]


    Shingi could almost feel her piercing look, as she was still mad at him since he was openly avoiding her like that.


    "I came here for Zhen. We have a date." [Ardent Scythe]


    "We do.? I mean, yes, of course, we do. I almost forgot it with everything happening. So the person here was telling me something about this book?" [Zhen]


    Shingi didn''t need to hear their heartbeats to know that they both were lying, but he decided to y along.


    "Yes, can you read it? It is said to be in the Old Runic Language." [Shingi]


    Shingi heard pages being turned as Zhen flipped through the book.


    "I have no idea what it says." [Zhen]


    Shingi didn''t notice Zhen''s heartbeat to be acting like when he lied. Meaning what he said was the truth.


    "But you should be able to read it. Does that mean that it isn''t the Old Runic Language?" [Shingi]


    "Ye, it is. But I still have no idea what it says." [Zhen]


    That response confused Shingi, as it made little sense for Zhen not being able to read it. He had seen him make runes easily, so his understanding was above normal, meaning he should be able to decode this.


    But for some reason, it seemed like he wasn''t even trying to do so, as he gave his answer too quickly.


    "Why can''t you read it?" [Shingi]


    "I am not allowed to say." [Zhen]


    Shingi considered the possibility that they ordered him to do so or a Seal that prevented him. Both cases led to one person to possibly be behind it; Zhen''s old Master.


    He doubted the order was not to read any runes, as Shingi had seen him studying some simple ones. This meant that the ones in the book were the ones he ordered not to read. If that was really the case, his master being someone close to Mikhail, if not Mikhail himself, had an even more significant chance now.


    Shingi could try to scare him and push him, but he was certain that the way they made him follow this order would be a magical one. But, unfortunately, he wasn''t in a state to deal with something like that in his current state.


    "Do you want this decoded?" [Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi nodded towards her, and he could hear some of her heartbeat skipping.


    "I have the right tool for this job." [Ardent Scythe]


    She brought out a pair of sses, which Shingi could tell what it was, cause all over its skeleton was full of small runes.


    "This will allow anyone to read anynguage just by wearing them. However, theyst for one hour per day only. I can let you borrow them."[Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi could tell that there was a price to pay. He was familiar with those types of sses, and their limit, so he knew she didn''t try to scam them.


    "What do you want?" [Shingi]


    "Same price asst time. But this time, you will wear the pyjamas I prepared for you." [Ardent Scythe]


    It seemed that she already forgot about her ''date'' with Zhen, which Zhen also noticed and seemed to have gotten a bit annoyed about it.


    "Are those <em>''pyjamas''</em> anywhere close to what you had those Oozes wearingst time?" [Shingi]


    "No. Just normal matching pyjamas with mine. Don''t you want to look alike with your big sister?" [Ardent Scythe]


    Shingi could never get a good read on her or understand her intentions. She kept referring to herself as his big sister, but she clearly wanted more than to be his sister.


    He had little of an option, and if she tried something weird, he could always leave.


    Ardent Scythe gave the sses to Garry as she pulled Shingi by the hand toward the other ce of the secret room. It had a simple bed that was smaller than the ones they usedst time, meaning they had to be closer to each other.


    She gave him the pyjamas mentioned, and Shingi inspected them with his hands to take a general feeling of how it looked as he could see it.


    They seemed to be normal ones, and he could tell that they were high-quality ones from the feeling. So he put them on quickly, and other than them being quitefortable, he noticed nothing strange about them.


    Hey on the bed, and soon Ardent locked her arms around his right arm since he slept on the right side of the bed. Her grip was even more powerful than Annoue''s, and she was forcing him to be closer to her.


    He could feel her breath on his neck and his arm being between her well proportional chest. Some of her long hair was on his face, and she was using her free hand to y with his hair.


    Shingi hadn''t been in a situation that tense in the past, as even when Annoue had locked him in ce, he wasn''t that close to her. Ardent seemed to y with him, and it actually worked.


    Shingi could have one of the strongest wills in the world, but he was just a man in the end.


    And men are weak against women, especially beautiful ones.

 Chapter 205: Strange Visions

    Chapter 205: Strange Visions


    Shingi had lost his mind. It was like he was above clouds, falling, but not at a great speed.


    Thest thing he remembered was the lips of his and Ardent''s connecting, and then everything turned silent for a split second until he got at his current situation.


    He could see once more, and he examined himself and noticed that he didn''t have a single wound, but his body felt weird. It felt like he wasn''t made of flesh, but something else with a simr feeling but was at the same timepletely different.


    Focusing more on the moment he had with Ardent, he remembered detecting with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> some movement of Spirit Mana around them. This was the first time he had noticed any Spirit Mana outside the Tower, other than what he produced.


    The momentsted for just a split second, but since it didn''t happen that long ago with his current INT, he could y that moment in his mind repeatedly. He could see that the spirit mana surrounded his head, which should be why he was in his current state.


    This was some kind of illusion, or maybe a vision from the spirits.


    His fall speed became slower as he started seeingnd under him. It was a ce that he wasn''t familiar with, as it looked nothing like Enerias. Nevertheless, he had a weird feeling that guided him in a certain direction.


    He reached a majestic piece of architecture, not a castle, but different from a usual town. It was quite pristine, finely crafted, and there was a translucent barrier that surrounded it. He recognized part of the structures like the ones he had seen through his scry from where Annoue was, although some were a bit different, like theycked something.


    The mysterious feeling he felt seemed to get stronger outside this town, somewhere in the forest.


    He followed that feeling to reach its source, and then he heard an enormous explosion not too far from him. It didn''t take him long to reach the center of the explosion, where he saw a young man going through the debris of a building.


    He heard the man cursing and wishing he wasn''t toote. Shingi noticed that the man hadn''t noticed him, and when hended and tried to help him, his hands just moved through the pieces he tried to move.


    The man overlooked Shingi like he wasn''t there for him.


    As he focused on that man, Shingi realized something. He had never seen this man in his life, but he had heard his voice in the past.


    It was a little differentst he heard it, but he was certain that it was the same person. The voice was of Zax, the person who was training with Annoue during one of his scrys. He also noticed that his eyes were crimson, but it was lighter than his.


    After a while, a figure got retrieved from the rumbles, which seemed to be a young female. She had only one arm, but it didn''t seem like she lost it in that explosion, as there was no blood dripping from it. So this should be Alora, as Syra had mentioned to Shingi, that she had only one arm.


    Shingi had, as always, his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> active and noticed a small hole made of Spirit Mana at the center of the debris, which was getting smaller as time passed and soon disappeared.


    He could feel something wrong with the nearby environment but couldn''t exactly pinpoint what. It was like the elements were wilder and harder to control in this area.


    His sight started getting blurry and then back to normal, as his surroundings had changed.


    He seemed to be at some kind of shrine, and he could see a pair of humans being outside an outhouse. He noticed that both of them had purple eyes and that the woman finished drawing some runes on the ground.


    Soon a portal opened, and a child came out of it. This time, he couldn''t hear anything, or more specifically, everything was like whispers to him. When the child appeared, everything got blurry to see once more.


    But Shingi noticed that the runes the woman drew had some simrities to Mikhail''s ones at his special door.


    When his sight was back to normal, he noticed he couldn''t hear anything this time.


    He wasn''t on the ground but hovering over a city that was under attack by some dark creatures he had never seen in the past. The city people were fighting back, and actually, they somehowbined their Spirit Elements to create giant creatures to fight for them.


    Different peoplebining an Element like that was something that Shingi had never encountered in the past for any Element. Of course, one could give the mana to someone else to use it, but tobine it like that was somethingpletely different and more challenging.


    He noticed everyone in that crowd also had purple eyes.


    His vision became blurry once more and then got a little less blurry. Looking around, he seemed to be in a room, and soon he detected an asleep, blurry figure. Shing recognized the figure immediately, as it was that of Annoue''s.


    He even saw her special sword nearby.


    The room seemed to be quite simple and almostpletely empty. It didn''t have any windows, but some stairs were going up and some going down.


    Shingi detected some Spirit Element being focused around the head of Annoue but didn''t seem to affect her. It was just gathering there.


    Shingi moved forward and examined it, and he felt it calling him to touch it.


    He didn''t fight against it as he brought forward his hand toe in touch with the sphere of Spirit Element made around Annoue''s head.


    His sight went dark and back to normal as his surrounding had changed once more, as he could see Annoue being actually back to their hideout by herself.


    He stood next to her, but it seemed like she couldn''t see him.


    But then, as he sighed, Annoue turned towards him and looked confusingly left and right.


    "I swear I just heard someone sighing." [Annoue]


    "It is me, sis." [Shingi]


    Annoue stood up and started looking all over the ce.


    "Bother?!? Where are you? Why do you hide? Come out to y. I can barely hear you." [Annoue]


    "This is the best I can do. I don''t know how long I can stay here, but I am here to give you a message. Keep working with Alora and the Omni Mage Boy. He and the purple eyes seemed to be the answer to help you get back home. I will try to.." [Shingi]


    But before he got the chance to finish his sentence, Shingi got thrown outside of her dream.


    Everything was dark, and his lips had a familiar taste. The taste of the lips of the person he kissed before the strange vision of his.


    He could feel that more things had happened than just a kiss, and Ardent was currently resting her head over his chest while continue hugging him but not as tightly anymore. She seemed to have fallen asleep after everything that happened.


    Shingi was aware of what happened, even if most seemed to be just his body moving by itself. He didn''t think that Ardent had somehow mind-controlled him, which meant that at least subconsciously, he wanted it to happen.


    He wasn''t in love, as he knew that Ardent was just interested in him because he kept rejecting her. He didn''t n to change how he interacted with her, although it would be awkward for some time.


    He didn''t have time to work on having a love life, and he wasn''t interested in it, as it would take too much time, but this was something that he needed to do to take some of his anxiety out. He actually felt somewhat more rested but didn''t know if what he did with Ardent was the reason, the visions he just had, or both.


    He stillcked the ability to see, but since his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> Skill had regained some of its lost power, so his ''seeing'' around with it improved as well.


    He probably should rest some more, but there were things to take care of and check. He still couldn''t fully cast <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> but could turn part of his body into light, making him able to escape her grasp.


    He made certain to also gently let her head touch the mattress so that she wouldn''t wake up. Then, finally, he put a pillow for her to hug in ce of him.


    Shingi made his way outside at theb area where Zhen and Garry were.


    Garry seemed to read some pieces of paper with something that he had written, while Zhen was in the corner tinkering with some designs.


    "Oh, you are here. I thought you would sleep for the rest of the day, to tell the truth. It seemed like a wild party over there, son." [Garry]


    Shingi didn''t know what to say. He had no discussion like that ever with his father as Ameanum, so he didn''t know how to react.


    "Though I didn''t expect you to make a move like that. Although I guess she was quite a temptation. It reminded me back in the day when" [Garry]


    "Didyoufindanythigninthebook?" [Shingi]


    For the first time, Shingi felt too awkward that he spoke that fast that he didn''t take a breath before finishing his sentence.


    Garry just smiled and brought one of the pieces of paper he had left aside towards Shingi.


    "This really contains stories of Mikhail, but of others, too. Even with your girlfriend''s help, I couldn''t read it all, so we have to wait for it to recharge."[Garry]


    Shingi nodded as he started reading the piece of paper that Garry gave him. But then he noticed something that Garry had just said.


    "She she isn''t my girlfriend. This won''t happen again." [Shingi]


    Garry nodded with a stupid smile on his face. Or so Shingi imagined him, as he couldn''t really tell.


    Fortunately, the ink Garry used was magically made, still containing some mana, which was enough for his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, so that Shingi could read it with no help.


    It was a story of Mikhail and actually seemed to be the story of how he met Ianthe, Ae''s mother, and Godden of Nature.

 Chapter 206: The man and the goddess

    Chapter 206: The man and the goddess


    The story seemed to be written from the perspective of Ianthe and not Mikhail, as one would expect.


    Ianthe wasn''t a Goddess who used to be mortal and had ascended, but she existed since the beginning of time.


    She used to be traveling around the mortal realm, as it had so much to offerpared to the other realms they could visit. On one of those trips, she met a young man who changed her world.


    That man was none other than Mikhail, who was barely over his twenties then.


    She rarely interacted with mortals, and this was one of those rare cases.


    They had a great date, and he even showed her something she hadn''t encountered, like fireworks or the greatest cooked chicken she had ever tasted. He even told her stories that weren''t true, that had her fully emerge into his words.


    She liked that man and decided to sleep with him once, but little did she know how much of a blessing and a curse that would be. Mikhail knew who she was all along, and all of that seemed to be a well-organized n that even the eyes of Ianthe didn''t see through. She wasn''t the best to read people, but few should be able to lie to her without her noticing as a God.


    During their intimate time, it seemed like Mikhail had prepared some special tools that were gathering parts of the Godly powers of Ianthe. The reason she didn''t notice was that Mikhail was going rough at her, which she didn''t go against, but it seemed only a way to cover his n.


    She had to have noticed that their moment made her more restless than it should, but even Gods made mistakes like that when the heart was involved. It wasn''t like she was madly in love with him, but she considered this mortal an interestingpany to have.


    She actually kept visiting him every time she was getting in the mortal realm, failing to notice that the man was barely getting older. Most of her visits had a break of a couple of years.


    When she started thinking clearer and noticing this detail, she asked him about it. She thought that he probably wasn''tpletely human, maybe a Half-Elf, that didn''t have the usual aspects one should have.


    But the moment she got into his house, and before she could say anything, he surprised her with a kiss. One kiss led to another, and they progressed to get even more close as usual. She had forgotten at this point her doubts and just wanted to stay with him and live the moment.


    This time it took her more than the other times, and she actually needed to take a nap. When she woke up, she was alone in his room, with just a note left next to her and no sign of Mikhail.


    The letter had only one word on it; ''Goodbye.''


    She tried to look for him, but no matter what she tried or who she asked for help, there were no signs of him. It was like he had vanished into thin air.


    Soon after, she learned she was pregnant, which should be impossible. A mortal shouldn''t be able to leave a Goddess pregnant, but soon she learned why it was the case.


    She didn''t find any clues about his whereabouts, but she found about the reason she got that tired during their private moments. He had found a way to steal her Godly essence, or at least small parts of it each time.


    He hadn''t weakened her enough to be in any danger, but it seemed like the runes were affecting her during that time, she was a mortal.


    She kept the child and raised it to the best of her abilities. She didn''t know what to say about her father when little Ae asked, so he just told her she should meet him herself to learn what type of person he was.


    This was a fascinating story, which also exined why Mikhail had lived for so long, and what had happened to Dormon.


    Mikhail had stolen his essence, which led Dormon to lose his ss, but fortunately, Shingi took it and not Mikhail.


    Shingi wondered if the stolen essencested forever or was slowly burned. The story described that Mikhail was quite young, and he didn''t seem to get older, but she didn''t seem to know him for too long, maybe for a few decades. After that, he was most likely growing slower, or he had to steal the essence of others, possibly the missing viges that Garry told him about.


    If that was true, this meant that Mikhail had a limit of how much power he could use without recharge of the essence, but the limit was unknown.


    He hoped that there would be more stories like that in the book, possibly hiding more details about him.


    Shingi started reading the rest of the pieces of paper that Garry had written down, but none of them had any new information. They were stories of different people meeting a strange man, but their encounters weren''t as significant as Ianthe''s.


    Shingi wondered who could have written everything in the book. If it contained just stories of people, he could understand it, but it had a story from the perspective of a Goddess, which not anyone could learn. It could, of course, just be a false story. But Shingi couldn''t think why someone would go to such trouble to write a story like that and it to be a lie.


    He paid attention to any detail, but he found no new clues to any of the stories. They still were many others left, and actually, Garry tried to create a way to trante the runes, using the ones he had tranted and their trantion as a core.


    Still, the Old Runic Language was tricky to learn, and even Shingi couldn''t fully read it even if he could see.


    Syra told him that she was familiar with it, but she couldmunicate with her to help them without risking others learning about the book. It may not be that important in the end, but he couldn''t risk it.


    "So what do we do now, son?" [Garry]


    "Why did you suddenly decide to go with the son mention?" [Shingi]


    Normally Garry didn''t even try to talk to him, and when he was doing so, he didn''t make it clear that he was speaking to Shingi.


    "I know we don''t have the best rtionship, but I want this to change. We both have been through enough, and we will continue to go through hardships, but at least we can go through them together. As a family. That is what Angel would want." [Garry]


    Shingi didn''t respond, as he didn''t know what to say.


    "So you two are going to stay here for the entire day?" [Zhen]


    Shingi thought about it. He had nothing he wanted to do here yet, but he could use this ce to train, as it was quiet.


    "Garry, just go back home for now. Leave the book and the sses, though. I have talked with Marcy, the leader of the Blue Moon Guild, and she helps gather what we will need for the attempt to restore one of my eyes. It will take her at least two days. So for now, just rest. You are going to need all the strength at that point." [Shingi]


    Garry left, and Shingi could sense his hesitation to do so, but he didn''t know the reason or learn. He could try to ask, but he had other things to focus on for now.


    He went into his meditation state and started checking the current state that his Mana Pool and Skills were.


    He was still in the weakened state resulted from Minor Spirit Madness, even if he couldn''t hear any voices, but he had improved a bit since thest time he checked them.


    He calcted that he was a little over half to the power he was with his Mana Skill before getting into the weakened state, and that was with the disadvantages of his wounds. The biggest ones were the ones of his eyes, as the rest have healed enough not to cause a problem, but some have left some scars.


    He started focusing on each of his Elements, testing their limits leaving Spirit Element forst. It truly was way harder to use, even the one he created himself.


    He summoned Sinhunter, who worked after leaving the strange room, and see if he had any problem with his Spirit Tree. It seemed that it was truly the case, as the maniption of his Spirit Element had fallen to be close to one-tenth to what it used to be.


    The first thing Shingi did was to fill his mana storing ring with as much Spirit Element he could find and make himself. The ring would keep improving it, even if it wasing from his Mana Pool. The only difference was if it came from his Mana Pool, it would reach a greater quality faster.


    Still, he couldn''t use everything he had at Spirit Element, as his limit of Spirit Element had also gotten lower. He didn''t know what would happen if he passed that limit out there, but he didn''t want to risk anything, especially since he didn''t have the protection from his eyes.


    When he stored as much as he could in the ring, he started focusing on a different part of his training for the next few days.


    He started training in merging all his Elements without merging them in his Mana Pool.


    That would take a lot longer to use and wouldn''t be as pure as if it came from a Mana Pool designed to produce the merge version, but he decided to keep his Elements separate.


    He also wanted to start putting his Master of the Arcane II at its limit and started changing the mana of the environment or his Mana Pool from one Element to another.


    For now, he just changed them to Earth and Light, and then turning the Earth Element part to Light Element and the Light Element part to Earth Element. This is because he had those Elements the longest, so he was the most familiar with them.


    But his training didn''tst long, as a certain female Blessed One was awake.


    It seemed like she wanted to talk.

 Chapter 207: The Kicnech and training

    Chapter 207: The Kech and training


    Dark Shadow was happy.


    He learned that the person he enjoyed having around was alive. He somehowmunicated with the person with the big stick or staff as mister Sinhunter had told him to call it.


    But it seemed like he couldn''t get back to them for some time, and they would meet him at another of these rooms that they trainedst time. They had to go through many ces, or floors as the rest called them, to reach that destination, but he now had a goal to go through them.


    He also wanted to get stronger and improve to impress that person next time they meet again. He actually worked on something that could make it happen.


    He couldn''t speak to anyone other than mister Sinhunter, but he could understand them, as long as they didn''t use anyplicated words. His problem was he couldn''t produce the same variety of sounds as the rest, so he couldn''t speak back.


    But then, one day, he noticed that the air was making a sound while moving around. Although it was a certain type of sound, it seemed with some maniptions, and he could change the resulted sound. So he tried to make way for using the air to produce sounds that would be close to what he wanted to say.


    He would secretly work on this project of his, as he didn''t want the others to inform the person he wanted to surprise.


    He also continued his training to increase his power and what the person called level. He seemed to have gotten more aggressive against their foes, but in reality, it was that he was just more reckless. In the past, they guided him to what to do, even if he didn''t always follow those guides, but now he was taking all the decisions by himself.


    There were some close calls, and others had toe to his rescue, but none that really put his life in danger. Even when he was cornered, he could deal with many powerful monsters because of his innate strengths but would take more damage in progress.


    After each battle, he imagined that person scolding him about the mistakes he made, but instead of feeling sad, he was getting more determined. He had to get better by himself and make that person proud. This was his mission from now on, and one would pity anyone who got in his way.


    He couldn''t also wait for them to make a camp to rest, as he had found a new source of food.


    ___________________________________


    Shingi didn''t know what to do, as never in the past was in a situation like that.


    He had some love interests in the past, but they neversted long, as he was more focused on ying the game than his partner. So the only time they had fun together was when they were ying the game, but they got bored and mad at Ameanum for not doing anything else after some time.


    Ardent walked over and sat in front of him, and he could feel her stare piercing his body.


    "So, what do you do there?" [Ardent Scythe]


    This response surprised Shingi, as he couldn''t detect any anger in it.


    "Just testing my Skills and training. Did you have a pleasant sleep?" [Shingi]


    "Could be more pleasant if you had stayed more." [Ardent Scythe]


    She stood up with nothing else to say and walked over towards Zhen.


    "Come on. Let''s go." [Ardent Scythe]


    She clearly didn''t speak to Shingi but Zhen.


    "Go? Where?" [Zhen]


    "To our date, silly." [Ardent Scythe]


    This response confused both Shingi and Zhen. It seemed that she actually meant it when she said she would go on a date with Zhen.


    Shingi didn''t know what to think and found it suspicious and that there was something more behind this. Maybe something had happened between them while he was gone. Or Ardent was nning something.


    He put it in the back of his mind for now, as it didn''t affect him, and went back to focusing on the task at hand. He kept changing mana at both Light and Earth Element simultaneously and then changing the Eath to Light and the Light to Earth.


    He noticed that every time he changed an Element, it was harder to change it again, and he could change it at most three times currently. With each change, thepatibility of the mana was falling, and at the third one, it became pretty much unusable. He was aware of that limit and knew that the strongest recorded person with that title could make ten Element changed to an amount of mana.


    Making that many changes could be considered unthinkable for one to do, but inbat situations, change with every moment, and that type of change could be needed at any moment. So he had to decrease the change ofpatibility with each change, too.


    But also the biggest the limit, it also meant that the better his understanding over the Elements and his title''s ability.


    There were no records of any NPC reaching Master of the Arcane III, other than Soren, who had pretty much all Arcane-rted titles.


    Shingi wanted to increase the proficiency with all the Elements of his Mana Pool so that he could pass the limit of having only three active of them, not counting Spirit Element. The limit was of the System, but it didn''t say that it couldn''t change or be nullified at some point.


    He also wanted to unlock the missing Elements in his Mana Pool, but he could feel that his Mana Tree was at its limit with what he currently had. Furthermore, he could feel that the idental addition of the Air Element wasn''t so as good news for his Mana Tree as one thought.


    It had affected the bnce for the production of his mana, so he had to bnce them all once again. If he tried to add more mana elements in there, it would ruin the bnce even more and even lead his Mana Tree to explode. If a Mana Tree exploded like that, which wasn''t too umon, as there were people pushing limits they couldn''t handle, then there was also a chance of the person to die.


    If the person didn''t die, the explosion would damage his inner ce, meaning that it would damage the Skills houses and Manors and the ones for the Spells. This kind of damage would affect the power of the Skills and Spells when used.


    Shingi didn''t want to test his luck and would try to keep trying into safe areas.


    His training continued for a few hours. Zhen and Ardent had returned from their date during that time.


    It seemed like they had fun, even if they didn''t leave the dungeon as Zhen couldn''t go outside as it was still day. Shingi had wondered why Zhen didn''t like sunlight, as Oozes didn''t have any problem leaving outside, just were used to be underground. They wanted their privacy.


    Maybe wanting his privacy was also the reason Zhen didn''t leave.


    Shingi had reached his limit for the time and decided to rest for now. He didn''t n to go back to his house, as it would be a waste of moving around.


    Marcy had recruited him, and the Zhen''s Lab was within range of him not getting automatically unrecruited from being too far away. So since she had recruited him, she could send him a message to the chat if something had happened.


    He went to the only bed that existed there, and soon he cast one of his <strong>MANA DOUBLES</strong> to stop Ardent Scythe from sneakily joining him.


    He was aware of what was happening around him more than ever as his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> had improved even more. It was currently more than half its original power, meaning before he got weakened. However, this didn''t mean that losing the effect that weakened him would make his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> to be stronger, at least not by much, so he had to keep training it.


    His <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> also had increased, especially when he had to manipte Earth of Light Element.


    He had to let his mind lest a bit, and he would do the same training but this time with Air and Fire Element, as his proficiencies on those were the lowest other than the Spirit Element. He could use these two inbat the most, so he had to make himself as much used to using them as possible.


    He had to let his mind rest and not use his Mana Skills, but this didn''t mean he had to do nothing.


    He had another mental training as he still couldn''t ess his<strong> TRANCE ROOM</strong>. In that training, he had summoned his sword and started training with it.


    He was great at using the sword effectively but without a specific fighting style. He had studied a few schools of martial arts that involved using a sword, but he mastered none and had a mix of them at his way of fighting.


    This training actually made him think of Annoue and what type of training she went through, as that Zax guy was teaching her how to use the sword.


    Maybe she could teach him a special style next time they meet.

 Chapter 208: Start of the big meeting

    Chapter 208: Start of the big meeting


    Shingi, for the next two days, continued training his sword and mana skills while also with Garry''s and Ardent''s tool were tranting the stories of the book.


    They had found a few more interesting stories simr to Ianthe''s, but not of another god, but someone with substantial power. In their stories, they spend time with Mikhail and, as time passed, became weaker, and in the end, they were just an empty cell of their past selves.


    He didn''t have romantic moments with all of them, as when he had grown older and more powerful, he was just capturing them, draining them from their power, and then left them with no memories of what happened to them.


    There were no clues about who could have made all those records and why each of those seemed to be from the perspective of the <em>''victim''</em> of the story. But, at least slowly, they understood more about Mikhail and knew that he needed to be recharging, and over the years, the time he needed to recharge be more frequent.


    He had been alive for thousands of years, so his time with no recharge would be many times smaller than it used to be as also he probably needed more power than before. Shingi knew of creatures like that fed from the power of others, but not to that extend.


    He trained to fight some Oozes, especially against the ones that were more handling physical attacks better. However, he didn''t use Sinhunter for those training battles, as even using no mana on it, its power was too much and would destroy the Oozes too soon.


    Still, he trained with Sinhunter to increase their Mana des effect, especially the Spirit de and the <strong>SPIRIT SLASH</strong> Spell. He had to improve his proficiency in using Spirit Element as much he could. It was an important factor for his soon-toe ns.


    He had heard from Marcy that Guild representatives for the Alliance would arrive tomorrow, and she would also have everything he ordered by then.


    His Mana Skills were back to seventy percent to what they used to be before his weakened state, and all his wounds were healed, except the ones in his eyes. He had a few scars, but he could heal them slowly with Spirit Magic. He had been using a small amount of Spirit Magic to close his woundspletely and had helped in everything except the one in his eyes. But, unfortunately, those were too much for his current proficiency using that Element.


    Even if he wasn''t weakened and back to the Tower, he wasn''t certain if he could heal thempletely. But hopefully, the n he had discussed with Garry would work.


    He had spent all those days sleeping at Zhen''s ce, and he even woke up the first day with Ardent, who had somehow made her way to the bed without him noticing. Nothing happened this time, but it impressed Shingi that she showed that kind of determination of sneaking around. It was never her style to do things like that.


    Shingi was confused about what Ardent wanted as each day she continued going on dates with Zhen, and she continued trying to sleep with him. At least this time, she tried nothing else than to just sleep.


    As far as she tried nothing, Shingi was fine with it and to tell the truth, and he was tempted to try again if he had more visions. But making a move like that would be like ying with fire, and he didn''t look forward to getting burned.


    He wasn''t certain what triggered the visions initially, and it could be just a coincidence that it happened during that time.


    He was worried that her hanging around would draw too much attention, but she assured him she took care of it.


    So on the morning of the third day, Shingi used still imperfect <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong> to leave the bed, from Ardent''s restrictions, while trying not to wake her up.


    He said his goodbyes for now to Zhen and started his way back to Carda.


    With the increase of his Mana Skills, he could move faster without worrying about tripping and falling, so he was back in the gates in no time.


    He used his pass, and this time the King''s Guards duo weren''t around, so he just dealt with normal guards. Still, they caused no problem for him, as a few were familiar with him, as stories for Shingi were getting around these days.


    Being the true owner shop that Volig worked at and showing off his skills to the King''s Guards were the main ones. The rumors of him being blind also had spread a bit, but there were many more people saying that this was untrue. So Shingi had asked Marcy to spread rumors of his blindness not to be true, as he didn''t want others to know.


    Anna wasn''t around anymore, but Marcy was just as efficient in this task and seemed to have persuaded the majority.


    The guards tried to test if the rumors were true, but Shingi, with his current senses, saw those actions and acted ordingly. One was doing weird faces behind the guard inspecting Shingi''s pass, and Shingi pointed out. He couldn''t see, but he could hear the sound that he made while making those faces, even if he tried to be silent about it. His heartbeat was also changing a bit when one acted ''foolish like that.''


    After passing the inspection, he got to the Guild''s Headquarters.


    When he got there, he noticed a crowd outside it and many cards and horses being parked. The people who arrived didn''t try to keep it a secret from the public. This wasn''t a good sign, as this often meant that they weren''t here to make a deal but to show off, and they needed a crowd to do so.


    Shingi made his way through the crowd, having to push a few to make way as he finally made it to the entrance.


    There were two of the highest members of the Guild acting as guards and not letting anyone enter.


    As Shingi continued walking to enter, they brought their spears in front of him to stop him.


    "Sorry, friend, but nobody is allowed in. Guild Leader has an important meeting." [Guard #1]


    Shingi had detected a few other members of the Guild being among the crowd, meaning that really nobody was allowed inside.


    "You should speak with Leader Marcy. I am needed for that meeting." [Shingi]


    "No can do. Only advisor Shingi is allowed in, and we can''t distract Leader. So stay put until further notice." [Guard #1]


    It seemed that this person didn''t know who he was. He wore his normal equipment, so the people who knew about him should recognize him just by that. This should be a quite new member.


    As for the title of advisor, it probably was something that Marcy decided recently. He heard no one else calling him like that.


    As for the other guard, Shingi could tell that he was hiding something. He even heard almost some chucklesing from him when his ''friend'' spoke. But they were too low in volume for anyone else but Shingi to hear them.


    "Have you met many times advisor Shingi?" [Shingi]


    "Never had the pleasure. Though I hear he is quite knowledgeable." [Guard #1]


    Shingi knew that rumors about him were getting wild, especially in the Guild, since more people had seen him in action. He had helped in some Guilds Quests himself, so the members who were part of those Quests took a taste of what he could do.


    "And I guess they did not describe to you about how to recognize him." [Shingi]


    The person was clearly confused, and even if he tried not to let it appear on his face, he couldn''t hide it from the way his heartbeat changed.


    "I guess it is time to put you out of your misery before it is toote, recruit. This person here <strong>IS</strong> advisor Shingi." [Guard #2]


    Panic reced the confusion of his as he stepped at the side to let Shingi get inside.


    "Iamtrulysorryaboutthatsir." [Guard #1]


    Shingi didn''t mind his behavior, as he was just doing his job, and he wasn''t too aggressive against him.


    "What is your name?" [Shingi]


    "White, sir." [Num]


    "Is that your full Blessed Name?" [Shingi]


    "No, sir. It. it is White Biscuit." [Num]


    Shingi took a moment to think before he continued talking.


    "We need to talkter. Both of you continue the good work of keeping people out." [Shingi]


    He started his way inside as everyone should have gathered already.


    As for why he wanted to talk with White Biscuit, he needed more pieces of information first. But if what he had in mind was true, then this was an interesting encounter.


    He made his way into the building, and right when he got in, he noticed that the open before space was filled by a big rounded table and people sitting on chairs around it.


    Shingi could tell that there were 25 people in the room, including him. Marcy had only her two advisors and Soryn with her, while the rest were of the other Guilds.


    Shingi could tell that seven Guilds have sent representatives from how they were split and sitting, which was more than he thought they would get. He was ready to try multiple times to persuade them, but if some decided to hear him, his chance of sess had increased.


    Everyone turned towards him the moment he entered, and he could feel most of their stares scanning him extensively.


    "You are finally here. So we can begin with the meeting. If you may, advisor?" [Marcy]


    Shingi made his way next to Marcy at the fastest speed he could currently handle, which impressed a few, but most didn''t consider it much.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, we have gathered here for one reason. To discuss preparations of theing war." [Shingi]


    There were some whispers among the crowd, as they weren''t aware of any war or anything like thating. Could it be some event or quest they weren''t aware of?


    "I know what you are thinking. What war? Well, it is pretty simple. Do you that the dungeons just randomly started appearing? No, it is just the beginning." [Shingi]


    A man stood up and his the table with both hands. His frustration was clear as he started speaking.


    "Don''t tell me you called us to help you attack the people in the Tower. Many have tried, and all of them have disappeared for good. It is just a suicide." [Unknown person of a Guild]


    Shingi nodded on the person and continued having a calm face as usual.


    "But it isn''t the Dark Guild that we are at war with." [Shingi]

 Chapter 209: The Big Meeting

    Chapter 209: The Big Meeting


    More whispers were filling the room as the people of each Guild were talking with the rest of their members.


    Shingi didn''t let them think a lot before continue speaking.


    "I know that the Dark Guild is the one that doesn''t let any of us getting in the Tower, but have you thought how they got that much power. They have power that no Blessed One should have unless they worked with some particr people." [Shingi]


    Everyone in the room had thought of what Shingi had said, as the Dark Guild really had shown signs of power over the limits of anything else they met. Even if all their monster-powerful Blessed Ones got together, they wouldn''t have a chance of winning. Dark Guild had exhibited how easily they can deal with people like that in the past.


    "So you don''t want to fight the monster but the owner of the monster? How is that not a suicide?" [Unknown person of a Guild]


    The same person that spoke before continued with his confusion about the reason they were here. Shingi could tell that others had decided to let him do the talking for now.


    "I thought your motto was <em>''I decide my Boss, ''</em>Quick Thunder. Or had something changed?" [Shingi]


    Shingi was familiar with many the people of the powerful Guilds, as it was rare for a new one to appear. Quick Thunder was actually the Vice Leader of the Storm Guild, which was in the top ten of Guild Ranking since the start of the game.


    Shingi could tell that his level hadn''t improved over the years, and it made sense since the Tower expedition didn''t move.


    Except for a suitable spot for leveling up and earning resources, the Tower also had another use that was the core for the game. Each time a new Ruin City floor level was reached, the cap level of all the Blessed Ones was raised by 10. Currently, they had reached the 8th Ruin City, at floor 88, meaning that the cap was at 90 since it started from 10.


    There was a good chance that the next one would be thest since they would reach level 100, which in many games it had great importance. Quick Thunder had reached level 90 a long time ago and had reached a bottleneck he couldn''t pass.


    Another reason that made them think that the next one was thest was that no known NPC had reached level 100. NPCs didn''t have their level cap limited like the Blessed Ones, and it seemed that Level 99 was always their Limit. But reaching it wasn''t that easy.


    Shingi had worked and fought with him many times and could easily recognize his voice, even after all those years.


    It did not surprise Quick Thunder that this person knew who he was since he was quite famous, but not many people knew his motto. It wasn''t like he used it in public to draw attention, but it was something he truly believed in and didn''t tell just anyone.


    "Then what is your n? You better make it worth our time, or this building wille down by my own hands for wasting my time." [Quick Thunder]


    Shingi didn''t doubt that he would do what he told, but even then, he was as calm as ever.


    "I would dly share my n, but how do I know that nobody here is secretly a spy?" [Shingi]


    Shingi kept his senses at their limit for any weird move or any unexpected reaction from anyone in the room, from what he said. But everyone here were professionals and could control their emotions to a degree.


    "So, what do you want us to do? I hope you don''t want us to pay or will make the entire town disappear from the map." [Unknown person of a Guild]


    This time it was a female figure and was on the other side of the table than Quick Thunder. Shingi recognized that person too. She was Shiny Knight, and actually, she was the Guild Leader of her Guild Steel Lust.


    Her Guild was also at the top ten but not as powerful as the Storm Guild. The Guild allowed only female members, but nheless, it was among the top of the Guilds. Shiny Knight was also level 90 for a long time, but in a fight against Quick Thunder, she would lose even if he used just his hands. Their proficiency in using their skills was at a different level.


    "Of course, no payment is needed. I just want everyone here to swear that they aren''t a spy. So how about everyone raise their hand and"[Shingi]


    "Is this some kind of joke?" [Third unknown person of a Guild]


    This time Shingi didn''t recognize who the person that talked was, but it was one of the members of the Storm Guild group. Most likely, a powerful member of theirs who appeared while Ameanum was away. Ten years was enough time to raise one enough, even with no ess to the Tower.


    Shingi could tell that this person hadn''t reached the cap yet, but should have passed mid 70.


    "I never joke about things like that. I am certain that everybody here has better things to do, but I promise to reward you for your time. So lets everybody raise one of our hands" [Shingi]


    He then progressed with raising his hand and waited for others to do so. Since everyone here were Blessed Ones, he could see their whole body surrounded by this aura of theirs. Everyone''s aura was quite tense since they were at the cap level or quite close.


    Slowly, people started raising one of their hands.


    And then ten of those people fell to the ground, as behind them appeared some humanoid-shaped earth golems.


    Everyone was ready to attack them, but they stopped as the Golems disappeared as fast as they appeared. They looked toward Shingi, and nobody attacked as the ones killed weren''t any friends or fellow members of the people left in the room.


    The Golems were made using mana from his mana storing ring, as it was the only way for the spell to work in his current weakened state. He still hadn''t used the cure for the Spirit Madness.


    "Now that the spies got taken care of. We can talk." [Shingi]


    "What is the meaning of it? How could you tell if those people are spies." [Quick Thunder]


    "That is pretty easy. Check their necks." [Shingi]


    Quick Thunder sent one of the members to check out the nearest body, and they soon found out what Shingi was talking about. They checked all the bodies and found out that each of them had an enving rune on them.


    They were like the one that the messenger he had encountered in the past, but those were of red quality, meaning two qualities greater than the one he had encountered before. Those would be impossible to erase for him in his current state, but he didn''t have to.


    The red enving runes didn''t let any energy be emitted as the yellow did, but he could detect them as it seemed to mess with their aura. Also, some of them were NPCs, and those were the first that Shingi was aware of being spies, as no Guild would send an NPC in this kind of meeting to represent them.


    He didn''t mention anything about the runes messing with their aura or why he knew that the NPC ones were NPCs, as it didn''t seem that it was usual for <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> to work like that. He had made quite a few tests with his students in the past, and they could never detect that aura.


    "You are something else, aren''t you? Who is really behind this Guild? You don''t want to believe me that you haven''t made all this without someone else''s support? Even that <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong> of yours is the result of somebody''s else action, isn''t it?" [Unknown person of a Guild]


    The person who spoke was actually silent during the whole meeting and was the only one that was alone and hadn''t tried to talk to anyone else.


    Shingi knew who he was right away. His Blessed name was Cheap Devil and was the Guild Leader of the number one Guild that there was other than the Enerias World and the Dark Guild, of course.


    His Guild was the one with the least amount of people, with the count of ten. They were hiring others from time to time to fill their numbers if needed for a Quest or something simr but never made them a permanent member. Even though their members were that few, each of them were so powerful that monster yer wasn''t a suitable title for them.


    Shingi had heard from Marcy that Cheap Devil and his Guild were actually the ones in charge of the first attack at the Dark Guild, back when they first appeared in public. But even Cheap Devil and his fellow Guild members got obliterated back then.


    Because of that fight, five of the Cheap Devil''s Guild members left the game, while the rest became less frequent. Cheap Devil was the only one who stayed as active as before but gave up any attempt to make another attack against those people.


    Shingi had seen Cheap Devil in action a few times and was really impressed by him. Of course, they didn''t know each other well, but Shingi knew that he was a man of great values and would be a great ally to have.


    "You speak the truth. A Blessed One is behind all this and helped as best as he could. But he can''t do anything else anymore and left me to try to do what is possible to be done. His name was Ameanum." [Shingi]


    And before people get to finish thinking about what he saidpletely, he cast a <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> of Ameanum wearing the same equipment as when he fought the Dragon.


    He still remembered every detail of that armor, so his Illusion was perfect, and even if some details of his face weren''tpletely urate, if one wasn''t too familiar with him, they wouldn''t notice it.


    There was silence, but Shingi detected a few people''s responses as they recognized who the person of the illusion was.

 Chapter 210: The Sparring

    Chapter 210: The Sparring


    Among the people who recognized Ameanum was Cheap Devil too. That fact surprised Shingi as they had never spoken or worked together in the past, even if both of them were important figures in this world.


    "He currently can do nothing. As some of you know, he hadn''t made an appearance for the past ten years. As you probably have guessed, his disappearance is a result of the Dark Guild''s ns or the ones they really work for. I have met one of the people responsible for his disappearance, and they were actually one of the people guarding the entrance of the Tower." [Shingi]


    He didn''t n on going into many details as he didn''t know how they would react in knowing what really happened and that he is Ameanum but in another body.


    "Why should we believe you? How do we know that you really know him and you just don''t use him? If he is really behind it, he better shows his face, or all this is a waste of my time." [Shiny Knight]


    Shingi was aware that this could happen, but he had prepared a n.


    "Mister Quick Thunder, do you mind having a spar with me?" [Shingi]


    Confusion filled the room at the unexpected response.


    "We don''t have time for you to" [Shiny Knight]


    "Let them fight." [Cheap Devil]


    Everybody turned towards Cheap Devil, as this was the second time they heard him speak through the entire time he was here. He didn''t shout, but everyone heard him like he was next to them.


    Shingi knew that he didn''t use a spell and didn''t know of any skill to do something like that, but it could be a special ability of his or his ss. Of course, nobody knew what Cheap Devil''s ss really was, other than being Warrior Based.


    Quick Thunder stood up and followed Shingi, who led him just in one of therge rooms connected to the hall they were having the meeting.


    Shingi then summoned his sword, but not Sinhunter but his normal one.


    "You certain you want to do it indoors? I will not go easy on you or going to pay for any damages." [Quick Thunder]


    "I wouldn''t expect you to do any of those things. But it shouldn''tst long. Want to have the first move?" [Shingi]


    Shingi went into a defensive stance as he waited for Quick Thunder to make his move.


    A few of the other people of the Guilds came to watch, but most people who seemed to be new to the game and hadn''t reached the cap. The rest had seen Quick Thunder''s way of fighting over the years many times, and even if that person seemed to use Golems, other than that, he didn''t kindle their interest.


    Quick Thunder was confused because Shingi decided to use a sword, as he was certain that he was a Mage after the way he dealt with those spies. But he thought little of it as he charged at Shingi.


    As his name suggested, he was pretty fast, and he even left behind sparks of lightning. This was an illusion created by his equipment that he had specially ordered to add to his style.


    Shingi had fought and had seen Quick Thunder fights many times in the past, so he knew when he was serious, and this wasn''t one of those times. He was going fast, but he wasn''t even using half his speed. But even that was barely something he could handle with his current detection skills, but he didn''t count on skills this time.


    Quick Thunder disappeared, leaving behind sparks of lightning, and then appeared behind Shingi, ready to cut his head.


    But Shingi had already put his sword in the way and deflected this attack.


    This action impressed Quick Thunder as it took him no time to do so, which meant that either Shingi''s reaction time was monstrous or he expected this attack.


    And in reality, thetter was the option. Quick Thunder''s style was hard to read, but Shingi had seen it so many times that he knew the signs. Fortunately, those signs weren''t something he needed his eyes for, as with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> and detecting his aura, and it was the same as watching his body.


    He had enabled his Blessing''s effect to boost his INT just before the fight, or otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to detect what he wanted in time.


    Quick Thunder took a few steps back while he started reading the posture of his opponent.


    "I guess it is my time." [Shingi]


    Shingi charged towards him, but it was like he was going in slow motionpared to Quick Thunder''s speed.


    Still, Quick Thunder''s face seemed focused and went into a defensive stance.


    Shingi didn''t use <strong>HASTE</strong> yet, since his speed wouldn''t get to a level to surpass his opponents even with that. He went for a front attack and made a vertical swing that seemed simple enough.


    As expected, Quick Thunder easily deflected it, but then he felt immense pain that made him fall to the ground.


    Shingi had kicked his male parts.


    No matter how strong one was, this was a vital area. Quick Thunder had focused too much on the sword and mouth of the opponent in case he cast any Spells, so he ignored the legs of his opponent. He paid the price for this rookie mistake.


    Shingi had used some light mana in his kick that had entered Quick Thunder''s body and tried to stun him as he had done in the past. But this time, the target was too powerful to affect that work on him, as even if he was in pain, he still could fight. Instead, it mostly seemed to anger him.


    Shingi knew Quick Thunder wasn''t lowering the pain reception of the game too much, as this feeling was important in fights. But both of them had fought many times so they could handle pain.


    Quick Thunder started making his attacks, and after a while, he seemed not to follow any style and just swinging his sword.


    Shingi avoided or deflected all of these attacks, as even now, he was within his predictable range.


    Two minutes had passed since the fight had begun, and almost everyone in the meeting had stood up and went to check the fight. They had to check why it took that long, as Quick Thunder should have won within seconds, but they were impressed when they saw Shingi handling the attacks.


    At that point, Shingi took a few steps back, making some distance from Quick Thunder and going into a defensive stance, but it was different from the one he used till now.


    Some of the people gasped, and among them was also Quick Thunder.


    A smile appeared on Quick Thunder''s name, as he seemed to have calmed down a bit, and signs of excitement appeared on his face.


    Shingi had double-cast HASTE silently using a Mana Fruit and a Mana Seed of his, as he knew what wasing. Quick Thunder was getting serious.


    Once more, Quick Thunder charged towards Shingi, this time not just leaving sparks behind but also mirror images of himself. He started making a circle surrounding Shingi with his mirror images so that Shingi didn''t know where he would attack.


    But Quick Thunder couldn''t know that this was useless against Shingi. This trick worked on tricking the sight of someone, which Shingi didn''t have. With his detection Skills, and especially his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, Shingi knew where Quick Thunder was. Fortunately, Quick Thunder didn''t use his full speed, but close to seventy percent of it was still above one could normally handle.


    Shingi, with his boost from his double <strong>HASTE</strong> and his boosted <strong>INT</strong>, barely kept up and made no move but just waited.


    The circle was getting smaller, and soon four of the mirror images made an attack, one from each direction. But, of course, only one of them was the true Quick Thunder, as the others were part of a Special Combat Skill he had made with the help of his ss.


    Most times, people just tried to raise the skills that came with ss normally, but most people at Quick Thunder''s level had tried to make their own. So he called this skill Mirror Circle of Death, which was a name he had regretted soon after he gave it but couldn''t change it. Once a skill was named, the name would always stay like that unless it got evolved.


    Shingi made his move as he made an attack at the one on his left, but his sword passed through him with no resistance. This meant it was one of the fake ones.


    But the others had brought their sword forward like they deflected something and made a few steps back. Soon all the mirror images disappeared, and only the real Quick Thunder was left. He seemed to be the one in the opposite direction than the one Shingi attacked.


    Or at least the one that others had seen Shingi attacking.


    This was a technique that Shingi had worked on these past days, that it was something he had learned and perfected in the past. It was actually an illusion technique simr to the one he had used in the past against Cerberus.


    He had found an opportunity to cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> and <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> during the battle, but he had to use two more of his Mana Fruits, living with him with none. However, he still had some Mana Seeds that could turn into a Mana Fruit with the right boost.


    He had his <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> acted like himself, and since it wasn''t solid, his invisible self was following its movements when needed. Then, when Quick Thunder used his Special Skill, his real self attacked the real Quick Thunder while his Illusion attacked the opposite of him.


    This was something that Shingi had used as Ameanum, but since he wasn''t a mage, he had to use an Artifact that allowed him to use simr effects.


    The defensive stance he took was the one he used back then when using that technique, but not just anyone knew about it. But the people here were people who had researched over everyone who was important and their techniques, so it made sense that they recognized it.


    Quick Thunder put his sword back to his scabbard and then put the open right-hand palm of his over his left closed fist and gave a little bow at Shingi. There was no way that someone else that Ameanum could use this attack unless Ameanum had taught them.


    Shingi put his sword back to the ring as the sparring had ended. Although now many people would consider this a sparring, and it was a miracle that the damages weren''t heavy. Some furnitures got destroyed, and there were some holes in the walls, but nothing unfixable or they couldn''t afford.


    So everyone returned to the meeting room, and Shingi took a seat as he needed to do so as he had to let the side effects of ending the double cast <strong>HASTE</strong> pass.


    At least now he seemed to have their attention.

 Chapter 211: End of meeting

    Chapter 211: End of meeting


    Now that people had somewhat trusted Shingi, they were focusing more on what he had to say.


    Shingi told them he would speak only with the Leaders or Vice Leaders, as it was important to keep the n in a closed circle.


    In the end, in the room, there were Shingi, Marcy, Quick Thunder, Shiny Knight, Cheap Devil, and three more people who were the Vice Leaders of their Guilds.


    Those three Guilds weren''t as powerful as Quick Thunder''s or Shiny Knight''s Guilds, and they seemed to have been created while Ameanum was inactive. But they were people that Shingi actually recognized, as they were people he had helped in the past to get through the Tower''s floors, simr to what he had done with Price.


    "So who exactly are the ones behind them? It sounds like it is someone big." [Shiny Knight]


    She seemed excited to learn who Shingi was referring to as being behind the Dark Guild, as she had seen them in action. They even defeated Cheap Devil, who was at the top among the Blessed Ones since the beginning.


    "I know it will sound crazy, but the people behind them seem to be Enerias World." [Shingi]


    There were a few gasps, as this was an unexpected name to be mentioned.


    "Why would they sabotage their own game?" [Shiny Knight]


    "You mean why the New Gods would try to have an effect like that against the Blessed Ones?" [Marcy]


    It confused everyone why Marcy tried to change the way of what Shiny Knight said. The only reason she would do that would be if they were speaking with an NPC, as they didn''t know that this is a game. But all of them here were yers.


    "My Master had mentioned that you are referring to this world as a game sometimes. Strange, but I have seen more strange things since I had met him. You probably haven''t noticed, but I am not a Blessed One like you all." [Shingi]


    Shingi still wanted to keep the act of him being an NPC, as he hadn''t told the truth to Marcy yet. Also, it would have a greater impact on them for him to be a powerful young NPC than a powerful young Blessed One.


    And it truly seemed to have the effect he expected, as they truly thought that he was a Blessed One by the way he acted and dressed. He was an advisor to the Guild, and even if they couldn''t see his full face because of the mask, they could tell that he was quite young. They had also researched the town and knew of him and his shop, but there weren''t any about him being that good with the sword, but there was the one showing off his Arcane Abilities.


    The rumors also weren''t clear if he was a Blessed One or an NPC, but most people considered him a Blessed One.


    That was also why Quick Thunder was going for the kill since if he was a Blessed One, he would just get respawn. If he knew that he wasn''t, he would be that aggressive. Fortunately, Shingi handled it in the end.


    "As I was saying, it may sound crazy, but I am confident that they are backing up Dark Guild. I mean, think about that. Who else could give them that much power? And why they have done nothing about them?" [Shingi]


    The more they thought about it, the more it made sense. They truly had too much power, and even if it sounded improbable, if Enerias World backed them up, having that much power made sense.


    "So we can do nothing. They have control over everything why we are limited to what we can do." [Shiny Knight]


    Everyone nodded, as it was truly an impossible opponent to defeat.


    "But that isn''t true. They have control over you and me, but they can''t control everything. Some people had broken free of their control." [Shingi]


    "You talk about the <em>Protectors</em>, don''t you?" [Cheap Devil]


    Everyone here was aware of who the protectors were, even if they never encountered them. It was important to know the history of the world as it was an important factor in some Quests.


    "They are an example, but there are others. I have found one who may be even more powerful than them and will help us. At least on fighting those people." [Shingi]


    Shingi then started telling them everything he knew about Mikhail, as well as the new pieces of information he had learned through the book. However, he didn''t mention Nivlek or that Garry worked for him in the past. Even if he wanted to work with Mikhail against amon enemy possibly, that didn''t make him an ally.


    He even told them where his headquarters was supposed to be in the Tower, but they couldn''t get in the Tower, so this information was useless.


    "So then, what is the n? If that person is in the Tower, we can''tmunicate with him. Or do you have a way to draw him out?" [Quick Thunder]


    "We have people in. I am going to join them soon, but this is where I need your help."[Shingi]


    Everyone''s attention was drawn once again to what he would say as if there was a safe way to get in the Tower they wanted to know it themselves.


    "You should all be aware of the nearby Dungeon. There seems to be a connection between it and the Tower, and I am confident we can use this connection to get me there. But it is going to need lots of effort and power." [Shingi]


    Everyone smiled at this because if there was one thing they excelled at was those two things. They couldn''t defeat the Dark Guild because they were using a cheat way. But, on the other hand, they were the strongest ones among the Blessed Ones and even among the entire Realm in the case of Cheap Devil.


    "I think we should focus on taking more than just you. You are strong, but you are going to need as much help as you can in there." [One of the three Vice Leaders]


    Shingi could tell that they just wanted to get in the Tower for personal reasons and not so much to help. The resources found in some of the Tower''s floors were something that you couldn''t find outside of it, so those Guild have gotten weaker over the years fromck of those resources.


    "I agree, but I can''t bring anybody here with me." [Shingi]


    The response confused and angered some, but Shingi quickly exined.


    "All of you are too high level. The strongest one will be, the harder will be to get them there. In my case, it may be very hard, but for one of you, it is impossible. I can agree, though, to bring another representative of yours, he can''t be over the first Evolution Level." [Shingi]


    What he said should be true, even if he hadn''t tried his n, but he also knew that they wouldn''t just work with him if he didn''t allow them to get a person with them. He could put a limit, though.


    "How much time do we have?" [Shiny Knight]


    "I will say we should progress in at least two weeks. The sooner we do so, the best." [Shingi]


    This was the time he had calcted it would take his students to reach the next town. He was nning to use the same room that seemed to be connected to the maze. Using any other would be too dangerous, as he wouldn''t know what to expect.


    He also counted the time he would need himself to go through the Tower''s floors to catch with them.


    "Then the Storm Guild will take this slot. Unless someone disagrees." [Quick Thunder]


    Shiny Knight looked towards him with eyes throwing daggers at him, but she said nothing. The only one who could disagree with him would be Cheap Devil, but he had no reason to do so.


    "We actually have the person we want to send with us here. So I guess we just need to focus on helping you to get yourself there." [Quick Thunder]


    Shingi was confused as he checked all the people''s aura and was confident that everyone had passed the first evolutions state.


    "Excuse me, but that members of yours. Where was he during the meeting?" [Shingi]


    That question confused most, and some hoped that Shingi had a reason to deny that person to travel with him. Also, Quick Thunder seemed to be somewhat amazed by that question.


    "He wasn''t one of the people in the meeting. It seems your senses are better than I assumed since you could tell that all of them were past the 1st Evolution State. I actually had him help to keep people out. He is one of our recruits, but he is good with people and has brilliant talent even if he hasn''t been part of this world for a long time. He goes by the name White Biscuit" [Quick Thunder]


    Shingi didn''t expect to have the chance to get that person to travel with him.


    It seemed he would have their conversation sooner than he thought.

 Chapter 1: Announcements

    Chapter 1: Announcements


    20/08/2021


    As some may have noticed, the releases of the chapters became once every second day, but from today forward, they will be paused for a bit. The reason is that chapters needed to be edited, and some have already been edited and released but it will take more time to get them all.


    I hope people enjoy the story so far and join the discord server for updates or questions.


    Thanks for reading and we will be back to adventuring soon

 Chapter 212: Befriending the Devil

    Chapter 212: Befriending the Devil


    Shingi mentioned he would also need one Base Grade Crystal for their Guild, and actually, Cheap Devil was the one to give it to him. He even had it on him.


    Everyone were impressed that he gave it like that as they knew how hard it was to produce one,


    Shingi didn''t ask how he came to have them as he didn''t have many members to sacrifice, and it didn''t seem to be a corrupted one.


    The only other way he could think, other than hiring people as sacrifices, was for Cheap Devil to sacrifice himself multiple times. Since he had reached the cap level, his sacrifice would be more beneficial, but his loss would also be greater. If he had done that, he would have lost too many levels that would be challenging to get them back, but it would be just a matter of time for someone like him.


    Shingi thanked him and even told him that he could have a special order made from him by Volig, free of charge, at least for the services. If any rare materials would be needed, they had to be provided or cover part of the coststill just the service alone for something that maybe even Cheap Devil couldn''t afford.


    This was different from the slots they offered each month. Still, they offered to improve on their already existing products to fit the customer while making somethingpletely original from scratch to fit the user and only that user.


    Everyone were super jealous after hearing that and sad they didn''t get the chance to offer a Crystal first. But they couldn''t know that Shingi would make that offer to Cheap Devil even before he gave him the crystal. He was still a man at the top of the Blessed Ones, and he could learn a lot from him.


    Shingi wasn''t arrogant enough to assume he could do everything himself or everything he knew was perfect.


    Cheap Devil had a Warrior-Based ss, but he used tools allowing to use Skills and Spells in great expertise. Of course, no matter how powerful a tool is, it won''t reach its full potential if its user wasn''t experienced in what it did. But Cheap Devil seemed to be a Jack of All Trades, and even when one had considered having understood the way he fought, he had already changed it ten times.


    Most Guilds were actually studying videos of his battles and showing them at their recruits to grow. But there were a few things that they couldn''t decode just by a video, and of course, Cheap Devil wasn''t letting them with any details.


    Shingi knew that this gift alone wouldn''t be enough to persuade him to train him, but it was a start.


    Actually, the two of them left together to that Cheap Devil would meet Volig and make his order personally.


    As they got outside, they met White Biscuit and the other guard.


    "Mister Biscuit. I think your Vice Guild Leader is looking for you. Thank you for offering your services as a guard." [Shingi]


    "It was my pleasure, sir." [White Biscuit]


    After giving a little bow, White Biscuit left to find Quick Thunder.


    Shingi allowed an almost silent chuckle to leave his mouth, which didn''t get unnoticed by Cheap Devil.


    "You have a history with that boy?" [Cheap Devil]


    It did not surprise Shingi of him noticing something like that, as he knew his senses would be many times sharper than his.


    "You could say so. Although it is history and history belongs to the past. We can learn from it, but we should leave it there." [Shingi]


    "Interesting approach. Is this something that master of yours taught you?" [Cheap Devil]


    "In a way." [Shingi]


    They reached and entered the shop, which wasn''t that far, and progressed to the forge room. The guard seemed to be cautious about the unknown person, but Shingi told him that it was ok for him to enter.


    Entering the room, they found Volig and his helper on a break, as it seemed like it wasn''t a busy day today.


    "Mister Shingi, you are back. I see we have an unknown visitor. Is there something we can help you with?" [Ketnas]


    "Yes, I am here to ask" [Shingi]


    "I am not making anything for him." [Volig]


    Shingi was surprised, as he didn''t get the chance to exin, but it wouldn''t be hard for one to understand the reason Cheap Devil was here.


    "He is too careless with his equipment and will just break it again. I am working for someone like that." [Volig]


    It seemed that Volig had taken an order from Cheap Devil in the past, but most likely when he was still a Dwarf. Cheap Devil didn''t tent to be in just one Kingdom but kept moving around not having a permanent base. So it made sense that he had persuaded Varic to work for him and possibly had costed a fortune and took a lot of persuasion.


    "Excuse me, but have we met? I don''t remember ever working with a Half-Giant, and you seemed to act as you have. Is there something that I am should know, maybe?" [Cheap Devil]


    Shingi was afraid that a moment like that might arrive at some point, but he wasn''t certain what to say other than the truth.


    But he didn''t get the chance to say anything as Volig spoke for him.


    "Listen to me, boy. I don''t care who you are, but here we are, making weapons and armors for the ones who are appreciating them. I don''t care how strong you are or even if you are the God of War himself, but if you don''t belong to the above-mentioned category of people, then you aren''t weed here. You don''t get to demand any answers." [Volig]


    Shingi didn''t know what to say, as he knew that Volig wouldn''t hear even his opinion in this situation. If a man had pissed him off like that, there was no way to change his opinion.


    "It is ok, Grandmaster Volig. I will leave your ce." [Cheap Devil]


    There was no anger in his voice, which was unexpected, as he turned and left the room.


    Shingi sighed and went after him.


    "Wait. I can still get your order and try"[Shingi]


    "There is no way or reason to try to persuade him. This was a reward you wanted to give me, and I didn''t demand it. I still don''t. I understand and respect Grandmaster Volig as he is correct. Most likely, what he would make for me, I would destroy it. There was actually this one time that" [Cheap Devil]


    Shingi could feel that he actually connected the dots. He had realized who Volig really is.


    "How interesting. No wonder he appeared out of nowhere. That Master of yours is truly behind it, isn''t he? I heard rumors of the two being connected, but not how. Did he use a potion? Or found someone to cast the spell to change him?" [Cheap Devil]


    Shingi exined to him how Varic came to be Volig, how he got the potion, and how Ameanum was connected to Varic.


    "So that''s how she got free. I was curious about that and worried that she was running around somewhere, but if she is really back to hell, then we should be safe for now. Hopefully, she doesn''t return anytime soon." [Cheap Devil]


    Shingi didn''t mention that he had let Soren do a ritual that could make Lucy an Angel once again, as it had nothing to do with the current situation.


    "I understand that you respect Volig and his decision, but still, could you just tell me what you would order?" [Shingi]


    Cheap Devil left a few chuckles as he gave his response.


    "I heard about those mana gems daggers you produce for some of your special clients. I wanted a Longsword, but to use all the Elements. Or at least a quick way to change between them." [Cheap Devil]


    This was a challenging order and could be impossible for Shingi and Volig in the past, but not now. He knew what he asked, as he had used it to make his special staff. It would need some changes as it would include different rune designs, and the update of the had to be made by a different trigger than the user shaping it.


    It will have to work like Ardent''s Scythe, but nobody hade close even to make a working prototype or a replica for it.


    But there was always a first for everything, and even if Shingi didn''t need to do it, he wanted to try so.


    He promised nothing to Cheap Devil, as he wasn''t certain what the chance of sess was, but promised that if he had a working one, he would be the first to have it fully test it.


    So Shingi went back to the forge room and exined to Volig what Cheap Devil would have ordered and that they wouldn''t do it for him, but it would be a helpful thing to have.


    And he told the truth as he had told Cheap Devil that he would let him fully test it, not keep it.


    So after telling Volig what he should prepare, Shingi left to go back to the Guild.


    It was time to talk with White Biscuit.

 Chapter 213: Talk with Biscuit

    Chapter 213: Talk with Biscuit


    Shingi returned to the Guild and was informed that Quick Thunder and his Guild members left a message to meet them in the local tavern.


    He headed that way right away, as he wanted to end that discussion as soon as possible.


    On the way there, he noticed that more people looking towards him, probably cause he was back to his usual outfit. Even among the Blessed Ones, it was unique and made it easy for others to know who he was.


    In the past, he didn''t examine it thinking it was just simple pieces of clothes, but in the end, he was wrong. There were some designs on it, but nothing like the usual Enchantments or Runes he was familiar with. They seemed more there for their design than actually give a benefit, but Shingi had found out recently not to be true.


    Actually, he found it by mistake as he tried to focus on casting <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong>, and instead of using some of his mana on his body, he used it on his clothes, on one of the lines of its designs. When he did that, he noticed for a split second the line turning yellow, same as his body at when in <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong>. He hadn''t noticed something like that in the past, as his clothes were part of his <strong>LIGHT FORM</strong>, but this time it didn''t seem like it changed form, just color.


    He had tested with different Elements and found out that depending on the Element he used, the part of the design he used the Element at would change at the corresponding color.


    It seemed that the design was in three parts, and each part could have a different color of an Element. So there was one part at each arm and one at the back.


    When he had one of those parts filled with a single Element, he benefited depending on the Element and the part of the design.


    If he had one of the arm designs enabled, his control of the Element used on them was half the times greater than without it, unless he had both at the same Element where he got boosted to three times his normal.


    If he used it in the back design, if the Element was one he had in his Mana Pool, it increased the time the used one got replenished as also the one used was getting an extra boost making it at most half time more effective.


    He had found out that he could even use his Spirit Element with it, and actually, he currently had one of the arm designs with that Element. The other arm was Air, while the design at the back was Fire Element.


    Those three were the ones he had to train the most, and fire he had the greatest progress with just had to grind it a bit in more action. As for Spirit Element, he had improved a little, but the progress was snail-like. Maybe he had to cure his Minor Spirit Madness, hoping it would help him even a bit, but it was too early.


    He soon reached the tavern and noticed that Pan was still in town. She was in a corner having tea, while a guy surrounded by vines was just next to her. Nobody seemed to mind as they had gotten used to her, and that guy was just an unlucky newbie who didn''t know better.


    Shingi had memorized how her nature mana looked through his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, so he easily knew that it was her. Of course, the mana vines were also a big hint.


    He gave her a nod and waved at her, but she didn''t give any response, even if it was clear that she saw that.


    But Shingi didn''t expect any response and went to speak with the one in charge of the private rooms, as he couldn''t see Quick Thunder and his members in here.


    He found the man quickly.


    "Excuse me. I" [Shingi]


    "Oh, Mister Shingi. Always a pleasure seeing you. You are here to meet those new adventurers, aren''t you? Follow me. They are expecting you." [Man in charge]


    Shingi followed him to one of the private rooms. He noticed that this establishment had some improvements, like enchantments in the wall that made some rooms silent proofone benefit of his shop making the town a ce for Blessed Ones to spend coins to.


    He entered one of those rooms and noticed that inside, only two people were waiting for him; Quick Thunder and White Biscuit.


    His guide left, but not before getting an order for food or drink from Shingi.


    "You are finally here. I thought it would take you more time to take the order of that crazy man. But I guess he probably had thought what he wanted a long time ago." [Quick Thunder]


    "Master, it isn''t nice to call people who aren''t here names like that." [White Biscuit]


    Quick Thunder just chuckled once to his young recruit and turned his attention back to Shingi.


    "So I was told you were nning to speak with my young recruit here even before I mentioned him. Isn''t that fate at its finest? Is his talent that clear to you?" [Quick Thunder]


    Shingi didn''t know if that guy was a genius or something, but it seemed so from what Quick Thunder was saying. The real reason he wanted to speak with him wasn''t that he could be powerful, but for who he could be.


    "You told me your Blessed Name is White Biscuit. Correct?" [Shingi]


    He nodded, which, fortunately, Shingi could detect with his Mana Sense. His aura was a little less tense than that of his students before they evolved their ss. So he could tell that he was level 55 or close to it.


    "Why did you choose this name? As far as I was told, you get to choose yourselves how to be called." [Shingi]


    Shingi could feel the tension in him as he didn''t know why he was asked those questions. Especially after learning who Shingi was.


    "I used to have a brother. We didn''t hang around much, but he brought some vani biscuits each time he visited me. They are white and thought it would be cooler to use that than vani." [White Biscuit]


    Shingi wanted to smile, but he kept a straight face.


    "And what was the name of your brother?" [Shingi]


    White Biscuit swallowed some of his salivae as he looked to be nervous about what he would say next.


    "It was Ameanum, sir." [White Biscuit]


    Shingi knew it the moment he heard his voice. It seemed so familiar, and then when he heard the name, he knew it. This was his real blood-brother from out of Enerias Tower.


    The reason he wanted to speak with him wasn''t to catch up, but maybe he would learn what happened to his body. He learned that it was found by Little Pheonix somehow, but not what happened to it after that.


    He had asked Mizuneko to look over it in the past, but he was too busy with other things.


    "Wait you are his little brother? The little brother of Master Ameanum? THE Master Ameanum? Why did you never mention that?" [Quick Thunder]


    At first, it surprised Shingi that Quick Thunder didn''t know who White Biscuit really was, but then he remembered that his brother never liked to use Ameanum''s name to get things.


    It wasn''t like he considered it beneath him to get things that way, but he preferred to earn things and not just have someone give them to him.


    "I have a message from your brother." [Shingi]


    White Biscuit left a gasp as Shingi could sense that his eyes were focused on him.


    "A message? But how can this be? He had been dead for a long time. You couldn''t have possibly met him, or you would be too young when you did." [White Biscuit]


    "He isn''t dead, but he also is. He has left his will behind to help this world, and since you are part of it, to help you. In the case I ever got to meet you, he told me to tell you one thing. ''Don''t forget the milk out.''" [Shingi]


    Slowly, Shingi could hear White Biscuit tearing up and even his nose running.


    It confused Quick Thunder as he didn''t know what Shingi said was supposed to mean.


    It was just something that Ameanum kept saying to his brother when he visited him because he always let the milk outside the fridge after using it.


    White Biscuit was too emotional after hearing this phrase after that long, and even if they weren''t too close as brothers, he was always proud of his brother.


    Their parents had pretty much forgotten that they had a second son, and even when the body was found, they didn''t even throw a tear.


    But White Biscuit was sad that day, as he had lost any chance of bing closer to his brother. He always regretted that he couldn''t even y his favorite game with him.


    And so, after fulfilling of getting a job that his parents would be fine with, he started his way, making a name at the game his brother was among the bests at.

 Chapter 214: Unexpected climax

    Chapter 214: Unexpected climax


    After having some more small talk and making sure that White Biscuit was fully informed about what they nned to do, Shingi wrote and gave Quick Thunder a list of items they would need. Some of them were quite expensive, but for those Guilds, it would be no problem to cover the cost.


    To tell the truth, Shingi could gain these items either with the help of Ardent or Master Jax, but getting them through the Guilds was better to test them. He told them about the discovery of the Dungeons not appearing out of nowhere, and it seemed like they preexisted, that they should have a connection with the Tower and that they should investigate them.


    As an NPC, different Guilds could recruit him, but only if the two weren''t at war, and only if the first active Guild he is a recruit at agreed on joining the other Guild. Shingi could end the recruitment if he wanted unless it was by contract, which tent to have special cases for one to leave. He didn''t have a contract with Marcy, but Quick Thunder, who wanted to recruit him tomunicate through the chat system, wanted him to sign one.


    Shingi had asked him to make some changes to it, as he gave him a typical form they gave in these cases. It had a few restrictions that seemed simple, but Shingi knew that the yers had used them to force their recruited NPCS on fulfilling tasks.


    Changing the contract would take time, but they should be ready before they had everything ready for opening the way to the Tower.


    White Biscuit joined Shingi and went back to the shop, but he wasn''t allowed in the forge. He could technically be his brother, but he was still a member of one of the most powerful Guilds. He had secrets in the forge room that he wanted to keep like that, like some of the rune improvements they had done to it.


    Volig was hard-working to finish today''s orders as also some that were nned for tomorrow. He wanted to clear the schedule for the new project Shingi mentioned.


    Both of them would be necessary for it to seed, and Shing just passed to make certain when he would be ready to start.


    He didn''t n to start it today as he would be useless at helping at his current state, no matter how much his senses had improved. However, some skills needed him to use his eyes, and crafting was one of them.


    Volig told him that they should safely start working on that project from next week, as he nned to clear the schedule of those days as much as possible.


    Shingi nodded to him and left, going back to the Dungeon. White Biscuit again joined him, and fortunately, he had an AGI-based ss to keep up with Shingi.


    After making it into the Dungeon and reached the seemingly dead end, Whiter Biscuit seemed confused about them being there.


    Shingi used the secret knock, telling the Oozes to open the secret door.


    As it started opening, Shingi knew that his new party member was confused, but he exined nothing and just motioned him to follow as he went into the secret room and down toward theb.


    As they went down the stairs, they started hearing some noise that they soon both recognized for what it was.


    Those were moans, and Shingi was actually familiar with them; it was Ardent''s.


    ''Don''t tell me he made more of those Oozes.'' [Shingi]


    Shingi remembered when he first heard Ardent making that kind of noise, but it wasn''t like the time they spent together and not like the ones she made now. Actually, the ones she made now were pretty close to those of that night.


    White Biscuit seemed to feel awkward after hearing those sounds, as it seemed he was familiar with the reason one could make them.


    "Just stay here. I may have to beat some sense to a few people." [Shingi]


    He got in theb and headed toward the other room as the voices of the two people expressing their excitement was getting louder.


    Shingi didn''t know if he had to stop them or just let it be. But it was weird that Ardent acted like that, and by the voices, he was certain that her partner was Zhen. The two of them had some dates, but he didn''t notice any further intimacy between the two.


    Still, he could never get a good reading on Ardent or understand her way of thinkingpletely in most situations.


    Shingi entered the room, and for the first time, he was happy that he was blind.


    He coughed to get their attention, but it seemed like they were too much into the moment to notice him. It seemed though that they were close to the climax of their activity, so he considered it useless to stop them at this point.


    As it reached its end, he could hear both of their heavy breathing, especially Zhen''s. But then finally they noticed him in the room.


    "How how long are you here?" [Ardent Scythe]


    "Just got here. Finished with your sparring?" [Shingi]


    Shingi wanted to save the awkward moment, so he tried to pass it as he thought of them sparring with each other.


    "Spar. oh yes. That''s exactly what we did. <strong>SPARRING</strong>. I mean, there isn''t anything else we could possibly do." [Ardent Scythe]


    She started dressing herself, but Shingi acted like he didn''t notice.


    "Zhen, it is good to see that you train your body. A man needs to stay strong in mind and body." [Shingi]


    "Well. I am all on training like that "[Zhen]


    Shingi detected that Ardent had hit him in the middle of his first sentence with her elbow, but he tried to make it look like he didn''t notice.


    "I mean, you are right. I need to do my exercises more regrly. Did you want to talk about something? Or want to call more Oozes to train with you?" [Zhen]


    "I brought a new friend to meet. Also, I want you to get us to the same room you found me." [Shingi]


    Zhen nodded and headed towards theb, followed by Shingi, leaving Ardent behind, who was still getting dressed. She tried not to make any sudden movements or sounds, so Shingi couldn''t know what she was doing. But she didn''t know that he could see her aura as a Blessed One, which was the same as seeing her body, so he could tell what movements she was doing.


    Zhen continued walking toward another wall, which he tapped to open another secret door that led into another part of the Dungeon.


    "Who is that?" [White Biscuit]


    "I am sorry, but I can''t answer that. For now, consider him our guide." [Shingi]


    "Then where does he guide us at?" [White Biscuit]


    Shingi hadn''t gone to full detail about the room in the dungeon yet to anyone, as he still investigated it. He was certain there was a connection, but he hadn''t found it yet. He had asked Zhen if he knew something, but he told him that ''he had no such knowledge that he could share with him.


    Shingi considered it weird that he worded like that and seemed to be one more of the things his master forbade him to do.


    Shingi was confident that something magically made him follow these rules, making it impossible to do something about it. There was so sign on Zhen''s body of a rune that could be the source of a seal, meaning it was a Top Master Grade Spell or maybe even a Grandmaster Grade one.


    Shingi still wasn''t certain if Mikhail was behind it or had anything to do with Zhen''s master, but a lot of the signs seemed to indicate to be the case.


    It didn''t take them long to reach the hole of the underwater tunnel that led to the room.


    "Come on. Grab my hand, and I will get you there. Or do you want to stay here?" [Zhen]


    Shingi grabbed Zhen''s hand and motioned his new teammate also to do so.


    White Biscuit was a bit reluctant, but in the end, he did as Shingi told him to do.


    They both turned into mist and appeared instantly in the room.


    Shingi could feel theck of mana in the room.


    "Why are we here again?" [White Biscuit]


    White Biscuit couldn''t use any magic, so he couldn''t feel the special effect of the room, other than the air being a little thicker than normal.


    "We are here to train, and investigate. Well, I will train while you investigate." [Shingi]


    Shingi went to the middle of the room and sat at his meditative stance.


    "Wait, wait. Investigate for what? What are we looking for?" [White Biscuit]


    Shingi didn''t speak for a bit, as it seemed like he was thinking about his response.


    "I am not sure myself. But you should know it when you find it. So let''s both start our tasks without impeding each other." [Shingi]


    White Biscuit didn''t know how to respond, and he started examining the walls. How difficult could it be to fully examine a small room like that?

 Chapter 215: Training in the dungeon room

    Chapter 215: Training in the dungeon room


    Shingi wanted to improve his Spirit Element as much as he could. With the restriction of the room having none of it and even affecting his skill of controlling mana, the benefits of training here should be better. More challenging, but still better.


    He had decided to do the eye surgery in three days, as they promised him that everything needed there would be ready. He couldn''t dy it as some of the materials would be freshly harvested and had to be used as soon as possible.


    No operation like that had ever happened, but he was certain that it would make it possible with the help of Spirit Elements and its improved healing abilitiespared to Light Element.


    He had to tell Garry about the operation, but they had talked about it, and he was fine with it. Still, there was always a possibility of Garry changing his mind, but he seemed to be ready to help in whatever way he could.


    Either way, improving his control over Spirit Element was crucial. He could feel that to connect with the Tower, and the Spirit Element should y an important factor. Hopefully, White Biscuit would find something, but Shingi didn''t count on it much. He also nned to investigateter with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> once more, now that he wasn''t in a critical situation, hopefully finding something if White Biscuit didn''t.


    For now, he focused on using his Spirit Element with the hand that was boosted by the design of his clothes.


    He normally would have the Spirit at both hands, if not at the back, but it seemed that he could have it at only one of the hand designs just for the Spirit Element. He could enable the back design with Spirit Element, either.


    Still, the improvement from just one of the hand designs was more than enough to reach the control of this Element under this situation to the next level.


    He tried to manipte the Spirit Element to move around him but not contact him. Because he used as much as he could without going to a dangerous level, it actually had a visible effect.


    It was like ghostly spheres were moving around him, leaving a trail behind it, whichsted for just a few seconds before dissipating. He had split his mana into ten spheres and had them all move at the same time, without touching each other and not leaving the space of a sphere he had visualized.


    At least, that was the n.


    Splitting them up was the simple part. Keeping them as spheres while moving them all at the same time was more challenging.


    He had used a simr kind of training with his other Elements in the past and had found it to be quite beneficial. It was actually one made by an Archmage designed to push the control to the Element at a great degree.


    Archmage wasn''t a ss but a title given to people working on special Academies of Arcane Art, simr to the one in Delta City. However, they were pretty powerful, as to even start in bing one, you had to learn at least 5 at least medium Master Grade Spells.


    There were other requirements, but that one was the most challenging.


    White Biscuit had noticed this weird urrence, but he didn''t act as Shingi had told him that he would do some type of training. It seemed that he hadn''t studied the Arcane Arts as much to recognize that what Shingi did was unusual.


    Shingi, seeing that he couldn''t move all ten at the same time, started with two and got the hang of it, then started moving another one.


    He still had toplete this training with the rest of his Elements, as he had mastered the Earth Element, but that one only. With the Light Element, he could perfectly control up to 6 spheres, as they were too light and moved too fast and collided after that number. With Fire Element, he had reached actually up to 8 spheres, as it was an easier element than Light, and with Air, he was at five. With Air, he had a simr problem as with the Light Element of the spheres moving too fast, but he hadn''t trained as much with that element.


    Even having perfect control over all ten spheres didn''t mean that you had reached the limit of the mana control for that Element. So after that, he needed to add more spheres while making them also smaller.


    It was said that if one reached perfect control, over a hundred spheres would have reached the limit of the Master Rank. Shingi had his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> at Master Rank for a long time, but it still was far from reaching the possible limit that one could reach in that Rank.


    Stories said that Soren could actually manipte ten thousand at the same time, and each one would be smaller than a grain of rice.


    But reaching perfect control of ten spheres was his goal for now, for all his Elements. Then he would start training with more. He wanted to keep his ability to use them as close to each other as possible. Could help for his ss Evolution.


    He had done little to earn exps to level up to he still needed two levels to reach level 60. Even identally killing the Oozes during training gave him next to nothing, as they were too low level.


    As he started the training with two spheres, he had quite good control and had added the third one right away. After a few more seconds of testing his control, he wasfortable with adding the fourth one. This time the challenge started showing up, as some of the spheres were getting close to colliding with each other.


    It took him half an hour before beingfortable enough to add the fifth one. Once more, the difficulty increase seemed to trouble Shingi, as he was also losing control of keeping the shape of them.


    He, of course, didn''t use his Blessing for this as he needed to learn how to do it by himself, since if he temporally boosted his INT, that didn''t mean that he would actually have a permanent increase at his Element Control ability bypleting the exercise.


    There were no shortcuts this time, and actually, Shingi preferred it this way. When he first woke up in this body and decided to follow that way of Arcane Arts, he knew it wouldn''t be an easy way. Until now, he had some lucky encounters or was using his past knowledge. But this time, it was just him against the unknown, and Shingi weed this challenge with open arms.


    It took him one hour to keep moving all the spheres simultaneously without colliding with each other, and one more to keep them as perfect spheres throughout the entire time.


    Shingi wanted to add the sixth one, but he felt that he was actually close to the danger zone of overusing Spirit Element. So he stopped.


    He had to use no more Spirit Element, but he could use his others with no problem.


    So he started doing the same training with the Air Element.


    He had to actually start with four spheres instead of five, as he could barely control five with the Air Element, and his control of all Elements in this room was weaker. But he quickly got used to it and added the fifth one.


    He had added the sixth one in less than half an hour, making an actual improvement, but his progress became slower.


    As he was almost ready to add the seventh one, after another two hours, as he detected White Biscuit''s aura getting closer to him.


    It seemed like he found something.


    "Sorry for interrupting you, but I think you should see this. It may be what you told me to look for." [White Biscuit]


    Shingi nodded as he stood up and motioned to him to lead the way.


    The room was small, so that didn''t actually need to go too far.


    "I was looking over the walls for any secret switches or anything like that and then felt that this piece of wall here to feel a little rougher than the rest. But can''t push it or anything, so maybe you can do something about it." [White Biscuit]


    Shingi scanned with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> where White Biscuit pointed but noticed nothing out of the ordinary.


    He started feeling the surface, and really it felt a bit different, but the difference was barely noticeable.


    "Did you check if there are other points in the room feeling the same?" [Shingi]


    "Yes. This seems to be the only one. No other point of the room seems to have this subtle change in the way it feels." [White Biscuit]


    Shingi thought about it and decided to test something.


    Shingi started pouring some Air Mana on that surface but noticed no change. He actually felt the piece of the wall there rejecting the mana in a greater force than it should. He also tried with Fire and Light, which were the other two Elements he had currently enabled, and acted the same.


    Finally, he decided to use Spirit Element to spare a bit without putting himself in danger.


    For a split second, he felt the Element to be as normal in the room and then disappearing once more.


    He also felt some connection, which brought an image of a location to his mind. It was the Tower''s maze entrance.

 Chapter 216: The notes

    Chapter 216: The notes


    This strange feelingsted for a split second, but Shingi was certain about what he saw. Of course, he had to let time pass so that he won''t be close to the danger zone by using the Spirit Element, but it seemed that his newpanion had actually found the clue he needed.


    "So? Is it what you wanted me to find?" [White Biscuit]


    Shingi nodded at him. Shingi got impressed that he actually found it by noticing a slight detail like that. He didn''t know if he would notice it that fast.


    "So what now?" [White Biscuit]


    Shingi thought about it. He didn''t need the help of White Biscuit for anything else currently.


    "Want some help with your training? I have read some of the notes I found of my brother. Maybe they can help you." [White Biscuit]


    "Notes? From where?" [Shingi]


    "His ce. After he had disappeared for a few months, they called me to go take his stuff. My parents wanted to throw them, but I kept some of them. I found a notebook that contained some weird coded messages. Took me some time, but I think I had found the way to decode it, even if he kept changing the code every few pages." [White Biscuit]


    This statement impressed Shingi once more. He knew that his brother was smart, but they didn''t spend enough time with each other to know how much. They mostly were seeing what Ameanum was working on at that time, except for ying the game.


    Ameanum enjoyed his brother''s help at those times but didn''t consider them to be close to each other.


    "They may be helpful. Thanks. Have you shared them with the Strom Guild yet?" [Shingi]


    White Biscuit shook his head to deny that statement.


    "Why? I am certain it will grant you some good points if you gave them something like that." [Shingi]


    "But it isn''t something that belongs to me to give it to others. But I am certain that he wouldn''t mind for you to have it." [White Biscuit]


    It was true that his past self didn''t want the Guilds to know of everything he had found, as there were cases of people trying to break into his apartment for this reason. So he had to move now and then, but he could afford it.


    As for what he wrote in the note, he couldn''t remember everything in it. However, it contained information from the start of the game, since itsunch, which was a little over two decades ago.


    This meant that over 100 years had passed since the Tower and the Blessed Ones appeared in this world. Nevertheless, it was impressive that the gamested, being popr for that long, and it still seemed to be popr to a degree.


    Some of the notes there were things that others had noticed or things he remembered, but he was certain that there were things that not a lot knew, that probably even those big Guilds hadn''t discovered after all that time.


    "I guess you don''t have it on you. Right?" [Shingi]


    He nodded.


    "I can bring a copy to you in a week or so. The original is impossible to bring it here." [White Biscuit]


    Shingi understood the reason, as these weren''t digital notes but physical ones, so he had to rewrite them here to pass it to them.


    "I appreciate it. One week is fine. Even if all preparations are ready by them, we will have some time to study them after getting in the Tower." [Shingi]


    Those notes would be more helpful than the ones he kept in his hideouts in the different kingdoms, as the ones in the hideouts were about the Tower mostly. That was why he didn''t spend time to go around them, as he knew that things in the Tower would have changed, and it seemed the case was more than he had assumed in some cases.


    "You should return to Quick Thunder and give him a message. Some things we are going to need have changed. Let me write the list first." [Shingi]


    With the new piece of information, Shingi had a new approach and n, so adjustments were necessary. Most likely, some of the items he put in the list would not be needed, but he put them to be safe. He was confident that they didn''t mind the cost.


    He noticed that his Spatial Ring seemed to let him summon things from in it a bit slower than before, meaning that the room was affecting it as well. But at least it didn''t prevent it from working entirely.


    He wrote the new list and gave it to White Biscuit.


    "Ok. so how do I leave?" [White Biscuit]


    Shingi just pointed at the water.


    Zhen had left just a couple of minutes after they got into the room. Shingi could tell that the tunnel wasn''t too long to get at the other side, so White Biscuit could easily swim to the other side, while he might have some trouble as his senses wouldn''t be the best underwater.


    "There is no other option? Like calling that friend of yours toe and get me?" [White Biscuit]


    It was then when Shingi remembered a detail about his brother.


    He couldn''t swim.


    He had an unpleasant experience at the beach, which made him afraid of the water and swimming.


    "Sorry, but I can''t call him. I can call one from Blue Moon Guild toe and help, though."[Shingi]


    "That that won''t be necessary."[White Biscuit]


    Shingi knew that his little brother found it embarrassing of others to find out that fear of his. He was taking some deep breaths, and Shingi could hear him mumbling to himself, things like ''it is going to be alright'' or ''it is just a game.''


    Shingi decided to help him, or he would stay like that for hours.


    He used some of his Air Man to surround his brother, almost like making a <strong>MANA DOUBLE</strong> of White Biscuit, but around his body.


    The final result was more transparent than the actual MANA DOUBLE.


    It didn''t seem to be considered a new Spell from the System, as there was no notification.


    "What are you doing?" [White Biscuit]


    "Just help you to breathe underwater. This will contain enough air for the entire way. It will also not let any water in, so you won''t need to dry yourself afterward." [Shingi]


    Shingi could detect that White Biscuit was thankful and even gave him a little bow.


    This seemed to be enough to persuade him to get in and get to the other side. Even if he wasn''t a great swimmer in real life, people could do things they couldn''t do out of here.


    It took him more time to get to the other side and outside the water, but Shingi could hold the air mana field active the entire time.


    And so he was left alone to continue his training, which he got back to it right away. He continued working on his Air Element and started with six mana spheres to get used to the tempo once more. It didn''t take him long, and he finally moved to seven.


    His n was, for now, to get them all to eight, which was the max he could reach with his Fire Element, and then work on raising them to ten. If he reached the eight spheres of perfect control on all of them, he wanted to earn one more Element.


    He had Dark and Water left of the Basics, and he would leave Dark forst, as it was the most difficult one. Also, it will be easier to earn it in the Tower than outside of it. He wanted to at least have six out of the seven, counting the Spirit Elements avable. It should help with the Evolution of his ss, or so he hoped.


    He needed one more for Air Element, and then he could work on Light Element, for which his limit was six spheres.


    Hopefully, for every Element other than Spirit, he could have his clothes design and benefits focusing on that single Element. So he currently had all of them supplied with Air mana that made them very light sky blue.


    He had to take some Mana Potions, which he didn''t mind using as he could easily resupply since he was in Carda.


    Unfortunately, that wasn''t the case for his students as the box from his mother was in his Spatial Ring, meaning they couldn''t send them any items. As for trying the same ''hack'' as they used for Mizuneko to have the ''switch ce'' scroll, it wasn''t an option as it would draw too much attention.


    He had just a week to train, as he had to return then to Volig to help him with their new project, that he wanted to have some progress with it before he had to leave.


    Hopefully, the Guilds won''t be too lucky on gathering the materials needed too soon.

 Chapter 217: Start of the ritual

    Chapter 217: Start of the ritual


    Six days passed, and he had made some decent progress in his training. He had seeded in raising his Air Mana Control to the point he could control ten spheres perfectly. Even if it was the Element he had for the least amount of time, it was still not as difficult to master.


    Earth Element was still at ten, although he had to retrain it to get used to it to reach that control in the room. The Fire Element was still at eight mana spheres he could perfectly control, while for Light and Spirit had reached eight mana spheres, he could perfectly control. For the Spirit Element, he had just reached that control justst night.


    When he took breaks to let his MP restore or rest from overusing his<strong> MANA MANIPULATION</strong> Skill, he tried to test the special surface ''switch'' White Biscuit had found.


    He found out that he had to use quite a bit of Spirit Element to reach its limit, and that was enough to keep the room let the Elements work for a full minute. But, unfortunately, it also seemed that he couldn''t deactivate the room''s special property for more than one minute per day.


    During that, he could concentrate on having a mental image of the maze. He had tried to see if he could do anything else by himself, but it was like when he was using his<strong> SCRY MODE</strong>, although things weren''t a blur this time.


    He had one day more until he had to work with Volig, but he had another n for today.


    He had taken a message from Marcy that she had all the items he had ordered for his <em>''eye surgery.''</em>So he sent a message to Marcy to inform Garry to be ready.


    He hadn''t seen White Biscuit with the notes yet, but he didn''t mind, as he would most likely study them after they got back in the Tower. With his new finding of the room, he was confident that what he had in mind would work. But he needed to get back as much power as possible and get at least one of his eyes.


    Since he had better control of Air Element, he learned a new Spell called <strong>WATER BREATHING</strong>, which worked simrly to what he did for White Biscuit the other day. But it was an unfinished Low Grade Spell.


    Toplete it, he had tobine it with Water Element, which he didn''t have yet. Despite that, its unfinished version allowed him to make the way through the underwater tunnel.


    His <strong>ECHOLOCATION</strong> was the only thing he could use to detect where to move, but that was a bit ''blurry, ''but with his current improved mana control of all his Elements and the help of his new spell, he made the swim with no problem. He passed from Zhen''sb and noticed that Ardent Scythe wasn''t around.


    Zhen seemed to be a bit sad, but Shingi didn''t have time to spare for him.


    He headed outside, and on the way there, noticed that there were more yers in the Dungeon than usual. There were even some that would be too high level to get any decent exps from the monsters of the Dungeon.


    Maybe there was a special event, but he didn''t stop, as he was certain Marcy would know the reason.


    He reached the gate and found there one of the two King''s Guards, the younger one. They said nothing to each other, as Shingi just showed his pass and the man let him pass. If Shingi wasn''t in a hurry, he would stay to speak with them. Maybe if he finished early, he would return.


    He made it to his family''s house, as he didn''t want it to happen at the Guild or the store, as others would notice. His house was still not public knowledge cause he rarely was there.


    As he entered the house, he detected Garry, who he recognized by his Mana Pool, and one of the friends of Marcy''s that he hat met when they first started making the Blue Mon Guild.


    She was the mage called Yawning Bird, and she was the main trainer of the mage unit for a time. Sheter became in charge of the potion-making and scroll scribing teams of the Guild. This was important for the earnings of the Guild, as well as to provide the potions for parties like Shingi''s.


    Their Guild was also a business, even if they provided their services through Shingi''s shop, but even so, they were earning quite some fortune from there. So they also advertised the shop, in exchange for a small percent of the shop''s profits.


    Rumors of Volig being a Grandmaster were getting around, but having someone spreading them, especially in the forums, was a better way of doing advertisement than what he could seed with using the services of any NPC.


    Even for the normal services, or getting the ''normal'' weapons and armors was good enough reason to travel even through kingdoms, especially since most thought they would luck out and from a good rtionship with the famous Grandmaster Craftsman or the almost equally famous owner of the shop.


    But both of them were pretty hard to meet, not to mention making a rtionship with them.


    Yawning Bird seemed to be a professional at managing a business, and she was sending weekly reports to Shingi. He didn''t get any of the profits on him as they couldn''t get them from being in the Tower, but he didn''t touch them even now. He didn''t need to buy anything, but he had Marcy spent from that amount anything that he had ordered for the ritual that they would buy.


    "Hello, advisor Shingi. I personally triple-checked the list, and everything are in order." [Yawning Bird]


    Shingi nodded and removed his mask. Yawning Bird knew of his current situation, and he would have to remove it for the ritual. He had healed himself a bit, and other than the emptiness of his eyeholes, everything else in his face was normal. He was able to close every wound and even make it so as not to let a scar. That was only possible because he used Spirit Element Healing Magic.


    He even earned a new Base Grade Spell from <strong>MINOR REGENERATION</strong>, which helped boost the natural restoration abilities of his body to a greater degree. Even if it was just a Base Grade Spell, its effect was at the power of some Master Grade Light Element Healing Spells.


    Unfortunately, the Spell seemed to have no effect restoring his eyes, probably because the damage was too much to be restored that way. Still, it was an impressive addition to his spells, as it would help speed the rests.


    The problem with the <strong>MINOR HEAL</strong> was that the spell restored some of the HP almost of the target unnaturally, as it was an instantaneous effect, so overusing it could harm them instead of healing them. But <strong>MINOR REGENERATION</strong> boosted their natural healing, which normally could be like next to nothing. Still, with the use of the spell, it became significant enough to be just a bit inferior to the <em>HP Regeneration potion''s</em> effect.


    Even if they could easily replenish the potions, it took time, and it was always best to use their consumable resources as much as possible so that the budget used for them would stay low. Many of the resources that were meant for Guild Members were going instead to his party, which would cause a big problem if it continued like that.


    Shingi turned towards Garry, who he could seem to be anxious about. And Shingi couldn''t me him, as he was going to give one of his eyes to someone else, even if that someone was his son.


    "Are you ready? There is no return after we start." [Shingi]


    "I have enough time to prepare myself. You need my help, and if you need me to do it, I will. It is the only way to make things right." [Garry]


    The change in Garry''s personality impressed Shingi. Until recently, Shingi assumed that Garry cared little about his children, but he was trying to protect them all along. He had made some poor decisions about how to do it, but it seemed he wanted the best for his family all along.


    Of course, there was the period of his continuous drinking, but he was a man in grief at losing his wife. Shingi didn''t even consider how that could feel, as he couldn''t know. He was never that close with anyone, but he could imagine it to be many times worse than what he felt when Mikhail took Annoue.


    "Miss Yawning, if you don''t mind, can you help with the ritual? Need someone who can actually see for part of it." [Shingi]


    "Of course, advisor. That''s another reason I am here other than making sure that everything is delivered." [Yawning Bird]


    Shingi was ready to start with the ritual but stopped and looked towards the female yer once more.


    "You can call me by my name, by the way. I am not officially your advisor, so calling me with that title isn''t fitted either way."[Shingi]


    He had acted as their advisor many times, by he never officially became one. He would have to sign a contract to do so, and he didn''t want to sign one unless he had no other choice.


    "As you wish. What would you like me to do, Mister Shingi?" [Yawning Bird]


    Shingi ignored that she was still talking too formally to him.


    It was time to prepare for the ritual to restore one of his eyes.

 Chapter 218: Eye ritual

    Chapter 218: Eye ritual


    Shingi started telling Yawning Bird what materials he needed to get mixed and how much, and she was putting them in a big bowl. Some of them needed to be processed, like grinding them or mashing them, which she could make as she was an Alchemist, so she had the right Skills for the task.


    They had all the materials mixed in the bowl, as in the end, they had a purple ink-like substance.


    Shingi used <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> to make a magic circle on the floor and had Yawning Bird use the substance they just created to paint that one. His Illusion was exactly as he had it in his mind, and it was crucial to be painted like that, so since with hisck of sight, he could miss some points, he had Yawning Bird to do so, even if this didn''t require and skill.


    This was actually a Magic Circle that he had designed all by himself, and there should be nobody else who had designed a simr one. That was because this was a Magic Circle based on the Spirit Element.


    It was meant to help the Spirit Element in the circle be easier for someone to control and strengthen it a bit. There were simr Magic Circles for the rest of the Elements, and fortunately, Ameanum had studied them in the past, so he could use this knowledge for this unknown element. With his current control over the Element, he was confident that it should work, at least to a degree.


    The materials he chose for the substance to make the circle were actually parts of monsters that Shingi was certain that they had stronger Spirit Control. Even if none should be able to use it with no problem, other than the Fairies, Shingi knew a few were using them for some Skills that yers weren''t certain what empowered them, like <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>.


    Garry sat in a chair in the middle of the circle as the circle wasplete and tied him up. The pain of getting one of his eyes should be too much, and they needed him to stay as still as possible.


    They actually used a special enchanted item that looked like what someone in a mental hospital would wear so that he couldn''t use their hands. It also covered half the head of the one who wore it, and when enabled, it adjusted to the body and became as hard as steel, making it impossible for the user to move.


    He had to keep feeding it with mana, preferably of Earth Element, as it would have the strongest effect.


    So he entered the circle, and he started feeding it with his Spirit Element.


    He could detect that Yawning Bird seemed to pay extra attention to what he was doing, as she probably recognized that this was a self-designed Magic Circle. But he had told no one about the Spirit Element, at least not yet. He didn''t ask her to leave, as even if she understood or learned what he was doing, he was trusting her to keep this secret.


    He had used his Blessing to boost his <strong>INT</strong>, as this was too important to let anything from going wrong. It tempted him to use the cure for the <em>Minor Spirit Madness</em>, but he didn''t yet, but he was ready to use it.


    He still wasn''t certain that his <em>Mana Weakened State</em> was because of <em>Minor Spirit Madness</em>, but everything showed it to be the case as both appeared simultaneously.


    As the mana circle took little time to get fully active, and he could feel its effects. The Element''s control could have increased for him to handle another Spirt mana sphere, bringing it to nine, but not perfectly. This was way more than he expected.


    Then he started feeding Earth Mana to Garry''s special restriction suit.


    He had his special design on his clothes to be boosting Spirit Element, on the one hand, Light on the other, and had the design of the back to be of Earth Element. Light Element still had some healing properties, also lessening the pain, which Shingi would use to help Garry deal with the pain. Then, of course, he could use Spirit Mana instead, but he already was using quite a sizeable amount to keep the Magic Circle, and he needed to use it for keeping the eye ''undamaged'' and connected it with him.


    He started using the Light Mana on Garry''s head and made it a little numb but notpletely. Next, Shingi cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on himself as he needed to move as quickly as possible, and with the help of a special tool that had some simrities with a pair of tongs, he went for the eye.


    He went for the left eye, and he quickly pulled it out and cut the nerve. Then he quickly put it in his empty left eyehole. He fed the eye with Spirit Mana during the whole progress, which he noticed wasn''t resisting against it at all.


    Garry didn''t move an inch, but Shingi could tell that he was in enormous pain just from his heartbeat and some noises he made as the suit didn''t even let him speak or scream.


    He could fill the optic never of his to be connecting with the new eye with the help of the Spirit Element. However, the task seemed to be harder than he thought, and if he hadn''t had the help of the Magic Circle or did the training in those past days, he was certain that he would have failed.


    He cast <strong>MINOR REGENERATION</strong> at the new connection, which helped to make the task much less challenging. Fortunately, he had healed his eyelids already, as they didn''t seem to be restricted to what his <strong>MINOR REGENERATION</strong> could fix.


    It took close to half an hour for him to feel that the new nerve wasplete.


    So after a long time, he opened his left eyelid to try to see.


    And it worked. He could actually see. Having only one eye had its problems, like with depth perception, but with his current Skills and experience, the disadvantages were handleable. He wasn''t nning to take both Garry''s eyes, even if he gave it willingly.


    He focused on whatever Spirit Element he could spare to help heal Garry and lessen his pain. It didn''t take long to reach that point, and Garry was free to move since he had stopped feeding the suit.


    "So it worked. You even got back your power instead of mine." [Garry]


    Shingi moved to a mirror hanging nearby to look at himself and his new eyes and noticed that it really was dark crimson instead of the expected green that Garry''s special eyes were.


    He tried enabling and disabling it as before, and it worked simrly as before. The transition was a bit faster but could be because he had only one eye.


    He could feel the effects of his <em>Minor Mana Regeneration</em> once more, as since he had lost his eyes, he didn''t have his <strong>CHA</strong> stat anymore, and without it, the Passive skill seemed to be disabled.


    He could also feel that his control over the Spirit Element had increased a bit when he had his special eyes enabled, like when he had them on a restriction he didn''t notice before was getting nullified.


    <em>''Could this be the Minor Spirit Madness effect outside the Tower?''</em> [Shingi]


    Since it didn''t seem to affect anything else, he was confident of it to be the case. Even though in the Tower it affected him more than just his Spirit Element control, there was the factor of the Spirit voices in there that he didn''t hear outside the Tower.


    Either way, he could easily handle have his special eye active all the time as he could do it even before he got his ss or learned about how it worked. Still, he had to learn more about it and its abilities, but he had the same one as before and didn''t need to learn how Garry works.


    He used <strong>FILTH EATER</strong> to erase the magic circle, especially since he had noticed that Yawning Bird was studying it intensely.


    "I almost had it. Can you design its illusion once more? I think I can improve it." [Yawning Bird]


    Shingi''s senses were telling him she was one hundred percent was lying. She wasn''t anywhere close to understanding it, but she wanted to learn what this was.


    "Maybe some other time." [Shingi]


    Even if he trusted her, Shingi wouldn''t just tell everything to her. The less she knew, the better for both of them.


    "Thank you once more for what you have done. You should rest for now."[Shingi]


    And so Shingi, after he made sure that Garry was ok, he left the house.


    He had put on his mask once more, as even if he had the eyelid of his missing eye, he wasn''t keeping it close all the time and would disturb others. He could make some eyepatch to help him in this situation, which wouldn''t be too difficult. But he was used to moving around without using his sight, and since the mask didn''t have any eyeholes, he did so once more.


    He returned to the gate to see if any of the King''s Guards were there to have some small talk with them before going to the shop to work with Volig on their newest project.


    Unfortunately, none of the two were there, even if it wasn''t that long since he saw one. The normal guards told him a special message was delivered to them, and they had to go to the castle to report.


    Shingi wondered why they went to the castle, as nobody was supposed to be there anymore since the King had moved out.


    Since he couldn''t speak with them, he went to ask a if she knew anything. She was the mayor of the town, after all.


    When he got to the town hall, he detected quite a few Blessed Ones'' auras, which was normal, but all of them were outside the hall and none inside. They seemed to wait for something, and Shingi couldn''t detect either a or Karemon in the building.


    He removed his mask to see and keep his right eye close and saw a note in the door, saying that the mayor was away and the town hall was closed until further notice.


    Shingi was now even more curious, but he couldn''t get to the castle. He probably could stealth his way in, but he would be in some serious trouble if he was caught.


    In the end, he decided to y it safe and got to the shop. He could always ask ater to ask what happened.

 Chapter 219: Elemental sword project

    Chapter 219: Elemental sword project


    Shingi reached the shop and entered the room for leatherworking instead of the forge room.


    He wanted to make his eyepatch, but it wouldn''t be a normal eyepatch. So instead, he would make it so that it would make a simple illusion, which would make it look like he had his other eye. This would be a simple illusion, which pretty much would be a copy of his other eye.


    He had studied arcane words for his <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong>, which helped make enchantments rted to what the spell could do. However, since he needed it to be that small, it actually wasn''t a veryplicated Enchantment.


    With his current Skills, he finished this small project in less than half an hour since he could see once again.


    Still, he needed to feed it to work, but the mana it used was so little that his Minor Mana Regeneration could easily take care of the cost without him losing mana over time.


    He made sure that it looked alright, and even he could hardly tell it was an illusion unless he focused on it a lot.


    It didn''t help him see things better, but at least he didn''t have to wear a mask anymore unless he actually wanted to hide his face.


    So he went to the forge room to see if Volig needed any help to finish anyst-minute orders.


    Getting in, he noticed that instead of working on the forge or hammering something, Volig and Ketnas seemed to make a blueprint of a sort.


    "I see you guys had ended earlier than nned." [Shingi]


    As both of them turned to look at Shingi, they had wide smiles appearing on their faces, especially Volig''s.


    "Your eyes. You did it; you got them back." [Volig]


    "Only one of them." [Shingi]


    At that moment, Shingi stopped feeding mana to the eyepatch, letting the illusion disappear.


    "Just made this to make things easier for others. Still, I am as good or maybe better than before. Losing sight for those past days had helped me a lot." [Shingi]


    Many people had tried not to use one sense to train the others, but it wasn''t the same as if you had actually lost that one sense. Shingi was truly confident that his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong> was more powerful than before, as his other than sight senses had increased to boost the skill''s effects.


    "So you are working on our new project?" [Shingi]


    They nodded as he got closer to see what they had made. They were making the design of the actual sword and where the design would be, but Shingi hadn''t shown how the one he had made for his staff worked yet. Still, he exined it a bit to Volig, which was more than enough for a Grandmaster <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong> like him.


    Normally, a <strong>CRAFTSMAN</strong> couldn''t do Enchantments as good as an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong> or even try to make any <strong>RUNES</strong>, but Volig''s profession had actually recently evolved to <strong>ARCANE CRAFTSMAN</strong>. This seemed to allow him to not only have the ability to learn all the Skills of an ENCHANTER but also use Low-Grade Runes.


    When he was Varic, he used special tools to make functional Runes like that, but now he wasn''t restricted unless he tried something tooplex.


    Shingi cast <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> and cast a replica of the sword ording to the design. Then, he made 6 more illusions of the designs for each element, not including Spirit, of course, since he didn''t have one still.


    Each design''s illusion was a bit bigger than the illusion of the de, but he did it to see all their details easily. He then summoned his staff, which currently had the Light Element design on it.


    He let Volig check it out as it was his first time seeing something like that and then gave it back to Shingi so that he could demonstrate how it worked.


    He changed it to the Air Design, then to Fire, followed to Earth, and finally back to Light. His time to make each design had decreased as his understanding and proficiency with each element had increased. The change was minor, but even something small like that could make the difference between life and death inbat.


    As he finished demonstrating the designs of the Elements he had on his Mana Pool, he did the Water Element and the Dark Element, which both he had still to get.


    Then he started making abination of two and three elements until he had shown all possiblebinations.


    He wasn''t changing the mana gems as he wasn''t nning to use the design, as he just wanted to showcase how to change between them worked.


    It took him a couple of minutes to go through everybination, as he had to let them take a look at them and notice the difference or simrities in the case of multiple element designs.


    "As you see, what I currently have made needs from me to make the change, but I know we can automate it. That is where I need your help, Volig." [Shingi]


    They already had the designs, which wouldn''t be the ones Shingi used at the staff, but the ones at Hineko''s daggers. There were some improvements made, but overall they were the same designs.


    "Hm this is going to be a challenging thing to do. Not even sure if it is possible or where to begin." [Volig]


    Shingi smiled at him as he summoned something for his Spatial Ring.


    A seashell.


    But that wasn''t a normal seashell, but the one, the <em>Spirit</em> <em>Child</em>, resided at. Shingi had tried tomunicate with it, by himself or through Sinhunter, and had actually started earning some of its trust, it seemed. He could speak with it most of the time, unless it was sleeping, which it seemed like it was doing a lot.


    "This should help us. It contains something called a <em>Spirit Child</em>. I think we can transfer it to the weapon and let it take care of the changes between designs."


    Shingi noticed that the <em>Spirit Child</em> seemed to be always tired, even if Shingi never used its energy. The reason was that the seashell was an imperfect boy, and its energy was leaking.


    So he thought that this new weapon could be a nice new body for it. It may even make it be a growth type, as Sinhunter, but Shingi wasn''t certain about it since, in his knowledge about growth type equipment, it didn''t contain how they were made.


    He still wasn''t certain how Varic had made Sinhunter in the first ce. He had asked him about that in the past, and he just told him he had no memory from that day. Of course, if the System didn''t tell that Varic had made it, they would think it was someone else''s creation, but that wasn''t the case.


    "Interesting. Is this from the Tower? Can wemunicate with this Spirit Child? How about" [Volig]


    A long talk between Shingi and Volig began as Shing exined to him everything he knew. He also started mentioning what he knew about growth type weapons, at least some of them, as it would take days to cover everything. Also, most of the things were about developing it, which they didn''t need to discuss currently.


    They started messing with the Illusion of the sword, as Shingi could freely control it and adjust it as he wanted, and they came to a final design that seemed to fit their needs. They would make a long handle, while inside in it, there would reside 6 mana gems, one of each Element. The enabled design would draw for the manna gem ording, with the help of the Spirit Child.


    But first, Shingi had to see if it would do so.


    ''"You awake. We need to discuss something important."'' [Shingi]


    There was silence.


    Then a mental yawn appeared at the mind of Shingi, followed by the voice of the Spirit Child. It was a quiet child-like voice that sounded full of life even if it didn''t speak a lot. It also didn''t appear to be either male or female, but pretty bnced in between.


    "I awake. What friend want to talk?" [Spirit Child]


    Its way of talking was a bit better than Sinhunter''s when it started talking, but still far from perfect.


    Shingi exined to it how he wanted to make a new body for it and that it would help him gather more energy and be less tired all the time.


    There was some more silence as the Spirit Child seemed to be thinking its answer, and after a couple of minutes, it gave its answer.


    ''"Me trust friend. Me agree"'' [Spirit Child]


    ''"Thank you. I am certain you will enjoy your new body."'' [Shingi]


    ''"Sound fun. Me go sleep now."'' [Spirit Child]


    Shingi turned towards Volig and gave him an affirmative nod.


    They could finally start making that sword. They informed Shingi that all the materials from the other Guilds would be here in four days, which he hoped would be enough time to have progressed the project enough for him not to be needed, if not finished.


    He would prefer for them to have finished it or at least make a prototype for him to take or let Cheap Devil to test.


    Once more, the clock was ticking.

 Chapter 220: The perfect spirit body

    Chapter 220: The perfect spirit body


    During the four days, they prepared only the sword''s des, and they made each one with different material or using different techniques. Both Volig and Shingi were in unknown waters, as they had never made one to have a spirit in it, as they never had ess to a <em>Spirit Child</em> before.


    They had to test to see what would make the perfect <em>''body''</em> for it so that there would be no leakage as with the seashell it currently was at.


    Fortunately, there was a way to test it, and that was for Shingi to use his Spirit Element. Of course, he couldn''t make a <em>Spirit Child</em>, but it mostly seemed to be made of Spirit Element. But there was something else that gave it the spark of life. Still, Shingi was certain that just using his Spirit Element would be enough to simte it.


    The first thing they did was test the same de made of simple steel but embedded with a different Element each. They had found out that the bade embedded with Earth Mana was more suitable, followed by Light Element. Water mana seemed to be third, and everything else was incapable of holding it.


    This made things easier since Volig and Shingi could use Earth Mana since Volig was a Half-Stone Giant and had an innate Earth Element Mana Pool.


    Since they found the most suited Element to make the de, they had to find the right material. Unfortunately, normal steel still seemed tock the ability to hold an extensive amount of Spirit Element. So they had to craft it with something else.


    Their store was full of almost every material one could think of, but still, they weren''t nning to waste them on testing recklessly. They had decided that the weapon they would make it at would be a great sword for now, as the designs needed space.


    They could try on smaller weapons in the future, but with the time they had, they were certain they couldn''t make it. Shingi wouldn''t be able to use it himself, as it was a weapon that needed high <strong>STR</strong>, but he could take it with him for Wild Tycoon to use it. She mostly used axes, but she should be able to use it effectively after some practice.


    If she didn''t want it, An could use it who else had high <strong>STR</strong>, even if her <strong>AGI</strong> affected her current weapon more. Shingi had found it weird that she had a weapon of choice like that, as her <strong>STR</strong> was way higher than her <strong>AGI</strong>. But she had been using it perfectly.


    Cheap Devil also used big ded weapons like that most of the time, but he seemed to be an expert with all the weapons.


    For testing the different materials, since they couldn''t test it in their raw forms, they instead made dagger des to not waste as much from each of them.


    It actually took them two of the four days, but they finally found a suitable material. It was actually not something they had in their store, but some of the metal that Shingi had stored in his Spatial Ring from what they had mined from some of the floors of the Tower.


    He had sent some to Volig through the box in the past, but the quantity he could send was next to nothing. Fortunately, he had stored some of them in his Ring.


    Those materials were impossible to find in the market since nobody could get in the Tower, and the Dark Guild kept everything for itself and its allies.


    They seemed to have enough to maybe to make one greatsword but not anything more than that. That meant they had only one try, or then they had to wait for Shingi to get back in the tower and slowly send Volig the materials.


    Since they found a suitable material, they started training in making the Adjustable Rune Design, but in the steel des, they had already made before. It didn''t take long for Volig to learn how to make the design, but the hard part was to power it up with all the Elements.


    Volig''s <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> was decent but far from able to control multiple ones at the same time. Even with Shingi boosting his <strong>INT</strong>, he probably couldn''t make it in time. Runes were a new thing for him, as ever when he was a dwarf, he never reached the point of making them, even Low Grade ones.


    Ketnas was half-human, from her mother''s side, and had actually developed a Mana Pool herself. For Dwarves, it was harder to learn Mana Skills or developing a Mana Pool, as they weren''t made to be mages, even if those were useful for their craftingter on. She had a dual Element Mana Pool of Water and Earth.


    This meant that they missed the Dark Element, but Shingi had just the person in mind to help them; Karemon, the half-demon.


    He had the Dark Element as its innate Element, and he was an <strong>ENCHANTER</strong>, so his control over it should be perfect for using it for runes, even if he couldn''t make runes himself. Fortunately, Volig''s evolved profession allowed him to make runes, and even if that one was challenging because it was an adjustable one, it was considered of lower grade than normal. It was within the limits that Volig was allowed to make.


    Fortunately, Karemon and a had returned as he had told Greg to go check and ask him toe to help them if he could.


    Shingi was still curious about why he and a were away, but they didn''t have time to waste.


    He exined that they tried to make an Adjustable Rune, which seemed to be something Karemon had heard of but never worked on as he couldn''t make even the simplest Rune. Karemon was happy to help, as it would be a fresh and fascinating experience for him.


    So, in the end, it all came to Shingi to control all the Elements holding them together, while Volig would have to ''<em>push''</em> them into the rune. Even that small action from Volig needed great control from his side, as if he put too much<em> ''force,''</em> he could affect the control Shingi had on them.


    They kept testing it for an entire day without a sessful try, but they had gotten closer.


    Shingi could barely control all the Elements together, and when Volig tried to embed them in the rune, at least one was getting free. Having Karemon and Ketnas holding in ce, the mana they provided would make things even moreplicated, so they decided not to follow that route.


    The four days they had passed, and it was the morning of the next one, meaning Shingi had only a few hours he could spend here.


    He decided that they should try at the actual de and hope for the best.


    This time he enabled his Blessing to boost his <strong>INT</strong> and hold in ce the Elements. Volig started slowly pushing them, and with his boosted <strong>INT,</strong> Shingi could pull back some of the Elements that reacted to that action and almost got free.


    They got further than ever, and they were almost done, as half of each of the Elements being in the rune''s design, but it seemed to be the limit of Volig. So Shingi put his hand on Volig''s shoulder and transferred to him the remaining time of his Blessing.


    This boost was enough to make Volig push everything inside, and since they already embedded half of each Element in the Rune, they couldn''t break free that easily anymore. Of course, Shingi still had to hold them in ce so they couldn''t mix, but that was manageable with his normal INT.


    So after a couple more minutes, all the Elements got embedded, and the Rune was finallyplete.


    They examined the de to see if it got damaged, but it handled the whole progress quite well. Shingi also tested it to see how it handled Spirit Element and if anything had changed, but it was of the same quality as before.


    Now they had to handle something they did not know how it would work. To transfer the Spirit Child into the de.


    Shingi brought out the seashell once more to talk with the Spirit Child once more. The talks he and Sinhunter had with it didn''t seem to be clueless on how things worked, but it just couldn''t describe them in words or had the energy to do so.


    ''"Hey there. Are you awake? We have made your new ce to stay."'' [Shingi]


    He heard some mental yawns and murmurings, which weremon if Shingi got it in a moment it wasn''t fully asleep or fully awake.


    ''"New ce. Me wanna see."'' [Spirit Child]


    ''"Well, that was a reason I wanted to speak to you. We aren''t certain how to move you to it. Do you have any ideas?"'' [Shingi]


    There was some silence and then some mental snoring. It wasn''t umon for it to fall asleep during their conversations.


    He fed it some of his Spirit Element, which seemed to be a good way to help it rest faster, but couldn''t do it too often, as it could change the core of the child itself. Shingi didn''t know what change that would be, as the Spirit Child was the one who told him that this would be the case and said nothing more.


    ''"Put me on it. Me will see. Me will move."'' [Spirit Child]


    So Shingi did exactly that, as he put the seashell on top of the sword''s de and waited.


    He had his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> active all the time, and he could see some movement from the seashell''s Spirit Element to the de. It seemed like the child was moving itself.


    It was slow progress, but Shingi couldn''t do anything about it. These were unknown waters for everyone in the room.


    When all the energy seemed to be gone from the seashell, it started cracking, and in a matter of seconds, it turned into many smaller pieces.


    Shingi could see that the progress had ended, and there were no leakages.


    The transfer was sessful.

 Chapter 221: The ritual in the room

    Chapter 221: The ritual in the room


    Shingi checked the weapon and tried to speak with the Spirit Child, but it seemed to be asleep. It seemed like the transfer took a lot from it, but Shingi could feel that it was there.


    He didn''t have time to test it out here, so he just stored it in his Spatial Ring. He wouldn''t let Cheap Devil try it, as he wanted to let him at least one day of trying it. But, since they made it on thest day, he couldn''t do so, but he nned to let him test the next one.


    Of course, Volig wouldn''t be able to make it by himself for now, but mostly because his <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> Skill was still at early Base Rank. If he trained it, he should be able to make it by himself. Also, they made it so that it was an Adjustable Rune for all 6 Elements, but he could try for less, which would be less challenging.


    Shingi had made some notes of the designs for him, and after making sure everything was ok, he was ready to leave the shop.


    He asked Karemon why he and a were away these past few days, but the Half-Demon said he couldn''t tell him yet. He would learn about the reason soon, though.


    Shingi didn''t ask more questions, as it seemed it was something big that probably Marcy would report to him, as he had told Karemon that he would be away once more.


    He went next door to the Blue Moon Guild''s Headquarters, where Quick Thunder waited for him. Quick Thunder had the contract that Shingi had to sign for him, which he had already checked, but was too busy to sign. White Biscuit was also there and had informed him he had the notes, and Shingi nned to check them when they got back to the Tower.


    Marcy talked with his students, and they had reached the next Ruin City and its secret hideout a couple of days ago. Their discussions were brief, as they didn''t want to go over details about what they were doing since Shingi had told them Enerias World might work with the Dark Guild.


    Shingi reread the contract, and it seemed to be pretty straightforward and removed the parts he didn''t like. So he signed the two copies of it, and Quick Thunder did the same, as each kept one copy.


    Then they were ready to head towards the Dungeon, but a figure stopped them. Quick Thunder was ready to attack, but Shingi signaled him to stay put.


    The figure was a known member of Enerias World as she was also one of the New Gods, Ardent Scythe.


    Shingi moved towards her, and she noticed that she was looking down to the ground as he detected her doing the other night.


    As for her to be a spy, Shingi had thought about it, but he doubted it to be the case after all that help she gave to them. As for doing all that to earn their trust, Shingi didn''t think it would fit Ardent''s personality.


    "There is something you want to talk about?" [Shingi]


    She just nodded, as she seemed unable to speak currently, but Shingi wasn''t certain why. He then remembered that Zhen was somewhat sad the other day, so probably something happened between them.


    "I am kinda in a hurry. So can you just tell me what you want?" [Shingi]


    She raised her head and opened her mouth, ready to say something, but then she stopped herself from saying anything. She turned around and started walking away.


    <em>''What was that about?''</em> [Shingi]


    Shingi then felt a hand over his shoulder. It was Quick Thunder''s hand.


    "It seemed like you are really thedy killers. I have never heard of Lady Ardent Scythe being one not speaking." [Quick Thunder]


    Shingi ignored thatment.


    "Let''s move on. We don''t have all day to waste." [Shingi]


    All three had high <strong>AGI</strong>, so they moved quickly and made it to the Dungeon and Zhen''sb quite fast. But, of course, Shingi didn''t mind Quick Thunder knowing about that, as it was expectable for White Biscuit to report at least that much. But in the contract he signed, a paragraph was added after Shingi''s request that they would keep any information about the Dungeon secret.


    He trusted Quick Thunder from carrying this part of the contract, as he knew he was a man that kept his word.


    With the help of Zhen, they made it to the room, but this time they teleported them from theb to the room right away. Apparently, Zhen could use his ability to cover a certain distance per week, so he didn''t use it all the time. The week wasing to an end, and he had enough saved up to make it there and back.


    Zhen seemed to be somewhat better today, but Shingi could detect some sadness in his eyes.


    "Take this." [Zhen]


    Zhen brought out a rune stone with an unknown rune on it that Shingi couldn''t appraise.


    "What is that?" [Shingi]


    "Just use it if you made it on the other side. Will help you on your trips." [Zhen]


    Shingi didn''t press the matter more. He didn''t detect any ill will from him, so he took the stone.


    "So, what is the n? Can you tell us now?" [Quick Thunder]


    Shingi looked around the room and started imagining where he should do what he wanted to do before giving his response.


    "We are going to cause a Mana Release Explosion. A controble one." [Shingi]


    This was what he used to free himself from the chains, and he wasn''tpletely confident but should be the reason he teleported her without dying. Unfortunately, he couldn''t have the ability to respawn because if he had, he wouldn''t appear in this ce, and also, all his wounds would have healed. Since both weren''t the case, this meant that he somehow forced a portal to open.


    From his talks with Zhen, he understood that the Master of his was also opening portals from here to the Tower, so he knew it was possible.


    "Are you serious about that? It will lead to you and anyone else in the room to die." [Quick Thunder]


    "That''s what the materials I asked you for are for. To make sure we don''t get to that point. So shall we start?" [Shingi]


    Quick Thunder brought out from his Spatial Ring all the materials Shingi ordered. They were materials needed to make a special field to a small ce in the room. He will have to be outside of it to do the explosion and enter it after he finished, and the explosion was ready to start, meaning he would have very little time. The field wasn''t active since Shingi wouldn''t be able to enter if it was active, which meant he had to activate it.


    He will have to boost his <strong>INT</strong> and triple cast <strong>HASTE</strong> to himself to have a significant chance to make it all in time. Making the fieldpared to the ritual he made for getting back one of his eyes was nowhere nearparable, with the field being many times easier. The hard part was finding all the materials.


    White Biscuit helped, as much as he could, while Quick Thunder and Zhen had to leave, as the explosion would kill them if they stayed. The field that Shingi was making wasn''t a secret one, so Quick Thunder had no interest in looking over it. Shingi had ordered some extra materials that weren''t needed for it so that they wouldn''t know exactly what he was nning to do with them, but he was certain that few had possibly understood.


    Some of the extra materials, though he would use them for a few things he needed to do while at the Tower so they wouldn''t go to waste.


    White Biscuit would remain in the field''s area, which was just big enough to fit two people.


    So it was finished, and all Shingi needed to do was make the explosion using almost all of his Mana. He couldn''t use all of it, as he needed some to enable the field, and if he wouldn''t be able to keep his <strong>HASTE</strong> Spells active, making him unable to make it in the field.


    He was carefully and slowly gathering all his mana in a space before him without trying to change it. His Mana Pool had increased these past few days, so he had more mana to spare, but he nned to use as much as he could. He had used enough Spirit Element to change the room to allow all the Elements to word normally, as he was confident that he needed to do all of that while the connection was open.


    He had gathered all his mana in a ball, a little bigger than a basketball, in front of him, and he barely was keeping its shape with his hands and using his skills. One could see multiple colors in the ball of each of the Elements he used: Air, Fire, Earth, and Spirit. Air was white, Fire was red, Earth was green, while Spirit didn''t have a color and looked like empty space.


    The moment would let it go from his hand, it would start the explosion, as he couldn''t keep its shape from a distance.


    Shingi took a deep breath and moved with everything he had.


    White Biscuit couldn''t keep up with his speed, especially since he saw the explosion, which made a dazzling light, and he had to close his eyes.


    When he opened them once more, he noticed Shing, heavily sweating and breathing, in front of him. The distance he covered was pretty small, but the speed he reached was more than he ever had tried to reach, way over his limits.


    But he made it barely in time.


    As the explosion was over, they noticed a portal was really open, and Shingi knew that they had just a few seconds before it prevented the Elements from working in the room and probably would cause the Portal to close.


    Shingi disabled the portal and jumped inside, followed by White Biscuit.


    The other side, as expected, was the Maze, but it was the entrance of it, not the exit.


    This time, Shingi didn''t n to ''clear it'' and would make it to the exit as soon as possible. Last time, he was too arrogant and thought that everything worked out until that moment that it would as well. He paid the price for this arrogance.


    He wasn''t nning to repeat this mistake.


    He exined to White Biscuit what they had to do, and began their trip to the Tower.

 Chapter 222: In the way joining the party

    Chapter 222: In the way joining the party


    Shingi and White Biscuit quickly made through the floors, especially since they didn''t try to clear them all. Shingi primarily tested the new sword after the Spirit Child was awake, taking two days to awake.


    Sinhunter didn''t seem to like the ''new kid'' since it could use more Elements than it. On the other hand, Shingi could use its runes, which allowed him to do different things.


    He could use it simrly to his staff to boost his mana and purify it to empower his spell. He could also make it produce its mana to be used to spell-like attacks, that even a non-arcane user could use them, as far as they became familiar with how those attacks worked.


    It was harder to use because of its size, and his <strong>STR</strong> was too low to use a greatsword efficiently, and he had a mage ss. However, he could still use its rune effectively. Even if the extra effect of special attacks was beneficial, it was almost useless without swinging the sword efficiently.


    It was still quite helpful to use and was faster to change between the Elemental Boosting Runes than with his staff because of the help of the Spirit Child.


    ''Maybe we should try to make a staff version next instead.'' [Shingi]


    Shingi made it to level 60 and couldn''t earn another level unless he evolved his ss, or more precisely, he didn''t want to earn another level. He could keep leveling up, but if he went over level 60, he couldn''t evolve his ss no matter what and would lose lots of benefits.


    He wasn''t aware how exactly he could evolve his ss or what benefits he would get, but he had a few clues. By checking his inner skill houses, he had found that his <strong>MANA SENSE, MANA MANIPULATION</strong>, and <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> were still requirements. His inner selves at those ces had the special tattoo, and all three were of different colors and not ck as they were before.


    Shingi had thought that the tattoo could mean that those Skills had passed the required proficiency, but it seemed he was wrong, meaning that the level 58, he had to have them in a higher Rank. That meant he would need to have <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> and <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> to Grandmaster Rank and <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> to Divine Rank, which for thetter was impossible to do so.


    Or at least that was what Shingi thought to be the case.


    <em>''There can be only one person alive with <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> at Divine Rank, and most people who reached a Skill at that Rank is a God or Goddess. But I don''t think I had heard of one with that high <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>.''</em>[Shingi]


    He didn''t know of all the Gods, and not every God and Goddess became to be like that by getting a Skill to Divine Rank. Still, he wondered if indeed there was nobody who had reached the Divine Rank on that Skill.


    He didn''t have to worry about it now, though.


    He rechecked the tattoos and noticed that they changed, and he seemed to miss only one piece since each was of a simr size to the final pic. He checked all his inner houses of skills and spells, but no sign of his other inner selves having the missing tattoo.


    This could mean that he missed the Skill or Spell, or the requirement was something else entirely.


    Shingi kept working on increasing his proficiency with both Water and Dark Element, even if he wouldn''t try to earn those missing Elements yet for his Mana Tree. He wanted to increase his Mana Pool even more, which he hoped would be the case when his ss would get evolved. He had more <strong>MP</strong> than one with his stats should have because of the Blessing of Nyhm, but if he had to have split his Mana Tree to let multiple Elements in it, he needed much more than ordinary people.


    Shingi wasn''t the only one who improved by going through the floors, but White Biscuit learned more than just a handful of new tricks. Shingi gave him two rings with Elemental Daggers, like the ones he had made for Hineko. He had made improved versions for Hineko, kept the older versions, and gave White Biscuit thetest one he had taken from Hineko.


    White Biscuit was a quick learner and could also reach the point of evolving his ss if they cleared a few of the floors. But they were in a hurry, as his students waited for him for some time. So he wanted to meet with them as soon as possible.


    Shingi couldn''t speak with them through chat, as only the party chat worked while in the Tower, and only for those on the same floor. Still, he couldmunicate with Marcy, who couldmunicate with them, but he didn''t want to use it this way unless he had something important to say.


    Some of the followed floors had a simr puzzle-solving theme, like the maze floor, but some were the usual monster-filled floor.


    Shingi didn''t take any unnecessary chances to earn more exps, and fortunately, he had enough exp to reach level 60 by the time they reached the portal gate for the city floor.


    "Get ready to move as soon as we appear. If there are any people, we avoid them and only fight them if escape is impossible. Do you remember the directions to the ce?" [Shingi]


    White Biscuit nodded as he showed a face of determination. They walked through the gate and appeared outside the whereabout of the City. They could have appeared anywhere, but fortunately, they weren''t anywhere near any yers. Or at least Shingi didn''t detect any.


    He used everything he had to detect his surroundings, and he was confident that there was nobody around, but they had to move.


    The hideout was outside the City but was in another corner from where they currently were, so they had to sneak around it. Fortunately, White Biscuit had a Rogue ss, meaning his <strong>STEALTH</strong> was decent. So, with the help of Shingi, who cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> on both of them, they moved at a decent speed, and it was hard for even professional yers to detect them.


    On their way, they encountered a few groups of yers who patrolled around. However, they didn''t stay for long and kept moving toward the center of the City or a ce east of it.


    Shingi wondered why they were going to the East, but they didn''t have time to investigate for now. First, he would meet with his students, and maybe they would know. If they didn''t, he could explore with their help.


    Even if with his current Skills and Spells, Shingi was confident that the two of them wouldn''t be detectable by any yer, some items could do so, and he wouldn''t be surprised if the Dark Guild had a few of them. However, they wouldn''t have them in bulk, as they were hard to gain.


    They kept moving for four hours, which used a lot of the mana of Shingi, but because of his vast <em>Mana Pool</em> and <em>Minor Mana Regeneration</em>, he still had his remaining <strong>MP</strong> on a safe level, but still had to use some <em>MP Regeneration Potions</em> to be safe.


    He had noticed that his <em>Minor MP Regeneration</em> had been weakened when he got back to the Tower, which should be because he started hearing the Spirit Voices, once more, as part of the <em>Minor Spirit Madness.</em>


    He still hadn''t taken the cure, but he nned to do so soon. He didn''t know if there would be any side effects from it getting lifted, which was a rare urrence in those situations, so he would do so only when they were in a safe ce.


    They reached their destination, which was a broken pir. There were many like that all over the ce, so it didn''t stand out too much.


    It seemed to be part of the ruin of a nearby temple. Still, if one were perceptive, they would notice that this fallen pir was hollow, and using a specific tap, the top of it could open, and people could go through it as it led to a tunnel leading to the floor''s hideout.


    Detecting that the pir was hollow was difficult, as even if you hit it, you weren''t getting a feeling like that unless you were as perceptive as Ameanum or were aware of its existence. He remembered that this was the hideout that took him the longest to find, back when he was still a yer.


    Shing and White Biscuit crawled their way in the tunnel, as it wasn''t tall enough for them to move while standing. The door closed after a few seconds by itself, as it stayed open for a few seconds only.


    Soon they reached the usual cave-like corridor, which led to arger room, where Shingi could detect some movement.


    With his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, he quickly could tell that those were his students.


    He finally was back with them.

 Chapter 223: Rejoining the party

    Chapter 223: Rejoining the party


    Shingi sent a message to White Biscuit to stay behind for now. They were at the same party as he got recruited by White Biscuit, so he could use the party chat with him.


    He still had his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> Spell active. He wanted to test them to see how well they progressed in improving themselves during the time he was away.


    He entered the room and noticed the different activities each of them did. An and Dark Shadow were training together, having a spar with each other. She used her double scimitar while having the two des connected. In the past, Shingi had noticed that she used it mainly with the des being separate, but she could use it at itsbined state wasn''t as proficient.


    Dark Shadow had grown in size, being a little less than twice the size Shingi had left him. Its neck was a little longer, and its body wasn''t as rounded as before and looked more like a fat eagle. Its wings increased in size a bit but didn''t look like being able to fly. But Shingi knew Dark Shadow had the <strong>FLY</strong> Spell.


    On its legs, Shingi also noticed that it wore dark gauntlets designed to fit its bird feet. It covered its talons, making them sharper, helping them act like des, and causing more damage. Shingi was unsure of how Dark Shadow came to have these as they didn''t report finding something like that, and none of his students would have the Skill to make them. But as he got a closer look at them and used his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> on them, he found it made those gauntlets out of mana.


    The gauntlets were abination of Dark and Earth Mana, which confused Shingi since Dark Shadow didn''t have Earth Element at its Mana Pool.


    Shingi turned his attention towards Hineko, who was currently working on producing some potions. Shingi saw Hineko had some pieces of paper he was reading, which seemed to be new recipes he could make.


    Little Phoenix was in her meditation stance and worked on developing her Mana Tree. Shingi was seeing rocks moving around her, up and down, which he was confident that it was because of her Gravity Mana.


    Syra was in a corner watching An and Dark Shadow, training. As for Price, Shingi didn''t see him being around.


    He focused all his senses to see if Price was around or was hiding, and he soon had detected him. He was some distance behind him, and was making his way towards where White Biscuit was waiting.


    He made his way there and noticed that White Biscuit wasn''t under the effects of <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> anymore because Shingi had moved too far to keep the Spell active without giving more Mana than he could afford. White Biscuit was using his <strong>STEALTH</strong> Skill to hide, but to the senses of Price, he was like not using it at all.


    Price was under the effects of an <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> himself, which Shingi recognized to be the version of Little Phoenix''s and not his. He probably used a Spell Scroll since he moved that far from Little Phoenix, and she didn''t provide any mana.


    Shingi couldn''t tell what Price''s stance was currently if he had any weapons in his hand or not, but he was sure that he had his des at hand or at least on the ready to draw them.


    Both he and Price reached where White Biscuit was, and Price was in front of him. White Biscuit hadn''t detected Price.


    Shingi, at that point, focused on affecting the mana of the <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> Spell on Price to break the Spell.


    ================================


    SPELL LEARNED


    The Spell DISPEL MAGIC (Base Grade) has been learned.


    ================================


    White Biscuit jumped away from the unknown individual, who appeared out of nowhere. Price charged at him as he lost the element of surprise.


    Shingi could tell that Price had leveled up a few times, and since he had an Evolved ss, he had the upper hand on this battle. Still, White Biscuit''s natural talent seemed to help him keep up a bit. Price had some talent, but he mostly got where he was through tough work and the benefits of getting through levelling up his skills.


    The battle''s result was obvious that Price would be the final winner, as he was still inexperienced, even after the days of training with Shingi on their way up the floors.


    "That''s enough. "[Shingi]


    The moment he said that, Price jumped back and turned toward Shingi.


    "You took your sweet time. I see you picked up a newbie on the way too. Typical you. "[Price]


    Price sheathed his daggers and walked back towards the room that the rest were in.


    As Shingi entered the room, he saw a dark ball heading towards his way at incredible speed. It was, of course, Dark Shadow who went to hug the leg of Shingi. Shingi didn''t try to avoid it and let it be.


    "So you are finally back. "[Syra]


    Shingi turned towards the Spiritpanion, and now that he was closer to her, he noticed something strange. She was slightly smaller than before. However, the change in size was barely noticeable, for at least him, meaning that others probably hadn''t noticed. Maybe even Syra hadn''t noticed.


    "So, how did you guys do while I was away. I see that some of you have some new toys. "[Shingi]


    As he said that, Dark Shadow let go of Shingi''s leg and started demonstrating his new piece of equipment by doing some quick kicks in the air.


    "How long was it since he made them. "[Shingi]


    He asked this question to Syra, but another one answered him.


    "Been only. two days. since they reached. their current state. "[???]


    Shingi turned towards the source of this strange voice. It sounded weird, as each word was of a distinct tone like someone had recordings of different people and tried to mix them all to make their sentences. The tones used among the ones of his students or pretty close to them.


    The source was Dark Shadow.


    "I looked forwardto meet you again, Red Eye. "[Dark Shadow]


    Shingi had apparent confusion in his eyes as he turned towards Syra for answers.


    "He had been ''talking'' like that for thest week. He seems to reproduce our voices using Air Magic, so he uses words he had heard from us to speak. I had seen magic like that in the past but never expected this one to produce one. "[Syra]


    Shingi had heard about magic to do something like that but never considered for Dark Shadow to learn how to use it since he wasn''t as familiar with it himself.


    Now they couldmunicate with each other more straightforward, which was good. However, with some training, he should have the ability to produce a voice of his and not use of others.


    Shingi then checked Dark Shadow''s <strong>STATUS</strong> and noticed that he had reached level 40, which was quite impressive considering that the exps he needed for each level seemed to be close to how much Shingi needed. Fortunately, they would start to earn more exps from the Floors toe, since the enemies there would be of higher level.


    "Good job, Dark Shadow. "[Shingi]


    He patted his ''pet ''as this was his signature move to congratte people he was close with, like he did with Annoue.


    "So what about you, Hineko? You seem to have found some new recipes. Did you guys find a treasure room or something? "[Shingi]


    Shingi knew that there were some secret rooms on some floors, which were random ces, and once they were found, they would disappear within the hour since the first outsider entered them. Those rooms contained many treasures, like weapons, gold, or even books of forgotten knowledge.


    "Hm? Oh, we haven''t been that lucky. Those, actually, were dropped by some guards we had to fight when reaching this floor. When we got to the floor, there was a squad of theirs at the same ce, and we had to fight them, and one dropped this book with recipes. "[Hineko]


    The response surprised Shingi, as the chance for a yer to drop something without him being a Red yer was rtively small. However, it wasn''t impossible since he had made that chance in the past and earned his first Spatial Ring as his new self.


    "Anything good in those recipes, then? "[Shingi]


    He didn''t have the chance to read what was on those papers since he was too far, so he was curious to see what they were about.


    "I am currently studying how to make The Potion of the Eagle Sight. "[Hineko]


    Shingi''s eyes widened after hearing the potion''s name, and he reached with his hand to get the papers that Hineko studied to get a look. Hineko didn''t stop him, as he trusted that Shingi knew what he was doing.


    "They they are truly part of it. "[Shingi]


    Everybody looked at Shingi with apparent confusion, especially Hineko.


    "What do you mean? What is it part of?" [Hineko]


    Shingi turned towards Hineko and answered with a grin on his face.


    "Those are pages of the Philosopher''s Tome."[Shingi]

 Chapter 224: History, gifts and new ideas

    Chapter 224: History, gifts and new ideas


    "Don''t you mean Philosopher Stone? "[Hineko]


    Shingi looked towards him with a grin on his face.


    "Not really. It has nothing to do with the famous Philosopher Stone you guys have probably heard from many other sources. There are items simr to that the stone would be in this world, but what I am referring to is something different. It is a rare Tome of a person from before the Tower''s appearance. "[Shingi]


    Once more, Shingi had his students'' attention, as all of them showed interest in topics like about stories of the history of this world.


    Even Price showed interest. Even if he had yed the game for longer than the rest of Shingi''s students, he hadn''t been great at finding out about pieces of history in the world like that.


    "The person''s true name was lost through time, and ha had many names and titles. The Philosopher was one among them, as other than his great alchemical achievements, they knew him about his academic interest in researching everything. There are stories that he could make anything by himself, even armors and weapons, that an Alchemist shouldn''t be able to make. Some say that he broke the limits of the professions and had mastered them all." [Shingi]


    There were some gasps among the crowd, especially from Hineko and Little Phoenix, who were the only with a Profession other than Shingi, so they knew that earning over one was impossible.


    "But as some of those figures'' destiny is meant to be, his life ended, and the secrets of his disappeared with him. Or so people thought until rumors spread of a tome''s existence with personal notes of the Philosopher. Since then, many had tried to collect all pages of the Tome which had spread all over the continents, and unlock the secret of the Philosopher "[Shingi]


    Hineko, who seemed to be in some deep thought after hearing the story, after a few seconds of silence and thinking he seemed to have something to say.


    "How can you be certain that those pages are of this Tome? Saw nothing strange about them to indicate that they are so precious." [Hineko]


    Shingi raised his hand with the pages and smiled at Hineko. Hineko''s eyes turned to their confusing state, and then they changed to one of fear as the pages were on fire.


    "<strong>WHAT ARE YOU DOING?</strong>" [Hineko]


    Shingi said nothing. He just moved his hand with the papers, and the fire was out since he made it with his mana. He then gave the documents to Hineko.


    Hineko checked the papers, and his eyes were ones of surprise once more since he noticed that they didn''t get damaged at all.


    "Papers of the Tome are indestructible. Not even the fire of an Ancient Dragon could destroy them. It would damage them, but they designed them to repair themselves in those cases." [Shingi]


    I see, but how could you tell that they were indestructible just from hearing me saying what was on them? "[Hineko]


    "Them being indestructible is a clue for the true nature, but isn''t the only one. Its content is also another clue. You see, there is no Potion of Eagle Sight, or at least isn''t a potion doing what you think. Papers of the Tome are rumored to contain information about the creation of items that don''t exist, and in reality, it is just a failed recipe. Or they are unfinished ones, some say, and only if youplete the Tome, you will get the real recipes. But nobody has seeded in finding all the papers of the Tome." [Shingi]


    Shingi was aware of almost all the potions of the game, and even if there was a chance that the Potion of Eagle Sight, to be one he hadn''t heard about, after seeing that the papers were indestructible, he was confident of what was their true nature. Making papers like that was difficult and very expensive to make, and he was sure that nobody would do so for some potions like that. So even if their description made them seem useful, the cost of making the papers like that wouldn''t be worth it.


    "So they are entirely useless? And I wasted so much time trying to learn them. "[Hineko]


    Shingi patted the back of his depressed student.


    "At least we learned something interesting." [Shingi]


    Hineko turned towards Shingi with obvious confusion.


    "The person who had them on them was part of the Dark Guild. He probably wasn''t a low-rank individual, and him having those papers probably means that they try to gather them. However, it is strange that he had them on him. I doubt that he didn''t know of their true nature, which can mean three things. Either the person who had them either was hiding them, recently gained them, or was supposed to deliver them somewhere. "[Shingi]


    Shingi thought about it, but did;t have enough details to find an answer.


    "Do you remember anything about the person who had the,? "[Shingi]


    Hineko and the rest shook their hand, as they didn''t seem to have anything in their mind that they could share about that person.


    "Well, there is no reason to worry about it for now. We have other things to take care of. Price, on our way here, I noticed that they seem to move toward a certain space out of the city. Are you aware of what they are doing and where? "[Shing"]


    "They are digging for something. Not sure what, though. "[Price]


    Shingi started having some deep thoughts about what Price just said and how they should proceed.


    "We need to find more about their ns on this floor. Price, you and White Biscuit investigate when you consider it to be a good time. Remember that you are supposed to just got gather information." [Shingi]


    Price nodded and then turned towards White Biscuit and signaled him to follow him. White Biscuit was confused for a bit but followed Price after a couple of seconds of pause.


    "Well, then how about we move on to other matters. An, I have a new weapon for you. "[Shingi]


    He brought the greatsword with the Spirit Child out of his Spatial Ring and presented it to An.


    "Ththanks. "[An]


    She took it, and she swung it around with ease using only one hand, while Shingi had to use both to just hold it. Her <strong>STR</strong> seemed to have increased a bit.


    "I thought you wanted to use more light weapons, and leave the heavier types to me." [Wild Tycoon]


    Even if An''s <strong>STR</strong> was higher than her <strong>DEX</strong>, her fighting style used more speed than her physical power. Still, her <strong>STR</strong> was of help with that style but was peculiar about why she fought like that.


    "I would normally have given it to you, but it is mostly suited for someone with Arcane abilities. This is just a test one, but hopefully, Varic can make more and of different types of weapons in the future." [Shingi]


    He then exined what the sword was and how she could use it, which was quite easy as the Spirit Child handled most of the tasks. An seemed to have connected with the Spirit Child, and the two of them had started cooperating almost perfectly with each other in a short time.


    After Shingi made sure that she fully understood the capabilities of the sword, he decided to move on to the next task at hand.


    "Phoenix, do you have some time?" [Shingi]


    She was in the middle of meditating and gathering mana to improve her Mana Tree and improve her control of her Special Mana. Then, she stood up and walked towards Shingi after hearing him calling her.


    "What are we going to learn this time?" [Little Phoenix]


    Shingi didn''t mind her line of thought since they spent the most time together either fighting or training.


    "I need your help with Evolving my ss. I seem to miss one requirement but can''t find what it is."[Shingi]


    He knew that Little Phoenix was still a newbie, but sometimes to solve a problem, you need the eyes of someone like that.


    He exined to her what he currently had found out about the requirements he fulfilled and everything he knew about Dormon and revealed that his ss was a True ss. Of course, he didn''t want that information to be known by many, but he trusted Little Phoenix to keep it a secret.


    After hearing everything, Little Phoenix went into deep thought. There were minutes of silence, but then she seemed to have an idea.


    "How about asking Dormon?" [Little Phoenix]


    "That is impossible now. If he is where we think, then we are still far from reaching his cell, and thest time that I saw him he wasn''t in a state to answer any questions. "[Shingi]


    "True. but what about the others Protectors. Didn''t you say that you had met one in the past and she has the eyes on you? Can''t you ask her if she knows anything?" [Little Phoenix]


    "She may be more difficult to find than Dormon. but I got an idea now. Thanks for the help."[Shingi]


    It confused Little Phoenix how exactly she helped, but she was happy that she did.


    As for Shingi, he got ready-to-use something that he hadn''t done for some time.


    He would use his <strong>SRY</strong> Mode.

 Chapter 225: The missing requirement

    Chapter 225: The missing requirement


    He couldn''t use his <strong>SCRY</strong> mode before after missing his eyes, and was too busy when he got one back. He had checked, though, and the option to use it was there.


    He wanted to check on Annoue, but he needed to first use it for the other target he could  Dormon.


    He focused on his mode to activate it and then picked his target.


    His sight started moving up through the floors at great speed, but he couldn''t get many details through the trip about those floors.


    His sight reached the cell that he had seen Dormon being each time he had used his <strong>SCRY</strong> on him. No signs of anyone else in the other cells this time.


    Shingi focused on his current form made by the Spell-like ability given by the System, and tried to reproduce what he didst time with Annoue. In addition, he focused on manipting the surrounding Spirit Mana to change his current form and allow him tomunicate with Dormon.


    His ability to control this new Element had changed massively since his return to the Tower. He could still improve it much more, but currently, he could manipte some, even in his current state. While in <strong>SCRY</strong> Mode, it had weakened his skills massively to be unusable, other than his <strong>PERCEPTION</strong>, which was weakened but still helpful.


    As for his mana-rted skill and mana control, it also had gotten weaker, but was still an option. He couldn''t cast any spells, but could manipte some of the surrounding Element at a degree, and Spirit was the one that was easier to find in the Tower, other than Air and Earth.


    Shingi could feel changes in his form, but nowhere near what it feltst time when he could talk with Annoue. He wasn''t sure what had triggered the change back then, but he was confident that the Spirit Element had to do with it.


    He tried to whisper things now and then to see if he could get a reaction from Dormon, but there was none for a long time.


    His <strong>SCRY</strong> couldst for one hour currently, and half of that time passed, and he had no reaction from Dormon. He had noticed his body moving, and he was confident that Dormon was awake, but his movement seemed strange.


    Shingi wasn''t sure what it was and didn''t have time to think about it.


    He was close to thest ten minutes of his mode when Shingi noticed Dormon twitching at one of his whispers. Shingi waited a bit and whispered again.


    Another twitch.


    He waited once more, but this time for two minutes, and whispered once more. Then there was another twitch.


    This was clearly a reaction to his whispers; otherwise, they would be some incredible timed coincidences.


    "Hello, Dormon. I am the one that inherited your Legacy. "[Shingi]


    Of course, by Legacy, Shingi referred to the True ss.


    "I need your help. I seem to miss something to reach its next stage. Can you help? "[Shingi]


    At that point, Shingi noticed Dormon''s mouth moving as he let out some whispers that even he couldn''t listen clearly. So he moved his form closer to hear more precise, but he could not understand what he said.


    He could listen the words, but they were in anguage he wasn''t familiar with. It seemed to be four words that he kept slowly repeating.


    Shingi tried to memorize them and asked for any other clue, but Dormon kept repeating those words.


    The time of Shingi''s <strong>SCRY</strong> was over, and he had returned to his body.


    He had some new info but was uncertain how he could use it.


    ''There were four words, and my current requirements are four. Maybe each word is for one requirement? But whatnguage was it? It sounded very ancient. ''[Shingi]


    Since it was Dormon, who was the Father of all Dragons, Shingi had thought of Dragonic. But he knew thatnguage. Those words didn''t trante to any of the word he knew.


    Still, now that he thought about it, part of the words sounded to be Dragonic like, but something was different.


    <em>''Could it be its ancient form? ''</em>[Shingi]


    Dragons existed for a long time, and theirnguage, even if it wassn''t used by many, it had changed through that passage of time. Shingi had heard about Ancient Dragonic, but only stories and rumors. Nobody he knew could speak it, not even the Gods he was on friendly terms with.


    He repeated those words out loud to see maybe if it was a chant, but nothing happened no matter how many times he repeated them.


    "What are you keep saying there? "[Syra]


    Everybody else was currently busy training, or working, but Syra was free and was paying attention to Shingi currently.


    Shingi exined to her about Dormon, and what he just learned, as well as what he thought all this meant.


    "It could be something else, of course, but I will need to research more. "[Shingi]


    "I see. So if those words are the requirements, can''t you remove the ones you already have. I mean, even if you don''t know the ancient form of thatnguage, the simrities it has with the one you know may help you find which one is for the ones you have. "[Syra]


    Shingi thought about it, and it had some chance of sess.


    He tried to think what the words in modern Dragonic were for <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, <strong>MANA</strong> <strong>MANIPULATION,</strong> and <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong>. After some intense thinking, there were simrities with three of the words. <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> and <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> were each two words each in themonnguage. Still, in othernguages, they were one word, as also some Skills that were one word in Common were multiple words in othernguages.


    That let him with one word, which he was uncertain what it meant, but he now had some more clues.


    He pulled out some paper and a pen and started writing down the differences between the ancient and modern versions of the three words. Of course, he was going by the way it sounded for the ancient form since Dormon couldn''t write them down for him, but still, for Shingi, it wasn''t an unpassable obstacle.


    He had projects like that in the past. He had learned some of the game''snguages, as somenguages were versions of another one.


    It''s been a long time since he could work on a project of that kind, and he enjoyed the chance to do so. Of course, he could use his Blessing to increase his <strong>INT</strong>, but this was one of the times that he wanted to seed by himself.


    Hours passed and seemed to have gotten prettyte, as everyone else had brought themselves to sleep. Price and White Biscuit had returned but had nothing to report. They would rest for a few hours and then go back to check the members of the Dark Guild out there.


    Shingi didn''t stop working on that project of his, and since he didn''t use any Skills or anything physical heavy activity, his <strong>SP</strong> was spent at a slow rate.


    It had gotten prettyte, and his <strong>SP</strong> had gotten pretty low, making Shingi stop and catch some sleep.


    He didn''t enjoy pausing his project, but then he had an epiphany. He could continue working on it in his <strong>TRANCE</strong> <strong>ROOM</strong>.


    He could use it again when he got his eye back, even if he had Minor Spirit Madness. He had used it a bit on his way here and noticed that it was somewhat different than before.


    The room seemed to be somewhat blurry, and the mana harder to control than before, but it still gave him some benefits in training there. He was uncertain if it was because of Minor Spirit Madness or him having only one of his eyes. Since he got Minor Spirit Madness, he felt them weaker, and they were even weaker out of the Tower.


    He was confident that those abilities had to do with the Spirit Element, but he was uncertain why he had ess to them before having the ability to use this new Element.


    He still had a lot to learn about it, but he was uncertain who to ask. Even Syra helped little about it, as she had mentioned that the Elements here felt different from her world.


    Still, Shingi tried to get some of her lectures and use them to his advantage when he had the chance to do so.


    He continued his research in the <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> as he visualized papers forms, there were getting filled with the information he needed at the time.


    His <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> was at Grandmaster Rank, making the limits of what he could do in the <strong>TRANCE ROOM</strong> to be close to nothing, and also he could multitask and make things faster than before. He was inplete control of the room, and could make new things, but all of them were close to illusions, but different since they weren''t made using mana.


    His progress was faster because of that, and he finally reached a breakthrough.


    He was almost sure that he found the trantion, but he rechecked many times since he was into big trouble, if it was true.


    After many checks, the conclusive answer seemed to be the same.


    He needed Dragon Blood.

 Chapter 226: Element Training

    Chapter 226: Element Training


    Shingi didn''t like histest discovery, but he could do nothing about it. Requirements for evolving a ss only changed up to level 60, and since he had reached that point, there was no way to go around it.


    He knew that some sses needed the user to consume a particr substance, but those requirements were scarce. But he had a True ss, so it made sense that it needed something of that rarity.


    As for the source, Dragon Blood was something he couldn''t find outside, no matter how matter he offered. After a dragon''s death, its blood would go bad and unusable in a matter of minutes, and keeping it in a fresh state, would require the use of some rare resources, and the time it would keep it fresh would be up to a couple of days. There was no way that they would sell it even if one had any at its disposal, as they most likely had a reason to acquire it themselves in the first ce.


    However, there was one source that Shingi knew aboutthe 96th floor. But, unfortunately, he was still far from that floor, and it would be tough to get there without gaining a level.


    The foes they will face from the floors toe will be harder to deal with, as some will be smarter and using trickier tactics that even he could have a problem with at this point. Fortunately, he wasn''t by himself, and everybody else could continue leveling up as they had evolved their ss, except for White Biscuit and Dark Shadow, who both hadn''t reached that point yet.


    Still, Dark Shadow had stats above the rest, so his final power was at the top of the party. Hecked experience in battle, but he had learned a lot since joining Shingi''s party.


    As for making sure that he wouldn''t take a level, he could have it set that Dark Shadow as his pet could take up to 90% of the experience he would typically gain. It was an option to use, and 90% was the upper limit. Usually, one would have it at 50% unless they wanted to quickly grind some levels on a newly acquired pet.


    With the massive exp bar of his, this should be enough to keep him from leveling up and missing his chance to evolve his ss. Still, just to be safe, he would try not to make the final hit or deal the majority of the damage in any of the foes, especially the Bosses that they would face, so that he wouldn''t get any extra exps for the kill.


    He could use his Golems to deal damage, and even if they were created by him, as far as the amount of damage he dealt, their damage didn''t add to it. Unfortunately, he couldn''t use his golems currently because of the Minor Spirit Madness, but he nned to take the cure before leaving this floor.


    He made sure to listen to Price, and White Biscuit reports about what the yers outside were doing, but other than them looking for something in a mine-looking area, they had nothing more. So he had them keep investigating, from a safe distance, and report if they found something.


    He made some calctions and then spoke to them.


    "We will stay for a week. Then we will move unless we have a discovery of their ns. We will n if there is something new by that point. If there is nothing new, we will move on." [Shingi]


    The two Rogues tasked with investigating nodded and left to progress with it.


    Shingi noticed Hineko had some sadness in his eyes as he saw them leave.


    "You have an important task, like the two of them." [Shingi]


    "I know, but our stored potions are at a good number, and with you back as also Syra, we don''t have to worry about healing." [Hineko]


    Hineko was also a Rogue, but since Price got here, he didn''t need to do any scouting and just focused on replenishing their potions stocks. They were getting materials through the special box of Shingi, but also some of the Tower floors contained areas where such material grew. Unfortunately, thetest was rarer to find as most times, the Dark Guild seemed to have recently visited those ces and gathered any herbs and other grown resources there.


    Still, because they had some healing with the help of Syra, they could save some healing potions, and most times, they overpowered their enemies, especially when Dark Shadow was seriously fighting.


    "No matter, we need to be prepared for the worse. Also, Syra''s and my healing can''t be overused as it can produce harmful effects on even the ones we heal or us. But don''t worry, as, for the floors toe, we will need all three of you to keep an eye." [Shingi]


    Hineko nodded as he returned to making as many potions as he could. Unfortunately, they didn''t have too many materials left, so he should have used them all before the week passed.


    "Phoenix, do you mind helping me a bit?" [Shingi]


    Little Phoenix walked towards him, and with a smile on her face, she waited to hear what she needed to do. She wasn''t as distant and shy as in the past, since she grew closer to everyone in the party, but there was still awkwardness when speaking.


    "I try to work on my proficiency in Dark Element control. Mind if you help me?" [Shingi]


    He nned on doing the mana sphere training with Elements made with Dark Mana of Little Phoenix. Controlling them would be easier to manage than making with surrounding Dark Mana, unless if Little Phoenix tried to resist.


    Shingi sat in his mediation stance, and Little Phoenix sat across from him in her stance. She started by making two balls of Dark Element Mana, and Shingi focused on using <strong>MANA MANIPULATION</strong> on them and trying to move them around him.


    He had them doing a diagonal circle around him, with one going from his upper left down to his lower right and behind him to go back to the upper left. The second one went from his upper right to lower left and back to the upper right.


    He kept them moving, and at the beginning, even if he could move both of them simultaneously, their speed wasn''t that fast. Still, his control was getting better, and the spheres kept moving faster and faster. Moreover, his progress was a bit faster than usual since he didn''t have to worry about maintaining the spheres in shape, as Little Phoenix was taking care of that.


    Within the hour since they started the training, Shingi was confident enough and told Little Phoenix to add another Mana Sphere. Another hour passed, and the fourth sphere was added, and close to thirty minutes after that, they added the fifth one to the mix, too.


    At that point, the progress became slower since five spheres were usually the limit for one without the Element they trained on. The limit would be three spheres for most, and only talentful individuals could reach and pass. If he passed that limit, it would be as good as having that Element in his Mana Tree and would make the task of actually doing it so much easier.


    Still, he often lost control of one of the Mana Spheres, leading it to collide with one or more of the others. He had passed that limit with all the Elements of his Mana Tree, but each Element was different in its nature, leading to controlling the Spheres to bepletely different.


    Still, since he had passed that limit with his Light Element, which was in nature pr to the Dark Elements, he could use that knowledge and reverse it to help him. It was like the control to make a Light Element Sphere go left, and it would make a Dark Element Sphere go right, so he had something to work on.


    Still, he couldn''t make a breakthrough in the next three hours, and he and Little Phoenix needed to stop for the day. There was still more time, but Little Phoenix had to replenish some of the mana in those Spheres, and the task of keeping them in shape wasn''t that easy, so she had reached her limit.


    Still, Shingi was happy that they reached this point, and it was on his n to hopefully pass it within the first three days of the week he decided to stay.


    Shingi still could keep training, so he turned towards Syra.


    "Mind if you help me with Water Element?" [Shingi]


    He would leave Water Element forst, but if he could do any preparations sooner, then why not.


    Syra agreed to help him, but their training session wouldst less, since Syra''s replenishing her mana was slower, since she couldn''t consume a Mana Regeneration Potion. Still, her Mana Pool was more extensive than Little Phoenix''s because her <strong>INT</strong> was much higher.


    Shingi reached the fifth sphere within the hour since Water Element was much easier than Dark Element. Still, he had some problem perfectly controlling five spheres, but it wasn''t as much as with the Dark Element.


    He stopped progressing further for now, as he didn''t want to push Syra too much, and he wasn''t in a hurry to pass the limit of that Element.


    But as he was ready to work on strengthening his Mana Tree, and seeing if he could start making some empty space for a new Mana Structure, he noticed something strange.


    He saw Dark Shadow, who was currently lying near Syra, actually not falling asleep, but acting like he was. He usually wouldn''t be able to tell until he barely noticed with his <strong>MANA SENSE</strong>, part of Syra leaving her and getting consumed by Dark Shadow.


    The parts were small, but Shingi now knew why Syra seemed smaller to him. Dark Shadow was slowly eating her, and she didn''t seem to notice.

 Chapter 227: The hunger

    Chapter 227: The hunger


    After noticing what Dark Shadow was doing, Shingi decided to act. He made an Earth Element <strong>MANA HAND</strong> and pped Dark Shadow with it.


    Dark Shadow was too focused on ''stealing ''the Spirit Element from Syra that he didn''t see the hand being created next to him and making contact with him until it was toote.


    Next, Shingi cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on himself, and with all the speed he could master, he charged on Dark Shadow. Shingi picked him up and went to the second room of the hideout, the extensive area where they mostly trained in fighting techniques.


    Shingi threw Dark Shadow towards the wall across the room entrance, but Dark Shadow finally reacted, used some of his Air Element to turn his body andnd.


    "Red eye why?" [Dark Shadow]


    Shingi had summoned his staff and had it ready just in case since he didn''t know how things would progress.


    "You were consuming ourpanion? You better have a good exnation. "[Shingi]


    Shingi could think of a couple of reasons why he did so, but he wanted to hear it from Dark Shadow himself.


    "Taste good. "[Dark Shadow]


    Shingi kept staring at Dark Shadow, trying to get a read on him. It was challenging to do so for a couple of reasons.


    Firstly, Dark Shadow was the first of its species that Shingi had encountered, and even if he looked bird-like, some of its anatomy was different.


    Secondly, Shingi couldn''t speak before returning, so he didn''t have enough time to learn any habits he could have when lying.


    The two of them were bonded like a master and pet, meaning that Dark Shadow should follow themands of Shingi, but since Dark Shadow''s <strong>INT</strong> was pretty high, there was always the chance of him deciding not to follow an order.


    So Dark Shadow could be considered a Wild Card, and Shingi had to be careful, but he never noticed trying to harm them until now.


    As for him finding Syra''s Spirit Element to <em>''taste good''</em>, it made sense to Shingi. Dark Shadow''s egg had consumed a massive amount of Spirit Element to get hatch, so enjoying eating it made sense. Also, the Element of the environment and the one he ''stole ''from Syra was different. Syra''s was purer.


    It was like when one tried to cast a spell with any of the other Elements. So, for example, if one used Mana of the environment only, the spell would be weaker than if casting it for Mana from a Mana Pool, either of the caster or someone who willingly donated it.


    Still, to get Mana from someone without them noticing wasn''t easy unless they werepletely off guard or their passive resistance was rtively low. But Syra was a powerful mage, and she was awake and aware of her surroundings, so the fact that she didn''t notice Dark Shadow was pretty impressive.


    <em>''Could it be that he has more <strong>INT</strong> than Syra?''</em> [Shingi]


    Shingi still couldn''t see the stats of Dark Shadow, as they were question marks for him, and even when asking for them, he got no answer in the past.


    Syra''s <strong>INT</strong> was 23, which meant that Dark Shadow''s <strong>INT</strong> was 24 or more, which was over than what Shingi had assumed.


    "You aren''t allowed to consume her anymore. If you want to any, I can give you some." [Shingi]


    Shingi was confident that Syra''s slight change in size was because of that, and he didn''t dare to let it continue, as it could lead to her disappearing. He couldn''t have that.


    He then made a ball made of Spirit Element and brought it in front of Dark Shadow.


    Dark Shadow had a part of it and slowly started consuming the rest of it.


    "Not same." [Dark Shadow]


    Shingi didn''t know what to do, but then he had an idea. His Mana Storing ring had only Spirit Element, so he released some of it and made a new Mana Sphere for Dark Shadow.


    Dark Shadow had a bite and froze in ce. Shingi was afraid for a moment, but soon Dark Shadow started devouring the rest of the sphere at an incredible speed.


    "<strong>MORE</strong>." [Dark Shadow]


    Shingi smiled as it was a sess as also found it funny that thest sentence of his was in Wild Tycoon''s voice. He didn''t know when she said something like that, in that tone, since Dark Shadow didn''t replicate only the word but even the volume currently.


    "You will have more in time, but not now. If you continuously keep having a delicacy like that, it will lose its taste. I will treat you some after you finish some tasks. "[Shingi]


    Shingi started exining to him how the training with the mana spheres worked. Then, he promised that he would get treated for reaching perfect control of 10 spheres for each Element in his Mana Pool separately. After that, he would get further treated for every two spheres after 10.


    Dark Shadow started training right away, and Shingi let him be for now.


    "What was that about? "[Syra]


    Everybody in the room had noticed Shingi getting Dark Shadow to the other room, but they did nothing about it. Syra was the only one that made a move but didn''t disturb them.


    "Just a misunderstanding. All is good now. How are you feeling? "[Shingi]


    Syra was curious about the question.


    Shingi wanted to make sure that Dark Shadow''s actions did not affect her, and he couldn''t currently tell with his Skills.


    "Did that pet of your did something to me? "[Syra]


    Shingi smiled at the old Spirit. She was someone quite wise and perceptive. There was no reason to hide what happened to her, so she exined briefly.


    "I see. I must admit that I had noticed nothing those past days, but I will be more on guard on that pet of yours. "[Syra]


    Shingi nodded at her, as he also would keep an eye just to be sure that Dark Shadow wouldn''t be greedy.


    At that point, Shingi saw White Biscuit entering the room,ing from the main entrance, but no sign of Price with him.


    "We made a discovery. "[White Biscuit]


    Shingi quickly moved at the young boy, and everyone also moved as they were in the room and heard him.


    "Where is Price? Did something happen to him? "[Shingi]


    "Mister Price is fine. He just stayed behind to keep an eye just in case, while I woulde and get you. "[White Biscuit]


    Shingi was d that nothing happened to Price since if he died, he would respawn outside the Tower, and it would be currently impossible to get him back.


    "Let''s move, and you will exin me in the way. "[Shingi]


    He cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> on both of them as they made their way towards the area that Price was.


    On the way there, White Biscuit used the party chat function to exin what they had found. Since he exined while they were close to the hideout, everyone in there also got those messages. The chat had a range of a few dozens of meters, which was why Price and White Biscuit couldn''t report withouting back.


    This was, of course, a limit to the party chat, as others like the messages sent by the Guild Master of someone didn''t have that limitation. Also, sending messages to a friend didn''t have that limitation, as long as they were in a safe area, like in a town. But while being in the Tower, even while in the hideout, it wasn''t considered being in a safe area, even if no enemies or monsters were around.

 Chapter 228: The tent

    Chapter 228: The tent


    Price and White Biscuit finally found what the yers were looking for from their research. Just a few weeks ago, they had encountered a piece of stone that looked to be part of an artifact. The piece was in a wall of a small cave. That cave was now the mine area entrance they were currently digging at.


    It seemed that they considered that more parts of it should be around and most likely were deeper into the earth, so that''s why they started digging.


    White Biscuit heard the discussion of two miners who spoke more about how things started, and he also learned that the part was at a big tent near the mine area. They didn''t move the part too far so that they could quickly test any other stones they found to see if they fit.


    Shingi was curious about that discovery since it was the first time that something like that had happened to one of the Ruin City floors. Other than the hideouts, Shingi had discovered nothing useful in those floors.


    The two of them reached the ce where Price was situated quickly enough since both were pretty fast, and with their <strong>STEALTH</strong> and the use of <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, they could move at a decent speed with no one noticing.


    When they were close enough, White Biscuit had sent a message to Price that they were almost there, and Price let them know of his exact location since he had moved from where White Biscuit had let him.


    They kept changing their position from where they were, keeping their watch over the mine now and then. Other than the mine''s entrance, there were some more sights to keep track of, and there was no location where they could have a sight of all of them simultaneously.


    Price was currently watching the main tent, where people were taking breaks, and the rumored stone was at.


    Shingi and White Biscuit joined Price soon enough, and Shingi cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> on him.


    Even if he hadn''t reached the Light Element control to 10 Light Mana Spheres but was into 8, his control had improved enough to keep the <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> active in three people with no problem. His control had also improved a bit after doing the training for the Dark Element, as even if the two Elements were opposites, they could use the knowledge of one for the other with the right adjustments.


    Luckily, since Shingi was the caster of the <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> Spell and he had used Mana from his Mana Pool, he could easily detect the other two yers affected by the Spell, like they had a beacon on them that only he could see.


    All three of them had their <strong>STEALTH</strong> Skill be at Master Rank power, with Price actually having it at 91, passing the bottleneck that most yers would stop at. As for White Biscuit, his <strong>STEALTH</strong> Skill was at 82, not at the top of what an expert could typically reach. But with the help of the <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> Spell, he was even harder to get detected as Price without the Spell.


    As for Shingi, since he was an NPC, he just had a Rank and not a level as the yers at his Skills, but he was certain that his Skill was close to Price. But, of course, Price''s was more effective because he had a Rogue-based ss which benefited that Skill.


    Shingi was confident that no yer could detect them, as even he would have a hard time doing so, unless he was entirely focused on just keeping a look at his surroundings and nothing else.


    Shingi used the Party Chat to send messages to his twopanions and lead them since he knew where both were, while they couldn''t.


    They headed to the main tent and headed at its back since three people currently guarded the front, and it was an open space.


    They went around the tent, and even at the back, there was a guard, but only one. By the person''s equipment, Shingi could tell that they most likely were of a Warrior-based ss, and he detected no Manaing from them, other than the aura that all yers emitted.


    Shingi sent a few messages to the chat, letting them know what the n was, and everyone followed the instructions.


    Price went to the guard''s left and was at a safe distance to be impossible to get detected, while White Biscuit moved in a position at the same space at the guard''s right.


    Shingi was at the front of the guard, but he was closer than hispanions, a little less than two meters away from the guard.


    After making sure that everyone was in position, Shingi sent a single word at the party chat.


    "GO. "[Shingi]


    At that point, Shingi dropped the INVISIBILITY Spell from both White Biscuit and Price but kept it at himself. Then two figures came out of the position the two rogues were, but they didn''t look like the two yers, but instead were two wolves.


    The sudden appearance of the two wolves surprised the guard yer, but he wasn''t a beginner, so he quickly drew his de and his shield and was ready to fight the two beasts.


    The left wolf reached the yer within a few seconds as it moved at great speed. The yer tried to swing at the one on his left, but the wolf quickly avoided the attack and tried to bite the yer''s leg.


    The yer moved its leg out of the reach of the beast''s mouth and let out a grin, but the smile left his face soon. The other wolf, which was a bit slower, had just reached the yer, and attacked his back using its ws, damaging their armor, and even shing a bit of their skin.


    The yer reacted quickly by jumping quickly away from the wolves, but the wolf that came from the left shed his leg while he was in the air.


    "<strong>HELP. BEASTS ATTACKING THE BASE.</strong>" [Guard yer]


    The guard yer from the front of the yer heard the shouts of the yer and reacted quickly as they started heading towards his way.


    Two of them seemed to be of Rogue-base ss, while the third was a Mage. As soon as they saw the wolves, the Mage threw a <strong>FIRE BOLT</strong> at one of them, while one of the Rogues threw a dagger at the other wolf. The other Rogue drew his shortbow, and shot the same wolf that the fellow Rogue aimed at.


    Both wolves moved at an incredible speed and avoided the attacks. The Mage seemed to be quite proficient with his Spell, as he was able to make change its trajectory a bit after he casted it, when he noticed the Wolf moving out of the way, but the wolf moved too fast and far for them to make a hit.


    The wolves didn''t make another attack and instead ran away. The Warrior guard and the two Rogues followed them, leaving the Mage behind.


    "How could those beasts appear here?" [Mage]


    The Ruin City Floors had no monsters or beasts on them, but there was always the chance of one appearing from a floor above it.


    As the Mage tried to make sense of it, it failed to notice a figure appearing out of nowhere from behind him.


    The figure moved at an incredible speed as a de made out of bright orange energy pierced the back of the Mage''s neck and came through the front just a bit under his chin.


    The Mage vomited some blood, and then started turning into particles. He got one shotted.


    Of course, the person behind that attack was Shingi, and the attack was none other than his Light Mana debined with his Fire Mana de for extra damage. He didn''t use Sinhunter on this attack, just a silver dagger that he had taken from Volig, which could be useful to be used in these instances.


    If he used Sinhunter, the attack could be even more substantial, but it would take more time to have it ready to use. The difference in time was just two seconds, but if the target was a professional yer, then this was more than enough time to cause a problem for Shingi.


    Shingi was confident that the Mage wasn''t so simple since he showed the trajectory change of an already casted Spell, even if that was <strong>FIRE BOLT</strong>. This was something that a normal couldn''t do, and no equipment could help you do so, only hard work.


    Shingi knew he had little time and quickly headed into the tent. As for Price and White Biscuit, they were the wolves that the other yers were hunting.


    They were under the effect of a potion that Hineko had made, which enabled them to transform into a wolf for a limited amount of time. To make this potion, one needed the blood of a Werewolf, and as for the recipe, it was something that Hineko had found a long time ago but never had the chance to make because ofck of materials.


    Hineko had helped a a few times since she was an Alchemist herself, and she had taught him a few interesting recipes, like the one for Wolf Transformation.


    As for the Werewolf blood, Hineko and the rest had faced this monster just a couple of floors before the current one, and Hineko was d that he finally got the chance to create this potion.


    Fortunately, during the transformation, the user kept their usual intelligence, and they weren''t bing a beastpletely, meaning that they could use tactics that a wolf would typically use. But they couldn''t use Skills or abilities that the new body couldn''t make and couldn''t cast any Spells either.


    As for the reason why Shingi used this tactic, it was because he had to deal with the Mage. He had detected that the tent was surrounded by different magic circles that would send an rm when one would pass them, and he couldn''t find a way to get in the tent without triggering one.


    As for attacking to the front as the three individuals could take care of his twopanions without calling the other guard. He had to take them all away.


    As for the Mage staying behind, he was confident that it would happen since mages most times had a pretty slow speed, and he couldn''t catch up to the wolves and the rest of the yers.


    Shingi didn''t need to look for long, as he found the piece of stone that should be what White Biscuit had heard about on top of a table.


    Shingi recognized it right away, even if it was a small part of the whole.


    This was part of the strange door that was in Mikhail''s Library.

 Chapter 229: Escape from the tent

    Chapter 229: Escape from the tent


    Shingi didn''t expect to find something like that, and he was confident that this was part of that door he had seen while in his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> some time ago.


    Shingi had little time, so he had to move fast. He cast some quickly made a mess in the tent, making it seem like one was here searching it. He knew the Mage could probably have already reported that someone killed him, so he had to prepare the scene.


    At the same time, he took a piece of stone that was in the tent, probably one they brought to check if it fit the other one, and he started using Earth Mana to manipte its form. He tried to shape it as close as the part of the door he had taken.


    It didn''t take him long since he just replicated the look and did not putting an Enchantment on it since the piece he took didn''t seem to have an effect by itself either.


    It was ready in seconds, and Shingi detected some movement. But, unfortunately, it didn''te from where guard yers went but the cave.


    There were yers in their mining, and they got informed about the attack, and headed towards the tent.


    Shingi put the reced stone on the table, and then he put out of his ring a cloak with a hood he had. It was the same one he had taken a long time ago when he visited the dungeon the first time with his students.


    Two yers entered the tent from the front entry. Shingi detected two more quickly moving around to the back entrance. The yers in the front were Warrior-based sses, as both had a longsword and shield at hand. From the speed of the other two, Shingi was confident that they were Rogue based, most likely.


    Shingi acted like he had just found the stone and was ready to pick it up but got interrupted when the two yers got here.


    "It''s been a while since we had encountered a fool in the Tower. "[Warrior #1]


    Both of them charged toward Shingi at great speed. It was clear that both knew <strong>ACCELERATION</strong>, which didn''t surprise Shingi even if it was a Skill that not all Warrior-based yers learned. Most high-leveled ones had it, especially if they belonged to an organization with plentiful resources or knowledge of the game''s Skills.


    But even with their boost at their speed from the Skill, Shingi could easily keep up using no Spell or Skill to help him. So he sidestepped out of the way and summoned out his ring another dagger. He still had the silver dagger he used on the Mage out, so he currently was dual-wielding them.


    He did so because he didn''t want them to know who he was and consider him to be a Rogue. Since he killed the Mage without being detected by him, the Mage wouldn''t be able to know the way Shingi used to kill him, and being killed by a Rogue was possible since it was somethingmon to happen.


    His second dagger was like the one Hineko had, with a mana gem attached to it. Since Shingi and Volig were selling them publicly, just not thetest version, he had no problem using it since it was the same dagger yers could buy.


    The specific one had a Fire Mana Gem and could be a Fire de. It wasn''t as strong as the Fire Mana de that Shingi could make. Even so, it was pretty strong.


    He enabled the Fire de and attacked one of the Warriors as he passed from next to him on their charge as Shingi dodged their charge.


    The de damaged the Warrior a bit but wasn''t a lethal hit. Still, the fact that Shingi avoided their attack and even countered was a clear sign for the two yers that this was a person of sharp skills.


    Soon two more figures entered the tent by the back entrance. By looking at their equipment, Shingi was confident that his thinking that they were Rogue-based ss was correct. They were dual-wielding des, with one having shortswords, while the other had a rapier and a dagger.


    The dagger of one of the persons that just entered the tent was very simr to the one that Shingi had just attacked with. The only difference was that its gem wasn''t red but blue, meaning it had Water Mana Gem.


    The use of that dagger didn''t offer an increase to the damage of the weapon, but instead, it changed it from shing into piercing. In most cases, that change offered little difference. Still, there were cases where a target could be affected less by a specific type of damage, like shing, so changing it to something else without changing the weapon was helpful in these situations.


    The same was for fighting yers, as some armors could have simr effects of resisting specific types of damage. Hineko''s dagger was different since it had an Ice Mana Gem, which could also be used as a Water Mana Gem.


    If it was used with the effect of Ice Mana, its effect was still the change of the damage but also had the chance of freezing some part of the target at the point the dagger hit.


    Of course, the Ice Mana Gem dagger was something that only Hineko had ess to. Shingi had one too but didn''t n to use it unless he had no other option.


    Shingi turned toward the direction of the two Rogue yers, and even if his face was hidden from the hood of his cloak, he acted like he was surprised and worried about the new people.


    Shingi then started moving at the front entrance to exit the tent, since the two Warriors weren''t in the way as they were behind him after dodging their charge. However, this was a foolish move on their part, as even if they probably could get him down with his attack, at the same time, they left a clear path for him to leave.


    Shingi didn''t waste this opportunity and ran outside.


    As he made his first step outside, Shingi jumped back into the tent. A ball of fire hit just a short distance from where Shingi was before jumping. When it hit the ground, an explosion happened that almost caught Shingi.


    Shingi turned his head towards the mine''s entrance, where a figure stood. A figure was there, a person simrly dressed to the Mage that Shingi killed just a few moments ago, but with some noticeable differences. The most obvious one was that this figure was a female and not a male as the one Shingi killed.


    Shingi had detected the <strong>FIREBALL</strong> heading towards him at thest moment, and he hadn''t noticed the Mage till now, which was a rare instance for him. It seemed that Mage hid herself waiting for the right opportunity, most likely using an <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> Spell; otherwise, Shingi should have detected her as the mine''s entrance wasn''t too far for his detection Skills.


    Still, even if she used <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> without a decent <strong>STEALTH</strong> Skill or something simr, it was very challenging not to get detected by Shingi unless he was too focused on something else. In this instance, he wasn''t focusing much on something else, meaning that this yer wasn''t the typical Mage.


    Shingi didn''t think of it too much and started moving to get outside once more. The other yers in the tent had started heading towards him, and the Rogues had actually reached him, but Shingi could barely avoid them. Their speed was close to his base one, but with his experience, he could avoid their attacks for now.


    As he stepped outside the tent, another spell headed towards him once more. They were three balls of fire this time, which were a bit longer than before, and stretched, so not wholly a sphere. They were close to the shape of rockets but not as long and made of fire.


    Their speed was quicker than the <strong>FIREBALL</strong>, giving less time for Shingi to react. So instead, he quickly summoned a ss vial from his ring that contained a yellowish liquid and drank it.


    After that, he moved at a more incredible speed and avoided the three spell attacks. They were part of a single Spell, and the difference to the <strong>FIREBALL</strong>, was that at the impact, they caused a much smaller explosion. So they had a higher chance to hit because of the more incredible speed.


    What Shingi drank was lemonade, but as he drank it, he used one <em>Mana Seed</em> of his to quickly cast <strong>HASTE</strong> to himself, leaving no sign for the Mage that he cast a Spell, unless they were focusing their <strong>MANA SENSE</strong> on him and would only detect if they had their Skill in top of Master Rank.


    Why would she use that Skill on a Rogue, though? Most wouldn''t, but even if she did, the chances of her Skill being that high were small but not non-existent. Still, even if she detected the truth wouldn''t make that much difference, as even with that knowledge putting together who he was close to impossible.


    The moment Shingi avoided the Spell, he turned and headed in the direction across the mine''s entrance.


    What followed next surprised Shingi as the mage cast another Spell. However, what surprised Shingi wasn''t that she cast another spell that fast, but the Spell itself.


    It had the form of a spear, but instead made of fire, it was made of lightning.


    Shingi was sure that this person cast the Spell with her mana, not using a tool, which meant that she had ess to Lightning Based Element.


    The Lightning Base Elementbined Air, Light, and Fire Element. This yer had mastered three Elements at her Mana Pool beforebining them, which was something very few yers had seeded at.


    Shingi could have had five Elements in his Mana Tree, or four if one didn''t count the Spirit Element, but only three of the basic ones were active simultaneously. Even still, he could do this because of the unique source that he used to make his Mana Pool, which contained part of a Goddess''s power, and his immense knowledge of the Arcane Art from his time in the game. Also, he had many lucky encounters that helped him reach his current power.


    Even for top Guilds, it was hard to have a person like that since it wasn''t something that had many resources that could help if one didn''t have the talent to reach that point.


    The Spell''s speed was even faster than thest one, but not too fast for Shingi while under the effect of <strong>HASTE</strong>.


    But there was a problem.


    Unlike thest Spells that were going on a straight line, this one locked to a target and would keep turning until it made a hit.


    But Shingi didn''t have any worries as he had encountered those types of Spells in the past, and he had ways to deal with them.


    He kept moving in a straight line as fast as he could. The Spell''s speed was a bit faster than his and closed the distance. When the Spell was right behind Shingi as would hit him soon, it exploded, leaving sparks of electricity behind. As the sparks disappeared, there was no sign of Shingi.


    Soon one of the Rogue reached the ce where the explosion happened.


    "Hehe. It seemed like that person was a weakling. Shame we couldn''t capture him and interrogate him, though. "[Rogue yer]


    The mage yer soon appeared next to him, as she moved at a great speed for a mage but still slower than of the Rogue.


    "My Spell didn''t kill him. He got away. "[Lightning Mage]


    The Rogue looked toward the female Mage in confusion. She said nothing more and started checking her surrounding. After a few minutes, she turned, heading back to the mine.


    At the same time, Shingi, who was under the effect of his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, hid behind a nearby stone that generally could only cover half of him even if he was on his knees.


    <em>''It seems that the enemy has some new monsters. Should be more careful.''</em>[Shingi]


    After the enemy yers were at a fair distance from him, he started heading back to the hideout. As for hispanions, he was confident that they were ok, since he noticed that the yers they hunted him had run back to the tent, and he didn''t see their HP bar getting down at any point, meaning that they got never caught.


    This mission was aplete sess.

 Chapter 230: Final Preparations

    Chapter 230: Final Preparations


    Shingi started his way back to the hideout. He was still under the effect of the <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> Spell and moved carefully while using his <strong>STEALTH</strong> Skill just to be safe.


    He was halfway to the hideout when he jumped backwards, as he noticed a lightning bolt appearing out of nowhere and falling exactly at his spot.


    He luckily avoided it in time and turned towards the opposite direction from where he was heading. Small bolts of lightning were gathering in a spot a bit of a distance from him and were forming a figure.


    The figure finished forming within a couple of seconds and was the same female Mage Shingi faced at the mine just a few moments ago.


    <em>''It seemed I underestimated her. ''</em>[Shingi]


    Shingi dropped his Spell, as he could tell from the precision of thest attack that she could tell where he was. As for any other people, he didn''t detect any.


    He had his hood and drew the same daggers as he had before. He was in a defensive position, waiting for the next move of this new enemy.


    "I thought I would have to y more with you before stopping hiding. It would be best to drop your hood too, as it is useless, and this ce is too hot to wear one." [Female Mage]


    Shingi could tell from her tone that she was confident, but not overconfident. She was on another level than the yers of the Dark Guild he had faced until now, and the demonstration of her spellcasting until now was a clear sign of that.


    Having a three Elementbined Mana Pool was challenging but not unheard of, but no beginner could do so. Also, besides the control over her Spells being at a top-notch level, her detection abilities were exceptionally high.


    Shingi considered that her hiding skills were also high, and it wasn''t an ident he didn''t detect herst time at the mine.


    <strong>HASTE</strong> wasn''t active anymore, and if Shingi recast it on himself, its effect would soon be lesser. But it didn''t seem like he needed a speed boost for now.


    "Who are you?" [Shingi]


    He didn''t remove his hood, and had a defensive position with his dagger as he perceived this fascinating, unknown figure.


    "It seems that you are more mistrusted than the stories. I can''t answer your question in the little time we have, but maybe this one will help. How is Biscuit?" [Female Mage]


    Thest question surprised Shingi, as it was unexpected.


    <em>''Is she a spy from the Storm Guild?''</em> [Shingi]


    Shingi didn''t speak out his question for now. Instead, he starred at the woman, trying to get a read on her, but he got nothing. This was a rare asion to Shingi, as he had even had conversations with Gods and could get something out of them, but against this fellow, he had nothing.


    "I guess the mistrust continues. I respect that. I have just one thing to say. Try to not mess much with the people here. Things sometimes aren''t how they look." [Female Mage]


    Her body turned in many bolts of lightning and moved back in the mine''s direction as she said that.


    <em>''What was that about?''</em> [Shingi]


    Shingi didn''t stay long there, and after making sure that the woman indeed left, he recast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> and made his way to the hideout.


    He moved extra carefully, and to be safe, he took many turns around as even if one followed him, there was a significant chance to miss him.


    He made it back to the hideout, where everyone, including Price and White Biscuit, was there waiting for him, while some of them worked on their daily training or preparations for the trip ahead.


    As he entered the room, he dropped his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>. Then Price, White Biscuit, and Little Phoenix walked towards him.


    "You took your sweet time. So, did you find any new clues?" [Price]


    Shingi nodded as he summoned the stone part from his Spatial Ring.


    "This was more than we considered. It may help with getting Syra back to her home." [Shingi]


    Syra was nearby, and as she heard that since Shingi was speaking in an average volume, she joined them too.


    As she looked at the stone, she had a look of recognition in her eyes.


    "That is part of that door. The one that brought me here. "[Syra]


    Shingi exined everything he knew and what happened in the tent. He didn''t mention his talk with the female Mage in the way back.


    <em>''If she is a spy, it is better to keep that information hidden for now.''</em> [Shingi]


    "So how can we use it to get Syra home. Do you think there are more pieces of it around?" [Little Biscuit]


    Shingi put his hand over his chin as he took a couple of seconds to think.


    "Well, since one of it appeared here that far from the floor that the door was supposed to be, other should exist, but they could have appeared on any floor. We haven''t gone in an extensive search of the previous floors for anything like that, so there is a chance we have missed a few."[Shingi]


    Little Phoenix over everyone seemed to have gotten more upset by that information. She and Syra had a bond over the time they passed here, and she wanted to help her go back to her ce, even if it meant that they had to say goodbye.


    "Still,pared to before, we have something to help us open a way to that other dimension. Even if it is a small part, we can try to use it to make an artificial copy of what it used to be. The chances of it working aren''t high, butpared to the nonexistent we had before, it is something."[Shingi]


    He sounded confident about his statements, but Shingi knew that even he didn''t know where to start with this. He had tried in the past using <strong>VISUALIZATION</strong> to make a copy of the door for him to study, but everything was too advanced even for him to fully grasp.


    <em>''Hopefully, will have some clues after doing some tests to that piece.''</em>[Shingi]


    Even if it was a broken piece, Shingi could tell that it wasn''t unusable, but using something in that state other than the effects would be much weaker, if any, they would also be unstable and would lead to great danger to anyone around if one wasn''t careful.


    He still had a few days in which they had decided that they would stay around, and he had more training left to finish. So, he had nned some break time, since even he can''t train all day, which he could use to try some simple test on the rock.


    In the meantime, Price would check over the Dark Guild yers and see what they would do after finding out that their finding had been stolen. He would go by himself this time since White Biscuit''s <strong>STEALTH</strong> wasn''t as good, and Shingi had warned Price to be careful of that female Mage and keep his distance from her.


    Shingi kept working on his training over Water and Dark Element with the help of Syra and Little Phoenix.


    By the end of the week, when Shingi had decided to leave, he had made some significant progress.


    He had reached with his Water Element training to have perfect control over 8 Mana Spheres and was close to sess on the 9th. For the Dark Element, he had reached only controlling 7 Mana Spheres, but at the same time, this train had helped him improve his control over Light Element, reaching the state of having perfect control of 9 Light Mana Spheres.


    He also improved his Fire Element control, reaching 9 Mana Spheres, while his Spirit was still at 8. He couldn''t pass the bottleneck of 10 Mana Spheres on Earth and Air for now, but he didn''t focus on them too much.


    His control over all the basic Elements was above average. He could even cast Base Grade Spells of Air or Dark Element using the surrounding Mana of needed Element, without having to purify it through his staff or other tools. Still, his Spells of those two Elements weren''t as potent as if one cast with mana from within their Mana Pool.


    In his training, he added two new Low Grade Spells on his Spell list; <strong>WATER BOLT</strong> and <strong>DARK BOLT.</strong> That way, he had at his disposal the ability to cast any Elemental version of <strong>MANA BOLT</strong> with the basic Elements.


    He also mastered <strong>WATER BREATHING</strong>, which he had as Unfished Low Grade Spell for some time, and this was another addition to his Base Grade Spell list.


    He worked on getting used to using <strong>DISPEL MAGIC</strong>, which needed some time to get cast, so it was useless against quickly cast spell attacks of significant speed, like those of that female Mage.


    Shing had researched some of the books at his disposal, and a few brought to him by the Guilds before returning to the Tower. Next, he looked for the arcane words for each of his Spells that he didn''t use any so that they would be at the peak of their power he could reach them at.


    He had tried to use his <strong>SCRY MODE</strong> to check on Annoue, but hadn''t seeded even once. He also used it to Scry Dormon to see if he could learn more, and also get used to being able to talk while in <strong>SCRY MODE</strong>.


    He still needed some work on it, and sometimes he didn''t know how good he was doing, as Dormon was unconscious most of the time.


    As for the rest of his group, Little Phoenix, and An, had the most considerable boost on their abilities. Phoenix because her Mana Control had reached another level, as she followed the same training as Shingi for her Gravity Element and reached 11 Mana Spheres.


    Her control was at the level of a Guild Leader of one of the top Guilds, but not the strongest yet. Still, she had more to learn, but with the help of Shingi, she also learned some new arcane words suited for her Spells, boosting them even more.


    As for An, her potential increased because of her new weapon. Even if it was bigger than herst one, she had more than enough <strong>STR</strong> to use it. With the help of the Spirit Child in the de, they made an incredible duo that was a power that even Shingi could have some trouble facing.


    As for Dark Shadow''s appetite, he didn''t show any signs of trying to go after Syra''s and worked hard on the challenges that Shingi gave him in exchange for those special treats.


    The little Kech had made some significant progress and had reached the 10 Mana Spheres on Air and Spirit Element by the end of the week, while the Dark and Light was at 7. It seemed like he had an outstanding bnce on thosest two Elements, and when he made some progress in one, the other soon reached the same state.


    Price had monitored the yers outside and had noticed that they had created some search parties looking around for them. Also, there were at least a dozen guards on the stairs to the next floor.


    Still, Shingi didn''t worry, as this was an expected scenario, and he had formed a n some days ago.


    <em>''It is time to reveal some of our cards.''</em> [Shingi]

 Chapter 231: Power plan

    Chapter 231: Power n


    Shingi and the rest left the hideout. They split into two groups with Shingi, White Biscuit, Hineko, and An in one party, while Little Phoenix, Wild Tycoon, and Price were the second group.


    As for Syra, she moved by herself, as she could turn herself invisible. It didn''t use any mana, as it was an ability she had as a spirit. During her invisibility, not even Shingi could detect her. Furthermore, she didn''t make any noise since she didn''t breathe and could hover.


    The two groups headed at the same ce, the stairs that were at the center of the ruined city. Shingi''s group headed from the west, while the other group came from the east.


    Price had paid attention to the group guarding the stairs, which didn''t change during the past days. Sometimes some people were leaving for a few hours, but only up to four people.


    The time they left seemed random, so they couldn''t aim for when the least number of people was at the stairs.


    Shingi had his group under the effects of <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, while Little Phoenix did the same for herself and Wild Tycoon. She couldn''t handle having the Spell active in three people as she had trained little on the specific Spell. Still, they had prepared some Spell Scrolls with it.


    Since Mizuneko wasn''t around and nobody else had the profession to make scrolls, they had to ask their Guild to deliver some through the box. Each onested up to half an hour, and Price had 10 of them but tried to use one only when absolutely necessary. It wasn''t cheap to make one in the end.


    Still, they made in position after four hours of leaving the hideout. Finally, the two groups were in the range of all using the party chat system.


    Shingi turned his attention to the yers guarding the stairs. Currently, there were 15 yers, while typically, there were up to 18.


    Fortunately, there wasn''t the female mage among them, but Shingi wouldn''t let his guard down this time.


    He took a deep breath as he hid behind a shit broken wall. He then closed his eyes to focus, and a vial appeared on his hand. It was the vial with the cure of Spirit Madness.


    There was no way to pass through them without them noticing, and putting them on sleep or distracting them would not work on them. So they had to fight, and Shingi had to be in full power for it since, from Price''s report, each of those yers had Evolved sses or at least top grade equipment.


    One couldn''t tell someone''s ss by just looking, but Price had a special Skill, which was like Ameanum''s Eagle Eyes, that let him know this kind of information.


    It was a reward for a lucky encounter he had long ago, which ended with helping a powerful individual who offered to ''enchant ''the sight of Price. Price didn''t detail how the enchantment was added to his eyes, but one could tell that it was something he wanted to forget.


    But using them had its price as they used a massive amount of his SP, so he couldn''t have it active for long.


    There 3 Mage-based sses, 4 Rogue-based sses, and 8 Warrior-based sses. One mage had a Fire-based Mana Pool, the second had Water and Air but hadn''t be an Ice Mage, while the third one had an Earth-based Mana Pool.


    Two rogues seemed to specialize in range fighting style as one had a longbow, while the other had two hand crossbows. The other two both had daggers and other small des hidden on them, but Price and Shingi could easily detect them.


    As for the Warriors, three used a shield, and a one-handed weapon, like a sword or a mace or something simr. Two seemed to specialize in dual-wielding weapons, while the rest had heavy two-handed weapons. The ones with the shield wore heavy armors, while those specializing in dual-wielding had leather armors, and one could think of them as Rogues from their attire.


    As for the two-handed ones, their armor varied. Some wore no armor, as they had a simr ss like Wild Tycoon''s, which had more benefits from not wearing one.


    Price had made a list with a description of each of them. Other than their name, ss, and level, he couldn''t see anything else, but those were essential pieces of information for Shingi.


    From the current yers there, the one with the smallest level to be at 71, while the biggest was at 82. This was a pretty notable difference to their levels, but Shingi had faced worst odds.


    As for their equipment, Price had recognized a lot of them as he knew a lot of items. Likewise, Shingi had recognized some that Price didn''t know but described to Shingi.


    He drank the cure for Spirit Madness, and it didn''t take long to notice its effect. The annoying voices were finally gone, and he could feel like a great weight leaving not his body but from within him.


    He could feel his Mana Tree working at a significantly faster speed than before, as it drew the surrounding mana, and ''<em>purified''</em> it to create more mana for the one he used to keep his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> Spell active. The mana structures of the mana tree also produced and reced mana used, but for now, only the one for the Light Element worked, since he used only that Element for his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>.


    His Mana Tree seemed to start growing in size rapidly, but it didn''t feel unnatural. It was close to twice the size before in a couple of seconds.


    ================================


    <strong>INT</strong> increased by <strong>1</strong>


    ================================


    ================================


    CONDITIONS FOR <strong>MANA TREE UPGRADE</strong> MET


    THE UPPER LIMIT OF BASIC ELEMENTS CHANGED TO <strong>4</strong>


    ================================


    Shingi was so d at this point. With this upgrade, he could have all his current Elements active, since Spirit was active no matter what, and he had 4 Elements other than it. Of course, he will have the same problem when he creates a Water and Dark Element mana structure in his Mana Tree, but this was something to worry aboutter.


    His <strong>MP</strong> was now at a crazy amount, even crazier than before. It seemed like the Spirit Madness had kept his secret modifier that increased his <strong>MP</strong> value still, and now that the Spirit Madness was gone, the effects of all his training took ce.


    He could feel the improvements in his mana control, as even the Spell he currently had active seemed to have improved in power a bit. The difference was barely noticeable but significant as other than making the target invisible to the eye, and it even tried to muffle the noise the target attempted to make.


    But to do that, Shingi needed to use Dark Element, as Light didn''t have that ability at its nature. Before, Shingi couldn''t use those two Elements together in abination like that, but now it was as easy as casting a Low Grade Spell.


    After Shingi made sure that everything was ok with his body and Mana Tree, he started walking towards the guard yers.


    When he was out in the open, he dropped his <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> Spell, but had his hood up, and had used a <strong>MAJOR ILLUSION</strong> at his face to change his appearance.


    As he walked towards the yers, he summoned his staff, which he had to have the rune for Earth and Light. Then, he stopped in front of the yers, just a little less than ten meters from them.


    All yers turned towards him. The mages prepared some spell, while those specializing in range prepared their ranged weapons to shoot. The rest prepared their weapons, but nobody had attacked yet.


    The highest level yer among the yers, one of the Shield Warrior-based ss yers, walked a bit closer. It seemed like he was the leader or acting like one.


    "You are the trespasser they informed us of, huh? Good for you to show up, but you seem to have a head more than you need." [Shield Warrior Leader]


    As he finished his sentence, the mages and ranged yers released their attacks on Shingi.


    The spells caused explosions, raised dust, and created smoke, covering Shingipletely. It seemed to be a hit, and Shingi didn''t have time to avoid the attacks.


    But as the smoke and dust dissipated, the figure of Shingi was in the same position. He didn''t move a single step and didn''t have a single scratch on him. On the surrounding ground, there were broken stones that weren''t there before, though.


    Shingi hit the ground with the lower end of his staff as 12 Pieces of those stones started raising from the ground and extending. Each formed a humanoid-shaped creature, but not all looked the same.


    Each creature seemed to be a living statue of the enemy Warriors and Rogues. Those, of course, were results of the <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> Spell of his. He couldn''t fully cast it while under the effects of Minor Spirit Madness, but now that restriction was gone.


    As for shaping them into a distinct form, like that was something he couldn''t do before, but with his current control on Earth and Spirit Element, he could manipte his Golems'' appearance like that on the fly. It wouldn''t change their power, as even if they had shields or weapons, they still had the same properties as the rest of their bodies since they were stones one too.


    Shingi had boosted his Golems using some Spirit Element, which helped in their regenerations and shaped their <em>''brains''</em> in a better way to be even better at fighting. He had each of them be in offensive mode, and each would target the one they took their form.


    As for the mages, Shingi could take care of them.


    The Golems charged at their targets, even the ones that had the form of the yers specializing in range. The speed of the Golems was significant, close to the base speed of Shingi.


    Shingi cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on himself as he also had enabled his Blessing to boost his <strong>INT</strong>. It was challenging to keep that many Golems active, feed them mana to regenerate, and have <strong>HASTE</strong> on himself while also keeping his party invisible. Still, with his current mana control and <strong>INT</strong>, it was far from reaching his limit.


    He moved at an incredible speed, and in a split second, he had Sinhunter, which he summoned while he moved, piercing the neck of the Fire Mage.


    An orange aura surrounded his de, which seemed to emit some great heat. This was his Light/Fire de, which was way more potent than the one he used a few days ago, since he used Sinhunter this time.


    The mage was heavily injured, but didn''t die. Instead, his form turned into fire as it moved away from Shingi.


    Shingi quickly shed the mes with Sinhunter in his right hand, holding his staff at the left, chanting a few words, and moving his staff around.


    Some yellow energy left the staff and surrounded the mes, and the mes started getting shaped back to the human figure of the mage.


    As Shingi was shing him, and the figure was in the middle of their transformation back to its standard form, the result was pieces of a human corpse felling to the ground. After a couple of seconds, those pieces turned into particles and disappeared.


    Shingi quickly moved at another mage, this time the Air Water Element one. He left the Earth one forst as their Spells had their most outstanding defense, so it could buy time to get help from the others.


    Still, it didn''t take him over two minutes to deal with all three mages. But, of course, most of that time was to kill the Earth Mage since its defense was more outstanding.


    He then turned towards the battle between his Golems and the rest of the yers.


    The battle seemed not to favor his Golems, who weren''t less in strength or speed than the yers, but they were at a disadvantage because they couldn''t use any Skills.


    Still, his n was sessful even if his Golems couldn''t finish them.


    He ran up the stairs, and even if some of the ranged yers tried to stop him, they failed because of the golem they fought or missed.


    Shingi was ready to move through the portal that led to the next floor.


    Just before he could go through the portal, a massive lightning bolt came down and hit the exact position of Shingi.


    After the lighting was gone, there were no signs of Shingi, just ck ashes, and particles where he used to be. At the same time, the Golems crumbed, losing their shape.


    Bolts of lightning started gathering at the bottom of the stairs as a familiar female mage formed from the bolts.


    She looked towards the Warriors and Rogue yers, and after shouting at them, and told them to search the perimeter.


    As everyone left the ce she turned toward the top of the stairs and smiled for a split second.


    If one paid attention to the portal, one would notice a few instances of ripples over the portal''s surface, like a few figures passed through it.

 Chapter 232: Teamwork training

    Chapter 232: Teamwork training


    ''This was a close call, but it worked better than I thought.'' [Shingi]


    Shingi and the rest of hispanions had all gone through the portal to the next floor. He cast <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong> to himself, while at the same time creating the ashes and particles with <strong>MAJOR</strong> <strong>ILLUSION</strong>.


    He nned at first to kill all the yers by having the rest of hispanions ambush them. But after getting the cure for his MinoR Spirit Madness, his Mana Detection Passive Skill had also received a boost, and he noticed the female mage hiding in the shadows.


    He sent her a message using some Air Element, which was somewhat simr to what Dark Shadow did to speak. It didn''t create a new spell out of it, but it was a helpful tool.


    He told her his n, and she sent a response simrly as Shingi did.


    Shingi had the chance to speak with Quick Thunder through the chat function since he had a contract with him, and he admitted that the woman was one of theirs. However, he still hadn''t mentioned all about her to the others, mainly because Quick Thunder told him to keep it a secret as much as he could.


    He could mention it to White Biscuit, who was part of the Storm Guild, but Shingi decided not to take the chance of others overhearing them.


    Everybody was surprised by the attack and why Shingi had changed the n at thest second, but everything worked out.


    All of them were still under the effect of <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>. Shingi knew the exact location of the ones under the effect of his Spell, and he could barely detect the rest.


    They didn''t n to stay on this floor for long, as even if the yers currently presume that they were dead, they could send people to investigate just in case.


    Fortunately, this floor was rtively easy to find the stairs, and with their stealthy approach, they could use them facing no monsters.


    The same happened for the next three floors, and since Shingi had detected no yers on any of the floors, he decided that they didn''t need to keep the spells active.


    Little Phoenix was d for it to be the case as she didn''t have the massive Mana Pool like Shingi, and she had to use some of their Mana Regeneration Potions. However, she didn''t enjoy using them, not because it was hard to make them, but because their taste was getting worse the more you had in a small time.


    Shingi had his Minor Mana Regeneration working back in full power, so he didn''t need to take any. During the trip, he had Price under the effects of <strong>INVISIBILITY</strong>, as he was confident he could handle one more person.


    As for Syra could easily detect them and follow them, as her vision of the Element worked differently. That was why she could see when Mikhail was scrying them.


    She had mentioned to Shingi that Mikhail hadn''t scried them while he was away, but he did a few times when he returned. That was why Shingi kept the stone hidden, and when he did any tests on it, he had Syra pay extra attention if any Scry eyes appeared.


    He made little progress on it, but he had a few ideas he wanted to try when they got to the next hideout or be in a safe area.


    The current floor was one that Shingi wanted for them to face the Boss. The Boss dropped nothing valuable for him, but it was one of the trickiest and most annoying bosses.


    It didn''t have any powerful abilities, but its speed was terrifying, and it used it to escape when the battle wasn''t going well for it. It was also a powerful shaman, and would keep summoning Spirits to help it keep its enemies upied for it to leave.


    If one wanted to kill it, they had to have great teamwork, as one misstep meant the escape of the Boss. But, of course, most people ignored this Boss, since after its first death they could pass it to the next floor, to face enemies that actually would give them a fight.


    It was an excellent chance to test their teamwork and work on new tactics, as the floors toe would get trickier as they progressed. Even with Shingimanding them, if they didn''t follow hismands perfectly, it would mean certain death, while there was still space for error.


    Shingi exined the tactics he had for this Boss to all of them. Since it was a teamwork exercise, Syra wouldn''t join them, but if things went to hell and someone needed healing, and there was no other way, she would provide help.


    In the way searching for the Boss, they faced many beasts, which when they got killed they turned into white smoke andpletely disappeared. Those were some of the Spirits that the Boss let go around and would inform it if anyone was getting near.


    Shingi knew that the moment they killed those Spirits, they weren''tpletely gone, just losing their current physical form. At that point, they would return to the Boss and report, and after some time, would form a new body to join the action once more.


    If Shingi and the rest ignored them, the beasts would go back to the Boss to report, but if they were followed they would fight if they couldn''t miss their pursuers or they while within some range of the Boss.


    Shingi didn''t mind facing those monsters as it was a good warmup for his party. He tried not to join as much as possible to keep his exp earnings low. He couldn''t afford to level up.


    Their teamwork was above the average party, since most of them had gotten used to fighting next to each other after all that time. White Biscuit had some trouble since it was his first time fighting among them, but he was adjusting incredibly fast.


    Still, Shingi calcted that they couldn''t defeat the Boss in their current state. In reality, if he used his Golems and with his speed while under double <strong>HASTE</strong>, there was a grand chance he could deal with the Boss by himself. But this wasn''t the point of staying on this floor, and he needed the rest of them to improve as a whole, since there were foes he couldn''t face by himself.


    After an hour of moving around, Shingi decided they needed a break.


    "How did we do? "[White Biscuit]


    Shingi didn''t let them know that this was a training exercise, as he wanted to see if they could understand it themselves.


    "You all seem to get used to facing those enemies. But remember not to get too used to a tactic, as foes in the not-so-far future will keep changing them." [Shingi]


    White Biscuit nodded at that.


    "I must admit that those foes were annoying, but it is an educated experience." [Wild Tycoon]


    Thatst sentence confused Shingi for a few seconds, but then he noticed something.


    "Youyou upgraded your spirit?" [Shingi]


    Wild Tycoon let out a grin as she raised her left hand up to her chest level while she was sitting.


    Greenish smoke starteding out of her hand, forming a small figure at the space between her open palm and the ground.


    It was a baby bear, which started moving naturally when its form wasplete. It was still green, like the smoke that formed it, but its body seemed solid.


    It was a sign of Wild Tycoon''s improvement in her ss. As a Spirit Barbarian, she used the Spirits to borrow their power to improve herself, but if she improved her knowledge and rtionship with the spirits, she could summon them to fight with her.


    It wasn''t something one would get by just leveling up their skills, and among the Spirit Barbarians, only one out of one hundred developed that ability.


    Still, hers was still at early power since the bear was that small, but it was a start.


    "Facing those beasts gave me a few ideas and understanding of the spirits. I had a feeling that I was missing something for some time, but it just clicked on me just a few moments ago." [Wild Tycoon]


    It impressed Shingi, as this was a sign of Wild Tycoon''s talent. Even if she had resources a beginner wouldn''t have, developing her ss like that was something no resources could help her do.


    Shingi had tried to teach them what he could, but he let them develop as they wanted, as even if they learned the most potent ability, if they couldn''t use its full potential, it could be proved useless. So they had to develop at their speed, and he only gave them a boost and helped when needed.


    "Try to keep it out as much as possible, especially duringbat. It shouldn''t need to face any enemies, but you need to learn to keep your focus on keeping it summoned. But if you get any chances, let it give a few hits. Even if it doesn''t have a level, the spirits still earn battle experience. "[Shingi]


    Wild Tycoon''s grin became wider, as she seemed very proud of her new ability, and that Shingi approved. Even if she didn''t have many chances to train with him because of the difference between their ss, she respected him as her teacher and a close friend. She knew she couldn''t be this strong without him.


    Then a sigh was heard by Little Phoenix, who had a look of great sadness.


    "verything good?" [Shingi]


    Little Phoenix turned towards Shingi but didn''t look him in his eyes.


    "I I need to leave." [Little Pheonix]


    "<strong>LEAVE?</strong>"[Hineko & Wild Tycoon]


    Little Phoenix lowered her head as tears started leaving her eyes.


    "We can make a camp here, no problem. How long are you going to be away?" [Shingi]


    Shingi had a feeling that something wasn''t right as he made this question.


    "I I won''t return." [Little Phoenix]


    And at that moment, the body of Little Phoenix turned into particles.


    She had logged out of the game.

 Chapter 233: Changing of plans

    Chapter 233: Changing of ns


    Everyone was confused by what happened, but Shingi was the first to react. He said nothing, but just focused on encasing the particles of Little Phoenix''s with a cage made by his Light Element Mana.


    "What just happened?" [Hineko]


    The young Rogue turned towards the only person who could answer this  Wild Tycoon.


    But Wild Tycoon seemed just as surprised as the rest.


    "II don''t know. Maybe I should go after her. It could be something with her family." [Wild Tycoon]


    Then she turned towards Shingi, with a look of waiting for his approval on that n.


    "You can''t go after her now." [Shingi]


    Everybody got shocked by that response, especially Wild Tycoon. But before she could say something, Shingi continued speaking.


    "If you get out now, it will take you a lot of time to get back, and it isn''t safe for us to stay here. Leaving from here means that when you get back, there is a good chance that you will get surrounded by monsters. We need to find a ce to rest first." [Shingi]


    Everyone nodded as what he said made sense, as most of the times.


    "But what about Phoenix? If Wild finds what happened to her, won''t she spawn here?" [Hineko]


    "Not this time." [Shingi]


    Although most were used to it, everyone looked at Shingi with a confusing look, and their confusion wasn''t that apparent to see.


    "It has not set her spawn point yet. When you people disappear, you leave behind these pieces of energy that mark the area you were in so your would reappear next time. But I had trapped Phoenix''s before it could make its mark. If I release it, it will mark the area I will release it to, but I can keep only one caged like that; otherwise, Wild Tycoon could go too." [Shingi]


    It was something that Shingi knew since his time being a yer, but he never had the chance to do. It was a valuable technique to use when a party wanted to move, but one of them had to leave the game.


    Still, learning to use this technique wasn''t easy, and only people with light or dark-based Mana Pools could use it. Fortunately, Shingi''s control over the Light Element was good enough to seed on his first try; otherwise, they would be a big problem.


    It took a vast amount of concentration for him to keep the cage, as the particles within were fighting back and wanted to get released.


    "But where can we find a safe ce here?" [Hineko]


    Shingi stood up and started walking in the opposite direction they used to move before starting their break.


    Everybody followed Shingi as they were confident he had a n; otherwise, he wouldn''t move aimlessly.


    "Is he always like that?" [White Biscuit]


    He made this question to Price, with whom he was more familiar since he spent the most time with him during their lookouts at the mine.


    He had spent a few days with Shingi when they made their way to the rest of the party, but they said nothing else other than training.


    "More or less. I don''t think I have ever been when he didn''te up with a n unless his goal was to note up with a n." [Price]


    White Biscuit looked towards the fellow Rogue with apparent confusion in his eyes.


    "You had traveled a bit with him, didn''t you?" [Price]


    White Biscuit nodded in response.


    "He probably even taught you a few things in the way. Now think of what you learned, and how much you learned by him telling you what to do and how much you learned them yourself. "[Price]


    White Biscuit thought about it and realized that his fighting abilities had really improved those past few days, but Shingi had said little to him in the form of lessons. He hadn''t noticed till now, but during the battles he had in the way, he kept realizing mistakes in his style and new ideas faster than in the raids he did with his Guild outside the Tower.


    He thought that it may have been because of the difference between the Tower''s monsters and the one outside it. But other than the differences weren''t that much.


    "But how could he do something like that? "[White Biscuit]


    Price looked towards White Biscuit and left a sound of possible smiling and a sign of understanding the young man''s confusion. Price''s mouth was covered, which was why White Biscuit didn''t know if he really smiled.


    "This is the power of a true tutor. You will understand it more in the future toe. "[Price]


    Even if the two Rogues were whispering, Shingi had heard this discussion. Still, he said nothing.


    It was true that he wanted to teach a lot of things to White Biscuit, as he still had him on his mind as his younger brother. In the past, that family didn''t mean that much to him, but after losing Annoue, his feeling over family had changed.


    But just because he wanted to help in White Biscuit''s trip of getting power, that didn''t mean he would make the way easy. With his profession and vast knowledge, there were many lessons to teach the young Rogue as he wasn''t blind.


    Most of the realizations of improvements that White Biscuit had during their way at the rest of the party were because Shingi was moving during their battles in the way White Biscuit needed to fill his gaps. His <strong>STEALTH</strong> also improved by watching Shingi''s use of the skill.


    Still, Shingi did it not to rify what he was doing, but White Biscuit''s subconscious was getting this info and filling the nks with what made sense to it.


    They kept moving and turning and not moving in one direction until they encountered an enemy.


    Shingi was trying to get them to face the Boss, as he couldn''t waste more time. As for improving their teamwork, they could retry when the Boss respawned. The Boss would take a couple of days to respawn, but they could stay on the floor till then.


    When the Boss dies, and it gets respawned, no new monsters would appear in between. As for the Spirits, since the Boss was the one who gave them the power to remake their body, without him, they couldn''t return.


    Shingi could detect where the Boss was by heading towards the greatest concentration of Spirit Element. He was sure that the Boss could use that Element, as its healing rate was more significant than other Bosses.


    Most thought that they designed it like that to make it more annoying, as each time it escaped, it was back to full health when the yers caught up to it. But Shingi was confident that it just healed itself with Spirit Element Magic, which was much faster and potent in healing than the Light Element healing magic.


    After close to half an hour since their break, they finally stopped. In front of the party, there was arge boulder, which had a height of close to 4 meters. On top of the boulder, a humanoid figure wore a hooded cloak, with its hood up.


    One couldn''t see its face as even Shingi only saw shadows under its hood.


    As they got within 2 meters of the boulder, the figure disappeared and reappeared in front of Shingi in a split second. It had a dagger at hand and had tried to stab Shingi in the neck, but Shingi had brought Sinhunter in the way, deflecting the hit.


    This was the Boss, and the moment an enemy entered its threat area, it would attack the one with the least HP. Shingi''s HP was rtively high for a mage, but mostly because of his high <strong>END</strong>. Still, his HP wasn''t as much as the rest of the party, with Little Phoenix being the only one with less HP than him.


    The Boss disappeared once more in a split second before Shingi could get a counterattack.


    ''Its teleportation is faster than usual. It seems like they let it live for too long. ''[Shingi]


    The Bosses were getting stronger if you let it for too long, and Shingi had noticed that this one''s speed and ability to Teleport around changed the more it was left around. It wasn''t rare for the specific one to get unkilled for long periods since people most times ignored it, but Ameanum made sure to kill it not and then.


    Shingi didn''t mind this, but he couldn''t waste much time. He couldn''t kill the Boss himself since most of his focus was on keeping the Light cage active.


    He had his Blessing active to boost his <strong>INT</strong> from the moment he created the Light cage to be safe and then double cast <strong>HASTE</strong> on Price. He was the man with the most experience after him, and with the boost in speed, he could easily catch with the Boss.


    Shingi also used <strong>GOLEMANCY</strong> but could only make three golems, as anything more would take too much for his current situation.


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